Chapter Text
Keith heard the swish off the belt before he felt the burning sting on his back. He grunted in pain. Then he suddenly felt a hand in his hair tugging his head roughly back.
"After everything I've done for you! You go and do something shitty like that!" Keith's foster father yelled.
Before Keith could say anything his foster dad slammed his head into the floor.
Keith suddenly woke with a start. He was drenched in sweat, tremors were raking his body and his breathing was ragged. Taking deep breaths he tried to calm himself.
"It was just a nightmare. I'm in space, I'm in the castle of lions. I'm not 'there' anymore." He murmured, trying to ground himself.
Standing up shakily he quietly slipped out of the room. He walked quickly to the lions hamper. He desperately needed to see Red. While walking down the dark hallways he heard a suspicious racket coming from the kitchen.
Thinking it could be an intruder he activated his bayard and carefully crept closer to the noise. He took a deep breath to steady himself then he leapt into the room, sword raised.
Lance who had been looking for a midnight snack, suddenly let out a very high-pitched girlish scream. Keith stood frozen, sword still raised.
"Lance!" He said exasperated. "What the hell are you doing? And why do you scream like a girl?!"
Lance indignantly swallowed his biscuit and irritatedly said. "For your information I don't scream like a girl, I was just startled and accidentally let out a rather higher pitch than normal. And I was getting a midnight snack."
Keith raised an unimpressed eyebrow as he put his bayard away. "Ok then." He said suspiciously.
Lance scoffed and gave an enormous eye roll. "What are you even doing awake?"
Keith shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
Lance narrowed his eyes skeptically and took in Keith's disheveled appearance. The way he was still sweating and shaking ever so slightly told a different story.
"Nightmare?" Lance asked sympathetically.
Keith debated denying it, but he needed someone right now. Even if that person was Lance. Stupid stuck up Lance.
"Yeah." He mumbled.
Lance nodded sympathetically. "Wanna talk about it? When I have a nightmare it helps if I tell someone what it was about."
Keith shook his head quickly and said anxiously. "I don't want to talk about it. I just want... I don't know what I want."
Lance looked at him and sighed. "Wanna watch a movie together? I think Pidge got the TV to work."
Keith looked at Lance in surprise, then nodded. "Sure."
Together they both walked to the couch. Lance put on a corny movie that gave Keith a lot of second-hand embarrassment.
Halfway through the movie Lance fell asleep. Keith decided to sleep on the couch too, thinking it would be rude to just leave him here.
As Keith fell asleep, he couldn't help but wonder why Lance was so nice and didn't make fun of him for having a nightmare.
Shrugging away the thought, he fell into a dreamless sleep.