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Allura's head lightly moved on the pillow but her eyes were still closed. She felt the hand on her shoulder move her back and forth again.
"Allura."
Her lashes fluttered as she woke up.
She looked up to see Shiro sitting along the edge of the cot. His white bangs were damp. By the refreshing smell of the Altean herbal soap drifting off of him she took it he had just bathed. The previous mornings she had woken before he left to train. But if he had bathed already then -
I overslept.
"You should have woken me," she murmured.
"I did try," Shiro moved off of the cot. "Everyone's still asleep."
She made a disgruntled sound as she slipped off the bed. Her gown raised up a little, partially showing her legs. She caught Shiro's stare before hastily pulling it back down. He cleared his throat and moved to the closet for something.
He didn't know she had markings on her legs too.
She ignored him and opened up the top drawer of his dresser. The mice stayed sleeping on the pillow. She yanked out her space uniform and pulled out her brush. He picked up the hair tie that had fallen on the floor and put it on top of the dresser.
She mumbled her thanks as she simultaneously moved out of his way and brushed her hair. It was better for her to leave already changed in case she ran into someone along the way back to her room. She quickly threw her hair up in a ponytail. She heard the dresser drawer slide close.
"I need to get the training deck ready," Shiro walked over to the door.
"This was the last night," she called out to him, making him pause. "I've imposed upon you for too long."
Shiro shrugged. "It wasn't a problem."
"Thank you." She bit her lip a little. "I'll repay the kindness if you ever need it. You need only to come Shiro. No questions asked."
He turned his head back to her. "I know."
She gave him a small smile. "But you never will, will you?"
He slid the door open. "Don't forget your robe in the closet."
He then slipped out the door.
Lance could feel his brow twitching as he laid on the floor of the training deck. He wouldn't feel so weird about it if he could actually see what was happening.
"First thing we do," he heard Shiro say, "Look around the area. Are there any immediate dangers? If not, then proceed with caution."
He heard footsteps.
"Look over the body."
He flinched when he felt Shiro's hand on his wrist. "Look for a pulse here or," he squirmed when Shiro's hand went along his neck. "Along the area where the neck and jaw meet."
"I can't see Shiro," came Hunk's voice.
Lance yelped as Shiro lifted him up into a sitting positon. "Right here."
"Dead bodies don't make sounds," Keith criticized.
"I'm injured." Lance opened his eyes to glare. "Not dead you goth mullet."
"He's going to be dead if we don't see what's wrong with him," Pidge flatly commented.
"Lance, relax your body," Shiro instructed. The Blue Paladin sighed but did what he was told. Shiro laid him back down on the floor. "You can have your eyes open if you want," came Shiro's amused voice.
"But I'm supposed to be out."
"Whatever your preference," Shiro turned back to his team. "Now it's important that you don't use your thumb to check for a pulse."
Hunk tilted his head. "Why not?"
"There's a strong pulse from your own body there so you could mistaken it for the injured person's pulse," Pidge enthusiastically added.
"A nerd knows something," Keith flatly rumbled out. "Shocker."
"I bet I know more first aid than you, dropout."
"Pidge, Keith."
Lance grinned. "Someone got schooled," he sang out then blindly pointed his thumbs to himself, "and it wasn't ol' Lancey boy."
"Lance," came the combined groan of his team.
"What did I do?" Lance smiled as he crossed his arms. "I'm just a dead body."
"Hah," Keith grinned.
"Oh you know what I mean!"
"Cadets."
They all shrank back, even Hunk who hadn't done anything. Team properly scolded, Shiro turned back to Lance.
"No matter the injury there is always a chance that the body will go into shock. If they feel cold it's best to put something over them. If they happen to wake up you can even ask them if they're cold."
"Couldn't being cold mean blood loss?" Keith asked.
"Yes." Shiro recalled Allura's prone form. "Or severe energy loss."
Any traces of humor drained from the team.
"I still can't believe that worked," Lance quietly voiced out.
"Yeah," Hunk sighed.
"We were lucky it did," Shiro murmured.
"Luck's not going to help us every time," Keith crossed his arms. "So what do we do if someone's out of juice away from the castle or Shiro?"
"Pidge and Hunk are working with Coran for a solution," Shiro informed them. "We need something small and portable to allow energy transfer from one person to another."
"So we don't have anything right now."
"We have ideas," Pidge defended. "But there's a lot to try to achieve, including preventing memory transfers."
"Transfers?" Lance scrunched his nose in confusion.
Keith turned to Shiro with a frown. "Did the Princess get some of your memories?"
"Yes."
"Were they toddler times?" Lance lightly laughed as he looked at Shiro. "Or maybe awkward pre-teens?"
"...They were more recent memories."
Upon seeing the shadow on Shiro's face Lance felt like kicking himself.
"Oh."
Keith gave Lance a withering look but the teen was looking down already in proper scolded mode. He let it go for now, turning back to Shiro.
"So don't lose energy."
"Basically," Shiro attempted a half grin.
"Hey Shiro," Pidge voiced out, "for the Princess how'd you know when to switch from compressions to breathing?"
"That's a good question," Shiro complimented, "I had already done several rounds of compressions but Allura still wasn't breathing."
Lance's head shot off the floor when he felt Shiro's hands on his chest.
"O-k, no. It's someone else's turn to be the dummy."
"Lance, you were late," Hunk said.
"Last person to arrive is the guinea pig," Pidge grinned. "Paladin rules."
"But it's always me."
"Then don't be last," Keith rolled his eyes.
"It's in my blood to be fashionably late. You guys know this already. I call discrimination on this rule!"
Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose.
Why couldn't their lessons end on time?
It was after dinner when Shiro ran into Allura.
She was switching between screens when he came up to her.
"Still running diagnostics?"
"There are still some problem areas in the castle," Allura murmured as she read over the chart. "Coran's fixed the more vital parts like the Gladiator and cryo-pods. The food dispenser still acts up as Hunk found out earlier." She glanced back to him. "How was training?"
"We got through it."
She turned her head completely. "You look exhausted."
"So do you."
"I'm better thanks to you."
He looked over at a screen. "Thanks to sleep," he corrected.
She looked at him curiously. "You don't know, do you?"
"About what?"
"Your quintessence." She smiled at him. "It's very comforting. Granted," she lightly grabbed her arm, "I cannot sense it unless I'm close, but all the same..."
"I did not know that," he amusedly replied.
She put her screens down. "I'm done here." She turned back to him. "Do you have any other pressing matters?"
"Not really. You?"
"No."
"Then, would you be opposed if I showed you something?"
"Like what?"
"Nothing horrific," she lightly laughed. "I promise."
He amusedly shook his head. "Alright."
Allura led him up a tower in the castle.
Her starlit sanctuary, she had called it.
They sat on some pillows she had left on the floor from a previous visit. He looked up at the big ceiling window, watching as they slowly cruised by the stars around. It was relaxing up here. Quiet.
He could see why this was her sanctuary.
Out of the corner of his eye he spied her handing off the cup. He took it and drank more of the strongly fermented space juice. It burned his throat more than he cared to admit.
"What is this again?"
She refilled the cup then took a hearty dose. "Opactil. It is more concentrated than our other drinks."
He blinked slowly. He could feel that it was more concentrated. He looked at the glass container. They were halfway through it. He took her offering, tipping back the rest of what was in the cup. When she made to refill it he put a hand on the top of the bottle.
"That's enough for one night."
"I can handle more." She gave him a tiny grin. "Can you?"
"We shouldn't have more," he reworded.
"Boy Scout," she lightly pouted before lying down on the pillows.
"What?"
She lazily shrugged. "Lance calls you that when you're being responsible."
He shook his head, laying down besides her.
"You shouldn't repeat what you hear."
"Hm." Her fingers twirled a tassel on the pillow next to her. "I suppose I shouldn't call you that," she slowly turned her head towards him. "Drinking into a stupor is not very responsible."
"I'm not in a stupor," he dryly murmured. "It's been a long quintant. That's all."
"It has been." She propped her head up in her hand. "What did the castle do to you?"
"What?"
"Hunk and Pidge were attacked by food, Lance nearly froze while Keith had to fight off the training bot." Her fingers lightly twirled a couple strands of his bangs on the pillows. "You know what happened with me. So..."
He eyed her fingering his hair. He turned his head back to the stars, making the white bangs fall out of her reach.
"I thought you said you wouldn't ask questions."
"If you approached me," she clarified with a small grin.
He shook his head at her. With a deep sigh he closed his eyes.
"I'm the one that released Sendak's pod."
She tilted her head. No one had told her what exactly happened regarding Sendak, just that they had lost him out into space during the castle's chaos.
"Why?"
"...The castle made it seem like he was speaking to me."
"I suppose the surveillance would have his voice recorded to mimic it." She continued to stare at his profile. "What did he say?"
"Nothing to worry about."
She gave him a flat look. "So nothing made you launch his frozen pod into space?"
"Even without drinking you would have asked me this," he muttered out loud.
"What's that to mean?"
"You don't know the meaning of boundaries."
"And you do? Then it must have been another paladin that was sleeping in my chambers two movements ago."
"I was monitoring you."
"You've even had the gall to look and touch my markings the night before."
His eyes widened a little. She gave him a small triumphant look.
"I may have been asleep but I felt your touch, Paladin."
He looked away with a slight flush. "I'm sorry." He paused as something occurred to him. "Is there another meaning to me doing that?"
It was her turn to look away. "Yes."
"...Is touching them worse than looking?"
She turned to him with narrowed eyes. His eyes widened as her fingers lightly trailed the scar across the bridge of his nose, then languidly followed the curve of his cheek. He felt an uncontrollable shiver from the soft touch.
"Did that answer your question?"
He didn't answer. I just had to ask. His face felt warm but he was certain it wasn't from just the drink. Instead, he sat up and readjusted the pillows to accommodate his new position. She stayed lying down, watching as he adjusted himself.
Then he got up completely. "I should go."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
He walked out.
Shiro had barely changed when there was a knock on his door.
"I never apologized for that night."
He frowned at Allura's sad smile. He felt a pit in his stomach when he realized what night she was referring to. He looked away for a moment.
"...I'm the one that should. Why are you -"
"I wanted to know about Gopi and I did. Don't apologize for that."
His eyes looked down at his hands. He had come to terms with himself thus far and his role on this team. But he hadn't asked what Allura felt about it.
"Knowing what you do," he quietly murmured, "if you need to find another paladin -"
"What do you mean?"
"You saw what I did. I've done worse," he looked straight into her eyes. "The head of Voltron shouldn't be someone like me, I know. I want to be here but you need to be comfortable with it."
"Shiro." Her hands laid along his jaw. He blinked at the strength of her hold. "You are the Black Paladin because there's no one else like you."
His eyes closed. She could see a tension in his shoulders relax.
"Don't regret it later," he softly joked.
"I could say the same to you."
They shared a grin.
Allura's fingers grazed his on the cot as they laid side by side.
He didn't bring up the fact that the previous night was supposed to be the last one she'd "impose" on him. He had merely opened the door and she slipped inside, neither one saying a word.
"...I wasn't disgusted," she murmured after a moment of silence.
He turned his head to her. "What?"
"Your memory of Gopi."
"...The mouse -"
"Reacted to what your feelings in the memory were." She turned onto her side so she could look at him in the low lights. "I felt your disgust towards yourself, but I didn't feel that way." Her fingers lightly touched his bangs. "I still don't."
"I don't see why you wouldn't."
"Because of what else I felt." She faintly brushed the scar on his face. "Your determination to be better, to be stronger so that wouldn't happen again."
"...I can only try."
She smiled at him. "Why do you say that as if it's not good enough?"
His hand raised up to touch one of her cheek markings. I'm a hypocrite. He knew he didn't have the right to touch her like this. But he couldn't stop. Once he felt her shiver he knew he didn't want to. Not unless she stopped him. He felt her breath against his hand as he rubbed the mark again.
The skin felt softer. Are her markings more sensitive?
"Shiro..."
He felt lost the moment she said his name. His nose bumped into hers as he turned his face towards her. Was this really something he should be doing? When he grazed her lips he didn't doubt himself again. The only question was if she was in agreement.
Her breath ghosted his face as she pulled away a little.
"I..."
Whatever she wanted to say wouldn't come out. She leaned in, felt the thrilling sensation as she brushed his lips, then pulled away again. She ducked her head under his chin for a moment, feeling him breathe, feeling his heart beat faster from their teasing brushes.
She sat up. "I need to go."
It was the first time she expressed that sentiment.
"Alright."
He watched her slip out the door.
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AN: Drama drama. XD Don't worry, there's a lot coming. I'm sure you know what episode is next...