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“You’re not stressed, are you, Hunk?” Shiro asked, suddenly worried.
Hunk looked up from the bowl of batter he was stirring, brows pulling together. “Why would you think that?”
Shiro shrugged from his place sitting on the countertop. “I just remembered you said you bake when you’re stressed.”
“Oh, well, I do,” Hunk chuckled. “But not exclusively. Sometimes I just bake when I want to. And,” he leaned up and tugged Shiro down low enough to kiss him. “I could never be stressed with you, babe.”
Shiro smiled at him, heart warming at the words. Their relationship was still new, still a little tentative, and so far, still completely secret from the rest of the team. They were just both very private people when it came to relationships, and Shiro was worried about the others accusing him of favoritism, despite the fact that they were all paladins, he just happened to pilot the head of their giant robot.
“You’re sweet.” Shiro leaned back on his hands on the countertop and swung his feet idly. “Sweet like those cupcakes you’re making.”
“And you are just as bad at pick-up lines as you’ve ever been.” Hunk chuckled. “Good thing you’ve already got me hooked and reeled in.”
Shiro snorted and hopped off the counter to hug his new boyfriend, propping his chin on his shoulder to watch him work. Hunk hummed quietly, some song Shiro didn’t recognize, but it was a nice tune. This was peaceful, he liked it.
A beep behind them startled them out of the peace they had fallen into, and Hunk let out a squeak that sounded too high to come out of a full-grown man and ducked to hide under the counter, leaving Shiro holding a batter-covered spatula and blinking in confusion as Pidge came around the corner reading something.
“Sup?” She glanced up from the tablet she was carrying, then paused and stared at him. “Are you… baking?”
Shiro looked at the spatula in his hand and the cupcakes that were sitting in a tray beside the mixing bowl. He glanced at Hunk under the counter, who seemed to have zero inclination to come out and expose them to the fact they were hanging out together, alone, during their downtime (aka only a short jump from dating). Shiro met Pidge’s questioning gaze. “Yes. Yes I am. Baking.”
She gave him a weird look for another few seconds, then shrugged and grabbed a cup of space-yogurt out of the fridge. “Alrighty then. Don’t burn the kitchen down.” She hopped up onto a stool at the counter, an inch-thick metal barrier the only thing between her feet and Hunk’s huddled form.
The oven beeped, and Shiro cast a panicked look at the cupcakes. Pidge wasn’t supposed to stay in the kitchen! He snuck a quick look at his boyfriend, who pointed at the tray of cupcakes, then the oven. Shiro stared at him, aghast. He couldn’t bake to save his life! How was he supposed to finish up these cupcakes? He was going to ruin them!
Just as he was picking up the tray and eyeing the oven warily, Pidge spoke up. “Oh my quiznak… Hunk, just come out, I know you’re here too.”
“…Am not!” Hunk said weakly before crawling out from under the counter. “How did you know?”
“Shiro. Baking.” Pidge said flatly then pointed at the tray. “Not burnt to a crisp.”
Shiro frowned, unsure whether he should be offended or just admit that was realistic. “Okay, yeah, I was just… here. For, uh, no reason in particular.”
“Right.” Pidge said, waving her spoon lazily. “Not at all because you were hanging out with your boyfriend?”
Both of them froze, staring at the Green Paladin. “How did you know?”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out.” Pidge snorted. “You both act different around each other. Not too noticeable, but just little things. Like there’s some kind of gravitational field around you that affects only each other.” She shrugged. “Also I noticed you two making out on the security footage. You’re welcome for deleting it, by the way.”
“T-thank you…” Hunk looked like he was in danger of passing out via blood-rushing-to-his-face.
“It’s not a big deal, by the way.” Pidge scraped the last bit of yogurt out of her cup. “I doubt anyone here would judge you for it. But I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.” She tossed the empty cup in the trash compactor, set the spoon in the sink, and wiggled her fingers at them as she headed for the door. “Have fun, be safe. Don’t make out on food prep surfaces.”
“I know that, Pidge!” Hunk bristled at the idea of impropriety in the kitchen, and Shiro buried his face in his hands, cheeks and ears burning.