[[Spoilers: For Episodes 1- 5.]]

Mending

After their recovery of the Castle, even Allura could agree that some recreation time was necessary. Hunk was preparing a meal to celebrate Pidge's decision to stay and their victory over Sendak. A minor victory, perhaps, but they had at least proven they could withstand a Galran attack.

Shiro, Keith and Pidge looked to the doors when they heard Hunk's dinner call.

"Let's hope Coran didn't help make it," Keith muttered.

Pressing her lips together, Allura repressed a retort. (Coran was one of the finest chefs Altea had ever known, thank you very much.) She ushered them out of the infirmary. "You three may proceed without me."

"What about Lance?" Shiro's gaze shot to the healing pod.

"He doesn't require sustenance in his suspended state. You, however, do." Allura softened her tone of voice. "I'll watch over Lance while you eat."

"Thanks, Allura."

"Consider us your royal food tasters," Keith quipped before he headed out to the dining hall.

"I didn't stick around just to get food poisoning," Pidge stated. Shiro laughed and steered her after Keith by the shoulder.

Allura smiled until the doors slid shut. Then she released a sigh and activated the medical holoscreen, checking Lance's heartbeat, his breathing, his body temperature… Everything appeared to be in order. Human and Altean anatomy fortunately weren't so different, despite their opposing diets. Surely, Lance would be gagging over his food by tomorrow, just as she had foretold.

All signs pointed to him making a full recovery. And yet, Allura still felt uneasy.

She turned to face him. There was no visible evidence of his injuries from the explosion... from when he had shielded Coran.

She approached the pod and pressed her hand against the cool glass. "Thank you, Lance," she whispered.

She expected him to open one eye and make a coquettish gesture towards her. ("No problem, Princess!") Allura's cheeks grew hot and she glanced away. Hopefully, the more they got to know each other, the less he would regard her as an object of affection. They would focus on being friends instead.

Allura looked at him again, frowning. On some level, it seemed wrong to lock her friend in a pod like Sendak. Like a prisoner.

Was that what she was doing— holding all of the Paladins prisoner here?

Only Keith had shown open defiance at the notion of his teammates breaking apart. Shiro was more considerate of everyone's views, as a wise leader should be, though he himself hadn't expressed any urge to leave. (He had only recently escaped his captivity of the Galra Empire as well.) Pidge had agreed to remain with the team, rather than going after her father and her brother. Earlier, Hunk had shared the desire to be with his family, but he hadn't pushed the matter since.

Coran had informed her of how much Lance missed Earth, just as they missed Altea.

"If you— if any of you want to return home after this, I will not stand in your way," Allura promised. She tried to smile for Lance's sake. "But if you did leave, I would never admit what qualities the Blue Lion mirrors in you: Pride in the face of danger, quick thinking, recklessly brave…"

She could almost see him smirking in his sleep. For now, that was enough to alleviate her concerns. She bid him goodnight in Altean and went to join the others for dinner.

"Hey, Lance!" Hunk plopped down on the steps by the healing pod, clutching a bowl of green goo. "I saved you some dinner— it's nacho flavored! Well, sort of. It's not easy to replicate the taste of cheese..."

Lance didn't answer. Hunk pretended he was sulking. Staring into the bowl, Hunk continued, "Things have been really quiet without you. Everyone misses you, Keith especially..." He waited for Lance to scoff, but there was only silence.

"So, um, I could really use your advice. I met this Balmeran called Shay— and no, she's not my girlfriend. She helped me and Coran escape with the crystal and then… the Galra caught her. I promised to go back for her and her family, but I feel like... like it's already too late—"

Like I was too late to help you.

The bowl shook in Hunk's grip.

If he'd been in the crystal room, he would've taken that blow for Lance. But no, he was too busy moaning about homesickness at the time.

Of course, Lance wouldn't blame him (that almost made it worse). Lance missed his family just as much as Hunk.

"Your mom would freak out if she knew what we were doing." Hunk wiped a tear from his eye with a chuckle. "But I bet she'd be proud of you. I— I hope my dads are proud, and my grandparents, and my aunt, and my little cousins..." He heaved out a sigh. "I'd do anything to see them again, but right now, you and the team are all that I've got."

He couldn't turn his back on his brothers, especially not Lance, who had been his brother way before Voltron and the Garrison.

Hunk placed Lance's dish on the steps and stood up. "Shay and her family could join us too. I'll ask Allura if they're allowed to stay at the castle! Just don't try to hit on Shay, okay?" He flashed Lance a grin before he barreled outside. "See you later!"

Keith came in thirty— maybe forty— minutes later. Shiro had asked him to check on Lance for Pidge and Hunks' sakes.

Keep telling yourself that, Mullet.

Shaking his head, Keith glared up at Lance. Great, now he was imagining the guy's voice. It was official. Lance had broken Keith. Was this a side effect of Coran's 'head hole' test? None of his fellow Paladins could hear each others' thoughts…

…Unless it had something to do with Keith rooting through Lance's mind (for completely valid reasons of trust).

He'd discovered that, big shock, Lance was more insecure than he let on. At night, he had music blasting in his ears to remind him of family beach parties, and to drown out any fears of the Galra Empire destroying Earth. He needed to be here for Hunk and Pidge. He wanted to prove himself to Shiro, Allura, Coran... and even Keith. Lance hid a grudging respect for him, despite their rivalry. In fact, he was kind of grateful Keith dropped out of the garrison, otherwise he wouldn't have been promoted to fighter pilot.

That was the part that surprised Keith, and the reason he'd offered to carry Lance to the infirmary after they defeated Sendak. ("Shiro's wounded," Keith had insisted, "and I swear Lance weighs more than a Balmera.")

Lance owed him now, so he couldn't tattle to Allura about Keith's mind reading thing... if it was actually 'a thing'. Maybe this was a natural ability of all the Paladins, since they were connected through Voltron.

Keith titled his head up to Lance, trying to project his thoughts. You better wake up, Keith warned him. And you better not abandon the team.

We are a good team.

Either he'd received a weak reply, or he was replaying Lance's words from earlier. It was probably the latter. Keith shrugged, picked up an untouched bowl of gloop on the steps and dumped it in the kitchen.

Presuming the Paladins had retired for the night, Coran popped his head into the infirmary.

"Is it alright if I join you?" he hollered.

Lance didn't turn him down. Taking that as an affirmative, Coran shuffled inside and did a quick scan of Lance's health.

"You can't keep a good Lion down," Coran hummed. "That's what we Alteans used to say. Hunk told me your people use some variation of the phrase…?"

The Blue Paladin was quiet for a tick as he considered– oh, who was Coran kidding? He huffed, folding his arms.

It had barely been a day. How he missed the boy's chitchat. The other Paladins would talk to Coran, but they always seemed to be cooking, researching or training at the same time. They were 'all work and no play' as Lance had once put it. At least Lance wasn't afraid to unwind once in a blue moon. (He couldn't remember whether Earth's moon really was blue, or if that was another proverb…)

"It's quite incredible," Coran mused. "Our planets may be light-years apart, but I feel an unbreakable kinship between our two kinds. I pray that one day, I will be able to witness your 'oh-shans', your 'klowds' and your 'reign'. It doesn't sound quite as exciting as Altean rock fall, but I look forward to visiting such a peaceful planet..."

Coran sighed and patted the healing pod. "Please accept my deepest apologies for what happened. It should have been me who suffered the brunt of that blast, not a young Paladin. I assure you, your sacrifice will not be forgotten."

With that, he departed to check on Princess Allura.

After Shiro had poked his head into her room and she'd pretended to be asleep, Pidge slipped out and tiptoed to the infirmary. She froze mid-step as the doors hissed open. Apart from Lance, the rest of her team were light sleepers. Her gaze darted around the corridor. There was a small squeak.

Pidge sighed softly as the Altean mice scurried up to her. (Good. They could listen out for any other 'visitors'.) She lifted them onto her shoulder and crept to Lance's side.

With her back against the pod, she slid down to the floor. The mice sniffed at the devices in her hands— her cellphone and her headphones, salvaged from Lance's room. She wasn't angry that he'd 'borrowed' them. She suspected they helped him sleep.

She put her phone on a low-yet-audible volume and selected a song. It was one of Matt's all time favorites; before he left for Kerberos, he added a whole load of music, silly photos and apps onto her phone without her knowledge.

They would never be deleted.

As a guitar began to play a smooth intro, Pidge peered up at Lance.

Despite herself, Pidge was still getting to grips with Altean technology. She had no idea whether Lance could hear anything in the pod. Could he feel? Was he hurting? Was he scared? Did he hate her—?

Finally, the tears broke out and she buried her head in her lap. The mice chattered to her in concern, but she ignored them.

Lance wasn't here because of Hunk, or Coran or Shiro. It wasn't due to the castle's lowered defenses, as Allura had claimed.

Pidge was the one who brought an enemy robot into their base. The Galrans had slipped another one into the castle to impersonate poor Rover. She was too busy worrying about her brother and her father to notice.

Thank goodness she'd had her getaway pod ready to go. Otherwise, Hunk and Coran wouldn't have collected the new crystal. Lance would be dead.

All this could have been avoided if she'd been honest with her teammates from the start. Surely, they would have helped her find her family. (They would still help her. Shiro promised.)

The mice helped wipe the tears from her cheeks. Pidge faced Lance again. She vowed, "Tomorrow I'm going to tell everyone the truth. No more secrets."

Would he treat her differently when he learned she was a girl? Ugh, he better not try putting the moves on her...

She could never think of him like that. In her eyes, he would always be the cocky fighter pilot she was forced to work with.

The cocky fighter pilot who stirred from a coma to save her life. She smiled at him, yawned and settled against the pod again. Her eyes closed as the song came to an end.

Shiro burst into the infirmary.

There she was, slumped next to Lance's pod.

Shiro sighed with relief. There were excited squeaks as her snuck over to Pidge. He put his finger to his lips and the mice quickly leapt off Pidge's shoulder.

Gently, he scooped Pidge up in his arms, along with her headphones and her phone. Trust her to fall asleep outside of bed...

Shiro looked up at Lance and smiled. Thanks for watching over her, buddy. I'll take it from here.

He carried Pidge to the doorway, but he paused for a moment, closing his eyes.

"I won't let you down again," he said aloud. "Zarkon will have to tear me apart before he hurts any one of—"

He shut up when Pidge mumbled in her sleep. "Mm-ance..." She sounded like an alien sheep.

Biting back a laugh, Shiro returned her to her bed.