Back on Earth, there lived creatures who spent their lives underwater. One was called merpeople, while the other was called sirens.
Merpeople were known for their bright and vibrant eyes, which easily matched their friendly and mellow personalities. They had the ability to shift from mer form to human form, their tails switching from a beautiful tail to a pair of human legs. They loved to go on land and mingle with the humans. Some even chose to live a life among them. It was an arrangement that the humans learned to accept and live with.
On the other hand, sirens were the opposite. They were hated and feared, the exact opposite of their cousins. Instead of having bright and vibrant eyes, theirs were pitch black. It's said that if you were close enough to see them, it would already be too late for you to be saved. They were like black holes that sucked you in without you even knowing. With voices more beautiful than anything anyone has even heard, they captivate their prey and make them unable to move. This made it easy for them to approach and slit their victim's throat. And just like the Merpeople, they had the ability to shift into a human form. They used this to continue killing, even on land. They were nothing but cold blooded killers.
Merpeople were good and sirens were bad.
At least, that's what they were taught.
"Man, it feels so cool to have a merman and an alien on board," Hunk said, dropping down and stretching his arms over the back of the couch. The rest of the paladins made sounds of agreement— except Keith, who simply complained that he was not an alien— and sat down on their own personal spots.
Lance smiled, happy that they managed to free another planet from Zarkon's rule. Another planet freed was another step closer to saving the universe and going home.
Oh, how he missed it back there. After his encounter with those mer-like people, his homesickness had only gotten worse. He missed the incessant chatter of his siblings, and his mother's home cooking. He missed wrestling with his brothers, and braiding his sisters' hair. He missed swimming in the ocean and exploring new reefs with his friends. And most of all, he missed singing. He missed the way his body would pulse with energy as the vibrations shook his very being. He missed the way people would light up after hearing his songs, and the way they would always come back for more.
He missed a lot, and as much as he loved the team, he couldn't wait to go back home. He couldn't be himself here. At least, not completely. A part of him would always have to remain concealed— hidden from everyone else in fear that they would treat him differently. He was already a liability as is. He didn't need to make his situation any worse than it already was.
He sighed, resting his head on his hand. "Do you guys ever miss home?" he asked, trying to shift his thoughts away from where they were heading.
Shiro nodded as Pidge stopped tinkering with her gauntlet. "I do, but I need to get my dad and brother back first," she said, sighing. Shiro nudged her, assuring her that she'd find them.
"I don't think I have one to return to," Keith shrugged.
Lance felt a bit guilty hearing this. He knew that Keith had lost his father at a young age, and just recently found out that he had galra blood running in his veins. He was also stressed over the fact that Allura hated him for it. He was just as lost as Lance was homesick, and that got him kicked out of the Garrison. He wanted to say something, but didn't know which words to say. It seemed like everyone else felt the same; no one said anything.
It was silent for a while before Hunk decided to answer, clearing his throat to get their attention, "I miss all the Earth food, but I guess the food out here isn't too bad." Everyone laughed at that, and even Shiro let out a small chuckle. They knew Hunk would eat anything as long as it was labelled "food."
"I guess the ladies aren't too bad either," Lance winked, giving the others his signature smirk. Keith rolled his eyes, while the rest simply shook their heads with amusement. The blue paladin snickered, as amused as he always was with their reactions, but the amusement died down after a short while, and Lance returned to thinking about his family. He shifted to rest his head on Hunk's lap, sighing.
"As beautiful as they may be, I still miss everything back at home," he murmured.
"You lived in the ocean, right?" Pidge asked. It was more of a statement than a question.
Lance nodded, "I miss swimming around and exploring the ocean with my friends. Heck, I even miss getting headlocked by my brothers and playing dress up with my sisters."
"Don't worry, Lance. Just a bit more, and we'll be able to go home," Shiro assured him.
The brunette cracked a smile and hummed in agreement, feeling the energy returning to him. Sitting up, he cheered, "Let's go kick some galra ass!" The rest of the team cheered, motivation pumping in their system.
With every planet they had helped, Allura grew less and less hostile towards Keith. In fact, she'd even told Coran and the other paladins that she felt guilty and ashamed of how she had been acting. She had asked for their cooperation, and together, they arranged a small party in order for the princess to properly apologize to the red paladin.
"It doesn't matter what you are," she'd said, "You are still the Keith that we all know and love."
After that whole ordeal, it felt as if the team had gotten even closer than they'd been before. They were more than just a team now— they were a family.
The word struck a chord in Lance, and he remembered that he was hiding something from them. Unlike before, where he'd firmly chosen not to tell anyone, he was considering it now. "Maybe I could tell them," he thought, watching everyone bickering around him. They'd accepted Pidge when she told them that she was actually a girl, and accepted him as a merman. They'd even accepted the fact that Keith was part galra, although it had taken some time for Allura to do so. Surely, they'd accept Lance when he came out with the truth, right?
"Yes, of course they will," he thought.
He made up his mind. They were a family now. He could trust them.
"Hey, guys?" Lance spoke up, getting everyone's attention. They all looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to say something.
"I-I have something I need to tell you," his voice shook involuntarily. Although he'd already steeled himself to tell them, it was still nerve wracking to actually say it. He wouldn't go back on it, though. He wanted— no, needed to tell them.
Keith noticed that he was shaking and approached him. He put his hands on his shoulders, looking at him straight in the eye.
Over the past few weeks, the two of them had been getting along quite well. If Lance was being honest, he'd say that he felt the most comfortable around the red paladin. He understood how hard things were for Keith, and it made him feel comfortable knowing that he wasn't the only one carrying a heavy load.
Looking into blue-gray eyes, Lance steadied his breathing and calmed himself. He felt like it was only the two of them in the room, which made it easier for him to tell the truth. "If it's Keith, he'd surely accept me," he thought, "Even if the others don't."
"What is it, Lance?" Keith asked. Lance could see the concern in his eyes, which only further fueled his drive.
Taking a deep breath, the blue paladin said, "I'm not a merman." His voice was barely audible, but in the silence of the room, everyone heard it. They looked at him, surprised.
"You're not?" Coran said incredulously. The others shared disbelieving looks before turning back to him. With the possibility of Lance being a merman ruled out, most of them already had a clear idea of what he was. It was just… hard for them to believe.
"Then… What are you?" Pidge asked carefully. The others watched, hoping that it wasn't true. It couldn't be. Lance was nothing like them.
"I-I…" he stuttered, his confidence depleting as he saw their expressions. Each one of them held different emotions— emotions that Lance couldn't quite figure out. One thing was for certain, though, and that was that they couldn't accept what he was. They didn't want to believe it. They were hoping that he was something else. It sent bullets into his heart.
He looked at Keith, desperately hoping that at least he would understand. He didn't. His eyes held the same pain that he saw in the others. The grip on his shoulders tightened until it began to hurt. Lance said nothing as his eyes started to sting with tears. Squeezing his eyes shut, he knew that it was too late to turn back. He couldn't erase what he'd just said, and the only option left was to lay everything out in the open and pray that everything would turn out okay. He was shaking again, and even the iron grip on his shoulders couldn't stop it.
"I'm a siren."
If it was even possible, the room seemed to grow quieter. It was so quiet that Lance was sure that everyone could hear his heart shattering. Tears started spilling out, dripping down his chin before he could even register the fact that he was crying. He kept his eyes shut, too scared to see the expressions on his teammate's faces. He'd disappointed them yet again. It was all he ever seemed to do, and all he was ever good at.
Keith's grip on his shoulders tightened for a few moments before it was gone. Lance was sure that he'd get bruises from them later, but he much prefered to feel the pain over the cold, empty feeling that washed over him. He regretted telling them. He should have stuck to his resolve and never told them. No, he should have never become a part of this team. He was just one big screw up who couldn't do anything but disappoint everyone. He didn't deserve to be here. He didn't deserve to pilot the blue lion. He didn't even deserve to live. He should just disappear. That would be better for everyone. They could easily find someone else to pilot the blue lion, anyway. They didn't need him, they just pitied him.
His thoughts screamed at him. They were loud— so loud— and they were making the idea of ending his life sound very appealing. They almost drowned out everything that was happening around him. Almost.
The rest of the team had been silent, watching as Lance cried.
They couldn't believe it. They had been living with a siren this whole time. They had been living with a cold blooded murderer, and they didn't even know. If he wanted to, he could have wiped them all out with a simple song. Hell, he could even be working with Zarkon. It wasn't unlikely for people to conspire with him for a reward. With his abilities, it would be easy for the galra to get their hands on the lions. Maybe they were just having fun watching them struggle before they used him to destroy absolutely everything that they've been working for— to get their hands on Voltron and destroy all forms of resistance.
The thought of this made them angry. They were livid— nothing but anger filling up their heads.
"You traitor!" Keith screamed. He was the first to burst, being the most temperamental among them. He raised a hand and brought it down on Lance's cheek with a force so strong, the sound of skin on skin echoed around the room for seconds, and maybe even minutes.
It was almost like a bomb. Seconds passed before everyone else joined in. They yelled, calling him a traitor, a murderer, and a good for nothing.
"Did you enjoy watching us struggle? Did you enjoy watching countless people die for our meaningless cause?" Shiro.
"Is this why you were always messing around?" Coran.
"Were you always doing a half-assed job at everything just so the galra would have the upper hand?" Allura.
"I never should have trusted you, you murderer!" Hunk.
Each word was a dagger to his heart, and Lance couldn't do anything but take it all. The stinging in his cheek was nothing compared to the pain his chest. He felt his eyes overflowing with tears, so much that he couldn't see anything but the blurred silhouettes of his teammates. He felt sobs rising from his chest, but he tried his best to keep them down. He didn't need to look even more pathetic in front of them. Just crying was enough.
It hurt that the people who he'd grown to trust— the people who he thought could accept him for who he was— couldn't see him as anything but their notion of a siren. It hurt that they were finally voicing out their true feelings, instead of the way they would usually encourage him to do better. It hurt that they thought his best wasn't enough, that they thought he was just joking around all the time. It hurt that they thought he was a murderer, and that they thought he was working with Zarkon. It hurt so much that all the time they spent together accounted to just this. They couldn't trust him and they couldn't accept him just because he was a siren.
He tried to defend himself— to defend his place on the team, but they wouldn't hear it. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, they would throw another insult at him. Every time they did, he had to hold back a sob.
"I'm not dangerous," he wanted to say, but the the hurtful insults and angry looks were louder and his voice died in his throat. It was too much. He should have known that no one but his family would accept him for who he was. People grew up with the belief that merpeople were good, and sirens were bad. He knew how strongly they loathed sirens and yet, he'd chosen to reveal himself to these people. Now, he knew that no one would ever accept him completely. He knew that no matter where he went, he would always have to hide a part of him. He could never completely be himself.
Everything went quiet as the castle alarms went off, the lights dying everything in red. The team shot Lance one last hateful glance before running to their positions. The blue paladin allowed himself to release one, strangled cry before he got up and followed the other paladins. He wiped his tears in an attempt to stop himself from crying, but it proved to be useless as the tears continued to flow. He let them.
Once inside the blue lion, Lance couldn't help but sob. Not wanting to distract the others, he disconnected his line. He sat there, sobbing as he tried to control his lion. It was difficult to do with his hands shaking so badly. He could barely even grip the gear shift without his hand slipping. He could hear Shiro and the others yelling at him, telling him to start moving, but he couldn't. All he could do was sit there and think about how useless he was. He couldn't even put his emotions aside to handle an emergency.
"Lance, you fucking traitor, are you not going to help us?" he heard Keith yell.
It was different from his usual, playful comments. He could hear the animosity in his tone, and it only made him cry harder. He could feel Blue trying to comfort him in the back of his mind, but Lance couldn't help feeling like everything was falling apart. "I'm sorry, Blue," he said, in between his sobs. His lion soothed him and started to act on its own, moving to avoid blasts and returning a few of her own, all the while continuing to comfort her paladin. Instead of making him feel better, though, it made him worse. She didn't even need to be piloted. Even the lion didn't need him.
His thoughts were growing loud again— so loud that he almost couldn't hear Shiro yelling at him to get it together. The enemy was approaching, getting closer and closer. They needed to form Voltron, and they needed Lance to focus. And he tried. He tried to focus, telling himself that he needed to take down the enemy first. But even as he focused, they still couldn't form Voltron.
Through blurred eyes, Lance saw the robeast approaching. "Brace yourselves," he heard Shiro say. He saw the other lions move to evade it, and they were successful… At least, most of them were.
"Keith!" Lance couldn't help but call out.
The paladins gasped as they saw the red lion collide with the robeast.
He instinctively took control of his lion and piloted it to follow after the falling lion. The red lion was powerless, the glow in its eyes gone, just like every other time the lions stopped functioning. It was falling towards the surface of the planet, and Lance was desperate to stop it. The red paladin could suffer fatal injuries if he collided with the surface at that speed. He pushed his lion to go faster so that he could catch up to Keith and save him.
"Come on," he muttered, keeping his eye on the lion.
But just as he was starting to get closer, a streak of black passed by him. It was the black lion, effortlessly stopping the red lion from falling just seconds before it crashed into the surface. Yet again, Lance was proved to be useless.
"Get back, Lance!" Shiro yelled. It wasn't a warning. He was simply telling him to go away. The tears that were just starting to dry returned, wetting his cheeks even more than before.
Once again, his thoughts screamed at him, telling him that he was useless. He thought back on what the others yelled at him back in the castle. That he was a traitor. That he was a murderer. That he was never doing his best. That he didn't deserve to be on the team. That he didn't deserve to pilot the blue lion. He cried even harder, screaming. If he was so useless, then he might as well just disappear and be gone out of their life. Lucky for him, there was an opportunity right in front of him.
He grabbed the controls, turning around and heading straight for the robeast. Activating his bayard, he screamed for the others to get out as he started shooting at it. Powerful blue beams erupted from his weapon, each one hitting the robeast head on. Every time it tried to evade, another would hit it. Every time it tried to attack, another would counter. The sonic blast from the blue lion disrupted its functions, rendering it immobile. Lance took this as a chance to attack, his gun charging up for an extra powerful blast as he rushed towards it it.
Pidge and Hunk were amazed. They'd never seen Lance or the blue lion do anything like this. He was taking on a freaking robeast by himself! They didn't even know the blue lion had that much power, and it made them wonder if their lions could do the same.
Lance made it look like an art. It looked beautiful, like a carefully choreographed dance— a beautiful but deadly dance. They didn't dare go near it. They were too entranced, captivated by the way the blue lion maneuvered herself. And by the time they returned to their senses, it was already too late. The blue lion was colliding with the robeast, her gun releasing a beam that looked as powerful as what the castle could release.
"Lance!" Pidge yelled, watching as the robeast erupted in an explosion. Shocked, she barely noticed the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.
No, Lance couldn't die just yet. There were still so many things she needed to ask him, so many things she still wanted to know, and so many things she still wanted to experience together. She wondered if he did it because the others were angry at him. Maybe she should have stood up for him instead of getting lost in her own little world. Maybe she should have done something to help them accept him. After all, siren or not, he was still Lance. He couldn't have possibly been working with Zarkon; she knew for a fact how hard he'd worked just to meet their expectations.
Lance was someone who was aware of his own shortcomings, and worked hard to improve. He was someone who would never stop trying, no matter how hard it was. He was someone who noticed when someone was feeling down, and lightened up the mood when it was getting too heavy. Although he kept his problems to himself, he always came out stronger. He couldn't go down just yet. At least, not like this.
Coming back to her senses, Pidge piloted her lion towards the cloud of smoke that hid the remains of the robeast and the blue lion. Carefully navigating through the debris, she managed to catch sight of the blue lion, simply floating among the remains of their enemy.
"Lance!" she exclaimed, "Lance, can you hear me?"
Approaching the blue lion, she saw that it wasn't functioning. Her heart stopped. She started calling out to him more desperately. He was unresponsive. Her anxiety grew about ten times worse. Once she was close enough, she made her way out of her lion and moved to get inside blue.
She heard Shiro's voice through her helmet, "Pidge, Hunk, I need you here. Keith isn't doing so good." She heard Hunk respond, but was too focused on getting into the blue lion to respond.
"Pidge?" Shiro called out.
"Y-Yeah, I'll be there in a sec," she replied, managing to slip into the hatch on the head of the lion. Landing in the control room, she heard someone crying. "He's alive," she thought, relieved. She was worried about him, though, and carefully approached the pilot's seat. She found him curled up in his seat, his face buried in his hands. She looked around and saw that his helmet had been thrown across the room.
"Lance?" she called out, kneeling down beside the blue paladin. He didn't notice her as he continued to sob, his hands on his face. She put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. Unfortunately, he was too far gone to notice anything else.
His thoughts were even louder now. They were deafening, and he wanted to rip his ears out, if it meant that he wouldn't have to hear anything anymore. They told him that he was even a failure at killing himself. He couldn't do anything right, and he never would. No one needed him, they just pitied him.
"Why didn't I just die?" he gasped out, and Pidge felt her heart ache. It pained her to know that he really was trying to kill himself back then. She wanted to help ease his pain, even if only a little. Couldn't she do at least that much?
"Lance, look at me," she said, louder and firmer. When the paladin didn't react, she used both hands to force him to look at her. She looked at dark blue eyes that refused to meet hers. He asked himself why she was there. Why was she beside him when she should have been with Shiro and the others. Trying to save him was a waste of time. He was a failure. He couldn't do anything right. He couldn't even kill himself successfully.
"Lance, please," she pleaded, feeling tears of her own start to prick her eyes. Lance half heartedly brought his gaze to hers, although his vision was blurred with tears that never seemed to stop. Relief washed over her small frame. He was responding, and that was a good thing.
"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"What do you mean? We need go back to the others, Lance," she replied.
"You're wasting your time," he croaked out, "The others don't need me."
"But I do."
Lance looked at her, confused. Why would she need someone like him?
"I know that you're not dangerous, and I know what you can do, Lance."
She knew? She knew the truth?
He began blinking away his tears, beginning to feel hopeful that maybe someone had finally accepted him for who he was. He tried his best not to, because everything had ended badly the last time that he did. But seeing Pidge and her expression, he couldn't help but ask, "You don't hate me?"
Pidge smiled, giving his head a light tap, "Of course not, you idiot."
Upon hearing those words, Lance felt even more tears. He was… happy. Happy that even if the others didn't accept him, and even if Keith, the person he trusted the most, didn't accept him, there was someone who did. Someone whom he could be completely himself around. Someone who didn't hate him just because he was a siren. Unable to contain his joy, he let out a shaky laugh and hugged Pidge.
The green paladin was surprised, but was glad nonetheless. She'd managed to get a smile, and even a little laugh from him. Relaxing into his embrace, she pat him on the back and smiled into his shoulder. It was a happy moment, and she felt closer to Lance than she ever was. Usually, there would be this wall around him, keeping him a certain distance from the rest. But right now, it wasn't there. Pidge could feel it, and it made her happy that he was finally able to be himself.
Shiro's voice brought her back to reality, telling her to hurry up. "Keith isn't going to last long," he said, "The collision with the robeast injured him pretty badly. We need all the help we can get."
Her worry coming back, Pidge pulled away from the hug. Lance could see the worry in her eyes, so he wiped away his remaining tears and sniffled. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice still hoarse, although he felt better than he had been the past few hours.
She contemplated on telling him, but knew that the only one who could save Keith was Lance. She didn't have a choice if she wanted to save him. She just hoped that Lance could find it in himself to save someone who had hurt him. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the worst case scenario.
"Lance, it's Keith."
At the mention of the red paladin, Lance froze. He was still hurt over everything that had happened, and he wasn't sure if he could face him or anyone else. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel worried. Was he okay? He wasn't injured, was he? Shiro had stopped his fall, so he should have been fine. Maybe he was already gone— Oh God, he didn't even want to consider that.
No matter how hurt he was, he couldn't bring himself to wish them dead. They were still important to him, and he would love them no matter what happened. He didn't blame them for rejecting him, either. It was only normal for them to hate him. He was a siren, after all.
"Wh-What about Keith?" he asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking. He dreaded what Pidge was about to say. Based on her expression, he knew it wouldn't be good. Millions of scenarios ran through his mind, and he knew he wouldn't be prepared for the worst.
"H-He needs your help," she said, "We need to hurry."
Looking into her eyes, he understood what was happening. He was relieved that Keith was still alive, but what worried him was how long he had left. They needed to move quickly. They both exited the lion, and entered the green one. Towing the lifeless lion behind them, Pidge quickly maneuvered towards the location of the others. On the way there, she filled Lance in on the details, telling him that Keith didn't have long, and that he was going to have to use his song.
It scared Lance. He knew that the others hated him, and feared that his song would only bring them harm. He was scared that they wouldn't let him help Keith, and that he would die if he and Pidge weren't able to convince them. What if they chose to kill him instead? Of course, he wouldn't mind dying, but he was afraid of what would happen to Keith. They could afford to lose Lance, but not Keith.
Pidge assured him that they could do it, but that didn't stop him from worrying.
By the time they'd arrived they'd arrived, Shiro and Hunk were huddled up over Keith, who was laying in the former's arms. He looked worse than what Lance had imagined, blood staining most of his clothes and open wounds all over his body. It pained him to see his best friend like this, and he desperately wished that he could save him.
"Why is Lance with you?" Shiro asked once he'd noticed the two of them.
Lance felt his heart throb in pain. He was clearly unwanted, but he knew that he was the only one who could save Keith. He was determined to do so, and wouldn't give up easily. Even if they would hate him for the rest of their lives, Lance didn't mind as long as they were all alive.
"I can save him," he said. It surprised him that his voice was loud and clear, full of confidence. Shiro's eyes snapped up to his with a glare, "Why should I believe a murderer like you? It's your fault he's like this!"
Lance was painfully aware of that. This had happened because he couldn't set aside his emotions enough to form Voltron and get rid of the robeast. It only served as another reason to save Keith. He caused it, so he should fix it, especially when he was more than capable of doing so.
"Shiro, lay off!" Pidge yelled, stepping in front of the blue paladin. Her eyebrows were knit together in determination. She wouldn't allow them to hurt Lance any more than they already did. She knew how much they'd already hurt him, and she regretted not speaking up and allowing them to yell at him hours ago. That's why she would protect him this time. She didn't want to see him crying, nor see him try to kill himself again.
"He's not dangerous," she started, "He can save Keith. I know for a fact that he can."
Shiro continued to glare, this time focusing on the green paladin. His grip on Keith seemed to grow tighter, and Lance was worried that it would make his injuries worse.
"What makes you so sure of that?" he asked skeptically.
His stubbornness frustrated Pidge sometimes. Although it brought good results most of the time, Pidge knew that he was wrong about this, and she was seething.
"Keith isn't going to make it into the castle alive, and you know that. Moving him that much would only make his injuries worse, and he'd be gone by the time we reach the healing pods. This is our only option. We might as well take a chance and let Lance do his thing."
The black paladin continued to glare at her, knowing full well that she was right but still unwilling to let Lance anywhere near Keith. Pidge knew this and took a deep breath, "We don't have much time, Shiro. It's now or never."
With one last look, Shiro looked away, pained. He slowly lowered Keith so that he was laying on the ground, barely breathing. He got up and stood by Hunk, who was watching the whole thing wordlessly.
The yellow paladin didn't know what to think anymore. He grew up believing that sirens were murderers, yet he was starting to doubt himself after seeing Lance beautifully destroy the robeast. He remembered all the time he's spent with Lance, and felt ashamed of how he'd acted. He let stereotypes and misguided anger get to him, and in the process, hurt one of his best friends… To he think he was the paladin of the yellow lion. He didn't even deserve that position, with the way he'd acted.
They watched as Lance rushed over to Keith's side, quickly yet gently picking him up in his arms. He pressed his forehead against the other's and closed his eyes. He could feel his friend getting weaker and weaker with every shallow breath he took. The blue paladin had to hold back his tears as he wished for his friend to come back, alive and healthy. He continued to wish, as he slowly raised his head and started singing.
Feeling the energy pulsing through him, he sang with the intention to heal. He felt the vibrations, starting from his throat and continuing to the rest of his body. It ran through him like lightning. It felt absolutely amazing, and he missed this sensation so badly… But he had to focus on his injured friend. He had to save him before anything else. If there was one thing he couldn't fuck up, it was this.
With his focus solely on Keith, he continued to sing.
Pidge smiled as she watched, in awe at the sight of Lance's eyes lighting up with a light blue glow. His song felt light, as if it was being carried along by a cool breeze. She could feel her strength returning to her, and she felt a whole lot lighter. Glancing over at the other two, she saw that they felt the same. They both had a calm and peaceful expressions on their faces, their bodies relaxed. It made her happy to know that she was right about Lance. It would help make things easier to patch up.
As the song progressed, the others could see that it was working. The injuries on Keith's body began to glow with the same kind of light that they saw in Lance's eyes. Shiro took a step forward, alarmed, but with one look from Pidge, he stopped.
The glowing grew brighter, and as much as they wanted to keep watching, they had to look away. It took a while before the light died down, and they were able to look again. Once they did, they were amazed to see that Keith was completely fine. He was still bloody and passed out, but he was fine. No bruises, no cuts, and no gaping holes. Astounded, they looked at Lance with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Hunk and Shiro couldn't believe that Lance had completely healed Keith with just one song. On the other hand, Pidge was simply overflowing with excitement.
No one said anything as Lance slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. They were back to being the same dark blue they'd all gotten used to seeing. But instead of the usual mischievous glint they saw in them, they were flashing with hurt and fear. They faltered.
In Lance's eyes, they were looking at him the same way they had back in the castle— hard and cold. All the things that he'd been feeling came back in an instant. They didn't trust him. They didn't accept him. They hated him. He was nothing but extra baggage they had to carry to spare him his feelings. They didn't need someone who was always screwing up. They didn't need someone who was always letting them down, never once reaching their expectations. They didn't need someone who was only good at goofing off. They didn't need him.
Feelings tears start to form, he lowered his head and breathed in hard. He could feel his body begin to tremble, but he wouldn't let them see him like this. He wasn't going to show them show weak he was. Not again.
Gently, he laid the red paladin back on the ground before slowly getting up.
"Lance?" Pidge called, "Are you okay?"
He ignored her, despite knowing that she was his only ally now. Slowly, he started walking. Past Shiro, past Hunk, and past Pidge. Their eyes followed him, and they watched as he made his way towards his lion.
"Lance," she called out again, "Where are you going?"
He didn't answer and continued to walk. Pidge moved to stop him, but Shiro held her back. She struggled against him, screaming and kicking, but was too weak. She wanted to stop him, afraid of what he would do while he was alone, but she couldn't. Not when Shiro was stopping her and Lance was ignoring her. There was nothing she could do but hold back her tears and watch as Lance walked away.
He found that the father he got, the louder his thoughts became. Before long, they became deafening, just like back on his lion. He couldn't hear anythingbut his team mates' voices telling him that he was useless. He couldn't see anything but their cold glares as he walked. He kept his head down as he walked, gradually breaking into a sprint. He needed to get back to Blue. At least there, he could be alone.
By the time he reached his destination, his lion had already restored enough energy to function and was waiting for Lance with her mouth wide open. The paladin could feel the relief surge through his body as he ran into the control room, skillfully piloting the lion off the planet.
Once he was back in space, he asked Blue to take him somewhere far away from the rest of the team. He felt his lion's reluctance, but nonetheless it complied.
"Thanks, Blue," Lance murmured tiredly, falling asleep to the sight of the vast space around them.
"What is wrong with you guys?!" the green paladin yelled.
The team flinched at her tone, surprised. They couldn't remember a time where they'd seen Pidge this angry. There was the time she thought that Shiro had injured her brother, but she wasn't nearly as livid as she was now. As she continued to yell at them, they could only speculate on why.
They knew that it had something to do with Lance, but they couldn't tell exactly what. Maybe it was because they had been treating him badly the past few hours? If so, they had already been feeling guilty about it. After he saved Keith's life, they slowly began to realize that he wasn't as bad as they'd made him out to be. If he truly was working for Zarkon, he wouldn't have done that. He couldn't have been working for them in the first place! He's been with them since day one, and he's never had the opportunity nor reason to do so. They'd gotten worked up and angry at him just because he could be dangerous.
"Calm down, Pidge," Allura tried, taking a step closer to the girl.
"No, I will not calm down!" she spat, moving away from the princess. "Do you have any idea what you guys did?!"
"We know, Pidge," Shiro started, "We accused him of something he didn't do, and we hurt him. We know that now, so calm down."
"You make it sound so simple," Pidge glared at the black paladin, "You did more than just hurt him— you nearly killed him!"
Everyone went silent. "Kill him?" Keith asked.
"He tried to kill himself, damn it!" she practically shrieked. "He charged right at the robeast hoping that it would kill him, and it's all because you guys were so fucking stupid."
Thinking about it was one thing, but saying it out loud was another. Pidge could feel her emotions getting the better of her, but she did her best to push down her cries. She took a few deep breaths to help her calm down a bit while the others digested what she'd just thrown at them. With a shaky voice, she started telling them the truth.
"Did you know that Lance could heal?" she asked.
"No," Shiro shook his head, "As far as I know, sirens can only incapacitate whoever hears their song."
"The thing is, there's more than one type of siren."
"What?" they chorused.
"Not a lot of people know about it because they're pretty rare, and because of the trouble the black-eyed sirens stir up, but there are two other types of sirens: brown-eyed sirens and blue-eyed sirens. The brown-eyed sirens use their songs to calm, while the blue-eyed ones use theirs to heal.
"I'm sure that you can tell that Lance is a blue-eyed siren, seeing what happened with Keith," Pidge said, "Which is why you idiots messed up when you all called him dangerous. He couldn't hurt a fly with his song, even if he wanted to!"
None of them said anything as they processed everything. They felt about a hundred times worse than they did before, maybe even more. Lance did not deserve any of the shit they gave him before. Not even the shit about being a siren. They'd all thought that he was a black-eyed siren, the ones they were warned about, but he was far from being dangerous. Instead, he was the opposite. He healed people instead of killing them. And because of their careless actions, he'd tried to end his own life just hours ago.
It was then that they understood why Pidge had been so worked up.
He tried to kill himself. And now, he was alone somewhere in space.
"We need to find him. Now."
As the paladins rushed to their positions, Allura and Coran got started on tracking down the blue lion. They were all panicked, worried about what Lance could be doing, and ashamed for the way they'd treated him. They were scared of facing him, but they knew they had to if they wanted to find him before he tried to hurt himself again.
The paladins decided to split up to save time while the alteans worked on tracking him down. Each of them went in different directions with their eyes peeled for the blue lion.
Minutes passed with no sign of Lance or the blue lion. They were growing increasingly anxious, with Hunk mumbling a string of scenarios and apologies. Each of them prayed that Lance would be okay, and promised that they would make it up to him, no matter how much it took.
Their prayers were answered when Allura spoke, "Guys, we found him!"
"Where?" Shiro asked.
"He's inside an field of explosive debrisnear Pidge," she answered, "Pidge, you need to be careful. He's in there pretty deep, It will be hard to get through everything safely."
Pidge started moving towards it, "Got it."
Within the next few seconds, the green paladin had made it close enough to see thelocation they'd described. She could see the blue lion in it, surrounded by all the debris. Taking a deep breath, she began weaving through the debris. She wasn't as swift as Keith was, so it took her some time and effort to reach her destination.
The closer she got, the more anxious she felt. And once she was close enough, she quickly exited her lion and jumped towards the other. Using her jetpack to boost herself, she made it into the blue lion soon enough. There, she was relieved to find Lance, simply dozing off. Just like that, all the anxiety left her and she slid down the wall, exhausted. She's gotten worked up three times in one day, and it was all because of this guy.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax for a while, simply sitting in the silence.
"Lance is okay," she reported to the others, "He's alive."
She could hear the collective sounds of relief that came from the others, and she smiled.
"Is he injured?" she heard Hunk ask.
"No, he's just sleeping."
"That's good," Shiro said.
It was quiet after that. None of them dared to say anything, despite the obvious fact that they wanted to talk to him. They all wanted to see him, and see that his was all right themselves, but they were too ashamed of themselves to do so. They didn't even have the courage to say "Let's bring him back."
Pidge didn't say anything either. Although she was still a bit angry at them, she could understand where they were coming from. Even though she hadn't berated Lance like they did, she didn't do anything to stop them. She was too amazed to do anything but gape at him… and she hated herself for that. If she'd stopped them, he wouldn't have gotten this hurt.
"Pidge?"
Startled, Pidge opened her eyes and saw Lance kneeling down in front of her. His eyes were filled with concern, and she felt her eyes watering. "How could he still care, after what we did to him?" she asked herself. If she were him, she wouldn't have been able to forgive them, let alone face them.
"Pidge? Why are you here?" Lance asked, "How did you find me?"
She looked at him for a while, studying his expression before answering, "Allura tracked your lion and I was the closest to you." She'd decided that for now, she needed to get him back. Everything else could come later.
"Allura?" He seemed surprised to hear her name, which was understandable, considering she'd hated him only a few hours before.
Pidge nodded, "I explained things to them a while ago…"
Lance said nothing as he looked at her. She could see the storm of emotions in his eyes as he seemed to look right through her. He wondered if they still hated him. Now that they knew what he actually was, did they still think he was dangerous? Did they still think that he was working with Zarkon? Did they still think he was dead weight?
Coming back to reality, he asked, "What… What did they say?"
Seeing the pain in his eyes, she chose her words carefully. "They don't hate you, that's for sure," she said, but Lance couldn't help but doubt that. He wanted to believe it, and be done with it, but he couldn't. With all the things they'd said to him? It's impossible that they wouldn't hate him. If not for being a siren, then they'd hate him for not being good enough. After all, he didn't really contribute much. Hunk and Pidge were the tech team, Keith was the fighter, and Shiro was the leader. He was just an extra.
Pidge could see the doubt in his expression, which was in great contrast to the expression he had when she said she knew what he was. She bit her lip, getting up on her feet and dusting herself off. She held out a hand to Lance, offering to help him up. He took it, and found himself being guided towards the pilot's seat. He looked confused, but said nothing as he watched Pidge walk over to his discarded helmet. She picked it up and dusted it off before placing it on his head.
"Pidge, what are you doing?" he asked, allowing her to tinker with it. She didn't answer as she tapped on some controls. Once she was finished, she gave him a small smile and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Just listen, okay?"
Lance didn't have time to reply as his ears were flooded with voices. He panicked at first, afraid that they were the voices in his head, coming back to tell him that he was useless, but was relieved when he recognized them as his teammates' voices. He relaxed, but only a little. He couldn't understand what they were saying while they were speaking at the same time, but he was scared that they were still angry at him. He didn't want to be yelled at again, nor be looked at with such cold eyes. He didn't think that he could handle any more. He was already way past his limit, and the only thing keeping him there was his exhaustion.
"Guys, calm down," he heard Pidge say, "He can't understand when you're all talking over each other."
With that, they went silent. They waited for someone to say something, but they ended up speaking at the same time again. This went of for some time, and it took them a while to compose themselves. Lance listened to them struggle with a tired but fond smile, which made Pidge happy. Although he looked physically and emotionally exhausted, it was still a smile, and that gave her hope.
Lance said nothing as he listened to the team apologize. Each of them had something different to say, something different to promise, but they all had the same message: We're sorry. Please come back.
All at once, the tears came back, and he found himself crying in Pidge's arms. She smiled gently as she held him, rubbing comforting circles onto his back. This seemed to make him cry even harder, but she paid no mind to it. She let him cry as much as he wanted, even after the team had finished saying all they wanted to say and they were left to bask in silence.
Pidge knew that all the pain they'd caused him wouldn't be erased with just a few words, and she didn't want to push him into doing anything he didn't want to do. She just wished that he'd want to come back to them. She didn't know what they'd do without Lance.
The silence stretched on for what felt like forever before Lance spoke.
"Let's go back."
Of course, he still had mixed feelings about returning, but he was willing to try again. Something about the way Pidge's face lit up told him that things were going to be okay, and he wanted to put his faith in that.
Author's Note
Hi! I wrote last June, 2017. I remember writing it during summer vacation, after being inspired by a prompt by ohwhataprettypinkhat on tumblr (their account has been deactivated though). I wrote most of this in one go, but I got stuck near the end haha. I chopped this up into parts on other other sites, but I'm way too lazy to do that on here xD
I hope you enjoyed reading this, even though it's super angsty and all...