Decide who you are, and be careful who you tell
Talking with Lance becomes a little easier, they still fight more often than not, because Akira can't seem to stop himself from raising to the bait; but even those fights seem to have changed, become friendlier in nature. It's affected their prowess as a team, really since the Balmera Akira knew they could work very well together, but now that's not solely a situational thing; sometimes they're even sent on missions together because of their newfound synergy.
Akira's unsure how he feels about that.
He also starts getting along better with Pidge and Hunk, and coming to a clear understanding of how important that first connection was. Because while Akira had a pretty close relationship with Shiro, he hadn't been the most approachable so far.
Even Allura and Coran seem a little more likely to strike conversation with him. And Akira only then realizes how keyed up he'd been about the whole ordeal.
But it's not just that either.
Lance, Akira slowly realizes, is the one at the center, keeping all their strings together by sheer will. So by proxy of making a first step with him, Akira is that much more trusted by everyone else.
They put as much time an energy into Voltron as the physically can, but there's only five of them, and an infinite universe at stake. The need for allies starts making sense just as the frustration of not being able to be everywhere starts weighting on them.
Surprisingly, and not so much, Akira finds himself relaying on Lance, and having Lance rely on him.
Surprisingly, because of their natures and their history.
Not so much, because of those around them.
It's not until planet Fidkigal that Akira makes sense of it.
The fact that he's the only one who knows, or even realizes, what the true roll of the blue paladin is. Even Lance himself seems unaware of how integral he is to the team.
But planet Fidkigal is different from any other planet they'd been at, not because of its geography, or location, or situation; but because of its people.
The L'ru are a weird combination of humanoid, and bug-like, with compound eyes taking most of their faces, and their long thin limbs, and lack of nose, and the clicking they did as way of speech amongst themselves. And while they are grateful for the aid, and clearly have a very good opinion of Voltron as a whole, they have too good of an opinion, and are less than willing to let them go.
But for some reason, the others don't seem particularly willing to leave either, and Akira can't figure it out, so he asks questions, and raises his voice, and finds himself thrown to the dungeon. He spends gods know how long pacing the small cavern he's been trapped in, before a figure appears in front of the semi-transparent barrier Akira may or may not have electrocuted himself on; a figure dressed in blue.
Lance looks just as lost as he did back when Akira first explained the whole half-blood thing, glancing over his shoulders and checking every direction almost obsessively. Dark blue eyes finally settle on Akira, and Lance motions him closer, Akira humors him.
"There's something seriously wrong with this place"
It's said in a whisper, so low Akira would've missed it if he hadn't moved closer and they weren't the only ones in the room. He's clearly trying to say more than just that, but is being overly cautious, which just makes every last nerve of Akira's body stand to full attention.
"What makes you say that?"
Lance pulls a face, like he expects Akira to dismiss whatever he'll say next, as if Lance weren't one of the most observant people in the team.
"They keep saying our names, like, excessively, even in phrases that wouldn't necessitate the use of names"
This is probably what people mean when they say 'mind reeling', the feeling Akira gets right then, as Lance's words sink into him.
"When you say names..."
Lance frowns.
"Like, they've actually been calling Pidge Katie, a lot, it's super weird, why? What do you know?"
This, Akira thinks, it's something he should've told Lance sooner.
"Names have power"
The words have become a prayer in their nature, if only for how Akira has used them since learning them. He receives a smile for his efforts, which is more than he probably deserves.
"Ah, let me guess, Keith is a nickname"
Akira flinches.
"More like a fake name"
Lance blinks, and then frowns.
"Wait, so you meant the whole 'names have power' thing literally"
Akira nods, Lance's eyes widen.
"That, explains a lot actually"
It's like he's made sense of what's going on here, and it's a second later that Akira does.
"Is Lance a nickname?"
He grins.
"Tell you what, if we manage to get out of this one in one piece, I'll tell you all about it"
Akira feels himself smiling too.
"You have a plan"
The blue paladin, for lack of a better thing to call him right now, gives a more sheepish look.
"Sort of, how good are you at acting?"
YOU ARE READING
Collecting the shards
Fanfiction"Names have power" The words have become a prayer in their nature, if only for how Akira has used them since learning them. He receives a smile for his efforts, which is more than he probably deserves. {or, how the butterfly effect feeds into the...
