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“Ow!” Keith yelped, flinching away from the hands at his arm. “You could be a little more gentle…”
“You could be a little less stupid,” Pidge glared. She tightened the bandage around Keith’s arm, securing it tightly to his wound.
Normally, when any of the Voltron team members were hurt, they would just take a quick nap in the healing pod and pop out later, perfectly healthy and fit as a fiddle. But not this time. The healing pods were perfectly fine, but Keith hated them. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Keith was afraid of the healing pods. The hypothermic feeling of the cryogenic freezing process, as it slowly overtook him and encased his entire body. The numbing of his limbs and the paralysis it caused. The utter vulnerability he was subjected to when all his teammates could see him but he couldn’t even tell where he was or what was going on, too lost in his own head; it was too much.
What scared Keith the most though, was the exact thing that the healing pods were meant for; healing. Back on Earth, Keith used to get hurt a lot. He’d get into fights or accidents all the time and would need to patch himself up when he got back home. His body would be sore for a little while as Keith tried to work around the pain, but he would still hiss at the stings and remind himself to be more careful next time. In space, Keith was getting injured twice as much as he ever did on Earth. It seemed that every single mission ended with some sort of wound, whether it be a bruise on his upper arm or an entire gash through his leg, it didn’t matter, he was constantly hurt.
The healing pods were meant to deal with that for him. They didn’t fix the problem the way that Keith did on Earth, with shoddy medical supplies that expired eight years ago and a whole lotta grit, spit, and stick-to-itiveness. Rather, the pods would stitch Keith up like a rag doll and toss him out once again, primed and ready for battle. There were times when Keith would run his hands over his chest, trying to remember just what his scars would have looked like if he had one for every major injury he’d had in the past. The thought of such unnatural healing scared Keith.
That was why Keith would opt out of a round in the healing pod every chance he got, choosing to stick to his roots and patch himself up like when he was back home. Well, he would have done that, if someone would just allow him to.
Pidge stared hard at the scratches along Keith’s shoulders and neck, scrutinizing each one with her hard, angry eyes. Keith wasn’t sure if she was angry at the fact that he had gotten scratches or at Keith himself.
“It wasn’t stupid,” Keith huffed, turning to stare out the window of the observatory. The stars outside seemed farther away from the ship than they usually did. Keith wished a galaxy could be seen at that moment, if only to give his eyes something easy.
“It was. It was stupid, Keith,” Pidge grumbled, fuming. “Why would you think that was okay?”
Keith sighed, lolling his head back to stare at the ceiling. “You were in danger, what was I supposed to do?”
Pidge roughly applied more Altean cream to Keith’s neck wounds, furrowing her eyebrows every time Keith’s head moved around. “Let me handle it, warn me, I don’t know, but don’t just throw yourself out there like a human shield,” she raised her voice, staring at Keith’s neck. “You got hurt. And it could’ve been worse.”
“Yeah, it could’ve been worse. You could’ve gotten hurt too. You’re welcome,” Keith scoffed.
“You don’t fucking get it,” Pidge pressed into Keith’s neck unnecessarily hard.
Keith narrowed his eyebrows, staring down at the girl’s furious expression. Her nose was scrunched up, eyes focused as far away from Keith’s face as possible, her teeth grinding against each other, wrinkles marring her forehead. Her glasses sat on her face, slightly askew. “You’re always like this with team stuff,” he commented with a cold edge to his tone.
That seemed to catch Pidge’s attention, her eyes flicking up to meet his before quickly shifting back down to his neck. “Like what?”
“You yell at me when I go off and do something on my own because you want me to trust the team and be apart of the team. Then when I try to do what you want and protect the team – I try to protect you – you get mad at me again,” Keith pointed out, irritated.
Pidge’s shoulders raised a little. “That’s different,” she reasoned.
“Different? It’s different why? Because it’s me?” Keith shot back, leaning farther into her personal space.
Pidge clenched her jaw, gritting out, “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Loner Keith; can’t do anything right!” Keith poorly imitated Pidge.
“It’s not like that!” she protested.
Keith wasn’t done yet, “It’s only okay for me to be a part of the team when I’m doing what you want, right?”
“Keith!” Pidge shouted.
“Are you going to accuse me of playing the hero too?! Because I did my job?!” Keith yelled back, shifting closer to her. She stared back at him, now meeting his eye. Disbelief and lividity were clear in her expression. “Don’t you trust me?!”
“I can’t lose you!” Pidge desperately roared, directly meeting Keith’s eye. Her hands were pressed into the sides of Keith’s head, holding him in place, locking him there, unable to turn away from her heavy stare. Liquid shimmered in her eyes, watering up slightly and hitting Keith like a kick to the chest. All his anger left him instantly, replaced by confusion and a strong desire to hold Pidge and never let go. She was a hair’s breadth away from his face, just staring at his wide-open eyes. “I can’t lose you…” she whispered, softer this time. Her voice broke as she tried to force her tears away.
Keith watched her relax, going limp against his chest and closing her eyes. Her arms tumbled behind his head, encircling his neck as she sighed. “My family… I don’t know if I’m ever going to see them again… I left mom alone, I’ve lost Matt and dad… but I’m not going to lose you too…” she admitted into Keith’s injured neck, careful not to pull on any of his cuts too much. “I just can’t.”
Keith wrapped his arms around Pidge, pulling her closer, ignoring the sting of his wounds in favour of comforting the girl. She shifted with him until she was seated in his lap, still hugging him with her face hidden. He squeezed her a little, wishing more than anything that they could stay that way for the rest of the night, just holding each other. Love bubbled up within his chest, warm and natural, not like a firework or an explosion, just a blanket of emotion overtaking him, and he didn’t mind.
“I can’t lose you either…” Keith mumbled into her hair, breathing in deeply and calmly. His heartrate slowed down considerably, not a trace of anger left in his system, only adoration and guilt. “I’ve never had a family… but I think this is what it’s supposed to feel like…” Keith smiled. “You’re one of the only good things that’s ever happened to me…”
Pidge’s arms tugged tighter around Keith’s neck. “I hate seeing you get hurt,” she muttered.
“Imagine how I feel,” Keith answered.
She leaned back then, her face mere inches away from Keith’s once again. Their eyes met, lingering over each other for a moment, drinking the other in, assuring themselves that they were both still safe. “I’m sorry, Keith,” she breathed.
“I’m sorry too, Pidge,” Keith sighed. He leaned in, closing the gap between them as they connected. Gentle and slow, their lips moved in rhythm to each other. Pidge pulled away slightly, breathing on Keith’s lips as she stared at him, all before she pressed back against him. Pleased hums involuntarily seeped from Pidge’s mouth as she kissed Keith, caught up in the moment. Keith laughed softly against Pidge’s mouth, causing her to pull away entirely.
“What?” she furrowed her eyebrows.
Keith was silent for a moment, just staring at Pidge’s freckles and the light blush along her cheeks. He memorized the way her eyes looked, digging into him with their all-knowing gaze. Her lips, redder than usual and parted slightly as she reigned in her breathing. Her wild hair, matching so beautifully with her personality. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Nothing,” he murmured, “I’m just tired.”
Pidge nodded, “Me too… Maybe we should go to bed…”
Keith hummed in agreement, quickly kissing her lips again, chaste and brief. He ran his fingers through her tangled hair while letting his eyes wander her entire face in the dim lighting.
“Right after I treat these wounds,” she smirked.
Groaning, Keith released his hold on her, letting her drop back onto the ground beside him, instantly pulled from his trance. Pidge swiftly caught herself, laughing at Keith’s dead expression. “Can’t you just let me suffer in peace?” he grumbled.
“Not my fault you’re a dumbass,” she chuckled, lighthearted and free, unlike before.
Getting up from his seat, Keith trudged out of the observatory. “Hopefully I get an infection and die then, huh?” he called over his shoulder at Pidge, who was already packing up the medical equipment and following Keith back to their rooms.
“I’ll wait until you’re asleep if I have to, but I’m treating those wounds,” she threatened.
Keith glared at her as she trotted up beside him. He couldn’t keep a straight face, however, breaking into a grin as she stared defiantly at him. “Alright, whatever,” he murmured, bumping his elbow into her shoulder and causing her to tumble off balance. She returned the gesture fondly, laughing as she did. The pair made their way back to Keith’s room, giggling and bumping into each other the entire way there.
Keith couldn’t even feel the sting of his wounds by the time he flopped down in bed and let Pidge spread the Altean cream over his forehead, but he could feel the gentle strokes of Pidge’s hands along his jaw every so often. Just before his mind drifted off, Keith could feel a soft pair of lips press against his and the softest whisper of a goodnight.