A/N- I mean...this could be taken as Hance? Or not? It wasn't intended to but I mean if you ship it it could :/ I JUST WANTED TO WRITE A FANFIC ABOUT THE UNDERDEVELOPED CINNAMON ROLL OF THE SERIES BECAUSE HE DESERVES LOVE TOO OK

"Form Voltron!" Shiro caterwauled as the massive alien beast approached the team. Each paladin gave a war cry and the massive multi-colored lions they piloted shifted into a new shape to form the massive robotic superweapon they were all known for. The monstrous creature that had been let loose on them, a lanky four-legged leviathan of a creature nearly the size of a mountain, opened its beak-like mouth and unleashed a slimy purple tongue. At an alarming speed, the tongue coiled itself around Voltron's chest, tying it in place. Pidge used her lion to punch and pull at the tongue, but it seemed impervious to the attacks.

Holding its prey in place, the behemoth unhinged its jaw further to reveal powerful energy charging up in the base of its throat. Allura and Hunk kicked their lions futilely at the chest of their foe, and Shiro's commands were drowned out by Lance and Pidge's screams. Suddenly, they were blinded by a flash of spectacular light as a beam of blue energy catapulted from the depths of the beast, damaging all their systems and sending Voltron to the ground with a crash. Frantic voices came through the coms.

"My lion's unresponsive!" Pidge cried.

"Mine's down too," Allura replied, shaking her controls in an attempt to get them working again. Everyone else was in the same vulnerable position. Except Hunk. The yellow lion still seemed fully functional, and only one of its outer panels seemed to be damaged.

"Guys, my lion is still working! I think I can use the shoulder cannon to take this thing out!" he explained excitedly to his teammates.

"Then use it!" Shiro directed with equal renewed energy.

"Hurry, it looks like it's going make a run for it!" came Allura's cry. Hunk nodded. His hand shot to his thigh, where the yellow bayard formed.

"Yeah, Hunk! Show that big scary monster thing who's boss!" Pidge whooped. With narrowed eyebrows, Hunk raised the bayard back, preparing to slam it into the slot on his right.

"You got this buddy!" Lance cheered.

Hunk rammed his bayard forward, giving a shout of eagerness. It was then that he realized his mistake. He had accidentally angled his arm incorrectly and his wrist slammed into the dashboard, completely missing the slot and bending his hand in a gross, unnatural direction.

"Agh!" the yellow paladin wheezed, gripping his wrist and dropping the bayard. No shoulder canon formed. The other lions remained inactive. The monster ran away.

"Hunk, what happened?" Shiro asked immediately, the authority in his voice suddenly very apparent. Hunk felt his face flush red with embarrassment and realization as to what he had just done.

"I uh...I missed the hole thingy where I put my bayard in…" he replied sheepishly, giving a nervous chuckle. The other paladins simultaneously groaned.

"How does that even happen? How did you just 'miss' the slot?" Pidge asked restlessly.

"I'm really sorry guys...I didn't mean to, I just overshot it I guess," explained the yellow paladin quietly. Allura gave a sigh before calling the castle ship.

"Coran, can you come pick us up? Our lions are inactive." Coran responded with something from his position outside the atmosphere, but Hunk didn't hear it. He had turned his mic off and now leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes and pausing to think for a moment. He had really screwed up.

Later, now returned to the castle with the rest of the paladins, Hunk found himself staring at a mirror in what he called his 'quiet place.' It wasn't anywhere particularly private, it was actually just the bathroom. But no one else was in there at the moment and the yellow paladin wanted to utilize this newfound privacy. Just him and his reflection and his thoughts.

"I really screwed up today, didn't I?" he said softly to himself, watching his lips move in the mirror. "I mean, I totally could have taken that guy down, it was so easy! And I still goofed it up!" he continued, throwing his arms in the air and walking in a small circle before leaning up against one of the fancy Altean stalls.

"Why do I always mess up?" he asked himself, staring at the clean polished floor. He recalled the lava base where he had bumped into the wall and nearly drowned the team, all those times he failed the simulators at the Garrison, the Voltron Shows where his entire role was to fail miserably because it was his 'character'...

Was that all he was? A goofy screw-up who was only there for the entertainment of others? Did everyone really only see him as the nice, funny one who could cook?

Hunk returned to the sink below the mirror and turned on the water, giving his face a quick splash. It didn't help. He gently pressed his forehead to the cool glass and closed his eyes. He felt something wet trickle down his cheeks and realized it wasn't the water he had just slopped on himself. It was tears. His breathing grew heavy and his hair fell down in his eyes, sticking to his face.

Suddenly the door swung open and Hunk quickly wiped away the tears, holding his breath. Lance had entered, seemingly unaware of his presence until he looked up.

"Oh...Hunk, buddy, I didn't think anyone was in...here…" the blue paladin trailed. Hunk could tell that Lance had immediately noticed he was upset and seemed to know exactly what was wrong.

"No one's mad at you for what happened today," he consoled, approaching slowly. Hunk exhaled, face turning a bit blue from trying to hold his breath. He felt himself choking back tears again, and his voice shook when he spoke.

"Pidge seemed pretty mad. And Shiro acted really disappointed when we got back," the yellow paladin retorted, folding his arms. He felt Lance's hand on his broad shoulder, a comforting and warm feeling.

"They'll get over it. And I doubt they're mad at you specifically. That monster was really big and tough," Lance assured. Hunk looked down again. He had stopped sobbing, but now he couldn't help but contemplate something.

"Lance...why am I here? I mean, think about it. I'm wasn't-I'm not a pilot. I'm not a great fighter. Sure, I know a lot of engineering stuff, but Pidge is smart enough with those things that I just kinda help her out sometimes...and sure, it's super cool to fight aliens and ride around in a giant space cat and stuff, but I never even wanted to protect the universe in the first place!" Hunk blurted, voice cracking as he spoke. "I just don't really-"

Lance wrapped his arms around his friend.

"You're very important, Hunk. We need you. You help keep our moral up. You're smart and funny and you know how to use what's around you. We never even would have found the blue lion if it weren't for you and that graphy thingy you made!" assured the blue paladin. "Plus, if it weren't for you, we'd be stuck eating Coran's weird gross space food," he joked, punching Hunk lightly in the arm. Hunk smiled.

"Thanks Lance...I appreciate it." As they turned toward the door to leave, Lance suddenly paused.

"Hey Hunk?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not alone, you know. I can't speak for the others, but sometimes I feel pretty useless to the team too."

"Really? But you're so cool! You've got that fancy bayard and now that you pilot red you can shoot that cool fire canon thing that Keith had!" Lance laughed.

"Well, I guess if we weren't supposed to be here, we would have been sent back to Earth a long time ago. And honestly? I'm really glad I don't have to listen to Iverson at 2 in the morning anymore."

"Good point Lance. Good point."