.
.
Keith doesn't represent Voltron anymore. Which is why this was a mistake.
The hangar-bay for the Black Lion blinks and dims repeatedly into a soft, scarlet-colored glow, as soon as they enter. Everything smells like musk and blood and sweat inside Keith's nostrils.
As he stabilizes the thrusters and races out of his piloting chair, the Black Lion's mouth-ramp hisses open without any spoken or unspoken command, dropping down to the bay's flooring at a steep but functional angle. Keith swallows down the burning of guilt working up his esophagus, muttering out Shiro's name and carefully prying off the other man's gore-speckled helmet.
He remains unresponsive to Keith's thin, black-gloved fingers gently touching over his cheek and neck. Most of Shiro's paladin-armor is drenched a bright red. Keith feels like screaming. From exhaustion… from the bolt of fear and horror in near-paralyzing levels among the regret.
It all shoots up Keith's chest and tightens his lungs, until a hoarse, breathless sob escapes him.
Several vargas ago, Lance and Pidge volunteered to journey to a local star-system beyond Thayserix, to convince one of their allies of the Voltron Coalition to join forces with another warring civilization for the sake of universal peace. It would release the Galra's restrictive hold on their world and add another group of allies to their ranks — which led to Hunk being dragged along the presence of a third Lion, even if he protested initially. Something about a vastly superior and warring civilization made Hunk a little paler and stern-faced.
Shiro then turned around after they vanished into the wormhole and suggested to Keith about heading to Dijjernuh — a neighboring, tropical planet of the Puigians.
They were supposed to hear from the Grand Leader at their base of operations, for intel and supplies needed by the rebelling factions. They took one look at Keith's uniform, with its indigo-lit armor faintly resembling Galran modeling for their soldiers, and ordered an explanation.
A diplomatic mission gone horrifically wrong as the Dijjernuhian guards opened fire.
Neutral ties have been severed. Keith witnessed through the crackle of blaster-fire and rising, smoking ashes as Shiro gets clipped by an energy-bolt, forcing him to his knees and groaning aloud, before getting swarmed and attacked by so many hollering, rage-murderous guards that Keith could no longer see Shiro anywhere.
Not even the violet-glowing, mechanized Galra arm.
Keith heaves a barely conscious Shiro to drape against his upper back, lifting and cradling him up. "I've got you, Shiro," he mumbles, trying to sound reassuring, hurrying down the ramp.
Nobody passes him on the way to the med-bay, as a frantic and panting Keith sends out an emergency alert, hoping that at least Coran discovers it on the bridge sector and heads towards their direction. He has no idea if Shiro fully passes out or not and tries to not think about all of the warm blood leaking down Keith's armored chest-plate and down his shoulders.
"By the moons of Xadia…" Coran breathes out, watching as Keith enters the room, carrying his leader. Keith's features are sunken with worry, streaked by grey, tasteless ash and crimson.
His strength brought on by Keith's adrenaline gives out as he lowers himself to help Coran pull Shiro towards one of the long examination tables wreathed by bright holo-luminescence. "Oh my goodness," Allura gasps, running over and touching his arm briefly. "Keith, what's happened?!"
Keith scrubs one of his wrists over his forehead, pushing up his perspiration-damp, dark bangs.
"We were attacked—"
The final word on Keith's lips breaks apart against the strain of his voice.
Allura whispers consolingly, re-touching over Keith's elbow as he takes a deep breath and shakes his head.
"Shiro? Shiro, can you hear me?" Coran tests his responses by pressing down a nerve or a vein on Shiro's neck. Keith isn't sure. He's not sure how this all happened in the first place. "He's not waking up," Coran announces grimly. "I need one of the bioregenerative—"
He points to towards some of the wall-paneling that Allura dashes over to, entering a code and opening up a compartment full of tech-items that Keith has no recollection of.
They crowd over Shiro, talking softly and looking at the med-equipment occasionally.
Keith stares down at his blood-soaked hands, as if seeing them for the first time, and yanks off his gloves roughly. His throat clenches up. Keith's eyes well up with hot tears. Fuck.
He has to get it together. For Shiro.
"Coran, his vitals are getting weaker…"
Something creeps into Allura's tone like a cold, harsh inevitability.
Keith snaps back to attention, wiping his cheek with his forearm without thinking about it. "What's going on?" he speaks up, glancing between Coran and Allura who share a wordless and anxious look.
"Placing Shiro's body into one of the healing pods will keep his wounds from getting infected, and help his recovery… but the consequences of doing this may result in slowing his brain activity." Coran twists his fingers around the blunt-shaped and metallic item in his grasp. "We can't know if Shiro will ever wake up from the coma it will induce with these readings."
"No—" Keith blurts out, those blue-gray eyes widening. "No, he's not going into a coma. What's our other option?" When peering around at the other two aliens, he's not reassured by their silence. "Allura!" Keith shouts, his mouth curling up and exposing his teeth.
"He needs blood, Keith," Allura whispers, unmoved by his desperation and anger but not unkind, her bright blue eyes glimmering. "And lots of it. Preferably from his own species."
Coran steps between them, facing Keith. "Synthetic human blood created by our technology would only hold off the probability of major organ failure for a short while," he says. "It won't save his life. Shiro needs a blood transfusion from an original source and he needs it now."
More heavy, ugly silence fills the med-bay and this time, Keith knows it is his fault.
"Okay." He runs his naked and pale fingers over his eyelids, muttering, "Okay, okay…" Keith begins deactivating his armor on his Blades of Marmora uniform quickly, stripping it away bit-by-bit, visibly shuddering with concentration. "Take it. I don't care how much. Just save Shiro."
Allura furrows her eyebrows. "Keith—"
"—You need to save him," he interrupts her firmly, hopping up onto another examination table and rolling up his sleeves. "Where do you need me for this?"
.
.
It is his responsibility to fix this.
Maybe that's why Keith doesn't consider holding a grudge when Coran and Allura take too much of Keith's blood at once — unable to gauge how much an human being needs to survive — and causing him to black out on the med-table, eyes rolling wildly in Keith's skull and his limbs convulsing.
"Later," Keith grumbles, as Coran insists that he spend at least two ticks in the healing pod whirring on. He can rest later. Keith doesn't want to tear his eyes away from Shiro.
They decide to give him space as Keith faces his back to the entrance-way, Allura smiling fondly and grasping onto Coran's fingers as the other alien man huffs, walking for the lounge where the rest of the paladins eagerly await to share the news about their successful mission.
.
.
He can feel that exhaustion, renewing within him.
It's right under the surface of Keith's flesh, creating a low-level tinny in his eardrums. Keith crosses his arms, and then uncrosses them as soon as the med-pod hums, its internal light shutting off. The glass-covering vanishes. Keith moves forward in time to catch a baffled and gaunt-faced Shiro in his arms, sitting down.
"Keith…?"
"I've got you," Keith replies, his lungs and chest feeling more relaxed. He smirks, hugging Shiro on the the ivory, miniature staircase, listening to his best friend's drowsy and content noises.
"You do… huh…?"
Shiro breathes this out as if highly amused by the thought, chuckling weakly, opening his pink-scabbed lips to Keith's mouth and slowing down the heated, intense kiss.
"As many times as it takes."
.
.
Voltron isn't mine. A MERRY SHEITHMAS TO YOU ALL! WE ARE STILL GOING! I had to ask for an extension for the Sheith Secret Santa but I got it done! My giftee was softlysheith and I hope all my fellow Sheith fans out there are doing wonderful and that you maybe get to read this! Any comments/thoughts are so welcomed! C: