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“She’s convinced herself that nobody will ever forgive her,” Keith explained over dinner, “and it’s killing me that she doesn’t see her own merit. She’s smart, she’s pretty, and she’s one of our most valued allies; I have faith that she’s got a bright future ahead of her. I’m going to help Acxa find her place after this war, and if anyone gets in the way of that, I’ll personally introduce them to my knife.”
Lance felt an irritating tickle begin to form in his throat as Keith spoke fondly of his comrade, and in spite of his best efforts to ignore it, he was suffering from a full-on coughing fit by the end of his friend’s little rant. Shiro was on his feet immediately, hurrying to fetch Lance a glass of water from the kitchen, and Hunk, who was seated to his left, gently clapped him on the back in an effort to help him through his little bout of hacking. Lance appreciated the gestures greatly, but true relief only came once his painful coughing dislodged the pristine red rose petal that had been trapped in his throat. Everyone stared, until finally Hunk gathered the courage to speak up.
“Lance, buddy, did you eat a flower?”
Keith wrinkled his nose. “That’s disgusting, man.”
“Oh, Lance...” Pidge offered him a sideways smile. “You can’t eat alien vegetation. It may look safe, but we have no way of confirming whether it’s poisonous or not.”
“I didn’t eat anything!” Lance objected. “It’s not even-” Suddenly, he coughed again, and more bright red flower petals sprung from his throat and fluttered down onto the tabletop.
“Are you alright, Lance?” Shiro asked, setting the glass of water he’d retrieved down on the table in front of the afflicted boy. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”
“I’m fine,” Lance promised, taking a small sip from the glass of water. “My throat’s a little scratchy now, but a few flower petals aren’t the end of the world.”
“Ugh.” Keith glanced across the table at the saliva-dampened petals with disgust written all over his face. “I’m surprised your body didn’t reject those sooner.”
“There was nothing for it to reject!” Lance maintained. “I didn’t eat any flora! Look, it’s not even from the planet we were just on.” He carefully lifted one of the soggy red petals off the dining table, holding it gingerly between his thumb and index finger as he squinted at it. “Yeah, they’re definitely from back home. Rose petals, I think.”
“No...” Allura breathed, covering her mouth as horror flashed across her iridescent sky-blue eyes. “No, this cannot be! Coran, please tell me it’s not-!”
“Hanahaki.” Coran shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid it is, princess.”
“No!” Allura cried, refusing to accept his answer. “I-It’s something else! It has to be! If we get him into a healing pod now, we can-!”
Coran rested a hand on her shoulder and fixed her with a sorrowful yet stern grimace. “I’m sorry, princess, but you know as well as I that the healing pod will do nothing for him.”
“Hanahaki?” Pidge frowned thoughtfully. “I remember hearing the term pretty recently. What is it?”
Allura looked up and locked eyes with Pidge, and to the young paladin’s surprise, her crystal-blue eyes were glistening with tears. “Hanahaki Disease,” Allura began brokenly, “is a disease brought on by unrequited love.”
“That’s not-!” Lance huffed and crossed his arms, sporting an adorable pout. “A disease has no place giving away my love life!”
Shiro shushed him and turned back to Allura, keen on learning as much as he could about the disease one of his teammates had contracted. “How did Lance fall victim to it?”
“The planet we visited recently,” she whispered, a breathy realization. “It is the host of this dreadful disease. The floral-scented air on planet Hanahaki causes those who breathe it in to become susceptible to it,” she explained. “However, it only infects a very small percentage of the universe. The planet’s inhabitants and countless other races are immune, and the species affected were so few that it never even crossed my mind...” Allura trailed off, clearly ashamed. “I’m so sorry, Shiro. I assumed humans would be immune as well, but I should have taken into account the possibility that they weren’t. This was all caused by my lack of insight.”
“Shiro’s not the one who needs to hear your excuses!” Keith seethed, visibly shaking with rage. “I think you owe Lance an apology!”
“Keith!” Shiro warned, sending him a pointed glare. He knew Keith was overprotective of his teammates and understood that the boy treated wrath as a coping mechanism of sorts, but treating Allura with disrespect wasn’t going to solve anything. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Allura again, concern dancing in his dark eyes. “How dangerous is it?”
Allura looked distraught, clearly not wanting to discuss Lance’s condition right in front of him. “Roots have taken hold in his lungs,” she finally choked out. “He’ll continue coughing up these accursed petals—especially when thinking of his crush—until his throat is ripped apart by the jagged leaves or until it becomes so clogged that he suffocates. A rare few die the day they develop it while others can slowly be consumed for up to a year. It’s different for everyone, and there is no rhyme or reason as to why it progresses faster with some and not others.”
Lance’s brilliant dark-blue eyes shone with fear—though that was to be expected from someone who had been told he was about to die—and he seemed to be frozen in shock. Shiro looked pained yet composed, and he stayed silent for a minute, debating the best course of action in his mind. Keith, on the other hand, was too impatient to wait for a decision to be reached. He needed confirmation Lance would be okay, and he needed it now .
“But there’s a cure, right?” Keith checked, the desperation in his voice evident.
Allura nodded. “There are two.”
“Two?” A wave of relief washed over Lance at the prospect of there being not only one, but two cures. His cobalt-blue eyes shone with hope as they flickered back over to Allura, and he offered the group a weak smile, putting on a brave face. “Okay, that’s not too bad.”
Allura shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as tears threatened to spill. “Most who are infected choose death above the methods of removal.”
Lance bit his lip; he was almost scared to ask. “What are the methods of removal?”
“The first is the simplest,” Allura began, “but as the saying goes, it is far easier said than done .”
“Let’s hear it,” Lance shrugged, letting out a resigned sigh. “What do I have to lose?”
“This is the less popular method, but it has succeeded for about 25% of the people brave enough to try,” Coran piped up, offering Team Voltron the statistic. “However, before we explain how this method works, you must first understand that-”
“-the symptoms are physical,” Allura cut in, “but Hanahaki is, in actuality, a mental game.”
“A mental game?” Pidge repeated. “How so?”
“It is born of unrequited love,” Allura voiced. “Or at least, of what you perceive to be unrequited love.”
“What?” Hunk wrinkled his nose in confusion. “I don’t get it.”
Shiro crossed his arms thoughtfully. “So you’re saying his crush may like him back and he just believes otherwise?”
“It’s possible,” Allura acknowledged, “but it’s also possible his love is truly unrequited. If he wishes to be healed, he must take the risk and confess… because the first potential cure is to find out his feelings are actually returned.”
“Okay, nope, nonononono, not doing that!” Lance objected immediately. “As much as I hate to admit this, I know they don’t-” Having focused too heavily on the article of his affection, he broke off in a fit of hacking, spewing another handful of ruby-red rose petals onto the table. “They don’t feel the same way,” he finally coughed out. “Trust me. They’ve made it quite clear.”
“What’s the other option?” Hunk prompted nervously, devastated to see his best friend in such a sorry state.
“A surgery,” Allura answered. “It’s a fairly complex surgery, but the success rate is high, which is wonderful news given how fatal Hanahaki can be.”
“Sign me up,” Lance decided. “I mean, the sooner we go the easier it’ll be for them to operate on me, right? I’m definitely in favor of the surgery. It doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Lance…” Allura trailed off and looked away, the last of her strength finally crumbling. “If the surgery is successful, you will be saved, but…”
“All romantic feelings for your crush—or anyone else—will be removed. Forever. You will never again be capable of falling in love,” Coran finished solemnly.
Allura buried her head in her hands. “Most infected with Hanahaki are too scared to confess, and would rather die than have their feelings removed completely. Thus, despite the two viable solutions, those infected usually choose death. The chance of surviving Hanahaki with a happy ending is very, very slim, and is usually only acquired through the success of the first option.”
“And even those who try to save themselves in this way,” Pidge realized, “may end up facing rejection.”
“It’s quite deadly,” Coran nodded somberly.
“I’m so sorry, Lance!” Allura cried. “I should have been more careful!”
“It’s okay, princess.” Lance forced a smile. “I’ll find a way to beat this. It’s gonna take more than flowers to kill off Lance McClain!”
“Lance.”
Startled out of his false bravado, Lance whirled around to face the boy who had spoken. He knew that Keith cared about him—as he did all of his teammates—but of all people, he really hadn’t expected Keith to be the one to address him at a time like this. Clearing his throat, he forced out a flimsy reply.
“I, uh- yeah?”
“Don’t die.” It wasn’t a request; it was an order. “Team Voltron won’t be the same without our sharpshooter.”
Not sticking around to hear Lance’s reply (if he even had one), Keith turned on his heel and stalked out the door without another word. Lance kept his eyes trained on the boy’s figure as he left, trying to discern what Keith was playing at. The sentiment was quite sweet, but his tone was so harsh that it left Lance wondering if Keith had been encouraging him at all. He muttered a string of swears under his breath as he felt another bout of abrasive petals creeping up his throat. Why did Keith have to be so- so– so—?
Before he knew it, he was having another coughing fit. Rose petals came tearing out of his throat, scattering in every direction and blanketing the tabletop as Lance tried desperately not to choke on the beautiful yet deadly flora.
------------------------------
A week passed, and Lance’s condition hadn’t improved in the slightest. In fact, the illness had gotten far worse, and the stress of it all had finally become too great for a certain hot-headed paladin to handle. Keith had officially reached his breaking point. After a particularly aggressive practice session, he stormed off the training deck—bayard still activated—and confronted Allura. Every ounce of frustration that he had tried to suppress suddenly boiled up to the surface, and the boy found himself lashing out in his desperation to find a solution.
“Like him back!” Keith finally exploded, his tone venomous.
“I’m sorry?”
Keith gritted his teeth, glaring at her. “Like him back, Allura!”
“Keith, I cannot simply-”
“You can!”
Allura had kept her cool at first, but Keith’s harsh insistence and rage-induced refusal to listen to reason was beginning to ruffle her feathers. “No, I cannot!”
“Why not?!” Keith hissed through clenched teeth. “He’s cute! He’s funny! He’s a literal hero! You’d have to be an idiot not to like him!”
“Stop it, Keith! I cannot force myself to-!”
“ Like. Him. Back! ” Keith roared, painfully aggrieved. “You’re killing him, Allura! You’re killing my friend, and I’m not just going to watch it happen! Do you want to be responsible for his death? Do you?! ”
“Keith!” Allura snapped, finally firing back with an equal amount of bite. “I cannot help the way I feel!”
“I don’t care! You can lie about it if you need to!” Keith argued furiously, though his resolve was slowly slipping away. “You said it’s a mental game, right? Just convince him!”
Allura tearfully shook her head. “Keith, I don’t want to see him in pain either, but I’m not going to lie to him. What if he wishes to pursue a relationship? It will only hurt more when he discovers the truth, and he’ll once again be plagued with the disease.”
“Give him a chance! Please...” Keith pleaded, all the fight gone from his voice. The anger had left, and he was now reduced to begging. “If you pretend at first, maybe you’ll actually start to-”
“Keith.” Shiro’s words stopped him in his tracks. “Let it go, Keith. You have to respect her answer, even if it’s one you don’t like. We all understand how you feel—we don’t want to lose Lance either—but don’t be ignorant. Allura can’t force herself to fall in love.”
Shiro had been drawn to the scene after hearing Keith’s accusatory shouts (as had the others), and he had silently observed the conflict from the safety of the doorway. He hadn’t wanted to intervene in the midst of Keith’s anger—he knew better than to contribute to one of the boy’s short bursts of rage—but now that Keith’s demands had dissolved into pleas, he was ready to swoop in, correct the damage, and provide the boy with a shoulder to lean on. He gingerly reached out to Keith, but the raving teen tore away and stormed out of the room, leaving the others to console Allura and clean up his mess.
Several seconds passed in silence until Pidge finally spoke up, tentatively inquiring about what had been on several of the minds present.
“Why was he so worked up?” she questioned softly. “I understand that he’s stressed—we all are—but it’s not like he’s the one coughing up flowers. There was no need to lash out at Allura.”
Coran hummed thoughtfully. “He’s never openly displayed such high levels of concern before,” he pointed out. “Perhaps this has shaken the poor boy more than we realized.”
“Yeah,” Hunk agreed slowly. “He may not be the one suffering physically, but this illness has definitely taken its toll on Keith, too. An emotional one.”
“The boy’s life hasn’t exactly been sunshine and smiles,” Allura added, “and another devastating event certainly isn’t doing him any favors. I do not blame him for what transpired here.”
“Thank you.” Shiro offered her a weak yet grateful smile. “It means a lot to me that you’ve forgiven him. He’s a little misguided, but he’s a good kid at heart; he often has trouble connecting with others but once he finally opens up, he values that bond to no end. Seeing someone close to him in pain like this is probably as hard on him as it is on Lance. They may fight a lot, but when push comes to shove, they’re still teammates. Friends. Family.”
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Hours later, Keith began suffering from the same deadly symptoms. He’d barricaded himself in the bathroom in an attempt to hide it, but the team found him gagging out soggy flowers all the same. They were different from the ones Lance had spat out—Keith’s were small and blue and pretty—but they still scratched up his throat on their way out. Yet, despite all of the evidence stacked against him in the form of flora, Keith continually denied any romantic allegations.
“I don’t like anyone!” he insisted. “Lance must’ve infected me; it’s probably contagious! I’m telling you, I don’t have a crush!”
Keith would have put up more of an argument, but those words were the last he was able to get out before coughing up another bout of morbidly beautiful hydrangea petals. He maintained that he was loveless for roughly a month after that—and a few of his teammates began to believe him—but as his condition worsened, Keith finally admitted the truth to Lance.
“Y’know,” he murmured one day while the two of them were alone. “I do have a crush. I didn’t want to admit it earlier, but I’d rather confess now than die a liar. It’s probably hard to picture, but I’m pretty head over heels.” He chuckled dryly. “Somehow, I always knew they would be the death of me.”
Lance blinked owlishly. “Wait, you really have a crush?”
“Yes, Lance, despite what you may think, I’m not incapable of falling in love.”
Lance treated this revelation as a precious treasure and made it his mission to learn everything he could about Keith’s alleged crush in the days that remained. He mainly pestered Keith at first, but as time went by they formed a newer friendship—a closer one—and the topic shifted from Keith’s love interest to Keith’s interests in general. Lance shared quite a number of strange and quirky facts about himself as well, and before they knew it they were spending every night together. Morbid as it was, they seemed to bond over the disease, making each other temporarily forget about the severity of it. Soon, Lance was back to his usual self, cracking jokes as though nothing was wrong—“I guess my crush blossomed into a little something more, oops”—and Keith devoted much of his time to devising disturbingly brilliant ideas of what to do with all the petals.
“Let’s lure the Galra to that planet with the flesh-eating alien monster,” he’d proposed. “We’ll use the bloodied petals as a distraction to keep ourselves safe while only the Galra are ripped apart! It’s genius!”
It was, but Shiro still vetoed the idea. Yes, it would have been clever to lure the beast away with the scent of blood and leave it to devour the Galra, but it was also a little too… brutal, even for the universe’s ten-thousand year long oppressors. Keith had been a little miffed after the rejection of his admittedly brilliant scheme, but that didn’t even compare to the indignation he felt when Shiro placed him under “room-arrest”. He was bedridden now, and Shiro demanded he not exert himself, but Keith was absolutely bored out of his mind just sitting in bed. At least, he had been until Lance came to visit.
There was a polite and tentative knock at the door, and then Lance was entering, standing just past the doorway. “Hey,” he greeted softly, a sideways smile on his face. “What’s up, Samurai?”
Keith coughed, only partially due to sickness. He was genuinely surprised that Lance had come to see him; he’d expected their newfound friendship to fall flat, believing that his house-arrest of sorts would be the end of their time together. Still, if Lance was taking the time to visit him, Keith wouldn’t turn him away. He quickly cleared his throat and turned to face his thoughtful teammate.
“Lance,” he greeted with a cough. “This is a pleasant surprise.”
Nothing too friendly, he reminded himself. If Lance discovered that he was the cause of Keith’s poor health he’d never forgive himself, and Keith simply couldn’t dump that amount of guilt and devastation onto the boy he adored.
“Yeah, I just thought I’d stop by,” Lance shrugged, drawing Keith’s attention back to the conversation at hand. Glancing down at the floor, he sported a wry smile and shook his head. “Awful lot of petals,” he remarked, using his arms to create a grand sweeping gesture that encompassed all of the petals scattered on the floor.
“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “I’m guessing your room’s not much better?”
“Oh, it’s worse,” Lance laughed dryly. “I guess I’m just more in love than you are.”
After those words, he broke off into a coughing fit, littering the beautiful blue petals on Keith’s floor with red ones. Now that he’d finally admitted it, Keith was tempted to argue that no, he was the one more in love, but he set aside his pride in favor of reminding Lance not to think or speak about his crush.
“Lance, cut it out. I’m not going to argue with you on this. We shouldn’t think of… them.” Ironically enough, Keith was ignoring his own advice by indulging in the red paladin’s visit.
“Right, sorry, my bad,” Lance apologized. “I really do have more petals though, so I must be more in love than you are.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s not how it works. Besides, I’m pretty sure that mine’s been progressing faster; I bet I have more petals at this point.” He flashed Lance a wicked grin. “You up for a challenge? I say whoever counts the most petals before death takes ‘em wins.”
“Keith, buddy, this is why I fear for your mental health,” Lance teased, making a face.
“Think that’s bad?” Keith chuckled darkly. “I actually kinda look forward to seeing how much of the flower I can pull out of my throat.”
“Ew.”
“In my defense,” Keith started, prepared to justify his actions. “I recently read that the flowers you cough up can be symbolic of the traits you find endearing in your crush.”
“Really?” Lance’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and intrigue, and he looked on in wonder. “What else does it say?”
“They might also have meanings that can be applied to your own intense feelings,” Keith continued, “and if you’re lucky enough, you may even find a flower that represents both your affection and your crush’s personality at the same time. I ‘borrowed’ Pidge’s computer to look into my flowers, and they’re surprisingly spot-on. A lot of the qualities they symbolize are qualities that I love about my crush, and as dumb as this sounds, I guess I kinda started looking forward to seeing more of them.”
“That’s actually really sweet, Keith,” Lance complimented, breaking off as more petals crept up his throat. He coughed and hacked for several long seconds, scattering more red—and a few purple, now—petals across Keith’s bedroom floor. When his fit subsided, he let out a dry laugh. “Y’know, of all things, I never thought we’d bond over crushes .”
It was off-topic and out of the blue, not definitively connected to the topic they had been on, but Keith had grown used to the way Lance’s mind worked. Even if he couldn’t see it, he knew the transition was crystal-clear in Lance’s mind. He’d never understand, but he didn’t think he’d ever need to. It was what made conversations with Lance fun, and Keith had no qualms with playing along if it would make the goofy boy smile. (Really though, how had he jumped from floral meanings to their recent bonding?)
“I never thought we’d bond at all,” Keith teased, coughing up a few blue and violet petals. “Not after hearing about your supposedly missing memory.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Lance gasped, scandalized. “I would never!”
“You call yourself a chick magnet at least twice a day-” He broke off to cover his cough, trying to ignore the metallic taste of blood that had been accompanying the petals as of late. “-but when’s the last time you had a date?”
“Well, uh…” Lance rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s not really a lie; it’s a fabrication.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s different!” Lance argued, but his embarrassed blush said it all. (Keith thought it was silly that Lance tried to hide it. After all, he found the boy’s tendency to exaggerate to be utterly adorable.)
“I’m just messing with you, Lance,” Keith promised. “In spite of your tall tales, I trust you where it counts.”
“I know.”
Lance smiled fondly, but his eyes darted away in a manner that was almost shy and he fell into a thoughtful silence. He remained uncharacteristically quiet for a short while, but then he was flashing Keith his signature dorky grin and picking up the conversation as though it had never stopped at all.
“Now, tell me about these flowers you’ve been researching.”
Annnd… they were back on track again. Lance was a strange boy, weaving in and out of topics like a dog would little construction cones, but Keith loved every part of his unique personality.
“Sure,” Keith agreed easily. “One of the first things I learned is that everybody can have up to three different flowers growing inside of them. Curiously enough, even though you can only contract the disease from planet Hanahaki, the flowers you end up spitting out are native to your home planet. It’s why you’ve been choking on rose petals and I’ve been suffocating from other earthen flora.”
“Okay, now tell me about what your flowers symbolize,” Lance decided, plopping down on Keith’s bed beside him and staring at his computer screen.
“Uh, alright,” Keith shrugged, a faint blush dusting his cheeks as he noticed their close proximity. He was a little nervous about reading off the qualities he associated with Lance to the boy himself, but he knew that the red paladin often failed to paint himself in the same light—and failed to notice how much others valued him—so he took the risk with the assumption that Lance wouldn’t catch on. Sadly, he was right.
“The first flowers I started coughing up were blue hydrangeas,” Keith explained, lifting a fully-formed yet stemless hydrangea from his nightstand. “Apparently, they symbolize boastfulness and vanity while also representing deep understanding and heartfelt emotion. It’s incredibly accurate. My crush brags pretty often, but they’re never too serious about it. They usually end up making me laugh with all of the talents they flaunt, and I honestly find it adorable,” Keith admitted. “After hearing that, you’d probably expect them to be fairly childish, but they can be exceptionally mature and understanding, too. They love to be the center of attention, but they also know exactly when someone needs a heart-to-heart, and they’ve set aside their desire to boast several times to offer me support when I’ve needed it.”
“That’s so precious.” Lance forced a smile, swallowing back the accursed red and purple petals that were slowly tearing up his windpipe. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
Oh, why did Keith have to be in love with somebody else?
Lance knew reflecting on thoughts of the boy he loved and allowing his envy to thrive would only hasten his death, but the way Keith lit up when he talked about his own little crush was too cute for Lance to handle. Even if it killed him—and it would—Lance wanted to listen to Keith share his findings like this forever.
“Oh, be quiet,” Keith scolded playfully, drawing Lance back to reality. “I’m not a romantic; I’m just bored out of my mind under Shiro’s stupid house-arrest. What else am I supposed to do while I’m bedridden?”
“Maybe you could write some sappy poetry to go along with those notes on flowers?” Lance teased, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with gaiety.
Keith rolled his eyes. “You make a pretty compelling argument,” he conceded sarcastically. “Maybe you should retract that statement you made about loving your crush more.”
Lance gasped in mock offense and ending up choking in the process. He coughed and hacked for a moment before finally regaining himself and firing back in retaliation. “Never! I’m going to research my own flowers tonight, and I’ll be just as sappy as you are tomorrow!”
Keith made a noise that sounded like a mix between laughing and coughing, then cleared his throat.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
------------------------------
Lance, true to his word, excitedly met back up with Keith the next night. “Ready to admit defeat, Kogane?” he crowed as he plopped down on the edge of Keith’s bed. “My research is going to blow yours away!”
“It’s not a competition, Lance.”
“Ha!” Lance exclaimed, wearing a triumphant grin. “That’s exactly what a loser would say!”
Keith rolled his dark blue-grey eyes and allowed an amused smirk to take over. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, Romeo?”
“Oh, I will!” Lance flashed him a wickedly delighted grin. “The first flower in my arsenal is a rose, but you already know what that stands for, don’t you?”
“Love.”
“Bingo!” Lance smirked. “I didn’t even need to look that one up! Still, there’s more to it than you’d think. Not only are roses the strongest representation of love—take that, by the way—but they also represent appreciation, intelligence, and concentration.”
“Oh?” Keith raised an eyebrow in intrigue, listening to Lance’s explanation intently. He had never realized that roses could symbolize more than just love. “That’s actually pretty cool.”
“Yeah, and it’s insanely fitting!” Lance gushed, the smile never leaving his face. “I was always too embarrassed to admit this, but I really appreciate everything they’ve done to make me feel like I belong here. They try to be subtle about it, but anyone can tell they’re one of the most selfless people in the universe. On top of that, they’re also incredibly talented! I like to tease my crush for being stubborn and hasty, but I have to admit that their intelligence and concentration is legendary. After all, patience yields focus, right?” Lance laughed. “Well, I’ve witnessed my crush learn this lesson firsthand, and it’s absolutely adorable how determined they can be.”
“Cute,” Keith complimented. “She sounds like a real keeper, and the fact that you were willing to do actual research only confirms that she must be really special. Still, as much as I hate to rain on your parade, I think my research has got you beat.”
“What?!” Lance exclaimed with a cough. “No way!”
“Yep,” Keith smirked. “It’s my turn tomorrow. You’d best prepare yourself, Sharpshooter.”
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Lance found himself looking forward to each new night with Keith. He eagerly made his way back to Keith’s room after dinner, bringing him his portion since the poor black paladin was still confined to his room. He slid the bowl of unappetizing space goo onto Keith’s nightstand and took his place on the bed, crystal-blue eyes shining with anticipation. “So, what’ve you got for me tonight, Samurai?”
“Blue hibiscus,” Keith announced proudly. “The flowers themselves are common, but it’s unusual to find a blue one, which makes sense when you consider that my crush is one of a kind; a rarity. That’s just trivia, though. The symbolic meaning behind the plant is delicacy and beauty, which are both things my crush holds very dear. I catch them using various beauty products all the time, but I’ve seen them without makeup and they’re just as cute.
“That’s it?” Lance scoffed. “Beauty is fleeting, genius. You think you have me beat with that measly piece of info?”
“Nope,” Keith grinned. “I think I have you beat with what’s coming next. These flowers also represents depth, infinity, and serenity, which is something constantly on my crush’s mind. They can be pretty rambunctious, but at the same time, they’re really pensive. They’re a dreamer, and I absolutely love that about them. There’s nothing I love more than watching their face light up as they lose themselves in a world of fantasy, contemplating the mysteries of the universe and what their future holds. They’re exceptionally adventurous at heart, yearning to explore the depth and infinity of space, yet they often conceal their own excitement in the hopes of spreading peace and serenity to those who need it. They’re really selfless, and I love them for it.”
“Do you always have to one-up me, Kogane?” Lance pouted, a cough following.
“Maybe,” Keith chuckled. “What else have you got?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow~” Lance teased. “Same time. Don’t worry; I’ll definitely be back to crush you.”
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As promised, Lance was at Keith’s door again the very next night. Keith’s face broke into a grin when he noticed that Lance had returned, and he offered the boy a weak laugh. “Alright, let’s hear it. How do you plan on retaliating this time?”
“Carnations,” Lance revealed. “Red ones. The official floral meaning is, ‘my heart aches for you’ , so take that, Keith! I’m clearly more in love.”
“I demand you cite your sources!” Keith joked, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
“Stylecraze.com, Keith!” Lance provided instantly. “It’s one of many websites. I told you I was coming prepared.”
Keith snickered. “You’re taking this challenge waaay too seriously.”
“Oh, let me have my fun,” Lance pouted, sticking out his tongue. “I live to discuss my romantic affairs.”
“Right, right,” Keith laughed. “So, moving past the ridiculous floral meaning, what else about carnations stands out?”
“They’re a symbol of not just love, but undying love,” Lance disclosed proudly, “and they also represent admiration. It kills me to admit this, but the reason I tease my crush is because I admire them. They’re so remarkable that I get a little jealous, I suppose.” He was quiet for a moment, but quickly bounced back. “Ooh, did I mention yet that carnations also represent fascination and distinction?”
“No, not yet.”
“Okay, well, these apply to my crush perfectly!” Lance gushed, blushing a deep shade of pink as he covered a painful cough with an arm, spattering his jacket with small drops of blood and leaving a few sticky red and purple petals there as well. He brushed it off and flashed Keith a shaky smile, delving right into his explanation before the other boy could even think to ask if he was alright. “My crush tries not to show it, but they’re really fascinated by the wonders of the universe, and that’s so adorable that I can barely take it,” Lance mumbled, completely lost in his fantasy.
He remembered once joking about how Keith had blown his own mind, fascinated by the realization that they were all connected, all made up of the same cosmic dust. He wanted to point out the lighthearted memory, but it would’ve a dead giveaway so he remained silent and kept the thought of Keith’s adorable expression replaying in his mind. (Keith held back his laughter as he noticed Lance’s faraway gaze. Just last night, he’d spoken of how he loved when Lance lost himself dreaming like this.)
Suddenly, both boys began hacking up vibrant purple petals, presumably suffering from the effect of focusing too greatly on their crushes.
“Anyway,” Lance coughed, finally catching his breath. “What I love most about my crush is their distinction—the way they stand out without even trying. They’re just so… captivating. I often lose myself staring at them, and I’ve even stooped to teasing them to distract them from my flustered panic when I think I’m caught.”
Keith chuckled heartily. “You have it bad , McClain.”
“See? I told you that I was more-”
“But I have it worse,” Keith interjected. “Bittersweet nightshade, dude.”
Lance groaned. “You say that like you expect me to know what it means.”
“And you will,” Keith promised, “in due time. See you tomorrow, Sharpshooter.”
“¡Adiós, Samurai!”
------------------------------
“So,” Lance prompted. “Tell me more about this last flower of yours.”
“I mentioned it yesterday,” Keith reminded him. “Nightshade is highly toxic, which makes sense in a way, because this crush—like poison—is slowly killing me. This plant is pretty dangerous even without being part of my Hanahaki, but as strange as it sounds, I think-” He broke off to cough, blood and petals spraying out of his mouth and onto the floor, adding to the red, blue, and purple mass. “I think this is the one that most powerfully represents my crush. It’s a symbol of honesty and truth, as well as friendly/platonic love. If this isn’t a perfect description of the one I love,” Keith smiled ruefully, wiping his bloodied lips, “I don’t know what is.”
Lance folded his arms across his chest and fixed Keith with a quizzical stare. “How is platonic love going to help you win this, Kogane? This is a battle of romance!”
“First of all, we’re still not competing,” Keith corrected, stifling a laugh, “and secondly, it’s more meaningful than you think.”
“How so?” Lance asked, not unkindly. He was driven solely by curiosity at this point; he found it hard to believe that platonic love could be interpreted in an intimate way, but he trusted Keith’s judgement and was excited to see how the boy had chosen to view the flower’s meaning.
“As a kid who grew up without a proper family, I was often envious of powerful platonic and familial relationships,” Keith confessed. “Family is really important to me, and it makes me so happy to see that my crush cares not only about romantic pursuit, but their platonic bonds as well—their friends and family. They obviously chase after romantic interests from time to time, but ultimately their heart belongs to their friends and family, and I can’t even begin to tell you how greatly I respect that.”
He paused briefly to share a fond smile with the goofy boy sitting on the edge of his bed, hoping that his next words wouldn’t make his crush too obvious. They had already held a strikingly similar conversation mere days ago, but Lance could be pretty forgetful at times, so Keith hoped that as he continued his words would go right over Lance’s head.
“Nightshade represents the truth too, and while my crush does have a slight tendency to exaggerate, they’re always honest where it counts. Once I watched as they swallowed their pride, accepted the facts, and admitted the truth simply because they cared more about their friends than their own aspirations.”
Suddenly, Keith was flashing back to the moment that Lance had accepted him as the new black paladin. The boy hadn’t been super thrilled with the choice—he was more than a little miffed that the valued position had been handed to his hot-headed rival—but he recognized his friend’s strengths nevertheless and provided the team with an honest confession detailing how he knew Keith was the right choice. It had given Keith the encouragement he’d needed to take up the mantle, and had increased the half-Galran’s little crush tenfold.
“That’s so selfless,” Lance breathed, disrupting Keith’s train of thought and recapturing his attention. “You must’ve fallen for someone really special.” He forced a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Knowing that Keith felt so strongly about someone else pained him immeasurably, and it hurt even more to know that this person Keith held in such high regard didn’t realize that Keith himself was just as amazing. Really, Lance couldn’t comprehend why Keith had this awful disease. Who wouldn’t love him?
“Yeah, they are pretty special,” Keith murmured, and he sent Lance a love-filled gaze hinting at his affections, but the other boy didn’t seem to notice. He was already more preoccupied with his counterargument. Man, Keith loved how goofy and competitive he could be.
“I’m still more smitten than you are, though!” Lance declared, using the one-sided challenge he’d started to distract himself from his sorrow. “My final flower—my trump card —is the magnificent purple tulip!”
Keith quirked a brow. “Sounds interesting.”
“Oh, it is!” Lance avowed. “You’re going down, Kogane!”
“See you tomorrow, Lance,” Keith chuckled, waving weakly.
------------------------------
Lance practically bounced into the room that next night, more than eager to share his findings. The boy always seemed to shine with an energy and a radiance that Keith could only dream of having himself, and he admired him for it. It was strangely comforting to watch the paladin—who had been diagnosed with a deadly disease—bouncing off the walls out of sheer joy and excitement.
“Calm down, loverboy,” Keith chuckled, patting the mattress as a way of inviting him to come sit. “I’m not going anywhere. Bedridden, remember?”
“I know, I know,” Lance dismissed the tease. “I’m just psyched to finally kick your butt!”
Keith rolled his eyes. “So, how are these tulips going to help you defeat me?”
“For starters,” Lance began. “Most people think of red, orange, yellow, pink, or even white when they picture tulips, but mine are purple—a less common color of tulips—because the idiot I’m in love with always has to stick out in the coolest possible way.” Lance pouted and stuck his tongue petulantly. “I love my crush with all of my heart, but their flawlessness can be a little annoying at times.”
Keith snickered. “You’re peeved because your crush is perfect?”
“Yes, Keith, I’m peeved because my crush is perfect!” Lance huffed. “How can they be so extraordinary without even trying? It’s not fair!”
“It really isn’t,” Keith murmured in agreement, a longing smile taking over. If only the red paladin knew that Keith felt exactly the same way about him.
“And yet,” Lance added wistfully, bringing the conversation back around to the main topic. “As unfair as it is, I love each and every little piece of their perfect personality.”
“Speaking of personality,” Keith reminded him. “I’m betting you have more to say about how tulips show off the traits you love about your crush.”
“Oh, right!” Lance remembered. “I can’t believe I went off on a tangent before even really getting started!” Laughing, he quickly directed the conversation back to the meaning of his illness-induced flowers. “In flowers, the color purple generally represents royalty, and these tulips are no exception, so-”
Unsurprisingly, the words triggered a massive coughing fit from Keith, leaving his heart to ache and his throat to burn as the blood-drenched blue and purple petals tore up his already abraded and windpipe. His worst fear had been doubly confirmed; Lance had a crush on Allura. Royalty? It had to be her. Who else could it possibly be?
“Keith!”
Lance wore a strained expression, and the genuine concern in his panicked voice made Keith choke out even more petals, if that was possible. Instantly, Lance was on his feet, giving his friend a few solid pats on the back as Keith gagged and ripped the last of the suffocating blue hibiscus out of his throat. Its large papery petals had been clogging up his airway, clinging to the inside of his throat and making it difficult—nay, impossible—to breathe. Thankfully, poor Keith eventually managed to cough out all of the soggy, diaphanous petals that had grown in his lungs.
“Sorry,” Keith apologized, a pained expression tainting his handsome features. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Lance reassured him. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Y’know, I am going to die eventually,” Keith murmured somberly. “I need you to be ready for that, Lance. Mine’s progressing faster than yours and you know it.”
“I know.”
They stayed depressingly silent for a moment, the only noise an occasional cough from either of them, but then Keith spoke again, shifting the conversation back to something a little more pleasant. It wasn’t anything ground-breaking, but he hoped the new topic would cheer his friend up.
“Please finish telling me about the tulips,” he requested, his tongue flicking over his cracked and bloody lips. “It’s… nice to hear you speak so passionately.”
“It’s funny you mention that,” Lance commented, his usual cheer slowly returning. “In addition to royalty, purple tulips represent passion and strength, both of which my crush is chock-full of. They’re so strong—mentally, physically, emotionally—and they encourage everyone around them to be that way, too. Oh, and in regards to strength, they’re actually pretty ripped…” Lance mumbled, a bashful blush lighting up his face. “N-Not that I’ve checked them out!”
“Okay, so they’re fairly fit and active,” Keith surmised. “What makes them passionate?” He tried shrugging it off as though it was nothing, but part of him yearned for Lance to call him attractive. Or at least comment on something other than his “mullet”.
“Well, first of all, they get super fired up whenever it’s time to kick butt!” Lance laughed, grinning cheekily. “Plus, they care really deeply about protecting the people they love—and they’re even passionate about choosing who those people are! I’ve watched them painstakingly build up a real relationship with those who are important to them, and I value how careful they are. It means a lot to me to even be considered their friend.”
“You’re surprisingly sweet, Lance,” Keith complimented softly. “I’m sure it means a lot to them to be your friend, too.”
“Thanks!” Lance gushed. “Can you believe I’m not even done yet? I mean, I obviously already have you beat, but I haven’t even gotten to explain the royalty aspect, and that’s the best-!”
“Lance, I know what it means.” Keith chuckled dryly. “It’s not exactly a secret that Allura’s a princess.”
“What? No, that’s not it.” Lance shook his head. “I mean, I know she’s a princess, but that’s not how I’ve chosen to interpret it. Royalty—to me—is to be regarded in the highest esteem, and I don’t think a single soul can deny that my crush deserves the utmost respect and should be regarded as the hero they are. They may not like the spotlight, but they deserve it.”
Keith’s lips curved into a smile. “That’s what royalty means to you?”
Lance nodded.
“You’re a strange one, McClain.”
“Maybe so,” Lance agreed, “but after hearing all of this, don’t you feel compelled to admit that I love my crush more than you love yours?”
“Oh, Lance, if only you knew who I loved,” Keith sighed, “then maybe you’d understand why I disagree with that claim.”
“Why won’t you tell me?” Lance asked sadly, his voice a tentative whisper. “If you care about them this much, I could pass on the word for you after you…” He trailed off, looking over at Keith with tears glistening in his beautiful oceanesque eyes. “Keith, I don’t want you to die!”
“I’m sorry,” Keith apologized, his words coming out a little a broken. It killed him that Lance looked so distraught. “I’ve tried persuading myself to confess several times, but I just can’t bring myself to reveal my crush’s name.”
“I understand,” Lance murmured solemnly. “As hypocritical as this makes me, I don’t think I’m ready to share the name of my crush either.”
“Lance…” Keith suddenly grabbed the boy’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Make me a promise?”
“Anything,” Lance vowed breathily.
“When I’m gone, I want you to confess your feelings to your crush,” Keith stated firmly, with an incredible amount of resolve flashing across his pretty dark blue eyes. “At least one of us has to try for a happy ending.”
“Okay,” Lance agreed shakily, knowing fully-well that this was one oath he’d never be able to keep. Little did the half-Galran know that when he was gone, Lance would have nobody left to confess to. “I promise.”
------------------------------
Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the two pining paladorks still spent time together each and every night. They had long ago stopped speaking of the deadly flora that plagued them, but when you were wholly expected to collapse at any given moment, there was no topic that wasn’t precious and well-worth discussing. It didn’t matter that they were no longer boasting about their crushes; the only thing that mattered was that they were spending every hallowed second of the time they had left in each other’s company.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to outrun fate forever. Keith threatened and cursed out anyone brave enough to suggest confessing or trying the surgery, but after a particularly bad Hanahaki-induced fit left him choking on petals and gasping for air, Shiro took matters into his own hands and made an executive decision on the team’s behalf.
“Keith,” Shiro addressed sternly. “This illness has been eating away at you for far too long. We’re taking you to receive treatment in two hours.”
“No! I don’t want to lose my emotions!” Keith argued. “I’d rather die, Shiro!”
He fought and begged for the entirety of the two hours in a desperation-fueled attempt to convince his brother to reconsider. It was a truly heart-wrenching display, and the team nearly let themselves give in to his incessant protestations, but in the end Shiro managed to convince Team Voltron that a surgery was the best course of action. It pained him to see one of his teammates in such a pitiful state, but even without the factor of brotherly love playing into it, he knew that his team needed Keith to form Voltron, and thus, he could not allow the boy to choose death.
When it finally came time to visit the space hospital, Allura and Shiro helped Keith to his feet and led him down the long halls to the hangar where a pod was waiting. Hunk, Lance, Pidge, and Coran trailed behind, sending Keith their condolences through a variety of sympathetic facial expressions as he kicked, screamed, and thrashed about in resistance. They filed into the pod in a solemn silence and strapped Keith to a stretcher that Allura had asked Coran to prepare from the sick bay beforehand. (While it was not used nearly as often as the healing pods, the castle did indeed have a sick bay.) Upon being restrained, Keith’s protestations only doubled.
“No, please!” Keith begged as he watched Coran step out of the pod to send them off and keep an eye on the castle in Allura’s absence. “Please, I don’t want them to remove my feelings!”
His pleas were ignored, and before long they had touched down on the big reddish-brown planet that housed the hospital offering the “cure” for Hanahaki Disease. Allura and Shiro helped wheel Keith out of the pod and Hunk and Pidge hurried ahead to hold open the double doors that led into the building before them, but Lance stayed right by his friend’s side, slipping his hand into Keith’s and giving it a gentle squeeze as they carted the boy towards the hospital. His words were unspoken, but no less powerful.
I’m here for you.
Keith gripped his hand tightly—so tightly that it began to hurt—but Lance didn’t dare let go as they rolled past the wide hospital doors. He would never abandon the hot-headed paladin. In fact, even if it pained him, he would do whatever was best for his crush. No, not his crush. Keith was far too important to him to be considered a mere crush. Lance would do whatever was best for... the love of his life.
“Shiro, wait!” Lance suddenly cried. He didn’t want to say it out loud—that would make it too real—but if if could spare Keith an emotion-eliminating surgery, he had to try. “I know that Keith’s gotten worse. I know he’s-” Lance broke off in a coughing fit, having gotten much worse himself. “I know he’s in really bad shape, but I think I know who he likes!” Oh, apparently there was a pain worse than a deadly flora-dominated disease. “If we tell her on Keith’s behalf, we can save-!”
He was broken off by a defeated laugh. “Thank you for trying, Lance,” Keith choked out, “but your guess is wrong. It can’t be whoever you have in mind.”
“But-!”
“I don’t like girls.” Keith shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, but it can’t be the ‘her’ you have in mind.” He smiled up at Lance sadly, giving the boy’s hand one finally squeeze. “I’ll see you when the operation’s over.”
As Keith’s stretcher was carted past the double doors leading into the hallway just outside of the operating rooms, Lance stood frozen in place, still processing the half-Galran’s words. He hadn’t thought quickly enough to return the boy’s goodbye. Keith was… gay? Well, Lance had certainly been wrong about Acxa! Yet, Keith still had a crush...
Keith’s crush had to be a boy he was close to in age, a boy he enjoyed teasing, and a boy he shared a deep connection with. A boy like… Lance McClain. Oh, no, that would be too sad. D-Did Keith actually return his feelings? Suddenly, he suspected Keith did.
All of a sudden, Lance began coughing and hacking and choking until whatever had been stuck in his throat was finally dislodged. He looked down at what he’d coughed into his palm and saw, amidst the blood and petals, the roots. The roots of the flowers that had grown in his lungs… they were finally out of his system. He was cured. With just the possibility that his crush was reciprocated, it was over.
‘Huh ,’ Lance mused. ‘ Maybe it really is nothing more than a mental game.’
However, he had no time to dwell on the specifics of the deadly disease. If there was even the possibility that he was Keith’s crush, he had to let the boy know. He lunged at the door Keith had disappeared behind, banging and pounding on it with all of the force he could muster. “Stop! Please, wait! I love you, Keith! I love you! You’re the crush I’ve been telling you about! Please, I’m begging you! Don’t operate on him! I-If you take away his feelings… Please! Keith, I need you to know that I love you!”
Unfortunately, nobody reemerged and a nearby doctor even headed over to scold him for the noise he’d created with his incessant banging. Lance didn’t care. He would’ve kept on pounding until he broke either his knuckles or the door, but he was eventually dragged away by a grief-ridden yet stoic Shiro. Tears streamed down his face as he waited alongside the other paladins to hear the results of the surgery, but his eyes lit up once the door finally slid open and Keith stumbled out.
“Keith!” he exclaimed, darting forward to catch Keith before the boy could collapse in a dizzy stupor. His ocean-blue eyes shone with both desperation and hope. “Keith, you’re okay!”
“Yeah…” Keith nodded slowly. “I am.” He used Lance’s arms for support as he steadied himself, then took a step back and looked up at the boy with unfamiliarity swimming in his dark amethyst eyes. “I-I’m sorry,” he apologized, “but who are you?”
Lance felt his heart shatter, and he choked on a sob. How had he been so blind? If Keith couldn’t recall who he was, that meant he was the one Keith had been crushing on. Fighting back tears, Lance whirled around to face away from Keith and cursed the irony of the situation. They had been in love with one another, and everything would have worked out painlessly if just one of them had gathered the courage to confess to the other. Was their tale truly going to end more tragically than Romeo’s and Juliet’s? It simply wasn’t fair. After all, why bother with flowers when he could have jumped straight to choking on tears?
“Lance,” he finally uttered, tearing his gaze away from Keith completely. (He had still been glancing at Keith over his shoulder after he’d turned away, but he could no longer bear it.) He answered the boy’s query about his identity and nothing more, his voice stern yet broken and accusing yet guilty. Then, without another word, he stalked over to the hospital’s exit, his body tense and his mind racing.
“Wait, Lance!” Keith called out.
Lance froze. He knew he shouldn’t indulge himself; it would only further decimate his already broken heart. Yet, for reasons he couldn’t quite place, after hearing Keith call out to him like that, he found it impossible to refuse. For someone whose emotions had just been ripped out, that cry had been awfully emotional. Still, Lance couldn’t bring himself to face the boy again so soon. All he could do was dignify Keith with a response.
“What?” he choked out, his voice strained from all the crying he’d done. “What could you possibly want from a- a– a stranger?”
“I was just wondering…” Keith began quietly, almost guiltily. “Do you finally know how I felt when you forgot the bonding moment?”
“Holy quiznak, I hate you so much!” Lance cried, tears spilling from his eyes as he whirled around faster than lightning to leap into Keith’s arms. Of course, everybody knew there was no real bite behind his words. “You’re such a jerk, Keith!”
Keith chuckled, easily catching the emotional mess of a boy and wrapping him in a tight embrace—one that neither wanted to end. He held his crush close, savoring the warmth that the hug included as he murmured a loving greeting into Lance’s ear. “Hey, Sharpshooter. I missed you.”
Lance pulled back and beamed at him, and it was evident that he’d already forgotten how scandalized he’d been; his expression now radiated sheer joy and relief. “How is it possible that you still have your feelings?”
“I never had the surgery,” Keith admitted with a laugh. “Unlike the operating rooms, the door to the hallway isn’t soundproof, you dork. I coughed up the roots almost immediately after hearing your, um, ‘words of encouragement’, but they asked me to stay a little while anyway so that they could clean off the blood and be one-hundred percent sure I was cured.”
Lance blushed as Keith brought up his desperate confession and stared down at his feet bashfully, mumbling an inquiry in his embarrassment. “So… you heard everything?”
“Everything,” Keith confirmed, and his voice was noticeably lower than usual. Was Keith actually being flirty? Ooh, Lance liked that. Keith stepped closer, eliminating the space between them, and Lance swooned as the boy followed up by leaning in. Lance met his love halfway, and though the kiss was rather short and sweet, both boys felt fireworks explode inside of them.
“After all of this,” Lance murmured as he pulled away, “you better get me chocolate on Valentine’s Day. If I see flowers, I’ll kill you.”
Keith just laughed and kissed him again.