Love, Loss and Everything in Between. Klance AU

Chapter 23 - Keith's Knife

To that one person reading this, can you please fill out one of my forms? The link is on my profile, under conversations (it should be the second one). I must say... I only have one person and clearly that isn't enough for what I want to do. Please please please spread the word and get as many people as you can to do it! It will only take a few minutes AND you'll gain an internet friend from it. Thank you.

It took about a movement but Pidge and Hunk had managed to design and build a mechanical arm for Lance. They had both put vargas and vargas into it until they had created the limb. Lance was sat on the bed of the medbay, tentatively watching as Coran prepared the sedative. "S-Shiro?" Lance stammered, turning his head to meet eyes with the black paladin. Keith was standing beside him.

"You're going to be okay, Lance. It's just going to be a prick and then you're going to fall asleep."

"I- I-" Lance held his hand out, hoping that Shiro and Keith would take the hint. Shiro threaded his fingers through Lance's and Keith wrapped his arm around Lance's wrist.

"You're alright. Coran's going to sedate you now, if you're ready. Are you ready?" Lance nodded his head, gripping Shiro's hand tightly. Coran shuffled over with the syringe, making sure it was ready for injection. "He's going to do it but don't panic. It's going to be okay. You're going to wake up and feel much better." Coran pricked Lance's arm and the blue paladin quickly relaxed before falling against the bed. Shiro and Keith backed up to give Coran the space he needed to attach the new limb.

-

When Lance woke up, he felt peculiar. He glanced down at himself through thin eyes and couldn't help the gasp that escaped once he saw his new arm. It looked just like Shiro's but was a darker shade of grey and didn't appear to glow. "How are you feeling?" A voice asked, making Lance look back up to meet eyes with Shiro.

"Mm... I'm okay..." He murmured, attempting to lift the arm up. It couldn't move very far but even the slightest shift was enough to elicit excitement in the blue paladin.

"It might take awhile for you to adjust to it but the surgery couldn't have gone better." Coran explained, making Lance smile.

"It's probably best for you to rest for now. I have some matters to attend to but Keith will take you to his room." Lance nodded, pulling himself up. He groaned as he put pressure on his arm so Coran ushered him into silence, telling him not to work himself too hard. "Is it okay if he carries you?"

"Okay..." Keith wrapped one arm around Lance's back and the other beneath his knees to lift him bridal style. They headed back to the red paladin's room before Lance was laid down on the bed. Keith turned to leave but Lance whined and pulled him backwards. "P-Please stay with me..."

Keith nodded before climbing into bed beside Lance. He kept a few centimetres between them but balanced his hand on top of Lance's so he knew that he was there. Lance hummed in contentment, allowing his eyes to fall shut. Refusing to drop his defences, Keith remained awake, watching as Lance's chest rose and fell at a steady pace. It was almost sad that Lance was at his most peaceful when he was asleep.

It took about half a varga before Lance started to shift. He moved his left arm and latched onto Keith, pulling him closer as well as he could with one arm. The mechanical limb was sat still at his side. Keith let out a soft noise, unsure of whether he should attempt to escape the embrace. His comfort fought his rationality and comfort came out victorious.

When Lance's eyes fluttered open, it took him a second to ground himself. His left arm was touching something but he wasn't sure just what until he moved it away to see Keith. "K-Keith?" Lance murmured, just to make sure. A light moan let him know it was his friend and not an enemy.

"You're okay," Keith said, mirroring Shiro's words whenever he calmed Lance down. He had observed it enough so he was prepared to ground Lance himself. "You're at the Castle."

"I know, I-I'm okay." Lance pulled himself up into a sitting position before glancing around the room. One look at the red walls warned him he was in Keith's room and not his own. "I- Is it time for breakfast?"

"Probably. Do you want me to take you back to your room to get dressed?"

"My room is so far away though..."

"You want to go to the kitchen in a gown from the medbay? I mean-"

"Can I wear something of yours?"

Keith's mouth fell open and it took him a long moment to compose himself. "O-Okay." Lance hoisted himself up and started to pull open some of the draws in search of some clothes. "Top draw." Lance nodded, pulling open the top draw to find a series of black shirts. He chucked one at Keith before picking one out for himself. "Trousers are in the third draw down." Lance threw a pair of trousers at Keith and kept some for himself.

"I don't know how I feel about your underwear so I'll just keep mine on."

Once they were both dressed, Lance headed out of the room. Keith called after him, telling him he had something to deal with before getting food. Lance had rolled his eyes and backed up to find out what Keith was doing. His eyes laid upon Keith's hands wrapping around his Blade of Mamora knife.

All he could think about was Gort. How his knife had looked in his Galran hands. He pictured it rising into the air, just to plunge down into his skin whilst he screamed. He backed up, eyes wide and breaths heavy. "Lance?" Keith said once he heard the steps behind him. He turned around as he shoved the knife into his pocket. His eyes laid upon Lance who was clearly panicking. "Quiznack. Lance, you're okay. No one's going to hurt you." He rushed forward, unsure of what to do when Lance broke down into tears.

"P-Please don't hurt me... I- I can't- I'll tell you a-anything..." Lance gasped out. Keith shook his head, eyebrows furrowing in nothing but sheer trepidation.

"I- I'll get Shiro, okay? I'll be right back. You're safe." Keith rushed down the halls and wrapped his knuckles against Shiro's bedroom as harshly as possible. It flew open to reveal the tired black paladin. "Lance is having a panic attack. Please, you need to help him. I don't know what to do." That was all Shiro needed before he raced down the halls to Keith's room where Lance had curled up on the floor.

Shiro started to murmur to the blue paladin, avoiding any physical contact. It took a few dobashes but Lance eventually calmed down. Keith watched the pair and decided that he wasn't needed anymore.

-

"What happened earlier? What triggered him? Was it his arm?" Shiro interrogated whilst Lance was in the shower. Keith backed up into the wall, his bottom lip trembling.

"I did it. I- I triggered him." Upon noticing the tears glistening in Keith's eyes, Shiro pulled him into a long embrace. That was all Keith needed to break the dam and let the sobs out. His entire body was trembling whilst Shiro rubbed circles into his back.

"What did you do?"

"I told him to go to breakfast and said I'd catch up. I wanted to get my knife so I- I was ready to protect him if I ever needed to. He must have seen me pick it up... I'm so- so stupid..."

"You aren't stupid. You wanted to look after him and that's understandable. He won't blame you."

-

Shiro was wrong. Keith could tell Lance blamed him in the petrified look in his eyes. Lance was still wearing Keith's clothes (they looked really good on him) but the look on his face was full of terror. Shiro had sat with Lance on the bed, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Pain in his chest, Keith looked away from the pair.

"I-I'm really sorry, Lance..." Keith murmured, not daring to walk any further into the room than the doorway. "I didn't mean to trigger you."

"It's okay." Lance assured him but they all knew it was far from okay.

"I- I just wanted to be able to protect you. That's why I picked it up. Not to hurt you."

"I know. I trust you, Keith."