Hey guys! This prompt was suggested by Lula5208. Can't remember the exact wording but it was something like "lance has a nightmare and the team comfort him" or something. So here ya go :D

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Lance held his bayard out protectively in front of him, looking down the barrel as he aimed at the ugly monster blocking his path. The creature had yet to face him, its slate-coloured fur being all Lance could see.

The creature shifted to the side, and Lance gasped as his family came into view, faces and bodies morphing into each other. His papa became Pidge, who became his mother, who became Hunk. All five of the chained prisoners in front of him switched between those he loved.

The monster's teeth glinted in the shadows, watching Lance, waiting for a moment to strike.

Coran morphed into Lance's niece as he watched, tears of anguish streaming down her— no, his face- It was his older brother now.

He watched as his mama shrunk, face fading in to that of Keith's, staring deep into his soul.

The monster growled, lashing out at the prisoner closest to it. Shiro- no, his tía. Claws tore through clothes, hair, skin. It was only a matter of seconds before the monster came at his next prey.

Lance tried to scream, but no sound came out as he was forced to watch in horror as the hunkering monster murdered his family, one by one. They stopped flickering as they fell, bodies hidden in shadows so Lance was not sure who it was anymore.

The monster retreated into the darkness once more, claws scratching into the ground as it backed away.

Only his sister Leonie remained behind. Of all the people in Lance's big family, it had to be his oldest sister. It wasn't fair that she was the last.

"I thought you loved us, Lance," she said, tears trailing down her cheeks. She couldn't reach her hands up to her face to wipe them away, letting them fall. Leonie turned away from Lance, unable to hide a sob.

"I do!" Lance cried, hands shaking. His grip was tight on his bayard, but he wasn't able to aim through his tears. "I do, I swear I do!"

Lance stretched out a hand, begging silently for forgiveness. She stared at him horrified, curling away from him. "I thought you loved us," she repeated, voice no louder than a whisper. "How could you let this happen to us?"

The monster howled, leaping forwards once more, claws outstretched and fangs bared. Lance could do nothing as he watched as his sister be killed, his darling sister.

The monster turned to face Lance, the dull thud of Leonie's body sounding from behind its form. It glowered at him for an instant, stalking forwards.

Lance tried to aim at the monster's heart, hands shaking and heart pounding too much to do any good. It continued forwards, stepping faster and faster as it closed in on him.

All at once, it leaped into the air, leading with its claws aimed directly at Lance's chest.

Unable to do anything, Lance stood, staring. Deep down, he felt as if he deserved this- the same fate as his family. A darkness was locked away beneath his heart, a darkness that welcomed death.

Lance closed his eyes, knowing that the monster's fangs were going to be the last thing he ever saw.

A chain clashed, followed by the sound of claws on stone, not flesh.

Lance cracked open one eye, trying to process why he wasn't dead.

The monster was shackled to the wall, stopping just short of reaching him. If Lance took a single step forwards, he would be torn to shreds.

Haggar appeared between the monster and Lance, sadistic smile forming on her lips from underneath her hood. The monster didn't attack, only shadowed her like a giant pet dog. She lifted up the weapon in her hands; a blue assault rifle.

Lance's eyes widened as he recognised it, staring down at his empty hands.

Haggar was holding his own bayard.

"It's your fault!" Haggar shrieked, aiming the rifle at his chest. "You're the reason they're dead!"

Lance didn't have time to register the blue laser beam before it hit him dead on, tearing through armour as if it were nothing.

Lance screamed, Haggar cackling before disappearing once more, leaving him staring at the face of the monster.

He doubled over, wheezing in pain as he tried to look anywhere but its eyes. Its fur was brighter now; a solid blue colour rather than the dark slate it had been before. It was clean, no blood streaking through the colour or patches hardened and dried in place.

"Your fault!" Haggar's voice echoed. Lance squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to drown out her voice whispering in his ear.

Your fault, your fault, your fault.

Lance's eyes snapped open, finding himself face-to-face with the monster.

"Your fault." It whispered.

Or rather, his own refection whispered, staring back at him. Cold, void of all emotion but a glimmer of triumph.

Lance woke up, face wet with both sweat and his own tears.

He curled up in the corner of his bed, drawing his blanket closer around him and shuddering. It wasn't the first nightmare he'd had on board the castle ship, but it was certainly the most vivid. He sat there for a while, not moving.

His eyes started to droop shut, but they snapped open again as he saw the monster seared on the back of his eyelids. Not again. He couldn't witness that horror again.

Lance ran a hand through his damp hair, grimacing at how slick it was under his hand. The messy curls stayed sticking upright, but he didn't bother flattening them down.

The clock by his side beeped the hour, and Lance startled, glancing over. He had another four hours before waking time. Though his eyes stung from being kept open, he was not comfortable with falling back asleep. Lance feared he would only watch his family die again.

He slowly crept to the side of his bed, throwing off the covers. Maybe he would take a shower, try to forget.

It was the only thing he could think of.

Lance stood under the spray of water, staring at the wall. The showers on the castle were surprisingly simple in design, very similar to earth showers. The only discernible difference Lance knew was that the water was lavender in colour, and tended to stain if you stayed under too long. Counter-productive, Lance thought. Try to get clean only to make it worse.

He'd laughed when Keith arrived to breakfast one day purple, scowl as firm as ever.

He wasn't laughing now.

With that thought in mind, Lance shut off the water, wrapping himself in a fluffy blue towel. Everything was colour coded here- his towel, the bed sheets, his pyjamas. What he wouldn't give for some pops of another colour.

Maybe Hunk would be willing to swap pillowcases if he asked.

Though that didn't really matter if he was going to get woken up by nightmares anyway. No point worrying about a pillow that he wouldn't be sleeping on.

Lance sighed, stepping out of his room into the hall. He stood there for a moment, unsure of where to go.

Eventually Lance decided, and turned to head for the kitchens. He guessed he could hang out there and wait for his team to rise.

Flicking on the light, Lance squinted at the sudden brightness that assaulted his eyes, creating a bright spot in his vision as he quickly turned his head away from the light source. He really needed to stop doing that. It was a terrible habit.

He flopped down on to one of the chairs, leaning over to cradle his head in his crossed arms, half-strewn over the table.

Before he even registered his fatigue, Lance had fallen asleep.

Lance stood with his bayard drawn, although this time it was aimed carefully at something that Lance couldn't yet see.

He was watching.

Waiting.

There!

He breathed out, calming himself to take proper aim. His finger twitched on the trigger, but he waited. Not until it was closer.

One more breath, the air passing between his lips fogging up in the cold.

He let loose three short bursts of blue laser as something flashed with movement.

It screamed.

Lance paled immediately. He knew that voice, he knew that scream.

It was a scream Lance had heard all his life. She was a magnet for trouble, always seeming to be injured. She was a brave soul, willing to push herself to extremes. Her scream was either a laugh or a cry, but both were as recognisable to Lance as the face that went with it.

"Izzy..." Lance breathed, bayard disappearing into his armour in a burst of light.

She was only ten months older than him, the short gap in age bringing them closer than to any of his other siblings.

Isabel.

"Izzy!" Lance shouted, running forward. "Izzy, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I—"

He never finished his sentence.

Isabel's hands shot out, grabbing him by the throat. His sister's petite hands turned purple, claws forming and digging into his skin. Galra hands, growing and lifting him off the ground.

"It's your fault." The galra growled.

Lance didn't try to deny it, throat choked with sobs.

It was his fault. He had done this. He had killed Isabel. His closest sister.

Lance cried out as he opened his eyes to the bright lights of the kitchen, flailing and nearly falling from his chair.

"Lance!" Shiro said, reaching out with quick reflexes and catching him. Lance pulled back almost instantly, still half in his nightmare.

"You were crying," Shiro said quietly, withdrawing his hand and resting on the edge of the table. He watched Lance with concern, but didn't make any moves. Through his haziness, Lance figured Shiro was no stranger to nightmares.

"I- I- I-" Lance couldn't get the words out, trying his hardest not to sob.

A hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

The warmth was familiar and Lance subconsciously leaned into the touch, before turning to bury his face in Hunk's stomach.

Hunk wrapped his arms protectively around his best friend, pulling him up into a proper hug and rubbing his back in gentle circles.

"We're here now," Hunk said, hushing Lance as he cried into his chest. "We're all here for you."

Pidge bit her lip as she watched, unsure of what to say. Instead, she reached out and rested her hand on Lance's shoulder. Keith stepped forward and did the same, though he hesitated for a moment, before Hunk nodded in approval.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Hunk asked after Lance's breathing evened out marginally.

He kept his face buried, shaking his head.

"I just want to forget." He said quietly, squeezing Hunk a tiny bit tighter.

"Okay buddy, that's fine."

"Whatever you saw, Lance, it's not real," Shiro said finally, pushing up from his seat on the edge of the table and approaching. "None of that will happen with us here for you." He was about to place his hand on Lance's back, next to Hunk's, when Lance's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

Shiro watched in confusion as Lance wriggled out from his place between the other paladins, hand still firmly gripping Shiro's wrist. He stared up at the black paladin for a moment, before focussing on manoeuvring his hand, resting two fingers at the base of his hand.

"Lance?"

He didn't respond verbally, only glancing up again.

"That's my prosthetic."

Realising his mistake, Lance dropped Shiro's arm and reached for the other one. He complied, holding it out to Lance so he could feel for the pulse.

Lance sighed in relief as he found the steady beat, squeezing Shiro's hand before turning to Hunk.

Realising what was going on, Hunk took Lance's hand in his own, the size difference almost comical. Lance smiled at him in appreciation, feeling for Hunk's pulse. Finding it, he turned to Pidge.

She caught on, nodding and holding out her own wrist.

Keith still looked at a loss at what was going on, but he held his arm out all the same.

Lance smiled weakly at him, taking Keith's hand and feeling for the heartbeat.

He frowned, adjusting his fingers and waiting again. When he still found nothing, he snatched up Keith's other arm. "Are you...?"

"I'm fine, Lance." He muttered, shifting his weight and leaning back on one leg. Lance continued to frown, readjusting his fingers again. "What are you doi—"

In a flurry, Lance had his fingers at the side of Keith's neck. He let out a heavy sigh after a moment, pulling away and averting his eyes. "...Safe."

"Safe." Keith confirmed, quietly withdrawing from Lance. If anyone noticed his expression or voice crack, they didn't mention it.

"Pidge," Shiro said, turning to the smallest paladin. "Go tell Allura training's off for today. We need some relaxing time."

Together, they all stripped the castle of blankets and pillows, piling them all into the lounge where they proceeded to spend the rest of the day.

Slowly but surely, Lance came back to life. Laughing at a bad pick up line in the movie Pidge was playing on her laptop; gently teasing Keith when he didn't get a reference. His smile grew as the hours wore on.

The nightmares weren't forgotten, but they were replaced by something warmer.

He had his family, and they were here. Maybe not his real family, still on Earth, but a family nonetheless.

Lance huddled closer to Hunk's side, slinging his arm around Keith's shoulder. Pidge lay half-across Hunk's back, her legs kicked over Shiro's as she idly braided Allura's hair. Allura asked questions about the movie, confused at time measurements and human culture, the paladins happy to oblige in answering, either taking turns or speaking over one another to try and get the point across.

It was far from perfect, their little pile in the middle of an empty castle, but it was enough to keep the bad dreams at bay.

Lance wasn't okay, not really. If he were honest, he didn't think any of them really were. Nightmares and fears plagued each of them in the dark, battles in the light.

But they had each other.

And that would have to do.