Senfama

by jalpari

Noor discovers the extent of Kosmo's teleportation abilities in a surprising way. The unexpected incident however, allows her to finally patch things up with another team member.

A/N:

I wanted to build friendships and show bonding before getting into the next chapter. So, enjoy!

Their visit to Senfama had yielded nothing of use. It was an abandoned base.

Keith stood in the cool damp evening breeze. He felt right at home, among the silence of the trees. He had a few more hours before they would leave Senfama and he intended on spending at least some of them in the jungle. As he closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of the forest, he heard a familiar sound. Kosmo.

"Hey, boy. You found me didn't yo….", Keith startled at the sight in front of him.

Clinging to Kosmo, was Noor, in just a shirt and pyjamas.

"Uhh..what just happened?" Her eyes opened wide as she looked around, then at Keith and then at Kosmo. "How did I get here?"

"Umm...Kosmo must have teleported you…."

"Wait, what?" Noor jumped up. "He can...teleport others too?"

"Yep", Keith gave her an awkward grin.

"Oh...I...I will keep that in mind the next time I hug him", Noor froze and took a step away from Kosmo.

An uncomfortable silence followed and Keith bent down to massage Kosmo as Noor looked around at their surroundings. The planet was much more earth like in person than it had seemed from the craft. The trees were way bigger than the ones back home but they were just as green and lush. The air was clean and her senses were overwhelmed by the scent of damp leaves.

"If you want, I can take you back to the ship", Keith stood up and spoke finally. "I mean...I was going to head back anyway. It's only a few minutes away."

"Oh...uhh...yeah", she turned around and followed him.

Noor gathered the courage to break the silence. She was done being nervous around him.

"So…", Noor mumbled, "...what were you doing out here?"

"Umm...just...you know..walking around, enjoying the view."

"It is a beautiful sight", Noor looked around, "reminds me of Earth."

"Yeah, it's one of the few planets we've come across that has Earth-like forests."

"I like it out here", Noor let out a long exhale, "It's quiet."

Keith glanced at her in surprise, both at her words and at her relaxed expression.

"Uhh...yeah, me too."

Noor paused abruptly and turned to her left. She felt a cool sensation pass through her body. She felt drawn to something. She looked through the thicket carefully and took a few steps in that direction.

"What happened? Do you hear something?" Keith readied his dagger.

"No…", Noor turned to look at him. "I think there's a river there."

"How can you tell?"

Noor looked unsure but quickly replied, "I hear flowing water."

"Oh…"

"Do you want to go there?" she asked before Keith could say anything else.

Just then, Keith's comm flickered alive.

"Keith!" It was Shiro.

"Yes, Shiro? I'm here."

"We can't find Noor anywhere!"

"Oh...actually...she's here with me."

"What?!" Pidge and Luten's voices exclaimed over Shiro's.

"Kosmo kinda...teleported her here."

"Is she okay?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah", Keith glanced up at Noor who nodded but looked uncomfortable hearing everyone talk about her as if she wasn't there.

"Are you guys heading back?" Luten asked.

"Yeah, but…", he thought he saw a disappointed look on Noor's face, "...we're a bit far away", Keith lied prompting Noor to look at him in confusion. "It will take us some time to get back."

"That's too much of a risk. We're sending a pod", Shiro sounded concerned.

"That won't be necess…", Keith began but was interrupted by Hunk's voice.

"They'll be fine, Shiro. We've already checked everything. There's no one here. Take your time, Keith!"

With that the comm went silent, but not before they heard Shiro begin to protest.

"So...is that a yes, then?" Noor curled her lips inwards and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Keith nodded and tilted his head in the direction of the river.

"Lead the way."

As they emerged on the other side, they gasped in unison at the sight before them. A clear stream flowed by, lined with pebbles and boulders of all colors and sizes.

Noor walked ahead hurriedly until she was standing right by the water's edge. She let her head fall back as she inhaled the wonderful fragrance of the river.

"Wait!" Keith blurted out when saw her take another step forward into the water.

Noor spun around startled and saw Keith rush forward.

"Whh...what?" She instinctively held up her arms.

Keith halted as he remembered how Shiro's sudden physical contact had terrified Noor at the shooting range. He straightened himself and cleared his throat.

"Umm...I mean...it may not be safe."

Noor looked at Keith then at the water and then back at him.

"It's just...water", she narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah...I know...but this is not Earth...water."

"Maybe you're right", she sighed and sat down a few inches from the water.

She propped up her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. She stared into the water, watching the tantalizing reflections jumping about. Keith sat down at a distance as Kosmo sat between them. He watched as the setting sun drenched their surroundings in beautiful hues of red and yellow.

Amidst the gentle murmur of the stream, he thought he heard a soft sigh. He turned and saw Noor gazing at the river with a sad look on her face. He thought of various things he could say to her but none of them made their way to his lips. Kosmo shifted his body and rested his head on Noor's lap. She smiled and ruffled his fur.

"You are lucky to have him", Noor whispered.

"Yeah, I found him in the Quantum Abyss...on the back of a giant cosmic whale actually."

"Woah", she looked up at him in surprise.

"Yeah, we were stuck there for two years…"

"What!" Noor straightened up and was clearly engrossed in what he was saying.

"Well...time moves differently there...so it was two years for us but only a few days for the others."

"That's...there is so much we don't know...wow…", Noor gasped.

"The whale helped us escape the abyss and ever since then, Kosmo has stayed with me."

"He sure seems to know when someone needs him", she muttered.

Keith smiled and shifted closer to the dog to massage him, "yeah, he does."

They sat in silence and this time it felt less awkward.

"Keith…", she began slowly.

"Yeah?"

Come on, Noor. Now is your chance. Apologize! You literally impaled both his arms. He was only trying to help. So get your shit together and say you're sorry.

"Are you okay?" Keith glanced at her worriedly. "You look...stressed."

"Oh...I…", she let out a deep exhale and looked at him, "actually I wanted to apologize. You know...for…", Noor hesitated and pointed to his arm.

"Oh", the color drained from Keith's face. "No, that's...it's not a big deal."

"Be that as it may", Noor looked at his arms and then back at his face. "I am really sorry I came at you like that. You were only trying to help and I…"

"It's alright. I mean...given the situation..."

"Maybe", Noor shrugged, "Thanks for...finding me too...I guess."

"You don't need to thank me", Keith looked away in embarrassment.

"So I shouldn't thank you for the muffin then?" Noor curled her lips inwards and he could see her expression change into something resembling amusement.

"Oh...I…", he felt his face turn red.

And then Noor's lips erupted into laughter. Loud, genuine, joyful laughter. Seeing her eyes beam and hearing her laugh gurgle like the stream, Keith couldn't help but laugh along. She covered her mouth and leaned back laughing as Kosmo jumped up and started licking her face. Eventually, the laughter subsided and Noor wiped her eyes that had begun watering.

"It's nice to know", she caught her breath and sighed in relief, "that I can still laugh."

Keith felt a warmth spread across his chest as he realized that this was the first time she didn't have discomfort, fear or rage in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Alright", he stood up and dusted himself off, "I think we should get back before Shiro sends out a whole infantry after us."

"Okay", Noor giggled.

"What took you guys so long!"

"Uhh…", Keith tried to come up with an excuse.

"It was my fault", Noor blurted out, "it was a long walk and I got tired."

"Oh", Shiro calmed down.

"Yeah, but it was worth it", she smiled at Keith and then hurriedly added, "I mean it was nice to get some fresh air."

As she walked out of the lounge, Noor caught Hunk and Pidge grinning at her. She shot them a questioning look and mouthed a 'what?'.

"Looks like it was worth it", Hunk smirked.

Noor shook her head as she passed him by to go to her room. Hunk walked over to Keith.

"I'm glad she's finally bonded with the entire team", he patted Keith's back.

Keith rolled his eyes and picked up the game controller.

"C'mon Pidge, I'm gonna get you this time."

"What the fuck do you put in this!?"

Hunk and Luten froze and stared at Noor. It was the first time they had heard her curse.

They left Senfama the previous night and they were on their way to a planet neighboring Calum - Ures. It was a day's journey to the planet. Long back, it had been ravaged at the hands of a mad scientist, Maahox.

He wanted to destroy the universe and his creation annihilated the Uresians. If he hadn't been stopped, he would have created multiple black holes and succeeded in zapping the universe out of existence.

Hunk was cooking up a new creation in the kitchen with the help of Luten and Noor. Their taste buds had exploded. And it seemed that Noor, in particular, had been driven to the edges of pleasure, going by the moans and curses that were escaping her mouth.

"Woah, you weren't kidding when you said you were a foodie", Hunk smirked.

As people began showing up in the cafeteria, they set up the table with the scrumptious breakfast. Noor took her usual seat beside Pidge. She began loading up her plate while simultaneously munching on a freshly baked quiche, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Slow down! You're gonna choke", she felt someone sit beside her.

"Oh", she startled and whipped her head around to see a grinning Keith take the seat beside her.

"Yeah, slow down", Hunk chuckled as he walked over and sat beside Pidge.

"It's Hunk's fault", Noor turned back to her plate flushed, "he cooks the most amazing dishes!"

Breakfast chatter oscillated between discussions about the new robots Pidge was working on, updates from the coalition and blades, anecdotes from their paladin days, jokes about Pidge's fanboy Pakim, and so on.

Noor eyed the empty basket of muffins longingly. She sighed and rested her chin on her hand as Bani shared the latest engineering feats of the Olkari with a delighted audience. She rolled her eyes and decided to go for a walk around the craft. As she reached to pick up her plate, she was surprised to see half a muffin placed on it.