Agent Blue

Eighteen

They spent the night in Hifosa. Xen was so excited to learn that her uncle was staying the night that she insisted that she sleep with him instead of in her room. Lance laughed and said it was fine. "Early birthday present," Lance mused as he remembered little Xen's birthday was tomorrow.

Lance slept on his back with Xen sleeping on his chest. She was small, so having her whole body laying on his rib cage didn't impair him too much. He spent the whole night thinking anyway.

Hunk's snores and Shiro's constant shifting filled the air while Lance stared up at the ceiling. Keith didn't lay too far away and he wondered if he was still awake. He knew the red paladin didn't sleep much, maybe because of paranoia, or maybe it was insomnia, he'd never know.

He had a lot to think about, and the "silence" was nice. Xen's soft breathing helped too, it kept him grounded.

His mind swam with strategic plans and theories about how Garnet would react. Every plan he made ended up being crossed out and removed from the planning board. Even as the sun peaked over the horizon, nothing was solid enough to act out.

Lance carefully picked Xen up and laid her down on Hunk's chest. He was normally an early riser and Lance figured he was comfy enough that Xen wouldn't notice.

He snuck out the front door and sat against the hut's wall. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the list of agents currently stationed at HQ. Only he and Garnet had access to this list, otherwise, it could put their agents in danger.

No names stuck out to him. He knew each of the agents, but either they were way too invested in Garnet's clause to ever feed information to Lance, or they rarely had contact with the temporary director. After a while, the color-themed names blurred in Lance's mind. He ignored the non-colored names, knowing it meant they weren't human, and thus, weren't going to help him any when dealing with Garnet's racist ass.

In the end, Lance took a deep breath and pocketed his phone. He watched as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky. A Hifosian sunrise was the most colorful thing on this planet. While it wasn't nearly as bright as the sunrises on Earth, you could clearly make out the faded orange, yellow, red, and pinks that marked the sky. Slowly birds started waking up, each of them just as grey as the world they live in. Lance wasn't there when Zeno first came to Earth, but even still, Lance would catch him staring at something particularly colorful or he'd ask what the name of a certain shade was.

From inside the hut, Lance could hear as his team woke up.

"What the-" Hunk's voice cut off, most likely as he realized the figure on him was still sleeping. The door to Lance's right opened and Keith's head poked out.

"There you are, you scared the crap out of Hunk," Keith sighed.

"Just needed some space. Did Xen wake up?" Lance yawned, feeling how tired he was after the day he had yesterday and the fact that he didn't sleep last night.

"Nah, but Hunk's trapped. He doesn't want to move her but he's scared she'll freak once she realizes she's not laying on you anymore," Keith filled him in. Lance leaned his head back against the hut wall, feeling the sun on his face and the stress that raked across his chest.

"I'll get her," Lance sighed as he sat up. "Thanks," Lance pecked Keith on the cheek as he passed, watching as Keith turned bright red.

"We need to talk once you have the time," Keith stage whispered to Lance once he got his brain functioning again. Lance turned on his heel and gave a mock salute before continuing his way to Hunk.

Hunk didn't look uncomfortable, simply worried. Lance knew Hunk was good and comfortable with kids, that's why he chose him, but he was determined to stay as still as possible for Xen's sake.