Hello everyone! You're gonna start noticing some time jumps, but don't worry, I'll always make it clear when the chapter is set. With that being said…oh boy, here we go.

Lance McClain liked to think that he knew Pidge better than anyone. She was smart— like, crazy smart. Her hair and her eyes sort of matched color. She has an obsession with anything peanut butter flavored. Mentioning video games made her immediately challenge you to play one with her. Her favorite color was green. She and Hunk had some weird inside joke about double modulating. She hated when Coran called her Number Five. And also, she was actually kind of pretty.

If only he hadn't realized these things too late.

Guess he had been distracted by Allura all those years, but who wouldn't be? Allura was incredible, a goddess in her own right. Pidge was special in a different way, and it just took more time for Lance to see that. But as time went on, the more he saw, the more he liked. It didn't take too long after Allura's rejection for Lance's affections to settle on Pidge.

Then came in pretty boy.

Lance honestly had no idea what Pidge saw in that guy. He was stiff, boring, and way too uptight. Plus, it was like he barely smiled. Lance and Pidge smiled all the time when they were together! Why would she go for someone like him?!

That was really the question that bothered Lance the most. Of all the people in the world she had to date, she had to date him. At first, Lance wondered if Griffin had some sort of trick. Maybe his pick up lines were really good, or maybe he lied to her and was putting on a charming facade. Lance once even wondered if he had some magical spell that made girls fall for him.

Either way, it infuriated Lance like nothing ever had before. The one time he thought he'd get a chance with a girl he was interested in, she was snatched away right in front of his eyes by a guy she'd never even met.

Because that was the thing, wasn't it? Lance and Pidge had history. They'd fought monsters, infiltrated battleships, made their way through war zones, imprisonment, and everything else the universe had thrown at them. Wasn't that supposed to mean something?

To Lance it did, but maybe it didn't to her. Maybe all of it was his imagination, the twinkle in her eyes when she'd joke with him about something or the determined grin she'd give when they played video games. The thought of it all being just in his head drove him crazy, and he half wondered if maybe he was.

But worst of all was the fact that all of it made his insecurities haunt him more than ever before. Here he was, his heart chasing after another girl who clearly chose someone else. It pained him, and each night he would lie awake just wondering.

Wondering what it would've been like if he'd told her before she started seeing Griffin. Wondering what would've happened if he'd stepped in and told her his suspicions about her new boyfriend at the beginning. Wondering what would happen even now all this time later if he got up the courage to confess.

And perhaps that's why, on the night before their cursed one year anniversary, Lance finally decided to act.

When Katie Holt woke up on November first, she was beaming.

Why? Because today was the day— the day that she and James had been dating for a whole year.

To be honest, Katie had never really understood dating anniversaries before. It wasn't like the couples were married or anything, so the celebration had always seemed rather pointless to her. But today, as she practically jumped out of bed and ran toward the shower, it suddenly all made sense.

While she skipped around her room getting ready, it was kind of difficult to believe this day had finally come. They'd known it was going to happen, obviously— he was taking her out for dinner at The Centre that night because of it. But time had seemed to fly by so quickly. She could remember bumping into him in the hallway and going on their first date like it was yesterday.

Katie sighed happily, doing a little twirl into her closet. She made quick work of buttoning up her lab coat and tucking James' dog tags underneath. True to her word, she had never been without them unless absolutely necessary. Something about their presence soothed her, and on the rare occasion she had forgotten them, she'd find herself running back to her room to get them. Not wearing his dog tags just felt weird at this point.

A memory came flooding back to her, and she giggled. She and James had been walking Bae Bae just a month ago when he came to a sudden halt. When she asked what was wrong, he'd just stood there with his mouth hung open in horror for a moment before he confessed that he wasn't wearing the bracelet she made him.

The ensuing journey back to get said item had been hilarious, as she watched him ramble nonsensically about how on earth he could've forgotten to put it on that morning. It was adorable, of course, and then funny when she realized that she had done the exact same thing before with his dog tags. It was weird how attached they were to these little symbols of their love. They had become such an integral part of their relationship without them even realizing it.

Feeling like she was walking on cloud nine, Katie finally made her way to the door. When she opened it, her heart melted. There was a little rose attached to the handle by a ribbon. Next to it was a folded note.

A fuzzy warmth ran through her as she opened it.

My darling Katie,

Good morning! Can you believe it's November first? It feels like this year passed so quickly, even though I've treasured every moment. I can't wait for many more.

See you tonight,

James

P.S. I love you so much.

Katie's heart squeezed. What did she ever do to deserve such a wonderful man?

She detached the flower from the handle, took a long sniff, and sighed. He really did spoil her sometimes. If it wasn't for her shift in twenty minutes, she would go hunt him down to give a thank you kiss. But, she knew she needed to get breakfast first, so with a twinge of regret, she filled a glass with water and placed the rose on her desk before she left.

The entire day passed by in a blur, and for that, she was grateful. All she could think about was what she would wear that night (and what he would wear that night). Plus, he'd mentioned something about a surprise after dinner, and his surprises were always the best.

To put it plainly, Katie Holt was so head over heels in love, and she loved it. She loved him, she loved their lives together, she loved how he made her feel like the most special woman in the entire world every single day. She wouldn't trade it for anything, and she was starting to realize that more and more each day. A life without James just seemed inconceivable. A life with James sounded like a dream come true.

Katie glanced up at the clock on the wall of her laboratory. Only one more hour until she got off, and then she'd have another hour to get ready. The all too familiar sensation of desire stirred within her. She already knew she was going to need to kiss him the second she saw him— they hadn't even been able to catch each other at lunch earlier. Something about an emergency meeting he'd had to attend.

So perhaps that's why, when she heard the lab door open, she spun around with hopeful eyes.

Her gaze fell on Lance. She tried to not look disappointed, even though her enthusiasm dropped.

"Oh, hey, Lance," she greeted. "Need something?"

Her fellow Paladin fidgeted awkwardly. She scanned him. That was weird…Lance was more…stiff than usual. He wasn't meeting her eyes, either. Katie immediately knew something was off.

"Pidge, can we…talk about something?"

Katie quirked an eyebrow. His voice had a weird edge to it.

She tried to act natural. "Yeah sure, what's up? Is it the new upgrade in Red? I know Hunk said Yellow needed a few adjustments, so I can take a look."

Lance shook his head. "No, it's— it's nothing like that." His mouth began to open again, but he stopped. The room fell silent.

Her arms crossing, Katie looked up at the clock. "Well, go on then. I don't have all day— I have my date with James in a bit."

Something in Lance's eyes changed. Quiznak, something in the entire room changed. Katie had no idea what to think of it, so she just waited as Lance seemed to contemplate his words, her heart quickening a little at the sudden tension in the air. Had something happened with the team that she didn't know about? Did he have some sort of bad news? Whatever it was, she had no idea, and that made her all the more anxious.

Finally, Lance took in a deep breath. His eyes lifted to meet hers. She was surprised at the strain they held.

"Pidge, there's…there's something I've needed to tell you for a while, now," he began. She nodded neutrally, and he continued. "I— I don't think Griffin is the right guy for you."

Defensiveness spiked up before she could control it. She found herself scowling, stomping up to him and stopping a few feet in front of him. "Seriously, Lance? How could you still be acting like this? It's been a year, and he treats me just fine. I don't get why you always think something is about to go wrong between us! I mean, do you really think that I would—"

"Hear me out," Lance interrupted, his expression pained. "I'm not saying it because I think he's a bad guy, but…I just don't think he's the right one."

The young woman rubbed her eyes and let out a loud sigh. "If this is all you have to say, then just leave. I don't want to hear it."

Lance's face twisted. His eyes were searching hers, but she just stared back tiredly. She'd realized long ago that Lance would never truly approve of her and James— not like everyone else had. And while it frustrated her to no end, she knew she couldn't change his mind. He'd decided they weren't a good match for some stupid reason or another. But for him to come in and say this on their one year anniversary? She wanted to push him out the door for pulling such a jerk move.

Then, something changed. His expression, which she could tell he'd been trying to keep as neutral as possible, cracked. Lance's tense shoulders fell, and he groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Quiznak, Pidge, I— I'm just gonna say it," he grumbled. His hands dropped.
Serious blue eyes met hers. "You and Griffin wound up dating a lot longer than I thought you guys would, and I figured that once you broke up, I could say this, but I just— Pidge, I think I'm in love with you."

Katie Holt felt like time had stopped. Her chest suddenly felt hollow, and she wasn't even sure if she was breathing. All she knew was that her eyes were widening in shock. That, and Lance was slowly closing the distance between them.

"I— I know this is crazy, and I know this is bad timing, but I can't let you two keep dating. You barely know the guy. We've known each other for years! And we have way more in common, and I care more about you than he does, and I just— I know I could make you happier than him, Pidge!"

Her body had turned numb. Lance took one more step forward. Katie vaguely registered that she took one back.

Lance's eyes were pleading. "Please, Pidge, you have to believe me. I can't stand seeing you with him knowing that I would be better for you."

Something about that sentence finally made her rush back to reality. "L-Lance—" she started. She wished her voice wasn't shaking. "Lance, you— get out right now."

Blue eyes widened. "But—"

"And if you don't," Katie interrupted, "I have no problem never seeing you again. If you actually cared about me, you'd want me to be happy. And I am happy. James makes me happy."

His face twisted. He stepped closer. "But I—"

"Stop," she warned.

An air of desperation took hold of him. Another step. "Pidge, just—"

She stepped back.

Lance groaned. He grabbed her wrist before she could see it coming. "Just listen to me!"

She nearly gasped in pain at how hard he gripped her. It was harder than she'd known he was capable of. And much harder than she ever thought he would use against her.

"Pidge," he tried again, tone suddenly calm. "I know this all came out of nowhere, but I'm being serious. I love you, and I'm not going to watch you falling all over him like you do anymore. You have to know I'm being honest, Pidge."

His voice was so off-puttingly gentle, the complete opposite of his actions. His hold on her wrist was still unbearably tight. Katie wondered why she felt frozen. She'd faced down worse than this before, so why couldn't she move?

Lance's eyes softened. "I get it, you're confused about where all of this came from, but just trust me. Call things off with Griffin tonight, we can go talk about it more—"

That's when she snapped. Katie wrenched her wrist out of his hand. She staggered back against the wall— it wasn't far enough, but it was the only place left to go. He'd already backed her up so much.

A second later, Katie summoned her crackling bayard into her hand. Her wrist felt burned by his touch, but she held the weapon steady. She watched with narrow eyes as Lance blinked, weighing his options.

At this point, she didn't know what to think or feel. All she knew was that she was trembling for reasons she didn't understand, and she wanted him gone.

A tense moment passed before Lance swallowed. "Katie, just listen to me, I—"

She felt sick. It sounded so wrong coming out of his mouth. That name belonged to her family and her James, no one else. Lance didn't get to walk in here and act like he knew what's best for her. He had no right to tell her who to love, to tell her she'd made some sort of mistake. James was the best decision she'd ever made in her entire life, that she knew for certain.

Katie's grip on her bayard tightened.

"Get out of my lab," she spat darkly. "And don't come near me until you're ready to apologize."

Lance jolted in surprise. "Katie, I—"

"And don't think I'm not telling James about this," she cut him off, teeth clenched in a growl. "I've had it with how you treat him, and it ends now. Either get over yourself or get lost."

Suddenly, it seemed to click. Lance's eyes widened. He stumbled back, mouth dropped open in horror. He tripped over his feet, and finally, he ran out of the room.

The second he was gone, Katie dropped her bayard. And like a spell, the sound of it clattering to the ground made her break out of her daze.

She fell back onto the wall, bursting into tears and sinking to the floor. On instinct, her heart reached out to the first source of comfort she could think of.

A wave of terror spilled over her bond with Green. Her lion was quick to respond.

My Paladin?! What is wrong?! Tell me!

Get James, she begged. Send him to me. Please.

She registered a loud roar, then the presence of her lion leaving her mind before she felt herself begin to drown into sudden hysteria.

No, no, no, this wasn't supposed to happen. That couldn't have happened, right? It didn't make any sense. Why would Lance say those things? Why did he think he could come here and do that?

Dizziness overcame Katie as her brain tried to process everything that just went on. Had she really threatened him? Did he intentionally seek her out when he knew she'd be alone? Why had she felt so trapped? Did anyone else know about this?

Loving brown eyes entered her mind, and a whimper crawled up her throat. She needed him. She needed—

The door to her lab slammed open.

Even through the tears, she could tell immediately who it was. Katie reached a hand out to him. "J-James—" Her voice cut off with a sob.

He fell to his knees in front of her and scooped her into his arms, wrapping her tight in his warm embrace. "Shhh, it's okay, it's okay," he soothed. "It's all going to be okay, just tell me what happened."

Katie gasped for air. "L-Lance, he— he tried to— I don't know," she cried. "I don't know what happened!"

James tensed under her. "Did he hurt you? Katie, you have to tell me if he—"

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no not like that, he—" Her voice broke. Katie squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to stop. "H-He said that I'd be better with h-him, not…not you."

If rage could be expressed as a temperature, then she was sure her boyfriend would be boiling hot right now. She could hear the intentionally measured tone as he swallowed and said, "I see."

Katie shivered. James had never sounded so cold before.

She clutched at his uniform tightly. "I'm s-sorry, James, you know I'd never—"

"You don't apologize," he cut her off firmly, leaning back to meet her eyes seriously. "This wasn't your fault. You didn't ask for it. He was the one who was way out of line. You understand that?"

Katie nodded tearfully, and after a moment, James sighed. "I'm sorry, I need to calm down," he muttered through gritted teeth. She watched as her boyfriend hung his head, took in a few deep breaths, then relaxed his shoulders.

When he looked back up at her, his beautiful brown eyes were filled with compassion. "What do you need?" he whispered. "What do you want from me right now? Tell me, please."

"I don't know," Katie whimpered. "I don't know anything. I-I'm just— scared, and worried, and things will never be the same after this, and I don't know what to do or how I'll be able to be around him anymore, and that affects Voltron, and if the universe needs us— but what if I don't even want to be in Voltron anymore? How can I? I don't want to see him ever again, not after that, and—" Another round of tears burst forth.

James took her back into his arms, swaying her gently. He stroked her hair. "You don't have to decide any of those things right now," he murmured. "Take your time. You're right— things can't go back to normal after this. But right now, don't think about Voltron or the universe or anything. Just think about you, how you feel, what would make things better."

She took in his words slowly, and suddenly, a weight like she'd never experienced before began to crush her chest.

She had to tell him. She had to tell him the truth.

"I—" she started. He let go of her just enough to see her, and her heart twisted. "I-I have to confess something."

James just nodded. Katie felt like she was going to be sick.

"I…I used to like him, w-when I first started at the Garrison, and…and for a little while when we became Paladins. We— I don't know, he was nice, and…and I'd never had a friend like him before, so…so I kinda fell for him. But then he was always talking about Allura, and how great she was and— I just knew I could never live up to that. I wasn't her. I wasn't what he wanted. I couldn't be."

Katie dared to look up before she continued. His eyes looked broken. She couldn't entirely figure out why, but she forced herself to keep going.

"And then you walked into my life, and…and everything changed," she told him. "I hadn't liked him in years, but you showed me that you loved me for me. I didn't have to be better or anything, I could just be me and that was enough. It all just clicked, unlike it had with him. And I haven't thought of him that way since, I swear."

James lifted his hand, smoothing his thumb over her cheek and wiping away one of her fallen tears. "I wouldn't have thought you had anyways," he assured her. "I trust you to know you wouldn't do that to me."

Katie nodded quickly in agreement, and James let out a breath he'd been holding. It seemed to her he was trying to find the right words, but what could be said? This had been thrown in their faces at the worst possible time, and neither of them knew how to react to it.

Then, James looked up.

"First of all, I want you to know that you are completely right about one thing: you are my first choice."

Fresh tears formed in Katie's eyes.

"You do not come in second place in my eyes, and you never will," James promised. "No one compares to you, Katie. You are perfect just the way you are, and I will never expect you to change."

She felt another sob coming on, but she fought it down and nodded.

Her boyfriend's eyes softened. "Now, what do you want me to do about this? Whatever you want, I'll do it. Do you want me to talk to Shiro or Keith? I think someone needs to know."

Katie immediately shook her head. "I don't wanna make things worse."

James' lips pulled into a frown. "Katie—"

"No," she decided, sniffling lightly. "I'm handling this myself. We'll make everything go back to normal somehow."

He looked like he wanted to argue. Honestly, part of her wanted him to. But then, he slowly nodded. "If that's what you want."

Her heart twisted. Was it what she wanted? She had no idea. She didn't have a clue as to what to do in this situation. This was just the first thing she thought she should do. Handle it on her own like she always did.

Part of her realized that she shouldn't shoulder this alone. She knew James wanted to help, but for some reason, she still felt this must somehow be her fault. And that being the case, she needed to deal with the consequences, not him.

Katie's eyes lifted, searching her boyfriend's to try to figure out what was going through his head. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before," she apologized in a small voice. "I didn't think something like this would ever happen. I should've seen it coming, or—"

But James was shaking his head. He leaned forward, effectively stopping her rambling by resting his forehead against hers. "I am yours," he murmured. "Nothing's stopping that. Besides, you knew I used to like Leifsdottir when we were kids, right?"

She nodded. James sighed, then wrapped her in his warm embrace once again. She sniffled into his neck. One of his hands began to thread through her hair. "People change, Katie. I've chosen you, and you've chosen me. Lance will just have to get over himself."

Katie gave a watery laugh and rubbed at her eyes. "That's what I told him."

"Great minds think alike," he chuckled wryly. He leaned back, tilting his head. "Are you still up for our anniversary date tonight? I understand if you aren't."

She hesitated. "I wanna go, just...I think I want to talk with my parents about this first. I think they could help know how to…how to handle it."

James nodded. He got up from his kneeling position slowly, then offered her a hand up. She tried to not grimace when his fingers brushed her wrist. Her skin still felt like it was burning.

The walk to her parent's room was silent. She knew they'd be there— her father should have just gotten off his shift at the usual time. And though they had never been a couple for anything more than holding hands in the hallway, James' arm stayed wrapped around her waist the entire trip. She would thank him eternally for that support later.

When they arrived at the room, James took her hands in his. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Mmhm." Her eyes were downcast. Her boyfriend squeezed her hands lightly, and she looked up at him with sad eyes. She still felt like she couldn't read what was going through his mind. What if he doubted her love for him now? What if he wondered if she'd actually choose Lance over him?

"I…" she trailed off. "You know I love you, right?"

"And I love you," James said firmly. "Nothing is changing that, Katie."

She let out a shaky breath, nodding. James' eyes softened. "Go talk with them about it— take as much time as you need."

She nodded again, and James leaned down, pressing the sweetest of kisses to her forehead.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered. "This doesn't change anything between us, Katie, I promise."

Those words played in her mind on repeat for the next several hours as she talked with her parents. Her father was furious, of course— he wanted Lance kicked off Garrison grounds effective immediately. And her mother, well, safe to say she was more than ready to march up to Lance's room and do it on her own.

But after Katie had insisted against it, the two calmed down and began to think more rationally. It was a strange situation and had to be handled with care— they couldn't let their emotions get the best of them.

To put it short, her parents had told her that life and feelings were complicated. That they always would be. And that things with Lance would heal. Probably not anytime soon, but eventually, given time.

And even though she knew (or at least hoped) it was all true, none of their words seemed to make her feel better. She just felt hollow, almost like a ghost as hours later, eyes red and puffy, she finally made her way to James' room.

She knew it was far past their reservation time at the restaurant. She hated that she couldn't get herself together to go, but everything just felt off right now. Nothing was making sense, and honestly, she didn't want to go on a date and try to give James fake smiles. He deserved more than that.

When she arrived at James' door, she felt her heart wrench. She'd never experienced hesitation before with him. She couldn't stand how she did, now. After some awkward fiddling with her sleeves, Katie forced herself to knock on the door.

There was some shuffling before her boyfriend opened it. "Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hi." Katie's eyes flickered down. Why did she feel at a loss for words? She couldn't recall ever feeling this way before around James.

One of his hands came forward. She tried to not flinch. He walked her into his room, then shut the door behind them. He turned back around to look at her. Katie wrapped her arms around herself uncomfortably. It felt like she could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

"So…do you still feel like going out anywhere?" he asked.

She just shook her head.

There was the sound of footsteps, and within a few moments, Katie was being held in a warm embrace. The hollow sensation that had taken control for hours suddenly melted away. She held on tight, burying her head into his chest and breathing in his scent. Why had she questioned if she wanted to see him or not? If anything, she needed him now more than ever.

He swayed her gently back and forth. "We'll reschedule our date," James promised. "Don't worry about a thing, okay? Just…tell me what you need right now. Anything."

Katie sighed, then took a moment to consider it. "Could you…could you give me a back massage? Like last week?"

He hummed. "Of course."

He lead her over to his bed slowly. She was reluctant to let go, but she knew she had to. Holding in another sigh, she untangled herself from James and made herself comfy on his bed, lying face down. She snuggled into his pillow, taking in his cologne and letting the scent calm her further.

The bed dipped as James sat down next to her. She felt his fingers on the edge of her shirt, tugging it up to expose her lower back. The memory of his blush (as well as her own) the first time he had done this for her came flooding back. And despite the oddness of the day, it made her smile.

Warm hands scratched over her skin lightly. "Where do you need it?"

"Everywhere," Katie mumbled. "Just put me to sleep."

There was a chuckle. "Yes, ma'am."

James set his hands at the base of her spine. He began to rub in circles, and she hummed contentedly. Her eyes fell closed. Katie let herself begin to drift off to dreamland, more than happy to allow her boyfriend to spoil her after this exhausting day.

Several minutes passed by in comfortable silence. After a brief pause of James' hands, there was a shift on the bed. Katie registered a new sensation. It was soft and slow, drifting down her spine to her lower back. It found its way up again, and then, a hot puff of air caressed her skin.

Katie's eyes flashed open. Those were James' lips.

He hovered tantalizingly over her for another moment before he finally pressed them against her skin.

She gasped. "James—"

"I love you," he murmured lowly, effectively cutting her off. "I love every piece of you, every inch, every detail. Today…" he stopped, then sighed. Katie shuddered when his warm breath hit her spine again. "Hearing you talk about how you felt before…like you weren't good enough or weren't desirable…it broke my heart."

His hands took her hips, and gently, he rolled her over to face him. James' brown eyes were burning into hers, a mixture of passion and firm commitment.

"I want to show you everything that I love about you," he finished.

She shivered under his heated gaze. Katie knew her body was already far too warm for her to think coherently. She had no idea what he had planned— all she knew was that she trusted him. So without hesitation, she nodded.

But unlike she'd expected, James didn't lean up to capture his lips with hers. Instead, he scooted further down, settling himself at her feet. He took one of them in his hands and pressed a kiss to her ankle, and for the next several minutes, Katie listened in a daze as he began to kiss his way up her body, all the while going on and on about all the different things he liked about her.

And then it hit her— he was literally showing her everything he loved about her. He was listing all of it: how he thought her tiny feet were cute, how he loved that her body was the perfect size for cuddling with him, how he adored the scar on her knee because of the story she'd told him about getting it when she was a kid.

This was the last thing she had expected him to do after kissing her back so intimately like that, and she found herself speechless in the best way possible. The way he just kept talking…it was almost like he truly could never stop finding things he loved about her.

But then, a pit of dread settled in her stomach. Katie watched as his eyes trailed up to her hand. When they reached their destination, his breath hitched. She knew why.

She dared to follow his gaze, taking in the dark purple dots that encircled her wrist. She'd noticed them while earlier talking with her parents and had been quick to cover them up with her other hand. Guess her boyfriend's affections had made her forget to keep it hidden.

James stared at the marks in a daze. Katie turned her head away, ashamed for reasons she couldn't understand.

"I just bruise easily," she whispered, as though that fact could provide some form of comfort. "It doesn't hurt."

She felt anger rolling off of James in waves, and she squeezed her eyes shut, new tears springing up in the corner of her eyes. Part of her still blamed herself for what happened. Now she was terrified that he was starting to think the same.

But he surprised her again. He lifted her wrist to his lips. She opened her eyes just as he kissed the marks with a level of tenderness she had never seen before.

"I'm so sorry," he choked. Something seemed to occur to him suddenly, and his eyes widened in fear. "I— have I ever—"

"No," she cut him off. "No, you never have."

James took in a shaky breath, nodding. His eyes trailed over the bruises again, the look in them darkening slightly. "This shouldn't have happened. You shouldn't have these."

A tear spilled over. "I-It's okay."

His eyes told her that it wasn't, but he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he swallowed hard and continued with his previous mission. "I love your fingers," he told her. "They're adorable, and fit perfectly with mine, and your touch makes me feel invincible, like I— like we can accomplish anything."

James looked up in time to see her bottom lip tremble. He set her wrist back down carefully. Then, he shifted one final time, placing himself nose to nose with her.

"Your eyes are my second favorite thing about you," he breathed. "They're golden and beautiful, so beautiful, and I never want to spend a single day without seeing them."

Katie had never felt more overwhelmed in her entire life. She felt like she was about to burst, but not in the bad way she had earlier— no, instead her heart was filling with joy, the kind that she knew she could never describe properly because its expanse reached far beyond anything words could ever explain.

Slowly, she reached up and cupped James' face. His eyes closed at the contact.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for doing this."

Brown eyes flickered open, and for the first time that night, his serious expression traded for amusement. "I'm not done," he assured her. "I haven't told you my favorite part, yet."

His gaze drifted down to her lips. Her stomach flipped.

"Okay then, tell me," she said, a note of a challenge in her voice.

James' smile grew brighter. "You're smarter than me— how about you tell me the answer? I'm sure you could guess."

His voice stirred something in her. All of the sudden, today hadn't happened. Nothing weird had gone on. There weren't bruises around her wrist. It was just the two of them, having their usual teasing banter, the kind they always had when they got caught up in a moment like this.

And that's how Katie Holt found herself rolling her eyes and saying, "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

A spark lit in James' eyes. He answered quickly.

He pressed his lips to hers, as sweet and sincere as could be, and Katie closed her eyes. No more doubting. No more worrying. This— he was what she wanted, and no one was taking him away from her. She'd fight tooth and nail for their happiness, no matter the cost.

When Katie woke up the next morning, she wondered why something felt off. She couldn't quite remember why…and then the memories of being backed against the wall of her lab hit her like a freight train.

She lifted her wrist. Purple marks glared back at her as confirmation.

Katie took in a sharp breath. Right. That had happened.

Her eyes drifted over to James' dog tags on her nightstand. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. James was on patrol all day today. Which meant…

The Paladin's heart wrenched. That meant she was all alone.

She hated how on edge she felt as she forced herself to get up and get ready for the day. She hated how she felt pathetic each time she looked at her wrist and felt the panic from yesterday begin to claw at her heart again. She hated how she didn't even want to leave her room out of fear of running into Lance.

Because that was the thing, wasn't it? He was unavoidable. They worked together every single day. There was no way she could get him out of her life even just temporarily to give her time to accept what had happened.

But then she shook her head and grit her teeth. She was Katie Holt, the green Paladin, the woman who planned to save every world she could one way or another. She wouldn't be scared of anybody, no matter who they were or what they'd done.

Even still, Katie made a point of making sure she wore a shirt with sleeves long enough to cover her wrists. If she was truly going to deal with this on her own, then she needed to make sure no one saw them.

Or worse, that no one thought it had been James who had given them to her.

As Katie made her way down to the cafeteria, she found herself running her thumb over James' dog tags. Her pulse was racing, but for some reason the feeling of the familiar engraving was soothing. Her heart ached. She wished James could actually be there with her. And of course she knew he wished the same— he'd practically had to tear himself away from her last night to let her go to sleep.

The doors to the cafeteria were in front of her. Katie took in a deep breath. They slid open. She walked through.

Her eyes scanned the room before she could stop herself. And of course, they landed on none other than the one person she didn't want to see right now.

Lance was sitting at the usual Paladin table. A jolt of anxiety ran through her when his eyes flickered up to meet hers.

She looked away. Katie made her way over to the food line, all the while clutching the dog tags as tightly as she could.

There were eyes on the back of her head— she could feel it. It made her skin crawl. She tried to ignore it.

But then there were footsteps. She was almost at the end of the line, and one of the exits was in sight. Maybe if she moved fast enough, she could leave and go to her lab to eat. Yeah, that sounded—

"Hey."

Katie froze. Her head turned slowly. Lance's eyes were boring desperately into hers.

"Pidge, I— I think we had a misunderstanding yesterday," he said, his voice dipping low so no one could hear. "Could we go talk about it? Privately?"

Her mouth wouldn't work. It had gone dry, and all she could do was tell herself to try to not freak out when she saw his hand begin to move toward hers.

Katie managed to take a step back. "Lance, leave. I'm not saying it again."

His brow furrowed. "Pidge, come on, you know we need to talk about—"

A feminine voice cut him off, calculating and cold. "I advise you to think twice before you do or say something you might regret."

Katie spun around to see none other than Ina Leifsdottir. Her face was stoic, but Katie could tell that one of her eyebrows was lifted slightly more than usual. Next to her was Nadia, who was wearing a smile so friendly it had to be fake.

A dangerous glint entered darker woman's eyes. "Yeah, I don't think any of us want to see how that would wind up. It could get ugly." Katie never did figure out what exactly the threat was— all she knew was that there was one clear as day in her tone.

Katie's eyes snapped back to Lance. He was blinking, eyes switching between the three of them like he was trying to figure out what to do next.

"I, um," he started. "Just find me later, Pidge, okay?"

An arm came around the petite Paladin's shoulder. "Nope, don't think she'll be able to. We're having girl time today," Nadia stated. Her voice left no room for argument.

Ina's chin tilted up. "You have five seconds to walk back to your table."

It seemed to finally click. Lance's mouth shut. His eyes flickered to Katie's, almost like he was begging her to ask them to stop. She just looked to the ground.

And finally, after what felt like an eternity, he walked away.

Time seemed to slow as Katie watched him return to the Paladins' table. All of her friend's faces were confused, looking back and forth between the trio of women and Lance. Whispers began to rise, and after Lance mumbled something indiscernible, they quickly turned heated.

Anxiety shot through her heart again. Great, now the news would start spreading. What if it affected their team? Would they still be able to work together— would they even be able to form Voltron with something like this going on? Quiznak, all of this just had to be her fault, right?

There was a light squeeze on her shoulders. Katie looked up to see Nadia giving her an ironic grin.

"Whew, boys, amiright?" she joked lightheartedly.

"They're the worst," Leifsdottir added. Something about her monotone wit made Katie laugh a bit.

With that, Nadia smiled triumphantly. She began steering Katie in the direction of a different table, far away from the Paladins. Whatever was going on, it seemed that Kinkade was part of the plan, too. He was already seated, his eyes scanning the room with a look that dared anyone to come up and ask what was going on.

Ina motioned for Katie to sit down. As soon as she did, she realized that the seat made it so her back was toward Lance. The position was intentional. Nadia and Ina were sitting on her other sides, and Kinkade was set perfectly so he could watch any movement behind her. This had been an organized effort.

Katie's heart warmed immediately. Something told her that James just had to be behind it all.

Her honey eyes flickered to Ryan, suddenly remembering Nadia's words from earlier. "So, are you joining us for girl time, too?" she inquired.

The darker man shook his head. "Nope, I'm just here for backup. You guys can go paint nails after breakfast."

Katie nodded, then gave the three a meaningful look. "Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it."

Rizavi grinned and bumped her shoulder. "Hey, you're dating our commander— you're one of us now!"

"Also, he may or may not have mentioned to keep an eye on a certain Paladin after an incident yesterday," Leifsdottir intoned.

Katie rolled her eyes fondly. And maybe, just maybe, that was the moment she decided she was going to marry that man. Because if he wanted her bad enough to make sure she was okay even when he had to be gone, then she'd gladly let him have her.

Yup, that happened. Please leave a review!