Chapter Text
“Hunk.”
“Hunk!” Lance said louder, jostling the bigger paladin that was lying under the covers of his own bed.
The last cry of his name made Hunk to stir, until eventually he raised a lazy hand to his eye, rubbing the sleepiness out. “Lance? What time is it..?” He mumbled, cracking an eye open.
“That's not important,” Lance said, panting ever-so-slightly. He had woken up in the middle of the night because he had realized something, and needed Hunks clarification. He'd sprung out of bed and went heading to Hunk’s room in a full-on sprint, almost falling (multiple times) due to his socked feet and slick Altean floors. Hunk’s room happened to be the farthest away from his, both of their rooms in the outer edges. So he was a little tired, which also was a side effect of waking up at this ungodly hour.
Hunk mumbled something, which Lance could only extract an annoyed tone from. After an exasperated, long sigh, the yellow paladin glared up at Lance. “Can this please wait until the morning? Please?” He pleaded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“No, this is an emergency!” Lance yelped, seeming almost hurt that Hunk would propose such a thing.
Hunk shut his eyes again, running a hand down his face, tugging at the skin. “Okay, Lance. Exactly what was so important that you had to wake me up at…” he glanced at the clock, and after a moment to convert to Earth time, glares back at Lance with even more fury in his eyes. “-one in the morning?”
“Okay,-” Lance took a deep breath, “-have you ever seen Keith blush?”
…
No response.
Hunk stares back at Lance, his expression slowly shifting to an angry annoyance. “I thought you said it was important!” He yelled, throwing his hands up.
“This is important!” Lance yells back, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. “I've never seen him blush! I want to know if it was just a me thing or if everyone else hadn't seen it either.”
“Lance, get out of my room.”
“Answer the question!”
“Out. Of. My. Room.”
“Yes or no!?”
“No! No I have not! Now get out!” Hunk yelled again, probably a little louder then he should have. But it seemed to satisfy Lance, so he didn't care. All he wants to do was sleep.
Lance gave a stern look, muttering something along the lines of “I knew it…” as he got off of Hunk’s bed and left the room, hand on his chin in thought. He walked back to his room slowly, thinking about the situation. Had anyone ever seen Keith blush? Had he ever even blushed before? Lance glared at Keith's door longer then probably socially acceptable before turning and making his way back to his own bed.
------
The next morning, it wasn't Shiro to wake Lance up like normal, but Pidge. Well, they hadn't woken him up. He was already awake, and lying in bed, trying to collect his thoughts.
“I haven't either, by the way,” they said, startling Lance out of his mind. Out of his bed, actually.
Lance collided with the floor with a loud thud, knocking the wind out of him. And maybe a small scream that Pidge couldn't help but laugh at. After regaining his breath, his torso shot up as he attempted to burn holes in Pidge’s dumb bedhead. “What the heck, man! You scared me! Don't laugh!”
Pidge merely snorted and crossed their arms while Lance got up. “What were you talking about, by the way? What haven't you done?” He asked.
“Seen Keith blush. I heard your conversation with Hunk last night, our rooms are right next to each other. And even these walls can't block out an angry Hunk’s voice.”
Lance blinked, nodded, and made a mental note. “You were still awake then? But it was so late!”
“Early-” Pidge corrected, “-and of course I was awake! I'm a teenager, did you actually think that I slept most nights? At this point my bloodstream is mostly made of coffee.” Lance nodded again, it was a fair point. When he was a teenager (or at least a younger one), he didn't get any sleep either. Too busy giving him and Hunk makeovers and mani-pedis.
“Well, that makes three of us. And we can't ask Keith, ‘cause, y’know, it's Keith, and Shiro will just tell us to go train or bond or whatever. So they're off the table. That means that every other paladin hasn't seen him blush.”
“Do you even think he can?” Pidge asked with a quirk of their eyebrow. Lance just shrugged. “Now, get out of my room. And do something to your hair, you've got a horrendous bedhead,” he snickered.
Pidge scoffed, but turned to leave, and Lance noticed that they began to mess with their hair just as the door was sliding shut.
------
After a good half hour of freshening up, Lance joined the rest of the Paladins (Allura and Coran, too) in the kitchen for breakfast. He took a chair in between Pidge and Hunk, and turned to the latter first. “So. Pidge said they haven't seen, um, y’know, either,” he whispered the ending part, then nodded toward Keith, who didn't seem to notice. Hunk just shrugged. “He doesn't exactly seem like the blushy type of guy,” he replied simply.
“But, Hunk!” Lance gasped, throwing his hands up. “Everyone blushes at some point! Even Pidge! Right, Pidge?” Lance nudged Pidge, who nodded their head. “Totally. If Matt wanted to be, he could be a complete embarrassment,” they agreed, shuttering at the memories.
Hunk shrugged again. He clearly didn't see the potential this whole situation had. “I just don't know why you guys are so worked up about this. Maybe he just has no shame or whatever,” he noted before taking a spoon of goo.
“Excuse me, but it is very important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates! We can't bond if we don't know simple information, Hunk,” Lance nearly yelled. Again, nobody seemed to mind nor notice. They all sort of got used to Lance’s outbursts by now.
“Whatever. You two can do what you're going to do alone,” he said sternly. Hunk stood up and took his empty bowl of space goo to the washer and set it above, letting it slowly be brought into the machine. He continued on to go talk with Shiro about whatnot, leaving Pidge and Lance alone, which, unknown to Hunk, only led to the worst.
“So… are we actually sure that he even can blush? Like, maybe it's not even possible due to him being part Galra and stuff,” Pidge grumbled, laying their chin in the palm of their hand, staring at Keith. Lance was in a similar position, but his eyes were set on Pidge instead. “Of course he can! I mean, I… so maybe I'm not actually sure if he can, b-but I bet he can!”
Lance thought a moment before slamming his fist on the table, yelling a triumphant, “I’ve got it!” This time, all eyes were drawn to Lance, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he grabbed Pidge by the wrist and (quite forcefully) dragged them to his room.
Pidge felt a squeak emit from somewhere in their throat as they were pulled up, not expecting the sudden jolt. And as soon as they were standing, it seemed like the next moment they were being seated on Lance’s bed. The said blue paladin was practically bouncing from excitement in front of Pidge. The shorter paladin couldn't help but crack a smile, seeing Lance this excited. “So, what are you so happy about?” They asked, folding their arms on their chest.
“Okay. Okay, okay, okay. So. You know how we have no idea what, or even if Keith can blush?”
“Mmhmn, that's what we've been discussing all morning, I am aware.”
“So, you and me, we could conduct an experiment! Or a bet, or something. Whoever figures out how to make Keith blush first wins. What do you say?! Is that a great plan or is that a great plan?!”
Pidge stopped, considering the possibility. It was an intriguing idea. For one, they got to know Keith at least a little better, which was pretty big, considering how cold and distant he usually was. Secondly, it was fun to mess with people, especially Keith. He always had the best reactions, in a socially awkward kind of way. So this seemed like a bit of fun. Oh, and a bet? You better know that Pidge would take every opportunity to get something out of Lance.
“You know, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea. But what's the bet gonna be?”
“Oh! Uh, I'm not sure… maybe… if I win, I get to give you a makeover!”
Pidge shuttered at the thought. But… that did give them an idea for her prize. “And if I win, you have to explain to Keith what we were doing and convince him to give him a makeover.”
Lance cocked his head. “So… what you're telling me, is that, -for my punishment,- I get to give Keith a makeover?!” When Pidge nodded, Lance let out a squeal of excitement and clapped his hands loudly. “I almost want to lose now!” he squeaked.
Pidge smirked, this was good, for a few reasons. One, if the older boy actually wanted to lose, then it would make winning a whole lot easier. Two, they liked seeing Lance so happy. And, three, she couldn't wait to see Keith’s reaction when he heard what was in store for him.
Oh, this was going to be a great day.