Agent Blue

Three

"Lance! Pay attention!" Shiro called out during training. Lance didn't say anything in response, only kicking back the robot that 'snuck up' on him. He shot the robot in the face and moved on to helping Pidge who was struggling slightly. In a matter of minutes, the set was over. 

"Maybe we should try that teamwork one again? Where you have to cover each other's backs?" Allura asked. Lance didn't like that training, but only because he took that one seriously despite his cover. He held loyalty to his team high above everything else, and he would be damned if he was the cause of one of them falling, but that also meant he was the first one to fall due to someone letting a blast through. 

They all stood in a circle, their backs facing each other. Allura started the training and drones dropped from the sky. Lance reminded himself not to dodge, instead, defend. He made sure he knew where everyone else was and protected them to the best of his abilities. 

A shot landed to Lance's high thigh, coming from Pidge's direction. He felt the blast solidify, stopping his leg from moving. Two more blasts connected with his back, forcing him into an upright position where the blast hardened around his skin. He gritted his teeth through the uncomfortableness but refused to let a shot past him. 

"Lance, how are you doing? You seem to be struggling," Shiro asked from his place next to the Blue Paladin. 

"Just fine," Lance grunted. 

"Do you need to stop?" He asked. 

"No, keep going," Lance shifted himself to the side, blocking a blast that attempted to whizz past Lance's head towards Hunk. The shift caused Lance to lose balance, and with his legs and back being locked in place, he couldn't stop himself from falling forward. His hands clanged harshly on the metal ground, but the sound was drowned out by the shots being fired by the drones. 

With Lance down, the Drones took the opportunity to shoot down Hunk and Pidge, forcing both of them to fall over. Pidge whipped around towards Lance. 

"Come on!" She yelled. Lance sighed and ripped the hardened blasts off his back and leg, flopping down to lay on his back with his eyes pointed towards the ceiling. The training ended, and everyone started removing shots off their body. 

For Lance, seeing his friends being shot because of his mistakes made everything worse. He squeezed his eyes shut as emotions bubbled in his chest. Old memories came to the surface only worsening his guilt and pain. He banged his fist harshly on the ground, attracting his team's attention. 

"Buddy, are you ok?" Hunk asked slowly. Lance didn't say anything, images from before flashing behind his eyes. He remembered everything, though he wished, begged, that it would just disappear. 

"I'm going to go lay down," He muttered quietly before stumbling to his feet, his body sore from where the blasts hit him. 

"Lance, is there something wrong?" Pidge asked, looking up into Lance's dull blue eyes. 

"Nope, I'm just peachy," Lance tried for a smile, but this time it didn't quite work. Lance left the room in a rush, retreating back to his room and leaving his teammates to watch as the door shut to the training room. 

"Is Lance mad at us for something?" Pidge asked. 

"Maybe he's mad because I accidentally let a few blasts past me!" Hunk stressed. 

"I'm sure he's fine, don't worry," Shiro tried. 

"I doubt Lance can even get mad, he's too positive," Keith rolled his eyes, but his mind was also turning. He replayed the moment Lance's fist slammed into the ground under him, in frustration, anger, pain, whatever the cause, he seemed really upset. 

"He actually gets mad a lot, he just hides it well," Hunk smiled gently. 

"What kind of things does he get mad about?" Allura asked, seemingly interested in learning more about the blue paladin. 

"It depends, some things get under his skin while others he brushes off. He's that way about insults, but as soon as you insult someone else that he's close to he goes off," Hunk smiled. 

"Do you think he'd do that for us?" Pidge asked. 

"I want to test it," Keith added in. 

"Well, we could have Shiro yell at one of us, but he would defiantly step in if Pidge or I were the ones being yelled at," Hunk put his finger to his chin in thought. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want to yell at any of you," Shiro said nervously. 

"I'll do it, Shiro, tomorrow during training, yell at me for something," Keith decided. He honestly wanted to know if Lance would let go of their petty rivalry in order to stop Shiro, he bet that Lance wouldn't, but Hunk's words still made him curious. 

"Keith, I don't want to do that," Shiro refused. 

"Come on! It's for science!" Pidge begged. 

"It's so we can learn more about Lance!" Keith added in. 

"I think it's pretty harmless," Allura shrugged. Shiro let out a sigh, and the others knew they got him. 

Lance laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. He hated remembering that day, the pain he felt, the things he did. He did everything he could to forget it, but he was only 10 at the time. He hated seeing Pidge's angered look after she fell, how Hunk started down sadly at where he got hit. He didn't miss the disappointed look in Shiro's eyes, or the glare he got from Keith. 

He wasn't one to dwell too hard on what people thought of him, he had better things to do, but his need to do good for his team was embedded with his soul. He refused to have a repeat of 10 years go. He would keep his team safe, all of them, no matter what it took. 

He refused to lose another partner.