Another planet liberated, another party to follow. All things considered, it probably would have been best to leave and get back to business right away. But Allura had declared that they should at least spend the night, saying something about respecting the planet's traditions-they all knew she just wanted to stay and party, but nobody was complaining. After all they had been through, they felt like they deserved some time to relax and celebrate their achievements.

Allura had just informed them that they'd be lighting fireworks, and currently Hunk was looking for a place to sit and watch (it was hard to find a decent spot when the whole place was crowded). It looked like he'd have to settle for a less good spot near the edge of the crowd, and was about to sit back when he spotted Keith.

The red paladin was seated on a large brown rock, far away from what could be considered a good seat for the show, staring up absentmindedly toward the sky. Hunk hesitated, not sure if he wanted to give up his spot, but Keith looked so lonely that he ended up sighing and getting up to join him.

"Keith!" The yellow Paladin called, getting the other's attention as he walked over. "Hey, dude, why are you sitting here by yourself?"

Keith opened his mouth to speak, closed it, looked away, and shrugged. "Um. I just. I wasn't really in the mood to party."

"Oh," Hunk paused. "Do...you want me to leave?"

"No, it's fine...I mean, you can do what you want, I don't mind either way."

Hunk nodded slowly, tiptoeing closer to Keith and checking to make sure he wasn't bugging him-he found Keith a little hard to read sometimes, since he sometimes wanted to be by himself and didn't say so. Keith didn't react, however,he sat down on the rock next to him and stared up at the empty sky.

"You, uh...you alright?" Hunk asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Keith replied flatly. "Why?"

"Well, you're sitting by yourself during a party, for one," Hunk replied with a shrug. "That, and, well, you've been really...distant. You haven't really been talking to us unless it's related to Voltron or fighting." He paused, and his voice softened. "Everyone's been worried about you, you know. Even Lance seems a bit weirded out. Have you even been sleeping?"

Keith was quiet, staring straight ahead of him with an empty look in his eyes before sighing. "Guess there's no fooling you, huh?" He sighed and slumped forward in a way that made Hunk want to scoot closer and hold him for a while, before speaking again. "Honestly, I'm...not entirely sure myself. There's just a lot of stuff going on and I...don't know how much longer I can handle it."

For a long moment Hunk didn't respond. The joyous noises of the party nearby stood out in stark contrast to their current mood, only making Hunk feel more awkward as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Keith..." he said at last, softly. "Buddy. You know you're not alone, right?"

"I-I know, but-" Keith stammered, looking away. "I just..."

He trailed off, shoulders pushed up to his ears as if he was trying to hide. Hunk frowned again, hesitating before reaching out to touch the other paladin's back gingerly. Keith seemed surprised, but still seemed to relax under his touch as he looked back up at Hunk's smiling face.

"Look, you don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to. I get it," Hunk told him. "But I'm just saying, nobody's going to look down on you or turn you away if you come talk to us. We're all in this together, you know?"

Keith merely stared, making Hunk wonder if he'd said something wrong, but then gave a sincere smile. "Yeah," he finally responded. "Yeah, you're right Hunk. Thanks."

Hunk grinned wider and moved his hand so he was giving Keith a one-armed hug. "Yeah, no problem dude! Anytime you wanna talk, you know, I'm here. But for now we should probably find a better spot since the fireworks are about to start-"

Unfortunately for Hunk, the fireworks decided to start right at that exact moment, cutting him off and causing him to groan. "Aw, man."

Keith laughed. "Sorry. This spot's not so bad is it?"

"I guessss," Hunk sighed, settling settling in his seat as he watched the first few fireworks light up the sky, the "oohs" and "aahs" of all the other partygoers heard nearby.

Hunk was smiling as he watched the colorful sparkles rain down from the sky. Subconsciously he found himself turning to Keith again, and he was making the same expression. His smile was soft and the colorful lights illuminated his face and made him look absolutely gorgeous against the night sky-

Wait hold on. Hunk still had his arm around Keith from before. He immediately tensed, before awkwardly removing his arm from around the other boy and pretending to scratch his head. Keith looked a little disappointed but that could have just been Hunk's imagination.

He took a shaky breath and went back to a neutral position to watch the show. The silence between them was now relaxed and comfortable, aside from the awkward glances that Hunk kept giving him.

"It's nice, huh?" Keith spoke suddenly.

"What?"

"The fireworks. They're...pretty."

Hunk didn't look away. "Uh, yeah. Pretty." It took a second to tear his eyes off of Keith and look up at the sky again.

They didn't talk much for the rest of the night, but later Hunk noticed that Keith was starting to hang out with the others again, just like before. When Keith caught his eyes, he flashed him a grin and Hunk smiled back. Keith hadn't yet opened up about what exactly was bothering him, and he probably wouldn't for a while. But Hunk has been able to make him smile again and for now, that was more than enough for him.