Hunk wondered if Shay had any allergies. Considering the limited food choices that they'd have, she could have any number of allergens and not know of them. And it would be really embarrassing to give her pancakes, only for her to have to be immediately rushed to the castle's healing pods. What a terrible way to end a date. He sighed. It wasn't a date. He didn't even know if dating was something that Balmerans did. Heck, at one of the planets that they'd rescued, they were assigned lifelong mates by the government. Back to the issue at hand Hunk. He glared at the assorted dishes. He obviously couldn't bring the kitchen back the Balmera, which meant that he had to choose which ones to bring, rather than just making some there. But which ones to choose?
"Hurry up Hunk! Your girlfriend isn't gonna wait forever!" Lance called, sticking his head into the doorway, then disappearing behind it again as Hunk threw a raisin-like fruit at him.
Hunk had to stifle the urge to yell back an indignant, 'She's not my girlfriend.' because truthfully, he didn't know what they were. More than friends probably, but they definitely weren't dating. Maybe. Hunk knew next to nothing about her culture and she knew absolutely nothing about him, other than he was a Paladin and that he came from Earth.
Hunk surveyed the array of dishes that he had made. There were nine in total, each one an alien bastardization of popular Earth foods. Considering that the bulk of the food that grew on the Balmera was bland and dull, the sweet and spicy dishes would probably be the most interesting to her. He gently packed four or five of them into his cooler (made in Coran's workshop), and after making sure that they were secure, rushed downstairs to the hangar.
Rather than risk their lions on what was essentially a social trip, Lance and Hunk had decided to take the castle's shuttles for their day trip. Although Hunk would've been fine on his own, it had been decided after a certain incident (cough, cough, the mall) that all non-mission related traveling must take place in pairs. And who was the only volunteer to go to a relatively technology free and peaceful planet? His best friend of course. (Hunk was 99% sure Lance was only going in order to finally meet Shay again, in a non-stressful situation.)
"I call dibs on piloting." Lance called, running past him into the ship.
Hunk adjusted his cooler as he sat down in the passenger's seat. He carefully strapped the seat belt over both him and the food. "No contest there." He said, holding his hands up in surrender.
Lance pouted, and then launched off. "What, don't trust me with your little 'present'?"
Hunk laughed. "Not in a million years. Knowing you, there'll be nothing left when we get there if you hold it."
The flight was gonna be short, thankfully. If the ride was too long, the different juices and spices and forms of the food would change and mix, and all of the effort he put into the feast would be worthless. It would really suck if the food got messed up before Shay got to try it; he wanted to see how her face lit up when she tasted something new. Just like when she had first saw the sun.
OoOoOoO
When they landed, the first to meet them was Shay's grandmother.
"It's nice to see you again, Yellow Paladin." She said as Hunk bent down to hug her.
Hunk had told her many times to just call him by her name, but once she learned of his position on Team Voltron, he found it impossible to convince her to call him otherwise.
"It's nice to see you again too, Ma'am. I missed your stew." Hunk replied as he straightened up. Behind him, Lance exited the ship, striding over to Shay's grandmother confidently. For a moment Hunk was afraid that Lance would say something stupid, or do something disrespectful, but as he watched Lance meet Grandma in an informal hug, he realized that he had nothing to worry about. Lance had a huge family; obviously he would know how to interact with someone's SO's family.
Hunk paused. Did he really just think of Shay as his Significant Other?
"Hunk!" Shay called, pulling him from his thoughts. "It is nice to see you again." She was much more reserved than her grandmother. Was it a cultural thing? Should he have asked Allura about it before he left? Damn. What if he committed a cultural taboo by accident?
Lance dropped his hand on Hunk's shoulder and squeezed him in reassurance. "It's nice to meet you formally, Shay. Hunk's talked about you a lot."
Shay giggled. "Has he now?"
Hunk could feel his face start to burn. "I, uh, yeah." He remembered what the weight in his arms was, and thrust it at her abruptly. She flinched, and he remembered how life must have been for her, under the rule of the Galra. "I-I-I um, made some food for you. I figured it'd be different than the usual stuff you eat."
Shay smiled and grabbed Hunk's arm. "That sounds grand." She began to lead him away, leaving Lance and her grandmother behind at the ship. Lance offered him a thumbs up as he looked behind him, and turned back to Shay's grandma, which then laughed at something Lance had said.
"So what it this 'sweet' flavor that you like so much?" Shay asked as he looked away from the ship.
He rubbed the back of his head. "It's easier to taste than describe." Shay's grip on his arm fell loose and slid down until she was only barely grabbing his wrist. He slid his hand into hers. "I think it's kinda like what the nicest person on this whole Balmera would taste like, if you ate their personality."
"And who would that be?" Shay's hand was warm, and rough with calluses from her life in the mines. Her thumb brushed over his knuckles and all he could think was that Lance was so much better at this type of thing. If pick-up lines were a course at the garrison, he'd have passed with straight A's long ago. And god, was his hand as sweaty as he thought it was? Could Shay feel it?
"Um," He stuttered. "You"
With his food in one hand, and Shay in the other, he realised that at least one thing was the same between them. If there were millions of differences between them, he didn't care as long as they both felt this same way.