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Who: Lance and Keith
Where: Attack on Voltron Island House
When: Sometime in the beginning of August
Summary: Two guys, two shy Espurrs, two moments of bonding?
Rating: PG because it's Keith and Lance so cussing

Log:

[Now here's a sight: Lance lying on his belly on the porch, long legs spread across the front doorway and his big ol' noggin pressed against the edge of the wicker sofa. In one outstretched hand he's holding a Pokeberry, obviously offering it to something that's hiding underneath the piece of furniture, but the coaxing is not going well at all.]

Hey. [His voice is uncharacteristically soft, low at a volume almost never heard from Lance, and it has a note of worry tinging it because the Espurr that Lance is trying to get to come out has been tucked up in the corner for hours now.] I'm not gonna hurt ya, bud. But you can't stay under there forever, Tamah. For starters, it'll rain soon and you'll get wet because these chairs suck as umbrellas.

[That doesn't seem to be working at all by the look of the Espurr curling up even more in its corner of safety. Lance sighs, dropping his head down onto his arm and murmuring into his shirt sleeve.]

I know. I'm not Hunk. You're mad he's gone and left you behind with me. I'm sorry.

[The apology is not accepted, Skinny One. Bring back the Round Boy!]

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[Keith's Espurr has remained shy, scared of everyone and everything that isn't Keith or doesn't have food to offer - and even then, that was only temporary as the food. In an effort of getting her used to everything, Keith's been having her out more, either carrying or letting her sit on his shoulder while he's up and out. That included today.

That included Keith almost tripping over Lance's legs and grabbing for her so she doesn't fall off. Once he has his footing, he makes sure he's not actually standing on Lance in anyway and--]

Hey! Why are you just laying in the door... way. [Oh. That... Hm. So there's a pokemon under there, huh? Keith moves to be next to Lance and kneels down.] What is it?

[Lance is still trying his best to get Tamah out. Food isn't working. Calling her a pretty Espurr isn't the right way either. Maybe if he got a little desperate...]

And I know I could never be Hunk for you. I wish I could be, but engineering ain't my thing. I can cook, but not like him and I definitely can't nerd out with Pidge over computers like he can. I'm pretty dumb and my other Pokemon beats me up all the time, so I'm not even a good trainer, but I'll take care of you, okay? Hunk was my best friend and he left you to me for some reason and I'm never going to let anything hurt you. If you don't want to battle, that's fine. You don't have to. I won't force you. But you have to come out from under the chair sometime.

[He doesn't hear Keith come out onto the porch until he feels a pair of feet hit his legs. He jumps back, slamming the back of his head against the sofa frame, giving himself a knot to match the imprint of the wicker weave on his forehead.]

Hey yourself! Watch where you're going! [How much of that did Keith hear? Hopefully none of it.] Make some noise when you show up in a place, dude!

[Lance rubs the throbbing back of his head as he sits back against the wall, looking defeated.]

Hunk's Espurr. She's been hiding there all day and won't come out.

Edited 2018-08-13 23:53 (UTC)

Oh.

[Everything about Keith softens at that. At the fact that it's Hunk's pokemon, the fact Lance inherited her, and the fact it's another Espurr. His own makes a small noise, and Keith kneels down. He doesn't try to get floor level just yet.]

What all have you tried?

[Lance holds out a hand, bending a finger as he counts off all his attempts.]

Food, saying please, begging, pretending to be Hunk...

[If he said everything would that just work for Keith? Because it feels like he's tried everything short of flipping the couch over and forcefully dragging the Espurr out. That one won't make the situation any better. Even Lance knows that.]

Hm.

[He moves to sit proper, looking between Lance and the chair the Espurr's hiding under. Lance could never pretend to be Hunk, no two ways about that. But everything else... His own Espurr is pretty motivated by food, but maybe...

He looks at his own, so close to his face and has a thought.]

What about another Espurr?

[Of course pretending to be Hunk didn't work. For starters, Lance could stand a few more hearty meals before anybody would confuse the two, but hey, he tried. He really tried everything in his arsenal that he thought would get the little baby out from her hiding place but he failed, as per usual in his opinion.

Lance glances up at the Espurr on Keith's shoulder as if he didn't notice it there before now. Another one of Tamah's kind could communicate better than a strange human could. He tilts his head, considering the option laid out in front of him.]

It's worth a try. What's his... her? Their name. What's their name?

[Keith shrugs as he gets her off his shoulder and onto the porch.] I dunno, she hasn't told me yet. Figured she isn't ready.

But worth a shot. [He leans down to his espurr, his voice going soft.] Do you think you could get that other Espurr out from hiding for us? It's not safe under there.

[His Espurr watches Lance with its wide eyes, scoots closer to Keith before giving a quiet Spurr and looking at the chair.]

...I think she'll try.

Keith, you do know that Pokemon don't actually talk, right?

[Just making sure old dude knows and isn't setting himself up for disappointment. Everybody else Lance knows nicknames their Pokemon without much input from the creatures themselves (Kaltenecker doesn't count. She's a demon from Hell.) Only Keith is the one who takes the weird route of things. Why is Lance even surprised?

But he doesn't pick on Keith once the other boy's voice goes soft. Lance doesn't think he's ever heard Keith sound like that. Maybe the lone wolf isn't such a loner when it comes to his Pokemon.]

Okay. [He nods and stays right where he is, even though Lance is curious to watch and see how the other Espurr works, but he doesn't want Tamah to feel like she's in the spotlight. Might backfire on them all.] Good luck, little bit.

[Keith watches her inch closer, carefully to the chair, then barely under the edge of it. She's still nervous and anxious, but she wants to help! Keith asked her to.]

They're psychic pokemon, they can understand us. Sometimes she'll type out messages on my gear.

Really?

[Lance tilts his head, half suspicious of what Keith's telling him, wondering if he's being trolled. This Keith still doesn't know him all that well and doesn't necessarily have a reason to poke at Lance's occasional dumbness. Plus Pokemon can do amazing things. Just look at Blue and how he came to Lance's rescue with a freakin' frying pan. Why should an Espurr using the gear be any different?]

So... uh, they can read our minds, is what you're saying?

[A wary glance towards Tamah is hiding and Lance sees why his plans didn't quite work. Hard to trick someone when they already know what's coming.]

Yeah. If they feel like it.

[It caused a big mess between him and Shiro. He had to lay down some ground rules for him and Espurr after that. He sits back and lets Espurr sit where she is, still just visible from where they are.]

I... think it's natural yours would miss Hunk.

[Really, did any of them deserve Hunk? Keith may be letting on more about how he feels than he intends to with that statement.]

Hunk is Hunk. It's hard to replace the big guy with an even bigger heart.

[They all miss Hunk, don't they? Maybe it stings Lance a little more since he was the last once to show up and the one with the least amount of time to spend with someone that was his best friend. He blames the coma for that, whatever that weird sleep shit was supposed to be, taking up any opportunity for Lance and Hunk to hang out. It just was not enough time. They barely started having fun and maybe Lance feels a little envious the rest of the household got a large chunk of Hunk and he just managed to grab a sliver before he was gone.]

I don't know why he left her to me of all people. [He is no Hunk. He is not good enough to even try.]

...Because you're his teammate.

[He barely knew Hunk. He always felt guilty from that first moment Hunk excitedly welcomed him and realized Keith didn't know who he was. The handmade card, the food, everything. Keith still feels horrible now.]

Lance, you're his best friend. He trusts you.

[Lance looks up at Keith, a wry smile on his face.]

I don't think any of that matters to her.

[It seems not much of anything from back home matters here. Certainly not whatever Lance and Keith had of a budding friendship. Definitely not anything Lance did for Voltron. Here, he's just Lance. Lance the dumbass goofball who doesn't know what to do with himself now.]

[Keith watches him carefully. He's bad at words, always has been. Shiro's better at making people feel better.

But he wants to at least try.]

She'll come around. Give her time.

[Espurr goes a little further, and Keith leans down to see her sitting next to the other.]

Well. She isn't running, that's good.

[Lance wishes he could tell Keith that it's not just about Tamah. It's everything. He feels out of place in the house. That now he realizes how weird Keith must have felt being behind everyone else. Even with Pidge showing up, she had her brother here that was an instant connection. She was from Lance's future, just like everybody else other than Keith. They had that common ground. Keith has Shiro and Shiro has him and Matt. Lance... well, Lance just goes to work, makes coffee all day, comes home and tries to convince his evil cow to just obey him for once. He's never felt so alone when surrounded by people before.

To say he's angry about Hunk leaving is a little bit of an understatement, though he knows it's not Hunk's fault. Still doesn't make him feel any better.]

She wasn't running before. Just stuck herself in that corner since I took her out of her ball this morning.

[Lance doesn't know why he being contrary. Maybe it's just to have something to say when he doesn't know what's best to say out loud.]

[If Lance told him, Keith would understand. Before Kerberos, he and Shiro had been close. Enough that Keith knew... everything. Things only the higher officers knew about Shiro, just because Shiro trusted him. Now? ...He's a third wheel watching his friends be happy, knowing things he hasn't lived through. The whole Team Voltron thing everyone is a part of, except him. And there are no bikes fast enough for him to outrun his feelings here.

He always ends up left behind. It's how it goes. Some nights he still wonders why he hasn't just left this house.]

I didn't say she was. I wasn't sure if my Espurr going down there would scare her off or not.

[He leans a little further, pressing his cheek against the boards and watches.]

[Feelings are troublesome. Lance is the one who supposedly lives out loud, never going below an 11 on the volume scale, but few know that a lot of it is just a cover. A nice sheet over the softer parts of Lance, the inner Lance who is easily hurt, who would like to reach the lofty goals he's set for himself but doesn't have the confidence or talents to do it. It's the Lance that misses home so much because it was the one place he felt okay to be him. No one judges there, no one lists out the great qualities of the rest of the team but when they come to describing him, they hesitate, stop to try and think of something only to come out with something calling him dumb. The clown. The jokester. Never anything actually useful.

Lance can't say he's truly happy. If that's what Keith thinks, perhaps Lance is giving off a very wrong impression. Wouldn't be the first time.]

What are they doing down there?

[He can go and look for himself, but it's Keith's Espurr and Tamah who couldn't give a shit about him. Maybe Keith is the better option here. Isn't he always?]

Sitting.

[He doesn't want to assume anything or disturb them.]

I think they're talking, Espurr's eyes are glowing a little. [That's enough for him for the moment, so he sits back up next to Lance.]

That's good though.

Oh, okay.

[If Keith says glowy eyes are a good thing, then Lance has no real reason to argue. But now he needs to find another topic of discussion to throw as Keith.]

So... still battling kids for money?

[He trying to lighten the mood, take the awkwardness out of the air between what's relatively two strangers by joking about a topic they've already hashed out before. Lance is really at a loss as to how to approach this version of Keith. Where's Shiro to guide him?]

Teenagers, sure. Some adults when they try.

[He's not denying the kids though. But only when they challenge him, and he makes sure to use one of his lower level pokemon so it's not as bad.]

How's the coffee shop going?

[See? He pays attention!]

It's okay. Customer service, you know? Cranky people in the mornings, cranky people who need a caffeine shot at lunchtime, so on and so forth. Might have to get a second job to keep up with Bruce's food bill.

[He could take up battling too, but Lance's confidence as a trainer is shot. With Kaltenecker throwing her tantrums and Bruce being still pretty low level, he doesn't have much of a team that could get him some money.

Absentmindedly tugging on his shirt cuffs, Lance figures if Keith asked, it's safe to share a little coffee salt with him.]

There's this guy, though. He's not a customer, just some idiot with a coffee shop inside of a train car shack crap thing. Keeps parking his piece of shit in front of any Starmiebucks he can find trying to take our customers.

Edited 2018-08-16 04:45 (UTC)

[He can't really visualize that, but if it's causing trouble....]

..I've never been to Starmiebucks, but ... where is yours at?

[Maybe he can. Look into this. You know. As a friend.]

Olivine. Gotta take a couple of ferries to get there.

[Lance isn't expecting Keith to ever show up. A coffee shop doesn't seem like his type of hangout spot.]

I heard they're thinking of putting a store on One Island. Maybe I could transfer there or something if they do.

[He is one hundred percent going to shake that asshole down. He doesn't really care about coffee, but he does care about a friend having a hard time. He'll figure something out.]

They'd probably let you.

Jeez, you do that every day?

[That's dedication.]

[Lance shrugs. It's a bit of a commute, but it's not so bad when he leaves before dawn. Coming home with all the other people who live on the islands and the tourists is the troublesome part.]

It's money. Gotta feed the whale and the cow. I don't really have much room to complain.

...Yeah there's gotta be something else you can do.

[Listen, he's all about dedication, but there's a limit. There's a noise under the chair and Keith leans down, voice going soft again.]

What's up? ...yeah? [Another second and Keith sits up and scoots back to make space. A minute later, two Espurrs crawl out to sit just at the edge of the chair.]

Had a good talk huh?

If there is, it's not here.

[It's less dedication and more at a loss of knowing what else to do with himself. He lacks the computer and science talent the rest of the household can parlay into more substantial work. Definitely not a strong as Keith is with battling. The boy doesn't think he's good at much that's not piloting and that's a dead skill here.

Before Lance could start mentally shitting on himself again, the noise pulls his attention out of from his own mind and towards Keith and the Espurrs who reemergen after their little meeting. Lance smiles softly at both of them, hoping he comes off friendly and kind.]

Hey, you're a sight for sore eyes.

[Tamah tenses up a little and glances toward the other Espurr as if it wants to know that Lance really is safe and okay. Maybe she could poke his mind to make sure without permission?]

[Keith's Espurr watches Lance cautiously, eyes bright but ears still folded down. She looks at the other Espurr for permission, then back to Lance, unsure what to say or do.

Keith keeps the space there, but smiles.]

This is Lance. He's looking after the other Tamah there for Hunk. He's all right.

[Lance isn't too familiar with cat behavior, aside from how the Lions can be a little tetchy when they want to be, but he can tell those folded ears aren't a sign of completely comfort. It's to be expected. No one gets along with each other overnight or over the course of a few minutes.

He holds up a hand in greeting, wiggling his fingers.]

Hey there, Espurr. [He's silently sorry Keith is a loser who hasn't given her a name.] Thanks for helping out.

[Espurr watches Lance still, then carefully starts moving back to Keith. The other one pokemon's fine, but Lance makes her nervous. All he gets is a little quiet chrrp before she's on Keith's lap.]

...I think it should be fine now. She just... stays nervous.

[But now he's watching Tamah to see how he does.]

[Seems like Lance just has the natural ability to make Espurrs nervous. Are they all like this? They seem catlike, but Luna is a cat--more so than Tamah and Keith's girl--and she isn't this skittish. Or maybe it's just him. Keith did say they were psychic. Maybe they can tell he's easily frustrated at how he keeps fucking things up, how he just can't seem to fit into the household, how he can't seem to fit anywhere, and how all this is just one big red flag to stay away from him lest he screw them up too.]

Yeah. Can't really blame her.

[Lance really can't. He's the problem here, right?

He pulls out Tamah's Pokeball from his pocket and places it on the floor before giving it a little push toward the Espurr.]

Guess you're gonna feel safer back in there.

[Lance isn't going to force her into it, but leave it there as an option for her to go into it herself. His only want right now is to have Hunk here so Lance could ask him what the hell he was thinking leaving Tamah to him when he can't even handle his starter like everybody else. Doesn't Hunk know how big of a failure his best friend is?

Tamah doesn't poke at his head. Whatever Lance is convinced about other people and Pokemon's opinion, she doesn't know much past what he was saying about not being able to be Hunk. She isn't interested in digging anyway because once the safety of the ball is offered to her, she's glancing over at the other Espurr, giving her a nod that's both a thank you and a goodbye before a flash takes her into the weird magic pod.]

[Keith watches intently, seeing his own Espurr sort of lean, like encouraging Tamah. To do what, he doesn't now. He doesn't ask, it isn't his business. But Tamah goes into the ball with a flash. Keith sits back a little more relaxed, even when Espurr comes to start climbing on him.]

Guess that takes care of that. I think Tamah'll be fine.

[But at the comment before...]

You didn't make her nervous, either. She just... is nervous. She was nervous around Shiro even.

[She barely wanted to be in arm's reach of Shiro. At least here with Lance, she's ...relatively calm this close.]

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