Day Two: Space
It had been three years since the fall of the Galra Empire, but the Paladins were still hard at work, helping the universe recover from the ten thousand years of Zarkon's rule. It was hard work; for some, even harder than all of the fighting and rescue missions they'd been a part of. And so, the team had come to an agreement that every so often, they would take a mini vacation to visit their families, restock on food, and just relax in general.
Lance had started the trend of bring back movies to the Castle Ship. Hunk and Pidge had soon caught on, and together the three built an impressive library of movies and television shows.
After one stopover on Earth, Lance brought back something a little more unusual for them to watch.
"Unsolved Supernatural?" Pidge repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's a little different from your usual picks."
Lance shrugged as he handed over a flashdrive. "One of my cousins is really into it and she had me watch a few. They're pretty entertaining. I figure we'll all get a laugh out of some of the theories."
Pidge looked unsure, but didn't argue and went to plug it into the hodgepodge of Earth/Altean technology that made up their entertainment system before joining the others on the array of couches they had.
Lance and Hunk had taken over the loveseat, as always, and had a large bowl of popcorn tucked between them. Shiro settled in on his favorite chair, a cozy brown thing he'd found on their second return trip to Earth. That left Keith and Pidge to take up opposite ends of the big couch, though everyone knew before the end of the night, the space between them would shrink to practically nothing.
And so began what was easily the weirdest movie night ever held in the Castle of Lions.
Pidge insisted on pausing it after every episode to have a group discussion about what they'd just watched. It largely consisted of her and Keith arguing over theories, while Hunk occasionally egged them on and Shiro watched with fondness as they inched their way toward the middle couch cushion.
"Look, all I'm saying is that the idea that these 'men in black' are aliens covering up alien activity is completely bogus," Pidge argued, staring down Keith. "If – and that's a strong if – they actually exist, it's probably just some government or military organization."
Keith fearlessly met her eyes. "After everything we've seen, you really think there couldn't be aliens on Earth, trying to hide the fact that they're there?"
Pidge faltered. "Well, no, but-"
"Ugh!" Lance loudly groaned. "You guys have been arguing about this for longer than the episode! Can we just get to the next one already?"
Pidge scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, scooting back against the armrest as she turned to face the screen again. "Fine. But we're not done talking about this."
"Agreed," Keith muttered.
Shiro chuckled at the two of them, while Hunk smiled fondly and Lance huffed in exasperation.
The next episode was even worse.
At the theory that the Illuminati were a group of shape-shifting lizard people, Pidge and Keith simultaneously lost it.
"What?" Pidge managed to choke out through her laughter.
Keith's entire body shook as he tried to contain himself. Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes before he finally gave up and let himself laugh.
Lance moodily paused the video, glaring at Hunk when his best friend betrayed him by chuckling.
Pidge rubbed at her eyes, wiping away her own tears. "Sorry, Lance. It's just... shape – shape-shifting-" She was unable to finish speaking as she began giggling once again.
It took several long minutes before they collected themselves enough to continue, but from then on the only theory Pidge and Keith could agree to was that it was the work of shape-shifting lizard people.
.
Weeks passed and it seemed like everyone had forgotten about their disastrous (mostly to Lance) movie night. Pidge and Keith no longer blamed everything that went wrong on lizard people and Lance was able to stand being in the same room as them again.
It was only right that things would circle back around to it.
Allura gathered the team early one morning to announce their next diplomatic excursion was to a new planet, whose people sought an alliance with the Legendary Voltron.
"The Illuvari are a race who reside primarily in the dry and arid regions of their planet," Coran explained. "Their inability to regulate their body temperature means the high heat is actu-"
"Wait," Hunk interrupted, holding up a hand. He had a feeling he was about to regret the words he was about to say, but they had to be said. "So, they're a race of lizard people?"
Keith snorted loudly, slapping a hand over his mouth the moment the sound escaped. It didn't take long for Pidge to start giggling, though that quickly turned to full-blown laughter.
Coran looked a little put out. "I don't see what's so funny about this."
Lance glared at Keith. "I really thought we'd moved past this, but noooo. There just had to be a group of lizard aliens called the Illuvari and, wait, let me guess, they can shape-shift.
"Well, some of them do have the ability to change color to blend in with their surroundings," Allura said.
Lance dropped his head into his hands and groaned. There was never going to be an end to the jokes. It wouldn't be so bad if the two didn't beat the jokes into the ground, but once they got started, it was near impossible to get them to stop.
Shiro waited for Keith and Pidge to calm down before saying: "Maybe it's best if the two of you sit this one out. We don't need another diplomatic incident on our hands."
.
Keith and Pidge found themselves left to their own devices, alone in the Castle of Lions. Normally, they would have gone off to do their own thing – Keith to the training room and Pidge to Green's hangar – but instead they both found their way to the movie room, where they sat down on opposite ends of their couch.
"Do you think Lance will be annoyed that we're watching this without him?" Pidge asked.
Keith shrugged. "Everything we do lately annoys him. I don't see how this will be any different."
"Telling him that his missing face mask is the work of shape-shifting lizard people probably didn't win us any bonus points," Pidge said, sounding amused. She picked up the remote and pointed it at the screen. "Ready for more?"
"You bet."
The more engrossed in the videos they became, the less space there was between them on the couch. Pidge's excitement at breaking down different theories and presenting her own had her slowly scooting closer to him, while Keith himself felt drawn in by her enthusiasm. Neither pulled away when their knees finally brushed together.
"You know, I heard something interesting recently. About you," Pidge said hesitantly.
Keith looked puzzled.
Pidge felt her cheeks heat up and her stomach twist as she said her next few words, hoping he wouldn't take it poorly. The warmth of his leg resting near hers gave her the courage to continue. "I heard there's someone in this room who wants to kiss you."
Keith said nothing for a few seconds, but to Pidge it felt more like minutes. "Huh. That's interesting. I, uh, heard something similar. That there's someone in this room who really wants to kiss you."
There it was. Out in the open. Hanging between them.
"Well, you know, someone should do something about that," Pidge said, her voice near a whisper. "It isn't right to keep a girl waiting."
"No, it isn't," Keith agreed.
Later, neither could be sure who made the first move. Together they closed the space between them and their lips met for the first time.