Keith is not Korean. I've had many people confirm that and yell at me for writing he was Korean, so that's been edited out. I'm not upset, it's totally fine. I started to dislike it too. Also, it is canon that Lance is Cuban, and his nationality is referenced in the story. Also, just so it's clear, this fic takes place after episode 9 but before episode 10 in season one. It is also an AU where they go back to Aris (for some reason). Not super important information, but handy I guess. If you have any questions, please leave a review and ask way!

AN (author's note): Slight Klance. Like, bromance Klance. And slight Sheith (Shiro x Keith) but not really.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and settings belong to the creators of Voltron: Legendary Defender.

P.S. I am willing to work with artists and commission art for this story! Seeing my written work come to life with art would literally be a dream come true. Of course, all artistic credit would be given Please leave a comment if interested and/or DM me. :)

(07/06/2017) Updated for grammar and format. :)

Chapter 1: Heatstroke

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The mechanical being and the young man clashed swords with might fury; sparks flew once again as they did. Keith had purposely made battling the Gladiator harder for himself, increasing the intensity level and difficulty up to 6.

Just two weeks ago, when the still undiscovered paladins arrived at Princes Allura's castle, they trained on a level zero, a beginner level fit for Altean children. That level proved difficult to master even for a galactic veteran like Shiro!

But by training himself to his limits, Keith built his strength and endurance up to a level 6 fighter, fit for Altean soldiers ready to enter the battlefield. It made him feel a whole lot better, knowing he could fight at a level greater than a child was able to, according to Allura.

Keith challenged himself today more than ever; he fought the Gladiator without his armor. It was acceptable for him to do so from levels zero to 3, but on a level 6? ... 'May not have been my brightest idea,' Keith told himself, 'but at least now I'll be ready for whatever comes my way.'

He made sure to pay attention to his footing, and to protect the sides of his body from the metallic being. A strike at this level would prove fatal.

The time must have been somewhere around 6:00am in Earth hours, the earliest Keith had gotten himself up from bed since their stay at the castle.

His stomach growled and his mouth beckoned to be quenched, but the mere glass of water he brought with him before training was long empty.

'What's wrong with me?' Keith thought. 'I never eat before I train, only after. And I drank two glasses of water before bed last night.' Yet his body wanted more.

\

Meanwhile, Shiro washed up in the bathroom nearest to his bedroom. He had a towel slinged over his shoulder, and wore a sleeveless shirt with comfortable, form-fitting pants. After freshening up in the bathroom, he made his way down to the training arena.

It wasn't unusual for the other castle occupants to find him up and about before anyone else. He enjoyed being the first one awake; it made him feel like the protector, the guard of the domain, even if it was a temporary duty he held. Like he once said, and Allura accentuated, they had to be ready to fight the Galra at all times.

But when he didn't need to keep his guard so high up, Shiro enjoyed taking some time to strengthen his body and push himself a little further; since their main objective was to be prepared for whatever the Galra had planned for them, he got the opportunity to train himself as often as he liked. The thought made him grin warmly.

\

The battle raged on in the training arena between the Gladiator and Keith. Keith noticed his reflexes beginning to slow. His throat was littered with mucus, and he found his breath difficult to catch, but with a brief spit to the side, he kept on fighting.

Prior to their sword-to-sword combat, Keith practiced his hand-to-hand combat with the android for nearly a half hour, taking only the said water break in between before grabbing his Bayard and initiating sword-to-sword combat.

Now Keith battled the android for nearly an hour. He began to lose focus on the fight, as the screams of his body distracted him. It begged him to stop. To take a breather. But no. 'I can't stop now. The training sequence is almost over.'

But when Keith couldn't properly lift his sword to swing at his opponent, he knew he had no other choice.

He hung his head and dropped his arms as he gasped for air. His heart thumped in his chest, so hard that Keith was afraid it might burst from its cage. He could hear his pulse in his head and feel it in his throat. "End training sequence..." he huffed with all his might. Thankfully, the computer heard his words and the android shut down.

It was more difficult now than ever for the red paladin to steady his breath; his lungs burned, and he tried to cough the mucus from his throat, but the beckoning for oxygen in his body was too great.

He ached all over and his face burned, so much so that he felt for flames that might have generated under his skin. When he lifted his hand to his face, he also noticed there were no sweat droplets; the buckets of sweat his body was excreting before stopped pouring after his water break. Keith knew this wasn't a good sign.

He needed a cold glass of water.

He needed to get to the showers and cool himself off.

He tried to steady his footing with the blade of his Bayard, but his legs refused to hold him up.

The last thing he remembered was collapsing to the ground like a rag doll, someone catching his head as he fell.

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Shiro made it to the training arena just as Keith fell over. He gasped in fear and practically sprinted to Keith's side.

"Keith!" Shiro called as he caught his head. "Can you hear me? Keith!" He received no speech in reply. How could he when Keith lay incapacitated on the floor, gasping for air? He looked like a fish out of water.

Shiro gently lifted him up off the floor, hooking his arms behind Keith's back and under his legs. He carried him from the training deck to the infirmary, then placed him down on the steps, putting his towel underneath the red paladin's head.

His initial idea was to put him in one of the cryogenic pods, but he was afraid he'd press a wrong button and cause Keith further problems.

Keith panted endlessly, still unable to steady his breath. Shiro tried to level his head as he felt Keith's forehead and face, getting a primitive reading of his temperature. 'I may not have any medical background, but I know a fever when I see one.' he thought.

He removed Keith's boots, socks and gloves to allow the heat to escape his body more easily before he dashed to the castle's kitchen, and filled a bowl with ice cold water, soaking a rag in it.

Within a matter of seconds Shiro was back at Keith's side. He ringed the cool rag of excess water and dabbed it around Keith's face, trying to diminish the redness. But Shiro knew that wasn't enough. He needed to get additional help.

He left the rag on Keith's forehead and started to Allura's bedroom; he was sure she'd know what to do.

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Lance awoke from his slumber by the sound of stomping feet flying down several hallways, gradually getting closer to his room. He propped himself up on his elbow and blinked his vision into focus, then swung his feet over the edge of his bed and gave his body a quick stretch before he sluggishly made his way to the door.

"What's going on?" he murmured, peering his head out.

Shiro swooped past Lance's door, but stopped in his tracks at the sound of his voice. He wasn't sure if Lance would be any help to Keith, but it was worth a try; this was a dire situation.

"Lance, do you know how to treat heatstroke?" Shiro asked with his hands feverishly, making his way over to him.

Lance had to blink a few times before he could comprehend what Shiro asked him. "H- heatstroke? Yeah, actually I do why who got heatstroke?" His statements and questions all merged into one sentence.

"Great! I need you to go aid to Keith, he's in the infirmary."

"Uh sure, on my way." Lance started toward the infirmary, but asked Shiro one last thing before he went. "Wait, where are you going?"

"There's no time to explain, just go!"

So Lance went to help Keith as Shiro continued down toward Allura's room.

Lance jogged his way down to the infirmary and found his fellow paladin lying limply on the steps.

"Keith!" Lance called as he knelt by him. He still breathed heavily, as though he had lifted one of the Lions off the ground. "Keith, can you hear me? Hey..." he patted Keith's face, still engulfed in flames.

Lance bit his lip in worry as he rewet the rag that was now warm on Keith's forehead. "Don't worry, buddy, Lance is here to help. We'll getcha all better in no time."

He wasn't sure if Keith could hear his words, but he heard that some incapacitated people could hear others speak to them; Lance hoped Keith was one of those people.

"I'll be right back." Lance then told him, leaving a freshly wet, cool rag on his neck.

He made his way to Pidge's room. He hated to wake her at this hour (it was about 7:15am in Earth hours), but he knew she could help.

Once when Lance had cut himself up badly (after tripping and falling into a bunch of rocks without his armor on), Pidge helped him with his wounds, cleaning them and patching them up for him. She had a first-aid kit the size of a briefcase.

"Pidge!" Lance called as he neared her door. "Wake up, I need you to tell me where your first-aid kit is!" he told her urgently as he scanned her disorganized room for the kit.

Pidge woke with a start, rubbing the guck from her eyes and putting her glasses on.

"What? Ugh... A 'good morning' would be nice, ya know." she grumbled. "What do you need a first-aid kit for?"

Lance spoke right after Pidge ended her question. "It's for Keith. He's having a heatstroke. Your kit has saline solution in it, right?" He remembered seeing a pouch of the liquid before.

"Yeah, I do. The kit is in the closet." Pidge pointed.

"Great." Lance swung the closet door open and grabbed the kit. "Now put some pants on and follow me!"

"I have pants on! Excuse me for sleeping in shorts."

\

Meanwhile, Shiro made it to Allura and practically shook her from her sleep. She woke up with such a start she slapped Shiro across his face, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek.

When she came to and realized who had woken her up, she apologized vigorously.

"Never mind that. Keith needs your help. He's succumbed to heatstroke." No more had to be said.

When they made it back to the infirmary, they found Pidge and Lance tending to Keith with a first-aid kit.

"Make sure you hold the bag vertically. We don't want any air bubbles in his veins." Pidge told Lance after she inserted an ivy-drip into the vein of his wrist, securing it with gauze.

"Got it. Check his temperature." Lance told her. Pidge removed the elastic around his bicep and took out a digital thermometer, placing it in his ear. When the reading came up, she exclaimed, "Oh my god!"

"What, what's wrong?" Allura and Lance asked simultaneously.

"His temperature is at 105! One more degree and he'll have some serous internal damage!" Pidge told them both.

"Step aside, Pidge." Allura ordered as she knelt at Keith's side. "Keith, can you hear me?" He was still unresponsive, but the others were glad to see that his breathing had slightly slowed in tempo.

"How long has he been like this?" she asked Shiro.

He ran a tense hand through his hair as he said, "A- about 10 minutes. I found him at the training deck and caught him just as he collapsed."

"Well, good thing you woke me up. Like Pidge said: any longer and he would have sustained substantial damage to his brain and organs." Allura informed them, only increasing their worry for Keith's well-being.

She then shut her eyes and ran a glowing hand over the sides of his face and his midsection, as if scanning his innards. "He'll be alright. Thanks to your quick action and Pidge's first-aid kit. He will need to spend a day in a pod, however."

An inner wave of relief flooded the three paladins; good news was very necessary.

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews and favorites are noticed and appreciated. :)