The silence that permeated the castle during this time of their cycle allowed for Keith's footsteps to echo throughout the dim castle hallway, the sound bouncing off the metal walls to return to him like the thoughts in his head. He had thought that after they found Shiro he'd be able to catch a break, be able to physically feel the weight lifting off his shoulders as Shiro returned to his rightful position in the Black Lion. He had reasoned there would be a period of time where his anxiety would spike as he juggled saving the universe, keeping the team alive, doting on Shiro, and dealing with whatever the hell this thing between him, Lance, and Hunk was evolving into. But then the Black Lion had thrown him for yet another loop and rejected Shiro, and now he was dealing with all of the aforementioned while fighting with himself over whether he should just be the figurehead of Voltron while Shiro leads from behind the scenes, or if he should fight Shiro for total control. To make matters even worse, now Lance was spouting nonsense about not being good enough to be a Paladin and really, did he think any of them were good enough to be fighting an intergalactic war? Most of them weren't even old enough to drink; hell, Pidge wasn't even old enough to drive, yet here she was piloting a giant green war machine.

Keith glanced at the floor as he walked, fists jammed deep into his pockets. Maybe it was something he did to cause this? Scratch that, of course it was something he did, Lance didn't start thinking this way until all these damned changes started happening. Sure Hunk had said not to worry about protecting Lance from his issues, but that was a lot easier said than done when the butterflies in his stomach made him hyper aware of how both Lance and Hunk seemed to glow when they were happy and how dismal things seemed whenever anything upset them. Was this a side effect of prolonged exposure to Lance and Hunk's relaxation methods? Maybe he could digest them, like he did with that cicada he ate when he was six just because someone said he couldn't.

The realization hit him so hard that Keith actually froze in the hallway; he scrubbed at his face as he began again, thoughts racing. How could he have been so blind? This was all because of their arrangement. Lance probably thought that Keith only saw him as an outlet for frustrations and, when mixed with everything else, thought that was all he was worth. Which was honestly crazy because had he seen those shots he had made recently? Without him, there would have been a knife buried in some part of Keith's body, most likely in a life threatening place. This is why Keith hated change; it made people momentarily insane.

Shit, if someone as confident as Lance could be crippled by this then how the hell was Hunk holding up? That boy was already a walking teddy bear with severe anxiety when they got here, who knows what he was doing to deal with all this right now. A thousand thoughts with a thousand different scenarios whirled through his mind, like some vicious tornado where he was nothing more than Dorothy praying for stable footing before being slammed into the floor unconscious.

Maybe he was suicidal? Hunk didn't seem like the type, but they always said it was the person you least expected. But there was always ample opportunity in their battles, and the only people who even came close to exhibiting some of those behaviors were Lance, Keith, and at times Allura.

…Upon further consideration, Keith decided that that was a can of worms best left to be pushed way back in the cupboard of his mind where it could fester for decades past its expiration date.

So maybe not suicidal, but what about harming himself? There were lots of places to hide self-inflicted injuries under his clothing he wore outside of the times requiring Paladin armor. Plus, Hunk handled lots of sparking wires and sharp knives; he could easily explain away any injuries with those two hobbies. But then again, this was also the man who gets squeamish just from watching someone else get splinters removed. Keith didn't even bother to consider substance abuse as Hunk's stomach was so volatile that just a whiff of something disagreeable had him gagging; he couldn't imagine he'd be able to succeed in downing something to harm himself without vomiting it back up. Perhaps he suffered from some type of eating disorder?

Keith wasn't sure why, but he felt that someone somewhere in either this universe or the next was judging him for even thinking about Hunk and food in the same sentence, and demanding he either apologize or give a Ph.D. level dissertation on his reasoning.

Before he could continue down that never-ending rabbit hole, the door to the observation deck slid open. He blinked; he hadn't been consciously heading for the room, but apparently his subconscious remember how staring up at the night sky eased his worries and acted accordingly. However, despite it being a successful relaxation method, Keith tended to avoid it as the other paladins also tended to use the deck to ease their troubled minds. In fact, it was such a popular place to brood and angst that Shiro had secretly dubbed it "The Bat Cave". This seemed harmless and mildly humorous until you walked onto the deck to see Pidge sitting there with Coran at her side, computers in front of her and only needing the iconic costume to complete the imagery.

Allura had been quite concerned when they collapsed into wheezing breathless heaps on the bridge floor after having run faster than they ever remembered from the sight.

But it wasn't Pidge and Coran he found, or Shiro speaking with Allura in hushed tones. It wasn't even Hunk, the eye of his anxiety hurricane that drove him to this spot. No, instead it was Lance with his knees drawn so close to his chest that it looked like his jacket was swallowing him whole. He glanced behind him, the sound of the door opening alerting to another occupant; upon seeing that it was just Keith he gave a slight nod before turning back to stare out the massive window. Taking it as Lance's permission to intrude Keith stepped inside to take a seat beside him, conscious to leave a bit of space between them. Silence stretched between them, making that space feel as vast as the dark unforgiving expanse of space that lay before them. Unlike traveling through space Keith had no idea how to navigate this, or if he should even attempt to; luckily Lance seemed to be the ace pilot in this situation.

"You come to see the nebula too?"

If Lance hadn't of used the same tone when discussing stepping aside, Keith wouldn't have ever thought he could sound that way. Usually so vibrant and bright that it sometimes physically hurt to listen to him speak, this tone was quieter and more pensive, reminiscent of those moments when one would look to the heavens and wonder 'what is my life's purpose?'

Keith couldn't help but wonder if that's exactly what Lance had been doing before he walked in.

"No," Keith twisted himself to look at Lance, "I…didn't even know we were passing one."

He thought he saw some dark emotion pass over Lance's face before he schooled it to its previous expression.

"Yeah, Coran told us about it. Said it was one of the great wonders of the universe in his day. I tried to get Hunk to do a viewing party with me, but then Pidge started off on some technobabble about the whole thing and roped him and Coran into her own little science party for the event. And then I tried asking Allura and Shiro, but they said they had some important stuff to cover," Lance looked down, picking at a thread on his jacket. "I figured you were with them, so I didn't bother."

Something twisted in his chest at Lance's comment; whether it was because he wasn't being included in whatever Shiro and Allura were discussing or because Lance hadn't even bothered to look for him Keith wasn't sure. Before he could formulate a sentence Lance was already waving his hand in dismissal, a small smile on his face.

"I mean I get it, saving the universe and discovering all its secrets is a heck of a lot more important than just hanging around. It's just…" Lance trailed off, the smile slipping back to the slight frown he had been wearing previously. Keith found himself sliding a bit closer, the tips of their fingers almost touching on the floor.

"Just…" Keith prompted; Lance sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Just…you ever look around and think, 'this is the loneliest I've ever felt'. Like you could be in a crowded room, stuffed to the brim with people, and you feel just as alone as if you were sitting in that same room by yourself. And you try to talk to people, as many people as you possibly can, in the hopes of leaving some sort of impression that would make them want to get to know you better, but…" Lance pulled his hand away in favor of hugging his knees tightly to his chest, resting his chin atop them, "You feel like if they even do bother to get to know you it still won't matter; you'll still be lonely. Or, worse, they'll just…decide you aren't worth their time and leave you, and then you're even lonelier than before."

Keith prayed to every god he didn't believe in that not a single trace of his internal panic was evident as he listened to Lance talk. He tore open the file cabinets of his mind, desperately searching for anything to help Lance realize that he understood. With his attention focused on remembering every piece of advice he'd ever received on relating to others, a flood of questions about the situation came crashing through, forcing him to latch onto different ones in an effort to keep his head above water. Was this Lance's way of telling him that the arrangement was making him feel used? But no, this sounded too practiced, like he was painfully familiar with these thoughts; maybe he felt like this before Shiro disappeared. Maybe…he'd always felt this way, even back at the Garrison, and no matter what happened in their lives he'd feel this way. Was this what Hunk meant when Lance said he had his own issues? And if it was, how could he say not worry about it? In Keith's opinion, this was the definition of something to worry about.

He must have been silent for too long, or his expression was too serious, because the next thing he realized Lance was awkwardly clearing his throat beside him. Keith snapped back to attention, watching as Lance rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, just…forget I said anything," Lance's pitch rose at the end, as if him standing up from his spot wasn't an obvious enough sign of how uncomfortable he was. "It's stupid, I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just…" He sighed, jerking his head towards the door, "Yeah."

"No," it came out sharper than he had wanted, but Keith's body seemed to be operating on autopilot as he grabbed Lance's sleeve and yanked him back down. Lance fell harshly on his rear with a yelp; he rubbed his backside as he stared at Keith incredulously. In all honesty if Keith were in Lance's position, he'd be staring at himself too. Even though he wanted to comfort Lance and let him know that he wasn't alone in his thoughts, he didn't have the first clue about how to do it. If he was remembering correctly all those stupid advice columns always said 'use past experiences', but how was he supposed to use his past experiences when not only could he barely get through them without crying, but without making it seem like he was taking the attention away from Lance. Besides, they said to use things that a person could find some common ground and, unless Lance had a tragic family backstory he'd yet to unlock, the only common ground they had was their time at the Galaxy Garrison.

In that moment inspiration hit Keith like a game controller thrown in a fit of rage to the back of the head.

"The Garrison," He blurted; Lance merely blinked at him in confusion. Keith forced himself to continue, despite the alarms in his head telling to cease and desist. "The…The Garrison, I-I guess I felt like that there. I never…never really got why people would want to hang out when we could be practicing 'cuz like, why would you ever focus on Earth when you're going to a school to go to space? It, it didn't make any sense. But…I guess, people thought I didn't make sense, so cuz of that and some…some other stuff, I just kinda pushed people away. And then all the scores came out, and soon enough the only person who even bothered to try to get to know me was Shiro. Which, you know, it's whatever but…I dunno, I guess having one best friend wasn't really enough? And I want, or well I-I mean wanted, more? Does, does that make sense?"

For one terrifying moment Keith thought that Lance wasn't going to understand, and that he had exposed a small portion of himself for no reason at all. Or that Lance was going to become upset at how he phrased it and that he'd start yelling about how selfish Keith was, and why couldn't he just do this one simple task right. But, perhaps by the grace of one of those gods Keith didn't believe in, Lance did neither; instead he smiled softly, posture relaxing as he moved closer to Keith.

"Yeah, that makes perfect sense," Lance muttered, placing his hand atop Keith's; Keith's mind blanked as he zeroed in on the warm comforting weight encasing his hand. Out of all the endings to this situation that he had thought of, having Lance actually say he understood what he meant never crossed his mind. Even if he had managed to imagine it, he sincerely doubted he'd able to replicate the unbridled fondness in Lance's half-lidded gaze, or how the starlight seemed to soften all his angles until he was practically fuzzy around the edges, like a vision of unadulterated love and understanding. A vision that was getting clearer with every inch Lance took to lean closer to him.

Wait…Keith thought, feeling as if a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on his head, was Lance…was Lance planning to kiss him? The thought stole Keith's breath away and left his mind reeling, like a swift punch to the gut. Since when was kissing in public on the table? Had it always been, and he'd just been too inept to realize it? To be fair, he hadn't exactly been given a handbook on all the rules and stipulations that came with a casual sex relationship, so it wasn't exactly his fault if he didn't know. But, looking back at the increase of casual touches between the three of them, maybe it wasn't so surprising that Lance was trying to kiss him in a semi-private romantic area. Maybe…maybe Lance and Hunk had gotten together in private and decided that he needed an obvious sign that they wanted more of these interactions.

A solid warm weight pressing against his side pulled him back to reality. There, curled against his left side with his head resting comfortably on his shoulder as he looked up at him, was Lance. The only thing Lance seemed to actively be doing is trying to get comfortable while still being able to sit upright to look out the window.

"You okay," Lance asked, brows furrowed. "You got all tense. This too much?"

"No," Keith inwardly cursed as his voice cracked on the swift response. He should've known it was just him misinterpreting obvious signals. He cleared his throat, trying to regain that nonchalant façade, "This is, this is fine."

The furrow in Lance's brow deepened, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a gasp as the nebula came into view. Keith found his own gaze drawn to the sight as the room was flooded by the nebula's golden glow. Through the glass, against the black canvas of nothingness framed by alien constellations and distant planets, was a massive golden cloud resembling a paint splatter. Interwoven throughout the shimmering fabric were blue-green and red-orange double helixes, forming intricate rows and columns. Where the red-orange and blue-green connected an explosion of the deepest purple appeared. No single color truly overpowered the other, as if the artist whose paintbrush created this masterpiece understood exactly how much color and pressure to use to bring this extraordinary rainbow to life.

"Wow…" Lance breathes, drawing Keith's attention, "The universe sure is amazing, huh?"

Keith takes in his profile; how the stars reflect in his eyes, creating beautiful galaxies untouched by any empire's wrath. How the brilliant light casts an ethereal glow to his already radiant skin, making him look so much more than human. Keith takes it all in and feels a warmth as comforting and soft as the one he feels sitting in the Red Lion's cockpit spread through his chest.

"Yeah," He breathes, a soft smile on his face, "It is."

The two of them sat for what felt like hours under the light of the nebula. Between the quiet admiration of the splendors of the universe and making up constellations,

("That's the Macro Penis."

"You said that about the last one."

"No, I said that one was the Micro Penis. Clean the crud out of your ears mullet.")

Keith somehow remembered to ask Lance if everything was alright with Hunk. Lance looked up at him incredulously before bursting into laughter, much to Keith's confusion.

"Buddy, if Hunk was upset about something, Zarkon himself would know about it. That dude is a massive complainer."

"But what if it's something serious," Keith pressed, unconvinced. It would be just like Lance to cover for his best friend. "What if he feels he needs to keep it secret?"

Lance shrugged before burrowing further into Keith's side. "If it's bothering you that much, ask him. Now hush, I think I just found Canis Feces Excretus."

With those words repeating through his mind like a mantra, Keith set off through the castle to confront Hunk. He vaguely remembered Hunk off-handedly mentioning that when he was stressed he had a tendency to bake uncontrollably; apparently the order and logic of recipes was soothing to his frayed nerves. He dodged the other inhabitants of the castle with practiced ease, determined to make it to the kitchen without conversing with another person so as to prevent him from losing his focus. God help the man, woman, Altean, Galra, or one of the other billion species of aliens to exist that crossed his path; not even Zarkon himself could stop Keith from seeing this mission through.

The sweet scent of some alien fruit wafted down the halls, the only sign that Keith was getting close to the kitchen. He sped up unconsciously, mouth salivating at the prospect of getting to have a taste of one of Hunk's creations straight from the oven. Before he realized it Keith was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as Hunk bent over to pull a tray from the oven. Keith was helpless to stop the smile from appearing on his face as he watched Hunk swing his hips to the beat of the nonsensical tune he was humming, the same warmth he felt with Lance spreading like a slow burning fire through his chest.

Hunk turned, flinching slightly as he caught sight of Keith. "Oh! Hey man, didn't hear you come in. You want some pie?"

Hunk tilted the pie tin, showing off a beautiful traditional lattice top that belonged on the pies of the universe's greatest bakers. Underneath that however was a filling that quite honestly looked like yellow-green vomit, complete with a few floating chunks of what Keith assumed were the fruits that he used. Despite the filling's unappetizing appearance, the smell was absolutely divine; if he closed his eyes and ignored the texture, Keith was sure that he could eat the entire thing in one sitting. It was because of all these conflicting feelings about a simple pie swirling in his mind that Keith decided the best course of action was to bluntly ask what he originally came for.

"Are you stressed?"

Hunk blinked as he set the pie down. "Uh…no? I mean, not any more than usual. Why? Should I be?"

"No, no not at all. I was just…" Keith felt the flush creep up the back of his neck as he backtracked, desperately searching for an escape route. He cleared his throat, eyes flitting to the pie. "So pie huh?"

"Uh…yeah…" Hunk slowly pulled out a serving knife, eyeing Keith warily, "I used some of the supplies we picked up from that one planet. You wanna try it?"

Keith shrugged as he pulled up a chair to sit at the counter; Hunk smile lit up his face as he launched into chatter while cutting up the pie.

"I'm actually really glad you came in when you did, otherwise I'd have no one else to test this out." Hunk slid a slice onto a plate before digging in for another. "Ever since the whole scaultrite cookies thing Pidge refuses to try anything alien until it's either been examined or someone else tried it first. And Shiro, poor guy, says he always gets such a bad headache when he smells certain things that he's afraid he's gonna puke. Which you know, I get, vomiting uncontrollably is not a fun experience."

"I'd imagine." Keith said, eyeing the particularly large slice that Hunk had plated. As Hunk got up and headed to the fridge he decided to say a quick prayer to the same gods as last night that that slice was for him. He figured if it worked last night, then there was certainly no harm in trying again, right?

"Yeah, so then that leaves Allura, Coran, and Lance as my only other taste testers," Hunk said as he began rummaging through the fridge. "Allura and Coran have really…unique tastes, which sometimes don't really translate well to us. And as for Lance, well, ever since the whole Xyranthia incident he's been about as skittish as Pidge is."

Keith silently cheered as Hunk slid a large glass of milk from Kaltenecker and the large slice of pie he'd been eyeing earlier towards him. "That was a weird movement."

"You're telling me." Hunk plopped into the seat across from him, beginning to dig into his slice, "Not allergic to anything on Earth, but eat this one herb from Aralmak and suddenly he turns neon pink and blows up like a puffer fish."

Keith nodded as he brought the forkful of pie into his mouth. He moaned, eyes fluttering shut as an explosion of flavor immediately swamped his taste buds. If he were forced to describe it in Earth terms Keith would have to say that it came closest to resembling an apple pie, the kind that one thought of when they pictured a pie sitting cooling on a windowsill. The filling had that same sweet tang of Earth apples followed by the tingling spice of whatever Hunk had used to replace cinnamon and nutmeg. All of it was complimented by the warm buttery flakes of crust that provided that perfect crisp texture to offset the gooey fruits before melting in his mouth. In short it was perfection incarnate, even if it did leave a tingling feeling in his mouth and throat; Keith found he couldn't stop himself from shoveling more of the pie into his mouth. It wasn't only until he had washed down the last vestiges of the pie with the milk Hunk provided that he noticed that he seemed sweatier than usual, and that the tingling hadn't been washed away with the flavoring of the pie. He looked over at Hunk, who was staring at him in mixture of rapt fascination and vague horror, fork long forgotten.

"Ith mah tongue thuppothet to theel like dith?" Keith wasn't sure why words were suddenly a lot harder to say all of a sudden, but his question was enough to have Hunk shooting out of his seat as if he'd been shot.

"Oh man, Allura's gonna kill me," Hunk whined as he desperately searched the packs hanging from his belt, "I'm gonna have to go on the run, forever hiding from both the Galra and Allura. Maybe Sal will take me back, he seems like the kinda guy to harbor fugitives if they make him a profit."

"Hunk what are you talking about?" Hunk didn't respond, only giving a small joyful cry as he pulled out the item he was so desperately searching for. Keith tilted his head in confusion as he stared at the orange and white oblong object; why was Hunk looking so hard for a pen? He didn't get a chance to voice his question as Hunk raced to his side, ripping off the blue cap.

"Alright, now you're just gonna feel a little pinch," Hunk said as he stabbed the orange pen into Keith's outer left thigh. Keith shrieked as he felt a needle pierce through his jeans, trying to pull away but failing as Hunk kept him in place.

"I know I know I know, I'm sorry I'm sorry," Hunk babbled, pulling out the needle and tossing it to the floor. He then began to vigorously massage the area around the stab wound, as if he were trying to ease the pain. After what felt like a dobash of Hunk kneading at the flesh of his thigh he stood.

"Alright, now we gotta go see Coran and make sure you're okay," Hunk said with an air of finality. The questions Keith were dying to ask were interrupted by the squeal he made as Hunk squatted and lifted him into his arms in a bridal carry as if he weighed absolutely nothing. He clung to Hunk's shirt as they swiftly moved, heart racing and muscles shaking in what he assumed was surprise. A part of him wondered if it had anything to do with whatever Hunk had stabbed him with; it was quickly crushed by the memories of Hunk having only his best interests at heart.

"Hunk, what ith-" The question dried up as he caught a quick glimpse of his face in one of the castle's many reflective services. He scrambled out of Hunk's hold, ignoring the Yellow Paladin's protests, hoping to dispel the image he thought he saw.

Staring back at him with the same panicked expression was a man whose normally pale complexion was covered in a rash the same shade of orange as Coran's hair and whose tongue stuck out of his mouth like a panting dog. Shakily Keith raised a hand to press into his cheek, watching in rapt horror as the reflection pressed a hand into a swollen pouch on its face at the same time he did. As all the information this image provided was processed, Keith proceeded as any regular person would and screamed loud enough to be heard by passing ships.

"What the thuck happened to mah thace?"

After a visit to the med bay and receiving a scolding from Coran about putting unapproved items in their mouths, Keith and Hunk moved to the living area. Despite Keith insisting that he was alright, both Coran and Hunk had decided it was better that he be monitored for any adverse side effects that required immediate medical attention. The silence between the two was stifling, like a thunderstorm on a summer night just waiting to happen, tension so thick Keith was sure he could cut it with his bayard. Hunk sat on the other end of the couch, fingers twiddling uselessly as he tried to focus on anything other than the icy glare Keith was sending him. It wasn't that Keith was particularly mad at Hunk, but rather that he was mad at the situation in general and poor Hunk was the conduit for it all. After all, if he hadn't gone to check on him then he wouldn't have eaten the deadly delicious pie with ingredients that apparently all members of the Galra race were highly allergic to. Something that, if Hunk had properly done research on first, he would have known and not gone and offered the only Galra teammate a slice and saved Keith the humiliation of looking like an overgrown hamster.

Alright, so maybe Keith was a little mad Hunk wasn't suffering the same fate right now; sue him.

The door to the room slid open, revealing Pidge strolling in with her laptop in her arms. She paused, the door sliding shut behind her, taking in Keith's appearance. "So…looks like we had another Xyranthia incident?"

"I told him I was sorry," Hunk shouted, arms flailing out to his sides. "I didn't know that Galra reacted to Fifin berries that way; if I had I would've never offered it to him!"

"Right…" Pidge inched her way to the door leading to the hangar bay. "I'm just gonna…go work on stuff with the Green Lion. You guys do whatever it was you were doing before I walked in."

As quickly as she had come in Pidge was gone, once again leaving Hunk and Keith alone in the common area. Keith huffed, adjusting his position on the couch and preparing himself for another long bout of tense silence. His preparation went to waste though when Hunk began to speak.

"You know I didn't mean to right? Like, honest to God if I knew I'd have never offered it to you. I just, I dunno," Hunk looked down at his hands, "I get really excited when I make new stuff, and I just wanna share it with everyone. And, sometimes…I just kinda forget that we're in space and some stuff might not be the same, cuz it still feels a lot like home, ya know?"

Keith sighed, feeling a sense of guilt coming over him at the sight of Hunk's hunched over form. He knew he didn't experience homesickness like the other paladins; he missed certain foods or sensations, but he had the person who would patiently wait for his return here in the castle with him. He didn't have families waiting for him on Earth like Lance and Hunk, and he had found the missing parts of his family unlike Pidge. It was just yet another level that Keith couldn't relate to any of them on, another impassable canyon keeping him from truly forming a profound relationship with them. But then he thought of last night with Lance and how that canyon between them seemed to shrink when Lance had laid his head against Keith's shoulder. How all it took was a poor excuse of a relatable experience to begin adding more boards to the shoddy bridge they'd constructed together. So maybe, if he just tried…maybe…

"F'ying the lionth."

Hunk's head jerked up, eyes wide as he fixed Keith with his gaze. Ignoring the alarm bells in his mind Keith continued to take the leap of faith, directing his attention to a corner of the room. "It wemindth meh of widing mah hothabike, jutht…without the wind in mah hair. Ant…Ah mith it thometimeth. F'ying the Wed Lion or the Black Lion ithn' the thame."

A loud sniffle caused him to jerk his attention back to Hunk. A jolt of panic flooded his system as he saw the Yellow Paladin staring at him with large teary brown eyes. "Wh-Why are you cwying?"

"Because you just shared a piece of yourself, and you never do that." Hunk sniffed, wiping at his eyes with the hem of his shirt. "You've always got these walls up, and seeing you break them down a bit, it just…oh come 'ere you!"

In the blink of an eye Keith found himself wrapped up in a tight hug, and for a moment all he could think of was how Hunk could really move fast when he wanted to. Soon the thought slipped from his grasp like water as he focused on how safe and warm he felt with Hunk. It was as if the feeling in his chest he'd been getting recently had taken the Yellow Paladin's physical form, enticing him to relax within Hunk's arms.

It…It was nice, Keith thought as he did just that, tucking his head underneath Hunk's chin. He'd most likely scold himself later for indulging, reminding himself that no one's presence in his life was meant to be permanent. But, as Hunk readjusted his hold to make it more comfortable for Keith, he supposed he could allow it; think of it as payback for the whole fifin berry pie thing.

Yeah, Keith sighed, a small smile gracing his face, it was just payback as far as anyone else needed to be concerned.

"-and then he just went all limp, and at first I was like 'Oh my God he's gone into shock he's gonna die"! But then I looked down and he was just all curled up with his head tucked under my chin with this soft little smile on his face and Lance I swear to God he looked like a little tabby kitten."

After Hunk had deemed that Keith was no longer in life threatening danger and could walk around the castle without someone quoting Willy Wonka, he had raced to Lance's room and leapt onto the Paladin's bed. Normally Lance would have scolded the Yellow Paladin lengthily on the merits of proper rest, but after Hunk somehow managed to convey that yes Lance this is an emergency, he was able to get away with a strong warning.

Lance groaned, dragging his hands down his face, "Oh my God, are you serious? First the general attractiveness, then the stupid starlight making him look like some kind of stupid pretty space alien, and now he's a tabby cat." Lance fell backwards onto his bed, arm flung dramatically over his face, "Hunk, buddy, do me a solid and toss me out the airlock real quick would ya?"

Hunk flopped backwards beside him, mirroring his pose, "Not unless you take me with you."

"And leave the care and feeding of everyone to Coran? Absolutely not. That's like, Galra Empire levels of cruel and unusual punishment."

"Yeah that's fair." Hunk sighed, rolling onto his side to face Lance. A comfortable silence enveloped the room as they lay beside each other. It was a silence born from two people whose lives were so entwined with the other that they didn't feel the need to fill the void with idle chatter, not when they could bask in the nuanced expressions of the other's body language. At the Galaxy Garrison these sessions seemed to happen daily, the two of them staring up at the ceiling discussing whatever came to their minds. Sometimes they stayed like this, just lying side by side; others they would wind themselves tightly around one another, heads tucked under chins and one set of hands clasped together as they traded soft intimate touches with the other.

"Is this what it feels like whenever you're on the receiving end of things," Hunk asked as he reached out to play with Lance's fingers, "This wonderful, kinda painful feeling in your chest?"

"Well first off it'd be my ass hurtin'," Lance grinned, turning to stare at Hunk. "And if they're doing it right, there really shouldn't be that much pain. But yeah, it's the same general concept."

"How do you deal with it?"

Lance shrugged, "Pray to every god I believe in and some that I don't that everything will turn out alright."

At the sight of Hunk's disbelieving stare, Lance continued with arms gesticulating wildly. "What? It's never failed me before! I mean look at me; I'm a Garrison fighter pilot turned Defender of the Universe who's gotten to sleep with a lot of pretty people!"

Hunk hummed, tapping his finger to his chin; his shoulders slumped forward in defeat, a small smile on his face. "Well when you put it like that, you make a very convincing argument for me to expand my personal pantheon."

The giggles bubbled forth from Lance like water from a fountain that had just started again after a long dry spell. Following soon after were Hunk's deep chuckles, the sound reminding Lance of coins full of wishes and hope being dropped into a fountain; he felt the familiar wonderful squeeze in his chest he got every time he heard Hunk's laugh. He couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face as he watched Hunk slowly cease the chuckling.

"Hey," Hunk's eyes opened to the sight of Lance offering a closed fist to him, "We still bromates for life?"

Hunk grinned, bumping his own fist against Lance's, "'Til the inevitable heat death of the universe."

Lance returned the grin, and for a moment Hunk felt his breath catch in his chest, "Coolio. Now Hunk, my man, you have got to spill about if that fifin berry pie is safe for everyone, cuz I'm about this close to being ready to screw the universe over to satisfy a craving."

Hunk huffed in amusement, launching into the technical aspects of his most recent baking endeavor. Worrying about potentially adding another person to their little duo could wait; right now, he had a universe to save.

A/N: What the fuck even is this I don't-