A/N: Guess who's back, folks?! :V
Only a day after my own birthday and I've decided to write a little ficlet for the Green Bean's own birthday coming up in April! This is Pidge-centric and a small multi-chapter read. I'll update Thursdays for sure, with possible surprise updates now and then. C: Enjoy!
Birthdays had never been a forgotten topic, even in the unknown depths of space.
Amongst the crime-fighting and civilization-saving and multiple attempts to not die at the hands of Zarkon's creations, the team always found a way to make room for birthdays. Somehow, it'd become almost on the same sanctity as a religion: a sacred period of time where only so much as an apocalypse could stop a celebration. In true retrospect, even that wouldn't stop them.
Hunk's birthday had been grand, elaborate and beautiful with the finest decorations Allura and Coran could find, and the most exquisite dishes the rest of the team had worked three days on perfecting. Lance's birthday had been subtle and cheerful at first, before exploding in a whirlwind of color and sound and happiness and homesickness, a fiesta of emotion and celebration that had ended in peaceful silence. Shiro's birthday had been respectful, the black paladin showered with gifts and love and graciousness he'd never experienced. Pidge was next on the list of birthdays, her special day coming closer as she was due to hit the ripe age of 17. "The Dancing Queen" Lance had called her as an obscure reference to a song she didn't know.
And Pidge wanted nothing.
No one had understood it at first. Pidge, their youngest, their brightest and youthfulness, not wanting a party? Lance and Hunk had perceived it a joke at first, scraping away the topic with forced laughter and wide toothy smiles. Until Pidge had declared that no, she wasn't joking, and all hell broke loose.
Truthfully, none of the paladins were very surprised. The pieces clicked slowly into place as they tried to decipher their youngest's decision. Pidge was thoughtful and calculating and almost cold at times, and surely a party wasn't good enough for her. She was the youngest, but perhaps reaching the self-righteous teenager mood of finding herself too old for parties. Perhaps, being one of two girls, she simply was too sophisticated (ha!) and didn't want a party much like Allura had.
But the final piece clicked only a day before Pidge's birthday.
Family.
And on that night before her big day, no member of Voltron dared to say a word as she slunk away into her lion den, a small green speck with sagging shoulders and an absent smile. And instead of goodbye wishes or quick whispers of giddiness or final questions regarding gifts, there was instead a stretching moment of silence akin to a funeral.
"Hey, Green."
The statement bounced off the emptiness of the lion's den, echoing off metal walls and bouncing back to Pidge's ears. Through the dimness of the room, she could perfectly make out the silhouette of her lion, a sharp jutting contrast against the shadows.
The hulking machine loomed over Pidge, her small hand barely a dot to Green's massive paw. Pidge had learned long ago already how truly small she really was: not just to Green, but in the universe itself. If anything, it was a comfort more than a scare.
The lion stayed silent, but Pidge could see the friendliness vibe emanating from its form. A ghost of a smile was evident on Green's snout.
Pidge was quiet, before deciding to let the greeting hang in the air. She waited a second, before lifting both hands up and heaving herself onto Green's paw. Digging her fingers into makeshift handholds, Pidge vaulted herself forward, curling up against Green's leg and brushing her hands against dented metal. Green's paw was the size of a queen-sized bed to Pidge, and more than once she'd snatched the opportunity to use it as such.
Pidge tilted her head, gazing upward towards the dizzying height of Green's head. One day, she wanted to climb all the way up there, to see through Green's perspective and view the world from above. But Pidge's nerve lacked in that department, and she'd only ever made it as far as Green's shoulder before needing to go back down.
There Pidge stayed, becoming more and more convinced to skip going to her room and to sleep on Green's paw instead. Directly up ahead, Pidge could see the clear window above Green's head like a dark star-speckled halo, the sheer nothingness of space masking itself as a simple night sky. Very little light passed through, just enough for Pidge to see faint shapes in her barely adjusted vision. She took a deep breath, her lungs tight, and the air left her in a shuddering exhale.
The silence around her felt empty. Green was awaiting the question she was sure her paladin wanted to say, and Pidge could feel the concern emanating off her lion.
Pidge blinked, squeezed her eyes shut, removing her glasses and tucking them aside. Her hair fell over her face, becoming it's long locks once more, and she felt the bitter and sharp sensation of tears return.
"...do you think they remembered?"
Green purred. The vibrations running under her metal surface soothed Pidge. The ache in her chest, however, despite being less prominent was still there.
There the green paladin slept on the paw of her lion, a silently weeping seventeen-year-old.