CHAPTER TEN: The Drought

Soft sunlight dappled with pink hit the tiles of their room, as Shiro slowly opened his eyes. He almost immediately got a mouthful of white, silvery hair, and raised his head, resting it on top of the cloud of Allura's hair instead of against it. She shifted subconsciously, still snoozing away, and curling over his arm (thankfully the Galra one, so he wouldn't have to worry about his limb falling asleep under her weight, either) and into his shoulder, instead, her hair moving with her. Shiro smiled softly, thinking for a moment he had to still be dreaming, that last night had been a wonderful vivid dream. What had he done to see her this way, so at peace and wonderful, so vulnerable? His heart swelled when he thought of how safe she must have felt with him―and how much she must have wanted him, despite his body riddled with scars―to be with this way with him.

"I love you, princess," he murmured into her hair, pressing his lips to her hairline. She snuffled in her sleep.

Once he finally tore his eyes away from her, he looked over at their room, with their white robes on the floor and the hazy curtains drawn over their shut balcony doors. Their door was locked securely like last night too, the empty bottle of nunvil on their bedside table. He drew up their sheets further along their hips, noticing the way she kept her arms folded to her chest, now nestled against his.

He'd fight a thousand wars if it meant he got to see her like this again.

"Takashi?" Her voice was heavy with sleep, as she blinked it out of her eyes, a few strands of silvery hair falling over her face as she shifted.

Shiro's soft smile returned as he gazed down at her, brushing her hair out of her face. "Good morning, princess. How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She stretched her arms a bit, unabashed when the sheets slipped from her chest. They hadn't pulled on any more clothes after last night. "Why?"

"Oh, just..." Shiro flushed. "On Earth, some women feel sore or have trouble walking after...passionate lovemaking," he mumbled.

Allura's eyes gleamed with amusement. "I see." He avoided looking at her directly, until she leaned over and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Last night was wonderful, and passionate," she assured him, eyes twinkling, "but I think that Alteans as a whole, myself included, are much stronger than any Earthlings."

"Oh, right." He was still blushing, but offered up a small smile. "So, about last night..." His other hand found hers, and he lightly locked their fingers together. "Allura―princess... what now?"

"We complete the mission according to plan," she said. "With an added layer of authenticity to our deception."

His smile fell. "And..." he managed, his throat tightening―she could heal or break his heart depending on her next few words. "After the mission?"

Allura kissed his cheek again, tracing her fingers along his opposite jaw in a way that made him fight back a shiver. She tilted his mouth towards him and kissed him languidly, mouthing at the rawness of the morning as he melted into her, until she drew away slightly. "I do not know," she admitted, "but I do know I do not want to go another day without being able to do that, again."

His eyes searched hers in disbelief, and found nothing but sincerity and a hint of heat behind her azure eyes staring steadfastly into his. He puffed out an inhale that was too much breath to be a laugh, even as he smiled widely. His fingers came up to thread themselves in her hair, his palm cupping her jaw. "Good," he managed, before he kissed her again, confident and secure and still full of yearning.

Allura let them indulge for a few moments longer before she reluctantly pulled away again. "We should get dressed," she said, her eyes turning dull. She wanted nothing more than to look at him like this again, in the soft sunlight and see the way his body could be bathed in gold as well as moonlight. "Go speak with the other paladins. Make sure our plans are straightforward, for the party tonight."

Shiro wondered if the paladins would be suspicious if they called over the commlink and got only audio instead of a screen-view. "We should," he agreed. "But..." He was being selfish, he knew, but didn't he deserve to be a little selfish? To hold a little more happiness in his hands, now that he could hold her and she knew what it meant to him? "Surely, it's still early, and we have until evening to be fully prepared..."

She gave him a small, coy smile, looping her arms around his neck. "I suppose you may be right, my paladin." She trailed her fingers over the dip in his collarbone and he grinned. "You usually are."

He kissed her briefly, just because he could. "Hmm, but you give fantastic orders, my princess. Would you mind if I followed your lead, this morning?"

She tugged him down on top of her. "Not at all."

They didn't do much talking after that.

The Sjarkans knew how to throw a party, for all their lack of resources. The ballroom was decorated similarly it had been on previous nights, like their arrival feast, with floating lanterns that cast a purple glow due to being made out of the purple leaves of the trees outside, and there was significantly less food on the table than there had been at the official feast.

Shiro was glad to see the bottles of nunvil glittering over the refreshments table and was being steadily passed around by servants. The sedatives slipped into the drinks had been connected to bio-bots finagled by Pidge, the green genius having all of them connected to a detonator device. All the bio-bots would kick the sedatives into gear at the same time, so that they wouldn't randomly have Sjarkans fainting before they were supposed to. Really, the kid's genius would never fail to amaze him, even if Hunk had helped plenty too.

The other paladins were waiting in their guest rooms, their armour on and synchronized with Allura's earrings of when they would be able to sneak down to the dungeons and blow open the needed hole to carry out the rest of the mission. Hopefully he and Allura would have time to change before meeting them; his fine clothes wouldn't offer much protection but at least he could move freely in them. Allura in her flowing ballgown would likely have a much harder time, even if he knew she could do anything she put her mind to, that didn't mean he couldn't want things to be a little bit easier for her when doing them.

The silver necklace of thin chains still adorned her shoulders and neckline, but she dazzled even more than they did, warmth spreading through his chest as he remembered he knew what it felt like to kiss her there. Feel her breathe. She'd drifted away from him for a moment, leaving him with their untouched bottle of nunvil to speak graciously with King Ilvaar and thank him for the wonderful celebration in their honour. The king was surrounded by a small bunch of stoic, golden plated guards, but he seemed jovial enough as Allura greeted him with all the charm of a tried and true diplomat, even more confident now that they had a plan and the mission was almost over, and, Shiro liked to think, because they knew where they stood with one another.

Shiro couldn't help but watch her, even as she made her way back to him. It still felt surreal, to look at her and know she cared for him the same way he cared for her. He had an easier time believing it, though, as she looped her arm comfortably through his and looked up at him with alert and happy eyes. They may have been in the midst of a mission right now, but like before, it didn't mean they couldn't enjoy each other's company.

Shiro kissed the side of her head. "How's the king?" he asked, his voice muffled.

Allura smiled as though he was saying something sweet. This celebration was supposed to be a sappy commemoration for them, after all. "Ilvaar is pleased, although some of his court is worried, about the incoming Galra in two days time."

"Can't blame them. We've been so busy learning about things here we don't have much of a battle plan."

Allura cupped his jaw. "You'll figure something out my paladin," she said confidently. "You always do. And we have Voltron on our side, and the support of the Sjarkans if not the Noorins as well, and the element of surprise. The Galra will be caught completely unawares."

Shiro gave her a small smile, and narrowed his eyes at her. "Is this your long-winded way of telling me to stop worrying and ask you to dance, instead?"

"You're always so tense at parties," she said, and took his hands to tug him onto the dance floor, and he let her.

He handed off their bottle of nunvil to a nearby servant, knowing they'd be able to find it again later, since they'd had the symbol of Voltron stamped on it, citing it as a sign of their marriage when it was really just an identifier who avoid drinking from a drugged bottle.

"Even with the Arusians at the castle, you did not relax," Allura continued. "Granted, we should have been more careful..." Her face fell and he squeezed her hands, falling into a dance step with her, with one of his hands clasped in hers and his other at her waist. Her expression lifted slightly, and she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I trust the others," Shiro said. "And Coran's always there if we need backup. Besides, we still have to sell our charade."

Allura hummed softly, and rested her chin on his shoulder. It wouldn't be much longer until the bio-bots were activated, if her calculations were correct, and then the new stage of the mission would be afoot, and things would likely be madness until it was all over and the Galra were gone, and they were back at the castle. As much as she had missed not having to always keep up a pretence, the thought of leaving still made something in her stomach curl unpleasantly.

"I have to say," she said quietly. "I will miss being married to you."

He squeezed her hand. "I will too," he said just as softly. "But it doesn't have to be that way. Perhaps the rumours will spread... we'll have to pretend on other planets."

She gave him a small, playful smile. "Is that right?"

"Mmhm." He only stumbled a little, momentarily distracted by the light in her eyes and still not completely sure of the dance moves, but Allura made sure it wasn't noticeable.

She kissed his cheek. "Let's make sure we give them a wonderful show, then."

"What do you think you're doing up there?" Lance asked, lying on the floor of the dungeon and rotating his legs in the air, his hands in his pockets.

Pidge was perched atop one of the barrels of blasting jelly that they had all rolled over to the tunnel they were going to blow up. "I dunno," they said, not looking up from their datapad, constantly streamlining new information about the castle's infrastructure and the Noorin hideout they were attempting to reach. "Dancing?"

"I will say Shiro and Allura have been doing an excellent pretending to be in love," Hunk snickered.

Lance scoffed. "'Pretending'? As if. Those two have been in love since forever."

Keith leaned against the brick wall of the dungeon, his arms crossed over his chest. "I just hope they finally do something about it. You do not know how many times I've had to hear Shiro insist he doesn't like her even when it's written all over his face."

Pidge perked up. "Something did seem different this morning." The green paladin paused. "You think they boned?"

Hunk spluttered. "Bone?" Lance and Keith just laughed.

"If they are," said Lance, still grinning, "maybe it'll get them to lighten up a little. Shiro might even let us sleep in for once before training."

"I'm just ready to be out of the desert," said Hunk.

"I have to admit, I did forget how hot they could be," Keith admitted. "The Garrison feels like such a long time ago."

"Speaking of time," Pidge cut in. "We'll be detonating the bio-bots any minute. Get in position. We have everything we need?"

Hunk lifted up his fanny pack, a strange combination with his bold paladin armour. "Matches, our lions in the hangar and ready when we need them, Coran has eyes on the Sjarkans and Allura's earrings are working just fine. Everyone has their helmets? Their flashlights are working?"

Lance held up his helmet for inspection and turned on its flashlight. "Spotlight's on you, buddy. We got you."

Hunk gave him a soft smile, before he looked down when their watches on their armour beeped. "That's the second to last signal. The bio-bots will be detonating in fifteen minutes, and then the blasting jelly. All we gotta do is wait."

They had planned this out every step of the way with all the information to available to them. It finally felt like for the first time since landing on Sjarka that they had the upper hand, and Hunk intended to keep it that way.

Allura's earrings buzzed when the final part of the plan fell into place, and she and Shiro left the dance floor behind. They spotted their bottle of nunvil glittering on a servant's silver tray, and she made a beeline for it, thirsty and out of breath and knowing they wouldn't have much of a chance to have a drink once the Sjarkans started falling asleep.

It took a second, bottle now in hand, to realize Shiro wasn't right behind her like she'd thought. Her hair whipped around as she looked for him among the crowd of dancing Sjarkans, over their balding heads and bat-like ears. King Ilvaar and his immediate guard seemed to be missing too. Had he pulled Shiro away for a private talk? But then why not her as well, as Shiro's wife and co-leader of Voltron? Her grip on the bottle of nunvil tightened as she started making her way through the crowd, not wanting to yell and cause alarm even as the anxiety tightened in her chest; it was getting harder to breathe, as thought time was going faster and slower all at once. She was being silly, she had to be, perhaps he'd said he was going to use the bathroom and she simply hadn't heard, and would return and with his soft grey eyes and she would be dizzy with relief, perhaps―

An explosion sounded from far below, the ceiling shook, and she realized that the blasting jelly had gone off. Their fifteen minutes were up. The paladins were forging the tunnel and the bio-bots hadn't detonated like they were supposed to. Why hadn't they worked? The Sjarkans were swarming now, and King Ilvaar had reappeared, trying to calm the panicking crowd. Where was Shiro?

She pressed a hand to her earrings and it lit up, and she stood strong even as the Sjarkans jostled around her. "Paladins, what's going on―"

Static fizzled over the commlink before Pidge's voice broke through amid coughing. "Allura, what's wrong? Aren't you―"

"The bio-bots didn't work," she hissed, and before anything else could be said a hand reached up and wrenched her earring away. It smashed against the floor as she whirled around to see one of Ilvaar's guards, who took out a long spear and jabbed the pointy end at her throat as a warning.

Allura bellowed and grabbed at the spear below the arrowhead, yanking it out of the Sjarkan's grip and breaking it in two, using each half to knock the guard to the floor, her remaining earring dangling and glowing faintly. She hoped the other paladins were still listening on the other side, that they were alright and inside the tunnel so they were a bit safer and this all hadn't been for naught. She raised her head to look at the king, now that the crowd had fallen silent. Her eyes were blazing as she pointed the spear-headed half at him.

"Where is my husband?" she demanded.

Ilvaar didn't appear troubled. "Your false husband, you mean? Don't worry. He has already been taken care of."

Allura elbowed Sjarkans out of the way, growling when two of his guards seized her arms. She could have thrown them off easily, but knew being docile would serve her better for the time being. At least until she could find out what had happened to her paladin and get them both out of here. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing you will not see soon enough; you two will very shortly have an easy decision to make. Since, of course, you and your husband are not really married after all."

Allura let out a sharp exhale. Could she still salvage this? Convince the king otherwise and have things carry on, or was it too far gone already? She just wished Shiro was by her side. "I'm afraid I don't follow, King Ilvaar," she said as politely as she could, which wasn't much.

"I thought that perhaps your marriage customs were simply different, and prone to different displays of physical affection. Or perhaps that you were fighting, but then when I saw you tonight after hardly any change... I had my suspicions of a ruse from the start. It was the only confirmed when you attempted to pull a sandstorm over our eyes and sedate us."

So everything had gone as mad as a wet chüper. Allura muttered quiznak under her breath. She would figure out why it hadn't worked later. Maybe the Sjarkans naturally nullified liquids, as they were so scarce on a desert planet and the aliens had a subsequently low dependency on it. Maybe the bio-bots had malfunctioned. All that mattered now was finding Shiro.

Allura lowered her makeshift staff. Her throat was unbearably dry. "Just take me to him," she said stiffly.

Ilvaar glanced at her guards. "Keep her under control," he ordered. "The Great Winds alone will determine the traitors' fates. Oh, and Fedil," he said, and one of his guards snapped to attention. "Make sure the other paladins never come out of the tunnels again. We'll deliver their Lions to the Galra in exchange for our water."

Allura heard another explosion and yelled. Her earring sparked white hot. "No!" she cried, hearing crashing stone on the end of the line before it went dead completely, and the Sjarkans gripped her arms with far more strength than she would have expected. She wanted nothing more than to throw them all off and the kick the snot out of Ilvaar, but―Shiro.

And maybe somehow the paladins could contact Coran. They had a single day before the Galra arrived. Once she had Shiro back... She let the Sjarkans lead her out of the room like a trophy, and swallowed back the bitter taste in her dry mouth, aching for water. Once she had Shiro back, everything would be okay. They could still save this.

Or so she hoped.