The Nightly Battle

Part One: Pidge

Note: Based on a tumblr prompt "Headcanon that after everyone goes to sleep or back to their rooms, Shiro checks in on his crew to say goodnight and make sure they're all where they should be."

"Pidge? Pidge?"

"Mm?"

It was just after midnight one weekday evening. She couldn't place what day it was exactly as none of the paladins could seem to make heads or tails of the Altean calendar, but tomorrow was a day of practice so she thought of it as a week day nonetheless.

"Are you awake?"

Pidge opened her eyes at Shiro's familiar call, a small grin playing on the edge of her lips. It was time for another round of her favorite game.

She fumbled for the lamp on her bedside, but gave up shortly when she couldn't locate the switch.

"Yeah, just come in. I can't find the light."

He entered her code and stepped into the room, hands on hips. He'd been in her room countless times before so finding the switch was easy for him, even in the dark.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Am I ever?"

"One…two…" He pushed up on the switch and the room was quickly bathed in a bright, yellow light.

Pidge hissed, pulling the covers over her head and burying her face in her pillow, "Shiroooo." All part of her act.

"I'll be quick, I promise," the elder paladin chuckled as he did a quick once over around the room. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he allowed his shoulders to droop in faux defeat.

Pidge narrowed her eyebrows, she would not be easily fooled by his fake out.

"Now," he said, "It doesn't seem like you're pulling my leg, but I'm smarter than you might think, Pidge…" He stalked over to bed, gently tugging at her blankets, pressing his hands on any of the bumps in her bedding.

"Hm, strange," he commented. He moved his fingers on to her, playfully tickling her chin. She reeled back, pulling her sheet up to her chin in a defensive motion.

"Shiro stoooop," the female paladin groaned as she tried to bat away his curious fingers with her free hand, "I'm not a child, you know!"

"Doesn't feel like you have any tech under there," Shiro replied, continuing as if he hadn't heard her reply and couldn't feel her small hands slapping at his wrists. "I mean it would be a shame for me to find some project of yours when Allura and I have strictly forbid you from working on any experiments at bedtime."

"Yeah, a real shame…"

It'd become a nightly ritual. Shiro would come into her room under the façade of wishing her goodnight, only to pick through her things in hopes of discovering her treachery. Screws, tools, anything for construction of equipment was game.

Just you try, old man. She thought with a sly grin. I'm ready for you.

Chucking as he kneeled at her bedside, Shiro said, "Because you know last time you were up late working, you fell asleep during practice and we had to run extra drills until our legs ached, remember that? Remember when you were hurting so bad, I had to carry you up the stairs and back into the castle?"

"Shiro," she warned, embarrassed by the memory of her weak form and how she'd practically begged the elder paladin to help her up the stairs.

"But, it seems as if you've learned you lesson…" he trailed off.

For a moment he looked like he might believe her, and then, as she felt her body relax, he leaned over and kissed her forehead, right on her hairline. God she hated when he did that! It felt like her whole body went to jelly whenever he was intimate with her. It was embarrassing and he knew what it did to her which bothered her even more. She felt her cheeks grow hot despite herself.

"Give them to me," he whispered in her ear.

"There's nothing here."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" He didn't even try to hide the suspicion in his voice.

He knows me so well, the green paladin thought sourly, as she watched him pace the length of her room again. It used to be so easy to pull one over on him.

"Pidge?"

His called pulled her from her thoughts. With a defeated sigh and a snap of her fingers her closet door burst open and Rover 2.0 in all its metal glory stumbled out, weaving side to side as it struggled to keep itself afloat.

"You almost had me there," Shiro smirked as he plucked Rover from the air, "I almost thought you'd actually been sleeping before I so rudely awoke you. I actually felt a little guilty." He contorted his face into one of guilt and puppy-dog eyes. God she hated him sometimes. He was too good.

With Rover nestled beneath his metal arm, he turned to look at her, "Now where's the tools?"

"Under my bed," she answered with a pout and crossed arms, not even bothering to fight the inevitable. Though she hated to admit, she knew when she'd been beat. Further lies would just lead to harsher workouts in the future and that was enough to make her surrender… for tonight at least.

"Good girl," he teased, kissing her forehead again as he knelt down to pull the wrenches, screwdrivers, and other equipment from beneath her bed.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," she spat bitterly as she turned away from him. "You win."

He chuckled once more as he stood and turned toward her door. As he flipped the lights back off he bid her goodnight.

Once the doors had closed and Shiro was safely out of side, Pidge pulled her spiral-bound notebook from beneath her pillow and a pen. Using the moonlight in her open window as a light, she opened the book and quickly crossed out the word "closet," which she'd written on one of the pages. She scrolled through the list after it, landing on the next idea, "parts hidden in shoes."

"Game on," she smirked, circling the new idea with a gleeful expression.