Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

From a small table booth, Hunk grinned as he watched two of his best friends, Lance and Allura, dominate the dance floor. They warbled the lyrics to the classic Lady Gaga hit that was blasting out of the speakers and threw all their energy in to their dance moves whilst making it seem effortless. Their energy seemed to pulse around the room, making everyone seem more alive. More and more people were getting up to dance, caught up in Lance and Allura's enthusiasm. Hunk was glad they were enjoying themselves. Especially Allura given how it was her party in the first place. Beside him, Keith smirked as Lance strolled over. “C’mon Keith. Dance with me.” He pouted, causing his boyfriend to sigh as he was yanked to his feet.

“I don’t think I have much choice, do I?” Keith joked, earning himself a soft punch in the arm.

“No, you don’t. What about you Pidge and Hunk? Are you two dancing as well?” Lance turned to Hunk and the other person sat next to him.

"Eh, I'll pass for now." Pidge replied, barely looking up from the fantasy game on her phone.  

Hunk shook his head gently in response. Hunk wasn't in the mood for dancing at the moment, deciding instead to watch. Besides, Hunk wasn't really one for dancing anyway.

“I’m alright for now. Go and have fun. Allura’s tearing it up on her own.” Hunk replied, watching in amusement as the couple ran over (or rather Lance ran and Keith was dragged behind) to Allura. Lance grabbed his boyfriend's hands and swayed them, singing directly at Keith. Keith was blushing in embarrassment while snorting with laughter. "Lance, you're ridiculous!" He giggled as Lance proceeded to exaggerate their movements. Chuckling to himself, Hunk sipped at his drink.

Allura, deciding to take a break from dancing, sat down next to Hunk with a content sigh. “Having fun?” She asked, slightly breathless from all the dancing. Hunk gave her a nod while Pidge gave her a thumbs up and he finished his drink. “Good.” She replied, beaming, before reaching to remove her sparkling sliver heels.

“Those look like a pain to dance in.” Hunk commented, wincing slightly. Allura gave a small laugh.

“You have no idea. Still, it’s one way to break them in.” She looked up at Keith and Lance who were now twirling each other and laughing loudly. Allura rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "What dorks." She muttered in amusement.

"Tell me about it." Hunk agreed, snickering. "At this rate, everyone else will be too embarrassed to be on the dance floor with them."  Pidge remarked flippantly. By now, she had gotten bored of her game and was willing to interact again.

"Pidge!" Allura pretended to be alarmed but the broad smile on her face proved otherwise. Pidge shrugged, smirking.

"It's a fact, Allura, and you know it is." Pidge teased, flicking the bits of strewn blue and silver confetti across the table at Allura.

Before Allura could comment further, she noticed someone arrive to the party and excused herself to go and greet them. Pidge and Hunk looked on in bemusement.

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Hunk Garrett was twenty years old and quite possibly one of the most sincere and generous people you could ever hope to meet. He worked with his parents in their quaint bakery, making elaborate cakes and other goods for any situation. From birthdays to first dates, Hunk would be more than able and willing to assist people. Lance would proclaim to the entire world that Hunk's cooking was exquisite and, in his words, "to die for".

Outside of work, he was often quiet around strangers but enthusiastic when he was with his best friends, especially Lance, who he had known since preschool. Due to his reserved nature, Hunk didn’t have much experience with romantic relationships. Sure, he had previously been in some but they didn’t last as long as he hoped.Then, after they had ended, Hunk would be too shy to approach anyone new for a while. Long story short, for being the nicest guy going, Hunk was surprisingly single and not many people had expressed in interest in him (which Lance would declare was an outright crime).

That is, until he met Shay Balmera at Allura’s party.

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Chapter Text

Outside the venue, Shay arrived in her brother’s car. She started to get out of the car whilst shrugging off his lecture. “Rax, I’ll text you when the party finishes.” She told him, pursing her lips in annoyance.

“Or if you’re not coming back tonight?” He prompted, shooting her a glance. Turning to open the door, Shay rolled her eyes, exasperated. Shay loved her brother but he seriously needed to lay off. Shay was twenty years old and definitely capable of handling herself.

“Yes. See you later, Rax.”

Stepping out of the car, Shay smoothed down her green dress and grabbed her matching clutch bag. She shut the door gently, not one for slamming no matter how aggravated she was. Shay waved the car farewell before walking inside.

When she entered, Shay was slightly disappointed to hear Lady Gaga fading out on the speakers. She brightened when she spotted Allura heading towards her. They met in a tight hug and exclamations of “I’ve missed you”. Shay lived further away than Allura and she rarely got to see her due to distance and time. However, that night was an exception given how it was Allura’s birthday.

“How have you been?” Allura asked, drawing out of the hug. She looked dazzling in a royal blue dress that came up to her knees, and was decorated with silver patterns. Allura also proudly wore a faux tiara that read ‘Birthday Princess’ in large blue letters. Shay noted that Allura was currently barefoot, much to her amusement.

“I’ve been good! What about you?”

“Well, thank you! Work has been a bit of a drag but what can you do?” The pair shared a laugh before Allura’s brow crinkled in puzzlement.

“Did Rax not want to come?” She asked, having just noted the absence of her friend’s brother. Shay shook her head.

“He has work first thing tomorrow. Rax has never really been one for partying anyway.” Shay sighed. Allura gave her friend a look of sympathy before smiling widely again.

“Don’t worry about it. Here, I’ll take you to my table.” Allura linked arms with Shay and led her around a corner to a rather large table draped with a cloth and a heap of sapphire and shiny confetti pieces. At the table were two other people, engaged in a conversation. They both beamed at Allura once they noticed her.

“Pidge, Hunk, this is Shay, Shay, this is Pidge and Hunk.” Allura introduced, pointing to each person.

“Hey.” Pidge greeted, giving a small wave. Hunk, on the other hand, seemed to be shy or at a loss of words.

“It’s nice to meet you both.” Shay said, perching herself in a chair along with Allura.

“Same here.” Hunk replied, looking slightly nervous.

“I’ll be back in a bit. I’m just going to order a drink. “Allura announced, standing abruptly. She grabbed a sliver purse from next to Pidge and strutted over to the bar, earrings glistening in the disco lights.

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Hunk watched Allura leave the table to greet someone and turned to Pidge. “Do you think this is the Shay and Rax she’s been building up all night?” He asked. From where he was sat, a corner blocked his view of Allura and the latest arrival to her party. Pidge shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it was. She left so quickly that it was obvious she was excited about arrival.”

“Well yeah but she was excited to greet everyone.” Hunk said, giving a small laugh while Pidge gave a snort of laughter. At that moment, Allura arrived at the table linked by the arms with a woman neither had met before. The stranger was considerably taller than Allura, towering slightly, and had a strong build that indicated she was in a profession that required physical fitness. She wore a similarly sized dress to Allura except it was a rich, emerald green with embroidered flowers.

Hunk found he was dumbstruck. His cheeks felt rather hot and his heart was pounding. The woman was obviously nervously smiling but Hunk didn’t care. He could feel his own quivering upon his face. She was- without a doubt -very attractive with caramel-brown eyes that seemed to be yellow when the disco lights hit them just right.

Hunk was drawn from his gaze by Allura introducing them. “Pidge, Hunk, this is Shay. Shay, this is Pidge and Hunk.” Hunk felt himself clam up slightly. This was the Shay that Allura had been talking about for weeks and earlier on. She had mentioned how eager she was for them to meet Shay and her brother, telling Hunk how the siblings were two of Allura’s closest friends. It was especially important to Allura as Shay and Rax lived far away and didn’t see Allura often.  Hunk had only known Allura for a couple of years at this point but he was almost desperate to make a good impression on her oldest best friends. He could only hope he was giving Shay a positive first impression of one of Allura’s newest best friends. 

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 A slow song was drifting from the speakers, making it slightly awkward to strike up a conversation. Especially if there were couples such as Keith and Lance tightly embracing and swaying, making the dance floor give off a romantic feeling.

 “Some party, right?” Hunk began, swallowing his budding nerves.  ‘That had to be the worst way to start a conversation.’ He chastised himself inwardly, fighting back a cringe.

“Definitely.” Shay agreed quietly. She placed her clutch bag on the table before adding “Allura’s told me a lot about you all.” Hunk looked surprised while Pidge smirked.

“Good things I hope.” She quipped. Shay chuckled.

“Mostly.” She joked. Hunk gave a small smile.

“What sorts of things did she say?” He asked, starting to relax.

“She told me that you’re an amazing cook. In her words, your cooking is, and I quote, ‘to die for.’” Shay specified, giggling. Hunk smiled bashfully.

“I don’t know if it’s to die for but I’d say it’s pretty good. I set up the buffet myself actually.”

“I guess I’ll have to see for myself then.” Shay remarked, beginning to get up. Hunk eagerly got up as well.

“I’ll come with you. I’m hungry anyways.”

“Hunk, you’re always hungry.” Pidge said a matter-of-factly to which Hunk snorted in amusement.

“And that’s a bad thing?” He queried, raising an eyebrow. Pidge snickered as the pair left for the buffet table.

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Hunk was immersed in describing to Shay the details of how Allura’s extravagant cake had become the masterpiece that sat in the centre of all the food. “It took two attempts to get right because I wanted it to look perfect for the party. The first one had a mishap with the icing bag. Halfway through one of the stars, I squirted out too much icing and I couldn’t fix it.”

“Oh my gosh! That sounds awful. What happened to the second one?” Shay was listening intently, fascinated by Hunk’s passion for cooking and baking.

“I had to get Lance and Keith to help me with the second one as I was also running the bakery by myself. While I was dealing with a customer, the pair thought it’d be a good idea to get in to a competition to see who could create the best layer for the cake. Being over competitive, they both poured in too much baking powder.” Hunk explained, grinning in glee at his captive audience.

“Uh oh, I think I know where this is going…” Shay sniggered.

“They don’t tell me, of course, since they figured I’d tell them off. They put the cake layers in the oven and tell me they sorted the second attempt. The layers of the cake were baking and we were all just chilling, hanging out like we’d planned. After a while, I hear popping noises and there was this weird burning smell. It was then we realised what was about to happen. We ran in to the kitchen but we were too late! The layers exploded inside the oven. To top it off, either Keith or Lance had set the oven too high so the cake layers had also burnt. Their faces were priceless.” Hunk finished his tale and Shay gave a small clap. Hunk gave a mock bow and the pair giggled.

They were both standing at the buffet table, though Pidge had long since gotten up from Allura’s table to dance. Luckily, Keith and Lance were sat down, cuddling from what Hunk could see. “It’s a good thing this one turned out wonderfully.” Shay complimented. Hunk flushed slightly.

“Allura didn’t really want me to do the entire buffet since I had customers but I insisted since it was for her birthday and all. Besides, that’s what best friends are for, right?”

Shay gave a hum of agreement. “I remember this one time when from when we were both around seventeen and I was visiting hers for the weekend. Allura wanted to buy a necklace for me but she refused to let her dad get it for her. She wanted to buy it herself and so she went and got a job at some coffee shop. In the end, I bought it for her as a present, seeing it one day and thinking it’d suit her, without realising she was thinking about buying it for me.” Hunk chuckled, picturing a younger Allura laughing with a younger Shay.

They shared more embarrassing stories (mostly about themselves but some about their friends too) and soon it felt the pair had known each other for much longer than a single evening. Much to their dismay, the party was drawing to a close with most of the guests gone and Shiro – the last of Hunk’s best friends to arrive- helping Allura clear up. Keith and Lance were now having one last dance before the DJ, Pidge’s brother Matt, finished for the night. Pidge herself was pestering Matt, bragging about how far she’d gotten on a video game they competed over. Presumably the same one she had been playing at intervals of the party.

“It was nice getting to know you.” Shay acknowledged. Hunk nodded euphuistically.

“It was nice getting to know you too.”

There was a pause when suddenly Shay blurted out “Can I give you my number?”

Hunk looked taken aback. “Your number?”

“My phone number. It’s so that we can keep in touch.” Shay clarified, wringing her hands together. She looked at Hunk hopefully and he gave her a shy smile.

“Sure.” He replied, fishing for his phone within his jeans pockets while Shay hurried to the other side of the room and dug her own out of her clutch bag. She winced noticed the number of missed calls from her brother. Quickly, she erased them and headed back to Hunk. Within a matter of minutes, they had both typed in their numbers in to each other’s phones and saved them as contacts.

 “I better be off. I want to catch Allura before I leave. I hope to talk to you soon!” Shay waved goodbye and walked off to find Allura. Hunk waved at her retreating back.

“Hunk, my buddy, my man! Are you ready to leave?” Lance asked, walking over with his hands entwined with Keith’s.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Lance’s eyebrows suddenly shot up and he looked excited.

“Wait a second, you’re blushing! Did you get Shay’s number?” He asked, practically glowing with happiness. Hunk gave a bashful nod and Lance whooped. Keith gave a much smaller cheer but looked happy for Hunk regardless.

“Congrats dude!”

“Thanks. So, you two enjoyed yourself.” Hunk commented slyly.

This prompted Lance to babble about his wonderful evening as the trio began to leave towards Keith’s car and Hunk felt he was lost in a daze. Almost as if he was floating on cloud nine.

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Shay approached Allura outside of the party venue where she was waiting for her godfather Coran to arrive. “Hey Allura.” She called, getting the other’s attention.

“Shay! What’s wrong?” Allura asked, sensing something was troubling Shay.

The latter took a deep breath before asking “If it’s not too much trouble, could I stay at yours tonight?”

Allura instantly agreed. “Of course you can! Is it because Rax is being overbearing again?” Shay only nodded, not wanting to speak ill of her brother. “Don’t worry about it. A break from him is what you need. Besides, we need to catch up properly and this is the perfect way to do it. I’ll just let Uncle Coran know.”

“I’ll text Rax now. Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

I’m staying at Allura’s tonight since we wanted to catch up. I’ll see you tomorrow. [Sent 11:30pm]

It took a minute for Rax to respond with a simple ok before he spent another minute giving Shay a strict instruction to be back by 6pm at the next day.

You do know that you don’t need to give me deadlines of when to be home, right? [Sent 11:32pm]

I know but I need to know you’ll be home. [Sent 11:33pm]

Coran’s car pulled up just as Shay was switching off her phone. She and Allura clambered in after placing several containers of food in the boot. “Good to see you, Shay!” Coran called over his shoulder from the driver’s seat.

“The same to you Coran.” Shay smiled fondly, having missed Coran.

As they drove away, Shay thought about Hunk and smiled to herself. He was endearingly sweet and Shay was looking forward to speaking with him again. ‘I hope we talk sooner rather than later. ‘

Unknown to her, Allura was grinning to herself. She had seen Shay and Hunk spend the rest of the evening talking together and she was certain there was something between them. It was a matter of time to see if that something grew in to more.

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Chapter Text

"So, did you get his number?" Allura and Shay were sprawled on the floor in comfortable pyjamas while they gossiped. Shay was talking about her evening with Hunk, looking a tad flustered. 

"Yeah, I did actually." 

"Oh my gosh! He's a really sweet guy I promise you." Allura squealed, eyes lit up in excitement.

"I kinda got that impression from him." Shay said bashfully. She sighed and added "I wonder what Rax will think of him." 

Allura frowned. "To be perfectly honest, Rax's opinion shouldn't matter. So long as you like Hunk, Rax will warm up to him."

"I don't even know if we'll end up dating!" Shay stuttered out, blushing. Allura giggled. 

"I never said anything about dating ~." She teased, poking Shay's darkened cheeks lightly. Shay gave her a light shove, laughing along with her. 

 "Maybe at some point we will." Shay murmured quietly,  entertaining the thought of her and Hunk together. 

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At the Balmera household, the majority of the household were asleep except for Rax. He was lost in his thoughts while he sat in his room.

To tell the truth, Rax wasn't too enthusiastic at the prospect of Shay not being home. It wasn't that he didn't like Allura. She was one of his oldest friends even if they didn't always get along. It was the fact Rax didn't like not knowing what Shay got up to. He was always protective of her, especially when they were younger, but it seemed Shay was making a conscious effort to hide what she did when he wasn't around. Rax could understand why. She needed to live her own life and he got that he wasn't in charge of her. It was just the concern that he never knew what she got up to or who she was with. Rax just wanted to look after his sister the best he could. He knew Shay wouldn't get involved with anything dangerous (he was certain of that) but he was aware that sometimes you could never be sure of the people you get involved with.

Very aware. 

Even so, brooding and fretting wouldn't get him anywhere so Rax decided to focus instead on turning in. He had a job to go to and his boss would definitely not be impressed if he was sluggish and exhausted while he worked. He gave a defeated sigh as he crawled under his covers and flicked off his bedside light.

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 The drive home in Keith's car was filled with the warble of a song from the radio while Lance and Keith began chattering away with Hunk chiming in occasionally but being quiet for the most part. Lance was currently attempting to sway Keith in their debate about the supernatural.

"Babe, ghosts definitely exist."

"Lance-" Keith began, scoffing slightly.

"Hear me out! You know those TV shows where those ghost hunters go in to those haunted places?"

"I guess?" Keith said with a smirk, humouring his boyfriend in his ramblings. 

"Well, spooky stuff happens all the time on them! Ghosts are caught on camera." 

"You do know most of the 'spooky stuff' isn't real, right? They're gimmicks to keep people watching." 

"Alright wise guy, what about mediums? They speak to the dead!" Lance declared proudly. He shot Keith a smug look for extra measure to which Keith laughed. 

"Again, those are gimmicks. Lance, if you want a real conspiracy, check out the moon landing."

"Keith, you and I both know that was faked. Hey Hunk, back me up here. Ghosts are real!" 

Hunk gave a noise of agreement but it was obvious he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, given how his eyes were glazed over and his face was scrunched in thought. 

"You okay back there, buddy?" Lance asked as he turned around in the front passenger seat. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hunk muttered. 

"Are you sure? You're being really quiet." Keith added, briefly giving him a concerned look in the rear view mirror. 

"Just thinking." 

Lance's face suddenly lit up and he gave Hunk a sly smile, gripping the seat tightly. "Oh, I know what's up."

"Do tell." Keith remarked dryly but with a small bit of intrigue. Lance lightly swatted his boyfriend's arm.

"Hunk is still thinking about Shay~." He then singsonged, making Hunk blush darkly.

"Well, I was thinking of texting her but I have no idea what to say. Like I know to put hello but what comes after that?" Hunk then admitted, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously.

"Well, the first thing you do after a hello is tell the person who you are so that they don't think some random stranger somehow got their number." Lance advised.

"But Shay and I are strangers..."

"Acquaintances, actually. You've met and gotten to know her a little, right?" 

"I guess so..." Hunk said with a small shrug. Lance then grinned in excitement.

"Great! After that, you could possibly arrange to hang out with her at some point. Not as a date or anything but just to get to know her."

 "Just be yourself, Hunk." Keith added, wanting to help too. Lance rolled his eyes at the slight cliché but chose not to comment on it. 

"You can do it!" He added instead. Hunk steeled himself and withdrew his phone from his pocket. Nervously, he tapped out a message that he hoped Shay was respond to. 

Hey, this is Hunk from Allura's party :D [Sent at 11:54] 

 It took Shay a minute to reply. 

Hey Hunk :D How did you find the party?[Sent at 11:55] 

It was great! What about you? [Sent at 11:55]

Hunk looked at the pair in the front seats and said "I think it's going well. It's a bit awkward though..."

"All first time text conversations are." Keith replied, turning in to their street. He switched off the radio and began to park the car. 

"Trust us, we know." Lance joked, sending a wink in Keith's direction who laughed. 

Parked, the car rumbled to a stop and the three of them got out. "Welp, we'll see you soon Hunk. Hope everything turns out well with Shay!" Lance called over his shoulder as he and his boyfriend walked to their house. Hunk gave a wave and a small smile before heading to his own. 

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 An excited shriek erupted from Allura when Shay's phone lit up with a text. "That'll be Hunk!" She declared, shoving the phone in to her friend's hands. 

"You seem very sure of that..." Shay remarked, smiling at her enthusiasm. Allura shrugged. 

"Instinct." She responded simply. As if on cue, it turned out Allura was right for there was Hunk's message, sat there and waiting to be read. 

Hey, this is Hunk from Allura's party :D [Sent at 11:54] 

Hey Hunk :D How did you find the party?[Sent at 11:55]   Shay sent her reply as quickly as she could, grinning as Allura giggled.

It was great! What about you? [Sent at 11:55]

"Ask him on a date!" Allura urged. Shay gave a yelp and hid her face.

"What?! No!" She whined in embarrassment. Allura chuckled.

"Fine. Tell him I've invited him to hang out with us. Tomorrow."

Allura wants to know if you want to hang out with us tomorrow? :) [Sent at 11:56]

Shay glanced at Allura and asked "Do you think he'll want to come?"

Allura didn't get to reply as Hunk text Shay back almost immediately.

Sure! When and where are we meeting? [Sent at 11:57pm]

"He wants to know when and where we're meeting him?"

"Do you remember where the café is?" Allura asked. Shay thought for a moment, recalling the hours the pair has spent chatting in the small but quaint café around the corner from the train station near Allura's. The café was a small one but the tea cakes there were amazing so it was definitely a firm choice for a meeting place. Besides, it might impress Hunk. Shay then nodded and texted Hunk again.

There's a café by the train station near Allura's. We can meet there at 10:00? [Sent 11:58]

Great! I'll see you tomorrow then! :D [Sent at 1:58]

Shay could hardly believe she was seeing Hunk again so soon. Her heart gave an excited jolt. "Thanks, Allura." She murmured, slightly in a daze.

"You're welcome! Now then, what's this I heard about a promotion?"

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