The (fake)Shiro-and-Lance moments in this season just killed me. I wrote this the second I finished the season, because all I could think of was how much worse this particular scene could have ended and I just had to get it out of my system.
"So, you want us to fly you into the middle of a meeting with all of the most powerful Galra leaders?" Lance asked, quirking his eyebrows at Lotor.
"Lotor, we appreciate all that you've sacrificed, but this sounds far too dangerous," Allura said. She looked almost apologetic for rejecting Lotor's plan like this, but her tone was steady and confident.
"We've been in more dangerous situations with much less to gain," Shiro pointed out. "Putting Lotor on the Galra throne is what we've been discussing."
"Yeah, but no one told us that would mean flying into a war zone," Pidge muttered.
Allura frowned at Shiro. "We can't plan an operation this important so quickly!"
"We don't have a choice," Shiro replied.
Lance crossed his arms. "I'm with Allura," he said. "We need time to think this through."
Shiro snapped his head at the blue paladin's direction. "Lance, this is not your call," he said coldly.
Lance's eyes widened and he tried to say something, but any words he could think of got stuck in his throat. Shiro had never spoken to him like this. Sure, sometimes he would scold him for making a joke out of place, but that was always in a good spirit – never by simply dismissing Lance's opinion as if it was worth nothing. Shiro had always appreciated Lance's input during their group discussions; he had told him that himself, more than once.
Something was definitely off about with his leader today, Lance thought and felt his stomach churn, and not just because he was hurt by Shiro's words.
Shiro didn't seem to mind though as he turned back to Allura and kept talking as if nothing had happened. "Allura, the Coalition wouldn't be where it is right now without Lotor. We need to listen to him."
There was a moment of strained silence as all eyes in the room rested on the Galran prince. It was Pidge who finally broke it when she said, "Well, I'm with Allura too. This is too dangerous to pull off at the last minute."
"Agreed," Coran chimed in. "So, it looks like it's four-to-two, in the princess's favor."
Shiro scowled, looking more annoyed with every passing second. "Look, this isn't a vote," he said in a low voice. "I'm the leader of Voltron; I'm making this decision."
"Like when you armed Lotor with your bayard without consulting the rest of us?" Allura retorted, taking half a step forward.
"That's right," Shiro said, unmoved by the princess's glare. "Making that decision resulted in the removal of Zarkon."
"You put the entire operation in jeopardy!" Allura called, tone rising with each word.
"I put an end to Zarkon's reign!" Shiro snapped with no less heat. "Now is the time to finish the job!"
It was then that Lance decided it was enough. He stepped forward, positioning himself between the princess and his leader, who looked both ready to grab each other's throats at any second. "Shiro," he said in the most soothing voice he could manage, "We're all on the same side here - "
"I told you to stay out of this!" Shiro roared, his Galra arm glowing dangerously. Lance barely had the time to realize what was going on before a flash of purple light filled his field of vision and something hard and heavy collided with his chest, sending waves of fire through his entire torso. A scream was caught in his throat as he practically flew across the bridge, stopping only when his back slammed against one of the consoles. His body slumped to the floor like a rag doll, and for a few seconds he didn't even know where he was because everything was just a big, hot flame of pain.
"Lance!" several voices were shouting his name – he couldn't tell to whom they belonged – and he felt two pairs of hands resting on his shoulders in an instant, steadying him, trying to ground him back to reality.
"Lance, my boy, can you hear me?" An accented voice asked from somewhere. Coran. Lance turned his head to the right and caught sight of the advisor's face, so pale and worried he couldn't remember when he had ever seen him like that.
"Oh my gosh, Lance," that voice belonged to Hunk, and Lance didn't have to look to the other side to know his friend was crying. He tried to say something to comfort him, to assure him he was okay, but his tongue was still paralyzed with shock.
Did Shiro just… hurt him? On purpose?
"I need you to sit up for me, Lance, if you can," Coran again. Something in Lance's pain-flooded brain told him that the fact the older man was repeatedly using his first name was not a good sign, so he gritted his teeth and ever so slowly pulled himself to a sitting position, hissing as the movement jostled his aching ribs. But Hunk and Coran's hands were strong and supportive and eventually he managed to lean back on the console, panting as he fought to stay conscious. He couldn't black out now. He had to understand first. He had to know why.
"That's it, lad, just keep breathing, nice and slow," Coran encouraged, rubbing Lance's shoulder gently, and even in his dazed state Lance did not miss the way his fingers shook.
"Lance…" Lance froze at the sound of Shiro's voice. It took him a few seconds of inner struggle, but he raised his gaze nonetheless and looked directly at the black paladin, who was standing just a few feet ahead of him.
Shiro didn't look angry anymore. He looked terrified. His face was even paler then Coran's, eyes wide and staring at Lance in disbelief. Then his gaze trailed down to his Galra arm and he flinched violently, even though it was no longer activated.
"I…" he started, but his mouth remained hung open after this one word, eyes darting once more between Lance and his right arm as if he was unable to make the connection between the two.
Luckily, Pidge was there to break the silence again.
"What is wrong with you?!" She screamed, standing in front of Lance with her arms wide open as if she was trying to shield him. "I mean, we get it, you're pissed – although god only knows why – but that's not an excuse to do what you just did!"
"I… I didn't mean to…" Shiro stammered, but Pidge cut him off almost instantly.
"You didn't mean to what? To hit your own teammate?! Your own friend?!"she yelled, going very red in the face. "We are all on the same side, in case you forgot! In fact, Lance was trying to remind you just that before you fucking punched him in the ribs!"
"Pidge is absolutely right," Allura said and stepped next to the green paladin, her own face flushed with rage. "You may be the leader of this team, Shiro, but being a leader does not mean you can act like a tyrant; we all have a say when it comes to such crucial decisions, and even if you disagree with us, this doesn't give you the right to use violence of any kind." Her eyes hardened. "This is not a behavior I would expect from a paladin of Voltron."
Shiro tried to speak again, but all he managed was a weird choking noise before his mouth tightened to a thin line, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
Lance had to admit, seeing Shiro at such a loss of words was no less alarming than the tantrum he threw barely a minute ago.
Suddenly Shiro hissed in pain and brought his human hand to his temple, squinting his eyes shut.
"Shiro?" Allura asked, the fury in her voice now replaced with concern.
But Shiro only whimpered at the sound of her voice, and before anyone could say another word he turned sharply in his place and ran out of the room, still clutching the side of his head as if it was about to split open.
The doors slid shut after him and everyone simply stared at them for a long minute.
"What was that?" Hunk whispered eventually.
"I have no idea," Allura said shakily.
"It doesn't matter," Pidge growled, although she seemed pretty shaken as well. "No matter what's going on with him, nothing gives him the right to treat us like that."
"Well, this is all very unfortunate indeed," Lotor said all of a sudden, making everyone jump in their places – they nearly forgot he was there. He was leaning against one of the walls, watching them wearily. "But while you all waste time squabbling, sinister forces are conspiring to fill the Galra power void. If I do not return to claim the throne, there is no telling who will."
"We are well aware of that," Allura said, her tone as regal as always despite the hint of exasperation. "But we still need some time to settle things between us and plan this properly."
Lotor huffed out a breath. "Very well. Settle whatever you need to settle. But I expect a final answer in the next few vargas; we truly have no time to waste."
And with that, he turned to exit the room, his robe rustling behind him as he passed through the sliding doors.
Allura allowed her shoulders to drop once Lotor was gone. "I am deeply sorry, Lance," she said with a sorrowful sigh. "I… I'm not sure what has gotten into Shiro today. He is not like himself at all."
"Don't blame yourself, Allura," Lance said, managing a small smile which Allura hesitantly returned.
Suddenly Pidge was crouching in front of him, her face very close to his as she inspected him through red-rimmed eyes. "Are you okay?" she demanded, her lower lip quivering.
"I'll be fine," Lance said softly and placed one palm on the girl's knee. "Thank for standing up for me, Pidge."
Pidge sniffled, although her eyes were burning with determination. "I'll always stand up for you," she said tightly, squeezing his palm so hard it actually hurt a bit, but Lance didn't mind.
"Do you think you can walk?" Hunk asked carefully. "We should really get you to the infirmary now."
Lance groaned. "Is it really necessary? I'm fine. I mean," he quickly added as he caught the others' doubtful glares, "Yeah, my ribs hurt and all, but I don't think anything's broken. I just probably need some rest, that's all." He really didn't want to go into a pod right now – not when there were so many thoughts and questions running through his mind.
"We still need to check to be sure," Coran said solemnly. "You got hit by Galran metal while not wearing any armor; this is not the kind of injury we can take lightly."
Lance sighed, unable to actually argue with that. "Fine," he muttered and let Hunk and Coran help him to a stand, trying not to grimace too hard at the ordeal.
To his immense relief, a short round of tests indicated that everything has indeed remained unbroken; he did earn a nasty bruise – which stretched across his entire chest and already started to turn dark yellow around the edges – but nothing bad enough to justify a trip to the pod. Coran handed him a small jar of Altean ointment to numb some of the pain, and applied a thick layer of it over his chest and back before Hunk stepped in to help Lance put his shirt back on.
"Hey, are you going to talk to Shiro about this?" Hunk asked quietly as Lance shoved his arm into one of the sleeves, trying his best to hold back a grunt. "I mean, obviously he's the one who should come to you first, but I just can't think of anything he can say to make things right."
"That's okay," Lance said absently, staring at the wall in front of him. "After all, I'm not really mad at Shiro."
Hunk's jaw dropped. "You're not - ? But – after what he just did – how?"
Lance closed his eyes for a long moment. He felt completely drained of energy, but at the same time his mind felt clearer and sharper than it has ever been.
He took a deep breath and released it slowly before opening his eyes again, looking at Hunk with a serious gaze.
"Because this isn't Shiro."