Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender
Keith entered the lounge, intending on relaxing after a good day training. His hair was still damp after his shower. The lounge was almost empty; only one person was there: Hunk. Keith looked at the Yellow Paladin. He was flushed and looked like he was sleeping. Keith approached his teammate and put a hand on his shoulder. Hunk jerked awake, almost falling off the couch. "Huh?"
"Sorry. You okay, pal?" Keith had an eyebrow raised.
"Uh, yeah."
"I don't think so." Keith put a hand to Hunk's forehead only to jerk it back like it got burnt. "You're hot! Your eyes are bloodshot, and you look like you're about to fall asleep."
"I'll be okay. I have to cook dinner."
"You are not cooking in your condition," Keith insisted. "You should go to bed. Don't worry about dinner. It'll be taken care of."
"You sure, Keith?" Hunk stood up.
"Yes."
"Alright. Thanks, buddy." Hunk left the lounge, heading for his room.
%%% Dinner time
Shiro, Lance, Pidge, Allura, and Coran were seated at the table. They could smell something delicious being cooked in the kitchen.
Lance sniffed the air. "Hunk must be outdoing himself! That smells amazing!"
Shiro looked around. "Where's Keith?"
"Mullet is probably still training. I am just going to nip into the kitchen and see what Hunk is cooking." Lance stood up and slipped into the kitchen. "Hunk, my man, what is-Keith? What are you doing in here? Where's Hunk?"
Keith had his hand poised over a bubbling pot, a spice container in his hand. "Lance? What are you doing in here? Dinner isn't ready."
Lance looked at Keith. His normal jacket was missing, and his mullet was tied back. "Why are you cooking? Where's Hunk?"
Keith stirred the pot in front of him. "Hunk is sick. I saw him in the lounge earlier this afternoon, and he was obviously not feeling well. I made him go to bed to rest."
"Does he know you are cooking?"
"No. I simply told him that dinner was taken care of."
Lance peered into the pot. "What are you making?"
"My dad's chili."
"Your dad?"
"He was from Texas."
Lance noticed his rival's word choice and decided to drop the subject. "Is it done?"
"Yes. Can you help me serve this up?"
"Sure. I guess." Lance shrugged his shoulders.
"I am glad Hunk insisted on stopping by some place that sold groceries. I don't know if I could have made this without ingredients I'm used to." Keith put rice into six bowls and topped it with the chili. Lance just handed him one bowl after another as Keith served up dinner. He put cheese on the top, added spoons, and grabbed three bowls. Lance grabbed the remaining three bowls. The Red and Blue Paladins exited the kitchen, carrying bowls. They put them down on the table, one in front of each person.
"Keith? Why were you in the kitchen? Where's Hunk? Why are there only six bowls?" Shiro asked one question after another.
"Whoa! Slow down, Shiro. Let me answer." Keith took a breath. "Hunk isn't feeling well, so I cooked dinner instead. Hunk just needs to rest."
Allura looked into the bowl in front of her. "What is this?"
"A traditional Earth dish called chili. This type is served over rice and topped with cheese."
Shiro looked Keith in the eye. "Is this your father's recipe?"
Keith ducked his head as both he and Lance took their seats. "Yes."
Shiro nodded and took a bite of his food. "It tastes as good as it smells."
Everyone started eating and complimenting Keith on how good the food was. All through dinner, Keith's cheeks were as red as his absent jacket. He wasn't used to getting compliments.
Once dinner was done, Lance decided to check on his best friend. He was surprised to meet up with Keith on the way. Lance looked at his rival. His hair was down, and his jacket was back on. "Where are you going?"
"I am going to check on Hunk. What about you?"
"Same thing." The walk there was quiet, and when they reached the door, Lance opened it without knocking. They peeked in and saw Hunk sitting up in bed, reading on his device. He looked up when his door opened.
"Lance, Keith, come in."
Lance marched right over to the Yellow Paladin and snatched the device out of his hands. He placed it on the nightstand. "You're supposed to be resting, not on your tech."
"I was relaxing."
"When I said go to bed, I meant for you to sleep. You still look flushed," Keith clarified.
"What was done about dinner?"
"Oh, we had the most amazing chili I have ever tasted!" Lance exclaimed, making Keith blush again.
Hunk looked at the two other Paladins. Why did Lance's comment make Keith blush? "Who made it?"
"I did," Keith admitted. "It was my dad's recipe."
"Whoa. I didn't know you could cook."
"Most people don't." The silence that reigned after Keith's comment was deafening to the Blue Paladin.
"Well, we just came to check on you, Buddy." Lance ushered Keith out of the room. "Get some rest, Hunk."
"I will," Hunk promised before the door closed.
"What the heck was that for, Lance?"
"It was getting awkward, and Hunk needed to get some sleep, so we needed to leave. I didn't think you'd get the message any other way." Lance started walking down the hall, prompting the Red Paladin to follow.
There was a brief moment of silence before Keith asked, "Lance, did you mean what you said about my dad's chili?"
Slightly startled by Keith's question, Lance stopped walking. "Of course I did! Why wouldn't I?"
"It's nothing."
Lance reached out and caught the retreating teen's wrist. "No. It's not nothing. Tell me what's wrong."
"No. Let me go!" Keith yanked on his wrist. Lance let go immediately, not wanting to cause harm to his teammate. Unfortunately, Keith didn't expect Lance to let go so easily and overbalanced, falling to the floor.
"What the quiznack, Keith! Here, let me help you up." Lance held out a hand, but Keith simply slapped it away and stood up unassisted. He glared at his rival and stalked off, leaving Lance in the hallway, alone and confused. 'What happened? One minute Mullet's asking my opinion on something, the next he's freaking out.'
Lance stood there long enough for Shiro, who had been on his way back to his room, to realize something was the matter. He approached the Blue Paladin and asked, "Are you all right, Lance?"
"Honestly, Shiro? I don't know. Keith seemed like he was going to tell me something but then changed his mind, although he still seemed like he wanted to say something. However, when I pressed him for more information, he flipped out. It wasn't his usual display of anger either."
Shiro guided the still confused Lance to the lounge. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened? Maybe I can clear this up."
Lance explained everything starting from when he and Keith met up to check on Hunk and ending when Keith stalked away from Lance after falling. "I don't know how the situation went apples and bananas!"
Shiro silently chuckled at Lance's phrase. "I do believe Keith has tried making his dad's chili before for someone and got negative comments about it."
"Huh? Who would make negative comments about the most delicious food this side of Kerberos?"
"A couple of my foster families." Keith was leaning against the doorway to the lounge. He stood straight, entering the room and allowing the door to slide closed. "They didn't like me, so they didn't like anything I did. After a second attempt with a different family, I gave up cooking. I knew I could, but I couldn't find anyone who wanted to eat it until-"
"Until I came along," Shiro cut in. "I convinced him to cook for me one night at the Garrison."
"It didn't take much convincing, Takashi. You had broken your ankle and couldn't leave your room. I wouldn't allow you to skip meals or eat microwave food." Keith forgot about Lance being in the room as he faced Shiro, continuing his story. "Good food is the best for recovery. You taught me that one."
"About time you learned it, Keith. Besides, tonight's batch was just as good as the first time you made it for me," Shiro replied.
Lance had been shocked into silence by what Keith had said. His normally reserved rival was downright chatty! Did he only get like this with Shiro? If so, did that mean Keith forgot Lance was even in the room? Lance didn't want to remind him at the moment anyway. He would rather think about the wealth of information he just learned. Keith had been in Foster Care, so that meant he was most likely an orphan. Lance figured out that Keith's dad had died, but what happened to his mom? Was she dead as well? Lance winced at that thought. At least the Cuban teen had a family back on Earth, but the Red Paladin had no one. None of his foster families had adopted him. It hadn't been stated but rather implied. If he had been adopted, he wouldn't have dwelled on the two cooking experiences with the other families.
Lance had always known that Keith was close to Shiro, and he was jealous of Keith's connection to his hero. Lance squished his jealousy down at least a little. He got to work with Shiro in space, so what did it matter that Keith had known him longer? His rival did need someone looking out for him, seeing as he had no family. A thought hit Lance, and he couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Hey, Keith, since Shiro's the dad of our team, does that make us brothers?"
Keith looked at Lance like he had grown another head. "If you want to consider Shiro your dad, take it up with him, but he's not a dad to me. He's like a brother to me."
"If you want to consider me your dad, that's fine, but that would make Keith your uncle," Shiro said.
Lance recoiled. He could handle being rivals and teammates with Keith and maybe even brothers, but he didn't want Keith to have any position of power over him (even a fake position). "No way! Mullet no es mi tio!"
Shiro and Keith looked at Lance, confused. Keith had his head cocked to one side, while Shiro voiced their confusion. "Try that again in English, Lance."
"Mullet is not my uncle," Lance repeated though calmly this time.
"I wouldn't want to be your uncle anyway," Keith responded.
"However, any time you want to cook, go ahead," Lance said with a smile. "If you can pry Hunk out of the kitchen!"
Fin
