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Pidge hated nature.
Ok hate was a strong word. They really really didn't like it. Sure they were the paladin of the green lion guardian of the forest and blah blah blah but that doesn't mean they had to like trees or dirt or mud or water. Especially mud and water. Mud was sticky and wet and itchy. It would get inside their armor and they felt like they were losing it whenever it touched their skin. Then the water. If it isn't in the shower, pidge hates getting wet. It makes their clothes heavy and cling to them and weigh them down then all the water in space isn't exactly clean and some of it makes them itchy when it touches their skin. They had sensory issues and mud and water were their biggest enemies because of it. They didn't understand why Keith never had this problem after all he was autistic too why didn't it affect him? It's not like they wanted their teammate to be uncomfortable too but it would make them feel better knowing they were not the only one. So as the team trudged through an uninhabited planet full of thick forests and layers of mud lets just say pidge was not having a good time. At least the air was breathable and they didn't need their helmets.
“This sucks,” they said as they swatted another giant leaf away from their face only for it to swing right back around and knock them over which earned a giggle from the team.
“Aren't you supposed to be in tune with nature and all that jazz?” Lance asked as he helped the younger paladin up off the ground, “I mean this should be your element.”
Pidge fished their glasses out of the mud with a huff and gave them a good shake to get the mud off before putting them back on, “this is not my element. My element is space and science and computers not nature. Nature can suck my di-”
“Pidge!” Shiro interrupted before they could finish, “language.”
Pidge threw their arms up in mock defeat, “I don't even have one of those, how am i not allowed to even say it?” they asked and Lance snorted while Keith rolled his eyes at the two of them.
“No you can't,” Shiro told her. “Where did you get such a pottymouth?”
Pidge chuckled at that. “Potty mouth?”
“Shiro nobody has said that in like years.”
“Except for old people.”
“Yeah I gotta agree with them on that one Shiro.”
“I don't need you to agree with me.”
“Oh shut up lance.”
“You shut up, mullet!”
“Guys!” Pidge yelled to get their attention, “as much as I find entertainment in Lance and Keith’s useless gay pining-”
“That's not-”
“What we're looking for should be just over there.” they pointed past a valley to the other side where a large patch of trees filled to the brim with fruits stood.
“Perfect. Good work pidge.” Shiro ruffled their hair which Pidge pretends to be annoyed by but internally they’re beaming at the praise. Shiro did remind them of Matt afterall so it was the closest they could get to their brother’s praise in space.
“Thanks Shiro! Though I still don't think any of this was worth it for some alien fruit.” They said as they rubbed at the collar of their suit where some mud slipped in, “I've got mud in places mud should not be and desperately need a shower.”
“Wow you're actually willingly taking a shower? We’ve prayed for days like this.” hunk said as he made his way down the hill side with the others. Pidge would have thrown something at him if it wouldn't cause him to fall. If he had his helmet on they would have. Instead they followed the rest of their team down and felt better seeing it was dry dirt at the bottom of the valley instead of more mud.
“Weird,” they commented as they bent down to look closer at the ground, “everything else is covered in mud and water but this part is bone dry. Feels kinda hollow too." Pidge stood back up and as if on cue a loud crack went through the ground beneath them and they froze as the others turned to them at the sound.
Lance, who was the closest to them, reached out first. “Walk over to me and go slow,” he said as he held a hand out to them while the others kept a close eye on the ground ready to grab their fellow paladin if need be.
Pidge took a deep breath then made the first step. There weren't any cracks so that was a good sign. They took two more and the ground still made no move to give away anymore so they figured they could move a little quicker. That was a mistake. They were nearly about to grab Lance's hand when the ground finally gave way beneath their feet and they felt themselves falling and heard someone yelling their name.
Pidge could hear the sound of the water before they hit it, loud and rushing fast. An underground river. Just great. The main reason pidge hated water was because they couldn’t swim. Yes it was embarrassing a paladin of voltron and former garrison cadet couldn't swim but they just never saw the point. They explore space not the ocean in fact they majorly prefer vastness of space over, as they would put it, the horrors of the ocean or any body of water for that matter. The family had tried to teach the youngest Holt to swim plenty of times when they were little but nothing ever stuck. Not to mention little Katie would cling to their brother and refuse to let go even in pools. He would always just laugh and tell them that they were safe with him and he wouldn't let them go. They wished he was here now as the water dragged them down and forced its way into their lungs when they could no longer hold their breath anymore. It burned. It burned down their nose and throat and exploded in their chest. Is this what drowning feels like? They thought. God it's awful. It hurts so bad. I can't breathe. Then it all went dark.
- ••
It was like it happened in slow motion watching the ground give way beneath pidge’s feet then seeing them disappear below the surface. Lance tried to reach out for them but it was too late. They were gone.
“PIDGE!” he yelled as he peered over the edge and watched their body disappear into the water. “Shit! They can't swim!” He looked up to the others and already saw Hunk taking out the spare rope he brought.
“Lance you're the second lightest-” Shiro started but Lance was already tying the rope around himself and getting his helmet on.
“I'll get them back.” he said before jumping down the hole after them.
Lance hit the water far more gracefully than Pidge did and turned on his light looking for that familiar hint of green. Finally he saw them floating in the water and swam over. The closer he got the more panic set in when he noticed they weren’t moving besides the small spasms their body gave to show the water was already filling their lungs. He wasted no time in grabbing them and heading towards the surface, making sure they got up first. When he got back above water he tugged on the rope and held onto pidge tight as they both started getting lifted out the water and back up to the hole. They still hung limp in his arms.
They got back up and Lance handed Pidge off to Keith while Shiro and Hunk helped him out. Keith quickly took pidge to a more stable part of the ground and laid them down.
“They're not breathing,” he said, taking their chest piece of their armor off to start CPR. The rest of the team gathered and watched as Keith did compressions on a body that was way too small to no longer be moving. “Come on, pidge. Come on,” Keith muttered under his breath as he continued to try and revive the kids he's come to know as a little sister. Their face was pale and their lips blue and cold but Keith was not stopping for anything. They heard a loud, mechanical roar in the distance, no doubt the green lion wondering what the problem was with her paladin and that only aided Keith to keep going. If the green lion was still going then Pidge was alive. Finally their eyes shot open and their chest shook as they started to cough up the water that had once invaded their lungs. Keith and Shiro were helping them sit up and Shiro gave their back a firm pat so the rest of the water would come back up too. When it was all finally gone they took a gasping breath and slumped onto Keith's shoulder. Shiro continued to rub their back.
“Easy there Katie,” he spoke softly. “Deep breaths just like that.”
Pidge tried to do as he said and take deep slow breaths until finally their breathing evened out. Their nose and throat still burned but at least they were alive. Suddenly their body lunged forward and they threw up a mix of water and mud onto the ground. Tears threatened to spill over just from the pain alone but pidge refused to let them fall. They didn't like crying. A hand touched their cheek and gently tilted their head up so the others could see them.
“You with us Pidge?”
Pidge blinked a few times and squinted in an attempt to see who was talking to them. Finally they realized it was Lance and gave a small smile. “I'm ok. My lungs burn and I can't see for shit but I'm ok.” They were slowly helped up off the ground and braced from the side when their legs nearly gave out on them. They tried to shake it off knowing they just needed a few minutes to recuperate.
“We should get them back to the ship and into a cryopod.” Hunk tried to whisper it so Pidge wouldn't hear but they did.
“No. No cryopods. I hate them. They're cold and disorienting I'm not going on one.” as much as Pidge admired Altean technology they hated those pods. How could they be capable of healing the body from injuries yet absolutely suck to be in? Granted Pidge just wasn't a fan of the cold seeing as they were anemic but still. They didn't like things messing with their head and they always came out of the cryopods confused and their brain would feel fuzzy for a bit after. Coran and Allura always assured them that it was just an after effect of them waking up out of a deep sleep but Pidge still didn't like it. Trying to get them into a pod was a fight every time and Hunk had the bite marks on his arms to prove it.
No one said anything in response so Pidge took that as a win (it wasn't) and was sure that meant they wouldn't get put in a pod (they will). They did let Keith give them a piggy back ride back to the castle. Sometimes they did like to enjoy just being a kid.