Devil's Advocate (Voltron: Legendary Defender Fanfic/ONC Entry)

An End of Sorts

Lance's eyes snapped open and he let out a deep breath. His eyes drifted over to the clock which allowed him to see the time and date. His blue eyes widened at seeing today was, in fact, the day after Keith retrieved Allura. The sound of his own voice as he lay in his room was honestly a relief. "Thank goodness it was just a nightmare."

He sat up and changes into his uniform before heading to the restroom so he might freshen up. The sight of his face in the mirror made him freeze. The bright blue Altean markings under his eye were in fact gone, yet Lance knew they were there the day before. He swallowed knowing full well he'd said he would let Allura go, but the fact he did was still sinking in.

Letting out a deep sigh, Lance headed out of the bathroom and headed towards the infirmary, but found himself stopping near the atrium where he heard Hunk's voice. "So, Allura really has woken up?"

"Yes." Coran let out a deep breath while Lance watched from a distance. He saw Coran, Hunk, and Pidge standing there, but none noticed him while he stood by one of the doorways leading into the atrium of the Atlas. "Before falling back to sleep she said she woke up from a nightmare, but she doesn't remember any of it."

"She's lucky." Pidge piped up. "It was horrible."

Lance ducked behind a wall and continued listening, but his hands clenched at the thought everyone had experienced what he had. Hunk's voice twisted in worry. "Is it normal for the victims of what made Allura sick not to remember?"

"It's part of the soul sickness, but she is likely to relapse if whatever had a hold on her still does."

Lance reached up for his cheek where the Altean marks once were before closing his eyes. For some reason, he knew what Coran meant, but Pidge verbalized what he thought. "You mean Lance?"

"I'm afraid I do."

"You aren't worried he'll go and see her when he wakes up?" Hunk asked.

"Keith is with her, though he did look very tired. I don't think he's fully recovered from trying to find the princess, but there is no telling what he went through in the dream."

Lance let out a deep breath and quickened his step to the infirmary. He found himself glad he passed by the doorway so none of the three talking in the atrium could speak to him regarding the matter, but he froze when he heard the voice of James Griffin. "You!"

Lance looked up and saw James glaring at him in anger, but he drew in his breath. The other MFE pilots were with him, but they quickly pulled him away. Lance let out a deep breath knowing quite a few people weren't happy with him, yet he found himself glad that...

He didn't know if he could fix things. He arrived at the infirmary and took a deep breath. He knew he'd not been invited in, yet he needed to do what he needed to do. He stepped in through the door.

The sound the door made when opening drew Keith's attention. "Oh, it's you." Lance opened his mouth so he might apologize to Keith as his eyes took in Allura lying in the bed looking at the wall. Keith quickly stood and said, "I'll let you guys be."

"W..."

The look of pain in Keith's eyes made Lance swallow. "I get it. She's your girlfriend. You don't have to tell me that."

Keith quickly slipped from the room leaving Lance and Allura. Lance swallowed. "Allura, we need to talk."

"I'm not..." Allura's voice tightened.

Lance took a deep breath before walking over and taking the seat Keith once occupied. "You don't feel up to talking?"

"I'm not in love with you. I never was."

The words stung. Lance glanced down at his feet and gripped his pants with his hand while his mouth twisted slightly. He took a deep breath and thought carefully about what to say. "I know. That's actually what we need to talk about."

"What is there to talk about?" Allura turned her head to look at Lance.

"If you didn't love me, even like me, why did you go out with me?"

"Why?" Allura lifted herself up and pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Just be truthful with me."

Allura looked at the foot of the bed. "I wasn't given the chance to say no, but I know from the Space Mice you were trying to change and become a better person. I felt guilty."

"For not reciprocating how I felt?" Lance knew he was the one who should feel guilty.

"And then your mother said..." Allura closed her eyes. Lance knew she was talking about the fact his mother said he wasn't a ladies' man despite the fact he had constantly flirted with girls, but it wasn't fair that was presented as simply an act. "Romelle said..."

"What did Romelle say?'

"That it was inappropriate to say no after I said yes. That I should give you a chance because that was only fair."

"I wasn't your first choice, was I."

Allura swallowed. "I know I was dumb for choosing Lotor, for falling for him..."

"He wasn't your first choice either."

Allura looked at him in horror. "What are you talking about?"

"Keith was. You know, when I said I understood what it was like to have someone I care about hurting, he instead asked you what you wanted to do. He put your feelings first."

"Does it matter? He doesn't reciprocate my feelings."

Lance sighed. "Yes, he does."

Allura glared at Lance. "He doesn't. I know he doesn't."

"Why?" Lance, of course, knew the answer.

"I confessed to him."

Lance swallowed and tightened his grip on his pants. "Allura, how did you feel when I confessed to you and said I would be your family."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Keith told me you told him he was family."

Allura looked at him as if she didn't believe him. "That's not what I said. I said..." She swallowed. "Don't compare your confession to mine."

"Still, how did it feel?" Lance couldn't believe he was trying to play matchmaker for the person he'd always thought of as his rival.

"It felt horrible. It felt as if I were having to settle. I felt as if the only way to keep the family I'd gained was by being in a relationship with you."

"What do you mean by the family you gained?"

"I.." Allura turned her head away. "All of you paladins. Every single one of you have your family and would leave."

"Did you say anything about us being family to Keith?"

Allura looked up. "Of course. I did when I confessed. That's how I started my confession, but I told him I was avoiding my feelings for him by lashing out at the fact he was Galra and I wanted him to come back."

"Yeah, but did you outright say you had these feelings or was it implied?"

"What does it matter?"

"What does..." Lance let out a deep breath. "This is Keith we're talking about. He doesn't always get what people mean and it's infuriating. He really does like you."

"I don't believe you."

"I honestly don't blame you. I wasn't honest with myself." Lance swallowed. "I'm sorry I treated you as if you were a prize, but I'm sorry I let my jealousy of Keith get the better of me. I know you won't believe me when I say this, but I'm going to fix things. I don't know how, but I will."