"Paladins, please come up to the bridge."
Keith groaned into his pillow. He had literally just gotten back from the training deck and collapsed on his bed, and now Allura was on the intercom calling for them.
Saving the universe waits for no one, he thought grumpily as he dragged himself to his feet. He was still drenched in sweat and clutching his bayard, but hey, Allura had asked.
There weren't any alarms blaring, so he took his own sweet time to go up the hallway towards the bridge.
When he finally slid the door to the bridge open, most of the others were already there, excepting Lance.
"What did you call us up here for, Allura?" Pidge was muttering, not bothering to disguise her irritation. "I was doing something."
"I'm sure we were all quite busy." Allura responded primly, shooting her a look which Pidge ignored. "But this is important."
Hunk yawned and rubbed his eyes, and it was only then Keith realized he was in his pajamas. He must've been training for longer than he thought.
"Hunk, did you wake up Lance like I asked?" said Shiro, looking over at the yellow paladin.
"Yes." he responded, "Doesn't mean he stayed awake though."
Just then, the door behind Keith slid open with a hiss, and a sleepy Lance shouldered past him.
"Allura," he whined, slouching dramatically, "Do you realize what time it is?"
"Yes, Lance, I'm quite aware." Allura pinched the bridge of her nose. "But something has come up."
"What is it princess?" asked Shiro, immediately on high alert. Allura turned and nodded to Coran, who pulled up the star map.
"We just received a transmission." Allura said solemnly, "From a moon in this system." She pointed to a cluster of dots, and it lit up green, as Pidge had programmed it to.
"What did the transmission say?" questioned Pidge, shifting closer to the map and looking significantly less annoyed now.
"They claim to be a group of rebels fighting back against the Galra. They say they've been doing research, and that they have discovered something that could wipe out Zarkon's empire."
"Great." Lance said, stretching his arms above his head and popping his back. "So let's go check it out."
"Wait." Shiro stepped forward, staring at the little green cluster with narrowed eyes. "If they have something like that, why bother contacting us?"
"Apparently they need Voltron's assistance to deploy it." Allura's face was still stony, and all of them knew what that look meant.
"You're not sure if they're telling the truth." Hunk murmured, sleepiness forgotten in favor of worry. Allura's eyes narrowed into slits.
"No, I'm not. If anyone wanted to draw us into a trap, that would be the perfect way to do it."
"But what if it's not a trap?" Keith said quietly, and everyone turned to look at him. Allura's expression was accusatory, and he crossed his arms defensively.
"If they're telling the truth, something like this could be worth the risk." He finished, scowling at the floor to avoid their eyes.
"Hm." Pidge hummed, nudging her glasses up her nose. "I agree. I'm curious about this weapon, anyway."
"I hate to ever agree with Keith," Lance chimed in, "But he might be right."
Allura's mouth twisted, and she looked to Shiro. He shrugged.
"I agree with them, princess."
"I don't." Hunk said firmly, furrowing his brow. "Don't you guys remember what happened with Rolo and Nyma?"
Lance looked offended, but Shiro spoke before he could.
"None of us have forgotten, Hunk. We won't be going in unprepared this time."
Hunk heaved a long, long sigh. "Fine. Whatever. But if anything goes wrong I am definitely saying 'I told you so.'"
Allura turned back to Coran, sounding rather reluctant when she said, "Set us a course, Coran."
"Right away, Princess." he chirped, spinning sharply to his console. "It's not too far away, shouldn't be more than a couple of vargas."
"Does that mean we don't get to sleep?" mumbled Lance miserably, and Hunk affectionately patted his shoulder.
"I feel you, buddy."
The moon that rose up before them didn't look like much. It was about the size of Earth's moon, maybe a little larger, with the same bare surface smattered with impact craters. From the angle the lions were coming from, there were no structures visible.
"Keep your eyes open." Shiro warned over comms, and Keith tightened his grip on his lions controls. Red rumbled a reassuring growl through his chest, sensing his tension. Keith forced himself to exhale.
Suddenly, a screen popped up to his right. It looked like a map of the moon, with one brilliant red dot flashing on the opposite side of the planet from them.
"Uh, guys, are you seeing this?"
"Yes." Shiro responded. "Allura?"
"It looks as though someone has activated a homing beacon somewhere on the moon." Allura said to all of them through their comms. "They saw us coming."
"Guess we're going in." Shiro's voice was tight, the same way it always got before battle. "Keep on your toes guys."
The lions flew low over the moon's surface, tense silence falling over the team as they kept their eyes open for any signs of life. They didn't have to look for long, as soon they were on the other side, and there was a small cluster of buildings sticking out from the rocks. They were made out of some kind of gray stone that looked a lot like concrete, which helped them blend into the surrounding dust.
All five paladins simultaneously tilted their lions into a dive, not needing to speak to know what to do. Within moments they were landing, their boosters knocking up clouds of fine white dust.
"Hold up." Shiro said, and none of them moved. "Let's wait to see if anyone comes out."
The others waited with bated breath as the dust slowly settled. When it finally did, there were three figures standing before the lions, and Hunk let out a squeak of alarm at their sudden appearance.
"Let's move, guys."
With low sounds from the hydraulics, the lions knelt and lowered their heads to the ground, opening their jaws to allow their paladins to exit. Keith ran a hand over the console before doing so, and he felt Red's purr in response.
His helmet sealed, and he stepped out onto the surface of the planet to join the others, who were all watching the three aliens with various guarded expressions. The aliens in question looked vaguely humanoid. They were bipedal at the very least, but their limbs were more reminiscent of Nyma's, with thin upper portions that got bulkier as you moved down. Their skin was dark brown, verging on black, and they stood several inches taller than even Hunk. But of course, what really caught the attention of their visitors were their faces. More specifically, their eyes.
Their mouths and noses looked pretty similar to humans, from what Keith could tell through their helmets, but their eyes certainly were not. It seemed they had eight of them, the two in the center largest and then getting smaller as they moved towards the sides of their heads. They were lidless and shiny, and the three of them had varying colors from black to red.
"Spider people." Keith heard Lance murmur. "Jesus fuck, of course it had to be spider people."
"Welcome, paladins." greeted the one in the center, inclining their head gracefully. The other two, standing further back, looked restless, their many eyes occasionally flicking up towards the lions.
Good. Keith thought. They won't do anything stupid if they're intimidated.
"Who are you?" Shiro asked, more of a demand than a question. If the leader noticed his lack of diplomacy, they didn't show it.
"We are the Arachthians." they said, and Lance barely swallowed back his disconcerted groan.
"Of course they are." whispered Hunk. Shiro ignored both of them as the leader continued to speak.
"Our planet was conquered by the Galra several generations ago. A number of us managed to escape here, and for the last ten decaphoebs we have remained hidden, developing our weapon. We learned of the return of Voltron, and we believe we could have no better ally."
Their voice wasn't necessarily pleasant, but it didn't sound like nails on a chalkboard either, which Keith counted as a blessing. Hearing the Taujerians talk had sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine.
"What is this weapon?" Pidge asked, stepping forward and staring unafraid into their spider eyes. "You said it was powerful enough to wipe out the Galra empire, and to do that it must be massive."
"On the contrary, paladin." answered the leader with a shake of their head. "Come inside, and we will show you."
All of them turned questioning eyes to Shiro, who hesitated for a second as he considered. Eventually he nodded, and they were escorted rather reluctantly into the largest central building. Although it looked as if it were made of stone, the interior was completely sealed, and after reassurance from Coran that the air was safe, the paladins removed their helmets. It smelled dusty, and Hunk sneezed as the Arachthians led them deeper into the building.
As it turned out, the buildings on the surface were a mere fraction of a large, interconnected base stretching beneath the ground of the moon. The hallways were barely lit with dim silver crystals, and if the stumbles and muttered swears were anything to go by, Lance was having trouble seeing where he was going.
Keith did not like these hallways. They were too dark, too cramped, and his fingers itched at his sides with the urge to summon his bayard. Shiro seemed just as uncomfortable, and after several minutes of following the three aliens through twisting hallways, stopped walking.
"What is this weapon?" he asked, once again in a firm voice. "We're not going any further until you tell us."
The leader paused and glanced back cooly at Shiro with all eight eyes. They too had removed their helmet, and now coarse black hair tumbled down around their shoulders.
"If you insist." they said smoothly, not betraying any emotion. It made the hairs on the back of Keith's neck stand up.
"Our people were renowned scientists. We were legendary across the system for our work with various viruses and diseases. We could cure anything." One of their lips twitched. "But since the Galra destroyed our home, we haven't been working on cures. After many years of trial and error, we have finally designed a perfect virus."
"Your weapon is a virus?" Pidge exclaimed, half admiring and half revolted. "But how do you keep it from spreading beyond your control?"
"Just a little further." they responded vaguely. "And all will be explained."
"No, you'll explain now." Shiro's face was hard as stone.
"I understand your apprehension, paladin, but we mean you no harm."
Shiro didn't budge, and the Arachthian let out an exasperated sigh.
"We have genetically modified the virus so that it only affects those with Galra DNA." they explained. "Now if you'll come just a few more feet down to this room, I will explain how we were planning on delivering it to the empire."
Shiro reluctantly let them resume their trek, but Keith lingered near the back of the group as they proceeded. Something about this felt bad, felt wrong, and it wasn't until that moment that he recognized he had a dull headache. It pounded in his temples with his pulse, and he briefly rubbed at one of them with his fingers before focusing back in on the mission.
As promised, their destination was just down the hall, and their host led them into a fair sized side room. It was lined floor to ceiling with glass canisters filled with eerily shifting green gas. A few other Arachthians milled about the room, dressed similarly to their guides. They had apparently been expecting the paladins, because none of them spared the humans a second glance as they went about their work.
"You're transporting it using gas?" Pidge questioned with a frown, thoughtfully picking up one of the vessels. "Aren't you worried about leaks? None of you guys are even wearing protective gear!"
"As I said before." their voice was tight, clearly beginning to run out of patience with them. "It's modified to only react to Galra DNA. There's no reason for us to be concerned."
Keith rolled his shoulders, vaguely aware that he was unpleasantly warm. He could feel sweat gathering at the back of his neck, and surreptitiously glanced at the others. None of them seemed bothered in the least.
We're pretty deep down, he reasoned with himself, trying to put his unease to the side. Probably just near some lava or thermal vents or something.
"Still." Pidge was insisting. "What if it mutates?"
"I think we understand our own work better than a child from Earth." snapped the alien, finally losing their temper.
"Tyla!"
They all turned quickly to look for the source of the new voice. Keith apparently turned too quickly, as his head spun and he had to catch himself on the table next to him. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his fuzzy vision as a different Arachthian entered the room.
Something's not right.
"That's no way to speak to our allies." said the newcomer, storming over to where Tyla stood with their head bowed in shame.
"My apologies, Captain." they murmured. "It won't happen again."
"You're dismissed." the captain said firmly. Tyla's head snapped up, red eyes shining, but after a moment of reluctance they slinked from the room. The captain watched them go, then turned to Shiro with a rueful expression.
"My apologies as well, paladin." they murmured. "Tyla is very proud of our accomplishment here. My name is Captain Nedle, and it is an honor to receive the paladins of Voltron."
Shiro inclined his head respectfully. "Captain."
"I have some questions for you." Pidge declared, shoving her way past Shiro to stand in front of the much taller captain. The alien looked down at her with surprise, but they recovered quickly.
"Of course. Ask away."
Shiro and Hunk stepped closer, listening intently as Pidge rattled off her questions and Nedle answered. Keith stayed pressed up against the table, quietly freaking out. He could feel his temperature rising, but still no one else seemed affected. He carefully wiped at his forehead, damp with sweat, noticing how light and slightly achey his arm felt. His stomach roiled, and his eyesight went fuzzy again.
What the hell is going on?
"Hey." Lance greeted as he sidled up next to Keith, looking vaguely bored but not uneasy. "Do you understand anything going on over there?"
Keith, not feeling confident in his ability to speak, just shook his head.
"Neither do I. All I know about viruses is from playing Plague Inc, Evolved." He turned to look at Keith, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. At any other time the effect would have been slightly comical, but right now Keith was entirely focused on keeping himself upright. He was worsening, rapidly, and he had no idea what was going on or what to do about it.
"Keith? Dude, you ok?"
Keith licked his lips, trying to keep it together. "M'fine."
"Are you sure? Cause you're looking seriously pale and a little bit green and- Keith?!"
Keith had zoned out halfway through Lance's sentence, and suddenly listed to the side. Lance caught his arm just in time, keeping him from collapsing. The other's heard his cry of alarm over their conversation, and Shiro looked over with anxious eyes.
"Lance? What's going on over there?"
"Nothing." Keith muttered, shaking his head and trying to pull away from Lance. The blue paladin kept a stubborn grip on Keith's bicep, not letting him go anywhere.
"Keith doesn't look so good." he said, and Keith shook his head again.
"I'm fine." he insisted, probably a little bit louder than was strictly necessary. Shiro's face creased into a frown, and he started in their direction. Before he'd made it two feet, Keith felt an unbearable wave of heat wash over him. The room spun, and his eyes unfocused before closing completely as his knees folded.
"Woah, woah, Keith!" Lance exclaimed, suddenly being yanked to the ground by Keith's dead weight. He barely managed to keep his balance enough to lower them both gently. They were surrounded by the other paladins a half second later, all of them crowding close in sudden panic.
"What happened?" Hunk demanded anxiously, and Lance answered in a high pitched voice.
"I don't know, he just passed out!"
Shiro stripped his glove from his human hand and pressed it against Keith's cheek.
"He's got a fever." he reported grimly, then shook his head. "I've never seen one set in that quickly before."
Keith shuddered and began to cough, a heavy, wet sound from inside his chest. Lance, catching sight of something the others didn't, quickly turned Keith onto his side. To the horror of everyone present, he hacked blood up onto the floor.
Pidge's eyes flashed behind her glasses, and she whirled on Nedle, who had been standing back and watching over their shoulders with vague concern.
"Was this you?" she demanded, pointing accusingly towards the huddle of paladins. Nedle withdrew slightly from Pidge's wrath, all of their eyes shining.
"The symptoms are similar, but-"
"I told you it was going to mutate!" Pidge's entire body was trembling, though whether it was from fear or rage she couldn't tell. "Did you even know if it would affect humans?"
"That's impossible." Nedle declared, pressing their lips into a thin line. "If it had mutated to affect you as well, all five of you would be stricken just as he is. No, that's not what's occurred here."
"Then what is it?" Shiro snapped, and both of them turned to look at him. He was sitting on the floor with Keith's head in his lap, crouched over him protectively. His face was a storm of barely contained anger while Keith struggled to breathe.
"The only explanation I can think of," said Nedle slowly, "Is that your friend has Galra DNA."
Dead silence. Someone could have dropped a pin on the surface of that moon, and the noise would have been deafening in that chamber. That is, until Keith started coughing again.
The horrible grating sound seemed to drag everyone back into their bodies, and Shiro shook his head in stubborn refusal.
"No." he muttered, looking down at Keith's blood speckled lips with sick worry. "No, that can't be it. He's human, he's from Earth, just like the rest of us."
"There's no other explanation for why he would be affected by our virus but none of you would."
"It doesn't matter!" Everyone was surprised when Hunk yelled, his eyes more angry and intense than anyone had ever seen them. "It doesn't matter how. What matters is how we fix it!"
"Is there a cure?" Pidge asked, heart sinking when Nedle shook their head.
"We never bothered to make one." they said quietly. "The plan was to exterminate the Galra, not cure them."
Pidge jolted at the word exterminate, and would have dove back into argument if Hunk hadn't spoken up again.
"So what do we do?"
"Take him back to the Castle?" Lance suggested, looking anxiously at Shiro. "Get him in a healing pod?"
"Altean technology wouldn't know what to do with this." Nedle said, forcing their way back into the conversation. "This virus was designed to kill quickly. However, your friend looks human, so if he isn't full Galra he may stand a chance of survival."
"What do we need to do?" Pidge asked, clenching her fists in determination. She had come up here looking for her family, and she'd be damned if she lost anyone else.
"Take him back to your ship." Nedle counseled. "Try to keep his fever down. If he survives the first few hours, he'll most likely recover."
"Alright." said Shiro, jaw clenching. "Hunk, help me move him. Pidge, call Allura and let her know what's happened. We need to get back before he gets any worse."
"Wait!" Nedle suddenly cried, making them all freeze. "What about our alliance?"
"We'll talk about that later." Shiro answered coldly. "If Keith lives, you have nothing to be worried about."
Nedle looked stricken, but stood back as Shiro and Hunk got to their feet, carrying Keith in between them. Lance and Pidge trailed behind them as they rushed back up through the halls, Pidge with her helmet back on and chattering to Allura through the comms. Besides that, all of them were silent excepting an occasional cough from Keith.
Shiro was coated in cold sweat by the time they returned to the surface of the moon, taking a moment to seal all of their helmets before they exited. The eyes of the red lion flared gold when they stepped out, and an angry growl resonated through all of them. But the lion didn't move, and they managed to get Keith situated in the black lion and take off before Red tore the place to bits.
Lance's fingers tapped anxiously against the controls the whole way back to the Castle. Somewhere in the back of his mind he recognized he should be more concerned about the whole 'Keith possibly being Galra' thing, but he wasn't. All he could worry about right now was whether Keith was going to be ok.
Allura and Coran met them in the lion hangar. Allura had her cold battle face on, while Coran wrung his hands in anxiety as Shiro hauled Keith's limp form out of the lion. The extra blood smeared across his lips made it clear he'd had another coughing fit, and Shiro couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.
Lance felt cold at the sight. He'd never seen Shiro look quite this afraid before, not even when he was having his flashbacks. But right now the expression on his face couldn't be described any other way besides pure terror.
"Give him to me, Shiro." Allura ordered, holding out her arms. "I can carry him easier than you."
Shiro looked like he would rather die than let go of Keith at the moment, but his logic won out, and he let Allura take the red paladin from him. Allura immediately turned, trotting off in the direction of the bunks. Hunk, Lance, and Pidge followed, but Shiro stayed behind and grabbed Coran.
"Any advice?" he asked the Altean, trying not to let his fear show in his voice.
Coran cringed slightly. "I'm afraid not. Alteans don't overheat like you humans do when you're ill, I've never dealt with something like this before."
"Great." Shiro muttered, and rushed to catch up to the others.
By the time he was shoving his way into Keith's crowded bedroom, Hunk had already taken charge. He may be timid when it came to violence, but with his friends wellbeing in jeopardy, he was dead serious; it showed in the crease of his brow as he barked orders to the others, who scrambled to obey.
"Lance, get me a bowl of cool water. Pidge, go track down some rags. Shiro, get his armor off. Allura, get on comms and find out everything you can about this virus from the Arachthians."
"You got it, buddy."
"Ten-four."
"Right away."
Shiro said nothing. He tore off his helmet and his chestplate, letting them clatter to the floor in the corner before moving over to where Keith was laid out on the bed. His hair was plastered to his neck and his forehead with sweat, deathly pale with red flecks over his lips. His head lolled to the side when Shiro drew near, and he cracked open his eyes ever so slightly when Shiro reached out and touched him.
"Shiro?" His voice was hoarse from coughing, and his gaze was hazy and unfocused. But still, he recognized Shiro, so that was a silver lining.
"Hey, Keith." he murmured, as calmly as he could. Keith licked the blood from his lips and frowned heavily.
"Shiro, what's happening?" Shiro's heart seized at how vulnerable he sounded, and it took all of his control not to break right then and there.
"It's alright." he said soothingly. "You're just a little sick. Just try to relax. We'll take care of you."
"What about the rebels?"
Shiro shook his head, smiling down at him ruefully. Classic Keith.
"Let us worry about them. I'm going to take your armor off, ok?"
Keith nodded, surprisingly easily, his eyelids fluttering. Shiro made quick work of the various pieces, leaving Keith in his black workout shirt and his boxers. His eyes were closed again by the time he was finished, and it took some finagling before Shiro got him into a comfortable position and pulled the blanket over him. Suddenly shivering, Keith clutched the thin material to him and curled into a ball.
Hunk moved closer, narrowing his eyes at the blanket just as Lance and Pidge returned.
"Shiro, will you run and get more blankets from our rooms?" he asked, and Shiro nodded without hesitation. He needed to keep moving, keep doing something, or he was going to lose it.
He hustled out of the room, and Hunk knelt on the floor next to Keith's bed, carefully handling the bowl of water so that it wouldn't spill all over the place.
Keith flinched when Hunk brushed his hair back from his forehead, only to press closer when he felt the touch of the cold rag. He was shivering, simultaneously freezing and burning up.
Lance and Pidge stood behind him, watching anxiously, unsure of what to do now. Shiro returned half a tic later, laden with four more of the thin Altean blankets. He'd taken a moment to pull off the est of his armor, and was now back in his normal clothes.
Hunk shuffled to the side, giving Shiro some room to spread the blankets neatly over Keith. Keith grabbed onto his wrist when he tucked the blankets around his neck, his palm cold and clammy.
"Let me." Shiro murmured, lightly nudging Hunk. The yellow paladin obligingly handed over the rag and got to his feet, letting Shiro scoot into his place.
"You guys go get out of your armor." he said without looking away from Keith. "I'll take care of him."
He heard quiet footsteps and the hiss of the door, and then he was alone with his brother. He let out a shaky breath, finally letting himself feel the fear in his chest as he gently wiped the blood away. Keith still clung to his human wrist, pressing into the touch of the rag.
"You're gonna be ok." he murmured, more to comfort himself than Keith. "You're gonna be fine." He flipped the rag over to the cooler side, and Keith made a little sound of relief even as his shoulders continued to shiver.
He didn't let himself think about what Nedle had said. Hunk was right, it didn't matter; what mattered was keeping Keith alive.
The other paladin shuddered again, and Shiro barely got him turned over before he was coughing up more blood. He quickly pressed one of the dry rags under his chin, catching the bright splatters as they came. He coughed for a solid thirty ticks before crumbling back against his pillow, breathless.
Shiro tried his best not to look at the blood. He knew he would panic if he did.
There was a hiss behind him, making him jump a little and look over his shoulder. To his surprise, all three other paladins were filing into the room, in their street clothes with solemn looks on their faces.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, exhaustion creeping into his tone. "I told you I would take care of him."
"We're not gonna make you do it alone." Pidge said, quirking her lip in a way that could have been amusement or irritation.
"Yeah, we can take turns." Hunk supplied with a tired smile, and Lance leaned up against his shoulder.
"Besides, he cradled me in his arms. I figured it's time I return the favor."
"I thought you said you didn't remember that." Shiro said, face flat but a lighter sound to his voice.
"I don't." insisted Lance. "I'm just giving him the benefit of the doubt."
Before Shiro could say anything back, Keith shivered violently, pulling on Shiro's wrist and drawing everyone's attention. The mood in the room returned to a somber one, and the other paladins drew closer. Hunk and Pidge settled down on the floor in the center of the room, giving the two of them some space. But Lance came closer, a frown on his lips.
"Lance?"
The blue paladins answer was to peel off his jacket, and then chuckle at Shiro's confused and slightly alarmed expression.
"He's still cold." he explained, holding up his jacket with a smirk as understanding dawned on Shiro's face. Then he moved forward again with purpose.
Keith made it very difficult. He protested when the blankets were pulled off of him, he clung for dear life when they tried to make him let go of Shiro, and he fought back when they tried to get the jacket over his arms.
"Why are you always so difficult?" Lance hissed, yanking one of the arms over Keith's shoulder as the red paladin tried to brush him off. Pidge and Hunk chuckled weakly in the background.
Keith abruptly slumped back into the bed once the jacket was on him, clutching it to his chest with a sigh. Shiro pulled the many blankets back over him and he curled up, pressing his face into the pillow like a little kid. Lance sat back on his heels with a satisfied smirk.
Shiro, noticing the sweat building up on his face again, went to rewet the rag. He paused when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, and turned to see Pidge staring up at him with large eyes.
"Can I?" she asked hesitantly, and Shiro could only answer with a surprised nod. Pressing her lips into a determined line, she took the rag from him and shuffled forward. Moving carefully, as though she was about to pet a wild tiger, she set it against his forehead.
Keith let out a sigh of relief and turned his head into it. This seemed to boost Pidge's confidence, and the next thing she did was take his hand, running one of her small thumbs over his knuckles.
"Pidge?" Hunk murmured, not sure what he was asking. Thankfully, she did.
"I'm scared." she admitted, unable to hide the wobble in her voice. "I don't want to lose anybody else."
"You won't." Lance said, reaching out to rub her shoulder. "Keith is tough. And he's way too annoying to die now."
Pidge just sniffled in answer, and the room lapsed into silence.
They settled into a kind of nervous rotation. When the rag got warm from Keith's body heat, they would switch. They all did something different while it was their turn, either to comfort him or themselves.
Hunk would just talk, telling Keith little stories and tidbits from his and Lance's time at the Garrison. The others appreciated it as well, it gave them something to listen to and think about besides their worry.
Pidge would hold his hand, just like her brother used to do for her when she was hurt or sick or scared. Keith didn't squeeze back, but he also didn't pull away, so she figured it was alright.
Lance was probably the most touchy, brushing Keith's hair off of his face and humming lullabies. Probably trying to make up for not remembering the bonding moment.
Shiro was the only one Keith would react to. Whenever he got close, Keith would latch onto his wrist and cling. Once or twice he cracked his eyes open, still glazed over with fever, and asked for Shiro. As soon as he was there, he would drift off again.
By their third rotation, his temperature still hadn't gone down, and he was still coughing up blood. With every passing second all of them got more and more anxious. He was deathly pale, and as time went on he was getting more restless, tossing and turning, sometimes making sounds of distress that turned Shiro's stomach.
"I always hated getting sick." Lance whispered tensely to him at one point, carefully watching as Hunk murmured a story to him. "I always had the worst dreams. If the fever was bad they'd mix with reality. Terrifying." he let out a choked sounding chuckle, and Shiro bit his lip. Judging by how Keith kept trying to turn away from Hunk's touch, even with the promise of the rag, he was having the same problem.
"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Lance ventured to ask, but before Shiro could answer, the door to the bedroom hissed open, admitting a stony faced Allura and Coran bearing bowls of food goo.
"Here you are, paladins." Coran said with forced cheer, setting his tray down near the foot of the bed. Allura copied his motion, and then straightened, leveling a look at Shiro.
"Well?" he asked softly. "What did you find out?"
"Most of their test subjects died within three vargas." she reported tersely. "He's only got about twenty dobashes more, and then he'll be out of the most direct danger."
Shiro exhaled shakily. Just a little while longer. Just a little while longer, and he would be ok.
"Shiro." Allura said, demanding his attention. He reluctantly gave it to her, feeling worn thin. "We need to discuss what we're going to do with him."
Everyone tensed at the tone of her voice.
"What do you mean?" Shiro asked carefully, clenching his fists against his knees. Allura either didn't notice or didn't care about his change in demeanor.
"Nedle told me." Her voice was cold as ice and as sharp as a razor blade when she spoke. "She told me what this means. What he is."
"What he is is sick." Hunk snapped. When even gentle Hunk was bristling, you knew it was serious. Everyone gave Allura the side eye, waiting for her response. But before she could say anything else, Keith's eyes snapped open.
He bolted upright with a loud gasp, immediately dragging the attention of the room back to him.
"Woah, Keith, buddy-" Hunk put a hand on Keith's shoulder in an attempt to calm him, but Keith smacked it away with a hiss.
"Don't!" he snapped, but his voice was watery and uncertain. "Don't touch me!"
Hunk, always the touchy-feely member of the group, had no idea how to take this request. His hand instinctively reached out again, only stopping when Keith threw himself back against the wall. His back hit it with a clang that made everyone wince, but he seemed unbothered by the impact.
He pulled Lance's jacket tighter around him, shivering from being outside the blankets. His eyes were wide, hazy and unfocused as he flicked them around the room.
"Don't touch me." his voice had dropped into a whisper. "Don't- don't-"
Shiro took a quiet step forward, gently nudging Hunk out of the way. Hunk didn't fight him. Keith watched his advance with terrified eyes as he leaned one leg on the mattress. He didn't reach out yet, but Keith still curled back against the wall.
"Stay away." His entire body trembled with the force of his shivers, and he blinked quickly, as though he was on the verge of falling asleep again but too afraid to do so.
"Keith." Shiro kept his voice even, his hands at his sides. Just like he had every time before. "It's Shiro. I'm not going to hurt you."
After this statement, he waited patiently, oblivious to the other people in the room. Sometimes it took Keith seconds, other times minutes, but eventually he would recognize him.
Thankfully this time it was the former, and his expression of fear melted off of his face. Shiro pressed closer, climbing onto the bed and reaching out for him.
"Sh-shiro." he muttered, looking at a spot on the wall over Shiro's shoulder rather than directly at him. "It's c-cold."
"I know." Shiro murmured in as soothing a tone as he could muster. "I know. Come here, lay down, it'll be better." He lightly wrapped his hand around Keith's arm. Before he could pull him down, Keith's face twisted in the now familiar pain.
He doubled over, the hacking coughs wracking through his entire body. Red dripped onto the sheets as Shiro clutched him tightly in alarm. He pulled Keith against his chest, feeling his back shake as blood splattered over the bed and the other paladins gathered close.
Keith coughed for almost a solid minute and a half, rasping in desperate breaths whenever he could. Shiro held him tightly, hating how helpless he felt, how useless. This was it, Keith could die, this thing could kill him and Shiro couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't fight it, couldn't protect him.
Finally the hacking stopped. Keith went still. There was a long, terrifying pause… and then he slumped back against Shiro, exhaling heavily. His breaths were uneven and choked, but he was breathing, and that was enough to make Shiro's head spin with relief.
"Is he?" Hunk whispered, and Shiro shook his head.
"He's ok. I think."
"Thank fuck." Lance whispered, and Pidge buried her face into the mattress where she knelt in an attempt to keep the tears in.
"Is that going to happen again?" The tense voice belonged to Allura, and Shiro pointedly did not look up at her when he answered.
"We don't know. I hope not."
Hunk squared his shoulders, either oblivious to or ignoring the anger crackling between the two leaders.
"We need to get rid of these sheets." he said firmly. "Shiro, why don't you stay with Keith and get him off of the bed."
Shiro obeyed wordlessly, scooping Keith up in his arms and moving them both to the floor. Lance and Hunk immediately set to stripping the bed of the bloodstained cloth, all while a shivering Keith pressed closer to Shiro.
"He's getting hot again." he murmured. Pidge scooted closer to them, frowning down at Keith's sweaty face.
"He's probably dehydrated." she said, biting her lip. "But I don't think he's coherent enough for us to try and give him anything."
"I may be able to help with that." Coran piped up from his position near the door. Shiro and Pidge gave him confused looks, but he merely winked and zipped out of the room. Allura cast them a final uncertain glance before she too left. Shiro wasn't unhappy to see her go.
"Ok." said Hunk, standing back with his hands on his hips. "Get him back in bed."
The mattress was bare now, and Shiro carefully tucked Keith back in among the many blankets. His eyes were open again, just staring listlessly about the room as he curled up underneath them. They closed when Shiro resumed pressing the rag to his forehead.
"I really hope that doesn't happen again." Lance said with a shudder, and the other paladins nodded in agreement.
"If he survives, how long will it take him to get better again?" asked Pidge as she chewed on her lip, and Shiro had to clench his jaw to keep himself from snapping at her.
It's not an 'if'. He's going to live, he's going to, I know it.
"Hopefully not long." is what he murmured instead.
The room was quiet after that, so they all heard the tip tap of Coran's boots when he came back to the room several minutes later. This time he held what looked like several square sheets of plastic. Stuck to it in orderly rows were smaller squares that resembled band aids but were colored the patented Altea blue.
"What are those?" Shiro asked, unconsciously curling a protective arm around Keith. He trusted Coran, but he himself would be the first person to admit he didn't know much about humans or their bodies.
"Hydration patches." Coran answered, and Shiro's shoulders lost a little bit of their tension.
"Do they do what they sound like they do?" questioned Pidge as she peered over Coran's elbow at the little adhesives. He chuckled in answer, his orange mustache twitching, and carefully peeled one of them off.
"Here." Shiro took it from him, careful not to get it stuck to his hand, and raised an eyebrow at Coran. It was about the size of Shiro's thumbnail, and it felt soft to the touch, the liquid inside making it slightly malleable.
"Stick it to him just here." Coran explained, taking a step forward and pointing at a spot just below the pulse point on Keith's throat. "Switch them out every couple of vargas, and you won't have to worry about him sweating everything out."
Shiro carefully did as he was instructed, pressing the little square to Keith's skin where Coran had indicated. Keith didn't react to the touch.
"Thanks Coran." Hunk said with feeling while Shiro kept his eyes locked on Keith. "You're the best."
"If I may," Coran said in reply, "May I suggest we move your mattresses in here as well? Keith isn't the only one who needs to sleep."
"That sounds like a great idea." said Hunk, giving Coran a grateful smile. "Lance, help me out?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I'll assist as well!" Coran chirped, trailing after them out of the room. In about ten dobashes the three of them had turned the floor of Keith's room into an interlocking pile of mattresses. Coran had raided the rest of the rooms on the Castle to find more blankets, and now there were enough for everybody.
"It's like a slumber party." Lance commented. He was smiling, but his eyes were empty.
"Yeah, a slumber party where one of us is on death's doorstep." Pidge muttered. Hunk and Lance flinched a little at her words but didn't say anything back.
"You guys try to get some sleep." Shiro said. "I'll wake one of you up in a few hours."
It had been exactly twenty four hours since Allura had first called them to the bridge. It was Pidge's turn to sit up with Keith, and her eyelids were heavy. She must have gotten about five hours of sleep in the last three days.
She forced them to stay open as she sat with the red paladin, pressing the rag to his overheated skin and holding his hand. He had been alternating between sleeping and staring at nothing, and Pidge was thankful that his eyes were closed at the moment.
If there was one silver lining, it was that Keith hadn't had a coughing fit since that awful one hours ago. Pidge clung to the hope that maybe that meant he was getting better.
You'd better not die, Keith, she thought, squeezing his hand hard. Or I swear- Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the paladin himself rolling over and opening his eyes. Unlike all the other times, they were clear and sharp, and directed right at her own.
"Pidge?"
"Hey, you're awake." a sad smile touched her lips, and she kept her voice down in an attempt to let the others sleep a little longer. "For real this time."
"Yeah." Keith licked his chapped lips, frowning at the taste of blood. "How long was I out?"
"Only about a day." Pidge dropped the rag back into the bowl. "How are you feeling?"
"Hot." he said shortly, kicking back the mound of blankets. Pidge reached out to touch him, but he gave her a look, and her hand paused midair.
"Can I?" she asked. "Just wanna see if you still have a fever."
Keith nodded only a little reluctantly, and Pidge pressed the tips of her fingers to his forehead.
"I think your fever broke." she said, pleased, and drew back both of her hands. Just then there was a rustle behind her, and Lance sat up, bleary eyed and with messy hair.
"Pidge, I think it's my-" he cut himself off, eyes widening. Keith flushed a little and pushed himself upright.
"Lance, I'm fi-"
"Keith, dude, you're not dead!" Lance exclaimed, a wide grin splitting his cheeks. He clambered off of his mattress, all long limbs, and ended up next to Pidge. "You feeling better?"
"I'm fine." Keith insisted. He was now sitting cross legged on the sheetless bed, arms crossed as well with his usual sour look. Lance wasn't bothered.
"No offense bro, but last time you said that you passed out and started coughing up blood, so…"
Keith flinched back and shook his head hard. "I'm fine. What about the alliance? Did you guys sort it out?"
"Not exactly." Pidge pushed her glasses up on her nose as she spoke. "It was their virus that got you sick, and Shiro didn't want to do anything until we knew you would be ok."
His eyes widened a little bit, and he looked over their heads to the rest of the room.
"Did all of you guys stay in here all night?"
"Um, yeah?" Lance said, as though Keith was an idiot. "You were coughing up blood, my dude."
"I'm sure I would've been fine." Keith's shoulders hunched up. "The virus is only supposed to kill Galra, right?"
Lance froze, and Pidge bit her lip. Keith raised an eyebrow at their reactions, and sensing their discomfort, raised a hand to rub at his neck. His fingers twitched when they ran into something squishy.
"What is this?"
"Hydration patch." Pidge explained, seemingly relieved at the diversion. "You were too out of it to drink anything, so…"
Keith peeled the little blue square off of his neck, and with a look of irritation, flicked it away.
"We should probably wake up Shiro." Lance said, laying a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Let him explain."
"Explain what?" Keith watched them with narrowed eyes, while they exchanged a nervous look.
"I'll wake him up." Pidge said, her voice pitching awkwardly in the middle, and she scrambled across the checkerboard of mattresses to where Shiro was dozing against the far wall.
The moment she brushed his shoulder, he bolted upright, wide awake and alert.
"What?" he asked, sounding panicky. "Is he-"
"I'm fine, Shiro." The black paladins eyes darted up, and his entire body visibly relaxed.
"Keith! Ho-"
"If one more person asks how I'm feeling I'm going to start throwing punches."
Shiro released a breathless chuckle and moved towards the bed. "Ok, ok. I'm just glad you're alright."
"Seriously, why are all of you freaking out? It's not like I was gonna die or anything."
They all exchanged yet another nervous look, and Keith slammed his fist into the mattress.
"For fucks sake, will someone please just tell me what's going on?!"
Shiro made everyone leave the bedroom before he talked to Keith, and afterwards no one saw Keith for almost a full day. He didn't leave his room, and Shiro wouldn't allow anyone else to go talk to him.
"Just leave him be." he said when Lance asked. "He'll come out when he's ready."
"I just want my jacket!" Lance protested, but Shiro silenced him with a glare, and Lance left the conversation grumbling crossly.
Thankfully he didn't have to wait for long. The next day, Keith actually sought him out, finding him in Blue's hangar that afternoon.
Lance was sitting on the floor in front of his lion, chattering away just like he did with the other paladins. At first he didn't seem to notice Keith's presence, until the Blue lion gave a low rumble, and he glanced back over his shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Keith. What's up?"
Keith took a few hesitating steps forward, and Lance finally noticed his jacket clenched in Keith's hand.
"My jacket!" He scrambled up to his feet and rushed over to Keith, who was looking firmly at the ground instead of at Lance. Without looking up, he shoved the jacket into Lance's chest.
"Here." he muttered, and as soon as Lance took it from him, spun on his heel to slink out of the room.
"Hey!" Lance exclaimed, sounding affronted and grabbing Keith by the elbow. "Don't you dare run away from me! We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!"
Keith snorted, and a choked laugh escaped him. "What if I said I didn't remember?"
"I'd say you were full of shit." Lance huffed, finally releasing Keith's arm. Keith hugged his arms to him, but he didn't leave, so Lance kept talking. "Why have you been hiding from us, anyway? Hunk thought you relapsed or something."
Keith shrugged limply. "I dunno. Didn't think anyone wanted to see me."
Lance raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Because of the Galra thing?"
The red paladin flinched as though Lance had struck him and looked away.
"Do you know where Shiro is?"
Lance twisted his mouth unhappily, unable to ignore the feeling of disappointment rising in his chest, but he didn't push the issue. If Keith wanted to talk about it, they would. Otherwise it would just make him run off.
"I think he's on the bridge with Allura, talking to the Arachthians."
"Hm." Keith hummed, scruffing a boot against the metal floor. "Wonder what they're talking about."
"Let's go find out." Before Keith could realize what he was saying or protest, Lance had grabbed him by the arm again and was dragging him through the halls.
A few minutes later the two boys were squashed together in a vent barely wide enough for the two of them, peering down through a grate into the bridge. As promised, Shiro and Allura were there, standing with stiff backs and tight muscles as they talked to the Arachthian on the video link.
"Absolutely not!" Allura was saying hotly, for once losing some of her royal composure. "Under no circumstances will you deploy that virus, with or without Voltron's help!"
"Why not?" responded the spider, many eyes glinting. "Your teammate lived. I see no reason not to use the weapons we have spent decaphoebs creating."
"Because it wouldn't just hurt the Galra soldiers." Shiro said, crossing his arms across his chest. "It would hurt the civilians, the children. What if there are more hybrids out there like Keith who don't even know they're Galra? You'd sentence them to death just for having the wrong DNA?"
The Arachthian opened their mouth to answer, but Shiro wasn't done.
"Besides, once you let it lose you wouldn't be able to control it anymore. It could mutate and attack people you never intended to hurt. There could be billions of casualties."
"I personally find the risk worth the reward." responded the Arachthian in a tight voice. "Zarkon has killed far more in these last 10,000 years."
"We do not agree." Allura snapped. "And Voltron will not help you in your massacre."
"And-" Shiro spoke quickly, before the person on the screen could retaliate, "If you try to launch it anyway, you'll have Voltron to deal with. Is that understood?"
The spider person was practically seething, but they grudgingly nodded.
"Good." With that last word, Allura slammed her hand down on the console and ended the video link. For a moment silence cloaked the bridge, and then Shiro turned to leave.
"Shiro." Allura said, stopping him in his tracks. Even so, he didn't look back at her.
"Princess?"
Up in the vents, Lance tugged on Keith's elbow.
"Keith, come on, you don't need to hear the rest of this." But Keith just shook him off, stubbornly keeping his eyes glued on the interaction below. With a sigh, Lance gave up.
"Shiro, I… I'm sorry. For what I said about Keith. I was… surprised."
Shiro still didn't turn to look at her. "Are you still hellbent on making him leave the ship?"
Both Allura and Keith flinched. Lance nudged his shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.
"No. I'm not."
"Good."
Without another word, Shiro left the bridge.
(A/N So this is the one of my favorite things I've written so far, along with The Big Reveal, so I'm real excited to show this to you guys. Enjoy!
UNF-
Silence)