I don't own Voltron. I made up Pidge's birthday and the ages, I'm sure they are probably canonically wrong. And Lance's family situation is different here than canon too haha. I read sooo many great langst fics I wanted to give it a try. Also this is my first Voltron fic ever so hope you enjoy!
"Hey Pidge!" Matt came into the room with Hunk right behind him.
"Happy birthday!" Hunk brought a cake out.
"Oh you didn't tell us it was your birthday," Shiro mentioned.
"Yeah Pidge, we could have a huge party!" Lance joked.
"I didn't realize what the date was. Is it really January 18 already?" Pidge smiled at the cake.
"January 18?" Lance asked, "I didn't even realize December was over..."
"Well, let's have a feast then in celebration!" Coran said excitedly. "I'll go inform Princess Allura."
The group took the cake and headed off to the kitchen to cut and enjoy it. Lance hung toward the back though and went into his room.
"January 18, huh?" Lance plopped onto his bed, "I can't believe it's been 10 years already."
"Why don't you come out and have some cake?" Hunk asked through the door.
"I just don't feel good," Lance responded.
"You seemed fine this morning."
"Maybe the food goo just didn't sit right with me today. I'll be fine, go have fun."
"Lance rarely ever gets sick," Pidge analyzed.
Shiro responded, "It's possible he is really sick. I'm sure it has nothing to do with it being your birthday."
"I feel like he always skipped school in January, but I was always too worried about passing my tests I never really thought of it," Hunk said.
"If he is sick he needs some medicine," Coran decided.
"I just tried knocking on his door but he never answered," Matt walked up, "He might just be sleeping though."
"Is there some way we could look into his files and see if January has a special meaning?" Allura suggested.
Hunk shrugged, "It's worth a shot."
Twenty minutes later:
"Oh my god," Pidge sat in shock at a screen.
"Poor Lance," Hunk answered.
"What is it?" Shiro walked up to the computer and started reading aloud to Allura, Coran, and Matt, "Man murders wife and son. Other son narrowly escaped before police took the man into custody. He's facing life in prison." Shiro scanned through the article, "The child is being placed into the foster system until family claims him."
"Multiple weapons were found on the scene," Pidge grasped at bits of information. "I can't even imagine how Lance feels."
"That was 10 years ago... Do we tell him we know or do we keep acting normal?" Hunk asked, then admitted, "I don't know if I can act normal."
"It's hard to lose family, but I can't imagine having to see all of that," Allura sighed.
"Did family ever come to claim him?" Coran asked.
"Mi abuela tried," the group turned toward the voice behind them, "but they decided she was too old to care for me long enough. They were right, she died a couple years later, but a few more years out of the system would have been nice."
"Lance!" Hunk looked conflicted, "sorry for looking into your file."
Lance shrugged before turning back down the hallway.
"Lance, wait."
"Princess, please. I just came out to help Pidge celebrate her birthday, but since the party seems to be over, I'm going back to bed."
"Hey, I saved you some cake," Pidge ran up to Lance, "At least eat some before you go."
Lance nodded realizing he was starting to feel hungry.
The group realized Lance needed some space so they left him and Pidge alone.
"How old are you now?" Lance wondered trying to focus on something else.
"16."
"Isn't that too young to be at the Garrison?"
"I figured if I was lying about my name I could lie about my age too."
"Good point."
"So," Pidge handed Lance a plate with a slice of cake as he sat down, "are you ok?"
"No," Lance admitted. He'd normally try to keep his feelings in but now his secret was known what was there to hide?
After a few minutes in silence, Lance took a break from his cake. "I'm sorry I'm not being a very cheery party guest."
"You went through some really rough things. You are more important than my birthday, alright?"
"I've never really talked about it. The few foster homes I was in either didn't care enough or were grossed out when I gave too much detail," Lance paused. "I rarely have nightmares of it anymore, and it no longer crosses my mind every day, but when I think of it all I can see and smell is the blood."
Pidge moved and put her arm around him.
His eyes looked a little teary but none fell down his cheeks. "I think what is harder than having lost my entire family at once is knowing that someone we trusted turned on us. I guess that makes it harder to totally open up to all of you."
"You know we won't turn on you, Lance. We are always here when you need us. That's what friends are for."
"Thanks Pidge," Lance finished his cake.
"Matt hacked into a movie stream from Earth, so we were all thinking about watching something tonight. Want to join us?"
Lance nodded and followed her into the other room.
"Birthday girl is back, popcorn is being made, let's do this!" Hunk smiled at Lance.
Shiro put his hand on Lance's shoulder reassuringly as he walked toward one of the couches. After taking too long to settle down, Matt, Pidge, and Hunk ended up on one couch while Shiro, Lance, and Allura took up the other. Coran sat on a recliner ready to take in an Earth film. Lance looked around the room and smiled as the lights dimmed. He'd been through a lot but he knew he had great friends supporting him.