Chapter Text
Lance woke up yet again in his little dorm room, grumbling and covering his ears hearing the reverie over the public address system of the school. As usual, he could see his small roommate with shrimp posture basically laying over his desk, typing away frantically on his laptop, headphones basically cradling his head.
He was strange. His name was Pidge…Lance was pretty sure that wasn’t a name. He would always go to the bathroom to change clothes, even though it was quite inconvenient. Lance had tried to convince him that it was okay, they were all guys, trying to make him feel comfortable. It didn’t quite work out, though, which Lance accepted. He was just…generally, a very secretive person. Always watching over his shoulder as he scrawled away into his little diary, hunching over it to ensure no one could take a peek at what Lance would assume were his deepest, darkest secrets. He wasn’t much fun, either - never wanted to sneak out after lights out and go for a walk, possibly meet some cute girls as Lance liked to do on occasion (just as long as he also had some time for his beauty sleep.)
Despite the boy being so aloof, Lance was strangely drawn to him in a way he wasn’t used to.
As he spent a little bit longer laying in his springy, small bed, his vision cleared and focused on Pidge. He noticed a scattered group of freckles across the boy’s round face, particularly captivated by the ones dispersed around his button nose. He had big, doe-like hazelnut eyes, pupils dilated, staring at something he must’ve been very passionate about on the screen in front of him. His heart shaped lips were pursed slightly, and Lance observed that they appeared very smooth. He had clear porcelain skin apart from his abundant freckles, and rosy cheeks. Very doll-like, all his features adding up to a delicate, picturesque face. Lance found himself staring a bit, watching the boy type through his half-lidded eyes.
The second warning reverie played and Lance was pulled out of his little romantic dreamworld, letting out a little “Ahh!” in shock. Pidge’s eyes widened hearing the boy’s girlish shout. The smaller boy laughed, turning whatever was playing in his headphones down. “You okay McClain? I think the whole school heard you,” he teased.
Lance blushed, staying quiet as he rolled out of bed. He began to strip himself of his soft t shirt and plaid pajama pants to get changed into his uniform.
He saw Pidge gathering his own uniform out of the corner of his eye. Pidge’s demeanor had changed rather quickly, he had a bit of a worried look, with a bright red face. He exited their dorm quickly with his uniform folded neatly in his arms.
Lance frowned, but changed quickly, not wanting to be late. He didn’t like making people uncomfortable, and he wanted to make some friends here.
Lance arrived to the flagpole soon after, where all the students congregated so that the staff could take attendance before lunch. The flag was hoisted, and after the national anthem, pledge, and salute to the school, the kids were released to the lunchroom.
Lance spotted Pidge and sat at his table across from him. Lance smiled at Pidge, passing the plate of toast over to him after taking two slices for himself. At the Garrison, all meals were served family style, to keep the feeling of community and companionship they wanted in their students. Lance liked it; that’s how they did things at his house, but it clearly made Pidge a tad nervous, from the way Lance noticed his hands shaking as he gently pushed the toast plate over to the student on his right.
Pidge’s shyness was a little sad to Lance…he wanted to help him open up. The way he laughed at Lance earlier that morning seemed like a rare spurt of comfort and familiarity within Pidge, and it made Lance happy that he could bring out that spark in him. Maybe it made him a little blushy too.