Chapter Text
Pidge was completely, absolutely aware of the facts. The sky was blue. Grass? Green. Her brother? Total nuisance. And the most painfully obvious fact of all: she despised her soulmate and hasn’t even met them.
All thanks to the word branded on her skin, one tiny word etched into her side, just beneath her breast:
“Shit.”
Pidge heard, once, that you can tell a lot about your soulmate based on the words etched into your skin.
Her soulmate?
Clearly the biggest wad on planet Earth.
She was grateful it was easy to conceal. How lucky she was, to have that demonic word hiding beneath her clothes all her life. Shit. What kind of situation does she get herself into, that this is the best first thing her soulmate could come up with?!
Pidge sometimes hoped that, whoever they were, had something far worse tattooed on their flesh. Perhaps a more creative, poetic string of curses. Yeah. Absolutely. Of course they did.
“Your face is going to get stuck like that.”
What?
She snapped her head up, focusing her attention towards the speaker. Matt, her brother, who had sat down a box on the floor of the small apartment. He wiped his brow, offering the younger a smile. Pidge wrinkled her nose in response.
“Quite the range of emotions you’re going through today, huh, Katie?”
Her face softened. “Sorry. I was just thinking about my stupid, stupid soulmate.”
“Ah. The Shitter.”
Pidge snorted at the nickname the siblings had come up for her mysterious soulmate. They had thought it up in high school, when Pidge was just entering her freshman year, worried out of her mind over meeting her soulmate at fourteen. Calling them a crude nickname made her feel a lot better, really.
Pidge felt a vibration in the pocket of her hoodie, withdrawing her phone to reveal a text from one of her new coworkers.
Hunk: Hey Pidge, when are u coming in? Everyone’s so excited 2 meet u, :-)
She tapped out a quick reply-- I just got settled in here. Will be there soon.
Pidge felt her heart skip a beat. She clenched her fists, staring down at them. Thanks to her father and brother’s positions at the Garrison headquarters, she got lucky enough to start work at one of the Garrison’s top agencies, Voltron. Pidge didn’t know a lot about Voltron; she knew they were a new branch, and that they specialized in a lot of things, from tech and science to diplomacy and charity. She knew it was a small team, and she was to work with the new tech and science they were testing out.
Unfortunately, Voltron was located far from their home in Oregon, and Pidge found herself shipped out to the big city. Alone.
At least, she wasn’t alone for the weekend, what with Matt helping her get settled in.
“You look like you’re about to barf.”
Pidge made a mental note to forget any sentimentality she had towards her brother.
“I just got a text from one of my new coworkers. Asking where I am.”
“Ah. Do they want you to get down to work?”
“Yeah. First day, am I right?” Pidge let out a nervous laugh, crossing the room to her small kitchen, where her backpack had been thrown over the counter.
“You’re going to do great. These Voltron guys are going to love you.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re my brother.”
“Maybe a little bit.”
The two departed the apartment, walking down the tight flight of stairs in the building and out onto the busy city streets,scurrying down the sidewalk. It was late September, and the leaves on the trees were fading into soft shades of red and orange. The air was crisp and clean. Pidge loved the fall, if she was honest. Spring made her allergies act up. Summer was uncomfortably warm. Winter, far too cold. Fall was just right.
“You think you’ll meet them here?” Matt was suddenly asking, keeping up with Pidge’s wide strides (despite her small stature), a smile forming on his face.
“Who? Shitter?”
“Who else?”
“I haven’t met them yet, so, a good probability. But I hope not.”
“Really? Okay. We haven’t talked seriously about your whole soulmate issue, so let’s have at it.”
Pidge rolled her eyes at her brother as they came to a crosswalk, waiting with other pedestrians for the light to turn. Easy for him to say, she figured. Matt had nice words on his bicep-- “where did you get your jacket?”-- and had already found his soulmate. The answer was “Macy’s,” scrawled on his boyfriend’s wrist in Matt’s unmistakable curve. He was lucky. They were lucky. Neither of them got stuck with the Shitter.
“What’s there to talk about? I’ve got bigger things to worry about, Matt. Like Voltron, for example. I’m sure the Shitter can wait for me.”
Matt gave her an apologetic smile. She wasn’t a fan of that smile. It carried too much pity for her, and did so without having to say a single word.
“Mom says you should give them a chance, if you do find them.”
“You say that like I have a choice not to.”
“Well, Katie, I think she means that you’re not a very good people person.”
“Wow, fresh observation. Next you’re going to tell me that I need a better haircut.”
Pidge almost didn’t see the office at first; it was a squat office building, a sign in one of the windows advertising VOLTRON INDUSTRIES in big, bold letters, words spiking out of the roaring visage of a lion. She stopped listening to what Matt was saying, navigating the sidewalk to enter the building.
“Welcome to Voltron Industries!” Chirped a voice from the round disk in the center of the room. A mustached man sat there, grinning widely at the two siblings. “Which one of you is Kaitlyn Holt?”
Pidge raised a sheepish hand, exchanging a quick glance with Matt. “Uh, I am. But you can call me Pidge.”
The man’s corners of his mustache seemed to turn up, and he swept around the table in boisterous grandeur-- he sure knew how to bring drama, Pidge deduced. The man extended a hand, eyes twinkling.
“Alright then, Pidge! You can call me Coran. I dabble in a lot of fields here at Voltron.”
Pidge offered her hand, smiling. “Dabble, huh?”
“Certainly. We try to run a tight ship here, and that means all hands on deck.” A wink. Pidge liked the old man. “Is this your brother? The famed Matthew Holt?”
“‘Famed’ is a strong word, sir,” Matt said, a soft laugh in his voice. “But yeah. I’m Matt. Thank you guys for hiring my sister.”
“Nonsense. She has exemplary marks from her schooling. We love having bright, young minds here. You’re fresh out of university, correct Pidge?”
“Uh,” Pidge managed, nodding her head. “Yeah.”
Pidge wasn’t much of a bragger when it came to school; it wasn’t her fault that education came naturally to her. She was a double major, in physics and engineering. Skipped a grade, graduated at twenty years old instead of twenty-one. A university social life? Nonexistent. Not in her calculations.
She stopped paying attention to Coran, who was now blabbering on to Matt. Her eyes traced the corners of the main floor. It was white, clean. Futuristic, if she dared say. A single potted fern in the corner of the room that looked less-than-real. Ugly, splattered paintings on the wall to give it more of a dental office feeling than that of a government branch. She shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her olive-toned hoodie, anxious to see more of the building.
“So, Pidge, ready for the tour?”
Pidge blinked up at the older man, raising a hand to push her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. The anxiety she was feeling earlier had come back full force, twisting knots hard in her stomach, rolling up into her throat, scratching upon the surface of her skin. She begged for her voice to work, but all she managed was a nod.
“Great! Matthew, would you care to join us?”
Please say yes.
“Actually, Katie, if you don’t mind, I was gonna go back to your place and get some of your things unpacked. You know, less work for you.”
Fuck.
“Sure,” her voice came out low. She cleared her throat, hard. “Just text me, okay?”
“No problem.” Matt opened his arms wide, grinning. “One hug before you go.”
“You’re a loser.” She walked into his embrace, squeezing her arms tight around her older brother. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Good luck. And, oh, thank you, Coran.”
They parted with a few small waves, before Coran turned away to face an elevator, pounding the ‘up’ button.
“Your brother is a nice fellow.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you excited to tour our offices?”
“Mhm. Mostly for the labs.”
“Oh! You’ll love the labs. State of the art equipment, I’m sure you’re no stranger to.”
She let out a laugh. “I wish. I’m itching to get to work.”
The elevator dinged, the door sliding open to invite the pair in. Coran pressed the button to the second floor.
“Well, Allura encourages creativity, using your skills to your best ability.”
“Ah. Is Allura--?”
“Your boss? Yes. Manages this place. You’ll like her.”
Pidge felt the anxious knots in her chest begin to subside. Coran was kind, and she was grateful for the kindness on her first day.
There was another ding, and the elevator opened onto a different room. It was wide, open, with the large windows she saw outside letting in floods of natural light onto the workspace. Clean, pristine white walls covered in notes and blueprints and pictures. Industrial fans spinning slowly on the ceiling. Tables covered in more blueprints, parts, laptops opened on a few desks. The setting was surprisingly colorful, with colorful chairs, bean bags, decorations adorning the wide room. Pidge noticed the transparent, wheeled whiteboards, two empty, two scribbled on. The latest top 40 hits playing quietly across the floor. A ping pong table at one corner, with a turned off flatscreen nearby. She turned her head to find part of one wall decked out to be a kitchen, could smell freshly brewed coffee, a person working the machine.
“Woah.” Was all that came out of her mouth.
“What do you think?”
“Uh, incredible. This isn’t… like a normal lab.”
“Nope! It’s kind of a hodge podge of everything. We have a normal lab upstairs, but you’ll be doing most of your work here.”
“Uh huh.”
“Hey, Pidge!”
The voice shook Pidge from her stupor. She focused again on the person brewing coffee. Tall, wide. A wide grin on his face, a yellow beanie over dark hair. She recognized him from video chatting.
“Hi, Hunk.”
The larger came over, outstretching his arms to wrap Pidge in a tight hug.
“Man, it’s so good to see you in the flesh! Though, really, I thought you’d be taller.”
She let out a laugh at the larger, wriggling to be released from his grasps. “I’m tall enough! Five foot perfect.”
Hunk let out a snort, raising a hand to Coran. “Did you think she’d be taller?”
Coran shrugged. “I try not to make assumptions until seen. But I didn’t realize you two were speaking. Are you--?”
Pidge shook her head, hard, already knowing what the old man was trying to imply. “Not at all. Hunk told me your boss wanted him to talk to me first, since he’s the other tech guy here.”
Hunk nodded in agreement. “Yep. Thanks for trying, though.”
Coran rolled his eyes. “Well, I like to try.”
Pidge stole a look at Hunk, who noticed her. He winked, mouthing, “we can talk about it later.”
It never occurred to her the big guy might not have met his soulmate yet, either. Of course, she shouldn’t have been so shocked; she had pushed back the problem with soulmates far into the back of her mind that she often seemed to forget that most people her age were in her same position. Soulmate-less.
A beep came from Coran’s chest pocket. He withdrew a pager, reading it quickly before nodding up at the two young adults. “My apologies. I have to make a call with clients right now. Hunk, can you take over the tour for me?”
“You got it, boss.”
“Thank you. It was nice meeting you, Pidge. We’ll talk later!”
The man pushed hurriedly on the down button of the escalator, escaping, leaving the pair alone in the wide office space. Hunk let out a low whistle.
“So, there’s not really much to tour. This is kind of the entire thing. Coffee?”
“Yeah. Thanks. Where is everyone else?”
“Allura and Shiro are in a meeting, and Keith and Lance went to get lunch. You’re going to love everyone. Probably.”
Pidge nodded, following the taller into the kitchen space, watching as he pulled two mugs from a cabinet and began to pour coffee.
“So, that’s what? Seven people including me?”
“Yep. Real small team, right? I’ll be glad to have another tech person around.”
“The others don’t do tech?”
“Not really. Allura kind of does, but she’s in charge of everything so she doesn’t have a lot of time to help out. Coran’s techie, but he’s usually doing his own thing. Do you do cream and sugar?”
“Just cream, thanks. And the others?”
“Shiro’s like, assistant boss. You’ll like him. He takes over when Allura’s busy. Keith’s quiet, does a lot of the website stuff and organizational things. Lance… sticks his hand in too many baskets. Mostly in charge of events, but helps with anything. Don’t let him near the tech stuff, though.”
Pidge snorted, taking the mug offered to her. “That’s a lot to keep track of.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
The elevator dinged, again, and Pidge listened as two voices began to flood into the room.
“I’m just saying. Ice powers are way, way cooler than fire powers. Pun totally intended.”
“What’s so great about making everything cold?”
“Uhm, frozen hot chocolate.”
“That’s what you’re going to use your ice powers for? Frozen hot chocolate?”
“Obviously. What are you doing with fire powers?”
“Kicking ass and taking names.”
“Sure, doofus.”
The pair turned the corner, and Pidge raised her eyebrows at the spectacle. Two boys, much taller than her, but not much older. One dressed in black, a motorcycle jacket tossed over his shoulder, balancing a box of metal trays in one hand-- Pidge wouldn’t admit it to him, but she thought he looked kind of cool. The other was taller than him, a shit eating grin on his face, dressed in comfortable greys and blues, brown hair in disarray. The brown haired boy raised a hand to Hunk.
“Hey dude! We got Chipotle. Burrito bowls. They’re all pretty much the same, so yanno.”
“Thanks, Lance.” Hunk answered, then indicated Pidge. “Did you pick one up for the new kid?”
“New kid--?” Lance began, and then his gaze finally fell on Pidge.
She felt anxious, under the new guy’s scrutiny. His dark blue eyes widened at her, mouth dropping a little. What was he--
“Shit.”
She froze.
No.
“I totally forgot she was coming in today. Keith, did we get an extra bowl?”
“Uh, no. I didn’t even know we had a new hire.”
“Dude, do you not read the company emails?”
This had to be some real fucked, cruel joke.
A tingle began on her skin, right beneath her breast where that one word was scrawled. A word that made her despise her soulmate from the start, because what kind of person opens with the word “shit”?
Maybe it’s just a fluke. Flukes happen all the time. Dad’s is ‘pardon me!’ for fuck’s sake!
A hand was suddenly thrust in front of her eyes. Pidge raised her head to look again at Lance, the boy who said the one word she had been dreading her whole life.
She wanted to hate him.
“Sorry about not getting you a burrito bowl. I’m Lance.”
She really, really wanted to despise him. And it had nothing to do with forgetting she was coming, forgetting a burrito bowl.
Shit.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”