It had been a few days since the attack of the slime-as Keith deemed that stressed filled day- and Allura had decided that a short break was in order.

It was because the team needed time to heal.

The decision had nothing to do with the fact that everyone's favourite pygmy paladin had terrorized her.

Nope, they had nothing to do with it.

At all.

So Allura had opened a wormhole and dropped them in a random Galra-free solar system that conveniently had a jungle planet that was safe for humans to go on.

It was not as random as the others think because Hunk had found it beforehand.

Hunk had found it when he was looking for the perfect planet to propose.

He had wanted to do it on Earth but he decided to bump up the date after he nearly lost Lance to the slime. He had learned the hard way that they could die the next day in this intergalactic war and he wanted to leave this universe with no regrets and he knew he would regret it if he never did this.

So, when he had found the planet, he quickly went to convince Allura to go there. Allura had-surprisingly- agreed and the rest was history.

Lance had taken one look at the planet and went bananas.

Hunk had to hold him to stop him from annoying Coran and Allura as they quickly scanned the planet to ensure it was human-friendly and he had started to wiggle around like a puppy when they had cleared it.

Thus, leading to the current scene.

Lance was bouncing around in a pair of shorts, a white tank top and a translucent reef blue tie-on shirt that went over the shorts and a tank top. Lance's hair was pulled back after he realized that it had gone out of control and he was wearing flip-flops.

"Let's go! My Abuela moves faster than you and she's 85!" Lance called as he darted around. They were going to take a shuttle down and Shiro had Hunk and Keith help him pack everything that they would need for a beach day. Pidge and Allura were changing and Coran was doing a last-minute check of the Castle.

Lance… he was everywhere.

He was running around, helping Coran one minute and Keith, Shiro, and Hunk pack the next minute. He was fetching things and putting them in the pile; towels, shirts, sandals, a pair of umbrellas, a box of sunscreen filled with different SPF's.

Hunk had no clue where Lance was getting all this shit from.

Honestly.

Hunk watched as Lance took Pidge's laptop away and Pidge proceeded to chase the hyperactive Mexican around the Castle in a desperate bid for their laptop but they seemed to have forgotten that Lance was a living bullet on sugar.

"Ok," Hunk said in amusement, "Who fed him sugar?"

Allura chuckled as Pidge stumbled back into the hanger sans a laptop but they brightened when Lance came back with it and Shiro snorted when Lance told Pidge that if he caught Pidge working on anything stressful, he was going to confiscate it. Keith tried not to laugh as Pidge pouted but finally agreed to his terms. Pidge put the laptop in their bag and stuck it in the shuttle, away from bronze fingers.

"Love," Hunk called and Lance was quick to turn around, "Could you get a plastic bag in case Shiro's arm doesn't like the water?"

"Yep!" Lance said and he pirouetted around and raced out of the hanger. Hunk could only huff in amusement and he turned to see everyone but Pidge looking at Lance with wonder. So far, no pity had been seen in anyone's eyes but Lance wasn't so convinced about that issue.

"Ok, ask," Hunk said as he waited for the first question.

He didn't have to wait long.

"How long have you two been dating?" Keith asked.

Good question to start with.

"I met Lance at the Garrison county bazaar when I was maybe twelve. He was eleven- on the cusp of turning twelve- and was with his siblings and parents at their farms stand. My parents own a restaurant and they were always on the hunt for the best ingredients. Lance's parents could have grown just about anything and they showed it. I remember seeing milk, eggs, herbs, corn, squash, beans, cucumbers and more and it all tasted damn good too. My parents went to talk to the McClain's- that's Lance's last name- about getting their produce into our kitchen and I started to talk to Lance. He was a skinny thing and he could only wear his sister's clothes so he was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white tank top with a Mayan poncho his Abuela had made the traditional way," He was quickly interrupted by Pidge.

"He's Mayan?"

"Yep, pay attention. There'll be a test later," Hunk said, "Anyway, we spent the day running around the bazaar with his sister Bonita and had the best time of our lives and that started our friendship but what started our relationship was when Lance was thirteen and I was fourteen. I had just realized I was pansexual and Lance had actually beat me in terms of the sexual discovery department when he told me he was gay and before you say anything about him flirting with everyone, just know that his whole family does it; I swear it's genetic. Hell, his lesbian sister Anna-Marie flirted with me and she had her girlfriend with her too. I spent three months trying not to fall in love with my best friend and I failed miserably. Lance came to me a few weeks into the third month, took me to the beach, and told me that he had a crush on someone. I was so heartbroken but I told him that I would be his wingman. He told me that was going to be impossible because I couldn't talk myself up. I was shocked but when he smiled at me shyly and asked if we could give us a chance, I scooped him up and twirled him around in my arms and I kissed him full on the lips. It was fireworks going off in my brain and we fell on the sand."

A new voice interrupted, "I thought our parents were gonna freak when we told them we were dating. Mama and Papa cried in delight and your Mom and Dad started to plan our first date if I remember this correctly. I think you got five different shovel talks from my siblings and I know I got one from your father; your mother scares me however, she could poison me and I wouldn't even know it until it was too late," Everyone turned to see Lance armed with a few dozen plastic bags and duck tape.

Okay, where the hell was Lance getting all this shit from?!

Lance sauntered over and placed the bags and the tape in the same box as the sunscreen. He swayed back to Hunk and took his left hand; Hunk was just thankful that he didn't grab the right one or he would have found it.

"We've been together ever since. Never missed the other's events or family reunion; the face of my homophobic aunt and uncle was hilarious when I brought Hunk over for Navidad. My family never got a Christmas card from them again after that interesting fiasco though it wasn't as interesting as the judge that said my Mexican Chocolate cake was the worst thing he ever tasted after he saw me kiss Hunk on the lips or the teacher that marched us to the principles office because we kissed before class like every couple does."
Hunk snorted, "I thought the principle was going to bust a gut, he was laughing that hard. He sent us home for the day as an apology and moved us to another class after she did it again. That was how we started to date," Hunk concluded as he squeezed the strong but delicate bronze hand with his own darker hand.

Lance waited for the next question and Shiro didn't disappoint, "How long have you been dating?"
Easy question.

"Six and a half years," Hunk answered as Lance started to fidget.

Lance really wanted to go to the planet.

Allura thankfully saw the signs when Hunk did and she quickly intervened, "Let's go planet side; I don't know about you but I want to go swimming."

Hunk was just glad that the princess was smart.

\\\\\\\\\\\\

Hunk watched as Lance dragged Pidge into the water, his tank-top and shorts absolutely soaking wet and brown hair glistening with azure streams of water.

Pidge honestly just looked like a drowned rat next to Lance.

It could be the fact that Hunk was the most biased man on the beach.

Shiro was sprawled out on a towel with a book in his hand and his eyes covered with a pair of shades that Lance had shoved on his eyes.

That had been an absolutely comical scene.

Keith was helping Hunk cook while Allura took a page out of Shiro's book and was reclining on a beach chair that Lance had brought with an Altean book.

Coran was splashing around with Lance and Pidge and looking even more like a drowned rat than Pidge did.

Keith snorted when Coran and Pidge tackled Lance into the water and a giant splashing sound filled the air.

"ACK! Guys!" Lance screeched as they dragged him through the water.

Laughter was the only response to Lance's complaint.

Hunk quickly called over to the thrashing trio before they could proceed to drown themselves, "Guys! Lunch! Get over here before Shiro and I eat it all!"

The words resulted in a stampede that was all limbs, splashing and controlled chaos. Lance was in the lead with Pidge and Coran following close behind him but that lead was quickly lost when Pidge snatched Lance's shorts and pulled him into the sand. Lance howled at Pidge and Coran laughed as he reached the grill first.

Shiro ambled over and pulled the two apart, "Hunk's threat still stands," He said, utterly relaxed.

Lance and Pidge looked at him, judging whether or not Shiro would go through with it. Lance seemed to believe him because he scrambled over to where Hunk was. Hunk quickly leaned down and Lance met him halfway in a chaste kiss.

Hunk could feel Lance chuckle into the kiss when Pidge promptly said "Eww," and fled to the relative safety that laid in Shiro's direction, "Shiro, they're being cute again. Make them stop.

"They are a couple Pidge," Shiro pointed out as he munched on a slice of bread, "They're allowed to act all cute and gooey, it's basically the meaning of the word dating."

'Still," they whined, "I want a ban on all PDA's from now on. Please, I beg you; Voltron depends on you Shiro, don't let us down."

Lance chuckled and turned to see Pidge had gotten on their knees, hands clasped and big pleading eyes aimed at Shiro. Shiro was desperately avoiding eye contact with the pygmy paladin but Keith and Coran were trying to contain their laughter. Allura was chuckling and Hunk was guffawing at Shiro's desperate avoidance of Pidge.

"Ok Pidge lay off the doe eyes of doom for a few and come get something to eat," Lance drawled as he helped himself to some food. Pidge groaned but obeyed and Shiro gave a soft sigh of relief as they left to get some food.

Lance chuckled as Shiro smiled at him, "Thanks Lance, I was about to cave when you intervened."

"No problem; Neves tries to do the same thing all the time to Mama, Dad intervenes all the time as well," Lance said as Pidge and Keith fought over a piece of meat and Coran proceeded to separate them.

Hunk laughed and took Lance's hand in his own, "Lance is resistant as well."
Lance chuckled and squeezed Hunk's hand, "You, el amor, are not. I've seen you cave to Neves and the younger ones all the time."

Hunk laughed, "You have me there. Any children we have are gonna be spoiled by me. You're gonna have to play bad cop."

Lance snorted and picked up a slice of fruit from his plate, "No, we have to be balanced cops," he said as he munched on the fruit.

Hunk smiled softly, "Ok then, balance cops it is then."

It felt heavy in his pocket.

\\\\\\\\

Hunk pulled Lance up as they climbed up towards a cliff he had spotted from the beach.

"Hunk, where are we going?" He asked as Hunk lifted him up and placed him on the ledge above him.

Hunk beamed up at Lance with the smile that made Lance's heart melt and his legs feel like Jell-O, "To the top of the cliff. I wanna see the sunset with you."

Lance was a hopeless romantic and Hunk knew it. If Lance could, he would have turned into a puddle of goo at Hunk's feet.

Hunk and Lance continued to climb until they reached the top. They had managed to get to the top of the cliff with ten minutes to spare until sunset. The sun was turning into a pale orange as it crept closer to the horizon. Red, yellows, and pink started to bleed into the light and blue and black was creeping in at the edges.

It was beautiful.

Hunk turned towards the left to look at Lance, watching the light paint his gorgeous bronze skin and soft umber hair. The soft light made Lance look even more exotic than usual and Hunk couldn't help but wonder what god he had pleased to end up with Lance as his beloved boyfriend.

And soon, so much more.

His right pocket never felt heavier.

Hunk's nerves were a mess and he was trembling.

Breathe.

Hunk reached for his pocket with trembling hands and grasped a little black velvet box, pulling it out. He quickly sank down on one knee.

Lance whipped to the right when he heard the gravel crunch and looked down in shock. Hunk quickly pulled the top open to reveal a ring nestled in dark blue fabric.

It was a beautiful and slender rose gold with a medium sized cushion-cut diamond that had an infinity backing on the top that had sapphires and topazes looping around each other.

Lance couldn't speak.

His tongue was tied.

First time for everything.

"Lance," Hunk started, "I remember when I first met you at that bazaar and all I could think about was how beautiful you were. I knew I would never find someone with a personality as beautiful as yours was. You looked so beautiful in the light and that beauty grew as we got older. When I realized I was pan, I felt like I was doomed because I fell in love with you. All I could think about was how you made the world so much more beautiful because you were in it. When you told me you loved someone on that beach, my heart broke; I couldn't bear the idea that someone else was getting all your love but I was determined to be your best friend and support you. When you told me that I couldn't talk myself up, I felt like the world was exploding and that first kiss was worth its weight in gold. Loving you everyday is an adventure. We laughed, we fought, we cried, we shared dreams, we shared fears. What we never did was break up or stop loving each other. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I can't think of a better person to grow old with. Lance Antonio McClain, will you marry me?"

\\\\\\\

Lance couldn't speak.

Hunk-his best friend since he was eleven and boyfriend since he was thirteen- just proposed to him.

Proposed.

To Lance.

Holy shit.

Lance started to giggle and Hunk gave him a hurt look until Lance fell to his knees, pulled a little blue box out of his pocket, and opened it.

The thick band that rested in black cloth was a silver colour, the inside having a unique shine to it that reminded the Hawaiian teen of abalone shells. Now that he looked at it, it was abalone shell.

"I found the ring at a shop that advertised Earthen wares; I honestly don't think they know what this ring was for but they advertised it as a cup holder. I was planning on proposing to you as well but I think Pidge helped the both of us and is now laughing at us as we speak," Lance said as he laughed and Hunk couldn't help but laugh as well.

Good ole Pidge, trolling hopeless couples since the year they were born.

Hunk wasn't sure if he should whack Pidge or send them flowers.

"Is that a yes?" Hunk asked.

"Yes, you big goofy lug. Yes," Lance said and Hunk realized that Lance was crying.

"Will you marry me?" Lance asked, tears running down his face and a smile on his lips.

"Yes Lance, I'll marry you. I just told you there is no other person I want to marry," Hunk replied.

Oh great, now he was crying.

They were both crying.

Lance gently tugged the band free and picked Hunk's trembling hand up. Hunk watched with baited breath as Lance placed the ring on his left finger. It was a perfect fit.

Hunk pulled the ring out of the box and pulled Lance's hand closer. He could feel Lance shaking- apparently, Hunk wasn't the only one to have pre-proposal nerves- as Hunk slide the elegant ring onto Lance's left ring finger.

"Isn't this usually sealed with a kiss?" Hunk teased as he tried to wipe his tears away.

He stopped when Lance cradled Hunk's face in his hands and smiled; wiping tears away with his thumbs, "It's usually is," Lance agreed and pulled Hunk closer.

Fireworks went off in both of their heads as their lips connected.

It was sweet

It was chaste.

It was soft

It was intoxicating.

It was spice.

It was depth.

It was dimensional.

It was life.

It was Lance.

It was Hunk.

It was timeless.

Limitless.

Free.

Addictive.

Breath-taking

Beautiful.

Hunk pulled back first and realized that the sun had long since set. The sky was now a soft blue-black that was dotted with twinkling stars. The planets moon was a soft silverish-white that made Lance look even more beautiful than the sun's rich colours had.

"I'll call Shiro and tell him that we need a pickup. We're not climbing down," Hunk said as he wiped Lance's tears away.

"Okay," Lance whispered.

Shiro had laughed at them when they had called and said that they needed a ride down but the man had thankfully came anyway. Turns out that they had packed up while the two had been on the cliff and were planning to head back to the Castle once Lance and Hunk had returned. Picking them up would save time.

The flight to the Castle had been quiet but Hunk and Lance had the look of a pair of cats that had gotten cream or something.

Pidge knew better.

But it was Keith that had noticed the rings first.

"Lance? When did you get a ring?" Keith asked at breakfast the next day.

Lance choked on his food and Pidge started to giggle as Hunk-on the left- and Coran- on the right- slapped his back.

"¡Mierda Santa! Yo sabía que me olvidaba algo! ¡Nos olvidamos de decirles!" Lance gasped as soon as he could breath again.

"I think they would appreciate that statement in English darling; not Spanish," Hunk said lightly.

"Holy shit! I knew I forgot something! We forgot to tell them!"

"Not the first sentence," Shiro commented.

Hunk and Lance beamed at each other and then at the others.

"Are you gonna tell us or not?" Pidge asked dryly.

"Well," Lance said with that same silly grin.

"Yes?" Allura asked.

"Well," Hunk said, a mischievous grin on his lips.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Shiro said kindly, "Pidge might tell us first."

Lance and Hunk beamed at each other, giddiness filling their features, "We're getting married! We're engaged" They said at the exact same time. In sync and the whole nine yards.

Silence filled the hall for two seconds.

Two.

That was all it took…

"WHAT?!"

For the chaos to start.

"Engaged?" Shiro asked

"When? How?" That was Allura.

"Congratulations!" There's Coran.

Pidge just laughed.

Keith smiled softly but said nothing.

Besides, actions speak louder than words.

"Last night. The excitement of it all wore us out and we forgot to tell you guys," Hunk explained as Keith smiled at them.

"Wow,' Shiro breathed out, "That's incredible. Marriage."

"Shiro," Lance asked, "Are you going into shock? Hunk, I think Shiro is going into shock."

"More importantly," Allura dismissed, "When is the wedding?"

"We don't know yet," Hunk answered as Lance and Pidge tried to bring Shiro out of his shock, "We'll be talking about that."

Lance smiled and intertwined their hands as the team kept talking.

/

Lance's mama once told him that there was a reason to every tragedy, a lesson in the pain. These lessons make people stronger, wiser, kinder.

Lance took that lesson to heart.

When the bullies in public school picked on him for his heritage, he went home and spent hours listening to Abuela; learning about the very heritage the kids saw fit to try and destroy.

When he was told by those same kids that he will never find someone that loved him because he was ugly and a waste of space, he created a beauty routine and told himself every day that he was beautiful and worth it.

When he was berated by students in high school and the teachers did nothing because to them, he was the Hispanic kid that will likely become a drug addict and a prostitute, he got some of the best grades in the school and protested drug abuse.

When that teacher told him, that boys kissing boys or girls kissing girls was a sin and anyone who wasn't straight was going to hell, he told her that love and religion didn't mix and hatred wasn't a good look on her.

When they told him that a Hispanic kid would never be a fighter pilot, he worked his ass off to get into the program. If they wanted to believe that the only reason that he got in was because Keith walked, so be it but Lance knew better.

When the boys at the Garrison ridiculed him for being gay, he walked around the school with a rainbow belt for a week straight.

Point is, Lance learned that adversity meant that you were on the right track.

He also learned to never count your blessings because there was just too many of them.

He had Hunk- his fiancée.

He had a large family- crazy as they were.

He had Azul- his leading lady and shared a large spot in his heart with Hunk and his family.

He had Team Voltron- his Space family.

He had his skills- developed over time to shape into what he was.

Lance had blessings and curses in spades. He had a future.

He had hope.

So, whenever you lose hope; remember this.

Your blessings are stronger than your curses.

When adversity comes knocking; answer the door with a smile and a loaded gun.

Or bayard. Whatever works.

Answer the door with the gun and remember.

Adversity is a teacher, when you let it teach.

It shapes you, defines you, changes you, and gets you started on the right path.

You are a hidden treasure, sitting in plain sight.

The brightest lights come from the darkest hour.

-FIN-

Wildcat: There is a sequel in the works! It's a series of one-shots leading to the wedding day.

Lance: Disclaimer. -_-'

Wildcat: Oh, yeah... I don't own Voltron LD. If I did, Shance or Hunce would be canon. It's a toss-up. Thanks for all the support. ^-^. Love you all.