whoops my hand slipped
also 15k!!
"Great job today, sharpshooter,"
Shiro clapped his hand on Lance's back and smiled at the younger man.
Lance felt a tickle at the back of his throat, but smiled back the best he could. "Thanks, Shiro. Anyways, I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to go to bed now," Lance made his excuses and quickly slipped out of the room. By the time he reached his room, the tickle had moved up his throat and was tapping at the back of his mouth. Lance grimaced at the feeling.
Lance remembered when he was little and his sister had gotten sick. Hanahaki, his mother had announced. Lance remembered feeling confusion at why flower petals seemed to follow his sister, and remembered asking his mother what was going on.
"Hanahaki, the lover's disease, she had said. It runs in our family, so we have grown cautious about love. Lance, mi hijo, you must be careful to never fall in love first. Flowers will grow in your lungs, and if the love is unrequited, you must choose to die or else have the roots removed and lose all memory of your beloved. Camilla, she has fallen in love, and you see how she weakens. I cannot lose my children, Lance. Please be careful."
Lance was so careful. He flirted, he smiled at pretty people, but he never fell in love. Until he met Shiro. Lance didn't even realize he had feelings until they got back from saving Slav and he had coughed until bloody lilacs came out.
Ever since, he had tried his hardest to fall out of love with the man, but instead plants had taken root in his lungs and made it more difficult for him to breathe with each passing day.
Lance pushed two of his fingers to the back of his throat and gripped the vine growing out there. He pulled, and with a low snap, the vine broke and part came out. The tickle was gone for now, but Lance knew it never stayed away for long. Lance dropped the vine into the trash, where it settled on top of a layer of bloody tissues and flowers.
Lance was fucked.
Shiro was too easy to love, and Lance didn't want to forget him anytime soon. He hoped his feelings would be requited, and vowed to confess to Shiro once Zarkon was defeated. In case Shiro didn't return the feelings, should he have Coran cut him open and remove the roots and forget about his feeling for Shiro, or should he just embrace the end with a heart and lungs full of love and hope the team would find a new paladin?
Lance felt tears well up at the thought of Shiro potentially returning his feelings. Hope was a dangerous thing, but Lance was nothing if not optimistic. Tomorrow they would beat Zarkon, and then this problem could be dealt with. Hopefully.
-
Lance woke up the next morning with a scratch in his throat, and when he coughed, roses came out, stems and thorns still attached. Lance gagged at the pain of the thorns tearing into his throat, but held back his cries. They had a mission today, and he would complete it.
Lance coughed until his throat was clear, then tossed the roses into the trash bin with the vine from the night before. His eyes watered, but he wiped them dry and went to meet with the team. In a few hours, they would all either be dead, or he would have to confront Shiro.
Lance put a smile on his face before going to join his team. He was ready for this to be over. All of it.
-
They won.
Except Shiro disappeared. Lance felt his heart sink. They were down a paladin now; he couldn't leave Voltron too. Lance blinked back tears that threatened to fall. He made his decision and felt his breaths grow more difficult as the flowers in his lungs bloomed to his heartbreak.
"Hey, Coran? I need you to do something for me."
