Gemini, Letters to the Sky (ONC Entry - Voltron: Legendary Defender Fanfic)

Feelings

Silence...

"Rachel, why don't you and Ryo walk Savannah to the entrance of the farm."

In the back of Rachel's mind, she wondered if her older family members were attempting to arrange for her and Ryo to be alone on purpose in hopes something might happen, as the walk to and from the entrance was quite far, giving them a chance to talk, yet in the back of her mind she couldn't put matchmaking past her mother, given the woman wanted to see all of her children happily married.

Walking along with Savannah, who was also quiet during the first few minutes, she couldn't in the back of her head think her mother was trying to hook Savannah up with Lance – had he been there. "I'm glad he wasn't there."

Rachel's eyes blinked, distinctly picking up on what Savannah said. "Wait? You mean Lance?"

She watched the girl's eyes widen, her throat swallow before glancing away. "Sorry. I shouldn't..."

"Look. I'll be one of the first people to admit my brother is – difficult, and that might be me being nice in how I put that."

"I was so glad when we weren't going to the same school for middle school and high school." Savannah continued walking with her eyes glued to the road, every so often looking up at Ryo who walked a few feet ahead of them. "I wasn't – I think – the only one."

"Was he a bully?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that."

"Please be honest with me."

"He definitely had a way of getting on people's nerves, but he wouldn't stop flirting with the girls."

"He was an elementary school student."

"Yeah, but his obnoxious behavior – we still had to deal with it when he came home to hang out, but he flirted with any girl around our age. He was so gross, saying things which definitely had sexual undertones – that he wanted to have sex with us despite the fact we didn't really know him."

"But was he a bully?"

"I don't understand why you're asking."

Rachel glanced up at Ryo, who looked back, her eyes darting away, remembering how he'd said his brother was bullied at school. "No specific reason. What kind of obnoxious behaviors?"

"Well, he always bragged about how he was doing so well in school. A lot of the guys were jealous that he was the top pilot in his year."

"That was a lie."

"Yeah. I guess everyone should have known that, considering he was always telling tall tales as a kid which couldn't possibly be true."

"There wasn't a kid in elementary school who he was – like rivals with. I mean, pretending that he was at their skill level when he wasn't."

"Was there?" Savannah glanced up. "He did lie about being the best, but I don't recollect him ever targeting one kid specifically. He did get mad when anyone ever called him a liar, particularly when he bragged about himself being a top pilot at the school, telling them to prove it."

"But he never mentioned a kid named Keith."

"Um, no. Look, I'd rather not talk about your brother."

"You keep looking at Ryo." Rachel changed the subject, realizing she'd get nothing from Savannah. What she did get didn't indicate her brother would become a bully, yet she wasn't sure if that was proof or not. More importantly, she didn't know who to talk to in order to help.

"How did you get to know Ryo Shirogane? He's like, a major pop star in Japan. I mean, he has been on hiatus for a year or two."

"He's my penpal." Rachel paused, her mind thinking. "Actually, Keith is Ryo's brother, but he was bullied at the garrison. I'm wanting to find out if Lance was, in fact, bullying him. I believe he was."

"Wait? Like a twin?" The girl paused. "And isn't..."

"Hold it. You can't go spreading this about. It's not well known, but I shouldn't have said anything. I just..." Rachel let out a sigh. "He's a good friend but has gone through a lot."

"What with their older brother dying? Everyone assumed that was the reason he went on hiatus, but there might be more to it? Do you think – do you think he might start producing music again if maybe we found out what was going on?"

"No." Rachel was going to be honest with him. "That doesn't really solve the issue of his brother being bullied, but it's better than not having a face to the problem. That said, please don't mention the specifics. I really messed up telling you this much, but he's trying to take a break at our place – to try and get some normality back in his life. It's been rough."

"I'll see what I can find." Savannah reached into her pocket. "Exchange numbers?"

"Yeah." The numbers were exchanged, and soon they bid Savannah farewell. She thought silence would follow them back to the farmhouse, only Ryo spoke with ease after a few minutes.

"I want people to know Keith is my brother. The garrison deserves people to know what kind of crap he went through."

"How much of the conversation did you hear?"

Ryo stopped walking. He then turned, looking her in the eye. "I didn't want to say anything."

"I'm so sorry about intruding in your personal..."

"Not that." Ryo took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the ground. "There are a few things that need to be said, since avoiding you isn't possible, though you already know about me avoiding you because I didn't want you to know I bullied my own brother. That – I'm not sure I want that to come out, because I don't want people to know me as Keith's awful brother because that's not who I want to be to him."

"That wasn't the only reason you were avoiding me."

"I don't need Savannah – I believe that's what your family said her name was – to tell me your brother bullied Keith. I already knew that."

"I'm sorry."

"Part of the reason I knew was because of the letters you wrote, about how he'd go on and on about Keith. Takashi – he said some things, but the one name which ended up slipping was Lance's. I didn't want you to know, particularly when you were trying to be okay with what happened, to not feel okay with him disappearing, but grateful for the fact he wasn't there to – well, be who he is."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "Wait. You actually read the letters I sent."

"I didn't know how to respond." Ryo continued looking at the ground. "And there is something else."

"And what might that be."

"It's a – you probably don't feel the same way as I do kind of thing, but I've got to admit this to you, so things don't get majorly awkward between us, particularly since I think some of your family have picked up on it already." Ryo looked up. "I like you. I like you a lot. I don't know when I first started crushing on you, to be honest beyond the fact it was before Takashi disappeared, which made things ever so awkward after that. I'm not expecting my feelings to be reciprocated, but now – they're out there."

"Do you feel better?"

"What?"

"Getting that off your chest?"

"Well, I guess. In some ways, no."

Rachel took a deep breath. "Since we're being honest with each other, at this point, I can't reciprocate your feelings. For starters, there's the way my brother treated your brother. I've got to know how bad it was. Also, you're not in a good place right now, and the last thing I want to do is take advantage of someone I know I do think of as a good friend. I've also – this is the first time I've really, really thought about what our relationship is, so I've got to get back to you on that. It might be a while, a long while."

"That..." Ryo's mouth moved, his head nodding. "Honestly, that is far more than I actually expected."