A/N: Hello world! I've got a lot of stuff I've been doing lately, including writing stories, but I figured another one wouldn't do too much harm. I was on Instagram when I saw 's amazing art for a deer-like Lance, and so I wanted to give it a try. Also, I started a spam account on Insta as well to post my cheesy art, so look up Blu3Lanc3lot if you're curious XD. Anyways, not sure when I'll finish this seeing as I'm taking college classes, had my wisdom teeth taken out two days ago, and am trying to post art everyday for July, but I'll do my best! It's currently 11:39 pm on 7/1/20.

Caught In The Headlights

Third Person POV

Lance didn't know where he was from, only that he knew he'd been around for a while. He'd traveled through the mountains, always doing his best to smile and be gentle with the forest life that clung to him like freshly fallen snow. Lance supposed it was because he was different; unique. He'd yet to stumble upon another being such as himself. He had seen creatures of similar stature to his own, but never understood what they were saying. They spoke using strange tongues and wide gestures with their arms. While curious, Lance could never really bring himself to care for the loud beings.

He'd been in Colorado when he'd met them. They were a sweet couple, newly weds who were camping in the mountains. Lance hadn't meant to make noise. He considered himself pretty stealthy, actually. It was just his luck that he'd snap a twig on the ground beneath his calloused foot, waking the round woman. She sat bolt upright, and had stared at Lance with shock. It wasn't everyday someone saw a creature such as himself.

Of course Lance froze in place, bright blue eyes wide and terrified, features illuminated by the firelight. Lance was ready to run; the few times he'd encountered the strange beings they'd tried to kill him. This woman though... she smiled at him, a look filled with so much warmth directed towards him that he couldn't help but be confused. She spoke to him, but Lance didn't speak their language. His brows scrunched together and he cocked his head to the side, hoping to display his misunderstandings. The creature cooed at him, her companion rolling over in his strange bedding and gaping at Lance.

He almost ran. Almost. But the woman seemed so kind, and Lance couldn't bring himself to run off when he'd been so alone for so long. She'd held something out to him, a strange fluffy white thing that was rounded but squishy. Lance knew it was probably a trap; his eyes constantly darted between the two creatures, item, and the surrounding area. When Lance was five feet away from the woman, he stopped, knees clicking together and arms held stiffly against his chest. He wasn't going to be captured, not after he'd been running for so long. The creature spoke in hushed tones to her companion, eyes alight with a strange emotion Lance had yet to decipher. Lance took a deep breath through his delicate nose, ears twitching as he inspected the item still held out to him. Did this woman wish to offer him something? Maybe she wanted to make peace with him. The smell of the small white thing was sweet, unnaturally so, and Lance threw caution to the wind. He leapt forwards, soft hands quickly encasing the malleable item before returning back a few paces. The creatures both seemed startled by his quick actions, but remained silent and watched with curious looks as Lance investigated the sweet smelling thing.

After a few moments of sniffing and debating, Lance gingerly lifted it to his mouth, taking a small bite of the white cloud-like food. His eyes widened comically, stuffing the rest of the strange new food into his mouth before deciding this creature was nice and skittered up next to her. He rose his eyebrows, head cocked to the side as he allowed his eyes to roam over the woman's figure. She was very different from what Lance looked like. Her hair was long and black, eyes a warm brown that reflected flickering embers from the fire. Her ears were soft and round, her arms smooth. Lance investigated the other being, finding them to be of similar origin. Lance sat down quietly next to the nice one, ears perked up as he looked between the creatures.

The nice one smiled, holding a finger up in the air before turning around and making a strange shuffling noise from her bag. Lance instantly tensed, ready to run. He felt himself grow more rigid when he saw the woman pull out a large bag full of the strange white food, and he wasted no time in grabbing the bag from her hands, greedily eating its contents. The woman made a strange noise in her throat, the other creature doing the same as they smiled at him. Lance had made that noise a few times himself when he was alone and blissfully happy.

The woman seemed very keen on communicating with Lance, and continued to point at herself and making a strange noise. Lance did his best to replicate her actions. He pointed at his chest, head cocked to the side, and...

"Maria?" The woman beamed at him, pointing at herself and saying that again before gesturing to her friend. "D...Daniel?" Perhaps that was the name of their species, or something similar.

The trio stayed up late into the night, trying to get the woodland boy to say his own name. Eventually though, they got it. "Lance." He set his hand on his chest, seeming confident in his choice. When the sun began to rise though and the fire was nothing but ashes being carried away, Lance could already feel himself mentally retreating. These Maria and Daniel beings were nice; he liked them, but they wouldn't stay. When they had cleaned up their items and put their bags on their backs, Lance had stared wistfully as they began to walk away.

But Maria didn't seem ready to leave Lance either.

She turned around, and upon seeing the unshed tears brimming in the corners of his eyes, Maria had gestured for Lance to follow.

And so Lance did.

They traveled through the mountains for a few days, and Lance gradually began to understand gestures and a few words. His favorite one was "marshmallow", the name of his favorite delicacy Maria and Daniel carried with them. Lance would listen to Maria make soft noises in her throat, lulled to sleep as she braided and played with his long brunette hair. Daniel would show Lance how to build a fire, and even offered the boy a pair of "pants" since the wild child had always lived off the forest and wore nothing upon his being. The strangely soft items he'd been given were warm, and Lance decided if he was allowed to keep them then he most definitely would since winters grew unnaturally cold.

Eventually though, the couple made their way down the mountains and back to civilization, Lance trailing behind cautiously. Maria had once again stopped when she saw Lance's wariness, and had offered a small smile to him. Lance knew that he was meant to say goodbye now, but he'd never met creatures who wanted to interact with him like this before. His eyes once again welled with tears, and Maria's face softened considerably. She made a motion with her hand, one that Lance had learned as "come along", and he practically launched himself at the duo who stood in an empty parking lot with only one car present.

That was the day Lance found a home with the McClains.

Maria and Daniel had been on their honeymoon, deciding to camp in Colorado mountains for a few days before returning to their small home in Cuba. Of course, neither of them expected to come across Lance, so it'd been a pleasant surprise that changed all their lives. After being stashed away within the house and learning "human" customs, Lance was starting to get the hang of things. He knew to wear clothes now, and a few sentences in Spanish to help him better communicate with Maria and Daniel. He was fascinated with everything the humans did, and had practically become their child.

When Maria announced she was pregnant, Lance did not understand. She had to explain to the boy how things like that worked, and how reproduction worked. Lance still didn't entirely understand what was considered normal and strange, so he was naturally curious about something he had yet to learn about. The following months after that were spent trying to teach Lance about babies and necessities and so on and so forth. When Luis McClain was born, Lance truly felt as if he'd finally found a place in the world.

As Luis grew physically and Lance did mentally, the unaccustomed being discovered something else he considered strange. He wasn't getting bigger like Luis was. In fact, Lance looked the exact same he did all those years ago. Maria had said it was because he was magical, whatever that meant, and so Lance had accepted her words as the truth.

Soon enough and Marco McClain was added to the family. Lance was finally just about caught up on common knowledge, and often played with Luis and Marco while Daniel and Maria worked. Lance rarely left the house though, seeing as he was so different. He'd learned to hide his true form after a while, features that were once defined slowly fading away until they were more human-like. Lance had found a family, and the two older McClains had gladly told the boy they'd fill out paperwork to make him their legal son. It had been hard since Lance technically didn't exist, but he was welcomed to the family with open arms.

When Luis got old enough to enter middle school and Veronica and Rachel had been born, Lance had been told by Maria that he'd have to start attending school if he wished to live like a human. That's all Lance had ever wanted though, was to live life like these creatures did. He enjoyed communicating with them, and realized he'd never been happier to have accidentally stepped on that stick when he'd first met the McClains.

Lance struggled for a while, finding education to be a ridiculous and useless thing. While he enjoyed learning about humans and how they lived, he did not find pleasure in learning about math and science and history and... and English. The fact humans had multiple different languages still baffled him, but he'd already learned Spanish and took to learning this new way of speaking in strides.

Lance had actually ended up spending a lot of time helping Daniel at his auto shop, learning vehicles inside and out while also using Veronica's computer to further study linguistic skills. If he were to communicate with humans of all kinds, then he was going to do it right.

His skills ended up being so useful that he was actually invited to join the Galaxy Garrison, a school to help people quite literally reach the stars and dabble in engineering, piloting, and diplomatic skills. Lance liked to consider himself well versed in all of those things, and so the seemingly ageless teen had gone back to the United States to see if the stars were as pretty up close as they were from afar.

Lance had ended up having a difficult time being away from his family for the first two years in the Garrison, left unsatisfied with his summer and winter breaks to see the McClains. His roommate Hunk Garret was actually incredibly kind though, and made sure that Lance was never truly alone. Lance still made sure to call his family every night, always speaking in fluid Spanish about that day's events and the oddities of humans.

While Lance's form wasn't as obvious anymore, there were still things about him that stood out. The splay of white freckles that dotted his cheeks made him a social outcast, so he bought foundation to cover them. The fine layer of fur on his arms and legs were constantly hidden under his uniform. Hats were allowed, so Lance typically wore a soft and loose ocean blue beanie that matched his eyes. His lanky form was on the leaner side, so he was often mistaken as being thin and weak rather than fit.

When Lance and Hunk were introduced into a group for their third year at the Garrison, Lance had instantly recognized the small being as female. Why she chose to try being a male greatly confused Lance, but he chose not to say anything since she didn't seem to want anybody to know. Lance admitted that he'd grown far more comfortable around humans, and so the idea of sneaking out to go to one of the "clubs" he'd seen in movies was a thrilling concept. Inviting Pidge and Hunk seemed the only logical solution, and so the two roommates had left in the middle of the night to find the tech genius that was now apart of their group. When she left her room of her own accord, Lance insisted they follow her. One thing led to the next, and that landed Lance in a sticky situation. Not only was he now piloting a giant blue cat with two random people in it, he was also leaving Earth behind, leaving his family behind.

Things had seriously gone off the rails after the Blue Lion leapt through a wormhole and took the humans (and Lance) to an ancient castle with elf people there. Apparently they were not elves, rather they were aliens, but Lance didn't really see the difference. The one with long white hair was very pretty, but Lance didn't like how rude she was. The ginger haired elf was entertaining though and reminded Lance a lot of Daniel when they'd first met. By now, Lance had been living with the McClains for a little over twenty three years and still had yet to age. He'd have nights where he'd cry himself to sleep because he knew he'd end up outliving all of the people he'd grown to care for.

Traveling through space quickly morphed into living in space since Voltron was needed and Lance was Blue's Paladin. For once, Lance wished he didn't have a purpose so he could return to the only home he'd ever had. But as time went on, the ageless teen realized he'd gained another family. Shiro acted similarly to a father and was typically very supportive. Keith was like an obnoxious brother while Hunk was the angelic one. Pidge was the gremlin little sister and Allura often resembled a scolding mother. Coran was dubbed as the Space Uncle since he was so close and comfortable with everyone. Lance was especially drawn to the ginger Altean, eager to learn about the castle and the 10,000 year old's lineage. Picking up a bunch of alien languages from the castle's library was a piece of cake for Lance, and helping Coran all the time with the castle reminded the teen of working at Daniel's shop.

Months trickled by, and eventually Lance's perfect little space family was ruined. Zarkon took Shiro away, leaving the Black Lion without a Paladin and Voltron without a leader. When Keith had been chosen, Lance had fully supported the mullet haired teen, easily accepting his "rival" as the leader. Lance had always been better at following anyways; it was difficult to become independent in a world that never truly felt like it was your own. In doing so, Lance became the Red Lion's Paladin, and the immortal had felt weak in the knees as his connection to Blue faded. The large majestic lion had purred softly in his mind, reassuring him that one day they'd be reunited because he was the only Paladin she'd ever truly see as her own. With a heavy heart, Lance had temporarily accepted his fate, kissing Blue's nuzzle softly before finding his place in Red's hangar.

Keith made things hard for a while, his leadership skills burning Voltron down into the ground. After a few weeks though, the group was once again functioning with little to no problems, Allura making an excellent Blue Paladin for the time being. Months continued to trickle by, and a diplomatic meeting was called by a planet that wished to join the Voltron Coalition. The Fawnus were a kind species that didn't usually extend an invitation to outsiders, so Allura had eagerly accepted.

A few days later found Lance wearing his casual clothes with his Bayard safely tucked away in his large left hand pocket. Allura looked the group over with a scrutinizing look, arguing with them for a while before eventually simply telling the Paladins that while their attire wasn't formal, it would have to do. If they showed up in their armor, they could be viewed as a threat, and the Altean Princess refused to have a potential ally be scared off so easily. The group descended in the Black and Green lions, opting to be as basic as possible. Lance stared out the window, eyes wide at the greenery that covered the entire planet. While Lance had learned to love the beach, he'd always been in the woods and forests. He never mentioned it though because the woods were his safe haven, and the Red Paladin didn't dare want the others to know how much nature truly meant to him. Beaches were supposed to be his thing after all, while Pidge was meant to be close with nature.

Landing on the planet in the clearing was simple enough. Exiting the lions and entering a fray of swarming Fawnus was terrifying. The others seemed excited that the deer-like beings were so kind and friendly, but Lance did not like them. They resembled his true form too much to the point that it actually scared Lance. At least their legs were different; they had hooves and their knees bent the opposite way. The teen opted to stay hidden towards the back of the group, finding no pleasure in this journey whatsoever. Thankfully Lance was good at hiding himself when he didn't want to be seen. He knew when to be quiet, so avoiding the swarm didn't seem like too daunting of a task.

"Lance, buddy? You okay?" Multiple pairs of eyes were suddenly on him, and Lance's shoulders pinned themselves against his beanie. Hunk's concerned expression only deepened. "Hey, come on, let's go." The Yellow Paladin gingerly reached for Lance's hand, the crowd of Fawnus parting for him. The crowd grew quiet when Lance passed by, eyes wide and delicate hands brushing against his arms like they were afraid to touch him.

The Fawnus led Voltron through a small town made from the trees, trunks so thick that making burrows was easier than uprooting the trees themselves. Lance could feel the Fawnus' large eyes constantly following him, making him horribly uncomfortable. Eventually the group made it to a large hollowed our tree, warm lights glowing from within and Fawnus walking along stairs spiraling up the outside. "This is where our leaders reside. The negotiations will be held at the top." The kind Fawnus pointed upwards, and Pidge groaned silently beside Allura at the many flights they'd have to climb. Up they went, higher and higher. The closer they got to their destination, the more unnerved Lance felt. Hunk stayed close to his best friend, having sensed his distress.

The top of the tree was beautiful, a large flat area built into the tree for a giant round table to be placed at. There were at least ten Fawnus seated at the table, with varying trinkets of silver and gold decorating their antlers and soft doe-like ears. Lance gently pulled his hat down further over his head, earning a raised eyebrow from Allura. Voltron sat down, Lance placed next to Hunk and an elderly Fawnus who looked like she'd keel over and die any second. Lance offered a small smile, and the woman's eyes widened comically. Her small mouth dropped open, hand held up as though to touch Lance's face. Lance leaned away from her, his own eyes filled with fear at the lanky brown furred fingers that were so close to touching his face. Introductions were still underway, but the table was silenced by the elderly woman's words.

"Our God has returned." Lance shrunk further down in his seat as the Fawnus all stared at him with awe and hope.

Allura chuckled, though there was no humor in her tone. "Excuse me? This is Lance, our Red Paladin."

The elderly woman shook her head, fingers running over Lance's cheek. Lance flinched at the contact, only to relax at the soft and reverent touch. "We do not know our God's name, only that he has been missing for thousands of years. While this Lance is not identical to our God, it is believed He could change forms to better suit his environment. If He were in his true form, then there'd be no mistake. You have returned." Lance shuttered, eyes darting across the table and taking in the baffled looks his companions wore.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about. Hehe..."

A Fawnus across the table nodded his head. "No, Margaret is correct. You are definitely Him."

Lance stood up, arms trembling and knees clicking together. "No, no you're wrong. I-I don't look like any of you. I'm not s-some god. I'm just a person. I-I'm human!"

Margaret frowned. "We apologize for scaring you, God. But you are him. Magic pulses through your veins. It is alright, you can show yourself to us. We will worship you, unlike these pathetic creatures." The Fawnus glared at Lance's friends, and Lance shook his head.

"No! You're wrong! I don't want to be worshipped! I just wanna live a normal life! I don't... I don't want to be immortal! I'm not your god!" Lance was shaking violently now, his form close to the stairs and ready to make a mad dash down the side of the tree. He stared intently at the Fawnus, refusing to meet the eyes of his shocked friends.

Margaret stood up, taking a step towards him. Lance flinched, feet shuffling against the floor. "God, you have returned. You can be honored the way you're meant to be. You will never have to worry about famine or death or pain ever again. We will take care of you!"

Lance shook his head violently. "No! You don't understand!" By now tears fell down his cheeks, fists clenched tightly by his sides. "Do you have any idea how horrible it is? Being alone?" Everyone was silent, Lance's voice reverberating across the area. "I was alone for who knows how long! I didn't have anybody, and the humans were dangerous! I couldn't find someone that would actually care! And then... then I did. I found two humans, a couple that took me in, cared for me, loved me, and I learned what it means to be human! Being immortal, being a god, it sucks! But... finding a family, people who care about me and not what I am... that's why I probably left this place, if I even am your god." Lance looked furious, eyes blazing like an inferno.

Margaret looked taken aback before raising her head high. "Then why do your teammates look so shocked by this revelation?" Lance's eyes drifted towards his family, and his body stiffened at the looks of shock and betrayal written across their faces. "You must not have trusted them enough, otherwise you would have told them who you truly are, what you're really worth. They should be your slaves, not... not your companions, your equals." Margaret was practically sneering at them by now, as if Lance's friends were to blame.

"No! I didn't... they didn't need to know! I just wanted to be normal like them! Being some... some god would change everything, and I never wanted that! So... so screw you and your dumb deity! My name is Lance McClain, I'm a boy from Cuba, and that's all I'll ever be!" Margaret growled, snapping her fingers, and a young Fawnus from behind Lance quickly snatched the blue beanie from his head. Lance gasped, desperately reaching for his hat, but it was too late. Small deer antlers could be seen peeking out through his disheveled hair, long and soft deer ears speckled with white pinned against his head. Lance's eyes were filled with tears, and without waiting for a reaction, he ran. His legs were long, taking him down the stairs three at a time. He could hear people shouting behind him, but he didn't dare turn back. Instead, he allowed his body to take him away from the mess he currently found himself in, running so far that his surroundings were completely different when he came back to his senses. It was a large clearing, a stream cutting through the meadow and water trickling over rocks. It was the giant statue in the middle though that had Lance collapsing to his knees.

The statue was tall, and was a mirror image of his true form. Knowing that nobody was around, Lance shifted, his antlers growing longer until they stood at around two feet in length. Soft brown fuzz coated his arms, legs, back, and the sides of his cheeks. White freckles littered his body, and his upper lip darkened into a natural black hue. A black line gave him a slightly cleft lip, his nose becoming less angular and softer, nose darkening as well. Lance sat heavily in the grass, just staring up at the statue that looked so much like him yet so... not. There were differences, Lance was certain about that. The statue held his arms out wide, birds and other creatures settled on his arms and antlers as if he were their ruler. The statue stared straight forward, chin held upwards in a superior way. Lance hated it.

The Red Paladin allowed himself to flop into his back, antlers digging into the soft grass. Tears fell down his face, a few strange animals coming to keep him company. Lance held his hand up to the sky, staring at the thin brown and white fur that covered the back of his hand. His brows scrunched together, his brain struggling to understand how he'd gone from being on this planet all the way to Earth. The statue was him, as much as he hated to admit it, so why did Lance end up all the way on Earth without any memories?

Movement to the side had Lance sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and ears twitching. His nose scrunched up, shoulders relaxing as he turned his attention back to the statue. "It's pretty stupid, isn't it? I'm some sort of god that ended up on Earth and I have no clue as to how or why it even happened." Lance scoffed, patting the malleable ground next to him. "Come on out. I can tell you wanna talk."

A large form plunked onto the meadow floor, warm brown eyes staring at Lance's entire being. Lance refused to look at the person next to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lance sighed, sitting up and grabbing the toes of his shoes with his fingers. "I didn't think you'd accept me. After all, I can barely accept myself. It's easier to hide than it is to be honest." Lance slowly let his blue eyes drift towards brown, and Lance winced at the hurt look his companion wore.

"Did you really think we wouldn't accept you, Lance? You... you've been my best friend for years. Why would you think that any of this-" he motioned at Lance's form- "would change anything between us?"

Lance frowned. "The world- no, the universe, is a cruel place Hunk. I don't really know much about what happened to me, or how I ended up on Earth. I just know that I made it there, and I lived by myself for a really long time." Lance smiled wistfully, fingers plucking small strands of grass. "I didn't entirely understand things, or even what a human was. But when Maria and Daniel McClain took me in, I finally understood what it meant to be apart of something bigger than myself. It was... it was nice. And I guess that I was just too scared that everything I've worked for over the past twenty years or so would be wasted away if I ever told somebody else about what I was." Hunk hugged Lance tightly, refusing to let his best friend go. "I'm so sorry Hunk. I really- you were the first friend I ever made outside of the McClain family. I was afraid that I'd lose you, and once we ended up in space and I got another family, I was scared to lose them all too."

Hunk clutched Lance's jacket tightly, tears dampening brunette locks. "Lance, I'm your best friend. I'm always gonna be here for you, and so will the others. We love you Lance. You're family."

"But I've been the same age for who knows how long. I don't... I don't know if I can even die."

"Well then when I die I'll either haunt you or you can figure out some way to join me, okay? If I were some immortal I'd probably figure out a way to make a difference or something, maybe start a Go-Fund-Me or maybe-"

Lance laughed, and soon enough both of them were cackling and rolling around in the meadow. The duo eventually made it back to the tree with the Elders waiting for them, Voltron sitting at the table with heavy looks. Lance stared at Margaret with an intense gaze, causing the old woman to shrink in on herself. "God, it has been decided that you cannot leave this planet again. We need you and-"

"No." Everyone stared at the immortal in shock (except for Hunk, who was smiling like a giddy two year old). "I'm not your god. Maybe there was a time that I was, but that's not who I am anymore. My name is Lance McClain. I'm a boy from Cuba, and a Paladin if Voltron. That is, if my team will still have me." Lance rubbed his neck sheepishly, ears flicking against his head.

Allura smiled widely, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Yes, Lance is the Red Paladin. We would not have anyone else take his place. We are like family, and I refuse to lose more family than I already have." Sentiments gone, the Princess stared intently at the Fawnus. "Now if you'll excuse us, I believe we no longer would like to make an alliance with you. Not only have you segregated one of our teammates, you have disgraced us all and treated us poorly. Paladins, let us leave this planet."

There were protests of course, but Lance found it fairly easy to silence them. A small Fawnus girl had asked if Lance would ever return, and Lance simply smiled. "I don't know if I'll come back, but if I do, I'm just a regular Fawnus. I'm not your god, okay? My name, it's Lance."

Coran had fainted upon seeing Lance board the castle, and there were many discussions carried late into the night about the immortal and his time wandering the Earth. Lance had never felt so free though, because his family accepted him, and that was all that really mattered in the end.

A/N: It's a short little one shot that isn't the best quality, but I'm gonna post it anyways. I'm actually going to try posting art for this story on my Instagram Blu3Lanc3lot, so if you wanna see then make sure you check it out! It's currently 4:30 pm on 7/2/20, and I'm pretty content with the fact I was able to finish this and still posting a drawing. Anyways, please read and review!

Love,

sKaEtrgrL