As always - WEP owns everything except the voices in my head - I just take their toys on playdates...
Author's notes - thanks for all the wonderful feedback and reviews so far! It's nice to see what you are all thinking after reading the start of this story since the first chapter pretty much came to me fully formed and I had to figure out what to do with it before I decided to draw on some personal experience to guide me.
Paulina Ann - I loved that line too. I giggled when I wrote it. As far as the title - it will make sense in time... Neither Keith nor Lance were really thinking much during that little face off, but they may or may not react the way you expect them to...
Sunshineleo - Allura isn't quite sure what she heard during that conversation or who it really applies to. She will find out eventually though... Keith on the other hand could barely tell you his name at the moment, forget realizing what others may have heard...
CubbieBlueMako - You shouldn't need the chocolate just yet, but keep some around for later. There's a reason for the grumpy/crankypants that Keith suddenly put on.
Smithy - Coran and Nanny aren't a part of this story...
Limetwist - gotta love a healthy fear of uncontrolled rage...
FroofyB - It's the ones that keep things in that you have to worry about when they finally release it...
Hunk keeps pushing against Keith's chest until his commander's back is against the wall in the corridor. As Keith's shoulders make contact with the unyielding structure behind him, he blinks rapidly and looks up at Hunk in confusion. "Wha…?"
"Hey Chief, good to see you're back with us again. You gonna be OK? Wanna go hit the gym or something? You've gotta get rid of some of that tension, man." Hunk searches Keith's face for an indication of his current mood. He takes in the slight darkening of the skin below his friend's onyx eyes and purses his lips thoughtfully.
"Sorry, Hunk. Look, I know I overreacted in there. I just…" Keith sighs and gathers his thoughts for a moment before looking back up at the big man. "It's bad enough that he has to taunt me and poke at me all the time, but why does he have to do it in front of the princess? Especially on that subject…" Tears form in Keith's eyes, obscuring the obsidian orbs and his whole body seems to slump in on itself as he turns away.
Hunk chews his lower lip, concerned at his captain's sudden mood swing. "C'mon, Keith, let's go find an empty lounge and you can talk this all out, OK?" He gathers the deflated commander from the wall and places his arm across Keith's shoulders. Slowly he starts walking away from the scene of the confrontation and towards one of the rooms that should be empty at this time of day. He doesn't like the look of defeat he sees on Keith's face or how quickly the man wilted in the hallway.
Finding an empty room, he steers Keith in and leads him over to the couch. The captain flops down onto the seat and immediately drops his head between his knees, clenching his hands in his hair. Hunk sits next to him, quietly assessing the dejected form to his left. He's seen this kind of behavior from his friend before and has a hunch about what the problem is. "Keith?"
"Yeah, Hunk?" The muffled words are soft and almost sad.
"When's the last time you slept?" Hunk's eyes narrow as he evaluates the slumped form on the couch.
"Huh? Whadda ya mean?" Keith sits up and turns to face Hunk, confusion written all over his face.
"I mean, when's the last time you actually got a good night's sleep?"
Keith shrugs his shoulders before answering quietly, "I dunno, my insomnia's been acting up lately. A few weeks ago I guess, why?"
Hunk digests the answer with a nod. "No wonder you've been so edgy lately. I know Lance is good at gettin' under your skin, but lately it's been taking a lot less for him to set you off. Maybe a nice nap will help and you'll feel better when you wake up."
"Maybe… I guess it couldn't hurt to at least try." Keith sighs heavily and tries to gather the strength and desire to stand when Hunk interrupts him.
"Your adrenaline was surging during that confrontation with Lance and I saw you deflate the second it wore off. You must be feeling pretty exhausted right about now. I doubt you could make it back to your room without me carrying you at the moment. Why don't you just lie down in here for a while? I'm sure you'll fall asleep in no time. Meanwhile, I'll go talk to Lance and tell him to back off."
"Alright. Thanks, Hunk."
Keith stretches out on his side, facing the back of the sofa, as Hunk turns off the lights before leaving the room in search of the Red Lion pilot.
Allura sighs as she watches Lance and Pidge leave Castle Control. Shaking her head and muttering something about "boys", she makes her way into the hallway that Hulk and Keith exited through earlier. Wandering the corridor aimlessly, she realizes that she is feeling frustrated and restless. She's upset that something is obviously bothering Keith and no one will tell her what it is. Looking up, she realizes that she's outside of one of the lesser used observation lounges and decides to go in to see if the view can sooth her agitation. Keying open the door, she slips inside. As she makes her way to the windows, she catches sight of a figure stretched out on the couch with his back to her. Turning her head, she recognizes the red clad form of her commander and approaches him quietly. A small smile forms on her lips as she watches him sleep, his head pillowed on one arm, his other hand under his cheek. She turns and gets a blanket from the cabinet under the coffee table. After shaking it open, she drapes the pink cloth over him and bends down to brush the hair from his forehead. Leaning over, she kisses him lightly on the temple, and then sits in the corner of the ell shaped couch near his head. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she rests her chin on her knees. An indulgent smile on her face, she reaches down to toy with the messy curls splayed out behind his head.
While she watches, his eyes begin to twitch as he moans in his sleep. Worried that he's going wake himself up, she softly croons to him. "Shhh… It's OK… Go back to sleep…" Reaching out, she gently runs her hand up and down along his upper arm in an effort to sooth him back into a peaceful rest. Once he finally settles back down, she lets her hand fall to his dark tresses again. Playing with the curl at the end of one lock of hair, she absentmindedly whispers to him. "Keith, I wish I knew what had you so worked up earlier. You know you can talk to me about anything and that I'd do anything to help you…" Sighing, she drops the strands of hair from her fingers and rises from the couch. Leaning over, she brushes a feather-light kiss on his cheek before murmuring, "Sleep well, Keith." Taking care to make as little noise as possible, she makes her way to the door and exits, programming a do not disturb message into the locking mechanism.