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There are a lot of things that Keith doesn’t know. He doesn’t know the name of all the galaxies and planets that Voltron has yet to travel to. He doesn’t know the value of pi to the twentieth decimal place like Pidge does. He doesn’t even know half of the things he probably should about his Galra DNA. But the one thing Keith does know without a shadow of a doubt is that no one gets away with hurting Lance.
From that first moment when Keith saw Lance battered and bruised after Sendak tried to take over the Castle of Lions to more recent moments, Keith felt something raw and primal struggling to make its way out of his chest. Today is no different.
As with every mission, there is a certain amount of caution that the Paladins exercise. But there are also days when those missions have become so monotonous that they become lax, complacent, and dare Keith say or think it, a bit careless in monitoring their surroundings.
Keith and Lance are supposed to be canvasing the perimeter while Pidge gathers some much needed Intel from a recently deserted Galra base. Pidge is typing away at the computer, Keith is idly gazing down one of the deserted corridors, and Lance is casually leaning against a door frame on the opposite side of the room from Keith. His eyes are flicking back and forth from the hallway, to Pidge, to Keith and lather, rinse, and repeat.
None of them hear the Galra sentries until it’s too late, until there’s the sound of a blaster charging and Keith turns to see the barrel pointed right at Lance’s temple. There’s a sinister laugh and neither Keith nor Pidge are able to make a move because at just that moment, four more sentries seem to appear out of nowhere. Two grab at Keith’s arms and shove him to the ground, one pushes past Lance and grabs Pidge, placing a hand over her mouth and pinning her arms to her side. Lance hasn’t moved and Keith turns his head just enough to see the bead of sweat that makes its way down Lance’s forehead and the large gulp and bob of his Adam’s apple. This is not going to end well.
The beefy Galra sentry with his blaster pointed at Lance, shoves Lance forward. Keith feels the stirrings of something deep inside but when he struggles to get away from the two holding him down and lets out a low rumbling growl, he’s answered with another laugh, “No, no, no little paladin. We wouldn’t want the tiny green one or the skinny blue one here to get hurt now would we? We’re only here to collect you for Honerva. She’s interested in the little half-breed Galra runt that held Zarkon’s attention for so long.”
Keith knows he can’t do anything. He can’t risk Pidge or Lance getting hurt. He stops struggling almost immediately and of course the Galra spot it for the weakness that it is, “Oh. So that’s what it takes to make the feisty red one behave?”
Keith’s face is pressed to the cold floor, and he knows he can’t do anything but his temper has always been his biggest problem, “You leave them alone.”
Another laugh, “Or what little red? Are you gonna fight me? Both of your friends will be dead before you can take one step forward.”
Keith is just able to see Pidge. Her eyes are round and glassy with unshed tears and Keith can tell she’s trembling from fear. She’s barely able to shake her head ‘no’ when they make eye contact.
The sentry holding Pidge feels the shake of her head and raises his own blaster and jabs it hard against the back of her skull. Keith hears a shuffle and Lance screaming, “You leave her alone!”
There’s more scuffling around and another scream, but this time it’s the sound of pain and it’s coming from Lance. Keith feels it as his insides turn to molten lava and then he growls. Something inside of his chest breaks loose, his eye-sight becomes clearer, and his hearing becomes sharper. He hears the wheeze of Lance’s breath as he cradles what is possibly a broken arm. He hears Pidge’s even breaths as she lies crumpled on the floor. He hears Lance’s erratic heartbeat as it thumps double time due to adrenaline and pain.
Lance dropping to the floor gives Keith just enough time to break free and throw his blade at the Galra holding the blaster. Keith’s aim is true and the hand, blaster, and Keith’s blade all clatter into the hallway.
Several things are happening all at once. The two sentries that were holding Keith down are now redoubling their efforts to subdue him, the sentry guarding Pidge scoops her up to take her away, and the sentry who had the blaster to Lance’s head is now just as angry as Keith but there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes as if he’s just realized something. “One wrong move, little red, and your life bond will be over before it even begins.”
Keith isn’t sure what he means by life bond but when a well-aimed kick to Lance’s ribs cause him to scream out in even more pain, his vision goes spotty and he lets out what can only be considered a roar. He doesn’t even have to move when the black bayard materializes into a sword. He swings and slices, fighting three sentries and trying to get to the fourth one still intent on getting to Lance who has managed to crawl away. He’s trying to lift his bayard to his shoulder but with one hand he’s unable to get a good grip to balance and fire.
Somehow during the fighting one of the sentries fires off a shot and without even looking Keith just knows. He knows from the acrid smell of scorched metal and burnt flesh that Lance was hit. It’s not long after when the unwanted coppery smell of blood reaches Keith’s nose as well. In the cross-fire Lance lost his bayard and it skitters to a stop at Keith’s feet.
Keith reaches up to toss his helmet off and then bends down to grab the red bayard. His eyes are glowing gold and fierce and he turns to see Lance clutching his side and the Galra sentry holding Lance by his neck and laughing. He’s not looking at Keith and that is his last mistake. Both the black and red bayard shift and Keith is now holding a sword in each hand and he is furious.
Keith twirls both swords and without looking back he slashes and the first sentry goes down, he turns on his heels and his right hand is a blur of red and the second sentry is on his knees. Keith spins with a kick to knock the third sentry away and his left hand becomes a blur of black and a head goes rolling. Before the sentry holding Lance can react, Keith runs and flips kicking him away from Lance. He feels something crack in his chest as Lance falls to the floor grasping his throat as he coughs and gasps trying to force oxygen into his lungs.
Even with one hand, the Galra is formidable. But he doesn’t stand a chance. Keith is fueled by anger and the need to protect Lance. It’s stronger than it’s ever been. His own heartbeat is just as erratic as Lance’s and Keith doesn’t know how he knows, but he knows their hearts are beating erratically together. His breathing is just as ragged as Lance’s but where Lance has been hurt, Keith doesn’t have a scratch on him.
The Galra is on his knees in front of Keith. He knows he won’t win but he laughs and spits blood from his mouth. “You may have beaten me, but your unbonded will die. And when he bleeds out you will go mad and kill everyone in your way. The madness will eat at you and there is nothing you can do little Galra.”
Keith doesn’t let him say anything else when he thrusts the black bayard where the heart should be.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Lance is in the healing pod for several days. During that time Keith does a lot of reading on Galra DNA and life bonds. He learns a lot of things that explain his behavior this last time that Lance was injured. He’s made a list and it seems once Lance is recovered they will have a lot to talk about.
So here are the things that Keith has learned:
- Galra bond for life. While the person that has acquired a Galra’s affection may not feel the same, the Galra in question will not pursue any other mate or partner. (Keith is a bit distressed over this, but he’s known for a long time that even if Lance doesn’t return his feelings he will never look for anyone else.)
- Galra are very protective over their family. This can include close friends. (After becoming Paladins and having to bond with sentient lions and weird mind-melds, traversing across multiple galaxies, he considers these people his family.)
- Once a Galra bonds, if their mate is taken away from them in a traumatic way, they do suffer what is called for a better lack of words, ‘The Madness.’ Even un-bonded Galra can suffer this madness if their affection for another is strong enough.
- As protective as Galra can be over their family and close friends, it is nothing compared to the fierce protectiveness that consumes them if their mate is in extreme danger. (Well, Keith thinks, this is why he went a little bat-shit crazy this last time Lance was injured.)
Keith lets out a sigh and places the notebook with his notes to the side. He gets up and wanders around the Atlas feeling a bit restless. The training deck is empty but Keith keeps walking. He passes by the bridge and waves off-handed to Shiro. He hears Hunk stress-baking in the kitchen but doesn’t stop to talk. He walks to the med bay and stands for a moment next to the pod that Lance is in. He hasn’t slept properly since Lance has been injured and his body is slumping in exhaustion but he can’t bear to sit in his room while his thoughts and memories of that day run rampant.
A hand is placed on Keith’s shoulder and he turns to find Allura watching him with concerned eyes, “He will be okay.”
Keith just nods and runs a finger through his tangled hair. He places that same hand on the glass and tries to imagine he can feel Lance’s heartbeat. It doesn’t work.
“Keith,” Allura’s voice is little more than a whisper, “Are you okay?”
Keith turns to Allura, “I know logically, that Lance is fine, that he’s going to be okay. But, there’s this itch under my skin that I can’t explain. It’s as if I need to feel him, hear his voice, to feel his heartbeat. And I’m just so tired but I keep seeing him crumpled and bleeding over and over. And I don’t want to close my eyes for fear of seeing it again.”
Allura lets out a sad sigh, “Oh Keith. I am so sorry.”
Keith shakes his head, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything.”
They stay there, side by side for several more minutes before the restlessness in Keith is moving his feet and down another hallway before he even has time to realize what he’s doing. He finds himself just outside of Lance’s room and without hesitation he presses a hand to the scanner and opens the door. He doesn’t mean to linger, he doesn’t mean to intrude in Lance’s private space but he sits on the bed and inhales deeply. His senses are flooded with everything Lance and he doesn’t even realize how his shoulders slowly begin to relax. He sees Lance’s old green jacket that no longer fits his broad shoulders and long arms and Keith picks it up. He holds it to his nose and inhales again. He doesn’t mean to rest his head on Lance’s pillow. He only means to close his eyes for just a minute as he breathes in the comforting sent of Lance as he holds onto the soft and worn fabric of Lance’s jacket. But for the first time in several days, Keith is finally able to sleep while Lance heals.