phaltu:

“You’ve said that eighty times already,” the prisoner beside him near-sobs in frustration. “Please stop. I get it.”

Keith heaves a long, world-weary sigh, and continues plucking at the small plants growing through the cracks of their damp cell. He’s been in here for a grand total of maybe three hours, and it’s more the boredom getting to him than anything.

Keith drew the short straw when it came to being bait for the jailbreak they’re about to follow through with on a Galran prison block on an isolated planet. It’s not a taxing job; the Galra general that runs this planet seems to have stumbled upon the job and hasn’t quite figured out how to leave yet. But Keith had to get captured, had to get knocked around and bait the guards long enough for Pidge and Shiro to sneak in.

Getting thrown into a cell hadn’t been part of the plan, but had been accounted for, so Keith’s not worried about not breaking free. He’s under strict orders by the team collectively that he’s not exactly needed, so if he gets caught, he can chill out for a moment.

If anything, his escape will serve as a measuring stick for whether they’ve gotten everyone out or not. He wonders if Shiro will be dramatic about rescuing Keith; he kind of hopes he will, hopes he’ll swoop in like a knight in dirt-stained armour. Keith thinks that he’ll give Shiro an exaggerated, wet kiss as a thank you, just to embarrass him.

“You told me I looked like I need to open up,” Keith accuses his cellmate. They look like a Yupper, but talk with the smooth rich accent of an Altean.

“I said you looked like you needed to be opened up,” The prisoner groans, burying their head in four of their hands. “I was trying to threaten you.”

“Oh,” Keith blinks, and then shrugs. “Don’t.”

The prisoner gives him an incredulous look, and Keith raises an eyebrow. He shifts a little, and pulls out the hilt of his mother’s knife from his boot. The guard’s hadn’t been able to find it, too distracted by the fight he had put up while they tried to search him. The prisoner’s eyes catch the purple gem in the middle, and their eyes widen.

“Alright,” They say quietly, and turn so that they’re facing the cell door instead of Keith. “Okay. Tell me more about this Shiro.”