Happy Winter Solstice!

Chapter Eighteen:

Despite Pidge's assurances that they were fine, that didn't stop the involuntary hisses of pain and grimaces that came as Coran gently inspected their ankle.

"Well, you definitely have a sprain." Coran said, gently lowering Pidge's leg to the exam table. "However, the only thing you can do is rest it. Can't use the healing pods for this type of injury, I'm afraid."

"So it would have been better if I had broken it? Because then I could have used the healing pod? Is that what I'm understanding?" Pidge asked as Hunk brought over an icepack.

"Rather odd, but yes." Coran said, affectionately ruffling Pidge's hair. "But not to worry, Number Five. A few days of rest, ice, compression and elevation should do the trick and you'll be back on both feet in no time at all."

Pidge nodded, wincing some as Hunk carefully applied the icepack from both the cold and the pressure.

"Well, that just means I'll be able to keep a better eye on whatever info Scout sends over." They said.

"And the rest of us will go lighter on the training." Shiro said from where he stood as the head of the exam table, arms folded over his chest. "No need for anyone else to get hurt or overexerted if we're planning a big attack in a few days."

"You hear that, Keith? Don't try to beat your top score with the gladiator until after the mission." Lance said as he and Keith entered along with Allura, Lani and Talli.

"I thought Keith had a scathing e-mail to write." Hunk said as he started to wrap Pidge's ankle.

"Yeah… Funny story about that…" Tali said with a small smirk.

"She lied." Keith said irritably, pointing at Tali.

"Yeah. Yeah, I lied." Tali said, nodding, folding her arms over her chest. "You guys wanted him angry, right?"

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't see through it, Keith." Pidge said.

"You knew it was a lie and you didn't say anything?" Keith exclaimed, looking at Pidge with a betrayed look.

"Hey, Tali's right, we needed you angry." Pidge said with a shrug. "And now we know for future reference that in order to do so again, all we have to do is to express doubt about the existence of your other boyfriend, Mothman."

"Mothman is real." Keith said, folding his arms over his chest. "With more than sufficient data and eyewitnesses."

"Alright, that's enough." Shiro said. He glanced at Allura, holding a tablet. "I take it you've already have some information from Scout?"

"Indeed." Allura said, holding the tablet flat in her hands so that it displayed a hologram of the base. "We now have a complete floor plan, including ventilation shafts, elevator shafts, and precise locations of crucial electric and water mains as well as all access codes."

"I can easily program a few more droids with those access codes; if we need to split up, we can use those to get anywhere inside." Pidge said.

"Hey, wait a second," Hunk said, frowning as he looked up at the hologram. "Is part of the base underground?"

"Looks like it." Lance said, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Doesn't that just scream 'top secret lab'?"

"Best place to work on a top secret weapon." Pidge pointed out.

"That area is not accessed by code alone." Allura said. "It requires taking an elevator that goes to that location only, and that is located in the base commander's office, in addition to a few other security checkpoints."

"You can see where water and electricity are supposed to go down to that area." Shiro said, using a finger to point, trailing down one of the holographic walls. "But they aren't shown on the display."

"Scout's preceptors might not pick up on what's going on down there, either because it's underground and that limits tech most of the time signal-wise, or whatever's down there is worth protecting is purposefully blocking out all tech from getting a glimpse." Pidge said.

"That is concerning." Coran said with a frown, absently scratching his chin. "Up until now, the Galra have had no real challengers. They would have no reason to develop such security measures. And if so, there would definitely be trial and error or so quickly crafted to be installed and used against any potential invasion from the Voltron Paladins."

"So whatever is down there, Zarkon is really taking no chances, even with how confident he is in that the Empire will stand." Keith said.

"Wait, the date you were given, could that be the day for a pick-up or a delivery?" Lani asked. "Either dropping off something to do with the weapons created in that lab, or a pick-up of whatever they've made?"

"That's a really good theory." Shiro said. "Pidge, can you see what information Scout can gather about that day, especially incoming landings?"

"Easily." Pidge said with a nod. "I could probably even track down any incoming ships' last known location. Or, more importantly, figure out their last unknown location."

"You talking about the secret quintessence storage base?" Lance questioned.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Pidge said.

"What's quintessence?" Tali asked.

"Life force magic." Allura explained. "It is what powers the Lions and forms the bonds not only between Paladin and Lion, but also the bonds between all of the Paladins and their Lions in order to form Voltron."

"For all intents and purposes, that stuff is a bioweapon in the hands of the Galra." Hunk added. His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no. If they're working with quintessence down there, that usually means that there's a Galra Druid or two with it. What if the commander mentions that we came for the water, and the Druids call to confirm?"

"Well, with any luck, they'd be just as scared of the Druid we named as the commander was." Lance suggested.

"Except he didn't call her a Druid." Keith said, frowning some. "Coran, Allura, are 'Witch' and 'Druid' interchangeable terms?"

"No." Coran answered as he started to put away some of the medical supplies. "The Witch is the highest ranking Druid, perhaps the most powerful person in the Galra Empire aside from the Emperor."

"How did you know the name of the Witch?" Allura asked. "I have been looking for that information for months."

"Shiro." Lance said, nodding his head in Shiro's direction. "Lucky for us, he came up with her name just in time."

"Remember Scary Lady?" Hunk asked.

"I vividly recall the Galran druid woman who was absolutely terrifying." Allura said with a solemn nod. "That is her, then? That is not surprising."

"You've actually fought this Witch?" Tali said.

"Uh, fought but not necessarily beat the Witch." Hunk explained. "Did I mention she is really scary?"

"Yeah, well, like I said, she doesn't have much choice, given her name." Lance said. "Get this, her name is literally Haggar. I mean how can—"

Lance cut himself off at the sound of a huge crash across the room, that made everyone jump.

Coran turned around slowly, a pile of equipment at his feet and his eyes wide.

"No." He said. "She can't still be alive! Well, that is just not fair!"

"Not fair?" Pidge repeated. "Wait, Coran, you know her?"

"Unfortunately." Coran said irritably. "She was rather high on the list of people I was glad to never have to deal with again after ten thousand years of cyrosleep. Now I have to rearrange the entire list!"

"Coran!" Allura exclaimed, half shocked, half scolding.

"Now, Princess, look me in the eye and tell me that there is no one that you are not secretly pleased that you will never have to see or speak to them ever again." Coran said, holding up a finger at Allura.

Allura frowned and was quiet for a moment, not looking at anyone, then said,

"Well, alright, yes, there are a few, but I would not say so out loud!"

"Well. At least the predominately reptile-esque robobeasts now make sense." Coran said, now picking up the items he had dropped onto the floor. "She always had an odd passion for lizards. And experimentation."

"Yeah, figured that latter part out." Shiro said, unconsciously curling his right hand into a fist.

Coran stood up again at hearing the whirring noises from Shiro's arm, then looked at it, then him.

"She did that?" He asked.

"I'm pretty sure, yes." Shiro answered.

"And you escaped her?"

"At least twice."

Coran suddenly smiled.

"I can only wonder why Zarkon keeps thinking he'll win." He said. "If you can beat the Witch, Zarkon is easier to beat than a baby snorkak."

"Yeah, but we still have to beat her. Somehow." Keith pointed out.

"There we go!" Hunk said, finishing the wrapping around Pidge's ankle. "How does that feel?"

"Tight, but not too tight." Pidge answered. Hunk nodded and affectionately ruffled their hair.

"Let's get you to your room and comfortable." He said.

"I wanna carry the Pidge!" Lance said, throwing his hand in the air, but rushing over to Pidge's side before anyone could approve or deny his request. He crouched down, back to Pidge, and said, "Climb aboard!"

Pidge smiled and did so, putting their arms around Lance's neck, giggling some as he stood up. They waved to an amused Shiro, Tali, Allura and Coran as Lance carried them out of the room, Hunk, Keith and Lani following.

"Do you have everything you need in your room, or do you want us to get stuff out of the lab?" Hunk asked.

"I'll need some stuff from the lab." Pidge said.

"Give us a list and we'll deliver." Lance said.

They got Pidge settled in their room, and Lance fretted about the room and Pidge while they made their list.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Lance asked, gently fluffing up Pidge's pillow for them. "Anything hurt?"

"I'm a little thirsty, but the pain meds haven't worn off yet." Pidge said, handing their tablet to Hunk with the list.

"Hot or cold?" Lance asked.

"I wouldn't mind some tea?" Pidge said after a second of thought.

"I'll go make you some." Lance said, gently patting Pidge on the head.

"And Hunk and I'll go get the things on your list." Lani said, standing on her toes to look over Hunk's arm to look at the list he was reviewing.

"I know where most of this stuff is." Hunk said. "Won't take too long. We'll be back in a few."

"Thanks." Pidge said with a smile. "You guys are the best. Sorry to be trouble, though."

"Not your fault you got hurt." Keith pointed out from where he stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over his chest.

"Keith, you're Pidge-sitting!" Lance called as he, Hunk and Lani left the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Pidge reached over and grabbed a small screw that was sitting on their nightstand and threw it at Keith.

"Hey!" Keith exclaimed as the screw hit his shoulder. Not enough to hurt, but definitely a surprise. "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that was for." Pidge said, narrowing their eyes at him.

Keith suddenly had a Cheshire-cat grin, and Pidge almost wished he was in Galra form to complete the look.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He said innocently.

"Then let me remind you." Pidge said. They then adopted an imitation of Keith's voice, " 'Oh, tactically speaking, Shiro is the best person to carry Pidge'."

"It was tactical. In more ways than one." Keith said. "And you liked it, didn't you?"

"Ugh, Lance is a bad influence on you." Pidge said, folding their arms over their chest with a frown.

"You liked it!" Keith said in a sing-song voice. "You liked being on Shiro's strong, manly back, as he heroically carried you through the woods to safety, protecting you…"

"SHUT UP!" Pidge squealed, grabbing the pillow behind their head and throwing it at Keith, who was laughing too hard to even really care that it hit him in the face.

"Would it make you feel better to know that Shiro seemed to like it too?" Keith asked, still snickering. "He practically had you on his back before I even stopped explaining my logic. And he freaking carried you all around the Castle when we got back. In his arms! That's prime bonding moment time right there."

"Well, at least both of us remember it." Pidge shot back. They sighed and rubbed their forehead. "Look, Keith, I appreciate your intentions, but don't try to wingman for me. I told you, I'm not even sure if he likes me like that."

"And I told you, I think he does." Keith said.

"Keith!" Pidge groaned. "Look, don't. Just don't."

Keith frowned and hesitantly took a step closer to Pidge.

"Alright, I'm sorry." He said. "I won't do it again."

"It's okay," Pidge said. "I do appreciate it, really."

"But, for real now." Keith said, gently poking Pidge's arm. "You did enjoy it, didn't you?"

He got his answer when Pidge's face turned redder than his Lion.

And Keith was a man of his word. He wouldn't try to wingman for Pidge again.

At least, not until he had a chat with a certain Black Paladin.

Later that evening, Pidge had been resettled in their room after dinner and a strategy session that involved using dishes and sporks as visual aid objects.

They were settling in for a bit of data-sifting, then planned to actually go to sleep at a decent hour. They hadn't been doing that for very long when they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" They called. They had been expecting one of their teammates, most likely Lance or Hunk, both of whom got very Mother Hen like when anyone was injured or sick. So it was a bit of a surprise to see Tali there.

"Oh, hey Tali." Pidge said, putting away the tablet. "What's up?"

"Came to check on you." Tali said, sitting at their feet, doing so carefully so as to not jolt Pidge's elevated ankle. "And, I was wondering if we could talk."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Pidge said, feeling a little confused by the expression on Tali's face. It was mostly blank, but Pidge saw the sadness in her eyes. "Of course we can talk. What's wrong?"

Tali hesitated, playing with the end of Pidge's blanket, then said,

"You know, it's not just Keith I'm mad at for just dropping all communication with me."

"You're mad at me?" Pidge asked cautiously.

"Well, maybe mad is not the right word. But… After Kerberos… Maybe it was stupid, but I kind of hoped that we could have still kept up a friendship. That we could talk. And grieve together." Tali said. "After the memorial service, I decided I wouldn't initiate contact with you. I guess it was survivor's guilt. I should have been on the mission and I wasn't. I didn't know if you hated me for that."

"What? No, Tali, no!" Pidge exclaimed. "No, I could never hate you!"

"I wasn't sure if you did or not." Tali said again. "I could have helped you, you know. Sneak into the Garrison. Or I would have vouched for you as Pidge Gunderson or something."

"I didn't know you had left the Garrison." Pidge admitted, now realizing that she had chosen the wrong ally in her mission, wishing she could go back in time and talk to Tali instead of Shinji. "I didn't know that you'd want to help. That you'd believe me when I said something wasn't right. Besides, I didn't want to get you in trouble. You know the President of the United States gave me and my mom full pardons for all the actions we took to get me into the Garrison? He had to give an executive order so that no one would charge my mom with anything when things got revealed, too. I had to hack into so many things, and broke so many laws. Social security numbers, school records, medical records… I had to fake it all. It was an absolute miracle I didn't get caught. Mom helped the best she could, but we both knew the risks. I couldn't involve anyone else. I was already running the risk of ruining my life, I couldn't do the same for one of my brother's best friends."

"I get that." Tali said with a nod. "I guess… I guess what I'm trying to say is, I missed you, kid. I thought I lost more than two friends after Kerberos and…" She cut herself off with a sigh.

Pidge stretched out their hand for Tali to take, and was glad when the older girl did so.

"I'm sorry, Tali." Pidge said. "I really am. But, we are still friends, right?"

Tali grinned, and moved down the bed to hug Pidge.

"Yeah, of course we are." She said. She released Pidge from the hug and grinned at them. "Thanks. And, I'm sorry, too."

Pidge suddenly grinned evilly.

"You know, when we find Matt, he's going to absolutely hate that you, me and Shiro have been on a ship for an extended period of time." They said.

"And why is that?" Tali asked.

Pidge's grin grew.

"Why, the shared amount of blackmail we're going to have on him, of course."

Tali's eyes gleamed.

"Now you're talking." She said, settling in beside Pidge for a long session of exchanging stories and laughing.

It wasn't how Pidge originally planned on spending their evening, but it was even better.

Shiro wasn't surprised to have Keith enter the training deck after dinner. It wasn't unusual at all. They both tended to gravitate towards the training deck so naturally, and this was the time they both usually took to spar against each other.

Shiro caught a glimpse of Keith out of the corner of his eye—waiting patiently against the wall, arms folded over his chest—and called out,

"End session."

The gladiator shut off and Shiro mopped sweat off his face with the upper part of his shirt.

"You want to spar, Keith?" Shiro asked, his breathing a bit labored from the recent spar.

"I was actually hoping we could talk." Keith said. Shiro frowned but nodded, wondering what was on Keith's mind.

"Something bothering you?" He asked, grabbing a water pouch.

"Yeah," Keith said. "Do you like Pidge or not?"

Shiro tilted his head, completely thrown off by the question.

"What?" He said. "Of course I do. We all like Pidge."

"Yeah, but do you like Pidge?" Keith asked, stressing the word 'like'.

"As in?" Shiro prompted, feeling lost.

Keith huffed a second then said,

"Are you in any way romantically attracted to Pidge to the point of proclaiming to be in love with them?"

The water packet slipped out of Shiro's hand, mouth gapping open as he stared at Keith, feeling his cheeks heat.

"What?" He said, unable to make his brain form an actual sentence. "I—What—I don't—"

He knew his cheeks were completely red as Keith only arched an eyebrow and he forced himself to say,

"No."

"No?" Keith repeated.

"No." Shiro said, firmly.

"Then you mind explaining what the hell happened in our last battle?"

Shiro froze, suddenly unable to look at Keith.

"Shiro, we do have to talk about that." Keith said. "That wasn't a flashback. It was worse than that."

"It won't happen again." Shiro said. "I promise."

"I'm not blaming you for what happened. I would have been the same way if it was you or Lance, you know." Keith said. "Now, you wanna be honest and tell me how you really feel?"

Shiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, I… I really don't know." He admitted. "And I wish I did. It's like as soon as I got really comfortable and accepting that I'm ace, I'm suddenly hit with this… I don't know what it is. How to describe it. I don't… With Pidge it's… I just want to hold their hand and hug them and listen to them talk about tech stuff. But that's really all."

"Alright, so that's all commonly accepted romantic stuff." Keith said with a nod. "Just because you're ace doesn't mean you can't be romantically attracted to a person."

"I know that." Shiro said. "The problem is… I don't know how I love them."

"What do you mean 'how'?" Keith asked. "Seems pretty straightforward to me."

"I mean, I don't know if it's as a friend-slash-team-leader-slash-older-brother's-friend-slash-surrogate-brother love or if it's let's-date kind of love." Shiro said.

"Isn't half the point of dating to figure out if you love someone or not?" Keith asked.

"You're missing the point here." Shiro said. "I'm four years older than they are. They're fifteen, I'm nineteen."

"I'm pretty sure there was a time period where girls were really glad that the guy who liked them were only four years older than them." Keith pointed out.

"Yes, but that's not the point!" Shiro said. "Right now it's… It's weird and awkward and I don't know entirely where I stand. I don't want them to be uncomfortable or wreck the team dynamic."

"Forget the team dynamic right now." Keith said. "Forget Voltron. Forget the Galra. Forget we're in space. Forget all that."

"Keith, believe it not, my amnesia is not that selective."

"Just… Humor me, okay? Pretend all that stuff isn't real for just a few minutes and pretend you're on earth and everything is all unicorns and rainbows or whatever, and then think about how you feel about Pidge and all that stuff."

"Keith, I can't… I just, I can't do that." Shiro said with a sigh. "Because it doesn't matter how I feel about Pidge, they will never feel the same about me, so I might as well not even bother."

Keith briefly looked off to the side with an annoyed look, then turned back to Shiro.

"Why?" He asked, voice almost painfully calm and neutral. "Why do you think that?"

"I told you," Shiro said. "I'm older than they are, and Head of Voltron and just their brother's friend."

"Yeah, you told me all that." Keith said, nodding some. "So what's the other reason?"

"What other reason?"

"The one you don't want to admit out-loud."

Shiro pressed his hand to his forehead, eyes closed.

"Because I failed." He said. "I couldn't protect Matt and Commander Holt. I have no idea where they are, or if they're even alive, and it's my fault… So… when Pidge got shot down, I… I thought I had failed the entire Holt family."

He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his arm, seeing Keith looking at him with concern in his eyes.

"Shiro, you weren't the leader of the Kerberos Mission. Commander Holt was." Keith said. "You protected Matt at the arena. You did your job during that fight, even if it took you a few minutes to remember that. You didn't fail the Holts, you didn't fail Pidge. You've protected all three of them the best you could. Whatever happened, it's not your fault. Everyone knows that. Pidge knows that."

"Maybe…" Shiro said. "But I… I can't. Pidge wants to find their father and brother. I'm going to help them do that the best I can. After we find them, then I can figure the other stuff out."

Keith moved his hand off of Shiro's arm to put it on his hip.

"I'm going to be blunt here." He said preemptively.

"I don't expect you to be anything but." Shiro said.

"Pidge is my friend." Keith said. "I care about them a lot. And you're my best friend, and I care about you a lot. But until you figure out if what you've got for Pidge is as a friend or as something more, don't lead them on."

"Lead them on?" Shiro repeated, brow furrowing and suddenly panicking internally. "Have I…?"

"Not yet. But you're getting there." Keith said. "Look, Pidge is intelligent. So super scary smart. Yes, they're small and young, but they are essentially doing an adult's job out here. They're mature. They make their own decisions about their life, but have also had to make some tough decisions about the lives of others. They're going to catch on eventually that you feel something for them, if they haven't already. I'm just worried that if, when you figure our your feelings, and they've figured out theirs, that one of you is going to get your heart broken. Maybe even both. I love you both too much to see either of you go through that."

Shiro nodded in agreement, although a small part of the back of his head was both mildly amused and horrified at getting what was essentially a shovel talk from Keith, but also insanely proud of him that he had found so many people to care about, who cared about him.

"Alright." Shiro said, giving the younger male a smile. "Thanks, Keith."

Keith nodded, looking a little pleased with himself. He gave a sudden squawk, though, as Shiro ruffled his hair.

"Come on," Shiro said. "One ten minute spar, shower and bed?"

Keith grinned.

"You're on." He said.