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Despite everything the Olkari had taught her, Pidge still hated biology. More specifically, her own. It felt like a million tiny blades were stabbing her gut every time she moved. She could feel bile festering uncomfortably in her stomach, threatening to rise up her throat. She hadn’t even eaten yet today! It was barely nine AM, castle time. Everybody else was on the bridge by now, she was sure. But she just couldn’t get up. The pain and nausea weren’t even her most pressing issue right now. Forcing herself upright was completely out of the question. She only had so many pairs of underwear, and she wasn’t keen on ruining them. There was no hydrogen peroxide up here, and the paladins had found out the hard way that Altean blood washes out much easier than human. Totally unfair, in her humble opinion. So she resigned herself to staying horizontal for the next five to seven days.
Allura’s voice came over the intercom, “Pidge? Please report to the bridge immediately-”
Hunk cut in, “You’re missing breakfast!” She could imagine the put out look on the princess’s face. It made her want to giggle, if it wouldn’t hurt so badly.
“Yes,” Allura sighed, “As I was saying, please report to the bridge. We have many things to discuss.”
Pidge groaned. How was she supposed to explain that sitting up, let alone standing, wasn’t really an option for her right now? She reached for the intercom, pawing uselessly at the wall until she found the button.
“Uh, go on without me,” she said, racking her brain for excuses, “I’m… busy.”
The speaker crackled to life again. “Busy with what?” Allura asked, “Surely you can work on it out here.”
“No, I- I really can’t. Sorry, princess. It’s um… a personal project.” Pidge cleared her throat, cursing the break in her voice. She clenched her teeth, praying Allura would buy her weak explanation. But alas, the space gods didn’t cut her any slack.
“I understand, but we have pressing issues to discuss which must take priority.”
Pidge groaned, hoping the speaker didn’t pick it up. She felt tears prick her eyes, stupid hormones. Lance’s voice came tinnily through the intercom.
“Don’t worry, princess. I’ll go get her.”
“Thank you, Lance.”
She let go of the button so they wouldn’t hear the pained whine when she rolled over, clutching her stomach. Lance was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. There was no way he’d listen to her, and even if he did, he’d tease relentlessly. Pidge couldn’t deal with that. She would start crying, which would make things so much worse. A few minutes of wallowing later, there was a knock at her door.
“Pidge?”
“Go away Lance!” she shouted, voice scratchy. There was a lump in her throat that refused to be cleared. On the other side of the door, Lance sighed.
“I’m coming in, okay?” he said. She heard the whoosh of the sliding door, and footsteps as Lance toed around her messy room. Pidge squeezed her eyes shut tight, and curled into a ball. Behind her eyelids, she saw Lance’s shadow fall over her as he stood at the edge of her bed. A warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. She fought the urge to lean into it.
“I don’t want to be offensive or anything,” he said, which was never a good start, “But I uh, I have something that might help. Just a wild guess, so if I’m wrong feel free to kick me out.”
Something crinkled in Lance’s pocket as he pulled it out. It sounded like paper, or maybe very thin plastic. He put it on the bed in front of her. Pidge took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. On the mattress was a pad, wrapped in baby pink plastic. She felt her face flush red.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, grabbing it. She heard Lance shift behind her.
“I always carry them with me,” he said, “But I grabbed an extra pack last time we were at the space mall. Oh, also…” A small bottle of ibuprofen landed with a rattle where the pad had been. She snatched it as well. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments.
“How did you know?” Pidge asked, barely above a whisper. Lance chuckled.
“I grew up with two sisters,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice, “So I learned to be prepared.”
She rolled over to face him. He eyed her blanket cocoon, amused. “Thanks,” she said.
Lance waved her off, “Don’t worry about it… but yeah, any time. I’ll leave you alone now, come down to the bridge whenever you’re ready.”
He ruffled her hair, and she pressed into his hand like a cat. Pidge missed her brother Matt so much, but Lance fell into his role surprisingly well. She decided he was on big brother duty until she got Matt back.
After he left, she cleaned herself up, and swallowed the Advil dry. It took a few minutes for her cramps to wear themselves out, but slowly she made her way to the bridge. When she saw Lance there, she beelined to give him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her on instinct, and let out a surprised laugh.
“Hey there,” he said, running a hand through her hair, “Feeling better?”
Pidge sighed, warm and content. She pulled away with a smile.
“Yeah,” she said, “Thanks.”