DChan87's VLD One-Shots

The Troubles Are All the Same (Jidge, background Kallura)

Another Jidge prompt with some Kallura in the background, references to Plance and past a//urance. The title comes from a line in the theme song to "Cheers", which I obviously messed up.

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The bar was packed to celebrate the return of Princess, soon to be Queen, Allura, and her engagement to Keith Kogane. Her return was most welcomed, and the couple's engagement was a long time coming. There were many congratulations and other well-wishes, some of which were questions about what it was like to be dead and if there was an afterlife. Those questions had to stop after a while, because Allura got very, very uncomfortable with them. Luckily, Krolia shepherded the couple of the hour to a private booth so they could have some privacy.

But they're not the focus today. If there was one person who, besides Keith and Lance McClain, her ex, was impacted most by Allura's needless sacrifice, it was Katie Holt. News of her Sister From Another Mister's resurrection pulled her out of a 6-year funk. But now she sat at the bar, fiddling with a bottle of Lite beer, wondering how Allura could find happiness now. Oh, she was beyond thrilled for Allura; in fact, when Allura told her, Pidge–er, Katie–begged to be her maid of honor.

It's just that she would've liked her own bit of happiness, even though the assertion that women MUST get married is patriarchal bullshit. For a while, she assumed that it might be Lance.When she was still in Voltron, she crushed on Lance. Then Allura implicitly rewarded him for his icky persistence, thanks in part to her. It soured her opinions on him, making her wonder just why she'd crushed on him for so long. She thought that she would tell him how she felt and that they'd have their happy ending. Well, Lance was in the past now.

Remembering the mess that was the whole Lance and Allura thing always upset her. Hoping to forget, she chugged her beer in three gulps. The room began to tilt as her vision started getting blurry. "Something stronger!" she ordered. "Brandy!"

"Yes?" A woman behind her called. Katie groaned.

"Bartender! Glass of brandy!" The woman apparently named Brandy scowled at her and turned away. The bartender put the brandy glass in front of her, she paid the price and gulped down a quarter of the glass. It tasted sweet, but burned her esophagus. It was like cough syrup. Again, her vision blurred.

Across the room, James Griffin was just finishing a conversation congratulating Keith and genuinely apologizing for being a dick when they were kids. To eep it from getting too awkward, James turned and walked away from him. He immediately ran into the crowd. Surprised at first, he inched his way through the crowd, maneuvering like his body like he maneuvered his fighter. That sounded worse than he expected, but what do you expect from a flyboy?

Anyway, his beer bottle was running empty. He looked around, but didn't see a waitress. So he went straight for the bar. Emerging from the crowd, he bumped into someone sitting at the bar, pushing them forward onto to the bar. "OW!"

"Oh, jeez! Sorry!" he hissed.

Katie Holt angrily looked up at him without her glasses. And without her glasses, James was struck. She was actually very pretty without those glasses. Sure, he'd spent a lot of time with her recently, even getting to like her as a friend, but now... now he had to admit that she was attractive. But she wasn't happy at all, even though the glass of brandy she held in her left hand was still intact and full. "What the hell, Griffin!?" she slurred.

"Sorry, Pidge—I mean, Ms. Holt."

"Stop calling me Pidge," she grumbled. "Have I ever told you how much I hate that name?"

"Are you drunk?"

"Quiznak no," she slurred. She took another swig of brandy. "Jusht happy to shee Lance miserable."

"You're drunk," he said. "Maybe you should go home."

"Why don't you go home?" she countered.

"Why don't I take you home?" he replied. "My place or yours? Well... mine's closer." He pulled her chair out from the bar and helped her to her feet. She immediately stumbled.

"I can walk," she said. "By the way, Griffin, you're hot."

James felt hot, and he was certain his cheeks had turned several shades redder. Almost dropping her, he stammered to gather some words. "Oh, um, thanks!" he finally sputtered. "You're, uh... pretty, too."

"I'm not!" she groaned. "I wasn't pretty enough for Lanche, and now look!"

She was definitely drunk. "How many drinks have you had?" he asked.

"Uhhhh... two? Three?"

James paused to think. "Okay... Really, I think you need to leave. Besides, you need to let Lance go."

"Whatever," she sniffed. She tried to walk again, but stumbled. He kept her from falling flat on her face.

"You know, you don't have to base your worth on someone you crushed on," he said. "You know the old saying, 'there's plenty of fish in the sea'? I think you could–"

"Jusht get me out of here," she demanded.

"If you insist," he said. He lifted her up onto his shoulder, surprised that she was still small enough for him tocarry her like that.

"Don't carry me like that," she hissed.

"Okay, sorry," he said, putting her down, wrapping his arm around her dainty waist and putting her arm around her shoulders. He happened to glance at Keith, seeing that he was still mostly engrossed in his fiance, but looked up long enough to wink and nod at him. James mouthed to him that he was just taking her home. Keith nodded again, this time smiling softer than before. However, James still flipped him off, a gesture that Keith and Allura returned.

James chuckled and carried Katie out of the bar.