Chapter Text
When Lance woke up surrounded by his family, that's when he knew that everything that had happened—coming back to earth, seeing his family, fighting the robo-beast, seeing his family —was real and it wasn’t him dreaming. For a second, when he was slowly coming back to consciousness, he was afraid that it was all a dream and that he would wake up in Blue’s cockpit, but once he saw his family’s smiling faces his fears vanished.
They talked and told stories, him about his adventures in space and his families about everything he missed, his niece and nephew sitting on the bed with him while his parents and siblings sat in chairs around him. It felt nice. It felt like home.
He was finally home.
Sometime after noon, his parents decided that they should go out and get something to eat. Since it was best that Lance didn’t leave his bed right away, as advised by the nurse when she previously came in, his parents decided to go out and get some food to bring back. Luis decided to take Nadia and Sylvio out for a bit, which was probably better than staying in a cramped hospital room all day. Rachel and Marco decided to walk around a bit, saying they needed to stretch their legs a bit.
Veronica stayed with him, saying that she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could. While he wasn’t surprised by her statement, there was something in her voice that told him that that wasn’t the only reason.
When the others left, Veronica turned towards him and said, “I know you’re leaving out details, so tell me.”
There was something in her tone that told him that there was no room for argument. So he talked.
He told her about the bomb accident that happened when he first joined Voltron. He told her about the near-death scare they had when they were deprived of oxygen. He told her all of the close calls and all the near-death experiences that they went through. It was like a dam opened and everything spilt out, one thing after another.
“...and there was this one time where I actually di-”
Right when he was about to tell her about his death, something he never told anybody else, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
(But from Veronica’s wide eyes and look of shock, it seems like she connected the dots and knew what he was going to say.)
Both their heads turned towards the person standing by the door.
Allura.
“Hello, Lance. Hello...Veronica?” Veronica nodded in confirmation, “I see that I must have interrupted something important. I’ll just come by later.”
She was about to leave, but for some reason, Lance stopped her.
“No, wait! You can come in, we weren’t talking about anything important.” When Lance said this, Veronica looked at him with a pointed but confused look.
Allura came back into the room. She was looking at her feet and wringing her fingers. He looked closely at Allura’s face, she was biting her lip and her cheeks were slightly pink. She looked….embarrassed.
“I wanted to talk to you about something. In private.” She discreetly glanced at Veronica, who raised an eyebrow at Lance, but then rushed her next words. “But it’s fine! I can just come back another time. Don’t worry.”
She chuckled nervously and was about to leave again when Veronica got up from her seat on Lance’s bed.
“It’s alright princess. Lance and I can continue our conversation later.” Veronica gave him a pointed look when she said that. Lance gulped. He knew that once Veronica set her mind on something, it would be impossible to change her mind. He knew to expect a stern talking next time they were alone.
After Veronica left, Allura seemed to relax a bit, although she was still tense. She came up to his bed and gestured towards it.
“Is it alright if I sit here?”
Lance nodded although he was slightly confused. He assumed that it was something important if she seemed nervous and wanted to talk in private, but what could Princess Allura want with him?
She sat down and Lance tried to give her his best comforting smile.
For a couple of minutes, she was silent, as if deciding what to say. She kept twiddling her thumbs and opening her mouth to say something before closing it again. It seemed like Lance would have to take initiative.
“So, princess, what did you want to talk about? It must not be something very important if you came to me to talk about it.” He tried to go for a joke since it seemed to always lighten the mood, especially if it was at his expense.
(Lance had noticed all the recent jokes that Pidge and Hunk made at his expense. How they would always alienate him from them as if he wasn’t smart enough to be able to keep up with whatever they were talking about. Lance noticed. He noticed that ever since Keith left, he hadn’t really belonged anywhere. Always the seventh wheel. Especially with Lotor and the princess cosying up with each other.
It hurt. The jokes that Pidge and Hunk made about him didn’t feel like jokes anymore, they hurt too much. The fact that he realised that he didn’t actually belong hurt, but Lance never told anyone, because if he was honest, who would care? Maybe his family, but they were just that. His family. Of course they would care, they loved him.)
Lance snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Allura clear her throat. He looked at her and she seemed like a different person in comparison to how she looked like a couple of seconds ago. She sat up straighter and she stopped fidgeting. She also had a determined look in her eyes.
“I am not sure if you were aware, but the mice have told me how felt about me.” Lance felt his whole body freeze. He couldn’t believe that the mice told her everything he said. It was meant to be private. She wasn’t supposed to know. He was going to kill the mice the next time he saw them.
(Truth be told, a small part of him didn’t care. He didn’t know why, but the fact that Allura knew didn’t bother him. An even smaller part of him kept trying to tell him that he didn’t have as strong of feeling for Allura anymore.)
“Um, you weren’t supposed to know that. But you know those mice, they’re such gossips.” Lance chuckled nervously.
Allura softly giggled. “As I was saying, the mice told me how you felt. I wasn’t aware that your feelings for me were that deep. I always thought that you just liked me for my looks and that your flirting was just your way of joking.
Ouch.
That hurt a little.
“But after what the mice have told me, I realised that what you felt for me was something deeper than just a superficial crush.” Lance was sure he resembled a tomato, but Allura wasn’t done yet. “After that, and all the time we spent after, I realised something else too.”
She started fidgeting again and she was blushing again.
“I realised that you are always there for me. When I was losing hope in Naxzela it was you who cheered me up and gave me the confidence which lead us to escaping the planet. When Lotor betrayed us and broke my heart, it was you was there for me and comforted me. It’s always been you, Lance.”
Her eyes were glued to her lap the whole time, but after she was done she looked up at him. That determined look was there, this time seemingly stronger, but Lance was confused. His face must have shown his confusion because Allura slightly deflated.
“What I’m trying to say is that….I like you, Lance.”
Oh.
Oh.
OH.
Usually, Lance would have been elated to find out that Allura, the Princess Allura, returned his feelings. But he barely felt anything. If anything he felt guilty. He didn’t know why. He should have been happy, so why did he feel guilty?
(A flash of purple and red flashed through Lance’s mind. He squashed those thoughts before they could become something more.)
He focused on Allura’s face again. She had a blinding smile on her face and her blue eyes were twinkling. She was beautiful, that was a fact. Lance felt something in his heart after seeing her face. He smiled and grabbed her hands.
“R-Really?”
Allura softly giggled and nodded. Then she started leaning in and Lance panicked inside. Not being sure what to do, he closed his eyes and waited until Allura’s lips touched his. It wasn’t anything exciting, just a soft press of lips against lips. Then she pulled away and she flashed another beaming smile at him.
“Is it alright if I lie down with you?”
Lance didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded. Allura took off her shoes and got on the bed. She then cuddled up against Lance’s chest and he wrapped an arm around her frame. They talked for a bit but then Allura fell asleep.
Lance spent the whole time staring at the ceiling, his mind blank.
He felt something in his heart again.
(He didn’t want to think about how that thing that he felt in his heart felt heavy. He didn’t want to think about how he didn’t feel anything when Allura kissed him. About how he didn’t feel anything, laying down in bed with Allura, his crush who he has had feelings for forever now.)
Lance yawned. He must have been tired, that was probably why he wasn’t reacting properly. He should get some sleep and then when he wakes up he’ll probably actually feel something about Allura’s feelings for him. Because it was impossible for him to not feel anything when since he met her he has been head over heels for her.
Lance yawned again.
Yeah, it was probably because he was tired.
He snuggled closer to Allura and in a few minutes he fell asleep.
(He dreamt about purple eyes and a laugh that was rough but soft and affectionate at the same time and a calloused hand holding onto his as those purple eyes stared into him lovingly as Lance said, “We did it. We are a good team.”)
(Lance’s mind kept going back to his dream, hours later, when he was being teased by his parents and siblings for being caught sleeping and cuddling with Allura.
He noticed how Veronica had an almost knowing look in her eyes when he declared that they were together. He still couldn’t get those eyes out of his mind, but hours later, when he saw Keith, Lance started to realise something.
His heart went both warm, and heavy from guilt.)