Near A Fire

Near A Fire

Voltron

Keith & Red Lion

Red and Keith’s bond.

Also posted on AO3.

She purred faintly, making sure to not jostle her paladin enough to wake him from his slumber. He had earned it after the cycle they had and she was going to join him soon enough to try and recover some of her reserves. Too bad they had not stayed on the planet they had recently helped free as she missed being able to sprawl on the ground and soak up the radiation from the nearby star. She always rested better in warmer areas.

A sleepy brush against her consciousness stoked her embers higher for a short moment as she tried to sooth her little flame. He was stubborn, however, flashes of consciousness bubbling and flickering as he pushed back at her.

Sleep, cub, she commanded. Not that he was liable to listen, stubborn as he was.

He grunted as he turned over where he laid by her ear and snuggled up closer to the plating. She always radiated enough heat that he did not need a blanket. “Just don’t go out,” he mumbled.

It took her a moment to understand that he was referencing their connection, which she had pulled back from in an attempt to let him rest easier. In response, she allowed their bond to flare back up to a small campfire, contained but warm enough that he would not feel alone. Her purr cranked up a notch as she adjusted slightly and settled in for the next few vargas. They both drifted for the time they were allowed before Hunk came looking for him for a meal. She mentally nudged her paladin, bond flaring into a low roar between them. As he slid down her face, he dragged a hand along one of the seams of her nose in a parting caress, a feeling of ‘see you in a bit’ returning to her even as he turned the corner. She was not concerned. His flames almost never dimmed so she always had a connection to him that gave her warmth that was undeniable.

-

Lance gulped as he watched Red tear into the Galra ship that he knew Keith had been dropped in for their mission. He was quite glad to be in Blue and halfway across the battlefield. It seemed to be possible to feel the heat radiating from her even at his range, her rage a thing to behold. Something they could not see had to have gone wrong since that had never been in the plan.

“Anybody heard from Keith?” he asked, firing a shot and knocking another fighter out that had been trying to line up a shot on Red.

“No. What’s wrong?” Shiro asked, the worry obvious in his voice.

“Well,” he began as he watched glowing claws shred through hull plating he had seen stand up to some impressive attacks before. “She’s a little hot under the collar and shredding a ship. Remind me to never get on her bad side.”

Keith’s laugh came across the comm system then. “Hot? Naw, she’s just warming up!”

Reblog if you ship Iron Strange without hating on other characters.

Camp NaNo

I'm participating in this one (like normal) with a goal of 15k words for fanfiction. Voltron and/or Supernatural. No, not combined (though that might be fun to explore at some point!). Have to say that this is going to be fun since I'm so going to play with the bonds between the Lions and Paladins at the very least! I'll also be posting some up on my AO3 (Sniper_Blue).

Studying Mishaps

Voltron

Keith/Lotor

Keith and Lotor get together to do some studying. It has some unexpected, though not unwanted, results.

Also posted on AO3.

This class is going to kill me. Study session tonight?

His expression softened as he looked at the message, knowing exactly which class was meant even though they were currently in totally different ones and should probably have been paying attention to the professor instead. This class, he could afford to do so. The one they were referencing was one they both struggled with to an extent, mainly because neither had really wanted to take it or were interested in the subject matter. Core requirements, however.

I will leave the door unlocked and get dinner started. Do you have any requests?

Ha. Yeah. For my roommate to not text me in the middle of the day to tell me to avoid the room.

A slight grimace covered his face for a moment. That was rather disturbing.

-

Around three, Keith stomped up the stairs and through the door to Lotor’s studio apartment to drop his bag and slump onto the unmade pullout bed with a loud groan. The day had only gone downhill from the time he had texted to ask for some help studying. First thing in the morning, he had trouble with an assignment for that damned philosophy course. Why had he decided to take the stupid thing anyway? He could have waited until next semester and chosen a different one. But, no…. He had to want to get the credits out of the way so he could get into taking just his major specific ones quicker. Dumb decision. Then, Lance had texted to tell him that he was having his friends over since it was Friday, ones he did not get along with that well and that he avoided as much as he could. That was followed by a pop quiz. And then he had half spilled his coffee on the table, but thankfully missed his computer as he was trying to go over some notes during the short break before his last class, which had been annoying, if only because some of the presentations that were being made by other students just were not up to the standard he thought they should be.

“Shitty day?”

He replied with a heartfelt groan and just slumped further into the thin mattress he was sprawled on. Shitty was one word. Horrid was another.

Lotor laughed as he dished up the macaroni and cheese he had just finished. This was enough of a routine at this point in the semester that he could time things well, a fact that Keith clearly appreciated as he placed his plate on his chest and shoveled a bite into his mouth.

“Thanks,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. “I gotta work on some of the readings. And some assignments for other classes. Paper due next week.” Everything was coming due since there were only a few short weeks left in the semester and he had figured that beginning to study for finals early would be easier, so he was also doing that and Lotor was one of the best study partners he could have since they could either sit there bouncing ideas off of each other or in silence as they focused on their own subjects. The latter was how they spent this particular Friday.

It was quite late when Lotor glanced over at Keith where he had been laying, reading a passage that he had pulled up on his computer. A short snort escaped him as he saw that the smaller man had fallen asleep long enough before that his laptop had dimmed and then gone to sleep. At least he had taken his shoes and jacket off earlier and their books were stacked rather neatly, so he had an easy time placing them on the floor next to the bed, out of the way of either of them getting up.

He was probably more sleep deprived than he thought as he just laid down across the rest of the bed and pulled the blanket across the top of the couch to drape over himself. Keith had the comforter and he still wanted some kind of covers. That was what he got for having been up for the past couple of days trying to get a paper to read how he wanted it.

-

Keith grumbled the next morning as sunlight fell across his face and pulled him from some of the best sleep he had had in recent memory. It took a bit for him to register that there was normally never any light in the room until he got up on weekends and then even longer for him to actually get up the gumption to open his eyes because of just how comfortably warm he was. As he tried to move, he was stopped by an unexpected weight across his ribs that had him finally snapping his eyes open to find his study partner being the one trapping him. That brought a furrow to his brow as he did not remember falling asleep curled up with him.

“Quit moving,” Lotor grumbled, tightening his hold slightly, even as he ducked his head a bit further down to get out of the light himself.

He mentally shrugged. This was not actually that surprising if he were honest with himself. There were no other places to sleep in Lotor’s apartment, bar the floor, and he had always been a cuddler when given half a chance. Plus, even he could admit that his study partner was easy on the eyes and he would not mind this in almost any context he could get it.

-

Years later, Keith grinned softly up at his lover after turning in his arms, dancing his fingers over the other’s ribs. He pressed a chaste kiss to lax lips, surprised to get a light response before he pulled away to find blue eyes taking him in.

“What has you in such a good mood?” Lotor asked, voice rough and dragging a shiver out of Keith at the sound.

“Aren’t you glad we don’t have to wait until we are both sleep deprived from studying to enjoy this?”

A chuckle sounded close to his ear from where his lover had moved closer while he spoke. “Aren’t you glad you avoided your dorm room that weekend, and so avoided getting arrested?” He paused for a short moment. “I’m still not sure how any of that happened. Did you ever learn any of the details?”

“Lance wasn’t willing to share. All I know is that he didn’t end up getting charged for whatever reason.”

Disappearing Act

Voltron

Keith & Voltron Paladins

The other paladins each wish for Keith to disappear at some point in their acquaintance. Kolivan can see that something is wrong and Lance is the first to realize that he was an integral part.

Be aware that there is a lot of out of character stuff here.

Also posted on AO3.

“Dios mío!” Lance shouted as Red darted in front of Blue and narrowly missed getting hit by the blast he had just sent toward their target. “Keith, you can’t do that!”

“I just did,” he replied, entirely unconcerned by how close he had just come to being hit by one of his teammate’s shots.

Lance ground his teeth in annoyance. Some battles would be much easier if the Red Paladin was not part of the team. He was the one that caused so many issues between them and kept them from more easily forming Voltron. He even showed them all up just because he could, killing the easy vibe that the rest of them had with each other. Only Shiro seemed to be able to do anything about getting him to be more of a team player, but he could only do so much. He growled shortly to vent his frustration. If only Keith would disappear, it would all get better.

Shiro wanted to be selfish for one night. Adam was not a fan of him joining the Kerberos project, but was determined to make as much as they could out of the time they had left before the launch. They had just settled in for a relaxed evening when there was a knock on the door. His eyes shut and he took a deep breath before he got up to deal with the interruption only to find his mentee in the entryway.

As soon as he thought that he wished the kid would disappear so he could return to his boyfriend and the evening they had planned, he felt guilty. The kid had nobody except him and this had to be hard on him as well. He just wanted to have one quiet evening in with the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with - he was actually planning to propose when he returned from the expedition since he would then have enough to get a ring that would be good enough for Adam.

“What’s wrong, Keith?”

Hunk grumbled as he tried to find the fruit they had picked up not long before that tasted like a mix of strawberries and bananas but had the look and feel of a peach. He had left it in a specific place, but with how many people came in for midnight snacks, he would not be surprised if it had been moved around. However, it appeared as if this particular thing was just gone. That was upsetting since it was supposed to be the main ingredient in the pie he was going to try and bake for Lance’s birthday and he did not want to have to try and find something to replace it on such short notice.

He rummaged through the refrigerator again and was just turning around to look through the cabinets for the third time when Keith entered the kitchen, one of the fruits he was looking for in hand, bite already taken from it.

“Where are the rest of them?” he demanded, too frustrated to even think of being polite about asking.

Keith froze for a moment in the middle of sinking his teeth into the fruit before finishing the bite and chewing it. “I’ve been eating them the past few cycles?”

Hunk froze for a moment before he turned back to the kitchen with a growl. “Get out.”

“Hunk?” the red paladin asked, concerned about what was going on and how him having eaten the fruits was a concern since they had not been labeled as belonging to someone or as being earmarked for something.

“Just, get out. Disappear.”

Pidge had a system set up with the way she had everything arranged in her room and in Green’s hangar. Any deviation she did not either do herself or approve of someone else doing was something that she hated. As soon as she walked into the hangar, she could tell that something was different, something was wrong.

“Who was in here last?” she questioned Green.

The picture she got in answer made her frown. There was probably a reason that Keith had come in looking for her, but then he had moved something. Ridiculous. Why did he even have to be there? He did not really have a purpose like the rest of them did. He got in Blue’s way frequently, showboating when he really should not. Why could they not have a better red paladin?

Allura frowned as she saw that the red paladin was in the training deck yet again. That seemed to be the only place he really went and it frustrated her to no end. Red could have chosen much better than him, or switched to another paladin after they had gotten her from the Galra. If he disappeared, everything would be so much easier. He was the only thing that got in the way of the rest of the paladins’ teamwork and threw wrenches into the plans made.

On top of that, she did not think he was truly worthy of wearing her father’s armor or piloting his Lion. He had absolutely no idea how to interact with people in a diplomatic capacity. Very rarely did he even have anything to do with any of the other paladins and he got in the way of a lot of the maneuvers they tried to pull in the field. She just wished that everything would go smoother and knew that it would when Keith was gone.

Kolivan was concerned. His newest recruit had not made the last check in, something he had never failed to do before. The young one could definitely take care of himself, but there were so many variables to take into account that he was not always the best at keeping track of. Perhaps it was not a good idea to have sent him on this particular mission, but nothing could be done about that now. He was there, he had missed his check in, something had gone wrong.

The normal protocol was to wait until the third missed check in before going in after an operative or even notifying anyone that the agent was involved with or related to. In Keith’s case, it was better to get a jump start on everything based solely on the fact that he was a former paladin. He would still wait until the second missed check in before mounting any kind of rescue efforts, but it might take a while to get in contact with the other paladins, so it was better to contact them at this point than to wait.

Anticipating worried and fearful reactions, he was surprised to be greeted with mostly ambivalence at his announcement. He knew that they were faltering recently. Voltron formed very infrequently and, even then, was unstable. It was obvious to those in the know what the difference was that was causing the issue, but it did not seem as if the paladins themselves had figured the problem out. The Coalition was losing hope and losing faith in the competence of their savior, but those that formed Voltron were missing that, just as they were missing an integral piece.

Now he knew the reason that Keith seemed to believe he had little to no worth. How he was going to address that, he still had no idea. But, no matter what he decided, he first had to get him back.

Something was wrong, Lance knew. Something was wrong with the bonds between the Lions and their bonds as paladins. Everything seemed to take more effort and they all ended up with worse injuries and in longer fights than they used to. Not even that much had changed when Keith had switched to Black, he to Red, and Allura to Blue. The only thing that had changed since then was the fact that Black had finally taken Shiro back, but that should have made them work better together. The only variable was that Keith was gone. He never thought he would say it, but he actually rather missed the guy. He had been able to keep up with the rest of them for the most part and was steps ahead in some cases.

When Kolivan’s call came through, he could almost feel the ambivalence with which the rest of the paladins handled the call. Red, on the other hand, was furious and almost terrified for her former pilot, something he had kept off his face in the meeting to keep from being scolded later. She wanted to go to the Blade base and get in on the action she was sure was going on there.

He sighed. What did it say when the Galra that had known him for only phoebs treated Keith better than his own teammates, most of which had known him for years? Nothing good, that was for sure. And, by this time, he was regretting ever having wished that he would leave Voltron.

more ridiculous things i’ve done for writing:

- weighted a grapefruit in my hands to see if i could justifiably describe something as “weighing as much as a grapefruit” - done jumping jacks for 5 minutes straight so the memory of how exertion feels would be fresh in my mind - googled images of butterscotch to see if “butterscotch” could be a hair colour - casually stared at people at bus stops trying to figure out how i would hypothetically recreate their image in words - written 7 different beginnings for a story to see which one i liked best - gone to venice - enthusiastically spoken dialogue aloud to myself to see how it sounds - tried to read 3 books in one day - experienced terrible things, reacting with “i can write about this” - screamed incoherently at someone for turning on the tv while i was in the room, writing - sat there perfectly still staring into space trying to imagine what getting a boner feels like - “hey re-enact this scene with me” - sat upside-down for ten minutes trying to get my brain to work - squandered schoolwork and free time alike for years - written