So, y’know how ages ago we had fanart of the Lions as MiniLions or RoboCats?
Well...what if instead of the Lions having SpaceShenanigans or Allura and/or TeamPunk build them MiniMe’s to inhabit, they instead transferred their Souls into the Bayards?
(Aaaand...they were waiting to do so until Black and Shiro got their Bayard back, which then got postboned until Black got Shiro and the Bayard back, then delayed yet again for Shiro and Keith to finally be reunited with their Team and Black&Red respectively.)
But once everyone’s home safe&sound and flying with their Lions again?
MiniBlack is pretty skittish around Shiro and Jiro initially—all three have quite a bit of bagage to work through regarding eachother. But once they do? Black practically hovers to the point of being underfoot and clingy, unwilling to let Shiro or Jiro out of the Lion’s sight (but sleeps curled into a tight ball next to Shiro, although Black relinquishes the Bayard if either of the Twins need to use it as a prosthetic.) Black’s also the first Lion to figure out how to give MiniBlack a Warm&Fluffy! upgrade since...yeah. Paladin and Pilot both have lots of nasty nightmares, and warm, soft (synthetic) fur helps ground them back in reality again. Black’s pretty calm and content to either observe Shiro and occationally Jiro as they work or be entertained with soloplay, but will occationally get underfoot or obtrusive if either tries overworking themselves.
MiniRed is completely miffed and aloof with Keith for at least a phoeb since his return, but will come barreling out hissing or yowling if anyone DARES “threaten” him or otherwise sets him off. On more than one occation Red attacked the GladiatorBot and blatantly stole Keith’s mamora blade in a passive-aggressive attempt to keep him “safe”. Eventually Keith catches on and does stupid stunts to get Red to come near him. They finally have it out via Keith and Red flying together in private. After the air’s cleared Red tends to wander the Castle or lazily keep an eye on Keith from the other end of the room. Every once in awhile Red will roughly headbutt Keith and demand playtime and cuddles.
MiniGreen can often be found perched on Pidge’s head or shoulders, or attacking her tools and scattering spare parts. Turns out it’s less “play” and more “mimickry” as Green attempts to help buuuut...kinda just becomes a complete nuisance. Out of all the Lions, Green is the most playful and can easily be distracted away from “helping” by chasing tossed toys...or stalking the SpaceFloofs, mice, other MiniLions, or even people instead. If Green isn’t seen with Pidge the Lion’s probably causing mischief elsewhere.
MiniBlue is also initially shy around Lance, but instead of creeping around at the edges Blue tends to hover but keep or duck away just out of reach or hesitantly sniffing at Lance. Blue also tends to drop random “gifts” next to the Blue Paladin, tail curled tightly around squared up paws as the Lion slowblinks and flicks an ear while gaging Lance’s reaction. (Blue usually brings socks, sometimes the Mice or Floofs. Shiro or Keith tend to be the usual SockVictims. Keith complains LOUDLY, prompting Red to pounce on Blue. Shiro takes it in stride and just wears another pair.) Lance wins back Blue, and Blue then tends to demand bellyrubs and try and lead Lance places while jabbering in various meows and trills, to which Lance participates with equal enthusiasm.
MiniYellow’s a giant, lazy snugglebug. The Lion tends to prefer napping next to or near Hunk, often taking over his lap or portion of his workspace. Every once in a while Yellow will blatantly take over Hunk’s keyboard or toolbox, especially if Hunk hasn’t pet the Lion “enough”. But, Yellow also tends to use Takeovers to prompt Hunk out of a hyperfocus or aggressively purr away an anxiety attack. While cooking Yellow tends to perch on the counter and watch as Hunk works, occationally yowling at him in response to Hunk’s habit of thinking aloud...which then earns Yellow the position of Hunk’s favorite sounding board. (Yellow’s the first to simulate a stomach and demand scraps and treats, using the PaladinBond with Hunk to access Taste&Smell for the food. While the sensations are comandeered from Hunk, Yellow develops which ones are “favorites”, anyway. Phantom tasting&smelling weirds Hunk out at first, but he gradually rolls with it since Yellow enjoys the experience.)
All the MiniLions adore Allura. If they’re not shadowing their Paladins (or in some cases Pilots) or exploring the Castle and picking on the other pets&MiniLions, they can typically be found with or near the Princess. Blue seems to have the closest relationship with Allura (or is probably just the most possessive of their Link). The mice are less than enthused, especially since Green, Blue, and Red tend to tease them. This eases slightly when Allura scolds them to leave the mice alone or the Lions can’t stay, which leaves for some pretty sulky Lions. Eventually the mice relax and start pranking the Lions, instead.
Characters: Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, Lance and Coran.
Summary: It doesn’t take much to start a pillow fight.
Pidge’s eye twitched, as she slumped further into the couch with her arms crossed. “That is not how computers work.”
Lance, Keith and Hunk gave a sigh in unison without taking their eyes off the screen.
“We know, Pidge,” Lance said dryly as he hit the pause button on the remote. “You’ve been saying that for 20 minutes. Can’t you just sit back and enjoy the movie?”
Pidge scowled at him as she dug her fingers into the cushion. “No, I can’t! Because all I can think about is how apparently the people who wrote this have never even typed on a computer.”
Hunk rubbed his eyes. “Green doesn’t seem to have any trouble with it,” he said as he pointed to the lions over his shoulder.
Pidge glanced and saw all of their lions were still enjoying their nap on the floor. The only lion that was absent was Black who was currently with Shiro and Coran in the hangar.
“Well, I’m not Green,” Pidge pouted. “Besides, how can you complain about me? Keith spent an hour ranting about the plot holes in the last movie we watched.”
Keith slouched forward. “Because the book it was suppose to be base off was better and they completely ignored that-”
“Please,” Lance said with a sigh and he held up his hand. “We don’t need to hear that again. Pidge will you just sit back and have some fun?”
Pidge pouted, but then her eyes lit up as her eyes landed upon one of the extra pillows Hunk had fetched earlier. “Fun, huh?” she said with a sly smirk as she picked one of the pillows. “Like this?!”
Fast as lightning, Pidge whacked the pillow at Lance’s head.
Keith and Hunk laughed as Lance glared from under the pillow. “Really?” he asked.
Pidge gave an impish grin. “THIS is how I have fun and that’s what you told me to do right?”
Lance’s eyes flared up as the spark of a challenge rose inside him. “Ooh, it’s on now! Take this!”
Thankfully, after spending years of getting into sibling arguments with Matt, Pidge ducked. Hunk managed to dodge, however, no one was able to warn the sleeping lions. The pillow flew in the air and collided into both Blue and Green’s faces.
The lions jumped up, growling madly as if an enemy was about to attack, but when they saw there was no danger they paused. Green and Blue blinked at the pillow, and raised their heads at their paladins.
Lance snickered. “Oh, man, sorry guys, I was aiming for Pidge.”
All of the lions’ eyes narrowed.
Keith laughed as he covered his mouth. “Although, that was funny and you guys are getting out of shape.”
The lions stared at one another growling like they were debating.
“Yyeeaahh,” Hunk teased as he reached for another pillow. “That’s bad if a pillow can sneak up on you-”
Red seized a pillow with her mouth, jumped in the air and tossed it. The pillow flew and smacked Keith right in the face.
The paladins went quiet as Red landed back on the ground.
Keith slowly removed the pillow off his face. “Did Red just tossed a pillow at me?”
“Indeed she did,” Lance said clicked his tongue and picked up another pillow. “And can we agree we all know what this means?”
The paladins nodded and Pidge was the first to strike. “PALADINS VS LIONS PILLOW FIGHT!”
Chaos then entered the room as pillows flew back and forth. The lions jumped, and flung pillows at their young paladins heads and the humans did their best to retaliate. Within ten minutes, the paladins were taking cover behind the couch as the lions growled from their conquered land of the table.
“Okay, guys,” Keith declared as he held up the pillow. “I’M GOING IN!”
“GO GET ‘EM, KEITH!” Hunk cheered as Yellow tossed a pillow at his head.
Keith smirked as he raced forward, pillow in hand and tossed it. It would have been a perfect shot, except it was then the door opened.
Shiro entered with Coran and seemed very engrossed in a discussion until a pillow greeted his face. The fighting instantly stopped as Shiro blinked dazed and Black poked her head in to poke at the fallen pillow.
Coran looked to the pillow and looked around the room, no doubt taking in the mess it was in. “I’m not cleaning this up,” he stated firmly.
“Noted,” Shiro said as he frowned and looked to his fellow paladins. “Mind explaining why it looks like a warzone in here?”
Pidge gave a sheepish smile as she ducked behind Lance. “Um...paladin vs lion pillow fight?”
“A pillow fight?” Shiro asked with an amused smile. “Why on Earth did you suddenly decide to start that?”
“We didn’t,” Keith argued as he pointed. “The lions started it!”
Shiro raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms and Black ventured closer to the other lions who were watching her with intrigue. “You seriously expect me to believe the lions randomly decided to start a pillow fight and-”
WHACK!
Another pillow slammed Shiro in the face. Everyone froze as the pillow fell to the floor and gradually turned their heads. Black seemed quite pleased with her attack as she growled and lowered her front to tease Shiro.
“I see,” Shiro said slowly. He then turned to Coran and handed him the tablet. “Coran, you’re going to need this.”
“Oh?” Coran asked as he tilted his head. “Whatever for?”
Shiro said nothing as he joined the other paladins and picked up his own pillow. “To keep score! HEADS UP!”
He threw a pillow and Black was unable to dodge it as she was hit. The other paladins cheered and swiftly the battle resumed.
Coran shook his head in amusement as he pulled up a chair to witness the anarchy.
Summary: Someone has been stealing Pidge’s pen and Hunk is shocked to discover who the thief truly is.
“Okay, who keeps stealing my pens?!” Pidge declared as she entered the kitchen. Green leaped in the room growling as she carried Pidge’s backpack in her mouth.
Hunk and Yellow glanced up from bowl of batter he’d been stirring and Lance paused mid-chewing as Blue peeked over the table.
“Um...not me?” said Hunk with a raised eyebrow.
“And definitely not me,” Lance said as he leaned back. “Especially after the death glare you gave me for borrowing your hairbrush.”
“I’m serious,” Pidge said as she took her backpack from Green and unzipped it.
“When we left Earth, I had twenty pens.” She held up two plastic packages of black pens. “I’ve used six, but somehow I’m down to ten. So, who keeps taking them?”
Lance blinked and asked “I’m more curious on why you have twenty pens.”
“I write a lot of notes, okay?” Pidge snarled. “And since I have yet to find anything similar to a ballpoint pen in space, I’m milking the ones I have.”
“Maybe it was Shiro, or Keith?” Hunk offered.
“I bet it was Keith,” Lance announced with a raised hand and Blue raised her paw in agreement.
“Shiro wouldn’t take my supplies without asking,” Pidge replied with her arms folded, “and I can’t imagine Keith needing a pen for anything. He’s either spending time training, with us or meditating in his room.”
Hunk frowned. That part was true. Truthfully, there were times he worried about Keith a bit. He seemed so focussed on being a perfect paladin that he barely seemed to do anything else. That couldn’t be healthy.
“Then maybe Coran or Allura?” Lance asked with a shrug.
“Again, neither would take things without asking and why would they want my pens?” Pidge retorted.
“Well, that just leaves the space mice,” Hunk replied as he pushed Yellow away from poking her nose into the bowl. “And if they didn’t take them, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Maybe you just misplaced them somewhere,” Lance offered. “The castle is a big place, wouldn’t be hard to lose something as small as a pen.”
Pidge sighed with a huff as she took the seat next to Lance. “Yeah, I guess,” she grumbled. “But it’s just going to drive me crazy wondering what happened to them.”
Hunk was silent as he returned to stirring. It was rather weird. It wasn’t as if pens could get up and walk away.
However, as the rest of the day passed, he ended up almost forgetting about it entirely until right before bed.
He yawned as Yellow followed him through the halls into his bedroom. “Man, I’m beat,” he said to Yellow as he patted her. “I’m ready to crash as soon as my head hits the pillow-”
The door to Pidge’s room cut him off causing Hunk to jump slightly and then paused.
Wait, last I check, Pidge was still in the hangar, so who would be in her room?
He gulped as the thoughts of ghosts popped into his head. He was SO not ready to deal with that again after what happened last time and he froze as he heard footsteps.
Yellow jumped in front and growled to protect them as a figure appeared. Yellow ceased her growling and Hunk tilted his head in confusion.
“Red?” he asked.
Red paused and tilted her head to the side as she looked at Hunk with something small hanging out of her mouth.
“Okay, what were you doing in Pidge’s room?” Hunk asked as he kneeled to take a closer look. “That’s her private space and you shouldn’t-” He trailed off as he recognized the object in her mouth. “Wait..IS THAT PIDGE’S PEN?!”
Red didn’t linger longer enough to confirm as she sharply turned and dashed down the hall.
“No, wait, RED GET BACK HERE!” Hunk said as he and Yellow gave chase.
Thankfully, he didn’t have far to run as Red made a sharp turn into Keith’s room. Hunk slowed his pace and gestured for Yellow to keep quiet. Maybe, if they were lucky, they could sneak up on Red. Hunk tiptoed and opened the door by a small creak.
Red was sitting up on the floor offering the pen from her mouth, and he spied a familiar gloved hand reach for it.
“Thanks, Red,” Keith’s replied as he took it. “I have no idea where you keep finding these-”
“Keith?!” Hunk exclaimed as he shoved the door opened and Yellow peek through his legs. You’re the pen thief?!”
Keith jumped as he shoved something small inside his jacket, but once he regained his composer. “What? Pen thief?”
Hunk groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “Man, Lance is not going to let this one go.”
“What are you talking about?” Keith said as he waved the pen around.
Hunk peeked through his fingers before letting his hand drop to his side.
“Pidge’s pens have been going missing and it’s been driving her crazy,” he stated. “She’s been paranoid and looking for clues everywhere...Well, more paranoid than usual. You remember last week with the baking sheet and the signal boost and Coran's moustache catching fire?"
Keith gave a slow nod.
"Worse than that." Hunk stated. “Anyway, point is, she thought someone was taking them, which didn’t make sense, but...well..you have them.”
Keith gave a thoughtful look as he studied the pen and then looked to Red. “Is that where you’ve been getting me the pens?” he asked. “From Pidge?”
Red nodded and growled as if she was saying “Of course! What’s the big deal?”
Keith moaned as he rubbed his eyes. “Should have known it was too good to be true,” he muttered and looked to Hunk as he handed over the pen. “Sorry, I swear I didn’t realize Red had been stealing from Pidge.”
“Pidge is the one you need to apologize to,” Hunk said as he took the pen, but then frowned. “Although...why did you need so many pens?” He gave a shrug. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you write anything down.”
And on that note, why did you keep going through them so fast? Hunk thought.
Keith froze, and suddenly seemed shy as he fiddled with his fingerless gloves.
Hunk winced. “Sorry, Dude, did I..ask something I shouldn’t?”
It really wasn’t Hunk’s business, and if Keith wished to keep it secret that was his right. “Look, I can just tell Pidge I found this on the floor-”
“No, no,” Keith said with a sigh as Red rubbed her head against Keith’s leg for comfort. “I owe an explanation, but…” He chewed his lip, “just promise me you won’t laugh.”
Hunk frowned and exchanged a confused expression with Yellow. “Alright, I promise.”
Keith seemed to relax a bit and Hunk noticed Red got rather excited as he reached inside his jacket. He brought out a small leather bound book, at least that’s what Hunk had thought until Keith handed it to him.
Keith was blushing like crazy as Hunk took it and realized from the feel of the paper that it was a sketchbook. Hunk suddenly felt uncertain if he should open it, but with an approving nod from both Keith, Red and Yellow, he did.
The first couple of pages were doodles. Some of animals, designs, and even some comic characters he recognized, however, the next few pages were rough sketches of landscapes and more detail drawings of wild animals.
Hunk studied the sketches, and then grinned slightly as he found various sketches on the space mice, Red and even random head shots of the others. There was a cartoony version of Coran twirly a mustache that made Hunk chuckle.
“You said you wouldn’t laugh,” Keith said with a pout.
Hunk stopped and realized what Keith meant. “Sorry, Dude,” he said as he held up the sketch. “But this is funny.”
Keith blinked and his frown tightened. “Oh..um..that is meant to be funny.”
Hunk’s eyes softened as he stepped closer. “Did you sketch these?” Hunk asked dumbfounded.
Keith nodded with the blush still on his cheeks.
“Dude! Where on earth did you get a sketchbook?!” Hunk asked.
“I’ve always had one,” Keith replied. “My jacket has a large inside pocket, so I’ve always kept a small sketchbook in there.” He fiddled with the tip of his hair.
“Doodling helps me relax when I’m feeling anxious.”
“Ah, okay, I get ya” Hunk said as he flipped through the pages. He could relate to that, it was why he enjoyed baking cookies so much. “Does Shiro know about this?”
“Shiro gave me that sketchbook,” Keith explained as Red growl, “but besides him, no one knows.”
“I see,” Hunk said quietly as he found a sketch of himself smiling and laughing. He even sketched me, Hunk thought in shock. I can’t think of ANYONE that ever tried to draw me.
Keith gave a sigh. “Look, you don’t have to pretend,” he said, “I know they’re bad.”
“Bad? What are you talking about?” Hunk said in amazement. “I’m not expert, but this is incredible to me.”
Keith was taken aback and looked to Red in shock. “Really?”
“I’ve only ever been able to draw stick people,” Hunk admitted, “but this is way better than anything I could have ever drawn.”
A thought then struck him and he closed the sketchbook. “So...you’ve been using Pidge’s pens to sketch?”
“Yyyeeaahhh,” Keith said with a deep sigh as he cast a glare in Red’s direction. “I lost the one pencil I had and Red had been bringing the pens.” He shook his head. “I swear I had no idea they were Pidge’s.”
“Pidge will probably forgive since you didn’t know,” Hunk said with a shrug, “but you should have just asked for a pen.” He raised an eyebrow. “Frankly, it’s a bit weird to see you so shy about this.”
“Why is it weird?” Keith said as he blushed a bit again. “I’m not allowed to be a bit uncomfortable with people seeing my drawings?”
“No,” Hunk said as he sat down on Keith’s bed. “I mean, you’re so confident in flying and sword fighting, it’s just a bit surprising to see you not be a hundred percent certain on something.”
Keith tapped his fingers against his elbow. “It’s just a private thing I’ve always done,” he said slowly. “I tried showing an art teacher when I was a kid once and she said they were just chicken scratches.”
“Seriously? That teacher had to be like crazy,” Hunk said as he flipped the pages of the sketches. “These are really great…” He trailed off as he reached a page that was full of random scribbles and dots.
Hunk blinked as he flipped. “What are these?” he said as he pointed to the page of scribbles. “Some kind of abstract art?
Keith glanced and sighed. “Those are Red’s drawings.”
Hunk blinked and glanced down to the small lion. “Red’s?”
“She saw me sketch and decided she wanted to draw too,” Keith said as he held out a pen to her.
Red gleefully snagged the pen by holding onto the tip and then pawed at Hunk’s leg to lower the sketchbook. Curious, Hunk complied and watched Red happily scribble all over the blank page and even added a few dots for good measure.
“Huh, I feel like I’m watching a scene from How To Train Your Dragon,” Hunk commented as Red continued.
“How to what?” Keith asked.
“A movie, think Pidge actually has that one on her laptop,” Hunk explained. “Will show you later.”
When she was done, Red dropped the pen from her mouth revealing the top part was now a bit crushed. Hunk frowned as he picked up the pen.
“Is this the other reason Red keeps stealing pens?” he asked.
“With both her and me sketching, we’ve been going through them a lot,” Keith explained as he took the notebook back.
Hunk went silent as he shut his eyes in thought. He glanced to Yellow who tilted her head and nodded as if she had been thinking of the same thing.
Hunk relaxed and patted Keith’s shoulders. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do,” he stated. “We’ll go tell Pidge what happened and as a result you’re going to tell everyone about your sketchbook.”
He shook a finger. “You don’t have to show them your drawings if you don’t want to, but you’re going to tell them.”
Keith looked ready to argue, but he gave a nod. “That’s..fair.”
“In exchange,” Hunk said, “I’m sure, Pidge and I can find something you could use for a makeshift pencil.” He grasped his chin. “For all we know, Coran might have something you can sketch with.”
Keith blinked surprised. “You guys would do that?”
“Course we would, you need a way to destress too,” Hunk said as Yellow nodded in agreement. “Cooking is my way of doing it, and clearly sketching is for you.”
Keith chewed his bottom lip. “You..don’t think Lance would tease me about it do you?”
“He’ll only tease that you felt the need to keep it a secret,” Hunk said. “He won’t mock your drawings themselves, and even if he did, I’m certain the others would tell him to knock it off, okay?”
Keith gave a half smile, looking more relaxed than he did before. “Alright, I trust you, Buddy.”
Hunk smiled, but jumped slightly as Red gave a growl. Keith sighed as he glance down. “Yes, I’m certain you can get your own pencil.”
“If not, we’ll make you one,” Hunk said in agreement. “And chewable proof one.”
Yellow growled as she pawed at his leg.
Keith snickered. “I’m thinking that means Yellow wants in on it too.”
Hunk sighed. At the rate they were going, the lions were just going to cover half the castle in art.
Probably this from the first chapter: Lance’s eyes slowly opened as his sleepy brain slowly confirmed that yes, Whiskers was indeed dead. Even if she wasn’t, there was no way for her to be bugging him right now IN THE MIDDLE OF SPACE!!
I guess I just enjoy of Lance’s half asleep brain slowly putting the pieces together that something is indeed weird.
4: What's your favorite line of dialogue?
From the second chapter with Keith:
“If you’re planning to assassinate me in my sleep,” Keith said, dryly, “I would have picked something better than a butter knife.”
That says a lot of Keith’s personality right there.
8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?
For the latest chapter with Green bugging Pidge until she gets off the computer...my dog use to do that to me. When I was in university, and this was before I got a laptop, I would try to sit at the computer to write an essay when my dog would come in whining for cuddles:
Abby the dog: Whine!
Me: Abby, I can’t cuddle right now! I got to finish this paper of pretending to agree with my sociology professor just so I can pass the class.
25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of
Here’s a sample of a future mini lions fic I’m working on: “Ah, of course,” Coran said as he cleared his throat. “Fear not, I know exactly how to handle this.”
He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. “I believe this calls for an ancient Altean method.”
Keith and Shiro exchanged quizzed looks as Red refuse to release her hold on Keith’s pants and Black poked her with her front paw.
“Oh, yeah?” Shiro asked. “What’s that?”
Coran cleared his throat and in a blink of an eye gasped and pointed behind Keith.“ LOOK! IT’S ZARKON!” he exclaimed.
Red gave a confused growl and let go of Keith to glance behind her. Realizing the plan, Keith immediately took off like lightening.
“Thanks, Coran!” he cried as he zoomed past him and Shiro.
Red jumped and roared in frustration as she chased after her Paladin, while making certain to send death glares in Coran’s direction.
Shiro folded his arms and gave Coran an unimpressed look. “Ancient Altean method?”
Coran was unfazed as he tucked his hands behind his back. “You scoff, but I’ll have to know the great Tulack War was ended thanks to that.”
Summary: The paladins discover a swimming pool and learn a few things.
The castle was huge, but Keith often forgot how big exactly until Coran would send them off to a section he’d never been into before. Today’s adventure consisted searching in the ‘lower chamber’ as he called it, although from what Keith saw from the various crates, and trunks it seemed more equivalent to the basement.
Why Coran didn’t just call it that he would never understand. Keith sighed as he finished searching another crate and shut it.
“Are you certain Coran said those spare parts were down here, Pidge?” he asked aloud.
Pidge stepped down from the shelf she’d been checking out. “That’s what he told me, although he did say he wasn’t certain.”
“Terrific,” Keith said as he dusted his hands. “We’ve been down here for an hour now. Maybe it’s time to give up.”
Pidge looked reluctant. “Let’s search a bit more, besides maybe Green and Red have found something.”
Keith sighed. “I guess that’s possible..wait.” He glanced around with a frown. “Where are Red and Green?”
Pidge frowned as she glanced around. “Last I check they were exploring some crates.”
Growls suddenly came from behind them along with the the sound of scratching. Keith with a half amused grin, raised his hand and pointed ahead.
“Sounds like they’re over there and getting into trouble,” he declared.
Pidge gave a chuckle as she took the lead to the back. “Like that doesn’t happen every day.” She gestured for Keith to follow. “Come on, maybe they found those parts.”
The two teens walked quietly as they traced the growls of their lions until they reached the back and paused. Red and Green were growling and scratching at something, but it wasn’t a crate.
It was a pair of large chamber doors, with an ornate pattern carved into the frame around the door. Keith half expected to see a lock, but to his surprise there was no hint of it. There was only a pair of golden handles, which Red was currently trying to chew on while Green was joyfully scratching at the door.
Pidge raised an eyebrow. “So, what do you think this place leads to?”
Keith shrugged. “Another part of the basement?”
“With those highly decorative doors, I doubt it,” Pidge said as she approached and moved Red away to turn the handle. “Let’s check it out.”
“Shouldn’t we ask Coran first?” Keith asked skeptically.
Pidge smirked. “Yeah, but it wouldn’t be as fun.”
Keith shook his head as Pidge opened and pushed the doors aside. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “Keith, you better see this.”
Keith raised an eyebrow as he looked over Pidge’s head and was struck with the same reaction.
It was a white chamber, big enough to fit a small army. The walls seem to almost shimmer from the bright orb of light that hung above. Yet, what caught both of Pidge and Keith’s attention was the crystal clear pool placed in the middle of the chamber.
Keith and Pidge continued to stare stunned as Green scampered inside to poke her paw into the water, while Red snarled and stuck close to Keith.
“So,” Pidge said slowly as she turned back to Keith. “Who wants to tell Lance?”
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“All right, Girl,” Lance said as he tossed the ball. “See if you can catch this one!”
He tossed the ball high up in the air. Blue growled playfully before leaping high, snatching the ball in her jaws and performing a backflip as she landed back on the ground.
Lance laughed as Blue raced over to his lap. “Ha! Bet Yellow can’t be that, Hunk.”
Hunk rolled his eyes from his chair as Yellow watched him take the ball. “Oh, please, my lion can do that with her tail tied behind her back.”
Yellow glanced up looking concerned.
“No, Yellow, we’re not doing that, it’s just tough talk,” Hunk said to reassure her.
Coran glanced up from his report with a raised eyebrow. “You know, somehow I don’t think Shiro would count a ‘ball catching competition’ as the proper training he assigned to you for today.”
“Hey, this is totally training,” Lance said as he threw the ball for Blue again. “We’re testing out the Lions’ agility. What if we got attacked inside the castle again?”
“Besides,” Hunk said as he took his own ball for Yellow to chase. “We did the other stuff Shiro asked us to do. What else are we supposed to do while he and Allura are stuck in that meeting?”
Lance glanced to his watch. “On that note, it’s been three hours. How much longer are they going to be?”
“This isn’t just any meeting,” Coran said as he leaned over the couch. “This is a diplomatic meeting of convincing the Yishlons of forming an alliance with us.”
Hunk shrugged. “So? It didn’t take this long to form alliances with other planets.”
“Yes,” Coran said with a nod, “but the Yishions in particular are quite..” He twirled his mustache as he thought of the right word. “Difficult to please and they are very strict on manners-”
“They’re a bunch of snobs aren’t they?” Lance replied as Blue brought the ball back to throw.
“Oh, no, not all of them,” Coran replied. “The villagers are quite charming..but the nobles of the planet who we have to deal with.” He coughed into his hand. “Well..yes, they’re a bit of an annoyance.”
“Yay,” Hunk said with an unenthusiastic fist in the air.
The door the opened as Pidge and Keith entered the room with their lions.
“Ah, there you two are,” Coran said with a grin. “Any luck finding those spare parts?”
“No,” Keith said slowly as he leaned against the couch and exchanged a glance with Pidge, “but we found..something.”
Pidge coughed as she approached the older Altean. “Coran, why didn’t you tell us we had a swimming pool in the basement?”
The ball dropped from Lance’s hand and rolled aimlessly on the floor as he whirled around in his seat. “Wait, what?!”
“We found this huge pool in the basement,” Keith explained as he extended his arms for emphasis. “I swear, it makes the pool at the Garrison look like a pond.”
Hunk’s jaw dropped and looked to Coran. “Why didn’t you ever tell us this?”
Coran grasped his chin in thought and then suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Oh, yes, the water bathing chamber,” he declared with a chuckle. “I completely forgot about that place!”
“How do you forget you have a swimming pool?!” Lance exclaimed. “Dude, I’ve been dying to have a swim for months?!”
“Well, being frozen for ten thousand years can do some weird things to your memory,” Coran explained. “Besides, i t’s not a ‘swimming’ pool. It’s a bathing area that was privately used as a place of relaxation and play for the royal family.”
Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Minus the royal part, you just described what a swimming pool is.”
Coran grasped his chin. “Hmm...I suppose I did, didn’t I?”
Lance leaped to his feet as Blue climbed up to his shoulder. “Well, what are we standing around for? Let’s go for a swim!”
“Now, hold on!” Coran said as he raised a hand. “While I am certain Princess Allura won’t mind you lot using it, it’s best we wait for both her and Shiro to return to properly ask for permission.” He folded his arms. “Not to mention to inspect the water and make certain it’s clean to use. It has been ten thousand years since the pool has been used.”
“It looked pretty clean to me,” Pidge said frankly. “I’m seen glass more cloudy than that.”
“Nevertheless,” Coran continued with a stern tone. “We need to be certain-”
A sharp beep from his tablet cut him off. Without wasting a beat, Coran lifted the tablet and hit the button. Allura’s face appeared on the small screen, and judging from the lines under her eyes she was very tired.
Coran raised an eyebrow. “Oh, dear, I know that look,” he stated as the others stared over his shoulder. “Is something the matter, Princess?”
Allura sighed. “Nothing urgent, but Coran would you please join me? I am requiring some back up to ease tensions.”
“Ease tensions?” Hunk asked. “You and Shiro in trouble?”
Allura shook her head. “No, but the leader invited Shiro to play a game and Shiro won.”
“Oookay,” Pidge asked. “What’s so wrong about that?”
Allura sighed. “I forgot to tell Shiro that when Yishions challenge off worlders, it’s considered rude for the off worlders to win.”
Keith folded his arm as he frown. “That..makes no sense what so ever. How is it rude if he challenged Shiro?”
“I’m in full agreement with you there, but that is the tradition. To the Yishions it is a sign of trust,” Allura continued. “I’ve tried to explained it was a simple mistake, but we’re having a difficult time to move past it-”
“SIR! For the last time, I said I was sorry!” Shiro’s voice echoed from the background of the video screen.
“Sorry does not grant me the time I lost playing you!” a male voice shouted back.
“THEN WHY ON EARTH DID YOU CHALLENGE ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?!” Shiro argued back
Allura’s eyes twitched slightly. “Coran, if you wouldn’t mind-”
“Say, no more, Princess,” Coran said with a nod. “I’ll be there to join you shortly.”
“Thank you,” Allura said before she signed off and the screen went blank.
“Right then,” Coran said as he set the tablet aside. “Wish me luck. Hopefully, we will have this sorted out in a few tics.”
“But what about the pool?” Lance said with his eyes full of hope.
“As I said that will be discuss once the Princess and Shiro have returned,” Coran said as he exited the room. “Till then, you all just stay put, and keep out of trouble.”
The young paladins quietly watched Coran leave and shut the door behind him. In perfect unison, all the lions in the room turned their heads towards their paladins and had their full attention.
Lance clapped his hands and turned around to the others. “Right...sssooo, where is this swimming pool exactly?”
Keith sighed. He knew this was what was going to happen and Red gave a growl in agreement. “Lance, Coran said we had to wait.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Dude, it has been months since I got to swim in something! I have been dying here.”
Hunk raised a hand. “Actually, you did take a swim on Diakron Seven?”
“That was slime and it took me three days to wash all of that off! It doesn’t count!” Lance said with a shiver.
“I’m with Lance,” Pidge voiced with her arms folded. “I think Coran is being too paranoid. The water looked fine to me, and we’ve earned it.”
Hunk have a soft uneasy chuckle. “I can’t deny that a regular old swim would feel good.”
Keith sighed as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Fine, knock yourselves out. I’m heading to my room.”
However, to his and Red’s annoyance, Lance caught his arm. “No way! You’re coming with us!”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “Why exactly?”
“Because we need to embrace this as a potential team bonding experience!” Lance exclaimed as Blue lifted one of her paws in agreement.
Keith stared doubtfully and then it clicked. “You just want to make certain I don’t go call Shiro and blab on you.”
Lance huffed. “Fine, maybe a bit of that too, but come on don’t be such a stick in the mud.”
“Yeah, Keith, it’s just a swim,” Pidge said as she started to drag Keith along with Lance. “Relax, it will be fun.”
Maybe for you guys, since you can actually swim, Keith thought darkly, but found unable to escape his captors hold on him.
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No one had any swimsuits on hand, and if there were spare Altean swimsuits they had no sweet clue where to find them. So, in the end, Hunk and Lance decided to dive in shorts from clothing they had bought from a market a few days ago. Pidge stuck with with an extra shirt and pants she usually saved for dirty work on the lions for swimming.
Keith had removed his precious red jacket and shoes, and that was about it. He quietly let his legs hang over the sides and let his feet wade in the water as he watched the others and Red sat in his lap for a nap.
Lance sprang his head out of the water with Blue doing the same in perfect sync.
“THIS is what I needed,” Lance exclaimed as he lay on his back and let Blue paddle around him. “Best therapy ever.”
Pidge laughed as she swam up to the edge to join where Green had been watching her and scratched under her chin. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this relax in a while.”
“That’s because Lance is secretly a merman and practically lives in the water,” Hunk teased as he stood near Keith with towels in his hands. “When we were kids, his mother had to bribe him to get him out of the pool.”
Keith gave a small chuckle. “I can easily imagine that.”
“You mock,” Lance said as he flipped back around. “But all that pool time has made me one of the best swimmers you guys will ever know.”
Hunk gave a smirk. “Swimmer yes,” he said as he dramatically tossed the towels to the side. “But you know what I’m the best yet.”
Lance sharply turned and eyes widened. “Hunk, no!”
“CANNONBALL!” Hunk cried as he jumped up, curled into a ball and dived into the water causing a huge splash.
Keith shielded himself with his arm as Red dove behind him for cover from the water. Yellow roared in encouragement as Green tried to catch the water droplets that fell. Pidge and Lance both laughed as they were splashed by the water.
“No fair!” Pidge called out as she shook off the water. “I’m so getting you for that!”
Hunk sprang out of the water grinning with pride. “That my friends is how you do a proper canonball.”
“And it’s very well done,” Lance replied as Blue climbed up to his shoulders. “But after that spectacle, I feel the need to show you how to do a proper dive.”
Pidge scoffed. “Oh, please, I bet I could beat you in that. I was the top of my swimming class.”
“Ooh, sounds like we have a challenge here,” Hunk teased.
“And it’s one I’m not going to lose,” Lance declared as he climbed out of the pool and Blue hopped back onto dry land and gave herself a shake.
Red growl as the water droplets almost hit her.
Pidge climbed out and patted Green as she looked over to Keith. “You joining us on this, Keith?” she asked.
Keith glanced to the pool and shook his head. “No, thanks,” he said as he rose to his feet and shook off the water. “Truthfully, I think I got wet enough for one day. I’m going to head back to my room.”
Lance blinked in shock. “Really? But you’ve barely gotten your pinky toes wet.”
Keith shrugged. “Swimming just isn’t my thing,” he said and pointed to Red who hissed at the pool. “And I’m thinking Red doesn’t care for it either. So, I’m done.”
“Aw, come on, Keith,” Pidge said as moved up to him. “You should at least get your head under the water. It’s fun. Loosen up a bit.”
Keith shook his head. “I got my own way of loosening up,” he said as he began to walk away. “I’m going to read for awhile and then some sword practice.”
“Suit, yourself,” Lance said with a shrug.
However, for Pidge it wasn’t good enough. She grinned as she silently crept up behind Keith, and then swiftly shoved him.
Keith yelped in shock as he fell and landed into the pool. Hunk and Lance shield their faces as he splash of water hit them. Red roared in alarm as she stared into the pool.
Pidge laughed gleefully as Hunk narrowed his eyes and swam to the edge. “Pidge, not cool. Keith didn’t want to swim.”
“Oh, come on,” she said as she continued to smirk. “I use to do that to Matt all the time.”
Hunk kept his frown. “Sure, but Keith isn’t Matt. He’s-”
“Guys,” Lance cut in and pointed to where Keith landed. “He hasn’t come up yet.”
The teens froze and stared in horror. Red fidgeted as she kept pacing back and forth on the edge of the pool.
“Keith can swim, right?” Hunk said and looked fearfully to Lance. “Right?”
Lance cursed as he ran and dived into the water with Blue and Red diving seconds in after him.
Pidge and Hunk held their breath and only dared to breathe when Lance emerged with Keith in his arms. Red and Blue tucked their heads under Keith’s arms as he coughed and gasped for air.
“Take it easy, man,” Lance said as he steered them towards the edge. “We got ya.”
“Thanks,” Keith gasped as he clung to Lance.
Hunk scrambled out of the pool and instantly turned around to pull Keith out. “You okay?”
“I..I think so,” Keith said as he sat back and coughed.
Red mewed as she wrapped her tail around him. Blue shook the water off as she waited for Lance to climb out and got him a towel.
“Keith..I..I’m so sorry,” Pidge stammered. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US YOU COULDN’T SWIM?!”
Keith leaned on his knees and didn’t seem to mind Yellow and Green moving in closer to inspect him. “It just...didn’t come up.”
“Not come up?!” Pidge exclaimed. “We’re at a pool-”
“Sorry, Pidge, but we’ll have to save that for later,” Lance said as he dried himself off and kneeled to Keith. “We need to get Keith upstairs and get the medical scanners to check him over.”
Keith shook his head as he rubbed his throat. “Don’t bother, I’m fine, really-”
“No way,” Lance cut in sharply with a firm tone as he pulled Keith to his feet. “You could have leftover water in your lungs, which could literally kill you.” He shook a finger. “It’s not uncommon for people to suffocate on land after almost drowning in water.”
Keith blinked surprised. “How do you know that?”
“Lance has lifeguard training,” Hunk replied. “He knows what he’s talking about here. Not to mention, it would make me feel better. You almost drowned!”
“What’s this about drowning?”
The group turned around to see both Shiro and Black standing near the doorway. His foot was tapping, his arms were folded and his eyebrow was raised. These were the classic Shiro signs of him being not happy.
“Shiro…,” Pidge said slowly. “You’re back early.”
“Allura and Coran managed to cool things down, so I wasn’t needed anymore,” he said as he stepped forward and looked Keith over. “So, what happened?”
The group winced. They were so busted.
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Shiro finished reading over the scan report and sighed in relief. “According to the scanners, you should be fine,” he said as he sat on the medical bed next to Keith. “But we’re keeping a close eye on you for the next 24 hours to be sure.”
Keith nodded as he wrapped his arm around Red. She hadn’t dared to leave his side for a second as Shiro and the others checked him over. Red even refused to leave Keith alone to get dressed in dry clothes.
She’s going to be clingy the next few days, Keith thought. Although, he strangely didn’t mind that. It was comforting to feel her next to him.
“So, we’re all okay, then?” Hunk asked.
Shiro sighed. “I didn’t say that.” He narrowed his eyes. “I understand you guys were excited to find that pool, but you should have waited for Allura, Coran and I before you decided to go into it.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Shiro, we’re not little kids. We can take care of ourselves.”
“I know, but you went swimming before we had a chance to make certain it was clean,” Shiro explained as he folded his arms.
“It looked fine to me,” Pidge said softly.
“Perhaps, but for all we know there could be organisms in there that may not be harmful to Alteans, but are for humans,” Shiro stated firmly. “We’re still learning about the castle, it was built for Alteans not us.”
Lance winced and raised a finger. “Okay, that’s a fair point.”
“And...Keith did almost drown,” Hunk muttered softly and Yellow growled in agreement.
Pidge winced at the comment and reached over to scratch Green’s ears.
Lance rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry, Shiro and..I should take most of the blame here. I was the most desperate to swim in the pool.”
“Naw, dude, it was all us,” Hunk said sadly. “We’re really sorry, Shiro.”
Shiro gave a half smile. “I know you are, and thus I’m making you guys do an extra hour of drill practice for the next three days. Understood?”
“Yeah,” the group said in unison along with their lions.
“Sssooo, can we go now?” Lance asked.
“Yes,” Shiro said.
Pidge sighed and rose, but suddenly found herself blocked by Black.
“Except you, Pidge,” Shiro explained, “and Keith too. I’m not quite down with you two yet.”
Hunk patted Pidge’s shoulder before he exited the room with Lance, Yellow and Blue. Pidge sat back down and let Green settle into her lap.
“Okay, Pidge,” Shiro said gently. “I believe you got something to say to Keith.”
Pidge removed her glasses and looked up. “Keith...I’m so sorry. It was just a joke! Matt and I use to play a game of it when we were kids. I swear, that last thing I would want to do is-”
“I know, Pidge,” Keith said as he raised a hand. “It’s okay, you didn’t mean any harm.”
“While that’s true, that doesn’t make it okay,” Shiro said. I know you did it with Matt, but that’s different. You knew for certain he could swim, but you didn’t with Keith. Plus, he clearly said ‘No’ and you should have respected that.”
Pidge gave a nod.
“However,” Shiro said as both he and Black turned their gaze to Keith. “Both of you made mistakes here.”
Keith blinked in confusion along with Red. “What do you mean?”
Shiro patted his shoulder. “I know it embarrses you to admit you can’t swim,” he said, “but we’re a team. We got to be honest with our strengths and weaknesses. You should have just told them from the start.”
“Wait, Shiro,” Pidge said as he placed her glasses back on. “It’s not Keith’s fault at all. I should have-”
Keith shook his head. “No, Shiro’s right. I should have just straight up explained it to you guys.” He sighed. “I just...don’t like admitting I can’t do something.”
“Well, with swimming we’re going to change that,” Shiro said with a grin. “I know just how to do it.”
Keith winced and sighed. “Let me guess, you’re going to teach me how to swim.”
“Yes, but I’m not going to be the teacher,” Shiro said. “And Pidge you’re going to learn something here too.”
Keith frowned and then it suddenly struck him what Shiro was saying. “Wait..you’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
Shiro said nothing as he merely gave a grin and Black growled in approval.
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“So, how long do you think we will be banned from that pool?” Lance asked as Blue poked her head out of Lance’s hood and poked him for pats.
“Don’t know,” Hunk said as he stretched out on Lance’s bed and Yellow joined him. “But I can’t exactly blame Shiro if we’re banned for like a month.”
“I know,” Lance said sadly as he complied to Blue’s demand and stroked her ears. “But it sucks that I FINALLY found a possible place to swim and it got ruined so fast.”
“Might not be as ruined as you thought,” Keith said as he entered with Red, along with PIdge and Green.
Hunk immediately sat up and looked at them with a frown. “How did it go?” he asked.
“Shiro isn’t out right banning us,” Pidge said as she took a seat next to Lance. “But he’s made it clear we got to tell him when we’re in the pool from now on.”
Lance’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Well, that’s not so bad.” The pool may not be the same as swimming in the ocean back home, but Lance was happy with what he could find.
“With that said, we’re forbidden from going in until Coran does a scan on it and us to make certain we didn’t take in anything harmful,” Pidge said as Green started to poke Yellow on the bed to play.
“How long will that take?” Lance said.
“A few days,” Keith said as he sat directly in front of Lance. “Although, Shiro imagines Allura is going to give us a good lecture too.”
“Yeah, saw that one coming a mile away,” Lance said as he rubbed his neck.
Keith then fidgeted and chewed his bottom lip as Red climbed into his lap.
“Listen, Lance, I know I’m not the best at saying this sometimes,” he said as he looked up. “But thanks for saving me.”
Lance paused, slightly surprised by the sudden gratitude and gave a shrug. “It’s no biggie.”
“No, it is,” Keith said as he slumped over Red to looked at him directly. “I owe you.”
Lance gave him a hard look and smirked as Blue purred happily. “Ooh, the great Keith owes me a favor, I like the sound of that.”
“Lance,” Hunk warned, but Lance quieted him with his hand.
“But as much as I wish I could take advantage of that,” Lance replied and turned his head away from him. “You can thank me back by learning how to swim. I would appreciate not having a repeat performance of that.”
Keith and Pidge exchanged a look and coughed. “Funny you should mention that,” Keith replied and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been ordered by Shiro to take swimming lessons from you.”
Lance’s eyes widened and he turned to look back at him. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Pidge replied, “and on that note I’ve been ordered to learn how to be a lifeguard from you too.”
“Oh, can I get in on this?” Hunk asked as he raised a hand. “Frankly, it’s something I’ve been meaning you to teach me for a long time.”
Lance looked to them and slowly a wide cheesy grin spread across his face. “Well, no way I can say no to that.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at them. “Alright, as soon as the pool is free again, you three are going to be students of Professor Fabulous Lance!”
“Do we HAVE to call you ‘Professor’?” Pidge asked with a sour expression.
“Yes, yes, you do,” Shiro said as he poked his head into the room. “If anything, that will make certain you don’t forget it easily.”
“I was afraid you say that,” Keith muttered under his breath and wonder if maybe drowning would have been better.
Author’s Note: For those wondering, yes, it is possible for someone to die on land after almost drowning. It's called 'Dry Drowning' http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/outdoor/dry-drowning/Also, I do plan on writing a follow up to this, I'm just brainstorming ideas for the actual swimming lessons.
Hey! owo I'm the artist that drew the voltron paladins and the small lions and I saw in the tags you wrote a fic like that??? I would LOVE to see it :D
Oh, hi! And yes I did, and I swear I wrote it before I saw your adorable art. LOL
It’s called Mini Lions and it’s basically a series of drabbles I’m writing in which the Lions have cat size forms to play/troll their paladins with. I’m writing it as ideas strike me for it. Hope you like it! ^_^
You’re art is really cute by the way. You have a sweet style.
