"Is he dancing?" Hunk whispered.
"I think he is," Pidge whispered back.
"He never had much rhythm," Keith added quietly.
"Stop picking on him," Allura chided. "Just think how you would feel if you hadn't seen your wife in nearly a month or your daughter in almost two months. Of course he's excited."
They all watched as Lance shifted from one foot to the other, tapping his fingers impatiently against his legs. The ship carrying Darcy, Sky, and Erik had entered Arusian airspace a few moments earlier and a large welcoming committee stood with Lance by the tarmac. Allura, Keith, Pidge, Becca, Hunk, and all their children waited expectantly, watching the sky. Charlotte and Nicky held a banner that read 'Welcome Home!'
This trip home had been a few weeks coming. Erik had to wait for the doctor who had been attending to him to give him clearance to travel. After a lot of discussion, Sven and Romelle decided to return home to Pollux at first, since they had been away for over a month. They had promised to be on Arus the following week to check on Erik's progress and, secretly, Romelle hoped to convince her son to return home with them.
"I see it!" Nicky shouted, jumping up and down.
Lance shielded his eyes and scanned the sky until he saw the small image of the ship. As it drew closer, his heart raced. It had been way too long since he had held his wife in his arms or hugged his daughter. Never again was he going to allow them to be so far away from him for so long.
"Hold up your end of the sign, Nicky, so they can see it," Charlotte instructed.
"Step back, everyone," Keith waved them all back.
Declan's heart pounded in his throat. He was nervous about seeing Erik again. It would be the first time he spoke to him since he started flying Black. It hadn't been easy. Declan had received a calling, but Black was being temperamental, she hadn't quite warmed up to him, and he hoped Erik would be able to help out. But then he was also nervous about discussing Black with Erik. What if he resented him for taking over? What if Erik hated him now?
As soon as the small ship touched down, Lance ran over to the door, waiting impatiently for it to open. When it finally slid open and the small folding steps flipped down, it took every ounce of willpower to stop from running aboard. Darcy was the first one off the ship, but her feet didn't have a chance to touch the ground. As soon as she reached the bottom step, Lance grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around. Her gasp of surprise was muted by Lance capturing her lips with his own. She wound her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. It felt so good to be home again.
"I've missed you so much," Darcy said, breaking their lip lock.
"Me too," he replied, pressing his lips to hers again.
"Ew! Gross! Yuck!" Various calls of disgust were heard from the younger children along the side of the tarmac.
"Come on, there are children here," Sky teased as she stepped down from the ship, her hand clasped in Erik's.
Lance let go of his wife and turned to pull his daughter into a bear hug, "It's nice seeing you too, Shorty."
"You too, Dad. It is so good to be home again." Sky returned his hug, feeling relieved at having set foot on Arus again, to really be home.
The entire group swarmed around them, welcoming them all home with open arms and hugs, not to mention a few tears. Erik hesitated before allowing himself to be pulled into the group. He was feeling self conscious, worried about how they might react to his appearance.
The bandages had been removed, exposing his scarred visage to everyone. The worst was a long, thick scar that ran along the edge of his jaw, from his temple to his chin. A handful of smaller scars were scattered across his right cheek, one slashed through his right eyebrow. A pair of large, dark glasses hid his eyes, and the damage done to his blind eye.
"Oh Erik," Becca pulled him into a tight hug. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine, just glad to be on solid ground after such a long trip."
She pulled back studying him, taking in his appearance. "Are you sure? I got your file from Dr. Woodhall, so we're going to have to sit down and talk about a few things. When you're feeling up to it, okay?"
He nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."
"Let the poor boy relax, Becca," Lance pushed his way over to greet his future son-in-law. "There will be plenty of time to quiz him later."
"I know, I just wanted to check on him. Where's my niece, I haven't seen her in ages."
"You look good," Allura told Erik, welcoming him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Allura, really."
"Does it hurt?" Nicky asked, pointing his Erik's face.
"Nicky," Tess gasped, poking him in the shoulder. "You can't ask him that."
"It's okay," Erik said gently. "It doesn't hurt, Nick, it did at first, but not any more."
"Can you really not see?" The little boy whispered.
He tapped the right side of his glasses, "I can't see with this eye, but I can see with my other eye."
"Come on," Keith spoke over the excited voices. "Let's get them settled in."
"Where's Figment?" Sky asked her father as they all filed into the castle.
Lance kept an arm around both of his women and steered them into Castle Control, "She is up in your room eagerly awaiting your arrival."
"Great, I can't wait to see her."
"Why do I get the feeling your more excited about seeing your dog than seeing me?"
"Probably because I am," she teased, kissing his cheek.
"Are you guys hungry?" Allura asked. "I'm sure Nanny has something ready. Or would you rather get settled in?"
Darcy covered her mouth to hide a yawn, "Thank you, Allura, but I would really just like to head home and get unpacked."
"Oh, of course, we understand," Allura hugged her friend again. "Do you want us to get you car?"
"I'll take care of her," Lance promised.
"Good bye, honey," Darcy hugged Sky. "Let me know if you need anything."
"I will."
Lance lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear him. "Allura and Nanny have planned a big 'Welcome Home' dinner tonight, so I thought that maybe tomorrow night we can get together, the three of us, and Erik, of course. We can have dinner down at the house."
"Sounds good, Dad," Sky said, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She couldn't help but notice how easily her father had accepted Erik into the family. I am going to have to find out just what Erik and Dad talked about when he asked permission to marry me, she thought.
"Come on," Cady took her friend's arm. "Let's get you guys unpacked and settled in. Dad said you can have the day off and we have so much to talk about."
"Cady, maybe they want to be alone, take a nap," Tristan said.
"Oh, Sky's fine," Cady insisted. "And she needs to unpack."
"Yes, but Sky isn't you, she has a third of the luggage you brought back. It won't take her long to get settled."
"Which will give us more time to catch up."
Sky looked helplessly at Erik, he smiled at her. She looked at her watch, "Tell you what, Cady, I'm going to go unpack and relax and we'll meet for lunch. We can catch up then."
"Are you sure?" The Princess asked.
"Yes."
Taking the hint better than his girlfriend did, Tristan took Cady's hand, "Come on, hon, I have to show you something."
"What?"
"Something that will distract you enough to let Sky and Erik get away."
"Why don't you guys head on up to your rooms," Keith suggested. "Your bags are being taken up to your rooms, so just relax. I'll give you a call when lunch is ready."
"Thanks, Uncle Keith," Sky smiled at him. "I am pretty tired."
Erik took her hand and the two of them excused themselves. He couldn't help but notice that Declan had been avoiding him since he got off the ship. The younger man looked everywhere but at Erik and had barely said two words to him.
"I love them, I do," Sky said quietly. "But I just don't think I'm ready to deal with everyone just now."
He squeezed her hand gently, "I know what you mean. Life was so quiet, so…so simple, just us on Terra."
"Now we just have to get back into the swing of things around here. The noise, the commotion, the people."
"You okay?" Erik asked, stopping in front of her door.
"Yeah, honey, I'm fine, I just want to get settled. You need help?"
He shook his head, "Nah, I need to get used to all this again, try not to bump into walls."
She touched his cheek, "Are you okay?"
He hesitated a moment before nodding slowly.
Sky studied him a moment, her heart breaking for him. Over the past couple of weeks, his moods had fluctuated from good all the way down to deep depression, especially after the bandages had been removed. It was two days before he could look anyone in the eye and nearly that long before he spoke to her. Without the bandages to hide behind, he had become embarrassed and moody. He had been quiet most of the ride home, speaking only when he needed to, but as they drew closer to Arus he had seemed to cheer up a bit. "Tell you what, why don't we put off unpacking for now and just relax. Come lay with me."
"Sky, I don't want you to pity me…"
"I'm not. I'm tired and I just want to crawl into bed with you. We won't do anything, just lay with me. It has been a long time since we've been together, either your family or my mother were always around. Are you trying to tell me that you don't want to be with me? You know how easily I am hurt and insulted."
Erik knew he was being played, she was neither hurt nor insulted. If he was going to admit the truth, he had been glad that his family and Darcy had been around. The idea of being intimate with Sky terrified him. He was fully aware of his appearance, the scarring, the buzz cut, the dark glasses, and he had lost over ten pounds, giving his face a sallow, sunken look. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with the idea of being with her just yet. Not that Sky had given him any reason to worry. She had been so patient, thoughtful, funny and sweet. If anything, he was convinced that he had fallen even more in love with her since the incident, as the night of the attack had become known.
Sky slid the door open and they were immediately greeted by the yipping bark of Figment as she jumped and scratched at the crate door.
"Oh, my baby!" Sky slid to her knees in front of the crate and lifted the latch, catching the puppy when she jumped into her arms. Cradling the squirming mass of fur and tongue, Sky cooed. "How's my baby? Did you have fun at Grandpa's? Was Greedo good to you? Oh, you're so happy to see me, aren't you? I've missed you so, so much!" She kissed the top of the dog's scruffy head.
Erik sat on the foot of her bed and watched his girlfriend, no, fiancée, he corrected himself, as she played with the dog. His heart did a funny little skip that made his stomach quiver as she rolled on the floor, covering her face and giggling as Figment tried to lick her face.
Sky sat up on her knees, holding the wiggling dog with one hand while she pushed her hair out of her face with the other. "Are you going to say Hi to Daddy?"
Erik tickled the little dog on the head as she sat beside him. "Hey there, Figgy."
The dog tumbled onto his lap and started chewing on the edge of his shirt.
Sky laid her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck, "It's good to be home."
"Yeah, it is," he mumbled petting the dog.
"What's wrong, Erik?"
"Nothing new, Sky."
"I know this has got to be hard for you," she began carefully. "But I love you and we'll get through this together."
"I know."
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."
"I know."
"I love you."
He turned his head and looked at her, seeing the worry and despair etched on her face. "I love you too, Sunny."
She reached up and gently pulled his dark glasses off. She couldn't lie and say that his injuries didn't bother her. They terrified her. Each scar was a reminder of how close she had come to losing him. And his right eye was badly damaged. The eyelid had been cut and stitched together, leaving a thin, jagged scar from his eyelash through his eyebrow. An inch long scar ran from the corner of his eye down his cheek and the eye itself was lifeless, the once brilliant cobalt was dull and unseeing. It broke her heart to think of how he had been hurt, but it in no way changed how much she loved him.
This was not the first time since the bandages had been removed that Sky studied him and it unnerved him. Erik could not watch her looking at him, all he saw was pity and it killed him.
Sky reached up and cupped the back of his head with her hand, feeling the short bristles of his hair as she pulled him closer. Erik closed his eyes, feeling her lips brush over his skin as she peppered his face with feather light kisses. She felt him tense when her lips raced over his scars, pausing to press a kiss to the closed eyelid of his right eye.
Erik jumped back when Figment bit his hand a little too hard.
"Erik?"
"Hm?" He avoided her gaze as he set Figment of the floor.
"Come here," she pulled on his arm until he joined her lying on the bed.
Erik lay on his side, wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "Sky?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you notice how Declan seemed to be avoiding me?"
"I wouldn't take it personally. He's under a lot of pressure right now."
"There's been no mention of who's taking over Blue."
"I've been wondering about that myself," Sky admitted. "I'm sure Keith will fill us in tonight."
Erik closed his eyes, tightening his arm around her waist as she gently rubbed his arm. Figment barked and pulled on the comforter, trying to climb up onto the bed with them.
"Come on girl," Sky murmured, patting the bed. "You can make it."
There was a gentle thump as the puppy finally cleared the high side of the bed and landed beside Sky. He listened as she spoke quietly to the dog, calming the over excited puppy, letting her quiet murmurs lull him to sleep.
Declan slowed to a jog as he approached the castle. Checking his watch, he saw that he had fifteen minutes before he had to be in the gym for hand to hand practice with Gideon and Hunk. They had planned to get an hour in that afternoon before everyone had to get ready for the big welcome home dinner. Declan had figured he could avoid Erik during the morning by running and working out his nerves.
He had known Erik his entire life and saw him almost like a big brother, and he had never been afraid of him. Even now, he knew it was silly to be worried about speaking to Erik. Declan knew he hadn't done anything wrong and he knew Erik wouldn't blame him, but there was still some guilt and even a little pity weighing heavy on his mind. How could he just take over flying Black? Commanding the Force? What was Erik going to do? Was he going to stay on Arus?
The next morning they were going to start full team practice with Declan in Black and the idea of it made his palms sweat. He had spent a lot of time with Black and he was becoming more comfortable flying her, there was definitely a connection, but it wasn't as strong as the one he had had with Blue. His father assured him that it would come with time, they had to build their connection. And what about Blue? They had talked about it and thrown around a few names. Tristan was mentioned as was Cady, but she made it clear that she had no interest in flying. Tess wanted to fly, but she was at least four years away from starting her training. There was even talk of Allura coming back, at least for a short time, until they found a permanent replacement. Whoever it was going to be had to be chosen soon, they needed to be able to get the team together so they could start practicing.
He entered a side door, nodding to the guard on duty as he entered. Tonight they should find out whatever it was his father had planned for the team.
Gideon was already in the gym stretching and practicing a few moves when Declan entered. Becca was on the elliptical machine, trying to lose the last of her baby weight, and Allura was beside her on the treadmill.
"Hi sweetie, have a good run?" Allura called, a little breathlessly.
"Uh, yeah, Mom, thanks."
"Geez, man, couldn't you have gone running after we were done?" Gideon asked. "Now I have to fight you and you're all sweaty, that's gross."
"That's not what Lynnai said last night," Declan teased.
Gideon raised an eyebrow, "So that's why Brina showed up in my room."
"Boys, please don't talk like that when I'm in the room," Allura groaned.
"Sorry, Mom, but I had to defend my woman," Gideon called over.
"Okay, okay," she switched off the treadmill and hopped off. "I have to go help Nanny get ready for this evening."
"I'm going to go change," Declan told his brother. "Where's Hunk?"
Gid shrugged, "He should be here any time now. Have you talked to Erik yet?"
He shook his head, "No, he, uh, he and Sky went to unpack and I haven't seen him since."
"You know you have nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, well, why don't you take over flying Black and training to lead the team and then tell me there's nothing to worry about."
"Don't be so dramatic, Dec, we'll all help you out. We are a team."
Declan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're all a team. There's no 'I' in team. Blah, blah, blah."
"But there is an 'm-e'."
"What?"
Gideon grinned at his brother, "There is an 'm-e' in team."
"Huh, what do you know, there is. 'M-E' as in bite me, Gideon."
"Very mature, Commander."
"All right boys, you ready?" Hunk asked as he entered the gym.
"I have to go change," Declan said. "I'll be right back."
"All right, hurry up, we only have an hour before I have to run home and get ready for dinner."
Erik woke slowly, feeling a little disoriented. He blinked and brought his hand up to rub his eye. He was lying alone in Sky's bed, hugging her pillow to his chest. A quiet clicking noise drew his attention and he lifted his head to look around the room.
Sky was sitting at her desk, one leg tucked under her, a pen clenched between her teeth, a textbook open in front of her as she typed notes on her computer with one hand and held the end of a knotted piece of rope with her other hand. Figment had the other end of the rope in her mouth, tugging and growling.
"Multi-tasking I see," he mumbled, sitting up, sliding his glasses back on.
Sky jumped, the pen falling from her mouth, "I'm sorry, I was trying to be quiet."
"No, it's all right. What time is it?"
"It's after three. You missed lunch, but I grabbed a sandwich for you, it's on the dresser."
"Did you eat?"
"Yeah, I was able to grab a sandwich. Cady was dying to share the gossip of everything we've missed."
"And what did we miss?" Erik asked, picking up the sandwich wrapped in a napkin and bottle of water she had brought him.
"Well, let's see," Sky dropped the rope for Figment to chew on while she ticked off the items she and Cady had talked about. "The paper published reports that she and Tristan broke up and that she was looking for a new suitor, Tess has a crush on a guy in her math class, but Keith and Allura don't know about it yet, Declan and Brina have been fighting a lot lately, but they always seem to work it out, and, apparently, Tristan proposed to Cady and gave her a gorgeous heirloom ring that has been in his family for generations."
Erik swallowed a bite of the sandwich and lifted his head to look at her. "He proposed? Already? When did that happen and why didn't we know?"
"It happened when we were on Terra, right after the incident, but they decided to keep it quiet until we knew how you were doing and, well, Tristan hasn't spoken to Keith yet, so they can't really tell anyone until he has his permission. So you can't tell anyone I told you."
"He just couldn't let me one up him."
Sky smirked, "That's what I said, I think that pissed her off."
"I bet it did, Cady always likes to be the first."
"She said Tristan is going to talk to Keith some time soon. Maybe you should offer him some advice."
"Maybe I will. You should have woken me for lunch."
"You were sleeping so soundly and you need your rest."
Erik scowled, he hated having her fuss over him like that.
His expression didn't go unnoticed by Sky as she stood and went to sit beside him on the bed. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why do you wear your glasses when it's just the two of us?"
He shrugged, uncomfortable with her question.
"You know you don't have to."
"I know," he stood abruptly, crumpling the now empty napkin in his hand. "What are you working on?"
"What?"
"Is that your schoolwork?"
"Uh, yeah," she stood and crossed to her desk. "I guess Mom knew what she was doing when she had assignments sent to me on Terra, I can't believe all I have to catch up on."
"I'll have to get started on that too."
"Don't worry about it, Erik, you have plenty of time…"
"Stop it, Sky," he interrupted, running his hand over his short hair.
"Stop what?"
"Please, don't fuss over me, don't baby me, I don't want it."
Sky felt her temper rising as she stood, "I will worry about you all I want to, Erik, so you can just accept it. I have tried to be understanding, I can only imagine what you're going through, but I have to admit that you are really trying my patience sometimes."
He stared at a spot on the wall above her desk, trying to figure out how to answer. He was sorry about upsetting her, but, well, she had to know how he felt. He wasn't an invalid, he knew when he wanted to sleep and how much he needed, he knew when he was hungry and how to take care of himself.
Sky watched as he stood tensely, staring at the wall. Unable to take it anymore, she bent down and picked up the puppy, "I'm going to take Figment for a walk."
Erik nodded, "I'm going to go…look around."
"Fine. I'll see you later," she huffed, snatching up Figment's harness and leash.
Erik closed his eyes and listened as the door slid shut behind her. He knew he had been a total jerk to her and he felt bad about it, but she didn't understand what he was going through. He had hoped that things would be easier when they got home, everything would go back to normal, but he just didn't know where to start.