Genius Lance who got into the garrison on a full ride because of his skills. He isn't allowed to tell anyone so he keeps it a secret (no hunk or pidge)When they go to space he hides it because Hunk, Keith, and Pidge have one specific skill (flying, mechanics, technology) and Lance doesn't want to take it. So he just uses strategies but Shiro and Allura do most of that so he stops. He uses his medical knowledge but Coran insists on using only Altean medicine techniques so Lance basically gives up
Thank you so much for the prompt! I don’t normally write prodigy Lance or things along those lines, so this was kind of interesting to play with. I hope you like it, and here you are with a fill! Enjoy!
Lance had been told from the first time he set foot in a classroom that he was special. His parents had been called in when upon entering, Lance had breezed through his introductory classwork, albeit with penmanship that could be kindly called chicken scratch. The principal’s eyes lit up as he told his parents that he thought their child was a genius, that he had exceptional talent in so many different areas. Lance remembered the look in his father’s eyes as he was told, the way they glazed over and he stared at Lance a little differently. His child was a genius, and for the man from a family that constantly was scrabbling for spare change and odd jobs, that meant more than luck and an advanced education for Lance. That meant money.
His principal wanted to move him up with the older kids, get him through school faster. Later that night, Lance heard his mother arguing.
“He will not, Alonso. He isn’t ready. I want him to have a childhood.” His father did his best to protest, but when Esperanza got that gleam in her eyes there was nothing to be done. He bowed his head, and that was that. Lance went back to school, doing harder work in the corner of the room away from the other children despite his mother’s best efforts. His father was not cruel, he loved him as a father should, but Lance was always aware of his eyes following him. He had a gift, he was expected to put it to use. As a result, Lance pushed himself harder. He made his mind work, he constantly kept himself occupied. He just wanted to be useful.
The Garrison scholarship was a blessing, though admittedly one that Lance took a little too close to heart. He was finally being given the chance to do as everyone expected, but he was excited to get away from his father’s hungry stare, no matter how he tried to hide it. He packed his bags and headed off on full ride, while his parents finally received their due payment. They compensated them for Lance’s attendance, and Lance beamed when he saw his father staring at him with no ulterior motive but the love that was normal.
At the Garrison, things were still easy. Math and engineering and flying all came naturally. He could’ve chosen anything, but there was nothing quite like the feeling of being a pilot. Being one with the sky even if his first love was the ocean was a feeling like no other. He latched on, nails sunk in deep. The Garrison was not exactly thrilled.
He wasn’t allowed to tell anyone of his gifts, not even the roommates he’d come to adore, and he also couldn’t explain why he was so angry when Iverson sat him down and told him that they were going to give him a little longer to make up his mind. Fighter class was full anyways, and there were so many other options. Brains like Lance’s didn’t come by just every day, but he hated that he was held back because of them. When Keith Kogane got expelled though, Lance got to march right on in with a smirk on his lips. He was going to a pilot, expectations be damned. Up in space, however, it seemed that was all he ever got do.
Everyone had some sort of talent. Keith was of course the best pilot of their generation, and Pidge and Hunk were always busy with some tech thing. Lance could do both, but they didn’t appear to want him. He knew strategy, but so did Shiro and Allura. Even Coran was unable to offer anything for him, because the Altean techniques he used to take care of all of them seemed to bring him immeasurable comfort. How was Lance supposed to rob him of that, after his whole planet had been destroyed? He couldn’t do that, and without being able to exercise any of his skills, he was restless, to say the least. He prowled the castle in search of something to do, but came up empty handed. The only thing there was to do was clean, and even then there was only so much he could dust before he got to the more dangerous objects he wasn’t taking his chances with. It was just so irritating, and Lance grew tired of it all. For a time, he gave up.
Lance locked himself in his room when he wasn’t out fighting the universe’s battles, just sitting and sleeping with the lights low and his face smothered in a pillow. There was nothing for him, and he couldn’t stand wandering around the castle like a lost puppy in search of something to occupy his racing mind that just wanted something, anything to work with. He remembered his father’s expectant stare, and the relief Lance felt when he finally followed through on everything he had been waiting to collect on his whole life. He remembered that he’d let him, and everyone else down.
However, one day he saw Shiro and Allura struggling with the star map. That was all it took to remind him that though perhaps he could not act outright, there was still work to be done. Quickly, he fixed that and looked for other troubles to solve. Soon he realized that Pidge and Hunk were stuck on a certain line of code they’d retrieved on their latest recon mission. It took him quite a while to think of how to phrase it delicately, but as he strolled on into their work area to clear dishes from the dinner he’d brought earlier, he dropped a simple hint, disguised in the form of a joke about their predicament. He smiled to himself as he heard them shout in victory as the door shut behind him. It was like that from then on out.
Making quick repairs to Red in the dead of night, things worn out from Keith’s flashy piloting. Dropping a crumpled piece of supposed notes that he’d had in his jacket pockets when they left, from his nursing class. Lies, but it certainly helped Coran work faster upon knowing the details of human anatomy.
Lance might not have been able to devote all his heart to something, but that was alright. He didn’t always have to work himself to death to be helpful, and it was nice to have some time for himself nowadays. He exerted his various gifts in small ways, to make their little world run smoother. He was happy, and for the genius that had had to flaunt his gifts back home, it was a relief to finally work in the shadows.
