I have a calendar set up for the story so I can keep track of ages and Pidge's birthday just happens to fall right between Scales and Alone. I had considered placing this as the first chapter, but I thought it fit better as an interlude.

This takes place about a week before Just Kitten and Get Out.

"No."

"Come on, Pidge."

"Don't even think about it."

"Why not?"

"Hunk don't you start."

Keith yawned and looked up to see Hunk and Lance trailing after an annoyed Pidge. Blue spotted him first, perched up on Hunk's shoulder next to Pua. She let out a chirp and hopped onto Chip - who was resting atop Rover and let out an unhappy mewl - then the floor before racing over. She climbed up onto his chest to nuzzle up against Merla. The kitten didn't even seem to notice, curling up closer to Blue without waking.

The others spotted him and Pidge waved a hand in his direction. "Finally, someone with sense."

Keith glanced over at Lance and Hunk, the former looking far too eager, and shook his head. "Don't involve me in this."

"I bet even Keith would think it'd be fun, Pidge!"

"What did I just say?"

"It's not happening, Lance. Tell them it's a stupid idea, Keith."

Keith draped his arm over his eyes, his other hand coming up to scratch Blue's chin.

"Just give it a chance, Pidge."

The couch shifted next to Keith's head. He lowered his arm to see Hunk sitting down next to him, Lance and Pidge dropping down across from them.

"No, Hunk."

"If you guys are going to fight, can you take it somewhere else?" Keith huffed, reaching up to stroke Pua's tail. He smiled as the ragdoll hopped down and curled up next to his shoulder.

"How about you take it somewhere else?"

"There's no fight because it's not happening."

Keith rolled his eyes and reached out for Chip, who cheerfully hopped down from Rover to join the cuddle party.

"He's like the cat whisperer," Hunk said softly as Chip nudged Merla and Blue over to curl up under Keith's chin.

"That's because cats are the only ones who can stand him."

"Better than you, who no one can stand," Pidge snorted.

"What are you even fighting about?" Keith asked, tilting his head to look up at Hunk.

"I thought you didn't want to get involved, mullet!"

"Oh, so you guys can hear me."

"You know how Pidge and I were setting up that calendar?" Hunk started to explain.

"No."

"Oh, uh, well, Pidge and I were trying to set up a calendar. You know, to keep track of how long we've been up here."

"Depressing," Lance and Keith said together, causing the former to send the latter an appalled look as Pidge laughed

"Right," Hunk chuckled. "So we managed to correlate the differences between ticks and seconds and using that we were able to figure out exactly how long it's been since -"

"So you guys made a calendar and now know what day it is?" Keith asked before his brain just started tuning everything out.

"Approximately," Pidge stepped in. "We don't know exactly what time it was when we left Earth or how long it was between leaving Earth and waking Allura and Coran, which is when our timing starts so -"

"I get it. So why is the calendar making you guys fight?"

"It was Pidge's birthday a few days ago, so we want to throw her a party."

"It's her fifteenth birthday! That's a special day! We should have a big party."

"For the last time, I'm not Latina. I don't need a quinceañera."

"That's not what - Nevermind. I'm not saying we have a big party like that, but we should still have a party. You deserve a party with dancing and presents and puffy dresses."

Pidge snorted. "You can wear a puffy dress."

"You think I won't? I totally will, and I'll rock it! Hunk too, right Hunk?"

The Yellow Paladin frowned. "I guess, if Pidge wants me too. I don't know if I have the figure for it."

"Of course you do!"

"Well I'm not wearing a dress."

"What's wrong, Mullet? Would wearing a dress hurt your fragile masculinity?"

"Yes."

Lance blinked at the Red Paladin's annoyed tone and Pidge elbowed him just beneath the ribs. "Shut up before you sound like a jerk. No one's wearing a dress because I'm not having a party."

"But you have to celebrate! It's your birthday! Right Hunk, Keith?"

Keith saw Hunk nod, but he just gave Lance a blank look. "You're asking me? I spent my fifteenth birthday in a shack with just Ryou and Merla for company, doing the same thing I did every day. The closest thing to celebrating that happened was Merla bringing me a special lizard. "

"See Keith gets - Wait, you're fifteen?" Pidge stared at him and Hunk followed suit, while Lance put his hands over his mouth.

"Holy cheese, Keith's a baby!"

Pidge kicked him and Keith glared at him. "I'm a year younger than you."

"I turn seventeen in July."

"And I turn sixteen in October."

"What are they fighting about now?"

The group looked up to see Shiro and Ryou standing in the doorway, giving the two boys unimpressed looks.

"Hunk, Lance, and Pidge are the ones fighting," Keith said at the same time Pidge said, "Lance called Keith a baby because he's fifteen."

"Technically all of you are underage," Shiro pointed out. "So you're all children."

"You're one to talk," Keith snorted.

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked.

"Nothing," Shiro said quickly. "So what were you three arguing about?"

"Pidge won't let us throw her a birthday party," Hunk explained as Pidge and Lance glanced back and forth between Keith and Shiro suspiciously.

"Birthday party? It's your birthday?"

"It was. A few days ago. But like I told these idiots, I don't want a party."

"Well, it is your choice -"

"Thank you!"

"But I think you should. It would be good for you, for all of us. We need something to celebrate."

Pidge surged to her feet and marched out of the room, Rover following behind. "Well you all can celebrate without me."

"What's up with her?" Lance huffed.

Keith watched her go before sliding the cats off him and sitting up. "If that's settled, I'm going to go train."

"If you want some company, I can join you after I check in with Coran."

"Sure."

Pidge glared at the ceiling, the headphones she had stolen back from Lance secured around her ears and blasting a techno piece that may as well been white noise for how much she was paying attention. On top of her stomach, her hands folded and unfolded a glossy picture.

The door to her room opened, blinding her with white-blue light.

She shot the doorway a glare, but relaxed when she caught a brief glance of Chip before the door sealed the room into darkness once more. "Oh, hey girl. I thought you were Shiro. I'm surprised he hasn't come to read me the riot act already."

Chip gave a muffled call and jumped up next to her. She pushed her muzzle into Pidge's hand, depositing something before walking over to curl up on Pidge's pillow.

Curious, Pidge sat up with a, "Lights, ten percent."

The low light revealed Chip's delivery to be a folded picture with a message scrawled across the back. Unfolding it, she read the message.

I get it

Found this under my bed when I got kicked

was leaving the Garrison

Figured you could give it back to him

She turned it over and froze.

It was from when she was five. She still had short hair, but she was in a bright pink tutu. Her father had her in his lap while her mother was sitting next to them, her head on Pidge's dad's shoulder. Matt was standing behind them all, beaming.

The picture had been her father's. He had kept it in his wallet for a year before they all had sat down for another family picture and he'd swapped it out. Matt had taken it then. He'd been starting the Garrison and wanted to bring it to show off his "Squishy baby sister." It was always falling out, though. He went through at least one copy a year. Pidge had tried convincing him to switch to more recent pictures every time they sat for pictures since she had turned eight, but he refused. She was half convinced he was doing it purely to annoy her at this point.

Pidge smiled, even as tears began trailing down her cheeks.

"Keith!"

The Red Paladin looked up from his dinner to see Pidge marching up towards him. Before he could say anything, she socked him in the arm. He blinked and rubbed it.

"Thanks."

"Oh, uh, no problem."

She nodded, then spun on her foot and headed into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Lance asked.

"Pidge didn't want a birthday."

"Yeah, and?"

Keith shrugged. "I get it."

Lance gave him a bemused stare until Hunk dropped into the seat across from them.

"Hey guys, so I was thinking, maybe we should add in all our birthdays to the calendar," Hunk said around a mouthful of goo. He swallowed, then brought up the calendar on his tablet. "I got Pidge's, Lance's, and mine already and apparently Altean's mark their age using the, uh, stellar misalignment flare cycle something or other that really doesn't translate well into their system of measuring time, let alone ours, so I was thinking we'd just pick out days for them and celebrate then, and Keith, you said yours was in October, right?"

Keith blinked, then nodded slowly, mind still trying to catch up with the long explanation. "I, yeah, the twenty-third. Oh, and Matt's is the twelfth of December."

"Great, I'll add them both!" Hunk cheered, tapping at the tablet.

"How do you know Pidge's brother's birthday?" Lance asked.

"He was my Alumni Mentor back at the garrison."

"Cool, so we just need Shiro's then!"

"I bet Keith knows that too," Lance scoffed.

"I do."

Lance glared at him and Hunk looked up, waiting, but the Red Paladin just went back to his food.

"Well?" Lance huffed after a minute of silence passed. "What's his birthday?"

"I'm under contract not to say."

"You… what?" Hunk frowned and shared a look with Lance.

"Shiro made me sign a contract years ago. I'm not allowed to tell anyone when his birthday is."

"Why would he make you do that?"

"I'm under contract not to say."

"You can't even tell us why you can't tell us?" Lance said, leaning into Keith's face.

"Nope," Keith responded, pushing him away.

"You know, contracts signed by minors aren't legally binding," Hunk pointed out.

"It's a personal contract, not a legal one."

"I don't buy it! I bet you Mullet doesn't actually know and he's just saying that to try and trick us!"

"Ask Shiro."

"I will!" Lance pushed away from the table and over to the castle's comms. "SHIRO, COME TO THE DINING ROOM!"

Both Keith and Hunk flinched as Lance's shouting echoed through the intercoms.

"You don't need to shout, Lance," Hunk sighed.

A few moments later, Shiro arrived to say the same. "The intercoms are loud enough, Lance."

"Shiro, does Keith really know your birthday?"

The Black Paladin glanced at Keith and nodded, "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't he?"

"He said something about a contract and Lance didn't believe him," Hunk explained.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!"

Keith froze, then turned to his uncle with a smirk. "Does that mean I can tell them?"

Shiro sent the boy a glare. "Why did you guys want to know my birthday?"

"Oh, I wanted to put everyone's birthdays on the calendar. So we'll know when someone's big day is coming up."

Shiro nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that's a good idea. My birthday's February twenty-eighth."

Keith twitched.

"Oh, cool."

Lance frowned. "Why wouldn't Mullet be able to tell us that?"

Shiro shrugged. "I was born on a leap year so people like to make jokes about how if I'd been born a day later…" He shrugged again.

Keith twitched again.

"That sucks, it's not like you're an actual leap year baby," Lance tisked, returning to the table.

Hunk nudged him. "That's not a good reason to make fun of a person either."

"I'm not saying make fun of them, but harmless jokes are still on the table."

Keith grabbed his half empty plate and headed into the kitchen, Shiro just behind him.

As soon as the door shut, he snickered, "You're such a liar."

"Don't you dare tell them."

"Come on, Shiro, I'm not going to let them tease a six-year-old."

Shiro shoved his shoulder so hard his plate went flying.