Shiro surveyed the room briefly as the couple strode onto the dance floor, the lanky man twirling his bride, and sweeping her into his arms.
Matt walked up beside him, eyeing the scene unfolding before him.
"I still can't believe Allura agreed to marry Lance."
Shiro smirked. "They look pretty happy."
"Still… Lance?"
"You know, you've been saying that since the very first time we told you he was dating her over four years ago."
Matt's lips upturned into a genuine smile. "I know. I'm still perplexed how she didn't want to pursue, all this-" the male Holt flexing his non-existent muscles. "But…" he acquiesced, "I guess they do make a good couple. Speaking of good couples…"
Shiro's eyes followed where Matt's line of sight went, and he felt he cheeks blush as he found himself staring at a beautiful woman in a green Altrean bridesmaid dress. The woman was talking animatedly to a Blade of Mamora member, all the while periodically glancing at the dancing couple in the middle of the dance floor.
His heart clenched tightly at the sight. She was taller than usual, the heels Allura insisted on her wearing raising her an extra few inches from what Shiro could gather. For a moment during the conversation, her golden eyes caught his, and she gave a small smile and gentle wave, only turning away when the man retorted in whatever conversation they were holding.
Matt slapped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Why don't you talk to her?"
"Matt…" he advised warningly. After a minute, the gentleman excused himself and left her side. He watched her sighed in relief, tucking a loose strand of light brown hair, which had grown longer over the years, behind her ear.
"Look. She is alone now." Matt turned to his friend, with an expression that Shiro could not quite place. "I will say this only once. I see the way you stare at her when you think no one is paying attention. I know that you have in your head that you are too old, or you are the Black Paladin, or can't risk the bond of Voltron, or some other noble Shiro-like thought that is stopping you."
When Shiro did not confirm or deny his rant, Matt looked him in the eye. "How long have you been in love with my sister, Shiro?"
There was no point in denying it. He looked into drink he was holding because he couldn't meet his friends eyes as he answered. "Three years."
Matt's own drink suddenly fumbled in his hands, and the genius recovered it the nick of time before it crashed to the floor. He wiped his free hand on his pants and gawked at Shiro. "You've been in love with Pidge since she was nineteen? Are you serious?"
"Yes." He hadn't meant to fall in love with her. And for the first few years of Voltron, it was strictly platonic, almost brotherly in nature. But then somewhere along the road, Pidge became something else. Something… important.
Shiro would wake up from a nightmare, drenched in sweat, and Katie was often there, softly wiping his brow with a cloth. Her tones were soft, sweet, and most of all, reassuring. She held his hand, letting him know that he would be alright, that she was right there. She simply smiled the first time that he called her out on hacking the castle ship to override his lock protocol to his bedroom.
Then there were the times that he took Katie up to the Castle Garden. When Katie looked especially weary after a fight or they had lost another comrade in battle, Shiro quietly led her to the green room and she would go limp in his arms, large broken sobs pouring out from her tiny paladin frame until there was not a single tear left to shed. Afterwards, they would sit next to each other, her head leaning on his shoulder, and it was his turn to console her, telling her stories of his youth or the Garrison, trying to help ease the burden that the young woman carried.
When the final battle loomed, Shiro took a moment with each team member in their hanger to give advice or simply to calm nerves. He knew inherently what each needed to hear. He saved the Green Paladin's hanger for last; his usual sure self at a loss of what to say. The intelligent woman stood looking at her lion as she ran a final diagnostic on the creature when finally, she turned, placing her tool on her table. She walked over to him, his heart pounding with each step closer she took and he quickly determined that words were going to fail him.
She didn't talk, instead, she wrapped her arms around his body, squeezing tightly. He wrapped his hand in her hair, and placed a soft kiss to her head as she made him promise not to leave her.
It was then he realized that he would never be able to live without her.
Matt pulled him out of his thoughts. "Shiro. You are the only person I could ever think would be worthy of my sister. You need to tell her."
"She doesn't think of me that way."
"Bullshit. I know my own sister better than I know myself. I see the glances she sends your way when you aren't looking. I see the worry that she has whenever you leave for a mission without her. If you don't tell her, you are going to lose her to someone else."
Shiro stiffened at that thought. The action wasn't lost on his friend. "You need to tell her, Takashi. She deserves your love and you deserve hers. Now go."
With a sigh, he nodded and quickly downed the rest his drink and handed it to his friend. Shiro gently weaved between the crowds that were chatting and trying to get a glimpse of the Altean princess and simple human that had ultimately won her heart.
He stepped up behind her. Taking a risk, he wrapped his hands gently on the soft curves of the paladin's waist and murmured, "Beautiful wedding."
He felt like his hands were on fire, memorizing the soft silk-like fabric Pidge was coerced into wearing by the bride. She jumped slightly. "Shiro." she chastised, not turning her eyes away from couple on the floor. "You will find yourself on the losing end of my Bayard if you keep surprising me like that."
"I'll try to remember that."
That seemed to appease her, and Shiro noticed that she relaxed more into his touch, and his heart pounded with the realization that she was not pulling away. "They look so in love." she sighed, more to herself then to him.
"They do. They deserve to be happy."
She nodded, and he felt her hands rest on top of his, intertwining softly. They watched the dancing couple together, his chin gently perched on the top of her head.
A giggle escaped Allura's lips as the song ended and Lance placed both hands on her cheeks, kissing her softly. The crowd cheered at the newly wedded couple as they walked hand in hand to a table to sit down, the red paladin grinning stupidly over his new wife.
Aliens began to disperse away from the dance floor, looking around to find a good place to sit, drink, and be merry. Neither of the paladins moved.
"Would you like to go for a small walk?" he requested softly.
She nodded. "Yeah. I could use some fresh air."
He navigated them out of the main room, trying to be as discreet as possible. Shiro saw her eyes fall to their attached hands, and a look of thoughtfulness on her face. She never made a move to remove her hand, and neither did he. In fact, neither said a word as they walked down the hallway together, passing room after room, until Shiro stopped at one that was completely empty.
The next notes of a new song swept in from the window, hanging quietly the air. Shiro recognized it as an old song that he had heard on earth. Without a word, he swept Katie up in her arms. "I hope you don't mind dancing."
Her eyes golden eyes searched his. "Shiro?"
He took a step forward, leading her with the music. "No 'Shiro' tonight. Takashi. Please."
She swallowed deeply and nodded. "Takashi… what…"
He smiled softly. "Shhh… just dance. With me."
Amazingly, the woman who always had so many questions did just that. He stepped with her gently around the floor, their hands interlocked. Her eyes, her inquisitive eyes, never left his. With each movement, the air felt as if it was becoming thick, the anticipation of what might change tonight growing exponentially.
He took a breath. This was it. The black paladin whispered. "The war is finally over, Katie." He twirled her around. "If I wanted to, I could not be the leader of Voltron."
At the question begging to pass from her lips, he smiled. "I'm not," he emphasized, "but I could. The universe would not be at stake if I did."
"I'm not sure where you are going with this, Takashi."
He stopped abruptly, his human hand catching her chin and lifting it up so her golden eyes met his grey. He couldn't keep the urgency out of his voice as if her answer was dependant on his entire existence. "Katie, I need to know...I've stood back for years now, waiting for the right moment when we could finally take a rest from Voltron. I need to know if you carry the same feelings I do. Do you?"
Katie Holt didn't pause. "A girl doesn't simply wait around for four years, declining every romantic suitor, unless her heart is taken hoping for a moment when the man of her dreams confesses that he loves her back."
"So is that a yes?"
The youngest Holt rolled her eyes lovingly. "Kiss me already, Shirogane."
And that is exactly what he did. He leaned down and captured her lips, making sure that she knew that she was so very, very loved and would be as long as he breathed in this universe and even beyond.
Exactly one year later, Takashi Shirogane would find himself on the same dance floor with Katie, sharing their first dance as man and wife.