I was meant to update this before my hiatus but it looks like I forgot so here you go take this

It took about five minutes of mental pep talk for Keith to raise his hand and knock on Lance's bedroom door. Heavy silence escaped from the room. "Do you want to talk?" Keith asked, leaning up against the door. His arms were folded and his forehead was touching the cold material as he waited for Lance to reply. Keith was still dressed up in his armour as he hadn't bothered changing before sprinting after Lance. His hair was windswept, a mop on top of his head, but he didn't find himself caring.

"No." Lance replied after a long while. Keith let out a soft sigh, his arms unfolding so that he could knock on the door a second time.

"Please? I know this isn't easy for you and bottling things up won't help. I learnt that the hard way, didn't I?"

"Keith, I just want space. That okay?"

Keith listened to Lance as he sniffed: a sign that he had been crying. A sad smile spread across his face as he imagined the sheer state the blue paladin was in on the other side of the door. He seemed so close but, yet again, so far away. "Yes, that's okay. Just- Just stay safe, alright?"

"I'm not going to off myself, Keith."

"I know, I know... I'm just worried."

"Don't be. I'll be okay. I've just got a lot to think about."

Keith nodded even though he was aware that Lance couldn't see him. "Okay."

-

Lance didn't come to dinner. The two empty seats were the massive elephants in the room but no one dared to even look at them. Coran tried to start a loose conversation, mentioning something about how Hunk's cooking had seemed to improve since they first travelled to space. Hunk had flashed a wide smile, thanking him in between the bites of his food. Then the table had lapsed into silence all over again.

As another attempt of discussion, Pidge mentioned about how they were trying to figure out a way to wormhole without Allura's power but the mention of the princess was enough to thicken the tension. Keith had stabbed his food much harder than necessary, his lips pursed. Despite the nausea making a home in his chest, he pressed the goop to his lips and took a bite.

After a few awkward moments, Keith gave up trying to eat. He just grabbed a plate, piling the leftover food onto it so that he could take it to Lance. He walked down the halls at a rapid pace, his steps heavy as rage lingered. He rapped on Lance's door, waiting for a response.

"Is it Keith by any chance?" His voice wasn't as shaky: a good sign.

"Yep. I brought you some food."

"You didn't need to." The sound of something shuffling behind the door filled the air but the door didn't open.

"I don't want my friend to starve. You kind of need to open the door though..."

"I look like shit, Keith. I'm okay."

Keith smiled, shifting the plate from his right hand into his left as he stared at the wall. "I'm sure you don't look shit. Even if you do, it's totally understandable."

"I'm not opening the door. Sorry, Keith."

"I'll just leave it outside for you then. Make sure you eat it, okay?"

"Mhm." Lance pressed his ear against the door so he could make out the sound of Keith's footsteps as he walked away. He counted to thirty in his head before opening up the door and taking the food back into his room. His hair was a mess on his head and he hadn't changed from his pyjamas in a couple of days. Other than that, he didn't look too different.

The one thing that stood out to Lance and made him feel ugly was his skin. When he traced his cheeks with his hand, it was rough as opposed to its usual soft feel. He had been skipping his routine, not feeling up to pulling himself out of bed to pile a bunch of products onto his skin. Lance stared into the food and a tiny smile tugged at his lips: Keith cared about him enough to bring him his food. His stomach had been growling at him but he wasn't ready to face the rest of the paladins just yet.

He wrapped his hands around the cutlery before taking a bite of the food.

-

"You're distracted," Shiro murmured, breathing heavily as he pressed his hands into Keith's shoulders. The red paladin's face was the colour of his armour and his hair was flat against his face beneath his helmet. "You need to focus."

Keith didn't say anything before shoving Shiro backwards. The taller man was quick to steady himself, darting to the side so that Keith couldn't repeat the same attack.

"Come on, channel your power. I know you can do it."

Keith let out a long growl, grabbing Shiro's left arm with his right hand, twisting it so it was behind the black paladin's back. Shiro gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed tight in pain. "That better?"

"Only if you pay attention." Shiro grinned before using his metal arm to flip Keith over and knock him to the floor. The red paladin hit the floor with a loud ​thump​.

"Well played," Shiro slapped his hand against Keith's to pull him back up onto his feet. "Looks like I'm not quite on your level yet. I've been slacking with training."

"That isn't your fault. We've all been distracted."

"I'm worried about Lance," Keith blurted out, refusing to meet Shiro's gaze. When a hand laid on his shoulder, he tensed up but still didn't look up. "He hasn't left his room in quintants."

"We're all worried, Keith," Surprisingly, Hunk was the one to speak up, his face soft with empathy. "He hasn't shut himself away like this since..."

"Since what?"

"Since his last girlfriend broke up with him back on earth. They were together for over a year and it destroyed him. He didn't leave his room for anything but food for weeks."

"How'd you coax him out?" Shiro asked, wrapping an arm around Keith's torso and pulling him closer. Keith frowned but melted into the contact.

"We didn't. We just had to give him time and, eventually, he came out."

"It can't be safe," Keith whispered, subconsciously letting his head fall back into Shiro's chest. "Cooping himself up in his room... What if the Galra attack? We'll be screwed."

"You won't be able to get him out." Hunk shook his head.

"I've been talking to him and I haven't even been able to get him to open the door."

"We just have to be patient."

-

A couple of quintants passed of Lance locking himself in his room and Shiro decided to optimise their use of time. He had taken all of the lions out into space (with the exception of Blue) and they were attempting to form the wormhole with Black. Red, Yellow and Green lagged behind and watched as Black sped forward. Shiro leant forward, his hands tightly gripping the controls as he pushed the lion forward. He waited for something-​ anything​- to happen but... nothing.

"Do you expect the wormhole to just appear if you fly like a lunatic?" Keith said into the coms, only gaining an unamused grunt in response.

In unison, both Keith and Pidge called, "Coran?" The ginger haired man stared out at Black through the screens in the castle.

"Uh... I don't believe I know how it happens. It just... does."

Black swerved to the side and halted facing the other lions. "Any ideas guys?"

"We unlocked new weapons naturally when the lions thought we needed them. Do you feel any urges to do anything?" Hunk offered, biting his lip as he stared out at Black.

"I feel the urge to go back into the castle and give up."

Keith's gasp transported through the coms. "Shiro? Giving up? That's unheard of. It's almost as if he's been replaced with a clone!"

"Not again." Pidge groaned, following it through with a soft chuckle. "That's the thing that only happens to someone once in a life."

"Uh... I don't think this is an appropriate joke... Shiro like... died." (I know the timeline of this book is messed up and I just realised after having watched season 6 and 7 again recently butttt deal with it because this joke is funny) Hunk, being the voice of reason, muttered. Pidge let out a snort before spinning Green around to face the Castle of Lions again.

"We giving up?" They asked; the question lingered in the air for a moment before Shiro responded.

"Looks like it. I think we could do some research. Maybe Coran could see if there are any books on it in the library."

Hi, I've got some important stuff to say so it would be cool if you read this author's note. I've decided to take a break. I have some really important exams next month that will determine whether I get into the university I want. I need to dedicate more time to revision and that means I will have to stop writing for a bit.

I might update every so often but I certainly won't be keeping my schedule. This will only be until June 20th (my last exam) so just bear with me and be patient. I'm not giving up on writing and this book WILL be finished eventually! I just need time. I hope you understand :)