Lover Boy - A Voltron Fiction

Chapter I

Lance was alone in the hangers again. 

Blue was resting after a long week of missions, but she still tried her best to comfort him every day. Lance never told anyone what she could do, as far as the team was concerned, the Lions were just machines. Stretching, Blue shrank down into an elegant lioness and began to purr. The low and steady noise sounded a little mechanical. 

Lance lay down on the soft, azure fur and stared at the wall. How hilarious... Lance thought. I spend more time with a robot than I do with my own team... He rubbed his tired eyes, finally feeling the effects of this week's training, then decided to get some sleep in his dorm.

-

"Lance?! LANCE?" he awoke as the castle blared with loud alarms, doused a familiar red. Lance jerked, just as Shiro grabbed him by the arm and yelled, "Why aren't you up yet?! There's a Galra fleet a planet over, get to your lion!". 

Lance didn't hesitate, jumping out the door, he sprinted to the elevator. His speed would've surprised everyone... well if they would care to notice. He jumped into his lion and settled himself in the leather chair, wrapping his fingers around the controls. 

Then the first wave of fatigue hit, along with a massive headache.

(TW: EATING DISORDER, OVEREXERTION)

On top of patrols, missions, and constant training, Lance rarely had time to sleep, let alone eat a full meal at a time. Allura and Shiro had been especially hard on him, never giving him praise and making him work more than any of the paladins. 

Pidge and Hunk were too busy to even notice, they always seemed to be upgrading the castle (and cooking). Coran sometimes paid attention to him, and the same with the mice. 

...Maybe Keith cared? He certainly didn't show it.  

Lance's vision suddenly became blurry, and his stomach lurched forward and backward. He wanted to barf... The world was spinning, and Lance grabbed his head, just as his ears started to ring. 

I have to fight. Lance grabbed to controls once again and thrust them forward, and the blue lion propelled into the ongoing battle. 

Opening the comm channel, Lance was instantly blasted with a wave of yelling and noise from the team;

"OH FINALLY!" Pidge grunted, her lion swerving to avoid a fighter. "And where've you been? Daydreaming, lover boy??"

"Lance, we're glad you're back but MAN did you take a while!" Hunk activated his cannon and started blasting at the ships. 

"Well, I'm here now aren't I? Blue just ran into some engine problems." He hated lying, but somehow, telling the truth seemed even harder... and unfair for some reason?

"Cut the excuses and fight, Lance!" Allura yelled from the castle's control room.

Without wasting any time, Lance swiftly wove his way around the fighters and ships. Luckily, the cruisers still hadn't launched, and it was his job to keep it that way, every mission. 

"Launching deck in sight," he said through his comm, "I'm heading there now-" Suddenly, a blast shook his Lion, reactivating his headache and making his body shake uncontrollably.

A formation of new fighters was heading towards him, out of the team's view. He tried to dive, but something was wrong with the controls, they wouldn't move! Crap, they must've shot something vital... Lance willed with all his might that Blue would budge, but the entire Lion was paralyzed...

Lance clenched his fists and forced his eyes to focus, preparing to react to anything.