The Pink Paladin

4.

Lance POV:

Once we were back at the castle, Allura dismissed us to our rooms for the night. I quickly walked over to Ayden, who was talking with, Allura. She just winked at me before walking away and I dragged Ayden out of the main room in the castle.

"Where are you taking me?"

I smiled softly at his voice.
"I found a really cool place the other day when we were exploring. I want you to see it."

I grabbed his hand and lead him outside of the castle and down a small beaten pathway. As we traveled farther into the wooded area, I could sense Ayden start to walk closer to me. I stopped in my tracks and looked him in the eyes.
"Why are you scared?"

He looks up at me with worried eyes.
"I'm not."

I just laughed a little and squeezed his hand.
"Don't be scared. I'm taking you somewhere that no one else in the castle knows about."

His eyes brighten up a bit as we continue walking. After a couple more minutes, we reached the place.

"And here we are."

I walked into a clearing with lots of wildflowers, berry bushes, and fruit trees. In the middle of it all is a huge tree with winding branches that lead up farther than the canopy of the forest. Ayden's eyes double in size as he starts to run through the flowers with a small smile on his lips. My own eyes widened at the sight. He hasn't smiled once since I met him. I felt him grab my hand and we were suddenly laying on the ground. He looked up at the sky and started to point out cloud shapes and make cute noises whenever he found a new one. I spent my time listening to his voice ramble on about whatever shape he found and how cute it was. God, I could listen to his voice all day and not get bored. I turned my head towards him and examined his facial features. A sharp jawline, slightly chubby cheeks, sparkling eyes, freckles that were sprinkled across his nose and cheekbones, and finally his lips. They were plump and full and they were the color of pink roses during the spring.

"Lance?"

I snapped out of my thoughts when Ayden called for me and stood up. He held out his hand and took me over to the tree.
"Race ya!"

He tapped my shoulder softly and began to climb up the tree. I watched with a smile as he seemed to have little to no trouble climbing. Once I reached a certain height, I saw Ayden in a branch. The branches were really thick and were woven together as if to make a very large hammock. He was laying down and I layed next to him as he sighed.

"That was fun."

I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.
"What do you think the others will do when they see us missing?"

Ayden scoffs and looks at me.
"How would they notice. Shiro is probably training, Pidge is most likely working on a project of his, Hunk and Coran are probably comparing recipes, Keith is probably training, and Allura is probably talking to those mice freinds of hers."

I was taken aback by how different he's acting right now. He usually keeps a straight face and he never jokes around unless it's sarcasm. Don't get me wrong, I love this side of him but why are the two sides so different?

"What's with the sudden bubbly attitude?"

He freezes and looks away from me.
"It's better not to ask. It's a long and complicated story that I'm not ready to tell."

I smile and grab his hand.
"Well just know that we're all here for you. Whether we show it all the time or not..."

He nods and we sit in silence while talking about all that's happened in the past few days.