AN: Sooo I saw the Season 7 trailer. I guess this is now more AU than canon XD. But I'll try!
Spoiler alert for up until the season 7 trailer. I'll be referencing other things to lay ground work for later chapters (as if I haven't been doing that already XD).
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Training with Shiro was hard, Hunk wasn't above admitting that.
Even when he was sparring with Lance against their leader they still couldn't land an actual hit on him - never mind the fact that Hunk still didn't understand why Shiro was sparring with them instead of Keith or the Gladiator. Though Keith was still in trouble for what happened with Pidge. Training with Shiro was a treat for Keith. His eyes drifted upwards to the wide windows of the viewing room above the training deck, bringing his thoughts back to the situation at hand.
When Allura was in charge of the exercises, however...
"Keep moving Paladins!"
His breath was labored as he ducked some rotating torture device with way too many arms. The Obstacle Course from Hell was supposed to be a traditional training regiment of the paladins but sometimes it made him wonder. Does the word diplomat mean something else in Altean? If not, then Alteans were pretty hardcore. Allura would laugh at earth's diplomats in their suits.
"Anyone else," Hunk huffed, "wonder about the sanity," huuufff, "of the first paladins?"
Lance side stepped a swinging arm of the rotating device.
"I wonder about the sicko who came up with all this!"
"Quit wasting breath and work!" Keith yelled as he began climbing the wall up ahead.
Lance stuck out his tongue behind his back. He yelped as he was suddenly pulled backwards only to see something big drop down onto the spot he used to be standing. He turned around to see Shiro letting go of the collar of his space suit.
"Pay attention buddy."
"Since when do we have to dodge boulders?!"
Shiro gave him a half shrug. "Gotta be prepared for anything."
The Black Paladin then darted forward, expertly weaving through the rotating arms and even doing some crazy horizontal spin to fit in between the narrow space of two attacking arms. Once on his feet he scaled the wall with ease, hoisting himself over the top with one hand.
"Damn," Lance murmured in awe.
Hunk let out a low whistle.
Up in the viewing room Allura lightly gripped her portable holo-tablet as she subconsciously followed Shiro's progress. She was monitoring all of them but there was just something about him that always drew her eye. Even if his hair wasn't colored that way. The way he moved, the way he carried himself when he walked into a room, his manner of speech and voice when he spoke to people...
"Shiro's amazing," Pidge murmured.
Allura looked over at the seated Green Paladin, her left ankle elevated to help the healing. Her laptop was still on but only when Pidge spoke did Allura notice the lack of typing.
"He is." She looked down at her holo-tablet to check something. "How is your ankle?"
"It's healing remarkably fast. I'm glad that the salmute is compatible with humans."
Allura's eyes drifted back up. "As am I."
If Pidge hadn't picked up something in Allura's voice she wouldn't have looked up in time to see the slight biting of her bottom lip. She wasn't blind to what was going around her like Lance was at times. Plus, she had been looking through the surveillance feeds for when Sendak was in the castle.
It was hard to not notice certain things on those feeds. It wasn't her business to know what was going on in the middle of the night or early in the morning. However...
"There's a lot of similarities between Alteans and humans," Pidge casually said, "despite our two planets being so far from each other. It's kind of strange, if you think about it."
"Yes, it is strange."
"Physiologically speaking, Alteans are the only other race on this side of the universe that's like humans. Hair color, eyes, skin, number of digits - in general I mean."
"Pidge," Allura gave her a no nonsense expression, "whatever you are getting to I would prefer if you simply say it."
"...I've seen you go to Shiro's room several times."
There was a slight pink on Allura's face as Pidge's insinuation hit her.
"That is not what is occurring."
"Then what is?"
"If you must know" Allura primly sniffed," ...I get nightmares." Her eyes drifted downwards a little. "As does Shiro, at times." Pause. "It's comforting to know there is someone besides you during those moments."
"And Shiro is a pillar of comfort. I get that." Pidge pushed her glasses up. "But it's not solely that."
"..."
"Allura, I'm not trying to pry but there's something you should know about Shiro. At least what was going on before he left for Kerberos. You see he was actually eng-"
"I'd prefer to hear it from him directly," Allura briskly interrupted.
"..That's fair." Pidge looked back down at the laptop. "When he tells you, you should tell him what you've been holding back too."
Allura whipped her head back to Pidge. The glow of the laptop shone on her glasses, making her eyes unreadable.
"I don't know what it is," Pidge breezily replied, "but there's something you're not telling."
They stared off for a tense moment before Allura looked back down at the training deck.
"You should be concerned about reconciling with Keith."
Pidge gave a small grimace. She still hadn't opened that can of worms.
"...Fair enough."
In the coolness of night Shiro walked out to the bridge.
He hit some buttons on the control panel, placed his left palm on the access screen and then found the planet button. He flicked it off screen, looking up at the expansive map of the universe as it was laid out around him. Not for the first time he felt awed and overwhelmed at the same time.
There were so many planets he'd never seen before, asteroid belts, stars - whole galaxies that were never seen by human eyes. The pilot in him stirred. I want to see it all...And yet at the same time, he felt intimidated. His first far away mission didn't exactly go to plan.
He lifted a hand up to rotate the map a little.
The door whooshed open behind him. He didn't look away from the map, trying to read what was written on the side in Altean letters. Every so often there were notes accompanied with the image. He couldn't really read it but he was starting to recognize reoccurring symbols.
He felt Allura's fingers trail along his right hand. Sensation was different than a normal hand but he could still feel to a certain degree. He spread his fingers more, letting hers entwine with his.
"You never stop, do you?"
"You shouldn't have given me access to the control panel," he lightly joked.
She yawned before putting her head against his arm. His sleeveless sleep shirt allowed her to feel his warm skin next to her cheek as well as the firmness of his bicep. Having traveled with Coran and her father on a couple of trips she had seen fit fighters but it hadn't fazed her before. Her right fingers lightly trailed his right arm up to where skin met metal. She felt him shiver a little, feeling something stir inside of her before dropping her hand.
"It's the middle of the night."
"Couldn't sleep." He turned the map again. "What brings you out of bed?"
"Sleep would not come either." She gave a half shrug. "But your room was empty."
He looked down at her. "I thought you weren't staying over tonight."
"Changed my mind."
"A princess that doesn't honor her word?" He shook his head in fake disappointment. "What is the universe coming to?"
"My word is law, Paladin." She poked his side. "I can alter it at any time."
He dodged her next poke. "Do you really want to start this?"
"I never start something," she tilted her chin haughtily, "that I do not intend to finish."
He tugged at their joined hands, bringing her against him. She squirmed as his nose tickled her neck. She tried to release their hands but he would not let go. Her right hand blindly reached out to his side as she simultaneously continued to wiggle away from his reach. His torso jerked as her fingers poked and pinched.
Her wide grin made him kiss her cheek.
She blinked as he brushed her crescent marking. Her poking fingers suddenly gripped the hem of his shirt. She turned her head more as he placed another on her cheek, then the corner of her mouth. They paused for a couple of ticks, gauging, assessing, trying to read the other's mood.
Then they were motion again. His hand slipped into her hair. Her head angled as they kissed. A sharp breath escaped him, breaking the connection. Her nose ran along his in concern.
"What's the matter?"
"Your nails."
Her fingers relaxed along his back, letting his shirt fall back down. She suddenly remembered the large, jagged scar along his spine and instantly felt guilty. Her hand went against his cheek as his eyes stayed closed.
"I did not realize I was hurting you."
"...You weren't," he voiced out with a slight husk.
She stared at his half opened eyes. Slowly, her right hand drifted back down to his side, then back along his spine. Her fingers dug into his shirt, gradually raising the material but on purpose this time. She watched something kindle in those gray irises as her nails trailed the same area again. Her nails dug in more as their mouths merged again. He leaned over her, making her half sit on the control panel. A soft, feverish warmth was spreading throughout her body. She could feel that heat fueling them. Their mouths angled sharper, parting willing lips -
A blaring sound broke through the night. Shiro quickly pulled her away from the control panel.
"Did we push something?"
"No." She turned around, still feeling the heat in her veins. But this alarm - She rotated the map to reveal the red triangle. "It's a distress signal."
He leaned over to see. "It sounds different than last time."
"There are various sounds depending on the severity of the call."
"And this is...?"
"An attack currently occurring."
"We need to suit up." Shiro's brows furrowed. "Can you -"
"Go. I'll hail them and gather intel."
Keith frowned as Shiro gave everyone their tasks.
"You're benching me?"
"You're defending with Pidge," Shiro reiterated as he slipped his helmet on. "Lance and Hunk will be with me."
"Ah Shiro?" Hunk half raised his hand. "Yellow's not that great at speed. Maybe-"
"We don't need speed for this." Allura enlarged the holo screen for them to see. "It's a small attack but their main ship is heavily damaged. The Yellow Lion's armor is the thickest and ideal for taking stray hits while we unload the personnel onto your lion."
"While Lance and I will draw the enemy fighters' main fire, Pidge and Keith will be covering Hunk," Shiro finished. "Any questions?"
No one else spoke.
"Alright let's go people," Lance loudly clapped with a big grin, taking a moment to pause as he went by the Red Paladin's hanger drop off. "Watch how it's done Keith."
Keith heavily scowled. The Blue Paladin grunted as Shiro pushed him to keep moving. That only made Keith feel a little better. Shiro then paused by Pidge.
"You sure your foot's up for this?"
"Coran's helping me to the hanger but other than that it's just sitting down anyways."
"Just let us know if anything changes." Shiro looked above her head. "Keith."
The scowl waned from the Red Paladin's face upon seeing Shiro's serious expression. He kept his arms crossed but kept Shiro's gaze.
"I will."
Satisfied with that answer, Shiro jogged over to his lion's hanger.
Guarding Hunk's Lion was even more boring than Pidge thought it would be.
"We so got benched."
There was a huff from the Red Lion's comms. "Ya think?"
"No need to get testy. I'm just making light conversation."
"Don't. I'm only keeping this line open for emergencies."
Pidge put her chin in her hand. "Shiro wants you to babysit me, huh?"
"My punishment for messing up."
"Technically, we both did." Pause. "About the quintessence first aid -"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But I just want to -"
"Drop. It."
"Fine." Her eyes narrowed sharply. "You're such a jerk-wad you know that? No wonder the Garrison booted you."
"I'm glad they did, especially if they're going to start letting in dweebs like you."
"This 'dweeb' has an above average IQ and skipped a grade."
"Congratulations. Maybe they'll write that on your tombstone."
"Shiro was right to bench you. I wouldn't trust you with a paperclip!"
"What the hell does a paperclip have to do with anything?"
"It doesn't matter. It's just the first small, worthless thing that popped into my head."
"Worthless? Listen, you little shi-"
Pidge didn't hear what he said. Green's screens were blaring out warnings as something hurtled towards her. She grunted as the large metal crashed into her Lion. As she righted her Lion the screens blared out another warning. Her eyes widened. This time an entire ship was hurtling towards her -
The Red Lion zipped in front of her, taking the brunt with a roar. The lion hurtled off into space with the torn ship still propelling it.
"Keith!"
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AN: I think I can still follow some of the established canon and have it work with my story. Bear with me, this is the first time I've written a fic for a show that isn't finished. XD
So at some point it's probably going to be complete AU since I have ideas already for the story that will undoubtedly clash with what ends up happening on the show. XD