A Father's Greatest Sin (Lance Abuse)

Chapter One

"Is everyone ready?" Allura asked from the control room above them. Everyone nodded their heads and started concentrating. Earlier that day, Coran realized that the paladins hadn't gone through the mind-meld exercise since Pidge stormed off the last time. Obviously, they were close teammates but you could never be too close to your friends.

"Now I want you to think about the people around you," she stated. Immediately she could see the happy memories of them training and spending time together in the lounge appear on their screens. The paladin's felt warmth travel through their bond as they shared the memories they had of each other. Shiro chuckled when Lance brought up their first ride in the blue lion.

"What will you be returning to on Earth?" They heard Allura ask. Shiro was about to share the image of his short, little mom but flinched when he felt Lance's connection to them splintering. Before he could ask him what was wrong, the flickering image of a man appeared in front of them. He was staring down at a small skinny boy with a glare on his face. It didn't take long for them to realize that the little boy was Lance. When they looked over at him, he was staring blankly ahead at the memory.

"Are you okay buddy?" Hunk asked hesitantly. Right after he asked, the sound of a loud slap and thud echoed through the room. They looked back to the memory and saw Lance lying on the floor, his cheeks covered in tears and his jaw beginning to swell and bruise. There was no yelling from the man, even though they could see his mouth moving rapidly, they could only hear Lance's painful sobbing. He must not have been listening at that point. Not that they could blame him, they wouldn't have been either. They relaxed as the memory began to fade away but couldn't do anything when the next started.

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They heard muffled yelling come from inside a moderate looking house. They could already tell that it revolved around Lance like the other one had. The door at the back of the house burst open and again, a smaller version of Lance was thrown down into the dirt of the backyard. Before he could get to his feet, the door slammed shut and they heard a lock click. He staggered to his feet and walked up to the door, he tried wiggling the doorknob but didn't dare try knocking or the doorbell.

"Papá I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break the rules," he said through the door. "Please let me back in, I'm sorry,"

When he received no response, he turned from the door and plopped down on the grass. He absentmindedly plucked at the grass, pulling it out and throwing it above his head like confetti. For the first time that they saw in his memories, they saw Lance smile, and for the simplest thing. That simple happiness was quickly swept away when a crack of thunder startled Lance. He looked up as the first few droplets of rain came down from the sky. He scrambled up and sat under a grubby, old umbrella that was sitting in a dirt-stained patio table set. Soon enough, they could see him shaking from the cold and his composure was quickly crumbling with the rain. Ignoring the rain, Lance ran back to the back stoop and just barely knocked on the door.

"Papá please, I'm sorry," he cried again. "I'm so cold," he sobbed, and from the memory, they could tell. His clothes were soaking wet and he was visibly trembling on the spot. Even his lips began to show a bit of a blue tinge. His cries were muffled when the door opened for a split second and a blanket was shoved in his face with enough force to send him toppling down the few steps and into the mud. He didn't stay long enough to think about what happened, only hopped up and wrapped the now partially soaked blanket around his shoulders. He quickly curled up under the umbrella again and stared out around him. He didn't make a sound as tears rolled down his cheeks and the mud on his clothes chilled him to the bone.

"That's his dad?" Keith asked horrified. None of them could answer him. Pidge had her hand pressed against her mouth in absolute shock. Hunk was already crying for his best friend and wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull him into a hug. However, Lance was still stuck in his memories and until he pulled himself or they were able to pull him from his memories, they were trapped. All Shiro wanted to do at the moment was go to Earth and punch this man in the face. Lance was one of the kindest, caring, and selfless person he had ever known; and to think that this is what he had to look forward to when he went to Earth was unacceptable and unfair.