Pidge was dedicated. All who met her agreed, that was her most outstanding trait—at least all of her fellow paladins did. Coran and Princess Allura had once made them do just that, describe each other using only two traits, as a paladin bonding exercise. All of them had said "dedication" for Pidge. (Lance had also listed "short" and gotten a pillow in from her.)
Once she set her mind on something, nothing—little or large—could stop her from reaching that goal. She found her ways. Sometimes these ways were not quite legal (such as fabricating an entirely new identity in order to enroll in the Garrison), but she found them all the same.
All that considered, Lance knew he shouldn't have been surprised at how persistent she could be over a video game.
After Pidge discovered there was no place to plug the console into, both she and Lance had a moment of mourning. They cursed such a cruel twist of fate, that they would have gone through so much for nothing. Then, Lance picked up the box for the Gameflux that they had cast aside only minutes ago.
"Guess we should pack it back up…." He sighed. All that work, for nothing.
"No."
Lance frowned and looked towards Pidge.
"No," she repeated. "I'm not letting something like a non-compatible outlet stand between me and Killbot Phantasm 1! And neither are you!" She rose to her feet, purpose shinning in her eyes. "Come on, Lance, we're making an adapter!"
That was more like it. That was the Pidge he knew.
Lance grinned, tossing the box aside again. "I have no idea how to do that, but I'm right behind you!"
It took time, and roping in Hunk's assistance; but at last, they had created a three-way adapter. Pidge connected the console to the screen while Lance cheered, then hurried back to claim a seat and controller. Caught in the infectious excitement, Hunk couldn't resist joining the two. After a crash course in the gameplay and controller's buttons, they began playing.
Three rounds of multi-player later, Hunk decided he had had his fill.
Pidge was baffled by that.
"What?" she exclaimed. "How can you be done already?"
"I mean, it's a fun game and all. You guys are just...really, really intense," Hunk explained, glancing nervously between the two.
"I don't know what you mean, man," Lance said. He gave Hunk a curious, puzzled look. "We're just playing."
A loud noise erupted from the speakers of the screen, drawing their attention. While Lance had been distracted with him, Pidge had still been playing. And she had demolished his character in the game.
Lance reacted loudly and dramatically, with shouting and flopping. Pidge only cackled, gleefully.
"Yeahhh...I'm gonna go make dinner." Hunk edged his way out of the room, but the two didn't notice.
Dinner was ready, and Lance and Pidge were still playing, only pulled away by Hunk physically coming to call them in. They came to the table babbling about the game, comparing scores over sporkfuls of the meal, and teasing each other about playing styles.
The others observed these going-ons with reactions varying from eying the pair like they were crazy, (Keith), fascination with both their enthusiasm and the custom of gaming itself (Coran), and good-natured eye-rolling (Shiro). But the group let them have their fun. Heaven knew, they all needed something fun to focus on, now and then. It was just a game, anyway; they would probably be over it in a week, tops.
They weren't over it.
Two weeks had passed, and both Lance and Pidge were spending any and all free time attached to the console like it was a magnet. Whooping and yells could be heard by anyone who walked past the room the game console had taken up residence in, at any given time. If that wasn't bad enough, whenever they weren't playing the game, it all but dominated their thoughts. Hunk couldn't speak three words to either of them, without Killbot Fan-whatever being brought up. He—and also Shiro, although Shiro wouldn't quite admit it—had come to agree with Keith.
The two were clearly crazy.
And it was more than just obsessed playing. An intense game rivalry had sprung up between the two, and Hunk wouldn't have been surprised if it were to the death.
The competition was close. Both Pidge and Lance had grown-up playing video games.
"Matt and I even took part in a few gaming tournaments," Pidge explained. "Just in our spare time, y'know, as a small hobby." As she beat Lance for the third time that day, she added with a smirk, "But we always placed."
She had always been more skilled than her brother; something Matt had admitted himself, something she took pride in. Whereas for Lance, it had been a constant competition. There was never a consistent game champ among himself, his siblings, and his cousins (and occasionally, his mother and aunts and uncles). It was a true fight for first place—or, a true war, actually, considering the size of the McClain clan. From that, Lance had picked up what he referred to as "defensive maneuvers and skillz". Pidge called them dirty tricks and cheating.
"You can't do that!" she howled.
"Ha, I just did!" Lance crowed back.
It was all she could do to not physically attack him. The worst part was, she knew she could beat him otherwise. Clearly, she was the more skilled and knowledgeable gamer of the two! Lance hadn't even heard of the Killbot Phantasm saga before! It was just him and his cheating "skillz" that let him keep up with her...and, sometimes, get ahead.
"Lance, for the last time: Looking. At. The. Other. Person's. Screen. Is. Cheating."
"Okay, sorry, won't happen again."
"That's what you said before!"
"Well, I won't this time."
"There! I saw that, you did it just now! That's it, I'm taping a divider up."
Pidge had the sneaking suspicion that whenever they paused the game and she went to do something (visit the bathroom, restock snacks, whatever), Lance would unpause without her. He swore he wasn't, scoffed at her "paranoia", but she could tell. The screen would change—only a little bit, he was clever enough to try and keep it subtle, she'd give him that—but it had definitely changed and enough to give him an edge on her.
She resolved not to leave the game unattended anymore. Not even for the bathroom; that could wait until after their gaming session. There were more important things at stake than her bladder.
Lance's cheating aside, Pidge was actually enjoying herself more than she had in awhile.
Beyond the satisfaction of basking in the triumph of defeating him, of course, because that was an obvious delight.
No, simply playing with him was fun. Whether she won or not, she always left the game happy. It almost reminded her of video game nights with Matt. Back home, they'd made it a monthly thing. Even while he was at the Garrison, and they'd only been able to play online together. Before the mission to Kerberos, they'd—well...it had practically been the highlight of her month.
Playing with Lance was almost like that. With added bonus of his reactions every time she defeated him.
When the two came to training late because they had stayed up until one in the morning playing, the other members of the team finally decided enough was enough. The next day, they took matters into their own hands. As Pidge and Lance were leaving the dinning room after breakfast, the two were cornered by their fellow Paladins.
Hunk was the first to speak. "Lance, Pidge," he began, "we're your team and we care about you. So we're holding an intervention."
"Wait, what?"
"You have a problem, but it's okay. You can break this addiction, and we'll help you."
Lance and Pidge exchanged baffled looks.
"You guys are spending all your time playing that stupid game," Keith explained, jumping in. "Hunk's right, it's like you're addicted."
Lance protested. "Hey now, it's just a game! We're having fun, and what we do in our free time is our own business."
Keith opened his mouth to spit out a retort, then closed it at the quieting hand Shiro dropped on his shoulder. He stepped back as Shiro spoke.
"Not where it affects and interferes with Voltron," he said, looking first Lance then Pidge in the eyes. "You were up past midnight the other night, and then dead on your feet the next morning. What if Zarkon had attacked then? When you could barely function?"
"So maybe we need to tone it back a bit," Pidge conceded. "We won't stay up late playing anymore, we promise."
Keith scoffed. "It's more than just staying up late! You guys need a break from that, so you can actually focus on something else for once. We have other, more important things at stake right now, like finding the Blade of Malmora!"
"C'mon, I think you're over-reacting," Lance replied.
"'Over-reacting'? I'm not the one freaking out about a game for kids."
"Hey," Pidge exclaimed. "The Killbot Phantasm Saga is a franchise for all—"
"You know what I think?" Lance interrupted, glaring at Keith. "I think you're just jealous, because Pidge likes me better! Uh-huh, that's right!"
"What," Pidge said, flatly.
"Oh, come on—"
"I thought this was meant to be a calm confrontation," Hunk spoke up, over Lance and Keith's yelling.
Before the discord could continue any longer, or get any louder, Shiro's voice rose above it. "Pidge. Lance."
Without yelling, he made his voice heard, and the Paladins quieted. When they had, he said, "You two need to understand that now isn't the time to be distracted by something like this."
He had a point, and neither of them could bring themselves to disagree. But…
"Shiro, we understand," Pidge said. "But, can we at least play one more round? Just to see who the champion is?"
"Pidge..."
"We'll call it quits after that," Lance joined in. "Promise."
With a sigh, Shiro relented. "Fine. Tomorrow evening. One last time."
By the next evening, the final playing session had turned into a bigger deal than expected. Everyone—all the paladins, Princess Allura, Coran, even the Princess's mice—gathered around the screen to observe the big match.
A betting pool formed over who would win. Both Allura and Shiro looked disapproving, but shrugged and didn't object.
(While Shiro was distracted, Allura quietly placed money on Lance. When the princess wasn't looking, Shiro just as quietly placed money on Pidge.)
Hunk prepared dishes of snacks for the occasion. Whether he approved of the game or not, food was food, he was Hunk, and people needed to eat.
Settingly down on their customary cushions on the floor, pulled up near the large screen, Lance and Pidge each picked up their controllers. A few presses of buttons, and the final game had started. It was on.
While they played, Keith leaned against the back of the chair with affected disinterest, trying to pretend he was above the fuss. (The two day's worth of dessert he'd wagered on Pidge said otherwise.)
The last round. The moment of truth.
Sweat trickled down Pidge's face, but she refused to take her hands off the controller to wipe it away. Eyes on the screen, hands on the controller, fingers like lightening on the buttons. This was the last chance to reign in triumph, and she would not let it pass her by.
Hearing Keith's energetic cheering in her favor only increased her adrenaline. He had given up acting like he didn't care some time ago, and Pidge sense of agitation rolling off of Lance a little much. He was scowling, she could see out of the corner of her eye, but just as determined as her to not look away from the screen. Otherwise, Keith would have been on the receiving end of some nasty looks.
Focus, she told herself. She and Lance were neck and neck with their scores. She needed to pull ahead.
From behind her, she heard Hunk say, "This is too intense. I'm grabbing more snacks."
There was the sound of his footsteps, the blur of him moving beside the screen.
A screen which, suddenly, went blank and silent.
There was a moment of frozen, sharp silence.
Pidge starred at it uncomprehendingly, then down at Hunk, who was now spread across the floor. A loose cord lay over his foot, which lead back to…
"NO!" Pidge yelled. She scrambled for the console, desperately, to reconnect it to the screen. Maybe—maybe—maybe if she could plug it back in quick enough...but no. The console had shut off. It was no good.
She stared at the Gameflux in horror, and then launched herself, yelling, at Hunk. "How could you do that? We were so close!"
Hunk stammered out apologies from under her attack, but Pidge paid them no attention. Vaguely, she was aware of the rest of the room descending in commotion and chaos, but she didn't let that distract her either.
The only thing that did grab her attention, was Shiro's loud, bellowing, "THAT'S ENOUGH."
Pidge—and everyone else—stopped.
Shiro stepped through the group until he reached the console. In one move, he bent and scooped it up (cord, game case, and all).
He looked sternly at all of them. "Paladins, stop acting like children. Now, go to bed. We have a full day tomorrow."
"But, Shiro, the game—"
"Is going in my room. Everything. And it's not to be touched." His reproving gaze narrowed on Pidge and Lance, who looked uncomfortable and mildly ashamed. "You two are done playing."
"All right," Pidge muttered.
"Good. You two have been obsessed with this, and it's been harmful. It's our job as Paladins to watch out for each other, and if that means keeping certain members of the team from a destructive habit, then so be it."
He cast a stern look around the room, and then left. The Paladins (Princess Allura and Coran already having slipped out as soon as Shiro began his lecture, eager to escape his disapproval) quickly and quietly dispersed after him, heading to their rooms.
All except for Lance and Pidge.
After the others had cleared out, the two stood in silence for a moment. Then, Lance glanced sideways at Pidge.
"So..." he began. Pidge looked up at him. "How do you feel about facial masks?"
A grin slipped onto Pidge's face. "Like it's a great idea."
A/N: Lance and Pidge's video gaming rivalry may or may not have been drawn from my own experiences... .
I, too, know what it's like to come from a large family who take their gaming Seriously. (I've never been that good, tho. If you want intensity and skillz, look to my older brothers and my next youngest sister. She once stayed up all night to finish Banjo Kazooie before me. And then just started over again the same night once she finished.)
Anywho. I'd love to hear any thoughts y'all might have about this! Honestly, even if you just want to say "I liked this!" you will make my day, and you'll get no judgment for leaving a short review. And as always, criticism is more than welcome! I love to hear how I can improve!