Marks or masks

Food

Keith couldn't believe what he just heard.  Lance,  the cocky flirt with all the lame jokes,  calling himself pathetic?  Something as trivial as Pidge and Shiro saying some things. Something had been wrong for such a long time that he turned to self harm,  how had no one noticed.

Then it hit him. It was the mark.  That extravagant mark on the blue paladin's finger,  he's had to pretend to match it for his whole life.  He's been doing this for god knows how long. 

Hunk started walking out of the room with Lance in his arms,  Keith following suit.  It wasn't long before they saw Allura and Coran, the Alteans were very concerned about their friend.

"Hunk, what happened?" Allura gasped,  gesturing to a nearly unconscious Lance.  Hunk stole a glance at his friend,  looking solemn. "I'll explain later,  but for now,  we need to get him some food.  If the past is any indication,  then he hasn't eaten in awhile."

The others nodded as they followed Hunk to the kitchen.  The yellow paladin placed his friend down in a chair,  and the Cuban boy sat there, silently.

"Lance, buddy," Hunk started,  voice soft. "I know you don't feel good,  but you need to eat something." Lance looked up to his friend and responded only with, "Okay." In a broken and hoarse voice.

As Hunk went to work on the food, Keith explained all he knew to his Altean elders. They listened intently,  though they didn't understand it all, but they were trying.

"Oh dear..." Allura had her hands over her mouth in surprise and concern but the time Keith finished.  Out of what she understood,  two of the paladins had pushed Lance to the point where self harm was the only solution he saw,  and that just wouldn't do.

Paladins are supposed to bond,  and this... This is not bonding, she thought.

Eventually, Hunk brought a plate of food goo to Lance, smiling softly. "Go ahead and eat,  bud." Lance nodded and took a spoonful,  just staring at it for a bit,  before finally taking a bite.

And he immediately regretted it.

It turns out,  he hasn't eaten much of anything for a week,  at least,  so his stomach couldn't handle something that sat heavily in it.  The blue paladin quickly made his way to the trash can,  heaving his guts out.

In all honesty,  Hunk had expected this,  so he was already next to Lance,  rubbing calming circles on his back.  As for Allura and Coran,  they left before Lance had even started eating.  And Keith,  well,  he was just curious.  He wanted to understand why someone with an amazing life like Lance get all bent out of shape over something as trivial as a few comments. It may have been the mark but He felt it was something bigger. He just didn't get it.  But he was determined to understand, so he stayed.

And he would stay until the end if it meant he could understand.  Or maybe there was another reason.