❝Unearthed❞ ||k. Kogane x l. McClain||

Chapter I

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞

May 29, 2314
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
Castle of Lions

The training room was always going to be my enemy. Team training sucked as well. All of us fought against drone after drone while practicing close combat and protection procedures, yet I continued to fail at almost all of them. Since three days ago, I noticed Keith was starting to keep a weird eye on me since I avoided his attempts at discussing my predicament that day when the Galra attacked the castle. That didn't need to be discussed, it needed to be ignored. Pretending as if it never happened. Because it didn't. I wouldn't discuss it and I would continue to choose to wave Keith off of the matter but knowing him, his stubbornness refused defeat. A trait I admired from him since the Garrison, but at the moment, I sincerely hated how persistent he could be when he was intrigued enough.

Team training always came with the same concept. Fight against drones and protect each other, practice various close combat together on a 1 on 1 scale and be prepared to trust your teammate when the invisible maze comes up – that stupid, stupid maze – and if I was verbally honest, which I wasn't most days, is that I hated the training room. Each drone that came at me always seemed to change to something else... something deeper from the past in an attempt to kill me, and not only that, I was incapable of close combat in any form. I would freeze up and literally take an attack head on because I became incapable of defending myself and in turn, brought the team down with me each time. Each time I was guilty for bringing them down with me, each time I was guilty for failing them. Yet I still forced a smile on my face and pretended everything was fine.

"Lance, you need to duck. When the fist comes towards your face, you duck. When a leg sweep comes, you dodge or jump. You've got to stop taking hits like that because the drones have hard hits." Keith said as he put a bandage on my cheek because I got nicked by the tip of the drone's sword, the others were drinking water or were flat on their back because of exhaustion from the training sequence. "I'm sorry. I'm mediocre, not a professional. I'm trying," I whined, but I wasn't mediocre, I was down right terrible and terrified at fighting. "Still," he insisted, sitting next to me about a foot apart. "You can't keep getting hit. Mediocre or not, defense is your strongest trait. Lose that trait, and you fail yourself more than you do to those around you." He spoke, and I looked down at my legs, "But it doesn't feel like my strongest," I admitted, biting my lip and refusing to look at him while the others went about discussing a different topic leaving Keith and I to our own conversation. "Because you don't see it as it is. If I'm honest, you seem to view everything fairly negatively. Sure, I can be the same but I am a realist, I see things the way they are. Just like I did when we first became majorly ingrained in this war that we can't avoid, when Sendak took over the castle and when you were injured and I admit, the situation wasn't great and I knew we were screwed, but we pulled through, and you were always at our defense just like we are with you." His words were comforting and encouraging, but they also held a pin of truth to it. I did view the world negatively because I had no choice but to do so... but his choice of words... you were always at our defense just like we are with you... maybe he was right, maybe I was useful for something but what that something was is the mystery I have yet to figure out.

I shrugged and finally lifted my head to see Shiro help Hunk to his feet and Pidge held her hands on her hips, "If you say so," I said, finding the courage to follow the others' and stand up, offering Keith a hand- I may not be strong enough to lift someone by myself, but I didn't want to embarrass myself if I fell over from his body weight so if worse came to worse, I could say that my foot slipped but that would be even more embarrassing if I felt into his chest. Keith shrugged as well and took my offered hand, and I did my best to brace myself and helped pull him to his feet and then immediately pulled my hand away at a casual speed to avoid an eye raise from getting directed towards me. Crap, his hand felt so big in mine... and his skin felt nice too– Lance! No. Absolutely not. No, no, no. Do not say things like that! I can't help it that he's cute, tall and feisty, but cute, and those stupid bangs and pretty eyes don't help either.

"Alright, that's enough training for today but stay alert just in case. We still don't know how the Galra is tracking us judging by how often they are attacking, and I want us all to be prepared for another possible attack. For now, let's just relax and then later, we'll go over the next plan of action to help other planets still under Zarkon's control." Shiro announced, "Does this mean I can finally go back to my computer?" Pidge asked hopeful, "I wanna go back to the kitchen," Hunk muttered, and I knew his stomach was growling for either a snack or an early dinner. Most likely the former. Shiro gave her a disappointed look and sighed at Hunk but otherwise, agreed to their wishes. At least Allura wasn't demanding we keep training now that we could form Voltron more and more better than when we started. I hated when she yelled at us, didn't exactly sit on my ears nicely and it raised my anxiety a lot so when she wasn't yelling at us for that, I could rest easy even if it was temporary.

Keith shrugged next to me and I sighed, what do now... "Lance," Shiro called out. I looked at him questionably, "Yeah?" Wait a minute- was that... "Keep your game up, if you want we can help you deflect and dodge more but you really need to stop letting yourself get pummeled from the drones or getting yourself handed by any one of us. It's not good for you or your body to take, so be careful." He said and walked out of the training room, "Looks like I'm not the only one noticing," Keith spoke on my left, "I am fine." I blurted at him, blinking and looking between him and the door where Shiro left and even looking at the holodeck where Coran was not helpful during training practices but a nice lookout when he was in a serious mood. "Doubt it, and stop avoiding my questioning." I could feel my lips purse into a frown, "You're still on that? I am fine, there's nothing to question." Why now? Why'd he wait to bring this up again? "Nothing to question?" He drawled and unconsciously, I weirdly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand. "Lance, you were not aware of your surroundings and you were having a panic attack or an anxiety attack, key notes were spacing out and you didn't hear me once until I was shaking you. That is a million things to question, and until you tell me what happened, I will not stop asking. I hate the beat around the bush conversations because it irritates me." He clicked his tongue against his teeth while staring straight at me. "I was having neither," I argued, "You were shaking and that said otherwise." He pointed out and I rolled my eyes at his argument, "Look," I said, "It doesn't matter. Nothing happened, I wasn't shaking, I wasn't having an anxiety attack, and nothing is to be brought up again." Throwing my hands up, I stared at him before turning on my heel and leaving him in the room by himself.

Damn it. Why'd I get so defensive? I get not wanting him to know but I knew I shouldn't have gotten so rude towards him... I sighed, stopping in the hall just thirty or so feet from the doors from where I left Keith and stared at the floor. "I'm such a crap human being..." I mumbled, closing my eyes and then fixing my head and started walking again. Maybe I'll hide out in the vents for a bit to clear my head, the small tunnels sometimes made me feel at ease in weird ways, but in comfortable ways as well I guess.

Keith Kogane POV —-

The moment Lance left, I knew for certain that something was wrong. Yet he continued to blow me off like he's trying to avoid reality or flat out ignore it. Honestly, it annoyed me but also added a sense of worry to my consciousness. Something always felt off about Lance, not a dangerous kind of off, more like... like he had walls up and was distant... Maybe it was just me but I couldn't help but remember what Shiro said when I was still in the Garrison, "Keep an eye on him when I'm not around. I don't know what it is, but there's something about him that is making me worried and concerned," sure, I kept my word and did what he asked but the more I watched him from the sidelines, the more I knew for certain that he's hiding something.

Weirdly, Lance was an odd bubble I couldn't figure out. He was one of very few who I couldn't figure out at first glance and my guess is that is what made me admire him, yet... there was something about his eyes, not just the beautiful ocean blue eyes that seemed so unreal to be true, but something that seemed to be hidden behind them somewhere deeper than what he chose to show... fear maybe? I always knew he was distant since I was the same way almost my entire life, especially after my dad died in the collapsing building that was in flames and heavily unstable, but Lance openly disregarded when things were wrong especially when it concerned him and his physical health since he refused to open up about anything else...

Hmm, maybe I pushed him too much when I was digging into what happened three days ago when he was unresponsive, and Red seemed openly annoyed with me after that but I decided to ignore her to focus on my own thoughts about my own opinions and suspicions. Still though, me standing here wasn't going to do anything helpful but annoy me, so I decided to continue training. It's all I mostly did in my own free time after all...

Lance, what're you hiding...