#now I have this image in my mind: older lance alone in a junk space craft with Karen/his Dolores + them sitting on the floor having a drink

[ashkazora]

Me: *reading about Five! Lance* me: But wait does Lance have a Delor- *shot*

oH NOO ANON WHY.

But since this is a Five!Lance AU, consider Lance having either:

A mini Kalternacker plush that he takes everywhere. and I mean everywhere. The team has never seen it leave his side, even in missions. It’s threadbare and with red-and-black fur, and vaguely a biohazard after Lance revealed it was originally white. 

OR he actually has a Dolores mannequin that he somehow took with him back in time. Most of the team finds out about her after they stumble across Lance one night, very drunk and half-asleep in the castle observatory snuggling up to a random mannequin with the name ‘Karen’ written in permanent marker. It’s a weird sight to say the least.

Just like Five Lance has been alone for so long out in space, trying to right the wrongs of the war and only lets himself get attached to an intimate object after too many of his friends die. 

Thank you for this very cursed ask anon, and I’m sorry you were shot for saying the most valid things :,)

#now I have this image in my mind: older lance alone in a junk space craft with Karen/his Dolores + them sitting on the floor having a drink #and all around them are photos of the young team voltron - all much younger than lance is #okay that's enough angst for tonight YEET #thank you SO MUCH for this ask anon #it is truly cursed and I love it. 10/10 IGN #five!lance au #ask #anon #vld #voltron

[chibi-pix]

Click the image, it should have a transparency effect. 

Anyway! @rueitae, I believe you said you wanted to read them stargazing?  Well, my dearies! In the “keep reading” below, there is a small, 1,850 word ficlet of pure happiness, fluff, and stargazing!  I hope you enjoy!

VLD AU - Stargazing

“Okay.” Lance nodded as he checked over his supplies. Snacks, both of the junk food variety and substantial for his health. His waterproof sleeping bag. An extra pillow with a waterproof pillowcase. A small music playing device with waterproof speakers.

“You planning on a date?” Allura asked, standing on the deck of Lance’s boat.

Lance got tongue-tied and spewed out a series of sounds that couldn’t even be considered close to works. If one had to compare his lack of words to a physical manifestation, it would be just slamming your hands down on a typing keyboard and seeing what letters are typed. “What?! A date? What makes you think that?” he asked. I mean… maybe it is a date? But logically a date is just an outing between two or more people, right? Right! He thought, his mind getting defensive and praying Allura didn’t catch on to him meeting a mermaid. Plus, I’m just staying out with Pidge to watch the stars…

“Don’t get your flippers tangled, Lance.” Allura waved it off. “I’m just teasing you. But really… strange you’re going out alone and camping out… what’s up? There’s not even a lunar eclipse or a meteor shower tonight; if you want to see the stars so badly...”

“I like how the stars look from the ocean, no obnoxious amount of lights interfering and keeping me from seeing the view.” Lance sighed. “Besides, Hunk’s busy and Keith would rather work with his blog.” And this is a Pidge and me time. Not that we’re… you know… dating or anything… He did everything he could to fight the blush he was sure was trying to threaten to show up.

“Jeez, you really do like to spend more time with fish than humans.” Allura sighed, smiling a bit; she missed Lance going rigid at that claim. “You know, I was shocked at first but then amazed when I found out you had human friends. As friendly as you are, it was strange that you struggled to make friends.”

Lance nodded. Indeed. Technically speaking, when it came to humans, he didn’t have many friends despite him being the sort who was very welcoming and got along with anyone and everyone. He was even nice to school bullies! But somehow he struggled to make friends. His family was proud when he and Hunk became friends and then later Keith. And he’d honestly like to think Shiro was a friend, too. And Pidge. Pidge was definitely a friend!

“Well, the fish don’t mind when you speak a thousand words a minute and drop a lot of moods on them.” Lance stated with a shrug. Pidge didn’t mind, either; she liked listening to Lance.

“More than that, though, I’m surprised Dad agreed to this.” Allura sighed. “After the storm incident...”

“I was fine. And if a storm brews again, I’ll be certain to let you know I’m safe.” Lance assured, going over and hugging his cousin. “Anyway, it’s just a camp-out on the ocean; Uncle’s done that plenty of times himself, even you’ve done it.”

“Yeah… true… but… you’re still so young.”

“I’m almost eighteen, cuz. I’ll be fine.” Lance chuckled.

“I still worry.” Allura sighed. She then ruffled Lance’s hair. “Well, have fun. If you need anything, you got the radio.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lance mock-saluted before he finished getting ready. “Well, time to head out.”

“Be safe and have fun, Lance.” Allura called, stepping off the boat and back onto the dock. She waved Lance off as he set out, his sail catching the perfect breeze. Lance smiled and waved back.

Lance sailed his boat to Pidge’s territory. When he reached the best spot, he set up his electronic anchor and waited, turning to watched the sun as it set. He always loved how the sun looked, regardless if it was rising or setting over the ocean. The way it reflected off of the ever-moving waters, changing the colours of the ocean with its own light. The glow that seemed to illuminate everything yet changed with each ripple of water. It was truly a beautiful sight and he never grew tired of it.

Just like the stars. The stars were always beautiful and sometimes Lance felt the only place he could truly enjoy out in the ocean. Around AARC, due to the lights, he didn’t see them as well. Light pollution, he had been told before. But in the ocean where the only light he had was either natural or the small lights on his boat, which he planned to turn off, there was no interference and he could truly enjoy their beauty.

Lance looked over when he heard a splashing noise. He smiled when he saw Pidge there, surprisingly not accompanied by her brother. Meeting Matt, he could tell just how protective the older and much larger merman was over his little sister. It was sweet but definitely frightening with how big he was.

“Hey, Pidge!” Lance greeted, going to the other side where Pidge was.

“Did you get permission to stay out?” Pidge asked.

“Indeed.” Lance nodded. “So, as planned, tonight we go stargazing!” He laughed when Pidge splashed up more water than she expected in her excitement. “The sun’s nearly set, the stars beginning to show themselves.” He looked when Pidge offered her hand for him to step onto. “Let me do a few final things before we stargaze.” Lance said, to which Pidge nodded.

Lance first set up the music, letting a gentle melody play. Sure, he loved the sound of the ocean, but music was always nice. Then he turned off the lights on his boat, leaving the indicator light on; this helped show any passing ships, not that there were many in the area if any at all, that he was there and to not hit his boat. Nodding, sure that all was well, he returned to Pidge, stepping up onto the offered hand.

Pidge moved a bit from the boat, keeping it within Lance’s ability to see and hear the music and, if needed, the radio. Pidge found the right spot before shifting her position and laying on her back, being able to float in the water as though she were a human. She moved her hand, letting Lance sit on her chest.

“If we lay here, we can just see all the stars!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Yeah.” Lance nodded as he settled down, laying on Pidge’s chest. He had been against her chest before, especially when Pidge was keeping him safe from Matt, but he never actually stopped to listen to her heart as it beat. It was a slow and deep sound. He counted the beats, finding it to beat much slower than a human’s heart. It was about ten to twelve beats in each minute, just a bit faster than an average for the blue whales. Slow. Gentle. It was actually relaxing now that he took the moment to listen.

Lance laid there, watching the sky change colours until the deep blue, nearly black, surrounded them. The stars were bright and clustered, impossible to count as they glowed up in the sky, doing their best to reflect in the waters around them. Lance had various nights in the ocean, seeing this, but this had to have been his first time actually laying there, not being in a boat, and feeling like he was truly floating in space.

“You know,” he said, “I’ve seen the stars many times in my life, from many places… but no matter what, I never find myself not marveling at how they look from here.” He smiled. “And I never grow board of seeing it far from society.”

“Can you not see them in your towns?” Pidge inquired.

“Well, it differs; due to the lights in cities, it’s harder to see the stars.” Lance explained. “Smaller towns with less light, it’s easier. But out here? Hardly any lights around? It truly is a sight to see.” He put his hands behind his head, happy to lay there. Had he laid there without Pidge in the darkness of the night, he actually would have admitted to being intimidated, nervous for his safety. But knowing Pidge was there, keeping him up out of the water save for the occasional splash of the waves, he felt like no harm could come to him.

“Oh!” Pidge sounded excited. “Lance! A star fell! Did you see that?”

Lance chuckled. “Indeed. We call them shooting or falling stars.” He sat up and looked to Pidge. “They aren’t actually stars that fall, though.” He got to his feet and walked along Pidge, the mermaid not minding; or maybe she just hardly noticed due to their difference in size. He got up to her face, sitting close to the edge where her hair was.

“You see,” he said, “there’s so much more to space than the planets and stars. Nebulas. Asteroids. Comets. Dust. And that falling star was a form of debris, most likely a meteroid, as it fell, going through Earth’s atmosphere.” He watched the sky, seeing another one speed across. “The light is it burning up, making it look like a star falling out of the sky.” He looked to Pidge, seeing her eyes, wide and dark in the night. More than that, he saw the stars reflect in them, as though they were pools of galaxies themselves.

“Some people make wishes on them.” Lance explained. “Whether or not those wishes come true...” He shrugged. “But it doesn’t hurt to wish.” He watched the reflection in Pidge’s eyes as another shooting star darted across the sky. Pidge closed her eyes. Was she making a wish? When they opened again, he smiled. “Wish for something?”

“I dunno about you humans, but we sea-folk don’t tell our wishes, it brings bad luck.” Pidge hummed.

“Yeah, many humans feel the same way.” Lance chuckled as he got up, not wanting to leave Pidge’s eyes but deciding to return to her chest and gentle heartbeat. He laid back down again. And I don’t want to jinx my own wish of being able to have many more days and nights like this with Pidge. He thought.

He smiled happily. Stars. Music. The gentle drumming sound of Pidge’s heart. Before the human knew it, he had dozed off. Of course he would, he was safe and happy there.

Pidge had remained there for a while longer, maybe hours. Despite how tiny Lance was, she could tell when he fell asleep. After those hours, she shifted, carefully getting Lance into her webbed hand. She moved back to the boat and slid him off and onto the boat.

“I wish days like this can continue for as long as they can.” Pidge whispered softly. “For as long as you live.” She gently kissed the tip of one finger and moved it, gently touching it to Lance’s cheek. “Sweet dreams, Lance, I’ll be here when you wake.” She nodded and went under the water some, staying relatively hidden in the darkness but close enough for Lance to find in the morning or should he wake in the night.

I hope you enjoyed it!  Because of the image and for its transparency to be seen for both app and desktop, I had this post as a photo post rather than text post (with inserted images).  Until the next story and/or art!

#Pidge #Pidge Gunderson #Lance #Katie Holt #watering someone's plance #VLD #Voltron legendary defender #mermaid pidge #mermaid katie holt #mermaid au #giant mermaid #giant mermaid au #giant/tiny #alternate universe #mermaid!pidge #mer!pidge #mer pidge