Summary: Shangst where Shrio is holding his poisoned lover, Lance.
A/N: @izanagisbitch requested this over a year ago and I completely misunderstood it and wrote something totally different lol (it's quite a few prompts back. Title: Toxic Love). I was rereading some of my old fics and remembered it. So I wrote what they actually asked for đ Again, so so sorry!
Trigger warning: posion, sickness, death mention, super sad feelings
The leaves rustled loudly overhead. The wind whipped the branches every which way. Animals all around were scattering, fleeing to their homes.
Shiro didn't notice any of this.
His only focus was Lance's struggling breath.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked for the fourth time. Lance rolled his eyes, but Shiro noticed a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.
"Takashi, you worry too much. I'm alright. It's just a- a stomach ache or something" he assured his worried boyfriend. Shiro held up his hands in defeat, but he wasn't totally convinced.
Shiro and Lance had been on a stroll through a nearby village that evening, seeing as how they would be stuck here for a while. They had arrived for a routine checkup on the planet which had recently joined the alliance, but when they had tried to leave, their ship mysteriously broke down. Coran informed them that it could potentially be a few weeks before he could identify the problem and fix it, so they should make themselves comfortable here.
The walk had started out nice. The weather was pleasant. The villagers were more than welcoming. One had even brought them tea to drink on their walk.
But a few minutes after leaving the village on the small dirt path through the woods, Shiro noticed Lance's breath becoming labored. At first he laughed it off, assuming it was from the large meal they had had, but the longer they were out, the harder it was to deny that something was actually very wrong.
They continued to wander down the path that led from the village through the lush forest that surrounded the civilization. Everything was so pretty. It would've been a perfect night if it hadn't been for Lance's obvious discomfort.
"How long do you think we'll be here?" Lance asked, trying to distract himself, and Shiro, from his pain.
"I'm not sure. Coran hasn't figured out what's wrong with the ship yet" Shiro said. Lance smiled broadly as he closed the gap between their hands. He intertwined their fingers and tugged Shiro closer to his side.
"Maybe we'll be here for years" He said. Shiro frowned at the happiness in Lance's voice.
"That wouldn't be good" he murmured in confusion.
"Oh come on, it would be so fun! We could build a house!"
"Build a- Lance you don't know the difference between a phillips screwdriver and a flathead!" Lance, completely undeterred by this, continued.
"Of course we would have to have a front porch with a swing. And a nice sized backyard where we can plant a garden. I'd like to have two bathrooms, but we could make do with just one" He said to himself. Shrio stared at him in bewilderment.
"Wh-" Lance pressed a finger to Shiro's lips.
"Shh. We're just pretending babe. We're not really going to build a house" he whispered, as if it was a secret. Shiro's eyes softened in realization and he chuckled.
"Oh. Well... then I guess we'd need a decent sized kitchen with an island so I can cook you dinner" he pressed a flirtatious kiss to Lance's knuckles. Lance giggled but cut off in a sudden coughing fit.
The wind picked up around them as they paused for Lance to catch his breath.
"Okay, I think it's time we head back" Shiro said nervously. "You might be getting sick" Lance waved him off, though in his current state, doubled over and hacking up a lung, it wasn't very reassuring.
"I'm..." he coughed sharply. "F- fine" Shiro let go of Lance's hand and shielded his eyes as he looked around them, unsure of which way they had come.
When did they wander off the path?
"Let's- Let's head back the way we came" Shiro suggested. Lance nodded, groping around for Shiro's hand. He was too embarrassed to admit that his vision was blurring.
The two turned around and began their trek back toward the village. It was more difficult than they had anticipated, because of the weather.
Somehow neither of them had noticed how dark it had gotten during their walk. Angry looking dark clouds were looming overhead, threatening to break open and pour down on them.
Shiro's heart rate spiked as he continued to tug Lance along what he thought was the path. Everything around them looked the same. They were lost.
"Shiro..." Lance croaked. His began to stumble along, his head lolling lower and lower with every stop.
Shiro glanced over and thought to himself, "His skin is white as a sheet..." Before either of them could mutter another word, Lance collapsed.
The next thing Lance new he was laying on his side with his head in Shiro's lap. They had moved underneath a tree to shield them from the downpour that had started at some point.
"Wha-" Lance rasped. Shiro let out a loud gasping sigh.
"Lance! Shh... don't try to talk. Just relax. You collapsed" Lance was suddenly aware that his entire body was shaking uncontrollably. He was both too hot and too cold at the same time.
"What... happening?" Shiro has one hand in Lance's hair, and the other was gripping his hand.
"I- I don't know" There was a clap of thunder overhead. "We need to get back to the castle but..." He trailed off, staring up at the scene around them. The storm was so strong that the forrest has seemingly come to life. Trees swaying, limbs falling, debris flying through the air. "I think we'll have to wait out the storm" Despite being fairly well covered, Lance felt large drops of water splashing his exposed skin. "It's all going to be okay."
Lance listened as Shiro called to the others on his communicator. He couldn't make sense of what they were saying. All he knew was that Allura voice was frantic and she kept repeating several words like "poisoned" and "trap." The world continued to flicker in and out of focus for several minutes before Lance found the strength to speak.
"Shiro" Lance mumbled. His voice was barely audible over the howl of the wind. "Shrio, don't let go of me" he pleaded. He didn't want to frighten Shiro, but moments ago he became aware that he couldn't feel any part of his body.
Shiro searches Lance's eyes for the source of his pain, but came up empty. He desperately wanted to fix this, but he had no idea how.
"I'm here, Lance. I'm here. And I'm not letting you go. I'll get you back to the castle. You're going to be okay. Look, I think the weather is clearing up" he said, trying to stay positive. Lance knew it was a lie.
"I love you" Lance said, teary eyed. "Shiro, I love you"
"I- I love you, too" Shiro said through tears. "You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay" Shrio searched Lance's face as he tried to think of something to say, something to make this moment a little less scary. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he was worried that this might be... That this might be the last moments he and Lance had together.
"Hey, we- we should get a dog" Shiro said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. Lance frowned for a moment, and then a faint smile ghosted his face.
"As long as it's a big one. And she'll... need a friend" he said hoarsely. He weakly lifted his hand to reach for Shiro's face, but he didn't have the strength. Shiro saw this and lifted Lance hand for him. He felt Lance's thin fingers brush against the stubble on his cheek.
"We can build a dog house for them" Shiro continued. "And- and we'll paint the whole house blue. The brightest blue. The neighbors will hate us" Lance made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh.
"We'll be happy" his voice was barely audible. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.
"Yeah, baby" Shiro said softly. "We'll be happy. Forever. Happily ever after" They both fell silent.
Lance's breaths grew shorter, the pauses between grew longer. His lips fell open as he let out small pained noises. He was in complete agony. The storm continued on around them, though it had let up a bit. Shiro considered making a run for it, but he knew that it was pointless. Lance would never make it. And any movement would cause even more pain for Lance.
It was the hardest decision Shiro ever had to make.
Through the deafening sounds of the rain, Lance could hear Shiro singing softly in his ear.
When the others finally found them, the storm had long passed. The morning light bathed the spot that Shiro and Lance were huddled. Allura sprinted to them with a questioning face.
Shiro cranes his neck to look at her. His face had smears of dirt and tracks of tears. He looked beyond exhausted.
"Shiro...?"Allura said questioningly. Shiro smiled weakly, more tears dripping down his nose, falling onto the boy clutched in his arms. He shook his head, his face breaking.
