Wings of Home II: Wings of Change

Planning

Most kids from the group home were messed up, which was why they were there, or at least that was what James Griffin understood when he was younger. Keith Kogane definitely fit the definition of messed up, rarely socializing with the other kids in their class, yet when he did interact, he tended to do say or do something everyone thought rather weird.

He couldn't deny a bit of jealousy when Takashi Shirogane took a shine to the dark sheep in their class, yet irritation when Keith purposefully messed up their flight drills on purpose making their group suffer. He'd made the mistake of saying Keith's parents didn't want him after outright asking why Shiro would want anything to do with him, which in turn caused Keith to fly off the handle.

They'd both ended up in the principle's office, yet James learned he did not want to be on the wrong end of one of Keith's punches ever again. This didn't mean he liked his classmate, yet he purposefully chose not to have anything to do with him, pushing his frustration at Shiro's apparent favoritism to the back of his mind and instead focusing on his own studies, attempting to outdo Keith where he could. He let other kids like Lance get in trouble for messing with Keith.

That was until today.

The garrison picked him out of all their classmates to show the new girl around. For some reason, she came with Shirogane and Kogane, yet in the back of his head, it bothered him. For once, it didn't bother him like it usually did, and instead was this feeling of dread, like something was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when Elena Alvarez said, "We live in the same apartment building."

His personal view of Shiro definitely soured at that moment, for in the back of his mind he couldn't think of a single reason why Shiro would have Keith living with them that wouldn't be known to everyone, meaning Keith living with Shiro was under the nose of even the garrison. That, or they were very much aware but willing to turn a blind eye when it came to one of their top graduates.

It made him feel sick, yet the way the principle acted, he wasn't sure he could take his concerns to Iverson – that even the commander was turning a blind eye.

"Seriously! It's not fair!"

"Would you please stop whining already?" For some strange reason, Lance was now following him, using James as an ear to rant about how unfair it was that Keith got special treatment as he did.

"And you! How dare you talk to Shiro like you did!" Lance pointed his finger and James' making him feel rather irritated regarding the matter. "How dare you talk about him like you did!"

"Are you really that oblivious?" In truth, he didn't want to think someone was that oblivious.

"I know full well you were accusing Shiro of doing something bad to Keith, but Shiro's not the type of person to do anything bad to anybody! Not unless they're, like, the enemy!"

"Okay. Maybe you're not that oblivious."

"If anyone is hurting someone in this arrangement, it is Keith hurting Shiro."

"What exactly is your problem with Kogane?"

"I'm his rival, but he never treats me as such!"

James found himself staring at Lance, looking right in his blue eyes, his mouth twisting in frustration. "Seriously? You want people to believe you're his rival?"

"Because I am?"

"How can you be his rival when you're not even in the fighter pilot program? You're still in the cargo pilot program, but he's also our top pilot. Even I can't keep up with him, but if anybody's his rival, it's likely me." Except, he'd really not thought of their relationship in that manner, never seeing Keith as someone to surpass when he failed in so many other ways.

"Yeah right!"

"I see the two of you've been asked to leave Shiro's group of paladins since you two weren't chosen by the lions."

A shiver ran down James' spine. He turned, looking at Sablan, watching the man carefully. He was another commanding officer at the base, yet he'd so far had little to no interaction with the man. However, there was quite a bit he didn't understand regarding what the man said. "What do you mean chosen by the lions? What are these paladins?"

"They're..."

Lance interrupted Sablan. "The five lions form Voltron, the thing that saved everybody, but they're stored in that Castle of Lions thing. Shiro was picked as the leader for obvious reasons, Hunk got picked for the yellow one because he's a nice guy, something I believed, this Matt Holt person is apparently very smart, though I don't think he is given the fact he started the food fight, and Elena, she's my adorable cousin who was picked for the blue lion for reasons I really don't understand."

"You said there were five. What about..."

"The one Keith flies should be the one I fly! After all, I am the best pilot, not to mention good looking. I can't believe Princess Allura can't see the charm behind this face of mine."

"Are you some kind of narcissist?"

"Of course not! I'm just fed up with people not noticing how amazing I am, or appreciating me for the skills I have. Keith's always hogging the spotlight."

James felt his throat tighten, his arms crossing his chest. "Oh. I get it. Your issue with Keith is that you want the spotlight for yourself."

"Of course!" Lance flinched. "Hey! I am the one who should be in the spotlight."

"Well, that's why I'm approaching you. I don't feel they picked the right ones, but I'd like help from the two of you regarding that."

"What's in it for us."

"Hey! I didn't agree to this!" James glared at Lance.

"What do you think will happen if one of the lions rejects its paladin?"

"It would need a new paladin?" James narrowed his eyes. "You want us to undermine what is going on, so I'm out."

"Can you argue they're the best choice for the job?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Something is telling me whatever you have going on is a bad idea, so regardless of my feelings, I'm baking out. Plus, I've got other concerns right now." He turned, leaving, pausing briefly so he might look back, contemplating whether he should take on the man's proposal if it meant that Keith would no longer be under Shiro's thumb. He almost changed his mind, only to remember the adults were likely already overlooking what was going on. "I'll make my own plans, thank you."

He turned, contemplating his options, his mind feeling he needed to do something to prevent Keith from going back to Shiro's place.