Ally Gone Astray

Chapter ten

Shiro and Lance were at Keith's side in seconds.
"What happened?!" Lance asked, terrified.
Shiro looked as confused as Lance. "I... I don't know. He just... He pushed you out of the way. But as a result... he got hit..."
"Keith....." The boy's voice was soft, yet fraught with guilt. "You're going to be alright." Lance quick and gently scooped up his comrade in his arms. "Shiro... Get back to the castle. I'll meet you in the med bay..."
The two exchanged glances of agreement and went their separate ways.
"You're going to be alright, Keith..." Lance whispered as he searched for Red.

***

    As soon as Lance found his lion, he connected with her. Red understood the severity of the situation and quickly teleported Lance back into her cockpit, lowering her head to the floor as she did so.
    "Thanks, Red." Lance said as he rushed out of his lion.
    Keith moaned slightly, he was in an enormous amount of pain. The glowing purple marks on his side from Haggar's spell told Lance this was no ordinary wound.
    "Stay with me, Keith." The Red Paladin ran faster, still keeping his friend cradled gently in his arms. "The pods will fix you up."
    "Lance!" Shiro called through their comms.
    He responded with a simple "Mhm?!"
    "I got the pod ready." He informed him. "How far are you?"
    Lance didn't answer Shiro, and instead continued to focus on getting to the med bay.

***

Keith was in and out of consciousness, never truly being awake. He groaned and moaned almost the entire way to the med bay. But what worried Lance the most were his occasional whimpers.
    He wasn't one to complain, normally just wincing through the pain... But this clearly was no ordinary wound.
    Along with the strange little whimpers he made, Keith seemed to be muttering something, as though he was in some weird dream state.
    However, Keith didn't even know he was making such noises, for him, it was just pain, lights, and more pain.
A cold breeze engulfed Keith and he felt someone shove him into a cryopod. And then everything went black.

***

Slowly, Keith opened his eyes, it was so bright. He immediately felt like vomiting, sitting upright as fast as he could, barely turning his head to the left in time for him to hurl over the side of the healing bed he was on.
"You're awake." Shiro's calm and compassionate voice reached Keith's ears.
The teen struggled to raise his head as he wiped his mouth with the side of his hand. He winced at the sharp and sudden pain in his side. "Where am I...? What happened...?"
"You got hit..." Lance spoke up. "... Saving my life." He added. "Thanks for that..."
"Y-yeah... You're welcome..." he said with a frail voice.
Shiro gave Keith a comforting smile. "But you're alright now. Your wound healed well, especially for a hit that serious." He paused slightly, noticing Keith relax at the sound of that last sentence, and then continued "There's someone here to talk to you, just to your right, there. It seems pretty important so we'll give you two a minute or so." He gently patted Keith's back before taking Lance out of the room.
Keith hung his head low, using nearly every muscle in his arms and body to keep him from falling backwards. "If you're hear to kick me from the Blade.... I understand...." he began. "I acted recklessly. I apologize, Kolivan..."
"Oh, shut up." A woman's voice ordered. "When would Kolivan ever come see you."
He turned his head to the right slightly, his eyes widened immediately. "M...Mom....?"
Krolia nodded pulling keith into a strong yet gentle hug. "Who else would it be...?" She asked, not expecting a response.
"Please don't be mad at me..." He begged, leaning into the hug. "I didn't mean to get so badly hurt... I shouldn't have acted so secretly... I... I just—"
"Why would I be mad at you...?" Krolia tilted his chin up gently with her hand. "I could never show any other emotion to you than love."
Keith felt his eyes begin to sting and he pulled away. "Why did you leave...? You knew I needed someone to confide in..." He felt himself be overcome by anger. "But you.... You left...! Why?!"
"I left because I was needed. In war we have to make hard choices." Krolia took ahold of her son's hand. "I never should've left you here alone. If only I had known what you were—"
    "Well you didn't!" He snarled.
    She simply turned her head slightly, saying nothing in return.
    "I am so sorry...." Keith said after a moment of silence. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that..."
    Krolia smiled, resting a hand on her son's shoulder. "It's alright, Keith. After what you've been through, I can understand why you'd be angry at me."
"Just promise me this....." he looked into his mother's eyes. "Don't leave again. At least not without a proper goodbye."
She nodded, "your wish is my command."
"Don't say it like that..." Keith chuckled slightly at her strange response. "I'm not a god or some deity, I'm just your son."
"Exactly." Krolia said softly. "You are my son. It's my duty to—"
"Enough with duty already. Can't you be less battle oriented around me and the rest of the team...?"
She would have given him a response if it weren't for the whooshing sound of a door being opened.
Both Krolia and Keith turned their heads to see who it was.
In seconds Pidge and Hunk were at Keith's side.
"Dude, you're alive!" Hunk exclaimed, sounding overjoyed.
Pidge beamed with happiness, "We heard what happened. Hunk and I were sure you were dead! N-no offense."
"Non taken," Keith chuckled a bit at the Green Paladin's remark. "I was pretty sure I was dead too."
Hunk and Pidge then went on to ask Keith countless questions, they wanted to know everything. Who wouldn't?
As he did his best to answer their questions, he felt like his world was getting a little brighter. Being part of a team that values the mission over the individual can hurt ones soul quite a bit. But being back with the Paladins and knowing that they're all about saving the people rather than the mission made him feel safe.
After a varga or so of questions and answers, the room fell quiet as Pidge, Hunk and even Krolia left.
Pidge and Hunk went to the kitchen to talk tech and what not, while Krolia stepped out to let Kolivan know that both her and Keith would be taking leave of their Blade duties for a short period of time. Hopefully no more than two quintants.
Not long after, Keith became rather fidgety, feeling as though someone was watching him. He looked around the room, and found Lance standing a few feet away.
"I just... Came to check on you." Lance stuttered.
The black haired boy nodded. "Thanks, Lance. I'm doing alright."
"I should be the one thanking you..." the Cuban boy said, taking a seat next to Keith. "You saved my life. I was so scared... I thought I was done for... I... I couldn't move and when I saw that you put yourself in danger to save me.... I..." Lance tried to find his words, but he couldn't. He looked down at his feet, feeling embarrassed that he couldn't even say a decent thank you.
"Lance." Keith smiled just a little. "It's alright. I'm fine. And so are you and Shiro. You don't have to thank me. I was just doing my job as your comrade."
As Lance looked at Keith, he began to smile. It was more of a grin really. "Well whatever your reasoning.... Thank you," he paused and added "drop out."
Keith couldn't help but join in on Lance's ridiculous— and definitely untimely— laughter. The two were actually happy. Their rivalry had always been more of a competitive friendship than anything, but after that fight, there was no tension between them. They were now just friends.
Something quickly caught Keith's eye, however. This thing was odd, and seemingly impossible. It looked as though Lance's cheeks were glowing slightly with a reddish pink pigment.
Was he.... Blushing... At Keith?