"I wonder what was going on inside those people heads to be so taken by Lance," Shiro chuckled, "I guess I should ask you, Keith?"

"Shut up, Shiro."

"So Keith was next, huh?" Pidge snickered, spoon dangling from her lips, "Like older brother like younger brother, I guess."

"Shut up, Pidge."

The team laughed. Shiro could not wait to tell everyone the situation he had found Keith in; as soon as morning came, he was already at the table, beaming at the idea of telling what he knew. The others had soaked his words promptly, knowing smirks growing on their faces. Keith had barged in room and the conversation, yelling that it wasn't what they were thinking and to stop fucking laughing, I'll kill you all. It took a few good minutes for them to calm down, to calm him down, and to assure him no one was going to judge him too harshly. Lance was a lovable man; they could understand why people would fall for him. It was just hard to believe any of them could fall for the boy.

Except Shiro.

And except Keith.

"I guess it makes sense, almost every fanfic where two characters are rivals end up with them fucking."

"Pidge, first of all, language. Second, what in the world have you been reading?"

Hunk chuckled softly, shushing his teammates so Keith could explain himself. The boy was red, more than the Red Lion herself, and kept on stuttering. Ah, it reminded Hunk of their Garrison days, where young cadets would shyly approach him to ask what was Lance's favorite color, of when was Lance's birthday, or what type of gift Lance would enjoy. It never bothered Hunk, first because he himself wasn't interested in dating at the time, and second because he knew Lance strived on attention. Lance was truly a lover, he had a lot of love—platonic, romantic and anything in between—to give, but the love was almost never returned, usually because Lance didn't believe he was worth of receiving—only giving. Therefore, every time someone was willing to give his best friend some of it, Hunk did everything in his power to make things work.

Moreover, if Keith were willing to give Lance love, Hunk would gladly help.

Same with Shiro.

(It is a mystery if Hunk ever thought about the two potentially fighting each other because Lance. Maybe he was just oblivious in his want to see his best friend loved.)

(Or he just wanted to watch the world burn a little.)

"He… He was using a sword and he looked too fucking good doing it." Shiro almost reprimanded the use of a swear word, but he knew Keith needed to let things out and interrupting would make the boy step back into silence. "And he was using it perfectly, he sent me to the ground with a few swings and then gave that cocky smirk—you know the one, the shining one—and I could do nothing but dumbly ask him when he had learnt that—"

"Breath, Keith," Allura requested a bit worried.

Coran offered the boy a cup, saying something about a tea to calm down nerves, but Keith was so lost on the desperate need to tell everyone how goddamn good Lance looked and how goddamn thoughtful that idiot was, he just grabbed it from the older gentleman's hands and chugged. Coran smiled another of his famous dad smiles, winking at the mice. "Ah, young love and the distress it brings" his smiled said. Harshly putting the cup down, the half-galra started again.

"Lance decided he should master both the sword and the gun. He said—you should have seen him—he said he shouldn't rely only on his gun. He was—Lance is—He's been bettering himself so he could be ready for any situation."

"Shiro is a shoulders man; Keith is weak against a hard worker… How lucky am I to be alive right now?"

"Make fun of us all you want, Pidge, but you'll see. Your time will come." Shiro threatened playfully, Keith nodding rapidly. They knew how easy it was to give to Lance's charms; they had no doubt Pidge would too.

(They maybe didn't really want her to; it was already hard knowing they would probably have to compete against each other for Lance's feelings.)

(Being able to tease her like she was teasing them was very tempting, though.)

"Her time of what?"

Keith whispered some random swear words, Shiro vehemently agreeing with the boy. Lance should be forbidden of wearing tank tops, it made him look too delicious. The jeans and sneakers were there too, but they didn't really pay attention when they could see so much shoulder and arm. Lance's arms, am I right?

"Her time to taste Hunk's new cookie recipe," Coran explained, sending the team a dad smirk, "You're always the first one to prove his new recipes, right?"

"Yeah! Sorry, Pidgeon, but I'm Hunk's official taste tester."

"And who said I want that title?"

"I know green is your color, but envy surely isn't your shade."

"Shut up, Lance.

Lance's laugh echoed on the room, bringing smiles on their faces.

Pidge couldn't sleep. She just couldn't close her eyes and not think about her family. She missed them. She missed them so much. Too much. To the point it hurt. Silently sitting in front of the Green Lion, she let the soft purr or said lion wash her pain away, slowly and never fully. Pidge liked to sit down near people she trusted and just feel their presence when she was too overwhelmed. She had done that with Hunk a lot on their experimentation nights, both sitting on the floor, back to back, silently tinkering with some piece of whatever they wanted to understand. With Shiro, when he was reading some reports in the common room, she leaning on his shoulder, whispering stories about her brother to the only member of the team who knew him. With Keith, when he was sharpening his blade, she sat a little away from him, tinkering with anything, the two just enjoying the silence. With Allura and Coran, both on the control room deciding the next steps to make things more efficient, she on her chair, giving helpful information she was able to acquire. With Green, letting the lion purr comfortably into her mind.

And, finally, her favorite, with Lance. Lance didn't really like to tinker with things, nor had the patience to stay in silence, nor the interest on reports about the intergalactic war, nor knew a lot about the hell Allura and Coran did to make the castle fly, nor could the purr some assurance directly into her mind. Nevertheless, Lance had the best hugs, the best stories, he was a great listener and extremely emphatic. He would immediately wrap her in his arms and pet her back. He would hum lowly. He would cry with her and smile with her. Lance was by far the best person to go when she was in need of comfort.

"Can't sleep?"

Speak of the devil that the tail appears.

"Come here, Pidgey."

She crawled on his lap as soon as he sat down in front of her. Pidge could feel the tears running, and did no effort to stop them. Lance wouldn't judge her. Lance was too good of a person to do anything to hurt her feelings. She could tell him everything. She could trust him her whole story. And she did between pained sobs. He whole body shook, he hugged her more firmly. Katie never felt as free as the night she decided to tell Lance everything she carried in her heart. When she was finished, sobs then reduced to sighs, the boy finally let his voice out.

"I knew you were remarkable, I just had no idea how much."

"I'm not—"

"You are incredible, Pidge." She noticed how he hesitated on calling her Pidge, probably wanting to use her real name, but being too much of a respectful bastard to do it without consent. For a second, Katie wished to hear her name come out of his lips.

"I can't even find my family."

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to look together."

He said those words so easily. Of course they would find her family, the tone of his voice told her. Pidge stared directly at his blue eyes. Bluest blue. Gentle and warm, sure of themselves, promising her they would do everything to bring her family back to her.

"Not being able to do certain things doesn't make you less incredible, Pidge. Just don't lose hope, we'll find them. I promise you."

Shiro and Keith had fallen suddenly; they told the realization came like a punch to the gut. Katie felt differently. It was no punch; it was a warm caress on the cheek. A gentle hand rubbing her skin, wiping the tears away. She didn't fall for Lance; she was already falling without noticing. Floating down, more precisely. She let her head fall into his chest, hugging him closely, listening to his heartbeat. She could feel her hear jump and her face burning.

Warm. Safe. Caring. Gentle. Lance.

"You can… You can use my real name if you want to."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm the one asking, idiot." She giggled at the dramatic gasp. Dramatic boy.

"I'm hurt, Katie! Here I was thinking you were acting so docile!"

Shivers run down her spine, her name sounded good on his voice. Katie wanted to hear him saying it more. She wanted to stay in his arms for a long time. Maybe forever. Forever would be good. Green was still purring gently, she was happy her pilot was happy. Katie sighed contentedly, silently listening to Lance's stories.

Shiro was right; her time came.

Good.

"Were you making cookies earlier, Hunk?"

"Yeah, I needed to think about… Things…"

Coran offered the boy a cup, saying something about a tea to calm down, but Hunk was so lost on the thought of baking cookies for his not present taste tester; he just grabbed it from the older gentleman's hands and chugged. Coran looked at the mice, mustache in disarray. There was no trace of his dad smile, but it wasn't new. Shiro stared at his team. Keith was lethargic, Pidge had thick tears on her eyes, Allura looked like Death. He tried to lift the mood a bit.

"Will you let us prove some?"

"Sorry, Shiro, but Lance is still my official taste tester."

"Lucky bastard." Pidge grumbled fondly.

Lance's laugh echoed on their minds, bringing bitter smiles on their faces.