#with my whole heart Taylor should get a mullet

[nick-cassidy]

Photo by Sam Bagnall

[tiny-opal-essence]

Pocket Paladin Chpt 11

2nd mission

Lance pushed the red blanket off of himself as he slowly woke up.  He sat on the edge of the bed as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.  His feet touched the ground.

Wait.  My feet touch the ground?

He opened his eyes in shock and looked around.  The lights weren’t on in the room, so he couldn’t make out all the details of the furniture.  He figured he must have woken up early.  Looking down at himself, he could hardly believe his eyes.

I’m back to normal height!  OMG!  I’ve got to tell the others!

“Hey everyone!  I’m back to norm-” Lance ran into the door.  “Ow.”

Why didn’t that open?  It should open automatically, right?

When Lance’s vision cleared, he realized why it hadn’t opened.  The oversized light switch next to the door gave it away.

Oh, that’s right.  I’m in the dollhouse.

He wasn’t sure if the tears in his eyes were from the physical or emotional pain.

‘You didn’t really expect the spell to wear off that easily, did you?’

I guess not, but it would have been nice.

He heard the bed creak loudly through the wall of the dollhouse.

“Lance?” Keith said groggily.  “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, just bumped my head.” He hissed slightly in pain.

“Are you sure?” The bed continued to creak as Keith sat up.

“Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  You can go back to sleep.”

“Do you need some ice?”

“Nah, it’s not that bad.”

“It still might be a good idea to look at it, just in case.”

“Fine.” Lance agreed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

Keith slid the wall of the dollhouse away while Lance flipped on the light inside the room.

It’s just plain weird watching an entire wall move away in front of you.

“Do you feel dizzy?” Keith asked as he looked down at Lance.

“No.  My head hurts, but that’s it.”

“Do you have a headache?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, you’re not slurring words and you know who and where you are, so I don’t think you have a concussion.”

“That’s good.”  He paused for a second.  “How come you know how to tell if someone has a concussion?”

It was Keith’s turn to pause.  “Rough childhood.”

Lance could tell that Keith didn’t want to talk about it, so he changed the subject.

“Well, I feel ok and I don’t have a concussion, so let’s just go back to sleep, kay?” He let out a shaky laugh.  “Goodnight!”

“I heard what you said before.  About being back to normal.”  Keith said quietly.

Lance didn’t know if it was just because of being tricked by the dollhouse or if it was everything else that he was trying to hold back and hide from the others, but it all suddenly became too much for him.

“And what about it?” Lance spat out.  “Are you going to make fun of me?  Hey everyone, Lance got tricked by a stupid dollhouse and thought that he was back to normal height!  Let’s all laugh at him!” He could feel the tears forming in his eyes again.  “He’s almost been crushed, stepped on, fallen, and can’t stop thinking about all the other ways he’s almost died and how useless he is!  But even this is a new low!  I mean, tricked by a fancy piece of plastic or whatever this is made of!”  He kicked at the wall and barely held in a cry at the pain.

Yeah, that’s more heavy-duty than plastic.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.  He sank down against the dollhouse wall and put his head down in his arms to try to hide them from Keith.

‘Way to lose your cool in front of your crush.  Now what will he think of you?  If there even was a chance that he liked you before it’s definitely gone now.’

Keith didn’t know how to handle this.  He’d never seen Lance this upset.  Should he try to hug him?  How would that work given their current difference in height?  Hand hug?  Maybe just pat him on the back, or tap him on the back?

“Lance?” Keith said softly while hesitatingly reaching towards him.

“Forget I said anything.”  Even though it came out a mumble, Lance’s voice was enough to make Keith’s hand pause a moment before reaching for the red bandana that had been serving as Lance’s blanket.

“Here.” Keith handed it to Lance to dry his eyes.

“Thanks.”

They were both quiet for a moment.

“I’m sorry I’m not good at this whole comforting thing.”

“Really?  I couldn’t tell.” Lance looked up at Keith with a hint of a smile on his face.

“I could go get Hunk for you if you want.”

“You don’t need to do that.  I don’t want to bother him when it’s not a big deal.”

“It kind of sounds like it might be a big deal.”

“I’m just tired.” -of being this small.  Lance rested his chin on his arms.  “I could really go for one of my mom’s hugs right now.”

“I’d give you a hug, but that might squish you.”

“You could just do what I do with the space mice.”

Oh my God, why would I say that?

“Ok.  What do I do?” Keith managed to hide his own internal nervousness.

“Just lay your hand flat on the ground for me.” Lance stood up and stepped onto Keith’s hand.  “Now, lift me up to your chest.” He could hear Keith’s heart beating before he leaned against his chest.  “And then press lightly against me with your other hand.”

Keith somewhat awkwardly brought his other hand to Lance to do just that.

Lance just barely felt his hand behind him.

“You know you can press harder than that, right?  I’m not made of glass.”

“I know, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Believe me, if you were hurting me, I’d let you know.”

Keith pressed a bit harder and Lance let him know when it was good.

Lance could feel how warm Keith was through his pajama shirt.  The warmth surrounding him and the heartbeat in his ear were comforting.  The *bu-bump bu-bump* helped anchor him in the moment.  The sound was loud enough to get rid of almost all of his worries.  He thought he felt Keith’s heart sped up slightly, but it was probably just a trick from his tired brain.

This feels nice.

‘Don’t get used to it.  He’s only doing it because he feels sorry for you.’

I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it while it lasts.

Keith started absentmindedly rubbing Lance on the back and he melted into the embrace.

“Is the bandana working?”

Lance could feel Keith’s chest resonate as he spoke.  It was oddly soothing.

“Much better than whatever came with the doll bed.” Lance smiled slightly.  “I still can’t believe you thought that just that over your face would be a good disguise for rescuing Shiro.  I recognized you from over 50 yards away!”

“How did you recognize me?”

“Dude, you’re the only person I know that has a mullet.  I’d recognize that mullet anywhere.”

“I thought it was a good disguise.”

“Just cause it works in old movies doesn’t mean it works in real life.  It was still cool watching you knock out some of the senior staff, even if you didn’t remember me.”

“I did remember you.  Kind of hard not to with how loud you are.”

“Hey!  I am just the right amount of loud!” Lance looked up at Keith indignantly.

“Ok.” Keith brought his hand up and away from Lance in an ‘ok, you’re right’ motion.  “The reason it seemed like I didn’t remember you is because I thought your name was Taylor and I was confused when you said it was something else.”

“Why would you think my name was Taylor?  I told you right off the bat that ‘the name’s Lance’, remember?”

“You kept saying in class that people called you Taylor cause of how you threaded the needle.”

“The tailor.  Like the person who fixes clothes.”

“…That makes more sense.”

Lance grabbed onto Keith’s pajama shirt with his hands and buried his face into it while trying to stifle his laughter.

“You thought my name was Taylor for two years?  Two years!  Haha.”

“And a few months,” Keith added in the partial year he was in the Garrison.

“Dude, that just makes it worse.  Haha.”

Keith was glad to see Lance smiling again after his outburst, even if it was at his own expense.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah.  There’s just a lot on my mind right now.  Sorry I kind of made you hug me.”

“Oh, uh, it’s ok.”

“*Yawn* I know you’re not really the biggest fan of hugs.”

Keith wanted to tell Lance that that wasn’t true, that he did like hugs, he just wasn’t used to them.  But he didn’t.  Instead, he brought Lance back to his room in the dollhouse and reached for the wall to close it.

“Wait!” Lance cried out, causing Keith to pause.  “Can you leave it open?  In case my brain decides to be stupid again?”

“Sure.”

Lance grabbed Keith’s bandana and climbed into his bed.  He pulled the makeshift blanket up to his chin and turned on his side so his back was to Keith.

“Good night, Keith.”

“Night, Lance.”

Lance breathed in the scent of the bandana and smiled slightly.

It smells just like him.

Keith turned out the light in the dollhouse and laid back down in his bed.  He could tell that Lance had fallen back asleep easily.  That was harder for Keith to do.  He laid awake for a while wondering why he couldn’t just tell Lance that he liked hugs.  It doesn’t seem like something that would be hard to say, and yet for him, it was.  He was also wondering why it felt so warm where he had been hugging Lance against his chest.  It was a different kind of warmth than just residual heat, but Keith couldn’t even begin to figure out what it was.  Maybe he should ask Shiro about it.  He’d probably just tell him that he has to figure it out himself or something similar.  It might be better to do that on his own without getting the ‘You are going to do great things one day’ speech.  He fell asleep soon after.

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“What do we know about this planet?” Shiro asked as everyone looked at the projected image.

“Dezevernent was one of the first planets to fall to the Galra Empire.” Coran began to explain.  “It’s people were told that if they went willingly, they would be spared.  They were deceived.  There were no survivors.”

“The Galra have a base here, but our sources show that it hasn’t been used in some time.” Allura pointed to the location on the projection.

“So then why is Lotor there?”  Lance asked from the floating tray.

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Pidge said.

“Does the system say anything else about it?” Hunk wondered.

“It looks like there’s a good-sized forest.  That will give us plenty of cover so we can sneak close to the base and see what’s going on.” Pidge commented.

“It looks pretty thick.  Our lions won’t be able to go through all those trees.  We’ll have to go on foot.” Keith pointed out.

“Meaning, we’ll have to land the castleship on the planet,” Shiro stated.

“If we go over here,” Allura spun the projection to the area she was referring to, “we should be able to land the castle undetected.”

“I’ll send Rover 2.0 ahead to scout out the entrance to the base.  That way we know where Lotor’s crew is.” Pidge said.

“Are the trees really that red?” Lance looked at the pictures that were displayed next to the projected planet.

“Oh yes.  I remember visiting there with my family a few times.” Coran reminisced.  “We always had such a great time camping.  Roland always loved-” There was a faraway look in his eyes as he dropped the end of the sentence.

“Coran?  Are you alright?” Allura asked.

Coran shook himself out of the past.  “I’m alright, Princess.  Please, continue with the briefing.”

“Very well.  Since the trees are so brightly colored, Keith, you’ll be the one that’s able to get closest to plant the tracker on Lotor’s ship.” Allura continued.

“You should wear your jacket too.  It will help you blend in more with the trees.” Lance suggested.

“Good idea, Lance,” Shiro commented.

Lance beamed at the praise from his hero.

Yes!  They liked my idea!

‘Statistically speaking one of your ideas had to be good at some point.’

“Who’s Lance going to be with for this mission?” Pidge asked.

“Well, there’s only three of us that have pockets, and mine somehow got ripped when I did laundry.”  Hunk said.  “That leaves just Keith and Shiro.”

“I’m still…a bit nervous to carry Lance.” Shiro responded.

“I’m cool bringing him with me.” Keith shrugged nonchalantly.

“Wouldn’t that be a bit risky, since you’re the one that’s going to get the closest to Lotor?” Pidge asked.

“I’ll stay far enough away that they won’t notice me.  Or Lance.” Keith responded.  He wanted Lance to come on the mission.  Given his outburst earlier that morning, Lance was feeling like he couldn’t do anything.  Keith wasn’t really good at talking to people, so he couldn’t tell Lance that he was still an important member of the team, but he could show him.  “We all agreed that Lance would be allowed to come on recon missions.”

“True.  It should be alright, but if for the slightest second you think someone’s spotted you, you need to get out of there fast.  We can’t risk a fight when Lance is with us.” Shiro stated.

“This is recon only, so do not engage the enemy.  Keep the comms open and stay out of sight.” Allura added.

“Good luck, paladins,” Coran said.

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“Thanks for sticking up for me back there,” Lance said from his spot in Keith’s jacket pocket.

“Don’t mention it.  We all agreed, so that’s what we’re doing.”  Keith hacked away at the red vines as they made their way through the forest, all the while trying to make it a less bumpy ride for Lance.  They were almost at the base.

Lance could tell that Keith was trying, but despite his efforts, it was still a bit bumpy.  He kept slamming into Keith’s chest.

Slamming’s not the right word.  Bumping?  Yeah, bumping!

‘Congratulations, you know words.’

Shut up.

It was different traveling in the jacket pocket vs. the utility belt.  The jacket pocket didn’t have a zipper, so there was plenty of light.  It also made it easier for Lance to poke his head out and see what was going on if he so chose.  He found it was easier to just lay down in the pocket.  The material was softer and more hammock-like.  The pocket rocked slightly with each step Keith took, but all in all, it was preferable to the utility belt.  It was relaxing listening to the *bu-bump bu-bump* in his ear again.

Lance knew the only reason that he got to be in the jacket pocket this time was because the planet was uninhabited.  The jacket pocket gives away that there’s something in it while the utility belt doesn’t, hence why he has to be in the utility belt for inhabited planets.  They don’t want to risk someone getting too curious and seeing Lance while he’s like this.

“We’re almost there.  Is there anything we should be looking out for, Pidge?” Keith asked through the comms.

“Rover 2.0 isn’t picking up anything unusual.  Lotor and Ezor went in the base about 15 dobashes ago and the other three are still guarding the entrance.  You’re on the right track to get to their ship.  Just keep heading southwest and you’ll be there.  I’m going to see if Rover 2.0 can get a closer look.  I’ll let you know if any of them start heading your way.” Pidge replied.

“Sounds good, Pidgeon,” Lance responded.

Sure enough, a minute or so later, they saw Lotor’s ship.  Keith got out the tracking device and checked with Pidge that no one was coming towards the ship.  Once she gave the all clear, he approached the ship.  He found a good place to hide the device and made sure it was attached tight.

“Do you want to activate it?” Keith looked down at Lance.

“Me?” Lance was surprised.

“You’re part of this team, right?”

“Yeah.” Lance climbed onto Keith’s hand.  Keith lifted him up to the tracker and Lance pushed the button on it.  The light turned on to show that it was transmitting.

“Tracker’s on the ship,” Keith told the others through the comms.

“Signal’s coming in strong.  Nice job, Keith.”  Pidge said.

“And Lance,” Hunk added on.

“Thank you, Hunk,” Lance responded as Keith put him back in his pocket.  “Any luck getting Rover 2.0 closer, Pidge?”

“No.  There’s too many vines for him to get close without getting tangled in them.  I can’t get close enough to pick up what they’re saying.”

“What if Keith went closer?  He’s got heightened hearing and blends in more with all this red.” Hunk suggested.

“That could work, but it would be too risky if Lance is with you, Keith. You’d have to drop Lance off with us before you go up there.” Shiro stated.

“We don’t know how long they’re going to be here.  This could be our only chance to find out what they came here for.” Keith argued.

“Would you really be willing to risk Lance’s life for this?” Shiro asked.

“We’re paladins.  We risk our lives so others don’t have to.  And as Keith said, this might be our only chance to learn more.  If they find the tracking device before we figure out what they’re up to, we might not catch up with them again before they put their plan into action.  I’m ok with taking a bit of a risk to avoid that.” Lance responded.

“I don’t like this, but it might be our only option.  *sigh* Very well, but be careful.” Allura warned them.

“When have I ever not been careful?  Don’t answer that sentence, Hunk”

Keith stuck to the edge of the trees as he crept closer to the entrance to the base.  It seemed no one on Lotor’s team had moved from their post.  He crouched down and slowly approached them while remaining hidden and making sure Lance didn’t fall out of his pocket.  As he got closer, he saw that the cat that had been laying down suddenly get up and start walking around the three generals posted outside the entrance.  Soon enough, he could make out what was being said by the three generals.  More accurately, said by the two generals who could speak.  He repeated what he was hearing into the comms.

“How much longer is this going to take?” Zethrid asked.

“Not too much longer,” Axha responded.

“How long does it take to find the plans for whatever superweapon Lotor’s planning to use anyways?”

“It’s a big area to search.  Give them time to find what they’re looking for.”

“I’m itching to do something besides just standing guard.  Why are we even doing this?  There’s no one else here.  This dump’s been abandoned for deca-phoebs.  We could have just split up to get all the pieces of the blueprints.  It’s going to take over a movement to find the rest.”

“Lotor’s instructions were very specific.  We do as he says.”

Kova *meowed* in agreement as Narti picked him up and brought him up to her shoulders.

“Ugggh fine.  Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.” Zethrid grumbled out while keeping a good grip on her weapon.

“You can stop with the theatrics,” Lotor said as he and Ezor emerged from the base.  “We have what we came for.”

And so do we.

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Everyone was once again in the castleship.

“We all heard what they said.  They’re building something.  We need to find out what.” Shiro said.

“It’s too bad they didn’t mention the name of it or what planet they’re going to next.”  Hunk commented.

“That would be too good to be true if they had,” Lance said, poking his head out of Keith’s jacket pocket.

“We still have the tracker.”  Pidge pointed at the dot on the screen before it disappeared.  “We had the tracker.  Dammit!”

“It took them longer to find it than last time,” Keith mentioned.

“Yeah, but they still found it.”

“We’ll send word to our allies to be on the lookout.  If they see anything, they’ll let us know.” Coran stated.

 “For now, let’s keep heading in the same direction Lotor was before we lost the signal,” Allura recommended.

“I’m going to get dinner ready.” Hunk said.

“And in the meantime, I’ll get the game set up,” Pidge said.

“Woo hoo!  Videogame night!” Lance exclaimed from Keith’s pocket.

“Let me guess, another tradition you started while I was gone?” Shiro had a smile on his face.

“We actually consider it a part of training.  Pidge has told me that these games are helpful for hand-eye coordination and improving reflexes, though I’m still getting the hang of them.” Allura explained.

“Sounds like fun.”

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“I believe we can call that a success,” Lotor said.  “Kova served us well as a lookout and Ezor was able to sneak aboard their ship and clone the signature code on the tray while they believed she was in the base with me the entire time.”

“They didn’t even try to hide it.  It was right in the main hallway outside the control room.” Ezor responded with a smug smile.  “I also managed to swipe some treats from their kitchen.”

The others were eating some of said treats.

“These are amazing.” Axha had a rare smile on her face.

“Maybe we should go after the yellow one instead.” Zethrid joked.  “We could force him to make more of these.”

*Meow*

“Yeah, Narti.  I know we need that one for the plan.  I still don’t get what makes him so special.  He’s not much to look at.” Zethrid said.

“Especially now, given his new height,” Ezor added with a laugh.

“All will be revealed in good time.  For now, we should let commander Schurke know that he should be expecting some…guests in his sector.” Lotor smugly responded.

“They certainly won’t be getting a warm welcome from him,” Axha stated.

“Oh, I see what you did there, Axha.  That’s clever.” Ezor commented.

“Babe, you’ve got Schokolade on your face,” Zethrid said.

“Where?”

Zethrid kissed Ezor on the lips.  “There.  Got it.”

“I don’t know, I think you might have missed some.” Ezor looked up at Zethrid with a mischievous look in her eyes.

“Do keep in mind that we all use this space.” Lotor reminded them.

“We know.  Bedroom activities stay in the bedroom.”

“We’ll be back.” Zethrid grabbed Ezor’s hand and a handful of cookies before they left the room.

Narti grabbed another cookie for herself before turning back to the screen in front of her.  She zoomed in on the camera feed that the paladins were in.  Kova curled up next to the keyboard and she rubbed behind his ears, causing him to start *purring*.

“Let’s see if we can learn something from this videogame night of theirs,” Lotor commented.

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“Dinner is served.” Hunk came into the lounge followed by a floating tray.

Lance could see that Hunk had brought the doll-sized table and chairs for him and the space mice.  He also saw what food was on the tray.

“*gasp* Are those…”

“Garlic knots?  Yep.  Well, closest I can get to them.  I figured pizza and garlic knots would be good for videogame night.” Hunk responded as he set up the doll furniture on Lance’s tray.

“You got that right!  Hand ‘em over!”

“Pidge.” Shiro used his space-dad voice.

“Uggh.  Please hand ‘em over.”

Hunk divvied out the pizza and garlic knots, including mini ones for Lance and the space mice.  It was thin crust, but it looked more like deep dish from Lance’s perspective.  He wasn’t complaining.  It was better than having to practically unhinge his jaw to take a bite of a normal slice.  The garlic knots were also a bit bigger he was used to, but hey, that just means more for him.

Allura and Coran had pulled up a counter out of the floor so everyone could put their plates down.  Also, so Lance’s tray could rest on there instead of awkwardly floating around.

Lance and the space mice took their seats between Keith and Hunk.  It was nice to have something that was more to their scale, though Platt was too tall for the doll chair, so he just sat on the ground.

“Did you guys do anything fun today while we were on the mission?” Lance asked the space mice.

Most of the mice nodded, while Plachule shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.  Chulatt started *squeaking* excitedly and gesturing too fast for Lance to understand.

“I didn’t quite catch that, Chulatt.  Could you repeat it, just a bit slower?”

“He says that they worked some more on their routine.” Allura translated before Chulatt had a chance to *squeak* again.

“Routine?” Pidge asked.

“Oh, I don’t believe I told you.  The space mice have a little show they’ve been putting together, with tightropes, trapeze, and such.”  Allura explained.

“Like a circus?” Keith questioned.

“What’s a circus?” Coran asked.

“It’s basically everything Allura said, but with people instead of space mice,” Shiro stated.

“Circus.  I like that word.” Coran said.

“A space mice circus would be so cute!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Lance said.

“Maybe Lance could join them while he’s like this,” Pidge suggested.

“Aww, that’d be adorable!” Hunk commented.

Not exactly the word I would use.  No offense meant to the space mice.

‘But you would be so cute, just like a pet doing tricks.’

I’m not a pet!  Don’t you have anything actually important to do?

‘Don’t you?’

Everyone finished their food and Pidge started getting the game system set up.

“I’m going to go work on some repairs,” Coran said.  “I could use some help from the space mice if they’d like.”

The space mice nodded that they were ok with it.

“What needs fixing?” Lance asked.

“Oh, just some pipes.  There have been some unexplained sounds coming out of them.  It shouldn’t take too long.  Be back in a jiffy!”  Coran and the space mice left to go take care of that.

“We only have 4 controllers, so we have to rotate people in,” Pidge explained while the Smash Bros loading screen popped up.

“Sounds good,”  Shiro commented.

“I’ll sit out this round.  I’ve got to bring the dishes back to the kitchen anyway.” Hunk started gathering the dishes.

“Me too,”  Shiro said.  “It’s been a while since I played.”

“Alright everyone, choose your fighters.”  Pidge moved her cursor to select Shamus.

Allura chose Zelda and Keith chose Fox.

Lance grabbed the joystick and moved it over the characters.

Good thing I got some practice with this thing on the floating tray.

He hovered it over Kirby and reached over to select him but found that he couldn’t quite reach the buttons on the controller.  He took a few steps to the right and hit the button.

Their characters popped up in Dream Land.  The countdown began, and everyone got ready.  Once it finished, everyone started attacking each other except Lance.  Due to his height, he couldn’t move Kirby with the joystick and attack at the same time.

Just my luck.

It wasn’t long before Pidge was able to launch him off the stage.  He tried to use some of Kirby’s moves to get back on it, but that was the moment the tree decided to start blowing some wind in his direction.

“Oh come on!”

“Don’t be a sore loser, Lance.”

“Who you calling a loser?  I’ve still got three lives.  You’re going down, Pidge.”

“Bring it.”

Zelda had managed to knock Fox off the stage during that time.

“Nice, Allura.  You’ve gotten better.” Keith said.

“Not as good as me, though,” Pidge said as Shamus hit Zelda off stage.

Lance was trying to find a way to reach both the joystick and buttons.

Maybe if I lay down on the controller, I can move the joystick with my legs and hit the buttons with my hands.  Yeah, that’ll work.

Lance found he could just barely touch the joystick with his toes and reach the farthest of the four buttons.  Kirby popped back on the stage and used his ability on Shamus.

“Got you, Pidge!”

“Not for long,” Keith said as Fox was able to knock Kirby and Shamus both off the stage.  Pidge was able to get Shamus back on solid ground, but Lance couldn’t get to the joystick in time and lost Kirby’s second life.

“Dang it!”

“You’re going to pay for that, Keith.” Shamus began going crazy with attacks on Fox before he was launched once more off the stage.

“How are you this good, Pidge?” Lance asked as he waited for Kirby to pop up once more.

“If you think she’s good, you should see Matt play.  He wipes the floor with her.” Shiro commented with a smile.

Pidge looked over at him incredulously, which gave Allura the opportunity to have Zelda knock Shamus off the stage.

“That doesn’t count!  Shiro distracted me!”

“I saw that, and it definitely counts.” Hunk said as he came back into the lounge.

“Yeah, don’t be a sore loser, Pidge.” Lance taunted her.  As he looked towards her, Kirby popped back on stage and was being pushed back towards the edge by the tree.  He quickly looked back and tried to get to the joystick but wasn’t fast enough once more.

“Why does this keep happening?  I swear that tree is out to get me!” Lance hit the controller with his fists in frustration.

The others were starting to realize how much of a challenge playing the game at his new height was for Lance.  They felt bad that they hadn’t noticed it earlier.

When Kirby popped up for the last time, Fox was right next to him.  Kirby hit Fox repeatedly.  Lance noticed that Keith wasn’t hitting back.

“Why aren’t you fighting back?”

“Uh, well, you’re not doing so great.”

“Well, neither are you.  Don’t go easy on me.”

I don’t want your pity.

“Fine by me,” Pidge said as she once again knocked Kirby off the stage one last time.

With that, the game was down to only three players.  Then two as Allura was taken down.  In the end, Pidge was the winner.

Lance looked at his stats and was disappointed.

I didn’t get a single KO?  I thought I would do better than that.

‘Look at that.  You can’t even play a simple game.  What use could you possibly have to the team?’

Hey, I helped on the mission today!

‘Oh yeah, cause riding in someone’s pocket and pushing a button is so helpful.  It’s not like he could have done that without you or anything.’

“Maybe we should do a movie night instead of this.” Hunk suggested.

“What?  Why?” Lance asked.

“Well, this is presenting a…unique challenge for you,”  Allura said.

“But Hunk and Shiro haven’t had a chance to play yet.  That’s not fair to them.”

“But it isn’t really fair to you if you can’t participate,”  Shiro mentioned.

“Please don’t stop on my account.  I can just sit out and be moral support.  It’s fine.”

“If you’re sure…” Hunk started.

“I’m sure.  You should play.” Lance gestured for Hunk to grab the controller from in front of him.

“I’ll sit out too.”  Keith handed his controller to Shiro.  “Then Hunk and Shiro can both play.”

Hunk selected Pikachu and Shiro chose Link.

While the second round was going on, Keith was thinking.  It really wasn’t fair that Lance couldn’t play the game just cause he couldn’t reach the buttons and the joystick at the same time…at the same time…maybe…

Pidge was the winner of the second round, as per usual.

“Who’s switching with Keith?” Shiro asked.

“I think it might be time for someone to win besides Pidge,” Allura commented.

“Actually,” Keith interjected, “I think I figured out a way for Lance to play.”

“But he can’t reach all the buttons.  No offense, Lance.” Pidge said.

“None taken.”

“You’re right.  He can’t reach all the buttons-” Keith started.

Hey!

“-but he can reach half of them.”

“What do you mean?” Hunk asked.

“Well, maybe Lance could team up with someone and only use half of the controller while they used the other.”

“That…actually could work,”  Shiro responded.

“But there would still be a slight disadvantage with them having to say what they’re planning to do out loud.” Pidge pointed out.

“Well, then maybe we should do that everyone pairs up to use only half a controller each, that way it’s fair,” Allura suggested.

“Then we all can play at the same time!” Lance exclaimed.

“I’m down.” Hunk said and everyone voiced their agreement.

“Alright, this round’s teams are Hunk and Pidge, Keith and Lance, and me and Allura.”

Pidge and Hunk chose Shamus.  Allura and Shiro talked shortly before deciding to go with Sheik.  Lance and Keith took a little longer in their decision.

“Why would you want to be Kirby?  Fox is so much cooler.” Keith said.

“Kirby’s shaped like a friend!  He’s adorable!”

“Oh yeah, cause that’s totally useful in a fight.”

“Not with that attitude!”

“GUYS!” Pidge yelled.  “Just pick someone already.  I want another chance to kick your butts.”

They compromised on Meta Knight.  Lance was in charge of the buttons, Keith the joystick.  It was different playing this way, but fun.  Lance was just glad that he could participate like this.

The round was finished with Lance and Keith as the winners.

“What?  Re-do.  There’s no way I lost to you guys.  I kicked both of your butts in the first round.” Pidge said.

“Yeah, but with us working together, we took you down.  Team Klance for the win!” Lance exclaimed.

“Klance?”

“You know, Keith and Lance.  Klance.  It’s both of our names smashed together.”

“Oh.”

“Well, team Punk’s going to kick your butts in the next round,” Pidge claimed.

“I thought we could be team Hidge since punk’s already a thing.”

“What would ours be?  Shallura?  Alliro?” Allura asked.

“I like Shallura,” Shiro said.

“Or you guys could just be Space-parents,” Lance said jokingly.

“Alright, because of that line, you guys are going down in this next round,” Shiro stated.

“Bring it, Space-dad,” Keith said with a small smile.

They played the game through the night, unaware of the danger they were approaching.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Realities without Lance: 95 (+11)

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[thisishawkins]

Dammit

This my first attempt at writing this type of story, so please be kind, leave comments, and like it if you enjoy it! I’m thinking that this will become a series, for the second chapter will be up soon! I hope you enjoy! ~ K

Billy Hargrove x Reader

Trigger warning: slight abuse (parent & child)

——————-

The boy with a head full of blonde curls, sculpted into a mullet, shut the door to his Camaro with a heavy sigh. His pre-teen step-sister yanked herself out of the passenger side, and bolted to the front door, her red hair blurred into a flame as she escaped to the house.

His expression never faltered from his frown of distaste. He had been in Hawkins, Indiana for nearly four days now, and still was sure that he would never accept it as home. He belonged in California, his true home, the waves crashing, the pier buzzing, the weather inviting, and the place where his mother was buried.

He looked around at the neighboring houses as he slid his lighter and his pack of Marlboros out of the pocket of his denim jacket.

They all looked relatively the same, and it was quiet, everyone at work or in town.

He shook his head at the silence and placed a death-stick to his lips, lighting it. He sharply inhaled the smoke, held it in, and felt the warm burn of the toxins.

He liked the burn.

He blew it out through his nostrils, and closed his fiery blue eyes. Everything was silent, peaceful even.

Then, he heard a car pull onto the end of the street, and a boom of a car stereo barreling towards him.

He opened his eyes and saw a yellow Gremlin come whizzing past him as he stood against his car in the driveway. He recognized the song that was blaring from its stereo - it was Metallica.

Now intrigued by the mystery driver who had parked two houses down, his mouth pulled into a smirk and his eyebrows raised.

The car idled for a little while longer as For Whom The Bell Tolls played on, and the driver shut the car off, and popped open their door.

It was a girl. A gorgeous one.

He looked on, his smirk growing, and squinted a little to see.

She wore a simple grey t-shirt, tucked into high-waisted jeans, with pair of Chuck Taylors on her feet. She swiped her hair out of her face as she dove back into the car to retrieve her bag and black-leather jacket. She still had her sunglasses on.

She shut her car door.

He continued smoking his cigarette.

She glanced over and saw him, smiled, and waved.

Surprisingly, he blushed. Boys like him didn’t blush. He sheepishly waved back, his smile quirking up just a nudge. If this girl already had an affect on him, he had to talk to her.

Sighing, he blew out another cloud of smoke as he swaggered toward his front door.

——————–

“Billy! Billy, get up. We’re going to be late for school.” His thirteen year-old step-sister, Max, grunted. She rolled her eyes as Billy stirred from his deep slumber, his eyes barely opening and his mullet looking monstrous from tossing and turning.

Nightmares, flashes of California, and a couple thoughts about the girl down the street had taken a toll on Billy the night before.

“Alright, punk. Give me ten minutes to throw something on and brush my teeth, then we can dip.” He mumbled, stifling a yawn.

She sighed in frustration, and turned away. She would give him ten minutes, if not, she could always ride her skateboard the whole two miles to school.

*

As Billy shook his leather jacket onto his broad shoulders and grabbed his car keys from the dish on the kitchen island, following Max out of the front door, he wondered if the mystery girl was a student at Hawkins High.

*

Billy and Max arrived to the nearly packed parking lot with five minutes to spare. He shut the Camaro off, and Max grabbed her backpack and skateboard, and made her way to the middle school.

No words were exchanged between the two, as per usual. It was a rare occurrence, and if so they were using expletives and exchanging eyerolls. Neither particularly liked the other, for Max was stubborn, and Billy was a dick.

Billy grabbed his bag and slid his sunglasses onto the top of his head. He sighed, not wanting to go to Mr. Winston’s calculus class, and began walking towards the door to the high school.

He glimpsed back at the parking lot before pulling the door open, noticing that the yellow car from yesterday was parked three spaces down from the Camaro. He shook his head, and walked inside.

——————-

“Hey, man, Carol’s having a party at her place on Friday, you should come.” Tommy H. told Billy. He was a pompous, dim-witted boy that was part of the “in” crowd at Hawkins High. Since stepping his boot-clad feet into the small-town high school a mere few days ago, he had already taken the title of the angry “bad-boy”, attracting the popular and female population of the school. Billy knew it would be easy for him to work his way up to king of Hawkins High.

Billy nodded, knowing that if he went, he’d be able to let off just a little bit of the steam that was overflowing him since before he had arrived to Hawkins.

“Sure, man, as long as your girl will have a few kegs there, I’ll be there.” Billy stated, slamming his locker door shut.

Tommy H. chuckled, “Definitely, man.”

Both boys stalked their way towards the gym for class. Several girls made passes at Billy, charmed by his rebel, “I-don’t-give-a-shit” attitude, enticing eyes, devilish smirk, and athletic build adorned by his leather jacket and dangling earring. Billy relished in the attention, but knew that deep-down that none of these people in Hawkins were worth his time. The attention would never be enough to drown all of his demons.

He swallowed, pushing down his emotions, his weaknesses.

Suddenly, his side collided with a smaller one, both bodies pushed to the side by the force, nearly colliding with other students shuffling past them in the narrow hallway.

Billy eyed the person, it was the girl from yesterday.

“Sorry about that, definitely wasn’t paying-” She began, her eyes scanning the boy, recognizing him.

“- wait, you’re my neighbor, right? The one with the Camaro and feisty little sister?” She inquired, a smirk playing on her lips.

Billy smirked, but hesitated. Nerves began to flutter in his stomach like butterflies. How was this girl affecting him so much?

“Y-yeah. That’s me. It’s Billy, by the way.” He added, hoping to come off more smooth and have his stutter go unnoticed.

Her smile grew wider.

“Y/N. I’ll see you around, Billy.”

Before Billy could think of a reply, she turned and left, leaving him in his tracks.

You’re Billy Hargrove, dammit. A guy who can just look at girls and have their panties drop at the sight of you. What the hell is wrong with you? He thought, his mind racing.

Billy shook his head, a grin slowly forming. He started back on his way to gym class, Tommy H. having left to talk to Carol right before Billy ran into Y/N.

I guess we will, Y/N.

—————————

As you drove home from school that day, you remembered seeing Billy and his family move into the small house two doors down from you.

He and his dad had been moving box after box into their new home, Billy’s irritation never leaving his features.

You had been sitting on the front porch of your house, with a book in your hand and your favorite cardigan wrapped around you, trying not to look like your were spying on the new neighbors like the old-couple across the street.

The two exited the front door, coming back for the last few boxes and items, as they began to argue.

You noticed that they both stopped halfway to the door from the Buick parked in front of the house, his father’s face inching closer to Billy’s, and his finger pointing at his son’s face.

Billy looked perturbed, but didn’t dare let down his guard. To you, he seemed like the type to never let his guard down, and you had an inkling of a reason why.

Billy stood for a second, and then turned to unload his arms-full of boxes into the house. His father, fuming, closely followed his son, the screen door slammed behind him.

A pang in your heart signaled that you needed to get to know this boy, because he didn’t seem like he had anything else besides an aggressive father, and new assholes to meet in Hawkins.

Unbeknownst to Billy, you had been waiting to meet him since you saw him jump out of his baggage-stuffed Camaro.

*

“Mom, I’m home!” You yelled as you entered the threshold of your living room, laying your keys on the coffee table. A note was laid on there as well. She had taken a trip to the grocery store, and would be back after while.

Smiling, you plopped onto the couch and dove into your schoolwork, thinking before you started that you had beaten Billy today at getting home, and what you would say to him if you saw him later.

*

You heard the front door close as your mother shuffled in with the groceries. Quickly looking up, you hopped up from the sofa to help her.

“Mom, you could’ve came in and told me to help.” You commented as the both of you made your way to the kitchen with the groceries.

“It’s alright. Figured that you were doing your homework and didn’t want to disturb you.” She replied, a soft smile warming her tired face. You didn’t need to ask, you knew that today had been a long one at the factory for her.

Sharing a smile with her, you both started unloading the grocery bags.

“Oh, by the way, I ran into one of our new neighbors today during my lunch break.”, your Mom told you as she put the eggs and milk into the fridge.

You hummed in acknowledgment, “Which one? The husband or wife?”

“The wife. Her name’s Susan Hargrove, and her husband’s Neil. That girl with the skateboard is her daughter Max, and Neil has a son that’s your age, Billy.” She looked up at that, trying to read you expression to see if you were interested.

You were, but didn’t want your Mom to know that just yet.

“I’ve seen Billy around, seems like he might be cool.” You replied, a smirk tugging at your lips.

Your Mom met your expression. “Might. -”, you repeated, “They’ve only been here for a few days, so I’m not sure if he’s a raging dick, a dog, or a teddy bear.”

“Well, you might find out soon enough. Susan invited us over for dinner tomorrow night.” Your Mom explained, a smirk growing on her face, knowing your possible responses. You opened your mouth to object, but before you could, your Mom added, “Uh-huh. It’ll be good for you and me. I’m just hoping they aren’t crazy. But, we’ll see. Now, let’s fix a pizza and watch some M*A*S*H* re-runs, shall we?”

*

Billy was taking out the garbage, boiling from his argument with his dad about him needing to be more “responsible and respectful”, which in the end earned him a smack to his face, his cheek still red and burning. It would probably accompany the other bruises that adorned his body. He was trying to take slow breaths to calm himself down, knowing that if he said anything else, his dad would only react worse than he did a few moments ago.

After throwing the bags into the cheap, tin trash can, he looked over to see if anyone else was outside.

Fortunately, you had just stepped out onto your porch, the faint light illuminating your face, a yawn breaking it open, as your raised you arms up, stretching out your muscles. You looked over to see Billy right as he met your eyes. The both of you smiled. “Hey, pretty-boy.” You greeted as you put your arms down.

He flashed his teeth, his smile grew. He felt heat raise to his already burning cheeks. “How’s it going princess?” He inquired, an eyebrow quirked.

You felt a flush of pink pepper your cheeks and neck.

“Nothing, just tired. Probably going to hit the hay soon. How’re you, Billy?” The question was meant to be playful, but there was a layer of sincerity in your voice, too.

Billy paused, no one had really ever asked him that before. It was a simple question, but he’s gathered throughout the years that no one really gave a shit about how he was doing. Only his mother, and she was gone.

“I’m … bored. This town has nothing to offer.” He relayed to you, avoiding telling you how he really was doing. Afterall, you were a stranger, but a cute one with good taste in music.

“Is that so? I had no idea.” You remarked sarcasticly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear and leaning against your house. Billy had crossed his arms by now, leaning his weight onto the Camaro, one foot on the bumper, one planted on the cement of the driveway.

“But, seriously, I couldn’t agree more. Just about everybody here is small-minded, snobby, or sloppy. And the town is dead.” You expressed. You hoped that he wouldn’t meet any of those traits.

He chuckled, knowing that you were right, even if he’d been in town for a little under a week.

“Well, I guess you’ll have to find out if I’m like everybody tomorrow night, while out parents gab about us and the economy, you know, all that adult shit.”

You laughed at that.

“I guess so, Hargrove.” You winked and beamed, before turning around to enter your house.

Dammit, she’s going to be the end of me.

Billy thought as he turned to enter his own house.

His smirk didn’t leave his face until he fell asleep that night.

[tea-and-cardigans]

We Have History - Alice/FP

This fic mainly focuses on the pairing of FP/Alice, but there is still some Bughead in there.

While I am still on the fence about whether I would ship them together now, I definetley like the idea that they have a history together.

There is a keep reading break in here so hoping it doesn’t cut off the fic for mobile users. Sorry :(

Summary:

Alice and FP are chaperoning the Homecoming dance, while watching Betty and Jughead they reflect on their own history and what could have been.

“Didn’t think I would ever see you at one of these.” She stated bluntly. Handing him a cup of punch, she had been careful to get him the unspiked version. Alice Cooper had been surprised to see him walk into the gym which had been converted into a winter wonderland for the Homecoming Dance.

“Trying to be a better person, be there for him.” He replied curtly. He was clean shaven, shirt and tie. She had to admit he looked good, different to when she had seen him outside the Andrews house a week ago.

Jughead had jokingly asked him to chaperone under the gentle encouragement of Betty and needed to pick his bottom jaw off the floor when his father had said yes. He had reminded him that he would need to be sober and presentable and FP had rolled his eyes asking who the parent was. The cold stare from his son, set him straight on that one. Alice was watching her youngest daughter, arm in arm with the beanie wearing boy, who she knew her daughter was falling for, hard.

“Are you ever afraid that they will make the same mistakes that we made?” She wondered out loud, taking a sip. He paused thinking about his response.

“They are not us Alice, I know Jughead sure as hell isn’t me, he wont make the same mistakes I did.”

“Yes he does seem to have inherited your wife’s smarts.” She smiled coolly at him. She thought about her own daughter, she so desperately didn’t want her to make the same mistakes that she had in her youth. She was aware that she was overbearing at times and she didn’t want Betty to hate her for it. But at times she thought maybe it was better that she hate her rather than make those same mistakes.

“I’ve tried you know. To steer her in the right direction. I messed up with Polly. I know that, I was just so scared they would be doomed to make the same mistakes us their mother.” She sighed deeply.

“You don’t consider this a mistake then.” He indicated at the two teenagers linked arm in arm as they chatted to their friends. When he had seen Betty Cooper in his trailer with Jughead he had to admit he was surprised. He knew the tight control Alice kept over her daughters and that she was letting her daughter hang out with his son struck him as odd. Especially given their history.

“No a mistake is being with someone you don’t love because of a reputation. That’s a mistake that will ruin your life.” She lamented. 

“They look so happy don’t they.” They watched as the two teenagers, completely wrapped up in each other moved around the dance floor. Occasionally he would whisper something in her ear and she would giggle before resting her head on his chest again as they swayed to the music.

“I remember a time when we were happy.” He mused.

“Me too.” She replied, thinking about the good times the two had had together in their youth.

“Before you turned all Stepford wife.” He couldn’t resist the little dig at how far removed she was now from the Southside.

“Who would have thought our kids would be dating?” He said an attempt to change the subject.

“Who would have thought you would have had kids.” She retorted. He raised the glass to her, conceding that point. It had always been like this between the two at high school. Trading barbs with one another, each one more pointed than the next. He remembered their arguments fondly. She was a force to be reckoned with even back then. He always knew that she would move on from the Southside she was too big for that place, too bright. It was people like him who stayed those who couldn’t escape the family loop. He wanted and hoped for better for Jughead.

“What do you think they are talking about over there?” Betty asked as she noticed her mum speaking to FP over by the refreshments table . Jughead looked over where she was looking and chuckled to himself.

“Probably your mum telling my dad, all the ways she will hurt me if I hurt you.” He joked, sort of.

“It looks pretty intense.” Betty was starting to worry, her forehead creasing.

“Your mum is intense Betty. The first time I came over for breakfast I thought she was going to interrogate me on the way to the bathroom.” He had been terrified of Mrs Cooper from when he was a kid, he knew how strict she was and how protective she was of her daughters.

“I’m sure your dad can handle her.” She said confidently.

“I don’t think even a Southside Serpent could handle your mum Betts.”

“Do you think we would ever tell them?” He asked her, finishing his drink and setting it aside.

“What that we dated in high school.” She said lightly as if it was nothing of concern.

“I like to think that it was a little bit more involved than dating.” The hurt evident in his voice.

“We were so young.”

“I loved you.” He admitted.

“I know.” She smiled sadly looking away from him to watch the couple dancing, Betty’s head now resting on Jughead’s chest a smile on her face. 

“They don’t need to know.” He decided, observing the couple as well. 

“Unless they manage to find an old yearbook in their investigative adventures.” She smiled glad that Betty had inherited her journalistic tendencies.“Besides I’d be more worried about them seeing what your hair was like back then, not the fact that we were at prom together.”

He remembered fondly the ill advised mullet that he had grown in an effort to impress her, suffice to say that she had not been impressed and he got rid of it only weeks later.

“I stand by that hairstyle.” She laughed at him. A deep throaty laugh as she reminisced about him in his suit, mullet and a corsage just for her, remembering to match her dress. He had been sweet about the whole thing, from asking her to go, to paying for dinner at Pop’s and dancing with her to the slow songs even though he had two left feet.

“Are you okay Alice?” He asked sincerely.

“Not really.” She smiled back sadly. “You?”

“No, not at all.” He answered honestly, he didn’t need to hide the truth from her. They continued to stand there letting the reality of their situations wash over them, each of their own doing. The tempo of the music changed, slowing down, as the couples made their way to the dance floor, arms around each other. He extended a hand to her. “Dance with me?”

She looked to his hand, then to his face, a small smile on his lips, she should say no, not dally in things that wouldn’t ever be, but instead she took his hand and let him pull her to the dance floor.

“You still have two left feet FP.” She commented.

“You still can’t let me lead.” He replied, raising his eyebrows. It was true Alice Cooper or Alice Taylor as she was known back then was always the one in control. She dictated the relationship from the very start, when she pushed him up against the wall of Pop’s diner almost 20 years ago, capturing her lips with his after one of their more colourful arguments. There had always been this unspoken tension between them that neither one would acknowledge until it had become too much to bear and she had to feel his lips on hers, she needed to know what he felt like.

They had started going ‘steady’ as she liked to call it soon after. He was consumed by her, the way she walked, the way she felt in his arms and when they traded barbs there was still that passion underneath them, except now they had a whole new way to make up.

That had been until senior year, when talk of futures and moving on were discussed. He knew she had a bright future, one that was too bright for him, he would only hold her back. The things he said had been unkind, they had cut deep, she had distanced herself from him, just as he had planned but what he didn’t count on was how much it hurt, to see her with someone else. Especially Hal Cooper, the guy had been a dick from the word go, he was a bully, a jock, everything that FP despised and he wondered if that was why she had decided that he was the one, just to spite him. Senior year they were high school sweet hearts and FP began to pull away more and more, he didn’t even bothering finishing his final year, didn’t see the point.

Then he met Jughead’s mum and he thought that maybe it all wasn’t lost, maybe he could work with someone else, it didn’t have to be her. But sure enough that relationship broke down as well. For different reasons, but he still blamed himself. He had made so many mistakes in his life and all he could do now was try to be better, to do better and make sure his own son did not follow in his footsteps. He couldn’t let him make the same mistake pushing away Betty because of his own insecurities, he wouldn’t let history repeat itself.

The song ended and he and Alice broke apart, as if they had lost themselves in the song, in the moment. It was a brief respite from both of their problems. She smiled kindly before they noticed their children approaching them, concern on their faces.

“Busted.” He whispered in her ear, a chill running down her spine.