Pidge woke up before he did, feeling his shallow breathing, him deep asleep against her back. She smiled to herself and felt rested for the first time in a while. She moved slowly out of his arms and wormed her way out of the bed near the bottom. She looked back at him, checking to make sure he was still asleep. When she was positive he was, she left and waited for the door to close. She waited in the hall to make sure that he was going to stay asleep. When she was sure he wouldn't wake, she turned to trek back to her own bed.

The cold, empty corridors made her smile fade, one word echoing in her mind; Alone. She felt alone. It had no logic considering she had a family of 6 on board the Castle of Lions with her. Adopted and formed under odd circumstances, but still a family. She even had friends all across the universe now. Alone was not something she should feel. However, the quiet walk back to her room sapped the warmth and contentment she had felt just minutes ago, logical or not. It brought her back to her original purpose for everything she had been doing over the past two years. She needed Matt. She needed her partner in crime. Although 4 years separated them, they might as well be twins. Even Hunk thought she was Matt in the picture she carried with her at first.

She ran her hand along the smooth wall to feel the small lines where the metal panels connected. It grounded her and let her get to her room in one piece. As the doors closed behind her, she felt herself falling to pieces. Her legs carried her to the wall across from her bed, which was covered in pictures, wires, and even shoelaces, along with cryptic equations and her old picture of herself and Matt in the middle. She ran her fingers over the edge of the picture and her heart ached. She wasn't whole and no amount of friends or saving the universe or romantic partners could fix that. No one could take Matt's place, not even Lance.

She choked back a sob to bring herself up from the ditch with a good dose of reality. Looking over all the information she had gathered, she felt like he was just an arm's reach away. Through all Galra surveillance and intel, she knew he was alive with a group of rebels, presumably fighting in the same war she was. It was somehow a comforting thought.

"I'll never give up," she promised softly as her hand dropped from his picture. "I know you think I'm on Earth and that no one is looking for you, but I am. I won't stop until I find you… both of you." She sighed and let a few tears roll down her cheeks. Rarely did she let herself go down this dark road. She was usually fierce and determined and stubborn, but right now, with her thoughts on Matt and her father, she was vulnerable and in pain. She wiped her face ungracefully and took in a few breaths to calm herself. "Stupid hormones," she mumbled.

A knock came at her door and she put on her best poker face. When it slid open, the person on the other side surprised her.

"Keith?" Her eyes went wide and her poker face dropped. "What are you doing here - I mean, up so early?"

He hesitated, trying to chose his words carefully. "I saw you leave Hunk's room and I kind of followed you." He paused to gauge her reaction, but her face didn't change. "You looked so happy, but something between his room and now happened. You were walking so slowly, almost like your mind was somewhere else." He paused again to take in her slightly red nose and puffy eyes. "Are you okay?"

She sniffed and regretted it immediately, giving Keith her best smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I couldn't sleep, Hunk and I needed to talk, I fell asleep in his room and woke up a little bit ago. So I came back here to try and get more rest."

He looked down at her and he didn't speak. He rarely slept himself so he understood taking advantage of whatever helped. However, she did not look rested, nor at peace.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But you're not okay so don't lie to yourself that you are."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" She spit back, insta-pissed. "You lie to yourself all the time, so don't tell me I can't bury a skeleton or two Keith."

He sighed, unaffected by her words. "I just wanted to help. I know you've been going through a lot lately and it's not always the best road to travel alone."

His words were calm and sincere, helping her slowly let go of her misdirected anger. She looked him over a few times and stepped to the side, her arm motioning for him to come in. He followed her lead and as the door closed behind him, his eyes were drawn to the pictures and strings on her wall. He stepped closer to the puzzle and tried to take it all in. The information was scattered - some of it clear, some of it needing to be deciphered, especially her shorthand. Pidge came to his side, silently wondering if he were judging her.

"Look familiar?" She asked softly, remembering his board in the desert that led them to the Blue Lion.

"Yeah. Looks like a lot of work too." His eyes continued to rake in the information, trying to figure it out. His eyes fell on the center picture of the happy siblings. "How close are you?"

"Close enough to drive me crazy."

In the silence that followed, she watched Keith look over the mess of information, pictures, and codes just as eagerly as she had written them. It made her realize he knew exactly how she felt and that she really wasn't alone.

"You know we're going to find them." He encouraged. "It may not be priority for the team above defeating Zarkon, but we will find them."

She nodded and he turned to meet her gaze, letting her see the same determination she had so often shown herself.

"You should get some sleep. I know that all of this…" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Your changes, our team, your family, the war - it's a lot to take in. And I'm sure it's hard to not think about it all, but you can't keep running like this. You're overwhelmed." He took his hand back and smirked. "I know it's the pot calling the kettle black, but even I have my vices. I train, I analyze previous battles, sometimes I even ask lance to help me sleep." He turned a bit pink but continued. "If Hunk helps you sleep then talk to him about it. He may be more willing to share his bed every now and then."

She turned red at his words and looked away from him. He put a hand on the back of his neck.

"It doesn't have to mean anything like that, but I guess that's for you two to decide."

She nodded and he reached down to ruffle her head a bit, careful of her braid. He turned towards the door and let it slide open for him.

"Now where are you going?"

"I've already trained my ass off tonight. I'm going to bunk with Lance. You should get some sleep too."

The door slid shut behind him and she let out a breath. Should she go back to Hunk? Even if it was just for peaceful rest? Or should she stay in her own room and try again? She wasn't sure. She was exhausted and she couldn't think. She needed sleep and that was the bottom line. Her lack of cognitive function made her choice for her. To get sleep no matter what it took, even if that meant sleeping with Hunk more often than she wanted to admit.

Her legs carried her to his door before she even registered that she had left her room. She watched as her body walked right into Hunk's room, no knock or anything, as if she belonged there. Though he was still asleep, he had turned in her wake, his back against the wall. She smiled softly and slipped under the covers as he wound an arm around her middle. She sunk down into the warmth and felt at ease instantly.

"Where'd ya go?" He grumbled. She bit her lip, his voice so tired and sounding disappointed.

"Bathroom." She whispered back and he grunted in acknowledgement. Hunk gripped Pidge tighter to him and she almost giggled, feeling light and carefree all over again. When he entered back into sleep, she felt the familiar burning in her eyes and the pull of her consciousness tilting down. The house of his heart beating like a slow soft drum took her under, falling asleep just as fast as he had.

In the morning she awoke alone. Pidge turned her head to the side and found the bed empty, sheets still warm from where Hunk had been. She took her hand back and curled it under her chest, too tired to investigate, and closed her eyes again. Maybe he needed breakfast or something. She wasn't sure but her brain didn't want to work so early. It had only felt like a few seconds when a hand came to her shoulder and rubbed her arm softly. When she finally opened her eyes, she was met with a bright and boisterous pair of coffee colored eyes that sent sparks off in her mind and a thrill on the back of her neck.

"Morning." He whispered and smiled.

"Hey." She replied quietly, matching his smile with a disgustingly lovesick grin of her own.

"I brought food."

Pidge laughed and rolled onto her back. "Breakfast in bed? You know how to treat a girl right."

He blushed at her words but it went unseen. She sat up slowly and let the covers fall around her waist, looking to see what he had brought. Her eyes went wide and she was instantly more awake, looking at the plate. She had almost forgotten the word.

"Are those… pancakes?!"

Hunk smiled and nodded. "I've been messing around with recipes and this is the closest I've gotten. It's kind of hard when your base is green food goo. If it's bad I'll get something else - "

Pidge was already digging into the oddly green round sponges, making those food moans everyone makes in private.

"Oh my god.. How - " She swallowed. "How did you get them to taste like buttermilk and maple syrup?" She eyed him suspiciously. He shrugged.

"It's a gift. So, they're good?"

"They're amazing!" She shouted, her mouth full again. He laughed and watched her finish, eating as if she had forgotten how good food could be. When she was done, she pushed the tray away and laughed. "You have to make that for everyone. But special occasions only." He chuckled softly and took her tray.

"Glad to know my cooking skills are still working."

"That was the best breakfast I've had in years. Thank you." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

It was a mistake.

She knew it was a mistake the second her lips touched his skin. She knew by the way time seemed to stop, the air becoming like static around them. She knew when his arm stopped midair between their bodies. She knew when he pulled back and his eyes were completely unreadable, staring at her like she was a cypher waiting to be decoded. That focus in his eyes that she's never seen. Pidge knew when, under the pressure of his eyes, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was a mistake. A line crossed. And yet, time started again and his arm moved closer to her slowly. The knuckle of his index finger held her chin high. His eyes had changed in those seconds. They were burning with questions now, searching her own frantic stare for answers.

He kept her at a short distance, just close enough to hear her breathing and look into her eyes. She was terrified. Not because of him, but because of what she had just thrown away. Everything they had was gone but he kept looking at her like she was an abstract painting. She tried to breath but the air around her was consumed with his shampoo and the breakfast he had brought her. She wished so hard in that moment that space a scent so she could think of it to clear her mind, but she was without an anchor, something to help her form a clear apology. Only a few seconds had passed but Hunk's silence and star lates eons for her anxious heart. With her eyes wide as fast, she tried to take in one last look at him before the other shoe dropped - His beautiful brown skin, his soft eyes, his rough stubble, the way his hair fell in his face without it being tied away. This was how she wanted to remember him… Because it had been a mistake.

She watched as her crumbling world was put on pause. Hunk closed his eyes, tilted her chin to the side, and kissed her lips so softly that the only proof it was real was the feel of her own lips refusing to let go. It was one kiss. Not moments of parting and coming back together, but one instance of their lips touching tenderly. Her first kiss and possibly the softest was warmest kiss in the known universe.

He pulled away and she realized her eyes had been open the entire time. His eyes opened and his emotion was clear. Though it was described in many ways and seen in different stages, she refused to label it.

"I'm sorry," She whispered and many thing crossed his eyes. She didn't want to let him stop her. "I like you and I took advantage of your kindness and no one deserves that. Hunk, I'm so sorry-"

"Do you really think I let you take advantage of me?" He asked quietly but he had the smallest smirk on his face. She was frozen with utter confusion until he cupped her cheek and kissed her again, this time making a through pass to make himself clear. When he pulled back she felt breathless and lightheaded.

"For a genius, you miss the most obvious things." He mused and dropped his hand, giving her forehead a kiss.

"How are you so calm right now?!" Was all she was able to sputter out, her brain short circuiting.

"Because this was a two way street. My biggest worry is gone. I've liked you for the longest time but I've been too worried about everything else to tell you." He paused and looked down with a sad smile. "I'm not brave like Shiro, I'm not smooth like Lance, I'm not daring like Keith - "

"You're perfect." She said softly and he looked up at her, stopping mid sentence in surprise. "You are all of that. You're also smart, funny, and kind. You have intuition that's as reliable as the sunset back home and you put others before yourself. You're the best guy out here." She paused and blushed. "Plus you're really handsome." She added quietly.

"Yeah, well… I could have told you sooner and I just listed all the reasons why I couldn't."

"Stop." Pidge demanded and kissed him, letting her hands run up his face. She loved the way his short stubble felt under her fingertips and she couldn't get over the feel of his lips on hers, moving like a practiced art made perfect.

When they pulled away, grins quickly turned into giggles and chuckles, both of them think how 'high school' the entire situation was. She smiled and put her head against the wall, looking at him like he was the sun. Then it dawned on her.

"That's why you were upset."

"Hmm?" She broke him from his daydream like state.

"You were upset because I said that everyone was pairing up and that my alien love was out there somewhere, totally ignoring you right next to me."

"Yeah…" He admitted and blushed.

"But I didn't want an alien romance… I wanted you. I just didn't know… I thought I really was alone in this."

He shook his head and smiled again.

"Nope. I mean if you find someone on some planet that you love more, by all means-"

"Stop right there." She pointed her finger at him. "No one and will ever have my back like you do or understand me like you do. It's out of the question."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Put the gun down." He smiled and she laughed a bit, putting her hand down. She let her head thunk against the wall and let out a small groan.

"Ugh…"

"What's wrong?" Hunk asked and put a hand on her knee. She miled down at his hand and took a breath.

"Well, I spent the night, you brought me breakfast, we made out, and now we have to go our separate ways and I have to get to my room without someone seeing my awful bed head and thinking its sex hair, all while keeping us on the DL while we figure this out."

Hunk shrugged. "What's to figure out?"

She thought for a moment and smiled. "You're right." She leaned over and pulled him into another kiss. It lasted much longer than the others, her pulling him a little too hard towards her. He hovered over her and had to pull away.

"Okay, I'm going to find you a comb before that does turn into sex hair."

Pidge's eyes went wide and hunk laughed.

"You're not the only one who can tell jokes!" He said between chuckles. He dodged a pillow and laughed louder. When he was in his bathroom she rested her head against the wall and smiled, letting out a small and relived bit of laughter.