Tortured-Keith

For Bound and Gagged Bingo spot

Keith screamed as his captor drew the blade slowly and firmly down the length of his forearm. He had been tortured for what felt like hours, but he refused to tell them a thing. He was hot and sweaty, and blood was everywhere on the floor at his feet. His knee throbbed, a result of being hit with a steel rod.

He passed out again but was brought out of it with a slap to the face, followed by a punch to the cheek. The man pulled his hair, making his head raise up, but he refused to look at his face.

"Now, tell us what we want to know and you'll walk out of here a free man," he said.

Yeah, I'm sure about that. Keith had no intentions of telling them anything.

Keith jerked back to free his hair but the man pulled even harder, making Keith squeal in pain. "You will talk, Keith." Then he turned to the other man in the room and said, "Gag him. Let him stew in his blood a little. Maybe that'll change his mind."

The rag was forced back in his mouth again as Keith struggled. No one heard his defiant screams as they walked away, slamming the door after them. He worked his wrists again, trying to loosen the ropes that bound him to the chair, but no such luck. They were bleeding and rubbed raw, stinging with every wiggle.

He gave up after a while, not in defeat, but because the knife wound in his side was stinging something fierce, and the more he struggled, the quicker he bled. He turned his head quickly when he heard a sound, which was deafening in the still silence.

His body stiffened painfully and his pulse quickened. He wasn't ready for more torture. The thought of more pain sickened him. He nearly choked on his gag in anticipation.

His eyes widened when he saw a familiar face. Lance. Was it really him? The blue paladin walked in quietly with a finger to his lips. He pulled out a knife and cut through his bindings, setting his bleeding wrists free.

Keith heard him swear under his breath once he got a good look at him. His face was all bruised with little cuts everywhere, and he had a swollen black eye. The floor below him was covered in blood.

"Baby, are you okay?" Lance whispered as he took out the rag from Keith's mouth.

"Lance, you came," Keith said with a weak smile. Lance cut the rope from his ankles as well.

"Of course I did," Lance said. How could he have thought otherwise? He sure hoped that Keith didn't think he would just abandon him here when he knew he'd been captured. He saw his bleeding arm with the eight-inch cut from wrist to elbow and shuddered. "Can you walk?"

"M-my knee," Keith stuttered from the pain. "It hurts."

Lance put his arm around him and helped get him to his feet. He shifted his hand to his waist to get a better grip on the small boy, and that's when Keith gasped violently.

"Keith!" Lance said, eyes wide and panicked. He was about to ask what was wrong when he pulled his hand back. It was covered with Keith's blood. He cursed. "It's okay, baby, we're gonna get you fixed up, okay?"

Lance spotted something red on the ground at the corner of the room. It was Keith's suit. Keith was currently only wearing his black undershirt, but he figured they had taken it off of him in order to torture him. The thought made the blood boil in his veins. He sat Keith down and quickly gathered his suit in one hand and went back for Keith.

He was careful not to touch his wound again and they started walking towards the exit. Keith yelped softly as his knee was jostled and he felt the wound in his side ache.

"I know how much it hurts," Lance said gently. "But you've gotta stay quiet for me. Can you do that?" If they made any sort of sound, they'd both be discovered, and Lance would be in no better shape than Keith.

Keith nodded, sucking in a breath of air as he winced from the pain. They were halfway to the door and Keith just couldn't do it anymore. His knee was hurting and his side felt like it was being sliced open with a hundred knives. "Lance, I can't. Just go on without me."

Lance felt Keith's body slacken against him. "Keith, you can't give up one me. We're almost out!" He grabbed Keith's body from behind and carried him in his arms.

He hid and dodged behind pillars and finally made their way out where they knew they were safe. Once they were inside Lance's lion, he could finally take care of Keith properly.

Lance lay Keith down against the wall of the spacecraft, where he was freely dripping blood from his arm and side. He wondered how much blood he had lost in all. Keith was barely responsive, and his eyelids kept going open and closed.

"Keith, no, no, no, you can't close your eyes right now!" he yelled. He worried he might have a concussion and since he had lost so much blood, he might stay asleep forever and not wake up. "Keith, listen to me." He cupped the sides of Keith's cheeks. "Stay awake. Open your eyes for me."

Keith obeyed, but they were unfocused and tired.

"That's right, honey." Lance dug around for the first aid kit. He needed to stop the bleeding before getting back to the castle. That was his first priority. He found some rubbing alcohol and hated himself for even thinking of what he was about to do. "This is gonna sting, okay? Just hang in there." He poured some on a cotton ball and applied it to the cut on his arm. Keith cried out pathetically as he cleaned the wound. Then he covered it with a bandage.

He then glanced at Keith's midsection and found that it was soaked with Keith's blood. He lifted his black t-shirt and saw a large, angry red gash in his lower right side. He poured more alcohol on a towel and warned Keith, "This is gonna hurt. I'm sorry." He hesitantly placed the towel on the wound, and Keith screamed, louder than he'd ever heard him scream before.

The alcohol burned his side like Lance had come at him with a blowtorch. When it was over, Lance wiped the tears from his face and kissed his closed eyelids. He placed a bandage around the wound and applied a bit of pressure to make sure it was secure.

He heard a soft whimper escape Keith's lips, who was more than awake now. Lance brushed back a sweaty strand of hair from Keith's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Just p-perfect," Keith replied. "How'd you get in the room anyway?"

"I stole a droid's ID badge and it unlocked the room they held you in. You've lost a lot of blood. We need to get to the castle and get you in a pod."

Lance got in his seat and sent a message out to Allura that he found Keith and they're headed her way.

"How is he?" Allura asked.

"He's in bad shape. Tell Coran he needs a pod right away."

He flew to the Castle with speed, calling out to Keith when he saw him falling asleep again.

When he arrived and the door flew open, he grabbed Keith and carried him in.

Hunk, Allura, Pidge, and Shiro all gathered around, asking about Keith's condition. "He was tortured and lost a lot of blood. He won't make it if we don't get him in a pod in time."

Coran lead them hurriedly to a pod and Lance placed Keith inside. He waited for hours for it to open again. When it became nighttime, he slept outside the pod. He didn't want Keith to be alone when it opened. Mid-morning, a foot nudged Lance awake.

Lance looked up to see Keith standing over him with a big smile. "Morning, sunshine," Keith said.

Lance rubbed his eyes. "Keith, you're okay! How do you feel?"

"I feel great," he said, showing him his arm. Lance took it and rubbed his fingers alone where the cut used to be. Then he bent down and lifted his shirt to find that the wound in his side had healed, leaving only a small pink scar. He traced it with his finger and grinned. "That thing's miraculous I tell you."

Keith bent down to meet Lance. He grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close in a big hug. "Thanks, Lance," he said into his shoulder. I love you."

"Of course, baby." Lance squeezed Keith's body tightly. "I love you, too." They pulled apart a minute later and held hands. "I think Hunk said something about making breakfast today. You hungry?"

"Starved. Let's go eat!" Keith said. They went to the kitchen, their smiles never leaving their faces.