Okay, I lied, I'm sorry, I have no excuses...Please enjoy this anyways though, and comments are appreciated. This takes place pretty soon after the Hold On two-part thing.
Sometimes it all gets a little too much,
But you gotta realize that soon the fog will clear up,
And you don't have to be afraid, because we're all the same,
And we know that sometimes it all gets a little too much,
Lance was on the floor, with Keith sprawled out on his bed, where they'd collapsed the second they finished the history project due in... Lance checked his watch. 4 hours. Damn they'd cut it close.
"I hate the Greeks," Keith moaned. Even people with chronic insomnia can hate all-nighters. Noted.
"All of them?" Lance smirked teasingly, even though his sentiments were currently identical.
"All of them," Keith confirmed with a hint of finality, and Lance couldn't bring himself to argue.
"Scoot over," he nudged the lump on his bed, rearranging limbs in order to make enough room for himself.
They laid shoulder to shoulder, looking up at the glow-in-the-dark, childish, accurately placed stars decorating Lance's ceiling.
"How'd we manage to forget such a huge project?" Keith asked disbelievingly, frustrated that this time, the procrastination was completely unintentional.
"Well in our defense, she assigned it months ago,"
"Weeks ago," Keith corrected
"Same difference," Lance waved his hand dismissively, and Keith couldn't hold back the slight laugh that escaped.
They let silence fall like a blanket over them, content to stay put, and kind of half asleep.
"What's your favorite constellation?" Keith asked suddenly, startling Lance. He took a long time mulling over his answer, long enough that Keith had started to wonder if Lance had even heard him. But Lance spoke up before Keith could ask the question a second time.
"Probably Virgo," he spoke thoughtfully, and Keith turned his head to look at Lance.
"Really? Why?"
"Well, 'The Virgin', am I right?" Lance winked, and Keith rolled his eyes. "No but seriously, do you know the myth behind it?"
Keith shook his head no, getting curious about Lance's reasoning.
"Well, evidently the Greeks-" Keith made a face, but Lance just kept talking. "-associated the constellation Virgo with the goddess of wheat and agriculture, Demeter, who was the mother of Persephone."
"Wait, wasn't Persephone like Hades' wife?"
"Yep," Lance popped the 'p' sound, continuing before Keith got annoyed. "But the really interesting story is how it happened. Long story short, Hades kidnapped Persephone, Demeter searched for help, Zeus was bribed, Demeter let it all go to shit, Zeus decided to help, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds before she left, so she had to spend six months in the underworld with Hades every year, and Demeter vowed to not let crops grow while her daughter is in the underworld."
"Wow," Keith breathed, processing. "But that still doesn't really answer my question."
"Why it's my favorite?"
"Yeah," Lance was quiet a moment, before he finally answered.
"I guess it's the whole 'mother's love' thing. Demeter loved her daughter so much, and she went to such lengths to save her. I think that that's really cool." Keith nodded, accepting the answer. They sat in silence for a little longer, before Keith asked another question, with more hesitance this time.
"Hey, Lance?"
"Yes, Keith?"
"About the other day..." He trailed off, glancing over at Lance to gauge his reaction. Finding Lance looking back at him, he sat up, looking down at his hands. Lance sat up as well, but didn't speak, giving Keith time to put his thoughts together. "I just, you seemed to know just what to do. Not that I'm complaining! Just, I'm trying to understand how you basically knew exactly what I needed." It was Lance's turn to look down at his hands.
"I guess there's another reason why I like the Virgo constellation." Keith wanted to get upset over the change of subject, but something about Lance's expression stopped him. "I have two younger brothers and a younger sister, plus an older brother and an older sister."
"Middle child?" Keith asked, and Lance laughed dryly.
"Yeah. Except it's more than that. My older siblings and I were born consecutively, my eldest sister was born first, then a year later my older brother was born, then a year later my sister, and me a year after her. But our younger siblings weren't born until a while later. I was five when Emma was born, and seven when my unexpected twin brothers were born. Us older siblings, we helped Mama with the little ones, which was a lot of pressure.
"I was probably closest with Mia, my older sister. We were inseparable for most of our childhood, we played together, danced together, had adventures together, and took care of our younger siblings together. Hunk was always over too, and I remember how excited we'd get when he came over. But anyways, I was an innocent child, so it took me a while to realize that she'd kind of changed.
"See, Mia was always kind of small. I'd outgrown her before I turned eleven, which I teased her about, in a good-natured way of course. What I didn't know, was that she was getting teased for it at school as well, and they weren't as nice. Mia was super smart too, which I admired, but they made fun of." Keith's stomach dropped, having a feeling he knew where this was going.
"She was so strong," Lance's voice caught a little, but he cleared his throat and continued. "She put up with it for years, probably from second or third grade. I was bullied too, for being a loud and obnoxious freak, but I guess I was just better at dealing with it and hiding it. I was getting close to my 12th birthday when I first found her, huddled in a corner in her room, hyperventilating and crying and looking more scared than I had ever seen her. It scared me to say the least. Having no idea what to do, I just sat next to her, with an arm around her shoulder, letting her cry and work through it.
"After that I got up to grab her laptop, and we spent hours googling and researching and stuff, until we knew everything possible about anxiety, and how to combat it, and breathing techniques and everything. We talked about what she thought would help her, and I spent that whole night with her, so she wouldn't be alone, because she asked if I would stay.
"From then on, we were truly inseparable. Hunk got filled in on everything not long after, as he was as much her best friend as he was mine. I ended up telling Daniel, our older brother, about the bullies, and he dealt with them. He's always been big and scary, and football made him incredibly buff, so he was intimidating and convincing, to say the least." Lance chuckled, and Keith smiled as well. "Anyways, we did pretty well, but even Daniel couldn't really protect her from high school. The bullies were smarter about what they did, and there was nothing we could do about it. As the only McClain kid left at our middle school, things got worse for me too.
"The longer it went on, the more I started to believe all the things they were saying to me. I hid it, and a big dorky smile paired with a joke was usually enough to convince my family that I was okay, but it was hard. Comforting Mia when I was close to breaking down myself. I just had to get away.
"When I applied for Voltron Tech with Hunk, things started to get better for Mia, or at least she acted like it. Somewhere deep inside I knew it wasn't really true, but I wanted to believe that she was strong enough to get through it. Besides, it wasn't like she'd be alone. She'd have her family, and me, even though I was farther away than before." Lance sighed, and Keith scooted a little closer, awkwardly trying to be a comfort. "I was so stupid." Keith saw the first tear, and his heart broke.
"Lance, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I wasn't trying to pressure you into-"
"No," Lance interrupted. "I want- no, I need to. Hunk and I still haven't really talked about it." He sighed, inhaled big, and continued. "I got the call from Mama not even two months after I'd moved here. She, she'd hung herself. She'd locked herself in her room, and Daniel found her, after breaking the door down." Lance pressed his lips together, as a few more tears slipped out.
"The funeral was small, Hunk and I went for the weekend, and it was just my family. It was beautiful, I mean, what I could see through my tears that is." Lance tried to make a joke, but the tears running down his face rendered it unsuccessful. "Mia was just as much a space nerd as I am, and she was a Virgo. I always loved the constellation because of her, but now it just has a different meaning I guess." How he still managed to speak through his tears was beyond Keith, but he wrapped his arm around Lance and tried to comfort him as best as he could.
"After the funeral, I kind of fell into a rut. I had no motivation, I spent most days crying, and I rarely emerged, except for food and to attend my classes. I have to admit though, your taunts made me want to one-up you, made me want to work harder, just to get that stupid smirk off your face. You gave me just enough motivation to patch myself up, and push through that rut. So, thank you, I guess."
"You're welcome, I guess," Keith murmured softly. Exhausted, Lance leaned against his shoulder, but his tears didn't stop. Keith gently moved Lance, getting him into bed. He figured he'd get Lance settled and then let himself out, but that idea was tossed out when the Latino boy clung to him like a leech, refusing to let him go. Looking down at the vulnerable, tear-stained face, his resolve crumbled, and he slid in next to the other male. Lance curled into his chest, all four limbs wrapped around his torso, staining Keith's shirt with his tears, tense.
After a few minutes, Keith lifted a hand to gently pet Lance's hair, and that seemed to be the right move, as the other male immediately started to relax. His grip never wavered though, and eventually Keith drifted off, Lance safely in his arms.
When Hunk walked into the room a few hours later, he froze with shock at the sight. Blankets were falling off the bed, as Keith laid on his back, with Lance practically on top of him, a leg thrown over Keith's hips and an arm wrapped around his chest. Hunk slowly pulled his phone out and took a picture, sending it to Pidge and Shiro before picking up the finished project sitting on Lance's desk, writing a quick note to the two, and slowly turning and walking back out, shutting the door behind him.
Keith and Lance woke up a few hours later, still in the same position, and blushed as they jumped away from each other. Lance proceeded to have a freak-out when he saw the time, while Keith watched, patiently holding Hunk's note in his hand, waiting for Lance to calm down a bit so he could explain that Hunk, the cinnamon roll that he is, had turned their project in for them. They'd never admit it to anyone, but they'd spent the rest of the day in bed, watching movies together, and fighting over just about every aspect of each movie, smiling the entire time.