"Hey—woah!" Lance cried, reaching for her arms. "Are you ok?" He huffed, finally steadying her to her feet.

"I'm alright." She muttered, trying once again to stand on her own. That was when Lance noticed the bandage on her lower leg beginning to turn red.

"WooahhAH-woah-wo—blood." He cringed a little, squinting his eyes. Never had he realized that blood bothered him until now. Unsure of what do to, he glanced up and down the hall.

"Lance?" Keith called out, and for once in his life he was glad to hear the dark haired boys voice.

"Over here!" Matt hollered back, earning a confused and apprehensive glance from Y/N. "It's ok, he's a friend." He reassured.

"What happened?" Keith lowered himself down to examine the girls leg.

"It's just an old injury from training. Don't worry about it."

"You've lost a lot of blood. Lance, help me." Keith demanded, hauling one arm over his shoulder, lifting her up.

As they helped her limp down the hall, Keith couldn't help but ask questions. Lance was still queazy from the blood. And Matt was still as dazed as ever. Could this day get any more overwhelming?

"I'm guessing you're the Y/N everyone keeps mentioning?" Keith asked.

The girl, though tired and weak, sent a small smile. "That's me."

"They say you're pretty adventurous and one of the best fighters on Aturdir. Is that true?"

"Maybe the adventurous part, but I can't say the fighting part is." She admitted weakly.

"If you're uh—up to it, do you think you'd be able to teach me a thing or two?" He asked, the dark haired boys face flushing a little.

If Y/N didn't know any better, she would have assumed Keith's flushed face had nothing to do with any nervousness brought on by the question he'd just asked. But more so, the hand of Lance which was crossed over Keith's over her shoulder. 

"Sur—"

Before she could finish, Lance piped up. "I've already got dibs, mullet!"

"I can teach both of you," She stifled a laugh. "What weapon do you use?"

"A sword." He admit proudly.

"Yeah, a dinky, sharp stick that you lose like all the time." Lance muttered.

"So you are already somewhat knowledgeable in hand-to-hand combat?" Y/N asked.

Keith nodded. "Not nearly as much as your people, but enough to keep myself alive. Unalike Lance here..."

The brown haired boy rolled his eyes and grumbled. He was not in the mood to fight with Keith. Ever.

After what seemed like forever, the group reached the med-bay. "Princess!" Keith called out, grabbing her attention immediately.

"Oh, Y/N!" She cried, racing over and taking the girl in her arms.

"You remember me?" Y/N was taken aback.

"You two... know each other?" Matt asked.

"Remember you? Of course! Y/N saved all of our lives a few months ago. The blade of Marmora helped take the shields on the Galra ship down, but Y/N was on the inside with her people. She executed the Blade's plans. Since she is smaller and quieter than the rest of the Galra, they snuck her into the control room."

Everyone stood in disbelief. Even Coran looked to her with utmost shock. This girl saved their lives by risking her own.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lance piped up. She deserved credit.

"I asked Allura not to tell anyone. If Zarkon found out, I would be easily hunt down. Besides, it wasn't just me. It was the Blade and my people working together to protect you. No one person deserves all of the credit on such a mission. Everyone risked their lives."

Matt stared admiringly at the girl. Strong, brave, humble. He respected her.

"It should only take a couple of hours for your leg to heal." Allura took Y/N's weight from Lance and Keith and steadied her.

"Allura, don't expend your resources on me. Part of our code—"

"States that allowing for wounds to heal naturally strengthens you. I understand, Y/N. But what should happen if an emergency arises where your people need to fight but you are unfit?" Allura pulled out her motherly instincts and Y/N cowered, knowing she had no other option but to accept the Princess' care.

"Thank you." She said softly before being pressed back into the pod, drifting off to sleep.

"Keith, would you please keep watch of her until she wakes?"

The raven haired boy nodded back, settling down on the floor.

"Wha—hey! I can keep watch too!" Lance cried out desperately. "With Keith." He added under his breath.

"Hunk needs your help in the kitchen, go!" She commanded to the boy, and just like Y/N, he knew there was no fighting it.

"You too, Matt!" She ordered. Begrudging, he sauntered off towards the kitchen with Lance. He didn't want to cook. He didn't want to leave Y/N. Despite how hard he tried to block her from his thoughts, he just couldn't do it. It felt like it would be centuries before she was better and he could talk to her again. That was, if he ever mustered the ability to actually look her in the eye and have a normal conversation.

As Lance dished out food to all of the Aturdiries, his normal witty, flirtatious demeanour was non-existent. Sure, there were other girls amidst the group, but they were older and none of them were Y/N. She was across the castle, and was also the reason he was still alive. Even Hunk and Pidge were baffled to see him handing out food emotionlessly to the girls who crossed his path. He just didn't seem to care anymore.

"Lance, what's gotten into you?" Shiro placed a hand on the boys shoulder.

"Hmmph?" He looked up, a little bit dazed. "Nothing. Thinking about how much I hate Keith's hair."

"What's gotten into you too, Matt?" Pidge smacked her brothers arm who seemed to be as equally out of it as Lance was.

Then a little shadow in his peripheral caught Matt's attention. He snapped his neck around to find Y/N and Keith, her arm slung over his shoulder as he helped her walk.

Everyone watched as Lance and Matt perked up. "I think that's what's gotten into them." Pidge snickered.

"Hey, Matt? Got a girlfriend? What's her name?" She joked.

Matt's face went stone cold, almost defensive. No one had seen him like that before. "Her name is Y/N, and she's the reason you guys are all alive."

Shiro and Hunk's mouths fell agape in shock and Pidge raced towards her. "Are you serious?!"

Pidge and Lance slid into one of the tables just as Y/N and Keith did. She still wore the same clothes, but her face looked far more lively. Matt was unlucky enough to be the slowest of the bunch and had to drag a chair over from a separate table to sit down.

"Hey! I'm Pidge! Matt was saying you saved us a while back?"


Y/N looked to Pidge and shrugged a little. "My people and the Blade saved you. I played a minor role."

"Major role. I think your English is rusty." Lance winked causing Y/N to raise a brow.

"And yours is obnoxious." Keith snapped. He and Lance snarled at each other.

"Well—" Y/N awkwardly broke the tension at the table. "I think I'm well enough to train, how about you guys?"

Everyone at the table nodded, and before Y/N could stand, a large hand rest on her shoulder and pressed her back into her seat. "Not before you eat." A male voice forced, laying out a plate in front of her.

Y/N sighed in aggravation. Matt's heart stopped for a second, afraid of who the heck this guy might be.

"This is my training partner, stay away from him. He's a pain in the ass."

"Nice job keeping the whole 'kindness' presentation up." Y/N's partner mocked and Y/N smacked at him, sending him off with laughter.

Y/N tried to eat the food as quickly as possible, but Matt could tell her heart just wasn't in it. He didn't blame her. She'd been through a lot.

Once she finished, she jumped up, ready to go. Keith was surprised she didn't go talk to her own people more, but that didn't matter. He wanted to learn anything he could from her.

On their way to the training deck, Pidge seemed to have the same questions as everyone else. "Hey, Y/N? If you don't mind me asking, why are you hanging out with us and not your own people?"

Y/N stifled a laugh. "I see them everyday. I'd rather meet some new people." She admitted, smiling lightly. For a mere split second, Matt caught her warm glance, heat erupting in his cheeks. "Plus, I'm not sure they'll notice I'm gone anyways."

Keith saw his chance to jump in. "Why?"

"I got sent to Aturdir. I didn't have much of a choice. Everyone else sent there went through a difficult application process and was chosen. They sort of see me as... I don't know. But they use me for all of the most dangerous missions." She admitted, face laden with shame.

"So you didn't have a choice that day on Zarkon's ship?" Pidge asked sadly.

Y/N shook her head. "Not that I minded, because it's my job. But, I am painfully aware of my disposability in their eyes."

Everyone fell silent. In each of their lives, they could relate a little bit to her pain. "Anyways," she piped up. "The past is the past! Let's train!" She said excitedly, running onto the training deck.

Over the next few hours, the kids laughed and played, eventually being joined by Hunk and Coran. Allura and Shiro were likely still off conversing with the Aturdirie. How the girl made everyone else around her so happy when Matt could see the very pain hidden behind her eyes, he had no idea. All he hoped is that they were doing the same for her. If things continued like this, he thought he might just try to convince Shiro and Allura to let her stay. It wasn't exactly his place, being a new recruit and all, but he could make up some excuse.

By the end of their session, Y/N had already seen improvements in everyones fighting. Keith was already pretty agile, but he sure proved he could be even more-so. She was impressed with everyone, especially Lance who refused to give up no matter what. Pidge proved to be unyielding and sneaky, Hunk unmovable and Coran entirely unpredictable. Matt, on the other hand, seemed like he had a lot of potential. Y/N knew he could fight, especially with a staff, but he just didn't seem all that in it today.

"Hey, Y/N, we're going to watch a movie tonight if you'd like to join!" Pidge said happily.

A movie? She thought. The girl hadn't seen a film since she was on earth. She'd always relied upon meteor showers late at night as her entertainment. "Y-yeah!" She stuttered happily.

At this point, she was glad to be able to escape from her people. No one would really care if she disappeared for a few more hours, even the night. She always did back on Aturdir anyways.

"Awesome! Meet us in the main hall you came in this morning at 10:00 sharp." Pidge exclaimed. "For the time being, you can hang out with Matt!" She pushed her flustered brother towards Y/N and raced off, snickering.

"The Paladins must discuss some issues regarding Zarkon in the control room, but like Pidge said, we will see you soon! Feel free to continue training or go see your people." Coran said softly before signalling Hunk to drag off Keith and Lance who didn't want to leave. Y/N didn't seem to mind, but Hunk still felt bad for abandoning her.

"Bye!" She smiled wide before turning away. On the floor, she noticed Lance's blaster, a smirk rising on her face. She picked it up and tuned to Matt, the fire in her Y/E/C eyes slightly terrifying him.

"What do you say we take out some bots?"

"I sure hope you know how to use that gun—" Matt started, but before he could stop her, two large robots rose from the floor and she began pursuing them.

"I'll learn." She flashed a smile his way and then charged for the bot. This girl was awesome, and Matt now knew, he couldn't let her get away.