Beyond

Thunder

A loud rumble had Lance awake in seconds.

He was on the sofa in the lounge, a blanket tossed over him.

When he had fallen asleep he didn't remember and it was very disconcerting to find himself here like this.

Outside the window it was dark, rain pounding the glass as thunder rolled through.

Lance jolted, he should be moving, he should be getting up, finding the others, doing something-

"Lance?" Bruce asked as he slowly approached. "You okay?"

Lance didn't respond as he continued to struggle with the blanket, unable to detach his legs from it.

Bruce placed his hand on Lance's shoulder making the boys breath stutter.

"Hey, it's okay." Bruce said gently as he rubbed Lance's shoulder. "Relax, you're okay."

Reluctantly Lance leaned back into the sofa closing his eyes for a moment.

Bruce wasn't a paladin, he wasn't on board the castle he was in alternate universe and he was on earth with the Avengers.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bruce offered curiously. 

"I forgot what thunder sounds like." Lance whispered rubbing his face. "Thought we were under attack."

Bruce shook his head softly sitting next to Lance to help him adjust the blanket again.

"You look tired." He said quietly.

Lance nodded, he was tired. "What time is it?"

"About 18:00 Tony just ordered dinner."

"Does Tony ever cook?" Lance asked raising an eyebrow.

Bruce chuckled. "He can cook but sometimes he works himself into the ground to a point where he can't be bothered."

"Does anyone else cook?" Lance asked with a small smile as he let his grip on the blanket lessen.

"Steve and Clint can, but they don't always like to, I don't know about the others, I'm not great at it." Bruce admitted with a shrug. "You getting tired of Tony's take away dinners?"

Lance shook his head as he sat up. "No they're always really good, but... I guess I just miss a home cooked meal."

Bruce nodded slowly, then he paused shooting Lance a smile. "Did you just distract yourself from a panic attack?"

Lance gave a faint smile as he looked down at his lap. "I um... I learned to do it at the Garrison long before Voltron happened."

"That's amazing, how did you do it?"

Lance shrugged. "I either get myself moving or I start talking, usually my rambling or unending questions calms me down a bit."

"It's incredible that you know how to do that." Bruce admitted. "Does it always work?"

Lance shook his head. "No, very rarely infact but... It helps sometimes."

Bruce nodded. "We don't want you to be scared Lance."

"Kinda hard not to be when everything reminds me of war." Lance whispered looking up at the ceiling. "Even when we had quiet days there was always a chance that the alarm might ring at any second."

"How did you cope?"

"I didn't." Lance shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, ran on adrenaline most of the time."

"I'm sorry." Bruce mumbled. "I can't imagine going through what you did at your age."

Lance smiled. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone, which is why I'm glad I got to live it."

Another roll of thunder made Lance stiffen, then Thor came marching into the room.

A heavy sort of cloud hung over him.

"Thor." Bruce frowned gesturing outside. "This you?"

Thor looked out the window with a puzzled look. "I believe so, why?"

"Lance... Um-"

"I'm fine." Lance said hurriedly. "What's up with you?"

"My brother." Thor grumbled. "He has been causing needless trouble at home."

"Needless trouble?" Bruce asked raising an eyebrow, he didn't look surprised.

"He is a troublemaker and the god of mischief but I had hoped that he would have learned to stop it." Thor grumbled. "He is in prison for his crimes against earth but he has not learned."

Lance frowned. "Would a hug make it better?"

Thor paused a small frown coming to his face. "Possibly."

Lance smiled and jumped to his feet crossing the short distance to offer Thor a tight hug.

"My mum always said that hugs make the world a little bit better." Lance mumbled. "I'm sorry your brother is being difficult."

Thor chuckled slightly. "He can be difficult, but I have my Midgard family to help me."

"Me included right?" Lance asked.

"Yes my dear friend, you included." Thor nodded.

"Who made the thunder stop?" Natasha asked as she entered.

She raised an eyebrow at Lance and Thor but Thor's grip tightened ever so slightly on Lance making a smile grow on Lance's face.

"Do not interrupt this hug session with your questioning gaze." Thor frowned.

Lance chuckled. "I'm gonna remember that one."

"I'm not questioning it, I just wondered what warranted it." Natasha shrugged as she took a seat next to Bruce.

"Thor needed a hug, I provided." Lance stated. "Hunk used to always need hugs, it was more often then not the only way to calm him down at all."

"Hunk?"

Lance paused, he pulled away from Thor slightly. "Um... Hunk was... He-"

"One of your friends?" Bruce asked.

"My best friend." Lance whispered shaking his head. "Never thought... I never thought I'd lose him."

"We're most deeply sorry for your loss." Thor said gently. "And we are here to support you if ever you need it."

Lance gave a weak smile. "Thank you, all of you."

"Need a hug?" Bruce asked raising an eyebrow.

"A hug might make things better." Lance nodded with a small smile.

Bruce wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulder giving him a warm hug before Natasha was there too hugging him tightly.

Lance sighed softly.

Oh yeah, hugs really do make something's a little bit better.