Get Out in One Piece

Communication.

Keith was devastated.

How could he let this happen?

He was supposed to protect her. He was black Paladin. The leader of Voltron.

Yet he'd let the shield of Voltron, the green Paladin, the one he cared for the most get captured.

He could remember when he first made his promise to protect Pidge.

She was only ten at the time, Keith was thirteen.

The Kerberos mission had just been announced and to celebrate the Holts were throwing a party.

Well, it was more like a barbecue.

Shiro and Adam had been invited because Shiro was Sam's first choice for pilot and Keith tagged along because, well, where Shiro went he went.

Their house was a good size, could fit the four of them and a dog comfortably and their backyard was large enough to host their party without many people needing to be inside.

Matt was the one who had greeted him and Shiro, the excited golden haired navigationalist was already someone Keith liked.

The way he talked and acted with both him and Shiro.

He didn't treat them any different, hell, Matt encouraged Keith to be as mischievous as he wanted.

Keith was in the middle of wreaking havoc with Matt, the two of them trying to see how burnt they could make the food before someone said something.

That's when he saw Pidge.

The small girl was sitting in the very back corner of the yard, holding her dog close while she worked on what Keith now knows was likely her latest project.

He would never tell the others his first thought he had when he saw her.

She was beautiful.

Her face was a bit scrunched up the way it got when she was focusing, eyes trained on her hands and what parts her fingers moved into place.

She was absolutely beautiful. The only girl who'd ever caught his eye the way she did.

But even more than that, she was a genius. He could tell by just the way she worked she was smarter than he'd ever be.

"That's Katie," Matt smiled when he saw him staring.
"My little sister."

"She's..." He paused, searching for the right word.

"A genius. She's going to change the world." Matt grinned, finishing the sentence for him.

"Yeah," Keith mumbled, looking away and trying to hide the flush on his cheeks.

"Y'know," Matt hummed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to need someone to look after her while I'm away on my mission."

"Wait, you can't mean me-" Keith stammered.

"Yeah, I mean you." Matt chuckled, pulling Keith close.
"Protect her for me, okay?"

"I promise.." Keith smiled.

Oh what he'd give to her those days back, to be kids again and go back to innocent stares and amazement at her beauty.

Not that she wasn't beautiful now.

It had been nine years since that day.