Hidden Messages [Klance AU]

20: Ignite the Fire

!!  WARNING: MENTION OF SELF-HARM  !! Stay safe ♡

Lance sat in his cell, tail bent up towards his chest. The silence was unbearable.

He began tapping a finger against the stone floor. A mer some cells away glanced up but then looked away.

Lance turned his attention to the cell across from him. The mer, or well, not-mer, had stayed in the same position ever since Lotor last threw him in there. Every time added a new bruise to his chest. He faced away from all the other mers, laying on his side, quiet. It was unnerving. His open chest moved up and down, sometimes faster and sometimes not. There were a few instances where Lance was worried he had died, only to see him still breathing seconds later.

Lance tried to talk to him at one point.

"Are, are you okay?" He asked the mysterious figure, his voice echoing through the otherwise silent prison. "I-I mean—! Of course you're not okay, being in prison and all, but what I meant was,  do you want to talk about it or something? I... okay... I suppose not. It was nice... talking to you." Lance trailed off. Of course he didn't want to talk. I'm sure no one in this place wants to talk with me. You're still just a nuisance, Lance told himself, even in prison. Kei— he probably isn't even sad that you're gone.

Lance squinted as his nails dug into his skin until blood mixed into the water. He looked to the bandage still around his tail. It had become loose in places. The mer unwrapped it, laying sight on the pinkish scars covering his scales. There was now a long scar across the side from his fight with Rolo. Lance clenched his teeth as he pulled off a scale, tracing the sharp edge along his tail. He added some force, beginning to add pressure.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Lance jumped and looked up for the location of the voice, dropping the scale he held. His eyes focused on a mer in the cell next to his. The first thing Lance noticed was how much larger they were than himself. If their tail wasn't cramped in a prison cell, the mer would have been twice his size. He was thin, but still muscular. His skin was a little lighter than Lance's, and his scales were a dark blue with hint of red sparkles. He was turned away from Lance so that the younger mer could only see one side of his face, the rest hidden in the shadows. His dark hair fell over his eyes, which glowed a faint amber. There were small scars covering his chest and tail, and one large one on his face that bent over his cheek and up above his pointed ear, into the mer's hairline.

"It doesn't feel as good as you think it would," the mer said through a toothy grin, "but if you want someone to talk to, I'm not going anywhere." He turned to face Lance, hooking an arm around one of the cell bars. Lance was silent, still staring at the mer.

"What? You didn't think people like me could be nice to you?" The merman smiled crookedly, a tooth poking out from his lips. Lance jumped up, removing his gaze from the mer.

"WhAt?! N-no! That's not it at all!" Lance stammered as his face reddened.

The older mer smirked, and eyebrow arched, "Ah, of course."

Lance faced away from the mer. His voice was deep but silvery, and Lance couldn't help but feel attracted to him. While trying to look away and stop embarrassing himself, his eyes landed on the mysterious person in the corner once again. The mer next to him seemed to notice.

"That guy's always been quiet," he assured, "Doesn't talk to anyone. We think he's depressed, y'know, from being stuck here." Lance turned back to the other mer.

"How long has he been here?"

"A year, maybe. It's hard to tell," the mer paused, and sighed, "We're all like that at first. Sad. Lonely. Regretful. But eventually we all become like a family, of a sort. We help each other to not be so lonely."