#Zeth- So Shut your mouth and Get in bed.

[fangzeronos]

Pining Ch. 4

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

“Unmarked shuttle. This is a restricted sector of Galra space. Turn around or you will be fired upon. You will have no further warning. Under the command of General Trag, turn around or you will be fired upon. You have two minutes to respond or we will engage.”

 “Get dressed,” Acxa said, getting up and grabbing her bodysuit. “Now, Keith!”

 Keith nodded, getting up and pulling his clothes back on and grabbing his normal coat from the chair and pulling it on, stuffing the Blades mask and tunic under the bed. “Who is this guy?”

 “General Trag. One of Haggar’s loyalists,” Acxa said, snapping her armor back on and fixing her hair again. “We need to play this. I’m going to tell him what’s going on and that I’ve got a Paladin as a prisoner, so I need you to trust me.”

 Nodding, Keith held his hands out. “We just fucked each other’s brains out, I think the trust is a given,” he said.

 Shaking her head as she laughed, Acxa kissed Keith and grabbed handcuffs off of her belt, turning and handcuffing Keith. “Sit down and shut up. Don’t talk until I tell you.”

 “Yes, ma’am,” Keith said, sitting in a seat at the table. He turned and watched Acxa run to the console, sighing as he watched.

 “General Trag, this is General Acxa. Do you copy?” Acxa asked as she started working her fingers over the controls.

 “General Acxa. Is that your shuttle?” Trag asked.

 “At the moment, General. I was on site at a supply warehouse and a Paladin of Voltron made his way inside. I captured him and I’m bringing him to the Cruiser. I was unable to contact before now due to interference until I was able to leave that part of the sector due to a radiation storm,” Acxa said.

 “Very well. We’ll be awaiting your arrival. Your other compatriot Generals are here as well. They’ll be waiting for you when you arrive with your prisoner.” Trag said.

 “Thank you, General,” Acxa said, shutting the communication line. “Damn.”

 “So, I’m a prisoner, hm?” Keith asked with a smirk as he stood up and walked over to Acxa. “It’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

 “Keith, if they call Haggar and tell her I have you, who knows what’s going to happen,” Acxa said, standing up and putting her hand on Keith’s cheek. “I can’t lose you. Not when I just got you.” She sighed softly, resting her forehead against his softly. “I’ll find us a way out of this.”

 Keith nodded, leaning up and kissing Acxa softly. “I’ll be alright. I’ll keep my head down, my mouth shut. I’ve been around Lance too long to know when not to open my mouth,” he said.

 Acxa nodded, kissing Keith back softly. “I know,” she said, running her hands in his hair softly. “I’ll make sure you’re treated fairly. We still have an outpost to search after all.” She sat him down again and took her place at the controls, flying towards the cruiser and letting it down in the bay. She got up and grabbed Keith’s arm, pulling him along beside her as she walked out.

 Stepping out onto the cruiser, Acxa was met with Ezor and Zethrid, who looked to want to be anywhere but there at that moment. “What mess of yours are we cleaning up now, Acxa?” Zethrid asked.

 Acxa rolled her eyes. “Not my mess. I was guarding a warehouse and the Paladin here snuck in, started looking for shipping routes. Clearly they’re trying to stop us before we get far.” She shoved Keith forward, making stumble and hit his knees.

 “Hey, it’s the cute one,” Ezor said, kneeling down and smiling. A lightbulb went off in her head, looking up at Acxa and grinning widely. “Acxa!”

 “Whatever you’re thinking, Ezor, it didn’t happen,” Acxa said, narrowing her eyes. “You think I’ll screw a Paladin?” She hefted Keith up, rolling her eyes as she led him and her two companions down the hall. “We’ve got a nice cell for you, Paladin.”

 “Great. Long as the floor’s comfortable, I’m fine,” Keith said, yelling as Zethrid punched him in the side of the head.

 “Shut your mouth,” Zethrid growled, grabbing Keith from Acxa and dragging him along. After walking down into the brig, she threw him into his cell, hearing him hit the bars on the far wall. “Hope I broke something.”

 “Not yet,” Keith groaned, shaking his head out softly. He stood up and huffed as Ezor pulled him back against the bars, undoing the cuffs as Acxa shut the door. He rubbed his wrists, looking at the three Generals. “You know they won’t leave me here.”

 “Without your Lion? What good are you to them?” Zethrid asked, cocking an eyebrow. “You’ll be our little punching bag until you tell us what we want to know, Paladin.” She turned and stomped out, shaking her head.

 Ezor bit her lip, watching the door close behind Zethrid. “Ok, now that she’s gone…?”

 Acxa sighed. “Yes, Ezor. To answer your previously unasked question. I need to think of a way out of here with him. We were going to the Roshax Outpost to find out what it’s doing operational again.”

 Nodding, Ezor folded her arms as she bit her lip. “Trag’s going to want to see him. He’s already put out a message to Haggar and she’ll be here in the next hour. We can’t let her take him. Is there anyone we can get a message to?”

 Acxa sighed, shaking her head. “No.”

“Yes,” Keith said, looking at the two in front of him. “There’s one person.”

 “Who?” Ezor asked, hopping over to the bars and looking at Keith.

 “Krolia.”

 “What?” Acxa asked, rounding on Keith. “Her? Why?” She narrowed her eyes at Keith, planning on yelling at him if she had to. “Why do we need Krolia, Keith?” Her words had bite to them when she said the names, and if he wasn’t in such a bad position, he’d almost think the jealousy was cute. “Answer me!”

 Keith smiled softly. “First, you’re cute when you’re jealous. Second, don’t be jealous. She’s my mother.” He just grinned when she deflated, Ezor giggling like a lunatic as she fell to the floor. “That’s why.”

 Acxa glared at Ezor who squeaked and sat up, barely containing the grin on her face. “Oh.” She bit her lip and looked down, folding her hands softly in front of her. “I see. I…apologize for my outburst.”

 Keith smiled, reaching through the bars and squeezing Acxa’s hand. “It’s alright.”

 “You guys are cute,” Ezor giggled. “I can see why she’s been fanta—” She squealed when Acxa tackled her and clamped her hand over her mouth.

 “You finish that, I’ll wrap your tendril around your neck,” Acxa threatened.

 “Acxa,” Keith said.

 Ezor sighed, standing up as Acxa let her go, rubbing her head softly. “I was only playing, Acxa. You don’t need to be mean.”

 “Then shut up,” Acxa said. “What you interrupted a month is not anyone’s business other than mine. Got it? Even if it was his stupid face I was thinking about.”

 Keith raised an eyebrow, his jaw dropping as he started to put things together. “Oh, my God.” He looked at Acxa and just grinned. “You would--?”

“Do you ever want to get out of that cell? Shut your stupid, sexy face,” Acxa growled. “Thanks a lot, Ezor. This is why I don’t tell you things.” She sighed and ran her hand in her hair, looking down. “I’ll try and get a message to Krolia. If she can help, great. If not, the two of us are on our own, Ezor.”

 Ezor nodded, putting her hand on Acxa’s shoulder. “Let’s go. Trag’s going to want to talk to you anyway.” She smiled at Keith and waved. “We’ll see you later, pretty boy.” She turned and ran out, flipping a bit as she did and making her way down the hall.

 Acxa reached over and squeezed Keith’s hands. “I’ll be back. Hopefully with good news.” She turned and walked out, sighing as she put on a brave face and walked down the hall, uncertain if what happened not an hour before in the shuttle was going to be a one time thing, a thought that sent a pang of hurt through her heart.

 Keith looked up a bit later as he heard footsteps, seeing Zethrid walk back in with who he assumed was General Trag, a stocky and burly Galra with a limp in his step and a whip in hand. He stood up and folded his arms, looking at the two. “General Trag, I assume?”

 “Observant, aren’t you, Paladin?” Trag asked. “Stay where you are. You move, you die. You flinch, you die. You twitch, you die. See where I’m going with this?”

 “Yes, sir,” Keith said, lowering his arms. “Hm. What do you know. I moved, and I’m not dead.”

 Trag snarled, walking in and cracking the whip, cutting Keith’s cheek and sending him topping to the ground. He lashed out again, hitting Keith in the face and neck before lashing out and kicking him in the stomach. Trag grabbed Keith around the neck and slammed him face first into the bars, Zethrid stepping around and yanking Keith’s arms through and handcuffing him.

 Keith looked over his shoulder, his face and neck bleeding. “Is that all you’ve got?” he asked, spitting out some blood. “I’ve been hit harder by Pidge.”

 Trag growled, lashing out and striking Keith in the back with the whip, the crack reverberating throughout the brig. He continued the lashes, walking over and ripping Keith’s jacket off of him and throwing it to the ground. He rolled the whip up a bit, swinging out and hitting Keith harder, the Red Paladin finally yelling as the whip cut through his back and side. He lowered the whip, nodding to Zethrid. “Have your fun, Zethrid.”

 Zethrid smirked, walking into the cell and cracking her knuckles. “This is going to be fun,” she said. “Well…fun for me anyway.” She swung out and connected with the side of Keith’s head, slamming his head back into the bars, striking his ribs and making him yell out. She beat on him for a while, hitting whatever Trag missed and enjoying the feel of his blood on her hands.

 Keith sank to the ground, unable to hold himself up anymore. He spat out some blood, coughing a bit as he did. “Is that…everything you got?” he asked, coughing and spitting on the floor. “Allura could do more damage.”

 Trag lashed out with the whip and wrapped it around Keith’s neck, tightening his grip and squeezing. “Too bad Haggar wants you alive, Paladin,” he growled, yanking the whip back and cracking it one last time, snapping it against Keith’s ribs and watching it wrap around, cutting his chest. “Let’s go, Zethrid. Leave him to hang there.”

 “Yes, General,” Zethrid said, lashing out and kicking Keith in the back, making him yell before she turned and walked out, slamming the cell door shut again. “That was fun.”

 Keith sank down, his body giving out as he let his head rest against the bars, the cool of the bar not helping the cuts on his cheek and face any. He took a shaky breath, his eyes drooping closed.

 Several hours later, after Haggar had arrived and saw for herself that Keith really was there and Trag wasn’t lying and after Krolia arrived on the cruiser, she and Acxa took off for the brig with Ezor. Acxa opened the door and looked at the cell, her eyes wide. “Keith!” she yelled, running over and wrenching the door off of the hinges before she ran into the cell. “Keith, talk to me. Please…”

 Krolia undid the cuffs and watched Acxa pull him back into the cell. “We need to patch him up until we can get him to the Castle of Lions,” she said, looking at Acxa. “Ezor, we need a distraction.”

 Ezor grinned. “Yes, ma’am,” she said, taking off running out of the brig.

 “Keith,” Acxa whispered, running her hand in his hair softly, not missing the feel of his blood-soaked shirt and feeling the cuts still bleeding against her hands. “I’m going to kill Trag and Zethrid for this.”

 “No. You need to focus on getting him patched,” Krolia said. “When you contacted me, I sent a message to the Paladins. They’re expecting his Blades shuttle.”

 Acxa nodded softly, laying Keith on the ground and tearing the remains of his shirt and jacket off, her hands clenched as she looked over the cuts on his chest. “That damned whip of Trag’s. Never goes anywhere without it,” she said. She brushed Keith’s hair out of his face, sighing softly. “I shouldn’t have left him alone…”

 “You couldn’t have known this was going to happen, Acxa,” Krolia said. “Trag’s unpredictable. As long as his heart’s still beating, he’ll be fine.” She knelt down and put her hand on Acxa’s shoulder. “He’s got you to wake up to when he’s healed. That’ll keep him fighting.”

 Acxa nodded softly, hearing a commotion. “I can’t lose him,” she whispered, looking at Krolia with fear in her eyes before lifting Keith up. “Sounds like Ezor’s started her distraction.” At that moment, the girl in question came cartwheeling into the brig again, giggling like a lunatic. “What did you do?”

 Ezor grinned. “I may have rerouted the reactor and set it to boom time,” she giggled, grinning. “We’ve got two minutes before it goes boom. I’ve already got his shuttle set up. Let’s go, ladies!”

 Krolia nodded, handing Ezor a gun and taking her own. “We’ll cover Acxa. Our goal is the ship,” she said, taking off running with Ezor, Acxa behind them.

 As the three ran for the launch bay, Acxa held Keith tightly, dodging fire and making her way for the shuttle. She laid Keith on the bed, hearing Ezor and Krolia firing at more of the soldiers and sentries. Krolia fired one last time, seeing Zethrid and Trag running for an escape pod, narrowing her eyes.

 “Zethrid!” Acxa snarled, rushing for the door.

 “No!” Krolia yelled, grabbing Acxa and dragging her back. “There’s time for cutting her head off later, Acxa! Keith has to be the priority!” She watched Ezor run in and the hatch shut, and she ran over to the console and started the shuttle, blasting out of the launch bay and heading for open space. “Hold on. They’ll try and fire at us as we go!”

 Krolia started dodging shots, making her way away from the ship before hitting the booster, the ship rocking as the cruiser behind them exploded, sending out a shockwave. She righted the ship and looked behind her, seeing Acxa holding Keith down to the bed.

 “Krolia, there’s a massive ship coming,” Ezor said, looking at a second console.

 “It’s the Castle of Lions, Ezor,” Krolia said. “They’re our way out of here and our way to make sure my son stays alive.” She saw the Castle drop out of the teludav ahead of them, and she opened a channel. “Princess Allura, this is Krolia. I’ve got Keith as well as two Galra defectors, Acxa and Ezor. We need a healing pod set up and then get ready to teludav away.”

 “Understood, Krolia. Where should we go?” Allura asked.

 “The Sarlacc Belt,” Acxa said. “We were heading there to investigate the Roshax Outpost.”

 “Understood. Lance and Shiro are heading to the launch bay with a healing pod. They’ll meet you there.”

 “Thank you, Princess,” Krolia said, flying the shuttle toward the opening bay doors. She shut the communication and looked back at Acxa. “He’ll be fine. These are good people, Acxa. They’ll take care of him.”

 “I know,” Acxa whispered, rubbing Keith’s hand softly. “I’m just regretting leaving him there.” She lifted Keith up as the shuttle landed, walking out and seeing Shiro and Lance with the healing pod. “You have to help him.”

 “We’ll take him,” Shiro said, opening the pod and helping Acxa lay Keith inside.

 She leaned in and kissed Keith’s forehead, giving his hand a soft squeeze. “Come back to me,” Acxa whispered, a tear falling down her cheek softly. She stepped back and watched Shiro close the pod, seeing it activate before she felt Lance glaring at her. “Do you have a problem, Blue Paladin?”

 “Not at the moment,” Lance said, cocking an eyebrow before helping Shiro with the pod.

 Acxa nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. “Now where?”

 “Up to the bridge,” Shiro said. “We can keep an eye on him and head for the Belt at the same time.”

 “Then I’ll follow you, Black Paladin,” she said, feeling her heart sink as she watched Shiro and Lance wheel the pod away, following behind them and praying to whatever Gods she had an unspent favor with to save Keith’s life.

#Kacxa #ouch this chapter hurt to write #I mean it was only 2878 words