One Shots/Short Stories || Langst

•Just A Week•

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Description: I can't come up with one...

Relationship: Hance... maybe? It's more friendship, but whatever...

Tw: depression, suicide attempt, self harm (what else would you expect from me...)

(A/N~ Hello
I haven't written in quite some time
I know
I haven't been the best
Of sons, hello, I've been traveling in the desert of my mind
and I
haven't found a drop
of inspiration!!!!
I'm back and coming back strong! I have a few ideas for new stories so I hope y'all look forward to them! This story is over 5,000 words... sorry for spelling mistakes!)

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-Pidge's pov-

They say that everything is obvious with hindsight. Looking back, I agree. What happened should have been detected by us all a lot sooner. It wasn't just that we were distracted at the time. We were fighting life and death battles constantly. The Galra had become more than a mere thorn in our sides; they were lethal and determined to destroy all of us.

Allura and Shiro had been focused on a strategy to keep the Galra at a distance. I had been tinkering with my inventions and gadgets. We didn't see it coming. But we should have. Lance had always been emotional, someone who felt things a lot more intensely than the rest of us. We thought the fresh wounds were from battles, and didn't notice his descent into a very dark place. His blue eyes and frustration didn't even register until it was almost too late.

Depression is a strange and debilitating illness. I know a little about the condition, although my interest isn't from personal experience. I have read about depression and understand how it can cause a person to slide into their own personal Hell.

Besides, when did we have the time to be depressed? We were always fighting for our lives or engaged in training and strategy. The time for personal introspection was little to none, and so none of us saw the changes in Lance until he was well past the point of no return.

Looking back, I wish I could inform my past self of what was occurring. Lance seemed beaten down and during one of our many battles had literally given up - waiting for the fall of a sword to end his life. Keith had intervened before The Galra soldier had the opportunity to finish him off. The lecture afterwards was legendary. Even I was cringing at Shiro's harsh words, meant to inflame Lance, to make him angry, to make him react.

When Shiro realized that Lance wasn't reacting, except for hunched shoulders as if he were expecting a blow, his voice softened and his berating ceased. He went quiet and brooding as we all trudged back to the castle, occasionally sneaking a glance at his younger teammate.

At the castle, the episode was quickly forgotten amidst a haze of training, battle plans and strategy assessments. Allura was pressing us hard; no doubt preparing us for the trials ahead.

During one training session I was paired with Lance. Usually I would hate to be sparring with the guy who made short work of me. However, Lance fought on autopilot; his movements almost sluggish as he blocked and weaved to avoid my attacks. I was the one to win this training session, but Lance barely acknowledged his defeat. He shrugged and left the training deck before I could get my head around his defeatist attitude.

Our fights became more intense and The Galra onslaught was ruthless. We were engaged in battles at least three times a week. It wasn't uncommon to see fresh wounds and bruises on my teammates, but Lance seemed to be faring worst when it came to injuries. His arms were covered with cuts - raw and deep and angry. His legs were also covered with wounds, but I failed to notice them appearing daily. He would disappear to his room and return with fresh wounds, and I hate myself for not interpreting what was happening. He was crying out for help in the only way he could. Eyes red and raw and hopeless.