Our Strange Differences

12- Hefty Fee

"Please, Lance." Pidge begged in a sympathetic tone. "It's been two weeks. Are you still not talking?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Lance muttered, skipping another pebble across the water. It hopped once, twice, then plunged into the sea. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro all stared at him with troubled expressions. Lance wasn't sure why they thought asking for answers for the millionth time would result in a different outcome. For two weeks, he spoke nothing of Keith's sudden disappearance, or the space invasion headline.

A week ago, cameras picked up the mysterious floating castle in the sky, that baffled all. It was here one dobash, then gone the next. No human could explain the occurrence, but Lance was no human. The facts were undeniable. The Castle of Lions had found Earth, and picked up Keith along the lions. Just what Lance had hoped for... Or at least he believed he hoped for.

"I have to go." Lance said, not giving his friends the briefest of glances. All he wanted was to be alone, what was wrong with that? Lance had a lot on his mind... Was it so hard to find a bit of privacy?

Pidge held up a finger and opened her mouth, then closed it into a thin line. She knew pressing Lance any further was useless. Shiro placed his prosthetic limb on her shoulder, and let out a tired sigh. "It's ok, Pidge. Let's give him some space for now."

Pidge paused, then nodded. Hunk looked at her, then to Lance, whose eyes were still reverted to the water. Hunk's headband clung to his tan, sweat speckled forehead, and t shirt draped around his rounded belly. Lance could tell he wanted to say something. He wasn't one to leave a friend in need, but Shiro's words were clear. Hunk nodded, and followed Shiro and Pidge back to their cabin.

Once again, Lance was alone. The former Altean Prince picked up another stone, and dragged his thumb across the smooth surface. He tossed it up in the air, caught it, then tossed it far across the water, toward the horizon. It landed into the sea with a small plop, not giving the satisfying skip Lance desired.

Lance no longer held the strength or willpower to pick up another. He felt sad, yet his eyes shed no tears. They seemed to have dried out in the past few weeks. The bruise Keith had left on his skin was recovered, yet he could still feel the tingle of anger it left behind. A small part of him wished it had remained. Now, Lance's heart was nothing but an empty shell. So tired and fed up to bother expressing any sort of emotion. He still felt, sure, but outwardly, he was a blank slate.

Lance couldn't stop thinking of Keith. Oh, Keith. That damn purple shit head, who tugged on, played with, than severed Lance's delicate strings of love. As he sat down in the sand, he imagined Keith squatting down next to him. It was as if he was there. His purple bangs gentle blowing in the wind, and eyes glowing brightly as always. Yet, instead of the deep, distant sadness which normally plagued Keith's gaze, Lance instead saw a look of contempt. Why was that? Perhaps Keith was finally happy to get away as he always wanted. Perhaps the absence of Lance had finally smoothened the hybrids conscience. Either way, Lance's chest pinged with sorrow.

The phantom Keith began to hum a tune. Lance recognized the song from his childhood. It was a distant memory, like reconnecting strings of thought from a past lifetime. Lance, the younger Lance, was sitting beside his Father and Sister. It was before the war, and before his life was flipped upside down with the death of his mother. This was a different Lance. A young, carefree Lance, who longed for attention, rather than pushed it aside. He ran along the field of purple juniberry's while singing the words to his favorite nursery rhyme terribly out of tune. "Little Troll, Little Troll. Don't mind your family. They will love you, so long as you hide."

The awful words engulfed Lance, sending a shiver down his spine. Back then, he was unsure of what the lyrics meant. Now that he was older, he understood all too well. The tale reminded him of Keith's. They will love you, so long as you hide. He imagined Keith shape shifted fully Altean. Shapeshifting... That dreadful mask which Lance had insisted Keith should wear. He couldn't swallow back his guilt.