Chapter 2: Her Intellectual Curiosity Is Aroused
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Okay, so if there was anyone they expected to get a crush on some random alien they met on another planet it would be Lance. It happened before. Plenty of times.
No one expected it to be Pidge.
And no one expected her to act the way she did.
"Pidge, cut it out," Shiro said, carefully pushing her away as she peeked around his legs.
"Cut what out?" the green paladin mumbled as she stared off at a small crowd in the distance, a hint of red across peppered across the bridge of her nose.
"Stop staring at- at the…"
"He's beautiful," she sighed, almost melting beside him.
"He has an antenna," Hunk stated, nodding approvingly.
"And mechanical parts," Keith listed.
"Nothing wrong with that," Hunk said, knocking his fist against Shiro's right arm.
"Is it a he though?" Shiro wondered, cocking his head and squinting at the antenna. He glanced back at his fellow paladins and realized Lance looked strange. Like he was constipated. Or holding back… "Hard to tell with aliens."
"Who cares," Pidge said nonchalantly, still partially hidden behind Shiro. "Did you see the way he fought off those-"
"PIDGE HAS A CRUSH!" Lance finally exploded cheerfully, practically yanking her from Shiro's legs. He hooked his hands under her arms and spun her around a few times, shouting with glee. "Pidge- my little protégé, my pupil, my ward-"
"Please stop," Pidge said, pushing her hands against his face in an attempt to clear some of her personal space as soon as he put her down.
"Let me help you in the ways of relationships-"
"No thanks-"
Suddenly all five of their intercoms beeped to life. "What's the hold up?" Coran spoke in their ears. "Have you helped the target?"
"Pidge has a crush," Lance responded immediately, cutting off anything Shiro had opened his mouth to say.
"Pidge what?" Coran asked, confusion evident in his voice. "Pidge is crushed?"
"Do you need backup?" Allura's voice chimed to life. "Is she alright?"
"Not that kind of crush," Lance answered, gesturing to the rest of his friends for help. They all resolutely ignored him; there faces clearly saying, you said it. You explain. "Uh…"
"I do not," Pidge said with a huff.
"Oh quiznak. Good. Number Five, you're okay!" Coran praised.
"She'll be better than okay in a tic," Hunk said, grinning as the snow cloud colored, humanoid alien neared them, raising his 3 fingered hand in greeting.
"Wozblay," Pidge cursed quietly to herself, quickly attempting to flatten her hair and pull at the tangles she got from an unrelated fight.
Shiro watched her with an amused expression. "I've never seen you act like this Pidge." When she glared at him he held up his hands defensively, chuckling. "Not that it's a bad thing."
"Hello," the periwinkle alien stopped before them, flanked by crudely armored creatures. "My name is T'Agog. We welcome you to our planetoid. I'd like to apologize for the recent firefight you witnessed as you landed."
"Who were flying those ships?" Shiro questioned, feeling Pidge shift beside him.
T'Agog frowned, staring off the way the ships and people retreated after their recent battle. "They are our kind. But we are trying to protect those who live with us past those cliffs," he said, indicating to where his own crew headed back. "Aliens come from all over and seek refuge with us."
"That's so nice of you to do," Pidge said, staring up at the stranger adoringly. The alien was tall in stature. Tall enough for her but nowhere near the hulking height of Hunk and just barely a competition for Keith.
"Thank you," he replied, nodding at her. "You are all Paladins, yes? If it was possible for you to help us defend against those pests we would be very pleased."
"Of course, we'll do whatever we can," Shiro nodded, holding out his hand to shake.
T'Agog smiled, as he glanced around at the crew. His eyes fell on Pidge. "Is he okay?" Pidge's face fell and the blush that had been a constant presence on her cheeks since the alien arrived flamed up even brighter. "He looks red. Are you sick? Perhaps we can assist you. We have some excellent healers back in the caves-"
Lance snorted beside Pidge and she quickly elbowed him in the stomach. Through pain he held up a finger to T'Agog. "She is fine," he said. "Me on the other hand…"
"Oh, my apologies," T'Agog said, bowing deeply but maintaining eye contact with the smallest of the group. "You are female. I should have known from your size."
Pidge puffed up at this. "I am not small."
T'Agog looked taken aback. He chortled. "You have a fire in you. It's impressive. I meant no harm by it. It may be because of the armor you all are wearing. It's quite similar. But also, although humans are well known across the universe not many get the pleasure of coming into contact with them. I hope I haven't offended you."
Pidge shook her head. "Why are humans famous?"
T'Agog smiled. "Mostly because we're surprised they have lasted so long. Now sapient creatures tend to be self-destructive. Unknowingly of course. Either we suspected they would destroy their own planet or they would destroy each other. And yet they find a way to thrive. You all are fascinating creatures and I'm glad to have gotten to meet you."
"I'm glad to have gotten to meet you too," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
"Should we leave you alone, Pidge?" Lance asked slyly, snickering into his hand.
The green Paladin looked like she was going to pounce on her blue friend before Shiro quickly grabbed her by the collar of her suit.
"Let us know if there's anything we can do for you," Shiro said, holding a struggling Pidge in one arm as Lance danced away gleefully, hiding behind Keith who stood to the side, eyes narrowed at the natives before him.
"Actually, perhaps one of you Paladins could stay behind for a while. Just in case those rogues attack again. That way they could alert the rest of you sooner," T'Agog said. "I assume you are in constant communication with those helmets you carry."
Shiro looked hesitant at first and realized that Pidge had stopped her struggling and was gazing up at him longingly. He sighed. "Any one in particular?" he asked, almost sarcastically, addressing T'Agog.
The alien chuckled. "The girl will do. She seems quite keen on examining my electronic parts."
"I'm sure she's interested in examining some other parts too," Lance whispered.
"I'm going to kill you!" Pidge shouted as she resumed her struggling. "Shiro, let go!"
"And she seems quite capable," T'Agog continued, ignoring the implication. "If need arise I think she'd do well fighting along side us."
Shiro nodded. "She's strong. But can you give us a few minutes alone?" T'Agog bowed and moved away as Shiro turned to his team. "I don't like us separating," he said lowly.
"I don't like it either," Hunk spoke up. "I mean I'm all for teasing Pidge-"
"-Hey!"
"-But something about this situation is making me feel antsy," Hunk continued. "Some feeling in my gut."
"We can't trust your gut," Pidge said, frowning. "Your gut likes to betray us. Your gut has temper tantrums and throws up all over our equipment."
"Stop making fun of my gut," Hunk said, rubbing his belly. "It's sensitive."
"That's the problem!" Pidge said, laughing before giving the yellow Paladin a friendly punch on the shoulder.
"Jokes aside, I agree with Hunk," Keith said, glancing over at T'Agog and his men from the corner of his eyes. "I don't trust them."
"You don't trust anyone," Lance said, crossing his arms.
"Also true," Keith said with a brief nod. "But seriously. I don't like the way he looked at Pidge."
"Aw, Keith, you do care," Pidge teased bumping her shoulder against his side.
"Mm, that's true," Lance said, thinking. " He said, 'the girl will do.' I mean how creepy is that?"
"He probably didn't mean anything weird about it," Pidge said rolling her eyes.
"Pidge please," Lance baited, covering her face in his hand and pushing her aside. "This is guy talk."
"Puh-lease!" Pidge snorted, grabbing at his wrist. "I could beat you guys on the training deck any day!"
The guys were silent for a second, thinking, as she glared them down.
"No denying that," Shiro finally spoke, a grin on his face. "Just be careful and contact us when you can."
"Understood," Pidge said, straightening her back and instantly becoming serious. She resisted the urge to salute. Honestly, sometimes Shiro brought that type of behavior out of them. Born leader? Honest truth.
"Seriously though, Pidge, be careful," Hunk said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Not all guys are as nice as me."
Pidge laughed. "Got that right."
Shiro cleared his throat, pulling at the collar of his suit, red dusting the bridge of his nose. "Did…did well Matt or your parents talk to you about boys? Or girls? Whatever. But did they…uh-"
"Oh quiznak," Pidge said, her face going red as well. "Shiro, stop. It's not like that. Holy crow. I just want to examine his parts-"
"Which parts?" Lance started again, snickering.
Pidge took a couple threatening steps towards the blue Paladin. "I swear, Lance, I'm going to-"
"Sorry to interrupt," T'Agog spoke loudly from the side. All Paladins turned to face him. Pidge stopped her struggling as Hunk held her back. Keith stared at the stranger, distrust evident on his face. Shiro's face gave away nothing and Lance took in the rest of the aliens, trying to deduce their intentions. "We should probably head out soon. We have wounded we need to tend to."
Shiro nodded as Hunk released Pidge. "Understood," the leader said. He turned to the green Paladin, squeezing her shoulder. "Keep in contact."
She nodded, tapping at her helmet. They'll always be in each others ears if necessary.
They watched her go, fawning over the taller alien, asking all sorts of questions about his armor and mechanical bits.
"I can practically see the hearts shooting off her," Lance said, nodding as if in deep thought.
"I don't trust them," Keith repeated, arms crossed.
Lance sighed. "I might actually agree with Mullet."
"At least she gets to check out more alien tech," Hunk said. "How long are we staying?" He didn't say it but they all understood what he was really asking. How long do we have to leave her alone here?
"We have to learn more about this opposing group," Shiro answered. "See what we can do to help. There have been abductions and we have to put a stop to it."
"I think our little Pidge is in love," Lance continued, pausing as he came to a realization. His face fell suddenly. "Wait a second, who would have thought Pidge would find someone before me?"
Four hands went into the air.
(Hunk raised both his hands).
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Authors Note:
It's a joke, of course lol.
Next chapter may or may not be a continuation of this. There will be a continuation of this one I just don't know when because my mind has been really interested in potential Allura and Pidge interactions.
Again, feel free to share ideas! I can only think of so much lol. I got two more chapters in mind but I'm honestly running out. What situations are "uniquely" (a term I'm using very loosely) for girls? Help a girl out! Lol
Okay! Until next time.
-Magma
