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Chapter Text

Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 (Japanese); 하나하키병 (Korean); 花吐病 (Chinese)) is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies.
On Earth, the disease can be cured through surgical removal. However, the patient would lose the ability to ever feel love again.

Lance had been dealing with Hanahaki Disease for some time now. It had started to infest when he had fallen out of the healing pod, into Allura’s arms. It had been a slow infestation, the original discomfort being a dull pain in his chest and lungs, easily ignored when compared to the bruises and aches from battle and training. Over a few months of constant war and discovery of the universe, his symptoms grew and started to show outside of his body, beginning with gentle tickles in the back of his throat when he talked for too long, growing into small, soft petals that began to lurch out with hiccups and coughing fits.

Lance knew what was happening - he had heard all of the stories; they come with either happy or horrible endings. On Earth, Hanahaki Disease was abundant, and the treatment was extremely common. Hanahaki could come at any age, to anyone, for anyone. It often occurs when someone is very young, and have developed their “first-love.” It was normal for someone to have their flowers taken out when they were in their early school years, since it was the parents’ decision. Because of this, it had become a widespread trend to fall in love with someone without the flowers involved. Luckily, Lance had been surrounded by fairy-tale like stories within his family, where they couldn’t afford for anyone to have the surgery done. Even his parent’s relationship had a beautiful beginning, both of them were coughing up sunflowers before finding out the other was, too. Similar stories were shared between his siblings and his distant relatives. He was always excited to meet his love, hoping to add to the collection of storybook tales his family had.

However, Lance’s dream was broken quickly. He had to face a not-so-happy-ending firsthand. His father had gone on a business trip to America, spending three weeks traveling and studying marine biology on different coasts of the US. Lance had wanted to go with him, begging his father to take him to visit the Galaxy Garrison and to experience America before he left home to study there the next year. His father insisted that he stay home - to take care of their family - since he couldn’t. Lance obliged, trusting his father. He spent those three weeks making the most he could with his mother and siblings; being the youngest child meant he was the last to leave the nest. His mother was heartbroken that he was leaving her so soon, but was overwhelmed with support for her son. He did as much as he could to reassure her that he would be alright, promising to call her every Saturday, and had each sibling choose a different day of the week for him to call. He loved his family, for it was all he had, and he would do anything for them.

When his father came back three weeks later, he brought back souvenirs from around America for everyone. Around family gathering and bonfires, his father would talk about the crazy experiences he had, the stark differences between the states, and how truly grand and diverse America is. During dinner one night, he started to violently choke on his food. But, he wouldn’t allow his wife to intervene, storming out of the dining room while holding his stomach and covering his mouth. Lance and his siblings were quiet, not sure of what was happening and why no one was intervening. Their mother had went silent, staring nauseated down at the drops of blood, where there were little purple flower petals. Lance had been told that they had shared flowers, and they were sunflowers, and that they were supposed to have gone away after the first confession. But now, his father was coughing up dark violet morning glories. Now, he finally understood why his father didn’t allow him to accompany him to America.

His father spent his final days in his bedroom, resting as much as he could. Their family couldn’t afford to have him be held in hospice, so they had a makeshift hospital set up. His mother still tended to him, providing him food, water, and any assistance he needed. Lance respected his mother for that, for taking care of him when he had been in the wrong. He was disappointed that his father had basically cheated on his mother, but still held him dear. He stayed distant from that room, spending more time at his friends’ houses. He decided to talk to him one last time.

“I’m glad you decided to come in, Lance.” His father placed his hand on top of Lance’s as he took a seat next to him on the bed. He looked surprisingly happy, seemingly content with his situation. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Papa,” Lance said, voice small. He felt horrible for his father, and he knew he was going to lose him soon. “…Why?”

“Lance, listen,” he began, gripping Lance’s hand tighter and pulling it to his chest, over his heart. “You can’t control who you love. You don’t get to choose who you spit up stupid flowers for.” Lance studied the familiar carpet underneath his feet, vague memories of him when he was younger. Rushing into the room on holiday mornings, or shyly approaching the bed when he had nightmares. He always jumped in between his parents, feeling their appreciation and love for one another beam between them. His father continued, “I loved your Mama. You know that. I always have, always did. But you can’t control who you fall for.”

His father and him had never talked about love or the disease before. Since Lance was the youngest, they left him out of the serious conversations on the topic. But, he was still included in the story telling and happy ever afters. It was out of character for his father to be talking about it so openly to him.
But Lance could tell the sincerity his father held. His voice was solid, heavy with truth. His eyes showed no remorse, no sadness. Lance spoke up, “You look happy.”

“That’s what love does to you.” His father smiled faintly. “I want you to take care of this family, since I won’t be able to any longer. You’re a family-man, you love them, and you know what to do to protect them. Do it, for me. Keep them safe.”

Lance promised he would. And he did. He fought his way through the ranks at the Garrison. He worked hard to climb them; he wanted to make his family proud, especially his father. He was going to protect them with all he could manage. He never broke promises, especially those that were last wishes. He vowed to protect his siblings, his mother, and his mother’s new love.

But now, he was in space, fighting a war he never asked to be in, but he would fight with all his being, as long as it meant protecting his family.
He knew the basics of fighting, piloting, training, and everything related to war. He wanted to be able to protect his family from ground to sky, that’s what he devoted his life to. He thought he could expand his reach, being there to protect before any danger could reach Earth, but he didn’t expect it to be this wide, this scary.

Now, the universe was too big for him. It made him feel small, insignificant, purposeless. He didn’t like it, but he was stuck there. He had to adapt, so he could keep his family safe.

The time outside of fighting, training, and team-lion bonding allowed him to reflect and spend time in his head. In his downtime, he tried to focus on the ‘now’, rather than sulking in homesickness, thinking about his family, and the others’ family back on Earth. At the Garrison, he would fill all his time with studying and training, and never allowed there to be time for himself. So, now, he let his mind drift when he was in the safety of his own room.

He often thought about Allura. He didn’t know if the Altean people have something similar to Hanahaki Disease, but he was too scared to ask. He didn’t want to tell anyone; he was too afraid of repercussions or being held back from the team, being deemed unfit to fight given his condition. He had always loved love, even after what his father had done. He had always wanted to love someone unconditionally enough to be willing to die for them. He still did, and he knew that it was a dangerous desire.

He had learned that the flowers from Hanahaki had always resembled the person in some way. He had heard of poppies, queen Anne’s lace, magnolias, daisies, and various other types of flowers that depicted the most valued traits in the person that they represented. Lance thought that cherry blossoms he had captured Allura very well; bright pink, soft, small, and lovely. These flowers were small enough that he could deal with them for a while, alone.

He covered them up the best he could, excusing himself from meals when he felt a coughing fit come up, or popping out of training to ‘get water’. He hadn’t told anyone directly, even when drops of blood began coming out with larger petals and whole flowers. He didn’t know how much longer he would last, pain and burn growing with each day, but he knew he couldn't bring it up now, more than ever. They had Lotor on their side, providing hope to the team that the war would be over soon.

Lance held onto that, telling himself, his heart, to be patient. He could love Allura after the war. Not right now. However, Lance knew what was going on between Allura and Lotor, but he kept his hopes up anyway. He didn’t trust Lotor, he always left a strange taste in his mouth when he was with Allura, but all he could do was wait. He decided that he could be the hero, and a shoulder to cry on if anything were to happen, after the war. He just had to wait.

The flowers became harder and harder to hide and disguise, coming up more frequently and violently. They were causing him to lose sleep and distracted him from his fighting. The team had tried to question him, but each conversation would quickly change into something war-related.

It attacked again while the team was playing Monsters and Mana. Lance coughed aggressively into the side of his jacket hiding his face and mouth from the team. Hunk went to comfort him and Lance waved his arm away. Hunk pushed further, helping him up, but Lance pushed Hunk back down to the cushion,

“Hunk, I’m just sick! " he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, noticing a few drops of blood on it and quickly covering it, saying, “Sorry, guys, guess you gotta play the next round without me. Now that Shiro’s playing, you’ll be good. I’m gonna go rest for a bit." He glanced at Hunk. “Alone.” Lance turned away quickly and rushed out of the game room. The team collectively glanced at Hunk.

“Alright, alright. I was going to check up on him anyway. Count me out this round.” Hunk rushed to follow Lance back to his room, catching the door before it slid all the way closed. “Man, these doors are small, but, dang, do they move fast." He squeezed into the room and gave a friendly smile at Lance, even though he was already curled towards the wall on his bare bed. “Lance, buddy, what’s going on? You’ve been out of it, and I mean, really out of it. What’s going on? Did my food-goo make you sick? Did Lotor do something to you? Do you miss Keith? Did you drink some weird alien-drink?” Lance withdrew from the hand Hunk attempted to place on his shoulder. “Lance, buddy, talk to me. You’ve stopped talking to me. We were best friends, man. You can tell me what’s going on.”
Lance shoved Hunk away before storming into his room’s bathroom. He doubled over the alien-toilet and spewed out blood-soaked blossoms. Hunk hovered over him, sighing and sinking down next to his friend. Lance stared blankly at the wall in front of him, feeling exhausted from his body’s exertion. He’d always had a hard time when it came to vomit, as it caused his heart rate to speed up and his body to get too hot with anxiety and nausea.

Hunk got up and left Lance alone for a few minutes as he gathered himself back to his bed, rushing to get him a bottle of water. He ignored the questions shouted at him from his teammates as they paused the game when he walked by. Pidge got up and caught up to him in the kitchen.
“Hunk, what’s going on? Is lover-boy Lance okay?” Pidge questioned, crossing her arms and standing in front of the fridge.

“Pidge, don’t tell anyone yet, okay? But he’s got that flower disease thingy, you know? The weird named one? He’s got that for Allura. And, like, it’s bad, but he doesn’t want to tell anyone! I don't know why, but I’ll listen to him for now. Other than how I just told you. Now let me though, I’m grabbing him some water." Hunk said, motioning for her to move, and she did.

“Hanahaki." Pidge stated flatly. “And grab me a juice box while you’re at it.”

“Hana-what-y?” Hunk questioned, tossing Pidge her juice. “Come with me." he said, turning to exit the kitchen with Pidge trailing behind.
Hunk returned to Lance’s room with Pidge, where Lance sat staring at the wall still, though up on his bed. “Here, drink up. Then we’ll talk.” Hunk handed him the bottle and sat down on the floor across from Lance.

“How long has this been happening? And why didn’t you tell us?” Pidge questioned as she plopped down onto Lance’s bed next to him. Hunk gave her an annoyed look for barging questions at him so quickly. Lance shoved Pidge off his bed, so she moved next to Hunk across the room.

Lance rubbed his face. “Hunk, why’d you tell her?” Lance questioned. Hunk raised his hands up in defeat, shrugging. Lance sighed, laying back onto his back. “It started after I was in the pod, you know, when I literally fell into her arms." Lance lifted his arms up, swinging them in the air above him, continuing, “I knew I liked her, and the flowers were fine for a long time! Really! But now that Lotor’s here, they’ve like, gotten worse. But, I’m fine! I--”

Pidge interrupted, “Lance, you are VOMITING these things! You’re not fine. We should just tell Coran and Allur--”

“NO!” Lance screamed. Pidge jumped backwards, looking confused. “Sorry, Pidge. But, no, neither you or Hunk can tell them. Don’t even tell Shiro! Or anyone!” Lance sat up too quick, grabbing at the sides of his head as a wave of lightheadedness passed by.

“But Lance.” Hunk said, using his most responsible dad-tone voice, “if you’re not careful, you could die. And no, you can’t just die. I won’t allow it. We need you here. I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell us. We probably could have fixed it by now. We just need to find a species--”

Lance got up and dashed to the bathroom again, spewing more soaked, dirty petals down the drain. Weakly, Lance let his voice bounce off the wall in front of him, begging, “Just, please don’t tell anyone. Please.”

“We should probably give him some time to rest." Hunk decided, getting up and helping Pidge to her feet. Pidge nodded, giving a few taps on the bathroom door before following Hunk out of Lance’s room.

“I’ll research if any alien species experience something similar to this, and if they have any cures. Just in case." Pidge muttered before they turned back into the gameroom.

“Good idea." Hunk reassured. He sat back down at the gaming table.

“What’s a good idea, Hunk?” Coran questioned. Hunk looked at Pidge with uncertainty and back up to Coran.

“Our new strategy to defeat the next Coran-creature. We can’t tell you it yet, or you’ll prepare for it!” Hunk nudged for Pidge to take the reigns, knowing he’s not the best at lying.

“You better watch it, Coran. And, Shiro? I’d pick some high strength armor, just some advice.” Pidge chuckled, getting settled into her seat.

“What about Lance? Is he alright?” Shiro questioned the two, concern showing in his eyes.

“He’s got a cold, he’s fine. He just needs some time to rest and hopefully he’ll get better soon," Pidge answered, sounding as reassuring as she can.

Chapter Text

“You’re my….. Mom?”

“These flashes show you things from the past, or future.”
-

“Hey, Krolia? I think I’ve left an impression on this space... wolf… thing?” Keith said questioningly, shying away from the small creature following him back to the cave that Keith and his mother made as a temporary shelter.

“Keith?” his mother looked up from her cooking, “What do you- Oh! It’s so cute! It’s like Gerard from home! Come here space puppy. Aww, you’re so cute!” Krolia kneeled on the ground next to the fire, holding her arms wide. The space wolf vanished into a cloud of blue mist, startling Keith, and poofed into his mother's arms, rubbing it’s head against her palm. Keith smiled, enjoying seeing his mother laugh. “Keith, can we keep him? He’s so sweet! I think he likes us, and he teleports!” Krolia laughed as the space wolf vanished again, appearing back beside Keith, sitting next to him.

He laughed and kneeled down to pet the space wolf. “I mean, shouldn’t it be me asking you that?" He stood up and walked back over to his mother. He sat on the opposite side of the fire, setting down an armful of wood and other items he had found while exploring. “Also, who’s or what’s a Gerard?”

Krolia smiled sweetly at Keith, “Gerard was an Earth dog that your father had. The sweetest little thing. He had him when I met him. He’d follow us around the house and the desert. He seemed to really like me, but I think it’s because I fed him a little extra for dinner,” She grinned at the memory. “It’s weird how Earth dogs kiss by licking though, it’s kind of gross.”

Keith smiled, “I didn’t know he had a do-Hey!” The space wolf appeared in front of Keith, tackling him and covering his face in licks. “I guess space dogs also do it, " he laughed, carefully pushing the wolf off, petting it as it laid down next to him.

“Gerard was a blue heeler according to your dad. He was a sweet, oddball little guy. Very protective, though. It matched your father's personality really well. He was alone in that house before he found me, so he wanted something to be there to accompany him. He didn’t like being alone,” Krolia said as she tore a piece of meat off of their still-cooking dinner and tossed it to the pup. He vanished and poofed into mid-air to catch the piece of flying meat before plopping back onto the ground with puppy-clumsiness. They both laughed.

“So, we’re keeping him?” Keith smiled as the wolf joined him by his side again. He rubbed the pups head before grabbing some food his mother had been cooking.

“Yes, but only if we name him." Krolia agreed, munching onto her food. Keith stared at the space wolf, trying to come up with a good name. No, not Gerard. Probably shouldn’t name it after my dad either, it might make both of us sad. Hm… Probably shouldn’t name it after someone she might meet. I mean, she doesn’t know the team quite yet but... Let’s see, he’s blue and white, and has misty-sparkles when he teleports? Well, I can’t straight up name him Lance.

“What about… Laith?” Keith suggested shyly, adoring the pup that had fallen asleep next to him.

“Laith? Why Laith?” Krolia asked. Probably shouldn’t suggest Yorak again.

“Uh, no reason. Just… a name I thought of,” Keith directed his entire attention to the sleeping dog, and hoped his mother didn’t question any further.

“I like it. Let’s go with that. Space wolf Laith.” Krolia smiled at the space dog. “You do know the basic responsibilities of having a pet, right? You’ve gotta feed them, give them attention, take them for walks, pick up their-”

“Hey! I know how to take care of animals." Keith interjected before they both lightly laughed. “I took care of a stray cat for a while after dad died. A calico cat started to hang out and I just kinda shared my space with it. I didn’t name it, and it left one day. I think Shiro might have scared it away when he visited, but a few days later it came back with a litter of kittens. At that point, I didn’t know what to do, so Shiro and I drove them to the local shelter. They were really sweet, but I’m really not a cat person,” Keith laughed softly. Krolia smiled before directing her attention back to her food.

“Shiro?” Krolia questioned. Keith looked surprised, but it quickly changed to comfort.

“Shiro was the one who took care of me after Dad died. I was put into a foster home near the Garrison, and the staff had recruited this senior-rank student to help me with my ‘issues’ and classes, since I was younger than the others. He was really nice and supportive, and he helped me when I got into fights. He used to take me to the shack every day after our classes. Shiro was like an older-brother to me. He still is, too. He went missing during a mission, and had been kidnapped and tested on by the Galra, and that’s what started this whole thing, basically.” Keith looked down, and Krolia questioned him a bit further before returning to quiet. They sat in silence for a bit, letting the space wolf, Laith, sleep.

A while after they finished their food, Keith piped up with slight concern in his voice, “So… there were a few more flashes while I was out. Did you… did you see anything?” Keith questioned, sitting next to the pup.

Krolia sat across from him, seeing the worry in Keith’s eyes. “I saw a number of things from when I was on Earth, but I did see a few of you… You know, you could have told me,” Keith looked down at the sleeping pup, told her what? Which thing? There’s a lot of things! “I… I know of ways to help with Hanahaki. Galrans get them, too, almost identically to the way that humans do, just with a few different quirks. The flowers can’t ever get cured, really, but they take much longer to fester and to grow. There’s ways to oppress them and alleviate the symptoms, too, but surgery just makes it harder to help it. It’s not hard to help them either, there’s a tea-like drink I could make...”

Keith leaned back on his hands, readjusting to face his mother, asking, “So, you got them, too?” He looked back up at her, curious. “And… did you see who they are for?” Keith questioned, voice small and eyes darting back away from her.

“I did, and he seems lovely," Krolia answered, not blinking an eye at the use of pronouns. “For your father, I actually got the same type of flower that you have. You have forget-me-nots, right? It took a while for mine to show, but your father got them really quickly. He had daisies. Not the tiny weed-like ones, but the massive ones that are in big fields. I didn’t know that humans got them too, but I guess it worked out…” Krolia’s voice trailed off, as if she’s reminiscing. “How long have you had them? You’ve been able to hide them from me, so I’m assuming they haven’t gotten too bad yet?”

Keith sighed, “It’s been a while, now. A few years ago, I met him at the Garrison. His name is Lance, by the way. I didn’t know how to make friends, so I wasn’t able to talk to him really. He was the only one to console me when Shiro went missing. I freaked out, though, and ran from the Garrison back to the shack. So, it’s been a few years now…”

Krolia smiled, seeing the adoration in Keith’s eyes. “I’ll make you a suppressant tomorrow. The materials I need are around here somewhere, they’re pretty abundant in the universe. Now, tell me more about this Lance boy. Is that where ‘Laith’ comes from?” she questioned, grinning at Keith, watching as an embarrassed blush appeared on his face.

“Uhm…” Keith eyed the dog, “Well, the dog is blue, which is the lion he flies, and the color of his armor and eyes. And the dog’s also really cute, and so is… he…” Keith sat back up and crossed his arms. “Do you really not care that it’s a boy?”

Krolia crooked up an eyebrow. “Why would I?” she asked, concern traced in her voice.

“Because, on Earth, it’s like… not okay. Like, it is okay! But people get bullied and… killed for, for liking someone.” Keith looked down at the ground, remembering some of his so called ‘discipline issues’ from the Garrison.

Krolia got up and sat down next to Keith. “I saw some of that, too. People on Earth aren’t the nicest. And that’s comparing them to the Galra,” she said, cracking a smile, looking up to Keith as he crossed his arms. “And, no, I don’t care. It’s normal, and it’s who you love. Love whoever the hell you want to, Keith. I mean, I loved a human, " her smile grew before she got up to attend to the fire. Keith smiled as well and stood up. He walked over to his mother and hugged her, tight. She didn’t question it; she just hugged him back. She had missed her son. The only reason she had left was to protect him. She knew she had missed the most vital aspects of Keith’s childhood, but she was happy that she had finally found him.

Keith drew back and sat beside the fire. “So, did you want to hear about Lance? " he asked, his smile growing wider.

“Tell me everything.” She sat down across from him, and the space pup teleported to Keith’s lap, causing them both to laugh.

“How do I start? I guess you’ve never met him, so I’ll start there. He’s this lanky, doofus Cuban boy who won’t shut up about his family. He thought we had some sort of rivalry at the Garrison, and we met when we went to save Shiro. I didn’t recognize him because I had spent years trying to find Shiro and the blue lion, so I was so caught up by how I had finally found Shiro, that I couldn’t remember his name. I was cold to him for a bit, but who could blame me? I had gone from searching for Shrio in that shack, to suddenly surrounded with peers and alien people on an alien ship, in space?!” The pup looked up at Keith when his voice had raised, aking Keith realize he had started rambling.

“Sorry, Laith. I’ll be quieter so you can go back to sleep. Anyway, we got to know each other better through the training and bonding and all this stuff we had to do for this space-war. He’s got an indescribable sense of humor, and seems to be oblivious to what’s going on around him. He’s an idiot, but I think that’s what I like best about him. He says things without thinking, a lot. He also makes stupid pick-up lines and flirts with a lot of people… but, he’s nice. He’s really good with people, and kids, and animals. He likes to make people laugh and feel welcome and safe.” Keith smiled and pet the little creature sleeping on him.

“He doesn’t have a lot of confidence, though. That part makes me sad. He thinks he’s worthless and doesn’t belong on the team, or that he’s easily replaceable. That’s kind of the reason I had left, because since Allura took over the blue lion, Shiro was back in the black lion, and I could pilot both Black and Red, so he didn’t think he had a place. He had even talked to me about it directly. God, I told him the stupidest thing at the end of it too! ‘Leave the math to Pidge,’ I said. What does that even mean?!” Keith threw his hands up in confusion, his mother breaking into a loving grin before he continued. “Anyways, when the Blade accepted me, I ran with it. It gave Lance a place to be. I guess it was the right choice, since I was able to meet you because of it, but I miss the team…”

“Seems like you’re in deep for this boy, huh?” Krolia’s smile grew wider. “He seems nice.”

Keith smiled back at her, patting the pups head before picking him up in his arms. “He is. You’d like him. I hope you get to meet him soon.”

Chapter Text

“How about, let’s try to hold these plates back together by welding them. Lance?” Hunk commanded through the teams’ coms. Lance was on it immediately, using Red to melt the metal back into place. He made sure that all the pieces seemed rather stuck together, admiring his work from afar. Lance felt the hot crawl of the flowers make its way up his throat, mixing with the heat from the inside of the cabin. Lance had to back away from where he had watched Hunk finish putting the plates in their place and took off his helmet, turning off his com. He ran quickly vomited into the space trash can that Pidge and Hunk had installed into his lion’s cabin. Sulking in the discomfort of his nausea, he heard a loud crash and scrambled to put on his helmet, turning the com back on again. He rushed towards the plates where smoke was billowing out, seeing that the plates had cracked apart and the power seemed to be out, again. “What’s the point of this?!” Hunk yelled at Pidge and Shiro, since they were responsible. Suddenly, a ball of electricity started to form in the center of one of the larger cracks, right below the blue lion.

“Allura, no!” Lance charged forward. This simple mission was not worth this, he thought to himself. Their lions collided, the force causing him to be sick again. He turned off his com, and before he was able to make it to the bin, the heat and electricity hit him at the same time. He felt like he was floating, but he couldn’t see or feel anything. He could hear himself screaming, but it was dull and distant. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, and that’s when everything went quiet.

There was nothing. No flashbacks, no last thoughts, no light. Absolute nothing.

-

“Lance, please respond!” Allura coaxed Blue to let her out, and used her jets to race towards Lance, worry filled her whole body.

“The broken plate shorted out, Lance isn’t responding, Allura jumped out of her lion… What else could possibly go wrong right now?” Hunk continued the mission, relying heavily on Pidge and Shiro to complete their job, because otherwise, they were all goners.

“Lance, no! What… what happened?” Allura took off his helmet. That, as well as his chest armor, were covered with blood and... flower petals? But there were no flowers here? “His armor should have protected anything that happened outside of him, so… this means this was in him. Oh, my god, Lance,” She started talking without realizing it before doing what she could. Red was out, too, giving her easier access to Lance’s essence within her. “Focus, Allura. This boy is worth your life. You can do this.”

-

“You saved me,” Lance choked out before he collapsed onto the ground, coughing up more petals and blood.

“Paladins, I do not know what is wrong with Lance, but we need to get him back to the castle as soon as possible,” Allura reported in. She held Lance’s body up, attempting to comfort him.

“We need to make sure everyone inside is alright. Do you think he is stable enough to fly back to the castle?” Hunk questioned. He knew that, regardless if he wanted to or not, his worry had to be masked with leadership.

“I think so, but he keeps vomiting. I’ll have Blue assist Red to the best of my abilities.” Allura helped Lance over to the trash bin. “Stay with us, okay Lance?”

Back at the castle, Allura rushed Lance into a healing pod before anyone could say anything. She was shaking when she caught up with the rest of the team. The petals and drying blood coated her body, and everyone noticed it when she sat down. The paladins looked around at each other, knowing the unfortunate underlying meaning.

“Allura, let us explain,” Hunk spoke first, attempting to break an uncomfortable silence that was held in the room.

“Hunk, paladins, what the quiznak is this?!” She motioned towards the staining liquid and foreign objects within it that coated her. “Lance was vomiting blood and flowers? This was not the human anatomy I studied! What is going on?” She got up and paced around the briefing area, clearly stressed and confused.

“It’s called Hanahaki Disease. It’s a sickness that humans get when they’re experiencing unrequited love. Weird and dramatic, I know. Their lungs and heart start to grow a type of flower due to emotional pain. If the person believes that the other truly loves them after their confession, the flowers go away. However, if not, the flowers only grow until they fill a person's lungs and throat, eventually killing them. It’s extremely common, and so is the removal of it. On Earth, you can get the flowers surgically removed, but it takes away the ability to feel love again. Often times, parents will have their kid have the surgery if they get flowers when they’re still a minor," Pidge explained. “Even Matt had his flowers taken out before he entered the Garrison."

“Yeah, I had mine taken out when I was like, seven. I had a habit for really liking anyone I was friends with, so it didn’t surprise my parents. They had my surgery since I was so young," Hunk added. “It hasn’t really done anything negative, like, I still love my friends. I just can’t love romantically anymore. Do Alteans experience anything similar?”

Coran piped in, “Actually, we do. But it’s not nearly as violent as this sounds."

“Yes, Alteans… we have marks like the ones on our faces, but in the center of our chest and back that supposedly matches the one of our so called ‘true-love,’ so I think it’s somewhat similar. But unlike ours, yours is deadly, and it seems like Lance is nearing its final state. Either the person he loves needs to confess, or we find a planet who can help him. I guarantee there’s other species that experience something similar to humans… but, who is it that he loves?” Allura questioned, slowing her pace to a shifting of weight.

“Allura, we shouldn’t answer that…” Pidge fumbled with her words, taking off the upper part of her outside armor.

“Allura, look. Lance was in love with you. Or, is. But even we know that you do not love that boy anything past family. We can’t ask you to fake a confession to him, and even then, we won’t be sure he will believe you. We need to find a planet who can take the flowers out," Shiro stated flatly, getting up to comfort Allura, who appeared to be disappointed and scared.

“Actually, we aren’t very far from one. We’re just a few hours from a species called Shizen. They have a very Earthly planet, abundant with plants and nature. They have a similar disease with the same type of repossession, but instead of flowers, they just have small vines that start to grow in their veins, so taking a plant out of lungs and a heart shouldn’t be too hard." Pidge inquired, looking over at Hunk.

“Yeah, when Pidge and I found out, we immediately researched as many alien species as we could find that had similar things to Kawasaki."

“Hanahaki!”

“Whatever! But, this species has advanced techniques to Earth, where the vines can be taken and go away, but can come back for someone else. So, Lance would be able to love again, just not the same person," Hunk finished with a smiled.

“Coran, how far away are we from this planet with the Shizen people?” Allura turned away quickly, heading to the ship’s control room.

Coran ran ahead of her to look it up. “Only about one and a half vargas.” He looked back to the team. “We have preexisting relations to them, too, from the early days of Voltron. I’ll contact their leader and explain to them what’s going on. It’s been a few dobashes since I’ve interacted with them."

Lance was in a coma-like state when he was pulled from the healing pod and transported to the Shizen hospital. Hunk and Pidge stayed beside him the entire way while he faded in and out of consciousness. Shiro, Coran, and Allura took care of the business aspect of it, Shiro confirming that the procedure would be safe on a human. The Shizen doctors, Aroebera as they were called, reassured them that it was, and explained the similarities of human and Shizen anatomy. The Aroebera also informed them that the anesthetic used for Shizen would be a bit stronger on a human, so Lance would stay in a drugged-up state for about two quintants, and as a result should rest on the third quintant; in short, basic rest and recovery for about three days.

The Aroebera had less paperwork than on Earth, but similar roles and morales had remained constant. Both Allura and Shiro signed as Lance’s guardians, and since Lance was still technically a minor in Earth years, they consented to the treatment, giving Lance no choice in the matter.

--

“Shiro, it’s Keith,” Keith commed to the main control area of the castle. Krolia and himself were making their way back from their two-year catch up mission in the quantum abyss, with some newfound information.

“Keith, a-are you okay?” Keith was met with everyone’s faces, except for Lance, Allura, and Lotor.

“Krolia and I have some vital information regarding Lotor, we’ll be there shortly. We have a pod, so please allow the castles defences to let us in," Keith requested before quickly shutting off the com. Coran agreed, the team looking concerned. Allura and Lotor had just taken the new ship to explore some of the Altean alchemy that Lotor had shared with Allura.

-

“Keith, you’re back!” Hunk yelled cheerfully as Keith docked the pod. The team eyed him suspiciously when a tall Galran, a large space-wolf, and a small girl followed behind him.

“Okay, long story short, this is Krolia, my mother, my space wolf, Laith, and an Altean we found, Romelle. Krolia and I were stuck in the quantum abyss from a Blade mission. We stayed on this giant space-whales back. We were sent to this planet and we found Romelle there, and she explained what was going on, and we knew something had connected…” Keith continued and explained the entire situation. He introduced his newfound companions to everybody, making sure they were all on the same side. They knew they had to talk to Allura when they came back, but until then, they had some downtime.

“Laith, huh?” Hunk questioned, giving the space wolf heavy pets. He had missed Keith, as did the rest of the team. He decided to make everyone, including the new visitors, some food-goo shakes. Not the best work he'd ever done, but it was his go to when given the time crunch. The team spent some time together and got to know Romelle and Krolia, as well as getting time to bond with space wolf.

Keith pulled Hunk aside, noticing a vital member missing from the group. “Hey, Hunk? Where’s Lance? Is he alright?”

“Oh, he’s uh, resting. He got sick and had to get surgery from an alien species and all that, but he’s fine! He just needs to rest for another day," Hunk answered, rubbing the back of his neck and giving Keith a shy smile.

“What do you mean by sick? And surgery?? What happened to him, Hunk?!” He demanded. Usually, at times like these, Keith would have become pushy and angry, but with two years to think and reflect, he had realized that it wasn’t worth it to spend time being mad, and that things should get to the point as quick as they can. He took a deep breath. “Is he okay?”

“Keith,” Hunk sighed, “he’s fine. He got Hanahaki Disease for Allura and things didn't turn out too well. He also about sacrificed himself for Allura, too. Luckily, there was a planet that knew how to take the flowers out, and Lance is just recovering from it. He won’t be fully conscious for a bit still. But, he’s alright," Hunk reassured.

“So, he almost died for Allura, and you guys didn’t do anything to prevent it?!” Keith raised his voice, the tension rising along with it.

“He didn’t want us to tell anyone. I know, it was stupid. At least Shiro and Allura were in control of deciding whether he had the surgery or not, since he’s still a minor in Earth years for another month. He’s not going to be happy with it.” Hunk looked down, studying the floor beneath his feet.

“Knowing Lance, he’s definitely not going to be happy with that choice.” Keith forced a hurt smile, Hunk knowing that he was masking something. “Thank you, all of you, for saving him.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we were able to. But Keith, are you alright? You don’t look too well," Hunk questioned. For a matter of fact, Keith didn’t look alright. After all, he had just learned how his own cause for Hanahaki had almost died.

“I… I’m just tired. It was a long flight here. Thanks for the goo-shakes, also.” Keith turned to walk away, but Hunk placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“Alright, you get some rest. And… if you’re worried about Lance, he’ll be fine. Plus, these alien techniques were different than the ones back on Earth. Lance is actually able to love someone else, if he wants to. Kinda sucks because it means it could come back, but at the very least it could turn out better,” Hunk smiled, queuing Keith to smile in relief. “And if you need anything, I’m here.”

“Thanks, Hunk. Let me know when Lance is awake, okay? I… I just need to talk to him.” Keith smiled and moved to walk away, allowing Hunk’s hand to fall back to his side.

Lance was okay, he was okay, Keith thought. And he can love again! He would've been so mad and heartbroken if he couldn’t have. This isn’t good, though.

It was melancholy, Lance being okay. With him being able to love again, it meant that Keith had something to hold on to, whether he wanted to or not.

Chapter Text

“Morning, buddy,” greeted a familiar voice. Lance woke up to two blurry people beside him. “Here’s some late brunch. How do you feel? Have the drugs worn off yet?” Hunk questioned, in a soft and caring tone.

“What happened? I…” Lance’s voice was hoarse and groggy. He coughed from discomfort.

“You’re okay. It might take a few days extra days for your throat and vocal cords to heal. Long story short, you almost died, but you’re okay! That’s what’s important. And don’t get mad yet, you still need to rest, but we needed to make sure that you would like… wake up, and everything," Hunk continued, placing the small tray on Lance’s lap. “I saved you a food-goo shake to go with it.”

“Woah, you only make these when you need to celebrate something quickly. What happened? How… how long was I out? I barely remember anything…” Lance sat up slowly, starting to rub around his throat and chest.

“Lance, keep your hands off your neck for a bit. There’s still some bandages and stitches," Hunk warned, gently pulling his hands down from his neck. “You need to eat first. Plus, this guy wanted to talk to you," Hunk said, motioning to the other blurry figure standing next to him. Lance rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times before registering who it was.

“Are… are you bigger?!” Lance seemed to be rather dazed, speaking his mind without a filter.

“Two years older, too,” Keith added. “Wanted to not accidentally scare you when you saw me. Also… I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I was out for TWO YEARS?!” Lance yelled, wincing at the pain in his throat.

“No, Lance. Two days, yeah. But not two years. Keith was on some weird space-mission in a time altering place. We can talk later to catch you up, ‘cause I’m sure the rest of the team has some words for you. Come out when you’re ready.” Hunk got up and started walking to the door, Keith following behind him.

“Wait,” Lance said, sitting up a bit higher. “Thank you, Hunk. And Keith? Glad to have you back.” He grabbed his food-goo shake, flashing a smile at the two before they left the room.

-

“Hey, guys…” Lance walked slowly into the lounge room, messing with the hem of the blue Altean shirt he had been put in.

“Nice to see you, kid!” Coran chirped, getting up to greet him.

“Glad you’re okay, Lance," rang Shiro. Allura looked at Lance, uncertainty present in her eyes.

Pidge got up and ran towards him, giving him a short hug before punching him on the shoulder. “You had me worried, dude. Don’t do that.”

Lance sat down next to Keith, near the edge of the curved sofa. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his stomach and sinking into the couch. “So, anyone care to tell me what happened? I… I don’t remember a whole lot.”

“Lance…” Allura began. Shiro gently placed his hand on her shoulder before he took the lead.

“During the mission, you shoved Allura’s lion out of the way of a beam of electricity and it hit you directly. It knocked out Red, and when Allura went to check on you she found you covered in blood and petals. We stuck you in a cryopod for a while, and we were lucky enough that Hunk and Pidge, " he paused to gesture over to them with a thankful smile, “ found a local species who deal with something similar, so we were able to get the flowers taken-”

“You what? What if I didn’t want them taken out?! I didn’t have any choice in the saying, did I? Hunk knows I never wanted mine to be taken out! Hunk, why did you let them?!” Lance glared over at Hunk, the samoan man looking apologetic.

“Lance, none of us had a choice," Shiro intervened. “You’re a paladin of Voltron, you can’t be replaced. Plus, you’re still technically a minor, so it wasn’t your decision anyways.”

Lance crossed his arms tighter against his chest. He lifted a hand to scratch his neck, feeling the secured cotton over the center of his it to the soft dip near the bottom. He gulped, feeling a sting of discomfort match his emotional instability. He knew everyone was watching him, so he took his hands away from the area. They know that this means I can’t love anymore, right? Lover-boy Lance is no more. What am I without it?

“This won’t hurt you in any way. You know that I had mine taken out when I was a little kid, right? And I’m still this giant, loving dude, right?” Hunk stated cheerfully, trying to reassure Lance.

“You’ll be alright, Lance," Keith added before getting up and exiting the room. Lance looked around the group, everyone’s eyes on him. Normally, he would bask in the attention, but this was the bad kind of attention. Everyone looked either hurt, disappointed, or concerned. He didn’t like it. He stood up and followed where Keith had left, the team staying quiet.

“What’s…. That?” Lance walked up to Keith cautiously, and at a distance, hands up in protection. A sudden beam of blue light and mist formed and the creature disappeared. Lance looked up to Keith, and he had a humored and concerned look, stating a small ‘Watch out’ before the creature came topping onto Lance. Lance yelped as he fell back due to the weight falling onto him, catching himself before falling painfully on his back. The creature was large, almost as long in length as Lance, and was pressed fully against him. Before he had time to react, the creature was attacking his face in licks.

“Ew! What the...?” Lance tried to dodge the creatures mouth, using his hands to create some distance. He was rather shooken up, but realized there was no danger, and started to pet the creature. When the creature slowed down the licking, it laid its head down on Lance’s chest, now allowing for him to move. Keith walked to stand behind Lance, looking down at him.

“This my space wolf, " he smiled, sitting beside Lance and his space-pet, “Laith, " he pet the wolf, refusing to look at Lance given the name. Lance smiled, sitting up the most he can and petting the wolfs head.

“Where’d the name come from?” Lance inquired, innocence in his voice. He was looking fondly at the wolf, seemingly content with being stuck beneath it.

“My, uh… Krolia came up with it." Keith stated, standing back up. He walked to lean against the wall. The wolf watch Keith as he did, and another poof of blue mist appeared, the weight of the large creature instantly off of Lance’s chest, followed by it appearing right beside Keith, sitting politely next to him.

“Kroli-who?”

“Keith! Sorry, I know I was supposed to be watching your dog, but it had teleported again and I couldn’t find it!” A blond, pale girl came jogging down the hall, she looked… Altean? “I’m sorry. Oh! Uh, who’s this?” Romelle came to a stop before the boy on the ground, eyeing him before shying away. She looked up to Keith, confused.

“Lance, this is Romelle. Romelle, this is Lance. He’s the blue paladin." Keith introduced calmly.

“Nice to meet you, Lance!” Romelle kneeled down beside Lance, greeting him with a kind smile. Keith had expected a quick-fire flirtatious one-liner from Lance, given that there was a new, pretty, Altean girl around.

Lance met Romelle’s smile with an uncertain one, “Um, hi,” Lance stood up, “Keith? What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story,” Keith crossed his arms, “There’s another person I’d like you to-”

“Oh! Keith, Romelle, you found him!” A tall, clearly Galra woman came down the other side of the hall, walking towards them with excitement, “And, is this Lance?” She asked, standing beside Keith. They looked similar.

“Lance, this is Krolia,” Keith turned to her, smiling gently, “She’s a member of the Blade. She’s also my mom.” Lance looked at them in astonishment. Lance knew that Keith thought his mother was dead, long and gone, but apparently he was wrong. He was still confused, but the Galran woman reached out her hand with a wide smile.

"Nice to finally meet you, Lance,” She shook Lance’s hand rather vigorously. Lance was thrown aback from her choice of her words. Finally? “I heard about what happened, but I’m glad you’re recovering well. However, you are less talkative than Keith had mentioned…”

“Okay! Krolia, Romelle, can you guys please take Laith back to the game room? I need to talk to Lance for a bit, " he looked up at the two of them with a slight splot of burgundy appearing? in his cheeks.

“Oh, okay. Have fun! We’ll be in the room if you need us,” Romelle knelt to pet the wolf, and he followed her excitedly. Krolia smiled at Keith, and then at Lance, before following Romelle.

“So, you mean to tell me you came back from a weird Blade mission with your mother, who we thought was dead, an Altean, whose entire civilization was thought to be dead, a giant space dog, AND you’re two years older?!” Lance threw his hands up in disbelief, “There’s gotta be at least one lie in there!”

“I swear, there’s not. And I’ll explain everything if you explain to me why you hadn’t told anyone you were dealing with Hanahaki." Keith suggested, crossing his arms over his chest. He really did get bigger, damn.

“Fine. But can we go sit? I think my body's still trying to recover,” Keith nodded, and they walked to the nearest lounge area. It was a small, round room that connected the hallways between the main rooms and the bedrooms. They sat on opposite ends of the couch next to a window, facing each other. When they got settled, Lance was the first to break the silence, “You first.”

“Alright...:” And he explained. He talked about the original mission he was on for the Blade, when he had found his mom, and the one that they were on after that. He explained how the quantum abyss was, and about the time distortion and the light flashes.

“So, like, you saw things from the past and future? How many things?! You could pass yourself to be psychic now, you know." Lance added, intrigued.

“I saw a lot of my childhood. A lot of when my parents were together, when I was a tiny baby, and a lot of memories I have with my dad before he passed. I was able to see a lot from before I was born, too, since I was able to see the flashes that Krolia was seeing as well. “There were a number from the Garrison, too, when I had first met Shiro, a few fights I had gotten into, all those kind of things,” Keith remembered a few of them, and the few he know his mom had seen as well.

“And future ones?” Lance asked. Keith tensed, remembering a number of them that he saw. There was a lot of us, a lot without Shiro, and a few other ones that still made Keith uncomfortable to know. He fished around in his mind, scared to say something that could flip up any time and space phenomenon.

“Uh, well… I saw the paladins back on Earth. I couldn’t really tell when, but." he added. This had Lance quirk his eyebrows up in excitement.

“Really?! " he whispered, almost in awe. His eyes started to burn, happy with the possibility. He’s been homesick for far too long.

“Yeah. All the paladins where in different places, though, visiting their families." Keith added, trying to finish the thought, I was visiting yours. Keith was glad that his mom had been able to create together suppressants for his hanahaki disease, because longer conversations with Lance, and being alone and open to him, were easy times for the flowers to erupt back up. He didn’t have to deal with little blue, forget-me-not, petals flying out during a coughing fit, or if he meant to clear his throat.

The air went quiet for a minute, Lance’s eyes seemed to be glazed, like he was lost in thought behind them. After a few beats, Keith broke the air, “So, now, tell me about why you didn’t tell anyone about your flowers,” Lance was quickly pulled from his dazed state, eyes darting around the room, avoiding Keith’s.

“Wait, no." Lance perked up, quietly. He looked around as if trying to make an excuse, “You didn’t finish. What about Romelle, and how you’re back? " he asked giving Keith a friendly smile

Keith could tell that Lance was trying to dodge the question, but he allowed Lance to have a few more minutes before he pried anything from him. He took his time to explain how they had found Romelle and an Altea of sorts. He explained what Romelle had told them, about what she saw involving Lotor and other Alteans. He also explained how they dealt with Lotor, and for how he’s currently in holding with one of the Blade’s locations. He drew out the story, sharing how he got to know his mom and how she found Earth and the connection to finding the blue lion. They fell into silence again soon after. “So...will you share your side now?”

Lance sighed, changing his gaze from Keith to outside the window. His breath fogged up the thick glass, and he stared into the dark, “Yeah, sure, " he refocused his eyes, staring at Keith’s reflection through the glass, “So… Yeah, I had Hanahaki for Allura. Not for a long time, you know, but for a while. Like, they started, I think, when I first came out of the cryopod. And I thought i’d be fine since they were cherry blossoms. Very small ones, too. But then Lotor came around and stole my fire! Kinda. I mean, it is one-sided love, right? I expected something like it to happen,” Lance closed his eyes, he placed a hand over the center of his chest, “I told myself to just wait, that I could love her after the war, right? " he took a shaky breath and sighed again, “Since I was a kid, I always wanted to love someone so truly and deeply, that you’d die for them. I… It had gotten worse, and on our last mission, Allura could've died, so I took the hit. Like I always do. But this one didn’t turn out too well…” Lance blinked a few times before turning back to look at Keith, “But that’s all I remember. I still don’t even know where, or how, I’m actually alive right now.”

Keith looked at Lance with melancholy. He understood the pain he was going through, “But why didn’t you tell anyone, Lance?”

“I didn’t want anyone to worry,” Lance had met Keith’s eyes for a brief moment, he looked weak, but not remorseful. “I didn’t want to be forced to step-down for a while. It’s not like the team could just drop everything and focus on me. Keith, we’re in a war. So, I kept quiet,” Lance’s voice went quieter, “I’d do anything to be able to love again.”

They sat in quiet for another minute or so, soaking up the feelings from the situations and stories. Lance turned from the window before continuing with sharpness in his tone, “They took that away from me,” and he stood up, walking towards to hallway to the bedrooms.

“Wait, Lance,” Keith hurried to catch up, not too far behind, “You’ll love again, you know that, right?”

“No I won’t, Keith! When they take the flowers out, can’t ever feel love again! Nor romantically! Not unconditionally!” The sharpness in his raised voice caused Keith to flinch back ever so slightly. Keith got a little closer, he reached out his hand to graze the cotton taped down Lance’s neck. Lance pushed his arm away and turned. Keith grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“They didn’t fly you back to Earth, Lance. Aliens have different technology, and they told the team that with how they do it, it doesn’t take away the ability to love. You just can’t love that same person anymore,” Keith saw Lance’s eyes go soft, comforted, but vulnerable. Lance yanked his wrist out of Keith’s grip and stormed to his room. Keith’s heart dropped, but allowed Lance to think it over. Why had no one told him yet?

Back in his room, Lance sank to the ground on the opposite side of his door, tilting his head back to look up. He traced his fingers along the cotton, able to feel the soft material press against raw wounds. Can...can I really love someone again?

Chapter Text

“Paladins of Voltron.” A mayday alert beamed through the speakers around the ship, “Lotor has managed to escape our grasp. He has stolen one of our pods, and as far as we know, he has three assistants with Galran pods. He has not wormholed yet, but he seems to be heading to the northeastern quadrant of the galaxy you are in. We offer our assistance if needed, but the pods they have are not too powerful. Once you have him cornered, we will be on standby to pick him up.” A commander of the Blade ended the call, a click booming as the call died out. All the paladins were in the dining room, it was the first time in some time that they all were together, with some additional guests. The team looked around at each other before anyone spoke.
“He’s heading to the quintessence field,” Allura stood up hastily. “Oh no he doesn’t!” She headed toward the doors. “Paladins! To the hangars, we need to stop him!” The team followed, slightly confused, but mainly concerned. Shiro had been dealing with severe PTSD migraines and breakdowns, so he was unable to pilot. Keith takes Black, and the rest of the team follow suit.

It had been a while since they fought with Keith at the helm, but it was Allura who took the reins. She had felt like it was her fault, this was her fight. She knew that he was trying to reenter the quintessence field to attempt to get a hold on the white lion again. When she battled with the white lion, she was still exposed to what Lotor’s course of action was. They didn’t mutually share the same goals or the same morales, so she knew that Lotor could not have his hands on the white lion if it means peace throughout the universe. She had taken the lead, barking orders alongside Keith.
It worked, until they met a stalemate. Lotor had actually gotten his hands on the ship that Allura and Lotor had built, not just a simple one from the Blade base. He had switched it along the way, somehow. Now was not the time to question. Voltron was sword to sword with Lotor’s mega ship, balancing out the power and strength. His generals had backed off, retreating into the opposite direction. However, Lotor pulled away, and charged fast, a beam of white projecting from the ship.

“He’s creating a portal to the quintessence field!At the speed he is traveling, we won’t be able to stop him. But, you can’t create a portal or wormhole while you’re in it. We could try to destroy the portal once he’s inside!” With those orders, the paladins discharged Voltron to catch up to Lotor, Allura taking the blue lion as fast as she could to reach the Galran prince. “The portal only stays open for half a varga, and he’ll be dealing with the effects of the quintessence overload for the first half of that, we have some time,” Allura explained.

“But, Allura, it takes immense power to destroy a portal, how do you assume we do so?” Coran questioned from within the Castle of Lions, with concern in his voice .

“How strong would the castle’s defenses be? I know Voltron can’t do it alone." Allura responded, slowing Blue down to wait with the others.“Or... something similar? I mean, Zarkon is dead, and Lotor will die as a result of quintessence overload…”

“Allura, surely you aren’t suggesting-- Coran’s voice cut off with worry. “I guess it would be strong enough, but are you sure?”

“Yes. This could be our final step towards the end of the war." Allura responded, flying Blue back to the ship, certain of her choice.

“Uh, guys? What exactly do you mean by ‘something else’?” Hunk questioned through the coms. The rest of the paladins were quiet, unsure of what to say.

Coran answered, a hint of remorse in his voice, “We’re going to fly the ship into the portal. The force will overwhelm it, creating a small black hole in its place before it disappears. It’s the only power strong enough to annihilate the portal that we have, unless we want him flying back to us crazed with quintessence.” The team reluctantly agreed, knowing it would be the best of their options. “Paladins, you have fifteen doboshes, dock your lions and fill them with your belongings."

And so, they did. Hunk filled Yellow with kitchenware he had collected from trips to the space malls and some miscellaneous cookbooks he had found that were in Altean or other alien languages, along with some extra blankets he had found around the ship. Pidge filled Green with her alien tech and gadgets. She shoved as many belongings as she could into a box, including the fluffy space creatures she befriended from the space junk yard. Lance led Kaltenecker into Red and only filled his lion with a change of clothes. Keith placed his Blade suit and other comfort materials reserved for Krolia and his space wolf into Black. Allura collected things from her father and the past paladins, placing the items in a few boxes to remember them by, and gathered a few things for her mice. When the time was up, Coran programmed the Castle of Lions to self destruct in two doboshes, and sped it toward the portal.

And they were off. Keith, Krolia, Laith and Shiro were in Black. Allura, Coran and Romelle were in Blue. Lance was with Kaltenecker in Red, Hunk was in Yellow, and Pidge and her space fluffs were in Green. They watched as the castle self destructed at the edge of the portal, creating a small temporary blackhole, like Coran had said, before vanishing.

“So, uh… guys?” Pidge spoke up, circling her lion around to face the others, “What are we going to do now?” The team was quiet for a minute, everyone thinking to themselves.

“We can head to Earth, for now. As much as we know, the war is over. I think it’s about time for the paladins to have a vacation as well. What do you think, Coran?” Allura suggested.

Coran was faint in the background of Allura’s com, “That’s a good idea. It will take some time for us to travel to Earth without being able to wormhole, though”

“How long will it take for us to get back to Earth?” Lance asked enthusiastically.

“About… one deca-phoeb, I think. And that’s if we make no stops! So, I’d say about a one and a half deca-phoeb’s.” Coran responded, sounding closer to the com.

“...Uh, in Earth time, anyone?” Lance asked, a little less excited.

“Well, ‘deca’ usually means 10, and one phoeb is a little over a month Earth time, so it’ll be close to a year.” Pidge responded. This had all the paladins erupt in joy. It had been a few years of fighting in space, and a constant cloud of homesickness was hanging over everyone’s heads.

“Pidge, we can stop at the local base that your brother is at, we aren’t too far. We can regroup then, but it will take a few movements. Everyone has food and water, right? That can be our first stop.” Coran stated, voice drifting as if he was circling around the com. The team assured each other that they were stocked up well enough, able to wait a few weeks to dock on a new planet. “Alright, Keith? Black has the best mapping abilities. Search for the planet Azula, code P-A56.”

“Planet Azula? Hey, that’s almost like ‘blue’ in Spanish!” Lance chimed in.

“I got it,” Keith turned on his video com, “It seems to be about two quadrants from here. There’s no other planet in between here and there, I only see a length of asteroid field if we keep going in the same direction.”

“Well, then, we’ve already started!” Allura had spoken up, sounding joyful.

“Oh! Also, we should form Voltron! It’ll be easier for us to stay together, and all the lions will autopilot together since Keith selected Azula as the destination. And, we never get to use it in battle, but there are connectors to each of the cabins! Feel free to roam about!” Coran finished.

“So cool! Road trip!” Pidge gleefully cheered through the com.

“More like space trip! Wahoo!” Hunk chimed.

They combined and the team got comfortable. Shiro and Krolia joined Allura, Coran, Romelle in Blue, Pidge joined Hunk in Yellow, leaving Keith in Black and Lance in Red.

‘Hey, uh, Lance?” Keith’s face popped up on Red’s screen, it was a direct call, not a group one.

“What’s up, buddy? Lonely?” Lance smirked, leaning back with his hands behind his head and kicking his feet up onto the dash.

“Actually, I need someone to watch over my wolf while I keep watch,” Keith’s voice sounded innocent, dismissing the joke Lance had stabbed at him.

“Oh,” Lance sat back normally, rubbing the back of his head, “Yeah, sure thing. I’m great with animals!”

“I know. So, come watch him for me. Plus, he seems to really like you,” As Keith finished his statement, the blue creature's head popped onto the screen. Its expression seemed to brighten up at the face on the screen and yipped excitedly. This put a smile on Lance’s face before shutting off the call.

When Lance entered the black lion’s cabin, he was greeted instantly with the weight of the wolf, causing him to crash onto the floor. The wolf layed on top of Lance’s torso, smothering him with licks and nuzzles. Lance was giggling, petting the dog’s head and cooing to it. Keith had his eyes focused on the screen in front of him, but Lance could see a gentle smile in the reflection. Lance felt his heart tug, ever so slightly, and it took him aback for a second. He shook his head, gently pushing the space wolf off of him.

“You know, you don’t have to be on the lookout 24/7. The lions will tell us if we're in danger, or anything,” Lance walked up to Keith, sitting adjacent from the pilot's chair, “You can chill for a bit. If you’re worried, we can switch!.” Lance offered, looking at the screen. The two sat in silence, the space wolf laying down in front of Keith’s piloting chair. It wasn’t an uncomfortable kind of silence, but it was too quiet. It was unsettling, air breaking for quiet electronic beeps and monitors, or the sound of fabric and fur shifting.

“Spaghettification,” Lance broke the air, “the noodle effect.”

“Lance, what the-”

“It’s what happens when you get sucked into a black hole. Your body gets stretched long and thin,” Lance continued, “Stephen Hawking came up with the term since it was like spaghetti.”

Keith was quiet for a few beats. He murmured questioningly, “Why and how do you know that?”

“I used to study a lot of astrophysics books. Like, more than the ones we had at the Garrison. I would read any Stephen Hawking or Neil DeGrasse Tyson books that I could find,” Lance added. “When I was first learning how to speak English, I would borrow textbooks that were in English. Kinda like hitting two birds with one stone, right?”

“And why are you telling me this?” Keith questioned, keeping his eyes on the screen.

“Because we have time to kill. Did you expect us to not talk for, like, two weeks?” Lance questioned back. Keith frowned and sighed. Lance lowered his eyebrows. “Thought so,” he looked back up at Keith, “don’t want to talk about space things? That’s fine! What’s something you want to talk about?” Lance asked, scooting back to sit up against the wall.

“I don’t know, I don’t really want to talk about anything,” Keith rubbed his eyes, “but you do have a point. How about you talk, I’ll listen.”

Lance smirked and rolled his eyes, “Come on, man! I’m always the one talking. Why don’t you give it a shot?”

“Lance, I don’t-”

“How about why you were kicked out of the Garrison?”

“Lance, no, I-”

“What was the Blade like?”

“I can’t talk about them, Lance, it’s classified-”

“How about something easy, like this guy’s name,” Lance gently pet the space wolf, “What was his name again?”

“It’s, uh… Laith.” Keith answered.

“Laith, huh?” Lance pushed, “Who came up with the name?”

Keith deadpanned, “Krolia did. I don’t know where she thought of it. Maybe she knew it meant lion?”

“I don’t know, man, sounds kind of funny to me.” Lance retorted, wiggling his eyebrows at Keith’s blank expression. Keith raised his brows in confusion, before tearing his face away.

“Whatever,” Keith got out of the piloting seat and sat down on the opposite side of Lance, with the wolf between them.

“How did you find this guy?” Lance asked, tracing the patches of blue and white fur along its side.

“When we were stuck in the quantium abyss, we were on this giant space-whale thing. It was like a small civilization of itself. I would go out to find food or material to burn, and one day this little guy,” Keith gave the wolf a few pats, “started to follow me. He was tiny, like the size of a cat. It wasn’t my intention to keep him, but he followed me all the way back to camp, and Krolia ended up really liking him, so we kept him.”

“Wait, so how long were you in the quantium abyss?” Lance asked.

“Roughly two years.”

“Two years?!” Lance crossed his arms over his chest, “How am I supposed to believe that?”

Keith smirked, sitting back on his hands, “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, then.”

Lance quirked an eyebrow up at him, “I guess that does explain the mullet-y mullet,” He uncrossed his arms and mimicked the way Keith was sitting, “And why you look bigger and are taller… Hey! Does that mean you’re two years older than me, too?!”

Keith’s smirk grew, “Technically, yes, I am.”

“That’s not fair!” Lance yelled, annoyed. They kept talking for a while longer. Keith told stories of the other flashes he saw, and told him about how he had found his mom. He went more in depth about how they found Romelle and what he saw on the Altean planet he was on. Lance talked about some of the missions that Keith had missed, and the few planets they had visited. He talked about the Voltron Show, and how they performed on some of those planets. There was plenty of time for them to catch one another up, so they took time with details and followed each tangent they went on.

They jumped when the port that connected the blue lion to the black lion opened, Shiro climbed out, “Hey, guys,” Shiro walked over to them, “Coran wanted me to get Lance since he couldn’t reach him. I see why, now.” He smirked, patting Lance on the shoulder before Lance stood up. Keith smiled at Lance as he left.

“This isn’t good,” Keith patted his wolf a few times before he stood up. He walked over to the bag he had tossed into Black. He didn't have enough time to go through everything, but he was able to grab a few thing. He filed through it, pulling out his Blade of Mamora knife, his old jacket and clothes, and his pair of gloves. “Shit,” He dumped the bag out, fumbling through the extra pockets in the bag. Nothing. He shuffled through the bag he put together for Krolia and Laith. It contained two blankets, a few pillows, random snacks, and a discarded pan handle that Hunk had given to Laith to play with. “Oh, no.” Keith paced around his cabin, double checking each item, shaking out each blanket and pillow, but there was nothing. He hadn’t had time to go back to the ship he had taken to the castle, but he had hoped that Krolia would’ve grabbed it.

He didn’t have any more suppressants.

This meant that that his symptoms would come back. Krolia had mentioned how, once using the suppressants, the symptoms would increase the more you were off of them. Maybe, he thought, there will be more suppressants on Azula. He held onto that hope. He could hold off for a while, right?

Coran had wanted to check in with Lance, to make sure that the healing process was almost finished and that Lance was able to eat, drink, and talk well. Lance was annoyed at how motherly Coran was treating him, but he appreciated it. Allura had been rather motherly as well, but from a distance. He didn’t like how cautious Allura was being around him, being more selective of words and time spent around him. He had learned patience, from waiting for her, and now that was reset. In a way, he was glad he had to start over. He was given a chance to redeem himself, and to become more of a friend than a romantic interest. He was content with that.

When Lance had returned to his lion, after the group had a dinner inside of Yellow, he felt strange. His chest ached, but it was a different ache than the ache from the surgery. He didn’t question it, it’s probably just the final stages of healing. He had carried one of Hunk’s packet blankets to his lion, creating a makeshift bed by a wall.

Chapter Text

They talked. A lot.

With the abundance of time, they caught up with each other. They clicked well, aside from the occurrence of arguments and disagreements, but those were primarily silly excuses of getting mad. They chatted for hours on end, conversation moving easy between them. Lance allowed Keith to talk, once he started to open up. Keith would share stories and memories he had of his father, and the shenanigans that him and Shiro would get into in their easily Garrison days. He also told Lance about his experience at his foster home, and how the process was.

Lance would tell Keith about his families traditions. He would talk about the annual bonfires his family would have on the beach, since his family was too large to have one in their backyard. He would tell stories about his siblings, talking about how they were growing up and who they turned into once older. Lance could tell that Keith valued and missed having a true family, but Keith enjoyed hearing happy memories.

They also caught up about the Garrison. They talked about the different class experiences they had, with Lance taking too many introductory Astronomy classes, and Keith flunking out of his Calculus class twice. Keith told Lance how he was kicked out, and the trouble he had gotten into with the school and students beforehand. Lance told him how he had became friends with Hunk, and how they originally didn’t get along too well until Hunk had baked an apology to him.

They talked. And they liked talking.

But after hours of conversation, when they were forced to separate, their symptoms would hit. Hard.

He was miserable, but, he thought it was worthwhile.

Keith would fight off the burning in his throat until the seal between the lions would shut fully behind Lance. He would collapse, coughing up a small pool of blue and red. After days where he would truly open himself up and lose track of vulnerabilities with Lance, his symptoms afterwards would keep him up the next night. He didn’t regret anything he had said, he just wasn’t able to feel the way his heart had wanted him to. He wanted to be able to express his adoration and love for Lance the way he felt it. But he couldn’t. He knew he didn’t have Lance, he knew he couldn’t.

He had learned that, since he was part Galran, this disease was inevitable. He couldn’t be saved, he didn’t have the option to never love again. Krolia apologized to him hundreds of times, feeling pity and sorrow for what she had caused. She was scared of losing her only son. She didn’t know what to do, since she knew she couldn’t change anything. Keith convinced Krolia to not worry about him, and that he would be fine, and she tried. She left him alone, allowing him to have as much time with Lance as he could. She had wanted to be with her son, obviously, but knew that this was the one thing she couldn’t fix. Keith knew that.

It took him a while to feel comfortable with the feeling, feeling so much unconditional love for one person, was dangerous. It had meant that everything he did, had became for Lance.

He knew the lions were safe, and that the team was safe, but he had to keep an eye out. He didn’t want there to be danger when he was out of control. He hated being in the Blade, but he needed to prove to Lance that he was not worthless. He hated how he couldn’t share how he felt. He was scared of hurting him, of forcing Lance to be the one to blame, come his end.

He hated it. He hated the stupid, tiny, blue flowers. He hated the drops of blood he felt collect in the bottom of his throat, on his tongue. He hated the pain and discomfort, and how hard it was to breathe. He held anger at his body, in his heart and his mind, for allowing himself to fall for someone unreachable.

But he didn’t want anything different.

He loved Lance. And he was happy. Blinded and bound by love-goggles to truly want anything else, but Lance.

Lance was confused.

He thought the ache in his chest was healing. Just aftermath of the surgery. Maybe something went wrong, or he was talking too much, and it set something back. But, it should have healed eventually, right? He had considered telling Hunk or Coran, maybe they would know what was happening. They would tell him it was because he wasn’t taking pain killers anymore, or it was a scar from the alien technology that he just had to deal with.

That was, until, he felt a familiar scratch in his throat.

Keith and him had been talking about family that day, talking about how he wanted Keith to meet his family, since Keith had none to visit.

He had to keep clearing his voice during the chat, maybe he was just getting sick. It wasn’t too long until we reached planet Azula, right?

When he had gotten back to his cabin, he was struck with a coughing fit. It was dry, normal, until a soft petal flew out.

Lance was stunned. He hadn’t believed Keith, he didn't believe that he could truly love again. But proof was in his hands.

One soft, damp, dark red rose petal.

He was in denial for the first few days, thinking up different causes for the petal. It had been only one petal, he thought it was a coincidence. An accident. But he knew better.

He was scared. The symptoms coming on faster and harder than they had with Allura. The more time he had spent talking with Keith, more petals had started to grow. He couldn’t get himself to pull away from Keith, either. He tried, but when he had, he found himself going to Keith anyway. He felt safe with him, and his symptoms would temporarily subside for the time being.

He didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t expected to fall in love again so quickly. Definitely not in the span of a few weeks. Keith had been opening up to him, becoming more comfortable and more vulnerable, and so had he. Keith became Lance’s feeling of home, knowing that his true home would be only a memory months from now. He knew he had fallen for Keith, and he could deal with it until they reached planet Azula. He knew he didn’t have Keith, he never could.

He just had to wait, again.

He had to wait, assuming that the planet they were heading towards had similar technology to be able to take the flowers out. However, he wished that they didn't. Yes, he wanted to see his family, yes, he held his friends dear. But he didn’t want to take two loves out. He had fallen in love before, innocently, kindly, with pure intention and desire.

Now, he had fallen for Keith. He loved and wanted Keith. He knew how much love blinded him from rational decisions, but he didn’t want his love to go to waste like it had before.
And so he kept quiet. He stayed close to Keith, the closer he was, the less that the roses thorns tore up his lungs.

They spent the entirety of their days together, making little time for the rest of the team. Each day, they grew closer, learning more and more about each other and why they are how they are. When they parted, they wallowed in their symptoms and emotions.

But they stayed silent.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Coran,” Keith set down his fork beside his portion of food-goo. The team had been having dinners together each night, to make sure everyone was still there and doing well. “The map says we should arrive at planet Azula in about 12 vargas.”

“Excellent!”Coran jabbed his fork in the air triumphantly, “Be in the cockpit in 11 then, paladins. We’ll be landing in an outskirt city called Crosa. Oh, it’s a surprise that Allura and I have been planing! There’s even a resort!” Coran beamed in excitement.

Allura sighed, “Well, that was the surprise,” She gave Coran a glare, he shrugged it off, still smiling. “Yes, I booked us a few quintant’s there. Oh, the resort is beautiful!” All annoyance in her face washed away as it changed to fond memories, “My father used to take us there once each movement. It’s a lovely place! There’s a beautiful beach, lots of caves and covens, wonderful friendly creatures that scatter along the beach! The resort also has a place where it’s said to be the best view of the sunset.”

“Beach? Sunsets? Count me in!” Lance’s smile beamed across the room to Allura, pure joy and excitement filled his eyes. The rest of the paladins followed his lead, vocalising their excitements for their vacation. The team finished dinner in a positive, lifted mood. They had all commed in about an hour before they were planned to land.

The team had settled into the resort rather quickly, more fascinated by the beach than the extravagant rooms that the resort held. They didn’t bother with introducing Voltron to the planets habitants, instead, checking in and getting out to the sights. The team ran out to the resort’s beachfront before they all stopped in their tracks and gawked in astonishment.

Azula was beautiful.

The beach had silky, baby pink sand. The water was a pale blue that grew into a deep, navy blue on the horizon. The sand was quick to absorb into the waves, the tide almost vanishing seconds after they rolled in. The caves were a golden chestnut color, sinking endlessly into the sides of coves and cliffs. The sky was a light lavender, with large, coral clouds and a sun identical to Earth's. There were no shells scattering the beach, instead there were many expanses of tide pools that inhabited small sea creatures beside the caves and coves.

Further back on the beach, vegetation populated the dunes and trails. Large leafy bushes overhung different trails like trees. Near the ground, oversized alien flowers lined each trail and the outskirts of the sand. Fern-like bushes were present at each turn, almost as if they were guiding the visitors around the pathways. The team took their time to explore in awe.

Eventually, they split up. Hunk and Pidge took Romelle to explore the caves with tiny headlamps and magnifying glasses, giggling with excitement to learn and investigate these alien creatures and and their habitat. The adults Coran, Allura, Shiro and Krolia hung at a shack-bar, ordering presumably tropical space alcohol drinks. That left Keith and Lance to take the beach with the space wolf.

“Race you!” Keith gave Lance a competitive look before taking off, “Last to the water has a bad haircut!”

Lance stumbled on his feet, “You already do!” Keith was a solid ten feet in front of him, so he sprinted to catch up, the space wolf running alongside them. Halfway to the water, they stripped off their shirts and tugged off their shoes, tossing them behind before picking up the pace. Water began to splash underneath their feet with the low tide before it sank into the sand. Lance started gaining on Keith, almost caught up. When they were almost knee-deep into the water, Keith flashed a satisfied grin towards Lance. Lance smirked back, close enough to tackle Keith forward into the shallow water, spinning around until their sides hit the sand underneath. The two boys sat up in a fit of laughter, wiping the water and sand off of their faces, pushing their soaked hair back off their foreheads.

“I totally beat you!” Lance smiled, turning to Keith. He threw his fists up in victory and stood up, walking further into the water.

“No, you didn’t!” Keith called to him and started to laugh again. He quickly got up to follow Lance, tackling him into the deeper water. The two fell back into the water and braced themselves for the next wave. They popped their heads out of the water before the next wave tumbled over their still fallen bodies. They swam under the small waves and retreated to shallower water, where they could sit and still be partially submerged by the tide. They sat near each other, legs sprawled out in front of them, leaning back on their hands. They watched for a few minutes, silently, as the waves crashed onto the shore, washing over them in a blanket of faint blue, before receding and sinking into the sand.

“You haven’t stopped smiling,” Lance drew his legs in, hugging his knees losely to his chest and turned to Keith.

“You haven’t, either,” Keith’s smile grew, “I’m just happy, I guess,” he took in a deep breath of fresh, ocean air, and Lance watched his smile turn to words. “It’s been years since I’ve been to the beach. Shiro took me the year before I was drafted into the Garrison, since he had just finished what was equivalent to his senior year. He took me to Mexico with his family to celebrate. I loved it,” Keith closed his eyes, feeling the environment around him, before slowly reopening them, dazed in peace. “I’m normally not much of a water person, but the waves, the open beaches, the clear sky… they make me feel tranquil.”

“Me, too,” Lance had closed his eyes as well, drawing them back open to Keith’s constant smile. “The beach makes me feel calm, it’s like the waves wash everything away.”

The two soaked in the environment, feeling the air blow and sun shine against their damp bodies, waves gently crashing around them, slapping their skin with watery kisses, sand holding their weight evenly. They breathed the clean air deeply, crisp and fresh. They sat in a moment of peace, of total tranquility. Until the space wolf shook off it’s fur onto their bare backs.

“Hey!” They shouted in unison, breaking the moment. Lance splashed the dog with the shallow water, Keith laughing at the playful anger Lance had beamed towards the wolf. The wolf retaliated, using its tail to splash the two of them with water and sand. They yelled again before chasing the wolf back to dry sand.

They went back and forth on the beach, chasing each other to and from, racing each other and submerging themselves in the water every chance they could. They ran out of breath quickly, flopping onto the sand near the tides. Gasping for breath, they rolled onto their backs, pulling an arm or hand over their eyes to block out the sun.

They played and explored for the day. Trying, and failing, to teach the space wolf to fetch. Creeping up on Pidge, Hunk and Romelle in the caves with low, spooky noises and large shadows to jump scare them. They even had lunch at the snack bar, trying an alien-sub sandwich and a tangy-sweet smoothie of unpronounceable ingredients.

They seperated for a while after that, Lance exploring the cliff peaks with Hunk, Keith sitting on the beach with Krolia and Shiro.

Lance and Hunk hiked up the few trails that lead to the cliff’s. The trails were quite beat down, solid sand and rock underneath their feet and a tunnel like form in the plants surrounding them. Reaching the peak, Lance sat on the edge for a minute, dangling his feet over the drop. Wow. He was in awe of the view, the horizon feeling like it was an arms length away - that he could reach out and brush his fingertips across the sky. The ledge allowed there to be nothing but sky in his peripheral, he was only surrounded by light fluffy clouds and a bright sheet of lavender sky. The cliff he was on caved in slightly, he could only see water underneath the protruding land. He couldn’t tell how high he was, how far he had gone. He was just there, sitting in the sky.

Hunk kept telling Lance to be careful, since they didn’t know how deep, or shallow, the water beneath the cliff was. Lance listened and backed away from the cliff, walking back to the trail with a suspicious grin. Hunk had been on his knees, eyeing over the edge from a stable point. Lance came up behind him, out of his view, and took his arm in his, pulling him for a jump. Hunk shrieked in terror and Lance screamed in adrenaline. They both curled up into a cannonball before hitting the water. Hunk was the first to pop back up, water rippling from the impact and scolding Lance before he had surfaced. Lance broke the surface in a fit of laughter, pure adrenaline rushing through his veins, making his head feel fuzzy. Hunk soon joined in on his fit of laughter before they swam to the shore, chasing each other back up the trail to do it again.

Keith had his arms propped up on his elbows on the barside behind them, facing towards the sea from the bar stool. Krolia and Shiro had been talking for most of the day, Krolia talking about her experience in the Blade and how she found Keith and had met his dad back in the day. Shiro talked about how he discovered Keith before the Garrison, and how he was as a kid and at the Garrison. They ceased their conversation when Keith sat down, giving him a playful, pitiful smile. Keith refused to make eye contact for the first few minutes, but Shiro’s playful grin only grew.

“So, why didn’t you tell me about the boy?” Shiro questioned, turning towards Keith, taking a long sip from his drink. Keith’s face flushed without even looking at him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Keith kept his gaze forward, but he felt his cheeks flush more. Shiro chuckled, grin slowly fading after with parental-like concern.

“I wish you would have told me, Keith,” Shiro put on his ‘adult’ voice, setting his drink back down on the counter. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him, how are you holding up?”

Keith sighed, he had been keeping quiet about it from even Krolia. He knew that they didn’t want to hear what was really going on, knowing that he’d become the center of everyone’s attention and worry. He didn’t like having all eyes on him, so he lied. “Things are okay, actually. Not much is happening. I’m still getting flowers and all, but it's nothing.”

“Keith, I know better,” Krolia sat up straighter, shifting her eyes from the beach to the ground, to meet Keith’s eyes. “I know that the symptoms get worse after the suppressants, from experience. We have time, too, being here on vacation. Shiro and I could go look for some more suppressants, but you’d have to allow us to talk to Coran and Allura first.”

“Krolia, Shiro, I’m fine,” Keith made solid eye contact between the two, “If anything gets worse, you guys will be the first to know, okay?”

Shiro and Krolia nodded in unison. They had agreed previously, that if anything were to happen, it was their responsibility, since they were the only ones who knew. The silence became awkward, dead air holding the reality of the situation. Shiro decided to break it, continuing to tease Keith about his crush. Shiro tried to get Keith as red as he could, asking him constant questions about when he got infected, what he likes about Lance, and what he thought the flowers resembled. Keith opened up slowly, knowing that Shiro was doing it out of kindness and brotherly love. Keith talked about Lance and about his experience with the flowers. As he talked, Krolia started to bounce off of him, talking about how she had experienced them with his father.

Come the beginning of sundown, the team had agreed to join around a firepit near the caves. They all gathered, having some dinner together. Allura had informed them that, in half a varga, they were to meet at the viewing area on the roof of the resort’s hotel, since that was said to be the best area to watch the sunsets. The team enjoyed dinner, telling stories about what they did and what they saw during the day.

They made their way to the viewing area together, stuffing themselves onto an elevator all at once. The viewing area was partially covered and walled, allowing for viewing if there were to be a storm of sorts. The roof had railings along the edges, which frustrated Lance since it partially obstructed the view. The sky started to melt into the horizon, the sun nearing the very edge of the water.

Suddenly, Lance turned away from the view, rushing over to Keith. “I know somewhere better!” He shouted and grabbed Keith by the hand, forcing him to spin on his heel and run to follow.
“Lance!” The team shouted at the two, annoyed they caused a distraction from the sight.

“What the-!” Keith shouted, being tugged along behind Lance as he rushed for the fire-escape stairs.

“Just trust me!” Lance gripped Keith’s hand tighter, shuffling down the stairs as quickly and carefully as he could. Keith stayed silent, focusing on trying to keep up and not fall. They ran, fast, to a trail near the cliff. Keith didn’t know what Lance was bringing him to, but he didn’t have time to question it. They rushed up the trail, and Lance was happy that it appeared empty.

Nearing the end of the trail, he was sure that it was abandoned for the time being. Lance slowed, releasing Keith’s hand and walking over to the ledge. He sat on the edge again, dangling his feet back off into the abyss. He looked back at Keith, who was staring at the view, but was five feet back from the edge.

“Come sit,” Lance pat the ground beside him on the ledge. Keith gave him a weary, uncertain look. “I promise I won’t let you fall.”

And so Keith did. He followed Lance’s posture, carefully balancing himself onto his hands as his feet hung into the nothingness. His gaze moved from Lance’s smile to the view in front of him.

He was in the sky.

The sun was about halfway submerged in the water, reflecting into a whole. The sky was a bright coral around the sun, gradually blending into a hot pink and further on into a deep violet. The water beneath semed to mirror the other perfectly, making the picture complete. They were silent, all other sounds being drown out by the soft crashing of the waves against the rocks. The sunset was fast, but lasted enough to see each and every change. The deep violet grew closer and closer to where the distant star met the edge of the land. The colors surrounding the sun grew brighter and more vibrant as they disappeared. The violet started to dim as a deep navy blue washed over it like the tides, slowly splattering bits of visible stars as the sky fell into an incomprehensible blackness. Once all the color vanished, the two sighed.

“Wow,” The two boys whispered in astonishment, giggling at the unison. Lance flopped onto his back with a small thud. Keith looked back onto him, and the light was barely present for Lance to see his smile. Lance reached out and pulled on Keith’s shoulder, forcing him to plop beside him. Lance laughed at the small ‘oof’ that was pulled out of Keith, and the two stared at the sky above them.

The constellations were always different wherever they went. The constant movement between galaxies and solar systems always changed the way the stars looked, even if some were the shared. Unrecognized, they looked the same as they would on Earth. Dimmed by the atmosphere, the brightness was still visible, unable to capture the true beauty of the gasses and elements that created them. Keith starred, trying to identify the foreign stars into formations he was familiar with. He was able to see a few that looked like Orion's Belt, or looked a little like the Big and Little Dipper, but nothing was quite right. He knew he wasn’t on Earth, but he found comfort in the familiarities. He eventually got bored of staring at the speckled spots of white so he tilted his head to the side, curious of Lance’s eyes.

He wasn’t expecting them to meet him immediately, or to be so close to him, and it made his stomach flip. He jumped slightly, confused at the stare and lack of distance, but softened into it with a soft ‘hey’.

Lance smiled, “Hey,” and gazed deep into Keith’s eyes. They were close, really close, noses almost brushing against each other. He could feel Keith’s gentle breathing against his cheek. He could see the light reflection of the stars above within them, trying to find his own constellations within them. Lance realized what he was doing and came to his senses, looking away from Keith and placing his arms behind his head. “Better view, right?”

“Yeah.” Keith assured, eyes lingering on Lance for a few beats before he resumed studying the sky. They were quiet again, soaking in the eerie quiet of the cliff. Far from their team, from the water, only surrounded with each other and darkness.

“You know, I’m actually scared to see my family again,” Lance’s voice sounded hoarse like it does when he had just gotten up, “I don’t know what they’ll be like.”

“What do you mean?” Keith was curious about the sudden change of atmosphere.

“Well, for one, how do we know that they’re still alive?” Lance closed his eyes, “Hell, we don’t even know how long we’ve been gone for. It could’ve been a few months or a few decades…”

“Lance, don’t think that way,” Keith had understanding in his voice, but he was concerned, too.

“No, really. How do we know that they’re still there?”

“Lance, don’t-”

“But also, what if they don’t recognize me? Like, what if this massive space-war has changed me to much to where they don’t realize that I’m me. I won’t be the same Lance that they knew before the Garrison, they probably think that I’m dead, and wont believe me if I ever see them again!” Lance’s voice sounded heavy, “What if I’m not Lance, Keith, what do I do then? What CAN I do then?” Lance went quiet, Keith noticed his breathing getting shallow.

“Lance, listen to me. They aren’t going to not recognize you. You’re still Lance. The same Lance that they remember. Yes, this war is going to change both of us, it already has, but it doesn’t mean that we’re different people. You’re the same Lance that went to family bonfires at the beach. You’re the same Lance that studied his ass off to learn English and get into the Garrison. You’re the same Lance that created a stupid rivalry back at the Garrison between us. You’re the same Lance that helped me save Shiro, that has piloted both the blue and red lion. You’re you, Lance. The same Lance that’s right next to me.”

The same Lance that I fell in love with.

Lance sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. He stared forward, resting his chin on the top of his knees, staring blankly into the void of sea and sky. “Thanks, Keith. I guess, I just got sappy about home. After bonfires at home, I had a small patch of rocks that I’d always go to after sundown, and I’d just stare at the sky for a bit. It felt familiar, you know?”

“I do, Lance,” Keith sat up, leaning back on his palms.

“Thanks for, that. And, like, everything.” Lance felt overwhelmed, his chest compelling him to say more, “You’ve been really kind to me. You’ve been more open, talking to me more than you ever have about things you never tell anyone. Stories you’ve kept. And you help me when I’m like this, and seem genuinely curious about my stories and all that… So, thank you, Keith.” Lance finished, not paying attention to many of the words falling from his tongue. He knew he meant them.

Thanks for being the person I love.

Before Keith had the chance to respond, they heard their names being called from a distance. It was their que to return to the team.

“Guess we should get going,” Lance shrugged and got up, holding his hand out to Keith.

Keith grabbed ahold, hoisting himself up, and held on as they took a step forward back towards the trail.

However, he felt a familiar, distinct burn in his throat. He took a step forward and collapsed back to the ground, kneeling over and clutching his throat with both hands, struggling to breathe. Coughing and lurching violently, dozens of flowers and petals spilled out of his lungs, feeling the hot ooze of disrupted blood flow with them. He heard Lance scream.

Chapter Text

Keith was in a coma-like state for a while. His brain and body seemed to be in shock from the sudden convulsion of flowers from his lungs, and he had been deprived from oxygen for a few minutes too long. The team was hoping there was no brain damage, butat the very least knew that he wasn’t doing so well.

Krolia had explained how Hanahaki disease affected Galrans, how the flowers dominate the victims entire respiratory system, where the buds and leaves of the flowers can seep into the bloodstream as if they were oxygen. This is why, if someone that’s Galran tries to have their flowers removed, can still die as a result.

The team was distraught. They were going to lose their black and red paladin, one of their most respected leaders. Shiro and Krolia were the most worried and heartbroken, since they were the closest to him and yet still didn’t see any of the symptoms he was dealing with. Keith had been good at hiding them, too good. He was aware of his body, he was able to control the flowers most of the time, except his one.

Planet Azula had a nice hospital facility, taking Keith in immediately. However, to the team’s dismay, they couldn’t treat him in any shape of form. The most they could do was to keep his vital organs functioning for the time being, until the flowers clotted his bloodstream, and inevitably, his heart.

All of the team was in shock, stunned at the sudden change in events. The team was used to dynamics shifting and immediate injuries, but not ones as terrifying as this.

Lance had carried Keith in his arms, dead silent after one scream. He was coated in Keith’s blood and tiny blue petals. Lance’s eyes looked terrified and remorseful. Keith was passed out when Lance found the team, a steady ooze of the cursed flowers dripping from his lips. Lance could barely feel Keith breathing, just slight rises and falls against his chest.

When Keith woke, he was still rather dazed. His vision was blurry, his body ached. He couldn’t talk, throat burning with each breath alone. All he could remember was Lance’s scream, it kept playing in the back of his mind. He could feel the IV in his arm and a heart rate monitor gently squeezing his index finger. He could also feel cold air being forced through his nose, small tubes of cold plastic stuck against his cheeks. Everytime he closed his eyes, he entered a dream-like state. He knew he was dreaming, aware of his subconscious painting imaginary pictures behind his eyelids, yet it wasn't quite lucid. His mind took what was around him, especially voices and words, and created a vivid scenario that mimicked his emotional response.

Most of the team came in pairs, knowing that Keith still had time, but not wanting to waste it. It wasn’t predictable, but it was as long as his vital organs stayed in stable condition.

Shiro and Krolia came in at the same time and talked to Keith’s about how proud they were of him, and how they were glad to be his family. They masterfully masked their voices in support and love in their conversation. Keith’s mind painted a scene where they were all back at the shack. Keith was surrounded with a younger Shiro, his mother as she was now, and the last image he had seen of his father. They sat on the couch, Shiro in the middle. Keith was standing in front of them, unable to speak back, but listened. His father stayed silent, since he knew he wasn’t actually there with him. Krolia and Shiro talked towards Keith, asking questions that left dead air between them. They recounted their favorite memories of him, and Keith’s mind replayed that memory as they described it. It was pleasant, comforting.

When Allura and Coran came in, they thanked Keith for his time. This painted Keith’s subconscious with when he was promoted in the Garrison. He was on a stage, behind a podium, expected to give a speech to a crowd of strangers. He heard Allura and Corans voice at a distance, as if they were far, far behind him. It felt colder than how Krolia and Shiro had felt, but still was comfortable. He felt appreciated.

Hunk and Pidge were next. Behind his eyelids, a vague classroom set up appeared. It was an empty classroom, like it had been dismissed minutes ago. He was sitting at the back corner of the desks, scribbling gibberish notes onto a blank note page. Hunk and Pidge were in the middle of the classroom, seemingly gossiping with each other about a student that Keith didn’t know, but he knew it was him. Hunk was crying but his voice warm, sorrow and pity were held heavily in each word. Hunk talked about memories he had, most of them being from their battle in space, a few from the Garrison. Pidge’s voice was a little cooler and more solid, but still sad. She thanked Keith for being their leader for a time, and thanked him for acting like her older brother for a time. It felt familiar yet foreign, a neutral tone.

Final, was Lance. It took him a minute to gather his words, but his presence alone allowed for Keith’s mind to piece together a scene. They were in a lavender field, bright, sunny, wide, and quiet. It felt warm and safe.

“Keith, I…” Lance’s voice was hoarse, broken. Keith couldn’t pry his eyes open, eyelids locking him onto the reality they forced. Instead, he weakly lifted his hand towards the voice. Immediately he felt warmth tightly envelop his hand. In the dream, Lance was lying beside him and held Keith’s hand up to his chest. More silence had passed. Lance was using a filter with his words, he could tell. At times like this he would be blabbering verbatim whatever had ran through his mind. Now, the quiet was eerie with choice.

“I wish you knew. God, I wish you knew,” Lance turned his body towards Keith in the dream, lying on his side. He looked up to Keith with wide, sad eyes. “I wish I knew, too. Forget-me-nots? How long? Who was it you met?” Lance turned back away from Keith, “This isn’t what’s supposed to happen. You’re supposed to be happy eventually, right? Find someone who you’d die for, but you’re not supposed to actually die!” Lance’s voice started to shake, filter wavering, “But, I understand… I’ve been here before. With my father,” Lance’s gut wrenched as he retold the memory, he had never told Keith before, and he didn’t know if he could actually hear him. Keith’s subconscious scene began to have dark rain clouds roll into the sky above the field, stench of rain masking over the lavender. However, no rain began to fall.

“This is useless. Keith, I…” In his mind, Keith tried to encourage Lance, tried to comfort him. In realty, Keith was still. His hand in Lance’s began to get cold. Lance continued, “You know, when you told me that I could love someone again, I didn’t believe you,” He heard Lance take a deep breath and a few raindrops bagan to fall from the clouds above, slowly, giving them time to hit. “I didn’t. But I was proved wrong. Not long after you told me that, I had proof that it was true. Keith, I coughed up a rose petal. I was used to cherry blossoms, so I had thought that it was for Allura again. That was until I thought about it, tried to piece together the puzzle. You told me that I couldn’t love the same person again, right? So, I tried to place it upon someone. Roses are beautiful, deep red flowers. They resemble love and lust, and their thorns are bound to prick, and I…” Lance coughed in both reality and the dream, “...think they resemble you perfectly. I-I’m sorry, you’ll never get to hear this. I…” Lance’s voice was near silent now, “Thank you, Keith.”

In the dream, Lance stayed beside Keith. They laid on their patch of green field, surrounded by warm wind and calming lavender. Slowly, everything started to fade to black and Keith fell asleep.

In reality, Lance had rushed from Keith’s bedside to the restroom, clutching his mouth and stomach like his father had.

Chapter Text

Keith’s eyes flung open, being stung by the bright lights in his room. His heart monitor rapidly increased, automatically calling in the nurses. Keith was standing beside his bed when they arrived and ordered him to lay back down, but Keith refused. He tugged at his assisted breathing tubes, the cold air feeling toxic and suffocating. He told the nurses what had happened, how he didn’t have the symptoms anymore. The nurses looked around, confused and concerned, but took off his assisted breathing tubes. They watched Keith’s breathing for a few minutes before stating that he seemed to be breathing easily. Keith nodded along, becoming impatient. He needed to see Lance. The IV’s became restricting, he told the nurses to take them out. They hesitated, but he explained how he needed to go. Noticing his heightened behavior and clean use of motor skills, they agreed. They slowly pieced together Keith’s side of the story, understanding what had happened in the most basic terms. They took out his IV’s but told him to stay put for a few more minutes. They had to check that his vitals were functioning, and that he didn’t obtain any brain damage. After a number of minutes, his impatience got the best of him. “Where’s Lance?”

“He, uh, was just put into a room. He had an attack of flowers, too. He’s human though, so we contacted a separate hospital to send a doctor who could perform the surgery again.” One of the nurses replied. Keith rushed out of his godforsaken room, desperately searching for the room number they shouted as he left. He spotted some of his team-mates next to a room further down the hall, and ran.

“Keith, what the hell?” Pidge was beside Hunk, sitting on a bench outside of the room. Hunk looked up with teary eyes. He knew Hunk had been crying over Keith, but assumed that this made it worse. “We saw a rush of nurses to your room a few minutes ago, we thought you had died?!” Pidge stood up and hugged him, tears starting to break from her eyes. Hunk followed, squeezing him silently from the other side. Keith was stuck in between them, allowing them to hug him.

He spoke up after a few beats, “Guys, I need to see Lance or he’s going to die, too.” The two reluctantly took their arms away, still baffled at how Keith was alive and breathing.

“Wait,” Hunk grabbed Keith’s arm before he entered the room. “What’s going on?”

Keith sighed and took a step back from the doorway, “Lance confessed to me while I was out, but I was able to hear him. I could hear all of you guys, I just couldn't move. It was weird. But he confessed to me, and he was the one who I had the disease over. And now he thinks that my flowers were for someone other than him, so I need to change that,” Keith pulled his arm out of Hunk’s grasp, taking a step forward into the room. “I need to get him to believe me.”

The pair stood shocked as Keith entered the room, slowly processing the information they had been given.

In the room, Lance was hunched over the other side, clutching a trash-bin with white knuckles. He was lurching continuously, his body barely giving him time to breathe. Keith made his way around the bed, helping Lance hold the bin. Lance didn’t seem to acknowledge who was there helping him, but Keith kept at it.

Eventually, Lance was given a break and leaned back to the bed, eyes closed. His face was messy, hair disheveled, lips and chin dripping in his own sticky blood and large petals. His cheeks and neck were scratched up from the thorns. There were hot, tear stains on the sides of his face, eyes looking heavy and tired.

“Lance, oh my god,” Keith dropped the bin and pulled Lance’s tired body into his arms. He hugged him tight, pressing his forehead against Lance’s shoulder. Lance was pliant, arms refusing to move. “We are idiots.”

“K-Keith? What are you…?” Lance’s eyes were barely open, bloodshot red. His eyelids hung heavy around them. “I… I thought you were dead? How are you…”

Keith’s eyes began to burn, “Lance, shh…” Lance’s breathing had become heavier again, Keith could feel the boy beneath him shake. “How did you not know who the flowers were for?” Keith pulled his head back slightly, still holding Lance in his arms, and made eye contact. “Soft, blue petals. Forget-me-nots for the boy who’s scared of being forgotten. Lance, they were for you. How did you not notice, not piece it together?” Keith took a breath, realizing his reversed role in it all. “How did I not notice?” Keith shook his head, refusing to think about how he didn’t know Lance was recorperating in private, suffering for the second time, alone. “Lance, I love you.”

Lance stared back at Keith, eyes burning from being bloodshot and tired, throat and lungs aching. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t. Keith was suddenly in front of him, holding him, telling him that he loves him. Lance took his time to process. His heart was still beating, his body still hurt, but he was still alive.>/em> Keith, inches from him, wasn’t in his hospital bed. He wasn’t coughing up flowers anymore. He wasn’t dead. He was here, and he looked better. And he was smiling.

“Prove it.” Lance requested, staying pliant and still.

Keith saw the confusion and fear in Lance’s eyes, a slow turning of gears behind his pupils. He needed to prove it. So, he did. He gently placed his hands on either sides of Lance’s scratched up cheeks, using his thumb to wipe away the immediate blood and petals from his lips, and kissed him.

It hit Lance like a wave. The scene playing out seconds before he reacted. His eyes were still gazing forward, where they had been staring into Keith’s. Suddenly, he was washed over in comfort. His lips were met with warmth, his chest felt full and blanketed, his mind in a heat-wave daze.

It hit him.

Lance picked up his arms with as much force as he could mister, flinging them around Keith’s neck. He snapped his eyes shut, finally recuperating the kiss, meeting the warmth with his own.

Keith pulled back almost immediately, eyes blown wide in shock. Lance had a wide smile on his face. Lance tugged at Keith’s neck, causing him to fall forward against Lance’s chest. “I love you, too.” Lance’s smile began to ache, his arms loosening around Keith’s neck. He started to cough again, but not nearly as violent as before. Keith grabbed the bin and handed it to Lance. Lance coughed out the remaining petals that were hanging in his lungs and set the bin back down.

Keith sat beside him as he regained strength. Keith hadn’t stopped smiling. He finally had who he had loved for years.

“Okay, nurses, what’s the patient’s status?” A small alien doctor waddled into the room behind a few more nurses. Keith hasn’t noticed how the nurses were circling them in confusion. The doctor same up to the other side of Lance’s bed.

“Oh. It seems like you two have the problem solved.” The doctor smirked, “Not the first time this has happened. Congrats, boys.” The doctor pulled off his elastic gloves, “Nurses, make sure that their vital organs are stable. I’ll go tell their team.”

Keith was pulled along back to his original room to have a final check-up. The team was gathered around the doctor and a few nurses, seemingly having the ordeal explained. They performed the average check-ups on both of the boys, reaffirming that everything had become in stable condition, and allowing for both of them to spit out the last few petals in their lungs. The nurses still seemed to be in shock, but were inevitably joyful for how it had played out.

They met the team in the lobby; Keith was the first one down.

“What the hell, Keith!” Pidge pushed her way past Hunk, stopping Keith from coming any closer. She had her arms angrily crossed over her chest. “What kind of fanfiction is this!?” She rubbed her forehead with one of her hands and sighed. She pulled him into a hug, squeezing tightly around his torso. Hunk followed, wrapping his wide arms around the two, squeezing Pidge between them. They were still huddled when Lance arrived.

“H-hey, guys,” Lance was scratching the back of his head. Hunk and Pidge slowly unraveled the group hug from Keith to talk to Lance, but Keith started another group hug. He turned and latched onto Lance with the spin of his heel, pulling him close to his chest. Hunk and Pidge followed, more excited than they had with Keith, knocking the two over and proceeding to pile on top into a dog-pile. Hunk ended up, crushing the three bodies beneath him. In a fit of giggles, they stood back up to face the rest of the team. Keith held onto Lance’s hand.

“So, we were told what happened,” Shiro had his arms crossed, as did the rest of the adults of the matter, as well as Romelle. “But I don’t think it’s time for lectures. I’m glad things got sorted out.” Shiro and Kroia both had wide grins on their faces, they were looking between each other the the boy’s intertwined hands.

Coran turned to his side, facing partially away from the boys. “That being said, and I don’t know much about this khaki-”

“Hanahaki!” Pidge corrected.

“...Disease, but this must not happen again!” He upturned his nose in the air, giving a small ‘hmph!’ before turning back to the boys. “But I’m glad you two are alright.”

Chapter Text

The team resumed their vacation after that. Allura and Shiro both had their fair share of words and lectures towards the two boys, frustrated with Lance’s ignorance and distance and pent-up fear for Keith’s possible inevitable demise because of the disease. The rest of the team were still processing it for the next few days, so they booked an extra week at the resort. Krolia was overjoyed for her son, glad that she didn’t lose him to something she couldn't protect him from. Hunk and Pidge were snarky to Lance for a few days after, but sharing their stress and how truly overwhelmed with the situation they actually were.

The most impacted were Keith and Lance. The night that they returned to their hotel, Keith joined Lance in his. They talked about the disease, obviously frustrated how they hadn’t known earlier, and how they hid it so well from each other. But they were happy. They were awkward for a bit, too, unsure about how fast to move forward or to act. Over the few days, they got more comfortable. All they knew was that they truly loved each other, the cursed disease proved it.

The day after, they were insanely flustered. Blushing each time someone noticed their interlocked hands, refusing to make eye contact in small spaces. They had taken a small step back from where they were the day before, deciding to build back up to it. They spent the day on the beach, enjoying the water again.

They sat within the waves for longer this time. The water felt warmer, feeling like a silky blanket wash over their legs and hands. They waded out further, going deep enough to swim beneath the tides.
Lance swam out further, wading out to where he could barely stand with his head above the water. He stretched his arms far and wide with each stroke, engaging his entire body within the movements. When he bobbed his head above the water to catch his breath, he faced the shore and watched Keith race the space wolf in the shallower tide. It was the first time he truly felt like he could breathe.

Around the bonfire at dinner, he was sitting beside Lance on a beach chair. The fire was warm, creating a yellow-orange haze that reflected on everyone’s skin. It was warm and the embers floated up like gravity didn't exist. Hunk had been telling a story, but Keith hadn’t been paying attention. He was watching Lance be engaged with Hunk’s storytelling, eyes reflecting the small fire, his skin glowed from the flames. Lance erupted in laughter from Hunk’s story, a large, toothy smile tugging its way across his cheeks. Keith finally felt at peace.

They kissed again that night.

They headed to the cliff again, like they had the night before when things all went awry.

“Let’s try this again,” Lance squeezed Keith’s palm lightly, tugging him back down to sit near the edge. Lance had a wide, authentic smile across his cheeks, as did Keith in response. The two were soaked in a golden light, the sun had yet to set fully. They sat closer than the last time, thighs pressing against each other, fingers intertwined and faces forward. They watched the colors change and fade, hues blending and mixing in indescribable beauty. Lance leaned his head on Keith’s shoulder, feeling the warmth of the skin underneath his temple. They sat silently, soaking in the tranquil moment as all vibrant saturation faded into the horizon.

After a few minutes of dark, all light had vanished, Keith used his other hand to hold Lance’s cheek. Keith met his eyes, gazing deeply into the wide pupils. “Hey.”

Lance smiled, unlocking their hands and placing his forearms on Keith’s shoulders, hands behind his neck. “Hi.”

They held the moment for a few seconds, watching the stars dance, reflected in the glaze of each others eyes. Keith leaned in and kissed him again.

When they pulled apart, their lips were pliant, but their eyes were smiling. They soaked in the few seconds before Keith spoke back up, “I love you.”

Lance darted his eyes away, feeling flushed and embarrassed, heat raising to his cheeks. “I know that.” He shyed away from Keith’s face, but stayed close.

“You do, huh?” Keith smirked, “Well, I guess you’re also the most beautiful boy I’ve ever met. You have so much love to give the world, the stupidest sense of humor, shitty pick up lines and flirting tactics. You make me really happy, and I’m glad that you’re mine.”

Lance looked back at Keith, extremely embarrassed, “you… you can’t just say things like that!” Lance turned his nose up, crossing his arms away from Keith.

“Yes, I can,” Keith turned his body towards Lance, “and I will keep doing it.”

“Well…” Lance turned back to Keith, “You’re the most authentic person I’ve ever seen. You’ve got an interesting way that you go about things, and it shows a lot of how you think. You’ve got a dry sense of humor, but are great at telling stories and expressing yourself… Shitty haircut and all.” Lance began to smirk. Keith gave a fake-hurt face in response, pulling further away sarcastically. “But I love you, too.”