okAY, soo, when I said that you would be in for a big treat the next chapter... ya, so this chapter turned out to be too long, so I had to divide it into two separated ones. So really, the big BIG treat should be in the next chapter... I'm sorry??? I just feel like the next chapter would be more exciting that way.

BUT, this chapter is still 👀👀👀

۝ ۝ ۝

I could only know whether it was day or night based on how tired I was feeling these past quintants.

It was so murky in here, no sign of natural daylight whatsoever, and the darkness managed to screw up my routine to a point where my eyelids always felt lidded and like they were weighted down by basalt rocks. So by the end of the fourth quintant spending locked up in Lotor's little penitentiary - for a crime I had certainly not committed, other than being impermissibly hot - I couldn't even be sure what time of the quintant it was anymore. All I could really do was get overly excited when my load of food came through the little hatch on one of my four concrete walls, because, food, and it was really the only exciting thing that happened in these tedious quintants of sitting trapped in the middle of four walls, rotting away. This was no different than me spending all the quintant in my room, only that my room was way more snug and safe than this den, and the food I would eat when I actually went out of my room was of way higher quality than this would ever be - I didn't even want to know what I was putting in my mouth. It was better that way. All I knew that it was incredibly disgusting and made my stomach churn with uncertainty.

But, as I shot my head up to take a look at my deliverer, I was always met with that same smirk from... who was she? A sturdy alien girl, a species unknown to me, but she looked more significant than just a server; she was probably one of Lotor's generals, if he had any of those here in this ship, and she was giving me real bad vibes. The way her ridiculously large, green lips expanded when she grinned, and the way her yellow-black eyes twinkled in some kind of smugness when she flashed me one of her signature smirks, always managed to make me press myself as far as I could against the wall behind me, until my spine started to ache and I winced visibly, making her guffaw so loudly that I swear that the floor vibrated. I always exhaled hard when I could see through the transparent wall in front of me that she left, her laugh echoing behind her. I swear that she fed off of my fear, or something.

But then there was this other alien girl, probably another general, that always reminded me of Keith, like a female, blue version of him, and her duty was to simply escort me to the restrooms, since my cage wasn't advanced enough to have one of those (I was just glad that they didn't make me take care of my needs right there in the lockup). This alien girl, Keisha, I had decided to name her, was always hard-set, uttered very limited words and never smiled, to the contrary of that other horrifying living-being. Her big, lemon yellow eyes was always set hard, her posture stiff, as if she was awaiting an attack any tic, and whenever she met my eyes, she gave me a look so sharp that I could swear that my eyes started to bleed. She both scared the living shit of me, but the sight of her also gave me severe heart cramps. I had spent many quintants being - willy-nilly - reminded of him, of every aspect of him and every goddamn angle of his face and tones of his voice and skin and every single thing that made Keith him, everything about him that drove me insane and resulted in me banging my head against the wall, but coming to an abrupt stop when I heard that devilish laugh again when my new load of food came. It didn't help that that blue alien girl Keisha needed to look so alike him, behave so much like him. I was almost tempted to ask if she had a brother...

A light click woke me up from my trance this time, and I sat up straight, eyeing Keisha from where she stood on the other side of the clear barricade between us, tapping her long fingers on something out of sight for me, before the wall in front of me swelled open, forming a door-like gap in the middle, big enough for me to go through. I immediately stood up, stretching out my legs, cracking my neck. 

"Restroom time already?" I asked, my voice croaky from not having to use it a much as I normally did. I was starting to consider talking to myself, just to put my voice to good use, like I normally did. I cracked my fingers, and Keisha only gave it a quick, bored glance. "Didn't you show up, like, not so long ago?"

"Lotor demands your presence", is all she pressed through blue, small lips, adding a scowl afterwards for good measure.

I rolled my eyes so hard it stung at the bridge of nose, but I did my best not to show any sign of discomfort. "Lotor demands your presence", I mimicked the smurf girl, adding a little pout to it. I made sure to step out of my cage with as much grace as I could muster with barely used legs and very little grandeur to begin with. I pointed a finger up her face when I had made it out. "Tell him to kiss my ass."

Keisha eyed my finger, her face unmoving, before she lifted her gaze again to pin me with a deadpan look. "I am afraid there is not much to be kissed."

I gasped dramatically, placing a hand over my chest, my lower lip stuttering in surprise. The nerve of her. When she was in fact speaking, she was saying utter bullshit. What kind of chutzpah? Not only was she and her grape prince keeping me hostage, but now she was also insulting my butt? Tsk tsk.

"Um, excuse me? I will have you know that my ass will crush all of you, this whole fleet! You are nothing against my ass! I'll show you..."

"Please follow me", she interrupted, cutting my sentence short, which I was the slightest grateful for - I had no idea where I was going with that sentence. 
Before I could proceed to say anything else, she forcefully grabbed my arm and started to drag me through the drab halls, her nails digging into my flesh so sharply that it felt like I was getting a dead man's grip. I threw out a high pitched ouch and some colorful curses afterwards, but the Grouchy Smurf didn't even spare me a glance. She only hardened her grip, and that was the only signal for me to shut the hell up, no matter how much I was against it, but I preferably didn't want to get my head ripped off by her bare hands, thank you very much. 

The halls wasn't very long, and I knew that - probably because this ship wasn't so big to begin with - but still my mind made it seem like they stretched out for an eternity. Keisha must have noticed how I shivered as we reached that last turn of the corridor with a set of black stair waiting ahead, because she peered sideways at me, and maybe I was completely mistaken and absolutely out of it, but I could feel how her grasp just slightly softened, her nails being lifted out of the holes their were drilling. She may have been arrogant and grumpy as quiznack, but I could give her a little bit of credit for having some care within her after all. But I still hated her guts, and everyone else that was on this ship. More specifically one purple prick that I would face now, and I hated that I felt intimidated by it. I could only hope that I'd make it out alive after our meeting - who knows how barbarous he could actually be.

We reached our destination, and I was already covered in a thin layer of sweat, my clothes that I had not washed for quintants clinging onto my body like a second skin. I squirmed uncomfortably under Keisha's clutch, pursing my lips together as I saw him, sitting as casually in his chair as before, but now there wasn't a holographic screen between us, we weren't in different places anymore. Now I was here, in the same space as him, in the same presence as him, and it made my heart flutter wildly in my chest. It didn't help that I was met with the same grin, from not only him, but from two other aliens standing protectively at the side, one of them being none other than my food deliverer herself, her smirk being accompanied by another just as broad from a girl beside her, and I could only stare as she winked at me, waving a small red hand at me. But then there was another girl, standing on the other side of Lotor, her what must be bald head covered by a hood, and I couldn't help but to shudder at the sight of her. She had an animalistic kind of face, and what was the most unsettling about it, was the fact that she had no eyes. Just a flat nose and razor sharp teeth that somehow look like they were her lips to begin with. But still, her face was correctly turned towards me, and I let my eyes flit over to the charcoal colored cat sitting perched up on her broad shoulder, its neon eyes meeting mine with a kind of serenity that scared the living shit out of me, and I was already slightly trembling. I had no way of escaping any of their gazes, and it made me terrified.

Lotor slowly rose up from his throne like seat, taking gracious strides down the three sets of stairs enveloping the bottom of his seat, walking to stand in the middle of the alien trio, his frosty hair swaying with every movement. He looked over at Keisha beside me, his smile widening.

"Thank you for escorting him here, Acxa", he said in a calm, fluid voice.

Okay, so definitely not Keisha. Got it.

Acxa gave a little nod in return, her face staying expressionless and blank. 

The prince looked back at me. "And Lance, I think it's time to make a call, don't you think so too?"

My jaw tensed, and I tried to mask my disquietude by pressing out a what I hope was an threatening growl from deep within my throat, but the amusement on Lotor's face proved that I didn't really succeed. "To who, exactly?"

Lotwhore chuckled, and my hands balled into fists, yearning to give him a nice sock in the face. I was hoping that my jab would be powerful enough to send him flying out of Altea. But wait, were we even still in Altea? Maybe we were currently drifting freely out in space, and we were nowhere near my home planet. The thought made my stomach twist nervously.

"Well why, to your family", he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and I stilled, my face locking into a gape. Acxa had to hold my arm up when it went slack and threatened to fall limp against my side. It felt like my tongue dried itself out in to a raisin, unavailable and to no use anymore, so I could only dedicate a whole solid dobosh to stare at the bastard in front of me, while being torn between two unpleasantly strong feelings. There was one side of me that abhorred the thought of Lotor interacting with my family in any way, because if it was something that I was starting to realize, was that he was a little shithead who probably wasn't any better than his own father. But then there was this other side of me that couldn't help but to get excited, because I could finally see them, tell them I was okay. If I wasn't daydreaming or nightdreaming about Keith I was speculating about my family and all the other paladins, about what they must have been thinking when they woke up, seeing I wasn't with them anymore. Were they even aware that I had been taken by Lotor, or were they assuming something completely else? No, they were smart enough to figure it out. They were coming up with a plan to extricate me from this depressing place, I knew it.

But the first side of me was stronger in this moment, and I was filled with such a bitter indignation, my skin crackling with a heat so strong that another layer of sweat appeared over my body. I tried to yank my arm away from Acxa's grip, but she must have sensed my ebullition, because her fingers were already securely locked around both my arms, pressing them against my back, and when she had gripped my other wrist, I didn't know. But now I had no way of breaking away from her clutch to jab that punch onto his face, to do something so that complacent expression could be wiped off of his defined face. Gosh, the smurf was strong as hell. I was considering referring her to the Hefty smurf instead-

"What the hell are you planning?!" I snarled through gritted teeth, and once again I tried to tear my arms out of Acxa's grip, but to no wail. I growled at my failure. "Tell me, you quiznacking prig..."

"Exactly what you and your family have ben planning for deca-phoebes", Lotor answered in a tone harsher than usual, and there was a dangerous glimt in his eyes, his grin just a little bit more stern, like it was forced out at this point. "To take down my father." His grin was now completely gone, same with the gratification on his face. He started to turn around, walking up to his throne again, taking his time in sitting down comfortably, prompting his arm on the armrest, looking sideways at me. "The only difference is that I'm actually taking my plan into action."

I frowned at him, my whole body trembling with exasperation, allt the other generals looking back at me in amusement (with an exemption for the cat-woman, of course) and it made my muscles tense so much that my shoulders throbbed, or maybe it was just the fact that Acxa had my arms so painfully pinned against my back. I turned my head to bare my teeth in a deep snarl. She didn't even meet my eyes, but instead started to shove me forward, almost making me trip over my own unprepared feet. But thankfully, her grip on my wrists and my very good reflexes - which, according to Keith, wasn't good at all, but he was just mean - made me catch myself just in time. My whole head was pulsing, probably because the rage I was feeling was sending all my blood up my skull, and I everything was taking a tint of red in front of me. The three generals scooted over so me and Hefty-Grouchy smurf could stand directly beside Lotor and his big seat, and I spat out some colorful words, trying so hard just to do something other than being this impotent. 

But a flicker of the big transparent screen in front of us caught my eyes, and I had to still in my motion. The next tick, a hologram took form, and if I blinked away all the fury from my eyes, and swallowed my ears open, I could see them, hear how they gasped once they saw me too. My arms fell limp again, and Acxa was once again ready to catch them. My mouth felt arid when I stuttered out:

"Mom? Dad?" The resentful side of me was immediately subsiding, leaving the thrilled side behind. I could feel the littlest tug at the corner of mouth, and I tried to lean forward, tried to reach for them, even if I was well aware that I was completely locked in a grasp, and my family wouldn't be palpable, only visible. "I'm o-okay", I reassured them in a quivering voice, looking over all the paladins that were starting to itch closer to the screen, gasping at the sight of me. I could see how my sister stumbled up beside all of them, cupping her mouth when she saw me. I gave her a feeble smile in return. "Hey guys, I'm perfectly fine. It's nothing wrong with me..."

"For now", the prince beside me shot in, and I didn't have to look at him to know he looked entertained. "If you decline my offers again, I'm afraid that your son's stay here won't be as safe anymore. We have been treating your beloved son with the most respect, and we can only hope to receive the same from you."

Dad tore his eyes away from me, his mouth agape, and mom clung to his arm just like before, her face pinched in worry as her gaze danced from me to Lotor. Dad seethed in anger, and I could see all the way from here how his chest heaved behind his white and yellow chest plate of his armor, and how his mouth twitched behind the white beard on his face. I could almost hear how he rumbled.

"You let my son go, or so help me, there will be consequences for you", dad warned in an gruff voice, and I hated how the dips unders his eyes had deepened, how the wrinkles around his eyes had increased and gotten more apparent. He looked ten times more weary, and I never thought that would be possible, but I was clearly underestimating his exhaustion. When was the last time he had gotten a well rested sleep?

"I will do just that, if you agree on working with me, simple as that", Lotor asserted, and I heard him shuffle in his seat beside me. "And please, do bring consequences upon me. Just do something. Show how seriously you take this. This is war we are embroiled in, it's time to act actively. Show what you really stand for, and show me that you deserve to be entitled as paladins of Voltron."

A pause. Even dad kept quiet. The silence hung heavy in the air, stuffing my lungs like cotton. 

Lotor said:

"You have one movement on you to make a resolution, or else Lance's stay here won't be as pleasant anymore."

He ended the call directly after, and the screen went over to black again.

۝ ۝ ۝

Acxa hadn't wasted any time when Lotor had asked her to escort me back to my cell, and she didn't get fazed by how I was trying to kick and wriggle myself out of her grasp. Instead she just dug her nails deep into my forearms, and pressed deeper whenever I tried to break free, which eventually became painful enough to silence me. But instead I just kept muttering insult after insult at her and everyone else on this ship, hoping to fuel any emotion within her, but it frustrated me that her face kept staying the same all the time. But that didn't stop me, though, and I only added more bitterness to my contumely. 

But something confused me when we reached my little cage; I was ready to turn in to walk back in to it, but Hefty-Grouchy smurf continued to push me forward, further down the halls, making me squeal. I shot her an irritated look. "Hey! Why so harsh? Take it easy one me here. You don't have to get angry just because I'm clearly way more prettier than you." I squinted at her face. "Have you ever considered using facial cream, or something? It would really bring out more than just that frown on your face. You know, you really remind me of a real hothead I know. He's also this gr..."

"Shut up, will you? I'm trying to rescue you", Acxa whisper-hissed, and my mouth closed with an audible shut, my eyelids fluttering in surprise. She increased her pace, pulling me with her, her shoulder tensing even more as she kept looking over her shoulder to see if we were being followed by anyone. My eyes were threatening to fall out of their sockets.

"Excuse me...what...?"

"Shh! Keep quiet about it", she ordered in a hushed voice, yanking me to walk around the corner into the corridor that led towards the bathrooms, and perhaps even an exit. I could only scurry with, gaping at her and the corridor in front of me and make sure I didn't trip over thin air. 

But of course, what was a escape without a friendly little distraction? Just as we turned the corner, something flashed bright, neon blue, blazing enough to make me squint and bring up a hand to shield my eyes from the shine, the upper part of my face pulsating. It must have taken Acxa aback too, because suddenly we both halted to a stop, collecting our sight. I had to blink several times before I could adjust to the dullness again, trying so see past the green spots that appeared in my field of view. I stumbled back, rubbed my eyes, looked up.

Gasped.

He was pressing Acxa against the nearest wall, his forearm firmly against her throat, the other holding his very acicular and threatening knife dangerously close to her face... No, not knife. Not anymore, at least. It looked upgraded, longer, and even more sharper, holding a deadly promise to it as he let it graze Acxa's skin. I teetered slightly forward, my mouth caught in a sharp inhale, my words evaporated on my scorching tongue. 
His skin, so mauve in this light, the purple light of his suit illuminating the consternation on Acxa's face, the way her eyebrows wrenched over her wide eyes. She brought up her hands to try and push him away, but he wouldn't budge, only standing his guard. I let my eyes drop downwards, and I bit down a squeak, my fingers freezing. Right beside him stood a creature, a big one too, its tail lashing from side to side, standing as if ready to maul. It's prussian and dull blue fur looked bristle, and maybe it was just because of this moment, or it was naturally like that. It growled, razor-sharp teeth bared, coated in saliva, sharpness to it that neither Keith's or Lotor's teeth could compete against. 

Keith. Pressing Acxa securely against the wall of Lotwhore's ship, his arms oh so toned. There was something dissimilar to his body, something to it that had me hesitating, trying to grasp for any kind of explanation- 

Muscular, my thoughts immediately answered, and I found myself understanding that, he was in fact even more muscular that he had been when I had last seen him. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but to stare, to drag my eyes over his swelling arm, his bumpy and clear-cut back, having just the right slim of waist to it, and his puff thighs behind those dangerously taut tights-

Okay, I was looking too far down. I found myself looking up again, contemplating the new found information. No, this couldn't be Keith, right? Either it was bigger copy of him with the exact same traits to the appearance, only doubled in size, or I was just that horny and missed Keith that much that I had created this burly version of him in front of me, although it could have been standing someone completely else and almost strangulating the girl that were trying to save my life- 

"How dare you keep your filthy hands on him?!" Keith's voice - or, I hoped it was Keith - ordered in a raucous voice, and it made me falter, my knees trembling and threatening to give out at the rumble of his voice. This couldn't possibly be Keith. If it was, I was in for a big flustered storm. He slammed Acxa against the wall harder, and the creature beside him seemed to follow with and snarled louder, walking an inch closer to its prey. Acxa only grunted, desperately pawing at the arm that was dangerously close to blocking her airways. She may have been hefty, but Keith was heftier at this moment, especially with the madness that danced inside his eyes - cat-like more than ever, irises so sharp they looked like like needles. And as he spoke again, I was starting to rethink about the difference between his fangs and the teeth that belonged to his perilous animal, because right now, they looked equally as intimidating. "Were where you taking him? I swear if you've hurt him I will rip your body apart and eject them out into open space. You hear me? Don't you dare touch him again..."

The girl that were trying to save my life. Oh gosh, this was just all an big misunderstanding, and I quickly had to solve it. I could start with hoping that that creature wouldn't swallow me whole when I neared it to try and stop Keith from brutally beating the shit out of Acxa. It hurt my head to think it, but she didn't deserve that. Not after showing me a reason just now as to why not.

"K-Keith?" I stammered through torrid lips. It felt like I had bag of desiccant in my mouth, and I bumbled forward, dodging the creature and its swaying tail as best as I could, placing a shaking hand on Keith's shoulder, and I feel how he instantly tensed, his eyebrows twitching in conflict of two emotions. "Hey Keith..." I let my hand travel lower, down his arm that was pressed against Acxa's collarbones, and a breath hitched in my throat. Oh. Definitely more muscular... "Keith, stop it. This is a misinterpretation. She means no harm. She was actually trying to help me escape. Keith, let her go..."  

I watched his profile, watched how his sharp jawline clenched tightly how he lowered his eyebrows over his lambent eyes, his nostrils flaring and his irises shuddering, looking like in a frenzy. His mullet hair, which if I weren't mistaken and weren't mixing it for the shadows over his body, looked even longer than before, messier than usual, falling in front of his face, but he showed no sign of wanting to push it away. I could see how bumps of veins were emerging on the side of his throat, and how sweat glistened at his temple. The creature that stood on the other side of him, which I could only assume would be an equivalent to a wolf-thingy, patiently waited for its owner's commands or actions, its lower half lifted in the air, ready to assail if needed. 

Keith narrowed his eyes, glowering. "I'll kill anyone trying to hurt you", he pointed out, and my stomach flipped uncontrollably, bouncy balls bouncing around in my gut. 

"She didn't h-hurt me", I whispered, my fingers cupping his arm, more to feel if he were actually real than to tear it away from Acxa. 

My certainty was torn towards two different directions, not sure which one to go. I wanted so badly to go to the direction that led towards the belief that Keith was here, that he was real, and not a fanciful picture that would turn into shining dust when I had just started to fall into its trap. I couldn't let myself be bamboozled like before, couldn't let myself be consumed by the grief again, banging my head against the wall of my cell until I got a minor concussion, just to shake the thought of him away. I couldn't believe in the wrong thing again, but gosh, he looked so goddamn real, how could he possibly not be real? If he wasn't, I seriously needed to get my head checked. This couldn't be neither healthy or normal to think this strongly of him.

I clutched his arm harder, just to remind Keith of my presence, because it looked like he was hovering between this reality and the angry mind space he had currently created. I saw the battle of decisions that was going on inside his head, being displayed on his face as he snarled one last time before pushing himself backwards, letting Acxa slump slightly down the wall, growling with almost as much vigor as the wolf beside Keith, looking up at her attacker through heavy-lidded eyes, her long, blue eyelashes fluttering wildly. She looked ready to hit back, but she quickly rethought, instead settling for only straightening her back and shoving herself off of the wall, her hands balled into fists, ready to use them violently if needed. The wolf on the other side of Keith shifted, looking inquisitively at it's owner, sensing a change of plans. Keith only made a harsh and irritated jerk of his head, and the animal immediately backed away, carefully falling back on its legs. But I still didn't let go of Keith's arm, just to make sure he wouldn't pull a sudden outbreak, just to make sure he wouldn't crumble away. He didn't swat my arm away, which was a win, but instead just took a step closer to me, and I held my breath, didn't let it out after that.

My eyes shot downwards, gaping at how Keith lowered his arm, but swiftly caught my hand in his hefty one, closing his glove-covered fingers around mine,  seizing the opportunity to drag me rearwards, away from Acxa. His wolf promptly followed our steps, it's cyan blue eyebrows set hard over his yellow, black eyes. It looked over at me for a brief tick, and I stifled a screech, quickly looked over at its owner instead. He turned his head to look at me, and his eyes looked frenetic, like he hadn't really put out that hungry fire within him yet. I was just about to say something when he yanked me towards him, pressing me firmly against his side, his arm coming to snake around my shoulders, just to secure me. My head felt fuzzy and funny, probably because I still hadn't let out that air yet, and Keith's action wasn't really benign to my health, either. Especially not his lips that grazed my ear shell when he leaned in close to me, placing a hand on the back of his wolf as he started to whisper:

"Don't fall asleep tonight." He let his lips linger, let his breath hit the side of my way, tightened his arm around me,

And then I floated, blast waves shaking my head, drumming against my skulls until I could feel my teeth rattling, and I felt like I was spinning around and around, like some kind of friction were pulling all my body parts in different directions. My skin tingled, crackling with epinephrine, itching with adrenaline, and I didn't know if my eyes were closed our wide open, but the only color I could see, whether it was behind my eyelids or not, was white. Like a large nihility, and all that flashed before me so fast it somehow turned slow, until it all stopped, and my being was yanked forward, but still standing in the same place.

Until I was standing in the control room of the castle, Keith no longer beside me, and my families gasps surrounding me as they noticed my very sudden presence. I blinked, my eyelids heavy, and what had been my very clear and concise thoughts just mere ticks ago, was starting to turn into sticky mush in my head, filling my mind with non-logical words. A ringing in my ears were starting to fade away, leaving behind the sound of my name coming from every direction, and I could only stare as I saw them all approach at once, like distorted, warped forms. The first ones to collide with me both had white fluff draped at the top, and when I blinked some more, I could point out that it was mom and Allura, both trying desperately to wrap their arms around my whole body at the same time, both pressing surprised words into my shoulders, clutching me so tightly against them that I was starting to get dazed again. A quarter of mind was still drifting around in the white void I had just been in, but I felt how I was slowly being pulled back to reality.

"...ait", I heard from somewhere in front of me, and the sound was so deep that it just sounded like buzz at first, but then I had to sharpen my senses, had to look up to see another form, which I quickly picked up was dad's form, approaching us with slow, circumspect steps, his expression as wary and hard as when Lotor had contacted him the last time, only now it had the faintest twist of expectation to it, like he was afraid to believe. "Step back. This might be a trap Lotor has set up for us again. Where did he even turn up from? We can't trust this..."

"Alfor", mom hissed, like she couldn't believe what he was saying. She slightly pulled away from me, only so she could look over her shoulder at her husband. I could even feel how Allura's hold softened just barely, and I started to panic. "This is your son, and he's here! Where he came from shouldn't matter right now, only that he has come back to us, unharmed and in one piece. Our son is back..."

"I got r-rescued", I sputtered out, like I was a fierce fire, spark-like words flying out of my mouth. "I..." I swallowed thickly, feeling how Allura's arms almost went completely slack against my waist, and I could feel her burning gaze on my chin. "By... By a galra... and his.... teleporting... w-wolf...?" It sounded batty, even in my head, and it made me grimace when the sentence was said out loud. I could see it reflected on my families faces too, and I wanted nothing but to just reel my words back in, could feel how that rescuing explanation was stuck on my palate, wanting so badly to be used to cover up for myself, but dad was already reacting, was already frowning.

"A galra?" he repeated with so much acid to his voice that it managed to burn down my senses. "Those purple, asinine shams... You could not possibly be talking good about such creature, let alone get your head twisted into believing that it rescued you?"

"Alfor!" mom warned again, her voice flinty, and she untangled her arms around me, only keeping a firm hand on my shoulder, her curly platinum hair bobbing when she whipped her head around to look at my father. "Stop it. We can take this discussion subsequently. Right now, our son has returned, and that is the only thing that should matter. This isn't a trap, I can't feel it, Alfor." She looked back over at me to flash me one of her cordial smiles, that one that you could see was forced out, but still held that motherly kindness to it that made you look past its flaws, and only see it for what it could have been. It didn't matter what kind of situation it was, or how distressed I was feeling - those smiles always managed to fill me with comfort. I couldn't help but to return the simper, hoping that my cheeks wasn't twitching. "Get some rest, you sure must need it. Take all time you need to collect yourself, I'll make sure to come in with food for you if you're too exhausted to get out of bed. And I'll inform the paladins of your arrival, since they're out looking for you right now. They'll sure be delighted to see you again."

"As if he doesn't spend all his time in his room already", Allura joked, and I glanced down at her, seeing how the grin on her lips wobbled. Her eyes glistened. 

I chuckled, a breathy, light laugh, but it quickly died out again, leaving my mouth as parched as before. I tried to swallow again, lifting my head to lock my eyes with his, opening my mouth to start and say "Father..."

But he was already walking towards me, his arms outstretched, ready to engulf all three of us in his embrace. I whimpered when he did, like some kind of relief, mixed with a tint of lamentation.

I didn't realize I was crying until I felt the damp, cool metal of dad's armor being pressed against my cheeks.

۝ ۝ ۝

I have severe pollen allergic right now and it's almost 1 am and I'm tired af and this week has been so stressful and my soul is honestly dead at this point so PLEASE excuse this HORRIBLE ending :'))))) 

Okay but the next chapter tho???

wink wonk, ya know??

And Cosmo is the best boi, btw🐺