A/N: I'm so sorry, you guys. When I was writing this, I managed to completely forget about Keith's scar on his cheek. (Don't ask.) And there isn't any inspiration for a different one-shot, so...

Keith never thought about his scars until the day he and Acxa went swimming.

Acxa wore some worn out shorts and shirt that had been Krolia's during her time on Earth with Ken. Keith wore his red shorts, and pulled off his jacket when they reached the secluded pond.

There was a gasp from behind, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Acxa staring wide-eyed at him.

Keith froze. "What is it?"

"Your back."

Keith craned his neck to try and see what had Acxa so upset, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He was about to say so, when it hit him.

"You've never seen my scars before, have you?"

Acxa shook her head as she placed a hand on Keith's knotted back. "Where did you get them all?"

"I was kind of involved in a universal war for two years, you know. Injuries happen," Keith said.

"I thought the Castle of Lions had healing pods and that Allura had healing abilities," Acxa said.

Keith shrugged as he sat on the pond's edge and dangled his feet in the water. "There were times when neither were available. During my time as a Blade of Marmora agent and two years in the quantum abyss… they just kind of happened. What, don't you have any?"

"Lotor had healing abilities as well," Acxa explained, sitting beside Keith. "He never let one of us generals suffer from injury." She frowned, not wanting to discuss the man she had once thought of as a friend.

Keith, who had become surprisingly adept at reading his sister's generally nonexistant expressions, recognized she wanted a distraction. He angled his body and pointed at the biggest, most jagged scar crossing the center of his back.

"Want to know how I got that one?" Keith asked.

Acxa cocked her head, running the most dangerous scenarios that she could through her head. Keith grinned and answered before she could try.

"A rock."

"A rock?" Acxa repeated. "Did it fall on you?"

"Nope. Got stuck."

Acxa stared at him, not believing it.

"It's true! Regris, Vrek, and I were on a stealth mission, and I was supposed to go ahead and scout. They chose me because I was the smallest Blade and thought I could fit through this tiny gap in the wall." Keith shook his head at the memory. "I couldn't. We were spotted when Regris and Vrek tried to get me out. I ended up leaving half the skin from my back behind, but we got away."

Acxa snorted. "And do all of your scars have such boring stories behind them?"

"Oh, no. This one," Keith pointed to his shoulder, where there was a trio of scars from bite marks, "I got when we were freeing prisoners. I thought Cerberus was just a human myth, but apparently not. Have you ever been bitten three times at once? Not pleasant."

Keith continued pointing out scars and the tales behind them. Acxa thought he sounded slightly proud of his scars, and the fact that he had healed naturally after the injuries.

While Keith was gesturing along with the story about the burns on his left side, Acxa happened to glance down at his legs and noticed something curious.

"What about those?"

Keith, grinning and in the midst of his story, paused. "What?"

Acxa pointed to his right leg. Keith looked down.

Acxa had never seen anyone get so serious, so fast. He drew his legs out of the water and rubbed his right one.

Three jagged, purple-tinted marks ran from his knee down to almost his ankles. They weren't exactly scars, but the discoloration stood out on his pale skin.

"Sabers," Keith murmured. "Pidge and I almost died that day. She got out fine in the end, but my leg never quite healed right."

"Does it hurt?" Acxa asked, gently touching the skin.

"Sometimes," Keith said, still in a low tone. "But none of my injuries have ever hurt as much as the thought that I might lose Pidge that day."

Keith didn't say anything else; he just slipped his feet back into the pond. His face had taken on a dark scowl, like he used to do all the time when Acxa had first reunited with him.

"You don't like to think about that day, do you?" Acxa asked.

"Nope," Keith said, flicking a stone into the water.

"Well… I don't like to think about this, either," Acxa whispered, hand going to the shirt's collar. "But… if you are willing to share."

Confused out of his melancholy, Keith looked at Acxa.

Acxa tugged the collar to the side, revealing a scar that started at her collarbone. It swept over her left shoulder and down out of sight to curve down her stomach.

"Zethrid gave that to me… when we parted paths after Lotor vanished. She was so mad…" Acxa blinked, startled to find tears tracking down her face. "We thought that we would be together, a team, forever. But I was the first to leave. If Ezor hadn't been so shocked, I know I wouldn't have survived. I barely escaped with my life."

"Acxa, I didn't know…" Keith trailed off.

What could he say? He had never thought about Acxa leaving Zethrid and Ezor, having foolishly assumed they had simply parted ways. Now, he realized that leaving them must have been as hard for her, as it had been when he left Voltron to join the Blade of Marmora.

Except, where he had been sent off with hugs and kind words, Acxa had been nearly killed and on the run.

"I didn't want you to know," Acxa said, fiercely swiping at her eyes. "It's all in the past. I've already moved on."

Keith reached out and grabbed his sister. Before she could protest, he tugged her close into a hug.

"Wha- Keith, let go," Acxa said, trying to push away.

Keith didn't say anything, only held her tighter. After a moment, Acxa gave up struggling and leaned into him. Keith rested his chin on her head, feeling her slim arms wrap around him.

Neither sibling moved for a long time.

A/N: For the full story on Keith's leg, check out the first chapter of Stayin' Alive. While the aftereffects of the injury is greatly lessened, it will be a continuing theme with Keith in my stories.