Finally publishing at a reasonable hour hahah!

Day 7: homecoming. The story takes place after Zarkon has been defeated.

Enjoy!


That night, the castle was on autopilot and had set coordinates to the place the Paladins hadn't seen in almost three years.

Earth: their home.

The only person Shiro knew was waiting for him was his mother and his dog Astral. He knew that the other Paladins had larger families and that Keith would be living with Lance because the blue Paladin refused to let him go back to his lonely shack.

Despite all his years as a Paladin, he still had the occasional nights where he couldn't fall asleep. He had accepted the fact that even with a brand new altean arm, his mind would never fully erase his time as a Galra prisoner.

Shiro walked towards the watchtower. He found this room on a night like this one when he went exploring the castle. It had quickly become his favorite. The large room had dark marble-like flooring and a giant window instead of a roof, giving him a perfect view of the universe. When he walked in that night, he found Allura laying on the floor, curled up in a blanket and crying.

He ran to her side. "Allura?" he called out worriedly. She looked up to him with watery eyes. Shiro lied down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She pulled in closer to the black Paladin. "Talk to me, love," he whispered.

"I... I don't have...a... a home to... to go back to," she cried out between sobs. Shiro pulled her closer. This is my fault, he thought. He had been so busy with getting ready for the final battle that he hadn't stopped to think about what would happen once the dust settled. He waited for her to calm down before speaking.

"Allura, can you tell me who has my heart?" She looked at him puzzled. "What?"

"Tell me who has my heart," he asked again. Allura thought about it before answering. "I do," she mumbled. "That's correct. And who has your heart?" her lips slowly formed a smile. "You do... Where are you going with this Shiro?"

"There's an old saying on earth that sais home is where the heart is. You can't go back to Altea but as long as you have my heart and I have yours, you can always come home to me."

Allura looked into Shiro's eyes. He was right, she couldn't go back to Altea. But ever since her heart had chosen to be with him, she's always had this warm feeling in her heart of being where se was meant to be: with him. "Okay," she said, "you are my home now."

Shiro smiled fondly at the altean princess. "Can we stay here tonight?" She then asked. "Of course," he replied. He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead and made sure the blanket covered them both. He already knew that his body would be sore in the morning but it didn't matter because being with Allura truly felt like being home.

The next morning, the world was stunned into silence as a live broadcast of the Paladins, Princess Allura and Coran announced their arrival back home.


Fun fact: I've never been to a homecoming anything (laugh all you want but my Canadian life is pretty sweet thank you very much!) , I did a bit of research and just as I had suspected, it is a very USA and very non LGBTQ+ inclusive tradition. Decepointed? Absolutely. Surprised? Not really. (Ya changes are happening but imho I wouldn't call it progress slide in my dms if you want to converse about it.)

Anyways, tell me what you think!