Don't Ask, I'll Never Tell

Missing You

Keith curled up on Lance's bed. His muscles were sore and his stomach was practically screaming at him to eat something. He thought he would be able to handle this. After all, he lost both of his parents and seemed to be able to handle himself just fine. He had grown to believe that he was meant to be alone. How could he ever be stupid enough to think--

--There was a knock at the door.

"I'm busy," Keith shouted to the unknown visitor.

They knocked again.

Keith rolled out of bed and slid open the door. "What do you want, Shiro?"

"Can I come in?"

Keith stepped aside. "Sure."

Shiro crossed the room to sit on the bed while Keith remained where he was. "I just wanted to check up on you again... to see how you're doing."

Keith leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "...I'm okay." He said simply. He couldn't meet Shiro's eyes.

Shiro sighed. "Three weeks and your answer still hasn't changed, Keith. I know you're not okay," he replied. "You're not eating and you're obviously not sleeping, given the dark circles under your eyes... not to mention the fact that you over exert yourself during training. I wouldn't call that 'okay'."

His gaze flicked to Shiro. "How about I rephrase it then? I'm okay because I HAVE to be."

"And why do you have to be okay?" Shiro asked patiently.

"We're all supposed to be these legendary defenders of the universe but I wouldn't trust a coward to protect me, would you?"

"Who's the coward?"

Keith glared at him.

"You're not--"

"--It should have been me." Keith said firmly. "Lance had a family to go back to, Shiro. You all do. I have no one."

"Keith, that's not true. You have us."

"Yeah. But it won't be the same when we finally get back to earth. Everyone will go their separate ways. They'll return to their old lives and I'll return to mine."

"Keith, I'll still be here. I'm always here if you need me."

He clenched his jaw. "I don't NEED anyone." Keith tried to keep his voice from shaking.

Shiro got up and crossed the room to wrap his arms around him. "I know that's not true. You're hurting, Keith. We all are." He consoled. "But that doesn't mean that you should isolate yourself."

"Why not?" Keith said quietly. "It saves a lot of pain in the long run." He inhaled a shaky breath.

Shiro patted Keith's back soothingly. "It's okay. Shh... it's okay." Shiro comforted the crying Paladin.

"It sh-should have been m-me." Keith repeated into Shiro's shoulder.

"Lance was always a hero, Keith. It's because of him that we're all alive today."

Keith stiffened and pushed Shiro away, wiping his eyes. "I'm tired," he said. He avoided eye contact with Shiro as he crossed the room to curl up on Lance's bed once again. "Thanks for the talk, Shiro." He smiled weakly.

Shiro frowned. "It's gonna be okay."

"That's what everyone always says. It gets a little hard to believe, sometimes." Keith rolled over to face the wall.

"Well, in any case, you should catch up on some sleep. I'll have Hunk bring you something to eat and make sure you eat it, okay? That's an order."

"Yeah, I will." He mumbled. Keith heard the doors open and close once again.

He rolled over onto his back and watched the door for a few seconds more. Then his eyes drifted to the bayard that he haphazardly dropped to the floor. He sat up. He had trained for a total of three hours that morning but he was certain that he had enough stamina to go a bit longer. He kicked his feet back and forth restlessly. What else could he do? Training was the only thing that distracted him from--

--Keith paused when he heard something slide under the bed. He was certain that he kicked something. Overcome by curiosity, he stooped down and lifted the blankets.

Keith knew that Lance wasn't the neatest person in the world, but this was ridiculous. From dust bunnies to strings of spare yarn and skincare products, Keith was almost certain that Lance's idea of cleaning was stuffing everything he owned under the bed.

He was just about the leave when something red caught his eye. He practically crawled under the bed to reach it. Keith's fingers wrapped around something soft and brought it into the light to see what it was.

A slipper? It was a red lion slipper almost identical to the pair Lance made for himself. Keith went back under the bed to grab the second one.

He shook them to get the dust bunnies off only to get distracted by a folded piece of paper that had dropped to the floor. Keith's eyes widened as he went to pick it up.

The sound of a pounding door jolted Keith to attention. His head whipped around.

"KEITH!" Pidge's shouts were muffled through the door. "Come quickly! Allura found something! You need to see it!"

Keith slipped the note into his pocket and ran to open the door. "Pidge! What could be so important that you--"

"--It's Lance!" Pidge interrupted with an excited hop. "He's alive!"