#pidgance fic

[plancinginthemoonlight]

Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in a while, but here's something for you! I've drawn a snippet of my latest W.I.P story "Venus in Sneakers" which is a S8 Plance date AU!

Hope you're excited!

[softsapphix]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Lance/Pidge (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron) Characters: Lance (Voltron), Pidge (Voltron), Allura (Voltron), Lotor (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Iverson (Voltron) Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Violence, against plants, Ironically, Poisoning, lance has ADHD, supportive pidge, will i ever get over plance?, of course not! Summary:

Canon divergence with Plance in the works. Everyone fought off Honerva together and no one sacrificed themselves to save every reality, they simply united their magic. Now Allura leads Altea, Lotor, the Galra, and Pidge and Lance are the head of Earth's space patrolling force. They've been policing criminals, rescuing drifters, and disputing alien skirmishes for years.. until one day.. everything goes terribly wrong.

[fadedsepiascribbles]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Allura refuses to let Lance wallow in his misery, even if she only adds to his confusion. 

Another chapter on this very long Plance fic I’m still working on. We’re getting closer to the end, people!

[plancinginthemoonlight]

Mid-youth crisis.

(Hi sorry it's been awhile! I'm back for the summer tho cause ya girl graduated uni with a 2:1 and is now a qualified zoologist woop woop!! But anyway here's some Plance drabble I've thrown together to celebrate💙💚)

There was a hurried knock against the metal, abruptly ripping Pidge from her sleep. She jolted upright at her desk, an undignified stream of saliva running across her cheek.

There was another bombardment of knocks, followed by a hushed voice "Pidge..."

The green paladin brushed the back of her hand against her cheek, padding rather unenthusiastically towards the door. Seconds later, it peeled back to reveal a rather distressed Lance, fidgeting on the spot.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need your help." the panic was evident in Lance's tone of voice. Pidge rolled a frown across her face, squinting away the sleep from her eyes.

"It's three in the morning, what could you possibly need help with?"

Lance relaxed his shoulders, holding out his hand. As his fingers uncurled, a small object came into view. It was a chunk of metal, several wires poking out of one end. Pidge blinked, then palming at one of her eyes.

"What's that?"

"It fell off Coran's holo-desk."

Pidge was in no way fooled by his voice. "It fell?"

Lance screwed up his face, and with a loud sigh met her gaze. "I may have helped it fall." 

There was a deep exhale, Pidge pressing her fingers against her temple. "Lance..."

"What?! I was bored and I couldn't sleep. I didn't mean to and the next thing I knew it was-"

Pidge took the piece of metal from his hand, inspecting it thoroughly. Her bleary eyes made the task take longer than she intended, her gaze often flitting between the metal and a distressed Lance. An audible sigh left her lungs, shoulders drooping before Pidge handed the thing back to him.

"Okay, okay. I'll help you."

Lance leapt forward, a little further into Pidge's personal space than she would had preferred. This was mainly due to the fact it forced a heat to the tips of her ears, only worsened when he clasped his hand around hers.

"Thanks Pidge, I owe you one," his voice was flooded with relief, his brows upturned in a brief moment of content.

Pidge could do nothing but scowl at the Cuban boy, already wondering why she was going to help him and she hasn't even stepped out of her room. Something was clearly wrong with her.

Before Pidge could voice her regret, Lance pulled her out in to the corridor and in the direction of the castles centre. The brisk pace he was moving at didn't agree with Pidge's exhausted frame, her legs reluctantly padding along beneath her. If that wasn't enough, the exhaustion made the journey feel as if she had walked for a day.

By the time the pair finally found themselves in front of the door that concealed the holo-desk, Pidge was wide awake, though her eyes still stung from her interrupted sleep. The door pulled itself open as Pidge rubbed the final remnants of sleep from her eyes. Lance had been babbling about something whilst they had walked, but not a word of it had registered in her mind as she had been too focused on how she was going to make him suffer for this.

"And Coran told me it was possible to play monsters and mana on your own but I thought 'surely not'... So when I tried to find the single player mode I must have hit the wrong thing."

"Mhmm." Pidge hummed in reply, still not entirely listening to what he was saying.

Couldn't this have waited till tomorrow?

"And that happened." Lance added, pointing to the desk he now stood beside. His finger was aimed towards a small hole in the frame work, surprisingly no where near the buttons that controlled the settings.

"How on earth did you manage that?" Pidge's brows creased as she knelt down to inspect the damage. Lance couldn't tell if it was surprise or irritation that resided in her tone of voice, either way it probably wasn't good.

He copied Pidge's movements, kneeling beside her to peer into the small gap. "Can you fix it?"

Pidge wanted to answer him with a sarcastic quip, she really did.

Yet in that moment she had become horrendously aware of how close to her Lance was. His light breathing thundered in her ears, and the smell of his awful cologne occupied the space between them.

Had he always smelled this good?

Instead, all she could muster was an incredibly flustered nod, and an attempt to cover her now reddened cheeks. She couldn't let him see her like this.

"Could-could you er, fetch my tools whilst I assess the situation a little further?" The reluctancy of the words to leave her throat made the resulting sentence sound a little hoarse, but Pidge was praying Lance would put it down to her exhaustion.

"Sure. Where are they?"

Pidge coughed into her hand, a feeble attempt at steadying the growing quiver in her chest. "They're in the lab, second secure cupboard the the right. The password is Sputnik."

Lance scrunched up his nose, casting his glance sideways to raise a sceptical eyebrow at her. "Spud-what?"

Pidge's hands stopped their investigative poking at the protruding wires as her shoulders dropped, head swinging to look up at the blue paladin.

"Not spud. Sput. Sput-nik. It was the first artificial Earth satellite. It's pretty interesting actually I-"

"Pidge, as much as I'd love to hear about the potato satellite, I don't wanna get my ass handed to me by Coran tomorrow so I'm gonna go get your tools now," Lance announced as he got to his feet. Within a tick he was beside the door, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder back at the green paladin before disappearing down the corridor.

That particular green paladin now had a smirk accompanying the red hue on her face, rolling her shoulders with a grin.

"Worked like a charm." She sighed, leaning her head back onto her shoulders. Now she had some time to figure out what the hell was going on with her stomach. It felt like she'd ingested hoard if tiny butterflies. Was she coming down with something? 

She's have to run some diagnostics in the infirmary tomorrow.

*****

Lance stared hard at the computer on the cupboard. The Altean technology often left him baffled and this was no exception. The screen in front of him, like many in the castle, was glowing blue and littered with a variety of illegible symbols. This particular piece of Altean technology he had only encountered once before whilst hanging out with Hunk in the Lab. It was now that he wished he had payed more attention to the devices. Lance felt his brows furrow.

"Computer?"

The screen changed in less than a tick, causing the Cuban boy to blink several times. After his eyes had adjusted to the lighter screen, Lance took a step closer. The new symbols looked vaguely like they were asking for a password. Perfect.

"Spudnik."

Nothing. No change in screen or sound to indicate the door was now unlocked. Lance's frown deepened, him even giving the handle a precautionary tug to see if it was in fact open.

Unfortunately not.

"Spud-nik," Lance repeated, this time with a little more determination in his voice.

Again, nothing.

It was now that Lance could feel the frustration beginning to grow at the base of his skull, an irritated sigh escaping his lungs.

"Stupid satellite." He grumbled under his breath, arms folding across his chest. "Spudnik." He said it a little louder. Again, nothing.

Lance swore under his breath, fingers now beginning to dig into his palms as he balled his fists. He filled his lungs to calm himself, before he felt an idea pop into his head.

He was going to attempt to reason with the thing.

“Listen here you dumb computer, you’d better open up now other wise I’m gonna be in deep shit. I’ve given you the password Pidge gave me so... yeah. Open please.” He pulled at the handle. Once. Twice. Three times. Each time, repeating the word Pidge had told him.

"Spudnik, Spudnik, Spudnik, Sputnik, Spu-"

Click.

***

"Where the hell have you been?! You've been gone 20 minutes." Pidge flung her head around at the sound of the door opening. In the doorway, stood the skinny figure of McClain, arms gasped around her toolbox.

"Your dumb password didn't work." He sighed, brows knitted together in an exhausted frown. He plodded over to Pidge's side, falling to his knees gracefully before placing the box down with an indignant clunk.

"You mean you didn't say it right." Pidge quipped, a small smirk on her lips as she returned to the whole in the holo-desk. Her right hand reached for her tools, flicking the lid opening and grasping a spanner without even sparing a glance.

"You're a cruel woman, Pidge Gunderson" Lance said with a sigh, sinking back onto his heels to sit by her side. His eyes scanned studiously as Pidge dug deeper into the desk.

Pidge gave a snort, and turned to smirk back at the blue paladin, "I prefer the term 'evil genius'".

A second after the words left Pidge's mouth, a larger section of the desk fell to the ground, the clang of it's impact reverberating throughout the room.

Silence.

Pidge's eyes had stayed locked on Lance's face, watching as his lips curled up into a smile, and then split as an almighty chuckle left his throat.

"Evil genius, my ass."

Pidge's eyebrows raised, the spanner she held now pointing up at Lance's face. "Watch it, McClain. I can still kick that ass."

"Prove it."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time... unless I let Coran do it for me in the morning"

"Hey! You made the hole bigger, you'd be in as much trouble as me!"

"You don't have any proof of that Cuban boy." She didn't even bother to look at him, mind preoccupied with the clump of wires that had fallen into her hands. 

"Don't I?"

"Shut up and hold these for me."

"Bu-mrph-"

Pidge shoved the tangled mass onto Lance's chest, his arms frantically trying to stop them from falling out of his grasp. The green paladin snorted at his short struggle, before peering into the hole she had now created. A small blue light sat nestled in more wires in front of her.

This was going to take a while. 

The next few moments were spent in easy silence, Lance watching intently as Pidge tried her best to repair that damage they had both caused. Once Pidge switched tools, Lance’s interest piqued, causing him to shuffle closer to her and lean over Pidge’s shoulder to get a better look. “What’s that?”

The question itself seemed innocent enough, but Lance’s quiet tone being so close to her ear made Pidge’s heart rate leap to an impossible speed. She cautiously turned her head to look him in the eye, but faltered as the heat spread across her cheeks. What little proximity there had been between them no longer existed.

Something they both noticed. 

Lance shot back onto his heels, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he too adorned reddened cheeks. Pidge’s petite frame straightened at his movement, silently chewing on her bottom lip. All memory of his question had left her mind in an instant. The following ticks seemed to drag past, until Lance swallowed his pride and opened his mouth. 

"Hey Pidge, can I ask you something?"

Pidge ignored the ache in her stomach, delving her hands into the gap. "Shoot."

Lance fiddled with the wires in his hands, the words lingering in the back of his throat. Inhaling, he shuffled on the spot. "Do you really think I'm just a goofball?"

At his words Pidge froze, and for a moment Lance believed he may have broken her. Another tick passed before Pidge spoke.

"Of course not, why would I?"

Lance sat forward on his knees, closing the gap between them again. "It's just... A while ago, you said that was 'my thing'... and I wasn't sure if you meant that was all I was good at or it's just how you see me. I can't help but think that's all Allura sees me as too and that's why she and Lot-" he stopped.

Pidge had turned to look at him, and in that second, he became transfixed. Her amber eyes seemed to pierce him. In the diffused glow from the hole in the holo-desk, she became almost ethereal. Something that was only strengthened by the sincere smile cracking on her lips.

"Lance, you're so much more than that." Pidge sighed, dropping her hands to her side. "You're kind, strong and an irreplaceable sharpshooter. You're selfless and talented, and if the princess can't see that then..." Pidge licked her lips in anticipation as she smiled. "Then you deserve to find someone who can."

Lance blinked, nodding slowly with his eyes holding Pidge's. His vacant expression produced a quiet giggle from the green paladin. When she chuckled at him, for the first time in weeks, Lance's heart fluttered.

An easy silence settled over their shoulders, the only remnants of sounds being their own heartbeats in their chests. Lance swallowed the lump in his throat,

"Thanks Pidge," he said softly, voice wavering for a moment. The smile on Pidge's face spread into a wide grin, her glance falling down to her hands as her blush deepened.

"You're welcome, Lance.” She went to turn back to her work but hesitated, a slight frown on her brow. “You know, you shouldn't doubt yourself like that... especially if it's because of something I said."

Lance gave a short chuckle, "Well you're so smart I figured you knew what you were talking about." He said with a shrug. Pidge shook her head lightly,

"What happened to ‘Evil Genius, my ass’?," she laughed, punching him gently in the shoulder. Lance rubbed his arm where Pidge’s fist had made contact, attempting to fight back the heat in his face as he laughed along with her. He held her gaze again, and inexplicably felt himself lean towards her. Pidge's eye widened tenfold, perfectly in sync with her heart faltering in her chest.

"I need to get my other tools," Pidge blurted hastily, getting to her feet. Lance shot backwards, utterly bewildered.

"I-er, Pidge wai-"

"I'll be right back," Pidge added factually, if not a little shaken.

"Are you really leaving me? Like this?" Lance pressed, lifting up his wire bound hands as he met her eye. Pidge stared blankly for a second. Not a a tick later she was smirking, and before Lance could comprehend what was happening, her lips were on his, leaving him breathless.

"What else could I do?" She said simply with a shrug, then turning sharply on her heels and disappearing out the door.

[plancinginthemoonlight]

Sleeping over.

(So sorry I haven't been so active with writing lately I haven't been in a good place and just couldn't find the motivation but please enjoy!💙💚)

The mid-morning sun streamed through the crack in Lance’s curtains, accompanied by the soft bird song that lulled through the open window. The man stirred, rolling onto his back and stretching with an almighty groan. With as much enthusiasm as he could muster, he began to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Lance let a heavy sigh slip through his lips, outstretching his arm and feeling lazily through the duvet. When his hand failed to meet what it was looking for, Lance's head shot upwards.

“Morning,” a voice lilted across to him. Lance blinked hard, and reluctantly pulled himself up onto the pillow behind him. 

“Morning, Pidge.” he yawned. The woman stood at the end of his bed was already dressed and ready for her day ahead, lab coat draped loosely over her arm. “How long have you been up?” 

Pidge walked around the bed, and gently sat herself down next to him. “About an hour. I was going to wake you but I thought it best to let you sleep. Thought you’d be a bit tired out after last night.” She teased, a grin beginning to appear on her lips. A chuckle blew from Lance's nose, slowly followed by a small smile breaking on his lips. With a tilt of his head, he gestured to the spot next to him in the bed.

"5 more minutes?"

"I've gotta go," Pidge laughed, "If I don’t leave now I’ll be late for my meeting and I’ll have Iverson on my ass again.” She rolled her eyes as she exhaled. Lance, still half asleep, groaned to himself, sliding back down into the bed. Pidge smirked at the bleary eyed man, before leaning forward and planting a kiss on Lance’s forehead. The sensation drove a heat to his cheeks, bringing back several memories of the night before. 

“I’ll see you later.”

Lance watched studiously as Pidge left, eyes following her around the room before she disappeared behind the door. The heat from his cheeks had now spread throughout his chest, awakening several butterflies that usually resided at the pit of his stomach. Forcing them back to the depths, Lance clambered out of bed and dressed himself. After throwing on an old shirt and jeans, he wandered through to his bathroom for his daily routine. He reached out for his toothbrush. 

He hesitated. 

There, beside his own, was the dark green toothbrush Pidge used when she stayed over. He tried to look past it as he placed toothpaste on his brush and began scrubbing furiously at his teeth. Washing off his brush, something else caught his eye. Several small hair clips were perched on the windowsill, glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.

An unusual taste rose in his throat.

It definitely wasn’t the toothpaste.

This had all started two months ago. Valentines day. The Earth tradition wasn’t carried out on New Altea, and Pidge had always thought of the tradition to be rather tedious. It had been her who suggested that they have a games night, just like they used to on the Castle. Lance had been thrilled at the idea, and to simulate their gaming nights as best he could, gathered several blankets and cushions. This, accompanied by an outrageous amount of snack foods, meant the night promised to be a good one. 

Banter was expected.

Play fighting was inevitable. (Especially after how much Pidge had bragged about kicking Lance’s butt for several minutes afterwards).

What he didn’t predict, was the kiss that Pidge gave him after he’d pinned her down. At first, he suspected it was her attempt at freedom, a ploy to throw him off so she could escape. Yet, when she deepened it, all rational thought was lost. 

They had labelled it as an accident the first time, and even attempted to do so after the second incident at Shiro’s wedding. After the fourth time, (Which nearly lead to discovery by Hunk) they decided to talk about what was happening. 

Now, another 13 times down the line, Lance could be found stood, staring at Pidge’s toothbrush with a great sense of iniquity. His eyes flicked from the sink up to his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. Slowly, Lance lifted his hand up to his cheek. His fingers danced across the Altean marks on his skin, and he felt his heart drops straight through his diaphragm. 

Her name rose onto his tongue, bursting on it’s tip like a fizzing candy. 

Allura.

When they had decided that they were only ‘fooling around’, Lance’s sense of guilt skyrocketed, only able to convince himself that wherever she was, Allura wouldn’t mind him living his life. But now he found her memory forced to the back of his mind more often than not. As he searched for her, Lance found a recollection of the night before.

Pidge had been laid on his chest, amber eyes peering up at him through dishevelled hair. She had looked so beautiful.

It had terrified him.

An ache began to build at the base of Lance’s skull. He let his hand graze over the area for a moment, keeping his gaze fixed on the markings on his face. 

"She's just sleeping over." Even saying it aloud didn't remove the shudder from Lance's lungs. If anything it increased it. With a heavy sigh, Lance pulled himself away from the bathroom mirror and made his way downstairs.

Again, he stopped. At the foot of the door sat a pair of Pidge's boots, mud-stained from her attempt to help him with the cows yesterday. An overwhelming sense of panic hit Lance's chest, stiffening his muscles.

"She's staying forever..." Lance heard himself say aloud. Even he was aware it was completely irrational for him to think that.

It was just a pair of boots.

The Cuban man collected himself once more, forcing himself through to the kitchen to make himself a much needed coffee. He finished it a bit too quickly, burning his tongue. The sensation seemed to ground him, reminding him of everything that he had to do to day. Things that would definitely take his mind off of a certain someone.

"Hi Kalternecker." Lance said softly as he entered the cow shed. The greeting was met by a low grunt, the cow's head reluctantly swing around in his direction. The dark eyes seemed to light up once they noticed the bucket of food next to Lance's ankles. The man gave a small chuckle, pouring the contents into the trough. He'd made his way through every pen, and as he always did, visited Kalternecker last.

He couldn't explain it, but he knew he had a special attachment to this animal. He suspected it was the way she kept him company on the castle, or the fact she had spent some time with him inside the red lion on their journey back to Earth. Or maybe it was the fact that seeing her always brought back fond memories of Pidge.

Pidge.

"Can I ask you something, Kalternecker?" Lance sighed, rubbing his temple. There was a soft grunt from the direction of the animal, the large eyes sparing him a glance before turning back to the food. 

Lance took that as a reluctant yes. 

"As you know, Pidge has been... staying over quite a bit recently and to be honest, I'm having a lot of fun." Lance said quietly, leaning back against the door of the pen. “But there’s something that’s bothering me and I can’t quite figure out what it is...” He trailed off as he strode over to the cow. Kalternecker lifted her head from the empty trough, blinking up at him blissfully. Lance reached across and began to scratch behind her ear, producing a contented moo. 

A snort left Lances lungs at the sight, and he would have sworn that the cow was smiling back at him.

"I'm not sure how to feel about all of it." Lance continued, "I mean, I really like her otherwise this wouldn't be happening." He placed a hand on his hip as he thought, still peering down at the cow. "She's funny, she's beautiful, she makes me feel so much better when I'm with her and she does this amazing thing with-"

Another moo from Kalternecker cut Lance's rant short, whilst also pulling him back into reality.

"But last time I felt that way about someone I..." Lance stopped, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

The cow blinked again, eyes unmoving from the man. She snorted loudly, ears flapping around as her head shook from the notion. Lance's shoulders dropped, eyebrows furrowing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know, I know. It's just.." a heavy breath clung to the back of his throat, "I don't want to lose her too."

***

Lance’s ear pricked at the sound of his door closing, forcing his head to turn toward the entrance. His eyes were met by a warm smile, the owner of which carried in her arms a container of Hunk’s famous pizza roles and a bottle of wine. 

“Hunk insisted I bring some back. He made too many in his last batch so palmed them off on me. I’m not complaining though. Remember how many we’d eat at those coalition meetings?” Pidge began to talk, walking further through the door and hanging up her coat. Lance smirked at her entrance, but didn’t make a sound. The woman continued into the living room, plonking herself down on the sofa. She lifted her hand, highlighting the bottle in her hand.

“Dad brought a bottle of wine for me ‘cause I finished the latest defenders vehicle. I thought we could share it and watch some trashy sci-fi movies and... and... You’re being unusually quiet.” Pidge leant a little closer to him, concern washing over her face. “Are you all right, Lance?”

Lance shifted his weight, running his tongue across his lips as he sat forward. His elbows rested on his knees, hands wringing nervously in front of him. “I-I think we need to talk, Pidge.” He said hesitantly. The woman fidgeted in order to get closer to him, her head lowering to look him in the eye.

“You don’t wanna watch a sci-fi movie? That’s okay you can pick this ti-”

“I’m not on about the movies, Pidge.” 

Pidge fell back onto the sofa, her mouth forming into the shape of a small ‘o’. Lance coughed into his hand, an attempt to calm his growing nerves. “We need to talk about us.” He said softly, glancing across at her. Pidge mimicked his movement, drawing herself closer to him once more. 

“What’s wrong? Is it getting too weird for you?” Hidden in her voice was a hint of pain, a pain that stemmed from pit of her stomach. She may not have been in a relationship before, but she knew that ‘we need to talk’ was never a good thing. She observed as a weak smile formed on Lance’s lips.

Lance felt his chest shudder, and the words began to bubble up out of his throat.

"I've done a lot of thinking... and the thing is I love you." He blurted, his head getting left behind as his lips moved. "I'm in love with you." Lance seemed to correct himself.

Pidge blinked, jaw falling slack. The blush that crept across her cheeks was in no way subtle, hiding her freckles under a deep shade of red. 

Lance inhaled, chewing on his bottom lip before continuing, “It’s not weird. I always thought that it would be weird with the first girl I got involved with after Allura, and I think with anyone else it would have been... but with you, it’s not. It feels right.”

Pidge's stunned silence continued.

“But that’s what terrifies me about it. I don’t want to lose you. You’re my best friend Pidge, and I don’t want to screw up what we have. So I’m a little unsure on what to do...” He sighed, his eyes meeting Pidge’s once again. A weak smile broke on his lips as he noticed her flustered expression. 

Pidge blinked a couple of times, her calm exterior in complete conflict with her inner workings. Several thoughts had fizzled up her spine, drawing her mind to a multitude of different conclusions for this particular conversation. Was he going to end it because loving her scared him? It was hard to tell from the deadpan expression that was situated on his face. Pidge swallowed the nervous bile at the back of her throat.

“Are you saying you want to stop?” Her voice was strained, even she could hear that. Lance bolted upright, holding out his hands.

"What? No-no. I'm absolutely besotted with you... Katie." Lance continued, his brows upturned as he smiled weakly. "So what I'm saying is, if you wanted... it could be something more."

Air flooded Pidge's lungs as she took in a breath, desperately trying to steady her nerves.

She failed.

"I love you too, you utter moron. I have done for quite some time." Pidge snorted. In an instant she burried into his chest, arms thrown lazily around his neck before deepening the embrace. Lance blew a sigh from his nose, the weight trickling off of his shoulders. As they pulled away, Pidge threw her leg over his waist. Now straddling him, she pressed her forehead against his own. Lance's cheeks darkened quicker than she ever thought possible. He let out a nervous chuckle under his breath, arms coming to rest on her waist.

"Looking back, I don't understand why it took seeing your toothbrush and expositioning the shit out of Kalternecker to see tha-

Lance was hushed abruptly by Pidge’s finger on his lip. Her face still retained the nervous blush, yet her smile held sincerity. Lance's pulse rose tenfold in anticipation.

"Will you just kiss me al- wait, did you just say my toothbrush?"

Lance's cheeks heated.

"I'll explain later..."

[plancinginthemoonlight]

A restaurant at the end of the universe.

If Pidge had blinked, she would have missed it.

The blade of the Osterillum bandit was guaranteed to hit her, until a force collided with her left shoulder and forced her to the ground. Dazed, Pidge placed her hand to her temple. Pain clouded her vision for a moment, the world spinning from her head's contact with the ground. Wide amber eyes were met by the sight of Lance on his knees, the bandit sprawled in front of him. Both swords had made contact with flesh, but unlike the bandit's, Lance's sword had pierced the chest.

The green Paladin scrambled to her feet, unaware of the glistening trails that ran down her face.

"Lance you idiot what have you-"

Her lips halted as she finally saw the damage. The iridescent blade protruded from his lower right side, blood slowly seeping through the material of his suit.

"Oh hey, Pidge." He said weakly, grimacing as he tried to look up at her. "Are you all right?"

"Am I all right?!" Pidge hooted, falling to her knees in front of him. She tried to keep her eyes on his face, but couldn't help but be drawn to the wound. "I'm not the one with a sword through me you dummy. Although... I might have been if you hadn't of... y'know."

"Well I couldn't just stand there and watch you get skewered," Lance laughed, hand dancing gently around his side to find the handle of the sword.

"NO!" Pidge yelped, holding out her hands to stop him. "Don't pull it out. Right now that swords the only thing stopping you from bleeding to death." Pidge lifted Lance's arm out if the way to inspect it further, pushing her glasses gently up the bridge of her nose. Lance winced at her touch, throwing his head back so it rested on his shoulders.

"Seems I'm pretty good at aiming with a sword too." He remarked, tilting his head towards the fallen bandit. "Guess you could say I put the 'sharp' in sharpshooter."

Pidge rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile at his comment, peering up at him over the top of her glasses.

"Hilarious. Now come Space Zorro, we need to get you back to the Atlas."

***

The hours seemed to drag past.

In the time it had taken them to reach the Green Lion and fly back to the Atlas, Lance had lost a substantial amount of blood. The journey had all but exhausted Pidge, her having to practically carry Lance part of the way back.

Still, she powered through.

Once they were on the Atlas, a team of medical staff swarmed them, bundling Lance onto a stretcher and rushing him off in the direction of the infirmity. Pidge almost struggled to keep up, her legs aching beneath her as she clung to the side of the stretcher.

On it, Lance's lay still, eyelids fluttering gently. He had passed out not long before they had touched down inside the larger ship, his hand still clutching the hilt of the blade.

Pidge felt her eyelids drooping, reluctantly pulling them back open to look at the Cuban boy.

He was a sorry sight.

His face and suit were spattered with red blood. His own blood. The sword still stuck out of his side at an awkward angle, glinting in the light of the Atlas. All the colour had drained from his face, making him seem almost transparent. 

If they had been on the Castle, he would have already been in a heeling pod. He would already be on the road to recovery. Yet, here on the Atlas, the only thing standing between Lance bleeding to death and guaranteed survival was surgery.

Pidge couldn’t help it. The sight of the unconscious boy had driven the list of probable outcomes into her brain, and they intended to stay there. A cold shudder ran down her back, causing her pace to quicken for just a second. 

What if? What if? What if?

A groan to her right immediately drew Pidge’s attention, her free hand brushing her hair from her face.

The boy crinkled his brow, before his eyelids fluttered again to reveal the recognisable blue eyes. Pidge held her breath, unsure if she what she was actually seeing wasn’t just a hallucination through exhaustion. It wasn’t until his hand lifted to his face that Pidge registered that he was in fact conscious. 

“Pidge?” He muttered quitely, attempting to pull himself upright. The green paladin bolted upright, pawing at her cheeks to catch the beginnings of tears. 

“Hey,” Pidge laughed, a weak smile forming on her lips. She watched as Lance winced at his own movements, only drawing her closer to his side. "Just relax," Pidge sighed, "You need to take it easy. We're on the Atlas now."

“Who you calling easy?” Lance squinted up at her through the artificial light of the room, lips pursed into a grimace. Pidge scoffed at him, pulling herself further away from him.

“How is it that you’ve been awake for 5 seconds and you’ve already annoyed me?” Pidge rubbed her temple, but her lips were parted into a wide smile. 

Lance closed his eyes and breathed slowly, rationing his strength. “It's a gift of mine." He seemed to smirk a little. "How bad is it?" Lance's voice sounded even more hoarse than before.

Pidge felt her chest shake as she let out a light chuckle, blinking back the damp from her eyes, "you're fine. You're gonna be fine." She insisted. Her tone was so confident that she almost believed it herself.

As they rounded another corner, Pidge recognised that they were seconds away from the infirmary. A pleasant heat bloomed in her chest.

The stretcher was pulled through to a large room, where the doctors began to buzz around them, prepping Lance for surgery.

Pidge stood her ground, still clinging to the stretcher so hard that her knuckles turned pale. She wasn't going anywhere until she new for certain he was certain to pull through.

Pidge knew there was no way she would be allowed in the room during the process, but that wouldn't stop her from becoming plastered to the observation window.

A tall, well built Doctor appeared next to Lance. His sudden presence had startled Pidge, but of course she would never admit it. The green paladin watched studiously as the man inserted a catheter into Lance's arm, the Cuban boy not even flinching. 

“Are you-” The doctor gestured to Pidge’s forehead. The girl frowned lifting her hand to her head. Her fingers came into contact with a small gash on her temple, a trickle of dried blood running from the wound down under her chin.

She had been so preoccupied with Lance that she had failed to notice her own minor injury. 

“I’ll be fine,” Pidge almost shooed the man away, her focus being drawn back to her friend. 

A few moments later, Lance lay with his eyes closed, his breathing laboured. Silence settled over the pair rather quickly, and Pidge suspected that Lance had passed out from the anaesthetic.

Then he sat up again, rather abruptly. This produced a small yelp in the back of Pidge's throat.

"When this has all blown over, I'm going to treat you to dinner at a fancy restaurant."

Pidge felt her brows furrow, before her frown melted away into a contented smile. "Lance, I think the sedative has gone straight to your head." She clasped her hand around his, meeting his gaze as she shook her head.

"Has not." Lance retorted defiantly.

Pidge rolled her eyes again, her smile growing somewhat despite the ache in her chest.

"We're on a huge ship on the edge of deep space. Where do you suppose we're going to find a restaurant?"

Lance laid back and closed his heavy eyes, the anaesthetic finally beginning to hit him. With a weak smile, he interlocked his fingers with the smaller ones.

"Just you wait. So what do you say, Katie?"

Pidge shuddered, a deep heat spreading up from her finger tips to her cheeks. The tingling sensation it brought along with it sat in her eyes, forcing single tears to drip from her eyes.

"I'd be happy to." Pidge whispered. Her free hand found it's way beneath Lance's head, fingers tangled in his matted hair. With it, Pidge pulled herself closer. She craned her neck to reach him, even standing on her tiptoes. Lance's head moved with her, his hooded eyes matched the smile on his face.

Their lips met for a moment, a sigh leaving Lance's lips before the anaesthetic knocked him back, and his head fell limp in Pidge's hand.

"I'll see you soon, Sharpshooter." Pidge said softly, brushing some loose hair from his face before Lance was wheel into the operating theatre.

[plancinginthemoonlight]

Slow dances for Yellow.

Hunk and Shay's wedding turned out to be one of the most spectacular events that Pidge had even had the privilege of attending.

The ceremony took place in a large hall in Hunk's home town, phenomenally decorated to resemble a Balmeran cave. Blue crystals were strung across the room, flickering gently over draped Balmeran tapestries. The rest of the decor was subtle and rustic, perfectly capturing the joining of Hunk's love of home and Shay's Balmeran culture.

Pidge had gaped in awe at Shay's dress, unable to remove her gaze from the pristine silver outfit worn in Balmeran pairing ceremonies. Naturally, Shay had insisted that she be her maid of honour (once hunk had explained the concept to her).

Pidge was thrilled to accept, and spent the months counting down to the day she could celebrate with her friends. She loved the catch ups more than anything, always enthusiastic about learning of her fellow paladins adventures.

Hunk, she kept in regular contact with. He was often giving her advice on her latest scientific endeavour. Keith and Shiro were always sure to call her at least twice a month to check in on her.

But Lance never seemed to call.

Pidge often found herself sat staring at a screen, waiting for his name to reflect into her eyes. There were several occasions where she had called him to no prevail. By the time the wedding rolled around, she hadn't seen his face in over a year.

Upon seeing the Best man during the ceremony, Pidge has sworn her endocrine system had gone into over drive. It was like being 15 again. Lance made her chest flutter inexplicably and her heart unravelled any hope of rational thinking. She never could have predicted that being stood across from him for 30 minutes would require all of her concentration. In that time, Pidge became overwhelmed with a sense of guilt. Lance still wouldn't talk to her.

Had she done something wrong?

Now, the Maid of honour found herself sat alone at a table. The reception was decorated as intricately as the ceremony, even having tiny Balmeran crystals acting as a centre piece on each table. Pidge huffed aloud, fiddling with crystal in front of her. Her head rested in her free hand, eyes scanning the room studiously.

Keith was stood with his mother and several other coalition leaders. In the beginning, Pidge had teased him relentlessly for his ponytail, but now it was starting to grow on her. A light chuckle left her lungs as Pidge's gaze shifted across to Shiro. He was chatting with his husband and her father, clearly about something extremely amusing. Hunk and Shay were currently in the middle of photographs with Shay's family, a vast number of Balmerans gathered around the young couple.

Finally, Pidge let her eyes wander across to the Best man, who like her, was sat alone on a neighbouring table. He had a forlorn look inching it's way across his face. A face still branded with Altean markings. His hands clasped a glass, the contents of which she suspected was not a soft drink.

Pidge felt her head tilt to one side as she continued to study him. The tie of his suit was loose, and his jacket was flung gently over the back of his chair. His eyes were focused on his drink, hooded eyelids adding to his somber expression. Pidge felt the urge to sit with him sneak up on her, and with every sip of her drink, it became a more feasible idea. She was desparate to hear his voice.

"So how long have you been in love with him?"

A voice flooded Pidge's brain, startling her so much that she had to steady herself on her seat. Her head whipped around to the source of the sound. Pidge's eyes met the smiling face of Lance's sister, Rachel.

"What?! No I'm!.. I-I," Pidge spluttered, hearing her own fumbled words fall out of her mouth. A searing heat surged into Pidge's cheeks and made it's way up her brow, worsened only by Rachel's scanning eyes.

"You've been staring like a love struck puppy for 5 minutes."

Lance's sister raised a solitary eyebrow at her, leaning back into the seat she now occupied. Pidge inhaled sharply to compose herself, sitting up straight.

"I don't know what gave you that idea, but I'm certainly not in love with him."

Not anymore.

"Whatever you say," Rachel lifted her hands in surrender, the smug tone in her voice a clear indication that she didn't believe her in the slightest. Pidge swallowed in an attempt to wet her drying throat. If she didn't, her next words would be a creaking sound.

She opened her mouth.

No sound.

Rachel shook her head at Pidge's silence and swung her head across at her younger brother. "He's not happy, I know that. No matter how many times he says he is. The only time I really see him smile is when he's on a call to you guys."

Pidge teased the material of her dress, casting a sideways glance across the Best man. "Actually, Lance has only called me once year. He's barely said a word to me today either. I'm a little worried I've done something wrong." Pidge admitted sheepishly. Rachel blinked a few times, her brows furrowing across at her brother.

"What?"

She stared for a second, before her frown blossomed into a grin. Without another word pidge watched the older woman disappear silently into the crowd on the dance floor. Two seconds later, she caught sight of her whispering to Hunk, both of which brandished a wide grin.

What was she up to?

Pidge felt her shoulders drop as she relaxed again, pushing her glasses onto her forehead to pinch the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she thought, Rachel's question running laps around her brain. "How long?" The words threaded their way into her Limbic system, and made her question every moment she had spent labelling her feelings as a school girl crush.

Love?-

"Okay, all you couples out there, Hunk and Shay require you to make your way to the d.ancefloor." The mic echoed throughout the building, interrupting her bittersweet reverie. Watching as a variety of couples took up their embrace, Pidge's heart sank to the bottom of her torso.

Even Matt was up there with N-7.

In an instant, music filled the air. Pidge's eyes shot open, blinking several times before looking across at the Best man.

She knew this song.

When her eyes focused, she saw that Lance had copied her movements exactly, gaze fixed into her own with a weak smile on his face.

Pidge's heart leapt into her mouth as she involuntarily got to her feet.

"It's Lance, right?" Pidge joked softly, tilting her head. Lance blinked up at her, his look of surprise slowly melting away to one of blissful content.

"What are you doing, Pidge?" He chuckled, lacing his arms across his chest. Pidge shrugged a little. Truth be told, she had no idea what she was doing. One minute she was sat alone wallowing in self pity, the next she found herself by Lance's side, outstretched hand accompanied by a sincere smile.

"Asking if you wanna dance with me I think," Pidge replied, avoiding direct eye contact as best she could. Lance let his eyes roam over the woman in front of him. Her hair was pinned back slightly, revealing her face perfectly. The summer sun had brought out her freckles, just as it usually did. Like all the other bridesmaids, she was wearing a pale yellow dress. The dress was made of soft material, hugging a figure Lance didn't know she had. When his eyes centred, he noticed her hand waiting impatiently.

"For old time's sake." He nodded, taking her hand and letting himself be led out to the crowd.

Moments later, Pidge had one hand rested on Lance's shoulder, fingers teasing the material of his shirt. Her other was held by Lance's. His other hand was placed gently onto her waist, just as cautiously as he had done when they had danced beneath the Red Lion to the very same song. Similarly, the hand on her hip guided Pidge as they began to sway in time to the familiar music.

Every breath that Pidge took made her chest shudder.

Being this close to Lance after all that time was making her head swim, exaggerated by the fact she could feel the heat of his body through his shirt. Pidge let her eyes fall onto Lance's face, drinking in all the details she could. A deep pain drove it's way through her chest once she noticed his Altean marks once again. A permanent reminder of his love for Allura.

A love that broke her heart every day.

"You can still dance pretty well," Lance teased, dragging Pidge back into reality. The woman's body jolted a little at the surprise, but soon enough a smile tugged at her lips.

"I learnt from the best," Pidge replied, letting her head sway to the music. "Besides, it's not like I could forget how to dance after the way you taught me." Pidge said softly, looking up into Lance's eyes.

"That seems like such a long time ago," Lance smiled, twirling Pidge around and catching her by her waist. Her long dress fluttered around her ankles, making her almost tumble back into his arms.

"It was 17 years ago Lance,"

The pair chuckled to themselves for a moment, Pidge letting her head rest against Lance's shoulder.

"Has it really been that long?" Lance replied, voice wavering at the back of his throat. Pidge lifted her head to look up at him, her brows creasing at the deadpan expression plastered on his face. Once Lance noticed her look of concern, a weak smile broke on his lips. "Sorry, I just..." he started, "I thought everything would be different for me at this age you know?"

Pidge stared breathlessly up at him, concern washing from her face to be replaced with a look of intrigue.

"I always thought by 34 I'd be happily married with kids, possibly be a commander or something like that." He continued, his brows fluctuating. Pidge replied almost too quickly.

"You can still have all those thing Lance," she said gently, exhaling as their eyes met once more. The man shook his head, gaze falling to the floor.

"I don't think so, Pidge. No woman will ever give me a second look once I explain these markings, even if I am devilishly handsome and hilarious," he joked.

Pidge swallowed hard, trying to keep her feelings in her throat. Unfortunately, she failed and the words that had been bubbling up spilled out of her lips.

"Maybe you just need to find a woman who understands them, and can look past them because she knows the man underneath." she blurted, inhaling sharply as a frown rolled over Lance's face.

"And where am I supposed to find a woman like that?"

An awkward silence dusted over the pair as Lance looked down at their embrace. Pidge chewed on the inside of her lip, her eyes slowly scanning the surrounding couples in an attempt to hide her redening cheeks. Shiro and his husband were dancing across from them, and Hunk spun Shay around before catching her gently.

To lift the awkwardness, Pidge's mouth decided to function without input from her brain.

"Can I ask you something?" Pidge said tentatively, keeping her gaze focused on their surroundings. Lance nodded, leaning his head in to catch her gaze again. Pidge steadied her breathing, "Why have you barely spoken to me this year?"

Lance's brows furrowed slightly, blue eyes scanning across her face. Pidge could practically see the coggs turning. Several silent moments dragged past, before Lance eventually opened his mouth.

"I'm so sorry Pidge," he murmured, avoiding eye contact for a few ticks. "I should have called you. There's not a single excuse that would make up for this. I should have appreciated everyone more, especially you. It's just..." Lance moved his hand further up Pidge's waist, pulling her a little bit further into his personal space.

"It's just what?" Pidge pushed, leaning her head back to look into his eyes once more.

There was a pause.

"It's just... conversations can be hard for me sometimes." Lance admitted. Pidge sighed heavily, giving him the most pitiful look she could muster without chuckling.

""It's only a conversation Lance, it's not rocket science."

Pidge watched Lance's face split into a wide grin, soon followed by his signature eyebrow lift, "With you... it sometimes is."

A warm feeling bloomed inside Pidge's chest as she watched the man in her arms laugh along with her. She hadn't seen Lance laugh in so long, it made her eyes haze over. With a gentle sigh, Pidge rested her head back against Lance's chest as they swayed.

I've missed this so much.

"I have to admit, I was a little shocked that you asked me to dance," Lance continued to speak, moving the pair in a slow circle as they danced. Pidge kept her head pressed against Lance's chest, taking in every minute detail. The smell of his cologne, the feel of his shirt, the sound of his heart beat. She was so lost in thought, she'd almost missed what he'd said.

"Why?"

Lance tilted his head as he caught Hunk's eye. The groom had an enormous smile splitting his face, and if possible, it grew even wider when he noticed his dancing friends. He mouthed something inaudible across at Lance, who rolled his eyes lazily in reply before turning his attention back to Pidge.

"I thought you would have asked your date." At this, Pidge reluctantly lifted her head, a slight frown on her brow.

"I didn't come with a date..." She answered, peering up at the man in bewilderment.

Lance blinked back at her, "What happened to the Olkari guy you were dating? I thought it was going well..." Lance leant forward, pressing their bodies flush together for a moment. Pidge teased the hair on the back of her neck, grimacing somewhat.

"It was, but he..." she seemed to struggle with the words that rolled around in her head. "We weren't as good together as I thought. Besides, he didn't even like Playing Killbot phantasm 26 with me." She laughed at herself, glancing up at her friend. The pitiful look on Lance's face made her gut twist.

"He must be mad not to. I always loved that face you made when you concentrated." Lance smiled to himself. Pidge's cheeks flushed immediately, making her run her tongue across her bottom lip. Then, as if it was some involuntary response, Pidge mimicked the face he was referring to. Her brows were scrunched as low as her muscles would allow, and her tongue poked out the corner of her mouth.

Lance's eyes widened along with the grin on his face, which soon cracked open as a hearty chuckle erupted from his mouth. He felt a light heat dust over his cheeks as he continued to laugh, worsened only when Pidge too began to laugh at herself. It started off as a chuckle, her forehead pressed onto his shoulder, but soon grew louder. As the music drew to a close, they became the only ones on the dancefloor, laughing at one another as they often did as teenagers.

They had missed this.

Pidge wasn't sure if it was pride or bile that she swallowed, either way it made her stomach churn. She filled her lungs with a deep breath, fighting against the quiver in her lips.

"Lance..." She started, hearing the waver in her own voice. The man peered down at her, his lips still holding the remnants of his smile. "Would it be completely out of line to ask if you wanna grab a coffee some time?"

Lance's face gradually became a perfect mix of shock and intrigue, processing his friend's request. His stomach filled to the brim with nervous butterflies, all of which seemed to be trying to climb up his throat. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, yet stopped when he shifted his sight onto Pidge's eyes.

The amber gaze melted so easily into his own, her eyes twinkling in the crystal light. He was sure he felt his heart skip several beats. Without a second thought, his answer left his mouth.

"Pidge..."

Breathe.

"I'd love to."

[plancinginthemoonlight]

Bonus ending for The Queen of Wishful Thinking

(Here)

Nausea.

That was the first thing to hit Pidge when she awoke the next morning. A dull ache occupied the back of her skull and she was accutely aware of how dry her tongue was.

Diagnosis: hangover.

Pidge groaned as she shifted onto her side, taking a great deal of care not to upset her stomach unnecessarily. Her movement drew her attention to something unusual, her brows creasing as felt her bare legs in contact with the duvet.

Pidge's frown deepened as she cautiously peered under the cover. To her surprise, she discovered she wasn't wearing her pyjama bottoms, her plain knickers just visible underneath...

Lance's jumper?

A snort left Pidge's nose as she sat up, suddenly realising that she wasn't in the bed she had been assigned the night before. She was in fact laying on an air bed in Shiro's spare room, which had a surprisingly nice view of what looked to be a pile of pillows at the bottom of the bed next to her.

Much to the dismay of her head, Pidge propped herself up on her elbows, narrowing her eyes as they scanned the room. She breathed a sigh of reliefs upon seeing her glasses occupying the bedside table, carefully slipping them over her nose.

Giving her eyes time to adjust, Pidge was almost startled by the sound of a voice to her left.

"Morning." Lance yawned, rubbing his eyes blearily. "How's the head?"

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to piece together what exactly had happened the night before. "My head's been better," Pidge's eyes flitted between herself and Lance, brows raised to an almost impossible place on her forehead. "We didn't..." She gestured with a wince.

"What? No, no." Lance laughed, he too sitting up in bed. "You went skinny dipping. I tried to get you to put your clothes back on but you weren't having any of it. You eventually settled for my shirt after I went in the water to get you."

"Oh god..." Pidge clutched the side of her head, barely able to look Lance in the eye. "And the pillows?"

The Cuban man snorted, shaking his head. "You wanted to build a fort."

"Ah... I'm so sorry you had to see that Lance." She said, voice cracking in the back of her throat. A gentle breeze floated in through the open window, allowing sunlight to pool as the curtains fluttered. Pidge squinted hard, the intense light making her eyes sting.

Note to self: NEVER drinking again.

"It's alright Pidge, I'd rather have seen that than let you drown." Lance added, before patting the spot on the bed next to him. "Wanna watch some TV before breakfast?"

Pidge nodded reluctantly as she clambered onto the bed, the room spinning a little bit less than it had before. Pulling the duvet over them both, Lance began to search for the TV remote.

"I swear I put it right he-" his words caught in his throat as his hand collided with Pidge's, her warm skin causing his pulse to jump to an impractical speed. The touch was held along with eye contact for a few seconds, weak smiles appearing below reddened cheeks.

"I-er," Lance spluttered, the blush now spreading up to the very tips of his ears. He couldn't fight the pull in his chest any longer.

Lance felt himself leaning into her, staring breathlessly down at Pidge's lips. With every moment they drew closer, and he was almost certain his heart was going to faulter in his chest. Pidge's body was having almost the same reaction, her lungs refusing to function. A lump of anticipation lodged itself into her throat, making every attempt to breathe fruitless.

When their lips finally met, Pidge heard herself involuntarily sigh. Hot tears settled in the corners of her eyes, but they were squeezed so tightly that there was no threat of the tears escaping. Lance's lips were so soft. Clearly his beauty routine had paid off. For a moment they remained frozen, unsure of their next move. That was until Lance lifted his hand, burring his fingers into Pidge's hair. She shuddered at his touch, her own hand clasping onto Lances outstretched arm. Lance's lips parted, deepening the kiss. Pidge accepted this gladly, feeling herself move closer to him. Her free hand wrapped itself around his neck, allowing her to close the gap between them.

They pulled away with a heavy sigh, foreheads pressed together as their chests moved in unison. Lance couldn't stop smiling, his eyes locked into the amber ones across from him. For a moment, all that could be heard was their shallow breathing. That was until Lance witnessed the blush on Pidge's face turn pale.

"Please don't take what I'm about to do as a comment on what just happened." Pidge blurted, quickly clamping her hand across her mouth before dashing in the direction of the bathroom.