Taking A Chance

Protection

'I can't believe Pidge would do this, and it had to be her that release the footage,' said Keith, pacing the room. 'Does she know what sort of danger she's put us in, and if she goes further and tells them where we live, and about the triplets...' He rubbed his hands over his face, scared to think about the danger this had put them in. He dropped his hand from his face. 'Now Amaya and Haru hate me.'

Lance sat on the edge of the bed quietly. He was numb to everything that had happened. She had betrayed them in what he thought was the worst way possible.

Keith came and sat next to him. 'I would probably have forgiven her anything else, but not this,' Keith said.

Lance shook his head. 'No, not this,' he agreed. 'Baby, if she's given out our address, I think we need to take Shiro up on the off he gave us earlier today. If we disappear for a couple of months, this could all blow over.'

'Yeah, I agree,' said Keith. 'We'll know in the next couple of days the extent of the damage.'

There was a knock at the door.

'Lance,' said Maria. 'Hunk's here.'

'Okay, I'll be down in a minute,' said Lance. He sighed. 'I'll go and talk to him, you stay here.'

Keith shook his head and took Lance's hand. 'This affects all of us as a family and that's how we are going to face this.'

They went downstairs. Hunk looked distraught when he saw them.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I didn't know she was lying, or what she planned to do, you have to believe me.'

'We believe you,' Lance assured him.

'This is all my fault,' said Hunk. 'I confronted her after you sent me that message, and when she admitted to not telling me, I broke up with her. She was furious and started screaming how Keith's decision to leave Voltron ruined her life.'

'Just because I left didn't mean anyone else had to,' Keith said.

'I know,' said Hunk. 'I think she thought it was what she wanted to do, but she's not been coping with being back on Earth. Then when Matt got chosen to be Green's paladin, she just lost it. She was stunned that the lions replaced us so quickly and easily.' He sighed. 'She expected we would be begged to come back as paladins because they couldn't find anyone. When Keith fell pregnant, she saw that dream slip away.'

'She could have gone back to being a paladin,' Lance said.

'She tried, but Green wouldn't drop her shield for her, wouldn't even talk to her, which makes sense since Matt was chosen to be her paladin,' said Hunk. 'Matt made the comment the other day that you and Keith and can fly any of them whenever you want, and you can imagine how that new went down.' He steepled his fingers together. 'What are you going to do now?'

'Well, depending on what happens, probably leave Earth for a while until it settles down,' said Lance. He ran his hands through his hair and gestured for them all to sit in the lounge room. 'I'm not sure there's much else we can do that this stage.'

Adam looked ready to burst into tears again as he listened to their conversation.

'Do you know if she gave out our address?' asked Lance.

Hunk shrugged. 'She didn't tell me what she was planning. I saw it on the news along with everyone else.'

Restless, Keith got to his feet again and moved to stand by the window and look out. He could see the silhouette of their partly constructed house in the moonlight. He wanted to move in there with his family, watch Lance decorate the house, and spend his time fixing up the garden. He'd planned to sit in his office and finished of his novel and start on the next one, and watch his family grow up away from war and conflict, and in private.