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!”

Training Issues

Voltron

Keith hides injuries from the paladins and then attempts to in the Blades

Also posted on AO3.

“Hey Keith!” Lance greeted as he slung an arm around the red paladin’s shoulders and leaned heavily against him as he illustrated his point with a bunch of hand gestures that pulled on one of his injuries.

He bit back a groan by sheer force of will and leaned on his bond with his Lion to keep himself upright. Training that day had been killer with the injures he was still sporting from the mission the day before. Pidge had been put in a healing pod and only came out a few short hours before. He could probably get in at this point, but then they would all give him those disappointed looks he so dreaded. Red rumbled in the back of his head, trying to convince him to take the healing.

Nobody seemed to remember that he had been thrown by the arm just the cycle before and then landed on his leg wrong. Apparently the limp he was sporting did not even remind them before Allura had pushed a practice weapon into his hand and set them to a mid-range difficulty level against the gladiators. His only saving grace was that both of his injuries were on the same side of his body - his non-dominant. It meant that he could conceal them a bit better since the fact he was essentially ambidextrous was relatively unknown among those in the Castle. What he would not give to have Shiro’s friend Matt back some days.

As soon as Lance released him, he took the chance to duck away and leave the training deck. That was probably going to piss the blue paladin off when he realized, but that was nothing new. Red grumbled at his stubbornness even as she welcomed him into the pilot seat and reclined it back slightly to help him get more comfortable. He really needed to stay off of his leg to allow it to heal along with limiting the movement of his arm. He was already resigned to not having the time to rest.

-

Kolivan frowned at the back of one of his Blades as they left his office to return to duty. There was no reason for Keith to hide a minor training injury, or even attempt to, in any way. Everyone ended up with them, more frequently if they were new. It was expected and the medical staff would never turn him away. Ulaz would even be ecstatic to see him. He always complained about not seeing the kit enough. He rubbed his temples. Perhaps shifts with Ulaz would do well for their youngest member in showing him that none would judge him for seeking help for a minor injury.

His communicator blinked, signaling a message, as he considered his options. When he looked at the contents, he had to smother a grin. Ulaz just took care of one issue for him. Now only the root of the problem needed to be addressed, which he had little experience in doing. Galra grew up knowing that they could never hide an injury based on smell alone, but Keith had not grown up like that so, perhaps, he needed to learn more about his physical heritage as well, not just the cultural aspects. No matter the case, he was not looking forward to having that conversation with the former paladin.

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).

Lazy Morning

    He was dozing comfortably, happily, and warmly until the warmth pressed all along his front moved, pulling away and taking all that delicious heat with it. He grumbled in complaint and wrapped his arms tight around it, successfully keeping it from leaving him. At another wriggle, he pulled the warmth in even closer, or at least tried to. It was impossible with how close he already was to the other man, not that he realized it right then being more asleep than awake. For him, it was an unnatural state of being.

    His frame shook lightly as the warmth he was holding moved with a light laugh before something tried prying his fingers and arms away. He grumbled deeper than before and squeezed his arms, rubbing his face across the nice warm surface it was leaning against. That only spurred the light shaking into something a little more forceful and that had his eyes slowly blinking open, still unfocused for a little bit before they finally cleared and allowed him to see that he was not allowing his lover to get up.

    He grumbled again before deliberately rubbing the side of his face against the pale skin it had been resting on. It was retaliation for having woke him up. Shortly after, he let go and his arms rose above his head in a good, long morning stretch that woke him up further and also allowed his lover to get out of bed. He blearily blinked up at the taller man and made a short questioning sound, non-verbal before he was on his second cup of coffee for the day. It seemed like it was going to be a lazy morning as FRIDAY began reading him the weather report for the day.

    It’s going to be a bit chilly today, boss. High of forty-two. It’s fall though, so it’s kind of expected. But, bright side! It’s supposed to be sunny, no clouds!

    Listening to his girl was always amusing as she had decided that her commentary was always needed, even on the little things such as the weather. It also never failed to bring a small, indulgent smile to his lips. Her developing personality was wonderful to watch in action, especially when she was using it on people that he did not care for.

    He had no idea how long he had laid there after propping himself up on the stack of pillows at the head of the bed. FRIDAY could keep him entertained for hours if she put her processors to it, so she could have been talking about anything, though he was sure that she kept to light topics that he only needed to listen to and not participate in until after he had gotten his coffee. And was his lover not a beautiful, wonderful, amazing, genius man? He had just come back into the bedroom and was holding out a mug of his morning coffee brew that was eagerly accepted and the first sip enjoyed with an almost pornographic moan.

    It was silent for a few moments until he had finished that first mug and accepted the second from his lover. The tea that he preferred always took a little longer to brew to his specifications, for whatever reason, so he had gotten into the habit of bringing two mugs of coffee in and then taking the first mug back into the kitchen, cleaning it, and then pouring his tea into that same mug before doctoring it the way he preferred, which he did and then returned to sit on the edge of the bed, one knee drawn up and laid to the side so that he could keep one foot on the floor and still be facing the shorter man that had stayed in bed.

    “Good morning, Tony.”

    “Debatable,” he responded, looking over at the taller man with a fond expression written all over his face.

    Stephen smirked, raising his mug for a sip of his own beverage before he responded. “Oh, it’s a good morning. You know it, I know it, the people two blocks down know it.”

    Tony grinned helplessly in return. It was definitely true and he knew he would be feeling it for, at least, the rest of the day. He finally moved, folding his legs under him and scooting over so that he could lean forward, braced with one arm, and press a soft kiss against the sorcerer’s slightly chapped lips. Apparently he lost his chapstick again in some dimension.

    “Well, I guess we have to get it started,” he stated with a heavy sigh. “I have to go to a few meetings today and also swing through R&D to check on them. Tomorrow I’ll have to just hang out with them though. They’re probably feeling neglected with how little I’ve been able to just be there recently with all of the Accords stuff.”

    Stephen just smiled, sipping his tea as he listened to the inventor ramble about his schedule for the day. It was a great start to the day even if they both knew it would not last very long into it. Something was liable to pop up for either of them, sometimes literally. But the quiet moments that they could share were something to be treasured.

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.”

Mistimed Charges

Voltron

Keith & the Blade of Marmora

Keith gets buried in a collapsing building. The Blades do not handle this well, emotionally.

A curse echoed down the hallway as he stumbled, another rumble shaking the base and ratcheting up his worry that he would not get out in time. The detonations were going off before they had been timed to and his ship was further away than he was comfortable with. It had been necessary to stash it so far away, but he was regretting it in the moment. The base was going to come down around his ears.

He grit his teeth and powered on, muscles burning and breath rasping, trying to get as close to the edge as he was able. Hopefully less would fall on him and he would be easier to find if anyone came looking. If not, maybe he could free himself and return to the Blades without assistance.

The structure began shaking around him even as he approached an exit, the set charges catching up with him quickly. He was not going to make it out. Even as he stayed on track, he reached up to tap the communicator built into his mask despite the mission having meant to be radio silent. They should be able to triangulate his position from the frequency and, even if the Blade could not, Pidge would be on hand and able to accomplish the feat.

“Keith? Status?”

“About to be buried!”

He watched as the exit collapsed and the roof began following until his head was hit by a piece of debris. That was the last he knew other than the fact that there had been shouting in his ear the last few seconds.

-

“Keith! Respond!”

Thace frowned as he fingered his own blade. “Those charges should have been fine. We all use them and the timer has never failed before.” He snapped his gaze to Ulaz, who had finally given up trying to get through to the kit. “We’ll need to lead an investigation into that. Kolivan, permission to retrieve the kit?”

“Granted.”

The information was passed over quickly and he was soon on his way with Antok and Regris in tow as backup. He fidgeted impatiently with his knife as they approached the area Keith’s signal put him. He hoped Ulaz was not harrying Kolivan too much in his worry.

-

“What was the damage?” Antok asked quietly as they stood by the healing pod they had been able to steal from the Empire recently. With this having happened, they were all relieved that they had gone through the trouble. Antok had been tasked with navigating the ship and, as such, knew little about the kit’s condition other than that he had been bleeding and Thace, who had picked up some medical knowledge from Ulaz, was extremely concerned.

Instead of answering verbally, Kolivan brought up the information Ulaz had sent him and passed the data pad over to him. He did not need to see it again. His guilt was hitting him hard enough. As it was, Keith would have to spend, mostly likely, more than a movement in the pod. Numerous broken bones were the least of his injuries and he had been close to dying before they had been able to get him back to their base.

“Ulaz and Thace are going to want to stay with him.”

“Already cleared.”

Antok sighed, handing the data pad back to the leader of the Blades. “I want to stay with the kit.”

“Everyone does.”