Continued Reality: A Voltron Fanfiction

GROUP CHAT

Hunk puts the finishing touch on top of his freshly-baked quiche — Plarumian berries. He has no idea what a Plarumian is, or why these are called berries. Most berries are sweet or tart, while these are delectably savory. But they add a delicious layer of flavor that is perfect for his quiche, so he doesn't care what they are named or why.

     "This is gonna be the highlight of their meal," Hunk says excitedly. He has been working nonstop on a feast for some visiting dignitaries and he can't wait for them to taste it!

     "Hunk, you have an incoming call," his friend Shay says from the doorway. "Many incoming calls, actually."

     "Can't talk right now, this meal has to be perfect!" Hunk replies without ever taking his eyes off of the quiche.

     "I'm sorry, but the callers are rather insistent. Normally I would not answer for you, but I could not take the continuous beeping any longer. You have been receiving calls all day."

     Hunk sighs. "Okay then, who is it?" But before Shay can respond, realization hits him. "Oh, it's group chat night!" He throws off his apron, and rushes out of the kitchen past Shay.

     "Sorry guys," Hunk says as he pulls up a chair to the screen that now bears the images of Pidge, Lance, and Keith. "It's been a crazy-busy day."

     When everyone else remains silent, Hunk suddenly realizes that they all appear crestfallen. Pidge's glasses are even fogged up with tears. "What's going on, guys? Did I miss something?"

     "We all received some... very bad news today," Keith replies.

     "Bad news? It's worse than bad news," Lance says. "It's terrible news."

     "You guys are scaring me," Hunk says as Pidge starts to sniffle.

     "It's Shiro, Hunk," Lance says. "He's dead..."

     Hunk leans back in his chair, unsure how to process this news. "What? B-but how?"

     "The cause of death is unknown," Keith says, unable to look up as he speaks. "They just found him in a crashed ship."

     Hunk rubs the back of his head. His heart feels heavy, which is not a part of his body that he wants to feel heavy. Sometimes his stomach feels heavy after he's eaten a large meal, but as long as the food was yummy it's a good kind of heavy. But a heavy heart? Not good at all.

     "Geez, this is... I mean, I'm sorry to hear it." His eyes tear up as he adds, "I know how close you were to him, Keith."

     Keith still doesn't meet his eyes. "I... I have to go now. The Blade still has a lot of work to do." Before anyone has time to protest, Keith's image disappears.

     "So... what do we do now?" Hunk asks.

     "Well, the funeral is Sunday at the Garrison," Lance says. "So I guess we'll all see each other then."

     Pidge nods. "But what about Keith?" She asks, her voice shaky.

     "What about him?" Lance says.

     "I know we all cared about Shiro, but Keith is taking it the hardest," Pidge says. "I don't know, I guess I just feel like we should do something for him."

     "Does anyone know his favorite food?" Hunk asks. "I could bring it to the funeral." He knows it isn't much, but food is the best gift he knows to give.

     Lance sighs. "As long as we've known him, there's still so much we don't know about him. And I'm pretty sure he likes it that way."

     "Not necessarily," Pidge says. "He could just not be very good at sharing personal information."

     A somber silence falls between them. After a minute or two, Hunk breaks it by saying, "Do you guys remember when we first met Shiro?"

     "Yeah, it was pretty intense," Lance says, actually managing a small smile at the memory.

     "What about the time we all played Monsters and Mana together?" Pidge says with a chuckle. "All Shiro wanted to be was a Paladin!"

     The gang spends the next hour-and-a-half reminiscing about all the great times they had with Shiro. Before long, they don't feel quite as bad as they did.

     "Well, I'd better go," Lance says. "I promised Luis and Lisa that I'd babysit for them tonight."

     "And Matt and I are still working on upgrading Chip," Pidge adds.

     "Okay then," Hunk says. "It was great talking with you guys, as always. I guess... I guess I'll see you Sunday."

     "Yeah, Sunday," Lance says with a frown.

     "See you then," Pidge says, pushing her glasses up.

     After their images disappear from the screen, Hunk stands up and turns around to see Shay watching from the doorway. "I apologize if listening in was rude," she says, "but I could not help but overhear."

     "Nah, it's cool," Hunk says. "I'm actually kind of glad you heard, because now I don't have to tell you that..." To his surprise, he finds that he can't finish his sentence. Reality finally begins to set in. Shiro's gone, he's really gone...

     Shay embraces him tightly as tears begin to fill his eyes.