"Someone's coming! Put it away!"
Pidge hid the scanner in her backpack. Keith dashed over to sit beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
It was nothing but a romantic night of stargazing.
They tightened their grip as the intruding party swaggered up to them.
It was a student, no one with authority but he could still rat them out.
"Evening, gentleman," he said. "Sorry to interrupt your date."
He didn't look sorry at all.
"Uhhh…"
Keith and Pidge exchanged a glance. Yes, this was the basic emergency plan, but they hadn't exactly drilled it.
"Mind if I join you lovebirds for a while?" the boy said, sitting beside them. "Of COURSE it's a lovely night to be out stargazing with someone nice, that's been on my romantic to-do list for a LONG time now."
Pidge did a double-take.
"Lance?"
"Wait… PIDGE?" said the boy. "YOU'RE the one dating this guy?"
Pidge tugged Keith further in.
"Yes."
"No fucking way! Is THIS why you won't hang out with us? Because we're not cool like Mr. Ace Pilot over here?"
"Yes."
Lance rounded on Keith.
"Why are you even dating Pidge? He's such a shitball!"
"Believe me, I know," Keith said.
"Gee, thanks," grumbled Pidge.
Lance made a face.
"Ugh, if I have to see you guys kiss I'm gonna throw up."
"Yeah, so would I."
Someone else spoke from across the roof.
"Lance, are we done? Can we go yet?"
"NO, HUNK, WE CAN'T!" Lance called, way too loudly for a nighttime stealth mission. "It's PIDGE!"
The other person came up to them.
"Seriously? Wow." He laughed and put a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Congratulations, Pidge, you have no idea how jea-"
Lance elbowed him in the knee.
"Pidge, you know these guys?" Keith asked.
Pidge sighed.
"They're from my flight unit."
"You must've heard of us," Lance grinned. "Hasn't he told you all about his awesome flight buddies?"
"No, actually."
"Right," Lance deflated. "Man, Pidge, do you really have to be such a heartless prick all the time?"
"Hey!" Keith snapped. "You lay off!"
"Lance… why are you even up here?" Pidge asked.
Lance jumped up and threw himself into Hunk's arms. Hunk barely caught him.
"Because I'M on a super hot date tonight too!"
"What, with Hunk? Since when are you guys dating?"
"SINCE WE FELT LIKE IT! God, Pidge, I don't question the things that YOU do!"
"Yes you do. All the time."
"Well you never give me an answer so I'm not gonna give you one either!"
"Just yesterday you were whining about being single."
"I was NOT whining!"
Keith snorted.
"Well, hey, Keith," Hunk laughed, setting Lance down, "I'm glad you somehow got past Pidge's killjoy side. We've been trying."
"…How do you know my name?"
"He just took a lucky guess, okay!" Lance glared at Hunk.
"You guys followed us up here, didn't you," Pidge said.
"No we did NOT!" Lance pouted. "We're on a DATE! Give me a kiss, Hunk!"
"Uhhh, okay," Hunk leaned over and kissed Lance on the cheek.
"I think I really am going to puke," Pidge grimaced.
"It's called team bonding, Pidge, maybe you should try it sometime."
Keith shot him a cold look.
"You're so fucking mean, I'm sorry Pidge has to work with you."
"Hey, I'm just trying to be friends here, you guys are the ones making it hard."
"Well we were having a VERY good night before you showed up!" Pidge scowled.
They hadn't been, really, but they didn't like being caught. They could both feel the other shaking.
"Lance, we should probably go," Hunk said.
"Yeah, well–"
An alarm came on, calling a Zulu Niner. Lockdown and headcount. They could hear the buzz of the sealing doors.
"Well, fuck," Lance said. "You know, since we're gonna be stuck outside for a while, it would be a good time for us to start being friends."
Pidge and Keith pretended not to hear.
And then they saw it.
It fell like the stars they'd never admit to wishing on for the past year. It glowed like a sliver of God.
They didn't mean to, but they held onto each other.
"It's a ship…"
It came from the frozen cockles of space and it touched the earth. It was a ship, it was a star, and they followed it. Made of light, it was theirs.
They followed it and they were followed, too.