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@langst-is-fine yeah heres ur part 2, Im getting carried away with this fic so have another chapter.

Warnings: Physical & Sexual abuse mention

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Lance collapsed on his bed in the Garrison, his bag packed with no more than a few belongings already put in the closet.

The door opened, and Lance screamed, heart thudding out of his chest. He jumped and sat on his bed, hand over heart, eyes wide. He stared into large, terrified eyes.

“I’m sorry, did I scare you? Oh gosh.” The boy, a bigger one, fretted.

“No, Im sorry. I didn’t know I had a roommate. It’s cool, man.” Lance soothed the boy.

“The name’s Lance.”

“Hunk.” The boy smiled gently.

“So, we’re roommates, I suppose.” Lance chuckled, laying back down. That would be the start of a great friendship.

—

Now they were in space. Lance marveled at the size, entranced. But it terrified him endlessly, with all the loud noises. He overcame it by being loud instead, talking over whatever scared him.

Too bad he couldn’t talk over his teammates, especially Shiro, who’s commanding and loud voice scared him close to a panic atttack.

Especially when he yelled. Particularly at Lance.

He had his worst attack in years shortly after a mission gone wrong.

Pidge had lost her intel because Lance, who was guarding her, had been knocked off his perch by sentries.

Hunk and Keith had barely made it out alive before the ship exploded, Lance having just grabbed Pidge and rushing out to Blue and Black, the only lions taken, as it was supposed to be an easy mission.

Shiro had yelled at Lance for minutes, drilling into him about every possible intrusive thought that had invaded Lance’s mind.

He didn’t care that Lance was shaking. That he begged Shiro to please stop yelling. How he cried. How the team watched, unable to move.

Shiro lifted his arm without thinking, meaning to give Lance a simple slap on the arm.

He didn’t expect the quivering the boy to let out a scream of pure terror and fall back onto his rear, desperately scrambling away from the threat in front of him.

Shiro and the paladins stared, dumbfounded, the Alteans watching closely behind.

Realization clicked onto Lance’s face, and he jumped up, running out of the bridge.

The team looked at eachother, jaws dropped.

—

It took them an hour to find Lance. When they finally did, he was in the kitchen, sitting at the table. He had his head down on his arms, resting on the tabletop.

The second the door opened, he flinched hard and let out a muffled noise of fear. It broke all their hearts.

They sat around him and the table, and Keith leaned to grab Lance’s hand.

Lance yelped instead, yanking his arm away. He glared, glared, at Keith. And hissed. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Keith pulled his hand back, shocked.

Shiro not catching the memo, grabbed Lance’s shoulder. The smaller boy screeched from the sudden contact behind him, jumping up and knocking his chair back.

“Dont touch me, please!” He pleaded to them, fists clenched on his own shirt.

Lance sat down again. “Please.” He put his head in his hands, his elbows on the table.

Coran sat across from him. “Care to tell us about what happened, m'boy?” He asked, voice solemn.

Lance went dead silent, before nodding.

“My dad used to hit my mom. He only yelled at me, never physically hit me. When I waa four, he hit hit her with a glass bottle.” He was quiet for a moment, scaring the others. “Over the head. I called the cops. He got arrested and put in prison. She died a few days later.”

“My aunts and uncles didn’t want me so I got put into the foster care system. I was in my first home for 3 or 4 years, I cant remember. It was good. I loved my foster parents. When I was 8, they had to put me back, cause they lost their jobs.”

“I got put it another home, with my sisters Lynn and Valeria, and my brother Elias. It was fine, for the first few months. Nora worked alot and Bryson worked from home. He was always with us.”

Lance ran his fingers through his hair. “Then he started taking Lynn, she was 16, into rooms. By themselves. She wouldn’t tell us what happened but Valeria and Elias knew. I didn’t.” Lance took in a shuddering breath.

“I didn’t understand until he took me the first time. Lynn begged him not to, but he hit her. I didn’t want her to get hurt so I did what he said. I dont.. wanna talk about that. He did it a few times, until I was 12. The he just hit me. Lynn had left a bit before that.”

“I learned makeup when I was 14, cause Nora didn’t know Bryson hurt us and she was so nice. I didn’t want to ruin her relationship. Valeria and Elias left too, without a second thought. Left me alone with him.” Lance’s shoulders shook, him telling the experience obviously shaking him.

“I got accepted into the Garrison on a full scholarship. It was my only option, and I just barely qualified. Had I not gotten the scholarship, I probably wouldn’t be making it.” Lance rubbed his eyes, tears still silently running.

“So, please, dont touch me. I cant stand it. I’ve been pushed nearly to panic attacks multiple times because people dont listen.”

Lance started to look angry, scaring the others. “I wasn’t believed when I tried to tell my story to get help. God, no one believed me. I couldn’t get the home I needed.”

“So here I am. A teen with touch aversion. Some kid who’s just so pathetic. I can’t.. I can’t do this. I cant be with people who dont believe me.” He had started sobbing at one point.

“I’m not okay. Not at all. I didn’t get the help, and even if I did, It’d still take years to recover.”

“I just want to feel normal. Is that too much to ask for?” Lance looked up at Shiro, eyes round and glazed over. They were puffy and red.

“Lance, hey, it’s okay. We’ll help you, here, in space. When we get back to Earth, which we will, we’ll help you get the help you need.” Shiro reached to touch him, then pulled back. “Please dont be afraid to talk to us.” He gave a tentative smile.

Pidge and Hunk smiled at him.

“Movie night?” Allura suggested, beaming. “I mean, Lance, you dont have to sit right by us, but it’d be nice. We’ll respect your choices.”

Keith nodded in agreement.

Coran too.

Lance let out a wet laugh, wiping his eyes. “Yeah, I love you guys.”

“Thank you for believing in me.”

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