Pidge: (muttering) “I am way to sober for this. KEITH!!! LANCE!!! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE NOW!”
Veronica: “Sorry Pidge, I just didn’t know who else to call. They don’t listen.”
Pidge: “No worries. Sadly this isn’t even the silliest thing they have ever done.”
Both girls are staring at Keith and Lance…who are currently having a ‘contest’ of who can swing the highest. Unfortunately they ARE both drunk and it looks like they are just hanging on the swings, talking to each other.
Pidge turns to Veronica and says, “Please tell me you took pictures.”
The interest check for Queens of the Night, a charity Veracxa zine taking place in the flower shop/tattoo parlor AU, is now open! It will remain open until June 1!
So I created this on my phone while being in 'a party'. If you don't know who this is, it's VLD's Veronica. AKA Lance's sister. Honestly, I love using thin lines for this. I might try using thin lines instead in the future. I miss the VLD. (even though s8 was a bit crap)
(In 2019, we unabashedly love the things we love even if the show went down in flames.)
I know I won’t be able to keep up with every day, but I wanted to write a few things this month for The Boy! I recently wrote something about post-canon Lance and Veronica (very similar to this actually, my bad), so I wanted to try pre-canon. I love their dynamic and the potential it has. (Is this cheesy? A little. Do I care? Absolutely not.)
enjoy! (prompt list by @julance2019 !)
TITLE: “A Starland Fairytale”
Living out away from the city had its perks, Lance decided, each night he went out during summer.
A mere ten years old, with crudely drawn map in hand, a thrift shop pilot’s jacket barely hanging onto his small shoulders, he took to climbing out the window of his room every night and watching the stars and the night go by.
His mother was constantly worried about him falling off – “just be careful!” “I know, Mom! Besides if I fall, I can land on my feet!” “You’re going to give me a heart attack, mijo” – but she knew he was doing no harm. She was glad that he had taken such a genuine interest in something productive. She had yet to learn that Lance had been hoarding pamphlets from the Galaxy Garrison’s trips to his school, but that would come later. Right now, he drew pictures and dreamt every night of taking to the stars.
Orion’s Belt was out and proud tonight. He held his hands up, like he were admiring a new painting, and watched stars glimmer between his small fingers.
Veronica, just a couple years older, watched him from the window, with a small smile creeping up. “You really do this every night?” she called out, a gentle laugh tacking on to the end of her words.
Lance turned around and immediately stuck his tongue out, but still, he also laughed. “Of course. How else am I supposed to go to space? I gotta know what I’m getting into,” he explained, beckoning her to join him on the roof.
She crinkled her nose a bit. “I’m not going out there.”
His smile turned into a what would later be trademarked as his shit-eating grin. “Scared?”
“No I’m not scared. I’m just reasonable.”
“Come on! Please!”
They went back and forth for a bit, Lance jumping up and down on the roof, before she gave in – only if he would stop doing that– and climbed out to join him. She sat patiently and looked at all of his belongings, curiously filing it away in the back of her mind – she was impressed that something genuinely got Lance to just sit down and take in the world as it came and went.
“Okay. Take me through it. What do you do?” she asked. He stood and held his map proudly.
“I’ve been learning where all the constellations are, and with that, you can also sort of make out where the planets would be. They’re super far though, so you can’t really see them,” he answered with a confidence of someone who had been doing this for years. “I should get a telescope.”
She nodded along, and looked up into the ever-present light of Polaris. “Do you want one for your birthday?”
“Yes.”
His eyes got bigger than that very same North Star, and she knew she had stricken the right nerve. “Alright, alright – I’ll help you slip that note to Mom and Dad.”
He grinned from ear to ear – truth be told, with all his siblings and with all the work to be done, neither of them were sure if Mr. and Mrs. Serrano would actually be able to get him one, but they would certainly do their best. They had two of the kindest hearts this side of the universe; this love reflected in their youngest, a loud, beating heart for everything and everyone.
Veronica hoped that nothing would ever crush his spirit.
“Can I show you something?” Lance suddenly said, breaking their trance. Veronica nodded, and he pulled out the Galaxy Garrison pamphlets. She furrowed her brow as she read them.
“Oh you were being serious about going to space,” she found herself saying. Lance’s bright look dimmed a bit, but his smile didn’t waver.
He braced himself as he replied, “Of course I was! Them coming in was the best day of the year. I know I can’t go just yet, but I wanna work really hard to!”
“Have you told Mom or Dad about this?”
Lance sat down, and looked away from her again. “Nah. Not yet.”
“This is kind of a big deal, kiddo. I mean, it’s super cool. But it could be dangerous.”
“I know, I know—”
“Do you?”
The siblings’ eyes met, both filled with a different strain of the same emotion – fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough, fear of—maybe even a fear of being afraid.
“I… I promise. I can do it. I’ll work really hard. And they’ll be proud of me.”
She scooted closer to him, and his head naturally fell on her shoulder. “They already are.”
“I know.” His lips pursed a bit in thought. “I just wanna be great. You know? I want to do something that matters.”
Veronica couldn’t help but briefly think about a very old Bradbury book she had recently read for English class – he sounded just like the young boy, questioning his purpose. Lance’s heart was steeled, certain of his world as it was in his young life.
“Those are some big thoughts.” She nodded, and ruffled his hair. “But you’re on a good path.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. I do.” A beat passed, and her smile returned. “You just might be the greatest of us all one day.”
“That’s cheesy.”
“Hush up and take the compliment, kid.”
All he could do was dream. All she could do was hope he would be alright.
