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Lance felt his heartbeat pick up. A mission? A chance to go back out into space? He couldn't tell if his squirming stomach was excited or terrified.

Keith's eyebrows were furrowed and Lance wanted to smooth out his friend's forehead and tell him that he'd get wrinkles if he frowned so much. Then again, he was a little delirious from lack of sleep and a coffee-based diet, so he kept his hands and opinions to himself.

"How would we even travel to another reality? We don't have a Trans-Reality Comet, do we?" Keith asked.

Coran's eyes widened in excitement. "We don't have a comet, but we do have something else, thanks to the Olkari's technology. They've been working on something for a while now: a portal that uses pure Quintessence- just like the Trans-Reality Comet- to open a small, controlled rift in our reality. It will allow similarly Quintessence-fueled objects to pass through it and then can be closed into a dormant form and carried with you. It's really quite amazing," Coran practically gushed.

"Oh, wow," Keith mused. "So you want us to go into another reality, find Black, find out why he's there, and then bring him back?" He let out a low whistle. "That's a tall order, Coran. Why Lance and I?"

"You're the two most connected members of the team besides you and Shiro, Keith. And Shiro can't go because he's never piloted the blue or red lions. Those two lions came here themselves for a reason. They chose you two to go on the mission."

Lance felt his heart go out to Blue. He felt the importance of this. One last mission, he guessed.

"I'll do it," Keith said boldly, leaning forward.

Coran looked to Lance.

"If you're going, I'll go too," Lance said faintly.

Coran clapped his hands together excitedly. "Excellent. I'll begin preparations immediately. You'll leave in a few days."

...

Lance couldn't sleep. He paced around his small house, eyes nervously flicking to his suit, all laid out on the couch, pristine and perfect. The suit seemed even brighter and more inviting that it had been when he'd seen it in his closet a few days before.

Lance wasn't rethinking his decision, exactly. He wanted to go, of course he did. Be back in Blue, feel the weightlessness of floating in zero gravity, the thrill in his chest as he raed through the inky expanse of the universe-

Lance stopped himself and pressed his hands to the sides of his head, slowing his breathing. "Take is easy, Lance," he thought, sitting down next to his suit on the sofa. "One thing at a time."

There were unpleasant memories, of course. The fighting, attacks, the sound of lasers barely missing him. Those battles would stay with him forever. But other memories waited for him up there in the stars, as well. The space goo snowball fight, the space mall, the countless laughs and smiles he'd shared with the other Paladins. The Castle of Lions.

Lance sighed and put more pressure on his temples, wondering if these thoughts were plaguing Keith as well. Keith. He'd gotten taller since Lance had last seen him, right? How long had it been...?

Lance shook his head and fragmented memories whirled around him like snow in a snowglobe. It was so much, too much, too soon, too fast. Lance felt so small in the eyes of the universe. A blue speck filled with a void like a black hole.

He turned away from the Paladin suit and rubbed his eyes, his fingertips brushing by his Altean markings. His emotions were a muddled mess and, while he knew that he wanted to go on the mission, something besides those memories were holding him back. And her name began with the letter A.

...

So, as it turns out, a hard Paladin chestplate doesn't make the best pillow, as Lance discovered the following morning when he woke up on the couch with a stiff, aching neck. Blinking slowly, he tried to draw back the memories of the previous week.

It took him a moment, but when he remembered Blue sitting outside the Garrison, waiting for him and him alone, he was off the couch in milliseconds, frantically ebullient as he gathered necessities and keep-sakes he wanted to bring.

He skipped breakfast, but he skipped coffee too, a rare occasion that only occurred when Lance was running late or if he felt well-rested and happy enough to go eat breakfast at the Garrison with Pidge or Coran.

Lance knew that it was neither of those though.

He knew, as he stepped out of his home and into the morning light, that the adventure that lay before him had the capability to pull him out of the After, if only for a moment. Lance turned, his eyes falling to Allura, and his smile wasn't forced as he made his way up to the Garrison.

...

Everything was set. All arrangements had been made. Launch time was in minutes. Lance finished saying goodbye to his mother, hugging her loosely and telling her for the hundredth time that he'd be back before she knew it, that yes, he'd be safe and yes, he'd eat the food she packed.

He almost died of embarrassment when his mother then turned to Keith, who was quietly talking with his own mom, and instructed him to take care of Lance. If that wasn't bad enough, Keith then proceeded to shoot a teasing glance at the Blue Paladin and solemnly vow that he'd make sure that Lance would stay out of trouble.

The two mothers (Krolia somewhat awkwardly) hugged and watched their sons step out into the afternoon sunshine, the Red and Blue lions standing proudly before them. Lance felt his heartbeat stutter at the sight of Blue.

Keith glanced at him and nudged his shoulder. "Feels weird to be back in uniform, huh?" he murmured. Lance nodded mildly.

Keith sighed, pulling his bayard from his belt and flipping it around in his hands to reacquaint himself with its weight.

Lance finally looked at him, his fingers fluttering to his own bayard at his hip. He let a crooked smile lift his lips, only for a moment, and then broke right towards his lion, glancing over his shoulder to see Keith approaching Red as well.

"We had fun, Red," Lance's mind mumbled, "but Blue is my home."

And, when Lance finally sat down in the pilot seat and placed his hands on the controls, closing his eyes and exhaling, Blue woke instantly, welcoming him home.

Lance did not look back at Allura's statue as he and Keith flew from Earth, but he felt her marble eyes on his back and he knew that she wasn't going to leave him so easily.

...

hey y'all(: sorry if this chapter is a bit dull and rushed- it's always hard for me to get the momentum going when I first start a new fic and I'm just struggling a bit with writers block, but it'll go away soon. I've also been trying to get the plot moving so I just had to breeze by a few things so I could get you some action in the coming chapters.

qotd: favorite type of weather?

aotd: this week is winter break for me, so I'm up in Maine, skiing, and it's an absolute bLIZZARD outside. seriously, it's snowing so much. it's hard to think of much else but snow right now, but my favorite type of weather is probably summer thunderstorms.

i love u guys<333 thank you for being patient with me (: