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It wasn’t her fault that she was currently crouched down in an alcove just out of view in the common room listening in on Keith talking with her brother. It was all her stupid brother’s fault. Matt was the one to make a bet with her. It was a bet she was certain she’d win, yet here Pidge was: losing.
She was losing the bet with every word that tumbled out of Keith’s mouth, unknowingly sealing her fate of having to delete her entire folder dedicated to blackmail. She wanted to scream as much as she wanted to squeal. Out of all the people on the ship, Keith was the last one she expected to say anything so undeniably sweet about anyone–much less her, and his mouth just kept running.
His carefree laugh floated through the air, causing her heart to beat just a little faster. His words continued. “She’s more than smart. She’s creative.”
“I agree. Pidge is an innovator for sure,” Matt replied, an obviously smug tone to his voice that Keith apparently wasn’t picking up on.
That little shit. She mentally seethed and pressed her face into her hands, knees curled up to her chest as she fought to stay still and silent. This is torture. She could feel her face reddening and was sure her head would eventually explode from this despite the science of that actually happening wasn’t exactly sound.
“I admire that about her. My first thought in any situation is to just… run in and try to hit the problem before it hits anyone.”
“Admire?”
Keith’s voice seemed to become sheepish then. “Yeah… I mean… she’s a valuable member of Voltron. I don’t know how we’d have gotten out of half of the situations we were shoved into without her. Smart; creative; forward thinking; talented: she’s all that and more. If anything, admire might be an understatement.”
“An understatement, you say? Keith Kogane, do you like my little sister?”
“L-like? Yeah, I like her. She’s apart of our-”
“No no. I mean like like her?”
Pidge’s hands slid down her face to press hard against her mouth, staring ahead with wide eyes and bated breath as she awaited his answer.
“There’s a difference…?”
She thumped her head back against the wall behind her. What had she expected?
Hushed whispers sounded before Keith’s voice rang clear once more.
“Okay, yeah. I… “like like” her…”
Her hands dropped from her face in shock. “WHAT?”
Pidge went impossibly redder as soon as she realized her mistake, mumbling, “Oh, no…”