Chapter 2
Dear Lance,
It's kind of weird having friends. I expected I would leave the hospital and do something stupid to plant myself right back there with you. Not seeing you every day still hurts a lot, but I think I'm getting used to it. I hope you are too, Lance.
That way, maybe one day we can see each other and it will be like none of the past ever happened. As if we were normal.
I don't know. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.
Love, Hunk.
Hunk leans back in the cafe seat, setting down his pen and taking a sip of his coffee. It was nice getting out of the house for a bit on his own, not to go out and drink or meet up with friends. Hunk folds up the letter and tucks it in an envelope, addressing it and putting a stamp on it.
Hunk looks up and examines the cafe as he's getting ready to leave. At that moment, the door opens with a ring of the bell and Keith walks in. Great, the one guy he's pretty sure doesn't like him.
Keith catches a glimpse of Hunk, nodding at him and then walking to the counter to order. He has his motorcycle helmet in hand, and his red leather jacket flexes against his arms and shoulders as he reaches up to rustle his hair.
Hunk doesn't want to leave now, it would look like he was running away from Keith. He really just wants to be friends with the guy, just like he is with everyone else.
Hunk can't help but think he's kind of hot. I mean, when they'd met, Hunk had acknowledged he was attractive, but looking at him now, Keith was almost unbelievably hot.
Like if Hunk touched him he would burn. Or something like that. After staring at Keith for an admittedly long time, Hunk snaps his gaze to the coffee in front of him as Keith begins to turn around with his drink in hand. He doesn't dare look up until he sees Keith's boots out of the corner of his eyes and hears him clearing his throat.
"What do you want?" Why, oh god, why did Hunk say it like that? He was supposed to be making friends with Keith! Regardless, Keith rolls his eyes and motions to the rest of the shop.
"There's nowhere else to sit."
"Well I was just leaving!" Hunk exclaims, shooting out of his seat.
"You can stay-"
"See you later, Keith!" Hunk nervously spews, grabbing his coffee, envelope, and phone off the table before promptly leaving the cafe. As he rushes out the door, his vision fogs in embarrassment until a bit down the road he bumps into someone, sending them to the ground and spilling his coffee all over them.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't mean-" Hunk stops talking, as he looks down at Romelle on the sidewalk. Shit. The girl he kind of has a crush on. With coffee all over her. On the dirty ground.
"Hunk, it's okay!" Romelle says, laughing it off. Hunk exhales and closes his eyes for a second to relax, opening them as he extends his hand to help her up.
She takes hold of his big hand, and he hoists her easily up off the ground. "Do you happen to have a napkin?" She asks, looking down at her half drenched blouse. She was dressed quite cutely too, in a button up top tucked into a skirt that perfectly matches the little pink flowers that dot the top. She's also wearing a pair of black platforms, capping the cutesy look off with a punkish aspect.
Hunk on the other hand, is wearing a measly zip-up hoodie over a t-shirt despite the warm weather, paired with some old tattered jeans.
"No, but here! Just use my jacket to wipe up whatever you can!" Hunk rambles on, pulling his jacket off quickly and handing it to Romelle. Hunk continues rambling on about the mess, offering to clean the clothes and a bunch of stuff that doesn't really need to be said. He only stops once he notices Romelle is just looking at him with a gentle smile on her face.
She takes the jacket out of his hands, putting it on and zipping it up instead of doing what Hunk suggested. It's almost embarrassingly big on her, sliding off one shoulder and going all the way down past her skirt. But instead of Hunk feeling ashamed he's kind of just... overwhelmed by how cute Romelle looks.
"How about... I go home and clean this up, and then we can meet at 8 today for a drink. And I'll give you your sweater back." She says, chuckling.
"Oh! Um, yeah sure, of course! I'll call Pidge and we can all-"
"Don't call Pidge. Or anyone else. It'll be like a date, okay?" Romelle asks, eyes hopeful and innocent. Hunk is kind of just lost for words, stuttering over his words. Instead of waiting for Hunk to respond, Romelle just leans up and kisses him on the cheek.
"See you then." She saws as she walks past him and down the street.
Did that really just happen? There is no way that was real, and dear god someone needed to pinch him right now or he would never wake up.
Except it definitely was real, and holy shit how was Hunk going to figure out what to wear!
-
Hunk had decided to invite Pidge and Allura over. Romelle had told Hunk not to call but... he needed help ok! Honestly not even just that, but what was he supposed to say and do. Hunk had literally never been on a date before. It honestly shocks him that someone as beautiful as Romelle would want to go on a date with him!
"Ok, now listen close and carefully Hunk. This next hour is gonna be the most important hour of your life! You have to listen to me and Allura, or else Romelle will never talk to you again!" Pidge says, basically giving a presentation to Hunk as he sits innocently on his bed.
"All jokes aside, you have to be really careful with Romelle." Allura says more gently and constructively than Pidge. Then suddenly she gets really close, eye to eye and puts her hand on his shoulder, squeezing a little too hard for comfort.
"And I've known Romelle for a very long time and I know that not many boys have been nice to her. If you so much as mistreat one little bone in her body I swear to god I will-" Allura is interrupted by Pidge pulling her away from Hunk and onto the ground, so they are both sitting down in from of him.
"I think he gets the point. And Hunk's a really good guy, trust me 'Llura." Pidge reassures Allura, who just huffs and crosses her arms.
"Ok so basically, all you have to do on the date is, number one, compliment her! Number 2, laugh at her jokes. Number 3, don't be boring! Just do all of that, and the date should be successful!" Pidge boldly claims three simple steps for Hunk to follow.
"I feel like it definitely won't be that easy, but I'll try!" Hunk announces.
"Good! And I already bought something on my way here for you to wear, so we've got that covered!" Allura cheers, grabbing the bag she had brought with her that he hadn't noticed until now.
Hunk gulps, worrying about the contents of said bag. I mean, what if Allura got all the wrong sizes? It's likely that she could have underestimated and gotten something way to small! Or... oh god what if it was too big! What it she thought he was actually way bigger than he really was, that would be even worse!
"Oh and I picked up a little bag for you Pidge since it was your birthday last week!" Allura giggles, holding up the cute little green backpack. This brings Hunk back down to earth for a second, and gives him a chance to focus on Allura and the bag. She dumps the contents out on the floor and then crumbles the clothes up in a ball, tossing it at Hunk.
"Go! Get dressed!" She demands, pointing to the bathroom visible out the open door of his bedroom. He barely holds onto the wad of clothes as he makes his way to the bathroom. He glances in the mirror briefly before deciding to change turned around. It's just easier that way.
Once he's done, he walks back across the hall reluctantly. The clothes actually fit him pretty well, almost magically well. It seems Allura guessed him perfectly. He also quite likes the style a lot. The sweater is a dark subtle green with yellow accents on the cuffs and collar. He's wearing a white button up underneath with the collar and sleeves folded over a bit to show. For pants he is wearing a pair of khaki's quite similar to some he owns, just made out of a noticeably nicer and more expensive fabric.
He enters the room silently, and both Pidge and Allura look over. They are both silent with slightly gaping mouths. Is that... good or bad?
"Oh my god you are so handsome I might kiss you before Romelle get's the chance!" Pidge declares, standing up and throwing herself playfully on Hunk. Allura stands as well, eyes more calculating and observant. She stands looking at him for a seconds before it clicks.
"I almost forgot!" She says, rustling in the bag. "I got you the headband, it should help keep your hair out of the way. That way Romelle can see your beautiful eyes!" Hunk can't help but flush a little and Allura walks towards him and ties the yellow band delicately around his head.
"You are a genius, Allura!" Pidge exclaims, clapping her hands and cheering. "Romelle is gonna have no choice but to fall head over heels with Hunk!"
-
Hunk lets Pidge drop him off at the bar/pub they usually hang out at. He expects Pidge to drive away but she goes down a bit and parks. She is too nosey for her own good. Hunk enters the place and finds an empty table after getting two beers from the bar.
If there was one good thing about this town, it's that absolutely no one cares about underage drinking. Well, technically there is people that care, but at this particular pub, no one bothers. It's also not the most classy place, but Hunk or any of his friends don't want to bother buying fake ID's. He can wait a few more years to be able to legally drink. And honestly, as a 17 year old, he had never even drunken than much until recently.
Hunk isn't completely positive about everyone's ages, but he knows they are all going to school with him in the fall. Except Shiro, who is 22. Pidge is technically a few years lower, but Allura, Romelle, and Keith are all in Hunk's class. Pidge is just turned 16, and will probably end up graduating with everyone anyways.
Hunk is pulled from his train of thought as Romelle takes a seat in front of him. "Thanks for getting me a drink!" She says, lifting it up and cheering against Hunk's glass. She then immediately leans back and chugs the whole thing. Like at speeds Hunk has never seen before. He takes a sip of his own drink before clearing his throat and waiting for Romelle to be done.
"You look really beautiful, Romelle." Hunk compliments her as she sets her glass down. Romelle's cheeks tint a pinkish color and she doesn't reply, instead getting up and walking to the bar. This is the first chance he has gotten to see what she is wearing. She's wearing a white dress that stops around mid thigh, and a pair of white socks that go so high they leave a desirable inch of skin between them and the dress. Over the tank top dress she has a cropped pink cardigan left unbuttoned and gently falling off her shoulders. It looks like shes wearing a matching pair of pink sneakers. Hunk also now just notices that his jacket is hung over the back of the chair Romelle was sat in. He smiles fondly while remembering their interaction from this morning. Eventually, Romelle is making her way back to the table with two more glasses of beer. She takes a seat and sets the glasses down.
"I had a couple shots at the bar too, I hope you don't mind." Romelle jokes, and Hunk, remembering number 2 Pidge had told him about, laughs for a disproportionately long amount of time. Romelle kind of gives him a weird look as she sips on her beer before Hunk realizes he's getting the attention of other people and stops. So far, the first two things Pidge told him about, he had failed miserably at. Now, he just needed to not be boring.
"So, you're really into music right? What are some of your favorite groups or artists?" Hunk asks, folding his arms on the table and leaning forward a bit.
"Well, one of my favorites lately is Sufjan Steven's, but overall Hozier has got to be the best." Hunk's eyes basically glaze over at the mention of Hozier.
"Oh my god, Hozier is my all time favorite artist, I love his stuff!" Hunk exclaims, face lit up with excitement. Romelle chuckles, taking a sip of her drink.
"How'd you come to have such a good taste of music?" Romelle asks.
"Well, I spent the last two months in the me- I mean with my mom! I was with my mom, and she lives in the middle of nowhere. Most of the time I listened to music. Either some new stuff I downloaded before I left or whatever CD's I could find laying around. And honestly, if I was a teen in the 90s, I would have totally been into Oasis and Phil Collins." Hunk rambles on without realizing, and Romelle just slowly sips on here drink as he talks. She's kind of a good listener, but he worries he's bored her to death.
"And how did you get into-" Hunk is cut off as Romelle suddenly stands and leans forward over the table to connect their lips together. Like total lip on lip, not a cheek kiss like earlier. Hunk's eyes shoot wide open and he doesn't even have a second to savor the kiss before Romelle pulls away. She stays leans over the table, one hand planted on it and the other pulling at Hunk's collar.
"My parents aren't home, and I have the whole house to myself, maybe we should head back-"
"Yes, yes, yes, let's go do that right now!" Hunk stands abruptly and walks around to pull his jacket off the back of Romelle's chair, wrapping it around her.
"Lead the way!" Hunk says, smiling. Romelle nods, smiling back and bundling herself up in Hunk's jacket as they brace for the chilly temperature of the night outside. Hunk follows behind Romelle until they are out the door and a few feet away from the pub before he walks right up next to her. With his hands at his side, he feels Romelle grab onto his pinky, and eventually his whole hand.
Her hand is so soft, delicate, and small. Nothing like his. They were even warm, while his own were usually cold and clammy. They fit together really nicely, and Hunk blushes under the light of the moon as Romelle guides him through town.
Finally after a comfortably silent walk, they arrive at Romelle's home. It's a modest, cute home. It's clear that a small family lives there, but it's inviting and warm. Romelle takes her hand away from Hunk's briefly to unlock the door, then leading him inside. Once inside, Romelle peels off her shoes as does Hunk. Then, Romelle turns to look at Hunk and let's the jacket wrapped around her drop to the floor in a tantalizing matter. He's almost drooling at this point.
He couldn't have expected this night to go this way. Does Romelle really want... to do all of that? Maybe Hunk isn't ready. Or maybe he should just stop assuming and go along with it. That's what Lance would tell him to do.
Next, Romelle removes the cardigan off her shoulders, more slow and deliberate to peel of the more tight fitting piece. Eventually, her shoulders are revealed and all she is wearing is the dress and socks. With that, Hunk feels overbearingly over-clothed and hot, like he wants to remove as much as soon as possible. Suddenly panic is setting in at the thought of being naked in front of Romelle. Would she ask about his scars? Would she think he's actually fatter and uglier than she thought?
Okay, stop overthinking. It's gross of Hunk to even assume that's whats going on here. Hunk exhales to recollect himself before training his eyes back on Hunk. She starts walking away from him, turning her head and breaking eye contact at the last possible second. Hunk has no choice to follow her up the stairs and down a hallway to what's most likely her room.
As they enter the room, Hunk has no words to describe it rather than... cute. Instead of turning a proper light on, she just turns on a string of lights set up all along her room. The walls are a baby blue and her bed set is baby pink. It matches Romelle's personality so perfectly. Romelle grabs Hunk's hands leading him towards her bed. She pushes him gently until he's sat on the edge. She then goes further until he's laid down with just his feet hanging off the bed.
Romelle climbs slowly into his lap. Her hair is falling down around her face beautifully. Hunk can't help himself from reaching up and brushing his fingers through. In the dark room only lit by the moon coming through the window and the fairy lights, Romelle looks beautiful. It's almost unbelievable that Hunk has such a pretty girl literally on his lap.
Romelle leans down and connects their lips for the first time since they left the bar. She leads the kiss, Hunk too unexperienced to really know what to do. He hesitantly puts his hands on Romelle's waist, and she's so small he could maybe fit his hands all around her. They keep kissing and eventually Romelle leaves a trail of kissing down Hunk's jawline to his neck where she starts kissing and sucking.
Hunk is simply enjoying himself, trying not to overthink anything or psyche himself out. It would be so easy for him to spiral in that direction, but Romelle doesn't deserve that. He doesn't want to make her feel less because of his own mental breakdown. With that, he focuses on keeping calm and breathing steady.
That is, until he feel something suspiciously wet on his neck. Like a steady stream getting in his hair a bit as well. Hunk opens his eyes and adjusts his grip on Romelle to pull her head out of his neck so he can look at her. Fuck... she's crying! Gah, Hunk had messed up somehow, he probably wasn't doing the right thing or saying the right stuff. Of course, this wouldn't last for him. He's not good enough for someone like Romelle.
Suddenly he's breathing really heavily, and panic sets in. Romelle sniffles and rubs the tears off her face, not noticing the panicky state of Hunk. Romelle crawls off his lap, sitting next to him on the bed. Hunk sits up and stares down at his hands in an attempt to regain control. He can't really breath, and it feels like the room is crushing in on him. Like all the air is gone and its just empty space waiting to collapse. It's then as Hunk's breath gets louder and faster that Romelle realizes what's going on.
"Hunk?" She calls out, waiting for a response. Hunk doesn't say anything, only reaches his hands up and pulls the head band off his head. The room is spiraling around him. Why did he drink so much? He should never do that again. It's getting harder and harder to breath, he's going to die. He's going to die an hour after having his first kiss, next to the girl who's already crying because he fucked up so bad. He's just going to choke up and die, so fucking pathetic. Hunk finds his hands wound up in his hair, trying to grab onto anything to ground himself. Maybe he just deserves to die.
"Hunk, calm down. Just take deep breaths with me." Romelle tries to calm him down, rubbing circles on his back. She's never really done this before, what the hell is she supposed to do!
Hunk has tears falling down his cheeks now, and it doesn't take him long to be choke sobbing between breaths. Romelle almost feels like she should call someone, maybe Pidge? Or 911, something!
"Just breath with me, count to ten. It's gonna be okay." Romelle moves to crouch in front of Hunk, holding onto his hands and forcing eye contact. Hunk counts to ten slowly and between sobs, but his gasps for air are becoming noticeably less frequent. By the time he reaching ten, he can mostly breath again. The room feels still, but heavy. Clearly, Hunk and Romelle have a lot to talk about.