Author's Note: Okay, guys. I'm terribly sorry for not posting in TFM or Broken Day but I recently discovered Voltron: Legendary Defender, and now the plot bunnies won't leave me alone. It's totally my fault and I apologise. On the other hand, I adore Pidge and so my new fic is dedicated to her. I've no idea how long this is going to be or how often I'll update. I just needed to get this chapter out of my system.

Though She Be But Little

Summary: A series of one-shots (and maybe some short multi-shots) about our favourite, littlest paladin.

Chapter One: The Maze

"Hey, half-pint!"

Pidge grunted non-committedly and plopped herself into her chair. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, she groped for her spoon with the other.

"What's the matter, short-stop? You look tired," Lance continued, undeterred.

Pidge shovelled green goo into her mouth to keep from answering.

"You know, squirt, if you're this grouchy in the morning, maybe you should sleep more?"

She didn't even grace that with a response. She knew she should sleep more but she'd been running facial recognitions through her stolen Galra databanks in the hopes of finding her dad and brother. No luck so far but that meant nothing. The universe was a big place. She'd only gone to bed because Green had almost crushed her laptop as a threat. The giant, pushy, magic, mechanical Lion that she was.

At least Pidge's lack of response shut Lance up. He turned on Keith instead. Geez, why did he have to pick a fight this early in the morning? The guy was far too chip to be healthy. At least Allura would take him down a notch or nine in training.

Training. Ugh. Okay, so it wasn't all that bad, but Pidge hadn't slept well and, yes, she was trying but not as hard as she knew she could. After getting the crud kicked out of her by the combat drone (and then sadistically enjoying watching Lance get the crud kicked out of him), Allura changed tactics.

"Bonding time!" she crowed which was met with groans from everyone. "Oh, come on!" she encouraged brightly. "You've done this one before."

"Please don't be the maze, please don't be the maze," Lance whispered.

"The maze!"

"Awwww!"

Pidge just smiled. She could do the maze with her eyes closed.

Allura beamed. "The usual partners, I think, for the first round but then we'll switch it up a bit."

Pidge was in the process of giving Shiro a knowing look when she froze. What did Allura mean 'switch it up'? They were going to switch partners? Why? Well, she knew why. The bond among the team as a whole needed to be strong. But still…why?

Shiro reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze, reassuring her without words.

"Pidge, you're up first," said Allura. "Paladins, clear the deck."

Pidge waited patiently in the middle of the floor until she heard the telltale buzz of the invisible, electric walls. Then she heard Shiro's voice, calm and confident: "Turn to your right and take three steps forward."

Pidge's eyes slid closed automatically as she turned. Oh, yeah. This was something she could do.

Everyone took their turn with very few incidents with the walls – they were getting better at listening to each other. Even Lance did well, instructing Hunk through the maze.

"Excellent!" Allura smiled at them all while Coran stood off to the side, stroking his moustache. "Now, Coran has thoughtfully reprogrammed the maze into several different designs so the next round will be an entirely different maze. Also, we're switching partners! Shiro, you'll guide Lance. Hunk, you'll guide Keith. Keith will guide Shiro. Pidge, you'll guide Hunk. And Lance, you'll guide Pidge."

When Pidge looked over at Lance, he looked confident. Shiro had looked no less so. She could trust Lance…right?

Having gone first for the first round, Pidge went last for the second. By that time, Keith, Hunk and Shiro had gone in search of lunch so it was just Lance in the control booth, and Allura and Coran had gone off to wherever they went when they weren't supervising the paladins. Pidge stood on the deck and wondered why her heart was racing in her chest. She wasn't afraid. She liked Lance. He was friendly – a bit overly but she chalked that up to coming from a large family – he was open and kind when he wasn't making fun of her size or her sleeping habits or her technological jargon. He was a team asset. He had an eye for detail and was skilled at long-range warfare – she'd seen him get downright mean with his bayard. She trusted him, she really did, so why was she scared?

The walls hummed and she thrust all fear from her mind. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

"Take two steps forward and turn left," Lance said, no doubt or concern in his voice.

She obeyed. Two steps forward, turn left. Electricity zapped her and she stumbled back, her eyes snapping open.

"What was that? I said take two steps!"

"That was two!" she shot back at the booth.

"No, that wasn't! That was like one and a little bit."

Pidge gritted her teeth. "Fine. Starting from where I am, where do I go?"

"Okay. Take five steps forward and turn right."

She obeyed and collided with another wall. "Ow! Lance!"

"It's not my fault!"

"You're the only one who can see where I'm going so, yeah, it kind of is!"

"Well, yeah, but you're not following my directions! Your steps are too small."

"I'm a small person!"

"So take bigger ones!"

"Shiro didn't have any trouble!"

There was a beat of silence and then she heard a distant thunk, like a door being slammed.

"Lance?"

No answer.

"Lance? Are you there?"

Nothing.

Had he…had he left her in here?

Pidge's heart beat faster. "Lance? I'm sorry I got mad. I didn't mean to compare you to Shiro. I guess I'm just used to him being my partner. He made me walk into a wall before he realised he needed to give me more steps. My steps are just smaller. I don't have as long of a stride as you guys do. I have to jog when you're walking if I want to keep up with you." She smiled, interjecting humour, but there was still no response from the control booth.

"Lance? Please tell me you're there."

Tears stung her eyes when nothing but the walls' electrified buzz met her ears. She bit them back, clamping down, pushing, shoving her pain somewhere else.

"Fine," she bit out. "Have it your way." Bonding exercise her foot. She had learned from an early age to solve problems on her own. She had learned how to do a lot of things on her own.

Pidge closed her eyes and brought her hands up, spreading out. She inhaled, exhaled, and calmed her heart. Electricity gave off heat. She could feel her way out. She would have to.

She would.

-:-:-:-

Lance stomped through the long and winding halls to the dining room. He didn't want to be mad at Pidge but he was mad at Pidge. She made everything his fault. It wasn't his fault – it wasn't! She was just so small. He could admit to himself that he made fun of her a lot for her size but he'd never realised how small she was until he was trying to direct her through the maze. Her steps were just so freakishly tiny!

He stormed into the dining room and everyone stared at him. Allura and Coran were here, too.

"Didn't go so well, bud?" Hunk asked with concern.

Lance ignored him. Now that he was here, his anger was derailing into embarrassment. "Shiro," he muttered, "I can't get Pidge through the maze. I can't adjust for her short stride."

Far from looking amused, Shiro's eyes widened in dismay. "You left her in there?"

"Well, yeah. I only came to get you…" Lance trailed off at the look of horror in everyone's face. "What?"

Shiro didn't answer. He shoved his chair back and ran, Coran right on his heels. Allura gave Lance a scathing look while Keith didn't even look at him. Hunk sighed and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, man. Let's find Pidge before she finds you."

-:-:-:-

If she hadn't been wearing gloves, Pidge's fingers would have blistered by now; she lost count of how many times she had gotten zapped. As it was, she didn't even sigh with relief when an alarm beeped cheerfully, the completed maze collapsing behind her. She was free. It hadn't taken as long as she'd thought (and had taken a whole lot more luck than she'd thought) but now, she just wanted to go to bed.

Exiting the training deck, running footsteps made her pause. She looked over at Shiro who had ground to a halt, Coran right behind him. Both stared at her.

Pidge opened her mouth to greet them – or maybe ask why they looked like she had sprouted another head – when Hunk and Lance came around the corner.

Lance.

Her hands curled into fists, she felt her eyes narrow, and she turned around and stalked away.

"Pidge?"

Pidge ignored him.

"Pidge, wait." A hand landed on her shoulder.

Bad move.

Pidge grabbed that hand, shifted her weight and threw Lance over her hip into the nearest wall. "Don't. Touch. Me," she snarled.

Lance stared up at her, eyes wide in his face.

Pidge didn't give him or anyone else in the hall a second glance. She left.

They did the maze again the next day but switched back to their original partners. Pidge found no pleasure in it anymore. She kept her eyes closed and did as Shiro told her. She didn't even graze a wall but there was no triumph in that. Not anymore. Not when she knew she could do this by herself, also with her eyes closed, which she did when all the others were done and gone. She knew she was losing faith in her team, knew that her lone-wolf attitude would come back to bite her when they needed to form Voltron, whenever that would be.

Pidge was with the team only out of necessity which was during training. She took her leisure time and her meals in her room or in her lab in Green's hangar, both of which she locked. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She didn't want to listen to Lance apologise – like this was something someone could say a few words about and then all would be well. Pidge knew that she would have to forgive him at some point but she was too hurt. She wasn't even angry at him, not anymore, but he had hurt her. Left her. Hadn't said anything to let her know that he had only been going to get Shiro because Shiro was the one who could guide her through without fail every time. If Lance had said something, Pidge would have waited. Probably. She wouldn't have thrown him into the wall, though. Probably.

Pidge hated that she couldn't trust her team as a whole. She could trust Shiro, would follow him to the universe's edge and beyond, but not the team. The team was patchy and unreliable, and she hated that that was what she thought of them.

She hated that something as trivial as her size was the cause of it.

-:-:-:-

"Pidge is becoming more and more secluded." Shiro could not look Allura in the face as he said it. He was the leader of this team and this team was falling apart.

Allura nodded, her eyes distant and solemn. "Yes. We must remedy that."

"How? She won't even talk to us – she won't talk to me! What can we do?"

Surprisingly, it was Coran who spoke. "Perhaps Pidge simply needs a reaffirmation of her trust in the team, and I know just the thing."

-:-:-:-

"The maze again?" Lance whined.

Pidge silently admired the way Allura shut him up with a look. She would pay to learn how to deliver that look effectively.

"Yes, Lance. The maze again. I've seen some sloppy teamwork from you all these last few days, and the maze is an excellent way to build trust." Blue, Altean eyes landed on Pidge. "Pidge shall go first. Paladins, come with me."

Pidge blinked in surprise, as did all of the others, because shouldn't it just be Shiro leaving? What was going on? Did Allura want her to prove that she could make it through the maze on her own? That hardly seemed accurate, considering the princess's rebuke of their recent team-building skills.

Pidge did her best to even out her breathing. Then the walls hummed as they burst from the floor.

"Turn right and take four steps. Then turn right again." Shiro's voice was calm and confident as always, and Pidge automatically relaxed, letting her eyes slide shut.

"Why do you close your eyes, Paladin?" Coran's voice over the intercom startled her but she answered smoothly.

"I don't need to see where I'm going."

"Why is that?"

Pidge frowned. Shiro wasn't giving anymore instructions. What was she supposed to do? Keep going?

"Paladin? Answer the question." Coran sounded irritated. At her? Why?

"I don't need to see because Shiro is my eyes."

"And you trust him?"

She didn't even think about her answer. "Yes."

There was a pause, then, "Take nine steps forward and turn left."

"Keith?" Pidge didn't open her eyes but what was Keith doing?

"Take nine steps forward and turn left," Keith repeated.

Were they all taking turns directing her? Was this Allura's idea of team bonding? That meant that sooner or later Lance would have a turn. Her fists clenched at the thought.

"Is something the matter, Paladin?" Coran asked stiffly.

His tone was identical to the drill sergeants at the Garrison and her spine straightened instantly. "No, sir," she replied, and she took those nine steps and turned left, her eyes still closed.

"Walk forward five paces, turn left, and then take seven more steps." It was Shiro again. What was the ploy here?

Keith again: "Turn left, walk thirteen steps, turn right."

Then it was Hunk. "Take four steps, turn right, take eight steps and turn left."

Now her heart began to beat faster. They were taking turns. Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Hunk, Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Keith, Hunk, Shiro. They were also leading her in circles. Her sense of direction was decent but her brain was sharper, taking stock of all steps and turns. She was deep in the maze yet she was going around in circles. She came to no dead-ends, she hit no walls, but she could no longer trust where they were leading her but she obeyed anyway because their trick had to end soon, right?

It was Shiro's turn again. He asked her to turn right. She hesitated because what if she needed to go left instead? If she went right, she would doubtlessly continue circling. How long had she been in the maze for? Twenty, thirty minutes? Twice as long as her unguided record time. Five times as long as her guided record with Shiro.

Coran's voice crackled through the system. "Paladin, your leader gave you instructions. Why aren't you moving?"

Pidge wanted to cry. This was not fair. This wasn't fair to her or to her team who had to watch her obey their misleading directions. She bit back her tears and turned left, lifting her hands.

Voices clamoured through the training deck, reverberating off the walls – Coran, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk: "Pidge, Pidge, you're going the wrong way! You're headed straight for a wall! Turn back, turn back!"

It didn't escape her notice that Lance had not yet given her directions, nor spoken at all. She made herself not care.

The air suddenly warmed around her fingertips and Pidge froze. A wall. They were right. She had reached a dead-end.

Now what?

There was only silence from the booth. She didn't dare open her eyes, though; she could not trust them.

Sudden footsteps behind her made her whirl just as she snapped her eyes open.

"Lance?"

Lance was walking slowly toward her and…had his eyes closed? "Hey, Pidge," he said. "You lost?" He tried to sound casual but there was a tremor in his voice.

Pidge was tempted to say no. She wasn't lost. She could figure this out on her own. She'd done it before…

Lance reached her, his arm bumping her shoulder. "Oops. Sorry." He opened his eyes and looked at her. He didn't smile, not when he was looking right at her. "So, uh, I got Allura in my ear. She'll get us out."

"If she's on a different channel, just tell me what it is," Pidge retorted. She wanted to take a step back but the wall was in her way. She settled for crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry, Pidge." He looked sorry, his brow low and a frown pulling his mouth. "It's a separate com-link. Allura can show you what she did to my helmet to get it to work when we get out."

Meaning that the only way for her to get out of the maze was to trust Lance. Pidge flicked her eyes up to the control booth. She couldn't see through the tinted glass and she could only guess where Shiro would be, but she picked a spot and glared at it for a second before sighing.

"Okay," she said, dropping her arms.

Surprise shot Lance's eyebrows up his forehead. "Okay?"

"Okay."

Lance hesitated before holding out a hand. "I really am sorry that I left you in here. I was a jerk. I didn't mean to hurt you and I'm so, so sorry that I did."

Pidge looked away, her arms twitching to come up again and act as a barrier between her and him. "You could have said you were going to get Shiro," she whispered. "I thought…"

"You thought I'd just leave you?" Lance was trying so hard not to be offended; Pidge could hear the strain in his voice.

Pidge shrugged. "It's happened before. People leaving without a word, and I don't know if they're coming back or not." A couple of traitorous tears slipped down her cheeks and she looked up at Lance.

Now Lance smiled. It was sad and sorry and hurt but it was for her. His sorrow was for hers, and he wrapped her gently in a hug. He tucked her under his chin, his arms secure around her. She stiffened for only a second, contemplating throwing him into a wall again. But the walls were electrified and she was done being petty and hurt and lonely. She hugged him back, sniffing quietly.

"We're not going to leave you, Pidge," Lance told her, his voice like that of an elder sibling to soothe a child's fear of a thunderstorm. It'll be over soon. We're inside, safe and warm. The rain can't get you, and neither can the thunder. It'll be over soon.

"This is war, Lance. We're in a war. You can't make promises like that."

"I can make whatever promises I want!" Lance retorted. He let her go, only to grip her by the upper arms as he crouched to be more on her level. "Promises make you accountable. Promises give you a reason to fight tooth and nail. We're not going to leave, Pidge. We're going to stay together as a team because even though the whole dang universe is counting on us, I don't want to let you down."

Pidge gulped back her tears. "You scared of me that much, McClain?"

"I've never seen a Galra half my size judo-throw me into a wall," he deadpanned.

Pidge snorted wetly and smiled. It was so hard to stay mad at Lance for long. The overly-friendly, over-confident buffoon.

"Come on." Lance straightened and held out a hand to her, throwing his other thumb over his shoulder. "Allura says six steps that way and turn left. We have to back-track a ways," he explained.

Figured. "Is that six steps for you or for me?"

"Me," said Lance. "How many would it be for you?"

"About ten."

"Oh."

She shook her head. "Much to learn, my young padawan has," she grumbled low, taking his hand.

"Kiddo, you're already short and green and have the attitude of a gremlin. You really don't want to go there."

"Sassy, my young padawan is," Pidge continued in the same gravelly voice. "Teach him some manners, I will." She kicked him lightly in the shin, their armour clanking.

"Sorry, Master Yoda," Lance conceded with a wince, though he grinned. "Shall we?"

Pidge nodded, grinning in turn, and closed her eyes. Peeking through an eyelid, she saw Lance had closed his eyes, too, and had a look of intense concentration on his face. "Six steps for you," she reminded him, squeezing his hand.

"Right." He squeezed back and they walked forward.

Pidge kept her right arm out as she allowed Lance and Allura to guide her, but the air never warmed with a nearing wall. A few minutes later, when the alarm beeped and the maze collapsed, she finally opened her eyes and found Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Coran and Allura waiting for her.

Allura smiled at Pidge. "Well done, Paladins. Well done."

It occurred to Pidge as Shiro and Hunk dragged Keith in for a group hug that she hadn't let go of Lance's hand yet. Whatever. If it went to his head, she would just throw him into another wall.