Ghost (Klance)

Chapter 1

The team remained in silence until their lions touched down on the hard, rock like sand of the planet surface. It only took a glance for the Paladins to assess that the amount of Galra garbage was definitely problematic for the natives.

Large metal contraptions laid precariously over chasm edges, ready to fall and crush some distracted creature beneath its mass. The grounds were littered with scrap, some even sparking and buzzing slightly. Patches of grass poked up through the cracked dirt, and it gave the impression that perhaps this world used to be lush, but the malfunctioning machines seemed to have to seeped the life out of the planet.

The team exited their lions and grouped up on the ground, looking around, wondering where they should start. Before they could come to a consensus, however, a small voice spoke up from behind them.

"Our calls have finally been answered!" Keith was the first to spin around, tense from the surprise of the sudden voice. The creature before them only reached about hip height, and greatly resembled a raccoon from back on Earth. Instead of fur, however, the creature had scales like a snake, and when it blinked, its eyes closed sideways. Its long, thin tail came to a sharp end, and was barbed with small spikes, much like thorns. Allura was the first to respond, crouching down to speak better with the smaller creature.

"Are you Takumari?" she asked gently, her voice polite and diplomatic. The alien nodded, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yes. And I assume you all are the Paladins of Voltron?" Takumari answered the team's surprised look, letting out a small huff of a laugh. "Word of your existence is starting to spread through the imprisoned planets. I didn't think the rumors were true, but..." he looked up at them with a keen look in his eyes. "I stand corrected."

Shiro cast a quick glance around the planet before turning back to Takumari.

"I don't want to come off as rude, but it looks like we've got a lot of work to do, if you want all this Galra junk cleared out of here. I'd like to get started as soon as possible," he requested. Takumari dipped his head to the Black Paladin briefly.

"Of course. The place we need cleaned up most desperately is the path to our water source. The scraps there are bit harder to maneuver." He looked up at their lions, a thoughtful look on his face. "This might be a problem, though..." he muttered. Pidge frowned slightly.

"What's the issue?" she wondered. Takumari sighed before looking up at her.

"Well, the pathways leading down to our water is... well, it's meant for beings our size. You all will fit, but your lions will not," he explained. Lance suppressed a groan, and instead shrugged.

"Guess we're cleaning up the old fashioned way," he stretched one arm across himself, then switched arms. He gave Keith a sideways glance, smirking. "Bet I can clear more trash than you can," he challenged. The Red Paladin rolled his eyes, obviously not impressed.

"Be careful not to get swept up, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between you and a pile of garbage," he spat before turning on his heel to follow the rest of the team, who was being lead by Takumari towards the chasm. Lance narrowed his eyes at the back of Keith's head.

"We should just leave you here with the rest of the worthless Galra trash," he grumbled under his breath. Even as he said it, immense guilt pierced his chest, and he hoped that the other paladin hadn't heard what he said. When Keith didn't react, Lance let out a small breath of relief. It seemed he was in the clear.

"Lance, you coming?" Hunk shouted to his friend from a couple feet ahead. The blue paladin pulled on a smile and ran to catch up with them, bumping Keith's shoulder as he went. When he didn't react in any way, worry poked at the back of Lance's mind. Once he'd caught up with Hunk and Pidge, he glanced over his shoulder. He suddenly felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Keith's eyes were trained on the ground, distant and glasslike. His arms were crossed over his chest, held tightly in place as he walked. The look on his face was enough to inform the Blue Paladin that he had, in fact, heard his careless words spoken in the heat of the moment.

"Alright, guys," Shiro interrupted his thoughts. "We've just got to clear off the path, then take out some of the more dangerous things left behind. Be careful, some of these look like they might still work. I wouldn't be surprised if some Galra robots were still functioning around here." The team nodded and set to work.

They'd been working for about an hour, cutting and blasting through sheets of metal, casting aside broken crates filled scrap parts. Lance kept casting glances in Keith's direction, wishing the Red Paladin would just get mad at him already. As far as insults went, he always tried to steer clear of anything related to his past. He and Keith might be rivals, but they were also part of a team. Voltron was a bond that surpassed any hatred the two might hold for each other. They knew what was going too far. Keith didn't use Lance's homesickness against him, Lance didn't use Keith's past against him.

That is... until today.

For the past hour, Keith hadn't said a word to him. Not even when Lance accidentally knocked into him, making his lose his footing and trip over half of a gun sticking out of the ground. The silence was no longer just annoying, but it was making Lance feel even guiltier. He brushed the feeling off, helping Pidge move the wing of a broken fighter ship off the path. Keith couldn't ignore him forever, after all. He'd get over it eventually. Tomorrow, things would be back to normal.

Then another thought occurred to him... What if Keith never forgave him? Voltron wasn't posisble unless all the Paladins worked together as one, so... what would happen if he refused to work with Lance? Had he just ruined their chances of ever defeating Zarkon?!

"Lance, you okay? You seem a bit distracted," Pidge questioned, glancing over her shoulder at him. He hesitated, then shrugged.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just working myself up over nothing," he assured her. Pidge raised an eyebrow, doubt in her eyes, but she didn't press, and just turned back to her work. Lance sighed, shaking his head at himself. He was making a big deal out of nothing. He and Keith threw insults all the time. When it came down to it, they could set aside their differences and work together. Keith wouldn't be petty enough to doom the world just because Lance called him 'Galra trash' in the heat of an argument. He'd forgive him eventually.

Right?