Granted that there were many, many factors that brought this on (one of them was a loud mouthed moron and another was some mystical bond that connected their minds and beings along with said moron and two others) but it was still a dilemma nonetheless.

It could endanger the team if she finds out. Or if anyone finds out, for that matter.

Voltron was built on trust. That was for certain as soon as he stepped into their lions. Everyone was bonded, physically and spiritually, both to their lions and each other.

If Keith or anyone else on the team started showing signs of hiding things from each other now, it could jeopardize their whole mission altogether.  

It also just made things really, really awkward now that he was fully aware of his feelings.

The hell was he supposed to do now that he knew?

Avoid her? Be nicer and hint towards it? Say it to her face?

An irritating warmth crawled up the back of his neck and he quickly shrugged it off.

He didn’t have the obligation to tell her, per se, but being mystically connected in mind and being kinda put him in a tough spot.

Just the thought of it all brought about enough frustration to make Keith want to rip all of his hair out.

It's early in the morning and what does he do to blow off in alternative to that?

He goes to the training room and takes it out on the gladiator, that's what.

However, as soon as he steps into the training deck, he realizes just how badly the universe wants to mess with him.

Of course after he's changed and more than ready for a couple of levels with the Altean bucket of bolts Keith found none other than Pidge herself on the training deck, doing stretches and warming up.

Keith never really bothered himself with clothes before, but he knew what Pidge currently had on was different.

Very different.

More specifically a green tank top with what he deduced to be a black sports bra underneath, and black shorts.

Probably stuff Allura lent her, he figured.

Her hair was also tied up too, in that same side ponytail he had ran his fingers through just the night before, and this, with the addition of her now more...revealing clothing, showed more skin than he ever thought he could have the privilege of seeing.

For starters, her neck was slender, now glistening with sweat out of the effort from the warm ups she was doing. Her arms were toned as well, obviously product from Garrison training coupled with piloting a giant mechanical lion. She may be small, but she had muscle in her system. Made her compact yet agile.

A force to be reckoned with, he mused. His gaze shifted a little lower.

Another thing was different too.

Her glasses were off. They were lying on the floor not too far from where she stood.

Keith wondered what her eyes looked like up close without them.

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he shoved the errant thought, thankful that Pidge had her back to him as she continued with her dynamic stretching.

And then she suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Keith?"

He lifted a hand in a weak wave. "Hey."

She offered him a small smile. "Hey."

Keith shook his head as he stepped over to her. "Fancy seeing you here."

Pidge only shrugged. "I figured I should learn to pull my own weight. Also Allura has been nagging me to train." She gestured around. "So here I am."

Keith nodded. He should just keep his cool.

Yeah.

He wasn't Lance, so that was something he could do. Keith jutted his chin to the the rubber mat.

“You. Me. Spar.”

Pidge only looked at him incredulously.

“Just like this?” She gestured with her bare hands, obviously referring to the apparent lack of weapons.

He nodded. “You won’t always have your bayard with you, Pidge.”

She thought for a moment. “True.”

Before long he felt himself smirk. “But if it makes you feel any better, you can go and grab yours.” The smirk widened to a teasing grin. “I’ll be fine without mine.”

Was he teasing or was he flirting? He couldn't quite tell.

Nonetheless it brought about an expected reaction. He found himself grinning wider at her scowl as he stepped onto the mat.

"I'll be fine without mine as well." She snapped. “And loser has to do the winner's chores for the next week.” She moved to posture herself in a fighting stance.

"That a challenge, Gunderson?" He asked, shedding off his jacket before getting into position.

"You're on, Kogane."

And she started sprinting towards him, fist up and ready to make contact with his jaw.

Keith didn’t even blink as he dodged her punch with ease.

The thing about sparring was that this was when his attentiveness increased ten-fold.

This wasn't like any other brawl where he had to think on his feet at a life or death risk.

Sparring sessions were for learning, to know where he and his partner fell short in and can consequently improve in. The kind of maneuvers should they pull for whatever situation, moves they could pull should they tag team, and more importantly spars served as time to polish their already existing skills to a brilliant shine.

These were what determined the life-or-death risk in actual fights.

And for this, Keith had to take notice of everything.

They could’ve fought for mere seconds or minutes or even hours.

None of that mattered.

There is only Pidge, his eyes intently focused on every movement of her body and what she could possibly do to him and how he could respond. Every punch and kick, every block and dodge, all blurred together to make room for attentiveness for the next, all while stored in the back of his mind for future reference.

Pidge was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Her small stature combined with agility made her tough to barely even see, and while Keith had more experience under his belt, Pidge was a quick learner and a quicker thinker.

Perfectly fitting for the Green Paladin profile Allura had told them about not too long ago.

Keith narrowly missed a kick to his ribs as he stepped to the side, grabbing her ankle then tossing her back to the mat.

Unfazed, she started back up towards him.

He would be no pushover either.

Not wasting another second, Keith ran towards her head on, bracing himself for the impact of their collision.

If he did this right, she would be at the proper distance for him to wrap his arms around her fast enough to catch her by surprise and pin her to the ground.

Muscled as she was, Pidge still barely weighed anything. That he would use to his advantage.

But of course Pidge saw what was coming.

Instead of aiming a fist or kicking him, Pidge just full on pounced and tackled him to the ground, then shifted so that his arms were pinned under her knees.

The only thing Keith managed to do was freeze and stare.

.

.

.

In all his defense, there he was being straddled by the girl he liked and she had no business looking so damn gorgeous with messy hair, glistening in sweat and panting heavily on top of him.

.

.

.

So yeah.

.

.

.

Staring it is.

“I…got you.” She mumbled, yet the words had no weight of victory or relief.

If anything she was just as dumbstruck as he was.

.

.

.

So Keith just stared.

.

.

.

And stared and stared.

The weight of her on his hips, while barely even noticeable to begin with, was nothing compared to the pressure that sent his heart sprinting in his rib cage, right under where her hands suddenly found themselves resting on over his chest.

She blinked once. Twice.

Her eyes.

They were hazel. Flecked with gold near the irises and looked nothing short of beautiful as they peered down at him.

Keith swallowed a lump in his throat.

And suddenly Pidge moved, and for a split second he thought she was going to get off him.

She had every reason to.

But instead she only lifted her legs so that they no longer rested on top of his arms.

Keith felt his eyes widen.

.

.

.

She didn't want to get off him.

.

.

.

And in that moment he realized he didn't want that either.

.

.

.

Red started purring in the back of his mind.

.

.

.

You know what you want, though.

.

.

.

He knew it very well. There she was, right on top of him and so damn close without any sign of leaving.

.

.

.

Heat.

.

.

.

Slowly he lifted his hands, taking his time to trail up her thighs and rest on her hips.

.

.

.

There was only heat, and that was all he felt.

.

.

.

"Keith," she whispered.

.

.

.

Not the irritating kind that crept up the back of his neck, or the kind that set his face ablaze with embarrassment.

.

.

.

He slowly moved to sit up.

.

.

.

This bloomed deep in chest, set his bones with warmth that made him move without even thinking about it.

.

.

.

You know what you want, Red’s voice came again.

.

.

.

There was another feline voice that joined in his conscience.

.

.

.

She wants it too.

.

.

.

Wait.

.

.

.

Was that Greenie?  

.

.

.

What was she doing in his head?

.

.

.

It took a second for Keith to realize the presence and another for him to realize that it didn’t really matter.

.

.

.

Not when he noticed Pidge was leaning down as well.

.

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.

Not when her hands clutched at his shirt for support, fingers digging spark to the skin underneath.

.

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.

Not when he flitted his eyes over to her lips and noticed the want in her own eyes.

.

.

And certainly not when whatever space in between them was closing as well.  

.

.

.

“Well look at what we have here.”

The two once again jumped apart at the sound of Lance’s voice, and Pidge quickly scrambled off his lap.  

It was like he was doused in cold water as the heat that pulled all throughout his body escaped in one fell swoop.

Keith shifted to sit up fully to glare at the Blue Paladin. Behind him Hunk looked apologetic, but he also had a knowing smile on his face.

He felt himself blanch.

Eject him. Eject him now. Throw him in a pod, set the course to As Far Away From Here As Possible, don’t bother with return coordinates.

Lance had always known, Hunk knows, Shiro had definitely figured it out for himself.

The mice would know, Coran and Allura know, the whole Voltron Alliance would know.

Hell, for all he cared, even Zarkon would know.

And Pidge would know.

.

.

.

Or maybe she already did.

Lance only smirked at the two.

"Little early for training, don't ya think?" He waggled his brows suggestively at the word training.

Without even looking at each other, Pidge and Keith stood up and headed for opposite exits.

Keith cursed at the sound of Lance's laughter as it echoed throughout the halls.

"Did you really have to interrupt them like that?" Hunk asked as Lance composed himself. "I mean, yeah sure, I didn't want to sit through them making out on the training deck but we could've I don't know, left?"

"Oh, Hunk. My sweet innocent boy." He patted the other boy’s shoulder. "Keith and Pidge are easily riled up. But they both easily get caught up in their own emotions."

Hunk raised a curious brow. "Okay...?"

"So what do you do for two morons too stubborn to admit that they liked each other?"

He thought for a moment. "You wait it out?"

Lance nodded, ecstatic. "Yes, but you also you provoke them."

Panic rose in Hunk’s system. "Where are you going with this?"

"Not to worry, Hunk." Lance grinned at the floor where three little creatures innocently stood by. “Allura and I have everything planned. Isn't that right, little guys?"

Hunk heard a squeak before the mice scurried off.

He fought the urge to slap a palm to his face.  

Oh no.