K A Y D E N
I watched the sunset on Olkarion, along with the rest of the paladins. The Olkari had managed to make me some clothes, and boy were they comfortable. The pants were black and fitted rather comfortably on my legs. My feet were now cushioned by some black combat boots. The shirt was white and had short sleeves, and gave view to my collar bones. This was underneath the black robe-like thing they had given me, which ended at my knees. The only thing that was really mine were the gloves I had on.
"What's everyone thinking about?" Pidge asked.
"Zarkon," Shiro said while Hunk said, "Calozones," and Lance, Keith, and I stayed silent.
They all looked at Hunk, confused, who glanced back at them, "I mean, uh, heck yeah, I'm thinking about calzones, okay? I mean, does it always have to be about Zarkon? He's a bad guy, we're trying to defeat him, I get it. I'm hungry,"
They all turned away at that. Keith broke the silence, "We've come a long way,"
"Yeah, remember when Hunk used to throw up from riding the elevator?" Lance joked.
Hunk groaned at the reminder before smiling, "You guys remember that Arusian? Klaizap, I think his name was? Cool name,"
"Yeah! Keith tried to beat him up even though he was the size of a peanut!" Lance laughed.
"He was their bravest warrior!" Keith defended.
"How about the time the food goo machines attacked us in the kitchen?" Pidge giggled.
"That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me, the entire time I've been here!" Hunk said.
"Oh, come on!" Lance nudged him.
"What! It's the truth!"
"We've faced sentries, a haunted castle, giant Robeasts, a mall security guard--" Lance began
"And don't forget that cool cube thing!" Pidge cut in between.
"Yeah, and that awful cube thing,"
"You realize once we defeat Zarkon, the universe won't need Voltron anymore," Shiro broke his silence, turning to look at all of them.
All of looked at Shiro, the dawning of the information on them.
"We can return to Earth," Lance realized.
"I can look for my family," Pidge looked down.
Keith looked at me, "I guess we could look for ours,"
"This is it," Shiro said, "As long as everything goes according to plan, we can't fail,"
The six of us stared at the sun setting for a while longer. As soon as darkness cascaded over Olkarion, Shiro ordered all of us to get some rest. The groups began to leave, but I stayed in my spot. My eyes fixed on the sky, something so beautiful yet something I hadn't seen in so long. The beautiful speckles of silver, were so small...yet so precious to me.
"Kayden," Shiro called, "You too,"
I nodded, slowly turning around and walking back. There was much on my mind. Much I didn't want to think about. The only thing I wanted to do, was catch up with my brother. I was the last one back in the castle, the group giving me one of the spare bedrooms. I heard the paladins wish one another a good sleep, until they left Shiro, Keith, and I alone in the Altean hallway.
I sucked up the courage to look at them and smiled, "Let's chat,"
The three of us walked into Keith's room, since it was the closest. The lights flickered on as the door shut behind us. I didn't have time to breathe before I was tackled by two bodies.
I chuckled, wrapping my arms around Shiro and Keith, "I missed you both,"
"I thought you died," Keith confessed once they all pulled away, "I thought I lost both of you,"
"Keith..." I frowned, "You're not going to lose me,"
Keith just looked at me, then he exchanged a glance with Shiro. Both the boys sighed and turned to me, who stood there confused, "What is it?"
"Kayden...what happened after you threw me into the pod?" Shiro asked faintly.
I hummed, sitting down on the bed. Keith sat to my right and Shiro sat to my left. I looked down at my gloved hands, curling them into fists, "I was thrown into the Gladiator ring. Battle after battle. Monster after monster. I managed to find a way to save loads of prisoners during the fights, but that's a story for another time. After I put you into the pod, I was dragged into another one with the Galra. They took me to central command, most likely to report to Zarkon of the incidence...the word that you had escaped because of me spread like wildfire throughout the Galra and gladiator prisoners. Haggar kept on eye on me, and was not pleased when her precious champion was missing,"
I noticed how Shiro's metal arm tightened into a fist. I knew he hated it...no matter how useful and powerful it was, it was a constant reminder of what the Galra did to him. I hesitantly took his opposite hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
"She had the druids use their magic on me. Similar to when she took your arm, she began to mess with my mind. She'd find a memory I like and twist it," I released my hand from Shiro as the tingling feeling pricked at my skin. I paused, before speaking again, "After she found out I was half-Galra, I became nothing more than another experiment..."
"Hyung, you are alright," Keith assured, "We got you out...and it's obvious whatever she was trying didn't work. You're still Kayden,"
I bit my tongue to keep myself from blurting out. Sighing, I smiled at Keith, ruffling his hair, "Get some sleep Red Paladin, we can talk tomorrow,"
He seemed to want to complain, but I already stood up. Shiro stood up as well and I heard him chuckle as I forced Keith to lay down, "Go to bed, Yurak,"
Keith huffed but peeled off his red jacket. I gave him another ruffle of the hair, before backing away. Then, I left the room. Shiro's footsteps echoed after me, the older pilot falling in step with me, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said, "Why would something be wrong?"
Shiro gave me a look, to which I only looked away from. His gray eyes were still on my figure and I couldn't help but start to feel nervous under the gaze. When we reached my room, I stopped, "well, Takashi, thank you for--"
"Can I stay?" Shiro cut me off.
"Stay? Stay where?"
"With you. Tonight," Shiro chuckled at my confusion.
I paused, knowing that during my time with the Galra, nightmares broke my sleep. I smiled sadly at Shiro, "You have a lot to do tomorrow. I'd rather you get some good sleep,"
Shiro just smiled knowingly and walked into my bedroom. I blinked confused, before following after him. As I looked over at my old friend, I recognized the clothes, "Those are my dad's clothes,"
Shiro looked down at them, "Keith gave them to me after saving me when I crashed on Earth. He also was the one who first found the blue lion,"
I smiled, "He's really like mom,"
Shiro looked at me, "Kayden, you knew the whole time about your lineage, didn't you?"
I looked down, "I knew she was different. I also knew I was forced to never tell people her name or how she looked like. As I got older, I knew she wasn't human. But she never confirmed it, only ever telling me I was to parts of very different worlds. When we got to the Galra, I knew they looked like mom. It wasn't long before I realized why and what I was,"
"Why didn't you tell Keith about your mom?"
"It was difficult to bring her up. On top of my own confusion, Dad told me not to. It was a good idea since after he died, nothing went well for either of us," I grimaced, "And I just fucked shit up more and more for the both of us,"
T H I R D P E R S O N
Kayden was pulled into a hug and he shut his eyes, leaning into the taller male. Shiro and Kayden stood there silently, just leaning into one another, both of their eyes closed. Kayden moved his arms to wrap around Shiro's torso, while the latter wrapped his arms around Kayden's waist. Shiro broke the silence first, "Do you remember...when you helped me escape. Do you remember what you did?"
Kayden only thought of one thing and the heat quickly rose to his cheeks, "I was doing a lot of things,"
His voice was slightly embarrassed and Shiro couldn't help but laugh. Kayden pulled back, giving Shiro an unamused look, "Stop laughing a--"
Kayden gasped, before fluttering his eyes shut, responding to the soft movement on his lips. Kayden slowly placed his gloved hands on the side's of Shiro's neck, the other still firmly gripping the younger's waist.
When they parted, Kayden's face lit up like a Christmas light. And Shiro's slight smirk was not helping. Kayden cleared his throat, coughing awkwardly, "You remember?"
Shiro muttered a small yes, before connecting their lips again. Kayden gladly accepted, allowing Shiro to tug his body closer. It had been so long since they had seen one another. So long since old feelings had the chance to blossom. It had been so long since they had felt this much affection.
No metal cells.
No guns.
No war.
Just them.
Pulling away, Kayden groaned, hiding his face in the elders neck, "Don't do this to me already, I've barely processed my freedom,"
"Don't care," Shiro chuckled, "We found you. And you're alive...nothing matters other than that,"
Kayden paused before closing his eyes and hugging tighter, "I missed your stupid yet beautiful sentences,"
Shiro didn't smile, knowing the underlying meaning. Instead, his grip softly tightened and he placed soft kisses on the younger's head, "I missed you, Kayden. Especially after I remembered how I got out of the prison...alive,"
"Takashi," Kayden sighed, raising his head to look at Shiro, "I didn't have a choice,"
"You could've gone instead,"
"And regret that decision for the rest of my life? Shiro, I never regretted pushing you into that pod. Even after all the time alone and everything the Galra put me through. I didn't regret it," Kayden spoke sternly, "You were barely conscious. If I let you stay, you would've died,"
Shiro stayed silent this time. They both knew he wanted to argue more. And that the two of them could argue all night. Instead, the black paladin sighed, "What am I going to do with you and your selfless soul?"
Kayden cracked a smile, "You've asked that for years,"
Shiro smiled and nodded, "You owe me a lot of kisses,"
Kayden blushed red, quickly hiding his head, as Shiro laughed, "You're still the same,"
"You are too, but now I'm tired so can we sleep?" Kayden changed the topic quickly.
"As long as I can stay in here,"
Kayden sputtered from embarrassment muttering Korean swearwords. But no matter the case, the two males did end up staying the night together.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* N E X T✩ M O R N I N G*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
S H I R O
When I woke up, I was slightly disoriented, but isn't everyone in the morning? I rolled to my side, smiling when I felt another body in between my arms and besides my own.
Kayden was back.
Kayden was okay.
Kayden was right beside me.
I looked at Kayden's purple hair with white tips, raising one hand to gently stroke it. The color was different than my effect in the Galra environment. My hair had turned white from all the stress and fighting. Kayden's was purple. It made me curious about everything that happened to him after I escaped..specifically.
Yawning, I gently moved my hands away from Kayden, letting the younger sleep for a bit longer. I was about to get up, when a hand gripped mine, stopping me. A raspy plead made me smile "Don't go yet,"
I chuckled, laying back down and looking at the now awake pilot, "Morning,"
He smiled and I gently pecked his forehead. Kayden smile largened, "This is the best morning I've had in over a deca-pheob,"
"A what?"
His eyes flickered with realization and then embarrassment, "A year. Sorry,"
"You must have been bored if you learned the intergalactic number system," I teased.
He laughed, "Well, I had nothing else to do. Plus, I'm sure you've picked up some,"
"That's true," I snickered, "The paladins have picked up the word quiznack from Coran and Allura. I'm assuming its a curse,"
"Ah, the Alteans," Kayden spoke bitterly.
"They aren't that bad," I shrugged.
"I'm sure they aren't," Kayden sighed, "but Allura is treating Keith differently because he's half Galra. And, granted- her entire race has been destroyed by Galrans, but I'm positive Keith has been nothing short of helpful his time here..."
He sat up and I followed, frowning as Kayden spoke quietly, "His blood doesn't change who he is as a person,"
"You're half Galra too," I nudged him.
"Yes, but she's known Keith for much longer. It just doesn't make sense," He sighed, shaking his head.
I hummed in agreement, before patting the younger shoulder, "Come on. We have things to do today,"
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* •̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
K E I T H
Allura was down on the ground, talking with the Olkari. The other paladins and I were in our lions, waiting for everyone to head back to the castle so we could start moving the teladuv. As I watched, I noticed my brother speaking with Kolivan. When I had told him about the Blade of Marmora, he nodded and asked if I would introduce him.
Of course I did, but I couldn't help but it find it a bit odd. Kayden was talking to Kolivan a bit away from where Allura was thanking the Olkari. From what I could see, they were having a deep conversation until it was time for them to reenter the Castle.
Shiro brought me out of my daze, "Everyone lock into positions. We're taking this thing up,"
I knew Shiro and Kayden were keeping something from me. They were acting really strange this morning. Shaking it away, I focused on the mission at hand. The five of us grabbed five corners of the teladuv with the jaws of our lion.
"Princess, we are go for launch," Shiro confirmed
"charging main turbine," Allura said and the castle's engines began to fire, lifting the ship off Olkarion, us paladins and the teladuv right behind them.
Once in space, the teladuv was hooked onto the castle, allowing our lions and us to fly back into the castle. As our lions all parked in the hangar, I heard Red say something to me quickly, "There is a new comer on Voltron,"
I frowned confused, but hurried out of the lion and headed to the bridge. On the walk back with the other paladins, I couldn't help but ask, "Did your lions tell you guys something strange?"
All four of them looked at me surprised. Pidge nodded slowly, "Yeah, Green told me something of a new flow of energy,"
"Blue was talking about a new bond," Lance added.
"Yellow was telling me about a new companion,"
We all looked at Shiro. The black paladin nodded, "The Black Lion told me about the White Lion. Just a brief flash of it,"
"I wonder if that means the White Lion found a paladin, but the paladin hasn't found the lion," Pidge theorized.
"Let's worry about the lion later. First, we have to stop Zarkon," I shook my head, "If the lion's found a paladin, then that means we need to be ready for anything during this plan,"
We all nodded, walking into the bridge. Slav, Coran, Allura, Antok, Kolivan, and Kayden were all there. Lance and I moved to Kayden and the Blade of Marmora, while Hunk and Pidge moved to stand on either side of Slav. Allura stepped off her podium in the center, allowing Shiro to walk up to it where a hologram of the teludav appeared. I looked at Kayden, who was listening to something Kolivan was telling him.
"All right, guys, listen up," Shiro began, taking all our attention, "I'll use the Black Lion to lure Zarkon's fleet to our current location and make sure he's within the teludav's area of effect,"
As he spoke, the holograms added and moved, displaying the visual picture of our plan.
"Keeping the teludav hidden behind the space-fold until the last possible second is essential," Shiro looked over at Slav, "We can count on you, right Slav?"
"Absolutely. I'll be fine. I'm not sure about the gravity generator, though," Slav said.
"What? What was that last thing?" Hunk asked quickly and I heard Kayden curse Slav in Korean.
"Hiding a ship is one thing, but I've never had to build a gravity generator for something this large before," Slav explained, "I know it'll work, but I'm not really sure for how long,"
"Well, Princess Allura will be activating using...what is it? Altean magic?" Kayden brought up and I didn't fail to notice the way Allura's eyes hardened, "Wouldn't that be able to hold the cloaking for longer, or not?"
"It's not Altean magic. It's my quintessence. I have a unique energy that allows me to control teludavs and the ship," Allura seethed.
Kayden glared back, "Well excuse me for not knowing that all Altean aren't stuck up like you,"
I shared a shocked look with the paladins.
Allura glared right at Kayden, "Perhaps it hasn't been made clear. This is my ship. This is my crew. I do not care if your brother is a paladin or not. But you don't have a say when you weren't around to decide anything!"
"Princess!" Coran sputtered, shocked with the harsh words.
I looked at Kayden seeing his jaw clenched and teeth gritted. His fingers curled into tight fists, "You're right. I don't have a say. But I can promise you now princess, I'm not taking orders by someone who judges people by the blood in their veins rather than the actions and words they present,"
There was a pause, before Kayden added, "I understand you lost everything to the Galra. But I'm sure not all Alteans were peaceful and perfect. Not all Galra are Zarkon,"
Allura had no words to speak. Her eyes were wide with frustration and shock. I just looked at Lance, the boy giving me a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. The silence in the room was heavy and was broken by Slav, "The gravity generator will work. No doubt, but there is not telling how long I can make it hold,"
Shiro looked from Allura to Kayden, then back to the hologram, "Well, that's a risk we'll have to take. Once Zarkon's ship is in position, Kolivan and Antok will coordinate with Thace. Together, they'll take down Zarkon's security system and upload the virus,"
"And then, he'll be a sitting du-flax," Pidge smirked.
Everyone stared at the Green Paladin, most of us confused. When Pidge saw our faces she defended, "What? A duflax is an Altean creature with a beak and webbed feet,"
"Oh, so a duck," Kayden shrugged, looking to Lance and I.
"Basically," Lance nodded.
Coran stepped forward on the he podium with Shiro, "We'll wormhole Zarkon 500 million light years away and he'll be in the Yggiz Galaxy before he knows what's hit him!"
"What about Thace?" Shiro asked, turning to Kolivan and Antok.
"He should be getting into position now," Kolivan said, "We received his last communication three quintants ago. We should hear from him soon,"
"Let's do it," Shiro smiled.
Everyone moved around into positions while Shiro was about to leave to the Black Lion. I noticed Kayden bit his lip unsure of something, before walking to Shiro the two exchanging words I couldn't hear.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as Shiro left, Kayden following after him down to the hangar. Lance must've noticed, because he whispered, "Why are you staring at Kayden and Shiro like that,"
"Something's up with them..."
K A Y D E N
Shiro and I left the bridge, the two of us walking in silence for a couple of minutes. Hesitantly, I repeated myself, "Kashi, I really don't like this. There's so many ways this can go wrong..."
"Everything will be fine," Shiro promised me as we entered the Black Lion's hangar. As we stood there, I noticed another lion, smaller than Shiro's and it was white.
"What's that?" I asked, looking at the lion surrounded by a white particle barrier.
"The White Lion. In total there are six lions. But the white lion doesn't have a paladin yet...it's supposed to be the torso of Voltron," Shiro explained.
I stared at the large machine, almost entranced by the energy it gave off. Shaking my head, I looked back at Shiro who started to speak, "Kayden, I have to go now,"
I frowned, "I know...just...just promise me something,"
He nodded and I sucked in a breath, "Come back to me...I'm not ready to lose you again,"
Shiro smiled softly, pulling me into a tight hug. We pulled back a little, the older placing a soft kiss on my lips. It lasted for a bit of time, neither of us wanting to pull away. But we had to too.
"Wait for me Kayden. I'll be back. Don't worry," Shiro promised.
Pecking my lips one more time, Shiro finally let go, placing his helmet on and walking into the Black Lion. I stared up at it, muttering, "I'll wait,"