A year had passed.
A year.
Exactly a year.
Pidge read the number on her calendar again and again.
It was finally time to meet up. It was time for their (new) annual get together to appreciate alluras death and the fall of the galra. It was time.
But pidge wasn't quite ready she was still busy twinking with her new buddy chip. She wanted to finish but she kept getting distracted by those simple numbers on her calendar.
She was going to see Coran again today.
She was going to see keith again today.
She was going to see hunk again today.
She was going to see Shiro again today.
She was going to see...Lance for the first in over a year today...
The last time she had seen him he had yelled. She had yelled right back. Their conversation had ended in tears.
Of course hunk and keith had come to console her and of course those cookies hunk had made had really lightened the situation...but it didn't take back the awful words lance had said to her that day.
She would never be Allura. That was a fact. Even if it started out as a subjective thought. It was still the truth. She looked at one of the bolts in her hand and rolled it through her fingers. The fresh cold metal felt nice in her tiny hands the rough edges remind her she had to stay sane. It was the truth. But the truth also said that she was smart, even a genius. And if that's the only gift the world gave her she Would use her brain until her final days.
"Pidge!" Matt cslled out. "Dads got the wormhole open For u! U ready to go?"
"Just a sec!" Pidge yelled back.
Matt walked over to her " u can finish it later pidge." He said.
"Fine!!!!! But take care of him while im gone! Here's his chip"
"What r u going to call him?"
"Chip" pidge said grinning.
"Of course go before dad changes his mind"
Pidge ran off.
She hugged her parents and got into her lion. "See u in a few quintets!"
And then Pidge was off. Today was going to be a great day and nobody was going to stop her from having a good time.
...
Coran was running around fixing up all that needed to be set up. He was running around like a mad man. He had so much to do and prepare. He was like an Italian grandmother two months before Christmas.
But he wouldn't forget what Allura had asked him to do. He had purposely made sure that lance would be here before the others. He was the one who had asked him to be present and talk to those kids. It was all part of his plan and it was working out actually all quite nicely.
"Coran I have all the things u asked for" lance yelled. "Well most of it" he muttered to himself.
Coran stuck his head out looking at lance who was still at the bottom of the steps.
"Forget that for Now number three and get up here for few ticks!"
Lance looked up at him confused. Why would coran want him to take a break they still had so much to do? Nevertheless he obeyed. It was better than carrying boxes of random stuff.
While he walked up the steps he started thinking about pidge. Pidge had arrived a few ticks earlier. He had seen her arrive while speaking to the kids...but she had gone to look around at the fauna and how the planet was progressing. So he had ended up alone with coran.
It didn't help that he felt like a coward always finding a way around the situation and never confronting it. He had never apologized for his outburst a year ago. Lance owed her an apology but he didn't seem to be able to find the words. Pidge had pushed him away all year and lances fear in this situation had distanced them even more...But maybe tonight...Finally after so long....
Lance found himself at the top of the steps."Hey coran what's up?" Lance said when he got to the doorway.
"Just follow me"
Coran brought him to the front of Allura's statue. It stood there towering over them. Suddenly lances face began to glow. It happened sometimes tho he never really knew the reason behind the light. His love for Allura had died out a a year ago but his regret still remained rooted deep within him and far behind in his mind.
"What r we doing here?"
"She is a beauty isn't she?" Coran said totally ignoring lances question.
« Well yes but that doesn't answer my question? Why r u acting so weirdly Corann? I mean more weirdly than usual...? »
"Well ... I may have a confession to make"
Lance turned around surprised looking at the old Altean man.
"What do u mean confession?!" Lance said his voice already rising with burning anguish.
"I- When alteans r abt to die...they can usually sense their life source fading. Allura already knew she wouldn't be coming back from that mission"
Lance looked at him in disbelief. Tears beginning to appear in his eyes.
" plz tell me ur kidding..."
"I'm afraid I if I did so I'd be lying to u"
Lance couldn't believe his ears. "What the quiznak Allura! What the quiznak! U KNEW U KNEW!"
he screamed at the statue yelled with all his might until he could no longer stand up and he fell to his knees. "She knew" he muttered "how could she do this to me if she knew all along?!? She lied to me. How dare she lie to me and give me hope!"
Coran pulled him back up. "Lance" he said. "Pls try to understand. Allura also hoped she would come back. I knew she wouldn't come back but I refused to believe it. We were all in denial. Look at me u must stay strong... I have more to tell u."
"More?" He muttered.
"When Allura passed she handed me a great task. A task that was meant for only ur eyes."
Lance looked at him confused. "What do u mean my eyes?"
"Follow me" is all he said.
Lance followed him feeling like he was some sort of hobbit and coran the grand old wizard. Lance. Even after so many years felt like he had retained no knowledge of the world.
They ended up at Alluras feet. Her statue looked even more powerful and gave lance a feeling of uneasiness.
There she was.
Coran suddenly went up against Alluras leg and put in... a code?
Suddenly a small blue rectangle appeared. Coran looked on at the Cuban boy.
"Now don't think she gave u altean marks for nothing"
Lance inched forward in shock. What was this? A sick joke?
He leaned down to face the shiny sleek blue quadrant and that's when there was a sudden scan and a quick flash.
Soon coran was gone. And lance.., lance was alone.
He was in a bright white room that seemed infinite from every angle. Like he was simply ...a drawing on a blank page!
"Hello?!?" He called out. "Um...I'm lance? Just a boy from Cuba here. Um Allura? R u here?"
He looked around to no avail. He found nothing. There was nothing.
Thats when the light began to shine brighter. Everything quickly became too overwhelming and Lance could feel his eyes getting droopier by the second. He felt his eyelids getting heavy. He began to feel dizzy amd soon he crumbled to the ground.
Lance woke up with a sudden thud.
He was in a bed...and thats when he suddenly saw a...garrison dorm room?
Lance suddenly got up in shock. He was in his old garrison room. His old garrison clothes were hung on a nearby hanger and his books were laying all over the place.
"Whats going on?" he muttered. "Plz don't tell me alluras gift was to make me relive the whole war again!"
He tried reassuring himself. « This has got to be a dream! »
He decided to quickly get dressed and As he did so...he noticed smg abt his uniform. A name tag. Lance McClain : Cargo pilot number 3
He stared at it for a while. Wow. He had rly come a long way since then. He kind of felt proud but was also a little mad at himself.
Lance suddenly remembered being here. He remembered he had felt horrible. Like he would never amount to anything better than a ca4go pilot. He remembered he had gone to get breakfast. He had gone to get food to cheer himself up. He had followed Hunks advice.
Was he supposed to follow the same path? Would Allura want him to do the same things he had done before or stray away from the timeline? Why would allura bring him back here?!? What was the point?!? What did she want to show him?!?
He walked around aimlessly amd surprisingly everything seemed to be the same as he remembered it. Finally, he told himself he needed to get smg to eat. He did feel hungry after all.
He was just about to turn a corner when..
suddenly a green fireball ran right into him. They Both fell to the ground. she had landed on top of him.and that's when lance realized the most shocking thing.
This girl...he remembered this girl. He remembered being knocked down by a strange person...someone who wasn't supposed to be here....but...this time everything was different... this girl...
That green amd white sweater....That uneven ponytail.....THOSE EYES... that were now staring right into his own....
HE KNEW THIS GIRL.
The moment only lasted a second but lance captured every detail...."Pidge" he muttered.
Pidge...who he later met OFFICIALLY for the first time.
Who he later found out was a girl.
Who he layer became best friends with...
She fought for him
He fought for her....
All the memories went back to Pidge.
Suddenly a new memory arose...
Pidge was with kaltenecker on his farm!
Wait....this was the only memory that wasnt his own...what was going on?!?
He stared at her. Looking at the way she laughed. Petted kalyenecker. Fed her. And....how she was talking to the cow.
He saw pidge speaking, but everything seemed tuned out. He heard her as much as he could hear Charlie browns teachers. Her words were blurred through the image.
Who knew what she was talking abt?!? And...in that moment....lance yearned to talk to her. He needed to apologize. It had been a year of silence and he was dying to speak to her again. He needed to apologize. He reached out his hand but nothing resulted from his actions he couldn't go beyond the image.
« Illl talk to her I swear. I need to talk to her! »
"You really do. Its long overdue Lamce"
Lance turned around. "Who who said that? I swear I'm not afraid to-"
He turned around to face.... Allura?
"Hey"
"Hey...."
Lance turned away. "Allura I-"
"I know" she said interrupting him. "We kind of both fell out of love with each other didn't we..."
"I'm sorry"
She walked over to lance "Do u know what u just saw?"
"Well ik I saw Pidgein both memories...but that's all I know
"Lance U just saw ur greatest desire."
"Greatest what?"
"That's where u want pidge to be at this very moment Thats the future u want"
"It is?!? Why?!?"
"Bc u love her..." allura said smirking a little.
"I do?"
"Lamce those alteans marks. U know theres more to them that seeks the eye they're in fact...please dont get upset... an indicator of who u love most more than anything"
Lance slowly lifted his hand to his cheek. They were enchanted marks
"I-Allura-I"
"I know i know I just needed to be certain"
"Certain?"
Allura looked away amd let her left hand slide dpwn her right arm.
"I think its time u get what u need from coran"
"Wait Allura this isnt making any sense! My altean marks have only glown randomly! Theres no logic! U had to be certain of what?!? Whyd u bring me here?!? HOW R U EVEN HERE?!?"
"Every year Ill be here"
Those were the last words she said...And just like that allura was gone again. Lance immediately found himself back next to coran but soon lost consciousness afterwards.
Lance woke up in his room aboard the new castle.
He woke up alone in his room with a book lying next to him.
He picked up the book and looked over its worn out cover. He knew he definitely had seen it before...but where?!? And was this what allura had mentioned before?smg coran had to gibe him?!? Wny give it to him?!?
He noticed that a paper seemed to be sticking out from the side of the book. He pulled it out to reveal a picture. It was of him and allura that forst night. On their first official date.
He looked at it and smiled a little. Even uf he didnt love her it had been a good night. Lance had long accepted the fact that shiro was right. Maybe he had just done what he felt was right at the time. And at that time he had loved allura.
He turned over the picture to find a quick note written in pink ink.
It read: To lance, I loved you in that moment but I believe the moment did not last. I still love u but maybe in a different way. I hope u cam find peace with this confession. However, trust me u r still loved. It is time for a new chapter. Keep reading and you will find out much more.
Lance looked around the room confused. He was shocked but SO RELIEVED allura had felt the same way! And he agreed the moment had not lasted He felt like he could finally breathe...
But wait...somebody still loved him?!? Much more?!? What did she mean?!? What new chapter?!?
He flipped through the book to no avail. He only found weird sketches he couldnt make out. There were codes and technical drawings... weird ideas..were those measurements? Most of these scribbles were illegible.
He finally came across two pages that had got stuck together. H eopened up the pages and thats when his eyes grew wide. Thats when lance was revealed a whole other world.
...
Pidge arrived later. The fauna had really grown and she had collected a few herbs for hunk.
She slowly walked up the steps to see coran who gave ger a cheery smile.
"Coran coran the gorgeous man! U haven't changed a bit" they hugged.
"Hello number 5!"
Pidge looked around. "I cant possibly be tge first one here?"
Coran turned around and began to reply when...Hunk came out of nowhere with some awesome pb and j cookies.
"HUNKKKKK!!!!!"
"AAAHHHH PIDGE!!!!!"
"AAAHHHHHHH" they yelled in unison as the pulled eachother into a bear hug.
"Well looks like u two r still getting along"
"SHIROOOOO!!!!!" They yelled in unison again.
Another hug ensued with a lot more yelling.
Keith saw them hugging and slowly walked silently to the side amd began eating some hors doeuvres.
He did not want to get stuck in those waterworks. But sadly his strategy didnt work....
They soon noticed him and totally invaded his personal space.
"KIETHHHHHHH!!!!!"
"Guys this is too much!!!!!" he yelled.
"Ya but we know u secretly like it" pidge respomded.
"Fair enough" keith said as he accepted all the hugging and tears of joy once again.
"Now all were missing is lance!." Hunk said
"Ya where is lance?" Shiro added.
"Oh in his room. number 5 can u go amd fetch him plz." Coran said nonchalantly .
The room went quiet. They knew the last conversation those two had had had not gone well.
"Pidge u dont have to go get him if u want i can go" keith interjected.
"No its fine." Pidge said "i mean maybe its time to stop running away"
She left to go get lance.
The rest of the paladins looked at each other. They all hoped that this time things would be resolved.
Pidge pov
Pidge walked down the new altean castles halls. Everything was going to be fine she just needed to breathe. Breathe....
Pidge thought to herself "how come even after a a full year...she still felt the same emotions as she had for lance so long ago....
The emotions still hurt. She knew he didnt love her. What was the point of even feeling this way? Maybe she had to write another letter to herself maybe that would help again.
pidge felt like nothing had changed... and hoped she would get over these emotions so that lance would become her friend again...she missed him. She missed him a lot. But at the same time she wanted something more...
Pidge looked at the door and once again prepared to knock she held up her hand and...
The door opened on its own.
Lance stood there staring at her.
"Pidge?"
"Lance?" She replied.
They both ran into each other and hugged.
"Im sorry for everything" pidge yelled tears began rolling down her face.
"No pidge! Apologize for what ! it was my fault completely my fault..." lance said.
"I missed u!" they said in unison.
They were both crying and hugging on the floor now.
Lance was about to say smg when...the rest of the paladins barged through the doors.
They had followed pidge down the hall and when they satarted crying the rest of the paladins couldnt help but join in.
It was the scene of a real family reunion. It was beautiful.