Confusing Carnations (Klance)

Ch 19: I Love You

I felt myself dozing off on Lance's shoulder when I awoke with a start.

"We're here!"

Rubbing my eyes, I started, "Lance, if this is another joke I'm going to be super mad at you."

Laughing a bit, he used his hand to turn my head towards the window, "Just look."

A bright blue-green planet came into my vision. Had it not been for specks and marks of pastels, I would have thought it was Earth. It was absolutely stunning.

Seeing me looking agape, Lance began to land, "The planet's name is Pulchra. I thought it would be cool to check it out."

As the lion got closer to the surface, the vegetation on the ground looked like it was glittering with hues of purple. The water looked crystallized, but you could see peculiar fish swimming in it, almost resembling koi.

"How did you hear of this place?" I asked, in almost a gasp. As we got closer to the planet, more details of it flew into my vision, nearly taking away my breath. Every fleck of color and every glitter of it made it appear more and more beautiful.

A slight blush made it to his face and he rubbed the back of his neck, "Allura was talking about it one day." It was a half lie. The truth was that Lance had prompted the conversation and then Allura recommended it. The idea of letting it slip that the excursion had been planned and well thought out, made Lance a bit nervous and embarrassed. Playing it off as mere curious spontaneity made him feel a bit better.

The blue lion situated itself on the even surface and it lowered its head to the ground, both of the paladins stood up. Even the air smelled sweet as it hit them through the open mouth of the lion.

I stood absolutely taken back by how serene this planet was. When I heard a shuffling, I glanced at Lance who was pulling out a makeshift map.

"What is that?" I asked pointing at the paper.

Laughing nervously, Lance spoke, "There's a specific place I want to take you."

Blushing, I mumbled an "Oh."

Poking out his tongue, trying to figure out which direction we should head, Lance grabbed my hand, tugging me out of the lion. Lance looked around every which way and then back at the map, before he exclaimed, "Okay!" Without even a second to think, he pulled me by the hand up a hill to the left of the lion.

After about 20 minutes of walking, we had found ourselves at a ledge, overlooking the entire landscape of the planet. You could see the streams and bodies of water, and the rocks reflected light blues and pinks.

"Okay, now we're here." Lance spoke, letting go of my hand and sitting down on some pale yellow rocks.

He looked at me expectantly and smiled and I took a seat beside him. I saw him furrow his eyebrows and check a watch I'd never seen him wear before.

"What is it?" I asked him.

Startled by my question, he laughed it off and said, "Oh, nothing! Don't worry about it!"

Raising an eyebrow, I spoke, "Okay then."

The next 20 minutes were spent making small talk and looking at the scenery. Lance checked his watch periodically.

"Why did you choose to bring me here?" I spoke softly. Seeing him checking his watch was making me nervous.

"Shh! Okay, Keith, look!" Lance's smile beamed as he stared out.

I turned my head and looked out at the crystallized, pastel planet. After a few seconds of staring, a light came over the horizon. As the light hit the Pulchran surface, the vegetation glittered and then grew luminescent, sending off bright blues and yellows and reds. The petals of flowers scattered. The water also turned a bright, clear blue and the fish turned a bright red. The light beam quickly moved over the planet and as it became darker, the luminescence lit the planet.

"The planet reacts to the light of the sun when the planets align themselves a certain way," Lance then cleared his throat, "But, uh, that's not why I brought you here. Well! It is! I wanted to tell you here specifically but," Lance paused and grabbed my hands, nervously, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it would be so difficult."

I looked at Lance, seeing his face take on blues and purples while his eyes seemed to take in all the light, reflecting them back to me. I couldn't look away, "What do you want to tell me?"

He let go of my hands, as they then found my face and waist. He looked at me questioningly as if asking if it was okay, and I felt myself close my eyes. When I did, I felt his lips find my own, this kiss lasting longer than our first. I felt time stop. Everything seemed beyond perfect.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead on my own and he spoke a bit weakly, "Keith, I'm in love with you."

My eyes widened, tears coming to them quickly. I suddenly whipped myself around, coughing. Despite my chest heaving, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me and I felt lighter and happier than I ever had.

Lance had asked Allura about what would happen once Keith was healed and once Lance got a glimpse of the black petals, he grabbed Keith, hugging him from behind. It was strange, but despite Keith's situation, Keith had never told Lance that he loved him. It was almost like a forbidden phrase and Lance, more than anything, wanted to hear it.

Feeling Keith regain his breathing, Lance loosened his grip to let Keith turn around, embraced in a hug. Keith put his face on Lance's chest, sobbing from relief.

Petting the back of my hair, Lance spoke surely, "I love you."

Pushing myself off his chest, I brought a hand to his face, which I realized also had tears running down, and before kissing him, I spoke, "I love you too, Lance."

It was soft, and both of us had tears streaming down our cheeks from relief and happiness.

The rest of the evening, before returning, were spent kissing and laughing. For the first time, they both completely entranced themselves in the company of the other: no longer feeling anxious or afraid of what was to happen.

The next chapter will be the last so that I can end on an even number! (Such a relief, I'd been trying to figure out how I was going to bring an ending on a chapter that ended in 0 or 5). Honestly, while I enjoy writing, I was way more into this during the earlier chapters and I can't shake the idea that my writing has continuously lost quality just from growing bored with the story. I also can't help but feel I've made all the romantic situations overly feminine, lol. 
Also, Pulchra just means "beautiful" in Latin. I'm highly unoriginal, lol.