Bring Me Home

Chapter 1: The Great Exodus

This is not a love story. It is the story of life, death, creation, destruction, fate, fear, hope, sorrow, and love. But it is not a love story.

If we were to define a love story as a story with love in it then every story would be a love story. For even the heartless may love the wind, or the waves, or the rain, or the stars, just not in the same way as one loves another. But it is there, it was there in the beginning, and it will outlast the end, transcending the bounds of our fragile realities. Love is the variable upon which the entire universe holds constant.

This is the story of two people, and yes, love is there, but this is not a love story. Because love cannot be written, only felt.

There is no such thing as a love story, only a loved story, which depends entirely on the reader.

Keith Kogane knew none of this, nor did he care. However, he did care very much about the corner of a cardboard box that has been poking him in the side for the past half hour.

"How much farther?" He calls up to the front where Shiro is acting navigator, their mom is driving, and their father is sleeping with his jaw hanging open, the occasional snore escaping.

"Not much." Shiro answers vaguely, his nose stuck in a map because they gave up on Google about 300 miles ago.

Keith groans quietly, but doesn't press the question. Instead he pulls out his nearly dead phone in an attempt to pass the time. He scrolls through old photos, deleting most of them.

He knew that he was part of the reason they were moving. His father was a writer, and his mother was a private tutor, so he knew something was up when they tried to use their jobs as the main reason for the relocation. Keith has tried his best to fit in back in Arizona, but one bad thing let to another and now here he is, all the way across the continent, boxes proding him from all directions and a dog sticking its head up from the trunk every so often to lick his ear, which was much worse than it sounds.

He groans quietly as his phone buzzes like an insect fighting against the web of a spider before showing the LG logo and going dark. Outside, streetlights have again begun to light up their way as dusk falls. The light pulses in and out of the car windows and Keith tries to ignore the fact that the air seems to have turned to steam the farther East they went. He takes a deep uncomfortable breath and tries to distract himself from the heavy sense of dread building in his stomach.

The pass a green sign that reflects in their headlights, flashing back at them the words that, to Keith, are both his salvation and imminent destruction: Welcome to Voltron Population: 10, 895.

"Hey we're here!" Shiro cheers, abandoning the map and turning to Keith with unnecessary enthusiasm, "See Keith? Not too bad!"

Keith becomes conveniently occupied with staring out the window.

Their dad jerks awake at Shiro's outburst, blinking the sleep out of his eyes and scanning the car for whatever emergency must be happening. He eventually gets his bearings and decides to parrot Keith's question from earlier.

"How much," He pauses to yawn rather loudly, "How much farther Shiro?"

"We're almost there dad, just hit city limits."

"Hmm." Their dad hums to himself, as though he is very proud of them for having survived thus far and attributes this success to some sort of accomplishment on his part.

"So what do you think honey?" He asks their mom, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, it's very, um, quaint?" She says as more of a question than an explaination, "I'm sure we'll be able to get a better look in the morning. Maybe we can go down to the beach?"