#langst-is-fine

[justaz]

lance who has always hidden his insecurities under grandeur and humor. a huge ego paired with an inflated sense of pride. he is someone who is confident and cocky, but he exaggerates it in response to the deep rooted belief that he is not enough, that he is ordinary at best, lackluster at worst. he grew up as the baby in a huge family which came with a lot of coddling, yes, but his achievements had been made time and time again which made them expectations rather than milestones. the first time he truly shone was when he got into the garrison, something no one in his family had done before, something to be celebrated. he worked his ass off at the garrison to be top of his class, to be a fighter pilot, to reach the stars - to be the first of his family to reach space. who could too that? no matter how long he spent studying or training, he still tested into the cargo pilot class. it wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t what he wanted. he fell short by a measly three points. it was infuriating.

lance worked his ass off even more. he wanted to be something, he wanted to be noticed, he wanted to be praised, he wanted to be celebrated. he never made it. there was one student that caught his eye though - keith kogane. a living, breathing legend. he tested at the top of their class. miles above the other students. completely untouchable. despite his reputation, his grand achievements, keith never cared. he was never in the library studying or spending his free time on the flight sims. he rarely made it to class on time. he didn’t care. yet he was the best of the best. iverson gave him a hard time but it was clear to everyone that even iverson admired him and his skill, his talent. even lance admired him. he wanted to be like him, he wanted to be him. he was rejoiced, he was celebrated, he was praised, he was admired and he didn’t even try. lance pushed harder and harder but only ended in burning himself out. he crumbled under the pressure while keith didn’t seem to notice it. lance loved him but also hated him. then he was gone. and lance was a fighter pilot. barely.

iverson, now with one less eye, loathed that. he gave lance scorn and belittlement, compared him to keith at every turn and went on and on about his failings, about how he’d never be keith, about how he didn’t deserve keith’s space in the class. lance hated iverson, lance hated keith, lance hated himself. he just had to try harder. he was more deserving of all of it than keith. he never cared, he didn’t want what he was blessed with. lance fought tooth and nail for it. he deserved it. he rose a bit in the fighter pilot class and kept fighting, iverson kept ridiculing and humiliating, keith’s name remained at the top of the boards. as the year passed, his name overtook name after name until he was below keith, three points behind. almost, almost, almost, almost…

then they were in space. kidnapped by giant, sentient, mechalions. fighting in an intergalactic war. unable to return home. the years of resentment lance held for keith came to surface in close quarters with the man and he relished in every challenge that he won and despised every challenge he lost. he worked his ass off to get better until he could rechallenge keith until he won. he wasn’t sure when their rivalry became tinged with friendship, but he didn’t hate it. he should’ve, but he didn’t. it was keith’s disregard for his own amazement that infuriated lance. he was gifted and never cared for it. he was everything lance wanted and it was like it meant nothing to him. like he would trade it all at the drop of a hat if he could. yet, keith was fun, in an odd way. awkward and funny, a little prickly around the edges but a soft, gooey marshmallow heart under it all. lance knew it. he saw keith tear up at a couple of cute babies of some species on some planet as they played.

then shiro went missing and keith was forced into the role of leader and he very clearly did not want it. again, lance felt a flicker of annoyance. the role of black paladin, the pilot of the black lion, that was something lance had wanted. not at the expense of shiro, not at the expense of anyone, but he could be leader. he could lead the paladins of voltron in the fight against the galran empire. he could be revered on every planet they freed from tyranny, his name would live on forever. no one would overshadow him. yet, now keith stood in the shadow of the black lion, his face pinched and his eyes dark. he had lost his brother twice now and was being forced into leadership, he was now the one to make all the decisions for the team of (mostly) teenagers against the empire that had terrorized the universe for over ten thousand years.

lance stomped on the flicker of annoyance and put it out as he strode forward and stood beside keith. he spoke lowly, gently. he wasn’t sure how, but the right words spilled forth. keith’s shoulders relaxed and his scowl eased to a faint frown. he stepped into his role as leader. he was still as impatient and impulsive, he was quick to anger and often blinded by it. lance was there for it all. he held keith back, became his patience and impulse control. he quelled his anger when he could and talked sense into him when keith was already fired up. in return, keith gave him trust and gave him power. to outsiders, it seemed like it always had since the birth of voltron - the black paladin, the leader, and the red paladin, the right hand. but in all actuality, it was more the black and red paladins, leaders of voltron. the final decision rested with keith, but he never made a choice without lance’s input. lance made the plans and keith approved of them. lance talked at the diplomatic meetings while keith put on a brave face and played nice for a few hours.

then shiro came back and keith stepped down. lance felt as if he had finally found his footing. lance and keith, leaders of voltron, best friends. and now keith was leaving. lance watched keith walk away as he supported hunk and his tears. lance retreated to his own room and found traces of keith in every nook and cranny. hell, the damn castle ship could be traced back to keith in lance’s mind. ever since he stepped foot in the garrison, everything was tied to keith - the school legend, top of the class, best fighter pilot in their generation, the crazy man breaking into a government facility to kidnap legend takashi shirogane, the conspiracy theorist with the odd sounds in the desert, finding the blue lion, ending up in space fighting a war, red paladin of voltron. it was all keith. yet he wasn’t here. lance loved him, but he also hated him. he wasn’t sure how many more times he’d end up feeling that same sentiment.

the team…drifted. hunk and pidge paired off while allura and shiro paired off leaving lance and coran. coran was a nice, funny, odd man that reminded lance of his father back home. coran’s crazy, kooky exterior melted away when it was just them two and lance felt the same happen with him. coran talked of altea before it all, his husband and their son. lance talked of home too, every detail he could remember from earth and his family. lance busied himself with training or helping coran around the castle. he tried with the rest of the team, but things were pretty tense and his loud, jovial nature wasn’t exactly welcome all things considered. he tried to be shiro’s second as he had been keith’s. he offered his input and his plans but they were tossed aside without a moments thought. he was belittled for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong when he tried to speak up at their meetings. he was not shiro’s second, he was keith’s piss poor replacement as he had been at the garrison. he quieted and kept to himself. he stuck to the walls with crossed arms or locked himself on the training deck for hours at a time. shiro was off, a but different but lance couldn’t put his finger on it. the way he looked at them all sometimes was eerie. his eyes were empty and void and unsettling. after being shouted at on the bridge during a meeting,

he really couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself. he thought getting it out in the open would ease the worry off his shoulders and, if it didn’t, then whoever he spoke to could laugh off his worries to properly ease his mind, help him see sense. lance told coran. coran did not laugh. he did not brush off lance’s worries. he all but confirmed them. he said how he had found shiro’s behavior odd and the shouting really sent the point home. shiro before had never yelled, not like that (bar slav but that was understandable). the rest of the team also sought lance out to share their same opinions. lance took it all in stride despite the heavy dread settling over his shoulders. in agreement, the team trailed down to the bay and sat in front of the black lion. instead of the slow, patient meditation where they would ascend into the astral plane, it felt more like they were snatched and hauled up into it. they found shiro there, the real shiro, the dead shiro. they weren’t sure who was on the ship, but it wasn’t their leader. they all remained in the astral plane as they talked over a plan.

lotor considered their line of questioning and shared the witch’s experiments while he was there and gathered that if shiro was anything, he was most likely a clone. there were other options such as shapeshifter or droid disguised as shiro but both were easily disproven as if shiro were a shapeshifter, there would’ve been moments when he tripped up and either didn’t remember something or acted too different from the shiro they knew. if shiro were a droid disguised as shiro, well…their capabilities of such a thing were lacking. the droids the galran empire had were only good for fighting and even then they were pretty lackluster. the witch had an odd fascination with life and death so the chances of shiro being one of her experiments at recreating life were incredibly high.

lance didn’t trust lotor either but he knew they needed all the aid they could get so he bit his tongue and allowed lotor to remain in close cohorts with all of them. they staged a coup and overpowered the shiro on the ship. unable to kill him, they froze him in a pod and kept him locked in the floor of the infirmary. with the loss of her spy, haggar launched an attack on voltron. tens of hundreds of galran ships warped to their position but their appearance was quickly followed by hundreds of thousands of rebel ships and military ships from those in the coalition. the blade managed to send a few ships, though at lance’s poking and prodding, kolivan relayed that keith wouldn’t be there as he hd been out of a mission for the past couple of weeks and hadn’t returned yet. heavier dread settled over lance but he had no choice then to ignore it and fight with the rest of his team against the galran attack.

with a great sense of deja vu, lance found himself locked out of the red lion. he groaned and complained to him as they didn’t have time for this but red didn’t budge. lance spoke to coran through his comms that red wouldn’t let him in and the older man appeared in the bay at frightening speed. they talked it over and red allowed coran to enter and pilot him. as coran stepped into red’s maw, black let out an ear-shattering roar. the deja vu was never ending as lance found himself rushing toward black and taking a seat at the helm. the castle ship was put on autopilot, it kept its shield up as it fired at passing galran ships whilst the rest of the team flew around in their lions taking on ship after ship. as rebel and coalition ships began to fall, the team formed voltron and took out the ships with ease.

it was odd, finally being in charge. finally being recognized. being turned to for guidance with unwavering trust. it was something he had always dreamed of, something he envied keith for, something he truly didn’t want when he finally got it. how could they look to him? how could black choose him? he was just a boy from cuba, one out of a family of seven, twelve counting his sister in law, niece and nephew, and grandma and grandpa. he was a cargo pilot who had no business being in the fighter pilot class. he became a paladin by sheer luck, luck attributed to keith kogane. even now, as black paladin, he only received that position because shiro was out of commission and keith was on a mission for the blade. the moment keith returned, the lion would return to keith and lance would go back to being his second, ignored at best, yelled at at worst. as of now, he was keith’s stand in. he just had to make it until keith returned. problems arose practically ever minute and lance tried to imagine keith and how he would respond before making a decision. he’d stand still as he took in the information, pointer finger and thumb brushing together as he thought it over, and finally respond.

he checked practically every minute of every day for a response from keith or a change in status from kolivan, but neither ever came. keith was still on a mission. he had been for weeks. lance stood on shaky legs as he led the team. he hesitated and was indecisive. he froze up when they turned to him to make a decision. he was not a leader. he wasn’t who they were looking for. they needed keith. he needed keith. lance would spend his time in the bridge, a line ringing endlessly in hopes of keith finally picking up, as he looked over the battle plans and made tweaks and adjustments as he saw fit. allura joined him once and merely watched as he worked. she chuckled to herself suddenly and mentioned how with the clone as their leader, she had forgotten what it was like with keith as their leader. she had forgotten that lance was once their strategist, that he had been part of the duo that made all the decisions for the team.

coran also joined him after allura left. he let lance ramble aloud about the plans until he ran into an issue he couldn’t resolve quite yet. he stood still as he rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together. coran smiled and exhaled sharply. he said softly how he had not seen lance “like this” in quite some time. at lance’s questioning look, coran explained how lance had been so confident and sure of himself when he led with keith. under the clone’s leadership, lance had been shaken and wasn’t sure of himself anymore. the lance of the past few months was quiet and hesitant, unsure and unsteady, whilst the lance who led with keith was confident and self-assured. he made these decisions for the team and didn’t second guess himself once. yes, he thought over his plans from every angle to ensure the team was as safe as could be, but he never doubted himself. coran supposed it was keith’s unwavering faith, loyalty, and trust in lance. keith followed lance’s decisions just as much as the team followed keith’s.

lance watched coran leave after ruffling his hair and slowly turned back to the messy draft of a battle plan. lance’s gaze shifted over to his stilled hand where he had been rubbing his thumb and pointer together since running into the issue. he had been doing the same motion since becoming black paladin. it was oddly familiar. he swore he had seen…keith do it. it was keith’s unique tick that he did when stressed or emotional and trying to compose himself. lance had stolen it. allura and coran’s words echoed in his mind as he thought back to the short period of time with keith as black paladin. lance had felt like he finally found his footing there. he felt seen and heard and appreciated as he and keith led the team together. keith’s trust in his decisions, lance’s ability to match each of keith’s weaknesses to balance the team. here lance was now, leading the team all on his own, and he felt his own weaknesses exposed to the elements at the loss of his samurai.

well, the whole time he had been thinking what would keith do. he had been leading like he still had keith. perhaps that was the problem. he was leading like half of a whole rather than black paladin. lance looked up at the trilling line on the screen of the bridge. keith was on a mission. he was not on the ship. it was lance and his team. lance reached up and ended the ringing line. he had to lead like it. lance watched lotor closely for days but still couldn’t find any issue with him. weeks passed and things sailed smoother than before. lance still froze up in meetings and hesitated before making big decisions, but he stopped looking to his side for keith’s input. just as they fell into the new normal, keith returned. he flew into the castleship with a teleporting black and blue wolf, a tall galran woman that looked suspiciously like him, and (most peculiar) an altean. as well as a growth spurt that came with bulging muscles. not that that was important. what was important was that keith finally gave lance the reason why lotor was so hard to trust.

in the hours waiting for lotor and allura to return, lance lead keith to the infirmary to see the still clone body and retold everything that had happened while he was gone. keith’s face cycled through a few emotions but he quickly forced them back behind a mask of indifference and he nodded. the two of the returned to the bridge to wait for lotor to return to confront him. allura was heartbroken and enraged at the news and had taken to fighting lotor herself. outnumbered and surrounded, lotor surrendered and allowed himself to be taken to the dungeons of the castle. it was unnerving that the castle had dungeons and lance never knew despite his wanderings over the years, but he let it go. lotor was taken into the belly of the castle in chains while keith mourned his brother once more. maybe it was the news of her people that had survived only to be farmed for experiments that gave her the idea, but allura thought of a way to bring shiro, their shiro, back.

the clone’s body was taken down to the bay where allura pressed her hands to the black lion. she began to glow and she walked toward the limp body and placed her hands to it’s chest and head. the light around her body flowed down her arms and hands and into the body on the table. after a few seconds, the body took a breath and cracked open it’s eyes. lively eyes. loving, kind, and caring eyes. shiro’s eyes. shiro was put back in the infirmary as he got used to being alive again. coran stepped back from the red lion and turned the mantle back over to lance without complaint. lance did the same with the black lion to keith. instead of it feeling bitter, lance felt more at peace. being a nobody was horrible, unbearable, but being the somebody that everyone turned to for help and guidance was not very fun either. he was content to be second in command, right hand man, three points behind keith. only, keith took back the black lion but didn’t let lance fall back into the shadows. they fell back into the same dynamic they had before, two halves of one whole, two leaders that complimented each other, that met one another’s weakness with their strengths, that balanced each other, that made a damn good team.

[angstalottle]

Look technically my mental health is fine.

But I’m also actually planning that voltron themed dnd campaign I talked to some ppl about back in my langst days.

So like maybe my mental health is in free fall or maybe I want to run a space comedy dnd game about fantasy creatures discovering the lions and making a found family

Who can say

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Langst where he feels like no one likes him (in reality they do) but he's super insecure and Keith cheers him up? Can be establish klance or platonic

Yes, of course <3

I kinda went down, Lance has depression route, since it’s easy for your brain to slip into this thought pattern 

-----

His eyes dragged open, slowly adjusting to the dim room. The cracks in the grey ceiling stared back at him. He took a deep breath, letting his lung expand almost painfully. This was going to be a hard day. 

He was no stranger to depression. Feeling hopeless or unwanted. He grew up feeling like this. No matter how hard his family loved him or what he accomplished this feeling sat in the back of his soul. Like a snake trying to catch its prey. Waiting to attack.

He pushed himself up, trying to ignore the ache in his bones. How did a pain that didn’t even exist on his skin hurt so deeply? 

Getting ready for the day was a chore. He sat on his bed, a towel wrapped around him for over thirty minutes after his shower. That’s all he could muster. Getting properly dressed took almost another hour and once he was dressed he laid back down, almost out of breath. 

How pathetic am I? 

A knock sounded on his door, Shiro’s voice booming through the metal. “Lance? You doing okay?” 

He squeezed his eyes shut, he wasn’t ready to be yelled at. Shiro had never yelled at him but what if this was the last straw? What if he had been late to breakfast and training so much that he was going to snap? 

What if Shiro didn’t like him anymore? He released a quiet laugh as he pushed himself up. Did Shiro ever like him?

He forced a smile on his face. An expression he had mastered years ago. He pressed the button to the left, the door swishing open. “Morning Shiro.” 

Shiro gave him a soft smile, “morning buddy. Are you feeling okay? You missed breakfast.” 

Lance scanned his face a couple of times. Searching for anger. Looking for any crack in his façade that he wasn’t upset with him. That was simply pretending to be concerned. 

“Lance?” 

He blinked, forgetting he needed to respond. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine. Just overslept and you know I need to do my morning routine no matter what.” 

Shiro laughed, “yeah I know. Training is in twenty though.” The older man turned and walked down the hallway, dipping into his own room. 

Lance let his door close and pressed his forehead against the material. I just got dressed and now I need to do it again. Tears burned behind his eyes. It was going to be a long day. 

---

"Great work today everyone," Shiro smiled at his team. "Hunk, good job taking down the bots before they hit Pidge or Keith."

Hunk rubbed the back of his head. "It's no problem..."

Lance unintendedly tuned him out. He didn't mean top but the cycle started to turn. Did he not do anything worth praising? He chewed on his inner cheek till the faint taste of blood moved over his tongue.

"Coming Lance?" Hunk patted his shoulder gently, wearing a bright grin.

"Uh...yeah." His body went into autopilot. Hunks' words fell on deaf ears as they headed back to their respective rooms. It took too much energy to focus on what his best friend was saying.

Bestfriend. Lance frowned. He wasn't Hunk's best friend anymore. Pidge was Hunks bestfriend. He was replaced when they came to space. When Hunk realized there were other people in the world that were better than Lance.

"So are you going to join?"

Lance blinked back into reality. "What?"

Hunk sent him a confused face. "The slumber party? That Pidge and I are hosting? Tonight? On the bridge?" He paused, his eyes scanning him up and down.

Lance felt his body tense, this was it. Hunk was going to tell him that he was a terrible friend. That he was the reason he found a better best friend. Someone that actually listened to him, unlike Lance.

Hunk raised his hand, placing the back of his hand on Lance's forehead. "No fever. Are you doing okay?"

Lance nodded, "yeah...I'll see you later."

"So you'll be there?"

Lance nodded, opening his door. "Wouldn't dream of missing it." He let the door close. His smile fell as soon as he was alone. I'm a terrible friend. They probably don't even want me to show up.

He sat on his bed, ignoring taking off his armor. He rubbed his eyes till he saw stars. He knew the team hated him. How couldn't they? He hated himself.

---

A familiar hand shook him awake. "Lance?" A soft whisper.

He pressed his face further into his pillow. "Go away."

The hand was pulled away from him, a weight pressing down next to him. "You missed dinner."

"I'm tired."

"...the sleepover is starting soon. Are you going to join?"

Lance opened his eyes, rolling his face off the pillow. "I don't know."

"Everyone will be there."

"I know." He closed his eyes.

"...I'm worried about you." The voice was hesitant. Coming out in a breathy whisper.

Lance blindly lifted his hand, somehow finding the other person's hand. "I'm okay. You know I'll always be okay."

Silence.

The hand gently squeezed his back. "I want to help."

"There isn't much help right now."

"I know...I just wanted to remind you that I love you."

Tears burned behind his eyelids and he fought the urge to scream. No, he didn't. How could he love someone like Lance? "Okay."

Keith's shoulders fell some and he stood from the bed. "Try to come join us later. Hunk baked some cookies."

"Okay." He waited for the footsteps to leave the room. The silence deafening. Tears slowly slipped past his eyelids. Creating a constant stream of choked sobs.

Why did he have to be locked in space with people who hated him?

---

"Lance! Finally joined us." Pidge smiled at him from where they sat on the couch. Blankets piled around them like a cocoon.

He tried to force a smile but he knew someone was bound to see through it. His mask was cracking. "Sorry, I really needed that nap." See, I knew they didn’t want me to come. 

"No worries," Coran responded and their eyes fell back to the screen. Lance sat down between Keith and Hunk, his head resting on his boyfriend's shoulder.

Keith grabbed his hand, his thumb creating lazy circles on his skin. "You okay?" He whispered.

"Not really."

Keith leaned his head against Lance’s. “Can you talk to me about it?” 

Lance looked around the room. Everyone, except Shiro, was watching the movie. The Black Paladin took favor of a quick nap then watching the film. No one was looking at them.

“There isn’t much to say,” Lance mumbled back. He didn’t want to annoy any more people with his stupid insecurity. This is why no one liked him. Keith was probably dating him as a joke. Or because he was convenient. The dating pool in space is pretty small.  

Keith shifted so he could wrap his arm around Lance. Pulling their bodies as close together as he could. “Whatever your brain is telling you is wrong.” Even in a hushed tone, Keith’s voice held a serious note. A manner he only used when he didn’t want to argue. 

Lance shrugged, “what if it’s right?” 

Keith shook his head. “Unless it's telling you you are my favorite person in the world and a valuable member of the team it can shush.” 

Lance chewed on his bottom lip. His mind beginning to get louder. Why was he always the butt of the joke? “Keith-” 

His boyfriend pressed his lips against his. Slowly pulling back some. “What is your mind saying?” 

Keith wasn’t a stranger to Lance’s mind. This wasn’t the first moment he had where he felt utterly worthless. Like he offered no true value to anyone. That the team wished he was gone. He stared at the hem of Keith's sleeve. Unable to say anything. 

“Hey everyone,” Keith raised his voice. 

“What’s up?” Pidge paused the movie. Everyone's attention turned toward the couple. 

Shiro pushed himself up, pretending he wasn’t passed out.

“Cuddle pile?” Keith's cheeks were tinted red. Clearly uncomfortable with asking the team that. 

Smiles broke out on everyone’s faces and after some shifting around the cuddle pile was formed. Lance was still pressed against Keith. Hunk taking his other side. Pidge and Shiro sat in front of him while Coran and Allura filled in between them. The space mice sat on his lap, immediately falling asleep. 

Keith pressed his lips to his boyfriend's hairline. “We all love you. Don’t forget that,” he mumbled against his skin. 

Lance closed his eyes, a small part of his mind believing Keith. 

-----

The fact we didn’t get a team cuddle pile is criminal 

I hope you liked it!

Thanks for reading <33333

[zea-adores-vld]

since everyone on tumblr has good fic recs, who has some good langst fics? im looking for some underrated gems that aren't as popular of any length and from any season (including pre or post vld). can be gen or klance!!

i'd rather they don't have content warning tags (graphic depictions of violence is fine), but it's ok if they do!

[kickis-conan-king]

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/50344408"><strong>How long can this love hold its breath?</strong></a> (5988 words) by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/artimess_chimes"><strong>artimess_chimes</strong></a><br />Chapters: 1/1<br />Fandom: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Voltron:%20Legendary%20Defender">Voltron: Legendary Defender</a><br />Rating: Not Rated<br />Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings<br />Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)<br />Characters: Keith, Lance, Hunk, The rest of the team is technically there? but do they speak? not really, Kolivan is also kinda there<br />Additional Tags: Angst, Langst, long distance, Mutual Pining, Love Letters, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), briefly Keith is MiA, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Pining Lance (Voltron), can we call this a slow burn?, Denial of Feelings, hurt/comfort sorta<br />Summary: <p>Hey Keith</p><p>Just wanted to let you know that we’re all doing just fine without you, thanks. Just pissed at you for leaving me here, and can’t sleep. Bet you’re having a great time off being a space ninja while I’m stuck here picking up your slack. Anyways, stay alive. Bitch.</p><p>Or</p><p>Lance and Keith write each other letters while Keith is with the blades. They get increasingly pining and Lance isn't handling any thing very well at all.</p>

I wrote another one. Help lol

[banditywrites]

Hi Bandity! Congrats on 1,000 followers! If you’re still taking prompts for follower appreciation, I really enjoy reading your VLD fics that feature ghosts or other supernatural elements & Langst/whump? If you’ve already received prompts too similar to that or just aren’t feeling it, then pls ignore lol. Hope school is going well for you this semester, & please take care (:

Thank you so much for the ask and I am sorry it took so long!! The semester is almost over now and I am so excited for the summer. This is the last follower appreciation prompt I will be answering. I got through most of them, but I really do feel I need to move on to other things. Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

I was very pleased to use this opportunity to start a title prompt fic: The Forgotten House. This is just the beginning, so it's not too spooky yet, but I do hope to write this one over the summer. Thank you again for your ask!

Words: ~1050

The Forgotten House

"I have seen that rock before! We’re going in circles!" Lance threw his arms up. "Just admit we're lost, mullet,” Lance called through the mist. 

Keith's shoulders stiffened and Hunk saw the way he was clenching his fists.

"We might not be lost, just off track a little," Hunk tried to placate. 

The bog stunk and the fog that swirled around them did not allow them to see too far ahead. They had been supposed to be meeting at the rendezvous point vargas ago, but they had been wandering, stomping through sludge and grime for so long, Hunk didn't even know how long it had been. 

Long enough that they were thirsty, hungry, sweating and starting to argue with each other. 

Hunk tried to wipe grime from his gauntlets. He just wanted to get back to the castle and a long, hot shower. This was supposed to just be a recon mission. There had been rumors that the Galra were building a base on this planet. The swamp planet had an atmosphere that messed with their comms, so this specific expedition had been on foot with strict instructions to return after a brief survey. They had not found a Galra presence. All their search team had found were rocks jutting out of the swamp and twisted trees rotting in the waste. 

"Off track is just another way of saying lost," Lance grumbled. Keith finally spun around and stalked forward. It would have been more intimidating if not for the squelched noise his boots made in the floating moss.

 "This is the right way, but fine, you lead then!"

Keith gestured forward and Lance puffed out his chest before stepping into the mist and realizing he couldn't see much more than four feet in front of him.

Lance bit his lip and stared into nothing. A bead of sweat trickled down his neck that he couldn't reach and do anything about. He was irritated and complaining without thinking. When he really stopped to think about this situation, lost on an alien planet with no way to contact their team and supplies low. 

Well, this might be pretty bad. 

They had been just wandering and wandering and there was nothing out here. Lance leaned on the moss covered boulder that he knew they had already walked past multiple times. 

"Maybe, maybe we will take a break actually?" Hunk suggested loudly as he sat on a patch of solid ground. All of the anger drained from them then.

"Yeah," Lance muttered as slipped down, his back against the rock. Keith settled near Hunk, folding his legs to keep them out of the surrounding water. They sat, resting and keeping their heads down as the fog swirled listlessly around them. They knew the others were probably looking for them by now and, at this point, it might be more helpful for them to stay in one place. 

“I hate it here,” Lance mumbled as he slouched down further. 

“Me too,” Keith agreed. Hunk looked between them, taking in their despondent appearances. The situation didn’t look good, but he should probably say or do something helpful. Hunk turned his gaze to the swirling mist. If he could just see where they were going, or if there was higher ground that would lift them above the fog…

No sooner had Hunk thought it that he spotted a dark shadow looming in the darkness. He stared, furrowing his brow and squinting. The mist thinned. It was a tall shape, he thought it was just some boulders at first, but the edges were too straight. It didn’t look like a base either. At least, not like any base he had seen in space. 

“Is that a house?” Hunk stumbled to his feet in disbelief. 

“A what?” Lance turned his head to see. Hunk stepped forward and could make out the shape of windows in the second story. A few more steps and there was a large porch with steps leading to a dark wooden door. 

Lance and Keith fell into step behind him. 

“You’re seeing this too, right?” Hunk whispered. 

“Yes,” Keith responded in a hushed voice of his own. 

The brume parted just enough that they could see the door swinging open in a gentle breeze. At the steps, they paused and waited, listening for signs of life. 

“Well, it’s not a Galra base.” Lance nudged the first step with his foot. 

“Do you think it’s safe?” Hunk glanced between his two teammates. They all looked at the empty home with its open door, beckoning them inside. 

“It looks dry at least and it’s starting to get darker.” Keith looked back the way they had come. He couldn’t see the rock anymore that had served as their landmark. “Maybe it would be a good place to wait for the others.”

As one, they moved up the steps one at a time. With such gloomy surroundings, they were all expecting the stairs to creak under their weight, but the stairs were quiet and sturdy. Together, they moved through the open door. 

-0-0-0-

The house was ordinary. There was not much furniture and most of the rooms were indistinguishable in purpose. The upstairs rooms had beds and a few empty cabinets, but nothing else. Even though it was dark outside, the light seemed to filter through the windows just fine and they were able to find their way to a sitting room that was full of couches and comfortable chairs. While things didn’t look like they had been used for a long time, nothing was dusty or uncomfortable. 

They decided to stay in the sitting room together and watch the fog swirl outside the large bay window. 

“I wonder why they left,” Hunk whispered as he felt his eyes begin to droop. Keith or maybe Lance hummed at the question, but nobody said anything else. Being there, away from the stench of the bog and the clutch of the mist, it made them all realize how tired they were. And here, among comfortable chairs and pillows, Hunk felt safe. He could hear his teammates’ breathing slow as they fell asleep.

Hunk took one last deep breath before closing his eyes and drifting off. 

In his dreams he thought he heard the distinct sound of a door shutting and locking.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Ugh now i'm thinking.... what will happen when Lance, fucked up and irreversably changed, comes back to Earth? How would it feel for him to see his family and friends after everything hes been trough?

(if you can torture him then i might as well join the party)

(I am so sorry this is so late) Welcome aboard on langst train! Here we torture Lance as enrichment for both ourselves and our boy!

Ok i am going to be honest here, i dont really have much planned out for Lance as much as i had Kuron planned out. I do think that part of his spiral is because of differences grown between him and his family. Like i imagine this au taking place a few years after Allura "died" (yes it took years for Allura to like become alive, gather herself, gain back her strength, and search her way back home).

During that time Lance was with his family. And he's Happy! He finally got back to his family! He has achieved his dream! He even met his hero! So he should be happy or atleast at peace right?

Wrong! There is Allura's death he is mourning, he is dealing with trauma from war, he feels guilty and mourning Kuron's death, he feels aimless and directionless, he died, while his family is still alive i am pretty sure his home and earth is not in good shape.

And then there is his family. And at first glance it feels like everything is fine and dandy but as time goes on they realize that well things have changed, specifically they all have changed. Lance is more reserved, isolating himself, ticking all boxes of depression. Like it is still him but also practically a shell of himself. His family has changed too, they are clingier to him and each other while also being reserved themselves. But they are trying! Trying to be the people they used to be! Especially Lance who's acting like Nothing Happened at all!

All of them want to go Back To Way Things Were, but are too changed to do it. They all expect the other to be the same and that Lance returning would have fixed things except it did not. It really did not, if anything it kinda caused the drift to grow wider and wider.

While this is all going on Lance's powers are manifesting, and they start with growing sensitivity towards quintessence, mood swings, knowledge about things he shouldnt have, etc etc. And one day he just snaps and runs away, and no one has any idea where he is, and he is only found when Kuron is alive again (btw he went full fmab on his body, made the body from scratch, stole Kuron from Shiro's mind and succeeded, suck on that Elric bros) which results in his coma where he is actually in astral plane falling more into his powers and the horror and how it is changing him.

And the worst is he is both hating and loving it. To him he can finally do something, these powers can help him help others, right his wrongs, save others like he saved Kuron, so he just throws himself into learning more about it and about quintessence and actively choosing to let it change him more because than he will finally become something that needed for others since "Lance" was clearly not enough. But he also hates it because he just wants to go back to way things were, back to the way he used to be. And his powers are very affected by all this which further affect his mind so it is a downward spiral all the way down.

Also the powers are not good for him at all, or any humans for that matter. It is not exactly killing him anymore but it is not good for his sanity.

In short to answer your question, it will be bad, it will be so bad, no one in this house is coping at all, shit's hitting the roof my dude

[constel-langst-ions]

Hide, Hide, Hide P.2

@langst-is-fine yeah heres ur part 2, Im getting carried away with this fic so have another chapter.

Warnings: Physical & Sexual abuse mention

—

Lance collapsed on his bed in the Garrison, his bag packed with no more than a few belongings already put in the closet.

The door opened, and Lance screamed, heart thudding out of his chest. He jumped and sat on his bed, hand over heart, eyes wide. He stared into large, terrified eyes.

“I’m sorry, did I scare you? Oh gosh.” The boy, a bigger one, fretted.

“No, Im sorry. I didn’t know I had a roommate. It’s cool, man.” Lance soothed the boy.

“The name’s Lance.”

“Hunk.” The boy smiled gently.

“So, we’re roommates, I suppose.” Lance chuckled, laying back down. That would be the start of a great friendship.

—

Now they were in space. Lance marveled at the size, entranced. But it terrified him endlessly, with all the loud noises. He overcame it by being loud instead, talking over whatever scared him.

Too bad he couldn’t talk over his teammates, especially Shiro, who’s commanding and loud voice scared him close to a panic atttack.

Especially when he yelled. Particularly at Lance.

He had his worst attack in years shortly after a mission gone wrong.

Pidge had lost her intel because Lance, who was guarding her, had been knocked off his perch by sentries.

Hunk and Keith had barely made it out alive before the ship exploded, Lance having just grabbed Pidge and rushing out to Blue and Black, the only lions taken, as it was supposed to be an easy mission.

Shiro had yelled at Lance for minutes, drilling into him about every possible intrusive thought that had invaded Lance’s mind.

He didn’t care that Lance was shaking. That he begged Shiro to please stop yelling. How he cried. How the team watched, unable to move.

Shiro lifted his arm without thinking, meaning to give Lance a simple slap on the arm.

He didn’t expect the quivering the boy to let out a scream of pure terror and fall back onto his rear, desperately scrambling away from the threat in front of him.

Shiro and the paladins stared, dumbfounded, the Alteans watching closely behind.

Realization clicked onto Lance’s face, and he jumped up, running out of the bridge.

The team looked at eachother, jaws dropped.

—

It took them an hour to find Lance. When they finally did, he was in the kitchen, sitting at the table. He had his head down on his arms, resting on the tabletop.

The second the door opened, he flinched hard and let out a muffled noise of fear. It broke all their hearts.

They sat around him and the table, and Keith leaned to grab Lance’s hand.

Lance yelped instead, yanking his arm away. He glared, glared, at Keith. And hissed. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Keith pulled his hand back, shocked.

Shiro not catching the memo, grabbed Lance’s shoulder. The smaller boy screeched from the sudden contact behind him, jumping up and knocking his chair back.

“Dont touch me, please!” He pleaded to them, fists clenched on his own shirt.

Lance sat down again. “Please.” He put his head in his hands, his elbows on the table.

Coran sat across from him. “Care to tell us about what happened, m'boy?” He asked, voice solemn.

Lance went dead silent, before nodding.

“My dad used to hit my mom. He only yelled at me, never physically hit me. When I waa four, he hit hit her with a glass bottle.” He was quiet for a moment, scaring the others. “Over the head. I called the cops. He got arrested and put in prison. She died a few days later.”

“My aunts and uncles didn’t want me so I got put into the foster care system. I was in my first home for 3 or 4 years, I cant remember. It was good. I loved my foster parents. When I was 8, they had to put me back, cause they lost their jobs.”

“I got put it another home, with my sisters Lynn and Valeria, and my brother Elias. It was fine, for the first few months. Nora worked alot and Bryson worked from home. He was always with us.”

Lance ran his fingers through his hair. “Then he started taking Lynn, she was 16, into rooms. By themselves. She wouldn’t tell us what happened but Valeria and Elias knew. I didn’t.” Lance took in a shuddering breath.

“I didn’t understand until he took me the first time. Lynn begged him not to, but he hit her. I didn’t want her to get hurt so I did what he said. I dont.. wanna talk about that. He did it a few times, until I was 12. The he just hit me. Lynn had left a bit before that.”

“I learned makeup when I was 14, cause Nora didn’t know Bryson hurt us and she was so nice. I didn’t want to ruin her relationship. Valeria and Elias left too, without a second thought. Left me alone with him.” Lance’s shoulders shook, him telling the experience obviously shaking him.

“I got accepted into the Garrison on a full scholarship. It was my only option, and I just barely qualified. Had I not gotten the scholarship, I probably wouldn’t be making it.” Lance rubbed his eyes, tears still silently running.

“So, please, dont touch me. I cant stand it. I’ve been pushed nearly to panic attacks multiple times because people dont listen.”

Lance started to look angry, scaring the others. “I wasn’t believed when I tried to tell my story to get help. God, no one believed me. I couldn’t get the home I needed.”

“So here I am. A teen with touch aversion. Some kid who’s just so pathetic. I can’t.. I can’t do this. I cant be with people who dont believe me.” He had started sobbing at one point.

“I’m not okay. Not at all. I didn’t get the help, and even if I did, It’d still take years to recover.”

“I just want to feel normal. Is that too much to ask for?” Lance looked up at Shiro, eyes round and glazed over. They were puffy and red.

“Lance, hey, it’s okay. We’ll help you, here, in space. When we get back to Earth, which we will, we’ll help you get the help you need.” Shiro reached to touch him, then pulled back. “Please dont be afraid to talk to us.” He gave a tentative smile.

Pidge and Hunk smiled at him.

“Movie night?” Allura suggested, beaming. “I mean, Lance, you dont have to sit right by us, but it’d be nice. We’ll respect your choices.”

Keith nodded in agreement.

Coran too.

Lance let out a wet laugh, wiping his eyes. “Yeah, I love you guys.”

“Thank you for believing in me.”

—

[delaneytveit]

Hold me Close, and Let It be

Annnnnndddddd she’s back. Uni is up and running again and I had to take care of some personal stuff, but here is a new little ficlet for ya’ll to enjoy. Hope you like angst with a little bit of comfort. 

****************************************************************************************

Today was definitely not a good day. Lance woke up to the blaring alarm of his phone, a piercing screech that on any other day would have earned no more than a disgruntled groan before a quick press of a button. Today however, it received a string of curses as the Blue paladin rolled over and away from the device, stuffing his head under the pillow to muffle to sound to no avail.

With another few choice words, he reluctantly withdrew himself. Sitting up with little grace and all the annoyance he could probably use to fuel the ship for decapheobes. Lance was pissed.

After spending all day the day before training and failing and training more, chores upon chores in the infirmary, his own solo missions, and meetings with the team he was once again forced to find each and every paladin and put them to bed at a reasonable hour. God forbid they be able to pull themselves away from whatever they were doing to do so themselves. Okay, forced wasn’t the right word. No one was holding him at gun point, threatening his family. But his team was hurting. They weren’t taking care of themselves. And he would be damned if he let his second family spiral when he could so easily stop it.

So he spent each night hunting down each paladin, getting them to eat, drink, rest. Usually taking hours before he was finally able to do the same for himself. Of course that meant that while the rest of his team got to bed at a reasonable hour, he was far from it.

He stumbled lazily to his ensuite bathroom, quick to wash his face and brush his teeth before returning to his room to dress in his paladin armor.

Allura had announced the night before that they would be attending a diplomatic celebration on a planet Lance had no hope of ever being able to pronounce. On any other day, Lance would have jumped at the idea of such a mission. Celebrations meant parties, and if anyone liked to party, it was Lance. But over this past pheobe or so, he’s lost any and all emotional capacity to do more than train.

Coran had told him to come to him when this feeling started. Knowing what the missions were asking of Lance, and how heavy they would weigh on the Paladin’s mind. As grateful as Lance was for the Altean’s words, he couldn’t shake the thought that it would just be better if he didn’t. The less people traumatized was better, and these missions were confidential for a reason.

So, there he was, drained, exhausted, and irritable. Dreading the day before it had begun as he entered the bridge.

To his surprise, he wasn’t the last one. In fact, he was the first of the paladins to reach the bridge. Though he probably shouldn’t have been as surprised, he had been getting pretty good with his time management if he did say so himself. The room was only occupied by Coran and Allura. They quickly shared good mornings, Allura in her excitement already briefing Lance on the celebration. A day-long party followed by a dinner with all of the planet’s officials. Easy enough. Lance just had to act like he wanted to be there, and not like he wanted to crawl inside a hole and hibernate for the next decade.

The room was quickly filled with the noise of the other paladins, bright and lively as they entered. They didn’t seem to notice Lance as they bickered, Shiro stepping in a few times to keep it out of hand.

“Where is Lance, is he late again?” Pidge joked, earning a scoff from Keith before both of their eyes landed on the Blue Paladin already standing at the console with the Alteans, their conversation seemingly interrupted by the outburst. After the briefing, it was little over a varga before the castle landed on the planet and the Paladins were greeted by its inhabitants. Music and excited shouts filled the air as the group marched from the castle to the large civic center that was to house the celebration.

To Lance’s joy, Hunk stood with him the whole time. His friend finding exciting food for both of them to try as they mingled with some of the natives. As exhausted as Lance felt, his smile never faltered, and in all honesty it could have been much worse. He just wished that whatever alien was practically hanging off of his arm could let off a bit.

It was smooth going throughout the party, all the way up until the dinner. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this dinner.

Well, could anyone really prepare to be seated across from the most beautiful alien he had ever seen. Her skin a dusty pink that seemed to aglow in the candle light, her long flowing hair dark as night and hung in long curls where it wasn’t plaited in the most intricate braids. But her eyes, her diamond like eyes could have put the most precious stone to shame. The way he could see almost every colour in them shook him to his core.

She was beautiful, strikingly so.

He almost hadn’t realized he had been staring until he felt the elbow of his best friend hit his ribcage. But he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

The girl sitting in front of him looked up with such sad eyes, it made him want to cry just looking at her.

“You carry much pain with you, Blue Paladin.” her voice was soft, but the sentiment in it struck an arrow in his chest. It seemed her words had silenced the entire table as eyes turned towards the two.

“Though you crave to return home the most, you know that you will not. Not in your lifetime...and yet you remain.” she took a shuddering breath, reminding Lance that he hadn’t breathed since she sat in front of him. “I will not ask you why. For your silence is all the answer I need, but I must ask. You are scared are you not?”

“That’s enough Nalena.”

But all she did was hold a singular slim finger to her father, an action that silenced him yet again.

“Yet you brave the fight, the war that you are convinced you will not survive.” She moved her hand to cover his, offering him the slightest squeeze of comfort.

“You fight because though you may not return, you will do all you can to make sure that they,” she dropped his gaze finally to pass her eyes upon his team before those kind diamond eyes returned to his once more, “they may. You lay awake at night, haunted by the prophecies of your demise, yet you continue. You rise every day, answer every call, knowing that it could be your last.”

He could feel the pain in her voice be mirrored in his heart, and knew the tear that fell from his eye matched that on her cheek.

“Alejandro, you have committed many sins in your effort to protect your team. Though they will never truly know what you have done, what plagues your mind every waking moment, know that they could not have a more devoted nor more loving paladin. Your heart will never be hardened, your efforts never in vain. You carry the curse of the Blue Paladin, and take it in stride. Your loyalty knows no bounds. Know this Alejandro Serrano-McClain, if they do not let you into your heaven it is not your fault. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but it is their loss for not honoring the hero you have become.”

+

Blue eyes stared, unlooking into the vast expanse of the stars hidden behind the glass. His mind still reeling relentlessly vargas after his encounter with the princess Nalena. Her words played in a continuous loop in his mind. Keeping him awake.

So here he stood, arms crossed, dressed in only a pair or dark sweatpants and his lion slippers  shielding his feet from the ice of the cold castle floor. He was so wrapped up in his own mind, he hadn’t heard the doors whoosh open, nor the light footsteps that followed to where he stood.

“Lance?”

Startled he turned around, eyes wide when they settled on the violet ones belonging to the red paladin.

“Keith...what are- are you okay?”

They both stood in silence, Keith dressed in his pajamas seemed colder than Lance did, shuddering a little in the dark of the observation deck.

“Shouldn't I be asking you that?”

Lance shifted on his feet, not really sure where this was going, but dreading it nonetheless. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“Are you? I mean, after what happened today, I wouldn’t be. And I-” Lance watched as Keith fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt, his eyes refusing to meet the blue paladin’s in front of him. “I don’t know. What she said. It seems like you haven’t been okay for a while.”

Lance wasn’t sure why he was so surprised, after all the whole team had been there to witness the incident. They weren’t blind. Of course they’d be concerned. He’d be worried out of his mind if the same thing happened to Pidge, or Shiro, even Allura. But he had to admit it was a little weird having Keith, his self proclaimed rival- not rival, genuinely worry about him.

His first instinct was to deflect. Hell, this wasn’t something that a few kind words could fix, and the last person he’d want comfort from would be the boy that only bickered with him. But that wasn’t right. Keith was standing in front of him because he wanted to help, because at the end of the day they were a team, friends. And he genuinely did care.

Lance sighed before holding out his hand, gesturing for the other boy to come and join him in front of the glass, only turning back to the stars when Keith finally stood next to him.

“You’re right.” he said, breaking the long drawn out silence, his eyes never leaving the stars he had grown so accustomed to. The stars that he knew he would live and die fighting in. “I don’t think I’ve been okay for a long time.”

He could feel the smaller boy’s eyes on him, studying him and if the conversation hadn’t weighted so heavily on him, he probably would have blushed.

“I used to look up at the stars, and dream about flying through them. I wanted to be the best pilot out there, traveling farther than anyone ever had. Even when we were brought into this war, I couldn’t help but dream of doing great things. It's all I've ever wanted to do... fly.”

“All I ever wanted to do was fly.” He repeated softly, as he looked down at his feet, shaking his head at his own ignorance. No, not ignorance, naivety. All those years ago he was a naive 17 year old who would have given an arm and a leg to travel the stars.

“Now I’m here, fighting a war my family has no idea even exists. And all I want to do is go home. I want to hug my mom, argue with my siblings, play with my niece and nephew.”

“You will, Lance. We’ll go back to Earth, and you can do all that, and more-”

“Will I?” he interrupted. There was no harshness, no anger. Just a reserved sadness that Keith would have done anything to never hear from his friend’s lips again. This wasn’t Lance, Lance was supposed to be loud and happy and...not hurting like this. Lance deserved to be happy.

“It doesn’t scare me any more, the thought of not going home. At first I used to be terrified, of getting hurt, dying, leaving my family to wonder what happened to me. As bad as it sounds... I don’t feel that way anymore.”

“Lance…”

“I used to spend hours imagining how I would die, getting gunned down by a Galra soldier, or saving one of you, or… I spent so much time imagining it, that I couldn’t even imagine going home if I wanted to.”

Keith had turned completely now, facing the taller boy, tears in his eyes as his friend struggled to talk. How could he have not known about this? How could any of them not have known? They were supposed to be a team, and when one of your team is hurting, you help. They didn’t seem like a team at that moment, neglecting their Blue Paladin. The one person who was holding this team together was completely falling apart and none of them could see it.

It made him want to wrap Lance up in the biggest hug he had ever known, and Keith was far from a hugger. But seeing the boy stand before him, speak about how accepting he was of fucking dying? That was not okay. None of this was okay. They had grown up fighting a war, and if there was any indication that it had taken its toll on the teens, Lance was it.

“She was right.” Lance said finally. Breaking Keith out of his stupor.

“Right about what?”

“I’ve done horrible things for this goddamn war. I’ve killed people Keith, not droids, or senteries. Living, breathing Galra. Not just Galra, but anyone who would cross the coalition. I-” his voice cracked as he placed his head in his hands, stifling a sob that threatened to escape him. “I don’t want to be remembered for that. I never wanted to be a hero, but here I am pretending to be one, knowing all the things I’ve done.”

Any self control that Keith had once had evaded him in that moment, as he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Lance. Pulling him close, as if he was afraid to lose him if he didn’t.

The action only made Lance cry harder, no longer hiding it as he clung to the Red Paladin. Keith guided them to the floor, and there they remained until Lance had cried himself out, Keith releasing a few tears himself.

It was some time before either of them spoke again. Neither one really wanting to break from the safety of the silence, but knowing that more had to be said. In the end, Keith waited until Lance pulled away before speaking.

“Lance, war brings out the worst in all of us. We’ve all done things that we’re not proud of, but we can’t let it define us. What we do is to help the universe. Voltron exists to help the universe.”

Lance scoffed at that, the disbelief held in his voice only pushing Keith more.

“I’m so sorry that you’ve been forced to do those things. But I’ve also seen you do some amazing things as well. I’ve seen you carry children out of a collapsing building, I’ve seen you push Pidge out of the way of a shot, I’ve seen you talk Shiro down from his nightmare induced panic attacks. Hell, you literally drag me out of the training deck every night to make sure I actually sleep. Lance, you care for this family.”

Before Lance could get a word in, Keith cupped his cheeks in both hands, angling him so that their eyes met.

“I know me listing all of the good things will never outweigh the heaviness of the guilt you carry. All I ask is that you acknowledge that you are more than that, because you are. You are Lance McClain, the Blue Paladin of Voltron. A hero, a fighter, a friend. The scar on your back is a testament to how true that is.”

He let the words sink in, let Lance just have time to feel them. Because he meant every word.

And he’d be damned if he let Lance go on believing that he wasn’t worthy of being here. He defined what it meant to be a paladin, and though he may not be their leader, he still managed to instill it in each and every one of them.

“Lance, I-”

“Thank you. I think I’m gonna go to bed.” Lance pulled back before moving to stand up, popping the cricks out of his shoulders.

“...Just think about what I said, please.”

Lance turned then, a small smirk replacing the broken expression that plagued him just the minute before.

“Yeah, I will. Thank you, Keith, really.”

[shastelly]

I’m fine

Keith: Lance?

Lance: What?

Keith: Are you bleeding?

Lance: I’m fine.

Hunk: Bleed...You Are!

Lance: I’m fine.

Pidge: The hell...why is there a blood trail down the hall...Lance?!

Lance: Just leave me alone.  I’m fine.

Coran: I think the translators have gone wonky again, what is it that the word he keeps saying mean, because clearly he is not what by normal Altean standards would be considered fine.

Shiro: Lance, this doesn’t look fine.  When did you get hurt?

Lance:  I told you I’m fine!  Leave me alone.  I’m sorry I got blood on the floor.  I’ll clean it up after I get out of the pod.  I always do.

Hunk: ...

Keith: ...

Pidge: Fuck

Shiro: Lance, no one is worried about the blood on the floor.  We are worried about you.

Lance: Really, since when?  I believe Keith’s words earlier were something like “stop being so dramatic” and Hunk said “hurry up Lance I want to get out of here” and Pidge said “move it loser”!  So why do you care now, other than I made a mess and I said I’d clean it up and I can take care of myself.  I know how to operate the pod!

Shiro: Lance, that was almost an hour ago, you’ve been bleeding like this since then?

Lance: No, it got worse when I got tossed around in Blue, but the pod can fix it up, so please can I go.  I’m getting dizzy.  I’ll clean up later.

Hunk: *choked sob*

Keith:...

Pidge: Fuck.

Shiro:  Let’s get you in the pod then.  Coran?

Coran:  Of course, I’ll get it fired up.

Shiro: *picks up Lance and begins to carry him down the hall* When you get out we are going to have a long talk about what’s important around here.

Lance: I’m sorry I jeopardized the mission by not reporting my injury.

Shiro: *sigh* A very long talk.  Lance, you are important and we all care about you.  I know we get caught up in our own things and in the battle in our anger or fear or frustration, but it doesn’t change how much we care about you.  And when you get out we are going to spend some time making sure you know how much we care.

Lance: Okay, I’m going to pass out now though, sorry.  I can take care of myself and I’m...*passes out*

Shiro: You are not fine, Lance. *kisses top of head and gently places in the pod* But you will be, we’ll see to that. *turns to other teammates and Coran who are nodding their agreement*

[bubblyaliencats]

you’re a revelation

[dont repost]

[syiqah97]

...

[langstwhynot]

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Fic rec anon! You've got anything for langst? any ship (or no ship) is fine

Okay so SORRY about the wait!!! I needed to do some research <3 I haven't read a lot of langst since 2016-2017

Disclaimer: Some of these I have no read but others have recommended. Please check all tags!

Never Enough (for you) by Techno_Zav

Summary: "Lance is afraid of dying. Especially afraid of dying like this, surrounded by blood and petals and the weight of inadequacy.

It’s unfortunate, then, that Lance will never be good enough for Keith." AKA Hanahaki Disease AU

Like a Second Heart by aquietdin

Summary: “How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

Twin gasps came from either side of him. To his left, Shiro’s brown eyes were wide, his mouth closed in a tight line. To his right, Pidge’s jaw hung lose, her eyebrows cinched under her hair.

“Was…” Lance glanced around. “Was that wrong?” AKA Memory Loss

One Wheel Short by YouAreInAComaWakeUp (Nikanaiko)

Summary: "Sometimes, I think the universe would be a lot better off without Lance McClain."

-Read tags on this! (and not to plug my own fic. Is this is the kinda vibe you want my Roommates fic follows this route more!)

Just Static by Jessadilla (wobblyarms)

Summary: "--Static----

-iro, Hunk, Kei---, nybody? I’m----

-static--

--I’m sorry guys. This is all my--

--static--cc--

---I found my coordinates. They’re--

-stttcc-

-guys. I hear something---

--scccc-

-end transmission-

Alone on a hostile planet, transmissions aren't getting through. How did it come to this?"

-I read this as it was coming out and I don't remember every detail but lordy did I love it

Travelin' Soldier by lil_cap

Summary: "It's been 3 years since the fall of the Galra empire, and Lance has been feeling useless for a while. At the very least, he has his boyfriend Keith - though now that Keith's been called to the front lines of the Blade of Marmora, things have changed.

This fic was started before season four came out, so suspend some belief as far as chronology and previous events."

Dares and Closets (Don't Mix Well) by RidleyTheKnight

Summary: "Based on a tumblr prompt of Truth or Dare Langst

It was just supposed to be a fun game. Truth and dare was humiliating, but everyone seemed to be fine and having fun, until Lance got the dare to bring the person he hated the most into the nearest broom closet and lock the door for an hour. It just went down hill from there."

-This work is part of a langst series that you can also check out! :3

Feel free to add you own <3

(If you are an author of one of these and want it to removed just lmk! <3)

[integrellie]

Part 5...sorry for the long wait 

part 1  part 2  part 3   part 4   part 6  part 7  part 8

[no-i-didnt-notice-im-short]

Writing while listening to Shane Dawson’s videos in the background is an experience.