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Lance hadn’t listened to Allura’s mission briefing that closely, honestly. She’d said something about a planet that harbored necessary, rare metals that the Galra wanted, and that this planet needed to join the Coalition.
“Welcome to our planet!” A bright green alien humanoid wearing billowing clothes approached the paladins’ ship, hands clasped in joy. Lance stared at him. On the top half was a normal humanoid— albeit, with an extra pair of eyes, but still. However, his bottom half was a fucking horse.
Lance was starting to wonder if he needed to pay closer attention during those meetings. He couldn’t help it, though. Keith was back . Sometimes, he caught himself zoning out in Keith’s direction, mind flitting through all the lonely nights he’d spent training with his new sword, wishing he had the guidance of their resident swordsman. Wishing for more, even.
… he was doing it again. Keith raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction. Lance held up a hand to reassure him that everything was fine, and yeah, Keith, I’m not a creep, I swear. Keith turned away again with a neutral expression, refocusing back on Allura at his side.
Keith was at Allura’s right hand because Shiro had stepped away from leading when Keith came back, tired after years of struggle and trauma at the hands of the Galra. That meant Lance was currently standing at Keith’s right side, feeling every movement from Keith’s arm like a jolt up his side, no better than a teenager.
Of course, talking through this formation with Allura had led to everyone making fun of Lance. Typical.
“You’re probably jealous that Keith’s getting between you and the princess,” Pidge had snarked during the meeting when Allura showed them their diplomatic lineup.
Lance shrugged noncommittally, bored out of his mind.
Then, he’d realized that everyone’s eyes were on him, waiting for him to respond. If he said yes, he’d be lying. If he said he wasn’t jealous, they’d just continue to badger him. He crossed his arms and chose a third option.
“Nothing can ever truly come between me and Allura!” he boasted, a sharp twang of wrong feelings sparking behind his ribs. Allura rolled her eyes, and balance was restored.
In all honesty, he had liked Allura at one point. Looking back on how he’d acted around her when they first met made him want to cringe. After a lot of rejections, he’d finally been able to move on.
It wasn’t just the rejections, actually. If he said that, he’d be lying again.
No, it was something about the late nights spent with Keith, poring over plans and formations and offering his input. It was something about the way that input had been actually respected, taken into account and even used. It was something about how Keith would notice Lance picking at his food sullenly, leaning close to whisper something about homesickness and understanding.
He didn’t miss the way that Keith glared at the ground after his comment on Allura. Keith was definitely annoyed at Lance, too.
Typical, typical.
Now, standing by Keith’s side, the green centaur-alien gestured for them to follow him into a palace.
“It’s an honor to be invited to stay here while we survey the supply of Lunarium for the Rebels,” Allura told the green alien. “What may we call you?”
“Please, the pleasure is all mine,” the alien nodded as he headed through a vine entryway. “And you can refer to me as ‘Dariell.’” He paused just inside of it to hold open the vines for the team.
As soon as he stepped through the archway, Lance’s jaw dropped. The entire castle was made up of trees, living ones, all growing to form walls and furniture from roots. Overhead, the canopy of green filtered in a soft light that made the glass pebble floor sparkle. It was like no other planet Lance had ever seen before.
“Keith, look,” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist to get his attention, gesturing to a massive tree trunk nearby. Inside of it was a carefully kept orb of smokeless flame. “How do they do that? Isn’t that, like, a hazard?”
Keith cleared his throat. “Uh, I don’t know. It’s cool.”
Lance nodded fervently, mesmerized by how the flame curled and danced in its enclosure.
“We should keep walking, Lance, the others are moving.”
Lance felt Keith’s wrist twitch in his hand, which he apparently was still holding. He quickly dropped it like he’d been burned.
“Yeah yeah, totally,” Lance agreed. He rushed to follow Keith back to where the group was walking through the hall.
“I shall show you to the conference room where you can meet with our queen.” Dariell was still talking, it seemed.
“That sounds great, sir.” Lance heard Shiro’s polite smile despite the fact that he couldn’t see it from behind. When they slowed to match Dariell’s pace, Lance caught Hunk’s eye momentarily.
He was giving Lance a questioning look, blinking repeatedly in a silent message. Lance cocked his head. Hunk mimed fire and a heart and Lance gave him a responding blank stare. Hunk waved his hand at Keith, but at that moment Pidge saw him, so he started pretending to mime… frying eggs?
“What the fuck,” Pidge whispered.
“Inside joke?” Hunk weakly whispered back. Pidge chose to listen to Dariell again instead of responding, her whole demeanor unimpressed.
“Worth a shot,” Lance tried to comfort him quietly, even though he hadn’t understood him whatsoever. Keith glared at them, clearly pissed they were talking over the planet official. Lance shrugged at him with a mischievous grin.
“And here we are!” Dariell declared, holding open another curtain of vines for the Voltron team to walk through. The conference room was simple. A massive tree trunk stump made up a large table, with smaller roots growing to form stools around the center circle. Tree walls provided for a sense of private conversation as well. Each of the stools were larger than the paladins, most likely to accommodate the centaurs’ horse bodies.
Allura chose a seat by the head of the table, with Shiro to her right now. Keith opted for a seat across from her. Lance, of course, was to Keith’s right, sitting down as Hunk and Pidge picked their seats.
They barely had a chance to get settled before Dariell announced the arrival of the queen.
“Please raise your hands for the Most Blessed, Queen Branzla!”
Lance quickly looked at what Shiro was doing when he raised his hands in the gesture Allura taught them before. He copied it as quickly as he could manage and successfully avoided looking dumb for forgetting it.
When the queen walked in, Lance was once again awed. She was green like Dariell, but much taller and with leaves extending down from her hair like a weeping willow. Her arms were long, fluid despite her solid appearance, and her horse body was a deep gray with lighter spots. She walked around the table, trailed by two courtiers as she took her seat at the head, her face parting in a smile-like expression.
“Welcome to Grennglade, paladins of Voltron. We hope you have had a safe journey and find planetside to your liking.” Even her voice was delicate, light as a summer breeze.
“It’s beautiful here, Your Blessedness,” Allura said with a smile of her own. Lance took note of the title internally. “We are truly grateful you have given us the opportunity to sign you on with our Coalition in face of the Galra threat.”
The queen paused. Lance frowned. Whenever political officials paused, that wasn’t a good sign. They usually loved to talk Voltron’s ears off and say placating statements to hurry the diplomatic process along.
“About that,” the queen started.
He felt Keith tense to his left and gently bumped his shoulder to calm him.
“We have a condition on our planet. As you all surely know, Grennglade has remained neutral from all conflict for thousands of years,” the queen explained. “For us to pick a side in this war, we must have assurance that we can undoubtedly trust our allies. Thus, we have established a system to determine whether we can trust you all.”
She motioned with one of her billowing arms for a courtier, who stepped forward from the wall and revealed a pouch. The alien picked up something from within and set it down on the table and Pidge leaned forward with interest immediately.
“A bracelet?” she questioned. It did look like one, a thin, green vine wristlet with a brighter green rock nestled inside. Lance didn’t think it was exactly fashionable and it definitely didn’t have the same fantastical energy as the gorgeous castle.
“These wristlets are designed to show us your true selves. While wearing them, you must share the reason that you choose to fight in this war. If your reason is good enough for the Spiritual Goddess, this wristlet will link to her, glow, and come off.”
Hunk looked at it apprehensively, eyes darting away to the queen. “Will it blink every time we tell the truth? ‘Cause I don’t feel like having a truth monitor strapped to me.”
The queen laughed.
“No, Yellow Paladin.” She held up a limb to calm him. “It is attuned specifically for this question. We design them to focus on one truth only.” Hunk’s shoulders noticeably relaxed at that.
“If there are no objections, we may begin right now. Whoever feels most prepared to answer may start.”
Their task didn’t seem all too difficult. In fact, Lance already knew why most of them were fighting: the safety of their families. He hoped that this q-and-a session would pass by quickly so they could relax a little.
The court officials walked around the table, passing out bracelets with stones each in the colors of their respective lions. Lance looked down at his red stone with trepidation. He definitely didn’t want to go first and wasn’t surprised to see Allura sitting up straighter, already opening her mouth to answer. Her sense of duty probably outrivaled anyone else’s.
“I fight to save the universe and innocent species from the Galran empire,” Allura answered proudly, her shoulders rolled back. The paladins all looked at her bracelet expectantly. Nothing happened. Allura shook her wrist in the air, expression turning agitated.
“Why isn’t it working?” Shiro asked the queen, who was sitting with her lips pursed.
“I believe that the Spiritual Goddess wishes for you to give a sufficient answer. She does not believe yours is entirely true or a complete picture of your intentions,” the queen said. Allura shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “If it makes you feel any better, yours is clearly a bond unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I don’t sense any judgment from your fellow paladins. I can see the energy waves linking you all.”
“If it’s too personal, you can be escorted to a private room,” Dariell chimed in. Allura simply shook her head, a newfound determination schooling her features.
“No. I trust the paladins in this room with my life,” she stated plainly. Shiro shot her a kind look, which she returned. “I will answer in more detail if that is what will secure your Goddess’s trust.”
She paused.
“I choose to fight because of my planet,” she started, and Lance just knew that this was hard for her beyond what they’d originally expected when they heard the question. “When I woke up to find that the Galra had wiped out my planet– no, my people – I was broken-hearted beyond belief. I didn’t understand why . Why kill us all instead of leaving us alive and subjugated under their will? Why erase your former allies' culture? Why was I left alive, when so many others so much stronger than me died?”
Her voice broke on the last line. Her bracelet had started to glow, a pulsing light that caught the attention of Allura and the other paladins. It still hadn’t broken, so Allura continued, blue eyes somehow full of bitterness and hope at the same time.
“I don’t want anyone else to have to do what I had to at such a young age,” she said, her voice trembling. “No young girl should have to bear those burdens or have to ask those questions.” Finally, her bracelet unwound and fell away from her wrist. The glow subsided. She exhaled, oblivious to Lance’s heart thudding painfully against his chest.
He already knew she was strong and selfless. Allura still managed to surprise him anyways.
“Thank you for sharing that with us, Princess.” Shiro clasped his hand over her shoulder, allowing Lance to notice that it was free of a bracelet.
“Hey, how come Shiro doesn’t need a bracelet?” Lance interjected.
“He is not a paladin,” the queen stated plainly.
“He’s still on the team,” Lance pointed out. Allura pressed her hands to her temples, while Pidge just snorted under her breath. Lance huffed, looking to the side. It was a fair question, in his humble opinion.
“Your confusion is not unwarranted, Red Paladin,” the queen told him. “However, he is unable to participate, as his quintessence is not connected to yours through the paladin bond at this time. These bracelets rely on your shared energies.” Lance nodded at that, crossing his arms to avoid the annoyed looks from Pidge and Allura.
“Let’s move onto the next person. Is anyone willing to go?” Allura looked around expectantly. Pidge raised her hand and Allura nodded, gesturing for her to begin.
“Uh, I fight for my family.” That was pretty much in line with what Lance expected from her. They’d all seen the way she’d struggled with Matt and Sam’s disappearance until they found Matt fighting with the Rebels. Par for the course, her bracelet only glowed and didn’t come off. She adjusted her glasses.
“I thought they were dead. It was… maybe the worst feeling I’ve ever felt. And it wasn’t even true , just a fear.” Pidge hunched in on herself and crossed her arms. “So many people are being separated from their families. Sometimes it’s temporary, like mine, and sometimes it isn’t. I can’t let that go on without doing something.”
Her bracelet glowed even brighter, untwisting from her wrist, the stone clattering to the table. Pidge watched it with no emotion. Even though her answer hadn’t been as long as Allura’s, the bracelet seemed to know that she had said all she was willing to share.
Shiro reached over to her, bringing her in for a quick side hug that she pretended she didn’t need.
“Thank you, Pidge,” Allura murmured. “I understand.” Lance did, too.
He was sure that his answer was just going to be more of the same, something about family and missing them and all the pain he’d seen.
“We’re so close to ending this and getting home,” Lance reminded her quietly. She nodded, obviously grateful despite her discomfort. Hunk reached across the table to grasp her hands in a silent affirmation.
After Pidge had been comforted, an awkward silence descended on the room. Hunk, Keith, and Lance began to glance at one another, unsure who would be more willing to go first. Hunk tried to wordlessly nod his head at Lance, who vigorously shook his head and tried to reciprocate the gesture.
In the end, it was Keith who ended the standoff.
“Just.. I’ll go.” He placed his wrist on the table so that his bracelet was visible, the black stone absorbing light from around it in a way that caught Lance’s attention.
He had to admit that Keith volunteering before Hunk was surprising, even if it had been to end the silent motioning between Lance and Hunk. Keith just wasn’t a super touchy-feely guy. At team bonding sessions, getting him to open up his mind was like pulling teeth, and even then they only caught limited glimpses of what was lying beneath his edgy mulleted exterior.
Pidge was even leaning forward in interest as Keith fidgeted with the bracelet.
“I… grew up with a different life than most of the other paladins.” Keith avoided everyone’s eyes. “A lot of people get mad at me for just rushing into situations and putting myself at risk. I don’t think they get that I just don’t see my life any other way.”
The black bracelet was emitting a low purple glow while he spoke. Lance couldn’t believe that his vague statements were actually working. Then again, maybe the jewelry knew that even these broad details were more than Keith was used to sharing.
“It’s my responsibility to make the universe safer because I have the… the ability to fight, when others don’t,” he added. “I just have to do something good, make the most of my second chance, even if I might not have earned it.”
Lance was bewildered.
“Earned it?” he demanded, swiveling left in his seat to face Keith, who was leaning away from him with wide eyes. Lance didn’t even notice, raising a hand to jab in Keith’s direction.
“You’re one of the fucking bravest people I’ve ever met. I’ve seen you save so many goddamn people, but more than that, I’ve seen how you interact with Pidge, Shiro, Hunk, and even me . You’re a great leader and you aren’t defined by your past.”
“You don’t need to risk your life to prove that you’re worthy of living,” Hunk chimed in with a warm, open smile. “You just are because you’re here and we care about you.”
“Thanks,” Keith gritted out. His eyes were still wide, lingering on Lance’s accusatory hand that had been hovering in the air for far too long. Lance quickly dropped it to his side. Man, he had to find some way to get past his weirdness with Keith.
Luckily, that had been enough for Keith’s bracelet to unravel. Keith slumped in his seat. Hunk instantly snapped to Lance with pleading eyes, and Lance just shook his head mutely.
Hunk sighed.
“Alright, I’m going next,” Hunk said, his anxious tone betraying how he felt about that decision. Lance felt guilt creep between his ribs and knew he’d have to taste test Hunk’s concoctions for at least another month before he made it up to his best friend. He tried to silently communicate an apology in Hunk’s direction, but his friend was already too focused on tackling the question ahead.
Hunk sucked in a deep breath, sitting tall.
“I was always a sort of terrified kid,” Hunk rushed to say. “I was scared of, like, spiders, the ocean, fire, my own shadow. That’s why I joined the Garrison in the first place, even if they never let me actually fight. I guess I wanted to show myself that I could put aside my fears if I really had to.” He laughed bitterly, shrugging his shoulders.
“Then I was put in Voltron and I didn’t really have a choice. Look, I’m not really made for fighting. I don’t think most people really are. That’s why I do it, so that all those people who would have to pick up weapons otherwise might not have to. Mostly, though? It’s so I can put mine down. I know that’s selfish.” The yellow stone fell to the table as Hunk’s nervous rambling came to a halt. Hunk hurriedly shoved the remaining vines from his arm.
“I think we’re all feeling the same way,” Shiro told Hunk. Lance nodded, looking around to see even Keith sporting a tired expression. “Not wanting to fight anymore isn’t selfish, Hunk. It’s just human.”
“Yeah, okay,” Hunk weakly agreed, unsure even with Shiro’s approval.
Now that he’d finished, the whole room was focused on Lance, curious. He knew they were probably confused. He was usually the most outspoken paladin about his feelings, or at least the emotions he chose to show. There was just one problem.
Lance didn’t know his answer. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth.
“Lance?” Allura politely opened up the space for him to answer. He looked around at his friends, his family, at their tired shoulders burdened with the weight of the universe. Their answers all did more than prove why they were good fighters– they showed why they’d been chosen . Allura’s selflessness. Pidge’s loyalty. Keith’s determination. Hunk’s bravery. What was Lance supposed to say?
“Lance, you have to say something,” Pidge reminded him with an uncharacteristic kindness.
He steadied himself to disappoint them.
“I could say my family, or my friends. I could say I fight for everyone, I guess. The real answer is that I don’t know.” He winced, curling in on himself.
This pause was longer than any of the others before it.
“Lance–” Keith was cut off.
“That is alright, Red Paladin.” The paladins stared at the queen with varying levels of shock written on their faces.
“Really?” Lance and Keith both spoke at the same time.
“Really,” she said amusedly. “Since you need to rest on this planet for a night, you may think about the question for some time. The bracelet will simply come off when you are able to answer the question truthfully.” Lance held his wrist up to eye level and tried not to feel like the red stone was some sort of brand proving he actually was untrustworthy.
“Tonight, we will have a banquet and dance celebration in honor of our forming alliance,” the queen informed them. “Hopefully, your bracelet will have come off by the end, and we may seal the alliance between our respective causes.”
Lance nodded, Allura’s frown practically burning him from across the tree stump.
“We will show you to your rooms so you may rest and dress yourselves for the banquet,” Dariell explained, hurrying forward to the door. “Feel free to make use of any of our facilities should you so need them. We have a lovely pool, if I do say so myself!” He laughed at his own statement, oblivious to the tension between the Voltron team as they rose and followed him out of the conference room.
Lance, now the only one with a bracelet, had once again alienated himself from even his alien teammates. Fabulous.
After that, Lance was able to recall brief snatches of the walk to their rooms. While the others had tried to ask him about the scene in the conference room, he had dodged their questions and made pleasant, mindless conversation with Dariell. In fact, when Dariell had shown them the first room, Lance claimed it for himself and hurried into it, the swinging branch door closing behind him with a resounding thud.
Alone in the guest room, Lance had calmed down a little. The scenery of the room was similar to the outer areas, with a beautiful canopy of leaves overhead, a bed made from living trees twisted together, and a wardrobe made of more of the same.
It all almost made him wonder how such a plant-oriented planet could be the source of such a powerful metal.
He’d gone around the room to inspect it for cameras or weird tech, looking for signs that Pidge had taught them after an incident at a previous planet. While he didn’t find anything suspicious, he did find a beautiful formal outfit likely intended for the banquet: a high-necked blue shirt made from loose, shimmering fabric, matching boots, and a pair of darker dress pants.
Further inspection revealed a pajama set, which he took into the attached bath area and quickly shoved on.
Then, in classic tortured paladin fashion, he walked over to the leafy bed and promptly fell asleep. Sleep came fitfully, tugging at his mind even in dormancy.
He must have been more tired than he thought, because hours later he awoke to the sound of Hunk tapping on his door.
“Lance, we have to be ready in, uhhh, ten minutes! Allura literally just told us, I’m so sorry, bro.”
Lance shot up in bed, blinking sleep out of his eyes quickly and scrambling over to the wardrobe. “Shit, I’ll be out soon!” He quickly changed from his pajamas to his formal outfit from earlier and ran over to the bath area.
There was a small mirror with a flowing fountain underneath, a sort of makeshift sink. He splashed some water on his face, the cold hitting his warm skin and further bringing him to alertness. He then set to work on his hair, styling it as best he could with only water and his hands.
He wished Allura had given them more time to pack for this overnight stay. Or at least provided more warning about the formal event so he could bring a touch-up kit.
Satisfied with his work, Lance headed to the door. His hand hovered over the handle as he caught sight of the bracelet still sitting damningly on his wrist.
He shook out his shoulders and shoved the door open. Hunk was still waiting outside for him, talking happily to Pidge about some program they were working on back at the ship.
“Nice outfit, Lance!” he grinned. Lance instantly felt more at ease. Hunk always helped him feel levelheaded when things took a turn south.
“Thanks, buddy, you’re not looking so bad yourself.” Hunk was wearing a rigid cut yellow shirt with dark olive pants to match, both suiting him well.
“Who cares about the outfits, I’m ready to dig into some banquet food,” Pidge dismissed. Lance noticed she was wearing a flowy monochrome green ensemble and had left her hair unstyled. It still worked for her, the messiness only enhancing her look.
Hearing Pidge’s proclamation, Hunk led the trio down the hall to the banquet, talking about how the chef had shown him a new recipe in the banquet hall while Lance had been sleeping. Lance couldn’t muster the same excitement Hunk had as they traversed the wooded halls, mind racing to think about how to answer his bracelet question.
He almost didn’t realize that they’d entered the banquet hall until Pidge elbowed him in the side. Lance jolted, straightening up to take in his surroundings.
These ceilings were much higher than the rest of the castle, branches arching high into a night sky that glimmered darkly in contrast to the lit up hall. Fire orbs similar to the one Lance had seen earlier shone brighter in the dark, now floating throughout the party without even singing the edge of a coat, their flames dancing like before. A buffet wrapped around an entire wall opposite them, while Grenngladians dined at tables or stood in groups chatting and dancing by a musical quartet.
“Let's go get food!” Pidge grabbed Hunk and Lance by their wrists and dragged them over to the buffet. Hunk descended on the food with joy, pointing out dishes for Pidge to sample as they began to walk down the line.
“This is insane,” Lance muttered, still looking around in awe as he chose food at random.
“I know, right?” Lance jumped at the sound of Keith’s voice to his left. When he faced him, he instantly regretted it. Keith was wearing a similar ensemble to Lance, but sported a low v-neck instead of a high collar. It exposed his collarbones and chest in a way that had Lance imagining far too much for a large formal gathering.
“Holy fuck, you’re sneaky,” he hissed at the black paladin in an attempt to hide his mooning. Keith let out a small laugh.
“Blade habit,” he said by way of explanation, and yes, of course it would be because he’d been a secret spy for months on end, no biggie. Still, Lance filed this new information into his ever-growing mental file on Keith. Has the footsteps of a small mouse.
“So,” Lance said into the empty space, holding a plate of food now that he wasn’t interested in touching.
“So,” Keith answered, standing beside him with… Lance squinted at his plate.
“Is that a piece of… space broccoli?”
Keith at least had the decency to look ashamed by his choice of vegetable.
“Look, I can tell you’re not feeling this party, which is weird for you. I just figured you wouldn’t get any thinking done in here for the whole bracelet thing.” He gestured to Lance’s bracelet, burning under Keith’s gaze. “I was pretending to get food at the buffet so I could tell you that I planned an escape route for you earlier, while we were in our separate rooms.”
Warmth crept under Lance’s skin, tickling at his cheeks and his nose. “You did that for me? Completely unprompted?”
“Don’t make a thing out of it. C’mon, let’s go.” Keith grabbed Lance’s plate and put both of their food on a serving tray to the side, picking up Lance’s hand simultaneously to pull him toward a side door.
“A grand escape, how scandalous! And to think you’re Voltron’s esteemed leader,” Lance teased. Keith wrinkled his eyebrows as he sneakily opened the door and slipped them both through it.
“Shiro and Allura can handle diplomacy tonight. They probably prefer it that way, anyways,” Keith frankly remarked.
Now that they were outside the banquet hall, Lance could see that they were in a garden. Flowers and grasses rose up around either side of a winding path that trailed beyond what Lance could see and starlight illuminated the white petals in a way that looked practically ethereal.
“Wow,” he whispered, not wanting to break the spell of the garden. In the distance, running water continuously trickled in some hidden water feature. Here, the music of the banquet was quieted, the light from the hall only a glow against them. “You sure know how to woo a guy.”
He was surprised to find Keith watching him quietly observing the garden. Keith flushed, something Lance noted with a stirring of pride.
“Shut up,” he said lazily, pulling on Lance to follow him over to a bench. “Anyways, I figured you could sit here and think on the whole bracelet thing alone, without any pressure.
“Alone?” Lance questioned, sitting down. “What about you?”
Keith hesitated. Lance lifted an eyebrow.
“I just figured you would want to be alone and all, so you could say whatever without feeling like I’m getting in the way. You clearly didn’t want to share your reason in front of everyone,” Keith pointed out.
“You’re not everyone, Samurai,” Lance said, patting the space next to him on the bench. “Sit down, okay? I’m your right-hand man. Why don’t you just… relax? Sharing things with each other has kind of become our M.O.”
Keith’s shoulders sloped further downward as if on command. That worked, Lance supposed.
“So.…” Keith let the word hang between them.
“So.” Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess I’ll try to start talking and see where it goes.”
He cleared his throat, Keith patiently waiting beside him.
“I don’t have only one reason for fighting. I keep going between all these different ones, like my family, who I obviously miss. Or you guys and all of my friends, people who matter to me,” Lance said, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. “Then my thoughts just get more complicated. Like, I just want to protect the people I love for me . I also want to do it for them and the people they love, obviously. Every time I see a kid running from their home, someone missing their family or their loved ones, something twists right here.” Lance reached up to press a hand over his heart.
“It’s cheesy, I know,” Lance continued. Keith was still listening intently. “I guess… all my homesickness made me realize that even if people lose their physical home, I have to try to save as many people as possible so that no one loses their other home. Their families. Their friends. I selfishly also just want mine to stay.”
“Why didn’t you want to share this with the team?” Keith asked. Lance’s red stone was pulsing with a glow between them, still firmly situated on his wrist, so he decided to keep talking.
He reached up to itch at the back of his neck.
“I didn’t want anyone to make fun of me, ‘cause part of that is motivated by you guys,” Lance realized. “I love you— you all. Uh, and this space family means more to me than anyone realizes. It was hard to be away from my parents and siblings, and being around you all made that ache kind of lessen up. So you’re all part of why I fight… my home, my family.”
“No one would have made fun of you,” Keith said, reaching a hand out to Lance’s and covering it. Lance felt that spot heat up where their skin touched. “This is why we fight, Lance. This is bigger than any of us alone. Everything you’re saying? It’s all right.”
“How can you be so sure?” Lance challenged.
Keith just grinned, removing his hand.
The stone came off with it.
“Huh.” Lance twisted his hand around, mildly surprised. “That… that’ll do it.”
Keith twisted the red stone between his fingers. “You’re a great red paladin. No matter why you fight, your actions are what counts. I spent a lot of time doing the wrong thing for the right reason. Doing the right thing has always come naturally for you. I was always a little jealous of that.”
Lance couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, embarrassment coursing through his veins.
“Since when did you get so good at this kind of thing?” he teased. Keith knocked into his shoulder, which of course meant Lance had to knock back.
“I blame you.”
Lance rolled his eyes at that.
“Now, come on. We have to show the queen your stone so we can finalize the treaty.” Keith stood up, offering his hand out to Lance, who accepted it and rose up after him.
“Lead the way, Red.”
Hand in hand, the two paladins made their way back into the banquet hall, Lance feeling warm for a reason other than the floating wisps of fire around them.
Doing the right thing has always come naturally for you. Lance turned that phrase over in his mind. It was a nice sentiment, he supposed.
God, he hoped it was true.