And here we are!
The final chapter…. OMG. I am so excited to share this one with you. So many years of back and forth and this fic can finally be put to bed. Thank you to all of those that stuck by me. I'm already working on the next one, but I'm not making the same mistake I did with this one. I'm publishing it once it is completely done. LOL.
Again, thank you to each and every one of you who stayed till the end. Also, a very special thanks to Mertz who edited and found any gaps during the draft phase. Thank you! Xoxo
Feli3-You're so welcome. Thank you so much for always tuning in and reading. LOL. Very appreciated.
SnyperLady: Let me know if you like what I did here. I think you might get your wish!
AutumnSea9: I'm so glad you liked it. So, I will always be a KA writer. I might write something different here and there, but that's only when I get an idea that won't go away. So, expect more, I have a couple KA stories that are in my head and I hope there's still an audience who wants to read them.
LibAkilah: So I hope you did make it to the end because I worked awful hard to get the ending right. LOL. As for the next fic, it might just happen ;)
Playlist
Moving Mountains-Two Steps from Hell
Foo Fighters-Everlong (Acoustic version)
Chapter 40
With a concussive whuff, Keith felt his breath abandon his body. It was only an instinctive tightening of his abdomen that prevented him from being left gasping for breath.
"No!" Allura shouted as she watched Keith get kicked so hard that he landed on the floor with a hard thump. She tried to run toward him but was stopped by Lance.
"Wait!" Lance said as he lifted his weapon, "Not yet."
"Lotor is killing him!"
"He's stalling him," Lance replied. He didn't know why, but he felt that Keith was stalling. Taking the hits for a reason. Why, he didn't know, but he had to trust that Keith knew what he was doing.
From afar, Keith attempted to get up but failed as pain swamped his core. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain. If there was ever a time to call in the lions, it was now. As he concentrated, he felt others in the room Lance…Allura!
They couldn't be here. They needed to leave.
"Come on, Captain!" Lotor yelled, unaware of the others in the room. "Give up. Don't fight the inevitable."
As Lotor laughed from afar, Allura suddenly felt Keith speaking to her. It was the first time she had heard his voice in her mind as clearly as if he was standing next to her. You need to leave. Now.
"What?" she said out loud looking at him. She shook her head.
"You heard the man, Allura. Time to go!"
Stunned, she turned to Lance, "You heard him too?"
"I have no idea how, but this isn't the time to question him," Lance responded as he heard his voice again.
Go now!
Looking back at him, they watched as Keith slowly stood up. Turning to look at them, both Lance and Allura gasped as they saw him.
Keith's eyes glowed.
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She couldn't take her eyes off his. A rainbow of colors glowed around his iris. Blue, red, yellow, green, and black. Every color. The souls of the lions. All within him.
"Oh my god," she whispered.
"Jesus," Lance murmured in shock.
Leave!
The shout that Keith threw at them in their minds was so strong and loud that it hurt them. They didn't question him; they finally followed orders and ran out. They would clear a pathway and figure out how to leave through the front door.
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When Lotor noticed the glow in Keith's eyes, surprise overtook him. He wasn't prepared for it. He wasn't expecting it. Not only had the captain's eyes changed color, but there were multiple colors, switching from red to blue to yellow... to green.
And for the life of him, he thought he was seeing things, but he swore he saw silhouettes of each of the lions standing by Keith's sides in attack positions.
"Sorry to disappoint," was all Keith said before he lifted one hand and a surge of power emitted from his palm. The power soon turned into a red force that slammed against Lotor sending him flying up in the air and hitting a wall that held decorative shields. They fell to the floor along with him.
Keith wasn't going to stop. He moved forward and another surge of power, this time green, threw Lotor to across the room. He heard Lotor scream. The aura within him dimming, but not totally gone.
Lotor lifted his hands and a surge of power flew toward Keith, but he stopped it with a blue light that circled and protected him.
"You wanted this," Keith shouted as the blue light turned yellow, and the room began to shake. The weapons shook with such force that Lotor felt the ground move. "You wanted me dead, but you don't know how much I want you dead. You won't destroy my world. You won't destroy my people. And you sure as hell won't destroy my family!"
The powers of the lions culminated into a whirl of colors and wind whirled in every direction. Lotor tried to stand, to move forward, but the winds kept him from moving. Suddenly every weapon in the room flew his way. He tried to avoid them, tried to use his own powers to hurl the weapons away from him, but he wasn't fast enough. His powers dimmed even more as he used them until there was nothing left. Penetrating the weak aura, he had left within him, a long sword drove through his abdomen.
At that moment, everything stopped and whatever was in the air slammed down onto the floor.
In shock, Lotor looked down at the sword. He forced his gaze toward the captain, who walked toward him and grunted, "This...this…isn't over," before he fell to the floor.
At once, a bright yellow light filled the room and blinded Keith before it forced him back. Within moments, Haggar appeared in the form of Kirian Mosley. She wore the brown tunic she always wore. Her eyes glowed yellow. The witch looked down at her fallen son and with a wave of her hand, Lotor disappeared.
"I'm sorry, Captain," the witch said as an aura of purple and dark yellow emanated around her, "As much as I care for you, and I do, my son will always come first. I was a witch before I was a woman."
Keith confused by her wording, didn't reply.
Her lips curled into a disturbing smile, "The human in me feels for you what I believe is love. I will study that feeling and either I will find a way to destroy it, or I will make you mine, whichever comes first. I guess we will just have to wait and see, won't we?"
Keith snorted with disdain, "You're one twisted, sick, bi—."
"Why thank you," she answered proudly, "We shall see each other soon... Keith."
The echo of his name rang around the room as it was engulfed in a red light that blinded him. When the light dimmed, he was no longer in the castle, but miles away. Red sand, a ghostly wind, with three of the lions surrounded him. She had kicked him out of the castle, in her own magical way.
Keith looked around and found two more people, "Allura? Lance?"
"We're here," Lance yelled out as he approached, Allura by his side, "We were fighting the Drule soldiers that were guarding the exit when we were blinded by a light. She threw us out, I guess?"
The captain nodded, "It's over…for now."
"This is far from over, Keith," Allura said as she looked in the direction of the castle. "She's in control."
"We need to go," Lance answered. "She might change her mind and start another battle."
"No," Allura shook her head. "They have nothing to fight us with."
"Yes, they do," Keith, corrected Allura. "They have her. She's enough. Don't underestimate her. Lance is right, let's leave and live to fight another day."
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Once Keith was able to contact Garrison and the Corps, both military agencies began to retreat. Much of the Drule army was destroyed and barely holding on. Vehicle Voltron also returned to their stations but not without offering the Voltron Force a thank you for inviting them into battle. It was a very successful mission.
Yellow and Green met up with the other lions outside of the planet. From the secure line that Darrell and Hunk installed, Stoller briefed Keith on everything that had occurred while he was gone. To avoid detection of the secret base, the lions didn't prolong their stay in the mountains.
Allura said her goodbyes to Sam through the vidscreen. It was not the way she wanted to say goodbye to him, but it was the only way at this moment. He assured her he would be okay. Somehow, she knew he was happy where he was.
"Is everyone ready to go home?" Keith asked as his gaze moved over the faces of his teammates on the vidscreen.
"Hell ya!" Hunk answered. "Let's blow this joint!"
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Debriefing took longer than expected. Four days actually. No one was allowed to go back to their personal abodes. As much as Keith wanted the team to see the rest of the family, he followed protocol and kept the team inside the lair, going over the entire event, processes that were successful, as well as, those that needed more work.
Lucy, and Hope stayed with Romelle during those days. Hunk didn't want Lucy home until he was released. They communicated each day over vidscreen.
Coran oversaw the media briefings and public relations releases throughout those four days. The team wasn't ready to speak to the public, and Keith didn't have the patience to it at any point. He was going to avoid that until he couldn't.
During the last day of their debriefing in the conference room, the question he was hoping to avoid came up. He really wasn't ready to talk. He hadn't even had a moment to connect to the lions the way he wanted to. He still had so many questions to ask them.
As the group sat around the round stainless-steel table, Keith sighed, "We're done. I can't imagine anything else we need to discuss after four days of non-stop discussions with each other, Garrison, and the Corps Generals. And with no attacks from Korrinth has happened…yet. I think we're in the clear for now as they regroup."
"We destroyed the majority of their bases and armada," Hunk replied. "It will take them some time to come back at us."
Keith agreed, "We need a break. How about a week?"
"Yes!" Darrell cheered.
"However, we are still on call," Keith reminded them. It was still taking him time to get used to the group not being angry at him. The last four days, when they were debriefing, mostly during lunch and dinners, there was a lot of talking, a lot of apologizing, and a lot of agreements on how they would communicate with each other moving forward. Without even realizing it, Keith created the time they all needed to rebuild their group.
Darrell was about to stand when Lance jumped in, "Not so fast. Our dear commander and chief still has one thing to explain to us." Giving Keith a serious and intense look, he asked, "Despite everything you told the generals and Garrison, you left out what Allura and I saw. Keith, that power...how were you able to channel the lions' powers?"
The group stared at him, waiting for an answer. Lance and Allura had shared with them what they had seen and Keith, one night at dinner, described the event, but told them to hold their questions until he knew more.
They agreed on no more secrets, no more vague answers. There was just one problem. Keith sighed, "I really wish I could tell you, but I don't know. The lions haven't revealed that answer to me."
"What do you mean?" Allura asked.
He paused, waiting for the right words to come to him, "The night they healed me, I also felt…something different in me. I don't know how to explain it. I'm not sure what they did to me. I asked Black and he only said, all in due time. When I was in that room with Lotor, I wasn't planning on doing what I did. It felt more like a calling. The lions all called on me to use them. I know it doesn't make sense. I'm sorry, I'm still trying to figure it out myself."
"Do you still feel that…power?" Hunk asked.
Quiet for a moment, Keith took a deep breath before answering, "Yes. I still feel it. I just have to wait for Black to let me know what it all means."
"The other lions aren't talking either?" Allura asked.
This time he laughed a little uneasily, "No, they won't talk if Black doesn't talk." A moment later, he laughed again. This time, delightedly.
"What?" Allura asked.
"Blue says that you need to work on your patience," he teased.
The room burst out laughing and Allura shook her head, "Tell her she's not helping the situation."
"She's just helping you, Allura. Each of your lions are helping you conquer your weaknesses before giving you more of their gifts."
"How will we know if we've conquered them?" Darrell asked, trying to understand what his challenges were.
Keith shook his head, "You may not believe it when I tell you this, but you'll know when you hear your lion's voice. The day they communicate with you…it will be something you will never forget."
XXXXXXXXXX
Coran knew his place in the debriefing. He stayed throughout most of it and dismissed himself when the conversations turned to the communication with the lions. He really did want to listen, but he knew the team needed this time to further strengthen their bonds and friendship.
The team would be off for the next week, and he still had much to do. His position didn't allow for time off.
Glad that things were back to a place of peace, the advisor made plans of his own. Family wise, he felt at peace. Romelle briefed him of everything she had held back for so many years. At first, he didn't know what to say. Then, he did what any other father would do, hugged his daughter and accept her apology.
Now, with his daughter bonded to McClain, Coran groaned, "Heavens help me with my new son-in-law." Sighing, he went back to his office. As he walked, he found himself smiling. His family was back.
He had a lot of work to do. He needed to start the search for a new assistant, his generals had to be briefed on the happenings, and he had to work with Garrison to begin an investigation into more possible moles…Coran Altaire was engaged and motivated.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him, Before I start to do all that…one thing comes first.
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Keith dismissed the team despite the questions still lingering in their minds. Knowing they wouldn't get more out of him, not because he didn't want to share, but because he was still trying to understand his new-found powers himself, they left and went back to their families.
Hunk waited until Lance finished speaking with Romelle on the vidscreen, then called out to her, "Hey."
"Hi," she answered. "I'm keeping her here until you get home. Contact me when you arrive, and I'll send her your way."
"Thanks," he answered. "Is everything else…ready?"
She laughed, "Hunk, everything is ready to go. I even stopped to run the final inspection two days ago. It's perfect!"
"You're a lifesaver, my friend," Hunk replied with a smile. "Thank you."
"What is family for?" she replied with a wink.
XXXXXXXXXX
Leaving the base, Darrell looked for the one person he had longed to see for the past four days. He found her standing by her car, smiling when she saw him. Walking to her, he took her into his arms before kissing her with such sweetness and passion, Hope never knew.
"That was…yummy," she whispered to him.
"I missed you," he whispered back. "I'm so glad I have you."
She caressed his cheek gently, "I was so afraid. Welcome home soldier." Letting go of him, Hope took out a keycard from her pocket, "Let's go home."
"Home?" he asked. "I thought the place wasn't available until next week."
"Surprise!" she answered. "We are ready to move in. Well…the furniture will have to wait, but the bedroom is ready."
Now there was a genuine smile, "That's all we need."
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It didn't take long for Lance to make it back to Romelle's place. When he did, he was greeted with a very happy looking woman who took him in her arms and kissed him.
"I thought I was going to lose my mind these past few days," she told him. "I was dying to see you. It's not the same on vidscreen."
"Couldn't wait to see you too, Elle," he caressed her face. "You know, we bonded, but I believe that a wedding is something I want to have."
"Really?" she sounded excited.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I've always wanted a wedding, and my dream was to see you walk down the aisle. I want this dream to come true, Elle. I want to see you walk down the aisle. I want to take your hand, put a ring on your finger, and formally have someone say, you are Mrs. Lance McClain."
"Oh," the tears threatened to spill, but they were happy tears. They were tears of joy and tears that she never thought possible. "I would love to make your dream come true."
"So, how about we spend a few days in Catalina Island? We can spend some of that time planning our wedding."
And what will we be doing the rest of the time?" she teased.
Laughing, Lance lifted his fiancée and carried her to the bedroom, "Let me show you."
He couldn't believe this woman was his. Lance McClain was going to be a married man, and with time, maybe have the kids he had always dreamed of having with Romelle. In a world with so many uncertainties, he had found the only thing that was certain, his soul.
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Lucy sighed as she entered the code to the apartment. She arrived home feeling bittersweet, her emotions in turmoil. She had worried that Will would not return. It wasn't as though she didn't worry in the past, but for some reason, this felt different. If Will were gone…if she had to raise…
Lucy shook her head. No, Will had come home and he would always come home. She had to believe that and now understood his worries even more so than before.
When she walked in, she felt a warmth that she hadn't felt since she moved in.
She looked around. Everything was in place. The feeling became stronger as she passed the living room and made her way to the bedroom, "Will, are you home?"
Finding it empty, she left the bedroom and headed to the door of the guest room and opened it.
"Oh my God!" she whispered to herself. What she found wasn't an empty room, but a complete nursery. Her dream nursery. In the middle of the room sat an oval white crib with the softest baby blue blankets and pillows. The walls were also baby blue, with pictures of clouds floating around. The once empty room was now filled with stuffed teddy bears, hippos, and other cute snuggly animals. And by the window, the most beautiful white rocking chair with pillows and blankets to make any new mommy feel at home as she rocked her baby to sleep, "I must be going insane."
"No, you're not," she heard a voice coming from behind. Lucy turned around and watched Will approach her. Taking her into his arms, he hugged his wife gently and kissed the top of her head, "You're not going insane. This is just my way to let you know how happy I am that we are going to have a family."
"Oh, Will!" her eyes glistened at his words.
"I missed you, Lucy," Hunk answered with her, his own eyes showing signs of redness.
"I…" she nodded as tears began to flow down her cheek. "But we…when? How did you do this?" She shook her head and looked around the room once more.
"Romelle…I'm sure Hope helped. She loves decorating a room as much as she likes building them," he told her as they walked farther into the room. "Lucy, I was afraid. When I first married you, I wanted to believe we would have this eternal peace where you and I would never see evil, destruction, or death. But this gift that we've been given…it comes with a price. As long as we possess this gift, we will never be at peace, and if I live in constant fear, what would be the point of possessing it?"
"So, you believe that we can't live a life because we possess it?"
He nodded, "I did, for a while. But I learned that having this gift should not stop us from living a life…creating a life, despite the chaos around us."
He kneeled in front of her, placed his hands on her belly and kissed it ever so softly. "I was afraid of bringing a child to this corrupted world. I thought it was selfish to do so. But what I realized is that it would be even more selfish to turn my back on him, turn my back on you."
"Will," Lucy cried.
"Lucy, I love you, and I love this child more than anything. Forgive me for being the selfish bastard that I was and allow me to be the person I should have always been."
She kneeled in front of her husband as tears continued streaming down her eyes. She smiled a glorious smile that melted Hunk's heart, "I love you so much!" she told him before she kissed him with such passion that it blew the man away. He held her close, wrapping his fingers in her hair as tears slid out of his eyes and down his cheeks.
When they finally broke their embrace, he smiled at her, "Do you like the room?"
"I love it!" she told him as she looked around, "Except…"
"What? I'll change it any way you want, Lucy.".
'No, I love it. It's just that...we're going to need another crib." She smiled, "We're having twins."
Hunk's eyes widened in shock, "Twins?"
Lucy nodded.
"Well…what do you know?" he gloated. "I'm a better shooter than I thought."
Lucy hugged her husband laughing. "You're a better man than I could have ever hoped for."
Somehow an inner peace settled within her. Will wasn't going anywhere, and neither was she.
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Keith stood in front of the five lions as they circled him in the lair. Their deep low growls filled the room as the glowing eyes spoke to him in wordless phrases.
"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me," he told them. "Never in my mind did I ever doubt the decisions that I've made over the past twenty years. I just never expected…I never expected the help that you gave me."
The growls continued. With each sound, Keith understood what they were telling him. He smiled then replied, "They are anxious for you to speak with them, but they also understand what it entails."
Yellow Lion wagged his tail. At this Keith laughed, "Yes, I know you're excited to speak to Hunk too."
The lion looked at his commander, Black, who shook his head as if telling him, Be patient.
From afar, Allura watched mesmerized at the connection between Keith and the lions. Keith told her that the lions had agreed to let her watch but could not interact in the conversation. She would be invited in, if and when they decided. She humbly accepted and stood by the door watching the interaction.
"I'm not sure what's next or what she has planned," Keith's stoic features returned when Green Lion asked a question regarding Haggar. "But she won't give up." Looking at Blue, he answered, "I'm not sure what she meant by that either. I'm not going to dwell on it for now."
Red flicked the tip of his tail and grunted. At this, Keith rolled his eyes, "I wish you could go and get rid of her too, but how about we do this as a team?"
If Allura wouldn't have been there, he would have asked the next question out loud, but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to hear it, Why did you give me these powers? I am not worthy of them. If you wanted me to have them while on battle, I would understand. But why are they still with me?
At this, Black Lion walked up to his pilot and pushed him with his snout gently. Keith, understanding, lifted his hand and touched his snout. Within seconds, he saw what Black wanted him to see.
Once the images were gone, he looked at Black with a look of concern and understanding, "There's no doubt then?"
The lion shook his head.
Allura studied the scene.
Sighing, Keith nodded, "I know. Thank you. Thank you for trusting me. Rest my friends."
With that, each lion returned to their rest areas and shut down.
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"What did they tell you?" Allura asked as Keith approached her. Taking his hand, she could tell he was worried, but also there was a peace in him that made her feel at ease.
"It's something that I have to keep to myself until they tell me I can share it," he replied. "This war will be very challenging. We will have to be stronger than we ever imagined. But, if we continue in the same path that we are, as a team, we will overcome every challenge the Drules throw our way."
Altair thought that she'd want to know more, but she was surprised to find that Keith's answer was enough, "Thank you for sharing this with me."
He smiled and kissed her. "I yearn for the day I can share more."
"So!" she said changing the subject a bit, "What now? What's next? We have five days to catch up. Where do you want to start?"
"How about dinner?" he answered. "I know a little place that you would love."
"Yeah," Allura answered. "What's it called?"
"Kogane's" he laughed. "I've actually learned to cook pretty well these last few years."
At this, Altair laughed. Keith Kogane made a joke. Wow! Things were really getting back to how they were. She couldn't have been happier. Taunting him, she asked, "You learned to cook? Keith you couldn't even toast bread."
"Come home with me, Altair," he answered. "What's your pleasure? Indian, Italian, Lebanese? I could go on."
Taking him into her arms, she kissed him before whispering in his ear, "My pleasure is you. Can you make that happen?"
Kissing her this time, he replied with an equal sultriness in his tone, "That can be arranged. Be ready Allura. I plan to take my time with you."
She closed her eyes and felt the waves of love he sent to her. She couldn't wait to be with him.
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Two days later…
At first, he entered cautiously, as if afraid he'd be burned alive should he set foot in the sanctuary that had been his friend's home for so many years. He took a deep breath and shook his head thinking how foolish he was for allowing his imagination to run wild. "You're an idiot, Kogane," he muttered to himself as he finally walked into Lockland Memorial Cemetery.
Keith knew where Sven rested. All Arusian Corps' fallen heroes rested in a special area that was securely guarded. Two Corp officers were posted at the entrance doors. As Keith approached, the officers saluted him. He returned the salute before he walked in.
Even though he missed his funeral, he made sure to know the exact place where Sven rested. He even held a private memorial while he sat in his holding cell awaiting trial. He was amazed that he knew the layout of the area so well considering he had never set foot in the place. When Keith saw himself getting closer to where Sven lay, he paused, but almost immediately picked up his pace and continued walking until he found himself in front of the headstone.
The captain studied the virtual headstone, a 3D image of Sven in uniform. Sven always wanted the type of immortality that Keith and the rest had. Ironically, he received immortality, just not the one he hoped. The 3D image of him immortalized him for eternity.
"Hello Sven," Keith whispered. "Been a while." He paused for a moment before commencing again. "It's been hard to come and see you. Part of me was angry with you for so many years, another part felt protective of you. After all, you're my family, my brother." He smiled sadly, as he continued. "We thought things were over, the war, Zarkon…somehow… history has a way of repeating itself. I know you thought you had broken us apart, and for a while you did. Sven, I'm not sure you knew just how much you affected all of us, in so many ways. But we're slowly healing. It's been a long road, but…we're getting there, and I have faith we'll be where we used to be."
"I have faith in that too," a voice behind him spoke.
Startled, Keith turned around, "Lance. What are you doing here?"
He shrugged before answering him, "Romelle and I want to take a couple of days together…you know before Lotor decides to pay us another visit. We leave for Catalina Island in a few hours." He laughed sheepishly. "Allura told me you were here. For some reason, I felt I needed to be here with you. Anyways, I was going to ask if it was okay if-"
"Of course," Keith replied, know what Lance was going to ask. "But you'll need to be on call."
Nodding, Lance replied, "I understand." Lance moved closer to Keith before both men stared at Sven's resting place, "I know it's been a long time since his death, but it still feels so fresh in my mind."
"I know what you mean," Keith solemnly replied.
They stayed silent for a while before Lance finally said, "I'm sorry…I was so angry with you."
"You have nothing to be sorry about. Who could have blamed you for your feelings? I am sorry too. I should have trusted you as well. I should have let you in, but I felt that I needed to protect Sven… and all of you."
Lance laughed, "Typical Keith. You self-sacrificing bastard. I understand. I felt I had to protect him too. For so many years, to love the woman he loved…after his death, I felt so guilty about…taking her away from him. Even now, part of me still feels guilt over loving Romelle. But I…I can't let her go. It's so selfish of me, but I can't let her go. Sounds stupid, right?"
Shaking his head, Keith replied, "No. It doesn't." He remained quiet for a moment, "I never doubted that Sven wanted us to be happy. When he asked me to…his last words to me were 'thank you brother'." Keith's eyes watered as he relived those last moments in his mind. "I want to believe that part of his sacrifice was to make us happy, Lance. In his last moments, he wanted us to be happy. I have no doubt that he would approve of you and Romelle. From wherever he is…I'm sure he approves."
Lance smiled, and for the first time, Keith could see a brightness in his eyes that he hadn't seen before. "He approved. Sometimes I thought he was better than you at hiding his feelings."
Keith shrugged as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "It's an innate talent."
Hugging his friend, Lance asked, "So…what's next?"
Wrapping his arms around his brother, Keith replied, "We say goodbye to the past and begin the future with a promise."
"What promise?"
"No matter what, we'll never hide anything from each other again. We'll build back the core of this group and we won't let anything or anyone break it apart again."
Lance smiled and nodded as they released each other, "I missed you, Kogane."
"Hasn't been the same without you, McClain."
Once the moment lapsed, they turned back to the resting place of the man they came to see and stood there in silence, while remembering the good times and the good qualities of their brother.
"Sven, rest in peace, my brother. We forgive you," Keith suddenly said aloud.
"And we'll never forget the good times. We love you, brother. Rest now," Lance finished.
They felt a wisp of a breeze pass by them. They looked around to watch as the breeze skimmed the trees ever so gently; a soft howling echo whispered a wordless goodbye and then subsided into silence.
XXXXXXXXXX
As Keith and Lance walked out the main entrance doors of Lockland Memorial, Lance's gaze fell on the black motorcycle his friend drove and raised his brow. "Hey Kogane, are you going to get over your midlife crisis anytime soon? You're in your forties, man."
Chuckling at the jab from his friend, Keith continued walking to his bike, mounted it, and looked over at Lance's black convertible Ferrari. A cocky smile slipped over his face as he arched an eyebrow and answered, "When are you?"
Lance laughed, "Touché, buddy."
Turning on his bike, Keith shouted, "I'll see you in a couple of days!"
"Don't work too hard!"
"I won't."
Noticing the expression on his commanding officer's face, Lance cocked his head, "Where are you heading, Keith?"
For the first time in years, Lance saw a smile that his friend seldom pasted on his face. It was a smile of pure happiness and no reservations
"I have a date," Keith replied as the engine roared and he left the area.
"And so do I," Lance answered to himself as he got into his car and watched Keith ride away.
Once his friend was nothing but a dot in the distance, the lieutenant turned on the small vidscreen inside his car and connected to his wife, "Elle, I'll be a couple of minutes late. Got held up visiting a friend."
Bright blue eyes smiled back at him, as she replied, "No worries, love. I've waited this long, what's a couple of minutes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Lance. See you soon," she winked before she terminated communication.
Lance laughed. Romelle had broken out of the shell that housed her misery and out came the beauty that he had fallen in love with years before. At that moment, Lance McClain realized that he was truly a rich man.
Xxxxxxxxxx
As the crimson sky signaled the impending night, Allura Altair walked out her apartment complex and grinned at the man waiting for her. It was ironic to her how she could feel so happy during war when all those years that were was peace, she felt nothing but misery and a never-ending sadness. Her life seemed to be coming together as chaos battled to conquer the galaxy. Yet, as she looked at the man who held her together, Allura felt nothing but peace.
"Is that what you plan on taking me out with?" Altair mocked as she looked at the motorcycle Keith leaned against.
"It's a perfect driving machine."
"And here I thought you'd make our first date something memorable," Allura crossed her arms over her chest. "You're lucky I wore pants today," she said, looking down at the black leggings that hugged her curves.
"I'm lucky you wore that today," Keith answered, studying her. Besides the leggings, she wore a white sleeveless top, a shoulder strap clutch and high-heeled black boots. "You look…good, Altair."
A smile slipped across her face, "I have something for you." From her clutch, she retrieved a small object before walking to him and placing it on the palm of his hand.
Keith looked at her curiously before he looked down in surprise. His wings.
"Coran told me to give this back to you," she replied. "He said he won't take no for an answer this time." To her surprise, she watched Keith eyes glisten with tears.
"I didn't think I deserved these back," he looked back a her. "I didn't think—"
"You deserve these and a lot more," she caressed his face. "Don't think any more of what you don't deserve. Think about what you do." Taking the pin from his hand, she pinned it on the shirt he wore under the jacket. "So, Kogane, where are we headed?"
He wrapped his arms around her small waist, kissing her with not only a tenderness and longing, but with such a deep affection that made Allura moan. When he finally lifted his head, Keith whispered, "This time, the right way. With no secrets, reservations, or fear. This time Altair, I plan on heading to forever with you. If you'll have me."
She leaned into him and placed a featherlight kiss against his lips then whispered, "I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, Keith Kogane."
"I love you too, Altair. I love you with everything that I have and everything that I am."
Her lips met his again with pure adoration.
Taking her hand, Keith led her to the bike, but she pulled back and stopped him, "Wait! I forgot my jacket. I'll be right back."
She began to turn when Keith stopped her, "Don't worry. Here." Out of the compartment on the back of the bike, he retrieved a smaller version of his black leather jacket.
"You got me a jacket?"
"Better than flowers," Keith told her as he helped her put it on. "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't want to be one of those corny couples that dress the same all the time."
"Could have fooled me," she giggled as she turned around to face him.
"It's only when we go riding," he confirmed, "I couldn't help it. I saw it on the way here and …whatever. If you don't like it..."
"Don't be silly!" Allura zipped it up. "How do I look?"
The captain smiled, "You're a sight, Altair, I'll give you that much."
They mounted the bike. Keith put on his helmet before giving her one. He lowered his visor, "Ready to go?"
"Been ready for a while, Kogane. And by the way…a girl does like receiving flowers once in a while."
Laughing, Kogane turned on the engine and with a roaring sound, pulled out into the street as the setting sun brightened their path toward their destination.