"Well, to put it quite simply, I want you to stay. To become one of my generals...just like how it used to be." Kyanna said.
"Huh?!" I, along with the others question in unison.
"This doesn't concern us, Paladins. We have to get going anyways." Allura cuts in sharply with a reply, trying to get us to leave as soon as possible. I understood why, but I didn't at the same time. (Y/n) is our friend, she's her friend, it shouldn't matter that's she's a Galra. But...Allura can't seem to see it that way. That doesn't mean that I'm going to submit, I don't wanna leave (Y/n) behind.
"Wait hold on, shouldn't she decide for herself?" I hear the mullet speak up in a semi-harsh tone.
"Yeah, you shouldn't just jump to the conclusion that she wants to stay with you. I mean...if you ask me, that's a little inconsiderate." Hunk says as he twiddles his thumbs around each other.
"Don't worry about it guys...I've already decided that I want to stay anyways." (Y/n) said dismissively as if to calm us down from this sudden comeuppance.
"What?! How long have you decided on that??" Pidge asks, her tone clearly showcased hurt.
"Since...before the attack. It's personal, I still need to find my mother and—" But (Y/n) doesn't finish her sentence. In fact, her breath hitched before she finished speaking, and she began rubbing her arm up and down.
"Paladins! Did you not hear me? Let's go!" Allura demanded from behind us. Everything and everyone was quiet for a long while, that is until I heard feet shuffling. Shiro was the first to begin walking towards the exit of this room.
"I'm sure we'll see each other again. Just keep each other safe while I'm gone...all of you."
(Y/n) exclaims while looking towards Allura. But she didn't respond, thats not surprising.
As everyone began to say their goodbyes and leave, I only stood there frozen...I didn't want to accept the fact that (Y/n) wasn't staying. I already don't know when I'll see my family again! I don't want to play a guessing game on when I'll see her again! Everything became a blur in front of me and I only began thinking about the memories I've made with (Y/n). The time she watched her first sunset on Adline with me, to the time I comforted her after finding her in the launch bay at the Galra base. It all came back to me, and I didn't want to let those memories go so quickly. I didn't want to say goodbye! I didn't want to loose her!
"Lance!" I heard Allura beckon to me from behind. I couldn't hold myself back anymore, I didn't have the strength to say goodbye, so I did the only other thing I that came across my mind.
"Ah!" I heard her yelp as I tightened my grip around her shoulders. I didn't know what I was doing at the moment, and I didn't know if I'd be able to stop. All I did know, however, was that I didn't want to let go. I wouldn't.
"Lance! I told you to-" Allura's voice had suddenly cut off for a moment,
"But he's-" I hear murmurs coming from behind me, I don't know who could be talking to her, but at this point I didn't seem to care. All I wanted, was to enjoy this moment and hope that it would never end.
~*~
The shock that had built up from within my body from previous events, could not describe the suddenness of this one. It was like a lapse in time, a warp, something! I don't know how to explain the suddenness, really. All I knew, is that it was sudden. So sudden, in fact, that I didn't even think to respond to his action, at first. Soon, after Allura was done talking with Coran, she had left, a menacing scowl on her face as she exited the doorway. At that moment, my brain had fully rendered what was going on and I began to hug Lance back. He almost flinched as I did, I guess he wasn't fully aware of what happened either?
No words where exchanged, I heard nothing except his breathing in my ear. Nothing else was done except for his body leaning against mine. And so, I began to close my eyes and move in closer. My face was now buried in his chest, his, in the nape of my neck. Everything was quiet, everything was still, tranquil, nothing was a bother to us in the moment. It felt as if it lasted an eternity. But then, I suddenly feel his body move in an abnormal way. It wasn't rhythmic like he was breathing or anything, it was something else. His back up moving up and down frantically, and I noticed that his breathing became heavier in my ear. I quickly pulled away, just a little, so that I could see what was going on.
...He was crying. Literal streams of tears rolled down his face and they wouldn't stop. He didn't say anything, so I tried to wipe his tears away but more would come down to replace them. Then he abruptly grabbed my wrist.
"Lance..." I say, almost inaudible. But, he still says nothing back to me, he's only looking at me straight in the eye, as if that's the only way he'll communicate with me. He sniffles, and tries to burry his face into his elbow so that I wouldn't see. But, with my other hand I reach for his face again and turn it my way. I show him a small smile as to calm him down. But he doesn't mirror my expression. However, he finally decides to speak up.
"Please..." He says shakily, it's like he has to fight in order to get the words out of his mouth,
"Please, don't go. I-I don't want to leave you too." He says, and that's when it clicks. He doesn't want to leave someone he cares about, because he's already done it to so many others...wait...he cares about me? After coming to the realization in my head my eyes widen just a bit. I'm at a loss for words and I begin to loose sight of my surroundings. I began to loose myself again...not now, please!
"Don't-" but once I hear Lance's voice break through the silence once again, my composer comes back to me. He never finished his sentence thanks to his crying fit, but I smile once again. I begin to try and wipe his tears with my thumb and he looks at me, still with sorrow filled eyes.
"You'll see me again...I promise. Lance...I need to find my mother. I can't stop now." I say with a certain seriousness in my tone. He breaths heavily once again, but not because he's crying, but, because he understands.
"I-I know....I'm just being selfish again, aren't I?" He asked in a rectorial tone. He then removed my hand from his face and let go of my wrist and brought me into another warm embrace. I returned his gesture as soon as I could, leaning my body into his as to make this moment between us last.
"I'll never leave you...I know that we'll see each other again. We'll just have to find out when." He says to me in a sad and sweet tone. He pulls away and begins to make his leave but I grab his elbow before he does. I turns to me with a confused look on his face, but I only flash him a smile. I come closer to him again, stand on my toes and peck him right on the cheek. When I pull away I find his face colored crimson. I giggled a little once I saw how flustered he actually was with my actions.
"For luck." I say.
He looks at me wide eyed, but his expression soon returns to a neutral one, along with a smile. He leans down to me and does the same, my face became hot on impact.
"For luck." He says the exact same thing to me. I smile and touch the part of my cheek he had kissed and look towards the ground. I look up again after a few ticks and still find him standing there with a soft smile, about to take his leave...again. He waves at me, and I wave back and that's the last I saw of him....at least for now.
