The team stayed on Onyx for a few days, despite what had happened to Lance. Only Keith and Coran knew about the assault, but Allura and Coran were the members in charge of diplomacy efforts and they needed more time. Allura and Coran, sometimes Shiro, would go down to talk with the leaders of the planet in more detail regarding their role in the Coalition. Lance had stayed in his room for the time being and no one questioned it. Pidge and Hunk brushed it off as Lance being sick. He would let people in if they had food or for when he needed help with something. Other than those specific qualifications he wanted to be alone. No matter how much the team hated it, they respected his boundaries.
Pidge and Hunk were utterly distraught; they had tried coaxing him or just talking to Lance but he would not have any of it. On the third day on Onyx, Lance was livid. He was constantly fluctuating between angry and depressed due to either the trauma or the drugs or both. Keith didn't know. But Shiro had been helping with personal care of some sort. Whatever happened, Keith was called to Lance's room by Shiro. Upon arrival, Keith heard a terrible scream coming from inside. He opened the door to find Shiro pinning Lance down while the blue Paladin was screaming and thrashing from underneath. Shiro ordered Keith to take over. The switch was difficult and Lance was not gentle. Keith was frozen on top. Stuttering, trying to ask Lance what happened. Being a bit too harsh, if he was being honest. From what Lance managed to say Keith figured that it was time for a bath and Shiro had gone to take Lance's clothes off without asking. Given Shiro didn't know what happened, that was more excusable. He should have asked either way, but he probably was not thinking about that. When Shiro returned, he sedated Lance and the boys left the room when Lance was out cold. Keith hated it.
Lance seemed only, for some reason, to calm down when Keith was around. He absolutely shrunk when Keith had to help with personal care. While the healing pod helped with the physical injuries, the drugs made him weak and shaky. Keith respected Lance's boundaries; if taking a bath in his clothes was the only way he would, then Keith wouldn't fight Lance on that. Keith heard, from both Lance and Coran, that Shiro had not been as accommodating. Not that Shiro would force him to do anything, moreso Lance would have to often do things on his own that tired him out. Shiro would get him into bed after and leave, taking a break himself.
Two nights after they left Onyx, Lance finally seemed to be filtering out the drug. Unfortunately, that meant a day spent in his bathroom vomiting, while Keith and Shiro kept him hydrated. Coran and Allura helped; apparently IV's were less invasive for Alteans, as it was a simple patch on the skin hooked up to a container of water. They were to keep an eye on him in shifts. Keith, Hunk, Coran, and Shiro all had shifts, but Keith hung out because he didn't have anything better to do. Keith mostly read. He stayed on Lance's desk chair outside the bathroom, answering the few requests Lance had. Keith didn't mind. In space, there was not much else to do.
Keith had been sleeping with his helmet next to him in case Lance needed him. During the nights, they slept in their own rooms. Lance's helmet once detected a nightmare, alerting both Shiro and Keith. Keith had woken up Lance, who shoved him off and screamed profanities at him.
Lance woke up the third day post-Onyx feeling healthy. His mood was stable and he could finally think without fear of it being said out loud. He thought about what had happened to him. He thought too much. He felt limbs and tongues and suctions and burns and good feelings and bad feelings. He wanted nothing more than to shrink or to jump out of his body. But he heard someone speaking to him. A familiar voice.
"Lance!" It was Hunk. No, Hunk can't see Lance like this. He felt a hand press against his shoulder and suddenly his fist hurt. Lance's eyes snapped open to reveal Hunk holding his arm in pain. What did Lance do?
Keith entered a few minutes later. Hunk had left but Lance didn't realize until Keith's violet eyes were making contact with his. Keith did not look happy. Coran entered after. He had the medical tablet Lance knew very well.
"Lance, do you know what you just did?" Keith levelly asked. Lance's eyes started watering up. He put the pieces together. He hurt Hunk.
"I, um… I'm sorry-" Lance hid under the covers to block Keith from seeing him cry. Keith had seen Lance do that a lot over the past few days.
"Tell us what happened," Keith demanded more than ask. Lance explained how Hunk had went in for a hug, but he touched somewhere Lance didn't like and he didn't even think about it. Keith told him Hunk was fine, but they are worried about this happening again or to a greater extent. Lance told them that he wanted Hunk, Pidge, and Allura to be filled in about his situation. But Kance couldn't do it on his own. He didn't even know if he could tell them, now that the drug was out of his system. It inhibited his ability to hold in thoughts. It swallowed anxieties and replaced it with nonchalance. Lance was more confident, he could be honest.
Keith said he would arrange something for after their trip to the space mall. Coran stepped in. Due to the drug not being used on humans before, Coran wanted to run some post-filtered tests. Keith left for this. Coran also wanted Lance to go back into the cryopod. Keith returned with a cryosuit and with Pidge. They had food in their hands for Lance. Coran told him to eat up and get changed. The Altean and human left, leaving Keith and Lance alone. Keith watched Lance eat. He was relieved. Lance went to the bathroom to put on the cryosuit. Keith escorted him to the medical bay. Lance recalled the fact that he was on watch now.
Keith sighed when Lance went to sleep inside the pod. He sat on the ground, the weight of everything settling in suddenly. The past few days he had been focused on Lance, what Lance needed. His insomnia hadn't gone away, which he kept busy by checking in on Lance or researching. Or journaling.
"Hey there," Shiro said from the door. Keith whipped around.
"Hey Shiro," Keith yawned. Shiro came down to where Keith was, offering a drink. Keith took the cup, holding it without consuming.
"Coran told me you have been working very hard to help Lance. I wanted you to know that it didn't go unnoticed."
"I don't need thanks. Lance went through shit. It may change how he views himself. Turn his worldview upside down. He needs to learn how to trust again. Until he starts showing significant recovery, I will help out however I can."
Shiro gave him a pointed look. "Even if that entails not sleeping?"
Keith swore in his head. So... Shiro knew.
"Does Coran know? That I have had some near-sleepless nights?"
Keith downed his drink in one go. It was strawberry flavored something, but with little tiny pieces of something Keith couldn't recognize.
"Yes. If you want to help, you need to rest."
"What if I don't wanna?" Keith was slurring his words. His tongue felt suddenly too heavy to lift. Shiro turned into two Shiros. Keith blinked and rubbed his eyes. Shiro offered his hands to help Keith stand up. They barely made it to the door when Keith had to be supported fully by Shiro.
"Didyooodrugmeee?" Keith slurred. He stubbornly tried to keep his eyes open and awake. Fighting off whatever was given to him was proving to wear him out more. "Wha-abow-Lanzz?"
"Yes we gave you a sedative. Stop fighting it. Let yourself sleep. Pidge said they would watch you while you slept. I can look after Lance."
Keith vaguely saw his room. He was placed onto his bed, shoes taken off, tucked in. Pidge had their computer and monitors, working away. Shiro left after securing Keith. The half-Galran gave up and left himself be taken by slumber.
Keith took a while to fully wake up. His anger was mostly what helped him roll out of bed, stumble to grab his jacket, and zombie walk to where he suspected everyone would be. As he entered the dining room, all eyes turned to him. Keith was surprised to see Lance there. Mostly because he didn't realize how long he was unconscious for.
"Hello Keith. Will you have a seat?" Allura greeted warmly. Keith managed to plop himself into a chair without seeming too tired. Food was placed in front of him by Hunk. Keith and Lance were sitting across from each other; Keith analyzed Lance. He was staring at his food, not really touching it. Mostly stirring it around, then taking small bites once in a while. Next to Lance was Coran, then Pidge. On Keith's side, he was next to Hunk, and Shiro was at the end. Allura sat at the head of the table.
"We need to talk about a few things as a Team." Shiro started. "Some of us," he looked at Lance, "would like to share some information-"
"I told you not to include me in this," Lance mumbled. Shiro's expression wavered.
"-and some of us need to talk about an issue that has apparently been going on for a while."
Shiro looked at Keith. Oh god, Keith thought, Shiro is going to try and cure his insomnia.
"Lance, Keith, who would like to start?"
Keith looked to Lance. He was not looking up from his barely touched food. Keith looked at Shiro.
"How about we talk about how you gave me a sedative without my permission?" Keith spat at Shiro.
"Keith, you need sleep to function," Shiro sounded apologetic. "I understand that was not the best approach but if you refuse to get help, then we take matters into our own hands."
Lance suddenly jumped up from the table and briskly exited the room. Shiro, Coran and Keith all exchanged glances before Coran got up and ran after Lance. Pidge, Hunk and Allura kept silent, watching this all take place without asking any questions. Their eyes and expressions said it all. Worry. Confusion.
"Oh great Shiro, now Lance was made uncomfortable." Keith sneered. "I don't need you to tell me what to do. We are in fucking space! How the hell do expect me to treat my insomnia out here, hmm?" Keith paused. He just admitted to them that he had insomnia. This only fueled his anger. They should be focusing on LANCE, not him. Lance needed all the support he wants. Shiro and Coran deciding to out himself and Lance like this was not okay. Sometimes interventions were needed, but what was happening currently wasn't okay. Lance specifically asked them to tell the others without him in the room. Keith didn't even want the group to know about his issue with sleeping. "There, I said it. Are you happy? I have been dealing with this for years. You never noticed at the Garrison. You haven't noticed while we have been a part of Voltron. I have been functioning fine. But now… you go against Lance's direct wishes, and for what? What did you expect to happen? Lance doesn't need to see that people within his own damn group of friends have the capacity to drug him whenever. And that's what you showed."
With that, Keith stormed out with his food. He decided after getting to his room that he needed to let off some steam. He didn't want to be around the crew, so decided on training. He really needed to punch something that wasn't someone's face.
Keith destroyed every robot that came after him. He felt bad about how much he wrecked the robots, but it did help him blow off some steam. He had started cleaning up when the swoosh of the door brought his attention away from the mess he made. He crossed his arms and waited for Shiro to talk first.
"I, uh, came here to apologize," Shiro meekly said. He was twisting a finger from his robot hand in circles.
"Shiro, you're going to twist your finger off. And I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Keith levelly said. Shiro immediately stopped the nervous tick.
"I know I messed up… And I apologized to Lance before I came here. Coran was with Lance doing some breathing exercises and meditation. I just…"
Shiro went and sat down on one of the benches on the wall near the entrance. Keith reluctantly joined him. The older man had his head in his hands.
"I am supposed to be the leader of Voltron and be the one who knows what to do. But they never taught us how to deal with any of this at the Garrison. I'm sure it happened at the Garrison but no one really talked about it. And I just.." Shiro sighed, "I don't know what to do. I wanted to talk about what to do with the group, but we both know how THAT went."
"It would have gone differently if you actually respected Lance's wishes." Keith pointed out.
"I wanted him there so he could advocate for himself." Shiro ran his robot hand through his hair. "I wanted him to be able to tell his story the way he wanted it."
"He chose not to. He chose that we tell them what happened. If we do it wrong, a part of that is on Lance for not doing it himself." Keith waited for Shiro to say something else before moving on to his other point. "As for what you did with me… that wasn't okay."
"You need help. Again, I don't know how to help someone with insomnia or sexual assault. But I feel the need to do something. As your friend and the Black Paladin."
"The best thing to do is talk with us. Consult with us. We don't need you making decisions. Especially me. I've been dealing with this for a while. I can function. Lance, however, is not functioning. We need to focus on him and what he wants to do and his needs."
Shiro looked at him in a way that Keith knew exactly what it meant. Shiro was grateful for their conversation and for Keith's input. He learned something.
"We should try again. This time, Lance will not be in attendance, and I will not reveal any information unless told to. The only exception is if any of you become a harm to yourselves or someone else."
"If we keep going against Lance's wishes, he will become more of a harm to himself and less likely to reach out for help." Keith stated.
"Can you go talk to him? Coran is helping but.. I don't know Keith, for some reason, Lance seems to be at his best when you are there."
Keith laughed out loud.
"Yeah. It's cause' he thinks I don't like him. I don't express feelings usually. I gained his trust while he was on the rollercoaster of a drug that the Onyxians gave him."
Shiro was the one to chuckle.
"Oh Keith… you never were able to tell when you liked someone or they like you," Shiro said. Keith rolled his eyes.
"Not appropriate Shiro."
"Alright, I'll back off," Shiro sighed while standing up. "Can we go see if the others are still at the dinner table? Coran doesn't need to be there when we tell everyone."
Keith agreed, saying he wanted to shower first. This could give Shiro time to round up the crowd. Keith headed one his merry way towards his room. He decided to check up on Lance before having his shower to see how he was doing. Lance was working with Coran on breathing techniques and listening to some music Coran was playing from a tablet. Keith recognized it as being from Earth. He breathed in deep before heading to the shower.
Keith dried off somewhat and returned to the dining room. Everyone minus Coran and Lance were there. Keith sat down across from Shiro, waited for him to begin the conversation. Hunk and Pidge were waiting in anticipation.
"OK gang, so… we need to tell you about what happened on Onyx."
Shiro began to explain about the party and the people of Onyx's social norms. He explained about their food and how some are drugs that that Onyxians can take and be fine. Humans probably have never been. Lance somehow wasn't told about the drugs, and no one knew that it would affect humans. The group honestly knew little about it. That Lance was in a vulnerable state of mind, didn't know he was being fed drugs, what that meant in the Onyxian society. Shiro paused, gathering himself together. He looked at Keith for guidance.
"Lance was sexually assaulted. There's no way to sugar coat it."
Pidge gasped and the color drained from their face. Hunk brought a hand to his chest and looked stricken. Allura put her head in her hands.
"He needs us to support him while he heals." Shiro continued. Keith didn't know where to go from where he had left off "He may be sensitive to touch. Be careful about what you say as to not trigger him."
Hunk asked if he could go talk to Lance, if he wanted friends. Shiro told him that it was up to Lance.
"Moving forward, the pods have some ability to help with neurochemical stuff. As you all know, I have used it for helping my PTSD. It may help Lance process what happened and come to terms in a healthy manner."
Everyone sat in silence.
"How can we, as a team, help Lance? I mean, we can't just act like nothing happened." Pidge broke the silence.
"We should try to desensitize him to touch," Allura suggested. The others agreed except Keith.
"What exactly happened to him? How many aliens were there?" Hunk asked. It seemed like genuine curiosity but it still wasn't great questions.
"Why do you wanna know?" Keith snapped at Hunk. Hunk looked as if Keith had just punched him in the face.
"I… Uh… Want to know how bad it is. Would he feel comfortable with multiple people in the room?"
"Then ask that instead. You don't need Lance to spill all the details."
A call came in for Keith; Coran requested he come immediately. While Keith wanted to stay and advocate for Lance the best he could, Coran sounded as if he needed help.
When he got to the room, he recognized Lance was having a panic attack. He was sitting against his bed on the ground. Coran was halfway across the room, frozen; upon seeing Keith he looked relieved. Keith approached Lance. He was hyperventilating and shaking. His eyes were closed. Rocking. Keith gently asked if Lance could hear him, to which Lance simply nodded. Keith asked if he could touch him on the shoulder. Lance nodded again. He was trying to hold back tears. Keith firmly grabbed his shoulder.
"Lance, focus. On me, on my voice. Breathe in time with me," Keith exaggerated his breathing. Lance couldn't focus. Keith saw how his eyes kept darting from Keith chest to himself and various other body parts. Keith asking if he could place Lance's hand somewhere, he agreed with a nod. Keith, who usually has an aversion to touch, brought Lance's hand up to his chest and held it there. Keith tried his best to repress the embarrassment and indicators of it. Lance closed his eyes, head down. Eventually Lance synced his breathing with Keith's. His shaking slowly stopped. He dropped his hand away and Keith retreated his touches. The two boys sat on the ground in silence, Lance just breathing with his eyes closed. Keith waited for any feedback from his fellow paladin.
"Thanks," Lance hoarsely said.
"We told the others about what happened." Keith blurted out. Lance was better now, and this was a topical point of conversation. Mostly Keith didn't know what else to say and he regretted his decision. He waited for an escalation that never came. Lance solemnly nodded.
"Lance, my dear boy," Coran spoke. He had been quiet the whole time Keith was there. "Is it okay if we keep a log of your triggers?"
"I'm not some patient. I'm Lance. You don't need to be so stuffy." Lance pushed himself away from Keith. "I know you are trying to help but what I need most is time alone. I can handle this all by myself." Lance marched over to the door and gestured for them to leave.
"There are some things you can do on your own. I'm sorry if we are making you feel inferior Lance, it's just that we want to be safe people for you to be around."
"If it wasn't for the drugs I probably wouldn't have told you. I'm not entirely sure I processed what happened to me. Because you all. Keep. fucking. Trying. To fix me when I don't even know what needs fixing. Or what I need help fixing."
Coran sighed, went to leave, but stopped at the door.
"I'm sorry Lance… If you need anything, please let us know."
"I need-" Lance huffed. He looks tired but angry. "-to know that you won't fucking drug me if I am too much for you. Maybe talk to Shiro about what HE needs help with."
Coran wiped a tear as he left. Lance's gaze settled on Keith, who was sitting shocked on the floor.
"What have you been doing Keith? You don't even like me."
Oh, if only Lance knew how untrue that statement was.
"We have been butting heads for years and it takes me being assaulted for you to show some compassion and that deep, far far down, you apparently care. What the hell?!"
Keith's eyes stung and his muscles tensed up. Lance crossed his arms and stood impatiently.
"I'm waiting..?"
"Oh, you actually want an answer?" Keith asked genuinely. He thought the question was rhetorical.
"Yes. What the hell dude?"
"Look," Keith relaxed his body a bit, as to not come off as defensive. "I have always cared about you Lance. I teased you and all that because… well because I felt intimidated by you. You were so good at everything and I just… Being a perfectionist and super competitive meant that I also was a dick."
"Yeah… you were…." Lance's tone was soft now. Which was weird for Keith. He was expecting Lance to continue his passionate and angry tone and expression. But he seemed to be melting.
"If you hate me so much, why was I the only one you trusted to help you with shit like using the bathroom and bathing? Hmmm?" Keith was suddenly flustered. Did Lance really not like him?
"It was because I thought you didn't care… But apparently you do… right?" Lance's voice was between a whisper and a mumble, Keith was just able to hear it. Lance hadn't been making eye contact with him, but in this moment requested it with his eyes. Keith stared into eyes he often thought of as a good place to get lost in, spending some mental energy on staying present.
"Yeah…" Keith's enraged tone melted away. "I do care. I care about everyone here… You are all like my family…"
Lance suddenly moved and gestured to the door. He was blinking rapidly now, eyes downcast, and kept wiping his face.
"I need you to go now… I… I need to spend some time alone…"
Keith somberly rose from his position and left. But not before catching that Lance was crying.
The following day, Keith was training when he overheard a conversation in the hall. He had gone to breakfast that morning; it was just himself and Allura, sitting and eating without asked one thing as Keith got up to leave, what he was planning on doing during the day, and Keith told her that if needed he would be either in the training room or in his room. He had been practicing hand-to-hand combat with his blade. He definitely needed to improve on it. When he heard the faint voices, he approached the door so he could hear better. It was Allura and Coran.
"Do you think Lance needs to take a break from being a Paladin? Would it be too much stress?" Allura asked Coran. "Trauma works differently in humans"
"Well, Princess, what I think is that Lance needs to get back on routine. I read that humans like that. Taking him out of what is normal for him would do more damage than good. Lance needs to be included in activities." Coran replied. Keith liked that Coran shared similar ideas to him, and was doing research to help Lance. "I do think he needs regular healing pod treatments to stabilize his moods."
"Agreed. Rather, it would help him regulate his moods better."
"Right," Coran sheepishly said. "I need to work on terminology."
Keith hoped they would do this with Lance's approval. He really hated having to defend Lance from his friends.
"How are the others holding up?" Allura asked Coran. Coran sighed. Keith poked his head around and saw that the older Altean had a tablet with notes. Was he taking notes on the team?
"Pidge is quite upset. Mostly angry. Not at Lance, but at what Lance went through and that he is hurting. They currently are trying to make a device that can identify whoever attacked Lance, while also trying to make tweaks to the healing pods to help him. Hunk is helping them with that. He seems to be distraught and unsure how to help. Shiro, as you know, is trying to come up with a plan for Lance. He is worried about the entire team. I've been making sure that everyone is eating and getting their basic needs met." Coran reported. His voice didn't have it's usual energy to it and his hair was ruffled. Keith had never seen Coran like this.
"And Keith?" Allura asked. She was wearing pajamas and didn't have her hair done at all. Keith knew how much the Princess liked to look regal, even when it was just the Voltron team hanging out.
"Keith… well he seems to be a mixed bag, so to speak."
What the hell did that mean?
"He seems to be very passionate about helping Lance and his protective. But at the same time, he is closed off. And Keith has done some out-of-character things, such as letting Lance be physically comforted by him."
Allura gasped. She asked for clarification and Coran told her about when they did the body scan for Lance and Keith comforted him.
"It seems that seeing Lance in pain and needing comfort has caused Keith's emotional walls to come down." Coran commented.
"Has Keith been keeping his basic needs met?" Allura asked. Coran pulled up a video of Keith wandering the castle late at night.
"Everything except sleep, as we found out due to Shiro. We could see if he wants to try a healing pod?"
Keith hadn't considered trying a healing pod. Could that help?
"Ok, can you find his whereabouts in the castle?" Allura asked.
Shit, Keith thoughts. Are there seriously cameras everywhere? Keith quickly went back deep into the training room and went hard on a punching bag. Keith thought about whether he wanted to try a healing pod or not. He didn't remember what it was like to get a normal amount of sleep. It was abnormal for him. Would he feel better? What if the pod messed up his brain chemicals instead of fixed them? He heard the whoosh of the doors a few minutes later, pulling him out of his thoughts. As he expected and overheard, Coran and Allura walked in. Keith looked over at the two of them, waiting for them to speak.
"Hello Keith. How's training going?" Allura greeted as Coran typed away at his tablet.
"Good. What's going on?" Keith asked, despite probably knowing the answer.
"We were conversing about your current problem with sleeping and have a possible solution. We would like to try out the healing pods." Allura continued talking but Keith could only focus on Coran typing away on his tablet. "Keith?"
He looked back at Allura; she clearly knew he hadn't listened to a thing she just said.
"What is Coran doing?" Keith guardedly asked.
"Uh, you will find out in a minute," Allura replied. Keith obviously missed something when he stopped eavesdropping. Keith didn't like the sound of that.
Shiro walked in during a stare-down between Coran, Allura, and Keith.
Oh, he thought, they are getting Shiro to convince me or take me by force. Keith looked at each person in the room.
"Keith, you need to sleep. The healing pod could help you." That was Shiro. Keith exclaimed in frustration.
"Why are you focusing on me?!" Keith spat. "Who needs the most help?"
"The fact that you don't see yourself as having a problem is a problem Keith," Shiro said. "I know whom you are inferring."
Keith bunched up his hands into fists. He needed to punch something.
"Then go!" Keith grumbled. "Focus on Lance! What are you doing here?"
"Lance… has accepted out suggestion to use a pod. He actually requested you be the one to put him in," Coran gently informed him.
"Fine! For fuck sakes. If you are going to keep pushing it, I figure you will probably force me to at some point." Keith stormed past the three people. Shiro immediately followed him; Keith brushed past Hunk and Pidge on his way to Lance's room. He ignored them. He was going to throw open the door but second guessed and knocked. Lance opened it; he was in the suit that they wear when going into the healing pod. Keith noticed the way Lance started to tremble upon seeing him. The suit clung to his fellow paladin's body. Lance was spending a lot of effort to just look at Keith. Lance asked in a soft voice if Keith could zip it up. Keith's anger towards Shiro, Coran, and Allura dissipated. He nodded solemnly and waited for Lance to approach him. Lance jumped at the light touch of Keith's hand steadying and holding the fabric.
"Keith?" Lance asked in a low voice.
"Yeah?"
"You said yesterday that you care about me. And I was up all night last night just thinking… I want you to know that I care about you too. You have honestly been the most helpful out of anyone here. Coran and Allura seem to just want to track my behaviors and triggers. Shiro is wanting a quick fix, wanting to help but is too assertive. Pidge and Hunk seem to want to help, and have made attempts to but just don't really understand how. You, on the other hand, have been the only one to help in a way that works for me…"
Lance sat down on his bed and placed his head in his hands, his elbows on his lap.
"I guess I was just… I wanted to know…"
Lance took a deep breath. He looked back up at Keith.
"Your approach to... This… has been to just do whatever I needed. You seem to understand what that is, even when I don't. And you have been providing that support to me unquestionably. Undoubtingly. If I am telling the truth, I haven't been sleeping well and I think a part of that is due to not feeling safe when alone. Is there any chance that, at least for a little while, you could sleep in my room?"
This had to be the weirdest requests Keith had ever received. Weird, because it was Lance and because Keith did not think the conversation was leading to this.
"Like… in your bed…?"
"No!" Lance exclaimed, chuckling a little. "Coran could set up a cot. He was the person who suggested it. He caught me in the middle of roaming the castle."
That was odd; Keith roamed the castle too and had not seen Lance any of the previous nights. Nor had he seen Coran.
"Sure." Keith didn't really process what he was saying until it was already out of his mouth. Lance looked relieved.
"Cool…" Lance's gaze darted away, embarrassed. "Could you also, if it is not asking too much, come to the pods with me and be there when I wake up? I am nervous about what I will feel afterwards."
Keith told Lance about how he would try, but he promised the group that he would also be trying out the pods. Keith admitted to Lance about how bad his insomnia was. As if on cue, Coran knocked on the Blue Paladin's door. He had a suit for Keith; the Red Paladin went to Lance's bathroom to change, getting Lance to zip it up. A chill ran up Keith's spine as his fellow paladin's fingers gently brushed his skin in the motion. Coran led them to the pods, doing something on his tablet the entire time. Lance got into the pod hesitantly. It closed on him; Coran tapped the screen on the pod. Keith watched as horror flooded Lance's face. He started hyperventilating and banging on the glass. Coran paused his typing and turned to Keith.
"What do I do?" Coran seemed wary about continuing the cryopod process.
"Undo the glass, let him out to breathe." Keith instructed. With a whoosh, the glass was gone. Lance fell out, gasping for air. Keith knelt next to Lance.
"Lance, you're safe." Keith repeated. Until:
"I," breath "am," breath "safe…" Lance took a deep breath. He looked at Keith.
"Can we try again?" Keith asked levelly. Lance nodded and stood back up. This time, Lance watched Keith as if breaking eye contact would kill him. Keith showed Lance that he was taking deep breaths and the encased boy mirrored his movements. A puff of smoke entered the pod and soon Keith was staring at an unconscious Lance. Coran thanked Keith for helping Lance, as he moved to set up the other pod. Keith just watched, not too sure what to say or do. Before the pod was ready, footsteps were heard in the hallway leading up to the medical bay. Keith turned when they indicated their owner was in the room with them and saw Shiro.
"Hey, I had hoped you would still be conscious." Shiro said as a greeting. Keith just stared coldly at him. "I wanted to, uh, ask you a favor."
This peaked Keith's interest. Shiro's demeanor was sheepish, embarrassed.
"I think you have more naturally helpful responses to Lance and my own mental health issues."
Keith recalled the nights we would have to run into Shiro's room and calm him down from a nightmare. It's how he knew the breathing exercises. He had done some research about calming attacks. That was before Shiro knew about Keith's insomnia. He had just thought that Keith was alerted by his Lion that he needed help.
"So I was wondering if you could teach me some skills. Or what not to do-"
"Drugging people, forcing them, or pressuring them to do something they don't want to are a few things not to do," Keith hotly interrupted. He was still mad about that. He took a breath to calm himself; Shiro looked wounded but also knew that Keith's emotions were justified.
"I just want to help everyone Keith. I recognize my methods are not great-"
"Sorry," Keith interrupted again. He apologized for interrupting. "If you want to learn some things, read about them. While the knowledge might not be generalizable, at least you have something to try that has been shown to help."
Coran informed Keith that his pod was ready. Keith turned away from Shiro, his brother, his leader and inspiration. The person whom he looked up to, now was looking to him for guidance. Keith turned back around and offered him his hand. Shiro shook it lovingly.
Keith held on to Shiro's hand until he was inside of the pod. The cold smoke washing of him made him shiver, and he was out like a light.