"So... um... Shiro?"

The man called upon looked up from his food to the nervous teen before him. "Yes, Hunk?"

"I uh... I have a problem."

He figured that out already, but he would indulge the boy. Shiro gestured for him to continue.

So, yeah, as I was saying... I have a problem. See, there's somebody I like. Somebody I like like. I want to kiss this person."

Oh no. No. He was not prepared for this one. No wonder why Hunk was so nervous. He had to know, right?

"The problem is... I'm a lot bigger than this person. I tried it really fast one time, but they were running and dodged without me catching them."

Okay, great. It wasn't kid was definitely a big guy, but Shiro was not considerably smaller. "Does this person know you're interested in them?"

"Well, I thought they did, but I'm, like, completely stuck in the friend-zone, man. I thought, maybe, if I just kissed them, then they'd get the picture... And I failed."

"You really should just try talking to them. It could probably go bad really fast for you if you just try to kiss them like that. Sounds to me like you dodged a bullet... well, they dodged it for you."

"Yeah, I realized that after the fact," a forlorn Hunk sighed, sitting beside him at last. "I was hoping, maybe, you could say something to them for me? Maybe just ask how they feel about me?"

Shiro laughed a little. "I tried that once. Actually, what I tried doing was getting them together myself."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"I conviced Keith to talk to the girl. I really thought she might go for it. Instead, she punched him, huffed about already having a boyfriend, and stomped off."

Hunk paled a little. "That 'she' wouldn't happen to be Pidge, would it?"

Shiro nodded, swallowing a spoonfull of soup. "I can't figure out if she was telling the truth or not. After what she did to Keith, I didn't want her mistaking my questioning as personal interest in her."

"So... how should I go about talking to her if you are scared?"

Shiro thought on that a bit. "Aren't you two already close? I mean, you already have a superhero duo nickname, right? Lance said it was 'Punk' or something?"

"Yeah. She came up with that. Awesome, right?"

Shiro smiled a little. "And Sam said you two were arguing like he and his wife used to... Maybe there is something there you could exploit? Maybe ask her if she has a boyfriend, because, if she does, you'll kick his ass if he hurts her?"

"Hey... That might work! But, wouldn't that just show her how much more of a friend I am? A brotherly friend? I so don't want that!"

"But you'll get the answer we both are looking for. You'll know if she has a boyfriend already, or not. Besides you, the only other plausible person is Lance, and he's still chasing Allura's tail."

"Not without success!" Hunk raised a finger in the air. "I actually saw her allow him to hug her."

"She's done that before."

"And kiss her on the cheek? Because, he did that, and she didn't punch him!"

Shiro's smile returned for a moment. "That's good news. Now, the way my boyfriend got me is exactly what I'm proposing you do. First, figure out if she's already taken. If she's not, it's time for the second step of offering yourself. Gently, I might add. Tell her that if she decides she does want a boyfriend, that you are willing."

"Is there a third step if she doesn't have a boyfriend, but doesn't take me as one?"

"Lots, and lots of gifts. Adam was great at finding the little things that I liked which was very endearing, obvious, but not pressing."

"Wait... Who's Adam?"

Shiro shook his head. Hunk was so focused on figuring out Pidge that he didn't catch the admission earlier, thus he was totally lost when Adam's name came up. "The man whose tactics I'm trying to teach you. I heard you were doing good on the written parts of class from him, but failed at being a pilot when you got into the simulator. You threw up on his shoes. I had to clean them."

"Oh, so, you two were room mates?"

Shiro dropped his head. "You know what? Maybe it is better if I talk to Pidge for you."

Hunk was inwardly cheering. He didn't have to confront her himself at all! Playing stupid for just a moment worked!