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Carefully, Coran prepped Lance for the cryopod.
Allura stood by the pod itself, entering the sequence for healing rather than hibernating. In the background she could faintly hear Pidge's voice as she talked to Shiro. Earlier Allura had walked by the healer's alcove in the back where Shiro was, quietly clenching his hands every now and then as Hunk plucked out the shards of crystal that managed to pierce his suit.
"You did so much for Matt. I couldn't let them do more to you..."
Allura glanced behind her again. At this angle she could only see Shiro's arm as he half embraced Pidge. Paws touched her cheek. She turned her head, feeling the mice nuzzle her. She smiled and scratched their heads.
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Lance and Shiro."
The mice squeaked at her, making her purse her lips.
"Yes, both of them."
They looked at her steadily with their beady eyes before scurrying off to wherever it was they liked to go. Keith shifted in his stance by Coran. He had visited Shiro earlier then stayed over here.
"Alright Keith," Coran's voice sounded out, making Allura turn back to what she was doing. "Let's get Number Two into the pod."
Keith grabbed Lance's arm and slowly put it around his shoulders. "Shouldn't Hunk be Number Two?"
Coran took the other arm with a shrug. "It's hard to tell Hunk's actual height when he slouches all the time."
"Yeah that's true." He then frowned as another thought occurred to him. "But I'm not shorter than Lance."
"Mmm, your hair adds height."
"Not that much!"
Allura shook her head. "If you'll put Lance in here..."
They half stepped into the pod to prop Lance then stepped back. Allura tapped the screen and the pod closed. Keith crossed his arms as he stood by. In the back Pidge was walking out of the infirmary, wiping her eyes a little. Allura noted that Hunk had activated the alcove's curved wall for privacy, making the entrance narrower.
"It'll take a quintant or so for him to heal."
"Alright."
When Keith did not say or do anything else but stand there Allura turned her attention to Coran.
"Could you see to our guest?"
"More like prisoner."
Allura lightly frowned at Coran's tone. "That Galra will do more damage if we let him loose."
"I suppose..." Coran sighed. He was about to walk but then halted. "Ah, I still need to attend to Shiro."
"I'll take over." She looked over at the alcove. "Take Hunk with you."
"Yes Princess."
Allura watched Coran call Hunk and the Yellow Paladin stuck his head out. She began to walk over. Coran gestured in her direction, saying something else to Hunk that finally prompted the teen to move once Shiro was addressed. By the time she reached the entrance Coran and Hunk were gone.
She knocked on the side. "May I enter?"
"Princess," came Shiro's quiet voice, "of course."
She stepped inside and paused by the entrance, seeing him dab at some small cuts along his stomach. He did not look up as she came closer to the low table he was sitting on nor when she eyed the bowl of blood tipped crystal shards.
"Hunk got all of them."
"That's good to hear." She moved to his back, silently taking a clean cloth and tipping the bottle of healing salmute until the cloth was damp. His black under armor was off and to the side with the rest of his upper suit. She tried not to linger her gaze unnecessarily. Gingerly she dabbed at a wound on his lower back. "Tell me if this hurts."
"Alright." He continued to work silently. After a moment, he spoke up again. "Pidge is staying."
"That is good to hear."
"Hunk too. Said he met a brave Balmeran we need to save, apparently." Shiro grabbed a clean gauze when the one he was using became too bloody to help. "The Galra trapped her people down in caves." He murmured quieter making her lean in a little to hear, "She's never seen the sky."
Allura paused, unable to imagine such a concept. It made her sad, but then she smiled at what Shiro also mentioned.
"Her?"
He gave her a shrug. "A friend."
"Ah yes."
She cleaned a longer cut. He didn't even flinch. She vaguely wondered if his body was desensitized to pain. Immediately after that thought she recalled him screaming as he was electrified for a terribly long time. When they finally reached him and Lance the Black Paladin looked past exhausted...
He flinched.
She stilled her hand, seeing that it had been tracing a jagged scar along his spine.
"I did not mean to -"
"It's ok." He let out a silent breath when her hand moved away. "They're hard not to look at."
That's not true, she wanted to say. But he'd know she was lying. Instead she said nothing in response to that, moving onto the next cut.
"You could go into a pod."
"No."
She looked up at his brisk tone. He glanced at her over his shoulder, his dark grey eyes apologetic.
"The concept of being unconscious in a long narrow tube -" he cut himself off, "I'll heal the traditional way."
"It's your choice. The salmute does promote quicker healing."
"Salmute?"
She gestured to the bottle. He nodded his understanding.
"Are you ready for the bandage?"
He picked up the long bandage and started it off for her, wrapping along the front half of his torso before handing it to her. She tugged the material tight as he held onto one end, then he took it back from her to do his front before handing it off. They did this silently until she was able to tuck and secure the end along his right side. She stayed behind him once she finished. He quirked a brow as she did not move. Then he felt something touch his left shoulder.
He looked to see her forehead leaning against him, her hair covering her face from his view.
"Princess?"
She shook her head, trying to compose herself. "I am - " her voice cracked just a little, "so sorry."
"Princess Allura," he made to touch her head but hesitated. He dropped his hand back down on the table. "There's nothing to forgive."
He felt her shuddering exhale skirt along his back. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling goosebumps forming along the area that had been breathed on. Then he opened his eyes, raised his left hand and lightly placed it on her head. Her hair was softer than he thought it would be.
"We'll get the hang of this," he murmured. "It just takes time."
Her father's words came to her. 'Nothing good comes from impatience.' Her eyes closed, feeling the weight of Shiro's hand as a solid reassurance.
"Yes," she quietly replied back. "Of course."
When he felt her head lift up he removed his hand. Her eyes were a little glossy but nothing fell from them. She walked around the table while she wiped the corners of her eyes. His eyes followed her as she stopped in front of him. Without a word her fingers went along his jaw and moved his head to the side.
Grabbing a clean gauze and adding salmute she proceeded to clean off the dried blood trail along the side of his face. It was difficult for her to tell how big the cut along his temple was with the trail. He was still as she worked, his eyes flicking up to her once he could not stay silent anymore.
"Thank you for this."
Her fingers lingered above his skin as she looked back at his dark grey eyes. She had seen them before but not really noticed their shape. She looked away to fold over the gauze for a clean side.
"It's what teammates do."
Slowly, a smile formed on his face. "They do, don't they?"
She returned the smile with a small one before going back to work.
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AN: So I know some of you must have been disappointed I didn't type up the actual rescue, but it really wasn't going to be different than what happened in the show.
Why reinvent the wheel? XD