Part II: Pidge

Even before she started dating them, Pidge had the habit of diving so deeply into projects to distract herself from everything else that was happening around her, that she would keep on working through all meals and on into the night if no one was around to pull her back to reality. Too often she'd find herself falling asleep in the middle of whatever she was doing, no matter how uncomfortable it was. It was just how she worked.

And then, slowly, she found herself getting distracted.

Keith started to find where she was working and would sit with her. Mostly he just let her ramble on about her projects, but every now and then he'd ask a question.

It had been unsettling at first. Having someone who wasn't part of her immediate family take interest in the things she loved wasn't something she was used to, even after a year in space. But there was Keith, of all people, sitting next to her and showing a genuine interest in learning.

She started to look forward to their talks.

It took Lance two months to catch on to what was happening, and from that point on he insisted on joining them. It'd been frustrating at first; Pidge had been so sure he was just there to annoy Keith and goad him into another dumb argument. She found herself missing that short period of time when Keith finally rejoined them after working with the Blade of Mamora, when the novelty of him being home was still fresh and Lance went out of his way to avoid picking fights.

And then she started to see what was really happening.

The secret smiles they shared.

The way Lance's casual touching would linger just a little bit longer with Keith than with anyone else.

How Keith didn't avoid all physical contact, even going as far as to initiate some of it on his own.

"You're dating," Pidge blurted out, her heart twisting uncomfortably at the revelation. (She ignored it.)

Her words were met by two very guilty faces.

"But why are you both here with me and not, you know," she made a wide gesture to indicate anywhere but the small room littered with tools and pieces of electronics.

"Well, um..." Keith ducked his head, his cheeks lighting up red. "We want to be here. We like you."

"Wow, you're really bad at this, aren't you?" Lance teased.

Keith's head snapped up so he could glare at his boyfriend. "You aren't any better! I'd like to see you try!"

"I will!" Lance stood so he could walk over and sit down directly in front of Pidge. His arm shook only a little as he reached for her hand and enveloped it with his own. As he looked her in the eyes, his determination wavered a little at the intense curiosity and confusion he found there. "I like Keith. Like, a lot. I have for a long time. But the thing is, I also like you, and so does Keith. So maybe... I mean, we were hoping the three of us could date? If you like us too? If you don't, that's okay. We understand. Three people dating – wow, it sounds kind of crazy, right? Even way out here in space, with everything we've seen, I don't think-"

"Lance," Keith calmly interrupted. "Maybe don't break Pidge's hand when you're trying to ask her out?"

Lance dropped her hand as though he'd been electrocuted.

Pidge wanted to make sure she was understanding correctly before agreeing to anything. It was all so weird to her to think that there wasn't just one boy, but two, who were interested in her.

Her! Scrawny, nerdy little Katie Holt who was too smart for her own good and took great delight in learning everything she could and sharing it with others. Her, who'd dismissed boys early into middle school as being too insensitive, too dismissive of her intellect, and therefore unworthy of any attention from her.

But Keith and Lance weren't the kids she went to middle school with. They were her teammates, her friends. She knew she could trust them with her life (and had done so on more than one occasion), but what about her heart?

"Okay, so you two are dating," Pidge said. "And for some reason, both of you think you also want to date me? How does that even work? Can it even work? We're all so different, what if we end up dating each other? What if I end up liking one of you more than the other? Or if you guys decide that you don't like me after all and just want it to be the two of you? Or what if-"

Keith's startled laughter cut her off mid-sentence and she looked away from Lance to glare across the room at him, a little hurt that he wasn't taking her concerns seriously.

Lance smiled softly as he drew her attention back to him. "Keith said the same exact thing the first time I brought it up. Well, maybe not the exact, but pretty close. The thing is, we don't have the answers. We just have decide whether or not it's worth the risk."

Keith walked over to join them. "Right now, we know this: we like you a lot and we'd like to try dating, all three of us, but only if you're also interested."

Looking between them, Pidge realized she didn't have to think too hard about it.

"See, I told you she'd be here," Keith's voice was warm with fondness.

Lance chuckled as he approached her sleeping form, carefully stepping around the delicate pieces scattered all over the floor around their girlfriend. He knelt down and easily lifted her up, cradling her in his arms.

Pidge murmured in her sleep, lifting one hand to clutch at his shirt, but otherwise didn't stir.

"She's exhausted," Lance quietly said as he made his way back to the door where Keith was waiting. "Think she's been working the whole time we were gone?"

Keith frowned at the thought. "I hope not. Hunk didn't head out to visit Shay until this morning, so hopefully he got her to eat something before then."

"Yeah," Lance agreed, yawning. "Lets get her to bed. Food can wait until the morning."

Keith nodded and led the way back to their shared room, where they soon fell asleep with Pidge nestled between them, right where she belonged.