Ok, so this is rated 'T' for depression stuff and some violence... also bc I'm paranoid.

This is my first fan-fiction ever posted, and I'm really nervous about it. I'm sorry for the lack of indenting, and any grammatical mistakes, but I don't have anyone to beta-read or correct my mistakes.

Sorry if they seem a bit OOC - I tried my best, but I'm not sure if I captured their characters right.

This is supposed to be family-feels, not shipping. It's strictly 'planetonic.' Also, I wrote this after finishing season eight, because THE FEELS ARE REAL. This show has taken my heart and shattered it into a million jagged pieces that stab me anytime I think about that final episode.

Lance's family is different than the canon one, mostly because it's a fan-fiction and I can do what I want. Don't judge me!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you thought in your reviews, and be sure to point out where I can improve! I'm all for constructive criticism!

Shiro groaned, running his real hand down his face as he ventured down one of the castle's many halls. He'd thought his nightmares had been getting better- he hadn't had one in at least a week, but now the streak had ended.

He knew full-well that once he'd woken up from a particularly bad one, there was no going back to sleep. Instead of lying in bed and letting it fester, Shiro usually headed to the training room, where he would sometimes find Keith. It was always nice to blow off steam by sparring with the younger teen, mostly because Keith never asked questions, and Shiro never told him off for being awake so late/early.

He was half-hoping that Keith would be up for a few rounds, but he knew that it would be better if Keith wasn't even awake in the first place. Everyone was running low on energy, the stress building up. Shiro had noticed it in everyone, even himself.

Hunk spent a lot more time in the kitchen, venting all his frustrations into cooking. Pidge had gotten into the nasty habit of disappearing into her room or the hangar for hours on end, never coming off her laptop unless someone dragged her away forcibly.

Keith had been acting more... hot-tempered. He snapped at everyone more often than he usually did, drawing back like a turtle into its shell whenever someone confronted him about it. As for Allura- Shiro didn't know her as well, but he could tell that all the political issues from the many different planets they were rescuing were starting to get to her.

He himself had also been more snappy, forcing the others to train more in an effort to improve their skills. He knew he was being a bit harsh, but they needed to learn. With Coran, it was extremely obvious. The orange-haired Altean had been working himself to the bone cleaning and repairing the ship, and it was showing, with the way his normally-perfect mustache was beginning to droop.

Lance, however, was a mystery. Shiro admired him for his never-ending optimism, but recently, his jokes were only annoying the team. Shiro couldn't tell whether the stress was affecting him or not - Lance always had a smile, even when Keith insulted him to his face, or when Pidge yelled at him for interrupting her coding time when he'd tried to bring her to dinner.

Shiro stopped suddenly, frowning as he scanned his surroundings. He'd been so lost in thought, he'd ended up walking further than he'd intended. He rarely came over to this side of the castle, mainly because most of the rooms were empty, save for the one where Kaltenecker lived.

It had previously been the room where King Alfor's memories were stored, but ever since the castle's corruption, it had been empty- until Lance had brought the cow with him back to the ship. Since they were unsure on how exactly to take care of an earth cow in the middle of space, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran had worked on a program to simulate Earth, instead of Altea, to keep the cow comfortable. Lance's orders, not Shiro's.

Shiro shook his head fondly, glancing at Kaltenecker's door. It wouldn't hurt to go in and hang out for a bit, would it? Kaltenecker certainly wouldn't mind- she was a cow, after all- and besides, Shiro wasn't in the mood to fight robots after having a nightmare about the Arena.

He approached the door, but paused at the last second, hand poised over the open button. Did he hear... voices?

Shiro wasn't one for eavesdropping, but the thought of someone talking to Kaltenecker had him slightly curious. He leaned in close, pressing his ear against the metal door, straining to make out the words.

"Useless," the words drifted through the thick door, barely audible. "Seventh wheel - stupid - worthless - who even cares -"

Shiro covered his mouth in shock. What... Who was that?! Not able to stand hearing those self-deprecating words any longer, Shiro slammed his hand down on the button, eyes adjusting to the darker atmosphere.

The sky had been set to night, the stars twinkling merrily above the grassy fields. There, in front of Kaltenecker's stable, a long, lanky shadow turned in alarm, nearly falling off the stool they were sitting on. Kaltenecker simply snorted, tail swishing as she lumbered away to graze in a corner, leaving the two humans alone.

Lance, Shiro realized with a deep sense of horror and confusion. There was no way Lance had said those things... Unless he'd been complaining about Keith. Yet some horrible, dark part of Shiro knew better. Lance never, ever hurt someone's feelings on purpose. He always knew how to push their buttons, but he never crossed the line between 'playful' and 'hurtful'. It was just the way Lance was.

"S-Shiro!" Lance stuttered, clearly startled. Shiro approached slowly, eyes following Lance as he wiped at his face with the sleeve of his blue pajama shirt. "I-I didn't know you were awake," the boy said, giving the Black Paladin a bright smile.

Shiro's heart cracked as he suddenly realized that the smile didn't reach his eyes. It hadn't for a while now. How had nobody noticed? Chewing at his lip, Shiro gestured to a stool across from Lance. "You don't mind if I..."

Lance shrugged, the smile never faltering. "Go ahead!"

Once Shiro had been situated, the Cuban tilted his head to the side. "Soooo..." he started, drawing out the 'o', "what's got you up so late? I know you usually hang out in the training arena with Keith, so why'd you come here?"

Shiro started in surprise. "Did Keith tell you about that?" he asked curiously. Lance and Keith had an... interesting relationship. He doubted that Keith had told Lance about their nightly training - but how else would Lance know about it?

Lance shrugged in response, answering Shiro's unspoken question. "No way! Mullet barely speaks to me as it is! Usually when I'm up and wanna train late at night, I hear you guys in there, so I just head to either here or the bridge."

Well, this was news to Shiro. He decided to ignore the nickname Keith hated oh-so-much, knowing that scolding Lance wouldn't accomplish anything. "Huh, are we really that loud?"

"Not that loud. Sometimes I watch you guys, 'cause there's nothing else to do."

Shiro frowned. "Really? I've never noticed you before..." He trailed off, mind straining to remember whether he'd seen any flashes of blue while he and Keith sparred. Nothing came to mind. Shiro knew that Lance could be quiet when he needed to, but this was startling.

"So, why are you up?" Shiro questioned instead, deciding not to ask how exactly Lance had stayed unnoticed. Lance shifted, the smile faltering for just a tick. "Um, well..." The teen pursed his lips.

"Just... couldn't sleep," he settled on. Shiro was not satisfied with the incredibly vague answer, and opened his mouth to ask again before Lance cut him off. "Hey, wait a tick!" Lance pointed a finger at Shiro's face. "I asked you first!"

Shiro rolled his eyes in exasperation, but it quickly faded as his dream came flooding back. He suppressed a shudder, lips turning downwards. "Just a bad dream. Don't worry, I'm used to it."

Lance's ocean-blue eyes suddenly sparkled in concern, and he scooted his stool closer. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked, tone gentle. "Maria always felt better when she told me about her nightmares."

Shiro, despite the situation, almost laughed. "Lance, I'm not your younger sibling. I'll be fine - I know how to deal with it."

Lance grinned back, eyes mischievous. "Yeah, I know. You're more like the dad than anything." He continued on, ignoring Shiro's embarrassed sputtering, expression softening. "But everyone needs help at some point in their lives, no matter their age. Just know that I'll listen, if you ever want to talk about it."

Shiro's joking reply of, "You? Quiet?" fell flat before it even left his mouth when he realized that Lance was being completely sincere. He felt his heart fill with affection for the young Paladin. What had they done to gain such a special, loving boy like this in their space family?

That train of thought led to memories of why he'd even come into the room in the first place, and the fuzzy feeling was replaced with dread.

"Lance..." he started slowly, charcoal eyes meeting wide blue ones. "Before I came in, I... heard you saying some things."

Had he not been paying attention, he wouldn't have caught Lance's miniscule flinch. The Cuban smiled nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. "Uh... how much did you hear?"

"Enough. Lance, who were you talking about?"

Lance looked like he was at a loss for words. He glanced over at Kaltenecker, then sighed and stared at his lap. "Um... Well, I could've been talking about anyone really - this isn't important, it's just this random person you wouldn't know -"

"Lance."

Lance gulped audibly, his body hunching in on himself. His eyes glittered darkly, unreadable.

Please say it isn't yourself, please say it isn't yourself, Shiro's mind chanted like a mantra, watching Lance carefully. Please, please.

Lance glanced up, shame glittering in his eyes. "...Isn't it obvious? It's me."

Shiro's heart stopped.

His head went fuzzy as Lance began to ramble, fingernails digging into his legs. "I mean, it should be completely obvious. Hunk and Pidge are the smart ones, you and Keith are talented at literally everything, Allura's got super-awesome magic powers, and Coran keeps the ship running. I do absolutely nothing useful. I'm just the stupid goofball who gets on everybody's nerves. I don't even belong here. I don't-"

Lance choked on a sob, entire body trembling, and Shiro's instincts took over. He grabbed Lance by the shoulders, shaking him firmly. "Stop that," he ordered, eyes fiery. "You are not useless, and you certainly belong here. Who helps taste-test Hunk's alien food, even if they get food-poisoning?" Lance stayed quiet, so he continued.

"Who makes sure Pidge is there for every meal, and plays video games with her to keep her happy? Who is the only one daring enough to approach Keith when he's especially hurting and angry?"

When Lance didn't respond, staring wide-eyed at him, Shiro answered for him. "You, you loveable idiot. The team would fall apart without you. The Blue Lion is the heart of the team, holding them together even in the toughest times. So never, ever think that you're worthless, because Lance?"

He held the fragile boy's gaze, his entire face serious. "You are priceless."

Lance broke down, all but flinging himself into Shiro's lap. He buried his head into the older one's shoulder, sobbing and gasping and shaking. Shiro was taken aback by now small Lance seemed, all curled up. "L-lo siento," he whispered, and it took a minute for Shiro to translate. His Spanish was rather rusty, but he'd heard Lance say it enough times in the past to remember what it meant.

"Don't be sorry," Shiro scolded, though his tone was gentle as he wrapped his arms around Lance. "Just don't think that we don't care about you, because we do. All of us. Even Keith - don't tell him I told you."

Lance gave him a watery laugh, hugging Shiro tightly in return. "Gracias," he said instead - then, as an afterthought, added teasingly, "Space dad."

Shiro laughed at that, not feeling insulted in the slightest. Finally, Lance pulled away, and even though his eyes were red and puffy, and had tear-streaks down his cheeks, he beamed up at Shiro.

Shiro's smile softened. "There's the Lance I know." He ruffled the Cuban's hair, and said Cuban squawked in protest, ducking away. "Hey!"

"You do realize it was already messed up, right? It's the middle of the night."

"Actually," Lance rebutted, "it's two in the morning, and you just made it worse! You know I hate it when people mess with my hair!"

"I know. That's why I did it."

"I hate you so much."

Shiro threw his head back and flat-out cackled at Lance's wounded expression. Lance stuck his lower lip out in a pout, flopping down into Shiro's lap like a cat. "You monster, laughing at my pain."

Yet he couldn't stop the giggle that escaped him, and before long, both of them were a laughing mess on the floor, Lance dragging Shiro down off the stool and into the grass. They lay on their backs, staring up at the familiar constellations.

After a comfortable silence, when Shiro had almost drifted off, his nightmare seemingly years away, Lance spoke quietly. "I miss home."

Shiro's chest tightened at the heartbroken tone of Lance's voice. "I know. Me too. But, once we defeat Zarkon and the rest of the Galra, we'll be able to go home."

Lance sighed softly. "I know. I just. . . I wish I knew how my family is doing. Mama must be devastated - they probably think I'm dead."

"Well then, you'll just have to prove them wrong when you come back," Shiro said confidently.

He could hear Lance's giggle beside him, and he had no doubt that the Blue Paladin was grinning like an idiot. "Yeah, I guess so. Man, Veronica is gonna kill me for adventuring into space before her."

"Oh yeah?" Curiosity seized Shiro. "Tell me about them - your family, I mean," he clarified, debating whether it was too soon to bring it up. "I've heard bits and pieces, but you've never really had the chance to tell me about them."

Lance sighed, and Shiro was relieved to hear that it was a content sigh, not melancholy. "Dios mio, where do I even start? Ok, so I've got two older sisters, Veronica and Sasha, my older brother, Luis, his wife Lisa..."

And there they spent the rest of the night on the grass, telling stories about their families and making stupid jokes - "Hi hungry, I'm Shiro!" "I knew you were the space dad!" -

"Wait, you're telling me that you, a seven-year-old, tackled this fifth-grader while cursing in Spanish?!" "Yep. Mama was furious when I came home with a black-eye, but Marco was flat-out impressed."

"Lance!"

And it was the best night Shiro had had in months.