Pidge knew that Allura would be in the pod closest to the hanger door so she had no problem jumping into the pod in the dark. She saw a figure next to her and they whispered to each other so she knew it was her. They took off and the wormhole was opened quickly, letting them disappear into space. It wasn't until they exited the wormhole near a star and a planet that Pidge looked next to her.

"Ah!" She yelled and backed herself up towards the side of the pod. Allura looked to her.

"What's wrong Pidge?"

"What are you wearing? And what did you do to yourself?"

Allura looked down and sighed.

"I can't exactly look a princess if we're going to get through this mall unnoticed. And no one had ever seen you in casual wear so they won't know that you're a paladin. It only made sense."

Pidge looked her over and counted off the details. Not only had she stolen pants from Lance and a black shirt from Shiro, of which was so loose on her that she had to tie it in a knot at her midriff, she had on sneaker-like shoes she was sure she hadn't worn in years. Her gold tiara was gone. Her hair was in a simple braid down her back. But other things were different. Her pupils were black. Her hair was black. Her bright pink marks were missing. Even her hears were rounded.

"Are you trying to look human?"

"Well, I thought I might give it go. Besides, it's much easier than walking into a mall as an Adelain or one of two surviving Alteans. I can never get the gills right so human was the clear choice."

Pidge calculated in her head and nodded to herself.

"I'm sorry, I've just - I guess I'm just used to seeing you as Altean. I'm not used to seeing other humans out here. Let alone other girls. It just startled me I guess."

Allura dived down onto the planet and once safely in the atmosphere she patted Pidge's hand.

"It's okay. If you suddenly looked Altean, I might be concerned too."

They shared a laugh and Allura set the pod down near the other ships. The mall was huge and Pidge had no idea where to even go. She was happy that Allura was here instead of Hunk, all things considered. Pidge jumped from the pod and walked in tandem with Allura through the entrance, her partner seeming to know where she was going. Pidge raised her phone and snapped a few candid photos of Allura and then a few selfies together tagged #humans. She smiled and save the pictures, putting her phone back in her pocket after they were done goofing around.

"If it means anything, you pull off human very well." Pidge said quietly with a smile. Allura returned the smile and adjusted the purse across her torso.

"Well, if you hadn't modified the ship with your human encyclopedia, I wouldn't even know how to pull this off in the first place so thank you."

They walked through the mall quietly, Allura's eyes forward while Pidge looked from side to side, store to store. They arrived where Allura indented eventually and Pidge stopped dead at the threshold. Allura, who was already inside the store, turned to see Pidge with the most ridiculous look on her face, like she was seconds from laughing.

"Pidge?"

She couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a huge fit of laughter. Allura came up to her and covered her mouth.

"Quiet! We're trying to get in and out!" She took her hand back but watched the young paladin snicker again. "What could possibly be so funny?"

She gestured to the store in front of them, the pink colored theme, the fake alien models adorned in lace, the awful smell of about a thousand perfumes combined into one. She laughed again, quieter, and looked up to Allura.

"We have a store on Earth that looks exactly like this. It's a lingerie store too. It's just funny. Billions of miles away, I found a galactic Victoria's Secret." She almost lost it again when she finished and Allura just rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm.

"Be quiet! This is just our first stop. Kind of the most important one." She said and gave Pidge a look that made her quiet. They browsed through the store and finally found the small section that catered to species like her. Allura kept grabbing things that were either completely translucent or covered in lace, sometimes both.

"Allura, can we not get the super frilly ones? I guarantee you I am going to have to get new ones so spending money like that would be irrational. I'm not done growing. I just need something functional."

Her face fell and she pouted.

"You take all the fun out of a shopping trip. How am I even supposed to enjoy this? Do you expect Coran to come with me? Or Keith?"

"How about Shiro?" Pidge quirked an eyebrow.

Allura went red and she raised a finger to say a threat but it fell flat.

"You are not supposed to know about that." She said in a threatening tone.

"Oh, like how we're all not supposed to know about Lance and Keith? Noted." She laughed and walked further into the store. She looked around the section and back to Allura, a frown forming.

"Um… Allura? I don't know what size I am." She said with a tint of pink. Allura, who had previously been mad, rested a hand on her shoulder with a kind and soft smile.

"We can take care of that." She waved to a woman in a black dress and explained that her friend needed to be sized. The woman ushered Pidge into the back where she took a thousand measurements and then told her what she was in the 'bipedal' section. She was led back to Allura and the woman left.

"Well? You get your size?"

"First of all, I thought my first feel up would come from my boyfriend, not a woman in a shop. Second, I did but I think I should be a little offended at the name? I mean a lot of things could be bipedal. That's not very far off from an animal."

Allura laughed.

"Pidge, humans aren't very far from animals in the universal scheme of things."

Pidge folded her hands over her chest and sighed.

"Still, that was embarrassing as hell."

"So, what are we looking for?"

"She said I'm a 32C in this section, which I think is a lie because I don't really have much to work with, but I don't exactly know how the sizing of bras work. I might be wrong."

Allura had ignored her once she heard her size to look through the bras, grabbing as many as she could.

"Whoa! Okay, ground rules." Pidge made a timeout signal with her hands. Allura paused and waited. "Nothing too frilly. I just said I'm probably not done growing and I might have to come back and get new ones. Plus I am super hard on clothing considering my current, occupation, and I'll tear right through them. Functional only."

Allura huffed and looked at everything they had to offer.

"How about a deal? Two really cute ones, two normal ones, and two extra durable ones for work." She said, picking up on her low key anxiety. Pidge nodded.

"Okay that seems fair. And I won't lie I do need new underwear too and I am sure you will make them match."

"Oh you know me too well Pidge." She said with a grin. She grabbed two that matched her skin tone (they had technology in the fabric to match her skin tone perfectly), two that were more heavy duty - plain back and racer back for extra support. Allura paused and turned to her with an idea.

"In this deal however, you have to pick the 'frilly' ones." Pidge went a bit pink again and looked through the different styles. After deciding for ages, she held them up to Allura. One was simple but very pretty; flat white lace over a pale green cup, and one that to Allura's surprise was a darker green, almost teal and strapless with a large lace pattern.

"How are these?"

"Oh those are so cute!" She smiled and put them in the bag she had grabbed while she had been busy deciding. "I can match these very easily! Oh stars, shopping is so much more fun with another girl!" She laughed and took off to grab as many panties as she could to match the bras while Pidge just shook her head.

In the end, they spent way more than planned after the first two stores but Allura didn't stop until all the money was gone. They left the mall tired and hungry, ready to go home. They managed to stuff all the bags into the pod with themselves, Pidge throwing herself in the pilot's seat. Allura gave her a smirk and Pidge laughed.

"Look, I fight an evil alien empire for a living but that, I can honestly say, was the weirdest few hours of my life. The least you can do let me fly."

She closed the hatch as the cloaking glass came over them and she let out a sigh, her hair turning silver, her pink pupils coming back, her ears and pink marks back to normal.

"Well, I am tired from holding such a ridiculous form for so long so I suppose I could let you."

Pidge smiled as they took off from the planet, waiting for Allura to open a wormhole for them and zooming through. On the other side of the wormhole, Pidge turned her head to the bags in the back and saw an extra one.

"Hey, where did that come from?" She asked and reached for it. Allura grabbed it in a flash and held it to her chest, her face darkened. It was from the first store they went to, but it was a smaller bag - probably only holding one or two items.

"I got it while you were busy gagging yourself with the lotions. It's mine."

Pidge neared the castle and hit the button for the hanger to open back up. She smirked as they landed.

"It's for you, sure. You and Shiro."

"I thought we agreed we'd never speak of this." She hissed.

"If I can't talk to you, who can I talk to?" Pidge asked, a little too innocently. Allura was fooled for a moment and then blew a stray piece of silver hair out of her face.

"I am not your mother but if I were I would restrict you from speaking to anyone for several quintants."

"But you're not." She said with a smile but it soon faded and she had a blank look on her face. Allura put a hand over hers to get her attention.

"I know you and I are related in no way, but you are like the younger sister I never had. And I hope you know that you and your four rowdy counterparts have stumbled into my life and filled a wonderful hole I didn't even know was there." She said softly and Pidge smiled, feeling less sad about missing her mother. They sat quietly for a while and Pidge steadied herself, almost laughing.

"If it helps, you can be annoying like a big sister."

"Yes, well, it's because I care. So I had better not see you in those clothes ever again."

"Only if you promise to help me figure out what to do with this mess." She said as she pointed to her hair, longer now than Keith's was when they had first come together. They shared a laugh and opened the pod hatch, Allura getting out while Pidge handed her down all the bags. When she finally climbed out, Hunk came running into the hanger.

"I am so glad you guys are back! Keith and Lance are fighting, Shiro can't calm them down, and Coran made it worse! This isn't one of those lover's quarrels either!"

"Say no more, I'm on it." She said, serious Princess Allura back online as she stormed towards the bridge. Hunk was trying to catch his breath and looked at Pidge and all the bags around her.

"Aw. You went to the mall without me." Hunk said and pouted. Pidge sorted through the bags and tossed him one. He raised an eyebrow and held it like he was afraid of it.

"You know I wouldn't leave you hanging like that. I got you something as an apology and also because it wasn't my money." She laughed and he opened the bag to find a box. The bag was abandoned and the lid of the box flipped back. His eyes lit up instantly and thanks were spilling from his lips. He sat on the ground and pulled out the shoes from the box; bright white soled with bright yellow and dark orange covering the sides with black laces. He tossed his battered boots aside and pulled both of them on, standing back up to feel them out.

"How do they look?" He asked, excited.

"Perfect." She smiled and loved how happy he was.

"How did you know I wanted something like this?" He asked, honestly curious.

"Those boots are old and I've seen the blisters they give you. Plus we all tend to buy clothes to match our lions."

"That's true." He looked behind her and saw all the bags, finally counting them. "Wow, you guy s bought like, the whole mall!" Pidge just shrugged.

"That's what happens when your body fucks you over and makes you get a whole new wardrobe. Not that I need this many clothes but Allura insisted." She smiled and looked down at her clothes. "She basically grounded me from ever wearing this outfit ever again."

"Aw no way. I love that shirt, it's cute." He said it before he could think and made them both blush. To avoid any more stupid slip ups, he grabbed a few bags.

"Hey, let me help you get all this stuff to your room."

"Sure!" She was thankful for not lingering on their conversation and grabbed bags with him. He paused on a large pink-striped bag and looked up at her, not sure if he was allowed to ask, if he should carry it, or forget he ever saw it.

"Oh, I'll uh - I'll get that one. Like I said, whole new wardrobe." She blushed and grabbed what she could, turning and walking towards the cabins. Hunk was completely red and dead silent behind her as he carried the majority of the load.

She was on the training deck later on one knee to tie her loose laces, bayard at her side. Even she had gotten new shoes, a nice sturdy pair of green sneakers. She heard the doors open and finished tying her shoe, standing and turning to see who it was. It was Hunk and Lance.

"Oh, is the fight over?" She smirked. Lance crossed his arms and clicked his tongue, resisting the urge to curse at her in Spanish.

"Look, he took my favorite jeans and he won't fess up to it. No one goes in my room but him and I know he took them but I don't have proof."

Pidge paused and looked to Hunk, who had seen Allura in human clothes, shaking his head slightly as if to say 'not a word'.

"Oh. Well, look again, I'm sure they are in there."

"They're not. I even pointed to Allura's new dress and mentioned that she had a better fashion sense than he did so I didn't know why he needed my pants. They don't match any of his stuff." He huffed and Pidge turned to face them fully, not just from the side. Lance looked her over. "Speaking of fashion sense, looks like someone got a makeover!"

She looked down and smiled. She had left her glasses in her room but she was different even from that down. Between her lack of glasses and her green shoes she had on a pale green tank top with oversized holes, her black sports bra easily visible but it was just another garment to her due to functionality. Paired with it were some black shorts Allura picked out in an active wear store; very form fitting so as to not snag on anything while training.

"Like it?" She asked, with a bright smile.

"Yeah you look awesome, right Hunk?" He ribbed him with his elbow and Hunk just let out a 'yeah'.

"It's just training clothes. My other stuff is way better."

"Oh training. Is that why you're hair is in a pretty little French braid?" Lance mocked. Pidge sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Ce n'est pas pour la beauté. It's to get it out of the way. Now if only I knew how to get you out of the way."

Lance laughed and held up his hands in defense. "Okay okay, I get it. Train or leave. I'm out, I did plenty this morning." He backed out and looked to Hunk. "You staying?"

"Uh, yeah. Go ahead without me." He mumbled, not able to take his eyes off Pidge. Lance shrugged and left.

Pidge looked to him. "So spar with me or take turns?"

"Um, you can go first."

She paused because he was in regular dress, not something he should be training in. Pidge didn't want to linger on it so she turned her back to him.

"Begin training level 5." A droid dropped from the ceiling and she picked up her bayard, ready to fight for her life. It had been too long since she actually trained and it was going to hurt.

Barely a minute in and she was so happy Allura had done her hair for her. It was staying in place expertly while she was getting her ass handed to her. Just when she thought she had an opening the droid turned and punted her across the room like a football. She slammed against the wall and faintly heard Hunk yelling out to her, begging for her to quit. Never. She stood back up and avoided countless attacks, her blood pounding in her veins. She fought for what felt like hours until finally she had an opening she could take. She shot her bayard forward and the hook went straight through it, ending the training sequence. She collapsed and was gasping for air, drenched in sweat.

"Pidge! Answer me!" She finally heard him yelling, running up to her.

"Whoo-hooo!" She yelled, pumping her fisted bayard in the air while the rest of her body didn't move.

"You're nuts. That was way too hard. You should have gone lower or-"

"Hunk stop." She said and tried to catch her breath, her chest heaving and tight. He waited for her and she switched hands, her bayard now in her left and her right empty and reaching for him. He helped her to her feet and she laughed, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"Oh, I am gonna feel that tomorrow." She said and laughed again. Hunk looked down at her, concerned.

"Pidge, I haven't seen you go that hard in a while."

"I know. I need to keep up with you guys." She smiled up at him. "You're on what, 9?"

He frowned. "We don't all have to be on the same level."

"Yeah well, Keith is on 10, Lance is on 8, Shiro is on 11. Seems like I'm the one who needs to catch up." She said and let out a shaky laugh. Hunk raised his eyebrow.

"Pidge, it's not a big deal."

"No it's cool. I'm behind in everything right? I'm smaller, I'm the youngest, I'm the only one dealing with this stupid shit-" she gestured to her body "- I'm the only female paladin. I'm the only one who can update our feline friends, so yeah. I'm kind of in an odd situation. I need to catch up. I need to work harder-"

"Katie." He said softly.

She stopped rambling and looked up at Hunk, surprised.

"Look, I know all of this isn't fun. And I know I can never understand because I'm a guy. And I know Allura will never understand because she's not human. But you are not going to stand here, in front of me, and try to convince me you're a weak link. Everyone brings something to the table. That's why we are such a good team." He took his hand and cupped her cheek. "And trust me, you are very important."

She smiled and turned pinker than her exercise had left her.

"Thanks, Tsuyoshi." She smirked and his face went dark red again. She laughed and took his hand in hers. "Don't worry, I'll never say it in front of anyone else."

He was shaken for a moment but then smiled. He pulled her into a hug.

"Ugh, Hunk no! I'm disgusting!" She tried to protest but he was too strong for her.

"No, you're adorable." He smiled, embarrassed but not really caring because hearing his real name come out of her made him feel high as a kite. He eventually let go and she was a deep red. Pidge tried to start a conversation that put him on the spot.

"So you like my new clothes?"

"Yeah, and I think we all need an update."

"Good luck! Allura and I just spent her whole wad. Again, her decision." She smiled and they talked towards the door, side by side.

"She looked good in Lance's jeans. Maybe she could take those instead of wearing that long dress all the time."

They both laughed and Pidge punched him in the arm.

"You have to take that to your grave. If Lance knew she wore them we would never hear the end of 'in my pants' jokes. And then Keith would kill him."

"Yeah, being down a paladin is no joke." He said and tugged at the end of her braid, emphasizing her importance as a paladin. She smiled and they exited the training deck and knew they would separate; her to shower and him to the hanger.

"Everyone on this ship is pairing off. First Lance and Keith, then Shiro and Allura. You've got Shay and Coran is too old for me." She sighed and stretched upwards. "I'm sure my alien boy is out there somewhere. Or girl. Whoever it is, I'm sure I'll find them." She turned towards her room and walked down the corridor, leaving Hunk behind.

Hunk bit his lip and nodded. "I'm sure you will." He said softly.