Langst: Lost Under The Waves

7- Stars and blue eyes

After his chat with Hunk, Lance had been thinking about things differently.

We're here for you Lance, and we always will be.

That phrase echoed in his mind, and one word challenged it.

Why?

Why did the team want to be there for him? Wasn't it a burden to have to keep coming back to pick him up?

Lance didn't understand it, if he was in their shoes he'd leave himself in the dust, but these guys seemed so set against the idea.

Sighing, Lance sat up pushing his covers off of him as he grabbed his jacket.

He couldn't stare at the ceiling not for another 4 hours before the others got up.

He needed to move, get going at least a little bit. He wanted to let go and move on but his feelings lingered, doubt kept creeping in and he had occasions when he just felt numb.

But he was getting better.

With the others knowing at least a few of his problems it really did make a world of difference.

Lance soon found himself on the observation deck watching the stars that were dancing across the black ink sky.

He couldn't help the small smile that came onto his face.

The stars, he really wanted, ever since he was little really, to be amongst them, to see earth beneath his feet, and watch the galaxies dance.

And now that he was here he found he wasn't enjoying it.

He was hating it.

Sure he found it beautiful, but it was just another beautiful reminder that he was thousands of miles away from home, with no way to tell them he was okay.

A few tears escaped and Lance let himself sit on the floor his shoulder leaning on the thick Altean glass which seperated him from the swirling mass of stars.

"Lance?"

Lance flinched and turned to see Coran standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing up?" He asked ignoring the tears which Lance quickly tried to hide.

"I couldn't sleep." Lance croaked quietly making Coran frown.

"Do you know why?" Coran asked sitting next to him.

"No, I just have days where trying to sleep is more effort then it should be." Lance shrugged keeping his gaze low. "I don't know if it has a cause."

"Have you been thinking a lot?" Coran asked his attention turning to the stars. "About your family I mean?"

"Yeah." Lance sighed following his gaze. "I just want them to know I'm okay, and that I miss them."

"Have you spoken to the others about this?" Coran asked his gaze never leaving the stars.

"No, I didn't want to mention family in front of them, Keith doesn't have any, Shiro's very quiet on the subject, Pidge is still looking for hers, Hunk is incredibly homesick and you and Allura lost everything."

"You observe a lot don't you." Coran chuckled making Lance smile slightly.

"I try to." Lance admitted quietly. "It helps me to understand people better."

"It's a good skill to have." Coran admitted turning to meet Lance's gaze. "You're right that we all have aspects of family that makes us sad but... Sometimes it's good to talk about it."

"I know." Lance smiled. "But sometimes it's easier to forget."

"I agree." Coran nodded getting his feet beneath him. "While you're up do you mind helping me?"

"Of course not." Lance smiled getting to his feet following Coran out of the room.

"Good, cause I could do with the company." Coran smiled looping an arm over Lance shoulders leading him through the castle.

Lance and Coran spent the next few hours talking about mundane things that actually made Lance feel slightly more human.

He laughed, the hardest he had in a long time and he couldn't keep the smile off his face as the two worked.

"You know Lance I have just noticed something extremely strange about your eyes." Coran suddenly said making Lance look at him confused, his smile still there.

"My eyes?"

"Yes they change colour." Coran said amazement evident in his voice. "When you were sad earlier they were an almost greyish blue, but now they're as bright as an Altean royal blue."

"To be honest I've never really studied the colour of my eyes." Lance admitted making Coran smile.

"I just think it's interesting." Coran continued as he finished cleaning the final pod. "Thank you for helping me my boy."

"Not at all." Lance smiled as he pulled his jacket back on. "I enjoyed it, it was nice to get out of my head and see the bigger picture, I guess."

"I'm glad I could help." Coran said as Lance headed to the door. "Oh and Lance?"

"Yea?" Lance asked hesitating turning to look back at him.

"If you ever can't sleep again, come and find me I'm usually about and we can do this again." Coran said quietly making Lance's smile grow.

"I'd like that."