Left, right, parry. Duck, left, forward-waitno back back back.
Keith, sweat dripping, chest heaving, studied the droid as it moved closer to him, twirling a long staff. Darting forward, he brought his sword down over it's head. Blocked.
Again, Keith thinks to himself as he pushes forward, blade a flash of silver surrounding him. The gleaming eye of the droid stares
him down as it bats away attempt after attempt. C'mon, move Keith. He charges in, faster, faster, faster. Don't let up.
The droid suddenly lunges forward, staff shooting up to knock Keith's sword out of his hands. Keith turns, reaching for his sword when a heavy impact to his back
sends him flying. Hitting the ground harshly, Keith lets out a grunt of pain before turning to face his assailant. The droid lowers it's leg before stalking slowly over
to Keith, the single eye glowing menacingly.
Shit. Keith scrambles across the floor before grabbing his sword. Standing on shaky legs, Keith glares right back at the droid as it descends upon him.
Blows rain down from every direction, forcing Keith to give ground inch by inch. Suddenly Keith stomps his foot roughly onto the ground and snarls.
"I'm not losing another inch to you!" He yells, and charges in.
Slash, step left, right, forward thrust, parry, left back overhead block shovekickstabslashpushleftstepbackmovemovemove-
CLANG! Metal sword meets metal body as Keith's blow finally connects, severing the droid in two.
"Level 63: Cleared." Keith drops his sword and rolls his head backwards. 63? Hadn't he started at 37? Had he really been in here that long?
Dropping to his knees, Keith struggles to catch his breath as his body shakes from overexertion. "Maybe... training for hours... wasn't such... a great idea..." he puffs out, before flopping onto his back.
Resting his head on his arms, Keith shuts his eyes and sucks in a deep breath.
"Wow, you really know how to stink a place up. Seriously Keith, I could smell your B.O. down the hall," a voice calls out as the doors swish open.
Keith sits up and shoots a glare at Lance. "I don't have time to listen to your stupi-kgfisihrfkskhih!" A cool towel slaps Keith hard in the face.
"I brought you stuff," Lance states, walking over and sitting next to Keith. Keith pulls the towel of his face before looking over to Lances lap. A closer look reveals Lance carrying a water bottle, more towels, something close to a granola bar that Hunk had whipped up and... balm?
"What's this?" Keith asks, reaching over to pick up the small jar to inspect it. Suddenly, a sharp pain shoots from his lower back, racing through his body. "Gah!" Keith hisses out, hunching into himself to try and soothe the pain.
Lance shakes his head and softly smiles. "It's for you," he sighs before twisting open the jar. A sharp minty scent fills the area around them while Lance moves closer to Keith. "It's a soothing balm, for bruises and stuff. It also helps wounds heal faster."
Moving behind Keith, Lance leans forward. "I don't think you'll be able to reach your back yourself. Will you pull off your shirt so I can help you?"
At this moment, Keith has never been more glad that Lance can't see his face as a deep blush flashes across Keith's face.
"Y-yeah, sure," Keith stutters, pulling his shirt up and over his shoulders. Wadding up his shirt, Keith uses it to dab sweat off
his face.
At this moment, Lance has never been more glad that Keith can't see his face. When did Keith get so ripped?! Lance thinks to himself, marveling at
the smooth, strong muscles on Keith's back. Clearing his throat, Lance dips his fingers into the jar, scooping out a large amount of light green salve, before
generously applying it to the growing bruise on Keith's back.
"Oh my god," Keith groans out, visibly relaxing as the numbing coolness of the salve spreads across his back. "Where did you find this stuff?"
Lance smirks. "Glad it's working. And I didn't find it, I made it. On the last planet we visited, Hunk, Allura and I went out to explore the flora and fauna.
When we found a large field of really spiky looking bushes, Allura got really excited, saying stuff about how this plant is rare and
has incredible medicinal value. So we grabbed a few and planted them in pots to keep on the castle. Hunk and I thought we might as well try to make some
salve for the team, and voilà!"
Keith turns to look at Lance. "You made this? Really?"
"You don't believe me?" Lance laughs, holding his hand over his heart and feigning hurt. "I'm shocked. I can do more than shoot things and tell jokes, you know!"
Slowly, a gentle smile works it's way onto Keith's face as he gazes at Lance. "I know," he murmurs softly, before quickly turning around and grabbing the water bottle.
As the scent of the balm curls around the both of them, Keith blushes. He really does just get better and better every day, Keith thinks, bringing the water bottle to
his lips and taking a swig.
"Thanks Lance."
"...Yeah, no problem."
(I'M SO SO SO SO SO SORRY IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO UPDATE THIS! I have no excuse, I just kept putting it off... Hope you guys like this chapter! Hopefully I
can update a lot now, since I got a new laptop! See you guys soon, and don't forget to tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is appreciated!)