Keith-centric voltron oneshots

Small Injuries

It was easy for Shiro to see how his partner flinched with each breath he took. How he favored his left side, avoiding use of his right as much as he could, or how he kept his right arm out of sight from the others. He especially noticed how he refused to lay down and sleep.

He knew Keith was self destructive, sure, Shiro couldn't remember a time when he wasn't, but hiding what seemed to be a serious injury? One that seemed too random to be self inflicted? That was a new kind of self destructive for the ravenette.

Shiro could only imagine what kind of reckless stunt he pulled to manage whatever he managed to do. Did he spar with a training bot set on a level too high? Did he take on a group of Galran soldiers much too large for one person to handle? Did he get jostled around in his lion? It was anyone's guess, really, because Keith was obviously determined to keep it hidden.

At first glance Shiro figured it couldn't have been too serious, he barely flinched and seemed to function just fine, but then he recalled it's Keith he was talking about. The man once hid a fractured wrist and a set of shattered ribs from the older. The only reason Shiro discovered said injuries was because he noticed the gross discoloration surrounding his wrist.

So yeah, it was safe to say Shiro was worried. It could be something life-threatening and Keith would pretend it wasn't there. He had before, multiple times to be precise. Like the time a rib punctured his lung and he proceeded to spar with Lance. Or the time he was asphyxiating on a piece of lettuce, and he barely even coughed.

Shiro didn't bother waiting for the others to leave the table, firmly placing his hands on it and glaring at his stubborn boyfriend. "How bad?" He basically snarled. Keith made a sound, a mix of confusion and shock. "What... Do you mean?" He tried. He wasn't familiar with the harsh look in his partner's eyes, and decided he didn't like it.

"You're obviously injured. So, what'd you do this time?" Shiro specified, his fuse much shorter than what it usually was. He was entirely fed up with Keith's lack of self preservation. All eyes were on Keith now, who was turning a ghostly shade of white. The man looked at his lap, worrying his lip between his teeth.

"Keith. I am not going to wait on an answer." Shiro's tone shifted from a growl to something a bit more gentle, but still firm nonetheless. Keith sighed and looked back up, trying to hold eye contact with the black paladin this time. "One of the mice accidentally tripped me." He started.

The others waited for him to continue. "I landed on my right side and shoved my damn shoulder out of socket. I think I fractured my upper arm, or maybe a dislocated elbow. Either way, I popped my shoulder back, so it's sore." He concluded.

Shiro nodded. "Is that all?" He probed. He could tell Keith was lying by the way his eyes darted around the room, looking at anything but him. Keith nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. "Alright, and is this a story you just made up, or an event that happened, blown out of proportion? Because I can tell you're lying."

"Dude, come on, if it's serious, it can kill you." Pidge spoke. They gently elbowed him in an attempt to get him to talk, but pulled away when the man whimpered. "Keith?" Lance tried this time. "Are you okay bud?" Keith tried to swear at him, flip him off, something, but the pressure applied to his ribs by Pidge had pain moving through his body swiftly.

"M'fine, f'ck 'ff." He muttered, standing from his seat abruptly. "Keith-" Shiro tried, but the ravenette had already trudged past the door. Not long after, a few ticks at most, a THUD echoed through the empty halls and into the dining area. Shiro was quick to his feet, speeding to the origination of the sound.

He turned a corner and saw Keith sprawled out on the floor, unconscious. "Shit, Keith!" He shouted, flipping the boy on his back to both stabilize him and check for injuries. He applied a gentle amount of pressure on the area that seemed to hurt him earlier, almost retching at the way his side caved in much further than it should have.

"Allura!! Coran!! Get a pod running!!" He basically cried, lifting the frail boy into his arms and moving as quickly and swiftly as he was able, all the way down to the med bay, where, thankfully, Coran was starting a pod. Bless that ginger-haired wierdo.

"No time for a cryo-suit, he needs in there now." Shiro boomed, placing his boyfriend in the pod with no further warning. He released a strangled, confused grunt when the boy was spat back out. "Odd, he seems to have some binding material around his chest that's preventing him from healing." Coran noted.

Shiro was quick to remove Keith's shirt, pausing at the sight of a binder. He shook his head and took it off as well, before slipping his shirt back on. He placed the boy back in the pod and let a sigh of relief escape him when the pod accepted the ravenette.

Everyone gathered around the pod, waiting for their hotheaded friend to get out. "So... He's trans?" Pidge started. Shiro shrugged. "I'd imagine so. Judging on his injuries, he had to have been wearing that thing for a month. Unless someone landed a firm hit to his ribs, but Keith is better guarded than I am." Shiro pondered aloud.

"Either way, someone needs to start keeping an eye on him, make sure he isn't binding unsafely again, by binder or by anything else for that matter." Lance stated. "I've already been through this shit four times with my brother, I don't want to go through another four with my best friend."

Shiro nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him. One way or another, I'm going to put an end to his reckless behavior." He muttered. The pod beeped a few times, alerting the paladins Keith was about to be released, and it swooshed open. Shiro was swift in catching the boy, who was dazed by just waking up.

The first thing he realized was that he could actually breathe. The second was that he could breathe because he didn't have his binder on. He shot out of Shiro's arms and bolted out the door, making a beeline for his room. "Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck!" He yelled, punching his wall, leaving a dent.

He grabbed his knife and slashed at his matress, stabbing the thing like a pincushion. He was tempted to move to his skin, but the others would just cram him back in a pod because "you shouldn't hurt yourself." Yeah, well, fuck your bullshit, it helps, thank you. He thought with venom.

A knock on his door interupted his blinding rage, gazing at his door and what he could imagine was Shiro on the other side. Guess I can kiss my boyfriend and home goodbye. This isn't going to be pretty.

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