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“What are you cooking, Hunk?” Allura asks, wandering into the kitchen.
It smells wonderful in here, the air warm and aromatic. Allura doesn’t recognise the smell, but it is delicious nevertheless.
Hunk jumps and Allura grimaces, her hands wringing together. She sometimes forgets how sensitive Hunk’s startle response is, and often ends up making him jump. But she hates herself for forgetting, because Hunk’s mental health is important and she doesn’t want him to panic.
“Sorry,” she says, walking closer. “Hunk?”
Hunk turns to look at her, smiling. Allura is awful at reading faces, but even she can see the anxiety behind his expression.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says. Allura goes to argue, to point out that Hunk shouldn’t just put up with everyone in their team accidentally making him panic, but Hunk cuts her off as he places a hand on her shoulder. “Really, don’t worry about it.”
Allura smiles weakly and wrings her hands harder. She makes a mental note to not approach Hunk from behind like that, but she knows it’s likely that she will forget.
Clearly trying to change the subject, Hunk says, “What was it you said when you came in?”
Allura starts twisting her finger around a lock of her hair. “Um… I asked you what you’re cooking.”
With that, the conversation goes the way originally planned. Hunk grins, clearly delighted to be asked that question, and gestures towards the oven.
“I’m making pumpkin pie,” he says. “That’s batch one in there. Should be ready pretty soon.”
“It smells wonderful,” Allura says. “But… how do you make a pie out of pumpkins?”
“Well, you know the Jack o Lanterns the others were making earlier?” Hunk says. “Well, I used the stuff they took out of the pumpkin to make the pie. It’s called the flesh.”
Allura nods, remembering the sight of her fellow Paladins cutting holes in the big orange things called pumpkins very clearly. It was a truly bizarre sight.
“So, you can eat these pumpkins?”
Hunk nods. “Yeah, they’re edible. And as there was loads of the flesh about after Lance and co had finished making their Jack o Lanterns, I thought I might as well use it. And pumpkins are quite hard to cook, but there’s always one thing that they’re delicious in: pumpkin pie.”
“It certainly smells delicious,” Allura says.
Hunk smiles. “Want a slice when it’s cooked?”
Allura smiles and takes his hand. She squeezes it, subtly showing support for accidentally spooking Hunk. “Yes, please. I would love a slice.”