Chapter 1 - Starlight
We call a supernova the explosion of a star, which, for a short amount of time, can shine brighter than a whole galaxy made of hundreds of billions of stars.
Stars are not immortal. They die. They expand, explode, and fizzle out. The bigger they are, the brighter their end, and the stronger they devastate all that existed around them.
Love was like that too, Keith thought with a hysterical and bitter laughter. It expands, spreads through your whole being… and then it destroys it from the inside in a violent explosion whose blast burns all that exists in its pathway.
He had been the brightest star of his sky, the shiniest light of his life. Yet, in a matter of seconds, in a matter of ticks, it all had been over.
"Lance… Lance, please, I beg you…. Don't leave me. Not now, not like that! LANCE!" Keith yelled, his shaking arms trying to keep their grip on his boyfriend's body.
He felt like a ragdoll against his chest, both dreadfully light and dramatically heavy. The blue paladin's head rolled on the side of his shoulder and his hair tickled Keith's cheek. It was dry and soaked through with thick blood. The sharpshooter's beautiful blue eyes were closed, his brows furrowed in pain, and his breathing was so weak that Keith was constantly checking Lance's pulse to make sure he was still alive.
"Hey, Keith?… It was nice… having you by my side…"
The red paladin startled and his gaze focused on Lance's lips. He was smiling. This stupid idiot was smiling!
"Lance, hang on. The others are coming, we'll get you to the space hospital. Hang on, Lance."
Keith shivered violently and forced himself to open his eyelids again. All was red around him. The metallic smell of blood was making him feel queasy but he had to stay strong. The dusty earth around them was bathed in blood, and that vital fluid was still flowing from the deep wound Lance had on his neck.
As soon as he had seen the arrow hit the blue paladin, Keith knew how it would end, however he still couldn't accept this fate.
All around them were lying the corpses of their enemies. The red paladin had wiped them all out by himself, blinded by wrath and revenge. Now, he was nothing more than a body filled with sorrow and pain.
Keith tightened his hold onto Lance, covering him with his own body, trying to protect him at all costs and attempting to provide him warmth. Either the air around them was getting colder, or the feeling was coming from Lance…
A crackling came from their helmets but Keith didn't bother to listen. The rest of the team was looking for them, they would surely arrive in a few doboshes.
Keith swallowed with difficulty and he laid his forehead against Lance's, letting his tears fall on the boy's face. Lance looked so young. Lance was so young, definitely too young for this – the fight, the war… the end.
"Don't die on me, please." Keith's voice faltered as he spoke, almost inaudible.
He wondered if Lance could hear him, if he was even still conscious. The blood had stopped flowing and the red paladin knew it wasn't a good thing. Under the starlight, Lance looked paler and paler as time fled.
Suddenly, Keith realized there was no longer any sound, only silence. No more wind blowing through his hair, no more flames wavering around them, and no more breaths to break the silence… No more breaths?!
Keith's heart skipped a beat. "LANCE!" His shout echoed on the rocks, again and again, all around him, filling the place with despair. "LANCE, PLEASE! I NEED YOU! LANCE!" His voice was broken, as much as was his heart, and his throat burnt painfully. His intense made it nearly impossible to breathe, but he couldn't care less.
The blue paladin's face was stained with tears and blood marks, and a soft smile was left lingering on his lips. Keith's fingers pressed on the wound, shaking uncontrollably, and the lost boy burrowed his face into his boyfriend's hair. His whole body was now nothing but tremors and sobs.
"Lance, please… I love you, I need you. How could you leave me all alone…"
He cradled him in his arms, his heart racing and aching.
One more star had faded in his life on this night, the brightest of them all, and with it, his life had been consumed by a devastating black hole.