Lion Got Your Tongue?


Suggestion by maggiehhillman, who commented; You could do a chapter about autism, specifically asperger syndrome.

Since it seems to apply to Pidge.

Takes place in the second season. Exact time line unknown.

!Also, I fixed it. I know for a fact that some people were offended by this, so I tried to fix it. If anyone has any problems, I'll gladly try to change it.!


Pidge had asperger syndrome.

Pidge's parents had known. Matt had known. Her cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents had known.

But the Paladins did not, and Pidge was determined to keep it that way.

She knew, she really did, that it wasn't something to be ashamed up, but she felt nervous whenever she thought about it.

She knew other people had it, of course, she had overheard some of the collage level kids talking about it.

Of course, Pidge hadn't meant to overhear, but, while her disorder might make her social skills not the best, it also heightened her awareness and her brains, helping her skip several years of school.

Yet, Voltron was this figure of power, freeing entire planets in a single battle. They were supposed to be able meet their comrades, go down and shake their hands. Talk to the local citizens. After all, they weren't celebrities that were above the people they saved. They were huma- er, sentient beings, just like them.

Pidge couldn't bring herself to do that. Somehow, a little voice in her head whispered that she made too big of a deal about her disorder, and that, really, it didn't effect her to much.

Voltron wasn't supposed to shy away and hide behind their peers, or just stand there and nod. They were supposed to announce to the universe; 'That's right! We're back, and we're coming for YOU, Zarkon!'

But Pidge couldn't bring herself to talk to people. All that ever happened was that she began to get fidgety and sweaty. Sure, she could talk to people about tech just fine, but when they were just supposed to answer the aliens' prying questions, there was nothing she could do but nod or shake her head.

After the second time this came about her, Shiro took her aside.

"Is everything all right?" He asked, looking her up and down. "You just shut down back there."

"I'm fine." Pidge grunted, taking a step back. "I'm just tired."

'Just TELL him!' The little voice pleaded. 'He'll understand.'

"Then maybe you should actually sleep at night." Shiro joked, smiling fondly at her before abruptly turning serious again. "Take care of yourself, m'kay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Pidge nodded, turning to walk away. She could feel Shiro's eyes burning into her skull as she left, his curiosity rippling across the Paladin bond.

Pidge was relieved when she found herself alone in her room, changing hurriedly into her everyday clothes. She honestly wanted to talk to someone about her disorder. But…Lance would be stunned, not knowing what an 'syndrome' was, nor a 'asperger' for that matter. Hunk wouldn't understand, just be fidgety for a while when he was around her, because he wouldn't know how to act. Keith, Pidge was fairly certain, didn't have the disorder, and he hated talking to people. However, He would be one of her better bets. Shiro, all in all, was probably the safest bet.

Pidge sighed at the thought, picking up one of the fluff balls she had recovered from the trash nebula. The rest hovered about her head, chirping questioningly.

"I'm fine." She told them, despite having communication issues with them. She was mostly guessing at their words. "Just…tired, you know? And…yeah." She frowned down at them, then lowering her voice slightly. "Can you three keep a secret?"

Their cheeks flashed.

Pidge could have sworn she had a slight creak outside her door, so she paused before continuing, tilting her head.

After two minutes and fifty-six seconds, she knew because she had a mental clock thanks to the pro of the asperger syndrome she turned back to them. "I have…well, asperger syndrome. It's not too serious, but…gosh." Pidge shook her head. "I really want to hide it, but I…don't at the same time. It's tricky. I know it isn't really a 'weakness' per say, but I don't want to deal with the slightest possibility they'll look down at me for it." She shook her head mournfully, before switching to her playful side. "Now, remember, guys, that you promised not to tell."

They chirped again.

"Candy, I know you're friends with Lance, but I swear, I will make your life miserable if you tell him anything." Pidge teased, tapping the blue one on top of his head.

The Blue one chirped.

There was a knock on her door, and she squeaked, adjusting her glasses. "Come in!"

The door open, revealing Hunk, wearing his apron. "Lunch is ready!"

"Already? We just got home!"

"I put it in the oven when we left. It's amazing how the oven can read the temperatures on the food and turn off when it reaches the proper heat."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Pidge grinned, pushing herself to her feet.

"How's Dandelion doing?" Hunk asked, scratching the yellow floof-ball's underside. "Eating well?"

"She literally eats junk!" Pidge shrugged. "She has plenty to eat in my room."

"One day, Dandelion, I'm going to get you some real food. Not just garbage." Hunk sneered at Pidge, though the humor was evident on his face.

"Hey! FYI, Dandelion likes garbage!" Pidge protested, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, I'll make her something else sometime. Now, you comin' or what?"

"Fine." Pidge grunted, trailing after him, leaving her floof-friends behind.

"So…were you okay during our meeting? You were kinda quiet. Well, more then usual."

"I was fine." Pidge assured him, cocking her head as she stated down at her firsts. "I just…" her mind rushed, trying to remember the excuse she had given Shiro. "I was tired is all."

"You sure?" Hunk asked, squinting his eyes. "Even when you're tired you-no, scratch that. You operate best when you're tired."

"Yeah, well…" Pidge shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

Hunk paused, turning her with one hand to face him. Setting his hands on her shoulders, he gazed into her brown eyes. "Pidge, it does matter. This is the second time in a row you've shut down. Is there something wrong? You gotta tell us, dude."

"I'm completely fine." Pidge protested, wrenching her shoulders from his grip. "I don't want to talk about it, alright?"

Hunk looked hurt, like a sad puppy dog as he took a pathetic step back and stared at her.

"I-I mean…Hunk, I'm sorry." Pidge shook her head sadly. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry about it, man." Hunk grinned, though it looked like a mask. "It's cool."

"Hunk, I-"

"Let's get to dinner." Hunk, in a very un-hunky way interrupted, walking away.

"I…" Pidge stammered, but Hunk didn't pause, continuing to walk away.

Pidge trailed slowly after him, eyes on her feet.

By the time they arrived, everyone was already there, awaiting them expectantly.

Shiro said Grace, and they began in on the meal.

It tasted like spaghetti, but Pidge hardly noticed. She actually was tired, it was true. She had been telling the truth to an extend…though it hadn't been the reason she had zoned out so much during the meeting.

Fatigue was a rare-ish accompaniment of asperger syndrome. For some people it was a 24/7 case, but for Pidge it was quite uncommon for it to happen, and only after large social gathering that really tested her mingling skills did it cause her to plummet.

She has slept before the meeting, hoping to fend it off, but it didn't help much.

Especially since, after fatigue began to take hold of her, it took large steps.

Already she could hardly hold on to the conversation echoing around her. She usually did so well paying attention.

"-ifty feet off-!"

"-ro!"

"-zzzz-en-!"

"-ah! Wh-"

There was a few minutes where there was just a fuzzy ringing in Pidge's head.

'Don't slip into unconsciousness.' Pidge told herself sternly. She really had to tell everyone.

"-idge? Pidge!" A voice was close to her ear, shouting her name.

"What-?" Pidge dropped the hands that had been cradled over her head, blinking.

Keith was staring at her in alarm, one hand on her back, eyes narrowed in confusing. "Pidge, are you okay?"

The others also were there, nervously blinking at her.

"Yeah." Pidge nodded sleepily. "I'm good."

"Pidge, you should go to bed." Shiro said, standing over her. "You've been acting out of it since the meeting began."

"Alright." Pidge nodded. Yeah, that sounded fine to her.

Everyone was staring in shock, mouths agape.

Pidge could even hear Green moan in worry.

"Pidge? What's going on?" Lance asked, grabbing her elbow when she rose to go.

"Mmm." Pidge mumbled, not in the mood. "Tired."

"Oh, holy crow."

"Something's up with Pidge!"

"Pidge, what's wrong?"

"Pidge!"

"Guys." Keith's voice was thoughtful, quiet, but it immediately gained everyone's attention.

"Keith." Shiro said, gently. "Do you know what's going on with her?"

"Let's get her into the infirmary. Pidge, can you walk?" Keith asked, gesturing at Lance to help her up.

Pidge nodded, standing up. She swayed slightly in exhaustion, blinking fuzzily at the ground.

"Alright, follow me." Keith instructed, heading out the door.

At least, Pidge thought he did. She was too tired to really care.

She hardly noticed that Lance was still holding onto her elbow until she tripped, Lance pulling her back onto her feet in a solid movement, Shiro placing one hand on her shoulder.

She must have zoned out, because when she got enough will power to force herself to pay attention to her surroundings, she was sitting down on one of the infirmary beds. She leaned against something, too delirious to understand that it was a human shoulder.

She heard a snicker, but closed her tired eyes. Stupid fatigue…

Shiro tried to ignore it when Pidge fell asleep on his shoulder, turning his attention to Keith instead.

"Alright, Keith, what have you got?"

"It's called asperger syndrome." Keith told them, crossing his arms. "Did anyone notice how quiet she was at today's meeting?"

"Yes."

"Uh-huh."

"No." Everyone turned to glare at Lance.

"What?"

"Whatever. Anyway, asperger syndrome is a disorder that effects someone's social skills. As of late, it's become quite uncommon, but-"

"Wait, wait, wait. How do you know how much about this…aspejagu snodrum?"

"Asperger syndrome."

"Right, that."

"Do you know what my dad was?"

"Uh…an abusive parent?"

"What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Because you're always so grumpy."

"People can be mad without abusive parents, Lance!"

"Technically 'parent', you know, since your mother abandoned you when-"

"Alright, shut up. My dad was a firefighter, and he taught me about a bunch of medical treatments and how to fend myself against disorders, injuries, diseases-"

"Really? Why didn't you just get vaccines?"

"Dad didn't trust 'em. Basically, my Dad taught me a lot since I was mostly by myself in our house while he was at work. Then, when he died-"

"Oh, that's why you're so grumpy!"

"-I taught myself a bunch of other stuff. Does that answer your question, Lance?"

"Um, yeah. But…"

"What now?!"

"Why's she so tired? I'm pretty sure she actually slept last night."

"So, sometimes asperger syndrome can include fatigue, which is also pretty rare nowadays."

"Fatigue is basically extreme exhaustion, Lance." Hunk told his best friend.

"Ooh. Okay." Lance nodded.

"Right. Well, sometimes when they're accompanied, the exhaustion can act up after social interaction. It can vary from a dobosh after such an event to five Vargas after."

"Oh, my Quiznak. Just use English measurements." Lance groaned, shaking his head.

"One minute to six hours."

"Is there a cure?" Lance asked, glancing sideways at Pidge.

Keith snickered at this. "It's not a 'disease' Lance. It's called a 'disorder'. It doesn't need a cure. What she needs is a way to make her feel more comfortable around people, help her feel more at ease."

"Well, she seems fine when she's talking about tech." Hunk noted.

"That's it!" Lance snapped his fingers, and the others tried to suppress eyes rolls. Knowing him, he'd probably suggest taping Oreos to her eyes so she couldn't see that she was in a social setting. "What if we send her off with scientists during the meetings? You know, help connect with the people better without having to worry about the asperger. If that doesn't work we can ask her what else can make her more comfortable."

"That's-!" Keith protested before thinking about it again. "Actually a good idea. I'm surprised you payed attention long enough to put together that idea."

"Yeah, I know, right- Hey!"

Keith snickered at this.

Shiro nodded, smiling slightly. "Good idea, Lance. We'll try that next time."

With that, the matter was resolved.


Author's Note; when you make suggestions from now on, please keep away from diseases and disorders. I've found that I accidentally insult people when I include these, especially when I get the two 'Ds' mixed up.

From now on, please stick to dangerous situations and ships when you input your ideas.

Thank you!