A/N: This is for my lovely new friend @voltron-space-hotties as part of a fic exchange! Some Hunk love has been requested, and some Hunk love has been delivered! Hope you like it!!
“And then my soul kind of went, ‘Oh there you are. I’ve been looking for you’.”
It was really gone.The castle ship, their home whilst in space, had sacrificed itself to save the very fabric of reality, space and time. Every room, every inch, every space that once seemed as steady as a planet’s orbit, was gone. The paladins of voltron left with only their lions and the bare essentials for survival.
One healing pod, five lions, limited supplies and many unstable people.
“That was certainly a lot.” Lance murmured, once everyone had boarded a lion with a course set towards earth. Earth. Home. They were going home.
“Thanks for the observation Lance.” Keith joked calmly, Shiro’s, the real Shiro’s return putting him at rest.
“Well it definitely was a lot. That’s probably been one of the most eventful days we’ve had as paladins.” Pidge remarked, sounding utterly exhausted.
“But guys! We get to go home! We get to go see our families!” Hunk chimed in happily.
But none of the paladins knew how long it would take. The relative speed of the lions was ‘pretty fast’ as when they’d initially boarded the blue lion, they reached Kerberos within mere minutes; a trip that usually takes months. Of course, it would be a long trip, but no one knew approximate timing.
“Hey Allura, how, long do you think it’ll take to get back to earth?” He continued thoughtfully. The team was hopeful, but considering the limited amount of supplies they had, multiple stops would need to be made.
“Well Hunk, I’m not too sure about that. We’re quite far away… but I’m sure we’ll be there before you know it!” There was Allura’s ever present optimism, which was a pure feat of strength considering the situation and betrayal she’d just gone through.
“We should stop at the nearest planet to get some supplies. Luckily, there seems to be a swap planet in the area that should take about a varag to get to!” Coran chimed in, handling the entire situation of losing the castle surprisingly well. Or he was just good at acting.
The team responded with words of agreement, hopeful to scrounge up more supplies for the journey. Hunk was nearly bursting at the seams, his excitement about going home overwhelming all of his other feelings. Anxiety? Who’s she? Never met her. Not when they’re going home! He had to admit though…it felt a bit strange to be going home.
Flying to the planet didn’t take too long, as the lights from whatever inhabitants were soon visible from the surrounding atmosphere. The team chose a relatively uninhabited part of the planet, in an attempt to at least try to seem inconspicuous. The planet, aside from the small trading outpost, seemed to be desolate and abandoned. Covered in a purplish fine dirt, the entire landscape seemed barren, with little to no plant or animal life. Outcrops and hill littered the horizon, some of the only things in sight as the paladins exited their lions.
“Alright. Allura and I will head to the outpost to check out the merchandise. We’ll let you know what we find!” Coran explained before heading off with said princess. Everyone else was left to fend for themselves, to either relax, or do as they please. Keith and Lance were watching over Shiro, accompanied by the wolf that Keith had brought back with him. Pidge, Hunk, Krolia and Romelle were all chatting about things before Hunk excused himself. He needed a break. Back on earth, he’d often go for quiet walks in the desert surrounding the garrison. It was a way to clear his head or relax after a stressful or exciting event. Considering the previous happenings, one was definitely warranted now.
So Hunk set off, bidding farewell to his friends and starting off into the quietness. The sky was a dark violet, contrasting with the lilac covered planet. It truly was beautiful.
Minutes seemed to fly by, as the lions got farther and farther away from Hunk’s view. It seemed so calm and serene out here. Too bad that didn’t last.
As he began to pass outcrops that rose higher than even he, an unsettling feeling formed in his gut. An uncomfortable inkling that he was not alone. He stopped in his tracks, looking around the surrounding area and summoning his bayard.
“Hello?” He called out tentatively.
“Listen I’m-” Before he could finish, a figure jumped out from the top of an outcrop and launched itself on top of him. It let out a battle cry as it knocked him to the ground. With a loud thud, Hunk came crashing down. A forearm placed itself against his throat, immobilizing him lest he chooses to get hit in the throat.
As the shock of being tackled receded, Hunk saw who was above him. It was…a girl. Blue hair hung down in waves, touching the edges of his face as he lay below her. The clothing she was in resembled something like Allura’s bodysuit, but with the colors looking more like they were from earth. And although her face was in a stern frown, with teeth bared, Hunk thought she was beautiful.
Who the hell is this? Oh…its a girl! A pretty girl. That was the first coherent thought that swam through him head.
The girl kept her weight on top of him, scared to let this foreign man go.
Whoever this is, I will protect myself. I hope they aren’t dangerous. Those were her first complete thoughts when she saw him.
“Hey hey whoa! Warn a guy before you tackle him!” He put his hands up by his head, signaling surrender.
Wait, he was human? The girl cocked her head to the side, but leaned in closer.
“Who are you? What is your purpose on this planet?” She demanded harshly. Hunk swallowed. It was pretty terrifying to have a beautiful girl pinning him to the ground, even if she was gorgeous. No, he was not vomiting today.
“Easy easy! I come in peace ok! My name is Hunk, and I’m a paladin of Voltron! Hopefully you’ve heard of us? We save the universe and stuff.” He offered honestly. The girl’s eyes widened.
“Did you say paladin of Voltron?” she asked, excitement creeping into her voice. Hunk nodded enthusiastically, offering a small smile. It didn’t take too long before she stood up, extending her hand out to his.
“Sorry about that, when you’re stranded on a deserted planet for a while, you get…jumpy.” She apologised softly. The yellow paladin thankfully took her hand, and pulled himself up.
“That’s alright. It was smart of you, I don’t blame you.” After he finished speaking, a rush of wind went right by his head, as an owl of all things began pecking at him.
“Ow, Ow! Quit it! Nice owl!” He swatted at the bird, hoping to avoid any scratches. Laughter brought him out of his fear.
“Damien, that’s enough. He’s nice.” The bird retreated at her voice, and went to perch on her shoulder. It too, was bright blue. Hunk laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
“Well isn’t he…protective.” The girl and the owl seemed to share a knowing glance, as knowing as an owl could be.
“Yeah. I found him when he was little and saved him. Now he follows me everywhere. Even in space. I’m Talia by the way.” She explained, finally revealing her name. Hunk smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you!” Before he could say anything more, a tingling sensation on his arm demanded his attention. There, clear as day, his arm was glowing. Not only that, words were appearing on his skin. Looking over at Talia, the same exact thing was occuring.
Talia couldn’t believe her eyes. Sure she’d heard the legends about soulmates, and the mar that appears, but she never thought that it would be true, never in a million years. But there, on her arm, were the first thoughts that crossed her mind when she saw Hunk. The pair looked at each other, a bit shaken at the whole ordeal. A blushing Hunk merely shrugged, a bashful smile etched onto his face. Talia felt the smallest of grins tug at her lips from merely looking at Hunk. His happiness was contagious.
After the pair had read the words, and understood what was happening, the words shifted. Now, on each of their wrists, was a heart shaped tattoo, one side yellow, and one side bright blue. Then, the glowing and tingling finally stopped.
“Wow.” Hunk said bluntly, eliciting a small chuckle from Talia.
“Wow indeed.” She responded.
“I never thought I’d meet my soulmate by them tackling me.”
“And I never thought I’d tackle my soulmate to the ground.”
The air seemed so much easier now. They knew that they were made for each other. But things didn’t feel awkward. Not in the slightest. Although Damien did not look happy from his perch, his eyes seeming to judge Hunk, seeing right through his soul.
“So Talia, how did you get to space?” Hunk asked curiously.
“There was this program; sending students to space. It was practically doomed from the start. Long story short, I launched without anyone knowing, including myself, and ended up here.” Hunk’s eyebrows raised in alarm.
“Wow. That must have been terrible. At least I wasn’t alone. I had some friends.” Damien squawked at Hunk’s words.
“Ok, ok! She wasn’t completely alone! She had you.” He said kindly, stroking the feathers on the owls head. It seemed to begrudgingly let him, even leaning into his hand.
“Well you don’t have to be alone anymore. Would you like to come meet the rest of voltron?” He extended his hand out to her this time. Talia looked at it, and quirked one corner of her lip into a smile.
And so they walked back, talking all the while, getting to know one another best they could in such a short walk. Talia learned of Hunk’s love of cooking, and Hunk learned about Talia’s self defense training. His soulmate was a badass, he thought, and promptly said out loud.
“Hey.” Talia stopped him for a moment.
“I know the universe just told us that we’re meant to be and all, and I’m absolutely fine with it don’t get me wrong,” Hunk blushed profusely at that, “I just want to get to know you…in more time than it took to walk back to your friends.” She stated in a straightforward manner. Hunk nodded his head quickly in response.
“Of course! Oh my goodness I’d never want to make you feel uncomfortable, and I want to get to know you too! I don’t want to just date my soulmate without knowing who she is.” He agreed wholeheartedly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“The universe may have stepped in, but we move at our own pace ok?” His voice was so genuine, Talia thought happily, allowing his big hands to take hers into them.
The lions came into view soon after, Hunk and Talia walking hand in hand. The only ones who weren’t currently at the market were Keith and Lance, as they were in deep discussion about something. When they caught sight of Hunk and this mystery girl, they instantly went for their bayards.
“Whoa guys! Chill out! She’s not an enemy!” He placed himself between Talia and his friends.
“Listen, I know this sounds crazy, but she’s my soulmate. And she’s human! She was stranded here after a failed space program!” Talia waved, clearly shy and cautious of these new people. Which was understandable considering they had just been pointing weapons at her.
“Uh, hi. My name’s Talia.” She said quietly, squeezing Hunk’s hand gently. He squeezed back of course.
“Your soulmate?” Keith questioned calmly, walking forward. But he showed no signs of aggression or anger, merely curiosity. Lance followed quickly, a large smile on his face.
“The universe stepped in and told you that you were soulmates? Hunk way to go buddy! I’m so happy for you!” Lance said happily, bringing his friend in for a hug. Keith even ended up cracking a smile.
“I’m happy for you bug guy.” He patted Hunk’s shoulder, before turning to Talia.
“My name is Keith, I pilot the Black lion. This is my friend Lance, he pilots the red lion.”
“Wassup.” Lance interjected humorously, leaning his elbow on Keith’s shoulder.
“We’re the paladins of voltron. The rest of us are off getting supplies. You’ll meet them when they return.” Keith finished.
“They’ll love you! Any friend of Hunk’s is a friend of ours!” Lance said encouragingly, hoping to dispel any anxiety she had.
“Of course they will, how could they not. She’s amazing.” Talia bumped her shoulder with his at his cheesy words.
“We’re gonna go help with supplies. You guys stay here and chat.” Keith left them off without a hook, as he and Lance strolled easily towards the outpost. Damien flew from his perch on Talia’s shoulder, and landed comically on the head of Keith’s sleeping wolf. Surprisingly, it didn’t even flinch, and the owl made himself quite comfortable, causing both hunk and Talia to giggle.
“So. Hunk said thoughtfully.
After giving Talia the grand tour of his lion, they were seated in his cockpit, Yellow having produced a spare seat so they could sit together.
“So you guys have saved the universe? Multiple times? Wow, I had no idea my soulmate would turn out to be a hero. A saver of universes.” She teased, rubbing circles into his hand with her thumb.
“Oh believe me, we were NOT hero’s when we first came to space. Hell, I threw up the first time we even came up here.” He reminisced, laughing at himself as Talia joined in.
“That’s hilarious. You have so much to tell me. And I’m so excited to hear it all.” She said softly. Hunk’s heart skipped a beat as the most giddy feeling settled within him. Much better than the unsettling feeling that had been there a few hours ago.
“Same with you. I can’t wait to hear all about the blue haired girl who stole my heart.” Now Talia’s heart thumped in response. Blush rose to her own cheeks. Then a thought came to her mind.
“Hey. I know we’re setting our own pace an all but…” She paused before she finished. All her life, she’d been straightforward with what she wanted. She did no harm but took no shit.
“Can we kiss?” She said, just above a whisper, looking Hunk directly in the eyes. Said man was stunned, his eyes blinking rapidly and his mouth making a slight ‘o’ shape. But he was happy, holy crap was he the happiest man alive.
“Of course!” He said enthusiastically, taking both of Talia’s hands into his own, and pulling her to him.
The kiss was slow, and quick. It wasn’t hot and heavy, but sparks flew. It was soft, gentle, the promise of things soon to come, and chaste.
Talia felt a heady tingle settle in her mind, and it made her happy. She had found her person, and he was better than anything she could ever dream up. His hands cupped her cheeks, after letting hers go, and she leaned into his touch. Even though they had just met, Talia knew that the beginnings of a very strong love were starting to grow, and Hunk felt the exact same way.
“Wow.” Talia said softly, happily. Hunk chuckled in response.
“Wow indeed.” He echoed her words from earlier.
The two simply leaned their foreheads together, relishing in the fact that they weren’t alone anymore. They’d found love; a love that they could cultivate and grow and nurture. And they knew it didn’t have to happen right away, but it was there. And the thought sent warm fuzzy feelings down their spines.
They say every pot has a lid. Well in this case, every lion has an owl.
