Chapter Text
Keith was trying to keep his respiration slow and steady as he and Kolivan drifted through space. He focused on this breathing exercise Shiro had taught him back at the Garrison. Long inhale, hold and count to five, slow exhale. He couldn't afford to hyperventilate right now. His suit could recycle the air, but it wouldn't keep up if he used up too much oxygen too fast. Keeping his mind on breathing helped distract from the pain, too. They had been far enough from the explosion that their armors didn't get burned through or torn, but both had been hit with debris.
Kolivan had gone quiet, and Keith didn't want to disturb him. The silence was oppressive. The blast of the explosion had pushed them away from the station, and they were moving towards the emptiness of space. Darkness enveloped them like a heavy blanket. The only sounds Keith could hear were his own panicked breathing, the racing of his heart, and the sounds of his suit's air treatment system. He clung to the hope that the Blades would consider it worth the risk to retrieve them. They wouldn't abandon their leader, would they? And they'd have to disclose Keith's situation to Voltron, so the Paladins might look for them too. That is, unless they were presumed dead.
Flashes of their shuttle being blown up. Keith's stomach tightened painfully at the thought of their comrades lost with the ship: Vorgak, Izum, Ragash. Would anyone guess Kolivan and Keith weren't on board when that happened? They had triggered the distress signal from their suits, in the hope that a Blade vessel would come to investigate and find them this way.
Keith didn't want to die in space. Oxygen wouldn't be the issue. Probably a slow death from dehydration. How long could a human go without water again? Three days? A week? Keith had no idea how Galra would hold up compared to humans.
Or maybe the cold would get them first. The Galra Empire base was orbiting a dwarf star, and so far from it that they weren't benefiting much from its radiation. Despite his armor being insulated, he was starting to freeze. His fingers were getting numb as he was trying to hold on to Kolivan.
He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing again. He wished he could stop the whirlwind of his thoughts.
Something lit up in his brain, so overwhelming it was painful. Like someone screaming his name, or shining a bright light into his eyes. He panted, trying to make sense of it. It was weirdly familiar, but too intense for him to make sense of it.
Keith looked in the direction the energy was coming from and saw the Red Lion speeding towards them. Black was right behind her. The other Lions were following in their wake. Relief flooded over him.
"Kolivan," he whispered. The Blade Leader blinked and followed Keith's gaze.
"Good," was all Kolivan said.
Red moved so fast Keith had a hard time anticipating it. Already, she was opening her huge jaws, and they were swallowed.
They found themselves inside the Lion, artificial gravity pinning them to the floor. As soon as his readings indicated the atmosphere was breathable, he dissipated his mask and took long gulps of air. It was no less canned than the one from his suit, but it felt incredibly good. Beside him, Kolivan had unmasked as well.
They lay there, panting. No one was coming, and surely Lance was busy piloting. Keith tried to push himself up. His body refused to cooperate. He cussed through his gritted teeth.
"Stay down, Keith, you're hurt," Kolivan said. "Help will come in time."
Waiting passively was way too frustrating for Keith, but he didn't have much of a choice. So he suppressed the urge to protest his leader's orders this time.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed. The airlock opened, and Lance jumped through. He dashed to them and crouched at Keith's side. Lance's worried expression softened as they made eye contact.
"It's Keith and Kolivan," Lance said. Keith guessed he was talking to the rest of the team. "They're conscious. I'm assessing their injuries."
Red was still connected with Keith's mind. The intense focus had dimmed to satisfaction and protectiveness. Now Keith could also sense Black's presence, too.
Lance brought up Keith and Kolivan's vitals on his vambrace's holoscreen.
"They're both stable," Lance announced over the comms. "Not in great shape, but nothing to worry about for now."
Lance paused, listening to an answer. "They're fine, Shiro, you can check on them when we're out of here. Yeah, I'll send you their diagnosis."
He looked at Keith again. "What the quiznack happened, Keith? You're lucky Red locked onto you!"
Keith sighed. "We were on a stealth mission to sabotage some of that base's operations. We placed some bombs in strategic spots. As we were making our way out, they noticed our shuttle and destroyed it. With everyone on board."
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the memories of the explosion. Next to him, Kolivan let out a low grunt. At this point, Keith knew him enough to realize it was grief.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, man," Lance said, and he sounded genuinely upset.
"Please update the Blades of Marmora on our status," Kolivan requested.
"Of course. Will do," Lance replied. He got silent for a moment, listening to whatever discussion was going on over the comms.
"Yeah, I say we get out of here!"
Then he added, "Got it!"
He looked at Keith and Kolivan. "Ok, guys, hold on. I need to get back to the cockpit. The Galra have noticed us and have started attacking. Allura is using Blue to make a wormhole so we can escape."
As he was about to leave through the hatch, he turned towards them, once again:
"Stay there, all right? Don't try to get up again, Mullet!"
Keith groaned.
"Hey, don't roll your eyes at me! I saw you! I have a video feed up there!"
"I'm not hurt that bad," Keith protested.
"Don't. Move!" Lance repeated. He made a gesture to warn Keith that he had his eyes on him and left.
Keith lay on his back, watching the ceiling. He was stuck between the relief of being safe and the frustration of feeling so useless. He was tempted to ignore Lance and try again to reach the cockpit. It wasn't that far! If he could at least assess what was going on... He rolled on his side in an attempt to get up and was reminded quickly why that was a bad idea.
"Well done, Keith," Kolivan said out of nowhere.
"Hu?" Was Kolivan making fun of his pitiful effort to stand up?
"If you hadn't called your Lion, we might not have made it out alive," the Blade leader clarified.
Except Keith hadn't done anything at all. "That was all the Red Lion," he replied. Now he wondered if calling a Lion could work, though. Maybe he should try to train himself on that. It could be really useful.
"Thanks, Red," he added, "you saved us."
He got hit with a wave of protectiveness. There was even something a bit possessive about it.
"I didn't think we were still bonded since I started piloting Black," Keith admitted. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He hadn't realized it had weighed on him so much before saying so out loud.
Red was indignant at that. She growled with contained rage. Keith got flooded with affection and attention.
"Sorry," he rasped, touched.
The characteristic metallic clank of the Lion landing in her hangar announced their arrival at the Castle. Despite the artificial gravity, Keith felt Red lowering her head to the ground. As soon as her mouth opened, Shiro came running. He knelt beside Keith.
"Keith, it's good to see you. I wish it were under better circumstances," he whispered.
Keith had missed Shiro. Things had been painfully tense between them lately. It was nice that Shiro still clearly cared.
"Good to be back," Keith whispered in turn.
Shiro had a really sad smile at that. He squeezed Keith's hand.
"Wow, Shiro, you're already here!" Lance exclaimed as he came through the hatch.
Shiro nodded, before addressing both Keith and Kolivan."Lance told us what happened. I was saddened to hear about your teammates. We have informed the Blade of Marmora."
Kolivan thanked him.
"Keith, Kolivan. I'm so glad that you are safe. Please hold on. Coran is fetching stretchers to transport you to med bay," Allura said. She was leading the rest of the team as they entered Red as well. "I think we can all thank the Red Lion for alerting us to your situation. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to recover you."
"I'm impressed your bond with Red is still so strong," Shiro told Keith. "She knew you were in danger from hundreds of kiloparsecs, and rushed to your rescue immediately."
"It does not seem the Lions forget their former pilots that easily," Allura explained. "Forming a new bond doesn't erase previous relationships. Keith and Red's bond is quite extraordinary still."
Keith patted the metallic ground. "Love you too, Red. Thanks for looking out for me."