WHO: Lance & Keith WHEN: Yesterday after work WHERE: The ranch WHAT: Keith needs new clothes, and the boys talk a bit about careers and the ~future~. WARNINGS: Teenager doofs
______________
Lance narrowed his eyes at the radio display, his finger prodding the seek button for something good. It was the usual routine when it was his turn to pick up Keith -- a tun that was usually decided by whose schedule started first or who got out of work first. Today, he’d been the lucky one to get out early, which meant chilling in an AC-cooled car, jamming to some tunes, and waiting for that point when Keith would turn up around the corner of the barn.
The seek function hit a strong station, and suddenly Camila Cabello was bursting from the speakers. Lance grinned at the luck of that, then reached for his drink in the center console. A strawberry acai refresher and some “Havana” was just the thing to wind down after a hectic day of filling heat-addled customer’s requests. He tipped his sunglasses down and reclined the seat a little to wait.
Today was just not Keith’s day. Even though he knew he should get a new wardrobe, stubbornness had settled in over the days. Especially with having the safety net of Shiro’s clothes if he really needed something loose. He’d thought he could maybe squeak by with the clothes in their closet.
He thought wrong. Sure, it looked like he’d get by for a bit, but then he got a little too into the swing of things. Literally. All it took was a longer than usual stretch up into the saddle and the seams gave up under the stress of new muscles. The shirt didn’t last too much longer after that. Which really didn’t help with his brush offs of the commentary from his coworkers about ‘beefing up’.
So instead of going over to the driver’s side to oust Lance from his seat, he went straight to the passenger side. He tossed his bag into the back seat before throwing himself into the seat with a huff, just looking forward to getting home.
“Havana, ooo na, na -- oh, hey,” Lance chimed in, mid-chorus. He poked the edge of his sunglasses up to give his boyfriend a look, and was immediately aware that there appeared to be something of a grey stormcloud occupying the passenger side instead. Lance’s brows lifted at that, his mouth shaping into a small frown.
So, what was up? Lance took a quick survey. Keith was about as sweaty as you’d expect someone working outdoors to be in the heat. His shirt, on the other hand, seemed to be strained at the seams more than usual. No, cross that. It looked frayed at the seams in places.
Lance brought his seat back up to a proper driving angle, but didn’t move to actually drive just yet. “Soooo, hi,” he started again. He grabbed the drink he’d grabbed for Keith before leaving Starbucks and held it out. “Rough day?”
Keith’s gloom slowly burned away. First by the AC easing the lingering heat clinging from outside. And then the offered drink. He took it, sipping the drink slowly to savor the coolness. He sunk back into his seat, leg going up to prop against the dashboard before quickly snapping back down because even if the AC was nice, he really didn’t need a cool draft down where the seam of his pants had split.
Which brought the grumpiness back for a long, disgruntled sip before he sulked down in his seat more. “How long do nicknames stick?”
Lance tilted his head as he considered the question. “I dunno. Depends on how good a nickname it is. I mean, also depends on what you mean by nickname?”
Lance paused, his eyes drifting to Keith’s pants out of curiosity. Sure enough, there was another obvious tear now that he was looking for it. After all the insisting that maybe it was time to go shopping, Keith had dug his heels in. Clearly that didn’t work out in his favor.
“Sharpshooter’s longer than Lance, but it’s catchy, right? And accurate.” To illustrate, Lance loaded two finger guns and let them fire at Keith with a, “Pew! Pew!”
There was another pause, then Lance -- in a moment of bravery -- ventured the following: “Did someone go with Beefy Keithy? Because I seriously considered it for a second, but I knew you’d hate it.”
Lance earned himself an unimpressed glare from over the top of the iced drink as Keith took another loud slurp. Both for the ‘pew pews’ and then the ‘beefy Keithy’. Boy he was really glad none of them went with that. But then none of his coworkers were quite so punny.
“You’re right. I hate it,” he deadpanned before his brow furrowed. “And no. Hulk seemed the favorite with a bunch. Especially after…” He grimaced as he waved his cup at the torn seams.
Lance gave a hum of consideration over his own drink, but then shook his head. “You’re no Hulk. You’re just wearing the wrong size clothing, which… ahem. Wasn’t it a suggestion made to go get some new threads?
“I mean, seriously, your stuff was all tight before you hit a 2-year growth spurt.” Hands were raised in truce as Lance explained. He knew Keith was twitchy about it all, but there was a definite line of logic here. “We’ll stop at the mall and get some stuff. No biggie, Keith. This way you can stop borrowing from other people, too…”
“They weren’t tight,” Keith grumbled with a roll of his eyes. “They were just form fighting instead of baggy like yours.” He huffed out a sigh. “And I already had to go shopping after..” He waved the prosthetic hand. “I know. I know. I just don’t like shopping.”
He took another sip before raising an eyebrow. “You know, there’s like thrift stores and shit too. We don’t have to go to the mall.”
“Alright, well, form-fitting isn’t really holding up, so whatever you wanna call it… it’s time to get some new stuff,” Lance amended. He took another sip of his drink then set it into the cup holder. There was a look given at Keith after he stopped to reflect on the suggestion for a two-second moment of quiet.
“A couple of t-shirts or whatever isn’t gonna cost that much. Like, sure, pants might be a little more but… it’s not like we’re hurting with money.” His eyes tracked to the side. “Right? Or is this just thinking ahead? I know the road trip we’re planning is gonna cost at least a little.”
“Going to need more than a couple of shirts,” Keith pointed out, considering he wasn’t sure how much of his actual limited wardrobe he could still use. Although work outfits would be easy enough. He could just grab a pack of cheap undershirts for that. Once he figured what size he actually was now…
Shrugging, he twisted in the seat more, propping his elbow against the back so he could face Lance better. Which wasn’t helping any of the tears stay at their status quo, but whatever. “Yeah, thinking ahead. Because we’re good, but if we’re going to be going down to just one job for a bit…”
“Yeah, but a few shirts for now,” Lance replied, waving a hand as if dusting away the remaining trouble of a possibly useless wardrobe for all other occasions. “And, alright, but --”
Lance stared at the steering wheel, then twisted much the same as Keith had to face the other boy. “Did you quit?” he asked, uncertain, but concern creeping into his tone.
Keith blinked in surprise before his brow furrowed in confusion. “No. I didn’t quit. But…”
He studied Lance, trying to see if maybe his ‘thinking about it later’ had come to a different conclusion than the one he seemed to have come to while talking to Pidge on the network. Ok, yeah, he hadn’t commented on that part of the conversation at the time. There were other things to focus on. But it’d still been a public discussion and brought up on two separate occasions.
“You sounded like you might be quitting,” he pointed out.
“Oh,” Lance offered, even though it wasn’t much of a help in the grand scheme of the conversation. Honestly, he’d shelved the whole thing even after talking to Pidge. It felt like maybe it wasn’t the right time, and he didn’t have a plan to actually work at if he up and left his Starbucks job. Beyond that, Lance realized, he found himself wanting to ask Keith for input before taking any leaps.
Lance turned slightly, back braced against the driver’s seat as he looked out onto the expanse that was the ranch. “I mean, I didn’t decide anything… I wasn’t gonna toss in my resignation without being sure I have somewhere to land, you know? I’m just not sure it’s something I want to do forever. Or for as long as we’re here.”
A soft smile pulled at Keith’s lips as he nodded slowly. And that was Lance. Looking at the options. Getting a good read of what was going on before acting on that instinct. Even now, Keith couldn’t say he would’ve waited once the idea was in his head, but then, the likelihood of him ending up in a job like Lance’s was low. Even if he’d never liked the reasons for why Lance got the job, it suited the other boy’s people person skills. Dealing with customers and small talk and the crowds. Working quickly but with a smile. Maybe not the most glamorous job, but it fit. Just like the quieter ranch worked for Keith.
But even if it worked, he understood. Of course he understood. He’d run off after all before even getting a job to try and find if the Blue Lion was in this universe. If they’d been sent here for a reason instead of this place really being a vacation limbo. Just getting by for however long this lasted. So the ranch worked. It was quiet. He got to be outside. He got to work with animals and do something physical. It worked, even if it wasn’t what he wanted exactly, but then what was there in this world that would be what he wanted? Yeah, his mind had wandered, but the options available were too close but not quite what he’d want that he knew it’d drive him crazy. Standing guard. Flying between point a and point b. Going on ‘spy missions’, whatever that meant. There wasn’t much open to him.
Lance though… Lance could have a lot of opportunities here. That was one of his strengths, that he could flow into whatever situation was presented and rise to what was needed. As long as he was focused on it. “It doesn’t have to be forever,” he said. “You’re good at it and-” He raised his cup. “-the perks are nice, but it doesn’t need to be forever. This place has more opportunities now too than when we first left on that cruise.” He puffed out a sigh. “Nothing like being a Paladin, but maybe there’s something that could scratch that itch.”
At least there was a smile. Lance’s own expression lightened upon seeing Keith’s brighten up. Whatever had struck the other boy, at least it wasn’t any resentment that Lance had started to think about other paths. Even if they were short, mostly unformed paths at the moment. Things were so much clearer about career and purpose back home. He’d been on track to be a fighter pilot, then Voltron had chosen him. Whatever doubt he experienced along the way, he knew the direction he was headed.
“You ever think about what things might be like back home? After we’re done fighting. Like, let’s say it’s a happy ending, right? Sure, Earth’s gonna have to rebuild, but maybe there’s that day when Voltron’s not needed anymore.” Lance tipped his head back, letting his gaze shift out ahead of him. “What’s after that? I mean, that’s… that’s sorta what this feels like, but no one knows who we are. And there’s a mission that’s just kinda dangling. So it’s not like anyone’s saying, ‘Oh, wow, there’s those Paladins!’ We’re just two guys trying to make enough to life comfortably.”
Lance was a quiet. Then, he added, “Some days I think about that, and it feels like I’m not even trying here.”
Leaning back so his back was more against the seat, Keith shook his head as his focus went to out the windshield, eyes distant. “I try not to think about it,” he said honestly. Before, things had been too uncertain. Too many things unknown. Too many ways things to go wrong. Trying to think about a future would just lead to disappointment or anxiety about that whole ‘where does he fit in’ thing. Which would just up that urge to push everything away and leave while he could, considering most people had dreams and goals they wanted to follow. And usually those dreams and goals were elsewhere. Not on the path they were traveling. He was traveling…
He took a deep breath. “Here’s different, Lance. Even if it’s quiet back home, the Lions would still be there. The Garrison would still be there. There would be things to do to help out. Even if the fighting ended…” He shook his head again. “It’s a whole universe out there. There’d always be someone who needs help. But here…”
He shrugged as he loosely crossed his arms across his chest. “There isn’t a clear path to try for, is there? There’s training to keep sharp, but no actual enemy. The portal might spit something out, but…” Another shrug. “Who knows when that’ll happen?”
“Yeah,” Lance agreed. And that was the truth of it. It wasn’t that being put on something of a vacation from the war back home wasn’t a nice reprieve, but it was a mess of dangling threads. And it had softened Lance, he knew that. He was semi-consistent at best with any sort of training. If Red turned up one day, would he even recognize his paladin? The thought tugged Lance’s mouth into a downward frown.
“Guess I just got to thinking that Starbucks isn’t really lining up with anything anymore.” Lane tilted his head, catching Keith in the corner of his vision and offering a grin. “I mean, technically I’m 21, right? Who knows what’ll be next if we get another one of those updates. I just…” His expression softened. “I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I totally wasted chances. If this place keeps up for a while longer.”
Keith’s expression closed off for a moment. The words were likely meant to be inspirational, turning the conversation to a more hopeful outlook, but they felt like a bucket of cold water poured over him. Who knows what’ll be next. That was always the question hanging over all of them, wasn’t it? What battles. What danger. But he always felt like there was always this added threat on his end. First it was leaving. Then it was whether he’d ever return. And now… Yeah, he was comfortable as team leader, but there was still that discordance of here and there on the more personal level and who knew how much more that’d change with the next batch of memories. Would there ever reach a point when the new memories would outpower what was happening in this world?
“Yeah,” he breathed out before pushing that train of thought away. Again. Putting his cup in the holder, he shifted to grab the seat belt and buckle up. “So, let’s go to the mall then.” He offered Lance a soft smile. “Might not have anything better than Starbucks, but maybe it can help give you some ideas while we look for clothes.”
“TO THE MALL!” Lance chimed in as he pumped his fist. It felt like rarely, if ever, Keith willingly agreed to go, which meant this was a chance worth seizing. He spun back into the driver’s seat and checked the mirrors before shifting into drive.
“And I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Just need the right inspiration. Also, we’re getting dinner in the food court. I want fries. You can’t talk me out of it now.”