The cool air of the early morning that snuck under the sheets and caused her skin to prickle wasn't what woke her. It wasn't the way her pillow was bunched under her head so that it lost its shape entirely that woke her either. No, what awoke Allura from her sleep was the warmth of a sleepy sigh as it blew against the nape of her neck, followed by a gentle kiss that sent a flash of heat over her skin.

She heard a husky voice from behind her mumble a "Good morning" into her hair before lips found their way back to her skin again. Fingers grazed over her side and searched the bedclothes until they found what they sought after: her own hand. The fingers laced themselves together with hers before carefully pressing the entwined hands against her chest. Her heart beat in a steady rhythm, slow and at ease, her body still mostly within the grasp of sleep.

"What time is it, Takashi?" she groaned as she drew the hand to her lips and kissed the back of it gently. Her eyes were still closed against any morning light that might try to break through her lashes.

"Does it matter?" the voice whispered. Lazy kisses blended into each other and marked the path of her lover's lips as he made his way up the side of her neck and rested at the hollow behind her ear.

"It does if you have somewhere you need to be."

Strong arms wrapped themselves tighter around her torso from behind, and warm palms—one of flesh and one of metal—pressed against her skin. The thumb of the hand that she grasped rubbed her knuckles lightly back and forth. "Today's my day off, 'Lura. The only place I need to be is…" a kiss on the corner of her jaw, "right…" a kiss on the curve of her shoulder, "here…" a heavy whisper against the vein that pounded under the skin of her throat.

"Takashi Shirogane, you've never taken a day off in your life." Allura leaned her head into his, pressing their cheeks together. "And I'm not entirely convinced you know what that phrase means."

She could feel his lips pull into a smile against her skin and she couldn't hold back the grin of her own that the tiny movement caused. "Point taken," he whispered. "But today is special, or have you forgotten?"

Allura frowned and looked over her shoulder in his direction. "Forgotten?"

His patient silence left her to think. "It's Saturday, that much I know…" she mused aloud.

"All day long, baby girl. But it's not just any Saturday. That's because today, exactly two years ago, was the day that I first told you that I loved you."

Allura couldn't help but smile at the memory. They had been walking the castle's halls late one night, as neither of them could sleep. Suddenly Shiro had stopped, taken her hand in hers, and whispered what they both had been aching to say to each other.

What they shared in that moment and in that hesitant yet insistent kiss that followed was the most intimate experience of her life. She was drowning and the feel of his lips on hers, of his hands drawing her near to him as if she were life itself, saved her.

"I love you Allura. And I plan on reminding you of just how much I love you all day long…"

He tasted like the morning, and she drank him in. His hair fell over his forehead, the white strands mingling and twisting together with the black, and she loved it. She loved the way the stubble on his jaw barely broke past his skin and yet still scratched at her in that pleasant way. She loved the way his skin pressed into hers so that she couldn't tell where she ended and he began. She loved the way he cradled her in his arms so that she felt small but perfectly safe.

Without warning, Shiro pulled away and paused. His eyes lingered on every detail of her face, and Allura could practically hear his heart sing. When he finally spoke, he was so quiet that she could barely hear him, yet his voice filled every crevice of the room and every crack in her heart.

"You amaze me. No one on my entire planet, not a single person in my entire corner of the galaxy, could ever hope to make me any happier than you do right now. I look at you… and nothing else in the universe matters.

"I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, and I never will. You are everything that I've been looking for, everything I've been missing. You are my everything, and I never want you to ever doubt, question, or forget that. My heart is yours, forever and always, to the end of the universe and forever beyond. You are the love of my life, and I will never, ever, stop loving you."

Allura's heart caught in her throat when she heard his words. At that moment, she swore that she had never seen anything so beautiful as his eyes staring into hers. Gray as the starlit sea, dark lashes so long they nearly touched his cheeks when he closed his eyes. The slightest touch of a wrinkle that appeared at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. The scar that bridged his nose, which was ever so slightly crooked, like it had been broken at some point and had not quite healed right.

When she looked at him she saw her equal. She saw someone who had cast the world to the side for her sake and would do it again and again. She saw a man who had seen too much, been too many places, been beaten into the dirt until he barely knew who stood in the mirror, and who still extended a hand to lift her up when she grew weak.

But most importantly she saw hope. Hope that she was worthy of love. Hope that they both could be healed together. Hope that even if the entire universe unraveled, as long as they stood by each other then they would never be alone.

"Takashi Shirogane, nothing could ever keep me from loving you. Nothing." She tilted his head so his forehead rested against hers lightly. "For as long as I live I will love you. I will never leave you. And I will always be here for you. No matter what."

Shiro sighed and smiled tenderly. He reached up and lightly ran his fingertips over the curve of her cheek, resting for a moment on the colored marks beneath her eyes.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he whispered.

Allura tilted her chin so that her lips were nearly on his. "Absolutely nothing." She closed the distance between them with a kiss, which Shiro readily returned.

The lights of the castle ship slipped under the door, signaling the morning.