Lance bit at the side of his thumb, heel bouncing on the floor as he kept looking up at the cryo-pod. Not that he could read any of the Altean information readouts even if they had been activated, but. . .

He rose from his seat on the steps and went to the pod, stopping in front of it and frowning. The blood was gone - gracias a Dios, it had been a terrifying sight - but there was still a livid pink mark across Keith's face, slashing diagonally up his left cheek and just barely over the bridge of his nose, worryingly near one eye.

Lance swallowed. You may have a scar like Shiro. he thought, and pressed his lips together. He shouldn't, but he'd been in the pod for two days already and if his face was still not healed. . . Coran swore he would be all right, but Lance couldn't help but worry when neither Coran nor Allura could tell him how long it would take. He thought they had always known before.

He couldn't tell if Keith's complexion was better or not - he'd been ashy when Lance had gotten him back to the castle, and only distantly tracking reality. Granted Keith was spacey sometimes anyway, but-

Lance's attempt to make himself feel better backfired and he sank to the floor in front of the cryo-pod. Keith was spacey sometimes and it was . . . unfairly adorable. Keith's struggle to reassure Lance that he was okay when he was clearly only partially aware of where they even were had been. . .

It had been agonisingly painful to watch, Lance's heart cracking in his chest as he watched Keith's face twist in confused pain, words slurring slightly as he spoke.

Lance slumped against the front of the cryo-pod, trailing a fingertip over the forcefield.

Please be okay. he thought.

"Lance, you need to rest." Allura said, frowning at him with concern.

Another time, Lance would have played up her concern for him, but he couldn't even pretend to care. And anyway, Keith wasn't- wouldn't be making horrible faces at him over it if he did, not this time.

"No. Not until I know he's okay." Lance said, shaking his head.

Allura sighed, but shook her head. "Very well." she said, and tapped at a panel on the healing pod. "I- He should be waking up soon." She sounded surprised, and Lance wasn't sure if that was good or not.

She summoned the others, in any case, and Lance stood in front of the pod, waiting. He heard the others talking but he didn't really pay attention to their words, too focused.

The front of the pod flared and the forcefield retracted, and Keith wobbled and nearly fell out of it before catching himself on the edge with one hand. "Keith!" Lance darted to his side even as he stabilised himself, reaching out with both hands.

Keith lifted his head - the pink mark across his face was still there, but it was much fainter, more of a shadow than a scar - and met Lance's eyes. "Hey." he said weakly, letting go of the cryo-pod, and Lance's breath caught.

Lance wrapped him in a tight hug, trying to be gentle - he remembered his own aches and the weird feeling through his whole body when he had just come out of the cryo-pod after the explosion when Sendak had invaded the Castle - but needing physical confirmation that Keith was all right.

"Don't do that." Lance breathed against his ear, rubbing one hand up and down his back.

"What?" Keith asked, but Lance didn't get a chance to answer him as the others surrounded them. A tiny part of him begrudged them this, but Lance knew Keith was their family too, and it was only a very tiny part.

"If you are up to it, a brief walk and some lunch will be good for you." Allura advised finally, after everyone had a chance to check that Keith was all right for themselves and express their own concern, and Keith nodded, straightening. "Before some proper rest. And with that perhaps Lance will finally leave this room again." She snorted delicately and led the way out.

Lance ducked his head, pinking. Keith looked at him. "Lance?" he asked softly, stopping.

"I was scared, querido." Lance admitted softly, brushing his fingers over Keith's cheek. "I don't ever want to watch you do that again." He shuddered, remembering seeing Keith suddenly appear, tearing through the blockade that had Lance pinned down - his helmet already gone and his face already bloody - and then. . .

Lance shook his head. That had been worrying - not that it was unusual, and no amount of Lance voicing his worries or Shiro shouting at Keith to be careful actually helped - but also incredibly reassuring. Lance had . . . not known how or if he was going to get out of there, before Keith showed up. It was only after that, and after the alarmingly-beeping circle of Galra tech around them had exploded, throwing them to the ground - even after Keith had shoved Lance down and behind what little cover there was to be found. . .

Lance had thought they'd made it unscathed, and been joking about it - the explosion had taken out the rest of the Galra forces themselves - when he realised Keith's smile was a little weak. An instant later he'd recognised the warm, sticky feeling of blood and looked down to find the white of his armour dyed red where Keith had been lying on him.

Lance felt a little sick at the memories. "You nearly died, Keith." he said quietly. "Before we could get back here. . ."

Keith nudged against Lance's cheek. "I'm all right, though." he pointed out, and Lance took a breath, hugging him around the waist a little tighter. He was now. It had been. . . "Did you get hurt?" he asked.

"I was fine after a little patching up from Coran. Because you threw yourself in between me and-" Lance shook his head, then rested his brow against Keith's, meeting his eyes. "That's not the point, Keith. You can't just- Please."

"Everything all right?" Shiro's voice startled Lance, and he lifted his head.

Shiro had come back, probably to check on them because they'd taken too long. Maybe worried Keith couldn't make it to the dining room.

"Yeah." Lance said, stepping back enough to keep only one arm around Keith's waist, steadying him. "Yeah, sorry, that was my fault."

Keith leaned into him, companionable rather than seeking support, and Lance felt a little bit better.

"All right. Come on then." Shiro smiled slightly, softening the words. He stepped aside as they approached the hall, and held out a hand to steady Keith. He clasped it briefly, but seemed all right with just Lance helping him along, and Shiro stepped back again and only paced them as they headed for the dining room.

After they'd all eaten - and caught Keith up on what happened after he'd been taken out of commission in the last battle - Shiro sent them both to bed. Lance was exhausted from fretting and waiting, and didn't argue. Keith looked like he might have, if he weren't so tired he was drooping in his seat - enough that even he couldn't feign energy. Lance clasped his wrist and drew him up before he could try to protest anyway.

When they reached Keith's room Lance followed him inside. Keith smiled over his shoulder, a quiet welcome, and accepted Lance's help stripping out of his undersuit without a word before collapsing onto his bunk. Lance kicked off his jeans and then knelt beside Keith, nudging him over closer to the wall.

Keith laughed, swatting at his arm, and Lance caught his hand to kiss his knuckles. He snuggled his cheek against Keith's curled fingers, closing his eyes for a moment. He had been . . . so worried. He squeezed his eyes against the burning of tears.

Keith smiled, tugging Lance down towards himself, and how could Lance not comply? He turned and stretched out on his side, resting a hand on Keith's chest - only a little above where there had been a gaping wound from the too-close explosion a few days before, Lance thought with a shudder.

"I'm fine." Keith said, startling Lance. He looked up, but Keith's eyes were closed. "Stop worrying." He caught hold of Lance's hand again and linked their fingers. "Did you really stay by the cryo-pod since you put me in it?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking over at Lance.

Lance reached for a flippant answer, but. . .

But it was too close and too . . . big, the fear and the uncertainty.

He squeezed Keith's hand. "How could I leave you there, not knowing. . ." Lance shook his head, rubbing his thumb over Keith's fingers. "Yes, I was waiting for you." he admitted. "Don't worry me like that again." he said, slightly sulky as he realised how much he sounded like his mother.

"I'm not going to stand back and watch something bad happen to you if I can help. If I can stop it." Keith said, and Lance sighed. He could hardly argue with that, after all, he would say the same. Keith snuggled into his side, playing with his fingers. "I care about you."

"I understand." Lance said. "But, querido. . . You're important to me, too." he murmured even as he felt Keith growing heavier against him. Keith nodded shallowly, fingers twisting in Lance's light hold and curling more snugly into his.

"That's why," Keith said with a slow sigh, "we look out for each other."

Lance reached up carefully, brushing a fingertip over Keith's cheek - the pink mark on his face was faded a little more already, still healing Lance guessed. "Te adoro y necesito conmigo." he told his boyfriend, watching Keith breathe, dropping into sleep without speaking again.

The cryo-pods were amazing, but they didn't take you all the way back to a hundred percent, and after some examination Pidge had theorised they drew partially on your own energy to heal you and humans - not being used to or built for the lending or borrowing of energy - didn't process it as smoothly as Alteans, either. No wonder Keith was so tired.

After several days of seeing him frozen in stasis, the quiet sounds of his breathing and the little movements he made were incredibly comforting. But his days of vigil were wearing on Lance now Keith was healed and safe - sliding into a troubled half-sleep on the floor at the base of the pod had not been very restful, even if he hadn't kept jolting awake in panicked confusion and having to check on Keith, still and pale in the pod - and he curled himself around Keith before he stopped fighting sleep himself. His fingers were still linked through Keith's as he drifted off.

Spanish:
Gracias a Dios - thank God
Querido - sweetheart; darling
Te adoro y necesito conmigo - I adore you and need you with me

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