Hidden In Plain Sight

Shiro seems like he's going through all the motions. He's become lazy. Only if they're in a real dangerous situation, like fight Galra ships or saving others, will he be acting selfless. Around the ship though, that's another story. He's falling apart. He's going crazy.

I visit his room to talk to him. I get in and find all kinds of trash on the floor. Shiro sits on his bed legs crossed. I find all kinds of alcohol with alien labels. "Mind if I join you?" He hands me an unopened glass of some alien beer. "This stuff strong?"

He shrugs. Okay this has to stop. I open it and take a few gulps. It's not just strong. It's freaking potent. I feel it in my nose. I see him crack a smile. "Don't laugh. I do more Earthly alcohols."

"This stuff makes it easier to forget." Finally got some words out of him. We're making actual progress.

"Are you drunk when we're on missions?" He shrugs.

"I honestly can't tell if I'm ever drunk or not." Thank God he has no access to drugs.

"Alright that's it." I get up and stand in front of him. "We're taking a trip." He raises an eyebrow at me. "Well don't just sit there. We're taking your lion after all."

"No thank you." He lays down. I have to use drastic measures. I grab his covers and pull them together. With him squirming in my trap I run out of the room. I pass every single member. Every time they don't ask. They just say good luck.

When I get to his lion's hanger I drop him. I ask the lion to open up because I'm helping Shiro. It removes its force field. Shiro grunts getting up. He seems furious. Good. He'll follow me into the lion. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you!" He really was angry. I just smile at him and run into the lion.

As planned he chases after me. The lion closes trapping him inside. I get in the seat. "Fasten your seatbelts we're going for a ride."

"What? How are you able to operate my lion?"

"Don't get it twisted. It's only letting me do this to help you. I'm taking you to a really nice planet I saw once."

"You do know how to fly right?"

"I'm a natural." The boosters ready themselves. "Get ready." The lion zooms out of the hanger. It races into the stars. Shiro holds onto the seat trying not to hit the wall. "Yaaahooo!" Shiro's face changed after my shout.

"Lance?"

"Lane," I say. I'm surprised he remembers my shout.

"Right, I'm sorry. I must be losing my head. Or maybe it's the booze."

"Don't worry. I got something that will solve all you problems. Look out there." In front of us is an amazing little colorful planet. We land on it and get out. I immediately jump into the flowers. They were soft and fuzzy. Shiro just watches me from a distance. The flowers grow around him and pull him in.

"What is this?"

"I like to call it Flower planet. The only inhabitants are the flowers. And they're all friendly. Even if you accidentally squish them. They move us to a clearing where a radiant golden flower shines in the middle. All the flowers bow. I follow their lead. Shiro finally takes notice after a moment of mesmerization. He bows as well. Then we all rise. The flower transforms into a radiant little girl with glowing hair.

"Hello travelers. My name is Solis Flos. Welcome to my garden." Shiro is amazed by the sight. "Well, don't just stand there come on." We follow her to a little cottage. "This is my humble abode."

She flies across the little home leaving a shining trail of gold glitter everywhere. "Fairies are real," he says. "I really hope I'm not high." He eagerly follows her around.

"You're not."

"Good." He takes a seat on a wooden stool to rest.

"Do you want a haircut?" He thinks about it for a second.

"Sure, why not." I clap. His hair is a mess. Flos pulls it back. She pulls out a pair of thorn scisscors and gets to work. Pretty soon it's back to its original military style. She produces some weird oil from her hands and mixes it into his hair. I can see all the stress start to melt away. "Aah."

"Why are you so stressed?"

"You know why."

"Saying it will release more stress," I say happily.

"It's all this Lance stuff. I miss him. I do. My heart just can't take it any more. I have to be the leader of Voltron and deal with this. I want to find him. I want to believe he's out there. But what if he's not? What if he's dead? How will I live with myself then?"

"So your killing him in your mind so that if the news hits you're prepared," I reason.

"That's pretty accurate."

"But why? Won't he feel hurt if he knew that?" I'm already hurt.

"I'm not trying to actually kill him. I just won't be able to deal with the possibility he's dead. He was like a son to me. Imagine if you had a son and then he died on your watch. How would that feel?" It would definitely hurt. I'd definitely want to kill myself, but there is one thing I know for sure.

"Your son wouldn't want you to kill yourself." His eyes shoot open. "Every human wants one thing. We all want love. Whether it be from your significant other or from a friend. It's something we all need in order to make it through the day. So if your son saw you like this he would be sad. He would do everything in his power to cheer you up. Because he would want you to feel loved. He would want you to continue loving."

Shiro's eyes were watery. Flos flew over to me and sat on my shoulder. "I have motto that I'm constantly reminding myself of," she says. "You can do anything you want, but without love it is meaningless. In everything I do I always put as much love into it as possible. Because it shows that I care. It makes you want to love me back. You put into the universe what you want to receive back." He was holding back his tears. Some had already fallen though.

"I can't speak for him." Even though I am him. "All I can say is this. Would he really have wanted you to give up just because he is probably dead?" Shiro starts bawling his eyes out. This was months and months of stress and pain. All of it coming out at once. Watching a grown man cry is like being in a stuffy elevator filled with a whole bunch of strangers and your ex. Awkward.

You can't decide whether or not to say anything else. You don't know what to say. You're at a loss for words. Some people will awkwardly pat them on the back and say, "There there." Others will just sit and watch and wait for them to finish. I'm others. I wait silently for him to finish. Flos brings him tissues made from fallen flower petals.

"Lane, why are you so good at this?"

"Four years in prison really opened my eyes. I used to be very rash and annoying. Now I'm calm and patient. I try not to rush things." He smiles at me.

"Thank you. Let's head back. We have to go help find Lance." I grin widely. We head back to the lion and thank Flos for taking care of us. When we get back to the castle Shiro is ready to throw all his beer away.

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there bud. I think I still need a few of these." He laughs as I take three and run off. Gurk and S come running around the corner. Gurk has a look of worry on his face. "What's wrong?"

"They found a chip filled with data and gave it to me. I checked on it. It has all your updated information. Lance, what do you want me to do?" I have to think for a second. We head to our room. I'm pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do. Should I tell them now? I have all my proof. The old man said not to get lost in this lie and think I already did. I sit down on my bed and run my hands through my hair. "Whatever you choose you know we'll follow you?"

"Burn the chip."