spacebaloney: (Default)
ʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴄᴄʟᴀɪɴ ([personal profile] spacebaloney) wrote2018-06-26 02:32 am

» in space, everybody can hear you scream



You've reached Lance, the Paladin of the Blue Lion. It breaks my heart to tell you that I'm unavailable to take your call right now, but if you leave me a message, I'll get right back to you.
shiro2hero: (jfc this man needs to sleep)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, he hears him. And slowly opens the door, lingering there on the threshold for a few moments. He's not the one who should be here. Lance should have his best friend here. Not...]

[He's cut off by Blue.]

[Blue who hurtles into the room, sliding on his weird Gallade knees, up to the bedside. Looking up at the blanket lump with a worried little noise.]


... Blue came too.
shiro2hero: (eyebag game strong)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Blue's gonna try his noodley best. He's gonna do everything!! To cheer up his hero!! Except he's not really sure what to do, so he's looking to his trainer for help.]

[Shiro just... slowly steps in. Sits on the floor against the bed.]


I want to tell you it feels better, eventually. [If Lance sounds muffled and clipped, Shiro just sounds tired again.] That he can always come back. And... it might even be soon.

But -- I can't lie. It sucks, man. I'm... still waiting for it to feel better.
shiro2hero: (I'm fine i'm not dying i swear)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe I should say that.

[Sorry, Lance. He's going to be honest. Maybe he should try and soften things a little. Maybe he should give him false hope. But --]

But people do come back. Sometimes. And sometimes you can have closure. Say things you needed to.

I mean... if I thought none of this was worth it, I wouldn't be planning my next badge, or keeping Armin's room open. Or dating someone again.

I wouldn't be sitting in here... trying to make it a little less hard for you.
shiro2hero: (the ship has an Alexa??)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
We got time? You didn't?

[It's surprisingly hard to keep his voice steady when he asks that. He manages, though. That sort of forced calm you pull out when it's clearly Not Okay. But it has to be.]

[That kind he probably should be keeping hold of, instead of this. Because you can bet your ass he's decided there could have been more to do. There could have been a way to prevent this. If he hadn't been so... excited... at the idea of being people again. Of this second chance everyone talked about.]

[Maybe it was a bad idea, after all.]


I... [I don't know what to say, for once. Like the whole situation took the wind out of his sails completely.]

If you need... anything. I'll -- I'll be here.
shiro2hero: (that transformers song)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
We're here for you too.

[Of course he's going to say that. He can't not say it. Because despite everything, it's still true. Nothing's going to change it, at this point. Nothing's he can think of would make them not be there for their friend.]

[Well... aside from being physically separated.]

[Lance is probably right -- it's probably a good thing he's not looking. Shiro's got that look back on his face. The one that's too focused. On everything but how much he wishes he could fix this the one way that would help.]


If I could... do something. Trade with him, I don't... know.

[Because hey. He's dealt with worse than what he was going through back there. He wouldn't notice anyone was gone. He... wouldn't have what he has now, with Matt. But -- but that's selfish. Isn't it? Too selfish.]

But if I could... [I would.]
shiro2hero: (did anyone save me any space pie)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 07:44 am (UTC)(link)
[There's nothing you can do.]

[Well... now he feels even worse for having said that to Keith, before. About their past. About what happened then. He'd known, logically, if there'd been any hope of getting the others back, then -- then he would have done everything already. If there'd been a chance of getting Allura back, Dorian or Armin's friend, or Jean's or Sasha's or ... ]

[Too complacent.]

[You're like a soldier, people here said. So often. Maybe this was what happened when people like them got too comfortable. Expected normalcy. They got it ripped out from under them with a reminder they couldn't do anything.]

[He knows Blue is watching him, eyes wide and concerned. And just... feels even guiltier. There's nothing you can do. If it stings this badly, in his head... it's got to be worse for his teammate. His friend. Who's worth so much more than he's ever known.]


Don't give up.

[Slowly, he stands up again. Sort of feels like his knees locked up there, for a minute.]

Not on any of us. Or yourself. Please.

[But he'll step out, unless he's stopped, leaving Blue to stay or go if the Gallade wants. In case... he's just making things worse.]
shiro2hero: (maybe he's born with it)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-27 08:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Of course he stops. Turns. Like he could walk out when he hears Lance shifting around, or start to speak. Even if it ends up being Lance berating him for still being here, or for having more time with the others, he's still going to stay. Still going to listen.]

[Maybe part of him figures he deserves it for letting his guard down, for all of them.]

[But what does come out feels a little more like a punch in the chest than he thought it was going to be. He ends up staring at him, speechless again. Some of that shock probably plastered onto his face. Sure, some part of him knew Lance had these thoughts. Issues. It wasn't hard not to -- sort of like it'd be hard not knowing Shiro himself was missing a big chunk of memories, or currently looked like a dorito chip.]

[He'd just never really thought it'd come down to more important than me. It's like that conversation with Jean, all over again.]


Lance, there's -- why wouldn't you belong here? You're just as much a part of us as Pidge, or Keith. [You know, in the future. But work with him, buddy.] You...

[He stops, pushing both hands through his hair. The universal Shiro Signal for discomfort. The signal what's next is... rough. It's not a Leader Speech. It's raw. Honest.]

You were the first person I told Jean about. I -- Lance I named Blue because of you. Because I wanted you here. I wanted all of you here. There were so many times... before any of you showed up, that I'd have given anything to see you again. I didn't care who. Or when or how.

There wasn't any difference.

You don't have to believe me. After today, I... wouldn't blame you if you didn't. But -- none of that has changed. That's not going to change. Not for me.

[He has no idea if it's going to change anything. Or make it better or just... crumple everything up and make it worse like it has with the others. But at least, in the end, he was honest.]
shiro2hero: (may have overestimated there)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-28 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah -- Lance, you're ... you two are basically twins.

[He has to laugh a little as he says it. In disbelief that Lance didn't see it. Why else would Shiro have named the Gallade after him? Unless he reminded him of the person sitting right in front of him. A tangible reminder of the people he hadn't been able to see. It was comforting.]

[It was reassuring.]


I mean, why else would I tell him all about you? [There's that same bemused, tired sort of laugh. Shaking his head. He should have known he needed to make that clearer. Should have figured Lance wouldn't piece that together, not out of any sort of doubt in him.]

[But... he really should have known Lance's insecurity wouldn't have seen that.]


I ... guess I should have told you sooner, huh? [He leans in the doorway, then, rather than stepping into the hall.] They're all named for you guys.

[His pokemon crew ended up being oddly like his team. And he was grateful. Grateful enough to pass on the names in the only way he could think of that wouldn't be too out there.]
shiro2hero: (Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-28 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
Why would that be the thing I decided to use, for you?

[Well, okay, it's not wrong. Technically. Lance is a goof. But, he's gotten better. He's gotten a lot better. And they need that, sometimes -- all of them need that sort of levity around. It's a nice reminder they're still human, sometimes. Humans who can appreciate goofy things. That makes it far more positive than Lance himself can probably see it.]

[Now he's stepping back inside, because distance doesn't feel right.]


I wouldn't have told him about the others, anyway. He didn't remind me of them. Not even once. He never wanted to know, either.

[The Gallade just nods. Solemn -- more so than he tends to be, anyway.]
shiro2hero: (DENSER right it's denser thanks son)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-28 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
[See, that's where the growth comes in. That's where the pride comes in. That he's learned, that he's figured out there's a line, how to stick to it. One of these days, when Shiro's not so worried about his teammate's well-being, he'll figure out how to say it. Hopefully.]

[He tries, he's tried his best, but he's still... kind of a disaster of his own, deep down.]


It wasn't important to him, I think. He connected with you, just hearing about you.

[Another series of nods from the Gallade. Look, he's not the strongest. He's a support Pokemon. Is it really a wonder he went and identified with the guy who struggled too?]

... Blue's not one of the frontliners. He's a support. He'll come out, buff our defenses, lower the opponent's. When he's got the advantage, he takes it.

But I think that's why he clicked with you -- it took him a while to figure out where he fit best, too.

[Okay well, thanks for that, Dad. Blue sort of hunkers down where he's sitting, looking as embarrassed as a lanky onion knight can.]
shiro2hero: (this is my chill the fuck out face)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-28 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[Blue perks up immediately, his little mouth open in a look of pokemon-shaped shock. He didn't expect to hear this. Any of this. He knows his trainer is proud of him, sure, but his hero? That's on another level.]

[He's never washing his head again.]


I think you just made his entire life. [There's a beat, and Shiro's attention shifts from the Gallade to Lance again.] Thank you.

[No one else could, not really. Look, Blue's a good pokemon, deep down. He trusts and follows his trainer, but? For someone else to say that? To see it? It probably means as much to Blue as it would to Lance. Blue's eyes are practically sparkling.]

[So... Shiro takes that opportunity to reach out, and put his hand on Lance's shoulder. Like an unconscious imitation of what his teammate just did for his Gallade.]


You know that goes for you too. Right? Maybe you don't see it yet, but you've done a lot to be proud of.

I am, anyway.
shiro2hero: (aw lookit the kids suplex each other)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2018-07-29 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Blue has washed because Kuro threw him in the ocean when he started smelling like an actual onion.]

If it's coming from you, I don't think that's possible for him.

[Lance may be joking, but Shiro's absolutely serious. He really doesn't think it's possible for anyone to get tired of their hero's compliments. Honestly, if that's what it takes to help his teammate out, he's more than happy to let Blue mob Lance at every opportunity. At least until he gets his feet under him, here.]

[It's the least he can do, after all this. And Shiro really is proud of him. He's really tried his best since he got here, the... one flirtatious network post aside. Losing Hunk, this whole thing with Keith -- Lance is trying. And it hasn't gone unnoticed.]


No, I don't mind. Reminding you, but not the slapping part. Pretty sure that's not in my job description.

[He's going to do it. Absolutely. He's going to do anything and everything in his power to make it easier for these guys. His fingers squeeze that skinny shoulder. Anything for them, really. Long as it takes.]

You're doing a good job here, man. You really are.

IT'S OKAY

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