The White Lion - VLD
Allura was different since her return from Oriande. Calmer, more pensive than before she left. Hunk wondered what she had experienced there. Whatever it was, it differed from Emperor Lotor's experience. That much was obvious. Where Allura was pensive following what happened in the mythical realm that - to Hunk's admittedly limited understanding - was basically Altean heaven, the Emperor seemed frustrated for the most part. Maybe it was the strain of politics and the pressure he put on himself to bring an end to the War, but something told Hunk that wasn't all it was.
Though many believed the contrary, Hunk was no fool. He might not be the best fighter and maybe he'd rather stay on the ground than fly an aerial battle but he was a good, a great mechanic and he understood how people worked. He had survived lessons from the Emperor's governess and been able to apply those lessons to Voltron's advantage, a fact many had the tendency to forget. Keith wouldn't have, a quiet voice in the back of his head insisted. Keith would probably have been right beside him during those lessons.
It had been chance and circumstance that had led to his forming a friendship with the red (former red? The lion switcheroo still confused him sometimes) paladin. Hunk had wanted to try out some of the more obscure-appearing ingredients from the castle's massive pantry in peace, so he often occupied the kitchen late at night, when the rest was sleeping. One of those nights, Keith had wandered in. He had learned then, that his fellow paladin often had trouble sleeping and had rather excellent taste in both food and beverages. Quickly, a routine had been established between them. Whenever Keith couldn't sleep, he would come join Hunk in the kitchen and help taste test his experiments and in turn, Hunk would lend Keith an open ear and judgement-free understanding. He could truly say the Half-Galra had become his closest friend.
His experience with Keith, especially with Keith's handling of his dual nature had given Hunk enough understanding to realise the Emperor struggled with his nature at least as much. That was part of what had brought Hunk to where he was right now. In the Castle library, working his way through Altean recipe books. Learning Altean and its script had been a struggle but he'd pulled through. It would be well worth the smiles.
Some of the techniques described in the recipe Hunk had to first research in other books but in the end, he was proud to say he had managed to make a genuine Altean meal. After carefully plating and arranging the dish according to the instructions of yet another book, this one from the etiquette section of the library, Hunk decided to take the plates to their recipients. They'd likely skip dinner again otherwise, too absorbed in working on the Sincline ships.
In the hangar, the two royals were busily working on the ships, though Hunk could see the covert glances Allura kept throwing at the Emperor.
"Sorry to bother you, but I thought you'd like some dinner" Hunk announced his presence. Both turned to him at his words. He put the plates down on a nearby crate, leaving cutlery next to them. It was truly satisfying to see the way Allura's eyes light up when he lifted the covers.
"Is that arán ác sáile bruite ?"
"Yes" Hunk smiled "I've been studying the culinary section of the library. I thought you might like something from home"
"Thank you Hunk. Truly" The warmth in Allura's words and smile was a joy to behold.
"Oh, by the way, the dark rimmed plate is for the Emperor. I substituted the labhandar for marós , I wasn't sure if you had the galran aversion to it."
The dish in question comprised round, approximately finger-thick flatbread accompanied by boiled meat that reminded him of venison, glazed with juniberry honey and labhandar . Side dishes were a thick, cream-like sauce, though there was no actual dairy in it, and a salad made up of steamed nuts, plum-like fruit he couldn't recall the name of, and a leafy vegetable akin to fresh spinach in taste and radish greens in appearance.
Far more interesting than Allura's reaction though was the Emperor's. For a man so very good at keeping a poker face, his emotions were rather easy to read right now. He looked touched. Like he had never been given such a simple kindness.
"Well, I'll leave you to it then" Hunk made his exit.
The following days Hunk watched the Emperor more closely. What he learned was… disconcerting. The only time the Emperor seemed anywhere close to true tranquility was when Allura was close, her mere presence seemed to soothe him but even then he'd still be wound tighter than a spring coil. But when the Princess (Though in all technicality it should likely be queen, shouldn't it?) was focused on him, the Emperor was at peace.
It was, quite unsurprisingly, a late night in the kitchen that made Hunk privy to exactly what was going on.
He was trying out some recipes he'd roughly translated from galran (Though admittedly, it was mostly guess work. His galran sucked) when the Emperor wandered in. The look on his face was one Hunk had seen on Keith's many a time. So instead of saying something, he took a moment while the meat sauce was simmering and prepared some warm mead with a dash of milk and a pinch of a galran spice mixture he had found in the pantry one day. It worked wonders on Keith and he had a feeling it would work on the Emperor as well. The Half-Galra looked at him questioningly.
"I thought you could use something like this" Hunk examined and turned back to his cooking.
Soon after, a soft purring filled the room. Hunk smiled. Guess that feeling was right , he thought. While Keith did not have the second set of vocal chords full Galra possessed and therefore could not purr, he and Hunk had pored over any books the library had on the Galra one night shortly after Keith discovered the truth about his mother. Apparently, much like cats, Galra could purr and did so to soothe themselves or others or to express content.
With a smile Hunk took the meat sauce from the stove and poured it over some scrambled blue-green eggs. When he put the pan away, he pushed one of the other dishes he'd finished, some sort of grilled red meat with something that vaguely resembled cream, over to the Emperor.
"If you like to try. I have found, your majesty, that food often helps with all kinds of trouble."
The Emperor released some sort of mildly amused snort. "No need for titles, paladin. Lotor will do just fine." He did take some of the offered food though.
Hunk grinned. "Call me Hunk."
The Emp- Lotor smiled back. Then his mouth twitched. "The peirsil is a… bold choice" he remarked.
"I know, right? It confused me, too, but that's what the recipe says." Hunk shrugged.
"Are you quite sure?"
"Honestly? Not that much. My galran isn't very good" Hunk brought the recipe book over to the table. "Here, this is the recipe."
Lotor took a look at it.
"You mistranslated this. What you need is duilleoga sáiste , not peirsil . Their galran names are rather similar." He explained to Hunk.
"Well that certainly makes more sense. Thanks. I'll try that again." The paladin turned around and busied himself with preparing some more meat, this time with the right seasoning. "You know, feel free to try any of the other stuff. Just tell me what you think." After a moment, he added. "If you want someone to talk, I'll be happy to lend an ear. No judgement."
For a long while Lotor was silent, then he asked "Why are you cooking galran recipes? Especially when you struggle with the language?"
"I like cooking and exploring new cuisines. And I can make Earth food for us Paladins and Altean food for Coran and Allura to cheer them up. I thought I ought to be able to do the same for you. Sometimes you just need the comfort of food from home. Especially when you lost that home. Also, I wanted to surprise Keith with something galran when he returns. Just to see his reaction, you know. We're still not sure how many galran tendencies he inherited."
"Is this Keith how you knew about the Méad le bainne ?" There was some curiosity in Lotor's voice.
"Yeah. He's got trouble sleeping quite a lot and I like staying up to try out recipes. We found it in a recipe book by chance and it helped so I theorised it was likely due to his galran half."
Lotor nodded. For a while, they were silent once more. The only sound came from Hunk's cooking. Then Lotor spoke.
"You needn't trouble yourself with Galran cuisine on my account. The empire hasn't been my home in a very long time, if it ever was."
Hunk sighed. "Just because you don't identify with the empire as your father led it, doesn't mean you have to forsake your entire culture, you know."
"It's not my culture" the words were low, sounded almost like he was trying to convince himself.
"You know, for someone who fought tooth and nail to rule them, I don't think you like the Galra much." Hunk remarked. And wasn't that the crux of it. A lot of things just became a lot clearer.
"I had my reasons. I don't have to like them to rule them. I just have to make sure they don't destroy the universe."
Putting the finished meat in front of Lotor, Hunk said "They're still your people. You are half-Galra." There was no malice in his voice.
"They are not my people. I am not like them. They're not." Lotor's words were hardly audible now, but Hunk heard him anyway. Yes, he was confident he knew what happened now. At least to Lotor.
"You failed, didn't you? In Oriande. There was some kind of test and you failed it. And Allura didn't. From the way she and Coran describe it, Altea seems like the polar opposite of the Galra. And now you fear you're not good enough, not Altean enough." Hunk sighed as he busied his hands with folding over dough.
"I faced the White Lion and I won. But I failed anyway. I made the galran choice. Victory or death. Surrender was not an option I saw. And thus, I failed. Too Galra to learn the secrets of Oriande and yet too Altean to fit into the empire. My first instinct was destruction. If that is my first instinct, how can I not destroy everything I touch?" Lotor explained. "Allura… she can heal with a single touch now, did you know? She is everything an Altean should be, a worthy queen of her people. She made the selfless choice. The right choice."
Hunk put the dough away to rest. Then he sat down at the table with Lotor.
"You know, from what I understand, there wasn't really a right or wrong choice to make. Just a choice. I think you have this idealised version of Altea in your head, this unreachable ideal that you can never truly embody because it never truly existed. And you blame yourself and the Galra for that, you hate them for that. But you're not lesser for being half Galra nor are you greater for being part Altean. You just are . You are not destined to a path by virtue of your blood. Galra can build, you build an entire empire that spans vast amounts of the universe. Alteans can destroy, in a fight Allura is lethal and when she's pissed, things get demolished quite a lot. And you're not just one or the other. You're both. You're seeing yourself in this warped way as if you can only be either Galra or Altean and it's tearing you apart. And when you fought against the lion, were you truly thinking of destruction? Or were you afraid? Of what it meant, of death before you realised your goals, of losing? Fear's not actually all that bad, you know. It keeps you alive, stops you from doing something stupid. I'm afraid all the time. Doesn't stop me though. Just makes me a bit more cautious." He paused. "Maybe that's what that fight was about. You fighting yourself, your potential. You could probably be the greatest Emperor in the history of the Galra, a peace maker, the bringer of a golden age, if you realise your full potential. And take it from an engineer: nothing realises its full potential if it ignores half of itself."
Lotor looked at him pensively. "You put a lot of stock in the idea that the Lion was not just a guardian to keep out the unworthy."
Hunk shrugged. "Frankly, the Lion reminds me of you. From what I've gathered, it's a fighter, a warrior first and foremost and yet distinctly tied to Altea, which apparently was this peace-loving, progressive place. Sounds like you. Galra are born warriors, Altea prided itself on diplomacy. You can do both." Then he grinned. "Also, the hair. I mean, with that mane you look like a lion"
The joke worked. Lotor smiled a bit. It was true though. This late at night, his white hair was no longer tightly combed back and held there, it tumbled freely in wild curls around his face.
"You have given me a lot to think about. Where did you learn to do this?" He asked Hunk finally.
"You're not the first half-Galra with an identity crisis. I tried to help Keith come to terms with it when he found out." Hunk stood up. "It's getting early. We should head to sleep" he quickly cleaned up the kitchen.
Just before his and Lotor's ways parted at the door, the emperor turned to him once more. "Thank you." was all he said, then he was gone, off to his room.