"Hey, Keith."

Keith glanced up as Shiro dropped down in a library seat next to him. "Hey."

"So... I was thinking that your jacket is pretty much shot."

"It's not too bad."

Shiro handed him a package. "It was the only red one that they had," he said embarrassedly, "It's a half jacket, though..."

Keith pulled out the soft red and white jacket, slipping it over his shoulders. It was big on him- the sleeves went way over his hands, and despite it being a half jacket, it still covered most of his upper body.

Shiro went a mortified red. "I'm sorry- I completely guessed on the size, we can go back and—"

"No." Keith retracted his scarred hands into the jacket sleeves, hiding them completely from sight without stretching the fabric awkwardly. It was almost like a blanket, the thought of which made him want to take a nap. "I like it."

Shiro smiled. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. And I'll grow into it. Eventually." Already, some of the girls in his flight group had surpassed him in height, towering over him. He had to look up to look them in the eye. "It's better to have a big jacket now then to have to get a new one later."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Keith rubbed at his eyes, which were drooping shut despite his best effort. "How come you're here and not at training?"

"Day off. You've got study hall right now?"

"Yeah. Gym next."

"Are you feeling up for it? Your lungs haven't been giving you trouble?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

The bell rang, and Keith slipped out of the jacket, packing it neatly in his bag. "Bye, Shiro!"

"If you want, I'll take you on a hoverbike ride after school."

"I do want," Keith said immediately, shouldering his bag.

"Alright, then. Meet me back here, okay?"

"Okay!"

Keith felt like he was floating his way towards the gym, his tiredness gone, replaced by excitement. He'd get to ride across the desert again, wild and free. He'd thought that it would be far too long before he ever got to, because of the doctor's restrictions, but...

He ducked into a bathroom stall to change before slipping into line with the other cadets, hoping that no one would notice his absence from the locker room. No one had, to his relief, and the coach set them on the treadmills.

Keith glanced at the speed of his treadmill, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead. Six. Just like it had been before the attack. So why was it making him so much more out of breath than before?

Guess I'm out of shape from not exercising after the fire, he thought ruefully, his breath coming in short gasps. He coughed, nearly losing step on the treadmill, and the coach was there in an instant.

"Alright, Cadet?"

Keith nodded, gasping in breath, and the coach wandered off, satisfied. Keith rubbed at his chest, and then he started coughing again, wildly and uncontrollably. He fell, and the treadmill slowed to a halt, but not before it had deposited him on the ground, wheezing and coughing. Other treadmills slowed and stopped as the cadets stopped to stare at him.

"-wrong with him?"

"-he okay?"

"Everybody back!" the coach bellowed, "Get back on your treadmills, stop crowding him!"

Keith wheezed, curling up and trying to suck air into his lungs. The coach knelt next to him. "Cadet?"

"Something," Keith gasped, "Something- on- my chest—" It was like something was sitting on him, pushing down on his ribcage, some kind of massive creature.

The coach pulled him up into a sitting up position, which did make it easier to breathe- but only a little. "Garret! Go find Takeshi Shirogane and tell him what's happening! Everyone else, keep running! I'm taking Kogane down to the infirmary! Griffin, you're in charge! Don't let anyone slack off!"

The coach scooped Keith up, carrying him easily. Keith managed a weak noise of protest before breaking back out into coughs. He didn't know when they got to the infirmary, but suddenly Dr. Jenny was taking charge.

Guess I won't have that hoverbike ride after all.

Xxx

"Scuse me, Sir?"

Shiro looked up at the nervous cadet in front of him. "Yes?"

"Um- Our coach told me to come and get you- Keith's having trouble breathing, and they took him to the infirmary—"

Shiro leapt out of his seat, flying out the door in an instant, his heart racing. He bolted to the infirmary, and a nurse led him to another room, separated from Keith by a one-way window. Dr. Jenny was with him, checking on his breathing. An icy hand clutched at Shiro's heart. There was an oxygen mask over his face again.

"I thought he was better," he whispered to the air, "I thought—" his hands shook. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Xxx

"Keith?"

Keith looked up at Dr. Jenny. His chest was feeling better- there had been a mist in the oxygen mask this time, and whatever it had been, it had loosened his chest. "Hi," he said softly.

"Keith, this is very important. What happened was very serious, and I need you to answer me completely truthfully. Have you been having any problems breathing lately?"

"I- my chest felt kind of tight the other day..."

"Before or after you saw me?"

"Before. And after."

Dr. Jenny gave a small sigh. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I- I didn't think it was important. And—" Keith turned a bright red. "And I wanted to be in the simulators again," he whispered.

"Keith, listen. What happened today could've gotten very, very bad if your coach hadn't acted so quickly. You could have actually died. If you feel pain like that again, you need to tell someone before—" Dr. Jenny looked up as a nurse handed her a clipboard and she started reading it. Keith's heart sank as her face softened, and she looked up at him. "Keith? Remember how you reacted to the news that you were going to have scars from the burns?"

"Yeah."

"You were very brave. And I'm going to need you to be brave for me again."

Xxx

Shiro watched through the little window as Dr. Jenny talked to Keith. Keith sagged suddenly, as if he'd been punched, and Dr. Jenny said something else, something that looked like an apology. She came out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I think that he'd rather tell you," Dr. Jenny said quietly, holding the door open for Shiro.

Shiro walked quietly in, walking towards a deflated Keith. "Hey, bud. What's going on?"

Keith's shoulders shook slightly. "The tests..." he gulped. "Positive for asthma." He put his head down on his knees and closed his eyes, his shoulders shaking. "The fire..." he broke off with a snuffle.

Shiro felt his heart break in two. "Oh, Keith," he whispered, his voice breaking.

"It happens sometimes," Dr. Jenny said quietly from behind him, "The smoke damages the airways and the lungs, causing the airways to tighten- and produce a mucus that restricts the airways even more. It doesn't happen too often- but often enough that it's a risk."

Shiro followed her out of the room into the small watching area. "Is there anything you can do for him?"

Dr. Jenny rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We can try to ensure that he lives as normal a life as possible. We'll get an inhaler with medication- I'll give one to you, one to him. And you two should set up a plan of notification- just in case he gets an attack while he's alone."

Shiro glanced through the window. Keith was still curled with his knees to his chest and his head down. He looked... small. And vulnerable. "Is it going to affect his role in the Garrison much?"

"I'm not sure. Asthma can be mostly controlled due to the technology we have in this day and age, so I wouldn't worry too much. He's a bright and mature student from what I've seen, and while I'm sure that this will bring change in his routine, he'll be alright."

Shiro suspected that Dr. Jenny was stretching the truth a little- even if technology had come far, a notification system wouldn't be necessary if the situation weren't serious. But he appreciated that she didn't want him to worry about Keith's chances. After all, she was only a doctor, and had no say whatsoever in the Garrison's decisions- there was no need to make Shiro worry more by telling him facts that she didn't know for certain.

"Thank you."

Her cheeks dimpled. "He's a good kid, even if he messes up sometimes. You take good care of him, okay? I need to get going- we're working on his medication, and I'm trying to figure out dosages. Call me if anything goes wrong. We'll be keeping him overnight again, but if there's no other complications, we'll release him tomorrow."

She headed back down the hallway, and Shiro went back in the room. "Hey."

"Hey," Keith snuffled, "What did she say?"

"You'll have an inhaler."

"Right."

"It's going to be okay."

"Yeah. Sure." Keith was quiet for a moment. "Does this mean that I can't go on hoverbike rides anymore?"

"No," Shiro assured him quickly, "No, you can, we'll just have to be more careful is all."

"And... the simulators? And gym class?"

"Same, I think. Dr. Jenny suggested that we find a way to contact each other if you have another attack like the one today while you're alone."

"I'll message you."

"Keith, today, in gym, would you have been able to message me if the coach hadn't been there?"

Keith sighed. "No."

"It's okay to rely on someone, Keith. You can trust me."

"What do you want to do about it?"

Shiro hesitated. "I don't know. I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay." Keith curled his knees to his chest. "Shiro, am I going to fail out because of all of this? I mean, I'm missing a lot of class, and—"

"You're not going to fail out for injuries," Shiro promised, "They'll take it into account." His nose crinkled. "Of course, if you don't do your homework..."

"I've been doing it!

Xxx

Keith yawned as light shone in through the hospital windows and immediately panicked. It's too late- school will have started by now, and his name, marked with absent, unexcused, will be flashing up in the attendance records.

Ralph the nurse came in, and Keith jumped on the familiar face.

"What about school?" he blurted.

"Doctor's note. You're excused. Dr. Jenny wants to talk to you, and then Takashi Shirogane. Don't worry about it, cadet."

Keith felt his heart rate settle down, and he nodded. "Okay."

Ralph set a tray down. "Breakfast, and no skipping for cookies this time."

Keith felt the ghost of a smile twitch at his lips. "Yes, Sir." He wished he had more of those cookies, but they were gone now. They'd been delicious. He wolfed down the Garrison breakfast, and then Dr. Jenny walked in, giving him a smile.

"How are you feeling, Keith."

"Better."

"Breathing?"

"Normal."

"No chest tightness?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Okay. Well, we picked the best fit for your medication- as far as we could figure. The Garrison won't let us have your genetic files to find the best match possible, for some reason—"

I'll bet, Keith thought.

"—but this will work well, hopefully." Dr. Jenny handed him an inhaler, and Keith gave it a small frown, wishing that he didn't need it. "Do you know how and when to use one of these?"

Keith shook his head, and Dr. Jenny gave him a tutorial. Once she was done, she gave him a small smile.

"Takashi Shirogane will be here in a minute, and then you'll be free to go to your remaining classes."

She bumped into Shiro on her way out, and apologized before sliding out to give the two of them privacy. Shiro managed an awkward smile. "Hey, Keith. You doing okay?"

Tightness on his chest.

Not being able to breathe.

Coughing and wheezing, but getting as much air as he had in the fire.

Keith shook his thoughts away. That had been yesterday. Today, he could breathe. "I'm okay."

"Look, so, I was researching last night, and I found this thing- it's called invisawear. Basically, it's a charm- you can wear it on a bracelet, and don't worry, they've made ones for guys, so they're not all girly if that bothers you. But basically, you just double click the charm, and it'll send out an alert and a GPS location. We can connect it to my watch, so I'll always know when you're in trouble. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds okay. So- if I get an attack at night, or when no one's around- I just click it?"

"Exactly. Or if you're in any other kind of trouble."

"Like what?"

Shiro shrugged. "If you're in another fire, or you get stuck somewhere. It's just in case. Hopefully, we won't ever need to use it. If you're okay with the idea, I'll go ahead and order it."

"Yeah, okay. Sounds good."

"Alright," Shiro says cheerfully, "I'm glad you're doing okay. I got scared yesterday- but it's okay now. You have to go to class, right?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah. I'll go get changed and get moving." Keith moved towards the door, and hesitated. "Thank you."

Shiro looked up in surprise. "For what?"

"For not giving up on me," Keith replied quietly, "Thank you for sticking around."

Shiro smiled at him. "Keith, I will never give up on you."