#allurance

She'd been tiny, infinitesimal and scattered across the cosmos. She hadn't felt anything in years, too fragmented to think. Until all of a sudden, there was a sharp TUG, and she was drawn back to herself.

It was disorienting to say the least. But as she got her bearings, she seemed to be staring up at herself, rendered in cold stone beneath the blanket of stars she'd been a part of moments ago. And there,  frozen with a handful of juniberry flowers, was Lance. Staring at her in shock, marked by years that had passed by her with as much impact as a light breeze.

"Allura?" he asks, voice breaking.

Her face blooms into a smile, a flood of feelings hitting her all at once now she's not scattered. She's missed him. She's drawn back to him, finding her feet quickly as long as they lead her back to him.

"Lance!" she throws her arms around him and clings on. She wants to melt back into his, but he can't quite seem to believe she's real. Stays frozen a few moments longer as she turns her face back to him.

"Lance, it's me, I promise. I'm here." her voice falters a little, almost doubting it herself. But slowly he comes back to himself, wraps his arms around her in a way that tells her he couldn't let go if he wanted to.

"How are you here?" he asks, "I mean, you were gone for so long and I-"

"I have no idea." she replies.

She really can't bring herself to care about the how when the why is stood right in front of her. For a while it's enough to just hold each other.

Eventually Lance tries to catch her up with everyone, where they are now.

"I've been living on Earth, kinda helping out my family with the farm, and they've been helping me with parenting."

"Parenting?" she scrambles to cover her shock.

"Yeah, kid's not gonna raise herself." he says awkwardly.

She can't have expected Lance to stay stuck on her forever. That would have been decidedly unfair.

But having a child already?

She plasters an easy smile on her face, understanding as always.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you were able to move on after I......when I was gone."

He gives her an odd look, almost confused and a little hurt.

"Allura, I didn't." his voice is a little flat, almost. Like he's stating an obvious fact.

"You don't have to spare my feelings, Lance." she fixes him with a stare, "I'm sure whoever you had her with is wonderful. It's alright, really."

Lying wouldn't soften anything. He was only twisting the knife when it seemed so evident to her that he'd moved on.

It catches her off guard when he meets her eyes, takes a breath and pulls the knife out completely.

"She's your baby, Allura." he says.

Of all the impossible things today, this is the one that trips her up.

"WHAT?" she sputters, pitch through the roof as she loses control of her voice in the brain misfires happening as she tries to process what he said.

"Hey, I was surprised too! You're the one with the magic powers." he steadies her, "It was the weirdest experience of my life, and you know how weird our lives were back then."

He sits her down to explain.

"It was a few months after we lost you, and I was feeling terrible, obviously. But it was more than the grief making me feel that way, because it turned out.....you got me pregnant." he keeps an eye on her, watching her try to keep up with the information.

She's failing miserably, dumbfounded at all of it, but especially Lance's almost casual delivery. He's had to explain it so many times it feels almost routine to explain now, although it's different when he's telling Allura herself. At least this confirms the assumption Coran had made that she hadn't known she'd done it.

"I thought I might as well roll with it, had the baby, and she really gave me purpose again." he tries to reassure her, fighting the rising guilt in her eyes as she realises the impact she'd left behind, "You gave me purpose, Allura."

"What's her name?" Allura asks. She needs something to ground her, an easy answer.

"Junivera." he smiles, "We usually call her Junie though."

"Junie. How old is Junie?" she says, trying the name out. She likes it.

"She turned 6 a couple months ago." Lance says, "We had a big party for her back on Earth, got everyone back together. The team always show up for her birthday and the anniversary. It's the only times team Voltron are all in the same place at the same time anymore."

"The anniversary?"

Lance falters. He hadn't really thought about it when he'd said it.

"Of you.....leaving. It's a holiday in your honour all over the universe, but Coran always holds a dinner, paladins only. Plus Junie."

"Oh." she's not quite sure why it surprises her.

If it had been any of the others, she would have expected nothing less. But to think she was being mourned 6 years later for doing her duty felt strange. Knowing she'd been mourned at all when she was right here felt almost like a waste.

"She looks just like you." Lance redirects, not having meant to bring down the mood again.

"Really?" Allura smiles, quietly pleased.

"Yeah, it was almost scary how much she takes after you. I do all the work of carrying her and that's the recognition I get?" he jokes lightly, "I guess you did all the magic making her, though, so you get the credit for that."

"I suppose I do." she laughs back.

They sit there in the starlight a while. Lance can't take his eyes off her, as if she'll disappear again if he does. And he's missed that face, her face, even though he's seen its echo every day. Allura's still taking it all in, the breeze through the juniberry fields, the castle, all of it so familiar. The Altea of her memory pulled into reality once more.

"Can I meet her?" she asks nervously. She's not sure why she's so nervous, Lance wouldn't turn down her request. But she'd been away so long, how could they even begin to explain it to Junie. When she looks back at Lance, though, he's lit up.

"Of course you can! Are you kidding? I mean you can't right now, because I just put her to bed and she's a nightmare at bedtime," he knows he's starting to ramble, "If I wake her up to meet you now I'll never get her back to sleep. But in the morning we totally will."

She's missed his rambling. She moves beside him, threading an arm through his and leaning in. She knows it's been a long time for him, much longer than it's felt for her. But it still feels right to be so close. They lapse into comfortable silence again, happy to sit in the feeling together.

Although, there is another thought creeping into her mind. She's settling back into having a body, the sensations of it all.

"If we've got all night to kill.....I might have a suggestion." she sidles up to the topic.

She trails a finger down his arm. The years have changed him a lot but it's still easy to fluster him. And he STILL tries to play it cool.

"What did you have in mind?" he matches her slightly evasive tone.

"We did, um....skip the fun part of making a baby." she says, "Perhaps we could make up for it now?"

She glances back at him then, flashing a grin as she sees he's blushing too.

"Mhm." he replies, the noise nowhere near as casual as he's trying to sound, "If we head back to the castle, I can give you the tour."

"I'd love the tour." she agrees.