Keith wasn't sure the origins to his lack of sleep. He was doing ok, at least he thought he was, and no one really knew about his lack of sleep. Keith was performing up to his normal standards. He didn't feel anything wrong; mostly just empty and restless when awake.

He would go to bed with everyone else, wait until he couldn't hear anyone, then sneak off and train. The closest any member of the team came to noticing was when Lance commented on how buff Keith was becoming. Even though Keith hid himself in loose fitting clothing, Lance somehow still noticed and decided to make his flamboyant comment over dinner. Keith was embarrassed. He was probably as red as his lion. The other brushed it off, laughing with Lance about his comment, but something in Lance's facial features hinted that the Cuban was worried. Concerned, more so. Once training became boring, Keith decided to read. Or go watch the planets pass. The best nights were when they were on a planet and Keith could go explore when no one was awake. He never got lost because his suit mapped out his path and the possible paths he could take. He found some interesting plants and scenes on these adventures. Alone at night, he could let his hair and guard down. He didn't have to be reserved and constrained. Or bothered by people. The activities he did varied from planet to planet.

Currently, they were on a planet where partying was the norm. The species literally parties to survive. The members of Voltron had the previous day recruited them into the Coalition and they offered them a nights' stay and an invite to their high-end party made for government officials and celebrities. Of course Allura agreed. And everyone had to attend to show respect.

Everyone acted as Keith expected. Hunk scouted out the food, looking for recipes and chatting with the cooks about the food. Pidge was social; mostly hitting up the nerdy or science professionals. Sharing technologies amongst the pleasantries. Allura, Coran, and Shiro were normal social people. Lance flirted up everyone; Keith lost him multiple times.

Lance and Keith had been hanging out more and somewhere between leaving Earth and this moment, Keith had fallen in love with Lance. Keith knew Lance was bisexual, thanks to a very fun conversation Allura had to have with the group due to an alien Lance had brought onto the ship to have intimate fun with. Keith was mad at Lance after that because the Paladins THEN had to have The Talk: Alien Version with Coran teaching. Not a fond memory.

Once Keith had stayed a socially-acceptable length of time, he decided to go for a walk around the city they were in before heading back to the Castle. Keith informed Hunk that he was leaving. Hunk gave him food for the road, in which he could not pass up. Keith then went to find Lance to make sure he was okay. The loud music in the alien language mixed with the amount of people and the bright colors caused Keith's world to go blurry a few times on his search. He watched as the aliens ingested various substances, helping each other in what seemed almost intimate act. Keith made a mental note to see if the castle had any books on this species and their customs/norms. Keith finally found Lance, downstairs in the house and with a bunch of the aliens. Lance was making them laugh apparently. He caught Keith's eye and excused himself. Keith noticed many things.

Firstly, his pupils were severely dilated. Lance's gaze drifted. When he walked, it was as if he was simultaneously floating and being held down by tons of rocks. His mouth seemed to be in a permanent giggle. When he said hello to Keith, Lance sounded unsure yet confident in who he was addressing. Keith informed Lance he was heading out. Lance embraced the Red Paladin in a one-sided hug; Keith was bombarded with a weird scent that was neither delightful or from Earth.

"Lance, what have you been doing?" Keith asked sternly. Lance giggled.

"You said my name! You are really funny Keef" Lance slurred back. The two separated partially, Keith keeping the Latino boy upright.

"What the hell did you eat?!" Keith yelled, trying to sound concerned but it came out as angry.

"Ok Mr. Grumpy Gills," Lance yelled, sounding hurt but also like he didn't care. "Don't pretend like you didn't enjoy some delicacies of the local people!"

"Clearly I didn't enjoy as much as you," Keith remarked. Although Keith had to admit, Lance appeared to be as okay as he could be. His normal self with some parts amplified. He told Lance he was going to the castle and that he would see him in the morning. Lance placed a sloppy kiss on the top of Keith's gloved hand before going back to his new friends. Keith turned on his heel and rushed away before anyone could notice the red forming in his cheeks. Anger and love. Even though Keith hated Lance like this, he figured Lance would be back to himself in the morning.

Keith wandered around the city for, what he conceived to be, two hours. He stopped for food a couple of times, making sure humans could have what he was consuming. When he arrived to the tallest building, the castle ship he now called home, he entered. He was the first one back; the castle was shut down. Keith turned on some lights as he made his way to the control room. Their scanners could reach where the party was, so Keith decided to keep an eye out for his crew members. Allura seemed to be now fending off the aliens trying to give her something. She was adamant on not eating the cube of whatever it was. Pidge and Hunk were now together, chatting away with some locals. The microphones did not reach far enough. Judging by their body language, the conversation seemed to be going well. Coran was of course hitting up the locals, dancing with them; he did not, however, appear to be intoxicated. Coran's normal behavior could be someone else's version of themselves when intoxicated. Shiro seemed to be more anti-social than earlier in the night, as he was leaning on a wall near the entrance to the big building that Keith assumed belonged to a member of Parliament. Lance was nowhere to be found by the scanners. Keith sighed heavily. He imputed Lance's tracker number for the Castle to find his location. After a minute of processing, the screen pointed to one of the higher floors in the building. It did not give Keith any visuals, and if Lance was doing what Keith thought he was, he did not want to see the activity.

Of course Lance was with other people. He would never go for someone like Keith. Keith didn't know how to express his feelings. He knew he often came off as cold and guarded but that's because he just didn't know. Any attempts at flirting were awkward; he figured that out at the Garrison with one of his classmates. Keith hadn't told anyone apart from Shiro that he was gay. Shiro was actually the one who helped Keith figure out his sexuality. Whenever he would act up at the Garrison, Shiro would be the one to talk to. One day Keith punched a kid's tooth out because he kissed him while hanging out in his room. While the kiss itself was uncalled for, and completely not okay, Keith kept thinking about kissing other guys. When he went to talk to Shiro, he told the older man about his feelings and asked if that is how Shiro felt towards Adam. Since then, apart from his attempt at flirting, he kept his sexuality and feelings to himself. He wanted a boyfriend who could balance his personality. And Lance seemed to do that, even if they were just friends. But why would Lance - seductive, extroverted, flirtatious Lance - settle for a half Galran like Keith? When he could be having wild relations with aliens from other species, other customs?

Keith slouched at the control panel deep in his thoughts, zoning out, long enough that when Pidge asked what he was doing, Keith fell out of his chair, startled.

"Keeping watch" Keith said stiffly from the floor. He got up, rubbing his neck. Pidge manage to suppress their chuckle.

"Hunk and I are back so you just have to watch out for Shiro, Allura, Coran, and Lance. Two of those more so than the other."

Keith was confused and it showed.

"Allura should be watched because the locals have been pressuring her to take some of their more… behavior changing and psychedelic foods."

They both knew who was the second person Keith should watch out for. The Cuban, according to Pidge, hadn't been seen for a few hours. Hunk and Pidge weren't worried though. The two told Keith they were going to bed and would see him tomorrow.

An hour later, nothing had really changed except for Keith's alertness and patience. He decided to try to go to bed, even though he figured it would be a bad night for sleep. He showered. Taking his sweet time. He laid in bed, eyes closed but sleep alluding him. He tried tiring himself out with reading for another hour or so but that did not work. His only perk was finding a "book" in the database about the culture of the aliens they were visiting.

He read about their belief system. The reason they partied so much was to appease the all-powerful-beings they worshipped. The food they eat is not toxic or psychedelic to them like it is to humans. They do have stuff to get high, but it wasn't openly shared at the party. They see sharing food, and giving drugs to someone as an act equal to, or as meaningful to some as, sex. Letting someone into your body or to control what goes in it was sacred. However, they did not have the same ideas regarding consent as humans do. There is conflict for the aliens regarding having relations while someone is intoxicated. Some say it is a religious right, some say it is completely horrible.

Keith was on his way back to his room, his head spinning with what he had just read but still not feeling tired. As he passed Lance's room he heard a wretched sound coming from the Blue Paladin's quarters.

"Hnnnnng!"

Keith stopped. That did not sound good. He heard the noise twice before knocking on Lance's door.

"Hnnng!" he heard. Then ,weakly "Hello…?"

"Hey Lance, it's Keith" Keith banged his head softly. Of course he would know it's Keith. "Can I come in?"

There was no reply for a while. "Keith?"

"Yes?"

Keith barely heard the Blue Paladin whimper for his help.

First thing Keith noticed was that clothes were everywhere in Lance's room. He had never been inside before, so he didn't know if that was a regular thing that happened. A pair of legs were sticking out of the doorway to the bathroom, quivering. Keith cautiously approached.

Lance was sprawled on the floor it a position Keith couldn't imagine being comfortable. Lance's skin was clammy and paler than usual. His body was shaking. When he weakly looked up at the Red Paladin, Keith could see his bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils. Lance was dry heaving into a garbage can, not strong enough to reach the toilet. Lance curled into himself; he was crying.

"Holy shit Lance, what the hell happened?" Keith couldn't help the bluntness.

"It hurts," Lance wheezed. "All over."

Keith just stood there. Trying to figure out what to do.

"Are you hot or cold?" Keith asked. He could add a blanket, remove clothes (hopefully not), or run a bath for Lance. Lance said he was burning; out of nowhere he started scratching his skin fervently.

Lance heard his name over and over again and as much as he wanted to respond he couldn't. The physical sensations were too much. He felt a hand on him, firm. They had him again. Pulling him to the bedroom. Taking his pants off. All of them lapping and kissing. All over. He hated it. He couldn't fight back. He wasn't strong enough. He let them. He didn't know who this was grabbing him now - oh god his vision was blurry - but he needed them off. He couldn't go through it again so soon. Or ever. No one deserves to have what happened to Lance happen to them. Not even Zarkon.

Lance continued scratching but used his feet to try and kick Keith. The Red Paladin couldn't process what was happening over the sound of Lance screaming.

"Lance, it's me! It's Keith!"

Lance stopped scratching and was trying to curl into himself with as little movement as possible. He stopped dry heaving when the scratching began; he started groaning Keith's name over and over.

"Did you want a bath while I find the info about if the local food is poisonous or psychedelic to humans?" Keith asked. He realized a few things as those words left his mouth. The first being that Lance would have to strip down. Secondly, Lance was too weak to do it himself. Thirdly, Keith felt confusedly regarding his emotions about the situation. Lance didn't reply right away. His tensed and strained face tried its best to smirk, eventually accomplishing its goal.

"You want to strip me?" Lance joked and then burst into tears. Keith stood awkwardly at the door, not sure what to do.

"Is it the pain?"

Keith realized he probably should be getting Coran or Allura, since they would be more knowledgeable on the subject of alien drug detox. Lance told him it wasn't that. Keith asked if it was okay to get Coran or Allura and Lance immediately resisted. He mustered up enough courage to talk.

"No! No, they can't… They would be mad… Disappointed… I can't ..."

"Lance, you didn't know that the food wouldn't agree with you," Keith remarked, hopefully softly but he wasn't sure. Lance whispered to get the book instead. Keith nodded and left.

The Castle was quiet, apart from the soft hum that is usually heard. It was the hum of a living being, not a mechanical engine. Everyone was back and probably asleep. He decided that Coran would be best if it came to getting someone else to help Lance. He arrived at the library, grabbed a tablet, and hurried back to his crush; searching whilst fast-walking. He found various theoretical articles about what could happen to humans, but nothing concrete. There were some cure theories too. Keith went to the kitchen to find an herb that was said to decrease pain. The best thing to do for the person was to ride it out. Keith hated it but it was what Lance needed.

Lance was crying when Keith returned. He had thrown up after the Red Paladin's departure and was too weak to flush the toilet. Keith explained about the herb's properties and lowered down the glass of water a la herb. Lance took it willingly, downing almost the whole glass in one swig. The effect was quick. Lance was able to move and support his own weight without too much pain. Keith stood and watched Lance attempt to stand up.

"Help," Lance rasped, annoyed. Keith hesitated; he pulled Lance up then placed Lance's arm around his shoulder, snaking an arm around his torso. At the touch of this Lance lost the ability to stand. His legs gave out and he screamed. Keith stood frantic and frozen, unsure and scared.

"Try again… Just not there."

Why? Keith has carried Lance like that before and there has never been an issue. Keith shrugged it off as an over sensitivity due to the drugs. He picked Lance up bridal-style and carried him over to the bed. It was suggested for him to try and sleep it off. Melatonin or some sort of brain chemical supposedly helps with combating the bad effects. Keith told Lance this as he placed him on the bed, rather abruptly if he was being honest. Lance let out a moan. His eyes were closed and covered by his hands. He was on the tail end of crying. Keith felt Lance's forehead to check for its temperature and upon finding the result to be highly concerning, told Lance he needed to take his clothes off for sleeping. Lance protested weakly. Tears burned in his eyes. Keith could tell something was wrong with Lance, something that wasn't the drugs. Lance was trembling more than before ingesting the herb drink. He would not meet Keith's gaze.

"Lance, it is suggested that you remove your clothes and sleep. You will mostly sweat or breathe out the toxins. If you keep your clothes on you will overheat. They are dirty and have shit on them." Keith tried to reason. His tone was neutral; commanding. "If you won't…."

Keith ended the sentence there and let Lance fill in the rest. Lance gave a fearful look to Keith.

"Why are you here anyway Keith? I thought you went to bed. Shouldn't you go back there instead of dealing with a broken loser like me?" Lance snapped.

"Half insomnia, half because…." Keith dropped his gaze, turning his head away slightly in an attempt to hide the heat melting into his cheeks. "... Well I hate seeing you in pain. And you are not a loser."

"Yes I am. The whole reason I am like this right now is because I wasn't being a team player. I was flirting with some aliens and-" A sob broke off the end of Lance's sentence. He started shaking more. Keith tried to place a soft hand on Lance's shoulder, instead of standing there like an idiot, but Lance recoiled from the touch. That wasn't like Lance. Typically Lance initiated contact. He accepts any platonic physical touch.

"Lance…" Keith said softly. "Did something happen?"

The Blue Paladin couldn't speak but he shook his head.

"How about I get you, er, settled here and then, um, you can maybe tell me?" Keith recognized that Lance obviously was in pain emotionally. He tried his best to sound as empathetic as he felt, hoping he was coming across that way. Keith placed the back of his hand on Lance's forehead. It was burning. He had to get out of those clothes. But when Keith gently asked, Lance could barely move. Keith suggested running a cool bath to which Lance agreed on the concept but not the execution. Keith decided Lance should see if taking most of his clothes off would help. From there they could decide on the bath. Lance tried unbuttoning his blue collared button up, however, the task was too demanding. He struggled getting the first one undone. Keith was hesitant to offer help but it was needed. He approached the writhing boy on the bed, kneeled on the side.

"Let me," Keith demanded, harsher than he meant to. He started right away; only got one undone before he found himself on the floor with Lance whimpering soft "No"'s. Keith grumbled. He got back up and gave Lance a frustrated look. It was then when he noticed Lance's clothes. The top was buttoned unevenly, the pants were wrinkly and Lance's fly was down. Keith stared a second longer than necessary. Lance's hair was very much dishevelled. When they all left, Lance had his shirt done up correctly with a tie, tucked in neatly, his pants recently ironed. While it was strange to see the stark differences, Keith brushed it off as Lance's drugged state not being able to take care of himself. But a part of him nagged at the thought of it being something more.

"Lance, we have to get your temperature down. You can't do it yourself. Let me." Keith reasoned.

When Lance didn't answer, Keith sighed.

"Would rather me grab someone else?" Keith moved to get off the bed but Lance grabbed his wrist.

"If it… Has to be done… I want you to do it." Lance's voice was firm despite the pain. Intense. He was being sincere, Keith knew. Lance told Keith to get it over with. Keith hesitated but climbed up and straddled Lance. His face was definitely red. But this was more professional or friendly. He was helping. Lance tried to repress the crying as Keith unbuttoned his shirt, which probably hurt. Once the shirt was off he moved on to Lance's pants but the screaming and crying that followed made Keith stop. He got off of Lance; it hurt Keith to see him like this. Lance might cool down with just his shirt on. Keith stood with his arms crossed. Uncomfortable. They waited in a silence that hung heavy in the air. Keith wanted Lance to come forward and talk. He seemed to feel better after a few minutes without his shirt on. Keith examined Lance carefully. He had weird markings all over his torso; a mixture of suction marks and claw or hand marks. Keith couldn't help but get a closer look and Lance noticed.

"Do they hurt?" Keith inquired.

"Not as much as everything else."

"Is it better?"

"I can talk so yes… Still feel like shit." He groaned. Lance stopped crying. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"What do you know about their culture?" Lance asked out of nowhere. Keith thought the Cuban had fallen asleep. Keith gave Lance a run down of what he had read. Lance took a deep breath after Keith had finished.

"I got… I got shit faced without… without knowing i-i-i-it," Lance admitted. He seemed to tense slightly as he spoke. "The aliens kept asking me….. asking about Earth and all these…. weird personal questions and touch-touch-touching me." Lance choked for a second. "Touching each other. They kept feeding me. Something…. something was in the… in the… in the food. I started losing touch with myself. I barely remember our conversation. The aliens said you guys w-w-w-w-weren't accepting their offerings and I couldn't ask you why. I tried compensating. Oh god…" Lance pressed his palms into his eyes. "It's all...all...all...all my fault…"

"What's all your fault?" Keith asked blankly. Lance, despite his mental state, face-palmed himself in his head.

"After you left, the group I was with led me upstairs to a-a-a private r-r-r-room…. And… Sorry…" He started crying. Keith wanted to both stay where he was, and embrace him. He did the former. Shifting his weight.

"Take your time." Keith stated. More out of not knowing what to say.

"They started, I don't know, I think it was kissing? Anyway, kissing my chest, hence the marks. They laid...laid….laid me down on a-a-a-a-a bed…"

Keith's stomach dropped. He figured out where this was going.

"And I just froze. I…. was irresponsible and let… let… le.. let people take ad-ad-ad-advantage of me."

"Wrong." Keith stated bluntly. "You were vulnerable and not responsible for what happened."

Keith shut up, realizing he should let Lance talk if he wanted.

"I left after… I'm not sure how long they left me alone… But I had to p-p-p-put my clothes back on..." Lance choked on his own words. He curled into a ball on the bed and let himself cry.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Lance. Thank you for telling me, even if it wasn't how you planned. I think we need to tell Allura or Coran so they can talk to the aliens."

Lance immediately objected. His breathing was heavy, like he was trying to get a much air in as possible. "I don't want to ru-ru-ru-ruin the peace or their alliance."

This made Keith burn with anger. Not at Lance, but at the situation and that he feels like having these aliens who violated him like us is more important than what he went through.

"Lance they need to know that doing shit like that to humans is not okay. In their culture, consent is different than in ours. If they are going to be on our side, they need to respect our culture too."

Lance nodded solemnly.

"Can I tell them on my own terms? I know it has to be before we leave, but…" Lance paused to catch his breath. He apologized. "Not right now. I need to get this - the drug and the aftershock - out of my system."

Keith asked to check him out and Lance said he could. Keith warned him before touching whatever body part, feeling for breaks or abnormalities. Watching to see if Lance winced. There was pain but it was the ongoing pain Lance was feeling due to the drugs in his system. Keith felt Lance's forehead; Lance giggled. He was going up on a high.

"I'm hot," Lance said.

"You're forehead is indeed burning."

Keith was an arm's length away. The doped Cuban ruffled Keith's hair playfully, removing it from his eyes.

"You're Keith," Lance said, smiling.

"And you are high," Keith remarked. He may have gone along and joked but Lance was not improving as much as he should be.

"When you are down from your high, may I take your pants off in order to lower your body temperature?"

"Pffft. Yeah. Do it now Keith! I might try and hit you or kick if I can think straight. So never!" Lance bursted out laughing. While this version of Lance was better on the heart, it wasn't by much. Lance looked at Keith expectantly once his laughter calmed down.

"That," Lance said theatrically "was a bisexual joke."

When Keith didn't respond, as he did not know how, Lance tugged at his hand.

"Keeeeeith take my pants off. While I hoped we would be doing this for the first time under MUCH different circumstances, I can at least have a mental picture." Lance smacked his face. "I can't believe I actually said that!"

Keith was stunned. Lance was high, he couldn't have meant that, could he? Or was the drugs causing him to not filter his thoughts and speech? Lance liked him? Or at least lusted for him. Either idea was not being processed for Keith. Lance tapped his fingers on his hips.

"I am not getting any colder Keeeeeeith!"

Keith cleared his throat and stiffly mounted Lance. He sat on Lance's knees so he couldn't jab him in the back. Keith averted his eyes away from the freed area. Instead focused on working the pants the rest of the way down. Lance hyperventilated part way through. When done, Keith sat near Lance's head to assist him with breathing. Lance grabbed onto Keith's arm tightly. He curled into a ball, his face scrunching up in pain, making Keith heart sink.

"It hurts…." he groaned through gritted teeth. "Keith… please…. Help…"

"H-h-h-h-how?" Keith didn't know what to do.

"This.. is gonna.. Be weird… especially after… what I said a minute ago... "

Keith motioned for him to go on after he paused to try and catch his breath.

"Hold me?" Lance requested in a whimper that Keith couldn't refuse. He tensely clambered over Lance to the open spot on the bed. He was still in his day clothes. Lance rolled over when Keith got settled so he could be face-to-face with him. The Latino was still in pain but was becoming tired from it. He lazily looked the other boy in the eyes, a sad look.

"Guess it took me being drugged and helpless for you to get in bed and strip me," he slurred. Lance cuddled into Keith's chest; Keith awkwardly wrapped his lanky arms around Lance. Lance nuzzled his head against Keith's chest. "Aren't you going to take off your clothes? It could get pretty hot in here."

Keith told Lance he would be fine. Partially because he was uncomfortable with being exposed like that. With Lance, it would be worse because he liked Lance.

Keith witnessed the rise and fall of symptoms and moods in Lance until the intoxicated boy was asleep. Lance snored in his sleep. Keith felt trapped but it was good. He thought about sleeping next to Lance every night as a thought to help him sleep. Now that it was happening - not the best reason why, but still - Keith wanted to stay up and live every touch and feeling. Eventually he found himself dozing off. Curled up. Comfortable. Content.