Lance has learned many things after being a part of Voltron. He actually can learn things, especially things about people. especially about his team.
He learns that his jokes just get sighs and exasperated looks.
He learns his flirts just get a cold store and eye rolls.
He learns that he's just a placeholder for the real Blue Paladin.
He learns that he's not a sharpshooter, he's just someone who happened to be picked by Blue and that Voltron had to accept him.
He learns that Lance being Lance is one big fucking joke no one can take seriously. He learns that Lance being Lance will never be a useful thing to Voltron.
That he's pathetic, stupid, and he should just listen to Shiro and Allura's orders. That he, as some boy from Cuba he should just suck it up and listen to Keith when he becomes the Black Paladin. No matter how better he thinks his plan is. No matter how many times he wants to protest at becoming the Red Paladin, how he's not instinctive and quick and firey, no, that's not who I am.
Lance learns that people don't want Lance, they want someone better. Someone better than this stupid joke of a Paladin. So he changes. Lance no longer cracks a joke anymore or flirts with Allura, he follows orders solemnly without a response and whenever he messes up he stands there as Keith or Allura scold him, biting back tears and screams. He locks away Lance, the Lance that nobody wanted, and becomes the person he thinks is useful.
He skips the skincare routine that kept him in touch with his family, he barely thinks about his family and jist trains and trains, just like Keith did.
He's better now. He's the sharpshooter that everyone wanted, and can make a clean shot without even blinking. He's an expert marksman that obidiently follows the leaders' orders.
Everyone seems to appericiate him. Until Shiro comes back.
All his hard work had been for nothing, as Shiro becomes Black Paladin and now Lance is the Blue Paladin, but it's him and Red all over again. He's no longer friendly and goes with the flow, he's a carbon copy of Keith he thought everyone wanted. He can't find the key to the original Lance. It's too late when everyone notices.
At first they smiled and laughed in relief when Lance didn't make jokes or flirted with Allura, but now the Caatle is silent. The silence tears through them and leaves them in shock, merely staring at Lance when he replies with a numb "Yes sir," to Keith or Shiro and mechanically carries out his task. They haven't seen his smile in weeks, they hadn't heard him say anything more than a "Yes sir," in days. They hadn't seen the twinkle in his eyes for god knows how long.
They stare numbly as dinner is silent that night, as Lance scoops up his food solemnly and leaves. All he does is train and train, he's reached levels beyond Keith but still follows his orders.
Everyone is horrified at what they've done, desperately trying to return the Lance from before with dumb jokes and space goo, Allura invites Lance to spend some time with her.
Hunk bakes him space goo cookies or makes a pun.
Pidge creates toys and knick knacks that scream songs Lance loved.
Coran tells Lance the funny things that happened back when Altea was around.
Allura tries to have a beauty day with Lance, tells him to braid her hair or play with it.
Keith pushes him around, telling him that he needs to stop acting like this.
Shiro gently nudges him, tells him jokes and praises him.
But the damage they have done is permenant.
Lance doesn't know who to be anymore.
[Im literally posting this bc i feel like yall havent seen this. It's what mermaid stripper on tumblr wrote and im just passing it on.]
