Part 8: Greeting an Old Friend

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Hunk helped Keith with Shiro since Lance showed difficulty on properly lifting one side of Shiro, so Hunk took over on that part, Lance gasped when he saw the Garrison coming back "Um, Guys, the Garrisons coming back!" Pidge grabbed his hand hefting him up to his feet and they ran after the others, "Get on" Keith gestured his head to his hoverbike that was really not big enough for all of them but the small group of five decided to make it work somehow. Hunk got on at the back practically pulling it down and flung Lance in the air by accident, but Keith caught him and placed him behind him on the bike. "Guys, Garrison, Garrison!" Hunk yelled pointing as Keith glared at the incoming company, "Hold on!" he swiped down the off switch and the bike roared to life, Lance immediately wrapped his arms around his waist to keep him from falling and the bike took off to the air. 

They flew quickly through the desert with the Garrison hot wheeling on their tail, "Big man lean left!" Hunk leaned to the left getting yells at the quick maneuver and then Hunk leaned right, and they flew off to a sharp turned rock cliff crashing one or two Garrison cars into each other but the occupants inside were okay thankfully. "Is that a cliff?" Hunk stuttered making Lance and Pidge snap their attention to the incoming cliff, "Yep" "No, no, no, no, please Keith no!" Keith added more speed before they flew directly off the cliff, Lance didn't want to see his death, so he buried his face into the Alphas shoulder too scared to feel Keith tense deciding to keep his focus on the ground that was getting closer, he waiting and timed it until he pulled up at just the right moment and soon they were off into the night and the Garrison on the cliff lost them. 

They reached an old shack with a tree in the yard and Keith pulled to a stop and turned off the bike tapping Lance's small looking hand that he was silently concerned about. Lance peeked hesitantly to see if he was dead, but he saw that he wasn't, "You can let go now we're fine" Lance blushed bright red out of embarrassment and quickly let go and got off and just decided to hide under the hood of his green jacket. Keith chuckled a bit and got Shiro off the bike with Hunk's help and took him inside, the moon was still up so they had a few hours before dawn was up however Lance wanted to stay out here for a bit longer, to stargaze until the stars were hidden away by the morning. He kept his hood up but walked to the tree and began to climb it until he was in a high branch and just looked at the stars he admired while trying to ignore the pull he felt again. The pull was getting a bit insufferable, but he'll manage, like he has all his life. 

Keith glanced out the window of the shack and saw Lance in the tree looking up at the stars, how'd he even get up there? He was about a few feet shorter than him so how'd he do that? Not to mention he looked a lot more fragile than he remembered, Keith made it a personal mission to keep an eye on the short Cuban Beta to protect him from people like James Griffin, snobby asshole in Keith's opinion but at least he didn't have to deal with him anymore since he was expelled but he did worry for Lance, he didn't fight back when he was bullied and mainly kept to himself even Shiro asked him to keep an eye on Lance when he wasn't around. 

He offered up some thin blankets he had to the others then went outside to Lance, "You know, I question how you got up there" Lance squeaked out of surprise and nearly fell out of the tree had he not been quick enough to grab the branch he was sitting on, Keith's eyes widen "Please don't scare me like that I've had enough of one surprise after another happening today!" Keith snorted a bit as Lance hesitantly pulled himself back up on the branch, "I'd say you would be safer down here than in the tree" he told him, "I'm perfectly fine in a tree, I can see the stars better up here anyway" he shrugged and fixed his bag so that it layed on his lap, thankful he closed the bag completely so none of his stuff fell out. "You sure? It doesn't rain out here often and the clouds just block the night sky sometimes" Keith said hopping up and grabbing a branch pulling himself up and making his way over to Lance, the boy tensed a bit being so close to the Alpha he admired but nonetheless, he relaxed once he stopped moving. 

"How'd did you even get up here?" Keith asked momentarily, "I'm not that short and I can climb trees" he defended himself though he did have trouble getting up. "That's not what I meant" he huffed, "Well too bad" Lance pouted back and grumbled, he looked back at the stars and Keith followed his gaze. "You like looking at the stars?" he asked "Yeah... my sister used to take me stargazing by the ocean, I'll never forget that day I saw the stars being reflected on the water" he smiled at the memory, Veronica saw it as a getaway away from their family and a way to spend time with him after so many long nights of working. The memory was one of his favorites and one of his treasured memories. "You don't see her anymore?" he shook his head, "An incident happened and after that I didn't see her anymore, she moved somewhere, and I haven't heard anything in a couple years" the way he said that made Keith think something else happened that wasn't her moving, but Lance didn't tell him what really happened in that incident. It hurt too much, and it made him want to cry again like he did that day. He could already feel the hot tears in his eyes and quickly wiped them away and Keith didn't say much more on the subject. 

He pat Lance's shoulder and he flinched a bit but didn't press, "Come on, let's get some sleep, I'll take watch" he frowned a bit but followed Keith out of the tree while being sure to watch out for reigniting any old injuries and followed him into the shack. 

The morning sun rose but Lance couldn't find himself to sleep, he watched Keith be up the entire time keeping watch while also dozing off a couple times. He felt bad for the Alpha but at the same time... he felt... safe around him. He didn't trust him completely since after he got expelled but he really did feel safe around Keith, he sat up after the sun was now at a good place and slowly everyone else began to follow, Shiro went outside to think for himself, and Keith went out after him. 

Lance just stayed quiet and hugged his bag to his chest, he didn't dare interrupt Pidge and Hunk's conversation and he didn't move to go talk to the two Alphas outside, he knew they were close, sibling bond close. And he missed his sisters and niece and nephew, so he knew the feeling and didn't move from the couch. He let out a quiet sigh and watched as the two made their ways back inside the shack and Keith tore off a white sheet, he had on the wall revealing a hidden board with a map and different pictures. Lance did get up and looked a bit closer at the board, the lion carvings were what interested him the most. The way the lines were carved into the rocks... in a mechanical kind of way, reminded him of something he couldn't place his mind on. Keith mentioned the carvings talking about a blue lion and Hunk suggested on making something Lance couldn't understand about and they waited around until he made it then they were on their way through the desert. 

Lance kept a firm hand on his bag, Pidge said he hissed once when he touched it for like a minute and he does admit to himself that he did indeed hiss at the small boy, he didn't want anyone seeing what was in his bag especially his heat suppressants. He sticked close but at a distance, he may trust them to a certain extent, but he wasn't completely trusting of them, he can't let his guard down. Not now, not ever. It'll ruin him or even cost him his life, he has too much to live for no matter how much he wants to greet death like an old friend. He bumped into Shiro's back with a squeak and quickly apologized, Shiro only smiled and said it was fine then they were on their way to the cave after Hunk, Lance looked around amazed, the carvings seemed accurate, tempting to touch to feel the texture. The pull in his chest, the tug on his soul, urged him to return to them. But his question was who them was. He didn't know a them, he knew he or she, no them. So, who were they. Friendly, or threat. A safe place or a straight walk to his death. 

His fingers hesitantly touched the carvings, his fingers gently caressed the lines carved into the rocks by someone unknown. Momentarily, a sudden glow illuminated every available carving in sight and out of sight, the glow was a beautiful blue and it pulsed. Immediately, Lance backed up with the others, regrouping away from the once dim carvings. However, they didn't take into account on the ground forming a cracked blue circle, piece by piece, the ground crumbled and gave away. They fell below, screaming in a painful slide that was flowing with water then they were dropped down to the pond below. Hunk being the last and covering them in a quick wash of water. The pull in his chest synced with his heart, the beating in his ears and he looked ahead to where it urged him. 

Yellow eyes met his, together, their sights fell into one. 

"Welcome back, old friend"

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10/30/23

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