I have absolutely no idea where this came from...

Lance and Keith had fallen into… an odd relationship.

Or, at least that's what Pidge called it, anyways.

One minute the two were at each other's throats, and the next they were training together – laughing and joking around like good friends.

And sometimes, their sparring matches got just a little bit more intense – fights which had the two boys rolling around on the floor duking it out but at the same time seeming sort of…

Intimate?

It wasn't that Pidge had taken to spying on them or anything – pffth, of course that's not what she was doing, and she had bigger things to worry about after all, like the tech in the ship and finding her family – but she couldn't help those days when she walked by the pair, and decided to observe.

For… longer than she should.

Soon, it became almost like an obsession to Pidge. Were they…? Were they not…? They fought like a married couple, and then flirted like newlyweds. It was completely obvious to Pidge that there was something there, but she couldn't really pinpoint the exact nature of their relationship.

Luckily for her, she wasn't the only crazy one questioning the pair's odd behavior with one another.

One day Pidge lounged on the couch, fingers locked under her chin as she watched the two teenagers battle it out in a game of Altean chess. Similar to Earth chess, except you had to play it backwards. Pidge didn't care for the game, but Keith and Lance loved it – it was another competition between the two – another way to assert their dominance over the other.

They were oddly passionate about it. They scheduled a game everyday at 6 o'clock, if the team wasn't busy at the time or dealing with Galra threats.

It was… kind of cute? She couldn't lie.

Pidge yelped, snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a crushing force land on top of her scrawny legs. She looked up, eyes wide.

"Hunk!"

"Wha -?" Hunk looked almost in a trance, watching Keith and Lance. When he noticed exactly where he was sitting, Hunk jumped up immediately.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" He cried, bending down to examine the girl's throbbing legs.

"It's fine," Pidge groaned, sitting up so Hunk could share the couch with her. They both sat in silence, Pidge nursing her wounded legs (and ego) as they stared at the chess match across the room.

"REVERSE CHECK MATE, LOSER!"

"Lance, you cheated! The pawn doesn't move like that!"

"Should I call you a sore loser then?"

"LANCE!"

Now the two were up, the pieces of the chessboard scattered across the floor as they swatted at each other and argued. Lance kept reaching for Keith's face – trying to annoyingly squish his cheeks together – and Keith kept aiming for a kick below the belt.

Two pieces from the chess game – the black and white Kings – rolled across the floor and into Hunk's foot. He sighed, picking the two pieces up and holding them out in front of his eyes. "Symbolic."

Pidge furrowed her brows. "Excuse me?"

"It's symbolic," Hunk answered, holding out the pieces for Pidge to see. "The two Kings – different colors, black and white – like their personalities. Yet they can't seem to stay apart from each other. Opposites attract, huh?"

Pidge's eyes widened. "Are… are you talking about them?" She pointed across the room. Keith and Lance were on the floor again, swiping at each other. "Do you think they... like each other?"

Hunk looked down and fiddled with the chess pieces. "Never mind. It's just a dumb theory I made up. I know it's crazy."

"Wait, Hunk, you don't understand," Pidge breathed, getting close to his ear so she could whisper without being overheard. "I… I have the same theory."

"What?"

Hunk was looking at her excitedly, a huge grin plastered on his face. "You do?!"

"Yes, now keep it down!" Pidge hissed. "I'm not exactly proud at how much I think about it…"

"Pidge, if we've both noticed it, then…" Pidge followed his gaze to the door opposite the room, which Shiro was just conveniently entering through.

The two friends looked at each other, seeming to come to an unspoken agreement as they hopped over the couch and ran to Shiro's side.

"Woah." Shiro backed up, warily eyeing the two younger teens' excited behavior. "Can I help you guys?"

"Hallway, now!" Pidge stressed, pushing against Shiro's back as Hunk grabbed hold of his arms.

Once they were in the hallway, Shiro shook off their grips. "What's going on?"

"Pidge has a question for you," Hunk said instantly.

"Wha – nuh-uh!" Pidge snapped. "We both have a question for you!"

"Okay, but like, it was originally Pidge's idea."

"Hunk!"

"Calm down you two!" Shiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You guys are talking a mile a minute and I can't understand a thing." He tried to move past them, but they blocked the older teen's way. "Guys, come on, I have business in there."

"What business?"

Shiro flushed. "I-It's nothing… uh… I was just going to grab some water from the fridge, that's it."

Now, Pidge didn't want to brag, but she was an intelligent young woman, and she could read people to a degree. And Shiro's stuttering was definitely not related to his need for a drink of water.

"No way…" Pidge said in disbelief, her hazel eyes lighting up with glee. "Shiro, you too?!"

"What?"

"You were in there to spy on them!" Pidge accused. Hunk gasped beside her, hands on his cheeks.

"Who? Keith and Lance? N-no I wasn't!"

"Admit it," Hunk grinned. "You're trying to figure those two out! You're just like us!"

"No, I'm – wait… just like you guys?" Shiro blinked, looking between the two teens. Pidge was ecstatic, and she was sure Hunk was as well. It was nice to know that her crazy obsession wasn't crazy at all. In fact, it was so noticeable that the rest of the team had started observing them as well – even Shiro! Maybe Allura and Coran were too?

"Look, let's not freak out about this, alright?" Shiro sighed, admitting to his observations of the pair. Pidge and Hunk cheered in delight. "I just think that they're friends with some… unusual tendencies." He scratched his head uncomfortably, wincing at his awkward phrasing.

"Unusual tendencies as in flirting up a storm?" Pidge questioned.

"And wrestling around on the floor?" Hunk offered.

"Guys," Shiro snapped. "We don't know if it's flirting exactly."

"The other day I heard Lance tell Keith that he had pretty eyes for a dude," Pidge replied, arms crossed. "And that's the same thing you said to Allura last week when you were flirting with her! Well… except for the 'for a dude' part."

Shiro sputtered, blushing furiously as Hunk put a warning hand on Pidge's shoulder.

"That's a whole other can of worms, my friend. Let's not go there," Hunk said wisely, flashing a grin in Shiro's direction.

"Thanks, Hunk… I think," Shiro grumbled. "I've got an idea; how about instead of talking about them behind their backs inside a sketchy hallway, we actually go up to them and confront them directly?"

"No way!" Pidge cried. "Then it'll look like we've been overanalyzing this whole thing!"

"… Which we have," Hunk said, twiddling his thumbs.

"Come on, Pidge. Man up," Shiro grinned, patting her on the back and leading her back toward the door, Hunk following hesitantly.

"You know I don't like that phrase!"

Shiro laughed, standing in front of the door. When it opened, they stepped in, but stopped when they noticed the scene on the couch before them.

Lance and Keith's argument and wrestling match had moved to the couch…

Where they were currently making out, locked in a tight embrace.

"Uhh…"

The two teens jumped apart, eyes widening when they realized they had company.

"W-we were just –"

"I was biting his lip cause I hate his guts, that's all!"

"Dude."

They started bickering again, locked in a screaming match and trying to explain themselves. They got so wrapped up in the fight that they didn't notice the three other Paladins awkwardly shuffle backwards out of the room.

Once the door was closed, they stood in silence in the darkened hallway once again.

"Well…" Hunk said slowly. "At least we didn't have to confront them."

Pidge and Shiro nodded in agreement.