Wings of Home II: Wings of Change

Plans

When people were nice to him, he felt uncomfortable.

In truth, he found himself uncomfortable before he sat down to eat lunch with what – Keith personally assumed – his new crew. Thinking about his entire time at the garrison, he'd never been placed with a crew that lasted more than a week or two, making things even more awkward without getting into the whole sharing lunch as if they were, in fact, all friends. Hunk was, in fact, Lance's friend while Matt – he was the kid who Shiro utilized when Adam couldn't watch him.

Of course, Elena and her significant other who was most definitely not there at the moment were people he could consider friends, yet Elena's presence didn't make the situation any less uncomfortable, nor did it make him feel any less like he needed to head to the nurse's office – which of course often meant the councilor's office instead. He headed in that direction, though he didn't get there quickly, his mind wandering as he headed there.

"Hey."

The sound of a familiar voice made Keith let out a sigh. He turned, looking at Lance, not understanding why Lance seemed so fixated on him. "Oh. The cargo pilot."

"I take offense at that!"

"Why?"

"Because it's so not true!"

"Um..." Keith stared at Lance, completely baffled by what Lance said. "That makes absolutely no sense at all."

"Yes, it does! What you said about me isn't true."

"Seriously. I didn't call you..." Keith took a deep breath. "You do realize I called you a cargo pilot because you are a cargo pilot? That's what you're in training for."

"Uh."

Lance stared at him for what felt like forever, which made Keith turn away, planning on heading to the sanctuary of the councilor's office, his mind wondering if he would, in fact, need to head to the nurses' office despite the fact he hated the infirmary. He felt Lance's hand clap down on his shoulder, which in turn made him fight back the urge to slug the other teen for touching him, knowing this would be a great way to make Shiro's day even worse, though to be honest, he was tired of getting into fights.

"Stop ignoring me! If it weren't for you I'd actually be a fighter pilot."

Keith stared down the hall, wishing he'd made the decision of going to the nurses' office as this meant Lance wouldn't have found him. "I'm not following, given..."

He didn't get the chance of finishing his sentence, pointing out the fact he was considered the top pilot, so his score wouldn't have an effect on Lance getting into the fighter pilot program. Lance, on the other hand, had other thoughts. "Everyone knows you're Shiro's favorite."

"Are you implying that the only reason I'm..."

"Yeah, I am! Everyone says that!" Lance held up his phone. "See."

Keith looked at Lance's phone, which was connected to the forum system many of the garrison students used which he preferred not using. In the first few weeks, he learned things were said which simply set him off. "I don't care what other people say about me."

"Well, everyone's talking about how your Shiro's favorite and that's the reason you place the highest, not because you have any real skill." Lance took a deep breath. "Why would they want that person to be a member of this Voltron thing?"

"What?" Keith turned his head.

"Wait. That's not the forum thread I meant to read. I just happened to have started that one..."

Keith grabbed the phone from Lance's hand, his eyes looking down at the thread. "What... you started a thread saying one of us paladins doesn't belong and should be replaced?"

"Well, you should be. I mean, do you really think you're..."

"It doesn't matter that I don't think I'm good enough to be on the team." Keith shoved the phone into Lance's face. "I'm not the one they're saying should be removed, you idiot."

"Why should..."

"Because they're talking about the new girl. As in your cousin Elena. If you weren't her cousin..."

"Hold on. That wasn't the plan."

"You're right. That wasn't the plan." The sound of Commander Sablan's voice made Keith flinch, his mind going back to when the man tried interrogating him without Shiro being present. He swallowed, a feeling of dread washing over him. The look on Lance's face said something was definitely wrong, but he watched him back away a couple of steps. "So..." The voice changed, making Keith's blood freeze. The person was most definitely a Galra, but he felt the purple alien step forward, whatever was cloaking him dispersing. He towered over both him and Lance in size, but his hand went to a blade. "I obviously don't need you anymore."

Keith moved instinctively as the intruder moved to use his blade against Lance, pushing the other boy out of the way, turning to face the Galra, his eyes narrowing. He felt the blade tear through his right shoulder at the front painfully as he stumbled backward into Lance, his mind wondering why he bothered saving the teen who constantly badgered him. His entire body shook, looking at the purple alien.

"Well, perhaps he will come in handy." Keith felt a large hand pull him away, thrown into the wall, resulting in him crashing into the ground painfully. Letting out a groan, he pushed himself up from the ground, his head turning so he watched the Galra, his mind intent on attacking the enemy he saw in front of him, but this particular Galra moved quickly, moving behind Lance and placing his blade at Lance's throat. "So, are you going to come willingly, or am I going to have to kill your friend here."

"He's not my friend," Lance piped up.

"Well, that is true, but he was more than willing to put his life on the line to save you." The Galra looked at him, his eyes narrowed, making a shiver run down Keith's spine. Personally, he hoped they wouldn't get far. He put his hands up in the air.

"Okay. I'll go willingly, though you do realize this will just buy Shiro time to find us."

"Yes, well, I've got control over the garrison cameras, so he won't know where on base we'll be, but I do know that he'll do anything to get you back safely. The fact you're injured, that actually helps in that equates my time limit." The Galra then gave marching orders and Keith complied, his hand on his injured shoulder, both from the blade, and being flung into the wall. Every so often he glanced back at Lance, whose facial feature twisted in guilt, though he wasn't sure what to think about the other's reaction.