The hardest part about being stuck inside a room with Keith on pain meds was that it was hard to know exactly how to interact with him.

Aurelis had assured them that Keith would be perfectly back to normal soon, but that the best thing to do until then was to keep him distracted, and to keep him from trying to use his arm.

"Come on," Keith said, "'m bored - let's go to the training deck-"

He made to get off the couch again, but Pidge put her tiny hand onto his shoulder and gently pushed him back into a sitting postion. The Red Paladin was clearly in no condition to train at the moment, but it was no good saying so to his face.

So instead, Lance just waved his hands around in a vague, 'nah' kind of gesture, making sure to keep it from seeming like an outright refusal. He was pretty sure it was a bad idea to get into an argument with Keith right now - considering how the Red Paladin's fuse was bound to be pretty short once he figured out that he couldn't train for at least another few days.

"Nah," he said, "how about we do a - uh - oh! How about a strategy exercise?!"

Pidge looked at Lance blankly for a second, but she caught on quickly. "Oh - yeah!" she said. "Here - I'll set it up - "

Keith followed her movements intently with his eyes, as if trying to understand what she was doing.

"…Pidge…?" he asked after a few seconds. "…is that…a chess board?"

She turned to him, nodding genially. "Heck yeah it is!" she said. "Or at least, I can make it be a chess board. I didn't really being a lot of stuff here with me, but I'll get us some movies and stuff in a little while-"

Keith shrugged with his good arm. "-nah - 's cool - chess is - good." He blinked, looking around the lounge, and asked Lance, "…where's Hunk?"

"Oh, Hunk's gone out for a bit," Lance said. "He'll be right back."

Hunk had gone out with Aurelis for his medical scan, so it was just them in the lounge, trying to keep Keith from saying anything he might regret after the pain meds wore off. Lance and Pidge had agreed to keep any topics of conversation light, or to at least try and keep Keith distracted until he fell asleep from the pain meds like he had before.

At Lance's words, Pidge saw Keith's face crease in - was that worry?

"I gotta - I gotta go look for him," Keith said, making to stand up again, but this time, Lance was the one who gently kept him from getting out of his seat.

"Nah, man," Lance said, making sure to keep his tone easy and friendly, "Hunk'll be right back - I think he went to get us some - "

"-chocolate chip cookies!" Pidge finished, grinning over at Keith. "It's his treat - I think he wanted to surprise you - but yeah, there's nothing to worry about, Keith! Here - which color do you want to be, white or black?"

She pushed the travel-sized chess board towards Keith, who looked down at it thoughtfully. "I can't - I can't really - remember which one goes first," he said. Pidge grinned at him cheerfully. "Totally doesn't matter," she said. "It's been ages since I played - we can count this as a - a practice match!"

Keith stared at the board, still seeming slightly puzzled. Then he sighed, looking up at her, and said, almost shamefacedly, "I - I don't think I can play this game, Pidge - I'm - I'm not feeling - normal - right now…"

He broke off, looking back around the room, and suddenly his eyes looked scared, almost nervous. "W-where's Shiro?" he asked, almost rising to his feet again. "Is-isn't he here?"

Pidge and Lance looked at each other then, and Lance took over. "Oh, he's around," Lance said, "No need to worry, man - I think he and Allura are, uh - having some couple time, know what I mean?"

The Blue Paladin reached over and carefully patted Keith's good shoulder as he spoke, and he saw his friend visibly relax at the reassurance. Heartened by this, Lance continued. "Say, Pidge - I've got an idea - how about a checkers match instead? I could really use some practice, it's been ages!"

Pidge nodded at Lance, almost gratefully. "Sure," she said, reaching out and quickly changing out the pieces on the board with a grace and fluidity that did not convey rush or haste, just vibrant interest and a keen enjoyment at the prospect of a game.

"All right, Lance," she said once it was set up, "Should you two play a game, and I watch? I don't mind sitting this one out if you two want to play a match first - "

"Whadda say, buddy?" Lance asked Keith. "Red or black?"

Pidge saw that Keith's eyes were creased in thought, and he seemed lost in a memory.

"Red," Keith said. "I think - I think I always played red."

"Cool!" Lance said, but he broke off as Pidge raised a hand at him in a 'hold-on-a-second' gesture. Lance looked again at Keith, and realized his friend wasn't really paying attention to the checkers board anymore. He was staring at the floor, and for a second, Lance and Pidge didn't really know what to do.

When Keith spoke, he almost seemed to be thinking out loud. "…yeah…I did…I always chose red…"

"Hey, buddy," Lance said, making sure to keep his tone friendly and very, very relaxed. "Whatcha thinking 'bout?"

Keith looked back up at them, and he seemed surprised to see them there. "I - uh - nothing," he said. "Just - just a memory."

He blinked again, and he suddenly sagged back into the couch, rubbing the space between his eyes with his good hand. "Hadn't remembered it for awhile…"

Pidge patted him on the knee, and said, "Hey, Lance, how about we move the checkerboard? I think Keith should lie down…"

Lance nodded in agreement, and together, the Green and Blue Paladin helped their friend lie down on the couch, facing out towards the room so that he wouldn't roll of the couch in his sleep and maybe hurt himself. Lance made sure that Keith's injured arm was supported by pillows, and by the time Pidge covered him with a blanket, Keith was already mostly asleep.

"Should we sit by him, you think?" Lance whispered to Pidge, who nodded.

"I'm pretty sure he won't move much," she said, "but I don't want him waking up without someone nearby. You know - unfamiliar surroundings - coming off of pain meds - I think he'll feel confused. But if we're by him - I think that'll be better."

Lance nodded, grabbing a few pillows from nearby chairs so that he and Pidge could make themselves comfortable on the ground in front of the couch.

"So…checkers?" he asked in a whisper, and Pidge smiled at him.

"Sure."