Work Text:
Hunk was hard at work, fixing a tiny problem in the food dispensers. Well, not a tiny problem, per se - more like a gargantuan problem. A crack in the carrier that housed altean refrigeration fluid, which served the purpose of keeping the space goo cool until dispensed, had ended up mixing leaked coolant with their main sustenance supply. Only slightly poisonous, the most harm it had done to the paladins was when Keith turned delirious and fainted directly into Lance’s arms. This right after he had ranted about alien variations of human transportation systems for about a half hour. As amusing as the situation was, the fact still stood that if more of the liquid leaked into their goo, much more serious symptoms would take effect. So Hunk was assigned the job to patch up the system with Coran. The food supply being a subject very close to his heart, right now Hunk was working late into the night on it. Coran had already gone down to bed, but only after Hunk had forced him to because he had started collapsing into the goo from exhaustion. So now it was two AM, and Hunk was sitting alone, trying to patch up the carrier. The barren kitchen was dark around him, except for the singular flashlight that was aiding his work.
Suddenly, he thought he heard a soft footstep in the hallway. Figuring it was only one of the space mice fooling around, he didn’t turn around. He kept working until he heard something else. A small voice behind him, from the doorway of the kitchen.
“Hunk?”
The lights were turned on suddenly. He blinked quickly to adjust his eyes. Squinting through the flood of light, he could just make out a green blur. As the fuzziness dissipated, he recognized his fellow paladin Pidge and grinned. Now there was a tiny problem. Hunk chuckled to himself at this mental joke, but clearly that was the wrong thing to do because Pidge immediately flushed. She took a step backwards, out the door. Hunk fixed his mistake hastily. “Oh, no Pidge, I just thought of something funny. I wasn't laughing at you! So, um, what are you doing? Here? So late?” He blabbed.
Pidge narrowed her eyes. It was clear she thought that he was spouting excuses, but she walked over and leaned against the goo machine anyway. Glancing at his toolbox, she explained, “I wanted to talk to you, Hunk. But if you’re busy, it’s not important, so I can leave..?” She ended with a hint of uncertainty, looking anywhere but Hunk. In her haste to avoid eye contact, she didn't see his wide, toothy smile. A light blush tinted his cheeks as he turned to face his friend. “No, not at all,” he assured her, “talk away, Pidge.”
The puny paladin in question slowly turned red and started stuttering. Finally she got her statement out. “W-Well, the thing is - I'm very attracted to you!” She blurted out, shocking everyone around. That is to say, shocking Hunk. It seemed that Pidge’s blush was contagious, because soon Hunk was going a lovely shade of hot pink as well. Before he could say anything though, Pidge continued.
“So, according to Newton’s laws of gravitation… You’re attracted to me, too,” she smirked (though still adorably red-faced). Hunk just stared at her for a couple moments, until his face cracked into a smile and he burst into giggles. Pidge laughed a little too, glancing around uncertainly. A science joke. Weak, but effective.
Hunk wiped the corners of his eyes, the chuckles coming more rarely now.
“Oh my goodness, Pidge… How long did it take you to come up with that joke? It was sooo bad…!” He sighed, looking up at her with a gleam in his eye. He smiled. Pidge smiled back.
“Well, it looks like Newton was right.”