Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keith hated this.

"Anything?" the doctor asked. Again.

"Nope," Keith said, bored. The doctor sighed. He turned to Shiro.

"It seems like the treatment isn't working yet," he said. Shiro sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "We'll give it some more time." He helped Keith from the exam table, setting him in his wheelchair. He backed away so Keith could wheel himself out the door. Shiro walked behind him, occasionally opening doors for Keith. The only reason Keith let him was because he knew Shiro wanted to feel useful.

They got to Shiro's van, all black with a purple interior. Keith thought it was stupid, so Shiro insisted upon it. What a great brother.

Shiro helped Keith into the passenger seat, putting his wheelchair in the back. Keith put his seatbelt on, then stared out the window. He thought about the first time he sat in his wheelchair. He was thirteen, so it had been seven years now. It had been a lovely day, when the accident happened. His parents had wanted to take him on a road trip. Everything had been fine. Until a car t-boned them, sending the car into a roll, killing both his parents and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Shiro climbed into the driver's side, starting the engine.

"It'll work," he said. "Eventually."

"That's what they always say," Keith muttered. "This is the third treatment. There is still no feeling in my legs." Shiro sighed.

"I know," he said. "One of these days though. Something will finally work." Keith resisted the urge to snort. He'd given up hope that he'd ever walk again, even with the doctors' promises that he would one day. Shiro, however, still clung to that hope. Keith glanced at Shiro as he pulled out of the parking lot. The man's family took him in after the accident. Shiro was his brother, now and always. But sometimes, Keith thought he was a little naive.

"We'll see," Keith said.

Shiro drove them back to their tiny apartment in the city. They lived in the first floor, which was convenient, and there was an elevator to the garage below, so that helped. However, their apartment was crap. Everything needed an update and their plumbing sucked. But it was the only apartment building near Shiro's college that was wheelchair accessible.

Keith opened the door and waited for Shiro to get his wheelchair. As much as he hated being an inconvenience to Shiro, he was grateful for the help. Shiro always told him he was happy to help and certainly wasn't a burden. But Keith knew Shiro was stressed, both from teaching at Altea University and being Keith's primary caregiver.

Keith wheeled himself into their apartment, going straight for his tablet. He figured the least he could do to help out was earning some money of his own, so he became a freelance artist. It paid decently well, along with the pay Shiro got from teaching college kids about space. Keith actually took a few at classes at the college, but only to better his skills. He hated sitting in classrooms for very long. Kids tended to stare.

"Pizza or Korean for dinner?" Shiro asked, closing the down behind him.

"Korean," Keith said. He pushed himself over to the couch, moving there so they could watch a movie. Shiro grabbed a DVD (a Disney movie called "The Secret of the Magic Gourd", which was such trash it never failed to make Keith laugh at how dumb it was) and put it in, before ordering take-out. Keith opened a drawing he'd been working on. It was a commission piece of a bouquet of flowers. The guy who commissioned it said he wanted to give it to his girlfriend for her birthday, so the flowers had to be lilacs. Lilacs were a pain to draw, but Keith wasn't one to turn down cash, so lilacs it was.

"They turned out pretty good," Shiro said, sitting next to him.

"Thanks," Keith said, glancing up as the intro to the movie played.

"Want me to take the day off tomorrow?" Shiro asked.

"Nah," Keith said. "I'll go to class tomorrow. You shouldn't have to stay home for me, just because I'm disappointed." While Keith had lost hope of his legs working again, he was still disappointed.

"Alright," Shiro said. The doorbell rang then. Probably food. Shiro got up to get it. Keith snickered at the movie. Literally, none of it made sense and it hadn't even been playing for ten minutes.

Shiro came back with the food. Keith dropped his tablet in favor of eating, digging in to the comfort of Korean food. Shiro chuckled, eating his at a more human pace.

An hour or so later, the movie ended and Keith was tired. He pushed himself back into his wheelchair.

"Night, Shiro," Keith said, wheeling over to his room.

"Night," Shiro responded. Keith got himself into pajamas, which was not as hard as most people think, and moved himself to his bed. He pulled his useless legs onto the mattress and pulled the blankets up. Just another end to another day.

Chapter Text

The next day, Keith woke up to his alarm blaring at him. The annoying BEEP BEEP BEEP was loud enough to wake the dead. Keith thought that applied to himself perfectly.

“Keith!” Shiro yelled. “Shut your alarm off!” Keith groaned and smacked his phone. Two things came from that: he successfully shut off the alarm….but knocked his phone on the floor. Keith groaned, flopping over again. What a great start to the day.

Keith pushed himself to sitting and tugged his chair over. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, then maneuvered himself to get in the chair. Keith took a breath, then pushed himself off the bed. He missed.

“Ow!” Keith said, falling on his butt. “Fu-”

“Keith!?” Shiro said running in. Keith glared up at him from his spot on the floor. Shiro sighed. “You know you can just ask me for help, right?”

“I can do it on my own,” Keith grumbled as Shiro came over to help him up.

“I can see that,” Shiro said, helping Keith into his chair. Keith stuck his tongue out at him.

“I just forgot to lock the wheels,” he said, trying to defend himself.

“Just like the last twenty times?” Shiro asked, small smirk on his face.

“Shut up,” Keith said, rolling out of the room. He stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth. He’d tackle a shower tonight, already grumpy from the morning’s events.

“Want a ride to Altea, or are you gonna chance the bus?” Shiro asked, as Keith came back out.

“After the morning I’ve had,” Keith said. "I'll take that ride." Shiro chuckled and went to get himself ready for the day.

Keith went back to his room and grabbed a light grey beanie, a red hoodie, and a black pair of pants. The pants were a bit longer than his legs, which Keith appreciated, as he was a bit self-conscious about them. After pulling everything on, he wheeled himself back to the living room to wait for Shiro. Keith grabbed a granola bar and a banana to eat on the way, since there weren’t any good coffee shops near Altea and Keith didn’t trust whatever Shiro had tried to make for breakfast.

“Ok,” Shiro said, coming out of his room. “Ready?”

“I’m always ready before you,” Keith said. He was, considering he usually just wore hoodies, while Shiro had to actually put on a tie. It was black and complemented the white button-down and khaki slacks he wore. If anything, at least Shiro had a sense of style.

The two made their way down to the garage and into Shiro’s van. The drive to Altea University was only about ten minutes on a good day. Keith watched out the window, not spotting the bus. Since it wasn’t ahead of them either, it must be running late. Good thing Keith decided to mooch off his brother today.

Once at the university, Shiro helped Keith out of the van and onto the sidewalk.

“See you later?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah,” Keith said. “I’ll let you know if I get done early.” Shiro nodded. Keith hung his backpack on the back of his chair and started toward the ramp that led inside.

“Hey, hold on!” a voice said. Keith paused and looked over at the stairs. A kid stood at the bottom. He was hard to see, since the sun was shining in his eyes, but the kid was tall, probably taller than Keith. He had caramel colored skin, short brown hair that seemed to curl at the ends, and the most striking blue eyes Keith had ever seen. Then he realized this kid was still talking.

“Dude,” he said. “Are you listening?” Keith squinted at him. He knew that voice.

“Lance?” he asked. Lance’s eyes widened.

“Hey, wait,” he said. “You’re that kid in my photography class. Keith, right?” Keith nodded.

“What do you want?” Keith asked, the question coming out more annoyed than he meant. It was just….Lance was obnoxious. He fit the term “class clown” perfectly. Lance frowned.

“Wow, chill man,” Lance said. “I just thought you’d like to know the ramp’s closed.” Keith looked at the ramp he was gonna go up. It was indeed closed. For some repairs that Keith couldn’t see.

“Oh, perfect,” Keith muttered. He ran a hand down his face. “Guess I’m not going to class.”

“Just because the ramp is closed?” Lance asked.

“Well how else am I gonna get into the building?” Keith bit out, not actually frustrated with Lance. Lance gave him a look, regarding him. Then, he walked over to Keith. Suddenly, before Keith could protest, Lance picked him up. “Hey!”

“Oh, shush, Mullet,” Lance said. “Hold on before I drop you.” Keith scowled, but wrapped his hands around Lance’s neck. He didn’t need to fall a second time today.

Lance got him inside, then set him down on a nearby bench. He ran back out to get Keith’s wheelchair.

“Your carriage, good sir,” Lance said, making a grand gesture. Keith snorted.

“Thanks,” he said. Lance smiled. He looked like he was gonna help Keith into it, but Keith held up a hand. He made sure the locks were on this time, before transferring from the bench to his chair.

“Well,” Lance said. “We better get to class, huh?” Keith nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “And, Lance? Thanks again.” Lance gave him another smile, then headed off down the hall. Keith went in the other direction. Maybe this day wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Keith sat as his easel in his still life art class. He thought it was interesting that the art classes were split up like this. There was still life, painting, photography, sculpture, and then a whole class working with every medium under the sun. Keith didn’t know why the classes were split that way, but he guessed it was for the people that wanted to pick and choose what medium of art they wanted to work with. He actually took most of these classes, like still life, photography and painting.

Today, they were going to sketch a bowl of fruit. Very cheesy and something the class had done before. But today, they were told to make each fruit as unique as possible. The professor’s exact words were, “I don’t care if your banana is pink with teal squiggles on it, just make it interesting!” Keith was always up for a challenge.

“Hey,” a girl on Keith’s left said. He looked up from his rough sketch of the fruit bowl.

“Uh, hi?” Keith said awkwardly.

“I’m new,” she said. “Name’s Nyma.” She held out a hand. Keith shook it.

“Keith,” he said.

“Is the class always like this?” she asked.

“Nah,” Keith said. “Some days we have to draw chess pieces in the middle of a battle.” She snorted.

“You’re funny,” she said. She glanced at his wheelchair. Keith instantly became defensive. The rest of the class has stools to sit at, but Keith prefered to just stay in his own chair. Less hauling himself around that way.

“Something wrong?” he bit out, turning back to his sketch.

“Oh, no!” Nyma said, face flushing. She tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. “I was just curious. I mean, you’re an invalid, so how did you even get into the building? The ramp’s closed.” Keith resisted the urge to glare at her. He wasn’t quite sure if she was intending to be rude or not, but she was making a horrible first impression. She hadn’t even apologised for staring.

“I had help,” he said simply. He refused to look at her again, but he could tell she was nodding, like that made perfect sense.

“Guess you need help with a lot of stuff,” she said. “Must make being in a relationship hard.” At this, Keith had to turn and gape at her. Who the heck was this girl? She meets someone for the first time and immediately starts being rude to them and insulting them?!

“Excuse me?” he said. “I’ll have you know, I can do plenty of things on my own.”

“Really?” she asked, genuinely surprised, which pissed Keith off. “Wow, that’s great! You know I had this boyfriend once. He broke his arm in a swimming accident. Hit it against the wall pretty hard. He was so reliant on others to help him with almost everything, since it was his dominant hand or something. We broke up because he was super clingy during that time.”

“It’s not like he had a choice,” Keith said, curtly. “I’m sure he probably wanted to do everything on his own.”

“Lance was always clingy though,” Nyma said, casually. Keith froze.

“Wait, Lance?” he asked. Nyma nodded.

“Yeah, you know him?” she asked, turning back to her own sketch. It wasn’t very good.

“He’s in my photography class,” Keith muttered. Nyma made a humming noise.

“Neat,” she said. “Maybe we’ll run into each other. I kind of hope we don’t though. He’s pretty depressing to be around.” Keith seriously wanted to slap this girl. Did she take a class on how to effectively insult someone? True, Keith didn’t really know Lance that well, but he certainly wasn’t depressing. Keith actually thought he was funny. Not that he’d ever tell the other boy that, but this girl….she probably thought she was the star of every show, what with the way she talked about him.

Keith didn’t respond, simply packing up his things to leave. He always left his classes a few minutes early, to avoid getting crowded in the halls. Nyma glanced at him, then the clock, then back at him with a pitying expression on her face. Keith wanted to throw his pencil at her.

He pushed his wheelchair out the door. His next class was actually photography. Keith debated on if he should tell Lance about his meeting with Nyma. Just then, the boy in question raced past him.

“Lance?” Keith called. Lance skidded to a halt and turned.

“Hey, Keith!” he said. He waited for Keith to catch up, then they continued towards the photography classroom.

“What’s the rush?” Keith asked. He noticed Lance had slowed down to accomodate for Keith. It was sweet.

“Oh, the professor asked me to model today,” he said. “Apparently we’re starting on taking pictures of people and no one signed up to model, so he asked me.”

“It’s not like…..nude modeling, is it?” Keith asked. Lance laughed.

“Dios Mio, no!” he said. “It’s just to practice getting shadows right on a person’s face or something like that.” Keith chuckled sheepishly.

“Ah, got it,” he said. They reached the classroom. Lance held the door for Keith.

“After you,” he said. Keith smiled.

“Thanks,” he said, wheeling himself through the door. He stopped next to a desk at the end of a row, moving from his chair to the one at the desk. Lance came around behind him and sat on the other side.

“So, how’s your day been, since the whole ramp incident?” Lance asked. Keith frowned.

“Fine,” he said. “I ran into a….friend of yours.” Lance raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?” he asked. “I didn’t think you knew my friends. Who was it?”

“Nyma,” Keith said. He told Lance about their conversation.

“I’d be pissed too,” Lance said when he finished. “Seriously, who says someone’s an ‘invalid’?”

“Her apparently,” Keith said. Lance sighed.

“Well, she was right when she said we broke up because of that,” he said. “But like, you’d expect your significant other to help you with stuff like putting away dishes, or folding laundry, or feeding the cat. Nyma thought it was a giant chore and I was acting like I was helpless.”

“You have a cat?” Keith asked. Lance laughed. Keith found he sort of liked the sound of Lance’s laugh.

“Yeah, her name is Blue,” he said. “If you want, you could come over some time and meet her?”

“Sure,” Keith said. Lance snatched a pencil from Keith’s bag and tore a corner off of a piece of paper that was sticking out. He wrote something down, then handed it to Keith.

“Text me the next time you’re free and we’ll work something out,” he said. Keith took the phone number like it was gonna burn him. He’d never gotten a guy’s number that easily before. Just then, the rest of the class came in, followed by the professor. Keith would admit to having trouble paying attention the rest of the day after that.

Chapter Text

Keith wheeled himself to the ramp to leave. He was still reeling from the fact Lance gave him his number. Like, were they just friends? Or did he LIKE him? WHAT DID THIS MEAN?!

“Keith, stop!”

Keith looked up and paused, a few inches from falling off the deconstructed ramp.

“Oh, sh-!” he backpedaled. He turned and saw Shiro running up to him.

“Are you okay?!” he asked, full-on mother hen mode.

“Yeah, I’m fine Shiro,” Keith said. “I forgot about the ramp.” Shiro sighed.

“C’mon,” he said. “I’ll help you down.”

A few minutes later, Keith was in Shiro’s van, trying not to think about the fact his brother carried him bridal-style all the way there. Shiro finished putting his wheelchair in the back, then climbed into the driver’s seat.

“So,” Shiro said. “How was your day?” Keith tried not to snort at the sudden normal question.

“Fine,” he said. “You?” Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“Just fine?” he asked.

“What are you, my mom?” Keith joked. Shiro rolled his eyes, before starting the van to go home.

“Seriously, you were pretty lost in thought earlier,” Shiro said. “What was on your mind?” Keith looked out the window.

“Uh, nothing,” he said. He could feel Shiro trying to give him an unimpressed stare while he drove.

“Nothing?” he pressed.

“Drop it, Shiro,” Keith said. Shiro shrugged.

“Well, since you asked,” he said, changing the subject. “My day was great.” Keith tuned him out as he launched into a story about some class clown he had to deal with. The ride back was far longer than the ride to the University.

“I’m gonna go do some homework,” Keith said, once he was back in their apartment. Shiro waved him off. Keith went to his room and took out his sketchbook, ignoring his homework for the moment. Maybe he was putting too much thought into this, but he had this really weird urge to draw Lance now. Much more interesting than homework anyway.

Two hours later, Shiro knocked on his door.

“Keith?” he asked. The door opened. Shiro stared at the wadded up pieces of paper strewn about the whole room. Keith had his head on his desk, muttering.

“None of them are right,” Keith muttered, a little louder. Shiro picked up the closest paper ball.

“What isn’t right?” he asked, unfolding it. It was a picture of a boy. A simple pencil sketch, but really realistic. It was good. “Keith, this is really good.”

“No, it’s not,” Keith said, looking up at Shiro. “It’s not good enough.” He pointed to the picture. “The hair is all wrong in this one.”

“Wait, is this someone you know?” Shiro asked. Keith blushed.

“It’s uh….” he cleared his throat. “It’s Lance. A classmate of mine.” Shiro smirked.

“Keith,” he said. Keith pointedly looked away. “You didn’t tell me you have a crush.” Keith’s face flamed.

“Shut up,” he said. Shiro snickered.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your ‘imperfect’ drawings,” he said. “Also, I got take-out.” Keith hummed in confirmation. Shiro chuckled, making Keith bring his hands up to hide his still red face.

“I regret telling you anything,” he said.

“No you don’t!” Shiro yelled on his way out of the room. Keith groaned. He pulled out his phone.

*Keith*: Hey.

*Keith*: It’s Keith.

*Lance*: Hey! What’s up? :)

*Keith*: My brother is being obnoxious.

*Lance*: Sounds rough.

*Keith*: Yeah.

*Keith*: Anyway, I wanted to ask when you were free?

*Keith*: If you still wanted me to come over, that is.

*Lance*: Of course! How about this weekend? :D

*Keith*: Sure.

*Lance*: Great! See you then! :D

Keith smiled at the little emojis Lance used. He was such a dork. A cute dork though. He put his phone away and decided to actually attempt his homework.

Chapter Text

Keith regretted having fallen asleep on top of his sketchbook. Using his phone camera as a mirror, he saw that some of his darker shading had been rubbed onto his cheek.

“Lovely,” he muttered, moving to wipe it off. Apparently, the night before he had fallen asleep over his sketchbook and Shiro, being the brother he is, decided not to bother waking him up to wipe off the pencil marks and took pictures instead. Now Keith was dealing with it the next morning.

“Keith! You up yet?” Shiro yelled from the otherside of the apartment.

“Yeah!” Keith yelled back. He wheeled himself to the bathroom, giving his hair a quick once-over with a brush and brushed his teeth. He had on his grey beanie again, a black tee and a pair of blue jeans. A knock sounded on the bathroom door.

“You decent?” Shiro asked, opening the door anyway.

“Does it matter?” Keith snorted. “Yes, I am. Do you need something?”

“Comb,” he simply said, reaching for the object in question.

“I’m glad it’s Friday today,” Keith said, wheeling himself around Shiro.

“Why’s that?” Shiro asked.

“Because Friday’s are when I don’t have class,” Keith said. Shiro chuckled.

“I guess that’s true,” he said, following Keith out of the bathroom. “Seeing as I still have to drive to the university, is there anywhere you want me to drop you today?”

“Actually, yeah,” Keith said. “Could you drop me at the park? I’m in an artsy mood.” Shiro smiled.

“Sure,” he said. “Which artsy mood? Photography or drawing?”

“Not sure yet,” Keith said. This was something he did sometimes. He would get into these “moods” and one could always find him at the park, either with his camera, sketchbook or both. Keith liked the fact that it was busy enough that people just passed right by him, but it wasn’t overly crowded.

“Leaving in five!” Shiro said from the kitchen. Keith went to his room to grab his camera bag and backpack, which he stuffed his sketchbook and pencils into. Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

*???*: Hey. This is Nyma. Hope you don’t think it’s weird, but your number was on the tag of your backpack. I just wanted to say, I was pretty rude yesterday. Sorry about that. But I wanted to warn you about Lance. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. He’s probably only hanging out with you because he feels sorry for you. Don’t get me wrong, he’s sweet. But it doesn’t last. Anyway, sorry again for yesterday.

Keith stared at his phone. He was fairly certain his number was NOT on his backpack, so that raised some questions. But what angered him most in this moment was that Nyma was clearly trying to sabotage the friendship he had with Lance. Maybe she was jealous? He scowled as he typed out a reply.

*Keith*: I don’t know how you got my number (because I don’t buy the backpack crap) but I don’t care. Stay away from me and Lance. You know nothing about me, and I doubt you know a thing about Lance. Don’t try and text me again.

With that, he blocked her number and deleted the text thread. He picked up his stuff again and met Shiro at the door, who huffed at how slow he was being. Keith’s phone buzzed again.

*Lance*: Hey! Class got cancelled for me. You got any free time?

*Keith*: Hi. Yeah, Shiro is just dropping me off at the park. In an “artsy” mood.

*Lance*: I can meet you there, if you want? Oh! You could come over to my place later and meet Blue! <3 :D

*Keith*: Depends. How far do you live from the park and what kind of car do you have?

*Lance*: 10 min. from the park. Don’t worry about the car, it’s wheelchair friendly. ;)

*Keith*: Then sure. I’ll let Shiro know.

Keith turned to his brother.

“Hey,” he said. “So, Lance is gonna meet me at the park and we’re gonna go to his house later. His classes apparently got cancelled.”

“I assume you already asked about car issues?” Shiro asked. Keith nodded. “Ok, just let me know if I gotta pick you up.”

“Sure,” Keith said, trying for nonchalance. It only sorta worked. Truth was, he was very excited to spend more time with Lance. He had finally managed to draw a decent picture of the boy last night, and it was hanging by his bed. He hadn't had a crush like this in a long time. It made him feel giddy. His phone buzzed again.

*Lance*: Awesome sauce! See ya soon! XD

Keith smiled and pulled out his camera, snapping pictures of the scenery as in flew past the window. He liked photos taken in motion. It took skill to take a tastefully blurred photo. Most ended up just plain blurry. But sometimes the picture looked like a speeding vortex. It was truly an art.

Chapter Text

Hey guys. So, I usually hate when authors put these notes in as chapters, but there is something really important I wanted to tell you guys.

So, I planned for the next chapter of Journey to include meeting Lance's cat, Blue. But it's gonna be a bit before I can write that chapter....

My dog Lily passed away yesterday, May 6th. She was 14 years old and the sweetest thing I've ever met. I got her when I was 6 and so this is really taking a toll on me. Please understand if a lot of my updates are slow for awhile as I mourn the loss of Lily.

I promise I'm not abandoning this or any of my works, but I need to take a bit of a break. I hope you all are doing well and if any of you have pets, give them a hug and kiss this instant.💕🐾

Thanks for understanding you guys.

Chapter Text

Lance drove to the park, feeling incredibly excited. Blue was his pride and joy, so having Keith meet her ment a lot to him. Blue was pretty easy-going, but she was also pretty protective of Lance.

He pulled up to the park and stopped. He scanned the surrounding area, noticing Keith immediately. He smiled and got out.

Keith was snapping pictures of some flowers he saw, just a little patch near a tree. It's like the flowers were trying to be bold, even though the tree clearly overshadowed them. The bright colors of the petals were just so striking. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Sorry!" Lance said, smiling. Keith sighed.

"You scared the crap outta me," he said, putting his camera away. Lance noticed a bench nearby and sat down on it. Keith wheeled himself a bit closer.

"Do you come to the park often?" Lance asked. Keith shrugged.

"If the mood strikes," he said.

"And how often is that?" Lance asked.

"Often," Keith said. Lance chuckled.

"You wanna head to my place now?" he asked. "We can order pizza or something for lunch?"

"Sure," Keith said. "I didn't have breakfast so I'm hungry."

"Of course you didn't have breakfast," Lance muttered. He stood back up. "Well there's no time to waste. To the car!" He led Keith to his car. It wasn't a van like Shiro's, but an actual car. Said car was a dark blue with a sleek black interior. Keith vaguely wondered how his wheelchair was going to fit.

"Uh," he started. Lance opened the door and pulled Keith's chair over.

"Shush, I got this," he said. Keith raised an eyebrow as Lance maneuvered his chair next to the car. "Ok, can you push yourself over?" Keith nodded, pushing himself up and over into the car. He pulled his legs in while Lance folded up the wheelchair, popping the trunk and putting it inside.

"Huh," Keith said as Lance got into the driver's side. "Shiro's van is big enough so I don't have to fold my chair up. I sort of forgot it could do that." Lance snorted.

"Wow," he said. "Well I'm glad I could remind you of that useful feature." Now it was Keith's turn to snort.

They spent the next ten minutes listening to the radio, which was on some Spanish station. Keith understood none of the words, but he enjoyed listening to Lance sing along to every song that came on. He only stopped when they finally made it to Lance's small apartment. He helped Keith out of his car and to the elevator.

"I can wheel myself you know," Keith said, no actual hear behind his words.

"I know," Lance said. "But you're my guest and I'd hate to have you do all the work." Keith rolled his eyes fondly, letting Lance push him down the hall to his apartment. Lance unlocked the door, and immediately Keith was assaulted with a blue-hrey fuzzy mass.

"Oomph!" Keith said as the thing launched itself into his gut.

"Blue!" Lance chided, wheeling Keith inside before picking the cat up, letting the door close behind them. "Sorry about that. She's super friendly, but she always does that with new people. I've been trying to get her to stop." Keith smiled.

"No worries," he said. "So, this is the famous Blue I've been hearing about?" Lance nodded.

"Yup!" he said, giving her ears a scratch. Blue let out a small purr.

"Can I hold her?" Keith asked.

"Sure!" Lance said. "Like I said, she's super friendly." He placed her in Keith's lap. Blue looked up at him expectantly. Keith carefully let his fingers trail from her head down her back. Blue arched into his touch, letting out another soft purr.

"I think she likes me," Keith said, still carefully petting the cat, as Blue got herself comfy. Lance laughed.

"I think she's realizing you can move about the apartment and still pet her," he said. "My beautiful girl is a princess after all." Keith smiled.

"That sounds about right," he said. "Considering she's your cat." Lance scoffed and walked into the kitchen. Keith followed, stopping Blue's pets momentarily to do so. Lance pulled some pop out of the fridge.

"All I've got is Coke," he said. "That okay?" Keith shrugged.

"Sure," he said. "Can we get pineapple pizza?" Lance made a face.

"Ew," he said. "I will never understand why people want warm pineapple covered in cheese. We can get half, but the other half is gonna be pepperoni."

"Fair enough," Keith said. "And pineapple pizza is a blessing."

"Agree to disagree," Lance said, pulling out his phone to order the pizza. Keith took a moment to observe the apartment.

It was simple, just a small living room/kitchen, and a door with Keith assumed led to Lance's room and perhaps a small bathroom. He did notice all the cat toys strewn about. Seems Lance wasn't exaggerating. Blue was a princess.

"Pizza should be here in twenty," he said, going over to the couch. Keith wheeled himself next to the armrest, not really in the mood to try and transfer himself. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"What do you got?" Keith asked. Lance stood back up and walked over to a small shelf with DVD's on it.

"How about Clue?" he said.

"Is that the one based on the board game?" Keith asked. Lance nodded.

"It's actually pretty good," he said. Keith shrugged, which Lance took as a yes. He popped the movie in, sitting back down on the couch. Blue seemed to realize that the humans were going to watch a movie, and hopped off of Keith's lap over to Lance's. Lance absent-mindedly started scratching her ears.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Lance paused the movie and went to answer it. Keith kept Blue occupied. Lance then returned with a pizza box in hand.

"Fooooood," Keith said, reaching out his hands like a child. Lance giggled.

"Hold on, lemme see it down," he said. He put the box within reaching distance of Keith, before settling on the floor in front of the couch, resuming the movie.

"Why are you on the floor?" Keith asked.

"It feels weird to eat on the couch, so I always sit on the floor when I eat in here," Lance said. "I can't explain it man, it is what it is." He added that last bit seeing Keith's still confused face. Keith chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Lance," he said, grabbing a piece from the pineapple side. Lance made a face, grabbing a pepperoni slice.

"Says the guy eating pineapple pizza," he said, biting into his own slice. Keith decided not to answer that comment. Instead, he watched as Blue hopped into Lance's shoulders and curled herself around his neck. Lance just sat there, like this was something she did often. Keith snorted.

"What?" Lance asked, turning to look at him.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just….you look like your wearing a fuzzy scarf with Blue draped across you like that." Lance glanced down at Blue, cracking a smile.

"Ha, I guess you're right!" he laughed. Keith giggled as well. It made him feel warm inside. He could get used to this feeling.

Chapter Text

Keith woke up the next day annoyed.

Lance had driven him home after a few hours (Shiro had been pestering Keith about how long he was going to be out, so Keith just decided to head home). He was sad to leave, as he really enjoyed Lance's company.

"Keith?" Shiro called. "You up?" Keith groaned.

"No?" he tried. Shiro pushed open his door.

"Keith," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "Come on, we gotta go. You know you have your physical therapy on Saturdays." Keith groaned again, this time louder.

"What's the point, Shiro?" he said. "I still can't walk!" Shiro sighed.

"Just get up," he said. Keith pouted, but sat up and pushed himself into his wheelchair. He wiggled on some pajama bottoms (he never went to therapy in anything else) and his red hoodie. He wheeled himself to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair.

"Let's get this over with," he said, wheeling himself past Shiro, who stood waiting at the door. They went down to Shiro's van in silence.

"Keith," Shiro said, once they were in the van.

"Drop it," Keith said. Silence reigned again.

They made it to the physical therapy place, much to Keith's disappointment. He let Shiro wheel him inside, just wanting to get this over with.

"Keith!" a cherry guy said. Keith groaned. Let the torture begin.

"Hi, Doctor Kyd," Keith said. He cracked a smile at Shiro trying to hold back a snicker. Every time, Keith made sure to greet the middle-aged man by name. Doctor Kyd never seemed to notice the humor of his own name. That, or he just got used to it.

"How're you doing, sport?" Doctor Kyd asked, taking over from Shiro. Shiro never stayed with Keith, which made him a traitor in Keith's mind.

"Fine," he said, trying not to cringe at the nickname the doctor gave him. Keith had been seeing him since his accident, and he was sure Doctor Kyd still saw him as a confused thirteen-year-old.

"I heard about your last check-up," the doctor said. "Sorry to hear that it's not working."

"It's fine," Keith sighed. Doctor Kyd's cheeriness was getting on his nerves today.

"Okay!" Doctor Kyd said suddenly. "Today we're gonna work on this machine here!" He pointed to a nearby device that was supposed to help Keith get used to moving his legs again. He sighed.

"Okay" he said.

About 45 minutes later, Doctor Kyd led Keith back to Shiro.

"See you next week, Keith!" Doctor Kyd said. Keith tried not to groan. Shiro let Keith wheel himself out.

"Can we PLEASE find a new physical therapy place? Or a new doctor?" Keith asked.

"Not going to fight me about going at all?" Shiro asked. Keith just sighed.

"If you're going to make me go," Keith said. "You can at least agree that I need someone new."

"But then we wouldn't get to laugh at Doctor Kyd's name," Shiro said, smirking. Keith threw his hands in the air.

"Who names their kid, Kyd?!" Keith asked. He had been shocked upon learning that the strange name was not in fact his last name, but his first. His last name was Anderson, which was downright normal.

"That's got to be the worst thing to name a kid," Shiro agreed, laughing.

"It's not," Keith said. "At least his name isn't Dick." Shiro was wheezing at this point, helping Keith back into the van.

"Or Ib," Shiro said. Keith stared at him.

"That's a name?" he asked.

"That's a name," Shiro confirmed. Keith laughed.

"I wanna know how many strange names there are out there," Keith said.

"I heard there was a girl named Orgasm," Shiro said. Keith stopped laughing.

"No way," he said.

"Look it up," Shiro said, getting into the van. Keith whipped out his phone. Sure enough, he found a list called "100 Ugly Baby Names" and it was there.

"That's just sad," Keith said. "And that's not even the worst one." Shiro laughed again. They spent the whole car ride laughing about terrible names, which made Keith's day a small bit better.

When they got back to the apartment, Keith wheeled himself over to the couch and sat down. He turned on some random cartoon and sighed.

"Need anything?" Shiro asked.

"Can you order Subway?" Keith asked.

"Sure," Shiro said. Keith's focus turned back to the cartoon. It was some 80's show called Voltron. It was interesting enough. "Keith, I'll be back!" Shiro called, letting the door slam before Keith could respond.

"Thanks!" he called back anyway. He didn't plan on moving the rest of the day. Physical therapy always left him drained, even though it was only 45 minutes. He just didn't feel motivated enough, so 45 minutes felt like three hours. But now he could sit back and do nothing.

Chapter Text

Keith woke up to his phone buzzing. He groaned and rubbed his face before grabbing the phone to check who was texting him at….. eight in the morning.

*Lance*:

Keith frowned and clicked on the video.

"Hey! I'm working on something and I wanted your opinion on it. Here goes!" Video Lance said. Keith watched as Lance pulled out an acoustic guitar and started to strum. It was a light tune, but peppy. Keith watched as Lance's fingers practically danced across the strings. Suddenly, the video ended. The phone buzzed again.

*Lance*: Thoughts?

*Keith*: That was incredible. It doesn't sound finished though?

*Lance*: Not yet. It just needs something, but I'm not sure what yet. Glad you liked it so far! :D

*Keith*: Let me know when it's done?

*Lance*: Of course! :D :D

Keith snorted at the emojis. This boy was going to be the death of him. Sighing, he sat up and pulled his chair over, moving to get in it. He fell on the floor.

"Son of a b-!" he shouted, Shiro bursting in.

"Really?" he asked. "That's twice now in a few days."

"I'm blaming Lance this time," Keith grumbled, while Shiro helped him up. "Distracting me with his guitar skills." Shiro laughed.

"Sure, Keith," he said. "It's totally Lance's fault."

"Glad we agree," Keith said, wheeling himself to the bathroom to get ready.

"Hey, Keith?" Shiro called.

"What?" Keith called back. Shiro didn't answer right away, so Keith wheeled himself to the kitchen. "Shiro?"

"Um…." he started. "Do, uh, do you think you'll be okay on your own tonight?" Keith blinked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Oh, uh…. I'vegotadatetonightwithAdam," Shiro spewed. Keith only caught the name "Adam".

"Come again?" he said. Shiro sighed.

"I've….got a date tonight….with Adam," he said. Keith beamed.

"You finally asked him out?!" he said, leaning forward in his chair. Shiro blushed.

"Teaching takes up a lot of free time," Shiro muttered.

"Uh huh," Keith said, grinning like the cat that caught the cream. Shiro coughed.

"Anyway," he said. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'll be fine," Keith said. "Go get ready for your date!" Shiro looked like he couldn't decide whether to frown or laugh.

"Ok, first of all, the date's at seven," he said. "And second, are you sure? I worry."

"I'm not a complete invalid," Keith scoffed. "And I don't care when your date is, we both know how long it takes you to get ready. ESPECIALLY for a date." Shiro sighed.

"If you're sure," he said. "And I don't take that long." Keith waved him off, already going to grab his phone and text Lance the news.

*Keith*: SHIRO'S GOT A DATE

*Lance*: :O NO WAY

*Keith*: Way

*Lance*: I feel like we're two gossiping schoolgirls and I love it. XD

*Keith*: Well Shiro was blushing like a virgin one a few minutes ago

*Lance*: TELL ME YOU GOT A PIC!!!!

*Keith*: Sadly, I did not.

*Lance*: KEIIIIIITH. D:

*Keith*: Might still get one later though. When he gets back.

*Lance*: YOU BETTER!

Keith laughed, setting his phone down. Oh, he planned on getting that picture, one way or another. Time to phone a friend.

Chapter Text

Shiro did in fact take about an hour to get ready. Keith smirked as Shiro fussed over his hair while rushing around the apartment.

“Don’t even say it,” Shiro said, not even sparing a glance Keith’s way.

“Say what?” Keth said innocently, wheeling out of Shiro’s way as he barreled past to the door.

“‘I told you so’,” Shiro said, pulling the door open. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!” Keith said, and right before the door closed he added, “And I told you!” Keith heard Shiro groan, causing him to laugh.

Shiro drove to Adam’s apartment, a nervous wreck. It was no secret to people that Shiro had had a crush on the guy for ages. Well, no secret to everyone except Adam. As perceptive as the guy could be, he tended not to notice when others took an interest in him.

Shiro pulled up to the front door, Adam already waiting. Shiro had to check his watch to make sure he wasn’t late.

“I just got here,” Adam said, pulling open the passenger side door.

“Oh, good,” Shiro said. “I’d be embarrassed if I kept you waiting long.”

“Such a gentleman,” Adam teased, putting his seatbelt on. Shiro drove them to a nice Italian restaurant. He knew it was Adam’s second favorite, right after Mexican food.

“After you,” Shiro said, holding the door open for Adam.

“Wow,” Adam said. “And they say chivalry is dead.” Shiro laughed at that. They quickly found a table and got some cheap-ish red wine. Shiro wasn’t stingy about his money, but both he and Adam knew their salaries didn’t pay that much.

“So,” Shiro said. “What made you decide to be a teacher?” Adam thought for a moment.

“I’m not really sure,” he said. “I honestly just wanted to share my knowledge on astrophysics and teaching seemed like the best way to do that.”

“Makes sense,” Shiro said. “I became one because I wanted to see others progress where I couldn’t.” He pulled on the right sleeve of his button-down, trying to be subtle. Adam’s gaze softened.

“Where did you get your prosthetic?” he asked, which honestly took Shiro by surprise. Most people, if they asked at all, asked how it had happened. It had been several years ago, in a store robbery. He’s just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he did manage to save a girl’s life in the process.

“Oh, I had a friend do it,” he said. “Well, a friend and his sister. They’re both great at this stuff.” Adam nodded.

“So are those stories about phantom pains true?” he asked. Shiro shrugged.

“Most of the time the stump just aches,” he said. “But once or twice I’ve experienced phantom pains.”

“Cool,” Adam said, grinning. “I mean, it sucks about your arm, but imagine the possibilities. If our brains can still register nerves that don’t exist, we could easily use those brainwaves to control other things. Telekinesis!” Shiro just sat in amazement.

“I thought you taught astrophysics?” Shiro said. Adam shrugged.

“I dabbled before I settled,” he said. Shiro shook his head, bemused.

“Sounds like me,” he said. “While I teach college kids about piloting, I also learned several martial arts.”

“Really now?” Adam said, leaning forward in interest. They two continued to talk like that the rest of the evening, just back and forth about their interests. They also ventured into the more cliché topics, like favorite colors, animals, candy. Then Shiro made the mistake of revealing his birthday.

“Leap Year?!” Adam cried, crying with laughter. Shiro blushed, trying to fight a grin and failing.

“I know,” he said.

“So, am I dating a minor?” Adam teased. “Should you even be drinking?” To make a point, Shiro took a long swig of his wine.

“Too late now,” he said. “This seven year old just might get drunk.”

“Don’t you dare,” Adam laughed. “You still have to drive back home.”

“This is true,” Shiro said. “Or I could just drive to your place?” Adam blushed.

“You could,” he said. “But I know Keith probably needs you.” Shiro sobered at that.

“Probably,” he said. “He’s capable of looking after himself for the night but….”

“You still worry,” Adam said. “I get it. You’re a good brother, Shiro.” Shiro smiled. Suddenly his phone went off.

“Hello?” he said.

“Shiro?” It was Lance.

“Lance?” Shiro said. “How did you-?”

“Found the emergency numbers on your fridge,” Lance said. “Keith invited me over earlier and we were just sitting in the living room when he started….I don’t know choking? But we didn’t eat anything he could choke on so-”

“I’m on my way,” Shiro said. “Call for an ambulance.” He hung up.

“What happened?” Adam asked.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Something’s wrong with Keith.”

“I’ll come with,” Adam said, standing. Shiro smiled.

“Thank you,” he said.

Chapter Text

After Shiro left, Keith texted his good friend, Pidge. She was in the same school as him, but majoring in computer science, so he didn't get to see her often. Shiro and her brother Matt we're good friends, so that's how Keith knew her. She'd met him after his accident and the first thing she asked him was if she could try to upgrade his wheelchair into a hover chair. Keith said no, but laughed with her.

He quickly texted her to see if she could hack into the restaurant cameras and get a pic of Shiro and Adam's date. She responded immediately.

*Pidge*: Who do u think I am? Of course I can.

*Keith*: And this is why I came to you. You're the best.

*Pidge*: I am the greatest and don't you forget it.

Keith chuckled a bit. Pidge had gotten into Altea by skipping a few years and just being stupid smart. But her sense of humor was her really winning quality. Then Keith texted Lance.

*Keith*: Wanna come over for a bit? With Shiro on his date, I'm bored.

*Lance*: Sure!! I'll be right over! :D

Keith sent his address, then set his phone down and took out his sketchbook. He moved over to the window, trying to draw the busy street below. He figured if he could get a rough sketch first, he could ink it later and smudge things, creating a blur. It would hopefully look like the people were still in motion that way.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on the door.

"Keith?" Lance called. Keith went over to unlock it.

"Hey!" Keith said, moving aside to let Lance in.

"Thanks for having me," he said. "I'm sure Shiro will appreciate having someone else here with you."

"Probably," Keith shrugged. "He's a mother-hen on a good day and way too overprotective on others." Lance laughed.

"So, what are you up to?" he asked.

"I was trying to draw the street, but it's not going well," Keith said, wheeling back over to his sketchbook. It just looked like a bunch of smudged lines.

"Well, why not take a picture and draw off of that?" Lance asked. "Might be easier?"

"But then I have a picture," Keith said. "I'm trying to just use one medium." Lance shrugged.

"Whatever man," Lance said.

"Give me a few more minutes and then I'll be done," Keith said. Lance smiled.

"Sure," he said. "I can do some homework while I wait." Keith nodded, then turned back to his sketch. Suddenly, he heard a camera snap. He turned to see Lance taking pictures of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Practicing those angles we learned the other day," Lance said with a grin. "Plus, you make a great subject." Keith blushed lightly, turning back to his sketch. He may have taken longer than a few minutes, the clock of Lance's camera distracting him. Keith started to chew the eraser end of his pencil, trying to stay focused.

"Hey, you wanna see if we got some food in the fridge?" Keith asked suddenly.

"Sure, I was just about to ask if you had any food," Lance said standing. Keith continued to chew his pencil. Suddenly, the eraser popped off the pencil, shooting down Keith's throat and into his airway. He started coughing. Lance ran back in.

"Keith?!" he said, running over. Keith couldn't breathe. Only two thoughts ran through his mind: I need to breathe, and wow this is a pathetic way to go. "I'm gonna call Shiro!" Keith kept coughing, still unable to get a full breath. Then, he blacked out.

Chapter Text

Keith woke up slowly. He felt drugged, which was a new feeling. His abdomen hurt, as well as his throat, which felt like he had swallowed hot nails. He groaned a bit.

"Keith?" a voice said. Keith inched his eyes open, bright lights greeting him first. Then, the faces of Shiro, Adam and Lance came into view.

"Sh'ro?" Keith slurred.

"Right here," She said, planning a hand on Keith's arm. "How are you feeling?"

"Drugged," Keith managed dryly. Shiro chuckled.

"That might be the pain killers," he said. "Lance? You wanna go get a nurse?"

"Sure," the boy in question said. "I'll be right back."

"So other than drugged," Shiro asked. "How are you?" Keith sighed, not wanting to answer because his throat still hurts like no tomorrow. Instead, he lifted a hand to tap at his throat.

"Throat still sore?" Adam asked. Keith waved a hand in a so-so gesture, indicating Again was on the right track. Just then, Lance came back in with a nurse.

"You're awake!" she said, WAY too cheerfully. "That's good! I'm Nurse Heidi, by the way! Feeling a bit sleepy still? Does anything hurt?" Keith pointed to his throat and then his abdomen.

"He was saying it's sort of sore," Adam said. "Or maybe just that I was on the right track?" He looked to Keith at this, who nodded.

"Okie dokie!" Nurse Heidi said. Keith disliked her already. "We're probably gonna keep you in the pain meds for now, but after another couple hours or so, you should be feeling better! We kept you overnight because you really got that eraser in your airways! Took awhile to get out, but no need to worry anymore!" She gave Keith a smile, then left again. Keith scowled while Lance and Shiro tried not to chuckle.

"All of your doctors and nurses are just SO friendly," Shiro said. "It's SO nice to have that much cheerfulness ALL the time." Keith rolled his eyes at his brother's sarcasm.

"You looked like you wanted to murder her," Lance giggled. "And she didn't even seem fazed."

"She's probably dealt with a lot of people like Keith," Adam choked in, sporting his own grin. Keith huffed lightly.

"You all suck," he said quietly. Lance sat next to him.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said. "You really scared us." Keith gave him a small smile, then patted his leg in reassurance.

"Though, an eraser? Really?" Shiro asked. And there went the moment. Keith swatted his other hand at his nuisance of a brother, who dodged easily. "We really need to work on that bad pencil chewing habit of yours." Keith couldn't say he didn't agree there. If he had died from a pencil eraser, he'd bring himself back to life just to kill himself again for such a moronic death.

"Get some rest," Lance said. "Sooner these drugs take effect, the sooner you can leave all the cheerful nurses." Keith gave a quiet snort at that. He watched as the other three filed out if the room, before sleep dragged him under once more.

Chapter Text

The next day, Keith was leaving the hospital. He was more than happy to go.

“And keep those erasers out of your mouth!” Nurse Heidi called after him as he let Shiro push him out. Keith’s ears turned red.

“Good riddance,” he said. Shiro chuckled.

“Well, she’s not wrong,” he pointed out.

“Can it,” he said. Shiro helped him into the car. Once he was settled, his phone buzzed. There was an incoming text from a blocked number. A pop up asked if he wanted to answer it. Keith hit yes, because curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back, or whatever.

*???*: This is Nyma. Looks like you didn’t heed my warning. I’m just looking out for you. It’d be a shame if something were to happen between you two. Lance is a playboy, he’s going to move on. It’s better you avoid him now before things get out of hand. And by the way, just because you block a number doesn’t mean I can’t talk to you. Just makes me more anonymous. Think about my advice.

Keith stared at his phone, not registering that Shiro had climbed into the driver’s seat and started driving.

“Everything okay?” Shiro asked, noticing Keith’s lack of conversation. While that was not unusual, he seemed to be very lost in thought.

“I think I need a new phone number,” Keith said.

“What? Why?” Shiro asked.

“There’s this new girl in my painting class,” Keith said. “Lance’s ex apparently. She was super rude when I met her and she’s texted me twice now to tell me to stay away from Lance. I blocked her number after the first time, but now it sounds like she’s threatening me and Lance.” He read the message to Shiro.

“Well that’s certainly concerning,” he said. “How’d she get your number anyway?”

“No idea,” he said. “She said it was on my backpack, but I don't buy that for a second.”

“It’s definitely not,” Shiro confirmed. “So she’s stalking you? Why?”

“I wonder if she thinks Lance and I are a thing,” Keith said. “Maybe trying to sabotage some relationship?”

“Could be,” Shiro said. “Maybe talk to Lance about this. See if he has any ideas we don’t.”

“Yeah,” Keith said, putting his phone away. He’d show Lance the text and then delete it. Finally, they made it back to their apartment. Shiro helped him out of the car, then Keith wheeled himself into the apartment.

“Hey!” Keith startled as he opened the door. Lance stood there waiting. “I hope you don’t mind, but Shiro asked me to come over.”

“He was super worried,” Shiro said, pushing Keith in the rest of the way.

“Oh,” Keith said. “I, uh, I don’t mind. Sorry I worried you.”

“As long as you’re okay, we’re all good,” Lance said.

“Would you mind watching Keith while I run to the store, Lance?” Shiro asked.

“I’m not a kid, Shiro,” Keith said, blushing. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Dude, you kinda do,” Lance smirked, taking over from Shiro and pushing Keith over to the couch.

“Rude,” Keith said.

“I’ll be back in like, a half hour,” Shiro said. With that he left.

“So now what?” Keith asked, transferring himself to the couch. Lance sat next to him.

“You want anything?” Lance asked.

“I’m kinda hungry,” Keith said.

“Okay, gimme a second,” Lance said, getting up. Keith snorted when Lance moved the drawing pencils Keith left out to the other side of the coffee table. “Precaution!”

“Sure,” Keith said. Lance went to the kitchen and found a granola bar.

“Here,” Lance said, handing it to Keith. “I didn’t see anything to cook with, so I’ll wait until Shiro gets back.”

“You cook?” Keith asked, biting into the granola bar.

“Yeah, sometimes,” he said. “I’m not as good as my friend Hunk. You’d love his cooking, everyone does.”

“Well tell him to come over sometime,” Keith said, shoving the last of the granola bar in his mouth. Lance squawked.

“Dude! You’re gonna choke! Again!” his hands hovered around Keith, who chewed his granola bar slowly, before swallowing.

“Lance, I’m fine,” he said.

“You better be or Shiro will kill me!” Lance said. Keith laughed.

“I don’t think he’ll kill you,” Keith said.

“He won’t if I make sure you don’t choke yourself again!” Lance said. Keith just smiled. Suddenly, Keith’s phone buzzed.

*Pidge*: Well here ya go.

*Pidge*: [video attached]

*Pidge*: The last bit is about calling an ambulance so I must ask….WHAT IN THE NAME OF OUR EVER-LOVING LORD JESUS CHRIST DID YOU DO? IF YOU’RE DEAD I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!

Keith snorted. Lance leaned over.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I asked my friend Pidge to get video of Shiro on his date,” he said. “It apparently cuts off when he told you to call an ambulance and she said she’d kill me if I was dead.” Lance laughed.

“She sounds great,” Lance said. “I wanna meet her sometime. Now, play the video.”

“One second,” Keith said.

*Keith*: I’m fine. Choked on a pencil eraser. Thanks for the video and worrying.

*Pidge*: IDIOT! THE NEXT TIME I SEE U I’M SMACKING U UPSIDE THE HEAD!

*Keith*: That’s fair, now stop text screaming at me.

*Pidge*: NEVER U DUNDERHEAD!

“Okay,” Keith said. “I’ll deal with the gremlin later.” Lance laughed again. Keith hit play on the video. It was surprisingly going well. Until Keith heard Shiro tell Adam his birthday.

“Oh no,” Keith smirked, watching Adam laugh.

“This has got to be the best part of the night,” Lance said. Suddenly, the door opened.

“I’m back!” Shiro said. Keith fumbled to pause the video. Instead, he dropped his phone.

“Got it!” Lance said, pausing the video. Shiro dropped off some grocery bags in the kitchen, then walked over to the boys.

“What are you watching?” he asked.

“A video Pidge sent,” Keith said. “Conspiracy stuff.”

“Say no more,” Shiro said, walking away.

“Conspiracy stuff?” Lance asked.

“One, I like Mothman,” Keith said. “Two, Shiro and Adam’s date is a conspiracy in and of itself.”

“Fair enough,” Lance said.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Keith said. He pulled up the message from Nyma. He handed the phone to Lance, who read the message with a frown.

“A ‘playboy’?” Lance scoffed. “As if. She was the first person I seriously dated.”

“So you’re not worried?” Keith asked. Lance shook his head.

“Nah, she’s just a jealous ex,” he said. “Not that she has anything to be jealous of anyway. Hey, if your friend Pidge was able to hack that video for you, maybe you could see about her changing your number and keeping Nyma out.”

“Yeah, I’ll ask her,” he said. “She actually goes to Altea too, but she’s in the science building usually.”

“Nice,” Lance said. He was quiet for a moment. “Hey Keith? I’m really glad you’re okay.” Keith smiled.

“Me too.”

Chapter Text

"Hey, are you guys hungry?" Shiro called from the kitchen.

"Just something light," Keith said. "I had a granola bar earlier."

"Okay, hold on," Shiro said. There was some rustling, before Shiro came back in the room with a large paper bag. He then proceeded to dump the contents onto Keith's lap. "Take your pick."

"Shiro, what-" Keith said, staring at the mess on his lap. It was a bunch of kid snacks. Packets of fruit snacks, boxes of Ritz and Goldfish, cheese sticks, pretzel sticks, carrot sticks, boxes of raisins, applesauce packets, and a box of Oreos.

"Ooo, hand me the Ritz," Lance said, pointing to Keith's left. Keith handed Lance the box in a daze.

"The cheese sticks are lactose free, by the way," Shiro said. "I don't know how, but they are."

"What's with the kid snacks?" Keith asked, Lance digging into the Ritz box.

"So you have real food instead of pencil erasers," Shiro said. Keith groaned.

"No complaints from me," Lance said around a cracker. "You are officially the best household." Shiro laughed.

"Good to know," he said. "Keith, you gonna take something?" Keith sighed and picked up an applesauce packet. Shiro put everything back in the bag, hopefully to actually put it all away. Just then, Keith's phone buzzed.

*???*: [Image attached]

*???*: This is your last warning. Stay away from him and no one gets hurt. I'm doing this for your own good and to keep Lance from ruining more lives.

Keith's hand shook.

"Lance?" he said, moving his phone so Lance could see. Lance's eyes widened.

"That's us!" he said. "Where was that taken from?"

"Across the street maybe?" Keith said. "I didn't realize she knew where I lived."

"Man, I didn't know Nyma was this creepy," Lance said. "I'm so sorry about all this."

"Not your fault," Keith said. He pulled his wheelchair back over and transferred to it. "Let's maybe go to my room."

"Yeah, good plan," Lance said, following Keith. Keith focused on moving his chair, trying to get his hands to stop shaking. He had never been stalked like this. And why was Nyma so obsessed with them? Why couldn't they be friends? Too many questions and not enough answers.

"Sorry if it's a mess," Keith said. He tried to keep the floor clean, so his chair wouldn't get stuck, but the walls were a different story.

"Wow," Lance said. He peered at one of Keith's corkboards, which was covered in red string. "Are these Mothman sightings?"

"I will find him one day," Keith said. "He exists and is the world's second lord and savior." Lance laughed.

"Whatever you say man," Lance said. He then walked over to Keith's music collection. "These vinyl?"

"Yup," Keith said. "I like the way they sound better."

"Mullet, you need some more modern music tastes," Lance said, picking up a record. "AC/DC? ABBA? Aerosmith? Do you have anything from this century?"

"Do not diss the greats," Keith said.

"I never said they were bad!" Lance said quickly. "Just outdated!"

"They are classics and you will respect them," Keith said with a smirk. Lance rolled his eyes but smiled, setting the record down again.

"I could probably play you something better than them," he said, taking a seat on Keith's bed.

"You're a musician?" Keith asked.

"I can play the guitar and….well, I've been told I can sing, but I'm a bit shy about it," Lance admitted. Keith beamed.

"I always wanted to play guitar," Keith said. "But I never had the money to take lessons."

"If you want, I could teach you?" Lance offered. Keith's eyes lit up.

"Sure!" he said, just a tad too enthusiastic. But Lance just laughed.

"You got it," he said.

Chapter Text

Keith woke up WAY too early. But it was worth it. It was his birthday after all.

"Happy birthday to me," Keith said. He sat up and pulled his wheelchair over and got in it. A knock sounded on his door.

"Keith?" Shiro called, softly. "Are you up?" Keith nearly snorted.

"I'm up," he said. Shiro opened the door.

"Happy birthday," Shiro said with a smile. "Any plans today?"

"Not unless you have something in mind?" Keith said. Shiro chuckled.

"How could you tell?" he asked, handing Keith a small wrapped box. Keith took it and started tearing off the paper. "Hope this doesn't disappoint you, but at least this isn't the only present I got you." Keith raised an eyebrow at that.

"Okay?" he said, finally getting the box open. Inside was a soft medical bracelet, a button sitting on top. "Shiro, is this….?"

"Yeah," Shiro said, rubbing his neck. "It's an alert button, in case something happens when you're by yourself. It's not that I don't trust you, but I think we'll both feel better if you have it." Keith smiled softly and put the bracelet on.

"Thanks," he said. "Hopefully I won't have to use it."

"Unless you eat pencil erasers again," Shiro joked.

"You are never going to let me live that down, are you?" Keith asked.

"Nope," Shiro smirked. Keith rolled his eyes and pushed himself past his brother.

"I might invite Lance over," Keith said. "That okay?"

"Go for it," Shiro said. "It's your birthday."

"Damn straight it is," Keith sassed.

"Language!" Shiro yelled. Keith just laughed, pulling out his phone.

*Keith*: Hey! It's my birthday today and I was wondering if you wanted to come hangout for a bit later?

*Lance*: ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY?!?!?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!!!!

*Keith*: Well I told u now.

*Lance*: How long do I have to get you something?????

*Keith*: Just come over whenever.

*Lance*: Translation - Not enough time. I gtg get u something, ttyl!

Keith stared at his phone in fond exasperation. Lance didn't have to get him something for his birthday. He was content just spending time with him.

The day started relatively the same as always, with Shiro being unable to cook and Keith munching on a granola bar in his PJs. Around noon, someone knocked on the door.

"I got it," Shiro said.

"It's probably Lance," Keith said from the couch, where he was watching some random kid show. Never underestimate kid shows, they can have better plot than adult ones. That was Keith's opinion anyway.

"Happy birthday!" Lance called from the doorway.

"Thanks!" Keith called back. He heard some rustling in the kitchen, then Lance appeared.

"You did not tell me October 23rd was your birthday!" he said with fake annoyance.

"It never came up?" Keith tried. Lance flopped down on the couch dramatically.

"Birthdays are important, man!" Lance said. Keith snickered.

"Sorry," he said. Lance gave him a smile.

"At least I know now," he said. And I brought you a little something." He got up and went back to the kitchen. Keith heard more rustling, before Lance returned with a chocolate cupcake that had a candle sticking up on top. Keith laughed.

"I love it," he said, taking the cupcake from Lance. Lance smiled.

"I didn't know what flavor to get, so I just went with boring chocolate," he said.

"Chocolate is good," Keith said. He closed his eyes, then blew out the candle.

"What did you wish for?" Lance asked.

"Not telling," Keith smirked. Lance made an indignant squawk.

"No fair! I wanna know!" he said.

"My birthday, my rules," Keith countered.

"Fair enough," Lance conceded. Just then, Shiro joined.

"Wanted to give you guys a minute alone," he said as way of explanation. Keith blushed.

"What's up?" he asked. Shiro handed him a box.

"The other present I told you about," he said.

"Oh, shoot!" Lance said. "I gotta grab mine too!" He jumped up and ran back towards the front door, then came back to sit next to Keith. "Okay, go." Keith laughed. He unwrapped the box Shiro gave him.

"Oh. My. God," he said. It was the complete soundtrack to Star Wars on vinyl. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Glad you like it," Shiro chuckled. "I just can't believe it's a two disc set."

"It deserves nothing less than two," Keith said. Lance then handed him a much bigger box.

"Just, be careful with it?" Lance said. Keith set aside the vinyls and took the box gently. It was pretty heavy, but not too bad. Keith tore off the paper and opened the box. He gasped.

"No way," he said. He looked at Lance as he pulled out a guitar.

"Happy birthday," Lance said. "This used to be my brother's, but he quit after high school and I got a new one last year, so….this is now yours." Keith was speechless.

"I….don't know what to say," Keith said.

"Say you'll actually practice if I teach you," Lance said. Keith nodded.

"Thank you, Lance," Keith said. Keith held the guitar gently. This was the best birthday ever.

Chapter Text

A few days later, Keith was sitting in the park, sketchbook open and guitar next to him. He was going to meet Lance here, mainly because Shiro had invited Adam over and Keith didn't want to subject himself or Lance to that kind of PDA.

"Hey!" a voice called. Keith looked up from his drawing. It was a color pencil sketch of the nearby playground.

"Hey, Lance!" he said, spotting the other boy jogging over. Lance smiled as he approached, pulling forward his own guitar that had been slung over his shoulder.

"Ready to start?" he asked.

"Did you have to ask?" Keith said, putting away his sketchbook and grabbing his guitar. Suddenly, a shadow passed over the two boys.

"Oh, Keith!" a girl's voice said. "And Lance." They looked up to see Nyma standing there, her arm wrapped around some guy's.

"Nyma," Lance said, curtly. Keith scowled.

"Why are you stalking us?" he asked bluntly. Nyma actually had the gall to look offended.

"Stalk you?" she asked. "I would never!"

"I've known Nyma for a long time," the guy said. "She's no stalker."

"And who are you?" Lance asked.

"Name's Rolo," he said. "I'm Nyma's boyfriend. You must be her clingy ex." Keith had to remind himself not to break the guitar in his hands.

"Well, Nyma is a bi-" he started.

"What do you want?" Lance cut him off.

"This IS a public park," Nyma said. "And like I'd want anything from you, Lance. I'm simply trying to look out for Keith. He shouldn't get involved with someone like you. You'll just break his heart."

"Excuse you?" Lance said. "YOU broke MY heart! You left me after I broke my arm because I couldn't-" He stopped suddenly, face turning pink. Nyma smirked.

"Because why, Lance?" she asked. Lance frowned.

"Nevermind," he said. "The point is, you left me. Right when I needed you most. You were selfish and didn't want anyone to rely on you."

"Well you were acting like a baby," she scoffed. "Acted like you were helpless and couldn't do anything. Especially-"

"I did not!" Lance said. "All I asked you to do was the laundry, what's helpless about that!?"

"Hey, Lance?" Keith said. He had watched the interaction in silence, but he could tell Lance was passed angry now.

"What's up, Keith?" Lance said, not even looking at him.

"Let's just go to your place," he said, carefully. "Shiro still has Adam over, so mine's a no-go." Lance let out a slow breath.

"Sure," he said. He stood and gathered his stuff along with Keith's, all without looking at Nyma and Rolo. Keith did the same.

"Running away as usual," Nyma said.

"I can't believe you went out with him," Rolo said. Keith ignored them, but he noticed Lance's hands shaking slightly.

"Let's go," Keith said. Lance nodded and walked off, Keith close behind.

"Sorry," Lance said, once they got to his car.

"It's okay," Keith said, letting Lance help him in. "She's a jerk. And her new boy toy seems like he's the same." Lance gave Keith a small smile at that.

"Yeah, he does," he said. His smile fell. "Sometimes I just wish I could stand up to her better. She was always pushing me around when we were dating and still is." Lance got in the car and started it, driving off to his place.

"Lance?" Keith asked, an idea coming to him.

"Yeah?" Lance said.

"I want you to come with me to my next therapy appointment," he said. Lance nearly slammed on the brakes. Good thing they were almost to his place.

"Come again?" he asked.

"Please?" Keith asked. "I….I want you to come with."

"What brought this on all of a sudden?" Lance asked, curious. Keith took a breath.

"I want to walk again," he said. "I want to walk for you."

Chapter Text

"That's not C," Lance said, trying not to snicker at the determined look on Keith's face.

"I'm getting there," Keith said as he maneuvered his fingers to play a C chord.

"See?" Lance said. "Told you you would get it!"

"But you didn't tell me my fingers would be callused and broken by the time I did," Keith shot back. Lance laughed.

"Calluses happen when you play guitar," he said. "They won't hurt as much later. As for the 'broken fingers', yours are just stubby."

"Excuse you?" Keith said. "I do not have stubby fingers!"

"You do," Lance said. "I can tell because you have such trouble reaching the higher strings."

"Maybe your fingers are just unnaturally long," Keith muttered defensively, causing Lance to chuckle. Keith set the guitar down, just as Blue decided to jump up into his lap.

They were sitting in Lance's room, Lance on his bed and Keith next to him. Blue had been in and out of the room for the past twenty minutes now.

"I should probably feed her," Lance said. Blue perked up a bit at that, hopping down and following Lance from the room as he went to get her food.

"Maybe I should convince Shiro to get me a pet," Keith mused aloud, rolling his chair out of the room.

"What kind of pet?" Lance asked from the kitchen.

"Dunno," Keith said. "As much as I like Blue, I don't know if I would want a cat."

"What about a dog?" Lance asked. "Oh! You should convince Shiro to get you a service dog!"

"That's…. actually not a bad idea," Keith said. "I mean, he already got me the alter bracelet for medical emergencies, but it would be nice to have a dog to help me do things when I'm by myself."

"Exactly!" Lance said, setting down a food bowl for Blue, who attacked it. Keith laughed at her antics.

"So," Keith said, moving to the couch. "About what I said earlier…..would you want to come with?" Lance sighed.

"It's just….." he said. "Are you sure you want me there? I had to go through a bit of PT when I broke my arm and I never wanted people with me because I found it sort of embarrassing. I don't want to embarrass you."

"I'm literally asking you to come," Keith said with a smile. "So unless you make an utter fool of yourself while there, you won't embarrass me." Lance's face broke out in mock offence.

"When have I ever made a fool of myself?" he asked. Keith just leveled him with a blank stare and a raised eyebrow.

"You sure you want me to answer that?" he asked. Lance shoved his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up!" he said, making Keith laugh. "Anyway, what's your therapist like?"

"He's stupid cheerful," Keith said. "Like that one nurse at the hospital, whatever her name was. He's nice and all, but he has way too much optimism for a medical professional."

"Something you need more of," Lance said with a smirk. Keith rolled his eyes.

"But the best thing about him is his name," Keith continued. "Shiro and I laugh about it every time."

"What is it?" Lance asked, very curious now.

"Doctor Kyd Anderson," Keith said, snickering after. "Man, one time I looked up a whole list of bad names. There were some…..creative choices."

"His name is…...Kyd?" Lance asked. "A grown man's first name is Kyd. Why?"

"I've been asking the same thing for years," Keith said. Lance just shook his head.

"Can't wait to meet him," Lance said. "When is your next appointment?"

"In two days," Keith said. "I go every Saturday."

"How long is it?" Lance asked.

"What, got plans?" Keith joked.

"No, I'm just curious!" Lance said, causing Keith to laugh.

"Relax, I know," he said. "It's 45 minutes."

"Ok," Lance said. "If you wanna text me the address and time, I can meet you there? And maybe we could…..go get lunch or something?" Lance looked at Keith hopefully then. Keith felt his face go a bit warm.

Was Lance asking him on a date?

No, surely not. Because they were just friends…..right? Sure, Keith liked the guy, although he found him annoying at times. And they did spend a bunch of time together…..but that's not weird. Right?

"Um, sure!" Keith said, probably a little too eagerly. "I mean, that's fine."

"Great!" Lance said, smiling the biggest smile Keith had ever seen. "Can't wait!" Yeah, Keith's face was DEFINITELY warm now.

Chapter Text

Two days later, Keith was actually up and getting ready for his PT appointment.

"Who are you and what have you done with Keith?" Shiro said, smirking and having poked his head into Keith's room.

"Shut it, Shiro," Keith said, tying his hair up.

"Oo, is Lance taking you somewhere fancy afterwards?" Shiro said, almost letting loose a snicker.

"I regret telling you anything," Keith said. "And no, we're just gonna get some fast food."

"The perfect date food," Shiro said.

"It's not a date!" Keith said, but his blushing face said otherwise. Shiro laughed.

"Well let's not keep him waiting," he said. "Come on. You look good by the way." Keith grumbled out a thanks before following his brother to the car.

Keith drummed his fingers on his thigh for the whole car ride. He was nervous, sue him. No one other than his PT therapist had seen him do his PT. Not even Shiro.

"Keith," Shiro said. "Your nerves are making me nervous. Don't make the driver nervous." Keith glared at him lightly, but tried to still his fingers.

"It's just Lance," Keith muttered. Shiro decided not to comment on that and just focus on the road.

Finally, they got there.

And Lance was waiting.

"Hey!" he said once Keith and Shiro came up to the building. "I'm glad I didn't get the address wrong. Sometimes Google Maps can suck."

"Glad you made it," Keith said, smiling. Shiro gave the two a knowing look, before pushing open the doors.

"Come on guys," he said. "Can't wait to introduce you to Doctor Kyd." Shiro and Keith snickered. Lance nearly did, but held himself back. As practice, so he didn't offend the guy.

"Keith!" the man greeted as they made their way inside. "Look at you sport! No pajama pants today! And who's this?" Keith suppressed a groan.

"Hi Doctor Kyd," Keith said. "This is my friend, Lance. I asked him to come with me today."

"Well that's a first!" Doctor Kyd said. "Nice to meet you, Lance! My name is Doctor Kyd Anderson. I've been Keith's physical therapist since he was thirteen." He held a hand, which Lance shook.

"Nice to meet you," Lance said. "And I think you have probably the most unique name of any doctor I've met." The man smiled at that.

"Why thank you!" he said. "Alrighty, sport, let's get started! Shiro? Are you staying today too?"

"Nah, I'll wait out here," Shiro said. Keith wasn't surprised. Suddenly, he felt his chair move forward. He turned to see Lance pushing him, following Doctor Kyd to some machine.

"'Unique'?" Keith asked.

"Well it is," Lance said. "Unique and hilarious." Keith snickered at that.

"Wasn't even phased," he said. "Never is."

"Either that man doesn't know his own name," Lance said. "Or he's just done with life." Keith nearly laughed at that, but caught himself. Doctor Kyd was still in ear-shot after all.

“Probably the second one,” Keith mused.

“What’s with the ‘sport’ nickname?” Lance asked. Keith groaned.

“He’s called me that since I first met him,” Keith said. “And I was too shy then to tell him to stop, so then it stuck.” Lance laughed as they stopped next to Doctor Kyd.

“Funny story?” he asked.

“Just an inside joke,” Lance said. Doctor Kyd nodded like that made total sense. He took Keith’s chair from Lance and directed Lance to a nearby chair.

“Ok, Keith,” Doctor Kyd said. “We’re just doing simple stretches today.”

“Great,” Keith said in the most unenthusiastic voice ever. Lance nearly snorted. Keith moved from his chair onto a table where he could lay down. He blushed lightly as he realized that these stretches were sort of embarrassing.

“So for the first one, I’m gonna bend your legs up, one by one. Hopefully, this will help to get some feeling back into your legs,” Doctor Kyd said. He stared on Keith’s left, blocking Lance from his view. His heel was pushed up against his thigh and then his leg was brought back even a little further towards his chest. Doctor Kyd held it there for a few seconds, then let go. Then he switched to Keth’s right. Keith could now see Lance’s face. He was shocked to see Lance was attentively watching what Doctor Kyd was doing, rather than Keith himself. Keith fought down a confused blush.

45 minutes later, Lance was wheeling Keith back towards the lobby, where Shiro was waiting.

“Have fun?” Shiro smirked.

“Shut it,” Keith said, blushing lightly.

“It was actually interesting,” Lance said, which surprised both brothers.

“Well, glad you weren’t bored,” Shiro said. “So, you guys gonna head out now?”

“Yeah,” Lance said. “Just gonna go to Wendy’s. They have some damn fine chickens nuggets.”

“Language,” Shiro said automatically. “And have fun!” Keith narrowly avoided flipping him off when he saw the smug expression Shiro wore. He simply pushed his wheelchair out the door and followed Lance to his car.

“I hate my brother,” Keith said, getting into Lance’s car. Lance laughed.

“Siblings can be nosy,” he agreed.

“How many siblings do you have?” Keith asked.

“I’m the youngest of five,” Lance said. “Two older brothers, two older sisters.”

“Sounds nice,” Keith said. “My folks…..well, I didn’t just lose my legs in the car accident. I was an only child until Shiro’s family adopted me. That was a blessing, no one usually wants a wheelchair-bound thirteen year old.”

“Man, Keith,” Lance said. “That sounds rough. Sorry you had to go through all that. But I’m glad you have Shiro now.”

“Same,” Keith said. They finally pulled into a Wendy’s parking lot. “Oh, I brought a handicap sign with me.”

“Oo, now I feel fancy,” Lance said, causing Keith to snort. Lance pulled into the spot and hug up the sign. He got out and Keith opened his door, just in time to hear a rude comment from some passerby.

“Ugh, kids these days!” a woman said loudly. “Taking handicap spots when they don’t need it. That’s illegal!” Lance cleared his throat, pulling out Keith’s wheelchair from the car. Keith made a show of getting himself into the chair as well. He could see the woman pale in the side mirror on the door.

“You were saying?” Lance asked. The woman didn’t respond and ran off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Keith said, seeing Lance’s frustration at her comment. “It’s not the first time that’s happened. Although it did feel good to prove her wrong.” Lance smiled at that.

“Sorry you have to deal with that,” he said. Keith shrugged.

“People are jerks,” he said. They went into the Wendy’s. Keith pointedly ignored the stares his wheelchair brought. He wasn’t going to deal with them today.

They got to the front of the line and ordered.

“Chicken nuggets for me,” Lance said.

“I’ll do the same,” Keith said. The girl behind the counter gave him a sad look, but smiled quickly.

“Sure!” she said. She punched in a few things on her computer. “Okay, we’ll call your number when it’s ready!” She handed Lance a receipt. Lance frowned.

“Uh, I didn’t pay yet,” he said.

“I know,” the girl said. “I did. It’s on me.” She smiled at Keith again, but he noticed it wasn’t out of pity.

“Thanks,” Keith said. “You didn’t have to.” The girl shrugged.

“I like doing random acts of kindness,” she said. Keith gave her a smile. He waited with Lance off to the side. Their food was done quickly and Lance found a handicap friendly table for the two of them.

“It’s nice to get out of the house,” Lance said, munching on a nugget. “I stayed in all day yesterday with Blue. Not that I don’t love her, but cats are only so exciting sometimes.” Keith laughed.

“Well I practiced with some water colors yesterday,” he said. Lance smiled.

“You really love art, don’t you?” Lance said fondly. Keith blushed. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Nice to see you again, Keith,” Nyma said.

Chapter Text

"Nyma?" Keith asked, a little confused. He didn't see Roll around. "What-?"

"Just happened to be here at the same time," she shrugged, sitting next to Lance.

"Um, if you don't mind, could you leave?" Lance said, a small scowl on his face.

"What, can't I hang with some friends?" she said, reaching for a nugget. Lance slid them away.

"We aren't friends," Keith said. "You stalk us and harass us." Nyma frowned, crossing a leg.

"I'm just looking out for you two," she said. "I've been called a matchmaker. You two, aren't a match."

"Just leave us alone," Keith said, pointedly ignoring her after that. Nyma huffed. She stood and leaned down obnoxiously to look at Keith.

"One day, he'll leave you," she whispered. "He'll realize you're too much of a commitment and that you're utterly useless." With that she stood back up and swiped a chicken nugget from Keith.

"What did she say?" Lance said, once she was out of ear-shot. Keith shook his head.

"Nothing true," Keith said. "I'm honestly more pissed she took one of my nuggs." Lance snorted.

"Here," he said, handing Keith one of his own. Keith smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

They finished up and left, Lance driving Keith back home.

"So," Lance said. "Wanna do this again sometime?"

"Yeah," Keith said. "Yeah, I'd like that. Maybe, same time next week?" He blushed a bit.

"Are you, inviting me to your PT again?" Lance asked. Keith nodded shyly. Lance grinned. "It's a date." Keith's heart kept into his throat.

"Okay," he said. "A date." Lance waved as he left. Keith wheeled himself into the apartment, where Shiro sat on the couch waiting.

"So how'd it go?" Shiro asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"I uh, may have asked him to come next week too," Keith said. Shiro's smile widened.

"Knew it," he said, standing. Keith wheeled passed him, or tried to anyway. Shiro caught the handles of his chair.

"Shiro," Keith said.

"Come on, tell me what happened?" he pressed.

"Well, Nyma showed up," Keith said. "Not the best part. She stole one of my nuggs. Lance gave me one of his."

"While I'm concerned about that girl," Shiro said. "That's so sweet of Lance."

"Shut up, I know," Keith said, burying his red face in his hands. "And it's not even the most romantic thing a person can do."

"You like~ him," Shiro smirked.

"I regret telling you anything," Keith said, pulling himself free.

"No you don't," Shiro called after him.

Chapter Text

Keith rolled his chair down the university halls the next day. He had been running late (stupid ramp was out again) so the halls were eerily quiet. Finally, he made it to his photography class.

"Sorry I'm late, I-" he started, but stopped when he realized no one was in the room. A little panicked, and very much confused, Keith pulled out his phone to check the time. He was about five minutes late, which wasn't too bad, but didn't answer why no one was there. He quickly scanned his emails, trying to see if he'd missed one about class being cancelled.

Nothing.

"Oh, hi Keith," a voice said. Keith looked over his shoulder to see Lance coming in behind him.

"Hey," he said, pocketing his phone. "Do you know where everyone is?" Lance shook his head.

"Me and a couple of other people were here earlier," he said. "We waited a bit, but when no one came the others left. I went looking for the professor, but their office is dark and the door is locked."

"Did we miss an email?" Keith asked. "I didn't see one, so-" Suddenly, Keith's phone buzzed.

*Shiro*: Hey, need a lift?

Keith frowned at the message. Shiro should be teaching by now. Unless something happened.

*Keith*: No? Is everything ok? Don't you have class?

*Shiro*: Don't you?

Now Keith was even more confused.

*Keith*: I'm supposed to, but the class is missing.

"What's up?" Lance asked, seeing as Keith had gone silent for a few minutes.

"Oh, Shiro was wondering if I needed a ride," he said. "But I don't know why and I thought he was supposed to be teaching by now." His phone buzzed again.

*Shiro*: My class was cancelled today.

*Keith*: Oh. Why?

*Shiro*: Don't know

Keith frowned again. That last text came WAY too fast. Shiro knew something.

"Now what?" Lance asked. Keith put his phone away and spun around.

"Now we find Shiro," he said, rolling out of the classroom. Lance raced to catch up.

"What, why?" Lance asked. "Also, slow down a bit, I'm only so fast!" Keith slowed a fraction to accommodate.

"He knows something," Keith answered. "He's not the best liar and I know he knows why classes are cancelled."

"All of them?" Lance said. "That can't be, it's not a holiday or anything, is it? Oh man, what if there was a horrible accident?! Dude, we gotta find Shiro." Keith laughed a bit.

"That was the plan all along," he said. Keith led Lance to the science building. Shiro taught the morning astrophysics class there.

Finally, they saw Shiro standing outside the building.

"Spill," Keith said as soon as Shiro was in earshot. Shiro tried (and failed) to suppress a smirk.

"Spill what?" he asked. Keith glowered.

"You know what," he said.

"Why are classes cancelled?" Lance said. "And why didn't we get an email?" Shiro just stared at the two for a moment before laughing.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you two didn't figure it out yet," he said. The boys looked at him like he was crazy.

"Figure what out?" Keith asked. Shiro took a moment to calm down before he explained.

"So, a few teachers were asked to come in today," he said. "Not to actually teach, but to catch any wayward students in the halls. Classes were cancelled with no announcement because it's April Fool's Day." The boys stood in shock.

"So," Lance said. "The entire university decided to pretend to have class and have everyone show up, get confused, then leave, all so we could have a day off?"

"Uh, more or less?" Shiro said. "Look, we all know how annoying it is to get to class and realize you don't have it that day. Especially with no notice. Plus, you kids deserve a random day off here and there."

"Who are you calling a kid, you seven year old?" Keith snarked.

"Hey! I'm an old man!" Shiro smiled.

"Yeah, an old man in a child's body maybe," Keith teased.

"Shut it, you," Shiro said. Keith smirked in victory.

"So," he said. "Can we get a lift?"

"Oh, no, that offer passed," Shiro said. "You called me a seven year old."

"You are!" Keith said. Lance laughed.

"I'm actually gonna head home," he said. "Now that I know it's April Fool's Day, I gotta make sure my siblings didn't sneak into my apartment."

"Okay," Keith said. Lance waved and walked off.

"You are so gone for that boy," Shiro said.

"Shut up, I know."

Chapter Text

About a week later, it was PT day again. When Shiro drove up to the building, Lance was once again waiting for the two of them.

"Hey!" he called, smiling brightly. Shiro rolled Keith up to him.

"You know, I like this arrangement," he said, smirking. "Means I can take a nap while I wait."

"I will never understand how you can be a seven year old and an eighty year old at the same time," Keith quipped.

"Hey!" Shiro feigned offence, causing the two boys to laugh.

"Is that Keith I hear?" Doctor Kyd walked over, smiling. "It's good to see you smiling, sport! You ready?"

Keith fought not to groan at the stupid nickname, nodding instead. "Yeah, let's go."

Lance followed behind Keith as they made their way into the building. The therapy was similar to last week, so nothing new and exciting. Lance helped wheel Keith outside after.

"Hey, Keith?" Lance asked suddenly. Keith turned a little to look at him.

"Yeah?" Keith rose a brow.

"Random thing to think about…..but I don't know if art or photography are for me. You know? Like….my passion lies elsewhere," Lance tried to explain.

"What, like your music?" Keith grinned, but it turned more confused when Lance shook his head.

"Nah, those things are hobbies…..I was thinking…..maybe I could do PT?" he sounded hesitant.

"Wait, really?" Keith tried, but failed, to hide his shock. "Why?"

"Well, even though I've only come with you to your PT sessions twice now and all you've really done is stretches…..it's interesting. And I like helping people, so…." Lance trailed off with a shrug. Keith smiled.

"I think it's a great idea, Lance. Hell, I can help you practice," he offered.

"Language!" Shiro pouted at Keith as the two boys neared him. Keith just waved him off. "You guys headed out again?"

"Unfortunately, I have to go babysit my niece and nephew," Lance smiled fondly.

"That's nice of you," Keith said. "See you later then?"

"Definitely. You ain't getting rid of me that easy," Lance winked, before walking off with a wave.

Shiro helped Keith into his van, before getting in himself and driving off. "Oh, hey Keith?" Shiro said.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking we could get you a new phone. Since that girl seems to still be an issue," Shiro glanced at Keith.

"You mean it? That'd be great!" Keith beamed.

"Let's go tomorrow then," Shiro nodded, like it was already decided.

Chapter Text

A few days later, Keith was in the park with Lance. He was showing off the new phone Shiro had helped him get.

"Hopefully no more Nyma, but I did have to change my number," Keith said.

"Dang. Hey, can I put my number in? Then you can text me and I'll have your new one!" Lance beamed. He was sat on a bench next to Keith and boy he looked stunning today. Not that Lance had done anything different, but to Keith, just looking at him made his heart flutter a little.

"Oh, sure. Here," he handed his phone over and Lance typed in the number. Once he handed it back, Keith sent a quick text to Lance's phone.

"Great! Now th-" Lance was cut off as a shadow passed over them.

"Hello boys," Nyma smiled. She was alone, having stopped in front of them. Keith groaned. It was just his luck.

"Go away," he snapped. She pouted.

"That's not very nice of you. Besides, it's Lance I want to talk to, not you," she turned to Lance, who looked dumbfounded.

"Me? Why?" he asked.

"Come talk with me and I'll tell you," Nyma smiled again. Lance looked a little skeptical, casting a glance at Keith.

"I'll…..be right back," Lance said. Curiosity had gotten the better of him. Keith nodded and Lance stood, leading Nyma out of earshot, but still within Keith's sights. Keith fidgeted, annoyed he couldn't hear them, annoyed Nyma was here.

He was so focused on Lance and Nyma that he didn't see Nyma's boyfriend Rolo come up behind.

"Don't scream," he said in Keith's ear. Rolo wrapped a hand around Keith's face, over his mouth. Keith helped in surprise and went to push him off, but Rolo pressed something to his back. It was a knife.

"If you ever want to walk again, you'll stop," he said. Keith froze. "Good boy." Rolo then removed the hand on Keith's mouth.

"What-" he started.

"Shut up. Wheel yourself to the curb," Rolo said. Keith's hands shook and he did as he was told. Rolo moved the knife away for now, but Keith knew he was in no position to stop Rolo. He was fast. Faster than Keith had expected. And quiet.

"My brother will come looking," he said it quietly.

"I'm sure he will, along with Lance," Rolo said. He led Keith to a white van, opening the side door, before lifting the whole of Keith's wheelchair inside. Keith's eyes widened in shock. How was he so strong?!

"Please let me go," he tried. Rolo chuckled.

"No. Now, I'll take this," he said, plucking Keith's cell phone from his hand. He then shut the door and locked it. A minute later, Rolo climbed into the driver's seat. "There's a handle back there. I'd lock your wheels and hang on." Then before Keith could react, he sped off. Keith slammed on his breaks as he slid backwards, then reached out a flailing hand for the handle. He found it near the door and gripped hard.

"Are you crazy?!" Keith yelled.

"Be quiet!" Rolo yelled back. "If I were you, I'd get some sleep. It's gonna be a long drive." Keith's heart pounded. A long drive? Where were they going? And why?! He didn't understand and he had to consciously control his breathing to avoid a panic attack.

Because as of right now, no one was coming to save him.

Chapter Text

Lance was a terrible person.

Well, not really, but he sure felt like one right now. It had been an hour since Keith had been taken. Nyma threatened him and when Lance turned to look at Keith…..he was gone. Lance tried to confront Nyma, but she just laughed and took off. Of course, Lance tried to follow her, but she just went back to her house. Lance waited for her to leave all night, but she never did. That or she left from another door he didn't see, he wasn't sure.

"Lance?" Shiro brought in two mugs full of coffee. He sat down beside him. Lance had come over to work with Shiro to find Keith. He'd texted Shiro the moment he started to chase after Nyma.

"Thanks," Lance said, taking the cup. He didn't take a drink though. "I'm so sorry, Shiro."

"Hey, it's not your fault. You did everything you could," Shiro smiled sadly. "We'll get him back."

"I don't think Nyma wants to hurt him……" Lance hopes anyway. "Any luck with Keith's phone?" Shiro shook his head.

"They turned it off about a block from the park," he said. "I let the police know and they said they'd keep an eye out. But in all honesty, he could be anywhere." His hands shook on his mug and Lance sighed.

"We gotta have faith in Keith, right?" Lance tried to be a little more optimistic. Shiro looked over.

"Yeah……Keith's not one to give up, but…." Shiro still worried. Lance thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Hey, what about Keith's friend Pidge? I haven't met her yet, but I think I remember Keith saying she's good at hacking stuff?" Lance sounded hopeful. Shiro considered it.

"She might be able to find something……I'll ask her," he said. He took out his phone and texted her. Suddenly, Lance's phone buzzed.

*???*: I warned you Lance. You ruin lives and I won't let you do that to poor Keith. You may think my methods are extreme, but Keith will soon realize he's better cared for here, with someone who can TRULY help him. You can let his "brother" know that Keith will be safer with me.

Lance stared in shock at the message, hardly comprehending it.

"Shiro?" Lance turned the phone to the older man so he could read it. Shiro scanned the message and frowned deeply.

"Hell no," he swore. "This girl is delusional. The minute we find her and Keith, I'm going to ask that she be put in a psych ward." Lance grinned.

"I'll help you," he said. Shiro smiled, then looked at his phone as it buzzed.

"Pidge said she can be over here in fifteen minutes," he said.

"Great. I get to meet her and we get a start on finding Keith," Lance said. He looked back at the message Nyma sent, deciding not to delete it yet. He'd show it to Pidge and see if she could use it for anything.

Chapter Text

Keith sat in his chair with his arms crossed. He glared at the plate in front of him as Nyma and Rolo casually ate dinner.

"Keith, you need to eat," Nyma said, not even looking at him.

"It's probably poisoned," Keith spat. Rolo rolled his eyes, stabbing a carrot on Keith's plate and eating it himself.

"It's fine," he said, going back to his own food. Keith still didn't move. Nyma sighed.

"Keith, we can take better care of you here," she said.

"And what happened when Lance needed looking after?" Keith challenged. He remembered Lance saying she walked out on him. Nyma huffed.

"All he wanted was help with chores, not real help. Not like you," she grinned. Keith frowned.

"Like me?" he asked.

"Yes. You can't hardly do much on your own. So I'll do things for you!" Nyma looked far too happy about this. Keith's mouth fell open.

"Excuse m-?!" he went to question that, but Nyma shoved a piece of steak in his mouth.

"Eat. Then we can talk," she smiled when Keith begrudgingly ate. He was quickly realizing how mental this girl was and he'd rather not get her angry. He was worried she could turn violent if he got on her bad side.

Once finished eating, Rolo collected the plates and went to the sink. Nyma stood and grabbed Keith's wheelchair, pushing him towards another room.

"Hey!" he tried to swat her hands off, but she just frowned at him.

"You don't need to wheel yourself, I'll do it," she said. Keith was starting to get a bad idea of what sort of "help" this girl wanted to do.

Nyma guided Keith into a small bedroom. He took note of how it felt more like a closet than a room, just a bed and overhead light inside. Not even a window. Keith had noticed all of the windows in this place were boarded up. He had no idea where he was, just that he was far from the city.

"Nyma, I'm not helpless," he said quietly. "Please, I just want to be left alone." Nyma hummed thoughtfully, before lifting his left arm and pointing to the bruises on his elbow.

"Then what are these from?" she asked. He winced lightly.

"Uh…..falling from my chair?" Keith said. He was fine though, they were just bruises. They'd heal. But Nyma shook her head.

"That won't do. I'll help you, then leave you be. Sound fair?" she tried to compromise. Keith scowled, but nodded. He'd play along for now and hope Nyma would just leave him be. Maybe he wouldn't even have to play this charade for long, Lance and Shiro were probably already looking for him.

"Fine," he relented. Nyma beamed, then immediately lifted him up bridal style. Keith instinctually clung to her so he wouldn't fall.

"In bed now," she said.

"What the heck?! Let me go!" Keith pushed himself away from her as she set him down on the bed. "Why did you pick me up?!" And how the heck were her and her boyfriend so strong?!

"It's easier than trying to struggle through a normal transfer," Nyma shrugged. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She smiled and left the room for a moment, before returning with some paper and markers.

"What's that for?" Keith eyed them warily.

"You! Don't want you getting bored," Nyma placed them in Keith's hands. "You're an artist, so I got these for you! You won't even notice the days pass now!" Keith swallowed lightly.

"Uh….thanks," he said, trying to appease her. Nyma smiled, then as promised, left the room.

Once he was alone, Keith tossed the paper and markers into his chair and turned to face the wall. As quietly as he could, he let tears stream down his face.

"Crap….." he said quietly to himself. If he could just walk, he could get out of here on his own. But his legs were still useless, trapping him here at the mercy of this deranged girl and her lunatic boyfriend. He'd never felt more scared or helpless and he hated it. He was used to being able to do things on his own, with minimal help. But the reality of his life suddenly crashed into him harshly and Keith was overwhelmed by it.

He hugged a pillow, wishing it was Shiro or Lance. He missed the noise of the city, the lights that streamed through his window at night. He missed his brother's protective nature hanging over him, Lance's texts in the early morning.

Keith gripped the pillow, taking a breath.

No.

He would not be helpless here. He'd find a way to escape.