“It’s a fever, if you rest you should be fine by tomorrow.”
Keith explains calmly from behind the College Text book he has been reading
“...But the tree decorations.”
Lance whines into the throw pillow as he rolls onto his stomach to get comfortable on their couch.
“Shiro and the others will understand…”
A shiver runs through the Cuban’s body.
“It’s cold and my head hurts and…”
“...and the tree decorations.” Lance pouts.
“That’s The fever talking, check your temp while I go find you some medicine.”
Lance groans but does has he’s instructed.
Grabbing the thermometer off the table, and sticking it in his mouth, he does everything he can to will the numbers down. When Keith comes back with a bottle of Aspirin, Lance hands the digital Thermometer to Keith before rolling over to face the couch. He doesn’t have to look at numbers to know how lousy he is feeling.
“Shit, Lance you’re burning up.”
Lance is well in the hundreds and Keith always knew his boyfriend ran a bit warmer during the winter weathers and the stress from Finals, but never this hot.
“Lance I’m gonna step out to make a phone call to Shiro, I’m really worried about the fever you’re sporting.
“Nng...Not Shiro.”
Keith is kind of shocked, Shiro wasn’t only their dorm R.A but Keith’s Brother.
“Lance, Shiro will know what to do.”
“No…”
There is a long pause where Keith is Stunned into Silence.
“Call my mama…” Lance whispers in his own delirious state.
Because @azure-mirror is a sick child and likes fluffy klance.
It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for someone on board the castle ship to sneeze and learn that they were allergic to some weird alien product. Pidge had discovered within the first week on board that she would break out in hives if she used Altean shampoo, which was resolved by landing on a planet and buying a year’s supply of different shampoo. Hunk discovered that Coran’s mustache wax made him itchy if he came into contact with it.
But when Keith sneezed seven times in a row and then proceeded to hack his lungs out for a solid minute, everyone whipped around in surprise.
“What are you allergic to?” Hunk groaned in exasperation. Every time they discovered a paladin was allergic to something (or Allura, for that matter, who had learned that Earth’s cotton did not agree with her skin after a mishap with the laundry), they had to take extra precautions to keeping it away from said paladin.
Keith moaned miserably and plopped his head into his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know,” he grumbled, staring at the ground like it had personally offended him. “I’m not even near anything unusual.”
“Seriously?” Lance managed to laugh. “Dude, that was so not an allergic reaction.”
Keith shot Lance a suspicious look. “What?”
“Have you ever been sick?” Pidge asked, a small smile forming at the corners of her lips.
Keith groaned again and sank back in his seat, thumping his head against the chair. “You’re kidding me,” he muttered, pressing his hands to his face and then proceeding to sneeze three more times. “I never get sick!”
Shiro rolled his eyes and moved over to Keith, pressing his human hand against his forehead tentatively. “You’re definitely running a fever,” he confirmed. “Come on, you’re going to bed.”
Allura, standing at the control panel, pressed her lips together. “How long do Earth illnesses typically last?” she questioned. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but we cannot go too long without Voltron.”
Lance stood up and made his way over to help Shiro with Keith’s weary form. “They’re usually pretty quick,” he mused, giving Keith a once over. “If it’s just a cold, it should pass in a day or two.”
At the incredulous looks from the others, Lance offered a shrug. “I have six brothers and sisters. I know what sickness looks like. And honestly, I’m probably the least likely one to get sick from Mr. Germs here, so I should probably deal with his sick butt.”
“It’s true,” Hunk piped up. “I’ve known Lance for three years and he’s never been sick once, even when I came down with the flu.”
Shiro reluctantly handed Keith over to Lance, who slung the Red Paladin’s arm around his shoulders despite his protests. “Don’t worry, Keith my man. I’ll have you better in no time!”
They trudged out of the room, Keith throwing a desperate look over his shoulder at the other paladin’s and mouthing out “Help me.”
“Think he’ll kill him?” Pidge mused, crossing her ankles and watching the two leave.
Shiro shrugged in response, shooting her a grin. “That, or he’ll become delirious. Keith is…interesting when he’s sick, to say the least.”
A wicked smile crossed Pidge’s face. “Oh, this’ll be good.”
Lance managed to get Keith to his room with no problems, though he was worried about how hot Keith had gotten in the amount of time it had taken them to get there. He was roasting when Lance got him seated on his bed, face pink and breathing raspy. “Probably more than a cold,” he muttered, helping Keith pull off his weapons. “I hope it’s not some alien cold.”
Keith snorted and dropped his head back into his hands, body shuddering. “I feel like shit,” he said to the floor.
Lance winced and stepped back, setting Keith’s knife on the bedside table. “Can you get your shoes off, so you can nap?”
Keith squinted down at the offending boots and leaned over, fingers shaking as he unlaced the left one and struggled to pull it off. He didn’t know what was wrong with him; he had felt fine a mere hour ago. He was starting to think Lance might be right about the alien cold, because no Earth illness had ever hit him this hard or fast.
He didn’t realize he had been shaking so badly until Lance’s hands covered his, forcing them to stop. Lance hissed. “Dude, you’re freezing!”
Keith didn’t feel cold. He felt like the room was inside of a volcano, like Lance’s hands were icebergs, and like his throat was going to melt. “S-Sorry.”
Lance looked up at him in concern and, to Keith’s humiliation, continued unlacing his boot for him. He decided not to protest, mostly because he was worried that Lance might yell at him and wow his head hurt, so he leaned against his hands again and zoned out, the room going dark around him.
He came to seconds later to find Lance with both hands on his shoulders, pressing him back onto the bed. His feet were strangely light, and when he lifted one, he found that it was bootless and sockless. He wrinkled his nose. “You took my socks off?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Yes, stupid. Your feet and your neck are what warm you up fastest when you’re cold, and what cool you down fastest when you’re hot. You’re at a weird in between right now. Plus, I’ve touched grosser things than your dumb socks.”
Keith huffed and flopped down against the pillow. Bad idea.
The entire room swum at the sudden movement and he groaned, hands flying to his mouth and body clenching. Lance, almost like he was reading his mind, whirled around- too fast- and spun back with his trash can, holding it at the side of the bed and pulling at Keith’s arm. The paladin twisted in the bed and promptly puked into the bucket, eyes stinging with tears and body shivering violently.
“Jesus,” he could hear Lance whisper, a cold hand running across his back. “This is…way worse than a cold. I’m gonna go get Coran, okay Keith?”
Keith whimpered, much to his humiliation, but he nodded, the room swirling again. Lance pressed the trash can into his hands until he had a firm grip on it, promised he would be back, and then left Keith alone, his footsteps pounding their way into Keith’s head and causing a serious migraine.
By the time Lance got back, Keith was leaning against the wall behind his bed with the bucket sitting between his legs, hair damp across his forehead and body shaking. Coran winced at the sight of him and gave him a once over.
“Keith?” the man tried softly. “Can you tell me how you feel?”
“D-Dizzy,” he managed to choke out. “I’m…really hot, too. Or cold. I don’t…I don’t know.”
“This isn’t a normal Earth cold,” Lance said. “I’d say the flu, but none of us have had it recently. Is there an alien illness that resembles this?”
Coran tugged on his mustache and nodded. “Yes…I do believe that this is our version of a cold, though I’ve never seen it interact with an Earthling. We call it the Elsin Disease. Typically passes in a day or two, but it really hits hard when you have it. Most important thing is to keep him warm and hydrated.”
Keith frowned, blinking feverishly at the man. “But I’m hot.”
Coran shook his head. “You feel that way, but your body temperature is lower than usual. At least, I presume it is. We have a thermometer around here somewhere, I’ll go find it.”
“Thanks Coran.”
The older man left and Lance delicately took the bucket from Keith’s shaking hands. “Will you be okay alone for a second?” he asked softly. “I’m just gonna clean this out and get you some water.”
Keith internally shrieked in embarrassment as his lower lip quivered. “Y-You don’t h-have to clean it, L-Lance.”
Lance cursed and pushed Keith back down onto the bed, pulling his blankets up to Keith’s shoulders. “Dude, your lips are turning blue. Stay there,” he ordered, voice firm. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”
Keith gave him a single nod, all he could manage without throwing up again, and passed out the moment Lance left the room. When he came to again, the bucket was next to the bed, freshly cleaned, along with a tall glass of water that looked like heaven in space. Lance sat curled up in the corner, a throw blanket pulled up to his chest and his cheek on his shoulder, snoring softly.
Keith gave a small smile and grabbed for the glass of water as carefully as possible. His fingers shook as he lifted it- why was it so heavy? - and the glass promptly shattered against the floor. Lance jolted awake as Keith frantically got out of bed, struggling to clean it up and cutting his hands in the process.
“Whoa, whoa, dude!” Lance yelped, sliding over and pulling Keith’s hands away. “Hey. Man, it’s okay. Breathe. I got it.”
Keith quivered and sank backwards against the bed, pressing his hands to his forehead and curling his fingers into his hair. He felt so emotional, and he decided then and there that he would take the Earth’s flu over this space bug. “I’m s-sorry, Lance.”
Lance looked up from the floor with wide eyes. “What? Dude, it’s fine. It’s just a glass of water.”
“N-No, I-I mean you’re…you’re b-being so nice right now, and I’m j-just always a j-jerk.”
He didn’t know if he was stammering because he was crying or because of how cold he was, but he realized with a start that he was wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Lance just stared at him, his eyes flickering up to Keith’s forehead after a moment. He winced. “Dude, you have blood all over you. Come on, I’ll call Pidge to come clean up the glass.”
He took Keith by the elbow and Keith recoiled to find that his skin was now ice cold and Lance’s felt like fire. Lance pulled back and led him to the bathroom carefully, pressing what looked like a communicator- where had he gotten that? - on the side of his ear. “Pidge? Can you bring a broom to Keith’s room? A glass broke…thanks Pidge.”
Lance leaned over to turn on the sink faucet and Keith frowned. “What is that?”
The Blue Paladin glanced up in surprise. “What, this?” he asked, pointing to his ear. “Allura gave it to me so I wouldn’t have to leave you alone unless it was absolutely necessary. You almost choked, dude.”
Keith felt dizzy all of a sudden and then Lance was there, hands on his arms and guiding him to sit down on the edge of the tub, eyes concerned. “I almost ch-choked?”
Lance grimaced and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Yeah. When I left to get water, and then came back…it’s kinda gross, I don’t know if you want me to describe it.”
Keith’s stomach rolled and he decided that no, he did not want Lance to describe his near death. He shook his head slowly and Lance squeezed his arms, turning back around to dunk a washrag into the warm running water that was slowly fogging up the bottom of the mirror. He knelt again, nearly between Keith’s knees, and lifted a hand to swipe the blood from Keith’s forehead. His tongue stuck from the corner of his mouth as he did so, and Keith, in his delirium, found that he kind of wanted to poke it. He clasped his shaking hands together in his lap and shut his eyes firmly, struggling to breathe normally.
“Keith?”
Careful hands hovered over his, slender fingers curling around his wrists and pulling his palms apart. Warm water slid over the cut on his right hand and Keith hissed, fighting back tears and nausea. Lance paused for a moment, giving him time to recover, and then repeated the movement, picking out a shard of glass that Keith hadn’t even felt there before.
His head spun and he blanked again, coming to when Lance’s now freezing hands cupped either side of his head. “Hey, man,” he whispered, his voice incredibly low, like he knew that Keith’s head felt like a cavern of echoing noises. “Pidge is done cleaning up, and Hunk made you some soup. Can you eat?”
Keith’s stomach turned again and he shuddered at the thought of eating, despite the warmth that filled him at the idea of Hunk making food for him. “Thanks,” he croaked. “B-But I c-can’t.”
Lance nodded knowingly and slid his hands down to Keith’s biceps, gently pulling him off the tub. Keith realized with a start that his right hand had been bandaged; he hadn’t even felt that happen. He stayed quiet as Lance led him back to his room and into his bed, taking the steaming bowl of soup from the nightstand and leaning into the hall, saying something to who Keith assumed was Hunk.
He returned empty handed and Keith felt a flood of guilt at having turned down Hunk’s kindness. He shivered against the bed sheets, fingers clenching in the blankets so hard that his knuckles turned white, and Lance cursed. “Your lips are turning blue again,” he muttered, looking towards the door. “I can get Shiro to bring you more blank-”
“Lance.”
He glanced up at Keith, who looked beyond lost and tired, at his outstretched hand, and Lance instantly moved over to the bed and knelt, tugging the covers up a little more against the chill of the room. “What’s up, buddy?”
Keith swallowed, sure that his face was beet red. “C-Can you…um…I…”
He shivered again and held open the blanket just enough for Lance to get the hint, body turning into ice at the movement. Lance’s face filled with surprise but he nodded, kicking his shoes off and setting the ear piece down next to the bed before crawling in alongside Keith, his back to the wall. “Which side?” he asked softly, very aware that putting his hands in the wrong spot might make Keith puke again.
Keith trembled and pulled him down without a word, latching onto him and pressing his face into the crook of his neck, body slowly relaxing against Lance. Though startled, Lance obediently curled an arm over Keith’s hip, careful about how fast he moved, and tucked his other arm up in between their chests. “Let me know if you get too hot, or need to throw up, okay man?”
Keith mumbled something incoherent into Lance’s shoulder and Lance couldn’t help but smile, leaning his temple against the top of Keith’s head and stroking his upper back with his thumb. He dozed a little, waking up every time Keith shifted.
At one point, Allura popped her head in, looking concerned, and Lance lifted his gaze to her and gave her a reassuring nod. The Princess smiled, a twinkle in her eyes, and backed out of the room after leaving a fresh glass of water on the table top.
When Keith woke up again, feeling somewhat less like death, Lance had fallen asleep completely, face relaxed and arms entwined around Keith’s body. The Red Paladin swallowed hard, staring down at Lance with so much embarrassment that he thought his face would burst into flames. He didn’t remember asking Lance to sleep with him, but he knew that Lance wouldn’t do something like that without permission.
Keith groaned internally and lifted a hand to press it to his forehead, eyes alighting on his bandaged palm. He gave a faint smile and looked back at Lance fondly. With little hesitation, he wrapped his arm back around him and tucked his face into his chest, taking a shuddering breath.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, not really expecting a response.
Lance’s fingers twitched against his back and Keith jumped at the response that was whispered into his hair. “Any time.”
Keith blushed and tugged Lance closer, ignoring how warm he was in favor of breathing in the smell of laundry detergent that permeated from Lance’s shirt, lulling him back to sleep.
And when Lance came down with the same illness barely a week later, Keith was absolutely at his side with a bucket and a glass of water.
Collège Au, visiting Lance’s family during the Holidays..KLANCE
This could not be happening, not at Christmas either he McClains. Keith should have known the drinks would be spiked. Having arrive, « Fashionably late. » according to Lance, Keith should have seen all the signs.
Upon their arrival, Christmas cheers with flushed faces filled the house, and Drinks were pressed firmly in their hands for a Christmas Toast.
Lance always talked about big families having big parties and for once, Keith was planning on being a part of that.
Sitting in the guest bathroom with his head down the toilet was not part of that.
Lance who seemed to be enjoying all this, waited patiently with a drink in his hand on the other side of the door.
« I’m sorry, I thought you knew. » Lance would say.
Keith wasn’t sure his boyfriend was all that sorry, if anything he seemed to be enjoying this.
« Who puts alcohol in eggnog?! » keith yelled.
Cracking the door open, a small grin on his face, Lance took a sip from his Alcoholic beverage.
« Keith, your gonna be okay. »
Keith was not okay. He had never experienced the full effects of Alcohol before. A sip of beer from Lance and a shot that burned his throat, and helped him decide he would never drink again but this time was different.
Sure the eggnog tasted a little funny but if he was honest it tasted great.
The body heat he was feeling could have easily been from the warmth of the house. Food was being cooked and the McClain’s were large enough without the extra guest and neighbors they invited.
How was Keith suppose to know the dizzy head rush was coming from his drink, if anything he drank more hoping his head would hurt less if he stayed hydrated. (Eggnog has some water in it right?)
« Lance.. » he could feenthe bile rising in and out of his mouth.
« ...make it stop. »
A warm hand rested on his shoulder and he could feel Lance drop to his knees to help rub his back and brush his hair back.
« It’s all right Keith, Just let it all out. »
Keith didn’t think he had anything to let out. So he focused on catching his breath between the dry heaves.
Maybe it was the alcohol but probably from embarrassment Keith could feel the tears running down his cheeks.
Could you write some headcanons for sick keith and lance taking care of him?? Thx c:
Sure! Here you go :)
•Keith would be so reluctant to letting anyone other than Shiro help him
•That is until Shiro is forced to go on a mission
•Lance is quick to volunteer to help take care of Keith in his time of not-really-wanting-to-admit-it need.
•Of course Lance started by feeling Keith’s forehead with the back of his hand, but he couldn’t even tell you if he had a fever or not
•He was distracted by the soft brush of Keith’s hair against his hand and just how undeniably beautiful his eyes were
•Keith questions the weird look Lance gives him after his hand lingers a little too long
•"What is it? Am I that hot?“ Keith asks seriously
•Truth is, Keith can’t even remember the last time he was sick…must be a result of being exposed to alien stuff
•Without missing a beat, Lance shoots him his signature smirk saying, "Hotter than the sun, but you always look that good”
•Keith is so out of it that he doesn’t even try to hide his growing blush
•Lance decides right then that Keith is absolutely adorable when he’s sick and vulnerable, and feels a little guilty when he throws a few more compliments his way
•But just a little guilty
•Because come on Keith is just so freaking adorable when he’s a blushing mess
•Lance proceeds to send Keith to his bed while he attempts to recreate soup his mom use to make him when he was sick
•Keith doesn’t particularly like the taste of it, probably tastes better with earth ingredients…
•He lets Lance spoon feed him half the bowl anyways
•Keith just didn’t have the heart to tell him how disgusting it was after Lance had gone out of his way to make it
•Plus vulnerable Keith loved Lance taking care of him
•Lance also wrapped Keith up like a burrito in five different blankets just because he mentioned he was “a little cold”
