Work Text:
Crunch.
Quiznak, Lance thought. He picked his foot up and looked down with a wince. “At least I found it,” he muttered to himself. Lance bent down to retrieve his MP3 player from the ground. The screen was cracked and the button in the middle had popped off. He tried turning it on, but the device didn’t respond. “Aw, man.” Lance sighed and plopped down on his unmade bed. One of the only things he had left to remind him of his life back on Earth, was broken.
“What am I gonna do now,” he grumbled. There was no way he could fix it. Lance considered just throwing it away and attempting to move on. But, then he remembered something.
Remembered someone.
A certain friend who was great with gadgets, and just so happened to be right down the hall. “Pidge!” Lance exclaimed to no one in particular and jumped up. "She can fix it! Well, probably … hopefully.” Lance excitedly shoved the broken MP3 player in the pocket of his jacket and crept out of his room.
The castle was silent.
He knocked on Pidge’s door three times. The noise echoed in the quiet hallway. “I hope she’s not busy,” he wished aloud. A moment later the door slid open to reveal Pidge standing before him in her pajamas. She offered him a sleepy smile. “Oh, hey Lance. What’s up?"
"Uh…” He took note of her sleeping attire and immediately regretted coming to ask her for something. He hadn’t considered that she might be trying to sleep. It was late. Of course she wouldn’t want to help him right now.
“I’m sorry, were you getting ready for bed? I-I didn’t mean to bother you. I can just come back tomorrow,” he started to back up and turn away. His face felt hot. “No, Lance, it’s okay,” she called out and he stopped. "I was actually having some trouble sleeping,” she rubbed her eyes and readjusted her glasses. Little strands of hair stuck out in odd places around her head.
"Did you need something?” Lance felt relieved that she hadn’t turned him down. “Yeah,” he answered and took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. “Actually there was something I was hoping you could help me with.” His fingers curled around the crushed object in his pocket.
“Sure. I’d be happy to.” Pidge led him into her room and the door closed behind them with a hiss. The only light source was the lamp that sat on top of the desk. One look at her bed and Lance could tell Pidge had been tossing and turning in the sheets. He wondered how long she’d been trying to get some sleep. He’d have to ask her later.
She sat down in her desk chair, leaned back, and propped her bare feet up on a stack of books by the bed. “Soooo, what do you need?” The drowsiness that had tainted her voice earlier was completely gone now. Lance reached in his pocket and brought out the reason he was there. Pidge held her hand out and Lance placed the small device in it.
“Yikes.” She looked it over then looked at him. “What happened to it?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck and explained. “So, you can fix it, right?” She scoffed and pushed her glasses up her nose. “Of course I can. I’ll have it better than new in no time.” Pidge swiveled around in her chair and began working on his MP3.
Lance sat down on the floor, legs stretched out in front, and rested his back against the bed. He watched her as she tinkered away. Lance had always secretly admired how smart she was. Back at the Garrison, he thought she was a little weird at first. Maybe because she was trying to pass as a boy. He chuckled at the thought of how many times he’d tried to set her up with a girl that had turned him down. Back then, Lance just couldn’t fathom why Pidge kept rejecting his efforts. But now he understood.
“What’s so funny?” Pidge looked at him for a moment waiting for an answer. Lance met her gaze. “Remember when you told everyone you were a girl?"
Pidge laughed, recalling the memory, and turned back around to continue working. "Yeah. Everyone was so cool about it,” she paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Except you. You totally freaked out." Lance blushed. "Hey! How was I supposed to take it?"
Pidge shrugged.
"Well, what if I told you I was a girl? Hmm?" Almost immediately she answered with, "I could see that,” in a rather serious tone. “And I support your decisions completely,” she added. He could practically hear her smirking. The pink in Lance’s cheeks darkened. “Whatever,” he huffed.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Lance couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward as he sat there on Pidge’s floor. Should he try to make conversation? He didn’t want to distract her from whatever she was doing, but the lack of communication was killing him. He had to say something.
Um … The weather’s been nice lately? No. We’re in space, and that’s stupid, he scolded himself.
Started any new projects lately?
How are things with your lion?
Learn any more Altean words?
Lance laid his head on the bed, racking his brain for something, anything really, that would strike up a conversation. Then, a previous question popped back into his head. Lance cleared his throat and spoke up.
“You uh, you said you were having trouble sleeping? Is everything okay?” She halted for a moment and threw her head back, letting out a long sigh. Pidge seemed to contemplate her words before speaking them.
“My brain always picks the most random times to go on overdrive. It’s like, as soon as I finally lay down, I get a million ideas all at once.” She leaned forward and resumed working. "Yeah, I know the feeling,” he said softly. Lately he’d been having problems sleeping too. And Lance just wasn’t Lance without his beauty rest.
"Well what about you?"
"Huh?” Lance stared at the back of her head and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“It is late, and you’re not even in your pj’s yet. What’s keeping you up?” Her voice sounded slightly concerned.
“Oh.” All of a sudden, a wave of sadness washed over him, and he felt as blue as his lion. What was keeping him up? Causing him to lose countless hours of sleep?
Lance was homesick. Simple as that.
He was glad Pidge wasn’t looking at him when he spoke. Her friendly smile probably would have been enough to make him cry right then and there. “I just, really miss Earth. My family, and my old friends.” Lance tried not to let his voice quiver. He chuckled to cover his uneasiness. “I think I even miss Iverson back at the Garrison."
"Wow,” Pidge giggled, the sound making his heart feel a little less heavy, “you really do miss Earth.” He heard one final click before she turned around to face him. Pidge held out the MP3 in her palm. There were no more cracks in the screen and all the buttons fit exactly where they belonged. It looked like it had just come out of the box. He was going to ask her how she fixed it, but decided not to question the tiny miracle.
“That’s incredible,” Lance marveled, instantly feeling better. He stood up and took his device from her small hand eagerly. “An easy fix. It’s not that big of a deal."
It was to Lance. Her act of kindness meant more to him than he could even comprehend.
"Thank you.” He tucked the MP3 player into his pocket. “It really means a lot Pidge.” Lance gave her a small, sad smile, then averted his eyes to the floor, not quite sure what else to say. Pidge lifted herself out of the chair to stand in front of him.
He didn’t need to say anything, she understood perfectly.
Pidge wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, and placed her small head on his chest. This took him completely by surprise and he started blushing.
“You’ll be okay, Lance. I know you will.” Her words were slightly muffled by his shirt. He didn’t realize how badly he needed a hug until he found himself enveloping Pidge in a warm embrace. Lance rested his cheek on top of her head and smiled. “Thanks again. I needed this."
"Me too” she responded. They both sighed contentedly.
“Hey. Do you wanna, maybe, have a sleepover?” Pidge pulled away just enough to look up at him hopefully. Lance couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across his face.
“I’d like that. A lot.”