Work Text:
“I think it has a nice ring to it!”
“No, we cannot call ourselves, ‘Lancey-Lance and the Funky Bunch, Lance,” Allura sighed.
Lance pouted at the ground. He slowly tilted his head up moments later, letting his bright, blue puppy dog eyes do all the talking. Allura giggled slightly and the other paladins joined in. Suddenly, the room around them began to shake. Coran scrambled into the room.
“Are all of you alright?”
Everyone nodded. Lance spoke first.
“What happened, Coran?” he asked.
“The ship had some travel troubles,” Coran responded, disappointedly, “So it looks like we’re going to have to make a quick pit stop to let her rest. Luckily, there’s a planet we can land on not too far from here!”
“Lemme guess...” Lance groaned. He straightened up in his seat and held his finger in front of him like a mustache, ”Paladins and Matt- partner up for a bit of exploration!”
Coran exhaled in reply, but nodded, “However we do have an odd number...”
“It’s okay, I’ll go alone,” Lance volunteered. Coran looked at him sympathetically before cheering back up.
“In that case, pair up everyone!”
Minutes later, the pairs were set. Pidge and Matt, the Holt siblings. Keith and Shiro, the dreamy duo. Hunk and Allura, the purest of all. And Lance, alone as usual. The group spent a few moments collecting their bearings before deciding to meet back at the ship in eight hours. Divide and conquer seemed the best method of exploration, so each pair went in their own direction.
The planet they landed on felt familiar to Lance. The high grasses, tall flowers, towering trees all drew Lance’s interest. He chose to wander a plain of tall, hay-like grasses. Out of pure curiosity, he grasped a few stands of the grass in his hand and tried to eat them. They weren’t like plants on Earth, but rather like bitter herbs. Gross.
He sat down on the warm ground and sighed. No one would want him to be their partner for a mission like this. He was really a seventh wheel, no worse, a ninth wheel, counting Matt and Lotor. Of course, he wondered, what’s the difference? No matter how many people, aliens, and wherever Keith fit in, there always seemed to be one too many: him. Lance curled himself inwards and let his mind wander.
His Tour de Lance was interrupted as there came a rustle in the grass near him. He jumped to his feet and summoned his bayard. He nudged the barrel of the rifle through a patch of grass as a gust of wind shook through the tall, golden stalks around him. Everything gave off an eerie vibe suddenly.
Lance began to back away from the mysterious noise. It followed him. He turned and sprinted, with the noise chasing not far behind. He bobbed and weaved through the field until he was completely out of breath.
“Fine!” he shouted, “I give up! Take me, whatever you are! They’ll be better off without me anyways...” he said defeatedly. Lance sunk to his knees as the noise approached him. To his surprise, small creature jumped out of the grass. The animal launched itself into his lap and hid underneath his folded legs.
“What. The. Actual. F-”
Lance was interrupted once again by a noise, undoubtedly a lot bigger than… whatever type of alien was currently cowering behind his legs. Whatever was chasing it certainly was not friendly.
“Alright, little buddy, you’re coming with me now!” Lance shouted as he picked up the creature by its scruff. He took a moment to examine it and determined that it was some sort of cat. Lance had always been a dog person, but seeing as there was nothing else around to keep him company aside from whatever was chasing them, he decided to settle for now and work out the details later. He pulled the cat close to him and sprinted through the grassy plain.
The good news was that a minute of straight running was enough for the creature to lose Lance and his new friend. The bad news was that now he was stuck on a strange planet with something chasing him and a cat. Lance’s only solace seemed to be that this would undoubtedly make a great story for when he got back- if he got back.
Lance looked at the cat he cradled in his arms. It looked up at him with big blue eyes against its midnight blue fur. The cat hissed slightly and swiped his paw up, batting Lance’s nose slightly. The cat mewled slightly before rolling over and leaping out of Lance’s arms. Lance took a step back, watching the little creature stretch his legs. He turned to walk away, but the cat rubbed against his leg. Lance glanced down to see those round, blue eyes gazing up at him.
“What’s wrong, boy? Are you lost?” he questioned. The cat seemed to nod in response. “Well that makes two of us.”
Lance picked the cat up again and stroked his smooth fur. He wrapped his paws around Lance’s finger.
“In that case, you’re coming with me. But what to name you...” Lance cooed. He looked at the cat for another second before deciding on the perfect name. “Handsome.”
Handsome gave a toothy grin and nipped at Lance’s suit. Lance recoiled slightly, but the cat persisted. After gaining some traction, Handsome clambered up onto Lance’s shoulder. He poked gently between the armor and the suit.
“Great thinking, Handsome!” Lance said, realizing what the he meant. He pulled his tracker out of the suit and held it up, searching for a signal. Handsome nudged the device. It let out a shrill ping.
"Alright buddy, let's get going.”
Lance had no idea how long they'd been walking for. Half an hour? Seven years? He couldn't quite tell, nor did he honestly care.
"It's not like they're missing me, y'know?" Lance sighed. Handsome meowed curiously. Lance continued. "I'm the odd one out. Literally. There's always one too many of us and I'm always that one."
Handsome turned away in disbelief. For a cat, he did a really good job of expressing feelings.
They reached a clearing not long after. The tracker said they weren't far from the ship either. Lance lay down for a moment. Handsome curled up by his side.
"I think you would like Keith. He's a bit of a loner, but he strikes me as a cat person. He's not the nicest, but you'd probably get through to him. Pidge would probably make you some sort of laser armor. They're so tech savvy. But I read somewhere that cats like cool things so maybe you'd be Shiro's cat. He has this awesome metal arm and he's so protective. Allura would probably take care of you the most. Plus, the mice would have someone to play with. Then there’s Coran and Matt- they’re both super smart. Matt can use a staff, so he’s useful. Last but not anywhere close to least is my best bud Hunk! His cooking is fantastic! And-”
Lance stopped abruptly. Handsome perked his ears up. He could hear his friends, shouting his name. Lance picked up Handsome and started running again.
When he reached the ship, a grim sight faced him. His friends were roped together by a group of aliens. Handsome hissed at the sight of he tallest one, drawing her attention. She turned to face Lance.
“You! Give me back Zeph!”
The cat recoiled at the alien came charging at Lance. Before she could reach him, Zeph launched out of Lance’s arms and sprinted past Lance.
Lance pulled his rifle closer to him and trained it on her.
“You’ll have to get through me first.”
Around him, he could his friends shouting as he aimed towards the looming figure. He felt was a little nudge against his leg. Lance looked to the side and saw that he had cut the ropes off the rest of the paladins.
The alien continued to charge. Lance stepped back and let Zeph run towards her. She immediately dropped to her knees. She picked up Zeph and nodded towards Lance. The alien waved her hand and lead her group away.
“Lance, what the quiznack were you thinking!” Allura shouted as she marched to him.
“You could’ve died!” Pidge followed up.
“Yeah man, what they said!” Hunk sobbed, pulling him into a bear hug.
Keith walked next to him and hoarsely whispered in his ear, “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you...”
Even Shiro seemed to have a look of relief about him.
“I dunno what came over me,” Lance quietly responded.
“No matter, you’re safe now. That’s what’s important,” Coran stated, finishing off the sentimental remarks.
Lance sighed- back to being the odd one, always left behind. Except for today. Keith took his hand and pulled him towards the ship. The others followed behind him, silently vowing to never leave him again.