Safe Spaces (Lance Sick Fic)

Safe Spaces

He wasn't sure when the habit started; it could have been when he was old enough to realize that the noises in the house wouldn't stop just because he was feeling a little under the weather. The first time, he found himself crawling in the space between the couch and wall, dragging a blanket with him; vainly trying to block out the sounds of music blaring from the kitchen and his siblings fighting over some sort of game. For some reason he found his headache alleviate and he let out a sigh as the warmth from the blanket traveled through his bones. Slowly he found himself following his strange habit whenever he became ill. By the time he moved to the Garrison, he had healed up in every single part of the house. Small spaces between furniture, under tables and counters, even going so far as to curl up in empty cabinets. Although it didn't seem to do much for his actual aliments, he was more comfortable and able to rest more than if he just laid down in bed. His family got used to the teen's strange habit after encountering him a number of times and accepted his weird superstition. However, he didn't stop even when he moved away to the Garrison. The very first time he got sick at the Garrison, he crawled under his desk without hesitation a blanket trailing behind him; disregarding the strange look he was getting from his then roommate. He wasn't surprised that a week and a half later he switched out of their room and was replaced with Hunk, not that he was complaining. You'd be kind of weirded out if your roommate started sleeping under his desk for no apparent reason too. It wasn't exactly like he was trying to hide his little quirk, but its not really something you bring up during a conversation or an icebreaker game; Hey, I'm Lance and I like to cram myself into small spaces when I'm sick. No. It doesn't work like that. Which is why he wasn't exactly surprised when he was woken up out of his nap by the panicked voices of his friends. They, however, had a different view on the whole situation.

The first to notice was Hunk, who was in the kitchen once again trying to bake cookies. He knew now to stay away from the scaultrite and focus on the ingredients that Coran helpfully laid out for him. He pulled out the tray and set them aside to cool, already excited about the smell of vanilla wafting off of them. He cleaned up as he waited for the desserts to cool hoping they tasted as well as they smelled. Biting into one his eyes popped open in shock, he quickly scooped up the tray and ran out of the kitchen towards the paladin rooms.

"Lance! You'll never believe what I made! Cookies that taste just like flan!" He shouted excitedly pounding on Lance's door. He expected Lance to immediately be out the door demanding a taste but was met with complete silence. A frown crossed his face and he knocked again, calmly this time.

"Lance? Are you in there?" He asked. After another reply of silence, he scanned his hand and walked inside the room. He quirked an eyebrow at the distinct lack of blue paladin and walked out again. He made his way back to the kitchen to put down the cookies before wandering the halls looking for the boy. He grew more and more worried when he was unable to find him in any of his regular hang out places. He stopped walking when he heard fighting coming from the training room. He stepped in seeing Shiro and Keith sparring; he was slightly disappointed when Lance wasn't in sight, but felt better knowing that he wasn't actually alone.

"Hey Hunk," Shiro smiled wiping the sweat off his forehead. He noticed the worried look on his face and came closer. "Whats wrong?"

"Um, have you guys seen Lance?" He asked looking between the two of them. They glanced at each other, Keith shrugging his shoulders before looking back at Hunk.

"Nope, haven't seen him all day," Shiro replied.

"You haven't either?" He asked incredulously.

"Hunk, calm down he probably just wanted some alone time," Keith suggested.

"Not when he knows that I'm cooking!" Hunk cried. "He always wants to taste first!"

Shiro placed his hands on the panicking paladin's shoulders.