Among Others

Topless... Oh my... // 34

Okay so I wanted to update earlier but I'm currently on vacation so I don't have so much spare time. AnyWHO, here I have some Lenny face material for ya:

I bring you Lance's POV again because I can and nobody can stop me.

O O O

The pod won't work.

I pushed Keith inside and the door closed, that went right, at least - Keith blacked out as soon as he got inside. But the problem now is that the little screen on the side is telling me things in Altean, things I wouldn't understand otherwise. Not that I do it now, but I just understand the situation. There is also a picture of a body, the screen blinking red. Any breath I stored inside my body just goes right out in one sweep. Oh my... The body suit. Keith has to wear it in order to heal. And it's not like he can put it on himself; he would pass out at least ten times and only manage to get one arm in after all of that. There is really no time left. Everything needs to happen fast; Shiro could be anywhere right now. I don't have time to ask him.

I try to push away the big side of me that tells me that all of this is lame excuses. That side of me that is happy that I got the job to do this. What the hell is wrong with me? No really. Maybe I got a concussion without even realizing it, or something.

I have to undress him. That's what's going on. That's what the provoking Altean screen is telling me, pointing to the side of the pod where the suit must be kept. There shouldn't even be time to freak out about it; Keith is bleeding himself to death, for goodness sake.

So I move on instincts, lunging forward, roaming my hands over the side of the pod in search for any kind of button. When I do, I react too slow and a big hatch opens up in a swift motion, bumping into me and sending me to the floor. My head meets the hard surface and the impact makes me bite down on my tongue. I let out several colorful words, my whole mouth, head and jaw aching in different kind of ways. All of this almost makes me forget all about the plight.

When I stand up, I cup my cheek in resentment, trying to place my jaw in the right place. Maybe I'm just imagining it, but I hear all the bones in my face crack. Through blurred eyes, I see the grey suit hanging neatly inside the oblong hatch, almost glistening at me. Put it on him, I hear it whisper in a seductive voice in my head. I eye it strangely. I know you want to, it continues.

Great, now I'm imagining a cloth is talking to me inside my head. I couldn't have gotten more crazy than that.

Dubiously, I reach for it, pulling it out from the opening. It feels both light and heavy in my grasp. Immediately, the hatch closes with a soft and short whir. Welp, this is it, I guess.

Placing the suit down on the floor, I stand in front of the pod, wondering what the hell to press to get Keith out. His eyes are still closed but his face doesn't look at peace. Through the thick red stains on his face, I can see the evident lines, that can't be anything else than pure exhaustion. It's lines of hard work, running all over his pale skin. His shoulders are slouched like he really is tired of keeping them up, tired of the demands on him.

When I finally figure out how to open the pod up, Keith falls forward, right into my embrace. His face hits my shoulder and he doesn't even grunt, which is bad. Very bad. He doesn't even show much sign of breathing, the only sound in the big room being my strident breathing and the low hum of every pod. Strident for various reasons. The main one being just Keith. Keith in general. 

"Please don't murder me for this", I whisper as I prudently lay him down on the floor, careful not to make his body parts lay in a excruciating position. His face stays the same all the time, and it pumps my heart into a worried crisis.