Voltron One Shots

Kindness

Prompt: A rando prompt for you on this fine day. "The universe was made from pain. Cultivated and hardened by sorrow. But Lance knew, understood completely, that kindness was the only way to not get swallowed by the agony that existence brought."

A/N: This probably wasn't what you were thinking but oh well. I had inspiration and motivation.

~ ~ ~

Kindness is the only way to not get swallowed by the agony of existence.

Lance had lived by this rule since he was a child. He had learned it from this mother. She was the kindest person that Lance had ever known. No one was as nice as her. She would give everything she had if she knew someone needed it. Lance didn't understand it at first, but as he grew older he realized how hard the world was. How hard it was to stay alive, to find a reason to live. So he devoted his life to helping others. He would help anyone no matter what it cost him. Because even though the universe was made from pain, cultivated and hardened by sorrow, Lance knew that kindness was the only way to not get swallowed by the agony that existence brought.

But now he was stuck on a planet with no escape. His ship had crashed here a few weeks ago, and he had no way of contacting the others that he was here. He tried getting help from the city officials, but no one believed him. They thought he was crazy. He realized later it was probably because he wasn't wearing his armor. He had been wearing his normal clothes and jacket before he left, and they were torn and dirtied from the crash.

So he tried to make money. He tried to find odd jobs or places that would exchange work for food, but no one would take him. No one wanted a human working for them. He turned to the streets, dejected. He was out of ideas. And he was starving. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten.

Now, it was weeks later and he was still living on the streets. Taking food where he could find it, he never found much. His bones were starting to appear more prominently through his skin. The little food that he sometimes found, he usually ended up giving it to someone else. They probably needed it more.

He glanced down at the small bunch of wilted grapes that he had found on the ground next to the stand where they were selling them. He refused to steal anything while he was here. It wasn't fair to the vendors. They worked hard for what they earned.

The woman next to him continued to shift through the garbage looking, presumably, for something to eat. Lance knew that there was nothing in there. He had already looked.

"Excuse me" he said tentatively, so not to frighten her. She whipped around and held out a sharped piece of wood at him. He held his hands up, and showed her the fruit that he had. "Here" he said motioning it towards her. She eyed him up and down.

"You don't need it?" she asked suspiciously. He shook his head.

"You can have it" he insisted. She hesitantly snatched the food from his hands and ran off without thanking him.

He didn't mind. He didn't need thanks. That wasn't why he did this. He did this so that he didn't drown in the sea of pain and pointlessness that the world brought. As long as he continued to help others, he would have a reason to live.

He spent the rest of the day searching the trash for food. He found a small bit of bread. He scarfed it down so fast he barely tasted it before it was gone. His stomach rumbled mercilessly. He looked down at his dirt covered body, riddled with scars. His skin felt like it was stretched too tight. He could feel all of his ribs when he ran his hand down his chest.

He had to find a way to contact the others.

He laid his head against the building, body shivering and stomach rumbling. The sky continued to darken around him. It looked like it was going to rain. He folded in on himself, hoping to keep somewhat dry. He had given his jacket away to a little boy who he saw living on the streets, and his shoes to a young man. He was down to only his torn jeans and flimsy shirt. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

But as long as he was nice, his existence wasn't pointless. If he continued to be nice, the universe would reward him.

Eventually he would find his way home.