Hi everyone! We have now made it to Chapter 12!

Also, let me just apologize for posting this chapter so late. Not only were there still construction going on but I've just been feeling off for the last couple of weeks so that would lead to me typing a few sentences before just stopping. I always try to do 1-2 chapters a month, but I just couldn't deliver this time. So given the circumstance, there's a small chance I might not post anything in March, but I find that highly unlikely because I don't want to keep you guys waiting or let you guys down.

But that being said, I did try my best with this chapter given everything that I had to write in so I really hope you guys enjoy it!

Thanks again for the support and thank you for reading!

Onto the chapter! XOXO

Shiro tapped his foot impatiently as he stood alone in the Garrison hangar, waiting for the paladins to return. Even though they were able to escape from Oriande in time thanks to the wormhole, that didn't make him any less concerned. He knew that the team was going to feel defeated at the fact that they weren't able to stop Honerva, which was all the more reason that they regroup and come up with a new strategy. Just as he was thinking of a plan, he heard the hangar doors open. He quickly raised his head and watched the Lions slowly enter the room. Once they were all accounted for, they landed and made their place on the floor, their yellow eyes finally turning dim. One by one, the paladins exited the Lions, walking onto the deck and tiredly tugging off their helmets as Shiro approached them.

"Are you guys alright?" Shiro asked, concerned laced in his voice as the paladins raised their heads at his voice. Keith grazed some of his hair back with one of his hands before responding.

"We're okay, but-" Keith could barely finish his sentence before Allura interrupted.

"But Honerva got away. And we couldn't even stop her." she recounted angrily. Shiro looked at the princess with pity. He knew how much she wanted to stop Honerva and make her pay for everything she's done, so he wasn't really surprised at her reaction.

"Yeah, and those robeasts definitely didn't help." Pidge added on. Everyone unconsciously lowered their heads as they recounted the events of Oriande. How Honerva had sacrificed the White Lion. The return of Lotor, as far as they knew, and his Sincline. Oriande's destruction. After a few more moments of silence, Shiro raised his head and addressed the group.

"That's all the more reason why we need to stop her. We'll regroup and talk about what happened and what to do going forward later." The Atlas captain stated. Hunk raised his arms above his head as he stretched.

"Sounds good to me." Hunk sighed, a small smile creeping on his face at the thought of taking a break. The rest of the team nodded in agreement as they began to walk away from the Lions, exiting the deck as they decided to go ahead and change. Shiro was just about to follow behind before he halted his steps, something telling him to look behind him. Sure enough, Lance was still standing in place, not having even moved an inch. Shiro furrowed his brows as he looked the red paladin's face. His usually bright blue eyes were devoid of light, instead holding sadness and regret.

"Lance?" Shiro called out gently, trying not to scare the young man. Lance's eyes widened slightly at the call of his name, turning his head to meet Shiro's concerned gaze. He looked at his friend for a second before lowering his gaze to the floor. Shiro watched as the boy exhaled heavily through his nose before looking back up at him.

Okay, his eyes read.

He awkwardly stuffed his hands into his pockets and began walking towards the exit, Shiro by his side. The next several steps out of the deck were laced in silence, the only sounds penetrating the air being their very footsteps. The sounds of the team being drowned out as they were walked a few feet in front of them. Shiro turned his head slightly to look at the red paladin, who didn't look that much different from before. He could make out the bags that plagued his eyes, showing nothing but exhaustion as if he hadn't slept. He could also see his his eyes held a tint of pink within them. The only thing missing were the tear streaks from a few days ago.

"Lance?"

Shiro knocked on the door to Lance's room firmly a couple more times, his concern growing for the boy the longer he remained unanswered. He had been contacting Lance to see how he was doing in his recovery, but to no avail. He had merely assumed he was caught up with getting quality sleep in an actual bed so he left him alone. That is, until he got a message from Veronica saying that Lance hadn't been seen around the Garrison for days and she was getting worried, so he went to look around and finally found himself here.

"Lance, it's Shiro. Can you hear me?" Once again, the former paladin was met with silence. With a heavy sigh, he took out his Garrison ID and scanned it onto the keypad of Lance's room. It proceeded to ask for his code and he quickly tapped it in. After what seemed like forever, the door opened.

Cautiously, Shiro stepped inside, immediately being met with darkness as the door closed behind him. Despite the darkness that plagued the room, he was able to make out some parts of the room and used that to try and pinpoint a light switch. It wasn't long before Shiro felt a deafening crack underneath his foot. He looked down and lifted his foot from the ground, only to be greeted with pieces of shattered glass. His eyes shifted only an inch to see a picture frame laying next to it. He gently lifted the frame by its leg before wiping off any stray glass he found with the sleeve of his uniform. Once he was sure that the glass was off, he carefully flipped it over, his heart dropping as he looked upon the photo.

It was of Lance and Allura, presumably during their first date back on Earth. Despite the fragments of glass still sealed within the frame, he was able to make note of how Lance stood next to her, his signature smile and playful wink adorning his face in an attempt to look laid-back and cool. But knowing what he knew now, it was almost as if the captain can see the anxiety and confusion behind his face. And if Allura's appearance demonstrated anything, it was that she was probably none the wiser, or at least caught a hint but made a point not to mention. it for Lance's sake.

And just as he finished his thought, a sniffle permeated the air as the former paladin jumped at the sound and almost dropped the frame in the process. He lifted his head towards the sound and finally saw the boy he was looking for. He was curled up against the wall, legs curled up into his chest as he laid his head within them. Shiro's heart clenched at the sight, his mind putting two and two together. Not taking his eyes off of the quiet boy, he laid the broken frame gently on the bed before slowly walking towards him, giving Lance plenty of time to react. He slowly kneeled next to him, placing his hand firmly yet softly on Lance's shoulder as he shook him.

"Lance." Shiro spoke quietly.

He felt the boy tense slightly underneath his hand. He heard him moan before the red paladin slowly lifted his head, finally revealing his face. The streaks of tears that adorned his face were somewhat dry, but still damp nonetheless. His eyes were puffy like he had cried for hours. But above all else, he just looked broken and defeated. And that was enough to make Shiro's heart clench. .

"You told her." Shiro inquired in a matter-of-fact tone. Lance nodded slowly.

"I'm not him." Shiro's brows furrowed in confusion. Lance's shoulders slowly begun to bounce up and down as he was trying to suppress any potential cries from erupting from his throat.

"I'm not him, Shiro." Lance hiccuped, sniffling some more. Lance scooted closer towards him, moving his hand to grip his other shoulder as he wrapped his arm around him. He couldn't tell if Lance was delirious from having cried so much or if he was actually trying to tell him something important about what happened between him and Allura, but he knew that he couldn't leave him like this.

"Lance, I don't und-" Before he could finish his sentence, Lance clenched his eyes shut, the newfound tears finally streaming down his cheeks. His shoulders immediately seized up as he inhaled deeply.

"I'm not him." Lance squeaked out, sobs finally overtaking him as he began to cry once more. Without hesitation, Shiro pulled the sobbing paladin into his chest, his other hand planting itself against his cheek in an attempt to keep him there as he cried. The Atlas captain got up from his knee and sat on the floor as his back hit the wall. He could feel tears attempting to build up as he felt Lance wail against his chest, his fist clenching his uniform as if he was worried that he was going to disappear. A part of him couldn't help but to feel responsible for this situation. When he advised for Lance to be honest with Allura about his situation, he expected him to be sad and heartbroken but he thought that it would give Lance a good starting point in figuring out who he was and what he wanted. He didn't anticipate for him to be curled up beside himself in the confines of his room, tears running down his sullen cheeks as he looked as if his whole world had been turned upside down. Shiro had no clue what happened between him and Allura and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, but that had to wait. In this moment, he needed to be what he wasn't able to be post-mortem: PRESENT.

Shiro inhaled deeply before he rubbed Lance's back in comfort, slowly beginning to rock back and forth but not enough to be noticeable. The red paladin must have anyway as he only gripped him tighter and sobbed even harder.

"Don't worry. I'm here, Lance." Shiro whispered reassuringly. Lance pushed his head further into his uniform as Shiro removed his hand from Lance's face to pull the boy closer.

"I'm here."

Shiro was suddenly snapped out of the memory as he felt vibrations coming from his pocket. He took the phone out of his pocket and checked over the message. Apparently, Sam wanted him to come by and confirm that the Atlas systems were good to go in the event of another fight. The captain let out a heavy sigh at the thought. That wasn't to say that he didn't want to swing by nor that he didn't want to see Sam. But going down to the control room meant only one thing.

Slav, he thought. He inhaled deeply as he tried to mentally prepare himself for what was to come once he went down there. He looked back at Lance and he couldn't help but to feel bad. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave him alone like this, but he had trust that the other paladins would be there to make sure he was okay.

"Lance?" Shiro called out lightly, stopping in his tracks. Lance halted his own steps as he looked up at Shiro slightly, making an effort not to raise his head all the way up.

"Something came up that I need to go check on, so I'm gonna have to leave. Will you be okay?" he asked carefully. Lance gave him a nod, raising his hand to pat Shiro's arm in silent approval.

You're good, man.

A small smile made its way on Shiro's face as he placed his hand atop Lance's head, ruffling his brown hair. He couldn't help but to make note of the several knots hidden within his locks as he knew Lance always made self-care a priority. But he decided to keep that to himself.

"Don't forget. Something happens, you call me." And with that, Shiro walked away from the boy down the opposite hallway, a contrast of how Lance remained only to walk the rest of the way straight ahead. The red paladin kept his eyes on his friend until he was out of eyeshot. He knew that Shiro meant what he said and that he wasn't just saying that for the sake of saying it. If anything, Shiro has went above and beyond in staying by his side. But there was always that small part of him waiting for him to have had enough of taking care of him. Lance exhaled deeply through his nose as he continued to walk down the hallway towards the room. For the first time in what felt like ages, he finally decided to raise his head up and look ahead.

That was his first mistake.

In some sick twist of Deja Vu, there stood Keith and Allura in front of their respective locker rooms. The only difference was that instead of the princess screaming her head off at the black paladin, they were standing apart near their respective doorways. Keith looked rather relaxed, his arms and legs crossed against the wall. Allura, however, looked pretty tense. She was wringing her hands as her shoulders were hunched over.

God, please.

A wave of emotions started to rush through Lance, and it wasn't the good kind. The feelings of sadness and betrayal began to bubble within the pit of Lance's stomach, almost making him nauseous. He felt the familiar lump in his throat begin to grow and the sting of tears growing behind his eyes, but he wouldn't allow himself to feel them. He simply inhaled deeply, held his breath, and tried to make his way in the room without making eye contact.

Allura took her eyes off her hands and raised her head as she heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Lance, not realizing he had been trailing so far behind them. She never really had a chance to talk to him since their conversation in the hospital room and the fact that he hadn't been seen anywhere around the Garrison since then. She truly wanted to talk to him again and let him know how much he meant to her, but never really got the chance. But now might be it. Gathering her courage, she straightened up and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Lance, ar-"

She never got the chance to finish as he walked past her, not even acknowledging her as he quickly paced into the locker room. No acknowledgement. No eye contact. Just complete and utter distance. The princess was dumbfounded. She knew that she had hurt him terribly, but was it so bad that he couldn't even look at her? Maybe she deserved it, but it still hurt. She turned her head to look at Keith, still perched up against the wall. His face was scrunched and a brow was raised in sheer confusion. His eyes met hers as he looked at her with confusion. He didn't bother responding as he shrugged slightly and entered the room after him. Defeated, the princess could only lower her head and enter her respective chamber.

Once again, Lance had gotten his hopes up.

Usually when someone is going through something hard and they go to take a shower, they usually come out afterwards feeling some of the weight had been washed off with every sud and drip of water that flowed into the drain.

But not this time.

He had entered the changing room, shredding his body of his armor as he let the pieces land harshly on the floor without any regard of its dexterity with every step he took towards the shower. He clawed his body suit off of him and flung it away from him as he finally made his way into his stall, turning on the faucet and letting the hot water run over him. Once the first droplets of water hit his head and dampened his hair, he finally released the hold he had on his breath, letting the newfound oxygen fill his lungs as he placed his arm on the wall in front of him before leaning into it.

Knowing now that he was alone, he allowed his body to tremble as he breathed heavily. lis lip quivering as he tried to prevent himself from going into yet another sobbing episode. He was surprised he held out as long as he did being around Allura. Today had been the first time he had actually been around her since...the incident. Since then, he had been cooped up in his room, crying himself into several stupors and it apparently got bad enough that Shiro had to come looking for him. He knew that eventually he had to come back around her despite everything, but that didn't make things any easier, especially if he mentioned the fact that they're both paladins and have to work together in a giant robot comprised of mechanical lions. And on his first day back around her, he had to see and hear her act dangerously and recklessly on Oriande, even going as far as to try to go after her.

The red paladin shook his head, droplets of water being flung away from his face as he tried to stop recounting today's events and just everything regarding Allura. He already had his time to cry and sob and he wasn't going to allow himself to do it again even though deep down it was going to happen more than once. He pushed himself away from the wall to be under the faucet more and catch more of the hot water that would hopefully burn away these bad thoughts. Using both hands, he smoothed his hair back and relished in the streams.

Thirty minutes had passed since Lance finished his shower and he still felt dirty, his skin still feeling plagued with hurt. He ran his hand through his still slightly damp hair as he sat on the bench in the changing room, clad in most of his uniform with the exception of his jacket and a towel now on top of his head. He would've been out of the room much sooner if the rest of the team weren't chatting it up outside of the locker room. He already knew he didn't want to face Allura, but he really didn't want to deal with the others. He didn't want to hear their questions of why he was so distant or their jokes about him and Allura. He just wanted to be alone. So when he was about to retrieve his armor and head out the door, he heard Hunk and Pidge talking to Allura and immediately retreated into the deeper part of the room behind several lockers. The red paladin placed his face in his hands, trying to drown out all of the noise around him as he longed for solitude. This was what he needed: to be alone. It's not as though he wasn't used to it.

"They're gone, you know."

Lance widened his eyes and immediately lifted his head out of his hands and looked up to the sound of the voice. It was Keith, hair partially drenched, towel around his neck, and clad only in his uniform pants and boots. Lance was making an active effort not to focus in on his chest, but he did notice he was holding both of their paladin armor underneath one of his arms. Lance let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as his eyes went back to their regular size.

"W-what are you still doing here?" Lance asked calmly. Keith walked into the section as he placed their armor on the bench next to Lance before walking to his locker.

"Well for starters, I'm still getting dressed and I went to pick up my armor. That is, until I saw yours scattered all over the floor and picked that up, too." Keith answered nonchalantly. Lance lowered his gaze to his newly clasped hands in embarrassment and guilt.

Once again, Lance. Always the nuisance.

"Oh. I'm sorry, man." Lance apologized quietly. He was too busy looking down that he didn't notice the black paladin shaking his head at his apology.

"It's fine. Nothing I couldn't handle. Also, you left the water running in your stall but I took care of that, too."

"Sor-"

"Lance, I told you it's fine. I honestly don't mind." Keith replied reassuringly, pulling the towel from around his neck to dry his hair further. Lance rubbed his arm awkwardly. All this time he thought he was by himself in the room and yet Keith was here the entire time. He would be lying to himself if a part of him said that he wasn't the least bit relieved that he was still in the room, but it couldn't have been during a worst time. After all, he was kinda in the situation he was in because of all of the emotions he felt towards the half-Galra. He wasn't putting blame on him though, simply a mere acknowledgement. Keith shifted his gaze towards Lance as he finished drying up the rest of his hair. He could tell he was exhausted and drained just from the way he was hunched over. Anyone else would just brush it off as exhaustion from fighting but Keith knew that wasn't the case. During the team meeting before they went to Oriande, he was so distant and closed off and would only speak when spoken to. And when he did it was only a couple of words. At first he couldn't put a finger on what could've happened to make him so despondent, but after seeing him completely ignore Allura, he was slowly but surely starting to get a pretty good idea. He wanted to question him and see what was wrong, but he decided against it. Given his behavior, he might not want to talk about it just yet and pushing him to tell him would probably upset him further so he just left it alone. But that didn't mean he didn't hate it.

He didn't want to remain silent.

He didn't want Lance to be beside himself like this.

He didn't want Lance to think that he had no one to turn to.

But what could he do?

Whatever the happened between him and Allura was obviously still fresh, so it may not even be the right time to even go up to him. Keith sighed inwardly as he continued to get dressed.

Lance turned his head back towards Keith, expecting the leader to be looking down on him. Instead, he was met with the black paladin putting on the rest of his clothes. His blue eyes immediately became focused on Keith's back muscles and how they pulsed with every movement he made. How pronounced his biceps were. And even though his back was towards him, he could only imagine what his chest and stomach looked like. Lance could feel the heat building up in the back of his neck as Keith pulled his black tank top over his head. In an instance, the familiar heat began to build up in Lance's stomach as he quickly turned around, focusing his eyes on the floor below him. Was he crazy? He just had his heart broken and now he's staring at Keith's body. Granted, it was a good, well-built body but that didn't make it feel any less ridiculous to him.

Lance placed a hand over his eyes, sighing inwardly as to not alarm the man behind him. He couldn't be acting like this. Allura broke his heart. He's angry, hurt, sad and every other negative emotion under the sun. Should he really be thinking about someone else this quickly? Wouldn't that make him no better than Allura? But then again, he would never do what she did in the first place. And it wasn't as if they were together. He didn't confess his love for her and end up becoming her boyfriend. But that didn't change how betrayed he felt.

And just like that, Lance found himself going around in circles.

Damn it.

The silence between the two was deafening, the only sounds in the air being fabric being put upon skin and a foot tapping the moist ground beneath them. Words that were stuck in thoughts and throats wanted to be released in the open.

Truths wanting to be told.

Advice wanting to be given.

Comfort wanting to be requested.

But in the end, nothing was said.

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

Lance didn't have to lift his head to know that Pidge and Hunk were staring at him. Pidge had her arms crossed and looked concerned, but mostly annoyed. Hunk, on the other hand, looked worried as he kept rubbing his forearm nervously. Lance gave a humorless chuckle as he continued to move his fork around in the pasta that laid on his tray.

"Good to see you, too." he replied sarcastically. Pidge firmly slammed her hands on the table as she pointed her finger at him.

"Don't give me that! You've been avoiding us for days and haven't even bothered talking to us and-" Pidge didn't get the chance to complete her sentence as Lance raised his head slightly to meet her eyes. The green paladin didn't think that it was possible, but Lance looked more pissed off than her! That alone was enough for her to back off. Pidge sighed as she took a seat across from the red paladin, Hunk sitting right beside her.

"Sorry." Lance nodded as he took a bite of his food, chewing slowly. Hunk and Pidge shared a look before turning their eyes back towards their friend.

"So..." Hunk started nervously, "How are you feeling, man?" Lance simply shrugged, not having the energy to come up with a verbal response.

"Look, man. We're worried about you! You're released from ICU, disappear for days, and once you come back around you don't talk to anybody! We just want to know what's wrong!" Hunk spoke rapidly. Lance sighed as he swallowed.

You guys? Worried? Please...

"You guys were worried about me?" Lance asked in a monotone voice. He would've found the offended looks on his friends' faces hysterical if he wasn't already feeling so numb. Feeling a sense of annoyance begin to bubble up in him, he unconsciously began to stab his pasta with his plastic fork.

"Uh, yeah! Us, Keith, Allura-" Pidge started, but not before Lance shook his head, raising his finger in the air.

"Nope. No, she doesn't." Lance stated flatly, his fork moving quicker. "I don't think she ever did." Pidge and Hunk couldn't help but to widen their eyes in utter disbelief. Lance "I'm crazy in love with the princess" McClain thinking that Allura never cared about him? To say the both of them were disturbed was an understatement.

"What the f-!" Pidge began to exclaim before Hunk cut her off.

"Of course, she does! Dude, you're really starting to freak me out! Of course she cares about you!" Hunk said reassuringly.

Thud

Lance couldn't contain his emotions anymore as he finally slammed his fork onto the table, having enough force to make his tray and cup bounce and to have his friends jump at the sound. The two of them couldn't help but to recoil at Lance's distressed yet furious gaze as he quickly leaned in towards them.

"If she really cared, she would've-!" Lance began to yell before shutting his eyes tightly, clenching his fist in an attempt to regain control of his anger. It was a good thing that they happened to be the only ones in the cafeteria so late in the evening. He slowly sat back down into his seat as he inhaled and exhaled violently through his nose before starting over.

"If she really cared, she would've given me the courtesy to actually acknowledge my feelings." Lance whispered through gritted teeth, clasping his hands together tightly. After making sure he wasn't going to snap at them again, Hunk and Pidge slowly moved back to their original positions at the table, confused as ever.

"What happened between you and Allura?" Hunk asked cautiously. Lance placed his head against his clasped hands, dreading the fact that he now had to relieve this nightmare that never seemed to end. Lance let out another chuckle deprived of humor or life.

"What happened was that you were right." he simply stated.

"Right about-?"

"About-" Lance paused as he felt his stomach begin to turn. The red paladin was convinced that the universe wanted nothing more than to see him suffer. He pushed the tray away from him as he got up from his seat, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You okay, buddy? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Hunk asked worriedly, rising quickly from his seat. Lance held out his hand in front of him, signaling for him to stop.

"Bathroom. Be right back." he replied quickly before speed walking out of the cafeteria. When it came evening time at the Garrison, the hallways were almost always empty, so the red paladin had easy access to the bathroom without bumping into anybody and embarrassing himself. After what seemed like forever, he rushed inside and stopped in front of the sinks. He gripped it tightly as he gasped out, trying to get his stomach to not turn on him and make him vomit. He didn't expect that conversation to be so horrible. He knew having to tell Hunk and Pidge everything would be a hassle, but he didn't see himself snapping at them and almost vomiting. He'd be sure to apologize to them properly once this whole ordeal with Allura was over but that was the last thing on his mind at this very moment.

He reached out his hand to turn on the cold water and splashed the liquid onto his face repeatedly, hoping the freezing temperature of the water would get the churning feeling in his body to cease enough to get through this conversation. He made sure to splash his face a few times before deciding it was enough, turning off the faucet and focusing on his breathing. The churning sensation seemed to dim just a little due to the cold water so that seemed to be a good sign. Lance raised his head to gaze into the mirror, looking at himself. He tried to focus on what to do next and figure out what to say to his friends, but all he could hear was their voices.

Mocking him over Allura

Joking about Lotor and Allura

Lance slapped his hands over his cheeks, halting his current train of thought. He wasn't gonna go there. All he needed was a few more of those before he broke into tears again and he would not let that happen. What was he expecting honestly? For them to actually acknowledge his problems? Seemed like a far fetched idea considering they didn't seem to realize that he fucking died in space during the mission at the Omega Shield. That sad fact aside, he knew what needed to be done now. He had to be honest and the time seemed to be now, which wasn't ideal. After taking a deep breath, he grabbed a paper towel and dried his hands quickly before tossing it away, making his way towards the door. As he walked back to the cafeteria, he thought about what he could possibly say.

"Sorry for bailing on you guys. I just got my heart broken."

"Don't worry guys! I wasn't avoiding you, I was avoiding everyone!"

"Sorry for ghosting, but did you know that Allura was completely aware of my feelings for her but she still decided to go ahead and choose Lotor and now all this time later she's making me her rebound?"

"Lance."

The red paladin was snapped out of his anxious stupor as he was faced with the person he had been trying to avoid the most. There she stood, standing in front of the table with a nervous yet firm expression on her face. He looked past her to see Hunk and Pidge, looking at him almost in horror. The feeling of nausea seemed to return along with his inner tidal wave of betrayal and sadness.

"I didn't think you would be back so quickly." the princess spoke nervously. Lance hardened his face as slowly began to walk past her towards the table, doing his best not to make eye contact.

"Needed to wash something off. I'm actually about to tell them something important, so-" It was now Lance's turn to be cut off as Pidge immediately shook her head, attempting to shake the horrified expression off her face.

"T-there's no need, Lance. Allura told us." she revealed reluctantly. Lance's furrowed his brows at the statement. Not only was his heart broken, but now his own agency had been swiped away from him, too. He wanted to glare at Allura but he honestly just wanted to get out of here.

"Oh really?" he asked skeptically. "What did she say?" The green and yellow paladin kept exchanging nervous glances with each other, almost as if they were worried Lance was going to evaporate them with his glare the moment they started talking. This confused the red paladin considering the truth was practically what he was implying. And it honestly started to bug him.

"What?" Hunk finally broke the silence.

"That she kissed Lotor."

If Lance thought he felt nauseous before, he definitely did now. Every single fiber in his being felt like vomiting until his organs came out. The feeling of betrayal and sadness that he felt for the last couple of days came crashing back, but not as hard as the emotion that now took center stage: anger. Lance clenched his fists as the tears he tried so hard to suppress began to brim at his eyes. And how could they not? The woman he was in love with not only ignored his feelings and chose someone else. This woman went ahead and kissed that other person and then had the audacity to turn around and kiss HIM. Lance violently turned his head towards the Altean, venom taking its place in his eyes as he looked at her. If he wasn't so angry, he might've felt bad for scaring her so much that she was practically retreating into herself from his gaze, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Okay! So not only did you choose him after knowing of my feelings, but you kiss him, too?!" Lance all but exclaimed. Allura held her hands out in front of her, trying to keep distance between them.

"Lance! I know you're hurt, but-"

"BUT WHAT?! YOU JUST MISSED LOTOR SO BADLY YOU HAD TO KISS ME, TOO?!" Lance screeched, making the princess turn her head away from him from how loud he was. He could've sworn he heard Hunk and Pidge let out a unanimous "What?!" behind them.

"I'M NOT YOUR REBOUND, ALLURA!" And with that, Lance quickly stomped out of the cafeteria, not caring where he was going as long as he was away from her. He didn't care that he left her alone to be scared of him. He didn't care that Hunk and Pidge were left dazed and confused looking over a weeping princess.

He was done.

"Is something on your mind?"

"You could say that."

Keith couldn't help but to sigh heavily. He and Romelle had just made their way out of the Garrison training room as they were both headed to Romelle's room. They had spent the last hour playing around with Kosmo so that the space wolf could stretch his legs and burn some energy. Once he was satisfied, Kosmo didn't hesitate to teleport himself back to Keith's room much to their amusement. And being who he was, Keith decided to walk Romelle back to her room. They had been talking about other things before now but the black paladin had gotten strangely quiet, which prompted the Altean to snap him out of it.

"Well, what happened?" she asked, concern laced in her voice. "Kosmo didn't eat your blade, did he?" Keith rolled his eyes at her before poking the side of her head with his finger, much to her chagrin.

"I'm just gonna act like I didn't hear you ask that." Keith teased. "I'm just worried about Lance." Romelle tilted her head in confusion.

"Pointy Chin? What's wrong with him?" she asked. Like he said before, Keith had no idea what happened to make Lance so upset, but he knew better than to speculate and open his mouth when he didn't have the full story. So it was best if he just didn't say too much.

"I don't know. But he isn't acting like himself and the team and I are getting worried." he answered honestly. Romelle seemed to be satisfied with the answer as she hummed in acknowledgement to Keith's statement. Sensing Keith's concern, she placed her hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way to help." she reassured, sending Keith a comforting smile. Keith gave her a small smile back. Ever since he found her, the more time they spent together the more she felt like a younger sister to him. And it was times like these where her optimism was appreciated.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" The unexpected shout stopped Keith and Romelle in their tracks. Without hesitation, Keith pulled Romelle behind him and placed a hand on the handle of his blade, ready to bring it out at a moment's notice should the voice attempt to attack them. But instead of an intruder, they were met with a furious Lance and an upset Allura right on his tail.

"Lance! Please just listen to me!" Allura begged. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Lance ignored, not even acknowledging Keith and Romelle as he zoomed past them towards the other end of the hallway. The two of them simultaneously turned their heads towards Allura, who currently had her head in her hand with tears streaming down her face. Still in shock, the two of them then turned their heads towards each other. And as if they read each others mind, they talked over each other.

"I'll go talk to her."

"I'll go follow Lance." While Keith ran the opposite direction to catch up with Lance, Romelle walked down the same path to reach Allura. She slowly placed her hand on the small of the princess' back, letting her know that she was there. It didn't take long for the princess to raise her head and look at Romelle.

"What the quiznak happened with you two?" Romelle whispered-yell, leading her to a separate corridor where they were out of earshot from any prying ears.

"I messed up, Romelle! I messed up everything!" Allura cried. Romelle placed her hands on Allura's shoulders as she tried to calm her down.

"What happened?" she emphasized. Allura placed her head in her hands as she tried to gain her bearings. If she wanted to get some form of a coherent sentence out, she had to pull it together at least for a little bit. Once she got her sobs under control, she started to explain everything. She was only able to mention Lance and how she found out he had feelings for her before Romelle interjected.

"Wait, but if he had feelings for you and you didn't feel the same way, why is he so angry?" she asked angrily. She understood why Lance was upset, but that didn't give him the right to ignore her in her eyes. Allura sighed before revealing the heavy truth.

"Because I kissed Lotor." In an instant, Romelle's face dropped as the color in her face began to pale.

"Y-you what?"

"Yes. Instead of telling him the truth, I went ahead and kissed Lotor." Allura confirmed sadly. Romelle could only shake her head as she ran her hands through her hair.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Romelle screamed in horror. Allura kissing Lotor? The same Lotor that was responsible for her family's death and the loss of her people? She practically forgot everything between Allura and Lance for just a moment as her disgust and shock took over.

"How could you, Allura?" Romelle shouted. "Never mind you broke Pointy Chin's heart, but you did it with that monster?!" Allura reached out to grab her hands only for the other Altean to pull them away just as quickly, turning her back on her as she tried to come to grips on everything that was just laid out on the table, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Romelle, I promise you! When I did it, I had no idea he did what he did! I honestly thought he was this kind, intelligent, decent man who meant well with his intentions! He deceived all of us!" the princess begged. Romelle shook her head and inhaled deeply before turning back towards her. Her pain and confusion could wait. There was a guy who had his heart ripped out and the man she considered her big brother was now chasing after him.

"Okay, never mind what he did to my family. If you never knew about his feelings, I could give you the benefit of the doubt. But you did know, and now he's hurting! You hurt the both of you!" Romelle scolded. Allura lowered her head in shame.

"I know." she admitted. "And I want to fix it." Romelle looked at the princess with pity. Given everything that had just been revealed, she didn't know if that would even be possible.

"Honestly, I don't think it can." Romelle turned around to head out the corridor, but not before stopping.

"Get some rest, princess. You might need it." she suggested as she made her way out, leaving her friend behind. Romelle paced quickly out the corridor back into the main hallway as she placed her hands over her mouth, trying to shakily take deep breaths as she tried to suppress her tears. Her heart hurt for Allura, truly it did. But she needed to realize the consequences of her actions and how much it hurt not only the guy she cared about, but herself as well. As she tried to keep it together and shake off the shock and confusion, she turned her head and widened her eyes when she saw who was standing there, their arms crossed as they leaned against the wall. She held her hands close to her chest as she took a deep breath and spoke to them.

"How much did you hear?" she asked cautiously. Keith shifted his purple pupils towards her as he tightened his grip on the sleeve of his uniform in anger. As he recounted the words of truth that were just exchanged, everything fell into place for him.

"Everything."