Thank you to everyone who's read this story and to those who left a review! I really appreciate it! It's been hella fun and emotional to write. But, we're here at the end. Please, enjoy the last chapter.

Chapter 10. The New Mission

The months went by quickly. The group not only encountered dangerous creatures and situations but also multiple failures. Building the new castles simultaneously was a massive strain on human resources. And on humans themselves. The ships had to be built in space to accommodate for their size. It wasn't a new process for Earth but it was just the size of the ships that caused problems. The two stations were settled into orbit at opposite sides of the Earth. Coran, being in charge of construction for both ships, was kept busy flying back and forth between the two. The Voltron Castle, or V.C. for short, was suited with all its original features plus an updated weaponry system and hopefully a stronger defense.

The Earth Castle, E.C., was not powered by Altean quintessence. Instead, Coran reverted back to "primitive technology," nuclear fusion. E.C. didn't have wormhole capabilities either since that needed an Altean pilot. It was, however, still capable of warp speed. Coran couldn't keep his comments on how old this technology was to himself. He was, however, still equipping it with Altean features, just in case Voltron needed a backup. E.C. was designed to be more of a research vessel, with more labs, classrooms, and dorms for a large crew. Its weapons and defense system were enough to run away but not to win a fight. Allura made it clear that she wanted the people of Earth to go into the universe with goodwill and intention. And down on Earth, there were large crews making escape ships and landing vessels.

It was six months past the initial start that Keith and Allura got to see each other again. And even then, it was with the rest of the group present. While the paladins were out in space, Coran in charge of construction, Krolia and Romelle were left on Earth to educate humans on the Galra and how the universe works. Romelle became the spokesperson for Voltron. It was a good fit for her. She was good at public speaking and she was much more approachable than Keith.

At the nine-month mark, the two castles were finally taking shape. There were seventy-five escape ships made. Hunk and Pidge came back with the second Balmara crystal. They had fought a Galra scout. Their position had been far away from Earth, but the fact that the scout's absence would be noticed set the crew on edge. Keith and Lance returned close to month ten with a few more scaultrite lenses. Their mission was driving them farther and farther from Earth. Month eleven saw Allura and Shiro return with the last of the miscellaneous materials that the ships needed. And Krolia left on a ship back to the Blade. She had to share her information and bring updates back to Voltron.

Fifteen months after the start, most of the Paladins had been back and working on the ships, except for Keith and Lance. They were out getting the last twenty lenses. But it had been six months since they had been back to Earth. The fact that they were so far out worried Allura. The crew had been on radio silence for the past year and three months. It had been a hard decision to make but, they couldn't risk anyone tracking their signals and tracing it back to Earth. Fighting the urge to call Keith was nearly killing Allura. Keith and Allura hadn't told the rest of the team about their relationship. They hadn't felt it necessary to. There were bigger problems to worry about. So many problems, in fact, that they barely even discussed their relationship with each other. They simply knew that they were going to be together when all was said and done.

Month sixteen and both ships were all but done. They were stocked and almost ready to go. The Black and Red Lion were still gone. Missing?

"Allura, please!" Pidge called to the princess who was making her way to the Blue Lion.

"Princess, we agreed that we wouldn't call," Coran tried to reason with Allura. But she was having none of it. Seven months had gone by on Earth and Keith and Lance were still out in space. Allura firmly believed that they should've been back by now, no matter how hard Coran tried to tell her that scaultrite lenses were incredibly difficult to find. Allura entered her lion to find Lance hailing her screen.

"Lance!" Allura's relief was short lived.

"Guys, we need help," Lance began, his voice distressed, not bothering with greetings. "We have the last of the crystals but we're coming under heavy fire. Gah-!" Three hearts fell. "We need help!" The message cut off followed by Lance's coordinates.

"Pidge get to your Lion," Allura's voice was cold, the fear making her calm. "Go now, Pidge!" Pidge was sprinting before Allura could finish, calling Hunk to his lion. Allura pushed Coran out of Blue and told him to tell Earth what was happening. As soon as he was out of the lion, Allura was off the ground.

"Allura, wait!" Pidge hailed Allura, barely making it back to her lion just as Hunk was getting to his. Pidge cursed to herself. Hunk, barely sitting down, hailed Coran.

"Coran, we have enough lenses for V.C. if we take them from E.C." Hunk said as the Yellow Lion lifted off the ground. "Allura's not gonna listen to us right now, so we'll go on ahead. But you can catch up to us and we can jump to Lance and Keith."

"I'm already on it!" Coran responded, flying a small ship to E.C. He called General Imari and explained the situation.

"Mr. Coran," General Imari started, "Take the Lieutenants and soldiers in charge of guarding V.C. out to the battle. We need to see first hand what we're up against." Coran didn't want to be in charge of more people's lives than he had to be but, he agreed. He called ahead to the engineers at E.C and V.C. so that the lenses could be transported and fitted as quickly as possible. Coran looked at the coordinates that Lance had provided and knew that it was going to take a long time to get there without a wormhole. He hoped that Allura didn't exhaust herself before she even got to the fight.

Hunk sent the information to Romelle, who was already working on a press release. It took Coran thirty minutes to get the castle ready. He had pilots-in-training on the bridge as well. He gave them a warning that how V.C. was about to run was not how E.C. was going to be piloted. Pidge sent Coran their newest coordinates and, in no time at all, a wormhole was opened at the front of the ship. The human crew couldn't help but stare, jaws dropped.

Relief flooded through Hunk when he saw the Voltron Castle appear to his right. Coran hailed Allura.

"They haven't answered any of my attempts to contact them," Allura said frustrated.

"We'll get to them, Allura," Coran assured her. Though the radio silence was disconcerting this time, he was sure that Keith and Lance were good enough pilots and paladins to make it out alive. "Get behind me," he ordered the lions as he opened another wormhole.

The battlefield they came onto was not unlike any other battlefield they had seen. It was already over, with no sight of the Black or Red Lion. The debris from the Galra scout mission floated aimlessly and lifeless. The battle had taken place in an asteroid field, adding another level of disarray. The massive size of the debris of the Galra ships combined with the wormhole jumps sent a few of the human crew hurling.

"Where are they?" Hunk asked quietly.

"Let's split up," Pidge suggested. Each of the four pilots flew in different directions. All the while Coran was attempting to hail the two missing lions. A few moments later, the search party was contacted by a relieved Pidge.

"Over here!" Pidge exclaimed. "I've got eyes on Lance!" She flew to the Red Lion whose eyes were turned off.

"Get him onto the ship," Coran said opening the hanger for the lions. Lance was unconscious but alive. Coran had him taken to the medical bay. Five minutes in a cryo-replenisher should be enough to get him talking. While they waited, they continued to search for Keith. It was the most agonizing five minutes. When Lance was out and awake he was greeted with the sight of the rest of his teammates staring down at him.

"You guys made it," he said softly. He didn't waste any time; the look on their faces told him what to say next. "He's on a planet. The coordinates are on Red. We couldn't fight them all at first," he continued as Pidge left to reset Red and get the coordinates. "But we were gaining the upper hand. And then… and then we weren't. We were losing pretty bad. I held them off to give Keith a chance to hide the lenses… He didn't come back?"

"Was it just the one ship?" Pidge asked. Lance looked confused.

"Wha-? No. There were three…"

"Damn," Hunk cursed under his breath. Allura's heart stopped beating. They had fought off more but, everyone's nerves were on fire. Lance groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Get to Red," he said. "We can start from there." He placed a hand on Allura's arm. "He's gonna be alright," he said softly. Allura gave him a small smile and patted his hand.

"Let's get back to our Lions," she said in leader mode. "Lance, you stay and recover. We'll handle the rest of it." Lance weakly nodded and allowed himself to be laid back down by Coran.

Pidge got the coordinates from Red and passed them along to Coran. The team wormhole jumped to the planet not too far off from where they found Lance. It was a planet with deep and thick purple forestry. Or rather, what could be called forestry.

"I'm scanning for the Black Lion but nothing's coming up," Coran hailed the Lions flanking the ship.

"Is it possible he outran the other two Galra ships?"

"Not before he took one out," Pidge said, "Look." Flying around to the opposite side of the planet, was the debris of a second Galra ship.

"Paladins! Incoming!" Coran called to the paladins as the third Galra ship appeared from behind the binary stars that the planet orbited. "It seems that they used the gravitational pull of the two stars to hide their presence."

"If they're still here then that means Keith is still here too," Hunk added. "He's probably on that planet but they can't follow him in."

"What's on that planet?" Allura asked, mostly to herself.

"It doesn't seem like that purple forest is just trees," Pidge answered anyways. "Those trees not only cover the entire planet, up to the edge of the atmosphere, it seems that they might be sentient…"

"It means either they might be hiding or killing Keith," Allura said.

"Let's at least try to stay positive, Princess," Hunk replied sternly. "The Galra aren't attacking which probably means Keith is 100% down there. It also means that they probably suffered some massive damage. Whether Keith or those trees did that is unknown. But what that means, Princess is that we've got a hell of a good chance."

The rest of the team were a little shocked at the strictness in Hunk's voice. They had only heard it once before. Allura appreciated the verbal slap and came back to her senses.

"Allura," Lance's voice echoed in the Lions. " You can go down to the planet and take Pidge. Green is more than equipped to handle plants. Coran, Hunk, and…I will take care of the Galra."

"You're too weak to fight!" Pidge countered.

"It doesn't matter Pidge!" Lance's voice was firm. "Go with Allura. And come back with Keith."

Just then, a blast from the Galra ship hit the shields of V.C.

"Allura, go!" Hunk's voice brought her back a second time.

"Right!" She finally said. "Let's go, Pidge."

The pair nose-dived into the thick purple foliage. Almost immediately the trees reacted. Vines and branches were quickly wrapping around the Lions, sending the paladins malfunction warnings. Allura wondered if Keith fought his way or unconsciously made his way through.

"We're not here to fight!" Allura heard Pidge try to talk to the forest. "We're looking for our friend! Please!" A crack appeared on Allura's main screen.

"Pidge!" She called out. "I'm under extreme pressure! Is there anything you can do?"

"No!" The despair in Pidge's voice was like an icicle stabbing Allura's heart. "The trees are blocking anything I could do with nature! Ack-!" The Green Lion was suddenly thrown to the side, a visible crack on the Lion's right eye appeared. The panic that had set in was threatening to overcome Allura. She took a deep breath, trying to think… and came up blank. Keith needed her help. Pidge needed her. Her friends battling the Galra just above her needed her. She took another breath. She placed both hands on the panel in front of her and focused on her breathing. Calm down, she told herself, calm… down… She closed her eyes and continued. She tried to tap into the quintessence inside of her. She didn't know what she was doing. She just hoped that she was doing something.

Her hands began to shine lightly, the quintessence making its way out of her body. She could feel the small triangles on her face beginning to warm up. She focused on being calm, peaceful. She hoped the intelligent forest could understand her. The bonds surrounding her slowly released their grip. The branches began to caress instead. She called Pidge.

"Pidge," she almost whispered.

"I understand, Princess," Pidge responded just as quietly, already relaxing and trying to be calm.

"I'm getting out," Allura said.

"Be careful."

Allura took another breath. And another. She kept her helmet on as she entered the unknown air. Pidge could see that Allura was glowing, a soft golden light was seeping from her entire surface. Standing on top of Blue's head, Allura was illuminating the otherwise dark forest. Pidge could see Allura measuring her breaths. Then, in the release of her breath, Allura pushed the light as far as she could. The soft light knocked the wind out of Pidge, leaving her with a feeling of a real sense of peace, not the forced calm she had given herself. She felt safe suddenly.

Allura began speaking in a language that Pidge almost didn't recognize. Altean. Pidge had learned to read and write it but its phonetic value was lost on her. There were things that Pidge couldn't pronounce simply because she was Human. She figured that Altean anatomy was much more different than Human. Watching Allura, she was both amazed and a little scared. Pidge realized that the princess, someone she considered her friend, was much more powerful than she ever thought.

Pidge's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of her stomach in her throat. With a shock, she noticed she was falling. The Green Lion wasn't responding to her and she saw it was only herself falling. She was looking up at Blue's paws until she couldn't see anything. The branches moved out of the way for her until she was a few hundred feet from the ground. They caught her and settled her down gently. The darkness was all consuming on the ground. No light made it to her. Pidge yelped in surprise when Green suddenly started up again. The relief was instantaneous. She hoped Allura was negotiating with the trees so they could get out of here.

"Let's look for Keith," she told Green. She always loved turning on the Lion's external lights because they shot out from the eyes. It was just a little bit comical to her. But whatever laughter she might've had was gone the moment the lights went on. Hundreds of eyes glowed back at her before scattering away. The creatures had no shapes but she could hear them running, flying? She could hear them above, below, and to the sides of Green. Her heart rate was up once again and she couldn't feel Allura's calmness anymore. She patted the control panel in front of her.

"It's okay, girl," she said to Green, but mostly to herself. "Let's walk slowly."

Up in space, the Galra were easily defeated with the new ship. Coran was proud of his design. The new ship moved faster, shields stronger, lasers more precise. Hunk and Lance almost had nothing to do. The battle was over in a few minutes. The team and crew saw the flash of golden light from space. It covered a third of the planet. Coran knew instantly that it was Allura. And it made him worry. She hadn't been using her power recently, much less learned how to properly use it.

"Is that a good thing?" Lance asked after the light disappeared.

"I don't know," Coran answered honestly.

"Sir?" A weak voice called from the crew. The young woman's voice caught the Voltron team off guard, having forgotten that there were more people on the ship than just them.

"Yes, cadet?" Coran answered.

"Is this what we're up against?" Tears filled the woman's eyes. Lance and Hunk looked around the crew of about twenty-five people. They saw the same fear they had when they first left Earth. They saw the uncertainty that they still feel sometimes. Maybe Earth wasn't ready to join this galactic war. A few lieutenants were on board but none of them asked any questions. The woman continued:

"I've been broadcasting this back to Earth but, I'm not sure if they'll receive it since we're so far away from them."

"Oh my god," Lance whispered. He and Hunk shared a look. If the battle had been broadcasting out in the open it was only a matter of time until the Galra picked it up instead.

"Coran," Hunk said, looking towards the advisor. Coran nodded and placed his hands back on the control panel.

"Shields up, 80 percent!" Coran ordered and the panels of the shield flashed as they settled into their formation. Lance and Hunk made their way back to their Lions. Lance could hear the crew begin to whisper amongst themselves. Hunk put a hand on Lance's shoulder as they exited the bridge. The two of them stopped walking as soon as the doors closed behind them.

"Why can't things just go right?" Lance asked, tiredness dripping from his words. Hunk sighed.

"I know," he said quietly, gently squeezing Lance's shoulder.

"I'm tired of this fighting," Lance continued. "I know there are others who have been fighting their whole lives but damn, I'm tired."

"It's Voltron," Hunk said. "I have this working theory that the Lions feed off of our own quintessence. That helps them identify us and communicate with us. I think it's how Black saved Shiro, too. Also, the original Paladins weren't human; so they probably had more quintessence to sustain a long relationship with the Lions. To be honest, I'm not sure just how long we can hold out." Lance gave out a weak laugh and sighed.

"If the Galra don't kill us then Voltron will? That's messed up, Hunk."

"It's just a theory." Hunk shrugged. They resumed walking, feeling a little secure that the castle could take care of a Galra ship without needing them to fight.

Back on the ground, Keith was barely waking up. Last he remembered, he was fighting two Galra ships. He thought he took one down but, he couldn't be sure. He knew he had lost the battle. How he still got away, he didn't know. Trying to calm the pulsing in his head, he slowly stood up. He went to the back of the pit to check on the lenses. To his complete relief, they were all still fine. He was pretty sure that he would've cried if they were ruined. He suddenly remembered Lance and ran back to his seat. The Black Lion wasn't responding. He couldn't even see outside. He thought of going outside. And just as he was about to open the hatch, a sound stopped him. It was the sound of wings flapping. Or was it footsteps? Either way, the sound was disconcerting, to say the least. He had dealt with crazy creatures before but, not being able to get a visual was a risk too high. The sound grew louder and he knew that whatever was out there had him surrounded.

With new, cautious steps he went back to his seat again. He sat with his arms crossed and tried to think. He thought about connecting to the Black Lion but he knew he was too weak to try it. He sighed and placed a hand on the panel.

"Come on," he whispered. A little life came back into the Lion. The screen lit up and, at first, Keith still thought it wasn't working. It was still black. But the more he stared at it, the more he could see vague shapes moving in the dark. He tried to look up and caught the edge of a flash of golden light, too high above him. He wondered about turning on the external lights. He wasn't so sure he wanted to see what was out there.

After watching the screen for a few minutes, he saw about a hundred pair of eyes softly light up. The light had been too far to be a strong beam but, it was coming from behind him. He tried to get the Black Lion to turn around but the Lion refused to wake up any further. He cursed. He knew that that was his only chance of getting out. He went back to the screen trying to hail any other of the paladins.

"Can anyone hear me!?" He called out. Nothing. "Guys! Lance!? Dammit, can't anyone hear me!?" He was met with static. His screen didn't relay anything. He started to hail on every frequency that he could. After a few more attempts and no more signs of the faded light from earlier, he gave up.

"Listen to me," he said to the Lion. "We need to get out of here. Me and you. We can't stay here, dammit. We can't lead Voltron if we're not a part of Voltron!" The Lion suddenly shook itself and let out a roar. Keith yelled, excited that the Lion had woken up.

"Yes! There we go!" He yelled, almost hugging the control panel. "Let's find a way out." Keith steadied his breathing before turning on the external lights. The eyes that he had seen before were gone. All that was left were absolutely massive tree trunks. The further he looked, the more it seemed like the trunks were moving. His heart began to race. If the trunks could move then it meant the ground was probably not as solid as it seemed. And that meant he could sink at any given moment.

The roar had sent a shudder through the trees. Whatever creatures lived there had heard it and Keith wasn't sure when they'd show up to investigate. He cursed under his breath and tried to fly up. He was immediately stopped by the branches. They almost knocked him back down. But he managed to hover right before hitting the ground. He regretted not going in the direction of the light first. Now, he had lost the little direction he had.

It was while he was trying to make a decision that the felt a small tug at his heart. So small that he almost didn't notice it at first. The second tug was much stronger. He could feel the shaking in his hands start to slow. In a few moments, he had completely relaxed. And he didn't trust it. He felt safe, that everything was going to be okay. But he fought it. He didn't know what could be giving him those feelings.

Keith.

His own name echoed in his head. His hands were gripping the controls, knuckles white. He didn't answer.

Keith. You are Keith.

"It's the trees," he realized, whispering to himself. "The trees are talking to me."

Yes. You are Keith.

He couldn't quite place the tone of the voice- voices?- in his head. He couldn't sense if it was malicious or not. He waited.

Keith.

It whispered again and this time, he answered.

"Yes, I am Keith." The trees directly in front of him swayed slightly.

No harm, Keith. No harm.

"I promise," he said, "No harm." The trees swayed a little faster and parted. They opened a path on the ground. Keith didn't entirely trust the trees but, it was his only option. He followed the path for a few minutes until he could see a light up ahead. Two lights. The lights of a Lion. Keith's excitement almost got the better of him but, he managed to keep his steady pace. Once he was close enough, a call was hailing his screen.

"Keith! You're alive! Are you okay!?" Pidge's voice was the most comforting sound Keith had heard in a long time.

"Pidge!" he called back. "I'm so relieved to see you! Did you find Lance?"

"We did! Last I saw he, Hunk, and Coran were fighting the Galra ship up there. But they should be done… I don't know how much time has passed."

"Did Allura stay on Earth?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"No, she's in here… somewhere. The trees separated us. She was still in the branches and they sent me down here. She did that flash of light thing. I'm hoping she does it again so we can get back to her…"

The shock was short lived on Keith. He knew that Allura had a whole world of potential that she hadn't unlocked yet. From the quiet of the darkness, the trees spoke again.

Bargain.

The single word sent shivers down the pairs' back. Bargain? For what?

"Keith?" Pidge's voice rarely sounded small. This was one of those times.

"Don't worry, Pidge. It's gonna be okay." He tried his best to sound assuring. But Keith didn't know what to do. He was sure that waiting would be a terrible plan as well. "Pidge," Keith started, "Can you get a signal on Allura or Blue?"

"No, these branches are so thick that signals can't get through."

"Shit." Keith murmured. "No bargain," he said out loud. "Let us, and our friend, go." The dark shudder of the trees made the hairs on Keith arms stand up. There was a slight hissing sound followed by the sound of the wings and footsteps.

Bargain.

The voices of the trees were undoubtedly angry. Keith didn't want to engage in a conversation with them. He had a feeling that they might be smarter than him.

"No bargain." He said, trying to stop his voice from shaking. A heartbeat passed and hundreds of eyes were glowing back at Keith and Pidge. Pidge was working on trying to contact Allura or Coran but to no avail. Keith decided that the needed a different approach. And it had nothing to do with the trees- which, at this point, he didn't think they were actually trees.

Keith closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, trying to slow his heart rate. He let his mind wander, let it open. A decision he almost regretted. As soon as he opened his mind, it was bombarded with a million different voices, the voices of the trees, of the creatures. All of them screaming their thoughts. The trees chanted angrily, "Bargain! Bargain!" And the creatures spoke in a language that Keith couldn't understand. He tried to find the feeling that had tugged on his heart earlier. He had only one thought. Allura… Allura… Allura!...

I FOUND YOU!

Allura's voice cut through the chatter crystal clear. Keith opened his eyes to see a ball of light off in the distance, coming closer.

"Pidge!" Keith called out to her, "Get ready!" The two braced themselves for the impact. The trees struggled to move out of the way. The creatures were gone before the light could reveal their forms. And when it hit, it hit with enough force to blow the Lions back a couple hundred feet. In the middle of the golden light stood Allura. At first, Pidge thought she was still standing on Blue's head. But, looking closer, she could see that Allura was hovering slightly above it.

Allura's eyes were glowing light blue; her face markings were glowing light purple. Surrounding her entire frame was the soft golden light. The trees tried to bend away from it, the branches stretching as far away from her as possible. Her arms were by her side; her palms were facing up.

NO BARGAIN.

Allura's voice boomed through the dark forest without her having to actually speak. Pidge could see that the trunks of the trees were actually red. Too red. So red that it was almost black and dripping a substance. The sight of it frightened her more than when it was dark. The ground was pulsing as if there was a heartbeat underneath it. She was just grateful that the creatures had left.

Allura, get in the lion, Keith pleaded silently. Afraid to speak, he thought it instead. Get in and let's go. Please. Keith wasn't sure if she heard him. She tilted her head towards him, a move Keith couldn't decipher. She looked up towards the purple canopy and closed her hands into fists. The bubble of light began to lift toward the edge of the atmosphere, taking the Lions with it. The trees hissed as they didn't get their way. Neither Keith or Pidge looked down to see what the creatures might look like. It was better that they didn't have any shape.

They made it past the atmosphere and into space. Once a good distance away from the planet, the light around Allura dissipated and she began to float, unconscious. The Blue Lion also listlessly floated. Keith flew over and brought Allura into the Black Lion.

"Keith!" Hunk hailed the screen of the Black and Green Lions. "Pidge! You guys are okay! What was that?"

"It was Allura," Pidge's voice spiked two octaves. It was then that she noticed how badly her hands were shaking. She tried to clear her throat and start again. "Allura has more power than we know."

"You need to tell me all about it when you get back on board," Coran's face appeared just underneath Hunk's.

"You have a castle?" Keith asked, confused.

"We took parts from E.C." Hunk explained.

"Hurry and come on board. We need to leave quickly before more Galra get here," Coran said hurriedly.

They managed to avoid another battle with the Galra. Lance, Allura, and Keith were all put into cryo-replenishers as soon as they got back. Keith and Lance were woken up as soon as they got back to Earth. But, Coran kept Allura in for longer.

General Imari reviewed the footage from both the ship and the Green Lion. Keith hoped it would be enough for Earth leaders to realize just how dangerous the universe really is. A week after they returned with the rest of the lenses, Earth had the christening of the first intergalactic ship. They named it Small Blue, after their small, blue planet. Everyone but Allura was present.

Another week and Team Voltron was ready to resume their mission of spreading peace and freedom throughout the universe. Their goodbyes with their families were on better terms this time. Only Keith and Shiro left with no one to return to. It was a weird feeling that they both carried.

The new ship looked mostly like the old one. It was bigger, and there were more rooms but it wasn't too hard to learn. Coran stayed at the bridge. Hunk and Pidge easily found the upgraded kitchen. Lance, Shiro, and Romelle could be found in the training room. Keith was in the medical bay watching over a sleeping Allura. Coran had told him that the replenisher would open once she was completely healed. It was two days in space and Keith had fallen asleep sitting criss-cross, head in his hand, in front of Allura. He didn't hear the slight swish of the replenisher opening.

He was so deep asleep that he didn't wake up as Allura picked him up and carried him. It was really late at night on the ship thanks to the cycles in place. Allura was glad that no one would see Keith being carried to his bed like a little kid. She didn't think his pride could handle it. Luckily, she had stared at the blueprints long enough to already know where everything was. She looked down at his sleeping face. The worry was still present in his furrowed eyebrows. In her embrace, however, she could see and feel Keith relaxing into her. He only woke up after she had laid him down and taken off his shoes.

"Allura?" he said, his voice barely a whisper. She set down his shoes and kneeled by the bed.

"Hello, Keith," she said softly. Keith was mesmerized by the way her hair caught the little light the room had. Her eyes wouldn't let him go.

"You're awake? I'm not dreaming?" He lifted his hand to brush a strand from her face. She ever so slightly leaned into his touch.

"No," she said with a smile, placing her hand over his, leaning her cheek into his palm.

"No one saw you carry me, right?" The worry was so real on his face that Allura couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Don't worry, everyone else is asleep. No one saw." It had been so long since he had seen her smile, heard her laugh.

"Stay with me."

His voice was quiet and full of emotion. He meant every word. Seven months he was gone. Their first kiss was almost a year and a half ago. Keith watched Allura's every move as she lifted herself up and over him to lay on the side of the bed next to the wall. Keith questioned her with a raised eyebrow.

"I like being next to the wall," she said shyly. Keith laughed to himself and pulled her close, their foreheads touching, their breath mixing. Allura looked into Keith's dark eyes and saw how softly he looked at her. Her breath caught in her throat. He kissed her forehead.

"You're amazing," he started. "I've never been more in awe of you. You were terrifying and beautiful. I had no idea you could do something like that. Although, it did knock you out for two weeks."

"Two weeks!? I've been unconscious for two weeks!?" Allura's worry almost took her over. Keith quickly grabbed her hands and kissed them softly.

"Don't worry," he told her, "You got us out of there alive and in one piece. Do you remember what happened?" Allura chewed on her lip and thought for a second, trying to piece together the events.

"I remember going down with Pidge," she started slowly. "I remember reaching out to the trees, and then… they took Pidge from me. I was talking to them. Asking them if they had seen you. They weren't making much sense, though. I wasn't sure if they wanted you and Pidge or me to stay. There were so many voices…" Her voice became quiet as she thought of what to say next. "They were yelling at me. I couldn't focus on finding you. And then… and then I heard you. I heard you calling for me."

Her eyes watered, as did Keith's. She didn't wait for him to say anything. She lifted her chin and kissed him. It was soft and gentle, just their lips on top of each other. Keith kissed her back, softly at first. After a few moments, he pushed into her a little and she leaned into the kiss. Keith rolled Allura on to her back, leaning over her, propped up on his elbow. Allura wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close to her. The kissed for much longer than the first time. Keith only dared to put his hand on her hip. He knew there would be time for more later. But, for now, this was enough. Just to hold and have her. He pulled back for a second, catching his breath.

"I'm going to keep calling for you, Allura," he said with his eyes closed, listening to her breathing. "I'm going to call for you again and again." He kissed her between the 'again's. She giggled and kissed him back.

"I'm going to save you again and again," she countered, also kissing him between the 'again's. He kissed Allura one more long time before laying back down next to her. She turned to face him.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" She asked seriously. Keith brushed back her hair again.

"With you, I'm always ready." She smiled and kissed his nose and took his hand in hers.

With that, the two paladins fell asleep in each other's arms. The uncertainty of tomorrow, for once, not lingering over them like a guillotine. Returning to fight the Galra and protect the universe seemed a little less daunting. Keith and Allura, on a new mission together, leaning on each other.