Even though you weren't dreaming or having a nightmare, you were starting to feel anxious, like something was stirring inside of you. Like you were starting to get cold, and not because the room was, but because your heart was.

Gradually you gained back your consciousness, feeling restless. And without your own will, your eyes started to open up. You were lying on your back, staring at the ceiling in the dark room. It must have been night, even though the concept of time faded in space.

That's when you remembered what had happened before you went to bed. But as you stretched out your hand to feel the place next to you, all you could feel were cold sheets and no warmth.

You quickly sat up and glanced next to you, just to find the spot empty. And suddenly anxiety welled up in you, the same kind of feeling as when you wake up after a nightmare. You didn't want to be alone. You didn't want to have another nightmare. Not anymore.

"(Y/N), what's wrong?" A hoarse voice broke the pressuring silence in the room. And as you quickly turned to look at the source of the voice, you saw Keith sitting on the opposite side of the bed, leaning against the wall. He was looking at you with wide eyes, probably surprised of your anxious awakening.

For a moment you just stared at each other in silence. Then you let out a sigh of relief as you tried to steady your rapidly beating heart. You were glad that you weren't alone.

Then Keith's gaze changed to a worried one. "Have you been having those nightmares again?" He asked a bit hesitant. And as you looked at him, you wondered what you should say. You didn't want to worry him more, but you knew that you couldn't lie. So you slowly nodded.

Keith immediately let out a sigh as he covered his face with his hands. And after seeing his reaction, you leaned against you knees, trying to hide the anxiety written all over your face.

Then you heard the sheets rustling as Keith inched closer, sitting next to you. "I'm sorry..." He then said silently. And that made you lift your head back up and look at him with a puzzled expression. "I guess I have been kind of absent-minded..." Keith then said while averting his gaze, staring at his hands with a slightly guilty look on his face.

Then he nudged slightly closer. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, now clearly more determined while looking at you in the eyes. But you didn't know what to say. It wasn't his fault, and you didn't want to make him feel guilty about not knowing.

When you averted your gaze, Keith quickly took a hold of your chin, turning your head back towards him, making your eyes widen up, surprised of his sudden straightforward gesture. But Keith just looked straight in your eyes, like he was searching the answer from there. He really wanted to know.

Then you let out a sigh as you finally spoke. "I just didn't want to trouble you more. I knew you were struggling enough already, and it's not like..." You then said before swallowing your last words. "What?" Keith asked, urging you to continue. So you continued hesitantly. "It felt like there was this distance between us..." You still said, sounding more apologetic than you intended.

Keith looked at you for a moment, like he was thinking. And then he took a deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry." He said, his whisper sounding loud in the otherwise silent room. "You know I can't just give up on Shiro..." He then said before looking determinedly into your eyes. "But I don't want to give up on you either."

For a moment you just looked at each other silently in the eyes, like you hadn't really seen each other for ages. There was something so profoundly sad in his gaze, but at the same time something so gentle that it made your heart beat faster again.

Keith slowly leaned closer, and you knew what he was about to do. And that's when you suddenly realised that you didn't remember when was the last time he had kissed you. There had been so much going on that your relationship hadn't been the first thing on your mind, and probably not on his either. Everything that had happened after the fight with Zarkon had affected you both. And somehow you suddenly felt slightly giddy, like it was the first time you kissed.

Keith had probably realised the same as he approached you quite carefully. He observed you closely to see how you would react. He wanted to make sure you were still on the same page. That nothing had changed between you two, even though so much had changed around you.

When you didn't back away, he gently placed his lips on yours. And it really felt like your first kiss all over again. It was slightly nervous but a desperate kiss, similar to when you had liked each other and didn't quite know how to express it.

Keith took a hold of the back of your head, deepening the kiss. And then he kissed you again and again, as you slowly forgot about everything around you. Your body slowly relaxed as he kissed the tension away. You couldn't think of nothing more.

And when he pulled away after one passionate kiss, he leaned his forehead against yours, letting out a satisfied sigh while trying to even his breath. The warmth of it brushed against your skin and your mind went totally blank. It was so empty, except for the lingering feelings from the warm kisses. If that was what he was trying to do, then he had succeeded.

Then Keith backed away slightly so that he could see your eyes. "I know I'm a mess right now. I'm trying my hardest, but I just don't know what to do." He said with a serious voice. And when you looked back at his eyes, you saw that he was still conflicted with his emotions. "Do you hate me for being like this?" He then asked, suddenly sounding frustrated and insecure.

"Keith. Don't be stupid." You just blurted out, like you were suddenly offended by his question. And for a moment Keith looked at you silently before giving you a couple of kisses, almost like a thanks for saying that. And then he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you back into bed.

Keith pulled the blanket over you, like a gesture of wanting to make you feel safe. And immediately the coldness started to fade away, making you realise how tired you actually were.

"You should get some rest." Keith just said as the weariness in your body started to take control. You felt so warm and so safe as you listened to Keith's steady breathing. Then you wrapped your arms tightly around him as you slowly fell asleep. The last thing you remembered was the warm sensation of him kissing your head that was cradled against his chest.

-----------

The next morning it felt like everything was fine between you and Keith as you made your way towards the control room. You had gotten some sleep during the night, and were feeling a bit better about everything.

Allura and Coran had requested everyone to attend a meeting. It seemed like you had another mission coming up. You needed to help the Puigians with the Blades to get rid of the Galra still left on their planet Puig.

"I'm going to go look for Shiro." Keith straight away stated, not even wanting to hear about the mission. It wasn't a surprise, but it still kind of saddened you that he didn't even consider other responsibilities.

Pidge on the other hand still wanted to follow a lead she had on Matt, meaning that you, Lance and Hunk were the ones that left for the mission.

After you had changed your armour on, went into your Lion and greeted your friend, you contacted Lance and Hunk. "I'm ready whenever you are." You said feeling surprisingly carefree. You were quite happy to get out of the castle for a bit.

"I'm still waiting for the Blades to load up." Lance answered also sounding quite happy. And when the members of the Blade of Marmora were all inside the Blue Lion, you, Lance and Hunk started another mission without the rest of the Voltron.

As you closed in on your destination, you saw a strange looking planet ahead. It looked like the planet had been split in two and both sides wanted to get away from each other, even though they were still attached. And that made you slightly chuckle.

Just then your Lion purred questioningly, curious of your laughter. "Oh no, it's nothing. I was just thinking of Keith and Lance." You answered her while trying to get serious again. And like from cue, Lance spoke on the intercom. "You guys ready?" He asked as you approached the planet.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Hunk raised his voice gleefully. "I'm ready!" You also replied, pushing the handles of your Lion to gain more speed. "Let's go get 'em!" Lance then cheered as you closed in on the planet, seeing multiple Galra fighter planes circling above the village.

The fighter planes immediately spotted you and started to fire. "Hunk, we'll cover Lance so he can make it to the drop zone." You notified Hunk as you both started to fire at the planes. "I feel so important right now." Lance replied on the intercom, probably with a wide smile on his face.

That's when you pulled the other handle and your Lion roared loudly, shooting an energy pulse towards a bunch of planes coming straight at you. The pulse spread and overloaded many of the planes, making them lose power. Then Hunk flew right after you, firing the immobile planes down with ease. You were wreaking havoc, even if it was just the three of you.

"About 30 ticks to the drop zone. You ready Kolivan?" Lance asked on the intercom as you were closing in on the ground. "Affirmative." Kolivan answered surely, confirming that the Blades were ready to get off immediately when Lance would stop on the surface.

But just then Lance had to evade laser beams coming straight at him. "Hold on, evasive action underway!" He yelled while circling around in the sky. "Lance, there's no way you can stop here if they're on our tail!" You said firmly as you shot a fighter plane down again.

Just then larger laser beams were fired towards you, from gun towers on the planet's surface. "We have to take those out first!" You immediately notified the others. "I see them!" Hunk answered quite cheerfully as you all flew along the surface, towards the gun towers. And then you all fired at them simultaneously, taking them all down.

And when you soared back up the sky, you all laughed. It really felt good to let out some steam and forget about everything else. And your Lion roared happily too. She was glad to see you feeling better.

But your joy didn't last long though, as dozens of fighter planes started coming after you again. You fired at them, maneuvering left and right, but as you had your hands full, you passed the drop zone, unable to stop. There were too many planes circling around you.

"Kolivan, any ideas?" Lance then asked, trying to figure out what to do. "Open the hatch. We'll take it from here." Kolivan replied as calm as ever. And with that tone, nobody even questioned his orders.

You flew behind Lance when he opened the Blue Lion's belly hatch. And in an instant a bunch of Blades dropped down from the opening, even though Lance was flying with great speed.

The Blades glided down towards the surface, almost like they were riding the wind. You felt slightly nauseous in the pit of your stomach when you saw their daredevil act, but they were fearless as they landed on the ground and kept on running towards the village, not even minding the fall. And even though there were some sentries waiting, they took care of them quickly, moving forwards with great speed. They were amazing.

You let the Blades take care of their part while you again focused on the fighter planes. You, Lance and Hunk were shooting and evading, trying to get rid of every last one of them. And while you were doing that, you noticed how much better Hunk had gotten. He was evading and attacking like a pro now, and you actually felt a bit nostalgic when you remembered how clumsy he used to be at piloting in the beginning. He had probably advanced the most of you, and you were proud of him.

But that's when you heard Kolivan's voice on the intercom. "Paladins! Can you hear me? We're pinned down by heavy artillery. We need air support." He informed you. And as you looked around the surroundings, you saw a weapon attached to a cliff ledge above the village. It was firing heavily at the Blades down below, stopping them from moving forward. "Up there, on that cliff." You notified the others as you started to fly towards the weapon.

But it turned out the weapon was so fast that you had a hard time getting a clear shot at it before you had to evade, and it could fire at all sides below the cliff ledge. None of you seemed to get a shot at it.

"What now? We have to take it out, but we don't have any time to shoot it." You said as you guided your Lion backwards, trying to figure out what to do.

Just then Hunk had an idea. "Maybe not from the front." He said quite confidently as he flew the Yellow Lion above the cliff and got his big claws out, at the same time boosting his speed. And then he started to spin around, heading straight towards the ledge.

And then Hunk crashed straight at the ledge and to the back of the weapon, exploding it into pieces. And when he flew away again, he didn't even have a scratch. That's when you burst out laughing when you realised that Hunk and the Yellow Lion were really made for each other.

Now that the Blades could advance again, getting to the village and defeating the rest of the Galra, you knew that the mission was practically won. Gradually the fighter planes started to slow down, gathering into a flock and silently withdrawing the scene. You had succeeded.

"Next, let's just get ready for the parade." Lance then said with a content voice on the intercom. And that made you burst out laughing. "Lance, don't get so cocky." You said to him. "Come on, we're heroes now. It's our responsibility to bask in the glory." He replied to your laughter surprisingly serious, which made you laugh even more. And you enjoyed it thoroughly. It was the feeling of being free.

Then you flew the Lions down to the village to meet with the Blades. And as you landed, you realised that a lot of villagers had gathered there to greet you. They had really put together a small celebration quickly.

There were more and more Puigians arriving to admire the Lions. And as you walked out and took your helmet off, you realised that a lot of them were also staring at you too. And the more they were staring, the more uncomfortable you started to feel. You weren't really eager for the attention.

Lance and Hunk on the other hand didn't seem as fazed about the attention. Lance was immediately surrounded by Puigian girls. He took out his phone and started to snap selfies with them, enjoying the attention thoroughly. Hunk was instead quickly surrounded by trays full of different kinds of food, and he was eating them as fast as he could. Girls and food. Sometimes it felt like those were the only things that they could think about.

You on the other hand wanted to get away from the biggest crowd, so you walked to Kolivan, who was standing on the side with the other Blades. A woman tried to offer you some food on a tray, but you politely declined. Those living crabs and whatnot were not that appetizing to you.

But as you stood there and looked around the people of Puig, you realised how tensely they were staring at Kolivan and the Blades. And that made you feel somehow saddened. You knew how much good they had done, for you and for the cause, even though other people didn't see it.

"I guess you're not really used to welcomes like these?" You silently said to Kolivan, not wanting to be alone with the feeling. "You are right, but there is a reason for it, as you know." Kolivan just calmly said, like he didn't really mind the looks they were receiving.

That's when Hunk and Lance came to you. "Hmm...you know, based on our recent battles, it seems like the Galra Empire is kinda just falling apart." Hunk said as he watched the Puigians. But Kolivan just turned around, not even looking at him. "It's more than that. Look." He said as he pointed at a cliff behind you.

And as you turned around, your eyes widened up. There was an engraving of Voltron, etched straight at the cliff. It kind of resembled an image drawn by some old civilization on Earth, and you never would have imagined that someday you would be the topic of such engravings.

"Word of Voltron's triumph is spreading." Kolivan then explained. And as you looked at the image, you realised how true it was. You were becoming a legend. Or a hero.

But that's when a man with colored markings and short horns stepped out of the crowd. "Lions of Voltron, the people of Puig thank you for delivering us from the evil hands of the Galra Empire." He said while smiling friendly, seemingly speaking on behalf of all the villagers.

"Don't forget the Blade of Marmora. We couldn't have done it without Kolivan and his team." Lance then said, pointing at Kolivan quite casually. "It was our honor." Kolivan immediately answered formally. But the man frowned in response, and the mood changed drastically again. It really seemed that it would take more for them to be convinced that there are good Galra.

"Yes. They helped us free your planet." You still tried to emphasize the point, not trying to sound too forceful. But the Puigian just quietly glanced at you, like you hadn't even said anything. And then he started to smile again, ignoring Kolivan and the others standing there.

"I want to pledge to you that every able-bodied Puigian will join Voltron in the fight against the Galra." He then said politely, changing the subject. "But speaking of Voltron, where is it?" The man still asked while smiling enthusiastically. And that's when you all fell silent, while the crowd instead burst out to cheers and chants for Voltron.

You glanced at Lance and Hunk next to you and could see that their eyes were also blank. They didn't know what to think or say either. For some reason you felt guilty because you couldn't give them what they wanted right now. You couldn't form Voltron. Not when Shiro was still missing.

"I think this might be a problem." Hunk whispered, leaning closer so that the Puigians couldn't hear him. "Yeah..." You just replied while letting out an anxious sigh. You didn't know what to answer to them. You just wanted to get out of there.

Luckily you were able to leave quite soon when Lance declared loudly that it was time for you to go. And after you said goodbyes to the people, you quickly returned to your Lion. And as you sat on your chair, you let out a deep relieved sigh. As awkward as it was, you avoided answering all the questions about Voltron.

A few Puigians came along with you to the castle so that they could join the diplomatic dinner Allura and Coran were setting up. And as you returned to the castle, Coran escorted them to the guest rooms. You, Lance and Hunk on the other hand went to meet the others in the lounge.

As you came in, you saw Keith sitting further from everyone else, his arms crossed tightly, his gaze firmly on the floor. "So, nothing?" You asked silently as you sat down next to him. But he just shook his head, keeping his eyes on the floor. And even though you had anticipated that already, it still made you feel sad.