Keith dashed from the room. His heart felt as though it would beat out of his chest.
"Lance!" Keith exclaimed, panting as he entered the control room. "Where is he?"
"We picked up the coordinates of his last stress signal." Allura replied.
Keith's stomach flipped. "How long ago was that?"
"About five minutes ago," Allura replied. "He's alive, but he could be injured."
"Alright," Shiro began. "Let's suit--"
"--We don't have much time!" Keith cut him off. "Shiro, I'm riding with you. Let's move!" Keith interrupted before turning on his heel to run out, bumping into Pidge on the way. "Sorry, Pidge!" He said quickly before disappearing around the corner.
Shiro blinked. "...up?" He finished.
Pidge and Hunk nodded before the three ran out after Keith.
___________________________
The four Paladins touched down on a planet that was all to familiar to Keith. Although it's grassy plains were almost unrecognizable in the daylight, Keith could make out the small patch of grass where he and Lance once sat; the place where they first confessed to one another. He lead the group along the route to the coordinates of Lance's last known location. Keith could only pray that Lance was still there and relatively unharmed. They continued down the hill.
"Look! Over there!" Hunk exclaimed. He pointed to a rising cloud of smoke.
Keith's eyes followed its path of origin down to the campfire at its base. He paused in disbelief when he saw a figure sitting on a large rock with their back to him.
"LANCE!" Keith exclaimed.
The figure shot to their feet and turned. "Keith?" Lance asked in disbelief.
Keith ran into Lance, practically knocking him to the ground when he rushed into his arms.
"Whoa, darling. Take it easy." Lance's fingers brushed Keith's hair out of his face. He pulled Keith close, hugging him tightly. "Oh god, Keith. It's really you! I can't believe it!"
It was in that moment that Keith noticed a series of pink scars running from just below Lance's left eye to end just short of his collarbone. "Lance... your face..."
Lance stiffened and broke away. His expression went from one of joy to one of sadness.
Keith reached out to touch his cheek only to have Lance's hand wrap around his, stopping him.
Lance watched him with sorrow filled eyes but he tried to hide it behind a smile. "Yeah... not as pretty as I used to be. But I'm okay... at least now I am." He kissed Keith's hand before his eyes dropped to the ground in shame.
Keith slipped his hand out of Lance's grip then cupped Lance's head in his hands. "Look at me, Lance." He waited. "I said look at me!" Keith demanded desperately.
Lance met his gaze with uncertainty.
Keith wiped a tear away with his thumb. "Scar or no scar, you're beautiful all the same. Don't you ever forget that."
Lance smiled through his tears and pulled Keith close. "I love you, Keith." He whispered into his ear.
"I love you too, Lance." He replied with a smile. "I don't know how you could have made it... but you did. I saw the explosion. Everything was gone... like it never existed. Quiznak, Lance! How did you... it's a miracle."
Lance smiled softly. "It was a miracle." Lance agreed. "The moment before the timer counted down to zero, a wormhole formed to the right of me. I wouldn't have noticed it at first if it wasn't for the Red lion. It pushed me into the wormhole seconds before it closed. I don't know who piloted the Red lion, but they saved my life that day."
Lance turned his head to point to the scar. "It wasn't the cleanest of getaways though..." he added. "When I crashed here, I pretty much survived off of nuts and berries. Of course, the berries were probably a mistake..." he added as an afterthought.
"You ate bad berries, didn't you?" Keith asked.
Lance flashed him a toothy grin and shrugged his shoulders.
Keith shook his head with a smile and pulled him closer. "You idiot." With that, he pressed his lips against Lance's.
When they broke away, Keith flushed red. They stared at one another with wide eyes. Keith cleared his throat. "I--um... sorry. Probably should have asked first. I mean, you've been through a lot so..."
"What's with the apology?" Lance smirked, holding Keith so he couldn't move away. "It's my prize kiss, isn't it? I won the race."
"I...what?" Keith paused in his effort of pushing Lance away and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't win that! We were in the middle of battle!" Keith realized that his hands had rested on Lance's chest far too long and they shot to his pockets. The blush on his cheeks was beginning to resemble the color of his jacket. "The race was canceled!" Keith continued stubbornly.
Lance tapped Keith's nose. "Au contraire, my darling. All is fair in love and war! Plus, you didn't say 'time out'." His smirk widened.
"Are you kidding me? That's not in the rules!"
Lance shrugged. "Should have established that before I won. Face it, I'm a champion."
"In your dreams!"
"Yes you are. In my dreams forever and always," Lance said dreamily.
Keith paused. "I don't know how to respond to that."
"You could swoon," Lance suggested.
Keith shook his head. "Dude, no."
"You could say 'oh Lance, you're sooo dreamy!'" Lance batted his eyelashes.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Are you finished?"
"No," he looked into Keith's eyes. "You could kiss me again."
"I..." he turned to the rest of the team. Keith had almost forgotten that they were there. They were all smiling. Why were they smiling? They knew. But how? Keith turned back to Lance, his heart beating fast.
"...Or I could kiss you." Lance added with a wink.
"Quiznak," Keith muttered, pulling Lance closer. "You're an idiot. But I'm the one who fell in love with you. I guess that makes me even more of an idiot, doesn't it?"
Lance leaned in. "Glad to know we finally agree on something." He replied with a chuckle.
Keith rolled his eyes and cupped Lance's head in his hands until their noses touched. "Just kiss me already, you beautiful idiot."
Their lips met and Keith was certain that time slowed for this very moment. Keith's spine tingled as Lance's fingers combed through his hair. Lance's lips fit perfectly against his own; soft and gentle. He was certain that he could feel Lance's heart beating in tempo with his own; two hearts beating as one. This was a sensation that Keith had never known before. He smiled into the kiss.
For as long as he could remember, Keith considered the universe to be an infinity far beyond human comprehension. His existence was a mere speck, hardly a blink in the infinity of the universe. However, in this moment, the universe didn't seem so vast and intimidating. With Lance, the universe turned into a place of wonder and adventure. Before now, Keith always assumed that he was meant to be alone but, over the years, he had grown fond of the family he had come to know. For so many years, Keith was lost without knowing it. He had a house but no place to call home. However, Keith knew that, as long as he was here with Lance, Shiro and the others, he was home. And all it took was a little push from a certain blue Paladin to show him that.