HELLO!!!! Holy heck it has been far TOO LONG since I last updated and I sincerely apologise for that but now I'm back and with more ideas!!! And thank you for all of your kind words about my author's note, you have no idea how much they helped me and HOW ABOUT THAT NEW CONTENT THOUGH?? Like seriously, season 6 was so good and I have so many things to say but I'll wait until the end of the chapter to scream about it to prevent spoilers. ANYWAY, I think a new chapter is way past due so here you go!!

oOOo

Keith stared after Lance with a growing pain tightening in his chest and was about to run after him before he remembered the capsule that was currently attached to his suit.

Keith shook his head and turned on his heels before heading towards the others. He could feel the tension building in the air before he even entered the room.

"He's right, you know." Shiro was saying as Keith neared the room.

"I know he is!" Allura's voice cut through the air with a snap.

Keith scratched the back of his neck upon entering the room, his face going hot as everyone turned towards him.

He watched as Allura's face softened, "Thank goodness." She breathed as she crossed the room to get to him.

Keith silently reached behind him and unlocked the capsule before holding it out to Allura.

"I got them." Keith stated as she gratefully took the capsule and opened it.

Allura sighed, "Thank you, Keith- I must get these to Coran immediately." She said before removing herself from the room quickly.

Keith nodded after her and then looked back to the others. They stood in silence for a moment before Keith cleared his throat, "Uh... I saw Lance."

Shiro and Hunk glanced at eachother and then looked back at Keith.

"Y-Yeah he came out of the pod not to long ago and we talked to him.. and then.." Hunk began but then trailed off as he looked over at Shiro again, who's face was pinched together.

Keith blinked, "And then what- And don't tell me it's nothing because I saw how he looked when he was running out of here!" He snapped upon watching Shiro open his mouth to interject.

Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We just.. We were trying to reassure him- ourselves too- but then I guess it came out wrong and.. we just.. we messed this whole thing up, Keith."

Keith crossed his arms, waiting for him to continue.

Shiro took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling for a second, "Lance.. he was right.. He said that we panicked over something that we could've handled better if we had just taken a moment to think about what to do instead of rushing into a plan that was half understood and not thoroughly thought out. He.. I don't know what's going on in his head and-"

"I do." Keith interrupted, his voice quiet.

"What?" Shiro asked, looking over at him.

Keith let out a dry laugh and shook his head, "I know what happened to him- in space."

"W-What do you mean?" Hunk asked, his hands clasped tightly together as he swallowed nervously.

Keith looked at the floor, his voice tight, "Well, I don't know what was going on in his head exactly but, I heard what he was saying when he was in space. When he was alone." Keith looked up, his eyes stinging,

"Blue showed me a-an audio clip that she caught when Lance was.. um.. anyway, he.. he was scared a-and lost and he kept talking about how he didn't belong and that he was sorry that he wasn't good enough-" Keith's words started falling out of his mouth too quickly.

"H-He told Blue that he was sorry that he couldn't be the paladin that she deserved and that if he ever came back that he would help her find someone new because he doesn't belong here. He thinks that it was a mistake for him to come here and all he wants to do is go home because he feels so useless here!" Keith's eyes are suddenly wet and the room is too hot and he's just now processing the fact that Lance has felt like a mistake for lord knows how long.

Keith looks over and sees Shiro staring at the floor, his eyes wide as hand covers his mouth.

Keith turns as Hunk's voice breaks through the silence, "I.. I never realised. He's always so happy a-and care free that I just.. I didn't know." Hunk stutters, tears threatening to spill over.

Keith reaches out and grips the yellow paladin's arm, "None of us knew. None of us could even tell- and we don't know how long he's been doubting himself or how long he-" Keith stops abruptly as he looks around.

"Where's Pidge?" He asks quietly.

Shiro finally breaks away from his moment of shock as he looks around as well, "I.. she was just here a second ago."

"We gotta go find her a-and Lance." Hunk says as he starts towards the door.

Shiro follows him and Keith goes to do the same but stops with a gasp as pain erupts through his shoulder.

Oh, right. His shoulder.

Keith glances down and wipes at the blood seeping through his armor. He grimaces at the look of it and shrugs it off as he heads towards the door, his mind focused on something more important.

oOOo

Lance sat with his legs drawn to his chest as he huddled against the corner of his bed, one of his hands mindlessly curled into his sheets.

He blinks dully at the floor as his mind races with what he just did. He sat in silence as the memories of what happened began flowing into his mind, making his head ache.

Lance leaned to the side slightly and rested his head against the wall, allowing his eyes to slip close. He took a deep breath and hugged himself tighter, his throat tightening as he tried to breathe.

A knock on the door caused Lance to flinch and shrink towards the wall.

"Lance?" Lance perks up as he hears Pidge's voice.

He sits up and looks towards the door, "Pidge?" He calls, his voice wavering slightly.

"Y-Yeah, um.. I was wondering if I could come in?" She asks, her voice soft.

Lance nods rapidly, "Of course."

Lance scoots to the edge of the bed as the doors slide open, allowing Pidge to enter before closing behind her.

"What's up?" Lance asks, a fake smile plastered on his face.

Pidge frowns as she walks over and sits next to him, "You don't have to.. You shouldn't have to pretend that you're okay." She says quietly.

Lance's face falls as he looks down at his clasped hands, "I.. I know.. it's just.." His voice shrinks to a whisper and then trails off.

Pidge stares at him, "What?"

Lance looks at her, his eyes shiny, "It's just.. I'm the goofball, you said it yourself and I know you don't know that but it's true! I crack jokes and don't things as seriously as I should which created this picture of what I should be, you know? I'm the light hearted comic relief that can't take anything seriously!" Lance begins talking quickly, his face growing hot,

"But it's hard sometimes! I've built myself up to be this big goofball and then when I.. When I start doubting myself or-or feeling homesick it feels to stupid to bring it up because hey- what could Lance have to worry about, right? He's just the idiotic-"

"Lance." Pidge stops him, her hand on his shoulder.

Lance looks over at her and feels tears escape his eyes.

"You.. You shouldn't have to hide the fact that you're hurting. I know that I don't really understand who you are but I do know that pretending to be okay only makes the pain worse. And you're not just a goofball, sure it's one of your attributes but Allura told me how kind hearted you are and how you're an amazing sharpshooter. She said that the Blue Lion chose you for a reason, and it's because of who you are." Pidge told him, placing her hand over his heart.

Lance's breath caught in his throat and he stared at Pidge in silence before leaning forward and hugging her, his shoulders shaking.

Pidge hesitated for a second before returning the action gratefully.

"Thanks.. I know that you don't know what's going on but... we'll get it figured out." Lance said quietly as he pulled back.

A small smile played on Pidge's lips, "Yeah.. and we'll help you too."

Lance frowns slightly but shakes it off quickly, "So um- what do you.. know exactly?"

"About what?"

"Just like.. how do you remember things, how did you get to the Castle of Lions and form Voltron and.. all that I guess." Lance explains.

Pidge nods, "Well... we found the Blue Lion because Keith was drawn to her energey. Hunk and I just tagged along when he told us about it at the Garrison. And um.. once we found her she took us to the Castle through a wormhole. That's when found Allura and Coran. She explained everything to us the same way she did for you and um.. oh Hunk and I were given the Yellow and Green Lions while Allura got Red. The Black Lion... she's piloted by Shiro but it's fuzzy as to how that happened..." Pidge trails off as her face twists in frustration, "I don't. I don't know how this works out.."

Lance pats her shoulder, "It's okay.. you'll understand soon and then.. yeah, it'll be fine." He reassures her but turns away as he thinks about what she said. How she remembers everything. How it could've worked out that way... without him.

"Pidge? Lance?" A voice echoes through the hall, causing the two paladins to head towards the door.

"Keith?" Pidge calls as she steps out of the room.

She finds him at the end of the hallway and runs over to him.

"Keith what's- oh my god!" She exclaims as she points at the bloody crack on Keith's chest plate.

Keith takes in her shocked expression and waves it off, "It's fine, it looks worse than it is-"

"Keith-" Pidge begins, reaching towards it.

"I said it's fine!" Keith snaps, and Pidge steps back slightly as she watches his eyes flash with orange.

Keith blinks and then shakes his head before looking up at Lance, "Coran is finished with the tonic for Pidge." He states before turning on his heel and walking away, his hand messaging his head.

Lance shares a worried glance with Pidge before running after him.

"Keith!" Lance calls as he falls in step with the paladin.

"Keith, are you okay?"

"Are you okay?" Keith asks, stopping abrupty and staring at Lance.

Lance blinks, "What?"

Keith shakes his head again, "Blue showed me a recording of what you were saying while you were in space."

Lance's eyes widen slightly, "O-Oh I- Keith, I-" But he's cut off as Allura runs into the hallway.

"The tonic is ready- Pidge come quickly." She says as she motions hastily for the youngest paladin, who stares at the two boys in front of her worriedly before following Allura.

Lance watches her go and then looks at Keith again. He's taken aback when he sees the tears in his eyes.

"Keith?" Lance asks, his chest tightening.

"Why didn't you say anything?" His voice is surprisingly soft.

Lance shakes his head, "I don't-"

"Don't play dumb, Lance. You know what I'm talking about." Keith's voice is slightly louder.

Lance stares back at him, "Oh, like you suddeny care about what's going on with me?"

Keith blinks and then steps towards Lance, "What?- Of course I care! You're still my friend despite how often you play the rival card and I'm just confused as to why you didn't say anything!"

"You want to know why I didn't say anyhing??" Lance huffs, "Because I'm the goofball! I'm the guy who can't take anything seriously and who gets ignored because it's just Lance, what the hell could he have to say?? Something dumb probably! I'm the one who's supposed to be stupidly happy all the time and who cracks jokes at bad times and who clearly isn't capable of actually being serious, right??" Lance is almost yelling as the words fly out of his mouth, unaware of his mind telling him that he's already said this and that he's not-

"I'm just Lance! I'm just the seventh wheel who can't get anything right and who-"

"Lance, stop!" Keith yells as he grabs onto Lance's shoulders.

Lance takes in a quick breath as his heart races in his chest.

"You are not just the goofball, alright? You're a great paladin and sharpshooter and friend and I'm so sorry that we let you fall so far to the point where you're doubting yourself so much.. You work hard to be a good paladin- which you are- and you're so much more than you think, trust me!" Keith doesn't know what he's saying until the words are out of his mouth.

Lance stares at him in shock for a second, his mouth open slightly before his knees buckle and he's falling as fast as the tears that are cascading down his face.

Keith grabs onto Lance in surprise and falls to the ground with him, pulling Lance into a hug as the blue paladin breaks.

Lance grips onto the back of Keith's armor as he cries into his shoulder, his chest heaving as he chokes in his words, "I'm sorry- I'm sorry-" He repeats as his sobs rack his body.

Keith keeps one hand around Lance's back as he places another behind his head, "It's okay, Lance.. it's okay." His voice is barely audible but it's all Lance needs as he relaxes slightly.

The two sit there for a while, neither knowing how long they've been there before Lance calms down, his body shaking. He still holds onto Keith as tightly as before, thinking that if he let go then all of this would dissappear and he would be back in space, blind and in pain and drifting aimlessly and cold and alone and-

"Lance?" Keith's quiet voice breaks through Lance's rattled thoughts.

"Yeah?" Lance finds his voice to be too small when he answers.

"You're going to be okay.. trust me." Keith says softly.

Lance lets out a small laugh, and can't do anything but nod slightly.

Keith barely catches the action but a small smile tugs at his lips as he hugs his friend.

They sit there for a moment longer before pulling away, both of them puffy eyed and sniffing.

Keith makes his way to his feet and helps Lance up, "We should probably get back to the others."

Lance nods and uses the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes, "Y-Yeah." He says quietly before following Keith down the long hallway.

oOOo

"Did it work?" Lance hears as he enters the room with Keith.

"I don't know yet, she's still slightly dazed." Allura answers from where she's bent down in front of Pidge, who is sitting on the steps with a blank expression.

"Is she supposed to be reacting like this?" Hunk asks, unaware of the two paladin's entering since his back is facing the entryway.

"Possibly? I've never actually done this before." Allura responds, her face pinched in worry.

"You've never done this before??" Hunk gasps, raising a hand to his head.

"Well I- no but Coran helped me and he's very efficient with these types of things so.. um.." Allura trails off as she straightens up and clasps her hands, her eyes drifting over to where Keith and Lance are.

"Oh, you're here." She sighs as she walks over to them. She places a hand on Lance's arm, "How are you feeling?"

Lance stares at her for a second before answering, "I'm good." He answers curtly, his gaze leaving her and landing on Pidge, "How is she?" He asks, changing the topic.

Allura frowns, "We just gave her the tonic but it seems to have left her in a sort of daze state and- oh my goodness, Keith, your shoulder!" Allura gasps as she moves over to the other paladin.

Keith's gaze snaps to Allura and then to his shoulder, "Oh yeah, it's just a small-"

"Don't say that, It's clearly not small and we need to get you cleaned up immedia-" Allura begins but is cut off by a yell.

"Lance!" Pidge yells, breaking from her daze and jumping forwards so quickly that she almost falls as she looks around.

"Pidge??" Lance asks as he quickly moves over to her, stopping just in front of her as she looks up at him.

Pidge latches onto him without hesitation, causing Lance to stumble slightly.

"You're okay!" She cries, her voice muffled by his armor as she hugs him.

Lance lets out a laugh of relief as he returns the hug, burying his face in her hair.

Pidge pulls away and stares at him, her eyes shining, "If you ever do anything like that again- so help me." She says through clenched teeth but her attempt at being stern fails as she smiles again and punches Lance on the arm.

"Hey!" Lance huffs but grins nonetheless.

"Oh thank the gods it worked." Coran breathes from where he is at the control panel, many small bottles of different liquids surrounding him.

"How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Is anything fuzzy? Do you-" Allura begins but then Pidge looks at her with a grin and she stops.

"I'm fine, Allura." She reassures the princess.

Allura nods and a smile tugs at her lips, "Good. Good... that's wonderful." She sighs as she looks over the paladins, "We're alright.." Her voice is so small that Lance hardly catches it.

Lance jumps as a hand lands on his shoulder. He looks over and sees Shiro standing next to him, his face pinched in an expression that Lance can't read.

"Shiro?" Lance asks as he looks up at him.

"We need to talk." Shiro says quietly.

"Shiro, how about we wai-" Hunk says as he steps closer to Lance.

Shiro shakes his head, "No, Hunk." He looks back at Lance, concern etching across his features, "We.. we just want to know how you're doing, Lance. How you're really doing."

Lance blinks in surprise at Shiro, his throat suddenly dry. He looks over at Hunk, who's eyes are shining, causing Lance to deflate slightly at the thought that he caused that expression to be on his best friend's face.

"I.." Lance starts, looking over at Allura, who's face is covered in concern. He then looks down at Pidge, who gives a slight nod for him to continue. Lance glances over at Keith, who stares back at him with an expression that Lance has never seen before.

His chest is suddenly to tight and the room's to hot as he looks between all of the concerned faces aimed at him, "I don't.. I just-" Lance stutters as he tries to find better words than what he used before, his mind suddenly blank.

Lance shakes his head as tears appear in his eyes and he opens his mouth to say something but he never gets the chance before the alarms shoot off throughout the castle.

"You've got to be kidding me." Allura says as she pulls up a screen to display why the alarms are going off.

"What is it?" Shiro asks as he looks over at the hologram.

Allura's face hardens, "It's a distress signal from..." Allura stops as her eyes widen in shock.

"From where?" Lance asks, the worry building up inside of him projecting his shaking voice.

Allura looks over at him, "It's from Earth."

oOOo

Muahanahahaha I came back on the angst train, you're welcome :)

SPOILERS

Okay so I have some things to say about season six and the first is HELLO RED PALADIN KEITH IS BACK AND CLONE SHIRO IS GONE AND HOLY FRICK I LOVE HE BROGANES! Like what a good brotherly relationship, the heck?

Second, that DnD episode was too good and Lance doing the "Why don't you just knock?" thing again ooooh I love him so much, can you tell?

Third, Lance flat out SOBBING over not being able to not help Shiro when he reached out to him and then only getting a pat on the shoulder?? Like no, t a l k to him you twerps.

There were so many amazing things about this season and I can confidently say that I'm not ready for season 7 because WE'RE GOING HOME