"It's Allura. I'm alright." Weakened from her battle with Haggar, Allura struggled to keep herself awake, using her friends as cheered loudly on the other end of the comms channel, making her smile and giving her another boost of energy. With the ATLAS in sight, her journey was almost over. Haggar was defeated and her people were free. A new Altean civilization would be born. But first, she had to reunite with her friends and the man she loved.

The rest of the team hurried to and gathered in the ATLAS's lion hangar, and patiently waited for the Blue Lion to touch down. It started as a blue speck against the inky blackness, before it enlarged as it got closer. Every Paladin shared looks of relief at the sight of the lion. Two of them, Keith and Lance, were especially relieved.

Lance believed that he and Allura were finally going to get together, after everything they'd been through. He'd realized that pursuing her wasn't the right move, and so he backed off a little. Now she was coming to him, and he believed they had something special. He was certain she was going to run into his arms in a grand romantic gesture, even though he would be happy for her if she didn't. She was still a good friend.

But Keith was also relieved, but was under no illusions that he would have any kind of romantic relationship with her. That being said, his devotion to her like he was her knight was still important. Tradition held that the knight wasn't supposed to get involved with his princess (even though it's always been that way), lest there be trouble (See Lancelot and Guinevere). But Keith could not deny his feelings for her. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous of Lance. Because he felt any rivalry with Lance was beneath him. He didn't like that part, either.

But whomever she was with, Keith would be loyal to her. He was just relieved that she was alright.

The Blue Lion landed. Its legs wobbled, causing it to sway and almost fall down, but it kept its footing. Finally, it stabilized. The lion bent down, opened its jaw and Allura stepped out. She too swayed from her weakened state. She'd used a lot of magic to finally defeat Honerva, hence the weakness. But her mind was sharp. And as soon as she saw the team and the man she loved, she grinned from ear to ear, raised her fist and, with her last ounce of strength, triumphantly cheered.

"ALLURA!" the team all cheered, and they ran forward. Keith and Lance pulled ahead. They were neck-and-neck until Keith pulled ahead, as he'd noticed that Allura was about to collapse. And it was this extra motivation that pushed him to get to her first.

"Allura!" he called.

"Keith," she whispered with so much relief, that she fell forward, forcing Keith to catch her she collapsed into his arms, and she threw hers around him. Letting her momentum take over, he gently bent his knees to lower her to the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around her torso. He eased his grip on her, and shifted her so that he was cradling her. Her head drooped onto his right shoulder, allowing him to gently brush part of her disheveled bangs out of her eyes, also allowing him to get a good look at her peaceful, sleeping face.

"Allura, you were amazing," he said in the gentle tone he always used with her. She must have heard him, because she smiled when he said, "I'm so proud of you."

Then she snaked her arms around his neck. Everyone gasped, especially Lance. For a moment, he looked hopeful, inching closer to Keith and Allura, holding his arms out for her to come to him, as if he assumed she had simply fallen into Keith's arms. But she didn't get up. Instead, she gave him a solmen, apologetic look. Lance's hopeful look disappeared. For his part, Keith froze in his spot, but held her tighter. Then she eased her grip on him, and moved back so she could get a good look at him. "I'm back," she said softly.

He smiled in return. Since his back was to her, he didn't have to see Pidge and Hunk dragging Lance away. Good thing he was only focused on Allura. "I was so worried, but I knew you could beat Haggar," he told her.

"Thank you," she said. "I thought about all of you. You're all my family."

"You're our family, too," said Keith.

"We're ALL family," Pidge added.

"And I realized that there's someone I loved," Allura said. Keith's heart unwillingly sank, and Lance perked up.

"There's someone you need to see now," Keith whispered. He meant Lance, and his voice had quivered, as he'd accepted the fact that he and Allura, despite the deep bond they shared, would never be A Thing.

"Actually, I wasn't talking about Lonce," she said. He barely registered her words before he felt her her lips pressing against his. His heartrate increased a little as realization struck. And once he processed her words, he closed his eyes and kissed her back.

Everyone gasped, especially Lance, again.

Keith snapped back to his senses. He broke the kiss. "But… why me? I'm not good enough for you. Please… go to Lance. He's… nice."

"But he's not you," she said, then kissed him again, ending the quiet discussion. Except when she quietly said, "I love you."

Lance was devastated. It had seemed so obvious. And now Keith and Allura were kissing. He turned around and faced the Red Lion. Defeating Haggar was just part of their final battle, and now they had more to face. He would move forward, even though it was going to be hard. But he didn't have to be the best, just–who am I kidding? he thought. I can't–

A hand gently pressed his right shoulder. He turned and saw Pidge smiling at him. A comforting, sympathetic "that's rough, buddy" smile. Lance returned his smile, unaware that Pidge herself was in love with him. But he was in no mindset for her to confess her feelings. So she didn't say anything.

"Alright guys," Keith announced, helping Allura to her feet. "I'm glad we're reunited, but we can't sit still. Allura's going to rest up, but as soon as she's ready, we're going out in Voltron!"

The team threw their fists in the air with a resounding, defiant cheer.