Langst One-Shots

Welcome Home (part one)

Lance was cowering in a corner, a muzzle strapped to his face and his hands and wrists covered by large metal cuffs (similar to the ones that one Disney princess had in that movie about ice... What was it called? Freezing? Something like that...)

His eyes widened as Hunk and Keith skidded into his cell, but instead of excitement, it was fear that so clearly shone through his radiant blue irises.

"L-Lance!" Keith stuttered, his breathing heavy. He couldn't believe his eyes. Lance was alive? After all this time... It had been so long since his name had even been mentioned at the castle. Of course everyone thought about him, but it just became too hard to think about. He hadn't asked for this. For all they had known, he died.

But he wasn't dead! He was here, shackled and scarred but alive. Keith had never loved that word so much.

"Mmm!" Lance tried to tell something, but the muzzle clamped his jaw shut. When Hunk reached out a tentative hand, Lance squirmed backwards, pressing himself into the corner as much as possible. Keith was surprised by how thin he had become, but it had been... Almost three years.

Three years. Three years of Keith crying himself to sleep and blaming himself for Lance's capture and alleged death.

"Let me take that off." Keith said softly, reaching towards Lance's face. The Cuban boy twitched and furrowed his eyebrows at Keith's touch, but said nothing as the muzzle was carefully pulled away.

"Is that better?" Hunk asked, unsure whether or not he should step closer. He wanted to help his friend, but it still felt so unreal. All he did was sweep Lance's brown and white hair out of his eyes.

"Y-yeah." Lance answered after a moment. His voice was higher than Keith remembered it, and a lot dryer. He also seemed nervous about something.

"We're going to get you back to the castle." Keith said after a moment of silence. He didn't want to frighten his teammate, so he spoke softly and moved slowly. Lance tensed as his shackles were cut through, but Keith didn't make anything of it until he started to cut through the shackles on Lance's leg.

Or, Lance's leg. His right leg now stopped at the thigh, a sight that made Keith shiver.

Lance had been the right leg of Voltron.

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped Lance in a hug. Lance took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Even though Keith's embrace was loving and kind, he couldn't breathe. He tried to push Keith away, knowing that it was mean but not caring. He tried to take a deep breath to choke down the tears forming in his eyes and Keith finally pulled away.

"I'm so, so sorry." He said. Lance wasn't sure if he was apologizing for the hug or the leg, but he didn't care.

"Not your fault." He choked out. Keith looked like he was going to say something, but didn't.

"Guys, we have to go." Hunk said after a moment. "The worst possible thing that could happen right now would be if-"

"Don't jinx it, buddy." Lance croaked as Keith carefully picked him up. He seemed so much lighter than Keith remembered, but at this point, it wasn't surprising. Keith just didn't want to think about the scars that covered every inch of visible skin...

"-ys? Hello? Come on, answer already!" Pidge's frantic voice met them over the coms as they stepped out of the room. She got nervous whenever people didn't answer during a mission - she didn't want to lose anybody ever again.

"We're here, we're here." Hunk assured her, heading to the green lion. He climbed through the hole they had cut in the ship with Keith not far behind.

"Thank God. Did you get the samples?" She asked from the cockpit, not looking up at them.

"Not really." Hunk started. After the shock of finding Lance, they had forgotten all about the true purpose of the mission.

"What?!" Pidge yelped, almost hitting an asteroid as she steered Green towards the castle.

"We got something better." Keith said after a moment.

"This had better be good." Pidge grumbled. "Shiro's going to kill you if it's not."

"I don't think Shiro will care about the samples." Hunk predicted, staring at Lance. He was still awake, but hadn't said anything yet. He was probably waiting for the perfect moment - he always did have a thing for drama.

"Whatever." Pidge brushed it off, landing her lion in the hangar. "So, what did you pick up?" She asked, still without turning around.

"Me." Lance said. His voice was a bit clearer now, but Pidge still had to spin around before she recognized him. First she gasped, then she screamed, then she wrapped him in a hug.

"Y-you! Alive!" Her words were messy and jumbled but excited. She released him from the awkward hug (he was still being held in Keith's arms) and wiped some tears from her face.

"Yep." Lance smiled wearily, the first smile he'd worn for almost three years. "Can we, uh, go outside?" Everyone immediately complied, leaving the green lion as quickly as possible. Waiting outside was Shiro and Allura.

"Did you guys get the samples? Is anyone hurt?" Shiro had become even more of a dad friend after Lance's "death", making sure everyone was okay. Keith knew he cried at night, though. He was pretty sure that everyone did.

"They didn't get the samples." Pidge said excitedly, moving away from her spot in front of Keith. Shiro's eyes widened in shock as he saw Lance, and he fell to the floor.

"I wouldn't have pegged Shiro as the fainting type." Hunk said as he crouched down to help his leader back to his feet. Allura stared at Lance, her eyes filled with uncertainty, doubt and confusion. But after a moment, a smile found its way to her lips.

"Welcome home."