Wait and see...

On the morning of his 21st birthday, Lance woke up alone in his large king-sized bed, sunshine streaming through the floor to ceiling windows, calling him to come and enjoy the day.

He wrapped himself in a sheet and got up, making his way across the room to watch the sunlight dance on the waves. He stood there, mesmerised by the waves crashing on the rocks below. He thought about how lucky he was to be alive, that Earth, and the universe were now safe, and how grateful he was for all his family and friends.

He was broken from his reverie by the sound of a tray being placed on the coffee table and became aware of soft footsteps coming up behind him. He sighed in contentment as Keith wrapped his arms around him. This was the thing he was most lucky for, he thought. Keith was his whole world, and he couldn't imagine life without him.

"Happy Birthday, Sharpshooter," Keith said, kissing the taller boy on the top of the shoulder, "You ready for breakfast?"

Lance nodded, and let himself be pulled down onto the couch. He snuggled into Keith's arms, and they shared the bowl of fruit Keith had brought him, making small talk while they gazed out at the ocean rolling before them, neither of them in a rush to start the day.

***

After Lance had showered and dressed, Pidge had called him into her workroom, where they spent the rest of the morning on video chats with some of his closest friends from all across the galaxy.

They spoke to Hunk first.

He watched as Dwayne drove his cars over Hunk and Shay as they tried to fill him in on life on the Atlas. Even though they had only been gone again a month, he missed his best friend so much, and watching him with his little family made his heart overflow.

They talked for a while, until Hunk and Shay had to leave to help with the lunch rush. They made promises to talk more often, and the call was disconnected. Everyone was left with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

Their second call was with Matt.

He loved that Matt had managed to find a cake and a candle and he, Sev, Olia, Rolo and Nyma sang happy birthday to him all the way from the Karthulian system.

He hadn't known these guys that long, but going through what they had been through brought them closer together, and he was touched that they had thought of him today.

It was only a short call, Matt and the rest of the group had a Jupiter meeting to get to, and it ended with Matt smooshing Lance's share of the cake into the camera, as Sev begged him not to. Pidge almost fell off her chair laughing, and Lance wiped tears from his eyes as the screen went black.

Their final call was to Coran.

He was grateful that Coran had thought to track down Taalib and Alyenora, the two Altean younglings he had gotten to know in his time on Altea, and they all sat in the library overlooking his favourite field of juniberry flowers.

He did get a little sad when he thought of Allura, and wondered where she was, and what she was doing, but he brushed that off, as Coran went into a dramatic rendition of how the entire castle had thought a hall in the west wing had been haunted, only to find out there was a new family of space mice living in the ventilation system.

He laughed and smiled through all the calls that morning, until his stomach ached and he felt his face was going to crack, and then he laughed and smiled some more. His heart was filled to the brim with happiness when Keith came in and told him he needed to wrap up the call.

"Take care, my boy," Coran had said, and Lance could see all the love and fondness in the older man's eyes, "We ALL miss you, and we'll see you soon." Lance nodded and said goodbye before he reached across, and shut off the screen.

***

"Come on, let's go, things to do!" Pidge urged, dragging him from the room.

They made their way downstairs to find Keith waiting for them by the front door.

"Your chariot awaits," he said, opening the door, and gesturing, in a wide sweeping motion, to the car idling in the driveway.

Lance laughed as Pidge gave him a gentle nudge, and made his way outside. The others followed him out, Keith locking the door behind them, and they all got into the car.

"Where are we going?" Lance asked, unable to keep still in his seat, a giddy smile on his face.

"You'll have to wait and see," Keith answered, matching his grin. He put on Lance's Good Mood playlist, put the car into gear, and pulled out of the driveway

***

They were in the car for almost 25-minutes they pulled into Mission Beach. They pulled up to the shorefront, and Lance could see a city of brightly coloured umbrellas set up by one of the fire rings, close to the shore.

"Tio Lance!" he heard, as he noticed two small children running towards him, "Mom said when you get here we can go for a swim!"

Silvio took his hand and tugged him towards the umbrellas, where his friends and family were waiting, while Nadia jumped up into Keith's arms, and Pidge followed behind.

"Lance is here now Mom," Silvio announced loudly, "We can swim now!"

"Lunch first," Lisa scolded, as she, Mama and Rachel put out salads and cold meats on a fold-out table, "And leave Lance alone, he only just got here."

Lance was surrounded as his family came closer to wish him a happy birthday. Mama, Rachel and Lisa all kissed him on the cheek and gave him a big hug. Luis thumped him on the back, while Marco handed him a soda, and Pop gave him a firm handshake.

Lance looked around and saw that Pidge had joined Shiro, Curtis, Adam, Ina, and a very pregnant Romelle, who were all sitting nearby. He and Keith walked over to say hello and thanked them all for coming.

"You're absolutely glowing, Romelle!" he said, bending down to talk to her stomach.

"Thank you Lance," she smiled, looking up adoringly at Ina, "Although this heat is terrible, and I can't wait for them to hurry up and be born!"

Lance bent down until he was face to bump with Romelle's triplets. "Oh! Your Tio Lance and everyone can't wait to meet you all! You're gonna be the most spoilt little Alteans ever to exist!" he stood up again, "I was worried I wouldn't be able to come talk to them today, and they would forget what I sound like!" he smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Pidge responded. "I doubt anyone would forget your voice."

The rest of the group laughed, and Lance rolled his eyes.

Keith pulled over a chair and sat in it, pulling Lance down to sit in his lap. They sat talking with the group for a little while, until Mama announced lunch was ready, and they all got up to eat.

***

He spent the rest of the day with his friends and family, playing in the waves, throwing the frisbee around, building sandcastles, eating, talking and laughing. As the day wore on people slowly left. First were Ina and Romelle. The pregnancy and the heat were wearing Romelle out, and she needed to go home and rest. The next to leave was Mama and Pop, who took Nadia and Silvio home, so Luis and Lisa could stay and relax awhile. Not much after that, Curtis took Adam home, because it had been a long day for Adam, and he needed to get home to take his meds, and soothe his legs.

That left Lance, Keith, Pidge, Shiro, Luis, Lisa, Marco and Rachel. They pulled their chairs closer to the fire pit, even though it was too early to be lit, and sat around chatting, until the sun began setting, and Marco got up to light the fire. Shiro and Pidge took a drive and came back with pizza and more soda, and then Rachel pulled some premade s'mores cones from the cooler.

The conversation turned to teasing Lance, and his siblings had a lot of fun telling Keith embarrassing stories from Lance's childhood.

"Whoa, whoa!" Luis said, all of a sudden standing up, "You're 21 bro, why are we not at a bar!"

"I've been drinking for years, Luis," Lance scoffed, "21 isn't a big deal."

"It's not fair, you CAN'T take Lance out to the bar!" Pidge protested loudly from her spot sprawled out on the sand.

"Why not?" Keith asked, confusion clear on his face.

"Because then I can't come! You don't want me to miss my best friends birthday, do you?"

"Oh yeah," Keith replied, shaking his head, "You drink so much, I forget you can't actually do it legally."

"Just one drink, hombre! You gotta let your sibs take you out on your birthday!"

"You can find your own way home though," Lisa cut in, "I'm going to take Rachel home."

"He can get a ride with me," Marco replied.

"We better get going too, kiddo," laughed Shiro, looking down at Pidge. "You got your bag in the car?"

"Yes, dad," she grumbled, pushing herself up from the sand. "Keith. Keys."

"We'll all head off," Keith replied, standing up, "Just a few drinks though, okay?" he added, looking sternly at Marco and Luis.

"Yes, Sir!" Marco yelled, snapping to attention, before breaking out in laughter.

They extinguished the fire, and all walked back to the cars. Pidge took a bag from the trunk of Keith's car and went to sit in Shiro's front seat, sulking.

Shiro gave both the boys hugs, wishing Lance a happy birthday one more time, and followed her.

"The Balmera?" Marco checked. Keith nodded, and they said goodbye to Lisa and Rachel before heading to their separate cars.

***