Two hours later, in the courtyard just inside the gates of the Castle of Lions, Wade shielded his eyes from the noon day sun as he gazed upward toward the granite pedestal that served as the watchtower for the mighty Black Lion. He smirked as he thought about how fitting it was that he should be arresting the pilot of the beast right under the lion's nose.

When the commander had contacted him with his decision, there had been a moment when Wade had nearly refused out of sheer principle. There were few things that he detested more than someone threatening his authority. But as he thought about it, Wade realized that having Keith in custody was much more beneficial to his plan, than allowing the Voltron Force to stay in tact as outcasts from their own world. The latter scenario could prove to be potentially dangerous to Wade's end-game. So, he had agreed on Keith's conditions. The commander would be taken into custody, while the rest of the team would be given immunity from prosecution with regards to Graham's death.

Wade snickered silently. There would be other chances to dismantle the rest of the team. All in good time.

The doors to the entrance of the castle opened. Wade felt the two armed Garrison guards on either side of him stiffen. He rolled his eyes with annoyance. The two young men with him were not nearly as excited as he was at the prospect of arresting Keith. Unfortunately for Wade, the Voltron Force carried a cult-like status among the men and women that served under him. It was the very reason that Wade had to be so meticulous about bringing down Voltron. Any sense of impropriety, and the soldiers would most likely riot.

The Voltron Force finally emerged from the castle. Keith first, followed closely by his second in command, Lance. Hunk and Pidge were next, then Sven and Romelle. Finally, Allura and Coran arrived on the landing and followed the others down the stone steps into the courtyard. The commander stopped just a few feet from Wade. The others took up position behind him, save for the princess who marched from the back of the group to take a stand next to Keith.

"You are ready, Commander?" Wade asked.

There was an awkward pause before Keith answered, "I don't think so Wade."

Wade's thick gray mustache bristled. "What?"

Keith stepped aside to allow Pidge to come front and center.

While Pidge was dwarfed by Wade's larger stature, he seemed ten feet tall as he marched confidently up to the Sky Marshal. "Keith is not responsible for Graham's death," he announced. "You are." Pidge shoved his finger at Wade. "You hired the man who really killed the general."

"What?" Wade bellowed. "That's preposterous! Where's your proof?"

"Right here," a voice behind him answered.

Wade turned around to see Chip, accompanied by the rest of the Vehicle team, making his way toward him. In the smaller man's hand, Wade could barely make out the outline of a disk.

Wade's face screwed up. "What are you talking about?"

"Pidge and Chip have been working to hack your personal files since we got back to Arus." Keith stated.

Pidge grinned. "Yesterday, we got what we needed on you. All of your correspondence with one, 1st lieutenant Nick Lecaro. He's the man that you promised a quick trip up the ranks if he helped you. And I'm betting that if we asked him, he would tell us that he was also responsible for Lotor's escape."

Lance snorted and crossed his arms casually. "Also planned by you, of course."

"We're taking you into custody now, Sky Marshal." Keith said, barely keeping the mocking tone from his voice.

Wade laughed. "You can't arrest me. You don't have the authority."

"But I do." another familiar voice rang out.

This time, the color drained from Wade's face as he turned away from Keith again. The Vehicle team parted as Hawkins walked casually to the front.

"Hawkins, you relic," Wade spat, "what the hell are you doing here?"

Hawkins smirked at him. "Once Pidge and Chip got the evidence that they needed, Jeff contacted me."

Wade glanced at Jeff who merely raised an eyebrow at him, as Hawkins continued, "then it was just a matter of contacting the right people in the Alliance. I was reinstated and dispatched to Arus to bring you back for trial. Ensigns, take this man to the Explorer and throw him in the brig."

The two men on either side of Wade stepped forward just in time to grabbed him as he lunged at Keith. "You will regret this! All of you!" he yelled, pulling against the ensigns who restrained him. "This isn't over, son!"

Keith narrowed his eyes at him and took a step to within just inches of Wade's face. "I'm not your son. I am an officer in Galaxy Garrison and the Commander of Voltron Force," he said evenly, " and you're under arrest, you son of a bitch."

The words made Wade pause and gauge his situation. Angrily, he took a step back and straightened his stance, before finally turning on his heel and allowing the ensigns to escort him out of the courtyard without further incident.

Collectively, everyone still present let out a breath. It was finally over.

As muted chatter begin to filter through the group, Keith glanced at Allura next to him.

"Is it really over?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's over." He watched her for a moment, noting her pale skin and the far away look in her eyes. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping, and he could hardly blame her for that. "Are you doing okay?"

She took a deep breath before answering, "I think I will be." Then she gave him a shy smile.

Even her small attempt to smile at him gave him hope. She was an incredibly strong woman, much more than he usually gave her credit for, and at that moment, he knew that she would be alright. It would take some time, but she would survive as she always did. "You know, Allura..."

"Whoo hoo!" Lance's voice rang out through the courtyard, drowning out anything else Keith may have said to her. Lance moved to stand next to Allura and threw an arm around her shoulders. "I'd say if there was ever a reason for us to have a party, this would be it. What do you say, Allura?"

Allura glanced at Keith who only shrugged, but let a little slip of a smile escape his lips. She beamed back at Lance and nodded. "Sure. Okay."

"Alright!" Lance said, then he broke from her to join Hunk and Pidge who were celebrating with the Vehicle Force.

"Nice work, Pidge," Sven was saying as Lance approached.

Pidge turned bright pink and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up in case it didn't pan out," he said sheepishly. "And I couldn't have done it without Chip's help."

"How did you manage it anyway, Chip?" Hunk asked.

Everyone turned to look at Chip who was every it as crimson as his brother, clearly uncomfortable being thrust into the spotlight. "I planted a virus on Wade's computer before we left Earth," he explained. "Then it was just a matter of filtering through all of his files until we found the right ones."

"Yeah, yeah," Lance cut him off. "You can fill us in on all of the technical details later. We have a party to plan." He had their full attention now. "I've already cleared it with Keith and Allura. And you are all invited." he said to the Vehicle team. More loud chatter erupted.

Keith smirked at the princess. "Do you have any idea what you have unleashed on the castle?"

"Total chaos?" she answered, still smiling as she watched her friends. "I think it is just the kind of chaos that this castle has needed for a long time."

Lance could be very motivated at times, especially when he was planning a party, something he had become very adept at while at the academy. His ability to plan, delegate, and implement a plan of action for a celebration came only second to his piloting skills. In the span of a few hours, Lance had transformed the rec room into a veritable disco, complete with a mirrored ball and lights that he and Hunk had managed to rig together from parts in storage and a sound system the the Vehicle Force had been gracious enough to loan them from the Explorer. Allura, Romelle, and Rebekah had recruited Sven and Richie – with Nanny keeping a close eye – in the kitchen for some last minute party trays. Keith had even gotten into the spirit of the occasion and joined Jeff and Ginger on the hunt for alcoholic libations. All in all, it had been a decent haul consisting of a few bottles of various wines from the castle coffers, and a decent amount of liquor from the Explorer.

The quick beat of the music was just loud enough to be heard from the outside corridor as Allura and Romelle approached the open door. Just before they entered, Allura pulled Romelle to side and asked her cousin again if she thought that her outfit was appropriate. To satisfy her, Romelle took a step back and gave her a once over. Without consulting Nanny, because surly it would have resulted in a tirade from the older woman, Allura had refused to wear one of the many gowns from her closet. Instead, she had opted for a yellow, flowing sun dress that she would normally reserve for an springtime outing picking her favorite herbs and flowers in the garden.

"Lance said casual." Romelle assured her, pushing back a blond curl that had fallen over Allura's shoulder. "You look great."

On cue, Lance stuck his head out of the doorway. "Did I hear my name?" he asked, moving into the corridor to greet them.

"Yes, you did, Lance." Romelle said. "I was just telling Allura that you specified that this is a casual event, and that she is dressed appropriately."

"Let's see here." Lance grabbed Allura by the hand and gave her a gently turn. "I'll say. You look terrific." Suddenly he pulled her to him so he could whisper in her ear. "And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who will think so."

Allura punched him lightly in the arm, trying hard to hide the burning blush creeping into her cheeks.

Voices from the corridor moving toward them captured their attention.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Richie was saying as he and Deirdre walked arm in arm toward them.

"I am not a porcelain doll, Richie." she complained. "This is not something I can't deal with. Besides if I have spend one more minute in the med bay, I will go mad. Oh, hi..." she smiled broadly at Allura and Romelle as they arrived.

"Hi, Deirdre," Allura said. "How are you feeling?"

"My body's still adjusting. But not too bad, thanks. If people will stop treating me like I could keel over at any minute." She gave Richie a playful scowl.

Richie was not amused. "Well, let's see you've been implanted with some mind altering parasite, been shot and killed, came back from the dead, and had your DNA altered. All in the span of a week. I can't imagine why anyone would be worried."

An awkward silence settled among the group. Romelle and Allura glanced uneasily at each other while Lance simply stared at the floor, guilt plainly written all over his face. Deirdre elbowed Richie with a solid blow to the ribs, causing him to wince slightly. "Nice going, Jackass. Way to kill the mood." She took a deep breath. "Come on, guys, this is a party. We won. Let's just focus on the fact that we are all still around to celebrate, and not worry about how we got here." she continued, trying to make eye contact with Lance.

He dodged her gaze and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I better go make sure that Hunk hasn't cleared the food table already." He turned to leave, but was jerked back when Deirdre caught his wrist and stopped him. He raised an irritated eyebrow at her. "What?"

Deirdre smiled sweetly at Richie. "Richie, would mind escorting the lovely princesses into the party. I need to speak with Lance for a moment."

Richie clearly took the hint and dropped her arm to offer his to Allura. "Well hell yes I will." he said, grinning at Allura and Romelle. "Ladies, it would be my pleasure."

The two princesses blushed slightly, each taking an arm, and Richie led them into the party. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Deirdre rounded on Lance, all semblance of joviality had left her expression. "Is this how it's going to be between us now?"

"What?" Lance asked.

"Now you listen to me, Lance McClain!" she said, shoving a finger in his chest. "You are not going to carry this around with you like some burden that you single handedly brought on yourself! Jesus Christ, between you and Keith, I haven't been around so much angst since junior high. Why is it that the two of you think that you have complete control over everything that happens?"

Lance narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"

She crossed her arms. "I'm talking about how neither one of you can look me in the eye. Like somehow all of this is your fault."

"Well, it is, isn't it?" Lance finally shot back. "If Keith hadn't have called you in to help. If I hadn't let the two of you go after Allura. If I hadn't shot..." He was cut off when Deirdre abruptly slapped him across the face. Not hard, but enough to get his attention. "What the hell, Deirdre!"

"GET OVER YOURSELF!" she yelled at him. "I make my own decisions, and that means only I get to live with the consequences! Nobody forced me to do anything! Not even Lotor..."

Lance's anger began to boil over as he thought about Lotor forcing himself on Deirdre. It make his stomach turn. "So, why did you do it, Dee? Why did you let Lotor..." he stopped, not even able to say the words.

Seeing the pain on his face, Deirdre's expression softened. She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "Because I knew I could take it. If Lotor had taken Allura, he would have broken her." They both glanced up as more voices drifted from the corridor. Keith, Jeff, and Ginger were walking their way. Deirdre lowered her voice. "And it would have destroyed all of you." she said, keeping her gaze on Keith for a moment longer before meeting Lance's again.

"So, you did all of it to protect us."

She shrugged. "I figured you guys had saved my bacon enough times, I could return the favor." Lance grabbed her and hugged her fiercely. "Hey," she croaked, "I'm fine really. Aside from not knowing exactly what kind of side effects my new 'powers' will have, I actually feel pretty good." She pushed him back so she could look at him again. "And trust me when I tell you that I do not blame you for what you had to down in the bunkers. You made the right call. I would rather have been dead than live under someone else's mind control. So, I guess I should say 'thank you.' Just accept that, and let's move on. There's been enough pain and sadness. Can we do that?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah, I think we can do that."

"Good, cause I heard that Keith and others were able to track down some tequila on the Explorer. What say you and I tie one on and," she gave him a devilish smile, "have some fun."

This time, Lance granted her a full on grin. "Whatever you say." He offered her his arm which she gladly took.

"Hey," Keith called as he, Jeff, and Ginger approached. "what are you guys doing out here? I figured the two of you would have dried up the bar by now."

"We were just headed that way." Lance said. He turned to lead the way only to stop and grab Keith by the arm. "By the way, you better look sharp tonight, Keith. Allura is looking particularly fetching this evening, and I'm pretty sure that she's going to be expecting a dance or five."

"Huh?" Keith tried to play off his rising excitement as confusion, but from the looks on his friends' faces was unsuccessful.

Deirdre and Lance exchanged knowing looks. "The cat's out of the bag, Keith. Now all you have to do is take action, Commander."

Keith narrowed his eyes as Lance led Deirdre, followed by Jeff and Ginger into the rec room. He followed accordingly.

The rec room was dimly lit with colored lights – that seemed to be following the pulse of the music – flashing elaborate designs on the small area that was serving as the dance floor. Members of both teams were sitting around the tables and chairs that had been pushed back against the walls. In the kitchen, Keith spotted Hunk and Rebekah perusing the party trays of various meats, cheeses, and sweets that were laid out on the island. Scanning the room once more, he finally found what he was looking for. Allura was standing by the bar with Romelle and Lisa. Lance had been right, she was a sight to behold in her yellow sundress that fell just at her knees. Her hair fell around her shoulders in golden curls that changed colors with the dancing lights. Without warning, she turned and caught his gaze, smiling and waving. He smiled back at her, breathing deeply, trying to keep the tingling in his body at bay. It's time, he decided. With Lotor gone, and the Drules on the run, Arus was safe. There would not be a better time for him to finally tell Allura everything that he had wanted to confess to her since the day they met.

"See anything you like?" Sven approached, following Keith's attention.

Keith looked at him and grinned. "And if I did?"

Sven returned his smile and threw an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Well, it's my experience that if you really want something, standing in the corner while it's right in front of you, gets you no closer to it."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, jeez, you guys just are not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope. But I tell you what, let's get a drink. You could probably use a little liquid courage. Am I right?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah, I guess I could. But nothing too hard, I don't want to be slobbering in her face when I talk to her."

Sven laughed loudly. "LANCE!"

"WHAT?" Lance answered from his place by the bar.

"SHOTS!"

"YOU GOT IT!"

Keith furrowed his brow. "Now wait a minute, I just said..."

"Doesn't matter, Keith." Sven pulled him by the arm to where Lance was waiting to hand them each a shot glass. "Trust us, this is just what you need." The three pilots downed the shots, each making a vain attempt not to make a face.

"Whoo hoo!" Lance crowed. "That's what I'm talking about."

"Eh hum..."

The three of them turned to see Hawkins each trying to hide their shot glass behind their back. The older man chuckled. "You are adults, men, and not on duty at the moment. I am not going to scold you for having a little fun."

"Thank you, sir." Sven finally managed.

"I would, however, like to have brief meeting with you and your team, Keith, before the party gets too out of hand."

Keith cocked his head. It had been a while since Hawkins had been his commanding officer – or anybody's commanding officer for that matter – not to mention the fact that Hawkins had only just been reinstated to Garrison. Keith wasn't even sure how to address the man. "Yes, General." he said cautiously, and when Hawkins made no move to correct him, he assumed it was appropriate. We'll grab Hunk, Pidge, and the Princess. We can use Coran's office. I'm sure he won't mind."

Hawkins nodded. "That will be fine. But there is no need to bother the princess. This is Garrison business.

"I see, sir." Keith nodded.

"Meet me in the corridor in five."

"Yes, sir." Keith responded.

When Hawkins was well out of earshot, Lance and Sven looked at him questioningly.

"What do you suppose that's all about?" Lance asked.

Keith shrugged his shoulders. "You got me. Go grab Hunk and Pidge."

Lance and Sven nodded and went about collecting the rest of the team. Keith watched Hawkins duck out of the room before glancing back at Allura. He sighed. Oh well, he thought, it's waited this long, it can wait a little longer.

"Where are they running off to?" Allura watched as Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven made a bee line for the exit.

Deirdre shrugged. "Don't know. But I saw them talking to Hawkins earlier. He probably wants to debrief or some nonsense." She watched Allura's gaze as Keith left. "Not to worry, Princess. I can almost guarantee that you and Keith are going to get your moment tonight."

Romelle and Lisa snickered, and Allura was going to rebuke the statement and then decided that there was no point. They all knew about her feelings for Keith. Why deny them? She sighed audibly. "Do you really think so?"

"He would be a supreme idiot not to." Lisa commented, handing them each another drink. "And I know Keith Kogane. He is no idiot."

"Well, when it comes to women, that might be up for debate." Deirdre cut in.

All four women fell into hopeless giggles as the music around them picked up to a moving pace. "Come on, I want to dance." Lisa announced, setting her drink down.

"But we don't have anyone to dance with." Allura said.

Lisa laughed loudly. "We have each other. Come on." She took Allura's drink from her hand, set it down on the table, and pulled both Allura and Romelle, followed by Deirdre, onto the dance floor where they were greeted by friendly cat calls from around the room as they began moving, getting completely lost in the music.

Only fifteen or twenty minutes had passed, but to Allura it may have been an hour. As time went on, the party was loosening up considerably and more people were moving to the dance floor. Allura had taken the opportunity to slip away, grab another drink, and move to stand by bar a where Deirdre had already staked out a spot. While she had tried to keep up with them, Deirdre finally had to admit that she was not at one hundred percent and tired out quickly. It didn't stop her, Allura noted, from keeping a fresh drink in her hand.

"Having a good time?" Deirdre smiled, and Allura noticed the flushed cheeks that the red head was sporting. She couldn't decide if it was the drinks or a case of exhaustion.

Allura took a drink and smiled back. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." She glanced at the door again. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"I wouldn't worry. As I remember, General Hawkins can be long winded at times. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Allura nodded, trying not to blush. "Have you given any thought about what we talked about earlier?"

Deirdre didn't answer because her attention had turned toward the door where Keith had entered with the rest of the team behind him. Allura felt her heart skip a quick beat as Keith set his gaze firmly on her and walked purposefully in her direction with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge close behind. She took a deep breath to settle the fluttering in her stomach. As bad as she wanted to play it cool, she could not stop the goofy smile that crept across her lips. "Hi, Keith."

Keith did not return her smile. "Hey, Allura."

All of the casual flirting from before was gone and replaced by an expression that Allura was having a hard time interpreting.

"Uh oh." Deirdre said. "I've seen that look before. What's up?"

"We just got done talking to Hawkins. We're being reassigned."

Allura blinked trying to understand what he was saying. "Reassigned?"

Keith let out a slow breath. "We're being recalled back to Earth."

"What?" her voice cracked. She felt like she had been punched in the gut. "You're going back to Earth?"

"Hawkins is of the opinion – and frankly so am I – that there is no way that Wade could possibly pulled off all of this on his own. He believes that there are more traitors in Garrison." He paused to let her absorb the information. "Hawkins needs people he can trust to weed out the rest of the conspirators."

"Yeah," Lance cut in. "We're even getting promoted. We'll be heading up the task force to take out the trash at Garrison."

"So, your all leaving?" Deirdre asked casually as if she were asking about the weather.

Hunk cleared his throat. "Not all of us. Pidge and I have resigned our commissions. We would like to stay on Arus."

"If that's okay with you, Princess." Pidge cut in.

Despite the overwhelming feeling that Allura had to throttle Keith right where he stood, Allura treated Hunk and Pidge to a gracious smile. "Of course you can stay. You two are the only people who know how to baby the castle's security and circuitry. And..." she glanced briefly at Keith, "I would miss the two of you if you left. What about you, Lance?"

Lance rubbed the back of his neck like he was uncharacteristically uncomfortable being put on the spot. "Aw, you know me, Allura, I've got to be where the action is. I figure kicking a bunch of traitorous assholes out of Garrison, seems to fit the bill."

Allura nodded. "I see. So, when will you be leaving?"

"Hawkins wants us to leave on the Explorer tomorrow morning."

Keith's matter of fact tone began to grate on Allura. He acted like it was no big deal. Like it didn't even bother him. Like everything that had happened in the last few years had meant nothing. She wanted to scream at him, slap him across the face. Ask him how he could be so nonchalant about leaving Arus. But she didn't. She couldn't. She wouldn't, she decided, give him that. If he could pretend that it all didn't matter, then so could she.

The uncomfortable silence that fell among the group was broken when Deirdre cleared her throat loudly. "Well, since we've only got one more night," she sauntered over the Lance and grabbed his arm. "We may as well make the best of it. Come on, McClain. Let's go snatch that bottle of tequila and..." Her voice faded out as she leaned into Lance and whispered in his ear. Neither Allura nor Keith could hear what she said, but the broad grin on Lance's face was all the interpretation they needed.

Lance stretched his arm around Deirdre's shoulder. "That's the best idea I've heard all night. See you kids later." He winked wickedly at Keith as he and Deirdre headed toward the bar only turning back to grab Hunk and Pidge. "Come on, you two. Have a drink with us."

Keith sighed and shook his head as Hunk and Pidge followed Lance and Deirdre. "I will never figure those two out."

Allura nodded. "Yeah, they do have a strange rapport, don't they?"

"Listen, Allura, I..."

"Don't, Keith." she said simply, forcing a smile. "There's nothing you can say the would make this easier to swallow."

Keith had no response, so he only nodded. He knew that she was putting up a strong front for him. He knew that the news that he was leaving was hurting her every much as it was hurting him. He also knew that with a few words, he could make it easier for her. To tell her how much he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms, tell her it was all going to be okay. Tell her that he would come back to her, and they would live happily ever after. But more than anything, he wanted to tell her the truth. The truth about why he was leaving. Circumstances being as they were, telling her truth would do more harm than good. This was the only way. She was still watching him, waiting for him to say something. He coughed lightly. "Well, I should probably start getting my things together."

To his surprise, she didn't argue. She only nodded. "Yeah," Then she surprised him again when she lifted to her toes and planted a feather light kiss...on his lips. It was so quick that he almost thought he imagined it. But as she rocked back to her heels, he noticed the tinge of pink on her cheeks. "General Hawkins made the right choice. There are no two better men that I know who could find the moles in Galaxy Garrison." She graced him with one final smile. "I should go mingle. After all, I am the hostess of the party. It wouldn't do for me to neglect my guests."

They both lingered a moment longer than necessary before finally turning and walking away in separate directions.

Morning came very quickly, not that it mattered to Keith who found sleep to be conveniently evading him. Packing had been easy enough considering he had always been a minimalist, not ever keeping anything around that he did not absolutely have to keep which consisted of a few changes of clothes, a couple of pairs of boots, and the essential toiletries. The few non-imperative items included some books – mostly about Arusian history – and a small picture album that his mother had given him when he left for the Space Academy. It had random pictures of his family, a few from his cadet days, and one picture of the Voltron Force – all perched on the shoulder of the fully formed Voltron.

He remembered that day so vividly. They had just finished practiced maneuvers, and Nanny had made the announcement that it was tradition for the Voltron Force to have a portrait made. It had felt awkward at first, but Pidge and Lance had gotten the giggles and before it was over, they had over thirty ridiculous pictures of them in various positions. It had been a good day. Reflecting back on his time on Arus, Keith suddenly felt sorry that they hadn't taken the opportunity to take more pictures.

Hoisting his bag over his shoulder, Keith glanced around his room one more time. Taking a deep breath to keep those feelings of regret from into progressing into something more, he turned out the light and closed the door.

On his way to the lift, he paused in front of Lance's door and banged loudly. "Lance! You ready?" he shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." came Lance's voice from the other side.

Keith could hear him moving around frantically and was pretty sure he already knew the reason that his second in command was not ready. Lance flung open the door and stepped out into the corridor. He was shouldering his own duffle bag and pulling two more storage bins behind him. Keith shook his head.

"Seriously? Three bags? What the hell do you have in there?"

Lance eyeballed the one bag that Keith had before obstinately lifting his nose into the air. "A few mementos of our illustrious time on Arus."

"You're a hoarder."

"I'm a keeper of memories, my friend. And I made a few more last night." He grinned big as he started down the corridor with Keith in step.

"Yeah, I heard." Keith said. "The two of you sounded like a couple of cats in heat."

Lance's laugh echoed through the corridor as he loaded his things on the lift after Keith. Once the doors closed, Lance turned to his friend. "So, how did it go with Allura?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did she lay into you about leaving?"

Keith shook his head as memories of the light kiss lingered in his mind. "No, as a matter of fact, she was okay with it."

"Wow, that's surprising. So? Did you guys hook up or what?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Dude, don't even go there."

When they got to the hanger where the Explorer was waiting, they found a small group gathered. Hunk and Rebekah, Pidge, Deirdre, Sven and Romelle had all come to see them off. Even Coran was waiting. Neither Keith nor Lance missed the fact that one of them was not there.

"Maybe she didn't take it as well as you thought." Lance whispered to Keith as they near the group.

Keith only nodded. Somehow, he had known that she would not be there. It's just as well, he told himself. Seeing her standing there waving good bye would only add to unbearable conflict to stay. A clean break. For those that were there, he offered each a good-bye. When he got to Hunk, he stuck his hand out, but Hunk had other ideas, pulling him into a massive bear hug.

"Kick some ass out there, Commander." Hunk said, and Keith had a sneaking suspicion that the big man was sniffling.

"Don't worry, big guy," Lance said. "We'll be back to visit."

Rebekah moved forward to stand next to Hunk as he dropped Keith. "Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later." she said, smiling.

It took Keith and Lance a moment to catch on, but once they saw Hunk's grin mirroring Rebekah's, the pieces fell into place. "When's the big day?" Lance asked, hugging Rebekah.

"We're not sure yet," Hunk replied while he and Keith shook hands. "But you will be the first to know."

"We wouldn't miss it!" Lance crowed.

Keith hugged Deirdre. "You sure you want to stay? Hawkins said he would recommission you if you want to come back to Garrison."

She shook her head. "My Garrison days are over, and I don't know that I would really be able to go back to my old life on Earth. You know, with everything that's happened. Besides, Allura's offered me a cushy job as Captain of her personal guard. How hard can it be keeping tabs on a princess?"

Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith, but kept his opinion to himself. Instead he said, "yeah, good luck with that."

"Keith...Lance..." They turned to see Jeff waiting at the top of the ramp. "It's time."

Keith nodded. "Right. Come on, Lance." He gave Deirdre one more glance. "Take care of her."

Deirdre gave him a snappy salute. "Aye, aye, Commander."

Keith and Lance made their way to the top of the hanger ramp and turned one more time to wave good-bye at the door closed.

From her bedroom in the Castle of Lions, Allura watched stoically as the Explorer lifted off the planet and disappeared into the atmosphere. She did not cry. She had no tears left to give. After a night of soaking her pillow, she had finally decided that she really had no right to be angry with Keith. After all, he had honored his promise to help her bring peace to her planet. He had stayed until the end. Why should she be allowed to hate him when he had sacrificed so much for her and her people?

A knock at the door took her attention from the window. "Allura..." Nanny's voice filtered through. "Breakfast is ready, my darling."

"I'll be right down, Nanny, thank you."

The princess sighed loudly and straightened her shoulders. She would have to learn to get on without Keith. It was time to stand on her own and rule her planet as her father did. She would see his dreams of peace and prosperity to fruition. She would make him proud.

So, obviously this took a different turn than I expected when I began this thing. I said before that I was ready to be finished and done with this story. Unfortunately, the story had different ideas. For all of you darling K/A shippers... no HEA this time, my lovelies. But fear not! There is more story begging to be told. You can probably guess what that mean...SEQUEL! Now, I'm not going to lie to you, I do have other projects that needed to be tended to, so I'm not really sure when I will be able to get fully into my next story. But I have left you with a little treat so show you that I am indeed serious about it. The next chapter is a teaser for the next part of the story. Please let me know what you think. I am pretty excited about it :)