Just a Week // Langst

Chapter Four : Shiro

Life is such a precious gift. One that should never be taken for granted or abused.

I had instilled this belief in all of my teammates. Allura, Coran, and I trained them to ensure their own survival.

Never, in all my years, did I see this one coming. Teen will be teens, and my team have fought enemies all through their teen years. Now Lance was waging war on his own. A psychological war. A war against the dark inside his own mind and heart.

I didn't even know his personal battle was raging. He had lost this battle and planned on snuffing out his own precious light. Distracted and ageing, my eyes were cloudy from the years and from constant pressure from our enemies. Guiding Keith to protect the friends when I eventually disappear was something at the forefront of my mind.

I didn't consider that absolute hopelessness and despair was possible in Lance. Out of the team, he is perhaps the most negative surprisingly; his views on the world are cynical. However, he has always been a fighter, and not prone to giving up.

For Lance to give up and believe this was the only way out... that drove a knife right through my heart. My mind now focused on the situation, Coran, Hunk and I devised a strategy to help Lance once he regained consciousness.

We quickly formulated a plan to follow. Lance, once awake, might continue with his self-destructive urges until he was dead. There might be no talking him out of this fatalistic state, so we were all to remain mindful. If Lance could not be reasoned with and tried to follow through with his suicide plan, then sedation would be the final option. Allura and Coran, and with the help of Pidge, had all the medication to keep Lance sedated for several hours at a time.

I know for a fact that Lance knew how to kill himself within seconds. It was crucial to bar his attempts whilst we attempted to reason with him. Heavy restraints were decided; wrists bound and feet tied to restrict movement. Pidge had a paralysing drug which worked to keep the subject subdued and unable to move about; but Lance would be able to slur words and talk to us. It was a messy and temporary solution, but more than anything we hoped to get through to Lance. Reach the spark deep within his mind and find his will to live. It was a faint hope, but one which my friends embraced immediately and set into motion.

Coran and Pidge rummaged through the medical bay for the paralysing drug. It took over ten minutes for them to find because the workplace is so cluttered, but eventually they had the drug ready.

Keith shifted Lance into a more comfortable position on the couch, fetched a blanket and a pillow for his comfort and settled behind the sofa. Keith was going to remain close to Lance, within range for an intervention if Lance did manage to try anything to hurt himself.

Hunk seemed to be rehearsing his next conversation with Lance. He was mumbling to himself and running through every scenario. Finally he turned to me and smiled gently.

"Everything is going to be okay, Shiro." I nodded at him, so mature in this situation, and felt my heart swell with pride. Each of my team members had their own function within the team and Hunk's role was central to the group dynamic. He was the heart of this family, bringing us all together in a time of crisis with his own distinctive style of leadership.

I settled on a chair and watched the Cuban sleep.

Finally, Allura brought out steaming cups of tea for all of us, and we settled back and waited for Lance to awaken.

(A/N – Shiro is a daddy)