Kidge summer event 2023

Day 1: Camping

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Pidge hated the outdoors, and not just because she was allergic to almost everything in the environment like pollen, mosquitoes, and types of trees; or because her skin was so pale that it burned as soon as she showed herself for three seconds in the sun, but above all because she reminded her of her beloved Green lion.

The Green lion symbolized nature, so she was nature's paladin; it was quite logical, but after the disappearance of the lions she always felt an emptiness in her chest as soon as she looked at a flower or simply at a landscape.

But Keith liked pristine nature, so every time he returned to Earth for a few days he couldn't wait to venture into tropical forests or other areas and Pidge, as a good friend she was, always agreed to come with him so as not to leave him alone (even if he had Kosmo and let's say it was just an excuse not to have him hunted on private lands of some government where he could seriously get into trouble like that time on the borders of South Korea).

The woman took a deep breath, thinking about why she was walking in a tropical forest full of animals, mosquitoes, poisonous plants and species yet to be discovered. She sat on a damp boulder, trying to kill or at least drive away the stupid bugs that were bothering her as she desperately reached for a cloth from her heavy backpack to wipe the sweat off her neck.

"La prossima volta ti infilo la foresta Amazzonica su per il culo...": she grumbled, looking at Keith who was setting up a tent.

"I don't understand when you speak in Italian": he hummed, keeping his concentration on the ropes and pieces of steel that were used for its construction.

"Next time I'll decide where to go...": she pouted, looking at the thick trees and feeling that strange sensation in her chest again.

"You always say that, but then you always leave the choice to me": Keith replied:" I'd like to go to a place you'd like to visit, but you choose it..."

Pidge rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to answer, then closing it and falling silent, hearing only the clicking of the hammer he was using to bolt the tent to the ground and the chirping of some colorful bird.

"Well, everything is ready!": Keith exulted, wiping his forehead with his hand and proudly looking at her work, then turning to Pidge and noticing her melancholy expression: "You miss Green, don't you?"

"Uh? What?": she was distracted from her thoughts, looking at the man who approached and sat down on the boulder next to her, moving a rather short unruly lock behind her ear, bowing her head and nodding: "Yes, very actually. Every time I see something green or just nature... I feel an emptiness..."

"I understand you...": he said, taking a pebble and throwing it into the small lake near their tent: "Every time I look at the starry sky I think of Black. I wonder where he is now, and if maybe he's found a better paladin than me..."

"You were a good leader...": she smiled, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, sensing his insecurities: "You led Voltron in the most important battle to save the universe and all realities, you gave each of us a part that it was missing and you still do now"

"Actually, you're comforting me...": Keith shrugged, hiding an amused smile: "But thanks... you're important to me, Katie..."

That information made her blush slightly, but she managed to hide it, smiling and looking into his eyes. At that moment Kosmo came out with all his fur wet from a bush, jumping and destroying the tent to chase a water snake.

"Kosmo, Come on!": exclaimed Keith, getting up and stroking the cosmic wolf and moving it: "It took me an hour!"

The wolf shook his head in response, causing the water snake he had finally caught to jump. Pidge took a deep breath, laughing at the rather comical scene of Keith lecturing like a mother to a confused-looking wolf. She stood up, approaching him and hugging him from behind him, standing up on her toes (and on some fairly high rocks) to rest her chin on his shoulders. She must have caught him by surprise: he had stopped talking and had simply placed his hands on her arms.

"It's okay": she whispered in his ear: "We can rebuild it together, as a team, like in the old times"

"Like old times...": he repeated, blushing slightly: "Like when we were Voltron's body and left arm?

"Like when we were Voltron's body and the left arm ": she replied, thinking again of Green, almost sensing a new bond through nature. Keith looked at the sky, feeling that emptiness in his chest vanish mysteriously only from a stupid and banal hug from behind. No, it wasn't a simple hug: it was her hug.

The lions were gone, Voltron was one again a legend, but they could continue to be a team.

Forever...