Disclaimer: Still don't own Voltron, what a surprise!
This chapter is mostly from Lance's perspective. So a little something different for all of you. Please enjoy!
~My Rock in the Storm~
"Slippery, little brat!" grumbled Steve or "Lackey Number 1" as Lance liked to call him. "Where on earth did he and tubbo go?" Good thing Nick's friends were none too bright, otherwise they might have found Hunk and Lance hiding in the old pool shed half an hour ago.
"Don't call him that, stupid jerk!" he internally fumed on Hunk's behalf. Since his sister worked as a swimming instructor, Lance knew where the keys to the supply shed were kept. On rough days like this, he usually hid in here to escape from the other kids for awhile.
Man, he felt awful. He'd never meant to drag Hunk into all this. You see, Lance had long been Nick's target of choice at their school. Precisely why this was, the boy honestly didn't know.
Maybe because he was shorter than the majority of the kids in their class? Or that Lance often spoke out against Nick when he treated the other children poorly? Whatever the blond's reason, the boy had become determined to make Lance's life miserable.
"Oh, Lance, Lance- Loose My Pants!" Nick called in a sing-songy voice. "Come out to p-lay!"
A shiver ran down the tan boy's spine at hearing that tone. He hated that stupid nickname! Unshed tears frustratingly built in Lance's eyes.
"Well... so much for making a good impression on Hunk..." he ruefully thought, tightening his arms across his chest. The day had started out so well, too. Lance had been super excited to see a new face at the pool! At first, the boy had been a teeny bit nervous about approaching Hunk. Bigger kids, in Lance's experience, usually looked down on short people like him; both figuratively and literally. As if, they were insignificance. Well, height and physical strength weren't everything you know! He'd show them some day! That he was just as important as they were! But oddly, Lance didn't get that kinda vibe from Hunk at all.
Case in point, the larger boy was positively fretting over Lance's swollen ankle. "Are you okay?" he asked with a light sniffle. Gently, Hunk reached out and lifted the injured limb. "It looks a little red."
"Naw, I've had worse," Lance replied, trying to play it cool. Which technically was true. "Feels like a light sprain. Only twinges a little when I move it."
It actually hurt more than that, but Lance was determined not to let Hunk see him cry. He refused to let anyone believe he was helpless and weak.
Hunk cast him an uncertain gaze. "Alright... if you say so..." The larger boy then checked around the shed, as if searching for something. "Wrapping it up would be best."
"Hey, I might look scrawny, but I'm pretty tough!" he declared, confidently. Puffing out his tiny chest, hoping to look convincing. "Gonna take more than this to keep me down!"
At this point, Lance tried to stand. Which was probably the dumbest thing he could have done. The second his weight was placed on it, his ankle immediately began to give way. Luckily, Hunk had anticipated this and caught him on the way down.
"Easy now," Hunk calmly said. His strong, secure hands carefully guiding Lance back to the ground. "You don't have to pretend with me... It's alright to admit when you're in pain. Totally doesn't make you weak, okay?"
A sharp gasp caught in his throat. How had Hunk known? Usually, Lance's mask of bravado was practically flawless! Even too much so, his mother would often say. But somehow, Hunk had already seen right past it. The largest demons in Lance's life were his crippling insecurity and self-doubt. Constantly, he fought against these negative emotions eating away at his soul. Striving to prove that he was just as good as everyone else! Better in fact, Lance would be the best there ever was! Hopping that if he said these words aloud enough times, that eventually; they would become true.
But this... no one outside of Lance's family had ever looked pass it. Instantly, his carefully constructed shield shattered and crumbled to dust. A swell of intense shame grew so large in Lance, that he latched onto Hunk and clung to him like a frightened cat in a storm. The larger boy stood sturdy as a rock, against the raging seas within Lance's mind. Sheltering him from the crushing waves of emotion threatening to sweep away his heart.
He felt so ashamed. The jeering calls from Nick and his loser friends weren't helping his emotional turmoil either. Again, tears began to build in Lance's eyes.
"Ignore them," mumbled Hunk, wrapping Lance in another comforting embrace. "Nothing those bullies say matters. They're just mad that you tricked them so easily."
For a moment, Lance trembled in Hunk's arms. Then let out a short, bitter laugh. "Yeah, well, with Nick it really doesn't take much." Which was true, the guy was dumb as post, but the important thing was; Hunk had just given Lance a compliment! All on his own! Without any sort of prompting whatsoever!
Incredible! How long had Lance known him? Had to be an hour tops, and yet he already felt strangely connected to the dark-haired boy. Like some cliched long lost brother from one of his mom's soaps. Not that Lance needed another sibling. He already had plenty of those, but Hunk felt like one all the same. With such love and compassion radiating off of him, that he almost out shone the sun.
"You don't deserve to be treated like that," he stated, like it was an irrefutable fact. "No one does."
Hunk's warm, supportive nature made him feel safe. So much so, that Lance wanted to open up and be honest in a way that he hadn't before. With a deep, cleansing breath, the boy let the remains of his mask fall away and confessed,"That jerk's been calling me stupid names for over a year."
Next to him, Hunk tensed with shared sympathy. "I've had kids do that to me, too. How did it start?"
To this, Lance couldn't help but let out another bitter laugh. "My family had just moved here from Cuba. And I wanted to impress everybody with my slick moves on the monkey bars..."
A flush of embarrassment spread across Lance's nose as he continued, "I've always been a little, yah know... thin, small, scrawny." He let out a self-deprecating snort. "Forgot to wear my belt to school that day, and it's pretty easy to figure out the rest..."
For a brief second, Lance thought Hunk might laugh. It was sorta funny. Honestly, Lance could have brushed the incident off, if Nick hadn't decided to constantly throw it back in his face every chance he got.
Instead, Hunk simply continued holding Lance with his gentle support. The likes of which, no one outside of Lance's family ever had. He was certain now, this boy was the living embodiment of a teddy-bear: Safe, cuddly, and warm. With a quiet strength that scared away the monsters lurking in the night.
"People make fun of my size, too," the larger boy said in hushed return. Lance could feel a similar tremor of sadness roll through him. "They say I'm weak, fat, cowardly, dumb... no one ever takes a second glance."
"That's cuz they're blind, ignorant losers," Lance quickly offered in response. "I've only known you, for what? Little over an hour? And I can already tell how awesome you are!"
At this, Hunk pulled back so that he could stare Lance in the eyes. "I..." he started in what sounded like surprise. "You really think so?"
"Totally!" Lance exclaimed, hoping the honesty of his words shown true. "Weak? Dude, you picked me up like I was nothing and ran all the way here. And true strength isn't physical stuff anyway, it comes from the heart. Trust me, you've got tons of it. Cowardly? Hunk, you could have left me to face their wrath alone, but you didn't! Also, because of what you did, they might start targeting you now. I'm pretty sure you knew full well what the consequences would be for helping me..."
Hunk's grim frown confirmed it.
"See!" Lance stressed with pleading eyes. "And dumb? You're in such advanced classes that you run circles around me..."
A shy blush stretched across Hunk's face at the heartfelt words. It made Lance happy to see, so he kept pressing on. "You're warm and kind, like the happy yellow sun looking down over the ocean. And, like I said before, I've been judged by my size, too..."
It was here that Lance paused. The young boy loved talking about many things, but what he truly thought about himself; wasn't one of them. "Even in my own home... I sometimes get overlooked." His mouth curled into a rueful smile. "There's just... so many of us, yah know?"
"Really?" Hunk asked with genuine curiosity. "I mean, I already met Maria and Daniel so..."
Lance simply rolled his eyes. "My family's big. Like, a new baby brother, along with my grandparents all living under the same roof, big. And I'm sure the little guy won't be my last sibling either. Not to mention my multitude of aunts, uncles, and cousins."
The larger boy whistled in surprise. "Whoa, that is huge!"
"Yup," he agreed with a sigh. "With tons of life stuff going on, I usually get lost in the shuffle. Always underfoot... I have to be as loud as humanly possible to actually get noticed!"
Nervously, Lance scratched at back of his head as Hunk frowned. "Oh, don't get me wrong!" he corrected with a frantic wave of his hands. "I love my fam to death, and wouldn't trade any of them for the world! But... it would be nice to get a little more attention every now and then. Probably, why I talk so much... I-I ramble... a lot, sometimes. Maybe, too much. Kids tell me it's annoying. I dunno... I'm gonna shut up now..."
"Good going, now Hunk thinks you're weird," thought Lance as he trailed off and went quiet. He'd never openly confessed his feelings like this before. Often times, Lance would bottle up all his pain and doubt; pushing it as far down as it could go. Carefully hidden behind his perpetually goofy grin. Determined not burden anyone else with his problems, especially his family. They were his demons and he could handle them on his own.
"Hey, Lance..." Hunk spoke softly, stretching out his right hand to give Lance's shoulder a supportive squeeze. "You know how, earlier, when you said I was totally awesome and cool and stuff..."
Blue eyes blinked in confusion. "Uh, yeah." Where was Hunk going with this?
The larger boy nervously fiddled with his fingers. "Well, I think you're pretty awesome, too. So, um... would you be my friend?"
"I- what?" For the first time ever, Lance had been rendered completely speechless. Hunk... wanted to be his friend?
"I-I mean if you don't want to, that's cool!" the other boy croaked in fear. "But- I think you're really great, too! You're the most openly friendly person I've ever seen. And supportive, like how you taught me to swim today! That was really kind of you. Not to mention, how you went out of your way to introduce me to the other kids and... the way you took on Nick! You're smart Lance, like strategically so and quick on your feet, too! Outmaneuvering a bully like that was totally awesome! A-And no matter how many times Nick put you down, you proudly stood back up and faced him. It was incredible, dude! You're incredible!"
Lance fought back the joyful tears welling in his eyes. Hunk... really thought that he was special?
"So yeah," the gentle giant concluded with a relieved breath. "I'd like to be your friend... T-That is, if you'd let-"
The boy didn't even wait for him to finish. Lance launched his entire lithe frame at Hunk, engulfing him in a hug that contained every last ounce of strength he had.
"Of course, I'll be your friend!" he mumbled excitedly into Hunk's chest. "The best in fact! For life! I can totally feel it!"
Lance felt a whimper of joy resonate through him as Hunk enthusiastically returned it.
And so, the two boys sat holding one another. Letting all their worldly worries fall away. Both content in knowing, that everything they'd face from this point forward; would be done together.
Lance and Hunk took some time to collect themselves. Both boys being in much higher spirits than they were before. Eventually, Hunk's curiosity got the better of him. He began searching around the pool shed. This led to the discovery of a clean bit of torn, white cloth. With a warm smile, Hunk walked over to Lance and sat beside him. "Found this on the floor. Looks pretty clean. I think if I wrapped your ankle; the tension might help it support you better."
"Sure thing buddy, I trust you,"Lance readily agreed. With a nod of Hunk's head he lifted up his friend's ankle and got to work.
"There, all done!" he declared, giving the tight knot one final tug. "I wouldn't go running around on it if I were you. But standing should be easier now."
Extending his hand, Hunk helped Lance get back to his feet. A sharp wince momentary shot across his face, but afterword, Lance regained his footing and was standing fine on his own.
"Thanks man, I owe yah!" he thanked Hunk with a toothy grin. The larger boy then turned to check out the other neat junk piled up around them.
"Boy, there's a lot of cool stuff in here," he commented, looking at a bunch of old inter-tubes and air compressors. Taking apart old machinery and putting it back together was Hunk's favorite hobby. It was just so cool! Seeing how they worked gave him tons of ideas for wacky contraptions that he could create himself. One time, the larger boy had even built a robot out of spare parts from his parents' garage. Hunk told all this to Lance with a beaming smile. "Bet I could make something really awesome out of this..."
"Really?" asked Lance, peeking around his side. "Cool! But you haven't seen the best thing in here yet."
The shorter boy hobbled over to a tarp covered mound, sitting at the far right corner of the shed. With a dramatic flourish, Lance tore away the sheet to reveal... the largest assortment of water guns and balloon packets Hunk had ever seen!
His dark-brown eyes went incredibly wide in awe. "Awesome-sause!" he shrieked with joy, hands shaking with excitement. "It's like a super secret hidden arsenal in here!"
Lance was bouncing with equally wild energy."I know, right? Maria and the other instructors usually chuck everything they confiscate from the other kids into this pile. Hardly anyone ever comes to reclaim it."
That was when, Lance's wicked grin from earlier suddenly returned. "So Hunk... what exactly can you make from this stuff? Maybe... a mechanical monstrosity that Nick and his lackeys would never forget?" he causally suggested, with a wiggle of his brows.
"Hmmm..." Hunk answered in exaggerated thought, idly tapping his chin. "Possibly... what exactly did you have in mind?" He ended with a sly wink.
Hungrily, Lance rubbed his hands and began laying out the plan... the other boy could already tell, this was going to be glorious! "Okay, so here's what I was thinking we'd do..."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Alright everyone, on three: One! Two! THREE! They're Pinky and the Brain. Yes, Pinky and the Brain. One is a genius, the other is... Lance! LOL! Sorry, couldn't resist! Find out what kind of wonderful vengeance the boys are pondering next time! We're in the home stretch! Let me know how you guys are liking the story okay? More to come soon!
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