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The paladins had all just returned from a mission that went south very fast. All they were supposed to do was sneak onto a Galra ship and gather information without getting caught, which turned out to be way easier said than done.
The team had a fight with some Galra a few days prior that went horribly wrong. The castle was now running on very little power, and the team needed information on Galra whereabouts for at least the next week so they could stay on the down-low while they made repairs.
The training deck, healing pods, and showers were all down. As it turns out, they seem to not only be out of power, but luck as well.
The mission to retrieve the information didn’t go as well as you had hoped, but at least the paladins got what they went for. You waited on the bridge with Coran and Allura as everyone arrived from the hangars. There were no complaints about injuries, so you had no need to be down at the med bay.
They all entered slowly with small cuts bruises on their skin, but nobody seemed to be in need of any immediate medical attention. You finally relaxed when your eyes landed on Keith, you worried about him the most. Of course, you cared about the others as well, and they were all like a family to you. But you and Keith had grown the closest and you were even in a relationship now. His eyes met yours and he offered a small smile that you returned.
“Pidge, please bring me the information capsule.” Allura said. Pidge stepped forward and handed the small white sphere, which Allura took and tapped the button on the top. A blue screen was projected above it, showing symbols and words you didn’t understand.
“The Galra will mostly be in these quadrants over the next week.” Shiro announced, highlighting areas on the big projected map in the center of the room. “I think we should rest and take care of repairs over here.” he said, scrolling to a planet not too far from their current location.
Coran nodded. “According to our archives, this planet should have no intelligent life and seems to be untouched by the Galra.”
“Excellent, I’ll set course immediately.” Allura said. “You are all dismissed. Good work, everyone.”
You turned to the door but instantly noticed something off about Keith. He was walking with a slight limp to his step, and you rushed over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, why didn’t you tell anyone you were hurt?”
That grabbed everyone’s attention, turning all eyes on you and Keith. The room was silent for a moment before he finally answered. “It’s just a small scratch, don’t worry.” he reassured, brushing it off. But you could hear the strain in his voice and see the way his jaw was now clenched in pain. He was obviously trying to hide his injury and you couldn’t understand why .
He started to walk away again and Shiro spoke up. “You need to get it looked at even if you think it’s nothing. You’re limping, Keith.”
Keith paused for a second before sighing and giving in. “Alright, fine.”
He leaned on you as you slowly guided him to the med bay. When you finally arrived, you ordered him to sit on one of the cots kept against the wall. “Where does it hurt?”
He pointed to a spot on his leg where there was a small hole in his undersuit. You brought scissors over to cut the hole larger, frowning when you realized what the problem was. “Keith… this is definitely not a ‘small scratch.’” You motioned with air quotes as you repeated what he had said earlier. “Why would you try to keep a laser gun injury a secret?”
He shrugged. “The laser was hot enough to cauterize it anyway. And… I didn’t want to worry you.”
You frowned at the last part. “First of all, a cauterized wound is still a wound and it probably would have gotten infected anyway. Secondly, why are you concerned about worrying me? You know I’ve dealt with these kinds of things many times before.”
He scratched his arm nervously, avoiding eye contact. “We can’t use the healing pods right now and we all have more important things to be concerned about right now, with the castle being out of power and everything.”
You let out an exasperated sigh. “You being hurt is important. You hiding an injury will only make me worry more . Keith, promise me you won’t hide anymore injuries in the future. I swear, you’re going to give me a heart attack.”
He laughed a little at that and took your hand in his. “Okay, I will. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, I’m just glad you’re okay.” You smiled at him reassuringly. “Now let’s get this wound taken care of.”