Pidge hadn't been seen for days. The only person who knew where she was was Matt, and he wasn't spilling. She'd made sure.
"Please, Matt. I need some space."
"Katie, it isn't healthy to isolate yourself from people who are trying to help you."
"I can't... I can't face the team. Not yet. P-please don't tell anyone where I'm going."
"I...fine. I won't."
"Promise?"
"Pinky swear. Just stay safe?"
"Pinky swear."
Pidge sat in the cockpit of her lion, clutching Keith's jacket to her chest. Keith had mysteriously left it in his room when he left team Voltron, and in light of Keith's unconscious reveal of his feelings for Pidge, the team had determined the green paladin should keep it.
"Oh Keith," Pidge mumbled into the fabric. "How could you do that?"
Green rumbled reassuringly in the back of Pidge's mind, but there were undertones of concern and sadness.
"He... He liked me Green. He thought I was s-smart. And understanding. But I'm an idiot. I d-didn't understand. I pushed him away, b-because I thought he only cared about 'the mission', but I was w-wrong. I said stuff. I was angry at him for l-leaving. And I brought him down. P-pushed him away."
She scrubbed at her tears with a fist. The sleeve of her baggy green and white hoodie slipped a little, revealing fresh burn scars from her bayard among the other silvery scars littering her arm.
Paladin mine, Green murmured maternally, You and I know you do your best. Red's paladin knew this as well. You mean much to all of Pride Voltron. Your thirst for knowledge sets you apart and makes you indispensable.
Pidge cried harder, but knew what her lion had told her was true. Her hands gripped Keith's jacket. Suddenly, she heard the soft sound of crinkling paper. Her golden-brown eyes snapped open, and her hand shakily crept into the jacket pocket. She pulled out an envelope addressed to Team Voltron.
Immediately Pidge put her lion in gear and they took off, speeding through the wreckage of the galra base She'd torn apart in her rage and depression. She didn't look back, but one solitary tear traced her cheek as she hit open space.