**Author's note: Hello! Sorry I haven't posted in over 2 months. Life and lack of motivation have just been getting in the way sooooo...yeah. Anyways, season 6 was AWESOME! I loved it!
**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender!
When Shiro had said "we should do some team training", Mari quickly learned that what he had really meant was "the paladins should do some team training". With Coran accompanying them, all five lions were headed for the Karthulian System, leaving her behind on the quiet Castle with the bedridden princess and the four space mice.
Mari understood fully well why she couldn't come along: she didn't have a lion and, according to Coran, she'd need one to survive the hazardous training grounds of old. There wouldn't have been any point in her just tagging along and she had accepted this truth without any complaints. But what Shiro had said to her before departing was what was really ticking her off:
"I know you'll want to hit the training deck as soon as we leave and that's fine, but…I really want you to do a different form of training today as well," he had said slowly, carefully.
Mari had raised a suspicious eyebrow at him then, her arms already folding over her chest defensively. "And what is it?" she tried not to groan.
"Um. Well…" Shiro sighed as he steeled himself. "I want you to watch over Allura. Help her out if she needs anything and make sure she's okay."
"You want me to babysit?!" she hissed furiously. "What the hell kind of training is that?"
"You really need to start minding your language…"
"I'm not babysitting a ten thousand year old alien princess!"
"You're not babysitting her, just keeping her company," Shiro said. "Think of this as a bonding exercise."
"And what if I'm not in a 'bonding' mood?"
"Mari…Please?"
"Ugh…"
"For the team?"
"Nhnnn…"
"For me?"
"Grrr! Okay, fine!"
"This…is so…STUPID!" Mari grunted, nimbly parrying the Gladiator's jabs before firmly impaling it. The robot froze in place for a moment before glowing a dim blue and disappearing into thin air, the level having been passed. Straightening, she panted slightly and wiped the sweat from her brow before retracting the spear tip at the end of her staff and reverting the weapon back to its portable size. She clipped it onto her hip and shuffled over to the fresh towel waiting for her at the edge of the deck, plucking it off the ground before burying her glistening face into the soft fabric. Taking a glance at her phone, the time indicated that she had been practicing for at least an hour now. The paladins plus Coran had yet to return to the Castle, and Mari sighed to herself in mild annoyance.
"I guess I'd better check on Allura," she mumbled, draping her towel around her shoulders before heading out of the training deck and starting down the hall towards the princess's quarters.
It wasn't that Mari didn't like Allura, but they just seemed too different when it came to interests, personality, and ideals. The atmosphere felt awkward whenever the two were alone together, both of them always unsure of what to say to the other. But Allura was a teammate, a part of their new little space family, and thanks to Shiro's guilt-tripping, Mari felt obligated to at least try to connect with her.
Okay, okay, you can do this. You can get through this, she tried to motivate herself as she turned another corner. It's just talking, girl-to-girl…well, human girl-to-ten thousand year old alien woman, I guess…Grrr come on! You talked all the time with Maggie and Jia. This shouldn't be any different with Allura.
Suddenly, peals of shrill laughter pierced the air and the princess came whipping around the corner on a cushioned hovering chair. It was being easily propelled by the space mice, but it was blatantly obvious that the four small creatures had little to no control over steering as the chair rammed into the walls repeatedly. And at the speed it was currently going, it was also very apparent that the mice had no way of stopping the thing as it barreled towards Mari.
The space mice squeaked in alarm upon noticing the Earthling in their path and they quickly clambered up onto the chair. Her adrenaline levels spiking in the face of danger, Mari jumped out of the way just in the tick of time, pressing herself flat against the wall as the hover chair zipped by. It rounded another corner, sending the chair and its five riders into a dizzying spin before careening onto the bridge and crashing to a halt.
Mari stood there stiffly for a moment, her heart pounding rapidly as she tried to comprehend what the heck had just happened. Catching her breath, her fear slowly subsided and was immediately replaced by high levels of irritation as she realized she had almost been run over by a chair. A freaking chair. Angrily peeling herself off the wall, she hurried onto the bridge to see Allura giggling uncontrollably as her hover seat wobbled to a stop in front of Coran's control panel.
Patience yields focus, Mari could practically hear her brother reminding her as she stomped closer to the princess. Patience yield focus, patience yields focus.
"Allura, what the hel—"
You really need to start minding your language.
"…Allura, what the…quiznak are you doing?" Mari asked through clenched teeth, her tone tight and low.
"Oh! Hello, Mari," the princess beamed giddily as she turned to face the fuming Earthling. "I was just having a bit of fun with the mice."
"Yeah, I noticed. You almost ran me over," she replied coolly.
"Oh, did we? My apologies," Allura said, her smile turning sheepish.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed resting?" Mari sighed, folding her arms over her chest and tilting her head to one side as her eyes narrowed at the ruffled princess.
"Yes, but I could not sleep," she shrugged uncaringly in response. "Then the mice suggested this fun pastime while we have the Castle all to ourselves. It really is an exhilarating experience, Mari! You simply must give it a tr—"
Allura was cut short as she began to cough uncontrollably and Mari stood there uncomfortably as she waited for the princess to recover.
"Uh…do you want me to grab you some water?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine,"—cough cough—"Really. Thank you though," the princess barely managed in between breaths.
Just then, the bridge's central monitor lit up and the five paladins appeared on screen, each of them sitting in their respective lions and watching as Allura seemed to be in the process of hacking up a lung.
"Allura?" Shiro asked, an eyebrow raised in concern. "Princess, are—are you okay?"
Taking a deep breath, the princess's coughs subsided and she straightened in her chair. "I'm fine!" she assured him, quickly flattening her messy wind-blown hair. "I'm just a bit winded. How's your training going?"
"Well…" Lance drawled hesitantly, his voice rising in pitch as he averted his gaze from the screen.
Allura immediately frowned. "What is it? What happened?"
"We ran into a bit of a problem," Shiro admitted. "Coran's been captured by an old friend of his named Kythylian Mu."
"What?!" she exclaimed just as Mari muttered, "Oh, great."
"Yeah, and we have to find a Yalexian Pearl if we want to get him back," Hunk added.
"We're on Krell right now trying to find out where it is," Shiro explained.
"The Krellians told us their Princess Malocoti knows where it is, but she's been captured and we've gotta save her first," Pidge pitched in.
Allura let out a sigh, but put on a determined expression nonetheless. "That's it. I'm coming to help," she decided, standing from her seat. But before she could move any further, Lance stopped her.
"Don't sweat it, Allura. I already saved one beautiful alien princess. Doing it again shouldn't be a problem," he said, giving her a dazzling smile.
The princess immediately bristled. "What? You?! Saved me?!" she shrilled incredulously and Mari face-palmed. "When I get to that planet, you're going to have to rescue my foot from your—!"
Allura was cut off by another coughing fit and Shiro's frown of concern deepened.
"Princess, you should be resting," he advised. "You just saved a whole planet on the Balmera. Let us handle this."
"Ahem. I'm fine," she insisted, her voice coming out as a wheeze. "I can—"
"Hush now, little lady," Lance gently shushed her. "You just go back to bed and dream about my return."
"If I could reach through this screen and grab you by your yulschtrix—" Allura began, clenching a fist at him angrily.
"Oh, I know," the Blue Paladin winked at her, and Mari could practically see the steam beginning to billow out of the princess's ears.
"Lance! Would you just zip it?" Keith finally snapped, and Lance's smile was instantly replaced with a scowl.
"Jealousy, thy name is Keith," he muttered before zipping his lips for the rest of the transmission.
"Just don't overwork yourself, okay princess?" Shiro said and Allura nodded reluctantly.
"All right, I will try to get some rest," she agreed before sitting back down in her seat with an indignant huff.
"Mari, remember what we talked about," he added pointedly, and Mari instantly stiffened, grimacing at the thought of their little conversation.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, dad," she muttered, and before he could respond she ended the transmission with a curt, "Good luck. See you guys later."
As the screen shut off, Allura cast a glance at Mari and curiously inquired, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing really," Mari sighed. "He just wanted me to watch—er, keep you company while they were gone."
Allura frowned, her perfect eyebrows knitting together as she turned her nose up at the Earthling in dismay. "I do not need to be fawned and hovered over. I am a grown woman who's thousands of years older than you, I might add. I can take care of myself perfectly fine, thank you."
Mari instantly recalled the hover chair incident from just five minutes prior and her eye twitched in annoyance. "You may be older than me, but you still look and act like a teenager," she retorted. "I'm not gonna babysit you or anything, but I'm just—"
Allura's face immediately contorted in disgust. "Who said anything about sitting on a baby?" she gasped in absolute horror.
"W-What? No, babysitting is when someone watches and takes care of a kid while the parents are out."
"And that's how Earthlings take care of their young? By sitting on them?!"
Mari groaned and dragged a hand down her face as the princess continued to give her a panicked look. "No, no. It's just a term we use. There is no sitting on babies involved. AT ALL."
The princess seemed to relax for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "W-Well. I do not need to be 'babysat' either then."
"I'm not going to babysit you!" Mari insisted exasperatedly, her voice rising in pitch. "I'm just—just trying to bond with you or whatever! But if you don't want to, that's fine with me. I've got other things I can do today anyways."
She spun on her heel angrily and headed for the door, her fists clenched at her sides and her face heating up. Nope, nope, nope, she couldn't do this. Her buttons were being pushed way too easily. Screw Shiro's request, she and Allura were just too incompatible. She would just have to apologize to her brother and suffer through whatever scolding he dealt her when he got back.
"W-Wait! Hold on a tick!"
Mari was stopped short as the princess took a hold of her wrist. Allura wasn't gripping it hard, but the Altean's inhuman strength still overpowered Mari's and she couldn't pull her hand free from the princess's grasp.
"Mari, I apologize for angering you," Allura said, her bright blue eyes glistening and overflowing with sincerity. "I meant no offense. And I am sorry for the way I have been acting lately. I just…I feel so useless right now and I hate how everyone is coddling me."
"Now you know how I feel," Mari huffed bitterly and Allura winced. "But if you don't want to keep feeling like that, you have to take it easy and relax."
"Yes, I know," she admitted. "But…would you mind if we did some of that bonding while I rest? I'm afraid it's long overdue and much needed for the two of us."
The princess was smiling hopefully now, waiting with bated breath for Mari's response. The space mice crawled up onto Allura's shoulders and were peering at the Earthling with equally pleading eyes.
Sighing, Mari relented, her anger gradually subsiding. "Okay," she agreed and Allura and the mice instantly squealed in excitement. "BUT," she quickly added before they could get ahead of themselves. "Let me take a bath first. I'm still all gross and sweaty from training."
The two girls took a warm bath together in the large pool-sized tub that was located in one of the female bathing rooms in the Castle. Afterwards, they returned to Allura's bedroom and donned their nightwear, Allura's being a lavish nightgown and Mari's just a t-shirt and a pair of loose pajama pants.
"The bathrooms here are awesome," Mari beamed as she towel dried her hair. "They remind me of onsen."
"Onsen?" Allura repeated, drying her own hair with some sort of high-tech, futuristic Altean blow dryer. "What is that?"
"It's a hot springs. They're like big baths," Mari explained. "Takashi and I used to go to them with our parents when we were little. My mom especially liked the herbal baths."
"I see," the princess mused, switching off the Altean device. Her frizzy silvery hair instantly poofed up to double its size and she casually proceeded to brush it flat. "My mother loved to take floral baths as well. She would always smell faintly of the sweet juniberries."
Allura gazed longingly into the mirror, smiling sadly as she recalled the happier days of her childhood on Altea. Mari was silent, unsure of what to say. She plopped down on the edge of the princess's downy bed and let her damp locks fall over her shoulders, folding her towel neatly and setting it on the nightstand as the space mice crawled onto her lap.
"Pfft! Your hair is a mess," Allura laughed lightly but not unkindly as she glanced at the Earthling through the mirror. "Here, let's straighten it out."
Before Mari could argue, the princess sat down behind her on the bed and began to carefully comb out the tangles and knots. Despite her frightening strength, Allura's touch was surprisingly gentle and soothing. It was incredibly relaxing, and Mari felt her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment as goosebumps appeared on her arms.
"What's wrong? Your shoulders suddenly hunched," Allura observed, pausing mid-comb. "Oh! Am I making you uncomfortable? I'm sorry, I can stop if you'd like."
"N-no, no, you're fine," Mari stammered, her face even redder now. "I'm just not used to having someone else brush my hair, that's all."
"Your mother never brushed it for you when you were younger?" the princess wondered, hesitating slightly before resuming her task.
"She did a few times," Mari admitted, absentmindedly beginning to rub Platt behind his ears. "But that was back when I was still just a toddler. After that she was usually too busy to do this sort of stuff with me. Not that I minded really…"
"That's awful!" Allura exclaimed sadly. "My mother was the queen of an entire planet, yet she always managed to make time for me."
"Yeah, well my mom was just a commoner with an average income," Mari noted. "She and my dad couldn't always make time for me and Takashi."
Allura hummed in response and Mari could tell she was frowning. After a moment, she said, "I must admit, I am not very fond of your mother."
"You're not the only one, trust me," Mari laughed bitterly.
"She is rather beautiful though, minus those horrendous ears," the princess continued. "And your father is quite handsome. I can see where you and Shiro get your good looks from."
"Heh, I don't know about that," Mari replied sheepishly. "But Takashi was pretty popular amongst the girls in his classes."
"I'm sure the boys practically worshipped you as well?"
"HA! That's a good one."
"You had no childhood suitors then?"
"Nope. I kinda scared all the boys away."
"But wasn't there one boy that wasn't completely dissuaded from pursuing you?" Allura inquired, standing from the bed and setting the comb down on her vanity now that Mari's hair now sleek and straightened. "I believe Lance was complaining about him the other day. What was his name again? Hmm…Aaren, was it?"
Mari grimaced at the mention of his name and quickly proceeded to tie her hair up in a loose bun. "Why does everyone keep bringing him up?" she mumbled to herself and Allura smiled wryly at her.
"So, who was he?" she inquired hopping back onto the bed excitedly. "He must have been rather special if he gave you your first kiss."
Geez, how much had Lance told her? "He wasn't special to me at all," Mari huffed as she reclined against the pillows, crossing her arms indignantly while the mice moved onto her stomach. "At least not in a romantic sense. His feelings were completely one-sided. He just managed to steal a kiss from me, that's all."
"Oh?" Allura mused, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at her and Mari's face flushed, but out of anger or embarrassment, the princess wasn't sure.
"I've never had a boyfriend and I'd date Lance before I'd ever consider going out with Aaren," she insisted, and Allura laughed as the Earthling grumpily hugged a pillow to her chest.
"What about you then?" Mari asked, quickly diverting the attention away from herself. "Have you had any suitors or boyfriends? I'm sure you had a ton being a princess and all."
"I suppose I did have quite a few," Allura admitted, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I met many nobles and royals, yet I never got the chance to engage in a meaningful relationship with any of them."
"Were you interested in any one of them in particular?"
"No, I can't say I was," Allura shrugged. Then her shoulders sagged a bit and her expression saddened as she began absentmindedly tracing patterns on the blankets. "It doesn't really matter though, does it? It's been ten thousand years, they're all gone now."
Well that got depressing really fast, Mari frowned to herself.
"…What was Altea like? If you don't mind talking about it," she found herself asking after a short pause between them.
"Altea was a beautiful planet, full of vibrant flora and fauna," Allura gushed wistfully. "Technology was always advancing, the people were jovial, and we received many visitors from all over the universe. It truly was a wonderful place…I miss it so much…"
The princess sniffed and brushed away the fresh tears in her eyes, leaving Mari to mentally smack herself for asking in the first place. Hesitating slightly, she sat up straighter and took Allura's hand, gently squeezing it and causing the princess to look up at her in surprise.
"I'm sorry, Allura," she murmured quietly, unable to look the Altean in the eyes. "I was being insensitive, I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's all right," Allura tried to reassure her, giving the Earthling a small smile and squeezing her hand back. "I enjoy talking about it. Besides, it reminds me of our cause and it strengthens my determination to defeat Zarkon."
Mari gave her an unsure look but said nothing, prompting Allura to inquire, "So, what is your Earth like? I've hardly heard you or any of the others talk about it."
"Earth?" Mari was silent for several ticks as she pondered how to respond. "Well…it's the third planet from our sun. Uh, we have one moon that's just called the moon. There are lots of people and lots of cities, but we don't have a singular ruler like you did on Altea. And the land's been split up into countries that have their own governments and leaders."
"Interesting…What else?"
"Um, let's see…There's a lot of greenery, deserts, massive oceans, and a ton of different animals too. Our tech is primitive compared to what's being used out here, and Earthlings are pretty oblivious to alien life. Oh! And we all have the same kind of rounded ears. Well, most of us do, anyways," Mari added with a small laugh.
"Your Earth sounds like it's full of diversity," the princess chuckled.
"Mhm, it is. I'm sure it's not as cool as Altea was, but it's all right. Maybe when this whole war with the Galra Empire is over, you'll get to see it someday."
"I'd like that very much," Allura smiled. Then a bit softly she added, "I'm sure you must be missing it a lot right now."
"Nope, not really," Mari curtly replied and the princess's expression turned to one of genuine surprise.
"Really? You're not the least bit homesick?"
"I haven't really thought about home in a while. Not since we left Arus," Mari admitted, beginning to gently stroke the four space mice that had migrated back to her lap.
But of course now that Allura had brought it up, images and sensations of home began to flitter through her mind: the mild and beautiful desert sunsets, the clear and refreshing starry skies, the wind rushing past her as she cut through the dry air on her bike, Kage's soft and fluffy fur, Jia's sly remarks, Magdalena's infectious laughter, her father's knowing smiles and the warm hugs he gave her every evening when he returned from work.
Mari's heart clenched painfully for a fleeting moment and she unconsciously bit her lower lip in an attempt to control her bubbling irritation. She couldn't—shouldn't be homesick. She'd wanted nothing more than to get away from Earth, to escape from all the crushing expectations of those around her. And now her wish had come true; she was finally experiencing the space adventure she had always dreamed of. So why was she feeling so nostalgic now?
Sensing her distress, the space mice squeaked worriedly and Allura frowned. This time, she took Mari's free hand in her own and held it firmly, consolingly.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling homesick," she spoke kindly. "You don't have to hold back your emotions. I understand how you feel, really I do."
Feeling her cheeks heat up again, Mari shrugged sheepishly. "W-Well, I guess I miss Earth a little bit, yeah. But…I love being out here with everyone. My brother's alive and safe. And we've already had so many interesting things happen to us. I'm glad I met you and Coran and the mice. I wouldn't want to be any place else right now."
Allura let out a small sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I'm very happy to have you and the others with us, Mari. And thank you for confiding in me," she beamed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"You know, it was actually really nice getting to spend time with you today," Mari admitted after a moment, unable to help feeling a bit embarrassed. "It was fun."
The princess's face immediately lit up and she bounced excitedly on the bed. "Really? I agree! Today was very enjoyable for me as well. We should do more girl-to-girl bonding activities in the future. Oh! And let's have Pidge join us next time too."
"I don't know if she'll be down for that, but we can always try," Mari laughed lightly. "There's no harm in asking, I guess."
Suddenly, the Castle's intercom turned on and both girls looked up in surprise as Lance's voice cheerfully and loudly announced, "Allura! We're back from training! Did you miss me?"
"Lance! Turn that off!" Pidge hissed and there was a scuffling sound as she attempted to snatch the handheld intercom device from him.
"Yeah, what if she's sleeping or something?" Hunk's worried voice piped up faintly in the background.
"I'll take that," Coran said, followed by Lance's indignant huff as the device was plucked from his hands. "Um, sorry about that, Princess. Just ignore us and go back to resting. We'll be on the bridge if you need us."
And just as abruptly as it had been switched on, the intercom was shut off, leaving and the two girls in silence as they gave each other wry grins.
"Guess that means they're back then," Mari sighed. "And just when I was getting used to the peace and quiet."
Allura laughed lightly at that and leaned back into the plush pillows. Despite her dazzling smile she was beginning to look tired, the energy and excitement that had fueled her during their talk already beginning to dissipate.
"You should get some sleep, Princess," Mari advised, the mice scurrying off her lap and settling down to snuggle on one of the cushions near Allura's head. "You look exhausted."
"Mhm…I suppose you're right," she murmured drowsily before stifling a yawn. "You had best report back to Shiro then. I'm sure he will want to know how things went with me."
"I'll be sure to tell him our bonding was a success," Mari promised as she stood up and the princess gave her a small smile. "I'll see you later, Allura. Get some rest and get better soon, okay?"
**Please feel free to leave a comment/review down below! They are much appreciated :D
**Feel free to check out my tumblr too. Most of what's on there are simple pencil sketches that go with this fic, so if you're interested my tumblr username is pufftheninja.
