You were lying on your bed, staring at the plain grey ceiling, just thinking about everything. It felt like you were going around in circles with your thoughts. This whole situation was messing with your mind a lot more than you would have thought.

It felt like you were going around in circles with Keith too. After Shiro had gone missing, the distance between you two had grown, as you both grieved on your own. At some point the distance seemed to get smaller as he sought comfort from you, but now it seemed to widen again, as his behavior was threatening on ruining the team spirit.

The feeling you had after his outburst at the dinner party was still vivid in your mind. Too vivid. And you didn't know what to do. Your thoughts were mixed up. You felt so tense, unable to relax.

But then you let out a heavy sigh. You knew you had to get up from the bed. You knew that you should have meditated to get your thoughts back in order, but at the moment you didn't really care. You just got out of your room and headed towards the lounge. You were supposed to meet the others, to decide how to proceed with finding a new Paladin for the Black Lion.

When you arrived to the lounge, you sat down on the bench, next to Allura. Keith was already there, leaning against the wall a bit further away, clearly trying to isolate himself from everyone.

And when everyone was present, you were ready to decide how to proceed with finding the new Paladin. "So, what should we do?" Lance then asked, opening up the conversation. "Yeah, how do you even find a Paladin?" Hunk also asked while looking at everyone. "Do we, like, have to hold auditions?" He then added quite innocently. And that's when you glanced at Hunk. Usually his adorable comments made you smile, but not that day.

"Allura, when we came here, you told me I would fly the Green Lion, and I thought there was no way. But then, I found it and I flew it." Pidge then started pondering aloud, turning her attention to Allura. "And then, Hunk flew the Yellow Lion, and he's not even a pilot. In fact, you told everyone who would pilot which Lion." She continued, a bit all over the place, like she was trying to figure out what really happened back then.

"Yeah, how did you do that? Did we ever find out how you did that? Can you do that now?" Hunk then started babbling, almost jumping up from the bench excited and confused at the same time.

"Sadly, no. When you arrived at the castle, I immediately recognized the special qualities in each of you. But I don't know how to search the entire universe for a new Paladin." Allura just quietly answered with a sad sigh. And then she lowered her gaze, like she was feeling guilty for not being able to help.

As you looked at Allura, you noticed how slouched her demeanor was, and how she clenched her hands nervously. She was probably feeling the burden heavily. So you immediately placed your hand on top of hers, trying to comfort her. You wanted her to know that she didn't have to feel bad about it.

That's when Coran turned his attention to Keith, who was leaning against the wall, minding his own business, like he wasn't even a part of the team. "Keith, you piloted the Black Lion when you had to save Shiro. Perhaps you're the one." Coran just stated quite casually. But without answering, Keith just averted his gaze, like he was trying to hide his displeasure.

You knew something that the others didn't. You knew that Shiro had wanted Keith to lead Voltron if something happened to him. And you knew it weighted heavily on Keith's mind.

Lance quickly reacted to Coran's words by raising his voice. "Keith would be the worst leader of Voltron!" He yelled while glaring at Keith. And that's when you let out a small sigh. Why did they have to provoke each other all the time? If they would start bickering now, you wouldn't even care. But instead of responding, Keith just stayed quiet, not reacting to Lance's outburst. And that was unusual.

"Yeah, we all have our thing." Pidge then said, starting to sum up your personality traits. "Keith's the loner." She first stated while pointing at Keith. And that immediately made your heart feel heavy as you started to wonder if he really was. If maybe he had been the loner all along, and you wouldn't fit in that world.

"No, but there's (Y/N) now." Hunk tried correcting Pidge. But you just averted your gaze, feeling slight sadness. "No, Pidge might be right..." You kind of mumbled to yourself silently as you looked at your hands.

"I'm the brain. Hunk's the nice one." Pidge just continued without paying attention to your mumbling. "(Y/N)'s the compassionate one. Allura's the decision maker. Coran's the wise old guy. And Lance is the goofball." She ended summing you all up perceptively.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. Totally right." Lance just nodded with a smile on his face. Until he actually comprehended what Pidge just said. "Wait a minute." He then paused while glaring at Pidge. "I'm not a goofball! I'm like the cool ninja sharpshooter." He said, sounding offended. And that finally made you smile a bit, even though you immediately covered it up with your hand so that Lance wouldn't get too offended.

"Are you joking?" Keith suddenly said, his voice full of ridicule. It was almost mean, and that seemed to make everyone silent. Why was he suddenly being so rude? The way he had been relieving his anxiety on others lately was just too much. It just left you kind of dumbfounded. It made you wonder if you even knew him at all.

That's when Lance jumped up from his seat. "I'm being completely serious when I say, I do not want you to lead me anywhere!" He yelled irritated while pointing at Keith. And you could hear from the tone of his voice that he really meant it. They were beyond their usual bickering.

"I don't want to be the leader! That's just what Shiro wanted!" Keith immediately raised his voice, in reply to Lance's yelling. And that's when your eyes widened up. You were surprised that he said it aloud to the others.

And when everyone suddenly froze to their places, Keith realised what he had just said. He immediately shut his mouth and averted his gaze as a pressuring silence fell into the room.

"What are you talking about?" Hunk then asked carefully. "Nothing." Keith just casually replied, like he hadn't just said anything important. "Shiro wanted you to be his successor, didn't he?" Pidge also asked, looking at Keith, wanting an answer too.

But when Keith didn't answer, Pidge suddenly turned to you. "Did you know about this?" She asked demanding. And you let out a deep sigh while nodding. Why hide it now when it was out in the open.

"Well, I never heard Shiro say that, and how convenient that you're bringing it up now, when Shiro is gone." Lance quickly raised his voice again while crossing his arms in disbelief. "Lance, it's true. If you don't believe Keith, believe me." You said, looking at Lance, trying to make him stop his quarrel.

But that just seemed to make Keith more irritated, as he leaned forward, spreading his arms and raising his voice. "You want the job so badly, you can have it!" He said, challenging Lance to take that burden off his back. But that just added more fuel to the fire.

"I've called the head from the very beginning." Hunk suddenly demanded, jumping up from the bench. "What about me? I picked up on the radio waves that led us to Voltron in the first place." Pidge also said, raising her voice. And suddenly the whole lounge was full of arguing about who gets to be the leader.

You on the other hand were feeling quite anxious about the situation. Everyone was shouting at each other, arguing about the Black Lion, and you knew that wasn't what Shiro would have wanted.

"Hey! Please calm down." You said, getting up from the bench when you had enough. You placed your hand on Lance's shoulder to get his attention, as he seemed to be most upset. "This is not how we can solve this." You then added to the others, and it seemed like they finally started to calm down a bit.

"It's not our decision to make. We must allow the Lion to decide." Coran then spoke, after you had somewhat calmed the situation down. "Coran is right. We must all present ourselves to the Black Lion to see who will bear this glorious burden." Allura also said while standing up to get her voice heard. And that made everyone finally return to their senses.

"What? You, Princess?" Coran immediately asked, turning to look at Allura baffled. "My father created Voltron. How can I allow others to risk their lives in battle and not be prepared to do so myself? I must try." She replied, looking straight at him, not giving him any room to disagree.

And then it was settled. You needed to let the Black Lion decide, so you decided to meet up at the hangar. Then you could find out if one of you would really be the new leader.

But while you were changing into your armour, your body felt really heavy, like you were suddenly made of lead. You were pretty sure that you weren't the leader. You knew you weren't the Paladin for the Black Lion. You wouldn't even want to be. You had your own Lion. How could you ever even think of flying another? And besides, you had a strong feeling that it was Keith. You knew that Shiro thought so too, and he always seemed to be one step ahead.

When you were ready, you headed to the Black Lion's hangar. And while standing there, looking at it now, it seemed so large and majestic, waiting for you all. And even though you had a strong hunch that you weren't the Black Lion's Paladin, it still made you nervous.

"So, who goes first?" Hunk then asked while you were all standing there. But you just shrugged your shoulders, not really caring about the order. "Should we draw straws?" Pidge also asked, making you immediately let out a sigh. "Can't we even make a simple decision without a leader?" You asked sarcastically, even though it really was not funny at all to you.

"I have it! I'm thinking of a number between one and 50!" Coran said while raising his voice excited, like he just got the idea of the century. "Allura, you go first, Pidge is second, and then the others." He continued. "Wait, don't we get to guess the number?" Lance asked with a whining voice. "But I already know the number." Coran just stated back.

That's when you let out another sigh, purely out of frustration. You hated the situation as it was already, without the necessary hassle and whining. "Allura, just go." Lance then said while sighing, also yielding to Coran's whims.

So, Allura was the first to try. She looked at the Lion for a moment, then nodded intently before going in. And while you looked at her disappearing into the Black Lion, everyone was just quiet. A nervous tension filled the air, and for the first time in awhile, nobody bickered or made any jokes. Everyone just waited.

You knew that Allura wanted to fly the Lion really badly. Her sense of responsibility was great. Even though she did so much in the castle, she wanted to do more. She wanted to save the universe with you as a part of Voltron.

You waited for a moment in total silence. Then, when it seemed like nothing was happening, Allura finally came out of the Black Lion. She looked extremely disappointed, even though she tried to hide it with a fake smile. "I guess it's not me." She said, trying to sound alright with that. But you felt bad for her. She wanted it so much.

"Okay, my turn!" Pidge immediately cheered out loud, totally disregarding Allura's feelings. And then she ran to the Lion, leaving you wait in the hangar again.

You walked next to Allura, placing your hand on her back, trying to comfort her. And when she glanced at you, she smiled sadly but sincerely, like she kind of knew from the start that it wasn't supposed to be her.

It didn't take too long for Pidge to come out of the Lion. She just grumpily walked next to you without saying a word. "So?" You still asked her. "I'm too short." She just answered without even looking at you. And even though you didn't mean to, you slowly started to smile, immediately lifting your hand and gently patting Pidge's head. "There, there, shorty." You said with a sympathetic voice. But that just made her glare at you, and swat your hand off her head.

Then it was Hunk's turn to go. He stomped to the Black Lion determined, but quicker than anyone else, he also came back, looking quite guilty. "What are you doing? You didn't even try." Coran said, raising his voice. "Yes, I did. I sat down." Hunk replied while averting his gaze.

But when Coran kept staring at him, Hunk finally broke down. "I don't want to leave the Yellow Lion, okay? I mean, it's big, it's got this super armor, it's safe." He explained hastily. "But you called the head." Coran said slowly, quoting Hunk's own words. "Yeah, I know. I wanted to form the head with the Yellow Lion." Hunk still tried to reason with him. And that's when everyone went silent. Oh Hunk, you adorable dummy.

"Fine." Hunk then just stated while turning around and making his way back to the Black Lion. And it didn't take too long before you started to hear his voice through the intercom. "Pidge, go right! Lance, go left! (Y/N), rub my shoulders! Keith, make me a sandwich, stat! Yes, you heard me. I'm the leader now, dang it!" Hunk yelled, giving orders to everyone, pretending to be the leader, even though nothing was happening in the Lion.

Everyone just looked at the Lion silently, until Coran let out an audible sigh. "All right, you're not the one. Out of the Lion." He stated bluntly to Hunk. And even though it was a serious situation, you could always count on Hunk to lighten up the mood. You really needed that.

"(Y/N), you're next." Coran then turned to you after Hunk had gotten out of the Lion. And you immediately nodded while taking in a deep breath. You couldn't help it, you had to try it too.

But as you entered the head of the Lion and saw the chair, you immediately stopped. To think that not too long ago, Shiro was sitting there. And immediately you felt a sudden sense of longing. You missed him.

Your heart felt heavy as you reluctantly sat on the chair. It wasn't to your fit and nothing seemed familiar, even though the Lion's were pretty much similar on the inside. It just didn't feel right. Not at all.

But you still closed your eyes, imagining the Black Lion in your mind, trying to get the feel of it. Then you put your hands on the handles, and breathed in and out silently for a moment.

And when it seemed like nothing was going to happen, you opened your eyes feeling relieved. You knew you weren't the one.

But after you let go of the handles, you still stayed in the chair for a moment, looking at the console of the Lion. "Wherever you are, I hope you are all right..." You quietly said. "We all miss you so much." You still added before getting up and leaving.

As you walked out of the Black Lion, everyone turned to look at you. And you gave them a reassuring smile. "As you can see, it's not me." You said clearly more relaxed than before. "I'm going next!" Lance immediately declared loudly while walking past you. And when nobody objected, he disappeared inside the Black Lion, leaving you all to wait again.

Lance seemed to take his time inside the Lion, even though nothing happened. But Coran was considerate enough not to shoo him out of there immediately. "So, how long are we gonna let Lance sit in there?" Pidge finally addressed the issue. "Yeah, it's been like half a varga." Hunk added.

Just then Lance came out of the Lion, clearly not happy. He just slammed his helmet on the ground, sat on it and crossed his arms in a pout. "It's useless. The Black Lion hates all of us." He said, seemingly irritated that he wasn't the one.

But you didn't pay much attention to Lance anymore, since you knew what that meant. It was Keith. It had to be him. And as you glanced at him, you noticed how he was looking at the Black Lion intently, not really showing much emotion on his face.

"Keith, the Black Lion hasn't responded to any of us. You have to try." Allura then said while turning to him too. And without responding, Keith just let out a deep breath and started heading to the Lion. He didn't even look at any of you, like he was in his own world, far away.

As you looked at Keith walking in, you realised how slouched his shoulders were, like he was already beaten before he even tried. Like he already knew what was about to happen and he didn't like it. And it made you sad to see him like that. You didn't want him to suffer, or feel anxious.

After Keith disappeared inside the Black Lion, everyone stayed silent. It felt like everyone held their breaths in anticipation. You were nervous and excited at the same time.

And then, suddenly the lights in the Black Lion were turned on. Suddenly the Lion rose to its feet and let out a loud roar of acceptance, which echoed in the silent room. "I knew it..." You quietly said. At the same time you wondered what Keith was feeling at the moment. Was he happy? Or was he not? You betted on the latter.

Then the Black Lion reached out its head, letting Keith out, like it was presenting your new leader to you. But Keith was clearly not happy. He frowned as he walked to you, still averting his gaze, like he was lost in thought.

"I'm proud of you, Keith. I wish you were getting the job under better circumstances, but congratulations." Allura was the first to break the silence. And you could hear from her voice that she was genuinely glad about it. "Congratulations, Keith." Pidge also said. "Yeah, man, ditto." Hunk also added while smiling at Keith.

"Keith." You then said his name gently, wanting his attention. And when he turned to look at you, you tried giving him the most encouraging smile you could at the moment. "Congratulations Keith, even though..." You started to say, but that's when he coldly cut you off, still looking straight at you. "No, I don't accept this." He said with a serious voice, frowning at the same time.

Everyone seemed to gasp at what he said, but you kept your gaze at him while he still looked at you. "You must. The Black Lion has chosen you." Allura said, trying to persuade Keith. But he just raised his voice back at her. "I can't replace Shiro! You guys were right. I'm the loner." He then said before averting his gaze from you. And that small gesture made your heart feel heavy and got your blood boiling.

You were starting to get incredibly frustrated about everything you had ever tried to do for Keith. Of all the times you tried talking to him while he just shut you out. Maybe he was right. Maybe he really was the loner. And loners usually tend to be alone. And at that moment you couldn't keep that frustration inside.

"Shiro believed in your potential Keith! Are you saying he was wrong then!?" You just snapped at Keith, getting him to look at you with wide eyes. And once you had gotten his attention, you continued. "Shiro really saw it in you, and now you're just going to let it slip by. It's what he wanted..." You still said, staring at him straight on, until it was silent again.