Author's note: This short and fluffy one shot was written from Hunk's pov, and used to be housed on the Hunk is the Real Hunk Voltron fansite which is no longer in existence. Side episode to my fic Bonds of Love. Doesn't quite meet the criteria for the Mother's Day challenge on KAEX, but there is mention of K and A. And I was feeling nostalgic, so I decided I'd post it. :)

Voltron and all associated characters are owned and copyrighted by WEP. Original/new characters belong to the author.
Author's Note: WEP owns all the rights to Voltron and its characters in all their incarnations, and I own a DVD/Blue Ray player. It's a match made in heaven. :)

One Mother's Day On Arus

Original message to: lionsmom
From: hunkyellowlion
Re: Happy Mother's Day

Hey Ma!
Surprise! I hope the shock of getting a cyber-letter from me doesn't make you keel over or anything. I don't write as often
as I should, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you and Dad, because I do-constantly. I loved the last batch of family pics,
by the way, and the new headbands. Tell little Rosie I said thanks a lot and that I've worn a different one every day. It's nice to have
a choice for a change.

Hope the shop's still doing okay - heard that the price of silk thread went sky high thanks to old Fish Ear's raids
on Peking II and of course I know you guys won't use less than the best for your customers no matter how bad business gets...so
enclosed along with this letter are two whole cases of the stuff. Enjoy!

I wish I could take the credit for finding the thread, but I can't. Nanny, the infamous Royal governess found it for me can ya believe it?!
For all her crotchetiness and snobby talk about the guys and me being commoners and hooligans, she's got a soft spot in
her heart for us. She's gone from suspicious to being almost maternal, but still I was surprised. One minute she's yelling at me for some
breach of etiquette, and the next she's giving me a gift. Which brings me to what I want to tell you.

Hoping it's gonna make you proud of me for something other than fighting the baddies. But keep it quiet, none of the other guys knows so keep it under your hat when you write Pidge, okay?

Okay. It all came two days ago when I had some morning down time. I went to visit the castle library to get a gander at the latest issue of
'Popular Mecha' (a most excellent issue by the way, and tell Roxie if she reads the section on dilithium crystals, she'll have no
trouble with Professor Hoyme's midterm.:)

Anyway, as I was walking to the library, I had to pass by the Princess' quarters. Usually it seems as dull as a tomb down there
because no one but a handful of trusted insiders are allowed access to it, and because Princess usually is off somewhere doing Royal
type things. So that's why, as I walked past the hallway, I was shocked to hear her shouting at someone at the top of her lungs, and
then see her come storming out of her quarters.

Let me tell you, Allura is the sweetest gal ever, and I have never seen her so mad, Ma. I hope I never do anything to make the veins in her forehead pop out like that! Even so, she still managed a decent sounding 'Hello, Hunk' as she rocketed by.

She never ceases to amaze me...even when madder than a wet hen, she's grace under pressure, a beacon of civility, etc., etc., etc.

Well anyway, like I said, she didn't stop to chat, but headed down the hall and into the Solarium next to the library. Then the next
thing I know, I'm hearing the sound of running feet and Nanny rushes by me without a word, because she's totally sobbing. She takes a
left at the corridor that leads to her quarters and disappears.

That's when I did something I have made it a personal policy never to do when it comes to the Princess. I think it was Nanny's
expression that did it for me-this made it pretty clear that this was not one of their usual 'what's proper for a Princess' fights. This
went a lot deeper than protocol. The woman was hurting.

Without giving myself time to change my mind, I headed for the Solarium to do some unprecedented
meddling in Allura's personal affairs.

I found her sitting on a bench next to a giant planter full of wildflowers, her chin resting on her up-drawn knees, and
looking mighty uptight. She seemed not too thrilled to see me, but as I'd hoped, her polite nature kept her from saying I
wasn't welcome, and she invited me to sit down.

This is the part where being the oldest in a family of eight came in handy-I figured if I can keep the peace among seven unruly and bullheaded
siblings, (sorry, but you know it's true) then getting Allura and Nanny together would be a cakewalk.

After a couple of sympathetic comments from me, she spilled the whole sad story.

Nanny had pushed her too far with the protective routine; without saying a word to Allura, she had taken steps to ensure that Princess
was never left alone again. In an official request to Coran, Nanny had asked that Princess be kept sequestered in the castle, and that
a round the clock guard be posted to her. This rotating guard would stick to her like glue wherever she went, even when she had to use
the biff. Seems Lotor's last (and almost successful) attempt to grab her darling Allura had really shook her up enough to take this
extreme action.

Ma, can you imagine having a life where you are never allowed to do what you want to do when you want to do it, and where someone is watching every dang thing you do 24/7 ? Then again, I guess you might know a little how that feels, being you have Dad and eight kids, ha ha ha.

But back to the story. Even though Allura is the ruler of an entire planet, makes life or death decisions on almost a daily basis, and
has a ton of other responsibilities, Nanny and Coran still have the right to order her to take any steps that they deem necessary to
preserve her safety because she's not married and not a Queen yet.

Ma, Allura's life as a Royal is not as glamorous as people think; there are nonstop demands on her time and energy, and she has
a strict code of complicated rules to adhere to (and I thought the GG was bad!). Then there's the matter of her laying her life on the
line by flying in combat; protecting her subjects is almost an obsession with her, otherwise I don't think she'd have taken Blue
out the way she did after Sven got hurt. However, through all of this she's always managed to squeeze in some time hidden
in the catacombs or relaxing with us guys, two things, as she puts it, that always 'renew her spirit'. All that was about to be
taken away from her. I didn't blame her for being mad.

At this point she was literally crying on my shoulder. I was glad that I had practice with that too, or I might have felt stupid about
hugging her. I always feel protective of her, of course, but the feeling was extra strong right then, just like I feel about family.

As I held her, I suddenly started thinking about the time you tricked me into going for a ride in the new hovercraft, and then
drove me out into the boonies to Aunt Jez's llama farm, hoping that with the total lack of access to space technology and Auntie keeping
me busy raising her llamas that I would find another calling and forget all about taking the Space Academy exams that afternoon.
Jeez, I was so mad at you right then I coulda spit nails. Luckily for me (and Aunt Jez) after only two hours after dropping me off,
you came back, apologized, and took me straight to the exams.

You said that day that you loved me so much it had forced you go to extremes to shield me from the dangers and atrocities of making war,
that you wanted me to have my own children and live to see them grow up. But you also told me that after you had left me you couldn't
stop thinking about the high aspirations I held for myself, my gift for understanding and fixing complex technology, and how life with
Auntie was not what I wanted, if you could judge by the expression on my face when you left me. You said you realized then that a
simple, stress free life with Jez and the llamas would've made me feel empty and bitter, two things that you felt would be much more
lethal to my soul than the Academy, and that you could give me the gift of life twice in letting me follow my dreams.

Which is when the realization hit me; as sorry as I felt for Princess, I had to make her see past the injustice of the actions to
what they were based on; love equal to that of a mother desperate to keep her child safe whether the child hated them for it or not.
Nanny's extended family had been wiped out in the raids. She had never married, either, so she had no kids of her own to take care of.

Then came Allura, who she has cared for since infancy. Allura is as much her legacy as I am yours, Ma. That's why she acts so crazy
sometimes, she just wants the best for her baby, even if it isn't what Princess wants. Just like you, Ma.

Anyway, after Allura stopped crying and wiped her eyes on my hanky, I told her about our big episode and how I had felt. And then I told
her what you did and said when you came back. And how I knew then that knowing someone cares so deeply they will try as hard as they can to keep you safe, even it hurts and makes you angry with them, makes all the difference in the world.

I knew the minute she 'got it' because those big baby blues of hers went wide.

'We fight like a mother and daughter, don't we?' She says to me. I tell her yes, exactly like that, and she can trust that I'm a total expert
on the subject because I lived with you and four sisters. (She smiled and giggled at that.)

After a while she looked upset again, and confessed to me that she had said some horrible things to a person who, although sometimes
was misguided, had shown her only love and kindness. She didn't know if or how she could fix things between them. I suggested she try an
apology first, followed by a long talk, because I had a feeling that Nanny would not want to cut herself off from the most important
person in her life. I told her about the Terran tradition of observing Mother's Day, and suggested she pick some flowers for
Nanny, and while giving them, tell her governess how important a role she had played in her life, and most importantly, to say I love
you.

She liked that idea a lot, so much so in fact, that she had kissed me and was running around the Solarium picking flowers
before I even had a chance to get my breath. (It was on the cheek, Ma, the cheek! I know what you've been hoping for since the Love Bridge incident,
and there's just no chance of that! The Captain is stupid in love with her, and she's got it bad for him-why he opted out of official PDA with her is a total head scratcher .)

After that, well, don't know exactly what happened between Princess and Nanny,but I can tell you that later that day Nanny found me and gave me a big plate of cookies and a hug. I was shocked, but I wasn't gonna question it, took the cookies and munched away while she asked me about my family.

When I mentioned the thread shortage and the reason for it, Nanny got ticked.

Next thing I know she's on the horn talking to someone in castle supply.

A few minutes later and two cases of thread are delivered to my doorstep.

But not just any thread. Not just any silk. ROYAL SILK THREAD.

Nothing but the best for my ma, Nanny said. And I agreed one hundred and ten percent.

So that's the story of how you got the thread. And now I gotta run, Captain's called an extra Lion practice. You can never be
too prepared these days, given the fact that Prince Lotor is constantly after the Princess. But try not to worry, okay? Remember,
I am with the best of the best...and that my life, should it end tomorrow, has been filled with more love, honor and adventure than
most people could experience in two lifetimes.

This life I'm living hasn't been easy on you. You're as strong and brave as anyone I know.

I love you Ma. Have a Happy Mother's Day.

Lotsa hugs (and the same to Dad)
Hunk

P.S. Since I figure you're feeling all warm and mushy about me right now, could I ask you to send some new mangas and six dozen 'Oatmeal
Scotchies' with your next space post? Thanks! :)