(( Angst warning? I think?

*kicks over the family tea*

sHIT!!!))

Allura put on her satin silk robe while heading toward the door, her slippers making noise on the expensive flooring. Even that early in the morning, she had to answer the door.

Lotor was still in bed, though he'd barely woken up from the doorbell.

She pulled the door open, her eyes widening when she saw James standing there. A genuinely confused expression came across her face as she looked down and saw a suitcase.

" James? What are you doing here?" She asked, folding her arms and closing her robe completely. After all, she usually wore skimpy stuff to bed when she wanted Lotor's attention.

" Well... funny story." James chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. " I got Keith to my house... and we had a great time... but he left in the middle of the night and his short friend called the cops on me. I took all the photos out of my house and left with some clothes... but I was wondering if you'd let me crash here for a couple days until it's safe for me to be in public?"

Allura listened and decided that there shouldn't have been much of an issue with that. Lotor would understand if she had a friend over, right?

" Yeah. Come in." She stepped aside and opened the door wider. Was letting him in illegal? Yeah, probably. But still. They were in this together, and James had been there for her, so she'd be there for him.

James looked around the inside of Allura's house, seeing it was very aesthetically pleasing. She must've cleaned it to keep it tidy and neat. Most of the color scheme was beige or white, and it had a very calming feel to it.

" Thank you." James said. By then he had put on a hoodie and jeans, as well as some Birks and Nike socks. Simple and fast, and perfect for getting out of the house before the cops could come.

Allura was about to show James back to the guest room, but then there were footsteps coming from down the hall. James perked up, but then remembered Allura had a boyfriend. Right.

" Allura?" Lotor asked, rounding the corner and standing before them. " What's going on?"

Allura looked between the two and laughed a little.

" Lotor, this is James. He's a friend of mine who's going to be staying with us for a bit." She explained, then broke into a nervous sweat. Lotor couldn't know that she helped James with the pictures, and come morning she was sure Lotor would see them with the rest of the internet.

" Oh." Lotor said, looking over. Another alpha? Yeah, clearly from the scent he had. " I wasn't aware you had plans." He chuckled and shook his head. " Forgive me, I'm Lotor, and it's nice to meet you." He extended a hand to shake James'. The other returned the gesture with a light smile.

" Good to meet you, too."

Allura felt awkward for whatever reason, like there was the tiniest bit of tension between the alphas.

" Well... James. Is there anything you'd like before I show you to your room? You are welcome to anything in the kitchen." Allura asked, smiling.

James went ahead and told her he was fine, and was soon taken back toward the guest room. Allura took him to the doorway, Lotor following behind.

" Everything should be here. Let us know if you need anything." Allura told James, who thanked her again and went inside. He set his suitcase down and was just ready for some much needed sleep.

Allura closed the door and turned back to Lotor, who embraced her. He seemed more touchy than usual.

" Something wrong?" Allura asked quietly.

Lotor kept an arm around her while guiding the omega back toward the bedroom.

" No, my darling. Just, my inner alpha being silly." Lotor shook his head and leaned down, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Allura let her manicured hand slide up his chest, which was covered by a t-shirt.

Allura was confused only at first before getting what the other meant.

" He's just a friend." She told him.

" I know... I know. But you know how my instincts get sometimes." Lotor justified. Being an alpha was honestly so hard. Every gender had its downfall, but for the alphas, self control and anger management posed the biggest problem of them all.

Allura nodded.

" You have nothing to worry about. I love you. Only you." She told him and leaned into his chest, and Lotor of course held her closer without a doubt in the world.

After all... Allura wouldn't lie to him, right?

...

" Romelle, quit running before you hurt yourself."

" But Keith-"

" Keith isn't going anywhere, honey. You don't need to get all worked up before we see him. I'm sure he's been through enough already..." Krolia put her hand on Romelle's shoulder and pulled her back. The blonde girl had such a tendency for anxiousness and Krolia tasked herself with keeping her daughter calm.

They wouldn't be of any help to Keith if they were just nervous wrecks and angry hotheads.

" Okay..." Romelle took a deep breath and they arrived in front of Keith's room in the hospital. Krolia really didn't know how she herself wasn't throwing a fit, but Keith was still her baby in her heart. She didn't want to do anything that could make him more upset. And the same went for Kolivan, who was behind her and had been told to keep his anger in check.

Keith wasn't the one they were mad at, and they had to remember that.

Romelle knocked on the door and Pidge came over to pull it open. Keith was back in the room by then, just barely awake. He would've been sleeping long ago had it not been for the anxiety keeping him up.

Keith looked up groggily and saw his family coming in. He was in a hospital gown and they'd taken the lingerie for evidence purposes.

" Keith... hey." Romelle approached the bed with a quivering lip. Even though they were adoptive siblings, she treated him like a full blood brother. They had become so close throughout high school that no one would've guessed they weren't actually related.

Keith wanted to say something, but he struggled to even open his mouth to speak. It wasn't like that part of him was physically hurt, but something was blocking him.

Romelle sniffled and reached down to hug Keith, Pidge got up like she was going to stop her, but Keith didn't freak out. That came as a relief.

Keith managed to reach his hands behind her and hug back, his face blank. It was really impossible to distinguish what he was feeling.

Krolia watched her son in shock. It was so unlike him to not talk at all. Well- when he went through that emo phase in high school he rarely spoke, but this was different. This was serious.

Krolia and Kolivan circled around to stand at Keith's bedside, Krolia grabbing her son's hand. It was easy to say she treasured her son. After all, she was a female alpha. Her chances of getting pregnant in the first place were low, so Keith was her little miracle. Even if his father had passed, she still had him.

But someone had hurt him.

" Keith... it's mom." She rubbed her thumb on Keith's palm soothingly and tried to keep herself in check. She wanted to wring the neck of anyone who'd let this happen. " We love you. Don't force yourself to talk if you don't think you can... we'll be here."

Kolivan folded his arms and looked down at the omega in the bed. He and Krolia had been together for years, and it was definitely true that he had started to see Keith and Romelle as his children. Blood didn't matter. They were a family.

After a while, they all pulled up chairs. Well, besides Kolivan. He kept standing.

" The test takes 24 to 72 hours to yield results..." Pidge told Krolia. " The police also came by for statements... but... Keith couldn't talk to them."

" Wait... then would they even be able to put out a warrant for James' arrest?" Krolia asked.

" They have a warrant to find him and question him... but they can't charge him with anything until Keith can... you know... say it." Pidge swallowed and turned to her friend somberly.

Keith just pulled the covers over himself and struggled to roll on his side. They'd given him some pain medicine through his IV but it didn't make it go away completely.

He wanted Lance to be there, needed someone to hold him. A hug from his sister wasn't the same as an embrace from his alpha, as much as he would've liked that comfort right then.

...

Lance hated himself. He hated himself while packing his bags, booking his flight, sitting in his seat. He hated himself when the plane took off and still as it landed. And the whole drive to the hospital only made it worse.

He'd left.

Keith had been... something he wouldn't even allow himself to say. He'd let down his omega, let someone else get their hands on him.

He knew for a fact Keith was going to hate him and probably never want to talk to him ever again. And that was worse than any nudes leaking ever could've felt. Lance would've rather let the whole world look at him everywhere with a magnifying glass than have that happen to Keith.

" I'd take your place if I c-could..." Lance sniffled as he pulled up in the hospital parking garage. He'd had to take an Uber there and after he paid, he got out. Running was pretty much his only option. His alpha instincts felt like they were beating him with a crowbar and his emotions were a mess. Seeing Keith was necessary for him not to go insane.

After figuring out where Keith's room was, Lance rushed up the stairs, having skipped the elevator. He ran down the hall and his heels skidded as he arrived at Keith's door. It was cracked open, Lance wiping his eyes before slowly pushing it open. He figured he didn't have to knock.

" Lance!" Hunk exclaimed, getting up and going over to him. It wasn't long at all before he and Pidge both were hugging their friend. Lance was shaking as he tried so hard to stop crying.

" He's alright. He's here and safe now." Pidge assured him. Lance nodded and they pulled away.

Keith pulled the blankets away and made eye contact with his boyfriend. Once he saw tears in Lance's eyes they began to gather in his own as well.

They stared at each other for another moment before Lance couldn't take it anymore and rushed over to him. He buried his face by Keith and cried, his arms hesitantly sliding around the omega. He wanted to just squeeze him and kiss him and tell him everything would be alright, but judging from the look on Keith's face, he couldn't right then.

Keith felt himself slipping by Lance's neck, hiding in the alpha's scent gland and shaking. Something about Lance's scent was setting him off, making him cry again.

The omega's arms were around Lance as well as he shed tears. The alpha seemed to be crying harder than he himself was, but it was hard to keep track amidst all the sniffles.

Lance choked up.

" I'm s-so sorry I wasn't here f-for you..." He sobbed. The reason as to why Keith was at James' was still untold to Lance, but really in his mind it didn't matter. Ultimately, this happened because he was gone. Plain and simple.

Keith wanted to tell Lance to stop, to shut up. He wanted to apologize as well, but his voice was just not cooperating.

After a couple more minutes, Lance drew back from Keith and held his hand by his bedside. He ran his thumb over Keith's palm and went in circles, wanting to do anything to help him.

But that was until Lance realized he hadn't even introduced himself to Keith's family. At least, he assumed that's who they were. His eyes cut over and he saw an alpha woman with Keith's facial structure and funky choice in haircut. Then stood the man who Lance assumed was Keith's step dad or something similar. He was tall enough to make anyone feel short. And then there was a blonde girl sitting opposite from him at Keith's bedside. Keith's sister, probably.

Lance cleared his throat.

" So... I'm Lance, by the way. Sorry we had to meet like this." He told them all.

Kolivan's eyebrow twitched. He was already irritated with Lance for letting this happen.

" I'm Romelle, Keith's sister. He's talked so much about you." Romelle said, trying to muster a smile. To think she'd been so excited to meet Lance, yet it had happened after something so tragic. " That's our mom, Krolia to you. And Kolivan is her husband." She gestured.

Lance looked at all three of them and seemed to be paying close attention. Those were names he absolutely could never forget.

Keith sat there and watched the exchange with a quivering lip. He squeezed Lance's hand a little harder.

" Nice to meet you, Lance." Krolia simply said. She glanced at Kolivan and could already smell that he was more angry than usual.

" Maybe we could've saved meeting you for a better occasion if you hadn't left Keith alone." Kolivan said, gritting his teeth. He was having a hard time not blaming Lance for this.

Lance's eyes widened slightly and he stammered, not having any clue what to do. He knew one thing, though. His alpha instincts were pissed.

" Don't-" Romelle tried to tell him.

" What? It's true. If James was really messing with Keith and Lance still left him, it's on him." Kolivan was ready to just go in the hall. He already wasn't having any of this. His practical kid was in a hospital bed because his alpha hadn't been there to protect him.

Lance let go of Keith's hand and clenched his fists. Hunk went over and tried to calm him down.

" Yeah? Well fuck that! Don't put the blame on me when James is the psycho here!" Lance raised his voice.

Keith felt his breathing going shallow as he heard them get louder.

" I don't see where you get off yelling at me you pompous-"

" Kolivan. Stop." Krolia growled at him. " I don't need you getting into a pissing match with someone half your age, not to mention, the boy Keith is with."

Keith closed his eyes and struggled to get a grip on himself, and Hunk backed off of Lance once he was sure the other was fine.

" Tch. Fine. I'm going to grab a pop." Kolivan left into the hall.

Lance looked back at his omega and slumped down by him. He felt like such a terrible boyfriend, felt like it really was all his fault. If he wouldn't have gone... Keith wouldn't have been in that situation.

Pidge got up from her seat.

" Uh... I know this isn't really my place, but I think it would be best if we gave Lance and Keith a couple minutes alone." She said.

Krolia looked at her son, then at Lance. The Cuban male was crying by Keith's pillow and whimpering by then and she knew Pidge was right. Though Krolia may not have known much about their relationship, she could tell it was strong.

" C'mon, Romelle. We can take a walk." Krolia told her, then took her daughter into the hall. Pidge and Hunk were quick to follow.

Lance peeled his face back from the sheets once he felt something on the top of his head. Keith's hand had slid into his hair, stroking it as if to tell him to stop crying.

" I'm so sorry, KitKat... I'm such a fuck up." Lance sniffled. He had to admit, he was starting to wonder why the pictures were leaked after Keith was taken from James'. He had questions swirling in his head about what James had done to Keith and everything that had gone down. But still. He wouldn't ask. He'd already let it happen to him, and the worst he could do was remind him of it.

Keith really wanted to tell him that he was okay, but he shook as he tried to open his mouth. He only shook his head and pulled Lance closer.

'Stay... just stay...' Keith thought to himself. 'I love you.'

Lance nestled by Keith's neck as he stayed half draped over the hospital bed. His scent gland was tingling as he stayed close to him, almost ordering him to comfort his omega.

" I'll never leave again... I swear. I love you so much and we're going to figure this out." Lance whimpered. " Together."

(( They don't deserve this ;-; ))