Care

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Prompt: Lance falls asleep on Keith cus they are running from something. And, they are hiding so they take turns watching for anyone to come. (Or they are just stuck somewhere) So, Keith ends up like making sure lance is warm enough and just trying to take care of him a panicking that he'll wake up because he actually is really touch starved and lance makes a really nice blanket. Or vise versa...

A/N: When will I learn that writing claustrophobic fics makes me supremely uncomfortable :   ) P.s. in case you didn't know when I put 'Prompt' before the fic description that means that someone requested it and sent it to me and if it says "Summary" that means that I came up with the idea :3

Trigger warnings: claustrophobia

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"I'm claustrophobic" Lance announced very loudly and very suddenly. Keith hissed at him to be quite from his crouched position near the rock wall.

"Lance, just get in. This is the only place to hide" he whispered frantically. "Get in before they see us!" Lance stared at the small opening against the ground in fear, unable to move. Keith could hear the footsteps of the Galra soldiers growing louder. "Lance!" Keith pleaded. Lance grit his teeth and got on his hands and knees. He dragged himself through the small opening, his heart pounding in his throat. He felt like his chest was going to explode.

"I'm going to die. I'm going to die" Lance chanted under his breath. He groaned as his chest scraped against the ground below him, and his head bumped against the rock ceiling. There was barely enough room for him to pull himself through. Lance couldn't breathe. His eyes stung as he gasped for breath, still inching his way through the tunnel. Finally, after what felt like hours, Lance emerged into the cavern, if it could even be considered that. The space was barely big enough for Lance and Keith to sit up side by side.

"What are you muttering?" Keith groaned as he settled down next to Lance. He pulled out his tablet, presumably to let Allura know how they were doing. He huffed in frustration and shoved it back into his pocket after realizing that the signal didn't reach them.

"There's no real reason why this space is here" Lance continued, his eyes wide as he stared at his hands, trying to forget where he was and the fact that the top of his head kept brushing against the ceiling. "The rocks above us should've pushed downward and crushed this space. We're going to slowly be crushed to death. All the air. . ." Keith turned slowly toward Lance as he realized what he was mumbling about. "Slowly being pushed out of our body as our bones snap from the pressure. . ." Lance trailed off, traumatized by his own brain.

"Jesus" Keith breathed. "Why would you even say that right now? That's not funny--" He said with a frown. At that exact moment panic swelled in Lance's chest. He gripped his throat in fear and began gasping for air.

"I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe" he gasped. He tugged on the collar of his armor.

"L- Lance?" Keith reached his hand over and then pulled it back. "Wait, are you actually claustrophobic?" he asked dumbly. Lance was sweating profusely, and his entire body was shaking as he tried to breathe. He was getting paler and paler by the minute.

"That's what I fucking told you" Lance snapped. He pressed his hand to his forehead and groaned. "Not. Trying to be mean" he said brokenly. His heart felt like it was trying to crawl up his throat.

"I- Uh, I..." Keith stuttered, trying to figure out what to do. "Lance you need to breathe" he said frantically. Lance's eyes widened when he heard the panic in Keith's voice. Keith clenched his fists and took a deep breath himself. Freaking out was not going to help Lance, he needed to stay calm. But Keith didn't even know if he could help Lance. Was there anything he could do to calm him down or should he just get him out of there? "I think we should—" Just as he was about to suggest getting out, he heard a voice outside. He froze. Lance was whimpering as his eyes flitted back and forth around the small space.

"Look at me" Keith said slowly. He was keeping his voice as low as he could. Lance's eyes flickered to Keith's face. "Lance, I know you're scared" he said gently. "I wish there was another option, but we don't have one" he was trying to keep Lance as calm as possible. If they crawled out of there, they were dead. He just needed to keep Lance from passing out. "Do you understand?" Lance closed his eyes for a moment and jerkily nodded his head.

"Uh-huh" he breathed. Keith put his hand on Lance's arm. Lance's eyes shot open and he stared at Keith's hand.

"Can you tell me what you're feeling?" he asked.

"I feel like- I can't- Breathe" he said in between gasps. Keith shushed him as he began rubbing his hand on Lance's arm, reminding him that he was there.

"Is there something that someone would do for you when you felt like this?" he asked. Lance flexed his fingers against his thighs and cracked his neck. His head brushed against the ceiling as he did, and he let out a squeak and then folded himself in half, burying his face in his leg.

"My- my mom" his voice cracked as he spoke. "She- she would lay my head in- in her lap and she'd play with my hair" he admitted weakly. Keith looked down at Lance helplessly. He looked terrified.

"Would it be okay if... if I did that for you?" Keith asked. "If you think it would help" he added. Lance hesitated a moment and then nodded. Keith crossed his legs and then waited until Lance was ready. It took Lance a few seconds to work up the courage to move. He turned on his side, laid his head in Keith's lap and curled his legs into his body, hugging his arms around them. Keith immediately began running his fingers through Lance's hair. Lance's chest was rapidly rising and falling as he tried to steady his breathing. The cavern was quiet for a while, save for Lance's whimpers and the faint sound of voices outside.

"Tell me how you're feeling" Keith said a while later. Lance's breath had evened out substantially, though he occasionally began panicking again.

"B- better" Lance managed to get out. "Still... hard" Keith nodded as he continued to rub Lance's shoulder with one hand and play with his hair with the other.

"Keep breathing" Keith said. "You're going to be okay" Lance nodded stiffly. Keith fell silent for a moment, trying to hear if the soldiers were still outside looking for them. It was quiet, but he still felt it would be safe if they waited a while longer. "Lance, why don't you try and get some sleep. It might be a bit before we can leave" he said. Lance turned slightly so he could see Keith's face.

"But what about you?" he asked. Keith smiled at him softly.

"Don't worry about me" he said. Lance frowned. "I'll be okay" he assured Lance. Lance slowly nodded and then rolled back over. Keith went back to stroking Lance's hair. It was not only calming Lance down, but it was soothing Keith as well.

It took a while but finally Lance began to drift off to sleep. Keith went completely still as Lance's eyes fluttered closed. His lips parted slightly, and a quiet snore spilled out of his mouth. Keith waited a few more seconds until he was sure that Lance was asleep before he relaxed. He slowed his hand and let out a slow breath, completely exhausted. He didn't know if the Galra soldiers were still outside, or how long they were going to have to hide there.

He was just glad his friend was okay.

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