pidge_out | Victory Road IC Inbox

[The instant he starts sobbing she tugs him toward her, sliding her arms around him to cradle him close. It's purely instinct, and she doesn't even know if it'll be at all helpful, but it's the only real thing she can think to do.

Because logically speaking, he's right. They don't know how long they'll be here. They don't know how long any of this almost-normal life they're living will last. But that's not something she wants to think about at the moment. And it's definitely not what she wants Lance thinking about right now either.]

But... you've got us now, okay? [It's a novel concept for Pidge; living in the here and now. But it truly does seem like the best course of action.] And we'll stay together. We'll- We'll fight for it.

[Those are nice words, words Lance would love to take to hear, but what are they fighting against here? Who are they fighting against? None of them have any say on who comes and goes and when they do, so in the end, Lance just wonders when his luck will run out and they all get shafted again.

His sobs die down after a few moments, and Lance pants into his knees before pulling his face against them to dry his eyes.]

I didn't even get to say goodbye.

[Not to his grandparents or the rest of his family. If Lance had any huge regrets, it was that. Last time he didn't say goodbye, he didn't see them for two years. His favorite pizza place is gone. The beach where he first learned to swim is no longer. All the things that made him him seem so far out of reach and even if he has Pidge and Hunk and Shiro here, it's still not enough.

Maybe he's greedy. Or selfish. Who can blame him?]

[She just holds him, gently raking her fingers through his hair and praying to whatever deity is out there that the gesture is at the very least comforting. Because this is all she really can do at the moment. It's all she can really even think to do.

Pidge knows all too well what it feels like to lose family. It had truly felt like the world had ended and a part of her died along with it. But she'd been stubborn, she'd refused to believe it and went with the feeling in her gut that it wasn't true. She's lucky to have been right. Lance isn't. And just knowing that makes her heart ache for him, and the only other thing she can think is "How can I fix this?"

The answer makes her throat tight, sits like a cold lump in her stomach: I can't.]

I-I'm sorry, Lance. [She presses a soft kiss to his shoulder before resting her forehead there, holding onto him like she's afraid he'll bolt if she doesn't.] I'm so sorry.

[If there's a deity out there, Lance has a bone to pick with them. He's tried so hard all his life and while some things worked out in his favor, it always seemed to come tied with something bad. He finally got back home to see his family, only to find out it's incomplete.

There's nothing to fix. There's nothing anyone can fix. Lance just knows he needs to deal with it and move on, but to be honest, he doesn't know how or if he's ready to yet. Everything's still so fresh.]

I'm sorry too.

[That he's thrown this on her. That he went back home and fell in love with Allura all over again, forgetting any feelings he had for Pidge. She should know, but maybe Lance doesn't have the balls to bring that up now.]

[She shakes her head, letting out a slight exhale and giving Lance a quick squeeze.] It's okay.

[Honestly he doesn't even need to apologize to her, at least as far as she's concerned. It's not his fault he's been white-knuckling his way through a rough patch. It happens to all of them at one point or another. Really Pidge is sorry for not noticing anything sooner and trying to do something to help him earlier. Another reason she really wants to work on being better with people.]

Do... Do you need anything right now? Something that might make you feel better? [She's honestly racking her brain over it. Video games couldn't do it, so... What would this call for? A glass of water? Proper sleep? Ice cream?]

[He needs to do something other than sit here and cry. Tears never solved anything and they won't bring his grandparents back. But Pidge is here and a floor up above, Hunk is too. Lance needs to take comfort that at least for now, they're both here for him and hiding the hardest parts of his life from them isn't protecting them, but hurting himself just so much more.

He shifts around a bit, pulling away from Pidge but not going too far, just enough so he can rest his head in her lap, something he's doing for the first time to anyone but his mom.]

Talk to me. Just... talk. About anything.

[Anything except for home and war.]

[She shifts to accommodate for him, blushing only the slightest bit. Pidge looks down at him with a soft, concerned frown, just before trailing her fingers carefully through his hair. She can only hope that the action is soothing in some way, since honestly... there isn't much she can do besides that and the simple task he's requested of her.

Pidge hums for a moment in thought, looking for a safe, neutral topic to get into. Tech, maybe? Or maybe something about their lives here, in this other world?]

...Rover's been getting pretty strong. Rowdy, though. He keeps challenging all the cats to fights and wrestling with them. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's as big as them.

[It's more soothing than Pidge could ever know. The simple fact that she doesn't turn him away, that she doesn't laugh at his sensitivity, that he needs help in ways no one on the team can provide without an advance degree yet she still sticks around means so much.

He curls in closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he settles in deeper with a hum. Just let him stay here a little longer and he'll be out of her way.]

Rover's a thug. He's luck Jean Clawed is too lazy to take him seriously.

[Pidge hums in agreement, letting Lance's hair curl around her fingers as she drags them gently along his scalp. At first she was looking at a random spot on the wall across the room, but now she's turned her attention down to watch him. Not that she can really see much - it's mostly his head and part of his face - but she's watching him all the same.]

Well, that probably marks his downfall. Rover will sit on his head and proclaim himself the victor.

[For all that Pidge kicks and hits him, how rough and tumble she can be, this part of her is one Lance rarely sees, but still appreciates her showing him. After the sharp edge of violence and death, Lance craves the softness, the gentle caress of her fingers against his sensitive scalp, the warmth of her lap against his cheek.

He chuckles softly, almost inaudible, a sound he never expected to hear himself make tonight.]

Okay, but let's see him try that with Kaltenecker. She'd kick his ass across the island.

[Pidge shrugs a shoulder, unfazed by the comment as she starts idly arranging the tufts of his hair into swirly patterns.]

Joke's on her. He'd just tuck his wings and start rolling for a mile.

[That chuckle undoes a knot that's formed in Pidge's chest, though, and she's just... relieved. The last thing she wants is for her attempts to help him to backfire yet again.]

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