Crimson: Book 2 of "Red: A Keith x Reader Love Story"

Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, guys!! The art is just flying in!! I can't wait to start posting some of it after the 20th!! I have such talented readers!!!! Keep it coming!!
Enjoy!

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In the morning when the others wander into the kitchen, you're sitting at the table, pieces of paper and a pencil in front of you. Your head is in your hands as you stare down at your notes.

"Morning," Lance says tentatively.

"How did you sleep?" Hunk asks.

"I didn't," You look up.

"You didn't sleep?!" Allura asks concerned. "Why not?"

"Nightmares," You rub your eyes, yawning.

Keith sits next to you, not saying anything.

Lance glances at your papers. "What are you doing?"

"Jotting ideas down for how to get back to my own world," You pick up your pencil again.

"How do you know you can get back?" Keith asks quietly.

"It's not a matter of knowing. It's a matter of have to." You say wearily.

"But what if you can't get back?"

"You're really optimistic, aren't you?" You scowl. "There is no way in hell that I'm staying in this world. My life is back there. My brother, my friends. My husband."

"We'll do our best to help you get back," Pidge glares at Keith who murmurs, "Yeah,"

"Thank you," You look back at your scribbles. "I wish I knew exactly what happened that caused me to get here... maybe I could recreate the effect if I figured it out..."

"You want to create a generator that will explode half the galaxy, just so you can get home?" Keith splutters. "You can't just do that! You can't just barge into our world and screw up everything we have. We've got our own problems, and they're more important than getting back to a different world.

"We're fighting a losing battle! Every day the Galrans get stronger and their empire expands! Every day more people die and another planet falls! You don't know what we've been through! We've been through more than you could ever imagine!" Keith's face is red and he's standing now, his hands on the table.

You stare at him coldly. "I understand you're fighting a war. I understand you've been through a lot. I understand that you've lost people you care about."

Keith's face twists.

"But you know what, Keith Gerald Kogane?! The world doesn't revolve around you! I have suffered immensely too! You don't even know me! Or the world I come from! So don't you dare assume that life in my world is all sunshine and daisies! I have lost nearly everything! My father is dead! My mother abandoned me and my brother when we were young children. I have fought more battles than you can count! I was made to be a living weapon! I lost my brother for three years after I was captured and tortured by the Galra! They whipped and scourged me! They ripped away at me with dark magic! They devastated my body over and over again until I was an inch from death!

"And just when I was about to give up living, you, my Keith, saved me! You guys gave me a home and a family! I struggled so much! I have nightmares every night! I suffered from hallucinations for the longest time!

"But you all helped me! Keith helped me and loved me even though I'm a monster! And then I was recaptured by the Galra and tortuered all over again for a year! A YEAR! And once again Keith found me and saved me!

"Last month I was finally reunited with my brother only to be almost murdered by this crazy Galran bitch working for Haggar the Witch. But we all worked together to defeat her and save each other and Voltron!

"Every night," You seethe. "Every night I am brought back to that horrible place! I relive my torture every night! The only thing that made it bearable was Keith holding me! Every step I take another one of my injuries aches! Every beat of my heart I feel the pain of losing people I care about all over again!

"So you have no fucking right! You have no right to say my life is better than yours!" You stare at him, breathing heavily, your fists clenched.

Blood drips down your palm from where your nails bite into your skin. Flames flicker at your body and your eyes are red like glowing embers. Fire and darkness swirl around you and the lights in the room flicker.

Keith and the others stare at you in shock, mouths open.

"Excuse me," You push past Keith, knocking him in the shoulder so hard that he loses his balance and nearly falls over.

Your head spinning, blood boiling, fire whirling, you quickly shove your way outside. You take off at a run, your feet pounding against the rocky ground. You run until your lungs ache and you can't go a step father. You fall to your knees, your flames instantly zapping out. Sobbing, you leans over your knees, your hands clutching your chest.

"I want to go home!" You cry hysterically. "I hate this place! I want to go home!"

You feel the familiar feeling of bile rising in your throat and you wretch violently. Your vomit has red in it. Blood.

Completely exhausted and upset, you fall back against the rock and curl up, your head buried in your arms, your body shaking.

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"Please eat, Keith," Shiro tries to coax him. "You need to keep your strength up."

"I'm not hungry," Keith murmurs, his eyes on the table.

"Keith," Shiro tries again, but Allura lays a hand on his shoulder gently and shakes her head.

After the battle, the remaining Paladins, Blu, and Varius had gotten to work on repairing the Castle so they could heal Allura and Coran. After a tiring all nighter, they succeeded. Allura and Coran had emerged the next morning good as new, although still weak and sore in some places. Shiro hadn't let his girlfriend leave his sight since.

Shiro sighs and stops pressing Keith. Lance picks dejectedly at his salad and Pidge constructs a sad face out of carrots. Hunk stares absentmindedly at the frying pan where he's making grilled cheese, the sandwiches burning.

Keith pushes back from the table. "I'm going to my room," He quickly leaves.

The others barely acknowledge him. In his room, Keith flops onto his bed. His dagger digs into his side and he pulls it out of the back of his pants. Keith stares at it a moment, the steel glinting in the dim light.

Heart aching, Keith drops his knife on his bed and stands. He heads to the bathroom where he turns on the shower. He pulls his shirt over head as he waits for the water to warm up.

In the mirror, he stares at the many scars and injuries on his body. Keith traces a scar along his upper back, a whip mark from when he had been captured by bandits on Queen Crystal's planet. (Y/N) had jumped in front of the whip before he could be hit again and had taken the blow instead.

Keith feels his heart pang and he quickly steps into the shower, the hot water temporary reliving some of the pain. Under the spout, his hair dripping into his eyes, Keith recalls the ghost of (Y/N)'s touch. The feel of her hand in his, her soft kisses along his back, her body pressed against his as they hugged, the feel of her lying next to him at night, her face peaceful and serene in sleep.

Keith's eyes water and he slams his fist into the shower wall. His knuckles split and the tile cracks. His blood drips down his arm where it mixes with the water and flows down the drain.

In another world, your heart aches.