A/N - First time readers of my works! Please note that I have some of the characters swear. Sometimes it's excessive. If this isn't something you want to read, please press the back button and exit the story. Thanks! FullmetalBitch xx
The morning alarms blared at the same time they always did every day, indicating the start to a new day of training and possible missions. This had been the life of the Paladins of Voltron for the past few months. Well, really, they'd only been effective for waking the Blue, Yellow and – when she decided to sleep – the Green Paladins. Keith and Shiro were normally always up before the alarms sounded, as were the Alteans, so they simply signified that breakfast was soon for those four.
Everyone trickled into the kitchen/dining room within fifteen minutes of the alarms sounding, with the exception of Lance. Since Lance being a few minutes late to breakfast wasn't a rare occurrence, no one really commented on it. Allura had decided to give him a few minutes since he'd explained that it sometimes took him a dobash or two to remember he wasn't at home or the Garrison but, once he was a no-show, sighed and took them through the day's plan, trusting one of them to pass the message along that it was, barring any distress calls, the same training plan as always.
"Where's Lance? He's never this late," Hunk asked when Lance still hadn't shown by the time everyone finished their breakfast. The Yellow Paladin was worrying his bottom lip as he watched the kitchen door, eyes filled with concern for his best friend.
Shiro placed a calming hand on the bigger boy's shoulder. "Head for the training deck. I'll go see what's holding Lance up," Shiro ordered and everyone moved to follow said order, though Hunk was a little hesitant to do so.
The princess paused before she followed the rest of the Paladins to oversee their training. "When you find Lance, please tell him I'd appreciate him taking training more seriously." Shiro didn't get the chance to respond before she swept out of the room to catch up with the others.
Shiro thought her comment was a bit harsh and uncalled for. Sure, Lance was a bit of a goofball but he'd never seen the teenager take training anything less than seriously. He certainly didn't act serious during breaktimes or when they were waiting for the level change or reset but the rest of the time he was focused solely on his shooting. Considering that Lance, Hunk and Pidge had all been cadets in the Garrison only a few months ago – who weren't even close to graduating – Shiro thought they had adapted to their situation extremely well and they all understood the direness of it to the point where Shiro decided he'd be having a word with Allura once he'd found out what was holding their wayward Blue Paladin up.
Shiro shook his head to clear it as he found himself in front of the Blue Paladin's door without remembering the journey he'd taken to get there. He paused, placing an ear against the door and listened for any sounds that would indicate Lance was up. When he heard nothing, he knocked and waited. With no answer was forthcoming, Shiro opened the door and prayed Lance was decent. He didn't bother switching on the light as the hallway illuminated enough of the room and bathroom for him to see by. A quick glance around the dark room confirmed Lance was still in bed, causing Shiro to sigh. Maybe the princess' comment wasn't that far off the mark after all.
"Lance? Lance?" Shiro called the teenager's name as he approached the bed and gently shook his shoulder with his prosthetic arm. When Lance barely even stirred, Shiro called his name once more, this time a little louder. "Lance!"
"Vete, Luis. No me siento bien." Shiro blinked at the Spanish the boy mumbled. All he recognised was the name. Luis was one of Lance's siblings, his eldest brother if Shiro remembered correctly.
Shiro continued to shake Lance's shoulder, a little more persistent than last time. "I'm not Luis, Lance. It's Shiro."
Lance's eyes fluttered opened and looked at him, confused. Shiro couldn't be completely sure because of the fact that he was casting a shadow over Lance's form but he thought Lance's eyes didn't look as lively as they should. He put it down to the teenager having literally just woken.
"Shiro? Why're you in my room?" Lance's words were slurred slightly as he looked around his room, still a bit dazed.
"You didn't wake up when the morning alarms went off and you missed breakfast," Shiro informed him and frowned when it seemed to take Lance a few seconds to realise what he said.
"Shit," Lance swore, sitting up in his bed immediately. "Sorry, Shiro. I'll meet you in the training room once I'm dressed." Lance scrubbed his face with his hands.
Shiro nodded in acknowledgment and left the room to give Lance the privacy he needed. He didn't even make it to the door when he heard a loud thump behind him. Spinning, he was confronted with the sight of Lance collapsed on the floor. By the time Shiro got the light on and was back next to him, Lance had pulled himself up so he was sitting on his knees and was clutching his head in his hands. Shiro was kneeling in front of him, hands over Lance's in worry.
"Lance? What's wrong?" he asked, hid voice filled with concern. He got a proper look at Lance now that the light was on. The Cuban's face was completely flushed, his eyes were screwed in pain, his hands were clammy and his breathing was laboured.
"Me siento como una mierda," Lance managed to gasp out and Shiro groaned in frustration. He didn't miss the way Lance flinched at that.
"English, Lance. I don't speak Spanish." Shiro used the softest tone he could muster at the moment.
It took Lance a moment but he did manage to answer. "Feel sick," was all Shiro caught but he sighed in relief because now they were getting somewhere.
"Can you tell me what your symptoms are, Lance?" If he could, Shiro would be able to tell Coran and hopefully the orange haired Altean would have something in the medical bay that could help Lance.
"Feel hot." Shiro frowned and moved his flesh hand so it rested on Lance's forehead and hissed at how warm the Cuban's skin felt. "My stomach," Lance groaned.
"You feel nauseous?" Lance managed a weak nod. "What else? Is there anything else?" Shiro pushed.
"My head hurts. My throat. Achy... Tired." Lance certainly sounded tired. Shiro didn't bother asking if there was anything else. He doubted Lance could think straight with how high his temperature was.
"Okay, you did good, buddy. Let's get you in bed so you can sleep." Shiro positioned himself so he could help Lance up and was surprised he was met with resistance.
"No. Gotta train or I'll be more useless," Lance muttered, pushing weakly at Shiro's hands. God, Shiro really hoped that was the fever talking and not what Lance really believed. Unfortunately, he had a bad feeling it wasn't the fever talking.
Shiro grasped Lance's upper arms and made the Cuban look at him. "Lance, you are sick. You need to rest and get better." Lance's blue eyes were dulled with fever and pain but Shiro knew he had his full attention. "Do you understand?" Lance nodded and this time when Shiro helped him back into bed, he didn't resist. Shiro pulled the blankets up over him before crouching so he was eye-level with the younger boy again. "I'm gonna find Coran and see if we've got anything to help you feel better. Will you be okay?" Shiro wasn't overly keen about leaving Lance by himself but the boy nodded and shut his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Shiro." Shiro had just gotten to his feet when he heard Lance whisper those words and Shiro would be lying if he said that the fact Lance sounded more upset that he'd let Shiro down than he was about being sick didn't get to the older boy.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about, Lance," he told him sincerely but he doubted Lance heard. From the way he was breathing, he'd already fallen asleep. Shiro flicked the lights off and hesitated slightly before actually leaving Lance's room in favour of locating Coran.
Finding Coran was honestly not that difficult considering Shiro knew he'd be at the controls of the training deck. He went straight for the observation deck that was primarily used by the two Alteans and glanced out of the glass to check on the other three. He couldn't hear them but he could see the varying states of worry in them. Hunk was the worst, naturally, and Pidge and Keith seemed tied, though if you didn't know Keith as well as Shiro did, you would probably miss his tells.
"Ah, Number One. I trust Number Three is almost here?" Coran asked as soon as the alien spotted Shiro approaching them.
"Actually, no. Lance is really sick," Shiro told them. "Do you know if you have anything that can help him? He said he felt nauseous, clammy and his throat hurts. He's also got a severe headache and his temperature is way too high." Shiro listed the symptoms off as quickly as he could. Coran looked worried that Lance was sick and Shiro felt his heart warm at that.
"Unfortunately, the cryopods can't be used in this case. They're for physical injuries, not diseases or illnesses. I'll have to go search the infirmary and see what we've got that he can use. Not everything in there is safe for humans. I'll meet you back in his room." Coran sped out of the room, leaving Shiro and Allura by themselves.
"Princess, could you please tell the others? Tell them to wait for me to talk to them before they check on Lance themselves. I'm gonna head back and check on Lance," Shiro asked and she nodded, guilt evident in her expression.
"I'm sorry, Shiro. I just assumed he'd decided to blow off training and-" Shiro cut her apology short.
"You didn't know. Besides, it's not me you need to apologise to." She nodded in acknowledgment as they both left the control room together. He kept going while she stopped outside the door that lead to the training area. He heard her open it and the other's talking before he turned a corner and was out of earshot.
Shiro beat Coran back to Lance's room, though he would've been shocked if he hadn't since Coran needed to gather supplies. He pulled the chair that sat at the desk over so he could sit next to Lance and keep an eye on him. The younger boy was still fast asleep, though his face was still flushed and his breathing heavy. Shiro didn't do anything except watch the rise and fall of Lance's chest. He wasn't sure how long he sat there before he was suddenly blinking rapidly to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in the rooms brightness as Coran flicked the light switch on. Lance scrunched his eyes shut tighter and muttered something in Spanish before he settled back into sleep.
"How is he?" Coran asked as he used Lance's desk as a table for the supplies he'd grabbed.
"The same. He's still asleep," Shiro said, speaking quietly as his eyes flicked to Coran before he focused back on Lance. Coran put something on Lance's forehead and was watching the small machine it was attached to intently. Faint beeping was heard a moment later and Coran frowned at it. "What?" Shiro asked concerned.
"It says his temperature in 38.1°C. Is that bad for humans?" Coran asked. Shiro sighed in relief at the news. He'd thought it had felt worse than that.
"It's not great but it's better than I thought it was. He just has a high fever," Shiro explained and Coran made a noise of understanding before he looked back at the items he'd grabbed and snatched up a brown bottle.
"Well, unfortunately, this is the only thing that will help him, I'm afraid. It'll reduce his fever, get rid of his headache, and settle his stomach. I'd recommend wetting some cloths to help with his fever as well." Coran seemed to be upset that he couldn't offer Lance any more help. "Other than that, it's just a matter of waiting for his fever to break. Once that happens, he'll heal a lot quicker." Shiro nodded.
"Okay so how much of that stuff and how often should he take it?" Shiro nodded at the bottle in Coran's hand.
"One capful every six hours should do it. Do you want to give him some now?" Coran asked, leaving the decision up to Shiro. Shiro didn't want to wake Lance up but the sooner he took the medicine, the quicker he'd start feeling better so he gestured for Coran to hand it over.
"Lance?" Like he'd only done a little while ago, Shiro shook Lance awake. This time Lance woke up a little quicker.
"¿Qué?" Lance asked once his eyes landed on Shiro.
"Do you think you could sit up and take some medicine? It'll make you feel better," Shiro coaxed as Lance eyed the medicine warily but gave in when he saw Shiro's pleading eyes.
Lance sat himself up and took the cap from Shiro. His hand shook but he downed it in one go and regretted agreeing to take it once the taste hit him. "Gross!" he complained, coughing harshly to get rid of the taste. Shiro rescued the cap before Lance could toss it and gave it back to Coran.
"Sorry, Lance but it'll help you get better," Shiro told him, offering his words with a sympathetic smile. It didn't seem to be enough since Lance shot a thoroughly ineffective glare at him before he laid back down. "Get some sleep, kiddo." Lance didn't bother arguing and just gave into the sleep he'd felt tugging at him.
Shiro and Coran watched him for a minute and, when his breathing deepened, Shiro spoke. "Do you think you could find some cloths that we can use as cold packs for him? I'll get the water set up," Shiro asked and Coran headed off to the closest linen room to find what he could.
Shiro went into Lance's bathroom and grabbed the bowl every bathroom had under the sink and filled it halfway with cold water from the sink. He carefully carried it back to Lance's bedside and placed it on the floor next to his bed. Coran came back only a few minutes later, arms full of small clothes. He dumped them on the half of the desk the medicine's he'd brought in didn't take up. Shiro grabbed one and examined it. It was about half the size of a hand towel and was perfect for what he needed it for. Folding it in half than half again so he had it the right size, he dunked it and placed the cool cloth on Lance's forehead. They knew right away it was effective because Lance sighed in relief and relaxed slightly.
The two of them lingered for a minute further but both finally admitted they couldn't do much more for Lance. Getting up from the chair, Shiro gestured for Coran to follow him out of the Blue Paladin's room. Once Coran was in the hall, Shiro gave Lance a final look before he shut off the light once more and placed his hand on the electronic pad to get the door to close. "Do you happen to know where everyone is?" Shiro asked as they headed away from Lance's room.
"I believe Allura had them gather in the room where we debrief after each mission," Coran answered after a moment.
"Okay, let's go talk to them. I'm sure Hunk is rather worried." Coran nodded in agreement. It wasn't hard to see how close the two of them were.
Shiro found himself proven right when he was nearly flattened the moment he entered the debriefing room. "Is Lance okay? What's wrong with him?" Hunk asked as soon as he'd backed off slightly to give Shiro breathing room. Pidge was looking just as worried and so were Keith and Allura, though they were polite enough not to crowd Shiro and Coran.
"Lance will be fine," Shiro assured Hunk. "He has, well, it's similar to the flu back home, though his seems to be a bit worse. Coran found some medicine to help him and we've got some wet cloths to help with his fever. Other than that, we need to treat this like we would a normal flu. Make sure he drinks lots of water and gets lots of rest." Shiro paused to let them take in what he said and all of them visibly relaxed. Shiro continued. "Until his fever breaks, he'll need constant supervision so I want to set up a schedule so he'll always have someone with him, just in case. Is everyone okay with that?" He wasn't met with any objections. So now came the last part. "Princess, Coran, I won't be including you in that schedule." He held up a hand to stop the protests that were coming at him. "You're both needed to run the ship and make sure we're safe. I'm sorry, but the four of us can handle looking after Lance." Though Shiro knew the two of them didn't like it, he also knew that they knew he was right.
"Okay. We'll leave Lance's care in your hands. Let us know if we can help in any way," Allura acquiesced. Shiro thanked her and the Alteans left the room, leaving them to sort out the details of the schedule.
Shiro turned to face the three remaining Paladins. "Before we figure out the schedule, there is something I want to know. Hunk?" The Yellow Paladin looked at him. "Have you been around Lance when he was sick before?"
"Yeah, why?" Hunk was rightfully curious.
"Does he normally respond in Spanish?" Understanding flickered through Hunk's eyes.
"Yeah, it's habit. Spanish is his native language and his parents aren't as fluent in English as he is so whenever he got crook back at his home, he'd always answer in Spanish. He never grew out of it, even in the Garrison. He'll stop once his fever breaks."
Shiro nodded at his explanation, curiousity now satisfied. "Thanks," he said, giving Hunk a smile before he addressed what they were actually supposed to be doing. "Now, let's figure out this schedule."
In the end, they ended up agreeing to do four-hour shifts each. Since Shiro had volunteered to take the first four hours, Hunk decided he would be next. Pidge then claimed the third shift and Keith was given the fourth one before he'd hand it back over to Shiro. The Black Paladin made sure they knew that Lance had to have the medicine every six hours, which meant Hunk was the first of them to have to give him his next dose. The three younger Paladins had asked several questions surrounding Lance's treatment and seemed surprised when Shiro told them all they could do was make him drink the medicine and keep swapping out the wet cloths on his forehead. Hunk didn't look happy when Shiro had repeated what Coran had said in regard to using a cryopod but the Yellow Paladin seemed to accept that there were some limitations to the ancient device without much of a fuss.
With the schedule sorted, Shiro left the three of them to entertain themselves for the rest of the day while he returned to Lance's room to sit with him. Lance didn't even flinch at the light this time, though Shiro still made sure to set it to the lowest brightness he could before he resumed his previous position at Lance's bedside. He felt the cloth on Lance's head but it hadn't warmed up significantly enough for Shiro to switch it. With not much else to do, Shiro went and grabbed his tablet from his room before returning. Unlocking the device, Shiro glanced once more at the sick teenager before he pulled up the Altean novel he'd been reading and let himself be distracted by the words in front of him.
It took nearly one and a half quintets for Lance's fever to finally break but not before it had spiked dangerously during one of Keith's shifts. The Red Paladin had panicked when it had happened and woke Shiro up an hour before they were due to switch. It took until Shiro was halfway through his own shift to convince Keith to go and catch some sleep and even then he didn't go quietly. It seemed Lance had a knack for scaring Keith because even though his fever had actually broken during Pidge's previous shift, Lance didn't actually wake up fully coherent until it was Keith's turn to sit with him.
"Keith?" Lance asked once his eyes had adjusted to the dim light and figured out what the odd shape next to his bed was.
Keith startled out of his light doze at the sound of Lance's croaky call of hi name. "Lance? You're awake? How do you feel?" Keith asked, rapidly firing question at Lance even as he grabbed the space thermometer that Coran had been nice enough to teach them how to use when Shiro realised it was quite different to the standards ones on Earth.
Lance got himself into a sitting position before drawing his knees up and resting his head on them. "One thing at a time, dude. What happened? Did I screw up on a mission again?" Lance asked once his head stopped spinning. He couldn't remember going out in Blue recently but with how much his head hurt, he wouldn't be surprised if he had and just couldn't remember.
Keith's face screwed up at the phrasing of the question but answered it. "No, we haven't had any missions for a while," he told him, surprising Lance a little. "You got really sick nearly two days ago. Shiro found you after you didn't turn up for breakfast. Don't you remember?" Keith asked.
Lance's face screwed in thought as he tried to recall anything that would support what Keith had just told him before coming up with flashes of Shiro kneeling in front of him, concern all over his face. "Vaguely." His head no longer felt like it was being split open so he turned to face Keith properly. He was honestly shocked to see real concern in the Red Paladin's violet eyes.
"How do you feel?" Keith asked for the second time, using the chance Lance had offered to take his temperature. A few beeps sounded and Keith was relieved to see his temperature was well within the normal range for a human.
"Like Blue stood on me," Lance said with a small chuckle. "Uh, really tired and like I need a shower and a couple of painkillers for the massive headache I have. That's about it," Lance told him honestly and Keith nodded like he expected nothing less.
"Yeah, you basically had the flu, only on steroids. Shiro said you'd feel really tired for a couple more days. Coran actually found some painkillers safe for humans to take if you want some." Lance nodded and Keith handed over the tablet and glass of water. Lance mumbled a thanks as he took the painkiller and drained the glass. Keith placed it next to the jug they'd dug up.
"I didn't get anyone else sick, did I?" Lance asked, worry all over his face.
"No. Everyone's fine," Keith assured him and Lance relaxed. Lance could feel the painkillers working already and he was extremely grateful for that as he lay back down.
"Good. That's good. I feel fine now so you don't have to stay here anymore. I'm sure you have better things to do. I'm just gonna go back to sleep," Lance yawned before spoiling Keith's oncoming rant by falling asleep the moment his head hit his pillow which meant Keith was forced to settle for glaring at him which was, admittedly, not as effective as his rant would've been.
Lance was still out when Shiro showed up for his shift. Keith turned in his chair and flashed him a brief smile.
"How is he?" They'd made a habit of asking the person they were taking over Lance duty for a small report covering anything that might have happened during their shift or the shift before, if it was important enough.
"His fever broke while Pidge was sitting with him but he only woke up about three hours ago, took a painkiller and went back to bed." Shiro was beyond relieved to hear that. It was nice getting good news instead of bad or the same news.
"Did he say anything?" Shiro had wondered about whether Lance would actually remember what had happened since his fever had been pretty high.
"Yeah," Keith told him and Shiro knew from his tone of voice that whatever Lance had said, Keith wasn't happy with it. "He asked whether he'd screwed up on a mission again when he woke up and once he'd taken the painkiller, he told me I could leave because he was sure I had better things to do," Keith relayed and watched as Shiro's face fell.
"Damn. I knew it wasn't the fever." Keith didn't think Shiro had meant to actually say that last part out loud but he didn't care.
"What wasn't the fever?" Lance shifted in his sleep and turned so he was now facing them instead of the wall. The pair waited for a few seconds but he didn't wake up.
"Look, this is something I need to talk to Lance about first, privately." Keith scowled at Shiro's response but knew he'd get nothing if he pushed the matter. Deciding he'd just corner Lance later if he wanted answers, Keith left Shiro alone with Lance with only a few words exchanged between the two of them before the Red Paladin headed for the training room so he could take the edge of his irritation off on a gladiator.
Shiro watched his friend leave Lance's room and grimaced in sympathy for whatever poor training bot was called up by Keith. The Black Paladin had half a mind to tell Keith to go and relax in his room or in the common room rather than fight something but in the end, Shiro let him go do what he needed to. He did feel bad about keeping Keith in the dark but it was up to Lance to tell people about anything personally affecting him while it was Shiro's job to make sure the Blue Paladin knew he could without being judged or looked down on.
When Lance woke up next, Keith was nowhere in sight. However, Shiro was sitting where Keith had been previously, silently scrolling through something on his tablet. Though he didn't mean to, Lance gave an annoyed huff at the sight, which alerted Shiro to the fact he was up.
"I told Keith I was fine. You guys don't need to be watching me anymore," Lance told him as he sat himself up a bit more carefully than he had the first time. That painkiller Coran had found was the best drug Lance had ever put in his system. Not only had it wiped out his headache but it had also helped with his full body aches, courtesy of the space flu. Shiro watched him as he got to his feet, a little unsteady a first but he soon got his balance back.
"Where are you going?" Shiro asked as Lance dug through his cupboard and came up with a new set of pj's.
"Shower. I so need one," Lance told him, sighing happily at the thought of washing his sweat-soaked skin and ridding himself of any lingering sickness. Shiro didn't even manage to say anything before Lance had entered his bathroom and shut the door. However, before Shiro could decide about what he should do, the bathroom door slid open again and revealed an awkward-looking Lance. "Hey, Shiro? Keith said you were the one who found me when I got sick and made me rest so thanks for that." Shiro smiled at him, both in response to the thanks and the slightly nervous tone it was said in.
"There's no need to thank me for that," Shiro said honestly.
"Yeah, well, you could've gone and gotten Hunk to deal with me and you didn't so thanks. I'm gonna go for a shower now." With that, Lance disappeared back into his bathroom, leaving Shiro with something else to wonder over.
The way Lance had that, like he had expected them to palm him off to Hunk if they'd ever found him sick merely confirmed that Shiro needed to talk to Lance about this. With that in mind, Shiro stayed in his seat and went back to his tablet, keeping an ear on the sound of the water running for nearly fifteen minutes before it was turned off. Shiro glanced up but it took Lance another five minutes to come back to his bedroom, where he nearly jumped out of skin when he realised Shiro was still there.
"Why are you still here? I told you, I'm fine now," Lance said, sounding confused about Shiro still being there. "I really do appreciate everything you guys have done the past couple of days for me but I'm fine. You can go back to more important things," Lance said as he sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall that acted as a headboard, feeling so much better after his shower, though he would have to change the sheets before he crawled back into bed.
"I believe you but we still need to talk." Lance tensed. Those were never good words. Nothing good ever followed that kind of sentence. "Firstly, why didn't you tell anyone you were sick before it got this bad?" Shiro didn't sound angry, which surprised Lance. It was more like his leader was concerned.
"I didn't tell anyone cuz there was nothing to tell." Lance shrugged a shoulder when Shiro raised a disbelieving brow. "I dunno what to tell you. I went to bed feeling fine then the next thing I remember is waking up with Keith sitting there." He gestured to the chair Shiro was in.
"Oh, I just assumed with how bad you were that morning, that you'd been feeling off a day or two prior. Sorry." Lance shook his head at the apology. It was a fair enough assumption in Lance's books and didn't require an apology. "There was something else I wanted to talk to you about. After you collapsed, I tried getting you back into bed so you could rest but you told me you didn't want to skip training because you'd be more useless and then you apologised for getting sick, like you'd somehow let us down." Lance flushed with embarrassment.
"It was just the fever." His voice wasn't as smooth or confident as he'd been aiming for but hopefully Shiro wouldn't notice.
"That's what I thought." Thank fuck. "Except," oh no, "Keith told me what you'd said when you woke up before." Lance was gonna seriously injure that stupid mullet.
The only thing Lance could think of doing to try and avoid answering the question was to sit there in silence and pretend it hadn't been asked. However, it only took a few seconds for Shiro to realise his brilliant plan and Lance soon felt the bed shift and dip slightly as Shiro climbed up next to him. Because of how close Shiro had sat next to him, Lance's body leaned into the Black Paladin's a little. Lance brought his knees up to his chest as a further attempt to avoid the question and he kept his eyes trained on his feet so he didn't look over at Shiro. For a few moments, neither one of them spoke but Shiro soon changed that.
"Lance, you are so important to this team. You are vital to this team," Shiro told him, his voice soft but somehow nearly too loud in the silent room. "Without you, this team fall apart. Everyone's been so withdrawn and worried while you were sick. You're the glue that holds us together. You make us forget we're fighting a war with your jokes. You help Coran and Allura with their grief. You make Pidge and Keith remember that sleep is as important as training or whatever project Pidge is absorbed in. You help Hunk with his piloting and cooking and you provide him a shoulder to lean on. You help me more than even I realised. Listening to you tell us stories helps me forget what I've been through and you have this knack of knowing when I've had a nightmare because you always make me that special not-quite-but-close-enough coffee before morning training." Tears had started trailing down Lance's cheeks at this point but Shiro wasn't done yet. He wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulders and kept going, determined to make the teenager realise just how important he was.
"You even make the Lions more relaxed. I have no clue how you do that but I noticed that you'd hang back after a stressful mission and when you catch up to us, the Lions are happier," Shiro said, shaking his head in amazement. "And there's the fact that you're our sharpshooter. No one comes even close to you in that department. I don't even wanna think about how many times we owe you for taking out a threat we didn't notice until it was nearly too late," he told the Blue Paladin. "If you need further proof as to how much you are worth to us, take the last two days. I had to effectively ban Allura and Coran from visiting you more than three times a day so that the Castle could keep running and we wouldn't be ambushed. Hunk and Pidge used any and every excuse under the sun to check on you when it wasn't their turn to sit with you. I even had to talk Keith into leaving your room more than once, especially when your fever spiked while it was his shift." Lance's tears were flowing thick and fast now and he was having to stifle his sobs into his knees. Shiro tugged him closer and Lance went willingly. He buried his head into Shiro's chest and wrapped his arms tight around Shiro's waist while he cried. Shiro ran his flesh fingers through Lance's wet locks and continued talking.
"I don't know how you managed to talk yourself into believing you weren't absolutely vital to this as more than just someone to pilot Blue because you are her paladin and so much more, Lance. You're our sharpshooter, our glue and we would be completely lost without you. Don't ever let yourself think otherwise and if you do, come and find me and I'll tell you how wrong you are." He gave Lance a squeeze as he finished speaking and kept up his ministrations with his hair while Lance kept crying. It didn't take long for the stifled sobs to calm down to hiccups and soon they disappeared altogether. Lance didn't make a move to pull away and Shiro didn't make him. Lance did twist himself so his face wasn't buried in Shiro's chest anymore but he didn't loosen his hug and neither did Shiro. Shiro was almost convinced Lance had fallen asleep again when he spoke.
"You check on us." Lance sniffled as Shiro made a questioning hum. "When you've had a nightmare and can't back to sleep, you check on us. I don't know if the others have noticed but I did 'cuz my mamá did the same thing after my youngest sister got whooping cough as a baby and suffered sleep apnoea, which meant she stopped breathing for a few seconds. But that's how I know you've had nightmares 'cuz you do what mamá does," Lance explained, voice a little raspy after crying so much.
"I'm sorry I woke you," Shiro apologised, knowing how much Lance liked his eight hours a night and he felt a little guilty for interrupting them.
"It's 'kay. I don't mind," Lance told him, stuttering when he yawned. "Made me feel safe, like someone cared enough to make sure I was okay," Lance admitted, fighting to keep his eyes open.
Shiro noticed his struggle and shifted himself so they were both laying down on the bed. Lance adjusted to the changed position with no fuss, allowing himself to curl up so his arms were trapped between him and Shiro and he was facing the door. Shiro shifted slightly once more before he settled, making sure he wasn't about to fall off the edge of the bed before he ran his prosthetic fingers through Lance's hair, lulling the brunette further into sleep.
"Of course I care about you, Lance," Shiro told him, speaking softly. "You and everyone else on this ship have become my space family and I wouldn't trade any of you for the world." Shiro's voice left no room for doubt. "Now go to sleep. Coran would have me scrubbing cryopods for months if he discovered I've kept you from getting enough rest." Lance chuckled at the mental image and Shiro smiled.
"Okay. Thanks, Shiro." Lance shut his eyes completely, ready for sleep to wash over him once again. "And thanks." Shiro watched as his breathing evened out to a slow, deep rhythm that was far more comforting to Shiro's ears than his breathing had been while he was sick.
"Anytime, kiddo. Anytime."
A/N - This is my very first fic for the Voltron fandom so please tell me what you think! I have a couple more ideas for one-shots and an idea for a multi-chaptered story but I've got a story to finish for a different fandom before I start on that. This was just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone so I caved and typed it up. Please let me know what you think to how I wrote the characters! Translations are as follows:
vete, Luis. no me siento bien - Go away, Luis. I don't feel well
me siento como una mierda - I feel like crap
¿Qué? - what?
Once again, thanks for reading this fic! *EDITED 19/06/2020*