Wings of Home II: Wings of Change

La Buena Comida

One of the things Elena looked forward to was the lunches Lydia packed, yet she'd forgotten something important as she watched Keith and his twin brother interact.

"I packed lunches for Keith and Shiro as well."

She'd definitely forgotten about giving the lunches her abuela made to Keith and Shiro on the ride there, but Shiro left before she could hand his food over. The interaction with the kid calling himself James Griffin honestly drove giving Keith his lunch out of her mind, yet she definitely remembered when they were finally allowed a break from trying to form Voltron, yet Shiro pulled Keith away to talk to him.

As such, she headed for the cafeteria, remembering the location from the tour James' gave her, yet she found herself frustrated in how she wasn't allowed to attend classes on her first day – she didn't know how far behind she was regarding any of the curriculum, which was problematic given the fact the garrison program was definitely known for its advanced curriculum.

"Elena! Hunk!"

Hearing the voice of her cousin made Elena turn her head, her eyes noting how the other students looked at her because he spoke up. "Lance..."

"Wanna sit with Hunk and me today?"

"I'm kind of waiting for Keith."

"Why?"

"Because..." Elena took a deep breath, turning her head in the direction Keith should be heading from. She caught sight of her fellow cadet, his legs allowing him to move quickly towards the cafeteria. "Keith! Wait!"

She watched him freeze, then change direction, walking slower. His eyes were focused on Lance, yet he seemed far from pleased at seeing her cousin. She couldn't blame him, given the fact the two got into a fight the other day – that was how her family unit ended up meeting Keith and Shiro in the first place. He folded his arms across his chest. "Um, yes?"

"I'd forgotten to give you this, this morning. It's from my abuela." Elena pulled one of the extra lunches from her bag, shoving it towards Keith. As for the second, she wished Syd had decided to visit today during the lunch hour, being that she did have the freedom to do so, given the fact she was given a visitor's pass and was homeschooled.

"Um..." Keith's facial features softened, obviously surprised by the gesture, taking the boxed lunch.

"Wait!" Lance's voice strained. "How come Keith gets one of abuela's lunches?"

Elena turned her head towards her cousin. She heard Keith speak softly. "Look, if..."

"Nope. You're not giving the lunch abuela made for you to Lance." Elena reached out, grabbing onto Keith's wrist, purposefully tugging him into the cafeteria while Lance looked on wide eyes and Hunk's jaw dropped. She dragged him over to an empty table and sat down, yet she couldn't help but notice everyone looking. Keith seemed rather nervous with everyone watching. "Sit."

"Yeah, but..."

"You're my friend, right."

"Yes."

"Then as my only friend at the garrison you need to join me for lunch." Elena heard a sigh leave his lips, but watched him sit down, although he didn't open the lunch.

"Elena!" Of course, Lance followed. "How come I didn't get a lunch as well! Huh?"

"Because you didn't ride into school with me, did you?" She watched Lance's mouth snap shut. Her hand hovered over the third lunch, wondering what she should do with said lunch. She saw James Griffin enter with a few other cadets but watched Keith freeze, his entire body went rigid. His eyes drifted down towards the food in front of him, attempting to avoid eye contact. This didn't prevent James from making a beeline towards them.

"Why the hell is Keith into riding to school with you?"

She watched James purposefully step behind Keith, making it hard for him to ignore the other boy when he spoke up. "Honestly, I'd like to know that question?"

"Go away, Griffin."

"Yeah, no. I told you that you and I would be discussing the fact you're living with Shiro later on."

"Wait. What!" Lance looked as if he were going to blow a gasket. He pointed his finger at Keith. "That's a good question. Why are you living with Shiro!"

Keith's eyes narrowed. "None of your business."

"None of your business!" Lance jabbed his finger in the air. "This is yet another way you're always the favorite around here! You even get to live with Shiro!"

Elena couldn't help but notice how Keith crossed his arms, one of his eyes twitching, but also how everyone else was now staring. Surprisingly, James' mouth faltered. "Wait..."

"You're the one who brought it up, yet you're talking about waiting?"

"I don't think that is the thing we should be most concerned with."

One of Elena's eyebrows jolted up. "Wait. The reason he wants to talk with Keith about this – it wouldn't be because he thinks..."

The giggles from the other students didn't help the situation, yet it seemed quite obvious James hadn't planned on making Keith's living situation the latest garrison gossip, yet Lance remained oblivious like always. "Seriously! Why are you living with Shiro, Keith!"

"None of your business," Keith spoke with his teeth gritted, his anger becoming quite evident. Hulk – she thought his name was Hulk, yet something told her that might not be right, walked up with his tray of food just as a spoon full of mashed potatoes came hurtling through the air from who knew where hitting Lance in the face.

"You!" Lance's eyebrow twitched, his hands reaching for food off of his friend's trey while Hulk's mouth dropped open. Elena watched Lance's hand go back, obviously aiming at Keith, only for Keith to quickly duck, meaning the food hit James in the chest.

"The five of you! My office now!"

Elena let out a breath of deep air. "Thanks, Lance."

"What..."

"I'm getting in trouble because I'm associated with you, that's what." Elena stood up, following the principle, stopping when she realized Keith was about to not take the box of food with him. She quickly grabbed it, shoving it into his hands, shaking her head. They headed to the office and found themselves sitting there when the fourth cadet showed up.

"Holt, what are you doing here."

"Um, I kind of started this."

"You?" The principle let out a sigh. "Join them."

Elena clenched her hands, her eyes drifting over towards Keith. He kept swallowing, almost as if...

He hated getting in trouble.

She really couldn't blame him.

That was when Sablan showed up. "I knew it. The four of you were trouble, but I can't believe the lions picked you." Keith's facial features changed, glaring at the man. Hulk slid down further, his mouth forming a pout. James glared at the man. "And you..." The next part surprised Elena a bit. "You're one of the ones I was going to replace them with if I could."

"We wouldn't even have this problem if Keith wasn't living with Shiro!"

"Wait. What's going on?" Shiro appeared, but Elena watched Keith's facial features twist into a look of horror.

"They got into a food fight."

"Um." Hulk raised his hand. "I'm not sure."

"I'll take it from here."

"I'm in..."

"Yeah. You might want to talk to Iverson about that." The man left, while Shiro stood there. "What am I going to do with you?"

Those were definitely words Keith didn't want to hear.