Contains Spoilers!

Chapter 1. Keith

The new group wasn't as cramped as they originally thought making the trip to Earth in the five lions. Seating arrangements changed every other stop or so. And now, halfway through the trip, Shiro placed back into the cryo-replenisher, rode with Keith in the Black Lion. Krolia rode with Hunk. Ridge and Romelle had bonded over a prank on Lance and continued to ride together. Coran and the mice rode with Lance in the Red Lion. Allura never said that she wanted to be alone but everyone wanted to give her space. But both Keith and Lance insisted that she at least keep the cosmic wolf with her. It was a mostly silent trip.

It was tense, to say the least. Emotions were still running high. No one knew about the kiss Allura and Lotor had shared in the hanger. Or in the kitchen. Or in her room… She didn't realize that their relationship had gone that far. But, if she was honest with herself, it wasn't a relationship on the edge of something serious. And maybe it was a good thing that things turned out the way they did. She had had feelings for Keith before he left with the Blade of Marmora. But in his absence a void she didn't know she had needed filling. Perhaps she used Lotor in her own way? It was nothing comparable to harvesting Alteans for quintessence, not by a long shot. But she used him in a way.

This long trip back to Earth was giving her way too much time to think. The wolf nuzzled Allura's thigh as she left out a deep sigh.

"You're intelligent, aren't you?" she asked the wolf. It stared deep into her eyes, unblinking. "You're very old, too." It blinked in response. "That's what I thought." The wolf nuzzled her thigh again. Its eyes looked concerned. It really is intelligent, she thought.

"I'll be fine," she told it. It let out a low pitch whine. "Ugh, please don't tell me to face my emotions right now. I can't handle them right now." Just then Keith's voice was on the intercom.

"Hey, guys, there's a planet coming up that we can land on. I think it's time for another break."

"Ah, geez, finally!" Lance's voice chimed in.

"Yeah, I've been dying to stretch my legs and get something to eat." Hunk chimed in.

"I'm scanning the planet, and it's part of the coalition but not really populated. So we should be relatively safe there," Pidge said confidently.

"Do you copy, Allura?" Keith's question directed at her caught her off guard.

"I- uh, yes. I copy," she said plainly. She cursed her response to herself. The wolf laid its head on her lap and looked up. It whined softly again. She petted it softly between its ears.

"You need a name," she whispered to it. It huffed in response. "Do you want a name?" It stared up at her unblinking. "You don't need a name?" It blinked slowly and put its head back down. "Well, okay then. I guess you're just you then…" It licked her free hand and a small laugh escaped. Allura leaned over in her seat to hug the wolf. There was a vibration coming from it. If it were a cat, Allura would've said it was purring…

On the planet, Hunk, Pidge, Romelle, and Krolia made preparations for dinner. Lance, Coran, and Keith worked on setting up the perimeter and security for their camp. No job was assigned to Allura. She sat at the foot of the Blue Lion with the wolf and the mice. They decided to leave Shiro in the cryo-replenisher; his body and soul needing time to mend together again. Allura didn't want to dwell on the fact that no one wanted to approach her. But it bothered her. Why was everything so awkward between her and the rest of the team?

Dinner was made and passed out. Allura didn't move from her spot and instead, Coran brought her plate to her. His concern for her was clear as day on his face. She smiled a small smile and tried to reassure him that she was fine. He asked her to join them around the fire to which she refused. It's not any better that you're avoiding them either, she chastised herself. Soon after that, security shifts were divided up and Allura wasn't given one. Keith took the first shift. Even when everyone else had gone to sleep, she stayed up, still sitting with Blue. Keith noticed.

At first, he wanted to keep giving her space, sitting by the fire, ears open. But he could feel her eyes on him. She didn't realize she was staring at him, she had just been lost in her own world and her eyes settled on him. Keith looked back at her and when she didn't respond he stood up. Her eyes didn't follow him as he walked over and sat next to her right. It was a few moments before she noticed him.

"Keith!" she almost yelled. "When did you get here?" he avoided her gaze as he answered.

"A while ago. You were in your own world, so I came to keep you company." Allura looked him over. He had been gone for so long. His absence outweighed the number of hours she had actually spent with him. He was so different now. His shoulders were broader, arms thicker, and he still hadn't cut his hair. The scar on his right cheek made him all the more foreign. Neither of them had spoken about what went on while they were apart. And Keith guessed now was as good of a time as any.

To be honest, Keith thought about Allura every single day he was gone. And not just the two years he was crossing the quantum abyss. But every day before that with the Blade of Marmora. And every day since he first met the princess. This past month, in this painfully slow space road tip, Keith was dying to talk to her. It just felt like she was avoiding him. And he was done being ignored.

"Two years," Keith said softly, looking at the fire in the distance.

"What?"

"It took Krolia and me two years to travel into the quantum abyss. We had a ship that made getting out a lot faster, but, yeah, two years… How long was I gone for... you?" His voice trailed off, still not looking at her.

"Four earth months," she whispered. "Pidge programmed the castle to run on Earth time; it was easier on the rest of the team too," she added in the same breath.

"What happened?" he asked carefully. "With Lotor and everything? Why did you help him make his own Voltron? Just what happened?"

"He made a fool of me," she whispered. She crossed her arms and brought her knees up to her chest. "I fell for everything he told me… I was blinded by his promises of peace and resolution. I was caught up in his words." She hushed the last word and rested her chin on her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs. Keith didn't move, didn't dare to breathe. He struggled for a second to interpret what that might mean. He was done with implications.

"What- uh, what happened between you two?" He struggled to get the words out and still sound pleasant. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"We-" a lump formed in her throat. The wolf appeared on her left and nudged her shoulder encouragingly. She took a deep breath before continuing, "We kissed." She tried to keep out as much emotion as possible but her voice still wavered a little. Keith didn't respond. So she continued again.

"We kissed a few times. We were working so close together, and he would tell me such sweet things. And for a moment I thought his intentions were really true. But I was wrong, Keith. So wrong. I didn't even realize that the ships we were building could interlock as Voltron does." Her voice broke several times and as much as she wanted to see Keith's face she stared at the fire.

Keith did his best not to respond, to keep his breathing steady. But he was confused. He had a crush on Allura, same as Lance, he just never wanted it to be so obvious. Now he wondered if he hid it too well. But so much time had passed for him. Their relationship didn't even remotely resemble the friendship they had had. The thought of her waiting for him to return was enough to keep him fighting day after day. Now he was back and it turned out whatever he thought they had was really just in his head. He leaned his back against Blue.

"You're going through more pain than I can imagine," he said quietly, looking at the stars. "I'm sorry this happened, Allura." She stayed still, his words making her feel worse than his intention. He sat back up and placed his hand over hers. The contact brought her gaze to his. And for the first time, they both looked into each other's eyes.

"I mean it, Allura," he continued, "I'm so sorry this happened to you. The pain, the betrayal you must be feeling, it breaks my heart-" He stopped to swallow the lump in his throat. Tears pricked at his eyes just as they filled Allura's. "You don't have to carry this alone, though. Everyone is here for you. Please don't shut them out. Please don't shut me out."

A few tears fell from Allura's eyes. She quickly blinked them away. She turned her hand around to hold Keith's.

"Thank you, Keith," she whispered. "Thank you." She gave his hand a squeeze that he reciprocated.

"Get some sleep, Princess," Keith said, softly releasing her hand. She nodded as Keith got up to go back to his post.

The sudden idea of sleeping by herself scared her. Some of the team, like Lance and Romelle, had opted to sleep in a lion. But Allura didn't want to separate herself anymore. Pidge was in a sleeping bag next to the fire. Allura took out her own sleeping bag and made her way towards Pidge.

"Pidge," Allura whispered while gently shaking the sleeping shoulder.

"Is something attacking us?" Pidge sat up and already pulling off her cover.

"No, no, Pidge, everything is fine," she cooed the teenager back down.

"What's up, Princess?" Pidge asked, realizing that this was the first proper conversation they had in a while.

"I was wondering if it would be okay to sleep next to you for tonight?" Allura was well aware of Keith's attention to the situation. She hoped that this is what he meant.

"Yeah, of course, Princess," Pidge answered happily. Pidge was glad that Allura was finally coming back around to them. And even more so that she came to her first. Pidge always had a soft spot for Allura. Little did she know that Allura had a soft spot for her as well. Allura set up her bag next to Pidge and laid down. Just being physically close to someone else felt nice. For the first time in a long time, Allura slept soundly.