A visit from ya boi

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K, this is pretty long for a one shot, but I haven't posted in a while so I'm making up for it.

It's officially been two years since we made it back to earth. Zarcon is defeated and the once mighty Galran empire has crumbled.

I laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling ruggedly. Two years ago, I decided to stay on Earth and I haven't been in space since. Part of me feared it. The thought of going back made my stomach twist sickly.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes exasperated. Some nights were difficult, I'd have nightmares about our encounters and missions going wrong. Some nights I never fall asleep.

Pidge and Hunk decided to stay on earth as well. They both work at the Garrison now, Pidge helps design and experiment with new technology and Hunk teaches the future pilots.

Sometimes I'm invited to lectures and I talk about our experiences in space and with aliens. I've been turning them down more and more lately.

Space was breathtaking; full of wonderful cultures and advanced technologies that blow you away. Yet, my mind keeps going back to the life or death situations. The moments of sneaking on Galra ships and hiding behind shield as your rained on by enemy fire. The fear that you or maybe your teammates might not all make it all out alive.

I don't leave the house as frequent anymore. I tend to stay at the farm and help out. The McClain family business of growing everything from raspberries to corn. We supply the local stores and make good money off it.

I changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt. I knew it was supposed to sprinkle this morning, but the weather is still warm. I threw on a red flannel just in case; pushing the sleeves up to my elbow.

The morning air was thick and the grey clouds loomed in the sky. It hadn't rained yet, but you could smell it. I grabbed a plastic bowl from the kitchen and pulled on a pair of boots. The mud was terrible this time of year. I trotted across the farm to the raspberry bushes and began picking the ripest of them. They slid of the stems with ease and I dropped them in the bowl. This was my favorite part of the day. Picking raspberries early in the morning before every one else woke up.

I nearly finished when I felt droplets of water hitting the back of my neck. I carefully carried the overfilled bowl back inside and looked out the window. It was only a light drizzle.

"Hey, Lance," my mother smiled brightly pouring a cup of coffee, "can you deliver some watermelons to the Almeo's Grocery? We didn't have many last time, but they just ripened and people are ecstatic to get their hands on em'."

"Yeah, sure." I smiled, "I'll get started now."

I hauled a few of the crates into the family truck; securing them, I hopped off and dusted my pants. I climbed in and started the truck driving into town. It was still gloomy out, but the rain had stopped; it didn't last long. Though, the clouds appeared to be moving quickly and gave hope that it wouldn't stay like this all day.

When I made it to Almeo's, an employee ran out and helped me carry in all the crates. I thanked him and he waved me off. The sky was much brighter now; the clouds were becoming more sparse and the sun was shining through.

I parked the truck and grabbed the keys hopping out quickly. I went inside to find my mom and dad talking, but when they saw me, they immediately stopped. I pursed my lips; that seemed to be happening a lot lately.

Concerned talking, but when I show up, it's dead silent. "Lance," my mom stood up from where she was sitting, "You got a call from the garrison while you were out. They were asking if you could attend a class of newcomers. I told them you'd be able to make it."

"What?" I frowned.

"C'mon, it won't hurt anything. Plus, Pidge told me that your old teammate Keith was visiting."

My stomach wrenched. Of course he's here and I knew nothing about it. My mind wandered back to the class. "I... don't think I should go. I think I'll cancel and stay here to help." I reached for the phone, but my mom snatched it a little too eagerly.

I looked at her silently. How could I tell her? Tell her that I don't want to go because every time I think about that place, the things we went through, the people I saw die... it makes me sick. If I think to deeply about it, the room will spin and my eyes will start to water. How can I tell her that?

She bit her lip nervously and looked down at the floor. "I... Lance, I think it will be good for you." She muttered finally. "Please go to it."

I felt almost taken aback. Maybe she already knew, maybe she was trying to push me into this with hopes that it'll get better. And maybe... maybe she's right. "Okay." I nodded lightly.

I left in the afternoon and started the hour drive to the garrison. Along the way, I let myself drift into my thoughts. Keith's here.

When we made it back to earth, Keith didn't stay long. I really wish he did, but I understood he didn't have family, or anything grounding him here. Part of me believes that, if I asked him to stay, he would've. But, I didn't. He took on the burden of helping smooth over the galaxy after the Galra; rebuilding destroyed civilizations and ensuring no uprisings started.

If I asked him to stay, he might've. I thought again. If he asked me to go, I might've. I let out a sigh. Two years ago. That was two years ago. But, this is now. I'm not a teenage boy who's hopelessly in love with my teammate anymore. I smiled a little thinking back to it. Keith would've had a ball if he found out that I'd liked him. Especially considering our 'rivalry'. Though, we had become good friends as time passed and the rivalry became more of a joke.

"Alright, my name is Lance McClain, I was the blue paladin of voltron. Bring on the questions." I leaned against Hunks desk at the front of the room. Everyone shot their hands up in the air and I chuckled. My eyes wandered to the back where I saw Keith leaning back in a chair with a faint smile. My breath caught in my throat.

His hair was still a little longer, but it was pulled back into a loose ponytail. His eyes were still that piercing lavender color and his skin was still pale. He wore jeans, a black shirt, and boots. A light blue jacket hung on him loosely. It looked worn and his collarbones were exposed.

"Uh, you wanna start us off?" I pointed to a young girl in the front.

"How did you become the paladin?" She asked quickly.

"Dumb luck." I admitted honestly. I explained the story of finding the blue lion very quickly.

"And you?" I pointed to the next kid.

"What was it like knowing you were the pilot of a super weapon that was going to take down the Galra?"

"Uh..., nerve wrecking?" I shrugged. "We didn't exactly know we were going to win and there were a lot of failures before we even had a victory." I pointed at another kid.

"How was it getting to use all the cool futuristic weapons?" A kid laughed.

I smiled and thought back to when I first used my bayard. The first time I ever killed someone I thought. My heart raced a little as I remembered the blood. I faltered, "It was challenging learning how they all worked and how to use them."

Keith leaned forward more in his seat. I pointed.

"Did you have any close calls in battle?"

My blood pumped harder and could feel the memories bubbling to the surface. "More than you could count." It came out a whisper. I blinked back into reality, I had zoned out and the kids seemed to shift uncomfortably.

"Uh, go ahead," I nodded at a ginger boy.

Though, I didn't hear his question. A kid accidentally elbowed a metal cup of pencils and it clattered to the ground. I jumped and fell back pushing myself away. My heart was pounding loudly and I couldn't hear Keith who was in front of me. His hands were gripped tightly on my shoulders and his mouth was moving. Tears were running down my neck soaking the collar of my shirt.

The drive home was quiet. The rumble of the engine blocked out my thoughts. I drove the empty truck with a tight grip on the steering wheel.

I couldn't explain what happened to me. Just the overwhelming feeling that the ring of shots would sound, though they never did. I had no reason to think they would.

Keith had snapped me back into reality. When I came to, the classroom had been cleared and Hunk, Keith, a nurse, and Shiro stood around me; all worried expressions.

It was about five in the afternoon now. I rolled into the driveway and put the truck in park. I turned off the engine and sat for a moment. I slumped forward against the steering wheel.

The doorbell rang and I looked up curiously. I hadn't been home long, maybe a half an hour. I stood up and looked through the peephole. Keith.

I quickly ran my hands through my hair and patted down my clothes self consciously. I took in a deep breath, let it out, and unlocked the door, opening it. "Keith? Hey," I stepped to the side, "uh, come in."

"Hey," he smiled, "thanks." He walked inside and I closed the door warily, catching a glimpse of a pod outside.

I know what he's here for, I'm not dim. "So, what brings you by?" I smiled welcomingly.

"I was hoping we could catch up a bit." He pulled off his jacket.

"Here let me take that." I held out my hand finding the soft fabric. It was sprinkled with dark, quickly drying, raindrops. I hung it up as he took off his boots.

I could feel my heart pounding. I've lived on a ship with Keith for years, it's not fair that he can still make my stomach flip just by giving me that puppy eyed look.

"Well, you came at a good time. My family is out grocery shopping. I guess they'd thought I'd be longer." I trailed off on the last sentence. I didn't want to talk about the experience, but I know that's Keith's motive for being here.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your home." Keith said kind of suddenly. I'd given him a wide opening to start 'the conversation' and instead he changed the subject.

"Hm, no." I grinned. "Why's that?"

"I don't know. It's just so... homely?" He said following me to the living room. "There's always warm quilts and pillows, and family pictures everywhere. It reflects you in a way."

"I'm... homely?" I asked, missing whatever it was he was getting at.

He chuckled, "No, I mean... , it's like- caring and welcoming."

"Hm, so I'm caring and welcoming huh?" I raised and eyebrow as we sat down on the couch.

"Never mind." He gave up still doing that perfect chuckle. The kind that makes me weak just seeing his cocky half upturned smile.

I laughed along and rubbed my hand on my pant leg. "Want anything? Beer? We have really good raspberries this year too if you like them." I was already standing and heading for the kitchen.

"Raspberries huh?" Keith leaned back on the sofa. I grabbed a bowl of the raspberries and when I turned out of the kitchen, Keith's head was tilted back and his eyes gently closed. I could see him in all his glory, every detail and curve of his profile. I watched as his thin lips pursed together and I nearly dropped the bowl as my eyes traveled down to his collar bones. I felt a small twinge of annoyance that Keith could make collar bones sexy. I suddenly felt like an 18th century boy hoping to get a glimpse of a woman's ankle.

I snapped back into reality and set them on the coffee table. He sat up and grabbed one. "Sorry, I'm still tired from the trip here."

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"I showed up just a moment before your visit to the garrison students. I was worried I'd be late and miss it." He popped the raspberry into his mouth.

I flicked my eyes away from him and instead focused on the bowl of berries. I know shouldn't say anything, that I should let it slide, be quiet and don't start something. Since when do I do that? Since when did I start just letting things happen. I'm not getting anywhere by doing it. "Why were you so keen on seeing me now? You've never visited or even let me at least know you're on earth before."

Keith pursed his lips lips, "I-I thought you wouldn't want to see me. I mean, we were stuck on a ship for years and all we really did was fight. I thought that you'd find it weird if I came to your house to personally visit you."

"We didn't just fight." I argued. "You didn't really think we were rivals did you?"

"Lance, I-I don't know. What did you think?" He countered.

"I thought we were at the very least friends." I said anger starting to rise in my voice. "I mean..." my voice broke. "So, what have you been doing for the past two years?"

Keith shifted, "Well I spent most of the first year traveling. Just going anywhere I could. As for this past year I've somewhat made a home for myself on planet Reclhos."

I ignored the home thing and tried to focus on something else. "What kind of traveling did you do? Where'd you go?"

"I just went to every planet I could, visited every galaxy possible. I saw some weird shit. Like really weird. Eventually I got tired of it though."

I chuckled. "I think you have a few stories I'd like to hear." I popped a raspberry into my mouth.

"Maybe, but first, how have you spent your two years?" Keith asked doing the same.

"I've spent it all here. My parent's, they're getting old and need help around the farm. They're planning to retire here soon." I rubbed my shoulder.

"What's going to happen to the farm when they do?" Keith scrunched up his eyebrows.

"Well they plan to move into a house and take my youngest siblings with. As for the farm, they want me to take over. They actually planned to do it last year, but they decided they should push it off a bit longer." I explained.

"You're going to be taking care of this place yourself?" Keith asked.

"I guess. I'm sure I won't be entirely alone, siblings might help on the weekends. I can't imagine this house being quiet though." I looked around wistfully. "I guess I could fix it up some too."

"It's a lot of space for one." Keith ate another raspberry.

"Yeah, I guess so." I realized.

"I guess if you have a special someone..." Keith started teasingly.

"There's no special someone." I said quickly, my voice cracking.

"Why not?" Keith smiled lopsided.

"Not the right time?" I tried.

"It's been two years." Keith scoffed but then his face softened. "Is it because of Allura?"

"What? No." I shook my head slightly defensive. "I guess I have no reason not to, but..."

"But what?" Keith ran his fingers through his hair which was still pulled in that ponytail that had me drooling.

I suddenly snapped out of whatever trance Keith was putting me in and shook my head. "I could always rent out a room for extra cash. It would be nice to have the company too."

Keith frowned at me avoiding the question but clearly decided to drop it. "Who knows, I'm coming back to Earth someday soon and if you're on your own by then... maybe I could rent out a room till I find my own place?" He smiled eating another raspberry. "Plus, I could help out with the farm."

I felt my stomach twist and legs go tingly at the suggestion. "Yeah! Yeah! That would be... that would be amazing!" I glanced at the time. "It's getting kind of late, want to have dinner?" I asked.

"Dinner would be great." Keith smiled and we pulled on our shoes and coats. The gloomy weather did pass but the afternoon was still cool.

Keith started toward the pod but I stopped him. "Oh nuh-uh, I'm driving." I pushed him toward my truck.

"What? I'm not a bad driver." Keith pouted.

"I know you aren't 'fighter pilot', but no alien junk. We're doing this the normal way." I chuckled and unlocked the truck.

"It would be quicker to take the pod." Keith said opening the door.

"Maybe, but it's about the journey, not the destination." I gave him a cheeky smile as we both got in and shut the doors. I started the truck and it let out a low rumble. Country music played quietly, too soft to make out.

Keith suddenly seemed to get an idea. "So lover boy, back to my previous question."

I felt my stomach do a flip at the nickname but sink at the rest. "Which question?"

"You know which question," Keith rolled his eyes.

"Ah," I shrugged.

"There hasn't been anyone? At all? Not one girl?" Keith seemed a little skeptical.

"Busy I guess?" I gave a dashing smile and Keith rolled his eyes. "What about you?"

"Me?" Keith scrunched his face up.

"Yeah, you've been hounding me about my love life, what about yours?" I nudged him slightly.

"I guess I have no room to talk. But I've done better than you." Keith chuckled. "I went out on one date."

"One date?"

"One date." He confirmed.

"Oh wow. Yup Keith you have me beat. One full date." I said sarcastically. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Guy." He corrected. "His name was Lane. He looked fairly human except he had like marks on his arms and stuff."

"Oh? What did he look like? And why no second date?" I raised an eyebrow. I felt heavy and my stomach had a sinking feeling.

Keith looked a little uncomfortable, "Uh, well, he had brown hair--short--, brown eyes, tan skin, he's kinda lanky and tall. I mean he was nice but he wasn't... I don't know."

"Me?" I glanced over at him.

His eyes went wide and his head snapped his head in my direction. He looked almost mortified.

"He sounds like he looks like me." I said clarifying.

"Oh." He looked a little relieved, "Yeah I guess so." He chuckled.

"Except I'm not lanky." I mocked.

Keith suddenly started laughing uncontrollably.

"What?! I'm not!" I scoffed looking between him and the road. This seemed to make him only laugh harder.

I pouted jokingly as I turned off the road and parked in front of Polly's Diner.

"This place has the best food in town. Guaranteed." I grinned switching off the engine. We got out and I held the door open for him on the way in.

"Afternoon Lance!" Pollina, an older woman greeted as they walked in. "Oooh, and you brought a handsome devil with you." She laughed, her shoulders bouncing.

"This is Keith." I introduced.

"I'm Pollina." She greeted. "You boys take a seat wherever." She waved bustling behind the counter.

I led us to a table near the back and in front of a window so we could look out at the road. A young waitress walked to our table. "To start, what would you like to drink?"

"I'll have an iced tea please." I smiled politely.

"Coffee please." Keith did the same.

I looked up and realized just how tired Keith was. I felt a little guilty that I'd dragged him out and about.

"Alright, I'll be right back with those." She flashed a small wink to me and as she walked off, there was a noticeable sway to her hips.

"Hmm, she likes you." Keith observed.

I let out a small noise of acknowledgement as I scanned the menu. "What are you in the mood for? I'm really craving some fries."

Keith picked up his menu and looked through the options. "Fries are definitely a must. I'm thinking this one." Keith flipped around the laminated menu pointing to a burger.

"Ah, good choice." I hummed, "I think I'm gonna do the one above that." It was another type of burger.

The waitress then walked back and gently set the glass of tea and mug of coffee down in front of them. "Have you decided?" She smiled lightly.

We both ordered quickly and this time as the

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