Lots of castle reference ahead

—Cafe—

"I'm sorry," Kate said sheepishly looking down at her blue Vatrisa before her.

Choal leaned at the back of his chair, one arm draped over the head rest. "What for?"

She sighed, she pressed the heel of her hand on her left eye. "For losing control when I was interrogating an injured witness...I can be pretty temperamental."

Choal asked her to help him find the galra strangely and she agreed. When they looked around the slums, they found Bobby getting all worked out for some reason. Kate sensed something about him, so she asked the prince to take him for questioning, which relieved his nosy neighbors as they complained that the old cat was going hysterical for a few days now. Choal's guards questioned him first, but Bobby refused to tell the truth-and that ticked Kate off- as they both watched from the observation room. She stormed into the interrogation room herself after the guards left, she let some personally information slip out her tongue while she yelled at Bobby demanding for answers and after she was done, she felt the Prince pitying her. And here they are now taking a break in a cafe.

Choal smiled at her. "Let's put that behind us for now, hmm? At least now it's confirmed that there is a connection between Hannah's disappearance and the galra."

Kate bit her thumb. "What I don't understand is what would the galra soldier want from her? If it was hostage situation, it should've have happened much earlier." She paused for a bit. "Was Hannah involved with any sort of criminal activities?"

Choal shook his head. "No, she had a clean record. If we could have identified the van that took her, that would have given us a lead. Are you alright?" He noticed her fidgeting with her jacket.

She bit her lip. "I probably shouldn't be here." She looked into his ruby eyes. "Maybe the two of us pairing up wasn't such a good idea. I...I'm not much help."

The prince raised his brows. "Oh? Why do you say so?"

She didn't reply. The incident with the cat girls put her on edge since yesterday. If it happens again today, and if she wasn't there to stop it...then...

The prince took a sip from his cup. "You don't have too worry about your friends, Keith," he said, startling her as he seemed to read her thoughts. "No one will hypnotize them. I assure you, we don't use our abilities unless we are engaged in battle"

She frowned at him. "Then those girls-"

"It's against our law to misuse our abilities," he insisted, "especially on species from another planet. But lately these incidents have been disrupting the law and order of my planet. And.."

"And?"

The prince placed his cup back on the glass table. "The reason we asked a Valcuz detective rather than a Dishorian to look for the galra was because there's a spy within our own working for the galra. Only a limited amount a of people can be trusted. Which is why I asked you to help me."

She blinked. She felt her chest tighten. "Me? Why me?"

The prince smiled at her. "You underestimate yourself, Keith. I'm sure you can look for the galra and find Hannah. "

She gaped at him. Was he flattering her? "You're willing to bet on that?" She shook her head in disbelief. "You don't even know me."

"No, I don't," he agreed leaning forward, he gently reached out his hand and held one of hers. "But I won't mind knowing more about you. Do you have any idea how remarkable you are? You don't, do you?"

Kate swallowed hard. Why was her heart racing?

God, someone save me

He went on, "I am amazed by you. Resisting hypnosis is not as simple as you think. Even i have trouble doing the same."

She pulled her hand as gently as she could from Choal's. She was silent for a few heartbeats. "Can i ask you something?" She said with hesitance.

"Most certainly,"

"How..did you know I was a female?"

The prince chuckled like he was expecting that question. "You may find this strange, but being able to see the aura of a person is another ability a Dishorian can do. Just like how we serve our drinks, the males are orange and the females are blue."

She stared at him blankly after he was done. Well that explained a lot, she wasn't being obvious by her actions after her.

Her phone rang in her jacket pocket. She excused herself and left the table to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, we continued our search after you left," it was Pidge. "So far, we found nothing. Shiro and Hunk decided to check the outskirts of the city taking their lions with them. Allura went for a meeting to the king's palace, and I'm stuck here in the castle with Lance and Coran and it is dead boring. Lance keeps bragging about one of the actress of Space Reality Z he met yesterday- he claims that she seems to be into him- and he is supercharged about her."

Kate rolled her eyes. She was glad she wasn't there to listen to his nonsense, otherwise she would have thrown a table at him to shut him up.

"Speaking of supercharged," Pidge went on, her tone changed, "is it true that you're with the prince?"

The raven haired girl's eyes widened. She quickly glanced at Choal before looking in another direction. "How—"

"Shiro told us during breakfast this morning, though," she added, "he didn't really say why you're with him."

Shiro? She screamed internally. How did he know?

Pidge said in a dreamy tone, "I mean Kate, I know you love Shiro and all, but girlfriend-"

"Bye, Pidge!" She quickly said and hung up.

—castle ballroom—

Pidge stared at her phone after Kate hung up on her. Really, this girl was hopeless. She said to herself mimicking Choal's accent, "Hello there, Kate, I'm prince Choal and I think you're absolutely stunning."

She said it as a joke to herself but-

"Pidge? What are you doing?"

The short girl froze when she found Lance staring at her.

Lance frowned. "Did you just...mimic the prince of Disho? And who's Kate?"

She dodged the first question, but the second... "Uhh, my imaginary friend?" She lied.

Lanced stared at her, but he shrugged it off and left. Pidge sighed in relief. Kate would have killed her if she was here.

—later—

When Kate returned to the castle, she joined the other paladins for lunch. Allura still hadn't returned from the meeting, she suspected she was going to have lunch at the king's palace. She tried to slip into her room after she was done eating like she always did, but Shiro stopped her this time. He asked her to follow him to the lounge so they could talk privately. She was reluctant, but she obeyed.

"Is everything alright?" He asked her seriously. Kate stared at him, confused. Shiro was tensed, and she sensed him...no, it was more than concerned. She felt he was troubled and was worried as hell about something.

She replied, "I think I'm the one who should be asking you that question." She knew it sounded like she tried to avoid the question, but she didn't care about herself. "You look shaken, like you've seen or heard something disturbing." She reached out her hand and touched his forehead. "It does seem a little warm," she murmured.

"What? No, I'm-I'm not sick," Shiro protested. He removed her hand and held it. "Keith, tell me honestly, is everything alright?"

Kate stared into his dark eyes for a heartbeat before she looked away to bite her lip.

"Tell me," he pressed.

"Nothing's wrong, Shiro." She lied.

(Shiro's perspective)

He's lying.

Shiro squeezed his hand.

He's still lying. And it stung him.

Just how long has this been going on? Why hadn't he seen it before? How long and how many times has he averted his violet eyes from him?

"Shi...Shiro..."

Shiro snapped from thoughts and looked up at him.

"It...hurts," Keith whispered, wincing.

The black paladin realized he was squeezing a hand wrapped in bandages, it was probably the same hand Keith punched the mirror with.

Shiro loosened his grip. "Sorry," he said letting it go. Keith took a step back from him caressing the injured hand. Shiro was about to open his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Booyah!" Lance said bursting into the room, startling both of them.

"God!" Keith exclaimed.

"Guess who's about to have the best day ever?" He beamed.

"Could it be the fellow who just interrupted us rather rudely with 'booyah'?" Keith said with an unamused face, like nothing happened between the red and black paladin.

Lance ignored his statement. "I have a date with an actress named Kelly today and, no I am not lying, Keith. She likes me i like her, and we just met yesterday."

Shiro raised his brows. "Aren't you supposed to be helping us find Hannah first?"

Lance still beamed at them. "That's the point of our date. See, this woman I hooked up with is actually Hannah's best friend. So I'm having fun and working at the same time. Smart, huh?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later i guess." He walked away from them and left the room.

And Shiro couldn't stop him this time.

—way later, castle bridge—

(Allura's perspective)

She knew something was wrong between Shiro and Keith after she returned back to the castle. Did they have an argument? She wondered.

"Hey, how was the meeting?" Pidge asked.

The princess smiled. "It went well, the king agreed to form an alliance with us after we solve this case. Did you find any clues while I was gone?" She handed the file, that Slaughter handed to her earlier, to Keith.

They remained silent.

"I see. Well, we are in luck. The Valcuz detective, Slaughter, found someone who may have been involved in Hannah's disappearance. Sadly, the studio pressed charges against him for...um, his aggressive behavior towards one of the janitors he was questioning. So it's up to us to interrogate."

Hunk shrugged. "Okay, who is it?"

Before she could reply, she heard Keith swore in a language she didn't understand under his breath. He shoved the file to Shiro's chest before bolting out of the room.

"Keith?"

"What just happened?" Pidge questioned, adjusting her glasses. She took the file from Shiro and opened it, "one look at the file made— oh," her voice died down and her face grew serious.

Shiro frowned. "What?"

"Umm, this person...um,"

They all looked at the file. It was all written in a Valcuz language, but there was a picture of their suspect at the top left side. It was a pretty cat lady with blue eyes and she who wore a pink bow behind one of her ears.

"Isn't that one of the actress of Space Reality Z?" Hunk prodded.

"Yeah," Pidge said in dismay, "and here's another thing. Lance is currently on a date with her."

—somewhere in the city—

Kate hurtled through the city streets. Of course it had to be Lance, why wasn't she keeping an eye on him when she vowed to herself she'd protect him? Out of all the paladins, he was the most oblivious of them all. He wouldn't know when a woman plays around with him with her fingers like he was her toy.

Lance made a fool with himself when Nyma tricked him and stole the Blue lion from right under his nose. She warned him about women and bimbos, but what do you know, he doesn't listen! Kelly could be worse. She might be that spy -Choal was talking about earlier- working for the galra. She might take him as a hostage and demand voltron in exchange for his life.

No, she wouldn't allow that to happen.

The sun was slowly setting, spreading the golden and copper color across the horizon. She needed to find Lance before it got dark.

Kate sniffed the air then she halted when she picked up his scent.

—meanwhile, somewhere in the city—

If he hadn't been knocked to the ground, Lance's day would have stayed awesome.

He's date with Kelly was perfect. She laughed at every joke he came up, she flirted with him as much as he did with her, and they both enjoyed themselves. Sure he asked a few questions about Hannah, but Kelly just replied vague answers to him. She didn't have any intentions of talking about another woman during their date, at least that's what he thought. Kelly invited Lance to have dinner with her in one of Disho's top restaurants to continue their date. Lance knew he could never pass that up. He was pleased with himself. He never dated a celebrity before -and if he did make it back to earth- he would show all the cadets he knew about the pics he took with her. He promised Kelly he'd be there in another hour in the restaurant she'd selected.

Lance sighed dreamily about her. He'd better return to the castle, dress up, and tell the others he can't join them for dinner. He took an alley that looked deserted. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out to read the message. Just before he could read the first line, he turned to the corner of the building then something fast slammed into him and knocked him off his feet. His back hit the ground and he groaned at the pain. Whatever slammed into him fell atop him, landing on his chest.

Lance cocked his head at the figure. "Hey, watch where you're-" he stopped when Keith lifted his forehead from his chest.

"Lance!" Keith said in relief.

"Keith?" He scowled. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, chuckle head!" He snapped.

He blinked, confused. "Why?"

"It's about the woman you hooked up with. You need to stay away from her. She was involved in Hannah's kidnapping."

He stared at him and raised a brow. "What? You don't know her. How can you be so sure?"

The mullet looked at him seriously. "I just read through her files. Lance, she lied to you. Kelly has a bitter history with Hannah and she was the last person to see her before she disappeared."

Lance glared at him. "Keith, all of that sounds circumstantial. It doesn't prove she's guilty for kidnapping."

"Maybe. But she knows something. A witness saw her enter Hannah's studio room and whatever she took is evidence."

He scoffed. And you're betting she's not innocent because of that?"

Keith grabbed a fistful of his shirt angrily. "Lance, you don't even know her, and you're defending her? She's a thief! Before she became an actress, she was a thief who stole art paintings from museums. There's nothing innocent about that! She's probably hanging out with you to see what you know about the investigation to cover her tracks!"

The blue paladin just stared. Something was off. He was more tense than usual. He's been worked up about something.

Keith pushed himself from Lance's chest and sat up. "I know it sounds cold," he said, looking down at him, "but Kelly's been using you." He turned to get up and leave Lance there, but the moment he removed his hands from his chest, Lance grabbed his wrist. Keith looked back at him with a questionable look. He yelped when the blue paladin suddenly pushed the raven haired boy down to the ground, pinning both his wrist. "L-Lance?" Keith stuttered, giving him a bewildered expression.

He studied the mullet underneath him. "Keith, what's wrong? You've been acting strange after you fought with Sendak."

Keiths eyes widened. He tried to break free from his grasp, but the tanned male held him down firmly.

Then...he noticed something. Keith's build was much smaller compared to his, and his arms were much slender than muscular. He hadn't noticed it before because he was hardly this close to him.

Keith grunted. "Nothing's wrong, Lance. Let go!"

"Your lying.," he said sharply.

He flinched and stopped struggling. He looked away to avoid his gaze as he sighed. "Fine," he admitted. "I was worried." Lance gaped at him. "I thought you were in danger so i just...look, you were in a healing pod once. I wasn't going to seat around and watch you get stuck in the pod again."

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but his words failed him. This was not what he was expecting, especially from him.

Keith said, "Lance, you won't be involved with Kelly from now on, right?"

He blinked and hesitated. He promised he would continue their date after another hour. He couldn't just not show up and leave her there waiting, that would be rude. But after what Keith just told him, he couldn't face her either, she might try and pull out something at him. "Uh... I … ooh. I – uh … uh …"

Keith looked at him incredulously. "Oh my god," he deflated.

"What?"

"Oh my god, you actually have to think about this!"

"Uhh," Lance noticed his phone right above Keith's head. He must have dropped it when they collided. On the screen, the message said:

To: Lance

From: Hunk:

Kelly's using you! She's out kidnapper

"No - Nope. I don't have to think about it." He said raising his hands letting Keith's wrists go. "I can't trust her."

Keith looked at Lance's phone above him before he gaped back at him. "Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

The red paladin pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "You know what? Forget it. You won't believe a word i say unless someone else confirms it."

They heard a gasp before he could protest. Pidge stared at them with her mouth wide open. Keith looked from Lance to Pidge and Lance again, realizing the position they were in. He turned scarlet. "P-Pidge, i swear, this is not what it looks like!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," she crooned, grinning like a fiend. "you can tell me all about it back at the castle." She fished out her phone and snapped a picture of them.

"PIDGE!"

"See you later, girlfriend!" She turned and walked away, gleefully.

Girlfriend? Lance questioned.

"Lance get off of me!" Keith hissed pushing his chest with a red face.

Lance didn't understand why his face was red until a thought hit him and he too turned scarlet. "Pidge, this is not what it looks like!" Lance called out.

—later, castle bridge—

"Honestly, Lance, you had us worried there," Hunk said. "Keith ran like hell in search for you."

Lance slumped on his chair at his station. "Yeah, I know." He grumbled. "He ran into me, literally."

"It's a pity to know one of the stars of Space Realty Z is a criminal." Coran said.

Hunk nodded. "But Lance seems rather taken by her."

Lance found himself smiling. "I find her ... impressive."

Hunk turned his head to the blue paladin. "Aside of what we know about her, what is she like personally?

Lance opened his mouth to reply—

—meanwhile, castle lounge—

"She's an uncooperative, cocky, stubborn, know it all." Pidge said reading from her note pad. She looked up at Kate. "Is what the other cast members of the show describe her as."

"But is she good at her job?" Kate asked hastily while she sat on the couch.

"Well, as much as they hate her, they can't deny it. She's a pro. Both Hannah and her had the main roles of the show and they kept competing with each other. I wouldn't be surprised if Kelly is our kidnapper. With Hannah gone, she can have the main role all to herself." Pidge noticed her biting her thumb, staring at the floor contemplatively. She's agitated. The smaller girl sat next to her. "The thought of Lance hooking up with a woman like her bothers you?" She asked.

"Yes, of course it bothers me." She replied, not looking at her.

"Why?"

"Because he's supposed to be ..."She trailed off. She looked at Pidge and sighed before she stood and paced around, feeling restless.

"Be what?" Pidge pressed.

Kate whirled to her direction. "My partner!" She said forcefully, making the smaller girl flinch. "I mean, he's supposed to be on our team. I thought he learned his lesson not to let his guard down around women after what happened with Nyma. He's not supposed to be all smitten."

—meanwhile, back to bridge—

"Smitten?" Lance said in disbelief. "I think intrigued is a better word."

"So your 'intrigued' with every girl you meet?" Hunks said, raising his brows. "Even Allura and Pidge?"

Lance huffed and folded his arms. There was no way he's going to answer that question.

Coran cleared his throat. "Let's drop this topic for now," he said, "but, perhaps you should settle things with Keith."

Lance turned to the old altein like he was crazy. Coran went on, "You should know that number four ran out of the castle in search of you. He reacted much faster than anyone and managed to outrun all of us. Including Shiro. He was worried."

Fine, i was worried, Keith's words replayed in his head.

Keith was concerned about him. Lance was so focused about Kelly's feelings, that he didn't think about how Keith felt. The thought punched his gut. Even though they didn't like each other much, he still cared.

"So?" Coran asked waiting for an answer.

Lance hesitated. "It's...complicated."

—meanwhile castle lounge—

Pidge stared at her. "Why is it complicated?"

Kate still paced around, running her fingers through her hair. "You know why," she said gloomily. "Lance thinks of me as a rival, whatever I say won't change him. He's stubborn that way." She sank at the opposite side of the couch and sighed. She didn't know what else to say. She felt lost for some reason

"True," Pidge said sadly, "but you have to keep trying." Kate averted her eyes from her. "Kate, what are you really scared of? Why do have to distance yourself like this? Are you afraid of change?"

Kate didn't respond.

And that was all Pidge needed to know.

—a little later, castle lounge—

"We need to find hard evidence of Kelly's involvement with Hannah's disappearance." Allura said strongly. "Only then we can interrogate with her without any objections."

"According to Choal," Kate said leaning against the wall, "Kelly lives in a hotel not to far from the studio. We need to search her room without her finding out. So where is she now?"

"Waiting in the restaurant," Lance blurted. All eyes were on him now, Kate raised her brows suspiciously. He shifted on the couch uncomfortably, "I, err...She invited me for a drink."

"Did she?" Shiro questioned. He looked back at the princess, "Doesn't look like she's in a rush to leave town."

Pidge grinned."Then we press our one advantage. She doesn't know we're on to her. So we make a run on her without her finding out."

Kate blinked. She had a bad feeling about this.

Hunk tilted his head. "How're we going to do that?"

It was Allura's turn to grin. "Simple." She turned to Lance. "All you have to do is keep her out of her room while you're having dinner with her. Just show her a good time. And while you keep her occupied, Shiro, Pidge and Keith would get into her room."

In other words, he was going on a date with her? Kate wanted to scream. She didn't like this plan, but she knew she couldn't protest without a good reason which, sadly, she had none.

She could feel Lance feeling uneasy. "So what am I doing on this date?" He asked Allura with straight face. "Am I supposed to trip her up? Get her to break?"

"No," Pidge said sharply, "just stall her. Make some jokes like you usually do. The important thing is to keep her out of her hotel room so we can search it."

"So what do you say, Lance? Think you can charm her for an hour?" Allura challenged.

The blue paladin laughed nervously, but his smile melted away.

—castle bridge—

Lance came in wearing a fine black tuxedo, his hair was pulled back and it looked glossy. He didn't look bad, that Kate had to admit, but she sensed him feeling uncomfortable. The suit must have a little to tight for him. "So, What's the plan again?" He asked.

Allura said calmly, "Now, Lance, be charming, but not too charming."

He snorted. "That's like asking Superman not to be too super. What's wrong with being charming?"

Kate answered. "Look, being charming shows that you're confident," Lance was surprised when she walked to him and placed a red flower she was fiddling with in his front jacket pocket, "but being too charming shows that you're trying to be manipulative." She straightened his bow before looking at him seriously. "And Kelly is a pro actress, which means she knows every trick in the book. So be clam, avoid looking into her eyes, and don't do anything stupid." She stepped away from him.

"Exactly," Pidge agreed, she playfully slapped his shoulder. "Well, enjoy your date."

"Tell us if you find anything," Allura said to the rest of them, "Hunk Coran and myself will remain here in case Prince Chaol sends another message."

They all nodded.

"Hey, Lance!" Kate called before he made his way to the restaurant. He turned and looked to her. She hesitated. "Be careful, okay?"

He blinked and stared at her for a heartbeat before grinning. "Do I detect actual concern for my well being?" He said cockily.

She blushed furiously. "Screw this up, and I'll kill you."

He laughed. "Oh, never mind."

—hotel, restaurant—

Once they were seated and ordered their Vatrisa, Lance found himself staring at Kelly's turquoise dress. He could have flirted and talked with her all night. But the guilt of only caring about Kelly and not about how his friends would feel, especially the mullet, held him back. Pretending to have fun with a beautiful actress/criminal was a lot harder than he thought.

"Lance?"

He flinched and bumped his knees underneath the table. "What?"

"Is everything alright?" Kelly said in concern. "Our drinks were served a few ticks ago."

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said quickly, "it's nothing. Anyway, let's talk about ourselves for a bit. You're quite an ambitious woman, aren't you?"

She blushed. "Well, I'm a woman who believes in going after what she wants."

Like getting rid of Hannah, he thought. He forced a smile. "I can see that."

"Besides," she added, batting her eyelashes at him. "I didn't really make it a secret that I was attracted to you and I could tell you felt the same way about me." She raised her glass.

He followed her example. "Well, looks like neither one of us is very good at keeping secrets."

They clinked their glasses before they drank.

—Kelly's room—

[shiro's perspective]

Shiro knew Keith was in one of his moods. He didn't need to ask. When they searched the room, Keith didn't bother handling one of Kelly's things carefully. Pidge had to dive to the deck to save a plate from breaking after Keith knocked it down with his elbow.

"Keith!" She hissed, setting the plate back on the table. The raven haired boy ignored her.

He seemed a little off. Shiro waked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Keith, I know I've asked this to you before, but are you okay?"

Keith stopped flipping over the pages of a book he was holding. He looked at him over his shoulder. "I'm fine-"

"No you are not!" Pidge interjected, putting her hands on her hips. "Keith, you've been been agitated this whole time and I know there is something bothering you. You should tell me about it." She paused. "I mean us"

Keith pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I don't know what the reason is!" He cried out suddenly making them flinched. "I'm being emotional at one point, then I feel restless...I don't know. It all started when we arrived here."

They stared at her in dead silence not knowing what to do or say.

"Gosh, I haven't felt this way since..." he looked at Shiro. "...I stole your car."

Pidge blinked. "What?"

He remembered when the red paladin stole his vehicle when they first met, though he failed to see how it connected to this. He watched him sigh heavily.

"God my hormones must be acting up again...I'm insecure," Keith said in a hushed tone.

—Hotel, restaurant —

After they'd eaten their meal, which Lance had to admit was delicious, though he didn't know what he ate, he tried to buy more time for his team by ordering desert. He looked at the menu, blocking his view of Kelly so she wouldn't see his sweating face. He didn't understand a word of what was written on the menu.

Kelly took the menu from him gently. "I have an idea," she said, putting the menu aside, "Why don't we skip dessert?"

Lance stared at her and chucked nervously. "Oh well, what's the rush? I hear that Disho's famous for it's desserts.

She pouted. "Wouldn't you rather come to my room? We can a few savories with us while we are at it."

He gaped at her. "Uhhh-"

"Wonderful!" She clapped her hands in delight. "I'll just go and order them right now." She stood from her chair and left Lance. Watched her go until she was out of sight. He quickly scrambled to take his phone out to send a simple text.

To: Keith.

From: Lance :

GET OUT!

Lance hoped Keith saw his text. The elevator dinged open and they both stepped out to the hallway. They were getting closer and closer to Kelly's room. His phone buzzed in his suit pocket, he took it out without Kelly seeing it and read quickly.

To: Lance

From: Keith:

Leaving now. Stall her.

Stall her? Easier said then done.

Lance rushed in front of her and forced a flirty smile. "I've been wondering this for quite sometime, but why choose to be an actress? Nothing wrong in that, I'm just curious."

Kelly stared at him for a heart bet before returning the smile. "It's a ... recent career change."

"Really? What did you do before?"

Her cat ears twitched, shaking the pink bow behind it. "Actually, I was a thief."

His smiled dropped, he paused. That was unexpected, she gave an honest answer. "Really?"

Kelly shrugged. "Well, that's what the museums like to call me. I prefer to think of myself as an art retriever."

"What's the difference?"

"The pieces I took had already been stolen from their rightful owners." She explained, "Just because a piece is in a museum doesn't mean it belongs there."

"Oh," was all he said. He was not sure what to think. Had they been wrong about Kelly?

"Come on now," she said, shaking the box of savories she'd been carrying after they left the restaurant. "These won't eat by themselves. I also want to discuss some things about Hannah with you." She walked passed him.

He followed behind her reluctantly. They were getting closer. To Lance's horror, Kelly's door opened slowly. He grabbed both the sides of Kelly's shoulders and made her turn to face him. Then he did something he didn't dream of doing with a criminal. He closed his eyes, leaned forward and kissed her. Kelly dropped the box in shock, but she soon returned the unexpected kiss. Lance hoped Keith, Shiro and Pidge quietly crept away from them well he 'stalled' her, but his plan didn't work.

"Hey!"

Lance didn't hesitate to break the kiss when he heard Keith shout. They both faced an angry mullet looking very livid ad them, or mainly at Lance.

"Wha-what is- what are you d-doing here?" Kelly faltered.

"Arresting you for theft." Keith snarled at her. He pulled out a silver bracelet which Lance recognized instantly. It belonged to Hannah, she always wore it and he'd never once watched an episode of her without it. "And kidnapping." Keith added.

Lance knew the mullet was going to kill him.

—later, police station, observation room—

Pidge knew the loud argument Kate and Lance were having outside the observation room was bad. She'd never seen Kate react this way before, she must have been through a lot of stress lately.

"Wait. So now you're telling me that you don't' believe she's in on this!?" Pidge heard her say to Lance outside the door.

"Why would she tell me she's a thief?" He asked. "Why offer that up?"

"Because she's feeding you enough truths so that the lies would be is easier to swallow."

Wow...

Actually, this was pretty entertaining, Pidge thought. She should have made made some popcorn.

—outside the observation room—

Lance stepped towards her, shaking his head. "I don't think she's behind this."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, you're thinking with the wrong body part."

"It was only a kiss!" He threw his arms in the air to protest, but he wasn't doing it well. "I was doing what you told me to do – keeping her occupied. I-I was trying to give you enough time so that you could search her room."

"Yes! The room!" She yelled, "The room where we found the bracelet and other items which all stands as evidence against her right now."

He grabbed her arm. "I just think we should give her a chance to explain."

"We?" She scoffed, shaking him off. " No, there is no way we're going into the interrogation together." She moved to the door. "I'm sorry, Lance. But based on this conversation and your behavior in the hotel, it is obvious that you have been compromised." She opened the door and backed through it angrily.

He tried to follow. "I was just trying to do –" The door slammed in his face before he could finish, "– what you asked." He hissed the last part through his teeth.