(Note from author: This is my first time publishing fanfiction I have written. I'm not usually this depressing, I swear, but I was feeling depressed and apparently decided to take out my anger on my children. :/ . Please review it. I really like feedback on what I can improve on for the future. Enjoy!)

Keith~

My vision blurred upon impact. I felt my breaths raggedly heaving. I gasped with pain.

"Keith."

I heard my name like a distant echo from underwater.

I couldn't turn my head.

"Keith." It- it was Kolivan talking to me.

"Keith, I-I'm sorry. I have to leave. You were a good Blade."

I said nothing. How could I?

There was silence. I could hear the pounding of my sporadic heart, flopping like a fish.

I looked down and withheld a gasp.

There was so much red. So much blood.

My body shook with the desire to cough but I fought it.

He had told me.

He had told me to leave and he had been right.

I was too impulsive and this job was too dangerous.

My breaths were shallow and pained. I reached out, flinched, and tried again.

Finally, my thumb hit the small rectangle on my belt. It was slick with blood.

Each dialing beep felt like a small eternity.

I needed to hear his voice.

"Keith?"

I gasped with relief.

It had worked. Pidge's one-person call phone had called Lance.

"Keith?" he asked more frantically.

I swallowed the copper blood coating my mouth and forced my near-shattered vocal cords to work. "Lance?"

My voice was as weak and broken as my body.

"Keith? Are you okay?" Lance sounded so worried.

No. I knew I wasn't okay. I was dying. But I needed to hear Lance's joy one last time.

"Yes," I lied. My voice got a little stronger with each word. "I-I'm about to go on a mission, a-and I was worried."

"Shh," Lance soothed.

God, I love him so much.

"I know you will do great, Keith. You are an amazing warrior. You are kind. You—"

"Lance," I interrupted feeling the extreme pain of my midsection multiply. "I- Thank you. I love you."

"I-I love you, too, Keith. Are you sure you are okay?"

"Y-yeah. I just- in case something happens, I just wanted you to know how much I love you." I paused to take a breath. "Are you up to anything right now?"

"Well, yeah, actually,"

I could hear the pleasant tone return to his voice.

He told me about how he was playing video games with Pidge. Lance described a boss he had just fought and beat and how he was finally able to upgrade his character.

I felt tears pool in my eyes. "Lance, that's awesome. What does Allura and Coran say to the games?"

"Oh, they can't make sense of it. They think I'm killing little people. It is quite funny."

I laughed. It wasn't much, but I could feel my breath becoming more and more shallow. My limbs felt leaden.

"How are Allura and Shiro doing?"

"Eh, y'know. The normal. Smiling secretively at each other and flirting."

I smiled again. A tear slipped out the corner of my eye. "I'm glad they found happiness. Lance, I hope you are able to be happy. I really do love you. The last few years have been some of the best of my life."

"What are you saying, Keith?" I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Do you miss me?"

"Yes, desperately," I said.

"Does that mean you are coming back?"

I choked. A steady stream of tears slipped out of my eyes.

I felt so tired.

"Lance, I—"

"Do you want to marry me?"

I blanched. My poor weak heart fluttered. I wanted so desperately to say yes. I wanted to be home, in Lance's arms, able to look at his soft blue eyes. I wanted to hold him forever. I wanted him to never feel the pain of losing me.

"Lance, I- I love you." I tried to put every emotion I felt into those words. My desolate dying surroundings and yet I could still feel the calm of Lance beside me.

"Oh, Keith, I have to go,"

I felt my throat tighten. I never wanted to stop hearing his voice. I wanted to hold him, see him.

"Hunk made dinner for all of us. Pidge is poking me to leave."

"O-okay," I whispered.

"Keith, you will be able to do this. And besides, I'm waiting for a ring."

I could do nothing but gasp for breath. "Lance," I breathed silently. "I- Goodbye. I-I love you. Just… have a good day."

"You too. Okay, bye!"

Then silence.

Lance was gone.

I looked down at the crusted and fresh blood covering my body.

I reached out and grabbed a small piece of wire that lay on the ground.

My breaths were ragged and pained.

I folded the wire over and gently rolled it between my slicked thumb and forefinger creating a swirled twisting design. I looped the two loose ends through the small loop at the other end and pulled until it was approximately the size of a ring. I twisted the ends so they would be buried and not painful to the touch.

I gasped and looked at the shimmering wire between my fingers. "Yes, Lance," I whispered, "I want to stay by you forever."

The shimmering crimson blood next to the glinting silver wire. A ring for Lance made with my dying breath.

I released the tension in my head and looked above me. I closed my fist around the small ring and put my fist over my heart.

More gentle tears slipped down my face.

I closed my eyes.

Everyone seemed so happy. I tried to make myself believe that they would remain so. I tried to believe that they would move past my death.

I tried not to think about how much I was going to miss Lance. I tried to think about how much I loved him, instead.

He was strong. He would bounce back.

I let out a breath.

Goodbye, Lance, I thought warily.

I felt my body grow heavy.

At least I had heard his voice one last time.

At least I had told him one last time that I loved him.

Silence fell over the ship. Not even the sound of breath could be heard. Still, the light of Keith's com blinked slowly, the channel open to silence.

Far away, Lance suddenly felt all too alone. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hear Keith's voice again. He was worried.

He stood from the dinner table.

And started walking back to his room where he had left the phone. A sense of urgency took over him and Lance began to run.

He held his breath as he gently picked of the com. He clicked the button. He knew that Keith's com line was still open because the light on the side of his device told him so.

"K-Keith?"

Lance was out of breath. His chest throbbed with pain. He closed his eyes. "Keith?!"

Silence. All he heard was silence.

"KEITH!?" Lance shouted into the com.

"Keith, respond damn you!" violent tears danced down Lance's face.

"Keith," Lance's voice was heavy. "Keith."

He muttered the name over and over again, but heard nothing but silence.

Deep in his heart, Lance knew what had happened, but he couldn't accept it. The reality was far too harsh.

Lance closed the door to his room and sat, defeated on his bed, cradling the com. "Keith," he cried in a harsh whisper.

"Keith…"

The other paladins waited outside of Lance's room. It was quiet inside sometimes, and other times, they could hear angry cries of pain and defeat.

The next day, Pidge went in and took away any sharp objects from Lance or Keith's rooms.

Lance disappeared one day, in a pod.

Reluctantly, the Paladins had to face the idea that Lance was never coming back.

Several days later, the pod returned to the ship. Everyone rushed to it.

When the door opened, Lance stood there, looking broken with defeat, tears streaming down his cheeks still.

It was Hunk who later, after Lance had locked himself in his room, whispered to the Paladins to ask if they had noticed the small silver wire wrapped around Lance's finger. His ring finger.

Lance barely spoke; barely ate.

The paladins left him. They knew what grief felt like. But they were all there for him in their own ways.

One year after.

Lance was never the same. He rarely joked. Never even showed his presence. He always wore something black and something pink, the Earth and Altean colors of mourning.

He still fought Zarkon, but without his usual vigor.

Years later.

Long after they had won.

The Paladins stayed close because they were often called upon as a group.

The other's all missed Lance's smile.

One day, they met as a group. Lance whispered, "Hey, guys," and gave them a half smile.

They embraced him in a hug.

He talked that day. He talked with other aliens. He told stories of the old times when they were all together, Keith included. His eyes brimmed with tears every time.

Still, Lance wore the silver wire ring.

It had long ago been washed of it's dried blood, but Lance could still picture that image of Keith's broken body, the com light blinking in eternal waiting.

He had never explained to the others what it meant. Nor did he intend to.

That ring was his. And it was Keith's.

One day, after it had been many, many years, the paladins gave a speech to the whole galaxy to tell them of the war they had fought.

When it was Lance's turn, he looked at the audience, and then down at his ring, then back.

"I would like to tell you a story."

"It is about a great hero. A hero named Keith Kogane. My husband."

Lance talked about Keith's whole life. He talked about his rejection. He talked about his love.

Lance described Keith's last moments.

"And then, one day I got a call from Keith. He told me how much he loved me. We talked about my day. I hadn't understood then, and it had taken me years afterwards to understand. Keith had been calling to say goodbye. He wanted to hear me happy one last time."

"Keith Kogane was the most considerate person alive. He cared in his own way. He gave his life for the galaxy and yet no one knew. No one knew."

"He did so much for us, and we had no idea."

"Everyone has a choice, and Keith made his. Learn from Keith, understand his pain, and move to be like him. Relish in other's joy."

Lance glanced at his ring, "Find the silver lining. If someone you love is happy, then you've accomplished all you need in life."

Lance felt the gentle touch of Shiro, then Pidge, then Hunk and Allura and Coran,

Lance tuned and hugged them. As he did, a single tear slipped down his otherwise dry face.

The audience remained silent.

Lance smiled and tenderly walked off of the stage.

All he wanted was to hear Keith's voice one last time. To hear him happy. To hear him alive.

He told himself that Keith was watching and smiling at him. "I hope you are okay buddy," Lance whispered. He looked up at the large moons that hung over the planet they were on. Gently, Lance kissed the twisted wire ring.

At last, Lance finally felt at peace.

He loved Keith with all his heart, and always would, but he, also, had the support of everyone.

Years after, Lance was able to smile regularly. Every year on the day that Keith died, Lance went out to the market of whichever planet he was on, and spent the whole day helping people.

A small little girl, no more than five, walked up to Lance and asked, "Why are you so kind, mister?"

Lance smiled at her. There was still the remembrance of sorrow in his eyes. "On this day, many years ago, I lost someone very dear to me. Now I try to honor his memory and do kindness to others."

"That's really sweet, mister," the girl whispered.

Lance nodded and then whispered back, "Always show others the light. They might be in a very dark place and a little bit of light goes a long way when you are in a dark room."

The girl nodded and left without another word.

Quietly, Lance sat on a bench. He twisted the ring around his finger and closed his eyes, "Hello, Keith," Lance whispered, "I like to think you can listen to me. I can't wait until I can hear your voice again. Thank you for the call, it really helped me to see joy and kindness.

"Thank you. I… I love you so much."

(Final note: I understand how hard depression is. If anyone reading this suffers from depression or knows someone, the best remedy is support. Let others support you and support them in turn. Everything is not hopeless.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I promise not to torture my children so much next time! Or I will at least not kill one of them.)