I don't know what to talk to you about. I don't even--
[Want to, which would contradict everything he's said in the past thirty seconds. He's scratching the back of his head, like it'd help get him out of that shitty train of habitual thought.]
Wearing my Blade outfit doesn't mean I don't...appreciate you. None of that even matters here, you're right. But it's...not...not gonna matter forever.
[Uh.]
Everything's different now -- with Voltron. I know you don't like that I left but...
[This is hard. This is why he didn't wanna get into it again.]
I'm better at working alone.
[That's the best summary he can come up with, which, of course, should offer nothing reassuring. Working alongside the Blade allows him to edge with death whenever he feels like it, for example, and being among the Galra, it's like he's making up for time lost in knowing himself.]
[ lance doesn't really know where to begin. in truth, they've had this conversation before, in the wee hours of the morning covered in swamp, late at night in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the daya in front of an injured vendor, shoving and screaming at each other until they were both too tired to carry on. each time felt like it would be the last, and lance has to wonder if this time would be any different.
what can he say that he hasn't said already? what could he do that he hasn't yet done?
maybe the answer all along is just as keith says: it really doesn't have anything to do with him.
[When Lance finally speaks up, he's not...sure how to proceed. Yes? Yes would be the response to go with, considering, but he's afraid of confirming as much. He's tired of hurting him, saying ignorant things without meaning to, so on and so forth.
Maybe he should go? Meditate under a waterfall, go on some eyeopening journey, snort ayahuasca to lobotomize himself into not retreating behind a barrier -- not wanting to retreat behind a barrier when it comes to Lance, his peers...]
Sorry.
[He's starting off, backing away from their shared room to the entrance/exit of their treehouse. Where ya waterfalls at..]
[ this isn't how it's supposed to go. love is supposed to be stronger than this, and they were in love, despite everything, despite even themselves, so shouldn't they be able to work through this?
but all keith keeps doing is apologizing, without offering any means to fix it, and without really knowing what the issue is, lance doesn't have any solutions either. keith says it isn't about him, and that's fair, that makes sense, keith was his own person well before he and lance were ever a thing, but what does that mean for them in the meantime? is he just going to have to accept that there's some part of keith he can't reach?
is that how it's supposed to go? ]
I don't know how to fix this, Keith.
[ by now, keith's already backed away. he can't even see him from where he stands now, so he's not even sure if the other boy heard him or not. ]
[ later, lance still doesn't know how to fix it. but it's late, and the sun's been down for more than a couple of hours, and despite the heat and humidity of wyver it's getting later in the year and so chillier at nightfall, and all lance can think about it the fact that keith still hasn't really eaten yet and. dangit.
once he puts their panda child to bed, lance shrugs on his jacket and ventures down and out towards the woods. where he's sure keith would have ventured off towards, much more likely than the civilization on the other side. before long, he's calling out, only half-mindful that there is a high likelihood that someone (or something) else could answer instead. ]
[With his newly freed evening, Keith decided to be...somewhat...proactive? He could've easily regressed into the forest like a proper hobo and lived off the bugs for a night as a means of self-discovery and learning, but alas, he's actually lead himself into the city. On one hand, he could subject himself to Falmi's ring, blow some steam off, get his ass kicked, or he could use his anxiety in a proactive way and sign up for an actual job, return home with some promised positivity...]
[He'll return home with some pep in his step. He hasn't found a solution for their recurring problem, which is...fine? Probably fine. These things were never meant to be perfect, he supposes. He's always had a semi-contentious relationship with Lance and if things were hunky dory all the time, it'd be weird. That said, he really doesn't want to keep disappointing Lance the way he is -- they just have to talk more...he supposes. All of this unfurled on his own in acquiring a position at an armory shop, and he hadn't left empty-handed.
However, he does...return home to an empty treehouse?! Minus their panda infant.]
--Lance?!
[Not in bed, not in the kitchen, not in the living room. Somewhat weird he'd leave their furry child behind, but...
But he's probably out looking for him.
There's a non-PG13 cuss uttered beneath his breath and he's hastily retreating to the outdoors. He'll be scoping out his workplace prior to delving into the woods. If Lance is out and about in the hell forest by himself...
Well, that's dangerous and needs to not be a thing.
[ the forest is relatively quiet (which is, somehow, even more unnerving to lance), so when keith speaks up, it's pretty easy to hear him. lance's head pops up, and he spins in place to try and spot where the voice had come from, hoping it isn't some giant alien spider playing tricks on him... the voice sounded pretty far away... ]
Keith?!
[ he chooses an arbitrary direction and tentatively starts walking towards it, wishing (not for the first time since he ventured out that night) that he'd brought along his bayard... or even just a butterknife, dang.
oh he's totally walking the opposite way, too. right into one of those rope traps that suspend you in the air because wyvers are old school like that. anyway, cue lance shrieking like a total manly man as he'd dragged up by his right ankle, all the blood rushing to his head as he's held upside down like some bad bungee experience. ]
[Followed by silence; that's creepy, if not suspicious. Similar thoughts run through his mind, but he's physically moving toward the sound of Lance's voice, which is totally in vain since Lance doesn't know east from west.
Then there's that scream, he's calling out to him again and sprinting for the sound; for some reason it sounds further from...where he thought he'd be? He's moving as fast as he can, using his knife to cut away various plantlife encumbering his path...soon.]
[ oh, okay, that's definitely keith. and while lance is pretty sure the creator of this trap isn't anywhere nearby, ready to disembowel him, he still doesn't really hesitate to call back out to the other. ]
[Of course...he'd be stuck in something like that. He better not have ended up there because he was distracted by a hot girl or something. He'll draw his blade with that thought in mind, take a few steps in reverse and proceed to chuck it at the length of rope between Lance's foot and the branch.
...And then, of course, move enough to catch him princess style should it all go according to plan -- and it will.]
not that he doesn't still shout when he's suddenly sent falling down towards the earth or anything. he does manage to at least fling his arms around keith's neck on the way down, and idk maybe because keith's half-galra he's stronger than normal and this all winds up perfect and elegant and romantique.
lance is still pretty winded, though. ]
Ugh, [ he says, very elegantly. ] We never had to worry about this kinda stuff in Olympia...
[His super Galra Strength and the adrenaline of Oh No My Boyfriend's Gonna Be Fed To The Cannibal Local Tribe.]
Don't just go wandering into the forest!
[He's dropping Lance's legs, only to draw him into a fullbody hug. Dumbass. Idiot. Buffoon. He's probably lucky he'd been ensnared in something, lest he end up lost for months....]
[Without any visible weapons on him, none the less. He's relieved that it doesn't...hurt for him to put weight on that foot -- to his knowledge at least. He could've popped something outta its socket.]
[ lance spares a moment to test out his ankle, leaning a little more weight onto it. it hurts, but it's likely nothing more than a bruise or slight sprain. so he shakes his head in response. ]
I was trying to look for you... Where did you go, anyway?
[Hah hah. I found the loophole. He's pulling his arms back, setting a hand on Lance's shoulder, parting with a quick squeeze. He's gotta go...pick his knife up before he has a hemorrhage.]
There's a swift return -- it landed somewhere actully lodged into the tree just behind the one Lance'd been hoisted up into. Low enough that he didn't actually have to climb it to retrieve it, which is good. He ain't bad w/ this aiming and saving shit.]
Looking around.
[Don't spoil the surprise...]
I got a job.
[While sliding his hand into Lance's. It's ungloved, though he's still in his blade outfit from when he'd stormed out earlier...]
[ well the hand in his is nice. it's comforting, and he tries to read as much into it as he can. gripping it back, he tries (and fails) not to look as confused and shocked as he feels. ]
Oh. You did? [ ... ] Okay...
[ that's. that's not what he would expect someone to do after a big fight like theirs but. but he supposes he can appreciate keith's... practicality............ ]
[He doesn't exactly seem enthralled...which is fine. It's not like they're supposed to just forget what happened over a near-death experience and an ill-timed job thing. He'll start tugging him, pulling him back into the direction from which they came, wary of traps and such this time around -- extra-wary, that is.]
Just...don't do that again. Even if you think I'm not gonna answer.
[ lance says nothing, because as far as he's concerned he's heard keith apologize enough for one night, and he'd rather not say any more stuff to encourage any more of it. instead he just dutifully follows along, not really paying attention to where they're walking, but just sort of assuming keith knows the way back because he's keith, and he's probably memorized twelve different escape routes from their home anyway... ]
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I don't know what to talk to you about. I don't even--
[Want to, which would contradict everything he's said in the past thirty seconds. He's scratching the back of his head, like it'd help get him out of that shitty train of habitual thought.]
Wearing my Blade outfit doesn't mean I don't...appreciate you. None of that even matters here, you're right. But it's...not...not gonna matter forever.
[Uh.]
Everything's different now -- with Voltron. I know you don't like that I left but...
[This is hard. This is why he didn't wanna get into it again.]
I'm better at working alone.
[That's the best summary he can come up with, which, of course, should offer nothing reassuring. Working alongside the Blade allows him to edge with death whenever he feels like it, for example, and being among the Galra, it's like he's making up for time lost in knowing himself.]
But it doesn't have anything to do with you.
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what can he say that he hasn't said already? what could he do that he hasn't yet done?
maybe the answer all along is just as keith says: it really doesn't have anything to do with him.
but is that really any better? ]
Is that what you really think?
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Maybe he should go? Meditate under a waterfall, go on some eyeopening journey, snort ayahuasca to lobotomize himself into not retreating behind a barrier -- not wanting to retreat behind a barrier when it comes to Lance, his peers...]
Sorry.
[He's starting off, backing away from their shared room to the entrance/exit of their treehouse. Where ya waterfalls at..]
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but all keith keeps doing is apologizing, without offering any means to fix it, and without really knowing what the issue is, lance doesn't have any solutions either. keith says it isn't about him, and that's fair, that makes sense, keith was his own person well before he and lance were ever a thing, but what does that mean for them in the meantime? is he just going to have to accept that there's some part of keith he can't reach?
is that how it's supposed to go? ]
I don't know how to fix this, Keith.
[ by now, keith's already backed away. he can't even see him from where he stands now, so he's not even sure if the other boy heard him or not. ]
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[ later, lance still doesn't know how to fix it. but it's late, and the sun's been down for more than a couple of hours, and despite the heat and humidity of wyver it's getting later in the year and so chillier at nightfall, and all lance can think about it the fact that keith still hasn't really eaten yet and. dangit.
once he puts their panda child to bed, lance shrugs on his jacket and ventures down and out towards the woods. where he's sure keith would have ventured off towards, much more likely than the civilization on the other side. before long, he's calling out, only half-mindful that there is a high likelihood that someone (or something) else could answer instead. ]
...Keith? Keith, where are you??
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However, he does...return home to an empty treehouse?! Minus their panda infant.]
--Lance?!
[Not in bed, not in the kitchen, not in the living room. Somewhat weird he'd leave their furry child behind, but...
But he's probably out looking for him.
There's a non-PG13 cuss uttered beneath his breath and he's hastily retreating to the outdoors. He'll be scoping out his workplace prior to delving into the woods. If Lance is out and about in the hell forest by himself...
Well, that's dangerous and needs to not be a thing.
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Keith?!
[ he chooses an arbitrary direction and tentatively starts walking towards it, wishing (not for the first time since he ventured out that night) that he'd brought along his bayard... or even just a butterknife, dang.
oh he's totally walking the opposite way, too. right into one of those rope traps that suspend you in the air because wyvers are old school like that. anyway, cue lance shrieking like a total manly man as he'd dragged up by his right ankle, all the blood rushing to his head as he's held upside down like some bad bungee experience. ]
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[Followed by silence; that's creepy, if not suspicious. Similar thoughts run through his mind, but he's physically moving toward the sound of Lance's voice, which is totally in vain since Lance doesn't know east from west.
Then there's that scream, he's calling out to him again and sprinting for the sound; for some reason it sounds further from...where he thought he'd be? He's moving as fast as he can, using his knife to cut away various plantlife encumbering his path...soon.]
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Keeeeeeeeeeeeith! I'm up here!!
[ wherever... up here is...
owwie his ankle ;w; ]
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Lance?! How--
[Of course...he'd be stuck in something like that. He better not have ended up there because he was distracted by a hot girl or something. He'll draw his blade with that thought in mind, take a few steps in reverse and proceed to chuck it at the length of rope between Lance's foot and the branch.
...And then, of course, move enough to catch him princess style should it all go according to plan -- and it will.]
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not that he doesn't still shout when he's suddenly sent falling down towards the earth or anything. he does manage to at least fling his arms around keith's neck on the way down, and idk maybe because keith's half-galra he's stronger than normal and this all winds up perfect and elegant and romantique.
lance is still pretty winded, though. ]
Ugh, [ he says, very elegantly. ] We never had to worry about this kinda stuff in Olympia...
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Don't just go wandering into the forest!
[He's dropping Lance's legs, only to draw him into a fullbody hug. Dumbass. Idiot. Buffoon. He's probably lucky he'd been ensnared in something, lest he end up lost for months....]
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oh, okay, yes. the hug's much better. lance slumps into it after the initial shock wears off, head tipping to lean against the other's. ]
I only did it cuz I thought that's what you did... [ it's not his fault his gut instinct was wrong! ]
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Don't just do whatever I do.
[Without any visible weapons on him, none the less. He's relieved that it doesn't...hurt for him to put weight on that foot -- to his knowledge at least. He could've popped something outta its socket.]
Does it hurt?
[Finally, regardless...]
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I was trying to look for you... Where did you go, anyway?
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[Without wrecking the sup rise.]
You could have just called...
[Hah hah. I found the loophole. He's pulling his arms back, setting a hand on Lance's shoulder, parting with a quick squeeze. He's gotta go...pick his knife up before he has a hemorrhage.]
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[ considering the last time... hem hem.
anyway, lance is less wiling to let keith go, almost afraid the guy will just up and disappear again. ]
What were you doing in town?
[ that's so. un-keith... ]
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There's a swift return -- it landed somewhere actully lodged into the tree just behind the one Lance'd been hoisted up into. Low enough that he didn't actually have to climb it to retrieve it, which is good. He ain't bad w/ this aiming and saving shit.]
Looking around.
[Don't spoil the surprise...]
I got a job.
[While sliding his hand into Lance's. It's ungloved, though he's still in his blade outfit from when he'd stormed out earlier...]
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Oh. You did? [ ... ] Okay...
[ that's. that's not what he would expect someone to do after a big fight like theirs but. but he supposes he can appreciate keith's... practicality............ ]
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Just...don't do that again. Even if you think I'm not gonna answer.
[The most heartwarming conversation starter.]
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Then maybe you should always answer, [ he murmurs, pouty. ]
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I know.
[Cutting away some messy shrubbery like he's Indiana Jones.]
Sorry.
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So what job did you get?
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