Chapter Text
Keith was having a horrid nightmare when the banging on his door started. Keith woke up with a gasp that led him into a coughing fit. He felt dazed as he could only feel the pain. His muscles felt like they were on fire and his chest was hurting from the strain of his coughing fit. He snapped out of it when the banging continued. The slams continued to get louder and louder before Keith heard a voice from the other side. "Open the door Keith!" Keith recognized the voice as Shiro's and he sounded mad. Keith's first instinct was to hide under his covers like a small child, but he knew that when he was found he would be in even more trouble. Keith managed to get up on both legs and slowly walked over to the door. His dorm room was small but his legs were shaking so badly the small distance from the bed to the door took him nearly a minute. When he finally managed to open the door he got his first look at Shiro. To say Shiro was mad would be an understatement. He was absolutely furious. Keith was supposed to have met Shiro at the piloting simulators in order to demonstrate to the other officers at the Garrison what Keith had learned in his first 6 months with Shiro. Keith missed the demonstration due to him sleeping in. Keith had managed to catch a glimpse of the clock on the wall. It was now 4:00 pm. Keith only had a second to think about the fact that he slept through the entire day before he was met with Shiro's angered face.
"Where the fuck were you?" Shiro shouted as he pushed his way through the door. Keith recoiled at the harsh language. Shiro never used swear words. Tears began to well up in Keith's eyes at the thought of disappointing Shiro. "If you didn't want to do the demonstration I get it but you couldn't even tell me you weren't going to show up. Do you realize the position you put me in?" Shiro shouted with his back facing Keith. Shiro whipped his head around only to be met with Keith's face of pure despair. Heavy teardrops fell from Keith's round, child like face. Snot covered his pyjama sleeves and his socks were mismatched. Shiro immediately regretted his words when he was given a harsh reminder that Keith was still just a child and that children made mistakes. Shiro further regretted his words when he took an even closer look at the kid. The child's skin was pale with the exception of his cheeks that were a bright red. His nightshirt was drenched in sweat and there was a slight tremor in his movements. “Keith buddy, can you hear me?” Shiro started as he reeled in his anger. Keith was still shaking but managed to look at Shiro. He knew that with his earlier outburst he would need to be careful with how he handled Keith. “I’m going to take your temperature, is that okay?” Keith hesitated and did a slow nod. Shiro got up to get the thermometer from the first aid kit that comes in every Garrison dorm room. Shiro suddenly heard a thud as Keith tipped over. Shiro ran to the child’s side and carefully picked the boy up and cradled him. Shiro didn’t even need the thermometer as he could feel the heat coming from the child. Keith looked up at Shiro with unseeing eyes before they rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. Shiro picked the child up and ran for the infirmary without a second thought.