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[pidge_out]

 


Hey, it's Pidge. Can't answer right now-- Rover quit it! --so leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can.
Rover, what did I say--?!?!

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[spacebaloney]

[By sheer miracle, that small hand around his thing wrist is the only thing keeping Lance's feet ground. He was ready to bolt down the hallway in his Wailmer slippers, running away from his shameful display. His heart feels like he has been running, a marathon event, and with any luck, he'll keel over dead right here and now and avoid what the rest of the day brings.

She's not looking at him. She can't even look at him. Did he make things that awkward? That was Lance's biggest fear and here it seems to be coming true, that he embarrassed Pidge enough that the mere sight of him is something she can't stand.

Pidge's asking for an answer. He can barely breathe and he finds himself staring at the blank wall at the end of the hallway, as if the answer is written there.]

Because...

[Lance can't stop there and knows he can't. She at least deserves an answer to her curiosity, but he has so many, which one does he choose?

Because you're cute. Because I like the way your eyes glitter when you get excited over something nerdy. Because you brought me back from the brink of despair. Because I like the way you're down for any stupid shenanigans.

Because I think I love you.]

I like you.

[Close enough.]

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[pidge_out]

[Honestly, Pidge is pretty amazed that she managed to catch him. She half-expected him to find some way to worm out of her hold and start full on sprinting away from her. But he's still here, and she's gripping his wrist with both hands like she's pleading with him. Because she is. She's pleading for him to stay here for even just a moment longer, to be honest with her because that's all she needs from him.

Because if Lance had only wanted to kiss her on a whim, just because it's Christmas, just because he's a hopeless romantic and was feeling lonely or something... If he wanted to kiss her just because she's here...

But then she gets her answer, and her head finally snaps back up to look at him. And there's that wide-eyed, conflicted stare again; a swirl of disbelief and hope and wonder and fear. Her heart is hammering in her ears, and her grasp on him loosens, hands lowering until it's just the tips of her fingers curled lightly around the tips of his. It's a much lighter hold, but it's a hold all the same.

I like you. Does he mean that?

The heat in her cheeks only seems to get stronger. This is.. This is...

Too much. It's a little overwhelming. And when her brain is already rattling and buzzing as much as it is on a regular basis, adding in feelings, ones that are still so new and raw to her conscious mind, is just--]

I-- I think I need a minute. [She doesn't look away, at least. She gives his fingers a tiny squeeze, because she doesn't want him to think he's done something wrong.] Can I- I just... need to process.

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[spacebaloney]

[There's no explaining the indecision Lance goes through when trying to decide which one of Pidge's reactions stings the most. Is it her head popping up to stare at him again as if the idea of him wanting her to feel the same is that shocking or is it the way she lets go of his arm, a possible sign of disappointment that there are feelings she can't (or would rather not) return, or worse, that maybe Lance let his loneliness get the better of him and was running on hormones and one too many novellas and he thought maybe Pidge and he could make something great?

He keeps his eyes trained on the wall, tears pricking the corner of his eyes and it's a hard battle to not let them roll over his cheeks. It would be stupid to cry, crying over a girl rejecting him, even if she let him down easy. Getting rejected has been a theme in Lance's life, but this time it feels different. It burns in a place inside of him that he can't quite pinpoint , but he wishes he could so he can reach in and yank that stupid wound right out. All he knows is that he should have trusted in the belief that Pidge was way above his station. She's smart, he's a goofball, she's way talented, he's only good at being a joke. This is what happens when a fool shoots too high, Lance thinks.

On the bright side, at least he knows now not to try with Hunk too, especially since Hunk claimed to like some other nameless guy. Two strikes and Lance is out. There's no third try in this town.]

Yeah.

[He should say more, tell her to take all the time she needs because it's the polite thing to do, the considerate option to give her, but the words don't come. The threat of his voice breaking is too real and it's taking enough out of him to start walking away, letting his fingers slip from her loose hold without looking back at her.

Besides, Lance told Maru that if he crashed and burned, the best thing to do would be to leave the house again. Standing in the hallway won't get his bags packed any faster.]

MATCHING YOUR ICON BECAUSE HOW DARE

[pidge_out]

[She's watching him, and she can see the miniscule shifts in his expression. But the thing is, Pidge still can't quite tell what those shifts mean. She's pretty sure his mind is going in a direction that probably isn't correct, but-- how does she fix that? And then he's stepping back, and his fingers slip from hers and it makes her chest tighten and ache at the lost. This- This isn't right. This isn't what she wanted to happen when she asked for her moment to process information. She'd hoped he'd stay right there with her, that he would wait patiently for her to figure out the best way to answer him... but that doesn't seem to be what he's doing. At all. And it leaves Pidge at a loss. She doesn't know what else to do but watch him start walking away. She hates the way the light's gone out of his eyes, the fact that she somehow caused that and it hurts. There must be something she can say to stop him from taking this whole thing the wrong way, but she can't figure out what it is (Hunk would know, but she's not sure she should go running to him about this right now). So she just watches him go, long after he's vanished around the corner. She stays rooted to the spot. Lost, and scared she's just accidentally broken one of the most important people in her life.]