Love Bug (Sheith)

Chapter Two

They tried to go about things as normal the next day. Shiro had had to stay with Keith until he fell asleep the night before, otherwise Keith would've followed him back to his own room. Which he would've been fine with if it was Keith and not this lovesick teenager that used to be the Keith he knew.

Of course, when Keith woke up and Shiro was gone that morning, he was quickly out of bed to go find him. He ran into Lance in the hallway.

"Hey Keith, where's Shiro?" He asked, impressed that Keith was even functioning without Shiro nearby. Allura had said that this sickness would make him extremely distressed whenever Shiro wasn't around. Judging from his expression, Keith was definitely upset.

"I don't know, have you seen him?" He asked.

"No, but I can help you look." He offered. Just remembering what Allura and Coran said, he didn't exactly want Keith to have an emotional breakdown wandering the castle looking for him on his own. He liked to mess with him, but he didn't want him to be downright miserable. Keith nodded quickly and they eventually found Shiro with Allura on the bridge, discussing the cure needed for Keith's affliction.

As soon as he saw him Keith darted over to Shiro, hugging him tightly around his waist. Shiro seemed a little surprised at first just from the suddenness of it all, but quickly settled his arm around Keith before going back to talking to Allura. Had it not been for the look on Keith's face, the scene would almost look like a normal couple. Naturally, Lance had to get a few pictures of the happy couple.

***

They weren't sure anytime on the training deck would be good for Keith, even though that was where he spent almost all of his free time. In fact, he passed up sparring with any of them or any of the training bots and instead chose to sit by and watch Shiro, absolutely infatuated with him. That is, until one of the bots Shiro was up against tried to attack him from behind.

He was just a blur of movement and his luxite blade and it was the first time since this sickness that Keith acted even remotely like himself, absolutely destroying that thing. The only thing off was how frantic, almost animalistic his movements were. His eyes were wide, his breathing heavy. Shiro immediately called off the other one before facing Keith, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Keith, calm down." He said slowly. Keith seemed to somewhat relax, still breathing heavily though as he looked up at him.

"You could've been hurt." He said seriously, looking incredibly worried.

"Just relax, I'm fine." His soothing tone was enough for Keith to fully relax, putting his blade away before hugging Shiro tightly.

"I don't want you to be hurt..." He murmured. Shiro gently patted his head.

"It's okay now, Keith." He told him. He waited until Keith had loosened his grip before pulling him off him and leading him back to where he'd been sitting before, advising him to sit down and try not to worry. Keith easily obeyed, and soon later Keith had gone back to watching Shiro as happily as before.

***

They wound up going back to the planet in order to find the bug needed for the cure. The five of them had been sent out to hunt one down. Keith and Shiro had gone off together while the other three went together. Keith seemed overjoyed to be out there with Shiro.

Originally they were going to leave Keith on the ship, but that would prove to be a problem if they didn't return soon enough. Coran also told them that the bugs would be attracted to someone already infected, so it was all around a good idea to bring Keith along.

It was an act of God they managed to get separated. Shiro knew something was off when he didn't feel Keith's weight hanging off his arm, something he'd grown accustomed to rather quickly. Looking around, he couldn't see him anywhere, as they were in such a forested area. He called out for him but didn't get a response. Now he was just worried as he began frantically searching for him.

He found him sitting in the middle of a small clearing, trembling, knees pulled up to his chest, fingers tanged in his hair. The clear signs of some sort of emotional distress. They weren't joking when they said the bugs would be attracted to him, they had practically flocked to him. There were two on his head, two on one shoulder, one on the other, one crawling up his arm, and about three had settled on his back. That didn't even include the countless fluttering around him or on the ground. If not for the fact Keith was clearly upset, he would've found the scene before him adorable.

He approached him and knelt down, gently touching his arm.

"Keith...?" He said softly. Keith looked up at him quickly, and it was obvious he'd been crying. As soon as he looked at him he nearly jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. The force was enough to knock him down and he wound up on his back, Keith on top of him.

"I couldn't find you!" He cried, his eyes wide and scared.

"Keith, hey, it's ok." He told him, hoping to comfort him as he hugged him loosely. "I'm here now, okay?" He smiled at him. He didn't seem convinced and just buried his face in his chest, still trying to calm down. Shiro started to run his hand through his hair, which was something he knew would always calm him down.

"Please don't leave me again..." He murmured after sometime.

"I'm not going to leave you, Keith."

"... Promise...?"

"Promise." Keith looked up at him, sitting up so he was more or less straddling him.

  "Okay..." He said quietly. He started to get off Shiro, allowing him to sit up. He reached for his hand, looking around the clearing. Shiro quickly noticed movement by the entrance to the clearing, and wasn't surprised that the other three had crowded to watch them. He caught Lance's eye and sighed, waving them over.

"Well, we found the thing alright." Hunk said, letting one of them settle on his hand.

  "Let's take one and get back." Shiro said, starting to get up. He ended up pulling Keith up with him, and once again he hugged his arm. By now it was almost comfortable to have him that way.

***

He let Keith follow him to bed that night. He wouldn't dare to try anything with him, not when he was in this state, but he would've felt bad if Keith woke up without him in the middle of the night and started to panic. The good thing about his state of mind was that at the very least, Shiro could convince him to find something to sleep in other than his normal clothes. He never understood how Keith could stand that.

It was awkward when they laid down at first. Out of respect for him, Shiro hadn't even wanted to lay too close to him. It didn't matter though, because Keith cuddled up to him on his own, a content little smile on his face. When Shiro finally relented and hugged him close, he looked like he was practically in heaven. He was half asleep when Keith sleepily leaned up and kissed his cheek, and he was thankful the darkness of the room hid how red his face went.