Shiro's circadian rhythm came to a full cycle. His drowsiness began to recede as his senses felt something amiss in his usual mornings. Although he had only been in the Altean castle for a couple of Earth days, he had slowly carved out a routine. It made adjusting to his new life easier. Well, as easy as attaining the position of Black Paladin, leader of a movement to free the universe from the hands of a totalitarian regime was.
First of all, he felt warm. This was odd because he's always felt cool. The suits and manufactured environments for space were designed to maintain the optimum temperature of 23 degrees Celsius. Although he was never cold, he never truly felt warm. Even while the castle kept the atmosphere above freezing temperatures for both Altean and Earthlings alike, living in in it was like standing under an unrelenting air conditioner. Already Lance had complained of the cold drying up his skin, to which Keith replied that if he preferred the heat, they could drop him off at the nearest sun.
This was the first time in a long while in which he had felt warm. It was the kind of warmth one would feel in front of a fireplace after returning from a day pelted by cold, harsh winds. It made one feel thankful for the cold, so he could have the experience of the warmth wrapping around his core. It was such a pleasant warmth that Shiro never wanted to let go. He wanted to selfishly hold on to it for as long as there was breath in him. So he tightened his grip and drew the warmth closer, protecting it with his entire being.
Funnily enough, the warmth stirred.
Shiro's eyes went wide, all sleepiness gone in a flash. Suddenly, he was aware of not only the warm skin against his own, but the silky hair between his fingers. The soft, smooth limb between his legs. The small fists bunching up the fabric of his shirt. The girl who felt like she held completely melded into Shiro overnight.
"This is not good. This is not good at all," Shiro thought, panic-stricken. For a man who has repeatedly stared death in the eyes, it surprised even Shiro that such a petite being could induce such an anxiety-ridden state. Ever being the gentleman, Shiro put all the years of space and physical training into slipping out of the princess's tight grasp. When he successfully detached himself from her, he immediately felt the loss of her warmth. It was if the heat in his body was borrowed. Now that he was about to leave, it would return to her like she was the sole, rightful carrier of warmth. Breaking his gaze from her sleeping face proved harder than he expected and he wished nothing more than to return to her embrace. But it was almost time for training to start, and after the almost-fiasco of their recent battle, the team really needed the practice. Quickly donning his gear, he was off, giving one last glance to the slumbering girl in his bed.
Shiro was the first of the five Paladins to appear in the training room. Allura was already up, looking over the training curriculum. Before he could get a greeting out, the morning alarm sounded, most likely jarring the other residents of the castle awake. He offhandedly wondered if Serenity would wake up now. Realizing that the blonde was muddling his thoughts, he refocused and greeted Princess Allura.
"Good morning, Princess. What are the plans for today?"
Just as she was to respond, a grumbling moan came from a corridor.
"What the Quiznark?" said the Princess in exasperation.
"Ugh…" came from a voice most definitely belonging to Lance, "why do we have to get up so early? This is really cutting into my beauty sleep." Lance entered the room, still in a face mask with cucumbers on his eyes.
The Princess glared at Lance in disapproval, "Lance, the nerve of-"
But again, she was cut off by another yawn, this time coming from Pidge.
"Good morning," Pidge greeted as she rub the drowsiness out of her eyes. The small Paladin came in with Keith and Hunk in tow.
"What is wrong with you all?" Allura started, "Wasn't the disaster from last time enough to show you how important and dire your mission is? And here you all are grumbling about rest. You know, the Galran empire never rests."
"Come on, Princess. It hasn't even been a week since we left our home hundreds of light years away to come help fight to defend the universe. It's hard to adjust to such a big change," retorted Lance. None of them had yet to admit it aloud, but the realization that they were galaxies away from Earth had started to dawn on them.
"I understand your point, but Princess Allura is right. We don't know when the Galra will attack next. We need to get our act together before that happens," Shiro said in a definitive voice.
The Altean Princess was thankful that their two objectives aligned. She recognized the shining beacon of leadership within Shiro and knew that the Black Lion could not have a better Paladin. Already, Shiro's calm and collected personality proved vital in maintaining the Paladin's focus in their mission. Allura's train of thought was interrupted yet again by Coran barreling through the castle doors. Unable to catch his breath, Coran only managed to get one word out for every breath he took.
"The...Lunarian...is," the struggling Altean wheezed, "...is...MISSING!"
Immediately, all sleep was wiped from the Paladins' countenance and everyone but Shiro tensed.
Allura's eyes almost popped out of her skull. The castle being infiltrated by an enemy was the worst thing that could happen this early into their mission. When did she get out? Had the Lunarian left the castle already? No, she was more likely to still be in the castle, digging for Altean secrets and trying to sabotage Voltron. What if she was planted there by the Galra? Allura's mind raced with all the disastrous consequences of allowing a stranger into the castle as she began barking out orders.
"Pidge, Hunk, and Keith, split off to guard the castle's entrance and exit. Shiro and Lance, please go to the lions and make sure they're safe. Coran, come with me to the control room to put this castle's on lock down."
As the castle occupants scrambled to get to their destinations, Shiro threw his arms out and yelled for everyone to come to a stop.
Everyone stilled as Shiro drew in a short breath to prepare for what he was about to say next. A wave of embarrassment flooded over him. His face heated up and the tips of his ears reddened. How he had wished to have his helmet on right now to hide his face.
"The Lunarian Princess was under my watch for the whole night. She's currently in my room," Shiro explained reluctantly, knowing that such a statement would certainly cause for a misunderstanding. But no matter how many ways he could think about phrasing the story, he knew that there was no way to explain it to the team without any underlying implication. How was he to explain that the Lunarian had come to his room last night to kill him but changed her mind at the last second? Even though she was so close to assassinating him, he knew within his gut that she was not the type to harm a soul. He thought back to the day Shura had died-to the empty promise he never thought he would be able to fulfill.
"I'll do it. I'll protect her in your place."
Shiro could not explain why exactly he had already grown so protective of the newfound princess. It was something about her eyes. The moment he had looked into them, he found so much sorrow that he wanted to cry for her too. They both lost their innocence on that Galra ship, something he never thought possible before as an Earthling who never knew of life outside his solar system.
Once Shiro's statement settled into the Alteans and Paladins minds, a range of reactions came about. Both the Alteans exploded into a tomato-hue of embarrassment as they wondered about Earthling courting rituals. Hunk, Pidge, and Keith stood paralyzed as they never expected such a statement from their leader and were all in the process of reforming their image of the Black Paladin.
Lance was the only one with the gall to say anything.
"Woooooooow, Shiro. I have to say, you work faster than I do. How-"
The white-and-black haired warrior thanked all the gods in this universe because at that moment, the sound of the door sliding open cut off Lance from finishing a predictably crude inquiry. The castle door opened to reveal the blonde Lunarian still in her tattered knee-length dress. She was standing with one hand on the wall and the other hand in a loose fist in front of her chest. It was as if she was trying to blend into the background.
"G-good morning. I heard a commotion and I was worried if my disappearance had caused a disturbance," said the moon princess in a demure voice. Her shyness prevented her from looking directly at anybody. And because of her imprisonment, it had been awhile since she's been in so many strangers' presence.
The pilot of the Blue Lion, still in all his facial glory, sported his best smile and made way to the newcomer. In a second, he was by her side and reached out for her hand to kiss. Pidge scrunched her face in disgust while Keith scoffed in disbelief. Shiro, on the other hand, paced quickly to break the flirtatious Paladin away from the blonde. The leader would never admit this to be an act of jealousy, however, no matter how much the flames of his jealousy had licked at his insides when he had seen Lance touch Serenity's hand.
"Lance, go back to your room and wipe the gunk off your face. Be in the training room in five minutes," he turned towards the rest of the Voltron pilots, "that goes for the rest of you. Get ready. The day has officially started."
Sensing that he might have crossed a line, the Cuban pilot took heed of Shiro's orders and shot out of the room. The other Paladins scrambled to put their gears on.
Coran and Princess Allura were pulled out of their stupor by the commanding nature of Shiro's voice and refocused on the tasks at hand.
"I'll go prepare the castle's training system for the Paladins," stated Coran and off he went to do just that.
The Altean Princess gave her Lunarian counterpart a once-over. Although she was still quite alarmed by the blonde's ability to exit the healing pod and walk around the ship unnoticed, Shiro's approval of the moon princess put her at ease at least for the moment. She gave a disarming smile to Serenity. "Now, I must get you out of that poor excuse of a dress. A princess should definitely dress like one."
Serenity lips turned up at such a Shura-like statement and her smile put the two remaining occupants of the room at ease. Shiro, on his part, felt relief calming his frazzled nerves and a familiar warmth burgeoning in his chest at seeing her sincere smile. And while the Altean female had not fully rid all of her suspicions of the Lunarian, she wasn't able to stifle her joy at the thought of having a female friend in the castle. Especially in one dominated by men.
Allura returned the other princess's smile and moved to Serenity's side, ushering her towards her personal chambers. Shiro found his eyes following the blonde princess as she left the room. And just as he was about to turn around to start a day full of training, he caught Serenity returning his gaze with a small smile and a wave good-bye. His heart lurched at the sight.