Yet another work that I'm moving from my tumblr to here for safe keeping (bet you'd thought you'd seen the last of me!). Originally posted to sneezehq. Enjoy!
"This planet doesn't look too dangerous," Lance says, trying to make conversation as they make their descent. "Just lots of plants, green as far as the eyes can see."
"Yeah, well, plants can be dangerous. Haven't you ever heard of carnivorous plants?" Keith retorts.
"What, you think there's going to be human-sized Venus flytraps here?" Lance asks, raising an eyebrow. "Actually that would be pretty cool. I'd like to see that. Maybe not get near it, but still."
"They also could be poisonous, or have sharp thorns, or-"
"Okay, okay mister buzz kill. Plants are dangerous. Don't trust the plants. I got it, okay?" Lance rolls his eyes before going quiet as they steer their lions to land on a patch of relatively flat ground.
"We should take some samples back for Pidge," Keith suggests, digging out one of the sample containers from Red. "And good news, the air on this planet is breathable."
"Sweet!" Lance exclaims, taking off his helmet. "Let's go check out the killer plants!"
"You mean check for signs of Galra invasion."
"That too."
Unfortunately, their investigation doesn't last very long. Lance starts sniffing as soon as they start off, but Keith ignores it, figuring that he's just trying to be obnoxious. They only manage to reach the edge of the nearest forest-made up of tall, spindly-looking trees with almost mushroom-shaped clusters of leaves at the top-before Lance comes to a sudden stop.
"What is it?" Keith asks, impatient and ready to keep moving.
"I don't know," Lance says, scrubbing at his eyes with a gloved hand. "My face is just-really itchy."
Itchy? Keith is at a loss for what to do. He's about to suggest that they keep moving forward and see if the irritation goes away when Lance snaps forward with a sudden sneeze.
Keith waits for him to straighten up and wipe his nose. "Bless you. Now let's keep going. I assume that took care of the irritation-"
Before he can continue, he's interrupted by another sneeze from Lance. There's no time to bless the other paladin before Lance snaps forward with another, then another in a rapid-fire fit.
"Are you okay?" Keith asks, starting to get a little worried now. Lance's nose and eyes are bright red, and his eyes are watery and streaming. When he sniffles, it sounds like someone turned on a hose in his sinuses and put it on full blast.
"I'm fi-" Lance says, before yet another sneeze interrupts him. The fit of sneezes that follows is so quick that Lance can hardly take a breath between them.
Now thoroughly shaken, Keith grabs Lance's arm and starts hauling him in the other direction, back towards the lions. "Allura, something's wrong with Lance, we're coming back to the ship."
Lance tries to protest, but he's hindered too much by the unending sneezing fit to really struggle. The sneezes are sounding deeper, more painful; practically scraping out his throat. Sniffling wetly, Lance lets out a moan of either pain or frustration or both. "It's okay, we'll be out of here soon."
They make it back to their lions fairly quickly, and Keith doesn't even think twice before hauling Lance into red with him. There's no way he can pilot in this state. Blue can follow behind them. Lance collapses onto the floor behind the pilot's seat, both hands cupped over his face to catch the sneezes.
"You alright back there?" Keith calls. He can't look behind him right now, too busy trying to escape the gravitational pull of the evil plant planet they just left, but Lance sounds pretty miserable.
"I'b fine," Lance croaks out stuffily, his voice wrecked with congestion. Another sneeze calls the validity of that statement into question.
"We'll be back at the castle in a few ticks, and you can get all fixed up in med bay," Keith promises.
The rest of the trip is spent in silence, punctuated only by the occasional sneeze or sniffle from Lance, and the occasional murmured encouragement from Keith. By the time they reach the castle, the fit has died down a bit, leaving Lance stuffy and congested, but no longer sneezing.
Keith startles when he hears Lance groan. "What's wrong?"
"Just a sinus headache. I'll be okay," Lance mutters, but the tense set of his shoulders and tightly closed eyes suggest otherwise. Keith rubs his shoulder soothingly before turning back to dock the lion in her hanger.
As soon as the doors open, Keith hauls Lance to his feet and they stumble out together, immediately greeted by the the worried faces of the others. There's worried chatter about Lance's condition, and Keith does his best to soothe everyone's frazzled nerves but also insist that they get Lance checked out.
"Aw man," Hunk says, peering at Lance's face and taking in his puffy eyes and red nose. "Are your allergies bothering you again, dude?"
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!