Arrest Me, Officer {Klance}

Chapter 5

Keith's eyes cracked open, his whole body aching. There was a loud ringing in his ears, high-pitched and showing no signs of quieting. He lay on his back, a good few metres away from a massive heat. A heat that jogged his memory. The explosion! His eyes widened and he shot up into a sitting position, a movement his chest protested against. He stared forward at the burning building. Or what was left of it. There was no more roof, the smoke flowing freely into the sky. The walls were jagged and broken, pieces still cracking and falling to the floor. The door that Shiro was about to open had blown completely off it hinges, landing a couple of feet next to Keith.

Shiro!

Keith's panicked gaze darted around the surrounding area for any signs of his partner. That was when he heard a loud groan from somewhere behind him. He whipped his head round, vision swirling for a second before steadying again. Shiro was pushing himself up into a crouch, looking as though he was struggling. Keith slowly rose to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body, stumbling as he tried to catch his balance when he stood. Shiro met his eyes, relief evident in his features to see Keith was mostly unharmed. They both had several tears in their uniforms, most of Shiro's sleeve and shoulder of his uniform were scorched leaving some nasty-looking burns visible. Keith was sure he had quite a few burns himself littered around his body. Those needed to be checked and cleaned. If they hurt, Shiro did his best not to show it. But then Keith's gaze flicked to his partner's metal arm only to find it wasn't there. That explained the struggle on rising into a crouch.

Shiro stood, worry etched into his expression as he walked over. He didn't even look for his arm, too busy checking to see Keith was alright. Keith was sure he hadn't broken anything but the burns were hurting and he was sure he was going to be littered with bruises. Those would hurt for a while. Shiro looked mostly okay aside from cuts, bruises and that massive burn. Then there was the fact he was an arm down. It must've come off from the impact of the explosion. Once satisfied the other was okay, they looked back at the burning building.

"God... I doubt those two survived that." Shiro said, coughing after as they caught a whiff of the smoke. That was when Keith remembered.

Lance had gone into the building.

"Lance!" He yelled, sprinting towards the gaping doorway. He distantly heard Shiro call out for him in panic as he pushed his way through the smoke. He squinted, pulling an arm to cover his mouth and nose in attempt to protect himself from the smoke. He didn't know why the fear for Lance clawed at his heart. He didn't know him well and he was meant to hate him for being a criminal. But he still felt worry beyond belief for the blue-eyed thief.

He coughed when he inhaled a puff of smoke, his throat burning and his eyes watering. He rushed through the rubble, barely managing to dodge a flame as it tried to lick at his skin. He blinked back the tears in his eyes to clear his vision, triggered by the smoke. As Keith went further into the destroyed building, it got increasingly harder to breathe and when he finally stopped, he was practically wheezing against his arm. He couldn't see Lance, he couldn't see anything.

"Lance! Where are you? Lance!" He called with a scratchy voice, turning from side to side in search of the waiter. There were no signs, there was nothing to show that Lance was okay. He could be badly hurt, could be dying. He could be dead. No, that wasn't allowed. He wasn't allowed to die just yet. They had his sister to save. Keith choked on the air, coughing as he frantically tried to get air into his lungs. The heat against his skin burned but he kept moving. He kept searching desperately for Lance. To think he may find his body...

Then something moved in the smoke in front of him. Keith's hand immediately went to his gun, pulling it out of its holster and pointing it forward while making sure to keep his other hand secure against his lower face.

A figure emerged from the suffocating grey. Keith's gaze scanned over the body. It was covered in black dust, cuts and burns. A piece of metal was lodged into their thigh, the sharp object must've been thrown in the explosion. The silver jutted out, blood slipping passed it and soaking into the black jeans around it. Keith finally looked up at the figure's face when they were close enough. He immediately put his gun away when he recognised the figure as Lance.

Lance met his gaze and coughed as he tried to smile. He stumbled forwards when he put weight onto his injured leg with a cry of pain. Keith was quick to move forward and catch him before he fell. Removing his arm from his face had him taking in an accidental deep breath which had him coughing but he didn't care. Lance was right here, he was okay. He scooped Lance into his arm, making sure to be careful not to jostle his leg too much, then he turned and made a runner back to the entrance. He slid to the side to try and avoid more flames but the heat managed to brush the exposed skin of his waist where his shirt had ripped from the explosion. He hissed in pain. It didn't stop him though, it just pushed him further. He had to get out of there.

Thing is. He couldn't see the exit.

Whipping his head from side to side in panic, he searched for anything that could show him where to get out. Lance was whimpering in his arms at every little movement, head tucked into Keith's shoulder. Then Keith heard something through the roaring of the flames. It was quiet, just about loud enough to catch his hearing. He could just about hear his name being called through the smoke. Shiro was shouting for him. Immediately, Keith began to sprint in the direction Shiro's voice was coming from. He held back coughs as he moved, his vision blurring from not just the watering eyes but from the fact he needed fresh air. He couldn't breathe!

Through the blur, Keith caught sight of a flash of sunlight through the smoke. Head towards that, just keep going. He could do it. He had to get Lance out of there. The closer he got to the entrance, he tried to speed up his step more. His lungs were burning in need for oxygen. Almost there, almost there.

The sound of something creaking suddenly erupted above him. Ignore it, keep running.

He felt relief wash over him like a tidal wave when he ran through the doorway's opening, getting met with fresh air. He took a several gasps as he tried to get oxygen into his lungs finally as he practically leapt the steps leading up to the doorway. He saw Shiro rushing towards him, looking from Keith down to the man in his arms. There was a loud crash behind them in the building making them both jump in shock. Then they both looked back at each other.

Later, Keith would speak to him and apologise for what he did, but right now he had Lance in his arms. He made sure they were a safe distance away from the burning building before he set Lance down on the floor. The thief let out the tiniest of pained whines when he touched the floor. Keith looked up to his face, realising now that the usual fabric that usually covered his face was ripped and had fallen from his face. A glance up to Shiro showed the policeman staring down at Lance with eyes filled with recognition. That doesn't matter right now.

Keith used one hand to push Lance's hair off of his face. Lance met his gaze with his half-lidded eyes. "I c-couldn't--" he started, "He didn't... H-He didn't have it." Lance finally managed to get out, voice rough and scratchy from a sore throat. Keith's hand stilled in its movement from smoothing the other's hair down.

"He didn't have the gem?"

Lance shook his head. "I-It was a trap." He stuttered out, eyes shutting for a brief moment, "Th-The gem is still mi-missing." That was bad news. Bad news for both of them.

"Lance...?" Shiro asked, he sounded hesitant as if he didn't quite believe he was seeing it right. Lance looked over at him at the sound of his name, forcing a smile on his face.

"Hey, h-hey, Shiro." He greeted, wincing as if speaking hurt. It probably did. Keith didn't know the extent of his injuries, "We-welcome, you're in on my-" he broke off into a coughing fit. He cleared his throat once he finished. "On my secret."

Keith didn't give Shiro much chance to reply. "I'm going to take him to my apartment, meet me back there once you're patched up. I'll see if I can call someone to come in and help deal with mine and his wounds." He saw Shiro's eyes flicker to the metal in Lance's leg. "I'll explain everything when you get there." Keith didn't waste another minute, picking Lance back up in a bridal style. "Okay?"

Shiro just stared at him, hesitance still on his features. "Y-Yeah, okay, yeah. You better explain everything." He said.

Keith nodded firmly before turning and hurrying away to get Lance to safety.