"You know," Matt stifled a laugh. The trip they were about to embark on back towards the castle was going to take a while, and he couldn't stand the silence. "Shiro used to talk about you all the time. Everyday, actually. He worried about where you might be, what mess you'd gotten yourself into, or where in the universe you might be."

    Y/N cringed at the thought. "I don't even want to know what embarrassing stories he's told you."

    "Hey," Matt smiled, reaching for her shoulders. "He's told me a lot of great things about you."

    "Hard to believe, but I'll take your word for it." Y/N shied away, something Matt began to realize she did quite often. For someone so strong and brave, she sure had her moments of true timidness. He was sure he didn't look any more put together in her eyes, with his messy hair and crooked smiles. The ship jolted and Matt automatically reached for Y/N who nearly toppled out her seat.

    "How is your leg feeling?" He asked, pointing to the blue and purple mess of a once mangled leg.

    "It's fine." Y/N tried to push away the topic as she reached for the video com system. She powered it up, and on the screen appeared Lance and Keith.

    "Y/N!" Lance cried. "We lost you for a while back there!"

    "I know. The storm was pretty bad." She smiled weakly, but now that Pidge was back, her attention turned to the burning, aching pain in her leg. Her wince didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

    "How are you holding up?" Lance tilted his head in question, sadness and concern plastered on his face. "Is everything ok?"

    "Yeah, everybody's okay." Y/N looked to Matt and Pidge. Yet again, she dodged telling everyone how she felt, something Matt took notice to. But he already knew she was like this because Shiro had told him about her vulnerability dodging ways.

    "You don't look fine," Keith raised a brow. "When you get back, let me know if you need anything."

    Lance's mouth fell agape and he hit Keith's arm. "Let us know if you need anything!" He motioned to himself and then Keith, displaying that her care was a group effort. Or, it was just an excuse for him to spend more time with Keith. 

    To Y/N's right, Matt stiffened a little, being drawn into his thoughts. Now, Lance and Keith's bickering was beginning to bother him. Y/N laughed at their antics and the noise of it sent his mind backwards. He hardly knew Y/N, despite how close he felt to her purely from the stories Shiro told whilst they were locked up in the Galra prison. He would be lying if in all of his time in the Galra prison, he hadn't thought about her everyday. Which no, felt weird. Back then she was something in his imagination that he could think about to avoid thinking about his reality in the prison. But now she was real and sitting beside him. He, in a way, had fallen for this person in his daydreams based upon the stories he heard. Funny, how in a dark time like that, a girl Matt had only known through Shiro's words helped to keep him fighting. And now, here she was, right beside him.

    Out of impulse, Matt shut off the video com. The girl raised a brow, looking to Matt slightly confused.

    "Saving energy," He smiled sheepishly. "So... is Y/F/F still your favourite food?"

    Y/N sighed. "I'm going to kill him for everything he's told you." She threw her face into her hands in embarrassment. It was true, she and Shiro had been through a lot, but that was all before she was an Aturdirie, and was just a reckless kid. "And, yes. It is."

    "Like I said, none of it was bad." Matt giggled. "But I would suggest if you ever try attaching rockets to the back of your bike again, wear a helmet."

    "Uggggh," Y/N grumbled in defeat. Shiro sure had told Matt a lot.

    "Thank goodness Pidge hasn't told you storied about our childhood." Matt jested. He was glad, yet again, to find Y/N seemingly lighthearted, and taking well to his teasing.

    "Why?" Y/N smirked. "Is your past even stranger than mine?"

    "Mmmm," Matt pondered for a moment. "No, yours is pretty hard to beat. But I have my fair share of moments."

    "You've had more than your fair share, Matt." Pidge mocked as she landed her lion in the hangar of the castle. "Like the radioactive jellybeans?"

"PIDGE!" Matt began to scramble, throwing his shoe right at Pidge's head. She sounded back with an aggravated grunt and Matt huffed, leaning back in his chair. "We don't talk about that."

"I've never seen more damage done to a toilet." Pidge saw her chance and spat out the words as quickly as she could. Y/N's face completely fell as she turned to look to Matt who now had his head in his hands, even his neck flushed a bright red. Y/N burst out in laughter trying to keep herself steadied in her chair. Despite the awful embarrassment, Matt couldn't help but raise his head and smile. He'd never heard Y/N laugh this much yet. He felt a familiar warmth seeping into his chest, feeling as if he might melt away any moment.

    The sun on Arus was setting on the horizon, and it really was a beautiful sight. Something Matt found himself completely engrossed in. After so much time aboard one of the Galra ships inside of a prison, he'd forgotten what the sun on his face felt like, even if it wasn't the earths sun. A smile pulled at Y/N's lips for a moment as she watched Matt take in the sight from the domed room of the castle.

Lance was the first to find the group of kids, clearing his throat as he entered, trying to break the stare Matt had locked on Y/N.

    "So, what do you guys say we get Y/N to teach us some new slick moves tonight?" The blue paladin piped up.

    Everyone seemed to smile in agreement except for Y/N, but she still nodded willingly. Matt took the long walk to the training deck as an opportunity to help Y/N, her arm over his shoulder. The training session went on just like the last, with lots of laughing and smiling, but Y/N's normal energy was missing and Allura could sense it. While everyone was paired off and fought one another, Allura pulled Y/N aside and sat her down.

    "Are you alright, Y/N? You do not seem to be well." She asked in concern.

    "I'm good," Y/N shrugged. "I think I'm just tired."

    A sing-song whistle grew louder as it came from behind Y/N, making Allura smile mischievously. Matt somehow managed to reach across Y/N's body from behind, grab her arm and pull her swiftly to a standing position. How he'd even gathered the confidence he wasn't sure. "I need help, c'mon."

    For the next while, Y/N pushed through the pain which began to radiate from her lower leg, laughing and smiling with Matt and Pidge. She taught them how to use a staff to de-arm an enemy, resulting in Matt getting a little too close a little too often, quite possibly for his own comfort. It wasn't long before Coran began to notice changes in the way Y/N walked. She was slow, and her gait uneven.

    "Alright paladins, time for a break!" He ensured he met eyes with Y/N and raised his brows. "Take some water!"

    "Hey, Pidge, I'm going to go rest up alright? I'll see you guys later." Y/N said quietly, Coran's eyes still locked on her menacingly. She knew he would make her rest, tranquilize her if needed.

    "Ok. Are you alright?"

    "Yeah! Just tired." Y/N ruffled Pidge's hair before turning towards the door. With each step, her body seized with agony and he could tell. 

Matt was overwhelmed with guilt. They'd spent so much time here on the training deck, laughing and having a good time that they hadn't stopped to consider that Y/N really was still hurt.

Matt ran up to her side, catching up to her with a weary smile. "Need a hand?"

He knew, just by the look on her face, that she wanted to say no. But he could also see she'd feel bad refusing his help. Maybe, had it been anyone else, she really would have said no. But she nod to him and let him help take some of her weight. Matt would have been lying to himself if he were to say he didn't feel he and Y/N found a sort of comfort in one another that they weren't used to feeling.

"You really didn't have to stick around so long, you know?" Matt spoke softly as he slowly walked  down the hall with Y/N. "We were all wrapped up having fun and didn't--"

The girls soft laugh made Matt stop speaking. "I would have left if I felt I needed to, Matt."

The very use of his name made a kind of nervousness rise in him. 

"I was having fun. I didn't want to leave." She reassured him.

"Ah, okay." Matt let out a sigh. "I was feeling really guilty about the idea that we were keeping you out and that maybe you weren't comfortable speaking up about wanting to leave."

"You have nothing to worry about. Rest assured I enjoyed every minute I was there." Y/N nudged him a little. "At first, it was a little overwhelming. But I realize now how lonely it was on Aturdir. Having other people around has been nice."

"Yeah, I understand that." Matt shrugged. "When Pidge first found me and brought me here I felt like I was ready to break, all of the time. But I'm used to it now and I don't think I'd trade it for anything."

Y/N slowed a little and so Matt did as well. He didn't mind the long, drawn out walk through he castle halls. 

"It's been even better with you here now," Matt said with a lack of confidence behind his voice. "So I'm not alone when they're doing their Voltron business and so I'm not feeling like the one unless part of the team.

"Matt, you're not useless." Y/N stifled a laugh in disbelief. It was hard to believe someone as smart and resourceful as him could ever feel like the brunt of a team. "So far from it, please never think that."

"For you, I'll do my best." He laughed with her, drawing her in a little closer to him, and rolled his eyes a little sarcastically. 

When the pair slowed to a stop at Y/N's door, she held back in a way Matt wasn't expecting. She took a deep breath and winced, which meant she was still in pain. But it wasn't just that. 

"I'll, uh--I'll be up for a while working on some stuff if you need anything." Matt helped her to the doorframe so she could use it for support instead of him. "Or if you want to talk--ah,--" He rubbed the back of his neck.

Y/N stared into the empty, cold room. Before, she didn't think much of it. Now, at least tonight, it didn't feel like a welcoming place she could rest. 

Hesitantly, she looked to Matt. He stood there, flustered and wide eyed, unsure of what to do. Y/N liked that about him. No matter how hard he tried, Matt wasn't one to really be able to hide just how human he really was.

"Would it be okay if I joined you?" She asked. "I won't bother--"

"Yes!" Matt stepped towards her quickly and once again took her arm over his shoulder. "I can show you some of the new tech Pidge and I have been working on!"

Y/N smiled and let out a soft laugh. 

Matt suddenly grew self conscious. "That is, if you want to hear about it. I know it can be kind of boring--"

"No, I'd love to."