It's Hunk who brings up the idea.

They're sitting in the large crew lounge and placed on the center table is a large plate of hot pink blobs that vaguely taste like cupcakes. They're scattered across the room, Coran, Hunk, and Allura seated on one of the couches with Shiro squeezed in next to a sprawled out Lance on the other. Pidge sits on the floor in front of them, eyes glued to her laptop screen and as per usual, Keith is upright against the wall, one leg resting over the other with his arms crossed.

The calendar Pidge has managed to keep up to date points to the winter holidays, which means Christmas and New Years are both fast approaching. So with everything that's been happening, a few days after Keith returns from another lengthy Mamora mission, Hunk decides that the team should bond for the holidays, like a family.

"We should do another bonding exercise. It's been ages since we last bonded as a team and it's like, Christmas or something! Christmas is supposed to be about family and you guys are my family - I mean I consider you guys my family, we're family, right? I know it's not by blood or anything but we're super close I mean we're Voltron we fight battles and aliens and giant Robobeasts how much more family can we get?"

"Well I'm not really sure what this 'Christmas' thing you mentioned is, but Hunk, that's a wonderful idea!" Allura claps her hands once, excited for the team to bond again after so long battling.

"Alright Paladins, gather up! Keith, get over here, Pidge, shut the laptop, and Lance, make room," Coran commands, and the Paladins do as they're told, with an over-exaggerated groan from Lance, and while Keith moves closer, he assumes the same position against the armrest of the couch.

"So what kind of bonding did you have in mind, Hunk?" Allura bites into a cupcake after she asks, little pink crumbs tumbling down for the mice to eat.

Hunk fiddles with his hands. "We known each other for a while, right? So I was thinking, there's seven of us, and there's seven letters in Voltron, we could go through the letters and say what adjective could fit with what person." There isn't much reaction so Hunk continues, clarifying, "So if I were to pick the letter 'L', I could pick the word 'lazy' and use that to describe Lance."

"I take offense to that!" Lance retorts, though there's no sign of actual offense in his voice.

"Oh, I get it! Kinda like an acronym, we used to do this stuff back in middle school with our names," Pidge offers.

"Doesn't sound too hard, it actually seems fun! Who would like to start? We can start with 'V'," Allura says.

A silence falls amongst the team, each thinking of a word that could fit one of them that starts with 'V'. Forever a leader, Shiro speaks up first.

"Valorous. I think Hunk could be described with that." Hunk's eyes open wide in his surprise, questioningly pointing at himself. When Shiro nods, Hunk shakes his head rapidly.

"Shiro, I don't know if you know this or not, but I am a giant chicken."

"I do know, and that's why I picked the word for you. To have valor is to be courageous in the face of danger, and even though you're scared, you still dive into combat with the rest of us. It takes a lot of courage to face the unknown, and yet here we are," Shiro explains. The others nod their heads in approval of Shiro's choice.

"Yeah buddy, you used to throw up every time we would enter the simulation and now here we are, flying around in giant space cats and saving the universe!" Lance grins, leaning over to bump fists with his best friend. Hunk returns the fist bump with a shy smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you, Shiro."

"No need, Hunk, I'm just putting a word down for what we already know."

There's another awkward silence as they try to think of a word for 'O'.

"Coran!" Hunk says suddenly; Coran snaps his head to attention.

"Yes, Hunk?"

"Obliging!"

"Obliging?"

"Obliging!"

"What he means is that you're always around to help us if we need it and you've done so much for us that I've lost count," Pidge explains, pushing up her glasses when they slip down the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, exactly! Knew I could count on you Pidge!"

"Not like it was hard to explain," Pidge grumbles, scratching at a corner of her laptop.

"I would describe Keith as loyalty," Allura cuts in. Surprised, Keith quirks an eyebrow, silently watching her. "I know I haven't always trusted you, back when I first learned Galra blood flowed through you, but even when I refused to acknowledge you, you stayed loyal to Voltron. And you stayed loyal to me, even when I treated you like a quetzlmerth."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one questioning it, but what - "

"It's an old Altean animal, which often would dig through the gardens and poison the plants and herbs. If we saw one, we'd shoot it with plasma so it would disintegrate," Coran explains, cutting off Hunk.

"Anyone else think that's kinda morbid?"

"Eating the plants would make your innards explode and simply killing one would make the corpse a ticking time bomb, Lance."

"Never mind, not morbid."

"Anyhow, even though you aren't piloting a lion, you're still loyal to Voltron and you're loyal to the Mamora as well. You'll always be a part of the team."

"Thank you," Keith says in reply, lips twisting into one of his rare smiles. Allura returns it easily.

"Well I think Pidge is tricksy!" Lance declares and Keith shoots him a glare, his smile vanishing.

"Is that even a real word?"

"Of course it is, Mullet!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Actually, it is a real word," Pidge butts in. "Tricksy, clever in an ingenious or deceptive way. I get the clever bit, but deceptive?"

Lance fiddles with the strings of his hoodie. "Of course! Not in a bad way though. I'm just sayin', things like rigging up your cloaking devices and reprogramming Rover. Those kinds of things. Deceptive, yet clever and helpful," Lance assures.

"Ah, yeah, I guess you're right. I accept your word, Lance." They trade high fives eagerly. "Shiro, I think you'd be reticent."

"Sorry I have to ask this, but I'm not entirely sure what that means," Shiro responds curiously.

"Cool or formal in manner, or reluctance to draw attention to one's self. You're the leader of Voltron, so you're always levelheaded and easy going, and at the same time, despite being the leader the protector of the universe, you never try to claim the fame for it. It's never 'Shiro and friends', it's always 'Team Voltron'. And I can respect that," Pidge readily explains, grinning by the end of her explanation. "And it's not easy to stay calm with these two idiots," she gestures vaguely at Keith and Lance, ignoring their immediate indignation, "so I definitely think the word fits you."

"Wow, that's one heck of an explanation there Pidge. I could never take the entirely of the credit because you guys work just as hard as I do. We're a team; there's no 'I' in Voltron."

"There would be if Lance tried to spell it," Keith teases, and even if his voice sounds like he's serious, they've known each other long enough to know he's not.

"You better shut your trap, Keith! Your face is going to spell Voltron after I start punching!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Guys! Knock it off! Team bonding, remember? Not team 'Keith and Lance fight while everyone else watches'," Pidge snaps.

"Come on guys, I made this up so we could bond. You guys fight any other time, how about not on Christmas?" Hunk adds, fixing Lance with a stern stare. Lance wilts under his best friend's disappointment and huffs, making a show of turning away from Keith as he apologizes. Keith snaps an apology and immediately falls silent.

"Right, now that that's settled, who's got a 'N' word for Lance?" Allura doesn't hesitate to speak up after the apologies, knowing them long enough to know that they'd get right back to bickering if she let them.

There's a short moment of silent, and then everyone starts spewing words at once.

"Narcissistic!"

"Screw you too, Pidge!"

"Noisy."

"Uncalled for, Coran, I thought we were bros."

"Naive."

"Shiro, really?"

"Nauseating."

"Are you still mad about the pickup lines, Allura? Those were my best ones!"

"Nice?"

"Hunk, buddy, I trusted you!" Lance huffs again, sinking even further into the couch. "The best you can come up with is nice?"

"Nitid," Keith says softly.

"Keith, what does that even mean?"

"Bright, with a steady but subdued shining."

"What?"

"Your personality, idiot! You're always bubbly and happy and you go out of your way to make everyone else happy. You're like the team's cheerleader, it's gross."

"Wow, Keith, I think that's the nicest thing you've said about anyone, let alone Lance," Pidge muses mischievously, immediately drawing attention the faint dusting of pink of Keith's cheeks. "Aw, look, you're even blushing about it."

"Holy crap, he is!" Lance leaps out of his seat to poke at Keith's cheeks, paying no mind to when he slaps Lance's hands away.

"Knock it off! I'm not blushing," Keith snaps. Despite his words, he turns his head to face away from the group.

"What does blushing signify?" Both Coran and Allura look confused, leaving Hunk to explain.

"It's usually a sign of embarrassment."

"Is it? Our marks glow when we're embarrassed," Allura says, pointing at both of the marks on her face.

"It's relatively the same thing, our cheeks kinda glow red but I doubt it's the same kind of glow your marks do."

"Red looks good on you, maybe we should embarrass you more often," Lance teases, suddenly yelping when Keith smacks his hand a little too hard. He snatches his hand back, tenderly rubbing the back of it to soothe the sting.

"Lance, I swear, I will kill you," Keith threatens. Somewhere in the background, Shiro sighs, head cradled in his hands.

Not one to quit, Lance starts to make another remark when Keith suddenly shoves him backwards. Lance trips from the sudden movement, and the next thing he knows is that he's covered in pink goo.

"Crap, Lance, I didn't mean - ". A blob of pink striking his face cuts Keith off and he pulls it off, studying it in his hand. "Did you just - ". Another smacks his shoulder and he yells, throwing the goo in his hand back at lance. Lance ducks, and the cupcake instead slips past to hit Allura. "Crap, sorry Princess - ". For a third time, he's cut off with goo hitting him.

"Foooooodddd fighhhhht!" Hunk calls, scooping up some of the goo from the floor and tossing it at Coran. To say it's a fight is an understatement, as soon it becomes a full-out war, leaving no surface untouched by pink in the end. Even Shiro participates, laughing when his throw splatters against Hunk's chest.

After all that's said and done, the team huddle together in the crew lounge, smiles show through the explosion of pink they're covered in.

"Merry Christmas, man, I love you guys," Hunk says, grinning merrily.

"Merry Christmas everyone!"

"And a Happy New Year!" Lance sings his words, prompting a spontaneous chorus of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' from Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro, though Lance can see Keith mumbling the words under his breath. "Goooooo Team Voltron!"