Keith tapped his foot nervously as he stared at the closed door in front of him. He hadn't been allowed to follow Lance and the doctors after this point. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder and Keith turned. 'Hey', Shiro said. 'Let's go sit down, okay?' 'But-' 'The doctors are doing their best, but it will still take a while. It's going to be all right, Keith. He'll make it through.'

Keith slapped Shiro's hand off his shoulder. 'It's not going to be all right', he gritted. 'We don't know if Lance is going to make it. He got impaled, Shiro. I saw that sentry pull its fucking sword out of Lance's back. Fuck! If I had paid more attention to my surroundings, if I hadn't let myself be backed into that corner with those kids, Lace wouldn't have to sacrifice himself. I we still had the castle, the healing pods…' Keith was basically yelling at this point, but he didn't care. 'If Allura and Coran hadn't fucked off to god knows where, then she could've healed him with her magic. But Allura's not here, and Lance is probably bleeding out on that table right now, and it will all be my fault.'

'Keith, calm down', Shiro said, grabbing his arm. 'Breathe. None of this is your fault, and you know it. Don't forget that we're fighting a war. It was Lance who made the decision to save you and those children on the battlefield, respect that. He's not going to die, Keith. We just need him to hold on a little longer until the doctors stabilize his conditions, then we can transfer him to the Blade's healing pods.' He pulled Keith into a tight hug. 'Remember: patience yields focus.' Keith took a deep breath. Shiro was right. Now wasn't the time have a breakdown. He needed to stay focussed.

'Where's Hunk?' Keith asked when Shiro let him go. He hadn't seen the yellow paladin since he assured Keith that he could hold the Galra off on his own until reinforcement arrived. 'He's in the waiting room with Pidge', Shiro said. 'The McClains are on their way, and Krolia's with them.' Keith could feel the panic arise at the mention of Lance's family. How was he going to look Maria in the eye and tell her that her son had sacrificed himself for him? The McClains had welcomed Krolia and him into their family, they trusted him as the leader of Voltron, and Keith couldn't even keep Lance safe on a simple mission. They were all going to hate him, and Keith didn't think that he'd be able to handle it. The panic must've been clearly written on his face, since Shiro squeezed his shoulder and once again reminded him to breathe. 'Don't worry about the McClains', he said with a soft smile. 'I'll do the talking.' Keith nodded numbly and let himself be led to the waiting room. There weren't many people around in the middle of the night, just Pidge, Hunk, a man in a dark hoodie, an anxious looking family, and an on-duty nurse. The atmosphere was incredibly tense and there was one flickering light that was annoying the shit out of Keith. He hated it there.

'Imma head to the coffee machine and get some coffee', Shiro announced. 'I'll be back in a tick.' Keith watched Shiro disappear behind a set of white doors and he set himself down beside Hunk. 'Any news?' Hunk asked hopefully. Keith shook his head and sunk further down in the hard plastic chair. 'He's still in surgery.' They didn't talk again after that. Keith stared at the clock above the reception, trying his best to block out his thoughts until Pidge broke the silence. 'It's not looking good, is it?' They said quietly. 'He got stabbed with a sword, what are the chances that it missed a vital organ? Not to mention all the blood that he lost.' 'Pidge…' Hunk said, but they continued. 'There wasn't a stretcher or anything relatively flat that Lance could be carried on, that must've worsened something. And how long did it even take to get him here? Time is crucial in these situations, and-'

'STOP!' Keith yelled, effectively shutting Pidge up. 'Stop it', he said again, softer this time. 'Please.' Both Pidge and Hunk were crying at this point. Keith was close to tears himself, but he wouldn't allow himself to cry. Crying would mean that he'd already given up on Lance, and Keith didn't want to give up. Not when there's still a chance that Lance could make it, however slim that change might be. Keith had hope, and he was holding on to it as tight as he could.

Shiro returned with four cups of steaming coffee sometime later. Keith barely tasted its bitterness as he sipped his scolding hot drink. He was too caught up in his own thoughts. Everyone perked up when a nurse entered the waiting room, but she came to announce the birth of a healthy little girl to the family on the other side of the room. Keith sank back into his chair. He couldn't care less about the birth of that little girl. He couldn't bring himself to feel happy for another when his entire body is filled with dread and anxiety. Some time passed again, or maybe it didn't. Either way, the waiting room was filled with that deafening silence again. The phone at the reception went off and the nurse picked it up. 'I'm looking for the owner of the giant mechanic cat?' She announced. Keith sighed and walked over to the reception. 'That's me', he said. 'Did I leave my headlights on?' The nurse didn't seem to appreciate the lousy attempt at a joke. 'We've gotten quite a few complaints about it', she said. 'So I'd like to ask you move your vehicle elsewhere, sir.' There's no way that Keith was going back to his lion unless it's to bring Lance to the Blade. 'I'm not moving my lion', Keith gritted, 'so you can take your complaints and stick 'em up your-'

'Okay, that's enough', Shiro said, shooting Keith a stern look. He turned toward the nurse. 'We're very sorry for the inconveniences we've caused, but we'll be needing the lion to transfer our friend to another facility once he's out of surgery. I've already spoken with the head of the hospital, and we do not want to cause a ruckus right now.' He shot Keith another look. 'Just give us a little while longer and we'll be out of your hair.' The woman nodded wordlessly, no doubt incredibly charmed Shiro's perfect manners and handsome face. It's just like that time we got into trouble with Adam, Keith thought, annoyed. Adam…SHIT! Keith's head shot up to look at Shiro. How could he forget about the existence of his brother's (ex-?) fiancé? Keith was about to open his mouth when the door slammed open and the entire McClain family stormed in. Keith stood frozen to the spot, unable to move as Maria made her way over to him with large and steady steps. Shiro looked as if he wanted to say something, but she walked straight pass him. Keith turned his head away as Maria stopped in front of him, unable to look her in the eye and waiting for the inevitable outburst. He waited, but nothing happened. Instead, he was surprised when he felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his middle and pulling him into a tight hug. Keith was too shocked to react, his arms hung limply at his side as Maria squeezed the breath out of him. 'Ay, mijo, are you hurt?' She asked worriedly as she stepped back to check for injuries. 'Oh, thank God you're all right.' She caressed his cheek softly before she left to fuss over Hunk. Keith was still trying to process what just happened when his own mother approached him. 'I'm sorry about the red paladin.' She said. 'Lance, mom', Keith replied quietly. 'His name is Lance.'

The door opened again and a doctor hurried into the room. 'Voltron?' She asked.

'That'd be us', Shiro said, stepping forward. The doctor turned to him. 'We've managed to stabilize his conditions for now, but we're not sure how long that's going to last. He needs better medical treatment than we can offer. I've been informed that you know where to go?'

'Yes we do', Shiro answered. 'But we'll need a few medics to join us on the trip in case anything happens.'

'I already have a team that's preparing the patient right now', the doctor said. 'The helicopter will be up and running in ten if you give me the address of the other medical facility.'

'We don't need a helicopter', Shiro said. 'We have a spaceship.' The doctor seemed taken aback by Shiro's words. 'Sir, the patient is in no condition to board a spaceship. The take-off alone could kill him!'

'No it won't', Keith said, looking the doctor in the eye. 'Black is the only way to bring him to the base.' She hesitated for a moment, then sighed. 'We're not responsible if anything goes wrong on the journey', she warned. 'The hospital will not be held accountable.'

Shiro nodded solemnly. 'We understand.'

'Good.' The doctor turned around and hurried out of the room, no doubt going to help with the preparations. 'I'm coming with you', Maria announced. Keith wanted to argue, but the look in her eyes told him that nothing would change her mind. 'Follow me', he said instead.

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The trip to the Blade of Marmora was nerve-racking. Keith had a group of strangers in his lion who were trying their best to keep Lance alive, he had Maria silently standing next to him in his cockpit, and a grumpy Kolivan frowning at him while Keith updated him on the situation. 'The pod has already been prepared', Kolivan said at last. 'The healing process can begin immediately after your arrival.' Keith thanked him before ending the connection. He sighed. The trip was still going to take some time since the base was about three hundred lightyears away from earth. Why was the universe so damn large? Keith was going as fast as he could without being too reckless. He couldn't take any risks, not when Lance's life is at stake. He just hoped that they wouldn't bump into any stray Galra ships.

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Kolivan wasn't happy to see a bunch of strangers show up at his base, but he still offered them a place to rest. 'I want them to leave as soon as they're fit for the journey back to Earth', Kolivan told Keith when the doctors were led away. Keith nodded. 'Yes, sir.' Kolivan left the infirmary without another word, leaving Keith and Maria alone. It was quiet for a long time, the silence was suffocating. Keith couldn't stand it anymore, he needed the answer to the question that had been haunting him ever since he saw Maria at the hospital. 'Why don't you hate me?' Keith asked quietly as he stared at his feet. 'I'm the reason Lance got hurt.' He heard Maria sigh. 'I don't know the whole story', she said, 'only the bits and pieces that Pidge told me.' Keith heard her step closer but he kept his eyes fixed on the ground. He only looked up when Maria gently placed a hand on his cheek and lifted his head. 'But I know one thing for sure', she said with a small smile. 'And that is that I can't hate you for what happened to Lance. I don't want to.' She took a step back and sat down on in front of the healing pod. She motioned for Keith to sit down next to her. He did so hesitantly. Maria put an arm around Keith's shoulder and gently guided his head to her shoulder. It was such a simple gesture, but it made Keith feel like a little kid again, so vulnerable yet so safe and warm. Keith automatically snuggled closer to her. He was embarrassed when he realized what he'd done, but Maria didn't seem to mind. Instead, she combed her fingers his hair affectionately. Keith could feel Maria's voice when she finally spoke again. 'Lance was never the strongest or the smartest of the family, and when Marco came around, he also lost the title as the little baby brother. We have a large family and I am grateful to have them all in my life. But it is also very chaotic, and as a mother, it means that I can't always give my children the attention they want. I think that's why Lance never felt like he was enough. He tries so hard to show everyone what he's worth that he forgets that he's already perfect to the ones who truly love him. We don't want him to change, we just want him to be happy.' She paused. 'Mi Lancito, he has such a big heart. And he has so much love to give! When he loves, he loves with all his heart. He always tries to help, always puts others before him, even strangers who he's never met. He's always thinking of others, but never spares a single thought for himself. He doesn't think he's worth it, and it breaks my heart. Maybe that's why he's such a hopeless romantic, he needs someone to love him as much as he loves everyone else. He's always giving, he needs someone to show him that it's okay to be the one receiving as well.' Maria sighed. 'I know what you're thinking, if I knew all this, why didn't I do anything about it? The truth is that I didn't realise any of this until it was too late. When my little boy was already gone. I've spent so many sleepless nights thinking about him, regretting that I hadn't told him that I loved him often enough. Because I do, I love him and all my other children no matter what.' She shifted a bit so she could look Keith in the eye. 'You brought my son back to me. You're the reason why I can still have a chance to tell him that I love him and see him smile. That's why I can never hate you, Keith. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for saving him. For rushing him to the other side of the universe for help. And most importantly, for making him happy. Because I see that he makes you happy too.' She added with a little smile. Keith blushed. 'Yes', he said. 'Yes he does.'

Keith could see that Maria was tired so he offered her his old room. 'I'm not tired', he assured her. 'I still have caffeine pumping through my system.' Maria was hesitant to leave the infirmary though. 'I don't want him to be alone', she said, looking at Lance's pale form in the healing pod. 'I'll stay with him', Keith promised her. 'He won't be alone.' He walked with her to his old room. Maria insisted that he at least took one of the extra blankets with him. 'It's cold out here', she said. 'I don't want you to catch a cold.' So Keith made his way back to the infirmary with the blankets and settled at the foot of Lance's pod. He leaned against the cool glass and looked up. 'Please come back to me', he whispered softly.

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Keith was reluctant to the Marmora base, but he didn't have a choice. The Galra wouldn't wait until Lance was healed to continue the war. Keith said his goodbyes and requested to be informed if there were changes in Lance's conditions. Keith made sure to drop the doctors off at the hospital before returning to the McClain farm where the others were waiting. Allura and Coran had returned from the Weblum and were filled in on the situation. Allura offered to try heal Lance with her Altean magic, but Coran advised against it since they didn't know what the consequences might be if they interrupted the pod's healing process. They also needed everyone be as fit as they could be for battle, they couldn't afford to lose another paladin. All they could do was continue fighting and try to keep it a secret that the red paladin was out of commission. Everyone tried to drop by the Blade as often as possible to check on Lance and the amount to post mission meetings held at the Blade of Marmora base grew. The pod showed that Lance's condition was slowly improving, but it was also clear that he wasn't waking up anytime soon.

Keith started to feel restless all the time, the nagging sense of worry at the back of his mind was slowly driving him crazy. It was just like Shiro's disappearance all over again, except he didn't have Lance to help him through this time. So Keith began to train as often and as he could, kept on pushing himself to the limit. He volunteered to go on every single mission available. He was working himself to the bone, but it kept his mind off Lance, so he continued. The others must've caught on to what he was doing eventually, because they banned him from going on more than four missions a week and forced him to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Krolia and Maria teamed up to enforce the rules and they even threatened to have Cosmo guard his room each night if he disobeyed. After a while Keith fell into a routine. Every morning, he'd wake up, train a bit, drive Marco to school, and either go on a mission or head to the Garrison afterwards. Sometimes he helped Shiro and Adam train the new fighter pilots, or he'd hang out with Hunk and Pidge while they helped building the new Castle. He'd train some more after dinner and then call it a night. Days passed, turning into weeks and two months passed by in a flash.

The Voltron crew assembled at the Garrison when Kolivan called for an emergency meeting. Nearly all representatives of the coalitions were present. 'My informants reported that the Galra are now certain that the red paladin is unfit to fight. Sendak has rallied all his troops and is preparing for a large scaled attack soon.'

'Any idea when Sendak's planning to strike?' Shiro asked. 'Unfortunately, no', Kolivan answered. 'We must be prepared to strike back at any given moment. I have already called back every Blade member. The rebellion and all the coalition members should prepare for battle. We'll need the strength in numbers.'

'The replacement for the Castle of Lions is also near completion', Sam said. 'We've altered the original design so it's more suited for battle. We've also combined the earthen technology with Olkarian and Altean tech. Right now, the Atlas is the most advanced spaceship in this quarter of the universe.'

'I hope your ship will be able to hold out against the fleet of Galra battle cruisers', Kolivan said. 'It's going to be a tough fight without Voltron.'

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The next couple of days were tense. Everyone was hurrying to finish the final preparation before Sendak's inevitable attack. Earth's defence system still wasn't perfect yet, but the shield could at least hold out for a couple of hours if needed. The engineers at the Garrison worked day and night to get the Atlas up and running. The rebels and the Blade spy's tried to gather as much information about Sendak's plan. And Keith was racking his brain trying to come up with a strategy to defeat Sendak without Voltron. He couldn't. They needed Voltron to defeat the Galra for good. If they failed now, all the coalition members will lose their faith in Voltron and everything they've achieved would be in vain. If they failed, Earth would fall into the hands of the Galra. Keith thought of Maria and her family, of the Holts and the Garrets, of Hoshiko and Adam. Hell, he even thought of that asshole James Griffin. None of these people deserved to be subjected to the horrors that the Galra brought with them. Keith was the Black Paladin. He was going to do whatever he had to do to keep the Galra from destroying everything and everyone he loved.

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The alarm went off during breakfast. It was followed by a phone call from Shiro. 'The Galra fleet has been spotted just outside of our solar system', he said. 'Get to your lion. We're under attack.' Keith changed into his armor in record time and was rushing out the door. Maria pulled him into a hug before he could leave. 'Come back to us safely', she said as the other McClains yelled encouraging wordsas 'Don't die!' and 'Show those aliens not to mess with earth!' 'I will', Keith promised. Maria let him go with a sad smile. 'Keith!' Krolia called. Keith ran after his mother to the Black lion and the fighter jet. 'Good luck out there', she told him before they parted. 'I love you, Keith.' 'I love you too mom', Keith said. He smiled at her one last time before he boarded his lion. It was time to win a war.

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Lance woke up and suddenly he was falling. He tried to take a step forward to prevent himself from face planting but his feet were caught in some kind of fabric. Lance's knees hit the ground painfully. Disorientated, Lance took in the dark room around him. He didn't recognize any of it. Where am I? Lance remembered getting stabbed, he remembered the intense pain that followed. Did he get captured by the Galra? Did they heal him to attain information about the coalition? Lance felt the panic rise up. He was hyperventilating. What happened to Keith and Hunk? Were they safe? Either way, he needed to get out of here. Okay, Lance thought to himself. Calm down. I need a plan. If he was captured, then it's most likely that he door was locked and guarded. How was he going to get past them? Lance didn't have his armor, he was only wearing his pants. Nothing in the room could pass as a weapon, but maybe he could strangle someone with the blanket? In the unlikely situation that he managed to get out of the room undetected, he needed to find out where he was and how to get to the nearest escape pod. If he managed to do that, he just needed contact his team and hope he doesn't die in space before they come to get him. It wasn't really a plan, but it was all he could come up with at the moment. Lance quietly made his way over to the door. If he could hear what was going on on the other side, then perhaps he could figure out the guards' shifts and come up with a better escape plan. Lance pressed his ear against the door and suddenly he was falling again. He fell flat on the cool ground on the other side of the door. Lance jumped up immediately, expecting laser guns to be shoved in his face, but there weren't any guards. In fact, the entire hallway was empty. Weird. Lance thought as he took in the dimly lit hallway. And creepy. Lance heard hurried footsteps coming toward him. They must've found out that he left the room. Before Lance could do anything, someone appeared around the corner. His instincts kicked in and he positioned himself in a fighting stance. The Galra rushing toward him was almost twice as tall as he was, but unarmed and… wearing the Blade of Marmora armor? The Galra stopped when she saw him. 'Paladin?' She asked, apparently equally confused to see him as he was to see her. 'Yeah', Lance said. 'Can you tell me what's going on?' The Galra's face turned serious. 'There's no time to explain', she said, grabbing his arm. 'We have to go, Voltron is needed. I'll explain on the way.' She led him to a ship where several other members were waiting on her arrival. They too were surprised to see him. The Galra Lady, Rayx she'd told him, told him that there was a spare change of armor in the back before telling the pilot that they were ready to leave. One of the Blades, who'd introduced himself as Nandox, handed him the armor when Lance couldn't find it. It was a bit too big since it was made for Galra, but it was still better than rushing into battle shirtless. 'So', Lance said, 'now that we're all here on this ship headed wherever. Can someone please tell me what's going on?'

'Sendak had rallied his troops and is leading a full-fledged attack on Voltron and its allies', Rayx told him. 'He knows that the paladins weren't capable of forming Voltron without you. He planned on striking when we are at our weakest.' 'All able bodied soldiers have been sent to fight', Nandox added. 'It'll be the largest battle since Naxzela.'

'It's being broadcasted throughout the universe', another Blade member said- Nyrin if Lance remembered correctly. 'I have it here.' Lance rushed over to look at her screen. The battle was intense. The screen was colored purple by the amount of Galra cruisers and laser beams. The Lions and rebel ships were vastly outnumbered, but it didn't stop them from fighting back. The screen cut to the footage of the paladins inside their lions. Lance couldn't hear what they were saying- it'd be stupid to broadcast your plans for your enemies to hear- but Lance could see from the look of their faces that this wasn't going to be an easy fight. It cut back to the battle and Lance heard Marco commentating in the background. Lance couldn't look away from the screen. He wanted desperately to be there and fight against the Galra forces. Please, he thought, please hold out a little longer until I'm there.

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The closer they were to Earth, the stronger Lance could feel Red's presence at the back of his mind. Red was restless too, eager to join the fight and help defend the universe. Come, Lance called. He wasn't sure if it would work. The red lion had left on its own to save Keith before, but Lance didn't know if his bond with Red was good enough for her to come at his request. 'We're almost there.' Nandox said, snapping Lance out of his thoughts. 'Nyrin, go take your place besides Kantod. Rayx, take the left canon, I'll man the main canon.' Nyrin and Rayx saluted and hurried to their position. Nandox turned his attention to Lance. 'Do you know how to get to your lion?' He asked. 'I've tried calling my lion', Lance told him. 'But I'm not sure if that worked. Maybe I can take an escape pod and fly to earth, but I don't want to leave you guys without one.' 'Your concern is touching, Paladin', Nandox said. 'But we are Galra, we do not run away from a fight. It's victory or death.' Right. Lance forgot about that little detail. 'Sir!' Kantod called from the cockpit. 'The radars have picked up on an approaching ship. It's faster than any Galra cruiser I know.' Lance felt Red calling out to him and he rushed over to the nearest window. 'It's not a cruiser', he said. 'It's my lion!'

Red arrived at the ship a few seconds later. Lance thanked the crew and clasped hands with Nandox for the last time before leaving. 'I hope you and your crew survive', Lance said. 'I don't want you guys to miss out on the epic celebration we're having afterward.' Nandox smiled. 'The same could be said to you, we don't want you to end up in one of our pods again.' 'I won't', Lance promised him. 'Go paladin. The universe needs you.'

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Lance's bayard laid on his pilot seat when he entered the cockpit. Someone must've cleaned it and placed it there for when he returned. Lance sat down and grabbed the controls. 'I've missed you, girl', Lance told red. Red's purring filled his mind. 'Let's go. We've made them wait long enough.'

The closer they got to the battlefield, the more debris lance had to manoeuvre through. At first he thought he was passing through an asteroid field, but they turned out to be wracks of Galra and rebel ships. Lance wanted to check for survivors, but he knew he had to get to the fight before everyone else ended up like this. I'm sorry, he thought, blinking back a few tears. He tightened the grip on his controls. Red sped up, going faster than either of them had gone before. Lance gritted his teeth. Just a little longer.

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Lance finally arrived at the centre of the battlefield. He had fought his way thought a number of fighter jets and had taken down one or two battle cruisers before he even saw his teammates. He scanned the battlefield. He was the lions, each fighting a different battle ship. Lance wanted to call out to them, but then he realised that he didn't have his communicator. 'Oh fuck it', he muttered. 'It's no time for reunions anyway.' Lance barrel rolled out of the way of a laser beam and managed to damage the ship with his own lasers. He finished it off by crashing the jets that were tailing him into the ship. Lance then rushed over to help out a group of rebel ships that were having trouble before heading off to take care another ship. Lance did what he could, but it wasn't enough. Every time he managed to take down a ship, an endless fleet of other ships would just take its place. He couldn't communicate with the rest of his team, and fighting without a plan was as frustrating as it was useless. A small screen suddenly popped up in his view. It looked like an incoming skype call from an unknown caller. Lance had no idea how to pick it up, he never had to add a new contact to his lion before. Red helped him out and told him which button to press. Sam Holt's face appeared in the corner as Lance dodge out of the way of an incoming attack. 'Lance!' Sam said. 'It's good to see you!' 'Yeah', Lance gritted as he provided cover for Hunk. 'It's good to be back.' 'I can't hear you', he heard Sam say. 'Pidge installed a new communication system when you were gone. But I need you to connect the audio as well before I can connect you to the rest of the team.' 'I'm a little busy right now', Lance said, even though he knew the other man couldn't hear him. 'You just need to flip the switch on your right to connect the audio', Sam instructed. Lance glanced over to his right side for a second before refocussing on the fight. There were too many damn switches, he didn't have the time to figure out which one was the right one. It took him some time to take out the enemy ships that surrounded Hunk and him before he could take another look at the switches. Once again, Red helped him out. 'Thanks, girl.' Lance smiled. 'We've got audio!' He heard Sam call out. 'Connect him to the other paladins ASAP!' A moment later, he could see the other paladins and Shiro. 'Lance!' They called out. 'I'm so glad you're well again', Allura said. 'Yeah, bud', Hunk agreed. 'And thanks for covering me back there. Couldn't have done it without you.' 'You're welcome, buddy.' Lance grinned.

'I can't believe you're here', Pidge said. 'And you're just in time to help us kick Sendak's ass.'

We both know that it takes more than a simple stab wound to kill me, Pidge', Lance told them. Keith scoffed. 'Simple stab wound. You've been in a pod for two months, Lance.' 'I know you guys want to catch up', Shiro said, interrupting Lance before he could respond to Keith. 'But we still have a war to fight.' 'What's the plan?' Lance asked instead.

'I'm sure you've noticed that there are a five ships that are way bigger than the others', Pidge said. 'Those are equipped with a new type of canon. According to Kolivan, those canons are designed to lock on to their targets, our lions, and keep on shooting until the target's eliminated. They do a shit ton of damage. If our lions get hit, it'll take a long time for them to recover.'

'Sendak was planning on taking out all the lions', Hunk continued. 'He knew we couldn't form Voltron and he wanted to keep it that way. No lions, no Voltron. No Voltron, no more annoying teenagers keeping him from taking over the universe.' 'That sounds like a good plan', Lance hummed. 'Too bad I'm not comatose anymore. Let's from Voltron and take those canons out before they start aiming it at anyone.' 'Yeah!' The team yelled in agreement. 'The rebels and The Blade of Marmora will take care of the cruisers guarding the canons', Shiro told them. 'The Atlas will join as soon as possible. We're having some minor problems with lift-off.'

'Don't tell me you built a spaceship that can't even get to space', Lance said in disbelieve. 'It can get to space', Shiro assured him. 'Coran's working on it. He said it was something with the crystal. It'll be solved in no time.'

'We'll keep a couple of small cruisers for you to shoot when you finally show up', Keith smirked. 'Team, form Voltron!'

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The fight became easier after they formed Voltron. The power boost that came with it was just what they needed. 'Lance!' Keith called as they headed toward the nearest canon. 'Form sword!' They fought their way through the fleet of Cruisers surrounding it. The canons were powering up, there wasn't much time left before all the canons were ready to fire. They had cut through the last battle cruiser in their way and were charging at the canon at full speed when they rammed into a shield that wasn't there before. The impact itself was already quite painful, but the shield was also electrically charged. It added a very nasty shock. 'So that didn't work', Lance panted when then were at a safe distance from the shield again. 'What are we going to do?' 'We're going to blast a hole through it', Keith said. 'Hunk, shoulder canon!' The canon appeared and they fired at the shield with all they got. It didn't work at all. The shield absorbed all the energy from the attack and blasted it right back at them.

They had barely recovered from the previous attack when another energy pulse hit them from behind. 'Pidge!' Keith yelled. 'Shield!' The shield was formed before they even turned to block the attack. Allura and Hunk engaged the thrusters to keep them in place. 'Keith!' Lance called. 'Three o'clock!' It was too late. Another canon fired, hitting them in the side. The other canons had moved and were surrounding them. The other canons fired, keeping Voltron in place with lasers on all sides. Lance cried out. He could feel the others' pain on top his own through Voltron. They wouldn't be able to hold out any longer like this. Lance could feel that Voltron was on the verge of falling apart. He was close to passing out himself. Then the pain suddenly stopped. Lance thought that he was imagining it, that his brain went into shock and stopped feeling anything at all. When his vision cleared, he found himself staring at a gigantic space ship. It looked like the castle of lions, but it was twice or even thrice the size of the original and was decorated with patches of Garrison orange. Great, Lance thought, now I'm imagining stuff as well. But then his communication system stopped making static noises and the video returned. 'I'm sorry it took so long', Shiro said. 'But the Atlas has finally arrived.' So he wasn't imagining it after all. 'I knew we could count on you!' Lance grinned. 'Space Dad always has our back!' The other cheered. 'God, I thought I told you guys to stop with that nickname', Shiro groaned. 'Not going to happen', Pidge said. 'You used your veto right on Space Daddy so get used to it.'

'I'm grounding all of you when this is over', Shiro grumbled. 'But now we have to focus on the fight. The Atlas' canons are powerful enough to overload the shields. You will be able to attack the canons when they fall. Remember that the other canons are still locked onto Voltron. Destroy the canon and come back. We can't hold this up forever so you need to do this quick and you need to do this right. We can't afford to fail. Can you do it?'

'Even with the thrusters at full speed, I'm not sure whether we can reach the canon before the other canons hit', Hunk said, voicing his concerns. 'I agree with Hunk', Allura said. 'I'm not sure if our lions have recovered enough to be able to pull off such a strenuous action.'

'Wait, guys!' Lance called 'My bayard port is lighting up!'

'Mine too!' Keith said. 'Let's give it a try.' Lance slammed his bayard into the port and turned. He didn't notice any visible changes. 'Did it do anything?' He asked. 'You have unlocked the wings!' Shiro said. 'Sweet!' Lance grinned. 'Let's do this!'

'We'll fire at three', Shiro announced. 'Coran, be ready to lower the shield in sector 31-A. One…two…three!' Voltron shot forward, following the laser beam through a hole in the castle's barrier. They were going faster than they ever had before. They flew toward the canon as its shield shattered and cut it down with one powerful swing of the sword. They flew out of the blast range again before the explosions even started. 'One down,' Pidge said, 'four to go.' They attacked one canon after another. Things were going incredibly well for them until they reached the last ship, Sendak's ship. The ship transformed into a gigantic robot with the canon perched on its shoulder. 'Of course he had a plan B', Lance muttered to himself.

'We've defeated other robots before', Keith said encouragingly. 'This one won't be any different.' They charged at the robot, switching between different combinations of weapons as they engaged in combat. 'Try to keep it in one place!' Shiro told them. 'Our canons aren't made for tracking fast moving objects.'

'We have to lure it away from the Atlas', Keith said. 'Make sure he's facing away from the Atlas, then we'll make it seem as if our defences are down. Let him try to take a shot at us. Only engage the shield at the last moment. It'll keep Sendak occupied so the Atlas can finish him off from behind.'

'But if Sendak catches on, then Voltron will take the blast', Shiro said, pointing out the flaw in Keith's plan. 'That's a chance we have to take', Keith told him. They continued to engage in close ranged combat with Sendak for a while before they carried out their plan. It made it more believable that Voltron was weakening after a long fight. Everyone was in position. Sekdak's canon was powering up again and Lance could feel the others' nervous anticipation. 'Wait', Keith said. The canon was about to fire. 'Just a little longer.' Purple light filled Lance's vision. 'NOW!' The shield blocked the blast at the last possible moment. The wing were thrusting at full power to keep them in place. 'Shiro', Keith gritted. 'Any time now please.'

'We've locked onto the target', Lance heard someone say. 'Power the canon at full capacity and fire!' Shiro commanded. The purple light turned white as Sendak's robot exploded into pieces. The blast hurled Voltron backward. Lance whistled. 'That's one hell of a canon you've got there.' Shiro laughed. 'Yes indeed.' His tone turned serious again as he said, 'All we have to do now is take out all the remaining cruisers. But that should be nothing compared to what you just went through.'

Fighting the leftover battle cruisers and jet fighters was a piece of cake. It was easy enough that the Paladins started having some light conversation while taking out their enemies. 'I really hope Sendak stays dead this time', Hunk said. 'Maybe we fought a clone. There are an awful lot of clones in space, more than I imagined there would be. Perhaps there's a whole army of Sendaks out there, you know, just like that creepy ship full of Shiros Keith told us about.'

'That's a really depressing thought, man', Lance told him.

'Sorry', Hunk apologized.

'But we have Voltron and Atlas now', Pidge said. 'We'll just kick Sendak's ass again if we need to.'

Hunk hummed in agreement 'That's true.'

'Let's just hope that the Galra learned from their mistake after the last time', Keith said. 'I've had enough of clones. I don't want to see another clone ever again.'

'I agree with Keith', Allura said. 'They really creep me out.'

'Anyway', Lance said, taking down another fleet of jet fighters, 'I can't wait to be done with all this. When we're back on Earth, I'm going to give my family a hug, take a shower, and sleep. The celebration can wait a little while longer. I know I've just come out of a coma, but I feel like I can sleep for another week.'

'Same', Pidge agreed.

'I don't even want to bother with anything', Keith said. 'I think I'm just going to call Cosmo to teleport me right onto my bed when we land. You better not wake me up with your sleep talking.'

'I don't talk in my sleep!' Lance objected.

'No, you sing in your sleep', Keith said. 'That's even worse. And you sing out of tune as well.'

'Well it's better than keeping everyone awake with your snoring!' Lance retorted.

'I do not snore!' Keith exclaimed, affronted.

'Yeah you do', Lance insisted. 'You sound like a little piggy.' They continue their banter while they fought the Galra. Then Lance heard Keith mutter. 'I can't believe I'm in love with this idiot' under his breath. Lance froze and he almost got hit by a laser beam. He couldn't believe his ears. 'What did you say?' He screeched. A look of horror crossed Keith's face as he realized what he'd just said out loud. 'Nothing!' He said hastily.

'I don't know man, it sounded an awful lot like 'I can't believe I'm in love with this idiot' to me', Hunk said helpfully. Lance knew he didn't misheard it! 'I- I did not!' Keith sputtered, blushing furiously. 'Yes you did.' Pidge smirked. 'We all heard it.'

'Focus on the mission!' Keith tried desperately. 'Uhm, no?' Lance said. 'You-'

'Keith is right', Shiro interrupted. 'Finish the fight. You can talk afterwards.' Lance wanted to protest, but he was being shot at by a couple of jet fighters so he begrudgingly did as he was told. 'We're definitely going to talk about this', Lance said, but Keith ignored him. Lance took out as many jets and cruisers as fast as he could. The fatigue he felt earlier completely disappeared. He only had one thought on his mind: End the fight as fast as possible and go to Keith. Lance was getting more and more impatient as the fight dragged on. He really needed some answers. Did Keith really mean what he said? What if he didn't? What if it was just a cruel joke? What if he only said it because it was some kind of dare? Just like what happened with Jenny Carter in 8th grade. Lance thought. He knew Keith would never do such a thing, but what if he did? It was driving him crazy. But then whoever was in charge of the remaining Galra finally thought it would be a good idea to retreat. The battle was over. 'Great job, everyone!' Shiro praised as the last Galra ship disappeared out of sight. Everyone was cheering as they headed back to Earth, but Lance was still too caught up in his thoughts to join. He was already planning how he would drag Keith with him to the beach the moment they landed. The sun would probably be setting and the waves would gently hit the shore. Keith would tell him how he felt and then Lance would too and they'd share a romantic kiss. It would be perfect.

But reality's a bitch and Keith flew right past Earth. That was not part of the plan.

'Wha- Keith!' Lance called. 'Keith come back!' Why wasn't he answering?

'What are you waiting for?' Hunk yelled. 'Go get your man!' Lance didn't need to be told twice. He Rushed after Keith, who was headed straight to the centre of their solar system. Lance let out a breath of relief when Keith touched down on the surface of Venus. He landed Red right next to Black and rushed out of his lion. Which was a terrible idea, because Venus was hot. But he had to talk to Keith and he couldn't do that if Keith kept avoiding him.'Keith, please let me in', Lance called. 'My armor's not going to last very long in this heat, and I'm pretty sure it's starting to rain acid.' He didn't know if Keith even hear what he said, but Keith let him into the Lion so Lance didn't really care. Lance nervously made his way to the cockpit. Keith sat curled up in the pilot seat with his knees pulled to his chest. He didn't say a word when Lance entered and continued to ignore him as Lance sat down at his feet, trying to get Keith to at least look at him. Lance sighed when Keith pointedly ignored all Lance's attempts at getting his attention. 'So', Lance said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. 'I guess we need to talk.' Keith remained silent. 'Oh, c'mon!' Lance groaned. 'Help me out a little! Say something, anything.' Still,Keith kept his mouth tightly shut.

Lance leaned back and took a deep breath. 'You know', he said, looking up at the ceiling, 'you really freaked when you flew right past Earth. I thought you were headed straight for the sun. The first time I've had a guy confess his feelings for me and he tries to fling himself into the sun before I get the chance to respond.'

'I was never planning on diving into sun', he heard Keith mutter. Lance snapped his head towards Keith. 'He speaks!' Lance exclaimed. That's a start. He thought to himself. 'But, you could've fooled me, though.' Lance continued. 'I'm sure the others thought so too. I've wanted to fling myself into the sun out of embarrassment on multiple occasions too. Remember that time on time on Bjardin? When I complimented that old grandma on her outfit and she thought it was a marriage proposal?'

Keith huffed a laugh. 'Yeah, and then rejected you in front of the royal court while rambling on about her faithfulness to her late husband.' Keith was finally looking at Lance. 'I don't really know what to say', he confessed. 'Neither do I', Lance told him. 'But we still have to do this.'

'You already know how I feel', Keith grumbled. 'There's not much left for me to say. All you need to do is give me an answer.' 'I- uhm.' Lance was starting to get nervous, this wasn't really how Lance had imagine this confession would go. Keith must've misinterpreted Lance's nervousness. The small hopeful smile he had on his lips fell and he ducked his head away again. 'Never mind', Lance heard him say. 'I'm sorry for being unprofessional during the battle. Let's just pretend none of this ever happened.'

'W-what?' Lance sputtered. 'No, no, no. Jesus, Keith, at least give me a second to think of what I want to say!' 'I uhm,' He tried again. Why was he so nervous? He already knew that Keith wasn't going to reject him. Lance counted to three and tried to calm himself down. 'Before Voltron', he said at last, 'you've always seemed unreachable. You were always at the top of every class and weren't interested in anything or anyone except for flying and Shiro. You seemed standoffish and you were acted like an asshole when someone tried to talk to you.'

'Hey!' Keith protested. Lance shushed him. 'Let me finish', he said. 'But you were also pretty fucking cool so I wanted to be friends with you even though you probably didn't know I existed. You probably didn't know any of your classmates except for James, but that was only because he kept picking fights with you. Eventually I got really frustrated and my ambition to befriend you sort off turned into 'If he doesn't want to be my friend, then I'll make him regret it.' I guess that was when the whole rivalry thing started.' 'One-sided rivalry', Keith reminded him. Lance chose to ignore his comment. 'But then we got stuck in space and you actually turned out to be quite a decent guy. I knew we had to start working together and all, so I wanted to try and put the whole rival thing behind us. I had no idea how to do it though, and seeing you all riled up was actually kinda funny. Besides, it was easier to just keep on going, you know? But then we fought Zarkon and Shiro disappeared… Things changed. You became my leader, and I was your right hand man. I would've followed you anywhere. I trusted you with my thoughts and insecurities, it was like a bonding moment. I thought we'd gotten closer after that. And then you suddenly packed your stuff and left, as if you'd rather be anywhere else in the universe, rather risk your life on suicide missions with strangers than staying by my side. It hurt, Keith. It really did.'

Lance could feel the tears pricking his eyes, the feeling of anger, sadness, anxiety, and longing that he'd suppressed flooded out all at once like water through a broken dam. 'I missed you', Lance continued, his voice uneven. 'I missed having someone to talk to, someone to hang out with. Hunk and Pidge had their science things. Allura, Coran, and Shiro's clone were always busy with the diplomatic side of the coalition. And I, I was only there to make sure we could still form Voltron.'

'I didn't want to leave', Keith said.

'Then why did you leave?' Lance asked bitterly. 'Because I didn't want you to step down', Keith confessed. 'I wasn't a good leader, and you said it yourself that you wouldn't return to the Blue lion because of Allura. I was the only one who could've stepped aside and still contribute to the war in another way. The Blade had already accepted me as one of their own. I might have left, but that doesn't mean that I wanted to… I barely survived most of the missions and got stuck on the back of a space whale for two years. It gave me time to think though. I only realised how much you meant to me when it was too late. I thought I'd never see the team again, that I'd never see you again. So I promised myself that if I would ever see you again, telling you how I feel would be the first thing that I'd do.'

Lance frowned. 'But you didn't', he said. 'Why?'

Keith laughed bitterly. 'Because we were still in the middle of a war and once again the mission had to come first. By the time I'd mustered up all my courage, I saw you with Allura and I realised that I wouldn't stand a chance against her. You were in love with the princess, and I was just the idiot that fell for a straight guy.'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait', Lance said jumping to his feet, trying to process all the information. 'First of all, Allura and I, that isn't going to happen. Ever. Sure I had a crush on her, but those don't really last. Besides, she's become more like family to me.' Lance placed a hand on his hip. 'Second of all, who are you calling straight?' Keith looked taken aback. 'uhm.' 'I can't believe you', Lance said exasperatedly. 'You're the one who's always going on about our bonding moments! Haven't you notice all the comments people made? Have you missed all my mini meltdowns whenever you do anything that's just so you.'

'I thought I was reading too much into it', Keith muttered, his face reddening.

'I'm not exactly the most subtle person when it comes to these things', Lance told him. 'I'm pretty sure everyone in the universe knows about my raging crush on the black paladin of Voltron by now.'

'You-'

'I like you Keith', Lance said. 'I like you so much that I don't think I can even call it like anymore. So how's that for an answer?' Keith stayed silent for a moment. 'Maybe start with the answer before the whole speech next time.' He said with a teasing smile. Lance huffed. 'You're dating a McClain, you better get used to the emotional rants.' Keith Laughed. It was a genuine, full belly laugh. 'We've both been so stupid', he sighed. 'All of this could've been avoided.' 'Correction', Lance said. 'You've been stupid. I've been dropping hints like crazy.'

'Okay, okay, I'm sorry', Keith apologized. 'Let me make it up to you.'

'Oh?' Lance smirked. 'And how to you-' He was cut short when Keith yanked him down by the collar of his hood. Their noses were almost touching, Lance could feel the heat of Keith's breath. His own erratic heartbeat was so loud that Lance was certain that Keith could hear it too. 'I've been wanting to do this since forever.' Keith whispered before he closed the last remaining distance between them. The kiss started sweet, gentle, and a bit insecure. Both of them still barely believing that it was actually happening. Then the kiss deepened, their insecurities replaced by their longing and all the pent up frustrations that they were finally letting go. Lance steadied himself by placing his hands on the armrests of the pilot seat. Keith let go of Lance's hood and slowly wound his arms around neck.

'Ahem!' Lance jumped back, startled by the sudden sound. 'Can you hear me?' Lance's head snapped to Keith's helmet in the corner. 'Pidge?' 'I didn't want to interrupt your little moment, but I thought that you might want to know that your comms and visual communicator are still on and that we saw and heard everything.'

'What?!' Lance screeched at the same time Keith asked, 'Who is 'we'?'

'Wait, one sec', Pidge responded. A screen popped up and Lance could see the entire Voltron team and his family staring at him. 'Oh my god', Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands. This was the most embarrassing thing that could've happened to him. 'Couldn't you've said something earlier?'

'Believe me, I really wanted to', they answered. 'But Keith muted the audio and I couldn't turn your camera off from here. I'm still figuring out how the lions work so it took me a while to hack it, okay. And it wasn't easy with all these people screaming in my ear.'

'Lance!' Hunk exclaimed, making his way to the front of the group. 'Lance, buddy I'm so happy for you!'

'It's about time', Veronica added. 'It was driving me nuts seeing you guys dancing around each other like that.' The others nodded in agreement. 'Anyway, back to the important part', Pidge said turning to the team. 'It's time to pay up, bitches. I won the bet, Keith was the one who confessed first.' Coran, Hunk, and Allura begrudgingly handed Pidge and Shiro some money. Lance could see some of his family members exchange money as well.

'You guys bet on us?' Lance exclaimed. He was completely ignored.

'Keith, I'm glad you finally told Lance how you felt', Shiro said. 'I'm very proud of you.' Pidge held out a hand to Shiro. 'You still owe me twenty bucks.'

'I take it back', Shiro grumbled, handing the half of money he just won to Pidge. 'Keith you're a terrible brother. You just couldn't have waited until after the final battle, could you?' Lance heard Keith mutter something inaudible under his breath.

'Glad to see you alive and kicking again, little bro', Luis grinned as he took Pidge's place in front of the camera. 'But I have to be Marco's personal driver for the next month because of you so be ready to get your ass kicked.' 'How is that my fault?!' Lance argued.

'Congratulations!' Coran exclaimed suddenly. 'You've just become the most popular celebrity couple in the universe!'

'How?'

'Did you forget that the battle was being livestreamed? The cameras in the cockpits were also filming.' Lance couldn't believe what he heard. 'Someone-' they fake coughed- 'Coran, also added the audio because it apparently shows that the paladins also have relatable problems such as crushes aside from world ending dramas.' The entire universe heard everything he told Keith. Oh no, Lance thought. Everyone in the universe saw me making out with Keith.

'We cut off the livestream when you started kissing though', Pidge told him. 'For privacy and all.' Lance snorted. 'How considerate of you.' Keith deadpanned behind him. 'Hey, does this mean we have to change the room arrangements again? Marco asked. 'M-Marco!' Lance Sputtered, his cheeks were getting redder and redder by the second. 'We'll discuss that when they return.' His mother said with a wink. 'Now, let those boys have some actual privacy.' She gave Pidge a gentle nudge. 'We'll see you two at dinner', Maria told them before Pidge finally ended the connection on their side. Lance made sure to triple check that their camera was shut off too.

'I can't believe that just happened.' Lance said. 'I can't go back, not after what'd just happened. Remember the conversation we just had about flinging ourselves into the sun? That sounds like a good idea right now. No wait, let's go on a trip. A nice long trip. Just the two of us and our lions. We'll go somewhere far, far away from Earth or any kind of civilization.' 'Lance', Keith said, making his way over to Lance. 'As much as I want to do exactly that, you know we'll never be able to escape them.' Keith was right. The others would find them anywhere they went. Lance buried his face in Keith's chest. 'God, they're going to pester us nonstop during dinner, aren't they.'

'Definitely', Keith agreed, wrapping his arms around Lance. 'But it's worth it.'

'Yeah', Lance said, looking up at his boyfriend. 'It is.'