Chapter 2

Homecoming

Voltron didn't loose all those years once they beat Lotor, this changes the way they returned to Earth.

Tags: Canon Divergence, Season 7 AU, Badass Paladin's, canon-level violence, canon relationship, canon gay character

How I wish the Paladin's return to Earth went, in this AU they didn't loose all those years when they beat Lotor as I thought that their return was very lackluster and didn't display how amazing and badass the Paladin's truly were by that point.

I found this in my WIP and decided while it is not done and most likely will never be more than these two chapters, I thought I would share it nonetheless

"Are you guys nervous? I'm nervous like we have no idea how long it's been on Earth and what if our families aren't there, what if they freak out and don't accept us being Paladins and defenders of the universe and oh God what if they aren't space wolf people?" Hunk babbled as he and the others broke Voltron.

They were flanking their new Castle ship (which the Olkari helped them rebuild and with the crystal from the old castle in place and then Shiro accidentally bonded with the castle itself, it was better than ever) in their individual lions as they slowly descended through the atmosphere of Earth, of their home.

"Hunk, breath!" Keith advised as his face popped up in the yellow lion.

"But Lance, Pidge and I went AWOL to help you and Shiro and then we disappeared, what if we get back and they court-martial us and lock us in the brig and never let us see our families?" Hunk's mind spun with what could happen and suddenly landing in the Garrison itself seemed like a bad idea.

"Then we'll just break out of the brig, it will be a lot easier than a Galra brig and then we call our lions and leave," Keith said simply like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Really?" Hunk whispered, feeling himself relaxing.

"Obviously I mean if they want to mess with any of us then they get all of us," Lance said cheerfully.

"I've already hacked into their systems, my dad did a good job upgrading but I've got eyes everywhere and with one click we can get out of anywhere in the Garrison with ease," Pidge said confidently.

"If they dare to lay a hand on any of you I will show them why Altean's are to be feared," Allura said firmly and Hunk sniffed.

"Thanks, guys, you're the best." Hunk said voice a bit wobbly.

"Oh yeah, you guys are coming to my house for dinner right? Keith my mom will think you're far too skinny and will try to fatten you up." Lance said teasingly and Keith sighed dramatically through their com system.

"We are sticking together so we are going to be making the rounds Lance," Keith said reminding the other Paladin of their plans.

"Just making sure, I can't wait to see everyone again. It's going to be so weird but I can't wait." Lance said just as cheerfully.

"I am quite excited to see your homeworld, what you all have told Coran and myself about it has me very interested," Allura said, childish excitement in her voice and eyes glittering as she took in the shades of blues and greens and desert reds as they made their descent.

"Paladins, 5 dobosh's until landing, is everyone ready?" Shiro appeared on the lion's view screens.

The Paladins gave murmured words that basically summed up that they were ready and Coran appeared in the image right in front of Shiro who leaned out of the way.

"Paladins! Let's do a dramatic entrance like in our promotion shows!" Coran said joyfully and everyone minus Keith let out moans and noises of dismay at that idea.

"I did manage to catch a few of those shows, they always made my day." Keith chuckled as he remembered trying to keep it together whenever he saw them on a holo screen, but he always left before the talking started because after the first time he felt guilty and missed them so much it hurt.

"No you guys, Coran is right. We are the defenders of the universe, we need to make an entrance." Lance perked up at the idea.

"What do you have in mind?" Allura asked curiously and Lance's grinning face just popped up and he explained his idea that had them all chuckling and agreeing to it.

"Let me go out first, we have no idea what we are going to be walking into. I want to make sure it's safe for you all before we let our guard down." Shiro stated firmly remembering the last time he had landed in the Garrison in an alien ship, he trusted Commander Holt but he wasn't sure about the Garrison at the moment.

"We'll wait for your word Shiro." Keith agreed and the others nodded sharply and things quieted down when the familiar building of the Garrison appeared below him, it's orange particle barrier fading away.

"Keep the Castle airborne Coran and be ready to put the barrier up just in case," Shiro ordered as he headed for an airlock.

"You've got it number one!" Coran snapped out a salute and faced his console again. Shiro smiled fondly as he put his helmet on and powered up his jetpacks. He jetted over to the Black Lion and stood tall and strong on the lion's brow as the lions gently landed on the ground, sending sand and debris flying from the powers of the lion's thrusters.

"Stay in your lions until I give the go-ahead Paladin's," Shiro said as he leapt up off the head of the Black lion and landed in a crouch in front of the gathering group of Garrison members.

"Superhero landing!" Lance cheered and Shiro fought back a smile as Hunk and Pidge cheered along with Lance while Keith told them to shut up and pay attention, fondness coating his words.

"Shiro?" Sam Holt stepped forward, the guards and Iverson and four cadets in flight suits tensed.

"Commander, it looks like we got here just in time." Shiro took the helmet off and held it to his hip and smiled fondly at the man.

"That Shiro is an understatement, it's good to see you all alive and well." Sam rushed forward and warmly clapped Shiro's shoulder with a pleased smile on his face as he waved up to the Green lion with his free hand.

"You as well Commander, now what is the situation with the Garrison, do I need to keep my Paladins in their lions?" Shiro lowered his voice as he eyed the other Garrison members.

"You are classified as friendly's and no harm will befall you here," Sam said confidently. "We had to put Admiral Sanda in the brig when she fought too much against us defending against the Galra and wanted to put you all in the brig and experiment on the lions."

"So everyone else is okay with us here?" Shiro confirmed, slightly relieved that Sanda wasn't going to interfere with them.

"You could say that Earth is the newest member of the Voltron Coalition," Sam said cheerfully and Shiro nodded and turned up to look at the lions and gave a sharp nod.

Five armour clad figures rose from the tops of the lions, jetpacks flaring and they all landed on the ground in a similar style as Shiro had moments before. One by one they removed their helmets and squinted at the bright sun, Pidge ran to her father and tackled him into another hug extremely pleased to see him.

"Welcome home Katie, oh your mother is going to be so happy to see you." Sam sank to the ground, holding his daughter close as the other Paladins gathered around.

Lance, Hunk and Allura had their heads craned back as they took in the sights of Earth. There was a soft pop and Cosmo appeared on the ground next to Keith who smiled in relief and knelt down to pet the alien wolf smirking at the shifting and looks of awe and shock the gathered Garrison members gave at the sight of the teleporting space wolf.

"Welcome back to Earth Cadets, Commander Shirogane." Iverson stepped forward and his lips twisted up into a smile. "I guess you've surpassed Cadets and Commander status by now huh?"

"Something like that," Shiro let his own lips twist into a smile.

"Commander Iverson, I owe you an apology for how I acted before all of this," Keith said boldly as he rose to his feet, fingers tangled in Cosmo's fur like he was stabilizing him.

"The same could be said of me, no hard feelings?" Iverson offered a hand, he had talked with Sam about what his former cadets had been up to when they disappeared from the planet and he knew that they were no longer the teenagers he had yelled at to do better all those years ago.

"No hard feelings." Keith shook the offered hand and gave Iverson a small smile before laughing when Cosmo moved forward and he watched as Iverson cooed and stroked Cosmo's fur.

"Careful Commander, he may teleport you to some random place in the universe," Lance said snickering a bit when Iverson blinked up at him in shock.

"McClain… I was wrong about you, you had so much potential and I went about trying to bring it out in the wrong way… From the colour of your armour and what Commander Holt told me you not only piloted the Blue Lion off of Earth but now you also pilot the Red Lion. This is what I knew you were capable of." Iverson rose to his feet and offered Lance his hand as he did with Keith.

"…Thank you, Commander, that actually means a lot to me." Lance swallowed hard and shook the offered hand.

"LANCE!" A female voice shouted as a uniformed figure pushed her way through the gathered guards and launched herself at Lance, tears in her eyes.

"Veronica? Veronica!" Lance gasped in shock and disbelief before tears streamed down his face as he wrapped his arms around his sister and the two sank onto the ground as they sobbed against each other.

"Get out of my way! That's my baby!" Another voice shouted and a woman with short hair made her way towards the group, Pidge perking up at the voice.

"Mom!" Pidge extracted herself from her father's arms and leapt up to hug her mom, the two sobbing and sinking to the ground to match Lance and Veronica. Sam engulfed the two with his arms and held them close.

"You are so grounded young lady." Colleen sniffed as she held her youngest close.

"Y-Yeah, I figured." Pidge laughed gasping for air as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Hunk, Lance, the rest of your families are on their way here and Shiro… Someone is waiting for you." Sam looked up at the other Paladins and winced when he realized Keith had no one waiting, but the Paladin didn't look bothered as he talked quietly with Allura who seemed to be asking him numerous questions and they also seemed to be speaking with someone else who must still be on the Castle.

"The rest of the reunions will have to wait, we need to debrief you all and make sure you're not full of alien radiation," Iverson said once the tears had slowed and everyone was now on their feet.

"Our suits stop any sort of radiation so there is no need for that," Allura said smoothly, knowing that the Castle and suits were very efficient that way.

"We're not doing anything until we see our families." Hunk said stubbornly.

"You need to be debriefed." Iverson protested.

"Families first," Hunk shot back, desperate to see and hold his family after all this time.

"Do Paladins not follow a chain of command? You will debrief when Commander Iverson tells you." One of the cadet pilots stepped forward, anger and disbelief on his face and tone and Keith narrowed his eyes at the sight of Griffin and he took a step forward when Hunk's shoulders slumped and his eyes turned downwards.

"Keith," Shiro said in a low warning tone and Keith shot him a look as his shoulders slumped while rolling his eyes, but Shiro's warning didn't stop Lance.

Lance was moving in a blur of blue and white as his Bayard appeared in his right hand, glowing and shifting shapes into an Altean Broadsword that was pressing against Griffin's neck. Griffin's squad mate's yelped and jumped back, not having expecting to be attacked.

"Oh Lance," Shiro face palmed while Pidge cackled and Keith grinned looking very like Krolia.

"Listen here… Cadet." Lance sneered, as he looked Griffin up and down with disdain.

"You have no idea who we are anymore, what we have been through. We were ripped out of everything we have ever known and thrown into a war that was 10,000 years old and suddenly we became the defenders of the universe. So don't you dare try and tell us what to do or what not to do. We understand the chain of command perfectly, just the thing is no one here except maybe Commander Holt is apart of that chain, so cadet. Keep your mouth shut until you understand how we work."

"Lance, stand down," Shiro called out amused and Lance bared his teeth at Griffin before letting his Bayard disappear into his suit again before he stepped back into place between Hunk and Keith. Hunk and he fist-bumped absently and Veronica looked at her brother in silent awe and a bit of shock at seeing her brother like that.

"We won't make you debrief until you have been reunited with your families, it has been a long time for everyone and that is the least we can do for you all," Sam said firmly, eyeing Iverson who looked a bit impressed by Lance's words and quick protective actions.

"Of course, follow us. We have rooms set up for when your families arrive and Garrison outfits for you to change into." Iverson gestured towards the building.

"Let me get Coran down here then," Allura said cheerfully and put her helmet back on and a few minutes later with the Castle ship still hovering overhead Coran landed on the ground thanks to Cosmo. Coran cheerfully started to talk to Iverson who thankfully took Coran in stride as the group started to move forward.

"With all due respect Commander, we will be staying in our armour," Shiro said politely.

"Why?" Veronica asked curiously, she and Lance had their arms twisted together while Pidge was all but clinging to her mom's side.

"These suits have saved our lives more times than we can count, we were in space and on alien planets and they adjusted so our human bodies could handle it," Lance explained beaming at his sister, as he felt warm and fuzzy at being with his sister again.

"You have so much to tell us and I'll try not to freak out like I did when I heard you got blown up by that Sendak!" Veronica inhaled deeply to stop herself from panicking again.

"Ah, you heard that?" Lance said under his breath. "I'll explain later I promise and it really wasn't as bad as it sounded?"

"It better not have been," Veronica said firmly and Lance laughed awkwardly, exchanging a look with Keith who winced as he remembered being the one to hold Lance close as they waited for the healing pods to come back online.

Keith stepped closer to Shiro who was lagging at the back of the group, looking unsure.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this Keith, we didn't part on the best terms then I was 'KIA' and I don't know what he knows or if he even wants to see me. I know Sam said he does but I don't know if I can face him." Shiro admitted to Keith in a low voice and Keith put his hand on Shiro's shoulder in silent support.

"You have been through so much Shiro and even if you and Adam didn't part on the best terms, you both deserve this to either be closure or something else. You have been through so much and you deserve something good." Keith said softly, remembering the night they had camped out on a planet they had found.

How Shiro told them all about Adam and what had happened. Keith remembered watching Adam and Shiro back in the Garrison and wanting that kind of love in his life.

"I do…" Shiro said slowly like he was coming to terms with that he did deserve something good in his life.

"We'll be right there with you Shiro, you know that," Keith said and Shiro shot him a grin and glanced over at the others who were silently sending him smiles or thumbs up discreetly and he knew that he wasn't alone with this.

"Shiro, he's in that room… Whenever you're ready." Sam stepped back to give Shiro a look.

"Okay, thank you, Sam." Shiro took a shuddering breath and with one final look at the others who beamed at him and helped up his confidence a bit more. He opened the door to the room and felt his heart beat faster in his chest at the sight of Adam looking the exact same if not a bit tired sitting on the couch, head snapping up when the door creaked open.

"Adam." Shiro breathed out.

"Takashi, is that really you?" Adam rose to his feet, eyes not moving away from Shiro who was still standing in the doorway, not able to move his body as Adam's voice washed over him.

"It's really me Adam, I know it's a bit of a difference…" Shiro felt his knees going weak and he had to fight the urge to just burst out into tears; he never thought he would see Adam again.

"A bit! Takashi, oh my god." Adam crossed the room and threw his arms around the other, burying his face in Shiro's neck letting out shaky sobs. Shiro closing following suit, clutching Adam's back with his hands and the two of them broke down together, finally reunited after so long.

It felt like an hour before the two managed to extract themselves from the other, tear stains obvious on their cheeks. Adam ran a shaky hand through Shiro's white hair with a nervous laugh.

"It's a new look huh?" Adam gave a watery smile.

"Something like that," Shiro gave his own smile before steeling himself for what he had to say next.

"I'm not sorry I went on the mission, I'm not sorry because even with all the pain and suffering it caused the both of us it brought Voltron together, it gave me this family and I wouldn't change that for the world," Shiro said firmly.

"I am sorry about the way we ended things, god I replayed our conversation over and over and I wish it had gone differently."

"Somehow I knew you would say that Takashi," Adam closed his eyes briefly as he curled his hand around Shiro's hand tightly, holding onto him like a lifeline.

"Commander Holt told me about what you endured, what you went through up there, well I'm sure more has happened and no doubt it was watered down for me, but… I see that this is larger than either of us. Goddamn defenders of the universe Takashi. I doubt you will be staying on Earth for good with the universe out there waiting for Voltron. We'll talk about us later but just right now let me savour having you in my arms again." Adam lurched forward to cling to Shiro's amour again.

"Okay Adam, later. I can't wait to introduce you to my family," Shiro rested his cheek on top of Adam's head, inhaling the familiar yet foreign scent of his old boyfriend's shampoo.

Slowly the two separated from the other and rose to their feet, hands brushing together as they left the room and headed towards the room where the rest of Voltron, the family he had made out in the stars was waiting for their leader to return to them.