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It happens at random, or so Lance feels, in a second where his lion dives into the deep-blue sea on a planet they ’ve never been on before. He feels free, fully at ease, and he knows that the same emotions flow through the blue lion, sweeping in their connection. He feels the water around them as if he were swimming in it. It’s cold but comforting, heavy and quiet.
“Lance, come in.”
He barely hears it, but hums as affirmation. For a second, nothing matters but the sensation of water engulfing them both. He almost doesn ’t dare think it, but just briefly, a thought crosses his mind, invasive though not unwelcome.
It feels like home .
Truth be told, Lance forgets about the incident. His connection with Blue is as strong as ever, he feels closer to the lion with each passing day. He can ’t, however, pin down where the deeper connection comes from.
That is, until the Paladins find themselves in the midst of a battle, hundreds of Galra-ships attacking at once. Something boils inside him, like a hot tempest covering his mind and body. Before he knows what ’s happening, and before he even finds the time to answer his team’s pleas to evade the lasers aiming at him, before he can obey the orders giving to him by their leader, a glazing shimmer appears in his view.
Although he doesn ’t know where it came from, he immediately realizes what it is—a bubble of water, like a shield. It’s not strong enough to guard him from the lasers, but it’s cold enough to cool down the heat of the impact.
“Lance!”
He doesn ’t know what just happened, but somehow, he feels oddly content.
It ’s not the same as being home, but the more time passes, the more similarly Lance feels when he ’s in the close proximity of Blue.
“We’re a good team, huh girl?” he asks, an affirmative purr resonating in his mind. The peaceful privacy between them is interrupted by incoming footsteps—heavy, purposeful, definitive. He knows before turning around, but does so anyway, for the sake of it.
“Shiro.” His voice breaks a little, with a mixture of admiration and worry. There are topics he knows need to be addressed, but has no idea how. So instead he asks: “Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all.”
Shiro —with a sincere smile and upright posture—comes to a halt next to him, looks up at the blue lion in what looks like awe, maybe reverence, even. There ’s the hint of a smile on his lips, although he doesn’t say a word, and instead seems to be waiting.
He is waiting. Lance knows —he ’s watched and fancied Shiro for long enough to be aware of his behavior and intentions tied to it. That doesn’t make it easier at all, though.
“I’m sorry for disobeying the orders. I didn’t intend to, I just—”
I just knew that I would be safe. That Blue would save me.
He can ’t say that.
Luckily, he doesn ’t have to.
“I don’t mean to reprimand you,” Shiro explains, now finally looking him in the eyes, the polite smile still in place. Lance pretends to see some sort of pride in the way Shiro looks at him, although that’s probably just wishful thinking.
One can dream.
“You don’t?” he asks before he can stop himself, simply to break the silence. He’s more relieved than he’d admit when Shiro shakes his head shortly and puts a hand on the lion’s gigantic metal-paw.
“It’s a rather unexpected discovery, to see that the lions have elemental powers, but there’s a lot we don’t know about them yet,” he says with his business-voice, then nods and visibly eases up. “I thought maybe you could explain how you did it. It might be useful in the future.”
It ’s an oddly rewarding feeling. Even long before joining the Garrison, Lance remembers dreaming of being noticed, of proving that he’s a worthy team-member. Finally getting this sort of attention, and from Shiro , means the world to him.
And then he remembers that he doesn ’t have an answer. He knows, feels that his bond with the blue lion is stronger than before, that their connection goes deeper than it used to, but what he doesn ’t know is why it happened, or even how to explain it. Disappointed in himself, he shakes his head.
“It just happened,” he adds verbally, and shrugs for effect, feels incredibly tiny all of a sudden. He’s aware that it’s one of those things he should try harder to figure out. It reminds him of the early days, when Allura demanded them to see through the lions’ eyes, and he immediately remembers his first reaction to it.
Rebellion. Cockiness. If he thinks back hard enough, he can feel the embarrassment of crashing into the sand because of his inability to not compete with Keith. Standing next to Shiro, who himself was the only one to pull the task off without trouble, doesn ’t really make Lance’s insecurity any less prominent.
“I’m sorry, Shiro,” he explains, makes sure to avoid eye contact, and shrugs again, then panics because it sounds more childish, more bratty than intended. “I mean—I would explain if I knew how, but—”
“It’s fine.”
He blinks, and dares a quick look over. Shiro is squinting, but his posture is opening up, and he puts a hand on Lance ’s shoulder, ever the competent, insightful leader. He’s aware of the tension, and he’s trying to get rid of it.
“We still have time. The lions waited ten thousand years for new pilots. I think we need to be a bit more patient. It’s an important virtue.”
The sincerity in his smile is so genuine that it almost hurts —Lance feels, yet again, validated, and it ’s great and terrible and comforting and suffocating all at the same time. He wants more of it, but he definitely also wants less of it. He wants to live up to the expectations, but he absolutely knows that he can’t.
It ’s not enough, but it’s way too much.
“I’ll try,” he promises, well aware that the smile on his own lips is fragile and weak. He isn’t lying, but he doesn’t know if he’s telling the truth, either.
It keeps happening, the result of Lance ’s strengthened connection with Blue. He feels like they’re one. An incredibly powerful team, perfectly in tune. Thinking back of how much trouble he used to have controlling the leg of Voltron, it’s a bit ironic. He used to be unable to comprehend the mechanics—the logical aspect of bonding with the lion—but has now, subconsciously, found a different way to maximize their combined powers.
But no matter how often it happens, he ’s unable to put a finger on the reason. It comes to him simply, like sleeping or talking. He doesn’t know why it ’s possible, but it is.
Well aware that it ’s not the answer anyone would want to hear, he keeps quiet and forces himself to try harder.
He tries too hard.
Tries so hard that in a moment of unawareness, of trying to get behind the additional powers flowing through them, he forgets that they ’re under attack..
The way he ’s knocked through space and almost passes out hurts, leaves bruises on his body and mind—
But it ’s nothing in comparison to the disappointed looks, the judgmental words and the annoyed instructions coming from the rest of the team.
That pain digs deep. Way too deep.
As a consequence of his failure, Lance decides to stop trying. He knows his stronger connection to Blue is highly valuable to the team, and he wants to share it with the other Paladins, but as things are, he ’s nothing but a liability whenever he focuses on figuring out how it works, and that’s something they simply can’t afford.
He visits her regularly, has long, dramatic monologues while indulging in the calming sound of her hum in his mind. It doesn ’t help him find an answer, and he’s starting to wonder if there even is one.
He spends night after night alone in the blue lion ’s hangar, until that one time where he isn’t alone. It takes him a long moment to realize it, but then he notices that someone has sneaked up on him—or maybe he’s just fallen asleep and hasn’t noticed the approaching person.
“This would explain the bags under your eyes lately.”
There ’s a hint of amusement in Shiro’s voice, but it’s not strong enough the more prominent wave of worry he emits. The whole thing is so like him—knowing that one of the Paladins isn’t sleeping, and finding them where they’ve sneaked of to.
Lance is impressed —and to an extend, ashamed.
“Shiro! W-well, I guess it does.”
Excellent. Absolutely wonderful.
He tries again.
“I’m not trying to steal away on my own or anything, before you ask.” Because he’s aware that it kind of looks suspicious for him to be at the hangar in the middle of the earth-night. “Being with blue has just been reminding me of home, so I—”
And that ’s where he figures it out. With a huge grin spreading on his face, he looks up, rubs his eyes, and nods.
“That’s what it is! That’s where the powers came from.”
Mumbling to himself, he gets up, pats Blue ’s paw and nods to himself, wildly affirming his suspicions. The thought of home while diving into deep water was what him feel so much closer to Blue than ever before —and suddenly, he knows that exactly that is the reason for her awakening her elemental powers.
“I can’t say if it’ll make sense, though!” he pleas, suddenly very exhilarated by his realization, and doesn’t give Shiro much of a chance to ask any questions—although he looks like he has a million.
“Yep, yeah, I’m a genius. This is totally amazing.”
At this point, Lance isn ’t even listening to himself that much anymore, but that doesn’t matter to him either. He’s accomplished something big. Maybe he doesn’t know yet how the others could possibly awaken the powers their lions surely have as well, but it still helps; knowing that there needs to be a connection between that element and the feeling of being home is a good lead.
“Well done, Lance.”
He grins, looks up and claims the supportive smile, the way Shiro nods, and leans into the touch of a hand squeezing his shoulder. It ’s not even an incredibly grand gesture, but it’s more than enough to fill Lance with incredible amounts of pride.
“Maybe you could help me figure out what secret powers the black lion has. And I’m sure the rest of the team will be excited, too.”
They probably will. It ’s not what he cares about the most right now, but it’s still a good feeling. For the first time, he doesn’t feel like the third wheel, like the one team member that no one really needs. For the first time ever since they became the Paladins of Voltron, Lance feels like he’s accomplished something big.
Judging by Shiro ’s content smile while they head to the black lion’s hangar, Lance figures that it might be even more than just one thing.
One can dream, right?