Gone and Mute

Chapter 13

Instead of telling the team- like good members would have done- Lance and Allura kept the conversation to themselves. For the time being, at least. Allura couldn't spare a look at Lance- no, she wouldn't. She didn't want to look into Lance's eyes again- those deep, ocean blue eyes and see them brimming with tears. The image haunted her as she tossed and turned in an attempt to sleep, and plagued her as they drove into battle. Blue would try and comfort her with weak purrs, but the action just made her feel guilty. She'd taken Blue away from Lance, and Blue had been everything to him.
What kind of a friend was she?
Lance, similarly, returned to his vow of silence. He stood in the back of the group- where Keith usually would have- listening as a casual conversation rose into a full blown argument, and Lance could do nothing to stop it. He couldn't act as a sound board or a punching bag, nor could he crack a joke to make everyone roll their eyes and forget what they were arguing about in the first place. Even if he still had Blue, he could've been useful. He could've meant something to them.
Now? He really was useless.

Coran and Lance were late to dinner one night, but everyone knew what they were doing. Lance had been sporting another set of bandages around his neck, meaning that Coran had done another surgery. They weren't expecting it to work though, so the meal passed in solemn silence.
That is, until Lance exploded into the room.
"Hello, my fellow Paladins!" He boomed, causing everyone to flinch on varying degrees. Hunk and Keith had both full on yelped, and Pidge had fallen out of her chair.
"So sorry to keep you waiting." Lance bowed slightly, before making his way to his seat. "I know how much you all looove to be graced by my presence."
His voice was, to say the least, restored. No one was sure exactly what happened, but the only explanation Coran would give was that "a magician never revealed his secrets". That really made everyone uncomfortable, but when they asked Lance, he just gave a lax smile and waved them off, so they assumed it had just been a very successful procedure.
"Lance, buddy!" Hunk cried, once again throwing his arms around his friend and lifting him up into a bear hug.
Lance grinned down at him. "Hunk! Man am I glad to see you! I was worried I would have to go into the kitchen and try to cook by myself!"
"Not that you would have, I hope?" Hunk gave him a serious look. He was very possessive about his kitchen.
Lance just smirked. "Can't make any promises, buddy." He patted Hunk's arm as the larger set him down.
"Well, is is good to see your voice has been restored, Lance," Allura spoke from her spot across the table, and Lance faltered, glancing at her. They exchanged a brief look before Lance grinned and made his way over to her.
"Of course it is! I'm almost amazed that you could have gone this long without me wooing you with my amazing pick up lines."
There was a collective chuckle, and Allura rolled her eyes, putting a hand between her face and where Lance had positioned his face next to her cheek. Lance just giggled and spun around, throwing his arms in the air before bending down and picking Pidge up in a hug.
"Pidgey! Isn't it great to hear my voice again?" Lance said as she kicked and tried to get out of his grasp, but to no avail. Even for someone who hadn't been training for as long as he'd been taking a break, he had an impressive grip.
Pidge let out a breath as she gave up and went slack in his arms. "Yes, wonderful," she grunted. "Your grating voice in my ear is the first thing I wanted to hear today."
"Aww!" Lance dropped her and she yelped. "I'm so glad I could fulfill your wishes!"
Pidge snorted and Shiro and Hunk let out a chuckle, but Keith and Allura watched as a faint flicker of hurt crossed over Lance's face before he sat down next to Keith and leaned over with a grin.
"Hey there Keithy," he said in a husky voice, and Keith let out a playful groan, trying to mask a smile as he pushed Lance's face away from him.
"Go get some food, idiot," Keith grunted and Lance sat up, watching as Hunk went to fix Lance a plate.
Lance managed to get a conversation going and everyone was chipping in- well, except Keith, but that was to be expected. Keith listened, slightly interested in the topic, and watched Lance's expressions and movements out of the corner of his eye. He seemed happy, and excited, but when he thought no one was looking he'd rub his eyes, or give his food a disappointed look. And several times, Keith was sure he caught him giving Allura a look of... Keith couldn't tell, but he could've sworn it was just of general sadness.
While Shiro and Pidge were talking loudly about some show Lance had mentioned, Keith reached over with his hand and nudged Lance's knee, causing Lance to jerk his head up to look at him.
"Is something wrong?" Keith whispered quietly, only loud enough for Lance to hear.
Lance looked down, fiddling with the edge of his jacket, before giving a faint nod.
"Do you wanna tell me about it?" Some buried emotion- something he'd been suppressing since the kiss- rose to his chest and leaked into his voice.
Lance turned slightly to look up at him. "After dinner."
Keith nodded slowly.