Shadow Behind Shadow (Voltron Klance Fanfic)

Prologue

Lance woke up on the floor next to the couch.

Blinking up on the floor then closing his eyes with a groan, he tried to believe that it wasn't a Thursday and he wasn't working four two hour shifts. For some reason, waves of dread spilled over him, even though he had to admit that working at the coffee shop with Pidge wasn't that bad overall.

He checked his phone.

7:12 am.

He checked it again.

Cursing under his breath, calculating in his head how long he would have to get ready: 10 minutes to get ready, if he wears the outfit he wore Monday he would have time to look decent, just put on cologne, maybe eat one of those protein bars his roommate Hunk usually leaves in the pantry? Okay, then that leaves...7-ish minutes to get to the shop. Okay. He could do that.

Sprinting out the door 11 minutes later, he barely makes it to the bus on time and shoves himself into a seat next to some blonde chick that won't get off her phone until he sits down- then gives him a judgmental up and down before fully investing herself back into youtube. Great for his self-esteem, he thinks sarcastically, before shoving down annoying thoughts.

-

He arrived just on time, catching Pidge flipping the sign from 'Closed' to 'Open'.

"Almost late again?" She peers through her glasses. "You should start waking up earlier. Or going to bed earlier."

He faked a gasp. "Do I look tired? Have I been slacking on my skincare?!? How dare you make such bold statements!!"

Pidge isn't impressed but smirks anyway. "C'mon, Lance, our shift is starting." Just as she walks away he heard a quiet: "Goofball..." under her breath.

He made an even louder, more dramatic gasp. "How rude." He stepped inside to laugh it off, knowing the truth- Pidge bites more than she barks, or whatever the saying is.

The inside of the shop is warm after walking past the windows, causing a comfortable vibe. He slipped on the labeled apron and wiped down the counter before their first customer arrived.

The bell ringing at the front indicated someone coming in, and Lance put on his best retail smile and voice for the day.

-

He poured someone an Ice Tea.

Pidge took it and handed it to the customer. He looked at her oddly.

"Go take a break, Lance. You've been working all day nonstop, and you look pretty stressed. I'll cover you."

He didn't exactly have a choice as she took the next customer, so he headed back to the break room, sitting down on the leather couch in the midst of the room.

No one else was there, so the only sound was the bustling outside and cheap air-conditioning cooling him off. The room was comfortable: a tall table and group of stools in the corner, a faint and decayed lime green rug, the leather sofa, and a box TV that had seen better days.

After relaxing a bit and zoning out, he headed back to the counter, only a few hours left until he could go home and watch Netflix the rest of the day, maybe even scroll on Tumblr a bit.

-

He closed the door to the shop, the bell ringing softly as he clicked the lock shut.

Pidge threw him the keys to the back door.

"I'm leaving, can you close up shop?"

Lance nodded. "Sure. Get home safe, okay?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, bye loser!"

"Bye dork!" He called after her as she slammed the door.

He washed off a couple of tables before leaving, shrugging on his signature green jacket as he slipped outside.

It was around 3 pm when he got to his apartment, in a happier mood after getting his own seat on the bus, not even having someone try to talk to him.

He got on his computer, deciding to go on Tumblr first. After graduating college with an Associate's degree, he settled into a small apartment in California, getting a job at the coffee shop (Named 'Space Base') and trying to find a bigger job- he really wanted to be a digital artist, maybe even an animator someday, but he was just a young adult with big dreams. He would probably end up working in the coffee shop my whole life. How he could still afford rent, he didn't know.

He drew a little and scrolled more on Tumblr before realizing it was dinner, and ate a small microwave ramen meal before going to bed early, a little depressed and a little hopeless.

Hey everyone! So I dunno if anyone will care about this fic or not, but I really hope I can stay updated frequently and I would really reallyreALLYreallyreallyreally appreciate it if anyone would comment. Doesn't matter what, suggestions, ideas, found errors, whatever, just it's really nice to know that the audience is actually there.

Anyway! Tell me how you like this! It's based on a fic I made on Quotev years ago, but it's heavily edited, so hopefully, it's better than it was.

Thank you for listening/reading! ❤❤