"I need you to do something for me." Keith's voice is quiet, audible only to Allura as she helps him take small sips of water from his helmet.
"And what's that?"
His glassy eyes brim with intensity. "You have to leave me behind."
Her response is immediate: "No."
Keith turns his gaze to Shiro, who lies unconscious beside them. His breathing is strained and shallow; pain lines his face, even in sleep. "You have to get him out of here."
"And we will," she assures. "We'll get you both out of here."
"I'm slowing you down. Allura, please." Keith's voice cracks. "I can't be the reason he doesn't get help in time. I can't— I can't…"
"Ssh, it's going to be fine, Keith," she says, setting the helmet down and stroking his too-warm cheek. He leans in, seeking touch. "It'll be alright."
Keith shakes his head. "My life doesn't matter. But he has to live."
She uses both hands to tilt his face toward her so he can see the full extent of her frown. "What do you mean your life doesn't matter?"
"Shiro can fly the Black Lion. He's a better leader than I could ever hope to be. You don't need me around."
"Don't be ridiculous," she says. "Shall we ask Shiro what he thinks about that?"
He shakes his head. "Shiro's biased."
"That bias is called love, Keith. And Shiro's not the only one. Even without all you do for the Coalition and the Blade of Marmora, we'd be devastated if we were to lose you."
"You… would be?" he whispers, his voice threadbare. How long has it been since he's received open affection?
Her words are deliberate and punctuated as she tells him, "Yes. You're our family, Keith. We love you. So we're not leaving you behind."
"…Oh," he whispers, bewildered.
"Now drink up," she says, lifting the helmet again.
She helps him drink a little more before taking some water herself. It's stagnant and doesn't taste great—teeming with microbes, probably—but it's necessary to stave off dehydration.
When she's had her fill, she wraps her arm around Keith. He nuzzles her shoulder.
Footsteps announce Lance's return, back from relieving himself. "You guys sure look cozy."
"Don't get jealous," she says, the corners of her lips lifting. "Are you ready to get going?"
"Hold on. We should probably try to wake Shiro up and get some water in him first. Don't know when we're gonna see water next."
"Good idea," she agrees.
Keith slinks out from her reach and crawls over to Shiro, squeezing his hand with both of his. "Shiro," he says, softly. When Shiro doesn't budge, he shakes his shoulder. "Shiro." His voice is louder this time, but no less gentle. "C'mon. Wake up."
Shiro's long lashes flutter open. "K-Keith?"
"Hi," Keith whispers.
"Are you okay?" Shiro asks.
"Don't worry 'bout me," Keith says. "You gotta drink something before we get going."
"Oh," Shiro says, faintly. "Alright."
Allura pulls Shiro up to a seated position and holds him there while Lance brings the helmet to his lips. Just taking a few sips leaves him spent, and he's asleep again within moments.
They set out, and once again, the cave is quiet with nothing but echoes of slow, shuffling footsteps and laboured breathing.
The absence of external noise makes it all the more startling when a loud crack thunders through the cave. Bits of crystal start to rain from the ceiling.
"Get down!" Lance shouts, diving and shielding Keith with his body. Allura drops to the ground, covers Shiro, and prays.
…
Allura wakes to a splitting headache. An unrelenting pressure weighs down on her, making it hard to breathe. Everything hurts.
"—ura? Come on. Please, answer me."
She needs more oxygen. She tries to take a deep inhale but chokes when sediment fills her lungs. "Lance?" she coughs.
"You're awake! Thank quiznak. Are you okay?"
She's buried beneath chunks of what must be crystal. It's heavy, but she manages to shift. She can move her limbs, at least. "I'm alright."
Someone else coughs, harsh and ragged. Keith. His voice is faint as he croaks between gasping breaths, "Shiro."
Shiro. He's underneath her. She has to get up, now.
She uses all her strength to lift the weight from on top of them, letting it fall to the side. She levers herself up and off of him, then tears his chestplate off and presses an ear to his thorax.
Silence.
"H-he's not breathing," she stammers. "I can't hear his heartbeat."
"Can you resuscitate him?" Lance asks.
"I— I've never done that before."
"Okay. Then you've gotta this crystal off of me right now."
A massive chunk of crystal pins Lance's right shoulder down, trapping both him and Keith. She drags herself over and manages to lift it just enough for them to roll out from underneath.
Lance's shoulder hangs wrong when he sits up, but he ignores it. He scrambles over to Shiro, stacks his hands over Shiro's chest, and uses his weight to press down hard.
He lifts his hands, then presses down again. He does it over and over, finding a steady rhythm. Tears glint from his cheeks in the dim light. Whether they're from distress or physical pain is unclear, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't stop him.
He opens Shiro's mouth, holds his nose, and presses his own mouth to Shiro's as he breathes for him. He goes back to chest compressions, then breathes for him again. He repeats this cycle, only interrupted when his own lungs fill with debris and he has to cough.
And finally, finally, she hears it. Shiro takes a stuttering breath. And another, and another.
Lance presses his fingers to Shiro's carotid. "He's back."
Allura's entire body sags in relief. Keith's does too. She hadn't even noticed his vice grip on her arm until it slackens.
Her heart drops down from where it was lodged in her throat… and continues to plummet as she follows Lance's gaze. The tunnel ahead has been blocked off.
Lance's lip trembles, false calm swept out from under him. "How're we gonna get out of here?"
"By digging ourselves out," Keith says, stumbling to his feet. He staggers over to the giant heap of crystals obstructing the tunnel and hauls one out of the way. The effort exhausts him and he pants for breath, which leads to him doubled over, coughing.
"Quiznak, Keith," Lance says. "Are you okay?"
"None of us will be if we don't get out of here," he chokes.
"But moving all that by hand?" Lance says, incredulous. "That's gonna take forever."
Keith starts to pitch forward, but catches himself. "Then we better get started."
…
Crystal by quiznaking crystal.
Most of the burden falls to Allura: Shiro's unconscious, Keith passes out shortly after they begin, and there's only so much weight Lance can lift with his dislocated shoulder. She's never been more exhausted in her life—and that's saying something.
She hauls the crystals out of the way, one by one, for what feels like decaphoebs. But eventually, cracks of light from the other side peek through.
"Have I told you how amazing you are?" Lance says, starry-eyed.
"Once or twice," she says, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist. Sweat stings her eyes. "But I'd be open to hearing it again."
"You're freaking amazing, Allura."
She clears the last few crystals from the opening to make a hole large enough to squeeze through, then drops to her knees.
While she tries to catch her breath, Lance goes to rouse Keith. "Hey," he says, poking him. "Wakey wakey."
Keith frowns, his eyelids struggling to open. He's in a bad way, drained of colour save for the splotches of pink across his cheeks. "Ngh… what…"
Pulling off his glove, Lance pushes the sweat-plastered bangs out of Keith's face and feels his forehead. He winces. "Fever's worse."
"'M… I'm fine," Keith mumbles. "Shiro? …Shiro…" He reaches over to Shiro and brings a clumsy hand to his cheek. "Shiro're you okay?"
Shiro doesn't wake.
Keith's face crumples. "Shiro…"
"Shiro's gonna be fine," Lance soothes. "He's breathing, see? Just let him rest for now." He gestures to the narrow opening. "Think you can get up over those crystals and through there?"
Keith nods.
"Good," Lance says. "Allura, can we get Shiro through?"
"We'll manage," she says. "You two go on ahead and help from the other side."
"On it."
Climbing over the pile of crystals while carrying Shiro isn't easy, especially when he's so fragile and she's so worn out. Manoeuvring him through the small opening isn't easy either, but they get there eventually.
When she crawls through to the other side, her stomach drop like a stone. Fragmented crystals are everywhere. They're all shapes and sizes, from giant crags they'll have to find their way around to heaps of rubble that will be gruelling to walk on. Plenty of ways to be trapped; plenty of ways to stumble and fall.
"…On the bright side, a lot of the things trying to kill us are probably dead?" Lance offers.
"That's one way of framing it," she says.
"You know me. Silver lining Lance."
The cave walls blur in her vision. She's ready to collapse, and carrying Shiro the rest of the way seems just about impossible. Lance is struggling with Keith, too. Keith is just barely standing.
But they've faced impossible odds before, and they'll live to do it again.
She sets her jaw. "Let's go."
…
They walk.
And they walk.
One foot, in front of the other.
On, and on, and on.
…
…
Keith's condition gets worse. His clarity fades. He can't hold water down.
"I don't… feel good."
"I know. I'm sorry. Hang on just a little longer."
…
…
They can't continue. Not like this.
There's too much weight.
The armour, it has to come off. Allura's… and Shiro's.
It's dangerous, but there's no choice.
Defenseless, they press onward.
…
…
"Shiro…? Is he—"
"He's alright, Keith."
"But… but he—"
"I know you're scared. But everything is going to be fine."
…
…
"Where… where're we going?"
"Home, Keith. We're going home, I promise."
…
…
Allura taps into energy reserves she doesn't have, siphoning her life force with each step.
She's not supposed to abuse her quintessence like this.
Coran's going to be so angry with her when he finds out.
If he finds out.
They need to make it back first.
…
…
They collapse, and get back up again.
And again.
And again.
…
…
There's no end in sight.
…
Finally, Keith stops in his tracks. He tips his head up to the ceiling.
"You gonna throw up again?" Lance asks.
"No," Keith manages, between heaving breaths. "Listen."
Allura struggles to focus her attention beyond the buzzing in her ears, beyond the ragged breathing and her own pounding heart. But then she hears it. Hears them.
"The Lions," she whispers. "They're roaring."
Lance's eyes shimmer. "We… we actually…"
"We did it."
The cave gradually gets brighter, the range of colours opening up beyond blue and pink. The morning sun spills into the mouth of the cave, warm and soft, refracting through crystals in scattered rainbows.
The Red and Blue Lions are waiting for them there, their jaws wide open. They're restless, bonds thrumming with anticipation and protectiveness.
"I'll take Shiro back to the Castle and get him into a pod," Allura says. "I can join you two at the hospital when I'm done."
"No need," Lance says. "I got it covered. Just leave the flowers with me."
Lance carefully unweaves the atraxeth sprigs from her hair. "I can't believe we made it," he says quietly, gathering every last stem and petal and placing them in his helmet. "We did good today."
"Yes," she smiles. "We did well."
Lance raises a brow. "You correcting my grammar, Princess?"
She laughs. "I'm afraid I haven't the patience for that."
He gives her a lopsided grin as he ducks back under Keith's arm, flower-filled helmet tucked into the crook of his good elbow. "See you back at the Castle."
"Yes. See you at home."
Allura hauls Shiro into the cockpit of the Blue Lion and sets him down. There's no room for grace in her movements, and he hits the floor with a soft whump.
Shiro's eyes flutter open. "A-Allura?" he whispers. His gaze darts around the cockpit. "We… made it?"
She takes his wrist, feels his weak pulse beneath his skin. "Yes. We're on our way back to the Castle now."
"Keith… and the Ferexians…"
"Lance is with Keith en route to the hospital," she says. "They'll deliver the atraxeth and get Keith's cure."
"Thank you," Shiro rasps. "I kn-knew… knew you and L-Lance could…"
"Ssh," she soothes. "Don't strain yourself. Just rest."
When she pushes herself up to stand, she teeters precariously. Just a little further. She drags herself to the pilot's seat, and Blue lifts off.
She hails the Castle. "Coran?"
"Princess! Are you alright? I haven't been able to contact any of you for nearly a full quintant! You—you look awful!"
"I know, Coran." She's so tired. Too tired for this. "I'll be fine, but please prepare the healing pods. Shiro has sustained severe electrical damage, and Lance will need one as well for his shoulder injury. Hopefully, the Ferexians at the hospital will have something to bring Keith's fever down, but it would be best to have some antipyretics on hand just in case."
"Electrical damage? Injury? Fever? Princess, what happened?"
"Lance and I can fill you in later," she says.
"But—"
"Please, Coran."
"Alright."
She closes her eyes and relies on Blue's sight to guide them back to the Castle and through the bay doors. When they finally touch down, she hefts Shiro up in her arms one last time and carries him in.
The Castle's corridors are far too long. They start to tilt in her vision. Slav was right. They should really have a more efficient way of getting around.
"Princess!"
Coran's voice.
The med bay. They've reached the med bay.
She's dizzy.
So dizzy.
She doesn't drop Shiro, but it's a near thing.
She sets him down and manages exactly one step before she hits the floor.
…
When Allura wakes, she's cold, on her feet, and falling. She tumbles out of the cryopod and into Lance's waiting arms.
"Lance," she murmurs.
He smiles. "Welcome back to the land of the living. How're you doing?"
She's tired and heavy and hungry, but it's manageable. "I'm alright, but what about Shiro and Keith?"
Lance shifts so she can see the cryopod next to hers. Shiro sleeps peacefully inside. His breathing is steady, biorhythms stable. At the base of Shiro's pod is Keith, curled up with a large blanket. A bucket and water pouch sit off to the side.
The edge of the blanket near Keith's head shifts, and the mice poke their heads out. She extricates herself from Lance's arms and steps forward.
Hello, friends. Have you been taking care of Keith for us?
The mice squeak in affirmation.
Keith's bleary eyes blink open. "'Lura?"
"Hello, Keith." She takes a seat next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than before," he says.
She brings the back of her hand to his forehead. It's hard to gauge his temperature when her own blood is running cold from the pod, but he doesn't seem so dangerously hot. He's still sweating, though, and he chases her touch, holding her cool hand in place to keep it at his cheek.
He stiffens when he realizes what he's doing and releases his grip. "S-sorry. I, uh…"
"It's alright," she assures him, and leaves her hand where it is. "Did you receive your medicine from the Ferexians?"
He nods. "'s pretty gross."
"Coran would say that means it works," she says.
"Coran says a lot of things," Keith mumbles. "But the people at the hospital promised I'd be better in a couple quintants. More important, we got the flowers to them okay."
"Yeah, they were super grateful," Lance says. "We got enough to treat everyone who needs it, and they'll have some left over in case they need it in the future."
"That's wonderful." Allura's lips quirk up. "Will they be throwing us a parade?"
Lance laughs. "Keith said no parade."
"Why would we need a parade?!" Keith says, his brow furrowed deep. Allura has to stifle a giggle.
Her stomach takes the brief lull in conversation as license to growl loudly, tinging her cheeks pink. "Have you both eaten?"
Lance winces. "Uh, Coran made us some… gracolian flargnax?"
"Oh no."
"Yeah, it was… not great." Lance nods his head toward Keith and the bucket. "Didn't sit so well with this one."
She grimaces. "I can imagine."
She lifts the edge of the blanket near Keith's face, exposing the mice. "Friends, I believe Hunk has some trifolian lilyroot stored in the pantry. Would you assist me in making a broth for Keith?"
The mice squeak their assent and scurry off toward the kitchen.
"The mice can cook?" Lance asks.
"I'll instruct them from here," Allura says.
"You can cook?"
She gives Lance a playful scowl. "Are you doubting my abilities?"
"No, it just seems, like, unreasonable that you're amazing at literally everything," he says.
"I wouldn't say amazing," she says. "I'm no Hunk. But I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen when I was younger. I used to sneak down after hours, and our head chef would teach me to make things."
"What kinds of things?"
He seems genuinely interested, so she draws upon honey sweet memories and relives her kitchen adventures. Lance listens with rapt interest and presses for details; Keith stays quiet but relaxed under her touch.
Allura directs the mice to wash, chop, stir, and heat. She has them turn up the flame, ready to sacrifice a little richness of flavour to get it in Keith's system faster—he must be famished. It's not long before the mice come back, pushing a floating tray with steaming bowls of pale broth.
"Whoa, that smells great," Lance says. The mice's little pastel faces light up with pride, beaming at him.
Allura helps Keith sit, propping his back against her, and Lance steadies his hands as he brings the bowl to his lips.
"'s good," Keith murmurs, gratefully. "Thanks. And— thanks for getting us out of there. …Both of us."
"Of course," Allura says. "Do you remember what I said?"
He nods. A slight smile blossoms over his lips.
After Keith has finished most of his bowl, Allura and Lance drink their own. It's light, refreshing, and desperately needed.
"It's official," Lance says, slurping down the last of his bowl. "You're good at everything in the universe. And I'm not just saying that to flirt with you."
"No?"
"I mean, I could be. If you wanted me to."
She blushes and skirts. "Keith, why don't you lie down and get some more rest?"
Keith shakes his head. "Shiro's almost out."
She looks at the display. Just a few more doboshes. "Was I really in the pod for nearly as long as Shiro?"
"Yeah," Lance says. "Coran said your quintessence was severely depleted. Damaged your cells pretty bad. Sounds like he's gonna give you a mother of a lecture after he's finished up with Hunk and Pidge."
She sighs. "It's not as if there were any other options. He'll have to understand."
"But you feel okay now?"
"A bit tired," she admits. "I probably will be for a few quintants. But otherwise, I'm fine."
She pulls the blanket up and lets Keith rest his head on her shoulder as they count down the doboshes. Five, four, three, two…
When Shiro gets out of the pod, Keith barrels forward and wraps his arms around him, clinging tight.
"Keith! Are you okay?"
"'m fine." Keith's voice goes quiet when he says, "You scared me."
Shiro presses his lips to Keith's hair. "I know. You had me worried too."
"Good thing Lancey Lance and Allura were there to save the day, amirite?" Lance says, interrupting with a grin.
Shiro chuckles softly. "Very good thing. Did you—"
"Yep," Lance says. "Got the meds for Keith and delivered the flowers. There's more than enough to cure everyone."
"That's great to hear," Shiro says. "Really great."
"Yeah. They felt really bad about the nano-whatever, by the way," Lance says. "They wanna make up for it. Said they'll help the Coalition in any way they can going forward."
"I guess that's one way to gain support," Shiro says. "I'll have to let more planets accidentally almost kill me."
"Mmph." Keith's voice is muffled, buried in Shiro's shoulder. "Shiro, no."
Shiro laughs, his tone fond and warm. "I'm kidding, Keith. Don't worry."
Keith huffs. "Lie down."
"Lie down?"
"You heard me," Keith says. "You just got out of the pod. You're tired, right?"
"I— well, yeah—"
"And I don't want you going anywhere. So lie down. Please," Keith adds in a whisper.
Shiro's expression goes impossibly gentle. "Alright."
Keith tugs him down to the floor and pulls the blanket over them both. Snuggling against him, Keith loops a protective arm around his waist. Shiro settles in and relaxes.
Keith lifts a corner of the blanket with his other hand and looks up at Allura expectantly in silent invitation.
Heart warming, she slips under the blanket beside him. It's uncomfortably hot, but she'll bear it without complaint.
She turns to Lance. "Well? Will you be joining us?"
He points at his chest. "Me?"
"Yes, isn't that how the story goes? With all of us, together?"
"I— Yeah. Yeah, that was how that ended."
She gives him a smile and taps the space beside her. "Tell me another story."