For #allurashipweek2k17. Day 5- Grief/Joy.
Cover art by queenofthecute on Tumblr.
They thought Allura didn't see. They thought they could hide their happiness ever since the Black Lion opened up and Shiro wasn't inside.
But she's not blind. She saw. The mice murmured in her sleep and filled her with dreams of Blue and Red merging to make juniberry flowers dance. In the monitors, she saw how Lance's smile grew bigger when Keith was in the room. In the hallways of the castle, she heard sighs and the both of them emerged from the same room, anger no longer a permanent marker on Keith's face.
She kept her watch and couldn't fault them for hiding, for moving to the shadows to explore each other's bodies; she thought she could explore Voltron's leader in the same manner after the fall of Zarkon… But then, the Black Lion had opened up and Shiro wasn't inside. This wasn't in her calculations and now, Allura was left wandering the castle and staring at the universe before her as if it was enough to satisfy the need for her to hold hands with the one she wanted.
She knew Keith and Lance were being polite and respectful to her but enough was enough because they didn't truly know her. Not the way Shiro did because if they had, they wouldn't have felt the need to shelter her from their happiness.
Who was she to dampen the brightness in the castle when the Princess saw the way Lance leaned in closer to Keith at the dining table or the way Keith sat back, a content look on his face.
So when the two Paladins dropped each other's hands with a sheepish wry smile on their faces, she reached out and intertwined their fingers together instead because she needed light in her life. The feeling of wonder that wrapped her heart every time she saw different shades melting into one brought her a little closer to living rather than shattering into stardust ever since Black opened and Shiro wasn't inside.
"Don't let go," she said and she could almost feel Shiro's hand on top of hers as she looked back up to the two Paladins and the bittersweet way they enveloped her into a hug.
"We won't," they promised.
- Wanted to show how Allura misses Shiro and her interaction with the growing relationship between Keith and Lance.
- Reviews are much appreciated.
- Enjoy! :)