I need you //klance

Part twelve

Keith looked around trying to get his eyes to adjust in to darkness.
"Hey Lance, help me find a cover or hatch or something we can get out through."
He expected at least some sort of noise in affirmation but received nothing, not even the sound of Lance's feet padding to check the walls.
"Lance? ...You okay?"

Keith reaches his hand out to where he remembered Lance to be.
He wasn't as close as Keith he'd thought he was but when he reached him, his concern peaked.

Lance jerked his body away, a loud thud showing he probably stumbled and fell. "¡N-no, no mas! Por favor! Vete... por favor!"
Lance's voice startled Keith. It was shaky and far more accented than Lance usually allowed.
Keith recognized a few of the words but they only confused him more.

"Lance? Lance, buddy it's me, Keith. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm going to start counting in threes, okay? Can... can you join in?"

Lance was quietly sobbing up until about 27 when he started to join in. By the time they'd made it to 84, he was  breathing steadily again.

"Lance can I touch you? I'm going to help you get out of the elevator."

"Mm yeah okay."

Keith took Lance's hand and felt him squeeze it gently in return.

The two of them began climbing their way up the elevator shaft back to back.

Lance couldn't help the giddy feeling, he didn't know if it was just after affects of the hyperventilating or from being so close to a shirtless Keith. (Although he would probably have  a similar feeling if he was as close to a fully clothed Keith.)

It was quiet between the two of them other than the occasion grunts or whines.
Lance usually prevented the silence from drawing on this long, so the continuous quiet seemed to be making Keith all the more anxious for his friend.

"Keith, I really am okay now."
Keith sighed and Lance felt him tilt his head slightly to the side.

"Mind telling me what that was about?"
Lance debated it in his head for a minute or two. It probably would be better to tell someone, there was no guarantee that Hunk would always be able to help him.

Lance sighed.
"I'm... claustrophobic. But I can usually handle that sort of thing, being in elevators that is.
I guess the lights going out just reminded me of something."

Lance tensed slightly against Keith. The ravenet remained silent, waiting for an explanation.
"My stepdad used to... lock me in small dark spaces when I did something he didn't like. Turned out to happen a lot to be honest. Hunk's the only other person that knows."

Keith squeezed his arm reassuringly.
"Did he... do anything else?"

"....Sí." Lance was quiet, thinking of something to change the conversation to.

"What do you think the others are doin' right now?"

Keith seemed to get the memo and tilted his head again. He seemed to do that a lot when he thought about things.
"I think Pidge was going to help Coran but I'm guessing she'll get kicked out for saying something blunt." Lance let out a breathy chuckle from behind him, "So she's probably with Hunk."
Lance giggled again, "Hunk's probably stress baking, hopefully we get some cool space treats later."

Keith hummed beside him.
"What about the Princess and Shiro?"

Keith took a moment to think before answering.
"Shiro's probably at the bridge, pretending he doesn't need to sleep."