Pidge comes out of her room just in time to see Lance, Keith, and Corrinne exit from Keith's. Lance and Corrinne are still in pajamas, hair messy and disheveled, with the latter still asleep and being carried in Keith's arms.

Pidge makes direct eye contact with the two of them. Time freezes in the hallway.

"I want you guys to cover my next week of dishwashing duty." she says. Lance scowls and Keith protests.

"But-"

"Aweek."

Keith stomps toward Lance's room, carrying Corrinne away. Lance glares daggers at Pidge.

"You know blackmail is real, real low for aDefender of the Universe." he says, tsking and shaking his head. Pidge stares at him flatly.

"I'll make it two weeks-"

"Okay, one week it isseeya Pidge!" he waves, ducking into his room.

Pidge snickers to herself. Like everyone didn't already know.

It's been an entire week since Corrinne was first found in the castle.

A week that had started out tense, awkward and unbearable, and ended up with mass games of patty-cake in the common area. If Lance ever dares to say that it's boring being a Paladin, he's aliar. The evolution he's seen over the past week is almost phenomenal. He never would have thought that a six year old intruder could bring them all closer.

(He never would have thought that a six year old could somehow rope him into the same bed as Keith every night,either,but that's a thing that happened too.)

Corrinne is sitting on Keith's lap as he wrangles her hair into a ponytail while Lance looks through Altean movies like he has any idea what they're about. How's he supposed to know what's child-appropriate when he can't even read the titles?

As Lance is pondering whether or not he should ask Coran for help, Corrinne hums.

"Um, wanna know something funny? One time Alek tried to put food goo in the movie player and got inso much trouble." she giggles at her own memory as Lance and Keith look at each other, frowning.

"... Who's Alek?" Keith asks, because in the week she's been here he's never heard her talk aboutanyoneelse. She tilts her head slightly at the question, short ponytail swaying with the movement.

It's incredibly cute. Lance thinks that Keith did anexcellentjob.

"Um… My brother." she answers. Lance blinks, abandoning the Altean movies for the moment.

"You have a brother?" as if swallowing the fact that he hadonefuture kid with Keith wasn't enough, now he hastwo. She nods. "Wait, why didn't you mention this before?"

She shrugs. "'Cause… He's not here?"

Well. It's hard to argue with that logic.

"He's a big crybaby," she says, rolling her eyes, "And he always talks about how cool he is. He isn't cool though, 'cause um, one time I watched him get a papercut and start crying."

Keith did a very poor job of trying to hide his snicker. "Oh, wow. That soundsfamiliar."

Corrinne tips her head back to look at Keith from his lap. They give each other matching knowing smiles.

"Um, first off, I resent that. Secondly, maybe you should be a little nicer to your brother," he says, approaching them. He stands in front of them and crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Iamnice," Corrinne insists. Keith gives out another chuckle.

Lance fake-glares at him.

"Keith, you're a bad parent. What do you think, Cora?"

She shakes her head, smiling. Lance pretends to be shocked, placing a hand over his chest.

"What? You're taking his side? I can't believe it, betrayed by my own…"

He spins around on his heel and, dramatically, falls backward onto both Corrinne and Keith.

The reaction is instant. Corrinne screeches "no!" and tries to scramble away, to no avail. Keith wheezes as he's crushed under both the weight of Corrinne and Lance, completely pinned down.

"Oof-Jesus, Lance-" he complains, but his words are drowned out by Corrinne's laughter as she tries to squirm her way out from the pile. Lance shifts a little more weight onto her, and she squeals.

"What have I ever done to deserve to be so, so-Foresaken!" he says, heaving out a dramatic sigh. Corrinne laughs some more, still wiggling around between the Keith and Lance sandwich.

Hunk chooses right then to walk into the room.

"Hey guys, we just got back from that planet-" he cuts himself off as he takes in the scene. Corrinne waves at him, barely visible under Lance's jacket. "Aw. Having a bonding dog-pile?"

"I'm dying." is Keith's response.

"Rest in pieces." Lance says.

Finally Keith manages to sit up, pushing the other two off of him. Corrinne rolls to the side, giggling when she sees Lance, who's pretending to be dead.

"You guys are so cute," Hunk comments, still standing in the entryway. Keith goes red, watching as Corrinne experimentally pokes Lance's "dead" body. He comes back to life, grabbing each side of his jacket and enveloping her into it as she yells and laughs.

"So how'd the trip go," Keith starts, trying to be as casual as possible to will the pink in his face away. Hunk gives him a thumbs-up.

"Oh, went awesome! As it turns out, that planet is now like some kind of massive trading post, so we got almost everything we need in one trip! Guess that Altean data is alittleout of date. Big surprise there. Anyway, we're going to cut down the estimated time by like, half." Hunk switches his attention to Corrinne, who's peeking out at him from under Lance's jacket. "That means we should be able to getyouback home in a week. Maybe even less."

She gives him a huge smile.

(And Lance would never admit it-not out loud, at least-but there's a deep sinking feeling when he realizes she'll be gone soon, and honestly?

Lance will miss her.)

It's a couple days later, and Corrinne's asleep on the couch.

Lance takes his jacket off and lays it over her, because there isn't a blanket nearby so it's the closest thing around. He steps back and looks at her, smiling playing at his lips.

Pidge and Hunk found the final piece they were looking for on a planet they had stopped by earlier. All that was left was putting the thing together.

Allura, Shiro, and Coran were glad to be able to get back to Voltron business. Hunk and Pidge were happy they were able to piece together the advanced instructions left for them. Corrinne herself was happy to be able to get back to her family.

(Her real family, Lance reminds himself. She might call himPapa, but she probably wasn't evenbornyet.)

He hears footsteps approaching, and turns his head to look behind him. Keith walks up, silently, pausing beside him and looking down at Corrinne.

Keith. The only person that he didn't know how they felt about her departure wasKeith.

"Are you going to miss her?" Keith asks, voice just barely above a whisper. Neither of them want to wake her. "I talked to Pidge earlier. She said to expect about three more days."

"Yeah," Lance replies. They aren't looking at each other, just at her. "Yeah, I am."

"She can't stay here." Keith replies, matter-of-fact. Lance knows this. He sighs.

"I hope the future is more stable," he says. "Earth isn't destroyed, or taken over, or anything at least. She said we go there on vacation."

They stand there in silence for a moment.

"Let's take them to Disney World. I've never been." Keith says. Lance looks at him in surprise.

"Yeah? Well after we save the universe, we'll be heroes. I bet we'll get free admission into any park we wanted. We could visit all the Disney resorts." he nudges Keith, getting him to smile.

"We can have a movie night and watch actual Earth movies." Keith says. Lance laughs.

"Oh,hellyes."

There's another pause.

"I'll miss her too." Keith's voice is even quieter than it was before. "I had a lot of fun while she was here. Even if she hated us in the beginning."

"I think she was probably just freaked out. Imagine seeing your parents all young, before you were even born? I'd probably avoid them too." he chuckles. "Pidge told me she thought she was going to get in trouble. Maybe she was avoiding us because of that."

"Maybe," Keith agrees.

Their hands brush each other.

And Lance doesn't know who does it first-ifeither of them did it first, maybe it was a mutual thing-but their fingers intertwine.

Then it's just them, holding hands with nobody else around, nobody else but their sleepingsomeday daughter. It's happening tomorrow. Hunk and Pidge confirmed earlier that it was all ready to go. They were only waiting an extra day for Lance and Keith's sakes.

"You doing okay?" Keith asks, in the dark. They're laying in Lance's bed this time, Corrinne asleep between them. Lance nods.

"I will be," he answers, honestly. "What about you?"

"Yeah." Keith replies.

There's silence for a moment.

"Can I make a confession?" Lance asks. Keith nods. "I've been having an easier time sleeping since… This." he makes a hand-gesture to all three of them.

Keith nods again.

"... Me too." he says. Lance's heart jumps into his throat.

"Would you mind if we kept doing this?" he asks. His voice is even softer than it was before. "Even after she leaves."

Keith chews the bottom of his lip, and Lance goes to backtrack. "I mean, if it's weird we don't-"

"No." Keith cuts him off. "No. I want to. It… Helps me, too."

Lance smiles, his bright wide smile, teeth visible in the darkness. "Thanks, Keith."

Pidge runs a hand through her hair.

"I wish we could test it," she says outloud to the group, "But this thing is one-way only. When Corrinne goes, it goes with her."

It's not a big, hulking time machine like Lance expects. It's smaller, built for someone exactly Corrinne's size. Made for her. Lance's mouth feels dry.

"You aren't sure it'll work?" he asks, gripping Corrinne's hand a little bit tighter. "That's not exactly comforting, Pidge."

Keith is on the opposite side of Corrinne, holding her other hand. He doesn't say anything, but his eyes narrow. Pidge sighs.

"I didn'tsaythat, first of all." she states, crossing her arms in front of her. "And I was just following instructions, so if you're going to yell at anyone yell at future me."

"I can't yell at future you, Pidge, duh." Lance says. Pidge shrugs.

"So then you can't yell at me either. Hunk, fire it up?" she looks over at him as he gives her a thumbs up, before turning back toward the group. "You guys have about five minutes to say your goodbyes."

Lance and Keith let go of her hands and take a step back as Allura approaches first.

"You're a very smart, beautiful girl, Corrinne, and I had a lot of fun with you these last two weeks." she pulls her in for a hug, and Lance thinks he might see her tear up for a minute. "I can't wait to see you again someday."

"Thank you, 'Lura. Um, do you wanna know a secret?"

Allura smiles slightly in confusion as Corrinne leans into her ears and whispers something. Lance has no idea what it is, but when she pulls away Allura is about as red as Keith's lion.

"O-Oh." she says, looking shocked. "I… Thank… You. For telling me that." she clears her throat as she stands up. Corrinne nods.

"You're welcome. I just don't know how they get it out of your belly!"

If it's even possible, Allura flusheseven more. All of the Paladins stare at her, eyebrows raised.

"Ah, um, Shiro! Why don't you go next."

He sends her a confused look, but obliges nonetheless. Bending down to Corrinne's level, Shiro grins.

"It was nice to meet you, Corrinne. It's no wonder you're so awesome, with two dads like that." he looks up and gives Keith and Lance a wink. They both flush. "Stay outta trouble, okay?"

Corrinne throws her arms around his neck. "Okay, Uncle Shiro. You'll see me again someday!"

"Yeah, I will." he smiles at her and stands up.

Coran is already standing behind him, waiting. Shiro steps aside.

"You know, I think they named you after me!" he says. She gives him a secretive smile. "Well, either that or that's a funny coincidence." he winks.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Corrinne. I've never gotten to see an Earthling child this close-up before, and I'm glad that they're just as enjoyable to be around as they are when they get older." he bends down and gives her a brief hug. "I'm sure someday you'll be an excellent member of the team."

"Bye, Coran." she says. He nods.

"Goodbye, Corrinne."

Pidge walks over and ruffles her hair, messing it all up. Corrinne giggles as she attempts to soothe it down again. Pidge bends down.

"I know Shiro said to stay outta trouble, but you have to keep these two out of trouble too." she looks directly up at Keith and Lance as she says it. Lance sticks his tongue out at her. "See what I mean?"

Corrinne giggles. "Um, I'll do my best."

"Heck yeah you will." she puts her hand up for a high-five, which Corrinne eagerly gives her. Pidge stands back up and waves Hunk over.

Hunk looks at Lance and Keith. "We've only got a couple minutes left, so I'll make it quick."

He turns toward Corrinne- and promptly picks her up and squeezes her.

"Uncle Hunk! I'mdying!" she complains, squirming in his grasp. He lets her go, dropping her back to her feet. She takes a deep breath.

"Tell future me that past me says he owes you -cream." he clarifies. Corrinne's eyes sparkle. "Gonna miss you, kid."

"See you soon, Uncle Hunk." she says.

And then it's just Lance and Keith.

They nod at each other, and then crouch down at the same time in front of her. She runs into their arms as they hold them out.

"Hey, Cora," Lance says when she pulls back. He's trying his hardest to keep his voice level. Don't cry in front of the kid,don't cry in front of the kid. "You tell future me that we got the video, and I amverypleased with how well I've aged."

Keith glares at him, before turning his attention back to her. "Tell Alek we said hi."

She nods.

"Tell future Pidge and Hunk thanks, too." Lance says. "For the instructions, and for also making the invention in the first place." he pinches her cheek. "Never would have met you without it."

She squirms away, crinkling up her nose. Keith chuckles.

"Hey. We're gonna miss you."

She goes in for another hug.

"Thirty more seconds!" Hunk calls out. Lance feels his stomach drop. He swallows back the lump in his throat as he holds her tighter. Finally, she pulls away to give each of them a kiss on the cheek.

"Love you Papa. Love you Daddy." she says, grinning brightly. They stand up, holding her hands.

"Fifteen seconds." Hunk announces. They walk toward the machine.

"Love you too." Lance says. Keith kisses the top of her forehead. They release her hands to let her go, and she reaches out a fist toward Lance just before she steps into the contraption.

A fistbump.

Lance nearly bursts out into tears right then and there. Instead, he gently presses his fist to hers and gives her a blurry wink.

She waves at everyone else, too, stepping into the machine.

"Bye!" she says. Pidge instructs Keith and Lance to take a step back. They do.

For a moment, nothing happens. One second she's still there, waving at everyone, and then the next-

She's gone, machine and all.

Lance was sort of a wreck for a couple days , he had sobbed into Hunk's shirt for at least an hour.

He was doing better now, though. After all, they had auniverseto save.

Allura calls Lance and Keith together about a week after Corrinne leaves. She smiles when she sees them both, and Lance realizes that this isn't about how he was totally messing around with his blaster the other day and might have shot a hole through one of them castle .

"I got another transmission today," she starts, "and I thought you two might want to see it."

Before they can ask any questions, she starts the playback.

It's Corrinne, and another kid Lance doesn't know that looks a lot like her. She smiles at the camera.

"Hi, past Papa and Daddy. Um, Pidge said we should make this video to let you know I'm okay. So, um, I'm okay!" she waves. The kid next to her waves too.

"Hi!" he says, voice bright. Corrinne looks at him.

"This is Alek." she says, and oh. Duh. Lance can't believe he didn't make that connection sooner. "He's annoying."

"I'mnot annoying," Alek shoots back. He looks into the camera, posing, resting his chin on his hand. "I'm…The best."

Lance gapes just as Keith busts out laughing. Even Allura can't help a small giggle. The video continues, Corrinne making a very Keith face and rolling her eyes.

"Um, I hope you remembered the Hanky-Panky clapping game we played so that um, someday we can play it together again! Pidge said that this video can't be very long, so I'm gonna end here."

But before she switch the video off, a familiar face appears from off-screen.

"What are you two doing? Pidge told you not to mess with her stuff," he warns. He especially looks at Corrinne when he says this. She shrinks down a little bit.

"Um, but Pidge said we could! We're making a video to send to Papa and you in the past!" she says. Keith frowns, and then looks up at the camera.

"Oh." a thoughtful pause. "Well… Then, thank you. For getting her back home."

And then he winks.

Future Keithwinks.

"Daddy!" Alek shouts, alarmed, "What's wrong with your eye!"

"What? Nothing's wrong with my-"

The video cuts off just before he can finish. They stand there, the three of them, in silence for a moment.

It distinctly reminds Lance of the very same thing happening a few weeks ago.

"That's all." Allura says, being the first to speak up. "Feel free to tell the others she made it back safely, if you want. I just thought you two might appreciate seeing the video."

They nod and think her, leaving the room together. Keith turns to head the opposite way-probably toward the training deck, judging by direction-but Lance stops him by grabbing his arm.

"Wha-"

Keith doesn't get to finish his question because Lance pins him against the wall and presses their lips together. The words die in his throat, as he melts into the kiss.

After a few more moments, Lance pulls back, breathing heavily. "Let's go make twins."

Keith blinks at him, bewildered, before something goes off in his mind. He scowls.

"Lance, for the last time, they'readopted-!"