Disarray {Voltron Klance}

~SEVEN~ How To Move Forward

~~Lance's POV~~

I set him down on his bed in his old room. It really didn't seem like anything was familiar to him.

"Hey, do you think you could talk to me? It's just us, now..." I said, walking to his closet. I took out a red long sleeved shirt and black pants. Needed to change him out of that pod suit.

Keith looked at me. "I..." He said. I guess he didn't know what to say. I sat down next to him on the bed, putting the clothes aside for the time being.

"Well, this used to be your old room, here. We used to be friends. I'm Lance, we were rivals. Or, I guess it was pretty one-sided...I mean, I doubt I could've ever beaten you when it came to flying or fighting...but, we still were close. I mean, not as close as you and Shiro, but close enough to call us friends, I think...anyway, I'm rambling. I just want you to feel safe and comfortable here in the castle of Lions. Everyone here loves you and would never do anything to hurt you..." I thought back on Allura and hoped that she wouldn't, but I wasn't sure. I decided to just leave out mentioning her entirely. "Do you believe me?"

Keith looked away and then nodded. He paused for a moment, like he was deep in thought. I noticed something in Keith expression that bothered me. He looked uncomfortable about something.

"Keith, what's wrong?" I asked.

He slightly blushed and looked away. "F...food...?" He asked.

I was glad that he actually spoke to me. I'm guessing the fact he's being so silent is because of the trauma. Hope it's not permanent. I smiled at him. "Alright, I'm going to go get you some food, and then I'm going to go talk to the others. Will you be okay by yourself?"

Keith looked down, sadly, but then glanced back at me before nodding. I hated to admit he looked cute being so vulnerable. I made sure he changed, first. Then, I made sure Keith was cozy in his bed, by pulling the blanket over him and lying him down on the pillow. He looked pretty satisfied. He didn't want to me to turn the light off, which was understandable.

I left the room to get him a plate of Hunk's leftover space chicken. We've retired from food goo a while ago, because Hunk has basically mastered the art of space delicacies. I watched Keith take a bite to make sure he liked it. He seemed to enjoy it. I could tell even though he didn't use his words. Then, I went down to the lounge area where everyone was gathered.

Looks like they were all talking but stopped when I walked in. "How is he?" Shiro immediately asked. From the way everyone was looking at me, it seemed they all were eager to know.

"He's fine, he just needs time to adjust. I gave him some of the space meat from last night. It made him happy, Hunk." I said, smiling at him. Hunk blushed at the compliment.

"So, he doesn't remember anything at all?" Pidge asked.

I shook my head. "I doubt it from the way he's acting. He's barely talked at all, too. Just one word. I'm not sure what that's about, though..." I explained.

"What should we do?" Hunk asked. He looked like he was holding back tears.

"Do we even have the means to treat someone who's been through this much psychological, emotional, and physical trauma? Can we give Keith what he needs?" Pidge questioned.

I hated the idea of sending Keith to some kind of mental hospital, but she had a good point.

"It's hard for me to tell what was a result of the hypnotism, what was due to brain injury, and the PTSD as well. I do believe that over time, Keith will be able to trust us and will be able to use his own voice and walk on his own, but whether his memory will ever recover is a completely different story. I recommend that building up his physical strength and his trust in us should be our priority. Then we will revisit the idea of shipping him off to a space psychiatric facility." Coran said.

I like what he was saying. Keith doesn't have to leave us, he just has to be comfortable with us and we can take care of him until he can take care of himself. And hopefully, one day, he'll remember who he really is...

"Alright, so we put him on a schedule?" Shiro asked.

Coran nodded. "Yes, but I don't believe we should rush into anything. For now, if you would, Lance, take care of him and we will ease our way into his life so that we all can play apart in his recovery." He explained.

Shiro softly smiled at the old Altean, gratitude present of his face. "Thanks, Coran."

It must've felt awful for Shiro to see him like this...especially given their history that only Shiro even remembers. Now, he couldn't even be near Keith, because right now we only wanted to make him comfortable. I told him that no one in the castle wanted to hurt him, but he can't just turn off that fear...

We were finished with our meeting, so everyone went their seperate ways. Though, I could tell all anyone wanted to do was talk to Keith.

Before I went to check on him, I walked up to Shiro, who seemed very noticeably depressed. I sighed. "sorry--" "thank you, Lance." He interrupted me. I looked up at him.

"Thanks for being there for him while I can't. You're a good friend." He said.

"It should be you. I'm sure that if you go in with me, Keith will get used to you..."

"It's not about me, it's about Keith. Don't worry, Lance. Just keep looking out for him until I can be there." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, but still couldn't shake this pitiful feeling for Shiro. Though, there wasn't anything I could do for him. It wasn't just pity, it was guilt. If he knew the full story, would he still want me near him?

I put the thought aside and walked back to Keith's room.

I walked in further, calling his name to let him know that it was me. I looked to the bed and saw that Keith was sitting up hugging his legs to his chest. It looked like he'd been crying, but that wasn't that unusual.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, sitting down next to him.

I only got a sniffle in response. I noticed how out of it he looked. Like he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. I put my hand on his hand, but he immediately flinched away. "Keith, it's me, Lance." I said. He slowly looked up at me and then I could tell that he was back in reality. Keith suddenly tackled me into a hug, and I promptly hugged him back.

"Did you have a bad dream...?" I asked him. It looked like he was dreaming while he was awake, which might end up being a real problem.

He shakily nodded, confirming my suspicions. "Well, do you want to talk about it?" I asked. He shook his head fast. I didn't expect him to actually agree, considering his current state. So, I did what I could and just stayed there with him in my arms until he stopped shaking.

After a while, I looked down and noticed he was peacefully asleep in my arms. He looked much more peaceful than he was only minutes ago. His breaths were even and music to my ears. Although he still had dark circles surrounding his eyes, I could tell he seemed...satisfied. I smiled, glad that I was able up make him feel safe. I was glad that I was doing what Shiro asked of me.

Though, I wonder.

Is that the only reason I feel this way? Like I can finally release the breath I've been holding in?

Word Count: 1361