Keith watches his mom and Pidge leave. He fights the urge to grab Pidge and demand that she wait for him or that she allow him to take her home. He knows he gained ground today, he couldn't lose now. He knows she thinks she needs some space but huh? Wait, MATES. He retunes in to Acxa describing why they should be mates and comparability.

He takes a deep breath and decides to be honest. "Look Acxa, I think you are a great person. And don't get me wrong, we work well together. I admire your strength and we balance each other out. But Pidge, well, she has my heart and I don't plan on letting her give it back. I think you need to re-evaluate and find someone else." He holds his breath, closely observing her reaction. He knows his mom thinks she could be the inside person so he's going to see if he can see any clues of subterfuge.

She quickly shakes her head in the negative and replies, "You cannot be sure of that. We have many similarities and this can work. Balance is key. We have found each other time and time again, and we compliment each other. Just give it a try."

Keith again sighs, "I know you mean well, but you cannot make me feel something that isn't there. There's more to a relationship than working well together. I work well with many, no well, some people. Anyways, simply put I love Pidge. And I cannot turn it off. She"

Acxa cuts me off, "No, I spoke to your paladin and she has agreed to my terms."

"NO!" I interject, "That's not how this works. I can't just turn it off! And maybe she has agreed to the terms, I never did! So while I understand where you are coming from I don't agree! We don't relax together, laugh or have fun. WE don't fight."

"Fight? Why would we fight? Mates do not fight."

"Um, yes they do. Or well, human mates, um partners do." Keith awkwardly replies.

Keith stands still waiting for the other shoe to drop. But Acxa takes a breath and asks, "Why her?"

Keith freezes. And tries to think how to say this without being mean or too blunt. "Gawd, I don't know, I cannot give you just one reason why. Instead, there is a lot of little strings that need to come together. And with Katie, they just do. I'm sorry. I really like you. And I want to remain friends. But never more than that."

Acxa nods slowly. "What if you two do not work out? What if she picks the other male as her mate? Will you reconsider?"

Keith's heart stutters to think she might eventually choose Griffin. He quickly shakes his head, and he pauses to think, "No, even then we cannot be. Acxa, don't you want to laugh and be silly? Let your guard down? You've seen Zethrid and Ezor, it's more than just balance. We don't have that. But you could have it with someone else. Just stop thinking I'm it! Shit, I've seen you and Veronica. It's not entirely comfortable yet it is. Love is really just a bunch of paradoxes. I want you to find it too. If we were together, it just wouldn't work out. Neither of us would truly be happy."

I hold my breathe waiting to see if she understands. Please. I can see Lance and Hunk in my peripheral, hovering. Hunk holding Lance back. I want to go and talk to them about their take but I know I need to finish this. I need her to be okay with my decision.

Acxa looks perplexed and she finally says, "I understand. I am sorry for confusing the issue….Good luck. I hope you get what you need."

I nod and say thanks. But I cannot help but wonder, "Hey, who do you think was interfering? You have good instincts and I trust you."

She smiles at that, "Thanks. Since you are Krolia's long lost son, there was a lot of interest in you. I know many Galra asked about you. I am also not the only one interested in a partnership with you. So I guess anyone of them could feasibly be a spy. But you need to look for someone with access to Blade controls and that is good with tech. Sorry."

I nod and thank her. Then I walk back towards my team. It's weird how you suddenly realize how much they mean to you and are in your corner. Actively. When I reach them, Hunk and Lance start pointing out my mistake in talking to Acxa alone. While I know that I probably lost some ground with Pidge today, I also know that I eliminated one of my obstacles. Maybe it's time to talk to Griffin one to one.