Chapter Text
Pidge was typing away at her laptop, busy grading and commenting on her student’s work. It was late and her eyes were sore from the bright light, her glasses were slowly slipping down her nose and her back was starting to ache from being bent over for so long. She leant back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose when her tablet started to buzz. She peeked at the name and her whole face lit up. She answered it and his caramel skin and sweet coffee-coloured eyes popped up on the screen.
“Hey Pidge.”
“Hi Hunk,” she smiled widely and rested her head on her hands.
His smile dropped and his eyebrows furrowed with worry, “did I wake you up? You look tired. Should I call you later?”
Pidge shook her head, “no, no, no. I was just up correcting some work.”
“Really? What time is it there?” The wrinkle between his eyebrows disappeared.
“Umm…” She leant over and looked at the clock, “it’s almost midnight.”
“Pidge!” She jumped. “Why are you up so late?”
“It’s not that late!” She protested.
“Then why do you look so tired?” He raised an eyebrow.
“It was just a long day at the Garrison,” she rubbed her eyes.
Hunk’s face softened, “should I call back tomorrow?”
“No! I’ll be fine! Really,” she put her palms out and reassured him with a smile. “Just let me-“ She picked up the tablet and carefully made her way across her room to her bed. Pidge stood on her tiptoes to maneuver through the mess that was her floor. Using the hand that wasn’t holding the tablet, she pushed the stuff on her duvet to the end of her bed. She put the tablet on the bed and moved the stack of marked papers from her pillow to the floor before climbing onto the duvet.
She picked the tablet back up to see Hunk pulling his shirt off over his head. Her face burned as she spluttered, “H-Hunk! What-what are you doing?!” Hunk looked up at the screen.
“Getting changed, why?” His hair was tousled from his shirt and Pidge could see the scars on his shoulder and chest. He grinned, “are you embarrassed? It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Shut up!” She buried her face in her hands.
“Pidge~” She heard him say, but refused to look up, “you can look up now if you want to see me without anything on.”
She groaned, “I hate you,” he laughed.
“I love you too. I’m dressed now, by the way. I promise,” he added when she didn’t look up. She looked up and, true to his word, Hunk was sitting back in front of the screen, fully dressed. He had a smirk on his face.
She scowled, “I wish you were here so I could wipe that stupid look off your face.”
Hunk’s face softened into loving smile, “soon you’ll able to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m coming to earth.” Pidge’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
“You are?! But-but I thought you were still trying to recruit more planets to the coalition?”
Hunk grinned and shook his head, “my chefs can do that without me for a couple weeks while I visit Earth.”
“Oh, Hunk! That’s amazing!” A huge grin spread across her face and she clasped her hands together, “when are you coming?”
“In about three weeks. I didn’t tell you sooner because I know how much you hate waiting.”
Pidge laughed, ”you know me so well,“ Hunk chuckled. She sighed happily and grabbed a pen from the end of her bed and made a note on her calendar. As she put the pen back down she yawned.
“I should let you sleep, I’m keeping you up,” Hunk said. Pidge started to shake her head but he stopped her, “you can call me as soon as you wake up, as long as you go to sleep now. Deal?”
Pidge smiled and gazed lovingly at him, “deal.”
He nodded once, “good. I love you, sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight, I love you too.” She smiled and hung up before placing the tablet on the ground and curling up to sleep.
—————
Pidge jumped awake, falling out of bed in the process and landing on the floor with loud thump. She groaned as the alarm blared in her ears, sitting up on her knees and rubbing her eyes. She reached up and flicked off the alarm. She ran a hand through her hair and sat back against her bed. She stared at the wall for a few moments as she woke up fully before her eyes widened and she jumped up. She grabbed her phone off her bedside table and quickly checked the date. Thursday, 20 December. A smile spread across her face.
She jumped up and hurried into her bathroom, stripping down and getting into the shower. She washed her hair and shaved before jumping out and drying herself off with a fluffy towel. She changed into a black skirt, striped stockings, a grey shirt and dark green sweater before checking the outfit in the mirror. She changed from the skirt into black shorts and then the sweater into a jacket with a hood before changing her mind again and settling for jeans and a long-sleeve, dark green top. Happy with her outfit, she headed back into the bathroom where she brushed her hair dry and changed her earrings from studs to sleepers.
She slid a pair of sneakers and her lab coat on and left her room. She walked down the halls of the Atlas until she reached the observation deck, Shiro and Curtis were already there when she walked in. They turned to her when she walked in.
“Morning Pidge,” Shiro nodded to her.
She smiled, “Hey Shiro, hey Curtis.” The other man waved before turning back to his screen.
“All dressed up, huh?” Shiro smirked when Pidge blushed. “Come over here, we’re tracking the ship Hunk’s using to come to Earth.” He pointed to a screen and Pidge peeked at it. “He should be here in about an hour.” Pidge nodded.
—————
The wind from the ship’s jets blew Pidge’s hair into her face. She spat some hair out of her mouth and used a hand to push her fringe away from her eyes. She clasped her hands together as butterflies swarmed in her stomach. She didn’t know why she was nervous- this was Hunk for crying out loud! She swallowed as the ship landed and the engine turned off. Lance’s hand squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at him. He grinned and she smiled back before turning back to the ship.
A few of the Atlas crew had come up to the landed ship and a couple were by the door when it opened. When Hunk came out- in his old paladin armour, smiling anxiously at the crew- all of Pidge’s nerves melted away. She cried out his name and he looked over, his face lit up when he saw her and she burst into a sprint towards him. She leapt into his already outstretched arms and buried her face in his neck. She felt his arms squeeze around her and she hugged him back for a few more moments before pulling back and pressing her lips against his, cupping his face with her hands. She pulled back and smiled lovingly at him and he smiled back just as lovingly. His smile dropped.
“Pidge, why are you crying?” She lifted a hand to her face and, sure enough, tears were running down her cheeks.
“I… I don’t know,” it was suddenly the funniest thing in the world and she burst out laughing. Hunk joined in and as their chuckling died down, he pressed his forehead against Pidge’s.
He sighed happily, “I missed you…”
“I missed you too…”
“Hey! Lovebirds! Can we say hi too?” Lance called out. Pidge really didn’t want to leave Hunk’s arms, but she reluctantly slid her arms out from his face and he put her down after stealing a quick kiss. Pidge and Hunk headed over to Lance and Shiro, Hunk had a huge grin on his face.
—————
Pidge handed the mug to Hunk. He took a sip and moaned.
“God, I missed coffee. Nothing in space compares.” He took a few more quick sips as the drink was still scalding hot.
Pidge leaned against the counter, “really? You’d think there’d be something close to it.”
Hunk shook his head, “nope. Well, there is, but it’s not the same…” He trailed off as he took a mouthful. Pidge took a long drink of her own cup.
“...Anything else that’s not the same in space?” Pidge asked.
Hunk hummed, thinking as he took a slow and long sip. “Coconut and mint are really hard to recreate.” Pidge’s eyebrows raised. Hunk chuckled, “I know, they’re pretty random flavours but whenever I try to make them they’re always not quite the same. Like, we went to this planet and they have something that smells exactly like coconut, but it tasted nothing like it. And I told Romelle and Coran about the mint and they showed me something that was similar but it didn’t have mint’s spiciness and-” He cut himself off, “I’m rambling. Sorry,” he looked away as he took another sip.
Pidge shook her head and placed a hand on Hunk’s arm, “I love it when you ramble on about stuff. I missed your rambling, actually.” She put her finished cup of coffee down on the bench and rested her head on Hunk’s bicep- she still wasn’t tall enough to reach his shoulder. Hunk put his mug down and wrapped an arm around Pidge, pulling her towards his chest. She slid her arms around his neck and he leant down as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss each other.
Someone cleared their throat and they jumped apart. Shiro smirked and Pidge grabbed Hunk’s hand, pulling him along as she ran out of the room and down the hallways, both of them giggling loudly.
—————
They spent the first three days at the garrison together and, even though they hadn’t seen each other in person for almost six months, it was like Hunk had never left Earth. On Christmas Eve they stayed at Hunk’s parents’ house and they spent Christmas night at Pidge’s parents’ place. The day after Christmas, they met up with Lance and Shiro- they were even able to talk with Keith, Coran and Romelle through a video call.
The students at the Garrison had a few weeks off for Christmas, so Pidge had no classes to teach. But, when the students came back for classes, so did Pidge.
“You know you don’t have to come. You could go hang out with Lance or something,” Pidge said as she pulled her lab coat on.
Hunk shook his head, “I want to come. It’ll be nice to see a Garrison classroom again.” He smiled.
Pidge sighed, “are you sure?”
“Yes!” He slid an arm around her waist and kissed her. “Come on, shouldn’t the teachers get there before their students?” Pidge giggled and they left her room.
—————
Pidge was perched on the end of her desk, talking with Hunk about something as her students slowly made their way to her classroom. The bell rang and she hopped off the table. She opened her mouth to say something to her class when a student came running in.
Pidge looked at her watch, “23 seconds late. Getting better Kane.” The boy laughed nervously as he made his way to his seat. Pidge turned back to the class. “Welcome back everyone. I bet you’re all so excited to be back in the classroom,” she sarcastically said and more than half of the class groaned. “Now, I bet you’re all wondering who this is.” She gestured to Hunk. “You’ve all met Lance, this is the other leg of Voltron, Hunk. He is- was the paladin of the yellow lion.” Hunk smiled nervously and waved. Instantly, a dozen kids put their hands up. Pidge waved them down, “you can ask him questions later, he’s here to help. Before that, we need to get started…”
—————
Her students loved Hunk, just as Pidge knew they would. They asked him thousands of questions, some of them a little personal, like when a kid asked him if he was dating anyone and Pidge had to explain that she was in fact his girlfriend, which started another whole round of questions.
To say Pidge was relieved when the bell rang would be an understatement. Hunk seemed pretty worn out as well but, luckily, Pidge had a flight simulation class next, so neither of them would have to suffer any more questions. When Hunk and Pidge came out of that class, the news that they were dating had obviously been spread, as every student seemed to know.
Shiro commented on it during lunch. “All the students are gossiping about you two dating.” Pidge smacked her head on the table and Hunk covered his face with his hands, groaning.
—————
A week later, it was Hunk’s birthday, the 13th of January. Pidge somehow managed to convince Hunk that she had a lot of work to do and that he should spend the day with Lance and Shiro and she’d meet them somewhere when she was finished. What she was actually doing was picking up a secret person and catching the train to Hunk’s parents’ house and helping them set it up for his surprise party. She helped them hang up the streamers and blow up the balloons. She even tried to help Hana- Hunk’s mother -bake a banana cake, but she was more a nuisance than a helper. The guests- Sam, Colleen, Matt, Iverson, Kinkade, Rizavi, Leifsdottir, Griffin, Shay and Rax- arrived and helped finish the house.
When they were finished, Pidge texted Lance to tell him they were finished and to bring Hunk. With those instructions sent, Hunk’s parents, Pidge, the guests and secret guest all hid. She heard the car drive up to the house and stop outside. The car doors opened and shut. She heard Hunk’s voice.
“Why did you bring me to my parent’s place again? Wait, why do you have a key?” The door unlocked and Lance walked in, Hunk following and Shiro last, closing the door behind him. Lance switched on the light and they all jumped out.
“Surprise!” Everyone cried simultaneously.
Hunk had jumped back, a hand clutching the fabric where his heart was. “Quiznak! Oh my god. Guys! Is this a surprise party?” Lance chuckled, nodding. “Aww, guys! You shouldn't have!”
“Well, we did. Now, let’s get this party started!” Rizavi yelled, blasting music from her speaker. Lance grabbed a party hat snapped it onto Hunk’s head before grabbing a kazoo and playing it as loudly as he could.
—————
Pidge wove through the group of people. Even though there wasn’t that many people, the house was small and made it feel like a lot more people were there. She finally found Hunk in the kitchen talking with Lance and the secret guest. It was Keith. He was able to come to Earth for a few days for Hunk’s birthday.
Pidge tapped Hunk on the shoulder and he turned around. “Hmm? Oh, hey Pidge,” he leant down and they shared a quick kiss.
“It’s almost present time,” she grinned.
“You know, Pidge was the one who organised the party,” Lance gestured to her with his drink.
“Aww, thanks honey,” Hunk slid his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.
She laughed, “you make it sound like we’re married when you call me that. Come on, present time.” She dragged him along into the living room and onto the couch, telling people along the way to come to the living room. She sat him down on the couch and called people over.
From his parents, Hunk got a Polaroid camera; Rizavi and Leifsdottir got him a new apron; from Shay and Rax, he got a tiny Balmera crystal on a thin chain, which he put on over his head; from Lance, he got an photo album full of photos taken during their time as paladins (all five of them got a little teary-eyed as they looked through it); Shiro and Keith got him a set of cooking knives; he got a plant pot that was in the shape of the Yellow lion with small yellow flowers already planted from Pidge’s parents and brother; Kinkade and Griffin gave him a copy of the ‘documentary’ they made years ago and Pidge gave him a small lion made out of metal that would do a few tricks by voice command.
Hana brought the cake out and everybody started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. Hunk blew out the candles and was handed a knife.
“Don’t touch the bottom, you’ll have to kiss the nearest girl,” Lance teased. So Hunk purposely touched the bottom as he cut it and turned to Pidge, who was sitting next to him. He kissed her and then turned back to the cake, cutting it into pieces and passing a plate of cake to everyone.
—————
“I really wish I didn’t have to leave you again,” Hunk said. Pidge nodded. They were in Pidge’s room at the Garrison again, Hunk was laying on her bed with his arm around her and she was resting her head on his chest. Pidge was playing with one of the buttons on his shirt.
“Well… what if you didn’t,” Pidge said it slowly.
“What?” Hunk lifted his head so he could see her.
She looked up at him, shifting so she was lifting herself up on her forearm, “what if I came to space with you?”
Hunk blinked a couple times at her, “but... what about the Garrison? You teach here.”
Pidge bit her lip and looked back at the button, “well, the Garrison is sending a group of students out to space to other planets to learn about them and their cultures and they need someone who is willing to take them out and knows about the planets and their… cultures… And I thought that if I did that then I could stay with you and still be helping the Garrison.”
Hunk’s arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her chest, “I love you.”
Pidge threaded her fingers into his hair, “is that a yes?”
He chuckled and lifted his head, pressing his lips against hers. “Yes! Of course!” She started giggling and pressed her forehead against his.
“I’d better go tell Shiro then,” Pidge kissed him once more before getting up and out of bed. Hunk smiled and gazed lovingly at her as he rested his head on his hand. She opened the door and looked back at him over her shoulder, “you coming?”
He got up out of bed, “yep.” She giggled and together they made their way to the observation deck.