"Can you insert this screw, please?" Pidge requests, handing the large screw over to Lance. Taking it, he walks over to the machines to see where Pidge meant.
"Here?"
"Yeah," she nods absentmindedly.
"... Where?" Lance smiles innocently. "I'm not sure where you mean."
"Right there, Lance," Pidge doesn't bother to look over her shoulder.
"Still not sure. Keith, do you know where?" Lance asks in a way that makes Keith thinks he is part of those kids shows and Lance is trying to get the children watching the show to participate.
"Can you tell me where this large screw goes?" Lance holds it up. Keith walks over to him, oblivious and just to help.
"I'm not sure, Lance," he says, unsure what game Lance is playing at. Pidge groans behind them. "Where did Pidge say to put it?"
"I dunno~ You should help me figure it out~" Lance grinned.
"Are you serious?" Pidge grumbled at the blue paladin.
"We are taking this very seriously, Pidge," Lance chides her, grinning. "I'm just having Keith show me where the screw goes."
"I don't see why I have to show you where to put the screw, Lance." The red paladin tilts his head, confused. "Don't you know where?"
"Oh, I know where I could put my screw," Lance wiggles his eyebrows, leaning towards him.
"Why are you doing that?" Keith hits his shoulder lightly, "The slot is right there. You just have to pick it up and slide it in-" He gasps, eyes widened. "Is this another sex innuendo?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lance quirked his lips into an arrogant line. Keith bit his tongue, his face flushing.
"Really? Did you just say that to me?" Lance muses. "So you're saying, all I have to do is just line it up...and slide it in. You know, Keith-"
"Don't do it." Keith cut him off. Lance twirls into him.
"Do what?"
"Say something dirty. I know you're dying to, but just put the screw in." Lance lifted up the screw and made a big show of inserting the tip in the hole. Keith smacks him, and Pidge yells at the two of them that she has a lot of work to do and if they weren't going to be helpful, then they could just leave.
Lance made a pouty face, shaking his head at her. Glancing back at the two, she watched as Lance quietly nudges Keith. He looks flustered, smacking Lance's hands away. Lance eyes flare with a challenge.
There is a pause between them then Lance lightly slaps Keith back. A second later, the two are hitting at each other's hands like children.
It reminded her of before, when they hated each other. Accept, she could see the love in their eyes. The playful spark as they tried to one-up the other in good fun.
Their grins quickly faded when Shiro and Allura walked into the room. Separating, going in different directions, Lance returned to Pidge to ask what else she needed from him. He had no other means to distract himself.
Taking pity on him Pidge gives him a few pieces of machinery to put together for her. It wasn't difficult, but at least it was time consuming.
Taking the project to the other side of the room, especially since Allura wouldn't let him sit next to Keith, Lance got to work.
Pidge found herself constantly looking back and forth between the two. They both seemed to distract themselves with whatever they were doing, but the fact was that neither seemed to be happy. She frowned to herself as she scaled the small ladder leading up to her latest creation. A sort of beacon they could sent out, like a larger mars rover. It held enough space to carry supplies, but was small enough to be considered debris when picked up by scanners of Galra ships.
She had just started to attach a screw to the top when the ladder shook. Caught off guard, she felt her body fall backwards.
"Pidge!"
A moment later, Keith caught her, both of them crashing back. Keith was cradling her head to his chest to stop it from cracking against the metal ground.
"Are you both okay?" Lance and Shiro were running towards them. The second they hit the floor, Keith yanked her back to examine her, his breathing heavy.
"You have to be careful!" He says, turning her face from side to side to check for injuries.
"I- sorry," she reached up to push her glasses up, surprised that he had reacted so fast to catch her. "I was lost in thought…"
"You got a big brain Pidge, but it won't do you any good if you space out and get yourself hurt!" he pauses. "We don't want you getting hurt." his tone is surprisingly gentle, helping her to her feet, "You sure you're okay?"
She nods, stepping back. Looking each other in the eye, an awkward silence fell between them. She cleared her throat,
"Thanks,"
"We are just glad you didn't hit your head from that fall." Shiro says. "Maybe we should have someone stick by the ladder next time you try to use it."
"I can do it." Keith offered immediately. Shiro stared at him for a moment.
"Fine. Just… be careful from now on." He said.
"Maybe if you weren't messing around, this wouldn't have happened." Allura huffed, crossing her arms. No one knew exactly who the comment had been angled towards, perhaps all of them, but Allura had been very snippy lately and it wasn't boding well with the team.
"Would you lay off?!" Keith snapped.
"Keith." Shiro said in warning. The two glared at each other, sparks flaring. Lance stepped in between them. This seemed to be the norm lately. The line between calm and rage was too thin amongst the team since their return. It just seemed to worsen with each passing day.
"Ok, guys. We're fine. No messing around. Got it. You can go now." Lance said, making sure there were a few feet of space between him and Keith, even though it ached. Shiro looked unconvinced while Allura's face was red with anger. Shiro finally sighed.
"Alright… we'll come back later. Let's go, princess." He said, ushering the pissed off Altean out of the room.
Once the two left, Lance whirled on Keith faster than Pidge could even comprehend. Sliding to lean against the table, Lance leaned down, lifting Keith's chin to stare at him. Caught off guard, Keith blinks at him.
Pidge felt embarrassed and looked away, ears still listening to what they were going to say.
"Have you been sleeping okay? You look a little tired," Lance noted softly, brushing his thumb softly to Keith's chin. Relaxing his shoulders, the red paladin leans into the touch.
"Been a little restless," he admits.
"You didn't eat that much this morning too." Pidge frowns, worried, "You doing okay?"
Keith shrugs. "I dunno…" Lance had noticed Keith had lost a little weight lately, but every time he managed to ask or point this out, Keith told him it was nothing.
"Please try to eat something, ok?" He asked, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. Keith looked at him for a moment before nodding deftly. That made him feel a little better.
With shared smiles, they stared deep into each other eyes. This went on for as long as Pidge could bare before she started to feel awkward.
"Ok… guys, if you're done making goo-goo eyes at each other, this decryptor isn't going to fix itself." She said, tossing the small machine to Lance, which he caught with a grumble. Keith chuckled.
"Yeah yeah, madame brainiac." Lance sighed, plopping on the ground with some tools while Keith sat next to Pidge to help her with what she was working on.
A few hours later, Coran's voice came over the speakers, telling them to meet at the bridge. Once everyone was there, Coran clapped his hands together.
"Alright team, we got some supplies we need to gather before we can move on. To save as much time as possible so we can meet up with the rebellion, we'll be splitting up into three teams." Coran slide in front of them, pulling up the screen.
"Hunk, Allura and I shall be heading here to speak of a treaty between the Yalview people."
"Their strategic position will help secure this area of the galaxy and gain us a small footing against Zarkon's empire. They are a very stubborn race I'm afraid, so it might take some time. We will leave as soon as possible. If you all finish your missions before we are done, you are welcome to join us at Yalview." Allura adds. Hunk quickly raised his hand.
"And why am I coming along with this?"
"Your diplomatic skills have proven quite useful Hunk," Allura smiles at him. "You would be doing us all the biggest favor by joining us."
He lowered his hands, cheeks tinting from the praise. He smiles sheepishly, "Well uh- if you insist, I'll do my best."
Coran smiles, "Shiro and Keith shall be heading to the Fralc sector to help escort three ships to the planet Vilrek. They have crucial medical supplies and have asked for our aid to assure it gets to Vilrek safely."
Shiro and Keith nodded. "You can leave it to us, Coran."
"And finally, we'll be sending Pidge and Lance to this section." Coran pulls up the screen to show a very barren looking planet.
"Why there? There is nothing but rock." Pidge questions.
"Nothing much on the surface, true, but you two will be going below the surface. This is a mining mission."
"Mining?" Lance asks.
"Yes, for Tarja crystals. They aren't quite as powerful as Balmeran crystals, nor come as big, but their energy and properties could help us improve our particle barrier as well as many other functions on the ship," Coran explains
"Alright, cool," Lance nods his head.
"Now that everyone has their assignments, go to your lions!" Allura announced.
"Let's go, Keith," Shiro motions for him to follow. When Keith walked around Lance to follow Shiro, Lance snagged his wrist in passing. Without the notice of anyone but the green paladin, Lance lifted Keith's palm to his face. A blooming blush spread over Keith's cheeks when Lance kissed his knuckles, shooting him a charming smile.
With a sheepish one, filled with adoration, Keith slipped his fingers away slowly, giving him a small wave of goodbye.
As he left, he cradled his hand close to his chest, cherishing the lingering warmth of Lance's lips.
Shiro was waiting for him on the other side of the door. Keith shot him a menacing glare as he walked by, before stalking ahead to his lion.
"Keith-!"
"I don't want to hear it!"
Pidge and Lance were in their lions, heading to Tarja with little difficulties. The silence was thick, making Pidge shift in her seat. They hadn't been able to just talk to each other alone since Lance and Keith came back from being gone for so long. Not that they really got along that well in the first place, they could at least poke fun at each other.
Pidge missed that. Missed being able to just goof around with Lance. No tech talk, just them being dumb teenagers together.
"Hey… Lance?"
"What's up?"
"You know… you know I'm not against you, right?" She asked, hoping to get across that she was shocked at first, not expecting the two that hated each other and vanished to come home in love. Lance sighed, a bubble of anger starting to form.
"Your actions tell me otherwise." He said, his voice monotone.
"I was just… shocked. I guess. I mean, you two were at each other's throats when you left. And then you come back as a couple? It was a total 180 for you guys." She explained, not wanting to strain the last bit of a connection she had with him.
Lance understood. He knew what he and Keith used to be. He sort of got where Pidge was coming from, if anything at all.
Yet there was still this nasty feeling curling within him. Taking a breath, he turned to the screen to look her in the eyes. "It was shocking when I learned you were a girl, too. That didn't change how I thought about you. That didn't change how I thought you were a capable genius pilot. Yet me being in love with Keith seemed to change something for you- at least enough for you not to stand up for me."
"Lance-"
"I don't expect you to understand every little thing I do, Pidge. I don't expect you to understand how I feel, or understand why I love Keith- that was between him and me. But as your friend, I thought I could at least count on you to respect my decisions, instead of standing against them. Pidge you- none of you even gave it a chance." Lance looked away, hurt evident in his voice.
"Lance." Pidge's voice strained, the pain in Lance's eyes coming right back around and hitting her in the heart. Being in love and things like that never made any sense to her. You could say it was just from being so young that of course she'd be missing knowledge on it, but things like romance had never interested her.
Seeing it from Lance and Keith was just something she couldn't process. Not because they were both boys, or because they were her friends, but just because to her it didn't add up that two people who hated each other would grow to love each other. Emotions were never something she could say she was a expert on unlike Hunk.
Perhaps even now, she still didn't understand how Lance and Keith could love each other. She didn't understand how anyone could 'be in love' with each other. She loved the team, her family- but being in love sounded so strange and unknown.
However, she never intended to hurt anyone.
"I'm sorry, Lance." she says softly.
"It's fine, Pidge. Don't worry about it." He said in a way that made it impossible for Pidge to know if he meant it. The silence from then on was awkward, Lance hoping to get to the planet as soon as possible so they could get this over with.
When they arrived they put on their helmets and set their lions down on the edge of the planet. It was a barren world, with many holes lining the surface. It was obviously a place solely for mining, but Lance wondered if there was ever any actual life here?
"Okay, the crystals we need should be right below us." Pidge pulled up her screen, looking over the rough schematic of the planet's tunneling system. "The deeper we go the more detail the map will be. We might have to go a ways if the upper tunnels have already been mined."
Lance nodded, taking out a few high tech altean mining drills Coran had leant to them. Handing one to Pidge, they shuffled down the closest tunnel, keeping an eye out for any crystals popping out of the surface. "How many of these things do we need exactly?"
"Depends on the size, I guess." Pidge kept her eyes on the screen. "If they are big we won't need many. If we can't find those, we might need a large load of little ones."
"Works for me." twirling the drill, Lance entered the next tunnel. It delved deep into the ground, the darkness thick enough that they needed to turn on the lights attached to their armors. Halfway down to where they were hoping to find the crystals, light began to filter around them.
Lance thought that perhaps they had taken a wrong turn and were making their way back to the surface, but it wasn't natural light they were seeing. The source was from little machines someone had attached to the wall, illuminating the area in a deep purple light.
"Those suppose to be there?" Lance motioned to them
Pidge shrugged, unsure. "I don't think so? If this is normally a mining planet, perhaps the last person here just left them?" the designs of the machines looked familiar to both of them, but not in a good way.
Turning his head, Lance followed the trail of lights, stopping short when he heard a massive clicking sound. More sounds followed, echoing through the tunnels till they found the source.
Galra sentinels, drills in hand, we lining the walls, busy at work.
"Are you kidding me?" Lance hissed as he ducked down, Pidge following his example.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Lance lifted a hand to silence her. Taking a few seconds to be sure, he peeked around the corner to confirm what he saw. A galra sentinel was just about to pass by them so he squished them against the wall. It was carrying a bucket of crystals back up the tunnel where it came from. A few more sentinels followed, mining the area dry.
"It's the Galra."
"All the way out here?" Pidge couldn't believe her ears. "There are no platoons stationed in this area. Why are they here?"
They got their answer a second later when a very colorful looking Galra rounded the corner. She smiled at the process, saying a few orders to the robots. Lance bristled, remembering her from the castle when Lotor tried to take it over.
"No way…" Pidge shook her head, peeking out to eye the all too familiar Galran general. "Lotor is here? What are the chances?"
Lance glanced at her. "What do you want to do? Get out of here?" he frowned. She sighs, glancing back around the side. Quietly she looked down the tunnel they just came from. They could easily just go right back and avoid all of this but…
"We haven't gotten a single crystal." she says. Lance nods in agreement,
"I don't want to come all the way out here just to run with our tails between our legs."
"Then we sneak around them, grab some crystals, and leave?" she asked. "Or- should we take this as a chance to take out Lotor? He doesn't realize we're here yet." Lance glanced around. They hadn't exactly seen Lotor yet, just the one general. But they tended to be where he was, so the chances of him being deeper in the tunnels were high.
"I say we play it by ear. Grab some crystals, but if we have a chance to strike, we take it." Pidge seemed to like that plan and nodded.
With that plan, they scurried into the closet tunnel, booking it down the rocky path.
They made sure to mine as far away from Lotor's troops as possible, hoping to be quick about this.
The drill did fast work in cutting down the rock walls, revealing a few crystals, but they weren't very large. The area they were in seemed to be mostly swept clean. The more larger crystals would be where Lotor was.
"We'll have to make due." Lance began to pile the small crystals in a bucket for Pidge to take back up to the lion. They managed to get three full boxes out before Lotor's troops began to make some rounds towards their end.
"How many do they need?" Lance demanded, scrambling to get their supplies before the Galra arrived and shuffling down the closet escape. Taking a few random turns they did some quick mining here and there, their pulses racing from the worry of being caught.
"Another box is filled." Pidge slid it towards him. Lifting it into his arms, he nodded and rushed to bring it back up the tunnels. He took a different route than the one he made to get down there.
With Lotor around he had no idea where the Galra might be, so he moved cautiously.
Rounding a corner, he noticed a few large crystals peeking out from the walls. He was even able to pluck one out of the wall's surface from how ready it was to be harvested.
"Sweet." he smiles, He turned on his com-link. "Pidge, I found this spot with larger crystals. Finish up where you are and come over here." to his right, a section of the wall seemed to morph from rock to pure crystal.
The brilliant hue of them sparkled making him catch his breath from their beauty.
His steps slowed, following the trail.
Suddenly, his eyes caught with another. Through the crystal wall, he froze in place when someone on the other side peered through to look at him.
Piercing eyes locked in on him, widening.
The Galran Prince stood on the other side, staring into his very soul. Lance stepped back, snapping Lotor out of his dumbstruck daze.
"Hey!" he yelled when Lance turned to flee back in the direction he came, the cover blown.
"Pidge!" he rounded the corner to return to her. "We gotta go!"
Pidge was about to answer when she was suddenly punched in the stomach by an invisible force. The hit sent her flying, crashing into a nearby wall.
"Pidge!" Lance cried, getting up to race over to her. The force seemed to turn towards him, slamming into his chest. His knees buckling as all the air he possessed was sucked from his lungs. He hit the ground, his ribs aching.
"Looks like we meet again, little blue." a teasing voice said. Lance coughed, looking up to see the air reveal a flash of technicolor.
Ezor.
Behind them more footsteps followed.
"Now this is a surprise." Lotor's smooth voice rang out as he walked up to Lance's form, his soldiers marching after him.
Lance glared.
"What are you doing here, Lotor?" He wheezed.
"Why is that any of your business?" Lotor purred, squatting down to his height. "You are the one who interrupted me." his hand reached out, gripping Lance's chin and tilting it up. Able to see the blue paladin's face, Lotor tilted his head. "I wasn't expecting to see you here..." there is a soft undertone in his voice, sounding almost happy that they had run into each other.
Lance scowled, seeing Pidge start to stir.
"Mind telling me what you are doing here, Blue Paladin." the name slide off of Lotor's voice like velvet.
"I have nothing to say to you." Lance spat. Pidge was in a crouch now, Bayard at the ready.
"Watch your mouth." Ezor snapped, pointing her blaster at him. "You have no right to-"
"Take this!" Pidge shouted, releasing her Bayard. The hook latched onto Ezor's gun, wrapping around it and yanking it back. "Lance now!"
"On it!" Lance jumps back, tearing from Lotor's grip. Blaster in hand he fires, hitting Ezor in the shoulder and making a break for Pidge.
A hand snagged his wrist, yanking him back. Lotor sneered down at him. Lance yelled, kicking his foot out to hit him. It seemed to do little to the Prince, who was reaching for his other wrist to take away his gun as he backed them up.
When his back touched the tunnel wall, Lance inhaled sharply. In a panic, he shot the roof of the cavern, a few rocks crumbling and falling around them.
Startling Lotor enough to free his hand, Lance made a sharp jab to his lower jaw. Lotor grunts and stumbles back a few steps.
"Lance!?" Pidge called, fighting off a surprisingly still standing Ezor.
"I'm good!" Lance tried to kick him. Realizing it was a mistake the second Lotor grabbed his ankle he yelled again, his balance ruined when Lotor lifted his foot up high.
It would have hurt if he hadn't been so flexible.
"What a fighting spirit you have," Lotor says slowly, eyeing the stretch of his leg, looking impressed by his flexibility.
Lance didn't grace him with a response. The roof and cavern rumbled around them as Lotor made another grab for his weapon. Lance wrestled him for it, putting in as much effort as possible, scratching and grunting. When his balance failed him, Lance fell back, the two wrestling on the floor.
"Let go of me!"
Pinning Lance's arms at the side of his head, the Prince huffed, not expecting to put so much effort into detaining the blue paladin.
"Surrender, paladin-" Lotor cut off when he met Lance's gaze. Those brilliant blue irises shinned with such a raw defiance- a willingness to fight till his dying breath.
It took Lotor's breath away, making it stall in his chest. Lance took that chance to buck upward, slamming his forehead into Lotor's nose. There was a crunch as Lotor reeled back with a shout. Lance put a few feet of distance between them, backing up and leveling a glare.
"You… surprised me," Lotor mumbled, lifting a hand to hold his nose as it dripped… blueberry colored blood? That's a first.
Lance's lips curl upward, dazzling the prince with his smirk.
"I tend to do that," he took aim and Lotor snapped his blade up to deflect Lance's shot, barely managing to guard himself before ducking back.
This paladin was astounding!
The cavern shook violently now, Lance glancing up as a few boulders started to fall.
"Shit..." he cursed, his feet stumbling to keep his balance. "Pidge! We gotta go!"
"Kind of busy!" she rammed into Ezor, knocking her back before ducking as the sentinels began to shoot.
"No you fools! You'll make this whole place cave in!" Lotor snapped at them, but the damage was already done. The place was falling apart.
The next thing Lance knew, he was running, following Pidge up the cave path they had come in.
Separated for a moment when a rock crashed between them, Lance stepped into a connecting path.
"Keep going! I'll meet you up there!" Lance told Pidge when she looked back at him. Keeping his pace, he found himself close to the surface.
Just as he was about to be home free, he tripped. He fell flat on his face, cracking his helmet. Sitting up to groan, he rubbed his head. "Ow..."
He froze up when the rocks groaned above him. They fell apart a second later. This… this couldn't be it. Going out because of some dumb rocks?
Half expecting this to be the end of the line a form suddenly barrelled into him. Lance was tossed from his inner turmoil as Lotor shoved roughly on his chest, throwing Lance back just as the rubble fell down between them. Sliding across the floor, he looks at Lotor in shock- who was standing looking just as surprised.
He had saved him….
Stepping back, he looked back at his general, noting how she hadn't seemed to have noticed the action.
"Lance we gotta go!" Pidge called from the beckoning surface. Lance nodded, glancing back at Lotor for a moment before running to Pidge before the whole place caved in.
Grabbing what crystals they could from the boxes the Galra had left above the caves they made a break for their lions. Sentinels were right on their tail, forcing them to duck and weave wildly to avoid getting hit.
Safely in their lions, they shot off the planet before any Galra could attempt to follow them. Getting a good distance away Lance leaned back into his chair with a relieved sigh. "Geez…"
"That was a close one." Pidge said breathlessly.
"No kidding. You good? You hurt?" he sat up to look at her on the screen. Looking a little shaken, she gave him a small smile.
"I'm fine. What about you?"
"Fine." at least, he was because of what Lotor did. It was the strangest thing… Perhaps the Galran prince hadn't even intended it and just reacted without thinking? Either way, he had saved him.
A little later they met up with Shiro and Keith at a small resistance station, the very location Shiro and Keith were supposed to escort their cargo ships to. Getting out of their lions, Lance waved to Keith, who happily waved back in his seat next to a few rebellion soldiers.
"So, hopefully, things were easier for you then it was for us," Pidge says to Shiro.
He raised a curious eye brow, "Yes actually. What happened to you two?"
Lance shrugged casually, "Oh, nothing much. We just got attacked by a Galran prince."
"You ran into Lotor?" Keith rose to his feet. He ran towards them, fussy as always. "Did he hurt you?" He gripped Lance's shoulders. "What about Pidge?"
Lance shook his head, "We're fine, Keith. Right, Pidge?"
She looks startled then nods, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little shocked."
"What was he doing out there?" Shiro demanded, surprised that he would be in such a place. "Galra don't go over there. They have their own full supply of those crystals from other planets."
Lance didn't know what to tell him and shrugs, "I wish I could tell you. He was there though, and was gathering crystals."
"They seemed pretty insistent on not letting anyone know they were there," Pidge added in, pushing up her glasses.
Shiro found the interesting and rubbed his chin. "Perhaps Lotor has a second goal he isn't exactly sharing with the Galra empire?"
"With that guy, I have no doubt." Pidge folds her arms.
"For now, we have to meet up with Allura and the others. They haven't finished getting that treaty with the Yalview people yet. I don't know how long it'll take, but it would be best to meet up with them." Shiro says.
They all nod, heading back to their lions.
Halfway there, a hand grazed Lance's wrist. He turns to smile at Keith, reaching out with his pinky.
"You sure you are okay...?" Keith whispers softly.
"I'm good, sweetheart." Lance nods. Yet that memory of Lotor pushing him out of the way echoed through his mind. Maybe he was just over thinking it... But why did he do it?
He supposed he might never know and decided to just be thankful he was still around to see Keith's sweet smile.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
In the next chapter The Yalview people aren't making the treaty easy to establish.
It doesn't help when the Yalview Prince takes an obsessive interest in the Blue paladin. Jealous Keith is not a happy camper...