#pidge whump prompts

[crimsonwolf715]

Friendly Fire

“Everyone report to the training room,” Allura says over the loudspeaker. 

Lance gets up off the floor where he was assisting Pidge and Hunk with their projects. He stretches, then heads towards the training room with them. 

“Hey, Princess,” Lance says when he sees Allura in there. 

“Hello, Lance. Pidge and Hunk.” 

Pidge waves and Hunk gives her a pleasant sounding hello. Keith walks in without his jacket on, which Lance pegs as odd, but doesn’t comment on. 

“So, what’s the training exercise?” Lance asks. 

“I spoke with Shiro and he said that it is a common training exercise on Earth.” 

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what is it?” Hunk asks. 

Shiro over with a gun. 

“Paintball,” Shiro says, holding up the gun. “It’s been modified to shoot their version of paint. I tested it out and it hurts about as much as it does to be shot with a paintball.” 

“You do remember that you have a higher pain tolerance now, right?” Keith asks. 

Shiro nods. “Yeah, I’m gauging it based on my old standards. I may be a little off, but it’s the same difference.” 

“Just making sure.” 

Shiro nods again. “You’re being split up into teams. First round is Keith and Lance versus Pidge and Hunk. You’ll swap partners until you’ve partnered up with everyone.” 

“What about you?” Lance asks. 

“Allura and I have a different objective. Coran’s watching to see who gets the most points.” 

“We also have a tracker for it,” Allura whispers. 

Lance laughs while everyone else seems grateful because Coran is not a great referee. 

After being armed with some protective gear and “paintball guns” they separate and the walls come up. The battle starts and Lance and Keith work together to get Pidge and Hunk. There are four times that Lance gets shot in the side and Lance thinks that Keith’s shooting him when he isn’t looking. Once the buzzer goes off, Coran informs Keith and Lance that they won by a small margin. Keith and Lance high five as the walls go away, then Shiro and Allura come over to the two groups. 

“What were you and Allura doing?” Lance asks. 

“Sneaking around and shooting you guys,” Shiro answers. “Every time we got a shot off on you guys, you lost points. It’s about being aware of the people around you because you’ll never know how many people you’re up against in a real fight.” 

“I knew that and avoided Shiro,” Keith replies. 

Shiro nods. 

“How?” Lance asks Keith. 

“I’m pretty attuned to Shiro’s presence, so I can normally tell when he’s around me,” Keith says with a shrug. “Shiro’s the same way with people.” 

Shiro nods again. “Mine took training. Keith just kinda picked it up.” 

“I’m pretty sure that Keith shot me while we were doing the exercise,” Lance says. 

“Didn’t happen.” 

A shot goes off and Lance gets hit with a paintball. 

“Stop shooting me, Keith!” Lance shouts. 

“I didn’t shoot you!” Keith replies, then proceeds to openly shoot Lance. 

“You just did it again!” 

“No I didn’t.” 

“You’re the worst, Keith!” 

“Nah, that’s for sure Zarkon.” 

Lance huffs, annoyed. Keith laughs, annoying Lance further. 

“Stop it, you two,” Shiro says. “Switch partners.” 

Alarms start going off. 

“There’s a distress beacon coming from one of the planets we’ve helped,” Allura says. 

Everyone runs to Command Center and Allura pulls the beacon’s signal up. 

“I’m setting up the wormhole now. All of you need to get to your lions,” Allura says. 

The paladins rush to the hangar and get ready, then hop into their lions. They fly out and Allura tells them over comms that the planet’s forces will come when they can but something’s wrong with their systems at the moment. The paladins originally don’t have an issue with splitting up and taking out the groups, but more keep coming out, making it difficult to stay separated. Lance is trying to keep up with the increase in enemies, but he’s not doing the greatest job. Neither is anyone else though. 

“We need to form Voltron!” Hunk shouts. 

“On my way!” Lance and Keith both shout at the same time. 

“Stop copying me, Keith!” 

“I’m not copying you.” 

Lance doesn’t hear the next part but Shiro immediately reprimanded Keith, which makes Lance think he called him something unkind. Lance goes to say something back to Keith when a shot goes off and Red goes falling towards the atmosphere. 

“One of the planet’s ships just shot Keith down!” Pidge shouts. 

“The planet’s army is coming. You guys assist however you can. I’m going after Keith,” Shiro says. 

“Don’t get shot too,” Lance says. 

“I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose,” Hunk replies. 

“Who cares if it was on purpose?” Lance asks. “They shot Keith out of the sky!” 

“Stop shouting, Lance,” Pidge says. “You’re undoubtedly bothering Hunk and you’re giving me a headache.” 

Shiro, not having the energy to stop them from arguing while worrying about Keith, flips his comm off. Shiro lands and quickly rushes over to Red. He goes in and Keith’s slumped over his console, a little blood coming from a cut on his forehead. 

“Keith!” Shiro shakes Keith and Keith picks his head up. 

“Shiro?” 

“Hey, are you okay?” Shiro asks. 

“Yeah, my head hurts though,” Keith answers.

The ground shudders, so Shiro flips his comm back on. “What’s going on?” 

“We beat the Galra force and the Castle landed close to you and Keith’s position,” Allura answers. “They’ve also asked to see the red paladin.” 

Shiro sighs. 

“I’m fine to go, Shiro,” Keith says, who’s listening to comms via Red. 

“Fine. We’ll meet you at the Castle,” Shiro says. “You sure you can walk, Otouto?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

Keith stands up and only wobbles a little. The two of them walk back to the Castle, Keith slightly leaning against Shiro. Shiro patches Keith’s head up, then Allura, Shiro, and Keith head to the planet’s castle. When they get there, Keith gets a lot of apologies from the king and queen, which Keith tells them that it was an accident and that it happens sometimes. Shiro smiles as Keith keeps his tone calm and steady. Once they’re heading back to the castle, Shiro lightly bumps Keith with his shoulder. 

“Very diplomatic of you,” he says with a smile. 

“Thanks,” Keith replies. “Let’s not have me do it again since my head hurts.” 

Shiro laughs. “Deal, you should get some rest.” 

“I haven’t been sleeping well lately.” 

“Well you can hang out with me for a bit and hopefully you’ll get tired.” 

Keith gives Shiro a confused look. “What do you plan on doing?” 

“Paperwork,” Shiro teases with a smile. 

“You’re right, that would put me right to sleep,” Keith says with a small smile. 

“It used to work when you were younger, so I was hoping it would still work.” 

Keith laughs, which makes Shiro smile again. They get back to the Castle and Keith spends a half-hour in the healing pod to deal with his minor concussion at Allura’s request. Once that’s done, Keith and Shiro head towards Shiro’s room. Lance is waiting by Keith’s door, so Shiro pushes Keith towards Lance. 

Keith walks over. “Hey.” 

“Hey, Allura told us that you’re fine.” 

“Yeah, I spent half of an hour in the pod because of a minor concussion. Such a pain.” 

“But you sure you’re alright, Keith?” Lance asks. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Keith answers. “Thanks for worrying though.” 

“I wasn’t worried.” 

“Okay, my bad then.” 

“See ya later, Keith.” 

“See ya.” 

Lance heads towards the hangar and Keith turns towards Shiro. 

“I think he was worried,” Shiro says. 

“That was literally never in question,” Keith replies. “Our friendship is weird.” 

“Yeah, reminds me of a friend I had one time. He was super weird about being friends too.” 

“Who? I don’t remember you ever making a reference to someone like that.” 

“Oh, it was while I was in the Garrison. We hadn’t talked since graduation due to busyness. A story for another time.” 

“Okay,” Keith says with a shrug. “Where’s the paperwork at?” 

Shiro laughs. “Come on.” 

They head to Shiro’s room and sit on the bed together. Shiro ends up reading aloud until Keith falls asleep leaning against Shiro.

[actress4him]

For bthb, could you do Keith with seizures? The cause could be something to with him being half Galra? Maybe it happens in the atlas (season 8?) completely optional suggestion I’d love it if you only do the first part (first time suggesting something so sorry if this is worded weirdly)

It’s been ages, and whoever you are, dear anon, I have no idea whether you’ll ever actually see this, but I hope you do and I hope you enjoy.

@badthingshappenbingo

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Prompt: Seizures

Contains: dude whump, sensory overload, self-deprecating thoughts, seizure, references to past questionable foster care

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Voltron had saved another planet. That meant yet another celebration to thank them, something that the team always had mixed feelings about. Lance and Allura and Coran loved them, always ready for a chance to mingle and socialize (and in Lance’s case, flirt), while Pidge and Keith were less than thrilled, both of them preferring to stay away from social situations whenever possible. Shiro and Hunk seemed to fall somewhere in the middle, only really complaining if they were especially tired, but enjoying themselves most of the time once they were there. 

He didn’t know about the others, but Keith also struggled with seeing the necessity of these events. Sure, he knew that the planet’s people were thankful for their help, but did it really require a party every time? Didn’t they have better things they could be doing, like, you know, saving more planets? This was a war. Allura was always preaching the importance of diplomacy, but he had a hard time believing that it should take precedence over battles.

Plus, they never really knew what they were getting themselves into when landing on an alien planet. Of all the members of Voltron, Keith really should have been the best at getting thrown into new, unknown situations. After all, that’s how he’d spent his entire childhood. But those families had all been human, at least, and therefore mostly predictable. Alien planets were anything but.

For instance, on most planets the celebrations had been rather formal affairs, some even with dancing like a ball straight out of a movie. Others had been more casual, and many focused on food (those were Hunk’s favorites, of course). 

On this particular planet, though, as soon as the president announced that the festivities would begin, the ballroom-like space turned instantly into a club. The main lights switched off, but were replaced by multi-colored beams that spun wildly around the room. Speakers hidden somewhere in the ceiling and walls began blasting what apparently passed as music on this planet, complete with a drumbeat that vibrated the floor.

Keith, taken completely off guard, couldn’t stop his violent flinch. He did, however, just barely catch himself before his hands clapped over his ears. Sucking in a deep breath, he forced his arms back down by his sides. Loud sounds had always been miserable for him. He’d had to learn a long time ago that it wasn’t always appropriate to indulge himself and try to block them out, though. Some people didn’t take very kindly to that, and the last thing he wanted was to insult anyone here. Allura would have his head. 

The lights were awful, too, and he blinked several times in a row before settling on just squinting at everything. Every time one flashed directly across his face he winced, trying not to squeeze his eyes shut and leave them that way. Not that it mattered much if he did, he could still see the colors behind his eyelids.

“Woo!” Lance yelled, immediately getting into the spirit and waving his arms over his head. “Heck yeah, this is what I call a party!” And he was off, sliding and bopping through the crowd, getting everyone around him excited and dancing.

Why can’t you be more like him? that ugly voice in Keith’s head sneered. Everybody loves Lance, no matter where we go. Really, why can’t you be more like any of them?

The rest of the team were all looking far more comfortable in this environment than he ever could. Some were dancing, others eating and chatting. Even Pidge had found someone to talk technology or math with, judging by the passion in her expression. Meanwhile, he just stood there awkwardly, fighting against the strong urge in every inch of his body to flee the room and find somewhere dark and quiet to hide. 

Pretty recently he’d finally realized that his sensitive eyes and ears probably came from his Galra side, thanks to getting to know the Blades and his mom and finding out more about their physiology. That didn’t make him feel any better about it. Sure, he was getting more and more used to the whole half-Galra thing, and getting closer to actually, fully accepting it. But this was just another case of being Galra making him different. More accurately, weird. Another reason why he’d never fit in anywhere he went.

And that’s why I can’t be like them. Because I’m not like them, and I never will be. 

Weaving slowly through the crowd of aliens, Keith made his way toward the wall closest to the entrance. He tried his best not to bump into anyone, despite the fact that half of them were in the middle of flailing - ahem, dancing. Still, hands and sleeves brushed against his arms and shoulders. Somehow they felt like pins pricking his skin, even through his jacket. He hurried past, wrapping his arms around himself tightly and tucking himself up against the wall. But the wall was vibrating, like the floor. It shot up his spine into his head, making him clench his teeth even harder, and he quickly stood up straight again. 

He thought he was going to be sick. Which was stupid, it was just lights and music. But it was crawling underneath his skin, pounding into his temples, clogging up his throat.

He wanted to go home.

“Hey, man! You okay over here?” Hunk appeared next to him, shouting to be heard over the chaos of music and conversations. “You look kinda pale.”

The added noise stabbed through Keith’s skull, and he tried his hardest not to show it. “‘m fine.”

Finishing chewing whatever he’d just popped into his mouth, Hunk frowned and stepped a little closer. “You sure? I mean, I know you don’t like parties, but…this seems a bit worse than normal.”

Keith looked over at him. He seemed entirely genuine, as Hunk usually was. “The lights and music are just…” This time he failed to keep from flinching when one of the beams crossed his face. “A lot. It’s no big deal, though.”

“Ohhh.” Hunk’s expression morphed from concern to something that was probably pity, which is not what he was hoping for. “Yeah, Shiro said at some point that you have like, sensitive eyes and stuff, right? I’m sorry, man. You could go back to the Castle, you know. You don’t have to stay if you’re miserable.” 

He shook his head. “No, it’s…it’s fine.” He wasn’t going to disappear and risk it causing any number of problems - alien presidents getting offended, Allura deciding she needed them all to line up and have some sort of ceremony, some kind of further attack occurring. Call him paranoid, but all of the above had happened before. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay.” 

He really needed this conversation to end now, though. Having to talk and focus on what Hunk was saying, and also smelling the food he was holding on top of the smell of a bunch of alien sweat and perfumes was making things even worse. It felt like his head was going to explode with all of the sensations it was trying to process. 

In fact, maybe it was already exploding. Maybe it was slowly frying, at least, because there were stars appearing around him that he was pretty sure weren’t part of the party’s special effects. Hunk was saying something else next to him, but Keith couldn’t process it, staring up at the blinking stars. Everything in the room seemed to be moving in slow motion all of a sudden. Then there was an especially bright burst of light, and he vaguely felt himself falling.

.

.

“I’ll be okay,” he said. “Don’t worry,” he said. But then Hunk was watching Keith stare off into space at nothing before starting to shake and dropping abruptly to the floor. 

“Whoa! Keith!” He dove onto his knees, torn between watching Keith’s whole body twitch and jerk uncontrollably and looking around frantically for someone to help him. Everyone’s attention was on the festivities, though, not down on the floor, and the music was way too loud to call out to anyone. Hunk was the only one who knew something was wrong.

And he was…not really equipped to handle something like this. He’d had some first aid classes, though, so he could…he could do this, right? It wasn’t like there was another choice. Keith needed him. 

This was definitely a seizure. And it was horrifying. But he had to ignore that and focus on what he could do. He knew he wasn’t supposed to hold onto him, couldn’t stop the terrible shaking that had taken over his body, but he was pretty sure it was a good idea to try and cushion his head. So he scooted over, reaching out tentatively and very, very carefully lifting Keith’s head with both hands until he could set it into his lap. 

The Red Paladin’s eyes were open, but only white was showing. Hunk’s heart was in his throat watching him. Vaguely he thought he remembered something about counting when someone was having a seizure, but he had no idea why or how much time had passed already so he didn’t try to start. All he could do at that point was watch and wait and hope that it would be over soon.

And eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime, it was. Keith’s body relaxed as quickly as it had begun seizing, going limp on the floor. He looked…dead. Which completely freaked Hunk out for a moment, almost more than the seizure had to start with, until he saw his chest rise and fall once, then twice. Okay. Okay, so he wasn’t dead. He was…not okay, but he wasn’t seizing and he wasn’t dead. Now he just needed to get someone’s attention, and since the shaking was past he was able to scoop him up in his arms and stand. 

It didn’t take long after that for someone to notice them then. One paladin draped across another’s arms was kind of concerning, apparently, and pretty soon they had a swarm of aliens and the other paladins around them, ready to help.

.

.

After the stars and the falling, Keith didn’t remember much besides a buzzing sensation, like electricity had taken over his limbs. The next thing he was fully aware of was opening his eyes to blissful darkness and quiet. The only sound was a whispered conversation in an unseen corner of the room, which quickly came to a halt when he shifted. 

“Keith? You with us, bud?”

“Y-yeah.” He stretched out his legs, trying to figure out what he was lying on and why it felt like someone had beaten him with a stick. Every single muscle in his body was sore, even ones he didn’t realize he had. “What, uh…what happened?”

Hunk scooted out to the edge of the chair across from him, catching his attention. “You, um…had a seizure. It was super scary, man. I’d be really okay if that never happened again, but I mean of course I don’t like, blame you for it, I highly doubt you did it on purpose.”

“I wasn’t actually there for the seizure part, but seeing you passed out wasn’t exactly reassuring, either,” Lance piped in, appearing to perch on the arm of Hunk’s chair. “I just thought you were pale before, that was like, ghost quality.”

Keith was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept of having a seizure, but he was surprised to see them both there, especially Lance. “You should still be at the party, not worrying over me. I didn’t mean to interrupt everything.”

“You think I was gonna keep dancing with the ladies while my teammate was in here dying?” Lance scoffed, sounding offended. “The ladies will just have to do without me for a little while.”

“The ladies are probably all waiting to thank Keith for distracting you for a few minutes,” Pidge quipped drily. She draped herself over the back of the couch that Keith was apparently lying on. “And he’s not dying, anyway. He’s fine.” Her eyes cut over to Keith’s face, and he could see concern trying not to show itself. “Right?”

“Um. Yeah. I…think.” He started to push himself up, grimacing a little at the pull on his muscles, but Pidge placed the heel of her hand on his forehead and shoved him back down.

“Cool it, cowboy, you need to rest.”

“I’m fine, really. I don’t know what happened, but…I’m okay now.” He was pretty sure, anyway. He felt relatively normal, other than the soreness, but not knowing what had brought on the seizure and whether or not it would happen again was a bit concerning, to say the least. “It isn’t the first time I’ve had one, anyway. Happened once when I was a kid, too. And I was fine then,” he added quickly.

“Was there a lot of sensory input happening then, too?” Shiro crossed the room, tucking a datapad into his pocket. “Hunk said you were complaining about the lights and music.”

Keith thought back to the first incident, at a foster brother’s birthday party in an arcade. “Yeah. There was.” The foster parents had sent him away after that, claiming they were unprepared to deal with major medical issues. Never mind that it hadn’t happened again for almost a decade, and not until he was all the way in outer space.

Shiro nodded. “I was just talking to the Blade’s medic. Apparently it isn’t a common thing for Galra to experience, but he has seen it before in mixed species. The Galra sensory issues combined with…something that certain other races have, it was a bit over my head. But he’d like to run some tests next time he sees you, just to be sure.”

Keith groaned and shook his head. Just what he needed, more tests by the Blade trying to figure out how exactly his body worked. 

“I appreciate you guys, um…being there for me. Helping me out. Especially, um, you, Hunk. I hate that I caused a scene, though. You all should get back before you’re missed too much.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Hunk waved a hand dismissively. “Allura and Coran are still holding down the fort out there, though we should definitely let them know soon that you’re awake and okay. They were worried about you.”

“We’d all much rather be in here making sure you’re okay, Mullet.”

It never failed to surprise him, hearing the rest of the team express any kind of care and concern for him. A warm feeling invaded his chest and eased some of the tension in his body.

“And Keith? If this ever happens again, will you please let us know so we can help before your body freaks out?” Pidge poked him in the stomach to emphasize her words.

“Uh…yeah. Yeah, I can do that, I guess.” Part of him still wanted to protest about diplomacy and not angering aliens and such, but he knew he’d just get shut down. Instead he glanced around at the team and smiled a little. “Thanks.”

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Bingo requests are open, but only for my OCs at this time, and with no guarantee of how long it will take me to fulfill them!

[narcolini]

for brothers - pt. 2

angel reyes x oc: tatiana ‘pidge’ clarke (& bonus EZ)

2609 words, 18+, read part one here

warnings for: blood, implied violence, kidnap, canon typical behaviour

from whumprils day 3 prompts: Rope burns & “Hold still.”

a/n: i have shiny new project disease soooo bad omg i just keep diving on new things and not finishing others kjdhfg, anyway ! this is very whump, very angst, very little comfort <3

tagging: @drabbles-mc @cositapreciosa @darqchilddaydreamz @hausofmamadas @ashlingiswriting​ 

It’s well into the night when Angel’s phone finally goes. Not Bishop, but Gilly—Tati recognises his tone through the handset—with an update on the situation. If only Angel could put it on speaker, she’d be out of her misery sooner; out of the nest she’s made herself on his lounger and doing something helpful instead.

She’s serving time longer than he did, now, waiting in the dark while they talk. His expression is useless to her. As hard as it’s been all night, unreadable as to what’s going on in that thick-sheltered brain of his. Gilly’s news could be a miracle, or a eulogy, and she’d have no clue either way.

‘I’m getting fucking impatient, man,’ Angel tells him, over a mouthful of cigarette smoke. He exhales, listening, then takes another drag on the next breath. He’s had more than worth counting, since his panic attack earlier, but if it keeps him busy. Then, well. She can complain about the habit on another day.

‘I will,’ he says, nodding like Gilly’s in the room.

She kicks her feet, clearing the tangle of blankets, then shoves them into her sneakers. Well timed, because Angel hangs up and meets her gaze as soon as she lays it upon him.

‘They know where he is,’ he says. ‘And they’ve got Canche cornered, a few miles out.’

If she’s being honest, she expected the news to be minor—a glimpse of EZ in another town, a threatening note left by Yuma—so she perks up at that, back straight, blanket slipping to the floor. ‘Wait, EZ’s alone right now?’ she asks.

‘Maybe.’ He eyes her for a moment, then arrives at her reasoning quicker than she thought he would, his head tilting into a disbelieving shake. ‘Nah, no way. We’re not doing that, Tatiana.’

‘You’d rather wait? He could be—’

‘Yeah, I’d rather you don’t end up the same fucking way, actually.’

‘It’s your brother,’ she stresses.

‘And you’re my,’ he sighs, dismissing the thought before it can land. ‘I said I’d wait for Bish’s word and, shit, you were on his side until three fuckin’ minutes ago.’

She was, and she can only half convince herself that this doesn’t make a hypocrite of her, ‘But this might be the best chance we get.’ The guys can only occupy Canche’s attention for so long, only play the fool while they still have the edge of surprise. ‘If they’re not expecting us to, neither will Canche.’

Angel tuts. Stupid, she knows he’s thinking it, stupid idea from a clueless person, but not stupid enough that it hasn’t swayed him. Hasn’t made him change his mind in a split second. She can see the decision before it falls out of his mouth, better a chance than a loss.

‘If anyone’s going, it’s me,’ he says, definite about it. He pulls his kutte on, over the hoody, tucks his gun into the back of his jeans and turns to her just long enough to add, ‘On my own.’

‘What if they’ve broken his legs or some shit?’ She’s chasing him, pacing his track through the house. ‘You gonna tie him to the back of your bike like a fucking deer, Angel?’

‘Nah, cause I’m taking your jeep.’

Before she can fight him, he’s got the keys from the side where she left them and is out the door, but she’s not far behind.

‘The fuck you are,’ she scoffs, incredulous and kicking dust from her heels. ‘I’m coming. You’ll have to run me over if you want to stop me, asshole.’

He sighs, like she’s the worst plague on his life—not the kidnapped brother, but her—and pauses by the open driver’s door. Palm flat on the metal, waiting. ‘You stay in the car,’ he warns, ‘no argument.’

She’s panting, not from exertion, but in expectance of the adrenaline to come. Like the drug of it has peaked already. ‘Unless you need me,’ she barters, and he must take it as a fair deal, because he doesn’t answer. Just climbs into her jeep and shuts the door behind him, leaving her with nothing to do but follow.

*

He’s taking too long. He taking too long, and it’s been too long since she heard the gunshots, without seeing any bodies in return, and he’s taking too damn long. She fidgets in her seat, eyes flicking to the shitty abandoned garage in front, then back to the blank highway in the rear-view mirror.

When they’d arrived, it looked empty. No sign of anyone, not even a dumpster trail of thieving raccoons. Just dead enterprise and dead land beneath it. Angel had insisted on scoping the place out alone, gun held in both hands and raised before him, as he stalked into the building. She didn’t have much argument against that. Saving EZ was one thing, walking into a room full of enemies is another. After she heard the gunshots, two or three, she almost bolted. The only thing that kept her stationary was the fact there could be more, the fact she didn’t know who was firing and who was being fired at.

It’s been eight minutes since—she checked—and everything is quiet and empty again. No more shooting, but no Angel, either. If he was firing the gun, and successful with it, why hasn’t he come back yet? If it wasn’t him, why hasn’t she found herself face to face with Yuma patches and pieces.

If Angel was—if Angel shot first—if one of them—God. She tugs the handle and throws the door open. They won’t shoot at a woman, unarmed and curious. If they do, at least she’ll die knowing, instead of killing herself with the wonder of what happened.

Before she can close the door, Angel appears again, scanning the open space around them and then addressing her urgently. ‘I need you,’ he shouts, louder than the distance requires. ‘Bring the knife.’

It’s in her glove box, tucked there because it’s his, and he was dumb enough to leave it sliding around the footwell once, and she didn’t fancy being caught by her parents with a hunting blade and no explanation. So she grabs it, sheath and all, before jogging to meet him.

‘Is he, are you?’ she asks, making no sense at all, unable to decide which query matters more. There’d only been a handful of shots, right, and he’s standing upright still, not a mark on him, so it isn’t likely he was hit. Yeah? It isn’t likely that he was hit.

‘I’m fine,’ Angel answers, nodding. ‘There was only one guy. EZ.’ He gulps, taking air where he needs it. ‘Ez doesn’t look good, he—they got him tied up.’

‘Okay.’ Tied up, not dead, not good, but not dead. ‘We’re close enough to the houses that those gunshots might’ve been heard,’ she says, following the track as her mind lays it, ‘so that guy might be something we should. You know.’

‘Get rid of,’ he agrees.

‘There’ll be something flammable here, probably.’

He doesn’t burst into action as she expects him to, but stands looking down on her with a fold in his brow instead. She recovers in his place, ducking under the half-raised shutters to look for it herself. EZ’s in here, somewhere, but first, first she’s got to—

‘Wait,’ he stops her, free hand to her shoulder now that he’s followed her in. ‘It shouldn’t be you here, dealing with this shit.’

‘Well, it is.’ And there are a fuck-load of shouldn’t’s they haven’t righted yet, either. ‘I can handle it.’

The frown deepens. ‘Pidge, I—’

‘Thank-you’s and apologies later, Angel. We don’t have time.’ She gestures with the knife, bouncing it in her palm before looking back at him, concrete determination behind her eyes. If he can’t muster it yet, she will. ‘You torch the shit and I’ll…’ She pauses, swallowing the reality of the instructions she’s giving. Torch the shit. Burn the body. ‘Yeah,’ she finishes. Best not to think about it. ‘Go.’

Angel nods. ‘He’s on the back wall, behind the winching shit.’

There isn’t a free moment to take, she can’t wait and prepare herself for the state EZ might be in, she just has to follow Angel’s directions, one foot in front of the other, deeper into the garage. There’s an empty chassis to the left, a wall of tires on the right. No sign of any shoot-out or struggle. No blood on the floor either, so if they’ve done something to him, it wasn’t here. This was temporary, a holding cage for him while they dealt with shit elsewhere.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by her, what that means for them. They don’t have long. Whoever dropped EZ off will be back soon enough, especially with his one guard officially off the call-list.

‘Fuck.’

He’s exactly where Angel said he would be, sat against the furthest wall from the entrance. On looks alone, she would’ve thought it was a corpse, unmoving and bound in thick black para-cord. She can’t see the source, but he’s almost head to toe splattered in blood. Small, without the usual kutte and strength in the line of his shoulders. They’ve squeezed all the braun right out of him. Beat the usual smile off his face.

‘EZ? Ezekial?’

He doesn’t respond, beyond giving a faint wheeze. His right eye is swollen shut, the other so filled with blood that he probably can’t see her through the blur of it.

When she crouches in front of him, knees over his thighs, to grab at the rope around his torso, his fingers flex toward her—tips printing red onto her forearm—and that’s the first real sign that he’s alive. Conscious. The first thing that makes her feel a little less shit-scared and out of luck.

‘Hold still,’ she pants, wiggling the knife between the first and second layer of rope, flat side pointing to EZ’s chest. She’s not dumb. The blade’s not sharp enough and she’s not strong enough to imagine cutting through the lot of it in one go, and facing it toward him is just inviting further injury. No, it has to be done this way, starting with one layer at a time.

That’s it. The first cord frays in two, she repeats.

‘Angel’s here,’ she tells him. ‘Okay? You hear me? We’re both here.’

EZ grunts. He’s holding her elbow now, cupping the bend of it in both palms while she works.

The knife goes through a second time and that’s enough tension released for the wrapping to go slack on his arms, slipping down his torso. Tati leans back a fraction, to dig at the restraints until he’s free of them, flesh indented where they sat, a ravine in each bicep.

‘Your wrists,’ she says, but he doesn’t move, she does. Knife to the zip-ties, easier than the para-cord, and then he’s free. ‘Fuck, there we go.’

His arms fall to his side, a dead weight without the plastic pinching them together. She had expected him to be more conscious once it was done, more active and willing to help her get him out of there, but it’s the opposite now. He sinks into the wall behind, head lolling. His breaths are so quiet and shallow, that he isn’t even wheezing anymore.

‘Angel?’ she shouts, not chancing to look away from EZ. ‘You done?’

She can hear it, vaguely, the rippling of fire. Can smell the gasoline in the air, if she ignores the copper of old blood.  

EZ comes forward suddenly, forehead landing on her shoulder. Hard enough to leave a dull ache. Whether he’s passed out, or is attempting to move, she’s no idea, but it’s enough to make the calm slip from her grasp. Determination replaced for worry, doubt. She can’t lift him. She doesn’t know CPR.

‘Angel?’ she calls again, the word raw and shaped with distress this time. Breaking at the edges. Fuck, Angel. Fuck.

‘I’m here.’ Boots behind her, the clatter of his lighter to the concrete. ‘Move.’

She obliges, glad of the directness, and attempts to hold EZ upright as she replaces her body for Angel’s.

‘Easy, bro,’ he says, grunting as he takes the weight, his arms going under EZ’s armpits. He doesn’t pause to gather himself, but stands and pulls his brother up with him, like it’s nothing. Adrenaline bolstering strength. ‘That’s it.’

‘I’ll get the door,’ Tati starts, standing too, with her mind on the exit.

‘No,’ he insists, ‘help me with him.’

Shit. There’s a fraction of a second where she doesn’t move at all, like her brain hit a rock on the trail—stalled the parts, forgot the direction—and then she’s going again, back to their side. Angel shoulders the brunt of it, but it’s still a considerable weight once EZ’s left arm is around her neck. His legs are moving, barely, like he’s trying to help them, but only managing a half step before dragging his toes behind. Step, drag. Step. Drag.

‘You think he’s…?’ What was she going to say? Dead? Dying? ‘Will he make it to the jeep?’

They’ve got him half-way to the door already, but past that, across the gravel and to the car outside, feels like miles away still.

Angel pants, sweat on his brow. ‘I don’t know, Tati.’ He sounds strained, but then his brother must way as much as he does, if not more.

‘He must be concussed,’ she decides. He must have blood on the brain, in his lungs. ‘If we don’t get him to the hospital—’

‘Can we focus on getting the fuck out of here first?’ Angel snaps, sending the rest of her statement deep into her stomach, buried in guilt. ‘You don’t have to say every damn thing out loud, okay? I fucking know.’

‘Sorry.’

He forces a breath, a regretful ‘shit’ following after it.

‘It’s fine,’ she says, concluding it for him. He’s right after all. ‘Let’s get him to the car.’

*

If walking him was hard, then lifting EZ into the back of her jeep was a fucking biblical test of strength. She was almost useless for it, only pushing his feet while Angel tugged him onto the bench from the opposite side. He didn’t need her at all, not really, not until it was time for him to drive them to safety.

‘Get out,’ she tells him, watching him miss the key in the ignition for the third time. His hands are shaking, she can see it now, and as marred with EZ’s blood as her own are. ‘I’ll drive.’

He doesn’t fight it. She slides into to the drivers seat as he jogs around to take her place, a silent agreement that it’s better this way. They’ve been passing nerves back and forth this entire time, a tipping hourglass, and it’s in her favour again. For now.

The engine turns over, quieter than normal, because the adrenaline is beating in her skull still. A constant thrum of blood behind her ears that makes everything feel dull by comparison.

‘I don’t give a shit about rules,’ she says. ‘We’re taking him to the hospital.’

Angel nods in the side of her vision, his head cranked over the seat to look back at EZ.

‘He awake still?’

‘Just drive,’ he says, which she takes as a no, too afraid to look in the rear-view and see a dead man staring back. ‘And thanks, Pidge, I don’t think—’

‘Save it.’

They’ve got a long way to go before celebrating any victories yet.

>>>> epilogue 

[etherithical]

Pidge Whump Scenarios (UPDATED: Seasons 1-4)

Please do not read this if you faint of heart. I do not want to ruin your life through my cursed Whump scenarios😅😈

Just some ideas if you have writer’s block or want to evolve some of these things for my (or your own/other peoples’) BTHB prompts! I kept them vague so you could add your own things. Most of them are AUs, are Pidge focused (y’all know me), and are placed in the order of the episodes.

Disclaimer: Many of these ideas are heavily inspired by some other amazing Pidge Whump writers out there. While I tried my hardest to keep ideas original and creative, be warned that some stray very close to what is already out there.

Whumpers: -Law Enforcement (considering the prior to Voltron prompt)

-School bullies, gangsters, blackmailers, pretty much any human that sucks and uses Pidge as their punching bag

-Commander Sendak

-Lieutenant Haxus

-Bounty Hunters, although who would want to injure their precious cargo? -Subcommander Ylvik (Note: Lead Galra on Shay’s Balmera. He is not seen on screen, but mentioned when Prorok states that he has command of said Galra’s fleets)

-Commander Prorok

-Macidus and those other Druid creeps

-Chief Information Officer Plytox (Not seen, mentioned)

-Zarkon? (Note: Considering he is more of the kill, no prisoners type of guy, you’ll have to tread carefully with this one. He should have a reason to keep her alive other than “Hey I like torturing young children cuz I’m a creeeeep!”

-Haggar (Note: Another one you should be careful with. While there are a TON of Whump fanfics with her, I don’t see her as really that sadistic. I mean, she interrogates prisoners, but that’s for the Empire’s villainous plans rather than her own personal enjoyment. Again, you’ll need a reason other than she wants to have fun.

-Commander Branko (Commander on Olkarion)

-Unilu traders?

-The Warden from Escape from Beta Traz

-Lotor

-Lotor’s Generals (I think it would be cool to see Narti as the Whumper. Kinda creepy since she can’t see or talks, so she’s just hurting Pidge and saying nothing the entire time)

-Commander Hira and the evil Alteans from the Alternate Universe

-Lambonite Scavengers (Seen in The Legend Begins)

-Evil Matt...? 😏

-Bounty Hunter from Reunion

-Evil AU version of Pidge, resentful of our beautiful girl’s happier life.

-Commander Throk

-General Raht

-Ladnok or Trugg (female Whumpers are 👌)

Scenarios/Prompts:

1. Pidge’s secret about being a girl comes forth before the Blue Lion is found. You can play this idea a bit: Maybe Pidge is arrested, or maybe Iverson doesn’t want to tell the truth about Kerberos, so he takes matters into his own hands? It’s up to you

2. Not a specific episode, but Pidge is made into a Robeast?

3. Fall of the Castle of Lions/Return to the Balmera. Pidge fails to save the Castle of Lions from Sendak. This one could go in several unique ways depending on personal choice. Here’s some ideas if you need some inspiration.

-Haxus defeats Pidge, but instead of killing her, he tortures or maims her.

-Keith and Allura are unable to get in on time, and Sendak has Pidge.

-Sendak convinces Pidge to turn herself into him.

4. Rolo, Nyma, and Beezer take a certain little Green Paladin with them instead of (or along with) the Blue Lion. Hunk is infuriated at the rest of the team for being too trusting, and by doing so letting the Bounty Hunters escape with their friend.

5. Pidge is caught in a rockfall in Return to the Balmera. (Note: Subcommander Ylvik is the name given of the lead Galra on the Balmera, though he is not seen on screen)

6. Pidge catches onto the infected Alfor’s plan. Unfortunately, he gets to her before she can tell the others…

7. Macidus finds Pidge, Lance, and Hunk and takes her with him to Central Command. Now we have both a Paladin and a princess captured! YAY!

8. Voltron is defeated in The Black Paladin and Pidge is the only Paladin left alive. Zarkon chooses to keep her alive (Why? As a pet? To entertain his soldiers? Because one of his subordinates insisted?). Maybe Thace could be the caretaker, sneaking in food and medicine when no one is looking?

9. An idea for Across the Universe: Pidge is injured on her landing on the trash nebula. Nevertheless, she must manage to build the satellite, with a little help from the Green Lion and the trash floofs, of course!

10. Greening the Cube. Pidge is captured during the mission and the Commander (no name given) either makes her his slave, or, due to her unbelievably strong connection to the world around her, experiments on her.

11. In Eye of the Storm, Pidge is hit by one of the lasers in the teludav. While she survives, the hit causes severe damage to her body that can’t be easily fixed, or not at all.

12. Pidge and the Green Lion fall into the acid in The Ark of Taujeer. This one is a good option for Plance, since Lance and Pidge were working together to sew together the planet’s crust.

13. Pidge is captured in Space Mall and sold as a slave by a group of Unilu.

14. There already are some Escape from Beta Traz whump scenarios out there, so this one was a bit of a challenge. One idea is that the Warden catches Pidge while she is hiding under his desk, and forces Lance and Shiro to face an ultimatum: leave Slav, a vital part of the plan to defeat Zarkon with him (and Laika, too!), or leave Pidge, their friend and the Green Paladin, at his mercy.

Another idea is that everyone gets caught. Because Pidge was pretty much the one conducting the mission from the Control Center (and through that, causing all the trouble), the Warden beats her up.

15. Not tied to an episode, but let’s imagine for a moment that for whatever reason, team Voltron believes that Pidge is half-Galra rather than Keith. Pidge, already reeling from the false disbelief, experiences Allura’s racism, which grows increasingly detrimental to her confidence. And, Keith, who knows he is Galra, is unsure whether to tell everyone. I don’t see him as the “I’m afraid she’ll act the same way toward me as she is with Pidge” kind of guy, so you’ll have to get a little creative. Either way, once the truth comes out, Allura is terribly guilty and Pidge is furious at Keith for not saying anything while she suffered in silence.

16.Pidge is hit by the laser-eyed monsters… well, um, lasers in Stayin’ Alive.

17. The plan in The Best Laid Plans and Blackout fails. This one is almost identical to the The Black Paladin idea, except later in the show. I like this one a bit better as the hatred for the Paladins is higher, seen as they managed to get as far as they did, with the downside of losing Thace as caretaker.

18. What if… In Red Paladin, Voltron for some reason was doubtful about the attack of Puig, so Pidge offered to go in by herself (since the Green Lion can turn invisible). While Lotor and the gang expected evidence that there ‘is no Voltron without the Black Lion,’ taking Pidge to interrogate her is an easy alternative. Or, if this one doesn’t excite you, he can capture her when Voltron was set up (since the other Lions and their lack of experience flying leaves for an easy capture on Lotor’s part).

19. Fairly similar to 18. Lotor’s plan in The Hunted to flush out the Lions and capture them one by one mostly or completely succeeds. Either way, Pidge and possibly a few more of the Paladins are captured.

20. In Hole in the Sky, The Alteans attach some sort of alternate version of the Hoktril to Pidge, one that leaves her with free will but the inability to do anything but what the Alteans want. Sort of as a punishment for trying to mess up their plans. This could be a part of a larger plot: Where Commander Hira manages to cross through the wormhole and begins to take over the universe. Maybe an enormous war between the alternate reality Alteans and the Galra Empire could start. Or else this could happen to Pidge when the others are trying to escape and she gets caught and left behind.

21. While The Legend Begins doesn’t give me an AU, an interesting idea came to mind. We know that the original Paladins of Voltron fought evil before the Galra took over the universe. At the beginning of the episode they are fighting Lambonite scavengers. What if 10,000 in the future, they or some other ancient menace came back to exact revenge on the Paladins. And while they can’t hurt dead people, torturing their successors is an easy second best.

22. Let me just spill my Reunion ideas here. For just some general angst, you could just have Matt be dead. Imagine Pidge has been gone for vargas, so the Paladins go and search for her, only to find her literally hugging onto a gravestone, her eyes wide, and when they try to move her she is reluctant to leave her brother’s side and unresponsive when they try to talk to her. She constantly holds on, it doesn’t seem like she recognizes (or cares about) her friends beside her, and Shiro has to drag her out so they can leave. Another option, a darker one, is that the Bounty Hunter wins and takes Pidge and Matt to the Galra. A fun idea to play with, if you ask me. And if you’re willing to go even darker, making Matt evil and having him actually hurt (or… torture) his sister is an idea I’ve played with for the longest time.

23. The Galra catch on to the Paladins’ in The Voltron Show and the ‘propaganda’ it’s spreading. Zarkon or some other Galran in power organizes an attack during one of the performances, when the Paladins are vulnerable. Most of the Paladins manage to escape but Pidge is captured. Or the performances from the Voltron Show create enemies… and people who should definitely be avoided for each Paladin. Pidge is captured off guard by a stalker who wants to make her ‘his dog.’ (If you write this I would rather it not be NSFW. You can be you but please use your own ideas for that)

24. Pidge and Hunk fail to disable the Communications Station in Begin the Blitz. Because of their failure, the Voltron Coalition takes serious losses, and Pidge is brutally beaten as punishment while Hunk is forced to watch. Another one is because they lost Lotor as a bargaining chip, Ezor, Zethrid, and Acxa capture Pidge in order to reenter the ranks of the Galra Empire.

25. Somehow, Pidge is the only survivor in the entire Coalition after the massive explosion in A New Defender. The Galra choose to keep her alive as a prisoner of war… and for some fun. And alternative to this is that Pidge survives and manages to escape the Galra, but is a fugitive of the Galra Empire and constantly in peril of being found… and paying the price

Feel free to use these or change these however you like! I honestly don’t care how you use them; the purpose of this is to inspire you, not hold you back! I’ll update it once I’ve finished rewatching seasons 5-6.

You can request me to do my own ideas for my BTHB card, although I would like to see some of your own personal improvements/additions as well!

[haleykim84]

can you do "it hurts to breathe" with Keith, please?

Thanks so much for the prompt @keepswingin and @frostyviking!! <3 Sorry it took me so look to get around to writing this! I hope you'll enjoy this little ficlet regardless! :)

Prompt: it hurts to breathe.

"Keith! Oh my god, Keith!"

As soon as she spotted Keith's red and white helmet, Pidge took off running. She picked her way across shifting pebbles and crumbling rocks as fast as she could and sank to her knees in front of Keith's prone form when she finally reached him.

For a moment she just stared in horror. A massive boulder pinned Keith to the ground from his shoulders down. The rock was at least as high as she was tall, maybe thirty feet wide and she couldn't even see how long it was as it was partially buried in rubble from the landslide.

Keith was on his stomach, face-down, with his hands clenched into fists in front of him. Pidge let out the breath she was holding, because clenched fists meant he was conscious, and, more importantly, alive. How that was even possible, she didn't know; his armor should've shattered under the sheer weight of that boulder. But he was alive and she wasn't about to ask questions.

"Keith! Keith?"

At the sound of her voice, he turned his head towards her. His face was pinched in obvious pain, and it was paper-white except for the blood that was dribbling down from a corner of his mouth.

"P-Pidge?"

It wasn't much more than a gasp, but Pidge heard it and the relief was so strong it was a good thing she was already kneeling.

Keith lifted his head as far as he could, but it wasn't quite enough to be able to actually look at her, so she hunkered down to his level.

"P-Pidge, I—I'm…I think I'm – stuck."

Pidge would've laughed at the understatement if the situation wasn't so horrible. "I know, just—just hang on, okay? I'm gonna call the others for help, hang on!"

Keith nodded before letting his head rest on the ground again.

"Shiro!" Pidge shouted down the comms. "Shiro! Shiro, I found Keith, but he got caught in a landslide and now he's pinned! It's bad, we need the Yellow Lion asap!"

Shiro asked no questions. "Okay, Pidge, zeroing in on your location now," he said calmly, though his voice sounded strained. "Hunk, how fast can you get there?"

"Umm…about five minutes?" Hunk replied. "I'm putting pedal to the metal, Pidge! Keith, I'm coming!"

Keith didn't react at all, and Pidge realized his comms must have been damaged.

"Pidge, is Keith awake?" Shiro asked.

Pidge glanced at Keith. His eyes were scrunched shut and he was biting down on the inside of his lips. "Yeah, but I think he's really hurting, Shiro," she said in a low voice.

"Okay, Pidge, try to keep him awake and calm, okay? We'll be right there."

Pidge took a deep breath and focused her attention on her injured teammate.

"Help's on the way, okay, Keith?" she said, carefully putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hunk and Shiro are gonna be here in a few minutes, and—and then we'll get you out. Just hang on, okay? Are you—are you in a lot of pain?"

A small whimper escaped him. "It— it kinda—hurts—to breathe."

That had to be a massive understatement. How Keith was even capable of talking right now was beyond her. She noticed his fingers kept alternating between clenching into fists and scrabbling in the dirt, like he was trying to find something to hold on to.

So she reached out and gently took his hands in hers.

"Squeeze as hard as you need to, okay?"

Keith pried his eyes open and tried to look up at her. "Pidge—"

The pain she saw on his face made her heart ache. "I mean it, Keith. You don't have to hold back. I can handle it."

Keith didn't seem to have the strength to protest any further, letting his head fall back to the ground again, hands clenching around Pidge's involuntarily.

It hurt, but it was only a fraction of the pain Keith was going through right now, so Pidge gritted her teeth and bore it.

There was a sudden loud rumble in the air, followed by a tremble beneath her knees, and the next thing she knew Keith was screaming, and the grip he had on her hands became bruising. To her horror she saw the boulder pinning Keith to the ground shift slightly and panic rose up within her like a tsunami.

Oh god, no, NO! Keith was being crushed to death! No NO NO this couldn't be happening! God, PLEASE!

The trembling subsided quickly, but Keith didn't stop screaming and it was such a horrible, horrible sound, and SHE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING!

"HUNK!" she shouted down the comms, her voice pitched high with panic and desperation. "Hunk, where are you, dammit?! Keith's dying! You have to get here NOW!"

"Almost there, almost there!" Hunk yelled back.

"Pidge! Pidge, what's happening?" Even Shiro sounded scared now.

"Keith's being crushed, that's what's happening! We have to help him! Please!"

Shiro said something in reply, but Pidge was distracted when Keith's screaming cut off abruptly and his hands went limp.

Pidge stared at him with wide eyes, her heart thudding in the sudden quiet.

"Keith?"

His face was slack, his skin was even whiter than before and there was blood on his lips. He didn't respond.

"Keith, c'mon, talk to me."

She activated the scanner in her helmet, but the boulder prevented the sensors from scanning Keith's body and it came back with insufficient data. With a frustrated grunt she yanked off her glove and held her hand under Keith's nose. She felt nothing.

"No…" She gripped Keith's hands tighter. They were cold, something she didn't notice before. "Keith! Keith, c'mon, squeeze my hands, okay?" Her cheeks were wet. "Please, Keith, squeeze my hands! Keith, please!"

A shadow fell over them and Pidge looked up. Finally, finally there was the Yellow Lion, followed closely by Black.

She turned back to Keith. "Keith! They're here! Hunk and Shiro are here! They're gonna get you out, okay? You're gonna be fine, you just- you just have to hang on! Hang on, Keith, okay? Please, hang on!"

She pinched the skin of Keith's hands, hoping for some kind of reaction, but his hands remained cold and lax.

As Yellow and Black took up positions above them, she couldn't help but think they were too late.

[iwritesoistaysane]

Should I?

I want to make a bad things happen bingo for Voltron, VLD.

This is the prompt bingo thing I'll be using. (Writing Pidge whump is my favourite but I can do mostly everyone, but I refuse to harm Coran Coran our gorgeous man. Unless it's a really good prompt.)

[willadisastercry]

Space godzilla meets Keith and Pidge bonding moment

tw: depiction of paralyzation of the body and of throat/mouth

Of the list of terrifyingly dangerous alien monsters they’d come across, this one is near the top. After crash landing on an unfamiliar planet, the pair find themselves getting well acquainted with the local wildlife on their unexpected sojourn. They also get better acquainted with each other as they struggle against this beast and with the injuries from the battle that just keep getting more terrifying.

(((Keith and Pidge sharing emotional intimacy while one of them is hurt or both are is an ELITE trope and you cannot tell me otherwise)))

“GAH!”

“Are you sure you don’t need assistance?! I can probably get a hold of it’s tale with my bayard...”

“I’m good, just... this thing is relentless. It doesn’t have a single weakness except I don’t think it can hear well, that’s the only reason it hasn’t tried to eat you again.”

“Good to know? But let me help, Keith, you’re hurt too.”

“I’m still standing, am I not?”

“Your back is like shredded bud, it’s called adrenaline, ever heard of it?”

He opened his mouth as if to respond but didn’t get the chance to before he was launching himself over the swooping arc of the stinging tale that threatened to take his legs out from under him. His body stretched as he jumped and contracted almost as quickly to send himself tumbling forward, a stiff gasp escaping his lips when the stingers already at home in his back shifted and reduced him to a crouch while he rode the waves of agony that followed.

“That’s it...”

Pidge activated her bayard and sent it forward just as the tale of the oversized killer iguana was going back for seconds while Keith was still down, its struggle only aided the momentum of the grappling hook as it wrapped around the deadly appendage.

That bit was pretty seamless. What wasn’t seamless was when the creature started fighting her hold, a counter measure she hadn’t really planned for and wasn’t at all equipped to combat given she was very much reduced to sitting on her butt.

“Uh, Keith?” Pidge asked in a shriller voice than she intended as she dug one heel into the rocky soil beneath her.

“I know you’re like not doing great at the moment, but right about now would be a good time to, I don’t know, do the thing... that you do, ya know?”

The creature reared around as best it could with its tale entrapped and began yanking. Digging both heels into the ground was now all Pidge could do to keep from going flying. She couldn’t even hold back her screech when her torn muscles and slashed tendons protested that, the gash in her thigh squishing and swelling with another spurt of blood, whatever clotting that had been achieved entirely lost.

She almost cried out with relief she when heard Keith grunting and saw as he pulled himself up to his feet despite the burning twinge across the entire expanse of his back as well as his arms and shoulders, because Pidge was right, he did need to do the thing he does and end this.

“That’s a start, now I’m pretty sure what happens next is it gets more mad and seeing as i’m attached to my bayard still—“

But he didn’t need her to explain her predicament, he saw the danger immediately and lunged at the beast while it was still focused on attempting to wriggle free.

He knew aiming at its exposed underbelly was useless, the skin was too tough, but he also knew he couldn’t get close enough to go for a limb without risking getting sliced to ribbons by its claws. They had both found that one out the hard way.

So, with the beast temporarily distracted by Pidge he resolved to make a break for the underbelly anyway, the thing was huge but it’s limbs were short and set so far apart that if he could just slide under it and—

The next few moments happened in a blur. He did the thing without so much as a second thought, like he quite literally acted in whatever fashion his brain first thought of, too sluggish and dazed to afford waiting for something other than his instincts to come through.

The creature let out a horrible screech and bucked against Pidge’s grasp on its tale, she let out a strangled yelp as she was pulled forward and off the ground for a moment before landing back down hard. She heard Keith gagging as bright yellow acid oozed nearly onto his face from where his sword had pierced the only place he could think would be soft enough to bypass, clutching his nose at the acrid sizzling as it spluttered onto the dirt next to him.

“Pidge! On three retract your bayard, okay? One, two—“

“What? No, I can’t. It’ll—“

“Three!”

Keith picked his feet up as he hung on the sword stuck in what he assumed was the creatures gullet. It came away with even more acid blood as he dropped to his knees and tried to get out from under the stream, the top of his forearms being spared only by his armor as it disintegrated in a sickening hiss before his eyes. He managed to be vaguely concerned about wether it would stop at his armor before all of his worry went to avoiding being crushed to death as the beast took off.

Keith opened his eyes only when the thumping of the creatures claws began to notably shrink in the distance. He was curled up protectively on his side and too exhausted to move just yet.

“Huh, if only we had listened to Pidge earlier...” she mused teasingly as she pulled herself into a more comfortable sitting position.

“Shut up, are you alright? How’s the leg?”

“The leg is relatively the same, slightly more numb, started bleeding again, but still attached so that’s all that matters.”

She glanced back at the concerningly large puddle she’d left behind and the newly forming one underneath her. The blood loss wasn’t yet dangerous but she knew that could change rapidly if they didn’t get to Green soon. And for that she would need a functional Keith because she was fairly certain she couldn’t walk.

“Don’t think you can just deflect onto me, how’s your back you idiot?”

He thought deeply for a second, forcing himself to push past the impending haze as the steady stream of adrenaline coursing through his body began to taper off.

“Feels weird... the tingling and burning is starting to travel. Probably safe to say that the stingers have some sort of poison or irritant I guess... and it’s—oh my god it’s blood is—wait, crap!”

He wasn’t really mindful that he was rambling but grateful that it reminded him of the acid eating away at his armor and scrambled to detach what was left of it, scrubbing away what had just started making its way through his undersuit.

“It’s blood is WHAT?! Did it get on you?!”

“Yeah. Well no, I’m good,” he sighed and rolled around to sit up as painlessly as he could manage to.

“It ate my armor and I think my the hair on my forearm is gone, but my skin is in tact, well most of it. Sit tight though, I’m coming over there.”

“Kay, not going anywhere...”

Keith made his way slowly. His legs were leaden with excertion and whatever lovely substances the overgrown demon lizard stung and scratched him with seemed to only make it worse.

“Well you look awful.”

“Thanks, you too,” he said as he sat down heavily, his muscles screaming at the effort walking even a couple feet took and his head swimming for a moment.

“Rude, but turn around and let me see,” Pidge’s order was final but Keith’s body was slow, not really listening to what he wanted that well.

“Keith, I will slap you, stop trying to be a tough guy.”

He only managed to swivel sideways and lean the rest of the way to expose enough of his battered back to quell her chastisements.

“Hmm, the space-godzilla got you good,” she muttered as she pulled him closer to examine the bleeding gashes from the creatue’s claws and swollen welts from the barbs of its hellish tail.

Various bits of their armor had been knocked off by its claws and tail during the attack. For Keith, his chest plate had cracked after several blows and fallen off, which is why he was so bad off now.

There were three slashes starting from his left shoulder blade that made their way down to the middle of his back, all wide and jagged with blood leaking steadily from them, the skin around the wounds just as irritated as the welts from the stingers that trailed along in several lines up and down his back.

The skin around the gash on Pidge’s thigh fared the same though her symptoms had progressed more, the majority of her thigh swollen and blotchy with a tingling sensation that spread from her toes to her hips.

“Some of the stinger things are still lodged in your back... I think I should pull them out so ya know, no more of the toxin is released, that good with you?”

“Yeah whatever, just be qui—Oooh, okay—OH, ouch!”

Keith’s entire body tensed as she yanked the remaining stingers out, summoning another surge of blood from his scratch wounds.

“All done, sorry! I didn’t realize they were serated.”

“S’ okay,” he breathed through gritted teeth as blood began to trickle from the welts Pidge had just de-stingered.

“We’ve gotta get to our lions and contact the rest of the team before we start feeling the full affects of the toxin, do you think you can walk if I help you?” Keith asked as he was getting to his knees.

“My leg is pretty much entirely numb... I don’t know if it’s from the damage of the wound itself or what was coating the claw, but I can try.”

Keith got his feet under him and reached down to hook his arms under her armpits.

“Ready?”

Pidge nodded and he lifted her to her feet. She fought to stifle her groan when the skin around the wound was pulled and then tried to put her weight on it but it immediately buckled.

“Shit, okay. We can work something else out.”

“Sorry, I can probably hobble...”

“No hobbling when I have a spot just for you on my one remaining shoulder.”

“Huh? Wait, no!”

Pidge protested but Keith had no energy for it as he hoisted her up and over his good shoulder, her own mind not as hazy as his apparently because he now had a sense of humor. Keith never made jokes, but now he couldn’t stop. And it was freaking weird.

“Ugh, put me down!”

“Nope, sorry. Friendly reminder for passengers: please keep all hands and feet within the—“

“Oh my god, you’re delirious.”

“...maybe slightly, but you’re bleeding out so checkmate.”

Pidge wanted to slap him because that’s not how chess works, but grumbled instead and went to nudge him in the stomach with her knee but the movement jostled her thigh causing her keen at the way it burned, the torn everything that lay beneath pulling visciously.

She felt Keith’s hesitant hand hover over the back of her injured thigh before making his mind up and pressing it down against his stomach. She wailed because she couldn’t help it but was somehow able to rationalize his decision and be thankful.

Pressure, that was smart of him. Even in a state of literal delirium he had the presence of mind to do that because he was right, she was bleeding out. It hadn’t severed an artery but it likely nicked one with the way it had gushed initially.

“Th-thanks, hurts like a bitch, but thanks.”

“Anything for you, Pidge.”

She could almost laugh at how soft Keith was being, how open and lighthearted he was. The posion was admittedly closer to his heart and his brain which was probably why Pidge was more coherent though partially paralyzed.

Both injuries weren’t any better or worse than the other though. Pidge was very much in danger of losing too much blood and Keith was very much in danger of succumbing to adverse affects of the posion.

But she could hardly feel Green which meant they had a way to go still, it was less than ideal but of all people that would be able to get them there under such unfortunate circumstances, she was glad it was Keith with her. He was just as impossibly stubborn as she was and Pidge had no doubt that he’d do whatever he could to make it there in time.

“You know where you’re going right?”

“Yeah,” he huffed, already winded “crashed on the other side of this ridge... ha, course it’s up a hill, of course...”

“Stop as much as you need to if you need a break—“

“Nah, if I stop I don’t know if I’ll be able to start again.”

Pidge worried at her bottom lip, the skin already raw.

“Just let me know how you’re doing every now and then... since you’re so dead set on being my personal transport.”

He grunted at that and Pidge accepted it was as much of an answer as she was going to get. He walked for a while, the bounce of his gait and unrelenting pressure on her leg sufficiently shorting her dulled nerves for their tolerance for pain.

She could still feel the wound and how mangled the inside workings of her leg were, not even the numbing of the poison could take it away, but the tingling had traveled to her hip now and slowly made its way up her side. The feeling of Keith’s hand on the back of her thigh diminishing by the minute.

Pidge could only imagine how Keith was fairing with the numbness of the poison, she wondered if he could even feel her weight on his shoulder with how many pricks he’d received from the monster.

“Almost halfway up... this goddamned hill... can-can you feel Green yet?”

“Yeah, stronger than before at least. We’re getting closer. How do you feel?”

“Feel fine... i’m good,” he answered quickly, but his words were sloshing together somewhat, his pronunciation becoming lazier.

“Well, I can’t feel anything on my right side anymore except for my arm, so that’s lovely.”

“Hm, yeah... my back’s numb... scratches don’t hurt much anymore.”

“That’s probably for the best right now.”

“Yeah...”

The next few minutes passed slowly. Keith’s breathing getting heavier with the continued effort but no matter how much Pidge urged him he refused to even slow down for a minute let alone stop altogether to catch his breath.

So freaking stubborn, but she couldn’t blame him. She was the same way.

As they made their journey she found it more and more difficult to tear her mind away from worrying about the poison, what it could do to their bodies, if it was even curable. It could be lethal to humans and their efforts could very well be for nothing and they’d have no idea.

“Hey... you okay?” Keith asked, his voice gentle.

“Huh?”

“You’re breathing funny... wait, are you—don’t cry... we’re-we’re going to be fine, Pidge. Stop thinking about it...”

“I’m just scared,” her voice was meek, her chest shuddering as more tears slid silently down her face.

“I know... me too... but we’ll be okay... won’t let anything happen to you...”

“Okay...” she breathed shakily, her mind still working over her worries but also over the fact that she was so emotional, paranoid even, finally resolving it was probably another side affect of the poison.

She hoped that Keith didn’t get anxious like her, he’d gotten a stronger dose of the toxin and so she feared what paranoia would look like on him since he was already pretty delirious.

“Hey, Keith?”

He hummed, talking wasted too much energy and he didn’t much left to waste.

“I can feel Green a lot now, can almost hear what she’s trying to say. She’s stronger than when we left her, scared for me I think.”

“S’good... s’really good.”

They were nearing the top of the hill. Pidge could feel the elevation changing as the steep incline lessened and Keith straightened up with her, his breathing leveling and the muscles under her relaxing slightly, no longer straining to balance her while leaned forward.

“See her... see Green,” he spat with some effort. Words came a lot harder now, his mouth as dry as if it was full of cotton.

“She’s really worried... I can feel how scared she is...”

“Tell her... s’okay...”

“I will—hey slow down, we’re here, don’t waste more energy.”

“Can’ sl-slow...” he slurred like his tongue had stopped working. The dryness in his mouth extended down his throat and when he inhaled too sharply trying to articulate himself and choked, ragged coughs shaking his tiring frame.

“Oh, okay, don’t talk then. Just keep walking, you can rest soon.”

He only grunted this time, his breaths becoming as strained as they were when they were coming up the hill. He surged forward dazedly, his vision blurring slightly but he ignored it. They were so close, just a couple more yards and they’d be safe. Just a little further and—

“-eith, Keith! Do you hear that? Godzilla’s back and he brought friends!”

Keith hadn’t realized he’d zoned out in his intense concentration to get to Green before he succumbed to the numbness that seemed to cover every square inch of his body, weighing on his chest like a heavy cloud.

He heard it now though, the rumble of taloned appendages and the whipping of barbed tails.

Shit.

“How far are we from Green? Because our buddy from before and his friends are about a mile out, but they seem to be moving a tad faster than we are...?”

He didn’t answer, his legs moving faster than he knew he could manage with how nonexistent they felt, carrying them forward with reckless abandon as black dots danced across the quickly shrinking space between him and Green’s open jaws.

He couldn’t feel his feet hitting the ground, he didn’t even know he was running, he just felt the burn in his chest and the twinge on the skin of his back as he moved.

Pidge was saying something but he couldn’t hear her, he couldn’t hear much of anything anymore aside from the splitting ringing in his ears and pulse of his own heart as it pounded in his chest.

The alien beasts descended on them quickly, he was later told, and Pidge screamed her throat raw the entire time urging him to get them inside Green before they became dinner.

He wasn’t sure when he’d made it over the threshold of the lion or when he’d dropped to his knees to let Pidge down softly before falling forward in a heap.

“Damnit Keith, Green go! C’mon girl, I can’t fly-I can’t even move and Keith needs help...”

Once the pain in her leg died down from him abruptly releasing the pressure that was keeping the wound stabilized, she turned to her struggling friend, pushing away the fear that spiked as her own numbness encroached further.

He’d collapsed onto his front bonelessly and was wheezing like he’d just run a marathon with a punctured lung. It didn’t sound good and he didn’t look much better. The wounds on his back were angry, the skin puffy with hives and bleeding still.

If she didn’t know better she’d have thought he was having an allergic reaction and going into anaphylactic shock, but her wound looked the same.

“Keith?”

He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look like he’d heard her.

Pidge grunted in frustration when she couldn’t get her legs to bring her much closer to him, relying on her arms to physically move them as she awkwardly scooted.

She vaguely wondered how long it would be until she couldn’t sit up on her own as she lowered herself down to eye level and moved the damp locks that had fallen in front of his face away so she could see his eyes. They were bloodshot and unfocused as they darted about rapidly, his pupils blown entirely.

“I need you to breathe steadier for me okay? We’re in Green and we’re on our way back to the castle... you just need to hold on a little longer...”

Keith could see Pidge’s mouth moving and her hand on his head, but her words were lost on him and so was her touch. It felt like she was shouting across a void, like he was underwater and everything was garbled. He didn’t know why he couldn’t hear her, why he couldn’t feel anything.

He just knew he couldn’t breathe and that his head was going to explode.

“Catch your breath and calm down, we’re gonna be okay...”

Taking in air was a chore, like he was trying to fill up a balloon that had already popped. He couldn’t really feel his body beneath him as he struggled, he thought he could feel his throat closing though with how tight it grew.

“We’re gonna be fine... just keep breathing, Keith... even if it hurts... we’ll be okay...”

Pidge was saying these things mostly for herself now, Keith hadn’t answered her once since they’d made it to Green and she couldn’t even be sure he was conscious now. The numbness had spread to her middle, the muscles in her back and hips failing, reducing her to laying on her back.

For a while it had felt like it had stopped there until she tried to check on Keith and found her neck was immobile now too.

“No, no, no—fuck!”

That was when she’d started crying again. She was paralyzed. Her muscles were entirely lax, completely unresponsive to anything she tried to tell them to do. But her ears were unaffected. She would be able to hear when Keith stopped breathing next to her.

The poison had likely attacked his pulmonary system with the proximity of the wounds to his lungs, the claws maybe even knicked one. For Pidge it attacked her nervous system from the extensive damage to about a dozen crucial nerves in her leg.

She tried to curse pitifully again but the muscles in her face were tingling, managing nothing more than a nose wrinkle before she lost all control. The tears fell freely now. All she hoped for was a crackle over the coms from her friends when they got close enough to the castle to receive one.

Keith continued to wheeze, soon falling into an almost dream state as he struggled against the increasing paralysis in his mouth and throat, the decreased oxygen to his brain likely playing a hand in it.

He saw his home in the dessert except his father was there. He saw flashes of red and orange like fire and sand. They swirled around him threateningly, like they were taunting them. His father looked like he was saying something to him, but the sand whirred deafeningly.

“What?!” he thought he heard himself calling out through the wall of flames that seperated them. The blaze was tantalizingly close and gaining ground each second.

“Dad, what are you saying?”

The fire raged stronger now, the heat and lack of oxygen in the air around them as the flames licked it up bringing his father to his knees.

“No, no—Dad!”

Keith started toward the flames that were now receding, drawing toward his father who was still trying to tell him something.

But it was too late.

The flames circled him, closing in and swallowing him up.

Keith felt like he was the one burning as he saw his father taken away from him once more before darkness enveloped him.

“Dad...” he whispered in defeat.

The static that sounded from the coms device brought another surge of tears down Pidge’s face once Keith had stopped calling out and finally relaxed, his breaths choppy and sporadic but less erratic.

He was calling for his father, it was the first intelligent word she’d gathered from him once he’d started up. He sounded like he was crying too.

“-dge...-th...in...-idge-Keith...come in...guys? Please report.”

It was Shiro. He sounded scared.

“Pidge? Keith? Please tell us you’re okay...”

Hunk. Gosh, hearing him so worried hurt.

“Green has the other lions flipping their shit,”Lance remarked, trying to infuse some levity into his voice.

“Red is like actually wailing—wait, Coran sees you guys on the radar...”

She wanted to sob so badly, but her body refused. They were so close to being safe, to not feeling so wrong. She wanted to tell Keith it was going to be okay, that his father was gone but that he would be proud of him. That it’d be okay because he had his friends. And that she needed a hug as soon as he could breathe and as soon as she could stand.

But she just let her eyes flutter closed while Green landed them with a shudder that she didn’t feel. Everyone was on them in a second, worried voices pulling her from the darkness as equally worried faces hovered over her, poking at her leg.

“Pidge?! Pidge can you hear me?” Shiro was waving his hand in front of her but her face was entirely numb, her eyelids heavy and uncooperative but still functioning for now.

“That’s a lot of blood and—oh my god is that bone, aw god...” Hunk deadpanned before excusing himself to go hurl.

“What the heck? Her eyes are open and responsive but she’s not talking,” Lance noted as his mind worked over the strange scene.

Keith was still out of it, mumbling incoherently and breathing hoarsely. Coran was examining his back and figuring out a way to transport him without angering the wounds.

“I think I have an idea of what happened...” he offered once he’d inspected the swollen dots from the barbs and relayed his hypothesis to the rest of the team.

“Oh my god, so she’s like... paralyzed?” Lance questioned in horror.

Hot tears spilled down her face once more at their realization, Hunk appearing next to them and Allura coming into view as well.

“Pidge?” she asked softly, “er, blink twice if you can hear me?”

Blinking was difficult but possible, snapping her eyes back quickly each time just in case.

“Oh, Pidge...” she gushed sadly, taking her face in the palm of her hand.

“That must’ve been hell—I-I’m so sorry,” Hunk choked as he fought back a sob.

“We should’ve gone with you guys, I should’ve gone with you guys...” Lance griped defeatedly.

“No, I never should’ve sent you... it was too dangerous—“

“Er, Shiro? Could I get some assistance with Keith? Holding him like this seems to aggravate his breathing...” Coran interrupted as he sat with Keith against his chest after trying to carry him over his shoulder like he’d done with Pidge.

“Of course.”

“Rest now, Pidge. You’ve done more than enough,” Allura soothed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

That was all the command she needed as she let the heaviness close her eyes for good. She felt herself become weightless before the tingling subsided into a pleasant nothingness.

The next thing she knew she was tumbling forward into warm arms, a familiar voice sounding not nearly as wrecked as it once had. She blinked back the haze from cryosleep only to realize that she just couldn’t see.

“These might help.”

She blinked with clarity once someone had put her glasses on for her, making her feel less disoriented now that she could actually see.

Keith stared down at her warmly.

“Hey there.”

“UGH!” she grumbled as she scrambled up and threw her arms around him, squeezing like she wanted to shatter his bones.

It wasn’t long before she was fighting the hysteria in her voice.

“Don’t scare me like that ever again! It was horrible! You-you were getting worse and I couldn’t m-move, I th-thought I’d have to hear... hear you...”

“Hey,” he said as softly as he spoke to her on that stupid planet, rubbing her back in an effort to quell the stuttering of her chest.

“I didn’t. We’re okay, just like you said we’d be...”

“O-okay,” she managed through sobs now that she could actually cry.

They stayed like that for a while which was surprising when she thought about it but she didn’t care to consider it in depth, that he was letting her hug him so long, that he was comforting her.

“How long were we out?” she asked after some time. It was probably night judging by the dim lights and lack of swarming that occurred. Keith was stubborn so she could imagine him refusing to let her wake up without greeting her first or some noble shit like that.

“Well I was out for like a day, not much to fix I guess. The slashes weren’t deep, not heavy duty work or anything. The poison paralyzing my throat however... was a slight issue. The pod stopped it before I like stopped breathing or whatever, but Coran said he had a plan for if that happened.”

Keith readjusted so that he held most of her weight more comfortably as she calmed down.

“You on the other hand, were in for three days, almost four.”

Pidge sat back from her home against his chest and underneath his arms to look at him with an amusingly bewildered face, needing to know every detail now temporarily overriding her sadness.

“Three days?! Why?”

“Well you did almost bleed out... and then there were the several muscles sliced clean in half as well as a few snapped tendons from said severed muscles... oh and the full body paralysis from a toxin that had to be flushed out... so yeah, took a hot second. And you’re not allowed to say I scared you because you scared me pretty well too.”

“Oh... sorry for scaring you.”

He pulled her back into his arms and she closed her eyes against the steady rise and fall of his chest, a much welcomed change.

“Your... your dad would be proud of you, ya know?”

She felt Keith stiffen against her for a moment at the mention of her father.

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s just—you were calling out for him... and I couldn’t comfort you, tell you that it’d be okay or that... well he’s not here, but we are...”

Pidge took a shaky breath ans Keith tightened his arms around her, his body no longer tense as she struggled to articulate her words through the hitches in her breath.

“It just hurt hearing you call for him like that and not be able to do anything... made me want my dad... I-I miss him too...”

She thought she heard his breathing pick up, felt him moving his hands to his face as he continued to rub her back. She didn’t care, just hugged tighter.

“Thanks... for that,” he said finally.

“Thanks for not dying before you saved us.”

“Ha, checkmate I guess.”

She laughed because that’s just once again not how that works and nestled herself somehow further against the warmth of Keith’s chest because... they were okay.

[lion-time]

whumtoper day 12:  broken heart / broken trust

speedpain(t):https://youtu.be/m9-zKzUAAjU

excusE ME CORN IS A BLOODY BASTARD WAKE UP S H EEPLE

[whalechief]

am feeling the whump today~

check out @heartlesslywhumping and their prompt #150

[madeofstardust17]

Whumptober prompt 4. Human shield

Rating: G

Tw: none

Keith & pidge

Pidge was tiny. 

She was. It was just a fact. Lance was lanky, Shiro was buff and Pidge was tiny. 

But the thing was Keith never truly realized just how small she was until he was hugging her close to his chest, his whole body wrapped around her as flames erupted everywhere around them. 

The thing was, Keith wasn’t scared. Nope. He was downright annoyed.

This was supposed to be the easiest mission ever. 

Get into the abandoned galran base, figure out what had chased the galra away from this sector, and leave. 

A two person job. Pidge was supposed to hack into the servers and download the security cameras’ feed while Keith watched her back. Simple.

But then the ambush happened. 

It was so stupid. The base had been conquered by pirates weeks ago, and when they found out voltron was planning to visit, they placed boobytraps everywhere, the traps being either tiny explosives, toxic gas or shockers (Keith had stepped on one, but the armour had thankfully stopped most of the electric current). Then they hid and waited. 

It was a trap. And they had fallen right into it. 

He scolded himself for not foreseeing it as he closed the door, still hearing the pirates shouting and jeering from the other side pounding at the door. 

They had tried to contact the other the moment they realized their mistake, but something was blocking the signal.

Panting with his hands on his knees, he looked at Pidge, who was already working on the computer

“Now what?”

“I’m going to try to override every boobytrap from here, so that the gas ones all go off simultaneously”

After a few seconds she groaned in frustration 

“What?”

“Every single trap has an access code, a 20 digit password, I would need to hack every trap, one at a time, in order to set them off” a bang from the door cut her off “and we don’t have that kind of time”

Keith thought for a second

“What if you overload the system entirely?”

She frowned “that would make the traps explode. We would basically be turning the entire base into a bomb”

“Which takes care of our pirate problem. We’ll call our lions, have them wait for us and once you overload the system, we’ll get out”

Pidge frowned as she tapped at her forearm, making a 3D map of the base appear.

“We’re currently here” she pointed to a room at the east wing “the nearest exit is through here, two corridors ahead. We could, in theory, crawl through the vents, get out in this corridor and run to the hanger” she grinned at him “this could actually work”

She turned to the computer “I’ll make a timer. We have 10 ticks to get to the hanger”

“What about the video feeds we came for?”

“The pirates deleted it all, this was pointless”

“Great” he took a deep breath “okay let’s go”

Pidge set the timer, and they ran to the vent on the wall. The moment Keith started crawling, he heard the door that led to the room slammed open. Confused shouts followed by a few animalistic grunts were heard, and the aliens ran out of the room. 

Keith felt offended that they had been fooled by these idiots. 

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. 

Until it all came crashing down. 

“One dobos left!” Pidge told him as they sneaked through the second corridor. Keith sighed in relief as the hangar door appeared as they rounded the corner. But then from the corner of his eye his saw movement, and one of the pirates raised their gun. He was pointing at Pidge. He heard the sound of a blaster charging.

Keith didn’t have time to think. He lunged and tackled the girl to the ground, pushing the girl against his chest. 

For a moment, he didn’t feel anything, and he felt relief pour down his body. Pidge reacted faster than him and sat up, pointed her bayard at the pirate and a second later, the criminal was on the ground, unconscious (or dead) from the electric current of Pidge’s grappling hook 

She looked at the timer “33 ticks”

Keith sat up and immediately grunted, biting back a scream. He looked at his side and immediately wished he hadn’t. 

The blast from the gun had melted the thick undersuit and blood was steadily dripping to the floor. The few seconds he had been laying on the floor, a steady pool of blood had already former around him. 

Pidge must have noticed too, because she went pale 

“Oh shit”

But nevertheless, Keith stood up, swaying on the spot. Pidge immediately pulled his arm around her shoulders, supporting his weight. 

“Ten ticks”

“We’re not gonna make it”

She didn’t respond. They stumbled their way towards the hangar door, already opened. 20 feet… 10 feet…

The timer beeped. Keith looked behind them at the wall of fire and blast of hot air that was coming their way. 

He grabbed Pidge and hugged her close, as he had done barely a minute ago.

Please he wasn’t sure who he was praying at let Pidge be okay. 

The heat seared his skin, and his injury was agony. He couldn’t breathe, he was suffocating, his was wound screaming in pain, his arms still tight around Pidge. 

When he opened his eyes again, he was laying down on his side, surrounded by fire, and he thought of his father, about how he was going to die the same way he had.

And then Pidge was there, struggling in his arms.

“We have to go!” She shouted. He stared at her. She looked scared but determinate as she struggled to get him to sit up. 

He struggled to stand up and she ended up half dragging him to where the green lion was waiting, her golden eyes glinting as she opened her mouth.

Then he passed out. 

He came to when a hand shook his shoulder. 

“C’mon bud, wake up” he groaned

“S’ro?”

“That’s right buddy. I’m gonna pick you up now, okay?”

Keith didn’t really feel like walking, so he nodded. Strong arms surrounded his back and the back of his knees and then he was being scooped up. 

His side burned, and he buried his face in his brother’s shoulder to stifle the whine that rose from his throat.

“I know bud. Don’t fall asleep yet, okay?”

Too late. 

He didn’t exactly fall asleep. He was in and out, seeing his surroundings in flashes. 

They were on a hallway, and he was being carried by Shiro. His eyes closed 

They entered the infirmary, and sound exploded, making him flinch and hide his face in his brother’s shoulder. He noticed Shiro wasn’t wearing his armour, but he was. Why? He couldn’t remember. His eyes closed on their own before he could figure it out. 

He was sitting down on one of the cots, his head resting on Shiro’s shoulder as he helped Hunk manhandle him into one of the white suits. He didn’t even have the energy to be embarrassed. He let them maneuver him until some time later he was being scooped up in someone’s (probably Shiro’s) arms again and he was carried to the pods. His eyes rolled to the back of his head before he was placed into the cryopod.

He woke up, fully this time, when he started falling from the pod. 

He scrambled to catch himself, but it wasn’t necessary because a pair of strong arms held him up, taking his weight as his sleep-added legs fully woke up. 

“Hmmnnnggg” 

The person holding him chuckled, and the sound vibrates on Shiro’s chest, pressed to his ear. It felt nice.

“You alright, Keith?”

“I hate pods”

“He’s fine then” another voice called, sounding happy but relieved.

Keith finally managed to stand on his own two feet, but Shiro stayed beside him with an arm around his waist to support him. 

“What happened?”

“You were on a mission, remember?”

“No I-“ 

And then it all came back. 

The mission. The ambush. The timer. The fire. 

Pidge.

He suddenly stood up completely straight, his eyes searching frantically for something. Or someone 

“Pidge” he said, looking up at Shiro “where’s Pidge?”

Shiro frowned “she’s in her room, bud. We sent her to sleep off the mision”

He had to check she was okey. He had to.

He made a run for it and was close to the door when and arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back.

“You’re gonna make yourself pass out, man”

When had Hunk arrived?

“I have to-“

“I know” he said, and Keith had a feeling he did understand 

“Just… take it easy, alright? You lost a lot of blood” he sounded kind of queasy when he said this, and Keith immediately felt guilty for worrying them. So he nodded, admitting he did feel tired, and let hunk walk him to the corridor.

They didn’t have to walk very far though.

Pidge came running from around the corner, and just sped up when he saw Hunk and Keith. 

She barreled into Keith, but he was ready for it, and he wrapped his arms around her. 

She was clinging to his neck, her legs wrapped around her waist. The added weight, made his knees buckle, and he landed on his knees, still refusing to let go. She stepped away first and Keith let her, but his hands stayed on her shoulders. He scanned her for injuries and found that she was okay, even though her eyes shone with tears.

“Never do that again” she sniffled, rubbing her right eye “You scared me half to death, you asshole”

He felt the ball of guilt tighten in his chest again 

“Sorry”

“It’s fine” she sniffled again “But next time you try shielding me from a gun or an explosion, I’m kicking you where it hurts”

He huffed out a laugh “no promises”

“HE WHAT?!”

Shiro sounded mad, worried and alarme all at the same time. Keith's eyes widened 

“You didn’t tell them?”

“Consider it revenge for getting hurt at my expense” she smiled at him.

“Thank you” she muttered a moment later “you saved my life”

“You saved mine” they smiled at each other. 

“Alright” Hunk sounded close to tears as he hauled Keith to his feet “Let’s get some food into you before Shiro kills you” 

Keith smiled as Hunk’s arm surrounded his shoulder and he was pulled close into his side. Pidge grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back.

[aro-aizawa]

Hello! I come to you from a new tumblr that I made for various reasons, one of which is definitely because I'm paranoid about forgetting to sign one of these someday. Anyway I forgot to send this the other day - if you get to it, could you do Pidge and Keith for Day 23 or Day 29? - Anon J (in case the username didn't give it away :P)

ahhhh!! friend!!!! also thats a mood, everytime i send an ask i panic later bc wait did i remember to check send as anonymous bc im so ridiculously shy hdkydkgdyk

and oooooo im torn lol idk which of those i wanna do, i might do both w pidge being the whumpee one day and keith being the whumpee the next hmmm. i’ll have to think abt it when im a lil more awake lol (i just woke up,,)

[princely-affairs]

A thank you to @rueitae for purchasing a copy of @vldwhumpzine

fave whump trope prompt: kidnapped/captured

[actress4him]

Can I get falling through ice with platonic kidge? Preferably Pidge falling through but I’m good with either!

I’m so sorry that this has taken me...absolutely forever. And I’m sorry that it’s pretty short and simple, I’ve been having a hard time finding inspiration for fanfics lately. But it’s here! And it’s my last current bingo request so yay for finally catching up!

@badthingshappenbingo

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Prompt: Falling Through Ice

contains: lady whump, hypothermia

.

.

“I think it’s right over here!” Pidge looks up from the map on her tablet and points straight ahead toward what looks like a series of caves carved into the side of a mountain. Without waiting for a response from Keith, she takes off at a jog, eager as he is to get the mission in this horrible frozen wasteland over and done with.

“Be careful,” he calls after her, but he isn’t sure whether she even hears since the wind chooses that moment to pick up. Not that she would listen, anyway. He knows very well how Pidge is when she gets her mind set on something.

Besides, that’s mostly what he’s here for. Watching Pidge’s back. She’s the little genius who can read the map and work the tracking technology and identify minerals once they actually find what they’re looking for. He just has to make sure that she stays alive and well in order to do all of that.

With that in mind, he breaks into a jog behind her, head swiveling back and forth to take in the empty, snow covered expanse of planet as they go. There’s no sign of life anywhere. He really doesn’t expect to see any the whole time, he doesn’t know what could even live in this freezing weather. And they’re far from Galra territory, so they shouldn’t be a problem, either. Still, he’s going to remain vigilant, just in case.

The ground under his feet changes, and he slows a little, frowning down at it. Ice. Not icy ground, just straight up ice, like they’re walking on a frozen lake. With the temperature this low, it should be plenty solid, but…

He switches his comms on since Pidge is too far ahead to hear his voice. “Hey Pidge, you might want to slow down a litt-”

His warning is interrupted by a loud, heart-stopping cracking sound, and an almost simultaneous screech that he hears both over the comms and cutting through the wind. Breath catching in his throat, he looks up just in time to see his teammate plunge down through the ice.

“Pidge!” 

Ignoring his own warning, Keith dashes forward, feet slipping slightly with each pounding step. There isn’t any time to waste, that water will be frigid and she’s got on her armor but he doesn’t know how well it protects against being submerged and she has her faceplate open…

As he draws closer he can both hear and feel the ice weakening under his feet. Forcing himself to slow down, he inches a bit further before sprawling on his stomach, spreading his weight out across more surface, and starts scooting forward like an insect.

“Pidge!” He can see her head. That’s the only thing that’s keeping him from panicking right now. She managed to get her arms out before she fell completely down into the water and caught herself. If she’d gone all the way down and disappeared beneath the ice…he shook the thought out of his head, refusing to dwell on it. “I’m coming, just hang on.” 

“K-k…K-Keith…” She’s already shivering, dang it. “Some…some water g-got int-to my…my…”

“Okay. I understand, it’s okay.” It’ll be fine, he just has to get her out of there and get her back to Red. If there’s one thing Red knows, it’s warmth. 

He reaches the edge of the hole after what feels like ages of crawling. “Okay. I’m gonna close your faceplate, just in case you were to slip down any further, okay?” He isn’t sure if what he sees is a quick nod or just a shiver, but he does it anyway, feeling minutely better when she’s sealed off from any more cold water getting into her suit. 

“Alright. Time to get you out of there.” He hasn’t actually figured out how exactly that’s gonna happen yet, but it only takes a second of consideration for it to come to him. “If I turn around, do you think you can grab on tight to my ankles?”

“Y-y-yeah.”

“Okay. I’m gonna use my jetpack, so make sure you get a good grip.” Painstakingly, trying not to go too fast but feeling the urgent need to get her out of there, he spins himself on the ice until his feet are in front of her. Pidge pries one arm away from the ice, then another, latching onto his ankles with what he’s sure are stiff fingers. 

He just hopes this idea is actually a good one, and that she can hang on. 

“Here goes!” Keith activates his jetpack, and he goes shooting forward on his belly across the ice. Thankfully, he feels Pidge’s weight come with him. As soon as he’s certain they’re clear of the hole and back on more solid ice, he cuts the jetpack off and quickly sits up. Pidge has rolled over onto her side and curled up into a ball. 

“Hey.” He scoots back toward her, looking her over, though he’s not sure what he expects to see. She’s not injured, just freezing. “You okay?”

A shiver racks her body. “Mm-hm. P-peachy.”

It was a stupid question. “Um. I don’t think I should call Red over here, not with this ice. Is it okay if I carry you back?”

“W-w…what ab-bout th-...the m-min-nerals?” She cranes her head to look toward the caves they’d been headed toward. 

Keith rolls his eyes. “I’m taking you back to Red to warm up. If we think we can get the minerals after that, fine. But we’re not doing anything else until you’re safe.” Holding out his hands to her, he waits until she accepts them, then pulls her up and loops her arms over his shoulders. “One, two, three.” Pidge helps as best she can to get them up, Keith on his feet with his hands hooked under her thighs and her hanging onto his back. 

“You g-good?”

He nods. “I’m fine. You hardly weigh anything.”

She slaps him weakly on the helmet as if that’s an insult.

“Alright, it’s gonna be slow going until we get off this ice. Don’t need a repeat incident.” 

He picks his way carefully across the terrain, wishing that there was any way to make this trip go faster. His jetpack won’t carry the both of them, though, and hers is frozen and useless. Every once in a while, he asks her a question, usually checking to see if they’re going the right direction, though it’s mostly just to make sure she’s still awake and aware. The longer they go, the more fuzzy her responses become, and since they’re no longer on the ice he forces himself into a faster trot. 

By the time Red’s welcome form looms through the falling snow, Keith’s exhausted, but he just pushes himself a little harder still. “Almost there. Stay awake.”

“Mm.”

“I mean it, Pidge. If you fall asleep on me now I’ll, uh…I’ll rearrange stuff in your lab when we get back.”

“Nuhh. You woul’n’t.”

“I will. Stay awake.”

“Ugh. ‘Kay.”

She barely does. Keith practically runs up Red’s ramp, into her blessedly warm cockpit, and lowers Pidge into the pilot’s seat as carefully as he can on trembling legs. Her head lolls to the side, but when he taps the side of her helmet she grunts at him and squints her eyes open. 

“Are we home?”

The corner of his mouth crooks up a little. “We’re in Red.” He glances up at the ceiling. “Can we crank up the temperature in here?” 

The Lion gives a quiet rumble in response, and the room grows a little warmer. 

Keith looks back to Pidge. “Feeling any better yet?”

She smiles a little and shuts her eyes again. “Mm. ‘t’s warm…”

“Yeah. We should probably get you out of those wet clothes, but I don’t have anything for you to change into.”

“Feels good. Jus’ need…five more minutes. Then…then minerals.”

He huffs in disbelief. “You need a lot more than five minutes, Pidge. I think I’m gonna take you back to the Castle. We can come back for the minerals later. I don’t wanna risk you getting sick out here.”

Pidge sighs heavily, but she’s in no shape to put up a fight. “Fine. I’m gonna…take a nap.”

Keith laughs lightly. “I guess you can do that.” Now that they’re out of the cold, he’s pretty sure she’ll be safe. “Not in my chair, though. I’ll take you back to the cargo hold.”

He helps her up, and she manages to hobble to the back with one arm around him. As he’s getting her settled, she reaches out and pats him on the arm without opening her eyes. 

“Thanks, Keith. You’re…a good teammate.”

He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, simply staring down at her in surprise. Finally he relaxes a little into a smile. “Get some sleep, Pidge.”

[etherithical]

Pidge Whump Scenarios (Seasons 1-2)

Please do not read this if you faint of heart. I do not want to ruin your life through my cursed Whump scenarios😅😈

Just some ideas if you have writer's block or want to evolve some of these things for my (or your own/other peoples’) BTHB prompts! I kept them vague so you could add your own things. Most of them are AUs, are Pidge focused (y’all know me), and are placed in the order of the episodes.

Disclaimer: Many of these ideas are heavily inspired by some other amazing Pidge Whump writers out there. While I tried my hardest to keep ideas original and creative, be warned that some stray very close to what is already out there.

Whumpers: -Law Enforcement (considering the prior to Voltron prompt)

-School bullies, gangsters, blackmailers, pretty much any human that sucks and uses Pidge as their punching bag

-Commander Sendak

-Lieutenant Haxus

-Bounty Hunters, although who would want to injure their precious cargo? -Subcommander Ylvik (Note: Lead Galra on Shay’s Balmera. He is not seen on screen, but mentioned when Prorok states that he has command of said Galra’s fleets)

-Commander Prorok

-Macidus and those other Druid creeps

-Chief Information Officer Plytox (Not seen, mentioned)

-Zarkon? (Note: Considering he is more of the kill, no prisoners type of guy, you’ll have to tread carefully with this one. He should have a reason to keep her alive other than “Hey I like torturing young children cuz I’m a creeeeep!”

-Haggar (Note: Another one you should be careful with. While there are a TON of Whump fanfics with her, I don’t see her as really that sadistic. I mean, she interrogates prisoners, but that’s for the Empire’s villainous plans rather than her own personal enjoyment. Again, you’ll need a reason other than she wants to have fun.

-Commander on Olkarion (no name given)

-Unilu traders?

-The Warden from Escape from Beta Traz

Scenarios/Prompts:

1. Pidge’s secret about being a girl comes forth before the Blue Lion is found. You can play this idea a bit: Maybe Pidge is arrested, or maybe Iverson doesn’t want to tell the truth about Kerberos, so he takes matters into his own hands? It’s up to you

2. Not a specific episode, but Pidge is made into a Robeast?

3. Fall of the Castle of Lions/Return to the Balmera. Pidge fails to save the Castle of Lions from Sendak. This one could go in several unique ways depending on personal choice. Here’s some ideas if you need some inspiration.

-Haxus defeats Pidge, but instead of killing her, he tortures or maims her.

-Keith and Allura are unable to get in on time, and Sendak has Pidge.

-Sendak convinces Pidge to turn herself into him.

4. Rolo, Nyma, and Beezer take a certain little Green Paladin with them instead of (or along with) the Blue Lion. Hunk is infuriated at the rest of the team for being too trusting, and by doing so letting the Bounty Hunters escape with their friend.

5. Pidge is caught in a rockfall in Return to the Balmera. (Note: Subcommander Ylvik is the name given of the lead Galra on the Balmera, though he is not seen on screen)

6. Pidge catches onto the infected Alfor’s plan. Unfortunately, he gets to her before she can tell the others…

7. Macidus finds Pidge, Lance, and Hunk and takes her with him to Central Command. Now we have both a Paladin and a princess captured! YAY!

8. Voltron is defeated in The Black Paladin and Pidge is the only Paladin left alive. Zarkon chooses to keep her alive (Why? As a pet? To entertain his soldiers? Because one of his subordinates insisted?). Maybe Thace could be the caretaker, sneaking in food and medicine when no one is looking?

9. An idea for Across the Universe: Pidge is injured on her landing on the trash nebula. Nevertheless, she must manage to build the satellite, with a little help from the Green Lion and the trash floofs, of course!

10. Greening the Cube. Pidge is captured during the mission and the Commander (no name given) either makes her his slave, or, due to her unbelievably strong connection to the world around her, experiments on her.

11. In Eye of the Storm, Pidge is hit by one of the lasers in the teludav. While she survives, the hit causes severe damage to her body that can’t be easily fixed, or not at all.

12. Pidge and the Green Lion fall into the acid in The Ark of Taujeer. This one is a good option for Plance, since Lance and Pidge were working together to sew together the planet’s crust.

13. Pidge is captured in Space Mall and sold as a slave by a group of Unilu.

14. There already are some Escape from Beta Traz whump scenarios out there, so this one was a bit of a challenge. One idea is that the Warden catches Pidge while she is hiding under his desk, and forces Lance and Shiro to face an ultimatum: leave Slav, a vital part of the plan to defeat Zarkon with him (and Laika, too!), or leave Pidge, their friend and the Green Paladin, at his mercy.

Another idea is that everyone gets caught. Because Pidge was pretty much the one conducting the mission from the Control Center (and through that, causing all the trouble), the Warden beats her up.

15. Not tied to an episode, but let’s imagine for a moment that for whatever reason, team Voltron believes that Pidge is half-Galra rather than Keith. Pidge, already reeling from the false disbelief, experiences Allura’s racism, which grows increasingly detrimental to her confidence. And, Keith, who knows he is Galra, is unsure whether to tell everyone. I don’t see him as the “I’m afraid she’ll act the same way toward me as she is with Pidge” kind of guy, so you’ll have to get a little creative. Either way, once the truth comes out, Allura is terribly guilty and Pidge is furious at Keith for not saying anything while she suffered in silence.

16.Pidge is hit by the laser-eyed monsters… well, um, lasers in Stayin’ Alive.

17. The plan in The Best Laid Plans and Blackout fails. This one is almost identical to the The Black Paladin idea, except later in the show. I like this one a bit better as the hatred for the Paladins is higher, seen as they managed to get as far as they did, with the downside of losing Thace as caretaker.

Feel free to use these or change these however you like! I honestly don’t care how you use them; the purpose of this is to inspire you, not hold you back! I’ll update it once I’ve finished rewatching seasons 3-4.

You can request me to do my own ideas for my BTHB card, although I would like to see some of your own personal improvements/additions as well!

[whump-galaxy]

A healing pod brings the whumpee back to consciousness. Unfortunately, they don’t know who these people are in front of them, where they are, or even who they are themselves.

[sicklylittlesnowflake]

(Hey anon! Love the prompt but I have adapted it to make it a Lance’s Birthday fic!! Hbd to the my fav blue boy!! <33 Here’s a shitty langst fic lmaoo)

When the entire fate of the universe rests upon your shoulders it’s very hard to think of anything else.

There is just too much at stake and as much as Lance has dreamt of being a hero, it requires focus, attention. There is simply no time for anything extra and unnecessary.

But he’s human, of all the Paladins of voltron he is by far the Everyman, he isn’t larger than life in any sense. He allows himself some small extra thing, to keep himself sane. Lance keeps track of the days that goes by. He keeps a calendar, he knows each day, each month. He knows how long they’ve been here.

He knows when it’s his siblings’ birthdays. He knows when Veronica’s turned 21, or when his cousin is having her quinceañera. When those days come he takes a moment to himself to remember, and if he does exist, pray to God to keep said family member safe and happy on their special day.

As Lance checks off his calendar he’s made for himself he realises the days inches further towards his own birthday and it doesn’t really seem to matter. There are things more important than that. He only loved his birthday because of his family, and he did consider of doing something small with his new, surrogate family, but he decided against it. The Voltron team were doing a rather taxing, long mission that had sapped energy out of all of them and he didn’t want to bother anyone. Days of rest were scarce, but valuable. He didn’t dare ruin that. He had decided to keep quiet.

Lance had felt pretty off that whole day. It started off as just a little bit of a sore throat, and he felt a little bit more tired than usual, but everybody was exhausted so he figured it wasn’t anything too serious. He went on with the rest of the day as normal, fighting alien ships and whatnot, and by the end of it Lance felt so incredibly heavy like he could sink down his seat and collapse on the floor. He could barely find the strength to keep himself upright.

He feels so incredibly fatigued, and it seeps through his bones. His throat is horribly sore and his nose is in a constant state of itchiness and he can’t go by five minutes without having to stifle a cough or sneeze. He feels dizzy too, his mind detached from his reality and he doesn’t quite feel he is there. He doesn’t even have the energy to make quips or yell out his usual silly battle cries.

“Great job, team,” Shiro praises as the lions tread back towards the Castle.

“Once we get home, grab a meal, and straight off to bed, we need as much rest as we possibly can. Tomorrow’s another day. We need to be as prepared and equipped for it as possible,” He explains.

“Roger that, Shiro,” Keith nods, his lion following suit.

Lance feels his nose start to burn, his breath catches and he turns himself away from the microphone as to avoid essentially sneezing right into his teammates’ ears. The sneezes are ticklish, quiet, but harsh in a sickly kind of manner.

“Bless you!” Hunk chirps.

He flushes a little at the failure of his plan, but keeps himself composed and clears his throat, sniffling, “Thanks.”

“You okay, Lance?” Keith questions, concern lacing his words.

“M'fine, just something in the air I guess.”

Keith shifts uncomfortably as his lion mounts onto the castle, fully expecting some quip as a response, and possibly a jab at him too, but when it doesn’t come it leaves a strange feeling in his stomach.

[***

Once the Paladins are out of their armour they all beeline towards the common room where everyone flops down onto the couches and groans in exhaustion.

Lance revels in the soft pillowy cushions that is the couch, offering ease to his aching, heavy body. However he is suddenly attacked by a headache, pulsating throughout his head ravaging everything in sight. He hisses in pain, scrunching up his face to brace it, a hand shooting up to try and ease it.

He knows he can’t just leave this thing alone. He’s passed the denial phase, he’s sick and he knows it, and there is zero use in leaving it untreated because there’s no room for slacking or underperforming, not when the universe is at stake.

“Does anyone know if there’s any medicine around here?” He asks hoarsely.

No one replies; and Lance is sure that nobody means anything malicious by it, and as he looks around his thoughts are confirmed because everyone is heaving and panting in exhaustion, too wrapped up in their own exhaustion that they didn’t quite hear him, and if they did they had no energy to reply to him.

Lance bites his tongue then, he doesn’t need to bother anyone. Some sleep was probably enough.

Shiro enters the room then, and as his eyes lay upon the wrecked and fatigued Paladins he can’t help a fond smile, “Alright everybody. We’ve got quite a day, tomorrow. Head off to bed for the night, get some rest and we’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Pidge and Keith nod, hauling their bodies off the couch and dragging themselves towards their bedroom.

“Come on, Lance, get up!” Pidge snaps, gesturing towards the boy who still hadn’t gotten off the couch, still heaving in exhaustion.

“Sorry–just super tired,” He mumbles.

“We all are,” She sighs and gets on her way.

Eventually Lance finds some strength to push himself off the comforts of the couch. He’s sloppy and as he lifts himself off the couch his knees buckle and he’s almost hitting the ground, but his hand quickly grips onto something and holds himself steady. He can’t quite walk in a straight line as the world seems to be spinning around like he’s on some carousel. He drags himself towards his bedroom, exiting the common room.

Hunk is still sitting on the couch, looking rather thoughtful.

“C'mon, Hunk, off to bed.” Shiro chuckles fondly. Hunk smiles softly.

“Uh, actually, Shiro..could I talk to you, for a sec?”

The moment Lance is by himself in the comforts of his own room he completely lets himself go. He lets himself shiver, lets his legs tremble and he lets himself cough, cough so harshly that it’s bending him over and the sheer force of it is just so much he needs to sit down onto his bed, anchor himself onto the edge and bend double. He feels dreadful in every sense of the word.

He rolls underneath his covers to try and rid himself of the cold waves that is making him shiver. But the covers are too warm and he’s being eroded away by hot waves rushing up and down his blood stream. He’s either too hot or too cold and he’s so uncomfortable he can’t help the pathetic whimper that escapes his lips. His skin feels dry; and he has no energy to do his usual skin routine and it sours his mood further. It’s dumb, but something as small as some small self pampering helps Lance unwind and relax.

He shifts and rolls over in discomfort, unable to locate a position that offers some sense of comfort. He’s so tired but he can’t sleep and it’s the worst feeling in the world, he feels so desperate and out of control. He opens his heavy eyes to see his calendar, picking up the pen and crossing off this day and he realises what day tomorrow is.

Lance feels so dumb and so selfish when he feels a pang of sadness as he laments his birthday. How can he be so self indulgent when the survival of the universe hangs in the balance? He’s human, and he desperately wants a day with his family, a day where he can feel alright. But instead here’s here, sick and miserable.

The burning in his head ravages on and spreads towards his nose and he inhales deeply as the tickle spreads like wildfire. He pushes his face into his pillow and lets out two harsh, powerful sneezes, extremely unlike him, they’re never usually this loud, and they make him feel miserable. He lets out a whimper, and in his feverish haze he can sense his loving sister smile softly at him and hear her bless him in that sugary sweet voice of hers.

He can feel his brother’s warm hands massage his shoulders to comfort him, patting him on the back, trying to make him feel better. He can smell his mother’s soup, warm and comforting, heating his soul. He feels so safe, so warm, so loved.

Then he breaks out of his trance, abruptly, rudely, and the cold reality comes seeping back in.

Lance bites back his sob, the sadness and loneliness beginning to spread around his body until it swallows him whole. He count help his tears and sobs as they rush out of the floodgates. He clasps his hand around his mouth to try and stifle the pathetic whimpers as he violently convulses as he cries, his heart longing for his family again, feeling so empty and incomplete.

Lance craves stability again. He craves familiarity because each day that goes on, something changes. He doesn’t deal too well with change, he loves family, the idea of a home he knows he will return to at the end of the day. He likes knowing he belongs.

He coughs harshly, rattling at his chest and he knows his fever is high but he doesn’t have enough energy to ask for help. He wishes someone would just save him, but he knows it doesn’t work like that.

Lance cannot return to his family, but he escapes to a place where he can, in his dreams. As he closes his eyes, still sobbing, he begs whatever higher power out there to take his mind and send him to them, even just for a little while, just to see them again. And when it comes he lets it cover him like a blanket.

“Lance, sweetheart?” His mother calls softly, “Can you wake up, now, please?”

Lance groans, the light hitting his face and causing him to scrunch up his nose, nodding. Eyes still closed, he rubs at his face as he forces himself upright onto his bed. The moment he opens his eyes he jumps in alarm.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANCE!” His entire family yells, bright, warm grins on their faces.

He has no clue how they all managed to fit in to his adequately sized room, but they have. Everyone is here. All his cousins and nieces and siblings and grandparents. All here, and he can feel their love radiating off of them and it warms him to his very core. Initially he feels shock, surprise and his heart races for a few moments but immediately it is replaced by pure joy, his heart touched by the gesture. Tears prick at his eyes and his smile is shaky.

“God, you guys..you didn’t..have to–” Lance manages to say, but it’s hard for him to find words because it’s like he’s on cloud nine. His heart is glowing and he can’t help but hold it, as if trying to contain the magic brewing within him, like he could explode with the euphoria he feels right now.

“Open your presents tío!” His niece shrieks excitedly, grabbing at a sack and emptying its contents onto Lance’s bed.

“Oh god! There are so many!” Lance gasps. His family isn’t wealthy; and the presents he has before him is sparse as compared to a regular person’s amount, but to Lance, it’s a plethora. The fact his family had so little, and were willing to give him so much, forces the brewing tears to spill onto his cheeks.

Veronica laughs and leans in to kiss his cheek affectionately, “Of course, we love you.”

She wipes away his tears, her voice fond, “Now stop crying, you baby.”

Lance chuckles shakily at that. And the next while consists of him opening presents, discovering a new jacket, a sweater his abuela handmade for him, some arts and crafts projects his nieces and nephews made him, a new Star Wars video game, new swimming togs, face creams courtesy of Veronica..and so forth. Until there is one present left; shiny and sparkling, wrapped with so much love and care Lance is instantly drawn to it, like there is some sort of magnetic force drawing them to each other.

Lance senses some tension in the room, and his fingers clumsily untangle the bow that holds the packaging together. He feels their gazes burning holes into him, and he’s nervous.

He slowly, and cautiously unfolds the paper and when his eyes lock upon the sight before him his blood runs cold and his heart freezes.

He can feel his breathing pick up and his hands are shaking violently, he cannot believe his eyes. And he tears come back again, harder this time.

Before him is a Garrison Uniform, neatly folded and squeaky clean, ready to be worn.

“Díos mio..” Lance breathes.

“I..I..I got in?” He chokes.

His mother’s face is completely engulfed by a sunny smile, and she’s began to cry too.

“Sí, hijo, you got in! You did it!” She exclaims joyfully.

“Oh my god, I..I did it!” Lance cries out happily, and immediately his entire family jumps up screaming in joy, charging in for a huge family hug. Lance feels like his suffocating, but he’s never felt so happy in his life.

“You’re going to be among the stars, one day, my boy. Make us proud..”

A gentle shake on the shoulder returns Lance to his harsh reality, and his miserable symptoms kick in almost instantaneously. He becomes aware of his painful, dreadful headache and his feverish body, and he can’t help his violent shivers.

“Lance, buddy, wake up,” Keith says softly.

Lance gets up slowly, his world spinning violently that it makes him feel a little nauseous. He needs to hold on to the frame of his bed to steady his vision, and he looks over to his alarm clock and gasps. He was meant to be awake almost two hours ago!

Keith glances at Lance’s pale face, with dark undereyes and a saturated flushing on his cheeks and nose, “Oh, Lance..”

“Quiznack, I overslept! I’m so sorry–the mission–” Lance kicks the covers off, trying to scramble away but his face scrunches up and he erupts into a ticklish fit of sneezes, each sneeze desperate and sickly sounding. He isn’t able to cover the first few, but manages to cover the incoming ones with the crook of his arm.

“Bless you,” Keith offers but Lance doesn’t stop, he’s still going–until one particularly loud sneeze causes him to bang his face against his elbow. Keith grimaces in sympathy, passing him a tissue for him to continue his fit in, until it eventually subsides.

Once Lance finishes, his eyes are watery and he can’t breathe through his nose, but he still forces himself off the bed and the world tilts and his knees buckle and he’s freefalling, but Keith’s strong arm catches him and hurls him back towards his bed.

Keith’s eyes look sad, “Hey, buddy, maybe it’s better if you stay in bed today..”

“No! I need to go on the–” He coughs, “the mission! We can’t..form voltron otherwise! I can’t..be a burden on this team..”

Lance begins to haul himself out of his bedroom and towards the bridge, much to Keith’s protests. His head pounds and his body feels like it weighs tonnes but he forces himself towards the bridge.

When he makes it he feels like he’s spent years trudging through the desert suffocating beneath the hot Saharan sun.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I didn’t mean to, let’s start the missi–” Lance starts to hack, coughing his lungs out, bent double with the sheer force. He feels horribly light and faint.

“Oh, Lance, buddy..” Hunk whispers softly, his voice dripping with sympathy.

“I can do it, I swear, please let me do it, we gotta..” Lance trails off, looking up to see their concerned faces, worry etched onto each of their features. But once his teary eyes focus he’s able to see beyond them; the bridge beautifully decorated with a “Happy Birthday, Lance!” banner, there’s some smudged black paint in the corner, and there’s some alien craft that is meant to resemble balloons, and a cake.

Lance feels so warm.

And it’s not just because of his fever.

“Happy birthday, pal,” Hunk smiles sweetly.

His eyes water, “Y..you guys..”

“Happy birthday, Lance..uh..and I’m sorry about the smudge, that was..kind of my fault,” Shiro admits bashfully.

“No..i..it’s perfect,” He whispers.

“..And we didn’t have time to get you a proper present, but we found these little gems and we hope this is a little something until we get something better,” Pidge explains as she places a bracelet into his hands; the brace is silver and there are seven little gems, five gems with the same colour of their lions, and one pink one for Allura, and an orange one for Coran.

Lance’s lip begins to wobble, joy warming his heart and he feels like he’s glowing, twinkling and sparkling.

“And I made you some garlic knots..I tried my hardest to replicate some Cuban spices but you can only get so close with alien ingredients,” Hunk offers, gesturing towards a large plate.

Lance’s face crumples and he begins to sob, incredibly moved, his heavy soul feeling much lighter, a new light igniting within him bringing warmth to the coldness that had started to spread throughout him.

Keith puts an arm around him and lets him cry into his shoulder, “Shh..hey, pal, why are you crying?”

“I’m just..so happy. I don’t deserve you guys..I..made a promise to my mother that I’d make her proud, and I feel so dumb for being tired when there are important missions to do..and yet you guys are still..so nice to me,” He sobs.

“Lance, you’re sick. That’s okay. You can take a rest. And look, I don’t know your mother–but we’re all very proud of you. I’m very proud of you. So I’m so sure she would feel the same,” Keith reassures, a little bit awkward, but just as caring as he brushes his hand through Lance’s hair.

One by one everyone on the team joins in the hug, and each time Lance feels a little bit more while. A little less alone. He can finally feel at home; it’s not quite what he’s grown to know, but maybe it’s just as good. It will do.

“We love you, Lance, all of us,” Hunk whispers lovingly.

And Lance feels it.

He’ll uphold his promise to his mother. He does lives with the stars, these friends who shine just as bright as the stars, and somehow, he’s one of them. Shining just as bright, with their love.

He belongs right here.