#lance is a Huge Klutz

[downwiththeficness]

Shadow and Veil-Chapter Thirty Seven

Summary: Eva Moore’s life was a carefully constructed fiction.  Every day, she did exactly what her mother in law, her husband, and his  best friend expected of her. No mistakes. And, that was going pretty  well for Eva right up until a huge complication literally tried to run  her over. Now, she’s faced with trying to keep the pieces of her life  from falling apart while attempting (and failing) to keep her feelings  for her husband’s new business partner at bay.

A/N: This fic is a sister-fic to A Need So Great and A Need Unleashed.  You do not need to have read ANSG or ANU to read this fic, but there  are Easter eggs from those fics in Shadow and Veil for readers with keen  eyes.  This fic is explicit for canon-compliant blood, gore, violence,  and sex. As such, it is intended for an adult audience, only. A/B/O  dynamics come with their own warning. Anyone under the age of 18 should  not interact with this work. I do not consent to reposting this work to  other platforms. Reblog only to Tumblr.  

Word Count: ~3,200

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Eva didn’t so much wake as she roused from a half waking state. Sitting up, she blinked blearily until her vision focused enough so that she could stand. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and she could hear birds chirping in the trees. It was a morning very much like every other morning since Eva came to the house—with one glaring exception.

Above, the shower was running.

She sidestepped her heels on her way to the stairs. Her body ached from having laid on the couch all night. Eva couldn’t decide whether or not she should have just gone to bed. At the time, the choice had been impossible. Even now, Eva struggled with knowing she wouldn’t be able to take Horacio’s rejection—real or imagined.

With each step, Eva cringed. She hadn’t mapped the creaks and groans of the house yet, didn’t know how to move silently from room to room and floor to floor. She would forgo her usual walk today and start working on it. Come evening, Eva would know exactly where to step.

Moving lightly down the hall, Eva slid into the guest bathroom and emptied her complaining bladder. She washed her hands, keeping her eyes from the mirror. Eva didn’t want to look at herself.

On her way out, she glanced longingly at the open bedroom door. Horacio was still showering and she might be able to get a change of clothes and get back into the hall without him noticing. He had a long morning routine, taking his time shaving and running gel through his hair to tame the wild curls.

Deciding against it, Eva hurried back too the stairs. Her steps were, perhaps, too hasty. She stumbled over the runner on the second stair and quickly tipped headfirst into a fall. Her arm clipped the banister, but the momentum of her body kept her from getting a good grip. Instead, the limb slipped between the spindles so that her wrist took almost her entire body weight.

Lips pulled back from her teeth, Eva hissed in pain. Her feet pushed into a stair so that she could sit upright. Every move sent a lance of pain from her wrist up her arm and into her shoulder. She eased her arm from the spindle and dropped down the remaining stairs on her butt. Her wrist was throbbing with pain and already swelling. Eva rolled her shoulder and found that she had full range of motion. Her wrist, on the other hand...

The shower stopped.

Injury cradled into her chest, Eva scrambled to standing and scurried to the kitchen and through to the back porch so that she could think about how she was going to handle being a complete klutz on top of her argument with Horacio.

Breathing through the pain, Eva sat down on the porch stairs. She looked down at her wrist and winced. The inside was raised and bruising slightly. Careful fingers prodded at it. Didn’t feel broken, but it was a hell of a strain.

Booted feet dropped down that stairs.

Holding her arm into her belly, Eva prayed that Horacio would just grab his lunchbox and go so she could deal with her arm in peace. Her prayers weren’t answered.

The back door opened and Horacio poked his head out, “I’m heading to work.”

Eva half turned and replied in a bright tone, “Okay! I’ll see you when you get home.”

He paused and looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. A nod, and he closed the door. Eva listened for the engine of his truck to turn over before she got up and went back into the house.

A quick search of the freezer produced an ice pack that she gratefully laid against the hot skin of her wrist. She loosed a relieved sigh and leaned against the counter. God, she was an idiot. Couldn’t even get down the stairs without fucking up. Eva had to get this taken care of before Horacio got home.

She needed a doctor, possibly a splint, and pain meds. All of which should be easy enough to get.  The first step was to call a cab and arrange a ride. Simple. Easy.

Plan in place, Eva held the ice pack to her wrist and (very carefully) went up the stairs to the bedroom. Changing clothes was an act of physical gymnastics that tested her patience and her pain tolerance. As was washing her face and trying to arrange her hair into a clip.

When she felt like a person again, Eva grabbed money from her stash and left the bedroom. She stalled at the top of the stairs. Ice pack dripping over her arm, Eva straightened her shoulders and sat on the first step. One by one, she slid downwards. She felt like an idiot and a child the whole way.

Safely at the bottom, Eva stood and went to the phone. She’d memorized the number of the phone company by now and dialed it in a quick succession of tones. Afterward, she went out to the front porch with her ice pack and waited.

The day was cool and balmy, which helped Eva keep focused while the pain slowly worked its way to the forefront of her consciousness. Her head was slowly pulsing in time with her wrist and it made Eva long for the days when she could get a painkiller without having to go through the messy experience of having to talk to anyone.

It was the one silver lining of living with Josh.

She waited far too long for the car to pull into the drive. The driver seemed to be apologizing, but Eva was in too much pain to do the work of translating. She just held up her wrist and said ‘hospital’. The driver took one look at it and waved her inside. Although Eva wasn’t paying that much attention to the world as it flew past her, she thought they broke a few laws on the way.

After paying the driver, she toddled into the building and looked for the intake desk. The paperwork they handed her felt impossible to read and it took her more than half an hour to scratch out her information. Then, it was a matter of sitting in the lobby until they had a room available for her.

At least they gave her a fresh ice pack while she waited.

Eva waited a long time.

There was no clock on the wall, but she felt every second as it went by. The triage process seemed like it was first come, first serve. Eva counted the people who arrived before her, watching each in turn as she anticipated hearing her name called out by a nurse.

Juliana Carrillo.

It felt strange writing it on the intake form—she’d almost written ‘Eva Moore’ out of sheer habit. Putting pen to paper somehow made it feel more official than looking at the marriage certificate Horacio filed with the government.

Eva’s thumb brushed the inner knuckle of the ring finger on her left hand. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but she could feel the ghost of the one currently stowed away in her jewelry bag as if it were still there. It occurred to her that Horacio wasn’t wearing a ring, either.

She occupied the rest of her waiting time thinking about if it mattered.

Once she got back to the examination room, Eva forced herself to slowly sound out the words. The nurse was impatient, performing the vitals through rote memory. It took effort for Eva to remain calm, but the pain seemed to increase with every misstep she made.

The nurse left and Eva let out a shuddering breath. She swallowed down the inexplicable urge to cry—there was no need for it. In a few minutes, she would have meds and (hopefully) a new ice pack. Everything was fine. She just had to get through another few minutes.

Another few minutes turned into three quarters of an hour.

The doctor was much more kind of to her. He looked at her wrist and ordered an x-ray to make sure it wasn’t broken. She got a shot of pain killer to ease her suffering in the meantime. It wore off by the time the doctor returned with the results from radiology. Only a sprain, but she would have to have her wrist splinted for a few weeks. He encouraged her to make an appointment with her primary physician and Eva didn’t have the heart to tell him she didn’t have one.

She had to pay the bill up front and was glad she thought to grab money before she left the house. Eva walked out of the building and sat on a bench under the awning of the building. Her wrist was in a splint, she had a bottle of pain killers, and not enough money for the cab ride home. Eva furiously dug through her purse, coming up with only about three dollars. Not enough to get her home.

Frustrated and exhausted, Eva dry swallowed a pill and tried to think. She could go as far as the cab would take her and walk the rest of the way. A look down at her shoes told Eva that she would end out with a pain in her feet that matched the one in her arm and head. Going barefoot was an even less enticing thought.

A small voice in the back of that head reminded her that she had someone she could go to who would give her a ride home. She looked down the street. His office was near enough that it would take no time to walk there. But, then, she’d have to make her way through a bunch of strangers with an arm half wrapped and eyes red from crying. The experience wasn’t exactly palatable.

Or…

Or, she could hang out until he got done with his shift, which would be in a few hours. A few hours didn’t seem so bad. She could do that. Simple. Easy.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Eva got up and started walking. One foot in front of the other, head high. On the way, she passed a little store that advertised frozen Popsicles in a variety of flavors. She bought one along with a soda and a pack of chips.

Eva turned into the parking lot just as the pain killer kicked in. Feeling lighter, she took a turn around the lot to look for Horacio’s truck. Finding it, she dropped the tailgate and hopped up to sit and wait. Legs dangling, Eva ate the Popsicle and watched people as they went about their lives.

Cars whizzed up and down the street. Mothers with babies bought groceries. Couples had meals outside a little cafe. Eva entertained herself by making up little stories in her head—the man smoking a cigarette outside a butcher had three kids that he was supporting, one of which would be a lawyer. The young woman carefully selecting a bouquet of flowers was going to her mother’s for dinner. The kid begging for a candy sucker had a sister at home that drove him crazy, but he’d knock the shit out of anyone who messed wit her.

She continued on like that while she drank the soda and ate the chips. Belly full, Eva could feel fatigue setting in. She slid further into the truck bed and rested against the cab.

“Eva?”

Flinching awake, Eva saw Horacio standing at the back of the truck with a confused expression on his face.

“What are you doing?”

Not entirely certain how to explain the situation, she held up her arm, “I fell.”

He stared at it, “You’re hurt.”

“Doctor said it was just a sprain.”

The confusion on his face deepened and his words were slow, “You went to a doctor.”

Eva nodded, “He gave me medicine and said I have to wear this,” she waved the splint, “for a few weeks.”

Horacio pulled his lips between his teeth, then flicked his fingers at her, “Come here.”

She scooted to the edge of the truck bed until her legs dropped over the edge. Horacio stepped up to her and reached for her arm. Eva held it out to him, watching his face closely for signs of anger.

Horacio inspected the splint with a clinical eye, “Its too tight. We’ll re-wrap it when we get home.”

He guided her down off the tailgate and pushed it closed. Eva got in the truck, feeling the weight of his watchful stare and wondering if they were going to fight again. She folded her hands in her lap and kept her gaze on the windshield while he backed out of the parking space.

“You know,” Horacio said conversationally, “I thought my men were playing a prank when they told me someone was sleeping in my truck.”

Eva almost laughed, “I’m sorry. They wouldn’t bill me for the hospital visit and I didn’t have enough money to get back.”

“You should have called me.”

She said nothing to that. The emotions that went along with her thought process that morning felt raw and vaguely embarrassing.

“Where did you fall?”

This, she could answer, “Down the stairs.”

“Down the—Eva,” there was something similar to anger in his tone. Similar, but not the same, “Is there more than just your wrist?”

She shook her head, “No. Everything else feels fine. Except my head hurts.”

Horacio’s head whipped to the side, “You hit your head?”

“No. Its just sympathizing with my wrist, I think.”

A deep sigh.

Eva was quiet the rest of the drive.

When they got back to the house, Horacio tossed his keys down on the new dining room table and directed her to sit on the couch. Eva listened to him dig around in the hallway closet before coming back with a first aid kit. He sat opposite her and began to slowly unwrap her wrist.

When the bruised skin was revealed, Horacio hissed through his teeth, “This is a deep sprain.”

“Uh huh.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Eva stared at him, chastened by the exasperation on his face, “We had a fight.”

“And?”

“I thought you were still mad at me.” Her voice was so small that it pained her to hear it, “And, you would get more mad at me if I told you I was stupid enough to fall down the stairs.”

Horacio leaned away from her and his eyes flicked across her face. Eva couldn’t tell what he might be thinking, but she didn’t like the way they narrowed at her. “Eva, when did this happen?”

His tone had shifted subtly. It was less confused, less exasperated. More solid. Commanding.

“This morning.”

“When this morning?”

She felt an unseen pressure around her, as if the walls of the room were closing in, “A while after I woke up.”

Horacio’s mouth thinned, “Before or after I left for work.”

Shit.

“Before.”

He drew in a calming breath that didn’t seem to calm him at all.

“Its just that we were fighting,” she said quickly in an effort to explain, “You were so upset last night and I didn’t want to make things worse.” A pause, “I thought I would take care of it while you were at work.” Another, longer pause. Then, softer, “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Warm hands covered hers, “I don’t understand how this could bother me. What kind of husband would I be if I got angry just because you were hurt?”

Oh.

The grinding gears of Eva’s thoughts slotted into place and she realized her mistake. And, it was a mistake. A big one. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, “I’m so sorry.”

Horacio shook his head and worked on wrapping the splint. Eva watched his hands. They were confident and steady as he adjusted the tension, made sure the splint was in the right place. When he was finished, he told her to wait on the couch.

Eva did as she was told, listening anxiously while he moved about upstairs. She thought about taking another painkiller, but she wanted to be alert for whatever came next.

Horacio returned and held out his hand for her. Eva took it and followed him up the stairs to the bedroom. In the doorway, she stopped moving.

The bed didn’t look at all like it was supposed to. Every pillow and blanket in the house, even the ones they bought specifically for a guest room they hadn’t yet decorated, was piled high onto the mattress. She could see a small divot in the middle that was just big enough for one person.

“What is this?” she asked in a voice that cracked with emotion.

Horacio pushed her further into the room, “You’re exhausted and in pain. You need to nest.” When she didn’t say anything or make any movement towards the bed, he emphasized, “Its a nest, Eva.”

“I know what a nest is,” she grumbled. “I just don’t know why you made one for me.”

“Because you need it,” he replied simply.

Encouraging hands led her to the best and helped her to sit. Horacio knelt down in front of her and removed her shoes and socks. Eva watched him with a lump in her throat that she couldn’t suppress. Biting down hard on her lip couldn’t keep the tears back. A whole day of stress leaked out from her body, sucking the energy from her.

Dark eyes glanced up at her. Eva couldn’t take that calm, inquisitive gaze. She covered her face with her hands.

He said her name lowly, rising to sit next to her, “What is it, now?”

Sniffing loudly, Eva gestured helplessly, “You just...did all this,” more helpless gestures, “and I was being such an asshole to you.”

Horacio’s eyes glinted with amusement, but he did not laugh, “I was being an asshole to you, too.”

“No, you weren’t!” she asserted vehemently.

“I was. I shouldn’t have left during our argument last night.”

The man had a point—a point Eva wasn’t going to let him have, “You were right. I was overreacting.”

He laid a hand on her arm, “I think we were both overreacting. But, its done. Lay down.”

Eva didn’t lay down.

She wiped her face and threw her arms around his shoulders to hug him close. Horacio leaned into her, breathing deep. After a moment, he eased her down into the nest. Eva pulled him down with her. Laying on his side, Horacio pushed her hair from her face, “You’ll feel better after you get some rest.”

Eva nodded and lifted her chin to take a kiss. She could feel him smile into it. Her good arm rotated so that her hand could run up the center of his chest. His heart was beating a strong rhythm below her palm and sent a wave of calm through her body.

He pulled away, “You said you had medication.”

She wanted more kisses.

Horacio chuckled as he dodged her lips, “Rest.”

Eva made a disgruntled noise, but snuggled down into the blankets while he rolled from the bed. She was surrounded by their combined scents, but the things that made their life soft and comfortable. The pain in her wrist receded along with her consciousness.

She slept deeply, waking just as the sun was setting. On the nightstand by the bed was her med bottle and a glass of water. Eva smiled and went back to sleep.

[autisticlancemcclain]

Keith watched on with amusement as Lance fussed at the holo-TV, trying desperately to get the subtitles to play despite the fact that they did not offer and Terran subtitles and would therefore be useless. (‘They help me hear better!’ ‘Lance, babe, you can’t even read them.’ ‘Who am I to argue with my ears? If they hear better with subtitles, they hear better with subtitles!’ ‘…Can’t argue with that.’)

“Lance,” he complained, “hurry up and come sit down. I miss my bony weighted blanket.”

Lance, who had finally gotten the subtitles on, (in what looked to be Arusian) huffed snootily. “If that’s all I am to you, then you can sit by yourself,” he said, sitting primly on the other edge of the couch.

Keith pouted. “Baby,” he tried, but Lance pointedly ignored him. After a few moments of stubbornly sitting as far away as possible, Lance began to shiver. Keith smirked. As much as Lance liked to huff and puff and pretend to be annoyed when Keith teased him, he could never stay away long enough for Keith to feel any consequences, because Lance seemingly could not thermoregulate. It took that boy a maximum of five minutes in any situation to get cold, and Keith was his personal furnace. Keith reclined back onto the couch, still smirking. He wouldn’t even have to say anything.

A few more minutes, and he was proven correct: Lance crawled along the couch, settling in between Keith’s open legs and leaning on his chest. He manhandled Keith’s arms so one was around his waist and one was in his hair. He was scowling, but Keith knew his well enough to see the amusement in his eyes. Lance enjoyed their dumb little games as much as he did (there were always bonus points when they pulled shit like this in front of the team, who recognized it for the flirting that it was and were disgusted every time. It was hilarious).

As soon as he was settled, Keith pressed a quick kiss to the back Lance’s head, tightened the grip around his waist, and began running his fingers through Lance’s hair in the way he knew made his boyfriend all melty.

“…This does not mean you won,” Lance announced after a period of silence.

Keith huffed a light laugh. “Okay, baby. Whatever you say.”

The smile was audible in Lance’s voice. “Don’t patronize me, Mullet.” Keith smiled and continued playing with Lance’s hair as the movie played on. Truthfully, he wasn’t paying much attention to the film, just enjoying spending time with his boyfriend. His fingers ran along a long scar on the back of Lance’s head, and he paused. He knew the scar was there, he felt it every time he touched Lance’s head, but he truly did not know where it came from. He knew the origins for most of Lance’s other scars, as he was present for most of them, but this one eluded him.

“How’d you get this scar?” he asked after a moment of contemplation.

“Hm?” responded Lance absentmindedly. “What scar?”

Keith traced over it again, tapping it lightly. “This one, on the back of your head.”

“Oh, I tripped over a fish when I was little.”

Keith froze, brows furrowed. He was utterly flummoxed, to be honest.

“You… tripped… on a fish?” he asked slowly. He knew English was, like, Lance’s fourth language. Maybe that was an expression that wasn’t translated well?

Lance hummed an affirmative. “I was playing in the… I don’t remember the English word. The shallow end of the ocean. Where you can still stand.”

“I think it’s called the surf? Maybe?”

Lance made a face. “I thought that was just the sport. Huh.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Anyways. I was playing in the surf with my siblings, we were throwing a ball around. My siblings are all bigger than me, and sometimes they forgot that, so they kept throwing it too far and I would try to run backwards and catch it anyway. Since I was running backwards, I wasn’t really watching where I was going, and I tripped over a stupid fucking Goliath Grouper.” Lance scowls. “I don’t know what the dumbass thing was doing in the shallow waters, but it was there and they’re too dumb to be scared of humans, so I tripped right over the stupid thing and cracked my head open on a rock! My mom thought I died. Luckily for everyone I am very hardy, so they glued my head back together with no brain damage! But yeah. I firmly blame the stupid Grouper.”

Keith sits in stunned silence for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. The force of it makes Lance bounce where he’s resting on his chest. Lance giggles along with him.

“You really tripped on a fish,” he chokes out. “God, baby, only you.”

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 26 update. Shots fucking fired

Lance didn't sleep well. His mind wouldn't let him rest, racing and supplying him with nightmares when he did finally fall asleep. Feeling flatter than a witch with a house on her, he let Keith fuss over him. Leaving all decisions to his not boyfriend, down to how much makeup they should use on his cheeks. Lance was happy with only a little, but Keith insisted he needed more to sell the lie, leaving small deposits to crumble on the edges were it dried unevenly. Normally Lance prided himself on his appearance, he tried to once again when the drugs had stabilised in his system, so it irritated him each time he caught the slightest glance of the caking. The compromise over the bad make up was that he was allowed to wear a body suit under his normal clothes. He felt better than way, safer, Keith insisted that he didn't need it, yet he felt too exposed without it on. Keith caving without a fight when it came to his mental health. It irritated him how easily Keith had gotten through to him once he'd explained what had happened... but Keith had a way about him. A stupid loved up stalkerish way that Lance secretly loved in his own way. Walking through the Atlas, things seemed peaceful. There was no clunk or hum of the engines. No one yelling at each other. No one fighting over the bathroom. It felt cold. Peaceful but cold. Yep. That was the only way Lance could describe it. Thankful that Keith was walking beside him, it made the grey walls all that more manageable. He really didn't need to have a panic attack over the colour of the walls before they even reached everyone else. His heart was already pounding like crazy as it was. Reaching the doorway to the dining area, his steps stalled, Keith's hand brushing against his "It's going to be ok" "I know. Nerves and all that" "If it counts, I'm pretty nervous too..." Lance wanted to tease him. He would have if Keith hadn't genuinely cared about him. He could smell it on Keith. This morning smelt so much clearer than the others, or maybe it was because the Atlas didn't smell like anything in particular. Not like the Telula did. Remembering in the tick of time, Lance stopped himself from kissing Keith's cheek. The Atlas had cameras everywhere. As it was, someone on staff might be able to read lips, which would complicate things if people started asking questions. They were friends. The others knew Lance as an intimate person, him touching Keith wouldn't be too odd. Lance wasn't in a good enough mental state to confidently tell Keith he was ready to announce it or make it official. Walking into the dining area, everyone had seemed to break off into their own little groups. MFE pilots at one. Pidge was having breakfast with her family. Shiro nursing his coffee as he talked with Coran and Curtis. Hunk's family was talking with Shay's. His family were huddled together on one table, and his team on the other. How was he supposed to chose? His team didn't know anyone, but at the same time, his family had come all this way "I'll grab us breakfast. Why don't you sit with the team? They all look a little lost" "Thanks. I hope everyone's been nice to them. We were only staying a few quintants... I don't want there to be a fight" "Yeah. Ok, go on" "Lance! I was worried" Sitting himself down beside Lucteal, Lance gave a strained smile at him and Daehra "Sorry guys. I had to stop by my girl this morning to get some clothes. Did you guys eat?" Leaning past her brother, Daehra nodded "Your Hunk insisted on cooking for us. His food is very nice" "Oh, so you met Hunk?" "We met him last night. He made us Earth pancakes with sureeep. I have never tried anything like them before" "Hunk is an amazing cook. You know those herbs you brought with you, Pidge's mother will be able to grow some for Hunk. To help make your pancakes and syrup. I know I let you guys down last night, but things are going to be better today" Daehra nodded quickly, a blush on her cheeks. This all had to be surreal for his team, meeting the famous Voltron and staying on the famous Atlas. Even if he was slightly scared, he was so damn proud of his team. Anyone who said they didn't belong here deserved to be punched in the face. It was thanks to the galactic war that they'd all been dishomed to begin with. They'd all fought and survived without the help of Voltron and the Lions "Deahra, do you want to meet her?" "What?!" Lucteal elbowed his sister at her loud cry. Lance nodding his head as he grew slightly more confident about his question. Everyone was in small groups, all doing their own thing. Just because he was chicken shit, didn't mean she should have to suffer "Right now. She's just there, and she's pretty nice" "But I..." "But nothing, Dae. You're amazing with herbs and you know... even if she doesn't have time, she'll know who you are" "Leandro..." "You're amazing Dae. I like trust you with my life. Come on" "But..." "Nope. I know I really dropped the ball yesterday. I should have checked you were alright last night, and I should have been here for you before breakfast. Please let me make it up to you" "Leandro..." "Good. It's settled. Lucteal, are you coming?" Lucteal shook his head, casting a glance over to the MFE pilots table "That one over there with the obnoxious hair. I want to hit him" Following Lucteal's lead, Lance snorted to himself "That's James. He always goes after Keith. But yes, he's obnoxious as hell" "Can I shoot him? He keeps looking this way" "You can't shoot him. Apparently Earth needs him... but I have another idea. Let me introduce Dae first, then we'll go from there" Slinging an arm around Daehra's shoulders, as Lance would have, he led Daehra over to the Holts. Flicking Pidge on the ear, the green gremlin had been too absorbed in her tech to hear him approaching "What the quiznak?! Oh... Hey, Lance" "Hey, Pigeon. What you working on?" "Your friend over there insinuated my coding wasn't up to scratch..." "That would be Zak. Not to brag, buuuut..." "Lance you better not finish that sentence, or I will fight you" "Ooooh. Someone needs her morning coffee" "No. I just need you to shut up" "Katie Holt! That is not how we talk to friends" Pouting at her mother, Pidge went back to her laptop "It is when it's Lance" Reaching over, Colleen took Pidge's laptop from her. Pidge trying to grab it back while her mother ignored her "It's nice to see you Lance. You look good" At least someone was happy to see him "Thanks. I know I'm interrupting your breakfast, but I have someone I really want you to meet. This is my girl Daehra. She's my team's medic, with a huge interest in plants and botany. When I told her of your research, she was in awe. Her medicinal herbs are the best in the sectors we work" Colleen looked Daehra up and down, her smile growing "I can never say no to a young botanist. Why don't you bring some of your herbs down to my lab and we'll go over them together" Daehra blushed hard "Thank you very much. I'm not very good..." "Dae, you're amazing. You should know that by now. Thank you so much. And Pidge his name is Zak. He's absolutely crazy about tech. You should talk to him about the AI he's building. He's instilled it with layer learning. I know you've been working on your own projects, but you never know..." "If he's friends with you, then he's probably a weird" Poking his tongue out, Lance reached out and ruffled Pidge's hair "Then you'll get on perfectly. We'll leave you to it. Thanks so much" Daehra gave a half bow "Thank you" Leading Daehra back to the table, Lucteal had moved down a seat so Lance could sit between him and Keith, with Daehra on Keith's other side. Placing down a plate of pancakes, Keith nudged him with his shoulder as Lance sat "What was that about?" "I wanted to introduce Daehra to Colleen" "How'd it go?" "She wants Dae to go by her lab with her herbs later" "Good job, Daehra. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from her" "Thank you... I was nervous when Pidge told Le-Lance to be quiet" Keith's expression turned hard. Lance didn't need Keith feeding his anxiety by being protective "She did?" "Don't go there. Its Pidge and you know how she is when she's on her laptop" "Ohhh... you disturbed the great Pigeon?" Keith's face relaxed, a smile on his lips as he teased him gently. Sighing exaggeratedly, Lance tried to look grave "I did. Her mother even scolded her" "Oh no" "Oh yes. It would seem that Zak wounded her pride last night" "Dammit Zak" "Eh, they're both nerds. Did you see Hunk?" Prying into Hunk's life through Keith was the best he could hope for right now "Oh. Yeah. We're going to have a Paladin lunch. To catch up and stuff. Man, he's so nervous. Shay knows something is going on, and he's sure she knows what" Lance's knife slipped as he went to slice through his pancake, syrup smearing on his fingers. It would just like him to klutz up right now "I wouldn't be surprised Shay is pretty smart" "I thought Shiro would be engaged to Curtis before Hunk got engaged to Shay" "Nah. Adam was Curtis's brother. It doesn't matter how long you know a person, there's still a difference between going from friends to lovers" Slumping down slightly in his seat, Keith rubbed his knee against Lance's. The half-Galra was a damn menace "That's true. Do you have any plans for today?" Plans? Not having a panic attack was his plan "Leandro said he may be able to arrange for me to hit that James" Choking on his pancake, Keith looked to him with watery eyes "What?" "James has been side eyeing my team this morning. I might not be up for sparring, but if he wants to try taking my team on, he's gotta be prepared to have his arse kicked" "Lance..." "Relax, Mullet. I was thinking of showing Lucteal to the training room, after helping Daehra with her herbs. Pidge is going to get curious over Zak, and the others... I'm not sure what they want to do" "Why don't I show Lucteal to the training room, while you help Daehra with her herbs?" After yesterday's stellar performance, Lance didn't really want to seperate from Keith's side. He still felt guilt that his family was over there having breakfast without him. Then again, they saw Veronica even less than they saw him. He was alive. That was all that mattered to them. Keith told him he was strong, so he had to be for him "Yeah. Divide and conquer?" "Mhmm. Oh quiznak... Mum's coming today" Lance deflated a little. He didn't know how to look Krolia in the eyes "Don't be like that. Mum knows what you mean to me" "You should be hanging out with your mum..." "I don't know what time she'll be arriving. I'll message her to meet us wherever we are... She's going to be happy to see you" "She might not be when you fill her in on everything" "Babe, she knows most of what happened. I mean... she knows I made my choice to be with you. And that I'm staying with you" "She's your mum..." "That has a whole planet to rule. Besides, if she arrived while we're trying, she's not likely to back down from a fight" Lance groaned. Lucteal wasn't ready for Krolia training "Make sure she goes easy on my team. I like them and would like for them to stay in one piece" "Mum won't be that bad" They both knew otherwise... Or at least Lance did. Krolia scared him, even when it came to light sparring "You say that now" "Oh shut up and eat your breakfast already" Sighing heavily, Lance stabbed at his pancakes with his fork. Lucteal was strong... hopefully with Keith watching, nothing would go wrong "Yes, Keith" * Dropping Daehra off at Colleen's lab, Lance was feeling pretty good about it. When Daehra hadn't known what to bring, he'd suggested samples of her pills and the herbs she used to make them. Promising to let him know when they were done, Lance half wanted to stay and watch, to protect Daehra if anything was to happen. Instead, he nodded at her promise, and wished her well as he started through the Atlas and up to the training room. Part of him was mentally laughing at the fact Shiro hadn't wanted anyone walking around his ship unescorted, and there he was doing just that. Walking into the training room, Lance wasn't expecting Keith and James to be sparring. Lucteal watching on, actually cheering for Keith. Jogging the few steps to Lucteal's side, Lance looked to his second in command "What's going on?" "That James. He implied that our team was unworthy. Keith stepped up to say he was part of our team. This happened" Great. James and Keith... they had a complicated history "Did you get to hit him?" "Not yet" Lucteal sounded bitter, but not as bitter as Lance was. James was a dick, and he couldn't understand why he kept going after Keith. Lucteal had his reasons... So did that mean James liked Keith? The thought was laughable. Keith could castrate James in the blink of an eye if he so chose. Sitting on the sidelines, Kinkade was filming everything as he provide a running commentary with Rizavi's assistance. Watching as the fight slowly grew towards becoming a brawl, Lance wasn't having it. Keith had a reputation to uphold, while Lance was a lowly bounty hunter "Keith, swap out with me" Catching James's fist, Keith stepped back with a scowl "I've got this" "If James has a problem with my team, it is up to me as their commander to step up. Provided he has the balls to throw down properly" Letting out a low whistle, Kinkade looked over his camera. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Rizavi called out "You going to let him talk to you like that, Griffin?!" Scoffing, James broke his stance to run a hand through his hair "Hey, if he wants a piece of this, I'm right here" Glaring, Keith strode towards Lance "What are you doing?" "He insulted my team" "I was handling it" "You looked as if you were about to murder him" "He had it coming" Patting Keith on the shoulder, the half-Galra still looked annoyed "You can beat him up as much as you want, after I do" Taking a few steps towards James, Lance rolled his neck. He hadn't thrown down for fun with Keith out of fear, but James was a dick and the Atlas had its own pod... squaring his shoulders, he was nearly at James when Keith called out to him "Lance, weapons?" Oh. Right. He forgot about that tiny detail... Kneeling down he took his knife from his right boot, and slipped out the blade hidden up his sleeve. Turning, he threw both to Keith with a wink "I forgot about that. Don't want to accidentally stab him" Keith's smirk said otherwise "Kick his arse" "You know it" * Keith was on edge as Lance stood in front of James. The MFE shit head had decided to mock his "life choices" over following some like Lance. Though not an active Paladin, the MFE pilots had all have basic hand to hand training, and they all had years of experience surviving after Earth had been invaded. Keith had made the mistake of saying "Let's how see how good you are at sparring", where as Lance had said they were going to "throw down". His fight with James was expected to be light, despite his anger at the man causing him to snap. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Lance shook out his hands before balling them into fists. James laughing as he dropped into stance "From what I remember, you weren't that great at hand to hand" "I'm surprised you can remember anything with that ego of yours" Letting out a long "oooooh", Rizavi was seriously enjoying this. None of them realised how much of a transformation Lance had made while fighting for his life "Why'd you even come back? Weren't you enjoying your life as a simple farmer?" "Had to come back because dick's like you can't do their jobs" Lance was keeping his tone light, almost joking. Or it would have been if not for the look in his eyes "From what I hear, you called Keith in to clean up your mess" Lance shrugged, Keith enjoying this confident side to his not-boyfriend, even if it was all a show "Actually, he came to me. Seems your little crew wasn't going to cut it. Don't hold back" James was learning the hard way that there was more to Lance than met the eye. Lance openly laughing at James's attempts to bring him down. The angrier James got, the sloppier his moves were. Lance able to block and dodge, his movements a thousand times better than when he'd been a Paladin. Kicking out James's knee, the MFE pilot went down hard, the look in Lance's eye turning deadly as he pinned him in a head lock, and locked his leg with his. James had no idea he was ticks away from dying "What the hell is going on here?" Releasing James, Lance wiped his brow before holding his hands up to surrender to the fun police that was Shiro. Taking James by the arm, Rizavi began leading him away, Griffin jogging after the pair. The three of them smart enough to know when to run from a scolding Shiro "We're sparring" "Do I want to know how it started?" Lance opened his mouth, but Keith cut in "James was being dick. Went after me again, then insulted Lance. It was all in fun. You know if we wanted him dead, he would be" "It's funny, I'm looking at Lance and I'm hearing Keith's voice" Dropping his hands, Lance shook his head. His voice holding no confidence as he replied "Shiro, it was all fun and games. The only thing James got out of it was knocked down a few pegs" "I didn't think the pair of you were the type to bully someone to make yourselves feel better" Keith saw red, Shiro might have raised an eyebrow and intentionally baited him to see what his reply was, but when you love someone with PTSD and have started learning their triggers, the fear of them being hurt by a careless comment was always there. Lance wouldn't be able to hear the joke. And yeah, James was under Shiro's fucking command, but he knew the kid was a total jerk. Seething, he wanted to smack his stupid brother "That wasn't what happened at all. James was starting trouble, so I suggested we spar. We swapped out to Lance when Lance arrived from dropping Daehra off with Pidge's mum. This isn't the Garrison Shiro. We might have let things go, but even after he apologised, he still went out of his way to cause trouble. He has no right to bad mouth Lance or his team. They're your fucking guests" Coming up behind him, Lance put his hand on Keith's shoulder "Keith, calm down. Unlike James, I'm replaceable. He's a MFE pilot, and those ships cost a lot to build. I'm just a bounty hunter who can't even do that anymore" Shiro looked as if he was going to interject, but Keith really wasn't having it. Sure, Lance looked ready to kill James, but before Shiro interrupted, Keith was ready to step in "Goddamn it, Lance! You are not replaceable! And you didn't do anything wrong. James threw down as hard as he could. It's not your fault he's not that great" Shaking his head, Lance squeezed Keith's shoulder "Keith, it's not worth fighting over. Let's just train..." "Lance, I swear to quiznak..." Raising his hand, Keith shoved Lance's hand off his shoulder. Realising what he'd done, his hand hovered there "Lance" "Forget it" Pain filled Lance's blue eyes "Lance..." "Forget it Keith. I don't belong here. No matter what you say. Sorry Shiro, we'll be off your ship tomorrow. I promise to stay out of your way" Striding towards the door, Shiro called out to Lance as Lucteal moved to follow the Cuban "Lance. That's not what I meant..." Ignoring Shiro, Lance disappeared "... why can I never seem to say the right thing to him?" Shiro seemed genuinely troubled. Keith forcing down his anger at his brother "When you were tortured, did Lance ever treat you any differently?" Crossing his arms, Shiro went on the defensive "No. What does that have to do with anything?" "I've been watching everyone. Pidge this morning. Her parents. You now. You all look at him with pity. I know none of us knew what to do when Allura died. We all knew it was hard for him, but we were there. She's been gone for over a year now. It's time everyone treated Lance like he is Lance. He doesn't want our pity. He doesn't need our pity. He didn't treat you any differently after you were tortured, if anything he held more respect for you. For surviving everything you went through. Don't treat him any differently that you used to. He hasn't changed who he is inside" "I know that. I guess... I understand what you said when you first reached out to him. How he felt like a stranger. He's grown so much. When I saw him with James... I was sure he was going to hurt him" Even if Lance had, James would have deserved it. Though it would have torn Lance apart at a later date "He's still Lance. Like you have Allura's crystal in your arm to keep your body stable, Lance carries part of Allura quintessence to keep his body stable. Stop making excuses and talk to him like nothing happened" "I'll go find him" "Good. Make sure you apologise for being an arse. He was up all night with nightmares. His nerves are shot and he could really use someone who knows what he's been through to be there for him. If he won't talk to you, leave it and I'll talk to him" "You really understand him, don't you?" "Lance is easy to understand. All he wants it to forget the bad things in the past and move forward. Like we all do" * Sitting at the command table of the Telula, Lance wasn't sure what his next step was. He'd nearly lost control fighting James. He'd intentionally provoked him due to the fact his stupid brain started whispering that maybe there was some truth to him liking Keith... and he couldn't lose Keith to the likes of James. When he'd put him in the headlock, he'd made sure James could breathe, but couldn't move. Now all he felt was disgust at taking away someone ability to move like had been done to him. The circumstances might not have been the same, but none the less... He'd enjoyed taking James down a peg. It was as Shiro said, he was a bully. "Leandro?" Following him from the training room, Lucteal had hovered by his side quietly. He didn't need to be an empath to know that Lucteal wasn't happy over how things had played out. He hadn't got to hit James, and now that Shiro had scolded, Lucteal wanted to punch him too "What's up?" "That Shiro is standing in the hangar" Great. He felt sick to his stomach over what had happened. Being scolded by "Space Dad" was nearly as bad as being threatened with his mami pink slipper "Who does he think he is..." "Lucteal it's ok. Shiro's trying to protect his team. Like how I would protect any of you. I'll go talk to him" "He insulted you" "It wouldn't be the first time. You should probably stay up here, I don't know what he wants to talk about" Lance had nothing to say. He'd made a fool of himself and was now off licking his wounds "At least take a blaster" "I promise you it'll be ok. Now, try not to hit him if he comes onboard" "I make no promises" Walking down the loading ramp of the Telula, Lance eyed Shiro in confusion. Holding both hands up, Shiro was wearing a sad expression "I come in peace" "I told you that I'd be off the Atlas tomorrow. Lucteal is with. Keith's with the others and Daehra is with Pidge's mum. Don't ask me where my family is, you invited them" "I deserve that. Look, I didn't mean to run you off. I also didn't mean to make you feel like you weren't welcome here" "Really? You accuse my team of being untrustworthy. You look at me like I'm an insect. What do you want from Shiro?" "I want to say I'm sorry" Hell hath no fury like an angry Lance "Well, you said that. I promise my team isn't going to cause a scene. I'm sorry about what happened with James, but I won't stand for my team being insulted" "Lance, you know it's regulations that new visitors be escorted" "They're not just visitors. They're my family" "And what about mine. I have the lives of every single person on this ship to consider" "Don't you think I know that?! If it hadn't been for Keith, I probably wouldn't have even come for the party. It's not like my presence would have been missed!" "Of course we missed you..." "That's bullshit Shiro. Every time I reached out to any of you, I was ignored. I built my own life out here" "Keith told me what happened..." Lance let out a bitter laugh, he knew he was being spiteful, but all his anger at being rejected and pushed away from the team came flooding back "I bet you enjoyed that. Stupid Lance taken and tortured. Yeah. I bet you really enjoyed that" "No one deserves that. I know, remember. I know what it was like and what it was like to die... and what's it like to lose the one you love. Please Lance, I understand" "This isn't about Allura" "You cover your marks now..." "Don't..." "We thought you were happy on Earth" "Happy?! My whole family imploded when I came home! No one knew how to talk to me. No one knew how to treat me. Between the nightmares and the PTSD everything fell to pieces. No matter how many stupid juniper bushes I planted, she never came back. So no. You don't understand Shiro. Allura never loved me like I loved her, and every time you all look at me, all you show is pity. I'm done with that" Why was he tearing up? He was mad with Shiro. He didn't want to be crying in front of him "Lance..." "Don't! None of you ever wanted me around. I finally found people who want me for me. And we do good work. I'm proud of.. I was proud of the work we do... We help people. Not just those we want alliances with. We don't turn people away because they're "different". Daehra and Lucteal saved my life more than once. I won't go back to being made to feel like nothing" Shiro crying was a dick move. How was supposed to stay mad at crying Shiro? "Lance... I'm sorry we failed you" "You didn't fail me. You weren't supposed to know" "Why didn't you call? When it happened?" Call. He'd called and messaged "I tried reaching out. None of you answered my messages. We still had those stupid team calls. No one noticed if I didn't talk. I only took them because of Veronica" "And after? After you Keith went to that outpost? Why didn't you call then?" Hissing like an alley cat, Lance took a step back. Crossing his arms, Shiro could keep crying silently "Is that what this is about? Because I don't want Daibazaal or the Atlas involved? You don't actually care, do you" "Lance... That's not what I meant. I meant, why didn't you call us for back up? We would have come out to help you" "I don't need your help" "It's too late for that it's an intergalactic issue. People are dying" "I know they are, but you don't understand" "What's there to understand? I saw the pictures. All we want to do is help" Rolling his eyes, Lance was disgusted. The conversation was hurting his head, he could feel the tendrils of a headache coming on "Oh, you saw the pictures. Great. Now you know everything. The Atlas can't help" "What's that supposed to mean?" Why couldn't the great and famous Shiro understand? Why wasn't he looking at the bigger picture? When was Shiro going to finally treat him as a man, and not a snot nose punk "It means where I work, people hate Voltron. They have no time for people from Earth. They were all suffering and we helped none of them. People won't take aid from Lance of Voltron, but they will if they can't see my face. They'd rather starve or bleed out. We're not Galactic Heroes. I was tortured over the Red Lion. They wanted it for themselves to secure their power, because that whole fucking sector receives fuck all aid. The cops out there are as corrupt as hell. The people we fucking arrested, they're the people chopped to pieces. So tell me how the precious Atlas is going to fix all of that?! You can't bring back the dead. You can't sew them back together. How sending Galra ships out to people still scared shitless of the Galra, is going to make things better? You can't, can you Shiro. My friends were butchered because they know me. I have a 1.5 billion GAC bounty on my head, because I wanted to do the right thing. You guys can't help. I should never have listened to Keith..."

[why-am-i-up-at-4am]

I’m so happy it was established in season 6 that Lance is a huge klutz

[skyfyrecity]

Apparently the lovely bean @snowcrystaldream tagged me in a couple things so imma just. Do them all here

aight

FANDOM TAG

-rules, pick any three fandoms and answer the questions-

ONly three..? I’ll go with RWBY, Voltron, and Miraculous Ladybug since they have new stuff comin out soon-ish

First character you loved:

RB: Ruby, she’s adorable and relatable af with those social skills 

VT: Pidge, probably because I literally had the same glasses and hair and I’m lowkey a nerd for tech

ML: Alya, she’s a confident supportive friend and also a huge nerd like me... tho she actually does stuff for the things she cares about so goals

Character you never expected to like:

RB: Uhh... Nora I guess? Just because she’s kind of a side character.. or was for awhile lol

VT: Lance. At first I thought he was a bit too.. flirty?

ML: Nino, at first he didn’t stand out to me much I guess

Character you relate to:

RB: Ruby because of her aforementioned social skills, good heart and also she’s like... a year or two younger than everyone. I always have older friends and I’m young for my school grade too :P

Also Yang when it comes to taking care of my little sister and the whole deal in V4, cept I didn’t have an injury, I had Lyme disease

VT: Pidge, for reasons mentioned before, also Hunk with being confused and nice I guess? Socially I’m very similar to him I think

ML: Uhh... Marinette I guess? I feel like a consistent klutz but somehow I can make pretty cool stuff sometimes

Character you would slap:

RB: CINDER. Ho W DA RE YoU

VT: Uhh... Hagar I guess, because the druids give VT no breaks

ML: Chloe, tho I think I’d rather get her some counseling 

Top three favs in order:

RB: Team RWBY and team JNPR. All of them.

VT: Pidge, Hunk, Lance

ML: Marinette, Alya, Adrien but mostly as Cat Noir because puns

Someone you initially liked, but ended up disliking:

RB: Cinder, she was pretty cool but then she did th e unTHINKABLE

VT: I’m kinda annoyed at Shiro what with the whole “Kieth you get to lead voltron after me” thing. Man... that’s gonna cause so much drama dude but I don’t like. Dislike him

ML: Uh, no one I can think of at the moment, Maybe Lila because for a second I liked her cause she has nice hair

Someone who grew on you:

RB: Nora and Ren, probably because I discovered Boop and I thought that was such a cute song

VT: Hunk, I just didn’t think much of him at first but now I think he probably has the most common sense and least clouded judgement out of everyone

ML: Marinette? At first I thought she was pretty cliche but I’ve been loving her development

3 OTPS:

RB: RENORA, Phyrra and Jaune of course, and Bumblebee and Blacksun are both pretty cute so they tie

VT: Uh, Klance for what it has potential to be mostly, Shay and Hunk (So Pure™) and uhhh...I dunno man I’m not a huge shipper for this fandom so far

ML: The main square, Nino and Alya, and I don’t seek it out but Alya and Marinette receives a stamp of approval from me

And also Bonus Music Tag: What the first ten songs that pop on shuffle are

Hoo boy this might get weird I have a lotta meme-y stuff

1. Radioactive in the Dark (An Iconic mashup found on here)

2. Double Trouble - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban OST (DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES)

3. #IVIVI - Lilly Singh and Humble the Poet (Aka my fave YouTube duo)

4. Sweet Water - Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader OST (Oh yeah there is also an ungodly amount of soundtrack on here lol)

5. Polyjuice Potion - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets OST (No really I have a problem the whole HP soundtrack is here)

6.A New Headmaster - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 OST (WHO IS SURPRISED)

7.Flying Jolly Roger - OST from the 2003 Peter Pan (I HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN THIS MOVIE WHY DO I HAVE THE SOUNDTRACK)

8.Burn - Ellie Goulding (thank GOD it’s not soundtrack this time)

9. Gold (Acoustic) - Owl City (Yep Fireflies guy has some sweet music actually 100/10 recommend, I have SO MUCH Owl City)

10: Somebody that I used to Know - Gotye (yeah I think everyone knows this one, I didn’t listen to the radio much when this came out so I started listening to it two years too late)

I tag @zonela358 @kuhlista @stressed-but-stillobsessed @1heluvabutler @queen-of-the-shadow-hearts and whoever else would wanna do either of these :)

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 26 start

Lance didn't sleep well. His mind wouldn't let him rest, racing and supplying him with nightmares when he did finally fall asleep. Feeling flatter than a witch with a house on her, he let Keith fuss over him. Leaving all decisions to his not boyfriend, down to how much makeup they should use on his cheeks. Lance was happy with only a little, but Keith insisted he needed more to sell the lie, leaving small deposits to crumble on the edges were it dried unevenly. Normally Lance prided himself on his appearance, he tried to once again when the drugs had stabilised in his system, so it irritated him each time he caught the slightest glance of the caking. The compromise over the bad make up was that he was allowed to wear a body suit under his normal clothes. He felt better than way, safer, Keith insisted that he didn't need it, yet he felt too exposed without it on. Keith caving without a fight when it came to his mental health. It irritated him how easily Keith had gotten through to him once he'd explained what had happened... but Keith had a way about him. A stupid loved up stalkerish way that Lance secretly loved in his own way. Walking through the Atlas, things seemed peaceful. There was no clunk or hum of the engines. No one yelling at each other. No one fighting over the bathroom. It felt cold. Peaceful but cold. Yep. That was the only way Lance could describe it. Thankful that Keith was walking beside him, it made the grey walls all that more manageable. He really didn't need to have a panic attack over the colour of the walls before they even reached everyone else. His heart was already pounding like crazy as it was. Reaching the doorway to the dining area, his steps stalled, Keith's hand brushing against his "It's going to be ok" "I know. Nerves and all that" "If it counts, I'm pretty nervous too..." Lance wanted to tease him. He would have if Keith hadn't genuinely cared about him. He could smell it on Keith. This morning smelt so much clearer than the others, or maybe it was because the Atlas didn't smell like anything in particular. Not like the Telula did. Remembering in the tick of time, Lance stopped himself from kissing Keith's cheek. The Atlas had cameras everywhere. As it was, someone on staff might be able to read lips, which would complicate things if people started asking questions. They were friends. The others knew Lance as an intimate person, him touching Keith wouldn't be too odd. Lance wasn't in a good enough mental state to confidently tell Keith he was ready to announce it or make it official. Walking into the dining area, everyone had seemed to break off into their own little groups. MFE pilots at one. Pidge was having breakfast with her family. Shiro nursing his coffee as he talked with Coran and Curtis. Hunk's family was talking with Shay's. His family were huddled together on one table, and his team on the other. How was he supposed to chose? His team didn't know anyone, but at the same time, his family had come all this way "I'll grab us breakfast. Why don't you sit with the team? They all look a little lost" "Thanks. I hope everyone's been nice to them. We were only staying a few quintants... I don't want there to be a fight" "Yeah. Ok, go on" "Lance! I was worried" Sitting himself down beside Lucteal, Lance gave a strained smile at him and Daehra "Sorry guys. I had to stop by my girl this morning to get some clothes. Did you guys eat?" Leaning past her brother, Daehra nodded "Your Hunk insisted on cooking for us. His food is very nice" "Oh, so you met Hunk?" "We met him last night. He made us Earth pancakes with sureeep. I have never tried anything like them before" "Hunk is an amazing cook. You know those herbs you brought with you, Pidge's mother will be able to grow some for Hunk. To help make your pancakes and syrup. I know I let you guys down last night, but things are going to be better today" Daehra nodded quickly, a blush on her cheeks. This all had to be surreal for his team, meeting the famous Voltron and staying on the famous Atlas. Even if he was slightly scared, he was so damn proud of his team. Anyone who said they didn't belong here deserved to be punched in the face. It was thanks to the galactic war that they'd all been dishomed to begin with. They'd all fought and survived without the help of Voltron and the Lions "Deahra, do you want to meet her?" "What?!" Lucteal elbowed his sister at her loud cry. Lance nodding his head as he grew slightly more confident about his question. Everyone was in small groups, all doing their own thing. Just because he was chicken shit, didn't mean she should have to suffer "Right now. She's just there, and she's pretty nice" "But I..." "But nothing, Dae. You're amazing with herbs and you know... even if she doesn't have time, she'll know who you are" "Leandro..." "You're amazing Dae. I like trust you with my life. Come on" "But..." "Nope. I know I really dropped the ball yesterday. I should have checked you were alright last night, and I should have been here for you before breakfast. Please let me make it up to you" "Leandro..." "Good. It's settled. Lucteal, are you coming?" Lucteal shook his head, casting a glance over to the MFE pilots table "That one over there with the obnoxious hair. I want to hit him" Following Lucteal's lead, Lance snorted to himself "That's James. He always goes after Keith. But yes, he's obnoxious as hell" "Can I shoot him? He keeps looking this way" "You can't shoot him. Apparently Earth needs him... but I have another idea. Let me introduce Dae first, then we'll go from there" Slinging an arm around Daehra's shoulders, as Lance would have, he led Daehra over to the Holts. Flicking Pidge on the ear, the green gremlin had been too absorbed in her tech to hear him approaching "What the quiznak?! Oh... Hey, Lance" "Hey, Pigeon. What you working on?" "Your friend over there insinuated my coding wasn't up to scratch..." "That would be Zak. Not to brag, buuuut..." "Lance you better not finish that sentence, or I will fight you" "Ooooh. Someone needs her morning coffee" "No. I just need you to shut up" "Katie Holt! That is not how we talk to friends" Pouting at her mother, Pidge went back to her laptop "It is when it's Lance" Reaching over, Colleen took Pidge's laptop from her. Pidge trying to grab it back while her mother ignored her "It's nice to see you Lance. You look good" At least someone was happy to see him "Thanks. I know I'm interrupting your breakfast, but I have someone I really want you to meet. This is my girl Daehra. She's my team's medic, with a huge interest in plants and botany. When I told her of your research, she was in awe. Her medicinal herbs are the best in the sectors we work" Colleen looked Daehra up and down, her smile growing "I can never say no to a young botanist. Why don't you bring some of your herbs down to my lab and we'll go over them together" Daehra blushed hard "Thank you very much. I'm not very good..." "Dae, you're amazing. You should know that by now. Thank you so much. And Pidge his name is Zak. He's absolutely crazy about tech. You should talk to him about the AI he's building. He's instilled it with layer learning. I know you've been working on your own projects, but you never know..." "If he's friends with you, then he's probably a weird" Poking his tongue out, Lance reached out and ruffled Pidge's hair "Then you'll get on perfectly. We'll leave you to it. Thanks so much" Daehra gave a half bow "Thank you" Leading Daehra back to the table, Lucteal had moved down a seat so Lance could sit between him and Keith, with Daehra on Keith's other side. Placing down a plate of pancakes, Keith nudged him with his shoulder as Lance sat "What was that about?" "I wanted to introduce Daehra to Colleen" "How'd it go?" "She wants Dae to go by her lab with her herbs later" "Good job, Daehra. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from her" "Thank you... I was nervous when Pidge told Le-Lance to be quiet" Keith's expression turned hard. Lance didn't need Keith feeding his anxiety by being protective "She did?" "Don't go there. Its Pidge and you know how she is when she's on her laptop" "Ohhh... you disturbed the great Pigeon?" Keith's face relaxed, a smile on his lips as he teased him gently. Sighing exaggeratedly, Lance tried to look grave "I did. Her mother even scolded her" "Oh no" "Oh yes. It would seem that Zak wounded her pride last night" "Dammit Zak" "Eh, they're both nerds. Did you see Hunk?" Prying into Hunk's life through Keith was the best he could hope for right now "Oh. Yeah. We're going to have a Paladin lunch. To catch up and stuff. Man, he's so nervous. Shay knows something is going on, and he's sure she knows what" Lance's knife slipped as he went to slice through his pancake, syrup smearing on his fingers. It would just like him to klutz up right now "I wouldn't be surprised Shay is pretty smart" "I thought Shiro would be engaged to Curtis before Hunk got engaged to Shay" "Nah. Adam was Curtis's brother. It doesn't matter how long you know a person, there's still a difference between going from friends to lovers" Slumping down slightly in his seat, Keith rubbed his knee against Lance's. The half-Galra was a damn menace "That's true. Do you have any plans for today?" Plans? Not having a panic attack was his plan "Leandro said he may be able to arrange for me to hit that James" Choking on his pancake, Keith looked to him with watery eyes "What?" "James has been side eyeing my team this morning. I might not be up for sparring, but if he wants to try taking my team on, he's gotta be prepared to have his arse kicked" "Lance..." "Relax, Mullet. I was thinking of showing Lucteal to the training room, after helping Daehra with her herbs. Pidge is going to get curious over Zak, and the others... I'm not sure what they want to do" "Why don't I show Lucteal to the training room, while you help Daehra with her herbs?" After yesterday's stellar performance, Lance didn't really want to seperate from Keith's side. He still felt guilt that his family was over there having breakfast without him. Then again, they saw Veronica even less than they saw him. He was alive. That was all that mattered to them. Keith told him he was strong, so he had to be for him "Yeah. Divide and conquer?" "Mhmm. Oh quiznak... Mum's coming today" Lance deflated a little. He didn't know how to look Krolia in the eyes "Don't be like that. Mum knows what you mean to me" "You should be hanging out with your mum..." "I don't know what time she'll be arriving. I'll message her to meet us wherever we are... She's going to be happy to see you" "She might not be when you fill her in on everything" "Babe, she knows most of what happened. I mean... she knows I made my choice to be with you. And that I'm staying with you" "She's your mum..." "That has a whole planet to rule. Besides, if she arrived while we're trying, she's not likely to back down from a fight" Lance groaned. Lucteal wasn't ready for Krolia training "Make sure she goes easy on my team. I like them and would like for them to stay in one piece" "Mum won't be that bad" They both knew otherwise... Or at least Lance did. Krolia scared him, even when it came to light sparring "You say that now" "Oh shut up and eat your breakfast already" Sighing heavily, Lance stabbed at his pancakes with his fork. Lucteal was strong... hopefully with Keith watching, nothing would go wrong "Yes, Keith" * Dropping Daehra off at Colleen's lab, Lance was feeling pretty good about it. When Daehra hadn't known what to bring, he'd suggested samples of her pills and the herbs she used to make them. Promising to let him know when they were done, Lance half wanted to stay and watch, to protect Daehra if anything was to happen. Instead, he nodded at her promise, and wished her well as he started through the Atlas and up to the training room. Part of him was mentally laughing at the fact Shiro hadn't wanted anyone walking around his ship unescorted, and there he was doing just that. Walking into the training room, Lance wasn't expecting Keith and James to be sparring. Lucteal watching on, actually cheering for Keith. Jogging the few steps to Lucteal's side, Lance looked to his second in command "What's going on?" "That James. He implied that our team was unworthy. Keith stepped up to say he was part of our team. This happened" Great. James and Keith... they had a complicated history "Did you get to hit him?" "Not yet" Lucteal sounded bitter, but not as bitter as Lance was. James was a dick, and he couldn't understand why he kept going after Keith. Lucteal had his reasons... So did that mean James liked Keith? The thought was laughable. Keith could castrate James in the blink of an eye if he so chose. Sitting on the sidelines, Kinkade was filming everything as he provide a running commentary with Rizavi's assistance. Watching as the fight slowly grew towards becoming a brawl, Lance wasn't having it. Keith had a reputation to uphold, while Lance was a lowly bounty hunter "Keith, swap out with me" Catching James's fist, Keith stepped back with a scowl "I've got this" "If James has a problem with my team, it is up to me as their commander to step up. Provided he has the balls to throw down properly" Letting out a low whistle, Kinkade looked over his camera. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Rizavi called out "You going to let him talk to you like that, Griffin?!" Scoffing, James broke his stance to run a hand through his hair "Hey, if he wants a piece of this, I'm right here" Glaring, Keith strode towards Lance "What are you doing?" "He insulted my team" "I was handling it" "You looked as if you were about to murder him" "He had it coming" Patting Keith on the shoulder, the half-Galra still looked annoyed "You can beat him up as much as you want, after I do" Taking a few steps towards James, Lance rolled his neck. He hadn't thrown down for fun with Keith out of fear, but James was a dick and the Atlas had its own pod... squaring his shoulders, he was nearly at James when Keith called out to him "Lance, weapons?" Oh. Right. He forgot about that tiny detail... Kneeling down he took his knife from his right boot, and slipped out the blade hidden up his sleeve. Turning, he threw both to Keith with a wink "I forgot about that. Don't want to accidentally stab him" Keith's smirk said otherwise "Kick his arse" "You know it" * Keith was on edge as Lance stood in front of James. The MFE shit head had decided to mock his "life choices" over following some like Lance. Though not an active Paladin, the MFE pilots had all have basic hand to hand training, and they all had years of experience surviving after Earth had been invaded. Keith had made the mistake of saying "Let's how see how good you are at sparring", where as Lance had said they were going to "throw down". His fight with James was expected to be light, despite his anger at the man causing him to snap. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Lance shook out his hands before balling them into fists. James laughing as he dropped into stance "From what I remember, you weren't that great at hand to hand" "I'm surprised you can remember anything with that ego of yours" Letting out a long "oooooh", Rizavi was seriously enjoying this. None of them realised how much of a transformation Lance had made while fighting for his life "Why'd you even come back? Weren't you enjoying your life as a simple farmer?" "Had to come back because dick's like you can't do their jobs" Lance was keeping his tone light, almost joking. Or it would have been if not for the look in his eyes "From what I hear, you called Keith in to clean up your mess" Lance shrugged, Keith enjoying this confident side to his not-boyfriend, even if it was all a show "Actually, he came to me. Seems your little crew wasn't going to cut it. Don't hold back" James was learning the hard way that there was more to Lance than met the eye. Lance openly laughing at James's attempts to bring him down. The angrier James got, the sloppier his moves were. Lance able to block and dodge, his movements a thousand times better than when he'd been a Paladin. Kicking out James's knee, the MFE pilot went down hard, the look in Lance's eye turning deadly as he pinned him in a head lock, and locked his leg with his. James had no idea he was ticks away from dying "What the hell is going on here?" Releasing James, Lance wiped his brow before holding his hands up to surrender to the fun police that was Shiro. Taking James by the arm, Rizavi began leading him away, Griffin jogging after the pair. The three of them smart enough to know when to run from a scolding Shiro "We're sparring" "Do I want to know how it started?" Lance opened his mouth, but Keith cut in "James was being dick. Went after me again, then insulted Lance. It was all in fun. You know if we wanted him dead, he would be" "It's funny, I'm looking at Lance and I'm hearing Keith's voice" Dropping his hands, Lance shook his head. His voice holding no confidence as he replied "Shiro, it was all fun and games. The only thing James got out of it was knocked down a few pegs" "I didn't think the pair of you were the type to bully someone to make yourselves feel better" Keith saw red, Shiro might have raised an eyebrow and intentionally baited him to see what his reply was, but when you love someone with PTSD and have started learning their triggers, the fear of them being hurt by a careless comment was always there. Lance wouldn't be able to hear the joke. And yeah, James was under Shiro's fucking command, but he knew the kid was a total jerk. Seething, he wanted to smack his stupid brother "That wasn't what happened at all. James was starting trouble, so I suggested we spar. We swapped out to Lance when Lance arrived from dropping Daehra off with Pidge's mum. This isn't the Garrison Shiro. We might have let things go, but even after he apologised, he still went out of his way to cause trouble. He has no right to bad mouth Lance or his team. They're your fucking guests" Coming up behind him, Lance put his hand on Keith's shoulder "Keith, calm down. Unlike James, I'm replaceable. He's a MFE pilot, and those ships cost a lot to build. I'm just a bounty hunter who can't even do that anymore" Shiro looked as if he was going to interject, but Keith really wasn't having it. Sure, Lance looked ready to kill James, but before Shiro interrupted, Keith was ready to step in "Goddamn it, Lance! You are not replaceable! And you didn't do anything wrong. James threw down as hard as he could. It's not your fault he's not that great" Shaking his head, Lance squeezed Keith's shoulder "Keith, it's not worth fighting over. Let's just train..." "Lance, I swear to quiznak..." Raising his hand, Keith shoved Lance's hand off his shoulder. Realising what he'd done, his hand hovered there "Lance" "Forget it" Pain filled Lance's blue eyes "Lance..." "Forget it Keith. I don't belong here. No matter what you say. Sorry Shiro, we'll be off your ship tomorrow. I promise to stay out of your way" Striding towards the door, Shiro called out to Lance as Lucteal moved to follow the Cuban "Lance. That's not what I meant..." Ignoring Shiro, Lance disappeared "... why can I never seem to say the right thing to him?" Shiro seemed genuinely troubled. Keith forcing down his anger at his brother "When you were tortured, did Lance ever treat you any differently?" Crossing his arms, Shiro went on the defensive "No. What does that have to do with anything?" "I've been watching everyone. Pidge this morning. Her parents. You now. You all look at him with pity. I know none of us knew what to do when Allura died. We all knew it was hard for him, but we were there. She's been gone for over a year now. It's time everyone treated Lance like he is Lance. He doesn't want our pity. He doesn't need our pity. He didn't treat you any differently after you were tortured, if anything he held more respect for you. For surviving everything you went through. Don't treat him any differently that you used to. He hasn't changed who he is inside" "I know that. I guess... I understand what you said when you first reached out to him. How he felt like a stranger. He's grown so much. When I saw him with James... I was sure he was going to hurt him" Even if Lance had, James would have deserved it. Though it would have torn Lance apart at a later date "He's still Lance. Like you have Allura's crystal in your arm to keep your body stable, Lance carries part of Allura quintessence to keep his body stable. Stop making excuses and talk to him like nothing happened" "I'll go find him"

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 26 update. Me. Ok. 26 we can do the engagement party... haven't hit the damn party yet

Lance didn't sleep well. His mind wouldn't let him rest, racing and supplying him with nightmares when he did finally fall asleep. Feeling flatter than a witch with a house on her, he let Keith fuss over him. Leaving all decisions to his not boyfriend, down to how much makeup they should use on his cheeks. Lance was happy with only a little, but Keith insisted he needed more to sell the lie, leaving small deposits to crumble on the edges were it dried unevenly. Normally Lance prided himself on his appearance, he tried to once again when the drugs had stabilised in his system, so it irritated him each time he caught the slightest glance of the caking. The compromise over the bad make up was that he was allowed to wear a body suit under his normal clothes. He felt better than way, safer, Keith insisted that he didn't need it, yet he felt too exposed without it on. Keith caving without a fight when it came to his mental health. It irritated him how easily Keith had gotten through to him once he'd explained what had happened... but Keith had a way about him. A stupid loved up stalkerish way that Lance secretly loved in his own way. Walking through the Atlas, things seemed peaceful. There was no clunk or hum of the engines. No one yelling at each other. No one fighting over the bathroom. It felt cold. Peaceful but cold. Yep. That was the only way Lance could describe it. Thankful that Keith was walking beside him, it made the grey walls all that more manageable. He really didn't need to have a panic attack over the colour of the walls before they even reached everyone else. His heart was already pounding like crazy as it was. Reaching the doorway to the dining area, his steps stalled, Keith's hand brushing against his "It's going to be ok" "I know. Nerves and all that" "If it counts, I'm pretty nervous too..." Lance wanted to tease him. He would have if Keith hadn't genuinely cared about him. He could smell it on Keith. This morning smelt so much clearer than the others, or maybe it was because the Atlas didn't smell like anything in particular. Not like the Telula did. Remembering in the tick of time, Lance stopped himself from kissing Keith's cheek. The Atlas had cameras everywhere. As it was, someone on staff might be able to read lips, which would complicate things if people started asking questions. They were friends. The others knew Lance as an intimate person, him touching Keith wouldn't be too odd. Lance wasn't in a good enough mental state to confidently tell Keith he was ready to announce it or make it official. Walking into the dining area, everyone had seemed to break off into their own little groups. MFE pilots at one. Pidge was having breakfast with her family. Shiro nursing his coffee as he talked with Coran and Curtis. Hunk's family was talking with Shay's. His family were huddled together on one table, and his team on the other. How was he supposed to chose? His team didn't know anyone, but at the same time, his family had come all this way "I'll grab us breakfast. Why don't you sit with the team? They all look a little lost" "Thanks. I hope everyone's been nice to them. We were only staying a few quintants... I don't want there to be a fight" "Yeah. Ok, go on" "Lance! I was worried" Sitting himself down beside Lucteal, Lance gave a strained smile at him and Daehra "Sorry guys. I had to stop by my girl this morning to get some clothes. Did you guys eat?" Leaning past her brother, Daehra nodded "Your Hunk insisted on cooking for us. His food is very nice" "Oh, so you met Hunk?" "We met him last night. He made us Earth pancakes with sureeep. I have never tried anything like them before" "Hunk is an amazing cook. You know those herbs you brought with you, Pidge's mother will be able to grow some for Hunk. To help make your pancakes and syrup. I know I let you guys down last night, but things are going to be better today" Daehra nodded quickly, a blush on her cheeks. This all had to be surreal for his team, meeting the famous Voltron and staying on the famous Atlas. Even if he was slightly scared, he was so damn proud of his team. Anyone who said they didn't belong here deserved to be punched in the face. It was thanks to the galactic war that they'd all been dishomed to begin with. They'd all fought and survived without the help of Voltron and the Lions "Deahra, do you want to meet her?" "What?!" Lucteal elbowed his sister at her loud cry. Lance nodding his head as he grew slightly more confident about his question. Everyone was in small groups, all doing their own thing. Just because he was chicken shit, didn't mean she should have to suffer "Right now. She's just there, and she's pretty nice" "But I..." "But nothing, Dae. You're amazing with herbs and you know... even if she doesn't have time, she'll know who you are" "Leandro..." "You're amazing Dae. I like trust you with my life. Come on" "But..." "Nope. I know I really dropped the ball yesterday. I should have checked you were alright last night, and I should have been here for you before breakfast. Please let me make it up to you" "Leandro..." "Good. It's settled. Lucteal, are you coming?" Lucteal shook his head, casting a glance over to the MFE pilots table "That one over there with the obnoxious hair. I want to hit him" Following Lucteal's lead, Lance snorted to himself "That's James. He always goes after Keith. But yes, he's obnoxious as hell" "Can I shoot him? He keeps looking this way" "You can't shoot him. Apparently Earth needs him... but I have another idea. Let me introduce Dae first, then we'll go from there" Slinging an arm around Daehra's shoulders, as Lance would have, he led Daehra over to the Holts. Flicking Pidge on the ear, the green gremlin had been too absorbed in her tech to hear him approaching "What the quiznak?! Oh... Hey, Lance" "Hey, Pigeon. What you working on?" "Your friend over there insinuated my coding wasn't up to scratch..." "That would be Zak. Not to brag, buuuut..." "Lance you better not finish that sentence, or I will fight you" "Ooooh. Someone needs her morning coffee" "No. I just need you to shut up" "Katie Holt! That is not how we talk to friends" Pouting at her mother, Pidge went back to her laptop "It is when it's Lance" Reaching over, Colleen took Pidge's laptop from her. Pidge trying to grab it back while her mother ignored her "It's nice to see you Lance. You look good" At least someone was happy to see him "Thanks. I know I'm interrupting your breakfast, but I have someone I really want you to meet. This is my girl Daehra. She's my team's medic, with a huge interest in plants and botany. When I told her of your research, she was in awe. Her medicinal herbs are the best in the sectors we work" Colleen looked Daehra up and down, her smile growing "I can never say no to a young botanist. Why don't you bring some of your herbs down to my lab and we'll go over them together" Daehra blushed hard "Thank you very much. I'm not very good..." "Dae, you're amazing. You should know that by now. Thank you so much. And Pidge his name is Zak. He's absolutely crazy about tech. You should talk to him about the AI he's building. He's instilled it with layer learning. I know you've been working on your own projects, but you never know..." "If he's friends with you, then he's probably a weird" Poking his tongue out, Lance reached out and ruffled Pidge's hair "Then you'll get on perfectly. We'll leave you to it. Thanks so much" Daehra gave a half bow "Thank you" Leading Daehra back to the table, Lucteal had moved down a seat so Lance could sit between him and Keith, with Daehra on Keith's other side. Placing down a plate of pancakes, Keith nudged him with his shoulder as Lance sat "What was that about?" "I wanted to introduce Daehra to Colleen" "How'd it go?" "She wants Dae to go by her lab with her herbs later" "Good job, Daehra. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from her" "Thank you... I was nervous when Pidge told Le-Lance to be quiet" Keith's expression turned hard. Lance didn't need Keith feeding his anxiety by being protective "She did?" "Don't go there. Its Pidge and you know how she is when she's on her laptop" "Ohhh... you disturbed the great Pigeon?" Keith's face relaxed, a smile on his lips as he teased him gently. Sighing exaggeratedly, Lance tried to look grave "I did. Her mother even scolded her" "Oh no" "Oh yes. It would seem that Zak wounded her pride last night" "Dammit Zak" "Eh, they're both nerds. Did you see Hunk?" Prying into Hunk's life through Keith was the best he could hope for right now "Oh. Yeah. We're going to have a Paladin lunch. To catch up and stuff. Man, he's so nervous. Shay knows something is going on, and he's sure she knows what" Lance's knife slipped as he went to slice through his pancake, syrup smearing on his fingers. It would just like him to klutz up right now "I wouldn't be surprised Shay is pretty smart" "I thought Shiro would be engaged to Curtis before Hunk got engaged to Shay" "Nah. Adam was Curtis's brother. It doesn't matter how long you know a person, there's still a difference between going from friends to lovers" Slumping down slightly in his seat, Keith rubbed his knee against Lance's. The half-Galra was a damn menace "That's true. Do you have any plans for today?" Plans? Not having a panic attack was his plan "Leandro said he may be able to arrange for me to hit that James" Choking on his pancake, Keith looked to him with watery eyes "What?" "James has been side eyeing my team this morning. I might not be up for sparring, but if he wants to try taking my team on, he's gotta be prepared to have his arse kicked" "Lance..." "Relax, Mullet. I was thinking of showing Lucteal to the training room, after helping Daehra with her herbs. Pidge is going to get curious over Zak, and the others... I'm not sure what they want to do" "Why don't I show Lucteal to the training room, while you help Daehra with her herbs?" After yesterday's stellar performance, Lance didn't really want to seperate from Keith's side. He still felt guilt that his family was over there having breakfast without him. Then again, they saw Veronica even less than they saw him. He was alive. That was all that mattered to them. Keith told him he was strong, so he had to be for him "Yeah. Divide and conquer?" "Mhmm. Oh quiznak... Mum's coming today" Lance deflated a little. He didn't know how to look Krolia in the eyes "Don't be like that. Mum knows what you mean to me" "You should be hanging out with your mum..." "I don't know what time she'll be arriving. I'll message her to meet us wherever we are... She's going to be happy to see you" "She might not be when you fill her in on everything" "Babe, she knows most of what happened. I mean... she knows I made my choice to be with you. And that I'm staying with you" "She's your mum..." "That has a whole planet to rule. Besides, if she arrived while we're trying, she's not likely to back down from a fight" Lance groaned. Lucteal wasn't ready for Krolia training "Make sure she goes easy on my team. I like them and would like for them to stay in one piece" "Mum won't be that bad" They both knew otherwise... Or at least Lance did. Krolia scared him, even when it came to light sparring "You say that now" "Oh shut up and eat your breakfast already" Sighing heavily, Lance stabbed at his pancakes with his fork. Lucteal was strong... hopefully with Keith watching, nothing would go wrong "Yes, Keith" * Dropping Daehra off at Colleen's lab, Lance was feeling pretty good about it. When Daehra hadn't known what to bring, he'd suggested samples of her pills and the herbs she used to make them. Promising to let him know when they were done, Lance half wanted to stay and watch, to protect Daehra if anything was to happen. Instead, he nodded at her promise, and wished her well as he started through the Atlas and up to the training room. Part of him was mentally laughing at the fact Shiro hadn't wanted anyone walking around his ship unescorted, and there he was doing just that. Walking into the training room, Lance wasn't expecting Keith and James to be sparring. Lucteal watching on, actually cheering for Keith. Jogging the few steps to Lucteal's side, Lance looked to his second in command "What's going on?" "That James. He implied that our team was unworthy. Keith stepped up to say he was part of our team. This happened" Great. James and Keith... they had a complicated history "Did you get to hit him?" "Not yet" Lucteal sounded bitter, but not as bitter as Lance was. James was a dick, and he couldn't understand why he kept going after Keith. Lucteal had his reasons... So did that mean James liked Keith? The thought was laughable. Keith could castrate James in the blink of an eye if he so chose. Sitting on the sidelines, Kinkade was filming everything as he provide a running commentary with Rizavi's assistance. Watching as the fight slowly grew towards becoming a brawl, Lance wasn't having it. Keith had a reputation to uphold, while Lance was a lowly bounty hunter "Keith, swap out with me" Catching James's fist, Keith stepped back with a scowl "I've got this" "If James has a problem with my team, it is up to me as their commander to step up. Provided he has the balls to throw down properly" Letting out a low whistle, Kinkade looked over his camera. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Rizavi called out "You going to let him talk to you like that, Griffin?!" Scoffing, James broke his stance to run a hand through his hair "Hey, if he wants a piece of this, I'm right here" Glaring, Keith strode towards Lance "What are you doing?" "He insulted my team" "I was handling it" "You looked as if you were about to murder him" "He had it coming" Patting Keith on the shoulder, the half-Galra still looked annoyed "You can beat him up as much as you want, after I do" Taking a few steps towards James, Lance rolled his neck. He hadn't thrown down for fun with Keith out of fear, but James was a dick and the Atlas had its own pod... squaring his shoulders, he was nearly at James when Keith called out to him "Lance, weapons?" Oh. Right. He forgot about that tiny detail... Kneeling down he took his knife from his right boot, and slipped out the blade hidden up his sleeve. Turning, he threw both to Keith with a wink "I forgot about that. Don't want to accidentally stab him" Keith's smirk said otherwise "Kick his arse" "You know it" * Keith was on edge as Lance stood in front of James. The MFE shit head had decided to mock his "life choices" over following some like Lance. Though not an active Paladin, the MFE pilots had all have basic hand to hand training, and they all had years of experience surviving after Earth had been invaded. Keith had made the mistake of saying "Let's how see how good you are at sparring", where as Lance had said they were going to "throw down". His fight with James was expected to be light, despite his anger at the man causing him to snap. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Lance shook out his hands before balling them into fists. James laughing as he dropped into stance "From what I remember, you weren't that great at hand to hand" "I'm surprised you can remember anything with that ego of yours" Letting out a long "oooooh", Rizavi was seriously enjoying this. None of them realised how much of a transformation Lance had made while fighting for his life "Why'd you even come back? Weren't you enjoying your life as a simple farmer?" "Had to come back because dick's like you can't do their jobs" Lance was keeping his tone light, almost joking. Or it would have been if not for the look in his eyes "From what I hear, you called Keith in to clean up your mess" Lance shrugged, Keith enjoying this confident side to his not-boyfriend, even if it was all a show "Actually, he came to me. Seems your little crew wasn't going to cut it. Don't hold back" James was learning the hard way that there was more to Lance than met the eye. Lance openly laughing at James's attempts to bring him down. The angrier James got, the sloppier his moves were. Lance able to block and dodge, his movements a thousand times better than when he'd been a Paladin. Kicking out James's knee, the MFE pilot went down hard, the look in Lance's eye turning deadly as he pinned him in a head lock, and locked his leg with his. James had no idea he was ticks away from dying "What the hell is going on here?" Releasing James, Lance wiped his brow before holding his hands up to surrender to the fun police that was Shiro. Taking James by the arm, Rizavi began leading him away, Griffin jogging after the pair. The three of them smart enough to know when to run from a scolding Shiro "We're sparring" "Do I want to know how it started?" Lance opened his mouth, but Keith cut in "James was being dick. Went after me again, then insulted Lance. It was all in fun. You know if we wanted him dead, he would be" "It's funny, I'm looking at Lance and I'm hearing Keith's voice" Dropping his hands, Lance shook his head. His voice holding no confidence as he replied "Shiro, it was all fun and games. The only thing James got out of it was knocked down a few pegs" "I didn't think the pair of you were the type to bully someone to make yourselves feel better" Keith saw red, Shiro might have raised an eyebrow and intentionally baited him to see what his reply was, but when you love someone with PTSD and have started learning their triggers, the fear of them being hurt by a careless comment was always there. Lance wouldn't be able to hear the joke. And yeah, James was under Shiro's fucking command, but he knew the kid was a total jerk. Seething, he wanted to smack his stupid brother "That wasn't what happened at all. James was starting trouble, so I suggested we spar. We swapped out to Lance when Lance arrived from dropping Daehra off with Pidge's mum. This isn't the Garrison Shiro. We might have let things go, but even after he apologised, he still went out of his way to cause trouble. He has no right to bad mouth Lance or his team. They're your fucking guests" Coming up behind him, Lance put his hand on Keith's shoulder "Keith, calm down. Unlike James, I'm replaceable. He's a MFE pilot, and those ships cost a lot to build. I'm just a bounty hunter who can't even do that anymore" Shiro looked as if he was going to interject, but Keith really wasn't having it. Sure, Lance looked ready to kill James, but before Shiro interrupted, Keith was ready to step in "Goddamn it, Lance! You are not replaceable! And you didn't do anything wrong. James threw down as hard as he could. It's not your fault he's not that great" Shaking his head, Lance squeezed Keith's shoulder "Keith, it's not worth fighting over. Let's just train..." "Lance, I swear to quiznak..." Raising his hand, Keith shoved Lance's hand off his shoulder. Realising what he'd done, his hand hovered there "Lance" "Forget it" Pain filled Lance's blue eyes "Lance..." "Forget it Keith. I don't belong here. No matter what you say. Sorry Shiro, we'll be off your ship tomorrow. I promise to stay out of your way" Striding towards the door, Shiro called out to Lance as Lucteal moved to follow the Cuban "Lance. That's not what I meant..." Ignoring Shiro, Lance disappeared "... why can I never seem to say the right thing to him?" Shiro seemed genuinely troubled. Keith forcing down his anger at his brother "When you were tortured, did Lance ever treat you any differently?" Crossing his arms, Shiro went on the defensive "No. What does that have to do with anything?" "I've been watching everyone. Pidge this morning. Her parents. You now. You all look at him with pity. I know none of us knew what to do when Allura died. We all knew it was hard for him, but we were there. She's been gone for over a year now. It's time everyone treated Lance like he is Lance. He doesn't want our pity. He doesn't need our pity. He didn't treat you any differently after you were tortured, if anything he held more respect for you. For surviving everything you went through. Don't treat him any differently that you used to. He hasn't changed who he is inside" "I know that. I guess... I understand what you said when you first reached out to him. How he felt like a stranger. He's grown so much. When I saw him with James... I was sure he was going to hurt him" Even if Lance had, James would have deserved it. Though it would have torn Lance apart at a later date "He's still Lance. Like you have Allura's crystal in your arm to keep your body stable, Lance carries part of Allura quintessence to keep his body stable. Stop making excuses and talk to him like nothing happened" "I'll go find him" "Good. Make sure you apologise for being an arse. He was up all night with nightmares. His nerves are shot and he could really use someone who knows what he's been through to be there for him. If he won't talk to you, leave it and I'll talk to him" "You really understand him, don't you?" "Lance is easy to understand. All he wants it to forget the bad things in the past and move forward. Like we all do" * Sitting at the command table of the Telula, Lance wasn't sure what his next step was. He'd nearly lost control fighting James. He'd intentionally provoked him due to the fact his stupid brain started whispering that maybe there was some truth to him liking Keith... and he couldn't lose Keith to the likes of James. When he'd put him in the headlock, he'd made sure James could breathe, but couldn't move. Now all he felt was disgust at taking away someone ability to move like had been done to him. The circumstances might not have been the same, but none the less... He'd enjoyed taking James down a peg. It was as Shiro said, he was a bully. "Leandro?" Following him from the training room, Lucteal had hovered by his side quietly. He didn't need to be an empath to know that Lucteal wasn't happy over how things had played out. He hadn't got to hit James, and now that Shiro had scolded, Lucteal wanted to punch him too "What's up?" "That Shiro is standing in the hangar" Great. He felt sick to his stomach over what had happened. Being scolded by "Space Dad" was nearly as bad as being threatened with his mami pink slipper "Who does he think he is..." "Lucteal it's ok. Shiro's trying to protect his team. Like how I would protect any of you. I'll go talk to him" "He insulted you" "It wouldn't be the first time. You should probably stay up here, I don't know what he wants to talk about" Lance had nothing to say. He'd made a fool of himself and was now off licking his wounds "At least take a blaster" "I promise you it'll be ok. Now, try not to hit him if he comes onboard" "I make no promises" Walking down the loading ramp of the Telula, Lance eyed Shiro in confusion. Holding both hands up, Shiro was wearing a sad expression "I come in peace" "I told you that I'd be off the Atlas tomorrow. Lucteal is with. Keith's with the others and Daehra is with Pidge's mum. Don't ask me where my family is, you invited them" "I deserve that. Look, I didn't mean to run you off. I also didn't mean to make you feel like you weren't welcome here" "Really? You accuse my team of being untrustworthy. You look at me like I'm an insect. What do you want from Shiro?" "I want to say I'm sorry" Hell hath no fury like an angry Lance "Well, you said that. I promise my team isn't going to cause a scene. I'm sorry about what happened with James, but I won't stand for my team being insulted" "Lance, you know it's regulations that new visitors be escorted" "They're not just visitors. They're my family" "And what about mine. I have the lives of every single person on this ship to consider" "Don't you think I know that?! If it hadn't been for Keith, I probably wouldn't have even come for the party. It's not like my presence would have been missed!" "Of course we missed you..." "That's bullshit Shiro. Every time I reached out to any of you, I was ignored. I built my own life out here" "Keith told me what happened..." Lance let out a bitter laugh, he knew he was being spiteful, but all his anger at being rejected and pushed away from the team came flooding back "I bet you enjoyed that. Stupid Lance taken and tortured. Yeah. I bet you really enjoyed that" "No one deserves that. I know, remember. I know what it was like and what it was like to die... and what's it like to lose the one you love. Please Lance, I understand" "This isn't about Allura" "You cover your marks now..." "Don't..." "We thought you were happy on Earth" "Happy?! My whole family imploded when I came home! No one knew how to talk to me. No one knew how to treat me. Between the nightmares and the PTSD everything fell to pieces. No matter how many stupid juniper bushes I planted, she never came back. So no. You don't understand Shiro. Allura never loved me like I loved her, and every time you all look at me, all you show is pity. I'm done with that" Why was he tearing up? He was mad with Shiro. He didn't want to be crying in front of him "Lance..." "Don't! None of you ever wanted me around. I finally found people who want me for me. And we do good work. I'm proud of.. I was proud of the work we do... We help people. Not just those we want alliances with. We don't turn people away because they're "different". Daehra and Lucteal saved my life more than once. I won't go back to being made to feel like nothing" Shiro crying was a dick move. How was supposed to stay mad at crying Shiro? "Lance... I'm sorry we failed you" "You didn't fail me. You weren't supposed to know" "Why didn't you call? When it happened?" Call. He'd called and messaged "I tried reaching out. None of you answered my messages. We still had those stupid team calls. No one noticed if I didn't talk. I only took them because of Veronica" "And after? After you Keith went to that outpost? Why didn't you call then?" Hissing like an alley cat, Lance took a step back. Crossing his arms, Shiro could keep crying silently "Is that what this is about? Because I don't want Daibazaal or the Atlas involved? You don't actually care, do you" "Lance... That's not what I meant. I meant, why didn't you call us for back up? We would have come out to help you" "I don't need your help" "It's too late for that it's an intergalactic issue. People are dying" "I know they are, but you don't understand" "What's there to understand? I saw the pictures. All we want to do is help" Rolling his eyes, Lance was disgusted. The conversation was hurting his head, he could feel the tendrils of a headache coming on "Oh, you saw the pictures. Great. Now you know everything. The Atlas can't help" "What's that supposed to mean?" Why couldn't the great and famous Shiro understand? Why wasn't he looking at the bigger picture? When was Shiro going to finally treat him as a man, and not a snot nose punk "It means where I work, people hate Voltron. They have no time for people from Earth. They were all suffering and we helped none of them. People won't take aid from Lance of Voltron, but they will if they can't see my face. They'd rather starve or bleed out. We're not Galactic Heroes. I was tortured over the Red Lion. They wanted it for themselves to secure their power, because that whole fucking sector receives fuck all aid. The cops out there are as corrupt as hell. The people we fucking arrested, they're the people chopped to pieces. So tell me how the precious Atlas is going to fix all of that?! You can't bring back the dead. You can't sew them back together. How sending Galra ships out to people still scared shitless of the Galra, is going to make things better? You can't, can you Shiro. My friends were butchered because they know me. I have a 1.5 billion GAC bounty on my head, because I wanted to do the right thing. You guys can't help. I should never have listened to Keith..." "You don't know if we can help, unless you sit down and talk with us" Lance threw his hands in the air "I am talking to you" "Lance, I want to help. I want to help you. I've missed you. Hunk has missed you, Coran and Pidge have missed you. Every time we talked you said you were busy with work..." "Because everyone wants to hear my stupid struggles. Right. Sure. No. Yeah. I ruined everything" "Lance..." "You can't fix anything Shiro... you can't fix me" "I'm sorry. I don't know what else I can say. You didn't deserve what happened and I swear if I'd know I would have been there for you. It eats me alive to think of you like that. To think we don't care... I do care. You're a good man, and a good friend. No matter how busy you were, I should have remembered to answer. I shouldn't have... I should have done a lot of things better" Feeling his chest tighten, Lance wanted to curl into a ball and cover his ears. He didn't deserve such sincerity. He was taking all his anger out in Shiro and it wasn't fair. Shaking his head, he wished his tears would stop. He couldn't breathe. He didn't want Shiro to pity him. He didn't want Shiro to know the truth. He wanted to stand before him as an equal. He wanted him to accept him... "I... can't..." Swaying, Shiro rushed to his side. Wrapping his arms around him, Shiro guided him to the floor. Letting out a sob, the hug felt nothing like Keith's. Shiro smelt nothing like Keith. He smelt... like that horrible strawberry cough syrup his mother made him take whenever he had a cold. The aching in his head only growing worse as he cried harder "Shhhh... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I didn't know how to talk to you. You grew up right before my eyes, and I missed it..." Choking and spluttering, Lance couldn't make his tongue move "You're having a panic attack. You need to slow your breathing for me" This didn't feel like his usual panic attacks. It felt more like being underwater and being unable to breathe. He didn't know how to come out of these attacks without Keith anymore. The scent was wrong... Keith's scent knew how to calm him, as weird as it sounded "S-orry... I...'m... sorry" Gasping out the words, they sounded distant to his ears "Lance, you need to breathe for me. Here, look at my face. You need to breathe with me... Hey, what are five things you can see?" Huh? Everything was too blurry from his tears "Ca...n't... K-Keith..." "You want me to call Keith?" That was close enough... "Ok. Hang on, just keep breathing for me. You're ok... You're safe..." * Running through the Atlas, Keith was annoyed that he hadn't stalked Shiro when he'd gone to talk to Lance. He didn't want to be stuck between the two of them. It was his brother and the man he loved. He wanted them to either yell at each other or hit each other... or whatever the quiznak it took for them to reconnect. When Shiro called him, he could hear Lance wheezing in the background, his feet already moving before his mind could comprehend where he was supposed to be going. Hangar five was in a crap position if anyone cared to ask Keith, not that they had or had any reason to. Set towards the back of the ship, it was little more than extra storage with everything else the Atlas had going on. Kosmo was no where in sight, so running through the ship was the only way he was going to get to Lance as fast as possible. Hitting the door to the hangar, he damn near killed himself trying to rush down to the Telula, not expecting to find Shiro cradling Lance in his arms "Keith..." Slowing down, he rather dramatically threw himself down in front of Lance, pulling him out of Shiro's hold and into his own. Holding Lance's face to his neck, Lance's hands gripped his shirt as Keith nuzzled into his hair "Shhh... I'm here, babe. Shhh... Breathe for me. I'm here..." Repositioning Lance so he was straddling his lap, Keith rubbed his back and rocked him gently "What happened?" "He told me about the outpost... and called me out on a few things. Half through he started crying, then collapsed" "This wasn't what I meant by talking to him" Shiro looked as distressed as Lance was, without the panic attack that was "We did. He even yelled at me. I can't say I didn't deserve it. I was apologising when he collapsed... He really thinks we don't want him here or care" "I told you that" Whimpering, Lance pulled on his shirt "I'm sorry, babe. I'm not mad. Shiro's not mad at you... I've got you. Shhhh... just keep breathing for me" Nodding, Keith smiled, kissing Lance's hair "Thank you..." Shiro watched on until Lance's breathing slowed. All of his weight falling in Keith's legs as he sat slumped forward "Is he...?" "He's exhausted..." "Are they usually like this?" "Would you believe this was one of the easier ones?" "Fuck" Fuck summed it up alright. At least Shiro hadn't copped a screaming and biting Lance. Keith was quietly jealous that Lance hadn't reacted badly to Shiro's touch, and immensely relieved. A sudden attack from Lance could have set Shiro off and he had no idea how to deal with two people having panic attacks "Did you try calming him?" Shiro nodded "5 things you can see. I tried to get him to focus on me and his breathing, but he wanted you" "Those 5 things thing doesn't work with him. Breathing works better, but he's really sensitive to touch and smell" "You're good with him, "babe"" Keith felt his face heat up "He's not ready for anything official. He wants to work through some more things, and... it's not official, but it is" He wasn't giving Lance up to anyone. The way he felt in his arms felt natural. He might not have any dating experience, yet highly doubted that anyone would ever feel as right as Lance did. Nuzzling slightly harder, Lance's breathing had dropped to something resembling a purr "Babe, do you want to go back to our room?" Nodding limply, Lance had enough brainpower to move his arms up to rest in Keith's shoulders. How much more adorable could Lance be? "Do you need help?" "No. We've got this down pact. You might as well come on board the Telula. She's Lance's pride and joy" "He won't mind?" "Lucteal might... did you see him?" "I know he was with Lance when he came down here" "Then maybe you can open the door or something. Alright, babe. Up we go" Carrying his sleepy Lance up into the Telula, Lucteal was standing near the top of the ramp looking thoroughly annoyed "What's he doing here?" "Lance ok'd it" "He's the one who upset him" "And they talked" Glaring at Shiro, Lucteal pointed at him "Upset him like that again, and I will shoot you. Should I call back Daehra?" "No. He needs to rest. I'm going to take him down to our room" "Fine. You are lucky he is forgiving. Lance means a great deal to our people. You would be executed for hurting him" Watching Lucteal mouth at Shiro was hilarious. Shiro had no idea about Lucteal's skills, or lack of skills. Shiro could totally take him. Nodding his head, Shiro gave the alien a diplomatic smile "Understood. Thank you for being there for him" "I don't need your thanks. Leandro has proven himself over and over again. It is you humans who do this to him" "Right. Sorry..." Ignoring Lucteal, Keith started on again. Lance was at his mumbly stage, needing Keith's voice to soothe him. Hushing softly seemed to work best. Telling Lance he was "doing good" or calling him a "good boy", was likely to remind him of the words whispered when he was raped. He'd accidentally figured that out, that Lance responded differently to different things being said depending on how his attack was going. Opening the door for them, Shiro was kind of useless. Carrying Lance over to their bed, Keith was grateful that Lance had let him get away without making their bed. The Cuban had other things on his mind. Laying him carefully in his usual spot, Keith stroke Lance's hair, whispering gently "Babe, what do you need?" "Headache" "You've got a headache? How bad?" "Three out of five" "Ok. I'll get your boots, you sleep for me" "Tell Shiro I'm sorry" "It's ok, babe. He knows" "Don't want to fight with him" "It's alright. He understands" "Mmm... k... sorry" "It's ok, babe. You sleep" Getting Lance's boots off, Keith had nothing to give him for his headache. Lance wouldn't want anything for it anyway. Pulling the blankets up, he looked to Shiro "Can you watch him for a tick? I need to get some water" "I can, if you want" Usually it was Daehra helping it out. Bossing Shiro around was strange "You haven't had the tour yet. I'll be right back" Shiro hadn't moved when Keith came back with a water pouch. Puncturing it, he sat beside Lance, stabbing him up the nose with the straw. Groaned at, Keith smiled affectionately "Sip some water for me, then I'll stop annoying you" "The straws' in my nose" Moving the straw to Lance's mouth, he did as he was asked. Keith pulling back before Lance could choke himself, sitting the pouch on Lance's bedside table "Is Lucteal still here?" "Yeah, babe" "Mmm. You should go see your mum" "It's ok" "No... I'm going to sleep... go see your mum and hang out with Shiro" "Did you two talk?" "Mmm... think we're ok..." "That's good, babe" Kissing Lance's forehead, he did feel warm, but that was most likely exhaustion "Keith, go. I'm sleepy" "Are you sure...?" He didn't want to leave a sleepy Lance... but now their Paladin lunch plans were kind of ruined. Plus, he needed to make sure Shiro was actually alright... and find his traitorous wolf so he could stay with Lance "Mhmm... thank you" "You're very welcome" Kissing Lance's forehead again, Keith fussed over his blankets until Lance finally fell asleep. Holding his pointer finger to his lips, Keith jerked his head towards the door, Shiro stepping out silently, before Keith followed him. Giving Shiro a quick tour of the Telula, Keith waited until they were outside the ship before finally letting Shiro ask his questions as they headed back towards the hangar exit on floor level "I can hear you thinking" "Lance gave me a lot to think about" "He said you two talked, and that he thinks you're ok now?" "I didn't have a problem with him to begin with. I also didn't realise how badly he was hurting. Are you sure you don't want to stay with him?" He would have loved nothing more than to snuggle up with Lance... "I do. But if I stay with him, he'll think he was getting in the way of us hanging out, or preventing me from doing something I want to do. Lucteal knows to call if Lance panics again" "And you trust him?" "No. He's still in love with Lance, but I trust Lance and Lance trusts him" "So I shouldn't trust him?" "He's fine. He's mostly harmless" "He said something about Lance being important on his planet" "You can say that. He saved their princess. She's the little sister of Daehra and Lucteal" "He's hanging out with royalty?" "It's complicated, but they do seem to like him. The princess adores him. You should have seen the amount of aid he took out there. They're also the ones who fixed up the Telula after Zak killed her engines" "Zak" "Annoying alien with purple hair. He's as bad as Pidge is. Lance saved his arse too" "And the rest of them?" "I'm not sure. Tobias... just seems to exist... and the others I haven't had much to do with. I've... uh, kind of been spending most of my time with Lance" Slinging his arm around Keith's shoulder, Shiro pulled him close "You did really well handling everything just then. You've gone and grown up without me" "You make it sound like I didn't see you a few phoebs ago" "I didn't see how you'd handle someone else having a panic attack" Leaning down on him, Keith ducked out from under his hold causing Shiro to stumble "It's not that hard. I learned it from you first" "Can't you let me be proud of you?" "No" "But you were so gently with Lance" "I am not afraid to stab you. He doesn't want people to know" "I'm not going to tell him. I think I upset him enough today" "Yes. Don't think I've forgotten about that. You did say he gave you a lot to think about" "About all those people we couldn't help. About his job. About the Atlas" "I know exactly what you're talking about. It's depressing, isn't it?" "It didn't feel great" "He's a stubborn idiot. But he does have some good points" "I never thought about the people who Voltron wasn't there for. We saved the universe and ended ten thousand years of Galra rule... Lance said they were after the Red Lion?" "Yeah. That Diplo-dick who hired him wanted it for himself. The king sold his own daughter to him for a slice of that power. Lance was already hunting him down with help from his friends in the Erathus police force... They put him through hell, Shiro. He's not even keen on swimming anymore, and this is Lance... you'd have to tackle him down to stop him before" "Has he talked to anyone?" "You mean profession help? I don't think he's ready for that" "Keith, it's not healthy to keep it all inside. It's not healthy for you to deal with it all alone" "I'm not alone. And it's not like it's one way..." "Alright. Let me worry about you for a little longer" "You're worse than Krolia, I hope you know this" "Are you two having sex?" Keith choked on thin air, never had he blushed as fast or as hard as he did in that moment. Even confessing to Shiro that he and Lance had fooled around wasn't as bad as Shiro deciding to ask that question right then "What the fuck?" "If I'm worse than Krolia..." "Nope. No. Not happening. We barely kiss... Is this revenge? Is that what this is? Revenge at me yelling at you? Or is this revenge for borrowing your air vents?" "Neither. But if you are thinking of being intimate, you should both get checked first" This was definitely revenge. Revenge for everything he'd put Shiro through since they'd met "I'm going to kill you in your sleep" "You'll have to go through Curtis first" "Hey, I'm not afraid. I got through your vents remember" "I know you did. I might not approve of your methods, but Lance has always been a romantic at heart" "There was nothing romantic about last night. He nearly sent himself into a panic attack and ended up crying in my arms" "You wouldn't know. He seemed like his old self this morning" "He was until you interrupted" "Hey, I know you don't like James. However, he is under my command" "And I respect that. Lance has so little self confidence left after what happened, that he doesn't handle joking very well. Besides, that was tame compared to the shit we pulled on the castle" "I don't want to think about it. Every single white hair I have was because of you two" "As if. At least you came back right..." Trailing off, Keith realised he put his foot in it the moment he heard his own words. He'd already told Shiro about it, yet it was hard to be having this conversation. It touched on so many things that still left him hurt and confused over. He wanted to respect Lance's privacy. He also wanted Shiro to understand what Lance had told him, without the others eavesdropping or Shiro bringing it up around them "Can we talk about something else? Lance deserves better than us talking about him" "For now. I still want to talk with him about the outpost. He said he intended on leaving tomorrow" "Hopefully he'll feel like staying after the party. I had hoped to have lunch with everyone, to show him he mattered..." "We can still have lunch" "It's not the same without him. Those attacks can take vargas for him to recover from. I'd rather he rest today and be recovered for tonight, than him push himself now and wind up feeling worse during the party" "Keith, Lance wanted you to socialise. He said so himself" "The whole point of lunch was for him to see everyone again" "And he will. Krolia should be arriving soon, why don't we head up to wait for her? And where's Kosmo?" "Did you only just notice he wasn't here?" "I had other things on my mind" "I don't know where he is. Probably with Hunk trying to get treats? I was hoping to find him on the way, I want to send him down to stay with Lance" "Keith..." "Don't say it. I know. Lance is an adult. He is capable of making his own choices and doesn't need a baby sitter. We've been by each other's side almost nonstop. It feels weird for me to leave him all alone down there" "He's a perfectly capable adult" "Who is on a ship where he thinks everyone hates him. I'm allowed to worry. You'd worry if you were in my shoes" "I'm older, I'm allowed to worry" "In that logic, my being older than Lance means I'm entitled to worry about him all I want" "Are you trying to take over my role as "Space Dad"?" "Nope. I don't want all those white hairs" "I'll give you white hairs" Reaching out to shove him, Keith ran on ahead, Shiro chasing after him, the pair acting like a pair of idiots as they ran through the ship.