"You ready?" Keith asked as he pulled up the hood of his armor and double checked that it was functional.

Lance tightened his boots and answered, "Yeah."

Keith stretched and reached for the pistol. Ulaz grabbed it first. "And where do you two think you're going?"

Keith tried to take the pistol again and answered, "Out a little ways to hunt. We'll be back before nightfall."

Ulaz took the pistol and put it on his belt. "Have you spoken to Krolia of this?"

Keith tilted his head and groaned, "Just let us do this. It's nothing I haven't already done by myself."

Ulaz glowered disapprovingly and shook his head. "That was before you were caught disobeying our direct orders multiple times. Until the ships are complete, you are to stay in camp. Am I understood?"

Keith inhaled a long frustrated breath and crossed his arms. "I'm not some little kid, Ulaz. I can take care of myself."

Ulaz chuckled under his breath and ruffled Keith's hair. "You are very capable, Keith, but there are many things about this planet that we are unfamiliar with. We've been lenient with you until now and we nearly paid the price when you entered the castle. The alteans are more hostile than they've been since we crashed. You will face the consequences of your actions, kit. So you are confined to camp while the final adaptations to the ships are being made."

Keith shrugged out of Ulaz's reach and replied, "Fine. Whatever." He stomped over to the log Lance sat on while he waited and sat beside him. "Sorry, buddy. I guess we aren't allowed out of camp."

Red growled where she sat halfway between them and the castle. Lance put an elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his hand with a bored expression. "So now what?"

Keith chewed his lip in thought. Smirking, he nudged Lance's shoulder and asked, "You wanna explore the ships?"

Coleen heard laughter long before she saw either of them. Keith appeared first, sprinting around a corner and jumping across a gap in the floor. He caught a beam halfway across and swung to make the final distance. Rolling, he scrambled to his feet and looked over his shoulder. Lance stumbled into view and looked at the gap in the floor. Gritting his teeth, he flexed his legs more and pushed off as hard as he could, angling to kick off the wall.

Keith held out an arm which Lance took as he landed on the other side. Keith pulled, giving Lance a boost forward. Then Lance was in the lead with Keith in pursuit. They ran from one end of the control room to the other and dropped down an open hatch. Coleen heard their laughter grow distant as they slid down the chute.

Krolia shook her head and continued working on her task. Coleen smiled fondly and commented, "It's good to see them both happy. I hadn't seen Keith so depressed since the Kerberos mission was first proposed."

"Kerberos?" Krolia asked, her eyes never leaving the screen in front of her.

"It's nothing now," Coleen dismissed. "My husband and Keith's guardian had been approached to go to space. That was when Keith was still unstable during his first years at the garrison." Krolia said nothing, though Coleen could feel a burning curiosity from her. Coleen typed and added, "He came to us then, my husband and I. We gave him the support he needed when Takashi was going through a new treatment. Even Adam spent more than a few nights sleeping on our couch when the hospital sent him home to rest."

"I... saw them," Krolia admitted. Coleen glanced over to see Krolia looking at the ground. Krolia continued, "They loved Keith so much, Coleen."

Coleen offered a stoic smile. "Then let's finish so we can save them. So we can save them all."

"Yes. Thank you, Coleen."

Coleen shook her head. "Don't thank me. It's because of the boys that I didn't give up hope on that cruiser. I could hear them from my cell. Their conversations and laughter in the face of such terrifying circumstances kept me strong."

A loud bang below Coleen and Krolia was followed by sheets of metal crashing to the floor accompanied by Keith cursing at the top of his lungs and Thace shouting, "BOYS!" Lance cursed as well and their laughter was heard retreating outside while Thace's thunderous rebukes pursued. Coleen chuckled into her hand. "Though, I think they're both starting to get on everyone's nerves."

"It hasn't even been a full day," Krolia replied incredulously.

Coleen shrugged. "They're reunited and free. Give them a chance to calm down. Besides," Coleen smirked sidelong at Krolia, "this is just part of how Keith flirts. How did you even know he and Lance were crushing on each other back before we left Earth?"

Krolia's eyes widened and she focused on the console in front of her. "I... did not know. I was simply trying to reduce casualties. However, in hindsight, that does explain a large number of scenarios I witnessed while monitoring their safety aboard the cruiser." Krolia's cheeks were dusted in pink and she rolled her lips.

Coleen snorted in surprise. "Wait, are they... did they... Krolia, tell me what our boys got into!"

Krolia shook her head before covering her eyes with one hand. "It was simply courting, though their fondness is now apparent and I hope the fact that they slept so close to one another was for comfort in chaste companionship rather than... something more intimate."

Coleen sighed in relief and waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Keith is too shy for something that bold and Lance is all bluff this early in their relationship."

Krolia glanced back with a thoughtful smile. "Keith gets that from his father. I don't know how many times he tried to hide his growing affection from me. He was terrible at it." She laughed, a light bubble of sound, and added, "And I made no attempt to hide my own."

Coleen sat on the edge of the console and crossed her ankles. "Sam was bad at flirting, too."

Krolia, now thoroughly distracted from her task, leaned against her own console and asked, "Shall we take a break and continue this conversation outside? The drones can handle their work without us."

Coleen grinned and stretched. "Yeah. I'll make us a pot of tea from those plants I found."

Krolia crossed to her and they linked arms. "That sounds lovely."

Allura paced the room. The ticker said it was close to sunset, meaning Keith would return to his place of rest at the end of the bridge soon. Tomorrow, Coran intended to fly the castle away. If she wanted to see them one final time, it had to be tonight. An excited squeak paused her step and she looked down to see the littlest mouse return through the vent with Coran's skeleton key in its mouth.

Allura dropped to her knees and cupped the little creature in her hands. "Thank you, little friend! Oh, thank you, my clever one!" She took the key and slipped the chain around her neck. The mouse jumped from her hand to her shoulder and gripped the fabric of her dress. Allura ran to her bed where she'd wrapped up a few of her items for the refugees and held them to her chest. At her bedroom door, she rested one shaking hand on the door.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled her resolve and covered the mouse on her shoulder with one hand. "Hold on tight." Unlocking her door, she looked into the hallway. Coran was nowhere in sight. She bolted from her room through the bright halls of her castle, the tap of her heels and her sharp intake of breath loud in her ears.

Lance and Keith walked shoulder to shoulder back toward the lions. The assassins had almost looked relieved when they'd said they were going to bed. Keith stretched beside him and groaned. Lance looked at his friend in concern and muttered, "That guy shouldn't have been so hard on you."

Keith answered, "Thace? He wasn't half as hard on me today as he was before you woke up."

Lance folded his arms and said unyielding, "He could have seriously hurt you. I get that you want to get stronger, but I don't want you to put yourself in danger for that."

Keith reached out and put a hand on Lance's bicep. "Hey, Lance, I'm not going to get injured from sparring. Not with them. They're too careful with me. Krolia constantly tells Ulaz and Thace to increase their difficulty."

Lance looked down and away. "Are you sure?"

Keith pulled Lance into his side with an arm and they resumed walking. "Yeah. I'm sure. Besides, I'll have you to watch my back as soon as Ulaz finishes your hearing aids."

Lance was about to speak when movement caught his eye. He gasped, "Isn't that the princess?"

Keith followed his gaze and then they were both running. She wore a long dress, a square parcel wrapped in string held to her chest in both arms. The hem of her dress caught on her shoe and she tripped. Her package flew from her arms and she pushed up on her hands when they reached her. Keith knelt beside her, one arm cradling her shoulders to his chest and his other hand drawing his knife. "Allura, are you hurt? What's wrong?"

Allura answered, "I'm sorry, Keith, you were right. I shouldn't have run when we were caught."

Keith snarled, "Did that man do something to you? Allura, did he hurt you?"

"No, Coran would never hurt me. He is like a second father to me," Allura quickly corrected. She wrapped an arm around Keith's neck and sobbed into his chest, "But, he refused to listen when I tried to explain how much I trust you. He didn't want us to meet before-"

Lance had been scanning their surroundings feeling particularly defenseless when a figure appeared in the castle entrance. He interrupted, "Keith, we have company."

Keith looked at the castle and stood, lifting Allura with him. He pulled her behind him and said, "We'll defend you, Princess."

Allura stood close to Keith's back, her hand on his shoulder. She whispered, "Please, I don't want to make this worse."

Lance stepped up beside his leader and lifted his fists the way Keith had taught him. "He shouldn't have made you cry, then. Keith, I follow your lead."

"Affirmative," Keith replied. The man had come out on the bridge. He glowered, his mustache and hair blowing in the breeze dramatically. The lions growled and he came to a stop. Keith called, "You can't keep her prisoner in her own home, Adviser."

Lance watched the man's grimace turn to a full scowl and he reached out a hand. His lips moved, but Lance could only guess what he was saying. Then Allura said, "Please, Coran, I only wish to say farewell. Do not deprive me of this, I beg of you."

Lance murmured, "Allura, what do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Keith, Lance, but this is goodbye."

Keith startled and turned. Allura threw her arms around his neck. Keith held her, turning his face into the curve of her neck. "Don't say that. Don't talk like we'll never see each other again."

Lance felt a burning flush creep up his neck and burn his ears. What had happened during the month he'd been unconscious?! Allura replied, "But I fear we will not. Now that the empire is aware that two of the lions have bonded to new paladins, their efforts will increase to find the others. As the daughter of their creator, it is my responsibility to seek them first and protect them until their paladins are revealed. Keith, I'm leaving Arus tomorrow."

"Then we'll help you protect them," Lance answered.

Keith looked at Lance before glancing away. Lance wasn't sure what he saw in Keith's eyes just then. Keith said, "It's not that simple, Lance."

Keith and Allura flinched and Lance looked back to see the man's mouth wide like he was shouting. Allura squeezed Keith harder and said, "I know our goals are the same, Keith, so I make this promise. Wherever you are, if there is a time when your life is in peril and your lions cannot protect you, should you call upon me, I will answer."

Keith nodded against her and said, "The same goes for us. Allura, you're our friend now, and we take care of our own. I would die to protect you." He stepped back and took off his glove. "Here. You lost this when you ran before."

Lance saw a gold ring with a blue stone in Keith's palm. Allura reached out and touched it. "My mother's... You took care of it?"

Keith grinned, a cocky crooked smirk, and raised a flirty eyebrow. "I'd hate for you to lose something so important."

Allura smiled, her cheeks turning pink in the sunset. She closed Keith's fingers over the ring and said, "Keep it for me a little longer? As the bind of our promise."

The mice scampered from their camp nest and Allura crouched. She offered a hand and the other three climbed into her palm. Keith poked the little red mouse and said, "You should look after them. We'll be traveling and... well... you can take care of them better than us." The red mouse turned and pushed its head into Keith's fingers. Keith smiled and stroked the mouse's nose. "I'm gonna miss you, troublemaker."

Allura reached for her parcel and passed it to Keith. "This is for the woman and the others the empire held prisoner. I wish I had more, but... I'm sorry."

Keith reached out and touched the side of her neck. "Don't apologize. You don't have to apologize. Coleen and the others will appreciate it no matter what."

Allura looked toward the man again and bit her lip. "Now I must go. Keith, Lance, until we meet again."

She hugged Keith a final time and then she hugged Lance. Putting on a brave smile, she lifted her chin and strode back into the castle ignoring her adviser. Lance felt a twinge of sympathy as Keith cleared his throat beside him. He bumped Keith's hand with the back of his. When Keith looked at him, Lance said, "Don't look so sad. She said we'll see her again. She isn't leaving for good."

Keith furrowed his brow and nodded. "I mean, yeah. Yeah, you're right. It's just..."

"You'll miss her. That's normal. Come on. We can talk about it if you want."

Lance turned and nearly ran into the chest of one of the assassins. Yelping, he jumped backward into Keith. Keith tried and failed to glare. Looking away, he said, "You don't have to worry about us anymore. She's leaving in the morning."

Lance bit his cheek and wrapped an arm around Keith's shoulder. Keith nodded and Lance looked over to see the woman who had carried Keith from Earth speaking. Keith wiped his eyes and said, "Yes, Krolia. We won't. There's no point." He pulled Lance to their nest. The lions immediately closed them in darkness. Blue light emanated from the ring Keith had slipped back onto his hand.

Lance sat against the side of Blue burning with curiosity... and jealousy. It was stupid and childish. It was good Keith had a friend... even one who he had felt the need to touch. To hold. To reassure this beautiful woman who clearly felt very strongly for Keith. Lance groaned and slid lower in the grass.

"Hmm?" Keith asked.

Lance looked up where Keith's jawline and cheekbones were thrown into shadow. His dark eyes reflected the blue of the ring. Lance folded his arms. "Oh, I... I was just thinking about how much it sucks not being able to hear people sneaking up on me."

"Oh," Keith answered wide eyed. "I guess that would be super annoying."

Lance noticed that Keith laid down a little further than he usually did and bit his lip. After a few minutes, he worked up the courage to ask, "Mullet, what did you mean earlier? When you said we couldn't go with Allura." Keith was silent. Lance considered that he'd fallen asleep, but when he looked over, Keith was staring at Red. Lance encouraged, "If you want to stay with the Blades, we can. I don't have any objections. I just want to know what's bothering you."

Keith turned away from him and said, "Goodnight, Lance."

Lance felt a shiv of ice pierce his chest. Turning the other way, Lance returned, "Night, Keith." His thoughts refused to be silent though. He kept replaying the conversation Keith and Allura had and wanted to curse that he could still hear them. Only, it wasn't that simple. It was hard, but he'd begun to pick out other things. Small sounds about the world that made it seem more like Earth. Things he could only hear when he was around Keith.

It was like Keith gave his world accents and a voice. Maybe it had to do with the lions and Allura, but he wanted to believe it was because of the connection he and Keith had. A connection that seemed to be growing distant. Lance shivered and considered Blue's thoughts. How she'd confused him by telling him how glad she was that Keith and the galra woman were reunited. But was the assassin really good for Keith? Were they really ready to become soldiers in this intergalactic war?

His dreams were strange. A heavy pulsing wave started where he was and pushed out in every direction. Lance saw the outlines of hills and valleys appear in stark black and white like a submarine's sonar. Landscapes passed beneath him until a small two story house with a single tree in the backyard came into focus.

Inside on the second floor, two shapes pulsed with their own rhythms. Two thumps and a pause repeated on and on. One was red, dull at the edges, hot as flame in the center. The other was violet, nearly white in their core. The violet one shifted and Lance picked out an arm cast over the other figure. A feminine moan made Lance blush and he looked around the room.

At the window, a white frame with bleak black beyond, the familiar rev of engines approached from over the hills. The woman shifted again, her heart picking up until she was no longer restful, and she climbed from the bed. She came to the window with a casual lack of concern beside Lance before gasping and running back to the bed. She shook the other figure awake and hissed, "Dal! Dal, wake up! Someone is coming!"

Lance saw the other figure startle awake, leaping out of bed and reaching for something beside the night stand. Lance heard the jingle of a clip slide into a rifle, the sound a strange comfort after his many hours on the firing range. The man approached the window and lifted back a curtain. "Fuck, it's the feds. They must have found the crash site." He went to the woman and guided her with a hand on her back. "Go to the cellar and take the tunnel out behind the barn. When the coast is clear, head to the caves. I'll find you as soon as it's safe."

"Dal, what if they take you?"

The man put a quick kiss on her lips. "I'll find you. I won't let them separate us." He trotted down the stairs and hissed, "Now go. I'll distract them as long as I can."

The woman turned and jumped the banister into the basement. Lance began to recede from the house, drawing back like the tide, until he was in a dark cave. From a small entrance came the sound of footsteps. The cave wasn't like the other scene. This one Lance saw every detail. From the stalactites forming along the ceiling to the puddles gathered below.

Lance was above the chamber when a man emerged from the path. He had ruddy reddish hair and a scar crossing his eyebrow. He wore dark clothes and a familiar vest. He was built. Easily over six feet and pushing two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle. He was sweating and out of breath. Scanning the cave, his face relaxed and he sighed before running forward. Lance saw a woman run into his arms and they embraced.

"Dal, I was so worried. It's been hours."

"I'm sorry, Krolia. They were more thorough than I expected."

Lance stopped breathing in his dream. Now he knew why the vest was familiar. That man had been wearing it in a picture he'd seen in Keith's dormitory. The picture where Keith and his father were posing in front of their small two story house with the single tree in the backyard while their dalmatian licked Keith's face. Lance turned in the dream and gasped. Blue was sitting silently. Observing. When he looked back at Keith's parents, they were in the process of removing each other's clothes. Keith's father took off his belt and his pants fell to the ground.

Lance woke up breathless. Sitting upright and shaking, he hugged himself and gently rocked. Looking up at Blue, he now understood what she'd meant. Swallowing his shock, Lance looked down at Keith's sleeping form. He had scooted closer and turned so he faced Lance. He was so peaceful, Lance wouldn't have thought anything could be different. Except nothing was the same.

Krolia was Keith's mother. He was half galra.