Archive of Our Own ^beta

Something was different about Keith.

Something about him that he could not quite grasp. There was a shift and he had yet, to figure out what it was.

"Keith."

"Shiro."

The raven haired boy looked up into the eyes of the older male, dark brows furrowing slightly before he was looking away. Looking at everything and anything else in the room that wasn't sentient. Shiro frowned; 'flustered' wasn't the word he would use but something was certainly up the shadows under Keith's eyes and his dishevelled state. 

Allura too, looked on with curiosity, she and everyone else in the room for that matter. Keith blatantly ignored them but it was strange, this confrontation between the two. It wasn't quite an argument but rather a plea for understanding.

Shiro stepped closer. Just a breath away, eyes searching for any hint of something on the younger paladin's face. Anything that could give him a clue to just what he was thinking, "Keith... Is there something you want to tell me?"

Keith sucked in his lips, thick brows dipping for a moment as if in thought and then he was abruptly shaking his head, eyes still looking everywhere but Shiro, "No, everything's good. I'm fine."

Shiro's frown deepened and he resisted the urge to get closer, aware of his small audience. He didn't want to make Keith any more uncomfortable than he already was, "Are you sure?" He pressed, "You are absolutely fine, nothing is bothering you, and this has nothing to do with your galran features coming out, right?"

Keith's tail lashed out, large ears laying flat on the sides of his head as his lips pulled back in a snarl of annoyance, his golden-infused eyes narrowing. The message was clear. Back off.

A small strangled noise escaped Shiro's throat and he was stepping back with his hands raised, palms outward, "Okay...if you say so." and he mentally hissed at himself in his mind, "Touchy subject, touchy subject, Shiro. Too soon."

Keith's glare hardened and then he was turning away with a huff, his tail lashing out once more as he made his way to his station. Another message. Fuck off. 

There was a moment of silence, though stifling with tension. 

"...Awkward, " Lance's voice sung out into the large room, followed by a sharp "Ack!" as Pidge elbowed him in the ribs. There was the quick hissing of words and then a weak rambled reply. Hunk smacked a hand to his forehead as Shiro sighed, deflated. 

He would admit that it was a bit excessive of him to confront Keith the moment he got to the bridge but he was with good reason. Keith's state had been dwindling the past few days, not to mention his participation in the group training sessions. It was clear that he was lacking sleep and whilst, he wasn't outright boorish in his attitude, he was distancing himself. For what reason, Shiro did not know and he could only hope that it wasn't because of something bad. He scrubbed a hand across his face. Gods, he was tired but then he caught Allura's eye; back to the mission it was. 

"The heck just happened?"

Pidge's sharp elbow found its way between Lance's ribs once more as the brunet commented on the situation that had just taken place and whilst she shared Lance's scepticism on the issue, Pidge preferred to keep her thoughts silent. Because in all actuality, she couldn't stop her brow from rising as her eyes remained on Keith as he slumped at his station. 

What exactly the heck was up with that guy? She thought, he looked a little too worn out from just a lack of sleep mixed with furious bouts of gladiator training. Either something was wrong with him or he was coming down with something. Pidge's eyes flickered from Keith, in the attempt of stifling a yawn and failing, to Hunk. 

Catching her eyes, the bigger male only shook his head and shrugged. Pidge suppressed a sigh and moved forward, turning towards her station but not before noticing the glint of determination in Lance's eyes. 

Oh no.

"Lance-"

"Yo, mullet!"

"Fuck..."The collection of few but meaningful words died within Pidge's mouth, leaving only that one monstrosity to stumble out as Lance bulldozed past her with the cockiness and steadfastness of a suicidal chicken. Keith's head snapped up at his approach, violet and gold infused pupils narrowing at the sight of him. 

"What do you want?" He growled out, lip curling to reveal one sharp fang. 

Something in Lance's head sputtered. Keith's voice... usually didn't sound like that. There was a hoarseness to it, almost as though he'd been screaming, along with... something else. A huskiness. Lance shoved down the blush as quickly as it attempted to appear and a mind told him to back off as he invaded Keith's space, the male in question bristling as he pinned him with a heated glare but he chanced it anyway. 

"What's up with you?" He spat, watching as Keith's eyes widen at his sudden onslaught, " I mean really? Being edgy isn't enough for you?"

"Lance, stop it-"

Hunk's words went over Lance's head and he continued his barrage, " If something's wrong, you know we can help. Hell- you don't even have to talk to us but you just turned away Shiro-"

"Shut up," Keith didn't know when he'd gotten to his feet but his voice was a low growl as he stepped into Lance's space, successfully terminating Lance's speech, feeling a bout of satisfaction as those blue eyes went wide, "You don't know what you're talking about it," He stepped forward, Lance stepped back, "You have no idea-"

"Then tell us, asshole!" The brunet snapped, standing his ground, "Stop sulking around and-"

"You-" A large hand was pressed to Keith's chest and an instinctive, blind need within made him want to gnash his jaws at it, saliva building in his mouth-

"Guys!" Keith snapped out of whatever had just taken over his mind to find Shiro standing between them, his large chest heaving as though he'd just ran a marathon, " You need to calm down!" 

Keith's eyes went wide- when had Shiro gotten between them? He hadn't even seen him approach, much less hear him . Swallowing hard, he abruptly stepped back from the other's close proximity, putting a hand over his nose. 

"But Shiro-" Lance was still making a go at him and Keith found himself stepping forward once more, a growl on his lips. Shiro pushed them apart," I said calm, cadets!" He snapped, his voice harsh and biting. The two froze at his tone and a vein throbbed in the middle of his forehead, "Resume your stations, that's an order!"

Lance flinched under Shiro's glower, his tone reminding him of unpleasant times at the garrison but he obeyed regardless. Though his eyes never left Keith's as he backed away, sitting down. 

Shiro's eyes flitted between them, "This is a mission," He seethed, though somehow coming down from the rage that he had perpetrated only moments before. He pointed a finger at them, one then the other, "This behaviour between you two... is unacceptable. Either fix it or put it behind you but remember, the mission comes first. Voltron, comes first."

Hunk hissed out a breath of sympathy as twin looks of horror consumed the red and blue paladin's faces. He cast a look in Pidge's direction, the girl was pale. Her expression pained. Hunk gulped, feeling the tension in the air become almost suffocating. 

Shiro stepped down, returning to his station, mindful of Allura's gaze burning into his back. He sighed, he would have to talk to her later. Straightening his back, he rolled out tensed shoulders. Hopefully, his words would make a difference. They were harsh but needed and they needed to remember what was at stake. 

Keith resisted the urge to grind his teeth as his claws bit into his thighs, tail curling tightly around his leg. He attempted to take shallow breaths, there were... just too many scents. Keith closed his eyes as he took to breathing through his mouth, mindful of Lance's eyes on him. He could feel them boring into him and he ignored him, instead opting to concentrate on diminishing the strange warmth that was building just below his rib cage and slowly making its way down. He suppressed a shudder. 

Lance's eyes continued to bore into him... Fucking asshole.

-----

The Galra were coming hard and fast. One after the other and one by one, they all fell. This small fleet really had the misfortune of running into them and in all honestly, this wasn't really a battle or something they would've accomplished together. This was a massacre, all done by the hands of one. 

Lance opened a private link to everyone besides Keith, "A-are you guys seeing this right now?" His voice was high, on the verge of hysteria and poorly concealed awe, "He's literally a one man army."

Hunk hummed, watching as the red streak left numerous explosions in its wake. Whilst this was admirable, this was also extremely dangerous. Something dropped in his stomach, "...He's being reckless," Hunk muttered, eyes still on the Red Lion as he took out a stray fighter with practised ease.

"I agree with Hunk," Pidge chimed in, sounding a bit strained as she skillfully exited a barrel roll, narrowly avoiding a collision with Lance, who yelped as he suddenly found himself face to face with the  fighter that was pursing her, "Sorry Lance!"

 The response she received was the light of fighter being blown to smithereens, "No problem, Pidge. Sharp shooter's here to save the day." Pidge scoffed, smiling lightly as Lance laughed at her reaction, "Thanks man but seriously," She turned her attention back to the matter at hand, "Keith needs to calm down, any suggestions anybody? Shiro?"

The Black Lion's comm remained silent until a soft release of breath, "He's not listening to me, something's bothering him and whatever it is, it has him on edge-"

"As if he wasn't edgy enough to begin with-"

"Lance!" Pidge and Shiro snapped simultaneously and then Pidge was continuing, "Seriously, if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it at all."

"I'm not insulting him," Lance retorted, agitation creeping into his tone, "I'm speaking the truth! Don't you think if something was bothering him, then he should at least talk to one of us about it?"

"Lance-" Shiro interjected but Lance was cutting him off, "I get everyone likes their privacy but all he's been doing is sulking around like somebody tortured and killed his puppy right in front of him! He's being unreas-"

"Lance don't," The coldness of Shiro's voice made Lance's words stutter in his throat, "Don't finish what you were going to say."

"Shiro-"

"No. No, Lance," Shiro bulldozed over him, the coldness laced with a hidden note indignation, "I'm stopping you there so that you don't say something that you'll regret. Everyone's entitled to their own privacy, their own secrets. You can't simply pry it out of them, Lance. If something is truly bothering Keith, then he'll eventually come to one of us. Whether it's me or any of you, he'll talk eventually and the reason I'm pretty sure, he hasn't told anyone anything is because he's trying to sort it out himself, got me?"

Understanding flowed through the bond from Pidge and Hunk but Lance still seemed to be leery, "How are you so sure about this, Shiro?"

"Because he hasn't told me, Lance."

 Lance eye's widen, that was not the reply he was expecting and the tone of Shiro's voice... Ache, throbbing deep in bones, seeped into the bond and Lance's breath left him in a swoosh. Keith always told Shiro everything and Lance was pretty sure, Keith knew all there was to learn to about Shiro. So how could he not tell Shiro? Lance swallowed thickly, reminiscent of the ache that still twinged faintly. Oh, how Shiro must feel. 

"I'm sorry," Lance whispered. He swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as an itch appeared behind his eyes, " Forget I said anything."

Shiro chuckled softly, his pain still present but fading, "It's okay, Lance... You just needed to understand."

"It's not enough, Shiro. I hurt you, I shouldn't have-"

"Lance," Reassurance washed over him, leaving him blinking owlishly, "Wha?"

"It's okay," Shiro's words rumbled in his ears, followed by the soft tinkling of Pidge's laughter, "Plus, look on the bright side, doofus. The mission's a success."

"What?" Lance turned Blue's head towards the spot where he'd last spotted the Galran cruiser along with its many fighters, a good ways away as they had stayed on the outskirts watching as they let Keith hog all the glory. The red lion was now currently floating towards them, tail slowly swishing from side to side, at what could be considered, a snail's pace. 

"Keith annihilated them all," Lance could feel Hunk's smile in the bond and Pidge laughed again as they no doubt felt his embarrassment, " Reopen your links, dude." The yellow lion slowly floated over to him and nudge him gently with its side, "Open your links, man," Pidge echoed as she jetted over, doing a slow roll over his head. Shiro laughed, the sound deep and rumbling as he too, floated over, his lion's weight causing Blue to whine in Lance's mind as Shiro settled Black on her back, "Open. Your. Links."

Together, they began to chant, Yellow joining Black's weight as Hunk settled on him as Pidge did small spins around Blue's head. After a moment of non-stop chanting, Lance gave in. Sighing loud and exaggerated as well as drawn out, "Fiiinnnneeee," he reopened his links to Keith. The Red Lion almost upon them now and immediately, his team's faces appeared on his screens.

"What are you guys doing?" The red paladin asked as soon as he was close enough, sensing their hidden excitement and giddiness. Lance sighed again, this time low and whiny. Pidge laughed, "Talking."

Keith cocked a brow and Hunk chimed in, "About you."

Keith's expression turned mildly skeptical, one brow almost disappearing into his hairline, "And what about me?" 

Immediately, though faintly, the team could feel Keith beginning to block his mental link to them but Shiro was quick to reassure, "It's fine, it's fine... but to be honest," His lip curled in a smirk, one brow arching high, "Was just admiring from afar, good moves you got there." He threw in a wink and Keith's face flushed crimson, though a bit on the darkish side as the gold in his eyes flashed faintly. 

He pretended to cough in the croak of his arm, an attempt to cover up his flush as he sent Pidge into a fit of giggles, "What a dork!" Hunk snorted but then Keith was clearing his throat, gold infused; purple eyes glinting as he threw them a shy but cocky smile. He wriggled his brows and puffed out his chest slightly, "Like what you see." He pouted his lips.  

There was a shallow gasp and then Pidge was guffawing, releasing her controls to hold her stomach as she keeled over, leaving her lion to tumble over itself as she laughed madly accompanied by Hunk, who was attempting to hide his snorts behind his fist. He failed, giving into the madness, snorting as he cackled along with Pidge, tears streaming from his eyes, "Oh my god!" He wheezed, keeling over, hands leaving his controls making Yellow tumble off of Blue, "I can't believe this!"

Lance scoffed, arms folding over his chest as he pouted childishly, "Mullet stole all the action," and before Keith could say anything, Shiro was shifting Black's weight. Smiling maliciously as he not so gently nudged the Blue Lion, resulting in Lance tumbling away from beneath him, screaming manly as he pridefully put it. 

Keith snorted and Lance was blushing madly before he was jetting off towards the castle, screaming nonsense about being a poser as Hunk and Pidge followed behind, the both of them cackling madly like braying donkeys," Allura will never believe this!" 

"Wait till Coran hears it!"

Shiro shook his head, smiling softly before nudging Red gently, "Feeling better?"

Keith's grin got wider, laughing softly as Lance continued to scream and the others howl as they kept up their teasing,  "Yeah, I'm good." 

This time, he was genuine.