Chapter Text
Lance trudged the now silent halls, his heart aching in his chest seemed to persist annoyingly long after sending his space parents to bed.
He groaned to himself, seeing as there was no need to think quietly, he spoke to himself, at least from an outsider's perspective.
“Yeah, yeah I get it...I know...I can't just end it! He needs me! Keith needs me, and I-I! I...don't exactly need him…”
Lance took a small pause, he held himself as he stared down the hallway. It curved to the right and to the left. The left path lead to the bridge, and the other lead to a longer route to the bridge. The second route includes passing by the kitchen and the training room.
“I think it's best if I just look for Coran. I don't want to get into another fight with Keith. Why? Because he won't be done beating up the bots, and I don't feel like co-oping with him. Again, we will fight! Sometimes I feel like you never listen to me. Making out can't fix everything, and emotions aren't his strong suit.”
Lance rolled his eyes, he chose the shorter of the paths, to Coran he will go.
The walk itself was rather short, it didn't take Lance too long, a couple tics and the blue paladin was there.
Coran was busy at...at...what was he doing? To an outsider's perspective, he looked to be winking at a mirror, and sending himself one liners.
To Coran, he was improving his self esteem and motivating himself to work harder, better, stronger,faster, smarter, while intricately keeping the Castle in one peace and keeping it from being wrecked.
Now Coran, the most beautifully gorgeous, handsome and capable man that he is, he was just more than his dashing good looks. You see, every night cycle, while the paladins were asleep, he ran quite a difficult task of keeping the castle up and running.
At a certain time, Coran would completely close the training rooms, in hope of forcing the red paladin to go to bed. Normally he would ever so slightly lower the difficulty of the training bots until they would just drop from the ceiling and flip over. Now this would frustrate the poor boy, but this would make him actually leave the training room. Now once he left, Coran the best man, would lock said training room and he would activate the floor tiles to move in the direction of his room.
Once Coran does that, he checks the kitchen and the laboratory to make sure the green child is not overworking themselves, and the adorable yellow paladin wasn't overeating. Once he checks the rooms, he locks the doors shut, making sure no one gets in.
And as for helping our black paladin, he plays a soothing melody throughout his hallway. What better melody to play than that of oceans.
For the Princess, he had found an old picture of King Alfor and placed it above her bed. He had found the picture in a deep and dark part of the castle. Which means the scary junk room down the hall from his living quarters. The room isn't exactly scary, just a bit disturbing. There were so many creepy king alfor merchandise...like old dolls...and puppets. Why did they even have that? Why was that a thing in the castle? Who authorized that room?
As Coran the traumatized man was in deep thought, he was quickly snapped out of his haze by a hand waving in front of his face.
“Hellooooooo? Altea to Coran? You okay, space uncle?”
Coran gasped and clutched his heart as he stared wide eyed as Lance.
“My boy! Don't sneak up on me like that! I could have given you the ol’razzle dazzle! You would have been out before the first razzle, and out of it by the dazzle!”
Coran saw lance snicker in amusement, it brought a smile to his face.
“Sorry, sorry, I should have warned you before I even came in. So, what are you doing anyways?”
“Well, my boy, I making preparations for the night cycle, it's quite strenuous work. Thankfully my job has been cut in half, you were a great help! It would have taken me hours to even scratch the surface of how to get the others out of their respective areas!”
Coran patted the blue paladins back, he smiled proudly at the other.
Coran adores Lance. He loves and is so proud of his boy, he does so much, and although there are hiccups here and there, he can see so much potential growing in him.
Lance reminded him of his son, to be more exact, Lance is the exact copy of his son. Maybe just a few inches short, and a few shade darker, but they have the same perfect blue eyes.
Everytime he stares into them, it tugs at the altean’s heart, a part of him wishes those eyes belonged to his child, but he is content with Lance being there with him.
Every day and night cycle, since they met, Coran had slowly began to get closer and closer to the blue paladin, each and every single moment they had together, Coran would memorize their time together. When it came time for him to rest, he would analyze them, and he would try his best to see picture his son’s face.
Every small conversation he had with Lance, he pictured his son, Alfin.
Although it hurt him, deeply with the painful and blatant reminder that his son was, and so was practically the entire altean race except himself and the princess, he relished in the memory of what could have been.
His son could have chosen the same career path himself, but he is his mother's son, he chose to be in the royal army. He served the crown well, and he was loyal to a fault, just like him. Just like Lance.
Goodness, his thumper is beating wildly again. It will pass, and with each memory, it will get easier. Just breathe and relish in the moment with Lance, his other boy.
With one last look at the Cuban boy, he turned away to look at the stars.
“So, Lance, what brings you to me so late? It's hardly like you to be up this late, what has been eating you?”
Coran felt a weight over his side, Lance must have leaned on him.
“Well...Keith and I are getting worse. I don't know how the others don't realize it. We've been fighting a lot lately, and I don't think I can keep putting up with it. I love Keith, but it's so hard to be happy with him instead of being angry with him. It's like...I don't know...it's hard. I think we would be better off without each other. It's like, if we stay together, he is going to eat away at me and my happiness and I'm going to be stuck being miserable with him. I don't want that!”
Lance was shaking, and Coran felt a wetness on his arm. He sighed and brought the younger in for a hug, a tight one at that.
He allowed for Lance to sob, he rubbed small circles into his back.
“My boy, love is about giving and taking. Being equal in each other's eye, having wholehearted trust in the other. Knowing that when one is hurting, the other is there to soothe their tears. Love is being surrounded by friends and family, the warmth one finds in the coldness and darkest of times and lift you up for phoebs to come. Love is a feeling and a material thing. Love is knowing you aren't alone and you will never have to be.”
“Maybe you and Keith do love each other, but breaking each other down is not what people in love do. It's time, my boy, if this is what you truly feel, then it's time to end this relationship. I'm sure you two will be able to find the time to grow as adults and fill yourselves with something you're missing.”
Lance's sobbing came to a halt, he pulled away and wiped his tears. Coran pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away a few lone tears that were being quite persistent.
“When is there a right time?”
Coran sighed, Alfin asked the same thing. There goes that thumper again.
“There is rarely ever a ‘right’ time, you have to make whatever time, the ‘right’ time.”
Coran smiled softly at Lance. This boy is just like Alfin, he is his pride and joy. Lance is his son. His joy, his heart, his world. He adored Allura, but Lance, he is a reminder of what he lost, and a reminder of what he gained. He won't lose this child. Not to the army, and not to Voltron. He will do his best to make sure of that.
To start, he turns and swiftly lead himself and Lance out of the bridge.
“Lance, I believe at the last planet, I had the opportunity to ask some of the natives about some beauty supplies and how to maintain their regimens. They gave us about two phoebs worth of supplies, and if I remember correctly, you surely did enjoy their appearance quite a lot. Now, how about I show you as to where I put the beauty supplies.~”
Lance gasped, he stared in awe at Coran, and a toothy grin took over his features as he followed enthusiastically after the older altean.
“No way! We have to try it!”
“We certainly will, but during the morning cycle! It is far too late for it now.”
“But Coraaaaaaaan!”
“No buts, what's, and certainly no razzles!”
The two continued to banter back and forth as the older lead them to their destination.
Coran adores Lance, he was just like his son. No. He is his son. His other son, the son he is just getting to know and bond with. The son he can cherish and protect.
Coran loves his son, and Lance adores his dad.