Experience Tumblr Like Never Before
For Lance’s birthday, without fail, he would be woken up with a storm of song and family members streaming one by one into his room. He would giggle and laugh as they snatched him up onto their shoulders and carried him into the kitchen, where he’d be practically drowned in pancakes and turrones and arroz con leche. For hours on end, he would be pampered and cuddled, have his nails painted and his hair twisted into hundreds of tiny ponytails. And then, when the sun was going down, he would be paraded outside once more, to a huge picnic laid out on the lawn. Every single one of his favorite dishes would be at his fingertips, and he’d eat until he thought he was going to explode. His mama would then gently scoop him up and carry him to bed, the family singing one last chorus of Happy Birthday and peppering him with sticky kisses before the day was over.
In the Castle of Lions, Lance didn’t even remember his birthday. It took him two hours of laying in bed to realize the sinking feeling in his gut, to realize that this would be his first birthday all alone. Even at the Garrison, his parents had snuck in to give him his cake, and the rest of the family had sang to him through a video call. But here... he didn’t even have that. For just a second, he hoped that Hunk might remember and bake him something, some kind of luxury food goo. Blue, instead of neon green. But Hunk had been away for his birthday last year, some kind of family issue, and Pidge had been too engrossed in some kind of coding that she had barely said a thing to him that whole week. Besides, the Paladins had far more pressing matters than a simple birthday.
Throwing on his jacket and lacing up his sneakers with heavy hands, Lance walked out into the hall, accompanied by the pneumatic swish of the door. He ambled aimlessly down the corridors, rounding corners and turning around and around until he realized where his feet seemed to be pulling him. The hangar- the Blue Lion’s hangar was somewhere he could always just be, no matter how he felt, and he would always find a sense of calm. Grinning ever so slightly, he strode into the central hub and- he slammed directly into Allura, sending the packets in her hands flying. ”Lance!” she stuttered, seemingly surprised at his appearance. “What are you doing out here?” Dropping to his knees, he scrabbled for the packets, quickly handing them back to her. ”I... Uh, I wanted to go see the Blue Lion?”At her worried look, he added “Is that alright?” ”Oh, of course! It’s just that, uh... Hunk was doing some maintenance down there! One of the ceiling panels was loose and in danger of falling... Let me check in with him.” Her earrings lighting up, Allura quickly asked Hunk if everything was ready, and at his affirmation, nodded at Lance. Together, they strolled down the passageways, making small talk and pleasantries, nothing of importance, nothing about the war. At the swoosh of the doors, he stepped inside, ready for time alone with his favorite giant robot lion. So when he heard the uproarous cheer of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LANCE!!” he stopped dead, hands flying up to press across his mouth. He turned to Allura, on the brink of tears as she grinned softly at him, gesturing toward his friends. “Happy birthday, Lance.” His first few steps into the hangar were shaky, almost scared, as if he feared this was all a dream and he would wake up at any second. But moment by moment, he began to move faster, striding, running, sprinting. Hunk was standing there, right there, with open arms, almost knocked off his feet by Lance’s near leap into his arms. He grinned down at the boy practically sobbing into his chest, murmuring “Happy birthday, man. Cumpleaños feliz.”
Shiro was next in line for hugs. He wrapped Lance warmly, if a bit stiffly, into his arms, patting him gently on the back. “I am so, so proud of you, Lance.” Those words were whispered so quietly into his ear, but Lance seared every letter into his brain. A new wave of tears threatened to fall, and he could feel his nose running like the wind. Pidge didn’t waste time on sentimentalities. Whacking him right between his shoulder blades, she smirked up at him, grinding her knuckles affectionately against his head. “You’d better throw me a party like this for my birthday. Or else.” Her laugh honestly bordered on evil. “But seriously, man, happy birthday.
Keith, of course, made everything as awkward as humanly possible. “So... Uh... we made you this...” He thrust a brightly wrapped box into Lance’s arms. “And... uh...” He turned around to whisper something to Hunk. “Coomplayannos fleas? Is that it?” Lance swiped haphazardly at the fat tears rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t even bring myself to hate you right now... ” He smiled sheepishly at Keith, oblivious to the other boy’s bright red cheeks. “You know what? Thanks man.”
As Pidge strapped a rainbow party hat to his head, Lance stared wide eyed around the hangar. Streamers and some kind of alien ballons were hung in every possible place, confetti and glitter he knew would never fully disappear from the castle were strewn all over the floor. Even the Blue Lion itself was draped in an enormous HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner. All the trouble everyone must have gone to for this... Lance was gobsmacked. He couldn’t begin to process all that was happening “Lance... why are you crying?” Coran had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, looking deeply concerned. “We threw this party for you. We thought you’d like it.” Running his sleeve over his nose and puffy eyes, Lance beamed at the Altean. “I am! I am... so, so happy. I just didn’t expect anyone to remember.” Immediately, he was smooshed into the center of a clumsy, giant group hug and he could already feel his eyes watering again. He just couldn’t stop crying, could he?
It was just.. it was too perfect- the failed attempt to sing Happy Birthday in spanish, the speaker in the background blaring a mix of pop and Carlos Santana, the cake - how did they manage to get a cake in the middle of space? - decorated with a crudely drawn lion in blue icing... It wasn’t home, that’s for sure. He didn’t have his family or his picnic or his arroz con leche. He didn’t have his Mama and Papa right there beside him, his sisters trying to curl his hair, his crazy tia Lola trying to kidnap him... But what he had was a family of another kind. A family of misfits and rejects and Defenders of the Universe. He had cake and aliens and a giant blue cat, and... that was okay. Wiping his eyes for what felt like the millionth time, he smiled. “You guys are the best.” Leaning deeper into the hug, he sighed happily. “Yeah...Happy birthday to me.”