"Hey," Matt began as he stumbled his way over tree roots, Y/N walking far more gracefully at his side. "Did you ever see me at the Garrison?"

Matt could tell that Y/N was trying her hardest not to let a smile creep up on her face. She went to speak a couple of times, but stopped herself because she was about to break into laughter.

"What?" Matt furrowed his brows.

Y/N let out a deep sigh and tried to collect herself. "Yeah, I did. Just once, though."

"Really?! When??" He looked to her in excitement, interested to hear about when she'd seen him and what she'd thought of him at the time. It was probably during one of the exams where most of the school was forced to watch, or while he gave presentations.

Y/N kicked a couple of rocks at her feet. "Do you remember that day before Christmas break when Iverson made your class play dodgeball?"

Matt pondered for a moment, shifting through his memories. "Yeah! And it turned out to be totally awesome because someone broke in and set off the sprinklers so everyone was slipping around—"

"That was me." Y/N snickered, a slight blush on her face.

"That was you?" Matt gaped, dropping his bag of wet clothes and shaking Y/N's shoulders. "THAT WAS YOU?!"

"Mhhm—" Y/N smiled mischievously and raised her chin proudly. "I was also the one who hit you in the head with the dodgeball. Sorry about that."

"You broke my glasses."

Y/N looked a little shocked. She didn't know that had happened. All she saw was the dodgeball fly at Matt's head and send him to the floor. "Hmm. I must have a good throw."

"Well, what'd you think of me when you saw me?" He shifted his weight, almost a little nervously.

Y/N thought for a second. "Umm—I wasn't sure what to think of scrawny, sixteen year old Matt Holt. I guess you were cute..."

That dampened Matt's pride a little. "Cute?" He whined. "What about badass, or unequivocally impressive?"

"Maybe that applies now, but not three years ago." Y/N ruffled his hair teasingly before taking off through the woods again. Matt scrambled to pick up his things and catch up. "You've come a long way, Holt."

Matt took that as a serious compliment and continued to walk with Y/N through the woods. He did his best to recover his memory from that day, and with time it became a little less fuzzy. Y/N still had the devious smirk she wore on her face that day she rifled a dodgeball between his eyes. She still had the same fiery, lively eyes. She still had the same unwavering personality, and made everyone around her happy. Back at the Garrison, it was a little more difficult, and pranks were what made people happy. But, here with the team, she could just be her warmhearted self and have the exact same effect on everyone as a slippery, impromptu dodgeball game would have.

With time, the pair found their way to the tallest tower in the city, and on the top floor, the rest of the team was there to welcome them.

"Listen, love the whole 'parters in crime thing' you've got going on, but don't you think matching outfits is a little extra?" Lance pointed between the two teasingly.

"We crash landed in a lake. So, unless you'd like us wearing our other clothes that smell like a deceased fish..." Matt stepped closer to Lance, beginning to open up the bag of clothes which had an awful smell concealed within.

"MATCHING CLOTHES IT IS!" Lance clamped his fingers over his nose, gagging. Everyone else in the room broke into laughter.

"Thanks for your help today, you two." Shiro wrapped his arms around his sister and held her tight. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"You did good Matt," He spoke as he broke away from the hug. "Your connection with the rebels is invaluable. Thanks."

Matt nodded, looking to Shiro in admiration. He'd always looked up to Shiro, and being told he'd done well by someone he thought so highly of meant a lot. His gaze which was locked on Shiro broke away when he felt an arm wrap around his side, completely throwing his heart in the blender. It felt like he was having a heart attack. Luckily for Matt, even though his mind was totally frozen, his arms instinctively wrapped around the body that held his. This was the first time Y/N had been the one to hug him. It felt different, but not a bad kind of different. A small smile broke free on his face as he rest his chin on the top of her head, looking right to Pidge who stared back contently. She was glad to finally see her brother with someone who cared about him back.

"Hate to crash the party, guys," Hunk suddenly spoke up nervously, his voice quavering. "But—uh, someone's at the door."

Everyone turned, but only Y/N and Matt recognized Olia, the captain of the rebel base. His stomach dropped.

"Is something wrong?" Matt's voice quavered as he looked to the captain.

"No," Olia spoke up, cautiously approaching the boy. "But Zarkon was not present on the ship which we destroyed today. It was nothing more than a decoy."

Everyone's hearts sank and they released deep sighs, but Olia stood firm. "I understand that this is not the most respectful time for me to interfere, but I have a question and we're leaving Olkarion soon."

Matt nodded, shifting weight and darting his gaze around.

"We really need you with us. Because of you, we've come closer than ever to defeating Zarkon, and your connection with Team Voltron has made coordinating our attacks extremely successful. Might you consider coming with us?" Olia stood with a deadpan face, but Matt knew she was nervous on the inside.

"I-I can't leave." He let out a sharp breath and looked to Shiro. "This is my family—and Y/N, I can't leave her now."

"I'm asking that both of you come, not just you. She was part of the reason we won this fight today. I understand that our accommodations are nothing like that of the castle of lions, nor is life as pleasant with us as it would be with the Princess. But, the sooner we defeat Zarkon the sooner you can return to that life." She poured all of her energy into convincing Matt and Y/N to leave with her.

For a moment, he considered saying yes. Truly was convinced he was going to agree. But, then he looked to Pidge who's eyes were glassy. He loved his sister. She'd just found him after being separated for over two years, and he was about to throw all of that away? Go disappear into space and hope he saw her again? And Shiro, his face displayed the same kind of hurt as Pidge's did. They'd been through a lot together. He could't leave his sister and best friend.

"I'm sorry, I can't. We can't." Matt refused the offer, no matter how much his heart yearned for the adventure he knew would come along with working with the rebels full time. "I have something planned back on Arus."

"Would you take some time to consider—"

"No." Matt made his position clear. "I will still work with the rebel forces, but I can't commit to living and fighting with you full time. Team Voltron is my family, and I cannot abandon that."

Olia wanted to rebuke, to tell him that working with the rebels full time wasn't abandoning his friends. "I respect your decision. I'll work with my team to develop a better communications system between the castle of lions and our bases so we can speak daily."

Matt smiled softly and Olia left, brushing past an Olkari on the way out.

As Olia left, the storm which darkened the sky broke and the sun began to once again shine. The room became a golden kind of colour, the setting sun hitting the walls at the right angle. Florescent green lights wove through the architecture like veins, and the place had an overall pleasant feeling to it. It was sort of like an oasis considering everything else going on in the universe. It was obvious to Matt now why this place was chosen to house refugees.

"So, where to now?" Pidge broke the groups silent admiration for the room.

Everyone looked to Shiro. "I say back to Arus."

It was perfect on Arus. As the team arrived, they could immediately feel the sun warning their skin and the breeze off of the ocean.

Matt couldn't wait to get in the water. And so he did just that. The boy plunged himself into the water without wasting a single second, the rest of the team following his lead.

Here, safely back on Arus, Matt was content. He could live in the moment forever. But, he knew there was still tough times ahead. Zarkon was still out there, commanding a full fledged intergalactic war. Whatever happened, he'd be glad to have Y/N fighting at his side until the very end. 

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A/N: So, that's it for this fic I guess! Hope everyone enjoyed! (: