"He'd better not," The silence was broken by, of course, the one and only, Lance. "Because if he did, we'd be searching the whole universe for you."

"Gee, thanks." Y/N rolled her eyes and laughed, throwing an arm over Shiro's shoulder. She was proud of the one piece of family she had, being the pilot of the black lion and all.

"Good thing I have a good network with all the rebel forces already, I'd find you in no time." Matt winked as he followed Lance into the room to sit on the couch across form Y/N and Shiro.

Despite the other two boys dramatic entrances, Keith entered silently and slumped down beside Matt. He looked like a grumpy kid who had followed his friends only because he had nowhere else to go.

"You guys really don't leave much time for a private conversation, do you?" Shiro sighed. He had gotten out what he really wanted and needed, but it would've been nice to talk a little longer with Y/N, dig a little deeper into the things that bothered her. But, that just wouldn't be today.

"Whatever," Lance flicked his wrist. "Well, we just came to say goodnight, right guys?"

"Right!" Matt agreed, smiling. Keith just cracked his neck in response.

"Use your words, Keith." Lance pouted.

"Goodnight." The raven haired boy muttered hardly audibly and tucked the knife he fiddled with away.

"See you in the morning." Shiro smiled as he ruffled his sisters hair, standing up. Y/N went to smack at him but he was already out of arms reach, scurrying away. Y/N fell backwards in defeat. Her legs sat straight up, feet to the ceiling against the back of the couch while her head hung over the edge, hair grazing the floor.

Matt snickered, slightly confused at the girls awkward position which she somehow seemed comfortable in.

Lance yawned and stood up. He walked over to the girl and poked her nose. "See ya in the morning guys." He waved sassily, walking off. For the first time, he didn't seem too worried about sticking around to see what the other guys had to say or do.

"I should head off too," Matt muttered. But before he left, he stopped by Y/N and handed a small piece of paper to her before running off.

"Let me guess, no sleep for you, Kogane?" Y/N asked.

The boy let out a deep, compressed breath and tossed his head back. He was obviously annoyed by something. "I screw up, cause problems, am not always present when I should be... but Shiro doesn't treat me the same way he does you."

Y/N tilted her head in question and furrowed her brows. Keith rarely showed that much emotion, but he was upset, and so Y/N threw her legs over her head and jumped up, sitting down beside the red paladin. "If you think he hates you, you're beyond wrong. Shiro has a weird way of showing he cares..."

"Like how?"

Y/N pondered for a moment. "He's hard on the people he cares about. He'll try and make them better than himself if he can. Somedays it can seem like he hates the people he cares about the most, but he really just wants to make sure they're always making the right choices, and will be able to fend for themselves when they need to..."

"Sometimes, it just takes a while to realize what he's doing is all in good nature. He doesn't want to see people get hurt, so he thickens their skin." Y/N tried to catch Keith's gaze, and she could see his mind spinning.

"Oh," He sighed. "Thanks, Y/N. I never thought about it like that."

"You're his brother, Keith. Tied by experience. You're a strong team."

"Not as strong as you two." He rebutted.

Y/N smiled lightly. "Strong in different ways." She patted his shoulder. "You should get some sleep."

"Ok," He agreed and got up, but before he left, he turned back. "Can we just...talk sometime?" For the first time, he felt like he wanted—needed to talk to someone to find some kind of closure he wasn't fully convinced even exist.

"Anytime." Y/N nodded and then he left, content, and actually ready to sleep.

Y/N on the other hand, wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. She reached for the note in her pocket, and on it said 'meet me at castle entrance once you're done' just hardly legible in Matt's unhinged, hurried writing. 

And with that, Y/N began stumbling her way through the castle, down flights of stairs, and into the front foyer. Tech was scattered all around, and there was Matt, in the middle of it all. Somehow he'd had the time to change because he was now in a warm hoodie and sweatpants, headphones covering his ears. Y/N happily took the opportunity to sneak up on him and pounce on his shoulders. Matt scrambled backwards in shock, nearly punching Y/N if she hadn't been fast enough to dodge it.

"Geeze, Y/N." He heaved. Y/N just laughed in response.

"What you got going on here?" She asked.

Back in the lounge, Keith came running back around the corner, panting violently. He had one other question that had been weighing on him all day, and now just gathered the confidence to ask. He wanted to see if she'd be willing to be his co-pilot in the red lion, because he knew the team would agree since they needed the extra help on missions. He also trusted her as a friend. But, his heart sank when he found the room to be empty, just a small piece of paper on the floor. Picking it up, his adrenaline began to run, causing him to make way for the foyer. What if it was some kind of trap? He knew Matt was a good person, but Keith knew better than to trust anyone.

"Well, since we're the first humans on this planet, I thought I'd take the time to chart the stars." He said, looking out to massive open doors before them. It was a calm, what must have been a  summer night on Arus, and the breeze was soft and welcoming.

"But, to our misfortune, the rain is about to start. So we're stuck in here." He giggled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's ok!" Y/N laughed. "I'm sure there's still stuff to do."

"Yeah, there is!" Matt said excitedly, dragging her down to sit beside him in the midst of the technology. "You're good at drawing I've heard, and I'm not, so would you mind helping me with the charts?"

"Sure!" Y/N agreed, taking a rough few pieces of paper from Matt.

"Those are them. It'd just be really nice if they looked...better." He giggled.

"Consider it done!" Y/N said, reaching for a new piece of paper and copying everything he had already drawn, just in a neater fashion. The rain had now fully arrived and fell down outside. It tapped the stone walkway outside the castle doors lightly and the fresh smell reminded Y/N of Aturdir.

"Check this out," Matt whispered, leaning over a little too far and shoving Y/N's shoulder, but he didn't dare move. "Every night, it changes. It's not a constant like earth's stars which shift as we move around the sun. But it's always in the same order, just like..."

Matt began to ramble, but Y/N didn't mind. His voice mixed with the rain falling outside, and his warm presence, was nearly enough to send Y/N off to sleep.

From the top of the stairwell, Keith stood with a heavy heart. This definitely wasn't a trap Y/N had walked into. He still wanted to ask about having her help in the Red Lion, but he didn't want to bother the two working away. Matt sit there, leaning against Y/N as he explained things almost beyond imagination. Y/N looked at peace, in comfort, something he hadn't yet really seen when she was around the others. He'd finally gathered the confidence to ask her to join him on all of their next missions, but the chance was slipping away. But, he realized, maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was better she and Matt continued to work together. 

"I should probably try and go get some sleep," Y/N laughed lightly as she set down the now finished maps of the stars. "See you in the morning."

"Hey, wait up!" Matt said as he scrambled to shut down all of the tech laid out across the floor. "I'll walk you to your room." He skipped up a couple of the steps to meet her.

"It's ok. Plus, your room is kinda, that way." Y/N raised a brow and pointed down the hall to the left where Matt's room was located. "And mine is that way."

Matt rolled his eyes and grabbed Y/N's shoulder, directing her down the right hall. "Whatever. Walking can't hurt me."

"You're so lucky your room is in this wing," Matt began, sighing a little. "All of the ones along here face out to the water. Mine faces those disintegrating bridges."

"You don't like the bridges?" Y/N teased, finally stopping outside of her room. "I think they're quite nice to look at!"

The boy rolled his eyes and placed an arm on the frame of the domed metal door. "Mind if I come take a look?"

"Maybe tomorrow. Go to sleep." Y/N pushed his shoulder and he stumbled back.

"Ah, please? I let you in my room." He pouted but Y/N stood her ground. She might have let him in if she wasn't in dire need of sleep. 

"Hey, I never asked, what sort of stuff do you do for fun?" He scrunched his face up.

Y/N raised a brow in slight amusement. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you got to see what I do tonight. Now I want to know what you do!" He tried to step forwards, but Y/N held her ground. She knew he was just trying to squeeze his way into the room so he could quite literally find a spot on the bed and stare out into space for hours.

"I tie rockets to the back of my bike, remember? Shiro has probably already told you what I do for fun." Y/N rolled her eyes.

"Not really..." Matt pursed his lips, trying to think of one activity Y/N enjoyed, but Shiro hadn't really covered that.

"5 a.m. castle doors, and you'll find out!" Y/N laughed, pushing his shoulder teasingly. "Now go to sleep, Matt."

"Alright." He threw his hands up defensively with a smirk.

Y/N waited until he finally made his way around the corner where he was out of sight, after having looked back at least five times.