Chapter 11 –
The next two days passed in the same manner as the afternoon after they'd wormholed to the new galaxy. The Castle-ship was on a steady path towards the cluster of planets the Galra were currently trying to take over. Coran and Allura were in constant communication with five of those planets, trying to get as much information out of the natives as they could. There was a heart-stopping few minutes where a lone Galra fighter was thought to have spotted them, despite their shielding that Pidge assured them was still working perfectly. No one breathed until it moved on and Allura checked the Castle-ship's systems to tell them it hadn't registered them being discovered.
Ed and Mustang were finally introduced to the five remaining occupants of the Castle-ship; Kaltanecker and the four space mice: Platt, Chulatt, Plachu and Chuchule. That proved to be a couple of very entertaining meetings considering Ed's intrigue with the mice was the complete opposite of what Mustang felt about them. When it came to Kaltanecker, Ed was more intrigued with how she got onto the ship while Mustang simply wanted to know why. Lance was very enthusiastic and detailed with his retelling of that story.
They trained for three hours after breakfast before having an hour break to get a snack and some rest. Lance offered to hold up his end of the deal they'd made to get Ed to help them and help teach him Altean. Ed took up the offer with added condition that Lance also teaches him the Cretan-like language he'd used at dinner, which he was then informed was Spanish. Lance wasn't sure he'd be able to learn two languages at the same time without causing confusion and problems, but Ed's stubbornness won out and Lance caved. So, they spent the hour breaks they had in between their training in the library with Blue, alternating between Altean and Spanish. Lance was pleasantly surprised when Ed seemed to pick up Spanish with hardly any problems. The Altean took a little more effort but Ed and Lance were happy with his progress and Lance was especially happy because it helped him further his own Altean skills. Blue was especially helpful when it came to Altean, correcting their pronunciation and helping them figure out the more difficult words.
Pidge and Green joined them sometimes but she was more often than not in Green's hangar with the big cat in robot form so she could work on upgrading her systems or working on her promised gift to Edward. Hunk often joined her, working on Yellow's systems as well, but he did find the time to bake Ed his promised cookies, something that made the blonde his best friend for the remainder of the day since he decided to bake not one but three of Edward's favourite. Mustang was allowed some of the cookies but only some. Black and Red spent more time with their Paladins than they did Ed but they were suspiciously close by when he got his cookies.
Allura found them during one of Ed and Lance's language lessons, Mustang having decided to try and learn Altean as well (he was doing pretty good though Ed would never admit it out loud), and the other Paladins had manage to convince Keith and Shiro to join them in the library so they weren't tempted to get a head start on the next training session. Keith had been drawn into the language lesson while Shiro was happy using his translation app on his tablet to read books he'd found.
"Hey, Allura. What's up?" Pidge asked when she spotted the Altean walking through the doorway, effectively drawing everyone's attention to the princess. She stood in front of them, her hands clasped loosely in front of her.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your leisure time but I wanted to bring you up to speed with the plans Coran and I have come up with, with the help we've been given by the local inhabitants of the planets we have been conversing with." She told them and the effect of her words were immediate. Everyone in the room, Lions included, sat up straighter and focused completely on her. "As of right now, we are currently two and a half quintets away from Zarkon's last know location. We have slowed down slightly after that scare with the Galran scout. The plan is to hide the Castle-ship behind one of the largest and densest planets to try and obscure our position to their radars once we've turned off the shielding. Once we're hidden, I need two of you and Edward to take one of our pods so he can use his array as planned. Once he's back and we've gathered the information his array, we'll come up with the battle plan." She faced Pidge directly for the next part. "Do you think you can install the same shielding program in Green into one of the pods without sacrificing your training time?" She asked and Pidge thought over what she'd need to do.
"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. Hunk can help if something comes up that might make it take longer than expected." Pidge told her. Allura let out a low, relieved sigh.
"Thank you, Pidge and Hunk. That's one less thing for me to worry about." She said gratefully, causing Lance and Shiro to frown in concern. Lance leant forward and whispered in Pidge's ear. The young girl frowned before grinning and nodding excitedly.
"We can do that. You organise the non-tech part and I'll take care of the rest." Lance nodded in agreement and Hunk was the only one – other than their Lions – who didn't look completely baffled by what had just happened.
"I'll take care of the snacks." Hunk offered and gave Lance the high-five he'd silently asked for in response. Everyone else's confusion deepened even more. Lance spotted the curious looks and immediately tutted at them.
"Nope. Don't bother asking. This is a surprise." He said, wagging a finger at them all. Allura looked torn between following his order or asking anyway. In the end, she elected to just let it play out. She could always veto the plans if she needed too.
"Okay." Allura said slowly before addressing the rest of the group once more. "Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted your leisure time. I will see you all at dinner time." She said, bowing slightly, before leaving with a chorus of goodbyes following her.
The rest of the day went by quickly with the added excitement of Lance, Pidge and Hunk's surprise buzzing through them all. Mustang was less excited and more intrigued by what the plans were, especially when Hunk asked Shiro if they could do training without him in the last varga of the last training session so he could organise everything needed for tonight. Mustang fully expected Shiro to apologise and tell him no but the teenage boy pulled out some of the most lethal puppy-dog eyes that, when paired with Yellow's kitten eyes, meant Shiro didn't stand a chance and the boy and his Lion ran out of the room with an enthusiasm that Mustang hadn't been expecting.
They hadn't even gotten over the fact that Hunk had taken off and forcing Shiro to change the training slightly to adjust for the loss of the boy and his Lion when Ed walked in and disrupted their training once again.
"How come you're here?" Keith asked as Shiro called out to stop the simulation. Red and Black looked just as curious.
"Lance and Pidge wanted to finish up the training a bit early to get whatever they have planned for tonight set up. I told them it was fine so I'm joining you lot for this last hour of training, if that's alright with you, Shiro?" Ed asked the second team leader.
"That's fine with me. We were going to do this last hour without the two Lions. You good with that?" Shiro asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.
"It's your call." Ed said. "Weapons or nah?" He asked, hand hovering over his automail arm. Shiro thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Let's do it without weapons for now." He said and Ed lowered his arm before taking his chosen spot between Keith and Mustang and looking at Shiro expectantly. "Training sequence begin from previous level." Shiro called out and they watched the gladiators rise through the floor before Shiro gave the system the go ahead to start the training and they moved into action.
Mustang was quick to take down the first gladiator and went to grab it's discarded staff when two more gladiators rushed him and forced him away from it. His eyes widened slightly in shock as he took a couple of steps backwards and prepared to face the two gladiators unarmed when both gladiators were destroyed from behind, their robotic bodies fizzing and spitting before they dropped to reveal Keith and Ed standing there. Ed and Keith exchanged a grin before Ed tossed Mustang a staff and headed to the next enemy. Mustang didn't let the slight setback shake him and took down the rest of the gladiators with a slight vengeance.
"Does the system learn people's habits?" Ed asked as they too a quick water break with half a varga to go in the training session.
"Yeah. Why?" Shiro asked and Ed gave Mustang a look before shaking his head.
"No reason. Just curious about it." Ed shrugged, sipping at his water once more. Mustang was mildly shocked he had let the opportunity to rub Mustang's mistake in his face pass him by. "What are the plans for the last part of training?" Ed asked instead.
"All in." Shiro said and Ed looked almost as excited as the Lions. Mustang wanted to laugh at his enthusiasm at being able to use his blade and alchemy against the gladiators. The Lions were just excited about being able to fight alongside their favourite humans.
Everyone finished up their water, cleaned up their rubbish and headed for the usual spot in the training room. All of the previous gladiators had been cleaned up and removed. Shiro called out for a level to be prepared and the room complied. Nearly 3 dozen gladiators greeted them and Ed had to wonder where all of these robots were coming from and whether the ones they took out were able to be mended or if they were scrapped and parts cannabilised to make new gladiators. He figured that was a question for Hunk, Pidge or Coran though and decided to ask one of them later. Shiro gave the order and they moved to meet the gladiators with a clash that resonated throughout the room.
They finished up their training session with the gladiators and spent the last ten minutes discussing the training and seeing what everyone thought about how they and the team had gone and where they could have improved. While Keith was sharing his thoughts, Lance's voice came on over the speakers, causing Keith to scowl up at it even though Lance likely couldn't see it.
"If you're still torturing yourselves with training; stop. Hunk has dinner ready for everyone in the main dining area so gets your butts in there before we eat it all because Hunk made something that just proves my theory that he is a god and has blessed us mere mortals- "
"Oh my god, Lance." You could hear Hunk's embarrassed and pleased voice in the background.
"Hush, Hunk. Let me praise you." Lance sounded slightly muffled, like he was turned away from the mic. Shiro was chuckling slightly at the two boys he couldn't see. "Anyway, get to the dining room ASAP before we eat all the food. If you go near the main lounge room, I'll sic Blue onto you." They could hear Blue's threatening snarl over the speaker before they cut off the connection. Ed figured he would've been more scared if he couldn't feel Blue's amusement through their bond.
"Come on. Let's go get dinner." Ed said, already heading for the door, Black and Red closely on his heels, obviously enthusiastic to be trying more of Hunk's food. Shiro, Keith and Mustang were forced to nearly jog to catch up with them and soon enough, they were joining everyone else at the dining room table. This time, Ed sat between Lance and Keith, with Blue and Red flanking Edward so they could sit next to him and their Paladin at the same time.
"I think you've out-done yourself, Hunk. This looks amazing." Shiro praised the Yellow Paladin as he helped himself to some food. Hunk flushed slightly as he started explaining what he'd whipped up for them.
"So, I don't know how I did it but I managed to create something that's a cross between enchiladas and chicken nuggets. It's a bit spicy, in case anyone has a thing about spicy foods. Then we've got a salad similar to a crunchy noodle salad, those Twistie looking things are actually space chips that have a kind of ham taste to them and the lavender coloured things over there taste like cheese but only when you mix it with the enchilada-nuggets thing." Hunk told them and Ed blinked a little before piling his plate up with more food than humanely possible.
"I'm just curious," Pidge asked as she looked mildly impressed at the amount of food on Ed's plate, "but how can you eat so much? I mean, I grew up with an older brother and he's got nothing on you when it comes to being able to eat so much." Ed managed to hide his snigger at Shiro's almost horrified face.
"The automail is heavier compared to normal limbs and I use a lot more energy hauling them around so I have to eat a lot to replace what I've used." Ed told her and she nodded like she expected that kind of answer. Shiro seemed to be relieved that Ed hadn't taken offence to Pidge's question and went back to eating his dinner.
The rest of the meal was spent alternating between small talk and not-so-subtle queries about the surprise the three youngest Paladins had set up from Shiro and Allura. Coran's eyes glinted knowingly and Ed was willing to bet he already knew what everyone had planned. Allura even went so far as to ask the mice – their connection with princess was something that Ed and Mustang were both consistently intrigued about – but they stayed stubbornly silent and no one could blame them when Lance revealed Hunk had bribed them with pieces of cookies in exchange for them not ruining the surprise. Allura pouted but admitted that was a good strategy for winning them over.
When dinner was over, everyone went to stand and take their dishes into the kitchen like they always did. When they went to go to the main lounge room, however, they were stopped by Blue and Yellow. Using Ed as the interpreter since their Paladins had disappeared into the lounge room with Pidge and Green, they found out they were doing the final preparations for the surprise. Blue flicked her ear back after a few minutes and both Lions parted to let everyone through, taking up the rear as they herded everyone into the lounge room. Ed and Mustang were not the only ones to stop and stare, mouths open, in shock at what greeted them.
The lounge room was nearly completely dark but small fairy lights twinkled from where they were strung up around the room and a massive pillow and blanket nest was spread across the floor and lounge. It looked so comfortable that Ed was half-convinced the blankets would swallow them whole as soon as they sat down in them. A big screen added to the light as the screen softly glowed blue from the image on it. A smaller screen sat on top of small stool and Ed could barely make out some black cords leading from the side of the laptop – he believed that's what Miss Penelope called it anyway – and disappeared behind the larger screen. There were snacks and drinks lining the small coffee table islands that floated in the middle of the blanket nest. Lance, Pidge and Hunk stood to the side, grinning like small children who knew they'd done good and were now waiting for the praise they knew was coming.
"A movie night?" Shiro was the first one to speak, voice betraying his awe and shock as he took in his surroundings.
"Yup. We figured everyone could use a couple of vargas to just relax without worrying about the upcoming battle and what better way than bingeing Pidge's Disney movie collection?" Lance told him excitably.
"Disney movies?" Ed asked just as Allura opened her mouth probably with an excuse to leave on her lips. His question garnered everyone's attention and Lance, Pidge and Hunk especially looked confused at his confusion before something seemed to click for Pidge.
"Do you guys have movies in Amestris?" She asked and both of them shook their heads. "Were you ever told what a movie was during one of your previous dimensional trips?"
"Yeah, actually. Miss JJ, Miss Emily and Miss Penelope took me to see 'Real Steel' when it was showing at the cinema but that's the only movie I've ever seen." Ed told her. "Amestris doesn't have the technology capable of making movies yet. The most advanced tech we've got are our cameras and, from what I've seen on Earth, they're not that great." Ed told them and Mustang took the opportunity to add on to that.
"When we discussed our technology with Miss Garcia, she told us we were about 100 years behind them. The only area we beat Earth is our alchemy." Mustang told them. They looked slightly stunned at the news, despite knowing Amestris was behind their planet. They just hadn't known how far behind they were.
"Than this movie night is doubly important!" Lance exclaimed. "We have got to introduce you to one of the most important collection of movies that ever existed! No one should go their entire life without seeing one Disney movie." He declared, literally putting his foot down as he stamped it slightly.
"So why is the room set up like this?" Ed asked, watching Allura out of the corner of his eye. The space princess looked like she was still debating how she could get herself out of this and get back to the exhausting battle plans.
"It's the best way to watch movies." Lance said simply before waving everyone over so they could get comfortable. Pidge was waiting next to her laptop for everyone to get into the blanket nest so she could start the movie. Coran made to step forward when everyone did but stopped when he noticed Allura hadn't moved with them.
"Princess?" Coran's questioning whisper wasn't low enough for no one else to hear. Everyone paused in what they were doing in order to see what Allura was doing.
"Thank you for putting this together, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, but I'm afraid I must decline. I still have to figure out the next part of our attack plan." Allura's brow furrowed as she thought of the plan. They'd been struggling to make some sort of plan but they lacked most of the information they needed until Ed would be able to scan Zarkon's ship for them.
"Princess," Mustang's voice got their attention, "I believe a short break would be beneficial to you. The plans will still be there in a few vargas and you can get back to them with a refreshed mind. I understand the need to get everything perfect as quickly as possible, especially considering what's at stake." He went to say more but Allura interrupted him.
"That's why I shouldn't be here. I need to finalise the plans." She told him, voice slightly higher than normal.
"That's why you need a break where you're not doing anything." Mustang insisted. "Last time we all sat down to help with the planning, you said we couldn't really do much until Fullmetal has had the opportunity to scan the ship. You're going to burn yourself out before the battle from stressing over something you can't finish because you don't have all of the parts available to you yet." Mustang told her and she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times but nothing came out.
"I suppose you're right." Allura finally conceded.
"First time for everything." Edward muttered. Mustang elbowed him while Lance and Hunk snorted and Keith grinned. Ed scowled and his eyes promised revenge as he rubbed his ribs.
"I'll join you for your movie night." Allura continued like she hadn't heard Ed, though the slight upwards curl of her lips suggested otherwise. "After all, this does look very well put together and I'd hate to miss out." She said, smiling a proper smile at the three who'd put the movie night together. Lance let out a whoop of victory and high-fived Hunk.
"Alright! Everyone, get comfortable." The Blue Paladin ordered. Everyone did as they were told while Pidge worked her magic on the laptop.
When she was done, she looked at the group to try and figure out where she'd sit. Edward was in between Lance and Shiro while Hunk was on Lance's other side and Mustang was next to him on the end of the couch. Keith was on Shiro's other side while Allura and Coran were closest to Keith but still maintained some distance between themselves and the humans. The Lions were curled up around or beside their Paladin. Blue and Black had sandwiched Ed between them while their bodies acted as pillows for their Paladins. Red was curled up next to Keith, hence the distance between her Paladin and the Alteans. Yellow had mimicked Blue and Black and had sandwiched herself between Hunk and Mustang while letting Hunk use her body as a pillow. She kept glancing at Mustang, making the older man slightly worried for his life. The Paladins had all noticed the Lions passive-aggressive hostility towards the eldest alchemist and none of them could figure out the reason for it. Lance, Hunk and Pidge thought it was hilarious.
"Are you coming to sit down?" Green asked her and she started, having not realized she'd drifted off in her own world a little. Her Lion was lying at the foot of the couches, practically buried in the nest of blankets. Pidge laughed at how ridiculously comfortable she looked and waded through the blankets to join her, using her Lion as a pillow, just as the movie started.
They watched 'Mulan' first, which was a big hit with Keith and Ed and caused them debate if they could recreate the avalanche scene against the Galrans somehow while Pidge lined up the next movie, 'The Little Mermaid'. Lance and Hunk let out excited noises when they realized they were about to watch it and sung along to every song, despite Keith's grumbling. After that, they watched 'Brave' and Ed and Pidge both agreed Merida had her priorities right. Ed hadn't come across archery before and was excited to learn more about it. Mustang pointed out they had guns back home and Ed pointed out he didn't care. They made it through 'Tangled' and 'Moana' without any arguments and the next movie of the night actually caused Lance to cry a little. 'Coco' was a big hit with everyone and Hunk was nearly as emotional as Lance.
Everyone shared the snacks around during the movie marathon and Mustang had to admit he was enjoying this as much as everyone else. He'd been apprehensive about the movies when he'd been told they were primarily made for children but he soon changed his mind about them. The fact that Ed looked like he was enjoying himself may have played a role in helping him decided whether he liked the movies. There was a lot of laughter and chatter during and in between the movies and Ed was smiling and laughing more than Mustang had ever seen him do so before.
Allura was watching her Paladins and their guests interact every time she got the chance to do so. It was heart-warming to see them getting along so well, considering the mutual hostility between them and Edward when he first arrived. Even then, she had been hoping they would be able to get along better, knowing full well how important it was for team members to trust each other. It was why Voltron was so successful in their fights; their Paladins trusted each other completely. She had to admit though that she'd never imagined them getting along with Edward and Mustang as well as they were. She was glad to have been proven so wrong.
They were watching '101 Dalmatians' when they realized Pidge had nodded off to sleep. Hunk and Lance were trying their hardest not to follow her but it was a losing battle. Keith had fallen asleep on Shiro's shoulder and Allura and Coran kept telling themselves they'd get up in a few dobashes to go to their own beds but, deep down, they knew they wouldn't make it. Mustang was still watching the movie, as was Shiro, both too comfortable to move and, in Shiro's case, didn't want to disrupt those who had fallen asleep on him.
Ed was struggling as much as Lance and Hunk were but his reasons for not wanting to sleep were different to theirs. He didn't want to wake everyone up if he had a nightmare but he couldn't make himself leave the blanket nest so he could get some sleep. He couldn't believe he was struggling so much to stay awake considering how often he was able to pull numerous all-nighters. He'd had a some-what normal sleep routine since turning up on the Castle-ship so it shouldn't be so hard for him to stay awake but the combination of warmth, comfort and the overall safe atmosphere made his fighting to stay awake a losing battle.
"You should go to sleep. I can sense you struggling." Black's voice startled him slightly and he shook his head slightly.
"I can't." He told her silently. "I don't want to wake everyone up if I have a nightmare." He explained and felt Blue's sympathy, though she couldn't actually speak to him at that moment because she was trying to convince her Paladin to go to sleep.
"We'll wake you if you start having a nightmare. I promise." Black told him and Ed could feel the sincerity and concern coming from her and knew she'd keep that promise. He also felt Blue promise the same thing before she went back to persuading her pilot into sleeping instead of watching the movie that was still playing. Hunk had lost his battle and had slumped down onto Yellow, curling up slightly into his Lion. Mustang was still awake and, for all intents and purposes, still watching the movie but he was keeping an eye on Ed. He could see the blonde was fighting with himself to stay awake and could guess why. He met Shiro's gaze briefly and knew the oldest Paladin could see the reason behind Ed's struggle as well. To his surprise though, Ed curled up on Black after a few moments and fell asleep on her. Mustang watched him for a few moments before meeting Shiro's eyes once more, nodded slightly, and turned back to the movie.
Shiro watched the older man turn back the movie, seemingly without a single care more than what he's shown, but he could see the quick glances at Edward that told Shiro that Mustang was worried about something. Shiro could tell Black was paying careful attention to the young alchemist and it didn't take much to get her to tell him why. He felt a burst of pride go through him at the fact that his Lion was so concerned about the rest of their team. He gave the top of her head a pat as he slumped down a little more, careful not to jostle Keith too much as he did so.
Shiro didn't even realise he'd drifted off in a light sleep until his eyes snapped open when he felt his Lion's distress. He didn't immediately go into panic mode though because he realized quickly that Black wasn't sensing intruders or possible Galran forces approaching. The first thing he'd noticed was that Keith had moved and was now draped over his Lion instead. It took him an extra couple of seconds after that to realise that his Lion was trying to wake the blonde sleeping on her, as was Blue, and they were getting slightly more frantic the longer it took, which accounted for the distress he'd felt. Thankfully, she somehow achieved her goal only a few seconds after Shiro was woken up.
Ed's eyes snapped open with a small gasp and some confusion before he groggily sat himself up a little. He was disorientated for a few moments but that cleared up as soon as he recognized his surroundings. Blue and Black were watching him with concern as he rubbed his eyes to wipe away any remaining sleep.
"Are you okay? Did we wake you in time?" Black asked, Shiro hearing the question very faintly. This told him his Lion knew he was worried and confused so she'd decided to include him on her end of the conversation to try and quell his worries.
"Um, I think so. I don't remember having a nightmare. How'd you know?" Ed asked, stifling a yawn as he looked at both Lions.
"Your heartrate was rising and your breathing was becoming quicker. We could feel your stress and fear." Black explained.
"I'm glad we were able to wake you before it got too bad." Blue added, rubbing her head against the blonde's side. He scratched her behind the ear almost absentmindedly.
"Thank you." He mumbled gratefully before looking around to see if he had woken anyone else up. Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Keith, the Alteans and Mustang were still asleep. Ed watched Mustang for a long moment but he was definitely still asleep. Then he looked up and his eyes met Shiro's and he felt guilt roll though him. "Sorry for waking you up." Ed murmured, looking away from Shiro so he didn't catch the Black Paladin shaking his head.
"You didn't wake me." Shiro said when he realised Ed hadn't seen his head shake. "Black woke me up accidentally." That didn't seem to comfort Ed at all and Shiro was quick to figure out why. "It's not your fault that Black woke me either." He told the blonde gently. Even in the barely lit room, Shiro could see the kid's cheeks darken with a flush. "I'm gonna go grab a glass of water. Do you want to come with?" Shiro asked, hoping Ed would take the offer. It was one of the most effective, yet simple, ways he'd found to combat nightmares.
"Okay." Ed said quietly and Shiro let out the breath he'd been holding.
"Okay." Shiro said in response. Rather than disturb everyone next to him, he climbed over the back of the couch, something he normally scolded the younger Paladins for doing. Black followed him over quickly and they turned back to watch Ed when he didn't immediately follow them. He seemed to be assuring Blue of something and double-checking that his commanding officer was definitely asleep before he turned around and pulled himself over the couch as well.
It was a quiet and relatively quick walk to the kitchens. Shiro had always found the Castle-ship both peaceful and eerie at this time. The only sounds he usually heard were the sounds of his own footsteps and the gentle, yet distant, hums of the engines. Tonight though, he was joined by the soft padding of Black's footsteps and the slightly uneven footsteps of Edward. They made it to the kitchen and the lights automatically came on as soon as they set foot through the door. Ed blinked at the sudden onslaught of light, fighting to get his eyes adjusted quicker.
Shiro gestured for Ed to sit at the kitchen bar, which he did, while he got them both a glass of water. He wasn't surprised to find Black sitting next to Ed. He didn't think he'd ever get over how big their Lions flesh forms were. Black was easily able to see over the top of the counter while sitting next to the unusually quiet blonde and if she sat up just a tiny bit straighter, she'd be able to look Shiro dead in the eyes once he'd taken his seat next to the blonde.
"Thanks." Ed mumbled as he accepted the tall glass from the Black Paladin.
"You're welcome." Shiro smiled before taking sips of his own water. Black was content to just watch them as they sipped their water, not saying a word to each other as they did so. "Did you want to talk about it?" Shiro's hushed voice broke the silence harshly, causing Ed to startle enough the remaining water in his glass sloshed but didn't spill.
"No offense, Shiro," Ed said, eyes averted, "but no. You wouldn't- my nightmares, they're… they're too much for anyone to handle." Ed told him, voice heavy and thick.
"So, why do you have to suffer them alone?" Shiro asked, as concerned for this boy as he would've been for any of the Paladins.
"They're my punishment for what I've done." Ed's voice was barely above a whisper. That sentence hit far closer to Shiro than he suspected Edward realised.
"You know, I think that about my nightmares as well." Shiro told him and Ed glanced up at him before looking away once again. "You know I was captured by Haggar and the Galra for over a year. I don't remember much about my imprisonment but nearly every night I have nightmares about the things I do remember and sometimes I get new memories appear during them. I found out that I was known as 'Champion' to the Galran and their supporters because I was forced to fight in their arena. I was forced to maim, injure and kill other prisoners just so I could survive. I remember doing horrible, unspeakable things to ensure I survived. I still don't know how I escaped but my nightmares will always make sure that I never truly forget what I was forced to do." Black pushed her head under his flesh arm to ground him.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Ed told him and Shiro gave him a small, tight smile.
"So am I." Shiro said before shaking his head slightly. "My point was that I understand getting nightmares like that and not wanting to burden anyone else with them. I've recently had it pointed out to me by Lance that keeping my nightmares to myself only causes me more stress and makes me more upset which in turn affects how Voltron functions. He pretty much ordered me to speak to someone about my nightmares so I started talking to Black before you turned up. He was right about how much it helped me and I even started sleeping better knowing that someone else knew about them and never once judged me for what I was forced to do, no matter how horrible." Shiro scratched Black behind her ears only to snap his eyes back up to Ed when he let out a wet, derisive chuckle.
"This difference between you and me," he said, still refusing to look at the older man. He could feel the other Lions concern for him but he ignored it, "is that you didn't have a choice when you did those things. I did." He said, sniffling slightly and hating himself for doing so.
"That doesn't mean you deserve these nightmares." Shiro said gently. Ed shook his head with so much conviction that Shiro felt his heart drop a little.
"I do. These nightmares are me getting off lightly. I deserve worse than them." Ed sighed wearily, staring into his glass of water without really seeing it.
"Edward." The way Shiro said his name, so gentle and understanding, caused Edward to meet his eyes properly for the first time since they'd made it to the kitchens. "No matter what you did, you don't deserve nightmares where you're like this after being woken before the nightmare even took hold. I don't even want to know what you're like when you have to wake yourself up." Shiro said, shaking his head slightly. His nightmares left him exhausted and depressed the next day. Until Lance had confronted him, he'd thought he'd been hiding his sleepless and/or nightmare fueled nights from the team well. "No matter how bad your nightmares are, Edward, I'm sure I've seen or done things just as bad. If you want to talk to me, I'll listen." His voice promised no judgement but Ed still didn't budge.
"Shiro, trust me when I say this but there is no way you've seen anything like my nightmares." Ed shuddered as the memory of the thing he and Alphonse had created came to the forefront of his mind. Shiro didn't want to keep pushing and, before Lance had confronted him, he would have left it there but he knew better now. He knew how cleansing it was to tell someone else what had been keeping you up at night, no matter how horrific it was. So, he ignored Black's suggestion to just drop the subject and pushed again.
"Edward, I promise that talking about your nightmares will make you feel so much better-" Shiro stopped talking when he heard Ed's derisive snort and found himself looking golden eyes ablaze with disbelief and self-hatred.
"So, talking about the time I almost killed myself and my brother trying to transmute my dead mother back to life will make me feel better?" He snapped so angrily that Shiro actually flinched back. His movement seemed to have made Ed realise what he said because his face turned from enraged to shock then horror. He slipped off the stool he was seated on, hand covering his mouth, and backing away slowly.
Shiro was still trying to process what Edward had said and grasp why it caused that reaction when he noticed the blonde slowly backing away from him towards the door. Ed lowered his gloved hand from his mouth slightly, mouth opening to say something before it shut abruptly and he was gone, blonde hair vanishing around the corner before Shiro could so much as say his name.
Black let out a soft whine and that's what finally broke Shiro out of his stupor and made him get off his stool and follow Edward. He made it out into the hallway and turned in the same direction Ed had but then realised he had no idea where the blonde alchemist went. There were, however, several places he could have gone and Shiro set his shoulders determinedly and readied himself to check them all. Black huffed and took the lead, directing him confidently through the Castle-ship and Shiro felt a slight rush of embarrassment at not having remembered that the Lions could practically pinpoint the blonde's position with surprising accuracy.
Shiro used the time it took to get from the kitchens to wherever Ed had fled to, to try and figure out what had caused him to react like that. He played the blonde's words over in his head and let them sink in before his eyes widened and he almost stopped where he was walking as he figured it out. One of the first things Edward had told them when talking about alchemy and its limits was that you couldn't bring the dead back to life. Now that Shiro was thinking about it, he recalled the first proper conversation they'd had after they'd been summoned by Truth but before Edward had given the Lions the transformation array. He'd been telling them about what had happened after his mother had passed away when he'd paused at a certain spot before glossing over it, clearly hiding something from them. Shiro had a feeling that he'd just been unintentionally told what that secret was.
A/N - I'll admit that the fact that the last two chapters haven't gotten any comments made me a little sad but I'm this chapter is good enough for you guys to let me know what you think! Also, I've finished writing all the chapters to this story but I will be sticking to the one chap per week schedule because I'm gonna be focusing my energy on the new story. Some of you may already know what one I'm working on since you've expressed your want for it. But it won't be published until this one is finished or nearly finished being posted. So please let me know what you guys think to this story! I honestly love getting all of your reviews and it lets me know what you think about where I'm taking this story. I promise we're nearly at the action part of this story but I'd still love to know your thoughts!