Chill (Klance Warmth series Book 2 of +4)

16: Clear Evenings, Murky Truths

Hunk sulked by the fire. He and Pidge had decided to take a break from scouring the traders' ship for the cause of their problems. Nothing had come up so far, so they decided a break for food was in order. Thankfully, Rolo had offered to cook while Nyma and Pidge discussed the ins and outs of building cyber-units. Pidge's techno-crush on Beezer was a source of endless amusement for Hunk, even if Rover wasn't too happy about it.

However, something about this whole thing felt odd. He couldn't put his finger on it; he could just tell something wasn't quite right. It was frustrating him to no end because he couldn't find anything wrong.

But that was just it. He couldn't find anything wrong. At all. Not with the people, not with the ship, nothing. As far as he knew, the ship should be in perfect working order. But both Rolo and Nyma insisted it wouldn't start.

When asked if they could show him, Nyma had rolled her eyes and gone inside. Hunk followed and watched her attempt to start the engine over and over. The screens and lights would turn on for a few seconds, flicker, then turn off. It was like turning on a flashlight with a dying battery. Thing is, this ship didn't have a battery.

He looked up when Allura joined Pidge and Nyma's little group and immediately tuned out their conversation. The last thing he wanted was to overhear more subjects that would make his ears bleed. He still hadn't recovered from earlier that day. At least Shiro had relaxed a little bit.

The black paladin was standing nearby talking to Keith about something. Whatever it was, Keith seemed interested. He wasn't focused on Shiro entirely, but he was obviously listening to what Shiro had to say. Every now and then one of his ears would twitch and Hunk had to fight back a bout of giggles.

He sighed and took a sip of his warmed up nunvill just as Lance came over and sat next to him. He hummed and quickly swallowed. "Oh hey," he said, smiling at the prince. "You doin' okay?"

Lance nodded and immediately winced, pressing a hand to the bandaged side of his head. He grimaced. "Just a bit of a headache," he said. "I'm not exactly surprised, really. It's just annoying. I hate feeling useless," he mumbled under his breath.

"You're not useless," Hunk said firmly. "Hey, Lance." He waited for the prince to look at him directly. "You're not useless. You did a lot."

"I got captured," Lance grumbled. "Again."

"And kept the Galra busy so they couldn't find Pidge," Hunk said. "And the first time you tricked them into believing Allura was dead. You protected her and the Lions and us. That's not useless."

Lance stared at Hunk slack-jawed. Then he smiled and crocodile tears spilled over his cheeks. "Aw, Hunk, you do care," he said romantically.

Hunk gave Lance a flat stare. "You're not taking what I'm saying seriously, are you?"

The Altean sat back and twiddled his thumbs absentmindedly. "No, I am," he said softly. "I'm just not sure how I feel about it, is all."

"What do you mean?" the yellow paladin asked.

Lance hesitated, glancing up at Allura and Pidge then over his shoulder at Keith and Shiro before turning back to the campfire. He heaved a sigh. "I just want to go home," he said.

Oh. Hunk slouched in depression. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't think about that."

Lance snorted. "I know you're homesick too, Hunk," he teased. "Don't deny it."

"Oh, I don't, believe me," Hunk said, taking another sip of is drink. "But at least I have a home to go back to. You don't," he said sadly. "I wish I could help."