"Pidge! Pidge where are you!" I run around in the woods, screaming the young girl's name. She had a fight with Lance and Hunk...mostly Lance. I thought I could calm her down until she ran outside. I ran after her with no hesitation, I hope the others are looking too. "Pidge please!"

"Pidge, we found some stuff in an abandoned house. Wanna look through it with us?" Lance asks, innocent enough.

"Uh, sure?" She sits down as Lance starts pulling stuff from the bag. I was sitting on the couch, having already declined their offer to look. I have all I need. "Where was the house you found this stuff in anyway?"

"Just on the other side of the woods."

Pidge seems to freeze. "What color was it?"

"Blue? I don't know. Hunk?" He turns to the bigger man.

"Definitely blue," he answers.

Without a word, Pidge takes the bag and digs through it. She pulls out a woman's dress, dirty from age, and holds it to her chest.

"Wow, I didn't think you were into girly stuff Pidge," Lance says, thinking it was a harmless comment.

"I'm not," she answers.

"Then what's with the dress?"

She doesn't answer.

Lance takes the bag back but Pidge tries to pull it closer to her. "Stop hogging the stuff!"

"It's not yours!"

"It's not yours either! Let me look!"

"It is mine Lance! Screw off! It's not like you need this stuff anyway!"

Lance stops and looks at her. Pidge is glaring at him.

"Pidge-" I start, but she runs off, taking the dress with her.

"Pidge come on! Please I need you!"

"K-Keith," Pidge sniffles from behind me. I turn around and wrap my arms around her.

"Don't do that Pidge. You're like my little sister, I can't loose you," I mumble into her shoulder. I pull away and look at her. Her face is smudged in dirt and she has a wound on her ankle.

"I tripped while I was running and I think it might be broken. Or at least twisted. It hurts to move Keith."

"It's okay, let's go home. I'll help you walk and I'll get Hunk to help," I say, trying to reassure Pidge to the best of my abilities.

"Okay. I'll be fine." Pidge stops before whispering, "I'll be fine." She seems to be trying to reassure herself, leading me to believe something else happened.  I'll let it go though. It's what I would want.

—

Hunk helps me deal with Pidge's ankle. It's a minor twist, but still extremely painful for Pidge since we don't have pain killers or a way of making sure it's not more than that. She keeps telling me she'll be fine. I'll believe her until she proves otherwise.

I walk to the ratty and torn, brown couch and slump down, my arms going limp beside me. Lance walks in with his head down and sits next to me, except his position is much more tense and depressed-looking. He's slumped over so his head falls to stare at his lap, his shoulders slumping inward.

"How can I apologize?" Lance mutters.

"Hm?" I inquire, sitting up to look at him.

He turns his head to face me, the calming blue hues in his eyes duller than usual and more clouded. "How can I apologize to Pidge. I don't know why she got upset. I didn't know. I tried to apologize but she ran off before I could." Tears well in his eyes, causing him to wipe them away as his cheeks start to turn red. Tears start rolling down his red tinted cheeks at a rapid pace. "I-it's my fault she's hurt. If I didn't- if I didn't yell at her or judge her or just-..." He goes quiet and places his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees, back bent, and palms covering his eyes.

I reach out and rub his back, unsure of how to comfort him. "It's not...it's not your fault. Okay, it partially is," Lance looks up and glares at me with puffy eyes. "But Pidge is also to blame. She shouldn't have run off like that. It's her fault for running to who knows where and not looking where she's going. It's your fault that you raided someone's house, not knowing if anyone lived there. You're both at fault." Damn, when did I become Shiro?

Lance laughs but it sounds more like a sob. "You sound l-like Shiro, it's stupid."

I smile at him before the smile falls. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so possessive of Shiro?"

Lance freezes. "He's been the only parental figure and role model I've had since I was little. I was scared and alone until hunk and Shiro came around. They're my family."

"Shiro..." I stop, contemplating what I'm about to say. Shiro was my family too. "...must mean a lot to you."

"He does," Lance mumbles. "He does," he whispers.