Langst One-Shots

Langst Twenty-Six - Vale, sollicitudine

Dona nobis pacem.

Lance took a deep breath. After all he'd been through, he deserved a little peace and quiet. Relaxation. He took deep and even breaths, trying not to think too much of the prison. He knew that it was inevitable, though.

Dona nobis pacem.

He kept thinking back to when the prisoners called him "patchwork knight." It was a terrifying time for him. He was so happy when the team came for him, but they had been... Too late.

Dona nobis pacem.

He wasn't dead, obviously. But he was physically and emotionally scarred. He had been in such bad condition when they found him that they didn't recognize him at first. Keith had thought he was just another prisoner, and only realised it was the blue paladin when he scooped him up and Lance nuzzled his face into Keith's neck.

Dona nobis pacem.

Lance was still getting over his time there. He would sit in his room, mediating as best he could. Thinking of nothing. It was very therapeutic - he hadn't had nearly as many panic attacks since he started. The team was very supportive of him now, too. Let him just sit and meditate for hours.

Dona nobis pacem.

"Lance?" The blue paladin pirked up at Shiro's voice. "Are you okay?"

"No." Lance answered after a moment. "But I'm feeling better." He liked honestly now, straight and to-the-point honesty. He might never be okay, but he would try.

He would try.

"Well, that's good. Allura was wondering if you were feeling up to a diplomatic mission?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Lance smiled, took a deep breath, and stood up. "I need to get out more often, huh?"

"Well, you're not wrong." Shiro chuckled lightly. He respected Lance so much, knowing a small amount of what he must have gone through. Of course, he knew it would've been much worse for Lance, given his intergalactic status as a paladin and his extended amount of time there. A year and a half didn't seem that long, but Lance had changed so much in that time. Shiro worried that he'd never be the same again.

But that was okay, in its own way. The experience would never, in any way, shape or form, be good, but it would help him. It had helped Shiro, in a way.

Dona nobis pacem.

°•°

"He is weak! We are to be strong if we want to beat the empire. Allying with you would destroy all hopes of success." The yellow-skinned king of Lamaela glared at Lance, who just wanted to melt into a wall. He could feel his breathing starting to speed, hear this thoughts confirming what the king was saying. But he couldn't break down now, he couldn't. He couldn't, he couldn't! If he did, he'd be confirming what the king said. So he took the hand that Keith discreetly offered and a deep breath.

Dona nobis pacem.

"In what way am I weak?" Lance asked, thanking whatever God was out there that his voice came out cool, confident and even demanding. He sounded anything but weak.

"You let yourself be captured. We know the stories!"

"He did it to save the rest of the team! If he hadn't stayed behind to ensure our escape - not that I ever want you to do that again - we wouldn't have been around to save your planet. You would be dead if not for him!" Keith exploded, glaring at the king so fiercely that Lance was afraid the chubby alien would catch on fire or something.

"Hmph. If he wad truly strong enough to be a paladin, nobody would have been left-"

"I'm sorry, but how old does one have to be to be an adult in your society?" Shiro interrupted, his voice sickly sweet.

"T-twenty years." The king answered, flustered at the sudden question.

"A year is roughly 365 days, yes?"

"Er, yes..."

"Well, our dear Lance here is only eighteen. He is barely an adult in our culture, definitely not one in yours. I would suggest that before you judge him so harshly, you try and understand what it must have been like to be one of the most wanted criminals in the universe before you were even a legal adult. Then imagen being captured and tortured for information every day." Shiro paused to let his words sink in while Keith squeezed Lance's hand.

Dona nobis pacem.

"Can you imagine what that would be like?" Shiro asked. The king reluctantly shook his head, ignoring the gaze of the black paladin. Although Pidge and Hunk remained silent, they glared at the king as well, unamused with his actions and words.

"I am... Sorry. Forgive me, blue paladin." The king sounded legitimately sorry for his misjudgements.

"It's okay - we all make mistakes." Lance said. But he didn't think anything the kind had said was untrue - if he had been stronger, he wouldn't be scarred. If he had been better, he wouldn't have been captured. If he had been anything but weak, they wouldn't have had that conversation. Right?

Dona nobis pacem.

°•°

Lance told his feelings to Kieth. He had learned a long time ago that emotions were not to be bottled up, and Keith was okay listening to him. Consoling him. After all, how could he turn him down?

"I just... If I was stronger, maybe they wouldn't have hurt me. Maybe I would be happier, maybe we'd have already beaten Zarkon and Lotor by now. Who knows?"

"You're already the strongest person I know. I have no idea how you survived what you did. You never cease to amaze me, Lance. I am constantly in awe of your strength, you keep going and keep holding on despite everything. Despite everything that happened."

"I... I guess. But you guys still don't know all that I went through. I don't... I don't want to admit it, but although I made I through, it stills hurts every time I close my eyes. I can still hear screams whenever I try to call asleep."

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"How... How long do you have?"

Should I do a sequel/second part?