When Stars Align (Shiro x Reader)[Voltron - Legendary Defender]

XIII.

When you open the door, you find yourself staring at a teenage boy. His hair is brown, cut short but a little shaggy. He has olive toned skin and lanky limbs, with a slightly pointed face. His features have an impish quality to them.
As you study him, he studies you--and, abruptly, the bored look on his face transforms into a smirk.
"Hey there," he says, in a voice too sultry to sound real, "The name's Lance. I'm the super awesome paladin of the blue lion--you may have heard of me."
"Um..." you stand awkwardly in the doorway of the bathroom, not sure what to say.
"Here, let me show you to where the others are waiting," He says, smoothly taking your arm in his and guiding you down the hall. "You're Lyda, right?"
"Um, yeah."
"You clean up nicely."
Before you can respond, an exasperated voice interrupts.
"Lance!" When you look up, there's another boy walking down the hall. His skin is lighter than Lance's, but his hair is darker--the same inky black as Shiro's. As he gets closer, you can see that he's shorter than Lance, but less wiry and more toned. His face is scrunched in annoyance, and he has a deep frown line that makes you think this expression is familiar for him.
"No way, Keith," Lance says, sultry voice turning sulky, "First come, first serve!"
Keith pauses. "She's not a potluck dinner," he says, referring to you, "She's a person."
"Shit, you're right," Lance turns to you, "Sorry, that was a pretty misogynistic thing to say."
"It's alright," you reply, "Thanks for acknowledging the problematic aspects of that joke. We can get back to the story, now."
"I'm not here to flirt, Lance," Keith says, rolling his eyes, "I'm here to make sure you don't bother her."
"I'm not bothering her!" Lance protests, "I was just showing her around!"
"Right."
"I'm serious!"
"You were using that voice."
"What voice?"
"You know, like this." Keith drops his voice two octaves and slows down his speech, imitating the tone Lance was just using to talk to you.
"I do not sound like that!"
"You do so!"
"Um..." you mumble, awkwardly interrupting their bickering. They both stop, straightening up and glaring at each other.
"Sorry," Lance says to you, "This loser is my rival. He's always trying to cramp my style."
"We're on the same team, you idiot!"
Lance ignores Keith's protests and brushes past him, continuing to guide you down the hall. "Right this way, Lyda," he says, smiling at you as he hurries away from the other boy.
"Hey!" Keith follows after, and Lance rolls his eyes. You suppress a smile.

***

Keith and Lance guide you to what looks like a living room. Strewn around a small table, there are couches on which five other people are seated. They all look human, but then you notice that two of them have pointed ears and limbs just slightly longer. One is a tall man with a shock of red hair and a large moustache, and the other is a regal looking woman with long, lightly colored hair that spills over her shoulders as she turns to look at you.
The other three are humans; you recognize Shiro, but two of their faces are unfamiliar. The two strangers are sitting next to each other, providing a stark contrast. One is large, one is tiny. One has dark skin, one is pale. One is a boy, one is a girl. You finally recognize her as the person who rescued you--Pidge. She's bouncing her leg impatiently.
Shiro stands and walks over to you when you enter.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good." You offer a smile, but it feels shaky--everything feels so...normal. No one is scared, or injured, or shouting at you. It's strange.
"Why'd you have to send Keith to check on me?" Lance whines, flopping onto an unoccupied couch.
"We didn't." Pidge tells him, not taking her eyes off you, "He ran after you himself," she breaks eye contact with you to smirk at Lance, "I think he was worried you'd find a new girlfriend."
Keith's face flushes bright red at the exchange, furious, and Lance yells at Pidge, "How many times do I have to tell you? He's my rival, not my girlfriend! I wouldn't date someone as lame as Keith!"
Pidge puts her hands up in surrender, smiling cheekily at the boy's defensive response. "Okay," she says. Lance throws a decorative pillow at her.
"Guys, cut it out." Shiro says, motioning for you to take a seat. You get a couch to yourself, which, although spacious, makes you uncomfortable. Everyone is staring at you.
"Lyda, it's lovely to meet you." The regal woman speaks, "I am princess Allura of Altea." Her voice is strangely accented--you can't quite place it.
"This is Coran," she continues talking, "My fellow Altean. And these are the five paladins of Voltron," she gestures to the humans. "You already know Shiro, but that's Lance, Keith," she points to the two boys you just met, "Pidge," your rescuer, "And Hunk." The one you didn't recognize. Before you can form any sort of response--or ask who the heck voltron is, and what paladins are--Allura says gently, "I'm sure you have many questions. We'll answer them as best we can. But we also have questions for you about your time on Zarkon's ship. You may have valuable information." You cringe at the word "valuable", but she doesn't seem to notice.
"Please, ask us anything you need to know," Allura says, smiling at you, "And then, if you can, we would like to hear your story."
Your heart pounds. You know you're in a safe space, but this still feels like a lot of pressure--all these people are watching you. You take a deep breath to steel your nerves, then clear your throat to speak.
"Um...who's Voltron?"