Emo Is As Emo Does (Keith x Reader)

[28] Chosen

It's been a few days since Keith left. Nothing much changed—but the others were having a hard time replacing the Red Lion's Paladin. They even planned a time to gather up in the hangar and see who the Lion would accept, which seemed kind of stupid to you. Why couldn't Coran just fly the forsaken thing? Why did it have to be this chosen one cliché? Whatever.

Finally, you forced yourself to get off the couch. The apathy you were feeling was unbearable. You've never in your life felt so depressed—which was saying a lot. You staggered over to the refrigerator, looking for a snack. Hunk was in there, of course. He was surprised to see you walking around again.

"(Y/N)!" he called. "Are you feeling better?"

"I just want something to eat," you whined. Opening the fridge, you were welcomed by the sight of it being stacked with food of all types. Some of the containers were even bursting. You groaned. "Ughhhh, there's like, nothing in here!" You then slammed the door shut.

"Well, uh—Shiro arranged a thing later—to see who will be the Paladin of the Red Lion," Hunk reported. "He wants you to be there."

"Why? I mean, even if the scrap of metal did accept me, you all know I'd just fly it into the sun."

"Aw, come on! Keith being away isn't that bad. He'll come back!"

You fidgeted with your hands. "I need a fork—"

"Coran!" Hunk alerted from across the room. Coran looked in his direction. "Please—talk some sense into (Y/N). Tell her everything is going to be okay."

This was going to be interesting. You crossed your arms and let Coran approach you. When he did, he gently started,

"(Y/N), it'll be quite alright. Keith will return."

"Yeah, but—"

And completely throwing your train of thought down the trash, Coran forcibly grabbed you by your shoulders and started to violently shake you back and forth. You blanked out.

"GET OUT OF YOUR RATTY PAJAMAS, BRUSH YOUR HAIR, STOP BEING A GANK, AND BECOME USEFUL!!!" he shouted. "WHEN I LOST MY ENTIRE PLANET, I DIDN'T LOUNGE AROUND AND WRITE IN MY DIARY ABOUT ALL MY ANGST!!!"

There was a silence. Hunk's jaw was dropped, and you were just stuck in the position of being held by Coran.

After all that, you responded, "'Kay, depression cured, I'll be in the hanger at 5:00." You then casually exited the room. Coran twirled the end of his mustache in a satisfied way.

"How did—" Hunk was appalled.

"Oh, you know! Teenagers, I had to deal with Allura's rebellion once ago."

"Wow."

Hey, you survived 18 years without him. Surely, you could survive this. Besides, he's probably not emotionally unstable right now. You had to be strong for him. You know he would for you.

Meanwhile, with Keith, he was stress-sharpening some forks. The leader, Kolivan, saw what he was doing.

". . .Why?" was all he asked.

"What if the Galra already got her??" Keith panicked. "It'd be all my fault—"

"Wait, is this about that new girl?" he wondered. "Hmm. . .I see."

"See what?"

"This is some unrequited love kind of chiz," Kolivan declared.

". . ." Keith was silent. He only looked down, letting his hood cover his expression.

"I won't have it," he ordered. "These missions are far too important to let a silly thing like a crush get in the way of thinking clearly."

Keith clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"From now on, you won't think about her or anything that happened before this. Get your head in the game, Keith." With that being said, he left Keith to his own devices.

He's right. I can't let my emotions distract me. He then lifted his head, opening his eyes. It was time to get serious. Still, there was a part of him that couldn't let go. However, he had a plan. . .

Keith stood up and enabled his mask which was apart of the uniform. It was time to plan for the next mission.

During this time, you were standing outside the hangar. You knew the Red Lion wouldn't pick you, so what was the point? No matter how much you resisted, they wouldn't let you bail out.

Eventually, they did arrive. All of them seemed to be hiding their nervousness though.

"Alright, let's get this over with," you huffed.

"I'll go first," said Allura. She walked up to the Lion—but it didn't let her in. "Rude. . ." she mumbled before heading back to her spot.

"Well, uh—Coran?" Shiro chuckled.

Same thing happened with Coran. It refused his entrance. Coran kicked it out of spite—which obviously didn't help. You tried stalling the whole time, wanting your turn to never happen. You even made the Space Mice try it out—but it didn't work for anyone.

At last, Shiro said it was your time to shine. Oh, boy.

"Uhhh, let's think about this for a sec—"

But Pidge interrupted you, "OMG, IMAGINE (Y/N) PILOTING KEITH'S LION—THAT'S LIKE, SO SHIP-WORTHY!!"

You facepalmed. "Please, no."

"Why are you so upset about this?" Shiro wondered.

"BECAUSE—Ahem, I mean, because I don't know how to be a Paladin! I can't even fly or—"

Shiro once again placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. Oh, joy. "The Lion will know." He smiled.

Ugh. You were really starting to hate his "pep talks". You pulled back and finally agreed.

"Fine, but only this once. If it rejects me, you're out of luck." You sneered and ambled over to the opening of the ship. When you came close, the door automatically opened. Hopefully, that didn't mean anything. . .

Coming inside, you held your nose. It reeked of Keith. "Ugh, how much Axe does he pour on?" You looked around the cockpit, observing all the different buttons and features. You hesitantly sat down in the seat, hoping for nothing to happen.

But that's when the lights from the control panel flashed on. The Red Lion came to life, opening its eyes and standing on its robotic feet. You were freaking out—what did this mean? Were you. . .chosen?

"Nope, nope, nope—" you repeated as you anxiously exited.

"You're—You're it's Paladin!" Pidge put together. "It chose you!"

"I can see why, she's just like Keith—only more vicious," Lance jokingly whispered to Allura, which only made her elbow him.

You tried putting an end to this. "NO, I am NOT its Paladin! I don't care if it's my destiny or whatever! This is BOGUS."

"Aw, come on! It's not that bad—"

"NO." You absolutely refused. After that, you stormed into your room and locked the door—giving yourself some time to think.

You sat there for some time, clinging your knees to your chest. Why did Keith have to join that Blade of Marmalade or whatever they're called? Everything was okay when he was still a Paladin. . .

Please come back, you thought as you gazed out the window in a trance. Please.