Things were getting a bit complicated.

And no, it wasn't the type of complicated that meant the Galra had infiltrated the castle and killed everyone here, so they could proceed to steal our lions and rule over the entire galaxy. No, this was something way worse. Something that I would much rather NOT have to deal with.

A… Crush.

Yeah, it was weird for me to say and even weirder for me to admit. But there you go. I, Katie Holt/Pidge Gunderson, had a crush. And it was driving me insane every single second I spent awake. Why? Because the guy I liked was around all of the time. And I know what you're thinking; I thought it too. Aren't you a lesbian?

See, I was perfectly content with being a lesbian. Allura was a goddess that no one really deserved (yet literally everyone pined over anyways). It was fine. There were no serious romantic feelings in my life, and I could accept that. But then… I don't know what happened. I just started feeling feelings. My heart would flutter and my face would burn up at even a brush of physical contact. My hands would get all sweaty and I'd start stuttering and everything. The total package.

Being a lesbian was way easier. I couldn't read his actions. I couldn't tell when he was genuinely flirting with someone or when he was just trying to boost his own ego. The worst part of it all, though? He never flirted with me.

Lance (yeah, by now I guess I just assumed you knew it was Lance) was the biggest flirt I had ever met. He told me once, when he was very tired, that he only did it to boost his own confidence and put on an 'I know what I'm doing even though I secretly don't' appearance. Half of the time, his flirting was more for himself. But when was it real? Who do I compare myself to?

It's hard to compare myself to these alien girls when he won't even look at me like anything other than his friend Pidge.

Why did I have to meet him that way? Would it be differently if I looked like old me? Like Katie. Pidge easily passed for a male; Pidge was rude and snarky and belittled him a lot more than necessary. Katie was obviously female; she was quieter and funnier and liked to relax and talk about space. They were two very different people - and yet, they were both me.

He just never had the opportunity to meet one of them.

Back to the issue at hand, though. I was struggling. The infiltration had been going great; I hacked into their main database and shut down their security so Shiro and Keith could sneak into their mainroom and take out the few head soldiers. Hunk was in his lion, guarding the exit with Coran and Allura while simultaneously messing with the control panel outside of this particular Galra base. It was a simple mission, but the problem. Ugh, the problem.

This all left Lance stuck with me. And I've been unnaturally quiet.

It's not like I'm the most talkative person, obviously. He understands that when I'm working, I need complete silence so I can reach absolute perfection. But now? We were in my lion since Allura was currently occupying Blue. She and Lance alternated between Blue while we tried to come up with a more permanent solution. I rarely had to play chaperone for one of the two Blue Paladins, so I made for awful company. I don't really do small talk. Especially with a guy I like a lot more than I should.

Still, despite wanting to throw myself out of my lion and into the deep abyss of space, I spent a lot of time sneaking glances at him and watching him stare intently into space, as though nothing else could break his focus. This lasted for a few minutes before he finally decided to glance over at me, a small smile on that beautiful face of him. I rose an eyebrow at him, shifting a bit in my seat so I could get a better view of him. He was leaning against the wall, looking down at me with his arms crossed.

Far past him smile, I could see a hint of something in his eye. Wistfulness? Hope? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Instead, I just stared at him, cocking my head to the side. "What's up?"

He returned the stare silently, his smile growing smaller. "Just a bit lost in thought I guess. Been awhile since I've actually looked at the stars."

I snickered, gesturing towards the front windows of my lion. "Really? You realize we're constantly surrounded by these things, right? Like- we all have a perfect view of space from our windows in the castle."

He smiled a bit more at that, but it faltered once more after a quick second. i dropped my hand to my lap, my eyebrows instinctively creasing in worry.

"I mean, I know we're always surrounded by all of this super cool stuff that kids dream to see every night- heck, I would dream of it every night for years-! But… After however-many years of being up here, I started taking advantage of it. It isn't nice anymore, you know? It's… Unsettling."

I understood what he was saying more than I was expecting. I can't remember the last time I wanted to stargaze or look for constellations. Still, I stared at him curiously. "Unsettling?"

He offered a small nod, followed by a slight shrug of his shoulders. I watched his expression switch like the seasons- playful, reminiscent, tired, sad. The latter was become more and more common to find spread out on his face, and it made my heart ache every time I saw it. It was always Lance who came to comfort me when I was hurting or homesick. He knew better than anyone how it felt to miss your family members. He had more than anyone here did combine and they were as close as you can get. That didn't stop him from listening to me complain and offering me such genuine pity and sympathy, though. He was genuinely an angel.

After a moment of silence, he let out a small sigh. "The stars used to be everything to me, you know? Like- I'd look up at them and bam, there's my future. It's where I wanted to be for years. And now…? I don't know. I don't feel anything. It was supposed to be a dream come true, but now all I want to do is go back to earth."

He wasn't on the verge of crying. He wasn't seething in frustration. He just spoke slowly, his eyes dazed as he stared down blankly at the control panel. He was obviously exhausted, but I don't think it's just an I-haven't-slept-in-four-days-exhaustion. I think his runs a lot deeper.

I glanced over at him, biting my lip as I considered different ways to comfort him. He was a huge hugger, but I don't think that's what he needs right now. Instead, I gingerly grabbed his hand, the fabric and metal of our suits clashing together in a way that felt natural. He didn't seem shocked or appalled by my action. Instead, he just smiled at our intertwined hands, lacing our fingers together in a way that made my heartbeat pick up.

Stay focused.

"You know…" I considered my words carefully, swallowing the last lump of self-doubt and nervousness down so I could do my best to help him. "When I signed up for the Garrison, my intention was never to go into space. I mean, growing up, Matt and I would always talk about getting to space one day, but… After he disappeared, it became my mission to find him. And that's what space became for me. Like… An endless labyrinth of possible places he could be. And by the time I found him… Space was what it was. Cold. Dark. Lonely. And you can only imagine how disappointed I was when I realized I missed my chance to experience something great."

"I'm… Sor-"

I held up my hand, sending him a stern glare to cut him off. "No, don't apologize. This isn't about me. I just… You aren't alone in all of this, you know? And space is such a huge place- we haven't even scratched the surface. There's somewhere out there that isn't plagued with the Galra empire and death and destruction. A place that will be new for the both of us." I knew I was blushing, but once you start blushing it's really hard to stop. So I just glanced away from him, gritting my teeth when he squeezed my hands because it only made my flustered rush of emotions worse.

"You really think there are places we haven't seen?" He asked, with an energy I could tell he was fighting for. He was tired. He was sad. But he still desperately wanted to hold onto the energy he started this whole thing with. And I wanted him to, too. So I decided not to call him out on it.

"Totally. Tons of galaxies we haven't even seen on the map yet. Just wait- one of these days, somethin' will really blow you away."

"Yeah. I think I'm kind of getting there." He was glancing over at me with the softest eyes and the lightest smile I had ever seen him give anyone. It made my stomach do backflips and my head swarm with loud thoughts that were mostly just me screaming. Whether that look was directed at me or at what I had said, I didn't care. It was already driving me insane.

"Well geez, don't get too far ahead of me here. I want to see the view too."

"I am the view, Pidge."

"Ugh, seriously?" I leaned forward in my seat to shove his arm, my other hand still laced carefully with his. I'm so glad that these gloves hid my sweaty palms,

He laughed, nudging me back with his own free hand. Cool, neither of us chose to release each other's hand. Cool. Coooool.

"Hey, you two, can you quit flirting and meet us back at the castle? We have to go over some stuff." Keith's voice buzzed through the intercoms, and while I was doing my best to keep a straight face, Lance seemed completely unfazed by Keith's comment. In fact, he just rolled his eyes, letting go of my hand so he could hold onto the safety handles of my lion so I could take off. I swallowed a disappoint sigh, pulling on the handle to start Green back up once again.

"I wasn't flirting, Mullet. Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous."

I heard a sound of disgust through the intercom. "Jealous?"

"Yeah. Does the idea of me flirting with Pidge fill our dear Keef with jealousy?" Lance's voice was dripping with a fake sweetness that made even me want to punch him. I did what I could to hide the hurt that was spreading throughout my face as I listened to them. Gotta keep things normal, right?

"Oh, totally." Keith's voice was suddenly very blank and serious, catching both me and Lance off-guard. "Pidge is beautiful. If anything, I'm jealous that of all people, she has a crush on you."

I hate Keith.

(No I don't. He's always making me feel like I'm just as beautiful as Allura. Having a gay friend was literally the best thing.)

"Okaaay, that's enough out of you, Keith. C'mon, Shiro's not gonna let us hear the end of it if we don't hurry up." I desperately clawed at the control panel as if a button that increased the speed or shut out the air around me would suddenly appear and save me from this situation.

But, unfortunately, I could still see Lance's bewildered expression glancing from me to the Red lion that was floating across from us. I hope Keith can see how much I'm suffering right now. I hope he stays up at night with the guilt eating him alive (no I don't).

"I mean- yeah, I guess she is, but dude." Lance broke the silence after a minute, and if I hadn't been repeating what Keith said in fifty different, terrified tones, I might've forgotten what he had said in the first place. I am… Beautiful? Was that what he decided to focus on? I bit my lip to the point it could very well cut in half, my hand gripping the handle of my lion so hard my palms ached. Did he even hear the second part? Maybe he was just being nice for my own sake.

Maybe-

"Don't use poor little Pidge as a way to hide your undeniable feelings for me, Keithy. You're obviously making her uncomfortable-" he gestured towards my very tense frame. I offered a very forced chuckle and an abrupt wave. "-which isn't cool. I get it. You're so in love with me that you have to use one of my best friends as an escape route. That's cool of you to do for him, Pidgeon, but utterly useless. I can see right through it."

Silence followed that. I could already see Keith air-strangling the idiot next to me. I was this close to strangling him myself. Was he being serious? I wanted to believe he was still just pretending for my own pride, but at this point I think he genuinely believes Keith was making it up. I blinked away a few stray tears that he definitely wasn't allowed to see, my hands shaking against the handle. I remained silent, waiting for someone else to break the silence.

No one did. All I heard was a scoff from Keith and a small 'I knew it' from Lance. I sucked my lips in to the point it made my teeth ache, but I didn't release them. Neither of us said anything as I slowly parked my lion outside of the castle, watching sullenly as Keith's lion did the same. I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't mad at anyone, in all honesty. I wasn't even surprised by the situation I had just been thrown into. Of course the idea of flirting with me or the idea of me harboring romantic feelings was a joke to him. Why wouldn't it be? When have I ever shown interest in anything besides technology?

After ensuring that we were within safe breathing range, I dropped open the exit. He had been staring at me since we landed, but he hadn't said anything. Maybe he was waiting for me to crack first. I didn't give him the satisfaction. I pulled myself out of my chair and pushed my way past him, nudging into his torso to make room. What do I feel right now? Embarrassment? Relief? It was a relief; knowing that he didn't know about my feelings. But it was also disappointing. I thought it was finally out in the open. That maybe I wouldn't have to keep it to myself.

But it was still a secret. Still a joke shared between my friends.

Still tearing me up inside.

Lance's POV

It had been two weeks (probably? Keeping track of the days while trapped in a never-ending war with an alien race was hard) since the incident in Pidge's lion. It had been two weeks since I'd seen her directly smile at me or talk to me outside of missions. And, honestly? It was weird. I don't like the feeling I get when I think about it.

So I spent two weeks trying not to think about it.

I tried to act like everything was normal. Like Keith hadn't just attempted to put Pidge on the spot like that. Keith's a good guy, I knew better than to think less of him for what he did. He probably had no idea the words were coming out of his mouth until it was too late. But it still happened, and now things between Pidge and I were really awkward.

Honestly, I don't know what to make of the entire situation. Pidge was really beautiful, but in a way that was different than Allura or the other girls I've tried to flirt with. She didn't have some hourglass figure or long, wavy hair. Her skin wasn't an exotic color and her clothing style was pretty simple. But she was anything but plain. Her frame was small, but she had freckles that littered her pale skin in a way I've never seen before. They were darker in the sunlight and spread faintly down her legs, arms, and torso. Her hair was usually a matted mess, but when she let me brush it, I found out it was pretty soft and curly. Curly. It curls when she decides to brush it. That's adorable? And her eyes, man- they were golden. Like the color of the sand from Varadero.

Keith hadn't been wrong; she was beautiful. And maybe I was starting to notice every little thing about her more and more. But she had been my friend for years now- almost as long as Hunk has- and I knew better than to try and screw everything up. She was a 4'8 beauty who seemed far out of my league. She was cute, smart, and stubborn to the point it was crazy admirable. She literally went to space just to find her missing brother. One time, I lost my brother in a Wal-Mart and all I did was leave a sign on the exit telling him I went home.

She was a better person than me, there was no doubt about that. I did my best to remain positive about the Blue lion situation, but truthfully, I was sick and tired of having to share Blue. It was way too selfish of me to bring that up to the others, but it wasn't a feeling that I saw disappearing anytime soon. Blue was my lion first, I found her and bonded with her. And, yeah, I connected with Red and still loved her, but Blue was really special and sharing her with Allura didn't feel right. Why couldn't she just return to the castle with Coran?

There I go again. See, selfish thoughts. Pidge was always willing to do what the team told her, save for a few times her determination to find Matt got in the way. She learned to be a team-player after years of playing it solo, where it was the complete opposite for me. I was becoming less and less of a teamwork person and more reclusive.

She was a significantly better person than me, even if she would never admit it. Okay, no, she would totally agree if I said it out-loud, but she wouldn't genuinely mean it. Her sense of humor was almost as dry as Keith's.

Speaking of Keith.

I could hear him walking down the hall as I lied upside down on the couch in the mainroom, ignoring the dizziness that was beginning to catch up from the rush of blood and movement to my head. After growing up with seven siblings and even more cousins, you learned to memorize the sound of footsteps. Keith walked pretty quietly, but his boots were heavy enough to recognize. Hunk always had a small bounce in his step, and he was definitely louder than Keith. Shiro practically marched; it sounded like a military drill. Coran skidded everywhere, Allura was almost silent, and Pidge was small taps against the cold tile, usually from forgetting to put her shoes on. When she did have her shoes on, she kind of dragged her feet. When it was just her socks, she slid a bit (on purpose) and it was really cute.

Yeah, so, Pidge has been on my mind a lot. That's no big deal. I mean, it was obvious that she was a really cute person. Hunk thought he was gay when we met her as a guy (he's over his feelings for her now, luckily) and Allura was always praising Pidge's hair and freckles. Anyone in the castle could go on and on about Pidge. We'd all do whatever we could to protect her.

"Keith, hey!" I heard my voice destroy the silence of the empty room. The sound was followed by his footsteps ceasing, then continue after a moment. "Keith, hey, buddy!"

I scrambled off the couch, hissing in pain when my shin slammed against the arm of the long couch, jumping on one leg as I continued to race towards the hall before he could get too far away. I saw his shoulders slump in defeat when my loud bouncing echoed through the halls and my hand slammed onto his shoulder. "My maaan, hey-"

"Just spit it out, Lance. I'm on my way to the training room."

"You're literally always on your way to the training room."

"Is this all you wanted? To harass me about how much I train-"

"Nonononono!" I dropped my hands onto his shoulders, staring down at the ground while I tried to gather my thoughts together. He was the closest to Pidge out of everyone here, and he was the one who hinted at the idea of her actually liking me. He just… Wasn't the easiest to have one-on-one conversations with. I will never tell him this, but he can be really intimidating.

"It's about Pidge." I mumbled, and I could feel his shoulders relax a bit at the mention of her name and the topic change, and I could see his eyebrow quirk in question from the corner of my eye. I reluctantly looked up at him, biting my lip as the words struggled to leave my lips in fear of a reaction I wouldn't like. "I won't sugarcoat it, okay? I like her. A lot. And ever since that day in her lion- when you said she had a crush on me- she's been avoiding me nonstop. It's driving me crazy because the more she does it the more my feelings grow and it's driving me insane and-"

"Lance- breathe." Keith was staring at me with soft eyes, brushing my hands off of his shoulders as I rambled to the point my voice was drifting off from lack of air. I took a small breath, following along with his breathing. My heart was still pounding and I was still close to crying in frustration from really missing her, but at least I could breathe.

After a minute of catching my breath, Keith cocked his head to the side. "So… You have feelings for Pidge?"

"Yep. Just covered that."

"I've never seen you flirt with her though. You've flirted with Allura, me, Hunk, a ton of alien girls and guys, a few aliens that I don't think have an assigned gender… But never Pidge."

"Yeah. Yeah- uh- I just… Like her a lot? And I feel like she deserves better than my stupid pick-up lines that she's probably heard me use on all the people you listed." I felt my stomach twist in guilt at the realization that I've literally never shown any interest in her despite always finding her a sight to behold. It was always Allura or Keith. It was more of a joke between all of us than anything.

One Pidge hadn't been involved in. That only made the guilt dig deeper into my gut. Man, that's not just a crappy move by someone who likes her. It's a crappy move as a friend.

Keith was smiling, though. As if I said something extremely philosophical and important. I rose an eyebrow at him, taking a small step back. "Uh- Keith-?"

He shook his head, the smile still plastered on his lips. "Sorry, sorry. I just… I know Pidge would have liked to been the one to hear that from you first."

"So you weren't lying back then? She actually has a crush on me?"

He shook his head, the smile dropping from his face almost instantly. I licked my lips nervously, taking another step back when his expression became a lot more serious than I had anticipated.

"I don't know. I'm not Pidge, Lance. You'd have to talk to her about this for yourself."

I groaned, leaning against the hallway wall in exhaustion. The idea of talking to her offered me mixed feelings: on one hand, I was ecstatic at the thought of hearing her voice directed towards me again, but on the other hand, I was extremely nervous to bring this up to her. Especially if her feelings were gone. Or never there in the first place.

"I hate when you're right, mullet."

"You must hate things a lot, then."

"That was an awful comeback."

"Just go talk to Pidge," he sighed, crossing his arms tightly against his chest. I could tell he was tired of talking, and I couldn't blame him. Whenever he went to train, it was usually because he wanted to gather up whatever energy was left. He was basically a zombie before his regularly scheduled training time. I returned the sigh a lot more dramatically, leaning my back against the wall.

"I don't even know where she is, remember? She's been avoiding me." I hated saying that out-loud. It didn't feel right. It hurt. I fought back the feeling that shot through my body when I said it, pushing myself off of the wall so I could stand up straight. Keith bit the inside of his cheek, a common action from him when he was trying to remember something. Honestly, being the only person here who had so many siblings came with a lot of perks. It was really easy to read everyone.

"I think I saw her go into the simulation room not too long ago. She might still be in there." He spoke quietly, pointing to the room that was only a few doors down. I was kind of hoping it would be a bit of a trip to get to her so that way I could rehearse everything in my head instead of diving head-first into it. Oh well.

I offered him a small, appreciative nod, which he returned. Before pushing past me, he clapped his hand onto my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance. "It's going to be fine. She misses you, too."

That's all it took for me to gather the strength to walk the twenty steps towards the simulation room door, taking a shaky breath as my palm pressed against the side-panel, allowing me access into the room.

It's now or never, Mcclain.

Pidge's POV

The simulation room was good for a lot of things. Getting a good view of the landscape around the castle after receiving information from the database, getting a small glimpse of what Altea had looked like in its glory day. Those are prime examples of when it comes in handy.

But right now? It was an escape. Right now, I was being embraced by the sweet smell of bread baking and the cozy scent of Tiramisu, two common smells from my family's old restaurant in Italy before we moved to the US. I was lying in a rickety bed in an attic of a brick house in my cluttered town of Bergamo, Italy.

I haven't lived in Italy for about eight years now (if I've been keeping up with my makeshift earth calendar), but it had been on my mind a lot. We moved when I was eight years old so Matt could get a better chance at achieving his dream of joining the Garrison. We left the small bakery we owned to mia nonna. I haven't been back since, but I remember being absolutely in love with the view from my window, which is what I was staring at now. The tall buildings and mountains felt so real to my eyes, but every time I reached for them, they seemed farther and farther away.

I heard the door to the simulation door softly whir to life, a tall figure creating a long shadow across my room. I could already tell who it was by the silhouette, so I remained silent. I wanted to say hi. To shut this stupid simulation off before I embarrassed myself with my homesick wanderlust I had going on here. But I just kept lying on my back, staring out the window at the fake scenery that made my heart burn in desire. A desire to dash through the streets on my bike and hang out with kids I haven't seen in years.

He didn't say anything as he stood behind the wall of simulation, as though asking for my permission to walk through it. I continued to remain silent, resting my hand on my stomach as my gaze remained transfixed on the sight in front of me. I wanted to look over at him and have things go back to normal, but between being homesick and wishing that I was over him, I was having a bit of trouble talking.

Thankfully, he took my silence as my blessing to walk through, making the simulation fuzz a bit at the sudden contact before quickly regaining the highly saturated and detailed image of my old hometown. He silently took a seat next to me, his eyes glancing around the image in wonder. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't. I scooted over a bit, giving us a decent amount of space so he could sit comfortably. Don't let things be like this the entire time, Pidge. Come on.

"This is where I grew up. Well, kind of. I lived in Bergamo -that's in Italy- until I was eight. This is my room, actually." I glanced away from the window to peek around my room. There was never anything embarrassing in here. My interests had varied as a child; an old pair of rollerskates sat abanoned in the closet, a baseball mitt was covered with dust on my desk, and dozens of different posters were scattered along my walls. Some of old movies, some of cats, and some of space. Compared to my room back in America, this one was pretty simple.

Still, he was staring at it as though it was the most amazing room he had ever stepped into. "I didn't know you grew up in Italy." He spoke softly, as though speaking any louder would shatter the simulation. "I mean, I knew your mother was Italian, but I didn't know it was such a big part of you."

I shrugged, my fingers latching onto a stray piece of string that was breaking off of my blanket. I twirled it around aimlessly, looking at anything but him as I listened to him talk.

"And that's your hometown, huh? I feel like I've heard of Bergamo-" he copied the Italian accent perfectly, much to my annoyance. "-but I know nothing about it. It kind of reminds me of my home in Trinidad."

"You're… Cuban, right?"

I wasn't looking at him, but I could feel his smile through his movements. "Yep! I lived there up until I was fifteen, actually. I moved to study in the states, too. For the Garrison."

"Do you ever regret it?"

"Regret what?"

I finally looked at him, just barely nodding my head towards him so our eyes could meet. I examined his face carefully, because wow did I miss seeing it, before replying with a small shrug. "Just… Joining the Garrison, I guess."

He rose his eyebrows, clearly surprised by my question. "The Garrison was one of the most prestigious schools out there. Why in the world would I regret it?"

I turned my attention back to the loose thread of fabric, my cheek pressing against my arm and my glasses sitting crooked against my face. "I mean- if you didn't attend the Garrison- you'd be at home. You wouldn't have to worry about your family or whether or not we'll be alive tomorrow."

His body was incredibly tense now, and I felt my face heat up when I realized how stupid that question was. How unfair it was for him. "Sorry-"

"Do you wish we never found out about all of this?" He asked quietly, as though he couldn't hear anything else. "Say five other people were brought to the blue lion instead, and they were just as capable of saving the universe as we were. Would you let them instead?"

I bit my lip, my hand frozen with the thread lying motionlessly in my palm. "Matt-"

"Also assuming that Matt didn't attend the Garrison either. Basically, you're still in Italy, I'm in Cuba, and everyone else is in their hometowns with their family and friends. Would you?" He repeated the question again, and though there was a sense of urgency in his question, he wasn't looking at me. When I snuck a glance at him, I found that his expression was remarkably calm.

"I don't… I don't know. I miss Italy a lot- and my parents. And my dog. But… I've done so many things up here. Things no one could ever possibly imagine."

"I miss my family more than anything. I miss waking up to my siblings fighting. I miss taking care of my baby brother and all of my siblings. I miss walking around the busy streets, saying hi to everyone I passed, even if I didn't know them." This time, he sounded more nostalgic than wistful. Like he was coming to terms with how distant the earth was. He glanced over at me, his head tilted back a bit as he sent a smile that was softer than anything I had ever seen. Softer than any smile I'd ever seen directed at me. I clung tightly to the string in my hand, my breath shaky under his soft stare.

"I want to go home and see their dorky faces more than anything, but…" He stopped, his smile wavering a bit as I returned his stare meekly. I pushed myself up with my other hand so that I could sit across from him. He was a lot closer when I was sitting.

"But…?" I quietly prodded him to continue, crossing my legs over each other so I could rest my elbow on top of them and my cheek in my hand. His smile grew once again, and he inched just a few spots closer to me, despite the fact my bed was pretty big and there was plenty room for him to spread out. I nibbled along the inside of my lip, watching him curiously.

"I think I'd do it again if it met meeting you guys- especially you." He wasn't acting all cocky and arrogant like he did when he said things like that to Allura- no, he said that in a way that felt like silk. I blinked, scanning his face for any sign of a joke, but he seemed serious. I remained silent, my heartbeat the only thing I could hear in the silent room.

"I don't know if what Keith said that day was true, but I do know that I've been thinking about it a lot since it happened, and it's been driving me crazy. Seriously, I'm great at brushing off crushes and throwing around a few flirty comments to lighten the mood, but you make it so difficult, Holt. It's not really fair."

Despite the blush creeping onto my cheeks, I glared at him a bit. "Oh, is that why you've literally never shown any interest in flirting with me?"

He grimaced, his lips twisted in what I thought looked like guilt. I wanted to brush off what I said, but I also wanted an answer. And he seemed ready to give one.

"Kind of, I guess? I don't really know- it was a lame move on my part. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, I guess. I mean, there were a lot of times where I almost lost my willpower. Like that mission where you had to get all dressed up and girly? I vented to Hunk for about a month. And whenever we're out in the sun, because your freckles get a bit darker and it's really pretty against your skin-"

"Is Keith making you say all of this?" I interrupted, my voice a lot shakier than I had been expecting. His head was still tilted and he only gave me a confused (and almost hurt) expression.

I sighed. "He knows I've been… kind of sad since that whole thing happened. If he's out there bribing you to do all of this-"

"Does he really seem like the kind of guy to do that?"

"...No."

Another hurt expression. "Do… I seem like the kind of guy to go along that?"

I glanced away from him, letting a sigh slip through my lips. "No."

"Then why-"

"It just feels like the more realistic option, I guess. Compared to all of this being genuine."

He was practically pouting now, but he didn't look surprised by what I said. I felt my hand slowly begin to release the string as the air around us felt a bit more comfortable despite the tense conversation. I turned to him once again, opening my mouth to say something, though I wasn't really sure what. He held up his hand before I had the chance to decide.

"I meant what I said. I don't think I'd ever stop myself from making the choices I've made in fear of not being able to one day meet you. I never say things like this, so I apologize in advance, but you're different than the people you've seen me flirt with. You're- you're Katie Holt. You snuck into the Garrison under the persona of a dude so you could save your brother. You hack into the Galra ships like it's nothing and create all this new, complicated technology that I couldn't even begin to understand. You're the shortest person I've met - stop glaring - and yet you're one of the most intimidating people ever? You're- you're amazing."

He moved another few inches closer to me, my knee brushing against his torso. My breathing was audibly loud and my lips were parted as if I had something to say to all of that. I didn't. But I couldn't say nothing. "Is… This is real? You aren't just speaking out of guilt?"

"I swear this isn't out of guilt. It's more out of realization, I guess? Not talking to you for two weeks kind of helped me sort my thoughts-"

"Gee, thanks."

"Not like that! I just- I never realized just how much I enjoyed your presence and company until you weren't talking to me. I mean, I've had a thing for you for a year now, but-"

"A whole year, huh?" I rose an eyebrow, crossing my arms across my chest in hopes of masking my rapid heartbeat. His hands slid behind his back and rested on my bed, supporting him as he leaned back a bit.

"Mm, probably? I've had trouble keeping track of the time since we left the Garrison, honestly." He glanced over at me, the same soft smile still on his lips. I chewed on my bottom lip, nodding towards the small calendar across from him. He followed my gaze, an eyebrow quirked as he snatched it from a stack of papers.

"Back in my room - my room in the castle - I made a calendar based on that. We arrived at the Garrison March 3rd, right? And we were brought to space on the 10th, because I remember someone throwing a 'we made it through our first week' party on my floor. So I just… Went from there, I guess. Marking down what I remembered us doing on each day, and since each day is pretty packed full, it wasn't hard to remember each one. That leaves us on- April 2nd of 2028."

"We've been up here for over a year already?" His voice cracked in what I assumed was heartbreak. His eyes scanned the calendar carefully, mouthing off dates as he flipped through. "Missed all my siblings birthdays."

"...Mine's tomorrow."

"Your brother's birthday is tomorrow?"

"No, no. My birthday is tomorrow."

He was literally beaming as me, which caught me off guard. There was nothing on his expression but pure joy and excitement. I hadn't planned on even telling anyone (even though Matt would have anyways).

"Piiiiidge!" He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a completely different position with our sides pressed together and my arm wrapped loosely around his waist. "That's so cool! You'll be sixteen, right?"

"I- yeah, sixteen. I wasn't sure if you'd remember." I stared up at him, my eyes wide in shock. I had only told him my age once, and that was when we met. He grinned at me, squeezing my shoulders before letting his arms rest around them. I hesitantly leaned into his torso, my head on his chest. I wanted to bring up his birthday, which I knew was sometime in July, but he was already opening his mouth to speak again.

"We should sneak out tomorrow. Not the whole day, since everyone will want to say happy birthday and stuff, but I'm pretty sure we're visiting a planet with humanlike streets. We can hang out together. Well- more than hang out, you know- like a..-"

"A date?" I filled in quietly, earning a nervous smile from him in response. I returned the smile lightly, nodding into his shoulder. "That sounds cool. Yeah, let's do that."

"Really?"

"Did you really think I'd say no?"

"I mean- no? Kinda? I've hurt you a lot - even though it definitely wasn't on purpose - and I was kind of scared I'd missed my chance to say something to you about… My feelings, I guess. I still feel crappy for waiting this long. What if something were to happen to one of us and I never got to tell you? Instead I'd live the legacy of flirting with everyone but you." He cringed, shaking his head and releasing my shoulders, much to my disappointment. I sat up straight again, pushing myself off of his torso.

"I mean, we've made it this far. Almost feels like we can't die. We've been blown up how many times?"

"I know it's been at least twelve this week for me."

"And yet, here you are. Unless you're just a figment of my imagination- a part of the simulation, maybe."

"Whoa, that'd be trippy. I wouldn't even know. How can we tell?"

He knew what I immediately thought of. I knew he knew because I could tell he was thinking it, too. My eyes darted to his lips before back to his eyes, and before I knew it, the small space between us was closed for only a second, our lips barely brushing against each other's as if we'd hurt the other if we were any more eager. I smiled against his lips, my nose lightly pressed against his.

"Soo-? Am I the real Lance we all know and love?"

"Hm." I put my hand on his cheek (which was really warm, much to my utmost delight) and tapped my finger against it thoughtfully, smiling at his crooked grin. "I'll have to check again, if that's okay. Might have to be a few times."

"Mmhm." His grinned turned to a gentle smile.

"Probably for a bit longer, too."

"Uh-huh." His fingers softly laced in my hair.

"Side effects include breathlessness and red faces."

"Just kiss me, Holt."

And I, surrounded by the beautiful view of my hometown, kissed him.

i just wanted to write something for plance. klance may be my favorite pairing, but man, plance is great. this is a post-canon shot, sometime after season 5. i started this at two in the morning after realizing i really needed to write something for them,, and a lot of people hate on these angels because of the age difference (of? two years? me and my girlfriend have two years of a difference and we're fine so,, alrighty) but yeah enjoy!