#kuratt

Congratulations! One of your dreams has finally come true. Let me give you a big hug and wow, you’re warm…

Ryou held his breath, his hand hovering over the control panel.

Next to him, their shoulders mashed together, Matt squirms with excitement.  His gaze darts from Ryou’s stalled hand to his face.  “This for dramatic effect or something?  Come on, man, turn it on.  You’re killing me, here.”

Right.  Turn it on.  Simple as that.

Ryou screws his eyes closed and forces his finger to touch down on the screen.

There’s a pause, then the series of repulsors on the training room floor begin to hum in unison.  The noise is still loud, but it totally fills Ryou’s ears.

Finally, he cracks open his eyes and looks down on the screen.

A digital map of his repulsor grid shows the status of each individual machine.  And all are working in perfect unity.

after kuron is revealed and he redeems himself by going directly against his commands/programming, the paladins accept him into the fold (with varying degrees of unease). matt is one of the least accepting. not because matt doesn't believe in redemption, but because he's been in space long enough—fought in this war long enough—to understand duplicity and how far someone is willing to go to do something they believe in.

it also is matt's luck that he and kuron have adjacent quarters

kuron comes and goes as he pleases. most of the time he's in his room or on the training deck. he eats his meals with the others, but he's very quiet and removed. overtures of friendship from the paladins come in shades. hunk is the first to warm up to him, offering kuron some cupcakes he made; then lance, who recently discovered an altean racquetball equivalent and needs a partner; then shiro, pidge, keith, coran and allura. matt is the only one who finds himself distanced from kuron

then, on a mission, kuron and matt find themselves removed from the paladins. they're waiting quietly at a rendezvous point when kuron sighs gently and says, "i know you don't trust me, but for the sake of this mission, and for the sake of what we're trying to accomplish, i need you to pretend."

so matt pretends. 

he also feels guilty. it is his main motivator to be nicer, to try.

he starts saying hello and goodbye. he allows small quips, and teases, and jokes. he pauses before he sits down at the table, slipping into the chair beside kuron rather than the one out of arm's reach. he puts boxes of mismatched machinery parts into kuron's hands and has him carry the heavy stuff to the room he, pidge, and hunk have taken over. he pairs with kuron on team game nights, forces kuron to watch his favorite space soap opera, and doesn't think when shoves kuron to the side and takes a plasma blast meant for the other man.

let it be known that plasma blasts sting.

after a brief stint in a healing pod—and a hug-punch combo from pidge—kuron quietly follows matt back to his quarters. when they reach the door, matt turns to kuron to say good night. instead, kuron grabs his bicep, almost too hard, and chokes,

“please never do that again.”

matt wants to be mad. he feels a shade of anger well in his chest, but it is instantly displaced by the wild, lost look in kuron’s eyes. he is filled with surprise—realization—tenderness. he reaches up and curls a hand around kuron’s sharp jaw. he cannot promise kuron that he won’t do it again, so he whispers instead, “i love you.”

Pt. 1

Next Part

The room was dark and cool with a slight breeze flowing overhead from the vent in the ceiling. Matt laid up against Shiro’s stomach with as smile on his face as the two of them spooned in Shiro’s bed. Matt could hear his boyfriend’s soft breathing against his ear as he slept. It was a relaxing moment in the midst of a stressful war.

The rest of the team was out on a diplomatic mission, but because Voltron was not needed at the time, Matt had insisted on a “self care day”. Shiro had assumed that was the brunet's way of getting Shiro to himself for the day, but when he finally gave in and relaxed in his room he realized just how exhausted he was. He admitted that maybe Matt was right, he needed to take care of himself too sometimes. Now the Black paladin was fast asleep and Matt could almost feel the stress and tension disappearing from the man’s shoulders. It was a good day. Coran had promised to alert them if there was any trouble, so the rebel officer was not the least worried about the world outside of the bed he currently laid. He shifted his position carefully as to not wake his resting boyfriend and closed his eyes once more.

Shiro was dreaming. He was aware of that, but it was pleasant and he knew that in reality he was safely within the castle with his boyfriend at his side, so he let the dream flow on. He was somewhere on Earth, standing on a stage with Commander Holt on his right and Matt smiling sheepishly on his left. They were both in their garrison uniforms and with further inspection Shiro could see that he was as well. His right arm was back too. He raised it up to wave to the crowd and saw no metal, only natural skin. He almost cried at the sight. A flash of light in front of him drew his eyes away however. There were cameras fashing ahead of him and multiple people holding microphones. Shiro realized they were standing right in front of the press. This meant... Yes. the Kerberos mission must have been a success in this dream. 

They were home... 

He let his gaze wander through the crowd behind the reporters. He spotted Keith, sitting with the other Garrison students, smiling up at the Shiro. Looking closer he even saw Lance and Hunk in with the students, both looking so much more youthful without the weight of the universe on their shoulders. He Noticed Mrs. Holt sitting with Pidge on the other side of the room. The small girl still bearing her long brunet hair, though it was pulled back into a bun. They both looked so overjoyed to have their family home safe and sound. This was a happy moment and Shiro let himself bask in the peacefulness of the dream. One day we’ll really go home, he thought to himself.

He brought his eyes back to the front of the stage with a smile, to where Commander Iverson had just finished speaking. He stepped away for Shiro to come forward for questions. The look Iverson gave him was... odd. It sent a small shiver down Shiro’s spine, but he brushed it off. He shifted to the front of the podium where immediately there was a rush of overlapping questions from the reporters below. He glanced once more at Iverson over on the far left of the stage where he had settled . The man looked up at him expectantly. His face clearly said, What are you doing? The press is waiting. But Shiro... he couldn’t turn away. Iverson he... 

A young lady reporter raised her hand and Shiro vaguely registered that she was asking him something about their findings on Kerberos but he couldn't bring himself to answer. He was too concerned by his current staring contest with Iverson. His eyes... instead of their usual onyx color, they were pupil-less. And they shone an all too familiar yellow. Shiro’s blood ran cold.

Suddenly the dream’s setting whirled around him and the black paladin found himself tied down to a table. People in hazmat suits were shifting all around him, scanning him and pricking him with needles. His robotic arm was back, and his uniform was once again replaced by Galran prisoner clothes. There was an terrible feeling deep in the pit of Shiro’s stomach. He tried desperately to swallow his panic. Wait, we’ve been through this already.... He told himself. It already happened and I escaped. This is just a dream. However, his mind was not so easily convinced. The scene continued and Shiro struggled against his bindings despite himself, his fear beginning to take hold. Yellow-eyes Iverson suddenly appeared in Shiro’s vision. The commander opened his mouth to speak and what he said caused the trapped man to freeze in terror. 

“Begin operation Kuron stage 5″.