I just re-read "Cold in your Bones" and I like to imagine that, while lance is talking with blue, Shiro tells Allura(and maybe keith) why Lance was so upset. which works out cause they plan to get everyone and talk to him, but lance already planned on doing it. so everyone has a big ol' talk and hug it out about everything. Keith probably gets super emotional once he learns why lance was so upset, and Lance hugs him a bunch.
Yeah, still kind of regret that I didn’t write an epilogue for that. I guess I could always do a sequel, but I would need some kind of plot…
Anyway, yes, while Lance was talking to Blue, Shiro was seeking out the rest of the team. They had all known that Lance was depressed, of course, but none of them had put together WHY. They all thought it was the trauma of his experience down in the ice cell, not anxiety over his bond with Blue and deep-reaching self-esteem issues. But once they begin comparing notes, Hunk realizes that Lance told him from the beginning that “it wasn’t working,” meaning his bond with Blue. Pidge realizes that Lance was asking about her bond with Green because he was worried about his. Keith realizes that when Lance was talking about how he wasn’t good enough and he couldn’t measure up to Keith, it wasn’t about combat abilities so much as about Keith’s closeness with Red.
And Allura and Coran are both just kind of horrified on the outskirts of the discussion. Coran is tearing at his hair because he HEARD Lance that first day when they brought him back, when he was babbling deliriously and going on and on about how he was sorry, he would do better, he didn’t mean to mess things up, and Coran hadn’t realized what it meant. And Allura is almost paralyzed with guilt because SHE was the one who thought she could diplomat her way out of that situation and wouldn’t let the other paladins go after Lance as soon as he started screaming, the way they all wanted to. Shiro and Keith had worked together to stop Blue from getting to Lance, yes, but it had all stemmed from her insistence that she could fix things with words, and she (in her mind) had completely failed to do that.
So when Lance comes out of Blue (much later) he’s already planning to talk to everyone and clear the air. And he halts at the bottom of the ramp in surprise, because everyone is waiting for him on the floor of the hangar, and every single one of them is a WRECK. Hunk runs out of nowhere to tackle-hug him to the ground, and then everyone is crowding around, trying to talk, trying to apologize, and Lance is just wheezing and waving his hands, “it’s okay, it’s OKAY, I get it now, I UNDERSTAND, it’s okay!” (But also he kinda likes the attention, not gonna lie, it feels good to have everyone he cares about, including Blue, right there telling him that he’s not a screw-up, that it wasn’t his fault, that they love him and want him and need him right where he is.)
And yes, there are many, many hugs, and lots of tears, and Lance continually assuring everyone, as much as they are assuring him, that it wasn’t their fault, no one is to blame, Shiro and Allura and Keith all made the best decisions they could with the information they had and he’s okay with it, he really is, though, thank you for the hug, Keith, yes, you’re getting better at them, I didn’t mistake it for a grapple this time, oh and Coran, you’re amazing, Pidge and Hunk too, the best, have I said that, the best, thanks, Shiro, love you man, don’t feel bad, Princess, don’t feel bad, don’t feel bad.
It goes on for quite a while. And everything is as good as it can be in the end, though there’s still a lot of healing to do. Depression isn’t cured in an instant, not when it’s had that long to build up, and Lance still needs to be reminded to eat enough at meals, to hang out with people instead of hiding in his room or with Blue. But he lets the others remind him that they care, and he does his best to continue reconnecting with everyone, and they’re on the way.