#im tagging this as klance bc i wrote it as klance but ur welcome to read it platonically!

[autisticlancemcclain]

Lance smiles self-deprecatingly. “Jack of all trades, master of none. You know how I am. I’m not really needed for anything.”

Keith could not believe what he was hearing. Lance thought he was unnecessary? Lance?

“Lance, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Look, dude, I don’t need false reassurances. I know I don’t have any specific thing, I’m not like you guys. You guys all have your specialty. You’re important. My specialty is being a stand-in.”

Keith feels his jaw drop at the pure conviction in the Cuban’s voice. How does he not know?

“Lance,” Keith says again, “being the jack of all trades is your thing. There is nothing you can’t do, and I’m not saying that in a frilly, ‘if you just put your mind to it!’ sort-of way. If you choose to do something, genuinely, you can do it. It’s fascinating.”

Lance frowns. “Man, what are you talking about? I’ve never really excelled at anything. Nothing important, anyway. Like, look at you — you’re a master swordsman. You can beat anyone in a duel. It’s awesome. I can’t even come close to that!”

“But why do you have to? Lance, I can’t shoot for shit. On God, unless the target is right in front of me, I cannot hit them with any kind of projectile. But you can use a sword, dude. You might not be an expert, or whatever, but you can hold your own.”

“So what?”

“So that’s what I’m trying to explain! No matter what skill you decide to pick up, you figure it out eventually. You wanted to learn how to read Altean? You did it.”

“I can‘t even speak it!” Lance argues. “I can only read and understand it. I can’t, like, hold a conversation or anything. It’s embarrassing next to Allura or Coran.”

“You are missing the point. You can’t keep comparing yourself to every expert and hating yourself for falling short. Of course you’re not as good as Allura or Coran at Altean. They’re native speakers! How well do they speak Spanish?”

“…They don’t.”

“Exactly! And think of all the other things you were able to do after just, like, reading the instructions. You were able to work the healing pods after a week in space. You’re the only other person on the ship besides Hunk who can make food that Pidge will eat. You figured out how to sew because you were bored and you needed something to do. Hell, Lance, you’re the only one who’s evolved more than one bayard form! And you figured out how to pilot Blue faster than anyone else in their Lion! You don’t have a thing, Lance, and that’s exactly it — you can pick up everyone else’s thing with ease. You’re the most adaptable person I’ve ever met, Lance. Jack of all trades, master of none — but better than a master of one. You’re missing half of the quote.”

Lance is silent for a few minutes, contemplative. “I guess I never considered any of those things skills. They’re just things I can do. They aren’t hard.”

Keith smiles, fond and exasperated. “Not to you, man. No one else can just choose to learn a skill in an hour and do it. That’s a Lance thing. And if you ask me, well. I think you’re pretty wonderful.”