The paladins hadn't been to many planets lately. Most of them were very different from Earth which was of course very interesting to everyone on the team - especially Pidge, if the planet had advanced technology. But they still looked all the same to Lance.

When they arrived to this new planet they all felt a little lost at first, being exposed to the sight of something so familiar, yet unknown. It wasn't exactly like Earth, but it had some similar features like trees and other plants and something that looked like the sea.

The castle landed on a wide space filled almost exclusively with sand - a beach. When they got off the ship, Lance felt a sting in his heart... It looked so much like home. He couldn't help but run towards the water. Luckily the others seemed to feel the same way, except maybe Shiro who didn't seem very excited about the idea of running straight into the sea.

So they reached the water.

Lance felt a tingly sensation on his feet every time a wave crashed and made the sand swirl underneath him. It brought back so many childhood memories, mostly the ones of days spent at the beach with his family. Of course he had missed them since the day they had left Earth, but it was only now that he realized just how much he missed them. His heart seemed to be physically aching and he wanted nothing more than to go home in this very moment. Why was he here anyway?! He was supposed to be a simple teenager, getting drunk and being stupid and having the time of his life in college. Instead he was standing here, on a planet lightyears away from his home, from Earth, with the hope of the whole universe on his shoulders. He would do anything to be able to just hug his mother one more time and for a few seconds not to feel like everyone depended on him. Just feel home again...

He looked up from his feet. Standing in front of him was Keith. Lance wasn't sure what he thought of him just yet. Yes, they had always been 'rivals' and stuff... but still, he wasn't sure. Anyways, it didn't matter right now. He just wanted to go home and this place, wherever in the universe it might be, gave him the feeling of home. Just a tiny bit, but it was enough to make him feel so much all at once. He felt nostalgic thinking about all those memories but he also felt relaxed when he imagined this to be just another day at the beach spent with his crazy, loving family. This was so bittersweet... Somehow, after a few minutes he couldn't stop it. He felt a pain in his chest but also a warm feeling and just so much more that he couldn't even put into words. When he looked at Keith once more tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"This is so much like home," he whispered as his tears slowly mixed with the salt water of the big blue sea on this foreign planet. "I miss home..."

For a moment Lance's vision was blurred by his tears. But he wiped them away a few seconds later when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Keith was standing in front of him, wearing a smile but seemingly worried.

"You're really missing Earth, huh?" The black haired boy seemed so unsure of what to do in this kind of situation, Lance suddenly felt a bit bad for putting him in it in the first place. But he wanted to go home so badly and he'd been holding in all these emotions, all this sadness, for way too long now.

At the Garrison he'd skype call his family at least once a week. Now he hadn't talked to them in months. What was probably the worst thing about it was that he hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye.

Lance didn't like to think about this, but it was still on his mind more often than he'd like to admit: They probably thought he was dead. Maybe he would actually die before he'd gotten a chance to see them again. Only thinking about it made his stomach turn.

Dammit, where are all these tears coming from all of a sudden?!

"I miss home," he mumbled again, trying to avoid looking Keith in the eyes. This was so embarrassing.

He didn't know how it had happened but the next thing he knew they were hugging. At first it felt weird. He'd never hugged Keith before. But he'd been feeling so alone for all this time that having someone close to him like this made him feel better, even if only slightly, and at the moment he didn't really care who it was. He simply needed someone, anyone. It felt like a weight was being lifted off his chest. He was not alone.

"Hey… I might not know how you're feeling… But I'm here. Okay?"

Lance pressed his face into Keith's shoulder more and held onto him even tighter.

"Thank you."
Doing nothing but listening to Keith's steady breathing right next to his ear really calmed him down. After what felt like an eternity, he slowly pulled away from their hug.
"Sorry for being so clingy. I don't want to-"
"Shhh. It's okay."

Keith stared at him. Lance stared back. It was like he was drowning in Keith's eyes. His gaze was so captivating, for some reason it made Lance's heart beat unusually fast. He took a deep breath before he began talking, to make sure he wouldn't break into tears again.

"I just… I miss home so much. You know? Earth. My family. The Garrison. Everything... and everyone, too. I used to talk to my family like once a week back at the Garrison. Now they probably think I'm dead. And honestly I'm just scared. What if I'll never see them again? What if they're worried sick about me right now? In this very moment? I just wanna let them know I'm okay. I wanna know they're okay. But they're so far away… Do you have any idea how far away from Earth we are right now? I can't even imagine it. I mean—"

He couldn't breathe. Tears had been forming at the corners of his eyes while he was talking. He was trying to hold them back as best as he could, but it made talking impossible. God, why had he suddenly turned into such a crybaby? He was sure Keith would use this moment of weakness to his advantage in the future but there was no point in worrying about it now.

Lance had always been very attached to his family but he had never experienced such a strong homesickness before. It made him wonder if the others were feeling the same way. Thinking about it, Pidge had lost two of her beloved family members long ago… So it was probably safe to assume that she knew exactly what he was feeling.

He really wasn't in the place to complain.
"I'm sorry. I-I'm…"

An overwhelming wave of sadness swept into his heart.

How was it possible for him to be here, on a planet that seemed so much like home, and yet be so far away from all the people he considered his home? How could he be feeling this lonely even though he had six friends with him?

"Don't apologize. Maybe you just need to talk about it?"

Lance silently agreed.

They went to sit down at the beach, Lance wiping away his tears. It was a strange feeling, talking to Keith without fighting. Truly strange. But right now Lance was feeling completely weak, so he'd figured he could make an exception. For once he didn't want to pick a fight with Keith.

"I… miss being with my family. This planet reminds me so much of Earth. And the beach… I used to go to the beach with my family almost every day when I was little. It was our thing. Everybody would be there: my parents and siblings, sometimes also my cousins and aunts and uncles. It was so much fun and I loved spending time with them."

Lance absentmindedly drew some lines in the sand with his finger.

"Now I can't do that anymore. We're so far apart and I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see them again," he breathed out shakily. "What if not? Does that mean I'll die in space without them ever knowing about it? Will they know how much I've missed them and how much I fought to keep them safe? I just- I… I wish I could talk to them one last time. My cousin is getting married this month and I can't be there. My sister is going to graduate without her brother at her side. I'm going to miss out on all of that. I really wish I was on Earth right now. Sure, being a paladin is great and all and fighting aliens and hanging out with chicks from other galaxies is rad…"

That made Keith's expression change for a second, to something that almost seemed like a smile.

"…but I'd still prefer being home. If only everything could go back to normal," Lance let out a sigh and looked over at the red paladin.

He seemed serious. Because Keith didn't respond for a while, Lance started to wonder if he might have said something stupid or hurtful. Keith didn't have a family. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to talk to him about this kind of thing after all… But he'd been the one who had offered to listen, right? So it was okay, wasn't it?

"Lance."

He tensed up at the sound of his name.

"I'm sorry. I don't know if we'll ever go back to Earth. But if we fight hard enough and defeat Zarkon, we can return, right? I promise I'll do my best."

Lance looked at him with wide eyes. He was right. The only chance to make it back to Earth was to give it their all. He couldn't back out of this - not anymore. So no matter what, he'd have to fight.

"Once all of this is over you can see your family again."

Keith's smile was bitter, but in that moment Lance was too happy to notice it. He threw his arms around Keith and buried his head in his shoulder one more time.

What a nice feeling, not to be alone. Both of them thought the same thing, but they stayed silent.

They would fight together. And once they had won, once all of this was over, they would go back home together.

Lance's heart was still aching, but he felt relieved. Finally he wasn't alone with his worries anymore. And he was reassured that they would give it their all and that they would win. The only tears he was crying now were happy tears and he was silently hoping the mullet was hiding his face well enough so nobody could see his stupid grin.

Maybe Keith wasn't that bad after all.

Meanwhile the other paladins were just watching the two boys and keeping their distance.

The whole scene truly seemed like a bonding moment, to say the least.