Ch. 23: Hunk. KNows. Fucking. BEST.
It's 7:30 in the morning and Hunk can't get back to sleep. He hates it, but once he's up in the morning, he's up. If he wakes up any time after 7, it's game-fucking-over.
Normally in this situation he would just get up and start his day, but seeing as how he is currently staying in the Holt home, all of whom got time off for the funeral yesterday, he's not gonna be the asshole that wakes them all up early.
Besides, Matt's childhood bed is comfy, and the whole space theme of his room is relaxing.
Looking up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, he can't help but wonder if Matt convinced Shiro to put some up in their current bedroom. Knowing Matt, he probably has.
He'd like to know more about their relationship, honestly. Shiro and Matt are his friends now, and their pasts are so embedded in one another's he can't help but be curious. A true life childhood friends to lovers story, everyone is weak for that shit.
Especially Hunk.
Maybe if he gets some time alone with Matt while they are here he will ask him about it.
Lord knows he isn't exactly succeeding in his own love life.
He looks around the bedroom, trying to get his mind off of his own stupid decisions when it comes to Shay. His eyes catch a scene through the window. Keith's bedroom.
There's a strong feeling of relief when he sees Keith is, in fact, alone in his bed. You can really never know with Lance and his weird hero complex that pops out whenever someone is sad.
It is by far his worst trait, in Hunk's opinion.
Don't get him wrong, there's nothing inherently bad about wanting to help others, he does it all the time after all. The problem lies in Lance's execution.
He gets too involved, with a single-minded mentality that he's the only one who can help them. For instance, when they were ten there was a classmate who had just lost her grandfather. When she returned to school she was still extremely upset, and while neither him nor Lance really knew her, Lance jumped into action to help her out. He gave her snacks and hugs and just doted on her for an entire week, but as soon as she seemed to be okay again, he reverted back to not really talking to her.
In his defense, they didn't have anything in common, and he's become good friends with other kids through similar situations.
Still, once she was doing better, he felt satisfied with a job well done and went back to his normal routine. He was a kid and didn't pick up on the signs she was giving, so he was flabbergasted (and heart broken) when she suddenly accosted him in the hallway, coming out of nowhere to pull him in for a kiss.
She had been hurting, he had been kind to her, she developed a crush and then went about it all the wrong way .
Lance became a little wary after that, and a long lecture from Hunk about being too naive, but he still goes head first into this shit. Top that with his complicated feelings towards Keith on a good day and Hunk knows damn well that if left unchecked that idiot's hero complex could destroy everything they have all built together.
Besides, despite Lance's insistence to the contrary, Pidge has been by Keith's side this entire time. For the second time in his life. She knows how to comfort him and give him the right amount of affection and space.
There's also the fact that she isn't gonna hog him from Shiro. Sure, Keith isn't comfortable talking with Shiro right now and that's okay, but Lance would end up monopolizing him for god knows how long and that would end up being unresolved. Pidge knows what to do to resolve it. The two of them had a whole discussion about it last night, she has a full blown plan.
Pidge has got this.
Now, with all of that in mind, does he believe it when Lance says Keith looked like he wanted more from Lance?
Of course he does. Keith likes Lance and is hurting, anyone would want that.
Is it a good idea? Absolutely not.
Keith isn't in his right mind set and Lance takes his comforting too fucking far. Someone would cross a line and everyone would end up suffering for it.
Hell, he left them alone for one night and they-
Ugh .
Pocahontas 2 brings nothing but bad things.
He should start charging Shiro and Lance's mom for babysitting fees. Especially Lance's mom.
Hunk turns away from the window, genuinely relieved Lance is listening to him this time. He's either growing to accept Hunk knows all and should be listened to, or he cares enough about Keith to not want to risk that chance Hunk is right.
Either way, it's a win-win.
Looking over to Matt's spaceship alarm clock, Hunk sees it's already 8 and decides that rather than dwelling on how stupid his best friend is, he should do something at least mildly productive.
So he puts on his coat and shoes and brings Bae Bae into the snow-covered backyard to go potty.
The Holts and Takeshi/Kurogane families have always been close, which is made very evident in the fact they share a fenced in backyard. Shiro and Matt even have a matching doggy door to the Holts' for when Bae Bae might wanna pop in for a visit.
Between the two yards, Bae Bae has more room than she could ever know what to do with. She is seriously living the life.
He wonders, though, if maybe she's lonely. She adores Rover already and plays with her so gently, it's a shame she's an only dog. At least she has Rover now periodically.
Yup, the two look positively adorable chasing each other around the yard, Bae Bae letting Rover get a few sympathy wins in every so often. Even though it's so cold out, he can't help but think he could happily watch them play for hours.
Wait.
What the hell is Rover doing out? She can't get through the doggy door.
He peeks past the garage and sees Keith standing over by the back porch of Shiro and Matt's home. His eyes are hazy and unfocused, the heavy bags under his eyes evident even from where he's standing. Looking at his friend standing there, so worn and vulnerable, he can't help but want to pull the poor guy into a tight hug and let him go back to sleep.
Deciding to walk over, his eyes stay focused on Keith, who is so lost in thought/exhaustion/defeat, he doesn't even notice until Hunk speaks.
"Hey." He calls, making sure to be quiet so he doesn't startle the boy.
He fails.
Keith practically jumps out of his skin before truly looking at Hunk and registering who it is, " Jesus, Hunk !" He gasps, "Wh-what are you doing up so early?"
Hunk simply shrugs, "I just kinda woke up, and once I'm up, I'm up." He looks over the exhausted teen next to him, "You?"
"Rover," Keith mumbles and Hunk nods, "But also...I can't get back to sleep."
The taller teen gives Keith a toothy grin, "If you need a cuddle buddy, I've got you."
Keith laughs a little, "Nah, I'm good. I got more than enough physical contact yesterday from people."
"Now you only want it in the form of cute, fluffy things, huh?"
"Absolutely."
Hunk shrugs, "Welp, can't blame you there. If you do want physical affection, though, I'm your guy!" He insists, hoping Keith doesn't fully catch on.
It doesn't work.
"You want to keep Lance and I away from each other that bad , huh?" Keith teases and Hunk is honestly just relieved he's not angry, "Good choice. He's kind of a lot right now."
"Seeing as how I know all, every choice I make is a good one, Keith." Hunk teases and Keith laughs.
"So you say, but I distinctly remember a certain know-it-all being an avid believer in ghosts."
"Which is all the more reason you should believe in them, you know."
"Mmhmm."
A peaceful silence settles between them as they watch the dogs now chase each other and play, Bae Bae laying on her back as Rover hops all over her triumphantly.
"So, you're not even gonna try to go back to bed, are you?" Hunk finally asks after ten minutes of standing around.
"No. It's a wasted effort. Besides, if I go back in there and accidentally wake Lance up, he's gonna be…" Keith does some weird gestures with his hands.
"Yeah, true enough." Hunk pats him on the back, "It's cold as balls out here, though, so why don't we put the dogs inside and grab some breakfast?"
Keith looks over at him with a smile, "I know a great diner."
"I thought you hated diners."
"They are only good for breakfast, but they are almost always great at breakfast."
Hunk grins, "Then by all means," He tosses Keith his duplicate key to Lance's car and gestures to the front yard, "Lead the way."
The diner is about ten minutes from Keith and Pidge's childhood homes, it's called the Happy Ham, and the second they enter Hunk is absolutely in love. It's cozy, but surprisingly spacious. There's probably about 30 tables scattered throughout the diner, but the size isn't what he's in love with. The decor is.
Wall to wall it's all pig themed. The whole inside is just immersed in pink paint, and brown wood flooring. There's one hallway in the building that leads to the bathrooms and the kitchen, and it's opening is covered in drawings and coloring book pages of pigs that children worked on. There's actual paintings and statues from local artists, salt and pepper shakers, and even the tablecloths are all covered in little pigs.
He. Is. In. Love.
Not to mention the puns that are all over . Dear lord he needs to meet the owner of this place and shake their hand because they are absolutely his kind of people.
"It's cute, isn't it?" Keith asks, pulling Hunk out of his thoughts in time for the waitress to come by with menus and get their drink orders. "Pidge and I loved coming here as kids. This was my Uncle Ulaz and Uncle Thace's favorite place to eat." A nostalgic smile washes over him as he sits back in his seat, "We would come here and Uncle Ulaz would make pig puns the entire time, it was where he brought Uncle Thace on their first date. He insisted the pig puns were what got him a second date."
Hunk laughs, "I mean I'd definitely go for a second date after that."
"Speaking of dates, how are things going with Shay?" Keith asks, innocently enough, but Hunk still chokes a little on the milk he's drinking.
"G-good? It's good. Probably? We went on our date, and it went really well." Hunk blushes, looking down at his drink awkwardly, "I couldn't really afford anything expensive so I kicked Lance out one night and cooked her dinner."
"Smart choice. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to marry you after eating your food."
"Haha, yeah, well it at least got me a second date..some day." He frowns, finding days they can both meet is impossible and one was actually scheduled for today, but there's absolutely no way he wouldn't be here with Keith. Something Shay agreed with entirely.
Which, of course she would.
She's perfect.
"It must be hard to find time to meet, what with school and work and our little ghost hunting excursions…why don't you bring her some time?" Keith smirks, "Or maybe she's too smart to believe in ghosts, and you don't wanna be outnumbered."
Hunk laughs a little, "She thinks it's interesting. She watches all of our stuff. Even Lance's conspiracy theory episodes. I just don't wanna bring her because I don't want anyone to end up as the third wheel."
Keith shrugs, "There's three of us, we can hang out on our own."
Hunk looks down at his menu and mumbles, "Pidge would get left out…"
"What?"
"N-nothing! Maybe I'll inviter her some time, if she can make it!" He lets out an awkward laugh, raising Keith's curiosity. Honestly, the idea of opening the full can of worms that is Keith and Lance's feelings is an act he dreads.
Although he knows he'll probably end up being the one who has to do it.
But at this point he is totally good with that not happening for a long time.
"So have you ever gone on a date here?" Hunk asks and Keith tenses up.
"Well, no, but...my ex...works here…."
"Stalker ex?" Hunk tenses up, looking around, "Am I gonna have to kick his ass? Because I will happily. Destroy. Him . You know, if you want."
Keith laughs a little, "No, not that one. He doesn't have a job, that I know of. His parents are pretty well off. The guy who works here is Francis. He's a chef in the back."
Hunk admittedly doesn't know shit about this Francis guy. Lance probably does, though. "Is he cool?"
"Yeah."
"Did you like him a lot?" He stupidly asks, kicking himself when Keith's expression drops to a defeated smile.
"Yeah. It doesn't matter, though, it never would have worked.." Keith mumbles before the waitress returns with their orders.
"I can't believe you ordered the strawberry shortcake with your breakfast." Hunk says, eyeing Keith's plate of a normal breakfast next to a giant piece of said cake. "Are you five?"
Keith takes a bite of the cake and smiles some, "If it'll shut you up about the cake, sure."
"I just...that's desert , Keith, not breakfast."
"I ask for very little, Hunk, just let me eat my breakfast cake in peace."
Hunk groans, "You're killing me, but I love you, so I guess I will."
The two eat in companionable silence and after finishing his breakfast, Hunk orders some cake as well (and Keith orders another piece).
It's genuinely amazing , but still a fucking desert.
When they finish eating, Hunk leads the way to the register to pay for them both and Keith tries to protest. As soon as they reach the counter, however, Keith goes silent, his eyes locking with the admittedly hot chef peeking out of the kitchen pass-through.
He's about Hunk's height, clearly needing to lean forward to poke his entire head out the opening, his black hair is tied back and in a net but he can tell it's long, and his eyes are probably the greenest eyes he's personally ever seen.
Jesus .
"Keith!" The man calls, "Come back here, man, so I can give you a hug!"
Keith raises a brow, looking to the woman at the register who simply shrugs and gestures for him to come behind the counter.
"He does this more often than you'd think." She says in an oddly pointed manner.
"Friendly guy, huh?" Hunk asks her as Keith goes around to say hi.
"A lot friendlier since he got his divorce." The woman mutters, subtly eyeing Keith behind her, "Better be careful, he might go after your boyfriend."
Hunk gasps, "No! He wouldn't do that!" He leans forward a little, "Would he?"
She shrugs, "Who knows? Those two were really close for a while when we were all younger, I think it was just for a summer, but, like, people were starting to talk. He's always been pretty keen to know what Keith has been up to."
Hunk looks behind her to see Francis' arm around Keith's shoulders, locking him in an awkward hug through the pass-through. As he watches, Francis whispers something in Keith's ear before giving him a peck on the cheek and letting go.
Which, okay, Keith looks flustered but not truly upset, so he can let it slide. On Keith's part. But if these people think he's Keith's boyfriend and this guy is just coming out here pulling other men's boyfriends into kisses that's pretty un-fucking-cool, dude.
Keith comes back over to Hunk, who is now glaring down Francis. "Um…are we good now?"
"Yeah, let's head home." Hunk says, wrapping an arm around poor Keith's shoulders and giving him a small forehead kiss before leading the shocked boy out. "So, your ex is pretty hot, huh?"
Keith laughs a little, "Yeah, also pretty brazen. He whispered that if I'm ever single I should give him a call. Guess shotgun marriages aren't always the best foundation for a life-long relationship."
"How rude! " Hunk huffs, "He thinks we're together and he's out here hitting you up and kissing you. God damn. What a tool. Sorry about the sudden kiss, by the way. It's just... the audacity! "
"Don't worry about it. He's not all bad, though," Keith defends and Hunk is insulted because yes he fucking is , "I'm glad he's comfortable about liking guys now, apparently."
"That why you broke up?" Hunk asks and Keith is silent for a while.
"Basically, I guess. That's the simplified reason." He looks at his watch and sighs, "It's ten so I'm sure everyone is up if you wanna head back."
"Do you wanna head back?"
"Not really." Keith admits, adjusting the mittens on his hands as they get back into the car. "If you don't mind being outside in the cold a little longer, there's somewhere else I'd like to go."
Hunk sits back down in the passenger seat, shooting him a wide grin "Anywhere you want, dear ." He teases and Keith laughs some, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards a bridge.
A/N:
You steal a chapter from Hunk, he steals your whole ass man.
Suck on that, Lance.
(Meanwhile Lance: Where he going with my man? WHY HE TOUCHIN MY MAN?) ((you get 10 cool points if you know what that's from))br /
I don't know how this ended up going in a Heith-y route. I think I've been reading too many yaoi mangas to distract me from the genuine pain that is my life now lololol. ANYWAYS, I'm not gonna try to make any promises this time of updating within a certain amount of time bc for real everything keeps going to shit in my life so like who fucking knows. I'm not dropping it though and genuinely BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO STICK AROUND for my bullshit. 500/10 best readers, love you all.