Agent Blue

Twelve

Lance spent the day running around and completing as much work as possible since he was off-world for 6 months. 

"Go with him, he'll explain everything to you. I'll stay with your friends," Zeno whispered to Keith, smiling at him. Keith nodded to him before running after Lance. 

Just like Zeno said, Lance explained everything he was doing, almost like he didn't know he was doing it. Keith made sure to stay quiet and out of his way, only nodding to the very few agents who acknowledged him. 

"Stay away from them, they're part of Garnet's squad," Lance muttered once after speaking with another agent. 

"How big is his squad?" Keith asked. 

"About 50 well-placed agents," Lance responded. 

"And how many agents do you have?" 

"The rest," Lance smirked. Keith looked around him. There were hundreds of agents just on Earth, and from what he knew, there were even more off of Earth. 

"Jesus," Keith whispered under his breath. "If so many people are against him how did he become Director?" 

"He was the last one qualified to take the position, and since there wasn't competition, there wasn't an election either. Since there wasn't an election, his position is only temporary, but if no one kicks him off after 10 months then his position becomes permanent. Once I get the quad-powers to agree to kick him, then we can have a real election," Lance explained. 

"And you're sure you'll win?" 

"At least temporarily. Director Raven is still out there somewhere, but considering he bumped me to Rank 11 before he left, I get the feeling he doesn't want to come back, or he'll be gone for a while," Lance sighed. 

"It still surprises me that you could have led Voltron if you wanted," Keith laughed. Lance looked over at him with a soft smile on his face despite the agents around. 

"I trust Shiro, and I trust the rest of you. I didn't see a reason to step in unless something really bad was going to happen," Lance shrugged. 

"How much do you trust me?" Keith raised an eyebrow. Lance paused, looking into Keith's eyes with a playful smile. 

"With my life," Lance responded simply, but it made Keith's heart pound painfully. Keith smiled and looked down to the ground, his face flushing red. 

"I'll have to speak with the Quad-powers after tomorrow, I'll have more time then," Lance muttered to himself. 

"You said tomorrow is a day of mourning, what does that mean?" Keith asked slowly, not wanting to overstep. Lance stayed silent for a minute. 

"Tomorrow, 10 years ago, was the day I killed my first person, and the day I lost my brother and trainer," Lance said slowly, "and 4 years ago tomorrow was when Raven placed me as General," Lance added on. "Raven wanted to make sure I was stable before giving me the position, otherwise I would have been the Rank 10 General a lot sooner." 

"Wow," Keith whispered, "I'm so sorry, Lance," 

"It's fine, I'll just be a little out of it tomorrow," Lance sighed. He knew that wasn't true, though. He repressed every feeling he had towards those 2 days until it bubbled over and erupted out of him on the anniversary. Now wasn't the time to think about it, though. Now he had to work as much as possible while he had the time. 

"What was Iverson like as the director?" Keith asked as they walked through the halls. He only remembered Iverson to be the hardass Commander that kicked him out of the Garrison. And from what he knew while Lance was undercover, Iverson didn't treat Lance any better in school either. Still, Lance smiled at the question with a faraway look in his eyes. 

"Director Raven was one of the best Directors we've ever had. He was smart and cautious, never allowed anyone to step out of line and ruin a mission. The other agents respected him as a leader and feared him as a person. But he still cared about all the other agents. 

"I remember coming back from a mission, I had a report I needed to turn in directly to him. It was right after a team had fallen after trying to apprehend a group of stowaways, they didn't expect the intruders to be armed. Raven sat at his desk with his face in his hands. I don't think he was crying, but it was clear he felt guilty," Lance spoke in a soft voice, but Keith couldn't see Commander Iverson he knew to feel guilty like that. 

"He always went easy on the Peers. He knew they were just children so he never yelled at them, even if they did something incredibly wrong. I think he knew they didn't know any better, so he used their mistakes as a teaching moment. He's never been a trainer, but I think he wanted to at some point. Maybe that was why he took me under his wing..." Lance let out a sigh as he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. Keith didn't know what was going through his head, but he hoped it was something good. Lance took a deep breath before starting again. 

"After the incident with my trainer, he helped me rise through the ranks and gave me tips and pointers. I changed after that day, and I think he knew I needed someone to help me. Obviously, I've gotten better, but he and Zeno were a major help with that," Lance smiled sadly as they continued walking. 

"I'm glad you had someone at least," Keith muttered. Lance looked over at him. 

"And now I have you," Lance's sad smile turned bright and happy. Keith wondered if he was faking it. 

"And the rest of Voltron," Keith reminded with a sly smile. 

"Right, and the rest of Voltron," Lance repeated, but they both shared a knowing look. Keith was right, Lance had the rest of the team too, but just between Keith and Lance, his connection with the others wasn't the same as his connection with the red Paladin.