I sat there looking at the computer screen.

"Oh how I hope it helps "

I leaned back in the office chair, my eyes closed.
I hurt more that I thought it would.
Reliving it.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew was I had a cat in my face.

"Well hello beautiful " I said as I stared into the blue eyes of Red.

I smiled.

"Hungry?"

~~~

The day went by like any other.

I went to work.

Had a long stressful day filled with helping customers and stressing about the past.

I came home.

It was already late.
Around 8 by the time I started on dinner.

I was very energetically engaged in my preparation for my weekly "Taco Tuesday ".
I laughed at hearing Blue's begging calls for treats.
She loved it when I gave her scraps when I am trying to cook.

Red, who was usually begging with Blue, was perched over my the big window.

I glance over to her, her sudden growls and hisses alerting me.
I figured she was in one of her moods again.

"Hey Red" I called from over my music, " chill out girllll~ "

But when she ignored me, and her hair went up, I suddenly felt a little on edge.

I set down the table knife, and walked over to her.

"What is it girl?" I asked, running a hand down her back," Whats got you so worked-"

I stopped.
Outside of my window I saw a silhouette of a bike, and a figure making its way to my front door.

" Maybe they got the wrong house?"

Nope.

The stranger started up my porch steps,and at that I ran for the door.
I opened it slowly, prepared to politely tell them that they got the wrong house.

But what was on the other side of the door I wasn't expecting.

I froze.

My whole world came crashing down in one fatal instant.
I felt my heart skip a beat. Are my eyes tricking me? Is thus just another dream?

I realized it wasn't.

It was real.

Actually truly real. Flesh and blood real.

It was Keith.

I gave a small cry of joy, as I left the doorway and flung my arms around his neck,pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Its really you!?" I said, half to myself.
I felt him hug me tighter.

"Yeah, it's me."

I pulled him arms length away, to get a better look at him.

He looked different. Older.

Obviously Lance, it's been like 3 years since you saw him last.

His hair was now long enough to be in a ponytail, and might I add it looked hot.

His eyes were the same deep violet they had always been, never loosing their shinning glow.

But there, on his left cheek, was a huge scare. Deep and bold, brining back the memories of the night in my bedroom.

"Where have you been all this time!?" I exclaim, " i thought you where dead!"

He gave a small laugh," I didn't want matters to get worse, things weren't safe then. After all I was responsible for his death, and there where plenty of people he worked with the didn't like that."

"But you could have met me know you where alive "

He shrugged.

" But you did save me Keith. And probably countless of others. "

He looked me in the eyes. His bright galaxies staring into my ocean blues.

"Lance " he whispered. " Can I stay here with you tonight?"

That sentence brought back the many memories of the past.
How I had said no before.
How because of it - I almost wanted to cry.

"Yes Keith " I smiled, letting go of his shoulders " yes ,yea you can stay"

He gave me a huge beaming smile, and grabbed my hand,lacing his fingers in-between mine.

I almost had a heart attack.

I was so overjoyed and overwhelmed I still couldn't believe this is all happening.

Thats Keith's alive.

And actually here. Here holding my hand.
I looked around once we both stepped inside, suddenly conscious of how mess my trailer home was.

"Ummmm- yeah sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting company ."
I fumbled over my words, letting go of his hand.

"Your fine"

"Make yourself at home man"

He nodded, hanging up his jacket behind the door.

I turned back to the kitchen, face flustered and heart about to beat right out of my aching chest.

"Need help?"

I turned around to see Keith right behind me, a smile on his face.

"Sure "

So he picked up the table knife, and when to town chopping the head of lettuce.

~~~

We both where quite as we worked on the dinner.

I finally decided to break the silence.
"So" I asked nervously " where have you been these last few years?"

He stood there silently, the only sound of the knife on the cutting board.

"Well" he said " After I jumped out of your window, I ran away."

"Obviously " I laughed.

He gave a snort " Yeah I guess, I ran off to New York -"

"NEW YORK!?" I exclaimed " FROM TEXAS!?"

"Yeah"

"WITH A GUNSHOT WOUND!!?!?"

He burst out laughing.
I did not see what was so funny.

"No no, ah my God, no- I met this guy. Well technically he almost hit me with his car, but he didn't so don't freak out."

I just looked at him intently as he continued.

" He was scared to death that he killed me, but when he saw what state I was in he took me to the hospital.

He said it was his responsibility it care for me, once I told him I was alone.

Once I had recovered, he took me in under his wing, and I went back to live with him in New York.

We stayed there for about 3 years, him doing his detective and homicide investigations and me providing him with the details of the underground crime world.

Because of the living with my Dad so long, I got to know how cruel the world could be.

And I wanted to help Shiro stop it.

He became like a brother to me, and we both helped stop many horrible things.

We shut down black markets, and saved teens from the sex market. We even stopped people like my Dad.

It felt so good Lance.

We moved back here about 4 months ago, and then I decided it was time.

So I sought our Pidge.
Her and Hunk pointed me in your direction, and here I am. "

He was quite for a few minutes, I could tell he was thinking. He then turned to face me.

"Lance " he said,a hand brushing away the hair from the side of my face," I came back here to explain two things to you. "

"And they are?"I nervously asked, face blushing.

"I want to tell you first of all, I love you.  I always have and always will. And I'm so sorry of what I did hurt and sacred you. But the thought of losing you- Lance I fucking love you.  So much."

I smiled at him, my face burning and heart beating fast.

" I also wanted to explain what happened those 3 years ago. "

I nodded.

~~~

"Well see Lance, it all started around the night I slept at your house, after the fight I had.

It wasn't actually with kids from my neighborhood, it was from my Dad.

He was mad at me, and Laura, my step mom. He ended up beating the shit out of me that night, and screwing Laura up.

I'm just glad nothing worse happened to you Lance. I could never live if he had hurt you.

My Dad was watching us that day i yelled at you.
I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, so I knew that if I pushed you away, you'd be ok.

But I was wrong.

My Dad knew I cared for you.  He knew that he'd eventually lose me to you.
That his little slip up would be free to talk.

So that night after I yelled at you, he beat me up and locked me in the house, hardly letting me of his sight.

Then after 2 weeks, I lost it.

"You can't keep me locked up forever you know!! People will notice I'm missing and come looking for me!!!" I yelled at him.

It was already late, and he was already upset at me and Laura.
I remember he grabbed a glass bottle and broke it over my head with as much force as possible.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed.

I had had enough of him. Of the house, of the life I was suffering thorugh, so I headed towards the door.

I was about to leave when he yanked my hair, pulling me backwards.

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE!!! not ever, your my son,MINE and I'm not about let you wall out of here!"

"WHY NOT !?" I fumed " Huh!? Are you scared I'll tell someone what you did!? Tell them of everything you've done to me and Laura!?
SCARED ILL TELL THEM WHY YOU KILLED MY MOM!!!?"

That was his last straw.

He brought a hand down against my face, a stinging Slap sounding.

" I CANT LET YOU GO, ID BE RUINED!!!"

I pulled away from him Lance, trying to leave.
Knowing then I had really messed up.

I froze in my steps at his next thunderous words.

"I'LL KILL HIM!!" He screamed at me," JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE YOU'VE EVER LOVED!!! ILL KILL THAT BOY!!!"

I snapped around and threw a sickening punch at his jaw, a pleasing crack sounding.

"DON'T YOU EVER THREATEN LANCE AGAIN!!"

His face twisted, full of hate and anger.
I'd never been so scared of him more that then Lance.

He grabbed his belt off of his pants and went to beat me with it, but Laura stepped infront of me.

Lance- the courage that woman must have had to do that.

I loved her.

"Zar please" I remember her begging. She was shaking when she said it. " please love he's just a child, he didn't mean it-"

But he was already so mad, so infuriated-

And things just got worse.

He beat her.

He fucking beat her to death Lance.

And I tried to stop him. I got in the way, but I failed.
And be murdered her.

And there was blood. So much blood. And screaming.

And then a gun- "

Keith stopped talking, and looked me on the eyes.

" I did it Lance. I killed him. Killed him for Laura.
Killed him to save you."

I didn't know what to say. I hurt for Keith, especially know that I know what really happened.

"Keith- don't blame yourself- it was an accident "

"It wasn't an accident Lance" he said," I fucking shot him in the head on purpose! Does that sound like a accident to you?"

"Ok- so that happened " I breathed in,grabbing a hold of Keith's shoulders " but we can't change the past Keith. No son should ever have a Dad like you got stuck with.
What happened happened Keith, just look at it this way"

I wrapped my arms around his neck " be thankful that's I'm the past, and not one of us. We're still here.
You're still here.
I'm still here.
And I'm not going anywhere. "

He squeezed me into a hug, burying his face into my neck.

"And Keith "

"Yeah"

"I love you too"

I closed my eyes as I felt him place a reasuring kiss on my neck

~~~

I sat back down at my computer later that night. Keith had fallen asleep on my couch.
I lowered my hands one last time over the keys

Violet.
Thats the color that took him from me, but also brought him back.
The color that drove Keith to a path that no one could have ever wanted.
The color of the night that left us broken inside.
The color of the night that killed me.

But that same violet darkness brought him home to me.

He I staying with me now Pidge, and he will continue to live here with me.

You where right. It did help.

Even though he's always been a strange fellow, I've gotten used to him.

His laugh.

His smile.

His smell.

His touch.

But most of all,I am used to the way his violet eyes shine when he looks at me.

Thats what I see now when I hear the word violet.

I see him.

My Keith.

Oh how I wish to always remember these violet nights.

I looked at the words on the screen. And then I emailed a copy to Pidge. She was right.

Again.

She always is.

I walked back to the living room, and see him sitting there on couch, gazing out the window at the night sky.

I sat down next to him, swinging my legs up over his lap.

He turned to look at me. His violet eyes swimming with the shine of a thousand stars.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, exhaling a deep breath.
I heard him give a short laugh.

He then fell against me, leaning his face  closer to min.

His nose softly brushed mine, before I closed the gap between us.

We kissed there,in the dark of night. Both of us never letting go of the other. Holding each other tight in our grasp.

I'll never really fully understand what he went through, but I know that I'll always be here to help him.

I breathed in, as  he held me close, closing my eyes.

Oh how I wish to always remember these violet nights

The End