The Stars Between -- (VLD)

"Still nothing?"

Lance leaned over Shiro, trying not to grimace as the action caused him to lock eyes with Shiro's blank, unseeing ones.

"None..." He said, not even looking up as Matt entered the infirmary, moving straight to Lance's side.

"You should probably get some rest, Lotty," he said, resting a hand on the girl's head. Her tongue was poking out as she attempted to tie the string of Shiro's overlayer, fumbling with a simple knot Lance had taught her the day before.

"Al... most..." She said, standing on her tiptoes to see better. Matt made a move as if to help, by Lance stopped him with a wry grin.

Lance was watching carefully anyway, just to make sure it was properly done up. It would be embarrasing for everybody involved if it wasn't tied well enough. He doubted Olly would be able to concentrate and do her job if there was a naked buff dude in front of her.

(Not naked, he reminded himself. Shiro did have a thin suit on, not unlike the one Lance found himself in when he cane out of the Castle's pods.)

Then again, it was thin enough that it didn't leave much to the imagination.

Though he wasn't entirely sure that Olly was interested in human men.

... Or men, now that he really thought about it.

"Mux was wondering if you were up for going to the shooting range sometime." Matt said, pulling Lance out of his thoughts. "He said to tell you that it shouldn't be too awkward, and that it's not like you have to hold a conversation with him."

"I've got a lot on my plate right now, I don't exactly have time to play around, Matt." Lance replied, bringing up a screen next to Shiro's head.

Matt pursed his lips. "You need to take breaks, y'know."

"There!" Lotty said, giving a proud nod at her work and stepping back.

"Great job. Could you go fetch Olly for me?" Lance asked, tapping the screen to zoom in on a line of data.

"Sure thing!" Lotty chirped, and skipped out of the room. A second later, she stuck her head back through the door. "Don't go anywhere, Mr Rolo!" she said, and was gone again.

"I see what you mean by the 'mr' thing." Lance said, holding back a laugh as he minimised the screen.

"If I could move properly, I'd be giving you the finger." Rolo said, scowling. Matt leant over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got you." He said, following up with flipping off Lance.

"Why do you humans find that offensive, anyway?"

Lance grinned. "Depends on who's giving it, because it's usually in good humour."

Rolo rolled his eyes. "I'm never going to understand your strange culture."

"Eh, humans have a lot of cultures." Matt said, and Rolo scoffed. "I'm serious! Every country has its own distinct style and culture, you can't really expect every human to have the same ideals."

Rolo made an indistinct noise. "Well, you two're pretty similar, so I'll take a stab and say this guy's the same."

"Shiro's a great guy." Lance said in agreement, opening a new screen to fiddle with the bed's settings. "He was my hero for a long time before I met him."

Matt snickered, and Lance gasped theatrically. "What? Do you mock me for my life choices?"

"Nah, it's just funny to hear you refer to this disaster of a person as a hero."