"You can't keep doing this, Pidge."

Pidge looked up from her computer. Keith was leaned against the wall of her bedroom, arms crossed. His jacket was gone in favor of a plain t-shirt and he had pulled his hair back up in a ponytail.

"I know."

Keith pursed his lips. "Then why do you keep agreeing to meet them?"

Pidge looked back down at the blueprints for her robot design displayed on the computer screen. "I don't know." She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out. "I really don't know. Maybe I want to show them I'm not a kid anymore. I don't know."

She heard Keith push off from the wall with a sigh. His weight settled down onto the mattress next to her and he looped an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened but eventually settled into the comforting touch.

"I get it. I really do," Keith began. "What I wouldn't give to show up some of the people who made my life miserable when I was your age." He sighed. "But sometimes it's better to let go."

Pidge nodded in understanding. There had been so many more that just Angela and her group. Caitlin in third grade and Jasmine in sixth and a whole host of others that had made her years in public school difficult, and she had let go of all of them. It was just something about Angela and the rest of them that she couldn't forget. Not yet "Yeah," she looked up at him. "But I think this is something I have to do."

Keith, thankfully, didn't protest. He nodded like he understood and got up off the bed. "Then you'll have the entire team to back you up."

What a sight that would be. Six paladins, both current and retired, a space rebel officer, a Galra rebel, a weird cosmic wolf, and a buff pilot and mechanic facing down four teenagers. Despite herself, she smiled.

It was around 1 a.m. when she heard the crying. It was soft, obvious that whoever it was was trying to hide the sound of it.

Pidge had been roaming the house for about thirty minutes trying to make herself tired to no avail. She was too nervous to ask to sleep in one of the other paladin's rooms and Matt was passed out cold. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she had opted to pace the house until exhaustion either made her trudge back to her bed or pass out on the floor.

Pidge followed the soft hiccupping sobs down the hall to a door that was slightly ajar. After a steadying breath, she pushed it open to find Lance inside, clutching a pillow to his chest with tears on his face. As soon as he saw her, he straightened up, wiped his face, and put on a tight smile. "Hey Pidge, what's up?"

Pidge gave him a sympathetic look and he broke the grin, looking back down at his pillow sadly. "Didn't hide it fast enough, did I?" He let out a watery laugh.

Pidge stood there awkwardly for a few moments, contemplating. What should she do? She had never been the best at comforting people. When Matt's favorite character had died in some anime he watched Pidge had told him 'well, at least you'll never see him again and be reminded,' in an attempt to comfort her brother. It hadn't worked.

But Lance was crying alone in the middle of the night. This wasn't comforting someone over a fictional character (though Matt had been pretty heartbroken). Pidge knew how much crying alone sucked, so she steeled her emotions and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

Lance chuckled sadly. "Nothing. Everything." He squeezed the pillow tighter.

Pidge pursed her lips. "That doesn't help me much."

Lance was quiet for a few moments, and Pidge almost thought he zoned out. But he said, "It's not fair."

Pidge's eyebrows drew together. That was vague. What wasn't fair? Life? "What do you mean?"

Lance laughed sadly again and shook his head. "I'm going to sound like an asshole."

Pidge gave him smile, hoping it didn't look too forced. "Well, I'm an asshole all the time, so I won't be fazed."

Lance smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He sighed, eyes downcast. That look of grief Pidge had noticed the other night was back in full force and it made her feel… weird. Lance was always the happy one, he never looked sad. She knew that of course he was going to be sad at times, he was human, but it threw her for a loop to see him like this.

He sighed again and looked up, not really focusing on anything in particular. "It's not fair that you and Matt and Keith get to be around your families while mine and Hunk's still think we're dead."

Oh. Oh.

"Oh, Lance…"

Lance laughed again, the sound of it punctuated by the before-breakdown voice cracks. "Did you know my grandmother died while we were in space?" At Pidge's shocked look, he continued. "I looked up my family on your dad's computer. I found her obituary." A tear streaked its way down his cheek, soon followed by another. "She's dead, Pidge. My abuela. She died thinking I went first."

Pidge didn't know what to say. What could she say? She knew from firsthand experience what it felt like to lose a family member, but she had known deep inside that they were alive. This time, someone really was gone, and without a goodbye too…

"Was she sick?" No, no! That was not what you were supposed to say to someone who was grieving. Pidge mentally punched herself.

Lance shook his head. "Not when we left. It said she had a stroke."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Lance," Pidge stuttered out, grasping for something, anything to say.

More tears fell down Lance's face and onto his already tear-stained pillow. He clutched it tighter, like it was a lifeline. "Why don't we get to see our families? Why don't we get to hug them and tell them we're alive?"

Pidge was at a loss for words. Of course he would've been upset about this! Lance adored his family, they were his everything. To think for even a moment that he was content staying in the Holt's estate when he was so close to his home was blasphemy. She felt so stupid for not realizing it before.

"I… I don't know, Lance," her hand hovered over his arm, but she withdrew it when a sob wracked his body. She felt the beginning of tears pricking at the back of her eyes and cursed her empathy. "We can't be caught; we'll put everyone in danger."

"You think I don't know that?" Lance forced out between sobs. Pidge flinched back as if she'd been struck. "I'm a danger to my family, Pidge. I'm supposed to protect them but now I can't even see them because I'll get them killed!"

A tear finally escaped Pidge's eye to match Lance's own. She was terrible at this; everything she said was making it worse. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she could manage. Without hesitating, Lance dropped his pillow and threw his arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder.

She may not be able to talk people through emotional times, but she sure as hell could give a damn good hug.

So Pidge hugged him. She hugged him until he stopped shaking and his sobs turned into hiccups and quiet tears.

"You'll see them. I promise. It may take time, but you will see them," Pidge reassured. She didn't know if she was in a position to make those sorts of promises, but she would do everything in her power to make it true. To hell with Angela and her stupid laptop, her friends were her priority. Right now, Lance came first.

In the morning, she would talk to Keith and Shiro about finding a way to sneak Lance and Hunk to their families and she wouldn't rest until the found a way.

"Lance?"

"Hm?"

"Cuddle pile? I think I heard Hunk shuffling around in his room."

Pidge felt Lance laugh silently into her shoulder and she smiled in relief. He needed to grieve, and to grieve he needed his friends. That's how Lance operated.

"Yeah," he said, his voice muffled by her shirt. "Yeah, I think that'd be nice."

What's a voltron fanfic without some Langst? Also, sorry for the shorter chapter, I've been on vacation!

Speaking of, I won't be able to upload a chapter for the next two or three weeks, depending on when I get to write. I'll be ten hours away for two weeks for band, so the fanfic will have to wait a little. But don't worry! Chapter 5 will come!

Thanks for being patient with me and all the wonderful reviews I've received. They never fail to put a smile on my face :)

-Bip