Summary:

Pidge winds down after decoding the new files, Keith giving Pidge a few surprises and she gave him a few more in return.

A/N:
It's finally here! Thank you all for waiting, a lot has happened that left me feeling creatively broken and empty. But I'm building myself back up again and starting it by finally completing this fic. I hope you enjoy it.

Special thanks to Rockondude, haleygur7, uzimmerman25 for commenting on the last chapter and for everyone that left Kudos!

Pidge raised her arms, stretching out the muscles of her limbs, groaning as the stiffness eased and popped away. Raising them higher and leaning back to get rid of that tight ball in her back.

She heard door hissing open, Pidge leaning her head back further to get an upside-down view of the door and who it was.

"Oh, hey Keith," she greeted, spotting the upsidedown Keith holding a plate of food. "You could have finished eating before bring my dinner," she offered, flipping herself around, Pidge's site becoming right side up again.

"It's been three hours," Keith informed, not sounding or looking surprised over her loss of time, stepping into her workspace the door hissing closed behind him "The truth is me, and Lance ended up eating your share, so Hunk made more for you."

The short girl shrugged, sliding her keyboard further up the desk to make room for her plate. "I'm so lucky Hunk likes cooking," she replied, taking her dish.

"We all are," Keith agreed, "making any headway?" he questioned, nodding to her screen.

"My part is ninety-percent done. Figured out the entire encryption a while ago, just finished creating an algorithm to go through the rest of the file and translate the rest of it for me." Pidge gestured to the computer screen, sliding through words and symbols. "So your timing perfect," she explained, taking a significant bit of Hunks food.

"id Lance try - ick on you?" she asked around a mouthful of food.

"He didn't bring up the closest thing, a lot of other things... but not the closest," Keith informed her as she swallowed.

"Good, I would hate to disconnect the M.G. II console, that thing is a hassle to put back together." She grumbled, taking another bite.

Keith took the seat next to her's; there was this look on his face that made him almost seem nervous?

"Pidge… do you have time to talk?" He asked, she quickly nodded while swallowing another bite of food, noticing how his one hand fiddled with the hilt of his Mammora blade.

"As long as you don't mind me eating at the same time," She replied, wondering if he wanted to talk more about his blade and the cultural meaning.

Keith paused, looking between her food and the screen that was auto-translating — maybe weighing his time options? Pidge wondering how urgent this thing Keith wanted to talk about was.

"How long with the algorithm take?"

"Several hours," she replied, Pidge could have finished it maybe an hour or two faster than the algorithm, but after dealing with all the 'events' and stress of the day even Pidge admitted she needed a break... probably some sleep too.

Now that the rush of cracking a new code had faded, her mind had started to feel heavy and fuzzy — the need for rest aching in her body and mind.

"Then it can wait till after you eat," he said, "Lance told me he couldn't make you take food breaks like I can."

Was that relief in his tone? She had expected annoyance or disappointment, maybe even Keith wanted to feel needed. Keith could be such a blind idiot.

"To be fair, I knew you wouldn't give up till I gave in and with Lance well... it was clear he would break long before I ever would," she smiled.

Keith let out a little huff of a laugh, his mouth twitching into a smile, "Are you admitting I'm more stubborn then you?"

"No, just that you're my only rival, at least when it comes to a battle of wills," she replied, munching on more food.

"Why do I keep getting rivals I have no idea about?" Keith questioned aloud, Pidge not sure if it was to himself or her, but it made her laugh.

"I think that says more about your obviousness then your 'rivals,'" She replied, getting a surprised disgruntle noise from Keith that only made her laugh more.

It took a few moments to calm down before she realized Keith compete attention was on her, and it was a little unnerving.

Keith had a scary about of focus when he wanted to. It made her instinctively bite her lip as she fought the urge to look away.

His eyes drifted downwards slightly before quickly looking away… Pidge swearing Keith's cheeks were turning a light pink.

She looked away from him, munching on more of her food. Usually, the silence between them was comfortable, and it was quite common back in the days when he was the pilot of the red lion. But this quiet between them felt off; she could practically feel Keith bubbling with a need to say something and fighting with himself about whatever he wanted to talk about or at least that's what she was assuming.

Pidge would never say she was great at reading people, but she used to be pretty good at reading Keith.

"So…" Pidge began as she finished her last bite and put the plate to the side. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked curiously.

Keith's attention quickly returned to her, his one hand twitching against the hilt of his dagger. "Would you like to date?"

Pidge blinked, her mind lagging at it processed his words "are you asking if I want to date you?" she asked for clarity because it wouldn't be the first time she missed interpreted his words.

"Yes," Keith replied with a small nod. His eyes were never wavering as they gazed down at her. "I know we can't date not… in the normal sense, but I know I trust you, I want to be closer to you…. I always want to keep you as part of my life."

There was a struggle in his speech, a desperation to use the right words. But no hesitation in what he was feeling or the look in his eyes. Pidge took a moment to think as his mental and physical stance didn't waver.

"We don't have to date like normal people" She concluded, "nothing is exactly human standard out here. So we can figure out our kind of way to date."

"Is that a yes?" Keith asked, pulling his blade out and offering it to her.

She smiled placing her hand over his hand that held the hilt "It's a yes" she confirmed, "but I expect to have more time with you, I'll talk to Kolivan and make sure you're allowed to visit your mate."

Keith's whole face flushed red, a small squeak leaving his mouth as he tried to speak.

"Relax Keith, I know we are just dating and not official mates, but it will make getting what we want easier. The Blades of Marmora drown in their traditions. so I'm sure even Kolivan would have to yield to those traditions, and I'm more then sure with the way Arnek and Mance reacted, they will back up our claim if questioned." Pidge assured.

She will pull the right strings to make the right kind of request. Use other people's assumptions and beliefs against them if need be. No one could keep her away from someone she cared about, especially when that person wanted to see and be with her as well.

"You are very scary," Keith said with such a soft smile and fond eyes, it made her pulse quicken for half a second.

"You don't seem scared," she pointed out, letting out a little cough her face feeling warmer then it should.

"Too impressed to be scared," Keith shrugged, making her involuntary smile. Okay, time to start making Keith blush again.

"So… want to kiss to make it official?" she asked a familiar devious sensation inside of her growing, as Keith's whole face turned red in an instant.

Pidge was letting him drown in his thoughts for a few long moments before interjecting. "Don't worry if you're not ready for that; we can do something smaller?" She assured, gently squeezing his hand.

Keith's body relaxed as he started breathing again, oh she must have got him good if he forgot to breathe. A yawn creeping out past her lips. This had been one very long day.

"How about we just sleep together?" she suggested.

"How is that smaller?!" Keith questioned, Pidge desperately resisting the urge to laugh. Of course, that would be the one innuendo he got, and oh, his voice had definitely cracked.

Apparently, Pidge wasn't doing a great job in hiding her amusement. If the bemused look Keith was giving her was anything to go by.

Pidge turned to face him, putting her free hand over his arm. Time to defuse things, no matter how funny they were. "I just meant sleep, sleep."

Realization and embarrassment flashed over his features, disappointingly sighing at himself for his reaction. The misunderstanding hadn't been Pidge's intention, but she couldn't deny that it was funny and well worth it.

"You're evil," he huffed, staring down at her.

"Is that a deal-breaker?" she teasingly asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No," Keith shook his head, handing his blade to her as he stood up, freeing both his hands before scooping up her small form into his arms. Pidge too tired to protest, resting her head against his shoulder, nestling his blade against her chest.

"You must be tired," Keith muttered, sure she would often protest picking her up like she was some lap dog, but she didn't want to... not today.

"Don't expect this every time," she warned, his arms holding her a little tighter.

"Think the both of us can fit on my bed?" Keith asked as he started leaving the lab.

"Probably, but why not my bed?" she questioned back.

"You trust me to carry you while jumping through the obstacle course that is your room?" he flatly questioned.

"Yes," she nodded against his shoulder, "but I don't mind your bed, was just asking," she tiredly murmured her eyes feeling like they were taking extra effort to stay open.

She could feel his chest rise and fall with his sigh, closing her eyes as he gently rested his chin over her head. "How about you sleep and let me take the lead" he suggested.

Pidge was slowly nodding and humming in agreement; it was a good agreement. She knew they still had a lot to figure out, but for now. Just knowing Keith was right there with her was enough till she got a few hours of sleep.

AN:
That's it for this fic, thank you all for reading. I know many of you were probably excepting a kiss between them, but that just didn't feel right for Pidge and Keith at least not at this point in their relationship.

This fic may have started as a one-shot, but ever since I would say chapter three, it was my goal to have them begin their relationship by the end. I didn't expect it to take ten chapters, but I didn't want to rush things and give them both time to start and re-trust each other and for Keith and Pidge to recognize and realize their feelings.