Convalescence

<<1>>

Lance blinked hazily. Keith was huddled over him, looking... concerned? Helpless? Lance wasn't quite sure, but he didn't like it. It didn't bode well if his illusions were this... real feeling. He could feel Keith's hands on his face, feel the humming of the red lion beneath him. A stinky, sweaty smell mixed with iron, making his nose tingle. It should have disgusted him, but instead it made him almost want to relax into this dream. Soon he'd be awake and Lotor would return, but it couldn't hurt to indulge himself for once.

Blinking again, trying to clear his foggy vision, he met Keith's stare.

"Lance? How do you feel?" Keith's voice sounded very, very far away. Lance furrowed his brow, trying to focus. He was supposed to reply, right? It'd been a long time since he'd been expected to say anything.

"This is really n-nice," he finally said, his tongue tripping over itself. He'd forgotten about that acquired trait. Hopefully this Dream-Keith wouldn't be angry about it. Or maybe, if he concentrated, he could force his dream-self to talk like a normal person.

"We're going to be at the castle soon," Dream-Keith said, his eyes flashing with relief. Lance hummed contentedly. He'd always liked Keith. Not that he ever would have admitted it before; he'd been too focused on their rivalry. Maybe there wasn't a rivalry in this dream? He could control the things that happened, right? Just like any other dream. He could make it so that Keith liked him back. Just will it to be so and watch it happen.

"You're p-pretty," he said, testing the waters. To his delight, Dream-Keith flushed a brilliant shade of red.

"Lance, I... delirious. We need... --ealing pod."

Lance frowned, trying to make sense of what he had said. It was tricky to focus on long sentences.

"I can't... c-can't listen," he finally said, hoping Dream-Keith would understand. The red paladin was frowning somewhere far away, biting his lip. It would be nice to kiss his lips. Maybe he could; this was a really nice dream so far.

"Can you hear me?" Dream-Keith was raising his voice, studying Lance's ears with concern.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling. Dream-Keith was so funny. "Your voice is g-good."

Dream-Keith frowned again, leaning his face close. Lance giggled, reaching up to touch his cheeks.

"I really like this d-dream," he murmured. Dream-Keith's eyes widened, looking surprised. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Did Dream-Keith not realize he was in a dream? Wait, that didn't make sense.

"Lance, this is real," Dream-Keith said. He sounded so worried.

"Mhm," Lance sighed, gazing at the red paladin fondly. Real-Keith probably would have said the same thing. He was stubborn like that. Dream-Keith just frowned again. He was doing that a lot.

A beeping sound filled the cockpit, piercing through his foggy head painfully. He reached up to cover his ears, trying to muffle the sound. Suddenly Dream-Keith wasn't there, and he vaguely wondered where he'd gone. The floor lurched, and he braced himself against the wall behind him.

The cockpit filled with a white light, and he felt arms scoop him up. He considered fighting them but decided against it. This was a dream, so there wasn't much need to worry for his safety.

Voices were surrounding him, and he realized that he should probably be paying attention. Furrowing his brow, he forced himself to focus.

"What happened?"

"Lotor had him...blood everywhere."

"...kill him?"

"Didn't... out."

"...hurt?"

"I don't think..."

Lance groaned. There were too many voices; too much to think about. And where had those arms gone? Was he on a table?

Suddenly there was a face hovering over him.

"Hunk?" he questioned, squinting. The yellow paladin grinned, and Lance was surprised to see tears dripping down his face. Hunk was in his dream, too! That was good, he liked Hunk.

"Hey, buddy. How do you feel?"

Lance smiled. "G-Great. This is b-better than usual." Hunk frowned, blinking in confusion.

"Better than what?"

"B-Better than my other d-dreams. Nobody's k-killed me yet."

Dream-Hunk's eyes widened, and he turned to look at something behind him. It was silent. What had happened to the other voices?

"Lance... this isn't a dream," Dream-Hunk finally said. Lance only smiled, nodding a little.

"That's what D-Dream-Keith said," he giggled. Someone made a weird sound off to the side, and he tilted his head to try to find it. "Who else is here?"

"Everybody's... Lance... worried about... Not dreaming..." Dream-Hunk's voice wavered in and out, and Lance frowned to himself. This was getting frustrating.

"Stop! ...scaring him!"

Another face joined Dream-Hunk's above him, and he blinked hard to focus on it.

"Lance... --eed to rest," Dream-Keith said.

"I can't... can't understand," he replied. Dream-Keith was frowning again, and he had the urge to kiss his frown away. That would be ok in a dream, right?

Suddenly he was in someone's arms. Blinking, he tried to pay attention to what was happening. Were they going somewhere?

He felt himself being lowered, and was suddenly surrounded in fluffy fabrics. He choked, fighting the bile that rose in his throat. He wasn't ready to wake up. He could feel the bed under him, feel the pillows and the blanket. He cried out, curling himself into a tight ball. Hands grasped his shoulder, and he jerked away. Lotor would punish him later, but he just wasn't ready. The dream had been too good, he couldn't wake up yet.

A sharp pinch in his arm jolted him, and he let out another sob. Lotor was punishing him. He should have been more obedient.

His limbs suddenly felt heavy, and his eyelids drooped. He knew what was coming, and he welcomed the familiar darkness with open arms.