For the 'coughing up blood' square on my BTHB card!

Anon requested: Katie Holt coughing up blood

Ooo I was originally planning a sickfic for this, but I like where I ended up going a lot better.

Enjoy!

One punch.

Two punches.

Three punches.

Keith let out a choked cry through his gag - a plea, a demand, he really wasn't sure - as a fourth fist smashed into Pidge's gut. He thrashed, hands bound and chained to the wall behind him, trying in vain to get to her.

"Have patience, half-breed," their captors had snarled. "You're next."

Keith screamed again, voice muffled by the gag, his throat raw and burning. The only reason he wasn't in Pidge's place right now was because she was the one that broke into their captor's security system. They had been working with the Galra and had top-of-the-line information on their movements and supply lines. It was information that was hard to come by. Invaluable, by Pidge's standards.

If only they hadn't been caught.

One of the aliens (they all looked the same, with arms the size of battering rams and bodies so tiny it was a miracle they were even standing) kicked Pidge with one of their knobby feet. She whined and rolled over. Tears were in the corners of her eyes. She'd half-sucked her gag into her mouth from inhaling so sharply.

Her eyes met Keith's.

He thrashed again. Pidge, he thought, hoping she could somehow understand him. Hold on. God, please hold on. I'll get you out.

Pidge gave no signs of comprehension. Instead, she whined - a high-pitched keen that made Keith's heart ache - and tried to roll away from another blow.

The team was still in that diplomatic meeting with these aliens downstairs. It had been a cover for the real mission taking place. A false peace talk, orchestrated by Allura and carried out by Pidge and Keith.

But it had to have been hours, right? That must have been at least somewhat suspicious.

God, please tell me they're looking, Keith squeezed his eyes shut. He tried not to hear Pidge cry out in pain, muffled by her gag. Please tell me they got suspicious.

He stretched his sore wrist, fingers grasping at the one weapon the aliens hadn't taken away: his mother's knife. The one thing he kept concealed and on his person at all times. Apparently, they had overlooked it when they were doing a bodycheck or, more likely, they didn't think it was a threat since Keith couldn't reach the knife without freeing his hands. That didn't stop him from trying, though. His wrists were bruised and aching from the awkward twists he kept making to grasp the handle. He even would have taken cuts from the sharp blade if that just meant he could grab it. But it remained tantalizingly out of reach. Best Keith could do was brush his fingertips against the hilt and hope for the best.

Pidge made another noise over to his left. This one, however, was different from the others. It was louder and cut short by something new. Something wet.

Keith dared himself to open his eyes-

And hated the sight he saw.

Pidge was lying on her side, facing him. Tears had made tracks down her face and nose. She looked pale and sickly, her cuffed hands lying prone by her legs. And her gag…

It was a lot more scarlet than Keith remembered.

He suddenly felt sick.

Blood was oozing from underneath the fabric. It ran the length of Pidge's chin and dribbled onto the floor. It didn't take a genius to guess what happened. Keith's temper flared.

"Pidge!" He shouted through his gag. His voice was muffled, though, and her name came out as incomprehensible at best. Her gaze flickered towards him as the aliens chattered amongst themselves. The burliest of them landed another fist into her gut.

Pidge lurched forward, whining in pain. She coughed horribly and blood ran anew from underneath her gag.

"Pidge!" Keith screamed again, unsure of what it would do. He twisted his wrist again, trying desperately to grab his knife.

But he couldn't reach it.

He couldn't do anything.

The blood was so thick that it had now stained the entirety of Pidge's chin. She likely could do nothing but wallow in it, the wet gag pressed to her mouth. Keith wondered if she could taste the copper. His stomach rolled.

Pidge…

The aliens were interested in the blood, almost horrifically so. They murmured amongst themselves and leaned down, tugging Pidge by the chin to look up at them. They moved her head every which way, muttering about the color and the freshness. Keith's stomach tightened. He made a few furious noises, catching the attention of their captors. A few turned to look at him.

"The half-breed wishes to speak," drawled one. Keith leveled them with the worst glare he could muster. He was incredibly pleased to see the alien take a surprised step back.

The burliest one wandered over. They hooked one of their knotted fingers over the gag and pulled it down. The scratchy fabric bit at Keith's skin on the way down. Keith spat the taste of it out of his mouth and turned his furious glare onto the alien at his side.

"Keep…" his voice was low and dangerous. Honestly, Keith couldn't remember the last time he'd been this angry. "Your filthy fucking hands off her."

Pidge's eyes widened. She tried to look at him, but with so many hands trying to get a look at the blood trickling down her neck she found it difficult. Keith kept his glare on the alien beside him.

"He has spirit," murmured one alien. Their fingers carded through his black hair and grabbed onto it, pulling as hard as they could. Keith's head jerked upward, meeting with their ruby-red eyes. "Perhaps we should show him what we do with trespassers as well…"

Keith tried to bite them, his teeth snapping shut inches from their enormous hooked nose. They reeled back, releasing him and hissing angrily, raising a curled fist to punch him. Keith twisted his wrists once more, grasping at his knife.

This time, his fingers wrapped around the hilt.

It was the force of the tug upward, Keith realized. A smirk curled over his lips. It had rattled the chains out of place.

Now he had his knife and Luxite was famous for being able to cut through nearly any material.

The fist shot forward. Keith ducked to avoid it. At the same time, he yanked the knife from the sheath, cutting through his manacles with one fluid motion. Leaping to his feet, he smashed his forearm against the alien's throat and held his knife up to one of their ruby-red eyes.

"I told you," he snarled. "Not to touch her."

Pidge made a murmur of something that sounded like his name. The door behind them burst open. Keith heard Shiro call his name.

And the room exploded into chaos.

Whether or not they got out is up for interpretation, but I like to think they did :D

This one was super fun to write! I bounced a lot of ideas around in my head since the anon just appeared to want Pidge to cough up blood in whatever manner I deemed fit, so I originally planned for this to be a sickfic. But, after a bit of research, I decided against it. Maybe another time I'll write a sickfic. Most likely for Keith.

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope the anon that requested this enjoyed and I hope all of you did as well!

If you'd like to see all of my prompts for Bad Things Happen Bingo, you can find them all on my tumblr, under the same username! All of the prompts have been requested, however, and so BTHB inbox is closed. But if you have a prompt you want me to write, feel free to let me know!