I feel like this is a mistake, but at least it's out there. I should be focusing on "Soul to Soul". I'm, like 11 chapters into that story, but no. I start this too. Wow.

Technically for Klanceweek 2018 but when have I ever put stuff out on time?

Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Chapter 1: The Prophecy

Shiro entered the common room in his civilian clothes with a brown cloak wrapped around his body. Keith sat up a little straighter in his seat, his eyes flickering between Shiro and the card game happening right next to him. "Alright, team, we've got a new mission, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to get to work immediately."

"A mission? Nice," Lance threw down his cards and Keith watched as Hunk and Pidge cried out at what was no doubt a winning hand. "What are we up to?"

"We're actually going on a reconnaissance mission." Shiro threw each of a them a cloak that matched his. "Put these on. We don't want to stand out, so we'll be wearing our civilian clothes and these to keep us from standing out too much. We need information on an item that the princess has identified as a unique treaty item. She's arranged a meeting with an old ally that used to be loyal to her father when she was a child. Princess Allura hopes that we will be able to regain this ally and their planets support against Zarkon, and to do that she intends to bring the Kalafin as a gift to them."

"Where will we be searching?" asked Pidge. "Is this going to be another trip to the space mall?"

"No, actually, but something quite close to it," said Shiro with a grin. "We'll actually be going to looking for this particular item in pairs."

Lance frowned, his gaze fixed away from Keith's. "Okay, but why?"

Shiro crossed his arms firmly. "I don't want you getting lost."

"I'm not going to get lost," scoffed Lance. "I'm not the one that wanders off just because I think something looks a little weird."

"I'm sorry, Lance. That's not what I meant. I don't want any of you getting lost."

Keith bristled at that. "For one, I did that for a good reason. We found out about the Galra harnessing quintessence," said Keith, "and two, you're the one that normally gets distracted by things."

"Well, I-"

"Lance, do you understand the mission?" cut in Shiro.

"Yes, sir." Lance saluted, effectively side-tracked.

"Keith?"

Keith sighed. "Yeah, I've got it," he said.

Lance continued with, "Is the item technical? Can I take Hunk?"

"No, you may not. Hunk has his own mission to complete. And we don't know that much about the Kalafin. We've got its name and what it looks like. The image has already been loaded onto your communicators. It'll have to do for now." Shiro tightened the cloak around his body. "Now remember, team, we need information on where to find this Kalafin. The planet we're on now is known for its marketplace. It's very similar to the space mall, but Coran believes that this place is well known for its gossip and rumour channels."

"That's right," said Coran proudly. "If there's anyone who knows even a fraction about the Kalafin's whereabouts, they're going to roaming around the market. Or selling!"

"Pidge and I will be searching the south side of the marketplace while Lance and Keith examine the other half," said Shiro. "Are we clear?"

Keith nodded while Lance. "So I have to be babysat?"

"Only if you consider yourself a baby," pointed out Pidge and that seemed to quiet Lance for now. They stayed in their docking area as Allura described the item once more. As far as Keith could tell, the Kalafin was designed to enchant those around it, similar to hypnosis. Lance, on the other hand, wagered that it was a musical instrument that, when played, would give off a pleasing and relaxed sound. Needless to say that when the pair of them began their search in the local planet's marketplace, they had conflicting ideas on what they wanted to look for.

"Dude, it's gotta be an instrument," said Lance as they approached the market.

"Sound can be replicated easily and Allura described it like it was some kind of rare, trance inducing plant. We already know that Alteans have a bias towards flora and other plant life. This gift would be right up their alley."

"I don't see it." Lance groaned. "This thing is supposed to convince and enchant. A 'delight to all the senses' is what Allura called it. Music does exactly that! The item looks exactly like some kind of thin instrument. The edges flare out for show. Unless it's kind of like a trumpet."

"Lance, come on. An instrument? It's got to be a flower of some kind. It kind of looks like a weird mix between a California poppy and a water lily."

"If it is a flower, then it's pretty. Nothing like the mariposa, of course, those are much better."

Keith frowned. "Mariposa?"

"Yeah? It's white, usually has three petals. Kind of like an orchid but not?" When Keith continued to look perplexed, Lance chuckled quietly to himself. "Don't worry about it. Why don't we just split up to look?" offered Lance. "I bet I could find it before you."

"Shiro doesn't want us splitting up," began Keith, vocally cautious but internally preparing to leave. "If you get lost, he's going to be upset with me."

"Gee thanks. Forget about worrying after a lost paladin." Lance's arm felt warm against the back of Keith's neck as he slung it over. "Glad to know you care."

"You're welcome."

"I still think that it's an instrument."

"Fine." Keith sighed but offered up a smirk. "You can talk to the stalls on the left and I'll take the right. That way, we can get twice the work done."

"Okay," Lance mock saluted his companion and then set to striking a conversation with the nearest stall owner. Once Keith saw Lance appropriately engaged, he moved to the right of the aisle and tried to get the attention of a tall alien with what looked like a thick beard. The alien was in the process of convincing a hairless alien to buy a necklace.

"It'd match your eyes exactly," the merchant crooned with a thick accent. "Finest Borkanion crystals mined from the deep planetoid caves and ground into the most vibrant blue sand in the whole galaxy. To be kept in clear bridal contains ensures that whoever sees the powder will surely fall in love with the beauty within."

"Is bridal a type of glass?" asked Keith. The merchant's eyes flickered to Keith's and they alien they'd been talking to slipped back into the crowd. The merchant groaned loudly and turned to face Keith. "Ah, of course," said Keith quickly, "How could I have forgotten?"

"How could you have?" The merchant asked. "It's the most common container substance in the whole galaxy!"

"Right…" Keith pulled a holoprojector from his pocket and pulled up a photo of the item. The blue and gray depiction of the flower hovered to life and Keith watched the alien survey it curiously. "Have you ever seen something like this by chance?"

In the end, the merchant didn't know quite what Keith was looking for, but his comments had been enough to give Keith a bit of a lead. There was a planet in the next star system over with a planet of singing aliens that knew a lot about enchantment. The same planet was coincidentally where most bridal glass was created. If Keith was lucky, they would be knowledgeable in this enchanting plant that Allura wanted. He left the stall and continued down the aisle, inquiring after people that would know where bridal glass could be found.

Keith traveled from stall to stall, but it yielded little to no results. He stumbled upon a stall selling what looked like flowers. The assortment was bursting with colour, and and hopefully inquired after the flower Allura sought. Although they had no leads, the urged him to take a look around the stall to see if there was anything he'd like.

"Are all these flowers flown in?" Keith asked, eyeing some of the large red flowers that changed colour when he touched them."

"Yes, from across the galaxy," the merchant said eagerly.

"They're really nice."

Keith looked around at some of the flowers on display, each one more beautiful than the last, until his eyes fell upon a small bucket off to the side of the stall. "What are those?" he asked, pointing at some of the flowers in the bucket.

"Not as good quality," the merchant said. "They'll die within the next feel cycles. Not as many clients want them so we'll throw them out when we leave. Plus, they smell horrible. I don't really know why we bought them in the first place."

"Do you mind if I take a couple?" asked Keith. He crouched down and brushed at the flowers in the bucket. One was a pale orange, with petals that flared out wildly like Pidge's hair. The one next to it was a small, white flower. The edges seemed to be yellowing, but the stamen remained tall and strong. Tentatively, he took a quick sniff of the white one, and was pleasantly surprised by the scent. Perhaps aliens didn't share the same taste in floral scents as humans did.

"Be my guest," they said, before taking their attention away and focusing on drawing more people in to buy the flowers. Keith snagged the white one and put it in his bag before realizing why exactly he had grabbed it. All that talk of flowers and Lance had him confused, Keith decided. Thinking twice, he decided to grab the orange flower as well so that it wouldn't seem too strange. A couple flowers for himself wasn't strange at all.

Keith straightened up, thanked the flower merchant and continued on. Half way through the aisle, he glanced to check on Lance who was currently showing off the zipper of his jacket to a cute alien merchant. Keith glared and headed back to their investigation with muffled annoyance. He carried on through the market and had almost cleared his entire side when he remembered the flower he'd grabbed for Lance in his bag. Keith paused. He checked for his fellow paladin again but realized that his companion had completely vanished.

Keith's mouth set itself downward, and he looked harder for Lance's short brown hair amidst the colourful aliens but there was no semblance of human males anywhere.

"Lance?" he called. A few aliens turned to look at him, but others continued through the bazaar without a care in the world. Keith swore at Lance under his breath and started to search for him instead. The enchanted item forgotten, Keith set off, half annoyed half worried. It was ridiculous that they had one simple mission and Lance had gotten lost and likely kidnapped. Again

Keith called out again, trying not to let his worry consume him. He told himself that the concern was only for himself since Shiro would definitely be giving him a lecture if Lance was indeed lost. The longer he searched, the more nervous he became until he was furiously rushing through the bazaar scanning at any flash of brown and green he could. He opened his mouth to call for him again but instead a smooth hand was clapped across it.

"You are so loud, Paladin," grumped the owner of the hand. Keith's hand went immediately to the knife strapped at his hip but, before he got there, the alien behind him removed his hand and came into view. It looked like a young, male alien with four sharp eyes and purpled hands. "You'll disrupt everyone's business at this rate."

There was something off putting in that comment and Keith's hand itched for his knife again. "You know where Lance is," said Keith.

"I do."

Keith's frown deepened, and his mind tried to figure out what exactly he'd be able to do if this alien was the kidnapper. "Are you trying to help me or ransom for him? Because if it's the latter-"

"Then I'm not doing a very good job. Yes, I know." Keith blinked. He'd been just about to say those words. "We've been expecting you."

"That sounds super ominous."

"Lance is waiting for us with my grandmother. You'll need to come with us if you want him back though. He doesn't seem to want to leave."

Keith followed the alien reluctantly, memorizing the path there just in case. They wove through the crowd until reaching a tall blue tent. There wasn't a lot of people crowded around it except for a couple of smaller aliens, like children, trying to peek between the thick flaps of the tent. The male alien pulled a flap open and allowed Keith to slip in first. The interior was bigger than the outside, and here in the corner of the tent, Lance could be seen sitting with a woman who reminded Keith of an octopus. She had multiple, long, smooth arms with a wide piece of cloth that covered her face like a veil. Lance sat at her side, eagerly chatting away with her about something. Keith tried not to sigh too obviously, but he allowed his shoulders to loosen just a fraction.

"Keith! You're here!" Lance seemed to light up at the sight of his fellow paladin. The white flower in Keith's bag felt lighter again.

"I am. Where the hell did you go? Shiro said not to split up."

"It seemed like a good idea. Besides, Grandma Lae says that she knows where our item is."

"Really?"

"My grandmother is very wise," the other alien cut in. "Sometimes she gets visions of the future and her unseeing eyes can see things even we cannot."

"But she knows where it is?"

"Indeed," said the younger alien as he sat beside his grandmother. "She mentioned that the Kalafin is in your future, so that you are sure to find it. Though I am unimportant, you may call me Lee."

"Grandma Lae and Lee," said Keith slowly. "And what do you want in return?" Lee made a sound of questioning while Keith caught the hint of a smile behind Grandma Lae's veil. Keith tried to clarify. "I mean, what do you want me to pay you? You're not doing this for free. What's your price?"

Lee blinked slowly before smiling and giving his grandmother a side hug while a stray hand patted Lance's shoulder. "My grandmother would offer her services for more than our current price had your Blue paladin not proven his relation to Voltron. We've been expecting this visit for a long time, and Lance has kindly provided us half of the payment. You hold the other half."

"How'd he do that?"

"They could sense my awesome," Lance said as he flexed theatrically. Though Grandma Lae could not see, she laughed anyway. The sound reminded Keith of children and rainfall; it was high pitched, youthful, and pettered from her mouth.

"So, what was our price?" Keith asked.

"Not to worry," Lee said. "The Blue Paladin has paid us with his stories and the emotions that are associated. He provided the feeling for the future. You are to provide the life."

"How exactly am I supposed to do that? I don't have anything to pay you with."

"The bag." Lance, Keith and Lee looked at Grandma Lae as she spoke. "The symbol of life and death. You already have it in your bag."

"My-" Keith felt his voice trail off, "Oh." The flowers were still in his bag. He opened the bag and stared at the flowers inside. It was mostly empty, so both flowers were still in relatively good condition.

"Just one," said Grandma Lae. She smiled at him in a way that was far too knowing for Keith's liking.

Keith looked at the flowers in his bag, took a breath, and pulled out the orange one. The white one, the one he had picked with Lance in mind, stayed hidden within his bag. "Here." He placed it on the table in front of Grandma Lae. Keith took a seat next to Lance and watched Lee sit with his grandmother.

"Are you ready?"

She smiled and nodded, pressing two hands on the table while the other hands pressed together in pairs as if in prayer. Keith wondered how this was going to work, and Lee kept quiet about any of the specifics.

Keith locked eyes with Lance. His skepticism must have been more than a little obvious because Lance took to glaring at him from across the table "They're nice enough to tell us our fortune," said Lance, before turning to grin at Lee's blind grandmother. "I bet you're going to see something amazing. Probably us just finding this mystical instrument, forming a crazy strong alliance, getting a parade, and then saving the world."

"Lance, don't jinx it," warned Keith.

"No world saving yet, Blue Paladin," said Grandma Lae, the whites of her eyes glowing gold. "No, but you will celebrate anyway. You will have achieved something beautiful, something that you've been dreaming of for a long time."

"I actually do get the parade?" Lance eyes twinkled and Keith rolled his eyes. His ire melted into amusement.

"You fall in love," said Grandma Lae, smiling despite the intense glow, "and it is so, so beautiful."

Keith watched as Lance stared at the woman in shock before a pretty pink glow overtook his cheeks. He regained his composure and shot the blind woman a wink. "Of course they're beautiful. I have great taste."

Grandma Lae nodded sagely and Keith sighed. This had to be the most generic fortune telling he'd ever been to. He was almost surprised that Lance would fall for something that was so generic. "They are beautiful, fair, determined. They have spirit," said Grandma Lae. "Brave and bold. They love you intensely, in a way they have not loved any other. I can see you are both together, in love, at the shores where you find the Kalafin."

The shores? Keith opened his mouth to ask more about the flower's whereabouts when Lance cut him off, bouncing eagerly in his chair. "Nice," he cheered, "Can you tell me what she looks like?"

"Would you not prefer the Kalafin's location first?" said Lee with surprise. Keith couldn't help but nod in vigorous agreement. "My grandmother cannot hold her visions for very long. Is that not the most important part of your mission?"

"'She' is what you would call a 'boy'," said Grandma Lae. Keith felt himself swivel to see Lance's face. If Keith had expected horrified, that's certainly not what he got. Lance's expression was more calculated than shocked, and when he spoke, he picked up his previous enthusiasm with ease.

"A guy, huh?" Lance nodded to himself before he beamed at Grandma Lae. "Can you tell me what he looks like, then?"

"I don't need to," said Grandmother Lae. "I may be blind, but his voice is as clear to me as what I can see." Her cheeks crinkled into a smile. "You can see him too; as clear as he is sitting before you."

"I'm sorry," said Keith finally. Perhaps if he entertained the notion that this was an actual reading, then they would get a little more information. "We're really just here for the location of the Kalafin. How important is this love interest that Lance is supposed to magically end up with when we find the Kalafin? Is he some kind of guide? Or a diplomat on the planet we need to go to? Who are you talking about?"

"Why you, Red Paladin." Her shining eyes fell upon him and Keith was blinded by its light. "Fate has decided that the two of you are destined to be together, love each other, and live for each other till the end of time."

"What?" cried Lance while Keith crumpled in his seat. His mind was racing as fast as his heart. Keith wasn't sure how he managed to feel like shriveling up and exploding at the same time. How was it possible that Lance was meant to love him? He and Lance were just becoming better friends and learning how to work together. He'd had a hard enough time trying to like Lance and have Lance actually like him back. How did this alien expect Keith to love someone like Lance? How would she know how he would feel? How?

"You and him; blue and red," she continued with this dreamy look on her face. "Fate has long since destined you both to be lovers."

Lance swallowed, his expression remaining panicked. "How- I don't-" Keith stared at Grandma Lae, his face flushing. "We're lovers of justice. Lovers of galaxy-wide peace from the Galra empire! Not- you know."

"Of course, Blue Paladin. I understand. You are both all of that, and more. Perhaps you do not see the tendrils of affection so clearly now, but you will come to." She smiled warmly. "Both of you are so lucky to have found one another so young and amidst such turmoil."

"The flower," cut in Keith now that he was over the initial shock. His voice didn't sound like his own, but he pressed on. "What about the flower? How does that relate to all this?"

Grandma Lae's gaze turned Keith again. "Kalafin begs honesty of whomever seeks it, and when you and the Blue Paladin come together before it, then you shall be able to bring it to the princess."

"Grandmother," said Lee insistently and Grandma Lae nodded slowly. The light in her eyes flickered.

"You both stand on the shores, like I said, of the Arfaxal River. It sits in the Galfore system, on the planet with three moons."

"Thanks." Keith stood up sharply and Lance's focus shifted to him.

"Whoa, man, where are you going? Don't you want to know more about…the Kalafin?"

They both knew that Lance was more interested in learning why exactly this fortune teller foresaw Keith and Lance in love when they would find the Kalafin. If they found the Kalafin. Keith wanted to shake him, but most of all he wanted to leave the tent. He felt overheated, and embarrassed and angry, somehow, simultaneously. "We've got a mission?" Keith said instead. From Allura? For a peace meeting?"

"Sorry, sorry, you're right." Lance turned back to Grandma Lae, his cheeks still dark with colour. "We're going to have to wrap this up. Grandma Lae-" Lance began, but her eyes had lost their brilliant glow completely and were no longer the same. Instead, the alien was hunched over in her seat, exhausted, but her expression remained one of pure joy.

"My grandmother's vision is over. She will need time to rest." Lee patted Lance's shoulder. "I am sorry, Blue Paladin, but my Grandmother will no longer be able to speak with you today. Perhaps if you came back in a few cycles we could-"

"No, Keith's right." Lance stood as well and shimmied out of his seat. "We have to get the Kalafin as soon as possible. Grandma Lae gave us a location, and for that we thank both of you."

"I thank you for allowing my Grandmother to access such a wonderful future. I am sure that she will be talking about what she has said for ages to come. It was a gift to have you and the Red Paladin in our presence. I am sure you have much to talk about." Lee bowed to them and ushered them out of the tent. "I wish you the best of luck in your search for the Kalafin."

The moment the tent flaps closed, Keith let out a sigh of relief and Lance groaned. "Finally."

Lance turned to Keith, his eyes wide. There were still the remnants of a blush on his cheeks, "Keith..." Lance began, but Keith remained firm.

"Lance, you can't tell me that you actually believe all that stuff."

"What do you mean?" Lance blinked at him in shock. "She read my fortune, Keith. We're supposed to find the Kalafin together."

"Right, and we're supposed to be together together when we find it." Keith felt like it was hard to breathe. "That sounded pretty fake to me."

"I-"

Keith fixed his cloak and started to head back to the ship. "She said we were destined to be lovers, Lance. That's can't be possible."

"Of course, you're right," agreed Lance, a little too quickly in Keith's opinion. Lance caught up with him, his long strides allowing him to be at Keith's side in seconds. "That does sound crazy, but if we don't believe her then does that mean we don't believe that Kalafin grows on the shores of some space river? Because that means we have no leads."

"So what?" Keith risked a glance at Lance as they walked. Everything in him told him to run, to leave his burning face behind and deny everything. That's what Lance usually did, after all. Keith could learn to do that too. Besides, the whole business of prophecies and destined lovers sounded as far-fetched as it could get. "You're saying that we have to be lovers?"

"No, not at all." Lance was avidly avoiding his gaze, as he continued. "You said it can't be possible right? Maybe she got it mixed up, but we have to believe that she has some kind of prophetic power."

"Lance, we don't have to believe anything. We have one movement before we have to show up to that peace keeping mission. We can't waste time on some prophecy unless we know that it's a good lead. Who's to say that she was legit? Maybe the whole thing was a con to get you to pay them."

"No way! That sweet old alien lady was grandma. We sat and talked together while we waited for you, Keith. Only good people do that."

Keith was skeptical, he always had been, and this was no exception. This alien not only gave them a fixed location for the item they sought, but then followed it up with claiming that he and Lance were in love? Anyone with eyes could see that it wasn't the case at all. How could it be?

After Keith had been quiet for too long, Lance sighed and fixed his gaze on the castle as they approached it. "Look Keith, maybe we should, I don't know, just keep an open mind about it. We don't have to tell the team about it; maybe just the stuff about the Kalafin. Maybe you're right in that she was wrong about the whole 'destined lovers' thing, but we at least owe it to the team to say that we got something. We can call it a rumour if that makes you feel better about it."

"A rumour," said Keith, feeling distinctly uncomfortable but not quite knowing why.

"Yeah. You don't have to look so distressed about it." The closer they got to the castle, the more Lance's confidence seemed to be seeping back into his broad shoulders. "We pretend like it never happened." The uncomfortable feeling continued to fill him and settled in his lungs. The distance between them felt wider than it had before they had even landed on the planet. "Just relax. We're just two dudes coming back from a reconnaissance mission that found out some rumours on the potential instrument."

"Flower," said Keith distantly, his mind already whizzing through topics before landing in an area he found unfamiliar. He could pretend. It was better than taking the old alien seriously. "It's a flower."

"It's actually not a flower," said Lance. "I thought we settled this." He glanced over at Keith warily. "So we're good?"

"Yeah, we're fine," said Keith. "She was probably just wrong. A mistake."

"Right, exactly."

For now, Keith let himself believe it. It had to be a mistake. Keith tried not to think of the flower in his bag and followed Lance onto the ship, his mind made up for the moment.