#or: keith and romelle walk into the classic ski lodge murder mystery set up

[discordiansamba]

for that ship meme you just reblogged: Keith / Romelle, 41 pretty please

I said “I HAVE AN IDEA!”

Keith did not even so much as look up.

Narrowing her eyes, Romelle crouched next to him. He might appear to be entirely focused on the engine of their rental car, but she knew him well enough to know that he had her full peripheral attention.

"I said," she began-

"I heard you the first time," Keith cut her off with a sharp look, "-I'm also pretty sure your last idea is what got us in this situation in the first place."

Romelle opened her mouth. Shut her mouth. He might have a point there. It had been her idea to take this little excursion to a place well outside either of their comfort zones- the mountains of Earth, in the winter. Altea had very mild winters, and Keith had grown up in the desert. It had seemed like a good idea at the time!

She had been the also been the one responsible for renting a car.

Which was now broken.

In an isolated area of the mountains. With no way of contacting anyone. They didn't even have Kosmo with them- Hunk had borrowed him before they left. Something about 'fluffy diplomacy?'.

"That may be true," Romelle said, "-but you were the one who told me to rent the car while you waited for our baggage. I don't know if you'd noticed this, but they don't exactly have cars on the colony."

"...okay, you've got a point there." Keith admitted. "This would have been so much easier if Allura let us take the black lion."

"Well, Pidge is to blame for that one," Romelle said, "-one too many personal trips in the green lion. The less said of the last one..."

"-the better," Keith finished, "-someday I'll get the story out of her of how she nearly ended up beheaded."

Romelle chuckled, letting Keith tinker with the engine for a few more minutes. It was obvious that he only half knew what he was doing. He knew hoverbikes better than he did cars.

"So?" Keith finally asked. "What was your idea?"

"Oh!" Romelle perked up. "See, up there on that mountain? It looks like there's some kind of lodge! I bet we could walk there and ask to use their... what did you call it again?"

"A phone?" Keith frowned, squinting in the direction she pointed. "Sure, I guess. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Wonderful!" Romelle clapped. "I'm sure we'll be out of this situation and on our way in no time!"

"Let's hope," Keith said, "-it's not like it can get much worse than being stranded in the mountains in the middle of winter."

(It did, in fact, get worse.)