"So…how about we get back inside? Only, uh, if you want to, though."

Pidge looked at him, and for the millionth time since they'd come out onto this balcony thirty minutes ago, she wondered how she'd missed it for so long. I mean, this was Lance— being shy? It was so obvious now.

…and it was pretty cute, too.

It was like her whole view of him had changed. Sure, he was still Lance, Mr. Sharpshooter, the jokester, and one of her closest friends. But now, all of the things she hadn't noticed before were suddenly in plain view right in front of her.

His eyes were the first thing she took note of. They were always kind looking at her. His voice was next— there was never a touch of anger to be found, just gentle and soft. Then, his touch. It should've been a dead giveaway before, because he was constantly there, whether he was playing with her fingers while he chatted away or reaching out and tapping one of her curly ends. It was almost like…like he felt reassured by having her there.

And suddenly, she found herself realizing the same thing about him. Whether it was her playful slaps on his shoulder or fixing his messy hair, having him nearby was as natural as breathing.

Pidge smiled at him, hopping off the stone wall and looping her arm through his. "Let's go!"

He was blushing a bit, and his smile was so bashful, so sweet. Pidge felt like either slapping herself or sighing happily. Was this what it felt like to be loved?

Lance was leading her back through the door now, and he leaned down close to her ear. "How much you wanna bet Keith already bailed?"

"And that Hunk is over by the food?" she added on. She glanced around conspiratorially. "The probability is high, but an absolute answer requires surveillance."

He snickered. "You go left, I go right?"

Suddenly feeling a bit bold (and maybe just wanting to see if she could make Lance blush again), she shook her head and started pulling him in the direction of the dance floor. "Nah, we can do that later. The floor is clear now, and I like the sound of this song."

At that, Lance's ears seemed to perk up, and he looked skyward as he focused on the melody. "Hm…Fly Me to the Moon, Kummer rendition? A bit cheesy for a space explorer," he teased.

Pidge couldn't help the surprise in her eyes. "How'd you know?" she asked.

He pulled her into their position from earlier, but this time, just a bit closer. "You forget how much I steal your headphones."

She contemplated it, then shrugged. "I kinda forgot you did that. You still need them to sleep?" The question was deeper than it seemed— she'd known about his nightmares for years now, especially since he'd come knocking at her door at 2am more than a few times.

Lance nodded, his eyes silently acknowledging her question. "I…" he trailed off. "I have the feeling I'll need them for a while longer," he admitted.

Frowning, she reached up and pushed some of his hair out of his eyes. "Take them as long as you need," she murmured. "Heck, take them home with you. I have earbuds at my house…or at least, I guess they're still where I left them."

Silence fell over the pair as they thought about what she'd just said. They were finally back home, and they knew that after tonight, they'd inevitably be separated for two weeks. He was going to Florida tomorrow night to visit his family, and she'd be flying back to Wisconsin with Matt early the next day.

It was awful timing, and Pidge couldn't help but wonder where it would leave them. "Seeing" each other or not, she would still miss him a lot. It was hard to imagine not seeing Lance every day. Maybe Lance was thinking the same thing, because he was looking down at her with wistful eyes.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he apologized sincerely. "Now it'll feel like forever until we see each other again."

She gave him a semisweet smile. "I don't know what I'll do without you," she told him honestly.

"I don't know either," he replied. "W-Without you, I mean."

Pidge laughed out loud, and he gave her a twirl, chuckling. "Quiznak, I need to learn how to speak around you."

"Speaking isn't the only form of communication, you know," she pointed out.

Suddenly, he was pulling her close, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. "Oh? So what other…communication methods should I use?"

She knew he was joking around. She knew that he was being flirty just to get a reaction. She knew that his glance at her lips was overdramatic on purpose. But at the same time…

Katie's mouth felt dry, and there was this weird tugging sensation pulling her toward him. "U-Um, whatever you want to."


Lance blinked. Had he taken it too far? He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, he just couldn't resist making the joke.

He followed his gut, tangling a hand in her hair and gently setting his forehead against hers.

"We'll take things slow, don't worry," he whispered.

"Of course," she replied, and he couldn't help but notice how out of breath she sounded. Was the dancing too much? Maybe she needed to rest, get some punch, or whatever it was they had at this fancy party.

But then she was breaking out of her daze, shaking her head in a way that made her braid fly around a bit. "Sorry, you just- you keep catching me off guard," she said with a laugh. "This is all so new, I never thought I'd be, well…in something like this."

He nodded, understanding what she was saying, but not quite getting it. How could she have never imagined herself in a relationship? She was deserving of all the love in the entire universe and more. Surely she thought she was worth all of that, right?

But he couldn't pour all those thoughts out to her, not just yet. That'd probably overwhelm her even more. Instead, he settled for saying, "Let me know if I'm being too much, okay?"

She snorted, taking her hand off his shoulder to cover her mouth. Without thinking, he grabbed her hand, allowing her beautiful smile to be shown. Again, she looked surprised at first, but then she just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"You're always too much, Lance," she teased. "That's why I like you."

His heart skipped a beat, and he smirked. "Why you like me?"

Pidge's cheeks were turning red, and she turned her head. "Oh please, you know that I at least like you as a person. Don't push you luck, tailor."

Lance laughed. "Yes, señorita." She smiled up at him, and he gave in to the temptation he'd been fighting. He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin and sighing happily. He rocked them slowly back and forth, relishing in the fact that Katie nuzzled her cheek into his chest before she settled into him.

He wanted to laugh, cry, high five someone, who knows! It was all so amazing, so much better than he'd imagined each night before falling asleep. It was like the sky had opened up, and the forecast said sunny days would never end! He threaded his fingers through her hair, even though he knew she might get annoyed that he was messing up her pretty braid. He'd just smile if she did, and maybe even go in for a—

'No,' he told himself. 'We're going to take this slowly.'

But quiznak, that was going to be hard. All he wanted to do was steal her away and kiss her under the stars. It'd be perfect, just like he'd always hoped for. But he didn't want to rush her, didn't want to pressure her and make things uncomfortable. No, whatever pace they'd go at, he'd always be content just holding her in his arms.

Then suddenly, his day dreams came to a halt. He felt a stare on the back of his neck. Lance subtly guided his and Pidge's slow rocking around, and he felt himself get nervous all over again.

Matt was staring him down, somehow managing to glare at Lance while leading Allura in a steady waltz at the same time. His eyes said it all. Hurt her, and I'll hurt you.

Lance understood immediately. He'd hurt anyone who dared to break one of his little sisters' hearts, too. He nodded seriously, and Matt nodded back, seemingly content with his response.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lance brought his focus back to the young woman in his arms. He'd sensed some tiredness in her voice earlier, and now as he looked down at her, he could see that her shoulders were drooping. There was a soft sigh, and he knew that she was falling asleep against him.

He nudged her gently. "You ready to get going?" he murmured.

She looked up at him and nodded sleepily. "We need to tell Shiro," she mumbled.

He nodded in agreement, his eyes looking up to scan the room. He located Shiro quickly, over near the stage talking with a group of important looking people. Lance looked back down at his girl— his girl, wow, what a thought— and smiled. "Come on, let's go say goodnight."

"Mkay."

They walked slowly, Lance deliberately making his strides shorter to accommodate for her. Pidge stumbled slightly at one point, and immediately, he put one arm around her shoulders and took her hand with his free one. They were getting closer now, and Shiro had glanced over in acknowledgment.

Once they were near the group, Lance cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him, and he found himself straightening up.

"Pidge and I are gonna head on back," he told Shiro, whose eyes immediately looked at the girl in question.

He came forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Katie?"

She sniffed, blinking her eyes up at their leader and giving him a half-glare. "Yes, dad, I'm just tired."

Shiro chuckled. "Okay. Make sure she doesn't change her mind and stay up all night, Lance."

Lance saluted. "Yes, sir!" His eyes left Shiro's and went to Pidge's, immediately going soft. "Come on, let's get you to bed," he whispered.

"Don't tell me what to do," she grumbled, her voice lacking any actual anger.

Laughing to himself, Lance just nodded and guided her toward the door. She shifted and grabbed onto his arm tightly. Lance smiled, his heart feeling like it could burst with joy any second now. He held her close to his side. He contemplated just picking her up and carrying her, but knowing Pidge, she'd never stand for that. Then again, she'd always been fine with piggyback rides…he'd have to try carrying her sometime just for fun.

It wasn't too long before they were in the ship, and Lance had to admit, it was nice to be back onboard. He'd gotten so used to it over the past few years, to the point where leaving it had felt entirely foreign. They walked through the halls on a familiar route toward their rooms, both of them wrapped up in their separate thoughts.

When they reached her door, Lance didn't hesitate on pushing the button and walking in. He lead her over to the bathroom, then went over to where he knew she kept her pajamas. He came back with the bundle of green and black, and she was right where he left her.

Chuckling softly, he nudged her into the bathroom. "Come on, get ready for bed. I'll wait out here."

Pidge didn't even protest— she just took the pajamas and shut the door behind her. Lance sighed deeply, falling back on her bed and closing his eyes. What a night this had turned out to be. He still couldn't believe any of it had worked out. Telling her his feelings was a feat in itself, and now he was tucking her in bed?

Okay, well that wasn't exactly new. He'd found her asleep next to Green more than a dozen times. But still, this felt strangely different…exciting, but also a huge honor.

Lance was buzzing with excitement, and he wondered if he'd be able to sleep tonight.

No, was the apparent answer, especially when Pidge exited the bathroom a few seconds later. She was dressed in a baggy green shirt and a random pair of black shorts. Her hair was out of its braid and back to its usual slightly messy state. Lance couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

He got up from her bed and crossed over to her in three giant steps. She looked up at him expectantly, and he tilted his head. "What?"

"Where's my kiss goodnight?" she asked, and he stuttered. She laughed, reaching up and hugging him tightly around his neck. "Just messin' with you."

Lance wished he could stop blushing, but he just laughed and held her as firmly as he could. He opened his mouth— the words "I love you" were so close to coming out— but he held it in.

Instead, he settled for ruffling her hair and saying, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Mmm, who knows," she hummed lightly. They released each other, and Lance swallowed. Just looking at her, he knew he wanted to stay, to keep talking through the night, something. Their time together was already so short, and he didn't want to think about leaving her tomorrow. This was the last time he'd get to put her to sleep for a while.

Lance couldn't resist it anymore. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, then leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well," he whispered against her skin.

He looked down, expecting to see that surprised look he'd kept causing, but instead, she was smiling up at him. It was a big, bright smile, too— his favorite kind of hers.

"Goodnight, Lance," she replied, and he knew that it already was.