"-those of you just joining us, this is Jim Halstein with CNN. We're coming to you live outside the World Congress Centre in Oslo, where the the governors are just minutes away from voting on the finalized version of Bill M-635."

"Lance, babe, wake up. It's almost time!" Hunk gently shook the shoulder of the man dozing with his head in Hunk's lap. Lance groaned, swatting at him, but he rolled onto his back and mismatched blue eyes blinked sleepily open. Hunk couldn't help the smile at his partner's dazed expression and mussed hair, running fingers through the bedhead. "Hey sleepyhead. You with us?"

"Mmmm...getting there…" Lance yawned and tipped his head back into Hunk's hand with a noise of contentment. "'S time?"

"Almost." Allura chuckled, leaning over Hunk's shoulder to stroke Lance's cheek lightly.

"This bill, which will set a historical precedent by legalizing polyamourous marriages worldwide…"

"I still can't believe this is actually happening." Pidge muttered, shifting back against Keith's chest. He wrapped his arms closer around their shoulders in response, resting his chin on top of their head.

Hunk just chuckled, reaching over to squeeze their shoulder supportively. "What, like they were gonna say no to Shiro after everything that happened?"

"...in response to the request made by Black Paladin Takashi Shirogane, when he and the other paladins came before the World Congress to receive gratitude and awards for their work in protecting Earth from the Galra fleet, and for their disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the battle three months ago."

The scene on the screen changed to a clip from months earlier. All six paladins were lined up on the stage in front of the World Congress, receiving thunderous applause. To Hunk's eye, though, it was easy to see the tell-tale signs of exhaustion on all their faces, the way only stubbornness and locked joints kept some of them upright. Every set of armor was scuffed and damaged, every eye had bags under it. At the time, they'd all been fresh from almost four straight weeks of constant disaster relief and rescue work, and it showed.

On-screen, Shiro stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. "Thank you. All of you. We are honoured to be here today. You have no idea how glad we are, all of us, to return home, to Earth. I wish it could have been under better circumstances, that we could have done more. But being here, on Earth, is the best gift we could possibly receive. The people of Earth don't owe us anything, because as the Paladins of Voltron we will always act to defend innocent people and save innocent lives."

There was a brief pause, filled only with the soft mumble of translators, during which Shiro glanced sideways at the rest of the team. Lance and Keith were shoulder to shoulder, all but propping each other up, and Allura had an eye on Pidge, who was swaying slightly on their feet, ready to catch them if needed. Shiro's expression became unreadable for the briefest instant before his eyes brightened and his smile widened.

"However," he continued, "if expressing your gratitude is that important, there is one thing you can give us. One small token of appreciation that won't cost Earth anything, but will mean the universe to us. My team has devoted themselves mind, body, and soul, to protecting the people of the universe, Earth included, for the last seven years. They have risked their lives time and time again, often receiving nothing in return for their sacrifices. So what I ask of you is this: Give them something that you, and only you, can grant them. The right to marry the people they love most-each other-in the place they love most-Earth."

"I still can't believe he did that." Keith tightened his hold on Pidge until they squawked and he mumbled an apology, the image cutting away from a close-up of the team's stunned expressions and back to the reporter.

Allura smiled softly and put her other arm around Keith's shoulders, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to the side of his head. "He's your older brother, Keith. He wants to see you happy, and if he sees an opportunity to do that, he's going to take it.

"'Lura's right, Keith." Lance mumbled through a yawn, finally pushing himself upright and tucking himself against Hunk's side instead. "That's how brothers are."

Keith let out a noncommittal grunt, then straightened. "I think it's happening…" Sure enough, on screen the reporter was pressing a hand to his earpiece and grinning.

"I think they're just counting up the tally now...and...it looks like...it's passed! The bill is passed! Polyamorous marriage is now legal on Earth!"

Lance let out a delighted whoop, all exhaustion banished as he threw himself across their laps and yanked Pidge, who happened to be closest, down for a kiss. Hunk laughed and turned to kiss a beaming Allura, and then a stunned Keith, before getting pulled down in turn by Lance and then leaning over to exchange a small press of lips with a flustered Pidge. His heart felt like it was going to burst from sheer joy. Marriage had always been on the table, but they'd never in a million years expected it would be able to happen here, on Earth.

"You guys realize what this means, right?" Lance grinned up at them, looping fingers through a trailing length of Allura's hair. "Now we have to plan our wedding."

"With this historic event, it's safe to say that all eyes will be on the upcoming wedding of five of the six paladins of Voltron. The marriage of Keith Kogane, Lance McClain-Martinez, Pidge Holt, Hunk Garrett, and Princess Allura of Altea is certain to be the don't-miss-it event of a lifetime."

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It turned out almost immediately that planning a wedding for five people of two-and-a-half different species and three assorted genders was, to put it simply, complicated.

"So, uh, question." Lance put up a hand, frowning at the tablet in his hands. The five of them had gathered in the kitchen for lunch and brainstorming ideas for their wedding, although so far they'd mostly just manage to make a list of things that they would need to decide on at some point, like flowers and colour themes and cake flavours.

"Shoot." Hunk waved a stylus at him without looking up from his own list of preferences.

"...Who's walking down the aisle?"

Hunk blinked. He looked over at Lance, as did Keith. Then they both looked over at Pidge, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights at the unexpected, and excellent, question.

Allura, on the other hand, looked puzzled. "Do you not...all walk down the aisles?"

"In Earth weddings, at least in all our cultures, only the bride walks down the aisle, and the groom waits at the altar." Lance supplied quickly. "Which is why I'm asking. There's no standard procedure for poly marriages, or non-binary folk."

"I...I never really thought about it, I guess." Pidge mumbled, setting their tablet down and grabbing for the fidget toy on the table beside it as they avoided their partners' gazes. "I mean, it took me so long just to figure out what I am, I guess it just didn't occur to me to think about that."

"Hey. We've got time. Think about it, and we can do whatever you feel comfortable with." Keith gave them a soft smile and put a hand on their shoulder. "Whatever you choose, we love you, and it doesn't change who you are, okay?" Pidge returned the smile weakly and nodded before ducking their head again.

Allura smiled fondly as well, reaching across the table to squeeze Pidge's hand gently. "Actually, I may have another option. Earth may not have traditions that accommodate multiple marriages, but Altean culture does."

"Really?" Lance blinked, then lit up in a grin, leaning over to kiss Allura's cheek. "Fantastic! Lay it on us, beautiful!"

Blushing, Allura nodded and set her tablet on the table, sketching rapidly with her stylus to mark out a series of pie-shaped wedges forming a complete circle. "In Altean weddings, each person being married has their own aisle to walk to reach the ceremonial space at the center. The family of the person is seated to the left of the aisle they are walking, here," she circled the right hand edge of each wedge, "And the Right Arm-I don't know what your equivalent is, someone who you can count on for support?"

"So equivalent to the Maid of Honour or Best Man, I guess?" Hunk offered.

"...I suppose. Anyhow, your Right Arm walks beside you, then stands at your back during the ceremony." Allura added in a circle of stick figures holding hands in the open space in the middle, then other figures outside that circle behind each one. "It's all very symbolic leftovers of very old practices, I admit." She added, her cheek markings glowing slightly in embarrassment. "So I'll understand if-"

"Nope, nope, this is just what we needed." Hunk cut her off firmly, grabbing the tablet for a closer look. "Earth wedding traditions are like that too, anyway, full of ridiculous origins and superstitions. This is perfect. And I mean, we should be trying to include Altean traditions anyway, right? You're part of this family. This is your wedding too." He beamed at her, and her markings brightened under the chorus of agreement from the others.

"Thank you…" She murmured, accepting Hunk and Lance's hands twining with her own and smiling across the table at Keith and Pidge. "Then perhaps we should also give thought to the inclusion of Galran traditions? Or those specific to the Blades of Marmora, if there are any?"

Keith bit his lip and ducked his head. "You'd probably know Galran tradition better than I would."

Pidge frowned and leaned over to bump her head against his shoulder affectionately. "We'll ask Krolia. She'll have some ideas, I bet."

A blink. An expression of dawning horror on Keith's face. "Shit." He whispered. "I was supposed to call her and tell her how the vote went!"

Lance choked on the water he'd just sipped and burst out laughing. "Better go do that! She'll be pissed if she has to hear about it from Coran!"

Keith's face, if anything, went even paler, and he lunged to his feet and darted out of the room. Hunk just shook his head and started gathering up the empty plates. "Guess we're taking a break, then."

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No one ever figured out how, considering she should have been halfway across the universe without access to a teleduv, but Krolia showed up on the Castle of Lions six hours later armed with a three-and-a-half hour lecture on Galran wedding traditions and symbolism throughout history, with an entire forty-three minute subsection on the specific variations of those traditions currently in use by the Blade and why.

"How...how long has she been waiting for this?" Pidge whispered as Krolia left to get some dinner, more than a little wild-eyed at the torrent of information that had been dumped on them. Lance had checked out somewhere around the first hour mark, Hunk had lasted almost three, and they honestly weren't sure if Allura had actually managed to stay alert through all of it or if she'd just fallen asleep with her eyes open and her face frozen in an expression of polite attentiveness.

Keith buried his face in his hands. "Longer than I thought, apparently."

"She had a powerpoint presentation, Keith. A fucking powerpoint."

"I noticed."

"...Your mom really likes spin effects."

"I am aware."

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"Okay, so we're doing an Altean-style aisle-walk and crystal ritual, Earth-style vows, and a Blade-Galran-what did you call it, Pidge?" Lance paused, twirling his stylus between his fingers and frowning at his notes.

"Handfasting." They replied without looking up from where they were braiding Allura's hair in tiny woven threads. "That's the closest analogue I could think of, anyway."

"Right, that." Lance stuck out his tongue and made a notation. "Alright, what's next? We've figured out the ceremony, the flowers, the venue-"

"Scratch one venue, actually." Keith scowled as he walked in and threw himself down on the bed. After a moment he grunted and wriggled over to lay his head on Allura's thigh before closing his eyes with a huff of irritation.

The others exchanged puzzled glances. "I thought we were using the Castle's grand ballroom?" Pidge asked, pausing in their braiding to peer over Allura's shoulder at Keith.

Keith made a disgusted noise. "Commander Holt said it was a bad idea. He made really good points, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Sighing, he rolled onto his back and held up one finger. "First, he pointed out that letting a ton of strangers into the Castle might not be the best idea, since it'd be too easy for someone to go somewhere they shouldn't and potentially cause trouble."

Lance winced, rubbing his shoulder with one hand. "Okay, yeah, the last thing we need is another incident like we had back on Arus."

"Second," Keith nodded in firm agreement as Allura reached over to lace her fingers with Lance's. "It's apparently not big enough."

Allura blinked, twisting to look down at him again. "Not...big enough?"

"Exactly how many people does he think we're inviting?" Pidge scowled, pausing to tie off the current braid before leaning back on their hands.

Keith groaned and covered his face with his hands. "That's what I said. Apparently our guest list is going to be a lot longer than we thought it was, on account of the fact that this is apparently a celebrity wedding. His words, not mine."

"Aw, quiznack, really?" Lance threw up his hands in dismay, nearly pulling Allura over. "Oops, sorry babe. So we have to invite other celebrities, media people, probably politicians...this is ridiculous. You guys want to just go to Vegas instead?"

"Why are we going to Vegas now?" Hunk poked his head around the doorway.

"Because apparently we're celebrities and that means we don't get to only invite family to our wedding." Pidge sniffed the air. "Is that peanut butter cookies I smell, you blessing from the culinary gods sent to help me deal with intermittent biological bullshit?"

"Mhm. Careful, they're fresh out of the oven." Hunk warned as he set the tray he was carrying on the bedside table, and rolled his eyes as they grabbed for a cookie anyways and yelped when they burnt their fingers. "I said they were hot! Anyway," He straightened up and put his hands on his hips. "I figured you guys already knew that. I mean, they did just pass a bill through the world congress specifically to let us get married."

"No, we didn't, thank you so much for mentioning it." Lance pouted.

Keith sighed, reaching up blindly to grab a cookie and juggling it between his hands as he waited for it to cool. "Okay. But there's like...tens of thousands of media outlets worldwide. We can't invite all of them."

Allura shook her head, an amused smile curling her lips. "Of course not. As part of my diplomatic lessons, my father taught me a few tricks for managing our relationship with public opinion. For something like this, a personal moment that must nonetheless be a public event, my suggestion is that we learn which media groups will be predisposed to showing us in the best possible light, and invite some of those. The trouble is," She sighed, smoothing her dress over her legs, "I am not familiar with Earth's media representatives."

"You're not, but my aunt is. She's a journalist." Hunk grinned, nudging Keith's hip over so he could sit on the end of the bed as well. "I'll shoot her an email and ask her to make up a list of people we should try for. She could probably recommend us who the most appropriate celebrity guests would be, too. After being away so long, I don't even recognize most of the names on the radio anymore."

"Perfect." Lance leaned over Keith to give Hunk a quick kiss.

"What are we gonna do about the venue, then?" Pidge pointed out, mumbling around a mouthful of cookie. "Because we're definitely not having an outdoor wedding with my skin in the Arizona summer." They waved their pale left hand for emphasis, wiggling the three remaining fingers.

"Yeah, we don't need you getting fried on our special day." Lance teased, poking them in the cheek and yelping when they snapped their teeth at his finger.

Allura hummed thoughtfully. "Well, what are the traditional venues for weddings on this planet?"

"Uhh…" Hunk tapped his fingers. "Churches, but those aren't designed for the multiple aisles we want. Hotel banquet halls-might work, but we'd need a big one. Um...that might be mostly it, actually. Churches, hotels, or outdoors are the most common places people hold their ceremonies." He shrugged.

Lance sighed, picking his tablet back up and starting a new file. "Hotel it is, then. Guess I better start making more phone calls."

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"...the International Air and Space Museum."

"Yup." Lance grinned.

"As in, the Smithsonian International Air and Space Museum."

"Uh huh." The grin widened.

"The one in D.C., with the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module and the original Ares 1 MAV."

"That's the one, yeah." If Lance's smile managed to spread any further his whole head was going to split in half and fall off.

The others were gaping at him, with the exception of Allura who simply looked puzzled. "I take it this is a location of some significance?" She asked uncertainly, looking back and forth between Lance and the other three.

Pidge threw up their hands. "It's only the biggest museum of Earth air and space history in the world, with literally thousands of historically significant aircraft and spacecraft and related items going back over two centuries, that's all. Which Lance somehow managed to talk into hosting our wedding."

Hunk poked Keith, who seemed to be completely frozen from shock. "Babe? You good?" Keith let out a strangled whine, but didn't move or blink. "Alright, just checking." He turned back to Lance. "Okay, but seriously, how the heck did you manage this?"

Lance laughed and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Okay, so I started out calling hotels here in the city, y'know? Just inquiring about the size of rooms they had available, the rates, that kind of stuff. Except when I mentioned my name to one of them, the concierge fainted. So did a couple others when I tried it on them. I think one might've cried."

"Oh my god." Hunk put a hand over his face.

"So then I realized, hey, we're supposed to be celebrities and heroes, right? Anyone would want to host our wedding." He spread his hands wide. "So why not see if we can get somewhere a little more spectacular than a hotel ballroom in Phoenix for our big day? So then I started thinking, if we could all have our weddings literally anywhere, where would we want them to be?"

Pidge blinked, giving him a long look. "And you came up with the Air and Space Museum?"

Lance nodded vigorously. "See, space was always important to all of us for one reason or another. I wanted to be a pilot. Keith wanted to escape." He offered the other man a soft smile, and was rewarded with a startled blink and a blush in return. "Pidge wanted to join their family. Allura grew up in an interstellar community. And Hunk, well, maybe you didn't want to go to space so much, but the Galaxy Garrison and NASA before it have always been on the cutting edge of scientific engineering, right?"

Hunk chuckled and nodded, throwing an arm around Keith's shoulders. "Pretty much, yeah."

"So the Museum kinda represents that. And I also thought people would find it very sympl-symblo-slymp-quiznack!" Lance blew a raspberry and tried again, enunciating very slowly, "symbolically appropriate for the people who brought Earth into a new era of space travel, as part of an intergalactic community, to get married in a place that represents the scientific journey that got us there in the first place. Past and future, you know?" He bounced again and folded his hands behind his back, scanning their faces earnestly for their reactions.

Hunk beamed proudly, Keith smiled, Pidge laughed and nodded in agreement, and Allura gave him an impressed look. "That's clever thinking, Lance." She said warmly.

Lance blushed, rubbing at the back of his head. "Well, I guess all your lessons on dramatic presentation paid off. And the diplomacy lessons, the people at the museum weren't quite as eager as the hotel people were about the idea. It took me like two hours to talk them into it, and a lot of pointing out how they could use the publicity to their advantage and other bargaining."

Frowning, Hunk shot him a concerned look. "You didn't promise them anything excessive, did you?"

"Of course not!" Lance looked mildly offended. "I managed to get them to agree in exchange for information about holoprojector technology that they could use for their displays. And," he beamed at Allura, "I got them to promise to put them to use for the wedding. We've got our juniberry displays back."

"Lance!" Allura gasped and threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly. Moving the wedding out of the Castle of Lions had meant losing the ability to use the projectors to create juniberry flowers as part of the wedding decor. She'd accepted the necessity in good grace, but they all knew how much it hurt her to have so little of Altean culture to include in the ceremony and reception. "Thank you, Lance." She murmured into his shoulder, rubbing at her eyes with one hand,

Lance hugged her tightly, stroking her hair as the others moved in to join the embrace. "Only the best for our Princess."

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Hunk hummed to himself as he made his way down the hall, the smell of the freshly-baked cookies he was carrying wafting around him. Pidge had been holed up in their second bedroom all day working on a design for their wedding outfit, and while dinner was still a few hours away, he figured a snack would help the thinking process. Just as he was about to knock at the green-striped door, though, he heard a scream of frustration and the sound of something heavy hitting the door. Another strangled cry followed a couple seconds later, along with a smaller crunching noise. Hunk nearly dropped the plate as he fumbled to balance it and free a hand for the palm scanner.

The door slid open and his eyes immediately sought out Pidge, sitting on their bed with their knees tucked to their chest and hands buried in their hair, shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. Hunk practically threw the cookies onto the desk in his haste to cross the room, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Pidge and reaching to disentangle shaking fingers that were yanking violently at their hair. "Hey, hey, let's not do that, okay? No hair pulling, here, squeeze my fingers instead." He coaxed in a gentle voice, wrapping the smaller hand around his own broad one. "Hard as you need to. It's okay, sweetheart."

Pidge let out a wordless, distressed noise but allowed the transfer, squeezing his fingers hard enough that he could feel the bones grinding together painfully. He ignored it, though, switching to humming softly, a wordless pattern of sound to help ground them and distract from whatever had triggered the meltdown-he could guess what, with the sketchbook splayed on the floor in front of the door alongside a shattered fidget toy. Obviously Pidge was struggling with something to do with the wedding clothes, and he wished he'd thought to see this coming.

After a while the bruising grip on his fingers lessened and the gasping breaths and trembling subsided slightly in favour of a sob muffled against the tucked-up knees. Hunk clucked his tongue sympathetically. "Shh, Pidgeon, it's okay. Is it alright if I hug you?" When a small nod was given he wrapped his smallest partner up in his arms, pulling them against his chest and enfolding them in warmth and love. "It's okay. I've got you. Just take your time, and then we'll figure it out together, alright?"

He felt their head move jerkily against his shoulder where they had buried it, saying something too quiet and muffled for him to hear, and he frowned. "Sorry, what was that?"

Pidge lifted their head slightly, and he distinctly heard a choked, watery, "It's stupid." before they tucked their forehead back against his neck.

"It's not stupid if it's upsetting you, babe." He countered, gentle but firm as he rubbed calming circles on their back. "When you're ready, we can talk it through, okay?" They shrugged, but he took it as a win anyway and continued to hold them until the tension and stress eased away little by little.

Finally they shifted, leaning sideways against his chest. "This is stupid. It shouldn't be bothering me so much." They muttered, hoarse and frustrated.

"The outfits?" Hunk guessed cautiously.

A nod under his chin, short hair scraping against his beard. "...I should just suck it up and wear a dress."

"Absolutely not." Hunk banished that suggestion immediately. "That wouldn't be right for you and we both know it, okay? Not unless that's what you actually want." He paused for a moment, waiting for them to contradict him, but they didn't, because he was right and they both knew it. "Why don't you show me the ideas you didn't like and tell me what's bothering you?" He coaxed.

Pidge hesitated, but after a moment they pushed themselves off his lap and picked their way over to retrieve the sketchbook they'd thrown. They passed it to him, settling back against his side as he rested the book on one knee and started to flip through it. There were dozens of sketches, some of them with question marks beside them and others roughly scribbled out, but they all followed the same basic idea: a mix of elements of typical 'male' and 'female' wedding clothes, from flowing skirts paired with suit jackets to something that was literally split down the center that he wasn't sure would even be physically possible to make. Most of them looked like perfectly nice outfits, but there was still something he couldn't quite put his finger on about all them that just...didn't feel right. He couldn't picture Pidge wearing any of these, at least not happily.

As if to confirm his train of thought, he felt Pidge shrug against him. "They just...none of them felt right, and I was just getting really frustrated..." They let out a shuddering exhale. "I hate this. It shouldn't be so complicated. You all figured out your outfits so easily..."

"Allura's wearing her mom's wedding dress, and Lance and I are just wearing tuxes with paladin ceremonial cloaks added. Even Keith is just adding Blade ceremonial accents to a tux and cloak combo. It's not your fault your situation is a little more complicated, okay?" He squeezed them gently with one arm as he continued to flip through the pad. "We just need to figure out what best represents you, and then go from there."

Pidge grunted in disgust. "And what exactly represents an autistic agender asexual technonerd space warrior?"

Hunk frowned thoughtfully, mulling over that comment. Then he froze for an instant, before a broad grin spread slowly across his face. "I know exactly what represents that. Come on!" Before they could protest, he hauled them to their feet and dragged them out the door.

"Hunk! Where are we going?!" They demanded as he hauled them along, stumbling to keep up.

"You'll see!"

A few minutes later they arrived at what had been deemed the 'paladin supply room' since the Altean name was untranslatable and even Hunk couldn't get his mouth around the word after years of learning the language. The walls were lined with lockers of spare armor chunks, spare electronics for repairs, and a fabricator for when something needed replacing. Pidge gave him a puzzled frown, the question obvious in their expression. Hunk just grinned and tugged them across to the door on the other side of the room, flinging it open and flicking on the lights.

Inside, five sets of armor stood on support frames. These were not the standard combat armor; instead, these were delicate, intricate sets with detailed filigrees and multi-hued accents. Ceremonial armor, intended only for the most special of occasions.

Beside him, Pidge let out a small gasp. "Hunk..." Then abruptly Hunk had his arms full of them as they hugged him tightly. "Thank you." They whispered.

Hunk smiled softly, stroking their hair and tipping their head up to kiss them softly. "What could be better than armor for an autistic agender asexual technonerd space warrior, hmm?" They snorted, but laughter was a very welcome change from earlier. "Come on, let's try on your set and see how it fits."

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"Uhh...Hunk? Everything okay?" Keith asked cautiously as he poked his head around the doorframe of the kitchen.

"Absolutely. Why do you ask?"

"Because, uh..." Keith gestured helplessly with one hand at the kitchen. Every available surface was literally covered with plates, pans, bowls, and racks of baked goods in various stages of cooling.

Hunk followed the gesture. "Oh. The baking?"

Keith nodded.

The oven dinged a warning and Hunk pulled it open to retrieve a pan of croissants, then frowned as he surveyed the kitchen again in search of a place to set it down. After a moment he opened a cupboard, shifting a plate of cookies to rest on top of the stack of clean plates, then shifted a pan full of what looked like nanaimo bars to the empty spot on top of the microwave the cookies had previously occupied before setting the hot pan of croissants in the spot on top of the stove the nanaimo bars had left behind. Rearrangement done, he dusted his oven mitts together before turning his attention back to Keith. "It's not stress-baking. Just thinking."

Keith gave him a doubtful look. "About what?"

Hunk sighed and gathered up a stack of dirty cooking dishes, heading across the room to dump them in the sink. "Wedding stuff." He said before turning on the water.

"What specifically?" Keith prodded, stepping into the kitchen and leaning against the counter beside Hunk after taking a moment to make sure he wasn't going to knock anything over or accidentally put his elbow in a pie.

"Right Arm." Hunk grunted, scrubbing at a bowl with a scouring pad. "I don't know who to choose. I can't have any of you guys because I'm marrying you, and Matt, Shiro, and Coran are all spoken for already."

Keith frowned, leaning over to scrape a bit of batter from a bowl waiting to be washed and licking it off his finger. "What about one of your moms? You've been reconnecting with them, haven't you? They're helping with the catering."

"Yeah, but I can't exactly choose between them, Keith!" Hunk scrubbed a little more viciously.

Keith nodded in acknowledgement and let the conversation lapse into silence. No wonder Hunk had been baking so much. He grabbed a muffin and nibbled on it while Hunk worked at the dishes, letting his eyes wander over the trays of food. Half of them he didn't even recognize, but then, there was quite a lot even Hunk's skill hadn't been able to reproduce with alien ingredients. "What do they do in Samoan weddings?" He asked after a while.

Hunk shook his head. "Best man and maid of honour, in most cases, depending on individual beliefs." He sighed. "I don't want to choose between them, but my moms are the only people not already taken that I think of when I think of 'someone who I can count on for support'. Them and the rest of the community, I mean, but that goes without saying."

Humming, Keith snagged another muffin.

"Don't spoil your dinner."

"I won't, I was just in the training room." Keith laughed, leaning over to bump their shoulders together. "Is there any particular reason you couldn't just...have both of them?"

There was a pause. The clattering of dishes in the sink stopped, leaving only the sound of the running water to fill the kitchen.

"I mean...community is really important in Samoan culture, right? I remember you telling us about that. And we were trying to figure out how to represent your culture more in the ceremony and not just in the reception." Keith waved the muffin thoughtfully as he spoke, pausing to take another bite and his next words coming out slightly muffled as he chewed. "It's really...the love and support and protection goes both ways really strongly for you, so maybe you could have a whole group of people, to represent your community, walk on your right and then sit down on your left. It would-"

He was cut off as a pair of soapy hands grabbed his cheeks and a pair of lips planted firmly on his own, kissing him soundly. When Hunk pulled back, he was beaming. "You're quiznacking brilliant and I love you."

Keith blushed, grabbing a dish towel to wipe the water off his cheeks, and grinned back. "Love you too."

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Allura hummed as she brushed out her hair. She had the main bedroom to herself this morning, the others already off and busy with their own projects, so instead she'd turned on the main screen to one of the Terran 'news channels' Pidge had programmed the Castle to pick up. Since they'd arrived, she'd been determinedly immersing herself in the local culture at every opportunity in an effort to understand more about her beloveds' home. Right now two individuals were discussing her own upcoming wedding, which was apparently a very popular topic as the day drew closer.

"...have confirmed that reservations have been made at the Mandarin Oriental for the night before and the night after the wedding, although we expect the wedded partners themselves will make themselves scarce after the reception. No word yet on the location of the honeymoon, though."

"Well, who's to say that's even going to be on Earth? Surely the Princess of an alien planet could take her newly-wedded partners anywhere in the universe, right?"

"You'd think that, but consider the fact that aside from her advisor, Coran Smythe, we have yet to see any other Alteans. I can't help but wonder if maybe the Princess's choice in romantic partners isn't so popular with the royal family, especially since there won't be any pureblooded heirs from that union, if they can produce heirs at all."

Allura faltered, setting the brush in her lap as the last few sentences replayed in her head. She was so used to Altea's destruction being common knowledge, it had never once occurred to her to specifically mention it since they'd arrived. So perhaps the conclusion the general public had drawn from her and Coran's seeming isolation from their own kind was not unreasonable. But the words still stung. Especially the comment about pure-blooded Altean children.

No matter how much she might wish it otherwise, Allura and Coran would be the last pure-blooded Alteans. In seven years of war since she had awakened, there had never been so much as a whisper of any other survivors. It was something she tried not to think about too often, but now, with her wedding only weeks away...

The door whooshed open behind her. "Hey, 'lura, have you seen-quiznack!" A pair of strong arms encircled her and she found herself pulled against Lance's chest. "Babe, what's wrong? You're crying."

She was? She touched her cheek and found that sure enough, there were tears tracing their way downwards. More voices murmured from the doorway, Lance answered, and then more arms folded around her. "Talk to us, Allura." Pidge, gentle and worried. "What happened?"

Allura allowed herself a shuddering breath, trying to draw strength from her partners. "Nothing you can do anything about. I'm sorry." She admitted, picking her words carefully. "The news people were simply...the topic of heirs came up. Pure-blooded ones." She forced a laugh, wiping carefully at her eyes. "I suppose I should do an interview, clarify a few things before the wedding..."

A hand stopped hers, Keith's strong hand lacing with it and Pidge's frown making her trail off. "Allura...you know whatever kids we all have, by blood or adopted or whatever we decide to do when we're ready...they may not have full Altean genetics, but they'll be your kid. They'll have your heritage, as well as ours, as much of it as we can give them. Altean culture, Altean history...they'll have that, at least. Altea will live on."

Before she could continue, Keith spoke up. "And besides, there may be ways to extrapolate more of the Altean genome from you and Coran. We haven't exactly looked into kids yet, remember? With the science of a million galaxies out there, there's gotta be one species that knows a lot about genetics." He stroked her hair, offering her a soft smile. "There are options. We'll figure it out, Allura."

He was right. They both were. Genes could be extrapolated-perhaps not even just from her, there were hundreds of abandoned rooms in the Castle whose cleaning cycles had been deactivated since the Castle went into hiding to conserve power and resources, and culture could be passed down to anyone provided they were willing. She tried to picture it, a new Altea, founded from a great mixing of genes of thousands of species. A symbol of peace and unity, a symbol of a new era, born of unity between the five of them. The thought was unexpectedly beautiful, and the sting of loss in her heart lessened.

She wiped away the tears, and this time the smile she offered was genuine.

000000

Sitting in the lounge to wait their turn for their test run with the make-up artist they'd hired for the wedding, Pidge had not been the least bit surprised by Keith's disgruntled protests audible from down the hall during his turn. He wasn't fond of the feeling of the stuff on his skin anymore than Pidge was. But what they didn't expect was, during Lance's turn in the chair, a sudden terrified shout. "No! Don't! Don't! Get away from me!"

They were on their feet in an instant, bayard materializing in their hand, Allura racing ahead of them down the hall on her longer legs. They burst into the room the make-up artist was using ready to fight whatever had caused such a terrified cry from Lance.

Lance was pressed against the far wall, trembling, his hands pressed over his left eye. The bionic right one couldn't blow wide like a natural one, but his posture and expression said plenty. On the far side of the room, the make-up artist had their hands up in a peacemaking gesture, pale-faced at the sight of Pidge's bayard. They scanned the room, trying to find what had set Lance off, and their eyes landed on a small object on the table. A contact lens case. Everything clicked in an instant. "What the fuck did you do?" They snarled, waving Allura toward Lance and getting up in the artist's face without bothering to hide their fury.

"I-I was only trying to make his eyes match!" The man swallowed anxiously, taking a step back.

Their eyes narrowed. "That's what I thought. Get the fuck out. You're fired."

"But-"

"Get out before I taze you and have you removed bodily!"

He squeaked and hastily swept his make-up supplies into a bag before bolting out the door. Pidge didn't bother following to make sure he left-they'd cowed Galra before with the force of their fury, and one moronic make-up artist wasn't about to test them now. Instead they made their way over to kneel beside Allura. Lance had sunk to the floor now and she was guiding him through a breathing exercise in a steady voice. He was trying, they could see that, but far from okay right now.

When he'd finally calmed enough for touch, Pidge laced their fingers through his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You're okay. You're safe. You're protected." They murmured, trying to keep their seething rage at the makeup artist's ignorance out of their tone. Who the hell looked at someone with a bionic eye surrounded by scars and thought it was a good idea to try to put a contact lens in their other eye? Especially for such an idiotic reason? 'Make his eyes match' in-fucking-deed.

Lance exhaled shakily, giving their hand a small squeeze. "I-I'm okay. I'm okay." He muttered, then, hesitantly, lifted his arms. "Can I-"

"Of course, idiot. You don't have to ask." They shot back without any heat, tucking themselves against his side and wrapping an arm around his waist while Allura took the other side. They held him that way for a while, until the shaking subsided and his breathing was steadier. When they glanced up, though, they could see him chewing his lip anxiously, guilt in his eyes, and quickly poked him in the side. "Hey. None of that face. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But...he was only..."

"Trying to make you conform to some sort of bullshit standard regardless of your personal comfort?" Pidge scoffed. "Since when have any of us ever conformed to what society tells us?"

That got a choked laugh out of him. "Probably not since Hunk got me to admit that I was crushing equally hard on both Keith and Allura. Hunk always knew he was poly, Keith's, like, the definition of non-conformity, Allura's not even from Earth, and you're, well, you."

"Thanks, I think." Pidge griped playfully.

Allura giggled, resting her head on Lance's shoulder. "Pidge is right, though. We are not trying to impress anyone with our wedding. All that matters is our happiness-and comfort" she gave Lance a sharp look, and he ducked his head sheepishly "-on our special day. When we hire a new make-up artist, we will ensure they are aware of that fact, so there won't be any repetition of this incident." She scowled darkly, tightening her arms around Lance.

"Not if they don't want their asses kicked." Pidge agreed with equal fervor.

Lance chuckled, and Pidge felt a kiss on the top of their head. "Sounds like a plan."

000000

Keith paced anxiously around the hotel room, unable to settle. Their wedding would be starting in just a few hours and he was a bundle of nerves. It didn't help that he didn't even have his partners to help calm him down, since wedding superstitions had resulted in them all being assigned separate hotel rooms the night before.

The door clicked open and Shiro stepped inside, shutting it behind him before opening his arms. Keith stepped gratefully into the hug, taking a deep breath, and Shiro chuckled. "Nervous, huh?"

"You have no idea. Why weren't you freaking out like this the day you and Matt got married?" Keith complained, resting his head on his brother's shoulder.

Shiro snorted. "Oh, I was, trust me. I'm just better at hiding it." He ruffled Keith's hair and laughed when Keith swatted at his hand. "Want me to distract you? I was just checking in on the preparations."

Keith nodded gratefully. "Is everything going to be ready on time? Who's supervising?"

"Krolia, actually, and she was terrorizing the florists when I left, to make sure all the floral arrangements were positioned just right." Shiro's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "I don't know how it turned out to be your mom that's the momzilla of the group, but god help them all if everything isn't absolutely perfect for her son's special day. But at least it means we don't have to worry about any sort of problems. She won't let them happen."

Groaning, Keith shook his head. "I guess not." He pushed away from Shiro and moved to the window, peeking cautiously through the blinds. Down below, a police cordon kept crowds at bay from the hotel, and he knew a similar cordon had had to be installed two days earlier at the museum. The city was packed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the paladins, or the various alien guests who had been steadily arriving for the last week and ferried by Lion down from orbit to the cleared landing zone in front of the hotel. "This is insane. Nothing like this ever happened on any other planet we stayed on."

"You weren't local celebrities on any other planet." Shiro pointed out. "But don't worry about them, okay? What matters today is the five of you. No one else. This is your day."

Keith took a deep breath, trying to will Shiro's words to calm his nerves. He'd never been fond of being in front of crowds, and this was basically the biggest crowd of all time. "Yeah. Okay. I should...probably get into my tux, right? Before the make-up artist gets here?"

Shiro nodded, giving him a proud smile that made him feel just a little better. "Probably. Let me give you a hand."

000000

"Easy, Allura. Everything will go fine." Coran assured her gently, hugging her tightly.

"I know, I know, I'm just..."

"Nervous?" Coran smiled understandingly. "Don't worry. That's normal. At least you're not throwing things like your mother did on our day."

Allura flushed. "No, I suppose there is that. Do you know who's coming to help with my dress? The others wouldn't tell me." She allowed a plaintive note to creep into her voice.

Coran chuckled and shook his head. "You'll see soon en-" a knock at the door interrupted him. "Now. You'll find out now, it seems." He laughed, moving over to open the door. "Welcome, ladies. It's a pleasure to have you." He stepped out of the way, gesturing welcomingly, and Allura's eyes widened as Rosa McClain-Martinez, Colleen, Holt, and La'ei and Fetuilelagi Garrett stepped into the room.

"I...you're all..." she faltered, swallowed hard. "Shouldn't you be with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk?"

"Who do you think asked us to help you out today?" Rosa smiled fondly, moving across the room, and Allura found herself swept up in a warm hug. "And of course we weren't about to say no to helping our soon-to-be daughter on her special day."

Allura gasped, unable to speak through the sudden lump in her throat as her eyes burned. Instead she allowed herself to lean into the hug, trying to express through that contact just how much the gesture meant to her. Rosa obviously felt it, because a hand stroked her hair comfortingly. "You're part of the family now, sweetheart. And you always will be."

"All our families." Colleen agreed firmly. "Krolia would be here too, but she doesn't know a thing about wedding dresses and she's busy making sure the cake gets arranged correctly in the reception area. That thing is insane." Despite her description, the look she shot at the Garretts for their cultural contribution was frankly admiring, and made the couple laugh.

"Fair enough." Allura giggled wetly. "Thank you. All of you, so much."

"Anytime, daughter." La'ei smiled fondly. "Now, where's the dress? We'd best get started right away."

000000

This was it.

Lance stepped up the ramp of the Blue Lion, parked as close as she could get to the doors of the hotel. The lions had been taking turns ferrying passengers from hotel to museum all morning, under the command of the emergency back-up pilots they had, with much cajoling, coaxing, and guilt-tripping, been convinced to accept to ensure an uninterrupted honeymoon for their true paladins. No matter how much Red, Blue, and Black had eventually gotten used to the final solution to the six-paladins-five-lions problem, which was versatility in the piloting arrangement based on which skills were needed where (designated formations alpha through delta), they hadn't been fond of the detail. Lance had finally just put his foot down and told Red and Blue they owed him for emotional hardship from the first lion shuffle and that was that.

"Ready to go?" His sister, Veronica, grinned at him from the pilot's chair.

"Mhm." Lance grinned and sat down in the jump seat, taking care to move his cape, a long blue gradient shaped like a waterfall in honour of his original element. "Is Blue behaving for you?"

Veronica snorted. "Mostly. She's not pleased, but she's dealing."

"She'll live." Lance snorted as well.

The flight was short, and within minutes they were landing in the parking lot outside the Air and Space Museum. The other Lions were already in position, lined up in formation around the Black Lion. Veronica followed him down the ramp, and Lance patted Blue's nose affectionately as she closed her mouth. "Be good for my sister, okay? I'll see you in a couple weeks. Love you, beautiful." Hearing a rumble of annoyance, he jogged over and patted Red's nose too. "Don't worry, I love you too, gorgeous. You'll have a great time with Krolia, I know it."

Taking a deep breath, he turned and headed towards the doors of the Museum. The entrance hall was a vast space, lined with displays and ticket booths. A harried-looking employee hurried over to meet him. "Right this way, Paladin Lance, Ms. McClain-Martinez." They gestured urgently.

The ceremony was arranged to take place in one of the facility's three main exhibit halls, aircraft and spacecraft hanging overhead and lining the walls. The spot the employee guided him to was bordered by a model of the modified Mars rover used by Mark Watney on one side and a reproduction of the Pathfinder probe on the other, forming a sort of gateway at the head of the aisle. As the employee led Veronica away to her seat, Lance stepped to wear he could properly see the ceremony area and felt his jaw drop.

Exhibits had been moved to create a large circular space in the middle of the room, now filled with chairs to form five wedges with aisles between, lined with flowers in red, yellow, blue, and pink with green leaves between, and a smaller circle in the center left clear except for a low table to one side. The chairs were filled with people, family, friends, and associates of each paladin along the left sides of the aisles-he could see Veronica taking the seat that had been left for her near the front-and other guests further over, Humans and aliens mixed together throughout. At the back of each wedge stood the media personnel, both Human and alien, with their cameras and microphones. Lance swallowed nervously at the reminder that far more people than just the ones here would be watching the wedding. It was going to be broadcast all over the universe.

Movement caught his eye and his gaze flicked to it instantly. At the top of the aisle across from him, Keith was pacing anxiously back and forth, his red cape swirling like a tongue of flame as he moved. Lance couldn't help but chuckle and wave. After a moment Keith caught the movement and froze, before a smile spread across his face and he returned the gesture. Lance allowed himself to be distracted by admiring how handsome Keith looked, dressed in a black tuxedo with the grey-purple Blade of Marmora sash and the swirling red cape. His hair had been neatly brushed and tied back at the nape of his neck, exposing a few scars on his cheeks and neck, but as far as Lance was concerned they only added to Keith's roguishly handsome good looks.

"Ready, sweetheart?" His mother's voice beside him made him jump and blush, but he nodded, taking a deep breath. Across the way, Shiro had joined Keith and was talking to him, although Lance couldn't hear what was being said from here.

"To marry the loves of my life? Absolutely." He grinned and offered her his arm.

00000

Music swelled, silencing the chatter of the crowd in an instant as the traditional wedding march echoed through the brightly-lit room. Heads swivelled to look at one aisle after another, eager with anticipation.

A beat, then-

The wedding party stepped forward from between models of planes and spacecraft and balloons. At the head of the first aisle, Blue Paladin Lance McClain-Martinez, dressed in a fitted white tuxedo with a blue cape flowing back from his shoulders, a narrow band of cloth like a waterfall, and a blue flower tucked into his lapel. At his right arm, his mother, and on his face, a joyful smile that made mismatched blue eyes flash and sparkle.

At the second, Green Paladin Pidge Holt, with their brother at their side. White armor, form-fitting and elegant, with green-and-silver tracery like vines curling over the smooth plates, and a short, pale green cape hung from their shoulders like a broad leaf and tendrils of vines. Short orange hair had been undercut on one side, and pinned back on the other with a emerald-jewelled clip that looked like a sprig of leaves curling around the side of their head. Amber eyes flashed warily, then seemed to gain confidence as they caught sight of their partners spread around the room.

In the third aisle, Yellow Paladin Hunk Garrett stepped forward confidently, surrounded by a dozen people from his hometown: parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings. The representatives of the community that had loved and supported him for so much of his life. The flower in his lapel was a soft yellow-orange, perfectly matching the worn headband keeping his hair back from his face, and the broad, heavy cloak that hung over his shoulders like sheets of sun-warmed stone. His smile was soft as he took in the other parts of his family making their way to meet him.

At the fourth aisle, Red Paladin Keith Kogane's dark eyes flashed a challenge as he stepped forward, side-by-side with Takashi Shirogane. He wore a black tuxedo, crossed with the wide grey sash of the Blades of Marmora, many of whom filled seats on his left hand side, and a red ribbon tied back shoulder-length black hair before dangling down to blend with the swirling red cape that hung from his shoulders. Something of his defiant manner eased to something more steady as he met the smiles of his partners and returned them.

And in the fifth aisle, Pink Paladin Princess Allura of Altea, flanked by her advisor and long-time friend. Her gown, long and flowing, rippled with all the colours of the aurora borealis, tiny flecks glinting like stars through the vibrant colours. Long white hair was tied back in intricate curls and braids, strung through with beads and ribbons that matched the delicate embellishments of her dress. And on her head, a last-minute gift from the Olkari delegation just hours before the ceremony, a crown of delicate pink flowers that had reduced her to tears upon delivery. Her poise was elegant, but her gaze sought out those of her lovers without hesitation as the five moved with measured pace down the flower-lined aisles towards each other.

The five met in the middle, their hands instantly reaching for those on either side of them as their Right Arms stepped back, all exchanging soft smiles filled with joy and love.

The officiant stepped forward, clearing her throat. "Friends, family, esteemed guests, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of these five in loving wedded bliss. They have composed their own vows, their own ceremonial rites, combining all their respective cultures, to symbolize their deep, abiding love for each other and their desire to continue as they have begun, as five parts of a single whole."

Stepping over to the table, she retrieved a Balmeran crystal about the size of a football. Holding it out into the center of the circle, the five lovers finally released each other's hands to extend their right arms, sharing the weight of the crystal in the center of the circle. The crystal began to glow softly, drawing energy from them as they willed a fragment of their own life forces into it, to be forever joined.

As the crystal bathed the room in a soft blue light, the officiant retrieved another item from the table, a length of soft purple ribbon. Five left hands met in the center below the crystal as the ribbon was wrapped around palms and hands and fingers, binding them together with a complex weaving of cloth. The binding completed, the officiant stepped back, leaving them standing together in the center. "The partners will now deliver their vows."

There was a moment of bashful hesitation, then Lance and Pidge both tried to speak at once before breaking off in giggles. Allura just chuckled, Keith snorted, and Hunk shook his head, smiling fondly. Lance, grinning, gestured for Pidge to go first, and they blushed, nodding.

"You guys are...just the most amazing people I have ever met, and I want the world to know just how lucky I feel to have all of you. You all have so many skills, so many talents, and above all, you're all so loving, so accepting. None of you ever, not once, made me feel like I had to be anything other than exactly what I am, or loved me any less for who that turned out to be. Instead you've always helped and encouraged me, and stood by my side against anyone who tried to say otherwise." They took a deep breath, offering their partners a brilliantly grateful smile. "I know I'm not always the best with people, or with feelings, but you accepted that too, and I want you all to know that I will always, always try to do for you what you've done for me. Love you, accept you, support you, in any way that I can, for as long as I'm alive. I love you, all of you, now, and always."

The crystal pulsed with light as hands squeezed Pidge's gently through the layers of ribbon wrapped around their hands, and their smile only grew as they ducked their head to Lance to take his turn to speak.

Lance nodded back and cleared his throat, surveying his family with eyes brimming with love. "I love you. I love you all so much. It feels like words aren't enough to express how much you mean to me, how much I can never repay you for all the love you've all given me, and will continue to give throughout our lives together. Without you...I can honestly say that I don't think I'd be here today." He tipped his head meaningfully to the right. "The four of you are what got me through the darkest days in my life, and it's thanks to that that I know, without a doubt, that I can do anything as long as I have you all by my side." He paused, sniffling and clearing his throat, and Hunk shifted closer to bump their shoulders together gently and received a watery smile in return. "I just...I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, and I could say it non-stop from now until the stars go out and it wouldn't express a fraction of exactly what I feel."

The crystal pulsed again as he sniffled once more, but his smile was brilliant as he nodded for one of the others to speak. Keith coughed slightly, shifting forward and ducking his head as he began to speak.

"I know I got off to a rough start with all of you, one way or another. I've always struggled with people, been afraid to let them in because I didn't want to get hurt. But then...you all gave me another chance, and another, and another. Most people never even gave me one, and it seemed too good to be true. But it wasn't. You all...you accepted me, trusted me, despite everything. And I realized, eventually, that I trusted you back. And it just...grew, until I couldn't stand the thought of life without you. Without any of you." He exhaled slowly, shifting his feet nervously as he glanced towards the cameras and then looked away from them again as someone squeezed his hand. "Thank you. For...for being my family, for teaching me to love, and for loving me in return. For making me feel, for once in my life, like I'll never be alone again."

"You won't be." Pidge said firmly.

"Never." Hunk agreed, his smile warm and determined as the crystal pulsed in their joined hands.

"I know." Keith's smile was sheepish, but happy. "I love you."

"And we love you." Allura smiled softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "And I love all of you. When we first met, I had just lost my entire world-literally, and emotionally. But even though I was a stranger to you, you all did your best to help me heal, and in time, you became my new world. Whether it was fate or chance that brought you to me, it is something that I will never stop being grateful for, and, if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would step willingly into that cryopod, knowing that loving arms would be waiting for me ten thousand years later. The four of you made me smile again, laugh again, and you fill my life with joy every single day no matter what hardships we endure. I love you, and I look forward to years of joy and love by your sides."

The crystal's pulse was brighter now, steadily turning from aquamarine towards white as they all channeled their energy through it.

Hunk was the last to step forward, his brown eyes soft as he gazed at his family. "You all know how important family is to me. I always dreamed of finding someone who loved me as much as my mothers love each other and someone who I loved that much in return. And I've been luckier than I ever dreamed possible-I didn't just find one person, I found four." He took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders. "I love you all. You complete me, heart and soul. And I want you all to know, I would go hand-to-hand against Zarkon himself if it meant none of you would ever be hurt again, because what I want most in this entire universe is to see all of you happy, for as long as we all shall live."

In a blinding flash the crystal seemed to disintegrate with Hunk's last words. Quintessence burst outwards, filling the room in specks like stars that settled slowly like snow. Wherever it touched it seemed to radiate the same love that had charged the crystal, bringing joyful smiles and startled laughter to the five at the center of the room. With the crystal gone their right hands were free and Lance grabbed the closest one, Allura's and kissed the back of it softly as Hunk wrapped his own larger hand around Keith and Pidge's lacing fingers.

The officiant shook herself out of her awe after a moment, collecting a small box from the table and stepping forward once more. In the small jewel case, five rings glimmered in the pseudo-starlight, silvery luxite, golden filigree, and on each band, five tiny opal 'V' shapes aligned to form the petals of a flower, five different colours on each ring that glittered and sparkled as the box moved.

"Hunk Garrett." She spoke up, drawing the attention of the others back to her. "Do you take these four to be your lawfully wedded partners?"

"I do." Hunk's tone was soft but firm, completely unhesitating.

"Lance McClain-Martinez. Do you take these four to be your lawfully wedded partners?"

Blue eyes sparkled with joy. "I do."

"Pidge Holt. Do you take these four to be your lawfully wedded partners?"

"Damn right I do."

"Keith Kogane. Do you take these four to be your lawfully wedded partners?"

A gentle quirking of lips, and no hesitation or doubt. "I do."

"Princess Allura of Altea. Do you take these four to be your lawfully wedded partners?"

"I do." Allura smiled softly, standing tall and regal.

"Then each of you take one of these rings." The officiant held out the box in the center of the circle, "place it on the left ring finger of the appropriate partner, and repeat after me. "With these rings, we thee wed."

"With these rings, we thee wed." The five of them chorused, taking it in turn to slide the rings into place on the fingers of hands still joined by the length of purple ribbon. None of them could keep the smiles of their faces as colourful opals sparkled under quintessence stars and the light of the summer sun. Five hearts beat in rapid time in anticipation of the words they had all waited so many years to hear.

"Then by the power vested in me by the World Congress of Earth, I now pronounce you wed. You may kiss your partners."

000000

The second exhibit hall had been rearranged to provide space for the reception. Tables sheathed in pale blue table clothes were arranged throughout the space, with flowers everywhere to fill the room with vibrant colour. To one side, a space had been left clear for dancing, and on another, two tables were stacked high with gifts-one with gifts for the newlyweds, from their guests, the other, as per Samoan wedding tradition, with gifts from the new family to their guests. And at the back of the room, an elaborate cake comprised of almost forty distinct tiers in six vertical columns sported an aurora of colours and tiny figures not just of the five who were just married, but also of their lions, standing sentinel on the five outer spires around their paladins.

"Holy shit." Pidge breathed, stopping in the doorway as they entered the reception room. "That cake is amazing."

"No kidding. We'll have to thank the bakers personally later." Lance eyed it admiringly as well. "But come on, we should probably get to our seats." He nodded toward the crowd, which was steadily thinning as guests located their assigned seats around the room.

The tables closest to the head table had been reserved for friends and family, and those were already filled, except for three seats closest to the head table. In those spots, picture frames sat on the table. As she started to pass the table, Allura glanced at the frames and stopped, eyes wide. "Father...Mother..." She breathed, pressing a hand to her lips as tears shone in her eyes.

"We figured they deserved an honourary seat." Pidge explained softly, moving up beside her to squeeze her hand. "They're your family, and I'm sorry they didn't get to be here to see this. But I think they'd be so happy for you, Allura. And so would your dad, Keith." They nodded to the third frame.

Keith was staring at it, seemingly rooted to the spot. Then he finally broke free and stepped forward, movements jerky with shock as he picked up the frame to gaze at the picture of his five-year-old-self, beaming under the brim of a too-large fireman's hat in the arms of his grinning father. The resemblance between them was unmistakable, and Keith traced careful fingers over the face of the man who he had, until now, seen only in memories. "This is..." He choked, swallowed, tried again as tears spilled over. "How did you find this?" He forced out in a hoarse whisper. "Mom didn't take any pictures with her."

"Pidge hacked your old foster system records to find his name, then they traced his employment records and tracked down some people who used to work with him back then." Lance explained softly, putting an arm around Keith's waist and resting his head on his husband's shoulder. "I had to try about eight of them before I found one that was a close enough friend that he had some pictures of him, but it was worth it. We put the rest in an album for you to look at later with Krolia."

Keith let out a choked noise, more a sob than actual words, but the others understood all the same. Hunk pulled Keith against his chest, mindful of the picture frame between them, and Pidge and Allura hugged him from behind. "Anytime, Keith." Pidge murmured softly. "You deserve to have your family here today too. You and Allura both."

000000

Shiro rapped at his glass with a spoon as he rose to his feet after the dinner, a delicious array of foods from all over Earth and across the universe. The chatter at the surrounding tables died away almost immediately, all eyes turning to the Black Paladin as he cleared his throat.

Up at the head table, Keith groaned. "Shiro, don't you dare. We talked about this!"

Shiro laughed, waving his spoon at his younger brother. "Don't worry, I remembered my promise not to embarrass you on intergalactic television. But, as your Right Arm and team leader, I do need to give you guys a toast, right?"

Keith made a disgusted noise, burying his face in his hands. Pidge snorted. "I think that's as close to acceptance as you're gonna get, Shiro."

"Good enough." Shiro grinned, turning to survey the guests. "When these five met each other for the first time, things were...a little rough to say the least. I mean, Keith and Lance spent the first few months arguing at the drop of a hat, and the very first thing Allura did when she met Lance was insult his ears."

Up at the head table, Allura choked and hid her blush in her hands while Lance made an offended noise. "Hey! What about those two?" He waved a hand at a snickering Hunk and Pidge.

"They didn't cause drama." Shiro deadpanned back. Then his smirk softened to a smile. "And after you'd had some time to settle, neither did the rest of you. I watched the five of you shake down into one of the most cohesive teams I'd ever seen in all my time at the Galaxy Garrison. And even when the stability you'd achieved was knocked from under you," he gestured to himself with an apologetic expression, "you worked it out. You got each other through it, and found yourselves a new normal, through your trust in each other."

His smile was warm as he regarded the five of them, pride and affection plain for all to see. "And over time, your bonds grew. I had the pleasure of a front row seat as you discovered yourselves and your feelings for eachother, as trust and friendship grew into love and devotion. I watched you take your first tentative steps into the relationships that were the seeds of this one, first Hunk and Pidge, then Lance with Allura and Keith, and then slowly closing the gap until the five of you formed a complete and loving whole. There were ups and downs, I'll admit, but you know, I never for a second doubted that you'd find your way through together. And you did, and just look at you now." He waved a hand at them, smile widening. "The most loving, supportive partners I've ever seen on a thousand worlds. I'm so glad that you were finally able to have this special day. It's been a long time coming, and god, do you ever deserve it. Everyone," He raised his glass high, "to the five newlyweds."

A cheer went up, glasses clinking enthusiastically in agreement with the toast. Up at the table, the five new spouses laced fingers, exchanging soft smiles as more people started to stand up to make toasts.

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The first dance had proved something of a challenge, since five was an odd number and Altean dances were...not ideal for squishy, physically weaker Humans. It had actually ended up being one of the last things they resolved in the planning of the wedding, and the answer had come from an unexpected source-an afternoon spent watching decades-old Disney movies with Lance's nieces and nephews.

Now, the music started out slow and soft, flutes and fiddles and tambourines as the five stepped to the center of the floor and circled each other slowly, all soft hand touches and swaying cloaks and skirts. Then the beat started to pick up and their feet did too, whirling in and out around each other, hooking elbows and stealing kisses whenever the opportunity presented itself. Keith stumbled and Hunk laughed and simply pulled him along, helping him find his feet again as the beat spun faster. Hands clapped the rhythm around the edges of the dance floor, keeping time with the pounding of their feet. Cloaks whirled in a dizzying display of colour, eyes flashed with joy, hands touched and parted and laughter spilled from smiles. And then the music was abruptly over, every hand linked with another, the five of them chest-to-chest-to chest as the clapping turned to applause.

The next song began a moment later, a more traditional fast waltz out of deference to the fact that the wedding party consisted entirely of pairs, and La'ei and Fetuilelagi, Matt and Shiro, and Rosa and Coran stepped out to join them in a swirl of fabric and brilliant smiles. The newlyweds stepped apart, beaming, and began to move as well, changing partners every few steps and laughing as they occasionally tripped over each other's feet.

The night went on much the same way, filled with joy and laughter and dancing. Keith was stolen away for a traditional celebratory dance with the Blade guests that dominated the entire floor with leaping acrobatics and left him breathless, and Hunk was dragged up by a cluster of male cousins, uncles, and family friends to do a fa'ataupati that left everyone awestruck. Allura and Coran partnered each other for a few Altean traditional dances that were almost more frightening than the Blade dances to get too close to, and Lance dominated the floor with moves that his spouses considered frankly unfair in a public place every time a Spanish song came on. Sometimes some of them danced with family, or took breaks for a song or two when the ache of old injuries became impossible to ignore, and sometimes they danced traditions that each of them brought to the relationship, Samoan taualuga and Cuban rueda de casino and Altean kalmuir. But mostly they danced together all night, whirling in and out in a tangle of held hands and stolen kisses and delighted, breathless love.

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They tumbled out of Black's mouth still laughing and tripping over their feet in the early stages of exhaustion as stars wheeled overhead, partially blocked out by the silhouette of the mountains surrounding Banff. Up ahead, a light showed them the way to the guest cottage they'd reserved in a private area of the hot springs resort.

"You be good for Shiro." Keith chuckled, then laughed as Black nudged him affectionately. "And tell Red to behave for Mom." Black's rumble indicated her doubt of the effectiveness of that request, but promised to try anyway. "Thanks."

"Come on, let's get inside. It's cold up here." Lance shivered, tugging at Keith's hand.

"We're in the mountains in the middle of the night." Keith pointed out, but didn't argue as he let Lance pull him toward the little house, using his other hand to steady Pidge as they stumbled and yawned.

Some thoughtful person had already delivered the suitcases they'd packed for the honeymoon, and wedding clothes ended up strewn from one end to the other in favour of soft pajamas and warm blankets. "I dunno about you guys," Lance groaned as he flopped down on the king size bed, "But I am way too exhausted for any more wedding night traditions."

"Honestly, same." Hunk muttered, then yawned. He rolled over to flop an arm over Allura's middle and snuggled into her side. "I will do whatever to whoever tomorrow, but right now? Sleep."

"Way ahead of you, I think." Keith chuckled. Pidge had already passed out across the foot of the bed, one sock on and the other still clutched in a hand, and he shifted them carefully to where he could tuck them under the blankets without so much as a sound of complaint. He sighed in contentment and crawled in beside them, spooning around them and feeling Lance curl around his own back in return.

"Love you guys." He heard Hunk mumble sleepily, full of warmth and happiness.

Keith tried to respond, but sleep had already claimed him.