A/N: I was originally so proud of this because I thought it actually could have happened, but then I did some fact checking and discovered that it needs to be an AU as Pidge never attended the Galaxy Garrison as Katie. This is set pre-Kerberos mission in a world where Pidge is about a year older and has already gotten a place at the Garrison and has started following in Matt's footsteps as Katie...

It was midday at the Galaxy Garrison and, just like every other routine lunch break, the cadets had flocked to the canteen to catch up with their friends before lessons resumed later that afternoon. Most of the other tables were swamped with groups of students, but near the back and close to the fire escape, Lance and Hunk had claimed a small table for themselves. Although it was in a less-than-desirable location (being immediately beside the bins) it afforded the pair adequate peace and quiet - at least enough to hear one another over the deafening din of the other students.

"I swear, man, I've been studying like crazy for the theory," Lance groaned, prodding his grey canteen food with his spork dejectedly. "But I'm still edgy about the practical assessment," he admitted - probably seeking advice, but not really asking outright; more like making casual conversation in preference to eating his sorry excuse for a meal.

Likewise, Hunk was vastly unimpressed with his lunch and, as a culinary snob, he firmly believed they were only fed this slop to make astronaut food seem appealing by comparison.

"Can't you just ask for extra time in the simulator?" he asked, hesitantly bringing his hybridised utensil to his mouth.

Lance shook his head. "It's not that simple. Commander Iverson won't let anyone near it outside of lessons. And let's face it; I'm the last person he's ever going to make exceptions for."

The engineer found that he couldn't help but agree. While Lance was his buddy, the guy's particular brand of confidence was... an acquired taste.

Hunk swallowed his mouthful with an exaggerated gulp and a disgusted shudder. "I might have an idea," he threw out.

"All right, I'll bite," Lance prompted as he sat up straighter in his chair (gross meal completely forgotten) and raised a brow.

"The tech club were building their own simulator from scratch. It was a project, I think - I'm not really sure, but last I heard, they were letting the fighter class pilots practice outside of lessons," said Hunk, leaning his chin on his palm in thought, trying to remember a little more helpful information, but coming up blank.

"Do you think they'd let me train for the transfer assessment? - even though I'm just a cargo pilot." Lance tacked on the last part as if it were his greatest shame; even though he was top of his class, he hadn't originally made the cut for fighter pilot - which even now seemed like a pipe dream... Unless he really could clock in a few more sessions on the simulator and get an edge on the other cadets competing for the spot.

"I don't see why not," Hunk mused. "We should go and check the timetable. They usually post the schedule outside the library."

Lance practically jumped out of his seat, sliding the chair back and slamming his palms on the table. "To the library!" he announced, as if this were the beginning of an epic quest.

Lance walked with an exaggerated sense of purpose towards the library. The pair stopped outside the room and scanned the smart bulletin board for the correct icon. Lance selected the tech club's logo which opened up another menu for information about club activities.

"Ah - pilot simulation: fighter class," Lance read aloud, then selected the corresponding article.

The timetable popped up in the centre of the screen and Lance's heart sank; there were no free slots. Not for weeks, long after the examination date.

"I'm sorry bro. No one can say you didn't try," Hunk consoled, but Lance had yet to give up hope.

"Hunk, look. It says 'For further queries or requests, see tech club president,'" he quoted, turning to Hunk. "Who is the president of the tech club?"

Most of the cadets had an interest in innovative technology - you kind of had to just to keep your head above water in half the classes and Hunk was no exception, so naturally he'd crossed paths with the infamous Queen of the Nerds. On the other hand, Lance's curiosity for all things electronic and beeping was far more low-key compared to Hunk's more social hobbies surrounding technology, which was probably why he'd never met her.

"Katie Holt," Hunk supplied.

As soon as the name left his mouth, he could see the makings of a really bad idea taking shape in his friend's mind.

"Where can I find her?" he questioned, with a devious smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Yup. Lance was probably about to do something stupid and once again, it was up to Hunk to clean up his mess - he had learned long ago that it was better to do damage control rather than try to stop him. Lance's expression betrayed the cogs turning in his brain, generating an idea that would most likely end in disaster.

"You're in luck. She's right over there," he said, pointing to a petite figure pulling a large textbook out of her locker and almost toppling over under the weight of its many pages.

Her messy hair was swept up into a side-ponytail and her uniform was a couple of sizes too big - probably hand-me-downs from her older brother (an aspiring astro-explorer like herself) - making her seem even smaller than she really was, drowning in the folds of fabric, but somehow pulling it off and looking pretty cute.

"Perfect," grinned Lance.

The engineer temporarily lost sight of his friend as he sped through the empty corridor towards the unsuspecting girl and reappeared at her side. He groaned internally at what was about to unfold, whispering a silent apology to Katie for putting her in Lance's flirty crosshairs.

Katie closed her locker door, jumping as Lance's face was positioned just the other side and unnervingly close to her own.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, turning up the charm to full potency and throwing in a wink for good measure.

"Gah!" She jumped, dropping the thick hardcover book on Lance's foot.

That had to hurt, thought Hunk.

"I get that a lot," Lance wheezed, glossing over the incident and bending down to pick up the volume. He offered it back to the girl who looked somewhat unimpressed. Favouring his left foot, he leaned against the line of lockers in an attempt to look nonchalant. Emphasis on attempt.

Katie snatched the book out of his grasp. "Can I help you?" she asked tiredly, seemingly unaffected by his 'charms'.

"Smart, beautiful and straightforward. I like it," he recovered flirtatiously.

"Creepy, annoying and in my way. I don't," she fired back, trying to brush past him.

But it would take a lot more than that to put the breakers on Lance now. "Playing hard to get, huh? I like a challenge." He wasn't trying for subtlety nor did he have the capacity garnered from experience to be anything but direct with his flirtations.

"Are you for real?" she asked incredulously.

Lance decided to bring out the big guns and fired up The Smoulder. "Why? Do I seem like the man of your dreams. Am I too good to be true?"

"You wish!" she scoffed, yanking her hand free... and did she just wipe her hand on her trouser leg?

Telling himself she just was flustered and a little clammy, Lance played his ace. "So you're telling me you don't feel this connection between us?"

Katie flushed red and only her deep-set frown tipped him off that she was not, in fact, blushing.

"The only connection you're going to feel is my fist with your face," she threatened, clicking her tongue and adjusting the textbook resting on her jutted hip.

Finally, finally, Lance backpedalled, realising he may have gone too far and offended the tech club president. His attempt to win her over had really tanked and he'd only managed to make her feel uncomfortable. He felt like a dumbass, but hoped she'd give him one more chance to do this right.

"Wait, please. I'm sorry. That was stupid. Let me start over." Lance offered his most earnest smile. "Hi. I'm Lance and I need a favour," he said.

Katie jabbed a finger at his chest. "So you thought you'd charm your way into my good graces? That's low." At least she wasn't walking away, but she certainly wasn't impressed either.

"I know. You're clearly too smart to fall for that." He honestly wasn't trying to flirt - just calling it like it was, but a compliment like that was too soon after what he'd just tried to pull.

"Second warning, Lance. What do you want?" she asked with every ounce of her patience she had left.

"Right. You see... I'm a cargo pilot - well, that's all I am right now - but I may have the opportunity to go further. You see, I want to transfer to fighter pilot class, but first I need to ace the assessment and I was hoping..." - he rocked back on his heels a little uncertainly - "that maybe you could squeeze me into the schedule for the tech club's flight simulator...?"

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?" Katie said dryly.

Lance put the tips of his fingers together and candidly admitted, "It has been pointed out a couple of times, yeah."

A small smile found its way onto the corner of Katie's lips.

"But I can see how much you want this. You're driven and that's kind of awesome," she said appraisingly. "I'll see what I can do."

"Really!?" Lance's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

The lingering paranoia that Katie was just messing with him out of revenge vanished as she smiled easily and nodded, shaking her head a little with good-natured amusement.

"Yeah. Just don't EVER do that again. Got it?" She flicked his shoulder playfully and moved to get past. The corridor was quickly filling up with bustling cadets and she realised she'd better get a move on.

"Got it. Hey, Katie?" She stopped walking down the hall and spun on her heel to face him. "Thanks," he called out sincerely.

"I'll see you around," she called back, before being swallowed by the crowd.

"I'll look forward to it," said Lance, more to himself, and swung his fist up for a celebratory air punch.