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Chapter 1: Incident Day

July 28, 2010

The day of the "Incident"

"Happy birthday to you," My lovely boyfriend sang to me, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Lance, happy birthday to you."

I blew out the single candle on a small cupcake, sticking out my tongue afterwards for a picture he took with his old-fashioned Polaroid. Today was my eighteenth birthday, and here I was in a tiny motel room with the person I loved and cherished more than anyone. Having just run away from home to avoid college, I couldn't be happier.

I giggled as my lover wiped some blue frosting onto my cheek, "Keith, don't, I'll get acne!"

Keith rolled his eyes, smiling nonetheless, "Ah come on, you expected this on your birthday, didn't you?" He licked the frosting off my skin, causing me to blush. I felt like a real special boy that night.

"Now that I'm an adult, we can do just about anything, huh?" I joked.

"You didn't even need to be an adult to do just about anything. You've already been doing it." Keith gave me a bottle of beer. I may have been underage, but that didn't stop me from drinking.

"True, ever since we were sixteen, we've just been doing whatever we want." I laughed and chugged the beer down, "Fuck, I'm so ready to get wasted tonight."

"Me too." Keith snorted before laying down. I laid beside him.

"...What are you thinking about?" I asked. Keith grinned and flipped over to face me.

"Lance, let's run away."

"We've already sort of done that, haven't we? I mean, I ran away from home and you don't have a home." Keith was an orphan, constantly bounced around foster homes until he himself turned eighteen.

"That's not what I meant." Keith put a hand on my shoulder, I relaxed and listened closely, "I mean, let's run far away. Where no one can find us and we can just... Be alone. Just us."

I felt like my chest would explode with pure happiness, "Just us?"

"Yeah..." Keith leaned down, kissing along my sensitive neck, he knew all my sweet spots and crevices, "Would you like that?"

I lowered my eyes, tugging Keith's smooth mullet gently, "You know I'd love it..." There was nothing I would love more in the entire world. Just me and Keith against the world like we always talked about.

We stared at each other silently as if getting a quiet confirmation before conjoining in a deep kiss. I loved everything about Keith; his dark mysterious eyes, his dominate personality, his soft caring smile that only I got to see. Spending the rest of my life with him was my dream. As our tastes slowly started mixing together, it was all interrupted by the sound of sirens in the distance coming closer.

"Ah shit! I think my dad found us!" I jumped out of bed and peeked through the blinds, "Fuck, fuck!" My dad was the chief of police and disapproved of Keith severely. I started thinking up a plan quickly, desperate to keep Keith and myself out of trouble.

"Keith, I have an idea." I spun around toward him only to find he was missing from the bed, "Keith?" I looked up at the back window to see Keith fully clothed ready to escape.

Keith's eyes glistened with sorrow and guilt as he hopped out, scampering away.

My heart shattered all in one instant, "Keith..."

I yelped in fear when the door was kicked down. As I was ordered to put my hands up, get on my knees, and told I had the right to remain silent, I continued to stare in the place where Keith's figure once was, yearning for him to come back. Hoping he would return for me. Because he loved me.

Once locked up in the back of the cop car and handcuffed to the gate, I realized that Keith wouldn't save me this time. I hid my face into my arms and began sobbing.

July 28th, 2017

7 years after the "Incident"

"Gooood morning, Allura!" I chirped to my associate, "Brought you coffee, your favorite! French vanilla, oui?" I grinned as the woman accepted the cup.

"Is this you trying to get something from me?" Allura, the secretary of the police station chuckled.

"Nah, I just wanted to be nice is all." I smiled cheerfully. Now twenty-five, I was a certified detective and a pretty great one at that. Well, I liked to think I was anyway.

"Well, it is indeed a nice gesture." She said cheerfully, "Thank you."

"No problem." I looked up and waved at another friend of mine, "Hey! Shiro!"

The new chief of police whirled around and grinned when he saw the mocha frappe topped with extra whipped cream and chocolate, "Lance, you really shouldn't have!"

"Ah, it's nothing. Just wanted to be friendly." I handed him the cup, "Any work to be done? I'm trying to keep myself busy." I had a reason for that, but I wasn't going to tell them.

"Haven't gotten any new cases in yet, but you'll be the first person I notify." Shiro winked at me. I knew for a fact he was uninterested; I tried flirting with him, but he thought I was joking. So, we just kept flirting as a game.

I nodded, "Okay, thanks!" I started off with my tray of coffees. Now there was only two more people I needed to find... But then I was pulled aside into an office rather abruptly.

Before I could beat the shit out of the person trying to kidnap me, I stopped when I saw my best friend Hunk, head adorned with a cone shaped birthday hat.

"Happy birthday, Lance!" He chirped.

My shoulders slumped instantly and I frowned, feeling that familiar pain in my chest, "Be a little quieter, would ya?" I sighed, looking down, "You know how I feel about this day."

"I know, I know, you really HATE today, but come on! You're turning twenty-five! That's something to celebrate! Twenty-five more years and you'll be fifty."

I closed my eyes and gulped, "I really don't like my birthday..." I never explained to my work partner why, but I told him I didn't want to talk about it at least.

Hunk took a deep breath, "I know, but... Hear me out?"

I opened my eyes slightly. I couldn't resist Hunk sometimes, he was cute and lovable, "Okay, what is it?"

He took my hands in his, "Have dinner with me tonight? My place? I promise no cake."

I felt uneasy still, "No cupcakes either, right?"

"No cake of any kind." He assured.

I thought about it for a long time before nodding my head slowly. He grabbed me in a hug and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"You won't regret it, Lance! You'll love it, I promise!" He threw his party hat away and ran out of the enclosed office.

I sighed softly and placed a hand on my chest. Sometimes Hunk made my heart flutter, but I couldn't bring myself to like him completely because of the person who stole my heart years ago... And he seemed to have kept it because I can't stop thinking about him still to this day...

I don't know why, but my inner fashionista told me to dress up for the occasion. I drove to Hunk's apartment complex and paced around outside. I'd already smoked two cigarettes because I was almost an hour early. I didn't want to seem eager by no means at all, because I wasn't looking forward to this dinner. What if Hunk got a cake after all or some delicious dessert I can't resist eating? What if he sings happy birthday? Will I cry like I did all those other times I heard happy birthday? After Keith sang it once, I couldn't hear it the same way again...

I cleared my throat and convinced myself to step through the main door and walk up the steps to Hunk's apartment. I hesitated before spraying cologne everywhere and then knocked. He answered immediately, looking handsome as always. He was dressed nicely also, thank God.

"Come in!" He invited me inside and I walked toward the familiar dining room. I'd had a few meals with Hunk once before, he was an excellent chef.

"Want some wine?"

"No thanks." I responded. I didn't drink on my birthday.

"Well then, let's get this party- Eh, I mean, dinner, started." He laughed nervously before presenting me with a lovely looking artichoke dip.

I picked up a tortilla chip and dipped it into the sauce, taking a bite. I nearly went cross eyed by how good it was, "You've outdone yourself again, Hunk."

Hunk rolled his eyes, "As opposed to the last artichoke dip you tried for me?"

"That one was also good!" I followed him to the kitchen, scooping up more dip.

"Well, I know it's your favorite." He said simply, turning to the oven.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, food in my mouth still, but I didn't care.

"I decided the best thing to make for you is my classic, but famous, mac and cheese."

"Oh, hell yeah!" I loved that mac 'n' cheese so much and practically craved it every day.

He stirred the pasta and cheese mixture together, "So, I got you a present..."

I felt my heart drop a few stories down my body, "You really didn't have to..."

"Aw come on, it's no big deal!" He turned off the stove, letting the mac cool down before he went over to a gift bag on the table, "Open it!" He gave it to me.

I eyed it curiously before reluctantly opening it. I couldn't resist gifts. I love giving and receiving them more than anything else in this world.

I became puzzled as I encountered a small box. I looked at Hunk suspiciously and smirked, "You're not trying to propose to me, are you?"

His face turned dark red, "No. J-just open it!" He stuttered.

I chuckled and opened the box. There was a ring inside, yes, but it looked familiar. I gasped, "This one is just like your ring, only blue!" I grinned, "We're matching!" It was a silly plastic ring out of a fifty-cent toy machine, but the gesture meant so much to me.

"Yeah... I want people to know we're partners, you know? You're the Batman to my Robin." He held up his own yellow ring.

For some reason, I felt like Hunk was trying to tell me more than what he was saying. I kind of got the hint, and was pretty sure Hunk wanted to be more than just friends... Unconsciously, I moved closer to him and he froze up. I stopped when our chests were touching and we gazed into each other's eyes. He made the first move, ready to dive into my lips for a kiss, but we were interrupted by my work pager.

I'd never jumped away from someone so quickly in my entire life. My heart was pounding ridiculously hard and I felt out of breath. I checked the pager, "Duty calls. Gotta go." I jogged out quick, holding my crippling chest. I didn't even look at Hunk before I left, so I didn't even get to glimpse his disappointed expression. I felt bad, but... I part of me wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. And that part of me was the one that still loved Keith Kogane.

As I drove to the police station, my emotions were tearing me apart. For one, I was starting to like Hunk too much. And two, I still had deep dark feelings for Keith. I took a deep breath before walking into the building, "What is it, Shiro?"

"We've got a lead on that Galra case." He said, eyes intense and serious. My eyes widened.

"You mean the Galra case we've been trying to figure out for years?" The Galra was a huge mafia gang that consisted of an outstanding number of members bigger than the police force. They killed people, robbed them, and did disgustingly cruel things. They also did illegal drug trade and sex trafficking on the side. Overall, they were the worst of the worst.

"Yeah." Pidge spoke up from her computer. She was the youngest of the task force and was our best and only technical analyst. She typed something up before directing me to the screen, "We've managed to pinpoint one of their bases via one of our undercover agents."

"You and I are going in." Shiro said, "The fewer, the better."

I looked back and him, feeling unsure, "Why me?"

"Because you're our chief inspector and you've done more research about the Galra than any other cop here." He handed me a bullet-proof vest, "So, are you coming?"

I stared at the vest before grinning, "Hell yeah. Let's get those Galra bastards."

Shiro and I notified the SWAT team to stay quiet and alert outside the building. We were surrounding an abandoned oil refinery where the Galra traces had been found. Shiro took one entrance on the left side, while I took the one on the right.

Gun in hand, I tiptoed through the building cautiously, ready to pounce if necessary. They don't call me sharpshooter for nothing, I can hit someone in an instant. So, if I were to get attacked by some gangster, surely, they would be dead before getting within five feet of me. However, it didn't seem like there was anyone in this place. I checked every door, nook, cranny, and didn't find squat.

I paused when I heard a noise coming from a vent. It was steady and repeating. I walked towards it and looked both ways before kneeling to open it. I gasped when I saw what was inside: A literal ticking time bomb, about to blow in sixty seconds. I started running, grabbing my walkie talkie, "SHIRO! FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" I yelled, no longer concerned with being caught, "THERE'S A BOMB!"

I quickly turned down a corner hearing another set of footsteps down the hall ahead of me, "Shiro?!" I couldn't quite make out the person. It wasn't until we knocked heads that I could tell it wasn't Shiro.

The man was drenched in blood protruding from his abdomen. He had a hood on and a bandana over his mouth. Was this the undercover cop?

I started sweating as I helped the man onto his feet, "Come on, let's get you out of here." His body was limp and it was then I knew that he had passed out. I carried him over my shoulder, "Shiro, I found an injured man!" I said into the walkie talkie, "Let's get out of-!" I shrieked as the force of the explosion pushed me forward, walls beginning to crumble. I managed to make it to the exit before the building collapsed thirty seconds later.

"Medic!" I called out, putting him down on the ground, ready to preform CPR. I stopped when I heard the man gasp for air, "Sir, are you alright?!"

The anonymous person pulled his hood off, revealing a fluffy black mullet. He tore off his facemask, panting. I stared in shock.

"Keith..."