Unknown

Lance

"Lance, look at me."

"I'm fine."

"Dude, you're not-" Hunk stops mid-sentence, sighs, and starts over. "I mean, nobody would be fine after that. I feel like we should talk about this."

"About my long-time crush being more interested in my new friend? And not bothering to defend me at all? Or about Matt not finding out who Unknown is because I seem to be the only one who cares?" Lance snaps, glaring down at his script.

"Um, what about all of it?" Hunk makes a general sweeping gesture. "You clearly need to blow some steam off. And while we're at it, why don't we throw in second semester last year, too-"

" No."

Hunk backtracks quickly. "Okay, okay. Maybe not that. But we should-"

"We should practice our lines," Lance says, flipping open his script pointedly. "We only have a few weeks left until we're supposed to be off script, and I don't want to be the one to hold up the rehearsal."

"Lance, Keith just punched Quentin in the face for you!" Hunk exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. "Unknown's been ignoring you, Lotor is super weird, like usual, and Matt and I haven't exactly been crystal clear lately, either. Are you really telling me there's nothing you want to talk about?"

Lance glares, shutting his script again with a dull clap. "You're right," he says. "You haven't been clear with me. And I don't have anything to talk to you about."

Hunk looks pained, like he's being pulled in opposite directions--stuck between a rock and a hard place. "You know I hate not being honest with you," he says. "If I could tell you right now, I would, I swear ..."

"Then why don't you?" Lance asks, standing. He'll practice by himself if he has to.

"It's not my secret to tell," Hunk says, watching Lance with his big, brown eyes. "You have to believe me, man, please..."

"Oh, come on. We never keep secrets from each other. I thought we were close enough to tell the truth about this stuff."

"We are," Hunk promises, rising to his feet as well. "But the thing is... Well, someone else who's close to you asked me to keep quiet."

Lance's glare turns into a frown as he thinks. It can't be Pidge, who would never tell Hunk something without telling Lance as well. Maybe it's Shay, although she and Lance have never been close. Matt is out as well, simply because he has no secrets, aside from the project he's been working on lately.

A thought dawns on him, horrifying and heartbreaking, and he knows that it's true before he even speaks. "Unknown..."

Hunk looks away guiltily, which only seems to make Lance angrier. "You know who Unknown is, don't you?" he snaps, hands clenching into fists. His vision goes blurry for a second, but he blinks it away and continues to glare.

"I can't tell you," Hunk says quietly, his eyes downcast. "Lance, I-"

"You know something about him, then," he accuses, taking a step towards his friend. "I can't believe- And you know how important this is to me, you know how-"

He breaks off part way through the sentence, taking a large, shuddering breath. Hunk refuses to look at him.

"I know he's important to you," he says. "But I couldn't say anything. I promised him, man."

"Do you know who he is?" Lance asks again, but it sounds more like he's begging this time. Hunk shakes his head.

"No," he says, meeting Lance's gaze. "Do you believe me?"