This chapter was so much fun to write! Some people may have noticed I'm not on AO3 anymore. I won't go into reasons here but if someone really wants to know, shoot me a PM. But yes, this chapter was tons of fun. Warnings: official diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder.

8. Count on You

Shiro knew this was not an easy decision for Keith – it was terrifying to realise that you could have a mental illness. Society had become a lot better now about accepting it but there was still discrimination regarding mental health pretty much everywhere. The other Paladins had come immediately. Keith must have told Allura, and he had spoken to Hunk on the phone as well. Lance and Pidge were there as well, all of them having agreed to wait outside.

Keith's face was pale even as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and Krolia took his free hand. Allura huddled a little closer as well.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Keith asked quietly. "What if it changes everything?"

Shiro sighed. He knew Keith's diagnosis wouldn't change anything when it came to his friends. They would stand by him, no matter what. But he also realised that wasn't what his little brother was referring to.

"What do you mean, Keith?" Hunk asked softly.

"People don't really get a lot about mental health," Keith admitted. "I know it won't change how you guys think but your reputations…" He wrung out his hands and Shiro couldn't help but smile. Keith would never care about reputation when it came to himself as long as he had the people he loved. But he knew Lance enjoyed the attention and Hunk didn't mind it too much either because it did feel nice going from the bottom to being well-respected in society.

"Screw reputation," Lance cut in and rolled his eyes. "Sure, it's nice to have the ladies admiring you but dude, if any lady judges me for being friends with you, she's not worth it anyway."

"And I'd tase anyone who says anything weird about you anyway," Pidge said fiercely and Shiro wouldn't dare doubt that she would do just that if anyone messed with Keith. Keith gave a weak chuckle at this too.

"I agree with Lance," Hunk added, nodding. "I don't want respect from anyone who doesn't respect my friends. There is nothing wrong with you, man. People struggle with mental health all the time. Heck, I've never been diagnosed but I used to get anxious a lot until I started baking. Baking calms me down and gives me something else to focus on. But if I got diagnosed with anxiety, it wouldn't change how you feel about me, right?"

"Of course not," Keith said immediately.

Hunk chuckled. "Exactly. I'd hug you but you're a little crowded right now, so I'll save the hug for after your appointment."

Shiro smiled a bit. It was nice to see Keith wasn't alone anymore. He deserved to have friends and people who cared. He felt his brother tense a little as he was called for his appointment and tightened his grip on his shoulder slightly. "I'll come with you. You're not alone in this. Krolia can come too if you want."

Keith knew the other Paladins had become more than friends to him, they had become family. But this was new to him – after saving the universe, struggling with something like this felt like another battle. He still had his team – his friends to help him through it though. And Shiro. As long as his brother was by his side, he felt he could do anything. He reached out for Krolia too, she had seen him at his lowest, so it was okay. Back then, the only one who had felt his anxiety was the Black Lion and she kept it a secret after he begged her to. It could have been a one-time thing after all.

He sat down, fidgeting slightly in his chair. Why was he so nervous about this? The psychiatrist smiled warmly at him.

"Nothing to worry about, Mr. Kogane, I am Dr. Williams," She said kindly. "I'm going to give you some mental health assessments to take and all you have to do is fill them out as honestly as you can."

Keith nodded, before focusing on the papers and beginning to fill them out. Some things took longer to think about, but it was easy enough and it took him about 10 minutes to fill out everything and hand it back to the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist looked through the papers and the room was deadly silent for a few moments. He glanced over at Shiro, who gave his shoulder another squeeze. It was his brother's reassurance that helped the most. He had been there when Keith was nothing but a speck in the distance. At a time when most people ignored him, Shiro was the only who believed he could make something of himself. And even now, even when he wasn't so sure that was true, Shiro still believed in him.

"You have a diagnosis of anxiety in social situations, Mr. Kogane," Dr. Williams explained. "Otherwise known as social anxiety. The good news however is you have plenty of treatment options available to you. The first is therapy. Psychotherapy is easily available on a mental health program and is free but it's also not something that works for everyone. We are all different individuals, after all. The other option is medication. This can help manage your anxiety and help with the symptoms of the attacks. Which would you like to do?"

Keith thought about it. Medication would be a good way to manage it and he knew a little bit about psychotherapy from when he was researching to try and get help for Shiro. Talking to people was not really his thing – heck, it was something he wouldn't even choose to go for when it came to Shiro.

"I think medication and I'll…no, we'll look into other forms of therapy," Keith said softly, glancing over at Shiro who nodded and Krolia who smiled slightly.

Dr. Williams nodded. "So, I am going to prescribe you Zoloft. It will reduce your symptoms of social anxiety and help you manage your daily life with more ease. You can get this at any pharmacy and with this Galaxy Garrison voucher, you'll be able to get a 10 % discount." She handed Keith the prescription and he took it. He knew he had agreed to do this. But somehow, taking the prescription made it a lot more real. His hands shook and he almost dropped it but forced himself to tighten his grip so he wouldn't cause a scene. He focused on his breathing. He couldn't panic here. He needed more time to process this.

"Thank you," he managed to say. "May we be excused now?"

"Yes, of course," she said gently.

Keith quickly stood up, pulling away from Shiro and leaving the room. His friends were still there but he didn't know what to say to them. His hands were still shaking.

"Keith," Pidge said quietly although she didn't come any closer. "Are you okay?"

Keith wasn't sure what to say to any of them, keeping his gaze lowered. He couldn't even begin to explain it. Shiro and Krolia had said this didn't make him a freak, that it didn't make him any less in their eyes, then why did he feel different? Why were his thoughts racing? Why would his hands not stop shaking no matter how hard he tried to stop? If this didn't change anything, why did his mind keep insisting that it changed everything?

Before he could think further though, he was pulled into a hug by Hunk and at first, he stiffened, trying to pull away but as the other's grip tightened slightly, he felt his own body relax in it. Lance soon joined in as well, as did the other Paladins and Shiro. The shaking of his hands stopped, and his thoughts didn't stop racing but they did slow down. Maybe things would change a little, but he wasn't alone and that was the most important thing in the end.