No couple
Just Leader!Keith
And sad Pidge
Late at night, the castle was dimly lit and the constant, low humming coaxed young paladins to sleep.
Well, except for Keith.
The newly appointed black paladin found it difficult to sleep. The weight of leadership fell too heavily, too quickly on his shoulders.
Is this what Shiro felt like when they were kidnapped by a flying, metallic blue lion? Suddenly having that overbearing, leering leadership roll thrust upon you, and you can't turn it down because you're the only one who can do it because of a mystical bond Keith still finds kinda creepy.
Keith had hoped that Black would take Shiro back, but that wasn't happening, apparently. He's now the black paladin, and Shiro stays in the castle.
The black paladin halted, doors to the bridge wide open and light pouring out into the hallway.
On instinct, Keith's hand flew to his blade and he crept closer. He peeked into the room, relaxing as he spotted a messy mop of chestnut hair and heard keys clacking.
Keith straightened up and shook his head, stepping in.
"Pidge, what are you doing up?"
The green paladin gasped and jumped, her laptop nearly flying off her thighs. "Jesus- Keith! You scared the quiznak out of me!" She hissed, snapping her laptop shut and pushing it aside.
Keith smiled, standing beside her. He was glad she didn't treat him different. When they found out he was half-Galra and when he became leader. She still treated him like an equal.
"Sorry." He mused, ruffling her hair. She huffed, pouting. "What are you doing up? You should be sleeping."
"I could ask the same." Pidge muttered, rolling her honey eyes. "Well, I was researching and tracking."
Keith frowned, resting his hand on her shoulder. "For your brother."
He didn't have to ask. He didn't even have to say it out loud.
The way Pidge physically deflated broke his heart. Her gaze fell to the floor, brows creased in worry and lips turned down. Keith crouched beside her, looked down. "I'm sorry... We'll find him..."
Pidge huffed. "Shiro keeps saying that."
Keith grabbed her hand and squeezed. "He's right. We'll find your father and brother, but we'll do it as a team. You can't go off on your own."
She shot him a look. "I know. You already pointed that out the first time I tried to leave."
"You best be glad that I did stop you, or you wouldn't have found out your brother is with freedom fighters." He smirked at her, patting her knee. Pidge snorted, but smiled. Keith hummed, standing back up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed. We'll start fresh in the morning."
"I'm only going to bed if you go to bed." Pidge grumbled, grabbing her laptop as she stood up. "You haven't been getting any sleep, either."
Keith shook his head, still smiling. "I will. We should just be sure to get some sleep before Lotor attacks again."
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499 words
