Something Old, Something Blue.
Sometimes it didn't register for Lance. Sometimes he still felt like he was up in space, fighting the good fight, waiting to go home...only for him to register that he finally was home. They did it. They won. They saved the universe. Things don't always happen the way that you expect them to. Sometimes people die and sometimes you grow apart. Lance saw his friends occasionally, if not sparingly over the years. At first, it never occurred to them that it would happen: that the war would end and everyone would eventually go off and lead their own lives. Lance sat in a field of wildflowers as he stared up at the night sky. There were billions of stars, each of them shining bright in their own way. He smiled wistfully for a moment. The stars reminded him of Allura. Everything reminded him of her these days. The stars were white as the flowers were pink. He picked one as the wind tossed it and strands of his hair back.
"I really liked you, Allura," crickets responded in her place.
Lance tried to keep his smile, but failing as his hand and flower dropped by his side, "I never met anyone like you…" The wind graced the fringes of nature around him, "I never expected to lose you either. I know it might be too late to say it but...I'm really glad that I found Blue. I don't know who'd I be if I hadn't."
The young man rested his gaze on a family of fireflies dancing around the cool whispers of their river. His gaze stayed on that for a while.
His brows turned inward, "I know it's been three years since the war ended and I know everyone has moved on but...I can't seem to forget any of it Allura. Not forget, per se, just-" he let out a breathe through his nose, "I dreamt about returning home for ages back in space. All I could think about was this night sky, my home, and my family," he broke, "I just...all I can dream about now is you a-and Voltron and Keith and Blue and…all I can think about is this was not how it was supposed to end. Maybe apart of me didn't feel like it would end," his eyes fell to worn blue sneakers. Lance began to dig the toes into the rich soil, "It did end. You..you ended and I...I don't know how to forget any part of you. That night that we shared...I get that it was only our first date but I don't think I'll forget that either. You weren't just some other girl Allura, you were worth more than any other woman o-or man in the galaxy, hell, the whole universe! I know I did a shitty job of explaining that when you were alive to hear it."
The wind blew his hair back gently, his eyes now up at the stars with deep regret.
The stars reminded him of more than Allura. The yellow in the sky and the gold in the fireflies reminded Lance of Hunk. Hunk was quickly growing up, he noticed, or at least, last time he saw him months ago. They had all grown up over the years, in space and on Earth. This was different though. Hunk's eyes were the same warm, honey brown but they had changed. Hunk wasn't just growing wiser, he was getting older. Okay, hell, so was everybody. Including Lance, it would seem. He gently turned over his palms, carefully observing the layers of scars collected from the war. They were grimy with dirt from the Cuban soil and if Lance stared hard enough, he could still the blood stained in its creases. The dirt washed away and the scars faded after a few years but Lance just never stopped seeing red.
Red, he hummed with a smile and closed his eyes. Good old Red. Lance thought of a boy with long dark hair and chestnut brown eyes. Those eyes with a deep, startling ember and flames. That Red. It had been two years since Lance had spoken with Keith, the man, no doubt was working very hard to give out a helping hand to anyone who needed it.
'"Y'know, Lance and Keith, always neck and neck?"'
He smiled wistfully.
'"We are a good team."'
How was the war supposed to end? Lance was very happy here on his family's farm in Cuba, while others lay oceans, if not planets away. Lance chose this, he chose to be here-those chestnut eyes burned brighter. He wanted to be here.
"We were a good team Keith," he let the pink flower fall. "Did I ever tell you that? Did I ever tell you anything?" The inky blackness in between the stars pulled him in. "You're not gone like Allura and yet...apart of me feels like you are. It's the same kind of sadness, really. I almost can't shake it. I hope you're doing really well up in space or wherever you are. I hope things are going great with your mom too, Keith. You deserve it," the sky never answered back. "Pidge is doing great by the way, I heard from them about a week ago, and Shiro and Curtis are expecting pretty soon, so that's great! It would be great if you came by to see everyone Keith. You should come by...we would love to have you. My mom would cook you out of this weekend, her food is the only food I know better than Hunks," Lance let out a laugh, "The rest of my family would sure love to see you." The young man felt his limbs growing stiff as he sat hunched on the ends of the Earth, his solution was to lie down, crumpling a few flowers along the way. The stars only seemed farther from this angle. Lance knew that wasn't possible in the back of his mind but his mind was somewhere else. "Since I'm ranting to both of you, I feel like I might as well tell you...I might as well catch you up on the Team Sharpshooter." He trailed off for a moment, feeling insects crawling beneath him. His pause felt heavy and lasted for longer than a moment. Tears pricked the corners of now dusty eyes. "Anyway my mom and dad are doing great, so is Veronica, Marco, Luis, grandma, and all the nephews and nieces. Did I tell you guys that I made a mistake while playing with them the other day? I'm pretty much a really great uncle, so there's that," he chuckled, "yet somehow I messed even that up…" Lance rubbed chapped lips together, breathing in a single deeper breath, "I thought that the...we were playing and I thought that... the ball they shot from a tree was a Galra grenade. Stupid right?"
"..."
The wind fell through the trees for miles.
"Yeah, it's pretty stupid."
Lance lifted a hand to block part of the moon, if he squinted and pretended hard enough, Voltron would be there. The man sighed, so what if it was? So what?
The war between Zarkon was over. He was dead, Allura was dead, and Lance was back in Cuba. He was home. It was everything he wished for.
Lance watched the blades of grass dance until he he dusted off his jeans and stood.
"See ya around Allura. Maybe I'll hit up Keith some time for ya, huh?"
He smiled and rubbed his stiff neck, making his way back to the house. Maybe it would finally register for Lance... or maybe he would dream of space.
Fin.