Chapter Text
The first time Hunk had kissed Lance, it had been after a failed mission.
It had started off fine, with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge heading to a planet that had seemingly been abandoned in hopes of finding some resources for the castle. The scans hadn’t shown anything particularly dangerous, but Lance had insisted on coming along as a bit of extra protection, And seeing as he is the team sharpshooter, Shiro and Allura had thought it was a great idea.
The planet had definitely looked abandoned from where they had landed. It almost reminded Hunk of those illustrations adults would show them about ‘how the Earth will look in the future if you don’t shape up and start recycling’. There was little life, most of it being small insect or rodent looking things that popped up out of the ground every once in awhile and something that almost resembled dead trees, but seemed a lot sharper and more dangerous.
Allura had told them that any former inhabitants of the planet would’ve been gone or dead a long time ago, so when the three paladins were suddenly ambushed by sentient boulders there had been a lot of panic.
Lance’s gun hadn’t done much damage, other than maybe blast off parts and make the boulders more angry. He’d been shouting at the two others to get back to the lions as quickly as possible, telling them that he would protect them, but Pidge had been determined to get the parts needed to fix the castle’s main firearm.
By the time Lance had gotten Pidge to start heading back towards the lions with Hunk, the aliens were angry as hell. As the trio attempted to get back to their lions, one of the creature had snuck past where Lance was trying to hold them off and took out Pidge, launching itself off a platform and right into her helmet.
Pidge fell to the ground in a heap, and Lance screamed at Hunk to help her. Within seconds, Hunk had the smallest paladin in his arms and was making a bee-line for the lions. Lance followed soon after.
Hunk had kept Pidge with him and he and Lance piloted their own lions back to the castle, the green lion following close behind.
By the time all three lions were back in their respective bays, the others who had remained on the ship had gone to the yellow lion’s bay, Shiro immediately grabbing Pidge from Hunk and carried her off to the med bay.
Hunk collected the bits and pieces he had picked up with Pidge, knowing she would’ve been upset if he had left them on the planet, and handed them off to Allura, who he had asked to stay behind. After watching the princess leave, he went off to change out of his armor and find Lance, who hadn’t said anything since he had climbed back into Blue on the planet.
When Hunk had gotten to the hangar, Blue was there, but there had been no sign of Lance.
Worried, Hunk began to search the castle for his best friend, checking Lance’s bedroom and the main common area first. When Hunk still couldn't find the boy he headed to look in the control room. It wasn't a far stretch that Lance was there; he probably thought everyone would be in the med bay with Pidge.
It turned out Hunk had been right.
Lance was sitting in his seat of the control room, knees tucked into his chest and his head pulled down. From where Hunk was standing in the doorway, he could see the slight shaking of Lance’s shoulders.
Hunk quickly went over to Lance, who had already changed out of his armor as well, concern written all over his face.
“Hey, hey buddy. What's wrong?” Hunk had asked.
Lance jumped at the sound of his voice, obviously not having expected anyone to come for him. He wiped at his eyes, “Nothing, I’m fine,” he breathed out.
“Lance,” Hunk knew the boy too well to be able to leave him to his own emotions, “Please tell me what's wrong. You and I both know that bottling up your feelings doesn't end well.”
This had become a common conversation since they had left Earth, Lance often seeking comfort in his best friend when he was feeling homesick or just felt like shit in general. More often than not Lance would burst into tears as he talked with Hunk, letting him know exactly what was troubling him after his crying had calmed.
“Really, it's no big deal, I’m being overdramatic,” Lance tried again to assure the larger teen that he was fine, but the tears still streaming down his told a different story.
Hunk sighed, knowing that he would have to coax Lance’s true thoughts out. He sat down next to Lance’s chair and gently pulled him in so that they were both sitting on the floor, Lance on his lap with Hunk’s arms wrapped around his waist in a loving embrace.
It wasn't long before Lance returned the gesture and wrapped his own arms around Hunk’s neck, burying his face into the other’s chest. His shoulders began shaking more violently as he cried harder, staining the front of Hunk’s t-shirt.
Hunk rubbed Lance’s back in soft, slow circles, and whispered to him “Lance, it's okay. Everyone is safe, you're safe, there's nothing to be worried about.”
Lance gasped out between sobs, “Hunk, she could've died.”
“Pidge?” Hunk asked.
“Yes!” Lace pulled back from Hunk’s chest without releasing his neck. “I told her to get out, I was trying so hard to hold off the stupid rock things! I didn't see the one that got past until it was too late.”
“Lance,” Hunk said, desperate to calm down the still crying boy. “Lance it wasn't your fault. We should've left as soon as the first one attacked. You did everything you could and you helped so much. Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't been there to prot-”
Lance cut him off with a cry, “If i wasn't there they wouldn't have attacked!”
Hunk, caught off guard, stuttered out, “What? Lance how does that make any sense?”
“I had been fighting with Keith before we left, he said that I mess around too much and that I was just going to put you in danger.” Hunk could see where this was going. “I told him i could do whatever I wanted and that we would all be safe.”
Hunk vaguely recalled hearing Keith and Lance argue over the coms before the boulder things had attacked, but he had been distracted with helping Pidge and hadn't been paying attention, thinking it was just another petty fight.
“He was telling me not to kick the pebbles, saying I might wake something up. I told him that there was nothing there, and to make a point I kicked one of the larger rocks.”
“Lance,” Hunk tried to interrupt, but Lance wasn't having it.
“It was one of the creatures and as soon as it woke up the rest of them did!” Lance quickly quieted down after that outburst and said in almost a whisper, “He was right, Hunk. I'm a danger to the team. I can’t do anything right.”
“Lance, listen to me.” Hunk released his hold on Lance’s waist and moved up to gently grab his face, wiping away his tears and turning his face so that they were looking directly at each other. “No one thinks that, if you hadn't been there and one of us had done something to wake up the rocks, Pidge and I would most likely both be injured, and probably worse than a concussion.”
Lance finally met his eyes and the tears slowed. He took a breath and nodded as well as he could with his face still in Hunk’s hands. “Thank you,” Lance said. “I know I’m not the best paladin, or the best friend, but I really do love you, Hunk.”
Hunk knew that Lance wasn't fully convinced that he belonged on the team, or that what had happened hadn't been his fault, but he was willing to let this topic slide for the time being, because pushing Lance wouldn't be helpful. Instead he took the moment to look at the boy on his lap closely for the first time since they had come back from the mission.
Lance’s blue eyes were still slightly watery from having just calmed his crying, and his tan skin had tear tracks running down his face and smeared over cheeks from where Hunk had rubbed at them. Hunk glanced down at Lance’s lips for a moment before forcing his eyes back up; now was not the time to let his crush on his friend get the best of him.
Lance had noticed the glance, quick as it was, and bit his lip. This motion dragged Hunk’s eyes back down. He flushed a deep red, knowing he had been caught.
Hunk quickly let go of Lance’s face and let out a quiet apology. But he didn't look away from Lance’s face. He was looking at his eyes, trying to work out what he was thinking, had he scared him off, was he weirded out? But all Hunk could see was a bit of determination, mixed with what seemed like forced courage.
Before he could ask what was wrong, he felt something soft and smooth on his cheek. After a moment he realised Lance had kissed his cheek. This wasn't unusual, as the boy had done it many times after they talked about their feelings, but Hunk could tell that this was different.
Hunk could still feel the self consciousness through the small contact. Lance wasn't feeling much better than when Hunk had first entered the room. Determined to show Lance just how important he was, not just to the team but also to him, Hunk made up his mind.
Before he could chicken out Hunk looked at Lance to see him already glancing at him expectantly, and he quickly leaned in and placed a gentle yet meaningful kiss on the other’s mouth.
Lance was still for a moment, more in shock than anything else, before he closed his eyes and responded to the kiss. He moved his mouth again Hunk’s, his head turning to be at a better angle so that the kiss was more comfortable. He tightened his hug around the darker boys neck, trying to pull them closer together.
Soon enough, the boys separated to gather their breath. They looked at each other before simply continuing to sit there in the control room, wrapped in an air of innocent intimacy.
Lance soon fell asleep, exhausted from the earlier fighting and the extensive crying. Huck quietly gathered him in his arms before slowly standing up and taking the boy to his room before anyone could come looking for them.
They would talk about the kiss later, he was sure, but for now Hunk was content to be holding his crush and best friend in his arms.