The Touch of Family

His eyelids drooped to the sound of her non-stop tapping, the constant typing of computer keys.

Before, this sound used to drive him up the walls, he couldn't stand it. It was even so bad that he'd have to leave the room but now... Lance had come to tolerate it. He'd come to withstand it. Now it was a constant reminder of the company he shared. He couldn't go on without it, he needed it.

A soft grunt left him as he nuzzled deeper into Pidge's stomach, causing the tapping of keys to stutter and paused, when he settled they quickly resumed. He hummed, feeling a faint bout of satisfaction and content with being with her. This wasn't the first time he'd cuddled up to Pidge whilst she was in the midst of one of her projects.

The first time he had approached the girl, the little gremlin had straight up snarled and hissed at him. He backed off but over time, he'd come back and pester and pester until finally, she let him stay but he couldn't touch her. Yet. Lance had learned from the get-go that Pidge was not a touchy person but indeed, he changed that too and had managed to successfully upgrade from sneakingly peeking over her shoulder to full out dozing in her lap.

Talk about character development. (insert wink here)

He smiled lazily, his eyelids fully closing now as the tapping faded into the background and he welcomed darkness as he listened to the soft, rumbling gurgles of her stomach and the smoothing, rhythmic thumping of her heart. Sleep came easily.

Talk about a feat being accomplished.

Ariesa caressed his face, Lance hummed shifting slightly. Small, warm fingers lingered over his cheek down to his chin and then back up again. He shuddered, a soft groan coming from him as they drifted over his eyebrows then down, past his eyes and rested above his cheek bone.

"Ariesa..." The name fell so easily from his lips as he gently took the hand that was stroking his face and brought it to his mouth, "Ariesa..." He mumbled her name once more, his eyes opening to slits as he took in the girl above him. She was staring down at him with wide eyes, her face small and petite. He smiled up dreamily at her and then, his breath hitched as a sudden pain bloomed behind his ribs and tears immediately welled up in his eyes. A sense of loss overwhelming him.

He reached up with his other free hand and caressed the side of her face as he let the tears fall.

"Ariesa... I miss you... I miss you so much," The girl's breath hitched and a tremble ran through her body, he frowned slightly. Why wasn't she saying anything, usually his head was filled with her constant chatter but this silence was new. And it was horrifying.

He then gasped, his grip on her hand becoming tighter as he struggled to wake himself up, to clear his mind, "Why are you here?"

He was in space, so why was his sister here, cradling him and stroking his face? Why wasn't she saying anything? Why did she look so different and so scared, "You shouldn't be here," She shook her head at him, her eyes getting wider, he faintly registered that it was becoming harder to breath, "No, no, you should be at home, you should be with mama, dios, why are you here?"

Was that his voice? Why did he sound so broken, so sad?

"You shouldn't be with me, we're in space," He shook his head, feeling more tears slip from his eyes and the trembling increased, was it him or was it her? He didn't know, all he knew was that she wasn't supposed to be there.

"Lance..."

He gasped as she said his name, why was her voice different? Why did she sound so scared? Why did she feel so tense? He shook his head again, shushing her, "No, no, Ariesa... Ariesa go home, go home..." He kissed the hand at his lips, lightly pecking the knuckles and the tips, he caressed her creases with his fingers, hoping that she'd feel his urgency and desperation, "Space is cold, it is empty, there are things out here... please go home, you shouldn't be here." Distantly, he heard someone sobbing, the sounds were soft but choked and raw. It wasn't Ariesa, so who was it? The girl in question only looked at him terrified, frozen and now that he looked at her, she looked different.