Heith

Heith is the slash ship between Hunk and Keith from the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom.

Season 1
THE RISE OF VOLTRON

Hunk, along with Lance and Pidge, go to investigate a crash-landed ship. Realizing it’s Shiro who crashed, a plan is being conceived to rescue him. Large explosions go off in the distance. Pidge uses her binoculars and sees a man, deeming the explosions to be a distraction for him. Lance takes notice of it being Keith running for the quarantined tent containing Shiro. Lance runs after him, with Hunk questioning, “Are you sure?”

Once Shiro is rescued, Hunk takes notice of the incoming Garrison personnel. Along with the others, he runs back to Keith asking if they can “catch a ride with you.” With the new heavier load of weight abroad Keith’s hoverbike, he can’t steer it on his own. Not knowing his name, Keith tells Hunk, “Big man, lean left!” Hunk does, and they move away from the closing in jeeps. Coming up to a cliff, Keith tells him, “Big man, lean right!” Hunk does as he’s told again. Hunk is first to take notice of the incoming cliff, when he announces it, Keith simply says, “Yep,” before diving down the edge.

The morning following the rescue, everyone is inside Keith’s shack. After Hunk admits to going through Pidge’s diary, he realizes the numbers in it are “fraunhofer lines,” to which Keith responses, “Fraun-who?” Hunk explains how he could build a “Voltron Geiger Counter.” Hunk pulls out a map, to which Keith grabs it from his hands, positioning it up against his own map, seeing the lines on Hunk’s map match the top of the canyon valleys on his. Following this, they and others head out in search for the Blue Lion, which they locate later that day.

FALL OF THE CASTLE OF LIONS

It’s during a celebration party at the castle the Arusians are preforming a small protection. At the end, they say their cheer. Hearing this, Hunk walks over to where Keith is standing with Lance. He tells them they need their own team cheer. Lance tries coming up with one, with Keith not understanding. Lance stares at him, before telling him, “We’ll work on it.” As he turns away, Keith turns to Hunk and shrugs. Lance soon gags on his drink, completely disgusted by its taste. Lance is left standing there shuddering. Keith and Hunk can be seen in the back investigating Lance, even poking at him and tipping him over.

Not long after, Keith takes a sip of the same drink that Lance had earlier. Completely disgusted, Keith spits it out, only for Hunk to be goofing around with horderves, causing Keith to forget about the awful taste in his mouth and laugh genuinely for the first time in the show.

Season 2
THE BELLY OF THE WEBLUM

A plan is created to defeat Zarkon, the evil Galra emperor, though there is much preparation that needs to be completed first. The team splits up– Keith and Hunk are to go and revive scaultrite for a massive teledev. Taking the Yellow Lion, Allura wormholes them away.

As they’re flying toward their destination–a Weblum–Hunk complains how he’s always seems to be paired with the Galra, the latest being Keith not long after his Galran heritage became known. Hunk asks Keith “how Galra are you?” Keith answers he doesn’t know. Wanting to stay on the task at hand, Keith asks for the video Coran uploaded to the Yellow Lion so they’d know how to collect the scaultrite from the beast. As they watch the 10,000 year old video, it cuts in and out, leaving out vital information.

It’s not long until they come up to dead planets–which is what a Weblum eats. Hunk panics because they have no idea what to do. While Hunk flies, Keith goes through the video as best as he can. Hunk lands the Yellow Lion on the creature’s back. Using their jetpacks, Hunk and Keith fly through the monster’s gill, landing on its insides. As Hunk looks around, he starts freaking himself out, so Keith asks if he’s going to be alright. Taking a deep breath, Hunk says he will be. Keith pleases his hand on Hunk’s arm and tells him, “Good, I gotta be able to count on you.” Keith follows up with, “Besides, no one knows an explosive digestive tract like you.” Hunk laughs at this, asking if Keith “just made a joke.” Keith otherwise ignores him, looking for a way around the stomach acid. The Weblum’s stomach bacteria starts to attack them, as they’re “food.” During the attack, they become separated, through their helmet communication, Keith tells Hunk to meet him in the third stomach.

When they meet back up in the third stomach, Keith as someone else with him, who happens to also be Galra, which leads to Hunk joking if all Galra know each other. Keith is unamused by this. Hunk questions if they should be recusing a Galra solider, to which Keith reminds him that they’re Paladins of Voltron, meaning they can’t leave people to die “even if they are Galra.”

Knowing they still have to get the scaultrite, Hunk thinks of a plan where he has to be on the outside of the Weblum to trigger its “laser puke.” Hunk is successful as the Weblum fires at him, allowing Keith to gather bags full of scaultrite. With the stranger gone, and back in the Yellow Lion, Keith tells Hunk, ''“By the way, Hunk, you really came through in the clutch back there. Without you, the mission would have been a failure.” Hunk thanks him and jokes, that “turning Galra has made you a better human.” Keith loudly tells him, “Gah! I didn’t just turn Galra!”'' With that, they head back for the castleship.

STAYIN’ ALIVE

This episode starts right where “The Belly of the Weblum” left off, with Keith shouting, ''“Gah! I didn’t just turn Galra!” Keith is still leaning against Hunk’s seat when Hunk eyes him closely, which leads to Keith asking if he’s “trying to see if my skin is purple.” Hunk slowly tells him, “No…”'' Moments later, Allura calls them, telling them she needs them right away. Allura wormholes them, along with Shiro, Lance and Pidge to her location to fight the Galra robeast the team previously fought while on the Balmera.

Realizing the team needs Voltron in order to defeat it, much like before, Hunk is left alone to distract the robeast while Shiro, Lance and Pidge go retrieve their Lions, before Keith can retrieve his. Hunk panics at this, when Pidge tries to reassure him that he has Keith with him, Hunk tells her, “Yeah, but he’s in here with me!” Throughout their fight, Keith instructs Hunk on how to avoid the beast – “Bank left!” “Barrel roll!” “Nose dive!” – which leads to Hunk telling him, “Quit backlion driving!” Lance shows up in the Blue Lion, giving them a chance to get Keith back to the castle for the Red Lion when they’re hit by the beast, descending fast. Keith shouts for Hunk to “do something,” but the Yellow Lion isn’t responding. Shiro–while in the Black Lion–swoops down and grips the Yellow Lion, carrying Keith and Hunk to the castleship. Lance and Pidge are in their own trouble, so Shiro leaves to aid them, leaving the Yellow Lion near the castleship. Keith leaves the Lion and jetpacks the rest of the way. Hunk chuckles at this, but when Keith is already gone, he says, “Wait, are you serious?”

With the robeast defeated and the team back on the castleship, Keith asks Allura if she’s heard from Coran yet. She dully gives him an answer. Allura turns to Hunk, thanking him for getting the team the much need scaultrite. Hunk is quit to point out that Keith was there too.

Season 1
The Rise of Voltron Return of the Gladiator
 * Before the team leaned how to form Voltron, Hunk crashes the Yellow Lion into Keith’s Red Lion, yelling “Combine!”
 * As Myzax attacks, Hunks runs to take cover, Keith drags him back, saying, “Not you.”

Season 2
Fall of the Castle of Lions Eye of the Storm Space Mall The Belly Of The Weblum Stayin’ Alive
 * Hunk makes Keith laugh genuinely for the first time in the show.
 * Hunk wakes in a blind panic, Keith tells him, “You woke yourself up snoring.”
 * As Lance, Pidge, Keith and Hunk are running from mall security, Keith grabs Hunk’s hand to make sure he’s on Kaltenecker the Cow.
 * Hunk talks to Keith about his insecurities about being Galra and trying to assure him that Allura doesn't hate him.
 * Keith comforts Hunk when they are stuck in the stomach of the Weblum, making a joke about Hunk throwing up half the time and Hunk responding both shocked and pleasantly surprised at the joke, thinking it’s funny.
 * When they return to the Yellow Lion, Keith compliments Hunk.
 * Allura turns to Hunk, thanking him for getting the team the much need scaultrite. Hunk is quick to point out that Keith was there too.

Season 7
The Journey Within
 * Hunk seems to be the main one who tries to keep everyone together since he knows what it’s like to be scared. Keith at first is vulgar and questions why are they even doing there, but Hunk clings onto him and states they are doing what they have to.
 * Hunk is seen dealing with frustration over the situation and how he worries over what has happened to his family. Keith passes by and notices, allowing Hunk vent about his worries and wanting to see his family again. Keith tells him that no matter how many times he feared what they faced, he has never backed down and that his family need him to be strong. This prompts Hunk to hug Keith tightly, causing Keith to react with surprise before smiling softly and hugging him back. Hunk thanks him before the two go out to find Hunk’s parents.

Fanon
Though not as popular as the others, this ship has a pretty large following, and grew steadily between the first two seasons. Fans like to theorize about their past at the Garrison as well as their possible future relationship.

Most analysis for the ship comes from Keith and Hunk’s opposing personalities. Keith is impulsive while Hunk is cautious, Keith is serious while Hunk is more goofy, Keith is the offensive type while Hunk is the defensive.

During “The Belly Of The Weblum,” Keith compliments Hunk. Fans and shippers have pointed out that the way Keith stands and how his voices becomes gentle looks identical to how Lance flirts, making people speculate that Keith was trying to flirt with Hunk.

On AO3, Heith is the 10th most written ship within the Voltron: Legendary Defender tag; Keith’s third most written, and Hunk’s third most written.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Tyler Labine, Hunk’s voice actor, has said that The Belly of the Weblum was where Hunk and Keith’s friendship was fully cemented, and when Hunk realized that he fully liked Keith as a person.

Variations

 * Hallureith refers to the ship between Allura, Keith and Hunk
 * Klunk refers to the ship between Lance, Keith and Hunk
 * Sheithunk refers to the ship between Shiro, Keith and Hunk