I Would Never Leave You
My AO3 for more works: artobsessed_writes
Keith felt awful. He had woken up with a terrible headache and a sore throat. He probably was getting sick. Dammit. He hated being sick.
Getting out of bed, he felt sluggish as he made his way into the kitchen to make coffee. Turning on the coffee pot he yawned and stretched his arms over his head, hearing his joints pop. He looked at the clock on their oven and read the time. It was 6:30 on the dot. He normally woke up around 5 so the fact that he slept in only added to his conclusion of him being sick. He sighed and opened the cabinet that had all their mugs in it. He pulled his out which was red and had a picture of a grumpy looking cat on it. It was a joke gift from Lance a few months ago, but Keith used it anyway since it was the only one big enough to hold the amount of coffee he need in the morning to function right.
After he had poured himself coffee, he went to the living room and sat on the couch. He was too achy to train like he normally did so he grabbed a book of the coffee table instead and decided to read. The apartment was quiet with Lance still asleep. His weapon never got up before 7 and even then, it was a struggle to get him out of bed. Keith liked the quiet though. It reminded him of how it used to be when he was living on his own. He never minded the solitude and was perfectly content with remaining on his own for the rest of his life. That all changed when he met Lance however and ever since then living with the Cuban boy and being surrounded by constant noise had become the norm for him. It was all Shiro’s idea anyway, making him take on a partner even though he hated working with people. Keith had to admit, though having someone you can rely on to watch you back was nice. Not that he would ever let Lance know that, of course. It would go straight to his head and inflate his already gigantic ego.
It was around 7:15 when his weapon decided to make his way into the kitchen. Keith looked up and watched as the brunette stumbled into the room and nearly ran into every wall he encountered. Keith liked watching him like this. When he was quiet and still half asleep. It made him kind of cute. He went back to reading his book as Lance came over to sit on the couch with his own cup of coffee. If Keith could even call it that. He was pretty sure Lance put more sugar in it than coffee and just the thought of it made him feel sick. That might have also been because he was definitely sick now.
Lance sat crossed legged on the couch and sipped his coffee while turning on the T.V. He still had his headphones around his neck so he couldn’t hear the T. V. Keith assumed he just turned it on so he had something to look at rather than the wall.
Keith got up from the couch around 7:30 to get dressed and ready for class. He didn’t want to be late again. Last time he made it to class after the bell his teacher had used him as a model for the experiment they were doing that day. He still shivers at the look in his teacher’s eye when he told the class what they were doing. If it hadn’t been for Lance stepping in and telling the teacher off Keith was almost positive he would have been another corpse on an examination table in his teacher’s lab. That was a terrifying thought. He went to his room and pulled off his shirt and pants and changed into an outfit that was more suitable for the day. He put on his red jacket, a dark t shirt and jeans. He pulled his gloves on too and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and fix his hair. Lance always made fun of him for wearing them but he liked them so he ignored his weapon like he does with most the stuff that comes out of his mouth. It didn’t take him long to get ready and he even took some cold medicine that was behind their bathroom mirror to help with his sickness. The last thing he needed was him being sick interfering with their work and getting one of them hurt.
Walking out of the bathroom he looked over to see that Lance was still on the couch watching T.V. Keith huffed and went over to him, flicking him on the head
“Ow!” Lance looked up with his clear blue eyes that made Keith’s heart melt. “What was that for?”
Keith didn’t answer him verbally and just signed to him in sign language that they needed to go now if they didn’t want to be late for class. Lance grumbled, but got off the couch anyway. He didn’t want to piss off his teacher’s any more than Keith did and it was another 15 minutes before they were both ready and leaving the apartment. Getting to school wasn’t hard. Keith’s motorcycle was fast and they only were delayed a small bit because Keith had zoned out at a red light and missed when it turned green so they had to wait for it to turned again. Lance had asked him if he was alright and Keith only grunted in response, telling him he was fine and that he didn’t need to worry.
They got to class a few seconds before the bell rang and went to their seats as quickly as they could. Pidge and Hunk were already there and looked at them with a knowing glance as they sat down. It wasn’t the first time they had cut it close with getting to school on time and Keith was no in the mood for lectures. As soon as he sat down, he leaned his seat back and kicked his legs up on the desk. He was tired, which was normal since it was early, but he felt like he had just run a marathon and then decided to swim ten laps. Their teacher walked into the class after the bell like he always does and started the lesson. Keith didn’t really pay attention though and before he knew it he had fallen asleep.
He awoke to shaking. He opened his eyes and was suddenly met with a bright smile and equally bright eyes.
“Dude, Keith. Class has been over for like the last ten minutes. You sure you’re doing alright?” His weapon asked as he went to feel his forehead, but Keith swatted his hand away. He didn’t like when people worried about him over something as stupid as a cold.
“I’m fine Lance. Just had a long night and needed to catch up on some much needed sleep.” It wasn’t a lie. He really had gone to bed late because of an assignment he had to finish before Wednesday. Lance didn’t seem convinced though and just frowned at him. It was unfair how good he looked even when he was frowning. Lance opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Pidge when she came back into the room. “How long are you two gonna flirt in here? Shiro and I checked the board and we all have a mission today. Get your butts out here and let’s go. I’m sick of waiting.” She grumbled as she turned back around and left the room. Keith stood up before Lance could continue his earlier line of questioning and grabbed his weapon’s wrist, pulling him out of the room. Lance was quiet when they made it to Shiro and Pidge, who were waiting at the front of the school, which meant that he was thinking. Keith really hated it when he started to think because as much as he called the Cuban boy an idiot he was surprisingly intuitive and picked up on most things Keith tried to hide. It was probably because they were weapon and meister. They were more in tune with each other’s mental state that anyone else, but Keith still hated it all the same.
Shiro just looked at Keith as he and Lance got on his motorcycle. He was probably wondering why Lance of all people was silent. Keith just shot him a look that said it wasn’t his fault and Lance was just being weird again. Starting up his motorcycle and kicking the kickstand up he followed Pidge, who was on her hover board and Shiro, who had his own motorcycle.
“So, what is our mission anyway?” Keith asked a few minutes later over the sound of rushing wind in his ears.
“There is a village on the outskirts of town that has been terrorized by a non-human soul. They’ve been asking for help for a while, but I guess no one had time to go check it out. The board said the creature was close to becoming a kishin which is probably why they finally sent us out.” Pidge said as she came over to ride next to Keith so he could hear her.
Well while it didn’t surprise Keith that that was the only reason they were going to help, it didn’t exactly feel good knowing that. The whole reason he was an orphan to begin with was because the school did nothing to help his village when it was attacked by a non-human soul. He had hated the school for years because of that. He still doesn’t like it but he has managed to push most of his hate away since Shiro found him and took him in. The school may have not done anything to assist his village but it became his second home because of Shiro so he has a hard time hating it now.
Keith skid his motorcycle to a halt as they got the village. It was quiet and empty. He kicked the kickstand out and got off the bike. Lance was right at his side without a word. The place may have looked empty but they could feel the soul of a corrupt human lurking somewhere around. All four of them walked into the village. There was no one around, it looked like everyone had left in a hurry. They probably did.
Looking around, Keith tried to hone in on the aura of the non-human’s soul and locate it. A sound of a broken twig behind him made him whip around. Lance was already in weapon form and in his hand. There was nothing there but Keith knew they weren’t alone. He took slow, methodical steps toward the direction he heard the sound in. He could hear Pidge transforming behind him but he didn’t look back. All of a sudden, he heard a crash and barely avoided the long hand that reached out for him from one of the house next to them. Jumping back, he watched the creature pull his hand back into the hole in made in the side of the building it was in. It then pulled its whole body out into the open. The thing was disgusting. It had four limbs but they were long and bent in awkward angles. Its neck was also long and its head was hanging upside down, swinging around wildly as the creature moved. Its abdomen was swollen and dripping some kind of liquid.
Not staring at it long in hopes it wouldn’t make him throw up, Keith aimed his gun at the creature’s head and fired rapidly. The creature raised its hand and the shots bounced off it. Damn, this is was going to be tough. He kept firing as he watched Shiro run at it with Pidge. Pidge’s weapon form was a small blade that came to a point in the middle and was attached to a hand hold so Shiro could use her like brass knuckles. She was small but she also emitted electricity when she struck. Her Resonance let her blade because huge which meant she could deal more damage. Her and Shiro made a good team since they were already in Resonance and Shiro slashed at the horrifying creature.
Unfortunately, the thing had thick skin. Even with Pidge in her full form she could barely made a scratch on it. The creature tossed Shiro back and he hit the ground hard but was up on his feet in seconds. Well this was going wonderfully, Keith thought as he backed up and jumped up onto a low roof of one of the houses. If he didn’t get a head shot, they would be fighting this thing for hours. Lining the scope on top of Lance up with his target, Keith pulled the trigger.
His shot was off though. Right before he could shoot he suddenly got super dizzy and had to brace himself with one hand on the roof so he didn’t completely fall off it.
“Keith! Hey! Are you alright?!” Lance yelled as Keith shook his head a bit to clear it. He could feel his weapon’s panic through their link.
“I’m fine Lance. Don’t worry about me, just worry about hitting that fucking thing in the head.” It probably wasn’t the best time to get mad, but Keith was irritated. Not at Lance but at himself for being so incompetent. Even if he was sick, he shouldn’t have missed a shot like that.
None of the panic that he felt from Lance went away but he ignored it and lined up his shot again. The damn thing was moving now as he looked through his scope. Shiro and Pidge were still fighting it and it was almost impossible to get a clean shot. Of course, he screws up the one time he gets a break and now he has to wait for an eternity for there to be an another opening.
Finally, after what feels like forever he gets a clean shot. Taking it as soon as he can he pulls the trigger and nails the creature right in the head. It falls on its back and fails for a minute before going completely still and limp. Thank god that was over, Keith didn’t know much longer he would have been able to hold out. As he watched the creature fall, his world began to tilt. Shit. Maybe he was sicker than he thought he was. He expected to hit the roof or worse the ground but instead he felt two arms wrap around him and pull him back before he went toppling over the edge. “God dammit Keith. If you were sick why did you just tell me? You could have gotten yourself killed!” The sound of Lance’s voice was above him but it sounded like it was coming through water. His head was so fuzzy and it hurt, the headache that he has had all day seemed to be getting worse. He felt himself being lifted but he didn’t protest. He was too tired to fight Lance so he let him carry him back to Shiro and Pidge.
Vaguely Keith realized Lance doesn’t know how to ride his motorcycle which meant that they had to leave it there. Fuck. Pidge let Lance use her hoverboard since he knew how to ride that and she got on the back of Shiro’s motorcycle. Normally Keith hated Lance’s flying, it was so uncoordinated and he always took unnecessary risks, but the way he was flying was soothing. He was just riding the wind, making sure not to jostle Keith too much. Eventually Keith fell asleep. When he woke up, he didn’t know where he was at first. They had just been fighting a non-human soul, why was he suddenly wrapped up in a thousand blankets in a bed. As he looked around the room he was in. he slowly began to remember what happened. That’s right. He passed out during a mission and Lance had to take him home. Speaking of Lance, his weapon was sitting at the foot of the bed leaning against the end post and was drawing in his sketchpad. Keith knew he worried Lance quite a bit then. The Cuban boy only drew when he was stressed about something or after one of their fights. Sitting up, he caught the brunette’s attention.
“Hey.” Keith’s voice sounded hoarse and his throat burned. He tried to smile but the look on Lance’s face made it falter slightly
“Don’t ‘Hey’ me. What the fuck were you thinking? Do you know how worried I was when I saw you fall? You can’t do that to me Keith, you just can’t!” Lance’s face was red with rage. He had put his sketchbook down and was now crawling toward Keith, jabbing him in the chest with a finger when he got closed to him. Keith didn’t say anything as Lance continued to yell, his voice was stuck in his throat.
“You could’ve died for all I know. Do you know what that means? I would have lot another meister. Another one!” Keith could see tears beginning to form in his weapons bright blue eyes.
“I wouldn’t have died. It’s just a cold.” Keith’s voice was small and quiet. He hated making his weapon worry and even worse he hated making him cry. The Cuban boy has been through enough and Keith didn’t want to add to it.
“Just a cold?! Keith, you nearly fell off a roof!” Lance’s tears were flowing down his cheeks freely now as he grabbed Keith’s shirt and pulled him forward. Keith clenched his eyes shut bracing himself for the hit Lance was sure to give him. That didn’t happen though, what happened was that he felt those same arms as before wrap around him and hold him as if he would disappear any second.
“Please, please, please. Don’t do that ever again, don’t scare me like that ever again. I couldn’t handle it if I lost you. Not just cause you’re my meister but also because you’re the most important person to me ever right now.” Lance’s voice was muffled since his face was smushed into Keith’s chest. Keith couldn’t help it, he smiled softly as he looked down at his weapon. He knew he had scared the brunette badly today but he also knew that Lance cared about him a lot. Sighing, he brought his hand up and ran it through his weapon’s hair, calming him down.
Next time he’ll make sure he takes better care of himself when he is sick. For Lance’s sake.