Chapter 2 ——- Later that afternoon ——-
The door hissed open and Shiro walked in, taking in the sight. Training bots littered the floor around Lance, who was trapped between the wall and his own cracked shield. The last three bots ran forwards, each firing their guns towards the blue paladin. As the shield splintered, there was a loud clatter as Lance hit the ground, bayard spinning away from him across the sleek, metallic floor. “End training sequence,” he wheezed, clutching his abdomen and rolling to lay on his back, panting heavily.
Impressed, Shiro walked over and crouched down next to Lance. “You’ve really improved,” he commented with a smile.
Lance didn’t immediately reply, instead opting to turn his head away from the older paladin. When he did speak, it was only after he managed to slide a fake smile over his face. “I guess,” he panted, sitting up. “But I’m still not as good as you or Keith.”
Frowning, Shiro stood up and offered his hand to Lance, “Hey…can we talk?” he asked apprehensively, brow furrowing.
Lance accepted his hand and hoisted himself up. “Sure, what’s on your mind?” Lance replied, wandering over to the bench. Sitting down, he picked up his towel, draping it over his neck, and snatched up his water bottle, taking a gulp before turning his attention back to Shiro.
Tentatively sitting next to him, Shiro turned to face Lance, looking troubled. “Did I - did I do something wrong?” he asked.
Lance lowered his water bottle in surprise, “What?…why would you think that?” he replied, feeling annoyed with himself. He had tried so hard to act normal, but it seemed like the others were starting to catch on.
“Well, there’s several things,” Shiro began slowly. “Ever since I’ve returned to Voltron, you’ve been avoiding everyone.” Lance opened his mouth to interrupt, but the older man held up a finger to silence him. “You’re always excusing yourself to get away from us, and when you can’t find a reason to leave, you put on that stupid fake smile thinking no one will notice. Keith already told me that you weren’t like this before I returned. In fact, he said that you guys were closer than ever. I mean, I know that since Keith and I got together, we really haven’t had time to spend with you, so is that it, or is it just me?”
Tensing up, Lance attempted to explain away his recent behavior, but it was all to much. Even as a child, bottling up his emotions usually led to him breaking down. Tears began to sting the corners of his eyes and he sat up, desperately looking for an exit. “I’m fine,” he choked wiping his eyes.
Shiro hadn’t know what to expect from this talk; he had, of course, hoped that Lance would open up to him, but he thought that Lance might try to change the subject, or even lie. However tears were not on that list and he immediately tensed up. “Hey, wait Lance I didn’t mean to-” he trailed off lamely. Shaking his head, Lance walked towards the door, “I need to shower,” he choked out, leaving a very confused Shiro to contemplate what just happened.
—— That night ——
Night had once again fallen over the castle ship. In his room, Lance lay motionless on his back, left arm draped over his face. He had been crying off and on for the last few hours, and as a result, his eyes were red and puffy. With a sigh, Lance sat up, running his fingers through his hair. He supposed he should have expected this. As much as he wanted to be able to hold everything in like Keith, he just wasn’t that type of guy. Perhaps that was why Keith liked Shiro so much. Their black paladin really was amazing; he was strong, and stoic and it was hard not to feel safe around him. In fact, when they first met, Lance had fallen pretty hard.
Lance buried his face into his pillow and sighed. It’s not as though that crush ever really went away, but from the very beginning, Lance was hyper aware that he was nowhere near good enough for Shiro. Come to think of it, he really wasn’t good enough for Keith either. Keith was loyal and cool and Shiro was calm and intelligent and they just seemed to be the perfect match. Then there was Lance, a skinny little nobody who wasn’t even really good enough to be in Voltron in the first place
Just as Lance let out another sigh, there was a soft knock on the door. Nearly jumping out of his skin, Lance looked at the earth clock on table next to his bed; 1:00am. Who the fuck is knocking at this time at night? Lance thought incredulously. When he didn’t immediately get up to answer, Lance heard Keith’s muffled voice through the metalic doors, “Lance, I know you’re awake, I can hear you sighing from down the hall.”
Lance’s heart leapt into his throat and he scrambled out of bed, opening the door and there was Keith. Clad in black plaid pajamas,the red paladin stood in front of him, lips pursed and arms crossed. “Keith,” Lance breathed, face heating up, “What are you-?”
Keith held up a hand to interrupt, “What the hell is your deal, Mclain?” Keith asked irately.
“I don’t know what you-?” before Lance could finish, Keith stepped inside the room, pushing Lance hard onto his bed, looking angry.
“I don’t know if you hate me and Shiro, and at this point, I just don’t care, but your mood is affecting everyone and you need to-” Keith began hotly, his hands clenched into to fists. Tears welled up in Lance’s eyes and he finally blurted out what he had been hiding all this time, “I love you,” he whispered.
Keith froze, shock written all over his face, “You lo-.”
Lance continued, “I love you, Keith, and not just you. I love you and Shiro so much that it hurts. Things were fine at first, I had given up on Shiro and I was hiding my feelings for you and it wasn’t supposed to go any farther than that. But then Shiro left and you changed! I tried to be there for you, tried to make you happy, tried not to let my feelings get in the way, but you were so angry!” His voice shook and tears began to fall freely. Now that he had started, he just couldn’t stop and the flood gates opened. “You snapped at me every time I opened my mouth and you lashed out at everyone and it hurt so much. I really didn’t realize how much I loved you until that moment and everything went to fucking shit!” he sobbed, sitting up on his knees to face Keith, who’s mouth fell open in shock. “And then Shiro came back and we were all overjoyed - me included - and that hasn’t changed, Keith. I’m so relieved that he’s back and that he’s safe and I’m so glad that you two are happy together because I love you both so much and that’s all I want for you both!” Keith opened his mouth again but Lance shook his head, voice growing louder, “Does it hurt that you guys never talk to me anymore? Yes! Does it hurt everytime I see you kiss? Yes! But you guys are happy and that’s what matters to me so I’m fine, Keith. I’m completely fine so get the hell out of my room!” Lance yelled getting up and shoving the red paladin back through the doors.
Keith stumbled backwards and just gaped at him, completely at a loss for words, but before he could so much as blink, Lance choked back a sob, “Just…go back with Shiro, Keith.” And with that he shut the door, leaving the red paladin in complete and utter shock. Previous Ao3 Link
DID ERNEST REALLY HAVE TO SNATCH ALL THEIR FUCKING WIGS LIKE THIS
my s/o is cute and talented rb if ur s/o is cute and talented
Chapter 6: Decorated The cleanup had been humiliating. Hours after he had been left in that sorry state, another one of Lotor’s generals had entered the room. Tall and sleek, with an oddly colored pattern on her face, she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she approached the mortified paladin. “I’ve been asked to do a lot of things since I’ve worked for Lotor, but this might be one of the worst.” Zethrid walked in after her, looking irritated “Stop complaining. Ezor, I’m the one who has to clean him up, your job is to spruce him up when I’m done.” She reached down and dragged Lance up by his hair, recoiling slightly when she saw his face. Lance held on to her wrist, trying to keep on his feet. His throat hurt and his face stung from all the blows Lotor had inflicted upon him, but he would gladly deal with the pain if it meant he didn’t have to be seen like this. Noticing that Lance was on his feet, Zethrid shoved him forward, leading him out of the room and down the hallway, with Ezor following slowly behind, her arms clasped behind her head. Keeping his head bowed, Lance didn’t immediately notice when they had entered a new room. It was only when he heard the footsteps come to a halt, that he looked up. He was standing in a beautiful, brightly lit bathroom. An enormous tub, the size of a small pond took up the entire back part of the room while the left wall was covered in gleaming counter space. On the right wall were several mounted shelves filled with all sorts of toiletries and products, and below that was a clean porcelain toilet, surround by even more counter space. If Lance wasn’t in his current situation, he would have been itching to try this place out, but instead all he felt was fear. This was the first time he had been in this bathroom and so far, experience had told him that when Lotor was involved, new situations were never good. He stopped and looked hesitantly back at Zethrid and Ezor. “What are we doing here?” he asked, nervously shifting his weight between each leg. Zethrid tsked, approaching the tub, “Lotor has ordered us to clean you up.” she replied as she turned the nozzle, allowing the tub to fill up. She grabbed a few bottles and placed three of them on the brim of the bathtub and opened the tops of the rest, placing a few drops of each into the heated water. The moment it was full, Zethrid turned off the nozzle and shoved Lance forward, and he stumbled against the brim, falling to his knees. “Strip,” she ordered, and Lance felt his cheeks grow hot. “Here…in front of you?” he asked gripping the edges of his ruined cloth. It had been hard enough to be forcibly stripped by Lotor, everything that had been done to him so far was degrading and uncomfortable, but it was all done by Lotor, another man, the idea that he was to strip down in front of two girls was much harder for him to stomach. “Of course here, now stop asking questions, strip down and get in the bath. Or am I gonna have to force you?” Zethrid asked, balling her hands into fists, putting them up threateningly. Lance hesitated and then gripped the edges of the silk wrap, sliding it off of his waist and letting the soiled fabric fall to the floor. Cheek red, he covered his dick anxiously with his hands and slipped into the bathtub, crouching down in an effort to hide his length. Despite the situation, Lance let out a soft moan and closed his eyes as his aching muscles began to relax. It had been ages since he was able to properly bath and after everything he had experience, it felt good. He didn’t have long to enjoy it however, as Zethrid suddenly crouched down beside him, grabbing one of the other bottles. He tensed and watched carefully as she squirted some soap into a sponge and began to lather it up, squeezing it between her fingers. For a moment, Lance thought she was going to hand it to him, but without warning, she reached forward, grabbing him by the upper arm. He let out a yelp and he couldn’t help but flinch and pull away, causing her to tighten her grip and yank him back. Lance trembled in her grasp and Ezor, who had been watching from the corner, sighed and kneeled down beside Zethrid. “He’s kinda jumpy isn’t he? I thought he was the blue paladin.” Zethrid, keeping a firm grip on Lance’s upper arm, began to scrub at his skin ignoring his protests, “For the past week and a half, he’s been Lotor’s plaything, how the hell would you be acting right now?” Grimacing at the thought, Ezor stood up and nodded, “Alright, I get it. I’m gonna go get set up, Lotor wants him prepared for the video feed, so bring him in when you’re done.” Zethrid nodded and Ezor stood up and left the room as the other general began to scrub away the dried vomit and piss from Lance’s face and neck. When he was finally washed, Lance was pulled out of the tub and dried off. He had to admit that it felt nice to be clean, but he was more anxious than ever before. ‘What the hell did that girl mean by prepared and what video feed?’ So many questions buzzed in his mind but he wasn’t given any time to voice them as Zethrid yanked off his towel and pulled him out into the hallway, leading him to yet another new room. In a futile attempt to keep himself covered, Lancc walked slightly hunched, hands cupped around his member, but before he knew it, he was shoved into a much darker and smaller room. The floors and walls were black and an overhead light was shining brightly down upon a metal, salon style chair, adorned with thick leather straps, grafted in the direct center of the room. It was this that Ezor stood next to, fingers drumming over a covered tray. Lance’s heart leapt into his throat and he tried desperately to wrench his arms out of Zethrid’s grip to no avail. “Get the hell off of me! What is this?” he spat, as the general shoved him into the chair. Ezor sighed and began strapping the blue paladin in, “Zethrid, can you gag him or something. I honestly don’t want my eardrums blown out when I start piercing him.” Fear and dread washed over Lance at the smaller general’s words, “p-piercing?” he repeated, gulping down the bile that threatened to bubble over. “I don’t know what you-” he froze and his eyes widened as Ezor lifted the top off the tray revealing an assortment or needles, next to which was a bowl of intricately designed jewelry. “N-no!” he stuttered, struggling beginning anew. “No please, I’ll do anything, I’ll…” he bit his lips, fresh tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. If Keith saw him begging like that, he would probably be disgusted. Zethrid suddenly began wrapping a harness, complete with a medical gag, around his face, shoving the metallic piece past his lips. Unable to close his mouth, drool began to pour down his chin and his eyes bulged in fear. Though he couldn’t speak, the gag did little to stifle his sobs, and he watched in terror, legs shaking uncontrollably as Ezor picked up a pair of piercing forceps and approached him slowly. Picking up the first and smallest of the needles, she clamped the forceps onto his left earlobe before placing the needle in the direct center. Lance tried to pull away but Zethrid grabbed him by the hair holding him steady. His body jolted as Ezor pushed the needle through his skin and a layer of goosebumps broke out along his arms. Picking up a small golden ring adorned with tiny blue sapphires, Ezor pulled the needle through his ear and pushed in the gold ring clamping it into to place. Lance squirmed in his seat as his earlobe began to grow hot. It didn’t hurt too bad, but the shock of being pierced without his consent was enough to send a fresh wave of tears pouring down his face. Ignoring the blue paladin’s obvious distress, Ezor picked up a matching stud and placed the needle an inch above the previous piercing. Working diligently, over the next twenty minutes, she slowly mapped out his ears. On the left; the golden ring, topped with two matching sapphire studs, half an inch apart. Around the the shell of his ear were four golden studded rings, ending in a point. On the right; a single sapphire stone was placed at the tip of his cartilage, connected to a golden chain which ended in a glittering dangly collection off golden ropes, ending with sapphire stars. When it was over, Lance was relieved. The pain hadn’t been too bad and he looked expectantly up at the two generals expecting to be released. His hopes were quickly dashed when Ezor picked up another needle, and the color drained from his face when she clamped the forceps at the bridge of his nose. Letting out a soft whimper as a small trickle of drool began to drip from his open mouth once again, he braced himself for the what was to come. This time the pain was much sharper and his back arched slightly as she pierced the needle through his skin, sliding in a pointed tipped golden bar. Please, he thought desperately, shutting his eyes tightly, let it be over. Just let this end. His eyes shot open as Ezor pushed the forceps through the medical gag, clamping it tightly around his tongue. “N-nnngh,” he shook his head in protest but once again, Ezor showed no signs of remorse as she placed a much thicker needle on his tongue, suddenly sinking it through the thick muscle. The pain was much more intense and he sobbed, tugging fruitlessly at his binds. She placed another similarly themed ring through the hole and released the clamps. Lance’s pain didn’t end for another two hours. Working quickly, Ezor pierced snake bites through his lips, a golden sun through his septum, and four sapphire stars above each eyebrow. His nipples were pierced and connected by a golden chain which dangled down, leading to nothing in particular and his navel was pierced with another sapphire ball. A small collection of bloody tissues and used needles sat in a large bowl and only one needle and one piercing remained. Lance was laying motionless in the chair, drool pouring openly from his mouth, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular. “We’re almost done,” Ezor exclaimed, and Lance turned his head to fix her with a watery stare. He swallowed thickly and nodded, feeling exhausted and eager for the pain to end. However, the moment the forceps clamped around the head of his cock, a fresh wave of panic set in and his bloodshot eyes widened in fear. A thicker, slightly more heavyset needle was placed through the hole and ignoring his whimpers, she shoved it through. The pain was excruciating and it tore a silent scream from his throat. Taking advantage of the paladin’s shock, Ezor pushed through another golden piercing, connecting it the the chain dangling from his nipples. Ezor sighed and began to clean up the mess, and Zethrid removed the gag from Lance’s mouth and face. Chest heaving, and pain and heat blossoming in his reddened cock, Lance looked down, tears cascading down his cheeks and he sobbed in defeat. “Please…” he sobbed, “No more.” Previous Ao3 Link
I saw a post about “Please stop hitting on women while they’re at work” and I 100% agree with it, which is why I’m making a separate post to say please don’t hit on people in general when they’re at work.
I work at a bakery and we have this sweet 16 about to turn 17 year old boy who works up front of our store. He used to work at the place next door to us and, while he was there, a girl he was working with developed a bit of a crush on him and asked him out.
He said no, that he has a girlfriend (which she already knew) and thought they could just continue on being friends and coworkers.
Since beginning work at our bakery she stops in every single day and talks to him for the entirety of her 30 minute long break. He has told her multiple times that he’s at work and can’t stand around and talk and when I asked him if he was uncomfortable his response was a very relieved “Oh, God, yes.”
He’s tried to talk to one of the owners about it and his response was “You can talk to her after work” not realizing this poor boy is being made incredibly uncomfortable on a daily basis in the work place.
When we told him he could come into the back to find something to do if he needed to he was so incredibly thankful and relieved. This girl spent twenty minutes standing up front waiting for him to come back after he said he had to go do something. Twenty minutes in the front of the store ever after being told he can’t talk to her. He doesn’t know what would happen if he says that he doesn’t want to talk to her and is genuinely nervous every time she walks in.
The only reprieve he gets is from the bakers in the back saying “I get it. Come back here” because the Owners don’t understand that he, a male coworker, can be made uncomfortable by these unwanted advancements being made toward him.
Please.
This post isn’t made to undersell not hitting on women while they’re at work. I get that and that’s why this separate post exists.
Please.
Don’t hit on people when they’re at work.
Don’t hit on people when they can’t tell you no.
DISNEY CHANNEL DID THAT