Season 7, Episode 10: Heart of the Lion

You know I still don't know why this episode is called this.

Thank you to everyone who said all the nice things in the reviews :) It means a lot to know that people are still reading.

Shiro lifted the arm to study it, a small smile crossing his face as it clenched into a fist. A tick, and then electricity sparked around him. He froze, shutting his eyes.

Keith, behind the window viewing into the medical set, wrenched his hand out of Lance's and charged around the wall. "Cut. Cut NOW!" he demanded.

Alfor held up a hand and the cameras powered down, Keith kneeling at his brother's side and setting a hand on his shoulder. Shiro's breath was in heaving shudders, and a moment later Allura was next to Keith as well, her fingers carded through Shiro's hair.

The glare Keith shot Alfor was withering. "Seriously? You're going to make him re-enact this kind of physical-?"

"Keith," Shiro breathed. "It's okay. I promise."

"But-"

Shiro reached out his human hand, clasping Keith's shoulder. "Hey. I promise. I told you I'd speak up if I wasn't okay with it. It just…the electricity surprised me, is all. I thought it would be added later."

Alfor winced. "I'm sorry, Shiro. I should have thought of that. Take a bit, okay? We'll come back when you're ready."

Shiro moved his hand from Keith to Allura, twining his fingers with her. She drew them up for a soft kiss. "If you need me to smack my father around, let me know," she murmured against his skin.

Shiro could do nothing more than snort.

Allura charged into the exam room, lunging through the air and crashing into the arm with a grunt, bringing it to the floor and pining it there. "Sam! We need to remove the power source!"

Sam ran over to her aid, opening the port on the arm and removing the small chip there. The moment he did so, water squirted up and out, dousing both of them. Allura blinked for a moment, looked up at Sam, and then they both turned and glared at Pidge through the window, who immediately shrugged. "Don't look at me," she protested.

A small snicker from the bed drew everyone's attention to Shiro. "Sorry," he managed with a grin that said he was anything but. "Everyone was just way too serious."

Behind the Scenes

"You good?"

Keith kept his eyes on the assorted cheeses and crackers in front of him. "I'm okay."

Lance hummed and bumped his hip with Keith's, reaching out and snagging a grape off the snack table. "Right. And I'm a monkey's uncle." He lowered his voice. "Keith. Babe. I know that…that scene…it must have-"

"It sucked," Keith hissed, his voice choked. He slammed his fist down onto the table, causing a stack of oranges to wobble. Spoke again, cracking. "It sucked, okay Lance? L-Like y-yeah, Shiro was okay with it, b-but I…"

"Okay. Okay."

Lance wrapped his arm around Keith's hip, took the empty plate gently out of his hands and set it down on the table, and walked him out of the snack area and into the main lobby. It was empty at the moment, and Lance led Keith to a corner. "Talk to me."

He kept his hands firmly on Keith's shoulders, thumbs drawing little circles into the fabric of his uniform. "It's stupid," Keith muttered. "It wasn't even me. I didn't get hurt in that accident, I…I shouldn't be this upset over it."

"You watched him go through this, though," Lance whispered. He pressed his forehead against Keith's, lifted a hand to hold his cheek. "You watched him go through this, as a kid, man. You were a kid when he got his first prosthetic, a kid when he had to do all the shitty physical therapy, a kid when you almost lost him. Man, that's gotta be traumatizing. We haven't done a scene quite this intense in a while. At least…not one about Shiro. So it's okay."

Keith let out a sob and crashed his head into Lance's shoulder, his arms wrapping around him so tightly that Lance had to fight to breathe. He didn't comment, merely returned the hug. It didn't surprise him when, a moment later, Shiro stepped into the room.

His shoulders slumped when he saw his brother, eyes flickering to Lance anxiously. Lance shut his eyes and nodded, pushing Keith back just a little. "Babe? Come on. Talk to him about it."

Keith flinched and shut his eyes as Shiro stepped around the sofas, replaced Lance's hand with his, and then twined his brother in a hug that looked about as tight as the one Keith had just been giving Lance.

Lance left them to it, going back to the snack room to hunt down more of those grapes.

"So, uh…." Hunk clicked his tongue. "You excited about this mission?"

Kinkade grunted, rolling his eyes. Hunk huffed. "Yeah. Totally. I feel the same."

"Cut! Hunk…Ryan…what-?"

"There was too much sibling tension, I had to ease it!"

Alfor pursed his lips. Squinted. Glanced down at the script in his hands. "Keep it," he said.

The ground unit stepped carefully into the underground sewer. Keith started down the stairs while James kept a lookout, stepping back to follow Keith once he was far enough down. With a yelp, his foot slid out from under him on the slippery floor, and James hit the ground.

Pidge doubled over in giggles while Allura offered a grin and a smile. "Are you all right?"

James grunted as she dragged him to his feet. "Peachy."

Lance crouched down, lifting his rifle to his shoulder, eyes locked through the sights.

"Gotta say, you look really hot like that in this low lighting," Keith said out of nowhere.

Lance squawked and nearly threw his rifle at Keith's head, ignoring the snickering from Hunk behind him. "Are you quiznaking KIDDING ME, I was waiting for your lines to be fed to me!"

"Exactly, you hadn't started yet."

"I hate you."

"Love you."

Pidge lifted her hands up, dragging them across her face, over her head, sticking her tongue out. She gave Keith a thumbs up and Keith, in turn, returned it with a grin.

"Oh sure, when IIIIII do it, you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, but when PIDGE does it!"

"Lance!"

Behind the Scenes

"I mean I can't say I didn't see this coming-"

"I definitely didn't."

"But is now really the time to pair mine and Lance's characters?"

Alfor sighed. "Look, we wanted to try and pair Lance and Keith, or maybe even Shiro and one of the other pilots, or definitely put in more of Hunk and Shay, but the network shut that down. Said if we didn't pair you the show is over after this season, and we still need one more to totally close off the story line."

"Ah," Lance said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "So they're refusing to let you do more than even hint at gays. Awesome. I just love companies."

"Don't worry," Alfor assured him. "We're not going to quit."

"Lance are you there?"

"Lance, where are you buddy?"

"Lance, can you hear us?"

"Lance…LANCE COME IN!"

"Jesus CHRIST," Lance managed, prying his helmet off and sticking a finger in his ear. "Who turned the mother fucking volume up on this thing?"

Behind the Scenes

Veronica took her helmet off with a grin. "Nice job," she said, sticking a hand out to help Lance off the ground.

He hesitated and then took it, using most of his own strength to stand up. "Yeah uh…good work. I'll see you for our next scene."

Veronica frowned. "I was gonna…well I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out. With some of the others, obviously, they're renting out a mini golf place tonight."

Lance kept his body turned away. "I um…thanks. I appreciate it. I do. But I can't."

Veronica pressed her lips together. "Okay. Um. See you tomorrow, then."

She trudged off and Lance slumped into the nearest chair, pressing his hands to his face. For a second, he felt like Alfor after a long shoot.

"That was quite rude."

"Not now, sir. With the utmost respect."

Alfor huffed and sat down next to him. "Must be really bad if you're being respectful. You guys have great on screen chemistry, and I know she's a nice person. What's the problem?"

"Did you…did you know anything about her?" Lance asked slowly. He dropped his hands and looked sideways at Alfor, watching his face closely. "Before you hired her?"

Alfor wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No. She has a background in mostly theater productions, not televised, but she was one of the few people who responded to the casting calls in Veradero for your sister that proved promising. Right looks, right talent, hell, even her voice kind of matches yours."

"That's because she is my sister."

If he was being honest, Lance had never seen Alfor speechless. He'd seen him annoyed, pissed off, overworked, and even a little drunk. But the way he looked at him now, with his mouth parted and his eyes wide and his hands limp…was almost satisfying. "I'm…sorry?" the man finally got out.

It was getting easier to say these days, no matter how awkward Lance still felt around her. He shrugged, looking back down. "She's actually my sister. Mom gave her up as a baby 'cause she was too young to take care of a family at the time. Apparently you're really good at casting."

"Lance, I promise you, I didn't-"

"Know, I know," Lance assured him. He frowned at the floor. "I don't know how to tell her."

Alfor shifted in his seat. "Would…I can go find Keith, if you'd like. Or perhaps Hunk? After the final scene shoot?"

Lance shook his head. "Keith and Shiro are having a night together. They need it, after today," he said, looking pointedly at the director. "And I haven't told Hunk yet, either. I'm going to, just…not yet. But soon."

"Is there anything further I can do? I can't change your scenes together, but-"

Lance stood up, swiping his helmet off the floor and giving Alfor a small smile. "Thank you, sir. But I'll be all right. Time to go get beat up by some Galra, huh? Never ends."

"Are you sure?"

Lance nodded. "I'm sure, sir."

"If I can do anything, please tell me."

"Thanks, Alfor."

If I don't post in time again for the holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year, Happy whatever it is you celebrate! If you don't celebrate anything, I hope you enjoy any days off you might have, and if you're stuck working on a holiday (either because you have an essential, life saving job, or you're working retail for ungrateful pieces of shit), then I'm sending you many warm thoughts and hugs and I hope the day goes smoothly.