From “Defenders of the Multiverse” chapter 17 (Prompt: Tex). This fic is finally complete! 😃
When Keith arrived at the end of the tunnel, he found himself in a long, wide hallway with many closed doors. The brilliant colors and exotic furnishings surrounding him were strange and yet somehow familiar. They reminded him of Earth even though he was certain that there was nothing on his home planet quite like them. There was only one door that was open along the palatial corridor. He peered inside.
The room reminded him of the little house in the desert where he had lived with his father when he was a boy, but everything he saw here was new and clean, not as shabby as he remembered. There was a tall man standing in the room, gazing out of the window at a landscape that Keith could not see.
“Dad? Is it really you?” Keith asked. The tall man’s face was not visible until he turned around. Only then was Keith certain. “Dad!”
“Keith!” his father beamed at him and embraced him warmly. “Son, I have been waiting for you.” He looked at him. “You’ve grown so tall.”
“Is this...where you live now?” Keith asked. “It’s not exactly the house I remember. This place is fit for a king!”
His father chuckled. “In this place there are many mansions. There’s a place for you here if you want it, son. You can stay here with me, or you can go back.”
“To the life you were living...the war, the devastated worlds, the refugees...”
“There are so many people who need my help. I want to help them, but I can’t do that if I’m here.”
“There’s no suffering here, son. No more death, only peace and happiness.”
“But my friends...they need me. I’m their leader, Dad. I have to go back to them.”
“Your friends are here too, if they choose to be, or they can go back.” Keith’s father touched his shoulder. “Every man and woman has to follow their own path.”
“Then, you don’t know what they will decide? You can’t tell me what they will choose, can you?”
If the others went back, Keith could choose to stay, but that would mean abandoning the team, abandoning Voltron. He had done that once before when he left them for the Blades of Marmora. He remembered how upset Lance was, how Pidge and Hunk had cried, and how angry Allura had been when he left...
He closed his eyes, recalling her beautiful face. He loved her. He could admit that to himself now, and even though sometimes it seemed like a pleasant dream or a fantasy, somehow she loved him in return. He couldn’t abandon her again, especially now that they were in a different sort of relationship than before.
“I have to go back, Dad. So many people are counting on me.”
“Your friends...your princess...you love them, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. And I reckon they love me too. I hope you understand why I can’t stay.”
“It’s your choice, son. I’ll still be here when your time to cross over comes again.”
Keith’s eyes watered. “I’m glad. You know, I found Mom when I went to space. Maybe someday we’ll all be together again, the way a family should be.”
“I hope so. I still miss her.” His father’s eyes were as watery as his own.
“She misses you too, Dad.”
“Then tell her that I love her,” his father said. “Loving her and then bringing you into the world were the greatest things that ever happened to me in life, son. I just wish we would have had more time together.”
“But not today,” his father said.
“No. Not today.” Keith embraced his father. “I love you, Dad.” He closed his eyes as the tears flowed freely. “I’ll always love you.”
Keith did not open his eyes again for a long time after that.
—From “Defenders of the Multiverse” Chapter 17, a now complete multi-chapter adventure.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/31663769/chapters/96198364
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