Room 1013

Fire Bones

Keith swung Lance's hand in his as they sat in the coffee shop chairs. Books and papers were sprawled across the table, covered in pens and highlighters. Pidge and Hunk debated over something in a book while Lance tried to keep them focused. Keith took a deep breath and adjusted his Vogmask.

Pidge slapped her hand on the table, "No it is not! You have to do the exponent before you multiply them!"

Hunk shook his head, "Not when you're working backwards!"

"Oh my god," Lance groaned, "shut the fuck up already! The answer is 43.7."

Keith let out a small giggle at the scene, gaining the attention of everyone. He cowered when they all stared. Pidge pointed her pen at him, "Maybe he knows."

"Don't pull my boyfriend into this," Lance leaned his elbows on the table.

Pidge scoffed and turned to Hunk, "I fucking knew it." She tossed her pen down and crossed her arms.

Lance blushed, "Wait-that's not-!"

Keith laughed harder at the embarrassed Lance, holding his stomach. He sighed to catch his breath and looked to Pidge, "Actually that became official only a few days ago."

"So he finally gained the courage." Hunk joined in the teasing.

Keith smiled wide under his mask and nodded, "Yeah, he did."

"This is not what we're supposed to be doing right now!" Lance held his head in his free hand.

Pidge dramatically shut her book, "Yeah, this study session ended a long time ago."

Hunk gathered his things, "Agreed."

Pidge unzipped her backpack, "You guys wanna go get ice cream?"

"I would love to!" Keith leaned forward in his chair.

Lance threw his hands up in defeat, "Fine! Let's get some ice cream!"

The group left the coffee shop and walked down the sidewalk. It was a cool day, but the sun was out, casting down hot rays onto Keith's skin. He lifted his free hand to feel the warm light. The ice cream parlor was only a few blocks away, so they weren't walking for a long time. Pidge chose a small cup of pistachio; Hunk got a large cup of birthday cake; Lance picked a cone of cotton candy; Keith landed on a waffle cone of butter pecan. While licking the cone and walking down the sidewalk, Keith noticed his breathing was getting heavy. It was a normal occurrence, so he brushed it off.

"I'm so not ready for exams," Lance shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"That's because you hang out with us," Pidge shot him a playful look, "and you hate studying."

Keith considered putting his mask back on, but it was in Lance's bag and he didn't want to bother him. He had ice cream to eat as well.

Hunk turned to walk backwards and face the group, "You guys wanna play Fever at Pidge's house?"

Pidge punched his arm, "You can't just invite people to my house!" She shrugged, "But the offer still stands. What do you guys say?"

"That sounds fun," Lance nodded and licked his ice cream. "What about you?" He squeezed Keith's hand.

Keith was half-listening, "Um, yeah that sounds cool." He stopped eating to catch his breath.

"So everyone is in agreement," Pidge turned back around, "Cool. Let's go-"

Her voice faded out as Keith's ears filled with the sounds of the violent air in his chest. His muscles started to ache and his joints felt hot and sharp. He shook his head to clear his blurry vision. This isn't right. His rib cage felt like it was cracking under a stiff pressure. He stopped walking and gasped for air.

Lance's hand fell from his. He turned to see what happened, "Keith?"

"Lance," Keith clutched his neck and shook his head as his voice strained, "Something's wron-" He was cut off with a wheezing cough. He let go of the ice cream and fell to his knees as his legs gave out.

"Keith!" Lance dropped down next to him and put his hands on his shoulders.

Keith braced himself with his hands as he struggled for air. A splatter of blood fell onto his sleeves and sidewalk. This wasn't normal. He took a sharp breath, "Lance, this isn't-" he was cut off again by strained breathing.

"Pidge!" Lance turned to her, "How far is your car?!"

Her voice was panicked and shaky, "Oh! Uh, just up the block."

"Alright," Lance put Keith's hand over his shoulder and laced his arms under his knees and around his back. "Let's go."

Keith's arms hung limply over Lance's shoulders as he ran. His chest was tight and filled with a stabbing pain. All the bones in his body felt like jelly and red-hot iron. Everyone got into Pidge's car and she drove to the hospital while Lance yelled at her to go faster, holding Keith to his chest.

Lance kissed his hair, "Just hold on." He hugged him tighter. "We're almost there."

Keith wheezed, a tear falling down his cheek. "It hurts."

"What hurts?"

Keith sobbed and tensed his legs up, "Fucking everything."

Lance swallowed hard and kissed his head, "Do you hear my heartbeat?"

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and frantically nodded.

"Good," he pulled Keith's head to his chest, "Just focus on that." He stroked his hair, "We'll be there soon."