Shiro could feel that something wasn't quite right with Allura's story. He had known Keith since he was a teenager and knew that he wasn't capable of doing something so horrible. Keith did have some discipline issues but it wasn't anything that dire. That was the reason he ended up strolling to Keith's room to find out his side of the situation. Wondering if it was all just a massive misunderstanding, he raised his hand to knock.

When he didn't receive a response, he said, "Hey, Keith? I want to know your side of this. It doesn't seem like something you'd do and I just want to know if everything's alright. You don't even need to face the others. It's just me and I'm not going to judge you. I just want to know the truth, okay?"

He slumped against the door and waited for Keith to say something in response. Anything at all. Nothing.

"I understand that you want space and you're angry but I really think you should talk to me about it. I've suspected that something was wrong for a while... Bottling it up isn't the best idea, Keith. It never is, okay? I don't want you falling into the way you were before I helped you. Is it okay if I come in? We don't even need to talk about this. I just need to see that you're okay."

Silence.

"Say something at least, Keith. Please..."

Silence.

Shiro's hand hovered over the button to open the door. It took him a long moment before he pressed it and the door flew open. He expected to see Keith on the bed but it was perfectly made and there wasn't a single sign of him anywhere. "Keith?" Terror rushed through Shiro as he checked Keith's bathroom and couldn't find him. "He's gone..." He raced out into the corridor, sprinting back to the training room where the others were. "He's gone!" He exclaimed. Each of the paladins turned to look at him, eyes laying on his red cheeks and heavily rising and falling chest.

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked, eyebrows raised in concern.

"He wasn't in his room. We need to find him. I- I don't know what he'd have done but we all know how impulsive he is. What if he's done something stupid?" Tears were beginning to well up in Shiro's eyes as he spoke, realising just how serious the situation was.

"Okay," Hunk got up onto his feet, deciding that Shiro wasn't in the state of mind to be the authority figure in the situation. "I'll go check the training room. Pidge, you check the kitchen. Lance, you stay here with Allura. Shiro, you should check on Red; make sure the lion is still there in case he has done a runner. Coran, check the escape pods. Any signs of where he is, find the others, okay?"

"Got it." Pidge said; it was soon followed with a chorus of '​okay​'s. They each raced off in their own directions. Shiro rushed to the hangers, just to see Red had his shield up around him. The lion was loudly roaring, the amplified noise shaking the entire room.

"Red, where is he?" Shiro murmured, pressing his hand up against the shield. He used his other hand to wipe away the tear that had just managed to escape. Shiro stood there with the lion, just watching the lion rampage and trying to figure out what to do about it. The lion's head was waving around and he was stomping his feet as hard as the ship possibly could.

As another set of footsteps echoed around the hanger, Shiro twisted around. Coran was standing behind him, twisting his ginger moustache in a way that implied anxiety. "What?" Shiro gasped out, his bottom lip wobbling.

"He took an escape pod." Coran simply said, a deep frown covering his face.

"Are you sure it was him?" Coran's slow nod broke Shiro's heart into a billion pieces. He let out a loud sob, running into Coran's arms and burying his head into his neck.

"We can find him, Shiro. I promise. There are trackers on all of the pods."

At least they had received ​some​ good news. Shiro backed out of the hug and brought his hand through the white fluff of his hair. "I'm sorry for breaking down like this. I- I just care about him a lot. I know I should be stronger as the leader but- but-"

Coran hushed him with a small, empathetic smile on his face. "It's okay."

-

Pidge stared at the large screen in front of them, using their index finger to type something.

Lance and Allura were sat in the corner of the room, practically sitting on top of each other. Allura had long since stopped crying but her eyes were puffy and bright red. Shiro was tentatively watching Pidge over their shoulder, even though he didn't understand what they were doing. Hunk was also following Pidge's rapid typing but he understood what was going on much more than the black paladin.

"Are you almost done?" Shiro asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yes, just hold on." Pidge murmured, tapping more symbols on the screen. The room lapsed into silence until Pidge stood up and mumbled a tiny, '​yes​!'

"Have you got him?"

"Yep. He isn't far away. The pod seems to be... still."

"Do you think he abandoned it?"

"I wouldn't think so. I'll go check it out."

"I'm coming with you." Pidge was about to argue but Shiro's tone suggested there wasn't any room for argument. They explained what was going on to the others before racing down to the green lion's hanger so they could find Keith as soon as possible. Shiro basically threw himself into the lion whilst Pidge sat down at a more respectable speed. Pidge grabbed the controls and set off. They were going to find Keith; no matter what.

-

Keith stopped the escape pod in the middle of space. He peered out of the small window but all he could see was an endless array of stars. There wasn't a planet or another ship in sight. His eyes moved to the button again. It was red, standing out over all of the other buttons that were lighter, more boring colours such as white or black. Without putting much thought into it, he slammed his hand down onto it.

The door opened up and Keith began to float. His helmet meant he still had a small supply of oxygen but he wasn't sure how long that was likely to last. He shut his eyes, remembering back to all of the zero-gravity simulators back at the Garrison. He had always found the lightness relaxing.

It would be easy for Keith to just press the button on his helmet to release all of the oxygen but he didn't want that. He wanted peace. The only sound he could hear was his own, shallow breathing. Keith wondered if there was a tracker on the ship. Alteans were extraordinary with their technology so it only made logical sense for them to have installed such a simple device on it. Biting his lip, Keith decided to jet pack away. His pack was weak so he moved at an agonisingly slow pace.

A long time had passed but he still hadn't moved very far. Exasperated, he gave up. Just as he was accepting his fate, a ship came into his view. A green lion ship to be specific. Keith's shoulders sunk as it got closer. The green lion's mouth opened as Keith was taken inside.

"Why couldn't you just leave me alone?!" Keith immediately snapped as his eyes laid upon Pidge and Shiro. Shiro looked immensely relieved as he brought Keith into a long, comforting hug. Keith really wanted to push him away but found himself melting into the hug and appreciating the warmth of it.

"Don't you dare run away like that again." Shiro scolded, rubbing circles into Keith's back. Pidge watched them with a fond expression on their faces: eyebrows lowered and a small smile. "You need to tell us what you think happened."

"Allura's a bitch. Lance deserves better than her..." Keith murmured, burying his head into Shiro's neck and taking in his citrus-like scent. Shiro always reminded Keith of home, even if Shiro had hardly been with him for half of his life.

"You may need to elaborate."

"A while ago she figured out that I liked Lance. She used it to blackmail me into pushing Lance away. She was horrible about my heritage and said stuff about my parents leaving me and it pissed me off. In the end I just told her to tell Lance. She did and he was okay with it. I assume she didn't like that because she freaked out at me. I guess that's why she decided to lie about me forcing myself on her."

"I knew you wouldn't do something like that," Shiro shook his head in an incredulous way. "I tried to find you after she told us. I wanted to talk to you about what happened because I knew that just wasn't... you. You weren't in your room and I freaked out a bit."

"By a bit, he means he was sobbing erratically." Pidge chipped in with a sly smirk on their face. It almost represented Allura's but it was much more endearing and playful. It made Keith feel relaxed; safe.

"Thanks Pidge... I just... Keith," They separated from the hug but Shiro's hands remained loosely around Keith's waist. "You're like a little brother to me. I was terrified to lose you. If you ever pull a stunt like that again-"

"I don't think I will... I didn't think anyone on the team valued me but... just the fact that you came to find me... It shows that you care about me." Keith broke out into a large smile, his eyes shining with tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He pulled Shiro back into a hug, just to remind himself that he was loved. Maybe he wasn't loved by everyone and his crush didn't reciprocate his feelings but that didn't matter. Having just one person love him was enough.