"In Sickness and in Health" || #Sheith || Keith Whump || Sick Keith || Soft Angst || Hurt / Comfort || Confessions || First Kiss || more tags to be added?

♡

"Hey Matt, have you seen Keith?" Shiro jogged to catch up with his close friend. Matt shrugged and looked across >

the mess hall. "No, I haven't seen him. Were you supposed to meet him here?"

"Yeah. We we're gonna have lunch together."

"Hmm. Who knows!" Matt shrugged with a simple smile. Shiro pouted slightly, looking across again. Maybe he just scanned over him.

By the third time be scanned the room, Matt rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. "He's probably just at his dorm. He might've fallen asleep. Pidge told me he was dozing off in class earlier."

Shiro turned to him, brows furrowing. "Again? I'll see what's up. Thanks Matt."

Shiro left the mess hall swiftly, trying to will his unease to ebb away. It wasn't like Keith to fall asleep in class, or in his dorm in the middle of the day. But it had been a common occurrence within the past few days and Shiro had his suspicions.

He had arrived sooner than he had thought, lost in thought. He knocked on Keith's door, expecting him to yell a response, or open it himself. But neither thing came.

Shiro hesitantly turned the knob, peering inside. "Keith? It's lunch time, come on."

His dorm was bright, the light being left on, the blinds open, and his desk lamp was on. But the sight of Keith hunched over his desk, sleeping uncomfortably tore at Shiro.

Keith never slept during the day, and hardly at his desk.

((also forgot to mention this is prekerb sslKvkenw LOL))

((I think I'll stop here tonight too, because I gotta be up early and it's 3 am oops lol))

Shiro was torn between feeling annoyed and concerned. He had told Keith that if he was tired, then he should sleep in his bed; and go to sleep in the first place.

But Shiro knew there was more to this. This wasn't like him, and so, the concern outweighed the hurt.

He peered over Keith's shoulder, seeing the assignment that was supposed to be done and turned in two days ago. There was snot stains and drool, and Shiro didn't know if the sight was disgusting or adorable.

Reaching out a hand, Shiro gently shook Keith's shoulder. "Keith, come on, wake up."

He didn't budge, the only sound being his shallowed breaths. "Keith- come on. You need to get up buddy," Shiro insisted again, pulling his hand away when a tired groan sounded from him.

He barely had opened his eyes, but Shiro could tell already that they were hazy and unfocused.

"-'hiro? Keith blinked slowly, lifting his head, confused as he looked around.

"Hey buddy. You need to get up. It's lunchtime," Shiro murmured. Keith looked around his room again,

As if he was confused as to where he was. It took him a moment before his eyes landed on Shiro, frowning slightly.

"Oh, right.. Lemme just--" He looked back down at his desk, scowling at the mess on the paper.

Shiro frowned, watching him try to gather his papers.

"Keith. Stop, it's fine. Are you feeling alright?" Shiro kept close to him, watching him stand up, Swaying ever so slightly.

Keith waved him off, stumbling over to his bed to grab his bag. Shiro sighed, walking up behind him and snatching the bag.

"Hey! Give it back, Shiro!"

"No, Keith. It's obvious you're not feeling well, and you just don't know when to stop," Shiro huffed, almost exasperated. Keith's shoulders slumped, eyes dark with emotion as he turned away from him.

Shiro sighed softly, shaking his head. "I'm not here to make things difficult Keith. I just want you take care of yourself. But if you don't want to do that, then at least let /me/ take care of you.. I know you're not feeling good, Keith. Just.. Let me be there for you.."

Keith was quiet, and Shiro felt his throat tighten. He knew it was risky to ask such a thing. He had been good at keeping his feelings relatively in check, but he couldn't stand seeing Keith unwell and in discomfort.

Keith turned to look up at him with an exhausted expression.

((pining Shiro has entered the chat))

"O..Kay.. " Keith finally relented his imperative defenses, stepping closer to Shiro, letting him catch him as he swayed, exhaustion seeping in once more.

"Can you walk back to my dorm? Or do you want me to carry you?" Shiro questioned softly.

There was no belittlement in his words, only tender care. Keith let out a shuddering breath, shaking his head. "I can.. Walk, not too far," Keith huffed, looking to his bed. "Can you grab my blanket though?.. Its my favorite one."

Shiro held him steady, nodding as he reached out for the blanket, handing it over to Keith who clung to it tightly.

"Alright, come on buddy. Let's get you settled in my room and we'll go from there."

【♡】

The trek back to Shiro's dorm was slow and patient, but it gave Shiro time to breathe and think. It was only natural to want to take care of your best friend, and be by his side during every struggle when he's I'll, right?

It was only a crush. That's it.

((autocorrect dumb. ill* ))

He doubted Keith felt the same, but the least Shiro could do was to be by his side during this; Especially when no one else would.

He managed to get Keith settled into his bed before he collapsed on his feet. Shiro sighed in relief as he watched Keith fall back asleep,

fingers wrapped and clinging to the fabric of his blanket. It was obvious the blanket was quite old, but it brought Keith comfort, and Shiro would make sure to wash it for him, if Keith would let him.

Leaving the room with the door cracked, Shiro slumped on the couch,

pulling out his phone. From there, he spent the next hour or so, reading about some at home remedies to help Keith recover.

Shiro had read enough to get a rough grocery list put together. He checked on Keith, who was still asleep. He felt his forehead, frowning at the warmth. He snatched up a scrap piece of paper, writing a quick note for Keith, leaving that and a bottle of water on his nightstand.

Shiro was quick in getting in his car and going to the nearby pharmacy, grabbing various medicines and items that would hopefully help Keith. He wasn't an expert on this kind of stuff, but he would do his damned best to help Keith.

He fumbled with his keys, almost desperate to get back into his dorm, worried about Keith. The halls were relatively quiet, but everything sounded too loud, and Shiro was annoyed.

He pushed his way in, finally getting the door to unlock. Just finally starting to breathe,

Shiro froze, hearing something in his room. Was someone else in the dorm? He was positive Keith was still sleeping when he left-- he approached his room, heart dropping at the sound.

((Warning?? Uhhh, Keith is vomiting now, and Shiro is pining concerned boi, but if y'all want to skip this part you can! I won't describe it in detail though, because ))

"Keith?" Shiro's voice was soft, stopped just outside of his connected bathroom. He didn't want to go in just yet, just in case Keith needed his space. But hearing Keith retching and coughing, destroyed him. "Keith? Are you okay?" Shiro asked again, biting his bottom lip.

"S-shiro.." Keith's pained, almost sob, destroyed any restraint he had. He knelt beside him, supporting him. He was weak, pale, and his breathing was laboured. Tears and snot dripped down his face, and it was devastating.

"I'm right here, buddy, it's gonna be okay.."

Keith whimpered, leaning against him, struggling to stay awake, but almost afraid to fall asleep again. Shiro held him close, careful not to jostle him too much. His left hand rubbed circles into his shoulders and back, trying to calm him down as much as possible.

Keith sniffled, just finally starting to relax until he seized up again, emptying his stomach once more, but almost dry heaving. Shiro was right there with him, holding him up, and keeping his hair back. The younger was crying now, body shaking as he tried to curl in on himself.

Shiro could feel his own eyes water because there was not a whole lot he could do to ease Keith's pain, and seeing him so distraught, it fucking /hurt/.

"It's going to be okay, baby, I promise.." Shiro whispered out loud, freezing up. Keith hadn't seemed to notice, though he

doubt he would have anyways. But it didn't lessen any of Shiro's internal panic. Keith slumped back against him once more, deeming his stomach to be utterly empty, weakly reaching out to flush the toilet.

He instantly reached out, doing it for him, and then scooping him up as carefully as possible. He cradled Keith closely to him, carrying him back to his bed, gently situating him under the covers.

Shiro glanced at the clock, sighing softly. It was well past lunch time,

almost dinner time exactly. But Shiro didn't care. He wasn't going to leave Keith's side during this.

He was still spinning mentally from the endearment that had slipped by, feeling every anxiety known to man, creep into his conscious about how this would change things.

(If Keith Remembered, that is.)

Shiro pulled himself from this thoughts, deciding that he should make use of himself and get some light soups and broths prepared for Keith. Hopefully he'd be able to eat it though.

Shiro busied himself in the kitchen, taking deep breaths as he re-read the soup label four times, making sure he had set the stove to the right heat. Now would not be the time to set things on fire.

Once the soup was starting to heat up on the stove, Shiro figured he had a few minutes to spare, and check in on Keith. Quietly, he pushed in the door, peering into the dark room. Just before he could leave, he heard the muffled whine and shuffling of blankets.

Shiro spared a quick glance into the kitchen, and things were still fine, so he turned and entered the room.

"Keith?" Shiro spoke softly, not wanting to startle him, or make his possible headache worse.

"S'iro?.."

"Hey buddy, you feeling okay?.." Shiro sat on the edge,

pulling back some of the blankets to expose Keith's bleary expression. Keith blinked slowly, glancing around the room, unfocused.

"Kinda.." Shiro took it as a somewhat hopeful sign.

"Alright, well, are you feeling up to eating something?.. I know your stomach is empty, and,

you need to keep up your strength.." Shiro pulled back the comforter just a bit more, helping Keith sit up in the bed.

He shrugged, black hair an absolute mess. Shiro smiled softly, patting his shoulder as he got up. "Stay there a minute."

Shiro made it back into the kitchen, sighing in relief. The soup hadn't burned, boiled over, OR caught fire. If only Keith was feeling better.. Then they could celebrate.. But hopefully it still tasted good.

Turning off the heat, Shiro moved the pot to an off burner, grabbing a big spoon to gather some into a bowl. Putting a lid over the pot, and grabbing a spoon for the bowl, he made his way back into the bedroom, trying to hide his amusement.

Keith had fallen back asleep, while sitting up. His cheek was pressed against his hand, his arm keeping him propped up. Shiro smiled, setting the bowl on the nightstand and turning on the lamp.

"Hey.. Keith, wake up. You're gonna get sore, and I have some soup for you."

Keith flinched, startled awake. "Huh?" Shiro smiled sympathetically.

"Sorry. I brought you some soup. You don't have to eat all of it, but at least eat some, okay?" Shiro murmured, letting Keith get himself situated against the pillows.

"Oh.. What kind is it?"

Shiro smiled shyly, his face flushing slightly. "It's ah.. Cream of Mushroom. You told me your dad used to make it all the time, when you weren't feeling good.. So I figured this would help you get better." Shiro spoke quietly, and slowly, letting the words sink in for Keith.

Shiro risked a glance at Keith, starting to panic when he saw the tears well up in Keith's eyes. "Keith- I'm sorry I -"

Keith shook his head, sniffling softly as he wiped his eyes, pulling Shiro into a tight hug. "T-thank you.." Keith whispered hoarsely.

Shiro held him, refusing to let go until Keith did first. He could feel Keith tremble in his arms, and he wish he could heal all of Keith's hurts. But since he couldn't, he'd find ways to at least make things easier for him.

After a few beats of silence, Keith pulled away, wiping his eyes with the hem of his shirt. Shiro smiled softly, seeing the small smile form on Keith's lips as he looked at the bowl, glancing at Shiro for a moment.

"Do you think you can get it by yourself?"

Keith looked at him, lips parting to speak, but then closing them and frowning. "I'm.. Not sure," Keith admitted softly, head turned away, face flushed slightly. (But that could be because he was sick, right?)

Shiro beamed a hopeful smile, "That's okay, I can feed it to you?"

Keith's eyes widened slightly, and Shiro was already forming an apology and a plan to self destruct, but then Keith's quiet reply came. "I.. Yeah.. That'd be nice.."

And so, Shiro allowed Keith to get settled against the pillows and blankets comfortably, before he scooped up some of the soup, carefully settling the spoon against Keith's lips and tilting it.

Keith's face was flushed more than usual, and his eyes were dark with deep trust.

The moment felt too intimate for it to be a "best friends" thing, and maybe it was more than they'd bargain for, but for now, this moment was theirs.

They could talk when Keith wasn't running a fever, or retching in the bathroom late at night. Right now, it was just.. them.

Shiro was so careful, making sure not to spill anything on him, or on Keith. He didn't want to push Keith either, only feeding him when Keith gave him a slight nod, or small quirk with his lips.

Shiro was sure you could hear his heartbeat in the quietness they both shared.

If Keith could hear it, he didn't comment, and Shiro was grateful for that.

Before Shiro could lift another spoonful, Keith shook his head. "No more.. My stomach feels weird.." Keith murmured softly, dark eyes churning with discomfort.

"Fuck-- Im positive I cooked it--"

Keith smiled weakly, hand reaching out and holding his wrist gently. "The soup was good, Shiro. My stomach just feels weird right now, okay?.. I promise, you didn't give me food poisoning this time." Keith grinned.

Shiro's face burned with embarrassment and worry, but he was still smiling. "You're a brat, go to sleep," Shiro huffed. Keith snorted, shrugging as he was settling back down into the blankets.

Just as Shiro stood up from the bed, ready to turn off the night lamp, Keith's hand shot out, stopping Shiro from leaving. "Keith-"

"Can.. You stay with me?.." His eyes were uncertain; anxious and heavy with emotion.

"Of course I can, Keith.."

Maybe it was the way he said it, or how quiet the room had gone once more, but it felt too fragile to be explored further in communication, so Shiro translated things into action;

The bowl was left discarded on the night stand, and Keith had nervously pressed close to him.

Shiro welcomed the proximity with open arms, wrapping them securely around his best friend, letting him gain all the comfort he needed. They would talk about this some other day, but for right now, it was just them, and their beating hearts as they surrendered to exhaustion.

((This thread is just about done, so let's see where this story ends ))