Voltron had received a distress signal from a small planet out in the Zenith Quadrant and found a small colony being overrun by the Galra. The team had decided to split up. Shiro would distract the Galra ships with Keith while Hunk and Pidge would help the prisoners into the Lions with Lance to protect their backs.
It was a simple, easy, fool-proof plan.
Except that Pidge and Hunk had been so distracted with a pregnant alien, that they didn't see the Galra aiming at their backs. Except that Lance didn't hesitate to step in and take the hit. Except that when Pidge and Hunk asked if he was okay, Lance had lied.
"Lance! Did you get hit?!" Hunk's voice called out as he hoisted the alien higher in his arms. Pidge glanced up from the scanner on her arm, eyes roaming him for any signs of injury. Lance chuckled, glad that he had turned around to face them quickly.
"I'm fine guys! A little amazed at how fast I moved, but other than that I'm ready to protect this lovely damsel." He was quick to reassure them, shooting a wink at the alien lady. "You guys go ahead and head back to the Castle. I'm going to do one last sweep to make sure we got everyone."
After he had winked at the panting alien, Hunk and Pidge had groaned before continuing their task. Lance had stood in one place until they were out of sight and in their lions heading for the Castle before collapsing against the wall. Allura's voice had started shouting in his ear about why he wasn't with the rest of the team, and it took a quick press to the side of his helmet to turn the comm's off. A quick prod at his leg revealed the injury to be in the back of his knee.
"This way! The prisoners were heading towards the Lions!" Voices sounded from the next hallway down and Lance grimaced. If he was going to survive this, he had to be a quick shot – he already was an excellent shot, but sometimes accuracy gave way to speed.
As he was already at the intersection, it took no time for Lance to drag himself closer to the edge of the wall, bayard in hand. His leg screamed, fire lapping at his nerves with each inch, but Lance stayed quiet. His family was in danger, and that was something that Lance would never stand for.
The moment Lance caught a glimpse of purple he was shooting. Shouts rang out through the hallway and lasers made their way past Lance's face, inches away from making contact. He didn't flinch, didn't blink. Lance knew that if he did then he could miss a target, and that was something that couldn't happen. Blue was down that way, alone and unprotected. Granted, this was the only way to reach her, but that only meant that Lance was the last line of defense.
"He's getting tired! Push forward!"
A whine left Lance's lips at the shouted words, and he ducked back around to fire another round of shots. Three more bodies dropped and forms moved into doorways to fire at him from a distance.
"Where are you even coming from," Lance shouted as he shot another two figures in the head. "And why aren't you running out of people?!"
Lance pulled back once again, cursing when his shoulder brushed against the side of his helmet and reactivating the comm's.
"LANCE!" Hunk's voice was screaming his name and Lance winced. "Guys, I think he's back online!"
"Am, am I hearing firing?" This time it was Pidge's voice that came through, and Lance narrowed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
He did not have the time to turn the comm's back off. Every single ounce of his focus was on making sure that nothing got within fifty feet of him, and so far he was failing.
"Answer us dammit!" Keith growled out and Lance huffed a laugh. Of course Keith was angry with him. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole team was angry with him at that moment. He was holding them back once again.
"Lance, you have ten ticks to answer me or we're leaving without you." Allura spoke again, her voice hard and final. "I have to protect the prisoners and Shiro and Keith can only hold back the fleet so long. Stop playing around and get back to the Castle!"
Lance took a deep breath to prepare himself, swallowing hard. "I'm heading back to Blue now, but I'm injured. Can you take control of Blue and bring her back to the Castle for me? I can't really move my arm too much."
"How'd you get hurt? Is it bad? Will you need the pod?" Hunk's voice grew steadily faster, gaining pitch. It caused Lance's heart to ping. His best friend was so worried about him, and Lance would always remember that.
"Do you need me to go assist him?" This time it was Pidge, and her voice was steady. Lance's heart hurt even more. The younger girl was like a sister to him, and the two had bonded over their siblings. He hated the fact that he was about to leave her, that he was about to take away another brother.
"I'll be fine, I'm already secured in Blue." Lance flattened himself to the wall and let out a whimper of pain. "I just can't use any of the controls and I'm struggling to connect with her."
"Hang in there Lance, we'll have you on the way soon. Allura is going to warp us away and then once we're far enough away that Allura can let Coran step in, she's going to bring you back." Shiro's voice almost made Lance sob. The man had helped Lance with so much, and Lance wouldn't get to repay him.
There was a lot that Lance would be unable to do.
Metal scraping against metal echoed through the corridors, and Lance hit the button on his helmet that lowered the face mask. Shouts of alarm rang out in front of him, and he used the confusion to take down another ten Galra. Blue flooded into Lance's head, her voice filled with panic at the fact that she was taking off without her paladin.
Blackness clawed at the edge of Lance's vision, and he let his bayard fade back into its place in his armor.
"I love you guys." He whispered the words, unsure as to whether or not he was able to get them out.
"We'll see you soon, Lance," Shiro's voice was filled with fond amusement, and Lance smiled at the image it brought to mind of the man's smile. "You can tell us how much you love us then."
Alright!
So, this was not supposed to end with Lance dying. I actually had no idea where this came from! I was scrolling through the Lance tag on tumblr and this idea hit me out of nowhere! So, I started typing and about halfway through I started talking with TheRottenJas about how amazing our boy Lance is and how I could totally turn this into Lance getting praise from his boy Shiro and love from Keith...
And then this happened?
I have no idea how, but in like, thirty minutes Lance died with his last words being how much he loves his team. Shiro and Lance are the pairing here if you squint hard enough, and if you squint harder it's a Klance, and if you squint hardest it's a Shklance! XD
This is being posted in Ao3 and FFN.
Word Count without A/N: 1,179