A Month of Truth: Narrated by Lance and Pidge (Chapter 1)
VOICEOVER #1:
Pidge Gunderson here.
This month has been freAKING HELL. It's been so confusing and hormonal that the princess and Shiro made me do this damn video documentary about it. To reflect or something.
I'm telling this from two sides of the story. Lance's and mine. I don't know when that idiot is joining me to do this, but when he does...let's just say that you'll know.
Hey, Pidge!
Oh my god, Lance, no, go away-mmphf!
You liked that.
Shut-shut up-! Okay, now, I'm making this narrative to tell the truth, and complete truth about the events happening over a single month.
Let's go!
Coming!
VOICEOVER #1-END
~~~
DAY 1:
"LANCE!"
Pidge's voice is unexpectedly loud as she cleanly sweeps under the legs of a soldier, hooking his legs with her grappling hook and pulling him clean out.
Lance, the intended target, breathes a sigh of relief. He dusts himself off, flashing a familiar smile Pidge's way.
It's a nice smile.
"Thanks, Pidgeon-"
Pidge, distracted, nearly doesn't notice the swinging blade aiming for Lance's neck.
"Watch out!"
Her swift hands snatch out, grabbing Lance's chest from behind and yanking him towards her, his back pressing against her chest.
Pidge kicks the solider away, electrocuting him with her bayard and grabbing Lance's hand.
"Come on!" she shouts, yanking him and taking off at breakneck speed, racing through mazes of modern looking blue-black coloured buildings, the bright pink sky casting its colour to the society below.
Pidge can't help but marvel at the sight of the technology as she runs, but saddens at the thought that Lotor and his dear ol' dad Zarkon destroying the place. Lotor and Allura had both targeted Galaxor, a famously wealthy and prosperous planet, at the same time. The difference was that one sought an alliance and the other sought invasion and takeover.
Lance grips onto her hand tight, lanky fingers clutching hers with an unexpected strength.
"I wonder how Hunk and Allura are doing," Lance muses aloud, casually slinging a shot at a wayward Galra (obviously, it's a perfect headshot) as they continue their race, taking him out with no problem.
He and Pidge were obviously going to find Lotor first. The plan was that the three pairs, the third being Shiro and Keith, would set off to locate Lotor and wait for the rest to arrive.
With someone as amazing as Pidge, how could they not get there first?
"-and I hope Shiro or Allura have already gotten there," Pidge finished, not realising that Lance was staring at her and not listening at all. He shakes his head, blinking to wake himself up.
"Nah, Pidgeon, we're going to get there first!" Lance teases. Pidge squints, curling her upper lip. Seriously, this doofus never had any humility whatsoever, did he?
"We don't even know where he is!" Pidge whisper-hisses, shooting him a glare.
Pidge tries not to stare at Lance, grinning as flirtatiously as he does to other pretty girls, most of the time. Pidge knows that to her, it is directed as a joke and a friendly tease. And yeah, she's accepted that for a long time now. It's fine.
Truthfully, she'd say Lance McClain's eyes see only the surface. Nothing else.
"Come on Pidgeon, this way!"
What?
Pidge doesn't let Lance tug her away, rooting herself firmly to the spot.
"Why this way?" she asks, directing a finger in their (read: Lance's) desired direction of travel.
"I can smell fabulous shampoo."
...what?
"Lotor uses amazing shampoo?"
"Obviously, he seems like the kind of man. I'm guessing he has such luscious hair, but obviously not better than mine," Lance preens, nearly stuffing his hair in Pidge's face. Unyielding, Pidge smacks him away and actually starts heading in the direction, hunched back and bent legs.
"Ooh, Pidge actually-"
"Shhh..."
Pidge carefully places a finger on Lance's lips, very effectively shutting him up. He freezes, making no sound, Â the only difference being the light tinge of pink on his cheeks.
Suddenly, Lance is yanked down, hidden underneath a large structure with Pidge.
"-and I'm sure Voltron will be here any minute."
Lance and Pidge share a look.
PIDGE: Shit, is that Lotor?
LANCE: I mcfuckin' knew it.
PIDGE: what?!
LANCE: Look at his goddamned hair. Man could have come straight out of a Pantene ad-
Pidge breaks the stare to get a better look at Lotor while quietly typing in commands, calling the rest of Team Voltron to the very same place. And damn, Lance was actually right, the silky white hair was astounding.
"I have a feeling they're almost here! And I can't wait to crush them in my terrifying hands!" Zethrid cheers, voice unusually exuberant. Acxa sighs, paired with giggles from Ezor.
"Zeth, that's not what we're here for," she reminds, with the calm patience is a mother. Zethrid kind of pouts, but shrugs it off apathetically.
"I could crush them with no problem, thereby destroying Voltron, but you guys never let me!"
It was chilling, because it was almost like they were being lured into a trap. But no, it couldn't have been, because now that Pidge and Lance knew what was going on, that wouldn't be the case.
Message from: Princess Allura
PIDGE, START ATTACKING, WE'RE LITERALLY RIGHT BEHIND YOU
Message from: Keith Kogane
WE'RE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. READY, TEAM?
Lance readies his bayard, an admittedly beautiful sniper rifle, his hand accidentally covering the top of Pidge's when she reaches for hers.
Pidge, surprised, nearly freezes, Lance seeming to return the same face.
It's just the brush of a hand, something that has literally never affected her. What the hell was happening now?
She wakes up when she hears Keith and Shiro springing into battle, Shiro immediately going for Lotor and Keith fighting Acxa, the formidable general battling the paladin's ruthless attacks with cunning, clever moves. Hunk literally barrel-rolls in, firing his bayard at the feet of the generals in an attempt to knock them off their feet. Allura, determined for victory this time, slashes her iridescent whip Zethrid's way.
Lance pulls Pidge up, gripping her arm.
"Come on!"
Lance doesn't run as far in as Pidge does, Pidge immediately choosing to tackle Narti. Who better to tackle the smartest than the smartest?
Pidge needs to figure out how someone who clearly doesn't have means of vision can see so well. Maybe she's aware of her surroundings?
Quickly, she dashes towards her, slamming her grappling hook out to catch her in the stomach.
Or at least, she wanted it to catch Narti in the stomach, but more like Narti caught it and sent it back to Pidge's stomach.
"...oof," Pidge mutters, not bothering to dust herself off.
Narti may have gotten the first hit, but she sure as hell won't get the last.
The atmosphere is filled with sounds of battle, fiery raging heat, the area destroyed and plundered by missed gun shots (dammit, Lance!) and stabs of sword (dammit, Keith!).
Pidge knows that getting in too close might be a bad idea. But even seemingly-random but actually carefully-placed strikes don't deter her, and never hit her, as she blocks every single one with ease.
So instead, she aims to strike her with the hook, quickly sliding under and hooking onto her leg. Much to her disappointment, Narti doesn't fall on her goddamn face like she wanted, but it's enough, the fact that she stumbles.
All of a sudden, Narti grips her hook, violently pulling Pidge towards her. Pidge is caught between the unmakeable decision of losing her bayard or possible danger.
And then, before she can process it, a tail is wrapped around her neck and her breath cut off.
Pidge doesn't struggle, saving her breath as it is slowly squeezed out of her, looking at Narti. Where is the one place she didn't hit?
"PIDGE!"
Lance expertly hits Narti's tail, causing her to drop Pidge and the bayard in surprise. In retribution, her tail snaps out, hitting Lance in the face.
Pidge pauses, nearly gawping stupidly at the sharpshooter, now clutching his mouth with one hand and sniping with the other, somehow, that may have just saved her stupid, stupid life. She has to will herself not to smile and stop at him.
Wait, what? Friendly smile. Friendly smile.
"Pidge!"
Voltron and the Generals plus Lotor break apart, the two sides pausing for a moment and staring at each other venomously.
Pidge doesn't miss the scratch on Lance's cheek.
"Come on, Pidge!"
Lance is the one grabbing her hand this time, the team accidentally separating back into pairs to flee the formidable general team. God, where the hell had Lotor found such badass, awesome generals?!
Lance and Pidge, running on adrenaline, sprint away, heart pounding, feet hitting the ground hard.
They don't follow their previous path, navigating and twisting through a city like a maze, with no way to guide themselves. Damn, they were going to have fun finding their way back later, weren't they?
Lance, watching behind them for Galra soldiers, notices Pidge squinting at him.
"What? You need better glasses?" Lance asks, leaning in to Pidge and adjusting her askew glasses for her, not noticing the gentle pink that tinges her cheeks, nor the unusually surprised expression. She frowns, brow creasing.
"Maybe. These are my brother's, so maybe they messed up my vision or something," she muses, swatting Lance's hand away. But amidst the distraction...
A swish of purple.
A spot of red.
A blur of silvery-white.
Prince Lotor and his general Ezor.
"Is this blue and green?" Lotor asks, tinge of an annoyingly amused smile on his face. Lance nearly opens his mouth to protest that, but Pidge stops him. No sense letting Lotor know more than he already does.
"Yeah, Prince Pantene," Pidge rolls her eyes, folding her hands behind her back, fingers slowly and surreptitiously closing around her bayard. Lance isn't quite as secretive, immediately aiming and shooting at Lotor.
With the speed of light, Lotor leans to the side, the bullet scraping through his hair, charring a little bit black.
"Take that, Lo-butt!" Lance howls. Pidge smacks him, whipping out her bayard and going in swinging.
Pidge swings one leg out, nearly tripping Ezor, who darts away nimbly and grins.
"Hi, sweeties!"
Ezor gracefully and powerfully swings her leg at Lance's head, which he barely dodges, leaving Pidge free to aim a hit at Lotor himself. He doesn't move, raising an eyebrow.
Goddamn the height difference.
Lotor doesn't brandish a sword, doesn't pull out a knife. Instead, he brings out a small vial of sparkling turquoise liquid, looking tiny in his large hands.
Pidge charges straight towards him, using the taser in her bayard. Lotor moves to the side, but Pidge cleverly sidesteps and jabs the bayard fiercely into Lotor's chest, sending shock waves through the Galran Prince.
Ezor stops, stunned, quickly grabbing the vial from Lotor's hand and jabbering something to him in Galran, Pidge and Lance assume. Then, she gets up, throwing the same sunny smile (perhaps hiding layers of murderous rage) to them and slowly uncorking the vial, twist by twist.
Lotor slowly gets up, smiling.
"Paladins, I didn't come here to hurt you. I don't even want to touch you, no matter how much you may want me to fight, Green Paladin," he says, voice as charming and smooth as his hair.
Pidge stands ready to fight, arm brushing Lance's, who stands slightly in front of Pidge, one arm stretched across her.
Protective, much?
Suddenly, Ezor throws out her arm, the blue-green liquid splashing Lance and Pidge in the chest, evaporating and leaving a twinkling mist behind.
Lance's heart tremors, beats, thumps. He shakes, feeling some kind of energy pulse through his body, feeling every blood vessel filled with something tingling his nerves, up to his brain. Surely Pidge must feel the same.
Hell, did Lotor just drug them, make them high? Stoned? Is this the alien version of crack?
Blinded, Lance and Pidge stumble around, arms splaying out and trying not to hit the other.
But when they open their eyes what seems like an eternity later, Lotor and Ezor are gone.
~~~
"You should be all right, as in no changes in terms of bodily parts, mental ability, and gender," Coran rambles off, squinting at a written list in his hand. "But I'm not sure what the intended effect was."
Pidge and Lance glance at each other, sitting next to each other on the sofa. Coran's medical testing didn't seem quiet professional if he wasn't sure of the effects. Pidge debated on whether to try and run her own tests. Even the rest of the team, seated in various places on the large span of sofa, look worried. It would be extremely bad timing if they decided to die.
"We just have to wait and see, then?" Lance asks.
"Maybe it'll help Lance finally be able to charm girls," Pidge cockily whispers, leaning in to Lance confidently, sipping on her juice as a show. Lance chokes on air, eyes bulging wide, turning to Pidge with an incredulous look.
"Uh, um, I get girls just fine," Lance sasses, raising one eyebrow. Keith rolls his eyes the minute he sees Lance turning to Allura, who already starts getting up and leaving at the sight. Pidge smirks happily.
"Ha."
Annoyed, Lance pouts, rebelliously swinging his legs onto Pidge's lap and placing his head on the sofa like he had many times before. Allura laughs, the laugh tinkling gently. She sits back down, patting Lance on the head as she does so jokingly, making the whole group burst into laughter.
"Aww, I'm sorry Lance, but we've got bigger things to worry about. Say, the spell that Lotor and Ezor cast on you?" Allura asks. "Any ideas?"
A spell? That could be a lot of things. Could be an 'act crazy in front of your group' spell, a 'lose all bodily functions' spell, could be a 'throw up every time you eat spell...' it sounds extremely cliche to Pidge, but everything is really up to time to reveal. After all, it has been a few hours since Ezor first dumped the sparkly, painful misty liquid on them, and so far nothing had happened.
But...
Normally Pidge enjoys just sitting quietly, working while dropping the occasional snarky comment at Lance or something. But now, Pidge feels different, like she wants to talk all the time, like she has an energy flowing through her at all times.
"Maybe it's a 'get the Princess to fall for my charms' spell," Lance suggests, winking. Pidge groans inaudibly, rolling her eyes at the side and tilting her lap to slide Lance's legs off.
"Hey!"
"Look, I know you've got sculpted and admittedly nice long legs, but I don't need them on my lap," Pidge states, brushing off her lap.
Wait.
Freeze.
...what the hell?!
"...uh, Pidge, you do know what you just said, right?" Hunk checks in after an uncomfortably long silence, leaning in with an apprehensive and surprised face that everyone seemed to be wearing. Lance, legs dangling off the sofa now, nearly turns around to hide his face from the bunch.
Did Pidge just admit that he has nice legs?
"...yes, yes I did."
"You just said Lance has nice long legs. You never say he has nice anything."
Hunk stares at Pidge, amazed.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking it, even if I'm not saying it."
Like how I was thinking that Allura is sometimes too uptight, or how Shiro's new haircut actually looks really weird," Pidge shrugs, looking as if she has more to say.
Oh god.
Did she just admit...?
Pidge claps her hand over her mouth, tapping her toes rapidly, eyes darting to and fro from a random place to Lance, then to another random place and back to Lance.
"Lance, are you hearing this?" Allura kind of giggles, the little glint in her eye an indicator of her thoughts, not even affected by Pidge's statement.
"Of course I am. And Shiro, your eyeliner is looking a bit off today, a little thin, isn't it? Awesome though. "
Shiro self-consciously looks in a mirror.
Keith, looking between the unusually but understandably hyper stressed Pidge and the very, very flustered Lance, starts to gain an idea of what exactly was playing out.
"Lance, what are your thoughts on this?" he asks, smirking at Allura, who returns the expression. Shiro, blur, doesn't understand.
"I'm very flattered." Lance, flattered? Once in a lifetime. "I'm very flattered that a pretty girl would say that to me."
It's Pidge's turn to go red, blush, smile sheepishly, look away. What the hell was going on, she didn't know.
But then, all of a sudden, Hunk turns to Pidge with a look that she also sees in Allura and Keith, and suddenly survival instinct kicks in for the blue-green pair who immediately jet off, speeding away from thr evil perpetrators, Â who are ot in pursuit.
"God, haven't we done enough running for today?" Pidge groans out, stopping outside her door, Lance right beside her.
"How do you think I got these legs?" he questions. Then, he smiles stupidly, grinning at Pidge. "Just kidding."
"Naturally, obviously." Pidge smacks herself again, groaning into her hand and sliding her back down the outside of her room door.
"I think I know what Lotor did to us," they both say in unison, eyes equally as terrified, breaths heavy, hands shaky. They laugh for a moment, rambling about jinxing, and how it's fun but stupid. Nervous rambling and laughter.
Pidge takes in a deep breath at some point, finally saying what she'd suspected since the couch.
"I think we've been hit by a truth spell."
"...well, shit."
---
DAY 2:
Lunch is supposed to just be lunch, not 'truth or truth'. Lance just wants to eat the goddamn food goo and go hang with Hunk and Pidge, goddammit!
"This food goo gets crappier each time I eat it," Lance muses, without even a tinge of annoyance. Coran raises an eyebrow, squinting his eyes.
"I'm sorry, young man, does it look like we have any other form of sustenance suitable for your human species?" Coran folds his lips, looking at Lance.
Pidge, quietly, mumbles "Kaltenecker."
"Sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you," Hunk asks from beside Pidge, his breakfast already finished. Pidge reddens right before screaming KALTENECKER!
"Pidge, you want to kill our baby?!" Lance clutches his heart, looking despondently at Pidge.
"It's a stupid cow, I just wanted the game."
"But-!"
"Well, Paladins!" Allura cuts in, smiling. "I've got some news."
"If it's another diplomatic whatever, I'm going to barf the food goo," Lance declares.
"Don't!" Hunk exclaims, instinctively moving away from Lance and away from the table. Coran looks like he's about to slam his face into the food goo.
"If you're going to puke, do it on either Keith's mullet or Shiro's new hair, because those are in dire need of destruction." Pidge doesn't even look up or try to make it sound sarcastic.
"I swear to god, this truth spell can be really funny when I manipulate it, but I'm praying that it goes away today!" Keith groans, yells, slams his face on the table.
"Damn, Keith, you're awesome and all but that's too much," Lance says, voice fluctuating with surprise.
"Wait, what did you just say? About me? Like what you think about me?" Keith checks, leaning in. Lance pales, looking like he really is going to throw up his food goo. Instead, he throws up the truth in angrily and quickly screamed words.
"YOU'RE AWESOME, LIKE IN FIGHTING AND PILOTING AND HOLY CRAP I'M ONLY ANNOYING TOWARDS YOU BECAUSE I'M PRETTY JEALOUS," Lance screams, immediately shoving his fist in his mouth immediately after. Pidge and Hunk burst out into laughter, Lance grimacing and covering his face in between them.
Pidge supposes that Keith is the catalyst to manipulating their truth spell, because all of a sudden they get bombarded with stupid questions, including the following:
"Who's the paladin you would most likely date?"
"Myself!"
"Describe me in your opinion!"
"You're hot. And awesome. And like really cool," Lance answers. "Wear eyeliner more often, Shiro. And yeah, Keith needs more eyeliner to reflect the darkness in his heart," he adds as an afterthought. Shiro, hopeful, shoots Keith his best puppy eyes.
"Don't even think about it."
"Guys!" Allura feigns slapping her palm on the table, scaring them into effective silence. "I haven't spoken yet!"
"Well, actually, you kind of have-"
"Hunk, shh!"
"I've organised a diplomatic banquet to be held in the Castle with the citizens of Galaxor," Allura proclaims. Lance nearly opens his mouth to protest, but one look from Allura (and the fact that her hand was wrapped around a spoon laden with goo and aimed at him) was enough to shut him up.
"A ball? As in dancing, ballgowns, the like?" Hunk questions, taking Lance's goo and cheekily polishes it off.
"Yes! You all will be expected to charm the Galaxorians and persuade them to join our coalition," Allura puts in, looking way too happy about the whole thing. Maybe it was because she finally got to hold a ball again since the last disastrous one.
"Dresses? I miss wearing those," Pidge says nonchalantly, looking at Allura as if interested for once. Lance blinks, cutely tilting his head to the side as if confused.
"A dress?" he echoes. Lance's mind flies off, imagining pre-Garrison Pidge decked up and dressed up in a purple dress, long hair let down and decorated with a purple hairband. Just like the picture she kept with her, of her and Matt.
And oh god, in that moment, Lance prays Keith or Hunk doesn't give him a Pidge themed pop quiz right now, or the words he would spill out may not be completely table-appropriate.
Meanwhile, Shiro nearly has an aneurysm from the pure volume of Allura's sudden screech, high-pitched and piercing and so very not-Allura.
"Do you want a dress Pidge? Oh, I've got a few of my old ones i think you can wear? There's some purple, and some green that would match your armour," Allura rattles off, counting off her fingers, eyes trailing upwards. Pidge blanches, getting up and leaving the table.
"Wait, Pidge!" Allura calls, getting up. Lance, meanwhile, darts up and follows Pidge, who he assumes was on the trail to her room.
Damn, why is Pidge so fast? Even with those short (and nice) legs of hers, she could probably outpace the tall Lance with ease.
"Pidge?"
He knocks softly on the door. No reply. Lance slowly pushes the door open, inching in little by little.
Pidge sits in the center of her bed, hands clutching the same small portrait she always carries around like a lucky charm. Damn, Pidge was like his lucky charm. Honestly. Where she was, good things happened. How many times exactly had she saved his life today alone?
"Pidge?"
She adjusts her glasses, looking up at Lance curiously, not even a tinge annoyed or surprised at his appearance.
"What?" she asks, her eyes going back to the portrait. Lance, after a gentle nod from Pidge, sits down beside her and relaxes.
"Just checking you were okay," Lance explains, peering over Pidge's shoulder, cheek to cheek with her, just to get a decent glance at the portrait.
Pidge never looked happier than there. It kind of sucks, knowing how hard it is to make Pidge happy, but Lance doesn't care. Pidge should be happy.
"It's so uncomfortable, this whole truth spell thing. It feels like an invasion of privacy, yanno?" Pidge purses her lips, the little space between her eyebrows creasing in displeasure. Lance grimaces, patting his shoulder to let her lean on it.
They had the perfect height difference, didn't they?
"It totally is. Keith is so having fun through this thing," Lance huffs, chuckling and patting Pidge, while relaxes and breathes out at his gentle touch.
"It's only been around two days and i can't really take it anymore. I didn't want to bring up dresses, it hurts because I would wear them while Matt was around. Now...it brings back memories. And oh god, I'm ranting, i can't even choose what I want to say!"
Pidge tenses up, every part of her face scrunching up, eyebrows narrowing in annoyance. This prompts Lance for another round of patting, stroking Pidge's hair gently. It looked a little longer than the last time he'd petted it.
"We can ask Coran to give us a diagnosis at some point. He'll probably do better now that he knows what's going on," Lance soothes. It feels weird for him, being the one providing logic. Usually this whole situation was the other way around; Pidge would be left brain and Lance the right. Strange.
"Yeah..." Pidge mumbles.
"Are you sleepy? Want an afternoon nap? " Lance asks. Well, no crap, because her eyelids droop and face relaxes. Pidge nods almost imperceptibly.
"I'm not a damn kindergartener...but a nap sounds good."
Lance wraps an arm around her, letting her lie on his shoulder, soon falling asleep.
Pidge gets stressed easier than she would like to show, admittedly, and this was a case of it.
Maybe she was embarrassed that she said Lance looked good?
Oh god, Lance suddenly realises and comprehends that Pidge thinks he's attractive (in some way). Oh god.
How lucky was he, after all?
With all kind of thoughts of these sorts shifting and twisting and morphing through his head, Lance is soon subdued to sleep, the two falling back on the bed.
---
VOICEOVER #2:
Lance here.
I didn't think Pidge was taking this very well on the first day, honestly. Neither was I, frankly, but it just kept spiraling worse from there for her.
Yanno, she's so good at keeping secrets and all that? She managed to hide her gender and relation to Matt and Captain Holt for how long, again?
I think this month was the first time she found herself in a place where the truth was the only option available.
And I think maybe she wanted to kill Lotor even more after this. Haha.
Lance, come back?
I'm doing the second voice-over.
Oh, okay. Want me to check over the recording?
Oh-um-crap-no!
DAY 6:
"PIDGE!"
Lance, as usual seeking to make a dramatic entrance, sashays into the common room with an unusual-wait, scratch that, normal-amount of confidence.
"Whaaaaaat," Pidge groans, lying down on her stomach on the sofa. She slips her headphones off, tilting her laptop screen slightly down. Hunk, asleep on the sofa, completely ignoring Lance.
"Ask me any question that I ordinarily would not be able to answer," Lance requests loudly, puffing his chest. "Coran said the spell should be gone by now, so this is my way of testing it."
Lance wanted a question? Well, Pidge supposes that what she was going to ask would either work out really well or really terribly for her.
"Is that really a good idea, Lance?" Shiro raises an eyebrow judgmentally. "You might end up revealing something you might not want to."
Lance shrugs.
"Honesty is a virtue, right?"
So far, today, Pidge has tried her best not to talk to people and to not let them talk to her. No communication equals no revealed truths, right?
Actually, she'd been using the same strategy for the past five days; wear headphones, work on Matt's case, take off for Allura or Keith's speeches. So far, with the peace that came with their battle with Lotor on Galaxor, the strategy had been working surprisingly well.
Lance, meanwhile, had been using this as an opportunity to comment a lot more than he usually did, this time with an excuse of honesty.
"Shiro, I need eyeliner lessons. You're a goddamn queen, you know that? You'd been god-level if you go back to the undercut, though."
"Keith, I'm really sorry, but you need to change that hideous jacket."
"I'm going to be honest, you're gorgeous and awesome Allura, but you're an awesome friend so let's keep it at that."
Allura's reaction had been more of 'like I was going to change that relationship status'. Pidge had definitely been surprised at that random outburst.
Lance flirting with Allura was like half of his identity by now (in Pidge's brain, that was. The other half was Lance flirting with random alien girls and a few guys scattered across the galaxies they visited).
"Name the person you'd most like to kiss in the room," Pidge delivers to Lance, grinning snidely at him.
So what if she may have had a little, teeny crush on the boy? So what if she'd hoped before that the person would be her? A girl could dream, right?
She doesn't expect Lance to struggle with the question, looking as if he had a frog stuck in his throat. Like he can't answer. As if something is stopping it from coming out. Lance doesn't seem to know why either, which immediately draws concern from the whole team.
"I don't know," he answers. "I mean, I physically can't answer that. My throat's not letting me."
Allura side-glances at Coran, who shrugs.
"Don't look at me, I don't know!"
"What do you mean your throat's not letting you?" Pidge asks, eyebrows pushed together, leaning closer to Lance as if studying him like a scientific specimen. "Like you don't want to say it?"
"It's more like the spell isn't forcing me to say it. Which is awesome, because it means it's not working anymore!" Lance cheers, happy.
Pidge isn't so sure.
The spell seemed to still be having some effect, but what? Lance was hiding something. How could his self-diagnosis change from 'being stopped from saying it' to 'stopping himself from saying it?'
Pidge isn't so sure.
She isn't going to be dumb like Lance, parade himself in front of the team, shake Hunk awake to celebrate the return of his dishonesty and lies. Maybe Pidge is hiding disappointment, she thinks, as she folds her laptop and stands up. Maybe Pidge is disappointed that she didn't get the answer she was looking for, she thinks, as she slips her headphones on and walks out of the room in silence, comforting music drowning out all other sound.
Maybe Pidge just-just wanted to know what Lance truly thought of her. That if he didn't want even Allura, that maybe he'd want her.
So Pidge, distressed (even if she wouldn't admit it herself) heads to the library, the beautiful library of the Castle, that was definitely underused.
While she strolls amidst the sky-high maze of shelves, decked with the most amazing (and unfortunately, rather disorganised) and informative collection of books Pidge has ever seen, her mind keeps on flashing back to the Garrison. To memories.
Memories where Pidge sees Lance for the first time, immediately noticing that the loud exterior definitely wasn't all there was to him. That he was admittedly good looking, and too tall for her to take, and endearingly charming. These were facts Pidge continually built up the more time she spent with him, despite all the lies she had to throw his way during that time.
She'd liked him, kind of. Pidge prefers to think of it not as a crush, but more of admiring. His sharpshooting, though she would never admit it, was so freaking awesome; he was like a video game character, but real!
But of course, Â she wasn't going to tell anyone about that little secret of hers, for so so many different reasons. Now it was definitely more plausible, but now they were in space, a habitat featuring so many people that Lance would trail after rather than her.
Not because she wasn't good, not because she wasn't good enough. It was simply that she and Lance valued different things in life.
And that is a fact Pidge still struggles to learn and accept.
"Oh?" Pidge's foot nudges a small stack of papers, fallen open on the red carpet floor before her. Pidge stoops to pick it up, curious, the leaves nearly separating and flying away. She sifts through the papyrus-like pages, eyes drawn to one small, ripped sheet.
RECIPE FOR POTENT TRUTH
Add petals from four-petaled clover,
Five drops of water blue,
Drop six tears of a secretive lover,
And may all lie turn true
The rest of the poem is ripped off, a bare minimum of scribblings visible on the bottom ripped edge of the paper. Pidge flips the paper over, seeing only a few miscellaneous markings that didn't seem to be in any Altean words that she knew.
"What's this?" Pidge wonders aloud, standing back up with the single poem clutched in her small hands. A spell, perhaps? The very spell they have been cursed with? How would Lotor have access to Altean spells and be able to create them?
Four petaled clover. A symbol of luck to many people. Pidge just calls it a manufacturing error.
Water wasn't even really blue, was it? Really, it is the Sun that makes the water look blue. Goddamn poets.
The tears of a secretive lover seemed a bit harsh to use as an ingredient, Pidge thinks. Was it even a secret if the tears were collected? Wouldn't it no longer be a secret if they were known and used as a secretive lover?
Spells suck in that way.
Pidge pockets the poem, only that little paper, noting it for later analysis. Maybe this would be useful.
Scratch that, it will be useful.
---
Lance isn't as talkative as she was expecting him to be. The conversations seem more one to one, Keith and Hunk laughing about how Voltron was actually the vintage Transformers on crack, Shiro and Allura drafting up some diplomatic affairs, and Lance just sitting alone. Pidge assumes that Coran is just manning the ship while they eat. Pidge sits down right opposite Lance, putting on a smile. After a quick round of greetings around the table from everyone, Pidge makes a quiet noise that grabs Lance's attention.
"Hey," she greets, keeping the tone casual. Lance nods, returning her smile as a reply to her greeting.
"Are you sure the truth spell is over?" Pidge asks, unable to think of any other feasible conversation topic than maybe Kaltenecker or something. Maybe he really had been minced up.
"I think so, but I'm not sure. I've been in my room for the past hours since you left," Lance admits, "so I wasn't really talking to anyone."
"Aww, did someone miss me?" Pidge teases, Lance flushing a little bit. "You could have just swung around-"
"Paladins! Allura!" Coran bursts into the room, panting, eyes full of hyperactiv. "Transmission from Prince Lotor!"
Allura ditches the meal, jumping off her seat in all her royal regalia and impractical dresses, the Paladins all following along after her to the main hangar. Sure enough, the team sees the snide face of Prince Lotor, eyes as analytical and judgemental as ever.
"Greetings, Voltron." Pidge can't get over how damn smooth his voice is, honestly. "I've called to broker a deal that may suit both of us."
"And what deal is that, exactly?" Allura questions, hands on hips and voice threatening and intimidating. Allura was in battle mode, no diplomatic fluffiness going on here.
"You stop annoying me as I take Galaxor, and I'll give you the cure to the truth spell I so conveniently brewed up for yours truly," Lotor drawls. Lance and Pidge hear the slight murmurs of...Axca, maybe a little Ezor?
"Nonsense. The truth spell has been broken. Lance himself did so," Allura proclaims, looking proud as she shoves the small victory in Lotor's snide purple face. He laughs loudly, raising his eyebrows as if unable to believe it.
"Dear, Lance, do tell me what nations have joined the coalition and what is your Voltron-related plan for the future?" Lotor's smile returns, his face a perfect blend of calmness and impassiveness. Lance shrugs.
"Well, we've got Kansilfrey, Plaxim, Ragtayron...the like, I think I can show you a list later. As for the plan, we've got allies, and we can-"
Pidge jumps on Lance, Â literally on him, knocking him down and effectively shutting him up. The headphones she wore were a surprisingly good tactic to avoid the truth, but Lance seemed in dire need of assistance.
She totally doesn't end up accidentally straddling him in the corner, totally doesn't start stammering and reddening. Yep.
'We will not be taking you up on your offer," Allura replies, concernedly looking at Lance and wondering why the hell Pidge was currently swinging on Lance's lanky body. "Goodbye."
Allura shoots Coran a look, and he shuts off the transmitter, Lotor disappearing from sight, looking almost disappointed.
Allura, furious, her eyes made of molten steel, turns to glare at Lance.
"You said the spell was finished!"
"That's what I thought, don't blame me!"
Allura paces the room deep in thought, eyebrows furrowed and white hair swinging everywhere. Lance hates seeing Allura stressed, actually everyone hates seeing Allura stressed. Even as the Black Paladin (and ex-black paladin, for Shiro,) everyone still looked up to their princess for instructions. She stops pacing, turning to Lance and Pidge.
"We need to work on getting a cure. We can't have Voltron compromised for very long. Lotor is getting to us," she mutters. Pidge and Lance are not sure whether they are supposed to answer that.
The little paper in Pidge's pocket suddenly feels heavy.
She doesn't mention it.
But maybe, just maybe if she had mentioned it, she would have been able to save herself from the embarrassment and pain to come.
Katie had experienced close calls before, but none like this one. The fact that she fit in that cramped little wardrobe, and still managed to pull a total Houdini was beyond her. She sprinted back to her room on the far end of the hall, barely making it in time before a nurse crossed the corner. She tried to catch her breath and bring it down to a regular rhythm. She climbed into her bed and settle into the covers. Sighing in relief that she had made it. Her relief was short lived before she heard a knock on her door. An older man no older than mid 30’s came in after she gave him the okay.
“Ms. Holt, you have been discharged from your stay here. Seeing as how you have healed quickly. With that being said you are being summoned for a meeting with the council.”
“Council? We have a council? For what if I may ask?”, she wondered somehow not too surprised. She knew that with all the commotion that could have transpired after her father’s return, a council was much needed.
“That is classified information, I’m not allow to delegate that to you. Please get dressed and come with me. I will be waiting for you outside your door when you are ready.” With those final words he stepped back into the hall and closed the door behind him. Her mind was going a mile a minute. A council meeting? What could she possibly need to meet them for? It could be a number of reasons, if she was being really honest with herself. She did hack the systems a few times, every time breaking through their firewalls and decoding their programs. No matter what, she was in for quite a scolding. Specially for going into space for 4 Earth years. Sighing, she dressed herself in her uniform and stepped outside to meet with the soldier.
“Come with me”, he said not meeting her eyes. Man was she in for it now, was he told to not show her any kind of emotion. Katie couldn’t read what the man was thinking, and it made her nervous. Like she had committed a heinous crime and she was now taking the longest walk of shame. This attitude was so new, most of the soldiers and cadets that came to visiting hours would shower her and her friends with praise. However, this was weird and very nerve wracking. The walk to the room felt like would never end. The silence was almost too heavy to bear, until he stopped in his tracks. They arrived at a set of double doors and the soldier stepped aside.
Katie stood in front of those twin doors until she heard the soldier speak once more, “Please go right in”.
As she opened the door to her right, she made her way through swiftly. Eyes down, unwavering and silently steadying herself emotionally. What was she going to say? She wasn’t entirely sure what this would all bring for her. The best she could do for herself in that moment was mentally prepare herself. She would stay calm and collected and not let her temper get the better of her. Closing the door behind, she allowed herself to look up. The rooms lights were off, allowing for the giant computer screens blue hue to be lit at its full capacity. Upon said screen, two pictures of her in full size, one of Pidge Gunderson and the other Katie Holt. At the center of the room in a table, sat all the most important officials known to the Garrison. Ever since General Sanda had sacrificed herself, Commander Iverson had taken over with Sam Holt as his right hand.
She looked at all the familiar faces, in the multitude there stood her mother. Colleen Holt seemed the epitome of calm. Just glancing at her sullen face made Katie calmer. She was standing behind her husbands’ chair. To Katie’s left at the far corner next to Iverson sat Shiro. Oh, great space dad is here, this shouldn’t be so bad. She met his gaze, he just nodded like he was reassuring her that everything would be okay and to just bear with it. It’s funny how you get to really read a person after spending so much time with them. Shiro had a way of communicating with his kids, after all the paladins now had a sacred bond both emotionally and mentally thanks to the lions.
Her thoughts were broken by a clearing of the throat at the center end of the table. Iverson sat stoic and his stare intense. “Cadet Holt, have you an idea of why we have summoned you.”
Katie could feel her stance stiffen at his question, her brow furrowing in honest confusion. “No, sir. I am not aware as to why I was summoned.” Her eyes moved to her mother. Looking for a clue in her eyes, but to her chagrin her mothers’ gaze was downcast.
“You are here, because we need to discuss a matter that we’ve been meaning to bring up these past few days. However, seeing as you weren’t in the best physical conditioned. We decided to be patient and wait until your scheduled discharge to inform you that, we’ve evaluated your file. The commander paused for a mili second while he was being handed her file by an offset soldier to Shiro’s side. Glancing at the folder in his hand, he continued “Katie Holt, you have numerous charges of treason, forgery, and fraud. You took advantage of your father status to hack your way into Garrison programs, and singlehandedly managed to decode every firewall in your way. You impersonated a cadet under a false gender and broke Galaxy Garrison code and regulations to help Lieutenant Takashi Shirogane escape quarantine’’.
It was a lengthy list; all Katie could do was stand rigidly still and take everything Iverson had to dish out at her. Yes, all these accusations were real and of course she felt terrible about what she did, but she didn’t care. This was their family they were playing with. Only she had tried to actually locate her father or brother.
“So, Cadet what say you. How do you explain yourself, your reasoning behind this’’, Iverson was now standing leaning both hands flat on the table. He was trying to get everything out of her, she could tell, and it was starting to irritate her. She stayed quiet, trying to keep her breathing even. Feeling everyone’s eyes on her. She was not about to have an emotional burst of anger, because really that was what she felt. Having all this relayed to her again made her remember their incompetence. The fact that she had gone to great lengths in order to find her family. “Cadet, we are waiting’’.
Katie finally met his eyes, “what say I? I say….I don’t regret it”. Answering defiantly wasn’t the best solution but she couldn’t help herself. Iverson just stared. “I think that if I hadn’t actually done what I did, my father or brother wouldn’t be here. I have zero regrets for my actions, I owe everything to what I did and to my new-found family in the Paladins. I have gone farther than any cadet has in the Garrison. If my actions have repercussions and I’m expelled from the Galaxy Garrison, then so be it!”
She was now leaning on the table, mimicking Iverson on the far end of the table. Her glare, challenging him to reciprocate her energy. She wasn’t one to back down and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him see her vulnerable. She had been through far too much to let her emotions just slip. Quiznak she would fight the fight if she had too.
Veronica had led Lance to a ventilation area in a sector near the council room. “Be very quiet and follow me. Can you do that? Are going to be able to crawl there with your arm I mean?”. Lance looked at her and then his casted arm and nodded his approval.
“Ill be fine, just take me there. I need to know what they are saying to her”, he said with resolve. Veronica opened the vent and started ducking her way into the vent. Lance followed suit right behind her. “How do you know where this vent leads?”, he asked.
Veronica just smirked to herself, “Who do you think worked hand in hand with Commander Holt. I know this ship like the back of my hand. I remember every sector drawn in those schematics. Every ventilation shaft and how to navigate the tunnels. I know where to go and I’m your best bet on how to get there.”
Lance was beyond impressed. He had seen his older sister in action, but it was still hard to believe sometimes. When he first left for space, he had just been promoted one more year in the Garrison and had now entered the big leagues. He was now in full training to be what he had always wanted to be, a pilot. Veronica on the other hand had been there longer and was slowly climbing the ranks. She had been training in logistics and communications, and she had been doing a good job at it. She had made his family very proud. “I see, well I haven’t said this to you yet but I’m proud of you Vero”.
“Aww Lance, that’s sweet. Thank you, kind of the wrong scenario for congratulatory exchanges though’’, she chuckled. Crawling in an air vent wasn’t ideal but it would suffice for the time being until they knew what was going on. As they kept crawling the vent started glowing a navy-blue color. “We’re here”, Veronica said in a barely audible whisper. “I need you to be very quiet, these vents are not very sound resistant, so they could hear us in an instant. No matter what you hear, you need to keep calm.” She sternly warned him.
As they crawled closer, Lance could very clearly hear the booming of Iverson’s stern voice. “So, Cadet what say you. How do you explain yourself, your reasoning behind this?’’, then quiet. What had he asked her. As they arrived at the louver grilled cover of the vent. He could very clearly see the blue hue of the screen with Katie’s pictures. He stared at the clear picture of her when she had actually resembled a girl. Her long honey tresses, big bright amber eyes, and a smile that could brighten up the gloomiest day. Damn, she sure was beautiful. He turns his vision to the right corner of the table, there standing rigidly still is Katie. Everyone is waiting for her answer. Her parents are there and even Shiro.
“what say I? I say….I don’t regret it”, Katie stood defiantly. Some overwhelming feeling in his chest grew, just staring at her being so defiant ignited a pride in him. He knew she was a force to be reckoned with but seeing her in action was a whole other experience in itself. He was lost in her as she continued, “I think that if I hadn’t actually done what I did, my father or brother wouldn’t be here. I have zero regrets for my actions, I owe everything to what I did. I have gone farther than any cadet has in the Garrison. If my actions have repercussions and I’m expelled from the Galaxy Garrison, then so be it.”
“Damn, she’s tough”, Veronica was astonished. Lance had just smiled and nodded. Oh, that was nothing, Katie was remarkable. Not only was she incredibly smart but she could hold her own. She was just standing there, mimicking Iverson’s stance. She’s challenging him.
“We are in every right to do just that Cadet….” Iverson pauses. No..NO..NO! They can’t do that to her. He feels the rage start to raise from the pit of his stomach to his chest. He’s about to say something when he feels his sisters’ hand on his shoulder. She looks at him as if to halt him from his next action. It’s a good thing she does because he was about to try and give Iverson a piece of his mind. That would be some situation though, a phantom voice yelling at Iverson from who knows where. He decides that he needs to keep his calm. Why isn’t anyone defending her? They know just how amazing and brave she is. Something is off, her parents wouldn’t be this calm if they had just heard this. They’re hiding something.
“There’s a plan here” Lance speaks up in a whisper. “Her parents and Shiro, they’re to calm and it’s not right.” Veronica looks at the scene before her, Lance is right. Something is transpiring here, and she can’t pin point it. She usually always has a good ear as to what Iverson and the crew are going to do. From meetings she’s been too or rumors she hears along the halls. That’s how she knew that the meeting was happening in the first place. She was not ready for this though, what could they possibly have in store her the young woman.
Iverson’s silence lingers for what feels like a decaphebe, “However we will do no such thing, granted if you were any other cadet you would have been expelled with a snap of my finger.”
Wait what just happened, he can see Katie’s face contort into that of confusion. He cannot begin to place together the turn this conversation took. Veronica is looking just as confused as he is.
“You Miss Holt, have as you’ve said gone above and beyond for your family. Broke the rules when you felt they needed to be broken. You are a quick thinker and don’t shy away from a tough situation. Most of all, you fight for your comrades and stand by them no matter the cost. If your battle against the Galra invasion has taught us anything is that you are a worthy Cadet. Worthy enough to be promoted in rank…” Iverson is now sporting a genuine and proud smile.
Lance can visibly see the water increasing around her pretty and confused amber eyes. Its almost like she understands what Iverson is offering but she can’t begin to fathom the responsibility in weighing on his following words. He’s starting to tear up too, Katie is going up a rank and he feels just as excited as she probably feels at the moment. The fear and anger that had crept into his chest was now soft and understanding, they had just been giving her a hard time. She was so young when she ran away to find her family. She kind of deserved a little bullying. Specially with how she had left her mother by herself.
“What are you saying Sir?” she can be heard barely croaking out against her now tightening throat. Iverson is being handed a badge and a small button sized plaque by Shiro.
“Cadet Katie Holt, you are now promoted to the title of Assistant Chief of Communications. You will work alongside your father and Princess Allura in various projects that’s still need close attention. If we’re going to defend Earth from the Galra again, we must be completely ready. And who better for the job that our young Green Paladin.
Katie can’t believe what she’s hearing, its written all over her face. Lance must try everything in him not to yell of happiness and excitement. Veronica’s face is that of pure joy now, she’s trying all in her to be super quiet at this point. “We need to leave, we’ll meet her outside in the Hall”, she whispers through her smile.
Lance just nods and turns to follow but not before he looks back to Katie now enveloped in both her parents’ arms and Shiro right next to the family smiling proudly at her. He can see the tiny glint of the bronze pin on her lapel. If anyone of the paladins deserve the praise, its definitely her. He is so sure that this feeling for her is not just pride, she ignites a feeling far different than that within him. He is going to ask her to the party, he just hopes that she says yes.
“Lance! Come one!”, Veronica whispers harshly.
“Coming Sis!”
Sorry this took forever, I was in a car accident last week and it took a toll on my neck, I couldn't type much less look at the screen for too long. Also the accident kinda gave me writer's block so this isn't my best work. Anywhoooo, here you are. I hope you enjoy. Next chapter is the Bonfire party!
