Straight to business - disclaimer: I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan, but I wish I owned Cartoon Network.
Since I couldn't find what I wanted, I wrote it instead. Please review!

Episode 21.

The sun had set as they flew across the face of the earth to Sherman, Illinois. They passed over highways and suburbs and cities freckled with light, like glowing, brilliant dust flung over the great curving expanse of navy-blue earth. Everything fell away behind them, soundlessly, much too slow to keep up with the sheer joy of reunion. Titan soared, engines virtually singing as they painted their exuberance on the night sky with jet trails.

Lance was thrilled. He could not stop smiling. Octus was back. And Titan was back. No more motels, no more trains, no more obscure electrical engineering textbooks or hitchhiking or useless Earth tech or crazy plans to sneak into military power plants because Octus was alive, they were going home, and they would be safe again.

He could feel Ilana's presence besides him, silent and strong. In Titan, she was a dream-like warmth, a feeling that was hard to remember clearly after waking up; Titan did funny things to his senses and this was one of them. Every emotion from Ilana and Octus could be felt like a drop of cold water in a hot shower, a brief touch of sensitivity that was soon lost in the flow of thought.

For some reason, Ilana was running cold. There was something wrong with her happiness. He was sensing something off, like a strange flavor in a glass of water; something had been added, a bitter, dry taste. Even though she was talking to Octus with a voice that practically filled Titan's piloting chamber with bubbles and rainbows, something was definitely wrong.

"…and we ended up in the Texas, no one would tell me how many there were and people gave me funny looks when I asked. Do you know what a Texa is? Because no one would tell me! And that's when some thief tried to steal the backpack with you in it and Lance broke his arm… "

"Only after he tried pulling a knife on me," Lance cut in.

"Right. But then we had to leave the Texas and we took the train to Mexico, but the new one. And they were nicer there."

"Sounds like you guys had quite the adventures without me," said Octus, in his calm, paternally robotic monotone. Ilana's happiness radiated off her in waves, washing over Lance as he listened to them talk. But there was still something –

"Oh, Octus. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're back," she said.

"I, uh – um. Yeah, me too," added Lance, "and – whoa!"

Their feelings had apparently overwhelmed the Titan and it had barrel-rolled in excitement, leaving them dizzy and breathless.

"We are almost home," said Octus, as Titan cast a silhouette of gold and bluish light over a familiar Sherman suburb.

*

The street was quiet and the house was dark. They padded across the lawn to the front door, shoes making schff noises as they brushed the grass. Octus had disguised himself as Dad, in case there were any neighbors skulking around after one in the morning, and chances were actually pretty good that Barb would pop out of the grass with a plate of cookies and a manic smile to the tune of a shrill "Yoo-hoo~!" Lance and Octus had been quiet as they walked through the streets to their house, but Ilana resolutely so; it was almost like that time in the swamp. What was it?

"Hold on, Ilana," whispered Lance, as she reached to open the front door, "let Octus check the house first. There could be something waiting for us."

Ilana rolled her eyes and pulled a face but waited as Octus beeped and whirred, scanning the house for danger.

"The house is secure… welcome home, you two," he said, and Ilana burst through the door with a squeal of joy.

"We're home!" she chirped, dropping her bag and pirouetting onto the landing.

"Hooray," intoned Lance, watching her.

"I am going to re-establish our security systems and update my programming… and I must text Kimmy soon or she will be upset," said Octus sheepishly, trudging into the living room. The house looked abandoned; the furniture was covered in dust, the plants were dead, and the remnants of Lance's and Ilana's last breakfast there three weeks ago were caked to their plates in the kitchen.

"Of course, Octus! Go! I'm starving, I wonder if anything's expired," said Ilana, and she danced into the kitchen, smiling broadly. But her eyes were serious. Her lightness was weighed down, substantially, by whatever cold current Lance had felt earlier; and as Octus went upstairs to fiddle with tech, Lance flumped onto the couch.

Thirty minutes later, Ilana was dozing in the armchair, head drooping to her chest, drooling slightly. She had a bag of marshmallows in one hand and a slightly stale granola bar in the other. Brightly colored wrappers lay scattered around her like the fallen battle flags of an army overpowered by her ruthless hunger.

Lance's enthusiasm for food had stopped at marshmallows. He was watching her sleep, chin on his fist. Three weeks together. Three weeks, living virtually inseparable, of shared train compartments and stolen slept-on shoulders in cross-country busses. Every night she had been within reach, breathing, warm; almost endlessly optimistic; without her and her eternal sunniness, he would've just given up. No, it would've just been a lot harder. But on coming home, to Sherman, back to her bed, with Octus alive and well again, she was…

…

Ask him to strip a Galalunan arm cannon in twelve seconds? Sure. The best way to take out a Targun-3 swamp wasp? He could do it. Disarm a man twice his size? Laughably easy. Figuring out how his best friend felt? Lance sighed.

He stood up and carefully detached the marshmallows and the half-eaten granola bars from her hands. Then he lifted her from the armchair, gingerly; she murmured and opened her eyes blearily.

"I'm taking you to bed, it's almost 2 in the morning," he said, and in response she swung an arm around his neck and closed her eyes again. He walked up the stairs to her room, feeling acutely aware of the way Ilana was pressed against him, her body curving slightly around his chest, her head lolling onto his shoulder, her feet bouncing with each step upwards. She was, he thought, much stronger than she looked.

Lance carefully deposited Ilana on top of her salmon-pink comforter, and aimlessly rearranged a few pillows. She rolled over, curling up on the bed, hand under her cheek. The snow-globe from the mall was on her nightstand, glinting in the light streaming in from the hallway, and Lance gave it a tentative shake. The flakes shimmered as they drifted around the castle, and he remembered how Ilana had deflated, wilted, like a dying sunflower, when she held that snow globe in the mall.

"Ilana?" he whispered.

"Lnnce…?" she mumbled.

"You'll go home someday. Real home, to Galaluna, so don't worry," he said, turning towards the door, but he felt a slight movement and stopped.

"Will you come too?" Ilana slurred, her voice squashed and smeared by the pillows. She was smiling; her fingers and thumb closed on his hand, soft and warm.

"I, uh…"

Several seconds passed. Down the hall, Octus registered a swift rise in Lance's heartbeat.

"… yeah," he said, and she dropped his hand, dangling her arm over the edge of the bed.

Really, however, home was neither Galaluna nor Sherman. Home was wherever he felt loved… and he hadn't found one in a long, long time. But now, standing in a darkened room, tired, dirty, and hungry, Lance found it. Home was the freckled girl he had carried up the stairs, a homesick young woman possessed by confidence and love. She would go back, to her real home, away from this stupid, barbaric planet; and when she did, he would follow her, because she was home.

And, finally, satisfied with his answer, content at last, Lance slumped to the floor, leaned against her bed, and slept.

A/N: if ya liked it, review it! If ya didn't like it, review it anyway!

Also – I'm soliciting ideas for "episodes." I have a rough outline of how this is gonna go, but if you want to see them doing something specific, drop me a line, and I'll see what I can do.

Episode 21.5 = Newton reunites with Kimmy… and she's not exactly thrilled to see him.