A Brief Enquiry Into Klance Disorders

Insomnia (Keith)

Insomnia
/ɪnˈsɒmnɪə/
noun: insomnia
1. habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.

The entire castle was fast asleep. As Keith padded passed Hunk's room, he could hear the soft snores of the man. When he reached Lance's, he could hear soft music, probably blaring out of Lance's headphones. Shiro's room was completely silent. Keith pressed the button to open up the door before stepping into his favourite room.

It was one of the larger rooms with windows surrounding it. Keith shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the window and peered out at the stars. As a kid, he had always found solace in the stars. Whilst everything was uncertain and Keith didn't know whether he'd make it from one day to the next, the stars were always there. No matter what, the stars shone in the sky. That meant that, when everything was going wrong and crumbling to dust, the stars were still watching over him. When he was younger, he had found out that everyone was technically made of stardust. He hoped that his dad had gone full circle after he died and ended up as a star, once again.

Closing his eyes, Keith pressed one of his hands against the cool glass. He could imagine his dad was out there, watching over him. Keith hoped he'd be proud of how far he had come. He could have easily given up after losing his parents and getting kicked out of the Garrison but he didn't. He kept going and he became a famous paladin of Voltron. If he hadn't persevered, he'd probably be dead somewhere. Who'd have noticed his absence? No one. No one would have even noticed because no one cared about him.

"You okay?" At the sound of a voice, Keith swerved around. Shiro was standing behind him with his arms folded and his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, yeah... I couldn't sleep." Keith admitted. He could never sleep. Even on earth. He had never been diagnosed but all the signs were there, telling him he was an insomniac. His brain was constantly running one hundred miles an hour and shutting it off was impossible. He had tried.

"Maybe you should speak to Coran about that. He might be able to find you some medication to help with your sleeping problems or something." Keith simply shrugged, looking out at the stars again. It may have been Keith's imagination but one star appeared to be shining much brighter than the others. It stood out like a sun in a clear blue sky. He hoped that was his dad. "It's not good not to sleep, you know? Your body is constantly working hard so..."

"Why are you awake then?"

"I have nightmares. Sometimes I just need to get a breather and look at the stars. It can... be overwhelming."

"I'm sure it is... you know you can talk to me if you feel anxious. I never sleep so... I guess I'm always available. I get nightmares if I ever do sleep so... I can relate to that."

"Thanks, Keith." Shiro approached Keith and stood by his side, following his gaze out at the stars. They stood in silence for a moment, just to appreciate the view. Then, Shiro spoke up again, "Have you ever tried sleeping with Lance?"

Keith's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Shiro as if he was insane. "...What?" Yes, Lance and Keith had their bonding moments but Lance still called them 'rivals', even if it was just a joke most of the time.

"Sleeping with people sometimes help. I don't know. It's just a thought."

"Lance hates me!"

"Yeah, right." The smirk on Shiro's face suggested he knew something that Keith didn't. Keith rolled his eyes but didn't ask.