Late Night Terrors

"Matt? Matt, where are you?" It was dark, far too dark to see any farther than a few feet ahead of her. "Where am I?" She murmured in an after thought. This wasn't the castle. Where was everyone? "Shiro? Lance, Keith? Hunk, are you here?" The girl called out, growing more fearful with every step forwards she took. Her hand went along the wall as she walked, guiding her. She breathed in a soft gasp as her hand felt something, then let out a sigh of relief when it seemed to be a light switch.

Flipping it on was a mistake, she knew. She knew this had to be wrong. In front of her was every person she had been looking for, her older brother included. The logic in her mind told her to keep back, this wasn't real. None of this was real. But she didn't listen, she wouldn't.

"Katie.." Matt gave a warm smile and stepped forwards, while she did the same.

Her slow steps turned into a sprint, then a dead halt. "Matt? Matt, no. No!" His smile was gone, along with the color in his skin. He was pale, far too pale. There was a drop of dried blood at the corner of his mouth, and just as she tried to look further over him, he fell forwards. Then Allura, Coran. Keith, Hunk. Shiro. Lance was the last left, and her feet wouldn't move. "Lance. Lance, what's- Lance!" He fell too, a pained expression on his face.

"Lance!" Pidge shot up in her bed, her hair a mess and tears stinging in her eyes. "Matt.." She murmured, pulling her knees to her chest. She should be use to it by know, she knew. She'd had similar dreams quite often lately. "A dream, just a dream. Just a dre- Ah!" The short girl fell from her bed as her door busted open, her blankets wrapped around her in a jumbled mess.

She struggled against them only briefly before they were pulled away by a third party, and she noticed the light was on. Squinting her brown eyes as they adjusted to the new lighting, Pidge looked up to see the dark skinned boy she knew as Lance. He looked.. Worried?

"Pidge, are you alright? I was passing by to get a drink and I heard you call my- Hey, hey. What happen, why are you crying?" His eyes went slightly wide as he crouched down next to the girl. "Bad dream?" He guessed softly, putting a hand atop her messed head of hair.

After brief hesitation, she nodded, then quickly wiped her face. "It was nothing, don't worry. Sorry to startle you, I'm gonna get back to sleep." With that, the brunette crawled back into her bed.

Lance stood, but made no move to leave just yet. "Do you.. Want to talk about it? I mean maybe if you do it'll- Please stop glaring like that I'm just being nice is it really so surprising? Geesh, I'm not Keith."

At the last part, Pidge couldn't help but to crack a small smile. She sat up again with a sigh, and Lance sat by her feet. It took a minute or two of silence mixed with awkwardly worded encouragement, but the green paladin explained in a soft voice what had happen in her dream.

"Matt, that's your brother right?" Lance asked, and was answered with a nod. "Don't worry, Pidge. If he's anything like you, I'm sure he's alive and well. And for everyone in the castle.. Well, I'm living proof that we're all fine, right?" He offered a grin and opened up his arms. "Now who needs a late night hug? And maybe a night light. Hunk sleeps with one, I'm sure he'll lend it."

Pidge huffed and crossed her arms, a slight tint of pink of her cheeks. "Don't mess around. I'm not afraid of the dark, I just don't like watching everyone I care about die three times a week. And.. It was scary. I'm allowed to get scared!" She snapped.

He frowned slightly and dropped his arms. "You're right, there's nothing wrong with getting scared sometimes." The boy shrugged. "I get scared. He doesn't show it, but I'm pretty sure Keith gets scared. And Hunk.. Well, we all know how he is with fear." He opened his arms again, his expression sincere. "I'm not making fun of you, Pidge."

She looked at him, her expression skeptical. "That's a bit hard to believe."

"You really think that lowly of me?"

"Not lowly. But you aren't often serious." She looked away.

Lance was silent a moment, then let out a quiet sigh. "I guess you're right.." He muttered, a slight frown on his lips. After a slight pause, Pidge felt his arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace. "But that doesn't mean that I'm never serious. I don't like bad dreams, either." His voice was soft, showing a gentle side Pidge hadn't seen before.

She hesitated, but her arms slowly came up to wrap around him as well. The two sat there for a while, Lance's arms wrapped strongly around her while hers drooped weakly. She was shaking slightly, her eyes shut tightly.

As she finally calmed, her breathing slow and tired, her arms fell from around him. His didn't yet move, though. "Lance.. Do you ever miss your family?" The girl asked in almost a whisper.

He let out a soft chuckle. "Every day, Pidge. Every day." His hand moved in small circles on her back, and she felt her eyes droop tiredly as she was able to relax.

"Could you.. Stay with me for a bit longer? I.. Don't really want to fall asleep alone, if I'm honest." She gripped his shirt slightly, staring determinedly at his chest as she ignored the blush that she could feel on her cheeks. The words were embarrassing to say, and she knew Lance -being Lance- might very well make a joke out of it. If not now, then tomorrow at the least.

"Of course. I'm not gonna comfort and dash, that's not very gentlemanly." Although she wasn't looking at his face, Pidge could hear the smirk in his tone.

"You're such an idiot, Lance." She giggled and tilted her head up, a small smile on her lips as she did. "Thank you. I.. Feel a bit better now." Pidge murmured, then yawned.

"No problem, man. Why don't you get back to sleep? I'll stay here." Lance patted her on the head, then slowly let go of her and moved so that he was sat on the floor, his back against the bed but his head turned to look at her.

With a nod, the tired teen pulled her blankets off of the floor and covered herself, getting comfortable. It wasn't long before she fell into a comfortable sleep, her friend's presence keeping her calm as she slept.

#Might do a part two, might not. But yay, I got a bit of the Pidgance out of my system. xD#