Blackout (A Keith Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

"Valerie," he recognizes breathily, the slightest twist of a smile on his lips that puts that feeling in my chest and almost makes it harder to breathe.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I can't even read my tone.

Keith stands up and brushes himself off. How I didn't see his relatively flashy paladin suit before, I have no idea. "Getting you."

"W-what...?" my voice no longer sounds cold and distant as I hoped it would until he left.

"We're leaving. ... As soon as I can find Red..."

"How does everyone else feel about this?" I raise an eyebrow.

He shrugs, "They didn't disagree..." meaning he didn't give them time to disagree.

"So it was your genius idea to bring an uncontrollable force of mass destruction onto a ship of the universe's heroes..." I chuckle dryly.

"Do you know how long it took for me to actually find you?" he half ignores my comment.

Find me...? He actually wants me to go back...?

It's tempting, really. Being given the choice between living secluded in a desert with no real plan to survive verses the option to go back with Keith and play 'hero' among actual heroes? That's not fair to them, though, whether they understand it or not. I lose control once, they're all put in serious danger.

I look away from him, at a spot on the ground further away, "Well, then you wasted your time." I have to speak quieter so I don't crack.

It's his turn to be surprised and confused, "W-what?"

I wish I didn't look back at his face because the hurt he quickly tried to cover up resonates in his eyes and shatters me more than it may have shattered him.

"What do you mean I wasted my time?" he covers up the hurt with something edging on anger.

"You shouldn't be here. Especially not alone," I start to turn away, hoping that the red lion will come bounding to his aid if something happens. "You should leave before you get jumped by more bandits."

I put my hood back up, but before I can walk away, Keith grabs my hand and pulls me towards him. 'Towards him' happens to be rather close. "I'm not leaving without you."

In this proximity, all I can really think is f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck as my hearts starts pounding, my face goes red, and those feelings I so desperately tried to push down as far as possible resurface. The feeling is so toxic I can't think to move away, so, only a foot or so between us, I breathe, "Why?"

I glance down at my gloved hand still in his, "I ruin just about everything I touch... I'm an accident waiting to happen... I'm a freak." The word 'freak' bites the air in such a cold, sharp force I nearly shiver at it. I manage to look back at Keith, "How can you just ignore that?"

He pulls the glove off my hand... nothing happens... I'm panicking since I still have minimal control over them and the only thing escalating my fear is how literally and metaphorically close Keith is to being electrocuted... Still, nothing...

He looks back at me, selectively choosing his words, "I have a certain gut feeling about this."

I don't know when we got closer, but we did, and every thought my oddly-not-sparking hand or freak powers as a whole was pushed to the back of my mind.

The faint, pleasant scent of fire and sandalwood fills my head and plants a stronger feeling of warmth and something else I can't quite place in my chest.

At this point I'm not thinking anything. Words just spill from me, "What kind of feeling?"

My eyes dance around his face, pausing for a moment on his lips. His fingers lace with mine and his other hand finds a place holding my face.

As soon as his lips are on mine, a numbing sensation spreads throughout me, leaving nothing but the warmth in my chest that radiates through seemingly nothing. Everything disappears and I melt into his touch.

As soon as I pull back and look at him, I know exactly what the feeling is. I mutter breathlessly, "No one in their right mind comes out here alone just to get a girl."

"What does that say about me?" he gives me a smirk that makes me melt inside.

"KEITH I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!" Allura's voice rings from Keith's helmet, completely interrupting the moment.

Looking quite annoyed, he picks up his helmet, "I got her," the eye roll is evident in his tone as well.

I don't hear the next thing she says, but I have a feeling it doesn't matter much because the sand starts to reflect the blue lights from the ship, only slightly obscured by the sand being blown up into the air as it lands.

Keith lets go of my hand and I put my glove back on. The ship lands, and Keith gives me an expectant look, waiting for me to go with him to the castle.

I still hesitate, even though that kiss was enough to convince me he wants me to come back. I take one last look at my hands, any sparks concealed by my gloves. Then I step back into the Castle of Lions.

Word Count: 910

Guys, I'm out of words