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Lance sighed as he looked at the stars, his eyes drooping from exhaustion. Whatever planet they were on, wherever they were, at least the view was nice.
Everyone else was asleep, but Lance’s mind wouldn’t shut up long enough for him to even begin to wind down. His brain was buzzing with thoughts, jumping from question to question, and from conclusion to conclusion. Lance deviated himself from the group just in case the noise in his mind escaped through his ears. He had his back to them, and brought his knees to his chest.
Lance didn’t know why he was so stressed and upset. Keith is finally back, and the real Shiro is finally back. The team is whole once again. Everyone’s home.
But something in Lance’s chest ached. He felt something missing. He thought maybe he felt homesick for the Castle of Lions. That was his home away from home, and now it’s gone. A tear slipped onto Lance’s cheek, and he sniffled as he rested his chin on his knees. Not moving his head, he looked up at the night sky. He tried to shove away the numerous thoughts in his head, only to have them completely engulf his mind.
Lance heard footsteps shuffling behind him. He bolted upright and whipped around. It was Keith. The other boy raised both of his hands and his eyebrows in a gesture of amusement and surrender. As Keith got closer, he realized that Lance had been crying, and quickly changed his body language. Lance looked away quickly, wiping a few more tears away as Keith sat down to the right of him.
Neither of them said anything for a minute. Keith sighed and looked at the stars, and Lance sighed and looked at Keith. The longer hair, the new, calmer energy, the muscles, the cheek scar, the more prominent jaw line… Keith looked like he had definitely grown older in the few months he was away. Keith turned to look at Lance, and Lance was taken aback. It was almost like someone entirely new was beside him. Keith looked the same, but so different.
“Hey,” Keith greeted, a soft, comforting smile tugging at his lips. Lance sniffled and didn’t reply for a moment.
“Long time no see,” Lance muttered, sniffling once more as he sat up to face the other. More tears made their way down his face, but he didn’t care enough to sweep them away.
“Not to bombard you with questions, but… what even happened on that mission?” Lance questioned, his voice slightly more firm. Keith sighed and leaned forward some.
“I met my mother, and we went on a mission to search for the enriched quintessence that created Ranveig’s super-weapon,” Keith started. Lance braced himself for a long story, and crossed his legs as he turned to face Keith.
“We had to go a part of the galaxy known as the quantum abyss,” Keith continued.
“Quantum abyss? What’s that?” Lance questioned, a sniffle following the short silence after his question hung in the air for a brief moment.
“It’s a… part of the galaxy where dense neutron stars orbit even larger dark stars, which causes nearby planets and celestial bodies to be torn and pulled into different directions,” Keith explained. Lance raised both eyebrows in reply,
“Wow, sounds… crazy,” Lance responded, taking a deep breath before Keith continued.
“The concentration of massive objects like that creates weird effects on gravitational waves, and even space-time itself,” Keith paused to look at Lance, who looked like he was slowly starting to piece together why Keith looked so different. Keith could almost see the puzzle pieces fitting together in Lance’s brain. Slowly, but surely. Keith took a breath and decided to help the process along by providing more context.
“Our ships got too close to the space-time drop offs, and we had to abandon them. They had the coordinates to guide us through the quantum abyss, so we had to come up with a new plan,” Keith continued, looking up to the stars. Lance did the same, waiting for Keith’s comforting voice to fill the air again.
“After we abandoned ship, something happened. Time collapses that close to dark stars, and me and Krolia both had… visions. It looked like an explosion,” Keith’s breath hitched in his throat as he remembered the vivid images that passed through his head.
“I saw how she met my dad, and I saw that my dad died, though I don’t remember… why or how he died. I also saw why she left us behind. She left to protect me,” Keith spoke slowly, as if the information was brand new, and hitting him all over again. Lance turned away from the stars to look back to Keith.
“For the new plan on how to get through… we found these… huge creatures. They looked almost like whales. They could get through the quantum abyss without being affected by the pull, because they created their own atmosphere,” Keith continued, his voice filling with wonder as he remembered that moment.
“We also discovered the red planet where the hidden Altean colony Lotor created was,” Keith added after a brief silence. Lance’s brows furrowed as he remembered hearing the story first hand from an Altean that lived there: Romelle.
“We stayed there, on the creature’s back. It moved really slowly, and with space-time being warped, we experienced two years worth of time, while time continued on as normal for all of you,” Keith finished. Lance’s eyes widened and he quickly turned to face Keith.
“Two years?” Lance gaped in a quiet voice, being careful not to be too loud. Keith’s brows turned downwards a little as he nodded. Lance looked confused, upset, and lost.
“H-how?” He whispered, looking at his hands as he messed with them in his lap.
“Space-time was affected where we were. It didn’t even feel like two years. It felt more like a couple of months,” Keith added. Lance adjusted his hair with a free hand, and wiped away a fresh tear from his cheek.
“Two years is a long time,” Lance whispered, his voice wavering. Keith felt his heart ache in his chest at seeing Lance look so broken.
“Yeah, it is,” Keith replied softly.
“Two years passed for you, when you were only away from us for a few months,” Lance stammered, looking up at Keith with glassy, wide eyes.
“That’s insane,” Lance breathed, a hiccup-like sob quickly following his words. Keith looked down to his lap, messing with his Blade’s outfit.
“I-” Lance paused, causing Keith to abruptly look back up at him.
“I feel like you’re an entirely new person. I feel like I don’t even know you anymore,” Lance fretted, turning to him. There was a pause as Keith thought for a second.
“Maybe you can get to know me all over again,” Keith suggested with a soft smile. Lance paused, and sniffled as a small smile tugged at his lips.
“I’d like that,” Lance laughed lightly. Keith smiled again.
“I’m not that different from before,” Keith began. “Just bigger, and with longer hair and a scar on my cheek.”
“You seem… calmer. More confident,” Lance commented.
“I was angry before I knew why my mom really left. I thought she just ditched me and left me for nothing. I was angry,” Keith began, drawing a breath.
“Me and Krolia grew close on our mission. She told me stories about my dad, along with the visions, and I learned more about her. She left to protect me, and I know that now,” Keith continued, a smile tugging at his lips.
“That’s why I was so short-tempered. I was angry at her, and I was angry at myself for not knowing why I was left behind. Now I know, and… in a way… I made peace with my past,” Keith smiled.
“Shiro took me under his wing and enrolled me in the Garrison so I didn’t have to deal with the foster home anymore. It was nice. He adopted me as his younger brother, and he never gave up on me, no matter what,” Keith sighed. He was silent for a minute.
“After hearing her side, it all started to make sense to me. I’m not mad anymore,” Keith finished. Lance smiled softly, but it quickly fell.
“Aside from that, I promise you I’m still the same Keith you knew,” Keith assured. “I’m still sort of a hothead, I’m just not as angry anymore.”
“This is… a lot… it’s gonna take some time,” Lance stuttered after a short silence.
“I know that. It’s gonna take time for everybody,” Keith comforted. The two sat in a comfortable, almost nostalgic silence as they admired the stars surrounding them.
“I missed you,” Lance admitted without looking away from the sky. Keith smiled softly and sighed.
“I missed you, too, strangely,” Keith replied with a sarcastic voice. Lance playfully punched his arm, and Keith laughed.
“Don’t test me, mullet,” Lance shot back jokingly with a smirk. Keith raised an eyebrow.
“‘Mullet’? I almost forgot about that,” Keith laughed in surprise.
“I’ve missed this,” Keith stated softly after a brief silence. “It’s good to be back.”
“You’ve changed,” Lance repeated solemnly. “But… in a good way.” Keith smiled softly at Lance, and looked back at the stars.
As time passed, the pair both chatted about what happened while they were without the other’s company, exchanging stories. Lance felt reconnected with Keith, and vice versa. They felt closer to the other now than they ever were before.
After exchanging stories, the chatter between the pair grew more spread out, and more tired. There were occasional words and phrases here and there as they just enjoyed the other’s company for the first time in a long time.
Lance held back a yawn and felt the sleepiness return to his eyes, weighing down his eyelids. He leaned his head onto Keith’s shoulder. Keith was shocked at the sudden contact and tensed a bit, but quickly relaxed and felt a warmth swell in his chest.
“I really missed you, mullet,” Lance muttered sleepily. Keith softly chuckled.
“I really missed you, too, loverboy.”