Disclaimer: I don't own V:LD, Netflix, or any of that ish.

Prologue

Life wasn't all fun and games aboard the palace for the Paladins of Voltron. There was the obvious whole fighting-the-Galra-empire thing, which tended to be the prevailing problem they dealt with. However, the intergalactic war they were fighting wasn't the only thing on their minds.

Slowly, as time went on and Allura began to get to know her human companions better, she could sense a weight that settled in them over time. She could see it in Lance as he stared out windows into space, his trademark grin nowhere to be found. She saw it in Hunk, trying to cook with the ingredients they had on board and sighing when everything came out looking the same. She saw it in Keith's ceaseless training, heard it in Pidge's midnight conversations with Rover when she thought no one could hear them, and, though Shiro put up a good front, Allura caught a glimpse of it every time they discussed their next move farther into the galaxy. It didn't take long to figure out what was behind it.

They were homesick.

For Allura and Coran, no matter how far they travelled, they were always home. The palace was all that was left. Yes, it wasn't their planet and yes, they were the last Alteans alive, but being the last of your kind and being separated from your kind were two different things. Coran and Allura had made peace with their situation, but it wasn't the same for their human friends.

A few months into their fight with Zarkon, Allura brought up the topic with Coran as they were running diagnostics in the control room, the Paladins out on a training exercise.

"Coran, have you noticed anything strange about the paladins lately?" Allura asked, watching the ginger-haired Altean type away at his keyboard. Coran nodded absently.

"You mean the moodiness- the lagging-behind, the clamminess they all seem to have?" Coran replied, pausing with a frown. "Well, the over-moodiness in Keith's case."

"I think they're homesick." Allura said, working at her own controls. "We've been away from Earth for some time now. They've all got families they left behind, lives that they dropped because of becoming Paladins." Coran nodded again.

"They left a lot of stuff behind to form Voltron, not the least of which is their lives. We've essentially ripped them away from their people, their culture, their futures on Earth- everything!" Coran said, his voice tipping up. Allura frowned as she continued.

"Do you think there's a way we could bring them back to Earth for a visit while avoiding discovery? Maybe a short visit would help them feel more…at home with their mission." At this, Coran paused, quirking his mustache and looking at Allura quizzically.

"Well, we'd need to disguise them a bit, just in case anyone is looking for them. We'd have to keep the ship a fair distance away from the planet to avoid being spotted. If they took one of the lions with them and visited a less conspicuous destination…it might work."

"We're going back to Earth?" Hunk exclaimed, his eyes wide. The crew had gathered in the lounge area after Allura had called for a meeting. Now, the rest of the Paladins mirrored his surprise to varying degrees after hearing Allura and Coran's suggestion of a visit to Earth. Lance immediately piped up, his excitement evident.

"We should totally go to Hawaii! The surf, the sand, the sun, the ladies…" He said, wiggling his eyebrows for dramatic effect. Pidge elbowed him in the side, and Lance yelped. Shiro frowned, looking concerned.

"How are we going to get around wherever we visit without being recognized? Pidge, Lance, and Hunk all just disappeared from the Garrison, and Keith and I would definitely attract attention if we were spotted." At this, Coran raised a finger imperiously.

"Ah, see, that's where we come in." Quick as a wink, Coran pulled a silver ring that resembled a choker and snapped it around Lance's neck. Not expecting Coran's actions, Lance gagged and immediately pulled at the contraption.

"What the quiznak is this thing?" He yelled, trying to jam his fingers between the ring and his skin. Coran batted his fingers away.

"Hold still, Lance!" He scolded, prodding a button on the side of the ring. Instantly, Lance's appearance changed- his eyes shrunk, his chin broadened, and his face widened ever so slightly. It was still Lance's face, but it was as if one was looking at him through a distortion filter. Pidge gasped, examining the collar around Lance's neck.

"Wow! How did it do that?" She asked, peering at Lance's collar, the wearer of which was squirming a bit under everyone's stares. Allura crossed her arms, smiling.

"It's a disguise simulator. It generates a constant hologram image that takes one's facial structure and changes it just enough to render face recognition detection useless. I used some spare hologram technology to put them together this morning." Allura explained. "They won't be very helpful when you are infiltrating a Galra ship but, amongst others of your own kind, they may just do the trick." A series of murmurs and grunts sounded from the Paladins as they listened. Keith glanced up at Allura, still unsure.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" At this, Allura shrugged.

"If you want the honest truth, I'm not completely sure. But I think if we take the necessary precautions and we are careful, we should be fine. With this in mind," Allura continued, her eyes narrowing, "you all have to promise me that you will take the utmost care when you're on Earth not to be conspicuous and to be cautious. Is that understood?" The princess looked to each one of the Paladins in turn for a response. Both Pidge and Keith nodded, while Hunk's face lit up with a wide grin.

"Of course! We'll be on our guard at all times!" Hunk assured Allura, his mind quickly trailing off. "Oh, I can't wait to have Earth food again! Pizza, dim sum, steak…Not that the food here hasn't been great and all, really. It's just…" He closed his eyes in rapture. "…Real food. Oh, oh yeah. I'm excited." Lance smirked at Hunk's reaction.

"This'll be a piece of cake- we'll be there and back, no problem." Lance said, leaning back on the couch. Three Paladins down, Shiro, who had been quiet the whole time, sat back as well. Some of the stiffness that was characteristic of him was gone and he looked almost relaxed at the idea of visiting Earth.

"As long as we are all careful, we can make this work." He said, glancing down the line at the Paladins, before turning back to Allura. "Where were you thinking of visiting?"

"Well, Coran and I did some research by locking onto some covert networks via Earth and masking our own signature. We found a city that is far away from the Garrison, busy enough and with enough people to mask ourselves effectively, and seems to be quite popular." She smiled and, walking over to a nearby screen, pulled up a photo of a metropolitan skyline dotted with buildings, a spindly tower spire, and a statue of a woman holding a golden-flamed torch.

"We'll be stopping in New York City."

A/N: Hey, y'all! This story will be based for now on Season 1, until I have the chance to finish Season 2. Consider it a bit AU-ish for the moment, if that helps. There may be some pairing action at some point, but I'm not sure how it will manifest just yet, so stay tuned. If you have any suggestions for what kinds of shenanigans characters will get into or you think of things I should include, let me know! Reviews/comments/critiques are always appreciated (but no spoilers, please!) Cheers!