"There's nothing like the sky at night," Keith breathed as he stared up at the sky. He was perched on top of the Black Lion and, from up here, the sky was brilliant as it spread out around him. Back home on Earth, Keith had only been able to see a fraction of the stars he saw here. Positively dazzled, Keith laid back, folding his hands behind his head. 

Beneath him, the Black Lion stood silent and alert, silently watching over the camp that the Paladins had set up. The other Lions lay in a circle around the seemingly tiny campfire that the Paladins slept around. 

Keith peeked down over the side of Black and could make out the sleeping forms of Allura, Hunk, and Pidge in their sleeping bags. He frowned. Where was Lance?

Just as he thought it, a voice from behind him startled Keith. "Hey, man."

Lance had climbed up the Black Lion and was now standing on the Lion's shoulder, breath coming a little fast from the climb. He was wearing a bathrobe and his pajama pants, but was barefoot and wasn't wearing a shirt beneath his robe. 

Keith jolted up into a sitting position, looking over Lance with an odd expression.

"What are you doing up here?" Shit, that sounded too accusatory. 

Lance winced, which made Keith feel bad, saying quietly, "I can go..."

"No!" Keith said quickly, then cleared his throat and repeated, "No. Please stay."

Lance pulled himself up from Black's shoulder to neck to head, and finally settled down next to Keith. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning back on his palms. 

"Something bothering you?" Keith asked tentatively.

Lance looked at him with an odd expression. "You want to know?"

Keith nodded. To be honest, he really did want to know. The Red Paladin (it was still weird thinking about Lance like that- in Keith's mind, he'd always be the Red Paladin and Lance would be Blue) had seemed off for the past couple of days. Maybe he missed his bed inside the Castle of Lions. 

Coran had left the Lions and their Paladins on this barren (yet habitable) planet because the Castle was too heavy to travel through a wormhole with its near-empty fuel, so they'd agree to let Coran and Shiro go off on their own to find fuel at planet a few lightyears away (made into a few days via wormholes) and then pick up the Lions when the Castle was ready.

During their time alone, Allura had wanted the Paladins to train, but Lance was out of it, being beaten even in sharpshooting competitions. Lance played it off as being tired, but somehow, Keith knew that it was more than that.

Lance sighed. He lifted his face up to the stars and closed his eyes, letting the light of the three moons that hung in the sky turn his skin to a milky, pale white. He turned to Keith and the starlight turned his blue eyes to ice.

"I guess I'm homesick," Lance admitted. "I miss my bed at home. I miss my mom and my dad and my siblings and cousins. I miss my whole family. I miss going to school, even if it sucked."

Keith smiled a little. He remembered how demanding the classes at the Galaxy Garrison could be. 

"I miss garlic knots and rain. I miss my room."

Keith nodded and watched in slight confusion and wonder as Lance let his head drop to rest on Keith's shoulder. It was a little awkward because Lance was actually a few inches taller than Keith, but it was comforting, too. 

"Your shoulder is bony," Lance mumbled but didn't move. 

"I miss home too," Keith said after a few moments. He felt Lance shift on his shoulder, probably looking up at him, but he kept his eyes on the stars. 

"I miss solving mysteries and watching BuzzFeed Unsolved at home. I don't have a lot of things waiting for me back there, like you do, though, so I guess I can't be homesick for as many things."

Lance closed his eyes. "I'm sure that when you get back, you can re-enroll in the Garrison. They've gotta let you back in. I mean, you saved the universe."

Keith chuckled. "So did you."

Lance ignored him, continuing. "You can even come over to my house if you want. Mom can bake some garlic knots and we can play video games in the den."

Keith felt his breath catch in his throat. "You want to play video games with me?"

Lance scoffed. "Only if it's Mario Kart. I suck at everything else."

Keith felt his heart warm up at the thought. He let his cheek rest against the top of Lance's head and smiled. "Okay."

The two of them stared at the stars until one of the moons finally dipped below the horizon and they decided to get some sleep. 

Keith set up his sleeping bag next to Lance's.