The Rules Of Robotics (And Love)

Chapter 13

A/N: I've got some exciting news! Mclanchez-dictionary (tumblr) and I have teamed up for the Rarepair Big Bang, where we'll be doing an illustrated Plance/Pidgance fanfic! Go follow her!

The week of the fundraiser promises to be very, very...chaotic. Especially because of the number of people interested in the illegal betting. Turns out that the prim and proper Altea wasn't so prim and proper after all. Even some of the best students, including even good girl Shay, wanted to have a piece of the action. Keith looked like he was ready to hang himself the second his eyes fell on the list of participants. Shiro said he was taking a week vacation back to Japan, dammit.

Hunk was just excited to be making the snacks and cuddle up with Shay in the room.

Pidge nearly wants to cry, buying up soaps and all kinds of (probably) useless shit that she said 'would protect her precious controllers from idiots with sweaty hands'. Lance had responded, saying she had the sweatiest hands that he'd ever seen, greeted with a kick to the knee.

Now, Pidge sits in her room, spinning in her chair, staring at her computer with the steely eyes of a hunter. Coffee on the desk, loose clothes hanging off her wiry frame, books scattered on the desk messily, some half-opened and a few stained with various food items (which Hunk would cry over), Pidge doesn't even try being neat anymore.

"We haven't even started building Voltron yet."

Pidge jumps out of her chair, seeing Lance's annoying face hovering right above her shoulder. She resists the urge to headbutt him, settling for standing up and making a sassy and somewhat pissed face at him.

"How exactly did you get in my room?" Pidge pulls up another chair beside hers, letting him sit beside her. Lance's eyes flit between the door, Pidge, and the massive wall of coding displayed on her computer, long legs settling down on the small chair.

"You left it open." He looks guilty, looks like he's remembering something for a moment. "You should really stop doing that. I closed it already."

"I did? Huh. I didn't notice." Pidge yawns, sitting back down in her chair and leaning her head on Lance's tiredly. "Maybe I was too busy with this shit in front of me." She gestures to the computer, sighing. Lance squints at it, pinned down by a tired Pidgeon. Pidge pushes her glasses up after they start falling off her face.

"PIDGE IS DOING THE ANIME-"

Pidge head butts Lance, too tired to feel the pain or think about any consequences. Lance rubs his head, annoyed. Pidge grins, smirking back at him, lying her head back down on his shoulder.

"You're missing a semicolon there. Just saying."

PIdge's eyes snap open, hands flying to the keyboard.

"Where?!" she exclaims, eyes shooting to Lance for answers.

Lance points, and she legitimately slaps herself on the head, wincing a little bit. "Goddamn..."

She presses a single key, falling back on Lance.

From Lance's view, it looked like she was trying to start the coding for the second challenge. Pidge was obviously the best at coding in the team, second to none, Hunk probably being the closest to her in terms of ability. Sure, Lance had some basic ability, but all this? Not up his alley.

Maybe...

Lance looks at the code again, immediately spotting hundreds of mistakes. For someone as creative and skilled as Pidge, she wasn't exactly good at paying attention to really small details; she was more hasty than patient, especially when on a deadline. Then, he looks back at Pidge, seeing so many indications of sleeplessness; puffy eyes, dark circles, hooded eyes, pale skin, limp body, cups of instant coffee littered around. In the few days that he had spent catching up on work and not paying attention to her, she'd started fading off from work, of all things. God, he'd have to have a spa session with her soon. Maybe a sugar scrub?