Pidge managed to avoid Lance for three whole days before Keith caught her trying to scurry into a vent.
The likelihood of accidentally running into Lance in the vents was, well… infinitely small. She was about to make her way from her entry point (the supply closet) to the Green Lion's hangar when Keith happened to open the doors of the closet at the exact moment Pidge was hauling herself up.
For a long moment Keith stared at Pidge, and Pidge stared at Keith.
It wasn't her proudest moment, but it beat facing Lance.
Without another word she tried to wriggle herself into the vent and escape—but the former Red Paladin was having none of it.
She yelped in surprise when a hand fastened around her ankle, and with a strong pull Pidge tumbled onto the supply closet floor. She glared up at her unimpressed teammate.
"So this is how you've been avoiding him." Keith deadpanned.
Pidge flushed. "I haven't been avoiding Lance."
"I never said Lance." His eyebrow rose and they stared at each other, unrelenting. Surprisingly, it was Keith who cracked first. With a deep sigh, he abandoned whatever he'd come into the closet for and slid down on the floor next to her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" The words left his mouth as easily as though he were inviting a dentist to pull his teeth out.
Holy Kaltenecker—if Keith of all people was asking her if she needed to talk, Pidge knew it was bad. For a moment she was too stunned to say anything.
"Look. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to." Keith said seriously (almost hopefully). "Whatever is going on… I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk about what happened the other day. But I do think you should talk to Lance."
Pidge's brain finally caught up to her. She swallowed thickly and nodded, not quite looking him in the eye. Despite how much her teammate really hated talking about feelings, here he was. Offering her an ear in case she needed one. She was touched.
"You're right." Pidge sighed, "but I don't want to talk to you about it." She smiled wryly.
"Perfect. Because I'm not comfortable knowing about it." Keith said, relieved.
"Great. Then let's never talk about it."
"Let's never talk about anything." He added, helping Pidge up from the floor.
"Done." She agreed happily.
They shook on it before going their separate ways.
.
…
.
Lance wasn't sure if he was swimming laps or just trying to drown himself in the Altean pool at this point.
Hunk had invited him to swim a few laps, but then said he forgot something and left to go grab it.
Normally swimming helped the Blue Paladin muddle through his thoughts, but no amount of laps would help this situation.
For four long days he and Pidge had been at odds. It didn't take him very long to realize she was avoiding being alone with him. After practice, when they normally lingered behind to joke around or to talk in their grossly sweaty suits, Pidge hit the showers immediately. She even blew off their once a week video game night to help Coran with a project.
She was perfectly polite and civil, but there was something...off. He tried to apologize, but Pidge didn't want to hear it.
With a deep sigh, Lance hauled himself up the ladder of the pool. No amount of laps would help.
Where the quiznak did Hunk disappear to?
Just as he was climbing out of the pool, the doors opened.
"I don't understand why you need my help with the pump." Pidge grumbled as she came into the room, looking sour and grumpy. "You could have just got Coran to—" She trailed off when she realized they weren't alone.
Pidge's eyes met Lance's astonished gaze.
He yelped in surprise and tripped. His arms flailed and he fell with a great big SPLASH back into the pool. He quickly righted himself and popped back out of the water, wondering if he'd been seeing things, but Pidge was still there, currently whirled around on Hunk with betrayal in her eyes.
"I knew something was fishy." She snapped, amber eyes blazing. Lance quickly descended down onto the flip side just as Pidge tried to make a getaway. It stung how she didn't want to be anywhere near him.
Hunk caught Pidge by the scruff of her sweater, preventing her escape.
"You just have to remember that I love and cherish you both… but you have to grow the hell up and talk to each other." The Yellow Paladin instructed sternly.
"All exits are sealed. Including the vents, Pidge. So don't even think about it." Hunk warned ominously, before the door to the pool slid shut.
Lance stared after his friend in horror. How could Hunk do this to him? Pidge clearly didn't want to talk to him yet. She was more likely to drown him in the pool.
"Did… did Hunk just swear?" Pidge asked, slack jawed in wonder, all thoughts of escaping seemingly forgotten.
"Y-yeah." Lance managed to find his voice, nodding along in disbelief.
"I didn't think he was capable of swearing." Pidge mused. They both smiled, and those smiles immediately slid off their faces when they realized the gravity of the situation.
There was a long, awkward stretch of silence. Pidge glanced down at her feet and then up at the pool and Lance wondered if she were looking for some kind of way to burrow out of here.
Clearly their teammates were more fed up with their awkwardness than he'd initially thought. Whatever the reason, this was his chance to make things right. To take his confession back and promise Pidge that they could just forget about it and stay the same way they used to be.
"Pidge I—"
"Lance—"
They both started and stopped at the same time, staring at each other unsurely. Lance screwed his eyes shut, willing himself to have courage and just tell Pidge that it wasn't a joke and apologize. It wasn't just Voltron on the line here, it was his friendship with Pidge. Who cares if she didn't like him back romantically? He'd get over it.
He wouldn't lose her as a friend.
"I'm sorry." Lance blurted, "it was an accident. I was stupid and blurted it out and I panicked…I'm sorry."
He couldn't look at her, so he didn't see her face fall.
"An accident?" She repeated hesitantly.
Lance could feel his heart breaking. She seemed to be taking his apology well, but it was clear that what had happened couldn't happen again. Pidge must not feel the same way about him.
He nodded, not able to look at her.
She snorted bitterly.
"So which one is it then? A joke or an accident? Did you mean what you said? Or not?" The sudden anger bleeding into her tone made him start. Lance glanced up to Pidge, her face was flushed and her gaze seared into him. He opened his mouth and closed it unsurely.
"I wasn't thinking." The words tasted wrong even as they passed his lips. By the hurt look that flashed through her gaze, it wasn't the right thing to say.
"Apology accepted. Don't worry about it. Great joke. Or accident. Whatever." The tone of her voice implied anything but the acceptance of his apology. Irritation swelled up before he could stop it.
"Clearly you don't accept my apology." Lance snarked, the frustration and hurt of the last few days finally rearing its ugly head, "just say that you don't. If you're angry you need to grow a backbone and say it to my face."
Pidge whirled around on him, her eyes narrowed furiously. "Fine. Maybe I don't accept it because it's a stupid apology. First you said it was a joke. Then you say it was an accident. So which one is it? You either meant what you said or you didn't."
Lance opened his mouth and then snapped it shut.
"Why didn't you say anything?" He demanded instead of answering her particularly poignant question. They were both nearly yelling at this point, standing toe to toe. His neck was starting to ache from the angle he had to hold it at to meet Pidge's furious glower.
"You-you sprung that confession on me out of nowhere! What was I supposed to say?" Pidge hissed, jabbing a finger into his bare chest. "You took me completely by surprise and then—you just took it all back! April Fools Lance. That's what you said."
"Well if you aren't angry—then what Pidge?"
"I'm not angry." Her voice was tight and controlled, but she avoided his gaze and it hurt.
"Then what." He pushed her just a little more. They needed to fix this, but somehow they'd both let it spiral even more out of control. He couldn't stand the feeling—like it was sand slipping through his fingers and he was desperately trying to stop it.
"I was embarrassed, okay?" She finally burst, miserable.
There was an awful moment of silence.
…
Lance recoiled like she'd physically slapped him.
"About my feelings?" He choked.
Pidge's eyes widened.
Why was she so bad with words? Why did she have to put her foot in her mouth when it came to Lance? She was so tired of this. She hated fighting with him. But this was unlike any disagreement they had previously.
"No!" Pidge grabbed Lance's arm before he could turn away from her. "Look at me. Lance." She grasped his cheeks and forced him to look at her. She could see the same pain, hurt and frustration reflected in his eyes and all the anger drained out of her, leaving her exhausted and sad.
Pidge was a genius with tech, but people on the other hand... She was terrible. This time was no different. Her friend had been deeply hurt by her actions simply because she couldn't find the courage or the words to explain what was going on. To her, the distinction of whether Lance had accidentally blurted out his confession, or whether he'd meant it as a joke was incredibly important. And maybe it was time for him to know why.
"I'm sorry." Pidge murmured softly, dropping her hand and stepping back. "I shouldn't have avoided you. I wasn't mad I just…" She let out a frustrated breath, "you hit a sore spot and I was too embarrassed to tell you."
"A sore spot?" Lance repeated, bewildered.
"Yeah. I uh…" This was painful to say. It wasn't even something she'd told Matt. It was far too humiliating and she was worried her brother would get into trouble defending her again at the time. But Lance deserved to know and moreover, she wanted to tell him.
"I wasn't very popular in middle school and high school. I got asked out a handful of times… on a dare… or as a joke." She swallowed thickly and glanced away. It wasn't something she particularly liked to talk about. It was embarrassing and had wounded her deeply at the time. As much as she liked to pretend that the bullying, the hurtful words, the hurtful actions hadn't affected her—that she was above all of that and they couldn't hurt her, there were some things that lingered. This was one of them.
"I mean, I only fell for it once before I clued in. and I just wanted you to know why I reacted the way I did." She still couldn't bring herself to look at him.
When Lance didn't immediately say something, Pidge fell into her usual tendency of nervous rambling.
"And it wasn't a big deal I guess. I waited at the ice cream shop for three hours and then had to walk home in the rain, but the good news is that I got to try the new peanut butter flavor they got in and it was really good." She swallowed thickly, trying to choke down her panic and shame, "anyways, good talk Lance—I'm sorry for avoiding you and it really was a good joke. Apology accepted. Bye!"
Finally Pidge's fight or flight response kicked into overdrive and she went to flee.
Before she could even take a step Lance pounced.
She lurched at the unexpected movement and let out a squawk, but somehow he managed to keep them upright. For the second time within a week her face was smooshed into his chest, though this time he wasn't wearing anything except his swim trunks. Even once they regained their balance Lance didn't let go.
"It wasn't a joke." Lance said desperately. "I'm the joke."
Pidge blinked uncomprehendingly, her head a little fuzzy from being so, so, so close to him.
PIDGE:/MIND/Thinking_Does not compute.
"But you said… April Fools?"
Lance pressed her a little tighter to his chest, groaning. The sensation made her heart stutter. Even fresh from the pool, Lance's distinctively warm, honeyed scent persisted and she couldn't help but feel intoxicated by him.
"I know. The only fool here is me. I panicked. I didn't mean to tell you about how I felt like that because the guys were right there and that kind of thing is so private. It was an accident. I wanted to tell you, but not like that." He took a deep, steadying breath.
"I'm sorry I said April Fools. And I'm sorry I gave you such a bullshit apology. I was a coward."
"S-so…" Pidge trailed off, trying to keep her heart from exploding, "all that stuff you said?"
Lance released her enough so that she could turn to face him. His face was beet red, but she was pretty sure hers matched.
"I meant every word." He stressed gently, the intensity and honesty shining in his gaze made her head swim.
"I…" Pidge's voice failed her. "Even the part about me climbing you like a tree?"
Lance nodded, his face growing somehow even redder.
Pidge was stumped. Lance was so... Lance! She always admired how he wore his heart on his sleeve. He was so outgoing and such a people person… his good heart was what first attracted her to him and then everything in between had just doomed her. While Pidge had liked Lance for a while, she couldn't ever see something happening between the two of them because of his huge crush on Allura. But if he said he meant every word, Pidge truly trusted him from the bottom of her heart.
Lance waited patiently for her to mull all this information over, having learned his lesson in jumping the gun.
"I guess there's really only one thing to say." Pidge whispered seriously, her eyes never leaving his.
"Are… are you an alien?"
Confusion bled into Lance's features. "What?"
"Are you an alien?" Pidge repeated, unable to stop the grin from pulling at her lips, "because you are out of this world."
Lance blinked in astonishment, her words slowly filtering through his brain and then he laughed. It was a beautiful sound—warming her from the inside out.
"You know Pidge, the last few days were tough." He smiled warmly, "because the only thing I hate about space… is the one between us." He waggled his eyebrows and Pidge snorted, though her cheeks were unmistakably pink.
Her next action took them both by surprise.
Pidge hugged him.
Lance stiffened at the unexpected action, but then immediately softened and wrapped his arms around her small frame. She pulled him a little tighter, glad that everything was okay again and let out a shuddering breath. She hated being at odds with the Blue Paladin, but it had taken her a few days to be able to put her thoughts into words. Pidge was great with tech, people… not so much. Tech was easy! But something about people had her stumped. Somehow she was comforted knowing that even Lance, who was such a people person and so kind, could also fudge up sometimes.
"Thanks Lance." Pidge sighed and she could feel him relax even more, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She didn't let him go just yet, but he didn't make a move to separate either, just holding her close.
"I like you too." She said honestly, "but what do we do from here?" Pidge doesn't like the unknown. Going down this route is a complete mystery to her and it's nerve wracking. Already she's sweating like a lot, and it's kind of a miracle she hasn't slipped out of Lance's arms like a slippery fish.
"We don't have to do anything." Lance squeezed her a little closer before letting her go so he could look into her eyes. She's flattered to see that his cheeks are just as pink as hers.
"Nothing has to change until we're ready."
As Paladins of Voltron, their occupation had already demanded so much from them. This—her feelings, Lance's feelings—was not something they should or would rush. They already had to grow up so fast…as long as they understood how they felt about each other, everything else would work out.
"Okay." Pidge agreed softly, taken aback by the depth of sincerity in his answer.
"Except… One thing has to change."
He looked quizzical and slightly nervous, but nodded anyways. "What's that?"
"You have to call me King from now on."
.
…
.
A few months later, Lance finally remembered the burning question he'd forgotten about in the whirlwind of their dangerous day jobs, and their blossoming relationship. Between fighting the Galra Empire, building the Coalition, stealing moments together and giving Pidge her first kiss (and many thereafter), it had been a busy couple of months.
"Pidge, when did you learn Spanish?" Lance asked curiously when they were playing a round of Killbot Phantasm II on a rare day of peace.
"Do you really want to know the answer?" Pidge asked without taking her eyes off the screen.
Lance nodded confusedly.
"Despacito."
There was a long, uncomfortable moment where Lance's mouth opened and closed and then opened again, but no words came out. It wasn't until she pressed a quick, grinning kiss to his lips that Lance realized he'd been had.
"That's not funny." He pouted, except he was grinning as he said it.
Pidge smirked.
"I learned just enough words to screw with you if you ever called me short. Or any variation of."
Lance snorted. That answer was positively Pidge.
"But," she began shyly, "I think I would like to learn. For real."
His heart flipped in his chest and not for the first time did Lance think how easy it would be to fall hopelessly in love with Pidge. (He was already most of the way there after all).
"I think I know a good teacher who'd be willing to tutor you… Tall, swarthy, handsomest guy in the universe..." He waggled his eyebrows and Pidge looked thoughtful.
"We're both talking about Hunk here right? I know he took Spanish for three years." Pidge teased.
This time it was Lance who pressed a grinning kiss to her lips.
Spot the Brooklyn Nine-Nine reference FTW!
Thank you kindly to phantomist13, KatieGunderson, Pidge1900, SOme weedbY and ToffyChu for your reviews! You made my day.
