Voltron Oneshots

Flowers Are Dangerous ~Klance

"Remember, stay away from the flowers, everyone," said Shiro seriously. Lance gave him an incredulous look. The flowers had white edges at their petals, which faded into the center as pink and eventually blood red. They were pretty, and well, harmless.

"Um, why?" Lance asked, making a show of nudging one of the blooms with his foot. 

Hunk pulled him away. "You heard Allura. If you inhale the pollen or even smell it for a second too long, one of them will grow in your lungs. She didn't say what the cure was, either, just that it wasn't fun."

"They're just flowers." 

"Stay away, Lance." Shiro said firmly, "Let's just get the stone so we can leave this planet."

Lance waited until no one was looking, then bent down and swiftly sniffed one of the flowers. It smelled sweet, dangerously so, and very alluring, soothing almost. Then, he turned around, and followed Pidge through the field. 

***

They completed their mission with ease. Keith didn't even need to be reckless before Hunk had grabbed the blue stone that Allura had sent them to fetch. Everything was going pretty well.

Until they got to the lions.

It wasn't anything too big, really, but when Lance climbed into the blue lion, he felt strangely winded. Eventually he just dismissed it as fatigue, but it still bothered it. Could it have been the flower...?

Nopety nope, I refuse to believe that a flower can hurt people, he thought to himself, I'll just get some rest when we get back to the castle. 

When they got back, Allura was thrilled that they had the stone. "Good work, paladins! Now Coran and I can work on destroying it so it won't cause any more misfortune."

"How was the mission?"

"It was a breeze." Pidge said, grinning, "The stone was just left there unguarded. It was practically a sitting duflax."

"Lance was an idiot and tried to mess with those flowers." Hunk said, "But other than that- "

"I am not an idiot." Lance sniffed. "I prefer the term 'much-better-than-everyone-else-but-people-refuse-to-admit-it-musketeer.' "

He waited until everyone had left to go do whatever. Keith was the last to leave, and Lance could have sworn that the red paladin had hesitated, giving him an odd look before going out the door. Lance wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was... Strange.

Not as strange as the feeling in his chest, though. Now it had increased, and felt like there was an elephant sitting on his chest.

"Hey, Allura?" Lance asked, "Um, what exactly happens if you smell those flowers?"

"You mean the ones back at- Wait, Lance, you didn't actually... " The Princess's expression became one of horror. 

"Am I going to die?" 

"Yep!" Coran said cheerfully from across the room.

"Coran!" Allura scolded. "Maybe. The flower only affects people who are, well, to put it bluntly, in love with another person. They take root in your lungs, and eventually strangle you to death. The only way to cure them is to confess your love." She looked apologetic at the end, her eyes filled with sorrow. 

Lance shook his head. "That's not possible. I don't love anybody. Besides, I don't even know the symptoms, what if I don't even have this thing inside me?"

"If you get breathless easily, have shortness of breath, or feel pressure or a squeezing sensation in your chest, you've got it!" Coran said, still chipper as always.

"So... There's a flower inside me?" Lance said in a small voice. "But... I'm not in love with anyone, Allura."

"Think, Lance, think. There's got to be someone." Allura urged.

Lance paused, trying to think of someone who he could be in love with. His brain was suddenly filled with images of Keith, Keith training, Keith talking, the few times he laughed or smiled, Keith, Keith, Keith. What was this? This couldn't be happening, the two of them hated each other!

Or maybe I don't, he realized, troubled. What if he confessed and Keith didn't feel the same way? Then Lance would be cured, but things would be awkward. 

"What am I going to do, Allura?" He asked, "I think I'm in love with Keith, but- "

"You've got to confess. The flower doesn't take long before it starts to constrict its roots and kill you, you know. You've probably only got until this evening." Allura said, "The universe needs to to form Voltron, so you can't die on everyone because you're too afraid to tell someone how you feel!"

Lance suddenly doubled over, wheezing. His breath had been lost to him. Gasping, he waited until it came back, and sucked in a big gulp of the precious air. This time it had been more than just pressure, it was actual pain.

"Go find Keith." Coran said, "And tell him."

"I... Okay." He gave in.

Lance left the room, moving slowly so he wouldn't have another attack. The creepiest part was that he could almost feel the movement of the plant inside him, threatening to choke him.

He couldn't do it.

He was too much of a coward. If Keith rejected him, there would be no point in being alive, anyways. So instead of heading to the training deck where Keith surely was, Lance turned down the hallway, heading for his bedroom. He would just die there.

Lance was only two yards away from his door when another attack seized him, far worse than before. He crumpled to the ground, feeling as though their were hands tightening around his throat. His chest felt like it was on fire.

Why did he had to go and smell that stupid flower? Why couldn't he have just listened? Now he was going to pay for it, and dearly. 

A series of gasps and choking sounds were emitted from the back of his throat, and his eyes rolled over in an effort to try to breathe. This had to be it.

The pain in Lance's chest worsened. Why wasn't he dead yet? This was sufferage, he would have easily confessed to Keith if he knew that this was what death was going to be like. 

"What the quiznak? Lance!" Someone cried, rushing down the hall to his side. "What's going on? Why are you like this?"

It was Keith. 

"Keith, I... C-can't... Breathe... " Lance wheezed. 

"No, you aren't allowed to die. Shiro, help!" Keith shouted, his voice sounding urgent. 

"No!" The blue paladin put a hand over his mouth, trembling. "Pl-please, d-don't call... Shiro... "

"You're going to die if you don't get help. Please don't die, Lance. I know I act like an ass that you hate me, but please, just live, okay? Live and be okay." Keith actually looked scared, like he was going to start crying. 

And in that moment, Lance allowed himself to hope. 

"K-Keith, I... " He swallowed, his vision starting to go dark from lack of air, "I l-l-love you."

Keith looked stunned, but then he leaned in, and pressed his lips against Lance's, kissing him firmly but gently. Lance felt the air return to his lungs with a whoosh, and he inhaled deeply through his nose, returning and embracing the kiss. He was weak from nearly dying, of course, but he felt protected as Keith cradled him.

"Don't die." Keith whispered when they broke apart. 

Lance gave a shaky smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm okay now. I was... It was weird."

"What happened to you?"

"Long story short, flowers are dangerous."

***

FIRST REQUEST IS COMPLETED (/ '3')/ YASSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssSSSSSSSssss