#heithsecretvalentines

[desgostoamoroso]

Happy (late) Valentine’s Day @aphroditeallura !

(Sorry for being late but I hope you like it)

[bean-pole-art]

Happy (Secret) Valentine’s Day for @cactusthespacecat!!! <3

You mentioned that you’d love some Garrison!Heith and I’m here to deliver! I always loved the headcanon that Hunk had a crush on Keith back in Garrison, so I thought out a little comic. You seem like such a sweet and nice person, I really hope you like it!!

[dazzleshot]

Happy Valentine’s Day @louveanistired

Heith secret Valentine’s Day gift, have a Heith remake of Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’

[kotoriqueen]

Hello, @twunkadelia​!! I am happy to say that I was your Heith Secret Valentine! 

It took me a while to actually write this, but I was able to finish this for Valentine’s Day! I tried to make this as fluffy as possible so I hope you enjoy this! 

1 – Candy Hearts ( High School AU)

He lets out a huge yawn as he walks down the school halls, going for his locker. Though when he stops at it, there’s a huge piece of poster board taped to it, with a bunch of little hearts making up one huge heart. Keith rubs the sleep out of his eyes to get a better look at it, realizing that the smaller hearts are those candy hearts that are stupidly popular during this time of year. Keith’s eyes wander over each candy heart, each one saying a different thing. For how big the paper is, and how big the heart is, Keith’s pretty sure the person who made this took them forever to do it. There’s basic ones like ‘XOXO’, ‘HUG ME’, and ‘BE MINE’ and then there’s ‘SEXY MOFO’, ‘I LOVE YOU’, and ‘MY BABY’ that make Keith’s face go twenty different shades of red. And while he’s looking at this whole little art project this person made, he can’t put this to a name because there’s no fucking name on it! Keith thinks he could get lucky by taking it down and look behind it, but he still gets nothing to point him to the person to do this.

His eyes narrow in frustration, and sighs, putting the candy heart picture under his arm as he opens his locker. He’s lost in thought for who could have done it, and he’s so lost in thought, he doesn’t realize someone coming up next to him.

“Hey, Keith,” and his name being spoken snaps Keith out of his thoughts, nearly jumping a few feet in the air. He glances over, where Hunk stands next to him, with an amused grin on his face. “Did I scare you?”

“I don’t get scared, Hunk,” Keith denies before turning back to his locker, switching out a few books and setting the candy heart picture inside his locker. “Just.. I was lost in thought.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Someone left me a piece of poster board with candy hearts all over them, but there’s no name on it.” Keith says, shutting his locker with a slam. “So I was trying to figure out who it was, but what kind of person would use the candy heart ‘SEXY MOFO’ when referring to me? That’s just embarrassing.”

“Hm, there’s thousands of people in this school, with more boys than girls, so I think that narrows it down because you don’t really flaunt your gayness,” Hunk says with a shrug. “I’m sure the person will show themselves on Valentine’s Day.”

“Well, if it’s a girl, they got some disappointment coming,” Keith says. “Or even a guy – I like someone else.”

Hunk’s eyes raise up, but a tinge of disappointment goes through him, “Really?”

“Not ready to out that, though.”

“Understood, dude.”

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have made that after all,” Hunk thinks to himself. ‘I knew I was going to get hurt in the end..’

2 – Roses ( Domestic AU )

Hunk comes home late from work one night, finding the apartment he shares with Keith empty and dark and strangely a little cold, as if Keith hasn’t been there all day. Hunk pats the wall for the light switch, and turns on the lights in the house. He looks around, a concerned look on his face, and calls out for his lover and roommate, but receives no response. Hunk continues calling out for Keith on the way to their shared bedroom, but when he gets there, there’s a vase of red roses sitting in front of their floor mirror. Hunk raises an eyebrow and picks them up, plucking the card from in between.

“If you stand with this bouquet of roses in front a mirror, you’ll see thirteen of the most beautiful things in the world,” Hunk reads aloud, and after the words process, his face turns red and he lets out a small squeak. “What the hell, Keith.”

“I wanted you to know how beautiful you were,” comes a voice from the doorway and Hunk turns fast, seeing Keith in the doorway of their bedroom. “I kept waking up to you running your hands over your body, and even the past, you told me that you were worried about me accepting your feelings because ‘Look at you, and then look at me. Why would anyone like me?’”

“Keith--”

“And I think you’re beautiful,” Keith continues on, walking over to Hunk and wrapping his arms around him. “Not just think, but I know, for a fact, you are beautiful and perfect and the right guy for me.”

“Oh, Keith..”

“I love you, Hunk,” Keith says, squeezing Hunk’s sides. “All of you.”

3 – Blind Date/Set up by friends ( Modern AU )

Keith doesn’t know what he’s doing here.

Oh, well, honestly? He does know. Shiro and Matt had set him up with a guy Matt’s little sister knew, and arranged for the two of them to meet at a coffee shop. (Could you say cliché?) All Keith could think about is how dangerous blind dates could be, because, really – what does Matt know about this guy? He knows Matt is protective of his little sister, so whoever Pidge hangs out with, they’d have to get by Matt, too. But a murderer could seem nice too at first glance, but give time, and they could fuck things up.

So now Keith is sitting at a table for two at a coffee stop, index finger swirling around the brim of his glass of water as he waits for his blind date. He hears the door chime open and Keith looks up, watching as a server points the customer to where Keith’s sitting. Keith sits up straight, getting a better look at this guy. His big – big enough to bench press Keith if he wanted to. Keith swallows, suddenly his throat feeling dry.

“Hey,” the stranger greets. “Sorry if I’m late. Have you been waiting long?”

Long enough to wonder where you’ve been all my life.

“Uh, no. I haven’t. Just got here myself,” Keith says instead of what his brain tells him. “Have a seat. I’m Keith.”

“I’m Hunk,” stranger says and all Keith could think is Oh, you sure are. “Uhm, I never have been on a blind date before. My friends arranged this.”

“Same here.” Keith agrees. “But we might as well order something and get to know each other. Unless you prefer to leave.”

“I mean, I’d like to get to know you at least? Even if this doesn’t work out, we can still be friends, yeah?”

Keith blinks, then a smile forms on his face, “Yeah. I’d like that.”

4 – Chocolate ( Canon )

“Did you seriously find a planet that has a plant for you to make chocolates?” Keith asks Hunk, not able to believe it when Hunk mentions it. “If so, I call dibs on being the guinea pig this time.”

“I’ve never seen you so excited before. It’s kind of cute.” Hunk teases, making Keith’s cheeks go a little pinkish. “Yes, I did. And you’re lucky you did. Lance and Pidge would have fought over it.”

“I just haven’t had chocolate in a long time, okay? It used to be my comfort food.”

“Comfort food?” Hunk questions, a little confused at first but then he remembers of all that Keith’s been through and his face softens. “Aw, Keith – know what, hold on. Wait here.”

Keith blinks, but does as told as Hunk runs around the kitchen, opening the cabinets and going over the stove. He’s unable to watch fully on what Hunk’s doing, but the scent fills the air and it smells cocoa-y – like hot chocolate, to be more specific. Keith’s eyes light up and watches as Hunk nearly breaks the Altean glasses rushing to grab one, and within minutes, there’s a steaming cup of chocolate coloured liquid in front of him. (Well, it feels like minutes went by, but it took a lot longer than just a few minutes to make this.)

“Have this,” Hunk says and Keith takes the cup in his hands. “Careful, it’s--” And then he watches Keith take a sip with no hesitation but doesn’t yelp from the heat either. “..hot.”

“Holy crap, Hunk.”

“Is it good?”

“It’s fantastic,” Keith replies and he takes another sip, practically chugging it down. “It tastes so much like hot chocolate it’s unreal.”

“Good!” Hunk beams at this, glad he was successful in making Keith happy. “I’ll make you some small chocolates, too, and stick them in the freezer for them to chill and turn solid, so you can have your comfort food anytime.”

“Thank you, Hunk. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

5 – Movie Night ( Canon )

“So this is an Altean movie.” Hunk says as he sits right besides Keith on the couch. Keith hums as a response. “Wow. Do you even know what they’re saying?”

“Not in the slightest. I’ve been making my own dialogue,” Keith says. “At least in my head.”

“Really? I want to hear some.”

Keith looks over and then figures why not, so he rewinds the movie and turns it down a little. A scene with a princess and a prince appears.

“Oh, Princess, I have always longed for you. Won’t you please come with me?” Keith recites then clears his voice, trying to sound like the Princess in the movie. “Oh no I must not! Father will never allow me to go out with someone like you!”

“Like me? What’s wrong with me?” Hunk adds in with a grin and Keith looks over, his smile wide.

“You didn’t show up with flowers! Or candy! Or anything! Not even a white horse! How could I go with you?”

“Because you don’t need all those things for true love,” Hunk says. “If you come with me, I will forever love you.”

“That sounds so cheesy.” Keith says, bumping Hunk with his shoulder. “Just right out of a fairy tale.”

“Hey, I like fairy tales. Disney movies are my favourite.”

“And yet if you read the morbid ones, you’d never like them again.”

“Let’s not and say I did.”

6 – Late for a Date ( Domestic AU )

Hunk’s panicking. Hunk’s panicking and driving a crazy speed to the hospital. When he got the phone call that his boyfriend was there because of an accident at work, he dropped everything to go there. He and Keith were supposed to have a date, and ten minutes before they’re supposed to have their date, is when he gets the call.

He parks and rushes into the ER, asking right away to see Keith Kogane. It takes a moment, and a nurse comes out to guide Hunk to Keith’s emergency room, where at the door, he sees Keith fast asleep, with a bandage wrapped around his arm and scratches on his face. Hunk pales from seeing his boyfriend like this, and he rushes to his side, grabbing the bandaged arm and kissing Keith’s knuckles. From the nurses explanation, it seems like Keith was doing his job as security and tried stopping a guy because he was stealing to only slam him through a window and ended up like this. It’s not too much longer until Keith opens his eyes, grunting from the bright lights in the emergency room.

“Nn..”

“Keith.. Oh my god, Keith.” Hunk sobs, hanging his head. “I was so worried about you! How do you feel?”

“Like shit,” Keith grumbles. “I missed our date.. all because I was chasing a stupid guy.”

“You were doing your job,” Hunk tells him. “I’m not mad. I’m more glad that you’re okay.”

“But you were looking forward to this date..”

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” Hunk leans over, pressing kisses to Keith’s face. “All that matters is that you’re safe. I love you.”

“Love you, too..”

7 – Wrong Restaurant ( Domestic AU )

“What do you mean our names aren’t on the list?” Keith’s getting snappy, and Hunk’s panicking. They’re going to get kicked out of this restaurant in like five seconds. “I made this reservation, like, weeks in advance! Look for our names again!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but your names aren’t on here. I’ve looked five times now, and our tables are either full or reserved for other guests. I cannot just give you a table.”

“That’s bullshit--”

“Uh, Keith?” Hunk interrupts, his lover looking back with a glare. “..I think we’re at the wrong restaurant.”

Immediately, Keith’s face goes red from embarrassment and croaks out an ‘oh’.

“We’re so sorry for the trouble.” Hunk apologizes before grabbing Keith by the wrist and drags him out. “Oh my god. Now we won’t make it to the other restaurant in time.”

“..Maybe we can just go home and order Chinese.” Keith mutters, still embarrassed. “I’m sorry for not realizing it sooner.”

“No, Keith, if I was you, I would have gotten angry, too. It’s fine.” Hunk takes Keith’s hands and rests his forehead against the others. “We can go home. Snuggle and watch television. Date night is still a go.”

8 – Strangers Alone on Valentine’s Day ( Coffee Shop AU )

The coffee shop is dead on February fourteenth. There’s only few people there, and two people are sitting together at a table for a date. Keith’s sitting alone, laptop in front of him, staring at the couple with disgust. He figured it would be better to get work done on Valentine’s Day seeing as how he had nobody and most coffee shops would be dead with no couples, but no, he thought wrong.

The door to the coffee shop chimes open and Keith looks up, seeing a man walk in alone and go to the counter, order something, and then sit down at a table next to Keith.

“Alone on Valentine’s Day, too, huh?” the stranger says, trying to make conversation.

“Mhm. I don’t care. I’m not interested in anybody anyway.” Keith shrugs, deciding to talk to the stranger seeing as how he’s not going to get much work done if he’s too stressed to get anything done. “What about you?”

“Eh, not me either,” the stranger says with a shrug. “I’m Hunk, by the way.”

“Keith. What brings you here?”

“Wanting to get some writing done. I need coffee to wake me.”

“Same. I have a deadline in a few days and I barely started on it.”

“Story of my life.”

“Heh.” Keith laughs a little, a smile on his face. “Good luck, Hunk.”

“You, too,” Hunk says, his smile wide. “Keith.”

9 – Friends on a date ( High School AU )

“Aw, aren’t you two a cute couple.” Lance teases as he walks past Hunk and Keith having lunch together at a diner. “We have studying to do, and you two are on a date?”

“We’re not on a date, Lance.” Hunk insists. “We’re studying. And we’re not a couple--”

“I thought this was a date,” Keith interrupts, eyebrow raising. “Guess I was wrong.”

“Wait-- Keith-- you know it could be--”

Keith’s grin is wide and teasing, “I’m joking, Hunk.”

“O-oh.”

‘I’d very much like to date you,’ Keith thinks. ‘But you’re too good for me..’

10 – Rained out Picnic ( Canon )

“Well.. going to a planet that had a seventy-five percent chance of rain, may have been a bad idea.” Hunk admits, feeling down as he and Keith take shelter from the rain under a tree. “I was really thinking that twenty-five percent would come through.”

“We can have a picnic in Yellow?” Keith offers. “Would she mind?”

“I don’t think so. She’s been itching to get us out on a date, but at the cost of our picnic being soaked and us getting sick? She’ll welcome us to eat there as long as we clean up.”

“Race you to your lion, then.”

“What-- Keith! That’s not fair! I’m holding the picnic basket!”

11 – Low on money/homemade date ( Modern AU )

A date didn’t have to be going to a fancy restaurant or buying your significant other nice things. No matter where you are, and what you do, a date is still a date and still amazing when you’re with the person you love and care about. And Hunk didn’t mind it when Keith admits he doesn’t have the money for date night because bills came up. And even though Keith minds, Hunk is more than fine with sitting with Keith, playing games and eating pizza rolls. Or even snuggling and watching Netfix. Which is what they are doing now after they had eaten microwavable chicken nuggets, with Keith laying on top of Hunk and Hunk’s hand running through Keith’s hair.

“I love you,” Hunk whispers and Keith hears it, raising his head. “This date is great.”

“..I love you, too, Hunk.” Keith says with a small smile. “Next date will be better though.”

“Having a chill date is the best date I could ask for, Keith. Honest.”

“If you say so, but I’m going to spoil you rotten next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

12 – Surprise Date while Working Late ( Florist Hunk, Tattoo Artist Keith )

Hunk enters the tattoo shop late at night, holding a vase of flowers and asking where Keith is at. He’s told Keith’s in the back cleaning up, and Hunk walks back there, nearly startling his boyfriend in the process.

“What are you doing here, Hunk? I won’t be off for another hour or so.” Keith admits. “I have a lot of cleaning up to do.”

“I know! I know! I just.. wanted to give you these,” Hunk says and hands over the vase. “I set up the arrangement myself. Figured it would cheer you up when we can’t go out on dates because of our work schedule. But also.. I’m off tomorrow and so are you and we’re going to go out on a date once you get off.”

“Hunk.. you didn’t have to come here for this..”

“I wanted to. It was a surprise.” Hunk says with a grin and leans down, pecking Keith’s lips. “I’ll wait in the waiting area for you.”

Keith grins wide, returning the kiss, “Alright. I’ll see you soon.”

13 – Forgot to get anything ( High School AU; post-Heith )

The first thought Keith has when he walks into school on February fourteenth is god, there is so much red and pink and so many hearts and love spread around. He pushes through couples hugging in the hallways, gags at the couples kissing at their lockers and ready to make love with all the students watching them, and he feels a headache forming when he hears girls screaming with joy when they get their Valentine’s gifts. He sighs and makes way to his locker, opening it up and grabs what he needs for his first half of classes. He has a lot of time to kill, but he’ll probably go to his first class anyway to get away from all the gross, mushy, couple-y things.

“Good morning, Keith,” Hunk greets as he passes Keith on his way to his own locker, which is only a few lockers away from Keith’s. Keith groans and slams his head on the metal, making Hunk look at him with a concerned look on his face. “..Everything okay?”

“No.” Keith grits through his teeth and slams his locker shut, which makes Hunk jump and makes Keith forming headache only worse. “I hate Valentine’s Day.”

“Hate is a rather strong word--”

“Then I’ll use a stronger one: I despise it.”

“Oh.”

Keith blinks, looking up at his boyfriend, eyebrow raised. Now Hunk’s facial expression reads he’s upset about something, and Keith panics a little because fuck, he said something wrong, didn’t he?

“Uhm.. I’m sorry you feel that way. I got you something for Valentine’s Day.”

Keith’s eyes widen at this news, and the second thought that runs through his head is: Keith you jerk. You may hate, or despise Valentine’s Day or whatever, but you still should have gotten your boyfriend something! And with all the hate, you never did think about that, did you? Nope!

“..Hunk, I didn’t.. I didn’t get you anything.” Keith mutters, now feeling guilty. “I’m not-- I’m not used to having relationships like this, so I normally just try to ignore Valentine’s Day.”

“It’s fine, Keith. I know how you feel about holidays, especially ones like this.” Hunk shrugs it off, but Keith can read that something is still bothering him. Hunk digs through his book bag and pulls out a small box, handing it over to Keith. “Here.”

“No.”

“..No?”

“Not until I get you something,” Keith tells him, to make himself more clear. “It’s not fair, Hunk. Tell you what-- come over to the house after school today. I’ll make you dinner. Sure, you’re a better cook than me, but let me make you dinner. And then this weekend, we can go on a Valentine’s day date and you can spend the night. We can cuddle all night.”

“You don’t have to do all that, Keith..”

“But I can tell it bothers you!” Keith raises his voice, and he knows Hunk hates it, but he has no choice. “Let me do this. Please. I care about you, Hunk. A-and I love you. And I feel bad if I don’t at least do something. So please..”

Hunk goes silent for a moment, and slips the box back into his bag, then walks over to Keith, his arm going around Keith’s waist and leaning down to place a small kiss on the top of Keith’s head.

“Okay. I expect candles, though.”

“Of course, big man.”

14 – Babysitter Canceled/Family Date Night ( Domestic/Future AU; where Heith adopts )

They had adopted twin daughters five years into their marriage. They decided it had been a great idea now they were financially stable – at least somewhat – and had a nice house with a dog and a cat. And it seemed like the two girls did not want to be torn apart, so Hunk and Keith were fine with adopting both. And after two weeks of foster care going through their file to find out if they were able to be parents, they got the girls. They were about three years old at the time, and attached at the hip. Their names were Melody and Ruby, and they were so pretty. Hunk and Keith spoiled them rotten when they first got them, and continued doing so for many years.

The girls are now going on nine years old, their birthdays just a couple days after Valentine’s Day. Hunk and Keith made plans on February fourteenth, and arranged a babysitter, but at the last minute, the babysitter canceled on them so they decided it would be a family date night. It has been for the past years since they’ve gotten Melody and Ruby – the tradition would never change.

Besides, free dessert for the girls when they tell people ‘oh it’s their birthday’ when their birthdays are just a couple days away. But a little lie never hurt anyone.

So here they are, at a family restaurant, the restaurant covered in Valentine’s decorations. The girls are picking at their food, while Hunk and Keith are eating, but the two fathers can tell something is bothering their daughters.

“Everything okay with you two?” Hunk questions. “You barely touched your dinner.”

“..Did we mess up Valentine’s Day for you two?” Melody asks, taking after Keith and being straight forward and the ‘wild child’ of their family.

“What?” Keith’s eyebrows shoot up. “What gave you that idea?”

“Because Valentine’s Day is meant to be shared between couples!” Ruby says. “And you two always seem to give up date nights to be with us.. We feel like we messed things up.”

“No. No no no.” Hunk puts his fork down, the tears already building up in his eyes. “You didn’t ruin anything, girls! Honest! Tell them, Keith.”

“What your daddy means – before a waterfall starts spilling from his eyes -” Keith teases before turning back towards the girls. “you girls mean the world to us. You do not ruin Valentine’s Day – you make it better. Valentine’s Day is filled with love, not just for couples, but that love is for anybody. So we are more than happy to spend Valentine’s Day with you two.”

“..You mean it?” Ruby looks up, pouting, but Keith smiles wide and nods as a response. “..Okay. But when we get home, Melody and I are making you two a giant heart with lots of glitter!”

Keith chuckles at this, while Hunk is ready to start sobbing. Some things never change.

15 – Secret Admirer/Confessing ( Canon )

There are no secret admirers on the castle ship. When Keith keeps finding little cards, with ‘from your secret admirer’ written on them, there’s only a small handful of people that these could be from.

Coran’s too old; Allura doesn’t look at him in that way.

Lance doesn’t like him; Shiro and him are best friends, perhaps closer than brothers.

Pidge doesn’t like love; and Matt and him were friends at the Garrison but there’s nothing between them.

All there is left is Hunk, and Keith is pretty certain Hunk doesn’t like him, until he keeps getting notes, leading Keith to the dining area on the castle ship, finding the lights off. He tries turning them on, but they seem to be broken – or at least, that’s what he thinks. Then he hears a couple of claps, and the room lights up with candles surrounding the dining area, and flowers in the middle of the table, and two silver looking domes on the table. Keith raises an eyebrow and approaches the table, finding a card with his name written in cursive writing on it.

“What on Earth..”

“We’re not on Earth, Keith,” comes a familiar voice and Keith turns, seeing Hunk in the doorway. “..Do you like it?”

“Uh.. it’s.. nice, yeah,” Keith is at loss for words, still trying to take all this in. “Why did you make the dining area like this? And where are the others? There’s only two domes here--”

“Keith,” Hunk interrupts him, stepping forward. “I was the one who left you all those notes.”

..Oh.

“I’m your secret admirer.” Hunk says. “I know, secret admirers aren’t a thing in space, but I couldn’t find a way to show you my feelings and.. this was the only way? I’ve.. liked you for a while, even if that didn’t show for how I treated you when you told us you found out you were Galra – and I still feel bad for that! But.. honestly? I have feelings for you, and it’s supposed to be Valentine’s Day back on Earth, so this was.. the only way for me to confess to you.”

“..Wow.” Keith breathes out, eyes wide and his heart pounding. “Uhm.. I don’t know what to say? I mean-- I’ve liked you too? So the feeling is mutual? I just.. I never had these feelings for anyone before? So I never knew how to react to these feelings I’ve had.”

“Well..” Hunk approaches him slowly, until they are just a foot apart, his cheeks flushed brightly. “do you want to try it?”

Keith looks at Hunk, his own cheeks bright, and then he looks at the lovely set up Hunk prepared for today. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t scared of how Hunk may feel when he learns more about Keith and his past. Keith bites his lip, knowing Hunk wants an answer right away. He takes in a deep breath and looks back up at Hunk.

“Y-yeah..” Keith says slowly at first. “Yes. I do. I’d like to try it.”

Hunk blinks for a moment, not believing that Keith actually agreed. He beams brightly at this.

“Great! That’s great!” Hunk grabs Keith by the wrist and pulls him to a chair, pulling it back. “Good. Have a seat and we can eat and.. talk.. I suppose.”

“You’re nervous, Hunk. Your hands are sweating.” Keith points out and Hunk pulls his hands away. “It’s.. fine. I’m nervous, too. But we’ll work on this.. together.. okay?”

“Y-yeah.” Hunk smiles wide. “Together.”

[curselikeasailorfucklikealady]

@heithsecretvalentines  Hi @forensicsoda I was your Heith secret Valentine!! Here’s a lil drabble with Knight Keith, Knight/chef Hunk (who says he can’t be both?) and flowers!!

It isn’t often that Keith lets his mind wander. It’s a habit he can’t afford, when his life, and the life of his employer, depends on remaining vigilant, constantly detecting possible threats. It’s probably a bad idea for Princess Allura to continue making such powerful enemies, but he knows better than to interfere. What he wants doesn’t matter, or it wouldn’t, if he knew what that was. All that matters to him is that he’s got all he needs.

Really, it’s more than he needs. Not only does he get an allowance of silvers twice a month, he gets to stay in Princess Allura’s summer mansion with her, and even he has to admit that the view is nice.

From the balcony of the Princess’s room (not that he’s allowed in it, but well, when she’s out on a covert trip with Lord Coran, who’s going to stop him?) one can see all the way to the mountains, their silhouettes painting a rich indigo pulse line across the horizon. Below, a clutch of trees garnishes the base of the mountains like vegetables beside a nice roast on a platter, and then the castle’s expansive garden begins, and doesn’t end until the doorstep.

Keith was never one for flowers. Growing up poorer than dirt in one of the nearby villages, without anything resembling family, he was only interested in plants he could eat or wear. Flowers wouldn’t keep him alive through the winter.

Things were different now, obviously.

Now, like the rest of the Princess’s beloved Paladins, Keith eats like a king. He wears shiny white armor, with pink accents to match the royals he is prestigiously charged with protecting, and a lovely red cloak in winter. He sleeps in a bed with down-stuffed pillows and two blankets, so soft it’s almost uncomfortable.

These things are nice. The view is nice. The luxuries are nice, yes. If he had to name his favorite part of being a Paladin, though, none of these things would even be in the running. Hunk is at the top of the list by far.

~

Hunk was one of the Paladins with two jobs, three if you counted how often Pidge consulted with him on her latest weapon designs, but he didn’t mind the workload. Running the castle’s kitchen hardly counted as a job when he loved it so much. The kitchen had a huge door that led to the garden, and was always left open during the day to let out the heat from the always-burning ovens, which meant he had a delightful view while he created edible works of art for the castle’s residents. Having an open door also meant it was the perfect place to sneak in and out of the castle-- that is, assuming one could bribe Hunk to claim he hadn’t seen them. If favors were silvers, Hunk was a loan shark.

Then again, ‘shark’ was overstating things, considering how easy it was to repay his debts. The first time Keith cut through his kitchen, on his way to a solo training session so as to avoid the Princess’s regimen, all Hunk asked for was a nice bouquet of flowers for the empty vase on the kitchen table.

Naturally, being Keith, he had grumbled and kicked a few rocks around the outer edges of the garden, thinking that his request was some kind of mean joke. Sure, anyone could pick flowers, but he’d never bothered. So, he’d never be able to put together a “nice bouquet”. He was hired for his talent for destroying things. Hunk had a nasty sense of humor if his idea of a joke was to give his teammate a task knowing that he would fail. Still, a promise was a promise, so when it was time to head back, he gathered a handful of roses. They were thorny, the kind of flowers that could defend themselves, and he liked that about them.

When he got back, Hunk gushed about how lovely they were, how creative Keith was for mixing yellow, white, and red flowers instead of sticking to one color, thanked him again, and sent him off with a warm, freshly-baked muffin and an even warmer smile.

Keith felt a warmth buzzing under his skin like a fever as he left the kitchen, but he attributed it to the heat from the oven and ran off, avoiding any halls with mirrors in them. He didn’t want to know whether his face was as red as it felt.

The next time Keith went through, Hunk simply asked for a hand, and he ended up holding up a bowl of something viscous, pouring it into another bowl while Hunk mixed and chattered about dough consistency. When he came back, sweaty and a little breathless from training, he was rewarded with more sweets, and a pat on the back for working so hard.

Before they knew it, it became a pattern. Keith started using the kitchen door more often than any other, just because it meant he’d get to see Hunk. He didn’t bring flowers back again, and he didn’t get a sweet every time, but it was always worth it to come through, because he always got that smile, warm enough to thaw his icy pout into an imitation of one.

One day, on one of his usual jogs around the castle, weaving between beds of poppies to practice agility, he jolted to a stop, staring at a rosebush. He wasn’t supposed to let his mind wander. He was supposed to be a sword, sharp, focused, deadly-- so why was he here, standing in the garden staring at a plant and thinking about his fellow Paladin? What did Hunk have in common with a yellow rose?

Well… they were soft, he mused as he absentmindedly reached out and touched one of the petals. They were pretty. The petals framed the center imperfectly, the way Hunk’s hair fell around his face even when he wore a headband to keep it away, and yet, both were imperfectly gorgeous. Keith wanted it. The rose, that is... or maybe both.

With an urgency even he couldn’t explain, he whipped out his boot knife, cut the stem of the most perfect yellow rose, and sprinted back to the kitchen.

Hunk was humming and frying up some lunch when he heard pounding footsteps. Alarmed, he moved the pan off the heat and snatched up the heavy crossbow he always kept nearby, loading and raising it in one fluid motion. No one had any need to run into the kitchen, so logically, if they were running, it was an ambush. If they thought the kitchen was a weak point in the castle, though, they had another thing coming. Much to his surprise, once he had his weapon raised to shoulder level, the point of the arrow notched in it was inches away from Keith’s nose.

Before he could say anything, Keith raised his hands as if in surrender, and then straightened his right arm, holding a single yellow rose up to Hunk. “This reminded me of you.” He blurted out awkwardly, completely glossing over the weapon pointed at his face. “I want you to have it.”

Relaxing, Hunk lowered his crossbow with one hand and took the flower with the other. A complicated silence fell, as it took him a second to line up all the dots, but after it clicked, a playful smile bloomed on the chef’s face. “Bringin’ me flowers? Are you a suitor?”

The s-word was practically an insult around this castle, because every few months, some fool would come and attempt to win Allura’s heart with gifts and obsequious flattery, and leave with their pride bitten in half. Keith hated them, but he still laughed despite himself, teasing back, “Depends. Is the answer yes?”

Keith spent half his time in the kitchen turning various shades of pink and red, matching the carnations and poppies in Hunk’s vase, but now- now, it was Hunk’s turn to flush red, and suddenly, Keith had a new favorite shade. “Are you serious?” He questioned, thick eyebrows furrowing.

“When am I not?” For someone who had no idea what he was doing, he sure sounded like he knew.

Grinning slowly, Hunk shook his head. “Then nope.” He paused, then stepped closer, and Keith bristled at having someone else in his personal space, prompting Hunk to laugh. “I mean, no, I won’t marry you and let you borrow my resources.” He joked, referring to what Allura’s suitors were always after. “But…” Keith, who’d been scowling at the ground, looked up hopefully, and it offered the perfect angle to lean down and kiss him, but Hunk couldn’t be sure what he wanted. Stealing a kiss when he was just joking would make things awkward between them forever, which would not be ideal the next time they were sent into the field together. “Yes, I definitely like you, you know, like that, if that was the question. Was it?”

Keith answered his question by closing the distance between them and pulling Hunk down into a kiss, a resounding yes to both the question Hunk asked, and the one he hadn’t. The crossbow still in Hunk’s hand clattered to the ground, and his arms wrapped around the smaller paladin to pick him up, smiling against his lips.

~

Even now, standing on the forbidden balcony and looking out at the view for the thousandth time, the memory of his first kiss with Hunk makes Keith smile to himself, and his eyes drop from the majestic mountains to the clutch of yellow roses in the royal garden, and then down to his own hands, turning something shiny between his fingers.

It’s not often Keith lets his mind wander; but when it does, it goes to Hunk, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. War or no war, he knows what he wants now. All he needs to do is ask.

[taycake-sandwitch]

Man of My Dreams

Hunk was starting to get nervous, not that he was scared or anything. Anyone his age would agree this would be the most anticipating moment in their life. When people turn the ripe age of 18 they finally get to dream of their so-called significant other. Not that he doubted the system.  His parents and grandparents used to divulge him all about their amazing dreams and how they found each other. It's just... What if it didn't work for him? What if he wasn't worthy enough to have a partner? And he didn't dream at all?

Oh man, this is getting to me. Should I just stay up for the rest of my life? Yeah, that sounds good. No sleep Hunk is a go. He declared to himself as he heard a knock on his door. He sat down on the edge of his bed in a hurry as if he were committing a crime.

"Hunk? Darling?" His mom called out on the other side of the door softly.

"It's open," he blurted whilst playing with his fingers. The door creaked open to slightly to reveal the familiar face of his sweet mom. She stepped in to close the door behind her.

"Are you ready for your special moment?" She stepped closer to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. "Whats wrong?" She consoled as she grabbed onto his tweaking hands. "You only do this to your hands when you're worried. What's bugging you, Booda?" His usual nickname made him smile and relax a bit.

"What if my dream doesn't work? What if I have to stay alone for the rest of my life? What if the person who is assigned to me doesn't like me? I'm so anxious to even go to sleep right now, ma." Hunk glanced at their hands and felt warm as she squeezed them tight.

"Baby look at me," She prodded her hands and dipped her face to catch his gaze. Hunk raised his face to look into her soft, brown, eyes. "You aren't assigned to this partner. There are infinite possibilities for a partner. This system is just a general push in a direction. I won't say it's wrong because it definitely worked for me and your mother, but you get to choose if you really don't like this partner of yours if you don't feel like they aren't fit for you." She squeezed his hands again. "Believe me, it's going to work. You'll get to dream of this special person. It's up to you if they complete you. Even if you don't they are, you don't have to have a partner to be happy. They're just in it for the ride," booping him on the nose.

"Thanks, mom," He smiled as she kissed him on the forehead and got up from the bed.

"Don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow," she opened the door. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight," he called after her as she closed the door. With a grunt, he collapsed backward onto the bed and watched the glow in the dark stars faintly bloom against the weak light source on his nightstand next to his bed.

Maybe mom is right. I mean she's always right, but I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life. That's too lonely. I do like my alone time, but life is meant to be shared with someone. Right? He turned on his side. I should just go to sleep and get this over with. I won't be able to run away from this, so I might as well meet this mystery person. I have no choice...Besides, I'll get to tell Lance all about this person. Man, it'll be so weird if I dream of Lance. He thought about it for a few seconds only to shake his head and scrunch up his face. No way, dude! Too weird! I mean I wouldn't be too opposed to him since he is my buddy and all, but I don't think I could stand him than I already do. I really hope his future partner has some really good patience...And a sense of humor. They're going to need it. He smiled to himself as he got under the covers.

Turning off the light on his nightstand he got comfortable in bed as he could already feel the lull of sleep make his eyelids close. The only thing that held him back a few minutes was the clench deep in his stomach as he waited anxiously for what was to come. Don't prolong the inevitable. Just....sleep...go..to...SLEEP....This isn't working....Okay, deep breaths...1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9...10....11.....12......13.......14........15.............

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello?" Hunk walked around in white nothing. "Where am I? Why does this look like I'm in that one episode where Squidward went through time and ended up in that space and was all alone? Oh man, am I Squidward?" He looked at his hands only to find they were his own. Knowing this he sighed in relief. "Good, I'm not Squidward." He smiled to himself.

"Who's Squidward?" A stranger suddenly materialized in front of him making him jump and screech at the same time. Coming down from his shock and getting a breather he finally got a good look at the stranger. ""Oh no,"" Hunk thought to himself. ""He's hot.""

"Wait, you don't know who Squidward is?" Hunk made a disgruntled look on his face at the shorter stranger.

"No?? Am I supposed to? I really don't know who he is," he shrugged. Hunk squinted his eyes and sat down to pull the other down next to him.

"Okay now listen up."

~~~~~~~~~~

"So wait," Lance paused to draw in a breath. "Instead of asking your soulmate any questions as to what his name was or what your name was. You literally spent your whole dream..." he closed his eyes. "Telling him about Spongebob and the entirety of the show?" Lance opened up his eyes again and gestured a hand towards Hunk, parallel to the ground.

"Lance, I really don't need this from you too." He placed his head on his desk. "Even mom was upset at me and she's rarely upset! She told me 'If you were so keen on telling him all about a show then you should have at least told him about the show about those space cats in space'. As if he would have time for that," Hunk mumbled.

"Dude, buddy, you messed up. First impressions are always what makes people interested." Lance patted on Hunks back. "If you're lucky, the guy will at least be your friend. I can't believe he even listened to you talk about an annoying, yellow, sponge. Maybe he's as weird as you," he joked.

"Well at least you know he's a man who can listen," Pidge offered from her phone. "By the way, Lance, how are you and your Shiro doing?" Pidge snickered.

"We are doing well, thank you very much!" Lance leaned back in his chair. "In fact, we might even see each other very soon...If I promise not to pounce on him the moment I see him. Although I don't know, I really do," Lance said with a smug look. "Don't worry, Pidge, the moment you get your partner you'll see what I mean."

"I highly doubt that. I still can't believe that in this entire world, only one person is 'destined' to be with me. This thing is wack. I mean yeah my dad and mom are happy but who's to say that they can't like someone else? What are even the statistics for who is compatible with other people? Who is picking for us? If you think about it, its all a big utopia conspiracy all in a cute little package to blind us," Pidge touched up her glasses from slipping off her nose. Lance squinted his eyes at her.

"Well I don't know who got in your head, but I do know that if I didn't have Shiro in my dreams then I would search the earth for him."

"Well, it won't be a while until my birthday but from what I've heard it all just seems too unreal and get this...Like a dream haha!"

"Lame~" Hunk and Lance simultaneously mumbled at the same time.

"Anyway, Hunk, what did this boy look like? Any details worth remembering? Hmmm?" Lance wiggled his eyebrows at Hunk as he lifted his head off of the table.

"Well, he was smaller than me, which will change we meet each other. You can bet mom and I will fill him up with food until he bursts," Hunk chuckled. "He had pearl-like skin that made his violet eyes stand out. Don't laugh but he did have a mullet, yeah, I know you don't like mullet's but he pulled it o-"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Lance interrupted Hunk. "Violet eyes and a mullet? No Quiznacking way," Lance had a frustrated look.

"What? Do you know this person?" Hunk asked with his heart pumping at the slight hope of meeting his partner so soon.

"Do I know??" He had an appalled face. "Oh yeah, down to the fingerless gloves and all. Listen, Hunk, I'm telling you this because I love you. Forget him and find someone else, Pidge what were you saying about finding another partner and how there can't be possibly only one person for us? Yeah Hunk is that person and he needs a new partner," Lance sat up in his chair with a straight posture.

"Wait! Dude, you know who my partner is! You can't just not tell me who it is. Who is it?" Hunk stood up in his seat and faced Lance.

"No way! As much As I love you, bro. That dude is not going to be your buddy, no way can he be, You deserve so much better," Lance crossed his arms.

"Lance not to be that person, but it really isn't for you to decide. I'll decide if he's good enough for me and if he isn't then he isn't but if I do then you're letting me away from my so-called partner. Imagine if you were in my position and no one would let you see Shiro," Hunk made valid points. From what Hunk could see, Lance's face had contorted to one of defeat and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I just, ugh, I really don't like that guy," Lance shook his head.

"What's his name?" Hunk probed.

"His name is Keith. Keith Kogane," Lance rolled his eyes. "He graduated last year and now he works in a car shop not far from here." Hunk captivated with the new information, sat down again.

"Where?" Hunk asked

"If you want to go after school, I'll go with you," Lance offered.

"Really? Oh man, Lance you're the best!" Hunk got up to bear hug Lance who both had big smiles.

"Pidge?" Hunk turned to her.

"No, I won't be able to tag along. Matt wanted me to come home early. He needed some help with something. You have fun though. I may have said those things before, but really it depends on the person. This Keith guy doesn't seem too bad. Not knowing who or what SpongeBob is quite concerning though. I hope you get to bond faster than Lance and Shiro are and get to do the hanky panky first," She smirked at both of them as she dodged an eraser coming from Lance.

"Dude! Shut up! and Hunk you better not lose it before me, I swear to crow if you do I won't let ma ever tell you the recipe for her flan dish," Lance crossed his arms.

"Bro, not cool. You know I love her flan and you know I'm not going to do the nasty before you and Shiro. I haven't even met the guy yet. He has to at least take me out on a date. Just kidding......He has to take me on multiple dates." Hunk brought his hand to make a perfect sign by touching his thumb and pointer finger together. Pidge and Lance rolled their eyes.

"Just don't do it until Shiro and I do it first," Lance pouted.

"Wouldn't dream of it little buddy," Hunk smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lance had done what he was asked of him. Both Hunk and Lance stood in front of an old building surrounded by dozens of old car and miscellaneous car parts scattered all around them. Hunk held his stomach at the weird feeling it was producing.

"You okay, Hunk?" Lance put his hand on his shoulder looking Hunk closely over.

"I'm fine, I just, uh, I'm worried about this, bro. What if he, uh, you know, doesn't like me?" Hunk gulped and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hunk, dude, bro, hold up! You are, like, the most likable person in the whole universe. If he doesn't like you then that's that dude's problem and he's missing out on you. I for one would have no problem spending my life with you. I'm here for you buddy. Besides, if he doesn't like you then Shiro and I are taking you in. Then we get to eat your food anytime we like!" Lance fist pumped the air.

"Thank's, Lance...I guess," Hunk squinted his eyes.

"Dude, no problem, anyway anytime you're ready will go inside okay?" Lance encouraged.

"No, it's alright. Let's go inside right now, I'm ready!" Hunk put on a brave face even though the butterflies stayed. "Come on." Hunk walked to the front of the building where a door and a single 'We're open' sign hung on the front. With a quick breath Hunk reached for the door handle and turned the knob and opened the door. Pushing in he found the inside to be cleaner than the outside. Everything seemed to be in place rather than in pieces like on the outside. Two cars were stationed next to one another but he wasn't really paying attention. "Hello?" Hunk called out with Lance on his heels.

"I'll be right with you! Please wait just a minute!" A familiar muffled voice called out making all those butterflies scurry off. Like he promised, within a minute a person very much like in his dreams rolled out from one of the cars covered with smudges of grease and everything that seemed yucky to the touch. "Alright, sorry about that," Keith stood up and dusted himself over. "How may I help y-" He stopped as he looked up to meet Hunk's warm and soft brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, I uh, don't even drive or even have a driver license. I just I had to come and find you and apologize for last night. Sorry, it was my first time having that dream and I didn't even ask for your name or tell you mines. I feel like an idiot I don't even know why I talked about that show the whole time it just kind of happened. I'm so sor-"

"My names Keith. What's your name?" Keith stopped Hunk from babbling on.

"Keith," Hunk said his name softly.

"Your names Keith too?" Keith joked hiding a faint smile.

"No, my name isn't Keith. I mean there isn't anything wrong with the name Keith, I just....It's Hunk. My name's Hunk," He dipped his head and twiddled with his fingers.

"Nice to meet you, Hunk. It's cool about last night, we have many more dreams and or not dreams to hang out and talk to each other. What about you? Who are you?" Keith motioned towards Lance who looked genuinely offended by that question.

"Are you kidding me? Don't you remember me? See this is why I hate this guy. I can't believe you don't remember anything about how we were rivals on the track team and always trying to outdo each other. You dropped out before I could beat you," Lance crossed his arms and had on a grumpy face.

"Ohhhh, you're the one who always wanted to race me, Lane? Right?" He tilted his head.

"It's Mcclain! Lance Mcclain!" He huffed out.

"Oh yeah, Lance," Keith nodded. "Anyway, Hunk?" Keith turned towards him.

"I mean, I still have school and you have work so maybe we could exchange numbers and figure out until then. If you're fine with that. I mean I know I could have waited till out dream world, but I really wanted to see you," Hunk's head spun.

"That's no problem, I'm glad you took your time to find me. I know other's don't have that luxury of being so close to one another. Also, in the future, it's cool for you to come over anytime to my shop after school if you want. I don't have much busy work to do. I about finish everything early anyway. I understand if a dirty warehouse isn't ideal, I don't really clean up as much as I want to," Keith scratched the back of his head.

"No, this is fine," Hunk looked around. "This place is cleaner than any other warehouse I've been to, not like I've been to much, but it's a pretty nice place. Plus, I'm fine as long as I get to spend the time with you," Hunk blushed.

"Same," Keith smiled.

"If you guys start making out I'm going to barf," Lance stuck a finger in his mouth as if he were going to puke. Both Hunk and Keith rolled their eyes.

"I prefer that on at least the third date," Keith joked making Hunk blushed.

"I mean I don't mind kissing on the first date," Hunk blurted out.

"That could be arranged," Keith winked.

"Dude's..not cool," Lance scrunched up his face.

"Anyway, here have this," Keith dug into his pockets and pulled out a small piece of postcard paper. "I know you don't need the service, but it has my number on top. Don't be afraid to give me a call or text for our date." Hunk reached for the business card and when he did their fingers brushed for just a second. He felt the need to pull him in and hold him in a hug, but he held himself back.

Calm down, Hunk. You have enough time to do that in the future. Even if he is meant to be mine, you just met the dude! Hunk talked to himself as he brought back the small card and swiftly put it in his coat pocket for safe keeping.

"Are you guys good? There is a lot of awkward sexual energy in here and although I'm always up for some sexual energy this is just..Weird," He pointed halfheartedly towards the door behind him.

"Yeah," Hunk rolled his eyes at Lance. "Thank's," he turned to Keith. "I'm definitely going to give you a call later.  I'll see you in my dreams," Hunk unintentionally flirted. Keith gave a light chuckle making Hunk's heart do a little flip.

"Catch you later, Hunk," Keith finger gunned at him. "Lance," He nodded to the brown haired kid already opening the door to leave.

"Keef," Lance smirked. Hunk followed Lance before giving a quick peek behind his back to connect with smiling violet eyes. Hunked turned around and closed the door behind him. "Dude, it's not too late. Shiro and I can take care of you," Lance walked ahead.

"There's no need," Hunk reached for his phone and took out the small piece of paper. "That boy is mine."

I was @fuchsschatten Valentine for the @heithsecretvalentines event. I hope today and many others treat you kindly. Happy Valentine's day!

[squirenonny]

Can’t Screw This Up (cause we’re in love)

Pairing: Heith Words: 3164 Summary: Keith's never done anything for Valentine's Day. He's never had a reason to. But this year he has a boyfriend, so it doesn't matter that they're caught up in a war and already struggling to find time for each other between missions. Keith can't screw this up.

Hunk deserves nothing less than the very best.

Written for @heithsecretvalentines for Maria @perrytheplatypusgirl who asked for some fluff featuring one of the boys surprising the other.

[Read on AO3]

Keith was aware of Valentine’s Day.

He didn’t have a lot of experience with it, beyond elementary school card exchanges. (He brought in kits themed after airplanes and outer space and hardly spared his classmates’ cards a second thought as he salvaged the foil-wrapped candy and pitched the rest of his brown paper bag.)

But he could hardly have missed the frenzy of red hearts and roses that descended like a flock of angry seagulls every year. If TV commercials and store displays had taught him anything, it was that February fourteenth was a Big Deal, and any man in a romantic relationship who let the sun go down without pulling out some grand, bank-breaking gesture was the worst kind of monster.

That was almost certainly hyperbole on the part of a million marketing departments. Almost certainly.

There was still a little sliver of doubt that kept him awake at night wondering whether the hype, in this one case, was real. After all, this was his first ever Valentine’s day with a boyfriend, and between Voltron’s constant battles and Keith’s busy schedule with the Blade of Marmora, he and Hunk rarely had time to do anything special. Late night comms calls, movie nights on the rare occasion Keith had a chance to return to the castle-ship, the occasional stolen kiss on a joint mission.

Hunk deserved better.

“So...” Keith lay on his back on his bunk at the Blade’s headquarters, staring at his ceiling so he didn’t have to see Hunk’s face on the small, blue-tinted screen projected beside him. “You know Pidge’s calendar?”

“I may have glanced at it once or twice,” Hunk said, his voice warm in the way it got when he was holding in laughter. And for good reason. Hunk had been the one to propose the calendar—originally so they could track birthdays and other important dates. Halloween, New Year’s, things like that. Valentine’s Day hadn’t factored into that conversation, seeing as no one had been in a relationship at the time.

Keith crossed his arms, drumming his fingers against his elbow. “Then you know what’s coming up.”

“St. Patty’s Day?”

Keith turned his head and glared at Hunk, who grinned impishly. “No,” Keith said. “I meant Valentine’s Day.”

Hunk’s head dropped onto his pillow. “Right, right.” He, like Keith, was in his room—a million miles away, dressed in the yellow silk pajamas Lance had dug out of storage for him. The Blade kept a shorter day than the castle-ship, and at the moment they were offset by about eight hours. Keith had just finished training for the day and was headed toward sleep, while Hunk had woken up early to talk to him before he went to make breakfast for everyone else. His eyes were still a little bleary, and his hair—for once not tied back with his orange headband—stuck up at odd angles.

Keith missed him.

It snuck up on him sometimes, this homesickness. (Homesickness? Maybe that wasn’t the right word. He couldn’t think of a better one.) One minute he was fine, his sights set firmly on the mission, his momentum carrying him forward. Then he’d stop, and it would all catch up with him, and he’d want nothing more than to steal a ship and fly back to the castle before Kolivan noticed he was gone.

“So…?” Keith paused, and when Hunk didn’t answer, he tried again. “What do you think?”

“About Valentine’s Day?” Hunk yawned. “I dunno. There are better holidays.”

Keith groaned, turning his face into the pillow. Was Hunk really going to make him say it? “I mean, do you want to do something? A Valentine’s date or whatever? That’s a couple thing, right?”

Hunk cooed, and Keith felt his face flame. He snaked his arms under his pillow, folding the edges up around his ears.

“Stop,” he moaned.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.” Keith huffed. “Look. I don’t know how these things work, okay? I just didn’t want to screw up if you were expecting something big.”

Hunk was quiet for a few second, his breath slowly soothing Keith’s tension. “Keith? Hey.”

Keith turned his head, peering at Hunk with one eye.

“You know I’m always up for doing stuff with you,” Hunk said. “But Valentine’s Day gets blown way out of proportion, and I don’t want you feeling like you have to do something.”

“So no big gestures?”

“No big gestures,” Hunk said. “We'll Skype. Maybe watch a movie. Don't worry about coming over; we both know how it goes when you try to plan these things in advance.”

Keith smiled. “Sounds—” He yawned so wide his jaw popped, then tried again. “Sounds good.”

Hunk’s smile kindled a warm flame in Keith’s chest. “Go to sleep, Keith. I’ll talk to you later.”

The next week and a half was busy for them both as the paladins launched a campaign against a new region of Galra-controlled space and Kolivan began sending Keith on longer, more high-stakes missions. Keith and Hunk stole time to talk whenever they could or—more often—to leave voice mails for each other.

Just a few more days, Keith kept telling himself. Just a few more days until the fourteenth. He’d worked things out with Kolivan to have the evening off, and Allura and Shiro had agreed that the universe could do without Voltron for a day. Keith and Hunk had decided to watch a movie during their call. Pidge had found some old Altean action flicks and saved them to a hard drive for Keith, so it was almost like having Netflix.

Lowkey, Hunk had said. A little bit of quality time, but nothing that required a great deal of effort.

Hunk didn’t have to know that Keith was planning a visit to the castle-ship.

Kolivan had been perplexed by Keith’s description of Valentine’s Day. (Possibly that was because the Galra didn’t have a simple, cutesy heart symbol like humans did. The holiday probably sounded a lot more gruesome if you imagined actual hearts being ripped out of people’s chests and used as decoration.) But he’d understood that it was important to Keith and had approved the visit.

So it wasn’t breaking Hunk’s rule. Keith wasn’t spending any money on this, and it wasn’t interfering with his work as a Blade. And they could still have their movie night—just better, because Keith would actually be there.

The last mission before Valentine’s Day ran long, and Keith was half asleep as he flew his ship back to base and debriefed with Kolivan. He’d been tasked with extracting intel from a remote planetside Galra base—and he had retrieved that intel, just not as quietly as he was supposed to. In his defense, two days slogging through a jungle to shake off pursuit was infinitely preferable to a day and a half of sitting perfectly still and watching the guard rotations to sneak in undetected.

If Kolivan disapproved of Keith’s grab-it-and-go tactics, he didn’t say so, and Keith was soon free to change out of his suit, shower, and collapse on his bed. He didn’t see the small box on his pillow until it bumped against the back of his head.

Grimacing, he sat up and examined the box, which was only about five inches to a side, made of the thin Altean metal that reminded Keith of aluminum. Inside, he found two layers of fudge squares separated by a bit of wax paper. A note the size of a business card was taped to the underside of the lid.

Thinking of you, it read in Hunk’s neat handwriting. It was signed with a yellow heart.

Keith smiled, and almost melted when he tried a bite of the fudge. Soft, smooth, and just a bit crumbly, it was as good as any fudge Keith had ever had—and since he’d started dating Hunk, he’d come to appreciate just how great a feat that was. Without most of the appropriate ingredients and with a stove that didn’t heat the same way as the gas burners Hunk was used to, any sort of cooking came with an extra bump in difficulty. And fudge was supposed to be fiddly in the best of times.

Keith grabbed two more fudge squares before snapping the lid back on and setting the box aside.

He only intended to sleep for a couple hours, just long enough that he didn’t pass out on Hunk halfway through the movie, but the next thing he knew, his communicator was blaring Hunk’s alert code. Keith startled awake, hand going for his blade before he remembered where he was.

Where, and when.

“Quiznak,” he muttered, kicking the blankets aside and launching himself at the storage closet in the wall where he kept his armor. He was dressed in fifteen seconds flat, and he pulled his hood up to hide his bedhead as he dove for the communicator.

“I was starting to get worried,” Hunk said as soon as the connection established. He was grinning, his words light with an attempt at humor that fell flat as Hunk registered the uniform.

Keith cringed. “Sorry,” he said, scrambling for an excuse. He’d wanted to be at the castle by now, right on time for their date. So much for that plan. “Kolivan just left. Emergency call. I—I know this is bad timing.”

“No, it’s all right.” Hunk’s face fell, but he took a deep breath and plastered on a smile. “We can try again when you’re back.”

Had this been a real emergency, Keith’s heart would have clenched at that. Hunk knew as well as Keith how hard it was to find a time that worked for them both to organize anything resembling a date. Keith would have returned from the emergency mission exhausted and desperate just to sleep long enough to be ready for the next job. Even if he’d had a few hours to steal somewhere in there, Hunk would have been called back to his paladin duties, and it would have been another two weeks or more before their schedules lined up again.

Fortunately, this was not an actual emergency, just a matter of Keith neglecting to set an alarm, and he’d be at the castle in under an hour. Still, he felt bad for disappointing Hunk, however temporarily. He leaned down, putting his face close to the comms unit, and smiled. “I’ll see you soon. Promise.”

Hunk’s brow furrowed, and Keith ended the call before he inadvertently spoiled the whole surprise. He spun around, checking that he had his blade and grabbing the box of fudge off his nightstand before sprinting out of his room and down to the hangar. A couple other Blades were still hanging around, and they shouted after him—a mix of teasing and well-wishes that made heat rise in Keith’s cheeks.

He hurried through the pre-flight checks, sent his clearance code to the Blade on duty, and grinned as the flight path appeared on his screen. He gunned it, taking the run at top speed. The spacecraft controller swore in his ear, but Keith ignored the man. He’d flown this course a hundred times, and he was already late. He’d shave off a second wherever he could.

The wormhole was waiting for him as soon as he reached open space, courtesy of Allura. Keith had been surprised by her eagerness to help him with this plan—but he’d hardly had to say the word secret before she was on board with everything.

“Trouble?” Allura asked as she let the wormhole close. She sounded tired, and Keith wondered how long she’d been waiting for him.

“Sorry,” he said, headed for the main hangar. “I just, uh. Overslept.”

Allura chuckled, and Keith relaxed as he set down. At least she wasn’t mad at him. “Well, I’m glad you made it.”

“Me too. Do you know where--?”

“Kitchen,” Allura said.

Keith released the hatch on his fighter and hopped out, energy blazing through his body as he headed for the door. “Thanks, Allura.”

He set off at a jog, but he was sprinting before long, tearing through familiar corridors. It had been late at night when he left the Blade headquarters, but here on the castle it was early morning, the paladins just starting their day off. Keith heard footsteps approaching from up ahead and the instincts Kolivan had drilled into him overrode all other considerations. He spotted a vent in the ceiling and leaped for it, fingers latching onto the grate, and with a single heave he ripped it off its screws. He was up and into the air duct before he could think better of it.

He hesitated, blade in hand as Lance passed by beneath the vent. Keith heard him stop, breathing out a quizzical note as he spotted the vent cover, which Keith had left lying in the middle of the hallway.

For a second, Keith was sure Lance was going to investigate, and then Keith would have to figure out how to explain what he was doing crammed inside an air duck on the castle-ship a few hours past dawn. After a moment, though, Lance muttered something about Pidge’s bad habits and continued on his way, and Keith breathed a sigh of relief.

He considered backing out of the vent and continuing on to the kitchen like a normal person, but… Well, it wasn’t that far away, and this was supposed to be a surprise.

Grinning, Keith shuffled forward, glancing through vents as he passed them to track his position. He’d done an awful lot of sneaking around in vents since joining the Blade, and he made good time as he crawled along.

A few minutes later, Hunk’s voice drifted up to him, tuneless humming interspersed with low murmurs Keith couldn’t pick out. Hunk often talked to himself—or to Keith—as he worked, and Keith quickened his pace, eager to finally get where he wanted to be.

He had just enough time to scope out the state of the kitchens—pink, white, and red-frosted cookies cooling on racks along one counter, some kind of sauce simmering on the stove—before his impatience got the better of him. He sliced a hole in the vent cover with his blade (he already had to replace the vent in the hall; what was one more, really?), hooked his fingers over the lip of the opening, and swung down into the kitchen.

He landed silently behind Hunk, who was busy frosting another batch of cookies, completely unaware of Keith’s presence.

“Smells good,” Keith said, going up on his toes to look over Hunk’s shoulder.

Hunk screamed and wheeled around, his elbow smacking Keith across the jaw. He lobbed the half-frosted cookie like a grenade, and it narrowly missed Keith’s head.

In the next instant, Hunk froze, and Keith offered a chagrined smile as the cookie hit the floor with a soft tap, leaving a smear of red on the wall. “Keith?”

“Uh… Surprise,” Keith said weakly, spreading his arms. “Happy Valentine’s Day?”

Hunk’s shock finally melted away, and he burst out laughing as he surged forward, lifting Keith off his feet in a bone-crushing hug. “Don’t scare me like that, man!”

“Yeah, sorry.” Keith relaxed into the hug, breathing in the floury scent of Hunk. The warm, humid kitchen air, combined with Hunk’s own body heat, was trying to remind Keith how little sleep he’d gotten, and he nuzzled deeper into Hunk’s neck without really meaning to. “Didn’t think that far ahead.”

Hunk set Keith back on his feet but kept his arms around him, humming contentedly. The sound reverberated in Keith’s chest. “Eh, it’s endearing,” Hunk said. Keith snorted. “No, seriously!” He turned, and Keith reluctantly pulled back to watch as Hunk put the rest of the unfrosted cookies back on the cooling rack, switched off the stove, and hastily wiped down the counter. “Well, I’m all done here.”

Keith frowned at him. “You've only frosted half the cookies.”

"Coran doesn't like frosting."

Keith crossed his arms. "You've got something on the stove--what is that, anyway?"

"Nothing important."

"Nothing--Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Hunk? You never leave a dish half made."

“I do when my boyfriend flew in just for movie night.”

Keith flushed and faceplanted back into Hunk’s chest. “I flew in to see you, Hunk. Screw the movie.”

“Hey, now. I’ve got a great movie picked out!”

Keith laughed, but he let himself be prodded toward the door, fighting against the yawn that threatened to overtake him. They passed Shiro in the halls, and though he blinked in surprise at the sight of Keith, in full Blade getup with bags under his eyes and flour on his hood, he didn’t delay them for anything more than a quick hello.

To Keith’s surprise, though, they weren’t headed for Hunk’s room. Instead, Hunk took him to one of the smaller common areas on the ship. It wasn’t as spacious as the main rec room, so it didn’t see as much activity. But its big holo screen and sound system had gotten it dubbed the theater, and the team was only too happy to help it live up to its name.

It was already set up for a movie night, the holo screen glowing dimly blue, a pile of blankets and pillows waiting on the couch, the mice curled up asleep atop them. A bowl of popcorn waited on the table with two bottles of alien soda.

Keith stopped in his tracks, staring at Hunk, who was fighting down a grin.

“You knew?”

“I suspected,” Hunk said, tugging on his arm. Keith went grudgingly, though he pouted as Hunk got comfortable, three pillows under his head and shoulders and another waiting in case Keith needed it.

Keith remained upright on the couch beside Hunk, arms crossed. “Did Allura tell you?”

Hunk snorted. “Please. Allura would never spill something like this.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Then how?”

“I know you,” Hunk said simply.

The words buzzed in Keith’s chest, warming him to his toes, and when Hunk spread his arms, Keith accepted the unspoken invitation. He lay down in front of Hunk, head resting on Hunk’s right arm as the left wrapped around Keith’s waist and pulled him back against his chest.

It felt good to be known. To have a home to return to and a boyfriend to cuddle with as an alien movie started playing. Keith reveled in the warmth and relaxed back against Hunk. The mice chittered a protest when Hunk pulled the blankets over himself and Keith, but it was only a moment before Plachu curled up against Keith’s head, the other mice soon following his lead.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Keith,” Hunk whispered. “I love you.”

Keith interlaced his fingers with Hunk’s and pulled it closer for a kiss. “I love you, too, Hunk.”

They were both asleep before the movie was over.

[fuchsschatten]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! I was @kalakauuas Valentine for the @heithsecretvalentines event and they mentioned liking WitchAus and honestly I am all about that so this was great OwO

I couldn’t really decide between going general-fantasy-magic-Au (which is the first one) orr just a cozy Modern-Witch-kinda thing :3

For the first one there isn’t much story tbh I just wanted to do a fantasy-like feeling with them being elves or smth idek :’D

The second one is like, a special spell day they have together where they make some time to either cast spells, draw sigils on each other or do divination and things like that and it’s fun and cool :3

(the sigils on Hunk are ‘I am okay’ , ‘I am safe’ and ‘My psychic awareness is strong’ and the ones I used on Keith are ‘I am enough’ and ‘This person is safe and happy’ and they drew them on each other and also chose them for their partner♥ obviously they tell them which ones they wanna put on before actually doing so though)

and another funfact - the knife on the left is supposed to be close to Keiths galra dagger and he uses it as Athame, the lil things next to it are supposed to be oracle or tarot cards that Hunk mostly uses and they both use the crystal ball from time to time bc aesthetic hehe :3 Also I included a sort of altar bc I felt like they’d have fun with using a small one.

I hope you like what I did :’3