You started to slowly stir from your sleep, opening your eyes carefully, like your body didn't quite yet want to wake up. Then you took a deep breath and slightly stretched your back as it felt a bit stiff. Until you felt a hand on your waist.

"Morning..." You then heard Keith's husky voice from behind you. And that's when your eyes fully opened up. Oh yeah, you were in Keith's room.

You rubbed your eyes as you recalled about yesterday. You had been watching the sunset on Olkarion with everyone, and after getting back to the castle, you must have just dozed off because you didn't remember getting to bed or falling asleep.

You turned around to face Keith. And as soon as you saw him, you burst out laughing. His hair was all over the place. It was like that every morning, but you weren't that used to the sight yet, so it still made you laugh. But Keith just responded to your laughter with a grunt while opening his eyes.

"What are you laughing at?" Keith asked. "Nothing. Morning." You just said while smiling. And then you turned to look at the ceiling while letting out a sigh. "I must have been really tired yesterday." You said partly to yourself while thinking about the long days you had been having lately.

"Yeah, you pretty much fell asleep the minute you slumped down on the bed." Keith answered you. "Sorry..." You said silently, looking at him apologetic. But he just started to smile. And it was such a genuine smile, that you couldn't help but smile back. He always looked so happy when he smiled like that.

"Yeah, how rude of you, ruining my night." Keith then said to you as his smile turned into a mischievous smirk. And that's when you frowned while playfully hitting his arm. "Shut up." You said while pretending to get offended by what he said. "You shut up." He just chuckled back. And before you could say anything back, he suddenly leaned against you and shut you up by swiftly kissing you.

You were slightly surprised, but quickly surrendered to the kiss, immediately forgetting about what you were about to say. And as he tightened the hold he had, he leaned you against the bed while kissing you again and again. It seemed like he wanted to make sure you knew how he felt. And you didn't mind. You happily accepted his feelings, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him closer while responding to his affection.

When Keith finally pulled away, you were already feeling out of breath. But he just looked at you for a moment before flashing that mischievous smirk again. "You might have even snored a bit." He then said to you. "Keith!" You immediately narrowed your eyes while playfully punching his chest. And he went along with your act, taking a hold of his chest while pretending that you had hit him hard.

"Watch with those mean punches. I don't want your fist in my face the second time." He hen said while letting out a small laughter. And immediately you felt your cheeks getting hot while remembering the time you were sparring together and accidentally hit him for real.

But now, you just couldn't help but laugh. You never would have imagined that one day you would wake up together and laugh like that. And as you looked at him, you were so glad that you had given yourself the chance to be vulnerable again. And at that moment, you really weren't afraid of anything.

"I don't want to go." You then jokingly said as you nuzzled your head against Keith's chest, shifting so you could get closer to him. You knew that the day ahead was going to be tough and you just wanted to stay like that a little longer. "Why can't we just make a nest out of the blanket and stay here? Let the rest deal with Zarkon." You then said with a whining tone in your voice.

You had excepted to hear at least some chuckles from Keith, but to your surprise, he let out an irritated sigh. And as you tried to lift your head to look at him, he just tightened the hold he had on you. "Why do you have to be so damn cute..." He then quietly said, almost to himself. And suddenly you felt so flustered and all too self-conscious, so you buried your face even further against his chest so he wouldn't see what shade of red you were.

You seriously would have wanted to stay in bed all day long. But you couldn't. You had a job to do. And even though forced, you finally got yourself up from the bed.

A bit later you arrived to the dining room. The others had already gathered there since Hunk had made some special breakfast to everyone. And nobody even teased you and Keith for arriving together, not even Pidge. First you thought that to be quite suspicious until you realised how focused everyone seemed to be. Even though they were talking cheerfully together, there was this focused and determined energy among them all.

You joined others at the table and got some of Hunk's delicious breakfast. Nobody really knew what he had made, but it didn't matter. It was so much better than the same old goo.

"Guys, you remember Coran's authentic ancient Paladin lunch?" Pidge suddenly asked while everyone was gobbling up Hunk's food. "Oh, don't mention it! Otherwise I'm going to lose my appetite!" Hunk almost yelled in response. "Like that will ever happen." Keith said while smirking. "It might!" Hunk raised his voice again. And then everyone laughed, even Hunk in the end.

While you scooped some of Hunk's breakfast in your mouth, you listened to the cheerful conversation. And you couldn't help but smile. You were really happy just listening to the others talking and joking as you tried to savor every word and laughter. You really didn't want those moments to end.

When everyone was done with their breakfast, you left the dining room. Then you changed into your armours and got into your Lions. And as you sat down on the chair in your Amber Lion, you felt somewhat nostalgic.

You had already lost count on how many days it had been since you found your gorgeous Lion and sat down on the chair for the first time. You remembered how you first had trouble finding her. But when you did, she welcomed you with open arms. And you didn't want to let go of that bond. You weren't ready for it yet.

That's when your Lion purred kindly, like she had just read your mind. "I'm yours. Nothing will change that. Do you think I could just leave..." You then said to her in your kindest voice as you leaned forwards and petted her console. And as she roared back, you suddenly laughed. "I know you would come and get me." You said, realising that your eyes were getting slightly teary.

"Paladins. Get to your positions." You then heard Coran's voice on the intercom. "Right." Everyone answered back. And as you straightened out your back proudly, it really hit you that you were starting your plan now. You were really going to get rid of Zarkon, for good.

All the Lions soared out of the castle and flew to the giant teludav. And after you had settled on one side, it was time to go. "Everyone, lock into position. We're taking this thing up." Shiro then ordered you. And that's when you pushed the Lion's handles gently as she sunk her teeth into the side of the teludav.

When you were all in position, Shiro contacted the castle. "Princess, we are go for launch." He informed. "Charging main turbine." Allura then answered as the castle started to power up. "Alright, let's go." Shiro said. And that was your cue. You slowly pushed your Lion's handles, making her power up the boosters while everyone else did the same. And slowly but surely the teludav got up from the surface of Olkarion.

Soon you followed the castle out of the atmosphere of Olkarion. And when you arrived to the weightless space, you slowed down your boosters. And then you let go of the teludav as it was now floating on its own.

After you had gotten the teludav to where it was supposed to be, you flew the Lions back to the castle and headed straight to the control room where Allura, Coran, Slav, Kolivan and Antok were waiting for you. Then you gathered at the center of the room, around the holographic screen. And even though you were about to do something so grave, there was still a positive anticipation in the air.

"All right guys, listen up." Shiro immediately said with a clear tone, getting everyone's attention as a hologram of the teludav appeared on the screen. "I'll use the Black Lion to lure Zarkon's fleet to our current location and make sure he's within the teludav's area of effect." He started explaining the proceedings as the screen showed the plan in action, holograms of the Black Lion and Zarkon's ship appearing below the teludav.

"Keeping the teludav hidden behind the space-fold until the last possible second is essential." Shiro then continued strictly. And then he turned to Slav. "We can count on you, right Slav?" He asked. And with that question, Slav straightened out his back. "Absolutely. I'll be fine." He answered casually, until he narrowed his eyes while looking at the side a bit unsure. "I'm not sure about the gravity generator, though." He then mumbled to himself.

That's when you all turned to look at Slav questioningly. "What? What was that last thing?" Hunk asked him puzzled. "Hiding a ship is one thing, but I've never had to build a gravity generator for something this large before. I know it'll work, but I'm not really sure for how long." Slav then explained while spreading his arms, all of them. "Well, that's a risk we'll have to take." Shiro just casually answered. And you knew that no plan would be risk free, so you had no choice but to take that chance.

"Once Zarkon's ship is in position, Kolivan and Antok will coordinate with Thace. Together, they'll take down Zarkon's security system and upload the virus." Shiro continued. "And then, he'll be a sitting du-flax." Pidge then added with a large grin on her face while lifting her glasses.

That's when everyone turned to look at Pidge, not really knowing what she was talking about. And for a moment she looked so content with herself, until she noticed your blank stares, her grin cooling down. "What? A du-flax is an Altean creature with a beak and webbed feet." She then said with a sigh, frowning as she had to explain her joke.

But when nobody still didn't react to Pidge's joke, Coran stepped to the platform, kind of disregarding her altogether. "Well anyways, we'll wormhole Zarkon 500 million light years away, and he'll be in the Yggiz Galaxy before he knows what's hit him!" Coran then finished explaining the plan enthusiastically while demonstrating how it would happen. And that was your plan. A pretty good plan indeed.

"What about Thace?" Shiro then turned to Kolivan. "He should be getting into position now. We received his last communication three quintants ago. We should hear from him soon." Kolivan explained with a serious expression. And Shiro just nodded at him before turning towards you. "Well, I'm off." He then said casually, like he was just going to pop down to the market.

That's when you looked at Shiro. He was such a good leader and you couldn't have asked for a better one. "Good luck." Pidge then said while giving him a hug. "Shiro, be safe." You added to Pidge's wishes of luck while gently putting your hand on his arm, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "I will." He answered you just as Pidge let go of him. And as he smiled, you saw a hint of amazement in his gaze, like he was surprised of how much you all cared.

"All right. Let's do this." Shiro then said while giving everyone a meaningful nod before leaving the control room. And then he was gone. Now you just had to wait for him to do his part of the plan.

After that everyone went to sit on their chairs. There was really nothing you could do at that moment, except wait for Thace to contact you and hope that Shiro would be able to draw Zarkon's attention. It was time for the agonising wait.

And after a moment of waiting, you noticed how Kolivan and Antok started to quietly talk to each other, both of them slightly restless. It was noticeable in their normally very stoic behavior. And when they stopped talking, neither of them said anything to you others. They just stood there like nothing had happened. And that's when you started to have this strange feeling in your gut. Had something happened?

You didn't know if the others noticed it, so you stood up. "Kolivan, still nothing?" You asked, guessing that their conversation had something to do with Thace. But Kolivan just shook his head, saying nothing, even though you could see some uncertainty in him. And that made you feel even more uncomfortable. Even though you tried your best not to think of worst case scenarios, you realised that you had started to fidget with your fingers restlessly. And the more you waited, the more the tension in the control room grew.

Then finally an image of Shiro appeared on the large screen. "Zarkon took the bait. He's got my location. Is everybody in position?" Shiro asked seemingly content. But he only got a tense silence back. "What is it?" Shiro then asked, immediately realising that something was wrong.

"We've not yet heard from Thace. He was supposed to contact us already." Kolivan then explained the situation. "He could've been captured." Antok said straight after, clearly concerned. "Or killed." Kolivan added. And just then it hit you. If he would've been killed, you couldn't go on with the plan. And that would be bad, especially since the plan was already in motion.

"We need to abort the mission immediately." Kolivan then said after some consideration. And that's when you turned to look at him while gasping silently. "Abort? No! We cannot back away now." Allura immediately said while raising her voice, looking straight at Kolivan, like she was challenging him. But Kolivan looked back determined, not budging.

"The Blade of Marmora does not take chances. It's how we've survived for so long." Antok said, interfering between them. "No, it's held you back." Allura just replied coldly. And even though she was probably right, the air started to get tense between them, affecting you all.

"Your caution is the reason Zarkon is still in power." Allura continued clearly angry, almost spitting the words at Kolivan. "We would rather wait than jeopardize everything." Kolivan just answered calmly back. "Besides, it's too late to get someone else on the inside." He then added, trying to reason with Allura. He wasn't saying those things just to keep the Blade of Marmora hidden, but because the plan needed their man on the inside.

That's when you saw that Keith started to get up from his chair. And straight away you knew what was about to happen. "I'll do it." He then declared loudly. And that's when you closed your eyes as you tried to take a deep breath. You knew it. He was just like that.

And as you opened your eyes while trying to breathe slowly, you looked at Keith. He was standing his back straight, proud of what he was about to do. And even though he was now probably your only hope, it still felt like a sting in your heart.

"What?" Allura asked puzzled while turning to look at Keith, her expression mixed with amazement and disbelief. "I'll sneak onto Zarkon's ship. I'm Galra, so I'll be able to interact with their technology." He just calmly explained, like he had been thinking that for awhile already. He wasn't hesitating at all.

Then Keith glanced at you, wanting to see your reaction. He had a determined look on his face and you knew he wouldn't back away. But that was what he was like. He was surprisingly unwavering for an impulsive person, but you loved him for that. So in return to his gaze you gave him a small encouraging smile back, and that seemed to make him glad that you weren't going to stop him.

"Pidge, you can rig up one of those pods with a cloaking device, right?" Keith then asked while turning to Pidge. But before he could continue, Kolivan interrupted him. "Going onto Zarkon's ship is a suicide mission. I would never command someone so inexperienced to go on a mission so dangerous." He tried to get Keith to change his mind. And even though the stinging in your heart seemed to get worse, you knew you had to trust Keith. He was reckless, but also very reliable. You knew he would come back.

"No one's commanding me. I'm doing it." Keith answered Kolivan back defiantly. And for a moment they seemed to stare at each other until Shiro's voice broke the silence. He had heard everything. "Pidge, get that pod ready." Shiro just ordered. "Keith, let me know when you're on your way. I'll give you cover." He still added calmly, even though you heard some uncertainty lingering in his voice.

"Right. Thank you." Keith answered to Shiro. "I'll go get the cloaking device ready." Pidge then immediately said while getting up from the chair and running out of the control room with fast pace.

That's when Hunk got up from his chair too and quickly made his way to Keith. Then he opened his arms and without regarding Keith's slight resistance, he gave him a big and strong hug. "Hunk..." Keith tried to say in an almost suffocated voice, coming from somewhere under Hunk's arms.

"Make sure you come back. Don't go making too many friends there." Hunk then said with a slightly shivering voice. And suddenly his words seemed to break the tension in the room. It at least made you smile, even though Keith just seemed a bit irritated.

After everyone had wished Keith good luck, he left the control room, you with him. And as you walked in silence towards the flight pods, you reached out and took a hold of his hand without saying a word. And as he reassuringly squeezed your hand, you let out a sigh. You couldn't help it.

Then you put on a brave smile. "I know you can do this. Just promise me you won't do anything too reckless, or stupid." You said to him, your expression turning serious as you looked at him straight in the eyes. "Don't take chances you don't have to take...please." You still added pleadingly.

That's when Keith let go of your hand and wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer as you walked forwards. "I won't. I promise." He answered you with a serious voice. And that made you feel slightly more relieved. He was reckless, but you trusted him.

When you arrived to the pod bay, Pidge was already working on installing the cloaking device to one of the pods. "Almost done!" She said while noticing you walking next to her. "(Y/N) going with you?" She then asked Keith with a smirk on her face. And that's when you looked at her with an exaggerated glance. Trust her to lighten up the mood.

"No, I'm going alone." Keith suddenly answered Pidge strictly, raising his voice while crossing his arms. And that's when you turned to look at him amused. "Pidge was just joking." You explained to him, wondering if he hadn't realise it was a joke. And that just made Keith get flustered.

"Oh...well...better to have you safe..." He immediately started explaining while scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze. And as you looked at him, you couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Sometimes he was just so adorably awkward.

Then Pidge finally got up. "Okay, the cloaking device is ready to go." She said proudly as she looked at Keith. But just as she was about to say something more, a demanding voice was heard from the pod bay door. "May I have a moment with Keith, please?"