#lots of plngst

[toocool2btrue]

Distance 1/2

This story is specially dedicated to @4evertiredpigeon. A very late birthday present. thank you for waiting so much, also special thanks to @artemisarya for making that much needed drawing for inspiration.

So I’ll make sure to keep my distance. Say “I love you” when you are not listening.

Lance stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, his skin had considerably darkened over his few years worth of farming experience, his features had matured over the following time period as well and that famous look of the teenage boy which once graced the heroic posters and countless magazines had long disappeared.

Instead there stood a man in his twenties, a man who had lost himself to his past while the rest of his comrades had decided to move forward. He lightly touched one of the bright blue Altean marks which scarred either side of his cheeks, there was a time when he considered them the greatest honor the universe could ever bestow on him.

After all he was the reminder of the universe’s savior, people would look at him and be reminded of Princess Allura and the epic sacrifices she had made for them. Eventually that was all he was worth and known for Allura’s shadow and nothing more unless being an Human Altean hybrid counted as something.

His glare narrowed from his tired face to the blue marks. He immediately looks away from his own reflection, he couldn’t even recognize himself anymore. It felt like looking at a completely different person and now he understands why his friends hesitated to meet his eyes.

His heart races at the prospect of finally moving forward, it felt terrifying yet exciting. Nervousness override him at the thought of working back in the Garrison, In his early years of self isolation the Garrison had offered him the post of pilot many times but despite the constant encouragement by his friends and family he refused to accept it.

Eventually everyone gave up on him, some people even choose to leave and he couldn’t blame them. Lance had no one but himself to blame for this current state…

A sharp knock on the bathroom door broke his train of thoughts. “Lance come down when you are done. Breakfast is ready” called out the familiar yet stiff voice.

He froze hearing her voice which was pretty stupid considering that he was living in her house. Accepting the Holt’s generous offer had not been a easy task for Lance. After all the person who connected him to this family, had long dissolved what remained of their frayed relationship. Ironically, that person was the same reason he had decided to accept the offer because if Lance was ready to turn his life around, mending his friendship with that specific person was a part of it.

“Uh..coming!” he yelled back, splashing his face with cold water and quickly grabbing his toothbrush.

It would be the utmost lie to say that he wasn’t disappointed, when he finally reached the kitchen to see the owner of the voice not present. Instead Colleen Holt gave him a sympathetic smile and gestured to the plate of pancakes on the table.

“Katie told me you have a big appetite. Feel free to ask for more” she kindly offered and Lance in turn only mumbled a shy thank you before taking the seat opposite to Colleen.

He quietly chewed on his pancake, which were delicious by the way trying to douse his unhappiness with breakfast. He could feel Colleen’s eyes on him and it took another moment before she finally spoke again.

“I am sorry that you haven’t got the chance to meet Katie yet. She’s just been very busy with work” she apologized. Lance gave her a small smile in return.

“It’s alright. I understand” he mumbled, truth was that he did understand. He couldn’t count the times his mother made similar excuses for him to sometimes turn down his friends. Lance inhaled softly, it was all his self created mess and he prayed that he gets a chance to fix it.

_______________________

Katie sighed in exhaustion as she opened the front door. The house was filled with a peaceful quietness and Katie wanted to do nothing more than collapse in her comfy bed and never wake up.

Unfortunately fate or more specifically her mother had different ideas. Colleen Holt slowly walked into the living room with a stern look in her eyes and her arms crossed against her chest.

“Katrina Holt, look at the time!” She demanded. “Mom I messaged you I would be late today but I still manage to have dinner” she added, hoping it would ease her case.

Unfortunately it didn’t and it was clear that her fate was sealed for the night, her mother momentarily flashed her concerned look before reverting back to the stern one.

“Katie, Lance has been here since last night and yet you haven’t spend even five minutes with the boy. What has gotten into you?”

“Mom the Garrison-” she started to protest.

“Can live without you for a few days. Katie, work is important but there is nothing more important than family and friends. Especially if your friend needs you” she mumbled the last part.

Katie’s eyes mildly widened in concern as Colleen continued, “I talked to his Sara (Lance’s mom) earlier. She told me that he has been very anxious for the exam. He really needs your support right now”

Guilt clawed at Katie’s heart, she admits that over the years due to her own personal reasons she had decided to keep her distance from Lance but at the end of the day they were all the soldiers of the same war. When one solider falls the other helps him up.

“Where is he right now?” Katie asked, feeling the rise of nervous butterflies in her stomach. Colleen motioned to the stairway, “In his room, he told me that he was going to be studying”

Katie nodded, slowly climbing the stairs to her brother’s old room which was now occupied by the ex-red paladin. Light spilled out from the partly opened door into the dark hallway.

Although it was awfully quiet, “Lance?” she whispered opening the door a little wider to see a figure slumped on the desk in the corner of the room. She tiptoed into the room to see her friend fast asleep, the desk was piled with open books and scribbled notes.

Lance was out cold snoring softly, his head resting on the table using one of the books as a makeshift pillow. It had been a longtime, since she had seen him that close, his past flawless skin looked beaten and tired. There were dark bags under his eyes and just as she was about to look away, there they were the Altean marks.

You would think that one would after all these years grow accustomed to them but still they always managed to uncomfortably twist her stomach with dread. Ever since Lance had gotten them, he was no longer Lance….

Katie shook her head, shaking away all the thoughts of the past that she preferred to stay away from. Instead she decided to focus back on her friend, it was obvious that he was exhausted and Katie didn’t want to disturb his slumber.

Instead she gently lifted his head to remove the book underneath it and replaced it with a pillow and covered the sleeping figure with a blanket. All these actions hardly stirred him, she adjusted the blanket properly where it slid from one of his shoulders and then closed the lights.

In the darkness she glanced one last time at silhouette before finally leaving.

______________

Next morning Lance slowly made his way downstairs, rubbing his head. He had slept in later than he usually would and as he made his way to the kitchen. The lack of noise made him suspect whether anyone was even at home

To his utter surprise, it was Katie who he ran into. In his sleepy haze it took him a minute to actually realize that it in fact his ‘Pidge��� standing in front of him. Katie was a no stranger to change herself, she had miraculously actually grown taller, her hair was now longer and tied back into a pony. Even the childhood chubbiness from her cheeks had disappeared and instead her face held more of a mature charm.

“You’re here. I was about to go wake you up” she greeted, setting down two coffee mugs on the table and he simply nodded taking a seat. Lance felt partly relieved knowing they were still up for casual conversations.

“How come you’re home at this time?” He questioned curiously trying to continue the conversation. Katie took a grateful sip of her coffee before replying.

“I was working late yesterday, couldn’t wake up on time. How is your studying going?” she asked in return, placing a pile of toast on the table.

Lance rubbed his eyes, "I feel like 17 again but not in a good way. I had forgotten how anxious exam time used to make me, couldn’t sleep properly for the past few days and now when I finally got the peace and tranquility that I needed to concentrate I passed out”

Katie giggled handing him the jar of strawberry jam, Lance gratefully took it and started spreading it his toast as he continued talking, bringing back old frankness in the conversation.

“I love my big family and all but Katie, I gotta say your house feels like a haven to me. I swear, I don’t know how I ever managed to study there. There are always like five people shouting in the background”. Katie snorted, taking a bite of her peanut butter sandwich. “Probably that’s why our moms considered it would be a better idea if you came here a week earlier to the pilot exams”

“I am really grateful for all of this” Lance offered sincerely.

Katie shook her head,”I can’t take any credit for this.This is all our moms planning after all”

 It was really ironic that overtime their mothers had become better friends than them due to the fact Colleen provided Lance’s family with various fertilizers which improved their crops and they in turn supported some of her experiments that needed more of a natural environment though as time went by Sara and Colleens conversations turned from plants to their children and they bonded to become close friends after all hardly a handful of people understood what these mothers had gone through. 

“I didn’t even know that you were coming prior to two days” she replied honestly.  “What?” Lance questioned in disbelief.

“Well Mom has a tendency to forget things and it’s not like you and I..” Katie froze, realizing they were treading to dangerous territory.

“Anyway..” she cleared her throat, “Dad is finally coming home this evening from his international seminar and I am sure he can give you some useful pointers for the exam”

“That would be great, if its not to much trouble for him” he mumbled shyly in response. “Don’t be silly. Dad would love to help you out, he would have become a teacher if he didn’t love building rockets so much” she assured, getting up and grabbing her garrison jacket.

“Well I am off to work” she announced, pausing to grimace at her phone which had been constantly beeping with messages. “There is already a problem waiting for me.”

Lance nodded understandingly, “Good luck” 

“Good luck to you too. I’ll see you at dinner” she waved off and disappeared out of the door. It took him another minute to actually register the last sentence. Warmth bloomed in his heart and Lance tried to bite back his smile as he took another sip of his coffee. It such small thing but he knew Katie well enough to know it was a step towards progress. 

____________________

“Then I got up from the coma and shot Sendak’s arm!” Lance narrated to the amused Colleen as they prepared dinner together. “Keith also said that we had bonding moment but I don’t remember anything like that” he claimed to which Colleen giggled.

“Hunk once told me that you tried to attack Ezor and Zethrid when they singled out Katie even though your own hands were tied as well. That was very brave of you” she complimented to which Lance smiled bashfully. “Of course I would. i can’t count the times, she has done the same for me”

“Wait! I didn't tell you about the time we went to an alternate universe. We got into a fight and my head was probably about to be cut off if Kat-” his story was cut short as his phone suddenly started ringing. He immediately smiled seeing it was his mother.

Colleen smiled knowingly, “Go talk to her, I’ll take care of the rest. We are almost done anyway” 

Lance nodded gratefully and headed out to the front porch, “Hello Mami, I hope you haven't been missing me too much?” he teased . “My dear son, of course i miss you but the people who miss you the most, are Nadia and Slyvio .They were very upset that you left again but when I told them you are to become a pilot-”

The rest of his mother’s words zoned out as Lance saw unfamiliar car park itself near the Holt’s house. Katie came out of the car and Lance was about to wave to her when he realized her attention was already occupied. She was talking to the person in the driving seat and soon enough the mystery figure also came out of the car.

He was a man of tall build and had light colored hair, the two figures unknown to their spectator stood too close for it to be considered platonic. The man dipped his head towards her but was playfully pushed away till Katie finally complied for a quick kiss on the cheek.

Although it was a simple act of affection, one he had witnessed a hundred times there was something to it that made his face grow hot and his heart skipped uncomfortably.

“Lance?!” his mother called out to him from the other line and it was enough to bring him back to reality. “Yes Mom?” he nervously laughed, letting his eyes fall to the ground.

“Where did you disappear?” She questioned, quizzically and Lance cleared his throat trying to ignore the weird twist in his stomach meanwhile maintaining his eye contact with the ground.

“There must be some problem with the reception” he mumbled half heartily, “Mami, It’s time for dinner. I will call you later, Goodbye” he hastily ended the call. He gave a quick glance to the still occupied couple and then headed inside.

_______________________

Later that night, they sat in Katie’s room flight manuals, textbooks and notebooks sprawled on her bed. Lance felt ready to drop dead in any minute but for the sake of his friend who was also sacrificing her night to help him, he kept his eyes pried open.

“So did the conversation with Dad help you?” she asked, taking a sip of her late night coffee. Lance felt rise of guilt, Katie must be mentally cursing him with every passing minute.

“Yeah.. yeah it did” he mumbled half asleep, rubbing his eyes. Sam Holt truly had made his life easier by providing him with all the necessary tips but unfortunately there was still the part of actually implementing on those tips.

The quiet night, his comfortable pajamas and the warm soft bed were doing a successful job in luring him to sleep. He glanced at Bae Bae who was sound asleep, her head resting on Katie’s lap, in his sleepy haze he started considering how much easier life would have been if he was a dog.

Katie on the other hand looked focused as always, her eyes had a glassy look of exhaustion he was familiar with but they still determinedly scanned from one paragraph to another. After while Lance couldn’t take it anymore, as much as he appreciated his friend’s help knowing she was a certified genius but the truth was he would much prefer to just have a normal conversation with her.

“Katie. Can we please stop? You are exhausted” he requested, reaching out to pry the manual from her hands. Katie momentarily looked at him as if she wanted to protest but then silently nodded letting Lance collect the rest of his clutter.

She leaned against the headboard, closing her eyes for a second. She was surprised to see Lance still sitting at the edge of her bed, he had cleared the books to one side and instead looked at her expectantly. She hated it when people looked at her expectantly at 11:30 pm but this wasn’t just anybody. He was Lance afterall. Brown eyes, Blue eyes and of course those Altean marks but they weren’t there when she had fallen for him all those years back.

That still didn’t stop her from feeling guilty, even without those Altean marks. It was always that clear Lance’s heart belonged to Allura and she had certified herself an idiot for ever thinking otherwise.

“Katie can we just..you know talk?” Lance mumbled hopefully, her eyes widened. Although it seemed like a simple request, the two people in question knew better. They hadn’t just talked in a longtime, todays breakfast didn’t count. It was something she had more or else rehearsed over last night.

She had this plan constructed and this was most definitely not part of the plan. In their paladin days, Lance and her had shared many late night talks while playing video games and her younger self had always been thrilled to share those intimate moments with him but now…things were different.

She glanced at the man, who still hopefully looked for her response. “Lance, I had a long day…” she mumbled, trying to kindly reject the offer.

She could practically see the light in his eyes dim and his face fell. Katie looked away, reconsidering her decision. Despite the fact she wasn’t in love with him anymore, she still had that damn soft spot for the ex-red paladin.

“But I am really curious on what happened with Keith on the planet of Gustav. I heard some major trouble arised when he visited it for a mission?” she questioned with a mischievous smile.

Lance nodded enthusiastically, leaning a bit more forward to tell the tale. “Three princesses of different countries of Gustav, fell in love with him and then they started fighting on who actually gets to marry Keith. Which almost led to a World War in the planet. Keith had to go into hiding because there was a high chance he was going to get kidnapped by one of the countries”

“What?!” Katie snorted, she knew it was plain evil to laugh on her friends misfortune but it couldn’t be helped.

Lance joined in laughter at the same time trying to catch his breath to tell the rest of the story. Thus it was the beginning for a very long night.

______________________

A few days later, Lance found himself in the Garrison to submit his application and get his physical examination. Although the need for more pilots had increased over the recent years there were still a high competition for the post.

Most of the applicants already knew each other well enough and chatted among themselves excitedly. Lance on the other hand, wanted to throw up. He was having second thoughts about giving the exam, doubts and insecurities plagued him, what if he fails? His family and friends would be so disappointed in him.

His attention however got slightly diverted as one of the candidates mentioned the Red lion.

“Dude I am telling you. That’s the pilot of Red lion” One of the applicants furiously whispered to his friend.

The friend not so discreetly glanced at Lance and then muttered , “You’re right but what is he doing here? Doesn’t he live on the farm or something”

Lance sighed taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, it wasn’t the first time he heard it. On his way he had been met with a lot of surprised and even some judgmental stares, that is the downside of being a public figure your decisions aren’t yours anymore. Thankfully Katie had already sensed his nervousness and insisted on walking with him the entire way.

The first one shrugged, “I don’t know but it would be pretty cool to have him around” he grinned and his friend nodded enthusiastically.

“I heard that he was the first person chosen by the Blue lion even though Takashi Shirogane was also present” the second candidate informed.

“He must be an amazing pilot then. It’s a good thing he decided to come back” he awed and his friend nodded.

The indirect praise slightly subsided his nervousness, Lance nodded determinedly. He could do this, they quiznacking saved the universe. Of course he can pass the pilot exam, he had people who believed in him and he couldn’t let them down.

_____________

As Lance got out of his physical exam, he was pleasantly surprised to find Katie waiting for him, She gave him a small smile which he responded with a bright grin.

“I can’t believe infamous Katie Holt is waiting for me?” he questioned teasingly to which Katie rolled her eyes, “Veronica wanted to check up on you but she was pulled into this last minute meeting so she send me instead”

“I am hurt, Pidge. I thought you actually came here to see me” he sighed dramatically. Katie tried her best to fight back the smile at her friend’s theatrics but failed miserably.

“Lance, you goof. I already see you everyday, few hours of not seeing each other won’t kill us” she stated, with a hint of fondness in her tone.

It brought back the warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. Although their current situation was temporary, he liked the idea of seeing Katie everyday and his friends more often. Despite the anxiety and feeling out of place, Lance felt sure he was making the right decision.

Lance grinned as the perfect response came into his mind, “Well technically speaking-”

“Katie!!” a man’s voice called out from across the hallway. Startling the two friends, Lance immediately recognized the tall blond from the few days back.

The blond finally reached the pair, he had a excited grin on his face as he thrust out his right hand for Lance to shake.

“You must be Lance McClain. It’s nice to finally meet you” he greeted enthusiastically, Lance returned the handshake while unsurely glancing back at his friend.

“Lance, this is Eric” she finally introduced.

“Nice to meet you as well, Eric” he replied with a small smile.

“Katie told me you are trying out to be the pilot. Best of luck” Eric encouraged and Lance nodded gratefully. “Although if you want..” he added cheekily “My father is onthe board. I could give a good name for you”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lance is a great pilot. He doesn’t need anything like that” Katie immediately intervened much to Lance’s relief.

“And you” she stated, lightly smacking Eric’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t be offering such things”

Eric chuckled, rubbing his shoulder. “Relax. I was just joking”

Lance chuckled weakly to support Eric’s remark, the conversation was yet again interrupted when Katie received a phone call and she stepped a bit aside to talk.

Lance and Eric meanwhile awkwardly stood with one another, not knowing how to continue the conversation. Till Lance noticed that Eric was still rubbing her arm. Maybe that wasn’t a light smack as it looked.

“Still hurts huh?” he questioned, gesturing to his arm and Eric nodded, “I think sometimes Katie underestimates her own strength ” he affectionately laughed.

“I should have gotten used to it by now. You see, that’s just how she shows affection” Eric informed, the lighthearted comment unfortunately struck the wrong cord with Lance.

“I know” he replied in a humorless manner, of course he knew that’s how Pidge showed her affection. Heck he had been in the receiving end of those affections long before this dude even existed in her life.

The look of surprise on Eric’s face gave Lance a nice reality check that he might be getting too flustered over nothing. As much as he hoped, he didn’t think adding Lool to the conversation was going to be very helpful. Thankfully his savior arrived yet again.

“Eric, I have to go now. I’ll see you at lunch” she informed her boyfriend. Who nodded and lightly squeezed her hand in response, she then turned to Lance “You are coming with me. Veronica said she will pick you up from my lab for lunch”

“Let’s get going” she ushered, grabbing Lance’s wrist and gently tugging him to start moving while she furiously typed on her phone with her other hand. Lance made a mental note, to never cross paths with Pidge during work hours.

“Why am I under constant surveillance by you two?” he mumbled, feeling slightly annoyed as he followed Pidge to her lab.

“Well considering the fact you looked like you were ready to bolt any minute this morning. We considered this would be much more safer option” she replied snarkily, still occupied with her phone.

“By the way. Try to come back home till dinner, I wasn’t supposed to tell you this but Mom is making garlic knots for you” she informed with a small smile, finally looking him in the eyes.

Lance felt a rush of gratitude, a part of him felt as if he didn’t deserve the love and support his friends and especially Katie and her family was giving him but another part him advised that he should try to cherish it and in given time return it if he could.

“And before you start thinking again that we are doing too much. You should know, that Mom and Dad really like having you around and that’s why mom interrogated me to know what was your favorite food. You don’t how scary that was” Katie laughed and Lance joined in.

It took him a moment to realize that Katie hadn’t mentioned that she was glad to have him too. He regretted, that after so much effort he had done in their earlier years of friendship for her to open up. He let those walls grow back for him. It was bound to happen for he had never taken in account other people’s feelings during his period of self isolation and this was his price to pay.

They finally reached the lab to see Veronica already waiting for them at the door. She immediately engulfed Lance into a hug throwing her strict professionalism to the side.

“Sorry I couldn’t meet up with you earlier” she apologized, pulling away to which Lance simply nodded, accepting the apology. Lance from the corner of his eye spotted Katie looked a bit teary eyed witnessing the scene, most likely she was thinking about her own brother who was currently galaxies away.

Seeing a sudden vulnerable side to her, made his heart ache and Lance really wanted to hug and comfort her. Although they had shared a lot of half hearted group hugs after the war, Lance felt like it had been centuries since he had held Katie.

Katie was a master of concealing her emotions, a moment later the teary look was gone and instead a big smile radiated on her. “I have to get going now. Have fun you guys” she waved off before disappearing behind the closed doors of her lab.

Lance didn’t know he had been holding his breath till Veronica lightly shook him to get back his attention. “I have found this great place with the best milkshakes” she informed and Lance nodded excitedly trying to keep up with his sister. He gently touching his chest, inside of which his heart beat wildly. He didn’t know the exact reason but most likely just of the exciting day he just had…..

______________________

Later that night at the Holt’s home, Colleen looked up from her book as her daughter entered the kitchen.

“Sam must be telling stories of his youth again?” she questioned her daughter, who just had come back from the living room. Sam Holt aside from being a researcher loved to tell stories in his free time and now after a long search he had found his perfect audience in Lance who in turn loved to listen to tales.

Katie grinned mischievously, taking a seat next to her mother. “He is telling the story of how you two met”

“He’s probably told it a hundred times by now.” Colleen replied, pretending to be annoyed but there was this obvious glow of happiness radiating from her demeanor. Katie had no one but her own parents to blame for her high expectation for love.

“I talked to Sara earlier today. She was really hoping after he settles down that he would give love another chance. Start dating again” Colleen informed, casually flipping through her book.

Katie stared at her mother in bewilderment, “But Mom what about the whole Allura-”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Katie. I know Allura meant a lot to all of you but don’t forget he was just a boy of 17 when he lost her. He is only 23 now and has his whole life ahead of him, the only logical thing for him would be to move on” her mother stated sternly.

Colleen’s expression slightly softened and she lowered her voice, “Honey, you kids need to realize that life isn’t meant to be lived for someone else much less someone who isn’t there anymore. As his friend, you shouldn’t support this decision instead try encourage him to move forward. It’s the best for him” she whispered encouragingly and Katie nodded thoughtfully.

For a split second an old thought entered her mind, the very thought she had buried deep years ago. She shook her head, letting it disappear again and instead decided to ponder on her mother’s words.

“And now here we are with two kids and almost three decades of marriage between us. Time does fly fast” Sam chuckled, ending the story but Lance wasn’t done, there was a question that was bothering and he wanted to know the answer.

“How did you know Colleen was the one instead of other girl. Were you in love with her since middle school?” Lance questioned.

Sam looked surprised by the interest, his children had always been too busy pretending to gag to actually hear the story.

Sam ran his hand through his graying hair and then mumbled thoughtfully, “No I don’t think I was in love with her since middle school. We really didn’t get along back then, she used to tease me a lot especially about me being shorter than her and I vowed to get revenge with her one day” he smiled fondly.

“Still even as a kid. I never really imagined my life without her and it really bugged me back then but then she changed schools and we didn’t meet for a longtime”

“When we met again as adults, you know Colleen was already engaged to her then boyfriend and I was dating as well so I didn’t really ever consider it then too but slowly as time went by and we worked together. I had these moments, where I would imagine us together many years in the future doing the most mundane things and it made my heart race” Sam whispered wistfully.

“From my experience, love isn’t always a obvious feeling. Sometimes it’s slowly growing inside of you without you ever noticing it but then there will come a moment when you look at that person and you’d realize that nothing makes sense without them anymore. That’s when you know” Sam advised, the words gave Lance goosebumps. He slowly reached to touch his Altean marks, they hadn’t glowed, they had never glown after the Lions left.

For some reason he felt relieved that they didn’t, was it some kind of sign from Allura?Truth to be told, Katie’s parents story made him wistful. It reminded him of something he had yearned for since his youth but given up a longtime ago.

“I still can’t believe Colleen followed you all the way to America” Lance chuckled. “Well she found me and then she punched me, saying things like how dare you confess your love and then leave me in Italy. Rest is all fuzzy, she punched me pretty hard after all” Sam recalled.

“Well you deserved it” Colleen intervened, as the mother daughter duo entered the room.

Katie shot Lance a stern look that made him want to dig his own grave, “Lance you said you would start studying again half an hour ago” she reminded.

Colleen rubbed her temples in a exhausted manner, “Sam, Honey you have a early meeting tomorrow. You should go to bed now”

“But-” they tried to protest in unison but one more look from the Holt women had the two of them on their feet.

Sam and Lance shared one last defeated look before heading to their respective rooms.

________________

Later that night, Lance nervously stood outside Pidge’s door. He didn’t know if Pidge had fallen asleep or not but really needed help with this question.

His ears pricked when he heard a mumbled shout from the other side of the door, slightly worried Lance immediately knocked. Five seconds later, a confused Katie opened the door. Her hair was piled into a messy bun and she was wearing a white tank with green pajama pants.

“Lance?” she questioned. Lance blinked back in response, he had no idea why he had become suddenly transfixed instead he just simply raised his notebook to show Katie the question.

“Oh” she simply whispered, inviting him inside. The first thing he noticed that the room was pitch black till Pidge opened her lights again, the second thing he noticed was the game system set up. He had noticed the game system earlier, tucked cosily in the corner of her room but never had the courage to ask her to play with him. He had lost the right to that after all.

Pidge hummed to herself as she read the question again, “Sorry Lance but can we do this tomorrow? I don’t have the brain power for this question” she mumbled apologetically.

Lance nodded taking back his notebook, “That’s alright. Goodnight ” he wished and started heading out again.

“Wait! Do you want to play?” Katie asked, suddenly without thinking. She mentally scolded herself, apparently her brain had also lost the power to make logical decisions.

Lance stood unsurely stood next to the door, “Really?” he asked in a excited yet somewhat cautious tone. Katie considered her decision yet again, she knew she wouldn’t be going to bed unless she passed this level. She had been stuck on it for two days now, Lance on the other hand was the only capable player she knew other than her brother and herself.

She nodded beckoning him over to the floor where cushions were already spread out. Without another moment of hesitation, Lance joined in and Pidge explained her problem to him.

It took them another half an hour to pass the level, Lance claimed he could have done it faster if he wasn’t so rusty. Pidge simply chose to ignore the comment with an eye roll. Another 30 minutes passed as the pair got invested to pass the next level as well but their quest didn’t last long because by then their fingers were sore.

They sat on the floor in amiable silence, till Lance finally asked the question that had been pestering him the whole day. “So how did your lunch date go?” he wondered.

Katie looked at him in a bemused manner, “I was waiting for you to crack. You passed my expectations. Also, the Date went well”

“Katie, why didn’t you tell me about your boyfriend. I felt so clueless meeting him today. I understand why you didn’t tell me before but I have been literally living in your house for a whole week now. A little heads-up would have been nice” he stated, sternly.

“Fine” Katie mumbled. She took a deep breath before finally continuing, “Lance, I am seeing someone” she uttered trying her best to keep a straight face.

The look of incredulity on his face was enough to set her in a fit of giggles. “Katie!” Lance called out annoyed, causing the laughter to increase.

It her another minute for her to compose herself, “Fine, the reason I didn’t want to tell you is because I knew you would pester me with a thousand questions” Katie supplied.

“I don’t do that” he tried to defend himself, Katie eyed him in an unimpressed manner “Fine. Then I don’t think you will mind if we end this conversation right here” she teased.

“Well I wouldn’t mind but if you really want to tell. I suppose that I can listen” He in turn replied smugly.

“Goodnight Lance” she replied, not budging either so then he finally admitted his defeat. “Fine you win. Now will you please tell me” he begged.

Katie smirked in satisfaction, “Well there isn’t much to say. You already know his name, he is one of the engineers for the Defenders Project. I have known him for a year but we only been seeing each other for a few months-”

“Are you in love with him?” he questioned suddenly, Katie momentarily looked at him surprised before shaking her head, “What? no. I am not in love with him”

Lance studied her face, her response looked genuine enough. He felt somewhat relieved but didn’t ponder too much on it in the favor of asking another question. “Wait you are telling me that you guys have been dating for a few months and you aren’t in love with him. Then why are you still dating?”

“Because news for you. Not everyone is looking for commitments, I may not be in love with him but I still find him attractive and we have good time together” Katie reasoned.

“He does know that right?” Lance questioned and Katie nodded. “I told him from the beginning that I wasn’t looking for a serious relationship and he said he wasn’t either”

Lance begged to differ for Eric, from what he had noticed earlier. Eric was clearly smitten for Katie. He also felt surprised seeing the new side to his friend, Katie had never looked interested at the idea of romance during Voltron days and clearly he missed a lot from that point on.

“Lance? Why are you creepily staring at me like that?” Pidge wondered breaking his chain of thoughts.

“Sorry” he mumbled, “It’s just that I always thought you would want a relationship. Only if you were very serious about someone” Lance shared and Katie smiled sadly, hugging herself.

She was convinced that the universe held a personal grudge against her when Lance uttered those lines, “I thought I was like that too” she mumbled.

As she looked up to meet his ocean gaze, for a second it felt like her past feelings had resurfaced “But I guess things change…”

________________________

“Katie, did I ever tell you how amazing you are?” Lance breathed in joy as the familiar building came into view. “Well you have a few times but it never gets old so you can say it again” she cheekily smiled.

Lance took a hesitant towards her, he was dying to engulf her in a tight bear hug. One of the things, he learned about his friend in the last few days was how much Katie cared in the name of not caring. He never realized how well she knew him, sometimes better than even himself.

As much he wanted to, Lance let his arms fall to his sides and instead gazed at the building that made his stomach turn with nostalgia. “Lance are you gonna stare at it all day or actually intend to go inside?” she remarked sarcastically.

“Sorry. I can’t just believe it’s still here” he marveled. “I didn’t believe it either at first but I have known about it for a while now. Just didn’t want to come alone” she mumbled the last part.

Lance smiled softly at her, “To think there was a time we actually had to drag you here”

Katie glanced back at the brightly colored ice-cream shop. It was an old tradition for Lance, Hunk and a reluctant Pidge to come here after a stressful week of exams or whenever one of them got a good grade. Basically any good news was an excuse for them to visit Mr Willows old ice-cream shop.

“I am glad you did” she finally admitted, “I just really wish Hunk and Keith were here too. It’s not everyday when Lancey Lance does well at the stimulator exam” she teased.

“Oh like you are the one to talk. You were with me everytime we failed. We failed together” Lance reminded, despite the playful remark. Lance’s smile fell as he realized, how true the statement was. They had been together, through all of it. From worrying about their next exam to worrying about the Galra to now this…

Yes they had almost two years of estrangement between them but that time made him realize something important. He needed her. He needed Pidge. He needed Katie. More than he ever tried to realize before and this time he will try to be better person, the friend she actually deserved.

“Katie. Veronica is taking me tonight to celebrate the end of exams, can you please come too?” Lance asked hopefully.

Katie’s face fell, “I would love to but I already have a date with Eric tonight. Sorry” she apologized. Lance shook his head, “Hey no need to apologize. He asked you first”

Katie nodded gratefully and headed first into the shop, he watched her go inside with a distant look in his eyes. Maybe Katie didn’t need him anymore…

__________________

“Uh.. Mom why are there two suitcases in the hallway?” Katie questioned, as a frantic Colleen appeared.

“Katie. I forgot about the wedding!!” Colleen exclaimed, Katie’s nose scrunched up trying to remember what wedding was her mother talking about.

“Your Aunt called me today asking about at what time should she come to pick us up from the airport and then I remembered it was Isabel’s wedding in two days” Colleen explained before disappearing upstairs again.

Oh that wedding, Katie was really hoping that they had forgotten about that one. She really wasn’t in the mood to be bridesmaid for her cousin’s wedding, one of the few things she and her cousin actually might agree on.

“So all of us are going?” she asked, glancing back at a very confused Lance. Colleen appeared again, holding a smaller bag this time.

“It’s just your Father and I. Someone needs to be here with Lance. I will tell your Aunt that you have gone for a intergalactic meeting” she replied, Katie immediately grinned this might be the best news her mother ever told her.

Lance on the other hand, looked guilty. “You shouldn’t ruin your plans because of me. Katie should go to her cousin’s wedding, I can crash on Veronica’s couc-OW!” he yelped as Katie pinched his side.

“Shut up” she mouthed furiously to the Cuban boy, thankfully Colleen was yet again distracted with her suitcases to notice the silent exchange.

Sam was next to appear, he didn’t look particularly excited for the wedding either. Katie felt sorry for her father but currently it was every man for himself. “I finally got our tickets booked. Our flight is in three hours” he informed.

“Good good” she muttered, absentmindedly taking a seat on the couch. “I just can’t believe that I forgot. I am the worst sister ever” she whispered tiredly. Sam shared a startled look with Katie and Lance, before going over to his wife.

“Honey. It’s not your fault, she will understand” he comforted hugging his wife. Katie nudged Lance to follow her into the kitchen to give her parents a moment.

“Katie, your parents are the ultimate couple goals” Lance stated to which she laughed.

“Believe me I know. They were separated so many times but still manage to find each other no matter whether the distance is countries or galaxies” she added.

“I would love to have something like that” Katie whispered wistfully, surprising Lance by the sudden confession. “I have all these examples of true love around me and sometimes I just wish there was someone like that for me too”

The look in Katie’s eyes gave him goosebumps, it was a completely unguarded look. Suddenly she seized him with a more determined look, “You have experienced true love, right?” she asked suddenly.

“I guess?” he blurted out despite being the one asking the question she didn’t much heed to his response for she already looked she looked long lost in her own world. “Eric is a great boyfriend” she sighed. “We always have a good time together but I never feel this rush of electricity when he holds me” she explained, frustratedly.

As to emphasize her point, she gripped Lance’s right hand between her two pale ones. “You have surely felt it right? That spark? She questioned. Her intense gaze held him hostage and demanded an answer but for the first time, the talkative boy truly found what it meant to be tongue tied as goosebumps ran down his spine.

He prayed that his mind was playing tricks on him for he felt not just a jolt of electricity but as he if had been electrocuted again but it made him crave it more at the same time for it felt nerve wrecking yet addicting at the same time.

His gaze hadn’t broken hers and he watched as Katie’s expression slowly relaxed to a more softer look and her face slightly inched closer to his. His heart started beating wildly, feeling her softer hands around his calloused one, a crazy idea formed in his mind. He wondered what it would feel like to actually kiss her.

BAM!!

"Stupid suitcase!” Sam Holt’s distant cry made them snap out of their trance.

Katie was first one to pull away, her cheeks were lightly dusted with red and Lance was sure that his cheeks didn’t look much different. The two of them spared each other the embarrassment by not making eye contact with one another and made their way back to the living room where Lance started helping Sam with the suitcases while Katie listened to her mother’s last minute instructions.

Not long after Katie waved off her parents as they got into the taxi, Lance stood at the doorway watching the scene. He had a peaceful look on his face but the truth was that his mind was buzzing with crazy possibilities and questions.

As Katie made her way back to the house. Their eyes met and they were forced to finally acknowledged each other again. Her eyes looked guarded behind a thousand walls and she hugged herself before saying. “Uh..sorry for you know earlier. I got a bit carried away with my rambles, didn’t I?” she laughed weakly and Lance could only manage a small smile in response.

“Anyway I better go. Start getting ready. Eric will be here soon after all” She mumbled tiredly and Lance nodded, ignoring the deep seated disappointment in his heart.

Katie sighed sharply observing her friend, “You should probably take shower too before Veronica arrives” she suggested and then slowly walked away.

___________________

“So that’s why I didn’t want to go to the wedding. I am so glad I managed to get out of it. Dad didn’t want to go either but Mom really wasn’t ready to go alone” Katie informed. “I see” Eric replied, absentmindedly.

“You aren’t listening” Katie pouted, Eric chuckled in response as he wrapped one arm around her frame. “I was listening. Your Mom and Dad are gone to your cousin’s wedding and since you two never got along you are glad that you didn’t have to go because Lance is staying with you” He summarised easily to which Katie nodded proudly.

“But wait..” he suddenly stopped walking and faced her again. “Does that mean it’s just you two in the house?” He questioned seriously. “No we have Bae Bae too” she joked but Eric didn’t laugh.

“What is it?” she questioned yet again not understanding the implication. After a moment Eric’s face relaxed and he brushed off the earlier conversation, “Nothing.. although I gotta ask you. Is there a chance you might be forgetting something too?”

“The Garrison formal ball is this weekend!” She remembered. “How could I forget about this. I sure I am turning into my mother as well, I haven’t even decided what would I wear…” Katie rambled.

“Katie I am sure whatever you wear. You’ll look beautiful” He assured, lifting her chin and pulling her in a deep kiss.

It surely looked like one of the most romantic sight ever as pale moonlight fell on them and faint scent of roses from the park filled the air.

But as they pulled apart, Katie only weakly smiled at him before tucking herself underneath his arm like before. Disappointed was a small word for what she felt, she had really hoped that this one would be different. Things would be so much easier, if she truly was in love with him. Eric was everything she could ever ask for, it would have been so perfect if she had actually fallen for him.

It’s not like she didn’t try to during the last few months but despite how great he was and how many times he showed that he genuinely cared for. Katie felt like she was only settling and that wasn’t fair to either of them. Katie glanced at him, his dark brown radiated with happiness as he narrated an old childhood story.

He deserved better, someone who mutually adores him. She breathed in his familiar cologne and felt the arm that protectively rested on her. It wasn’t easy to let go of someone who adores you and dotes on you. Someone who gave you what you wanted for a longtime but it was the right thing to do.

After earlier today, the bitter truth was that her heart was still set on the Cuban. She couldn’t even deny it if she tried and although she was well aware that she didn’t have any chance with him. Staying with Eric would still be unfair, due to her selfishness he might miss a chance to meet his true love.

“Katie, do you wanna try the new ice-cream shop?” Eric asked innocently, unknown to her inner turmoil. She simply nodded in reply, as they started walking to his car.

Soon, she decided. She will end things soon. A part of her knew she might regret it but she simply couldn’t make him expect more from her. Her heart raced remembering those ocean eyes. Damn you Lance. You never gave me back my heart.

The second part is out as well! I hope you enjoyed the first part. Please reblog and tell me about your favorite part