Stardust (A Voltron Fanfic)

Loss

Word Count: 2,019

I know, you guys probably hate me for making you wait through the weekend, and a little bit of the week, but it's here!! Along with the last two chapters (not including this one, obviously :)> )

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"Don't... make promises you can't...... keep." Her eyelids fell shut and her body relaxed against his arms. Her head falling to one side, hair tumbling over her face, as her struggling breathing suddenly came to a ragged halt.

Pidge, who had been working feverously with cleaning away the mass of blood until that time suddenly fell back on her butt on the hard-packed earth as Acira ceased breathing, her eyes wide with tears as she stared at the unmoving form.

"Pidge," Keith whispered, his voice a light croak, he couldn't tear his eyes away from Acira. She was so still. Too still. "Pidge." Keith raised his voice a little, why wasn't she doing anything? She was supposed to be fixing this!

"I- I can't," Pidge said, her voice breaking, her head falling into her hands as she sobbed. "I can't do anything, Keith, I'm not a doctor, I wasn't sure what to do to help!" She snapped, her voice on edge. "She's gone." She whispered a moment later after getting her tears under control. She fell against Shiro who was beside her. The black paladin himself staring shell-shocked at the unmoving refugee. His hands only moving to comfort her a minute later, and Pidge, in return, buried her face in his chest, sobbing.

"No, no, that can't be, she's not dead!" Keith shook his head, refusing to admit the facts laid out in front of him as he searched for a heartbeat. He placed his fingers on her neck hoping and praying to find something, anything to prove that there was still life in her.

The only pounding he felt was the blood rushing through his own fingertips. There was nothing. No flutter against his touch, no movement under him. She was gone.

"No, no, please." He whispered, bringing her limp forehead up to his own as he felt tears streaking down his cheeks, his teeth clenched together as if that alone would bring her back to him. He could feel himself shifting into his Galran form as he cried, but he was too overcome with despair to care.

She was dead.

Keith pulled her body onto his lap, holding her close, his eyes opening to see his tears streak her dirt-covered cheeks, leaving small tracks in their wake, mixing with the blood around her mouth, for a small second, he was convinced that she was only sleeping.

The silence choked the air around him and Keith was beginning to feel like he had been sucked into a vacuum and was slowly suffocating, until Shiro's voice spoke from beside him, giving him just a little more air to breathe. "Keith, we're going to go help Kolivan out with the rest of the hostages, and- Give you some space." He said softly, Keith could feel his hand softly brush against his shoulder until he turned to the rest of the Voltron team.

His ears caught the leaving footsteps of the team as they each got up to give him some time alone. The only one who didn't move from his perch on a nearby chunk of stone staring off at nothing in particular was Lance.

Neither of them spoke, both too caught up in their loss to notice a cloaked figure slowly approaching them from out of the shadows. She was silent with her movements, fixing both boys with a gaze before she spoke, her eyes setting back onto the boy she had come for. "I did not come here for a fight, paladin."

Keith swore every muscle in him jumped at the noise coming from in front of him as he raised his head and peered at the witch with bleary, tear-filled eyes. "What do you want?" He still had enough awareness to make himself sound threatening as he stared back at the robed figure. Unknowingly drawing Acira's body closer to him, as if he could still protect her from the supposed danger in front of him even though she was already gone.