Knee Socks and Booty Shorts Don't Mix

Chapter Fourteen: Mental Hospitals

Keith glared down at the table in front of him. He sat curled into himself in the rec. room of the mental hospital he had been carted to the second he was healthy enough to be brought there.

His eyes were dull and clouded, the dark circles looked worse than they ever had. He had lost a significant amount of weight during his time in self inflicted isolation, and he failed to gain it back. He looked unhealthy and hopeless.

He refused to speak as his older brother talked and fretted in front of him. His lips weren't able to form words. He struggled to even keep himself from crying. Again. Again...

Shiro sighed at his third failed attempt at a visit and looked up to the nurse that had been watching over the whole exchange. The nurse frowned and shook her head lightly and he nodded in return.

Keith was left with a soft 'I'm so sorry... please, please just get better...' from Shiro. He recoiled at the sound of the words as if he had been punched in the gut. Get better... was he not enough as he was? He mentally beat himself up for thinking that way. Of course, that's not what Shiro meant....

Keith was prompted to stand by the nurse and lead to his room. He was left alone for another day after that.

---

It wasn't long before Keith was again confronted by his brother for another torturous one sided conversation. Keith couldn't bring himself to care. He hated himself. He hated everybody. And then he hated himself some more.

All movements he made were sloppy, languid and uncoordinated. He was tired. He was in pain. The pain flowed from his mind to his physical body, it was now a constant that he couldn't get reprieve from.

His stomach hurt, he needed food, but he refused anyway. His head hurt, he needed sleep, but he couldn't quiet his thoughts. The majority of his positive emotions were gone. Nothing was good.

"Keith... I-- I've brought someone with me today. And no, it's not Pidge, Allura or Hunk. I've already tried with them..." Shiro sighed, he looked worn down and desperate. Keith felt guilty.

Shiro left and reentered the room with another person but Keith couldn't bring himself to see who it was. He didn't care. He wouldn't respond anyway. With a mental shrug, he discarded the idea that it might be Lance. He wouldn't get his hopes up. Lance hated him.

"Keith..." Was uttered so soft it was essentially a breath of air more than a word, and Keith had to strain his ears to hear.

His eyes snapped up quicker than they had moved in the week and a half he had been locked up in this ridiculous place. It was Lance. What the hell was he doing here?

"Keith.... I--... I...." before Keith could react, tears were falling from Lance's beautiful eyes and the taller broke down.

"I'll leave you two...." Shiro murmured worriedly as he essentially scurried out of the room.

Lance took a seat, not able to calm the sobs that broke through him. He felt so guilty. Seeing Keith so... hopeless looking killed him inside. It was all his fault. If he had just kept his stupid mouth shut... if he hadn't been such a fucking idiot...

He felt guilty for crying as he believed he had no right to, but he couldn't help himself. He had been drowning in self loathing ever since he said such terrible things to such a wonderful person.

Keith didn't deserve any of it.

"I-I-I...." Lance stuttered in between heavy, quick breaths and raucous sobs.

Keith just stared, he wanted desperately to comfort Lance, but he couldn't bring his body to move an inch.

"I'm... I'm... s-s-so.... so-sorr... y...." Lance barely managed to get out as his tears fell in a flood to the table, his entire being shook in guilt and regret. He hated himself.

And that's when Keith moved. He stood up, deciding that no one deserved to cry that hard completely on their own. He wrapped his now dangerously skinny arms around Lance, soothing him lightly with an embrace, his hand rubbing lightly on the other's shoulder.

When Keith held him, it only served to worsen Lance's guilt. The taller's sobbing grew louder, if that was even possible, and without thinking about it he leaned into the hug. He hated himself.

All that could be heard in the deserted rec. room for an unmeasurable amount of time was Lance's harsh, shaking breaths, violent sobs, and pleading 'I'm sorry's'.

Keith never said a word, only held the crying teen in his arms. He wasn't sure what to do, he wasn't very experienced in comforting people, and he wasn't even positive he was welcome to be doing such a thing.

It took far too long for Lance to calm down, and when he did he had a splitting headache and was emotionally exhausted. Keith understood the feeling and let Lance fall into his grasp from exhaustion.

Despite the way Lance was feeling, he still forced himself to speak. His voice was hoarse and weak, it shook and cracked at random times and he could barely form words with his tired lips.

"I... I'm so sorry.... Keith... ev... everything I said.... I didn't.. I didn't mean it... I was just.... scared... and I... didn't know how.. didn't know how to handle it.... I'm so... so... sorry....." Lance trailed off, nearly falling asleep in the middle of his words but stubbornly holding on to consciousness.

"Lance... I'm not mad at you and I don't hate you... for what you did... I deserved it and what you said was all true." Keith sighed looking down to Lance with shadowed eyes.

"It wasn't true though... it was all lies... I didn't me... mean any of it... I... I swear to you... you're so much more than that... you're... wonderful... you're perfect..." Lance could barley manage to find the words to fight Keith's rebuttals and hoped to God what he came up with would work.

"Lance... I'm not... perfect..." Keith answered quietly, now looking off to the wall beside him.

"Yes, you are..." Lance quipped surprisingly quickly for how he felt.

"I'm not." Keith shook his head.

"You are and I'm not going argue over that fact anymore." Lance bit sternly, his words slurring slightly.

"Lance..." Keith was at a loss for what to say, he didn't even understand the situation he was in.

"Keith... nothing I said... was true... it was all just... things I made up on the spot... to make myself feel better... because... I was scared... you're one... one of the best... people I know... and I was scared... that I wasn't good enough...." Lance slurred out, losing his fight with consciousness.

"I think you should sleep.... Lance..." Keith frowned, he didn't know what else to say, the time given to him was not sufficient enough for him to process the information.

Lance fell asleep on Keith's lap with nothing but a soft hum in response. The two stayed the for a long while before Shiro came in, expression worried. He asked Keith why Lance was asleep on his lap but only received a simple shake of the head.

Shiro sighed and moved to pick the unconscious teen up and nodded to the nurse who then began to help Keith up. When both teens were securely with their respective people, Shiro managed to force a smile.

"See you again soon, little brother, I love you." Was what he uttered.

Keith nodded, biting his lip before throwing his anxiousness out the window and muttering a shaking 'I love you too' back. Shiro was shocked.