I was suffering from some pretty serious sleep debt and everyone knows Space Dad needs a break so here's the fluffiest thing I've written probably ever.
When Allura first realized that Shiro wasn't sleeping nearly as much as the other paladins she thought maybe she'd gotten human dormancy needs wrong. So she waited, and observed, and came to the conclusion that no Shiro wasn't some outlier to the human species he was just stubborn and worried about his team at the expense of himself.
As a princess she understood that completely, but she couldn't have the head of Voltron passing out mid fight and so she decided to do something about it.
"Allura? What's wrong? Can't sleep? I could smell the sorpor flowers from the main deck," Coran said, his eyebrows shooting up when he found her in the kitchen at a late hour when all five humans had gone to bed.
Or so he'd thought. Allura knew for a fact that Shiro wasn't sleeping, he was sitting with his lion meditating. That was some kind of rest, she supposed, but not the kind he needed. Bonding with his lion even through meditation was going to tax his body and the weariness in his eyes had gotten strong enough.
"No, I'm fine. The tea isn't for me. I'm concerned about Shiro. We cannot have the black paladin suffering any kind of disadvantage and he has been working too hard." She tapped the spoon against the side of the cup and set it down.
"Ahh, good looking out for him then."
Allura took Shiro the drink personally, respectfully waiting just inside his peripheral vision for him to sense her and draw out of the meditation. He was in pretty deep if the even inhales and utter stillness were any indication.
After a long time he finally did pull out, but it took him a moment to realize she was there. He appeared disoriented and more tired than ever, leaning his elbows on his knees and sighing heavily, rubbing at his eyes. Allura felt a twinge at the way his shoulders were bowed and his spine curved with weariness. Normally Shiro had such impeccable posture..
"Shiro?" she tried quietly, and he looked up suddenly, straightening his back and blinking like he was trying to appear composed. The mussed hair he'd just run his fingers through gave him away.
"Allura." He got up, that spark of paladin readiness in his attitude even if his body was begging him to rest. "What can I do for you?"
"You looked chilled," she lied badly, holding the tea out. "I figured you could use the heat. It's what my father used to make me on cold nights."
Shiro smiled softly at her and accepted the cup, breathing in the pale purple steam. "It certainly smells good. Thank you."
Allura smiled and nodded, slipping away as Shiro took the first few swallows and leaned against his lion's leg. He may fall asleep against its paw, but at least he'd be sleeping. Allura felt accomplished.
That is, until she walked past the training room two hours later and had to do a double take and backtrack. She looked through the thick glass and folded her arms, staring incredulously at the workout floor.
Shiro was training against three bots and a floating sentry. At the same time.
Allura couldn't believe her eyes. Not only was the black paladin not sleeping, he seemed tense and wound up. He was quicker than normal and practically vibrated on his feet when he was forced to stay still for more than a second. A dose of tea that strong would have put even her father out for twelve hours minimum. How this human was managing to stay conscious let alone train with such an intense focus was far beyond her.
He felled all three of his opponents and lept high enough to throw his other leg out and kick the sentry clear across the room. He landed strangely and she caught him biting his lip as he moved to get back up, but the limp was minor and went away as he walked across the room towards a water dispenser. He leaned against the wall and Allura shook her head as she watched his fingers drum in a nervous gesture against the cup. Well, she wouldn't be trying the tea again. Maybe his own body would call the shots. He had to sleep sometime.
Out of all the Paladins, Pidge was the first to notice that Shiro wasn't well rested. Lance was the last.
"Hey guys, does anyone know what's up with Shiro?" Pidge asked, putting her utensil back against her plate. They were all having breakfast, minus their leader who was in another part of the ship discussing options for their next mission with Allura and Coran.
"You noticed it too, huh?" Kieth asked.
"You think he's trying too hard with his lion?" Hunk suggested.
"Something's up with Shiro?" Lance said.
"No, Lance. The dark circles under his eyes and the increasing instances of bad posture are perfectly healthy signs," Pidge deadpanned.
"So he's not sleeping, what are we going to do about it?" Keith asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I don't think going up to him and staging an intervention is going to work. Shiro is a grown man with his own schedule. If he doesn't want to sleep he isn't going to."
"I don't think want is the word you need here," Hunk said, turning his glass around and around on the table thoughtfully. "I mean, of course he wants to sleep. Maybe he can't? Or doesn't feel like he can?"
"He is under a lot of pressure as the leader," Lance said. "We should try to take some of that off of him. Call a few of the shots for a change."
"He'd get less sleep if you started calling the shots," Keith muttered.
Lance threw him a dirty look, scooping a huge spoonful of the morning goop threateningly. Keith raised his eyebrows in a 'do it' kind of expression. Lance was about to when Pidge kicked him under the table and scowled.
"Hey, not about you two right now."
Lance set his spoon down grudgingly.
"Okay, seriously though guys what are we going to do?" Hunk pressed. "Aside from the fact that we need him to pilot the black lion and be the literal head of Voltron, he's our friend. I think it's even safe for me to say he's family. He's hurting himself or something is hurting him and we gotta look out for each other in or out of uniform."
"I'll talk to him, when I get an opportunity to bring it up," Kieth volunteered.
"I'll work on testing some new dishes, something that will fill him up and calm him down. Food comas are a highly effective cure for insomnia."
"Could be an issue with his circadian rhythms. I could see about programming his room with a timer or some Earth sounds. Maybe space is just too quiet—I know I slept better when I started imagining crickets at night."
"I can help you with his room too, if you find anything else that could be keeping him awake," Hunk offered. "I have all kinds of tricks up my sleeve to bend environmental control to my iron will."
"Guys, you are waaaay over complicating things," Lance said, a smirk on his face as he propped his feet up and tilted his chair back on two legs.
"Really," Pidge said, narrowing her eyes at him. "So what's wrong with Shiro, Lance? I'm sure you have the answer since you only now realized he is having trouble at all."
"That's hurtful, Pidge, but I'll forgive you all your blindness. He's lonely. He spent a year in captivity and now he's with us—when was the last time you think he slept next to another person?"
This time Keith squinted at Lance, leaning an elbow against the table as he stared at the blue paladin. "You're not serious. You think Shiro isn't sleeping because he doesn't have someone in bed with him? Since when do normal humans absolutely need someone else in bed with them in order to get to sleep?"
"Hey, just because your romantic capacity is about the size of my fingernail doesn't mean Shiro's the same way. And I think it's pretty insensitive that you're suggesting he's some kind of robot. It's only his arm that's metal, Keith. Not his heart."
Pidge sighed and rubbed at the space between her eyes while Hunk gave Lance a mildly worried look.
"I didn't say he was emotionless I said-" Kieth huffed, his bangs puffing up with the exhale. "You know what, never mind. The point is Shiro doesn't need a...cuddle buddy to sleep. He isn't suffering from some crippling broken heart because he has the bed to himself. It's probably a relief, after spending all day around you."
"You don't know that."
"Well neither do you!" Kieth said, exasperated.
"I have a sense for these things," Lance said, studying his fingernails. "I know."
"Or maybe," Kieth pushed, a sly smile coloring his words. "Maybe you're reading the signals wrong. Maybe he's not sleeping because he and Allura are keeping each other awake." He waggled his eyebrows and Lance's head flew around so fast it was in danger of snapping off.
Pidge scrubbed a hand down her face and got up, walking away just as Hunk got the same idea.
"I'm going to go check out Shiro's room, do some programming," she said.
"I'll come with you."
They hurried away with Lance and Keith's escalating scuffle sounding behind them.
"Have you SEEN Shiro? He could snap you in half! If Allura is looking at anyone on this ship it's him!"
"You take that bACK!"
Something broke and Hunk sighed as they headed out of hearing range. "I apologize for my gender."
"Oh that's not gender, that's just Lance," Pidge assured. "You and my brother were never anything like that and Shiro's way more level headed."
"So what do you think is bothering him?" Hunk asked, turning the corner and following Pidge as she peeked tentatively into Shiro's quarters to make sure he wasn't there.
"We're clear," she said, heading inside. She folded her arms and looked around, thinking. "Honestly, I can't think why he wasn't having trouble sooner. What isn't wrong?" She tapped at the environmental panel and hefted her laptop up with one arm, opening it and tapping to sync up. "We're in another galaxy, the fate of pretty much everybody is on our shoulders, and Shiro's the head of all of it. Even if he wasn't the leader he is the oldest besides Allura and Coran." She shrugged one shoulder and adjusted her glasses. "That makes you feel responsible."
She made some adjustments to the temperature settings, programming things to dim or brighten on a more Earth based algorithm instead of the Altean settings the castle used normally.
Hunk was pacing the room, listening to Pidge while he looked for other things that might be bothering Shiro.
"Well his bed is right under the vent. I know that would drive me nuts."
"Some people like a fan on them at night. Better leave the bed where it is—leave it to Shiro to move it if he wants to."
"Yeah..." Hunk sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, settling his chin in his hand and bumping his foot against the nightstand as he thought. "I just wish there was some kind of universal cure for PTSD. We can make him as comfortable as possible but if those nightmares don't stop-"
Pidge glanced over her shoulder at him, the laptop reflecting off her glasses.
"What?" Hunk said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, wondering if he'd misdiagnosed. "You don't think he has nightmares?"
"Oh no, I know he does. We all know it. Even Lance. Shiro definitely has PTSD, I'm just about as lost on what to do about it as you are, that's all..." She tapped a few more settings and disconnected, shutting her laptop with a click and sitting next to Hunk on the bed. "It sucks knowing your family is in danger and not being able to reach them."
Hunk looked at her, his heart panging as she stared at the floor.
"Hey," He said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll help him through this. And we'll find your dad and brother," he said gently.
Pidge gave a sniff and rubbed a fist into her eye, glancing up at him and leaning into his side. She sighed.
Two days later, they were all on the bridge, and Shiro was looking more tired than ever. Keith had been trying to hint at Shiro that he had things under control for the last 48 hours, but even with the rest of the team ganging up Shiro was not taking the hint.
Pidge had locked in the environmental changes, but quickly realized that Shiro probably didn't spend enough time in his room to have them properly click into his subconscious that he needed to sleep. Hunk had worked on the mechanics of the heating system to divert more of the heat into Shiro's room because he theorized that the cell Shiro had been kept in was probably cold so warmth might help draw his mind away from his time in captivity. Lance kept insisting that Shiro needed some kind of girlfriend, but since that was both unwanted and unpractical he settled with collecting pillows from around the ship.
"If we use Pidge's programming on this next ring of planets we should have a new target," Shiro was saying, looking at the map from his spot next to Allura. The Altean glanced at him, settling her hands on her hips and sighing.
"Yes, Shiro we can do that, but I don't.." she cleared her throat and Shiro glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Princess?"
"I don't think you're ready," she patched over lamely. "You need more time as—a team. Forming Voltron can't be such a struggle as we get closer to the center of Zarkon's web."
Shiro's expression shifted to something confused and slightly hurt, but he closed his mouth and folded his arms, glancing at the floor. "I suppose more practice doesn't hurt. You do know a lot more about Voltron than we do, and we're the ones operating it."
"I'm not-" Allura scrambled to divert, realizing she'd pushed Shiro in the opposite direction of what she meant. "What I meant was I think you need more rest. Before we rush into the next battle. The castle isn't ready, and the lions do have to recharge sometime."
Shiro nodded. "Okay, then we'll train among ourselves while we wait."
"I can head some sparring exercises," Keith said, trying his best to step in. Allura shot him a grateful expression over Shiro's shoulder. "You wanted me to learn more about heading the team, right? Let me take this one on. You go relax for a while."
"I appreciate that Keith but we can't train as a team if one of our members is missing," Shiro said, stepping down from the platform and heading past them.
"Oh, forgot to tell you the training room has a virus I'm still working on purging it," Pidge said loudly, spinning her console chair around.
"I actually promised Allura I'd help work on the ships engines," Hunk said, almost talking over Pidge. They glanced at each other and Shiro stopped, looking from one to the other and settling his hands on his hips.
"Guys, what's going on?"
Lance bit his lip and inhaled to say something when Coran threw his hands up. "Oh for the sake of the nebula. Shiro, you aren't sleeping enough and we're worried. Please go to bed for a while."
Everyone looked at Coran except Shiro, who was glancing around at the group.
"That's what this is about? You think I'm overtired?"
"We know you are, Shiro," Allura said, ever the diplomat. "You make sure everyone else is resting and forget about yourself. Please, just for a while leave things up to us."
"I am getting rest guys, I promise," Shiro said. "But if it will make you feel better I'll make more of an effort, okay?"
"When?" Pidge asked, gesturing in her frustration. "You haven't been back to your room in two days."
Shiro frowned. "How did you-"
"Because we've been changing things about it and you haven't noticed," Hunk said flatly.
Shiro stared at him. "Guys, what did you do to my room?"
"They're just trying to help," Allura placated.
That had Shiro really concerned. "I-" he cleared his throat. "Excuse me."
He really didn't know what to think when the door to his quarters swished open. A rush of very warm air hit him and he glanced inside, raising an eyebrow and staring. Soft cricket sounds and other night effects were coming from somewhere near the floor and his bed had at least five extra pillows. The lights were far dimmer than normal and a large box was sitting on the table next to the bed. Apprehensive about what he might find he went inside and knelt in front of the box, pressing the button on the top. A door whisked open and a prepared plate of food kept at a safe temperature was sitting inside. Next to it was a warm mug of something that smelled like chocolate. Around the box were electric makeshift candles. If he didn't know better he'd think they were setting him up for a date.
Shiro stared for a long time, processing until the absurdity and the serious effort at care just bubbled up inside and he found himself chuckling. It went through his whole body until he was sitting on the floor against the wall, laughing with full body tremors, his head in his hand. That was how the others found him, sitting on the floor in a fit of uncontrollable giggles, wiping tears from his eye with his mechanical hand.
"We broke him," Lance muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
Shiro hiccuped a little and leaned his head against the wall, getting himself under control. He was still tired beyond reason, but he felt much lighter. He sighed, catching his breath back and looking up at his team. He watched their concerned faces for a moment with a swell of fondness. "You guys are great. Thank you."
"You're not mad?" Keith ventured.
"No, why would I be? I mean, this is all completely unnecessary but thank you. Actually the last two nights I fell asleep in my lion while I was meditating, if I'm being totally honest." He got up, crossing his arms and smiling with amusement at the bed. "Who had the pillow and blanket idea?"
Lance slowly raised his hand.
"Okay, well we needed more team building, right?" Shiro said, moving the food box to a ledge and pushing his nightstand over with a grunt. "Come on, nothing better to do as a team than build a blanket fort." He pulled the top duvet off the bed and tossed it at Pidge, smiling.
They all stared at him for a second as he began shoving the bed over, but the shock only took a moment to wear off.
Soon they were all clamoring over each other, arranging pillows, grabbing more supplies from the other rooms and arguing about the best way to arrange things. Lance and Keith had to be separated so they could stop changing each others progress, but eventually they got the pillows in just the right arrangement. Shiro took over tacking the blankets down so they were creating a cozy cave, and Pidge worked with Hunk to rig the candles into something more like fairy lights. An hour later and the "best blanket fort in all the universe" according to Lance, was filling up most of Shiro's room.
"Okay, come on you guys," Shiro said, pulling his vest and boots off and falling backwards into the middle. He lay there with his arms thrown out. "If I have to nap so does everyone else."
"You're serious?" Lance said, raising an eyebrow.
"Do I not look serious?" Shiro teased, patting the pillows. "Come on, this is way too big for just me."
It was another several minutes of clamor and name calling and shuffling and complaining, but eventually they were all settled in. Pidge had her head resting on Shiro's chest and her body sprawled over much more space than she should be able to take up. The space was far too big for just Shiro but far too small for all five, so everyone ended up using some part of everyone else as a pillow.
It was really very snug. Luckily, Pidge had re-adjusted the temperature settings so the room was comfortably cool as the body heat from all five paladins filled the fort. Shiro didn't expect anyone to actually get much sleep, but he felt amazingly relaxed. He lay in the middle of his new family and smiled up at the fairy lights, resting his flesh hand in Pidge's hair. He ruffled it affectionately.
"Thanks guys."
For the next six hours, miraculously, they slept.