Archive of Our Own ^beta

Diplomacy was, in many ways, one of the hardest parts of being a Paladin. Having to fight for your life on a regular basis was hard, certainly, but every human on the team had been enrolled on a military base at one point or another, and had a certain level of combat training. However, the only residents of the Castle of Lions that had experience brushing elbows with royalty were the Alteans- the rest of them had hardly spoken to anyone with a higher rank than commander. Unsurprisingly, Shiro had the easiest time learning the intricacies that came with navigating kings and queens and the like. Lance’s natural charisma gave him a huge leg up, and Hunk was impossible not to like once you realized how kind he was.

Pidge and Keith, however, struggled when it came to social interaction. Pidge tended to have a difficult time relating to people when it wasn’t over something she was familiar with, and Keith had preferred being alone to having company for most of his life. The pair were generally prickly and acted as the wallflowers of the group, hovering around the edges of gatherings and only socializing when directly asked to do so. And given that they both had somewhat of a temper, that was usually for the best.

There were times when all five Paladins needed to attend events though, and there was no getting out of it. Those sorts of gatherings were rarely as fun as they sounded; there was almost no entertainment aside from music, and they couldn't even get inebriated because they needed to be constantly on the alert to any attacks that might occur. It was all brown-nosing and butt-kissing, faking smiles and acting like they cared about how much wealth their monarchy had accrued. But it came with the territory, and every part of team Voltron was aware of that fact, and of their roles to play in the intricate games of politics.

It was a gala that they had been dragged into this time, one that required dressing in formal clothes and mingling with the upper and ruling class citizens. Hiroca was an interesting planet, and the inhabitants would’ve looked exactly like humans and Alteans had it not been for the prehensile tails and the drastic colors of their skin and hair. Their skin tones ranged from ruby red to ocean blue, with no shortage of variances in hues across the board. The royal family, for instance, seemed to have blue skin all around that ranged from pale robin’s egg all the way to deep sapphire (although it was hard to say if that was exclusive to royalty or not, given the very restricted scope of Hirocans that had been permitted to attend). Pidge was wildly curious as to what environmental factors had caused such a wild and varied species. Unfortunately they were essentially confined to inside of the grand castle they are currently in; there would be no chance for her to slip outside and try to see just how bright this planet was.

Galas and other events that prohibited the Paladins from wearing their armor and demanded that they wear formal wear tended to grate on the Paladins- it felt awfully vulnerable to be outside of the Castle of Lions without armor on. In especially delicate political situations with strict dress codes, the Paladins tended to stick closer together at the cost of mingling less- it was better to be able to keep one another safe than to come across as standoffish. Months of living on edge and being prepared to be attacked at any time made it difficult to feel safe outside of their designated safe area. And the lack of maneuverability that Pidge had in her ridiculous cocktail dress and her god awful heels was particularly irksome to her- a fact which amused Lance to no end.

This particular celebration of proposed unity (“it’s a bit premature for a celebration, isn’t it? Before we have the details hammered out?” Hunk had asked beforehand. No one had a good answer for him, mostly because he was entirely correct) wasn’t an incredibly tense affair, so team Voltron was more dispersed than usual. Shiro and Allura were sitting down with the planet’s ruling monarch, Queen Lidea. Lance and Hunk had been roped into a conversation with a high ranking government official, and Keith was discussing the mechanics of their bayards with the planet’s head of military.

Pidge had managed to find a small, empty table on the outskirts of the ornate room, and was quietly munching on a plateful of nibbles that had been laid out. Her mind was light years away, flitting back and forth between plans for future battles, the most recent data she had collected on her brother’s potential whereabouts, and the fact that she had nothing on where her father might be.

She hadn’t been approached by anyone yet, and she was hopeful that the rest of the event could continue in such a way. Realistically she knew that wouldn’t be the case- there was no way in any universe that a Paladin of Voltron would go unnoticed (and un-annoyed) with this many high-ranking Hirocans around. So mentally, she adjusted her hopes to no one approaching her without someone from her team near her.

Of course, being the realistic human that she was, she wasn’t surprised when that hope fell through.

“You’re the Green Paladin, right?” The voice startled her out of her reverie, her head jerking around to see a pale blue alien who's entire body seemed to scream ‘privilege’; this was a person who had connections with people in high places. Pidge mentally prepared herself for the peacocking that was sure to follow, reminding herself that they were at a diplomatic event with some very important leaders from a potentially recruitable planet. Allura would be furious if Pidge risked that by insulting one of their hosts.

So rather than brushing him off outright, Pidge managed to offer up a polite smile and a nod before allowing her mind to return to the larger issue at hand than recruiting for the Alliance; creating a plan of what to do with the Alliance as it grew. ‘Topple the Galran empire’ was a good place to start, but there was really so much else to consider- in her opinion, events like these were simply distractions, taking away valuable time that could’ve been spent plotting. Honestly, any species out there would be foolish to not accept an invitation to the Voltron Alliance and the protection that came with it.

The Hirocan, however, seemed to have different ideas. “I’m Prince Calek. Third in line to the Crown. Meaning I can get away with quite a lot,” he added with a strange wink.

“That’s… cool? I’m Pidge. Er- Green Paladin is about the closest thing to a title I have.” She groaned internally when Calek pulled out a stool and sat down with her. It was probably too much to hope that, if he were to force his company on her, he would at least be engaging in something she was interested in. As it was, he wasn’t impressing her yet with his introduction and his sitting beside her without invitation. She sat back stiffly and glanced around, searching desperately for one of her fellow Paladins.

Before she even made a complete scan of the room, Hunk and Lance pulled up two chairs and planted themselves on either side of her at the round table. It was rather cramped- really, the table was more suited to a two-person arrangement- but Pidge was incredibly grateful to have them there. She smiled when they both scooted forward, effectively forcing the prince to shift backwards.

Aside from that, Calek didn’t seem interested in acknowledging the other two at all. After a brief scowl at Hunk and Lane, his gaze immediately locked back onto Pidge’s face. She had to resist the urge to squirm, instead choosing to ignore him and look over at Hunk. “So how are you two doing?”

“Pretty good. We just finished speaking with some… duke? I think their rank was comparable,” Hunk said with a shrug. “They had quite a few surprising opinions on arranged marriages.”

“Yeah, they kept asking how many of us were married. Then how many of us were engaged,” Lance added. “Then they told us just how great it would be to have their five kids married to Paladins. I think they were about thirty seconds away from putting rings on our fingers.”

“Yeah, we just couldn’t make them see that none of us are interested in anything of that sort. They really couldn’t take a hint.” It was like Hunk and Lance had rehearsed it. The only way they could have possibly been more clear was if they’d both screamed at Prince Calek to leave Pidge alone.

(Later Pidge would find out that they had, in fact, rehearsed it in the hopes that they could save her from the interaction she was so blatantly uncomfortable with.)

Whether the prince had picked up on the implications and was disregarding them or if he was just that dense, he ignored the other two Paladins and tried talking to Pidge again. “So Pidge, tell me about what it means to be the Green Paladin. Is it a physical role? I’m sure it requires some flexibility.”

“Actually Pidge,” Hunk chimed in over the prince, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about-”

“Why don’t you two go find somewhere else to be?” Calek interrupted loudly, his pleasant demeanor slipping just enough to reveal a spoiled prince unused to not getting his way. “I’ll bet between both of you, you can manage it. I would love to be able to discuss some of the more technical details of your resistance work with Pidge here- I’m sure it would be dreadfully boring for those of you who wouldn’t understand.”

Both Hunk and Lance reeled at the prince’s dismissal, and Lance even opened his mouth to say something. But then he caught Pidge’s eye and saw her subtle head shake- ‘it’s not worth making a scene. It’ll be fine.’ It was clear that Hunk picked up on it too when he grabbed Lance’s forearm and led him away.

“Pidge has got this man,” Hunk muttered to Lance, just loudly enough that Pidge could pick it up too. “We can keep an eye from a distance.”

Good. She wouldn’t be totally alone. Even if she had to navigate the conversation with Prince Calek alone, at least Lance and Hunk would be ready to swoop in if she really needed it. It was a comforting thought, and one that gave her the confidence to look back up at the prince with as pleasant an expression as she could muster. “They mean well, Prince Calek. Most of us on team Voltron weren’t raised around diplomatic undertakings like this one, and it’s a bit overwhelming for us.”

“Well, Green Paladin, I have to say I wouldn’t have guessed that from the way you handle yourself. You seem right at home in this sort of setting- like a princess ripe for the taking.”

Pidge’s jaw almost dropped. There was so much wrong with what he’d just said- firstly, if he thought she seemed right at home, then she would hate to see how awkward someone had to be for him to think they didn’t fit in. And secondly- ripe for the taking? Who the hell actually spoke like that? If she hadn’t felt desperately uncomfortable before, then she sure as shit did now. Suddenly she felt the overwhelming need to get away, propriety be damned. “Ah- erm, thank you, Prince Calek. It’s been… lovely, but I’m afraid I see-”

“Dance with me, Pidge.”

“Oh no, I can’t- I don’t know how-”

Suddenly his pale blue hand was on her upper arm and pulling her up to standing. “I insist! Come dance, it’ll be delightful.”

Well. Apparently she didn’t have a choice. Although her skin prickled unpleasantly where he touched her, she allowed herself to be pulled out to the dance floor and into surprisingly muscular arms. Unlike Shiro or Hunk- or any of the other Paladins- his muscles weren’t a comforting sort of strong. They felt horribly oppressive around her, like he was trying to trap and possess her.

This was a part of being a Paladin. Building bridges and forming alliances was crucial towards achieving their goal, and that’s what they were all here to do. The others were doing their part in securing this planet’s allegiance; maybe sucking up to some minor prince was her part. Steeling herself, she turned to face Prince Calek fully and took what she hoped was a subtle deep breath.

To her surprise, the deep breath seemed to help. She was able to summon a small but genuine smile. She’d never really danced with someone in any sort of a dignified fashion- the last time she had danced at all had been when she, Lance, Hunk and Keith had all decided they needed to unwind and just be kids, and that had included much more arm flailing and mock hip-shimmies. And even though they were keeping these moves simple, there was a pleasant grace that came with the slow rocking and spinning in time with the orchestra. The part of her that she still allowed to be girly (that she hadn’t let out all that often since her father and brother disappeared- on Earth, she couldn’t afford the risk of being caught, and in space she just felt silly trying to be feminine next to Allura) was preening at the idea that she was in a fancy dress and literally dancing with a prince. Like the end of every fairytale she’d ever heard of as a child.

Strangely, as they twirled together across the floor, she felt her anxiety start to lessen until all she could feel was a strange, almost elated sense of peace. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so utterly content- it would’ve been sometime before her father and brother went missing, that was for certain. A dopey grin began to spread across her face without her even considering it. The music rang out, settling around them like a comforting fog and completely silencing any objections Pidge might’ve had.

The ballroom and all its inhabitants were beginning to melt away into irrelevance, until they might as well have been alone for all she was aware. Her head tipped forward to rest on Prince Calek’s chest when the music changed to something even slower. The new lazy melody was perfectly suited for a simple swaying motion, which was for the best given that Pidge wasn't capable of giving any thought to moving her feet in any sort of intricate movement.

She was no longer on the alert and trying to look out for her team. There was no need; she wasn’t in danger and this was no longer an uncomfortable situation she needed rescue from. Far from it, in fact, she was so comfortable with the prince that she almost felt like she could fall asleep in his arms. It was like all her stressors had been leached away from her and left her without a care in the universe.

Everything was just perfect. There was nothing wrong that could reach her any more.

There was nothing wrong when Prince Calek took her hands and started guiding her away from the crowd and out of the ballroom entirely.

There was nothing wrong when he led her down several dark, unoccupied hallways and into an empty room full of dust and covered up furniture.

There was nothing wrong when he leaned down and brushed his lips against her neck. Nothing wrong when his hands started wandering down her body, brushing over her chest and settling low on her hips. Nothing wrong when he pulled her flush against his body and smashed his deep blue lips into hers. Nothing wrong with the way his tongue slipped in her mouth, with the hungry way he grabbed at her clothes and groped at her body, with the fact that she knew she didn’t want this but still felt perfectly happy to let it continue.

Pidge couldn’t fully understand her confusion, her odd conflicting emotions, but she didn’t feel upset about any of it, so she decided to simply ignore it. Floating through the beautiful haze of pure peace and happiness was irresistible- how could she not just allow whatever was happening around her to go on?

It was hard to tell how much time had passed- looking back later she’d know that it couldn’t’ve been that long- but she didn’t even notice when there was shouting from outside the room, or when the door quite literally exploded open. The blast was enough to rip the door from its hinges and throw it several feet into the room.

Calek’s head jerked up at the sudden intrusion, but continued to hold Pidge close to him with one arm wrapped around her waist and the other curled around her neck to tuck her face into his shoulder. If Pidge minded the change of pace, she didn’t show it in the slightest, sighing contentedly and relaxing into his side.

Then two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled.

Her eyes flew open in alarm at the sudden movement. The second she was tugged back, she felt the euphoria lessen. As much as she wanted to lurch back towards that wonderful, light feeling, just that one step away from it was enough to alert the back of her brain that something was wrong. Blinking rapidly, she craned her head up to see Shiro standing above her with his arms around her chest protectively. That was her first actual realization as her head started clearing- she had never seen a more furious look on Shiro’s face.

‘Shiro keeps me safe. If he’s holding me and looking that angry, then somethings wrong,’ was the first cognizant, fully-formed thought she’d had since she’d allowed herself to be dragged off to dance with the prince.

Gulping back the urge to return to Calek’s comforting grip, Pidge forced herself to take a step back towards Shiro. He drew her closer a moment and offered up a gentle, protective squeeze before carefully pushing her behind him. She clutched at the hem of his shirt like a lifeline until she noticed the rest of her team circling around her, each looking like they were ready to commit murder in the first degree. Keith and Lance both had their bayards out and pointed at the prince, Lance’s finger twitching eagerly against the trigger.

Her body nearly revolted with the effort to stumble back several more times until she was almost in the doorway beside Allura. The urge to run forward back to Calek was unbearable- she desperately wanted that peace back no matter the cost. A part of her wondered if this was what detoxing felt like. If it was, then she could understand why so many people would choose addiction over sobriety; it was utter hell.

A particularly pronounced shudder rippled down her back when she felt Allura’s arm across her shoulders, but she immediately felt herself soothed by the contact, like a spell had been broken. Maybe it was some odd, Altean magic the princess had used. Or maybe Allura just had a soothing presence, it really was impossible to say. Her stomach still rolled, and she still felt the remains of her earlier euphoria tugging at her and wailing to return to the prince, but it no longer felt like she was having to fight against her entire being for it.

Pidge looked back up at Calek in horror and felt her skin crawl when she saw the look on his face. There was no guilt, no humiliation or panic, or any other emotion one might expect to find in a rational person in his situation. He just looked… irritated. Like them walking in was a mild inconvenience and not an interruption to an assault. She shuddered and turned to hide in Allura’s side. The Altean’s arms remained firmly around Pidge as she backed the pair of them up to stand in the doorway while Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Keith all placed themselves protectively in between Pidge and the alien.

Pidge found herself feeling more nauseated each second that went by. Her body had started trembling at some point as the reality of what had happened- of what had almost happened- washed over her. “Allura, I need to go. I- I just can’t be here. Please. P-please, I’m gonna be-”

Allura gently stroked her hair back and shushed her. “Okay, Pidge. It’s alright, we can go back to the Castle. Come with me.”

The Altean gladly escorted Pidge away from Calek, away from the party. Neither girl bothered to try and listen when shouts and threats almost immediately began to sound from the room they’d left. Pidge had to stop several feet down the hallway after they’d left to gag as her stomach attempted to clear the body of trauma- luckily she hadn’t eaten enough of anything recently to actually produce any vomit, so she was just left dry heaving. Allura waited patiently for the moment to pass before continuing to lead Pidge to the safety of their Castle, keeping her arm sturdily around her shoulders the whole way there. It wasn’t until they’d passed into the bridge of the ship that Pidge spoke again slowly. “He was a prince.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Allura replied immediately. “He does not have the right to just-”

“I know he doesn’t. I mean he won’t face any consequences. He’s going to get away with it.” Pidge’s expression was growing difficult to read as she reached some sort of realization in her mind.

“What?” Allura asked, despite the creeping sensation she had that she knew what Pidge was saying.

“He was bragging before- before all that. He said- fuck, Allura, he fucking told me that he gets away with things! He told me, and I still-!” One of Pidge’s hands slid up to grab at her hair while her other curled defensively around her chest. Her eyes were wide and furious, and Allura was concerned that she would have to physically stop Pidge from returning to the planet and murdering Prince Calek, no matter how much he deserved it. “Did he drug me?!”

Allura shook her head, her gaze fixed on Pidge as the smaller girl started twisting her torso side-to-side in front of her. “Not exactly. Some Hirocans can choose to emit a kind of pheromone that reacts rather strongly with… well, I suppose with other life forms’ chemical signatures. Like yours and mine.”

That made Pidge stiffen. “Yours?”

“Yes. That’s why I remained further back than the boys.”

“Did you know?”

“Not at first,” Allura said quickly, picking up on the rising anger in Pidge’s tone. “You remember that Coran elected to remain on the ship to monitor communications? He did some researching on this planet and the inhabitants while we were gone. After he found that, he reached out to us, and by then you had disappeared. Lance and Hunk had taken note of Prince Calek’s interest in you, and they alerted Shiro as soon as you two were on the dance floor. The boys were all keeping an eye on you when… well, when I approached them to share what Coran had told me. Unfortunately the prince used that time to- er, abduct you.”

While the Green Paladin seemed to accept that explanation, she still didn’t stop her erratic movement. The rocking had turned to pacing, like her body had more nervous energy than it knew what to do with. For her part, the princess just sat back and allowed Pidge to get it out without interruption, all while wondering what actions the others were taking back on the planet. She wasn’t really sure what she was hoping for; on one hand, the planet would’ve been an asset in the Voltron Alliance. On the other hand… well, the other hand was one of her closest friends in the universe in a great deal of pain and upset who looked like she was ready to burn the planet to its core. It was incredibly difficult to care about the Alliance with Pidge on the edge of a breakdown right in front of her.

When she finally seemed to run out of steam, Pidge dropped down on the floor in front of Allura quietly. She leaned back until her shoulders were against Allura’s knees. Although the older girl couldn’t see her face, she could imagine the distant expression that Pidge was wearing, staring blankly ahead at nothing. “Allura, how am I supposed to react to this? What am I supposed to feel?”

“I don’t know that there is a right way, Pidge,” the princess said slowly, starting to pet Pidge’s hair once again. “There are so many emotions to feel around it, it wouldn’t be reasonable to try and assume a single one is the right one to focus on.”

“I don’t know what all I’m feeling. This isn’t something that happens to me- people don’t notice me for my looks! How the fuck am I supposed to react when the first time it happens is when some prince tries to- I don’t even know what he was going to do if you hadn’t shown up when you did! And I was going to let him!” Pidge’s head fell back onto Allura’s lap, but her honey eyes were closed and her entire face was screwed up in distress.

“Do you think it might help if I told you how I’m feeling?” Allura offered. When Pidge’s eyes opened and met Allura’s, the Altean took a deep breath before speaking again. “I was so scared when I realized you were gone- we didn’t know what he might be doing to you either. I was- am angry that he was taking advantage of you, and that you’re right in saying he might not face any consequences.” As she spoke, Allura allowed her nails to gently scratch at Pidge’s scalp. “But… I am also incredibly relieved. I’m so glad that we found you when we did, before it could go any further.”

Pidge nodded again after Allura fell silent. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words came out, four humans and another Altean all came sprinting through the door and into the room. Keith was the fastest, and before either girl had the opportunity to even realize what was happening, he was in front of Pidge and pulling her to her feet and into his arms. She was just able to fully register that Keith was hugging her when Hunk barreled into them and scooped her and Keith both off their feet in a hug. Lance was hot on his tail, throwing his arms around the three of them.

“Pidge, we were so scared-”

“-didn't know where you were-”

“-we thought he-”

“- was going to kill him-”

“Guys,” Shiro said loudly above the other boys. “Back off and calm down. Pidge, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

She blinked as she was set down, her head spinning at the sudden onslaught of concern. Rationally, she’d known that they all cared about her, and were all protective over her, but this- this was more of a reaction than she would have ever expected. Hunk, yeah, he was a worrier who wore his emotions on his sleeves. Lance- well, he was prone to dramatics, but he was never especially emotional about things. And Keith- honestly, she probably should’ve anticipated it from Keith the most. The boy had grown up without much in the way of connections with other humans; of course he would react passionately to anyone he was remotely close to going through something traumatic.

Then there was Shiro. A closer look at him was all Pidge needed to see just how anxious he was. His eyes scanned her over intently, making sure she was physically unharmed before finally settling on her face. The worry pouring off of him was damn near suffocating.

She wanted to tell them she was fine. Unfortunately, all that came out when she opened her mouth to say so was a heart-wrenching choking noise. She wasn’t crying. She wasn't. She was just… completely overwhelmed, surrounded by people who loved her and wanted to keep her safe. It felt good and warm and welcome after the violent shock to her system that she had just experienced. All she could really do was nod meekly at Shiro’s question that had technically warranted more than a yes or no answer.

He seemed to accept it anyways, apparently relieved by what he saw in her eyes. There was still that strong resilience that he’d come to recognize in the Holt family in her eyes, even if she was shaken up. It was something that she would come back from, probably sooner rather than later.

“What… um, what happened? With Prince Calek?” Pidge finally asked hesitantly after a brief uneasy silence. She wasn’t actually sure that she wanted to know, and she didn’t know what would be worse- had her fellow Paladins harmed (or killed) him, or was he going to get away with it? And the way all their expressions darkened didn’t offer any clues as to what had gone down.

“Well, he’s not looking very good right now,” Keith grumbled. “Some nasty cuts and bruises, and Lance managed to kneecap him. But Shiro stopped us before we could do any permanent damage.”

“Kneecapping isn’t permanent?”

“He will be standing trial and punished. Queen Lidea promised us that. It sounded like she valued the prospect of being a part of our resistance efforts more than her third child,” said Shiro, brushing over her question. “Probably wanting our protection more than anything. Coran went down to act as a liaison and to make sure that she follows through. What do you think, Pidge? Should we include them, or not?”

Pidge blinked, looking startled by the question. “I… why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re the one who was put through this,” Shiro answered simply. “If you don’t feel safe around the Hirocans, then none of us are going to force your hand. We don’t need them.”

The Green Paladin inhaled deeply, then shook her head. “We don’t. But they need us. We can’t risk dooming an entire planet based on the actions of one individual. That’s not fair. I’d rather keep my distance from them, personally, but we should offer them protection, like we do anywhere else.”

Several of her fellow Paladins made faces, like they found her decision distasteful, but ultimately none of them said anything to the contrary. If Pidge was strong enough to put her emotions around this aside quite literally for the greater good, then they all could be too.

“Alright then,” Allura said, flashing her youngest Paladin a small, proud smile, “we should get in contact with the queen and discuss terms. We will require proof that her son is held accountable for his actions, in exchange for us protecting them from further Galra invasion. Nobody loses.”

“Except Prince Calek,” Hunk chimed in chipperly.

“Nobody who matters loses then.”

Pidge snorted at Lance’s snark appreciatively. The show of support from all of them was almost enough to overwhelm her again- they would have been willing to allow an entire planet to face and likely fall to the Galra Empire just because she had been slighted by a member of its population. There was really no way she could doubt her importance to them anymore.

“Thank you all. I- you guys really saved me there, and I appreciate it.” Pidge cleared her throat awkwardly, refusing to look away from where her team was gathered in front of her. They deserved her attention as she said this, it was only fair.

“Of course, Pidge,” Shiro replied. “You don’t have to thank us. As long as we’re around, we won’t let anything happen to you. Paladin’s honor.”

Although she wouldn’t admit it, it did wonders for her to hear that out loud. It was one thing to know rationally that something was true; it was a whole other thing to know something through to your core to be true. When Shiro had the evidence, it was infinitely easier to know that they really were looking out for her. It was like having a team full of older brothers, each more than willing to go to bat for her. And really, she couldn’t ask for any more than that.