A Brief Enquiry Into Klance Disorders

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/ADHD (Lance)

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural disorder that includes symptoms such as inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

"Lance, will you please pay attention!" Allura snapped, eyes thinning as she glared at Lance who was staring right through her as if she was a pane of glass. His leg was erratically bouncing up and down and he was fiddling with something in his hand. He clearly wasn't paying attention to what Allura was saying at all. "This is important! The fate of the universe is resting on our shoulders and we cannot afford to waste time."

Keith leaned over and poked Lance's side, making him tense up. "I zoned out, I'm sorry." Lance still didn't seem fully there. His gaze was distant and his hands were still spinning the spinner in his hands. As much as people hated on the toy, it was actually beneficial for ADHD sufferers. It was calming Lance down substantially; even if he still wasn't paying much attention. He was transferring some of his energy into spinning the plastic toy around and around.

"Are you okay?" Keith whispered. Lance swallowed thickly before taking a long, deep breath. His body was trembling and jerking from side to side. It was unclear of whether it was anxiety or restlessness.

"I don't have any medication, Keith... I- I left it on earth... It's so bad. I can't- can't sleep and I can't think." Keith noticed how uncomfortable Lance had gotten and wrapped an arm around his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. Lance fidgeted, using the hand that wasn't holding the spinner to tap his fingers against Keith's hand.

"Lance! Keith! If you aren't going to take this seriously, get out. We can easily replace you. We need paladins who are fully dedicated and can pay attention for more than five minutes. We don't have time for lazy excuses-"

Keith unwrapped his arms from Lance and got up onto his feet. He was going to defend Lance as much as he needed to. He was having problems and the least Allura could have done was ask if he was alright. "Lance is struggling right now. You didn't even care enough to ask! You can't beat him up about it when it isn't his fault. We didn't expect to get whisked off of earth all of a sudden one day!"

"What problem is so bad that it's more important than fighting the Galra?"

"Lance has ADHD, Allura! On Earth, he had to take medication. Now he doesn't have it and he isn't used to that. His body isn't reacting well. He told me that he hasn't been sleeping and obviously he's struggling to concentrate again. This must be really hard for him!"

The other paladins all turned to look at Keith after his outburst. He was breathing heavily and his hands had curled into fists at his sides. Allura stood a few metres away from him, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Keith wasn't even sorry. It was Allura's fault for not learning the context of Lance's behaviour before shouting at him about it.

"Lance... I'm so sorry. I- I had no idea..."

"You should have said something sooner!" Coran spoke up, twiddling his ginger moustache with the tips of his fingers. "I could create something similar, I'm sure." All of a sudden, Lance stood up and wrapped his arms around Keith. Keith was taken aback for a moment but eventually melted into the hug, even if it was in front of everyone else. He hated PDA but he'd hug Lance if it made him feel better.