How Far I've Come (Keith x Reader)

✮ Chokehold; Chapter Twenty-Two ✮

The next couple of days were hell for both Keith and the girl he'd pissed off. Though he was given an equal amount of talk-back from her, he felt that he had deeper reasoning to apologize. Not only did he offend Y/n, but he offended her through slurring Lotor behind his back. He owed both of them an apology, but Y/n always comes first in his mind.

{Keith}

At least, that's how easily I thought it would go. It's been three days since the bedroom argument and I still can't find a good moment to sit down and have a talk with her - one that'll mean something to both her and the tipping stability of our relationship. Every time I've seen her in the last seventy-two hours, she's been unapproachable. Busy. Uninterested once, even.

Showering. (Finally).
Talking with Lotor.
Hanging out with Lotor.
Talking to someone else at the table. (Lotor).
Training with Lotor.

And where am I in this list of Y/n's daily activities? Nowhere. Unless someone adds a footnote called "not talking to Keith", I'm being either undermined, ignored or completely forgotten.

This is the type of thing that made me suspicious in the first place. It falls under the exact same umbrella. How did Y/n fall so easily to his side? It's not like they have anything in common, other than being smart and... I don't know, having nice hair?

Y/n is barely giving me the time of day anymore. It's like she's my drug, and after over a year of quits, I've given into her without a care, yet I can't satisfy my new addiction. Why? Because Lotor's hogging the joint. Puffing it endlessly. I'm going to lose my ever loving mind.

"You and Y/n look like you're in rough waters." Shiro points out during our training break. He speaks heavy truths, one that have been ruining my shoulders for days. "Did something happen?"

I nod, drinking water as if it could calm my cravings. If Y/n is a drug, Lotor's dragging right now, I can tell. Most of the time they're either somewhere off together, or they're here watching us train, and that observation balcony window is dead empty.

"Ever since Lotor came back, she's been on his side about everything. She's always with him. She doesn't talk to me anymore." I take a sip of water. My thoughts about him remain a common pattern. "I don't trust him."

"I'm sorry Keith." Shiro says, setting a stable hand on my shoulder. It's the only part of my life that isn't on the verge of crumbling soon. "Maybe they do have a lot in common, now that Lotor's changed-"

"But what if he hasn't? What if he's here to expose all of our secrets, then go back to ruling the Galra once we terminate Zarkon. He could be playing with us. He could take away the trust that the universe had in us." I sigh. Shiro knows I speak as many truths as he does. "He could take away her."

"She's a part of Voltron now, our only priority would be to get her back. We're smart, Keith, and Y/n is too. She knows what's best for herself, and she's choosing what's best for her."

I nod. Then freeze.

. . . What did he just say?

"What do you mean? You think that being with him all the time is what's best for her?" I ask.

Shiro winces. "Not necessarily."

"Then what is it?" I ask.

"Well, Keith." He chuckles. "Lotor is a Prince. Banished or not, she'd be happier with him either way." He says malevolently. I freeze. My veins are pumping cold blood, swimming with ice. "Being with you just gives her a shield to stand behind. She's a Princess, and a Princess deserves her Prince."

"But.." I whisper. The truth is too heavy. I feel tons upon tons of pain on my shoulders, crushing me against the ground. The training room has long disappeared, fading away into a show of slipping reality. Black, with more black, thick smoke lays low on the ground. Shiro crawls down to my level.