My friend Griffin and I were chatting, and they realized whenever they write a character loosing consciousness, someone's always there to catch them. I realized the same in my writing. But what if… just once… they're not there to catch their fallen team member? Due to hiding their pain until they collapse, leading to their team finding their body later or hearing the thump, they aren't caught. So… an idea later began to whisper in my skull.

Then, I read a fanfic where Keith takes a shot for the team. Giving me inspiration. Here it is!

—

Takes place between Crystal Venom and Collection And Extraction. Season 1 E9-E10

(:)

Taking a shot meant for Lance wasn't necessarily the worst decision Keith had ever made, but it was certainly up there. Yes, he should've used his shield instead of his stupid exposed side, but what was done was done.

And now he was stuck with a gaping hole in his side. His fingers pressed against it, he summoned all his strength to keep walking along, to board the Red Lion, and shoot back to base. Lance and Hunk were riding with him, as they had been providing covering fire for Pidge and Shiro, and Keith had been covering for the covering fire. Ugh. Of course, at the end of all that covering, he was the one who ended up getting hurt. Really, if any one of them got injured, it added onto Keith not doing his job properly.

However, if they found out Keith got injured while stopping them from being injured, they'd blame themselves for being helpless and would make him sit out on the next mission.

Which would suck. Because that meant there was no cover for the covering fire.

…wow. The lack of blood was really messing with his mind.

Keith did his best to pilot them back to safety smoothly, watching the Green Lion do the same for Pidge and Shiro out of the corner of his eye. They had only brought the Green and Red Lions due to the need to be quick. If Keith had stumbled for even a minute, he would've defeated that purpose, and he would not be a failure.

Being a failure, being sloppy, meant being kicked out. Or put in detention. Being in foster homes and a disciplinary school had taught him that.

Keith was relieved when the Red Lion finally landed, forcing himself to rise with his signature blank expression. He pressed fingers to his wound again, trying to disguise it.

Hunk and Lance weren't even looking at him, though, just laughing together over an old joke or a victory well won. Keith couldn't really tell, anymore. His ears were ringing.

They turned, exiting the cockpit before him. Keith trailed after lazily, blinking slowly as he trekked along.

Red's gentle worry pressed into his mind, her soothing purr vibrating through him.

Don't worry, he assured her mentally, I'm just following them for long even that it's not suspicious; I'll double back once we get far enough away.

Red obviously doesn't like that, much less that he isn't telling his teammates about his injury, but as a cat, she understands the need to hide until he can resolve it himself. She supported his decision, even if she didn't agree.

Keith followed after the boys at a slower pace; so they wouldn't notice him gradually getting further and further behind. When hanging out around the Castle, he tended to move slower then everyone else, anyway. This wouldn't be that weird. He stopped completely when they turned around a corner, planting a hand on the wall and supporting himself.

"Quiznak." He snarled as he pulled back his hand from his wound, his fingers coated in magenta liquid. Constantly moving wasn't doing his injury any favors. "That ain't good."

My Paladin?

"Don't worry, Red." Keith hissed, taking a deep, shaky breath. "I'm on my way. Just gotta take a moment to steady myself…"

If my Paladin insists… Red grudgingly accepted, backing off with a sigh of resent. Return soon.

"Promise." Keith promised, but that was as far as he got, since the blood loss finally took its toll. His eyes rolled up into his skull, and he was dead to the world.

(:)

Hunk glanced at the clock, eyebrows wrinkling. Dinner had been over a varga before hand, and Keith hadn't shown up. Shiro had called from the training deck periodically to ensure that no, Keith was not there, and was Hunk certain Keith hadn't been there for dinner?

Hunk was certain. And even Keith didn't take five vargas off to go nap. And he was a really good at cat naps! He'd fall asleep just about anywhere.

Shiro was obviously getting worried on the other end. He didn't doubt Hunk's word; he was simply worried that Keith hadn't eaten. Which was understandable. Keith ate every meal like it was his last. Hunk was pretty sure that back on Earth, Keith scavenged or stole everything he ate.

"Shiro," With that thought, Hunk turned in the direction of the speakers, nervous, "I'm going looking for Keith."

"Alright. Do you want me to come with?"

"Oh, no, I think I'm good. I'm sure Keith's fine. I just want to make sure he eats."

"In that case I'll ask Pidge, Lance, and the Alteans to also keep an eye out. If they see him, they'll send him your way."

"Perfect; thanks." Hunk nodded at nothing, starting on his quest to track down the young warrior. Out of humor, he peeked into the training room to see if Keith really wasn't there, and upon seeing only Shiro, left. Shiro looked a bit confused on his entrance, but didn't comment, too busy with the gladiator.

Hunk proceeded on his way, stuffing his hands into his pockets with a sigh, running through the possibilities of where Keith could be. Keith hadn't answered Hunk on the coms, so the oaf supposed Keith was either sleeping or just somewhere he couldn't hear them that well. That left… wherever Keith had fallen asleep - there was a high probability that was his bed, but it wasn't exactly uncommon for another Paladin to find him sleeping under a console or stretched out in the AI room, an artificial beam of sunlight upon him - or somewhere in the castle that coms could not reach. Those areas were few and far between; even the vents had coms in them. Keith was, in all fairness, plenty small enough to fit into the vents, but would he want to? Hunk wasn't sure.

Hunk himself was far too wide to fit into the vents, though even Shiro could fit if he wanted. It'd be a squeeze with his broad shoulders, but he could do it. Hunk wouldn't bother the team leader with squeezing through them if push came to shove; he'd recruit either Pidge or Lance. (Pidge knew the vents better than anyone, and Lance would gladly do it if it meant pulling Keith's hair to wake him up.) Coran, maybe, but Allura was a princess and it'd be a jerk move to make her lower herself to the dirty life of a Paladin.

Hunk hummed to himself, opening up the next vent he came to, peering into it. "Keeeeith!" No answer greeted him, so he sealed it up again and continued on his trek to the Paladin Quarters, wondering how he'd enter Keith's room without getting a knife through his skull. Lance had barely dodged it that one time Lance had checked on all the others to make sure they were all still there, but Lance was faster than Hunk. Maybe he would knock first or stand off waaaay to the side as he opened the door.

But first… the hangers were closer. Hunk would check the Red Lion's hanger first, and if that was a dead end, he'd move on to inspect the Paladin Quarters, the AI room, and then the Bridge. If he wasn't in those rooms, he would enlist Pidge to comb through the vents and Shiro and Lance to patrol the castle with him.

Now that Hunk thought about it, did Keith even accompany them out of the Lion? Hunk had been too busy chatting with Lance to really pay attention, and that was wrong. He should've at least made sure that everyone exited the Lions… he thought he saw Keith get off, but could he be wrong? He should've taken better notes…

Maybe Keith went to the decontamination room. He had been covered by sticky, magenta Galran blood from slaying so many enemy troops while protecting Hunk and Lance. (Hunk could've sworn Galran blood was a dark purple, though. And now that he thought about it, there were only supposed to be senteries - animatronics - guarding the base. Weird.)

Hunk turned a corner and promptly froze. Because there was a swath of magenta everywhere, surrounding a figure in red. Hunk very nearly threw up then and there, but he managed to stop himself by taking several very loud deep breaths, quaking just a little.

"Keith?" He called, moving forward slowly just in case Keith was still somehow conscious and armed with his knife or bayard. "Keith, buddy, you alive?"

Keith didn't respond beyond a slight twitch of his left leg.

"It's me, Hunk!" Hunk tried, his gait speeding up as he approached Keith, sliding to a standstill just short of the young warrior. "Please be okay, dude…" He dropped to his knees, ignoring the sickening squish of the magenta below him. Had Keith's blood mixed with the Galran blood?! Is that why, instead of pure purple or red, it was a perfect magenta? How would that even work? Hunk shook Keith's shoulders, alighting a small whimper from the Red Paladin.

"No…" Keith whimpered, trying to pull away from Keith. His eyes were still firmly screwed shut, and he was looking pretty purple… purple from lack of blood or oxygen? Hunk hoped neither, but then that wouldn't explain the purple, then, would it? Had he been laying here ever since the mission five vargas - six hours - prior?! How hadn't he bled out completely? Hunk searched Keith quickly, finding a wound implanted firmly in Keith's hip, seeming like a gunshot wound. It was scabbed over - Hunk had no idea it was possible for a wound that big to scab - but the Castle's resident chef had no doubts that the moment he picked up Keith that it would start bleeding again.

"Keith, you've really got to wake up right now…" Hunk whimpered, trying to figure out the best way to scoop Keith up without injuring him. "How do I do this…?"

"No…" Keith whimpered again, eyes opening up a crack as he tried to roll away from Hunk. "I don't wanna… go to the Home…"

"'The Home'?" Hunk inhaled sharply, reaching out to hold Keith steady. "Stop moving!"

"Don't send me away…" Keith begged, curling into himself a little. Hunk winced at the movement, eyeing Keith's wound carefully. He could tell there was no avoiding it… Keith was going to get hurt one way or another.

Hunk scooped Keith up as quickly as he was able, holding his breath as he glanced at the injury. The scap was peeling a bit; allowing blood to trickle out slowly. "Ahh, quiznak…"

"Don't make me go…" Keith huffed, flailing a hand out tiredly, trying to hit something and coming out with nothing. "I don't wanna go back to the Home… don't make me…"

"You've said that twice now." Hunk noted with worry, cradling him. "What's 'The Home'?"

"Not the Home…" Keith murmured, collapsing back into unconsciousness.

"Quiznak, we're going to get you to a pod as quickly as possible." Hunk promised, pivoting and dashing toward the infirmary rapidly. Was it just him, or was Keith bleeding magenta-colored blood? Because… uh… was that even possible?

"Coran!" Hunk hollered loudly, eyes rising to the ceiling. The coms picked up his words with a chirp, bringing them to the mechanic, and, hopefully, if it was listening to his brain waves like they were somehow programmed to, everyone around the castle. "Get a healing pod ready!"

He ignored the cries of confusion from the other Paladins; even Shiro's demands on what happened went unanswered, Hunk focused only on moving as fast he could. He'd explain best he could later, though even he knew little. They'd have to ask Keith once he got out of a pod… if he made it to the pod. His purple-ish skin was getting paler by the minute… they had to make it there in time.

They had to. Hunk would make sure of it.

(:)

Keith stumbled out of the cryo pod nearly a full quintet later, exhaustion weighing on his features. It had been a forced exit; for, as much as the cryopod tried, it could never replenish blood easily. It would've kept trying, no matter how much it failed. Keith's wound was healed, but he'd require a great deal of nutrients and rest to recuperate properly.

Shiro was the one to catch him, wrapping an arm tightly around his shoulder. Pidge brought a blanket for Keith to snuggle in, and Lance brought hot tea.

"Wha' happened?" Keith inquired, allowing Shiro to lower him onto the steps surrounding the pods with a slight, distressed keen. "What am - was- I doing in the pods?"

Shiro exchanged a distressed look with Hunk over Keith's head. "We… thought maybe you could tell us. Hunk found you passed out in the middle of a hall."

"Oh." Keith seemed mildly embarrassed about that and burrowed deeper into his blanket, having already managed to wrap it around himself like a burrito or a cocoon, hiding his face. "I… uh, thanks, man."

Shiro seemed mildly impressed that Keith had offered any kind of gratitude to anyone, but wisely did not to say so, only squeezing his little brother tightly.

"You still look pretty purple." Lance noted, poking the side of the blanket where he estimated Keith's cheek to be. They could currently only see his nose, as it stuck out from the shadows and folds of fabric wrapped around him. "Are you doing okay, man?"

Keith slapped Lance's hand away, though it wasn't very effective while he was covered in the blanket. "Just 'merged 'rom a cryopod… can't you lea' me be?"

Lance only grinned, though he made no more move to annoy Keith.

"Yeah, now, let's talk about the reason why you were in the cryopod you idio-" Pidge was cuffed gently on the shoulder by Shiro before she could finish, a warning look from the team leader silencing her efficiently.

Keith heard it anyway, wincing slightly. "'m sorry, didn't mean to cause 'rouble…"

"Ah, no, no trouble, dude," Hunk assured as he sat down beside Keith, forcing Lance to move as he wrapped his arms around the emo. "This is my emotional support hug… it calms me down when I'm worried or junk and I think you could use it."

Keith didn't squirm like Hunk thought he might, just huffed a sigh and rested his head on Hunk's shoulder. "Mm… fine…"

Lance glanced at Shiro, Keith, and Hunk and seemed to notice the social cue to leave. He nodded at Coran and Allura, the Alteans standing voicelessly off to the side, prompting them to also catch the cue, then proceeded to pick Pidge up by the collar of her shirt, holding it in such a way that there was little chance of accidentally choking her.

The four left, Pidge kicking and growling the whole way out because she didn't realize she was supposed to go, Coran closing the door behind him to give the three remaining some degree of privacy, taking Pidge from Lance at the same exact moment in a weird kind of swoop-press.

"So, uh, Keith…" Hunk shifted awkwardly, not pulling back, exactly, but leaning enough that he could see Keith's nose easily. "When I, uh, found you, you started talking about 'The Home', and, um… I think… Keith?"

Keith jerked away from Hunk, collapsing into Shiro's arms, squirming away from the lad with a whimper. Shiro's eyes widened, wrapping himself around Keith protectively.

"It's not your fault, Hunk." Shiro soothes upon seeing Hunk's mortified face, clasping Keith to him. "The H-O-M-E's a touchy subject for him. He… as much as he would insist for me to send him back there. He really hated that place. Because it meant he was unwanted, and he didn't fit. Every new house they sent him to got worse and worse; it was pretty bad on him."

"Is the H-O-M-E the orphanage?" Hunk questioned, spelling it out as well. He wasn't sure what it would accomplish, seeing as how Keith was 18 and could clearly spell, as he had only dropped out of school at 17, but wasn't going to mention it, as blood-loss, delirious Keith had yet to put two and two together successfully.

"Yeah." Shiro confirmed, huffing a small sigh as he looked down at Keith. "Yeah. He's…uh, had a dark childhood. I think… if you want real information, you should ask him, but… maybe talk to me about it first to make sure he won't get triggered like this again? He's take the burn while he's talking to you, but then hide later and panic."

"Yeah, yeah, of course…" Hunk agreed, glancing down at Keith in worry. "Uh, I'll go make some food for you, okay? Some of your favorite."

"Fajitas?" Keith hopefully pleaded, staring up at Hunk with big eyes, the hood he had crafted long since having fallen off.

Hunk made a mental checklist in his mind of all the ingredients it'd require and if they did, indeed, have all of the ingredients, or, at least close substitutes onboard. "Yeah, I can make that. Totally. We'll uh… talk later, when you're feeling better, okay, Keith?"

Keith nodded, though made no more move to reply, burrowing into Shiro's embrace.

Shiro waved Hunk on, combing his fingers through Keith's hair with a nervous frown. "Call us when it's dinner time. I don't think we're moving until then."

(:)

In the end, Keith forgot a grand majority that happened those first two days out of the cryo pod. The only thing he said he remembered was the occasional bite of food, and the trek back to his room. He also forgot days three and four, because he was sleeping the whole time except when one of the Paladins brought him food to eat.

Day five, however, he was completely rejuvenated. Nobody knew he was until Shiro went into Keith's room and found him missing, sending the team leader into a panic. Everyone split up to find him, abandoning the coms because they figured they'd be worthless if Keith had lost consciousness somewhere, and started the long search.

Lance, in the end, found Keith sparring against a level 3 gladiator, and getting his butt whooped, but was too relieved to do anything else then summon the others to his location. Keith appeared thoroughly confused about their worry, and it wasn't until Pidge caught him up to speed that he seemed to remember anything about the previous four days.

It was… odd, to have to explain everything to him, and try to get him to explain his side of the story while he kept zoning out while trying to recall what had happened. Eventually, he was able to recall he had been shot by a Galra sentry when defending Hunk and Lance. He told them that he had simply forgotten that he had been injured when they had gotten back, but Hunk didn't believe a word of it.

Because that just wasn't Keith's personality. And from Shiro's expression, he knew it, too. But Shiro wasn't going to press. Not in front of the others, anyway. So Hunk wouldn't either. (Not in front of the others, anyway.)

(:)

Two days later, Hunk was able to drag Keith to the kitchen to be a taste tester and… to talk. Hunk had even already cleared up everything with Shiro to confirm that what he was going to ask wouldn't affect normal-logical-thinking-Keith too much.

"This is pretty good, Hunk." Keith noted, no change in expression. He did seem to eat the green-brownie - greenie? - faster, though. "Nicely done."

"Um, yeah, thanks." Hunk gave a thumbs up, glancing at Keith carefully.

Keith stared back, unblinking and unyielding. "So." He stated. "I know you called me here for a different reason, Hunk."

"Y-yeah, I did. So, uh…" Hunk shifted uncomfortably, setting down the bowl and whisk he was holding. "You… got shot. Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yeah." Keith agreed. "Pretty crazy."

"It wasn't an accident that we didn't know, was it?" Hunk inquired, nibbling the inside of his cheek. "You hid it on purpose. Because… you didn't want us to kick you out of the team for messing up."

Keith paused, eyebrows furrowing. "...who's asking?"

"Dude."

"Yeah. I did hide it." Keith admitted blankly, though a twitch or worry shot through his eyes. "I… I thought I could handle it. But I couldn't make it back to Red's hanger in time, which, I know, is stupid, I should've been able to make it back there relatively easily-"

"-yeah, yeah, no, I'm not going to let you think up excuses." Hunk huffed, leaning across the kitchen island to jab the shorter boy in the chest. "Because, dude, I'm not mad. I'm just worried. What if you had kept on bleeding out? What if you died before I found you? I don't know what I'd do without you, little dude! I know Pidge relies on you as someone to lean on when people get to be too much, because you understand her on that, and you and Lance like teasing each other, and Shiro likes hanging out with you because you're basically his little brother, and you're such a cool and awesome fighter, that the idea of you not being there anymore is… is… I don't even know, buddy! You just really, really worried me."

Keith only stared back at Hunk, shocked by the raw truthfulness of it. "Uh… thanks?"

"Of slightly less importance, but also important, but, uh, your blood is magenta? I think? Or it mixed with Galra blood during the battle, and I don't know how that'd work? And according to the cryopod, your heart is on the wrong side. Also, your skeletal structure is a bit… odd. Not 'bad odd', but a little… eeehhhh…" Hunk waved his hand, trying to illustrate his point. "So, uh, what's that about?"

Keith's jaw twisted, lifting his shoulders in a half-shrug. "Dunno. It's just something I was born with. Unusual disease, condition, or whatever. The Garrison hasn't seen anything like my blood type, and marked it off as a mutation, but...um, yeah. There's more then just those three things that you mentioned, like, um… I grow extra teeth? Constantly? Like, my canine teeth come out and have fangs grow in when my emotions get too high, and then get replaced within a few minutes by normal, canine teeth again. My eyes turn yellow and my skin turns kinda purplish when my heartrate increases too much."

"Is that why you're always so… I dunno, bland?"

"Uh, yeah. The… um…"

"Home?"

"...you know about that?"

"Yeah." Hunk twitched lightly, reaching over again to hold Keith's hand comfortingly. "You were talking about it a lot when I found you. You, uh, didn't want to be sent back there or something? Like, people did that to you a lot when you acted out or something."

"Yes." Keith swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Yes. One mistake, and you're out. The foster houses they sent you to only got worse the more you got relocated. You start out with the best they have to offer, and then slowly you get run out of more and more houses, and more and more you're just… sent away. By the time I was eight, I was running away whenever I got the chance. I was usually swept up again by the Home within the month. The social workers… they were the worst. They were constantly switching out because they couldn't handle me for long, and just…" Keith gripped his scalp, snarling as he fought against the memory. "They drilled it into my head that I had to be disciplined. And perfect. And mild-mannered, or else I'd be run out and sent to a worse home, and I just… it did more bad for me then it did good. It was like that for four years…"

"Until you met Shiro when you were twelve." Hunk guessed, eyebrows narrowing.

"They say they care." Keith hissed, neither confirming or denying it. "They don't. It's their job. Shiro though… Shiro was different. He was nice, and it wasn't just a job. It was his personality. He knew how to handle me. Or, maybe he didn't. But he learned how to handle me. He figured it out, which is more than I can say for any of the other homes."

"What happened to your parents?" Hunk asked, stomach clenching.

"Uh, not sure about Mom. I was supposed to get a letter from Dad when I was 13 explaining who - or what - she was, but after Dad died and I went to live with my Grandma, she burned it. She had… issues with my Mom. I don't know why, but she used to call her all sorts of bad names. She was really against my Dad's relationship with her, and didn't want me to know about it. So… she burned it. Then she died. I never found out what was in there."

"Your Grandma. Burned a letter from your Dad?" Hunk echoed, shocked. Because that was wrong. It sounded like it was the last thing from his Dad, and now it was just gone. "That's horrible!"

Keith shrugged. "It bothered me at the time, but…"

"Nuh-uh, no way, you're not going to get over that so easily!" Hunk insisted, huffing at how Keith shrugged it off. "Nope. Once we get back to Earth, I'm helping you find your Mom! And I'm sure I can rope Pidge into helping, too, because-"

"Wait, back up. Once we get back to Earth?" Keith gaped, startled. "What do you mean?"

"We're going back to Earth, Keith. All of us. Because we're not going to die."

"Yeah, no, 'course not." Keith nodded. "But 'we' makes it sound like we're going back together, which we obviously aren't-"

"Whaaaat? Of course we are!" Hunk cried, flabbergasted. "Whoever told you we weren't going to go back together lied! We're, like, all best friends, dude! We all go back to Earth together or not at all! And I'd rather go to Earth, if you don't mind. Under no circumstances are we going to leave you behind."

Keith gulped, looking overwhelmed by that. "Are you sure? I… what if you get annoyed or frustrated at me before we make it back? You're going to have to go back on your word-"

"Nope, no way. I'll get over it if I do get angry at you. I've got over it when my family is annoying, or when Lance bugged me too much, so of course I'm gonna get over it with you. When we all get back, I'm treating you all to big smoothies or something, and we're going to celebrate."

"Even if I get to be too much?"

"Keith. Little bro. I'm not leaving you behind, or considering it, for even a minute. I'm always gonna be there and bring you along to as many events as I can. Hang out whenever. Because you're my friend, and basically my big brother at this point, got it?"

Keith looked alarmed at being called a 'big brother', and gulped, overwhelmed by the love and responsibility in that sentence. "Y-yeah, I got it, Hunk."

"Good." Hunk nodded, content. "Good."

(:)

Hunk and Keith's friendship gives me life. Whenever they interacted in canon, I got all giddy because they're exactly the kind of "unlikely friends" everyone's talking about. They're polar opposites! But they get along so well and balance each other out nicely. Go Hunk and Keith friendship! You rock!

—

I… know almost nothing about the CPS. Or the foster system. It sounds horrible, though, and I can just imagine how terrible it was for Keith as a 'problem child' and a 'discipline case'. I imagine he was stuck with the bad-bunch, and he just happened to be lucky for once in his life when he met Shiro and caught his attention.

That doesn't make up for all the bad things that happened in his life, and it probably still traumatizes him to this day.

From what I can tell, adopted kids are the lucky ones. A lot of foster kids wind up being switched from house to house, unable to really settle down. A lot of these kids don't have living family members, or, at least, not good ones. They come from broken families, are separated from their siblings, or are even abused as children.

I'm not 100% sure I'm right about this, but it hurts my heart when I think about kids being moved around so much. I know that I do want one or two kids of my own, but I also want to adopt kids. Give them a nice home. Support them for as long as I can. There's a lot of kids out there that need good parents, a good home. And I want to give them that.