His Rival

Secrets and Codes

Hey guys, Jess here!

This chapter is somewhat longer ( 34.2 pages/ 11,812 words), so please take breaks as needed.

If you have any questions or comments about this chapter, let me know; I'd like to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Your chest tightened as you sprang up out of bed the next morning, quaking with every spasm. 

"(Y/n)!" Keith shouted, his hands leaping to your shoulders to support you, his widened eyes laced with worry. "Are you okay?" Once the phlegm in your throat had cleared, you took a moment to catch your breath before replying. 

"Yeah it's just a cough; I think I'm feeling a bit better." Although your muscles still ached somewhat and your head was still slightly groggy, it was nothing compared to what you had been through yesterday or even in the past week. But Keith still treated it just the same, racing to grab a bottled water and thermometer.

He screwed off the cap before passing it to you. Once you were done with it, he climbed back onto the bed, enveloping you in a side hug as he gingerly inserted the device into your ear. He still stayed close after he removed it, his eyebrows furrowing at the tiny screen. "What does it say?" 

"You still have a 99 degree fever" he reported, holding it up for you to see. 

"Keith, that's hardly anything" you dismissed. "I'm fine." As you slid out of bed, you held your hands out to your sides. "See?" You headed for your bathroom before he could try to stop you. "I should probably go get changed."

After a couple minutes, you came out in your navy blue jacket, wearing a combination of your regular outfit and your attire from after the Olkarion explosion, minus the gloves. As soon as he saw that you had your shoes on, he grasped your arm, pulling you closer to him. 

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Outside to meet with the rest of the team?" you answered as if it were a question, raising a brow at how protective he was being. This was unusual, even for Keith. He sighed before responding, folding his arms to his chest as soon as he let go of you. 

"Fine, just wait for me. Stay close." Once he had slid back on his armor, he walked out, you following right behind. 

"Well look who it is!" Lance cajoled, meeting you with a grin alongside everyone else. 

"Hey (Y/n)" Pidge greeted.

"You're looking better" Hunk observed. 

"Yeah, I actually slept a whole eight hours for once" you chimed in response, smiling back at them in celebration. You were basically cured at this point; sleep was truly a miraculous thing. "So, what's our next move?"

"Well now that you're stabilized, we can pick up right back from where we left off" Keith decreed, his hands falling to his hips as he took charge of the situation. 

"Right, our next objective is to restock on supplies" Pidge recalled, pulling up a file on her wrist. "I've gathered a list of all the possible markets and storage centers we could get our resources from. With this intel, we should be able to obtain the items we need."

"Axca found a promising reserve for us at Zanthar-Trez before she went off on her separate way" Allura reported, displaying the map on her pink nodule for all to see. "That should be our first stop."