#caretaker!lance

Klangst week day 6: Human/Alien

@klangst-week

(FYI Keith is sick during all of this)

Keith could hear them screaming. Their voice are full of anger, fear, and rage. They were screaming,

"Monster!"

"Freak!"

"Hybrid!"

"One of them!"

"Evil!"

"You're going to kill us!"

"Animal!"

"Off the team!"

Keith knew they were yelling at the Galrans, they always did. But the worst part was; they were screaming at him. They were afraid of him. Keith looked down at his skin and it was a violet purple. Keith looked back at his friends faces. They all look disappointed in him.

"Get out of here, Galra." Lance said, his words like poison. Keith felt the tears run down his face as Lance pointed his shotgun at him. He didn't even move when he heard the trigger and felt the final blow hit his chest.

——————————————————

Keith woke up with a yelp, bolting upright. He felt the tears running down his face as he swayed backwards, only to be caught by two ice cold hands.

"WOAH, Keith!" Lance's panicked voice ran in his head. He looked up to see Lance's worried expression to match his tone. Keith felt the tears in his eyes and threw his arms around Lance, crying softly into his chest. Lance was shocked for a moment, but quickly began to soothe the younger Paladin.

"Hey, Hey. It's okay, Keith, it's okay. It was just a nightmare. You're fine." He began to rock Keith back and forth to calm him down. His face burned against Lance's skin, which was usually a little cold. Lance sat Keith up and felt his forehead, wincing when he felt the burning heat coming off it.

"Jesus, Keith, you're on fire." Keith's stomach churned as he put his arms around his sides. He leaned his head against Lance's shoulder blade, not realizing or caring about how open he was being. That was, until, he realized his ears were up. He quickly shoved himself off of Lance and forced them down.

"Keith...?" Lance moved his hands to grab Keith's and ease them down, but Keith jerked back, eyes wide in fear.

"Woah, easy, Keith. It's just me. It's Lance. Calm down." Lance tried to get Keith's hands down again, but Keith started gripping his ears. Lance grabbed Keith's hands and held them down, moving them to under his knees and holding Keith's face with his hands.

"It's okay, Keith, it's okay. You're okay. I need you to focus on me, okay? Can you do that?" Lance rubbed Keith's face soothingly, sensing that something was really wrong. Keith broke out into a cold sweat and his eyes were searching everywhere for something to focus on, but they were so lost. The poor boy was breathing heavily and he was shaking.

Lance realized what was happening right then and there.

"Oh shit... okay, Keith, I need you to breathe, okay? In and out. In and out." Keith wasn't following what Lance was saying and started trying to get his arms back. He was pushing and pulling and kicking at Lance, but he stayed there and took the blows. He eventually grabbed Keith's hands and rubbed them soothingly, trying to ease his panicked state.

"Keith, it's okay, you're okay. There's nothing to worry about. You're fine. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to you." Lance tried to remember what his mamí told him to do when his sister ever had a panic attack while they weren't there, seeing as he was the third oldest and she was the fifth. Count to ten... was it count up or down? Lance didn't have much time to figure that out because Keith started hyperventilating.

Up or down, up or down... screw it. Lance thought.

"Keith, I want you to count to ten for me. Can you do that?" Keith was shaking and his eyes were looking everywhere. Lance held his face and moved it towards Lances so he could look at Keith directly in the eye. His eyes were fevered and they looked dulled, like the life was being sucked out of them.

"Keith, it's okay. I'm right here. Focus on me and only me. Count with me, ready? Focus. Breathe. Count with me, okay? One..." Lance waited for a response, and after a minute, Keith slowly started to speak.

"O-one..."

"Good. Come on, keep going. You got this. One, two..." Lance said. Rubbing Keith's hands comfortingly.

"T-t-two-o.... O-o-o-o-n-n-n-n-e-e-e... t-t-t-t-w-w-w-w-o-o-o-o-o.... t-t-t-th-th-th-th-r-r-e-e-e-e-e... f-f-f-f-fo-fo-o-o-o-U-u-u-r-r-r... f-f-f-f-I-I-v-v-e-e-e-e...S-s-s-si-si-six-x-x... s-s-s-se-se-se-v-v-ven-n... e-e-ei-eight-t... n-n-ni-nine-e... t-ten..." Lance sighed as Keith finished counting. He smiled at Keith, but noticed that his hands were still shaking a little. His teeth were chattering and his face looked flushed. Lance pressed a hand against Keith's forehead, and Keith moved into it.

"My god - Keith you're on fire. Here, lie down." Keith originally protested, but he couldn't fight it once he practically collapsed against Lances chest. Lance blushed for a second, but quickly realized how exhausted Keith was and eased him back down onto the bed. Lance got up to grab a washcloth to put on Keith's forehead, but he felt a small tug on his jacket, like one of his siblings used to. He turned around to see Keith turned to face him, his hand lightly pulling on Lance's Jacket.

"D-don't leave..." Lance looked down at the younger Paladin and felt pity; he'd been keeping up this, "I'm okay" act for so long and now it's starting to hurt him.

ficlet for anon requesting klance and sick!Keith in space <3 (I always imagine that 99% of the time Keith never never never wants anyone to know he’s sick. ...and then 1% of the time he just wants a hug :’3) I hope you enjoy! ♡

Keith’s standing in Lance’s doorway, suited head to toe in his paladin armor, helmet under his arm and bayard in hand.

“Hey,” Keith says after a second, Lance is still blinking, half his hair squashed to his cheek.

“Hi?” Lance says blurrily, squints at his chest and realises his nightshirt is on the wrong way. When Keith only returns a regretful sort of grimace, Lance’s eyes suddenly widen.

“Oh quiznak, it’s another drill isn’t it,” says Lance, scoots out into the passage to make up for lost time. “Man, I’m sorry, I must’ve slept right-”

“No, no-” Keith says quickly, holds up both hands before Lance can sprint to his lion. “No drill. I. Uh. I was going to hit the training deck.”

Lance scuffs a fist to one eye, Keith slightly more in-focus now.

“-and. I. Was just going to ask if you wanted to come with,” Keith ventures, slouches against the wall and then straightens again.

Lance stares at him a moment, waiting, he can’t help a lopsided grin.

“At… four in the morning?” Lance teases, expecting some snappy comeback about it always being four in the morning when it comes to training vs. Lance’s beauty-sleep. In truth Lance doesn’t mind, and who knows which planet’s timezone his phone is set to anyway.

Keith breathes out a laugh, offers a half-shrug.

“Yeah,” Keith says awkwardly, then grazes his nose against his wrist, twitches closed an eye. “Right. Sorry, yeah. I wasn’t thinking. I’ll, uh-”

He shifts his helmet beneath his opposite arm, looks as if he’s going to say more. Lance is about to take a step forward when Keith abruptly raises his hand, ducks behind his wrist and sneezes, his armor not doing much to dampen the harshness of the sound. Lance’s eyebrows hitch in concern- it’s a toss up between bless you or yikes-that-sounds-like-it-hurt??- when Keith gives a small shake of head, cups his hand more firmly over the lower half of his face.

“-sorry-” Keith says, muffled, his voice caught and wavering as he inhales. Lance flinches in surprise as Keith snaps forward with another sneeze, his chest thrown toward his waist and hair flopped messily over his eyes. Keith sniffles, blinking and watery as he comes back up for air, he wipes his nose against the heel of his hand and clears his throat.

“Um, are you sure you wanna hit the training deck?” Lance says after a moment, laughs to try and make Keith feel less self-conscious. “Maybe you should hit up some tea and honey in the kitchen instead? Or take a swing at a nice relaxing Altean hot pool? Just saying, you sound kinda-”

“No I’m good-” Keith interrupts, his expression pulling uneven as he tries not to cough. Lance wants to pat him on the back, but Keith is blushing hard enough as it is, and he has a feeling that’ll just make it worse.

“-unless you want to get tea?-” Keith manages, his eyes tearing as he holds his breath. “-or feel like going swimming?”

Lance doesn’t have a chance to answer before Keith shakes his head in despair, turns away and coughs desperately into his arm. Lance winces in sympathy, then reaches a hand to Keith’s shoulder to steady him. Even through the paladin suit, Lance can feel Keith shivering.

“So, laps in the pool?” Keith says weakly. His voice sounds low and husky, far more congested for the outburst.

Lance gently tugs Keith round to face him, then touches the back of his fingers to Keith’s brow. For a half-second Keith looks almost bewildered, as if he doesn’t know what to make of the gesture, or that Lance might suddenly pull away.

“Keith,” says Lance, softly because he’s nervous too. “Can I make another suggestion? And like, if it’s a really stupid one, we can both just pretend I never said it?”

Keith sniffles wetly again, then nods, just once.

“Do you maybe want to come-in instead? And I can lend you a t-shirt, or just, uh- something that isn’t full-body armor- and we can maybe just take it easy? Or take a nap? Or cuddle, or something?”

Lance holds out his arms, hoping that last part will at least make Keith smile. As much as Lance could use a Keith-hug, he knows Keith well enough to know that when he’s sick, the very, very last thing he ever wants is to do is-

“Can I?” Keith asks croakily, and Lance must look as astonished as he feels, because Keith gives a small, stiff sort of shrug, raises his arms ever so slightly as Lance stares.

“C’mere,” Lance mumbles, his smile squashed into Keith’s shoulder as Keith lets his face droop against Lance’s neck. And then, though Keith knows Lance well enough that he doesn’t need to say it either, Lance wraps his arms tighter, closes his eyes and rests his cheek to Keith’s.

Klangst week 3: Fear/Anger

@klangst-week

Keith's world spun around him. Everything felt like it was closing in and crushing him, preventing him from breathing. Keith gripped his hair tightly and backed up. He didn't even realize he'd heard one of his triggers until the panic attack started up. And now it was happening and he couldn't stop it.

At least, not alone.

Lance looked over to see Keith backing up and gripping his hair. Lance's face grew concerned instantly; Keith never grips his hair like that, and he never backs up like he was either. Lance placed a hand on Keith's shoulder.

"Keith, babe, are you okay?" Lance asked gently. They had been talking to the rest of the team and the topic of a cruise for their spring break had come up when Keith started breathing heavily. Keith looked at Lance with those eyes and Lance instantly knew what was happening.

"Oh shit... Guys, shut up!" Lance seethed through his teeth, his gaze never leaving Keith's. Keith's eyes were full of tears and absolute terror and they were looking around everywhere, trying to focus on something. Lance's hand wavered cautiously in front of Keith's face.

"Keith, touch?" Lance asked. He knew the drill; ask if touch is okay first because sometimes it isn't with Keith. If he says yes, hold his hands and rub them while Lance calms him down. If no, then just remove the hands from the process and try asking again at a later time. Keith, however, didn't show or say either answer. Instead, he started falling backwards.

"Shit- okay, it's okay. Easy, babe." Lance's voice wavered, trying to hide his fear as he steadily eased Keith to the ground. Lance didn't need Keith worrying about Lances panic on top of his own panic attack.

“What’s going on?” Allura asked. Lance turned to Shiro, his eyes pleading for him to help get everyone out of the room. Shiro understood.

“Let’s give Keith some space, guys. Lance has this under control.” Shiro stated in his Dad voice. Everyone made their way out, leaving Shiro, Lance, and Keith in the room, Lance gently keeping Keith upright. Keith buried his face into Lance’s chest, still panicking and crying from the attack. Lance looked sadly down at him before looking to Shiro.

“You got this covered?” Shiro asked quickly. Lance nodded.

“I’ve helped him before. I’ve got this.” Lance said, giving a nod to Shiro as a sign for him to please leave the room. He understood and shut the door quietly. Keith’s cries became silent and Lance looked down concerned. Keith’s jaw was locked in a fearful grimace, his lips open in a frown, showing his teeth slightly. Keith’s hair was a mess from him gripping it, and his eyes were wide with terror, tears spilling down from them. Keith’s hands were now busy with his arms, and Lance could see traces of blood on Keith’s hands and hair. Lances eyes widened as he quickly grabbed Keith’s hands, forgetting that Keith had made it unclear if he was okay with touch, but Lance wasn’t as worried about that as he was worried that Keith might hurt himself if Lance didn’t give some restraint. Keith’s eyes looked at Lance in pure terror, and although Lance hated it, he knew he had to keep Keith’s hands away from him. For now, at least. Lance placed Keith’s hands under one of his own and used his free hand to guide Keith’s gaze to him.

“Keith, babe, I need you to look at me. Can you do that?” Keith’s eyes started looking away and Keith’s head tilted downwards. Lance lifted his chin and moved his own head so Lances gaze met Keith’s.

“Hey, no. Don’t do that. I need you to focus on me. Okay? Focus on my voice. My eyes. My words. Nothing else. Okay? Can you do that?” Lance asked quietly. Keith looked at him before nodding. Lance sighed in relief.

“Okay, good. Now, just like before. I want you to count to ten for me. Okay?” Lance asked. Keith looked Lance up and down shakily before his eyes widened and he slammed his hands over his ears and buried his face into his knees. Lance was thrown off guard for a second but it only lasted a few seconds before he was back in action.

“Hey, Hey. Easy. What’s wrong?” Lance asked him. Keith’s breathing picked up and he started coughing.

“Keith, hey, breathe. I don’t want you choking.” Lance said, worry evident in his voice. Keith looked up at Lance timidly. Lance smiled back at him.

“Can I touch you?” He asked. Keith nodded and Lance sighed. Keith seemed to be getting calmer. Lance brought Keith onto his lap and Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s chest, hugging him back. Lance rubbed Keith’s back calmingly as he rocked the two of them back and forth, letting Keith cry into his shoulder. Lance’s heart broke as he heard Keith’s broken sobs; he wished he could just protect Keith from every negative thing that had filled Keith’s life.

After a while, Keith calmed down enough so he could talk. He pushed away from Lance and Lance looked at Keith with a better view. Keith’s eyes were red and bloodshot from him crying, and tear tracks ran down his face and stained his and Lance’s shirts. Keith was pale and still a shaking, sniffling mess, his hair bunched up in certain spots and cuts still on his arms. Lance wiped some of the remaining tears from Keith’s face with his hand and Keith’s hand held Lance’s in place. Lance smiled gently and Keith returned it.

“You wanna talk about it?” Lance asked. Keith shook his head.

“N-not right now...” he whispered. Lance smiled.

“Okay, that’s fine. Whenever you’re ready.” Lance said, bringing Keith back into a hug. Keith eventually wound up falling asleep on Lance’s shoulder from sheer exhaustion. Lance smiled at him and pecked the top of his head. Keith shifted and buried his face into Lance’s chest, his lips slightly parted and a soft snore was coming from him. Lance chuckled quietly and soon, he was nodding off to sleep as well. He could ask Keith what triggered the attack later.

——————————————————

Real quick thing before I wrap this fic up. I just wanted to quickly say that This is based purely off of my own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks. Anxiety isn’t the same for everyone, and people react differently to different kinds of help. For example, when I wrote that Keith wasn’t always okay with touch, that’s an entirely true fact. Always ask someone who is having a panic attack if touch is okay. If they don’t answer, then be cautious about touching them.

Anxiety comes in many different forms and can affect different people in different ways. Some people only face it when they have a test or a big project due, some have it from past experiences (PTSD), and others are faced with it on a daily basis from no specific cause. If you or someone you know is facing anxiety and panic attacks, try talking to a psychologist or seek professional help. If you or they aren’t comfortable with that, then try to do everything in your power to help them through it, whether it be making a list of things that calm you/Them down or going online to see the best ways to help. Like I said, Anxiety’s different for Everyone, so try a few different methods to see what calms them down.

Summary:

A druid's experiment leaves Keith transformed into a galra hybrid. This causes Keith a lot of pain, and his boyfriend Lance tries to take care of him.

read on ao3

Preview:

“Keith…?” He whispered, Hunk whipping his head around as Lance rushed to the galra’s side.

“Lance- Lance what are you-”

“It’s Keith.”

Hunk frowned at him.

“No- Lance-”

“Hunk, it’s him, just look!”

Hunk hesitated as he approached, but he took a sharp inhale at the sight of a purple skinned- Keith with fangs, pointy ears, and 2 stripes on his face. He was lying motionless on the table with restraints on his arms and legs and some purple fluid travelling from a tube into his arm.

“How did they-”

“I don’t know, but we need to get him out.” Lance said lowly, already fidgeting with the tube running out of Keith’s arm.

They had hurt Keith.

@vldwhumpmas2017

Keith coughed and his lungs rattled. He felt like he was dying. He coughed and coughed, feeling like his lungs were on fire. Lance wasn’t home at the moment because he was still getting back from his classes, so Keith was left to fend for himself while the coughing fit continued.

Keith shouldn’t have been surprised he caught Lance’s cough; he’d been coughing all day yesterday and the day before. But Keith just felt... different. He was exhausted and hot, and he didn’t want to eat anything. His coughing fit died down as Lance walked in.

“Oh, hey, Lance-“ Keith started, but stopped when Lance raised his hand. Lance rubbed his eyes and Keith could see the fatigue in his face. He looked drained.

“Go to sleep, babe. I’ll be up in a few.” Keith said, wrapping his arms around Lance’s waist. Lance nodded and yawned tiredly, kissed Keith’s cheek, then went upstairs to sleep. He would feel less exhausted once he closed his eyes.

...

Yeah, that good nights rest thing doesn’t exist. Lance had only been asleep for three hours when he heard the sound of Keith’s coughing fit from downstairs. He thought he would be okay, but then he heard a loud thud and Lance literally jumped out of bed and raced downstairs. He was worried because Keith had really bad asthma, and he didn’t want to risk Keith another trip to the hospital because Lance didn’t notice how bad his cough was getting. Lance walked into the kitchen to see Keith on the floor, one arm covering his mouth, his other hand holding his chest.

“Shit...” Lance said. He sat next to Keith and rubbed his back through the fit, pulling the inhaler out of his pocket that he kept in his Jacket. Lance had fallen asleep in his clothes again, and it was a good thing too, otherwise he would’ve had to leave Keith alone for a moment to get the inhaler, and that could’ve put Keith at a bigger risk.

“Here.” Lance said as Keith’s fit died down, handing him the inhaler. Keith shook his head.

“-feel s-sick...” he muttered. Keith looked like the energy was just sucked out of him; his cheeks were bright red and his eyes were glossy. Lance pressed a hand against Keith’s forehead and Keith moved into it, moaning softly. That was really unlike Keith. Lance’s hand burned against Keith’s hot skin.

“Keith, you’re burning up.” He said. Keith got up and started saying,

“I’m fine,” but he swayed and started collapsing.

“Oh shit-!“ Lance caught Keith just before he hit the floor. Lance quickly picked him up and placed him to the couch, quickly running to get a thermometer and cough medicine. He poked Keith’s lip with the tip of the Thermometer, but Keith wouldn’t open his mouth.

“Keith, you need to open your mouth for me. Please. I don’t want you to get so bad we have to go to the hospital again.” Lance said quietly. Keith groaned and moved his mouth so Lance could stick the thermometer in it.

“Thank you.” Lance said as he placed the tip under Keith’s tongue. Moments later, it beeped and Lance read, ‘104.9’

“Crap. Keith, you’re burning up.” Lance muttered. Keith groaned and shifted to his side, only to go back into a terrible coughing fit. Lance ran to the medicine cabinet and rummaged through a box of different medications, looking for some cough medicine and some fever reducers. He found the fever reducers, but he couldn’t find any actual cough medicine other than throat drops, so he decided a trip to the doctor was necessary. He came back over to Keith to find him coughing harshly. Lance brought Keith up and rubbed his back as the fit continued for a good five or ten minutes. Lance was extremely worried when Keith started turning a little blue.

“Okay, that’s it. Hospital. Now.”

—————————

Keith laid in the hospital bed, an oxygen mask on his face. His skin was still slightly paled, but he looked better nonetheless. His eyes had dark circles from exhaustion, and his cheeks were tinted pink, but he still looked better. The doctor walked back in and Lance was sitting on a chair near Keith. He had bright orange hair that was shaped into a retro mullet (much different than Keith’s), and he had a big mustache to match it. He also had small, light blue boomerang like tattoos under his eyes, like Allura, Shiro’s transfer friend from Altea University, did, although hers were pink.

“Thank you for bringing Keith in,” the doctor said. “He has a case of Pneumonia, but his asthma made it worsen. You were lucky to have brought him in when you did, otherwise we’d be looking at something much more serious.” He said. Lance nodded in response.

“Thank you, Doctor... Curain?” Lance butchered the doctors name.

“Coran. Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.” He smiled. He placed a bottle of medicine on the table next to Keith and started walking out the door, but stopped momentarily. “Y’know, ya might want to do a better job of hiding that box, chap.” He said as he exited the room. Lance’s face turned bright red and he looked in his pocket to see the box bulging out. He knew he should’ve done a better job of hiding it. He sighed and pulled out the box, which had a small ring inside of it. He closed it gently and sighed, stuffing it back into his pocket. He looked over to Keith, who was still sleeping soundly.

“Please get better, baby.” He said as he rubbed Keith’s hand. Keith had to get better, he just had to.

@vldwhumpmas2017

Keith opened his eyes to have everything blurry. He could see lights flashing in front of his eyes then quickly flashing out. Everything was spinning and it felt like Keith’s body was dead weight, but when he moved, he felt like he was fighting against restraints.

“K-th! Wha... ‘ppened?!” Someone called out, but his thoughts were blurring in and out. Keith groaned and closed his eyes again; everything felt terrible.

“Ugh...” Keith groaned, his head feeling like it was being shot repeatedly. All Keith wanted to do was go back to sleep, but a pair of strong hands prevented that.

“K... -Tay awake... c’mon, kei-... stay awake..” Keith opened his eyes to see Lance staring down at him.

“Ll’nce...?” Keith’s Words slurred together.

“Hey, Hey. How ya feeling, Champ?” Lance said quietly. Keith groaned and his eyes started closing, but Lance kept him up.

“No, Keith, you can’t go to sleep. You gotta stay awake.” Keith groaned and leaned into Lance.

“ ‘Wanna sle’p...” Keith muttered. His words were heavily slurred together, and it worried Lance. Keith’s eyes were extremely out of focus and dilated. His face was pale and his head had a bruise on it. Keith had been riding his motorcycle up and down their road and he’d hit a patch of black ice, which caused the bike to lose its balance and caused Keith to almost ride into their car, quickly swerving away, but wound up spinning the bike into a flip and hitting his head really hard. Lance looked down to see Keith closing his eyes again.

“No, babe, no. You can’t go to sleep. Once the doctors check you up, you can get as much sleep as you want to, yeah?” Lance said, his voice trembling. Keith nodded, but his face suddenly turned green and he groaned.

“L’nce... ‘think ‘m g-gonna...” Keith muttered. Lance remembered hearing something that if someone gets really nauseous-

Lance’s thoughts were cut off by the sound of Keith dry heaving, covering his mouth.

“Shit. Okay, okay, hold on.” Lance carefully helped Keith up, only to have the dazed boy fall over again and start throwing up. Lance started getting worried; he remembered when he was younger and he got hit in the head and wound up Concussed. He had been dazed and nauseous, of course, but not like this. Keith whimpered and leaned into Lance’s shoulder. Lance saw he was struggling to keep himself upright, so he patted his lap. Keith understood and lay his head on Lance’s lap, Lance gently stroking his hair. Lance could feel where Keith got hit in the head and he looked back at his hand to see a pale red on his fingers. He was worried, but it thankfully wasn’t a lot of bleeding. Keith whimpered and tried to close his eyes again, but Lance wouldn’t allow it.

“Baby, I’m sorry, but you can’t go to sleep yet.” Keith groaned.

“Bu’ i’wanna... sl’p...” Lance sighed as he got a text from Shiro;

‘Be there soon. Keep him up.’ Lance had asked Shiro to drive them to the hospital because their car’s tire wasn’t on all the way after hitting a rock earlier, and plus Lance didn’t trust Keith to not fall asleep while Lance was driving. Lance looked back at Keith and smiled.

“Don’t worry, babe. Shiro’s coming and he’s gonna take us to the hospital-“

“No, pl’se... n-no...” Keith whimpered. Lance looked down and Keith had started sobbing. “P-pleassse... I-I don’... i don’ wanna b’ ‘lone... a-again...” Keith cried. Lance’s heart broke and he slowly lifted him up so he was hugging him.

“I know, I know. It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. I know you don’t want to, but you need to if you want to get better.” Lance muttered loud enough for Keith to hear.

“N-nu... jus’... w-wanna... s-sle’p...” Lance could hear the fatigue in Keith’s tone, and he felt his head lay on his shoulder and he heard soft breathing. He looked to see Keith asleep on his shoulder, his eyes rolled up into his head.

“Keith, Keith get up.” Lance shook Keith’s shoulder, but he wouldn’t wake up.

“No, no no no no no, no. Keith, wake up!” Lance yelled, but nothing worked. He could see the Headlights of Shiro’s car, and Shiro stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the paleness in Keith’s skin, as well as a clear bruise forming on the side of his head and some blood.

“Holy shit... get him into my car. We’re going. Now.” He urged. Lance understood immediately and carried Keith in his arms. He helped Keith into the backseat and placed his head on Lance’s lap. Keith whimpered quietly and Lance starts worrying that Keith might be getting worse.

“Please be okay, baby.” Lance said as he brushed Keith’s hair out of his face. They pulled up to the hospital and Shiro was allowed back because he was Keith’s only relative left. Lance waited in the Waiting Room for hours, his mind racing and his leg bouncing anxiously. Then, finally, Shiro came back out.

“Hey, Lance? They want you to come back now.” Lance shot up from his seat and started walking, but Shiro held his shoulder back for a minute.

“Just... be careful with him, okay? He’s still really dizzy and hurt, and he’s got a really bad concussion, so just... be careful.” Lance nodded and slowly entered Keith’s room. Keith was asleep on the bed. He had a bandage around his head, his bangs poking out from above it and falling over the wraps. His face was still pale, but not as pale as before. His eyes looked so sullen, he might as well been sleep deprived, which he probably felt like. Lance stepped on a creaky floor panel and Keith stirred. He looked over and saw Lance.

“L-lance...?” Keith stuttered. Lance smiled and made his way over.

“Hey, babe. How you feeling?” Lance asked quietly. Keith stared at him for a moment, but then he broke down in tears.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” Lance asked. He felt like him being there made things worse, but that wasn’t the case.

“I-I wanna go h-hom’... i-I m-mess’d ev’rythin’ Up... ‘m s-sorry...” Keith sobbed. Lance sighed sadly and brought Keith to his chest carefully.

“Shhhh. It’s okay, mi amor. You didn’t do anything wrong. Everything is okay. Shhhh...” Lance soothed as Keith cried quietly into his shirt. Soon, Keith’s cries died down to a faint whimper, and he was yawning a lot.

“You tired, buddy?” Lance asked, looking at Keith, who was falling asleep while sitting up.

“‘Mmm...” Keith moaned. Lance smiled and slowly tried to slip out from Keith’s hug, but Keith only tightened his hug.

“D-don’ leave m-me... p-pl’s’...” Keith whimpered. Lance sighed and eased them both back, having Keith’s head lay gently on his chest. He rubbed Keith’s back to calm him to sleep, but it wouldn’t work.

“S-sing f’r me...?” Keith asked sleepily. Lance smiled.

“For you, anything.” Lance started singing some calming songs he knew and soon, he could hear Keith’s soft breathing on his chest. He smiled and gently petted Keith’s hair.

“I’m glad you’re okay, babe. Sweet dreams.” He places a gentle Kiss on Keith’s head and fell asleep, as well.

@vldwhumpmas2017

“What the hell did you do to my boyfriend?!” Were the first words that come out of Lance’s mouth when he saw Kolivan, Keith’s hip-hop instructor, and Shiro come to his door, Keith laying limply in Shiro’s arms.

“He wasn’t feeling well during rehearsal, then fell over himself. I contacted his emergency contacts, but you weren’t available at the moment, so I called Keith’s brother.” Kolivan said. Lance could never place his accent or where he was from, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was Keith.

Lance knew Keith was still getting over the fever he’d had a few days before, so it wasn’t a surprise when he saw Keith grab some medicine before he headed to the dance studio. But Lance felt really guilty for not answering Kolivans call; he’d been getting gifts for everyone and he’d left his phone at home.

“He apparently passed out half way through the routine,” Shiro put in, dragging Lance out of his thoughts. Lance realized how cold it was outside and moved out of the way.

“Uh, c-come in...” He said awkwardly. Shiro carried Keith in, but Kolivan waited outside. He wanted to, “watch his car.” Shiro carried Keith to Keith and Lance’s bedroom and laid him on the bed with ease, careful not to wake him. When Keith was settled, he turned to Lance and said,

“If he’s any worse than this, I want you to call me immediately, got it?” Lance nodded violently. He thanked Shiro and watched him leave. He glanced back to Keith and sighed. The poor boy looked so drained of energy with the dark rings under his eyes and his caved in cheekbones, complimented by pale - well, paler than usual - skin and beet red blush in his cheeks. Lance sighed as he brushed back Keith’s hair, feeling his fevered forehead burn his hand. He winced and quickly went to the bathroom to grab a towel and thermometer. He came back to see Keith curled up on himself, groaning.

“Keith, babe, you okay?” Lance’s question was answered when Keith started dry heaving.

“Oh god, Okay! Okay, Keith, take it easy! It's okay, just breathe. You’re gonna be okay.” He dragged a trashcan over really quickly just as Keith leaned over it and threw up. Keith had started crying by now and Lance felt terrible. Lance knew Keith had Emetophobia, and he couldn’t handle the sound of someone else getting sick, let alone getting sick himself. Keith hurled again and Lance continued rubbing his back.

“Easy, Red. Easy, Keith. My god, okay, it's okay, babe, it's okay, i promise." After the fit was over, Keith laid his head on Lance’s lap, crying and holding his stomach.

“H-hurts...” Keith whimpered. Lance rubbed his head soothingly.

“I know, baby. I know. It’s okay, you’re okay.” Lance soothed him. Once Keith fell asleep again, he eased Keith’s head off his lap and onto the bed under him. He cleaned up around the room really quickly and went to grab Keith some tea or something to soothe his throat. Lance knew how badly Keith would’ve felt without having thrown up, but now his throat must’ve felt terrible. Lance walked back in and he saw the blanket kicked off Keith. He pulled the blanket back up onto Keith gently and kissed his forehead. Keith’s face felt hot, so he grabbed the cloth and placing it gently on Keith’s forehead. Keith groaned and moved his head, causing the cloth to slide off. Lance rolled his eyes.

“Keith, you need to keep that on you or I’m sticking you in the bath.” Lance said firmly. He attempted to put the cloth back on, but Keith buried his face into the pillow. It was Lances turn to groan.

“Keith, come on!” He said, annoyance rising in his tone. Keith whispered softly and Lance realized he must’ve been too loud. He sighed and moved Keith’s hair back.

“Just get some rest, okay, Red?” Keith nodded his head gently in response. Lance smiled and got up to leave, but he felt a light tug on the bottom of his sweater. He turned to see Keith almost out of the bed, loosely holding the end of Lance’s sweater. He started to fall forward, so Lance quickly had to turn and catch him.

“Woah, there, Samurai. Take it easy.” Keith whimpered as Lance put him back to bed. He muttered something inaudible to Lance.

“What was that?” He asked.

“S-stay... p-please... I-i don’t want t-to be a-alone again...” he whimpered. Lance let out a breath of air; he knew Keith had abandonment issues because his parents died and left him, as did many foster parents until he wound up with Shiro’s, who later adopted him. However, even with that, their father left them shortly after Keith’s adoption.

“Okay, babe. I’ll stay. I always will.” Lance whispered. He laid down next to Keith and they situated themselves like they had a few days before, with Keith’s fevered head laying gently against Lance’s chest and Lance’s arms wrapped around Keith in a comforting hug.

“Lance...?” He heard after a while.

“Hm?”

“Y-you’re not g-gonna leave me... a-are you?” Keith said, his voice cracking. He felt a few tears drop onto his shirt from Keith and he gave Keith a sad smile. Lance rubbed Keith’s arm soothingly.

“I would never leave you in a million years, babe. I love you too much to put you through that.” He responded, placing a gently kiss on top of Keith’s head as he heard Keith falling asleep. He played with Keith’s hair for a few moments before he too was swallowed by slumber.

(Quick note: I don’t know what a college dorm looks like, so if any of this sounds inaccurate, don’t judge. I’m imagining it like two small bedrooms with very small bathrooms off them, and a hallway that leads to the Kitchen/hangout area. Warning: Angsty)

Keith laid his head against the rim of the toilet seat. He’d been throwing up for at least half an hour, and his stomach was killing him. Keith groaned as his stomach turned. He held his sides and closed his eyes. Keith heard footsteps shuffling around his room, which was right next to the bathroom. Seconds later, he heard the door open and a soft gasp.

“Keith, babe, what’s wrong?” Lance quickly came over and held Keith’s shoulder gently. Keith groaned again and gripped his sides tighter.

“I-I just felt n-nauseous. I-I’m fine.” Keith lied. He didn’t want to tell Lance he’d been throwing up because one, Keith had Midterms that day, and two, he didn’t like it when people worried about him. Keith propped his head up with his hands against his knees. He could feel his face burning in his hands. He got up and took off the jacket he’d had on. He’d been cold minutes ago, and he’d been on and off of feeling hot and cold while he’d been puking. He got up and started to exit the bathroom to grab some ibuprofen, but he was stopped by Lance, who spun him around. “Lance, p-please don’t do that. I s-still feel a little queasy.” Keith said weakly, holding his sides as a sneeze tickled his nose. Lance looked at him apologetically and said,

“Sorry. I’m just a little worried.” Keith could tell he wasn’t lying, because Lance’s forehead creased slightly whenever he was worried or nervous. Lance placed his hand against Keith’s forehead and his face dropped.

“Keith, I think you have a fever.” He said. Keith pushed his hand away and pushed his bangs out of his eyes.

“I’ll be fine. I-I’m just gonna get some medicilne.” Keith’s words slurred together slightly and he’d realized he messed up on saying medicine. “I-I mean medicine.” Lance didn’t smile at my mistake like he normally would. He gave Keith a concerned frown instead.

“Keith, are you sure you’re okay?” Lance asked. Keith smiled and nodded. He turned and went down the hall so he could grab the pills. His vision blurred slightly as he tried to read the instructions. He hadn’t taken ibuprofen in forever, or medicine for that matter, so he didn’t exactly remember how many he had to take. His vision switched the number for hours in between doses and how many he had to take. He was supposed to take 2 every 6 hours, but he read it as 6 every 2 hours. He knew that wasn’t right, but he took 4 instead. His world immediately felt tipsy, but he shook it off. He felt a strong pair of hands grab the sides of his arms and held him straight.

“Keith, are you one-hundred percent sure you’re okay? Because if you’re not, i can call us out and you can take your midterm when you’re better.” Keith just nodded.

“I-I’m fine.” Keith shook off the dizziness and grabbed his bags. “I only have Trig a-and A-art today. I-I’ll be fine.” Lance looked at him, knowing Keith was lying, but not acknowledging it.

“Fine. But the minute you don’t feel good, call me. I only have Third Period, so I’m home all day.” He told him as he watched Keith walk out their dormitory door. Lance walked over and flopped onto their couch and watched chic flics.

——————————————————

Lance opened his eyes to the sound of his phone buzzing. It was Pidge. Pidge had first period with Hunk and Keith. Why were they calling him?

Keith…

“Shit, shit, SHIT!” Lance stumbled off the couch and his phone slid off the table. Lance answered and heard a sigh of relief come from the other end on top of Hunk’s panicked voice. “Pidge, what’s up?”

“Something’s wrong with Keith.” Pidge said. Their voice was shaking. That’s not like Pidge at all.

“What’s wrong?”

“He-Hunk, give me back my freaking phone!” Pidge’s voice was cut off by the sound of Hunk’s panicked one.

“LANCE GET OVER HERE NOW!!! YOUR BOYFRIEND’S NOT RESPONDING TO US!!!” Lance’s heart stopped.

“What…?” Lance was already up with his Jacket on and walking out the door.

“Hunk, gimme that! you’re gonna give him a god damn panic attack!” Lance heard Pidge trying to take the phone back from Hunk. They eventually succeeded. “Keith collapsed when we were walking outside and he’s now sitting on a bench, holding his head and not talking.” Lance tripped over his feet and jogged down the hall.

“Where?” Pidge immediately understanding what he meant.

“Left courtyard, bench in front of the cherry blossom.” Lance knew where that was; it was where he had asked Keith out for the first time.

“Five minutes at most.” Lance hung up and bolted. Being an athlete, it helped his time. Lance got there in two minutes at least. When Lance saw Pidge and Hunk, his heart felt a pang of pain. Pidge was sitting next to Keith, Hunk on the other side of him. Keith was curled over his knees and he was shaking. Hunk was rubbing his back up and down, and Pidge was trying to make him feel better. Pidge noticed Lance first.

“Lance, thank god. He’s still not talking.” Pidge said. Their eyes were filled with worried tears. Lance squatted in front of Keith and ran a hand through his hair.

“Heyy, Keithy. Are you okay?” He got a faint head nod, and Pidge and Hunk, though both knowing he was lying, just softly smiled at each other. The two of them combined didn’t get that much out of Keith after being with him for fifteen minutes, and Lance got it out of him in a matter of seconds. Lance was special, to say the least. Lance sighed and gently ran his fingers through Keith’s hair.

“Come on. Let’s get back to our dorm.” Keith shook his head and Lance looked to Pidge for advice.

“He hasn’t wanted to move at all.” Pidge told him. Lance sighed and tried to lift Keith’s face up so he could look him in the eyes. When he did, though, he felt wet, hot tears rolling down his boyfriend’s cheek. Lance raised Keith’s face and saw that he was crying. His face looked pained and his lower lip trembled.

“Oh, baby…” Lance said. Keith’s face definitely felt hotter than it had that morning. “Come here.” Lance pulled Keith up and helped him stay upright. Keith depended on Lance for support and Lance said,

“I’m just gonna take him back to our dorm. Do either of you have next period off?” He knew Shiro or Allura usually would have third off, but Allura was studying abroad for the week, and Shiro had a job application during his third period today.

“I have classes all day. I mostly have midterms and shit like that.” Pidge said. “I’ll stop by once my classes are over for the day, though.”

"I have Culinary Arts that period, but I’m free after lunch if you need me.” Hunk replied. Lance just sighed and looked down at Keith. He looked terrible.

“Okay, I’ll just have him rest when I’m gone then. Thanks anyways.” Keith groaned softly under his breath and Lance took that as a sign that he wanted to leave. “I think our sickie over here wants to go back. I’ll see you guys later.” And with that, Lance helped Keith walk back to their dorm. On the way, Keith groaned and fell forward.

“Woah, Keith!” Lance caught him in kinda a side hug. Keith’s face showed nothing but pain and exhaustion. Lance sighed and scooped his boyfriend into his arms bridal style and carried him the rest of the way to their dorm. He struggled to open the door at first, but eventually got it and set Keith down on his bed. Lance brushed aside Keith’s bangs and felt the heat radiating from his face.

“Keith, you’re skin’s really warm.” Keith groaned in response. Lance got up, grabbed a thermometer, and quickly hustled back to Keith. When he got there, Keith was curled up in a ball on his side. His knees were to his chest and his arms crossed his stomach. There was a faint pink blush across his face and Lance felt terrible just looking at him.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you go to class. Open up.” He said, poking Keith’s lower lip with the end of the thermometer. Keith obeyed relatively faster than he normally would, and after a few seconds, the thermometer read 102.6. “Jeez, Keith, you’ve got a fever.” Lance’s phone buzzed, signaling he had fifteen minutes to get to his third period. He rolled his eyes and placed a cool washcloth on Keith’s forehead. “Get some rest, babe. Hopefully you’ll be better when you wake up. I’m going to class, but I’ll be back soon with some medicine, okay?” Keith nodded slightly in response. Lance smiled down at him and kissed his head before he left for class.

Keith waited a moment before shakily getting up and hurriedly shuffled to the bathroom. Once over the toilet, he threw up for the hundredth time that day alone. He leaned against the back wall after he felt like his stomach wasn’t going to come out of his mouth and closed his eyes. The tiles felt so cool against his burning skin, he thought it would be okay to close his eyes for just a minute.

Lance’s class times were usually two hours each. He left the dorm at 9:15 and got back at almost noon. The pharmacy was close to the dorms, but not the gym. Plus, there were fifteen million people in that small pharmacy. Lance was still dumbfounded by how many students could fit into that small space. When Lance returned, he quietly crept into Keith’s room, only to find him not there.

“Keith?” Lance noticed the bathroom light was on, unlike when he left. He opened the door and his heart did a double backflip. Against the wall was Keith, his head slumped over to the side. His skin was sickly pale besides a bright red blush across his face.

“Oh my god, KEITH!!” Lance ran up to him and tried to see what was wrong. Keith’s face was beaded with sweat and his breathing was uneven. His face looked pained and he was lightly gripping his sides.

“Keith, are you okay? What happened?” Keith groaned softly and buried his head into Lance’s leg. “Why didn’t you tell me you were this sick?” Keith opened his eyes slightly and saw Lance looking down at him.

“L-Lance…?” Keith’s voice was was too weak for anyone’s comfort. “wh-what are you d-doing back? I-I thought y-you had c-class…” Keith laid weakly against Lance.

“Keith, class ended half an hour ago… Oh my god - how long have you been passed out here?!” Keith cupped his mouth and leaned over the toilet as he threw up. Lance stared at Keith for a second, but quickly scooted closer and rubbed a hand against Keith’s back. Once Keith’s head rose a little, Lance felt Keith’s forehead. He winced; Keith’s skin was burning. “Hold on, I’ll be right back with a thermometer.” Lance got up, grabbed the thermometer, and came back. When he walked through Keith’s bedroom door, he could hear gagging again. He sighed and walked in to see Keith leaned over the seat again. His hair started falling into his face, so Lance put the thermometer down and sat behind Keith, holding his hair back. Keith groaned and laid his head on the rim of the seat. He looked terrible.

“My god, babe, you’re sick.” Keith nodded and felt his head spinning. He started to fall to the side. Lance quickly had to grab him before he hit his head onto the tile floor. The younger boy felt too light for his height, almost as if he’d lost a lot of weight, which he most likely had, but…

“Keith, when was the last time you ate?” Keith groaned softly, thinking back.

“U-umm… t-Tuesday?”

“Holy crap - Keith, it’s Friday. You mean to tell me you haven’t eaten in three days and you’re extremely sick?” Keith shifted and turned into Lances chest. Lance sighed and brushed Keith’s bangs aside; his face was burning to the touch. Lance turned Keith so he could face him, holding him up with one hand and holding the thermometer up with the other.