WHAT UP SEASON SEVEN IS TOMORROW

The overwhelming majority of people wanted phone calls, so here they are. Excuse me while I go pass out from sickness now lol.

Keith picked up his cellphone without thinking much about the ringing, assuming that it was Shiro calling in between shoots. He clicked the "on" button without looking and continued pouring over the map of Paris that he had been studying. "Hello?"

"Keith? Hi, it's Alfor."

Keith bolted upright, instantly more alert. Alfor never called him. "Sir? Is everything okay? Is Allura all right? The crew? The-"

"Keith," Alfor chuckled. "Everyone is all right, I promise. I'm sorry to have worried you."

He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the headboard. "Sorry. You just...never call. What's up? Do you need me to come back early for something?"

"No, no, the scenes you filmed before leaving are fine. I'm actually calling about uh...about Lance."

Keith stiffened and shut his eyes, a coil of emotion sitting low in his throat. "Sir, I don't know if it's appropriate-"

"I'm not your director right now, Keith," Alfor said gently. "Not your boss. Right now, I'm just...a father figure. And when people I care about suddenly snap, I need to know that they're okay. And Lance snapped."

Keith swallowed, struggling to stay calm. "And?"

"Is something going on between you two?"

His tone was so gentle, so comforting, that Keith found himself melting, tears gathering in his eyes at the concern in Alfor's voice. "I don't know," he whispered, drawing his knees to his chin and staring out the window at the dark city. "I...he was so upset the last time we talked, and I'm scared that..."

He trailed off, not sure how to continue, and Alfor spoke again, his voice a bit tighter. "Keith. Is Lance a danger to hims-"

"No," Keith spat out, certain of his answer. "No. I know that much. I just think he's...insecure right now. I'm...I can't blame him, really," he mumbled, pressing his nose into his knees.

"Would you like me to talk to him?"

Keith sighed. "I don't know that it would help. I don't even know what's wrong for sure. He just said he's worried that I would leave him, and I wouldn't, everyone there knows I wouldn't, but the parts in the script...I think he's just taking on a lot of his character again."

Alfor's voice was soft. "You believe the script has made him feel this way?"

Keith flinched. "No...maybe? A little? I don't know. He won't talk to me," he groaned. His voice cracked and Keith took a shaky breath. "I've called so many times, I've even called Shiro and Hunk, and he won't talk to me. I feel like I did something wrong."

"Keith, son, you're doing all you can," Alfor assured him. "Let me talk to Shiro, all right? I'll see if he can get through to Lance. How's the search for your mother going?"

Keith sniffled, knowing that Alfor was trying to distract him. "Not...not great. I followed the rumors to Paris. I'm hoping maybe she's here, but I just...I don't know for sure. If I find her...she might not even want me. She let me think she was dead, I don't know..."

His words cracked and Keith dug his fingers into his hair, his ears burning with humiliation. "I'm sorry, Alfor. I don't mean to-"

"It's okay, son," Alfor promised, and Keith jolted at the realization that this was the second time he had called him that. "I understand you're under a lot of stress. It's okay to be upset."

"Thanks, Alfor."

"Of course. It's late there, isn't it? You should get some rest, start in the morning with a fresh brain. I believe in you, Keith."

Keith shivered and nodded, shutting his eyes. "Thank you. For calling."

"Of course. Goodnight, Keith."

"Have a good shoot, Alfor."

"With these guys?" Alfor chuckled. "Doubt it."

Keith managed a laugh, and then he hung up. One more look at his map, and he shoved it aside, shut off the lights, and crawled under the covers.

His eyes fluttered shut almost immediately.

He had found her.

Or at least, he had found her next shoot. Le Champ de Mars, the green area just around the Eiffel Tower, was highlighted on his list. It had taken a lot of talking with the locals, a lot of flubbing up the tiny bit of French that Pidge had taught him, but he had gotten the answer.

She had a stage name, Krolana, and it was honestly kind of pathetic how Keith had never put two and two together, what with her actual name being Krolia.

He was so focused on planning out how he was going to greet her the next day, how he was going to do this, that he almost missed his Skype icon popping up in the corner of his computer screen.

Incoming video chat from Lance.

Keith froze, his fingers itching over the keyboard, and he slowly settled his pointer down on the track pad, clicking the accept button with more than a little bit of trepidation.

Lance bloomed onto his screen, his eyes rimmed red. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of what looked like Shiro's apartment in the city, and his fingers were twisting nervously around each other. He glanced up at Keith and Keith saw his throat bob, his mouth twist.

"Hey," Keith managed, struggling not to lash out, not to cry, to just let him talk. "How are you?"

Lance snorted, glancing away from the screen. "I've been better," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "You?"

Keith glanced down at the highlighted section of the map. "I...same."

They lapsed into an awkward silence, Keith drumming his fingertips against his knees and Lance going back to fidgeting with his hands. After a long, tense moment, Lance took a breath.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Keith jolted. "What?"

Lance frowned, rubbing his jaw. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I didn't want you...to be upset over me."

"Lance, correct me if I'm wrong, but you...you tried to break up with me," Keith croaked, the reality of their last call weighing down on him.

The flinch in Lance's shoulders was visible, and fear coiled in Keith's gut. "Did...did you want-?"

"No!" Lance whined, whipping his head up. "God, no. I love you so much, Keith. I can't...I couldn't."

Keith relaxed a little, his pounding heart slowing. "Good. Good, because I love you too, you fucking dumbass."

Lance's mouth twisted into a small smile and he wiped at his eyes. "Rude."

Keith shifted on his bed, settling a hand into his chin. "Alfor said you snapped," he said softly.

"Yeah," Lance murmured, looking guilty. "Yeah, I did. He's a good guy, I need to apologize. I just...I was so tense, and everyone kept asking me if I was okay, and I wasn't, but I didn't want to talk about it, because I didn't want anyone feeling bad that I felt like shit and-"

"Lance," Keith interrupted, keeping his voice low. He hadn't realized just how much Lance had been struggling the last few days, and it stung at his chest. "Look at me, baby."

Lance shivered and looked up, eyes watery.

Keith laughed, soft. "I wish I could hug you right now. Just listen to me, okay? You're about to get uncharacteristically sappy Keith, and you're gonna deal with it."

Lance hiccupped, a smile on his face.

"I could never, ever think of finding someone else here," Keith breathed, putting as much emphasis as he could into his words. "First of all, I'm too focused. Second, I fucking love you, Lance. I've known you for years, I've seen you at your lowest, and I'm not fucking going anywhere. You mean everything to me, and if I have to say that to you every second of the day, I will. I can't...I can't lose you."

His voice dropped to a whimper, and Keith cursed himself as he felt tears well up. "Don't scare me like that, Lance. I can't...I can't lose you. Not when I can't even be there to fight you on it. I love you too much."

Lance nodded and ran a hand across his eyes. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay. I'm so-"

"No," Keith snapped. Lance jolted and looked up and Keith pressed his hands to his lips. "Do not apologize. Your feelings are valid, baby. Even if you think they aren't, even if your fears were just fears, they are nothing to apologize for. I should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you how much you meant to me before just...flouncing off to Europe."

"I knew you were going," Lance murmured.

"Yeah, but I kept it from you for a long time," Keith retorted, looking down. "Too long. And I'm sorry."

They fell into another silence, this one less awkward, and finally Lance sighed. "I miss you," he whispered.

"I miss you too."

"Did you...how...?"

Keith could sense the underlying message and he managed a small smile. "I found her. Or...I found where she's going to be. Tomorrow."

Lance shrieked and in moments the rest of the cast, Allura and Coran included, were swarming the screen, screeching in joy. Keith jolted, very aware suddenly that his face was covered in tears, and started laughing. "How long have you all been there?" he chuckled, wiping his eyes.

"Since shooting ended," Pidge answered. Her smile was a mile wide. "We were all hanging out in the living room while Lance talked to you."

"Movie night," Hunk chimed in.

"You found her?" Allura said in delight.

Keith laughed and glanced at his paper again. "Yeah," he said, voice softening. "Yeah, I did. I hope..."

"Keith," Shiro murmured. Keith glanced up at his sibling. He had a tender smile on his face. "She'll love you."

"I sure hope so."

"She's absolutely bat shit if she doesn't," Coran grumbled.

Everyone turned to look at him and Coran shrugged, eyes twinkling as he twisted at his mustache. "What? Merely stating the facts, my boy."

Keith suddenly couldn't wait to go home.