A good few weeks had passed since the team sacrificed the castle, which meant it had also been a good few weeks since they got Shiro back— the real Shiro, whose life force had been placed in the clone's body. The team had spent the next few days planning the trip back to Earth, setting rations on the limited supplies they had managed to fit in the lions, and getting some well deserved rest.

Admittedly, it had taken some time for things to cool down and for the team to get used to the new "normal." Allura and the others couldn't help hovering over Shiro whenever they got the chance, which was a little suffocating despite their good intentions. They hovered a little less after Keith had blown up and told them their leader needed space (even though he checked up on Shiro the most). It had taken a few bonfires, team bonding exercises, and a lot of adjusting to warm up to Krolia, Romelle, and Yorak, the new additions to their team, as well.

It was tough, but they had all gotten closer than they were before. It made traveling in the lions a little easier and more comfortable.

Keith smiled fondly, remembering how awkward they had been the first few days. Compared to the present, it was hard to believe that it had only been a few weeks since then.

"Um, are you going to eat that?" he heard Hunk ask.

He blinked, the memories fading as he remembered he was on Olkarion, the first big stop on their agenda. They had arrived almost a week ago, with a plan to restock on supplies and see if the Olkari could make them a ship big enough to house the lions and travel more efficiently (if not, they would have to make do with any upgrades they could manage). They had also hoped that they could build a new prosthetic for Shiro.

Keith was in the mess hall, with Hunk beside him, smiling hopefully as he looked between Keith and his food. Pidge and Lance sat across them, watching them as they chewed on their food. His vision eased onto the plate in front of him, where his food sat, mostly untouched. He frowned, using his fork to poke at what looked like a bunch of leaves and bugs incorporated into some sort of bright green jelly (an Olkari delicacy, as they'd been told). The way it jiggled was unsettling, and he shrugged, pushing his plate in Hunk's direction. He saw the yellow paladin shoot him a grin in the corner of his eye, and he exhaled sharply, the corner of his turning up in a half smile.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Pidge asked, her words a little distorted because of the spoon she held in her mouth. "It tastes better than it looks."

"Yeah, it's almost as good as the food goo we had on the castle!" Hunk chimed in, already halfway done with the portion Keith had given him. Keith was half alarmed at the comment, but he masked it well and rolled his eyes. Losing the castle had been hard for everyone, but he was glad they felt comfortable enough to talk about it again.

"No thanks," Keith answered, shaking his head, "I'd pick Hunk's alien dishes over that any day."

"Tell that to Coran and he'll be on your ass every time we have a meal," Lance snorted.

The image of Coran sitting up indignantly, eyeing Keith with narrowed eyes as they ate was clear in their heads, and the snorts Lance got in response progressed into laughter. Keith found himself laughing along with them, leaning back against his seat as his head tipped back slightly.

"I'm gunna go check on Shiro," he said once the laughter died down. The chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, and he found his friends looking up at him, unimpressed .

"What?" he asked, the looks they were giving him starting to feel uncomfortable.

"You check on Shiro like, at least twice an hour," Pidge commented, the first to speak up.

"It's not like he's going to suddenly disappear again. This place is filled with people— someone's bound to notice if he does!" Hunk added, throwing his hands up in the air. As if to prove his point, a number of Olkari stopped to look at them, confused.

"You don't know that!" Keith shot back, glaring. He was the most affected by the news that Shiro had died and was trapped in the black lion, seconded by Lance. Everyone knew about the nightmares the black paladin had been having (which, thankfully, had been decreasing in number as time went by), and they didn't question Keith's over-protectiveness over Shiro. At least, until it was clear that he had been neglecting his own health to care for the him.

Seeing the way Keith was practically snarling at them, what could be seen of his knuckles through his gloves white as he gripped the table, Hunk knew he had overstepped a line. He shrunk back in his seat, pushing the food around his plate and avoiding Keith's gaze.

"At least eat something before you go off again," Pidge sighed, taking Keith's attention off the cowering paladin. Keith's expression softened, although he couldn't find it in himself to stop glaring. He felt a little guilty for exploding when his friends were only concerned about him.

"I'm not hungry," he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked off in the direction of their quarters. He heard the sound of a seat scraping against the floor (Pidge, he guessed) and Lance calming them down behind him.

"Relax, guys. Keith will eat when he's sure that his boyfriend is safe," he heard Lance say loudly, obviously intending for Keith to hear it just as the doors shut behind him. His face burned bright red as he walked, hoping the hair that fell on his face could hide the redness of his cheeks. He was glad that his team mates couldn't see his reaction to the statement. "He's not my boyfriend," he muttered to himself, feeling the need to deny the claim even if no one was around to hear it. He could almost hear Lance responding 'But you wish he was.' His blush darkened considerably at that thought.

As flustered as he was, he was thankful Lance didn't try to stop him. He knew how guilty Lance (still) felt about not doing anything when Shiro called out to him in the astral plane. He sometimes saw him watching Shiro from a distance, or lingering outside his room. Knowing how Lance felt as a member of the team, Keith couldn't help worrying about him, too.

Keith had already memorized the route to the former black paladin's room, his feet already knowing where to go before he could process where he was. Faintly, he wondered if he really did check on Shiro as much as Pidge claimed he did. It wasn't like he could help it though. Sometimes his feet moved on their own accord, and he was by Shiro's side before he knew it. If it bothered Shiro, he didn't show it. He always greeted Keith with a warm and familiar smile, no matter how tired he seemed to be. Keith wondered if he should be worried or grateful for that.

He knew he was close to his destination when he started seeing doors with familiar drawings taped onto them. He couldn't stop the bashful smile and light blush that formed on his face, a mix of pride and thankfulness swelling in his chest as he looked at them. He still found it hard to believe the team liked his drawings enough to use them as labels for their doors.

His eyes ran over the drawing of Pidge, a bold #7 drawn on the upper right corner of the paper (Coran had changed their nicknames to make room for their new members, and insisted it be on the paper as well). It was taped a little lower compared to the papers stuck on the other doors. It was done in green crayon, which had been provided by the kind Olkari. He let out of soft laugh as he remembered why they had decided to label their doors.

More than once had they all walked into the wrong room, sometimes at the most inconvenient times. He remembered how Romelle had run away screaming after she mistakenly entered Lance's room. When they went to check what happened, they were met with a confused Lance, sitting on a stool with Kaltenecker's udders in his grip. He would never forget the sight of Allura and Coran comforting the poor girl, having gone through the same thing. The Alteans' revulsion to milk had become something like a joke to the team.

They had decided to put some sort of label on their doors after Keith had walked in on Pidge changing, which resulted in her throwing a book the size of an encyclopedia at him and a large bump on Keith's head. It was Krolia's idea to use Keith's drawings, remembering how he would draw them on the dirt with his knife while he talked about them on the whale-like creature they had lived on in the quantum abyss. He was embarrassed and hesitant at first, but when he saw the smiles on his team mates' faces, he couldn't help but feel happy as well.

He stopped in front of Shiro's door, doodle-Shiro staring back at him with its amiable smile. He had been going for a charming look, but couldn't get it down right and ended up with a happy looking "u" shaped mouth. He knocked on the door, taking a step back as he waited for it to open. A minute passed with no response, and worry started clawing its way up Keith's chest.

"Shiro?" he called.

No response.

Beginning to think that Shiro had been taken right under their nose again, Keith moved to open the door, only to halt at the sound of footsteps approaching. He turned, feeling a bit of relief wash over him as he expected to see Shiro. His shoulders sagged when he found Coran walking towards him instead

"Keith, is that you?" Coran's voice echoed around the walls of the empty hall. Keith didn't feel the need to respond as the Altean stopped beside him. Glancing at the door, Coran knew what Keith was thinking without him saying anything. "If you're looking for Shiro, Allura just took him out to take a look at the prosthetic arm they're working on."

The black paladin was relieved to hear that Shiro was safe, and he offered the older man a smile.

"Thanks, Coran," he said, "I better head back to Lance and the others."

"It's no problem, number four!" Keith watched as Coran sauntered off, stroking his mustache absently. He figured that he was making his rounds, keeping track of what the team was doing while he had nothing to do.

Although he said that he was going back to the mess hall, he found himself making his way to the labs. Specifically, the lab where he knew they were working on Shiro's new arm. He vaguely remembered where to go from when they had been given a tour of the place, but he decided to consult a few passing Olkari just to be sure he was going the right way.

It had taken him a good few minutes— about ten, he guessed— to get to the lab. He hadn't entered the lab because wasn't sure he was at the right place, but was convinced otherwise when he saw two heads of pale silver hair. They stuck out from the pale green of the few Olkari that were present in the room.

Through the glass, he could see how close the two were. Allura's arm was wrapped around Shiro's good arm as she guided him around the room. He noticed that Shiro had a dark cloth wrapped around his head, just over his eyes— a blindfold. He guessed that Allura had meant for the arm to be a surprise. He found himself smiling as he watched the two move, an easy smile on Shiro's lips as Allura talked to him. He could see the excitement in the princess' expression as they drew closer to the glass casing that held the arm. There were a few wires attached to the black and silver metal of the limb, which were the only indication that it was still in the works. Blue light peeked out from its creases and folds, which Keith recognized as quintessence. It looked good— probably better than his previous galra arm in terms of both appearance and functionality.

Keith found it increasingly harder to keep smiling the longer he watched them. It reminded him of all the times he thought they looked together, and the thought dampened his mood. His smile twisted into a frown, and the relief and joy in his chest twisted into something he couldn't quite place. It was heavy and uncomfortable, making him want to tear Shiro and Allura away from each other. The feeling doubled when he saw the way Shiro's eyes lit up at the sight of the arm, and the way he smiled at the Altean. He couldn't stop himself from thinking that it should have been him Shiro was smiling at.

He didn't stay to watch Shiro wrap an arm around Allura.

Keith had spent the past few minutes stomping around the facility and growling at whoever had the gall to even cross his path. He admitted that it was a rather childish way to act, but he was acting before he could even process what he was doing. It was like instinct. He vaguely wondered if it was due to his Galra heritage, or simply part of his personality. With what little rationality and control he had left, he decided it would be better for everyone if he walked his frustration off outdoors.

Before long, he was stepping out into the warm air of Olkarion, its busy streets presented before him. He spared the looming towers and unfamiliar structures a glance, noticing that their defense mechanism had been completed. A part of him was glad that the Olkari were doing well after the galra attack that had occurred the last time they were there. He noticed more than a few civilians staring at him, and he wanted to snap at every one of them, but there were too many to yell at and frankly, he didn't have it in him to yell at any more innocent passersby. He kept his head down as he made his way towards the forestry, doing his best to keep from kicking things that didn't belong to him into the next reality.

By the time he managed to get a good distance away from the city and into the secluded space of the forest, most of his anger had cooled off. He felt drained, the anger having consumed a good percentage of his energy, but the feeling of annoyance stayed with him. He dropped down under the shade of an old tree with a huff, placing a hand under his head as a pillow. His breathing was slow and deep as he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down— something he'd learned from his mother. It proved to be effective most times, but not this time.

"What is wrong with me?" he muttered, moving his free hand over his eyes to shield them from the flashes of light that peeked from between the leaves above him.

"I'd say… Everything."

The black paladin jolted up into a sitting position at the unexpected response, his knife already in his hand, defensive despite his lower half laying flat against the ground. He glared at the figure in front of him, blinking as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings.

"Woah, calm down, mullet." Keith could see the figure raise his arms in surrender, and he found something oddly familiar about this person. It took a few seconds for him to piece it together.

"Lance?" he asked, already lowering his weapon as his vision cleared enough for him to recognize the Cuban's tanned skin and brown hair.

"The one and only," Lance responded, giving the other a playful wink.

Keith rolled his eyes, huffing as he rested his arm on one raised knee, scowling. His alarm had left almost as quickly as it came, his foul mood settling over him once more.

"Why'd you follow me, Lance?" he asked, his increasing annoyance clear in his tone.

The red paladin took a seat next to him, and Keith fought the urge to hurl him back into the facility they had been staying at.

"Heard some of the Olkari talk about how you blew up at them and figured you'd come out here instead," he responded with a shrug that Keith saw in his periphery view. "It wasn't that hard to track you down when you were stomping around like an ogre. Plus, some of the kids nearby told me they thought there was an angry monster in the woods," he paused, his eyes trained on Keith as he grinned, "I think they were right."

Keith knew that Lance was trying to lighten the mood with is commentary, but all he could do was grunt in response, his elbow coming into contact with his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Lance glared at his assailant, rubbing the sore spot with his other hand.

Keith couldn't help but crack a smug little grin at his petty victory. "I think I found the angry monster," he breathed out.

"Stupid mullet," he heard his teammate mumble as he continued to nurse his arm. "What's got you in such a bad mood anyway? Was an Olkari stealing all of Shiro's attention?" He meant it jokingly, but it struck a nerve in Keith.

"Nothing," he shook his head. Not an Olkari.

"Who was it then?" Lance asked, signifying that Keith had spoken out loud.

Keith's face flushed and he shook his head. It felt more like he was trying to shake off his embarrassment, but he hoped the other took it as an answer.

"C'mon, dude, you can trust me," Lance goaded, nudging him with his shoulder. "Aren't I your right hand man?"

Keith looked at him, his eyebrows drawn together and lips turns down into a scowl. It didn't look like Lance was going to back down any time soon. He sighed, turning away and running a hand through his hair. "I…" he started, implying that he had given up and was ready to confide in him.

It was stupid, he realized while thinking back on the cause of his foul mood.

"Nevermind," he shook his head, "It's stupid."

Lance didn't respond, which made Keith wonder if he was still there. He turned to check, and was met with an unimpressed expression. He hid his surprise and matched his expression, hoping that Lance would back down first. He tried not to think about how his stare unnerved him quicker than Hunk and Pidge's combined. It sometimes surprised him how close they had become over the course of their adventure, despite the fact that their "rivalry" had remained the same all throughout.

He tore his gaze away first, cheeks flaming as Lance celebrated his victory with a cheer.

"So?" the Cuban prodded, "What happened?"

Keith buried his face in his hands, hoping it would help hide his embarrassment and muffle his response so Lance wouldn't be able to understand. "IjustsawhimwithAllurainthelab," he said as quickly as he could. His face seemed to grow hotter as he realized it sounded a lot dumber when he said it out loud.

"With Allura?" he heard Lance repeat, and he wished he could turn into water and sink into the ground beneath them. Lance had heard him clearly, which reminded him not to underestimate the red paladin's senses. He was a lot sharper than he let on.

Keith peeked at him through the gaps between his fingers, and he saw his companion's conflicted expression. It gave him the feeling that he'd missed out on something while he was with the Blades, something the others hadn't told him.

"What… What were they doing in the lab?" he asked, his tone unsure, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know. His sudden change in demeanor worried Keith, and he seemed to notice because he forced out a laugh. "Don't tell me they were making out in a dark corner of an empty lab."

Keith shook his head, hoping that his response would offer him some comfort. It seemed like Lance needed it more than he did. He saw him relax at the answer, but he could tell that Lance was still waiting for an answer to his question. He shrugged, explaining that Allura had shown Shiro the arm that she and the Olkari had been working on. The response seemed to put Lance at ease.

"Why? Do you like Allura?" The question flew out of his mouth before he could even register the thought. With wide eyes, he studied Lance's reaction from the corner of his eyes, worried that he'd asked a bad question. Lance seemed surprised at the question, if the way his body tensed up was any indication, but he relaxed and laid down, resting his hands on his stomach.

"Yeah," he answered, sounding a little sad, "I do."

Keith tried not to act as surprised as he was, humming a he laid down, resuming the position he had before Lance had shown up. It was surprising that Lance had developed more serious feelings for the Altean princess, with his tendency to flirt on sight, but it made sense. Keith had noticed that Lance had been a little more subdued (as if him not flirting with his mother or Romelle wasn't a big sign), and the special attention he seemed to give Allura every now and then.

"And you like Shiro?" Lance returned. It was meant to be a question, but it came out more like a statement. Keith wouldn't be surprised if he knew the answer to his own question, with the way he'd been acting recently.

"I guess," he answered, having never really admitted it out loud, "Yeah, I do."

A calming silence washed over the two, the sound of their quiet breathing, the rustling of the leaves, and the distant noise of the city filling up the space their conversation had left. It made Keith realize that his irritation was long gone, having left somewhere during his conversation with Lance. He felt a lot lighter, and that brought a small smile to his lips.

Keith was on the brink of unconsciousness when Lance broke the silence with his snort. He frowned, turning his head towards him. "What?"

"I was just thinking about how funny it is that you get angry when you're jealous," Lance answered, turning his head to smile at Keith before snickering into the back of his hand. "Maybe that's why you're so angry most of the time."

Keith glared, "I'm not jealous."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Jealous Hothead."

This time, Keith's elbow hit Lance in the ribs and the boy curled up around his injury. Keith grinned in satisfaction, turning his head back to the leaves above them. Although he would never admit it, he knew that Lance was right: he was jealous. Just thinking about Shiro smiling for someone else made his blood boil, but he didn't have the energy to get angry anymore. Instead, he sighed and relaxed against the cool grass.

"I wonder how you felt when Lotor was still around," he commented, remembering Hunk had told him he and Allura had something going on. If he were in Lance's shoes, he would have exploded the moment Lotor even said Shiro's name.

"Oh man," Lance breathed, laughing dryly, "It was hell."

The two laid on the grass, tossing questions and exchanging stories. At some point, Keith had even admitted that he got booted out of the Garrison for punching Iverson and a few other employees when they told him Shiro had died on the Kerberos mission. In return, Lance told him about how he feels like Allura knows about his feelings, and how he regrets venting to the mice because felt like they had something to do with it. They talked until the sun began to set, and even without checking the time, they knew that they'd spent a handful of hours talking (not that either of them were complaining). It was nice to know that someone understood their feelings.

They returned to the worried faces of Shiro and Allura, the others having retired to their rooms long before. As questions about their whereabouts and worried sentiments circled around them, the boys shared knowing smiles. Maybe they weren't as hopeless as they thought.

Author's Note

hey guys! thanks for reading, i really appreciate all the attention my works get uwu i love you all

that aside, you should totally check out the song this fic was based on! blame it on the rain by he is we ;) the tone of my fic doesn't really match though hehe

don't be afraid to tell me if i made a typo or got something wrong, too! copy paste the bit, and i'll go back to fix it 3

i wrote this thing a few days ago while i was dying without internet. i wrote down a bunch of prompts while listening to some music, and this was one of them. i asked my friend emman which one i should write first, and he picked this one, so hi emma thanks for ur support hehe 3

i wrote three other short fics as well, although they're plance. i'll be posting them too :)