Plance One-shots

Deserts and Rivers. Part five

There was a deafening hissing sound, followed by the clunk of rock beneath metal as Red touched down next to Green. The rush of air produced tore at Pidge's hair, whipping it around furiously. One benefit of having short hair - Pidge had noted - was that nobody particularly noticed if your hair was a little windswept.

The dry ground crunched under foot as Lance stepped out of his lion. The heat hit him first, and then the sound the crickets chirping. The sensory experience wasn't too dissimilar to being in Cuba, granted the added risk of being attacked by an actual lion.

Lance's eyes examined the view in front of him. If he hadn't been searching for it, he would have easily missed the small figure tucked into the long grass, her hair barely distinguishable from the orange tinged ground. He waded his way towards her, his eyes fixed on her petite frame to prevent him from losing her.

He halted by her side, half expecting her to glance up at him. When she kept her eyes forward, he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Hey,"

She didn't respond, her eyes flicked to her feet for a second, before returning to the setting sun. Lance swallowed, cautiously taking a seat by her side. With his legs crossed, Lance copied Pidge in looking out onto the view in front of them. The silence between them was uneasy, but not unbearable.

A few minutes passed before Lance chanced a glance across at Pidge. He could have sworn he felt his heart skip several beats.

The breeze tugged gently at Pidge's hair, the sun's light catching on the moving strands. Her face and body were bathed in the setting sun light, covering her in an orange hue. A hue that accentuated her abundance of freckles and made her lips look like Ierutian velvet. A mirrored image of the savannah nestled in her large glasses, every detail captured perfectly. Then behind her glasses, her eyes.

Her vast honey coloured eyes glinted in the evening light. They held the dim reflection of her freckles. Lance attempted to count them all... although he gave up once he'd realised he'd rather be looking deep into her eyes.

She was a work of cinematic art.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice caught him off guard, forcing him to become accutely aware of the lump in his throat.

"I- I could say the same to you. Africa? Really?" Lance snorted, attempting to mask his flushed cheeks behind his hand.

"I wanted to get out and see a sunset. Is that so out of character that you have to sound surprised?" Pidge bit back at him, her gaze still unmoving. Lance felt his lips split into a smile. She may have attempted to sound like her bitter self, but her voice lacked it's usual abrasive tone.

"For you? Yes." He chuckled, shifting his gaze onto the darkening lake. Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw her smirk.

"And what's the reason you're here?" She spared him a sideways glace, catching his eye for a second before looking forward again.

"You." Lance blurted. Panicking he fumbled for more words. "I-I mean, I need to talk to you." He watched as Pidge shuffled anxiously, chewing on the inside of her lip.

"I'm guessing by your tone that it's bad news for me," Pidge said softly, lifting her head to look Lance in the eye. "But you didn't have to come here to tell me."

"No Pidge it's-"

"I get it though, you've always had a thing for Allura and I can't change that," Pidge interrupted him, gesturing loosely with her hand. Lance huffed impatiently at her,

"Pidge!"

The green paladin's head shot backwards at his raised voice, causing Lance to wince apologetically. Pidge raised her eyebrows at him, the look alone asked him the question that sat on her tongue.