Work Text:
"Intervention"
It was a rather slow day on the castle ship, so Coran decided it was a good time to do some upgrades to the training deck. After ascertaining the whereabouts of four of the Paladins, he headed for the training deck. The only Paladin's location he didn't know was Keith's. In hindsight, he should have figured he would be on the training deck. He stealthily made his way to the observation deck and checked the logs to see how long the Red Paladin had been in there. His eyes widened in surprise. Keith had been training for five vargas!
"Start training level fifty!"
Coran's eyes darted over to the lone figure on the training deck in time to see him pull out his Marmora blade, the knife shifting into its short sword form. The Paladin was now dual wielding against three dual wielding gladiators. Not wanting to attract the Paladin's attention and thus make him lose focus on the level at hand, Coran slunk out of the observation deck, heading for the lounge, where the rest of the Paladins were relaxing.
%%%
Shiro was reading on his data pad, since he found reading relaxing. He was reading about the different cultures they had encountered so far. Pidge and Hunk were competing against each other on Killbot Phantasm, and Lance was braiding Allura's hair. So, when Coran entered, he barely got acknowledged except by Allura.
"Coran, what's the matter?" Allura's question drew everyone's attention to the Altean advisor.
"I was going to do upgrades to the training deck but-"
Shiro held up his hand. "Let me guess. Keith's in there?"
"Yes. What numbers are all of you on level wise?"
"Level 7," Lance declared proudly.
"Level 5," Hunk added.
"Level 8," Pidge jumped in.
"Level 10." Shiro paused for a moment. "What level was Keith on?"
"Fifty."
"Fifty?! What the quiznack? Is he insane?" Lance exclaimed.
Shiro sighed. "I think we need to stage an intervention for him."
"We need to get him off the training deck first," Hunk stated.
"Allow me to handle that," Allura said.
"What are you going to do, Princess?" Coran asked.
"I was going to hit the alarm."
"He'll be suspicious if he's the only one that shows up," Shiro mentioned. "Let me see if I can get Black Lion to tell Red to get Keith to come to her. That way we can all be on the training deck when he inevitably returns."
"That's a better idea," Allura admitted.
Shiro closed his eyes and ran his fingers across the bond he shared with Black. She immediately responded. "Hello, Shiro."
"Hey, Black. I need a favor."
"What is it, my Paladin?"
"Can you ask Red to call to Keith? He's on the training deck, and we need him to leave so we can stage an intervention for him."
"What's an intervention?"
"In this case, Keith spends way too much time on the training deck. He doesn't do anything else when we are not in battle. We want to tell him that there are other ways to spend his down time."
"I can help."
"Thank you."
"You are most welcome, my Paladin."
Shiro opened his eyes and smiled at the others. "Black is going to help."
%%%
Keith opened his mouth to call out the next level when he heard a roar in his mind. "Cub, come here!"
"Can I take a shower first?"
"You have fifteen minutes."
"Thanks."
His Marmoran blade shifted back into its knife form, and he sheathed it. His bayard deactivated, and he set it on his jacket. He ran through a quick shower and was slipping on his jacket as he left the training deck, wondering what Red wanted with him. He entered her hangar and climbed into her mouth after she crouched down. He walked into her cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat. He closed his eyes and appeared as a seven year old in the space where lion and Paladin could freely interact.
A real, fluffy, red lioness approached Keith and rubbed her head against him gently. Keith ran his fingers through her silky fur with a soft smile on his face. "Hi, Red."
"I've missed you, Cub. You haven't been by."
"I'm sorry. I was busy on the training deck."
"You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"No. I was really careful."
"Good."
"I can spend some time with you, but I do want to go back and see what the next level of the training deck is like." Keith settled against his lion, listening to her purr to him and purring back.
%%%
Once Allura confirmed via camera that Keith had indeed left the training deck, the two Alteans and four humans entered the training deck. Coran went to the observation deck to actually do the upgrades while the others set up chairs in a slight semi-circle facing the doors to the training deck. After another varga, Shiro got a message from Black, who was relaying the message from Red that Keith was on his way back.
Everyone was sitting in the chairs except for Shiro. Keith walked in mere moments later and stopped short at the sight of everyone sitting there.
"Uh, guys? What's going on?"
Shiro walked up to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Keith, this is an intervention for your health, so please don't fight it."
Keith met Shiro's eyes, blinked a couple of times, and then shrugged. "I guess I'm done training for today then. I'm going to go bond with Red."
To everyone's surprise, Keith walked out of the training deck. Lance's mouth fell open in shock. Allura looked at the rest of the Paladins. "Was that what was supposed to happen in an intervention?"
Fin