Watercolour Dreams

»»------(Chapter 3)------»»

   Lance and Hunk had led us back to a building from earlier, one that Allura and I had overlooked a week ago. It had seemed too old to step foot in, vines threading the walls after spending so long without someone to maintain them.
   Pidge was inside, a small fire made and small beds set up around it. They were simple, a small cocoon of blankets and pillows piled together. He had a bag of jerky in hand, chewing on a piece as he fiddled with a small pocket puzzle. He handed Lance the bag of jerky, but he just passed it to Hunk, who gave him a hesitant glance before taking it.
He surprised me when he handed it to Allura, giving a soft smile before turning back to Lance. They exchanged a silent conversation before Hunk gave up, sending Lance to bed quietly.
   "The pills, Lance." Pidge demanded softly, his gaze motherly as he dug into Lance's bag. Tension filled the room between the two before Lance made his way to Pidge, taking the box and his bottle of water. The tension dispersed as Lance took a swig, popping one into his mouth. He handed the items back to Pidge before returning to the pile, curling up on the edge of the it.
   We sat in an awkward silence until Lance's breathing eased out, soft and rhythmic as he finally fell asleep. I waited a moment to break the silence, but Allura beat me to it.
   "So, um- hello-" she said quietly, giving Pidge a soft smile.
   "Oh, yeah- um, hey, people-" Hunk laughed from the other side of the fire, arranging the items in the bags. "Shiro and Allura. Lance didn't know what to do with them, since they're not rotters. He wanted your opinion and they sorta just followed without a fight-" Pidge nodded and set his pocket puzzle on the ground, turning to face us.
   "You can sit next to the fire, we don't bite- at least, I don't. Hunk might if he gets hungry."
   "Hey-!" I chuckled lightly, the scar on my nose scrunching up as I did so.
   "But anyways, I guess you also can go back to wherever you were camped at before, or whatever." He sat for a moment, his hands over his knees. The boy pushed his glasses up, fire light reflecting off them for a moment. "I guess you could stick with us too- it would be a bit more convenient if we run into a pack again."
   I sat in thought for a moment, turning to Allura. She bit her lip slightly, head down in thought as well.
   "Where are you heading?" I finally asked, turning back to Pidge. He seemed taken aback for a moment, but collected his wits quickly.
   "Lance has family in Cuba, and from what we've heard, they've been keeping a military base there and offering protection. We thought we'd head down to Florida and check it out." The fire crackled quietly as I went over it in my head; before I could make a proper decision, Allura answered for us.
   "We'd like to join you." She stated firmly, her eyes filled with resolve as I sighed, a smile on my face. Hunk clapped happily from the other side of the fire as Pidge smiled softly.
   "Welcome to the fam! We may be fucked up, but we got beef jerky!" Hunk stood up and hushed Pidge for his language, setting the bags in a neat pile to the side before he sat next to him. Allura stood as well, sitting closer to the fire.
   I stayed in my spot for a moment, watching as Allura easily fit in, starting a conversation with Hunk in mere seconds. Obviously, the two both had a love for cooking. I scooted closer after I'd observed enough, letting the warm fire bathe my body with heat. My arm creaked slightly as I moved, drawing Pidge's attention almost immediately; his knife drawn in mere seconds as his gaze flicked from me to the wall and back.
   "Sorry-" I said quickly, pulling up my sleeve to reveal my prosthetic. He set his knife to the side and crawled over to my side, his eyes wide with excitement as he pulled my arm to his lap, messing with the battered plastic cover and protruding wiring.
   "Dude, this thing is epic- isn't this like, military grade? I'm suprised it's lasted this long-" he continued to ramble, his face filled with excitement.
   Hunk cleared his throat and chuckled as Pidge sat back, his face bashful as he turned his gaze to his hands. "Sorry, I just was planning to work with robotics and stuff when I was older- your arm is super cool, I mean-" Before he could finish, I gave a loud laugh, holding my arm back out.
   "It's fine, I bet you haven't seen something like this in a while, either. You can mess with it all you want, it's busted up already, anyways." I swear, the kid's face hardly kept up with his emotions as he had his bag at his side, a black box being pulled out in a matter of seconds in my hand back in his lap. The plating was off in little to no time at all as he prodded at the wiring, strange tools twisting and cutting and plucking.
   Occasionally, he'd ask Hunk to check on it for any mistakes or possible adjustments he might have missed, but Hunk would quickly wave him off and approve him for further exploration. It was rather amusing, the way he seemed to bubble over with excitement with every tweak and twist.
   After an hour or two, he placed the plate back in place, pressing a sealant to the edges.
   "Try that- it was just basic modifications, but you had some damaged wiring that could've screwed you over." I flexed the arm carefully, smiling as it didn't fizzle through my shoulder. It stopped creaking as well. "See, Hunk? I told you that valve oil would come in handy-" Pidge beamed as the other huffed, throwing a bothered look.
   "Come on dude, that was so unlikely, you just got lucky-"
   "Sure, you believe that." Pidge smirked. We sat around the fire for a moment before Pidge yawned.
   "I'm heading to bed- do you guys want to join the cuddle fest, or should I grab some extra blankets?" Pidge stood up, resting his hands in his pockets.
   "Um, we'll take extra blankets-" I laughed lightly, rubbing the back of my neck. Hunk shifted the firewood, kicking dirt onto the fire as he dimmed it down. Pidge made his way to another side of the room, shuffling through a row of shelves before returning with a handful of blankets and a few pillows. Allura thanked him and took them, smiling brightly as Pidge settled down next to lance.
   "I'll take first watch, you guys can settle for tonight. I'll wake you soon, Pidge." Hunk shuffled towards the entrance, a bat in hand as sat outside.
   Allura set our blankets out, laid down and humming softly in response as I sat next to her. I could see Pidge snuggle into Lance's side over her shoulder, his smile gentle as he started to asleep.
   It took awhile, but soon enough, I drifted off as well.