OK so this has some season 6 details and stuff so I'm gonna say that this is what I think might've happened without Loturd in season 6? Blah blah I don't own VLD blah. OK, story!

It had started out as comfort. Lance had been homesick again and Keith happened to be visiting from the Blade after completing a mission. He'd found Lance in the kitchen late at night. Lance had made a way to make sweetened condensed milk from Kaltenecker (don't ask, he'd made Pidge help with science) and had been making dulce de leche. They had ended up in Lance's room having a weird sort of sleepover, and Keith had been introduced to a new side of Lance.

Keith had often noticed how lonely the spastic cuban boy could be now that the rest of the team had split off into their own cliques. Pidge, Hunk, and Matt were the tech-y jokesters. Allura, Coran, and Shiro were the responsible leaders that kept things from falling apart.

And where did that leave Lance?

They sat on Lance's bed, both in face masks and sprawled across the comforter. Keith had to admit, the face masks and skincare routine Lance had forced him into had really helped. A small smile crossed his face at the thought and he had to try and shut it down before the mask cracked, which would send Lance into a fit.

Lance had seemed really tired that day, which is why Keith had suggested face masks and tea and a sleepover. It seemed to help for a while, but the inevitable sadness crept back onto Lance's face after a while. Keith flipped over onto his stomach to look at Lance. "Tell me." He said. And that Lance did. About how at any moment Red could shut him out just like Blue had and he'd be stuck as deadweight in the middle of an intergalactic war.

The dorky, dramatic boy that flirted and teased but had never truly opened his heart to a real love after so many malicious rejections and tricks. He could hardly trust his own team with his fragile heart, already shattered and put back together on his own too many times to count. The blue of his suit only proved the sadness to his tale, for as soon as he'd really opened a new part of his heart to Blue, she'd cut him off and sent him on his way to the next girl. Just like everyone else. And while flying Red was amazing, Lance knew that he was just a quick fix. Temporary.

Disposable.

All of those thought had plagued him for so long that he'd started pulling away from the group, who'd already pulled away from him so much. Keith only knew because Lance had told him all of this. Otherwise he'd put on another mask to pretend he wasn't hurting for the sake of the team. And as much as Keith denied it all, told him how important he was, he knew Lance was stubborn as a mule and didn't believe him. And it was all of these thoughts that made Lance's homesickness worse. Back in Cuba, Lance would still make a couple mistakes every now and then, but his family was so loving and understanding that he never truly felt his faults, never wronged by his flaws.

But in space, all of those flaws had nearly cost the universe many lives. He mostly tried to stay out of the way, let everyone else make plans and follow without argument or grief. He'd tried helping everyone out when they needed him, and when they didn't, well, that was normal. Even at the Garrison Lance had taken the fall for so many simulator fails, so many mistakes, that Iverson thought there'd be no chance for him to ever really pilot. And he hadn't kept that a secret, chewing Lance out in front of the entire class almost every day, even when nothing had been done wrong. Lance felt every word from him ring true. He thought people would be better off without him around to screw things up.

And that killed Keith. Because Lance was the one person he'd never be able to live without. Yes, losing any of the team would be devastating. But Lance? Lance was the sun, always loyal and joyful and loving.

But it seemed every time Keith came back from a mission, those blue, blue eyes had dulled some more, like something was sucking the light out of him. Over their months of sleepovers and hangouts Keith learned just how deep Lance's insecurities ran. So when Keith had found out through Allura that Lance had literally died, he knew better than to 'leave it alone' like the rest of the team had been.

He'd found Lance in an empty room that had a huge window taking up an entire wall. The glass wasn't normal glass from Earth- it was especially forged for the castleship with similar material used for the lions so it was virtually impenetrable.

"Lance?" Keith knocked softly on the wall next to him. Lance turned and have a half hearted smile. "Can we talk?"

Lance seemed to hesitate, but nodded and moved over on the window sill- which was the size of a chaise. Keith sat across from him as the blue paladin brought his knees up closer to his chest to loosely drape his arms over. "What's up?" He asked, eyes trained back on the stars, voice small from little use. He hardly spoke unless necessary now.

Keith closed his eyes, took a steadying breath so he didn't accidentally explode at Lance. "Why didn't you tell me?" Was all he could manage.

Lance's brows furrowed and a confused expression twisted his pretty face as he turned back to Keith. "Tell you what?" he asked, voice nearly as quiet as it had been before.

Keith balled his fists and met Lance's eyes- now shallow pools of pale blue instead of their original deep, intense oceans. "Why didn't you tell me that you died?!" He ground out.

A mixed look of shock and fright crossed Lance's face before he schooled his expression to neutral and turned his gaze back out the window. "Because it wasn't important." He said simply.

Keith slammed his fist against the glass, making Lance jump and snap his eyes back over to him. "Bullshit!" Keith yelled. "Lance. You died!" He cried, voice breaking.

Lance's eyebrows knit, a bitterness rising to twist his mouth into an angry scowl. "Yeah. I know. But it didn't seem to matter to anyone else, so I just shut up about it!" He said, voice breaking at the final sentence.

"It matters to me!" Keith cried. "How could you think that I wouldn't care that you-" He choked back an unexpected sob.

There was a long silence. Lance stared down at his lap, trying to fight back his own tears. "Because I expected everyone else to care. But they didn't." Lance whispered. "They don't need me, Keith. Nobody does..." He felt Keith take his hands in his warm ones. He looked up at him, tears finally falling.

"Lance. I need you." He whispered, but it rang out in the heavy silence of the room. Keith opened his arms and Lance surged forward into Keith's embrace, feeling the dam of insecurities and doubt and anger and sadness flow out of him as Keith held him. Lance heard an odd whining noise and realized with a start that it was coming from him- that he was crying and shaking. But Keith didn't push him away, didn't tease him about it.

Neither knew how long they were there. Once he'd cried himself out, he looked up at Keith, who'd cried along with him, just less and for different reason. But his tears were for Lance. Someone had cried over him, over his death- something he'd convinced himself would never happen. Keith brushed a thumb along Lance's cheek. "Lance." He breathed, staring into his eyes, now not quite as dull and sad as before. He pressed a kiss to his forehead. It held promise and truth and love. "You are so important."

Keith tucked his face into Lance's hair. "Please, don't ever die again. Don't ever leave me."

Lance held him back, feeling sure for the first time since Shiro had disappeared. "I won't," He promised, burying his face in the crook of Keith's neck. And for the first time in months, Lance felt alright.