A Brief Enquiry Into Klance Disorders

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Keith)

Autism
/ˈɔːtɪz(ə)m/
noun: autism
1. a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behaviour.

TW: Sensory overload.

"Where's Keith?" Shiro questioned, trying to navigate through the crowds in search of the red paladin. Lance appeared equally concerned, squinting his eyes as he scanned the masses of people for Keith. "We need to find him. I knew he shouldn't have come today... I bet he has locked himself in another room or something."

"Should we split up?" Lance asked as they reached an empty corridor. It was quiet; a relief compared to the hot, compact main room where the party was being held.

"Yeah. You check the left doors and I'll check right. As soon as we find him, we need to call each other."

"Okay." Lance raced down the corridor, throwing every door open that he passed on the right side. Each room was pitch black and empty until the last one. Light was shining beneath the door, immediately sending a surge of hope through Lance's body. He pulled down the handle and shoved it open. "Keith?" Lance called, keeping his voice low so that he didn't startle the other boy who was probably amidst a meltdown. When he didn't receive a response, he walked further into the room and spotted Keith curled up in the corner. He had his arms wrapped around his legs and his headphones were covering his ears. He was rocking back and forth with his eyes closed and his hands were fidgeting with one of his toys in his hands; Lance instantaneously knew the problem.

The loud, hectic party had led Keith to become overstimulated. It happened every so often when they went somewhere noisy and busy which made Keith feel uncomfortable. Despite Keith having had sensory overloads in the past, Lance still wasn't sure just how to approach him. Lance pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Shiro's number. He picked up on the second ring. "Have you got him?"

"Yeah, second to last room."

"You know what to do, yeah?"

"Uh... sort of."

"Lance, it's okay. You can do it. I'm on my way."

Lance took a deep breath before reaching forward and brushing the tips of his fingers against Keith's forehead to let the other know of his presence. Keith let out a loud groan as his eyes snapped open and he stared directly at Lance. After another thirty second long growl, he mumbled, "It was loud. People kept touching me."

"I know, love." Lance whispered, knowing full well that Keith couldn't hear him beneath the headphones. Crossing his legs to sit more comfortably, Lance watched Keith sway from side to side. When Shiro burst into the room, Keith glanced over at him briefly before closing his eyes again. After Keith groaned again, Shiro exchanged a sad smile with Lance.

"Take me home." Keith kept his headphones on but stood up to reinforce his command. Lance laced their fingers together: he knew that was the extent of physical contact that Keith liked after an overload. The hand that wasn't intertwined with Lance's was still fiddling with the fidget cube. None of them said a word as they walked back to the car they had arrived in. Shiro got into the driver's seat whilst Lance and Keith stayed in the back together, their shoulders just about grazing each other.

"What are you listening to?" Lance asked, turning his head to look at Keith who was still fully immersed in whatever was coming out of his headphones.

"It's a podcast. All about the brain. Did you know the reason we know the Broca's Area is responsible for speech is because of someone who could only say the word 'tan'? Paul Broca encountered them and, when they died, he conducted a post mortem study of their brain. He saw that only one area of the brain was severely damaged so he concluded that that was the area responsible for speech production."

"That's very interesting." Lance said, even though the entire thing went straight over his head. Keith seemed happy enough as he closed his eyes and indulged himself back into the podcast.