InsaneJournal

Keith needed to get out. He just needed space and quiet to actually think through things without- He sighed. Without snapping at people who were just trying to look out for him. He just didn’t know how to handle all of this and deal with it. Which really wasn’t anything new… usually there was some battle to focus on though to help…

But maybe… He stuffed the maps and guidebooks into his bag before zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulder. He’d been hoping to save up enough for a motorcycle before heading out. It wouldn’t be anything like his speeder, but it would at least give him some freedom in directions he could go. Desperate times though. At least the bus routes didn’t look too bad.

Which would also be why he was using his bedroom window as an exit instead of the front door. While he was certain he could sneak through the apartment quietly enough to get out unnoticed, he wasn’t going to chance it. With his recent string of luck, he’d wind up going through there just as Lance was getting some late night snack and as nice as the Altean architecture inside was, it didn’t really leave much room for hiding. So, quick jump out the window instead. He landed in a crouch, staying in hunched for just a second before rolling up to his feet and striding off. He pulled his hood up over his head and made sure his backpack was on secure as he headed off to the bus stop in town.

It was actually just stupid luck. The bag that Lance had just placed on the sofa in the living room area was full with all the necessary items for an overnight stay. He was planning -- in the morning, of course -- to start bright and early for the coastline. It just sucked being on Earth and everything was that far away, still. He’d reached a conclusion during the early evening: he was going. One good day on a beach would cure a lot of that lingering homesickness. Maybe. It was a plan with some flaws, sure, but it was better than regretting not going at all, right?

And that was when he spotted a silhouette drop from somewhere to the upper right of the living room window. Lance narrowed his eyes, creeping up to the window to see what it was.

“What the--”

The outline of the figure was just discernible despite a bit of reflection on the glass, and it was familiar enough that it only took a second to recognize. Keith? Keith.

It barely took five seconds to hook the backpack over a shoulder and bolt for the front door, which was thrown open and slammed shut as Lance ran over.

“What the cheese, man?!”

For a glorious moment, Keith thought he was safe and free. He might’ve even been able to brush off the door slam as just someplace else and completely unrelated. But then… He cringed at the familiar voice. He spared a glance in that direction before raising a hand.

“No,” he said shortly as he kept walking. “Not this time, Lance.”

“Oh, no. Nonono, you don’t,” Lance called after the swiftly-receding paladin. He jogged up to an open spot next to Keith, and adjusted the backpack into a more comfortable position.

“I don’t even know what’s going on, but I’m not letting you walk away with…” There was a small lean backwards and Lance spotted Keith had a backpack of his own. “Probably everything you currently own. Where are you going?”

Keith bristled as turned enough to shoot a glare at Lance even with the hood up. “Away,” he snapped. The annoyance over the question came easier than normal if just because it was still stored up from their last talk about this. Really, he didn’t have more of an answer than that. There was no final location, no feature to aim for. Only a hope that something would trigger that feeling or force that’d guide him. A slim hope at that. But as much as he needed to get away he also needed to at least try.

He held the glare in hopes that Lance would just drop it, but the intensity melted when he caught sight of the bag on Lance’s back. Confusion started to push out annoyance as his brow furrowed. “What…”

Even Keith’s anger and annoyance wasn’t enough to sway Lance, who held his proximity with the sort of defiance you earn as one of many children in a house. Aside from that, there had been a few occasions of talking a younger sibling down from ‘running away’. Of course, that mostly meant walking to the beach alone, and grumping on the sand for a while until tempers cooled, but Lance had swiftly discovered that you didn’t just let family walk. Blood family or found family.

“Yeah, I got the away part, thanks. But where?” Lance pressed. When he caught sight of Keith’s eyes moving to the pack on his own back he merely shrugged. “Beach day was supposed to be tomorrow.”

Annoyance swayed back to the majority of Keith’s expression. Of course Lance wouldn’t just let it be. Which sometimes, not that he’d ever admit it to anyone, was nice. Despite it being grating and aggravating. Like now. “Away from here,” he countered. “I’ll know when I get there.”

He faced forward again and kept walking, his hands shoved in his pockets. Movement forward and hanging onto the annoyance was better than figuring out…. whatever this feeling was. He’d told Lance to go to the beach. He’d meant it. So why was there still a weird twinge at realizing the other boy was actually going to follow through? “Nothing stopping it from still being a beach day,” he pointed out.

“Uh, yeah there is,” Lance interjected, picking up step next to Keith even if there wasn’t any invitation to do so. Keith wasn’t about to welcome him along, anyway. That wasn’t any new turn of events as far as their history went. Sometimes you just had to force your way into someone’s plans. Keith made that almost a requirement half the time, which meant Lance had plenty of practice with it.

“My teammate is trying to run away without telling me, for one? Does Shiro even know?” There wasn’t even enough of a silent pause for Keith to answer in. “He doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t.”

The slump to Keith’s shoulders and the bow of his head answered the question well enough even without the verbal opportunity. No, Shiro didn’t know. In fact, instead of taking Shiro’s offer of sanctuary, he was running off instead. He just needed someplace to think about everything that wasn’t a place that’d remind him of everything he was trying to sort out. Plus…. he wasn’t sure he wanted either Paladins’ opinion on his current plan, if just because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to open up about how this didn’t feel like home anymore and admit just how different he might be from them.

“A week. Two weeks tops,” he breathed out. “That’s it. I’ll be back.”

Lance side-eyed Keith for a moment, watching that bit of guilt sink its hold. For all that Voltron was a team and a family, Keith had this habit of running off because he thought it was best. If being alone was supposed to solve anything, Keith had plenty of time with that to get answers already. Lance breathed out a loud sigh, then crossed his arms across his chest. It was an easy decision to make, but there wasn’t any point in letting Keith know it.

“Well, I didn’t have any real plans, anyway. And before you start arguing --” A finger was stretched outward, Lance pleading just another moment to speak before the inevitable protest. “No, I’m not letting you go alone. It isn’t happening. Nope. I already packed snacks for both of us, since I thought someone could also use a beach day.”

A scowl met the protest interrupting finger point. The intensity faltered though as Lance spoke. Not because of his stubbornness, but because… well… Keith had assumed Lance had just planned a solo beach trip. Whether Lance was telling the truth about the snacks or not, of course that hadn’t been the other Paladin’s plan. Of course he had been planning a group trip. He sighed. Yay team.

“Fine,” he huffed out as he shook his head. “But if you start complaining about how your beach day would be better, remember that you changed your plans. It’s all on you.”

Lance pumped his fist, knowing full well that this was one of the easier wins. If Keith really wanted, they could end up arguing all the way to the bus stop -- presuming that was where they were headed. He gave Keith a wide grin.

“Team Red and Black, on an adventure.” He framed the overhead sun with his fingers, then squared them around Keith’s unimpressed face. “To destinations unknown. End scene one!”