Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hunk sat on the floor of the hanger, tweaking the tiny screws the gearbox. A loud explosion to his left startled him into dropping the small screwdriver. He watch it tumble into the small opening in the box.

“Ugh,” he groaned.

Glancing over, he saw Pidge wiping black soot off her glasses. She made a note on her laptop and poured a glass of water over the small flame on her desk. She crossed her arms and glared at the melted metal on the workspace.

Hunk shook the gearbox trying to retrieve the small tool. It rattled around the inside. He tried to reach inside but knew it was impossible with his fat fingers. Heaving himself up, Hunk decided he wanted a snack.

Tucking the gearbox under his arm, he headed off towards the kitchen. He entered the hallway from the hanger and saw a red faced Lance caving under the weight of a metal door.

Hunk starred, almost wanting to know how the hell Lance got into such a situation but memory reminded him it was always safest not to ask.

“Hu….nk, help…me” Lance gasped. His feet were sliding against the floor, the door bearing down on him. Hunk came running up and threw his shoulder against it. Together, they managed to force the door back up and lock it in place. Hunk took a quick look and repaired the hinge so this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

Lance lay out on the floor, exhausted. “That door…tried to…kill me” he wheezed. He sat up abruptly. “What is with this damn Castle trying to do me in, Hunk?!”

“I just want a snackkkkk,” Hunk whined, picking up the gearbox he dropped in his haste.

Lance rolled his eyes, getting to his feet. “Then let us feed the beast, my man.”

Lance sat in the kitchen, watching, while Hunk went to town on his newly crafted treat. He offered Lance a bite, the unique shade of green Lance turned was more than enough of answer for Hunk.

He could tell Lance wanted to say something so he gave him a look to proceed. Silent communication, something the pair had perfected in years since they had become friends.

It had freaked Pidge out in the beginning. So much so, that she had thought they were hazing her when she first joined their team at the Garrison.

Lance opened his mouth but seemed to think better of what he was going to say and closed it quickly again, thinking. He paused. Opened his mouth again, no sound. Closed.

“Ke-” Closed.

Hunk took another bite. Lance was beginning to look like a gaping fish trying to breathe out of water. As amusing as it was, Hunk was growing a bit concerned. Lance never had trouble telling him things before.

Before Hunk could comment on the strange behavior, Lance grabbed the gearbox and shook it.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s super cool- see it-” Hunk began excitedly before Lance interrupted with a quick, “In English, please.”

Hunk hung his head. “It controls air pressure. It should give everyone more control over the thrusters in the suits.”

Lance’s face lit up as he inspected the box. “Damn Hunk! My brilliant, mad, engineer. Badass.”

Hunk glowed from the praise.

Lance froze as he heard the screwdriver rattling around, quickly and gently putting it back down. “I didn’t break it.” He muttered, pushing it away from him.

Hunk choked on his food as he laughed. “I dropped a screwdriver inside, but…” he held up a hand as an explanation.

“Oooooooh.” Lance carefully picked up the box again. Finding the slim opening, he slipped his lithe fingers inside and plucked the tool out with ease. He flashed Hunk a grin, putting the gearbox and screwdriver down.

“Gotta give you a reason to keep me around Hunk.” Lance slapped him on the back. “Ohhhhhh, look at the ticks, it’s time for my daily dose of ‘let’s go fuck with Keith’.” He hurried to the door.

“Let me know when you want me to test out the thrusters” he called back as he ran out.

Hunk nodded but Lance was already gone. Thus was their friendship. Lance running off before Hunk could comprehend the situation.

Lance had one gear.

Go.

At the Garrison, he always followed along with Lance’s crazy plans that more often than not landed him in the principal’s office.

“We go down, we go down together,” Lance used to say.

Hunk remembered a particular incident when he had been pulled out of Advanced Quantum Mechanics, one of the only classes he didn’t share with Lance. He found himself alone in the Principals office and it was a lot scarier without Lance by his side.

“Cadet, I have reviewed your file. Quite the head you have on your shoulders.” General Iverson began. “What I’m trying to wrap my head around is HOW you continue to make such moronic decisions. I found myself thinking, it must be that other idiot Cadet you roam the halls with,” Hunk knew he was referring to Lance and didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“Cadet, you have a fine future ahead of you. Excellent skills. Don’t let that cargo pilot drag you down to his level.” Hunk felt the heat in his face and the icy pit in his stomach.

Lance had just been moved to fighter class.

He had been trying so hard and here Iverson was just tearing him down.

He didn’t even know Lance’s name.

How dare he.

Hunk remembered fondly how a rare fit of rage came over him. “With all due respect sir,” he spat, “These ‘skills’ are only going to be of use to that ‘idiot cadet’. I refuse to partner with anyone else.” He saluted.

“If there is nothing else sir, permission to return to class.” Hunk evenly met the General's gaze.

Iverson starred him down and after a moment dismissed him with a wave of his hand. To this day, Hunk had never told Lance what happened that day.

He felt guilty at first, but hey, a man was allowed his secrets.

Lance had been Hunk’s first friend at the Garrison after all. They complemented each other nicely.

Hunk picked up the screwdriver and began tinkering away at the gearbox eager to show off his newest invention to his best friend.

Chapter Text

“Hunk.” A stage whisper to his right invaded his concentration.

Hunk saw a head poking slightly out from behind a wall in his peripheral vision.

He decidedly ignored the voice, rotating away to his left.

He was fully engrossed in his work.

Yes.

He.

Was.

“Hunnnnnnkkkkkkk…” it was louder now.

He flipped the visor down on his protective eye-wear and picked up the soldering gun. Carefully, he melted together the two wires. This was delicate work.

Careful.

Careeeeeful.

CAREEEEFFFFUUULLLL.

Hunk bit down on his lip, deeply focused, slowly pushing the wires down together as they achieved the required level of heat.

“HUNK!” the voice screeched in his ear.

Startled, Hunk jumped up and everything flew into the air. He turned quickly to see Lance kneeling down arms resting on the table, shock on his face as he starred up at Hunk. A cross between amused and fear.

“Oh man,” Hunk thought horrified. He saw everything happening in slow motion. The wires and chemicals reacted to the heat by liquidizing in air as it cooled. All Hunk could see was Lance about to get a face full of third degree burns.

Hunk made a split second decision.

And kicked the Blue Knight across the room.

Lance tumbled head over heals as Hunk’s foot connected with his chest, the force of his kick-sending Hunk off balance and backwards on to the floor. The metallic droplets rained down where Lance had been kneeling moments before, burning acidic smoking holes exactly where Lance’s face had been starring up at him.
Lance rolled quite the distance, and was coughing a few feet away from Hunk’s workbench. His back to Hunk, curled in on himself, clutching his chest.

Hunk’s stomach dropped like a stone. He scurried over to his friend on his hands and knees.

“Oh, man. Lance! Hey.” He got to his side and slowly rolled the boy over. Lance’s face was contorted in pain. Hunk’s hands hovered over him unsure where to touch. He could see the outline of his footprint square over the other boy’s chest.

“Do you need a healing pod?!” Hunk was looking up frantically for help. “No. We need Shiro…or, or, Pidge…aa-any body- Keith” his hands were shaking.

Lance coughed again and grabbed Hunk’s shaking hands. “I will never—forgive you” he wheezed.

Hunk feared he had actually hurt Lance. He was prepared to start shouting at the Castle for Allura.

Lance used the leverage to grab Hunk’s collar.

“HOW DARE YOU TURN DOWN PLAYING ON THE GARRISON INTRAMURAL SOCCER TEAM WITH ME?!” He yelled, shaking Hunk as hard as he could. “Jeez, with a kick like that! Such a waste”.

Relief washed through Hunk as his friend flopped back to the ground, rubbing at his chest.

The relief that Hunk felt faded into residual initial fear and anger. “What the hell Lance?!” he cried.

“I work with some seriously dangerous stuff in here, you can’t just go sneaking up on me!” he yelled. “I almost burned your face off just now. Not cool, bro!”

Lance at least had the decency to look sheepish. “But…you were ignoring me…” he defended. Hunk face palmed.

“Yeah, I’m working. You know how I am when I’m working.”

Lance sat up cross-legged, uncomfortable under Hunk’s disappointed gaze. Hunk sighed, getting back to his feet, moving to survey the damaged workspace.

Four hours of work…

Ruined in five seconds flat.

They should just let Lance loose in a Galra production house and the war would be over before they knew it.

Hunk inspected the wiring… yeah un-salvageable.

He moaned, knocking his head softly on the desk repeatedly.

“Can I help you fix it?” asked Lance, hesitantly.

“Yes,” he began. Lance stepped forward, eager to help.

Hunk didn’t look back as he started cleaning up the work space, “By leaving Lance. I have to start over.”

Hunk was still too miffed to break the uneasy silence. He almost burned off Lance’s face and ruined four hours worth of work in the process.

Hunk wasn’t built to take that kind of emotional range in a short amount of time. He’d short circuit. He settled on feeling annoyed. Lance wasn’t hurt, Thank God, but his project was ruined.

“Oh. I’ll, umm, go then,” Lance muttered quietly. The airlock doors clicking shut behind him.

Hunk set about cleaning and setting up for the project again.

He gathered all of the damaged goods to dispose of and carried them over to a waste chute by the door where he almost tripped over…a tray of…food goo?

“Awwwww Lance…” Hunk sighed, hanging his head. Now he felt like a grade-A jerk.

Hunk had been working non-stop for the last 6 hours. Lance had just been trying to bring him a snack and fucked up in the usual Lance-ish way.

Hunk tossed the garbage. His project could wait. He picked up the tray and set off to find his friend because if Lance had made this, Hunk wasn’t sure if it was exactly edible.

Only one way to find out….

Make Lance taste it first.

Chapter Text

'If we can't trust food, we are lost as a culture.'

Hunk was adamant that food was his friend.

He liked to argue the saying “Fish are friends, not food” with his own variation that “Fish are friends but ALSO food.”

Maybe the Fish God’s disagreed, and that was why he was paying tribute to the porcelain one.

He heaved again, he was getting intimately reacquainted with the $20 All-You-Could Eat-Seafood-Buffet he had gone to during his free period in town.

“Oh, there’s the Tuna,” he gagged.

The door to the bathroom eased open, revealing Lance still in his uniform. Hunk rested his check against the rim and stared up pathetically at his friend.

“How was detention?”

“I told you not to eat there.” was the unimpressed reply. Lance leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

Hunk closed his eyes. This was one of the very rare times Lance was proved to be right.

They had gone to the restaurant about a month ago after Hunk’s constant begging had finally worn Lance down. They had stepped inside, Lance had taken a quick glance and sniff before grabbing Hunk by the arm and dragging him out.

“We are not eating here.” He had said. Taking an extra second to stop and turn on his heel. Finger in Hunk’s face he pointed at him, “Do NOT eat there, Hunk.” and then proceed to drag him to the best burger joint in town.

The thought of the restaurant had him heaving up another round. “Crab…cakes,” he burped.

Lance knocked his head back against the door. “Of all things Hunk, I grew up next to the Ocean. My uncle is a fisherman by trade. I KNOW WHAT SPOILED FISH SMELLS LIKE.” Hunk winced.

Ok, fine. Lance had a point. He should have listened, just not to his stomach.

“FYI, this far from natural water, you aren’t getting an all you can eat Seafood restaurant for $20,” he finished. “You should come over for the summer holiday. I’ll show you what a real crab tastes like. Cracked straight from the water.”

That sounded awesome to Hunk…just not that this particular moment.

“No more...food talk. Just let me die.” he gulped. Lance gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the back. “Hang in there, Bud.” He said, closing the door to give Hunk some privacy.

Hunk curled up on the cold floor, cramped in the small space but not trusting to be able to make it from his bed to the bathroom if he were to have another episode.

Hunk must have dozed off, because he awoke to Lance lightly shaking his arm. “Come on Hunk, in to bed,” Hunk shook his head as his stomach rolled slightly.

“I got ya big man.” Lance helped him sit up and lean against the wall. He placed a bottle in his hands.

Ginger Ale.

Hunk took a small sip. He was so thirsty. The ginger settled his stomach somewhat.

Lance rummaged through a bag in his lap.

“Hand,” he requested. Hunk held out a palm. Lance deposited two pills into it. “Take those.” Hunk popped them in his mouth and went to finish off the Ginger Ale.

“Woahhh,” Lance said grabbing the can before he could do so. “Drink this if you are thirsty.” He handed him a light pink bottle. Pedialyte.

“Isn’t this for babies?” asked Hunk unscrewing the cap. “It works for everyone, you don’t want to get dehydrated. Trust me.” Hunk sipped on it slowly. The Ginger Ale tasted far better.

“Come on,” Lance put a hand under Hunk’s arm. “I think you exceed the height requirement to sleep in here.” He pulled Hunk to his unsteady feet. With that movement, the salmon rolls seemed like they desired to make an appearance.

Thankfully, they did not.

Lance guided him to his bed and helped him lay down. He flicked the blanket up and let it float down over Hunk’s body, tucking him in.

“Drink,” he held up the Ginger Ale and Pedialyte before setting them on the nightstand. “Puke bucket,” he pointed down. Hunk saw a bucket with a trash bag in it.

“You’ve done this before?” Hunk asked.

“I’m a professional.” Lance replied, taking a seat at his desk. “I have four younger siblings, one gets sick they all get sick.” He cracked open his homework.

“Go to sleep big guy, I’m here. I gotcha.” Lance dimmed the light.

Hunk smiled and drifted off to the soft scratching of pencil on paper.

Chapter Text

Hunk was physically strong and he was smart but he wasn’t brave. Hunk, throughout their friendship, had relied on Lance to be his shield. This was something that Lance fell into naturally with all his experience as an older brother.

Basically, Hunk was used to failing.

Now that they were up in space, Hunk was trying more and more to toughen up but sometimes he would hold back or freeze up in the heat of battle.

Lance and the team would swoop in and save the day.

“You are you, Hunk.” Lance had told him after a particularly trying battle and Hunk confessed his desire to not be so weak. “Don’t be anything else.”

“We’ll always have your back, and you’ll always have ours.”

Hunk had never hated himself and his weakness more than at this moment. He was carrying Lance in his arms running from the Galra foot patrol hot on their heels after crash landing on a jungle planet.

Lance had been his literal shield, stepping in front of Hunk to take a heavy blast, after the Galra had ambushed them. The two had tumbled down a steep hill into the jungle below.

Hunk slipped behind a large fallen trunk as the patrol zoomed past them. He set Lance down gently to his side and summoned his Bayard ready to blast should any turn his way.

Hunk released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding once the last soldier faded from view and earshot.

“Lance,” he whispered. “They’re gone.”

He turned to his friend, only to find him unconscious. Hunk carefully laid him on his back.

“Hu…” Hunk’s helmet cracked to life. “Hunk!” called Allura over the comm. “The others…are com-” her voice faded out before he could reply. Hunk’s attention was elsewhere at the moment but he registered that help was on its way.

It was then he realized it. Hand to his friend’s chest, surveying the damage, he was missing the steady rise and fall.

Lance wasn’t breathing.

Hunk froze.

Lance wasn’t breathing.

Lance wasn’t breathing.

Lance wasn’t…..breathing.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he muttered, his fingers searching for the pulse point on Lance’s neck. After a long moment, he found a pulse, weak and fading.

“Don’t…Lance. Come on,” he picked the limp boy into his arms. Hunk looked up hoping to see or hear the signs of rescue.

Someone to save them.

He only could hear the jungle and his own panicked gasps. He looked down at his friend.

Lance lips were turning blue.

Something snapped in him, he moved quickly removing the chest plate.

Hunk was strong.

He was one of the few people in the first aid class that had not been told he wasn’t pushing hard enough during CPR training.

Hunk was smart.

He had paid such close attention in that class, like somehow he had known. He had known, with having a best friend like Lance, it was great knowledge to have…just in case.

Sweat rolled down his face as he kept a steady rhythm.

Compression's.

Breathe.

It had been such a joke to Lance in that class. He kept making Sleeping Beauty references when he and Hunk had been partnered up. He couldn’t keep a straight face.

Now Hunk would give anything for Lance to burst out laughing.

He wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop until he heard Lance breathe.

Hunk’s arms were shaking from the effort.

Suddenly, Pidge was in vision. He looked up at her she was digging in a bag next to her.

“Keep it up, Hunk,” she said placing something over Lance’s nose and mouth. The small machine whirled to life.

“Shiro! Here!” Pidge had called.

Hunk kept up compression's.

Shiro was here.

Hunk was hyper focused on Lance. Everything else was background noise.

Keith had pulled him back. Lance was in Shiro’s arms. Hunk elbowed Keith in the gut, latching on to Lance’s limp wrist.

“Hunk,” Shiro spoke as if he were a scared animal. “I’ve got him.” Hunk let go and Shiro was gone.

Hunk’s whole body shook. Tears streaming down his face. He sobbed.

Lance…hadn’t taken a breath. He had stopped before he revived his friend.

He had failed.

Hunk wasn't brave.

Chapter Text

Pidge and Shrio’s crashing footsteps faded into the distance as they hurried towards the Black Lion.

Hunk couldn’t feel anything as he watched them go.

Keith pulled him to his feet.

“Come on. We have to hurry.” He waited until he was sure Hunk had understood the command. Hunk knew he was itching to get moving. Back to the fighting, taking revenge, just being Keith.

Hunk stumbled after the shorter boy; his eyes following Keith’s boots as they made the trek back up the hill Hunk and Lance had rolled down before.

It was all his fault.

Hunk’s engineering mind had been replaying the last hour in his head.

Finding the faults, the mistakes, and his errors. His massive error. Analyzing what he should have done. How he could have done better. How he could have prevented the attack in the first place.

“You should stop doing that.” Hunk looked up at Keith’s back. He waited for the shorter boy to elaborate.

“Analyzing. What’s done is done. Figuring out alternatives to that situation won’t help you right now.”

Hunk clenched his fists. How did Keith even know that was what he had been doing?

“Lance told me that you…get wrapped up in your own head when…things like this happen.”

Hunk couldn’t believe it. Keith and Lance had a civil conversation and they had discussed him, of all things.

Keith turned around and offered Hunk a hand. “I promised him that I wouldn’t let you. Don’t make me a liar.”

Hunk bit his lip.

“I can’t having him calling me the lying mullet when he wakes up.”

Hunk took Keith’s hand, giving him a reassuring smile that made Hunk’s guilt bubble up. He didn’t know how Hunk had failed.

Hunk wanted to throw up at the thought.

Hunk’s earlier assessment of Keith wanting to get back to the fighting had been wrong.

As the two made their way back to the Castle in their Lions, there was the remainder of the Galra Fleet being held back by the Castle defenses that turned their attention to them as they approached.

Keith tore through with a vengeance. “I don’t have time for you!” he shouted as he ripped through the weak line of ships and straight towards the Castle. “Get out of my way!” he blasted. His instincts were pulling him back to the Castle and they had never led him astray before.

Hunk took a hit that sent him spiraling off course.

Something other than sadness and guilt flooded Hunk. It was very unfamiliar to him.

He turned his weapons on the Galra ships and fired. Cold and calculating, he zeroed in on the holes in the fleet defense and began his assault.

Pure rage. This was pure unfiltered rage.

“Hunk! Please return to the ship. We are going to use a worm hole and warp out of here!” came Allura’s voice over the comm.

“Hunk, please resp-”

Hunk quickly flipped the switch to turn his comm off and flew straight into the fray.

Keith had flown straight into the hanger and was jumping out of his Lion before Red had finished its docking sequence.

All he knew was he needed to get to Lance. He needed to make sure he was alive.

The scene of Hunk as he pounded down on Lance’s chest and breathed for him was burning behind his eyelids every time he closed them.

He was met with a similar sight in the hanger. Coran was kneeling next to Shiro as Shiro had taken up where Hunk had left off. Pidge was sitting back looking at a loss of what she should do.

Keith slid and threw himself down beside them. “Why isn’t he in a healing pod?!” he yelled. Shiro ignored him and kept counting. “6, 7, 8. Lance, come on.”

Coran was looking into a handheld scanner, “His heart…stopped. We can’t heal the damage if we can’t restart his heart. The pod is useless if we can’t.”

Keith felt his blood run cold. He looked down at Lance’s slack face and ran a hand through his hair. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. He placed a kiss on the tan boy’s forehead. He didn’t care that the others were here and could see this.

See them.

“Fuck,” muttered Shiro, pressing down. Pidge was starting to cry. Keith recognized this. This was the first sign of giving up. Lance just needed…energy.

A boost.

“Don’t stop Shiro. I’ll be right back!” Keith tore off towards his room. Shiro nodded and continued. Lance remained unresponsive despite his best efforts.

Keith’s lungs burned as he slammed into his room and went straight for his pack in the closet. When he went anywhere in that damn desert, he had always carried the full first aid packet he had stolen from the Garrison upon getting kicked out. He had it with him the day they shot into space but with the Healing Pod’s he had largely forgotten about it.

He threw the bag to the ground, ripping through the contents. He spilled everything onto the floor.

There. Yes.

He grabbed what he needed and bolted back to the hanger.

Allura watched as Hunk tore through the enemy fleet, continuing to ignore her attempts to hail him.

She was concerned and in awe. This was the best piloting she had ever seen from the Yellow Paladin. It was a sight to behold.

She could only imagine the mental state he must be in if he was achieving such victory.

Hunk was hell bent on destroying every single one of these Galra in front of him.

They had taken Lance from him.

They would pay.

“Move,” Keith slid the last few feet on his knees and tried to remember back to his training. Hunk had already removed Lance’s armor; a thin shirt was all that separated Keith from Lance’s bare skin.

Shiro fell back. Keith used his knife to cut Lance’s shirt open over his chest. His hands shook, felt Lance’s chest for the right spot as he pulled the cover on the needle off with his teeth.

Shiro caught on to what he was doing. “You have to slam it hard Keith. Enough force to penetrate the muscle.”

Keith took a deep breath, pulling his arm back. “Yeah, I know.” And slammed the needle down above the other boy’s chest. He pushed the plunger down and sent a straight shot of adrenaline into Lance’s heart.

“Please.” He pulled it out and waited a moment. “Lance. Please…”

Suddenly, Lance jolted up and gasped. He fell back and Keith caught him before his head could hit the ground.

Lance’s weak gasps sent air warm on Keith’s face as he held the other boy. Keith hands feeling for the steady pulse on Lance’s neck.

“We have to hurry!” shouted Coran. Keith pulled back as Shiro hauled Lance into his arms again and hurried off towards the infirmary. Keith followed after them.

Pidge watched as the doors closed. She wiped at her teary eyes and decided she needed to wait for Hunk. She didn’t even have enough processing power to think over the fact that Keith had kissed Lance.

Where was Hunk? He should have been back by now. Pidge wobbled towards the hanger computer deck.

Hunk was starting to get overwhelmed.

He wouldn’t stop.

He wouldn’t fail.

Not again.

Not again.

Not again.

He would protect everyone.

He would destroy them all.

He would win.

He would save everyone.

He would-

“HUNK! YOU IDIOT!” Pidge’s voice startled Hunk out of his thoughts. Of course she could bypass his turned off comm link.

“Pidge. I have to do this.” He said.

“You need to get back to the Castle. You don’t need to fight anymore.” She replied.

Hunk felt his heart twist. “Is..is Lance?” he couldn’t finish the sentence. The thought of his friend being…gone was too much.

“He was breathing when Shiro carried him out him to the infirmary.”

Hunk needed to get back to the ship.

“I will cover you Hunk. We are ready to depart as soon as you are back onboard.” followed Allura.

Hunk turned as the Castle lasers covered his retreat.

Coran smeared some white cream over Lance’s bruised chest while Keith and Shiro held him steady in the Healing Pod. His breath growing weaker the longer they waited to activate the healing sequence.

Coran stepped back and with a press of the button Lance was sealed inside to heal.

The Pod flashed red with a numerous warnings popping up in Altean.

Coran set to work.

After a moment the Pod faded to its healing blue and Coran sagged against the console.

“Now, we wait,” was all he said. Keith sank to the ground. Shiro knelt down and clasp a hand to his shoulder. They made eye contact and Shiro squeezed.

“Thank you, Keith.”

“Shiro,” Allura spoke over the intercom. “Hunk has retuned to the ship. Everyone we are getting out of here!”

Shiro rose slowly, shaking off his own nerves at this situation.

He set off to find Hunk.

Chapter Text

Hunk docked Yellow as Allura opened the wormhole and teleported them from the area.

Hunk let his hands fall from the controls. He was so tense. He couldn’t think everything was moving at half speed.

Yellow brought up the visuals on to his monitor. Pidge was banging on the shield. When had he put up Yellow’s shield?

Yellow nudged gently at the back of his mind. Oh. Yellow must have. Hunk blinked. Pidge was shouting and looked like she was going to cry.

Hunk waived the visual off the screen and sat back. He couldn’t deal with himself right now let alone deal with an emotional Pidge.

Hunk closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He began forming a mental task list:

One: Find Lance.

Two: Confirm Lances wellbeing.

Three: ….

Two was as far as he got. Opening his eyes, Hunk stood patted the console.

“Thank you Yellow.”

Hunk marched down the ramp. He was had a task. Find Lance.

The shield faded as he approached it. Pidge took a deep breath like she was going to start yelling at him and moved forward alarmed when she got a good look at him. Hunk held up a hand and firmly continued past her without a second glance.

One foot in front of the other.

Down the hall he went, Shiro met him in the corridor.

“Hunk.” Shiro began stopping in his path. “Your he-“ Hunk moved to go around him. Shiro put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Hunk, wait-“ Hunk grabbed Shiro’s arm and spun his commander into the wall hard. Shiro slid down, wind knocked from his lungs.

Hunk didn’t spare him a glance and kept going onwards to the infirmary.

The doors slid open. Keith looked up as Hunk entered.

Hunk’s eyes were wide and his mouth set in a firm line. Blood coating half of his face from a deep cut in his hairline. Hunk glanced around the infirmary, eyes passing over Keith like he didn’t even notice him.

“Hunk,” Keith stood and moved forward like approaching a wild animal. Hunk didn’t respond, his eyes finding Lance’s pod he all but ran to it and pulled up the bio-readings.

“Hunk,” Keith put his hand on Hunk’s shoulder gently. He ducked quickly as Hunk swung wide, fist connecting where Keith’s face had been moments before. Keith stepped back, giving space between them.

“Hey! Calm down Big Guy!” Keith shouted. Hunk moved protectively in front of the pod.

“Lance is alive! He’s ok! You don’t look so hot though.” Hunk blinked as blood dripped into his eye. He wiped it and looked at his hand.

“Keith…” he breathed.

“Yeah man, look Lance is right there.” Keith pointed over Hunk’s shoulder, Hunk followed and looked behind him.

He glanced back to Keith, slowly coming to his senses.

Suddenly all the color left Hunk’s face, he doubled over and puked.

Hunk looked up to see Shiro rushing in the door and promptly passed out.

Hunk slowly awoke to the sound of a soft hissing. He was so cold. His vision blurry as he opened his eyes. The pod door slid open and he stumbled out into Shiro’s arms.

“Shiro…what…” he began.

“It’s okay, Hunk. You’re safe.” Shiro eased him to sit.

Hunk grabbed Shiro’s arm suddenly. “Lance!”

“He’s almost done cooking too,” Shiro pointed. Lance floated in the Pod next to the one Hunk had just emerged. “A few more hours and you’ll be able crush him in one of your infamous bear hugs.”

“Where are the others?” asked Hunk glancing around.

“I asked them to give us a few minutes.” Shiro began. “Hunk. We need to talk about what happened.”.

Hunk glanced down guiltily. “I..I messed up Shiro. I almost got Lance killed.”

Hunk relayed the story and Shiro listened patiently not speaking when Hunk finished his story. They sat in silence for a moment while Shiro mulled over the events that led them here.

“Hunk. I see nothing you did wrong-.” Hunk exploded. “I FROZE AND LANCE HAD TO SAVE ME…AGAIN!”

Shiro gave him an amused look. “Lance has a tendency to do that. Save his teammates. Hunk you saved Lance with your quick response time. You keep him breathing when he couldn’t for himself. That's what teammates do. That’s what family does for each other. They protect and look after one another.” Shiro took a deep breath as he saw his message was not getting through to Hunk.

“Being on a team in War is a constant tally of I saved you, you saved me. You can’t keep track of that Hunk. You just keep going and take the good days as good days. Lance is still with us. You are still with us. This is a good day.”

Hunk teared up slightly and Shiro pulled him Into a hug and held him.

Hours later, Hunk and Keith stood side by side anxiously waiting for Lance’s pod to open. As it did, both boys surged forward and caught Lance between them.

Lance hung limply between them. Hunk and Keith carried him over to the infirmary bed and laid him down. They stood nervously as Lance pressed his hands over his eyes. He chuckled lightly.

“What do I have to do to get treated like this everyday? I commend the service. 5 stars. 10/10 would come again.” He dropped his hands and gave Hunk and Keith a weak smile.

Hunk couldn’t wait. He pulled Lance into a bone crushing hug.

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. The unsettling feeling fading as Lance offered comforting words to Hunk as he hugged him back.

Hunk was so happy his friend was alive. Lance was alive.

Today was a good day.