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The letter was clenched tightly between her fists, crumpling further with each step she took. The hallways seemed to pass by in a blur as she ran trying desperately to reach her destination before it was too late. Pidge knew the odds of her reaching his ship before he left was slim, but she would be damned if she didn’t try.
The hanger bay had just come into view when she heard the engine of a nearby ship starting up. Knowing that time was nearly up, she sped up her paces. Her lungs were burning, and she inwardly cringed at how loud she was panting, but nothing else mattered but reaching that ship in time.
Pidge pushed herself and somehow managed to reach the door before something caught her foot and she was sent flying forward. She barely managed to avoid crashing into some of the nearby storage containers, but the floor still hurt. She knew that she would be covered in bruises come morning, but none of that mattered as she got up and ran towards the ship.
Apparently, her entrance had made quite the impressive show, and cargo bay doors were opening on the ship. The person had barely taken a step off the platform before she pounced and tackled him to the ground.
“What the hell Pidge?”
“Seriously? You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?”
“I left you a letter.”
“Oh yeah, this? Don’t even get me started on this. I gotta go, I’ll see you later, K.” She snarled while shoving the paper into his chest. “You didn’t even have the decency to sign your name. No by your leave, or truly yours or whatnot?”
He wouldn’t even look her in the eye as he muttered something about not being good at goodbyes. She could feel her eyebrows twitching as she took in the stupid man beneath her. Her heart seemed to throb in her chest at the expression on his face.
“You know what, I don’t know why I even bothered. Have a nice trip.” She said. A second later she was shifting off him and getting to her feet. She would rather not cry in front of him, lord knows that would make him feel guiltier than he already did.
“Pidge.” His soft voice stopped her short. A second later she could feel him come up behind her leaving no space between them. His arms wrapped themselves around her torso, and the tears she was holding back came bursting forward. She could feel him tensing before his arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry, I should have said something.”
“Yeah, you should have.” She managed to bite out. She quickly turned around in his arms, so she was facing him. “You may not be good at this whole goodbye thing, I get it, but waking up in an empty bed after sharing it with you, isn’t the ideal way to wake up.” At this, he looked ashamed and glanced back towards the ship.
“Kolivan called this morning, I didn’t want to wake you up, you looked peaceful.”
“I was, I always sleep better when you're home.” She whispered into his chest. Pidge raised her hands and cupped his face and gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “But you still should have woken me up. An explanation is better than that poorly written note, I would have understood, hell Keith, I’m involved in this war too. If you’d have woken me up, I could have sent you away with a proper goodbye.”
“Proper Goodbye?” She could see the confusion clear as day on his face and she had to fight back the smirk. Pidge raised herself, so she could whisper in his ear, and outlined exactly what she would have done if he’d have had woken her. By the time she had finished Keith’s face was completely red and Pidge had a gigantic smirk on her face.
“Keep that in mind for next time.” She whispered against his lips before kissing him. It only took him a second before Keith sank into the kiss. One of his hands managed to bury itself in her hair as he changed the angle of their lips, his other hand pulling her waist closer. They were lost in their own world, it didn’t matter that he was leaving, that it may be months before they see each other again. They were together, and that was all that matter.
A beep on Keith’s suit had them both groaning in disappointment as Kolivan’s voice came through the radio asking why Keith hadn’t left yet. Keith raised his arm and spoke quickly before turning back towards Pidge. He rested his forehead against her and let out a disappointed sigh. “Duty calls.”
“I suppose I should let you go.” She sighed, eyes darting to the side. “But you tell Kolivan that I expect you to come back in one piece, or else Shiro and I will come after him.”
“I make sure to relay the message.” He said with a laugh before kissing her forehead. “I really have to go this time.” As he went to pull away, Pidge tightened hers around his waist, keeping him close.
“Be careful, ok? I’d rather not be replacing any of your limbs.”
“But then Shiro and I could match. They do say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
“Not funny, and if you were going to copy Shiro you should just steal Black back, that or his hairstyle.”
“The one before or after he disappeared?”
“Before, I love the guy, but he looks ridiculous with whatever the quiznak he is supporting now.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” The smiles on their faces slowly faded as their time together was coming to an end. Keith took a step back before grabbing her hand leading her towards the ship. “I really have to go now, but I will be back soon.”
“You promise?” She asked quietly.
“Of course, If your goodbye is anything to go by, I can’t wait to find out what my welcome back will be like.” He smiled at the blush on her face before leaning down to brush his lips against hers. His communicator went off again, and he could hear the irritation in Kolivan’s voice.
“Get going before Kolivan gets fed up comes looking for you.” She gave him a smile before pushing him towards the ship. “I still need a few years of training before I could even hope to fight for custody over you. We both know that he could send me flying halfway across the room without even trying.”
Keith made sure to nuzzle her neck before smirking, “To be fair, a lot of people can already do that.” At her offended gasp, he started to chuckle.
“Oi, don’t make me tase you.”
“Alright, alright, no need to resort to violence. We both know that I don’t have time to enjoy that.”
“Pervert.”
“Like your one to talk.”
“Do as I say, not as I do.” He gave her one last smile before walking up the ship’s platform. At the top, he waved back before walking into the cockpit. Pidge moved back as the ship started up and quickly left the castle taking him away from her. The smile on her face dropped as the doors to the cargo bay opened to reveal the rest of the team. While they were upset to have missed Keith, they could tell that Pidge didn’t want to talk about it.
Quickly excusing herself, Pidge made her way towards her room before taking a detour towards Keith’s room. The memories of the night before flashed in her mind and going back without him seemed wrong. Keith’s room was almost completely barren, his jacket draped across the end of his bed. Fighting back tears she picked up the jacket and smiled when his scent overwhelmed her.