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Who: Shiro and you.
Where: Shelter, medical area
When: Hours after rescuing the King.
Rating Pg
What: Shiro comes back battered and wounded from the rescue mission. Keith swears a lot.



He runs his hands over the bandages around his ribs with a wince. He’d gotten so used to being able to shake off bullets and arrows. He has been mostly indestructible. He should have known better. Shiro slips from the small area laid out to treat his injuries as gingerly as he can manage. Cracked ribs are no joke.

He hisses through his teeth as the pain radiates out from his chest and side. He regrets a lot of things. He had charged at a pack of guards confident he would perfectly fine. “Crack goes the Lion.” He mutters as he pulls his duffel bag closer with a foot and fights not to breathe in.

Every breath hurts. They have a surplus of healers this time. The distraction team will all get back on their feet in less time than they would have otherwise. But until then he can just deal with it.

Comments

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“Morning...” He yawns and shifts just enough to snag the pills and water. They both need another dose. “Looks like we slept just fine.” He tosses a small smile over his shoulder at Keith. It’s not their usual closeness but he doesn’t mind it. Probably what kept them warm all night. “How’s your side?” His own is starting to twinge. The pain killers are wearing off.

It’s going to suck waiting for the new dose to kick in. He stretches a hair and resettles. He should get up and see what the healers can do. But Keith is really warm and his still sleep fogged mind is content to do nothing. Except maybe fall back asleep.

[lonered]

Keith peeks up just in time to catch that smile, and the embarrassment that he'd been determined not to feel creeps up on him. Damn it. But he still doesn't back off, stubborn as ever. Looks like we slept just fine. Shiro says. And the truth is, Keith is quite sure he's slept better than he probably should have, than he has in as far back as he can remember.

He hesitates at the question, before well, giving an answer that Shiro and his sense of humor ought to be proud of, "My side's great. So long as I don't move. Or breathe. Or stay still."

But fussing aside he adds. "It's not bad. I'm fine. What about you? How bad is the pain? You're breathing all right." The last part Keith knows because he's spent the night lulled to sleep by the sound of it. He's made no attempt to move either, to put any distance between them. Part of it is that he meant what he said. Moving hurts. But the majority is more due to how warm and comfortable he is. And the chance to actually keep Shiro in bed and resting is one that Keith doesn't think he can pass up.

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Keith hasn’t moved away and finally his own embarrassment is creeping in. He shoves it down. “My side is fine. Twinges every time I even think about moving.” He takes a swig of water and downs his dose of painkillers. He offers the bottle of water over his shoulder. “I’ll see the healers later and see what they can do to put me back on my feet.” He isn’t a fan of medical areas or being prodded by doctors. But this is the fighting ring and he knows its halls as a base.

That always makes it easier. Like being warm and comfortable makes it very easy to lay around in bed when he normally would be up by now. Moving would hurt Keith so he has even less desire to get up. For now. He passes back the pills once Keith takes the water. Despite his injuries he feels pretty good. The sleep had done him wonders. “We should get breakfast in a little bit.” He hasn’t said it out loud but the invitation to go back to sleep is there.

[lonered]

"Yeah, I bet. But hopefully we can get you mended up today." A frown, but he seems at least mildly soothed by Shiro mentioning the healers. Good. That's a start. The sooner the other man is back on his feet, the better. By far. This time Keith reaches for the pills without argument and with a quiet murmured thanks, swallowing a dose and passing both water and the closed container back to Shiro to set aside once more before flopping his head back down on the pillow.

An eyebrow lifts at the phrasing of that. A little bit, huh? If Shiro's willing to take even a little more rest, isn't that a victory? It feels like a victory, and if it happens to come with lingering here, warm and comfortable, a short while longer, then Keith finds it increasingly hard to find any argument against it.

"In a little bit."

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The bottles are returned to the table. "Get both of us mended today." He corrects him lightly. Keith always focuses on everyone else. It's better than it has been if he's willing to rest. He takes pride in that as his head returns to the pillow and he stretches back out.

It vaguely occurs to him the weight on his side is Keith's arm. He realizes he has no desire to move away. If he backed off now it would hurt his best friend and he's not willing to cause that pain. Besides...is it really so bad?

Shiro lifts his arm up close to his chest and programs in a second alarm. "We'll get up when the watch goes off again." He permits them an extra hour. "Sound good?"

[lonered]

"Right. Both of us," he agrees, as sheepish as he can really manage to be. Shiro's called him out fairly gently, but that's still what it is. Shiro knows him too well, a thought that is and always has been quite comforting, even if it means he can get away with a great deal less around his friend.

Though he's getting away with lingering as close as he is -- and Keith is still stubbornly refusing to be embarrassed about it. His arm is still slung over Shiro, but he's pretty sure moving it would just draw more attention to it. Is he willful enough that he can out-stubborn himself? Probably. However that works. It likely helps that it's far more comfortable than it has any right to be.

Thinking too much about it is just going to give him a headache. He'll think later.

"Yes sir," is the genuinely sleepy little response. Hit the snooze button, Shiro. He's on board with this plan.

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"That's just Shiro to you." He says, in jest. Partly. He meant what he said about them being equals in rank. He yawns again. Going back to sleep is a good idea he can barely keep his eyes open. He'll wonder over how comfortable sleeping beside Keith is later.

His eyes slide shut and he moves his left arm to a more comfortable position trapping Keith's arm up against his side. Better.

"Just another hour." He says and lets his mind drift. They do need the sleep.

[lonered]

Keith cracks an eye open at that, not bothering to fight the smile that finds its way over his features. "Shiro," he mumbles sleepily in agreement before shutting his eyes again.

He's half asleep when he realizes that he likes this way too much, and that he wonders if he can come up with another excuse in the future. It's the last coherent thought he has before he drifts off again. Another hour. He'll take it.