Cinnamon Tea and Hot Chocolate
A/N: Today, one year ago, Voltron broke all of our hearts, and I just wanted to say that this chapter is not near as hurtful, though the next one might be, jk. But yeah, thank you all for following this story, and I hope you like this chapter!
14th of December
"So, you haven't heard from Lance since last night either" Hunk said concerned.
"I haven't even heard from his mom" Hunk's voice was filled with distress as he talked.
"Hunk, I'm sure he's fine, he would have called if he wasn't," Pidge said, shifting the phone in her hand to a better position as she talked.
"I know, but he doesn't have his phone, and what if he's lost or gotten kidnapped," Hunk said with evident panic in his voice.
"Hunk, remember to take a deep breath, I'm sure Lance is fine," Pidge said, desperate to get her friend to call down.
"Anyway, do Lance get notes for his classes?" Pidge asked as smoothly that she could.
"Keith asked Romelle for him."
"Alright, now Hunk I'll just take a walk, but I will call you when I get back," Pidge said, hanging up after she and Hunk had said a quick goodbye.
It was already getting dark when Pidge walked through the local park. The girl shook a little in the cold, looking up at the dark grey sky. It had started snowing in the morning and had picked up rather quickly, so now every surface was covered in a thick layer of snow. Pidge both loved and hated the snow, it was beautiful and gave her an excuse to stay in, but on the other hand, it was cold, frozen rain that made traffic go to bullshit.
As Pidge walked and thought about snow, she noticed a figure sitting on one of the benches. The person was covered in snow like they had been sitting there for hours. Pidge looked closer at the stranger curiously, noticing that the person was not as much of a stranger as she had thought.
"Lance? Is that you?" Pidge asked, with a slight trembling in her voice.
The figure stirred a bit and looked towards Pidge.
"Ka-tie?"
Pidge froze at the voice, now being sure that it was Lance.
"Hey, buddy," Pidge said, walking over to Lance slowly, hoping she wouldn't startle the boy.
"Whatcha doing here?" Pidge asked softly when she reached Lance.
"Just came out of the airport," Lance said looking at Pidge with unfocused eyes.
His lips were slowly turning blue, and there were big black bags under his eyes.
"Why aren't you home?" Pidge asked confused, brushing snow off Lance.
"All flights were either booked or cancelled by the snowstorm," Lance said, his body shaking in the cold.
"I called my mom and told her I would be able to come home, but I didn't have enough money to call any of you over the payphone, sorry" Lance explained, his head getting more clear as he talked.
"It's okay, Lancey, we knew that you had forgotten your phone. Hunk was just worried" Pidge said, trying to reassure the trembling boy.
"Oh right, Keith, he's still holding my phone?" Lance asked as casually as he could.
Pidge nodded, but she kept looking at Lance weirdly.
"Lance… What happened to make you hurry home? All Keith said was, that it was a family emergency and that it sounded pretty serious" Pidge's voice was a little hesitant as she spoke. Her hands still rubbed Lance's arms and back to warm the boy a little.
Lance looked at Pidge with a sad expression before answering.
"My abuela… she's sick, has been for a long time. She was getting better, could do things again, but then my mom called me. Abuela had a fallback, and mom was scared that this was it, that abuela would die. So I tried to hurry home but t-the stupid-d airplanes they-they suck" Lance's voice broke as he talked, though the final part was more sobbing than actually talking.
"Hey, buddy, it's okay," Pidge said a little overwhelmed but patted Lance on the back to give him some comfort.
"What did your mom say when you called?" Pidge asked, trying to distract the crying boy.
"Abuela, she's going to make it, or well she's going to make it to I get home. The doctors say she has two to three weeks left to live in" Lance said, as tears still fell rapidly from his eyes, but the sobs had stilled.
"I'm so sorry, but at least you get to see her one last time," Pidge said now hugging Lance.
"It's not fair, Katie, this December has been a big disaster. The whole thing with Plaxum and Nyma, that's not even mentioning the deal with Keith" Lance said frustrated, not noticing what he was saying.
"What deal with Keith? You guys looked happy last time I saw you" Pidge said confused, looking Lance in the eyes.
"That's not real, or maybe it is, I don't know anymore. Keith and I wanted to prank you and all of our friends by saying we were a couple. Somewhere along the way, I fell for him, and maybe he fell for me too, it's so fracking complicated. It was meant to mess with your heads, but honestly, it has been way worse for Keith and me than for you guys. It's… it's a long story" Lance said frustrated.
"Explain everything while we walk to your dorm," Pidge said, dragging Lance up for the bench.
"I have time today" Pidge smiled at Lance as they walked.
And Lance explained, he explained it all, all the breakdowns and confusion. Pidge stayed silent through the whole thing, just walking next to the boy as he talked. When Lance was finished, he didn't dare to look at Pidge, scared of her reaction. Lance finally gathered the courage to look his friend in the eyes. He wasn't prepared for Pidge to stare back at him with teary eyes before tackling him into a hug.
"Lance, I'm sorry that I'm not the best at comfort, but I support you, and I love you with all my heart. You are my best friend, and I only wish for your happiness" Pidge said with a sniff in between the sentences.
"Thanks, Pidgey, it means a lot," Lance said hugging the petite girl tighter.
"Now, confess your feelings for your fake boyfriend, dumbass" Pidge said when they pulled apart, drying tears off her cheek.
"Yeah… I should do that" Lance said starting to run towards Keith's apartment with newfound courage.
"And don't you DARE tell ANYONE about this" Pidge yelled after him with a big grin.
"Couldn't dream of it, KitKat" Lance yelled back before setting up into a sprint, hearing the bell tower strike twelve as he ran.
A/N: AH yes, cliffhanger again! Next chapter will literally pick up were I left it so be ready ;)