A12 With Heith For The Pairing Thing?

🎀💖🤖Gender??? I hardly KNOW her!!!🤖💖🎀

Sick caretaker Keith

I wrote this last night+ this morning and haven’t really reread this. I’ll do reread and fix process later. It might take a while.

A cold had slowly started to take over Keith. Maybe the first symptoms he noticed besides his raspy throat was his lips getting dry and starting to sting. Soon, watery mucus came down his nose and he started to feel more tired and just generally crappy.  They were supposed to go to the space mall that day to find some spare parts and other supplies but Keith would’ve rather stayed behind. He didn’t think his cold was really all that bad and didn’t want people to think he wanted attention or was overreacting over something minor. Not going without giving a good reason was not an option since Coran had already given everyone a list of things they were charge of finding.  Others, especially Lance, would just think Keith was being selfish and lazy.

  Keith didn’t want to tell about his cold, not even to Shiro but somehow he instinctively started searching for Shiro. Keith found Shiro talking with Allura.

  “Shiro, you should stay behind and get some rest. You’re clearly ill,” Allura told to pale man holding his head.

   “Can’t argue with that. I’ll go back to the bed,” Shiro told hoarsely. He swayed a little and placed his robot arm against the wall to help him stay upright.

  Shiro was… Sick? Well, when looking at his pale, sweaty face, it was kinda obvious but how Keith hadn’t noticed that before? “Shiro, what’s wrong?” Keith asked, walking closer to Shiro and Allura.

  “Keith, can you help Shiro back to his room? I’ll go get something to bring his fever down,” Allura told.

  “You have a fever?” Keith asked from Shiro when he lifted Shiro’s arm over his own shoulder.

  “It seems so,” Shiro replied and coughed a little.

  Keith walked Shiro back to his room and after Shiro had lied down, Keith tried to find out if there was anything Shiro needed. “Shiro, are you thirsty? Nauseous? Cold? I- Do you want me to… Get you something?” Keith inquired.

  “No, I think I’m okay as long as I lie down. You can go back to the others, they probably will leave to the mall soon,” Shiro told.

  “I’ll stay here with you,” Keith stated clearly sounding eager to stay behind. Good thing Shiro was a bit dazed and didn’t find that weird.

  “Thanks,” Shiro told.

  “I’ll… Go to get you some water,” Keith said and left the room. When he was walking towards the kitchen to get Shiro some water pouches, he felt his nose prickling. Keith sniffed, then gasped quickly, closing his eyes shortly then opening his right eye and covered his nose and mouth. Keith let out few stifled sneezes.  His nose started to run and his hand got wet. Keith gave a small, displeased groan before wiping his hand to his shirt.

  Keith was supposed to grab water for Shiro but he himself felt thirsty and sat down the floor to drink before taking out multiple water pouches to take back for Shiro. Keith felt shitty but that was probably nothing compared to how Shiro was currently feeling. After all, Shiro had trouble even standing on his feet and Keith probably would be able even to fight if he had to.

  When Keith returned, Allura was already there. She had placed a cold compress on Shiro’s forehead. She had brought some water pouches too. Keith placed the ones he brought in the same pile.

  “Keith, I thought you were going to the space mall with the others,” Allura told.

  “I’ll stay here and take care of Shiro,” Keith said.

 “I guess I’ll leave him to you then,” Allura replied and left the room.

  Since Shiro was asleep, there wasn’t really much Keith could do. He just waited besides Shiro’s bed, sniffling quietly. When Keith started to get bored from sitting still, he stood up and stared Shiro’s sleeping face. Keith thought he should re-drench the towel to make it cold again. He tried to be careful not to wake Shiro up when taking off the towel. Keith put the towel in a water-filled basin and shuddered when his hands came in touch with the ice cold water.

  Keith wringed the towel and placed it back on Shiro’s forehead. Keith rubbed his hands to warm them. The cold water had made his nose run again. The snot started to get thicker and Keith started to feel more congested.  

 “Tissues,” was the only thought in Keith’s mind when he left the room. He went to the bathroom, blew his nose and took the whole box of tissues with him. He couldn’t blow his nose in Shiro’s room since it made too much noise but he could probably leave the room for that or something. And say he brought the tissues for Shiro, not himself.

  When Keith returned, Shiro was still asleep. Keith leaned his back against Shiro’s bed. After sitting still long, his eyes started to close by themselves. Keith fell asleep but after a short while, got shaken up awake.

  “Keith, don’t sleep on the floor,” Shiro told.

  “Shiro… Sniff..Do you feel any better? Did your… Fever go down?” Keith asked with slightly nasal voice and touched Shiro’s forehead. It didn’t feel hot. “It did. That’s good.”

  “I don’t think you should worry about me now, Keith, climb up next to me,” Shiro told. Shiro was too dizzy to stand up but he was worried about Keith. Keith was shivering.

  “N-no, I’m fine, I just dozed off from boredom,” Keith said.

  “Please?” Shiro asked, but his tone was demanding.

  Keith gave up. He crawled under Shiro’s blanket. Shiro put his arms around Keith. Keith’s face was against Shiro’s chest. Keith groaned tiredly. His nose began to itch again.  Keith tried to push himself away from Shiro. “N-no, l-ah-let go-I’m-Uah-Ha-H’KSHA! Ung-H’KSKH!”

  Shiro felt Keith twitching against from the force of the sneezes and something wet on his shirt.

  Keith realized to his horror Shiro’s shirt was snotty. “I-I’m sorry… I tried to warn you but uh- I- I’ll clean it up.. I’ll get you another shirt I- H’CKSH!”

  “Keith it’s fine, just stay down,” Shiro told.

  “It’s not fine, it’s disgusting,” Keith replied.  “There’s some tissues on the table, let me grab them.”

  Shiro let go of Keith. Keith stood up and took bunch of tissues. He wiped off the snot on Shiro’s shirt, then blew his nose on a different tissue.  Having time to collect his thoughts and wake up properly, Keith remembered that he was in charge of taking care of Shiro.

  “Shiro, are you hungry…? ” Keith asked.

  “Keith, don’t-”

  “I’M FINE,” Keith snapped and immediately regretted yelling at Shiro. “Sorry, I… I’ll go get you something to eat,” Keith apologized and exited the room before Shiro had time to reply to him.

  Thinking that maybe food goo wasn’t really something to give for a sick person, Keith started to go through the ingredients Hunk had gathered. Nothing seemed familiar. Then Keith remembered there was left over food in the fridge, he could try to make a soup using those.

  Keith put a pot on the stove and filled it with water, then started to taste test the foods to decide what to put in the soup. He used some spaghetti hunk made, some space vegetables and some kind of meat. Keith tasted the soup and it didn’t really taste much like anything, which probably was better than space goo. He poured the soup on a bowl and put a spoon in it, then took the soup for Shiro.

  “I didn’t know we had soup,” Shiro told.

  “I made it using leftovers from fridge,” Keith said.

  “Thank you,” Shiro said. He took a spoonful of the soup and made a weird face. Keith noticed this.

  “Is… There something wrong with the soup?” Keith asked.

  “Um no, it’s fine,” Shiro said, trying to spare Keith’s feelings. After all, he had gone all that trouble to prepare the soup for Shiro. But it tasted a bit weird. Not as bad as the space goo but Keith had put some kind of fruit salad in it.

  Keith took the bowl away from Shiro and tasted the soup again. It still didn’t taste much like anything and he was wondering what was wrong with it.

  Shiro realized what had been gone wrong with the soup. The cold had numbed Keith’s sense of taste.

 “I’ll… Go warm up some leftovers instead…” Keith finally told. But before he could leave, Allura entered the room.

  “I thought I should come check on Shiro. Do you still have a fever?” Allura asked and placed her hand on Shiro’s forehead. “It seems so.”

  “Well, it sure did go back up again then,” Shiro told, remembering how Keith earlier told Shiro that his fever had gone down. Seeing Keith trying to stealthily exit the room with the soup, Shiro realized the same thing Keith probably had just figured out. “Keith, come back here, let Allura check your temperature too.”

  “Keith?” Allura asked. Since she had been worried about Shiro, she hadn’t paid much attention to Keith before. Now she thought she should’ve. Keith quickly exited the room but Allura got a glimpse of his flushed face. She dashed after Keith and brought him back to Shiro’s room.

Allura took the soup bowl from Keith and placed it on the table. Then she made him sit next to Shiro’s bed and placed her hand on both Keith’s and Shiro’s foreheads. Keith’s fever was actually higher than Shiro’s. That would explain why Keith thought Shiro’s fever had gone down.

  “Human illnesses seem to be transmitted quite fast,” Allura said.

  “No, not this fast, Keith, why didn’t you say anything before?” Shiro asked.

  “Because you seemed so sick, it felt dumb to complain about a small cold…” Keith muttered.

  Shiro sighed. “Listen, just because someone else seems to be more ill than you, it doesn’t mean you should downplay your own illness like this.”

  “Sorry,” Keith told, unable to come up with anything else to defend himself.

  “Okay, Keith, you go to the bed too,” Allura commanded.

  Keith grabbed some tissues and water pouches before heading to his room. He sat on his the bed, wrapped his blanket around himself and leaned his back against the wall. Keith poked the straw on the water pouch and just sat in his bed, sipping the water.

Allura came in with a water basin and forced Keith to lie down so she could place the cold towel on his forehead. Keith wasn’t sure if it was just a coincidence but when the cold wet towel touched the bridge of his nose, he rolled on his side and sneezed, dropping the towel off. Keith grabbed a tissue and blew his nose and just left the used tissue on his bed.

  Allura placed the towel back on Keith, this time a bit higher so it would only cover his forehead. After making sure Keith would be okay on his own, Allura left the room and leaved Keith to rest.

  Keith was wondering how he managed to fall asleep earlier on Shiro’s room since his runny nose was not letting him to rest. After an hour, he gave up, threw the towel on the water basin and sat up, bundled in his blanket, leaning against the wall. Keith closed his eyes and this time, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

A Team Snakemouth family portrait.

Being small, medium, and large means they’re perfect for stacking.

Uma Baleia Rosa

😍

“Geez, you just HAD to run headfirst into a pole while trying to get to Kut’s restaurant…" 

"Worth it.”

Hi could you write something where A has been hiding sickness for a while now, but suddenly B got sick as well (maybe got it from A) and everyone else are too busy so they ask A to take care of B not knowing A is worse off? Maybe A even gave up some comfort items or the last meds for B?

just a disclaimer that this is all in good fun and not actually recommended treatment for the following illness - I just wrote purely from vibes lol 😆

A suppresses another cough in the corner of their elbow, disguising it as a clear of their throat. They’ve definitely felt off for the past week or so - deep aches and chills all the way to their bones, a constant cough, and the desire to just stay curled up in bed - but they’re not going to tell anyone that.

Instead, they pull on a sweatshirt and head down to the kitchen to make themselves a cup of tea to ease their shivers, praying that today is the day they finally take a turn for the better.

“Hey, have you seen the hot water bottle anywhere?” C bursts into the room, eyes searching urgently, just as A takes their first sip.

“Um…yeah, it’s in my room.” And it’s been my constant companion for the last two nights because I ache all over and can’t get warm for anything. “Why?”

“B woke up not feeling great, so I was gonna grab it and give it to them. You’re good if I take it?”

“…Sure.” A rolls their shoulders, rubbing their aching joints and trying to stretch out their sore muscles. They’ll take a hot bath later, then.

“Thanks,” C says, darting back out of the room, then suddenly poking their head back in. “Hey, A?”

“Hmm?”

“Listen, I’ve got a bunch of errands to run today and a work meeting I’ve got to go into the office for, and D’s working later at the hospital, so do you think you could look after B?”

A shrugs, clearing their throat. “Sure.” If C’s asking them, then B must be much worse off than them - so they owe it to them to suck it up and help out.

After they finish their tea, they head upstairs to B’s room. B’s curled up in bed reading a book, hot water bottle laying on their stomach.

“How’re you feeling, B?” Despite not feeling well themselves, A has to admit that B looks a little wan and peaked.

B sets the book down, coughing into their elbow. “I’m okay. Just a fever, aches, that sort of thing.” Their voice is scratchy, but they’re clear-eyed and alert.

Same as them a few days ago, then. Guilt washes over A - if they’d have just confessed to being sick, they could’ve isolated and B would be okay. This is all my fault. “Well, can I get you anything?” They try to brighten their voice, but overdo it and it just comes out sounding forced.

But if B notices, they don’t let on. “Maybe….some cough medicine? It’s all in my chest, and coughing hurts.” They rub their breastbone with a wince, pulling the hot water bottle over their chest.

“On it.” A shuffles off to the bathroom, pulling the brown bottle they know all too well from the medicine cabinet. There’s only a little left, but they don’t even give it a second thought - B needs it more, and they can text C to grab more while they’re out. Their hands tremble as they pour the remainder of thick liquid into the little cup, and they squeeze their eyes shut to try and stop shaking. Come on, A. Get it together.

By the time A sets the dose of cough medicine on the nightstand, their vision’s swirling in their eyes. Even walking to the bathroom was exhausting.

“A, are you alright?” B sits up in bed, eyebrows furrowed as they pick up the dose and knock it back. “You’re really pale.”

“I’m…I’m fine.” A sudden shudder rattles their teeth and they lean on B’s bed for stability. Despite their layers, their whole body’s just gone ice cold, a sheen of cold sweat and goosebumps covering their body. They tilt toward the bed and lean heavily against the mattress, bracing themselves with both their arms, suddenly finding it hard to take a full breath between the deep, painful coughs.

“A, I’m serious, are you sure you’re…”

But A doesn’t hear the rest as their knees slip, and they’re falling down, down…..

“A. Wake up. Come on, now.” B’s raspy voice cuts through the haze, commanding with an edge of fear. They’re out of bed and on the floor with them, looking just as shaken as A feels. “Get up. Please.”

A blinks awake, immediately aware that B’s at their side, tugging at their sweatshirt, trying to lift them off the floor.

“A. Get in bed. Now.” B’s voice is someone between stern and on the verge of tears. A’s so spent that they can’t even respond verbally, so as B half-lifts them with their remaining strength, A claws at the comforter to pull themselves up, up, until they tip onto the covers in a heap next to B. They cough deeply, the effort burning in their chest, and moan slightly. In a minute, they’ll get up and care for B.

“A….are you sick too?” B’s crackly voice sounds small and scared, and A wishes that they could spare them from this.

I should’ve said something. This is my fault. I’m sorry.

But a sob is the only thing that can escape their lips as they nod. They’ve been trying and trying so hard not to bother anyone with this, and now they’re collapsing in front of the only other sick person in the house.

“God, A, why didn’t you say something?” The words are angry, but A can hear the tremble in B’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” A weeps. “I just didn’t know what to say.”

“Hey, hey, you’re alright. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.” B clears their throat, resting a hand on A’s shoulder. “You’re just scaring me, is all. Tell me what’s up.”

“I’m so cold,” A chatters weakly, hugging themselves. That’s all they can get out, anyways. In reality, they’re feverish and cold to the bone, shivering from head to toe, and their chest is on fire. They’ve barely done anything and yet they can’t catch their breath, and the air feels thick and heavy when they breathe.

B hurriedly covers them with a blanket, pulling them close and rubbing their shoulders, pressing the hot water bottle to their chest. A clings to it like a lifeline against their sore chest, but the chills still course through their body. Nothing warms them - they’re slowly freezing from the inside out, even though they can feel their head and joints burning with fever.

The next hours (or days - A’s lost all sense of time) are an absolute blur. They’re aware of a voice shouting, thought they sound like they’re underwater, even though there’re right next to them. Hands tug at their clothing, pulling off their sweatshirt, and in their fevered dreams, vultures peck away at them, and they’re unable to fight off the vicious birds. Cold, damp rags are laid across their forehead and over their chest and stomach, and to them, they’re trapped in the deepest ocean, and seaweed wraps around them and chokes the life out of them.

And the shakes - god, the shakes are unlike anything they’ve ever felt. Great, rolling earthquakes of chills from their core that rattle their bones and teeth so hard they’re scared they’ll break. At times, it seems the only thing keeping them together is the warm arms that hold them tight and the gentle whisper of comforting words in their ear.

When A surfaces from the dark hell they’ve been trapped in, they realize they’re still in B’s bed, covered in piles of blankets. D hovers next to them, fiddling with a small orange bottle, and the night table has been filled with all sorts of medical paraphernalia - medicine bottles, a nebulizer, a stethoscope and box of tissues. Perks of living with a doctor, they think, but they’re too drained to poke fun at B about it.

They’re acutely aware of feeling worse than they had earlier. Everything aches - their arms, their legs, their back and shoulders, especially their chest, and even shifting in bed is painful. Not to mention that they’re still freezing, and they can’t take a deep breath.

“What….happened?” They rasp, coughing between each word.

“Hon, you’ve got pneumonia.” D slides onto the bed next to them, pushing A’s hair back off their forehead to feel their fever. “How long were you feeling this bad?”

A shrugs. “Couple days.” D gives them a pointed look, but doesn’t push further. Instead, they pop open the small bottle and tap two pills into their hand.

“Take these,” D says. “B called me at the hospital freaking out, and we were able to chat with the doctors and get some antibiotics to pump into you for the next few days.”

A’s too tired to respond to that, so they just oblige as D slips the bitter medicine under their tongue, then props their head up so they can sip some water to chase them. As they sit up, the blankets slip from their shoulders and allow the cool air of the room underneath, setting off another round of shivers that send them clutching at the covers. D hurriedly tucks A back in, gently rubbing at their shoulders.

“Shhhh, you’re alright. You’re okay.” The chills seize their body for what feels like an hour, but finally, A stops shivering enough to ask the question on their brain.

“B, how’s B?”

“Fine. We still think they’ve got a bad cold, but they shouldn’t get nearly as bad as you if we take care of them.” D smiles sadly, gazing up at the ceiling. “They’re in your room - we didn’t want to move you.”

As if on cue, B pokes their head in the door, blanket wrapped around their shoulders. A’s awake enough to see them lean against the door, exhausted from their own illness.

“B, I thought I told you to stay-“

“Is A okay?” B asks it in that crackly, worn out voice of theirs.

D glances back at A. “Still pretty sick. But we’ve got some medicine in them now. Once C gets back with the rest of the prescription, I think we’ll be out of the woods.”

B nods, coughing into their own elbow. “Sorry you’re sick, A.”

A nods, stifling a coughing fit of their own, cinching the covers up to their chin. In that moment, B darts back into the room, carefully settling on the bed next to A while D’a back is turned. When D sees it, they exhale and roll their eyes at B’s clinginess. “B, you need rest. Go back to-“

“Can’t I stay here? Just for a little bit?” B’s voice is pleading, and they nestle closer and rest their head ever so gently near A’s stomach.

D finally relents. “A few minutes. But only until their nebulizer treatment’s done. You push it, and you’ll end up like A here.”

B nods, sneaking under one of A’s many blankets and wrapping an arm around A’s waist. D fiddles with something on the nightstand and turns around with the mask of the nebulizer in their hand, then gently eases it over A’s face.

“There. That’ll help your breathing a bit.” D rubs their hands together and surveys the room, and with every breath of the medicine A wants nothing more than to throw their arms around D and thank them for helping them be able to breathe better. But D leaves to go get something else, and B curls closer, pressing themselves into A’s side like they’re scared they’ll fade away.

“Don’t you ever sacrifice yourself like that again, okay?” B’s voice is shaky, and they gently rub A’s side.

A nods weakly, letting their tired eyes fall shut. They wish they could pull B close, but they can’t bring themselves to pull their arms out from under the warmth of the covers. So instead, they just roll toward B and hope they get the message. And from the way B hugs them tighter, A thinks they do.

The team having a long night’s rest by the campfire. Looks comfy