(( Would anyone like some t e a?))

Lance was busy having a full mental breakdown after Keith and he hung up. He was dialling Shiro's number like his life depended on it, and Hunk's nails were worn down to stubs from how much he'd been biting them.

" Lance, hey, we don't know anything about Pidge yet-"

" Shiro! Shiro, please! This is really important." Lance whined.

" Slow down." Shiro said. " What's going on? Can you explain it to me calmly?" He asked, hoping that he would be able to get a handle on whatever was happening. Why was it that the crazy shit always had to go down at the worst possible times? What else could have possibly gone wrong?

" Keith ran off on his own and I think he's trying to find the people who did this!" Lance held a hand over his face, his other one trembling as he kept the phone by his ear. " I don't know what to do! He told me not to follow him and he won't come back."

" Lance?! What?! Why the hell would you let him leave?!" Shiro exclaimed into the phone, and Matt could be heard asking what was wrong in the background.

" We didn't let him do anything! He snuck out after we all went to sleep..." Lance stared down. " Shiro, please... what do I do?"

Shiro was so conflicted. On one hand, Keith was off by himself and would probably do something reckless. But on another, sending Lance after him might've only added to the problem.

" Shiro, I can stay here and watch Shay and Adam if Lance goes to find him." Hunk offered. " We can't just leave them here, especially with Adam passed out like this..."

" I don't know..." Shiro sighed, stressed. " Lance, are you sure that you can bring him back without putting yourself in danger?"

" I don't know... and I don't care." Lance told him honestly. " I can take Kosmo with me, and maybe he'll help me track Keith down. He can smell his scent and stuff, right?"

" It's worth a try." Hunk told him.

" Alright..." Shiro agreed from the other side. " Lance, I need you to keep in touch with me during. We can't lose you, too... you got that?"

" Yes." Lance assured. " I won't let you down."

He was going to rip Keith a new one when and if he managed to track him down. Lance didn't know if he wanted to punch Keith, hug him, cry into the nape of his neck, or maybe all three. Either way, he was a jumbled mess of emotions. Lance was progressively hopeful that Keith hadn't gotten himself killed because of some stupid decision.

...

" What are you talking about?" Allura pulled the covers closer to herself and scooted away from Keith. He seemed like such a psychopath in that moment, and she was hoping he didn't choose to take a swipe at her with those scissors he had.

" Your boyfriend-"

" -Fianceé."

" Fine!" Keith growled. " Your fianceé is gang leader and drug lord! He's been after us ever since we kicked him out of our family, and now his goons almost just killed my friend. Cut the shit and take me to your bodyguards!" He ranted at her, consumed by his anger. Regular Keith had left the chat, was completely unreachable by Allura at that point.

Allura's eyes were wide as she sat there in shock.

" You're full of shit." She insisted.

" Don't believe me?" Keith chuckled. " How the hell do I know who he is, then? Lady, do I have to show you my scars? They're his fault!"

" Ally...?" Was tiredly cooed from the doorway.

Keith turned over his shoulder, and Romelle seemed terrified to see him standing in Allura's bedroom. She froze.

" Do you know where they are?" Keith asked her sassily. He was fed up with this conversation that was going nowhere. Allura looked at Romelle, almost telling her to run. That didn't happen, though.

Romelle stayed far away from Keith, circling around the bed until she was atop the mattress with her best friend.

" Answer me!" Keith yelled.

" I don't know what you're talking about!" Romelle cried, and Allura pulled her into a hug. She held her, whispering that it would be okay.

" Allura's bodyguards... the ones Lotor just sent to take out my friend. They would've came for all of us if we'd been in our room, too..." Keith snarled at them. Rage pulled his facial features down, making him all the more menacing. He wasn't messing around with this, and he needed them to know that he was dead serious.

If these girls really had no idea about any of this, he was back to square one. He couldn't let that happen.

Romelle's eyes narrowed in anger, and Allura looked her over.

" Romelle... why don't you look surprised right now?" Allura asked her shakily, squeezing her arms around her tighter.

Romelle gulped.

" If you know where they are... I need to know." Keith coldly spoke.

" Ally..." Romelle looked to the side.

Keith realized that maybe the blonde one knew something, and that was a jackpot. How the hell could he get revenge if he didn't know where those assholes were?

That's when Keith heard jingling by his feet. Looking down, he saw Kosmo. He pawed at his foot, and before Keith could process it, he'd been thrown to the wall. Out of surprise, he dropped the scissors.

Keith's eyes were heavy with anger as he saw Lance had found him.

" Keith, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Lance asked him, his eyes filling with tears as his voice cracked. In the back, Allura was trying to figure out why Romelle was acting so strangely.

" Lance, get out of here! I have to-"

" To what? Kill some girls? No, fuck that!" Lance held him there, sniffling. " Keith, what the fuck? Please... please stop this. Pidge would cuss you out if she knew you went out like this for her." Lance pulled Keith close, smothering his squirming boyfriend in a hug.

" Lance-"

" I'm so sorry about my boyfriend." Lance told the girls, but there was only so much words could do. He held Keith to his chest despite the smaller boy struggling. Keith eventually gave up, however. He sank into Lance's chest and buried his face there, smelling the signature cologne Lance always had on. It smelled like the coast, like what a refreshing breeze was. It helped bring him back to Earth.

Allura was still holding Romelle, and Romelle still couldn't muster the strength to look her in the eyes and tell her. After all... Allura's feelings were more important to Romelle than her own.

" Romelle... do you have something to tell me?" Allura asked her. Romelle trembled and kept her head pointed downward in shame.

" Come on... we have to get back to the room." Lance told Keith seriously. He was evidently pissed, but there was a certain relief in his tone. " Please don't call the police." Lance turned to Allura.

" Yeah." Keith scoffed. " Lotor might just have to kill you, too."

Lance squeezed Keith tighter, not wanting to take the chance of his boyfriend getting free. He'd have to put him on lockdown if he couldn't stop flipping his shit.

Once Allura looked between everyone, fear evident on her face, she got angry.

" Just get the hell out!" She yelled at Lance and Keith, and Kosmo growled at her.

" Down." Lance told Kosmo, leading Keith out of the room while he still had the chance. The smaller boy in his arms was more calm than before, but he was still squirming.

The door to Allura's room shut, and Romelle was shaking while a couple tears slipped down her cheeks. She buried her face in Allura's neck and hugged her more, trying to protect the very little dignity she had left.

Allura's arms around Romelle moved to embrace her completely. What kind of best friend would she have been if she didn't comfort Romelle in her time of need?

" Hey, don't cry... please." Allura rubbed her back, and Romelle sniffled.

" Allura... you're going to hate me..." Romelle whimpered, believing full well that the other wouldn't buy a word of what she said.

" I could never hate you..." Allura whispered, and the other girl peeled her face back.

" I..." Romelle took a deep breath, swallowing back everything that she had to say. " I need to do one thing... because after this... you-"

" After what, Romelle? You're scaring me." Allura cut in.

" Lotor has been threatening to kill me! I saw him come in after burying someone's body and he said he'd murder me too if I ever told anyone about it!" Romelle talked fast, almost having a panic attack on the spot.

Allura's breath hitched as she sat there and it all unraveled. There was no way that Romelle was lying about that.

" I'm sorry! You don't believe me! I'll go-" Romelle sobbed and drew back, but not before Allura could catch her by the wrist. Romelle was pulled back, and she covered her mouth while looking at Allura's crushed facial expression.

There was a moment filled with sniffles, but nothing else.

" What did you mean when you said that?" Allura finally asked her.

" Said what?" Romelle perked up, wiping her tears away.

" You said you had one thing to do... one thing you had to do before I could start hating you?" Allura's voice sounded monotonous as she went through the motions of life. It seemed like the meaning of things was escaping her comprehension.

Romelle's face drained red. She had a confession to make. If Lotor decided to kill her after this, she couldn't go out with a secret weighing heavy on her chest, without her feelings being known.

She squeezed Allura's hand in her own, scooting closer and adoring the feeling of the other's baby soft skin. Allura stared at her with unsure, unsuspecting eyes.

Romelle sniffled before leaning in, and their lips bridged together for a moment. She cupped Allura's cheek in one hand, her lips shaking from how anxious she was. Her eyes were tightly screwed shut, for fear that she'd get pushed back.

Allura's eyes were large enough to be seen from space. She was frozen, not sure what to do. Romelle's candy-like taste, coupled with the velvety softness of her lips was alluring.

She knew it wasn't supposed to be.

Romelle pulled back after the innocent, yet heartbreaking contact. She put her face into Allura's shoulder, shaking.

Allura was in shock, not knowing what she was supposed to say. She laid back, letting Romelle lay beside her in bed.

She had a lot to think about. Lotor was apparently living a double life, and Allura's best friend was in love with her.

Life had never been so complicated.

...

Lance wiped some tears from his cheeks as the two got the hell out of there. He'd half been expecting Allura's bodyguards to show up, but that didn't happen. They must've only answered to Lotor.

He gripped Keith's hand tightly while pulling him down the hallway. Lance was so angry that he could barely see straight.

" Lance-"

" Don't." Lance told him. Keith narrowed his eyes, stopping dead in his tracks. Lance nearly tripped, not having expected Keith to dig his heels in and stop.

" Keith, we need to take cover." Lance turned and told him. " Don't you get how much danger we're in?! That dumbass stunt you just pulled didn't make this any easier, either!"

Keith grit his teeth, not moving as Lance tried to tug him along. He shoved the taller male to the wall, taking two fistfuls of his shirt.

" Don't you care at all?!" His voice cracked. " About Pidge?! Don't you want them to feel the pain she did?!"

Lance's breath hitched. The last thing he'd anticipated was for Keith to get him against the wall. He sniffled, wiping his tears away as Keith stared him down.

" Do you?!" Keith cried.

" Of course I do..." Lance looked him in his violet, teary eyes. " But I also know that going off by myself won't get that done. Keith... you can't just do stuff like that!"

" Why not?!" Keith yelled. " Are you just jealous because I'm brave enough to fight and you're not?!" He was too angry to think twice about his words.

Lance growled at Keith, completely hurt.

" I'm not scared for me! Why can't you understand that?!"

" Who are you scared for then?!" Keith persisted, his tears draining from his eyes like there was no tomorrow.

" You! God damn it, Keith! I'm scared to lose you... and I know you're scared to lose me... don't you remember our talk at the beach?" Lance choked up, and Keith's hands started letting go of his shirt. " You were ready to up and leave if it meant keeping us safe... now you go and pull this?"

Keith's lip quivered and he trembled, and Lance stood there while taking deep breaths. They were both very worked up, having been scarred by the sight of Pidge nearly bleeding out.

" Sh-She was my only friend f-for a long time..." Keith crumbled.

Lance pulled Keith into a hug, letting him cry in his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut and held him firmly, not ever wanting to let go.

" I know... it hurts for all of us..." Lance told him, doing his best to stay strong. After all, in Shiro's absence, he was in charge. " But you and I both know this is the last thing Pidge would want for us. She'd want us to be safe..."

Keith waited for a moment, finally grasping at a semi-rational mindset.

" I know..." He murmured.

Lance held Keith by his side while stepping away from the wall. He began guiding him down the hall while Kosmo followed them. The husky was evidently confused about their recent exchange, about the yelling and how things were better a minute later.

Lance might've been pissed at Keith, might've been outraged, but he was relieved to be holding him. He loved him too much to not be.

After arriving back at their room, Lance shoved the keycard in and ushered Keith inside. He let the dog and his boyfriend in first, checking the hall and making sure they hadn't been followed. Once he was sure, he shut the door and put the deadbolt to good use.

Keith averted his eyes when he saw that Hunk and Shay were sharing an innocent kiss on the couch.

" Sorry..." Keith looked away, and they both blushed while pulling back from each other. Shay was on Hunk's lap, probably scared.

" It's okay..." Hunk assured, and Lance's arms wrapped around Keith from behind. " Oh wait!" Hunk exclaimed. " Keith, you're okay!" He grinned.

" He's fine." Lance told them, resting his chin on the smaller boy's shoulder. He savored the moment, enjoying Keith's smell, and how it felt to have his arms around him.

Keith was still trying to get a handle on his anger, but he was also becoming overcome with guilt. He'd put the entire family in jeopardy by running off like that, and Lance had to endanger himself to come get him.

Lance pulled out his phone.

" Shiro, I have him. We're all fine." He told him after Shiro picked up.

" Hand Keith the phone." Shiro said sternly, and Lance did as he was told.

" Hello?" Keith cringed while answering.

" Keith! Don't you ever do anything like that ever again! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Shiro exclaimed. " Are you hurt?!"

" I'm fine... sorry..." Keith mumbled, staring down.

" You didn't kill anyone did you?!" Shiro continued with his frantic questions.

" No." Keith sniffled. He felt horrible.

Lance heard Shiro yelling from the other end, and for whatever reason, he felt like enough was enough. He didn't want anyone else to scold Keith right then, even though he already had.

Lance plucked the phone from his hands protectively.

" Shiro, what's the news about Pidge?" He asked, bracing for the answer.

" We still don't know, Lance..."

(( Okay... but roMELLE AND ALLURA THO!))