The Flying Paladin (ITS THE SEQUEL)!!

4: Hey Sister

Lance

I took a deep breath, willing my pounding heart to slow. I'm not sure if I can do this. But I know I have to do this...but I really really don't want to.

I forgave her for everything that happened to me, because deep down I knew that it wasn't really her. But I'm still afraid to see her. Just because it wasn't Camilla that hurt me, doesn't mean that they weren't in the same body.

I squeezed Keith's hand and he squeezed back, letting me know that he was here for me.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to see Shiro staring at me kindly, his handsome face tilted in a sad smile. I returned the smile before wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans and ringing the doorbell.

"I'm coming!" my mama's voice called. My heart raced. The door opened to reveal my mama. Her lighter grey hair was standing up in a frizz and her pink apron was covered in flower. "Hola mijo." she said.

I smiled. "Hey Mama."

"Are you ready to see her?" she asked carefully. "I know that it'll be hard but..."

"I'm ready." I said confidently. "She's my sister. I love her. And she loves me."

Mama smiled and opened the door, allowing me to enter the house that I spent most of my life in. The wallpaper was still and ugly floral print and the shag carpeting was still there. I breathed in the aroma of garlic knots and my mouth watered.

"Camilla and I were in the process of making garlic knots." Mama said, gesturing Shiro, Keith and I into the living room. "Please, make yourselves at home."

She then disappeared into the kitchen. I sat down on the worn blue couch and let out a loud huff. Keith started to rub my back slowly. "You did good, kitten." Shiro whispered in my ear.

"I haven't done anything yet." I huffed. Shiro laughed.

"But you're trying." he said. "That's what counts."

"I guess." I said, trying to sound above it all. My nerves were starting to catch up with me. Any second now, the woman whose been in my nightmares for nearly fifteen years is going to step out and greet me.

"How do you think Pidge and Hunk are dealing with our kids?" Keith asked, trying to lighten the mood. I laughed.

"I was surprised she agreed to do it," I said with a chuckle. "Especially after the whole 'never babysitting those demons again'!"

"Yeah," Shiro smiled. He tugged his prosthetic hand through his white hair floof. "I told them to be on their best behavior so it shouldn't be too bad..."

"When have they ever listen to that?" I asked, causing Shiro to laugh.

"Touche."

"Okay Lancito," Mama said, my heart began to pound against my ribcage. "She's coming out."

And there she was.

Camilla looked frighteningly the same.

Her hazel brown eyes stared at me. Filled with what looked like hope. And sanity. Her reddish hair fell down her head in waves and stopped just below her shoulders. Her eyes filled with tears and she slowly reached out to me. I willed myself not to flinch.

This is Camilla.

Mari is not here.

This is Camilla.

I smiled and let my hand rest on hers. She lightly tugged me into a hug, her tears leaking out of her eyes and mine doing the same. "Oh Lancito, lo siento, lo siento, lo siento mi hermano. Te quiero. Lo siento."

"Es bien, es bien," I murmured against her back. I lightly pulled away from ehr and led her back to where my husbands sat. She sat down next to me and my husbands.

"Lance...who are they?" Camilla asked, looking back at Shiro and Keith. I smiled.

"These are my husbands, Keith and Shiro." I said. Her eyes popped out.

"Two?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled and looked back at Shiro and Keith. "Welcome to our family." she said.

"Thanks." Shiro said. Keith huffed. I slapped his arm lightly. Keith was still very bitter about the things that Camilla had done to me.

"Thanks." Keith said gruffly.

"So, do you just wanna...talk?" I asked. Camilla sobered and nodded.

"You can ask me anything." Camilla said seriously. "I won't be angry."

"Why...why didn't you want to see us?" I asked. I know that that is a strange question to ask someone, especially in this situation, but that has always nagged at me. If she decided to see us, would everything have been different?

"I was angry," Camilla said. "I was just hurt. I didn't understand why you wanted to institue me. I guess that was the other me...thinking."

I squeezed Keith's hand and willed myself not to panic at the mention of the others. "H- how are you?" I asked instead. They knew what I meant by that.

"I'm okay hermanito." Camilla smiled. "I haven't felt different in a while. I've been taking new medication, and it actually works really well."

"That's good. I'm glad." I said.

So awkward....

"So," Camilla coughed. "What about you? I mean, you've been in space for what, almost ten years? What happened out there?"

"Well, not much really..." I said lightly. Why was this so hard? Were we always this awkward? "I mean, we adopted."

Camilla let out a loud gasp. "Really?! How many?"

"Three." I said with a grin. "Christie, Nessa and Jack."

Camilla's eyes filled with tears. "You named one after our little Nessarose?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She's a real spitfire. She's just like her. Her twin brother Jack is sort of like Manny. He's real shy."

Camilla smiled. "I'm happy for you, Lance. I'm so glad that everything is okay."

Keith huffed and glared at Camilla. "No everything is not okay. What you did seriously fucked Lance up!"

"Keith!" I cried, horrified at what he said. "What the fuck?"

"Well it's true! What she did--"

"That wasn't her!" I yelled. "That was Mari!"

Dead silence.

There it is. The band aid ripped off. The elephant in the room. The reason why the conversation was so awkward. Because no one wanted to remember or even think about this.

"It's okay Lance." Camilla says after a long time of very awkward silence. "I know. It was all my fault."

"No it wasn't! You couldn't control what happened to you!" I yelled. "It's not your fault. I've already forgiven her. It wasn't you."

Camilla's eyes filled with tears once more, a few leaking over. "Lancito..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. I'm not blaming you for anything." I said. "If you wanna blame someone, blame whoever the fuck that man is."

"Who?" Keith asked.

"The guy who gave Camilla the disease. Her dad." I explained. "It's his fault. We're going to blame him."

"It's funny, you know..." Camilla said, a hysterical chuckle escaping her lips. "I met him."

"....."

"You what?"