I wasn't originally planning for this to be more than one chapter, but someone in the comments brought up Lance's family reacting to his brush with death and I thought 'why not?'

" You what?! "

Yeah, that was about the reaction he'd been expecting. Lance slowly removed his hands from over his ears. Veronica sure knew how to burst some eardrums when she was upset.

After the whole debacle in the library, Keith did his best to convince Lance to tell the rest of his family about the accident. Lance, of course, wanted to do no such thing. Keith knowing was one thing. Keith knew how to handle stuff like this - though, clearly not as well as Lance had thought considering the way he'd reacted to the news. Lance's family on the other hand?

How could he put them through something like that? They were worried enough with how much danger Lance was being put in on a daily basis. If they found out he'd actually died out there… No, he couldn't do it.

Veronica, though, was a soldier just like her brother. She was a fighter and intelligent beyond her years. If anyone could handle that kind of news it would be her. At least, that was the argument Keith had presented that finally convinced Lance to tell her.

A decision he was now thoroughly regretting.

"No need to shout," Lance said, putting his hands up defensively. Keith hovered near the door, ready to step in should Veronica decide to kill Lance herself for keeping this from her, but otherwise simply enjoying the show.

"No need to shout?!" Veronica crossed the room in a few quick steps and pointed an accusing finger in her idiot brothers face. "You died , and you expect me not to shout?!"

Keith was doing his best to keep a straight face, but honestly, this was funny. And Lance really kind of deserved it. Was that petty of him? Probably.

"I'm sorry!" Lance squeaked, leaning away from the offending digit.

This was a world away from the conversation he'd had with Keith when he'd found out - Lance still didn't know who told him, but he was determined to find out so that they could be punished accordingly. Honestly, Lance would rather be back there in that library with an angry Keith than standing here taking a verbal beating from his sister.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Lance gaped. "What was I thinking? " he parroted. "What, when I risked my life to save someone important to me? Something I've seen you do on multiple occasions? Something all of us do on a daily basis?"

Lance leaned back towards Veronica, no longer cowering before his elder sibling. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I really am, but you have no right to judge me for doing the same thing any of us would have done in that situation."

Lance was right, of course, and Veronica knew that. Still, she could hardly help being upset. This was her baby brother they were talking about. Her baby brother who died out there fighting a war he never should have been a part of in the first place.

"Lance," she started, calmer this time. "I just…" And that's when she lost it. Any composure she'd maintained crumbled and tears rolled down her cheeks in steady streams. Lance's eyes bulged as his sister flung herself at him, knocking him to the floor. Now he understood why Keith had bitched so much about the headache.

The two siblings stayed there for a long while, Lance holding his sister while she cried and beat him in the chest, cursing him for being a 'big dumb idiot.' He couldn't help but smile. He'd missed her and everyone else so much while he was away, and every second spent with them now was a treasure.

Once she'd finished Keith helped the pair to their feet.

"You can't tell anyone, Veronica," Lance said, adjusting his uniform.

"Why not?"

"How do you think Mom would react? She'd have a heart attack. And Dad?" Lance shuddered. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to not be locked up for the rest of my natural born life."

Veronica couldn't help but laugh. Yes, their parents could be a bit overprotective, but they meant well. She looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing the facts. Eventually, she just sighed, defeated.

"You know if they ever find out they'll kill us both, right?"

Lance chuckled, a soft smile pulling at his lips. "Then I guess we should make sure that doesn't happen." His smile turned bittersweet.

Lance hated keeping things from his family, but there were some things they were just better off not knowing. There were enough people to mourn in this war already. No one else needed to grieve for someone who was still around and kicking. Lance was here, now, and that was all that mattered. Lance would do anything to keep the people he cared about from being hurt, physically or otherwise.

Keith laced his fingers with Lance's, squeezing his hand reassuringly and shooting him a warm smile. Lance still wasn't really sure what was happening between the two of them. Neither of them was, really. All he knew was that being around Keith gave him this warm feeling he couldn't put a name to and that he never wanted to imagine a life without Keith in it. That was enough for now.

He squeezed his hand back, returning the smile and basking in the warmth of Keith's presence. Veronica, apparently forgotten a few feet away looked back and forth between the two boys in confusion.

"What..." Veronica started, pausing, considering. The two boys snapped out of their little trance, gazes shooting over to where Veronica stood, arms crossed and studying the pair with an intensity that gave them chills. Her eyes widened into saucers and she clapped her hands together excitedly. The boys tensed. "Oh my God, are you two dating?!"

And we were shouting again.

"Oh my God, I have got to tell Mom." And with that Veronica rushed from the room. The two Paladins stood frozen for a moment while what just happened sank in. Once it really registered Lance dropped Keith's hand and sped down the hall after Veronica, leaving a very confused and concerned Keith standing in the middle of an empty office.

"Veronica!" Lance shouted as he barreled down the hallway after his sister. "Veronica, come back here!"

"Not a chance!" She replied, laughing as she disappeared around a corner.

It was a brief distraction. A kind of calm before the storm hit them once more. There was still a war going on, a Universe to be freed, people to save. But they could still find some joy in teasing one another - it was her right as his big sister - and that was something.