Warmth (Klance Warmth series Book 1 of +4)

5: Cool Welcome

The moment the Yellow Lion emerged from the wormhole, Allura closed  it. Her heart ached with the thought of her brother alone on that planet  with the Galra even near him, but she had a job to do.

"Hunk," she called in her microphone. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," came the frazzled pilot's reply. "My Lion's going to need to be checked out, but it doesn't seem too bad. Princess, Lance-"

"I  know, Hunk," Allura said, biting her lip as her heart pounded in her  chest. "I know. Get your Lion back to its hangar while I check on Pidge  and Shiro. Hopefully, they've found the Green Lion by now."

"And if they haven't?"

The  princess winced. "Then I may send you to help them search," she said.  "Coran and I have been busy all day repairing the Castle's particle  barrier in case we come under attack."

"You mean if the Galra find us," Hunk said grimly.

"Well considering if the Galra do find us, we would be under attack," Coran said offhandedly, "I think both points are the same. Don't you?"

"Touché," Hunk grumbled.

"We'll  give my brother a full varga to find the Blue Lion and contact us," the  princess said, stepping down from her pedestal and walked over to one  of the side panels where Coran was still typing away furiously. She  activated a smaller version of the star map on the view screen and  studied it closely. "If he doesn't contact us by then, then we'll go to  him."

"I'm not sure we can get the Castle ready for launch by then," Coran said in a worried tone.

"Wait, wait, wait. Launch?" Hunk repeated. "As in blast off? Get airborne? Fly? What? What the-? You know what? No. I'll deal with that later. Where are Pidge and Shiro?"

"Still on the other planet retrieving the Green Lion," Allura said. "I was going to check up on them next but..."

"Do it," Hunk ordered through the communicator. "I just parked my Lion. I'm coming up to the bridge now. I'm going to need Pidge's help repairing my Lion."  A dobosh or so later, there was a hiss as the yellow paladin burst onto  the bridge. "I'm not leaving Lance on that moon alone for any longer  than necessary," he said loudly.

Allura's eyes softened as she  turned to her paladin. "I do understand," she said. "He's my brother.  He's the only blood relation I have left at this point. Don't think for a  moment I plan on leaving him there. I will get him back," she swore.

"We  will get him back," Hunk corrected. "He may be your brother, but he's  our friend." He watched as the princess approached the pedestal once  more and said. "You know, back home my country has a branch of the  military called the Marines. The Marines have this saying: 'No man left  behind.'"

Allura and Coran both paused to listen to the yellow paladin speak.

"I  may not be a Marine," Hunk said. "Not by any means. But I follow that  mantra. Never leave a friend behind. Lance is my friend." He grinned.  "We're bros now."

"Bros? What, you mean like brothers?" Coran asked.

"Yeah, only you typically aren't related," Hunk explained. "It's like a best friend."

Allura  smiled and placed her hands on the two control towers that rose to  about her waist from the pedestal's base. "I'm glad," she murmured, a  soft smile on her face as she activated a wormhole. "But first, Shiro?  Pidge? Can you hear me?" she called in a louder voice.