A/n: Prompted: Kidge Fest Valentine's Day; Day 1: Yours Truly. [Still part of the Kiz's Kidge AU.]
Warnings: Angst, underage romantic relationship, (slight mention of) underage drinking. Kidge AU.
Kidge AU. I don't own Voltron: LD and I am not making money from this either.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"No," Keith laughed softly and kissed her on the cheek, "we're almost there." He added with a soft tug on her wrist and continuing down the hallway.
"Where is there, anyway?"
"You wanted a date, Katie, don't ruin it by doing that thing you always do."
She paused, glaring at him behind her lids, "and what is that?!"
"Overthinking." He said dryly, "I can feel you glaring at me and you're not even looking at me." Katie snorted, then relaxed and stepped a bit closer, "okay," Keith whispered and she heard the door open. The first thing she noticed was the smell, it was strong and floral.
It was almost too much but she recognized it immediately, lily-of-the-valley. Strong, sweet, floral. Her favorite, and she had told him on numerous occasions that it was her favorite - they had only found one planet that had anything similar, turned out to be a hybrid of one of the local plants that had bred with the pollen someone bought from a trader. She could only assume that was what this was - regardless, she loved it already.
"One second," he whispered from across the room, she listened to the sound of his boots on the floor and then the smell of fire filled her nostrils, causing her to tense, but before she could ask the makeshift blindfold was off.
Katie blinked a few times to focus on their surroundings. It was dim lit with candle light dancing around the both of them, there were more flowers than candles and they were literally everywhere in the small room. She gripped at his hand tightly, pulling him closer as she faced him, "Keith!"
"It's overdue, I know," he answered after a moment, "plus side, you get to keep the rug for your room."
Pidge smiled, glancing down at the dark rug that a picnic was laid out on, her eyes fall over the flowers, "I love it. They're my favorite."
"I know," he kissed her cheek and nodded to the picnic, "hungry?"
Pidge was drunkenly lounging against her elbow, legs stretched out in the small space that Keith had cleared away after they ate. She had opted for maybe a few too many of that Altean drink Keith was convinced was wine but all the ship had.
"You should stop drinking that stuff," he said when she lulled her head the side.
"Make me," Katie retorted, proudly, taking another sip.
"I'm serious, Katie, you'll get me in trouble."
"With who?"
"Matt," Keith gave her a semi-serious look, watching her finish the glass.
"Like I care what Matt thinks," she answered with a huff, though they both knew she did. She idolized her brother, way too much. "It's empty now," she added with a lot less attitude and turned to Keith on her side.
"Good," he brushed her hair back smoothly, cupping her chin and running his thumb over her bottom lip, "I want to kiss you, Katie."
"Do it," she breathed her answer, eyes wide and unwavering.
"You're tipsy, baby," he grinned, tilting forward to press his forehead against his.
"That doesn't change how I feel about you," she whispered, shutting her eyes and pursing her lips. Keith smiled to himself, brushing her bottom lip with his thumb again before pulling back. "Hey!" She fused and grabbed for him, throwing herself against his chest and knocking him back, "oops," she giggled, making herself comfortable on his stomach.
"Katie," he shook his head laying back while holding her hands. He brought one up to his lips with a soft kiss. "I leave tomorrow."
"I know," she whispered with a frown, watching him kiss her knuckles.
"Hey, remember what I said about Kolivan being okay with, uh, y'know...?"
Katie laughed when he trailed off, "I thought nervous was my job, Keith."
"Shut up," he grumbled blowing out a hard breath, "you can stay with us for a while, if you'd like? Was all."
"Why can't you stay here?"
"We still have a lot of work to do Katie, I can't stay here." Pidge fell quiet and pushed out a humorless laugh, getting to her feet with a grunt, "Katie? What?" He asked easing himself up and watching her dance around the candles and flowers with little struggle as she placed herself across the room.
She didn't answer until she was finally out of the maze of the candles and flowers, on the other side of the cozy room, "you always do that."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You think everything you and those stupid, reckless, idiotic Blade's do is more important than what we do with Voltron."
"No, I-..."
"Yes, you do!" She yelled, her resolve breaking as she watched him get to her feet, with a point. "You did this before too. Remember when you choose yourself over Voltron? Remember when you left us stranded in the middle of space and you weren't there?"
Keith sucked in a deep breath, his mouth falling open. Katie never said anything about it, she never said anything about his choices. She just stood by and supported him. When he left Voltron, she supported him and he had heard from more than one person that she had defended him and his choice with the team; before that when he went from Red to the Black Lion, she defended him as well. Stood by him. She was there for him, all those times, she never said anything negative about his decision.
"You always do that shit, Keith, you think everything you do with them is more important than what we do. What I do!" She was pissed, seething, her whole face was red and it wasn't from the wine.
"Katie, that isn't true..."
"It is! And, y'know what Keith? We save a lot of lives, we saved a lot of people without you or those stupid Blades."
"Okay, calm down," he answered, his own temper rising.
"No!" She yelled in return, "I'm always calm, Keith!" Well, he couldn't argue with that, "I mean, fuck," she spat, "you're no better than me!"
He didn't think he was. Ever. He didn't even think he met her standards, "you tried to leave too, Katie!"
"For my family!"
"And, the Blades of Marmora are the answers to my family!" He screamed back and it was done. The both of them were livid, and all their anger was coming out.
"Why am I wasting my time?!" She snapped back, her eyes wide and wild.
"Don't," Keith glared, his teeth grinding together and his hands in tight fist. The two of them shared a long look, neither wanting to give in. "You're unbelievable," Keith spoke up first, glancing around at the floor, "just...go."
"You don't get to tell me to leave," she snarled, arms crossed against her body tightly. She was completely closed off now.
He didn't know how they got there, it started off with him wanting to get to the Blades and seemed to ending on her "wasting her time" on him. He was scared of that, he always had been, ever since this whole crazy whirlwind romance started. She'd feel like she was wasting her time on his broken, shitty, life and she'd want out.
That's what it was, wasn't it? She wanted to go. The Blades were some type of answer to his family, right? They knew about his sword, he knew he was part Galra because of them... It was them that held the answers... Right? Right?
"I don't think anything we do is more important than what you do, Katie." He finally said, and she sighed pulling her fingers through her hair. Keith followed the movement with his eyes, "it was just an offer, but I have to go back because that's where I belong." He was speaking quietly, "they're my answers, Katie."
Katie looked at him quietly, her eyes roaming over his face as she relaxed letting out a slow breath. Sometime told her this wasn't what she wanted to hear, she cleared her throat and gave him a reproachful look, "I know."
"I can't stay because you want me to."
"I can't go because you want me to."
"It feels like a never ending cycle, Katie."
"Don't." She shook her head, sometimes she hated the fact she was so reasonable. Sometimes she hated the fact she had a mind that took her through everything the moment things happened, she knew outcomes before they happened because her mind was calculative and she had a large threshold for understanding. She understood this, she felt this... but, not like this, please, Keith. "Not tonight."
Keith swallowed the lump in his throat before blowing out a hard breath, "Katie..."
"Not tonight, please," tears were already welling in her eyes, spilling over the rim but she didn't dare wipe them away.
"I'll just leave," he whispered, "we don't have to talk about it, then."
"Keith," she shook her head, her arms wrapped hard around her chest in a squeeze as if she was trying to keep herself together, how could he walk when I'm like this? "It's fine, we're going to be fine."
"You're wasting your time, you said so... We both know it."
"No," she shook her head, taking a hurried step towards him, her shoes knocking into the candles sending them tumbling over.
"Pidge, stop," he backed away the moment he moved, unable to meet her eyes. She froze when he told her to, the pain of his words made her shiver, "this is better," he said at the door without meeting her look, "it's easier, you'll be happier, I won't be holding you back."
Katie wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't. She couldn't even think of anything to say, all she could think was how that stupid drink made her lose her focus. How she shouldn't have said all of that stuff, how she didn't really mean all that stuff - it was just in the heat of the moment, like everything about their relationship. Just tell him. But it was too late because he was gone and she standing the middle of knocked over burned out candles with warm wax staining her new rug.
She bent down to pick up the candle when a white envelope caught her attention; Katie, was scrawled across the middle in Keith's handwriting. Katie took a deep breath and pulled the card out.
Green,
You're my life, never forget that. Sorry this took so long but I hope you love and adore every part of this night as much as I love and adore you. You keep me going, you pick me up, you save me...
Yours Truly,
Blade.
