song: the fault in our stars by troye sivan moodboard:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
lance rarely got sick, but when he did, he got sick.
he was feeling symptoms of the flu for a while, but he didn't want to mention it to shiro, or anyone else on the team. the team depended on him. he couldn't let them down.
today, keith and lance were sent to a desert planet by shiro to pick up intel from inhabitants that might lead them to lotor. why shiro thought it was a good idea to send them together, lance didn't know.
"listen, let me do the talking, just please keep your mouth shut." keith said as they reached a large temple.
lance breathed heavily, summing up the strength to simply talk back. "y-you're gonna f-fuck it up, anyways..." he said, trailing off.
keith looked at him with a worried look, but quickly looked away to avoid lance seeing him worried. they walked up the stairs, lance falling behind as he continued up the staircase.
"lance, please, we don't have time for this-"
suddenly, lance collapsed on the staircase, cutting keith off as he fell to his hands and knees.
keith immediately dropped to his side. "lance, are you okay?" he asked, his voice frantic and worried.
"im fine!" lance snapped back, cursing himself for being so weak. "im fine. let's keep going." he said, standing up.
they reached the top, lance swaying as he stood. keith watched him nervously out of his peripheral vision while he talked to the leader of the tribe they had landed in.
once they had gotten the information they needed, they started back to the blue lion. lance had insisted on taking his lion because he was sure keith would crash his with lance inside, since he was such a bad pilot.
"lance, are you sure you can fly?" keith said, immediately shutting his mouth as he realized the worried and pained tone in which he spoke.
lance glared in his direction. "what makes you think i can't?" he said, hunching over, his face pale and sweaty.
"i don't know, lance, you look pretty sick-"
"i'm not sick!" he yelled, his frustration getting the best of him. why was he so weak? why couldn't he just keep himself together until they got back to the castle, where he could deal with this alone? "i'm perfectly fine. lance here never... h-he never gets... sick-" he said before promptly passing out on the grass.
"lance!" keith yelled, dropping to his knees next to lance's passed out body. before keith could even touch him, a large growling mechanical lion hovered over the two of them.
"blue," keith whispered. "she must have sensed lance passing out."
blue landed, opening the hatch for keith to carry lance inside the cockpit. keith set him down on the floor next to the seat while keith sat down, taking a hold of blue's control sticks.
"okay, blue, i know you don't know me very well, but..." he said, trailing off as he looked down at the passed out lance on the floor. he looked terrible; his usually bring skin was a dull pale, and his entire body was covered in a layer of sweat. suddenly, the lion's screens lit up, and keith could see out the windshield.
keith smiled. "let's take him home."
------------
lance was safe, for now. keith had gotten him safely back to the castle, and he had been ordered to stay in his room for as long as it would take for him to get better. coran had emphasized the importance of only using a cryopod when utterly necessary, or else the human body would stop healing.
it was around two in the morning, according to the constantly ticking clock in keith's room. he stared directly at his ceiling, desperately wishing unconsciousness would just take him already. suddenly, his comm went off. each room of the paladin's had a communication device that could contact other paladin's rooms for emergencies.
keith's was flashing blue, meaning lance was using his comm to contact keith. he jumped to his feet, grabbing a shirt and sliding it on. he made his way hurriedly down the large dark hallways until he reached lance's quarters.
the doors slid open, revealing a curled up lance groaning on the ground next to his bed. keith jumped to his side, placing a hand on his back.
"lance, are you okay?" he asked as lance continued to moan in pain. "god, we gotta get you to coran and allura-"
"no!" lance suddenly yelped, his face pained. "please, no. i don't want to worry them any more than i have."
keith looked down at lance, bewildered. "lance! you need help, you're in pain!" he pleaded. "why'd you call me?"
an/ just so everyone knows, i threw my phone against a wall because i had 500 more words written after this and they just magically FUCKIBF disappeared :-)))))))) so i had to rewrite it ALL.... because i love my 2 frequent readers so much..
"you're gonna laugh." lance said, looking away.
"no i'm not." keith said, placing a hand on lance's shoulder as he sat up, keith kneeling in front of him.
lance sighed. "i'm scared, keith. i've never been sick like this and usually when it gets bad mi mama would be here to take care of me." he said, his voice broken. "i mean god, keith, im seventeen! kids my age still have their mothers take care of them when they're sick, their mothers still bring them soup and shit and make sure they're okay, i don't get that anymore!" tears began to well up in his eyes as he continued to stare at his hands. "i don't get comfort anymore! i get either 'get in the cryopod' or 'get over it'! i miss being a kid, keith!" he said, tears silently slipping out onto his pale cheeks. "i miss my mother!"
"lance..." keith whispered, reaching up and wiping a tear away out of instinct. "lance, it's okay. please stop crying." he said, unsure on how to comfort him.
"i just want to go home, keith." lance said, leaning forward and letting his head rest against keith's collarbone. keith paused before wrapping his arms around lance's back, sitting down so lance could slide into his lap.
"i know, lance. being here, it's hard. it's scary and it doesn't feel like home. it's just going to be a while before it starts feeling like home again." keith said, rubbing lance's back.
"do you know why i called you, out of anyone else in this castle?" lance whispered into keith's shoulder.
keith let lance go a bit so he could see his face. lance avoided keith's eyes, but keith followed his gaze until lance was looking back at him. "why?"
lance played with his hands. "you're the only part of this place that feels like home." he whispered. "i don't know why, but it's true."
keith stared back for a moment, stunned by lance's response. "i'm glad i can be that person for you, lance." he said, taking lance's hand and squeezing it softly.
lance used his free hand to rid his eyes of tears and his forehead of sweat. keith noticed his hand was burning hot, but keith could feel him shivering.
"lance, i think you need some sleep." keith said, rubbing lance's hand with his thumb. "do you want me to stay?"
lance sighed. "i don't want to get you sick." he breathed, his consciousness fading.
keith shook his head. "nonsense. let's get you to bed before you pass out again." keith said, standing up and slowly helping lance stand as well.
keith laid down on the stiff mattress pad, his back facing the wall. lance followed him into the bed, taking his place in keith's arms, lance's face buried in his chest.
"hey keith?" lance whispered in the darkened room.
