Work Text:
Keith rolled over, hoping the new position would be relaxing enough for him to be able to fall asleep. And it was - for about 30 ticks. He kicked his blanket off in frustration, instantly regretting it and pulling it back over him. Flipping over his pillow, he laid still for a moment before realizing that his efforts were futile. He sighed and got out of bed, hoping that taking a walk through the castle would help to clear his head so he could find some rest. Sleep had been hard to find this last week, and he could tell that the lack of it was already starting to wear him down.
Keith pulled himself to his feet and lazily rubbed his eyes as he shuffled to the door. The door opened automatically with a swoosh and he stepped out into the hallway, walking aimlessly in whatever direction his feet took him. He didn’t pay much attention to where he was going, but when he realized he was standing outside of Shiro’s empty room he forced himself to keep walking. He knew he had to keep a level head if he wanted to be a good leader, and no amount of crying or yelling or standing in Shiro’s room would bring him back.
His emotional outbursts had never brought anyone back.
Keith sighed. The purpose of this walk was to clear his head, not add more thoughts to the already swirling mess that was his mind.
He walked faster as though to outrun his thoughts. His bare feet repeatedly hit the metallic floor, causing shivers to run up his spine from the cold. He was approaching the common room when he noticed the lights were on and set to their lowest brightness setting. He peeked in to see who was still awake at this hour and saw Pidge sitting on the couch, staring at something on her laptop.
“Pidge?” he questioned as he stepped further into the room.
There was no acknowledgement - no words, no movement, nothing. Pidge did not hear him.
Keith took a few more steps, now close enough to peer over her shoulder. On her laptop screen there appeared to be coordinates for a system that Keith did not recognize. Laying on the couch next to her laptop were two pictures that Keith recognized instantly - the one of Pidge and her brother before the launch of the Kerberos mission, and a newer picture of all 5 paladins, Shiro standing in the middle. Keith remembered when that picture was taken - Lance had found a camera at a swap moon and, for a while, was obsessed with taking pictures of everything. He had insisted on a group photo of the paladins, and had given everyone a copy of it.
Keith pushed the memory out of his mind. Somehow, thinking about it felt like a stab in his gut and brought him closer to breaking down. But he couldn’t break down - he needed to be strong for his teammates.
Just like Shiro was.
Keith loved his teammates. He would do anything for them, including hiding his own pain so they would have one less thing to worry about.
Just like Shiro did.
Keith shivered again and noticed a blanket folded up on the edge of the couch, away from the corner where Pidge was working. He walked over to the blanket and unfolded it to wrap it around himself. An idea came to him and, in his sleep-deprived mind, it seemed like a good one. He walked up behind Pidge again - she was so wrapped up in her work she still hadn’t noticed him - and engulfed her in a hug, wrapping the blanket around the both of them.
Or at least, that’s what he started to do.
Pidge screeched in surprise and shot her elbow straight back, directly into Keith’s stomach. Keith doubled over with a groan.
“Keith? You scared me, I didn’t realize it was you!”
“It’s ok,” Keith grunted from where he was curled up on the floor. “That’s a good reaction to have, especially in our line of work.” He pulled himself up and wrapped the blanket back around himself.
“What were you doing, anyway?”
“I was… uh…” Keith scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to respond. “I was going to wrap this blanket around you.”
Pidge gave him a skeptical look before turning back to her laptop.
“Hey,” Keith said, voice softening. “It’s the middle of the night, you should be asleep.”
“So should you,” Pidge responded flatly, not even looking up.
Keith sat down in the corner of the couch behind Pidge and let out an exhausted sigh. That response was not at all what Pidge had expected, so she carefully pushed her laptop away and turned slightly to face him.
“What’s wrong?”
Keith leaned his head on the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”
Pidge studied Keith for a moment. It was obvious he was lying. Even through the blanket wrapped tightly around him, she could see that his shoulders were tense. She glanced back at her laptop and hesitated a moment before closing it and sliding closer to Keith. At this distance, she could feel him shaking.
“We all miss him. It’s ok to let it out.”
For a moment, there was no response. Then Pidge heard Keith shifting and felt his arms wrap around her to pull her closer. His head landed on her shoulder, bumping a nerve that made it a little painful. She didn’t complain, though. Nor did she complain when his grip around her tightened while his body shook even harder. She just leaned back into his chest and rested her hands on his arms, pretending that she didn’t notice when he let out a sniffle or when her shoulder started getting wet.
They sat like that for a long time. Eventually, the sobs and shaking subsided and Keith released his grip on Pidge. He leaned back, rubbing his eyes.
“We have a long day tomorrow. You should get some sleep.” Keith’s voice was hoarse.
Pidge suddenly realized that she was exhausted. The idea of crawling into her bed and being unconscious for several hours was highly appealing. She stood up and reached for her laptop. Keith followed her out of the room and turned toward the kitchen, no doubt planning to get some water before returning to his own room.
Pidge started down the hall toward the paladins' quarters when Keith called out to her.
“Pidge?”
“Yeah?”
“…Thank you.”