A/N: This chapter is kinda short. Hope you enjoy!

Crashing his ship was one thing. Crashing his ship into a planet with his dying friend was another. Crashing his ship with his dying friend, after finding out about a way to cure him was another. Crashing his ship with his dying friend, after finding out about a way to cure him, travelling across the galaxy, finding all of the components, only to crash on a planet nowhere near the planet with his friend's only hope at life?

Keith was able to put his ship's energy into keeping Shiro alive and in the cryopod. So that he could go get help. The cryopod was not broken, thankfully, so there was hope there. That was enough to keep Keith going. He checked on his ship's systems, seeing which were working. Basically everything worked to keep them alive, but he was running out of energy, and the engines were hit bad. He would have to find someone to fix the ship.

Keith took the hoverboard out from the cargo and rode into the nearest city he found on the GPS system. The planet had pockets of civilizations scattered across the planet. The terrain was similar to Earth, but much more swamp-like. The city he found asked for his intergalactic identification card, which Keith had in his wallet. He entered the city without any issues. Keith did not pay attention to the infrastructure; he tried looking for a shop to fix the ship and a place to get food. Crashing into a planet sure does make a half-Galran hungry.

The owner of the shop could not leave but he sent one of his best workers with Keith. The aliens luckily spoke English and were friendly. The alien sent with Keith, Gelin, was a bipedal humanoid, scrawny, and English was his second language. He gave the ship a thorough examination.

"Keith?" Gelin called after he entered the ship.

"Yeah?" Keith replied.

"You have man in back of ship," Gelin called, a little wary. Keith mentally facepalmed.

"My friend is sick, we are travelling to find the cure." Keith vaguely explained.

Gelin emerged from the ship later than Keith expected. Gelin explained that the ship was in repairable shape but would have to be taken closer to town and charged. He stated the cost, and Keith was relieved. He could afford what they were asking.

"How long will repairs take?"

Gelin was tapping away at a device.

"4 days. Don't worry, hotel close by."

Keith helped Gelin and coworkers get the ship closer to the city, bringing it into the city after declaring it as a wreck. Keith checked into a hotel, relieved to find the hotel close to the shop had charging stations fit for cryopods. He borrowed a lift from the shop Gelin worked at to transport Shiro back to the hotel. He needed to think about a plan to get him to the fountain.

Everything was tiring; especially the weight of all the "what if"s floating around in his head.

What if the cryopod broke? What if the repairs made it impossible to get to the planet where the fountain was? What if Shiro died and Keith had done all of this for nothing? What if a past enemy of Shiro's heard about their quest and found out that Shiro was vulnerable now? What if Shiro's poison was contagious? What if the Fountain doesn't work?

The last one had been bugging him for a while. It worked for everyone else but it might not work for Shiro.

With Shiro set up, cryopod and all, and nothing else to be done, Keith had a nap. Keith woke up from his nap to someone lightly shaking him.

"Hey sleepy head," his friend's voice chuckled. Keith groggily looked up at the older man. His eyes shot wide and he tried to sit up.

"Why are you out of the cryopod? Is it damaged?" Keith's body and mind were trying to pull him back to sleep. His moves were sluggish and his eyes didn't focus right away.

"Woah there! I was getting hungry. Everything's fine," Shiro reassured. But his pale skin, tired eyes, and slight tremble exposed the lie to Keith.

"You sit and I will go fetch some food," Keith instructed, more than suggested. Shiro chuckled again.

"Alright… shower first though."

Keith entered the shower with tension all throughout his body. How could he not be tense? As the hot water caressed his body, soothing out the muscles and allowing him to focus on something other than survival or fixing the ship. He relished the sensation. having his hair wet, massaging shampoo into his locks. His hair was getting long, he knew. But he did not trust Shiro to cut it and did not see a barber or hairdresser in his near future. Keith used the body lotion, thankful these aliens knew what humans needed. Well, he was only half, but they didn't know that. During his shower, although he was relaxing, he was also listening to Shiro in the room. Making sure there wasn't a thud or a crash or signs of struggle. He heard Shiro whistling, which meant he was breathing decently. Keith didn't know the poison and the Alteans were not knowledgeable about how it would affect the human body. Keith tried to reason that the pod was supposed to sustain Shiro and keep him alive. Reverse the damage the poison would have. But he was worried, rightfully so, about the what if's again. Not knowing the future was scary.

When Keith re-entered the bedroom, Shiro was drinking something from the food dispenser. Upon seeing Keith out of the shower and dressed, Shiro smiled and Keith forgot his troubles. His brother was worth the struggle. Shiro offered Keith a glass of a purple liquid.

"Drink your nutrients Keith. We are going to meet with the repair shop folks. The guy called... Geelim? Something like that..."

Keith downed the liquid fast, the taste of berries lingering after he swallowed it. Keith shivered.

"Alright. I'll be back," Keith said, hoping Shiro would get the message. He did, but rejected.

"Hold up, I've been stuck in a pod. I'm not allowing you to go there by yourself. I have been healed enough that I can handle going out."

Keith couldn't argue with him. They were safe, weren't they? No one was attacking.

There were many busy workers fixing his ship when he got to the shop. Gelin was in the office and invited them inside. Apparently his boss, Havek, wanted to talk with the two boys. Shiro and Keith sat down on the chairs that were across Havek's desk. He typed something into his high-tech computer and then turned to the boys.

"We fixed the navigation system and I found something of interest. You were supposed to be headed to a different galaxy and you ended up here. Why are you heading to where Altea used to be? There's almost no life there." Havek looked pointedly at Shiro. "And why is this one in a pod?"

Quiznak, did these aliens not know social protocol? Keith thought.

"I don't see why that's your business." Keith cooly said. He crossed his arms and straightened his back, trying to be intimidating.

"Well, you see, if you have good enough of a reason, I could get you there pretty quick. We have portal capabilities, and based on what I can tell, you were in a hurry to get there." Havek seemed amused. Keith was not.

"How about being nice for the sake of it? Yes we are on a time crunch but we do not have to tell you anything."

"And I don't have to help you." Havek stated simply.

"Look," Shiro said, calmly but there was an urgency and threat to his tone. Havek's ears turned down slightly which Keith interpreted as Havek recognizing this. "I am dying. The only people we know who can save me are the Alteans. We don't have much time to get there because of the cause. If you can help us get there, we would be greatly appreciative. If you want, I can owe you a debt, which I don't say lightly."

Keith raised his eyebrows. Was Shiro really doing this?

Havek seemed amused at the idea of Shiro owing him something, but he dismissed the idea and told him that it was fine. He said that the ship was now the only one in the shop and he would like to charge extra for the portalling after the ship was fixed.

Keith and Shiro left the office, relieved. Keith especially had a newfound hope. They could portal the two boys to the galaxy? All of Keith's stress left his body, his mind clearing itself of anxiety. They were going to make it.

In celebration, Shiro and Keith found a food joint, one with non-goo options and relished in the success and the tastes that exploded in his mouth. Keith allowed himself to breathe. To enjoy this moment. Looking at his brotherly figure, who was also going through a culinary journey, and not exactly being quiet about it. Keith wondered if this is what it would be like once Shiro was healed. He was so caught up in thinking of the now, of the present, that he was not planning for after. Keith did not exactly have a job other than his freelancing. He could not imagine getting a job with his lack of resume. The Blades had a reputation and were known, but Keith would have to figure out where that would land him. Keith shook the thoughts out of his head; he could worry about that on the way back to Shiro's to deliver him to his husband.

Keith and Shiro finished up their meals and started heading back to the hotel they were staying at. They spent the next 3 days hanging out, exploring the city, and enjoying the food. Every night, Shiro would sleep in the cryopod. It may have healed him every time, but the physical repercussions came back and bit him each day. He was stable enough to make it through the says but Keith did start to worry.

The shop told him that the ship would be ready by mid-afternoon on the fourth day. Shiro and Keith went out for their lunch, and was just leaving the restaurant when they got the call that the ship was ready. The two boys decided to go back to the hotel room and clean up the little stuff they had. They went up to their floor, Keith grabbing the keys and opening the door.

Something was not right as soon as Keith walked in. The window on the opposite side of the room was open when Keith had remembered leaving it closed. Keith swore loudly when he found the crime scene. He ran over to the shattered pieces of the cryopod, the thing that was keeping Shiro alive. He collapsed to his knees. Repeating the came syllable "No." over and over and over. Crying, screaming. Of course someone came and broke it. Of course, things were never easy for Keith. And now Shiro might not make the journey.

"Keith, they said they could portal us. It's going to be fine." Shiro's calm voice said from behind them.

"Something always goes wrong!" Keith yelled, not necessarily at Shiro but at the world.

"Keith, remember what we worked on. Did you keep it up in the Blades?"

Shiro's voice took the edge off of Keith's anger and frustration. He took a few deep breaths.

"Good. Now let's focus on some good things. The ship is almost done. We have everything we need. They are going to portal us, which decreases the time by literally days. I know I'm not in the best shape but I can, and WILL, survive." Shiro firmly said. Keith could hear how much Shiro believed his words. But was Shiro so blinded by his poisoning that he was not being realistic? Was he in denial about his own mortality, leading him to believe things will be okay? Would Shiro be emotionally prepared for realizing his own demise?

That's the kind of thinking that was not helpful. Shiro was bad but he was still standing. Maybe walking around was making Shiro worse. He would just be sitting in the ship for the ride and then Keith could use the hoverboard or something when they got to the planet. Shiro was going to be fine.

Keith cleared out his head. Shiro was going to be fine.

They packed up their stuff, giving the broken pieces of the cryopod to the front desk and apologizing. Unfortunately, security cameras were not allowed in the rooms. Everything broken was fixed. Gelin helped them with the transaction and paid when they got to the shop, going over with Keith everything they fixed. It was a fair amount. He thanked Gelin for all their work and they explained how Havek would portal them out. They got the destination coordinates from the mainframe. Keith checked the GPS many times, communicating with the portal operators to make sure they had it right. He checked three times before allowing them to open the portal. He got Shiro comfortable and settled before officially taking off. The entrance and exit was easy; finally, something easy.

The galaxy the Fountain of Youth was in was still. Calm. There was almost no activity. He was grateful for the portal for bringing the pair to this galaxy. Keith gave a "whoop" of excitement before gathering himself to learn about the galaxy. There were 20 planets, each with varying numbers of moons. The sight was breathtaking. The colors of this galaxy were all over the spectrum of the rainbow, each planet like a painting, or a bathbomb. The colors swirling around in harmony. Some planets were huge, others were almost not considered planets. He wondered if there was anything living out here. Getting to witness this beautiful sight every day. It made Keith forget himself for a few minutes. He snapped back to his senses and checked the locator again to find out how close they were. With how fast his ship could go, the target planet was two days out. Leaving a day for them to get to the Fountain, possibly less than that. He did not like that time frame but it was better than not getting this far at all. He put The Red Lion on autopilot and ate a snack. Stress was making him hungry.

The next days were mostly filled with Keith stressing, trying to go faster, and trying to distract himself while The Red Lion was on autopilot.

"Hang in there Shiro. We're almost there" Keith calmly affirmed despite the heart pounding against his ribcage. It had been fast since getting less than a day out. He checked the locator a few more times to make sure they were on the right path. As if he hadn't been checking on it every 5 minutes. The path to salvation. After such a bounce-around journey, Keith prayed to wherever this was the last stop. It HAD to be, for Shiro's sake. They promised it would be the right location.

Shiro sat in the back on Keith's spaceship for the days in this new galaxy. He had been quiet since their last stop, saving his energy for whenever they finally reached the planet. Keith didn't blame him. Without the cryopod these past few days, Keith got a front row seat for the deterioration of Shiro's health. He had nowhere else to go in the ship. His breathing was shallow and ragged now. He let Keith know he was still conscious by giving one word responses to him. And eating; Keith had to feed him by the afternoon of the first day. He was too weak to move. Keith tried giving Shiro pain killers for the pain, but Shiro refused. It broke Keith's racing heart. They were almost there. And Shiro was still alive.

Those two thoughts drove him forward through the days.