A/N: It took me a really long time to write the third part to this mini-series (Reluctance-Assurance-Willingness), which chronologically takes place at the end of September, but I've finally published it.

Hope you all enjoy it and happy holidays!

Against all expectations, Lance did keep his word and didn't make a single mocking comment about Keith's hair in front of Pidge and Allura, not even when Allura had excused herself to the restroom and was absent for about ten minutes.

Still, Keith was one-hundred percent positive that the moment the date was over and the two girls were gone, once again he would find himself on the receiving end of Lance's annoying hair jokes, as he had been countless times over the past three years they had been roommates.

"All the more reason I should try to enjoy this night while it lasts." he sarcastically thought and dug his fork into the pile of bolognese pasta on his plate, twirling a small amount of spaghetti around the fork and putting it in his mouth.

At his left, Lance cleared his throat and asked, trying to break the ice.

"Hey Pidge, I heard professor Slav had assigned you and Hunk a new project for this semester?"

"Yeah." brushing away a short lock of hair, Pidge tucked it behind her right ear. "Since Hunk and I are both interested in space exploration, aside from computer programming, we've decided to create an interactive simulation of a wormhole, similar to one my brother found on the Internet and showed me a while ago." she explained and took a bite of her pasta.

"Sounds cool." commented Lance and shoved a forkful of macaroni in his mouth. "Speaking of which," he said after a pause, wiping a smear of marinara sauce off the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "how's Matt doing by the way?"

"Oh, he's fine," she answered with a shrug. "though I don't get to see him as much as I'd like to these days because of his job."

"What does he do?" asked Keith and the brunette girl looked at him with a wary expression, a bit taken aback by his blunt question.

"Way to go, Keith. Just perfect."

"He works as a software programmer at Kerberos Inc. along with my dad, though in his free time he's currently developing an RPG video game with his girlfriend and three of their friends." she explained and Keith nodded, looking down at his plate.

They quietly ate for a few minutes, until Allura decided to break the silence.

"So, what do you like doing in your free time, Keith?" she asked him in a curious tone, resting her cheek on her hand.

"Well, when it isn't raining and there's nothing interesting to watch on Netflix, I go motorcycle riding."

"And what about you, Pidge?" Lance flashed her a smile, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I…Um, I mostly like playing video games like the Homeworld saga and watching sci-fi movies and TV series, as well as space documentaries on Netflix."

"Oh really? What a coincidence. Cause, you know, Keith here is also a big space nerd, right Keith?" he casually said, and Keith froze, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Uhh… Yeah, I guess so." he awkwardly replied and put his fork down, his dark blue-grey eyes darting from Lance to Pidge. "I…I mean, I've only watched Star Wars a dozen times in my life, and I still have trouble understanding the difference between a black hole and a dark star, but I've always wanted to be a space pilot, ever since I was thirteen. That's why I'm majoring in aerospace engineering at Garrison University." he admitted, staring directly into Pidge's molten caramel eyes.

"Aerospace engineering huh?" reaching for the bottle at the center of the table, Pidge poured herself another glass of water and smiled, much to Keith's relief. "Tell me more about it." she said, bringing the glass to her lips.

"Okay, so I have this professor, Iverson, and I swear, he is a total pain in the ass…"

From the other side of the table, Allura witnessed the whole exchange between them and held back a triumphant grin, sharing a knowing look with Lance. It had taken them a little longer than what they had expected, but it seemed that their respective roommates had finally hit it off.

"Now let's see which one works up first the courage to ask for the other's phone number."

After paying their check, the four of them stood up from their table and left the restaurant.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye…" sighed Allura, adjusting her white purse on her right shoulder. "We should do this again sometime." she added, giving both Keith and Lance a goodbye hug.

"Sure. Anytime you want, Princess." Lance winked at her, and she bit her lip to keep herself from smiling.

Standing next to them, Pidge shook her head at Lance's flirting and shoved her arms through the sleeves of her denim jacket, before turning to Keith.

"It was nice meeting you. I really had a good time." she told him, fidgeting a bit with her hands.

"Me too." he answered, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Good luck with your semester project."

"Thank you. Don't let Iverson push your buttons." Pidge said in a playful tone and Keith forced a smile, despite the hollow feeling in his chest.

"I'll try my best, though I can't make any promises."

"Okay. See you around, guys."

Keith watched the two girls walk away and the hollowness within him grew larger, threatening to swallow him whole.

"This is stupid. It's not like I'll never see her again, she's Allura's roommate after all… Besides, I go to the same university as her, so there's a good chance we'll bump into each other at the cafeteria or the library… Is it because I find her cute, or because she likes the same things as me? Or is it because…"

Suddenly Lance nudged him in his side with his elbow, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What the heck are you waiting for?" his roommate told him with a scowl and motioned towards Pidge's retreating figure. "It's blindly obvious that you've taken an interest in her, or else you wouldn't be standing here looking so mopey, so quit brooding and go ask her out for quiznak's sake, Mullet." he added and put a hand on Keith's back, literally pushing him forward.

"Wait!" Keith called after them and the girls turned around. "Um, I was just wondering if… You know…" his voice trailed off, and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

"…Yeah?" Pidge asked in a tentative voice.

"Do you wanna go grab some coffee next Monday after class… with me? I…I mean, if you don't mind."

"Right, I…I mean sure, I'd love to." she answered, and Keith felt his heart start racing.

"Okay…" he managed to say and pulled out his phone. "What's your number?"

Once she had been added to his contact list, Keith quickly sent her a "hello" via text.

"There you go. Now we have each other's numbers." he told her and Pidge nodded, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Great. See you next Monday, Keith."

And then she got up to her tiptoes and put her hands on his shoulders, kissing him on the cheek.

A/N: Since this is my last fic for this year, I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year (and also a happy new decade!) in advance.

See you all again next year fellow Kidgers, hopefully sooner than later!

PS: I usually publish updates about me or the fics I'm working on (no WIPs at the moment) on my profile page, so if anyone wants to know how I'm doing or if a new fic will be published soon, just check it.