There, nestled against my pulse

Chapter 6

The dining room door opens and Hunk steps through, pushing a cart of food.

"Alright, who's ready for dinner?" he asks, with a bright grin. "Got some new recipes from that planet we visited yesterday—Kepurt-something."

Sitting across from Pidge, Coran looks away from the numerous holo-screens projected above his side of the dining table. His reading glasses have slid down his nose.

"That was the worst pronunciation I have ever heard. This is the proper name," he says, and then proceeds to make a noise somewhere between a donkey's scream and an elephant's fart.

They all look at him blankly. Allura hides her face behind a hand.

"...Yeah, I think I'll just stick with Kepurt-something," says Hunk. "Anyways, come grab a portion!"

Keith stands, and nearly yelps when Pidge ducks around him to snatch up a plate. She's digging into it, ravenous, before she's even back in her seat. He quirks an amused smile.

He gets to the cart before Allura and hands her a plate before grabbing one for himself. She smiles in thanks and takes another, setting it in front of Coran with a pointed look.

Coran sighs, and swipes the holo-screens away.

"Hey, Keith, have you seen Lance around?" Hunk asks.

Keith pauses, halfway to his seat with his plate. "I thought he was with you?"

"No; I haven't talked with him since we had lunch. I was working with Pidge, and Lance usually hangs around for a bit, but..." Hunk grabs his plate, which leaves only one left on the cart; Lance's. He frowns at it. "He said he was going to go train, so I thought..."

"Well, I've been in the training room all day and he hasn't dropped by." Keith sits down, and Hunk slides into the seat beside him. "Maybe he was—hey, Coran—" Coran looks up— "was Lance helping you with maintenance, again?"

"Oh no, I didn't have the time for that today." Coran glances down at the tablet by his plate, tapping a finger idly on the screen. "I've been reading these Coalition reports the entire day. And there's still so much to go through, I should really get back to it..."

"Coran," Allura says warningly, "you're doing it again."

Coran smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, Princess."

Allura turns to Hunk and Keith, a concerned look passing over her face. "Is there something wrong with Lance?"

"I don't think so?" Hunk absently scoops food into his mouth. When he speaks again, it's muffled. "I'm just worried 'cause he's just been kinda distant recently. For a couple days, now that I think about it."

Keith frowns. "Has anyone seen Lance at all today?"

Pidge shakes her head, still stuffing her face—Keith's kind of worried she might choke—and across the table from Keith, Shiro pauses with a fork halfway to his mouth.

"I think I caught a glimpse of him walking into his room sometime in the afternoon," he says. "He looked pretty tired."

"Maybe someone should go get him," Keith mutters, eyeing the lone plate on the cart. "He's probably napping or something."

"Oh? Are you volunteering?" Shiro says, and he sounds so...innocent that Keith immediately flips the fork in his hand around, the hair at his nape raising.

"No way. You call him. I'm eating."

"You haven't touched your food."

Keith pointedly stabs his fork at his plate.