Lance's Boys: Part One

Lance could barely keep his eyes open. He hadn't wanted to sleep in case something happened and he would be caught unawares, but as the hours ticked by and there was no word from the desert base about his son, Pidge had ordered him to bed. They'd fought but when Lance's vision went double for a moment, he conceded defeat. Gwen made sure he went back to his quarters but to his relief, she did not tuck him into bed. He laid down on top of the sheets, his head resting on the single pillow and he closed his eyes, but sleep remained elusive. All he could think was that Jack was fighting for his life and he could not be there with him. Not only that, Jason was in the same vicinity as Lotor and was now on his way to some backwater Drule planet. And he was stuck on Arus, underground, with a bum leg.

It was a situation he could not have dreamed up in his worst nightmares. When he'd first learned he was going to be a father, he'd been elated...then terrified. When Jack proved to be the handful, learning he'd be a father the second time had made him vow that he would get as much sleep as possible before the second kid arrived. To his relief, Jason had been a sweet baby, sleeping often and crying even less, but when he was old enough to idolize his brother, there was twice the trouble. More than once, Lance had wanted to run away and hide in Keith's study, but Link would have his head if he did that. As his job was not nearly as time consuming as hers by the time Jack and Jason were old enough to drive them crazy, he spent a lot more time with the boys. He didn't mind so much the fact that he'd become a househusband, but that he had his hands full raising a pair of hellions.

Of course, as they got older, Lance began to enjoy their company. Jack was fearless, determined to see things through to the end and Jason was smart--smarter than he was, he was proud to admit--which was how he managed to get himself into scrapes that often puzzled Lance. He supposed that was why he was so afraid of what might happen on Prinoth. When Jack had left for the Academy, he'd experienced something like empty nest syndrome but Jason was there to make sure that the house was still full of noise. Then when Jason left, Lance thought the silence would kill him.

Remembering the boy Jack had been made it hard for Lance to think that that same boy was the pilot of the Black Lion and leading the Voltron Force. If he had been made to choose years ago to guess which son would end up in that position, he would have said Jason. Not because he did not think Jack could do it, but he did not think Jack would want it. If there was one thing Jack despised, it was too much responsibility, but he accepted Keith's request, only hesitating because it was being taken away from his best friend...and the woman he loved. Lance was sure Jack did not think anyone knew how he felt, but he recognized the look on his son's face.

As for Jason, Academy life had settled well on him and he was consistently near the top of his class. He was prevented from being at the top by his own mischief. Even though Lance stood by Link's side when she berated Jason for whatever trouble he got himself in--ranging from sabotaging a professor's groundcar to spew pink smoke to setting off a succession of stink bombs in the freshman dorms--he was glad that Jason wasn't too serious. He needed to have that balance in his life and it gained him plenty of friends, which did not surprise Lance in the least. Of course, that was before all this...

The summer before Jason left, Jack had just graduated and was home on furlough before his first assignment. Lance had gathered them up and ignoring the grumbling, took them on a camping trip. He had wanted some time alone with his boys before they set off on their own and it had taken some fast talking on his part to get Link to stay home. In the house that they left in Voltronia, there was a picture of the three of them at their campsite, taken by a camera with a timer. He was sure that it was gone, along with the rest of their possessions, but he did not need to have it in his hands to see it. A sad smile creasing his face, he thought back to that time and remembered.

Four years earlier...

Jason tripped and fell much to his brother's raucous laughter and Lance stifled a chuckle. He helped himself up and brushed himself off, glaring at them both. He looked a lot like Lance except for the gray eyes he and his brother inherited from their mother, but there was a little bit more seriousness in him that Lance never had. That wasn't to say that Jason didn't enjoy his fun...but Lance thought that maybe his youngest son was going to fit in better at the Academy than he did. Jack teased Jason plenty about liking books and reading, but he'd told Lance more than once that it would help Jason's grades a lot. Neither Jack nor Lance was a big reader and that fact reflected on their past grades, so Lance could not help but agree.

"What did you pack anyway," Jack was asking his brother. "I can run with this thing on my back."

"Well, I haven't had PT everyday for the last four years so I'm a little out of shape, "Jason groused, adjusting his backpack. "Can't you carry the pots and pans, Dad?"

"I've got the tent," Lance said. "Jack's got the food. The one pan is yours, Jay."

"I don't know why you wanted to go camping anyway. You always said that we evolved so that we wouldn't have to sleep outside and pee in a hole."

"Stop bitching," Jack chided, giving him a shove.

Lance caught Jason before the fourteen-year-old could fall again and gave his older son a look. Jack just grinned disarmingly and shrugged. The Arusian sun was getting high in the sky and the heat of the day was beginning to beat down on them. Fortunately, they were on the edges of the biggest forest near Voltronia, Greenleaf Forest at the foot of the mountains. Their campsite was halfway up the mountain, a place that Lance had been to once when Keith had dragged him, Pidge, and Hunk on a much needed vacation. He'd enjoyed himself immensely but that was the first time Lance had uttered the famous quote that Jason had just repeated.

"I've got it all covered," Lance assured Jason. "There will be no peeing in holes, but there's not much I can do about sleeping outside."

"I love the outdoors," Jack said, throwing his arms out and taking a deep breath. "You two are like a bunch of women with all your whining and fear of holes. We're men. We can pee anywhere."

"Wait until you get eaten alive by mosquitos," Jason pointed out. "You didn't put on any of the spray that Mom gave us."

"Spray is for sissies."

"You might want to be a sissy for this one, Jack," Lance warned him. "The mosquitos up on the mountain are mutants. You're going to be itching for a week."

"I'll be fine."

Lance and Jason exchanged a look.

"Then I don't wanna hear you bitching," Jason said.

They tromped through the woods as Jack waxed poetic about the wildlife and Jason tried not to fall on his face. A smile flitted on and off Lance's face as he listened to them bicker, added his own thought or two, and he was sure that Link would be shocked if she knew that he'd stayed quiet for ten minutes. But he just wanted to listen to his boys talk, to soak in their presence while he still could. If they knew what he was thinking, they would rag him until he had to fight back and that was just fine with him. He was proud that he raised a couple of smartasses.

By the time they made it to the foot of the mountain, Jason's clothes were soaked through with sweat and Jack had to drink half his canteen of water because his throat was dry. Lance wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and looked up at the path they were going to take. Jack followed his eyes, his lips twisting.

"You sure about this, Dad? I mean we can set up camp right here. It's nice, leafy."

"It'll be worth it. Trust me."

"That scares me," Jason said.

Lance ruffled his damp hair, and made a face at Jason when he had to wipe his hand on his pants to get the sweat off.

"Relax, kid. It's under control. Maybe you should get a walking stick though."

They drew straws over who was going to climb the tree and Jack lost. Shrugging off his pack, he shimmied up the tree easily and broke off three stout branches for them. Then...he looked down. Lance saw the color drain from his son's face and wondered if there was a bear around. He looked around and saw nothing. Jason stared up at his brother, confused.

"What?" he called up.

"I...uh...I didn't realize how high I was," he said.

Lance and Jason looked at each and broke into laughter.

"No, I'm serious!" Jack exclaimed. "It's high!"

"You fly fighters, Jack! You can't tell me you're scared of heights," Lance laughed.

"I'm safe in a fighter," Jack replied, hanging onto the trunk for dear life. "I didn't know I was scared of heights until now."

"You're not really that safe in a fighter, you know," Jason pointed out.

"Are you enjoying yourself? Are you? Because I am about to throw myself right on top of you," Jack yelled.

"Alright, no one's getting thrown anywhere," Lance said, standing in front of Jason in case Jack came through on his threat. "You don't really want me to come up there and help you down, right? Come on, Jack. If you just hang from that branch, you can drop right down on the ground. You're a big boy now..."

"Just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"No, I couldn't. Just do it, alright? I want to get to the campsite before sunset. Come on, Jack, it's just a tree."

Muttering things that Lance was sure he didn't want to hear, Jack made his way to the branch and keeping his eyes pointed at the branch and only the branch, he slowly got a grip on it. Jason and Lance waited for him, careful to not look at each other or else risk laughing and making Jack lose his grip. As graceful as a cat, Jack landed in front of them. Lance handed him his walking stick.

"That's enough excitement for today," he said.

"Your concern is touching, Dad," Jack said sarcastically.

Lance clapped him on the shoulder.

"I knew you could do it. If I thought you were gonna be stuck in that tree all day, I would have climbed up."

"And risk breaking a hip if you fell? I wouldn't do that to you."

"The things I do for my children."

Jack smiled reluctantly.

"At least we learned something new today," Lance said. "If there is a cat stuck in a tree..."

"Shut up, Dad."