Pidge curled up amongst the tall grass on the hilltop as she watched a few townspeople shuffle past her in the serene village, going about their daily routines. A small gust of wind lifted some pieces of uprooted grass and swirled them up to the sky. She leaned back against the tree, the shade of the dark green leaves covering her from the gentle sun. The breeze felt nice on her face. Closing her eyes, she could hear the faint rustling of nature around her, and it calmed her nerves.
It had been at least an hour since they had stopped in the grasslands to gather supplies. Shiro had said that Pidge should stay hidden amongst the grass on the outskirts of town in case she'd be found by anyone hunting her down. She knew this was impossible: the orphanage undoubtedly did not want to make a huge fuss out of her escape; what if, somewhere during the investigation, the police had found out about their bribing practices? That would definitely not go down well. But Shiro insisted, giving her his all-too-well-known fatherly stare. For some reason, though she couldn't quite understand it, she felt obligated to listen to father Shiro. So there she was. Sitting alone on the top of a hill. (Rover had dashed off as soon as she set him down, but that cat was a rascal anyway; there was no way she was going to chase after him.)
She didn't like being alone. Sure, it was peaceful; there was no one to annoy her with pesky questions or backhanded compliments or obnoxious rants. But it was quiet, too quiet. And silence always reminded her of what was missing in her life. Her brother.
"Matt, where are you…?" she whispered to herself. But she would find him. No matter where he was, she would find him.
One thing about Matt especially confused her, though. What was her brother's connection with Shiro, the stranger she had randomly met the other day and— without thinking too much, really— rashly trusted? Shiro seemed like a good guy; he was polite and comforting, if not a bit too fatherly. But it was unusual: why would he drop everything— his home, his job (she assumed, hopefully, that he was not a shut-in), his life— to help her? She'd asked him before, but he brushed her off nicely and gave a vague answer with a smile.
Something tickled her nose. Her eyes shot open as she hastily stood up to get a better smell. She sniffed around a bit on her tiptoes, desperately deciphering the scent.
Could it be...? "Peanut butter cookies…?" Her eyes sparkled excitedly. She looked frantically for where the aroma could be coming from. Suddenly she shook her head, frowning, as she composed herself. She paused for a moment, crossing her arms with a pout.
"Okay, so I know that Shiro said not to go anywhere because it would be dangerous, but let's face it; no one will even find me out here. Why would anyone look for me, one measly runaway? And even if they did find me out there, I didn't practice karate for eight years for no reason. Besides, it's peanut butter cookies! Who could resist peanut butter cookies! My favorite! They definitely taste better than anything else I've eaten this past day. Did I even eat anything this past day? Other than that weird donut Shiro gave me just before he left me on his own. I don't even think it was a donut. It was more like a brick. Where does he even get his food? It tasted icky. Then again, he probably doesn't mind it. After all, does he even eat? I haven't seen him eat at all while we were walking here, and his stomach didn't even growl once! And now I'm rambling, and I know I'm rambling, but if I don't eat any peanut butter cookies, I'm going to starve to death because I can't digest weird donut bricks!" As if on cue, a low growl escaped Pidge's stomach.
"That's it. I'm going!" she huffed.
She skidded down the hill in a hurry, glancing left and right for any peanut butter cookies. Her sense of smell— normally pretty bad, but unusually acute when it came to PBCs— led her to a quaint cottage, far away from the center of the village and the hustle of the townspeople.
The door to the cottage was wide open, but peering inside, Pidge saw no one. "Hello…?" she called out, but no response came.
She could tell, though, from the stronger scent of the cookies, that they were deeper inside. Technically, she reasoned, it's not trespassing. I'm just.. visiting, is all. With this weak excuse in mind, she pushed aside her guilty conscience and hurried in. Once she got the PBCs, everything would be okay.
Aside from the living room directly connected to the front door, there was one other long hallway that stretched far left. As she tiptoed past room after room, she couldn't help but admire the wondrous machines inside; a small amphibious boat, a complex miniature rocket, and… a mysterious giant clock labeled "TIME MACHINE"...? Before she could get a closer look, she heard a loud crash.
"Ow!" a wail echoed through the hall. "My heart!"
In alarm, Pidge quickly sprinted to the end of the hall, where the scream had come from. "Hey, are you alrighhhhh….t?" she skidded to a stop, out of breath. Before her was a boy crouched on the floor, sniffling as he picked up broken cookie pieces off the floor with his mittened hands and gently placed them onto a tray. The boy looked up at her in surprise.
"Uh… who are you?" he blinked, tightening his apron as he stood up quickly.
He was at least a good head taller than her. Pidge shuffled a few steps back warily. "That's what I should be asking you," she said, choosing her words carefully. "What was that commotion about? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" he looked at her, confused.
"Well, I mean… you did scream 'Ow! My heart!' so loudly that I could hear you from the other end of the hall," she frowned, pushing up her glasses carefully.
"What…? Oh. OH. Yeah. Yeah, that! I see what you mean," he smiled. "Yeah, you see, I dropped these cookies I was baking, and they crumbled on the floor. My hard work. All gone. Really pains my heart, you know?"
Pidge didn't know. But she nodded anyway.
"But luckily I still have another batch!" he said, licking his lips. He gestured to a freshly-baked plate on the countertop. "Do you want to try one? I can guarantee their deliciousness." He held up his head proudly as he handed Pidge a cookie.
Pidge looked up at him. "Are you sure…? Isn't it your hard work?"
His eyes softened. "I want to share them because it's hard work," he grinned.
Smiling back, Pidge gratefully ate the cookie, relieving the hunger aches in her stomach. Peanut butter cookies really were the best. She sighed happily at the taste.
The boy picked up another cookie and started munching happily. "By the way," he spoke in between bites. "Who— yum— are you again…? What are you— oh, this one tastes the best out of all of them!— doing in my house…?"
Pidge lifted her glasses bashfully. She had forgotten she had basically broken into a stranger's home. What should she say…? But, he did give her a cookie. His whole persona was gushing with kindheartedness, purity, and warmth. It wouldn't hurt to tell this stranger, would it…?
"I'm Pidge," she said, after some thought. "I was… around town, when I noticed the amazing smell of your cookies. And I was kinda hungry. Also my love for peanut butter cookies is unrivaled. So I came here," she answered truthfully. "Well, I did call out, of course, before coming inside! But no one answered, so, here I am…?"
The boy laughed. "Sorry, I was pretty absorbed with my baking. But I'm glad you came in! It was nice sharing food with you. I'm Hunk, by the way."
Pidge smiled. "Again, really sorry for intruding your house… But, I noticed… there were a lot machines around here? Where'd you get such cool stuff like that?"
Hunk started stacking the empty plates into the sink. "Oh, I built those."
"Oh, I see… so you just… wait, you built those?! From scratch?!" Pidge gasped.
"Yup! It's kinda like cooking. Making things. Except not with food. Unfortunately." Hunk scrubbed some plates as he turned on the sink tap.
Wow. Hunk was incredible. A genius. And amazingly amiable, Pidge mused. He was even kind enough to save a starving stranger like her. It seemed that she was receiving a lot of help from strangers these days, like from…
"SHIRO!" Pidge jumped up. "How could I have forgotten?!"
"What? What happened?" Hunk spun around to face her, hand still scrubbing a dish.
"Nope, nothing! Just something I forgot," Pidge scratched her head. "Really sorry, but I have to get going now, Hunk! Nice meeting you!" She quickly bolted out.
"Yeah, sure! No problem," Hunk called out to her, poking his head out the kitchen door. "Hope to see you again!"
Pidge half-waved as she ran through the hallway and out the front door. Shiro was going to explode if he found out she had left her initial position on the hill. She panted as she ran up the path. But it was too late. She was met by a frowning Shiro with a large backpack by his feet. Rover was curled up next to him,
"I got some of the supplies we needed, and some more food," he said, slipping one of the backpack's straps over his shoulder. "But where was Pidge, instead of waiting at hill like I had told her to…?"
"Um," Pidge shuffled her feet, refusing to make eye contact. "I was… just hanging around."
"I see," he looked unimpressed. "Were you talking to anyone? Did you meet anyone suspicious?"
"Suspicious? No, no, of course not! Hunk is definitely not suspicious!" Pidge took a step back and waved her arms in front of her, completely denying that notion.
"So… You were with someone named Hunk…?" Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Care to tell me more…?"
Shit. "Uh." Panic mode: ON. "I was originally planning on waiting for you and then I got bored— and besides I could smell some delicious peanut butter cookies, so then I decided to follow the scent because I'm hungry and no offense but the brick donut you gave me tastes exactly like a brick so I was dying for some of my favorite cookies. And then I found out the smell was coming from this one house so I went inside because no one was answering— and also found some really cool machines— but anyway, at the very end of the hall there was this kitchen and Hunk was there and he was screaming about his heart, but not really about his heart; it was more of an emotional thing than a physical issue, but anyways he noticed me and gave me a cookie, which was really nice of him because who gives strangers cookies? Peanut butter cookies? He's really good at baking, and it turns out he also made those really cool machines too! But then I realized you were probably coming back soon so I ran here as fast as I could so you wouldn't worry but then you did! And so yeah," Pidge wiped a bead of sweat as glanced around. "Don't worry, I wasn't in any danger."
Shiro sighed, putting a hand to ruffle Pidge's hair. "It's fine, Pidge. I'm not angry or anything. I know I can trust you. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
Pidge could hear the genuineness in his voice and could almost feel tears in her eyes. He was probably the only person— other than Matt— who truly cared for her wellbeing. It was a weird feeling. She couldn't tell if it made her happy or sad.
"Come on, Pidge," Shiro smiled comfortingly at her. "We should get going now. We'll find some place warm to stay for the night, and in the morning we'll set off north to Balmera to search again."
Pidge nodded silently, scooping up the purring Rover into her arms. Just then, a shout made them stop in their tracks.
"Pidge! Hey, Pidge, wait up!" a tired Hunk yelled out to her, a basket in hand.
Pidge turned to face him. "What happened, Hunk?"
Hunk held out the basket. "I had some leftover cookies. Do you want them? I could tell from before that you were pretty hungry."
Pidge took it from him gladly. "Thanks a ton, Hunk. I really appreciate it." She looked at Shiro, who smiled approvingly.
"He's a good friend," Shiro whispered.
"I told you," Pidge smiled back.
Suddenly a loud beep startled them. Hunk mumbled sheepishly, "Sorry guys, just my cell. Didn't mean to scare you both." He took the phone out of his pocket to check his messages.
"Okay, Pidge. Let's go. We'll need a good night's sleep if we want to reach Balmera in time tomorrow," Shiro turned around. Pidge nodded. "Well, then, bye, Hunk!"
Before she could leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait, hold on. Did you guys just say you were heading for Balmera?" Hunk furrowed his brows, his phone clutched in his hand.
"Um, yeah? That's where we're headed next," Pidge replied, confused.
"... Would it be okay if I joined you two?"
Pidge looked up at Shiro, who looked surprised at first before nodding slowly. "What happened, Hunk?"
"It's my friend," Hunk shook his head.
"Your friend? Who is it?" Pidge asked.
"He's also my roommate, in a sense. He's an interesting guy. I don't know if you saw it, but the 'time machine' in my house, that was made by him. Of course, it doesn't actually work. But anyway, main point here is that he needs my help," Hunk sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "His name is Lance. He said he's at Balmera right now but ran into some trouble."
"Yeah, of course you can join us!" Pidge exclaimed. "I hope he's alright."
"Knowing Lance, he probably hit on some other guy's girlfriend. Or got mixed up with some gangs. Or something crazy like that," Hunk thought carefully. "I bet he's fine. Maybe. Probably. But I just have to make sure he's really fine."
"Those scenarios certainly don't sound fine," Shiro frowned. "So yes, feel free to come along with us. It's good to make sure your friend is safe."
"Thanks a lot. So, are we leaving now?" Hunk asked, tightening his headband.
"Well, that was the plan. But do you need to get anything from your home before we set off?" Shiro asked him.
"Nope," Hunk beamed. "I have everything I need in these," he said, patting his pockets. "From my keys to super glue to cat food." Rover meowed in response. Pidge laughed and patted his head softly.
"Good to hear you're prepared, Hunk. Okay then, all of you; let's get going!" Shiro led the way down the hill. Hunk and Pidge followed, Rover yawning in her arms. The grass rustled under their feet as they tread lightly forward.
By the time they reached a small, quiet inn on the outskirts of town, the moon was high in the sky and the stars peeked out through the nighttime clouds. Pidge felt warm and comfortable in the blankets, knowing she now had two people she could rely on, and fell into a deep sleep with Rover in her arms.