himecchi @himecchi - Tumblr Blog

Liquid Pain - Part 1

Summary: Keith mysteriously falls ill during a New Years celebration on planet Clarine. It’s up to the team to figure out what’s wrong and fix it.

A/N: I imagine that this planet has their version of Christmas during our New Year, so that’s why it’s kind of a mixture of the two. Also, sorry this is a bit late! I wanted to get it out sooner, but every time I went to edit, it just became progressively longer lol

T/W: There’s mention of blood, and Keith pukes a couple times, but it’s not graphic.

It’s a wonderful event. The brightly-lit hallways are adorned with vibrant golds and silvers, and cheerful chattering echoes throughout the room. It feels warm and festive, and Keith’s happy to spend time bonding with everyone during the holiday season. Albeit, he would’ve preferred to spend New Years on Earth, and preferably somewhere slightly less crowded, but this banquet on planet Clarine isn’t half bad.

A tall alien creature wearing a tuxedo comes by to offer him what appears to be champagne. He holds one hand elegantly behind his back, while the other carries a shiny silver tray filled with several tall glasses of golden liquid.

“Would you care for a glass of Lemark?” he asks politely, extending the tray in Keith’s direction.

“Uhhh…” Keith hesitates for a moment, “Sure… thanks.”

He reaches out to pluck one of the glasses from the tray, then stares intently at the strange liquid inside. Just as he’d thought, it seems to be similar to champagne, but as he observes it more closely, he realizes it’s different in several ways. It’s not as bubbly, the color is more vivid, and it’s thick, consistency similar to that of molasses.

“Strange…” Keith muses, bringing the glass to his lips to take a sip.

It’s a confusing flavor - something like sickeningly sweet carbonated honey. He’s not sure he likes it, but downs it anyways for the sake of politeness. For all it’s sweetness, the bitter aftertaste it leaves in his mouth comes as a surprise and Keith doesn’t understand how one drink could have such vastly different flavor profiles. He screws his eyes shut as the bitterness intensifies, then goes to search for something to wash away the harsh taste.

He settles on some cookies shaped like bunny rabbits with reindeer antlers. He grabs one, then goes to stand in a corner, away from all the hustle and bustle of cheerfully drunk aliens.

“Ah,” a voice suddenly comes up behind him. Keith jolts, momentarily startled, then relaxes once he realizes it’s Coran. “A Hoornux cookie!” Coran exclaims cheerfully. “The Hoornux are said to deliver presents into homes by burrowing underground here in Clarine. Quite a tale, is it not?”

“Oh…” Keith trails off staring at the rabbit’s partially-bitten antler. “Yeah… I guess?” he says, cocking an eyebrow.

Another tuxedo-wearing alien strolls past them with a tray of something that looks vaguely similar to cheesecake, and Coran’s eyes light up with excitement.

“Well,” Coran pats him once on the back, “Take it easy, Number Four. I see some Plantonoof calling my name, and I must oblige,” he says as he skips away merrily.

Keith gives a slight smile, then shifts his eyes around the room. He sees Lance talking animatedly with Allura, urging her to try some odd-looking mousse; Hunk is sitting down with a plate full of desserts while Pidge is showing him some sort of computer chip device; Shiro is chatting with the leader of Clarine as he knocks back something akin to red wine. Everyone looks so cheerful, and the slight smile on Keith’s face grows wider.

He glances back down at his cookie and… hold on… why are there suddenly two cookies? For some reason, Keith’s seeing double and he has to brace himself against the wall for a moment as he’s hit with a wave of disorienting dizziness. One hand moves up to his face as he tries to collect himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. After a few moments, Keith slowly opens his eyes again, blinks a few times, then shakily moves his hand away from his face. To his relief, the double-vision and dizziness seem to have dissipated, and Keith brushes the momentary feeling of faintness off as exhaustion. He’s fine. Whatever that was, he’s sure it’s nothing serious.

“Hey,” he registers Shiro’s voice before his presence and turns to see Shiro coming up next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Enjoying yourself?” he asks with a warm smile.

“It’s not really my scene, but….. Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Keith says, looking up and matching Shiro’s smile with one of equal warmth.

“Good,” Shiro says, relief spreading across his eyes, “I’m glad.”

After a few moments, however, Shiro’s smile morphs into a slight grimace. “Hey, Keith,” he says, turning Keith slightly more towards himself, “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I…” Keith’s not sure what to say. He’s feeling slightly dizzy again, but he doesn’t think it’s anything important enough to concern Shiro with. He looks around once more at his fellow Paladins’ smiling faces and sighs. They’d all been so upset that they couldn’t go back home for the holidays, but right now they all seem to be having such a wonderful time. He can’t ruin that for them. Keith swallows, then forces a smile, “I’m fine,” he says reassuringly, “Just tired.”

Shiro raises a skeptical eyebrow, “You sure?”

“Yeah…”

He’s definitely not sure. His vision is blurring in and out, his head is pounding, and he feels like he’s going to topple over at any moment.

“I think…” he swallows, looking away from Shiro, “I think I just need some air…”

He can feel his face growing paler, sweat beading on his skin, and he hopes that Shiro doesn’t notice how sick he’s sure he looks.

“Well,” Shiro says, eyebrows knitting together in worry, “Alright… but let me know if you need anything, okay? I’ll come check on you in a few minutes.”

Shiro watches Keith walk out onto the balcony and lingers in place, not wanting to be overbearing, but unable to completely ignore his instincts telling him that something’s wrong.

Keith walks out into the cool, night breeze and lets out a relieved sigh. The darkness alleviates his headache a bit and the crisp air makes him feel less like he’s about to collapse. He takes a deep breath in. He’s feeling better already…

Or… at least he was. Now, everything is suddenly coming back full force. He can feel his legs shaking beneath him, his arms feel weak and achy, his mind is muddled and turning with dizziness, and his skin feels like its burning. He closes his eyes and draws in a sharp, unsteady breath in an attempt to ground himself. It’s no use. He still feels absolutely awful.

He sways slightly when another wave of dizziness hits him. He braces himself against the balcony railing, trying to stay upright, but still feels himself slowly beginning to teeter sideways. He squeezes his eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable feeling of his face connecting with hard, cool stone, but instead, he feels two strong arms on his shoulders steadying him.

“Whoa!” Shiro exclaims, “You have a little too much to drink there, bud?” The tone of Shiro’s voice is light, but Keith can also hear the tinge of concern in it.

“Something like that…” Keith mumbles. He’d only had one glass of that strange champagne, but perhaps alien alcohol is more potent, he muses.

“You wanna sit down?” Shiro asks, voice sounding slightly more worried.

Keith hesitates for a moment. He does want to sit - preferably lie down, even - but he also doesn’t want Shiro worrying about him on a night that’s supposed to be fun and carefree.

“Nah, I’m fine.” Keith says, steadying his voice and wearing the best fake smile he can possibly manage. He pauses for a moment, glances at Shiro nonchalantly, trying to get a read on his expression - it’s riddled with concern. “Shiro, I...” It comes out shakier than Keith had intended. He clears his throat, then continues, “I’m fine… just not used to drinking alien alcohol, I guess.” Keith says with a half-hearted laugh.

Shiro pauses for a few seconds, unsure if he should force the issue or not. He finally settles on a tentative, “Well… okay,” as he slowly releases his grip on Keith’s shoulders.

Several moments of silence fall between the two. Shiro, quietly debating with himself whether or not to push Keith to talk to him, and Keith, focusing on acting as natural as possible in front of Shiro. Unfortunately for Keith, however, he can feel the effects of the champagne flaring up again and he’s not sure he can keep this facade up much longer.

He draws in a shaky breath, then turns to Shiro with a slight smile, “You can go back inside, you know?” He had intended for it to sound casual and friendly, but instead, it came out urgent and insistent.

Shiro frowns slightly, then lets out a heavy sigh. He hadn’t wanted it to come to this - he’d hoped Keith would tell him on his own - but he can’t ignore it any longer.

“Keith,” he says gently, placing one hand on Keith’s shoulder, “You don’t have to pretend. I can tell you’re not feeling well.”

Keith’s eyes widen. He’d thought he was doing a good job of hiding it. How could Shiro tell? How did he pick up on it so easily? Then again, this was Shiro. Shiro always saw right through him. He should’ve known.

Keith grimaces. “I just… tonight’s supposed to be fun…” he pauses, looks down and starts fiddling with his fingers, “I don’t want you worrying about me when you should be in there enjoying yourself... I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll be fine, Shiro.”

Abruptly, there’s a cool hand pressing against his forehead, and Keith’s gaze snaps up to meet Shiro’s concerned eyes.

“You feel warm…” Shiro notes with a frown. “Come on. Talk to me, Keith. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Keith glances back down, purses his lips, shifts his eyes to the side, clenches his fists, scowls.

“I…” Keith pauses, swallows, then takes a deep breath, “I dunno… kinda dizzy… and weak, I guess…” he says with a shrug.

“Okay,” Shiro says softly, “What else?”

Keith glances at him, then shifts his gaze to look out over the balcony, “Nauseous… I don’t know… I just… don’t feel good…” he mumbles.

“How much have you had to drink?” Shiro asks.

“Just one glass of some weird gold stuff… kinda like champagne…” Keith answers.

“Only one…?” Shiro mutters more to himself than to Keith. He pauses for a moment to think, then looks over to Keith again. He’s visibly paler than he was a few minutes ago, a sheen of sweat beginning to form on his forehead, and, despite Keith’s best efforts to appear in-control, he’s starting to sway unsteadily on his feet again. Shiro frowns. “Let’s head back. I think you should rest.”

“I….” Keith considers it for a brief moment, “No. No, we can’t. I don’t… want you to…” he trails off when his head starts to swim. Everything is suddenly moving in and out of focus, his stomach is churning like tsunami waves, and Keith can feel his knees starting to buckle as his legs finally give out.

“Keith…?” Shiro watches as Keith’s face goes even paler, all the color draining from it completely. He sees Keith’s eyes moving sluggishly, trying to refocus, and then he finds his body moving to cradle Keith’s head as Keith collapses.

“Keith!” he exclaims, rearranging Keith so he’s cradled in his arms. “Keith?! Keith!” he calls out, shaking him slightly.

His heart drops when he takes in Keith’s appearance. There’s sweat pooling on his skin and his body is trembling, his breaths come in shallow, erratic huffs, and his face is so devoid of color that he could almost pass for a ghost.

“Keith! Come on, bud!” Shiro urges, brushing Keith’s hair out of his face. He’s about to give him another gentle shake, but instead stops abruptly, completely stunned. “What the…?” Keith’s skin suddenly feels cold - like icicles.

Shiro looks down again and notices Keith’s lips look slightly bluish. How had his body temperature taken such a drastic turn so quickly?

“Keith! Keith!” Shiro taps his collar bone lightly, but urgently.

“Mmmnnnn…” Keith groans softly as his eyes slowly peel open.

“Sh… Shiro… wh… what’s… happening?” Keith asks, eyes unfocused - looking at Shiro but not really seeing him.

“I…” Shiro’s at a loss for words. “I don’t know, bud, but we’re gonna fix it, okay? Don’t worry.”

Shiro lifts his arm up, shoving back his sleeve, then starts speaking into a watch-like device around his wrist.

“Paladins, this is an emergency. I need all of you out here. Now.” he commands with burning authority.

“Sh… Shiro, I…” Keith’s breath is all over the place. He’s panting, unable to inhale or exhale at a steady pace. “I…”

“What is it, bud?” Shiro asks gently. He’s trying his best to stay calm, but the worried knit of his eyebrows betrays him.

Keith somehow musters up the strength to shove himself away from Shiro. He scrambles forwards on hands and knees, then hangs his head between the balcony railing and promptly pukes over the edge.

Shiro sits there, stunned for a moment, then quickly recovers and leaps into action. He kneels beside Keith, draping an arm gently around his shoulders. Keith’s grateful for the contact. It grounds him and he tries his best to focus on that.

“It’s okay, Keith. You’re okay.” Shiro says comfortingly, rubbing soothing up and down motions into Keith’s arm with his other hand.

“Shiro, what happened?!” Allura demands with concern as she and the rest of the Paladins run out onto the balcony.

Keith heaves again.

“It’s Keith, he-” Shiro begins to explain, keeping his eyes trained on Keith.

“Oh my gosh! Is he seriously drunk?” Lance exclaims, incredulous, but slightly annoyed.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Pidge muses, pushing up her glasses.

“I-is he okay?” Hunk asks, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers.

“Let me guess,” Lance sighs dramatically, crossing his arms and giving a slight eye-roll, “We have to go back now because Keith can’t hold his-”

“He’s not drunk!” Shiro shouts angrily, rubbing Keith’s back through a dry heave. “I’ve got you,” he says softly to Keith before continuing. “There’s something wrong with him. I… I don’t know. He only had one glass. He shouldn’t be sick like this.”

Everyone freezes, concern spreading across their faces. It’s unnerving hearing Shiro so panicked and, as they take in Keith’s disheveled appearance, they realize how ungodly pale he is. They carefully approach, kneeling down close, but also far enough to give Keith some space. His shoulder blades are moving up and down violently as he gasps and chokes on pained breaths.

“You finished?” Shiro asks gently.

Keith shakily turns towards him, bleary-eyed, and manages a small nod.

“Alright,” Shiro says softly, giving Keith’s shoulder a light squeeze, “I’m gonna move you now, okay?”

“Hnnn,” Keith gives a strained but affirmative groan.

Shiro carefully maneuvers him into a sitting position, facing away from the balcony, then takes his suit jacket off and drapes it around Keith’s shoulders. Keith closes his eyes, trying to ward off the dizziness and focus on steadying his breathing, but finds himself tilting sideways again. He lands with a gentle plop against Shiro’s muscular shoulder.

“You think you might pass out again?” Shiro questions, concerned.

“Mmmmm,” Keith whimpers in confirmation.

“Okay,” Shiro says softly, “Here. Head between your knees.” He gently repositions Keith, then begins rubbing his back as Keith continues to breathe unsteadily.

“What happened?!” Pidge asks, eyebrows furrowed together in concern.

“I…” Shiro begins to speak, but notices Keith swaying again. “Keith? You okay?” he asks softly, wrapping his arms around him to keep him steady. When Keith doesn’t respond, he bites his lip nervously. “Keith? You with us bud?” he asks urgently.

“Hnnn,” Keith chokes out a barely-audible groan.

“We must get him back to the castle.” Allura asserts. “I’ll dial in our coordinates, and-”

“N… no,” Keith breathes. “Just… gimme a minute.”

Allura doesn’t seem convinced.

“Keith,” she says tenderly, placing a gentle hand on his arm, “You’re not well, and we cannot simply standby and allow your condition to worsen. Do you understand?”

Several moments pass, punctuated only by Keith’s erratic breath, until finally, he speaks.

“But… I… don’t…” Keith struggles through each word, “You guys… you… were… having... so… much… fun… and…” He can’t even finish his sentence. His lungs are on fire and, despite his efforts to breathe steadily, he finds himself going into a coughing fit that steals so much of his breath, he thinks he might pass out again even with his head still resting between his knees.

“Calm down,” he tells himself, “Breathe.”

Eventually the coughing fit dissipates, but it takes so much out of him that he begins swaying again.

“I think he needs to lie down.” Allura suggests anxiously.

Lance takes off his suit jacket and balls it into a pillow, while Hunk lays his on the ground. Shiro helps Keith lie back, then covers him again with his own jacket. He then gently rolls Keith onto his side, just in case his stomach starts to act up again.

“I’ll hail the castle,” Allura remarks as she begins dutifully punching coordinates into a bracelet-like device around her wrist. It makes a quiet beeping noise and Allura looks up to meet the gazes of the rest of the Paladins, “It should be here in about 10 doboshes,” she states.

“Hnnn,” Keith stirs slightly, glossy eyes half-opening.

“Sh’ro?” Keith rasps.

“Hey, bud.” Shiro replies softly.

“M’sorry…” Keith mumbles.

“Hey, none of that,” Shiro says gently, running a comforting hand through Keith’s hair, “You have nothing to be sorry for, okay?”

“Mmmm,” Keith hums, barely coherent.

“Just get some rest, alright?” Shiro says tenderly, and Keith’s unconscious again before Shiro even finishes speaking.

Shiro lets out a sigh of relief. At the very least, Keith seems to be a bit more comfortable now than he was earlier.

“Okay,” Pidge says calmly, turning to Shiro, “While we’re waiting for the castle, could you... tell us what happened?”

Shiro pauses for a moment, then takes a deep, shuddering breath. “He… he looked a little off earlier when I talked to him. I knew something was wrong, but he said he just needed some air. I came out to check on him and he was… pale. Really pale... Then he suddenly collapsed. When he finally came to, he started vomiting and now…” They all look over at Keith’s form, shaking underneath Shiro’s jacket.

“Is he ill?” Allura asks, placing a hand on Keith’s forehead.

“I… I don’t know. He was burning up earlier, but now he’s freezing…” Shiro explains.

“I take it this is abnormal as far as Earth illnesses go.” Allura muses. “What did he consume tonight?” she asks, looking up at Shiro.

“I don’t…” Shiro pauses for a moment, flashing back to the conversation he’d had with Keith earlier.

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Just one glass of some weird gold stuff… kinda like champagne…”

“He said it was a gold liquid… kinda like champagne.” Shiro answers.

“Well, I’m not familiar with champagne,” Allura explains, “but there’s only one golden liquid I know of and that’s Lemark… it’s fairly mild, though. It shouldn’t be having this effect on him…” She turns towards Lance, “Lance, please go get Coran. The castle will be arriving shortly, and Keith will be requiring medical attention. This is definitely more serious than slight overindulgence.”

“On it,” Lance affirms as he turns to run back into the banquet hall.

Suddenly, Keith stirs again, eyes fluttering open slightly.

“Shi… Sh’ro…” he slurs.

“What is it, bud? What’s wrong?” Shiro leans closer.

“Hurts…” Keith breathes.

“What hurts, bud?”

“E… everyth’ng…” Keith rasps. Then suddenly he’s curling in on himself as his body is wracked with another harsh coughing fit.

Hunk and Shiro move to help him sit up and hold him steady. His breath hitches with each cough, and by the time he’s finished, he’s wheezing, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs.

“Okay,” Shiro tries to sound reassuring, “Okay. You’re okay.” He runs a comforting hand up and down Keith’s back. “Do you want to lie back do-” Shiro’s breath catches in his throat as he notices a small trickle of blood flowing out of Keith’s mouth.

“Keith…” Shiro breathes out in shock.

Keith gives him one last desperate look before passing out again.

Vaguely, Shiro hears Lance and Coran running over, but his mind is too busy traveling to another place to really process anything.

He’s there. The Champion - back in that ring. Crowd cheering wildly. He delivers the finishing blow, then watches as his opponent falls at his feet in slow motion. Thud. The sound echoes, then everything goes silent as he observes the unmoving body, sprawled out in front of him, crimson blood oozing from the mouth…

“...iro… hiro… Shiro!”

He snaps back to reality at the sound of Lance’s voice.

“You okay?” Lance asks, concerned.

“I… yeah… I’m fine,” he swallows, takes a deep breath, tries to pull himself together. “Keith, he… b… blood…” he exhales shakily.

“Coran’s taking care of it,” Lance reassures him, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Shiro slowly turns to look over at Coran, who’s kneeled down in front of Keith with some type of scanner. He moves it steadily over Keith’s body, watching intently. The other Paladins are tense, unmoving - anxious to get a diagnosis.

Abruptly, the scanner begins to beep, and Shiro doesn’t miss the drop in Coran’s expression.

“What is it?” Shiro asks frantically, “What’s wrong with him?”

To be continued in part 2...