"Talk to me."

"Not now, Lance."

There is a tug on Lance's arm, pulling it upward. He lifts his knees at the action. Managing to catch his foot against the rock in front of him he heaved himself over it. They continue walking, feet scuffling on something more than just dirt- he assumes rock. Maybe it was like a mountain since they seemed to be moving upward.

"Keith." he insists, "Talk to me."

"Lance." Keith grouched, too exhausted to force conversation. The Blue paladin is desperate for it.

"Please." he tightened his grip on Keith's shoulder- his only tether. "Tell me what you see."

After a long pause, the Red Paladin gives, sighing, "Rocks? Big ones- not really a mountain, but maybe like those things you see in canyons. We are moving up a hill. There are trees in the distance- I'm heading to those now to get us out of the heat."

Sweat pooled from Lance's forehead at the mention of it, his mouth dry and lips chapped, "How far is it?"

"Maybe a mile?"

"How is your leg?" with each step he can feel Keith wobble from the tips of his fingertips. He wouldn't say it, but the limp he had was obvious.

"It is fine. Are your bandages holding up?"

Lance runs his free hand up to graze the red stained wrap around his skull. Keith had done the best he could with what they had, but the bandages had fallen short. Keith had to pull as hard as he could to tie it. It hurt- but it was better than bleeding out.

"Fine." he tightened his grip on Keith's shoulder again, convinced he must be bruising the skin by now. Stammering, he asks, "W-What else do you see?"

Keith makes a little noise, like a frustrated huff, "I don't know- clouds? Weird triangle shaped clouds?"

"...You serious? Why didn't you say so sooner? That feels like something you would mention first thing." Lance gripes

"I'm preoccupied." Keith reaches his arm out, gripping the edge of Lance's chest plate as a warning. Lance pauses- lifting his foot out blindly to find whatever was in front of him. Realizing it was a small dropdown he lowered himself slowly.

"Your foot-"

Lance freezes, not sure what Keith meant by that, "W-What?"

"Here- no, here." his hand reaches down, grabbing Lance's ankle and moving it for him. "There-" he grunts to stand straight, his own leg faltering against him. Lance still couldn't fully trust if Keith took care of it or not- considering they used all the bandages for his eyes.

The slash had been so sudden when it hit him- the burning sensation still lingered around his nose. They hadn't really talked about it since arriving wherever this was, but was it really necessary at this point?

Separated from the team, from their lions- blinded and injured… all alone.

"Where do you think the lions are?" he asked.

"I don't know. The Castle maybe…" they were certain that even if the both of them had been caught in that portal the others would have at least saved their Lions.

"You think the others are okay?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know anything?" Lance couldn't muster any bite behind the remark.

"...I don't know." Keith says, just as tired as Lance was.

He almost laughed- almost. "How about you make a guess then?"

"Sure," Keith says.

"Do you prefer underwear or briefs?" Keith stopped sharply, voice sharp but fingers warm.

"Lance." he shook him a little.

"Joke. Joke." he insisted, wishing to live to see another day. After some time, Lance sighs when something cool moves across his skin- like a cloud covering the blistering sun,

"Did we make it to the trees?"

"Yeah."

"Can I sit down here?" he is weary of the area around him.

"No. Uh- here, sit here." Keith sounds tight with the entire situation, not use to having to be so aware of his surroundings. Every crack and divot in the ground held a threat.

Lance was even more flustered with this fact, not use to having to hang onto someone as long as he had with Keith. He could go weeks without ever bumping into the guy and now he feared not being able to sense his presence close to him.

The darkness was suffocating.

"You here-?" Lance reaches out, hating how clingy he felt. Of course, Keith was here, he just hadn't said anything in a bit.

"I'm here." He feels Keith's arm a second later and grips it tight, squeezing once then letting go.

"...Sorry."

"It is fine."

They sit in silence, listening to the other breath. Keith's intake sound sharp and pained, "You sure you are okay?"

"Yeah."

"Is your leg still bleeding?"

"It is fine."

Lance is tempted to reach down and feel it for himself, but he felt that the notion sounded like a bad idea. Discovering the truth or not it would end with him feeling up Keith's leg. "Are you lying to me?"

"Maybe."

Lance tilted his head back and groaned, "Dude, come on."

"It is still bleeding, but it is fine," Keith grumbles. Lance nods, accepting that. Neither of them had the energy to put up with any sort of arguing today.

"Do you see any water around?" Lance inquired.

"No." Keith is forcing his way up to his feet, "Stay here."

The request sent Lance into a small panic, "Wait, what? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to climb one of these trees to see if I can find a water source." the red paladin explains, impatience evident in his tone, "Stay here."

Lance's pride refuses to ask Keith to stay and he nods, "Don't fall." he means to tease, but it comes out more sincere than he intended.

Keith clears his throat, "Yeah."

Listening intently, he could hear Keith's feet crunching along grass as he pads his way towards a tree. "What do the trees look like?" he called.

"Like Palm trees, but they are purple." The sound of skin scratching against bark is his only indicator that Keith has begun to climb and he waits.

Silence soon ensues.

It is unsettling.

Whistling to fill the dead air, he pats his knees for some sort of beat.

At least he can turn to his thoughts and memories for comfort. The first thing that came to mind was the events that lead them here.

...Which was the opposite of comforting, but whatever.

It had been a rescue.

Gaining word of a Galra ship close to their location they had moved to investigate it- discovering dozens of captured civilians and prisoners on board. The last time they had attempted to stage a rescue this big was back on the Balmara- which had given them plenty of room to move given that it was similar to a planet.

A Galra ship was harder- they couldn't just destroy it and any damage it took was a threat to the people within. It was a real tight situation that had all of them on edge from beginning to end. Once inside it was a little easier to get around and take out the Galra and take over the ship piece by piece.

Lance could faintly recall Shiro calling a warning at one point that a few of Zarkons Druids were aboard the ship. He had never faced on those before and hadn't known what to expect. By the time he even got to see it the Druid had managed to sneak it's way behind him… or teleported behind him?

He wasn't sure what it was that they did.

Either way, it didn't matter- it had caught him off guard and slashed at him with a blade. He was lucky he was able to lean back enough to avoid most of the brunt force, but the end result of the blade slashing his eyes was still the same.

Sitting here in the quiet woods was nothing compared to the cold sound of an unseeable war. Gunshots and screams- they filled his senses at the time and overwhelmed him.

Within that white noise, several voices had screamed his name. One, in particular, was close enough to wrap their arms around him and pulled him back, "Lance!"

Keith had dragged him, pulling him in random directions that Lance could have sworn they had entered an endless maze. When they tumbled to the floor, Keith screaming, Lance realized a little too late that he had been shot.

In his panic to find the wound, Lance grabbed at Keith, fingers fumbling over him, yelling his name. When something wet grazes his fingertips Keith screamed- his leg.

The next thing Lance knew, they were spinning. When they stopped and landed in the dirt, Keith explained that the Druid had one last trick up its sleeve and sent them spiraling through some portal.

Now they were stranded on a weird planet.

The bright side was that he wasn't on his own. The downside was that he was with Keith.

"How is it going up there?" he calls upward. There is no reply. "...Ignoring me?" he guesses. Still nothing. "...Keith?" his voice wavers. Standing, he cups his hands around his mouth, "Keith!"

There is a faint call back, "What?" it snapped.

Putting a calming hand to his chest, Lance sat back down. This was the worse…

Running a hand up to his eyes, his breath came out shakily. He was okay- they would get back to Allura, hop into a Cryo pod and everything would be back to the way it was. They would laugh about this one day.

"Hey," the echoing sound of Keith's voice has him lifting his head.

"Y-Yeah?"

"There is a waterfall North of here." he still sounds far off

Lance points in every direction, "Right- totally know which way that is."

"Which is why I'll lead the way- idiot." Keith snorts, "We'll need to find something to use to carry the water." he is muttering all sorts of survival tips that Lance drowns out.

"Right. Sure thing Mullet-"

The splintering sound of wood is more startling than Lance could ever imagine. It pales in comparison to the heavy thud that followed.

With a dry throat, he rasps, "Keith?"

Wheezing sounded the short distance away, followed with slurs of curses. Scrambling to his feet, Lance stumbles to the sound. Did he fall? How far up was he?!

"Keith?" how could he be feeling so much terror for a guy he claimed to hate earlier this morning? This situation was making no sense.

He trips over a branch or something like that and moves to crawling forward instead. It felt ridiculous and humiliating, but he just- if he got to Keith then everything would be fine, "Buddy?" he says a little more quietly. A little more desperately.

Reaching the sound of gasping, he felt around to find the back of the Red paladin. He was convulsing- the wind knocked right out of him. Lance could only brush off Keith's shoulders, patting his back until the shock of the fell passed and his breathing would return to normal, "It's okay." he chanted. He took of Keith's helmet, his fingers grazing the eye shield- slicing the end of his thumb. Wincing, he stuck it in his mouth to stop the bleeding.

It had been shattered from the fall too. With that thought in mind, he slowly ran a hand over Keith's face to feel for glass, brushing it aside and out of his bangs. "I'm the blind one here." he says, "What is your excuse for this?" He hadn't touched Keith so much in all his life.

His skin was smooth, his hair just as delicate.

It- Lance couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful groans Keith was making. That fall had not sounded pretty under any circumstances but if you've ever heard the air knocked out of someone then you would know that they just gag and moan and it is almost funny.

It is horrible to laugh at, don't get him wrong, but it was Keith and he can't help but snicker a little . "There there." he says, "Poor little Keith."

"I will… end you…" he was starting to come out of it. Realizing he was perfectly fine, Lance felt embarrassed with the fact that he rushed over here in a panic.

"Hey." he stood up and held his and out blindly. Reluctantly, a hand slipped into his and he pulled, yanking Keith to his feet. Surprised when more weight than he expected leaned against him he had to dig in his heels to stop them from falling. "It is your leg?"

Keith his huffing, "I'm fine…"

"Is it your leg?" he asks again.

"I said I'm fine."

"Is. It. Your. Leg?" he says each word slowly, hoping Keith would understand he wasn't dropping this anytime soon.

His unwilling companion groans in annoyance, "Yes. Okay? That fall didn't help…"

Clicking his teeth, Lance awkwardly grabbed Keith's arm and placed it around his shoulder, his second hand trailing down to grab Keith's lower back, almost gripping his hip, "Let's get to that waterfall."

"You want me to rely on a blind man?" Keith asked in unbelieving horror.

"You want me to rely on someone who falls from a tree?" Lance counters dryly.

"The branch broke."

"A Druid attacked me."

The conversation ended there and they were moving. Lance's side felt horrendously warm with Keith pressed up against it. It was uncomfortable, close enough to make him squirm and pull away, but Keith could barely walk on his own two feet with that wound.

All in all- it was an endless struggle. The forest terrain was not helping this process in any way and Keith was starting to fail his job in giving warnings of approaching objects. "Rock… Branch. Uh.. r-rock."

Lance couldn't think straight with Keith breathing into his ear, stammering and gasping. "Dude…" he says after a while, "Can you just- not look at me when you talk?" he requests.

Keith doesn't answer immediately, his comeback rather slow and bland, "Shut up."

It wasn't like him. Exhaustion aside, Keith never faltered. "Hey…" the heat emanating from the Red paladin could not have been normal. "Hold on-" forcing them to stop for a moment, he lifted his hand to his side. Finding Keith's nose, he lifted it upwards, flattening his palm to his forehead.

"Keith- christ, you're hot." he cringes. Keith staggers a little.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

"You have a fever."

"Oh…" Keith clears his throat sounding somewhat disappointed when he says, "I'm fine."

'You are not," Lance says, "How far are we from the waterfall?"

"Should be over that," he must have pointed, and Lance could only sigh and stand there until Keith realized his mistake. "Half a mile, past the underbrush." he corrects.

"Let's get there quickly then." he wasn't a doctor, but he had heard enough about infections to know that if an open wound wasn't treated properly then it could cause some serious problems.

Stumbling for a while longer Lance could smell the water before Keith spotted it. Shifting close to the rocky side of the stream, they moved as close to the waterfall as they could.

Keith said something about a cave and before Lance knew it, they were collapsed within. It's cold stone walls and floors were a blessing, "Hold on-" he leans Keith against the cave wall. Taking off his helmet, decided to use that for a water container for now, he stood.

Keith grabbed his wrist, "Don't."

"What?"

"I'll go with you."

Lance batted his hands away, "I can gather water, Keith. And this time, unlike you, I won't fall from a tree."

"You could fall into the water…" he murmurs.

"You insult me sir!" he says in a sophisticated voice. Following the cave wall, he extended out his hand aimlessly until he could feel the waterfall. Sticking out his helmet he let the water pour in and pour out a few times to wash his head gear clean.

Repeating the process a few times, he filled it and turned to head back. "Hey, Keith!" he echoed.

Keith's voice is slurred and distant, "Huh?"

"Here, got'cha something." he finds his shoulder and kneels down, lifting the helmet towards him.

"You drink first." the red paladin pushes it away.

"Uh- no. You drink first." Lance frowns.

"You."

"You."

"You." Keith's spirit comes back a little when he growls.

"You times 10!" Lance shoves it towards him, almost spilling it onto his chest. Keith pushes against him, and then his grip slips and he gives in. Lance didn't like that.

The idea of Keith having no strength to even bicker with him like this was… frightening.

Biting his lower lip, he put his hand to the back of Keith's neck and tilted his head up. "Okay, so, remember I am blind so this might end badly-" he brought the helmet towards his lips. Satisfied to hear the gentle sound of sipping, he lowered Keith's head back to the wall.

Taking a quick sip of his own, pleased at the wonderful taste, he brought the helmet down to Keith's leg.

"Okay, bare with me-" he pleads with the hothead with the leg injury. "Is it here?" he motions to where he assumed the injury was on Keith's leg.

"Down further…"

Lance can almost smell it and gags. Reaching forward, he unclipped the buckle to remove the knee pad. Keith hisses a little but doesn't move. Taking a few second to calm himself, Lance lifts the water to the wound, gently pouring it onto it. Keith tenses and his hand clasps down on Lance's shoulder, squeezing it.

"S-Sorry!"

Through gritted teeth, he makes a little noise for Lance to continue. Pouring most of the water onto the wound, Lance tears off a bit of the leg of his uniform. "I can't really see- can you rip this into shreds?"

Keith takes it without much of a fight, "You know how to bandage wounds?"

"Nope, but I'll give it my best shot." is all he can offer. He could have sworn Keith snorted a little, but he wasn't sure.

"Careful…" he is warned when he began to wrap the makeshift bandage. He should really have Keith doing this since he could fully see it, but Lance didn't want him moving as much as possible.

"Am I getting it?" he inquires.

"That isn't a comforting thing to hear you ask."

"I'm not a doctor, man." Lance says heavily, "I'm trying."

"I know…" the gentleness is too surprising- Lance is coughing a little, ears burning.

"Done." He manages to tie it and pulls back. Letting the waterfall fill the silence between them, Lance shifts to move his back to the cave wall. For a while they simply sit there, thinking and breathing.

At some point, they must have fallen asleep because he wakes up the next morning with his face nuzzled into Keith's shoulder and the Red paladin's head resting against his own.

Lance had to insist, no- force himself to believe his own words as he pulled away from Keith with a yelp- They were going to laugh about this one day.

Yeah, new story! Because I really need to not be so obsessed with my other one! XD