.....Lance's POV.....
I have no idea how no one else has noticed, but Keith seems more emo than usual. It may have to do with the fact that i grew a bit closer to him than the others, but oh well. Ever since we've met up again as a team, he seems very off. Well, weirder than usual. He's always been closed off and cold, but that started to change when we were in space. We all know that behind his very stoic demeanor, he's actually a really nice guy who cares a lot about others. He just has a really hard time regulating his emotions. So instead he puts on a tough guy act. I thought we had gotten somewhere with him. Before we came back to Earth, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed that we cracked his shell at least an inch. We got to see some great sides of him that nobody has ever seen. But since we've all been at my house, he's seemed really closed off. You can obviously tell that he's masking something. And I'm gonna make sure i figure out what it is. That is now m goal for the summer, I'm gonna make Keith open up even more. He needs to know that he has people he can rely on and talk to.
............Tiiiimmee skkiiipp..............
I've decided that I'm gonna take everyone to the beautiful beaches of Cuba. What better way to bond than seeing the beautiful coral reefs, boating, and swimming. Granted it will take a while to get there, but it's worth it. Right now everyone was hanging out on the back porch, talking, drinking beverages, and watching the livestock while we were surround by twinkling fairy lights. I finally put them up much to Pidge's request. It was around eight at night, so i might as well tell them now so we can leave early tomorrow morning. I decided to make a toast, much like the dramatic person I am. I clinked my spoon on my glass.
"Attention gays, gals, and non binary pals, and hunk. There is a beautiful beach a few hours from here. We can leave early in the morning if everyone wants to go", that earned a resounding yes from a few people, and a head nod from Keith. "Alright, if we pack now and go to bed soon after, we should make it by noon tomorrow. Hunk, would you please help me prepare a picnic for us?".
And with that, everyone else scrounged around to get packed and ready for bed while Hunk helped me make food for tomorrow. I've decided that ill grab Coals for the grill and dries before i settle down for the night. And who better to take with me than Keith, cause why not. Maybe i can get him to talk. I left Hunk in the kitchen and walked around the house to find Keith. Soon enough i found him outside in the hammock, he seems to like it there. It sits on a slight hill, overlooking the field of cattle, and Alluras field.
"Hey buddy, would you. Mind running to the store with me so we can grab a few things for tomorrow? I will warn you though that it takes atleast half an hour to get to the nearest super store", he slowly looked over and sent me a soft smile. "Sure, I'm not doing anything right now. I could use a break from so many people", he slowly got up and followed me to my truck. We too the long drive and finally got to the store.
"So Keith, you seem very quiet today, anything bothering you?", what better way to break the ice than to be straight forward. It always seems to work with him.
" I don't know man. I feel like i should be ecstatic hat were all finally together again, but my mind just keeps racing. It seems like now that I can settle down, and enjoy my life for once, my brain wants to remind me of every bad thing that i have ever wet through. It's driving me crazy. I wanna enjoy my time, and not be so depressed and 'emo', but its like there an internal battle appending in my brain every day. I've been able to ignore it for years since i was always busy, but now that i don't have to be fighting for my life, everything has caught up with me". Whoa, that was a lot. I knew it would work though. We were making our way to the camping isle when i grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. I squeezed him so tight. I knew he had his issues, we've talked about it before, many times. But I didn't know it had gotten this bad. He must've really needed that hug cause he broke down as soon as I touched him.
He sniffled and wiped his nose as he let go. "Thank you Lance, I really needed that", he softly. Smiled as he wiped his tears. "No problem bud, like I said, I'm always here for you. No matter what", I squeezed his shoulder before we checked out and headed back to the truck. I handed Keith the aux chord and gave him control of the radio. Hopefully that would make him feel a bit better. And I will admit, he music taste actually isn't horrible. To make sure he was feeling better, instead of letting him go off to bed to be alone with his thoughts, i asked him to help me pack the car. I know how overwhelming that cane be at times. I deal with t myself more often than not. We packed everything in the bed of the truck and covered everything with a tarp to ensure that nothing blows away. By about eleven we were finally ready to head to bed.
...............Another time skip :)..................
When I woke up in the morning, I found Keith and Pidge wide awake talking on the porch. They seemed to be deep in conversation. So why not give them a little scare, like old times. I tiptoed behind their backs and slowly placed my face in between their shoulders. "Come her to rock out?", Keith almost punch me and Pidge head butted me. "Ow Lance! It doesn't hurt any less the second time", she rubbed her forehead. "The second time?", Keith asked confused. We had to explain to him what happened before we found him and Shiro in the med bay that day. "But anyway, were you guys enjoying the sunset, it's beautiful isn't it?".
"It is very beautiful, you get to enjoy this everyday?", Keith mumbled as he seemed to be in a trance. Pidge and I slightly smiled at him before we headed back inside to get some drinks. We all enjoyed some coffee on the front porch, sitting on the swinging bench as we waited for everyone else to get ready.
After about an hour we were all on our way. I drove of course because I know the way by heart. Shiro was in the passenger seat, Hunk behind me, Pidge in the middle back, and Keith behind Shiro. Like the cuties they are, the oblivious dorks nitpicked and giggled almost the whole ride. That is until Pidge's insomnia caught up with her. She fell asleep with her head on Keith's lap, and her legs on Hunks'. Hunk was also passed out, no so gracefully. With his head against the window, and drawl on his chin.Keith was simply just playing on his phone, and sneaking pictures of them. He doesn't know I saw him, but i sure will tease him for it late, i'll make sure of that. We finally reached our destination after around 5 hours. We only stopped once cause Hunk had to pee.
When we arrived, everyone immediately woke up and excitedly gathered their things from the bed of the truck. Hunk and Shiro gathered the food while Keith and I Grabbed their bags, the blankets, floaties, and picnic supplies. We sent Pidge off to find us a good open spot. She excitedly ran off and started searching. I elbowed Keith as I saw him smiling and watching Pidge as she ran around with a smile on her face. I smirked as he looked towards me. He turned pink as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground.
After everybody set up and got dressed, Hunk and I set up the picnic at a near by picnic table. We also threw a few things on the grill. We grilled Kara-age, hot dogs, and Cubans. We used the fire pit to warm up some Spanish chorizo. Last night the kitchen was very busy and crowded. Hunk made homemade Pani popo, Pidge and Keith helped each other make homemade Lemon Pine Nut Biscotti, which is an Italian desert, and Texas styled mason jar lemonade. We tried to make a single dish from each ethnicity so we can try it all out. Shiro made his Kara-age, which is fried chicken, and Hunk made Pani popo or coconut rolls. I made a few Cubanos for everyone to enjoy. That's the Cuban version of Panini bread sandwiches.
While we set that up Shiro, Keith, and Pidge went off to swim. Shiro floated around in a pink flamingo floaty, and Pidge floated around with a small green inner tube around her waist. Shiro and Pidge ganged up on Keith and started splashing him nonstop. Poor guy hardly had a second to breath. After a few minutes, he swam under the water and tipped Shiro off of his floaty. This caused and even bigger slashing war. Eventually they all got tired and walked back up to lay on the towels. Just in time too, cause all the food was done.
As we enjoyed our food, and interesting conversation was brought up. "What has everyone been up to since the war ended" Shiro asked curiously.
"I've been visiting Shay and her planet a lot. Also last summer i brought her to Earth and showed her around the islands. She even met more of my family, they all love her"
"Awe Hunk, look at you getting far with your lady", I teased as he turned red. "I've been trying to sell stuff at the local farmers markets. Cause apparently thats what farmers do. I also invite people to the farm and tell them all about our adventures with Voltron. They love learning about Allura as we stand around her statue surrounded by her favorite flowers".
"Lance, I'm so proud of how far you've come. You've been working very hard to keep her memory alive and its very admirable", Shiro said as he patted my shoulder. "What about you Pidge? You're the youngest, what have you been up to?".
"Well, I work at the Garrison with my dad, Shiro, and his husband. I'm the lead scientist there, I even surpassed my dad. I graduated college as an honors student last year, and got promoted to lean scientist all in the same month", she smiled so proudly. She was practically beaming.
"Look at you being a super genius Pidge. Youngest top scientists in the area", I exclaimed as I smacked her on the back. She smiled sheepishly as Keith looked at her admirably. "What about you Keith, what has our emo space cowboy been up to", she asked him with a smirk.
"Matt and I started a program. We find planets that are having trouble recovering from the war. We then travel there with a team and take them the resources they need to get back on track. We also keep in touch and sometimes partner up with the blade of Marmora. Along with the freedom fighter that Matt used to lead. Sometimes there's so much damage that we have to send in all of our teams." Keith smiled as he thought about all the people he's helped in the last few years.
We all stared at him with big goofy smiles on our faces. Given the stone cold personality that he like to pretend he has, i don't think anybody expected that from him. Before he could utter another word, we all tackled him in a bone crushing hug. After a few seconds, he hugged back.
After eating we all went back to swimming. After lots of splashing, chicken fights, and contests, we soon decided to get dressed and relax on the beach. I came here for a reason though, and my plan would soon fall into place. As the guys and I were heading back to our spot, I pulled Hunk and Shiro back as I told Keith to go ahead without us.
"Guys, i have a plan.Those two oblivious, yet adorable dorks up there have been dancing around each other for far too long. We should go on a hike, just roll with it", I smirked at them as Shiro gave me a confused look.
If Keith's been working with Matt, then obviously he's seen Pidge far more than he lets on. Everyone else thinks this is the first time we've all seen each other for more than a few minutes in the last couple years. I may be an idiot but I'm not stupid. If Pidge has been working with Shiro and Sam, and Keith with Matt, then they've all teamed up before. Especially to find the resources to send to these planets. You would think Pidge has the technology for that, so she has to be their resident scientist. Keith may be good at strategizing and keeping secrets, but lately he's been letting his guard down. If they've been like this the past two years and they still aren't together, then I'm gonna change that.
I made my way back up towards the beach to gather everyone so we could go on a hike. We walked through the beautiful lush green forest. There were lots of exotic plants and beautiful butterflies. There were a plethora of tree species, some the others have probably never seen before. I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed how excited Keith looked. Poor guy lived in the desert by himself most of his life, new plants must be very exciting.
After walking for about half an hour, it was time to initiate my plan. We have to feign getting separated and lost. But in order to that Keth and Pidge need to be walking together behind us. Perfect timing, i just realized i never actually told Shiro and Hunk the plan. I motioned them towards me and started whispering it. We added a few more conversations in between so the other two wouldn't get suspicious. We continued to act like we were having a very exciting conversation. When i noticed how distracted they were with they're own conversation, thats when I put my plan into motion. We quietly ventured our way off course. As soon as they noticed we went quiet, we would be long gone. I sent Shiro and Hunk off in opposite directions,that way it would be easier to hide. I listened from the conveniently large tree I hid behind. They're footsteps echoed past me, stopped for a few seconds, and continued on. I heard them asking about where everyone went. I stayed there for a few more minutes before I met up with the other two in a near by field.
.....KEITHS POV.....
Katie and I were having yet another great conversation.Well,more like we were poking fun at one another. That's when I noticed how quiet it got. I put my arm in front of Pidge and gave her a look. We listened for any noises, worried for a few minutes, then decided that they're grown men. If they got lost they'll eventually find their way back to the beach, especially with Lance guiding them. We continued on and explored the beautiful forest.
After spending so much time together over the years, we were no longer awkward around each other like we were on that fateful night when Shiro came back. Pidge and I especially grew closer after the war ended. What the others don't know is that I see her almost monthly. Every time Matt and I find a new planet in need, we console Pidge. She helps us find the resources needed, and where to find them. Lots of planning goes into our missions. Especially collabing with Shiro, Curtis, Sam, and Pidge, our teams are finally sent on their way. These missions take weeks to plan. Which means we all spend a lot of time together. Matt, or team and I usually end up staying at the Garrison, seeing as how they have the best technology. A.k.a, Pidge has the best technology cause she builds and enhances most of it. I go on every mission with my teams, that way I can make sure there are no hostile residents, and no one gets hurt. I could never let myself let that happen again.
Subconsciously I slipped my hand into hers. The closer I am,the more I feel I can protect her. She slightly looked up and gave me a small smile.