Chapter Text
"Mama?"
"Yes, my ocean?"
"Can I talk to you about something?"
It's been a week since the wedding, and Lance is still unsettled. He feels like his bones are all in the wrong place, like his lungs aren't taking oxygen properly, and his heart isn't beating properly. He couldn't even blame Shiro and Curtis for it, since they can't exactly help his feelings for them.
So he's just stuck back at square one; loathing himself and trying to pretend he doesn't.
But it's a struggle, trying to pretend that he doesn't have huge stinking crushes on a now married couple, and then trying to pretend that he doesn't hate himself for pretending that he doesn't have crushes. Instead he's just tired.
So he talks to Mama. From experience, talking to Mama usually makes everything better, from nightmares as a child to his first crush on a dude in middle school.
"Of course," Mama says, turning in her seat on the sofa as Luis and his new Altean girlfriend awkwardly scoot out of the other door, "come here and talk, it'll make everything better - Rachael, I don't think Lance wants you here for this-"
"I'm staying," she states defiantly, still not looking up from her phone, and Mama apparently doesn't have anything to say to that.
Instead, she taps the seat between her and Rachael, and Lance practically tiptoes in. Almost immediately as he sits down, Rachael wraps her arms around his middle and drapes herself over him.
"Talk," she affectionately threatens, "or I won't let you go."
Then Mama runs a gentle hand through his hair, and the tears spring to his eyes again.
"So, you know about Shiro, right?"
"The man who got married?" Mama asks, and Rachael sighs heavily, "the one who you liked?"
"Yeah, I- I still do," he admits, and Mama nods safely as Rachael squeezes him gently, "but, I- uh-"
"Go on," Rachael urges, "it can't be worse than my first girl crush on my Math teacher when I was fourteen, and I told you all about that, plus the bi awakening-"
"Only because I was also in your class and had to watch you making confused moony eyes at her for four hours a week," Lance snaps, but he can also hear Mama laughing gently behind him.
"What's wrong, Lancey?" Mama presses again, and Rachael huffs.
"You know the guy he married?" Lance asks again, receiving only an interested hum, "so every time I see them, they're really nice to me, and they hug me and hold me and- man I don't know? I'm getting mixed messages?"
"You love him too," Mama states, as if it's the simplest thing in the world, and it feels like a weight the size of the yellow lion has been lifted off his chest.
"I- yeah, I guess I do."
"Well that wasn't so hard," Rachael says with a frown, "you sound like you just needed to accept that yourself rather than us accepting for you - it's only taken you like, three years."
She's got a point, but Lance tries not to feel guilty. He's tried dating - he's dated Alteans, Humans, Galrans, he even dated a lovely Olkari dude for four months before it all went tits up - but no one ever felt right compared to them. Papa always said Lance experienced emotions on a whole different level to everyone else, which explains his two year long crush on Allura, and his nearly four year long crush on Shiro and Curtis.
Mama nods in agreement, and leans in to kiss his head. "Never let it be said that any of my children are simple," she says with a smile, "and I wouldn't have it any other way - you should talk to them? It sounds as if they're as interested in you as you are in them."
"Mama, they literally got married- "
"Maybe they were just sure of each other, but not so sure of you - it sounds as if they are now, though, and they desperately want you with them." Mama smiles knowingly, and if Lance wasn't convinced she knows something he doesn't before, he definitely does now. "After all, there's always room at the dinner table, although we might have to buy you a bigger bed - they're both rather large men-"
"Mama, gross," Rachael sighs in fake disgust.
"Look, I'll have to wait until they're back off their honeymoon," he says quietly, and Mama nods in agreement, "so once they're back I'll-"
"Finally make your fuckin' move!" Rachael finishes for him, wild grin a contrast to Mama's, "tell me when you do, I'll help."
"Uh, no way," Lance replies, narrowing his eyes as Rachael moves her hands from around him to rest on her waist, "last time you offered to help with something, it went completely to woblay!"
"I don't even know what that means- "
"It's means that it went terribly!"
"That was out of my control, you absolute idiot," Rachael shouts back, and Lance opens his mouth to argue when the scream of the front door opening breaks their attentions.
There's two pairs of footsteps on a panelled wood floor, until the familiar sight of Veronica pokes her head into the room.
"Oh, it's you two," she says flatly, as if that somehow explains everything, "we could hear you from halfway down the street."
"We?" Lance replies with a frown, before Axca appears from around Veronica's other side.
"Paladin," she greets him simply, and Lance just nods awkwardly.
"See, Lance, this is a sign you need to talk to those silly men," Mama says with a smile and a sigh, "everyone is finding love-"
"Weren't you with the Princess at one point?" Axca tentatively asks, earning a bat from Veronica.
"Yeah!" Lance says, before his face falls completely, and the emptiness that has settled in his veins increases tenfold, "she just, turned into reality, I guess."
Axca grimaces, and she looks like the realisation has hit her that she shouldn't have brought it up. "That's- that's rough, I'm sorry."
"But now, Lance has found someone else," Mama quickly follows up, and there's hope in her eyes as she looks between the two parties, "or rather, some other people-"
"Mama!"
There's an embarrassed heat on his face rather than just his cheeks, and he knows that his markings are glowing like lighthouses at this point, but he can do little but bury his face in his hands and hope none of them think too badly of him. Veronica? He could deal with her; she's his older sister, and Mama probably tells her everything anyway once he's gone. Secrets don't really exist in his family, and he kinda loves it.
Axca however? She knows him as a strong intergalactic warrior who helped save the universe, and she just so happens to be dating his sister. She doesn't need to know or see this.
"Who?" He hears Veronica ask, and he doesn't have to look up to see the nosy smirk on her face.
"The strapping young Captain and his new husband," Mama answers in a stage whisper, and Lance groans into his hands.
"Oh, so you're phone guy?" Veronica asks, but there's no judgement to her words, so Lance peeks up from behind his fingers, "in that case, I'm not surprised. It certainly took you long enough."
Lance frowns. "What do you mean?"
"Well we all knew Shiro used to have two crushes - one on Officer Drake, and one on the mysterious guy he would drop everything for to answer his phone calls," she explains, taking Axca's hand and leading her over to the other couch, "then he got with Drake, and we thought phone guy would disappear because Shiro had succeeded in snagging Drake."
"Except instead of that, Drake just joined in on the phone calls, and the two of them always disappeared during docking on Altea." She stops to think, before sending him an apologetic smile. "I think we assumed you were a friend and left it there, but oh well-"
Somewhere in this talk, the weight had returned to Lance's chest. So Shiro and Curtis have both had crushes on him all this time? They practically left him to suffer in silence, made him be best man at their quiznaking wedding, and then completely ditched his calls for a two month joy ride around the universe.
So much for having boyfriends who treat you right.
"Lance?" Veronica asks, snapping him out of his thoughts, "you're spiralling again - I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong."
"What am I thinking then?"
"You're asking why they would do all this without you if they both like you," she succinctly states, and Lance can do little but gasp as she hits the nail square on the head, "and I think it's mostly because they're scared - they know where they stand with each other, but with you? Not so much."
Lance frowns in confusion.
"Drake hardly knows you, so he's scared you don't like him in the same way you like Shiro," Veronica explains with a sigh, "and Shiro, for one, is absolutely useless at empathy and romantic relationships, and two, is terrified you're still grieving Allura and doesn't want to push you and it be the wrong time."
He isn't going to ask how she knows this, but he wishes she could've told him sooner.
"Veronica?" He asks with a frown, "how did you two get together?"
"She kissed me in the shooting range," Axca answers for her, now sporting a satisfied smirk, "admittedly she had to explain what that action meant, but I learn quickly."
Well, that was about as helpful to him as a broken bayard.
"Maybe just talk to them," Veronica suggests, "they're back next Tuesday, grab them then."
That sounds like a plan he could work with.
Veronica next rings him the moment Shiro and Curtis step foot on the Atlas.
"We're docking on Altea for repairs tomorrow, " she informs him, and Lance doesn't need to see her face to picture the smirk she's currently sporting, "get a move on, make some plans before they do."
At that point, it becomes a race against time in Lance's head. He's gotta' formulate a plan, script, and possible endings, actually send them texts to see when they're free and where to meet them, and actually think of something to do-
And then he gets a text from Curtis, and suddenly he can't breathe.
'Docking on Altea for a week or two - repairs - me and Takashi wondered if you wanted to get dinner with us one day?"
Dinner sounds both horrific and so absurdly simple for them, so it's practically perfect. Maybe he can gently ask them over pudding, or as they leave in the light of Altea's three new moons.
'Count me in :)'
"What are you smiling about?" Luis asks from over the breakfast bar.
Lance just grins. "I'm going to dinner."
'7:30 at Sal's on Friday - can't wait to see you x - TS'
'He stole my phone - CD'
Luis just rolls his eyes.
Thursday rolls around spectacularly quickly, and all of his waiting results in Lance very nearly being late.
It's not his fault that he accidentally forgot where he left the box for his hair mask and then forgot to wash it out since he forgot how long he had left it in. Therefore it's not his fault he had to shower again, it's the companies.
Ergo, it's not his fault that Marco drops him outside the restaurant ten minutes late.
"I see," Shiro says with a raised eyebrow, taking a sip of the red wine that's in front of him, "sounds like you've had a hectic evening - what do you want to drink? Actually, don't tell me, I want to guess."
It's at that point Lance realises he's been to fraught to be nervous, and the anxiety hits him like a fucking freight train.
He's sat at a table with the married couple that he loves more than he's loved anyone since Allura, with Curtis on his right and Shiro in the seat in front of him. He is also incredibly late, and Curtis is currently hooking all their ankles together under the table whilst Shiro scans the drinks menu for something he thinks Lance might like.
"Takashi, I think Lance would like a drink within the next day or so," Curtis prompts after a while, turning to Lance to share an apologetic smile.
Shiro just hums. "Gimme' a second, I'm nearly there - does a juniberry margarita sound good to you?"
In fact, it does; he used to have those a lot whenever him, Hunk and Pidge went out for drinks. Admittedly they do also remind him of a time he nearly died at Matt's twenty-seventh birthday, but he's definitely not telling Shiro or Curtis that.
"Sure," He instead replies easily, but his heart isn't prepared for the puppy-like smile Shiro sends him.
"Brilliant." Before he can stop, Shiro's on his feet, making his way over to the bar with a bounce in his step. It's simultaneously both adorable and mystifying that a simple drink could make Shiro so happy, but Lance is happy to revel in the emotions.
"So, how was the honeymoon?" He asks Curtis, snapping his attention away from Shiro at the bar, "if you don't mind me asking-"
"Of course not," Curtis replies with a bemused smile, "and honestly? It- well, it was wonderful."
He glances over at Shiro again, before smiling lovingly and glancing down at the table.
"But yeah, we saw tons of places, many of them incredibly beautiful, we spent a week at a resort on a Moon of Jendaha, it was-" he stops, twisting his face in thought for a second- "incredible."
"Sounds full on," Lance says, unable to help the smile that grows on his face at Curtis' excitement, "but an experience."
It's then Shiro returns to the table, placing the brightly coloured drink down in front of Lance triumphantly. It's definitely as vibrant as Lance remembers, and the sweet, alcoholic smell makes him both relax and want to vomit.
Then he glances at the soft eyes Shiro is looking at him with, and decides to completely relax.
In his head, this just feels right . The three of them, eating dinner together with fancy drinks and lighting that seems to catch their faces at just the right angle. It's almost surreal, and Lance digs a fingernail into his palm just to make sure he's not dreaming.
Thankfully, as Shiro's feet retake their place in the jumble under the table, he's not.
"What's an experience?" Shiro asks dryly, taking another sip of his wine again.
"Curtis was telling me about your jaunt around the universe," Lance explains, finally daring to look up into gunmetal grey eyes, "I want to know everything - it sounds amazing."
"Just you wait until he breaks out the photo album," Shiro replies with cheeky grin, and Lance hears Curtis huff next to him, "then you'll get the full story - there's a tale to go with each picture."
Lance grins. "I can't wait to hear all of them."
There's a brief moment of silence as Shiro shares his grin, but it's comfortable rather that awkward as a menu is finally flipped open. Lance finally dares to take a sip of the margarita, and the sweetness hits him immediately; apparently his reaction is so strong that Curtis places a hand over his on the table, and Lance glances over to see a loving worry in hazelnut eyes.
"Bit strong?" He asks with a laugh, moving his hand slightly to lace their fingers together, and Lance looks to Shiro in worry before he sees the equally loving smile that's on the other man's face.
"I'm fine," Lance assures them, taking another sip for good measure, "I just forgot how sweet it is."
"Just like you," Shiro immediately says, and Lance's head snaps up to see that the phrase was indeed directed at him.
Maybe his heart stops. Just for a millisecond.
"Nice going Takashi, you've broken him," he vaguely hears Curtis saying after a second or two of staring at Shiro in disbelief, "we haven't even gotten our meals yet-"
"I'm fine!" Lance says quickly, shaking his head to mentally recover, "sorry, I- you caught me off guard there, woah."
Shiro just shakes his head honestly, closing the menu gently and handing it to Lance. "It's fine, don't apologise, it's cute," he says with the prettiest laugh Lance has ever heard, "do you see anything you like?"
Well, two can play at this game.
"On the menu, or sitting at the table?"
It's Shiro's turn to blush apparently, and his face nearly glows in the dim lamplight.
"Let's say the latter," he says weakly, and there's a certain pride that flourishes in Lance's gut that he's brought the Captain of the Atlas to a blushing mess.
"Well, then I've narrowed it down to two choices, but I don't know what to go with."
He has no idea where this confidence is coming from, and he's aware it's becoming harder and harder to stop stuttering, but he'll take it.
"I don't think he's setting a price limit," Curtis perks up next to him, and his hand is squeezed again as Lance notices the glint of hopefulness in his eyes.
It's now or never, and his entire body seems to be trembling. This isn't at all how he planned it - they haven't even ordered food yet, and they've been at the restaurant for barely half an hour.
Maybe it'll be okay. Maybe it won't. Only one way to find out.
"Well- well then," Lance says finally, taking another sip of his drink, "if they're willing, I'll happily take both."
There's two sighs of what sounds like relief around him, and he finally looks between them to see a combined hint of surprise, hope, and what he prays is love. It's a view he could hardly have dreamed of, and it physically makes his heart flutter and his soul soar in a way that he hasn't felt since-
Well, since Allura.
Before any of them can say anything, a waitress appears to take their order, and Lance is forced to take a serious look at the menu before him. Eventually he settles on a pasta with some fancy Altean name, and hopes that it'll be okay. He can't stop thinking about what has just occurred, as sad as it sounds, and it's certainly not helped by the pricking feeling on his cheeks that tells him his markings are lit up like a firework show.
"Someone's looking like the Blackpool illuminations," Curtis says with an impressed hum once she leaves, and before Lance can turn there's a brush of a thumb on his cheekbone. It's such a soft action, and Lance is pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of Curtis' thumb and the electric tingle it leaves in its wake.
He's also aware of a metal hand linking with his free one under the table, fingers slotting between Shiro's oversized digits perfectly. It's cold against his warm skin, but it sends a lovely shiver up his spine, particularly when Curtis pulls his hand away with a gentle smile. If he's being honest, he's absolutely loving this attention, and there's a singing in his head that tells him to accept just as much of it that he can get; they seem pretty happy to lay it upon him in their semi-enclosed restaurant cubicle, so he's not exactly going to deny them whilst the thoughts telling him to stop seem to have finally fucked off somewhere.
"How's the Atlas?" He forces out, eager to start a conversation before the thoughts overtake him again, "it must be interesting being back, right?"
Shiro launches into a talk about their life on the ship, which flows the conversation easy from Lance's life on the farm, to the more positive memories of Voltron, to plans for the future once the universe could fend for itself. Meals arrive, get eaten, and taken away, and Lance doesn't think he's ever been more comfortable.
"The Garrison seems pretty intent on retiring me," Shiro muses as he picks at the small bowl of olives on the table, "but- I don't know, I'm not ready to settle down."
Curtis nods in agreement. "I can't exactly picture us in a country cottage, knitting away the next seventy years of our lives," he explains dryly, and Lance can't help but laugh slightly at his delivery, "but it's not exactly like we're going to need jobs - the amount of payout we've received, you more than me Takashi, means we'll probably never have to work again."
"Most of mine's gone to the farm," Lance chimes in, "but I guess you guys are still on board, it's not like you have overheads or anything."
Shiro sighs, frowning again, and Lance wants to do nothing except kiss his sorrowful look away. "It's just, there's so much we haven't done, so many planets to see and races to meet - the whole reason I joined the Garrison was to explore, and it feels like I did more of that with Voltron than I'm doing now-"
"Why not do that then?" Lance suggests, and the other two take immediate interest, "between you, you probably have enough money to buy a small living ship, you could just take to the stars and never stop - it's like a houseboat, but in space I guess."
He looks up to see the most grateful look he's ever seen on Shiro's face - the other man almost looks as if he's about to cry from relief at the thought of not having to settle down and live a regular life, and Curtis reaches a hand over the table to hold Shiro's gently.
"I- does that sound like something you'd like?" He asks Curtis quietly, and Lance can physically see him stop breathing before Curtis finally nods enthusiastically.
"Honestly? That sounds fantastic - like our honeymoon for the rest of our lives," he says, and there's suddenly a heavy silence where Shiro and Curtis just share a look. Their facial expressions change at what feels like a million miles a minute, and Lance suddenly realises they're doing that psychic couple thing of a silent conversation. It's kind of awkward, and Lance tries his hardest to fend off the sudden onslaught of thoughts that states he's intruding on a lovely relationship and only going to mess things up for them.
He fails.
It's another couple of seconds before Shiro breaks into a heavy grin and Curtis nods once in finality, and they both turn back to Lance with determination.
"If we're being honest, it's gonna' be just a little lonely with just the two of us," Shiro explains like he's talking to a scared animal, and Lance's heart decides at that moment to jump into his throat. He's not breathing right, and there's a lump in his throat, and it’s hard to hear Shiro over the pumping of his heart in his ears.
"And, if you were okay with it," Curtis continues, "we'd love to have you there with us, in space, just the three of us."
"We've kind of sprung this on you, and you don't have to decide now," Shiro says, and he's turned into a blurred figure in Lance's sight at some point, "but we both really, really like you- are you okay?"
There's a metal hand on his and an arm around his shoulders, and Lance can't hold the dam anymore. Before he can stop, there's tears flowing down his cheeks, and he reaches up with a shaky hand and a breathy laugh to wipe them away.
"Lance-?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine- these are happy tears, I promise," Lance assures them, hiccuping past tears to take a deep breath, and a warmth settles in his bones as he takes in Shiro and Curtis before him, "I just- I was gonna' ask you guys out tonight, you just got there first and I'm a little overwhelmed? Like, I've always done the asking out, not the other way around, and I'm so relieved-"
"That's the Lance we love," Curtis says with a laugh next to him, and his words do nothing but add to the fire in his veins, "I was getting a little worried there."
"At least we know why you've been quiet all evening," Shiro jokes, and Lance laughs wetly as he gladly accepts a napkin from Shiro, "why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"To be fair, it took a while to get back into dating altogether after Allura, and I didn't realise I loved you until we started having those phone calls-"
"Lance, they started, like, four years ago," Shiro states in disbelief, "have you seriously been keeping this bottled up that long?"
Lance feels himself nod, which only adds to Shiro's apologetic frown, and Curtis begins to rub reassuring circles on his shoulder.
"I was going to confess, but that same day, you told me you were dating Curtis and you wanted to bring him to the memorial meal," he explains, and Shiro buries his face in his hands in what looks like embarrassment, "and then I met you, Curtis, realised you were actually a really great guy, and kind of fell in love with you too."
"Takashi's had a crush on you for ages," Curtis tells him with a playful smile, "I didn't realise just why until I met you properly, and we both agreed there and then that we both wanted you, but we weren't sure if you felt the same-"
"So you got married?" Lance questions with a raised eyebrow, but keeps the smile up so they know he's not really too angry - he couldn't be angry right now anyway, even as the old bitterness roars in his gut.
"That- that was my Mom's idea, she thought we should iron down one relationship then turn our focus to you," Curtis sighs, and there's definitely regret in his voice, "and, I love being married, and we both agree that it was perfect - we just kept thinking how much better it would've been with you."
"Look on the bright side," Shiro suggests, and there's still the hints of a flush on his face, "at least we have an excuse to throw another wedding in the future."
It's now Lance's turn to blush, particularly when Curtis agrees, and the heat pleasantly tingles in a way that he sorely missed.
Curtis draws him closer with that, and Lance decides he definitely loves how he fits against Curtis' side; Curtis is slightly taller than Shiro, and just the right height for Lance to rest his head on Curtis' shoulder.
"Well, we may have fucked it up for four years," Shiro says with hum, and Lance takes a moment to see how beautiful Shiro's smile is from across the table, "but at least we're here now."
He's strangely sleepy now, full of food and love, and the adrenaline that had been present from before has fizzled out like sparklers.
"I can't wait to dick around space with two beautiful men," Lance admits with a smirk, winking at Shiro over the table and loving the instant blush and wide eyes it creates, "count me the fuck in."
"Me two," he hears Curtis add, and his voice sounds like a rumble where Lance's ear is connected to Curtis' shoulder, "sounds like heaven."
He reaches out to hold Shiro's hand again, and for once, he's happy.
"Mama, for the last time, I'll be fine!"
It's been five years since the end of the war, and a twenty-five year old Lance is about to go back to where he never thought he'd return.
To space.
Behind him waits Takashi and Curtis, busy performing final checks on the small ship - pre-named the GoLion - they picked up second-hand a few months ago. It's about the size of a decent house, which is aptly fitting seeing as Lance is ready to call it home for the foreseeable future, and they've already taken it out for a few week long getaways so Takashi has an idea of how to pilot it. Veronica and Luis helped him 'move in' all his clothes and belongings last week, and today, they leave.
"I know you will," Mama assures him, taking his face between her hands and bringing him down so she can kiss his forehead, "but you're my little boy, and you've run off once before-!"
"But I'm not running off," he corrects her, earning a click of her tongue, "I'm a phone call away, and I've got Takashi and Curtis with me now, I'll be safe."
He turns to see Takashi shooting them a quick wave, and Lance returns it as Mama elbows him gently in the side.
"I do not doubt your big strong boyfriends in protecting you," Mama says dryly, taking his hands in hers, "but space is unpredictable - please be safe!"
"I will, I will," Lance repeats with a laugh, "I'll ring you every week, and I'll send you gifts if I see something nice."
"Lance!"
Before he can turn, two strong arms pull him into a hug. It's definitely Rachael judging by the perfectly manicured hands and hideous amount of bangles, but he turns and tightly squeezes her around the middle anyway.
"Don't fuck up," Rachael says, voice muffled by his jacket, "and come back for Christmas, and your birthday, and thanksgiving, on pain of death."
"Can't believe you're leaving us again, dude," he hears Luis say, but the grin on his face says he's not really angry, "have fun out there, okay?"
He nods, detaching himself from Rachael to pat Luis on the back, and as he moves away, Marco ruffles his hair roughly; it's the same thing he's being doing since Lance was a kid, and he groans affectionately at the mess his hair is now in.
"Don't waste it," is Marco's advice, "you've got the universe at your fingertips, Little bro, enjoy yourself."
Before he can reply, Veronica steps out from behind him, punching Lance supportively on the shoulder before turning her attention behind Lance.
"Oi, Drake, Shirogane, get your asses over here," she calls, and the family share a laugh as Takashi and Curtis awkwardly make their way over.
Veronica then proceeds to attempt to wrap her arms around them both, prompting the other siblings to join in on the hug - Takashi just seems to accept it, but Curtis' look of mild terror makes Lance snort from laughter.
"Hurt Lance, and we're coming for you," he hears Veronica threaten as the crowd backs off, "don't think that just because you were my commanding officer doesn't mean I'll break your remaining fingers if you break his heart."
"Duly noticed," Takashi replies, "I don't doubt you on that one, trust me."
That's when Mama makes her way forward, pushing through the gap between Luis and Rachael to pull the two into an equally big hug of her own. He's happy Mama has taken to them so well; the few times they've been over they've gotten on a like a house on fire, particularly Curtis. It's awesome to watch, and Lance can't help the swell of joy that comes from them truly becoming part of his already huge family.
"Next time you come back," she instructs, "get Lancey to ring me; you must come round for dinner and tell me everything."
She stops to pat their cheeks lovingly before stepping away. "You're part of the family now, and we are so happy for you, all three of you."
She turns to kiss Lance one more time as he takes his place on Takashi's other side, before moving to kiss them as well.
"Now go," she tells them, "before this lot kidnaps Lance."
There's a mock gasp from who Lance assumes is Marco, and Takashi happily throws an arm around Lance.
"We'll take care of him, don't worry," Curtis assures her, "and we'll be back soon."
Lance waves one last time, and with that, he heads onto the ship.
Takashi walks ahead of them, sitting himself in the driving seat and firing the balmeran crystal engine as Lance and Curtis buckle up behind them. There's a thill in take off that Lance will never forget, be it in a Lion, the Atlas, or this new ship that he's ready to live out his life in, and he can't help the rush of joy that he gets from tilting his head back in his seat and feeling the artificial gravity kick in.
Beside him, Curtis links their hands together, fingers knocking against the makeshift platinum band Lance sports that ties the three of them together. The touch grounds him, and combined with Takashi's smooth voice updating them on their status, he's fairly sure that, in this moment, life is perfect.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now outside the reaches of Altea's gravity," Takashi says in his best captain's voice, smoothly pulling Lance out of his thoughts, "it is now safe to undo your seatbelt - thank you for flying with GoLion airways."
Curtis barks a laugh, quickly clicking off his harness to run over to Takashi's seat. Lance follows, but stops for a second to look out the huge front screen at the planet before them. From this distance, it's all he can see, as blue and beautiful as the day they first saw it. There's a pang of sadness in that, but a little voice in his head tells him that this is exactly what Allura would've wanted.
He's not forgetting her. The time has come to move on, and she wants him to be happy.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" He hears Takashi ask, and he shakes the thoughts away as he looks to where Takashi has risen to his feet.
"I'm fine," Lance assures, walking over to where Curtis is waiting with open arms, "It's just, it's so beautiful."
There's a hum of agreement next to him, but he glances over to see Takashi's face fixed on him rather than the view.
"Indeed it is," Curtis agrees, and there's hands on his waist spinning him until he's facing the other man, "what a sight indeed."
Then there's lips on his, and Lance feels his soul properly ascend.
Curtis is definitely wonderful at kissing, Lance decides, as smooth lips begin to move against his in a beautiful, languid dance. Each movement tingles as Lance happily leans into it, and he feels Curtis thrum with happiness as he looks up into hazelnut eyes. From here, he looks like a galaxy of browns and greens, and it's the last thing Lance sees before his eyes slide shut.
Then Curtis pulls away, but before Lance can open his eyes and whine, a second pair take over. He looks to see Takashi before him now, shining an ethereal silver in the light of Altea, who smells like home and musk. His lips are more chapped then Curtis', but the kiss is just as deep, just as loving, and Lance feels himself properly melt into the two pairs of hands that have fixed themselves around his middle.
"I love you," he hears Shiro murmur against his lips, followed up by Curtis pressing a kiss to Lance's neck.
"I love you too," he stutters in reply, pulling away from the dance to take a deep breath, "the both of you, so much."
He hears Curtis laugh behind him, and the love he feels is almost overwhelming.
"I love you dorks as well," Curtis agrees, "my paladins."
"I'm yours," Takashi says, "I can't think of any other people I'd rather spend the rest of my life with-"
"Oh, and thank you, both of you," Lance suddenly feels himself saying, and there's an honesty in his voice that even he isn't prepared for.
Curtis hums in confusion. "For what?"
"For not giving up on me."
Takashi frowns, and then, another kiss is pressed to his lips. Curtis just holds him closer, arms wrapped firmly around his waist, and Lance thinks that this is exactly how he wants to spend his life.
"We would've waited forever for you," Curtis admits, "so thank you. Thank you for bearing with us."
That night, for the final time, he dreams of Allura.
They're in the GoLion's entrance, Allura waiting by the airlock in her paladin armour, and Lance can't help the sense of finality that courses through his veins.
He misses her already, but he knows in his heart that she has to leave. It's inescapable, but that doesn't mean he's not allowed to be sad.
"My work here is done," she admits honestly, taking her helmet in her hands and smiling at Lance, "I think you can survive without me now."
"But Lura-"
"No buts," she says firmly, and places the helmet on a hook next to her as she glides over and takes Lance in her arms, "I have to go, you know that."
"I know," Lance admits, and he can't help the tears that are suddenly dripping down his face, "I just- I miss you."
Allura just sighs lovingly, pulling him into a friendly hug. "You'll make it," she tells him, "you're stronger than you know, and you have Shiro and Curtis with you now - let them help you."
His thoughts wander to his boyfriends, curled up in the huge bed that they had to break down an internal wall for in order to fit it in the ship. They're probably sound asleep, and bittersweet love beats through him with every thump of his heartbeat.
"I will," he tells her as she grabs her helmet off the hook again, "be safe."
It's Allura's turn to nod, slipping the pink helmet over her hair one last time as she turns to the airlock. "Don't worry about me," she tells him, and there's a hint of excitement to her voice, "I'll be just fine."
As if on cue, an old Altean pod docks at the side; there's a figure in there, but Lance can't make out who it is. Maybe it's Lotor, or Honerva - it might even be Alfor, but he's not sure. Either way, she's happy, and that's all he could ask for.
"See ya' later, alligator," he calls after her - it's not goodbye, instead a promise that they'll meet again one day. It might just be that the day they see each other again is the true day that Lance dies, and he's surprisingly okay with this.
Allura grins, opening the airlock and waving him goodbye. "AfterIn a while, crocodile."
Then the airlock slides shut, and he can only watch as she jumps into the open space before him. There's a rumble as the pod zips through space, and before Lance can make it to a window, she's gone.
He then wakes with a snap, eyes flicking open to the dim light of their bedroom on the ship. The only light in the room is from Takashi's alarm clock on the table, and a gentle blue glow that he assumes is from his cheeks.
"Sweetheart?" A tired groan echoes from next to him, and it's only when Lance tries to turn that he realises that his cheeks are sticky from tears, "is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Lance replies simply, letting Takashi roll him over and gather him into one strong arm as Curtis just mumbles in his sleep behind him, "yeah, it's just, she's gone."
"Who's gone?" Takashi asks again, hand reaching up to thumb at the markings on his cheeks.
"Allura," Lance says, "I- I used to have dreams about her, but she told me today that she's leaving - apparently I don't need her anymore."
Takashi hums in acceptance. "We'll never replace her," he muses, "but we're here for you."
"I don't want you to replace her, and I've never seenms you as replacements," Lance counters, "but thank you."
As the hand cups his face, Takashi kisses him lovingly, the sluggishness of sleep infecting his every move.
"Lance, your ears-"
"My what?"
It's then that he reaches up with his own hand, feeling for ears that he now realises are sleek and pointed, just like Altean ones. Something in his brain tells him they're Allura's last gift, just like his markings and the lion connection, and he smiles happily at the thought.
"They're beautiful," Takashi breathes, "you're beautiful."
"Who's beautiful?" Curtis suddenly slurs from behind Lance, grip suddenly tightening as he shuffles up the bed to plant his face in Lance's neck.
"Lance," Takashi says simply, "now go back to sleep, the both of ya.'"
Lance smirks. "Aye aye, Captain."
With that, he feels Curtis go lax around his middle again, and the faint flow of Takashi's breath over his hair evens out within minutes.
Here, curled up between the two men he loves more than anything else, Lance finally feels free.
Maybe now, his life can truly begin.
I can't be too late, to say that I was so wrong