Archive of Our Own

Keith had been running for about a varga. Or maybe it was two or three or the entire day.

All he knew was that he couldn't do it anymore.

He doubled over and put his hands on his knees. Panting hard, he raised his face shield and spat in the dirt.

"Kieth?" Came Shiro's worried voice through the comlink. "Keith, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Keith coughed. "Yeah," he repeated, stronger now. He could hear Shiro sigh in relief.

“Where are you?"

"Way, way," Keith gulped in a breath of air. His sides were killing him. "Way out of range of the bombs."

Keith had been on the ground, fighting, when the Galra had decided to blow it all to hell. Keith had run when he saw the bombs begin to rain down, but in the chaos, he had run further away from his teammates, further from his lion. He figured he was somewhere in the civilian zone they had designated earlier. Though it was hard to tell. The trees on this planet all looked the same.

"Okay, I'm going to try and get a read on you, stay there."

"Yeah," Keith sunk down to his knees. His legs were shaking. "Are Lance and Pidge okay?"

Lance had been on the ground with him. Pidge had been close by too. He could only hope that they had made it out.

"Pidge is fine. Lance is going to be okay."

So he wasn't okay now. Keith swallowed down the nausea creeping up his throat.

"Is it bad Shiro? I told him to get down."

"He's going to be fine. Pidge dragged him all the way back to the lions."

"Alright," Keith breathed out, blinking sweat from his eyes.

"Just hang tight. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Copy that."

The line went quiet and Keith groaned. He was out in the open; he would have to move back to the tree line.

Not too far. Hopefully Shiro wouldn't have a problem finding-

Keith blinked.

There was a figure standing silently a few paces in front of him. This planet belonged to the Satarri. They were beings with six arms total and two legs and they were covered in dark fur. They had two large, wide-set eyes and they had a tendency to drop down on all their limbs to scurry up trees or along the ground.

They looked like giant spiders.

All the Paladins were slightly disturbed by them, even Shiro, who had never really liked spiders or any insects.

Keith was the only one who wasn't bothered at all. He had shared his desert shack with a number of lizards, spiders and other bugs.

Also, the Satarri were peaceful and actually very gentle. They would never be involved in a war unless they had to be.

"Hello?" Keith forced out. This one was quite small. The smallest Satarri he had ever seen. That's a child, Keith realized.

The young Satarri didn't move and then in the next instant they were a blur of limbs and fur that ran straight up to Keith. He was enveloped in several arms and the loudest keening sound erupted from the child.

Crying children sounded nearly the same on every planet.

"Oh, hey, you're okay." Keith's arms went around the tiny form awkwardly. "Where... where are your parents? Your mom, maybe?"

One thin limb shot out and pointed toward the trees.

"Alright. That way. Okay." Keith forced his legs to move, careful to support his small burden.

They were only walking for a few moments when Keith saw the large tent like structure among the trees. Keith recognized one of the symbols on the side. It was a Satarri medical tent. Probably set up to treat the wounded.

It was silent.

Keith tried not to flinch at the way the dead leaves crunched under his feet as he walked forward.

Licking his dry, cracking lips he slowly stepped through the tent's opening.

While his eyes adjusted, the child wriggled out of his grasp and went running toward the back of the tent.

Keith sucked in a breath.

There were rows of Satarri all lined up in beds, not moving.

Keith forced one foot in front of the other. He tried to call out to the kid, but his voice was resolutely stuck in his throat.

He heard a groan to his left and he jumped at the sound. One of the Satarri fidgeted and then fell still once more. Keith continued on to where his young friend stood at the foot of a bed at the end of the row.

The child grabbed his hand and pulled him around, pointing.

"Mama," came the hushed voice. Keith nodded and leaned in, inspecting the form. Her eyes were closed and amongst her many arms, she clasped a bundle of blankets to her chest. There was movement between her arms and he was startled by a pair of large, blue eyes.

The eyes squinted shut and a whimper emerged from the blankets.

"Shit." Keith breathed. The whimper quickly turned into loud crying. "Sorry, it's okay. Oh, it's okay." Keith pulled the baby from limp arms and he shuddered at how cold they were. "Shh, shh. Okay. You're okay."

While he was comforting the infant, the other child stepped forward and carefully stroked her mother's head.

Keith made a gasping sound, words failing him in the moment. Stiffly, he brought his arm up and hit the appropriate button on his armor. He didn't know how to check for a pulse on his own and, though he didn't always understand the readings, he had to try the medical scan.

After a moment it beeped and he stared at numbers and read outs that didn't make sense... But there was that little wavy line and even though it was flashing red, it was there.

Heartbeat.

She was alive, but it didn't look like she would be for too long.

Keith cast his eyes around the room. The beds were occupied by Satarri of all sizes. Kids and adults, some all crammed into one bed together. There would be a moan or a brief movement, but the signs of life were dwindling. Keith didn't see any wounds or blood. It had to have been sickness. Some illness that had gone through their colony when the war broke out.

The tent smelled like death.

Keith swallowed hard, stroking the baby's head. The infant fidgeted and clung to Keith's armor, now looking up at him with large, expectant eyes.

Keith wanted to throw up.

"Shiro?" Keith rasped into his comlink. It buzzed to life quickly.

"I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Are you close?"

"Ah, I've run into some fighters, I should be there soon though." Shiro sounded distracted. Keith wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. The infant started tapping at his chin.

"I-I'm, uh... I'm in a Satarri medical tent."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, no. It's not like that. I just... Shiro, I need your help. I don't know what to do. There's no doctors or anything here. People are sick. There's these kids..." Keith trailed off, hating how his voice wavered at the end.

"Alright," Shiro had that forced calm tone that he sometimes got. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Just hang on. Okay?"

"Okay."

The comlink went quiet and the baby fussed in his arms. Keith glanced down at their mother and the child still stroking her head.

"Okay." Keith shifted the infant so he had a better grip. "Okay." Keith stepped quickly to the wall of the tent, studying the table set there. There had to be something, some supplies, water at least.

After a few minutes of looking Keith found four emergency packets of water. He tore one open and gave the baby a drink. After a minute, Keith handed the pouch to the older sibling.

"Share with your sister," Keith muttered, when the baby fussed at having the pouch taken away. He had no idea if ‘sister’ was the right word or not, but the child didn't correct him.

Still juggling his young charge, Keith opened another pouch and very gently tipped some of its contents into the mother's mouth. He tilted her head trying to see if she would drink in her state.

He saw her throat move slightly and Keith sighed. That was something at least.

He looked up at the rows of beds and the patients occupying them. Keith eyed the remaining two unopened pouches of water.

"Right," he mumbled.

Keith set to work.

He went to every bed, taking vital readings at each one, if there was a flicker of a heartbeat, he tried. He adjusted blankets, he offered sips of water, he told them it was going to be okay.

The beds that didn't offer any flicker of life, he moved by quickly.

The baby stayed stuck to him and he found that, even if he let go, the infant stayed securely in place. Arms wrapped tightly around Keith's neck and torso. The other child stayed with the mother, continually stroking her head and murmuring softly.

The water ran out before Keith got to the last patient.

He was trying to decide if he should contact Shiro again, when a series of explosions sounded from the distance. Keith ran to the tent's opening.

He couldn't see anything through the trees, but smoke hung in the air. He spun in a circle slowly, trying to guess where the explosions were coming from. Keith absently patted the baby’s back when it started to cry again.

"Shiro?" Keith called into the com.

"I'm here, Keith. I'm sorry. We're being held up."

"There are explosions. If I can't stay here then I need a way to evacuate a lot of sick people."

There was a long pause.

"I can't just leave them, Shiro."

"I know, Keith. I know." Shiro sounded tired. "We are going to hold the line here. Coran will look into evacuation procedures, but we will try to get a doctor to you."

Keith looked down to see the little girl grabbing at his leg, hiding her face in his thigh. She had followed him out when he had run from the tent.

"Keith, we will hold the line." Shiro repeated. "Just hang on."

The sun set. Night fell.

Keith waited.

The battle dragged on until the early morning, when the last of the Galra forces were finally pushed back.

Keith hadn't been responding to his comlink for the past few vargas and Shiro was struggling not to panic.

Exhausted from the fighting, but unable to stop, Shiro organized a small group of Satarri and left to the coordinates of the medical tent.

When they finally arrived, one of the Satarri grabbed his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. Shiro was given a very brief explanation of quarantine areas and how they were often the first to be abandoned if a battle drew away doctors. The fact that the doctors hadn't returned, meant that they had either died or were still healing wounded soldiers.

Only two of the Satarri agreed to accompany Shiro into the tent.

It took too long for Shiro to find Keith, huddled in the back with two small children clinging to him. His helmet had been taken off, allowing the little ones to cling comfortably around his neck, pressing their faces into his hair and cheek.

Keith was staring blankly, exhausted in more ways than one.

"Keith?" Shiro stooped down. He placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Keith's eyes drifted to Shiro and back to the cot that was closest to him.

"Can you stand?" Shiro was eyeing the two kids. The smaller one was peering at him intently.

"Her heart stopped in the night," Keith rasped out. He was so thirsty, the supplies had been exhausted on the others, he hadn't kept any for himself.

"Okay," Shiro glanced at the Satarri in the bed. "Okay, Keith. You're going to come with me now, alright?"

"The babies..."

"We'll get them taken care of. I'll make sure of it."

Everything blurred together after that. Keith knew he was up and walking. He knew the kids were pried away from him and that they cried. He felt his mouth moving, telling them it would be okay. But his head was spinning and it hurt.

They were almost to the Black Lion when Shiro pulled him into a hug.

"You're alright. I'm so sorry Keith. It's going to be alright. I swear."

Keith blinked his eyes, registering that there were tears tracking down his face.

When had he started crying?

Shiro was apologizing in his ear, reassuring him. He sounded worn out and much older than before.

Keith had to get a grip. He couldn't be this demanding of Shiro's attention. They needed to get back.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he rasped. Shiro let him go, though he looked as though he didn't believe him.

Shiro nodded, but he swung one arm around Keith as they walked back; trying to offer comfort in the proximity.

They went through decontamination and Coran said they would have to keep an eye on them both, checking for signs of illness.

Keith drank as much water as his stomach would allow and then went straight to his room to sleep. Shiro stayed up, checking on Lance in a pod and trying to offer comfort to Pidge, who had been waiting for everyone to get back. Shiro was busy with the others; Keith didn't need him hovering around.

Keith managed to change into a clean shirt and actual pajama bottoms before he collapsed into his bed. He felt his heart thudding quietly in his chest and his last thoughts were of pulsing red lines flickering out before he fell into a troubled sleep.

Keith awoke with the worst headache. He forced himself into a sitting position, but the world tilted. He groaned and flopped back down on his mattress. His head continued to spin as bile crept up the back of his throat. Keith swallowed, but his mouth was so dry and it was painful. Keith shuddered as a chill coursed through him.

Everything felt sore.

This wasn't just post battle weariness.

Please, no. Please...

Keith just lay there for a long time. If this was the sickness he had encountered, it had come on fast and hard. He focused on breathing, trying to figure out if he could actually get himself to the infirmary.

He had to try.

He had no idea how long he had been asleep, but there was a good chance the others were still sleeping soundly. Everyone was exhausted from the battle and he shouldn’t disturb them.

An image of beds filled with corpses flashed through his mind.

Keith forced himself up. He needed to get to Coran. Normally, he would have tried to tough it out on his own, but he had seen what this was and he thought he should probably be put under quarantine. He couldn't risk getting the others sick.

Groaning, Keith forced himself to stand, ignoring the way his head and stomach protested.

One step at a time, he walked out the door.

Keith went to Coran's room, feeling like he shouldn't wake Shiro. Who knew how long Shiro had even been able to sleep? Probably only a varga or two.

Keith stood in Coran's doorway, listening to the soft snoring. He had a vague memory of standing at his father's bedroom door, calling out for help that time he threw up in the middle of the night. It had been a long time since he'd had someone to go to like this...

He felt so stupidly young.

"Coran?" He rasped. He fought down the shudder that went through him. He felt so cold. His fingers were going numb from it.

"Coran?" More loudly this time. There was a startled gasp and Coran was out of bed in an instant. Awake and worried.

Keith's father had been the same way.

"What's happened? Are you alright?"

"I feel weird." He was starting to shake hard now and his teeth clacked together. Coran turned on the lights and approached Keith slowly, studying him. He set a hand on Keith's shoulder and then very gently put one hand on the boy's forehead.

"Infirmary, I think," Coran said after a moment. Keith turned and stumbled over his own feet. Coran grabbed his arm and quickly righted him. "Take your time," he encouraged. "It's going to be fine."

"Am I going to need to be quarantined? I don't even know what it was. They were all really sick."

"Foelin's Sickness. Though I imagine the Satarri have a different name for it. It's manageable. I don't think quarantine exactly will be necessary."

"It didn't look manageable," Keith mumbled.

"It is serious," Coran sighed. "And you're going to feel pretty awful, but you will be okay. I've already set things up for you."

Keith wasn't sure what he meant until they walked into the infirmary and he saw their medical cot set up with blankets and a more comfortable pillow. The table next to it already had bottles of medicine organized on top of it.

"It will be easier if you stay here," Coran said when he noticed Keith eyeing the stack of blankets Coran had procured.

Keith ran his fingers over one of the blankets, but it felt weird, not soft or scratchy, just there. Feeling dizzy, he swallowed back saliva that had started to accumulate in his mouth.

He sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at his feet. He'd forgotten his shoes, but the cold floor didn't even bother him anymore, it just felt...

Keith stretched one foot and tapped it on the floor. The sensation of pressure, but no cold feeling, no feeling of the metallic surface. He shakily stood up, watching his feet make contact with the floor. He could feel them take on his weight, felt the pressure, but nothing else.

"Sit down, Keith."

"I can't feel my feet," Keith didn't mean to sound so scared. He heart was fluttering in his chest now, realization really hitting him.

"That's normal. I was hoping that wouldn't happen to you. Sit down here."

Keith sat heavily. He ran his hands through his hair and realized he wasn't getting any sensory input from his fingertips.

He stared at his hands as though they had betrayed him. Coran brought over a chair and sat in it. He picked up one of the boy’s feet and started tapping at it. Keith didn't feel any of that.

"It blocks the signals from your nerves. It doesn't happen in every case. Galra don't usually experience this symptom, but I guess humans do." Coran smiled gently up at him. "You're going to have to be very careful."

"When will it get better?" Keith wasn't sure he could adapt to not having sensation in his feet for long. He needed to be able to walk around at least.

"Unfortunately, it will get worse before it gets better. We can try a few medications, but it will spread." Coran was tapping his calf and Keith fought back the impulse to pull away from Coran and curl up in a ball.

Keith wanted to throw up. He couldn't stop the panicky feeling from growing in his chest and it stole his breath away.

"Breathe. You will be alright," Coran stood and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Keith flinched from the contact. He didn't mean to, it just happened.

"I will get Shiro," Coran took his hand away, letting it fall to the side.

"It's not fair to him," Keith muttered.

"He told me to wake him, if anything happened. So unless you don't want him here, I will get him, alright?"

Keith bit his lip and clenched his hands into fists. He couldn't feel his fingers at all.

"Okay," Keith shuddered out.

Keith was supposed to be sleeping. Coran had told him that rest was important and had given him medicine to help with the fever and pain. With clumsy fingers, Keith kept pinching the inside of his arm, near his elbow. The little jolt of pain informing him that it hadn't spread there yet.

"Try to sleep, Keith," Shiro told him again. Shiro was sitting in the chair next to the bed. He was keeping himself busy, looking at a data pad, trying not to look completely worn out.

Keith curled onto his side, dragging his knees towards his chest, ignoring the way he couldn't really feel the touch of fabric anywhere from his knees down.

Keith pinched his arm hard. The sensation felt further away. He glanced down to make sure his fingers were actually making the pinching motion. He tried it again, squeezing his skin between his fingers harshly.

"Don't," Shiro pulled Keith's hand away. "Keith," He breathed out his name, the exhaustion evident in his voice.  "You can't do that." Shiro then rubbed at his temple, trying to keep his own headache at bay. "You're bruising up your arm."

Keith looked down. The skin was red and splotchy, dark bruises would most likely be forming soon.

"I can't feel it," Keth responded flatly.

"I know. Just try to rest, okay?"

"Sorry about waking you up," Keith muttered, changing the subject.

"It's fine."

"You're tired."

"Well, how about this?” Shiro set the data pad down on the nearby table. “If you go to sleep, I'll set myself up over there on the exam table and sleep too, alright?"

"I'll try," Keith said after a moment.

"Really sleep though. Don't pretend."

"Alright."

Truthfully, all Keith wanted to do was sleep, but the spreading numbness made him feel detached. When he shut his eyes he felt like he was floating off somewhere. It startled him every time. It was frightening.

"Relax. It's going to be fine." Shiro assured him. Shiro took a deep breath and then he kept talking quietly. He said it was fine. He said the team was fine. Lance was healing in a pod. Pidge and Hunk were sleeping, they weren’t hurt. Everyone was going to be okay.

Listening to Shiro’s familiar voice, Keith finally surrendered to the darkness that pulled him under.

Keith woke up in a panic.

His head was hurting and he didn't know what he should do. There were corpses and people were dying and the kids were crying in his arms...

It wasn't until he was on the floor, entangled in the blanket that he remembered he was in the infirmary.

He tried to take a breath and he choked. The blanket was all tangled up in his legs and he couldn't feel anything. He struggled hard, letting the frustration take over as he kicked out. His eyes were stinging and he hated that it was one of the only sensations that he could actually process.

Shiro was suddenly there, Keith saw him untwine the blanket from his legs rather than actually feeling it.

"Breathe, Keith." Shiro instructed. "Just breathe." He had a hand on his arm, but Keith didn't notice it. "Can you stand?" Shiro asked after a moment. Keith nodded, though he had no idea. He forced himself up, staring hard at his feet so he wouldn't trip over them.

Keith sat on the bed in a bit of a daze, his head felt fuzzy. Shiro handed him a water pouch, he'd put the straw in for him already. He took it with some effort, telling his fingers to close and watching the pouch carefully, gauging when he had a good grip on it.

"You have to try and stay hydrated. Coran will set up an IV line if you can't."

Keith groaned, but took a few small sips.

Shiro was staring at his arm, contemplating the bruising there.

"How hard do you think you fell? Do you think you damaged anything?"

Keith shook his head. "Wasn't a far fall."

"I'll have Coran run a scan when he gets here." Shiro sat back in the chair, Keith didn't miss the fatigue on his face. He was hurting Shiro.

"I'm alright," Keith insisted. "You can go back to sleep."

Shiro shook his head. "I have to check on Lance in a little while anyway. I told Pidge I would keep an eye on the pod, so she would actually go to her room to sleep."

"How long is he going to be down for?"

"A few days. It could have been worse."

He could have died. They all could have. But that was normal for them now.

Shiro was working his jaw, pointedly breathing through his nose. He set his hand on Keith's forehead. Keith could feel the pressure from it, but the actual sense of touch had faded.

"You're fever is going back up," Shiro stood and went to retrieve more medicine. "Are you in pain? Does anything hurt?"

"Headache, that's all."

"Really?"

Keith actually wished there was more to it. Besides the pounding headache, he just felt drained. Sluggish and uncomfortable with the way the world seemed to be blurring out around the edges.

"Dizzy, maybe."

"Did you have a nightmare?" Shiro held out the medicine in his open palm. Keith shrugged and made a grab for the pills. He missed Shiro's hand completely at first, but quickly tried again, pinching the pills between his forefinger and thumb with great concentration.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shiro asked. Keith shook his head as he swallowed the medicine down. Shiro withheld a sigh. He knew Keith wouldn't talk unless he wanted to; there was no sense in pushing him.

"I'm going to go check on Lance, will you be okay for a while?"

"Yeah," Keith settled himself back into his bed. He was shaking slightly, an odd cold sensation had settled in his chest. Shiro pulled the blanket over him.

"Try to rest. I will be back soon."

Keith nodded. He wasn't a little kid, he would be fine on his own.

Keith awoke with a gasp, the last remnants of a dark dream fading away. Feeling confined, he kicked the blanket off onto the floor.

Glancing down, he realized his shirt was wet and sticking to his chest. He must have sweated through it. It looked uncomfortable. With a barely concealed groan, he forced himself into a sitting position. There was nobody else there, but the row of water pouches perched near his bedside was a sign that someone had been checking up on him.

He stared at his feet as he stood, getting the hang of walking without feeling his extremities. It was slow going. He didn't like it, but he needed to pee and he could probably use a shower.

Sighing, Keith walked to the attached bathroom. The infirmary shower was large and had a place to sit for those who were too sick to stand. He wouldn't need that. He wasn't completely inept.

After using the toilet, Keith hit the buttons for the shower. He was not sure which dial did what exactly, but as long as water was coming out, then it was a success. Steam slowly filled the room and Keith breathed it in. He liked hot showers. He didn't always have access to them, but they were one thing he enjoyed.

After setting his clothes to the side, he held out an arm under the water. While he felt like there was something there, he couldn't feel the warmth. Frowning, Keith stepped into the stream of water and let it pelt his back. Maybe in the very center of his upper back, there was the sensation of heat.

Keith sighed. Relishing that little bit of feeling. Around him, the water became like static, pelting off his arms and chest, thudding the walls and floor... He could feel it like this.

There was a knocking sound and Keith blinked his eyes open. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there.

"Keith?" Shiro called through the door. "You alright?"

"Yeah, be out in a second." Keith didn't think he could manage soap and shampoo anyway, this would have to be good enough.

Keith grabbed a towel from the nearby cupboard and, once he was pretty sure he was dry enough, he just put his used clothes back on. He hadn't thought to try and go get a change of clothes, but that was fine, nothing he wasn't used to.

Overall, he supposed he was feeling a bit better. He wasn't as sluggish, though his dizziness hadn't gone away.

He found Shiro hovering worriedly outside the bathroom door. Keith was opening his mouth to say he was fine, when Shiro reached toward Keith and left his hand hovering near his shoulder.

"What happened to your neck?"

Keith blinked and tried to turn to look at what Shiro was talking about, but he couldn't quite see it.

"No, it's- turn around for a second."

Keith turned slowly. Shiro pulled in a sharp breath.

"Keith, can I lift your shirt up?"

"Yeah," Keith answered, weary of what Shiro was seeing. Keith didn't feel the air hit his skin as Shiro inspected his back.

"Oh, Keith," Shiro breathed out. "What did you do?"

"What is it? What's there?"

"Your back's all burned. How hot of a shower did you take?"

"Oh," Keith uttered. He looked down and twisted to see. He could see the red splotches that spread out from his side, becoming lighter as they wrapped around toward his stomach.

"Does it hurt?" Shiro asked, carefully prodding at Keith's spine.

"No," Keith whispered, "I don't feel anything."

Keith thought he should probably be more embarrassed about lying face down on a table in just his boxers while Coran applied a burn salve to half his body, but he was more wounded by the fact that he couldn't even take a shower on his own now.

"If you can't read the temperature control, better let me check it for you first. Don't want this to happen again."

Keith grunted noncommittally. He twirled the straw for a water pouch between his fingers absently. Fidgeting didn't quite provide the same amount of stress relief now. Shiro was watching him intently as he placed cool compresses along Keith's back when Coran told him to.

"You're not staying hydrated enough. Try to drink more," Coran reminded him.

Keith reached over for a pouch and attempted to stab his straw into it. He missed several times and Shiro could see his frustration.

"Do you want help?" Shiro offered.

"No, I got it," he insisted. After a few more failed attempts, he handed the pouch to Shiro, who helped him out without a word and handed it back.

"How much longer does this sickness last?" Keith asked.

"A few days," Coran dropped a glob of the ointment on Keith's leg. "But you should probably be grateful you're not better now. The salve works great, but your burns won't heal for at least another day. Then, honestly, they're going to itch like crazy."

"Coran?" Keith asked quietly.

"Yes?" Coran noticed the change in Keith's tone and he glanced at Shiro who gave the slightest shrug.

"Why weren't those kids sick?"

Coran hummed in thought, figuring out the best answer.

"They weren't sick when I was there. Do you think they're sick now?"

"No, I don't think they're sick now," Coran answered quickly. "I would guess that they either had already recovered or they are part of the population that carries the sickness, but doesn't actually become ill."

Keith didn't respond, mulling over the information in his mind.

"I'm sure they're fine, Keith. The Satarri promised me they would be taken care of," Shiro had sat down and was studying Keith's face. "When you're better, we can send a transmission if you'd like."

"Alright." Keith finally started drinking the water pouch and Shiro let out a breath of relief.

This was going to be okay. They would just manage everything one step at a time.

Keith woke up screaming.

Shiro was there and he nearly got punched for his effort.

"Keith!" Shiro grabbed his wrists. "Calm down! You're okay. It's me."

Keith was flailing hard and Coran batted Shiro's hands away.

"He can't feel what you're doing." Coran reminded him. "He's likely to hurt himself if we try to restrain him. Give him room."

Shiro curled his fingers into fists, frustrated that Keith was scared and hurting and there wasn't anything he could do.

"Keith, come on, you're alright. It's alright," Shiro moved to block Keith from rolling off the bed.

"His fever's gone back up," Coran stepped away from the computer he'd been checking. Keith covered his face with his hands and let out a gasping breath.  Shiro saw the tears dripping down his face and then Keith was sobbing hard.

"Keith," Shiro whispered. He had stopping fighting. Whether or not he was completely lucid, Shiro couldn't keep himself from wrapping an arm around him and pulling him into an embrace.

Keith had to know someone was there holding him and trying to make it better. Shiro didn't feel things the same way through his prosthetic arm, but he knew when it was touched or bumped against. So even if Keith couldn't feel everything, he had to know that someone was with him. That someone was trying to comfort him.

He had to know he wasn't alone.

Keith didn't fight the hold, he curled into Shiro and cried harder. Shiro ran fingers through his hair.

"You're okay. You're okay. I'm here."

Several minutes went by until Keith's breathing evened out and he went still.

"Is he asleep?" Shiro asked quietly. Coran tilted his head to get a better look and then nodded. Shiro sighed. He gently lowered him back down onto the bed, keeping one hand loosely clasping Keith's fingers.

"I'm going to start an IV line," Coran stated quietly. Shiro felt himself nodding.

"You need to be careful, Shiro. Be sure to wash up, we can't have it spreading anymore."

Shiro nodded again. They hadn't told Keith he was in quarantine, but he was definitely being kept from the others. Hunk and Pidge were told they weren't able to visit until they were sure he wasn't contagious. Shiro was allowed because he had promised to be careful and there was really no stopping him from being there anyway.

"He's almost through the worst of it," Coran sounded like that was good news, but Shiro frowned at the word 'almost.' They still had a rough time ahead of them and Keith looked so worn out. Shiro forced down the sense of fear that bubbled up in his chest.

Keith was going to be okay. There wasn't any other possible outcome for them.

Keith spent the next two days in a bit of a haze. He slept and slept more than he ever had in his life. His dreams were disjointed images. He was back on that planet with the Satarri, back at the shack, back at the Garrison, back in the foster home, back to the last time he saw his father... He was floating alone in space. No one was there. Nobody was around.

Keith snapped awake, blinking at the lights of the infirmary. A sob was stuck in his throat and he coughed, trying to get rid of it.

He groaned and glanced at the IV line in his arm, before looking up, already prepared to tell Shiro that he was okay.

He blinked in surprise to see Lance sitting at his bedside with a wide grin.

"Lance?" Keith wondered if he was hallucinating. Lance had been in a pod last time he checked...

"Hey, man. I've heard you have space polio or whatever."

"It's not space polio." Keith shifted, attempting an almost sitting up position. "When did you get out of a pod?" He looked around the room. "Where's Shiro?"

"Got out yesterday. Shiro's asleep. Coran too."

"Oh, did you... volunteer to sit here?"

"Nope. You, my friend, are under quarantine and Coran says my immune system is weak after being in a pod. Something about healing actually exhausting the body, anyway, I snuck in here."

"What? Why?"

"Why? Because Hunk and Pidge were thinking you might be dead and the adults were hiding it. People were worried, man."

"Oh," so he was in quarantine. Shiro and Coran never seemed to want to say it, acting as though Keith should be scared of the idea, as though it would remind him of being back on the planet, back in that tent…

 "You probably shouldn't be in here."

"Well, I mean-don't breathe on me or anything- I think it's fine." Lance tilted back in his chair, coming close to tipping the whole thing over. "Shiro will be waking up soon, I just figured I'd sit for a minute."

"You don't have to stay."

"Well, you... looked like you were having a nightmare. So I just wanted to make sure you were really okay."

Keith wondered if he had been crying in his sleep. Instinctively, he rubbed his fingertips across his face.

There was an explosion of pain in each fingertip that caused Keith to gasp.

He could feel that.

And it hurt like a bitch.

"Whoa, you okay?"

Keith let out a huff of air, trying to figure out what he was feeling. It was like he had insects with needle legs crawling on his fingers... and his hands... and his forearms. The sensation hit Keith's IV site and there was a whole new kind of pain.

"Keith? Are you okay?" Lance was sounding scared. He had stood up from his seat and was now letting his hands hang uselessly in the air between them.

Keith tried to talk, but he could only get out a grunt of pain.

Lance finally reached out and grabbed his arm. The slight pressure felt like hot iron being pressed to his skin and Keith gagged at the sharpness of it. Lance snapped his hand back, realizing he had made it worse.

"Okay, okay, I'm going to go get Shiro."

"Lance, wait, please just-" Keith sucked in a breath as his shoulders lit on fire. "Don't leave. Please don't leave." Keith was definitely crying now, but he couldn't help it. This was agony.

And it was getting worse.

"Okay, okay, I can send a message over the castle computer!" Lance dashed over and began hitting buttons at random. "I'll just uh, oh man. Sorry, I've never-"

Keith threw up over the side of the bed.

"Okay, shit. Yeah. Screw it." Lance hit the emergency button. Everything started flashing red and a loud alarm sounded throughout the castle. Lance went back to Keith's side and held some of his hair back as Keith continued to be sick.

Once his stomach was done rebelling, Keith groaned and forced himself into a sitting position. He held his arms slightly out from his side, trying to keep them from touching anything else.

"Pretty sure that was the 'we're under attack' alarm. Sorry," Lance shouted over the noise. "I can't remember how to make the medical emergency one come on."

"'S fine," Keith forced out. His back felt like it was on fire. The fabric of his shirt was made up of barbed wire, scraping across his skin. Keith knew he was making all kinds of horrible gasping noises and he could see fear on Lance's face, but he couldn't stop from crying out.

The feeling of pinpricks had moved up his neck and he tried to steel himself for the next wave of pain.

"You're going to be okay," Lance had been talking the whole time, rambling on in panic and fear. Keith distantly thought that Lance was going to get in trouble for being there, but he was grateful he wasn't alone for this part. He hadn't realized how much he had gotten used to having them all around. Even Lance, who called him 'mullet' and was constantly trying to compete with him.  

Keith would have thought it was kind of humorous, if his face hadn't just started burning as though it was on fire.

Coran and Shiro arrived looking like they had run the length of the castle to get there. Coran ran to shut off the alarm and Shiro went to Keith, making the mistake of grabbing his shoulders before Lance could warn him.

Keith gave a short scream at the contact before his mouth clamped shut.

"D-don't touch him," Lance stammered.

"What happened? Keith, what's going on?"

Keith just groaned in response. Coran was buzzing around the room, looking for something in the cabinets. He found the vial he was looking for and hurried to Keith's IV bag.

"Keith," Coran said calmly as he began inserting the medication into the line. "Your nociceptors are sending a signal to your spinal cord and to your brain and it's being processed as pain, but that's all it is. This isn't a common symptom, but it's nothing life threatening. It won't last long."

"Get this off of me," Keith was pulling at his shirt. "Get it off, get it off."

"Alright, hang on, hang on," Shiro pulled the shirt over Keith's head, trying not to hurt him more. Keith cried out anyway at the movement. They got it over his head and hanging off of his arm with the IV line. Coran very quickly detached the IV from the port to free the shirt and then reattached the line right away.

Keith breathed deeply, but he shuddered. Even with the cloth gone, pain still spread over his torso. The room went quiet as Keith took great shuddering breaths and tears flowed down his face. He kept shaking his head minutely as though he was disagreeing with someone. Maybe with the whole situation in general.

"How long is this going to last?" Lance piped up from his place close to the wall. He had stepped way to the side, nervous and scared, but not wanting to just walk out.

"Maybe a day. I've put some pain relievers in his line, it just needs some time to work." Coran went to the computer to read something. 

"Can he go into a pod?" Lance asked, stepping a little closer.

"The pods won't cure a sickness like this. He will be okay, it will be over soon."

Keith let out a loud groan and tensed up. They could see how hard he was straining against the pain.

"Sh-Shiro, take the IV out," Keith plead. "Please, I can't-it's too much."

Shiro was already standing as close to Keith as he could, but he leaned closer still and brushed hair from Keith's eyes.

"Didn't you hear Coran? He says you need it. I'm so sorry. It has to stay."

"It hurts. It hurts." Keith ground his teeth together, unable to keep talking through it.

Shiro dug his fingers into the mattress, helpless to actually do anything as he just watched Keith struggle through pain. Keith tensed up as another wave hit him... and another and another and another...

"Coran?" Shiro's voice shook. "Is it going to work or not?"

"Another few dobashes. He's not going to feel much after this. Just hold on."

"Just breathe, Keith. Just a little more. Just breathe," Shiro was trying to be calm, but his voice was cracking around the edges.

A few tense moments went by and then Keith visibly relaxed. Without warning, he started to collapse to the side and Shiro grabbed him to keep him from falling to the floor. Keith didn't react to the contact and Shiro breathed out in relief. He pulled Keith onto the bed where Keith flopped onto his side and curled into a loose ball. He breathed deeply and evenly, his face and body had gone slack and his pupils constricted.

"Hey Keith, you alright?" Shiro asked. 

Keith hummed in response.

"Ah, that may have been a bit too much," Coran commented. "My apologies."

Coran patted Keith's shoulder and Keith hummed again at the contact.

"Is he high?" Lance blurted from around Shiro's shoulder.

"Lance." Shiro had that warning tone in his voice.

"I'm never certain with Keith, he's not quite the same as the rest of you." Coran started organizing bottles on the table. "It was a large dose of pain relievers though, he'll probably be asleep soon. He'll be alright." Coran turned back and caught Lance's eyes. "You're going to need to wash your hands and change your clothes."

"Yeah, okay." Lance glanced nervously around, wondering if he was in trouble. "So I know I'm not supposed to be in here, but I was just uh, was stopping by and..."

"It's okay, Lance." Shiro was carefully brushing fingers through Keith's hair and the boy relaxed into the touch. "I'm glad you were here. Thank you."

Lance sighed in relief. He smiled at Shiro. "Yeah, no problem."

"But," Coran held up one hand and gestured to a panel on the wall that was close to Keith's bed. "This is the medical emergency switch. It sends out a message to all computers and devices that someone is needed in the infirmary. It does not set off a ship wide alarm that causes half the castle to go into lockdown."

"Sorry about that," Lance grinned sheepishly.

"No apology necessary, it's a more common a mistake than you'd think."

Coran started talking about some mishap that happened a long time ago that involved a room full of dignitaries and a misplaced elbow that cause a mandatory evacuation for everyone in the area.

While Coran spoke, Shiro took Keith's pulse and was relieved it was beating in a normal range. Keith had shut his eyes and the only way Shiro knew he wasn't asleep was the way he kept leaning into every touch. Shiro took Keith's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You feeling okay?" Shiro whispered. He hadn't been expecting a reply, Keith was pretty drugged up at this point.

"Better," came the quiet reply. Shiro smiled, some of his fear and worry dissipating from around his gut. It was the best thing he'd heard in days.

The rest of the team had eventually found out all the details of the illness and everyone agreed it sounded horrible, and they were glad when it was finally over. However, there were little things that the team noticed now.

Contrary to what everyone seemed to believe, Keith didn't dislike physical affection. Hugs, hair ruffles and pats on his shoulder or arm were entirely welcome... If he trusted the person offering the affection.

Lance noticed that, after Keith was healed and he was out of quarantine, he stood closer to Shiro whenever possible. Shiro was now constantly tapping his shoulder or resting a hand on his arm and Keith relished the contact.

But maybe it had always been that way and Lance had just never noticed it before.

Pidge watched Keith out of the corner of her eye as he rubbed his fingertips together or against his palm, as though he was checking his ability to feel the touch. It was a habit he had developed and she had seen Shiro tap Keith's hands if he noticed it happening. They never said anything, but Shiro was always reminding him that it was okay. Keith was okay.

Then, one day at breakfast, Keith must have been feeling a little detached because Pidge caught him pinching his arm under the table. Out of reflex, she grabbed his hand. He had startled at the touch, but she squeezed his fingers and then let go.

"It's alright," Pidge said. Keith exhaled and gave her the briefest smile.

After that, Pidge stayed close to Keith. She began grabbing his arm if she was surprised or a little frightened or excited about something and soon Keith grew to expect it. In fact, Keith enjoyed the contact. He trusted Pidge. 

Hunk had grabbed Keith into a bear hug a few times in the past and Keith always looked uncomfortable. After his illness, Hunk had picked Keith off the floor when he saw him again and Keith honestly looked a little terrified. Hunk noticed it and he stopped embracing him after that, realizing he had overstepped a boundary. 

Then, late one night, Keith was walking the halls after having a nightmare. He was trying to decide whether or not to wake Shiro. He really didn't want to, he had caused Shiro to lose so much sleep already.

He paced, concentrating on the way his feet felt when they touched the cold floor. This was fine. It had just been a stupid dream. They had contacted the Satarri earlier that day and Keith had been updated on those kids he had helped. They were living with relatives, well taken care of and healthy. Adjusting to lives without their parents.

Keith didn't want to think about it.

His brain had other plans though. His nightmares always featured corpses and crying children now. Then there was always that feeling of floating off into space, forgotten and unable to touch anything.

"Keith?"

Keith jumped, realizing Hunk was standing in front of him. There must have been some kind of disaster written across his face because Hunk looked so worried for him.

"Are you okay, man?"

Keith dragged a hand across his eyes and he nodded, suddenly not trusting his voice.

"Do you- hey, is it okay if I hug you?"

Keith blinked and he studied Hunk. Hunk had his arms open, but he made no move forward. Keith found himself nodding and stepping forward before he could think about it.

Hunk wrapped him in a firm embrace, but he didn't crush his ribs like he normally did, he just held on to him. And if Keith let a few tears fall, Hunk never said anything.

It was okay. Hunk was safety.

Lance definitely noticed a bigger change now. Keith was way more touchy feely with everyone and Lance wasn't sure how he fit in with it all. Lance was always leaning on Hunk and even Pidge, he was an affectionate guy, but Keith just always seemed to have a huge personal space bubble.

But if the others could all help out Keith by being there and supporting him, then Lance could too.

So the next time they were in training, Lance did the first thing that popped into his head. Afterwards, he wished he had done maybe the second or third thing instead, because it turned out that Keith didn't like friendly arm punches.

Lance was always play fighting with his older brother. A punch or shove was affectionate. But Keith frowned and he moved away towards Shiro without a word after Lance struck his shoulder.

Ironically, Pidge smacked Lance in the arm later for it.

"Don't hit him, he doesn't like that," she scolded.

Honestly, Lance had apparently missed the handbook on Keith and appropriate ways to show affection. "I'm not trying to fight him or anything! I was trying to be friendly."

"But he doesn't like to be surprised," Hunk said thoughtfully. "Maybe just elbow nudge him or something... But make sure he knows you're going to do that. Maybe warn him or ask?"

Lance frowned, that sounded ridiculous. He wasn't going to ask if he could elbow nudge Keith, honestly-

Lance had an idea.

"I got it!" He exclaimed.

"What are you going to do, Lance?" Pidge sounded skeptical, but Lance ignored her tone.

"You'll see, it will be fine."

Pidge rolled her eyes. She wasn't so sure. 

They had just completed a training exercise against the sparring bot and Lance and Keith were both out of breath. Allura announced over the speaker that they had surpassed their time record for that particular exercise. Lance pumped a fist in the air.

"Alright!" He turned to Keith. "Keith!  High five!" Lance put his hand in the air, grinning widely.

The warning was there, the situation was perfect.

Keith looked confused.

"High five!" Lance lowered his hand slightly, but kept his grin in place.

"Oh," Keith switched his bayard from one hand to the other and reached with his palm out, lightly tapping Lance's hand before letting his arm fall to the side.

"Yeah!" Lance pumped his fist in the air again.

Keith laughed. "Good job, Lance."

"Yeah, we totally kicked ass!"

Keith laughed again, Lance's enthusiasm was catching. He could always rely on Lance for stuff like that.

Lance absolutely beamed at him.

Operation high five was a success.

Training hadn't begun for the day yet, but Shiro had been watching them.

Keith had been so wary of others for so long, Shiro worried about him. He worried what Keith would do if something happened to him. Keith couldn't cut himself off from the world again. Not like before. The universe needed them. And Keith needed other people. Whether he admitted it or not. He was better when he wasn't alone. 

"High ten!" Lance shouted with both his arms up. Keith's reaction was delayed, but he slapped both of Lance's hands hard enough that the sound could be heard around the room.

Next, Pidge jumped to meet one of Lance's highest high fives and when she stumbled, Keith grabbed her arm to steady her. She patted his elbow in thanks. Hunk stood close and he wrapped an arm around Keith's shoulder, bringing him in closer to their huddled group. Keith smiled, looking at ease among them.

Shiro felt a peaceful feeling settle in his chest.

"Shiro, are we going over this or what?" Lance called. Snapping out of his musings, Shiro jogged over, grinning.

He reached out and ruffled Keith's hair as he walked by. Keith shut his eyes and breathed out at the touch.

He was going to be fine.