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Chapter Text

They held it every year without fail.

A grand celebration on the anniversary of the ending of the 10,000-year War with victory in the hands of the Voltron Coalition and all of their allies. As one of the (previous) Paladins of Voltron, Keith forced himself to attend every year, sticking around only as long as he had to before wandering off to be on his own and celebrate in his own way.

After the first year, he was joined by Pidge. And then Hunk. And then Lance. And finally Allura, Coran, and Shiro joined them and they formed their own little anniversary party on the Castle of Lions, where they would be left alone and could escape from the prying eyes of the public.

It was on their first “official” anniversary party that Allura broke out a bottle of Juniberry wine for them to enjoy and Keith found himself increasingly grateful for the privacy of the castle as the night went on. He cut himself off after just a few sips of his wine left him feeling lightheaded, but he was the only one.

Which meant he had the privilege of learning first-hand the type of drunks each of his friends were.

Lance was, unsurprisingly, a lightweight and his awful pick-up lines took a turn for the even-more-absurd with every sip he took. They were mostly directed at Allura, who became extremely giggly after draining her first glass in one go. (And Keith didn't know much about drinking, but he was pretty sure that wasn't the right way to drink wine.) He kept a close watch on them because the last thing he needed was for an inebriated Allura to fall for Lance's so-called charms and cause an incident when they were both sober again.

Hunk and Coran, at least, seemed to be able to hold their alcohol well, and though they got a bit louder and more enthusiastic the more they drank, Keith figured he didn't need to worry unless they tried to run off and test any of their ideas. Luckily, they seemed pretty content to stay right where they were.

Keith probably should have worried a bit more about Shiro, who was hit so hard by the alcohol that he could barely stand after the first glass. Keith helped him to a couch and left him there with a tablet that Pidge had, at some point, re-purposed for watching old Altean videos – most of which were a line of “how-to tutorials” created by a much younger Coran.

And then there was Pidge.

He had expected...

Well, Keith didn't actually know what he expected a drunk Pidge to be like but the reality of it was far beyond anything he would have considered for her, even in his most depraved dreams. (Because, okay, he was a young man and she was pretty and smart and one of the few women he got along with, so sue him for having the occasional dirty thought.)

She flitted around for a bit, first talking to Hunk and Coran and then taking a moment to tease Lance over some awful joke he made, throwing a pun of her own into the mix. She then spent a half varga watching the tutorials with Shiro, giggling as she continued to drink.

It was in the moment that Keith took his eyes off of her to watch whatever it was that was happening between Lance and Allura that Pidge struck.

“Keith,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

Keith blinked and looked to his right, where Pidge stood staring up at him. There was a rosy flush to her cheeks and her hair was bound up into a messy side-ponytail, which was an unexpectedly cute look for her.

She latched onto his arm and gently tugged him towards the center of the room. “Dance with me?”

Keith saw no harm in letter her pull him around. “I didn't think you enjoyed dancing. You always find an excuse to get out of it whenever there's some fancy party you have to attend.”

“Yeah because if I dance with one person then everyone expects me to dance with them. I have better things to do with my time,” Pidge grumbled. “Here it's only you and me.”

“I can't argue with that logic,” Keith said, fully understanding her discomfort and also a little flattered that, of all people she could have chosen, she wanted to dance with him. He smiled down at her as she twirled around to face him and would have fallen over if not for him reaching out to steady her. Pidge giggled and stepped closer, pressing her face into his chest.

“Uh, Pidge?” he asked, feeling heat rush to his cheeks.

Pidge mumbled something unintelligible in response and wrapped her arms around him.

Keith helplessly glanced around the room, but there was no one paying attention to what was happening between him and Pidge. He cleared his throat as he looked back down at her. “Um, so, I'm not sure how well we can dance like this.”

Pidge turned her face to the side so her voice was no longer muffled by his shirt. “What do you mean? We're already swaying together.”

He was starting to think that Pidge was more inebriated than he originally thought. Still, there was no harm in gently holding onto her until she got tired of “dancing” to no music and wanted to do something else.

A few minutes passed before Keith realized her breathing was starting to even out and that he was the one supporting all of her weight. “Pidge?” he asked softly.

She made a sleepy sound and held onto him a little more tightly.

Okay.

Keith could handle that.

Sleepy Pidge was much more manageable than the unknown of Drunk Pidge and was also something he was much more familiar with after all the times he'd found her napping in various places around the Castle and had to carry her back to her room.

“Lets get you to bed,” he said as he effortlessly lifted her into his arms, choosing to carry her bridal style.

Pidge giggled, her head lolling to a stop against her chest. She blinked up at him as he began to walk. For a few long minutes she didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare at his face until Keith was sure his cheeks were tinged pink from how awkward the situation felt.

“You have really pretty eyes.”

She's drunk, Keith reminded himself. She doesn't know what she's saying.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks?”

“All of you is, like, unfairly pretty,” she continued. “Did you-” (She cut herself off with a giggle.) “-hey, Keith, did you know that I used to go watch you train just so I could stare at your butt?”

Keith did not know that, nor did he need to. It felt like such an invasion of privacy to let Pidge continue talking in her state, but was there anything he could do to stop her? Was there a part of him who, perhaps, was curious about what else she'd say if he let her keep going?

Blissfully unaware of Keith's inner turmoil, Pidge continued to talk. “I mean, that's not the only reason I'd go to training. It was at first, but after those first few fights I knew I really did need to train, but sometimes it was nice to sit back and watch you fight the training bots or go through those – what are they called again? Those basic stances, I guess. You always make it look so easy...”

“...Lance is completely wrong about your hair, by the way. Long hair is sexy...”

“...watching you throw Hunk around like he weighs nothing is just so... so...” Pidge made a sound to convey her feelings and it made Keith blush to his ears.

“We're here!” he interrupted before she could go further than that. He managed to nudge the control panel with his elbow and the door to Pidge's room slid open, the light flickering on as he stepped inside. He navigated the slight mess on her floor – much better than the early days of their time in the castle, when it was like stepping into a trash heap – and eased her down onto the bed, prying her fingers from her shirt.

“Stay with me?” Pidge requested.

“I need to go make sure Shiro and the others get to bed too,” he responded, avoiding the question. He carefully unlaced and removed her shoes, setting them aside where she could easily find them again, and then tucked her into her woolly green blankets. “Sleep, Pidge. I'll see you in the morning.”

“Promise?” she asked, amber eyes shimmering with trust.

“Yeah, Pidge. I promise.”

Chapter Text

There were times when it still felt surreal to her.

Katie stood on top of the tallest skyscraper of Plaht City and stared out over her home. Brown eyes narrowed behind a white feathered mask as she kept an eye out for any sort of danger, but for once there appeared to be nothing. No monsters. No weird energy signatures. Just the usual hustle and bustle of a city whose people were occasionally harassed by the forces of evil.

She found herself relaxing enough to sit down and let her feet dangle over the edge of the building, confident that her magic would save her if she did fall. She wasn't called the Green Owl for no reason, after all.

One year...

Had it really been a year since she gained her powers? A year since her struggle began to maintain her civilian identity without revealing that she was a magically empowered superhero. A year since her first few fights when she had no idea what she was doing. A whole year since she sincerely considered throwing away her transformation pen and trying to ignore that she was “chosen” for a “greater purpose”.

Truthfully, Katie kind of liked being a superhero. She liked helping people. She liked the freedom that her powers granted her. Sure, she could do without the miniskirt, but she could admit that it allowed for a free range of motion and the bike shorts beneath helped sooth some of her irritation over that revealing aspect. The rest of her uniform was pretty cool; the mask which added to her mystique, the sturdy (and surprisingly comfortable) combat boots, the elbow-length gloves that were specially outfitted to allow her to use her touch screen gadgets, and a loose-fitted, sailor-collared top. (It made her feel like one of the girls in one of the old shoujo manga she loved to read when she was little.)

Her painted lips tugged up into a smile as she heard someone landing lightly behind her. A moment later, a figure in a red tuxedo joined her in looking out over the city.

“It's a quiet night,” he noted.

“I think we deserve one of those after that last monster,” Katie told him, a hint of amusement ringing in her voice.

Her partner groaned at the memory and closed his eyes beneath his own mask, which was white like her own, but without the high flare on the ends that resembled the feathered ears of an owl. “I thought we agreed to never speak about that again? It's bad enough that they're still showing it whenever I turn on the news. It's all been 'Red Blade covered in pink ooze!' or 'Red Blade takes one for the team!' If our uniforms weren't made of magic, I would still be trying to get myself clean.”

“My favorite is 'Red Blade, still hot under all that ooze',” Katie told him, failing to contain her laughter.

The Red Blade scrunched up his nose, an action so cute that Katie had to reign in her desire to stand up and kiss him. It was no secret that there was something between them, although it was nothing like the scandalous material the tabloid's liked to print, but she did want to try and keep things professional when they were in public.

She glanced around and remembered that they were on top of the tallest skyscraper in the city and well out of sight.

“You know,” she began conversationally. “I never did thank you for diving in the way of the monster's attack. I think you deserve a reward after all of the humiliation you were put through for your good deed.”

It took him a moment to catch on, but when he did he sat down next to her with an easy smile. “What did you have in mind?”

Katie let her actions speak for her and leaned forward, pulling down down for a sweet kiss beneath the stars of their beloved city.

Chapter Text

Technically, she wasn't supposed to be there.

It had been decided phoebs ago when planning for the masquerade first began that she and her brother would not be in attendance for their own safety. They couldn't risk the entire royal family being in one place, especially when their peace treaty with the Galra was so recent.

Katla agreed with them at first, but as the phoebs went on, the newly established Emperor Kolivan and Empress Krolia showed that they were capable of keeping their word as they withdrew their forces and took to issuing reparations with little complaint. It wasn't that Katla wanted to get dressed up for some fancy party but that she wanted to see them with her own eyes and find out if they were as genuine as they seemed to be.

So she donned a pretty dress and found a mask to cover most of her face, shifting her features ever-so-slightly so no one would spare her more than a passing glance. Her overall plan was fairly simple to make it easy to adjust for things going awry, but her main goal was to stay away from anyone who stood a chance at recognizing her and staying just long enough to see the Emperor and Empress.

The biggest thing she had to remember was that she couldn't afford any distractions.

She couldn't go off and chat with the genius inventor Slav for an hour to discuss his theories on alternate realities or find High Priestess Allura to have another discussion on Altean Sages, no matter how tempting both of those ideas were.

Katla tried not to yawn at the unending babble of small-talk happening around her. She smiled politely at a passing Galra who wore an elaborate golden mask and then turned away so he couldn't examine her more closely. She was fairly surprised at how many Galra were in attendance, though she supposed it made sense since their sovereigns would also be there to celebrate the treaty.

What wasn't a surprise was the fact that there wasn't much (if there was any) mingling between the Alteans and the Galra. It was as though a clear line was drawn in the room and very few dared to cross it.

Had she been attending as princess, she would be expected to do something about that, but since she was undercover, she was free to continue lurking in the background, free of royal burden.

The best part was not having to wear an overly elaborate dress whose skirt was wider than she was tall. The gown she'd chosen for herself was sleek and green with an empire waist and a high neckline embroidered with curling vines and tiny red flowers. Both sleeves completely covered her arms and across the backs of her hands, where a thin band looped around her middle finger to hold them in place. The skirt brushed across the tops of her low-heeled shoes.

Simple, yet still appropriately elegant for the masquerade.

Katla continued to observe the room, meandering her way through the crowds to get different vantage points. On her second pass across the invisible line which divided the room, someone clothed in heavy black fabric stepped into her path and softly spoke a question:

“Excuse me, miss?”

Katla went rigidly still, sure that she was about to get called out by one of the guards. She slowly lifted her eyes to his face and her panic dropped straight to confusion at the glimpse of purple skin beneath the scaled red mask he wore.

Definitely not one of the Altean guards.

“May I ask for a dance?” he asked, holding out his hand.

Katla forced a smile onto her face as her planning began to topple around her. She couldn't say no; the atmosphere was too delicate for her to refuse a dance with a Galra. “I would be delighted,” she responded as pleasantly as she could muster.

He swept her away onto the dance floor, where they attracted more attention than Katla was comfortable with. She had to hope that her disguise would hold up under the scrutiny of the masses and that it would be aided by the common knowledge that she was not meant to be attending the masquerade.

She just needed to think positively. Dancing with a visiting Galra opened up a new opportunity for her to talk to someone on the inside, so long as she tread carefully with her words.

Katla had never been the best at that.

“You’re very good at this,” she complimented.

“Thank you,” he responded. There was a momentary pause and then he leaned a little closer and lowered his voice to say: “That is a high compliment from the Princess of Altea.”

Katla nearly reeled back in surprise, but his steady hand against her back kept her in place. “How-?”

He casually spun her so she was facing away from the majority of the crowd. “I recognized you from all of the photographs I've seen, but I don't think anyone else has. I won't tell anyone. I just wanted to talk to you. Please, princess, one dance and I'll leave you alone.”

Katla did her best to keep her cool. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“You... don't recognize me?”

“Should I?” she retorted.

Even as she bristled over the way she'd been called out and wanted nothing more than to get away from everything and everyone, she stayed where she was and took a moment to examine him more closely. His clothing told her nothing. The overcoat was made of a thick material and patterned with scales to match his mask, while the under-suit was a dark gray and hugged close to his body. It all screamed of protection rather than style – but that wasn't uncommon for the Galra. From what little Katla could see of his face, she could tell his skin tone was more purple than blue and that there was the beginning of a darker stripe rising from the underside of his jaw and going up his cheeks.

It was the stripes that sparked something in her memory.

They were remarkably similar to the ones Empress Krolia had.

That meant...

“Prince Keithir?” Katla whispered. When he nodded, she dived into an apology. “I'm so sorry! I didn't recognize you!”

“I think that's the whole point of the masks,” he remarked, tilting his head to one side. “There's nothing to forgive, especially when I wasn't supposed to be here either.”

Katla chanced a glance around the room and found there were still too many eyes on them for her to be comfortable. “We shouldn't talk here. Do you see the door on the west side of the room closest to the north corner? Go through there and make the first left you come to. Near the end of that hall, just before it splits left and right, there's a door on your right. Go through there and you'll be in the garden. We'll meet there in twenty doboshes.”

Prince Keithir nodded in agreement. “Is there a specific spot in the garden?”

“There's a new installation nearby. A raised bed full of juniberries and marmora blossoms that's meant to symbolize the peace between our people,” Katla said.

“Then I will see you there,” Prince Keithir agreed.

They continued to sway to the music as it came to an end, politely bowing to each other once it was over before going their separate ways. Katla wandered back into the crowd of Alteans, mingling with them until the staring stopped and she was able to slowly make her way towards the door.

There was a moment where she deliberated on whether or not she wanted to go meet him, but her curiosity won her over in the end. Whatever he had to tell her must be important if he snuck into the masquerade for the sole purpose of speaking with her.

Or maybe, a part of her whispered, maybe he was there for the same reason she was.

Katla was looking forward to finding out.

Chapter Text

There was a chill present in the air as Pidge dressed in preparation to meet up with her boyfriend and their friends. It wasn’t enough that she would need a heavy coat; a nice sweater and a thin scarf would suffice in keeping her warm and cozy no matter what time of the day it was or where they were in the city.

She picked a simple pair of jeans, a black t-shirt with a scooped neckline, and a red cardigan along with her most comfortable sneakers. As she went to check the contents of her bag she realized she'd forgotten a scarf and backtracked to grab the thin red-and-white ombre one (that had been a gift from her boyfriend), which she wound loosely around her neck.

Her phone buzzed once.

And then twice.

And then a third time.

Pidge rolled her eyes as she picked it up, not at all surprised to find that her friend, Lance, had decided to spam text her to try and get her to hurry up and get outside, as though he'd been patiently waiting for hours rather than the few minutes it had likely been since he arrived early, as always.

She sent a message to Hunk instead, asking him to find some way to shut Lance up. He was likely to be there with him and was the best person for getting Lance to focus on something else.

With one final glance at her reflection, Pidge decided she looked presentable enough to leave, and did so after grabbing her bag and locking up the apartment. She sent another text to Hunk, letting him know she was on the way.

It didn't take her long.

The park where they liked to meet up was approximately the middle point between where each of them lived. (She and Hunk had sat down to do the exact math once and had endured endless teasing from their friends.) As she expected, Hunk and Lance were already there, and with them were Allura and Shiro.

That meant the only one they were waiting on was her boyfriend, Keith.

Everyone was dressed for the weather, just like she was, though Lance had gone for a few more layers and a thicker scarf. He'd always had the least cold resistance of all of them after growing up on a warm island in the south so it wasn't much of a surprise.

He was also the first to greet her as she walked up. “You're late!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Maybe if someone let me get ready instead of sending me twenty texts in a row and expecting me to answer, I could have been here sooner. Besides, we're still waiting on Keith, aren't we?”

“He's on his way,” Shiro spoke up.

Lance groaned dramatically. “Is it too much to ask that we all show up on time for once? I swear he does it on purpose whenever it's my turn to pick our outing!”

It was the same thing he said every time Keith was running a little behind, regardless of whether or not it was his turn. Pidge decided to tune him out as she checked her phone for any new messages, smiling when she saw one from Keith that included a photo of the newest antic his puppy had gotten up to. It was likely the reason he was late.

She grinned at the sight of shredded paper all over the room, with a very guilty-looking husky pup sitting in the center of it all.

When Pidge looked up from her phone, it was to find Hunk expertly distracting Lance from his newest rant. And really, she didn't want to know why Lance was so incensed with Keith lately, though she hoped he got over it soon. It produced too much tension in their group.

By the time Lance calmed down, Pidge could see Keith making their way toward them in a warm-looking green cable sweater and black jeans, with a bundle of black and white fluff bounding around at his feet.

Not even Lance could find reason to be annoyed when faced with an excitable puppy.

“Hey,” Keith greeted as he walked up in front of Pidge. He smiled faintly as Hunk immediately dropped to his knees for puppy kisses, cooing over the newest addition to their group. Keith loosened the leash to allow for extra wiggle room, trusting both Hunk and the harness Kosmo wore to keep the pup safe.

Pidge stood on tiptoe as Keith bowed down, giving each other a quick kiss on the lips.

“Now that everyone is here, what's our plan for the day?” Allura asked.

Lance puffed out his chest at the chance to finally reveal what he'd come up with. “I figured we could end our usual catch-up walk through the park at this outdoor cafe Hunk and I found the other day. They have good drinks and impressed Hunk with their selection of bakery items.”

Hunk's eyes lit up in delight, though he made no move to stand up and continued running his fingers through Kosmo's baby fluff.

“If everyone else is in agreement?” Shiro asked, taking the role of leader as always. He gave everyone a moment to chorus their agreement and then nodded at Lance. “Then it's decided.”

Once Hunk patted Kosmo one last time, Keith tightened up on the leash a little and they all set out for their weekly stroll through the park.

Chapter Text

Keith grinned proudly as he helped his dad rake all of the leaves in the yard into one great big pile with his brand new plastic rake. It had taken them a good chunk of the afternoon to finish and seeing the pile grow from a carpet of scattered leaves to a pile that was nearly taller than he was would keep him in high spirits for the next week.

“Good job, kiddo,” said his dad, reaching down to ruffle Keith's hair.

Keith giggled at the feeling and playfully swatted his dad's hand away before stepping back to get a good look at the pile of leaves. He felt... accomplished. He'd worked hard and made his dad proud of him and there was nothing better than that.

“Katie!”

The cry startled Keith and was the only warning he received before a figure in purple darted out from behind the bushes on the border of the property. The tiny girl was grinning wildly as she ran directly for the pile of leaves and leaped into it with a delighted squeal.

Keith watched in horror as leaves fluttered into the air and tumbled free of the pile.

“Dad! Dad, watch this!”

“Alex! No!”

Keith chuckled as he watched his children play around in their leaf pile, one happily diving in to scatter them everywhere while the other screamed with rage.

“Dad! Make him stop! He's messing it all up!” Rose stomped her foot in frustration, her grip tightening over her little rake.

Sensing that she was about to go into a full meltdown, Keith gently removed the rake from her hands and knelt down next to her. “He's just having fun, Rose. I seem to recall a certain someone doing the same thing last year. And the year before that. And the year before that.”

Rose scowled and looked away, her brown eyes narrowed and a pout on her lips.

“If it bothers you that much, next time we can make two different piles and Alex won't be allowed to jump in yours,” Keith said. “But for now...”

He waited until Rose started to look back at him and then swept her up into his arms. He spun her around until she let go of her anger and began to laugh and then gently deposited her into the leaves alongside her brother, who scrambled to his feet and shouted: “Me next! Me next!”

None of them noticed Katie standing in the doorway of the house, watching all of them with a fond expression on her face, until she set aside her tool apron and announced her presence with a battle cry as she joined in on the fun. The kids shouted and squealed as Keith caught her in his arms and dipped her down, kissing her on the cheek before letting her gently fall into the pile.

There was much fun to be had that afternoon.

Chapter Text

Lance gave Pidge a knowing look over the rim of his coffee cup, his lips curving up into a smirk that grew more and more obvious the longer he watched her until he was grinning so broadly that Pidge was startled out of her obvious daydreaming.

“What?” she asked defensively.

“Nothing,” Lance said evasively, continuing to grin in a way that was rapidly becoming creepy.

Pidge narrowed her eyes as she reached for her pumpkin spice latte, trying to puzzle out what he was up to. It was Lance, so it could be any number of things, including but not limited to some stupid prank that he thought he could pull off on his own. (Something that always ended in disaster.) She slowly sipped her coffee and tried to enjoy the burst of flavor across her tongue.

“You know, I didn't peg you for the pumpkin spice kind of girl,” Lance remarked.

“In that regard, I am very much a basic white girl,” Pidge responded in a joking tone. When he continued to grin she firmly set down her cup and leveled him with a hard stare. “Okay, seriously, what is going on? Have you done something stupid again? Do I need to call Hunk?”

Lance leaned back in his chair. “I just realized something very interesting is all.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“We used to only go to the cafe on campus. You always said it was because it's quick and convenient, but you visit this place with Allura one time and suddenly it's your go-to place?” Lance asked.

“That campus coffee is quick and convenient, but it's also cheap. I need the good stuff if I'm going to make it through that paper due for astrophysics next week,” Pidge said defensively.

“Uh huh. Sure,” Lance responded.

“Besides, the campus pumpkin spice has this almost grainy aftertaste to it and I can never drink the whole thing. Here I can.”

Lance nodded along. “Okay.”

“Not to mention I could probably use the exercise and it's only a few blocks out of the way.”

Lance didn't bother to say anything that time and instead stared knowingly at his friend.

“All I'm saying is that there are plenty of good reasons why I want to come to this coffee shop instead of sticking with the one on campus!” Pidge said.

“Oh, I see. Good reasons. You mean like the barista you've been making eyes at the entire time we've been here?” Lance asked.

Heat flared to life across her cheeks and for a moment Pidge lost the ability to speak as she tried to come up with a new reasonable statement, but Lance took that silence as a sign of victory before she could recover.

“I knew it!” he whispered triumphantly. “You have a crush!”

“I do not! And don't say things like that so loudly!” Pidge hissed. “You have no idea what you're talking about! I'm not interested in Keith like that!”

A wicked gleam entered Lance's eyes. “Are you sure about that? Because this 'Keith' seems to be pretty interested in you, considering he put his number on your cup.”

“He did?” Pidge blurted out, lifting her travel cup to turn it around in search of the aforementioned number. When she found nothing, she glared accusingly at Lance.

“Not interested, huh?”

“Shut up, Lance.”

Chapter Text

Rain pattered lightly against the windows in an unending shower, drenching the plants in the flower-box outside. Pidge sat at the tea table in front of the bay window, snug and cozy in her husband's thick red sweater, and watched as the much-needed rain fell. A mug of hot cocoa sat on a coaster in front of her, sending curls of steam into the air.

Soft footsteps padded across the wood floors as Keith left the kitchen with his own cup and a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies. He set the plate down in the center of the table and then sat down across from her.

“I think it's supposed to do this all day,” he remarked.

Pidge hummed in response, turning her gaze from the window to her husband. She smiled softly at him and reached for a cookie. “I'd be more disappointed if we didn't really need the rain. It's too bad you can't go on your hike though.”

“Our hike,” Keith corrected teasingly. He laughed when Pidge crinkled her nose in disgust. “It will be nice to have a day in, I suppose. I can light the fireplace so you can stay warm or... I can find another way to keep you warm.”

Pidge nearly choked on her cookie at the suggestive comment. It was rare that Keith used a cheesy line like that – usually she was the one blatantly hitting on him. She quickly recovered and came back at him with: “And what, exactly, do you have in mind?”

“You'll have to wait and find out,” Keith replied.

“If I guess right will you tell me?” Pidge asked, unable to let it go so easily.

Keith smirked at her over his cup of cocoa and said nothing more, leaving Pidge to squirm in anticipation of whatever he had planned.

Maybe she would enjoy the rainy day more than she expected.

Chapter Text

It was a rare calm day in the Castle of Lions.

There were no alarms blaring. No distress calls from a planet in need. There weren't even any calls from Kolivan to discuss how things were going with their newly formed Coalition. There were no big tech projects that needed their expertise.

It was nice.

Pleasant.

But it also meant everyone was lounging around, almost desperate for something to do to occupy their time while they waited for something to happen. Naturally, Lance couldn't stand the silence or the waiting for too long and it wasn't long before he was talking about whatever came to mind with Hunk.

Before long, the topic turned to how long they'd been away from Earth and after some quick calculations, they guessed that the northern hemisphere was likely in the middle of autumn. All it took was Hunk waxing poetic about all of the food he and his mom used to make for the holidays and suddenly there was a lively conversation about seasonal traditions filling the air.

Pidge stood with them and it was as as she listened to Coran talk about the old Meteor Dodging Festival back on Altea that she realized there was one member of their rag-tag band who was sitting off to the side, listening but not joining in.

“Hey,” she said softly, sliding into the open space on the couch next to Keith.

He echoed her word back to her but it that was all.

And that was okay.

Pidge had become fond of the quiet moments she spent with Keith. They were calm. Comfortable in a way she hadn't expected. She didn't feel the need to break the silence by voicing her thoughts out loud.

But there was something about the distant look in his eyes that made her want to coax him back into the present and the gentlest way to do that was with words, at least for Keith.

“Autumn was always my favorite season back home,” she admitted. “When the weather finally starts to cool down and there's that... I dunno, that feeling in the air. It's hard to put it into words.” She paused for a moment and drew one leg up to her chest, letting the other continue to dangle off the couch. “Summer is too hot, winter is too cold, and spring is too rainy, but every time autumn came around, Matt and I would sneak out onto the roof at night to look at the stars and tell each other stories. Sometimes we'd take cookies and hot cocoa out there too. Looking back, I'm sure mom and dad knew all about our excursions, but it felt like we were being so sneaky at the time!”

Pidge wasn't sure if Keith was listening, but she kept talking anyway.

“When we were really young, mom and dad would take the time to decorate and we'd all do crafts, but the older we got the more everyone got too focused on their own projects. It wasn't like we didn't try or didn't care, but we'd put things up and then it'd be spring by the time we were taking them down. So we stopped after a while and found other ways to celebrate.”

“Fall was my dad's busiest time of year,” Keith said quietly.

Pidge snapped her mouth shut. “Oh...”

He glanced over at her and his eyes went soft. “It wasn't so bad. I was in class most of the time and he tried to get weekends off to be with me. Whenever he couldn't, he'd take me with him for his fire safety awareness lectures and I got to be his helper. After that he'd always take me for ice cream or some other kind of treat. We'd make a day of it, you know?”

“That sounds really nice, Keith.”

He nodded. “It really was. I... I really miss him. Especially this time of year.”

“Do you...” Pidge cut herself short, feeling as thought she was treading into rocky waters. “If you'd like to talk about him, I'm always here to listen.”

Keith smiled back at her. “Thank you, Pidge.”

Chapter Text

Sparks flew into the air as one of the larger logs cracked from the exposure to heat and flame, but no one heard a thing over the loud music, though a few people stopped to watch them fizzle out against the dark sky.

Keith was one of them.

As he lowered his eyes from the heavens, he caught sight of a young woman in green on the other side of the clearing. She was standing with his brother, Shiro, and was nodding at whatever he was saying with a smile on her face, clearly investing in the conversation they were having. She was pretty, with short auburn hair and eyes that shone with firelight. There were a few times Keith thought she looked right at him and he averted his gaze so she wouldn't get creeped out.

He turned his attention to his friends instead, watching as Lance attempted to flirt with Allura while Hunk played wingman. Keith wasn't sure what was going on but if he had to guess, Lance was trying to get Allura to dance with him around the bonfire.

When Keith got bored of watching them, he looked back at Shiro, only to come face-to-face with the young woman his brother had been talking to. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “So, you're one of Shiro's friends?”

“Sort of?” she said with a short shrug. “He's dating my brother and I promised to give him a chance. He seems pretty cool. I'm Pidge, by the way.”

“Keith,” he said in response. “Shiro's my brother.”

Pidge's firelight eyes went wide in surprise. “Really? I hadn't expected... So that's why he said I should come over and introduce myself,” she said with a laugh.

Keith's gaze slid over to Shiro, who grinned back at him and gave a quick thumbs up. “Did he now? I can't tell if he's trying to play nice with his future in-laws or trying to set me up.”

Pidge's laughter at his statement was a pleasant sound and Keith flushed a little when he realized he'd spoken out loud.

“I can't say I'd really mind if it was that second one,” she told him, her lips curving up into a sweet smile.

Keith hadn't intended on dancing with anyone when he agreed to attend the annual bonfire. All of his plans involved sitting back, enjoying some decent grilled food, and then helping Shiro get home when his brother inevitably drank a little too much and started waxing poetic to the trees again.

Shiro would be fine without him for an hour or two.

Keith held his arm out to Pidge as the music began to increase in volume and people began to circle around the bonfire for the third dance of the night. “Would you like to join me?”

Pidge's response was an even broader smile and a gentle hand on his arm.

Chapter Text

The morning of October 10th dawned with a clear sunrise and a crispness to the air that left Keith feeling invigorated after his morning jog. He returned to the apartment he shared with his fiancee, Pidge, and made sure to check in on her to make sure she was awake before taking his shower. When he finished, she was right where he last saw her: planted in from of her computer, her keys flying across the keyboard with precision as she worked on her newest pet project.

“Hey,” Keith said, snapping her out of her hyper-focus. “You’re still going with me to the orchard to pick up the cider and apples for Hunk, right?”

Pidge’s fingers stilled as she blinked and finally looked away from the screen. “Yeah, but that’s not for another…” She trailed off as a glance at their digital clock told her that it was later than what she thought. “Twenty minutes. Huh.”

“I’ll make us a quick breakfast if you start getting ready,” Keith offered as a compromise.

“Five minutes and I’ll get ready? I’ll even set a timer,” Pidge said.

“Deal,” Keith agreed. He didn’t leave the room until her timer was set and running on her phone, trusting her to uphold her end of the bargain. She’d been getting better about it.

There wasn’t time to fire up the waffle iron or throw some bacon in a pan for one of their traditional breakfasts, so Keith began preparing a bowl of fruit and yogurt instead, carefully cutting up strawberries into bite-sized pieces so it would be easier to eat both together. It wasn’t the most filling meal, but it would hold them over until they got to the orchard, where there was sure to be a variety of treats for them to taste.

Pidge emerged from their room fifteen minutes later with her hair neatly pinned back and no longer in her pajamas, which Keith counted as a fantastic win for his everlasting goal of “gently coaxing Pidge away from the computer”.

She didn’t look too disappointed by the sight of the breakfast he prepared, kissing him on the cheek as she sat down at the table and dug in. “Do you have Hunk’s list?”

“On paper and on my phone,” Keith responded.

Breakfast was quickly finished and Pidge returned to their bedroom to grab her purse before they headed out the door together. They took the bus to the trolley station which then took them on to the orchard – a trip that was only offered by the station from mid-September to mid-November, as that was the most popular time for visits to the orchard.

“So, cider and apples?” Pidge double checked as they entered the decorated gate. It was only the two of them and a handful of other people that early in the morning but it wouldn’t be long before the mid-morning crowd started filtering in. She wanted to get what they needed and then take the rest of the time to enjoy their trip.

“Two jugs of cider and a peck of Juniberry Crisp apples, which is a term Hunk insists we use when we go to collect them,” Keith said, reading from the list Hunk gave him. “We should be able to pay now and have it set aside on hold until we’re ready to leave. That’ll give us time to go pick out our pumpkin and visit the gift shop before Shiro arrives to pick us up.”

Pidge perked up at the mention of the gift shop, which was always the highlight of their trip. It wasn't the cute trinkets and decorations they sold. No, the true appeal was the bakery counter where they sold deserts made from the food they grew on the farm.

“We're only getting one slice this year,” Keith reminded her, recognizing the glint in her eyes. “Hunk will kill me if we show up and you're too full from eating here again.”

“But they have two new flavors to try,” Pidge tried to cajole him into agreeing to two, despite the fact that she was the one who came up with their single-slice idea the year before. She grinned at him after a moment. “Okay, okay. One slice here and one to go.”

Keith could agree to that.

“And maybe one whole pie to take home?”

“Pidge.” Keith tried to give her a stern look, but it faltered under the mischievous grin she gave him in return. “We'll see.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

Keith wrapped an arm across her shoulders, tugging her close to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then they were off to procure the things Hunk requested they pick up for him.