Chapter Text
Lance had never liked the quiet.
He was used to a loud family, a loud television in the background, a loud ocean hissing outside the open window. So much so that he, too, became loud. Loud in the way he talked, the way he fought, the way he laughed, and the way he loved. No one could ever accuse him of being a silent type.
It's no surprise, then, that after lying on the ground and staring at the ceiling for seventeen dobashes straight, bouncing his legs methodically against the edge of Pidge's bed, he finally reached his breaking point. The stillness in the air was too oppressive. Letting his feet fall back down to the ground with a thud (and not a moment too soon, given the alarmingly fast pace at which Pidge's annoyance was escalating), Lance puffed an exaggerated sigh and lurched upward into a sitting position.
“I'm bored,” he declared matter-of-factly, as if stating it aloud made it the universe's problem and not his own.
“Tragic.” Pidge did not so much as glance up from her laptop.
Lance whinged and climbed up onto the bottom of the bed, realizing that his foolproof plan of foisting the responsibility of solving this issue onto someone else would require a bit more finesse. And by finesse, he meant complaining.
“How can you guys just sit in a room together and say nothing?” the boy demanded, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. “We just saved the freakin' world! We should be partying and having fun. This feels like we're just wasting time!” There was a petulant twinge to his voice, but he could not be bothered to correct it.
“Uh, Lance,” interrupted Hunk, an unimpressed look on his face. “Excuse you. This?” He gestured to the colorful space-mouse-sized tutus he was currently crafting out of hair ties and shredded shower loofahs. “Is very important.”
Lance deadpanned for a moment before groaning and collapsing sideways across the bed, stretching his left arm over his forehead for enhanced effect. “I am friends with couple of complete shut-ins. Hermits! The both of you!”
“The correct term is 'introvert,' thank you very much, and Hunk and I are quite happy with our solitude. Why don't you go play a prank on Keith or something?”
The thought was a tempting one, but in all honesty, he felt that the playful, teasing relationship between him and Keith had still not recovered, and he was not eager to test any boundaries right now. Best not to poke the bear, as they say. Or, in this case, the broody emo half-Galra. Lance wasn't sure which was more dangerous. Actually, scratch that, Keith was definitely more dangerous.
“Urgh!” the (former) Blue Paladin exclaimed, shaking the thoughts away and focusing instead on the task at hand: pestering his friends into entertaining him. “What is a poor, handsome, lonely social butterfly to do? I'm gonna die if I don't get some human interaction, and STAT!”
Without missing a beat, Pidge replied, “Then perish.”
There was a snicker from the table where Hunk was working on his tutus, and Lance paused for a moment. Then, slowly, he rolled his way to the side of the bed where Pidge was tapping away at her computer, looked up at her with his best puppy dog eyes, and in a deadly, deliberate voice, said:
“Owo.”
A pillow came down on his head instantly.
Unable to contain his laughter, he burst out into a series of giggles, peeking out from underneath the pillow to see Pidge with a wide grin spreading across her lips. Immediately, however, she let out a perturbed noise and turned her gaze in Hunk's direction.
“He's doing the smushy thing,” she objected, finally closing her laptop and setting it aside.
“What? Only I'm allowed to do the smushy thing!”
“What the hell is a smushy thing?!” Lance broke in, confused and a bit flustered by the sudden yelling.
Hunk stood up from his chair and stretched, then made his way to the side of the bed, folding his arms and looking down at Lance, who was still peeking up at the two from underneath Pidge's pillow. “Yep. He's definitely doing the smushy thing.”
“Would someone please explain—”
“It's where you do something so stupidly adorable and precious and full of sunshine that everyone just wants to smush your cheeks,” Pidge elaborated with the demeanor of someone providing the definition of some incredibly scientific term. Lance was no expert on science, but he did not think that “smushy thing” fell into that category.
“A low blow, Lance,” Hunk lamented, shaking his head. “You've struck us where we're most vulnerable. You have to learn to control your powers, as I have learned to control mine.” He spoke as though he was a wise old sage imparting his teachings upon a young prodigy.
Pidge sighed dramatically and sat cross-legged, placing her hands on her knees and closing her eyes. “You win this time, lover boy. What do you want to do? I warn you,” she added, fixing Lance with a stare, “I absolutely refuse to go to any night clubs or raves or whatever other crazy shit is going through your brain right now.” There was a dangerous glint in her eye that warned against any objection on that front.
Lance hummed in thought, finally pulling his head out from underneath the pillow and revealing his ruffled hair in all its glory. Hunk, ever the mom friend, absently fixed the part and smoothed out the tufts while Lance frowned pensively at the pillow in his hands. Then, it hit him.
“A pillow fort sleepover!” he cried out, leaping up with such alacrity that Pidge had to grab her laptop to prevent it from sliding to the floor.
“No way, we're not—” Pidge stopped and blinked, exchanging a glance with Hunk, then looking back at Lance again. “... Oh.” She evidently had not been expecting such a tame suggestion. “Okay.”
Lance beamed brightly. What a great way to break the dreaded silence. Sleepovers were never quiet. Except for the sleeping part, but what kind of weakling actually slept at a sleepover? Not Lance, that's for sure.
“What are we waiting for?” He was already jumping off the bed and hitting the floor with a small 'ow.' “We've got to go get the others. This is going to be a community event, people! Tell them to come to my room; yours is way too messy, Pidge. Chop chop!” Excitement was in every bounce of his step as he made his way for the door. “I'm gonna go find Shiro!”
“Shiro's napping like two rooms down. You know this,” Pidge pointed out suspiciously.
Lance stopped at the threshold and spun around to smirk at the other two. “... Yep. Andyouguyscanfindtherestoftheteambye!” With that, he bolted down the hallway, leaving a pair of unamused Yellow and Green Paladins in his wake.