"Easy, you gotta be careful."

Shiro tries hard to appreciate Lance's concern. He really does.

But it's been two days of this, and he doesn't know how much longer he can take it.

The last mission had been successful. Apart from his horribly broken ankle, that is. It was bad enough that Shiro thought he would need a cybernetic foot when he first saw it.

He was also very much annoyed at himself.

Because it would have been somewhat heroic (or at least useful) to get injured during a fight, or protecting one of his team mates or a local inhabitant. But no. His ankle was broken because he fell of some rocks. Distracted with the details Allura was giving him through the coms, he didn't look at where he was going, and crashed to the ground, landing on his left foot.

And oh did it hurt.

It had been four years since the five of them had hopped off on the blue lion and landed on Arus. The other paladins had definitely grown, and it was nice for Shiro to see how different they were from before.

Hunk, Keith and Lance were now twenty-two years old, with bodies as muscular as Shiro's and more scars than they could count by their fingers, and Pidge was almost twenty, and infinitely more capable than before. Which meant Shiro was about to turn twenty-nine, but he really didn't have to be reminded.

It had started some months ago, when his back begun to hurt. His body wasn't recovering as easily from harder training sessions, and some movements that required flexibility were harder for him as his spine protested. He recalls one day, after a particularly rough training, when his back refused to cooperate and he literally couldn't get out of bed. Any little motion would upset his back, and he ended up calling Coran, who brought him some bundles of fabric that seemed to be the Altean equivalent of heating packs.

It just sucked that the others were getting more capable and in shape, while his own body was slowly aging and becoming the one of an old man.

After getting back to the castle ship (in a piggyback ride, courtesy of Keith), he was particularly devastated to know that the cryopods were out of commission for routine maintenance, for at least a couple of weeks.

His ankle had been splintered and, after two days of being completely horizontal in the infirmary, he was finally going back to his own bed. Not before getting a strange, bulky cast and the odd Altean crutches the others had found for him.

It's Lance who walks beside him on the way from the infirmary to his room, his pace especially slow as to keep up with Shiro's clumsy walking as he got used to the crutches.

Shiro seriously considers shooting himself when he tries to lower his body onto the bed and almost falls on his ass to the floor, had it not been for Lance, who catches him just in time.

"I'm fine," he grumbles, finally sitting in his bed as Lance lifts up his ankle to put some pillows under it, "I can take care of myself."

Lance stops what he's doing and chuckles a little, "Not now you can't." Shiro lets out a frustrated groan. Lance fluffs the pillows and places them behind his back. "Relax, Shiro. You're gonna have to take it easy for a while with your ankle broken like that." Shiro lays back down with a pout. "Just lighten up, it's okay to need help once I a while."

Shiro adjusts his position in the bed carefully. His ankle really hurts. Even after two days of elevation, ice, and absolute bed rest, it still flared up with pain at every little motion. He can't seem to get comfortable, so he gives up with a tired sigh.

"I know. I just hate this. Being so useless."

Lance sits beside him on the bed.

"Hey, I know. I get it, Shiro. We all do. How do you think I felt when we were on that diplomatic meeting and I got sick? Or how Keith felt when he broke his arm on the training bot and we had to delay that one mission? Or Hunk, when he got that weird allergy in that flower planet and the Elewkis got offended?" Lance places a comforting hand on his good knee, and seems to think for a moment, staring vacantly into the wall. "We're bound to get hurt once in a while. It's what you get when you're saving the universe, I guess," he chuckles. "And we all want to be ready for action at all times, but sometimes we can't. And I know exactly how you feel but it will be fine. Just don't stress it too hard, Shiro. It's okay if we take a couple of weeks off of going around the galaxy fighting evil aliens."

Shiro smiles. Lance's twenty-two years of age had really brought him some wisdom. He still flirted with every girl in sight, and still cracked jokes and made terrible puns all the time, but he really had grown up. And just like that, Shiro feels old all over again.

"Thanks, Lance," he says, "sorry if I'm grumpy, I just need to rest a little."

Lance nods. "Sure. If you need anything just call us, alright? Or even if you just want company…" He gets up and walks to the door, cracking a smile. "Who am I kidding, we'll probably come anyway."

Shiro finds himself smiling, "Yeah, I know you will."