Anorexia
/ˌanəˈrɛksɪə/
noun: anorexia
1. lack or loss of appetite for food (as a medical condition). An emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.

When Lance randomly passed out in the middle of a training exercise, everyone couldn't help but feel worried. He had just been sparring one on one with Hunk but had collapsed before either of them could even land their first hit. Hunk froze, unable to react as he watched his best friend fall to the floor. Shiro and Keith raced forward to check that Lance was okay but he was out cold.

"What happened?" Keith snapped, his eyes wide open. Despite usually being unemotional, Keith was protective of Lance. He saw the blue paladin as a fragile, insecure boy, even though he was hardly either of those things.

Hunk's gaze darted between Shiro and Keith as he stammered out, "I- I don't know! I didn't even touch him! He just fell. Is... Is he going to be okay?" He looked like he was going to be sick, green tinting his dark skin.

Shiro didn't say anything as he scooped Lance up into his arms and threw him (as lightly as possible) over his shoulder. "We need to get him to a healing pod." He eventually mumbled; to which Keith nodded. Keith darted over to the door, holding it open for Shiro as they headed towards the healing pods. Once Lance was safely inside of one, Pidge began to scan his analytics in search of anything out of the ordinary that would explain Lance fainting out of the blue.

"Shiro, it doesn't look good," Pidge murmured, using their index finger to scroll through the words on the screen. "He barely weighs anything... Maybe there's a blip on the system or something. This can't be right... it looks like he hasn't eaten anything in days and is malnourished."

"No, no... Allura said those systems are perfect. ...Keith, have you seen him eat at all lately?"

Keith opened his mouth but quickly closed it again. His jaw was tense as he stared at Lance who still had his eyes closed. He couldn't help but notice how his body was stick thin and his cheeks had sunken in a substantial amount compared to when they had first gone to space. "He always skips dinner but he told me he gets something afterwards."

"And he's never at breakfast because of his skin care routine..."

"He could easily skip lunch too because we usually sort ourselves out... Why would he do that to himself?" Keith pressed his hand against the glass, wishing he could have noticed something sooner. His best friend had been suffering and killing himself slowly and he hadn't even realised.

"I don't know but we need to have a chat with him when he wakes up. I'll go inform the others." Pidge and Shiro both nodded before exiting the room and leaving Keith alone with Lance.

Tears welled up in his eyes but he refused to let them out. He didn't deserve to cry: he should have protected Lance and made sure that he was okay. Blinking away the wetness, he turned away for a brief moment to inhale deeply. "Lance, I'm so sorry. I should have been there for you..."

-

Lance fell out of the pod and straight into Keith's arms. He stared at Keith through wide, clouded eyes and blinked rapidly, waiting for the world to stop spinning around him. His legs felt like they were on fire and holding himself up seemed more like a chore that something he usually did so subconsciously. "Come on, let's sit you down." Keith helped Lance hobble over to a chair where they both sat down, Lance leaning his head into Keith's shoulder for support. "I think we need to have a chat."

Lance paled. His usually tanned, brown skin had become a ghostly white colour. "I tripped over Hunk's foot and hit my head. I- It's fine." He lied, his voice trembling just as much as his hands and the rest of his body. Keith secured his hand around one of Lance's skinny wrists.

"We both know that's a lie. Pidge had a look at your analytics... you haven't been eating." Lance refused to meet Keith's gaze and just stared ahead at the healing pod he had just been inside. "I'm not angry at you. I just want to know why."

Tears shone in Lance's once beautiful, happy eyes. "I couldn't- I can't. In the morning I'm too busy and the rest of the day I need to train... I'm not good enough to be a part of the team. I- I need to work harder. If it means forfeiting some things then I guess I just-"

"No," Keith cut him off. "You can't skip meals to train. Training is hard work for your body anyway, let alone when you don't have the energy to keep you going."

"I- I-"

"Lance, you can't keep doing this... you're going to kill yourself."

"No, no, I have it under control," Lance's eyes desperately stared into Keith's. The other couldn't help but notice just how lifeless Lance looked. His eyes had become clouded and his shoulders were hunched over, his entire body shuddering. "I- I don't not eat. I just- just eat very small amount whenever I need to."

Keith shook his head, his hair falling against his face. "That's not good enough... your body needs at least two full meals a day and I'm going to make sure you have them."

"Keith, please-"

"Lance, no. I don't want to lose you."

"You- You won't. I promise. I- I won't-" Realising that Lance was on the verge of hyperventilating, Keith wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. Lance buried his head into Keith's chest and started to cry softly.

"It's okay. We're going to help you. You can still train just not as much. Won't you perform better if your body has the energy for it anyway?"