Chapter Text
It’s too bright. Why is it so bright? Lance just woke up. Wait…why is he awake? He should be dead, right? He did good...right? He didn’t fail again…….right? Lance decides to open his eyes, and immediately regrets doing just that. After a moment he finds himself facing a blinding white ceiling. That’s not what he should be looking at. What he should be looking at is the four pairs of eyes staring intensely at him.
“Guys...I-” Lance got a bad coughing fit and wasn’t able to say what he wanted to.
Nobody else said a word, just stared, while Lance stared back at them too afraid to say anything. Then he noticed it. He had tried to reach out to them, but he was restrained against the bed. Both of his wrists were wrapped tightly in gauze and then strapped to the bed. That explains all of the staring. Nobody says a word for about two minutes until Hunk speaks up.
“Uhh...hey buddy.”
Lance just stares back at them, unsure of what to say. Of course he wants to ask how and why he’s here but he’s not so sure that that’s a good idea right now. Allura starts to move closer to Lance and he tenses up, his heartbeat clearly speeding up on the monitor next to his bed. Allura seems to notice instantly, and backs a few feet away.
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Nobody else has said anything except for a small hello, and then Shiro soon asking if he wanted some water. Lance really doesn’t know how to cope with this, and he ends up just sitting there, breathing tubes and all.
“So uhh… Why. Are you guys here exactly?” Lance finally questions, struggling to speak still.
Everybody looks at him directly, wondering why he would even ask that question. It should be obvious why they’re here right? Lance tried to fucking kill himself and he questions why the people who care about him want to help? Maybe Lance won’t understand. Maybe he never will. That’s just a chance that they have to take with helping him to get better.
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To an outsiders eyes, Lotor looks like he’s having the best day of his life. His steps are more bouncy than usual, and he’s wearing a big grin on his face. Maybe he got a job promotion, or found $20 on the ground? It could be anything, really.
Nobody besides Lotor knows the real reason that he’s happy right now. He just pulled off what was probably the best murder in his history of killing. Keith Kogane, the most wanted military officer throughout the entire murderer community. He’s the best fighter out there, and has been taking over their lands one at a time with his other troops, but he does most of the dirty work.
Lotor walks by the cafe that he went to the other day, maybe a little stop won’t hurt? He decides to turn around and walk into the cafe, senses immediately overwhelmed by all the wonderful smells and people bustling around. Lotor takes a seat at a table, a waitress coming over to take his order. It appears to be the same girl from before, and she maybe remembers his order? Lotor just looks at the slightly terrified girl, as he waves her away assuming she can get it right.
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It’s been about three hours, Allura and Pidge are gone, Hunk left for the food court (of course), so that just leaves Lance and Shiro.
“Well, when I said I hoped to see you after the war, I didn’t really expect it to be here.” Shiro chuckles, galran arm rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uh yeah. How have things been by the way? Are you coping well?” Lance can talk better, and is glad to take the focus off of himself, finally.
The small talk goes on for a while, until a nurse comes in and says that visiting hours is over. Although Lance enjoyed the company, he’s sort of glad that he has some more time alone.
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Lotors food came out perfectly, and he starts eating almost immediately. He pulls out his phone in the middle of his meal, scrolling through social media and checking his messages. There’s a text from his boss, stating something about Keith’s lover? Apparently he’s in the hospital for a suicide attempt? Since when did this happen?
Although Lance wasn’t Lotor’s target, at least he’s out of the way for a while. Usually the lovers or the family go after the murderer or whoever hurt their lovely family member or friend. Whatever though, he isn’t Lotors responsibility and he sure as hell doesn’t want him to be.
Lotor finishes his food and pays at the counter. He left a small tip at the table for ever so poor waitress and walks out of the cafe. Oh what to do, where to go?
Where do we go from here?
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Lance wakes up the next day, throat sore and eyes watery. He reaches for the water on his bedside table and drinks almost the entire cup. A nurse comes in and checks him out to make sure that everything is up and functioning again. The process is honestly kind of tedious, but he lets it happen. The sooner he complies, the sooner it’s over.
He has to start group therapy today. It’s going to be stressful, but he can get through it. He can get through anything at this point, even if it takes a long time. He’s going to be stuck here anyways, why not utilise his time here? This is going to be tough…
Where do we go from here?