The irony of being back on Earth, for Lance, was to discover all over again what if felt like to be far away from home.

Lance had definitely missed Earth. He missed his family. He missed the beach, his family's farm, and the Garrison. He missed weather patterns that made sense. And, by god, did he miss the food.

But over the course of months and months of being in space, the castle had become his home. His friends, his lion, his role as defender of the universe were part of his identity now. He wanted to be back among the stars so much that his chest ached thinking about it.

"Well," he said to no one in particular as he landed his spaceship in a cropping of trees near Varadero beach, "guess I'm taking a forced vacation for now."

It may not have been his choice to get forcibly blasted to the other side of the universe, but he might as well enjoy it while he could.

Keeping the cloaking engaged, Lance was reminded once again how thankful he was for Pidge, when he stepped out of the craft. They had single handedly worked through every spacecraft on the ship to ensure that each one had the most advanced cloaking systems.

Pidge hadn't touched any of the lions other than Green, though. Apparently, most of the lions were extremely picky about new technology being added to their systems. Lance figured Blue probably would have been okay with it, but Allura hadn't wanted to 'upset the balance.'

Lance gave himself a reminder to give Pidge a hug if-when he got back to the castle. He tried not to think about what a difficult journey it would be to get back. It might even be impossible. Lance had no idea how compatible Earth technology would be with the Altean spacecraft, and he wasn't sure exactly where to begin with it anyway.

He figured he'd start by going home.

The walk felt so familiar to Lance. He had done it hundreds of times over the years. He plodded up the path, relaxing more with every footstep. The air smelled musty from the trees, and salty from the nearby ocean, it was perfect.

It wasn't long before he stood in front of his former doorstep. He could hear kid's laughter coming from the back.

"Lance?" A voice spoke from behind him. He spun around to face her.

She was carrying a bag of groceries, which she dropped when she saw him. There was a crunch as it fell, certainly some of whatever was in there had broken, but she didn't seem to notice or care at the moment.

"Aleja!" Lance immediately ran to his sister and encompassed her in a hug. "I've missed you!"

"Lance!" She said again, this time with astonishment in her voice.

"It's been so long! Where's mamá? I wanted to see her first!"

"Lance-" She pulled away from him to look him in the eye. Her face was red and blotchy, eyes filled with tears. "What are you doing here? How are you alive?"

"What do you mean?" He let her go from the hug. "I know I've been gone, but I wasn't dead."

She looked at him more closely, suddenly speaking. "You're taller now." She measured his height against her own. "And stronger." She pulled at his biceps. "Still lanky though, you know Abuela's gonna tell you that you need to eat more."

"I know. I've lived through her berating me for worse."

"That's true. Troublemaker." She poked him hard in the ribs. Laughing, but still looking on the edge of tears.

Lance winced. The breeze felt nice on his skin. It was a beautiful day in..."Aleja, what month is it?"

Aleja looked at him strangely. "It's April, dummy, where have you been that you don't know the months anymore?"

"I've...I've kind of been in space this whole time."

"What?!"

"It's kind of a long story. I can tell you about it later." Lance tilted his head, thinking. "If it's April, that means you're supposed to be in school right now."

"I finished the semester early...so...so that I could come home and help. Mamá's been away for too long, the farm's been going into disrepair without her around. Tio Lao and Tia Novia came to help during the school year, but I asked my professors if I could take exams early so that I could get back here faster."

"You? You wanting to be home rather than at school? Who are you and what have you done to my sister?"

"Ha ha, very funny." She rolled her eyes.

"Aleja, in all seriousness, you make it sound like mamá's been away for months."

"She's been away almost as long as you have."

Lance took a sharp intake of breath. "Why? Why would she do that?"

"Why don't you sit down and have something to eat? I'll tell you all about it while you're eating. You have a lot to tell me as well."

The moment the two siblings went inside chaos ensued. It took at least an hour of greetings, hugs, tears of relief, children running around and playing, before the house was calm enough to have any sort of conversation take place.

Lance took the opportunity to explain about his adventures from the time they rescued Shiro onward. Often times Aleja would look at Lance eyebrows raised, unbelieving, used to her brother embellishing even the most insignificant detail. On those occasions Lance would raise his hands up and say, "I'm being completely honest." To which she would reply, "Right," before he continued his tale.

By the end, Aleja looked concerned. A large part of her wanted to believe the story had just been her brother making things up. He looked too serious for that though. She waited for him to say "just kidding," and break into a smile, but it never came.

The Galra were real, and the universe was in trouble.

"So now it's your turn," Lance prompted, "what's happened since I left?"


Growing up Lance had been constantly competitive. All of his siblings were.

They would race everywhere, trying to figure out who was the fastest or the strongest. It was somehow always his younger brother, Quito. They would see who could find the most interesting bugs or plants. His sister Xandria would outshine them all, finding something incredibly unique but also somehow knowing information about what it was and how it could be used, eventually turning that love of nature into a love of medicine.

In school Aleja outshined everyone in math and science, easily gravitating toward computers and technology. While Lance's older brother Kosmo gravitated towards debate instead, exceptional at history and memorization.

Lance's two youngest siblings, Tajo and Celeste, were perhaps the most gifted of all of them, each being able to play musical instruments and draw well, while also doing incredible in school, no subject to difficult or beyond their grasp. Celeste was also the best storyteller of their family, a born novelist, while Tajo was language oriented, already knowing how to speak more languages than Lance had even known existed.

And Lance was...well, he was Lance.

He'd never enjoyed sitting still in school. Trying to pay attention to what teachers was saying was far less interesting than gazing out the windows at the sky. He liked science, but when learning about chemical compositions he was more interested on what would happen if two chemicals mixed rather than on memorizing the periodic table.

Blowing up the kitchen at the Garrison had hardly been the first school building he had accidentally lit on fire.

He hadn't ever failed science, but he had come close a few times. The rest of his grades were equally as shabby.

Growing up, Lance had found a fondness with technology. When he was seven he had begged his parents for the newest gaming console for months. They finally caved, and Lance spent the next month in his room, kicking butt and taking names in Run of Vengeance and Cosmocell. The rest of his family weren't sure what the big deal was, but to Lance it was the first time he had experienced sharpshooting and space. Something about it called to him.

Lance would never forget the first time he saw a spaceship. He was 10 and it was career week at his school. Kids would bring in family members who had interesting jobs. Lance's father had volunteered for the day, telling kids what it was like to run a farm.

Lance had shrunk behind his desk out of sheer embarrassment. So many other kids had parents who had really interesting jobs, but here his dad was explaining to everyone how to milk a cow.

"And my son Lance, and his siblings, already help us out in the fields. One day I hope he'll take care of the farm." He had looked at Lance with such fondness.

Lance shrunk even deeper in his desk when his dad finished his presentation and came to sit next to him. Lance wasn't sure what he wanted to do, wasn't really good at anything, but he definitely didn't want to live on a farm for the rest of his life.

One of the other parents was part of the space program. She explained all about the stars, and the research that needed to be developed in space. Her eyes lit up while she spoke, in childlike wonder over the science and technology that was needed to get people to fly to the stars.

Lance had perked up while she was talking. He drank in her elation at the mention of exploring the skies. He felt his heart thrum with the idea of high stakes adventures in deep space.

As a special treat the entire class was invited on a field trip to the space center the next day. Lance was already soaring above the Earth. He had found what he wanted out of life.

Touching the cool metal of a spaceship the next day solidified in Lance's mind what was possible for humanity. He asked ceaseless questions of their tour guide, and ran around looking at all the different models and gadgets that the space station offered.

He asked where he could go to become a pilot. The tour guide told him about the Garrison school in the US, that had the best fighter pilots in the world.

Lance was already there in his mind. He became even more distracted than usual. In the mornings before school, he would drive the tractor through the fields like always. Now though, he pretended he was a pilot, and that was his spaceship. In the process he accidentally destroyed a thousand dollars worth of crops.

Lance's daydreaming got worse, and his grades suffered. He would be playing hide and seek with his siblings, climb into a tree to hide, and then forget all about the game as he stared into the sky for hours. Eventually all his other siblings would get found, and they would call his name well into the night before he'd finally reappear. Another time he had wanted to go faster, more similar to what he would experience as a pilot. He stole his father's car and crashed it into the barn. The car was dented but survived, the barn, however, did parents had no idea what to do with him.

Finally his mamá found a way to give him focus. She looked into the Garrison. It was a challenging school, and Lance was never going to get in with the grades he had. If Lance wanted to be a pilot, he would have to work for it.

Never had a child's personality changed so quickly as Lance's did that next year. He would still daydream, still pretend he was piloting at every waking moment, but now he was studying too.

Lance asked Aleja for help studying. When she wasn't available he would ask one of his other siblings. He learned about technology and engineering, about math and computer science. He read book after book, trying to will himself to get smarter.

Slowly it worked. He improved. He still made huge mistakes and would fail the occasional test, but it was much less frequent. His mamá would give him hugs and tell him how proud she was. For the first time ever Lance's tests would end up hung up on the fridge. Sure, they were A minuses, which never looked quite as nice as the red plus sign next to all of Aleja's tests, but they were A's all the same.

As Lance got older and his dreams became closer, he also realized how far away they were. The Garrison was incredibly competitive. There was no guarantee that he would be able to become a fighter pilot. So few spots in each class were given to fighter pilots. Lance would have to beat out kids who were a lot smarter than him. He would have to make up for brains with sheer skill.

There wasn't a lot of opportunity to practice piloting when you're a teenager in Cuba, so Lance had to make due with video games and theory. He hoped that it would be enough.

One night Lance was daydreaming in his favorite tree. It was close enough to the house to hear what was going on inside if he wanted to pay attention, but difficult enough to climb that no one would try looking for him there. On that particular night he heard his parents arguing in the kitchen.

It was about him. It was always about him.

His papá was clearly frustrated. "You can't just get Lance's hopes up, he's never going to be a pilot at that school."

"I don't see why not. He's worked so hard, he has the grades." His mamá was on the defensive.

"Maybe he has the grades to get in, but he doesn't have the grades for a scholarship like the others. We can't afford that school, even if he could get in. You shouldn't get his hopes up."

"We'll find a way. Our other children are living their dreams. Aleja and Xandria are both studying in colleges abroad. And Cosmo is in one here in Cuba that he loves. There's no reason Lance shouldn't be able to live his dream too."

"Lance just isn't as smart as them. He's not as good at school as they are. He's like me. Practical. He can work with his hands. He should become a farmer. Becoming a pilot is a pipe dream." Lance's father was turning red from anger.

"I'm not going to stop our boy from pursuing his dreams. He's worked too hard. He's going to the Garrison, do you understand?" She ended the conversation with the flick of her wrist before leaving for the other room.

In the tree Lance sighed. His heart ached. His father had been right about one thing. Lance wasn't as smart as his siblings, but that didn't mean he couldn't work twice as hard as they had.

He returned to his studies with renewed vigor. His younger siblings noticed. Lance played less often, daydreamed less frequently. And the next year, it all paid off.

He had been accepted to the Garrison. His mamá found a way to make everything work. She organized a fundraiser in the community. Some people donated money just so that they could be rid of Lance. There had been a few too many accidents from his youth to just be forgotten. He managed to secure a decent grant and financial aid package too.

He caught up with his future roommate on Facebook. They hit it off incredibly well. His name was Hunk and he was from Hawaii. They talked about how much they would miss the beaches and the ocean, and how excited they were about space.

All too suddenly he was kissing his mamá goodbye.

His first month at the Garrison was incredibly tough. His normal studies were nearly torturous in how difficult they were. The math was ten times harder than anything Lance could remember doing in school.

As if his studies weren't difficult enough, adding pilot training into the mix made everything so much worse.

Hours of flight simulators just to find out who in the class would become a fighter pilot and who would become cargo class. It was long and sweaty. Lance would try to joke with the others, trying to lighten the mood. Several of them responded well.

One of them never would. He'd show up, silent, do the flight simulators and all the other tests, and then immediately leave. He never talked to anyone, and didn't seem interested in getting to know anyone either.

His name was Keith and Lance immediately knew two things about him: he was a jerk, and he was undoubtedly the best pilot out of the bunch of them.

It was frustrating for Lance. Keith didn't even seem to care all that much about piloting, and yet was so incredibly gifted. He was like his siblings, just naturally incredible to a point of taking his entire life for granted.

Lance did his best. He would try so hard to be as good as Keith, but his numbers were never as good. His test scores never quite added up to the same. They were on such different levels.

When Lance read the piece of paper that told him he had been assigned cargo class, he was crushed. Lance had tried so hard. He'd put every bit of himself into his work, and he hadn't gotten anything to show for it.

Keith hadn't even seemed to try, and was granted pilot class for it. There was such a huge difference in skill levels between them it was amazing they were from the same species.

Lance contemplated dropping out but he wasn't sure that he could face his father ever again. When it came down to his dream, Lance had failed. Even if his papá stayed silent, there would be that underlying look in his eye of "I told you so."

He stayed at the Garrison, knowing that cargo class was still better than nothing. Lance put his efforts into trying to pretend to be happy about it. He wasn't sure if Hunk bought his act or not.

But then Keith got into trouble and was kicked out. Finally fate was working for Lance. After a few more tests he was reassigned to fighter class.

At the time Lance didn't think there was anything that could bring him back to Earth.


But now Lance had a part of himself wishing that he had never left Earth in the first place.

Lance listened as Aleja explained the most important things that had happened since he was gone. Lance had disappeared for a week before the Garrison contacted their family. They had explaining that there had been an accident and three students had died, one being Lance. They refused to give any details, only saying that it was top secret. Lance's mother and Hunk's mother had flown to the Garrison, trying to get any details on their sons' disappearances ever since, to no avail.

The first few months of Lance's absence had been hard on everyone. With Lance's mother gone from the farm, his aunt and uncle had tried to step in and help. His older brother had quit school for a semester to be home with the family, and although his two older sisters had gone back to school, neither had done well. Aleja failing her first class ever, although doing okay in the rest, and his other older sister Xandria nearly flunking out entirely and now having to do summer classes to try to stay caught up.

His younger siblings had had it equally as rough. Doing poor in school, getting into fights, causing trouble wherever they could find it. And as if to make matters worse, his Abuela's health had gone in sharp decline over the shock of losing Lance. She had gotten a cough that had nearly killed her, and since then was barely outside of her room.

As Aleja explained how difficult the past year had been for his family, Lance began to tear up. He hadn't realized just how much his disappearance would affect the people in his life. It wasn't like he had planned to leave, it had been necessary.

"Lance, you were like our family's sunlight. Without you, we all wither." Aleja wrapped him in a warm embrace. "I'm so glad you're back."

The last person Aleja talked about was their father. He had been strangely absent from the house the entire time they had been talking.

"He'll come home eventually. He always does, just smelling more and more like liquor and tobacco every day." Aleja sighed, still holding him.

"Aleja, I've got to go to the Garrison to get mamá." He pulled away from her embrace.

"And just how do you expect to get to the Garrison in the middle of the night?" She scoffed at him, like he was being completely ridiculous.

"I've got a spaceship." He got up and brushed himself off, heading towards the door, before turning back to her. "Are you coming?"


A/N: Come in, Star Command.

Trying to write all these OC characters is hard. God I wish I could have gone into more detail about what I imagine for Hunk's family. Soon, maybe?

Thank you for your reviews, they give me life!