It would be accurate to say that Lance was crying, but that didn't fully explain what was going on.

Yes, there were tears streaming down Lance's face, more only coming as he wiped them away with the back of his hand, running down the hall to find somewhere, anywhere, where nobody would find him for a while.

But these tears weren't normal. They were confused tears, for one thing. Confused because they didn't know how to feel. Confused because nothing was making sense. Confused because it seemed like their trust had been in vain, and because nobody seemed to understand. They were also angry tears. Angry because they'd been betrayed. Angry because they'd let their guard down. Angry because they were crying about all of it.

What a babyish thing to do.

Wasn't that what Keith had said? That Lance was being a baby? Was he just proving Keith right now? Was he becoming exactly what he feared he was?

Maybe.

That's why these were also sad tears. Heartbroken tears. Helpless tears. Because no matter how hard Lance tried, no matter how much he tried to hide it, he knew he was hurt by it all. He was hurt by Keith, and as much as it made him mad to have let his guard down at all, he was even sadder that he'd been hurt by somebody he'd thought he could finally trust.

Trusting Keith wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever done . . . he knew they were teammates, and although they had a rivalry, it was mostly just friendly bickering at this point. He'd grown a lot closer to Keith, and to all of his teammates, in the time they'd spent together, and he'd become a lot more mature, too.

Maybe that was why he was so angry to be hurt.

Wasn't he supposed to be this strong, cool, untouchable god? Wasn't he supposed to be someone that everyone could count on, that everyone adored, that everyone wanted to be?

But he wasn't like that, not in the slightest. He was weak. He was hurt. He was vulnerable.

He hated it.

He hated that he'd ever spilled anything to Keith.

He hated that Keith was such an asshole.

He hated that he was so weak.

He hated himself.

He'd always hated himself.

Lance leaned against whatever was behind him in the random hallway he'd wound up in, the tears still coming. He slid down, his knees pulling up to his chest, as he cried into his hands, trying to dry the tears with his shirt.

Why am I even so upset about this? It's not like Keith and I are best buds or something. He says jerky stuff to me all the time . . . why is this so different?

Lance knew the answer, deep down.

It was because he'd finally opened up to him.

Because he'd always just ignored the insults before, or at least he thought he had.

Because no matter how much he hated to admit it, he and Keith weren't just teammates.

They were friends.

And betrayal from a friend that close hurt like hell.

Lance had finally stopped crying, an eerie silence filling the hall. The torch-lights had turned on around him when he entered, but even the brightly lit white hallway felt dark to him. Everything felt dark to him. He had no idea what to do. Avoid Keith, for one thing. But was he just going to ignore his emotions like he always did? If he was being honest with himself, was that even working anymore? Had it ever worked?

When you're feeling down, remember the things you love.

The words echoed in his mind, his mother's mantra comforting.

He closed his eyes, his breathing steady, as he thought of home. His family. His mom's hugs. Garlic knots. Varadero beach. Surfing. Swimming. Girls. Friends.

What about now? What did he love that he still had now?

He had to think for a moment, but the memories soon came. He loved his team. Hunk. Shiro. Pidge. Princess Allura. Coran. His Lion. The stars. The planets they'd saved. Being part of something. Saving people. Being a sharpshooter.

. . .

He'd forgotten something.

He didn't know what it was, but he was sure he'd forgotten something . . .

What could he have forgotten?

He quickly went through everything again.

Family. Hugs. Water stuff. Girls. Friends. Team. Stars. Savi- wait. That was it. His team. He'd said everyone . . . except for Keith.

But how could he say he loved Keith, after all of this? Sure, he'd admitted to himself that they were friends, but did he really have to love him? Did he really have to admit that the relationship they had was equal to that of the one he had with Coran, or Allura, or Pidge, or Hunk, or Shiro? He didn't want to. He wasn't even sure if they had a relationship anymore. He didn't really want one, at the moment. After all, he'd just been crying because of him. People don't just cry because of someone they love.

Love hurts, mi amor.

Damn in, why did his mom always have to have relevant life advice like that? It was getting annoying, especially since he obviously did not, in any way, shape, or form, love Keith.

. . .

Right?

The Blue Paladin shook his head, dismissing the thoughts. He pulled his MP3 player out of his jacket pocket, putting in the earbuds to listen to some nice, relaxing music that would drown out all of his problems . . .

"Keith, where'd Lance go?" Shiro asked as the teen entered the room, the rest of Team Voltron looking to Keith with confused looks.

"He ran off. Thanks a lot for dragging us out there, by the way." Keith replied dryly, his teeth gritting.

"Oh, uh . . . " Shiro bit his lip. "I'm just trying to make sure nobody's doing anything they shouldn't be do-"

"Wait, wait, wait, what's going on?" Pidge asked, quirking a brow.

"Nothing," Keith said for what felt like the billionth time that day.

Hunk raised a brow at the three of them, then grabbed his spoon to finish off his food. He munched blissfully, making Keith a bit jealous. If only he'd been more careful with his words. O-or if he hadn't gotten so angry about it all. Or if he'd never fallen asleep . . . never gone to see Lance in the first place.

No, that was selfish. If he hadn't gotten to see Lance, he wouldn't have ever found out about all of those insecurities, all of those fears. They were definitely things Lance had needed to get out.

Then again, if he hadn't gotten to see Lance, none of this would have happened, and at least Lance wouldn't be angry as quiznack at him.

Too bad he couldn't do it over again.

Noticing the weird silence in the room, Keith murmured a small, "I'm gonna go train," before exiting the room.

He walked towards the training deck, though contemplating looking for Lance as he round a corner. If he hadn't been so occupied in his thoughts, he might have noticed a small thing crawling along the floor of the hallway. He might have noticed how alien it looked, and he might have realized it was definitely not Altean.

He may have even stopped what was coming next.

Note: This is a shorter chapter, I know, but don't worry! The next one will be a longer one! Your reviews are deeply appreciated. Coming up next: Alien stuff! Insecurities! Klangst! (As if more Klangst is possible hehe.)