The way his duffel bag hit the floor by the doorway as he trudged into the castle barracks was a dull remark on Keith's mood. He didn't even bother to kick off his shoes before dropping face-first onto his bed, shirt clinging to his gangly shoulder blades as he buried his head into his pillow. Excusing himself early from dinner had been easy; there were precious few hours of much-needed rest between one day and the next, and listening to Hunk describe the exact way in which crystal salt could bring out the flavor of some alien fruit-vegetable seemed a poor way to spend that time.
But smothering himself did little to combat a pounding headache and annoying, niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he had forgotten something important. Idly sliding one hand beneath his pillow to close around the cool hilt of the Marmoran blade hidden there, he pondered the thought with lackluster effort, ignoring the incessant noise that tugged on the reigns of his consciousness.
"Keith."
Keith's eyebrows drew together for a moment, and he wondered if he had skipped out on Shiro without meaning to. More often than not, he found himself jarred awake in the early hours of the morning, disoriented from a lack of sleep and inwardly berating himself for not having found the time to earn a few extra minutes of shut-eye the night prior, but for now, he felt he was exactly where he was supposed to be. Maybe it was his shot at catching a break, if only for a few hours. Both he and Shiro had been working extremely hard, after all, and if he had the opportunity to sleep in, he was going to take it–,
"Keith!"
Keith opened his eyes slowly, the room doubling and then tripling for a moment before swimming back into focus as he realized that he was not, in fact, asleep in his room after all. In a rude awakening, he found there was no pillow beneath his head, and the hard, polished surface on which he found himself lying was not his bed.
A hand extended down to him – Shiro's, he would recognize it anywhere – and Keith reached for it on instinct, long, loose fingers closing around larger, warmer ones and holding fast as he allowed himself to be pulled unsteadily to his feet.
"What...happened?"
Shiro placed a large hand against Keith's back to steady him as he wavered. "Take it easy. You just miscalculated for a second there."
Rubbing the back of his throbbing head where he could feel a lump forming, Keith looked over to see a training simulation paused midway through, just as the muddy memories started to fall back into place.
"Right..." Scowling, he accepted the offer of a water pod from Shiro and drained it in a breath, crunching the container. "I feel like shit."
"Hey – watch your mouth." Shiro gave him a nudge, his face lined with concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"...Yeah."
"Keith..." Shiro's tone was strained, anxious. "You've gotta get better at this."
The words diverted Keith's gaze off to one side, narrow shoulders tense around his neck, but Shiro's fingers grazed the edge of his sullen jaw to prompt him to look up again.
What if something happens to you out there, huh? What about the others?" Shiro shook his head a little. "I may not always be there to help you...I need to know that you're gonna be okay. All of you."
"Shiro..." Keith's hesitant rhetoric barely made it past his lips, however, before the touch on the side of his face fell away. Words had never come easy.
"...Resume simulation."
Keith's eyes widened, bringing his bayard up blindly as he spun around just in time to block the sentry's attack, knees shaking a little from the impact. His vision doubled again for a moment, but he shook his head rigorously and ducked beneath the hologram's arm, jumping up to kick it hard in the back and sending it reeling before hurtling his bayard after it.
He missed the landing on his feet and hit the ground hard on one side instead, momentarily dazed as the wind was knocked out of him. A few feet away, the sentry burst into data, and his bayard clattered noisily to the floor.
The simulator powered down again, the sudden silence in the arena punctuated by heavy panting. Keith set his forehead against his arm for a moment before pushing himself to his hands and knees, bracing as the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention nearby.
"Get up."
Blowing a rogue strand of hair out of his face, Keith lifted his eyes hastily to meet Shiro's, the man's great height heavily exaggerated from where he was kneeling.
"Shiro..."
"Keith, get up."
Keith set a hand on his knee briefly, then shoved himself to his feet, lifting his head to meet Shiro's gaze again.
"...Good job." A moment later, Shiro's terse expression softened in relief, and he smiled lightly as he reached out to set a hand on Keith's shoulder. "We're getting there. You're gonna be all right."
Keith's face remained unchanged, weary but determined as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't worry. I won't let you down, Shiro."
The way his ribs pulsated each time he took a breath made him think they were broken.
Shiro chuckled slightly and slung an arm playfully around Keith's neck, drawing a slight flinch from the other paladin. "Yeah, I got that. Come on...let's call it a day."
Keith rolled his shoulders and nodded, trailing out of the arena behind Shiro's stoic form. With the rest of his ex-Garrison peers likely turned in for the night, he made an effort to stay quiet as he stole back to his quarters, trailing his hand heavily along the polished length of the castle corridors to aid his plight. Upon shutting himself inside, he sat on the bed and took a moment to take a breath, assess the damage, and patch himself up as he changed for the night. His offending left knee was more swollen than it had been the last couple of days and starting to throb unpleasantly as he wrapped his hands around his thigh...fetching ice from the kitchen seemed like a monumental task, however, and he didn't feel up to the challenge just then.
Crouching tersely on the floor to haul a box of supplies out from under his bed and rummage through, he set aside a roll of gauze and dressings before tugging his shirt up over his head with a sharp intake of breath.
Once he was finished, he rose gingerly to his feet again to test his weight on his left leg, then stood in front of the mirror to make sure he hadn't missed anything. His ribs were still tender from where he had hit the ground at the end of his session in the arena, but he came to the conclusion that it was only because his entire side had faded to a blotchy purple color over the past couple of weeks, and didn't want to dwell on it. Every cut, bruise, and sprain felt like a failure on his part, and the sooner it all faded away, the sooner he could put those failures behind him.
"Good job, Keith. We're getting there."
Sinking back down onto the edge of his mattress, Keith slid the medikit back under the bed with one foot and set his elbows on his knees, his expression pensive.
Shiro...what's on your mind?
It bothered him, the insistent way in which Shiro talked as though he wasn't going to be around one day. The sentiment left a coldness in Keith's body, a vice that suffocated him increasingly with a sense of profound loss. He couldn't say for sure when each of them had become what they were to one another, but it was only now, with the ominous threat of Shiro's departure lining his brow in a troubled scowl, that he realized how much had changed since they had all left home together.
Habitually, he reached under his pillow without thinking to extract the Galran blade hidden there, touching his thumb lightly to the tip as he lay back. As usual, there were only a few hours left before he needed to wake up again, his head already spinning from sleep deprivation, and yet his mind refused to rest right away. Whatever was going on with Shiro, the black paladin wasn't talking...but Shiro was teaching him to be a strong leader – a protector, like he was – and Keith intended to be just that. It was a simple conclusion to come to, really. As long as he was around, Shiro wasn't going anywhere.
"Aaaand, Space Maaaall!"
In retrospect, it really wasn't very often that a real, honest-to-goodness day off presented itself. If Lance were a betting man, he would have surmised that Allura had decidedly more days off than the rest of them, but, well...she was a princess, after all, and pointing it out would only end with the rest of them earning even fewer days off than they had already. As it was, the opportunity in question was simply too good to pass up, and it was with Hunk's help that he was finally able to convince Coran to make the designated pitstop. How could they not, when the scanners indicated that the entire moon had, in fact, been transformed into what it claimed to be the largest entertainment center in the galaxy?
"This is incredible!" Pidge volunteered enthusiastically, practically melded with the monitor on which she had downloaded the advertised flyer. "VR centers...museums...six food courts! Hunk, there's gotta be nearly a hundred restaurants here, all together. And each district is dedicated to a different part of consumerism...clothes...gadgets...hobby shops...tourist outlets...guys, can you imagine all the data we could collect on alien advancements and technologies here?! It's like a living guide to cultural anthropology!"
Lance scratched the side of his face.
"Man, yeah, that's great and all, Pidge," he uttered humorlessly. "But uh...how about the huge stinkin' arcade right in the middle of it?! Eh? Ehhh?"
He nudged her rigid frame, earning himself a reproachful look from above the rim of her glasses, which she indignantly shoved up the bridge of her nose.
"I mean...that's not...totally out of the question either, but–,"
"Oh, come on!" Lance insisted, glancing over as Keith skulked past them. "Pidge, I've totally seen you nerd out hard over video games before, you are so psyched about the arcade! Right, Keith?! Hunk?"
"Pidge is totally psyched about the arcade," Hunk echoed in agreement, swiping through some of the attractions on the screen.
"What're you guys fussing about?" Keith retorted, busying himself with the hydration dispenser on the far wall.
"Um, hello? Space Mall?" Lance reiterated, his tone incredulous. "Like, ten-times-better-than-the-last-Space-Mall-we-went-to, Space Mall?"
"You mean the one where we almost got arrested by that Galran mall security guard?"
"Why would you bring that up?!"
"Well...I mean...he's got a point, but think about it: this time, we're gonna have Galra Keith with us," Hunk rationalized matter-of-factly, shrugging. "So if we run into any trouble, you could, uh, I dunno, just do us a solid? Just let 'em know, like, hey, these guys are with me? You know, bail us out?"
Keith faltered, looking around at them.
"I...I didn't just change into 'Galra Keith'!" he protested indignantly, a pitched lilt to his usually melancholy tone.
"Yeah, of course. Right, I know that."
"Great, so, we're all pretty much here, right?" Lance interjected impatiently. "Let's go already! Space Mall waits for no one!"
Keith sauntered past Lance and the colorful infograph that Pidge had up on the monitor, stifling a yawn as he did so. "Sounds great. Have fun, I guess."
Lance looked around at him, mouth set skeptically to one side in a pout as narrowed his eyes at Keith's retreating back. "Wait, you're not going?"
"I'll pass."
"Whaaat?"
"Whoa, nope," Hunk put his hands up and closing his eyes matter-of-factly. "If Galra Keith's not goin', I'm not goin'. I don't wanna get kicked out of another Space Mall."
"Hunk!" Pidge protested. "You said you were gonna ride the rollercoaster with me! There's two, by the way."
Unexpectedly, Keith felt a hand settle upon his shoulder, squeezing just enough to deter his path toward the entryway and causing him to flinch a little in discomfort before he could stop himself. Turning, he hastily knocked Lance away from him, and his lanky companion took a step backwards with a scowl.
"Yeesh..." Sighing, Lance set his hands on his hips and took a moment to quell his rising temper, though his eyebrow was still twitching a little as he surveyed Keith's sullen features. "Look, we're all going, so uh...that means you're going too, got it?"
"I don't feel like going anywhere!"
"I don't care what you feel like!"
"Enough..." Shiro's hands clamped down on both their shoulders to tug them apart. "We're all going. Everyone's been working hard lately...we deserve a break."
"That's, exactly, that's my exact – exactly!" Lance threw his hand up to point enthusiastically in the direction of the hanger, unmindful beneath the current of Keith's roiling glare. "To the Space Mall!"
How he ended up trudging through the overpopulated travelators of the northernmost skymall at the pinnacle of the moon's axis with Lance was something of a mystery to Keith. One by one upon arrival, their number seemed to dwindle, and by the time Pidge had dragged Shiro away to barter for computer parts, there was no one else left.
Arms folded, he leaned against the side of the moving walkway, his face blackened with a heavy scowl. Across from him, Lance was turned away, his elbow propped up on the hand railing and his chin propped up on his hand, sliding a disgruntled look in Keith's direction every so often.
Catching the glare for the third or fourth time in a row, Keith unfolded his arms, balling his hands into fists at his sides as he turned to Lance in frustration.
"What? What are you looking at?" he demanded, perplexed.
"Nothing!"
They turned sullenly away from one another again, then stepped off one travelator onto the next, their trek gradual across the vast expanse of strip malls contained within the overall complex. With a sigh, Keith chanced a look over in Lance's direction, then tensed a little as Lance looked back at him as well.
"What?!" Lance demanded.
"Nothing!" A sharp sigh escaped him. "Look...why don't I stay over here, and you just stay way over there?"
"Fine!" Lance returned vehemently.
"Fine."
Overhead, the high ceilings echoed a melody to an upbeat jingle in mocking contrast to their sour moods and scowling faces. Every so often, the tune was drowned out by a pitch for a sale or attraction, strikingly nostalgic of the old entertainment venues back on earth. Keith had never cared for them, but for just a moment, he was homesick. Across from him, Lance's narrow shoulders slumped in a similar vain, and he veered off the end of the walkway with his hands in his pockets, looking despondent. Keith followed suit aimlessly, falling into step beside his companion until the other's attention was inevitably pulled away by the displays in the store windows with restored enthusiasm.
Keith left him to his own devices, fatigue tugging at the edges of his consciousness again and driving him away from the main walkways and rolling strips to a quieter sect of the domed building. The rest area had been preened and landscaped to resemble a small park, a smattering of luminous, mauve trees and a spread of grass that was cornflower blue. Looking around the semi-opulent sound barrier as he stepped through to the other side, Keith located a vacant bench on the far side beneath an overhanging tree branch, away from the smattering of occupants about the area. Troubled thoughts did little to rouse him from his stupor, and he wished belatedly that he'd been more insistent on staying behind when they left the ship. Ironically, he had been too tired to argue, resting his elbows on his knees as he sat down on the bench and gazing absently at the fake blue grass with half-lidded eyes.
Time passed by without much incident, but it was just as sleep was threatening to overwhelm his senses that a shadow cast over the area in which he sat, and he glanced over as a pair of scruffy kicks approached.
"Here."
Without warning, a brightly-colored, neon slurpee appeared under Keith's nose, and he looked up in surprise to see Lance standing next to him, gaze averted as he sucked diligently on the contents of his own drink while holding Keith's out toward him.
Taken aback, Keith took the beverage and looked on as Lance threw himself down onto the bench beside him, lanky arms draped over the back of it.
"Uh...thanks."
"Yeah." Lance sighed wistfully. "This place kinda blows after a while when you can't afford any of the cool stuff, huh?"
Keith looked out over the broad, secluded rest area as the fountain in the very center began to oscillate, humoring Lance with a vague nod. "...Yeah."
A couple of small creatures – Keith could only assume they were children – cackled as they ran beneath the arcing waters of the fountain spirals, splashing one another as they did so. In an endless pursuit, they chased each other around and around, neither ever catching the other before they darted out of reach again.
"...So what's up with you, and stuff?"
Drawn from his thoughts, Keith almost didn't hear the question, glancing briefly over at Lance before looking away again with a frown.
"Whaddya mean?" he uttered, his tone skeptical.
Lance shrugged nonchalantly, letting his head drop back over the bench so he could contemplate the weeping purple tree branches up above them.
"I dunno, I mean...it's nothing, I guess," he dismissed, raising one bony shoulder idly in a shrug. "You've just been kinda...weird. But hey, could just be your regular, good ol' run-in-the-mill Keith-isms, same as usual..."
Keith looked back out over the grassy clearing. "It's nothing."
They lapsed into silence for a time, but there was an air of expectancy to it...after a while, Lance chanced a sly, sidelong glance over at Keith's profile, but the other paladin wasn't looking at him.
"...Is it...'cause of the Galra thing?" he ventured, hastily ushering past the question. "For real, big news, huh?"
Keith let the drink straw sit ideally between his teeth as he contemplated his options for a moment, glad he was hunched forward with his elbows on his knees so that he couldn't see Lance draped over the back of the bench beside him.
"Sure. Yeah. It's the Galra thing."
Lance snapped his fingers triumphantly.
"Yup, I knew it," he declared, tapping the side of his head as Keith sighed and sat back in resignation. "As usual, Lance hones in on the root of the problem like a gigawatt laser! They say there ain't much going on up here, but pew, he sure showed them! Pew pew!"
Keith cast him a long-suffering look, but after a moment, spoke with a slight frown.
"...Who says that?" he murmured. "About you."
"Eh?" Lance glanced over amidst his monologue, then shrugged haphazardly. "Ah, you know. Folks back at the Garrison, sometimes. What can you do, right? I figure it's like...like some kinda drill sergeant technique, you know? Talk 'em down to build 'em up."
Keith rested his elbows across the back of the bench.
"...The Garrison's not all it's cracked up to be," he offered passively. "Can't believe everything they say. They're...wrong about a lot of stuff."
The sentiment cast a look of surprise after Lance's face for a moment, and he cracked a grin, rubbing his nose.
"Ehh...I'm over it," he dismissed. "Hello? Top-of-the-class fighter pilot, at your service. Me, Hunk, and Pidge? We were the talk of the town after you washed out...go figure, right? Hunh...think we still would've been chosen to for Voltron if we weren't? We were kicking some serious butt in our practical exams...well, that's...except for crashing the simulator a bunch, I guess. But what does "top of the class" really mean, right? Sure, we got docked a bunch of grades...we missed class sometimes...and they said we weren't so great at working together, but that's only 'cause...look, there were circumstances, okay? It's complicated. Besides, you-,"
"Yeah, okay. I got it."
Lance stretched over the back of the chair.
"Hoo boy, if they could see us now, though. That simulator's a joke, I could fly it with my eyes closed after handling Blue. It's a pity there aren't more girls at the Garrison, y'know? I mean, does Pidge even count? But – okay, hear me out – picture this: there's a real nice sunset out, great weather and all that. Me n' Blue, we're hanging out over by the air strip, wind's blowin', I'm lookin' pretty good too...open skies for the taking...come on! What girl could resist that, right? There'd be a flock of 'em lining up. Heh. Think Allura would be jealous? She may act all...princess-like...but I'm telling you, I think–,"
Lance faltered abruptly at the soft increase of weight against his shoulder, spreading a warmth through the thin material of his jacket and prompting him to peer cautiously to the side, his expression tentative. Around them, the silence began to settle gently, save for the ambient sounds within the dome.
"Uhh...Keith?" Lance uttered, an undercurrent of panic lacing his tone.
Keith didn't respond, however, breathing deeply as he slept. Slumped to one side, his bony knees knocked lightly against Lance's, arms still folded as stubbornly as when he was awake...Lance watched him with wide eyes for a few moments, waiting, but he didn't so much as stir.
The silence continued, the secluded alcove growing still beneath the glowing tree branches. As the residual shock began to wear off, Lance hesitantly sat back again at last, tearing his eyes away to look out over the rest area and lifting his drink carefully to his lips. Before he did so, he paused for a moment, and a slight smile graced his features as he took a sip.
