"Lance?"
It wasn't Coran or Allura. It was Keith.
I turned around, seeing Keith standing just inside the door.
"Oh, it's you. I thought you were Coran or Allura," I sighed, turning back to look at the window.
"What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked. I heard his footsteps echo around the room as he walked over.
"I could ask you the same thing," I mumbled, refusing to look at him. He stood over me, and I could feel his gaze burning through me. Hesitantly, he sat down next to me, crossing his legs.
"What do you want?" I asked, still staring forward through the window.
"I heard you walking past my room and wanted to know where you were going this late. Now, answer my question. What are you doing here?" He said. I felt his eyes boring into me. I reluctantly looked over at him, my eyes half open. He looked concerned.
"I can't sleep, and there's a nice view here. It's a good place to think," I said softly. He looked at me, confused and curious.
"Are you worried about something?" He asked. I chuckled.
"Yeah, you could say that. We all have a lot of reasons to be worried after all." He sighed, looking back at the window.
"Sorry. That was stupid of me to say," he apologized.
"It's fine..." I murmured, looking away.
"I guess I just thought, with your confidence and all, you'd be fine about this. You've never once voiced being scared about this whole 'defending the universe' thing," he shrugged.
"Me? You're the one who always act like you don't care with your tough silent type act, " I shot back.
"I don't have a 'tough silent type' act!" He argued defensively. "You kinda do," I shrugged. He turned away slightly, clearly wanting to drop the argument.
He stayed silent by my side, staring out at the sparkling galaxy. I glanced back over at him. Once again, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. But he always furrowed his eyebrows and frowned when he was deep in thought. He did that a lot, but he doesn't always tell anyone what he really thinks. He suddenly looked up at me again. I turned my head away.
"Well, what are you so worried about anyway?" He questioned, turning to me. I bit my lip nervously. I didn't really want to tell him. I didn't trust where this was going. Sure, maybe he was just trying to understand, but there was always a part of me that stayed untrusting, for whatever reason. Not just with him though. With everyone. I'm not that good with really opening up. That's why I'm always so confident. Because if I'm not, then I might drag everyone else down with my problems.
"You really wanna know?" I asked quietly, meeting his gaze. He nodded. I sighed. "I might sound a bit stupid, but I'm just... really scared. I miss home. I miss my family. We've been here so long, I've nearly forgotten what it's like to be on Earth in the first place. I-" My voice cracks, but I swallow and continue. "I keep thinking about how worried my family must be. The Garrison probably told them that I'm dead, and... we have a good chance of actually dying out here, and I'm really not ready to die, and, and-"
I trail off, feeling small tears prick the corners of my eyes as I take deep breaths. I look down, shakily trying to keep my composure. I'm on the verge of completely breaking down when I feel an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. Looking back up, Keith has his arm around me, holding onto me. He's scooted much closer to me.
"Look... I won't pretend to understand exactly what you're going through. I don't really have any family on Earth to miss. But I can tell you that I do understand where you're coming from." He sighed. "We're all scared too Lance. Dying is something none of us want to have to face. But that's why we have to stay strong. If we falter, that's when we're at greater risk." He stopped for a tick, meeting my gaze. "That's why you're such a valued member of the team. Your confidence helps us be stronger, Lance. You help us be stronger." A small smile slipped onto my face.
"Thank you, Keith" I whispered. He smiled back calmly. He really does have a nice smile.
He was still seated so close to me. His arm still holding onto me. I think this was the closest we'd ever been. Not to mention the longest we'd been alone.
He looked back at the window.
"You're right you know," he murmured quietly. "The view really is nice."
