Undefinable

Chapter 1

Lance sighed dreamily for the fifth time since he sat down, his eyes focused on the back corner of the classroom. "How do you think he gets his hair to look so nice?"

His best friend, Katie "Pidge" Holt, arched an eyebrow as she raised her eyes to look at him. "Good conditioner? I don't know. Do you think you could focus on our assignment and not on how nice your boyfriend looks today?"

"He's not-! We're not-!" Lance moaned in despair and dropped his head onto the table they shared, never noticing the odd looks of their fellow classmates. "Piiiiiidge," he whined, drawing out her name.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Everyone's staring at you."

"Is he looking too? NO! Don't look!"

Pidge had just started to twist around and look at the back corner, where the subject of Lance's affections sat, when her friend frantically grabbed at her arm a little more tightly than she liked. "Lance, seriously?" She pulled her arm away and ignored his whining as she turned to the desk behind her, where Allura and Shay were quietly chatting as they filled out their worksheets. "Save me."

"I offered my input at the start of the year, but you ignored it," Allura said, looking amused. Her lilting accent gave her words a more playful tone than she'd probably intended. "You could have partnered with Keith instead."

"I can't imagine a situation that could go more wrong than that," Pidge deadpanned.

"So you say," Allura said lightly.

Under the guise of continuing their conversation, Pidge was able to look in the back corner without giving Lance a heart attack. There were two boys there, one of whom was Hunk, who sat with his back facing them. The other was Keith, who glanced up in time to notice her eyes on him. He winked at her before going back to his work.

Pidge swore if anyone else saw that, she was going to kill him.

Lucky for Keith, Mr. Coran picked that moment to re-enter the room and call the class back to attention. Chatter died down and everyone faced the front so they could review the worksheet together.

Pidge scrawled a quick note to Lance, and the moment Mr. Coran turned his back to the class, she tossed it forward over his shoulder and was pleased when it landed on his desk.

You're fine. Hunk wasn't looking.

She could see his sigh of relief.

Sometimes she really didn't understand Lance. A pretty girl could cross his path and he'd have no problem chatting her up, but the moment he laid eyes on Hunk it was like someone hit the 'off' switch in his brain. Maybe it was a mark of how strong his feelings were for the other boy. Still, it was unusual to see him trying to avoid attracting attention.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. She'd hoped he would figure it out on his own, but it was starting to look like she'd have to lend a helping hand after all.

.

.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Lance asked her for the third time that day.

"It's fine," Pidge replied. "Shiro's picking us up today. He and Matt got home from college last night." She shut her locker door to reveal him staring at her with blatant disapproval. "What?"

"Dude, this is the last night I've got the car before my sister gets home and uses it all the time! It's our last day of freedom!" Lance exclaimed. "C'mon, Pidge, I know you've missed Shiro, but you don't really want to ride home with mullet-boy, do you?"

The pair began their walk down the hall towards the main doors, easily moving along with the crowd also heading in the same direction.

"Well, if I hurry I can get the passenger seat and watch him sulk the whole drive." She could almost see the internal battle waging in his mind. "Besides that, tonight's the big welcome home dinner for them. I can't miss it."

"Oh man, I forgot about that," Lance groaned. "That's so lame. I can't believe you have to spend the whole evening with Keith."

"Yeah. The things I do for family," Pidge muttered as they stepped outside. She blinked her eyes against the brightness of the sun, but didn't stop moving or else get jostled by everyone behind her. It didn't take long before she was able to look around, and when she did she quickly spotted a familiar black SUV parked along the road. She smiled at the prospect of seeing her friend for the first time in five months.

Lance caught sight of her expression and grinned knowingly. "Oh, alright. I see. For 'family'. I think you mean for Shiro."

"First of all, no," Pidge said in her most no-nonsense tone. "Second of all, Allura can bench press, like, three of me, so no. Third of all, why are we having this conversation again?"

"Uh, cuz you've been smiling all day, duh," Lance said, holding up one finger. "And then there's the way you say his name. 'Oh, Shiro!'" His voice went high in falsetto. Ignoring her heated glare, Lance continued ticking off each of his points using his fingers. "You don't care that you have to spend hours with mullet. Actually, you haven't insulted him once today. Then there's-!"

Pidge turned her back and started to walk away, giving him a single warning. "Lance, I'm leaving now."

"So hi to your boyyyyfriend for me!"

"I will come back and punch you!"

"Love you too, Pigeon!" Lance blew her a kiss for good measure, laughing when she turned and flipped him off.

After that, she ignored him, hurrying to Shiro's SUV. She paused in her approach to the passenger door when she spotted an unexpected person sitting there, and then moved for the back door. She pulled open the door and slid into the backseat with a moody huff.

"Good day at school?" Shiro asked, sounding amused.

Pidge's response was to groan loudly and drop her head in her hands. Next to her, Keith chucked. Up in the front seat, Allura did her best to keep her composure and not laugh.

"Shut up, Keith," Pidge mumbled.

"I haven't even said anything!"

"You don't need to. I know what you're thinking."

Shiro cleared his throat, interrupting the impending argument. "Seat belts!" He didn't shift the car into drive until he heard several seat belts click into place and only then were they on their way.

For a few minutes, things were peaceful. Allura and Shiro subtly flirted their way through casual conversation. Keith and Pidge sat in relative silent in the back. And then...

"My best friend is dumber than your best friend."

Pidge snorted. "Yeah right. Today, Lance spent all of Chemistry talking about how nice Hunk's hair looks."

"Hunk nearly had a breakdown thinking about how blue Lance's eyes are," Keith countered.

"Lance has started writing poetry detailing all of the finer qualities Hunk possesses. Which is a lot, apparently."

"Oh, he's only now reached the poetry stage? Hunk was there two months ago. He's now in the stage of today's-the-day-I-tell-him-how-I-feel-oops-no-it-isn't."

"That's nothing. Lance has been through that about six different times this year." Some of Pidge's humor about the situation faded away. "This is crazy, Keith. We've got to come up with a plan, because I can't take much more of this."

"Maybe we should just shove them in a room together and not let them out until they admit their feelings?" Keith suggested. "Or you could just tell Lance that Hunk likes him back."

Shiro began to brake in preparation for stopping at a red light.

Pidge dismissed the idea with an audible scoff. "Just how do you propose I explain how I know that? Because Lance will be over the moon for about five seconds before he starts to doubt it, and then he'll ask: 'Pidge, how do you know that?' And you know what I'll have to tell him? 'Well, Lance, because I'm dating Keith and he told me.'"

Shiro hit the brakes a little too hard, making everyone in the car lurch forward. He twisted around to look at the two in the backseat, unsure if he'd really heard their conversation correctly. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, yeah, hey," Pidge said in realization. "Shiro, I'm dating your brother."

"We're together now," Keith said at the same time.

Shiro looked between them as if trying to figure out a particularly tricky puzzle. He opened and shut his mouth several times, deliberating on what to say, and settled for: "Do our parents know?"

"Of course," Pidge said, as if it was obvious. "They even got us a 'congrats on not killing each other' cake after our first date."

Keith nodded. "It was good cake. You missed out."

"Such good cake," Pidge echoed.

Shiro looked to Allura for assistance, still not able to believe what he was hearing.

Allura giggled sweetly and patted his hand. "I know it's hard to believe, but they're telling the truth. Also, the light is green."

Shiro quickly turned his attention back to the road, staunchly refusing to glance at the grinning duo in the backseat. After a few minutes passed, he dared to ask another question. "So what's going on with Hunk and Lance?"

Pidge and Keith groaned in unison.

"Hunk has a crush on Lance, and Lance has a crush on Hunk," Allura filled him in.

"So what's the problem?" Shiro asked.

"They're morons," Keith muttered.

Pidge gently nudged him with her elbow, a disapproving smile on her face. "Maybe we should start at the beginning?" (Keith shrugged and Pidge took that as the go-ahead to continue.) "Last year, the engineering and programming classes had a joint final project. Hunk was my assigned partner for it. I must have mentioned Lance a few times while we were working, and Lance eventually got curious about who I was talking to all the time. Long story short, a few months and I find out the cute boy Lance keeps talking about is actually Hunk."

"It wouldn't be so bad if they'd just talk to each other, but Hunk gets quiet just at the thought of it," Keith said.

"Lance is just as bad. I've seen him flirt his way through most of the female population at school, but the second Hunk's nearby? Dead quiet. They're both driving us crazy," Pidge concluded.

Shiro frowned. "There has to be something you haven't tried yet. What about arranging a blind date? Or a double date?"

"We've tried that," Pidge said. "Lance makes excuses to not go. Apparently no one could ever match up to Hunk."

"Hunk worries himself sick and always has to cancel," Keith said.

Pidge sighed. "I'm still hoping one of them gets over their nerves before prom. Maybe I should tell Lance we're dating and that I can't go with him. Then he'll have to find someone else to ask. Someone like Hu—why are you shaking your head?"

Keith hesitated, not wanting to be the one to break the bad news to Pidge. "Hunk may have already asked Shay to prom..."

Pidge gaped at him for a full five seconds. "What the fuck, Keith?!"

"Language," Shiro said, unable to help himself.

Pidge cast an annoyed glance in his direction before refocusing her eyes on her boyfriend. "Sorry, Shiro. What I meant was: what the quiznak, Keith?!"

Allura couldn't stop herself from giggling at the word. It was one of Mr. Coran's substitution words for unsavory language, which he'd told the class was something he and his best friend had invented when they were young.

"Why would Hunk ask Shay? No, forget that. Why didn't you tell me sooner? We had a plan!" Pidge paused to rethink her words. "Okay, we had most of a plan."

"We had an idea to write fake notes to drop in their lockers, which is just as drastic as our other idea to lock them in a small room together," Keith said. "Anyway, I think it's more that Shay asked him. He's the only one her parents trust enough to take her. Look, I'll think of a new plan. I have an idea. I just need to work on it."

Shiro slowed down and pulled off onto a side road without any issue from the driver trying to tailgate him.

Pidge wasn't at all convinced by Keith's explanation, but she was wiling to let it slide. It wasn't the first time one of their ideas didn't pan out, and it wouldn't be the last. Setting up their stubborn best friends was turning out to be a bigger challenge than either of them had anticipated.

Which reminded her...

She leaned over close to Keith and lowered her voice, well aware that Shiro and Allura were still listening to them. "So I found something interesting that might help with our summer plans. It looks way more legit than the last video we found."

Keith leaned in as well, looking interested by the news. "Do they give the location? How far is it?"

"Maybe two hours from here," Pidge responded.

"That close..."

Shiro cast a curious glance in the rear-view mirror and raised an eyebrow at how close they were. It was such a far cry from the last time he saw them only a few months before, when they could barely stand being in the same house together. Suddenly they were chatting as though they'd been friends for years and Shiro suspected if they weren't buckled in, they'd be sitting pressed against each other.

"Cute, aren't they?" Allura said. "I couldn't believe it when they told me. Actually, I thought they were trying to play some sort of prank. But here they are, planning out the best place to hunt—which one was it again? Bigfoot or the Yeti?"

Pidge looked up so fast she nearly collided foreheads with Keith. "Neither of them are even around here!"

"And they're the same thing," Keith added.

There was a noticeable pause as Pidge slowly turned back to Keith, her brown eyes wide with disbelief. "I'm sorry, what? Did you just say Bigfoot and the Yeti are the same thing?"

Keith looked smug as he leaned back in his seat, meeting her gaze with ease. "Obviously it's the same creature. Its fur changes to white when it lives in colder climates or during winter."

Pidge let out a strangled groan of frustration. "No. Just no. They're a completely different species! First, that's suggesting that it's migratory and there's no way a creature of that size could travel thousands of miles across open space without being seen, never mind across oceans!"

"It could if there's more than one," Keith challenged. He grinned at the look of pure outrage on Pidge's face. "Katie, I'm joking."

Pidge loudly exhaled, closing her eyes as she released the mixture of emotions she'd been building up. There was the click of a seat belt being released and then Keith scooted over and wrapped an arm around her.

"Jerk," she mumbled, leaning into him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Keith said softly.

"And?" Pidge pressed.

"And you're the best genius girlfriend in the whole world?" Keith guessed.

Pidge tilted her head back to look up at him for a moment and then nodded, snuggling back up against him, where she remained for the rest of the drive.

.

.

Keith and Pidge ran upstairs the moment they entered the house, both laughing when they overheard Shiro confirm with their parents that they were dating.

"I'm sensing a distinct lack of trust in us," Pidge joked as they entered her room.

"Can't really blame him," Keith replied. "Five months ago, would you have believed it if someone told you we'd be together?"

"I would've called them crazy." Pidge dropped her backpack on the floor near her desk and indicated for Keith to do the same before she sat down on the edge of her bed.

Once he put down his own bag, Keith joined her.

"So, we have ten minutes before my mom sends Allura and Shiro up to check on us. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Pidge asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Hell yeah," Keith breathed. "Show me that footage."

Pidge grinned and reached back to grab her laptop from where she'd left it on the bed. She pulled it onto her lap and booted it up, leaning into Keith while they waited. "I found it last night. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd do a little more research into our mystery creature. It was posted around two last night and I managed to save it before it was taken down at two-seventeen. Which either means it's a hoax and whoever posted it is trying to get more attention, or someone had it removed because they don't want anyone to know about it. Either way, I didn't want to immediately dismiss this one after watching it."

"Wait, is this the one the forums have been arguing about all day?" Keith asked.

Pidge shrugged as she logged on. "Maybe? I haven't been on since last night. I didn't want to deal with all of the drama." She began to look through her folders, grinning triumphantly when she found what she was looking for. "I hope you're ready for this."

It was as the two were leaning close together to get a clear look at the screen, that Matt walked by the room. He glanced in, curious about the voices he heard, and then doubled back and stopped as the scene before his eyes registered in his mind.

He stood there a moment, watching as his sister and Keith quietly talked, pointing to things on the laptop screen. There was no animosity. No yelling. No glaring. Just the two of them, looking remarkably cuddly.

Matt retreated downstairs, more than a little bewildered by what he'd seen. He entered the kitchen, where everyone else had gathered and cleared his throat. "Has anyone else noticed something weird going on with Katie and Keith?"

His mom, Colleen, looked up in alarm. "They're not fighting again, are they?"

"What? No," Matt said with a frown. "That'd be normal, mom. They're both upstairs in Katie's room and they're... getting... along... You're smiling." He looked around. "You're all smiling. What am I missing?"

"They're dating," Shiro spoke up from the table, where he sat with Allura and his parents.

"You're joking."

"He's not," Allura said. "They've been together since the end of February."

Matt was rendered speechless. Slowly, he moved toward an unoccupied chair and sat down.

Shiro reached over and patted him on the shoulder in a gesture of comfort. At least he wasn't the only one left in the dark in regards to their younger siblings.