Chapter Text
Lance could always hear a melody, a soft tune that played constantly. It was a reminder that there is someone who is waiting for him, his soulmate. Everyone has one, melodies are incomplete until you find your other half. It was a way to find who could complete you.
Most of his family had already found their other halves, he felt a little left out. By the time he was 14, all of his siblings had found their other half.
Lance is the youngest in his family, so it makes sense that he might take the longest but it still stings when all of his family have someone and he doesn’t. He has nieces and nephews but they haven’t been expected to find a soulmate like he has. It gets worse when a couple of his nieces and nephews happen to find their soulmates randomly.
Lance doesn’t want to be dramatic but he should have found his soulmate by now!
It irked him how many people chose to point it out. Everyone tells him that god likes saving “the best for last” or they tell him that he needs to try harder. He is fed up with how people treat him and he wants to hate the soulmate thing but he can’t.
He loves his melody, even if it isn’t complete, and he knows that he will one day find the other. But waiting is still so hard when everyone seems to be getting theirs. He just needs to keep believing and then one day, he will find what he has been looking for.
Lance always wanted to complete his melody but something that competed with that desire was the need to go to space. He wanted to explore everything, see what space had to offer. He remembers so many warnings of how silent it would be up and how he could die just trying to get there. He didn’t care, space was something that was achievable. And so, he reached for the stars.
And soon, his dream became true.
Lance never thought that he would be a part of a 10,000 year war. To be fair however, he also didn’t think aliens existed either so it was probably not his fault for thinking it. Even though it seemed crazy, Lance loved every second of it. Fighting off the galra and forming voltron was incredible. Lance couldn’t describe the feeling he felt when they made Voltron, combining each other's strengths and weaknesses to make a super weapon.
They had only been up in space for a week before everything went downhill. Lance didn’t know how it happened but someone had infiltrated the castle during a diplomatic party. He didn’t know what was going on at first, but seeing Rover all by itself without Pidge made him freeze. Rover, a robot that Pidge had reprogramed from the galra, was always by Pidge’s side. But Pidge wasn’t here so why was it here…?
Lance almost realized too late as it finally sunk in. This was a decoy, this wasn't Rover. He heard fast beeping and knew what was next. He pushed Coran out of the way, watching as the advisor hit the ground before smoke clouded his vision. It took him a couple seconds to realize that he had almost been blown up and was most definitely in the blast zone.
His ears were ringing and everything seemed gray when he looked around. Pain coursed through his body, reminding him he was just blown up. It was so hard to breathe and he was acutely aware that he may have a couple of broken ribs. While he thought about his injuries, the edges of his vision were going dark.
Before Lance could register the darkness, it swallowed him. Drenching him into a painless unconsciousness.
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The next time Lance woke up, his body felt heavy. He blinked slowly, letting the dots that cloud his vision leave. He saw Shiro next to him, tied up on the ground. That shocked him enough to really look around. He saw a tall Galra that seemed very intimidating and strong.
He also saw Pidge, hiding behind a podium. He wanted to help but didn’t know what he could do. He knew he wasn’t tied up but his whole body hurt.
He tried to clench his hand but felt pain shoot up his arm. He held himself still, not wanting to alert anyone that he was awake. They would tie him up then, which would make his current freedom useless. He could only watch as Pidge made a hologram to try to lure the galra away so they could free Shiro.
He laid there as the galra came back immediately, not fooled by Pidge’s distraction. He only partially got up when he saw that Pidge was being held by the collar by the same galra, who looked furious. Lance sucked in a breath as he pulled up his bayard, watching it shift into his rifle.
He fired, trusting his aim even in this state. Hearing the bullet collide the Galra’s arm was satisfying, so was watching Pidge fall from the alien’s grasp. Feeling his body tilting back, he let his eyes closed as he saw Keith come into the room. He vaguely heard fighting, the clashing of metals and battle cries.
The next thing he felt were strong warm arms trying to pull him up. It was then that he realized how cold he was. He wanted to snuggle into the embrace but chose against it.”Lance?” The hesitant voice of Keith broke Lance out of his thoughts. His eyes were heavy but he knew that he needed to open them.
The way Keith said his name, like he was desperate for Lance to be okay, pushed something in Lance to prove that he was fine. He immediately regretted that decision with how bright everything seemed. He looked around after his vision cleared. “Where’s Hunk and Coran?” Lance could only ask, not seeing the pair anywhere.
He could see Pidge helping Shiro up with Allura talking to the mice. “They went to find a new crystal.” Keith’s response made Lance almost collapse with relief. “Hey, Sharpshooter!” Keith’s voice sounded a bit more urgent, making Lance realize that his eyes were slowly closing. “We make a good team, you know?” Lance slurs, gripping Keith’s hand. He knows the grip is probably weak and that his attempt to help Keith’s nerves was a bust.
“Yeah, we do…” Keith trailed off, his voice soft as he looked at Lance. Lance laughed, it had been a hectic night. His body felt numb and he knew that was concerning. He should have voiced it when he had the energy but most of it was pushed into convincing Keith he was okay. He felt the exact moment his body gave up the fight, he wished he could say he wasn’t relieved.
He felt more than heard Keith’s panic. Keith had caught him, at least he didn’t feel the impact of the floor. He could vaguely feel his body being aggressively shaked before being picked up. He couldn’t really tell what happened next, his mind felt like it was drowning. His back had this pressure that it didn’t before. Everything felt unreal, his mind drowning in a sea of numbness. The pressure building the farther he went down.
A humming melody distantly pulls Lance away from the feeling of being crushed. The voice was a bit raspy and inconsistent, though that could be Lance’s mind right now. The humming sounded stressed. Lance distantly wondered why, though he didn’t have long before everything became foggy. The pressure stopped and he was no longer drowning, he felt like he was floating. He drifted in his mind, the melody playing on repeat.
It was the best thing he had ever heard.