A/N: Hey, everybody. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to be working on Chapter four of TMH. I've got thirty-two people waiting for it. Ironically, chapter four is actually how this oneshot happened. I was teasing my friend via email with a sneak peek from it, and we were talking in kind of a roleplay format. She went: 'Sobs, has a heart attack and dies'. So then somehow I ended up starting a little fluffy blurb to "revive" her. Well, turns out that little blurb escalated into this.

Originally, this was supposed to be a lethal amount of squishy fluff. But I suppose I can't write anything without having some sort of angst in it. :T

(Oh, and by the way, this is before season five. I'm gonna say it's season three.)

He couldn't sleep. The darkness in his room was too intimidating for him to drift off, and he felt like he was going to suffocate if he stayed there a second longer.

Throwing off his blankets, Lance stood and quietly exited his room. The vast hallway was practically as dark as his room, but the air was cool and soothing out there, contrary to the Blue Paladin's quarters which was stuffy and felt like an oven.

Blinking for a moment to adapt to the slightly brighter lighting, Lance sighed. He loved being out in space, he really did, but there were times when he wanted to be back home on earth. He missed the cozy beach house he shared with his parents and all his brothers and sisters, not to mention the dogs and fishes they owned. He missed the soft sand that he saw through his window every morning, and the gentle waves lapping at the shore. He missed surfing and scuba diving with his younger siblings and collecting unique seashells with his mother.

Lance sighed again and combed his fingers through his hair. He had two families; he was with one and without the other. It was hard being away from the people he had lived with his entire life, but his new family was helping with that. They understood him and what he was going through. Hunk had a few younger siblings that he missed. Shiro wanted to see his parents again. Keith had quietly admitted he had a cousin that he missed seeing. And Pidge…

Out of everyone, Pidge was the person Lance could relate to the most. He knew that even with her brother recently joining them, she still missed her mom and dad. She didn't know where her father was; if he was alive or dead. She had left her mother behind, without any indication of where she was going or if the two would ever see each other again.

She had expressed some of her homesickness with him. It was a moment when Lance saw what was beneath the snark and sarcasm, the wit and the technological gibberish. She was scared, just like him. They were all scared. They were in the middle of a war they didn't sign up for and it wasn't easy when staying alive was the number one thing they had to focus on every day.

Taking a deep breath, Lance placed his hand on the wall closest to him. It was smooth and cool, feeling like a stone that had been washed ashore by the tide. He closed his eyes and listened to hydraulics hiss somewhere down the hall and the soft breathing that emitted from the other rooms. It was something his mother had taught him to do when his thoughts were getting the best of him. Find something. Focus on it; make it your anchor back to the present.

After a moment Lance opened his eyes and pulled his hand away from the wall. He began walking. Going past the other Paladin's rooms and Matt's, he took a turn and started weaving his way through the castle.

Lance had seen a lot of the castle. The Paladin's rooms, the training deck, the holodeck, the Bridge, the Infirmary, the pool and a few others, not including the Lions' hangars. But the castle was huge, so after a few minutes, he was looking into each room he passed. He was wandering aimlessly, but it was interesting to see all the different things the castleship had.

It was a little while later when Lance heard faint noises coming from a door ahead of him. Curious, he tip-toed to the door. It opened for him, hissing quietly.

The room inside was dark except a bright screen that was hovering in the air, the video game that he and Pidge had bought at the space mall opened and running. Pidge sat on the floor, dressed in a green tank top and black shorts. She was hunched over and clutched one of the game controls tightly in her hands, her thumbs flying from button to button.

Stepping into the room, Lance moved to Pidge's side and flopped down beside her. Pidge jumped and dropped the control. Her head snapped up and Lance caught a brief look at the dark bags under her eyes before she snatched the control from the floor and turned back to the game.

The round she was playing lasted for about thirty more seconds before her three avatars died, a menu popping up on the screen with the options to either go back to the settings or re-play the round.

With a huff, Pidge set the control down beside her and looked at Lance, a scowl on her face.

"Why'd you do that? You completely ruined my concentration and I was so close to winning." Lance grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Sorry, grumpy. How did you put three dragons in there? When I played it there was only one."

Swatting his hand away, Pidge smirked. "I'm the techy around here, remember?" she paused for a moment, then corrected herself. "Well, one of the techies, at least. There are Hunk and Matt, so looks like we're a trio now. But anyway, I just got bored and decided to mess around with the programming some. Matt beat it so easily that I thought I'd try and make it a challenge for him." Lance nodded.

"What are you doing up?" Lance fiddled with the hem of his shirt and sighed quietly.

"Just… a lot of stuff to think about, ya know?" Pidge's eyes softened and she scooted closer to him.

"Your family?" She asked gently.

"Yeah," Lance said.

"I just… I miss them. I haven't seen them in a while. I miss the smell my mom's cooking drift through the house and my siblings barreling through the living room. They're pretty rowdy, but they can be really fun if you get to know them."

Pidge answered with a quiet hum.

"Space is awesome, don't get me wrong. But sometimes I wish things could be… normal."

Pidge hummed again and grabbed her control, standing up and moving over to the pile of video game wires and boxes. Stuffing the control in the container with its matching partner, Pidge disconnected some wires and the screen disappeared.

The room was drenched in darkness. After a minute Lance's eyes adjusted to the dimness and saw Pidge groping around, waving her arms about to make sure she didn't run into anything.

Smirking slightly, Lance stood and strode over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a bit and looked up at him, squinting. He chuckled.

"If you keep looking at bright screens in the middle the night, you're going to actually need those glasses of yours," Pidge muttered something under her breath but moved along with Lance as he led her back to their spot on the floor. Settling back down, Lance pulled Pidge to the paneled ground with him. She rested her head on his chest and relaxed, letting him hold her in his lap.

Gently, Lance carded his hands through Pidge's hair. It was something he did for his younger sisters when they stayed up late together. He wasn't even aware he was doing it until Pidge whispered, "That feels really nice."

Lance blushed but continued. A comfortable silence sat around them. But Lance had something he wanted to ask, and finally gathering his courage, he spoke.

"The video game thing wasn't the real reason you're up, is it?" He felt Pidge tense in his arms and a wall of guilt slammed into him. He didn't want to pry into anything personal, despite the burning curiosity in his stomach.

"No." Lance could hear the insecurity in her voice. It made him sad that she felt nervous about talking around him. He wanted to be the friend that she could say anything to.

Lance waited, still running his fingers through her messy locks. Pidge slowly relaxed again, wrapping her arms around his side.

"I had a nightmare." Lance sucked in a breath and rubbed her shoulder. She had told him in the past how far her nightmares could escalate, and Lance knew that her nightmares were a lot worse than his. Extremely. He waited again, anticipation starting to rise, before Pidge began speaking. Her voice was a trembling whisper.

"I-it was about my family. I was back home, in the kitchen with my mom. She was hugging me and telling me how happy she was to see me, and then my dad walked in and he was hugging me too." Pidge leaned her head into Lance's hand as he still un-tangled her hair.

"And?" He inquired. He knew it would get worse. With Pidge's dreams they always got worse, and somehow every new one she had seemed to be more horrific than the last.

Pidge took a deep breath and plunged on. "And then Matt came in through the front door." She wavered.

"H-his eyes… they were… they were glowing. They were glowing yellow and then suddenly he had his staff and he was lunging at mom and-"

"Stop. Shhhh. Just stop." Lance murmured. He put both arms around her and rubbed slow circles on her back.

"L-Lance, mom, she was dead, Lance, Matt killed mom-"

"It wasn't real. It wasn't, alright? This is real. Not that. Everything's okay, and Matt's okay and so is your mom. Don't worry about your dreams." He placed a soft kiss on top of her head and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

Pidge gripped the back of his shirt in her fists and shuddered.

"Lance…"

"Shhhh. Don't think about it. Matt wouldn't do something like that, would he?"

"N-no."

"Well, there you have it. None of it was real; Matt would never hurt your mom. Don't think about it."

Pidge stayed silent.

"Pidge? You promise you won't think about it?"

"I promise," she whispered. After a few more seconds Pidge groaned a little and went almost completely lax in his arms as her remaining energy leaked out of her. She sighed and buried her face in his arm.

"You're warm, s'great for cuddling," She mumbled. Lance chuckled and lightly rested his chin on her head. Her eyes drifted close.

"Go to sleep, Pidge. I'm right here."

"…what about my nightmares?" There was a blot of fear in her question. Lance was determined to wipe that blot away.

"The nightmares won't come if someone else is here. I'll chase them off if they do, alright?"

"Mkay…" Pidge sighed and held onto him more tightly. Soon her breathing evened out into deep, calm breaths. Lance smiled and closed his eyes. She was warm too.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning, when Matt came in, he found the Blue Paladin sprawled on his back upon the floor. His younger sister's head was resting on his chest, the two of them looking like an odd human plus symbol. Lance's hand was resting protectively on Pidge's shoulder.

Matt raised an eyebrow and left the room.

So… yep. There ya go. I honestly needed a break from all the pressure TMH was putting on me, so I guess this was my way of writing something OTHER than serious Matt!angst and Pidge!whump.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Review!

By some miracle, I'll hopefully see you guys at the next chapter of TMH. (If you haven't read my other story, 'Take Me Home', go check it out! It's Matt angst galore and lots of hurt Pidge, so yay!)