A/N: I do not own Voltron, its characters or settings. New things are mine, of course.
Thank you yamato for your review. Fire Storm would never breach his lady's trust by going to Allura, but there are other ways information can be bandied about. I'm still deciding.
Lance spent the rest of the day running through drills. He worked out in the gym until exhaustion set in, and then he pushed himself to the limit, taking his lion out for an extended series of flight patterns. He had always wondered why Keith forced himself to go through such rigorous sessions on a daily basis, but he was beginning to understand why. Though his captain had never come out and admitted as much, Lance knew very well that Keith was madly in love with Allura. Lance also knew the princess returned the team leader's feelings. Hell, even Pidge and Hunk knew about it. Only the two lovebirds seemed to be unaware of their feelings for one another, as unlikely as that seemed. How could two people be so blind?
Keith was up and training before dawn at times, and now Lance realized it was probably the other man's way of dealing with his seemingly unrequited feelings of love. That was the very reason Lance was working himself so hard. He wanted to be so tired; his brain would be too numb to think. True, it might be a cowardly way to deal with his emotions, but it was so much easier then facing the fact that the woman he loved was on Arus and seemingly uninterested in him. When was his love life ever going to stop putting him through hell?
"Lance, good to see you out here," Keith's voice suddenly called out over the intercom in the Red Lion's center console, startling Lance and drawing his gaze to the vid link located there. "I wish the rest of the team would indulge in a little extra training without my prompting."
Personally, Lance would call it ball busting, but he wisely kept that thought to himself. Keith was fanatical about the Voltron team drills, and he was frequently disappointed by the fact that his companions liked having lives outside of Voltron. Lance managed a tired smile and said, "Yeah, well, I just got the urge to take Red Lion through a few drills."
His captain regarded him in silence for a moment, but there was an odd expression on the other man's face. "I assumed as much, although I wouldn't call three hours of combative flight sessions a few drills."
Lance frowned, unaware that he'd been watched during his training. "Well, I was just thinking it's been a while since Lotor and his cronies attacked, so an invasion is probably due any day now."
Again, Keith hesitated. "I suppose that could be the case," he finally said, but the tone of his voice clearly conveyed he didn't think that was the truth. "Hunk also mentioned that he thought he saw you at the gym earlier."
Lance tensed up, starting to wonder if he was being followed or monitored in some way. The idea did not sit well with him, and his voice was terse when he responded. "I haven't hit the weights in a while, just thought I'd do a little toning, that's all."
"For three hours?" Keith asked, a disbelieving edge to his words.
Lance bristled, resenting the fact that he was apparently being spied on. "Are you out here to train, or harass me?"
Keith blinked, not expecting Lance to balk in such a fashion. The truth was, he'd been taking the Black Lion out to go on a few short drills when Princess Allura had flagged him down and told him about Lance's insane physical exertions of the day. It was obvious she was worried about the pilot, and although initially Keith had been only mildly curious about Lance's strange behavior, his hostile attitude had fully captured the captain's undivided attention. It was not like Lance to be so rude. True, he was a smart ass with a temper, but he rarely treated Keith with flat out disrespect.
"I came out here to train. Look, Lance, the Princess was worried about you and asked me to check in with you, that's all," Keith slowly replied, eyeing the other man's tense expression.
"I'm a big boy," Lance gritted out; annoyed that Allura was drawing unwanted attention to him. "I can take care of myself."
Keith frowned at Lance's sharp words, his own temper starting to get the better of him. "Well, at the moment you're acting like a child. What's the matter with you? Allura's only concerned about you."
Lance's hands tightened on the controls, his eyes narrowing. "You can tell her thanks for the concern, but I already have a mother."
Keith was a patient man by nature, and would tolerate quite a bit, but he didn't like the way Lance was mocking Allura's kindhearted concern for him. He would allow no one to show disrespect to the Princess, not even his own teammates. "Watch it, Lance," he said, his voice deceptively soft.
"Or what, lover boy? You'll lecture me to death?" Lance sarcastically asked. "I think you're the one who needs to watch it. My personal business is none of your concern."
"It is when you bring the Red Lion into it," Keith shot back. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Nothing I care to discuss," Lance snapped, turning his lion and heading back for the castle.
Keith watched the Red Lion move away for all of five seconds, and then sent the Black Lion into pursuit, cutting the other robot's path off. "You might not care to discuss it, but you will. Now. That's an order, Lance," Keith harshly commanded.
Lance glared at the other man, his expression decidedly angry. "Listen up, Keith, I already told you once, and I'm not going to repeat myself again. My personal life is none of your business."
"And I told you that if you bring the Red Lion into it, it is. Plus, if your current hostile behavior continues, it's going to affect the rest of the team, and that IS my business," Keith coldly replied.
"I don't want to talk about it, understand?" Lance asked, his words coming out slow, his pronunciation of them exaggerated for emphasis.
"The only thing I understand is that you're acting like a prick," Keith snapped. "Does this have something to do with that Lissa woman?"
Lance went very still at hearing her name, his emotions too raw and close to the surface to control. Though he said nothing, Keith read the truth in his face.
"What's the deal with you two?" Keith demanded.
Lance ignored him, maneuvering the Red Lion around the Black Lion and descending to the fields outside of the castle. Keith allowed him to land, but doggedly followed, dropping the Black Lion onto the grass beside the Red Lion as Lance climbed out. Keith rushed out of his own robot, literally breaking into a run as Lance made his way to the castle without so much as a back ward glance. Sensing the other man might actually throw a punch if grabbed from behind, Keith moved in front of Lance and blocked his path, crossing his arms over his chest and giving the other man a stern glare.
"It is the woman, isn't it?" he asked. "It has to be her. I've never seen you like this before, man. You're acting like you're out of your mind."
Lance drew up, his hands balling into fists at his side. "Drop it, Keith. Now."
Keith shook his head. "No. You'd better start talking Lance, because if you don't, I'm going to have to assume the woman's driving you to distraction, and I will see to it that she is sent away from Arus for the good of the team. You can't continue acting like this, it'll tear the team apart and we'll be easy targets for the forces of Doom. Do you want to cost the lives of innocent people because of whatever issues you have with this woman?"
That was the last thing Lance wanted to hear. His temper, already precariously on the edge, broke and he snarled, "Why is it that only the innocents matter? When, exactly, do I get to matter?"
Keith stared at him in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The lives of the unnamed innocents cost me the love of my life, are they going to cost me my right to have emotions and grieve as well?"
Keith uncrossed his arms and took a step away from Lance; the rage in the other man's voice was so prominent. "Look, Lance, I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I want to help you, if I can. Why don't you just tell me what's going on with you?"
Seeing that Keith wasn't going to give up, Lance sighed in frustration. Telling his captain might not be such a bad thing. After all, the other man knew all about star-crossed love. Shrugging his shoulder in defeat, Lance proceeded to tell Keith the entire story, from beginning to end.
Fire Storm sat in grim contemplation, digesting the tale Lissa had told him. It was as he had feared. She was being troubled by a man from her past, only the situation was far worse then he had assumed. Lissa was truly in love with the boy, and the Familiar suspected the man might return her feelings. She was so devoted to him that she had risked not only her own life, but Fire Storm's as well in the past. This was no small crush, no passing affair. The man was her soul mate, and the Familiar feared the very worst might come to pass. That she might actually turn her back on the Legion for the love of a man.
The Elders would be furious, their wrath both swift and devastating. Fire Storm knew very well the penalty for desertion, as did Lissa. The Elders did not look kindly on those who would dishonor the order, either. He had not given her any advice as of yet, but had instead sent her off to rest, for she was clearly overwrought. But he was greatly troubled, and knew he would have to speak with her as soon as she was finished resting. It would not be a pleasant task, but she had to be made to see that she belonged in the White Riders. It was her destiny.