He could feel it in his gut.
Hunk's gut was rarely wrong.
Groaning, eyes slowly opened and he reluctantly shoved his blanket off to the side. He yawned in the process of sitting up from his sleeping position. Hunk expected to take his sweet time getting up this morning as the Castle did not seem to be under attack at the moment.
He could use it, with the growing feeling of nerves in his stomach. It wasn't the hungry sort of pain - although he was that as well. The ache tingled and spread out down to his fingers and toes. It was distinctly different than his 'something is wrong with this picture' feeling, one that he was aware came but once a year without fail.
His birthday. It coincided with the rainiest and longest days of the year back home. It wasn't always on the exact day, but usually by the following week the most depressing conditions of the year were upon him. The sun may have been out longer, but nine times out of ten it was ruined by overcast skies and a better than decent chance of rain.
So Hunk had always assumed his aches and pains were weather induced. His papi had lived with the same issue, something no one ever gave a second thought to. The two were not the first in the family to get strange side effects from changes in weather and probably wouldn't be the last. It rained frequently at home, a stark contrast to the desert where he had been going to school.
Hunk's though, only seemed to occur around his birthday, and it was usually raining on his birthday.
He'd forgotten about it actually. Somewhere between being kidnapped by a sentient mechanical cat-spaceship and defending the universe, it didn't seem possible for an Earth weather related ache to bother him light years away from home.
But his body was telling him otherwise.
This meant that his birthday had come and gone within the past week. They didn't have any sort of way to tell what the date was back on Earth, but Hunk had never been so sure of anything in his life.
Except perhaps on the correct way to bake a sugar cookie, one always made it with sour cream, but that was an entirely different matter.
The others would have to rely on food goo this morning. He was too nauseous to be able to cook at the moment - a fact he cursed every year. He would have to find something else to occupy himself until he felt better.
Lance was the one who finally found him in the Yellow Lion's bay.
Hunk lay on his back, safety goggles on and sprawled out under an open panel on his lion's underbelly.
"...huh...so that's where you've been hiding it? Buddy, you could have just told me where it was instead of being all secretive about it." A long pause. "Yeah I don't care what Green tells you, curiosity can and does in fact lead to death. Especially for a cat."
Lance raised an eyebrow and casually rested an elbow on Yellow's giant foreclaw and the other on his hip. "I was wondering what it was that made you miss breakfast," he opened casually.
Alarmed at the sudden inquiry, Hunk sat up too quickly and knocked his head against the loose panel. "Owww, Lance you gotta stop doing that man," he complained, moving the goggles off his eyes and rubbing the top of his head in an attempt to soothe the sudden blow.
Lance further made himself comfortable, leaning forward with both elbows now on the Yellow Lion's claw. He sported an examining and thoughtful look, tinged with just a bit of worry. "You didn't show up for breakfast, " he stated. "It freaked everyone out. It freaked me out. You never miss a meal. You're the one always making up excuses to have a snack."
Hunk was not impressed. "Hey, Allura and Coran adore tea time and my cookies. And elevenses too."
"You took that from a movie!" Lance said, pointing an accusing finger.
Hunk smirked. "Real life thing, and you mean book anyway."
Lance glared. "That still doesn't explain why you missed breakfast. I mean, are you sick or something?" he pressed, real worry creeping onto his face.
"Naw, I'm fine. Well, mostly," he corrected on second thought. "I have a bit of stomach pain. It's usually gone by lunch though."
Lance frowned. "Healing pod worthy pain? Or like getting the flu shot prick?"
"Like getting a prick in the side of my stomach every two seconds" Hunk said immediately, displaying the correct number with his fingers. "Always happens around my birthday and I can't stomach to eat anything until later in the day. It's the worst." His face fell accordingly.
"Wait...it's your birthday?" Lance asked, genuinely surprised and curious.
Hunk blinked in slight confusion. "Yeah, don't you remember last year when…" realization dawned upon him. "Oooh. Right. You weren't around for my birthday last year because of pilot survival training.
Lance shivered at the reminder. "Worst two weeks of my life. Thanks for the memories, Hunk," he glared accusingly. "How do you even know it's your birthday? It's not like we can just check a calendar."
"Because this always happens within, like, a week or two of my birthday. I always thought it was the weather, 'cause my papi would get it before a big rain, and before a big cyclone his mother would get little corn holes on her fe-"
"Okay okay, you can stop now that's gross," Lance interrupted hurriedly. "So you're not hungry - wow that's weird - and you have a sixth sense for when your birthday is."
Hunk shrugged. "Yeah. I mean. I guess. I always thought it was the weather. But we're in space, man, nowhere near Earth. Yellow here doesn't seem to have any answers about it either."
Lance's eyes had been slowly working themselves up into a sparkle of joy and mischief. He practically pranced in his spot. "This is great! We have a reason for a party!"
"Hm, that would be pretty cool," Hunk admitted with a smile. "I wonder what Alteans did for birthday parties?" He gasped. "Or Galra! We could ask Kolivan. We could surprise Keith with something Galra-ish when it's his turn."
A bit more sheepishly than his normal behavior, Lance glanced towards the door to the hanger. "I get the feeling Keith is still a little uncomfortable about the whole thing. I'm not sure it's the best idea."
Hunk frowned. Lance had a good point. "Why do I get the vibe that he's never celebrated a birthday before? Remind me to corner him about it later."
"Done and done," Lance promised. "So what can I do for you, birthday man?"
"I gotta stay here and keep my hands busy, otherwise I'll go mad from not having breakfast. Yellow's helping me out." Hunk gave his lion a friendly pat on the belly, to which it purred deeply in his mind. "Just tell everybody I'll be okay. I'll bravely suffer the lack of food until it goes away."
Lance grinned, a smug look on his face. "I'll nab Coran's precious meat thermometer for you."
Less than two seconds Hunk had him in a crushing hug with tears streaming down his face. "You are the best friend a guy could ask for."
By the time Hunk was able to handle being close to the kitchen, it was well into afternoon Castle-time. Starving by now, he took a plate over to the food goo machine to dispense some nourishment. With a tired but relieved smile he pressed down on the lever to let the bland sustenance flow freely.
He frowned when it didn't happen.
Frantically he tried again. Then several times in quick succession. "Ooooh, no no no, not again," he whispered in fear.
His worst nightmare was about to become reality. Again.
"Are...you okay?" The quiet and calm voice came from Keith, who was standing in the door in his new Blade of Marmora uniform. His hair was much more flat than usual, and had Hunk not been on the verge of a mental breakdown, he might have realized Keith had recently come from a session on the training deck.
"Keith! I have never been so happy to see you! The food goo machine isn't working. I haven't eaten all day. I need help!"
The former paladin said nothing for several moments. He stared blankly at first Hunk, then the food goo nozzle, then back to Hunk. He shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe...ask Pidge?" he guessed.
"I don't know where Pidge is," Hunk said a little too quickly, panic quickly settling in on top of his now dull body aches. "I think I can fix it if I can get behind the panel. I need your knife."
Keith seemed to be caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
"It's made of like, super rare and strong material right? I think it's the only thing that can get past the welding."
Keith took stock of the situation before nodding. "I think I can get it open. Get ready to catch." He wedged his knife between panels in the wall and with a few twists and a great heave, the wall came loose.
There, the reality of the situation was clear. Nothing was wrong with the machine itself, not mechanically anyway.
Platt had somehow figured out a way behind the wall and had chewed through the tubing, disrupting the flow of food goo and depositing it right into the mouse's mouth. Currently it lay on it's back, too full to move anywhere else. The yellow alien burped loudly in response to the paladin stares.
"Okay," Keith said after a while. If Hunk wasn't hearing things, the other boy sounded almost exasperated. "Let's get you back to Allura." He gently cupped the mouse in his hands before giving Hunk a small, apologetic smile. "I don't think I'll be much help fixing that. I can get this little guy out of the way though."
Keith's calm radiated outward and Hunk couldn't help but also breath easier. "Yeah, this won't take too long to fix, I know where the replacement parts are. Thanks for your help, man. You're the best." A tight hug was in order.
Keith didn't resist, used to the spontaneous Hunk-hugs by this point. A genuine smile graced his features. "No problem. I hope the rest of your birthday is better."
Hunk raised a suspicious eyebrow. "I'm not surprised. How long did it take Lance to spill the beans?"
"He came back singing 'Happy Birthday' in Spanish."
Hunk was even less surprised.
The food goo machine needed time to reset with the new parts, so Hunk had to figure out something else for dinner. Their fresh food stores were a bit low and a shopping trip was well past due anyway. Hunk decided as long as he was out, he was going to get ingredients for a cake. The others would enjoy it just as much and it would add to the growing list of 'Earth foods the Alteans have tried'.
If he wanted to get the ingredients and bake the cake before the next sleep cycle, he had to go now. He was also beyond hungry. Worst day ever, Weblum and being attacked by food besides.
"There are plenty of grass fields on Raonde Seven. It was a farming colony back in the day," Coran explained with pride. "Although the fresh just can't compare to the synthetic threads of the Plentserian loaf! You had to burn it if you wanted any flavor. I could make one for your day of birth celebration!"
Hunk stood with mouth agape. "Uh, thanks, but no need. You sure this place is still farming? I need the flour, but it has been ten thousand years."
Coran waved him off. "Those fields had enough nutrients to carry on twice as long! Take Pidge with you, she could use the fresh air, I think."
A half a varga later Hunk piloted one of the pods down to the surface of Raonde Seven. One grumpy passenger sat next to him.
"I can already feel the sneezes coming," Pidge complained. "Farm animals, hay, pollen everywhere…"
Hunk became a bit worried when he noticed her eyes definitely getting more red around the edges "You can stay in the pod if you want. I know what I'm looking for."
Pidge sighed heavily. "No, I do actually need something here. The GPS devices the Raondians have on their farming equipment is second to none. I'm hoping to take some data back to the Castle to see if we can find some use for it."
A comfortable silence settled in between the two. No sooner than it had, it was pierced by a loud rumbling sound.
Hunk flushed, as he set a hand on his stomach. "Urgh, sorry Pidge. I hope there's a restaurant down there."
The green paladin smirked. "I don't think that one was your stomach, Hunk." Leaning forward, she pressed a button on the comm unit. "Stop banging on the door. You're going to ruin the pod and Coran is going to make you fix it."
"Let me up front!" came Lance's voice. "This isn't fair!"
"Calling shotgun before we even get to the hanger is what's unfair. You can sit in the back," Hunk said, still plenty salty about the Space Mall trip.
"You said you were bored. You said you didn't care what you had to do to get off the Castle for a few hours," Pidge continued.
"You both suck," Lance complained, not truly meaning it. His teammates didn't have to see him to visualize Lance crossing his arms and huffing - ready to milk sympathy for all it was worth.
Unfortunately his Garrison teammates were least likely of all to give him any.
"How long is he gonna pretend to pout?" Pidge asked after a while.
"Oh, he could go on for days," Hunk said a bit worriedly. "He once put on the act for a whole month in Physics after Professor Montgomery didn't give the class the extra credit she'd promised us at the beginning of the year. She'd said it as a joke, but he was so pitiful she actually gave in. He won't today though, because we are using this day as my unofficial birthday and he's my best friend," he finished with a tone of certainty.
Pidge smiled warmly. "We'll get you that cake, Hunk. I promise."
Hunk smiled, his heart warmed, and tears threatened to fill his eyes. A Holt promise was as good as the sun rising. After all, she'd found her brother in the middle of the entire universe after one such promise.
He'd have hugged her, but flying the ship came first.
Lance refused to speak when they had all exited the ship. His arms crossed, he glared at his science inclined friends and dared them to speak first.
Pidge was not going to give him the satisfaction. "I'm going to check out the local tech. I'll see you two in a varga?"
Hunk would have let Lance pilot if the temptation for payback hadn't been so strong. Instead he had less than gracefully landed the pod in a field outside of the largest population center that Pidge had been able to find.
Only ten bio signatures had been detected, confirmed as they stood at the threshold of could barely be considered a village. There was a large barn that looked as if it were undergoing a renovation, metal sides lined building with a few areas still showing a more original looking wood finish. A smaller metal building stood next to the barn, itself with dozens of large mechanical parts littered around it. Lastly a few residential looking domes lined the other side of a dirt road.
The rest of the area was surrounded by farmland, much how Coran had described it. To Hunk's delight, the main crop of the area looked like it could pass for a strain of wheat - although a instead of a pure golden hue they had a metallic rusty shine here thanks to increased amounts of iron in the atmosphere. It helped to hide the pod from anyone casually looking in its direction.
The fields of the red and gold grain stretched out as far as he could see. Trees were few and far between, but offered a bit more height to the otherwise flat landscape.
Hunk hoped that one of the homes in the settlement would have some flour. There were no animals in sight though. His search for regular sized eggs would have to continue another day. Everyone was so sadly conditioned to food goo that no one would bat an eye if he used it as an egg substitute.
Food goo was surprisingly (or perhaps not, if he thought about it) full of protein.
A faint scent in the air caught Hunk's attention. "Is...is that what I think it is?"
Pidge had already run off, practically bounding over to the building surrounded by engines, broken robots, and old tractor like machines. Lance raised an eyebrow, still putting on his pout routine, but willing to entertain a question.
Hunk's eyes widened, suddenly quite aware of the hunger pains he continued to feel. "Someone's cooking. That means they have ingredients to cook with. And maaaaybe they wouldn't mind sharing some of the finished product with a fan."
"Go ahead. I'm not moving from the ship. Shotgun is gonna be mine on the way back," Lance said firmly.
"We're on an alien planet, near a town that looks like it would fit into an old Western. And you just want to stay with the ship?" Hunk narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who are you and what have you done with Lance?"
Even as Hunk spelled out the facts, Lance's mouth twitched up to an excited grin and his cool demeanor was gone as if it had never been there in the first place. "I'm gonna go explore, see you in a varga!"
Before Hunk could speak again, Lance was already well on his way to check out the large barn that was adjacent to the machine shop.
"Okay, Hunk, breath." He afforded himself a deep one. "See if any of the nice locals will share."
Deciding to follow his nose to the source of whatever delicious smelling dish was being cooked, he was led to the nearest residential looking dwelling. He knocked at the circular door, confident that once he explained he was part of Voltron and an overall nice guy, he'd hit it off with the homeowners just like all the other aliens he'd met.
The door opened and child answered. Big yellow eyes looked up at Hunk in complete awe. Triangular ears perked up upon seeing the visitor. A tiny purple claw pointed up at him. "Wow," she gaped. "You look just like one of the aliens from the Voltron Show!"
Because of course the Galra would be watching the galactic broadcasts.
Hunk had gotten a lot better at controlling his anxiety since living in outer space. That control was being severely tested here. A Galra child meant that there were Galra adults around. Galra adults who likely could figure out exactly who he was.
Lance and Pidge had no idea.
None of them had brought their armor, or their bayards.
"Oh. no," he breathed. He took an unintentional step back.
The child mirrored Hunk's fear, but not for the same reason. "Hey, don't go! I've never seen an alien up close before."
Against what his brain was telling him, which was to get his friends and get off this planet, Hunk did as the child said and froze in place. But there was no weapon in sight. This was clearly a kid, a tween if he had to guess an approximate age. His imaginative brain did it's job and distracted him from the immediate threat, as it had a tendency to do.
"Wait. you've never seen an alien before?" His body visibly relaxed as his face drew into a more confused expression. "But you live in space. How can you have not seen an alien before?"
The child returned his look in kind. "...be...because I live on this planet? I mean of course I've seen aliens before," she said, as if it were obvious. Hunk could have sworn he saw sparkles coming from her eyes. "But never in the flesh!"
"But I'm not an alien," Hunk said automatically, and without thinking.
The kid looked at him as if he had grown a third eye. "Yeah you are." She looked around him and must have spotted the pod. "You're the one who came in a spaceship. I don't even own one of those."
There was brief silence. "Oh quiznack." Hunk's eye widened and he looked down at his hands. "I'm the alien. Keith is less alien than me." Tears began to stream down his face. "Iamsuchaterriblefriendican'tbelieveitriedtoseeifhisskinwaspurple!"
The child raised an eyebrow. "Um. I have no idea what you're talking about." Pause. "Do you wanna come inside?" she asked with uncertainty. Hunk's stomach growled loudly, making her hair stand on end and jump back at the suddenness. She straightened back up upon realizing the cause. "I made stew if you're hungry."
She quickly found herself engulfed in a tight, warm, friendly hug. "I love you," he said with tears still in his eyes.
She smiled despite the closeness. "You're pretty weird, but I think I like you too."
"This is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten," Hunk declared once he was sufficiently full. Relief filled his voice. "Thank you."
The child beamed, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat across from him at a table. "It's my father's recipe," she declared. "Everyone loves it. And now I know aliens like it too!" She was fidgety and sporting a huge grin that only a child could. Hunk felt like she would fly off her seat at any moment. "So can I ask you questions now? About being alien?"
Hunk gave her a slightly exasperated look before changing to a friendly smile. "My name's Hunk. I'm from a planet called Earth. And uh," he struggled to find the perfect thing. The thing that would complete the all important three point introduction that would condense his very being into a nutshell. "I love burritos."
Well, when one has a sudden lack of profound thoughts, the favorite food would do perfectly well.
"I have no idea what that is, but I'd love to try it! I'm Keprin!" she said proudly, pointing at herself with the thumb. She smirked, and her fists clenched with excitement. "My friends are gonna be sooo jealous I got to hang out with an alien." Quicker than an instant she was standing to his left. "Are you actually an alien from the Voltron Show? You look just like the funny guy. Hank? Hump?" She shrugged and moved behind Hunk's chair to stand at his right, looking over every inch of him with scrutiny. "Do all earthlings look like you? Is it nearby? What do you do on your planet? Do you even have a job? What do you send to the Empire? Do you have flaming rocks that fall from the sky?" Keprin rattled off before Hunk could properly answer.
Hunk blinked, gobsmacked. "Wow," he declared. These were indeed several loaded and actually relevant questions that Hunk realized his team should probably have a fake answer to. "Well, for one thing, I, am a gourmand," he finished proudly.
"...what's that?" she asked, a single eyebrow raised in confusion. This was clearly not what she had in mind for 'awesome things that aliens did'.
"It means I'm always in search of good food," he explained, a genuine smile on his face. "I've tasted a lot of delightful and deserving dishes across the universe. So believe me when I say your dad's recipe is literally one of the best things I've ever eaten. And that includes my mom's homemade burrito." Pause "I mean, they're not really burritos. They're deconstructed? But they have beans, and rice, and everything else you need for a burrito, they just aren't wrapped up because my mom doesn't really like carbs."
"Woah." She stared, mouth agape. "So you taste things for the Empire?" she asked quizzically.
"Earth isn't part of the Galra Empire. Never has been. We're a free planet."
If anything Keprin looked even more astounded. "How can you not be a part of the Empire? Everything is. Even the planets Voltron takes used to be part of the Empire."
"Earth is, Uh, kinda in the middle of nowhere," Hunk said, unsure of really why the Galra hadn't attacked Earth yet.
Unless they were doing so right now while Voltron was liberating everyone else. Hunk shook his head wildly, as if the physical action would alleviate his growing panic.
"Oh," Keprin said in understanding, but thick with disappointment. "Earth is a backwater planet with no useful resources. Father always used to say there were independent planets, but that's not what they say in school."
Hunk frowned. "You were hoping to prove him right, huh?" She nodded in confirmation. "Well, your dad doesn't seem like a bad guy if he likes to cook. Maybe we can be friends?"
Keprin went sullen at the question. "Father died a few months ago. I'm the only one who lives here." She got up at that point, and began to walk over to the icebox.
Hunk felt just awful and quickly followed her over. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't - " His apology was interrupted as the child easily lifted a piece of meat taller than herself and plopped it into his arms. It was far heavier than it looked and he nearly dropped it. "You're kinda young to be living on your own?"
"I am old enough to be at the military academy if I wanted to be," she huffed, but then frowned again. "I miss him for sure. But every time I cook, it calms me and makes me feel better. So as soon as I think about him I just, start working in the kitchen. It kinda feels like he's still with me." She shrugged, blushing a bit, and handed him some thick stems with dark brown leaves. "It's silly, I know. But it's all I have left of him besides his knife."
Hunk had only known this child for ten minutes and he was already prepared to do anything for her, Galra or not. He knew this even before she took a knife from its sheath and placed in on the counter, clearly about to use it for cutting the meant.
Hunk did not think the Blade of Marmora would appreciate knowing that one of their blades was being used as a kitchen utensil. At least her curiosity towards non Galra now made some sense.
"I know what you mean," he said, to Keprin's surprise. He would bring up the significance of the blade later. "I cook with my mom a lot. And when my papi was still alive, I'd bake with him all the time. So, being away from home, it does feel like they're still with me when I'm working with food." He held up the plant. "So, what do I do with this?"
Keprin smiled widely, clearly having a great time already with good company. "That's a cerrent plant. The leaves are useless. You can put them in the fire kindling. We have to cook the plant whole in the pot to give the stew it's flavor. It was Father's super secret ingredient. If you're okay with helping me make some more?"
"I would be honored to take part in cooking a masterpiece," he said genuinely. Hunk then switched focus to regard the plant with a scrutinizing eye. Useless? That might as well have been a challenge, and the prospect of new alien flavors was enticing. "Are the leaves poisonous or anything?"
"No," Keprin said with a shake of the head, sticking out her tongue in disgust. "At least not for Galra. It just tastes really bad."
She hadn't yet finished her explanation when Hunk gave it a taste. He nearly died. Not from poison, but from shock. He took another small bite and tears tried to poke free. "It's….it's cocoa…it's space cocoa!"
"Cocoa?" Keprin tilted her head to the side, a clear confused look on her face at the foreign word. "What's that?"
"The first stage of chocolate, the most delicious sweet ever. Oh man. I am going to teach you how to make it, and you'll never use it for kindling again."
She stared at him in awe.
"What? Do I have something on my face? Did eating that stew make me grow an extra finger?" He frantically looked at his hands just in case.
"No but. You're awesome. Nothing like what Commander Yerk says aliens are," Keprin said with a huge smile on her face.
Hunk froze. "Commander?" This was new information. This was bad information. Panic began it's predictive rise. "Please tell me here's not here. Right now?"
She nodded slowly, not comprehending his fear. "Yeah? This is a military outpost. It only gets farmed by the robots once a year. Father was the unit's chef. I took over his duties when he died."
"Oh quiznack," Hunk fretted. "Two of my friends are out there and they will be in huge trouble if they're found." A part of Hunk was actually really disappointed. He wanted to spend some time here, learn a new recipe, and hang out with a new friend.
But his very best friends' lives were on the line.
Keprin set down the mixing bowl she had been planning on using. "We're not gonna get to cook, are we? You're actually a rebel."
"I'm really sorry. I actually came here for flour, so cross my heart and believe me I really want to hang out. Maybe I can come back after Voltron saves the universe. Then you won't have to deal with Yerk anymore."
Her ears folded back, clearly in thought. "Father would have been so excited about an alien liking his cooking, too." She took a deep breath. "He didn't like Commander Yerk either." She steeled herself and gave Hunk the most serious expression a child could offer. "I'm going to help you."
"You will? Seriously? You know what that means right? It's dangerous. You could get really hurt."
Keprin nodded with confidence. Whether it came from youthful naivety or actual experience, her feelings were genuine. Hunk didn't sense any ill will from her.
"I know it means death for a traitor to the Empire," she breathed in deeply to steady her words. "But the Empire is why Father is dead. He always worried too much about the wellbeing of aliens and was killed for it. I can go see if Commander Yerk found your friends. He'll be annoyed, but he won't suspect me being around."
Hunk frowned and sunk into thought. "That won't help them get away. We need a plan to get us all off the planet safely."
He looked around the house, trying to see if there was anything of use in a kitchen that could be used as a weapon, or a distra-
A distraction.
"I know just the thing," he grinned. "It looks like we're going to be able to cook after all."
Finding Lance and Pidge hadn't been hard. There were only two large buildings in this settlement. Peeking through a broken window, Hunk found his friends handcuffed, tied up back to back, and surrounded by eight soldiers.
They'd waited until nightfall, which thankfully had given Hunk and his new accomplice time to make their preparations. It did not make the plan any more risky, dangerous, or ill advised.
"This is a terrible idea. Why did I even suggest this?" Hunk panicked.
"It's not a bad idea," Keprin whispered back, a basket of freshly made chocolate in her arms. "I'll get them all distracted with this. It will - what was that saying - 'explode their heads'?"
"Blow their minds," Hunk said automatically. He gave her a deadpan glare. "It isn't actually going to blow their heads up."
Keprin frowned. "Oh. That's too bad. I wouldn't mind if Commander Yerk's blew up."
"No. No no, don't go there. Bad mental image. I'm just going to sneak in, get my friends, and then get off this planet."
"Great. I can't wait to meet all your friends if they imitate and dress like the Voltron Paladins like you three."
"Wait, what?!" Hunk was barely able to keep his voice down. "I mean, /what/?"
"I'm coming with you. Commander Yerk hates me, and I hate him, but he has to keep me around cause I can cook. He's going to send me off to military school as soon as he gets a new chef. I've never been off planet and I've got nowhere else to go." Despite the conviction in her voice, her face braced for rejection.
"Yeah, okay, I get that you want to come. I'm all for it considering you're basically risking your life to save me and my friends, which I guess is how I make friends these days. But cosplayers? We're not cosplayers." Not to mention Kolivan would probably want to know about her.
It didn't matter, her mood lifted. "Thank you!" she hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you."
"Oh...oh yeah okay," he reciprocated on instinct. "I promise all the hugs you want once I'm certain that we're not going to die."
She gave him a confident smirk as she pulled away. "I'll do my job, don't worry." A pause, and then a sincere plea. "Promise you'll wait for me."
Hunk paused, if only for a moment. His priority was to his Voltron teammates, he knew that. But nothing - nothing was going to prevent him from helping innocents caught in the middle of war. His thoughts briefly flashed a picture of Shay in his mind, a memory of when he'd first learnt that lesson. For the first time, he really understood that everyone needed saving from Zarkon.
"I never leave a friend behind. I'll even let you call shotgun," he promised.
Thrilled and near bursting with excitement at the new arrangements, Keprin left to spread the goodness of chocolate to the guards.
Hunk remained behind by the window and took a deep breath. "Okay, showtime."
"What do you think they're doing?" Lance asked, eyes narrowed and straining to see off into the distance. It was difficult to do so in the dark, but it was obvious that their guards had congregated for something specific. "I think Greg is eating something."
'Greg' was the soldier to the furthest left in the group. He hadn't bothered to correct the blue paladin when Lance had first addressed him, so the name had stuck.
"I don't know, Lance," Pidge growled. "I can't turn my head far enough to see. Do they look like they'll be there for a while?"
"Hmmm," Lance watched carefully as the group slowly but deliberately moved towards the door. Between the two paladins and the group of guards, there was nothing but empty space with the barest of reminders that it was used to store grain. "Whatever it is, they're really into it." He smirked. "I'll bet it's Hunk."
"I hope he's got a better plan than us. Lean to the left," Pidge instructed.
Lance did so, attention mainly towards the Galra soldiers. "I think they're eating something. Whatever it is, it must be good."
"I sure hope so, the novelty of chocolate is only going keep them distracted for so long," Hunk said, sneaking up from the side. Wide and brilliant smiles shone on the faces of the captured paladins.
"Hunk, buddy!"
"Hunk! You're okay!"
"Shhhh, guys! I've got some help, but she won't be able to keep them entertained forever," he said as he freed them from their handcuffs and the mechanical band between them. "There's a big hole in the wall back this way, if we hurry we can - "
"I knew there was something rotten going on here." A large Galra, even for the species standards, stood just a few feet away from the earthlings.
Commander Yerk stepped closer as the Paladins inched further away. "I had a feeling there were more of you scuttering about." He drew a blade. "Now perhaps you will tell me who you are, where you came from, and why you are here?"
"Yeah, okay," Hunk said - way too calmly - before either of his teammates could. Both looked at the yellow paladin as if he'd lost his mind.
Commander Yerk smiled, sharp teeth practically glinting. "Excellent. Start with your planet of origin."
"Sure, but I'm gonna do it from over here, if that's okay," Hunk replied. Without waiting for permission, he shoved his friends about five yards away from where they had been.
"Uh, I hope you have a really good reason for this," Pidge said before Yerk could protest his prisoner's actions, clearly not used to this type of flippant behavior as opposed to 'quaking in their boots' fear.
"Plenty," Hunk said quickly, once again cutting off Yerk from his questioning. "Lance, remember the freshman year retreat at the McDonald ranch?"
Lance, being the perceptive boy he was, had already figured out Hunk was stalling on purpose. His mouth curled up into a wicked grin from both the realization his best friend had a plan and the memory of the incident Hunk was referring to.
"If you three do not-"
"How could I forget? I dragged you out in the middle of the night to try cow tipping. That was the first time we ended up in the principal's office."
"That was you two?!" Pidge exclaimed.
"Look at that Hunk," Lance bragged, lopping a lazy arm around Pidge's shoulders. "we are living legends."
"Yeah, well remember how we got caught?"
Lance paused in thought before the grin grew wider.
"Planet of origin now! Before-"
"Okay, I don't know the whole story," Pidge chimed in, a little louder than intended. She attempted to keep the stall tactic going, having now caught on. Her eyes shifted nervously between the increasingly angry Galra commander and her friends.
And then there was that distinct sound of an engine. It was getting louder, and subconsciously at the time, Pidge had needed to raise her voice.
"In short," Lance answered, "duck!" Without notice, he dragged her to the ground next to where Hunk had already flung himself.
An alien tractor burst through the walls of the barn and promptly passed through the wide open space while knocking Yerk off his feet. It swept up dust, creating a cloud of reddish-brown dust before smashing through the opposite wall and giving a demonstration of the Doppler Effect. The Galra guards who had tried to come back and assist their commander were halted as they breathed in the dust and went into coughing fits.
Hunk let out a short, shrill whistle. The sound of the engine indicated it was coming back.
It did. This tractor had much in common with Earth tractors. Bright lights. Big tires. Being really heavy. It demolished yet another section of wall when making its entrance, bits of wood scattering all over the open space.
"Okay guys, grab on quick!" Hunk instructed above the noise.
Since the three of them had already practiced this on a live animal, (and paladin training had significantly helped boost their agility and strength) it was easier for them to grab hold of the fast moving vehicle and let it take them for a ride.
Within seconds they had wrecked the barn wall for the fourth time and were putting distance between them and the Galra.
"That. Was. Awesome!" Lance whooped as the tractor plowed into a field of unharvested grain. His hands would have been in the air if he'd not been using them to hold on for dear life. "Way better than just getting caught in the headlights! You can't write stuff like this!"
"That was amazing, Hunk! How did you get it to come like that? You gotta show me the program when we get back!" The prospect of learning a cool new trick brought a sparkle to Pidge's eyes.
Hunk turned his head to face Pidge and answer her question. His number one passion would always be good food, but engineering would always compliment it. "I didn't do anything, actually. I just fixed the navigation system. You know like how you did all that cool Olkari mind stuff? This thing actually imprints on your mind! I'm telling it where to go by just thinking! It's how their GPS here is near legendary!"
Pidge looked like she was going to explode from excitement and take their escape vehicle apart right then and there. "We have to take this thing back with us!"
"Uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Lance said with a frown. "But the Galra are catching up."
The tall strands swayed violently behind them in a much wider birth than the tractor was making. It didn't make much difference though. The trio emerged from the field and came to a sudden stop. The pod was just in front of them, hidden by the next field.
Lance immediately set to work in his natural spot in the pilots seat, preparing for a quick takeoff.
Pidge made quick work of opening the back. "Hurry Hunk get it inside!"
Hunk looked around worriedly. "Keprin isn't here. She was supposed to get here first." He kept his mind occupied by directing the tractor into the back of the pod. It barely fit.
"Who's Keprin? You already have a girlfriend, Hunk." Pidge asked while coaxing the machine in and closing the pod door. She danced in place out of pure giddiness.
"A Galra kid. She's the one who saved our butts. Distracted the guards and told me how the space tractor worked."
"We gotta get out of here now, Hunk," Lance said seriously. "We have no way to fight back right now. They'll find us out sooner than later if we wait any longer."
"I'm not leaving her," Hunk responded, standing his ground.
"We can come back. Just like we did for the Balmerans."
"I don't think she has that kind of time, guys. I have this feeling, that if we leave her here, we won't see her again."
In the end, the decision was made for the paladins, not that. In the time they spent discussing, commander Yerk had arrived in his speeder, with all eight of his men, and one squirming adolescent in his claw.
"I knew you three looked familiar," he began with a sneer, which curled up into an evil grin. "If you are who I think you are, then you will step away from your ship and surrender to me." He unsheathed his blade once more and placed the sharp edge dangerously close to Keprin's neck. She bristled in fear and made several attempts to hide it.
No one moved for nearly ten tics.
Hunk was the nearest and first to raise his hands in surrender.
Lance sighed heavily. "I guess there's no helping it." He jumped out of the pod and raised his own hands.
Pidge followed wordlessly in kind. It did nothing to hide the dangerous and calculating look in her eyes. There was no doubt between the three of them they would get out of this.
Admittedly though, it didn't look good.
Keprin found her voice in her concern for her new friend. "Don't do it! He's going to kill us all anyway."
Yerk squeezed her arm uncomfortably. "You stay silent brat. You've done your duty to the Empire by leading me to the Paladins of Voltron. Now you can die with some honor instead of a useless traitor like your father."
"Not if I kill you first!" Keprin raged.
Yerk laughed wickedly. "All bark and no bite, just like your father. His compassion for the enemy was always going to get him killed. I am just glad it was I who had the honor."
It all happened very quickly.
Bright lights suddenly flooded the area, shining directly into the eyes of the Galra, causing Yerk to loosen his grip on his hostage.
Hunk's fist collided with Yerk's face before the yellow paladin could even process what he was doing.
"Woah" Lance's voice broke the silence. "Nice!"
"Anyone else want to try?" Hunk dared the remaining guards, the bright lights behind him casting him in a much more menacing light than was typical. He was in rare form, but if Hunk had one rule it was to never, ever threaten his friends.
The soldiers took one look at the massive indentation on their commander's face, the pure fury on the face of their enemy, and the massive tractor that had rolled itself back out of the ship and currently revving menacingly behind Hunk before they all dropped their melee weapons, turned around, and left.
Pidge slowly closed her gaping mouth. "Well. That's one way to do it."
Keprin's tight hug snapped Hunk back to reality. "Thank you for keeping your promise," she whispered.
Hunk sighed in relief and hugged her back, smile back on his face. "You asked me what my job was. I said I like to try food, but, this, right here? Helping people across the universe? That's my real job." They both closed their eyes to soak in the warm feeling of a good hug.
"I can't believe that you guys are the actual Paladins of Voltron," she said in amazement. "I just thought you were actors!"
A loud rumble interrupted the touching moment, catching both Hunk and Keprin off guard. Their eyes widened simultaneously in surprise and comical worry.
"Sorry, that one's on me guys," Lance admitted in embarrassment. Three sets of eyebrows raised in unison. The blue paladin gave them his best 'really?' expression. "I'm hungry," he complained. "We were here way longer than you said we would and I haven't eaten since lunch."
"I wanna get back and take the space tractor apart!" Pidge rattled off.
"I agree with getting back to the Castle asap. We don't have any weapons if the Galra come back," Hunk agreed.
Keprin smiled at the friendly antics. "We'll be a lot safer once we leave the atmosphere. Commander Yerk had the weather satellite primed to fire lasers at us, but we can shoot it down with your shotgun! Hunk promised I could have it," she said excitedly.
There was a heavy silence between the paladins.
"...we'd better contact Allura."
—-
Hunk woke up in his bed on the Castle. He felt rested, not starving, and all of the residual aches and pains from the previous day were gone. He was safe. His friends were all safe.
At least until the next battle against the Galra. Hunk could only control so much. But he would protect them when the time came.
His 'morning' routine was slow. Enjoy the shower - stand in the hot water for way too long. Laze on his bed for a few minutes after putting on an article of clothing. There was nothing to rush to. No attacks. No training scheduled. No Coalition talks.
Finally, Hunk made his way to the kitchen, on full automation. Yawning, he turned the usual corners and walked down the familiar hallways. As he got closer, the scent of something very wrong caught his nose.
His eyes widened as he recognized it. Something was burning.
He ran the rest of the way, fully awake now.
When he arrived, smoke already filled the area and the sound of the fire suppressors filled the air.
"Hey, is everybody okay?" he yelled frantically.
There was much coughing but soon Lance's voice gave the all clear. The smoke dissipated and Hunk could see everyone was in the kitchen.
"I told you it was a bad idea to leave it in there too long." Keprin sat on the island, an unimpressed look on her face. Keith stood next to her in his casual clothes, waving away some lingering smoke. The two of them had bonded over their newly (ish) discovered Blade heritage. Later that day the two of them were planning to meet with Kolivan at a safehouse to hand over the data that Keprin's father had compiled on his mission, cleverly hidden in the hilt of the blade. She was still deciding whether to keep the knife and go into seclusion with the Blades, or never see the knife again and go where she wanted within the Coalition.
She didn't seem weighed down by the looming decision at the moment, expressing an unimpressed look down to her right. A vaguely familiar pitch black cylinder sat there in a baking tin.
"A minor inconvenience for the Castle, but we have succeeded beyond my expectations!" Coran exclaimed, taking the finished product out of it's tin and onto a plate. "It looks exactly like a Plentserian loaf, right down to the texture!"
"Happy birthday, Hunk!" Lance said, jumping out in front of everyone to give his friend a quick hug. Hunk gave him one back without a thought.
"Oh, uh, is that what this is about? You all tried to make me a birthday... cake?" Despite the disastrous looking cake, he began to tear up at just the concept of his team doing this for him.
"Lance told us about your birthday sixth sense," Shiro said, his smile holding a hint of laughter. "We all wanted to do something for you, especially after the ordeal you went through yesterday."
"The Castle is equipped for more… stately parties," Allura explained, a flush on her cheeks indicating she was a bit embarrassed by the whole mess. "However Lance and Pidge explained about the birthday cake, and food we can at least attempt to replicate. We didn't have yearly parties celebrating an individual's birth on Altea. It is a wonderful tradition that I would like to observe with the rest of you."
Coran presented the 'cake' to Hunk, who took it, but remained completely unconvinced and concerned. "Happy Day of Birth, Number Two!"
Hunk glanced over to Pidge, who was standing over by Keith and Keprin. "We used all the supplies you brought back from Roande Seven. So, in theory, it should be a chocolate cake." She gave him a shrug and the most sympathetic look she could muster while mouthing a silent 'sorry'.
The yellow paladin looked down at the bundle in his hands. It looked awful. There was no way around it. The only thing about a birthday cake that it resembled was its shape, a shape that didn't even look fun. There were lumps of various size around the outside, as if there was burnt sugar encasing it.
However, Hunk had traveled across the universe and discovered that often times, the more disgusting a thing looked, the more tasty it was. Notably that did not apply to anything that Coran made.
There were, however, three and a half humans who contributed to the making of this… whatever it was. So there was a decent chance it might actually end up tasting like a cake. He forced a smile and concentrated on the fact that it was the thought that counted. "That's really nice of you guys, I'm sure you worked pretty hard on it."
Lance rolled his eyes. "You have no idea. We didn't have any eggs, or baking powder, so we threw in some Altean spices that looked like they might do the trick." He paused, then whispered into Hunk's ear, "I think I saw it move in the oven."
Thoroughly disturbed, Hunk gulped. "Th-thanks everyone. I'm sure it's absolutely delicious." He tore off a piece with his fingers and placed it into his mouth quickly, chewing to get the full flavor. His eyes bulged and he visibly strained to hold back tears of pain.
His tongue burned. The texture was that of sandpaper on the surface. When his teeth got to the gooey interior it was glue-like, even to the point of straining to open his mouth again. He stilled his whole mouth in shock… until the piece of cake mush started to move without his help.
He swallowed out of instinct more than anything else.
"...I told you he'd hate it." At least Keprin seemed amused, telling by the smirk on her face.
The rest of them waited expectantly, some more eager than others.
Hunk thought of several things he could say about the cake. None of them were nice. But these were his friends. Friends whom he was stuck with trillions of miles away from anything that resembled home. These were people he genuinely liked. Friends he would gladly take a bullet for, and for whom he would take the extra effort to make sure they were never in that situation.
"It's the worst thing I've ever eaten," he said flatly.
The anticipation in the room completely deflated. There were visible sights of relief from everyone but the Alteans.
Coran examined the loaf with an analytical eye. "Perhaps we did leave it in the oven a tic too long," he conceded.
"I think that's the last time we let Shiro watch the oven," Pidge said. "He needs to sleep in an actual bed."
"You're one to talk, Pidge," Shiro quickly retorted, more embarrassed than anything. "And besides, I don't think it would have helped. It looked pretty sickly before we put it in the oven."
Allura was clearly disappointed. "That is unfortunate. I was looking forward to trying an authentic Earth Birthday Cake."
"I don't know if it'll be authentic, but I can get it a try," Hunk said. He clapped for attention, straightening up and looking as stern as he could muster. "Everybody out of my kitchen and no peeking until I'm finished."
Everyone left, none refuting that the kitchen did indeed belong to Hunk. They each wished him a better 'day after birthday' as they left.
Keprin followed out on Keith's heels. She stopped to give him a big hug. "Thanks again for everything. I never thought I'd be out here in space with Voltron of all things."
Hunk gave her a genuine smile as he knelt down to hug her back. "Don't forget friends with all the paladins."
She let go, smile fading as she looked between him and Keith. "You'll come see me off right?"
"Of course I will. I'll even suffer a burnt cake if I have to," he promised.
"It's a date then! Lance and Coran promised me a tour of the Castle, so I'll be with them if you need help with baking!"
"You're the only one allowed in here if you want to help. You're the only one I trust with the cooking," the second sentence whispered. The exasperated look on Keith's face showed it wasn't quite soft enough. The two chefs shared a giggle.
"I'll see you later!" Keprin jolted off to find her promised tour guides.
Keith waited until she was down the hallway before beginning to leave himself. "I'll be on the training deck until it's time to go."
"Uh, Keith, hold up a tic."
Confused, Keith turned back around. "What?"
Looking embarrassed, Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. "So uh, you know we're friends right? Like, I meant what I said we're like brothers. We're tight. I mean, we share a mind inside of a giant robot."
Keith blinked, clearly surprised. "Yeah, I kinda got that from the hug you gave me back then. It was nice," he said with a smile. "And we work well together."
"Yeah so - wait what? No, I'm supposed to be giving you the pep talk here."
"It's fine, Hunk. I'm doing important work and so are you. I already had this talk with Allura."
"Oh. Well, what I'm trying to say is that we're friends. I care a lot about you and your feelings. So if I say something that's weird or you don't like, you gotta tell me. I'm a terrible and nosy person and I'm sorry."
Keith stood silent, processing the words, and then smiling. "I've accepted the side of me that's Galra," he said simply. "It's still a little weird, but I've always had this feeling that something didn't add up." He smiled a bit. "I don't mind a question or two, but I'm still learning myself."
"Deal, no Galra questions for a while then. Just as long as you come visit more often, okay? We all miss you."
Keith's mouth twitched. "I miss you guys too. I'll try."
"...hug it out?"
Keith snorted and obliged into Hunk's waiting arms. "Always." He stepped back, but the smile remained. "I'm still going to the training room. I'll leave you be so you can get to the cake. I'd like some before we go."
"Done and done. If it turns out okay, I'll send a second one with you two. You'll have to tell me how the Blades react to it. I've seen those nutrition bars that Kolivan carries around, they look too healthy."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I'll see you later today." With a wave, Keith slipped off in the direction of the elevator.
Hunk stood in the doorway satisfied. He wasn't going to let his friends slip away. Not if he could do something about it.
It was his best birthday yet.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Comments are always appreciated, I love rambling about fandoms with others.