Stars // klance AU

Christmas In Scrubs

Christmas was not really a big deal for Keith, just an overhyped holiday to which he had no deep connections with, not even spiritual. These past few weeks, though, the small crowd of the planetarium club had been so excited for the holiday he could not help but look forward to it, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

The way Shiro had explained Christmas tradition to Keith was quite simple. After Lance and Hunk returned from the chapel's service, they would all meet in the commons for hot chocolate. Due to the fact that the bookshop was closed for the holiday, they had to fall back on the trusty ol' coffee brewer which was about as old as it could be and still function with only somewhat minor technical difficulties. From there, they would try to catch one of the newest releases at a movie theatre in town or resort to watching all four home alone movies in a row. Hunk would later orchestrate a Christmas dinner with whatever the club members could supply and by bossing them around with small tasks around the kitchen in Allura's apartment. Since the club was founded, that's how Christmas was always spent with whatever members remained during the break, and Keith had been bubbling with unspoken excitement for getting to experience something like this. It would be as close to a family tradition as he could get. Nevertheless, things never went according to plan in Keith's book.

The last place Keith expected to spend his first real Christmas was in a crowded hospital room. Truth be told, Keith did not expect any of this in the first place, but life was full of surprises.

"I suspect you are here for Mr. Sanchez?" A doctor walked up to the small gathering of planetarium club members nervously awaiting news in the, surprisingly crowded, waiting room. They had all met up that morning to pay Lance a visit and check on his status. Keith would've stayed there all night if it was not for Shiro practically dragging him back to the dorm room. When the students stood up, hungry for good news, the doctor gave them a crooked smile. "My name is Dr. Pakizer," he introduced himself. "Your friend is in stable condition. He should be able to leave in a day or two."

A chorus of sighs filled the room. "Can we see him?" Shiro asked first, relief washing his features.

"Of course," the doctor pulled up his clipboard. "He is currently under painkillers, so his conscious may not be under his complete control. We just ask that family steps in first before any of you to go through some of his medical history."

"His family isn't gonna be able to come," Allura explained calmly. The doctor only nodded and motioned them to follow in his stead.

"What exactly happened?" Shiro frowned, trying to get a look at the clipboard.
Dr. Pakizer turned it the other way, "His lung collapsed in on itself. If he had not been brought here in time, his brain would have suffered severe damage from lack of oxygen." Keith felt his chest tighten. "Thankfully, he was brought in just in time. We are emptying out his lung and slowly inflating it once more. From his records, this has not been the first time this happened."

At that comment, all the students turned at once to face Hunk. Keith wasn't sure what this meant until he remembers Lance mentioning in one of their late night texts that the both of them went to the same middle school and high school after Lance transferred schools. Keith did not know where he transferred from or why, but he did not feel the need to ask.

Hunk cowered with the weight of everyone's stares. "Y-yeah... It happened twice when we were in high school," he explained as they walked. "Both during the fall of his senior year."

"It's been two years," Coran scratched his head. "Why would it happen now, all of a sudden?"

"According to files sent by his past doctor," Dr. Pakizer flipped through his clipboard. "It's the combination of his weight and height. He grew too fast in a short amount of time and he is underweight, but his metabolism is too fast for him to catch up to it. His body is just not meant to handle large amounts of stress."

"Could this happen again?" Allura wondered worriedly.

"I doubt it," Dr. Pakizer let go of the papers and shoved the clipboard back under his arm. "He is recuperating swiftly. His lung shouldn't be a problem."

They approached a door half-opened to which Dr. Pakizer motioned them toward. The group filed in, not sure what to expect on the other side of the curtain.

There he was, in all his drugged glory, with two tubes sticking out of his side and a smaller tube of oxygen around his face with an opening beneath each nostril. He was too busy trying to retell some sort of incomprehensible story to the blonde nurse beside him to notice his friends when they first walked in, but as soon as he heard the door shut behind them his attention was all theirs.

"Guuuyyssss," Lance called to them, stretching out a wired hand to beckon them. The group gathered around his bed, taking the seats across from him. "You made it," He slurred, face beaming with a tired smile. "Did you know it's Christmas?" He turned to the nurse. "Tell them, tell them it's Christmas." He did not even allow her to answer. "It's a happy day."

"Yeah, Lance," Hunk dropped a duffel bag by the window. "I brought you some clothes and stuff."

"Awwww, Hunk you're AWESOME," Lance chuckled, wincing slightly at the movement.

The nurse carefully checked his tubes, "Careful there. We don't want you getting too worked up."

"Then someone better get Keith out of the room," Allura muttered under her breath just loud enough for her voice to be heard. The boys were trying their best not to laugh, but Keith seemed offended.

"I'm not gonna fight with him," He defended himself, earning an amused eye roll from the woman.

"I'm not talking about fighting."

The men who were already trying to contain their laughter could not hold much longer and at the sound of Lance's pulse rising when he finally realized what Allura had implied did not help.

"Excuse me, but if you stress out the patient like this, we're going to have to ask you to leave," the nurse stated rather seriously. The men composed themselves that instant.

It may not have been the Christmas Keith expected, but at least there was still hot chocolate and they were able to stream some Christmas movies from Lance's laptop, which Hunk had brought in the duffel bag. It was not picture perfect, but it was something, and Keith would not have been happier.