Eight

Lance

They've been all banged to hell. Bruised, muscles strained. Hunk's been in the gym steam room every night trying to loosen his neck kinks. Pidge's been doing more yoga than ever in an attempt to stay limber. Allura is walking around trying not to let on how stiff she feels and wearing to hide the circles under her eyes. I don't think she's sleeping, well.

Keith is nursing his left ankle and doesn't think anyone's noticed. He's also stiffer than Allura and I think his lower back is killing him. It always does when he lets himself get too stressed with no release. He's working hard, trying to keep them all alive, keep them all on top of their game. Keeping Pidge and Hunk on top on keeping the lions in shape.

The lions are getting roughed to hell too. Black's scuffed, Blue's scorched, Green has lost patches of paint and Yellow has gash through it's eye that nearly took out Hunk. Body damage to the lion Hunk says he can't fix. It's a scar on the lion like the one on my stomach.

Fucking scar that is kept me from being out there in the first place, it might have stopped it. The sudden slam of the Robeasts hand, smacking Black right into Blue. Keith into Allura, both Lions went dark. Systems went out completely. Hunk and Pidge tried to fly in to catch them but the Robeast made it impossible and Keith and Allura were plummeting towards the desert.

I hit the button to open the chute to Red, Coran's hand fell on my forearm. His fingers felt like a vice and I wanted to rip them off of me but I met his eyes and shouted. "Don't say fuck to me, just let me go."

Coran studied me for far too long, it was probably less than ten seconds, less than that even I didn't give him much longer. "Gorma told me I would be clear Monday..." I spat out, pissed that it was Friday now and it was two days, two days changing the odds for Doom.

Both Keith and Allura had crashed in the Desert. Pidge and Hunk were fighting alone, tired, stiff from the relentless drive from Lotor. He'd figured out we down, and that I wasn't coming back soon. I had to change the landscape.

Coran let me go.

I flew straight to the Desert. From my view screen looking down the heads of Blue and Black were almost touching where they lay in indention on the hard ground they'd landed. Pidge and Hunk, assured me they had the Robeast on the defensive and make sure Keith and Allura were alive.

Alive.

I cursed Pidge out in my head for using that word, of course they were alive. They had to be alive. I landed and as I exited Red I saw Keith stumbling out of Blue, Allura in his arms trying to keep his balance with the bad ankle and what looked like a bad head wound. Blood covered the left side of his face like some strange half mask, he looked ghoulish in the bright sun. Rushing up, I grabbed Allura from him and he dropped to knees way to fast. I swore but took Allura to even ground to lay her down carefully. Checked her pulse, checked her for broken bones, internal injuries as quickly as I could. Pulling off her helmet, there was a small head wound, blood was caking in her hair but it wasn't the mess that was going on with Keith. It appeared she'd blackout, nothing unusual with her.

Her pale skin looked ashen though and I touched her cheek and said her name a few times. I wanted to see her beautiful eyes, wanted to know she was going to be okay before I left her and went to check on Keith. Who hadn't followed me down yet - bad, it was bad.

I went back up into the mouth of Blue lion, where I'd left Keith. He was on his knees still and it looked like he'd vomited. I dropped to my knees on the otherside of the mess, gingerly moved his face so he and eye were looking at each other. He had one hell of a concussion going on from the look in his eyes.

"How man of me are there?"

"Three to many, what are you doing out here," Keith said.

"I'm fine. I was going to be cleared Monday."

Keith started to nod but then he made a face and lurched forward. I grabbed onto his shoulders, rubbed his back as he dry heaved. There wasn't anything else in his system apparently.

"What did you hit your head on?"

"Console, had my helmet off," Keith muttered.

"What?" Lance rolled his eyes. "Rules only apply to everyone else, right?

"Keith!" Allura shouted. I looked back and she was already walking towards us and steady on her feet. She stopped short, her nose scrunching up when she either saw or smelled the vomit. But her eyes were locked on Keith's face, the blood dried on skin. "Oh, my God."

"We got to get back up there."

"Keith, you aren't..."

"I'll switch control over to you," Keith told me, to stop my arguing. "Up. Now, all of us."

Allura looked between us. "Is he?" she asked me.

I grinned. "He's our fearless leader."

She nodded.

I was glad it worked for her, it didn't work for me but I saw the look on Keith's face. Stubborn, bossy, determination. Also, there was no other choice to make, we had to fight. We went up. We got there almost too late to save Pidge from disintegration. We formed Voltron, and I managed to control everything from Red. I got back to the control right before Keith passed out. Just in time to do a run-slid across the floor to get there in time to help Allura to keep his already smashed up head from hitting the ground.

I'm in his room now, Gorma let him stay in his own room as long as someone promised to keep waking him up. I swore to it. Going to poke him awake in a few. I wrapped up his ankle, it's a bad sprain but I didn't piss him off by mentioning it to the doctor. He'd kill me. The asshole.

Allura was here until an hour ago, enjoying the grumpy way he woke up when we'd poke him, until Nanny came in and made her leave. I'm glad she's not around - for one she needs sleep. But more than that I got make Keith talk to me. He's been avoiding me, I've been trying to pin him down about the ankle for a week. A fucking week.

And I know it's been going on longer than that...but, well, first I had no clue. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself, at how hard PT was. I was grouchy and I was an ass. I was a bastard to anyone who tried to come near me. Why Allura kept coming back everyday I'll never get. She persisted though. I've apologized to her a million times and feel like I still haven't made a thing up to her. Tossed her out of my room so many times the past few weeks. Not always because I felt I might make a move on her, but because her damn optimistic, hopeful personality was getting on my nerves too. I wasn't in the mood for it.

But once I got over myself, I started having fun with PT. Made some games out of it with Harry. Guy is in great shape, and he's got a competitive streak that is almost as bad as Keith's. It's fun to rile him up, he gets this cute furrow in his forehead. Too bad he's immune to my charms... Keith's more his type of man.

This is what caused me to realize Keith was avoiding me. I barged into Keith's office to tell him he should consider asking out Harry if he's ever in the mood for some fun. Which I was also going to tell him he should consider because he's been kind of a killjoy. I'd picked up that when at breakfast earlier in the day he snapped at Hunk at all people. No one snaps at Hunk. Hunk doesn't piss people off, he's too affable. Keith was beyond pissy if he was snapping at Hunk.

Keith didn't let me say a word. Instead he got up from his desk, said he had to go talk to someone, walked past me without making eye contac. That's when I noticed he was nursing his ankle. Who knows how long he'd been nursing that foot, I know I'm the only one who noticed. At first it he'd probably just turned it, but since he didn't do anything for it, it got worse...Keith's great at taking care of other people. Himself. He's a fucking idiot.

So he's dodging me but the funny part I kept feeling his eyes on me. It started that night at dinner. It was this weight, this knowledge of someone watching me. I looked with my eyes around the table. It was Keith's coffee dark eyes on me, his expression serious as he chewed his food a hundred times before swallowing. He didn't flinch when he met his eyes across the table but he didn't stay around after dinner to let me talk to him either.

It's kept since then. He won't let me spend more than two seconds alone with him, but if we're in the same room, his eyes are on me full-stop. I don't know what he's looking for, or looking at. It's disconcerting, I feel like he's looking for some kind of answer and I probably don't have it. He has some answers I want though, mostly about why he's been not taking care of himself. I might've been slow to notice everything was building up on him, but I got it, and I'm here now. And he's at my mercy.

Time to poke.

Keith

Giving Lance permission to poke someone is wrong. I writing this up into an official file, no one should ever give him permission to poke someone. I had an concussion, I realize I needed to be woken up - to be on the safer side of things. I believe in caution when it comes to my peoples lives, so I believe in it when comes to mine live. I would never put Lance in charge of keeping anyone awake. He POKES.

He had Allura poking me, too. At least the first two times I woke up, it was the two of them, both poking me in the ribs from either side. His index finger, bony and sharp, hers slender, with her finger nail scrapping my skin. Poke, poke, poke. Then Allura would giggle when I'd open my eyes, and grumble that there were other better ways to wake a man.

Lance would argue they were less fun, but he'd wink at me when he said. Allura would smile and say she was glad that my head wound looked worse than it was. I didn't ask if had been given stitches I could feel them in head, five of them, close together by my left temple pulling hot, throbbing skin together. I felt dizzy, my throat was parched and I reached for water. Lance felt my forehead, held out three of his annoying pokey-fingers and asked me how many there were. I grunted at him and then got to see Allura look from me to him and say. "He's grumpy," like I wasn't even in the room.

"I'm here," I said.

Allura turned to me, her hand fell on my forehead. It felt much cooler than Lance's had, she pushed my bangs off my skin and realized I was sweating. "I'm sorry, Keith. You can fall back asleep if you want."

I shook my head but eyes fluttered closed anyway, against my will. I didn't want to fall asleep, I wanted to keep an eye on Lance. I wanted to make sure I wasn't poked again but it was too late.

Then it came again, poke, poke, poke and I moved my hand, pushing at his finger, and ended up holding his hand. "Fucking don't poke me awake, Lance," I grumbled opening my eyes and watching the room spin for a minute before it fell into focus.

Lance squeezed my hand. I frowned, something was different. I stretched out my legs and realized that my ankle had been wrapped and I sighed. I knew it, he'd been eyeing my walk for the past few days in away that I knew he was onto me. I pushed myself into a sitting position and instantly regretted it, the entire room spun around, the bed felt like it moved out from under me. My hands flailed, the one in his hand tightening my other reaching out for his other arm.

He grabbed onto me, shook his head laughed. "Don't move so quick, you dumbass."

I grumbled until it passed, thankful I wasn't going to vomit again at least. "Fuck," I gritted out.

He let go of me, handed me a glass of lukewarm water. I took it and sipped it. He watched me, his damn eyes showing his brain working and I knew I was in for something. He was thinking, he was calculating things out in his mind. It meant he was figuring out what he wanted to say before he said. Thinking things through. With Lance that's dangerous, I like him better on the fly, when he's not thinking...

"You've been staring, Kogane."

I shrugged, I've stared at him since we met. Doesn't mean a thing, at least that is what I've been telling myself since he finally pulled himself out of his PT funk and caught me staring about a week ago.

"Been avoiding me too."

I shrugged again. "You've been in a foul mood."

"Hell, yeah I was. Allura was the only one with the guts for it. Think she's the bravest among us, Keith."

He might not be wrong on that one, I have to say. She wouldn't let him push her away, or let him get completely down on himself during the worst of his PT. Didn't matter how rude or crude he got with her. She'd go back again the next damn day, a look of fury and determination on her face. All faith and optimism. I remember it from when I was healing myself, I could never forget she was a Princess, The Princess though and throw her out like Lance did. Lance reacted to her like she was friend. I gritted my teeth, let her optimism annoy me to the point of wanting to scream but never said a word. I think Allura knew though, she'd shake her head and kiss my cheek and say she'd back tomorrow just when I wondered if I could handle her a second longer.

"Not why you were avoiding me though, was it?" Lance asked, while he had me thinking about Allura. Bastard.

"What?" I played dumb.

"Keith? Look, I get you like to be all strong and in charge. But come on, sometimes you need help. Sven's gone, and I know...look, man I know you wanted him to stay," Lance reached out and grabbed my hand again. My left hand, with the dragon tattoo I got after sleeping with Sven the first time. Its when I knew. Men and me. A great fit, a real fit, it wasn't in my head and it wasn't a phase and it wasn't even that I was falling for Sven. It was men and intrinsic to who I am but I realized it because of Sven. He and I went to the tattoo parlor together, he helped me pick out the black dragon I had inked into my wrist.

Lance noticed me staring at the tattoo, he ran his thumb over it, pulled it up this mouth and licked it. It always makes me squawk, he knows it too. I squawk like some odd bird, as he drags his tongue over the inside of my wrist, over the ink and marks me there in some way himself. He did it the night we met, he does it when he wants my attention, he did it once to play some game with Allura - but this was us, just him and me, all us.

"You miss him?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I haven't had time to think about it," I admitted. "I... You were a coma for another few days, then in and out and still on the edge. Lotor kept up the attacks knowing we were a lion down. It was...I haven't had time to miss him. Been worried about Allura keeping up with us, without training - Fuck if you were right. I shouldn't have stopped her training."

"Score one for me!" Lance preened.

I rolled my eyes and regretted it, winced and my free hand went to my head. It was throbbing still, felt like with each throb it was pulling on the stitches, that the broken skin didn't want to mend together. "My head hurts," I grumbled.

"Wear your helmet next time. Also what's up with the ankle, who do you think you were fooling?"

"Everyone but you."

"Yeah, me too for too long apparently."

"I wrenched it some battle when there was some crush, don't remember when," I said because it was the truth. It started to hurt, I saw it was sprained, I kept my eyes on it and tried to not make it much worse. It never did get better though for some reason I'm so great at wrapping my own ankles. Lance's got it wrapped tight, and he's looking at me with that face. His I-give-a-crap-about-you-face I don't need that face right now. He's got me screwed up enough and I think he's onto me about it.

"You've been staring."

"You already said that."

"I know I'm hot, and the scar's kind of sexy but..." Lance trailed off. "You haven't actually been around when I have my shirt off so..."

There are reasons for that, a lot of reasons for that and I didnt't want to have this conversation but I was awake and my eyes weren't sliding closed. And I couldn't make a break for it, besides I was in my own room, in my own bed and if anyone should've left. "I'm awake, you can go."

"And let you pass out without eyes on you, no way, Keith."

Thing about Lance, he's cocky, reckless, he boasts and brags. He's over confident and you think he'd save you only to get recognition or something but the truth is. He's a cocky son of bitch who does what he does because he has a damn moral code and it's a good one. Fucking hate him for it right now, because he's not going to leave my room anymore than I'd ever leave his room. Because it's the wrong thing to do when someone needs help.

"Think you could flip over?"

I knew where he was going with this and I wanted to say no but my lower back was killing me almost as much as my head and I found myself nodding. "Going need help, though," I muttered feeling as if my entire body hadn't moved in a year. Every joint is rusty, stiff, and my head spun but it wasn't as if I was falling through space this time. Lance's strong hands held me, steadied me the entire time and then they were pressing into the stiff, locked up muscles of my lower back and I was groaning in pleasure-pain.

"Jesus, Keith. You could've just crossed the hall and asked. I wouldn't have said no."

"You had your own pain."

He was quiet as he kept massaging, I could hear him breathing. "I don't get why you've been avoiding me."

I swallowed and hugged my pillow, put my head down into it and hoped he wouldn't push. Because I couldn't explain, it wasn't that I wanted to avoid him I felt I had too. I was too upset about the last time we were together and I shouldn't have been. I was wound up, my head space was weird. I felt messed up. He was best friend, I almost lost him and today he ran out to be there for me.

Again.

"I don't want to take you for granted," I whispered.

Lance laughed.

He didn't understand, but he kept working my muscles and I fell asleep again. The next time I woke up, he was lazily poking me in the middle of my back, his own eyes half open, asleep on his side next to me in my bed. It was early morning and he grinned. "You're in the clear, just thought I'd tell you. You can go back to sleep now."

The only thought I had was he'd spent the night in my bed.