"Great couples still get angry with each other, but they continue to discuss until there is a solution even if it takes several days." -Bob Grant

Chapter 37

Keith couldn't help but wonder for the fiftieth time that day why choosing an engagement ring for Lance was so hard. It shouldn't be right? They knew her ring size thanks to Hunk and not surprisingly, Mikey. They knew what her favorite colors were. They knew the exact price range they could go up to which was pretty high since everyone wanted to pitch in for some reason. They knew more or less what her tastes were like.

So why was this so hard?

Oh, that's right he thought sourly. Because everything he pointed at got immediately vetoed. What was wrong with the heart shaped ring?

"Too girly." Pidge had said.

"Not sparkly enough." Mikey had commented.

"The diamond should be bigger." Allura said knowingly. Even her mice had crossed their little paws over their chests and shaken their heads.

He pointed at one shaped like a flower with three small little red diamonds on each side.

"Oh?" Lotor had commented, lifting the ring up to the light so he could see better. "Those are diamonds? Why, I thought they were pebbles."

Coran scrunched up his face, twirling the end of his mustache in thought. "They just don't scream razzle dazzle to me, you know?"

"Come on guys," Hunk had whined. "I think it's cute."

He pointed at one that was completely black, a giant red diamond shaped like a rose in the middle, with three blue diamonds on each side.

"Too gaudy." Ezor had commented with a sniff.

"I like it," Krolia had commented. She looked like she wanted to buy it for herself.

Matt covered his eyes. "It's too blinding."

Kyrian snorted. "Not shiny enough you mean."

"No." Aiden had grimaced. "Too shiny."

Zethrid had snorted. "This is taking too long, I'm going to get a snack."

Axca and Narti had followed after her. They weren't much help to begin with anyway so no huge loss there.

Keith wanted to pull at his hair in frustration. They'd been at this all day! It was almost eleven thirty at night. Just half an hour before midnight. His feet hurt. He was hungry. He was frustrated and his friends were annoying the shit out of him. Plus, he really wanted to call Shiro and ask him what the fuck was with that picture that Lance had sent to Allura.

What the fuck were those two doing that gave Lance the opportunity to see Shiro's ass anyway? They'd all listened in when Lance had called Allura about an hour ago. They'd been startled, contemplating whether the Altean Princess should answer the Amazon's call. After much deliberating and whispering, Allura had answered, on the condition that everyone keep their mouths shut.

It didn't stop them from huddling in a circle to hear better though.

Clearing her throat, Allura had finally answered, albeit a bit nervously. "Hello?" She licked her lips. "Lance, is something wrong?"

"Allura," Lance had said on the other line. Her voice was oddly serious. It had everyone standing straighter, their faces anxious. Keith's heart felt like it would burst right out of his chest just from the sound of her voice alone. It'd only been four days since he'd last heard her voice, but to him it felt like a lifetime ago. Oh, how he missed her voice. He wanted her to speak more. Unfortunately, her next comment had him narrowing his eyes into slits. "I just called to tell you that I have seen paradise and it is Shiro's ass."

Allura made a strangling sound.

Pidge and Matt stared wide-eyed look.

Hunk choked.

His mother's brows went all the way up to her hairline.

Mikey and his brothers shared a confused glance.

Lotor had a hand covering Ezor's mouth lest she start squealing.

And Keith?

He was wondering if he should go find Shiro and strangle him. What the fuck was his brother doing? Showing off his ass to Lance like he had no shame. How dare he?

"I'm sorry?" Allura's voice sounded more like a squeak. Her face was practically plastered to her transparent bracelet with the thought that if she pressed closer, she could somehow hear better.

"I just wanted to tell you that you are a very lucky woman." Lance paused. "But Keith's is still better."

Keith's face felt warm.

Pidge gave him a cheeky grin.

Krolia wolf whistled in his direction.

Coran and Matt clapped his back with huge grins.

Hunk looked scandalized.

Everyone else made kissy faces at him. Keith had to cover his face with both hands lest everyone see the wide smile that was adorning his face. Yes, he was embarrassed. Yes, he was going to have a talk with Shiro about showing his ass off to his fiancée even though that should have been an obvious thing not to do, but he couldn't help but feel oddly smug. Was his ass really that great? Lance seemed to think so.

Allura released an indignant cry and narrowed her eyes, one finger raised menacingly at the bracelet clamped on her arm. "Now you listen here –"

Lance interrupted her before she could begin her tirade. "I'll send you pictures. Bye-bye."

And then the line went dead.

For a moment there was absolute silence.

But then Allura's bracelet released a small little chime alerting her she had a new message and all at once, everyone surged forward, trying to get a good look at these pictures that Lance had sent. Allura hissed at them, even biting Ezor's hand when she wouldn't let go.

Take a chill pill jeez.

Huffing, Allura took a few steps away, turned her back on them, and opened her messages. She took a sharp breath. Everyone inched forward. They couldn't see her face, but her pointy ears? They were quite visible. And quite red.

"Princess?" Coran took another step forward, his orange-gloved hands outstretched in her direction. "Is something wrong?"

Allura didn't answer. She fell backwards, surprising everyone, but Coran was already there, catching her in his arms. He lowered them to the ground, Allura's face rested on his shoulder as Keith and the rest of his friends got to their knees to see if she was okay.

They'd caught quite a few looks from the Amazon's walking around the mall but Keith and his friends paid them no attention. The mall itself was huge. And pink. Way too pink for his taste but some of the things they sold were fucking amazing. It put the swamp moon to shame. They'd been walking around all day and they had yet to reach the end, at least that's what the map on every floor said. He liked looking up at the ceiling where it was all just glass so transparent one would think it wasn't there in the first place. It gave everyone a look outside where they could see the moon and the stars. Occasionally a firebird would fly by. Sometimes a Valkyrie or even the gryphons themselves.

Pidge had put a hand on the Altean Princess's shoulder. "It was ugly wasn't it?"

Allura had whipped her face to glare at her. Then her whole face softened and she looked up at the sky with a dreamy look. "It's beautiful."

Several people gagged.

Himself included.

"Let me see!" Ezor had demanded. She didn't wait for permission and instead took hold of Allura's hand to look into her bracelet. Krolia leaned in too.

"Well damn." Both women said at the same time.

Keith looked at his mother in horror. "Mom!"

She shrugged helplessly. "It's a great ass Keith. There's no denying it."

Keith covered his face and groaned. He did not want to hear this. Especially from his mother, it just made everything weirder.

Coran took hold of Allura's wrist to gaze at the picture as well. He huffed. "I hate to admit it," his voice sounded more like a grumble. "But that man has a better bum than me."

Matt gasped. "No!"

Coran rounded on him. "I know right?" he huffed. "I'm in shock too."

Lotor looked at it dubiously. He narrowed his blue-yellow eyes, flipped his silver hair behind his shoulder and sniffed. "I've seen better."

"He looks at himself naked all the time." Ezor whispered quite loudly. Lotor whipped his head to her, his blue-yellow eyes narrowed in warning. She ignored him. "His isn't bad either."

Keith did not need to know any of that.

Allura fanned herself, her long silver hair cascading down her back. "I'm going to make this my wallpaper."

Pidge gave her a disgusted look. "TMI Allura. TMI."

"Yes, yes," Mikey complained as he got to his feet. "Her boyfriend's ass is great. Can we go back to looking for a ring for my sister? I want to go home at some point."

Yes.

And so after getting a dreamy-eyed Allura to her feet, they continued their search for the perfect ring. That was about an hour ago and Keith was slowly losing hope that they would ever find that goddamn ring. According to the map, they had reached the half point and all it'd taken them was practically the whole day.

"Guys!" Hunk bounded up to them, two bags of food in his hands and something blue that resembled a bagel in his mouth. He quickly finished it before speaking. "They have Lance action figures!"

Mikey pushed everyone aside and all but barreled in the direction Hunk had just come from. Quite a few Amazons glared at him but Aiden and his brothers quickly apologized before running after him. There was no stopping Mikey when it involved his sister.

Pidge blinked, a wide grin adorning her cheeks. "No way!"

"No seriously!" Hunk insisted. "They even have us too!"

Coran tapped his chin. "Did they get my mustache right?"

"Umm."

"Am I there as well?" Allura asked eagerly, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Well."

"I want a Keith one." His mother suddenly said. "Was he there?"

Keith shot his mother a look. He didn't know if he should be embarrassed or touched. He settled for something in between.

Hunk made a frustrated noise. "Just come and see for yourselves!"

Deciding that they probably needed a break anyway, they all headed in the direction Hunk was pointing at. The store was pretty big with low lighting. It reminded Keith of the Hot Topic stores he'd visited back on Earth. Some kind of battle song was playing in the background. The place was practically packed; they had to maneuver around the tight bodies just to pass.

Everywhere he looked, there was Lance. There were posters of her back when she had short hair. Some she was sleeping under the tree. Others she looked in the middle of battle. Some where she was sitting at a café just drinking some tea, her expression serene and calm. The action figures decorated the shelves. They looked really well done. Keith's favorite had to be the one where Lance looked to be in the middle of a fight, her blue lightning surrounding her as her eyes were a bright blue. How they actually made the lightning look so alive was a mystery to him. His second favorite was one where Lance was riding Nyx, her hand high in the air as it clutched a spear in her hand, her mouth open in mid shout. She looked fierce.

The body pillows were…worrying. It looked like Lance was doing a provocative pose. Some she was even in a bathing suit, water running down her blue two-piece bathing suit as she winked at the camera. If Keith didn't have his friends with him he might have bought it. The most worrying one was the one where Lance was clutching a body pillow in only a thin tank top and underwear. She was sleeping.

Clearly, she hadn't posed for this particular picture. How the hell had they gotten it? Did Lance know? Because if she didn't then maybe it was time to tighten the security in her house.

Hunk had been right though. There were definitely action figures of everyone else on the team as well. He saw his fellow paladins in their paladin armor, even Lance; Coran's was there too. The man in question quickly made his way over to check it out. A Matt action figure was there as well surprisingly enough. Even Lotor and his generals were there as well. Lotor was already admiring his own action figure with a huge grin.

Narcissist.

There was also an action figure of Keith mid-run, a battle cry at his lips as he raised his Bayard high in the air. Krolia immediately went over to it.

Mikey was already at the counter, talking to an Amazon with green skin, obsidian eyes, and short red hair. She had a bow and a few arrows strapped to her back, coupled with a blue tank top with black shorts. Aiden and his brothers were pushing people to try and stop him from doing something stupid.

"If I give you pictures of my sister of when she was little could you make action figures of them too?"

The woman's eyes gleamed and she shared a look with her friend, this one a blond Valkyrie with skin so white she looked like an albino and grinned. The Valkyrie leaned her too pale hand on the counter. Thorn like vines decorated both of her hands, Keith swore they shimmered. Her white wings moved slowly in anticipation. "That depends, how many pictures we talking about here?"

Mikey grinned. "I have a scrapbook for every year since she was born."

The two women shared another look, clearly interested. The Amazon narrowed a red brow at him in suspicion. "What would you want in return?"

Mikey shrugged. "Just a discount for every item you make using them."

The Valkyrie blinked at him. "Even the body pillows?"

"Especially the body pillows."

Sharing another look, the two women nodded. "It's a deal then."

Mikey grinned only for him to yelp as Aiden smacked him upside the head. "What the hell did you do?"

Mikey looked at his younger brother like he was stupid. "Made a deal. Duh."

Aiden groaned into his hands. "Leah is going to be so mad."

Mikey huffed, a pout quite visible on his face. "Then don't tell her."

Kyrian narrowed his brown eyes at him. "I'm telling dad."

Mikey hesitated but turned his head away. "Fine, go ahead."

Alan and Colt shared a look and grinned maniacally. "We're telling mom!"

Mikey spluttered and ran after them. "Get your asses back here!"

Aiden and Kyrian sighed and followed their brothers out of the store.

As his friends dispersed to see their own action figures, Keith was in the middle of picking up a Lance water bottle, it had a picture of her winking, when Zethrid, Axca and Narti came running in, their eyes wide and panicked. Well, not Narti since she doesn't have eyes but clearly she was agitated. Her long tail was standing on end.

"We have to run!" By now his friends and he himself had already surrounded her, confused as to why Zethrid looked so panicked. "Lance and Shiro are here!"

Everyone blanched.

"God damn it Shiro," Pidge grumbled. "You had one job."

Matt grabbed at his brown hair, clearly panicking. "What the hell do we do?"

"Hide?" Hunk suggested nervously. He was so rattled he kept reaching into his bags of food before shoving the items in his mouth. Keith was pretty sure you weren't supposed to eat them while still in their wrappers.

"Run?" Lotor asked already edging away.

"Pray she won't see us?" Allura nervously suggested.

"Guys," Krolia said in a loud voice. "Calm down!"

Axca sprinted back to them and pointed a blue finger at the door. "They're just around the corner!"

His friends started screaming. Matt was still grabbing at his hair. Hunk's eating intensified. Coran had jumped into the racks of clothes in an effort to hide himself. Pidge was shoving him aside so she could fit in too though there was clearly no room. The women in the shop looked amused, already chuckling. Some even leaned back on the wall to enjoy their panicking.

Hoes.

"What do we do?" Allura shouted when they still did nothing but stand there. Even the mice on her shoulders were squeaking in terror.

"Stay fucking calm!" Keith shouted back. He actually kind of wanted to bolt but his friends were freaking out too much. Someone had to calm them down.

"It's every man for themselves!" Matt shouted before diving into another rack of clothes. When he found he didn't fit he ran in another direction. His friends released another panicked scream.

"Wait –" Keith never got to finish his sentence before his friends suddenly took off in all directions trying in vain to find a hiding spot. The red paladin stood there like an idiot just gawking for far too long that his mother had to go back and haul him into one of the dressing rooms where Lotor, Allura, and Hunk were already in.

It was a very big dressing room, okay.

"I wonder why this store is so packed," Lance's voice suddenly sounded close to the shop. Keith took a sharp breath. Hunk was still a nervous wreck that he reached for another chip only for Lotor to put a hand on his wrist to stop him. The Galra Prince sent him a warning look.

Noticing that someone was getting in the way of his food, Hunk's voice got real low. His eyes closed to half-mast. "Think about what you're doing Lotor. We just became friends, do you really want to jeopardize that and lose your arm at the same time?"

Lotor looked startled. Slowly, cautiously, he raised his black-gloved hands in the air in a placating manner until Hunk stopped looking so terrifying.

"Hey Shiro," Lance called. Her voice had always been loud. She didn't even need to shout to get people's attention, her voice always carried across the room. "Let's go check it out."

Keith heard Shiro sigh. "Fine. But you have to eat this sandwich. You haven't eaten a full meal all day."

"Yeah," Hunk whispered lowly. "You tell her Shiro. Get her to eat."

Allura stifled a laugh.

Krolia and Lotor grinned.

Lance grumbled under her breath but didn't agree to it. Their voices were getting louder. Curious, Keith slightly opened the door to the changing room, the friends with him glaring at him all the way. He ignored them. He just wanted to see his fiancée.

And not in pictures or in those cursed body pillows, but in person. It'd been a while since he'd seen her up close. He only had to wait a few seconds before a familiar brown haired girl walked into the store.

Lance.

Lance was here. Inside this store. Just a few ten feet away. If he opened the door he could reach her side in seconds. A part of him wanted to. The other part was still worried she'd turn him away.

He did jump out a window to avoid her.

And if that weren't bad enough, he went all Galra on her and growled at her.

His heart started beating a hundred miles a minute. His palms felt sweaty, and not just because he was wearing his black fingerless gloves. No matter how many times Keith had seen Lance, it always blindsided him. It hit him like a truck to the chest. Left him out of breath and temporarily disoriented him until Lance opened her mouth to speak and Keith was reminded to breathe.

Edging closer to get a better look, Keith frowned. Lance looked skinnier since he last saw her. She had dark circles under her eyes and although her eyes lacked their usual shine, they looked a little more alive.

At least, that's what Lotor, Hunk and Allura so kindly informed him as they too leaned in closer to take a better look. Her long hair looked a little damp, as if she'd just taken a shower.

Something that Hunk and Allura immediately sighed in relief for. She was wearing his shirt. He knows it's his. Lance usually doesn't wear black but Keith clearly remembered giving her this particular shirt. The thing said 'Aliens are real!' in big red letters. It had been one of his favorites but the Altean washing machine had shrunk it making it unwearable. He hadn't wanted to throw it away so Lance had said she'd take it off his hands.

The thought of Lance wearing one of his shirts had sent a thrill down his spine and he'd agreed all too quickly. He remembered Lance smirking at him, her eyes playful and teasing as she took the shirt from his hands, as if she knew what he'd been thinking and was pleased.

"Holy crap!" Lance shouted as she finally took in her surroundings. Shiro stepped beside her and gaped. His brother was all bundled up in a black jacket, warm fitting gray pants, and a gray scarf around his neck. His boots looked pretty warm too. Lance put a hand over her mouth, her blue eyes wide as they raked across the posters, the action figures, and finally the body pillows. She made a strangling sound. "It's…it's –"

Shiro narrowed his eyes into slits, his father mode switch on. "We'll go talk to them. We'll make them throw all this stuff out."

Lance didn't say anything. She took a few steps forward, a hand still over her mouth. That hand trembled. The Amazons and Valkyries inside the store shuffled their feet, clearly nervous. Some were biting their nails, others looked ready to bolt. The two owners of the store were holding on to each other with wide eyes.

So Lance hadn't known about the store.

Shiro walked to her side, his face set into a worried frown as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Lance? Don't freak out."

"Shiro," Lance all but whispered. It sounded like a whine.

Keith and his friends leaned in to hear better.

"Lance, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

"Shiro," Lance finally said after a pause. "It's beautiful."

Pidge let out a snort where she was hiding with Coran.

Lance whipped her head at the sound.

Keith and his friends whipped their heads back inside the dressing room lest Lance see them.

Coran put a hand over his and Pidge's mouths to stifle their laughter.

Shiro made a choking sound.

Hunk's shoulders were shaking with mirth, a hand over his mouth to hide his chuckles. Lotor and Krolia were doing the same. Allura was grinning. In the room next to them, Keith could just barely hear Matt and Ezor trying to stifle their own laughter as Axca shushed them. Zethrid huffed.

"Did you hear that?" Lance suspiciously said as she narrowed her eyes.

Shiro sounded tired. "Hear what?"

Lance tapped her chin. "It sounded like a familiar gremlin."

Pidge bristled where she was hiding, her brown eyes set in anger. She looked ready to go confront the Amazon. Coran gave her another stern look and put an arm around her shoulders.

Shiro sighed and pinched the top of his nose. "You're hearing things Lance. Anyway, we came and we saw what they were selling; now let's go and get what we really came for. I want to go to bed."

"But Shiro," Lance protested as she picked up one of the action figures of herself and shoved it in Shiro's face. The black paladin had to take a step back. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Shiro pursed his lips. "I guess."

Keith winced.

Wrong thing to say Shiro. Really wrong thing to say.

Allura and Hunk were already shaking their head at their leader.

Lotor was already wincing.

His mother sighed where she leaned across from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Men."

Keith wasn't surprised in the least when Lance suddenly gasped, taking one step back as her eyes got all teary and her bottom lip wobbled. She'd always been dramatic like that. Shiro suddenly looked panicked. "You don't think I'm beautiful?"

Shiro gaped, his hand flailing in a calm down gesture. "No! That's not what I meant!"

Lance sniffled. "But this figure looks exactly like me and you said it was ugly!"

"I never said that!"

"You think I'm ugly!"

"Lance, I don't!"

"Liar!"

"Lance!"

"Just admit that you think I'm ugly!"

"I don't!"

"Then prove it!"

Shiro startled, his mouth opened and closed, he was clearly agitated. "What do you want me to do?"

He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

Lance sniffled and she crossed her arm over her chest. "Buy something."

Shiro stared. "What?"

"Buy something." She repeated.

Shiro sighed and he slumped his shoulders. "Fine. I'll buy one."

Lance gaped at him in outrage. "Just one? Am I that ugly that you can only bear to see one item of me? I bet it'll be one of those tiny erasers so it'll make it hard to see my face!"

She sniffled and she looked on the verge of tears. Shiro looked around the room for any signs of help but all the women in the room were glaring at him. Some had already taken out weapons. Some looked like they wanted to spit at him. One of the women even gave him the finger. Clearly he would find no help here. A few tears ran down Lance's cheeks and she covered her face to sob.

Keith felt his heart constrict painfully in his chest. He almost blew their cover to go over there and comfort her but Lotor held onto the back of his collar. Hunk bit his nails, worry etched all over his face.

"I'll buy five!" Shiro shouted. Lance's tears didn't stop. "And one body pillow!"

Lance paused and peeked at him through her hands. "Really?"

"Really." Shiro hesitated before placing his hand on her shoulder. "Just please stop crying."

Lance sniffled, snuck another look at Shiro through her fingers before she put them down and devilishly grinned. In one swift move the tears were wiped. Her eyes weren't even red! No sign that she'd been crying at all. Keith did a double take at the bottle in her hands. Were those fake tears?

Holy crap.

Keith loved this woman.

Shiro noticed the bottle before she could pocket it. Keith suspected she did that on purpose as well. Lance did love to tease their leader. Shiro's mouth opened in disbelief. "Did you –"

Lance turned to the two women over the counter with a huge grin. "You heard the man ladies! Five action figures and one body pillow!"

The Amazons burst into applause. Some got down on their knees to bow in respect. Lance crossed her ankles and took a bow, clearly enjoying the attention. Shiro was still gaping. Lance snatched the sandwich in his bag and took a bite out of it.

Shiro finally found his voice. "You tricked me?"

Lance shrugged. "You wanted me to eat this sandwich. I wasn't going to do it unless I got something in return." She waved her sandwich in his face. "This is turkey. I hate turkey."

"She does." Hunk and he sagely whispered with a nod.

Pidge was trying very hard not to laugh. Matt who was on the room next to Keith's wasn't doing so well. Ezor was laughing too. Keith wanted to join in. This was just too good.

Lance was just too good.

Shiro sniffed. "You're the devil."

Lance finished off the sandwich in three more bites. "It's called a compromise Shiro. We both won in the end. I ate the sandwich you kept nagging at me to eat –"

–"I don't nag!"

–"And you made me a little richer."

Shiro spluttered. "What?"

Lance looked down at her nails. "I get thirty percent of the profit in here."

Of course she did.

Shiro's lip wobbled. "You're mean."

She was crafty as fuck.

Lance just laughed, something else his friends were also relieved to hear, and walked to the counter with a sway of her hips. Keith couldn't help but stare openly. "I'm cunning." She clicked her tongue at him. "There's a difference."

Shiro grumbled under his breath, taking out the blue card that Queen Lexi had given everyone so they could buy the things they wanted. She said they could even keep what they didn't use but clearly the action figures and the body pillow were expensive because Shiro looked like he was going to cry.

Lance leaned over the counter and grimaced. "Is that a Slav body pillow?"

Shiro's face contorted into a scowl so fierce that a few women took a step back. He scanned the items he'd just bought with his bracelet before they disappeared. They'd be in his inventory later.

Maybe Keith could convince him to give him that body pillow of Lance.

Nah, that'd be weird right?

Definitely.

The only logical choice was to steal it.

The green skinned Amazon looked embarrassed. "Cyra paid us a visit and insisted we make a few."

The blond Valkyrie next to her grimaced. "We've only made three so far." She shuddered. "They're ugly."

Yeah, that sounded about right.

Lance glanced a look at Shiro before turning back to the two women. "I'll take all three of them." Shiro gaped, a scream at the tip of his tongue, when Lance held a finger to him telling him to keep his mouth shut. "On one condition." The women tilted their heads. "You stop production of this –" Lance faltered, trying to come up with something to call Slav.

Shiro oh so eagerly helped her out. "Waste of a sperm."

Lance's lips twitched, her shoulders shook. "Waste of sperm." A snort came out before she cleared her throat.

Shiro nudged her shoulder. He looked oddly serious. "Go on. You were telling these ladies something important."

It was getting increasingly difficult not to laugh.

Lance cleared her throat. "Yes. I shall buy these three pillows of that waste of a sperm," Shiro grinned maliciously. "On the condition that you stop its production immediately and let us burn our purchases right here and now."

The women gaped. "Inside our store?"

"Yes." Lance and Shiro said at the same time. Their tone made it clear there was no room for negotiation.

"But it might set the place on fire!" The green skinned Amazon yelled.

Lance glanced at her nails. "I'll take care of that, don't worry."

Shiro put his hand on the counter. "Take the deal." The 'or else' was left out but the two women seemed to understand what he really wanted to say.

The two women shared a glance and began to whisper back and forth to each other for a good two minutes before coming to a decision. "All right then." She glanced up at her customers who were clearly listening. "Everyone stand back! We're burning stuff ladies!"

Seriously?

"Woo!" A woman screamed. "I love this month!"

"I'm so glad our princess is back!"

"I hate that fucker too!"

What the fuck was happening?

All too soon everyone had stepped back, the racks of clothes were moved to the side, Coran and Pidge somehow managing to hold on for dear life and not fall. Shiro took the three body pillows, scowled at them, and placed them in the center of the room. Lance ran over and placed a few sparklers and oh my god, were those mini fireworks?

'So jealous' Pidge mouthed at him when they locked eyes.

Yeah, Keith was kind of jealous too.

Setting things on fire was fun.

Keith edged a little closer to see and grimaced at the picture on the pillow. It had Slav winking, a rose in his beak of a mouth, while three of his hands made a come hither motion.

They were disgusting.

Hunk actually looked like he was going to throw up once he glanced at them.

Allura and Lotor couldn't stop grimacing, though their lips were twitching.

Krolia only looked once, grimaced, and looked away.

Pidge looked like she wanted to join in while Coran pulled her back from the back of her collar.

Matt was still laughing, Keith could hear it but since there was a lot of excited chatter going around at the moment, no one else noticed. It sounded more like a wheeze at this point.

Lance was handed a lighter who she then shoved in Shiro's face. "This is your big moment Shiro."

"Sure wish Pidge were here." Shiro mumbled.

"Yeah," Lance sighed wistfully. "She'd love it."

The two shrugged and smirked. "Her loss."

Pidge bristled.

Grinning way too wildly, Shiro plucked the lighter from her hands like it was a gift from god and all but skipped to the pillows on the floor. Someone dimmed the lights. Kneeling beside them, he lit the closest one to him and quickly stepped back. Moments later a blue sphere engulfed the three pillows and everyone began to cheer.

"Burn!"

"Burn!"

"Burn!"

"Die motherfucker!" Shiro screamed at the top of his lungs.

Allura and her mice gasped. "Shiro cursed."

"Shiro curses all the time," Keith whispered back with a roll of his eyes. "He just keeps himself in check."

"Lance told me he curses non-stop in his head." Lotor gossiped where he was leaning below Keith to get a better look.

Krolia snorted and rolled her violet eyes. "I'm not surprised in the least."

"Yeah!" A woman screamed. "That's for calling me fat!"

"Anyone want mimosas?"

Everyone did want a mimosa.

It was a fucking party in here. Is this what Lance and Shiro did when they hung out? Set things on fire? Drink mimosas? Keith was definitely jealous. It made him wonder what kind of shenanigans they had gotten into wherever islands they've been at before.

All too soon the three body pillows were on fire, Lance made the blue sphere surrounding them a little bigger. Big enough that people had to step back. Mini fireworks shot to the top of the sphere, turning into shapes of flowers, stars, and little hearts.

Everyone ooh and awwed.

It was kind of beautiful.

Was Shiro actually crying?

Lance was grinning from ear to ear occasionally taking a sip of her mimosa. Shiro didn't even scold her.

Everyone else cheered, popping out with sunglasses lest they blind themselves with the bright lights. Once the pillows were nothing but ash Lance got rid of the shield, smoke came out making everyone cough, but no one seemed to mind. They were still grinning.

Lance whispered something to Shiro's ears and even from here Keith could see the mischief in his eyes.

He nodded back.

Together the two of them clasped their hands as if in prayer, bowed, and uttered only one word. "Namaste."

Seriously, what the fuck?

Lifting whatever remained of the pillows to the trash Lance nudged Shiro's shoulder. "Am I forgiven?"

Shiro shook his head, a smile on his face. "Yeah, yeah."

Grinning, Lance hooked her hand around Shiro's and nudged him to the door. "Now come on, we still have some shopping to do."

"No more setting things on fire Lance."

"Aww, you're no fun."

"I mean it Lance." Shiro sounded stern. He snatched her mimosa and downed it in one go. Lance bristled. "And you're eating the rest of these sandwiches."

Lance grumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

She sighed. "Ok fine. Stop being such a Space Dad."

She waved at the women in the store who were clearly sad to see her go and then they were gone.

Keith and his friends waited at least a full minute before coming out of their hiding spots. They met up at the corner of the store. For a moment there was only silence. No one spoke.

And then Pidge growled low in her throat and opened her mouth. "Okay, who else is fucking jealous?"

Everyone raised their hand.

He did too.

"Yeah," Pidge blew a strand of brown hair away from her face. "Me too. Me too."

"At least Lance is eating." Hunk offered to appease them.

"And she's out of the house." Lotor added.

"She definitely showered as well." Coran nodded with a smile.

That was true.

"All right guys," Allura sighed as she wiped away a tear from laughing too much. "We still have a ring to buy. Let's find it and go home."

Mikey and his brothers bounded up to them at that moment. They coughed, some smoke still lingered inside the store. Some women were still drinking their mimosas and chattering amongst themselves. Looking at the angry pouts everyone was sporting, they frowned at them. Mikey opened his mouth. "What the hell did we miss?"

"A fucking party." Pidge grumbled under her breath.

Just to be sure that they didn't run into either Lance or Shiro again, Allura's mice were given the job of following them around. The Altean Princess had a telepathic connection with her pets so just in case their two friends were headed their way, the mice would let them know.

It was almost midnight.

And once again, his friends were arguing amongst themselves about what ring to get for Lance. The Amazon at the counter looked like she was slowly losing her patience by the way her eye kept twitching. Despite that she was somehow still smiling pleasantly. It looked a little forced in Keith's opinion though.

The red paladin was getting pretty frustrated himself. Why was this so hard? This was the twenty-third store they'd been in. What if they didn't find a ring tonight and he had to wait another day before talking to Lance? Would she be okay? Would he be okay? He just wanted to talk to her again.

Without her at his side, life seemed dull. This whole place felt like it was suffocating. There were too many people here, he was getting restless, and he just wanted to go back to Lance's house.

Sighing, Keith looked over at his friends and Lance's brothers who were still arguing about what ring to get and made his way out of the store. He needed some air. They were still inside the mall but if Keith had to spend another moment with his friends he might just strangle them.

He opted to sit on one of the many blue benches they had around the area and sighed deeply, stretching his aching legs. This is why he hated shopping. It took too long, he had to deal with crowds, and it just wasn't his thing. He rolled his neck one way, then the other, trying to relax his muscles. He felt tense.

The sound of light footsteps made him turn his head to see his mother coming his way. She'd donned a black jacket with gray pants and black boots on today. Keith himself had already taken off his own jacket, all that walking tired him out, leaving him in a black T-shirt, black almost gray pants, and his black and white boots.

His mother took a seat next to him and didn't say anything for a couple of minutes before speaking. "You seem frustrated."

She kept her attention on the store across from them that sold chocolates. An Amazon and her daughter was currently inside, the little girl pulling at her mother's blue toga to get her attention.

Keith sat up a little straighter in his seat. Staring determinedly at anywhere but his mother lest she notice he was also annoyed. He'd found out over the past few days that she could always tell what mood he was in without him having to tell her. "Just frustrated that my friends haven't made up their minds about that ring."

His mother hummed. She turned her head slightly in his direction, her violet eyes poring into him. She hesitated, she seemed almost unsure, before she finally began to speak. "I know you love your friends Keith." She sounded almost cautious. "But do you really need their approval for choosing an engagement ring?"

Keith looked down, examining the ridges scratched into his boots. He'd need a new pair soon. "Kind of? I'm not very good at this."

Krolia tilted her head. "At what?"

Keith gestured to the whole mall. "Shopping I guess." He shrugged and bit his lip. "I've never been close enough to someone that it made me want to buy them a present. I've never really had friends before. Not to mention a fiancée." He scratched at his hair in frustration. "I don't think I can do this alone. What if I pick something and Lance hates it? What if it's not big enough or shiny enough? I just –" He sighed and slumped in his seat. "I just don't want to mess up anymore than I have."

There was a beat of silence before he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Cautiously, he looked up to see Krolia looking at him. "Keith, you and I both know that Lance loves you. Out of everyone here, you know her the best. It doesn't matter that you've never done this before. I'm sure Lance will love whatever you pick for her." Krolia looked back at the store where his friends were still arguing. "I know everyone wanted to help you in choosing a ring but you should have the final say. A little input is fine, but I believe your friends have gone overboard."

Keith wrinkled his nose. They kind of had he supposed.

His mother turned until she was completely facing him. "Let me ask you this, what is Lance's favorite color?"

"Blue." He answered without hesitation.

"Does she like girly things?"

Keith almost scoffed. "Not really."

Krolia nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Then we can rule out hearts and flowers."

Keith's mouth twitched.

Krolia tapped her purple chin. "Does she seem like the type to like huge diamonds?"

Keith turned so he was facing his mother. He crossed his legs until he was sitting crisscross. "She'll probably think it's gaudy."

Krolia nodded. "Then you can rule that out too." Keith heaved a sigh of relief. Krolia smiled gently at him. "Does that make it easier to choose?"

Keith thought about it and found that yeah, it did narrow things down quite a bit. He'd been thinking too much about this and his friends hadn't helped with all their input. All the things he had just ruled out were pretty much all the things his friends had suggested. Maybe he shouldn't have taken their suggestions so seriously?

Krolia got to her feet and lent him a hand. "Come on. Let's try this one more time."

Hesitantly, Keith reached up and took his mother's hand and let her guide him back into the store. The sound of his friends arguing grew louder the closer they got.

"This isn't big enough!" Mikey was protesting.

"Well the color isn't right anyway," Allura argued right back. She paused. "But maybe I should take it instead."

"The pink one was cute though," Coran added. "If you buy one, you get the other one fifty percent off."

"Why do we need another one?" Pidge argued.

Matt shrugged his shoulders. "In case she doesn't like the first one?"

"Guys, just pick something." Hunk whined as he rubbed his belly. "I'm hungry."

"Are you sure these are diamonds?" Lotor asked the Amazon behind the counter. "Because these look fake." Axca looked at the woman threateningly. Zethrid and Narti had gone off to a food stand with Aiden and the triplets a while ago. Ezor was doing some shopping of her own.

Keith couldn't help but grimace. His mother guided him to another section of the store, as far away from his friends as they could go. It was a pretty big store; every time someone spoke it seemed to echo. Keith just wanted to leave. All the bright lights were getting too him.

"Just ignore them." His mother advised. She stopped them at another glass case filled with all sorts of rings varying in different colors and shapes. "Pick something that catches your eye."

A little unsure, Keith stepped forward and looked down at the glass case where hundreds of rings were on display. His eyes skipped the really girly ones, all the pink and yellow ones, and ignored all the ones that had the diamonds way too big to look comfortable. That didn't leave him with many options left but at least he'd narrowed the list down quite a bit.

His eyes skimmed over the remaining rings until something finally caught his eye. Leaning down so he could inspect it better, Keith's blue-gray eyes zeroed in on a ring at the far end of the corner. The diamond was blue and shaped into a snowflake. It looked more aquamarine than anything. The ring looked like it curved, small little white diamonds curved down on both sides.

Keith could only think of Lance's new ability, how she could now manipulate ice, and found himself smiling. Krolia leaned down, trying to see better. "Did you find something?"

Keith nodded, his eyes never once leaving the snowflake ring. "Yeah." He pointed it out to his mother who smiled. "That one." He was suddenly nervous. "What do you think? Should I pick something else? Or –"

Krolia cut him off with a small chuckle. "Keith, it's perfect."

Keith couldn't help the flush of pride those words caused. The Amazon behind the counter his friends were at quickly made her way over to them, her smile still looking a little forced. His friends didn't even notice she had left; all of them too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice anything else. Slipping a green stray of hair behind her ear, the pale woman leaned down. "Have you decided yet?"

Licking his lips, Keith nodded and pointed at the ring he wanted. "That one."

The woman's red eyes softened and she smiled, for once it didn't look forced, before she reached inside and pulled it out. "It's for Princess Leah correct?"

Keith nodded a little shyly.

The woman smiled, nodding in approval. "Well, since it's for the princess I'll give you a discount." Keith started to protest but the woman just waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You seem to make her very happy, perhaps not at the moment…" She gave him the stink eye and Keith flushed. She smirked, two fang like teeth flashing. "But this is a good way to apologize. I'll even throw in a free engraving, if you want that is."

Keith thought about it. Did he want it engraved? What would he even say?

"Say something sweet." Krolia suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

Keith gave his mother a deadpan look and gestured to all of him. "Have you met me?"

Krolia's lips twitched. "I'm sure you can think of something."

Keith had something in mind but it sounded kind of lame. Oh well. Hopefully Lance would love it. Beckoning the woman to come closer, Keith whispered what he wanted engraved to her ear so his mother wouldn't hear.

The woman gave him a strange look but shrugged and said she'd be back in a few minutes after making the adjustments and the engraving.

"What did you choose to put?" Krolia curiously asked him.

Keith felt his cheeks go warm and he coughed uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it."

Krolia just hummed but didn't pry any further which Keith was immensely grateful for. The sounds of frantic squeaks made him blink in surprise. His friends paused in their arguing, Allura running forward to scoop up her four mice, before they began to squeak at her in a panic.

Allura squinted as she raised her palm up so everyone could see. "What?"

The mice squeaked some more, the green one pulling at Allura's hair while he pointed at something outside. "She noticed you? Both of them did?"

The mice nodded.

"What are they saying?" Hunk nervously asked.

Allura pursed her lips. "Lance and Shiro noticed them." Everyone paled. "They know we're here."

Well shit.

The Altean Princess gasped.

"What?" Matt screeched. "Do they know what we're up to?"

"Are they coming our way?" Pidge paled.

"How dare they?" Allura demanded. Her blue eyes were narrowed in anger.

"What?" Lotor demanded. He looked ready for battle. "What's happening? What did they do?"

Allura pouted. "Lance and Shiro gave them cotton candy, whatever that is. Apparently it's to die for." She stomped her pink boot on the floor. "That's not fair!"

Everyone groaned.

Seriously?

Her mice squeaked some more. Allura nodded. "They've already gone home."

"What were they doing here in the first place?" Aiden asked suspiciously. His dark blue eyes were narrowed as he tapped his chin. "I mean, props to Shiro for getting my sister out but I'm surprised she didn't pull him into the face cream stores instead."

Allura turned to her mice who glanced at each other and smirked.

That was…strange.

"They refuse to answer." Allura looked completely shocked by this. Her mice tell her everything. "Did they bribe you? Is that what this so called cotton candy was for?"

Her mice just crossed their little arms over their chests and looked away. Okay, Keith had to admit, that was a little cute.

His friend let out an indignant cry. "That's not fair! Was it that good?" Her mice nodded, all four of them smacking their lips and feigning to faint. Allura bit her nail. "Darn that Lance. She's good."

No, Keith silently thought. Allura's mice were just too easy to bribe.

"Here you are." The Amazon from earlier came back with a small black box. "I hope it meets your requirements."

His friends rounded on him.

"You chose a ring?" Allura accused.

"Was it shiny enough?" Mikey tried to take the box from the Amazon's hand but she smacked his hand away. Even flashed her teeth at him. Keith liked this Amazon.

"Keith," Lotor said in a serious tone. "Those diamonds were real right?"

Keith snatched the box from the woman's hands and took several steps back. When his friends made to move towards him, Krolia stepped forward and blocked their path. Giving his mom a grateful look, Keith opened the box to examine the ring and smiled. It looked perfect.

"Let us see!" Pidge argued as she tried to move behind his mother.

Krolia didn't budge.

"Come on guys," Hunk whined. "I'm sure Keith picked something good. Let's just go home."

"But I want to see!" Mikey protested.

Aiden sighed deeply through his nose before snapping his fingers. Within seconds the triplets had an arm around their older brother and began to drag him out.

"Let go of me you traitors!"

Several women stopped to look; some snapped pictures while others took their children away from the sight of Mikey McLane getting dragged out of the store. His screams could still be heard after a few minutes. Grumbling under their breaths, his friends began to file out of the store, throwing him glares along the way but Keith didn't give a fuck.

If he let his friends see the ring they might change his mind again and Keith just wanted to go home.

Turning to him, Aiden clapped him on his shoulder with his blue-gloved hand. "I hope you chose well."

Keith hoped so as well.

Quickly paying the woman lest he forget, she wished him a good luck and hurried after his mother and friends.

It was finally time to talk to Lance.

"He should talk to her right now!" Pidge argued about an hour later in Keith's room. They'd all arrived a few minutes ago, changed into their pajamas, before his friends and his mother all barged into his room to decide whether he should go talk to Lance now or wait until morning.

"It's one thirty in the morning!" Mikey argued right back in a white loose shirt and red checkered boxers. "My sister deserves her beauty rest!"

"I think she's reading actually," Hunk piped in nervously where he sat on one of the couches in the room. Allura sat next to him where she was currently braiding her hair, her mice helping her along where they sat on her lap.

The glare Mikey threw at the yellow paladin had him letting out a squeak of fear. Aiden smacked his brother upside the head where he so kindly told him to calm the fuck down and keep his voice down.

Mikey grumbled under his breath but lowered his voice all the same.

The triplets grinned.

Lotor released a yawn of his own where he sat with his legs stretched in front of him on the floor. Zethrid and Narti had already gone off to bed. Axca seemed like she was desperately trying to keep awake while Ezor braided her short blue hair with a grin. The Galra Prince rubbed at his eyes with his black silk sleeve and released another yawn. "Just do it in the morning. Let's go to bed."

Keith had meant to go straight to Lance's room as soon as they got back. Instead he took a different turn and ended up in another hallway. At one point he did end up at Lance's door though. His heart had been hammering, bruising and painful. His fingers had curled around the doorknob before he changed his mind. He turned a few more corners before deciding to just go back to his room so he could properly decide. He just needed to gather his thoughts.

Honest.

Then his friends had burst in and started arguing once again.

At least Keith had changed into his pajamas before his friends arrived. He was a big fan of his 'Mothman, are you there? It's me Keith' shirt that he had made in middle school. It was a little faded but it was still comfortable and despite not wanting anything fancy, Keith had to admit that the red loose pants made from silk that he'd been given were very comfortable.

His door suddenly opened and everyone instantly shut their mouths only to sigh in relief at the sight of Shiro walking in. The black paladin had changed into some loose gray pants, a Big Hero 6 shirt that looked a little faded, and his black lion slippers. His white hair looked a little damp, as if he'd just come out of a shower. He looked oddly relaxed.

Shadow trailed after him before going over to Keith to lay his big head on his lap. The red paladin immediately began to scratch him under his chin. He hadn't seen Shadow in days. He'd almost forgotten how soft and cuddly he was.

"You guys are back." Shiro said with an easy smile. He took a seat at the corner of Keith's bed where he was sitting crisscross himself. Reaching to pet Shadow on the head he turned to his friends. "How did it go?"

Everyone glared at him.

Shiro's smile faltered and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What did you and Lance do today?" Pidge asked suspiciously. She crossed her arms over her long green shirt. It was so long it passed her knees.

Keith had to give his brother some credit. His poker face was flawless. It portrayed nothing. "We just went out to eat. Got a couple of massages and you know." He shrugged. "We had fun."

This little weasel.

He clearly left some parts out.

If Keith and his friends hadn't been there to witness said things they might have believed him.

Keith narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Any particular reason you felt the need to show Lance your ass?"

Shiro's face twitched.

"Yes," Allura was quick to add. She narrowed her own eyes at her boyfriend. "It's a beautiful bum," Shiro's face went bright red. "But I wanted to be the first one to see it in person one day."

"Is this what you do when you hang out with other girls?" Matt teased in his light blue long sleeve and gray loose pants. "Show them your ass?"

Shiro spluttered.

"You sick fuck!" Pidge accused, though her eyes were shining in glee. "She's underage!"

"She's engaged to your brother!" Hunk oh so helpfully added with a scandalous look.

Krolia scoffed where she was leaning on the wall. She'd put on a white tank top and black shorts leaving her purple skin free for all to see. "Men."

"Dude," Mikey added with a grimace. "You're too old for her."

Shiro's eye twitched. He always hated being called old.

"And here I had heard tales of how chivalrous the black paladin is," Lotor added with a devilish grin. Ezor was already laughing her ass off. Axca's shoulders were shaking in mirth. "Looks like the rumors were wrong."

"Young man," Coran added. His mustache drooped. "I'm very disappointed in you."

For a moment Shiro was speechless, his obsidian eyes wide, before he began to quickly explain. Sucker. "She took us to a hot spring! I didn't know they didn't have any dividers!" Keith sent him a warning look. Catching the look Shiro was quick to add. "I didn't see anything! I swear!"

"But she saw you." Matt concluded with a grin.

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes. She didn't see much though. I ran."

At the still suspicious looks his friends were giving him Shiro began to look worried.

"Fine." Keith finally said after making his brother sweat enough. "We believe you." Shiro looked relieved. "Anything else?"

"Nope."

This damn liar.

Pidge apparently had enough. "You god damn liar! We saw you!"

"Saw what?"

"The burning of the Slav pillows!" Matt added.

"The mimosas!" Hunk continued.

"The cursing." Allura added.

Keith wolfishly grinned. "Lance's acting."

Shiro immediately scowled. "It's called bonding. Lance and I were having a bonding moment."

Lotor shrugged, swatting his long silver hair behind his shoulder. "He's not wrong."

"That's how we bond too!" Ezor nodded enthusiastically. "We burn stuff!"

"And then we drink." Axca confirmed with a dreamy look.

"Zethrid does the cursing at the end." Lotor added with a small grin. At least Lotor and his generals knew how to have fun.

"By the way," Shiro suddenly turned to Keith. "You should pick a pet name for Lance."

Keith arched a brow. The fuck? That came out of nowhere. "Did she say that?"

"Yeah, she wants a pet name."

Keith blinked in confusion. "I call her Princess Leah."

"Technically that's her title," Pidge added helpfully. He sent her a glare.

"What else did you guys do?" Kyrian wondered as he moved a black strand away from his face. "The mice wouldn't talk."

Shiro zipped his lips.

It had everyone taking a threatening step forward. Shiro wouldn't budge though, he just kept insisting it was Lance's secret and she would tell them eventually. It was nothing bad he assured them once they looked ready to storm her room. Unfortunately, this started a whole new argument about keeping secrets from the team and everyone started arguing once more.

Keith sighed and ran his fingers over Shadow's blue fur. The Band-Aid with the red and blue flowers that Lance had put on him was starting to peel off. He'd put tape around it just in case but it was only a matter of time before it fell. Though putting it over his black finger-less gloves hadn't been a good idea to begin with.

"What do you think?" He whispered to Shadow. "Should I go talk to Lance right now or wait till the morning?"

Shadow's sea green eyes sharpened, Keith swore that he smirked, and suddenly there was that brief sickening feeling that always accompanied teleportation and then he was suddenly sprawled on the floor of a room he immediately recognized. Roses that glowed blue in the dark marked the ceiling. A gigantic bed with a towering headboard that had curtains was on his right. Ivory furniture and rugs complimented the room. There were beanbag chairs on the other side. The lights were dimmed but the light coming from the windows gave them plenty of light.

This was Lance's room.

He'd been inside plenty of times to ever forget how it looked.

There were new additions, like the new drawings on each wall that displayed different scenes but he'd know Lance's room anywhere.

Soft music played around the room and there, standing on top of a four-legged stool where she was currently painting something on another wall was Lance. Her face was relaxed and open. Her hair was slightly ruffled were it curled down her back. Her blue pajamas looked soft and loose, her blue shirt hanging a little of one shoulder giving him a clear view of that unmarked skin. Those shorts looked too short in his opinion. She was humming as she painted, her attention so focused on what she was drawing that she had yet to notice him. A tiny smile was on her face.

She was beautiful.

Shadow glanced at him with a grin and released a bark that had Keith instantly panicking because Lance had definitely heard. Stifling a laugh, she turned and froze when her blue eyes met his own panicked ones. She dropped her paintbrush, yellow paint splattering on the floor.

The smile she was sporting had disappeared but she wasn't yelling at him. She didn't look angry either. Her lips slightly parted. Her eyes widened. She was clearly surprised to see him there. That made two of them.

Keith didn't know what to say. He was here, albeit not by choice, but he finally had the chance to talk to Lance. He opened his mouth.

And nothing came out.

His stomach flipped, once with a nervous kind of excitement, and again with a twinge of anxiety. He'd spent most of the day trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say, how he was going to say it, and where he should even begin. But now that the time was here it was like a cat had his tongue and was holding it hostage.

He tried again and only got the same results.

Frustrated, he turned his head away.

Lance tilted her head, pursed her lips, and opened her mouth. This was it. She was going to call off the wedding. She was going to tell him that they were over. She'd probably call him an ass or something worse. Keith's whole body went stiff, and he mentally prepared himself to not make a scene but what came out of Lance's mouth was something he wasn't expecting at all.

"Do you know how to draw stars?"

Keith owlishly blinked at her.

"What?"

His voice sounded more like a croak.

"A star." Lance repeated like he was an idiot. He felt himself bristle. "You know the thing that has five pointy things at each end? We see them when we look at the sky every night?"

He gritted his teeth. "I know what a star is Lance."

Lance exhaled dramatically. "Oh, good. I was about to start a whole PowerPoint just in case you didn't know what a star was." Keith narrowed his eyes. Now he was starting to get a little angry. "Anyway, I'll repeat the question. Do you know how to draw stars?"

Keith got to his feet and frowned. "I guess."

"Then pick up a brush and start painting. I'm terrible at drawing them."

"What?"

Lance groaned and covered her face. When she looked up she had yellow splotches of paint on both of her cheeks. She looked kind of cute. "Keith. You have no idea how terrible I am at drawing stars. Allura's mice did a better job than me and those little rodents had the audacity to laugh at me as they did it! You know how annoying that is? To be upstarted by a couple of mice? My pride has been wounded! So you have to get up here and draw something better so I can show them whose boss!"

Something about the way that Lance seemed genuinely distraught at being outdone by a couple of mice, and the childish pout on her face, add to the fact that this was all just so dumb, so purely innocent and blatantly contrary to what he had been expecting, that in spite of everything he was feeling, he felt himself smile. Lance was obviously trying to make him comfortable and it was working.

He decided to go along with it, silently thanking her for not forcing him to talk about what they needed to talk about just yet. "You got outdone by a couple of mice? I thought you were an artist."

Lance narrowed her blue eyes at him, but they didn't seem angry. In fact, they looked both relieved and a little playful. "First of all, those mice are talented. I'm sure Allura has been secretly coaching them to outdo me."

"Of course she has."

"And second of all," Lance continued, ignoring his sarcastic reply, with a pout. "I never said I was an artist. I just practiced a lot and now I'm an expert."

"Right." Keith agreed unconvincingly, letting out a single huff of laughter. "An expert who can't draw stars?"

"Can you?" She countered.

"Damn straight."

She offered him a clean brush. "Then prove it."

He snatched the brush from her hand, picked up another stool and placed it next to her, before he placed his feet on the darn thing and huffed. "I will."

"Okay then."

"Good."

"Awesome."

"Hoe."

"Bitch."

Keith huffed but he couldn't help the smile that adorned his face as he dipped his brush on the small bucket and began to paint. The familiar banter was reassuring. It both thrilled him and had him sagging in relief. The next few minutes passed by in comfortable silence. Keith was drawing and painting the stars like Lance wanted them to complete the scenery while she tried to copy them in her notebook, every now and then asking him if those looked better than the last batch.

They weren't.

At least not yet.

They looked a little lopsided, which had her turning her mouth to the side, before she huffed and turned to another page and began to draw the new patch. Keith himself was no artist but stars he could definitely do.

They drifted into silence once again. The only sound coming from somewhere in the room was the Vampire Weekend album Modern Vampires of the City. He'd showed Lance this band as well and she really seemed to like them.

As the minutes dragged by, Lance would hum under her breath and dance a little on her stool every now and then that it had Keith tightening his lips in an effort not to laugh, though a few chuckles still made it out.

They continued like this for the next fifteen minutes, or so Lance's clock on her desk said.

He should say something. This was his chance. They were finally alone and Lance was clearly waiting for him to say something. Where to begin though?

"Umm…"

"Yeah?" Keith snapped his head in Lance's direction so fast he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. Both of them were a little startled at how quick he'd responded. Lance almost fell off her stool but Keith quickly caught onto her wrist.

It was cold.

But it didn't bother him.

Apparently Galra had very hot body temperatures.

"I –" Lance rubbed at her arms once Keith reluctantly let go of her wrist. He missed it instantly. She frowned, looked him in the eyes and said. "I'm sorry."

Keith blinked in surprise.

"I should have told you I was leaving the team."

Keith put his brush down at the desk and dropped his hands to his side as he cautiously peeked at her from the corner of his eye. "Why didn't you?"

Lance lowered her head a little. Brown strands fell forward before she hastily moved them away. "I…was scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

Lance let out a whoosh of air. "Of you getting mad. Of you changing my mind." She hesitated. "But mostly, I was scared that if I told you, then it would make it real." At Keith's confused stare, Lance began to explain. "A part of me didn't want to go. I guess…I knew that if I told you about it, you might change my mind. I knew you could. Part of me wanted you to. But I knew I couldn't let that happen. So I made up excuses and kept it to myself until I had no choice but to tell you." Lance lifted a hand in his direction before deciding against it and let it fall to her side. "I didn't want you to find out that way. I should have been the one to tell you. And for that I am sorry."

Keith pursed his lips. "First of all, yes, you should have told me. Second of all, yes it would have been better to hear from you but the secret is out. I know. And lastly, why the fuck do you want to leave the team anyway?"

At Lance's confused stare he couldn't help but flick her forehead. She scowled at him.

"You haven't told me yet."

"Oh." Her eyes widened. "Right. I forgot about that."

When Lance didn't say anything for a while he scowled at her. "Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

Lance peeked up at him through her lashes before exhaling. She stood a little straighter in her stool and wrapped her palms around the red crystal necklace on her neck. He could see the Band-Aid he'd put on her left hand wrapped around her finger. It looked like she too had wrapped tape around it to make it stick. "Do you remember the day I was taken?"

Keith's eyes narrowed to slits. He swore the room turned colder. How could he ever forget that day? He'd been so close to getting her back but no matter how fast he pushed Red to go faster, and no matter how many shots he fired at the Galra ship, he'd been unable to reach her in time. All he could do was watch as that Galra ship disappeared through a wormhole with Lance still inside. Completely at Haggar's mercy.

The despair he had felt that day was something he would never forget. Lance had been terrified, she'd been crying, and Keith hadn't been able to reach her. It was the most useless he had ever felt.

He nodded stiffly. He didn't trust his voice not to break if he spoke.

"That day," Lance continued as she gripped her necklace tighter. "We were so close to escaping. The ships were right there. But so was Haggar." She paused and her smile turned sad. "I was so confident you know? We'd made it quite far and I was so sure that I could take her and get everyone to safety and then find you and the others. I was absolutely positive." Her voice turned anguished. "But I was wrong."

Lance bowed her head; her eyes went to the ground as she clenched her hands into fists. She looked like she wanted to cry and Keith wanted to reach out and hold her, because seeing Lance cry had always been his undoing. He couldn't stand it.

But he was also sure that if he touched her right now, she probably would start crying. So he waited, ignoring his own desire to reach out and touch her and just watched her gather herself. He kept his mouth shut.

After what felt like an eternity, Lance breathed in deep and loud, standing a little straighter to gaze up at him. Unshed tears were at the corners of her eyes but she was refusing to let them fall. "I've always been confident in my powers. In myself. I figured if I put my mind to it, then I can do anything. But that day, Haggar was just toying with me. She gave me some of my powers back and I thought it'd be enough but it wasn't. I wasn't strong enough." She laughed bitterly. "I didn't even compare. I lost. And –" Lance bit her lip in anger. Her blue eyes blazed. "It was frustrating! It was humiliating! But more than anything it pissed me off!"

Lance was breathing hard at this point. If she weren't standing on top of the stool, she'd probably be pacing in a huff. She closed her eyes briefly, and Keith watched as she tried to calm herself down. Her brow smoothed out. The lines around her mouth began to relax. Her shoulders dropped, the tension slowly leaking out of them. Her palms relaxed and uncurled themselves from the fists she had been making.

"After that I destroyed the mood bracelet, she was going to use it to find you guys, and put myself to sleep," Lance continued softly. "Haggar wanted my body and I couldn't let that happen. I knew you'd find me eventually so all I had to do was wait." Her eyes narrowed. "But some of Haggar's magic leaked into my head before the shield around my body finished and she was able to get in. For months she tortured me in my head. Made me forget about you and everyone else. I tried to hold on. I tried so hard and just when I thought about giving in, you found me." Lance gave him a soft smile. He could see the gratitude in her eyes. "When I was in Liya's head, I saw Haggar through her memories. That witch had given the go ahead on that whole operation in planet Zaebos. It made me angry. So, so angry. Liya and all those men in the village hadn't deserved being treated that way."

Lance clenched her fists, her eyes narrowed. "And when I fought her again recently when she possessed Shiro, it took all of my strength to stop her, but if Narti hadn't been helping me, we might have lost Shiro. She wasn't even there in person and we had a tough time. She has to be stopped. The reason I want to stay in Cloyetera is because I want to train. I want to be strong enough to beat Haggar."

Lance took a shaky breath, running her fingers through her hair as she shifted nervously on the stool she was standing up on. "When you told me that Blue had chosen Allura as her new pilot…a part of me was a little sad. But the other part of me was relieved. You didn't need me anymore."

Keith looked up sharply at that. "Lance, we're always going to need you. If this is about the Blue lion then Allura already said she'd stand down and let you take your position back."

Lance shook her head. "I can't do that to Allura. She deserves the right to fight in this war as well. I can't ask her to stand down, it wouldn't be right."

Keith clenched his fists. "Then you can still stay! You can work the castle along with Coran and Matt and –"

Lance placed a hand on his shoulder. "Keith, if you were in my shoes, and Red had chosen someone else to pilot her, would you want to stay behind in the castle and offer backup? Or would you want to be at the front lines? Helping out our friends?"

Keith opened his mouth but Lance cut him off. Her blue eyes hardened. "I want you to really think about it Keith. What would you do?"

Keith blinked and furrowed his brows as he began to think. If Red had chosen a new pilot would Keith want to stay behind and work with Coran back at the castle? The answer was obvious. No. He wouldn't want that. He'd feel useless. He'd want to do something. If anything, he'd probably leave the team and join Kolivan and his Blades because at least that way he'll be contributing to the war in a big way.

It's with this realization that Keith finally understood why Lance wanted to leave. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, slamming into his chest so hard that it took his breath away. Despite the differences in their personalities, he and Lance were quite similar when it came to battle. The two preferred to be at the front lines. Always. Lance wouldn't want to stay behind at the castle. She'd want to be out there, fighting alongside them. If Keith told her to stay, Lance would. But she'd be miserable.

And it would eat away at him because he'd be the reason why she was feeling that way.

"I don't want to go Keith." Lance softly said as she tucked a black strand of hair behind his ear. The touch made him shiver. "But I need to. I have to train. I have a new ability now, one that I'm not in complete control of yet. I can't stay at the castle of lions and try to master it. I might cause a black out or I might freeze everyone's toes off and get a lecture from Shiro." Keith huffed a laugh at that. "But if I stay in Cloyetera, there are hundreds of women who can keep me in check if I go out of control. I'll be safe. And I'll get stronger."

Lance placed both of her cool hands on either side of his face and placed her forehead against his. "This won't be forever. We'll still keep in touch. Just –" She hesitated and closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked uncertain and her blue eyes looked misty. Her voice was but a whisper. "Just tell me it's okay. Tell me I'm making the right decision. That I won't lose you if I stay."

Oh, this silly girl.

With gentleness he didn't know he possessed, Keith wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes. Lance took a sharp breath and stood absolutely still. A part of him still doesn't want her to go. He always wanted Lance to be at his side because that's where she belonged but despite what he wanted, he knew that Lance had to do this. Haggar has been alive for more than ten thousand years. And after all this time the only one who has given that witch a hard time is Lance. She's survived countless times. Lance can beat Haggar. Keith knows she can.

So she'll have to stay in Cloyetera. She'll have to leave the team. But his friends had been right. The Galra wasn't taking lance this time. He knew where she would be. He knew that she'd be safe because all the women in this planet loved her. That was proven every time Lance walked around the city. Women would smile and wave, they teased her, asked her how her day was, invited her to their home and anyone who would dare hurt her would surely regret it. She had a whole store selling her merchandise for fuck's sake! The Amazons would put their lives on the line just to keep her safe. And if her training does get a bit out of control then the Amazons can definitely take it. Queen Lexi will be here as well, reining her in. Mikey and his brothers will make sure she's taken care of. So would Lotor and his generals who Lance had quickly befriended. They'll watch her like a hawk.

People have always said that long distance relationships never last. And yeah, most were right. But Keith had faith that he and Lance could overcome this little separation. It won't be forever. And they could still call and visit each other. Perhaps they'd even go and buy some mood bracelets just to have that bond reignited because Keith really missed being inside Lance's head. To know her every thought. To have the power to close his eyes and see through Lance's eyes and know what she was doing. To share some of the pain she endured so she could keep on fighting.

Keith wasn't going to lose her. He was in for the long haul.

Lance gripped both sides of his face. "Do you mean it?"

Reading my mind?

She huffed a laugh. "Sorry. You were taking too long. I got restless." Lance licked her lips nervously and Keith's eyes followed the movement closely. It'd been too long since they'd kissed. "So I can stay in Cloyetera?"

Keith nodded, tightening his grip on her own face for emphasis. "Yes. You can stay."

"I won't lose you?"

"Never."

"And you promise not to call off the wedding?"

He chuckled. "I thought you wanted to call off the wedding."

Lance looked startled. "What, why?"

He gave her a deadpan stare. "Lance." He sounded exasperated. "I jumped out a window to avoid you. I growled at you in my Galra form! I was a total asshole to you for days! It's my fault you haven't been sleeping well and it's my fault that you haven't been taking care of yourself!"

Lance huffed and leaned back so she could put her hands on her hips. "First of all, that jump was beautiful. You landed on your feet just like cat. You already purr, your ears look like a cats, so I'm going to call you Kitten from now on." Keith bristled. "Second of all, it's not your fault you growled at me. I know you're still getting used to your Galra side without having to take your pills. It's okay. I'm not mad or anything. I forgive you if it makes you feel better though there's nothing to forgive. And thirdly, you've always been an asshole Keith. My future husband is an ass but I love you anyway. You won't change my mind about that. This wedding is still on." Keith's heart fluttered at that. "And lastly, I was just depressed that you weren't talking to me. But now you are and suddenly my appetite is back. What do you think about nachos? You think I can sneak to the kitchen and avoid a lecture from Shiro about eating late at night?"

Keith couldn't help it. He laughed. Just like that all his worries had disappeared. Lance forgave him for growling at her. She praised him for his jump out the window. The wedding was still on, despite the fact that he was an asshole. She still wanted him. And after that serious talk, she's suddenly talking about nachos? Seriously?

His heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. He was just so relieved.

Lance huffed and lightly punched his shoulder. She tried to look stern but Keith could see the way her eyes were twinkling, could see the smile that was slowly spreading. "It's a perfectly good question Keith. Shiro is always watching. He's caught Hunk at least three times already. My poor best friend was so startled he ran back to my room and cried." She paused. "Though that didn't stop him from trying again. Hunk's got some balls."

For some reason that made him laugh harder and this time Lance joined him. The two of them just stood there on their stools, doubled over as tears began to form on their eyes from all the laughing they were doing.

Without a word, they embraced. They moved at the same time as if something on a whole different plain had decided it for them. Lance pressed her face into his neck and Keith felt himself melt. "I'm sorry." Lance whispered.

Keith tightened his grip on her. Holding her as tightly as he dared. "I'm sorry too."

"Let's never fight again okay?"

"Deal."

And for a long moment, the two of them stayed like that, just holding on to each other like their lives depended on it. The scent of raspberries and honey suckle invaded his nose and Keith breathed in deeply where he lay his chin on top of Lance's head. He loved this smell. It was all Lance.

"I love you Keith."

"I love you too," Shiro's words rang through his head. Licking his lips nervously, Keith decided to try a nickname and see if she liked it. "Honey."

Lance fell off her stool.

Keith's eyes went wide. "Holy shit, are you okay?"

Lance's whole face was beet red, she opened and closed her mouth but all that came out was a strangled sound.

Realization kicking in, Keith slowly grinned. "Did you like that? Sweetie?"

"I will punch you." Lance threatened, no real bite in her words. She looked embarrassed.

"Okay, babykins."

"Keith!"

"Something wrong, babe?"

Lance's face turned even brighter. Keith didn't think it was possible. It had him grinning like a madman.

"If you're not going to say anything else, then don't say it." She turned her face away to hide her flaming cheeks.

"But darling –"

"I'm warning you Keith."

"Noted, snookums."

"You're on thin ice Keith."

"You love it." He paused and grinned as Lance backed away from him. "Princess Leah."

"That's it!"

For a moment nothing happened. He was too focused on Lance's red face to notice the pillow flying towards his face until it was too late. He got a face-full of squish and fluff, his head jerked back from the impact and he fell off the stool and landed on his ass with a dumbstruck look.

Lance started howling with laughter right next to him.

"Lance!" He spluttered, snatching the pillow from where it fell next to him and flung it back. It smacked Lance square in the face, but she was already laughing too hard to even care. Switching to her side, she all but crawled to her bed and snatched another pillow. Keith barely had time to pick up the pillow he'd thrown at her to defend himself. Shadow barked enthusiastically, disappearing only to appear next to Lance who took hold of his fur and teleported away.

"That's cheating!" he screeched. "Shadow you traitor! I thought we were close!"

Lance's laughter seemed to echo from all over the place. It made it very hard to pinpoint her exact location. That's when he felt a sort of rift and Keith flung his pillow right by the door just as Lance had materialized. It hit her right in the face and made her stumble backwards. She gaped at him.

Picking up another pillow, Keith grinned and made a come hither motion. It had Lance bristling. "Come on honey," the Amazon turned scarlet. "Is that all you've got?"

"Oh, it's on." She paused for dramatic effect. "Kitten."

This time it was Keith who was left a blushing mess. The way Lance said it all soft and suggestive…Keith couldn't be blamed for blushing. All too soon, they were on opposite ends of the room, chucking pillows across the room in poor attempts to hit the other person. It had them giggling like a bunch of twelve-year olds.

A part of Keith couldn't help but think that this whole thing was stupid, but despite the thought, it didn't stop him from stupidly grinning his ass off when some of his pillows made contact with Lance's face. Making a run for Shadow, Keith took hold of his fur, gave the wolf a dirty look that had him rolling his eyes at him, and then he disappeared only to appear behind Lance a second later.

Keith took the opportunity to tackle her from behind where he proceeded to tickle her sides until she cried and begged him to stop. When Lance opened her eyes, and Keith stared right back, they took a single breath before Keith leaned forward and kissed her mouth with all the force and desperation of what he felt. He'd missed her. And not being able to kiss Lance should have been a crime. Keith pinned her wrists above her head but Lance didn't seem to mind.

Her back arched off the ground as Keith's mouth went to her neck, peppering it with kisses and bites. To think, just a week ago Keith could hardly be in the same room as her without feeling angry. Now they were making out and holding on to each other with such ferocity that it had Keith's head spinning.

He loved it.

His hands on her wrists loose, Lance got out of his hold and then her hands were under his shirt. Despite how cold her palms were, every touch felt electrified, his body felt like it was on fire. And when Lance's hand went a little lower to cup him, Keith swore under his breath. Smirking, Lance gave his hardening length a squeeze. "Like that?"

"Jesus Christ Lance." His hands found their way under her shirt until he was cupping her right breast as his other hand slowly trailed downward. Lance sucked in a sharp breath. "You know this means I have to punish you. Right?"

Lance's eyes grew mischievous. "Do your worst."

Keith's smirked turned wider, accepting the challenge, he opened his mouth to say something when suddenly the door was kicked open and they got an earful of panicked screams. The two of them froze on the floor.

"My eyes!" Pidge screamed as she covered her eyes.

Matt stared with wide eyes. "Holy crap."

"I don't see a condom!" Shiro bellowed.

"What the fuck are you doing to my sister?" Mikey screeched. His voice reached a very high note. He looked like he was going to pass out. Aiden's back was to them but his shoulders were shaking with mirth. The triplets crowded around Mikey when he did in fact fall to the floor in a daze.

Hunk covered his eyes. "This is why I told you we should have knocked!"

Allura fainted. Coran was so shocked by what he was seeing that he didn't notice the Altean Princess fall to the floor.

"Yeah!" Ezor cheered. "Get some!"

"Finally." Krolia huffed with a little grin.

Axca took one look and left.

"So should we just go?" Lotor seemed pretty calm about this whole situation. "They look busy."

"Well?" Shiro demanded. His nostrils flared, his cheeks looked bright red, and he couldn't quite keep eye contact. "You guys have anything to say for yourselves?"

Keith and Lance shared a look. Rolling her eyes, Lance huffed and turned to Shiro with the most serious expression he had ever seen. "It's exactly what it looked like."

Keith choked.

Mikey fainted.

Allura looked like she just might join him again as well.

Pidge wolf-whistled.

The words didn't seem to make Shiro feel any better. His face turned scarlet and he looked ready to combust. Not wanting to make things words, Keith slowly got off Lance and fixed her shirt before helping her to her feet. Shiro pinched his nose and counted to ten.

It was kind of amusing.

"W-we didn't actually do it." Keith grumbled quietly.

Pidge arched a brow. "But you got close?"

Lance grinned devilishly. Mikey, who had woken up, started hyperventilating upon seeing that grin.

"It's none of your business!" Keith snapped, his other hand slapping over Lance's mouth lest she make the situation worse. He was flustered enough. Everyone but Shiro and Mikey grinned. "Why are you guys here anyway?"

"We heard laughter," Lotor explained, though he still looked highly amused. Goddamn Rapunzel. "Then we heard stuff being knocked over and then nothing."

"We thought you killed each other!" Allura shouted as she petted her mice.

"Clearly we were wrong." Aiden added with a smug grin. His dark blue eyes were twinkling behind his glasses.

"Did you guys make out?" Pidge teased.

"Pidge!" Shiro barked at her.

The green paladin shrugged. "Just want to make sure. We have a bet going on."

Shiro covered his face with his hand and groaned. "What is it with this team and making bets?"

"We like to make things interesting." Matt teased. He and Pidge turned those brown eyes at him and Lance. "So? Did you?"

Keith tightened his lips. Lance? Not so much.

"You know what?" Lance challenged. "We did make out. A lot. In fact, we were about to have sex but you guys walked in!"

Keith physically choked and stumbled backwards. Shiro gasped and put a hand to his chest as he stumbled backwards into Allura's arms. Lance opened her mouth. Horrified, Keith reached forward to cover her mouth again but Lance batted his hands away.

"It would have been epic!" Lance screamed at the top of her lungs.

Coran cheered.

Lotor and Ezor clapped.

Hunk's lips twitched upward.

"My little sister was going to lose her virginity?" Mikey panted with wide eyes. He put a hand to his chest and stumbled forward. "You're too young!"

Lance gave him a droll stare. "You know I've had sex before right?"

Mikey choked. "You never told me this!"

"She told me," Aiden raised his hand. "She wanted advice for her first time. We're both bi so she really wanted more information."

"She called us too." Kyrian added. Colt and Alan nodded beside him. "Mom and dad knew too."

"Had a whole Skype family meeting and talked about it." Aiden lastly added.

Mikey looked betrayed. He pouted. "Why didn't I know about this?" His eyes widened and he stumbled forward to shake Lance's shoulders. "Who was it? Were they gentle? Oh my god." He shook her harder. "Did it hurt? Did they break your heart? Who is it? I'll kill them!"

Lance got out of her brothers' hold and crossed her arms over her chest. "And that is why I didn't tell you."

She turned to Shiro who looked ready to pass out. "Before you say anything," Lance took Keith's hand in hers and laced their fingers together. "Keith and I made up."

"You don't say?" Matt muttered.

"And he's sleeping in my room today." Lance continued, totally ignoring Matt's sarcastic reply. Keith was a little surprised about this but he was not complaining at all. He squeezed her hand, a smile threatening to break as Lance winked at him.

Shiro apparently, was not okay with that.

Shocker.

"Now you listen here you two!" Great. His dad voice was on full effect. Everyone groaned. "First of all, I'm very happy that you two have made up. Second of all, just because you have, doesn't mean you can start ripping each other's clothes off and dirtying the floor. There is a bed." Seriously? "And thirdly, and this is the most important thing." Shiro paused and his eyes scanned the room briefly before turning stern eyes at them. "Where the hell are the sex tool kit boxes I gave you two all those months ago? Do you guys need me to give you the talk again? Because I'll do it!"

Allura whispered into her boyfriend's ear. Shiro straightened and waved a menacing finger at them. "And no, you can't sleep in the same room together by yourselves." Keith and Lance immediately protested. "I'll sleep here too and keep an eye on you both. That bed looks big enough to fit ten people."

For a moment there was absolute silence as everyone took that in. And then everyone spoke at once.

"I've been sleeping here way before you guys," Hunk protested with a wave of his arms. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Matt and I are already brought our stuff since yesterday, so we're staying too!" Pidge exclaimed, high-fiving her brother who nodded furiously next to her.

"Lance and I haven't had a proper sleepover for a while," Allura looked delighted. She patted her mice. "We too shall join in."

"Well," Coran added with a twirl of his mustache. "As Allura's guardian, I have to keep my eye on our fearless leader lest he makes a move on my niece." Shiro spluttered beside a blushing Allura. "I too, shall stay. Got to keep an eye on you youngsters."

"These sleepovers are fun." Krolia murmured. "I'll stay as well."

"You can all leave!" Mikey barked. "Leah and I are going to share the bed by ourselves!" He turned to Lance with dark sparkly blue eyes. "I can read you a bed time story! I'll even sing you a lullaby like old times!"

"I happen to like my too big bed so I'll be taking my leave." Lotor announced with a yawn. "Good night everyone." Ezor followed after him with a backwards wave.

Aiden pinched his nose. "I wanted to go to my room but I can't just leave Mikey here. He can be…a lot."

"I don't need a babysitter bitch!" Mikey barked.

"I'll have to stay as well." Aiden continued as if he didn't hear his older brother protesting. The triplets didn't want to be left out either and declared they would stay as well.

Keith couldn't help but pout. Lance's protests went unheard as everyone began to settle down on her bed. Lance protested to that as well and dragged Keith to the middle, claiming that it was their spot and if anyone wanted to fight about it, then she would definitely win. Shiro looked like he really would challenge her but refrained after both Krolia and Allura gave him scathing looks, telling him to take a chill pill.

In the end, he and Lance took the spot in the middle. Lance curled up next to him, placing her head on his chest while he put a hand over her shoulder. She'd forgotten to wipe the yellow paint off her face. Hunk lay behind Lance on his side. His yellow blanket covering him as he tucked his arms to his chest and scooted closer to his friend. Pidge and Matt lay behind him. Shiro lay behind Keith, watching over them with a cautious eye. Allura tucked herself to his back and draped an arm over his stomach. Krolia and Coran lay at the foot of the bed already asleep.

Mikey and his brothers had to sleep on the floor to Mikey's displeasure. Aiden had taken out blankets and pillows from his sisters' closet and placed them on the floor so they could all rest comfortably.

Lance had fallen asleep within minutes and Mikey had taken the chance to jump to his feet and take pictures of her while everyone glared at him and told him to go the fuck to sleep. The older McLane sibling flipped them all off.

Aiden said something to him in Spanish though and the next second Mikey was under the covers, pictures be damned. It was kind of impressive. Shadow curled up next to him.

Keith was on the edge of sleep when Lance's hand found his own under the sheets about half an hour later before giving it a squeeze. "Thank you for being here."

Keith squeezed back. "Thank you for letting me stay."

Everyone else had already fallen asleep. Different types of snores filled the room, Allura and Mikey's being the loudest. They didn't want to wake up anyone though, especially Shiro, so they settled for whispering back and forth.

Lance could have started a telepathic conversation but she wanted to hear his voice. When Lance squirmed closer, he didn't protest. She still had yellow paint on her cheeks but some had faded. "Anytime."

She closed her eyes, smiled, and drifted to sleep once again. For a while, Keith listened to Lance's heartbeat thumping. It was strong, sure, steady, and soothing. Closing his own eyes, Keith sighed and settled himself to a better position. One arm wrapped around Lance's waist while the other one rested on her hair.

Making sure no one was watching, he kissed her temple.

"Good night Lance."

"Good night, Mullet." Came a sleepy murmur in his head.

Keith smiled.

Lance was gone when Keith woke up the next morning. So were Hunk and Shadow, he noticed as he did another scan for the Amazon. It was hard to tell if Lance had been gone for a while or just a few minutes. The spot that she'd slept on was cold to the touch but with her new body temperature, it was hard to tell at what time she had left. Hunk's side was cold too.

Perhaps they got up at the same time?

Lance's scent lingered all over the room. On the sheets, on the pillows, the scent of raspberries and a hint of cinnamon made him want to sink deeper into the covers. The sheets were tucked gently underneath his chin, wrapping him up in a cocoon of soft, silky fabric.

His friends and his mother were still sleeping soundly. What time was it anyway?

Every morning since they'd arrived he made sure to go to one of the training rooms that they had in the house. They were more advanced and a little more dangerous than the one they had at the castle of lions, which was really nice; Keith loved a challenge. Oftentimes his mother would join him as well.

Warm sunlight shone from the five windows in the room, giving the room plenty of light. He could hear the chirping of the firebirds in the distance. Movement echoed around the house, though that wasn't anything new. A lot of people besides them were staying here as well. Even Queen Afya and her daughter Zooey were here as well. They were at the southern wing, as far away from Lance where she was staying in the northern wing with the rest of the paladins and Lotor and his generals.

The Queen's did not want their daughters to come to blows anytime soon.

He was on the verge of sitting up to glance at the clock on his bracelet when a voice made him jump. "So did you give her the ring?"

"Jesus Christ Pidge!" He put a hand to his chest as he glared at the green paladin on his right. The little gremlin had the audacity to grin at him. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Nope." Pidge used her elbows to sit up a little straighter where she leaned her back on one of the blue pillows on the bed. "Stop dodging my question." She squinted at him. Her eyes looked smaller without her glasses and her brown hair was all over the place. It looked like a rat's nest. He made sure to tell her that. Flipping him off with both hands, Pidge nudged him with her elbow. "So? Did you give her the ring or did you pussy out?"

"Pidge," Shiro grumbled where he was lying on Keith's left side on his stomach. His voice sounded muffled. "Watch your fucking language."

Several people gasped. Was everyone just pretending to sleep or what?

"Shiro cursed." Allura gasped quietly. "Watch your language Shiro!"

"He's not a morning person." Matt grumbled next to Pidge. He too was lying on his stomach, his face hidden by one of the pillows. "He needs coffee."

"This is why Keith curses non-stop." Krolia yawned as she sat up a little and rubbed her eyes. "Terrible influence."

Shiro grumbled something under his breath.

"Coffee sounds good." Coran chirped in with a huge smile. How the man was in such a good mood already was beyond him. "I've become a fan. These Amazons know how to make it just right!"

That was true.

Keith was a big fan of their coffee as well.

"Back to the matter at hand," Mikey joined in as he sat up with a grumble on the floor. A bit of drool lingered at the corner of his mouth. His eyes looked bloodshot and his shoulder length hair was standing on end. He looked like shit. Keith made sure to tell him that as well. Mikey said something rude to him in Spanish. His eyes promised death. It made Keith grin. "Did you give my sister the ring or what?"

Keith hesitated as all eyes turned on him. Even Shiro and Matt peeked at him from where their faces were covered by their pillow. He pursed his lips. "Not exactly?"

Several grumbles followed the statement.

Pidge and Mikey threw their pillows at him. Hard.

"It didn't come up!" He shouted as he raised his hands to cover his face from any more oncoming pillows. Mikey threw one more pillow at him and his shoe just for good measure before he relented. Asshole.

"Well." Shiro sat up with Allura's help until he turned and laid his back against his pillow. He offered Keith a tired smile. "At least now you can make it more romantic before giving it to her."

"Holy shit." Kyrian exclaimed as he rubbed his eyes. "He's right."

"Leah loves romantic gestures." Alan agreed with a yawn.

"She says she doesn't," Colt continued with a cheeky grin. "But we all know she loves it."

"So?" Aiden sat up and put his elbow on his knee and his chin on his right palm. He calmly put on his glasses to look at him properly. "What are you going to do? Take her out to dinner? Take a walk at the beach? Cook her something?"

Several people snorted at the last suggestion. Keith couldn't blame them. It didn't stop him from bristling though. As his friends continued to stare at him expectantly, Keith felt the blood drain from his face. "Umm."

Allura's blue eyes widened in outrage. Her mice had crossed their paws over their chests and were openly cowling at him. "Tell me you have a plan."

"Of course he does." Krolia defended him. She turned those violet eyes to him. "Right?"

As all those eyes turned on him again, Keith felt the urge to jump out the window. He could totally make it. All he had to do was jump over Matt and Pidge, dodge Mikey, for surely the man would try to catch him, and fling himself out the window to sweet freedom.

Shiro must have sensed his intentions for he gripped the edge of Keith's shirt. The red paladin scowled. Seeing that there was no chance of escape, Keith glared to the side, crossed his hands over his chest, and remained silent.

When he didn't answer, his friends groaned again. It made Keith want to punch them all in the face. Like they could do better he thought with a sniff.

"We can help you." His mother said once the grumbling of his friends had died down. "I'm not sure I can offer much since I'm not one for sappy things but lucky for you," She smiled. "You have others here who can help you."

Some of the tension left his shoulders at his mother's statement.

"Do something sweet." Aiden voiced out. "Pick a special place that means a lot to you two. Anything come to mind?"

Keith thought about it. Honestly, the only place that came to mind was Lance's secret hideout where he first met her. Lance had dragged him out of Red while the metal robot sank into the ocean. It's where he and Lance would sneak to over the next two weeks when he first landed when she didn't want to go to any court meetings. Keith remembered the two of them sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night just so they could take a swim around the beach in the area and just talk as they dried themselves off. It was a place to get away from everyone else, where they could just talk and be themselves without having any prying eyes.

Even Reyna and the rest of Lance's guards didn't come after them while they remained there. The Amazons would give them some privacy for they knew when Lance needed a place to get away from her princess duties.

Keith nodded slowly. "I might have a place in mind."

His friends beamed. Shiro nudged him with his shoulder. "Then do it there."

"You can have dinner there!" Allura clapped in delight.

"Bring in some candles and flowers to make the room more romantic." Coran added with a devilish grin.

"Bring condoms." Pidge said with a straight face.

Several people choked.

Shiro and Mikey wheezed.

Matt covered his sister's face with his hand. "Put some romantic music."

Giving the green paladin a stern look, Shiro turned his features into something less hostile and patted Keith on the back. "It'll be Christmas at midnight. You can do it then."

"I'm sure the yellow paladin would not mind making some food for you both." Krolia added with a tiny smile as she crawled over to him to push back his hair from his face. Keith felt himself flush in embarrassment. "You can do this."

His friends voiced their agreement.

Mikey puffed up his chest. "Just leave the set up to us."

"You can keep our sister distracted." Aiden piped in.

"Just tell us the location." Kyrian added with a thumps-up. Colt and Alan nodded, their short black hair looking disheveled.

Okay, maybe he could pull this off after all. Keith allowed the corner of his mouth to lift upwards into a tiny smile to let his friends know that he was grateful. Sniffing the air, Pidge shot up to a crouch and sniffed the air a few more times before her stomach grumbled. Her eyes were narrowed and she looked predatory. "Do you guys smell that?"

Matt sniffed the air and moaned. "I smell pancakes."

"Cookies." Allura whispered in delight.

"And enchiladas!" Aiden moaned as he shot to his feet. He turned to his brothers looking oddly excited. "You guys think dad and Leah are cooking?"

Mikey shot to his feet and made a run to the door. "Dibs!"

The triplets spluttered, scrambling to their feet before making a mad dash after their brother. "That's not fair!"

"You leave those enchiladas alone!" Aiden barked as he ran out the door. "Mikey!"

"I smell coffee." Shiro all but skipped to the door with Allura and Coran hot on his heels.

Keith and his mother calmly made their way out the door, the two of them almost falling as Pidge and Matt all but pushed them out of the way. Rude.

Following the heavenly scents of food, Keith and his mother arrived at one of the kitchens in Lance's house to find both Hunk and Lance cooking away. Lotor and his generals were seated at the table with a plate of steaming bread at the center. Zethrid wasted no time in digging in. Mr. Holt was chatting quietly with Axca and Narti, he looked quite animated. Ezor was talking Lotor's ear off but he didn't seem to mind, just nodded along quietly as he nibbled on the bread. Mr. McLane was there as well, helping Hunk and Lance with another dish. Keith was surprised to see Queen Lexi who sat at the table with a pout on her face.

Pulling at the sleeve of her loose pink shirt she eyed her husband with a frown. "I still don't understand why I can't help out."

Mr. McLane turned those baby blue eyes to his wife and gave her a deadpan look. "Lex, mi querida, mi Amor, the wind beneath my wings, the stars to my moon." Lance snorted beside a chuckling Hunk. Lotor grinned. Mr. McLane wiped his hands over the dark blue apron tied around his waist. He lifted both of his wife's hands, kissed each one, and looked her in the eye. "You suck."

His answer had Queen Lexi spluttering in protest as Mikey and his siblings howled in laughter. Keith and the rest of his friends took a seat at the long rectangular table doing their best to hide their own laughter. It seemed Lance's parents would be joining them for breakfast. Or maybe they'd been there everyday and he just hadn't noticed because he kept leaving the house in order to avoid running into Lance.

Her laughter fading, Lance straightened from the piping-hot cookies she'd hauled from the oven, her brown hair half up, the red apron over her blue T-shirt and black jeans dusted with flour. Hunk looked no better; his pink apron was covered in flour. Some even coated his cheeks, Lance looked like she had flour in her hair as well. The two offered everyone a greeting before they put the tray on the counter, picked up a cookie and began to munch on them.

Lance's eyes widened mid-chew. "Hunk!"

Hunk's obsidian eyes widened as well. "Lance!"

The two had tears running down their face.

Should Keith be worried?

Grinning, the two shouted at the same time. "We did it! Best cookie ever!"

And cue the fist-pump, the ten second waltz to celebrate, the praise for each other's skills, before Hunk finished their little celebration by dipping Lance to the floor and twirled her back to his side. Mikey bristled. Keith was kind of jealous too. Everyone else clapped.

Pidge leaned her elbows on the table and grinned. "Let me try one!"

Sharing another grin with the yellow paladin, Lance cleared her throat. "My friends. Mother. Father. My brothers." Lance paused. "Mikey."

"Hey!" Mikey shouted.

"Hunk and I have finally found it. Our treasure. Our Atlantis. Our golden egg. We found the one cookie to rule over them all."

With a flourish, Hunk whisked the delicate towel he'd just placed over their creation to reveal their newly invented cookies. Mikey shoved one into his mouth to both Lance and Hunk's dismay. With his mouth still full, he let out a moan and said. "Fucking delicious!"

Queen Lexi and Aiden smacked him upside the head for his language and for talking with his mouth full.

Lance crossed her hands over her chest and scowled. "Your opinion doesn't count Mikey."

The older McLane sibling spluttered, cookie crumbs spraying across the table to everyone's horror. Axca looked ready to throttle him. "What? But why?"

"Because you say that about everything I make." Lance rolled her eyes.

Mikey protested, his dark blue eyes narrowing. "Because everything you make is delicious!" He glared at everyone seated at the table with murder in his eyes. "Anyone who says otherwise will get a fistful of fist!"

Lance and her family groaned.

"Mikey," Lance sounded exasperated. "I once made you a chocolate cake that wasn't actually chocolate."

Mikey paused in his glaring to curiously look at his sister. "What was it?"

"Mud."

Mikey blinked once. Twice. Three times. And shrugged. "I bet it was healthy."

Everyone groaned.

"Anyway," Hunk cut in with a frown. "The perfect cookie has to have three rings. The center should be soft and just a little bit gooey. Middle ring should be chewy. And the outer ring should be crispy."

Pidge groaned. "Guys, just let us eat the cookies!"

"Be patient," Shiro said, squeezing her arm. "I'm sure it's almost over."

Allura nodded on Pidge's other side. "And in the end we'll get cookies!"

"You have to eat it while it's warm," Lance continued. "It has to be at the perfect room temperature."

"If you guys don't stop talking, they won't be warm anymore." Pidge grumbled. Hunk and Lance shot her a glare. Mr. Holt gave her a stern look. Keith kind of agreed with Pidge on this one. Those cookies smelled delicious, he really just wanted to try one already.

"There have been many attempts at making the perfect cookie," Hunk barreled on with a nod of his head as he began to pace, his finger raised in the air. "Some might argue that Louise Saeki back in Louisiana has perfected the perfect cookie."

"Some might argue that Charles Alistair Lawrence who lives in planet Smaelara did a better job," Lance interrupted as she paced in the opposite direction, a finger raised in the air.

"But news flash!" Hunk exclaimed and turned to them with a triumphant grin. "Our cookie? It's amazing."

"It'll make you cry." Lance added.

"Your life will flash before your eyes!"

"It'll make you reveal all your darkest secrets!"

"But most of all," Lance and Hunk said at the same time, "You'll love it!"

Zethrid and Pidge slid off their stools. Lotor's tank of a general huffed. "That's it. No cookie is worth all this crap. I'll hunt for my own food."

Lance patted Zethrid's bicep and gave her a pitying look. "Oh, you naïve woman." She clicked her tongue in Pidge's direction who Hunk had steered back to her stool. "These cookies are so much more. Sit or you shall not partake in this glorious adventure everyone else is about to experience."

With a grumble both of them sat down and crossed their arms over their chests. Keith resisted the urge to laugh. Yes, he was hungry. Yes, he was contemplating whether or not to dive across the table and just snatch one of the cookies before making a run for it. But the other part? It was highly amused.

Lance opened her mouth but before she could speak, Mr. McLane put a hand on her shoulder. "Leah, as much as I want to hear more, would it be all right if we all sampled you and dear Hunk's masterpiece?"

Lance beamed. "Yeah, okay daddy."

Pidge threw her hands up. "Seriously? Just like that?"

"Why didn't you speak before?" Matt wailed.

Mikey looked at his father with wide eyes. "Teach me your ways."

Together, Lance and Hunk put the tray full of cookies on the table and told them to dig in. Nobody wasted any time in doing so and eagerly picked up a cookie before stuffing it in their mouths. Keith froze. So did everyone else.

Why?

Keith didn't know about the others, but he was in heaven. A memory of when his father was still alive flashed before his eyes. The two of them were fishing at a lake his father had chosen. Keith's hook tugged, a sign that he had caught something, and he immediately turned to his father who shot to his feet and pulled Keith's little eight-year old body against his chest, tugging them backward lest they lose their pray.

After a few tense seconds, the two of them fell to the floor, and when Keith looked up he smiled because at the end of his line was a fish. And not a small one. It was huge! At least to Keith it looked big. His father had ruffled his hair and congratulated him for his big catch. That was one of his fondest memories. Keith hadn't noticed he was crying until his mother poked at his cheek.

Her violet eyes looked misty as well. "You all right?"

Keith nodded mutely. He glanced at whatever was left of his cookie with wide eyes. "Holy shit."

"Did your life flash before your eyes too?" Krolia asked him.

Keith's eyes widened further. He nodded. "Whoa. These cookies are good."

Shiro sobbed next to him. "The truth is I've been reading the Holy Bible series before bed since we came here!" He covered his face. "I read it out loud and make my voice different to match each character! I even do the moans!"

"I once impersonated Matt when he was invited to a party and told everyone he was gay!" Matt spluttered. "I'm the reason the girls at his middle school only wanted him as a friend!"

"This isn't my final form!" Coran wailed. "This is!" The Altean advisor grunted, squeezed his eyes shut, and suddenly his whole face and hands were covered in orange hair. Allura fell off her chair. "I just wake up extra early and shave it off before anyone wakes up!"

"Sometimes I sneak into Prince's Lotor room while he's showering and take pictures of him to sell on the dark web!" Ezor shouted with a wail. Lotor choked on his cookie. "I'm loaded!"

"I steal his underwear and sell it!" Zethrid babbled before pointing at Narti. "She keeps an eye out while I do it!"

Narti hid her face with her hood, Nova hissed at Zethrid in anger. Axca was being oddly quiet, going so far as to look at anywhere but Lotor.

"I told you guys these cookies were awesome!" Mikey shouted with glee.

"One time, when Pidge was away, I went to her room and tried on one of her dresses!" Matt covered his hands and sobbed. "And I liked it!"

"I recorded it!" Mr. Holt admitted.

Matt looked at him in horror.

"What's in these cookies?" Aiden demanded. "I feel like sharing things that I've never told anyone before!"

"We impersonate each other all the time!" Kyrian blurted out. Colt and Alan hugged each other, their brown eyes watery. "We get away with so much stuff!"

Queen Lexi chewed thoughtfully. "This is not bad. I like how it's not too hard and not too soft." She licked the tip of her fingers. "Very nice. We shall offer these during the party later on."

"Best cookie of my life." Mr. McLane stated. He ruffled Lance's hair who practically preened at the praise.

Keith wasn't jealous.

Like at all.

Once everyone had settled down, the food was passed around and they began to eat. Everything was delicious. The enchiladas that Mr. McLane made were really good. They were a little spicy but once you added all the other toppings it was pretty good. They made eggs, waffles, toast and a lot of bacon.

Lotor was all but hogging the bacon. Zethrid and Pidge looked ready to fight him. Luckily, Hunk made a few more and everything was settled. They're only mistake was allowing Ezor to drink coffee. She loved it so much she finished five whole cups within minutes.

She was currently vibrating in her seat, trying to take Axca's own cup of coffee. Zethrid was in love with the waffles. Lance added a little bit of whip cream on them and Zethrid practically swooned. The food was passed from person to person, and at least three different conversations happening all at once. There was a pitcher of orange and cranberry juice on the table; Mikey spilled his drink at least three times before Queen Lexi sent him a stern look that had him trembling in his seat.

Laughter echoed loudly in the kitchen and despite everyone's reluctance, they finished off the cookies that Hunk and Lance had made; this time there were no weird side effects. Lance sat next to him the whole time, just babbling on about whatever came to find and though Keith didn't say much, Lance didn't seem to mind. The triplets made kissy faces at them the whole time but Keith just flipped them off to Shiro's displeasure. Krolia made sure to shoot a glare at the black paladin every time Keith acted out.

Shiro sent Keith a scathing look every time she did.

Allura had thankfully taken Coran to the restroom to shave off all the unnecessary hair on his body until all that remained was his mustache and the hair on his head. Shadow had made his way inside and happily barked before going over to his giant bowl of food located a little ways away from the table.

"So," Pidge began, setting her fork down so she could grin in Lance's direction. "I heard you and Keith are going on a date today?"

Keith choked on his drink.

Lance let out a gasp and her eyes sparkled. "Really?"

"Uh…" Was Keith's eloquent answer.

"Yup," Pidge continued with a devilish grin. "He said he wanted to spend time with you."

Lance leaned into him. "We can go to the amusement park then!"

"Hey wait!" Pidge protested. "I want to go there too!"

Keith tore his gaze from Lance's excited gaze to look over at Pidge with a brow raised high. "But Pidge," he smirked. "It's a date. Which means you can't go."

Pidge spluttered.

"I wanted to go check it out too." Matt pouted as he took a bite of his blueberry pancakes.

"It does sound fun." Ezor murmured as she took a sip of her cranberry juice that Lotor passed her. She grimaced at the taste.

"We should all go!" Mikey blurted with a huge grin. "That way I can keep my eye on them."

Queen Lexi clapped her hands in delight. "Why don't you all go? I recommend the rollercoaster."

Mr. McLane and Shiro paled.

"Hell yeah!" Mikey shouted. "Let's do that!"

"I want to try this punching machine the little one keeps talking about." Zethrid pointed at Pidge who bristled at the nickname.

Lance and he shared a look.

"Ditch them after the first ride?" Lance suggested to him in his head.

He squeezed her hand and grinned. "It's like you read my mind."

"Hey!" Mikey pointed at them. "Stop flirting!"

Oh man, hopefully this was all part of his friends' plans to set up the perfect place for Keith to give Lance the ring he'd picked out for her.

He could do this.

Right?

Reviews are more than welcome!

I wanted to update sooner but my hand needed surgery (again) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider came out so I've been pretty busy. Plus, Florence and the Machine concert is next Wednesday and I've got tickets! So excited!

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!