Work Text:
The Castle of Lions, the home of the Paladins of Voltron came into view. The white and blue shimmering ship was a welcomed sight after a long day of fighting till they couldn’t anymore.
Niki and Jack had proposed they stationed the ship on Planet Arus– where the blue lion had first taken them and started this whole adventure. They needed to do some repairs somewhere safe and secluded. The team had readily agreed, missing the peace that came with the colorful planet.
The lions each landed in front of the castle, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. The ground shook, plumes of dust kicking up in the air before settling again.
The red lion opened its hatch first, Wilbur stomping out angrily. “Jesus, Tommy– why did you get in the way? I almost had that sentry!” He aggressively took his helmet off. “The damned thing almost got Phil because of you!”
The black lion opened its hatch to reveal Phil, taking his helmet off slowly. His face was tired and weary. “It’s alright, Will. He was just trying to help.” Phil looked over to the yellow lion expectantly as Techno stepped out calmly, helmet under his arm. Not long after, Tubbo came trudging out of the green lion, rubbing his eyes.
“Help? He almost got you killed!”
“Hey, leave Tommy alone! He was trying to save your ass!” Tubbo said, exhaustion wearing his last nerves.
“He’s right. Leave the kid alone, Wilbur,” Techno replied gruffly. “We’re all tired. Let’s just get inside and rest. The princess and Jack are probably waiting on us.” Which was Techno for, ‘ I want to get washed up and finish baking with Niki since we were so rudely interrupted by another mission. Fuck you, Zarkon .’
Phil nodded, patting Wilbur on the back. “You know he looks up to you, Toms is doing his best.”
Wilbur released a breath, unclenching his fists. “Yeah, I know. You’re right.”Phil smiled, giving the brunette a reassuring squeeze.
Tubbo yawned. “Come on out, Tommy! I still have to finish running diagnostics on that little Galran robot we ‘napped!”
When no one responded, Techno grumbled, walking over to the blue lion whose hatch was still closed tight. He knocked on the blue metal. “Come on, kid! We’re all tired and sweaty! And I have to redye my hair before the galaxy finds out I’m related to Wilbur!”
They all stood in silence when the blue lion just stared blankly down at them, not giving up their blue paladin for nothing. Techno was about to threaten to come up there and get him himself when the hatch finally opened, revealing a stumbling, exhausted Tommy-shaped suit of armor.
“Not a kid,” He mumbled. “Just turned seventeen, prick.”
Techno rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, get on down here.”
Tommy took his helmet off, and Phil noticed how much the action seemed to hurt him. The quick pinch of pain in his face before he smoothed it out set off his fatherly instincts.
“Are you alright, Tommy?” Phil asked, leaving Wilbur to check on the youngest of their team. Tommy tried to straighten his posture, ready to wave the older off, but even that forced him to bite his tongue before he cried out in pain.
Wilbur looked up at Techno, eyebrows furrowed. Techno and Tubbo had mirroring expressions of concern. Something was wrong. “Tommy, buddy, you alright?” Tubbo asked.
Tommy bit his lip, sweat plastering his blond curls to his forehead. “Uhm, you know how the sentries had these weird shitty purple glowy swords this time?” He asked.
Wilbur raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Uh, yeah? I think we all noticed the ‘weird shitty purple glowy swords,’ Tommy.”
“Great, so, do we know if they happened to be,” Tommy winced. “Poisonous, at all?”
“What do you mean, mate?” Phil asked. “Did something happen?”
Tommy groaned. “Techno, do me a favor and hold onto Wilbur.” Techno obliged without question.
“Hey, what the fuck?” Wilbur said. Tubbo snickered.
Tommy hummed. “Tighter, please.” Techno tightened his grip.
Phil sighed. “I don’t think this is the time for you two to be picking on each other, and Techno, stop entertaining it.”
“No, 'cause I know Wilbur’s gonna kill me for what I’m about to say. Keep him there, Tech.” Tommy said.
“You two are on the verge of slaughtering each other every other day. What’s different this time?” Tubbo grinned.
Wilbur snorted. “Not true, let me go!”
“Just tell us, Toms,” Phil said.
Before Tommy could open his mouth to explain, a beep came in from Phil’s comm. A small hologram of Niki came up, her pink altean markings glowing impatiently. “What is taking you guys so long? Jack and I have already set up the med bay for you!”
Tommy groaned, tired of being interrupted. “Will was about to get bitch slapped by one of the sentries with their weird purple sword, so I shoved him out of the way cause I thought I could shoot them in time! But instead, the asshole slashed my back and gave me this !” He turned around, revealing an ugly, jagged scar that was left behind. Blood standing proudly against what you could see of Tommy's increasingly paling skin. How the sentry managed to penetrate the armor? No one had any idea.
Tommy wasn’t done. “And I’m eighty percent sure the thing was poisoned because my head is dizzy! I can’t see straight, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to pass out! And–” He bit his tongue, face twisting, and suddenly, the ground was covered in Tommy’s lunch.
The team blinked, Niki’s hologram looking at the ground in disgust. Then, everyone dissolved into chaos.
“Tommy, what the hell?” Wilbur said, fighting against Techno’s hold to get to the blond.
“Mate, shit, come on! We have to get you to a cyropod!” Phil said, bending down and trying to scoop Tommy onto his back. “Tubbo, help me out!”
“Kid, when you’re all healed, I’m killing you!” Techno said though worry was evidently etched into his features.
“Not if I don’t get to him first! Which I will!” Tubbo growled, huffing as he pushed Tommy onto Phil’s back.
Niki’s hologram turned around, yelling for Jack to ‘ get a cyropod ready! Tommy was being a self-sacrificial idiot again !’
—
Tommy had passed out almost as soon as they got inside. Hurriedly, they stripped him of his armor, cutting away the light blue shirt beneath. Jack was cursing as he looked over the wound.
For all she was worth, Niki was trying her best not to cry. It’d only been a few months since the Paladins of Voltron were formed, but she had grown to care for this crew more than they’d ever know. They were all she had since her planet had been taken away from her all those years ago. She specifically held a soft spot for the youngest, Tommy. She was sure the rest of them could say the same. Even if some didn’t often act like it.
They spent the next thirty minutes watching over Tommy worriedly, going between cursing him and begging that he’d be okay. Jack stitched him up as best he could, the scar too deep and large to be left to heal alone.
“That’s the best I’ll be able to do for now,” Jack said. “We’ll have to let the cyropod do the rest.”
“How long until he wakes up?” Tubbo asked.
“What about that poison he mentioned? Was he just delirious from blood loss, or was it some new poison the Galrans made?” Techno asked feverishly.
Phil put his hands on the two boys, pulling them away from Jack. Who was cornered with his hands up, “Give Jack some room. He can’t know anything for sure.”
“Phil is right. We’ve never seen anything like this,” Niki said, looking at Jack for confirmation. “But trust that we will look into it, but the cyropod should heal Tommy all the same.”
The crew looked at Tommy, his body marred with scars they all shared, sweat blooming all over his shaking body.
Wilbur stood in the hallway, separated from everyone else. His lips pursed and arms crossed. His eyes trailed the blue paladin's sleeping form. His nails dug into his arms.
The crew helped bring Tommy to the cyropod, settling him inside gently. They all watched as the glass closed and sealed the boy away. The ever-present smile was now a pained frown. Wilbur took one last good look at Tommy’s face before the blue fog took it away.
Phil turned, rubbing his temples, worry and stress encouraging his headache. He looked up and caught Wilbur’s eye. Wilbur’s eyebrows shot up before schooling his expression into cool nonchalance, looking away and leaving the room.
Phil sighed again. He did that a lot these days. He almost jumped when he felt a hand settle on his shoulders. “Oh, hey, Tech,” He said, looking up to meet their yellow paladin.
“It’s not your fault, you know,” Techno said.
“I know,” Phil shook his head. “But I think you-know-who thinks it’s his.”
Tubbo chimed in. “He thinks everything’s his fault, but you know how it is. As soon as Tommy wakes up–”
“–He’ll run right back to Wilbur like nothing happened. They’ll be okay.” Techno finished.
“I hope you guys are right. Those two are a mess,” Phil chuckled.
Jack walked over, peering at the tube of purple liquid they had extracted from Tommy’s wound. Likely the poison Tommy was talking about. “I knew that as soon as I laid eyes on the boy and his round ears.” Jack squinted at the paladins. “I still think those are weird.”
Niki swatted at Jack. “Apologies, Princess, but can you blame me?” Niki rolled her eyes.
“Stop worrying so much, Phil. They’ll sort themselves out. Standing here won’t do anything to speed that up.” Niki smiled kindly. “Now, everyone, go wash up. You all smell of dirty sewage and sweat!”
“Hey! You try fighting robots with deadly weapons in metal suits, princess !” Tubbo mocked, squawking when Niki smacked him.
“Just because I am a princess does not mean I do not know how to fight!”
“I never said that, lady! Jeez, you hit hard!”
Phil smiled, headache slowly fading. It’d be alright. He looked back at the dim hallway where Wilbur was a few minutes prior. Yes, it would be okay.
Turning, Phil grinned. “Tubbo, stop mocking the princess and go bathe! Gods know we smell like rats!”
—
Tommy opened his eyes blearily as the cyropod opened with a hiss. “Aw, man.” He groaned, stumbling out. “What bitch-face almost killed me this time?”
He peered around the room, looking for anyone nearby. The halls were empty, the coach hosted no one, and– oh. The lights were off. It was nighttime. Grunting, Tommy slogged his way to the dorms. The cyropod may have healed whatever injury he had this time, but it wasn’t a replacement for a shower and bed.
—
Wilbur flipped and turned, sleep evading him tauntingly. Every time his eyes would finally begin to droop, his mind and his muscles relaxed– the image of Tommy’s pained form disappearing behind the cooling fog of the cyropod flashed in his head.
This was probably the fourth time tonight, not that he was counting. Wilbur’s body felt like it was mending with the mattress, his mind drowsy and his eyelids barely able to open. Finally , he thought.
Tommy’s brows furrowed in pain, his mouth twitching as sweat dripped from his forehead onto his cheek, almost like a tear. His skin too pale, and his eyebags too prominent.
Wilbur’s eyes shot open, meeting the pale blue glow of the ship's interior lighting. He felt like punching a wall. Slowly, he sat up, his light yellow shirt (stolen from Techno) clinging to his body uncomfortably from the sweat.
He didn’t understand. He’d been about ready to pass out in the shower just a few hours before. Hiding his face in his hands, his knees against his chest, he breathed out in frustration.
That was a lie. Wilbur knew why he couldn’t sleep. It was because of Tommy.
Ever since becoming Paladins of Voltron, everyone had become like family to each other. After all, they were all they had. Specifically, Tommy and Wilbur.
Back on earth, at the Galaxy Garrison, Wilbur and Tommy were always so close, yet so far. Tommy had invented this rivalry in his head over who could be the best fighter-class pilot. Wilbur had paid him no attention whatsoever, yet somehow, Tommy was always right there. It had annoyed him to no end, but when they became a team, everything changed.
Tommy was like his little brother now. Wilbur had been there to help with his nightmares, his loneliness, and his feelings of worthlessness when Tommy thought the team would be better off without him.
The two had become a dynamic duo. Rarely to be seen without the other. Then, one night, when Tommy couldn’t sleep because of a particularly bad nightmare, he’d gone to Wilbur. The brunette, too tired to understand what was going on, allowed Tommy to climb into bed with him. Next thing he knew, Tommy had practically moved in with him.
Wilbur had gotten so used to having the warmth of another body beside him that he didn’t know what to do without it.
He looked around the room. The fairy lights that Tommy had added on his third week of bunking with Wilbur were off, giving way to shadows and darkness. The Tommy-sized mattress indent glaring at Wilbur.
Decidedly sure he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, Wilbur grabbed his pillow and pressed the glowing blue button beside his door. The metal opened with a click and slid open to reveal a blond boy just about to open the door himself.
They blinked at each other for a moment. Tommy’s hair was slightly moist, his face red from the steamy shower, and dressed in his cow pj’s that Wilbur had bullied him for when he first saw him.
“Uh, hey, Will–”
Wilbur pulled him inside and immediately hugged him close. The door slid close behind him. Tommy let out an instinctive oof as his face was stuffed into the older’s chest.
“Well, this was unexpected,” Tommy mumbled.
Wilbur pushed him away to arm's length, looking him over. Turning him around and patting his back, feeling for the scar that plagued his thoughts.
Tommy snorted, smacking his hands. “Hey man, that tickles!”
“Never do that again.”
Tommy quirked his brow, realizing Wilbur’s face was deathly serious. “Do what?”
“You know what I mean!” Wilbur said.
“I, in fact, don’t know what you mean,” Tommy rolled his eyes. “That’s why I’m asking.”
Wilbur growled. “You said you only got hurt because you were trying to keep me safe from a sentry, Tommy.”
Oh, that’s why I was in the cyropod . Tommy had stumbled out of the pod and straight to his dorm to shower and change, his mind blank and foggy from the drug-induced sleep. He wasn’t even thinking until he was met with Wilbur’s face just a minute ago.
“Oh.”
Wilbur resisted the urge to roll his eyes, afraid he would sprain something by how much he seemed to do that around Tommy.
“Yeah, oh .”
“I was just trying to help you out, Will. He was going to hurt you if I didn’t–”
“Tommy, you don’t worry about me! I’m supposed to protect you!”
Tommy ruffled. “Since when? We’re a team! We protect each other!”
“Toms–”
Wilbur was interrupted by Tommy pulling him to the bed. Wilbur was shoved in first, Tommy pushing him to his designated spot. Then, Tommy took his spot under the covers and huffed.
The two were silent for a while. Wilbur stared at the ceiling, his muscles relaxing again against his will. His body was no longer full of nerves now that Tommy was where he was supposed to be.
“It’s not your fault that I chose to save you from getting fucked up by that sentry, Will.”
“If I had been paying closer attention you wouldn’t have had to–”
“Will.”
They went silent again. The dark room carried their quiet voices throughout the room.
“It’s not your fault.”
“...”
“It’s not–”
“Okay, okay. I don’t want you to act as my personal therapist.”
“Then say it,” Tommy said.
“...It’s not my fault.” Wilbur breathed eventually.
Tommy smiled in victory, shuffling closer to Wilbur and burying his face into the crook of his neck. “Love you, Will.” The crew knew them to always be at each other's necks in competition, but what they didn’t see often, was that Wilbur and Tommy really did love each other.
A resounding banging came from the left of them, making them jump. “We get it, you’re brothers, you love each other so much! Now let the rest of us sleep!” Tubbo’s voice shouted.
“And stop hogging Tommy all the time! Next time he’s coming with me and Phil!” Techno’s gruff voice yelled.
Tommy cackled as Wilbur made a mental note to steal Tommy early tomorrow. His brother could have Tommy sometime next week. The two settled back down, hearts happy and content.
“I love you too, Sapphire,” Wilbur whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Tommy’s temple. Tommy’s face warmed at the nickname relating to his lion, burrowing closer to his found brother.
No longer insomnia’s favorite victim– Wilbur fell asleep easily. His arms wrapped around Tommy. And Tommy, no longer locked in a cold pod and instead safe in Wilbur’s warm arms, followed soon after.