Keith One Shots

~Touch Pt. 2/2~

In the end, the paladins had to leave Keith there to calm himself down. They wanted to help but whenever they got close Keith would seem even more panicked. After that Keith was quieter and kept his distance from the other paladins. He never spoke of the incident as if it had never happened. You could tell he remembered it though. Keith was noticeably more tired and jumpy. He backed away from anyone that came near him and talked in a small, soft voice, as if he were scared he would wake something if he spoke any louder. Shiro was starting to get worried for the other paladin so he decided it was time that he confronted Keith...

Shiro's P.O.V

I hesitantly knocked on Keith's door, hoping to speak to him like I used to. It seemed as if he wasn't going to answer the door, as there was a few seconds of silence. Then, I heard someone approach the door and unlock it. When the door opened I was met with a tired-eyed boy who took a few steps back from the door after opening it. He looked at me for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"H-hey Shiro" he muttered, avoiding any form of eye contact towards me.

"Hi Keith, mind if I sit down and we talk?" I spoke in a calm manner, hoping that would persuade the paladin to agree.

"O-okay." He seemed a little unsure. Keith walked over to the bed and sat on it. I sat next to him, noticing him scotch away a little.

"So we noticed that you have been acting a bit more quiet recently. Anything wrong?" I really wanted to hug him and tell him everything was alright but after what happened last time I touched him, I decided against it.

Keith looked down at the ground, almost as if he was thinking of his answer. He then looked in my direction and answered with a "Kinda"

"You wanna talk about it?" Keith shook his head, his eyebrows in a pained expression. Something about Keith's eyes confused me. It was as if he wasn't looking at anything. As if his eyes weren't showing him what he was seeing. Almost as if he was looking right through me.

"Well, if you ever want to talk about it, just know i'm here for you okay?" I said reassuringly, putting my hand on Keith's shoulder by reflex. That was a big mistake.

Keith flinched the second my hand made contact with his shoulder. He immediately went pale, as if he had seen a ghost. Then, he began shaking, his eyes looking pained as if he were about to cry. He didn't say a word though, he just sat there.

I knew I should of taken my hand off of his shoulder straight away, but I just wanted to make sure he was alright. Plus, I needed to know what was going on with him for me to be able to help him.

Keith finally spoke up after a few ticks. "Y-yeah" his voice cracked as he spoke. What freaked me out the most was that he had just answered my question, as if nothing had even happened. His face expression was a mix between scared and sad so I took my hand off his shoulder.

"Keith, it's clear to me that something is wrong. I hate to ask this so straight forward but, why have you been acting so distant?" I hated to ask him like this, but it was the only way.

He hesitated before answering me."T-the memories wont leave.." were the only words to come from his mouth. Suddenly, he brought me into a hug. He seemed so tense and scared while he had his arms wrapped around me. I heard small whimpers escape his mouth, before I finally hugged back.

I could feel him shaking and crying as we hugged. Every now and then I would say 'You aren't there anymore' or 'Everything is going to be okay' which seemed to make him feel a little better. We both eventually pulled away from the hug and I gave the paladin a smile. To my relief, he gave a small smile back.

Although Keith's moment with Shiro had helped him recover, he would never truly heal. Keith always flinched if anyone touched him, or start shaking when someone hugged him. He wanted to forget so much, but he never could. Keith started interacting more with the paladins again and acted like his normal self, as long as no one touched him. Sadly, Keith never felt safe when someone hugged him. Which just goes to show....

Some scars....

Never heal....

Not gonna lie I kind of disappointed myself with the ending. I just couldn't think of anything else to put. Also thank you for 300 reads! I know it's not much to most people but for me it's a lot so thank you! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Words: 815

~Author Mill