A/N: Takes place in the middle of season one.
It's a running gag of mine that Galra react oddly to some medicines, and Keith gets hit hard with Altean medicine. No idea it would get this long. Anyway, get ready for some humor, angst, and stuff that's somehow both. Plus, team whumping, Broganes, platonic Kidge, a little Garrison Trio, and theories I surprised myself with.
As I'm sure you know, I know nothing of medical procedures in this sort of a situation. I just went with what sounded good...
Also, I removed the lyrics to the lullaby at the end, due to a new understanding of the rules on this site that states that song lyrics are a no-go.
Deep in space, nowhere in particular, the Castle of Lions floated. No one was on the bridge to pilot, no one was at the scanners keeping an eye out for Galra, no one was in the training room. The hangers were empty of anyone besides the lions, save for one.
In Red's hanger, four paladins and two Alteans stared up at Red with matching perplexed expressions.
"Remind me how that happened again?" Lance finally asked.
"Hey, you thought this was funny two hours ago," Pidge said.
"Two hours ago, this was funny. It's kind of gone downhill in the last ten doboshes."
"Do we leave him there?" Hunk asked.
"Red is protective of his paladin. I doubt we have anything to worry about," Coran said.
"He will come down when he is ready," Allura said.
Shiro glanced at her. "I've never seen Keith like this. There's no telling what he will do."
As if on cue, Keith's head poked over the edge of Red's muzzle. "You're still here?! I told you to go!"
"If he loses it again, I am climbing up there and dragging him down by his mullet," Lance muttered.
"Leave the mullet out of it!" Keith yelled, his tone taking on a definite whine.
"Let's go, Lance," Hunk said, clapping his hands on Lance's shoulders and steering him for the door. "Before you makes things worse."
Shiro covered his eyes with his flesh hand. "Too late."
Lance and Hunk stopped and looked back up.
Keith was sitting on the edge of Red's muzzle. His palms were shoved into his eyes and the eighteen-year old was loudly bawling at the ceiling.
Two Hours Earlier...
"These gases aren't toxic, are they?" Hunk asked, hefting a cylinder off the floor.
Coran glanced over. "Most aren't! Careful, number five, that canister's contents will explode if exposed to air."
Pidge nearly dropped the slim cylinder that was as tall as her. "You could've said that before I picked it up!"
"No worries." Coran took the canister and put it back on its rack on the wall. He dusted off his hands. "We are nearly done!"
Pidge and Hunk sighed. They had long since regretted volunteering their help when Coran said he needed help straightening up some of the rooms of the Castle. It had been a boring week, though, and both had wanted to do something.
So far, they had had the interesting experience of cleaning out a pool that was on the ceiling, sorted through a mess of cloth in some sort of seamstress room, restocked a library, and currently were replacing canisters of gases that they didn't want to ask why they were in the Castle in the first place. Hunk had nearly asked, but spotted the universal skull and crossbones symbol and kept his mouth shut.
"After we finish here," Pidge paused to latch a canister in place, "I'm locking myself in my room for the next movement."
"I'm thinking that I should just pretend to be busy next time Coran needs help," Hunk whispered back.
"Agreed."
Coran walked by with a short, fat canister in his arms. "Just a few-"
His statement was cut off when he slipped on a cylinder on the ground. His feet went straight up, and the canister he was carrying was flung into the air.
"Coran!" Hunk yelped in concern.
"Hold your breath!" yelled Coran, flat on his back with all four limbs sticking up.
The two paladins quickly sucked in a breath and watched the cylinder fly through the air. It landed near the door with a crash just as the door swung open.
Keith, having just entered to a bang and Coran on the floor, instantly went defensive. His hand went for his knife, but he was sent staggering by a blast of gases straight in his face. He gasped and sputtered, unresistant when a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him backward.
Coran tugged Keith into the airlock that cut off the room of chemicals from the rest of the Castle. Pidge and Hunk quickly followed, cheeks all puffed up. Coran closed the door and waited until a green light over the door blinked on before taking a breath.
"Keith, how do you feel?" Coran asked urgently, gripping the boy's shoulders.
Keith coughed. "Fine. What was that?"
"I'm not sure right now." Coran tried unsuccessfully to peer through the foggy glass. "I'll get a gas mask and check."
The outside door opened and everyone got out. Coran looked Keith up and down. He was steady, though a bit glassy-eyed.
"In the meantime, Hunk, get Keith to the infirmary," Coran said. "Let me know if he develops any purple blisters."
"Purple blisters?" Keith repeated.
A very strange and unexpected sound came from Keith. Coran froze from reaching for a gas mask beside the door, and turned.
Keith had both hands clamped over his mouth. His face was rapidly turning red, and his eyes were horrified.
"Keith," Pidge asked slowly, "Did you just… giggle?"
Keith uncovered his mouth. "No!" His protest was followed by another giggle, and he quickly replaced his hands.
"Well, I think I now know what Keith breathed," Coran asked, holding back a grin. "I believe it would be called nitrous oxide."
Pidge snorted. "Keith breathed laughing gas?
"This isn't funny!" Keith said, the last word coming out as a half-laugh.
"Look on the bright side. At least it is only temporary," Hunk tried.
Keith gave Hunk a withering look that was ruined by the fact he was obviously holding laughter in.
"Let's get him to Shiro," Pidge said with a smirk. "Maybe Shiro's seen him on laughing gas before and will know how long it will take."
Shiro was waiting in the training room with Lance. He had sent Keith to get Pidge and Hunk for an evening training session, but was starting to wonder if Keith was having trouble tracking them down. He was about to leave in search of them, when the door opened to reveal Pidge.
"Pidge, what-"
A massive laugh came out from the hall. Shiro blinked, and Lance whipped around.
"Okay, man, calm down," Hunk's voice said.
"I c-can't!" The second person sounded like Keith, but there was so much laughter mixed in with the words, that it couldn't have been him.
But, a moment later, Keith came into view. He was laughing so hard that Hunk was basically holding him up.
"What did you do to Keith?" Shiro asked, crossing his arms.
"Sure, blame us," Hunk grumbled. He came into the room and let go of Keith, who flopped against the wall and slid to the floor. "We didn't do anything. Coran dropped a canister and it sprayed some kind of laughing gas in his face."
Lance finally recovered enough to laugh himself. "I didn't know he could even laugh!"
"I don't think that was laughing gas," Shiro said. "Keith never responded that strongly to laughing gas."
Keith made an exaggerated gesture at himself, then burst out laughing. Shiro was starting to get worried.
Just then, Coran came in. He removed the gas mask from his face and straightened his mustache.
"Well, it is nitrous oxide alright," Coran confirmed.
"It can't be," Shiro said, confused. "Keith didn't feel things when he was on laughing gas, but he never actually laughed, much less…" Shiro trailed off and pointed to Keith literally rolling on the floor.
"Maybe because it is Altean?" Lance suggested, walking over to Keith.
"Lance, that is-"
"Brilliant!" Pidge cut Shiro off. "I mean, gases could have slight differences based on the planet of origin."
"You are correct," Coran added. "The nitrous oxide does indeed cause giddiness and help with pain among Alteans, but some other races have reacted… oddly to the gas. For example, the Galra-" Coran abruptly stopped.
The paladins not occupied with trying to catch their breath gave Coran odd looks.
"How would you know how Galra react to Altean laughing gas?" Shiro asked.
"Long story," Coran said, clearing his throat.
"We have time," Pidge said.
Keith cracked up laughing, harder than ever.
"Keith?" Shiro asked.
"T-time!" Keith struggled out between laughs. "Ti-me!"
"Time?" Lance repeated, sending Keith in a new fit of laughter. Lance grinned and said, "Time. Time. Time." Each repeat of the word had Keith laughing harder.
"I'm officially concerned. Lance, quit it," Hunk said
"But it's making him so happy!"
"Lance," Shiro said warningly.
Lance pouted, making Keith laugh again. Hunk grabbed Lance and turned him around.
"Do you have any medical records about how the other races responded to the gas?" Shiro asked. "We need to make sure there isn't a risk of negative effects for Keith."
"I'm sure there is something in the infirmary records," Coran said.
"Then we'll start there. Keith, come with- where's Keith?"
Everyone looked where Keith had been sprawled, but the boy was gone.
Allura scrolled through the holo-screen. This section of space was fairly quiet, but quiet Galra made Allura nervous. Hearing someone enter the bridge, Allura turned.
Keith strode in, then halted a few feet in. He glanced around the room, his expression seeming a bit lost.
"Keith," Allura said. "I thought you were training."
"So did I," Keith trailed off. "But Lance was being ridiculous."
"So it was normal," Allura said.
"I guess."
Allura took a step closer to Keith. "Are you… alright?"
Keith shrugged.
"Were you injured in training?" Allura asked. Keith was acting like he had a concussion or something.
Keith frowned and squinted. "I don't think so."
"Let's go to the infirmary, then. I think Shiro is looking for you," Allura said, her concern over the usually stiff paladin drawing her away from her scans.
Keith's arms clamped to his sides. "No, I'm fine. I don't have to go to the infirmary."
"Then I'm calling Shiro."
"No, no, everything's fine!" Keith insisted.
Allura stepped closer to Keith. His eyes were oddly bright. She put a hand to his forehead, but he didn't have a fever. Keith didn't duck away like Allura expected, but stared at her.
"Will you at least sit down?" Allura asked.
"Okay!" Keith said amiably. He walked over to his station and plopped down.
Allura watched him while she went to her console to call the others. After a moment of staring around the bridge, Keith's attention switched to his console. He started pushing buttons, eyes widening in fascination as the screen came to life.
Before Allura could call the others, the door swung open. Shiro hurried in with Hunk.
"Princess, have you seen Keith?" Shiro asked.
Allura wordlessly pointed at Keith scrolling through his holo-screen. He glanced up at Shiro's voice, scowled, then went back to the holo-screen.
"At least he stopped laughing," Hunk said.
"Laughing?" Allura inquired.
"Keith accidentally breathed some laughing gas. It's having a very odd effect on him," Shiro explained.
"Is that why he is acting so… unusual?"
Shiro was about to say he looked fine, when Keith snapped petulantly, "Don't call me unusual."
"I assumed he had a concussion," Allura said while Shiro and Hunk raised their eyebrows at Keith.
"I've never seen him so… expressive," Hunk commented.
"He might have to just sleep it off," Shiro said. He approached Keith. "Come on, buddy, let's get you to the infirmary."
"No!"
Keith shoved himself away from Shiro and fell from the chair. Allura and Hunk winced, and Shiro felt panic surge in him.
"Easy, Keith, you're going to hurt yourself," Shiro said.
Keith leaped to his feet. "I'm not going to any infirmary!"
Keith sprinted from the room, easily spinning away when Shiro tried to grab him. The others raced after him, arriving in the hall in time to see Keith's feet vanish into an air duct.
Shiro, Hunk, and Allura stared up at the vent. The shuffling and banging of Keith moving eventually faded away. Shiro was the first to speak.
"We need Pidge."
Pidge could never determine if it was a source of pride or embarrassment that she had the air ducts of the Castle completely mapped out on her tablet. Some sections she could navigate with her eyes closed. What had started out as a caution after Sendak took over the Castle had quickly become a very thorough investigation and mapping.
Pidge paused at a turn and crossed off a section of the ducts on her tablet. So far, there had been no sight or sound of Keith. She didn't dare call out, considering how he had fled from Shiro.
Pidge reached another intersection and stopped to listen. There was a noise to the left, so she wriggled that way.
Gradually, the sound became more clear. It sounded like Keith was hyperventilating.
"Keith?" Pidge called softly.
The sound didn't change, so Pidge went on. She reached a larger section of the ducts, and found Keith. He was huddled in the corner, with his knife in the middle of the floor.
"Keith?"
Keith suddenly scrabbled forward. He swatted the knife into another duct and went to crouch beside Pidge.
"Are you okay? What's wrong with your knife?"
Keith's eyes were wide and full of horror. "It's the blade of death!"
"Oh-kay. Then we'll leave it here, okay?"
Keith sagged in apparent relief. "Thank you. That is good."
"Let's get out of the ducts, huh?"
Keith nodded. Pidge squirmed around, then paused when a hand grabbed her ankle.
"Uh, Keith? What are you doing?"
"It's still there," Keith whispered.
"Well, let's get out of here, then. It can't follow us." Pidge couldn't believe that she was explaining that an inanimate object couldn't follow them, but at least it calmed Keith down.
He still didn't let go of her ankle the whole time.
Pidge expertly rolled out of the duct, landing on her feet. Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Coran, and Allura had already been contacted, and were waiting for them. Shiro was holding a bag.
"Stay there," Shiro said when Keith made as if to crawl out.
Shiro reached up and hooked his hands under Keith's arms. He carefully tugged him out and placed the lanky boy on his feet. Keith glanced around nervously, but he wasn't resisting Shiro anymore.
"First things first," Shiro said. He held out his hand. "Belt."
While the others looked on, Keith grudgingly undid his belt and handed it over. Shiro took it and inspected the lining. He picked at it, then pulled out an impossibly slim knife. He then proceeded to remove more and placed them all in the bag. He handed back the belt and ordered the fanny pack, from which he removed six larger knives.
"Where's your favorite?" Shiro asked, handing back the pack.
"In the ducts." Keith's eyes widened. "Oh, no."
"No problem. Pidge, could you get-"
"No!" Keith yelped. "To go in would be suicide!"
Shiro glanced at Keith, then to Pidge. Pidge shrugged.
"He called his knife a blade of death," Pidge said.
"It is! Everyone who touches it, dies!" Keith peered at Pidge. "You didn't touch it, did you?"
Pidge had, actually, held the knife a couple times that Keith had accidentally left it out, but something told her that she shouldn't mention it just then. She shook her head.
Keith sagged in relief, and gave Shiro more knives. One from either boot, a sheath on his right leg, three sheaths across his back, one on his front, and two in both sleeves.
"He carries all these knives on him? How come he never uses them?" Lance asked, gaping at the bag of knives.
"I've never been able to figure that one out," Shiro admitted. "He uses them for throwing knives at a target, but I have never seen him use them elsewhere."
"How does he not stab himself, like, constantly?" Hunk asked, having realized the reason that Shiro had panicked on the bridge.
"Can I go now?" Keith cut in.
Everyone looked Keith up and down. He had been acting almost normal since emerging from the duct.
"Not yet," Shiro decided. "You should get to bed."
"But I'm not tired!" Keith protested in the tone of a little kid.
"No, but you're off to bed," Shiro said.
"No!" Keith gave a firm stamp for emphasis.
Lance snorted. "He sounds like my little nephew."
Keith turned his head to Lance, who was shocked into silence by the tears gathering in Keith's eyes.
"Woah, what did I say? What is wrong?" Lance asked.
"You're mean," Keith sniffled.
Pidge elbowed him. "Good job, Lance, you made him cry."
Lance was absolutely horrified. A crying little kid, he could handle. A crying Keith? To top it off, he wasn't even sure what he had said to have such an effect. He looked helplessly at Shiro, who was as much at a loss as Lance. Luckily, Hunk took over.
"Okay, you don't have to go to bed yet." Hunk held out a hand and smiled. "How about the kitchen? I tried a new cookie recipe yesterday."
On any normal occasion, Keith would have shrugged and followed Hunk. But Keith was far from normalcy at that point.
Instead, Keith brightened and nodded eagerly. Not even bothering to wipe the few tears that had tracked down his cheek away, he abruptly latched onto Hunk's arm.
Unfazed, Hunk said, "Okay, guys, we're headed to the kitchen. You can figure this out without us, right?"
Shiro nodded. Hunk left with the suddenly clingy Keith.
"That was odd," Pidge said.
"Uncontrollable laughter, mental reset, and a drastic fear of an old favorite item," Allura listed off.
"Say what now?" Lance asked. "I got the laughter and the fear of his knife, but what do you mean by 'mental reset?'"
"Mentally, it is safe to say that Keith is currently in the state of a four- or five-year old," Coran supplied.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be honest. I can't even see five-year old Keith acting like that. Maybe trying to stab everyone, but that is about it." Lance glanced at Shiro.
"I didn't meet Keith until he was ten. I don't know how he acted before that," Shiro said. "Allura, are those common side effects for alien races to the gas?"
Coran glanced at Allura, who was deep in thought, before answering himself, "Well, there are a variety of ways that he could respond. Just in case, as soon as I can, I should test his blood. Make sure there aren't any negative effects. If my guess is correct, Keith should maintain this mental state for a varga or so. "
"And then he will go back to normal?" Shiro asked hopefully.
"Nope. That's when the fun really begins!"
Keith was really reminding Hunk of a little kid. He cheerfully gazed about the kitchen, red-brown cookie in hand and feet kicking up under the table. Beside his plate was a cup of juice Hunk had concocted from fruit from the last stop at a market.
"Good cookie?" Hunk asked, grinning.
Keith nodded without taking his gaze from the ceiling. Gradually, his kicking feet slowed. Hunk noticed Keith staring at the vent in the wall.
"Something wrong?"
Keith didn't answer. Hunk remembered how Keith had reacted about his knife being in the vents and that he thought the blade was evil. Hunk got up and went to the vent, sliding it closed. He turned to find Keith beaming at him, and had to laugh.
"Nothing will get you as long as Hunk is here!" Hunk dramatically said, making Keith laugh.
The others walked into the room. As soon as he spotted Lance, Keith's grin vanished and he scowled at him. Lance, knowing he had to be mature with Keith for then, solemnly went to stand beside Keith's chair. He knelt down so he was eye-level, ignoring that Keith scooched away from him.
"I'm sorry for being mean. I didn't mean to call you little," Lance said, going on his best guess as to why Keith had called him mean.
Keith stared at Lance for a long moment, then finally nodded. Lance grinned and stood, holding out a hand.
"Want to play hide-and-seek in the lounge?" Lance offered.
Keith finally started to smile. He nodded and took Lance's hand, and the pair left the kitchen.
"So, any ideas on how long he will be like that?" Hunk asked. "Not that I'm trying to get rid of this new Keith. He kind of reminds me of my niece and nephew on Earth."
"We have maybe half a varga left of 'little kid Keith,'" Pidge said with air quotes.
"Then what?"
Shiro sighed. "Mood swings."
Lance was having more fun than he had ever thought he could with Keith. The pair's game of hide-and-seek had turned into a game of tag, which had escalated to a small war involving pillows. Currently, both boys were staked out in separate forts.
Keith had the couch cushions as a blockade between him and the wall, and Lance had a blanket thrown over the back of the couch. They had had to ransack their rooms, and the others' rooms to get enough supplies.
Lance crouched in his fort with pillows at the ready. He strained his ears for the sound of Keith approaching. After a few minutes of silence, Lance crawled out of his fort.
"Keith," Lance said. "Keith?"
There wasn't any noise from behind the cushions. Lance approached with caution, holding a pillow at the ready. He peeked over the top.
Keith was laying on his stomach. His arms were crossed with his chin resting on them. He was staring blankly into space.
"Hey, man, what happened to our pillow fight?" When Keith didn't answered, Lance lightly bopped him on the head with the pillow. "Keith?"
Keith's only response was a heavy sigh.
Lance frowned. Just when he was getting used to the fun Keith, he had moved on from that stage. It looked like the mood swing stage had hit him hard.
"Come on, Keith," Lance said with his own sigh.
Keith didn't protest when Lance grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. Dragging the listless Keith behind him, Lance headed for the infirmary. Finding Shiro, Pidge, and Coran inside, Lance tugged Keith inside and held his arm out to Shiro.
"Okay, I've had my turn. You guys can watch him now," Lance said.
"Hey, no fair. You had him when he was fun," Pidge said.
"I didn't hear you offering," Lance said.
Shiro took Keith's wrist, watching the boy stare at the wall. "Did this just start?"
"A few minutes ago at least," Lance said. "This is only going for another varga, right? Then Keith will be back to normal?"
"Hard to say," Coran said. "If his reactions go like I think, he will sleep it off in a varga. But, he is human."
Keith suddenly whipped around to face Coran, jerking his arm free. "What're you calling me?!"
"Human," Coran said, unperturbed by the change.
"Fine, be smart about it, Mr. Mustache!" Keith snapped.
"Dude, it's not an insult if it's true," Lance said. He instantly regretted speaking as Keith turned on him.
"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go!"
Lance blinked. "When?"
"Fine," Keith barked out. He stalked away, shoving past Pidge and muttering, "Outta the way, shorty."
Before anyone could even blink, Pidge gave what could only be described as a battle cry and launched herself at Keith. Both paladins went to the ground and started rolling around in a writhing mass of kicking legs and swinging arms.
It took several minutes and Keith to start yelping in what sounded like pain, for Shiro to shake off his shock. He quickly grabbed Pidge around the middle and lifted her off of Keith.
The girl was still yelling and kicking, so Shiro took several steps away before setting her down. He also made sure to keep a firm grip on her shoulders. Keith didn't move from his fetal position on the floor. His face was hidden in his arms, but that didn't stop his whimpers from being heard.
"Pidge!" Shiro gave Pidge a firm shake, startling her from her anger. "Keith doesn't know what he's saying right now. Now look at him."
Pidge hesitantly turned. Once she saw Keith's position and heard him, she immediately became embarrassed. Shiro let her go, and she hurried to kneel beside Keith with Lance and Coran.
"K-Keith, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump on you like that. I wasn't thinking, I'm so sorry!"
"Didn't mean to call you short," Keith mumbled without relaxing his position.
"You can call me short any time you want," Pidge said.
"Could we get that in writing?" Lance asked, earning an elbow to the side.
"It only applies to Keith," Pidge said. "Okay, Keith? Special permission."
Keith still didn't move. He continued to whimper. Pidge looked helplessly up at Shiro, who crouched to join them.
"Keith?" Shiro put a hand on Keith's shoulder, but he wouldn't relax. "Let's get you off the floor, at least."
Keith didn't resist, but his whimpers did increase when Shiro scooped him up despite Shiro's gentleness. Shiro settled him on one of the beds and stepped back.
"He's not hurt, is he?" Pidge asked.
"I doubt he is, but I will check," Coran said, picking up a scanner.
"Yeah, Pidge, I don't think you really could hurt Keith," Lance joked.
Pidge smirked up at him. "But I can hurt you."
Shiro shook his head, but let them be. Coran finished the scans.
"Physically, Keith is fine. We'll just have to wait for this bout to pass."
The four of them stood watching Keith, until Lance finally got uncomfortable with Keith's position. He left to find Hunk. Coran took a blood sample -causing a briefly louder bout of whimpers- and confirmed that Keith's immune systems hadn't been damaged. He headed off soon after to check in with Allura.
"Shiro, it's been almost ten minutes," Pidge finally whispered. "I didn't mean to scare him like that."
"I know," Shiro said. He held back a sigh, hiding his concern about Keith's state. "When Coran said mood swings, I wasn't expecting this."
"When Keith recovers, we maybe shouldn't mention what happened?" Pidge suggested.
"Sounds good."
It took another five minutes for Keith to come out of his tight pose, and it happened with absolutely no warning.
One second, Shiro and Pidge were sitting in the infirmary, watching and listening to Keith. The next, Keith's entire body seemed to spring outward. He rolled to the side, landed on his hands and knees, then scrambled to his feet and ran out the door.
"Did he-" Pidge started.
Shiro was already on his feet and sprinting for the door. "Yes!"
The pair raced into the hall and in pursuit of the runaway paladin. They followed him to the lounge, where he was throwing pillows into a pile in the middle of the room.
"Keith, what are you doing?" Shiro asked.
Keith spun around, a pillow in either hand and a beaming grin on his face. For a second, it seemed like he had gone back into his five-year old personality.
"I have no idea!" Keith shouted happily. He chucked a pillow at Shiro and Pidge, both just managing to catch their pillow. "But I need help!"
Pidge jumped right in with Keith, still feeling guilty for scaring him before. She helped him pile pillows into a wall and threw a blanket over it. Shiro just watched and wondered when all the pillows had been brought there.
Once the wall had been constructed, Keith shook his head and kicked it over. Pidge yelped in playful protest, then helped Keith make a layer of cushions and pillows. Extra pillows and blankets were piled along the edges.
"We're making a nest?" Pidge asked eagerly.
Keith paused, having placed the final blanket. He mumbled to himself, then jumped to his feet.
"Okay, it's done. Just don't touch it!" Keith ordered.
Confused, Pidge climbed out of the nest. Keith nodded to her, then turned and raced out of the room.
"How is having a ridiculous amount of energy a mood swing?" Pidge demanded breathlessly as she and Shiro ran from the room.
Shiro shrugged. He was starting to think that Coran's predictions were off.
The pair followed Keith to the training room. He started fighting the gladiator with his bare hands. Pidge and Shiro left him to it, until Keith tried to up the level to a hundred. Shiro had to drag him out by the collar of his shirt and Pidge locked the doors.
Keith huffed. "You guys are boring. I'm going to find Coran!"
Shiro let him go. "He's on the bridge."
Keith shot him a mischievous grin that had Shiro wondering if it was a good idea to let him go. His concern was proven when Keith spun and sprinted in the opposite direction of the bridge.
Shiro and Pidge ran after him, out of breath by the time they reached the hangers. They arrived in time to see Keith disappear up Red's mouth.
"Coran!" Shiro shouted. "Make sure Red doesn't get out!"
Shiro's call was too late, though. Red was on his paws and shooting out the tunnel before Coran could lock the doors.
"Quiznak!" Pidge yelped, turning to run for Green's hanger.
"Lance and Hunk, get to your lions," Shiro said, running for Black. "Keith just took Red outside!"
"What is going on with Keith?!" Hunk demanded.
Shiro rapidly explained what had happened in the last fifteen minutes as he launched Black. Yellow flew out with Green and Blue.
"I thought we would only have to deal with mood swings," Hunk said with a groan.
"Yeah, well, I think the chains on his mood swing just snapped," Lance said.
"Who has eyes on Keith?" Shiro asked.
Green spun around and Pidge said, "There he is!"
Red was flying in haphazard spirals, darting in and out of space debris. Despite his speed, Red didn't hit a single thing. When the other lions tried to fly after the lion, they were battered and knocked constantly off course.
"Keith!" Shiro yelled. "Keith, talk to me!"
"His comms are closed," Pidge said. "Wait, let me…" She groaned. "Red's blocking me somehow."
"Stay back and keep trying. Lance and Hunk, we need to try and herd Red towards the Castle. Hunk, grab him if you have the chance," Shiro said.
Blue suddenly darted up in front of Red.
Lance yelled, "I got him!"
Red rammed full-speed into Blue, sending both lions spinning out of control. Red kicked off Blue and straight up, back in control, while Blue crashed into an asteroid.
"Don't got him," Lance amended. "Ow."
"Okay, now I'm mad," Hunk said. "Keith, we're on your side!"
Yellow angled above Red, but the smaller lion spun upside down and clamped his jaws on Yellow's paw. He jerked down, throwing Yellow off-balance, then darted away. Hunk yelled when he realized he was headed for Blue, who was just recovering. Yellow smashed into Blue, throwing him away.
"Ow! Hunk!"
"Sorry!"
Shiro moved Black out of pursuit and closer to the recovering lions to watch Red. The lion was flying in quick circles, roaring and occasionally blasting asteroids with his lava beam.
"Coran, Allura, what is wrong with Red?" Shiro asked.
"Due to the bond between paladin and lion, Red is likely reflecting how Keith feels," Coran said. "And right now, he thinks you are the enemy."
"We have to get him calmed down," Shiro said with a groan, ducking Black when Red veered close to them. "Pidge?"
"Almost… Got it!"
A video link opened for Red's cockpit. The team had been expecting Keith's reckless grin in place, but he looked horrified. His mouth gaped to let out random yelps, and his eyes were wide.
"Keith, what's going on?" Shiro asked.
Keith jumped and started to ramble. "I don't know! I was flying, and it was fun, but now it's not fun and I want to go back. Red wants to go back, but we can't go back! Shiro, I can't stop."
"It's called a brake, dude!" Lance said, then Blue was struck by a chunk of stone. "Quiznak!"
"It's going to be okay, buddy," Shiro said soothingly. "Let's just go back to the Castle."
"I-I can't!" Keith yelled.
"Let go of the controls," Hunk said.
Keith jerked his hands away from the controls, allowing Red to plow into a clump of space debris. Keith was thrown forward with a startled cry. He grabbed the controls again and jerked Red clear.
"Okay, bad idea," Hunk said.
Keith shot a scared look at the screen. "Now what?"
"Feet off the pedals," Lance dead-panned.
Keith blinked at him like he was crazy, but shifted his body so his feet were off to the side. Red's speed immediately began to decrease. Shiro flew Black up to steady Red and bring him to a halt.
"You okay, now?" Shiro asked.
Keith nodded. In the process of being slowed down, his gaze had gone distant. His eyes squeezed shut as Black angled Red for the Castle.
"Just hang in there, buddy," Shiro said soothingly.
Pidge switched Keith off the main line and spoke to Coran. "Keith's near the end of this, right?"
"Should be," Coran said. "But his mood swings also weren't supposed to be this dramatic."
"So, you're saying that Keith could get other reactions?" Hunk asked with a grimace.
"Can we lock him in his room now?" Lance grumbled.
"Meet us in Red's hanger," Shiro said, ending the conversation.
Everyone did as Shiro said, but Keith wouldn't get down to them. Upon being placed inside, Red sat up and Keith climbed out to sit on his muzzle. One line of bad timing on Lance's part sent Keith into a fit of tears.
Hunk promptly dragged Lance from the room. Allura and Coran left next, leaving Shiro and Pidge alone with Keith.
"Keith?" Shiro called. "Come on down, okay?"
Keith continued crying.
"I'm going after him," Pidge finally said.
"What? No," Shiro said.
Pidge smirked at him. "I've climbed Green more times than you can count. Red's only a little bigger."
With no better ideas -Red was angled so he couldn't have Black lift them up to Keith- Shiro nodded to Pidge. In no time, the girl was scampering up Red's frame. The lion rumbled, making Pidge pause at his shoulders, but he didn't make any move to shake her off. After a moment, Pidge resumed her climb, coming up between Red's ears.
Keith's crying had slowed during Pidge's climb. Keith was hunched on Red's nose, sniffing and tracing his fingers along Red's muzzle.
"Keith?" Pidge whispered.
Keith jumped a little and looked back at her. His eyes were swollen and red from the tears still streaming out. Snot was running down his face.
Pidge sighed and rummaged in her pockets before pulling out a relatively clean rag. She held it out to Keith.
"Wipe your face."
Keith wordlessly took the rag. He scrubbed away the tears and snot, then tried to hand it back to Pidge.
"Ah, keep it." Pidge sat down beside Keith. "What's wrong?"
Keith shrugged, then faced forward. Pidge noticed he held his empty sheath in his hands, and was rubbing his fingers over it.
"You want your knife back?" Pidge asked.
Keith nodded and sniffed. "It's all I got of her. Why did I leave it behind?"
"I'll get it for you. Let's get you down to Shiro first, though, huh?"
Keith shook his head. "Why do I even keep it? She left."
"Who left?" Pidge asked carefully.
"M-" Keith choked, and a fresh stream of tears started. He forced out, "Mom."
Pidge's eyes widened. She didn't know anything about Keith's family. She had heard whispers in the Garrison that his father was dead and his mother was either dead or had run out on them.
"Dad said she had t-to go," Keith mumbled. The tears had started up again, and he started to hiccup a little. "N-never said wh-why, only th-that she d-did it to p-protect me."
Pidge was silent. She never knew what to say to someone as distraught as Keith currently was, never mind that it was Keith that was sniffling beside her.
"I m-miss them," Keith went on. "D-Dad vanished on m-me. Didn't m-mean to. Accid-dent. Fire. No one c-could h-h-h-"
Whatever Keith was trying to say was lost in a sob. Keith folded in on himself and began to rock.
Pidge gave up on trying to figure out what to say. She leaned over and grabbed Keith. He flinched away, then fell into her. He turned his snotty face into Pidge's chest and began sobbing anew.
"There, there. It's okay, I'm here," Pidge whispered, repeating the words her mother had used when they received news that Matt and her father had been lost. "It's going to be okay. Just let it out. It's okay."
"It's not okay!" Keith wailed. "I c-can't prot-tect them!"
"Who?" Pidge murmured.
"The t-team. Fire k-kills, it b-burns. I c-can't stop it! Red a-and I, we b-burn!"
Pidge blinked and thrust Keith back the length of her arms. "Don't be ridiculous. Your fire protects us."
The fear in Keith's eyes abruptly switched to anger. "Fire does nothing b-but destroy!"
Pidge shook her head. "Not when you are in charge."
Keith stared at Pidge, a range of emotion flickering on his face in the span of a few seconds. He clenched his eyes closed and shook his head.
"Look at me, Keith," Pidge said firmly. Keith peeked at her. "I'm sorry that fire killed your dad. Fire can be bad sometimes, but just because your the paladin of fire now doesn't make you bad. You can control your own fire, it isn't just some out of control force of nature with you. You can't hurt any of us with it."
Keith didn't respond. He simply fell back against Pidge, who sighed and hugged him again. Red gently shuddered as his head lowered to the ground. Shiro climbed up, pausing when he saw Keith and Pidge.
"Is he okay?" Shiro asked.
Before Pidge could answer, Keith shook himself free. Despite his tear-streaked face and puffy eyes, Keith's mood had apparently changed. He was back to grinning, and he scrambled off Red's head. He bounced on his heels and called Shiro and Pidge to come down.
"I'm not sure," Pidge eventually said, answering Shiro's question.
Keith ran back to the kitchen with Shiro and Pidge following. Lance and Hunk were there and they, obviously ignoring the remaining signs of his fit, allowed Keith to "convince" them to help him make a treat. While they worked, Pidge explained to Shiro what Keith had said to her on Red.
Shiro glanced at Keith, wrist-deep in a light blue flour. He was laughing and talking unlike anything he had ever seen before that day.
"Don't tell the others," Shiro said. "But… when I first met Keith, he was deathly afraid of fire. A match was enough to send him running. The other kids teased him about it, and he eventually forced himself to overcome his fear."
"Keith was afraid of fire?" Pidge said, incredulous.
"I think that some part of him still is," Shiro revealed. "He told me, when we first were chosen by our lions, that he didn't think he had the right lion. I wonder if it was that fear of fire that made Red slow to accepting him."
"Red didn't open right up to him?" Pidge asked.
"No. On Sendak's ship, Red didn't go to him until he had opened up the airlock to clear the sentries and he got sucked into space." Shiro shook his head. "I thought he had completely overcome his fear since becoming Red's paladin, but now…"
The two fell silent, watching Keith laugh at Hunk shooing Lance away from the batter bowl. Eventually, Pidge spoke.
"He wanted his knife back. I'm going to change my shirt and go get it."
Everyone thought -hoped- that Keith would sleep off the last of the gas about the time they had managed to drag him out of space. Instead, he continued on his crazy mood swing cycle.
After a surprisingly successful baking session, Keith had flown into a fit of rage. A plate of cookies was thrown to the floor before Hunk was able to get him out of the room.
After the anger came moodiness, then wild energy, then another bout of moodiness. The cycle continued for a good hour before Keith decided that he needed to play keep away from the entire team.
Even Allura was pulled away from the bridge, as Keith was somehow avoiding most of the cameras. After half an hour, the team finally located Keith halfway under the couch in the lounge.
Shiro pulled Keith out by his ankles, revealing that Keith had fallen back into moodiness. He didn't move from his spot on the floor that Shiro had dragged him, and everyone decided to just lock the whole team in the lounge.
When Keith fell into an excited, giggly mood, Lance had taken over with the little enthusiasm he could muster while the others remained sprawled on the couches.
For the next twenty minutes, Keith was engaged with the screens in the lounge walls and some holo-books that had been left in there at some point. Allura called the mice to help entertain Keith as well.
Lance jokingly suggested leaving Keith locked in his room. Hunk half-heartedly threw a pillow from the pillow nest at him, then had to console Keith by helping him rebuild the nest that no one had been allowed to touch.
By that point, everyone had to wonder if Keith was ever going to snap out of it.
"Guys, I think he's winding down," Lance whispered. It had been five hours since the whole deal had started, almost midnight Earth time.
Shiro sat up quickly to turn and look. Hunk got about half as far, mostly just craning his neck to the side. Pidge didn't even try to move, only opened her eyes. Coran and Allura, seated on the other couch stood to join Lance where he was draped over the back of the shortest couch.
Keith was sprawled on his stomach, flipping absently through the holo-book. His eyes drooped. The mice were laying across his shoulders, squeaking and poking him, but Keith ignored them.
"Everybody just stay quiet and don't get your hopes up," Hunk said.
Shiro put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up with a groan. Pidge gave him a smirk that Shiro ignored. He made his way over to where Keith laid and lowered himself to the floor.
"Hey, buddy," Keith said, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder.
Keith crossed his arms and rested his chin on them without looking at Shiro. His mouth opened in a yawn.
Shiro smiled, both in relief that Keith was finally ready to sleep and at the way Keith's face scrunched up. He crouched and carefully rolled him to his back to scoop him him up. When he stood, Keith's half-open eyes widened and he squirmed.
Even Shiro groaned at the motion. Pidge rolled onto her stomach and hid her face in the cushions.
But Keith didn't try to get down. He looked at the pillow and blanket nest, then pleadingly at Shiro.
"If it means you'll sleep, you can do it anywhere you want," Shiro murmured tiredly.
Shiro carried Keith to the nest and settled him inside. When he tried to move away, he found that Keith had grabbed his vest. Keith was blinking hard in an obvious attempt to stay awake, but Shiro decided to not push his luck.
He crawled in to lay beside Keith, and the boy settled down again. Keith sighed, eyes finally falling shut. Shiro watched him for a moment, wondering when it would be safe to move Keith to his proper bed.
After a few minutes, Shiro considered moving, but hesitated when Keith began to make a low noise in his throat. Shiro blinked and pushed up onto his elbow at the familiar tune.
Lance, having wriggled Hunk over so he and Pidge could rest against him, leaned forward. "Is he humming?"
"Sounds nice," Pidge murmured, half-asleep on Hunk's shoulder.
Shiro smiled as Keith continued to hum. Then, after the song had been run through once, Keith's eyes opened.
"Sing it?" Keith requested softly.
Shiro glanced toward the rest of the team. "Now?" Keith had to be really out of it, if he was wanting Shiro to sing that old lullaby in front of the others.
"You know I can't sing," Keith mumbled.
"Just sing it," Lance pleaded. "At this point, I don't care about blackmail anymore. I just want to sleep."
Shiro smiled and lowered himself back onto his side. He ran his fingers through Keith's unruly hair, and began to sing softly.
Shiro's eyes moved to take in the others while he sang. Pidge had turned so her back was pressed against Hunk's shoulder with her head cocked back and eyes closed. Lance was laid across Hunk's lap, eyes drifting shut as he hummed with Shiro. Hunk had either arm wrapped around the two paladins and was snoring.
Allura was tucked against Coran. Her hair was frizzed out more than normal from the hectic day, and she kept sleepily brushing a strand back until Coran tucked it behind her ear. Coran watched Allura tenderly, rubbing her back while she drifted off. The mice were passed out on her shoulders.
Keith was completely asleep by the final stanza. He had rolled closer to Shiro and had his face tucked into his chest, his arms pulled up to curl against his chest. Shiro moved his hand from Keith's hair to across his body, too tired to consider trying to leave without waking him. Shiro's eyes fell shut.
The last line was left unsung as Shiro drifted off as well.
Keith's first semi-coherent thought upon awakening was that he was stuck. It didn't bother him at first, until consciousness insisted on returning and he tried to stretch.
He was stuck.
His arms were pinned to his side, his legs felt like they were tied together. His whole body felt too warm. His head was the only thing he could move. His eyes stuck briefly when he tried to open them, but he managed to pry them open.
He was on his back. He was not in his room, which immediately put him on edge until he recognized the lounge ceiling. Keith sighed. He couldn't remember exactly how he had ended up there, but guess that Lance had forced a "bonding" night on the team.
With that determined, Keith lifted his head. He expected to find himself buried by the other paladins and that was why he couldn't move. Instead, his entire body had been bundled in blankets tucked impossibly tight.
Okay, one, when had this been done? And, second, how? Keith was too light of a sleeper for people to play a prank like this on. Third, he was going to kill Lance.
Squeaking caught Keith's attention, and he turned his head to see Chulatt standing at his ear. The other three mice were nowhere in sight.
"Um, where is everyone else?" Keith asked.
Chulatt squeaked and jumped onto his head. Keith grunted and scowled, then was distracted when the lounge door opened. The other paladins walked in. Keith could feel himself flush when they looked at him.
"Anybody want to explain?" Keith asked, trying sound firm despite his position.
"Oh, good, I think he's finally awake!" Lance said, furthering Keith's confusion.
Shiro crouched and began to undo the blankets. "What do you remember last, Keith?"
"Uh…" Keith thought back. "Looking for Pidge and Hunk to do some training?"
Pidge smirked. "Yeah, that training never happened."
"I think going after Red qualifies as some pretty intense training," Hunk said.
"And trying to find him when he played hide and seek," Lance added.
Keith raised his eyebrows, wondering what they were talking about.
Shiro chuckled. "Just tell him, you guys."
Pidge, Hunk, and Lance sat down while Shiro continued to work on the blankets. They began telling Keith a wild story about how he had laughed over everything, panicked over his knife -Pidge handed it back at that point in the story- and gone through numerous mood swings. Keith almost didn't believe them, but Shiro was nodding along with everything.
Pidge finished off with them all bunking down in the lounge. She then delivered the final shock by leaning forward and stating, "That was two days ago, Keith."
"Wait, what?" Keith shrugged off the last blanket and sat up. He wobbled and Shiro had to support him. "Two days? Why am I still in here? And wrapped up like a mummy?"
"Because you may have slept for two days," Lance supplied, "And there was also another side effect of the gas."
Keith grimaced. "What?"
"Sleepwalking," Lance said.
"No," Keith said.
"Yes," Shiro said. "You kept walking off, no matter what else we did. We finally just wrapped you up and locked the lounge door. We would watch you in shifts, but we all had just gone to eat. Speaking of, you could probably use some food."
Keith's stomach grumbled at the mention of eating. He flushed further and accepted Shiro's help in standing. He felt oddly uncoordinated, but Pidge explained it to how tightly he had been wrapped up and been still for so long.
"Where are Allura and Coran?" Keith asked, slightly relieved that at least not the whole team was there to see him so unsteady.
"On the bridge. I think Allura's ready for you to be back to normal," Pidge said with a grin. "She was way uncomfortable the whole time you were out of it."
Keith raised an eyebrow. He made a mental note to not refer to the incident -as if he would want to- to the princess.
The team slowly left the room to let Keith recover his footing. While they joked and prodded Keith about what he had done while under the influence of the gas, they were glad that he was back to normal.
On the bridge, Allura was lost in thought. Coran stood silently behind her. He knew what she was thinking about, and was waiting to see if she wanted to talk. Eventually, she did.
"The extreme levels of emotion, energy spurts, and sleepwalking are common symptoms of the gas for other races. But the acting purely as a child, abrupt mood swings, and irrational fear, hasn't only one other race had that?" Allura said, hoping Coran would prove her wrong.
"That we know of," Coran said. He tried to sound upbeat, but Allura still sagged at the confirmation. "Princess, we have never seen a human under the effects of the gas before. Showing the same side effects as the Galra don't mean anything."
Allura didn't respond, only continued to gaze into space.
Coran gave a chuckle. "If it makes you feel any better, I had to test Keith's blood when he was first affected. Would you like to see the results? I'm sure you won't find a speck of Galra in the boy."
Allura finally gave Coran a soft smile. "No, thank you, Coran. I am just feeling a bit… reminiscent right now. Perhaps I should join the others. The mice said Keith was awake."
"That is an excellent plan, Princess," Coran said.
Allura nodded. While she strode out of the bridge, Coran picked up the scanner that he had been recording Keith's symptoms and vitals on. He clicked his tongue as he saved the data. Then, in a fit of humor, Coran pulled up the results of Keith's blood type.
There was a long silence on the bridge. Coran's fingers tightened on the scanner. He blinked, looked away, then back to the scanner.
"Keith is… Galra?"
A/N: Coran knows all.
Because I am sure at least some of you will want an expansion on Keith's feelings on fire (you can thank Gravtron1 for that one!) a companion one-shot has been put into consideration.
The lullaby, in case you are interested, is Brave Soldier Boy (or Leaves from the Vine) from Avatar: the Last Airbender.