Do not own Voltron or its plotlines, settings or characters. All characters are adults.
Keith Kogane quietly crept into the bedroom of one of his best friends. It had been a long journey back and he really needed to get some rest. Silently he approached the large bed against the back wall of the room and took a moment to survey the small woman breathing rhythmically in sleep as he did. He winced as she stirred when he sat on the edge of the mattress. Her eyes blinked lazily until she noticed who was beside her and she focused as much as she could in her half awake state.
"Hey." She murmured quietly, voice husky with sleep. "I didn't know you were coming back tonight."
He smiled softly. "Sorry, I was trying not to wake you."
"It's okay. You know you're welcome to crash here whenever you want." She yawned quietly. "Where's Kosmo?"
Keith huffed a quiet laugh. "Living room."
"Kay. You gonna get in?"
His shoulders relaxed and he climbed into the bed beside her. "Thanks."
Her only response was to snuggle into his side, letting him place his arm beneath the pillow behind her head, and close her eyes on another yawn. Keith made sure he was comfortable and looked down at her. He remembers the first time he had crawled into her bed. When he had started travelling after the war ended he had not been fully prepared to see some of the things he had. How war torn and destroyed many of the planets were with so many struggling or suffering.
The first time he'd come back to Earth he had sported some nasty wounds. The physical were only superficial but others ran deeper. He had exhaustedly thought of the small girl who had reminded him of Katie, so sick, so fragile. He had told his team to rest and asked Kosmo to take him to her.
He'd been blipped into her living room where Kosmo proceeded to curl up on the floor and close his eyes. Quietly he'd crept down the hall and into her room. He'd just needed to check on her, make sure she was okay. Of course she'd woken up and almost shot him. After she'd realised it was just him and gotten a real look at him she had sighed and gotten out of bed. Carefully she helped him out of his armour and into bed. She'd let him drag her into his arms and didn't protest when he held her tightly against him for the rest of the night.
It had quickly become a regular occurrence in the early days of his travels and even when things had calmed down and his destinations no longer took such a heavy toll on him it had continued. When he was exhausted and strung out he would leave his team in the barracks and find his way to her. He'd never tell them where he went and she'd always pretend she didn't know. It was their secret.
He fell asleep to her rhythmic breathing as he remembered.
The next morning Keith was sipping a coffee at the kitchen table when the front door opened. Stiffening slightly Keith watched wearily as Matt Holt walked down the hall and into the open plan area that housed the kitchen, dining and living area to his sisters home. The eldest Holt sibling was halfway across the room when he seemed to notice Keith and stopped mid step. Keith fought the urge to squirm under the older mans curious gaze.
"Keith, I didn't know you were back on Earth."
"I got in late last night."
Matt's brow raised and he looked to the spare room door, which was closed, then back at Keith. "Uhuh, is she up yet?"
"Still snoring."
"I don't snore." The new voice had both men breaking their gaze to watch Pidge walk in, with no pants on.
Keith mentally smacked his forehead with his hand. Matt's eyes narrowed. "Pigeon!"
"What Matt? I haven't had my coffee yet."
"You haven't put your pants on yet either."
Pidge shrugged her shoulders and walked to the coffee pot. Matt looked pointedly at Keith who shrugged.
"She does this a lot."
Matt's eyes widened. "Since when?!"
Keith's brow arched. "Since she was nineteen."
Pidge took a sip of coffee from her mug and shook her head. "Nope, that's just the first time you saw me. Not the point though."
Matt's shock faded and he looked between Keith and Pidge. "And what is the point?"
She sat at the table and leaned back in her chair, raising her mug to her lips. "I'm an adult. So is Keith. And since I know where your thoughts have gone, even if we were having sex, which we're not, it would be none of your business. Just like it's none of your business what I wear or don't wear, especially in my own home."
Matt shook his head with a chuckle and walked to the coffee pot. "I know, I just like watching you get all worked up. I also know Keith didn't sleep in the spare room last night."
Keith choked on his sip of coffee. Pidge carefully eyed her brother. "What makes you say that?"
Matt smirked. "Other than the fact that the door is closed and he knew you were still in bed?"
"Nice try big brother but you're gonna have to do better than that. Keith always closes doors behind him and you know it's not unusual for people to try and wake me up in the morning."
Matt's brow arched, smirk still in place. "Keith you said you got back late last night?"
"Yeah."
"How'd you get in? I'm assuming Katie didn't wake up until you were in the house, if she woke up at all."
he was not about to tell Matt Holt that he regularly broke into his sisters house so he fibbed. "Same as you. I used the key and passcode." She had given him the key and passcode when he started coming over more, he just never needed them because he had Kosmo.
"You have a key and the passcode, to Pidges house?"
"Yeah? Why do you look so surprised?"
"Nobody has the key and passcode to this place."
"You do."
"Yeah but I'm her brother."
Keith frowned and looked at Pidge whose cheeks had turned an interesting shade of pink. "I thought everyone had a key?"
"I never said that."
It was then that he realised she hadn't, he'd just assumed. "Wait."
Matt watched with amusement as his sister shifted in her seat. "I told you that you weren't the only one with a key. I never said everyone else had access."
"Oh."
She shrugged. "It's not a big deal."
Matt scoffed. "Yeah right. There's only three people that have access to your house and they're all at this table."
"Matt." She hissed.
Keith looked at her in surprise. "Pidge."
Matt screwed up his face and stood from the table. "Yeah I'm gonna go. I don't want or need to see what happens next."
The door closed with a soft click as Keith watched Pidge fidget with her coffee cup. "I didn't want you to freak out and now you are."
"You gave me a key to your house."
She shrugged.
"Pidge."
"You were here all the time when you were on Earth. I figured you may as well have a key."
"Why?"
"It's your safe space and I like having you here."
His eyes softened and he leaned forward placing a hand over hers. "Thank you."
She smiled. "You're welcome."
Hours later Keith sat at the table with Matt, Lance and Hunk and wished he could gag the eldest Holt sibling. Lance and Hunk had showed up at Pidges house a couple of hours after Matt had left and dragged him out to socialise.
Keith had just asked Matt if he had told them where he was. His friends shook their heads.
"We ran into your team this morning." Hunk explained.
"When we realised you weren't with them it didn't take a genius to figure out you'd be with Pidge." When Keith looked at him in confusion Lance rolled his eyes. "You two are practically joined at the hip when you're on Earth."
Keith frowned. "No we're not. I spend time with all of you when I'm on Earth."
Matt groaned. "Man you two are seriously oblivious."
Lance chuckled and Keith rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
He had stayed for a month before he had been called back to the Blades. He'd been gone for six months. It was 3am when Pidge woke. Frowning to herself she wondered why she had woken up but couldn't place the reason. Realising she was thirsty she got up and went to the kitchen. She had just placed her glass in the sink when the air changed in the room. She turned just in time to see Keith appear in her living room, leaning heavily on Kosmo for support.
"Keith?"
He looked up and she noticed how he seemed to be moving slowly, pain clear in his eyes. "What are you doing up?"
"I needed a glass of water. What happened? You look like hell."
"Ran into some trouble."
She sighed and approached him taking a mental stock of his obvious injuries. "Come on let's get you cleaned up."
"I'm fine Pidge, go back to bed."
"No you're not and I'm not gonna leave you here and just go to bed. Now move, bathroom, now."
He sighed and accepted her help to the bathroom where she set him down on the edge of her bath tub. She checked the small bruise on the side of his face, lightly touching it to make sure no bones were broken underneath.
He winced. "It's not broken."
She nodded. "Alright let's get this shirt off."
"What?"
She rolled her eyes. "Calm down. I just need to check your other injuries." He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. "Don't bother telling me you don't have any. You're favouring your left side. Shoulder or ribs?"
He let her lift his shirt over his head, wincing at the gentle movement. "Ribs."
She sucked in a breath at the dark purple bruising down the left side of his back and side. "Jesus Keith, what happened?"
He groaned when she poked and prodded for fractures. "A couple of kids wandered into the construction site for new housing on the last planet we visited. They tripped one of the men holding a pulley with a crate of supplies. I managed to push the kids out of the way before they got hit."
"And almost got yourself crushed in the process."
He shrugged. "They would have died Pidge."
She applied antiseptic to some small cuts across his ribs and sighed. "They were fortunate you were there."
She reached behind her for the bandages and he stood up so she could wrap his ribs. "We were all lucky."
She chose not to reply, instead finishing up her work quietly and helping him into her bedroom. When he was comfortable enough she slipped in on the furthest side of the bed so she wouldn't come into contact with him.
He sighed. "Pidge."
"Are you okay? Do you need something?"
He reached out and tugged on her hand. "Why are you all the way over there?"
She flushed. "So I don't hurt you."
He snorted and tugged harder. "I'm fine."
She rolled her eyes but scooted closer to him, turning onto her side to face him. "No you're not you're Keith so I'm staying right here and you're going to be okay with that."
He sighed but nodded, keeping a hold on her hand. "Fine."
When she stirred then next morning she realised that she had, against her best intentions, moved in her sleep. They were spooning, not a lick of space between them. Pidge sighed and silently pondered how long she had slept and why he was still there.
"I can hear your gears turning." A sleepy rumble murmured in her ear.
"I was trying to figure out how long we'd been out and how I ended up over this side of the bed."
She could hear the smile in his response and rolled her eyes. "We've been in bed for a good eight to nine hours and you moved somewhere in hour five."
She carefully turned over to face him. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm fine."
"Keith."
"Couple of broken ribs, otherwise I'm fine." When she merely raised a brow he chuckled and tightened his arm around her, eliminating the small space she had created when she'd turned over. "Pidge I'm fine."
"You almost weren't." She frowned.
"But I am and so are those kids."
She sighed and looked down at the bandages wrapped around his chest, touching them lightly with her hand. "I wish you'd be more careful."
His smile softened as he reached for the hand on his chest. "I'm sorry I worried you."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. You're doing important work." He squeezed her hand and she smiled. "Come on, let's get you to medical for a proper check up."
He rolled his eyes but let her remove herself from their cocoon and gather some clothes for the both of them. She quickly dressed herself in the bathroom before helping him get dressed as well. She was helping him get his shoes on when Matt let himself in.
"Morni- wait, what's going on? Keith, are you okay?"
Keith winced as he straightened. "Fine."
Pidge rolled her eyes. "He has a few broken ribs from his last trip. I'm taking him to medical for a proper check up now to make sure nothing else is broken."
"I'll help, come on Kogane, let's get you to a doctor."
An hour later Keith attempted to lift his shirt over his head and winced. Pidge stepped in and helped him get it on.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Maybe we should stop and get you some button ups on the way back."
"I'll be fine."
She put her hands on her hips. "Keith."
"We both know I've been through worse." When her expression shuttered and closed off he took a deep breath and reached for her. "Don't, don't go back there."
His hands grasped her hips and her hands moved to his shoulders. "Keith?"
He tugged gently until she stepped forward into the space between his legs. "Katie, I love you but you're worrying when you don't need to. I'll be fine."
"You. Love. Me?"
His facial expression softened. "I do."
He watched as the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen lit up her face and she leant forward placing a light kiss to his lips. His arms tightened around her and she gently squeezed his shoulders.
"Think we could head back now? The painkillers they gave me will kick in soon. I'd rather be back at your house when they do."
She smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Come on."