a/n: AUGUST IS FINALLY HERE! TIME FOR VLD WLW MONTH!

guys, i'm literally so excited to see all the content for vld wlw month! if you have no idea what i'm talking about, it's an event that's being run by user vld-wlw-month on tumblr, and it's a whole month of celebrating voltron wlw! how cool is that?

this is not my best work, i'll admit i had some trouble with this prompt, but i've been working on some prompts for the other days, and i'm really excited for you guys to see those! anyways, enjoy!

-o-O-o-

ship: allura x shay (shayllura)

summary: allura wants to know why everybody is acting so weird about the flower crowns she and shay have made for each other.

*DAY 1: WITH FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR AND STARS IN YOUR EYES*

Without a doubt, Allura's visits to the Balmera was her favorite part of the month.

Waiting for the days to pass by so she could go see her girlfriend wasn't that hard. Sure, it made her wish that time could speed up just a little bit, but it was nothing compared to when she was actually on her way to see Shay. When Allura was in the little pod speeding down to the surface of the Balmera, the seconds seemed to stretch into hours and she itched to open those doors herself when she knew Shay was waiting on the other side.

Finally, the pod lands on the ground and the doors open. Allura steps out, taking in the sight of the Balmera and grins to herself.

"Allura!" Shay calls out. She is in her simple Balmera wear as usual, but Allura still feels like her breath is taken away every time.

She smiles excitedly and runs to Shay, who catches her in her sturdy arms while laughing.

"I've missed you so much." murmurs Allura, pressing a kiss to the corner of Shay's mouth.

"You just saw me last week." Shay reminds her, but a smile is gracing her face nonetheless. She loves that smile.

"And how long ago that was." says Allura with a dramatic sigh. "Where are we going today, Shay?"

Shay's face lights up immediately, and she takes Allura's hand in her own, their fingers interlocking together like puzzle pieces. "It's a surprise. But you'll like it." she promises. "Close your eyes."

Allura shuts her eyes and gives Shay's hand a little squeeze. "Lead the way, love."

-o-O-o-

"Can I open my eyes now?" asks Allura, eyelids still shut together.

"We're almost there." Shay says. "Okay, now you can open them."

She opens her eyes and is immediately greeted with a bright onslaught of color. Allura gasps and bends down to the inspect the flowers that are carpeting the rocky Balmera surface in shades of pink, yellow, and blue. They seem to be extending for miles on end. "They're beautiful!" exclaims Allura.

"Not as beautiful as you." says Shay shyly, and when Allura looks up, her cheeks look a little pink.

"Oh, Shay!" Allura stands up to wrap her arms around her.

Shay grins and tugs on Allura's arm. "C'mon, let's go further in. I have something set up for us."

Allura follows Shay into the flower field, heart feeling lighter than it has in a long time.

-o-O-o-

"Ta da!" says Shay, extending her arms to present the quaint little picnic that she has set up in the middle of the field. "What do you think?"

There is a little sparkle in Shay's eyes that Allura would like to keep close to her heart forever. Allura thinks she has the best girlfriend in the entire universe.

She clasps her hands together and beams. "I think it's perfect, Shay."

The two of them settle onto the checkered blanket - courtesy of Lance, Shay tells her - and Shay brings out the food from the basket.

"No bug stew in here." says Shay, laughing a little when she sees the way Allura's nose scrunches up a little. "Honestly, Lu, I don't see why you think it's bad."

"It's not bad," corrects Allura. "It's terrible."

Shay grins, and a light bulb seems to go off in her head.

"Oh! I have an idea. Wait here." she tells Allura, before standing up and walking farther out into the fields, but not too far that she's not in her line of sight.

Allura shrugs and picks up what she assumes is a sandwich and starts eating it. Shay comes back a few moments later, arms full of pink and yellow flowers that she sets down gently on to the blanket.

"What are those for?" asks Allura, to which Shay just winks at.

"You'll see."

Allura's lips quirk up into an amused grin. Shay picks up a yellow flower and loops the stem around the stem of another pink flower, as if she were tying a knot. She keeps on doing this with the other flowers, occasionally adding in some leaves and greenery, until the end product is a crown, thick with flowers and bursting with color.

Shay pats the ground next to her, and Allura scooches over to her side. She places the crown on top of her white tresses and plants a small kiss on her forehead.

"There. A crown for a beautiful girl." she says, and Allura feels like her heart is about to burst.

She stands up and drags Shay up with her, laughing all the while.

"I feel like a princess!" exclaims Allura, twirling a little.

Shay giggles. "You are a princess, Lu."

She turns to look at Shay, a grin adorning her lips. "Hold on. I'm going to make you one too."

Allura must have been imagining things because for a second, Shay looks doubtful. "Oh, you really don't have to-" Shay starts, but Allura cuts her off with a quick tut.

"Nonsense! We can be princesses together!" says Allura, bouncing slightly on her feet.

Before Shay can disapprove, Allura kneels down and quickly starts plucking blue and yellow flowers to complement the pink and yellow crown on her head. Though her fingers are not as nimble and graceful as Shay's, she manages to complete a flower crown for Shay by the time the sun is going down. It's the tiniest bit sloppy, if Allura is being honest with herself, but she is feeling a tad bit proud when she puts the crown on Shay's head.

"Look at that!" says Allura. "We're matching!"

The look of doubt on Shay's face begins to melt into a small smile. "So we are." she says softly.

They walk back to the settlement hand in hand.

-o-O-o-

Allura can tell something is wrong when they walk into the settlement.

Whispers and pointing fingers had sprung up almost immediately the second they strolled in. She doesn't think it's the hand holding - Allura and Shay have a been a thing for almost three months now, everybody knows they're a couple.

She asks Shay what's wrong, but Shay avoids her glance and points to where her grandmother is waving from her porch. "I think Grandmother made dinner tonight! Let's go!"

Allura purses her lip because she hates not knowing something, but follows Shay into the house without another word.

Grandmother opens the door and gasps slightly. "Your hair-"

Shay makes a little sound, probably out of distress, a sound that Grandmother ignores.

She hobbles to the side to allow the two of them to come in.

Grandmother beckons Allura closer with her hands. "Come here, child, come closer."

"Grandmother, I really don't think that's necessary -"

Allura comes a little bit closer to the older lady, who bends down her head and then makes a noise of what Allura would assume is giddiness.

"I'm so happy for you two!" she croons, her hand coming up to cup Allura's cheeks.

"Thanks?" says Allura, unsure of what exactly is the happy occasion.

"Grandmother!" hisses Shay.

Grandmother frowns and looks at Shay. "But the fl-"

Shay clears her throat. An understanding seems to pass between the two of them, and Grandmother nods to herself, smiling slightly.

"Why don't you get Allura settled in for dinner?" suggests Shay. "I'm going to go wash up."

"Shay, wait-"

But before Allura can ask why everyone is acting so strangely, Shay darts into the other room and effectively avoids her questions.

Allura sighs and turns to face Grandmother. "I don't suppose you could tell me why everyone's been acting so weird about my hair?"

She simply smiles and takes Allura by the arm, leading her into the cooking space. "Come along now, dear. You can help me finish up this stew."

-o-O-o-

Dinner is pretty good.

There is no bug stew, and Allura silently thanks the heavens for that. Grandmother keeps on looking at the two of them, smiling to herself all the while. With the fire crackling the middle of the three of them, the space feels homey and cozy. This is nice, Allura thinks as she finishes her last spoonful of stew.

Later, when they're back in their room and both getting ready for bed, Allura finally decides to ask the question that's been bothering her ever since they came back to the settlement.

"Shay," begins Allura. "Is there something wrong with the flower crowns we made each other?"

Shay whips her head to look at Allura so fast she gets whiplash. "What? No, no of course not."

Allura lifts the crown off her head and looks at it. The colors have faded a little, but they're still vibrant and beautiful. "Then why did everyone stare at them and whisper about it? Why won't you answer my questions about it?"

Shay sighs, a sound that is deep and heavy. "I'm sorry that I haven't been answering your questions." she says. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about the flower crowns.

Allura takes a seat next to Shay on the bed and holds her hand, giving it a little squeeze. "Shay, you didn't make me feel bad." she promises. "I just want to know what the big deal is about flower crowns."

She is silent for a while. Allura drops her head on her shoulder, feeling more at home in the crook of her neck. "You can tell me, Shay."

She sighs again, as if accepting the fact that she can't run from this question anymore. "Flower crowns are a big deal on the Balmera." she begins, voice soft and small. "Flowers are rare on a Balmera. It's rocky surface can't sustain life very well, so barely any flowers survive. But the ones that do - well, you saw how beautiful they were."

"They were exquisite." Allura mumbles, and Shay nods along.

"And the flowers are so beautiful and rare that nobody wants to pick them." continues Shay. "Unless they're for a very special occasion."

Allura tilts her head up so she can see Shay's face. She is holding her breath, suddenly eagerly awaiting her response. "And what would that special occasion be?"

Shay is silent again, as if gathering her nerves for the oncoming answer. Her face is carefully blank, and Allura suddenly misses the tiny sparkle that was in her eyes earlier in the day.

"One would pick flowers from the Balmera's surface to make a crown for - for the one person they loved so deeply that they would give up everything for them, that they couldn't imagine life without them." The last words come out so quietly, Allura has to replay them in her head to fully process what Shay has said. When she does, her breath hitches.

"That's why everyone was looking at you." says Shay, and she almost sounds miserable. "Flower crowns are given to very special people. It doesn't happen very much."

Allura takes her head off from where it was resting on Shay's shoulder. "Shay -"

"I'm sorry, Allura. I should have told you the significance of flower crowns earlier."

"Yes, you should have." says Allura. "Then I would have made you more flower crowns, had I known their significance. Two more at most."

It's Shay's turn to look confused. "Allura-"

"Three conditions for flower crowns, right?" she interrupts. "One, it has to be for the person you love dearly. Check."

Shay stared at her, her face turning a deep red. "What -"

"Two," she continues. "It has to be for someone you would give up everything for. I would gladly do that for you, Shay."

Shay splutters. "I -"

"Three," she lists, looking Shay dead in the eye. "It has to be someone you couldn't imagine life without."

Allura cups Shay's face in her hands and brings her close so that their foreheads are touching. "And I can't imagine my life without you in it, Shay." whispers Allura, running her thumb over the planes of Shay's face.

Shay looks absolutely stunned. Then the most unexpected thing happens - she bursts out laughing.

Allura is startled, but she can't help but giggle along with her. "What is it?" she asks. "What did I say that was so funny?"

Their foreheads are still touching and Allura feels like she can stare into the honey brown of Shay's eyes forever.

"It was just," says Shay, a bit breathless from her previous laughter. "I really really really like you, Allura."

Allura grins, feeling as if she is as weightless as a balloon. "I really really really like you too, Shay."

She learns forward and presses a gentle kiss against her lips. It's short and it's sweet, and for a moment, it's just the two of them.

They turn in a little later, the flower crowns they had made carefully placed on top of the drawer and their sweet scent lulling them to sleep.

again, not my best work, but i love this little hc i have for shayllura, so i had to write it!

i really love reviews, even if it's a smiley face! you will make my day if you send me a review! constructive criticism is greatly appreciated too!

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