Many thanks to Bookreader525 and hailqiqi who did some amazing beta-work on this chapter! ^^

Lance wakes up and he savors this moment between full awakeness and sleep where everything is just fine and the numbness of his senses that seems to affect his brain, too.

And then the first thought, his only thought kicks in with full force.

Pidge!

His eyes shoot open and he sits up with a jolt, looking around the room. He curses his eyes for needing longer than he wants them to to focus, but when they finally do, he's glad to see that he's still in the infirmary.

Quickly, he settles his eyes on Pidge's pod. She's still in there. Which is good and bad at the same time. Good because it means she's still alive, and bad because it means she still isn't fully healed.

Lance bites down on his lower lip. He can't really pinpoint how he feels about it. There's this wave of relief running through his body, but there's this pang in his heart, too. But really, does it matter? He decides it doesn't. Pidge is alive, and that's all that matters now.

Lance takes a moment to look down at himself. He's confused to find one blanket underneath him, another blanket lying in folds on his lower half. It must have slid down when he sat up. He looks over his shoulder and sets eyes on a pillow. He's still wearing his paladin armor.

Slowly, he pieces together what must have happened. All he remembers is that he broke down in front of Keith, he remembers Keith hugging him, and then - nothing. He must have fallen asleep. Which shouldn't be a surprise. He was exhausted. And then Keith and the others must have prepared this bed for him and put him in it. He's thankful that they let him stay in the infirmary. It would have been easier for them to take him to his room.

And then he remembers what Keith told him. That they all knew, that they even placed bets on when he and Pidge would end up together. It makes him want to cry again, and he almost lets the tears take over, but the door of the infirmary opens and Lance quickly blinks them away.

Hunk enters with a tray.

"Oh, look who's finally up!" he says, his tone too cheerful to be true.

Lance forces himself to smile.

"Good morning!" he says. "Or good evening." He slides his hand through his hair sheepishly. "I have no idea what time it is."

"Good morning is fine," Hunk replies, his tone still too cheerful as he sits down next to Lance and places the tray on the floor. Lance notices that there's a plate with some sandwiches and a cup of tea on it.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asks.

"Five hours or so," Hunk says, and Lance realizes that the cheerful tone has left his voice and become more matter-of-fact. Lance likes that better. It's more fitting.

"Did you sleep well?" Hunk asks.

Lance shrugs. "I didn't dream or can't remember any, so I guess I did."

Hunk nods before he shoves the tray closer to Lance.

Lance suppresses a sigh. He isn't hungry, but he remembers that this is something he can do for Hunk, so he grabs a sandwich and takes a few bites. Hunk smiles at that, and this smile doesn't seem forced at all, so Lance keeps eating, only taking breaks to take sips from the tea. And Hunk keeps watching, the small, unforced smile still on his face, until all the food and all the tea is gone. Then he turns towards Pidge's pod and the smile disappears within the blink of an eye. Lance can't blame him, but he misses it.

Lance turns towards Pidge's pod, too, and like all the times before he keeps his eyes on her face. She looks peaceful – no signs of nightmares – and Lance is relieved about that.

They sit in silence for a while.

"Did I miss something?" Lance asks. He already knows the answer, though.

"Unless you count Coran yelling at the mice for carrying away one of his favorite slippers as something, then no," Hunk replies.

Lance laughs a silent laugh. "Not really, but didn't the mice learn their lesson yet? No one, I repeat, no one touches Coran's favorite slippers!"

"I think they were trying to get his mind off things."

"Hm," Lance mumbles.

A few moments pass in silence.

"So… uhm... you all knew, huh?" Lance finally says.

"Yeah, we did," Hunk replies.

Lance is surprised for a moment that he doesn't have to go into more detail, yet it makes sense. It's Hunk after all.

Lance laughs this dry laugh that sounds so wrong in his ears.

"We've been so stupid," he says, shaking his head. "I've been so stupid. It was all my idea. To wait until this war is over, you know. And Pidge, she… she agreed so quickly. I… we... Gosh, we've been so stupid, Hunk!"

He watches from the corner of his eye as Hunk turns towards him.

"Maybe you've just been afraid?" his friend suggests.

Lance looks at Hunk, studying his face, and Hunk looks back at him so sympathetically that he has to turn away again. It makes his chest tighten. He pulls his knees up, hugging them.

"Maybe we've been both," he says.

"Or that, yes," Hunk replies before he turns back towards Pidge's pod.

Lance lets his chin rest on his knees, wrapping his arms a little more tightly around them. "Either way, it doesn't change anything now."

"No," Hunk says, "it doesn't." And then after a few more moments he adds, "I'm sorry."

It makes Lance's chest tighten even more and sends a pang to his heart.

"Yeah, me too," he says. It's the only thing that makes any sense. And it's the truth, though it hurts his heart even more..

Some time passes in silence before Hunk gets up again, mumbling something about needing to prepare lunch. He stops and Lance feels his eyes on him. He knows Hunk is checking if he's okay. Which he isn't. He's not even close. But he's as okay as he can be and Hunk seems pleased. He grabs the tray and leaves. The door slides shut behind him, and Lance can't help but look at the closed door.

Out there, life is still going on. Hunk is still cooking, the mice are still playing their little pranks, Allura and Coran are still working, Shiro is still attending to his duties, Keith is still training. Only Pidge is locked away from everything in her pod. And Lance feels like he's locked away with her.

He wouldn't want it any other way.