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Adrenaline.
That was all Lance felt when he'd heard the word 'home'.
Home.
It left such a peculiar taste on his tongue. Lance hadn't had the chance to think about home when fighting off an entire empire. It was too foreign of a concept, the paladin getting used to the eerie and quiet atmosphere of space. It wasn't a dream, right?
Lance's mind drifted off, the slow and monotonous hum in Red lulling him into a gradual slumber. The paladin was nestled comfortably in the pilot's seat, chest armour already off as he claimed it was too 'noisy' when he moved even an inch.
The male rolled his eyes at Pidge's complaint despite being alone, staring lazily into the vastness of space as the lion followed the route Black sought out. Keith claimed it was the fastest route Black could determine seeing as they didn't have the luxury of wormholes anymore; everyone seemed okay with that.
The communication system died down into static, some disconnecting, some choosing to remain online. Lance decided to stay, head resting on his hand for support, a string of curses leaving his mouth when his arm slipped.
"Will she still be there?" The male muttered to himself, heaving a distressed sigh before giving into sleep, a chaotic whirlwind of questions on his mind which refused to depart.
Left with nothing but a simple news report, you felt your heart drop to your feet, the words "Three Galaxy Garrison cadets missing as of tonight" echoing in your mind like a mantra.
That was months ago. Carrying on with training was heart-achingly difficult, but Galaxy Garrison students were made to stand their ground and pick themselves up when encountering failure. That was the motto drilled into their students day in, day out. In theory classes, in the simulation rooms.
That façade you put up didn't go unnoticed. Was it breakable? Yes, but nobody needed to know that.
Soon, the act was starting to crack, wherein a quiet room only you could hear the crumble of your heart. You survived classes doing the bare minimum, just passing with average scores and trying your best not to break.
You've had too many visits to the head instructor's office to count; head bowed as you received weekly reprimands that you seemed to memorise. You only wished for everything to end before venturing out into space yourself, hoping the unknown could provide you with some comfort and relief.
You call it unknown; Lance has seen it all. Despite the burden of an intergalactic war, he wishes to show you everything.
The myriad of thoughts circling in his head was interrupted when he heard cheers from down below, the familiar sight of the training ground made him recount on the times he had there. He smiled gently, seeing new faces among old ones in the pool of cadets. The cheers only increased in volume when his lion descended, landing after Black did.
From experience, he should've known that naps did nothing to ease his nerves; because now he was feeling the most nervous in his entire lifetime.
The thought of meeting you again drove him crazy. What would he say apart from obviously apologising for that night? Did you still love him? With his mind foggy, he hastily secured his chest armour, grabbing his helmet on the way out.
The cheers were absolutely deafening, varying from names to whoops and straight out applause. The corners of Lance's lips turned upwards at the positive feedback, not used to this type of attention even among his paladin friends. He unconsciously scanned the crowd that was held back by Garrison personnel, eyes darting around fast enough to rival a cheetah.
It was shouts, claps, a blur of reoccurring euphoria among the cadets.
It was background noise, serving as a medium for your own shouts to catch Lance's ears. Your voice carried the same passion as it did before. Except now, your voice turned out more frantic, grappling to make yourself known in the endless sea of orange and white.
Pushing through countless bodies, you made your way to the front. Noticing movement from his peripheral view, he turned his head to lock eyes with the person who never lost hope.
You both knew nothing else mattered in that very moment, all form of audible noise cut off when you focused on him, and him, on you.
And then you took off running.
It was running past the guards, running past the beautiful alien leading the group, running past his fellow companions–
And straight into Lance's arms.
Nothing else mattered as you felt familiar arms wrap around your waist, both bearing matching grins that could beat the sun itself. He lifted you off the ground effortlessly, letting the laugh that you so loved escape as he twirled you around.
"You waited," Lance whispered after he set you down safely, hand sitting comfortably in your locks and face inches from yours.
"Why wouldn't I?" You replied, eyes holding so much compassion and love that Lance couldn't bear to look away. He mirrored your expression, his heart beating so fast and knees sure to go wobbly–it was what you did to him.
"But I took so long to come back to you- I didn't even tell you I le-"
"You returned, and that's all that matters." You smiled, hands moving from his neck to cup his cheeks. Every bottled up emotion left in your façade was flowing out now, tears welling up as you hold your pillar and rock at this moment.
"I love you." You blurted out, tears now cascading freely down your cheeks as you saw similar ones form at the edge of Lance's eyes. You shot him a grin, the paladin leaning down slowly.
His lips finally met yours like clarity among haze. His kisses carried enthusiasm and desire as you remembered, his lips upon yours always a breathtaking experience. You reached one hand down to play with hair, feeling his growing smile on your lips at the contact.
You both pulled away reluctantly, seeing Lance's eyes practically sparkle under the darkening sky, just like the moons you studied on Garrison ground. They exuded the same glimmer that Callisto reflects due to its shiny exterior–just as Lance does. God, he was beautiful.
Lance admired you like you were the clashing of galaxies, the chain reaction of supernovas, the magnificent star system of Sirius–because he claims you're the brightest star to grace the Earth.
You were his star, and he, your moon.
"I love you too."