Chapter Text
"Hey, Coran!" A voice behind the orange-haired Altean called just before Coran disappeared into one of the many unused rooms that he cleaned every once in a while, just in case it was needed by any of the Castle-Ship's occupants. Coran turned around and grinned at one of his favourite humans as he approached him at a light jog.
"Hello, Lance. I didn't expect to see you today. I thought it was your day off?" Coran queried as Lance came to a stop next to him.
"It is," Lance told him, "but there's something I want to ask you. A favour, really," Lance said, shifting a little uncomfortably as he spoke but Coran merely gave him a proud smile that had Lance flushing.
It had been over two phoebes – or months, as the humans insisted on calling them – since Lance's almost disastrous solo mission on Tra'Crolle and Hunk's talk with everyone while Lance was sleeping off the effects of the healing pod. Lance had been mostly perplexed by everyone's behaviour in the first few days following that talk but had just chalked it up to the fact that he'd almost died again since it had calmed down not even a week later. He hadn't been impressed when it had taken almost a week for Coran to clear him fit for training and missions once more but his annoyance had lessened when Coran told him the extra caution was only because he had come out of the healing pod earlier than anyone anticipated and because he'd been so drowsy afterwards.
Coran had noticed the few subtle changes between Lance and the rest of the occupants of the Castle-Ship and he was extremely pleased that not a single one of those changes was negative. They'd all taken Hunk's advice on board and made sure to praise Lance for his accomplishments as soon as they could and both Shiro and Allura had been far better at giving Lance pointers on improving something when they'd had to criticize his performances. Pidge was still her snarky self towards everyone, Lance included, but she never ignored Lance or brushed him off if he expressed interest in her projects like she'd done a few times during their Voltron adventure. Keith was the biggest change and sometimes the memories of the raven-haired teenager's awkward but well-received attempts at helping Lance with his training or asking for the Cuban's help with his Altean lessons made Coran smile randomly. Only Hunk and Coran hadn't changed how they treated Lance all that much but both of them still found themselves being extra affectionate towards Lance whenever he was near them.
However all of this improvement didn't mean that Lance was no longer uncomfortable with asking the others for help when he needed it, something he believed made him a burden to his team. He was slowly improving under the careful coaxing of the Lions and his team but it was still a rare moment when Lance was the one to approach one of them for help without someone suggesting it, thus why Coran's smile was full of pride. "Of course, my boy! What can I do for you?" Coran asked, turning so he was completely facing Lance now, making sure the teenager knew he had Coran's full attention.
Lance scratched the back of his neck, the only obvious sign he gave of his nerves. "Well, I'd noticed that Allura has seemed rather down the last couple of quintets," Lance explained and Coran felt his smile droop slightly. Lance obviously noticed it because his eyes gleamed with victory at being proven right. "I didn't want to ask her because I wasn't sure if it was a sensitive subject or something and I didn't want to make her drag up bad memories, you know?" Lance asked but continued before Coran could do more than nod. "So I asked the mice if they knew what was bothering her and if I could help at all. I don't know for certain since I don't speak mice and I'm not that great at charades, no matter how talented the little furballs are, but from what I gathered, it's nearly the anniversary of someone's death, someone Allura was close too. Is that right?" Lance asked and Coran could feel his heart sink a little as the memories of what Lance suspected came to the forefront of his mind.
"My boy, you are correct," Coran said, his voice a little thicker than normal as he spoke. "You see, in a few quintets, it will be the anniversary of Queen Melenor's death. Had this war not happened, it would be the tenth decaphoebe since her passing," Coran told him. "As close as Princess Allura was with King Alfor, she was far closer with her mother and her death devastated Allura. Every time the anniversary of Queen Melenor's passing draws close, Princess Allura pulls away from those around her so she can grieve silently. This behaviour lasts until a couple of quintets after the anniversary date before she's back to her normal self," Coran said, giving Lance a reassuring smile.
"Do you think -?" Lance started to ask before cutting himself off with a frustrated scowl that quickly turned apologetic.
"It's alright, Lance. I won't be upset by anything you ask," Coran assured him, happy with himself when Lance's shoulders relaxed.
"Do you think it would be alright if I made her something?" Lance asked, a little quieter than normal, as though he was nervous about what Coran would think. "It's just – when my tío died, my mamá and my abuela gave me a stuffed bear they'd made from one my tío's favourite shirts. They had made ones for my little cousins as well and my tía insisted they make one for me as well. Having something I could hold when I was missing him helpedme a lot," Lance told Coran.
"That's a very sweet idea, Lance, but I'm not sure any of Queen Melenor's clothing still remain," Coran said apologetically. "I believe King Alfor had it all removed, with the exception of her wedding dress and two or three dresses that Allura loved and I know for certain that Allura would not allow the destruction of any of her mother's dresses," Coran told him but to his surprise, Lance shook his head.
"No, I wasn't thinking about making her something like my bear," Lance told him. "I was actually thinking about knitting her something. Maybe a sweater?" Lance said and Coran found his interest piqued.
"'Knitting'? 'Sweater'?" he asked curiously and Lance smiled slightly.
"A sweater is an item of clothing people wear, generally during colder weather. If you think of it as a thicker, warmer version of a long-sleeved shirt, you're on the right track," Lance explained and Coran gave a nod, letting Lance know he understood. "Knitting is something considered a hobby, though I'm sure a few people back on Earth have managed to make a living off of it," Lance said before he realised he was about to get off track. "Anyways, it's a hobby that typically requires yarn and knitting needles. There's a lot of things you can knit but I thought a sweater might be a good idea because they're really cozy and comfy," Lance finished telling him, his cheeks flushing slightly.
"That sounds marvelous!" Coran exclaimed in delight. "I don't know what this 'yarn' is but your knitting sounds very similar to something Alteans used to do before we invented machines to make our clothing for us!" he told him. "I think there's a room a few levels up that will hold everything you're after," Coran said thoughtfully, "but I want to hear your ideas for this sweater you want to make while we walk, okay, my boy?"
Lance gave him a blinding smile. "Sure thing, Coran, my man," he agreed easily.
"Marvelous," Coran said, beaming back at him before he placed his hand on the electronic pad next to the door he'd opened when Lance had first approached him. Gesturing for Lance to follow him, Coran headed down the hallway for the closest elevator. "Now, tell me about this idea of yours."
Seven quintets after Lance and Coran had spoken about Lance's idea, Queen Melenor's anniversary was upon them. When Allura didn't appear in the dining room for breakfast, everyone bar Lance and Coran gave the doorway a worried look. It wasn't until breakfast was nearly half over that anyone voiced their concerns but Coran was quick to put them to rest.
"Allura's mother, Queen Melenor, passed away on this date," Coran explained, his voice betraying his own grief. "Please do not be alarmed if you do not see the princess at all today. She'll likely spend her time in her mother's garden or in her parents' room. I promise I will ensure that she eats something today but please do not disturb her unless it is vital," Coran requested.
"Of course, Coran," Shiro said solemnly. "Please pass our condolences on to Allura when you do see her," he asked and Coran gave a nod.
"I will," the orange-haired Altean promised.
The atmosphere in the dining room was a little heavier than it had been earlier but no one commented on it. As this was one of the days where there was no training scheduled for anyone – something Shiro had somehow managed to convince Allura was necessary back when they were first coming up with a schedule for chores, training, and lessons – no one was in a rush to finish their breakfast. So they ate at their own pace and, one by one, finished their food and left the dining room to start on their plans for the day. Lance was one of the last to leave and once he'd put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher, he headed for his room so he could finish the last few touches on his present to the grieving princess.
The sweater was designed to be a little big on Allura, which is what Lance wanted since he was of the firm belief that the baggier the sweater, the comfier it was. Her measurements were given to Lance by Coran, who had snuck into Allura's room while she was busy with the Paladins training and used one of the last dresses made for her before Altea's destructions to get said measurements. After discussing his ideas with Coran earlier and getting some suggestions from the Altean advisor, Lance had settled on making the sweater a mix of Allura's and Queen Melenor's favourite colours – baby pink for Allura and a pleasant lavender purple for Melenor, according to Coran – with the fuchsia, three-petalled juniberry flower taking up almost half the front of the sweater. Once again, Coran had been a massive help with that as he'd managed to find a book in the library on Altean flowers that also contained large, clear, coloured pictures of each flower.
All Lance had to finish were the sleeves and the collar of the sweater, as well as make sure everything was nice and neat with no loose strings of yarn anywhere. He was pretty proud of this project since not only was it nearly finished after only a week of where he'd had maybe two full days total to complete it but he was also using a pattern that he'd never seen, let alone done, before. It was a common Altean stitching pattern that Coran had told him about while they were going through the various colours of yarn in the storage room Coran had led him to. This in turn led to Lance finding out that Coran used to do a bit of knitting when he was younger and Lance getting a detailed description of the type of knitting styles Alteans had. The rest of the day had been spent with Coran and Lance sitting on the floor of the storage room while Coran walked Lance through the pattern.
They'd only left the room once Lance was sure he'd gotten the hang of the pattern and had thanked Coran enough for his help. Coran had waved his thanks off with a small laugh and told Lance he'd genuinely enjoyed spending the time with the Blue Paladin and had thanked him for letting him relive part of his youth. Lance was sure he'd flushed horribly at that as he tried to tell Coran he didn't need to thank him and that he'd had a lot of fun before he'd extended an invitation for Coran to find him if he ever wanted to do some knitting again. That had caused the Altean to draw Lance into a bone-crushing hug, squishing the yarn, needles and started project into Lance's chest and he hadn't let go for several ticks. Once the hug had ended and they'd gone their separate ways, Lance had headed straight for his room and didn't leave for nearly six vargas so he could get some dinner. Those six hours had helped Lance become rather efficient in the Altean pattern he was using, aiding him in being able to finish the sweater as quickly as he had been able to with the limited spare time he'd had.
Now here he was, a handful of vargas later, finishing up the last little bit of the sweater. Cutting off the last dangling string, Lance held the completed sweater out in front of him and eyed every row critically. Four lots of chittering caught his attention and he grinned as he watched the four mice wriggle into his room via the air vent. "What do you guys think? Do you think she'll like it?" Lance asked, holding the sweater out so the juniberry was facing them. Platt pretended to swoon into Chulatt's little arms, much to the mouse's annoyance, while Plachu and Chuchule gave Lance an enthusiastic but silent round of applause mixed with tiny cheerful squeaks that caused Lance to flush at the praise. "Thanks, guys," Lance said quietly. Clearing his throat, he folded the sweater carefully and placed it on his bed. "Is Allura in her room?" he asked but the mice shook their heads. "Awesome," he said.
Shooing the mice to the side of his desk, Lance sat and pulled some paper towards him with one hand while he grabbed a pen with the other. Placing the pen tip to the first blank piece of paper, Lance quickly scrawled a few words down for Allura before he folded the paper in half and grabbed the folded sweater. "Want to come with me? We can stop by the kitchen and see if my Hunky-Monkey has made anything," Lance offered, holding his free hand out to the four mice. Promises of maybe getting some of Hunk's cooking were too good to pass up, judging by the way the four mice squeaked and ran up his arm.
Lance chuckled as he waited for them to settle on his shoulders before he gripped the sweater and note closer and headed out of his room. Making his way down the corridors that led him to Allura's chamber, Lance chattered away to the mice about everything on his mind. The mice – despite being limited to squeaks and gestures with everyone bar Allura – were quite good at making themselves understood and in no time at all, they had Lance chuckling at their antics in Kaltenecker's wing the previous day. Lance chided them for running around Kaltenecker's hooves and reminded them to be careful just as they got to Allura's door.
"You're sure she's not in there?" Lance couldn't help but ask. Platt chattered encouragingly while Chuchule patted Lance's cheek. "Alright," he said, taking a deep breath in and placing his hand on the panel next to Allura's door.
The mice were proven right about whether Allura was in her room or not and Lance let out a small sigh of relief. Though he would've liked to give Allura her present in person – he liked seeing how happy someone was when they got something from him – he also didn't want to intrude on Allura's grieving process. Though he'd preferred to have his family with him on the anniversary of his tío's death, he knew that some people preferred grieving alone and he also knew that some of those who preferred grieving by themselves truly didn't appreciate being interrupted for any reason. Placing the folded sweater on the foot of Allura's bed so she would hopefully see it as soon as she walked through the door, Lance made sure the folded note wouldn't somehow fall off the sweater before he left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Now, I believe I promised the four of you a free trip to the kitchen for some of Hunk's food," Lance said, feeling a small weight lifting off his chest now that this project was done and he didn't have to worry about whether he was going to manage to get in finished in time. Four small cheers sounded next to his ears and he felt a genuine grin form. "Then let's go get some."
After making and eating a sandwich and finding some of Hunk's leftovers for the mice, Lance left the four of them to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the afternoon while he went down a couple of levels to check on Kaltenecker since it had been a couple of quintets since he'd been able to. He told her about what he'd been up to since his last visit while he milked her as she ate the grass-like vegetation they'd managed to find and grow for her to eat. Once he'd finished, he was left with two buckets filled two-thirds of the way with fresh milk and an incredibly happy cow. Draping an arm over her neck, Lance scratched her forelock before promising her he'd be back to see her when he could and left with the fresh milk.
On his way back to the kitchen to deal with the milk, Lance ran into Coran as the Altean headed for his next job on his to-do list. "Hello, Lance!" Coran greeted enthusiastically once he recognised who he had almost bumped into.
"Hey, Coran," Lance said with a smile.
Coran was quick to spot the two buckets Lance was holding and the blue paladin almost grinned when he saw the squeamish look that flickered across Coran's face. The idea of where milk came from still skeeved the two Alteans out and it was hilarious to the humans, mainly because their squeamishness didn't stop them from enjoying whatever dairy delight Hunk came up with. "Visited Kaltenecker, did you?" Coran asked and Lance nodded.
"Yeah, haven't been able to see her the last couple of days and she needed to be milked before she developed any health problems," Lance told him. "I was just heading to the kitchen so I could bottle it for Hunk," Lance said.
"I'll give you a hand, if you'd like," Coran said, reaching out for one of the buckets.
"Are you sure you've got the time?" Lance asked worriedly, not giving the bucket to Coran just yet.
"Quite sure, my boy!" Coran told him. "I was going to find you a little later and ask if you had the time to lend me a hand with a couple of my chores so I'm more than happy to help you out in return," Coran said with an honest smile and Lance finally handed the bucket in his right hand over.
They started walking towards the kitchen and Lance took the chance to roll his right shoulder to try and relieve the muscles. Though not overly heavy, the bucket of milk was still heavy enough to cause his muscles to seize slightly once the weight was removed. "So what do you want my help for, Coran?" Lance asked as they walked.
"Oh, just a couple of the larger storage rooms require cleaning," Coran told him. "They're ones I haven't been able to do since before the five of you and Blue found us. An extra pair of hands or two would certainly help me tackle them far quicker than I could by my lonesome!" Coran exclaimed.
"Well, I'm happy to give you a hand. I was gonna go and see the Lions after I finished with the milk but I can do that after the storage rooms are clean," Lance told him. "Who else were you planning on asking?"
"Thank you, my boy. I really appreciate it," Coran said. "As for who else I planned on asking, I was going to see if I could find Number 1 or Number 2," he told Lance.
"Not Pidge or Keith?" Lance asked but Coran shook his head.
"No, I know Number 5 is busy with her projects and Number 4 is currently training and I don't want to ask him to help clean so soon after a training session," Coran told him and Lance let out an 'ah' of understanding. "Speaking of projects, I thought you would've been finishing up yours," Coran said, glancing at Lance.
"Actually, I, uh, already have," Lance admitted, a light blush forming on his cheeks when Coran gave him a look that was both surprised and proud. "I left it with a note in Allura's room since I didn't want to interrupt her or wait until tomorrow to give it to her since – knowing our luck – we'll have back-to-back missions for like the next week and I'll forget to give it to her for ages," Lance told him.
"Understandable and we certainly wouldn't want that, not after all the hard work you've put into the gift," Coran said with an enthusiastic nod that had Lance chuckling slightly.
They walked in silence for another couple of minutes before Lance spoke up again. "I just wanted to thank you again, Coran," Lance said and Coran looked at him with a slight amount of bemusement on his face.
"You don't have to thank me, my boy. Like I said, I was going to ask for your help later today so I'm happy to count this is my repayment," Coran reminded him but Lance shook his head.
"No, not for your help with bottling the milk," Lance told him. "I wanted to thank you again for your help with Allura's present. I wouldn't have been able to get much more than the design planned without your help. All I asked for was your help finding the materials I needed and colours I should use but you went out of your way by finding me that book on Altean flowers and teaching me the Altean knitting pattern and I'm really grateful for it," Lance said, his voice a little quieter and more sincere than it normally was.
"You can ask me for help with anything at any time, my boy," Coran told him, wrapping his left arm around Lance's shoulders, and pulling his slightly smaller frame into his own for a hug. "I'll always do my best to help you with your endeavors or any conundrums you may have!" Coran swore, a genuine expression on his face.
"Thank, Coran," Lance said, a small, warm smile on his face. "I'll make sure I come to you with any conundrums I might have in the future," he promised in the face of Coran's sincerity. The bright, delighted smile on Coran's face as a result of that promise made any insecurities Lance felt about admitting he might need help almost completely disappear.
"I'm glad," Coran said and Lance just knew his weird space uncle was well aware of what was going through his mind. "Now, let us deal with this milk so we can find Number 1 or Number 2 so we can get this cleaning underway!" Coran exclaimed enthusiastically, making Lance laugh as he almost dragged the blue paladin forward by the one-armed hug he still had him in.
Lance could feel the Lions' pressing on his mind and knew that they were planning on telling him 'told you so' the moment he walked into the main hangar bay, where they all currently were because Pidge had wanted to run tests on all of them after training yesterday. Lance almost groaned at the thought of how smug they'd be because they had been the ones to suggest asking for Coran's help when he realised why Allura wasn't her usual, happy self. They'd made a point of not pushing Lance to do it, wanting it to be his decision to ask for help and they had been incredibly happy and supportive of him when he decided to seek the orange-haired Altean out for his help that day. As Coran rambled on about possible places Shiro or Hunk could be and ways they could entice or bribe one or both of them helping Coran and Lance in cleaning the storage rooms, Lance realised he felt a little lighter than he could remember feeling recently. Maybe, Lance thought, Hunk and the Lions were onto something when they said that no one would judge him for reaching out and asking for help if he needed it.