Connections - klance

>>14<<

Lotor led Lance into a large room, screens surrounding them. There was a surprising lack of Galra officers, considering how much the place looked like a control room.

"I thought that you might enjoy having this conversation privately, so I've asked the guards and attendants to wait in the corridor," Lotor said, practically reading Lance's mind. Lance only nodded.

"Go ahead and take a seat here, I'll pull up the transmission," Lotor said, gesturing to a single chair in the middle of the floor. Lance took a seat, preparing himself to reunite with his team. He wondered what they must think, finally hearing from him after so long. Had they been looking for him? Were they worried? Lance shook the thoughts away. It didn't matter now. He could talk to them, and maybe Pidge would even be able to track his location. It felt too good to be true.

The screen in front of him lit up, and Allura's face appeared on the screen.

"Oh, Lance! Hello!"

"Allura! It's s-so good to s-see you." Tears filled his eyes as he gazed up at her.

"Yes, it's wonderful to see you as well."

There was a moment of awkward silence. This... hadn't been how Lance imagined their reunion to go.

"Uh, where's everyone e-else?" he asked, trying to peer behind her into the castle.

"Ah, I'm sure they're around here somewhere. Let me see if any of them want to talk to you." She stepped out of Lance's view. He frowned to himself. Somehow, he'd expected them to be more... excited.

Listening closely, he could hear muffled voices. It sounded like arguing.

Finally Allura reappeared, the rest of the team trailing behind. They seemed a bit angry to be there. Lance put the thought out of his mind, relishing in the reunion.

"Guys! I-I missed you all s-so much," Lance exclaimed, grinning widely.

"Uh, yeah. It's been a while now I suppose," Shiro said, turning to Keith. "How long has it been?" Keith only shrugged.

"Don't ask me. I don't keep track of dumb things like that." Lance felt a twist in his heart.

"It's been about 42 quintents," Pidge said, pushing up her glasses.

"Of course you would know that," Hunk said, laughing.

"Well SOMEONE has to be responsible for all you losers," Pidge replied, grinning.

Feeling slightly out of place, Lance tried to join the conversation again.

"So what's the p-plan now? Are you going to... you know... come and g-get me?"

The team stared at him blankly.

"Oh, he doesn't know!" Coran finally said, chuckling. "Terribly sorry Lance, we forgot to fill you in. We have a new blue paladin now, so we won't need your help."

Lance froze, a fake smile still plastered to his face.

"Oh yes, where did he get off to?" Allura asked.

"Kord?" Hunk called down the hall. "There's someone here you can meet. He was the old blue paladin."

"Yeah?" A voice sounded from the hall. "I'd love to meet the guy that kept Blue warm for me." A man sauntered into the room, arms swinging by his sides casually. His blond hair strongly contrasted his tan skin, setting off his steely grey eyes. He wore the blue paladin armor, somehow filling it out more than Lance ever had.

"Nice to meet you," he grinned, looking at Lance cockily.

Lance was breaking. How hadn't he seen this coming? Did he really expect them to break into a Galran prison just to pull him out? He was just a seat-warmer; a fill-in. It's not like he had any unique skills to offer the team.

Tears were streaming down his still-frozen face.

"Hello?" Kord frowned at Lance's face.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked, turning to the others. Keith rolled his eyes, shooting a glare at Lance.

"He's always been like this. Nothing but a drama queen," Keith spat. Lance's head spun. His smile was cracking.

"I.. I thought..."

"What? What did you think, Lance?" A fire burned in Keith's eyes. "Did you think we'd waste time and resources trying to find you? Trying to 'rescue' you? In case you haven't noticed, we're in a war. There are more important things to the universe than face masks and pick-up lines. Honestly, I don't know why we even bothered keeping you here in the first place. Kord has only been here for 41 quintents, and he already knows three times as much as you ever will!" Keith's face was red, words dripping like poison off of his lips.

"Are you really that surprised that we don't want you here? All you did was drag us down! That's all you ever did! We are SO much better off now! And don't think for a moment that I haven't caught on to your pathetic game. Stuttering, Lance? Really? If you're going to pretend to be hurt, at least do something original. You're a quiznaking disgrace."

Kord laid a gentle hand on Keith's arm, stopping the flow of hateful words.

"Keith, it's fine. Calm down." Kord gazed into Keith's eyes tenderly. Keith took a deep breath.

"You're right, I got out of hand." He reached out to Kord's hand, and they held each other for a moment.

Lance's smile was quivering, a barrage of tears flowing freely down his cheeks. His heart felt like it just might implode, and he clutched his chest desperately.

"We're sorry Lance, but there's just no need for you here anymore," Allura said, turning to the screen. "I'm sure you understand."

"Y-y-yeah," he barely forced out. His world was crumbling.

"Great!" Allura said cheerfully. "Well, I'm glad we caught up. We'll see you around, alright?"

Lance took a final glance at the screen, the vision burning into his memory.

He nodded slowly, not trusting himself to speak.

The transmission ended, and he was left alone.

Truly and completely alone. 

(978 Words)

OOf I hope this hurt to read as much as it hurt to write. Sorry it's a little long haha, my words got out of hand. 

Thanks for reading! xoxo