Shiro looked up towards the clock with his brows drawn together in confusion. It was analog clock so he couldn't exactly read it, but the tiny sticks were in different places than what he remembered when he looked up at them not too long ago. It also didn't help that, at his age, he had no perception of time. How much time had passed? An hour? Four hours? 78 minutes?

He had absolutely no idea.

Not that he was complaining about the way time seemed to drag on because he actually enjoyed playing with Allura. She wasn't embarrassed to be seen with him and made him realize that none of the other kids were bothered by his white forelock.

Even with the surprising acceptance of his peers, he still didn't prefer to be the center of attention. Everything was still new to him - his newfound confidence, new country, a new friend - so he was still testing the waters and his place in it. Sometimes the other kids would wander into their play area wanting Shiro's attention and he would cautiously give it to them.

Kids are naturally drawn to new things and Shiro was the newest addition to the daycare, so unsurprisingly they flocked to him like moths to a flame. However, sometimes, they tended to overwhelm him with their endless questions about his hair and origin, constantly probing him about his life. When their enthusiasm started to draw in too much attention, he would become visibly uncomfortable and began to sink into himself. When that happened, he unconsciously reached towards his head only to meet his hair. He was left wishing he had his cap back on for a safety net. Allura immediately picked up on this and a cold look from her towards the poor kids would silently send them on their way.

They had moved on from building a space robot to constructing a castle. They had a solid game plan - hoard as many pieces as possible. Well, it seemed like a solid game plan at the time until their greed almost caused a mini-revolution by a mob of angry toddlers demanding their fair share of building blocks. Amy quickly dismantled the toddler uprising by suggesting a reasonable compromise that split up the blocks evenly amongst the children. The compromise immediately resulted in Allura wanting to abandon construction because she said there weren't nearly enough building blocks to do it right. "Go big or go home," she had told him sternly with her arms folded stubbornly before she dragged him somewhere else.

Now they were in a rather secluded part of the daycare, away from probing questions and the proletariats, coloring in artbooks, courtesy of another one of Allura's personal stashes. Shiro decided on an animal-themed book while Allura was still looking for the perfect flower to fill in. She laid on her stomach while she lazily flipped through the pages, her head resting on her open palm. She looked up just in time to see Shiro check the clock. Again.

"Why do you keep looking at the clock?" she asked in a bored tone. "It's not like you can read it. Papa changed it from the glowy numbers to the sticks a week ago." She paused on a page, made a face, then continued to flip through them.

"I can so read it!" he defended with puffed cheeks. His outburst making him go slightly over the lines of his lion picture.

"Oh, yeah?" she challenged with a smirk on her face. "Then what does it say?" Oh, she was so ready to prove him wrong.

Too ready.

"...1:23," he said slowly with shifty eyes, avoiding her gaze. He honestly just counted from one to three and made it sound like a time. Allura wouldn't know if he was lying because it's not like she could read the clock. She couldn't tell time, either. He could get away with this.

Allura looked at him then looked at the clock with squinted eyes then back at him once more, her blue eyes studying him carefully searching for the lie he set out. She set aside her coloring book and sat up, looking around the daycare. She didn't believe Shiro. Not one bit, but she didn't have the knowledge to call him out on it, but she knew someone who could. "Amy, what time is it?!" she yelled across the room when she spotted their caretaker.

"Allura, you know I'm not allowed to tell you that," Amy answered from across the room. She was busy cleaning up spilled juice from the floor. Her back was facing them, so her reply sounded muffled and strained.

Allura rolled her eyes and let out a loud, exaggerated sigh out of spite and fell with her back on the ground and her arms above her head entwined in her silver hair. She began to speak in a nagging, mocking voice, "Allura, you can't know the time. Allura, you can't take all the blocks of your super awesome castle. Allura, no, you can't keep a bee farm." Her shoulders shook with each syllable that left her mouth.

"I can hear you, Allura," Amy warned in a light voice.

"I trained those bees! They were ready for the circus, Amy!" Allura pouted and rolled over onto her stomach. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." It did matter. She could never do anything fun. "Why do you keep looking at the clock?" she asked Shiro again, only this time more curious. Her sudden anger of her bee farm a distant memory.

Shiro raised an eyebrow. There was so much he wanted to ask her but her attention was already focused solely on him. He was starting to get used to the intensity of her stare, but he couldn't say it didn't leave him feeling funny.

He let out a sigh and continued to color in his lion before answering her. "My mama said that she would be back really soon, but it's been forever since she left me here," he confessed. Shiro knew that this interview was important, but how important was it that she abandoned her child with complete strangers for 5 hours? "She said that she was having an interview with her new boss today and if he likes her, we can stay here."

Allura was suddenly off of the floor and in his face. She snatched the black crayon from his hands and threw it across the room. Shiro's mouth fell open in shock then his face took on a look of anger, "Why did you do that?!"

"I had to."

"No, you di-"

"Yes I did," she interrupted. She really didn't have to throw his crayon across the room, but it felt right and she didn't know how to express herself without harming others. She was pretty sure that crayon was gone forever because it rolled under the cubbies where no fingers could reach. Oh well.

"I can never finish this picture, now!" He pushed his hands towards his incomplete black lion. Why did she always ruin his creative plans? He couldn't build a plane because she wanted to build a robot. They couldn't build a castle, because it had to absolutely have every single block in the entire daycare, and now he couldn't even finish coloring in his awesome black lion.

Allura rolled her eyes at him. "There are plenty of other black crayons, Shiro," she assured. "See? Look." She picked up another crayon from the box and offered it to him.

"That's brown!" he whined as he looked over in the box searching for a replacement. "You threw the only black crayon way over there and I don't even know where it went."

"It went under the cubbies," she informed blankly. "You and no one else can reach it. It's gone forever, trust me. But listen!" She tossed aside his irritation the same way she tossed aside his crayon, ignoring his dismay as her voice was getting more and more excited. "Your mama is talking to my Uncle Zarkie. I heard them talking about the inter-interview earlier," she stumbled over the word. It wasn't foreign to her but it was the first time it had left her mouth.

"Okay…" he said slowly, unsure where she was going with this. He was still extremely bitter about his lost crayon.

"Shiro." He lost count of how many times her hands found his face, but here he was again. Face to hand contact. "Why should we wait for her, when we can go to her?" The look in her eyes scared Shiro. He didn't know why, but he knew every instinct in him told him to put distance between them.

"How?" His eyes were narrowed as he looked at her up and down, still at a loss.

She looked around carefully, her blue eyes taking in as much detail about their surroundings as possible. When she was finished, she turned her gaze back to Shiro. "Do you trust me?"

"No, not even a little," he answered at a lightning speed. "How can I trust you when you threw the only black cra-"

"Shiro, forget the crayon!" she hissed while shaking his face. "This is important. We can go find your mama. I know where they are!"

His eyes lit up with delight. "You do!?" he said. His face then took on a look of confusion. "But...how are we gonna get to her? We're stuck in here."

"We're not stuck, Shiro," she said slyly. "I can get us out of here." The look of mischief once again found its way to her face and Shiro once again found himself afraid of her and the trouble he was sure to get in.

Shiro looked at her for a minute with questioning eyes before realization hit him like a bus.

He stepped back away from her, shaking his head rapidly. "We just can't leave!" he shouted. Allura hurried and put a hand over his mouth before he caught Amy's attention.

"Shh!" she hushed him angrily. She looked over her shoulder to see if Shiro's outburst had drawn attention and luckily for her, it hadn't. She was getting out of here, with or without Shiro. She was lying to herself because she knew Shiro was definitely coming with her.

Shiro moved her hand from his mouth before he continued in a hushed tone, "Allura, we'll get into trouble."

"Only if we get caught."

Shiro frowned.

"C'mon Shiro! I do this all the time, you just gotta trust me!" Shiro folded his arms over his chest, frown cemented in place. He duplicated the pose he'd seen his dad do dozens of times when he disapproved of Shiro's actions. It was the ultimate dad pose.

Turns out, Allura was the absolute worst person to hit with the "Dad Pose". She was completely unphased by it. Instead of backing down, she puffed her bottom lip out in a frown and somehow made her blue eyes wider. She brought her hands together in front her in a silent plea as her voice took on an innocent tone. "Shiro, pleeeease? I'm trying to help you get to your mama and I'm tired of being in here. Let's go on an adventure."

"We'll get lost..," he tried to reason with her. He was never one to break the rules and he didn't want to get into trouble his first day at the daycare. However, he knew that Allura was determined to drag him down with her.

"We won't get lost," she promised. "I know every part of my castle."

Shiro thought it over. Allura seemed extremely confident in her jailbreaking skills to the point where she was almost cocky about it and he did miss his mama. She said it would be a short day, but he was starting to get worried about her. She was gone for what? 9 hours, now? What if something bad had happened to her? What if she had tripped down the stairs? What if her new boss was being mean to her?

...What if she didn't get the job?

What would happen, then? Then his family couldn't stay here and his parents would have to split up again and he'd have to move houses. He and Allura could no longer be friends if he left. He pushed these thoughts from his head and sucked in a huge breath. "Let's do it." His voice full of determination.

Allura couldn't contain her excited squeal at Shiro's approval and she threw her arms around him in a brief hug. The way her eyes lit up made Shiro's heart sing. If he could make her look that happy for the rest of his life, he would do whatever it took. If that includes breaking out of daycare, then so be it. Allura straightened her posture, eyes lit with determination as she scanned the area once again. She was looking for a certain someone.

Suddenly, Allura grabbed Shiro by the hand and led him to the play area towards a red-headed boy playing with building blocks. Allura suppressed her sudden anger about seeing her blocks being used for a something other than a massive castle. Her castle was going to be legendary now it was only a distant memory. "Hi, Reggie." She forced a smile and gave a small wave. Shiro followed suit, waving awkwardly behind her.

The boy looked up at the pair with brown, unimpressed eyes. He looked slightly annoyed. Probably thinking back to the Great Building Block Scandal Allura had put everyone throughout of sheer greed. "What do you want? My blocks? Amy said that no one was to give you any more." he said as he pushed his portion of blocks behind him, hiding them from her.

"I don't want your blocks, Reggie, "she assured him. "But, I do need to get out of here."

"Again?"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Again?" he whispered to her. His comment earned him a glare from Allura.

"Yes, again. Are you gonna help me or not?" she demanded. Shiro could tell that she really needed to work on her patience. Almost everything she wanted was something that she wanted immediately with no pushback.

"Yeah…I'll help you. But I want something back," Reggie bargained. He was looking towards the direction of Allura's secret stash of goodies. Allura's eyes narrowed. She knew that no one knew exactly where her stash was because she moved locations every week to not draw in suspicion, but Reggie's gaze was dangerously close. She knew she had to relocate soon.

"Name it," Allura answered. She was more than willing to give up her personal luxuries for freedom. It was something that the entire daycare knew about. Allura was notorious for breaking out of daycare on a weekly basis but as clever as she was, she can't do it alone. A colorful ball here, a box of raisins wanted sweets? Then let them eat cake. She had many things to bargain in exchange for the help of the other kids.

"Don't name the crayons because Allura is just going to take them from you and throw them under th-OW!" Shiro's rant was interrupted by an elbow to the gut. He glared at the back of her head and before he could retaliate, Reggie started again.

"I want your animal coloring book," he said. "The one Shiro was using before you came over here." Shiro opened his mouth in protest. Did no one want him to be happy?

"Fine," she agreed, then whispered to Shiro after feeling his disappointment. "I have a better one hidden by glue sticks." She turned her attention back towards Reggie. "Okay, we're gonna do Plan C."

"What's Plan C?" Reggie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Reggie! You and me only have one plan," she growled while raising her index finger.

"Then why would you name it 'Plan C' if there's no Plan A or B?" Reggie asked back casually.

"Reggie, I'll throw that artbook under those cubbies so fast…" she threatened through clenched teeth.

"Okay, Okay!" he backed down. He scanned the daycare with the same seriousness Allura possessed earlier before looking back at them. "Get ready," he told them. Allura dragged Shiro to an area that was slightly hidden from Amy's view, her eyes peeking around the corner to watch everything unfold.

Reggie stood up and made his way towards the caretaker, trying to lead her away from the door. "Amy! Amy! Look how fast I can run! See look!" The red-headed boy then proceeded to run as fast as he could up and down the play area. Before Amy could tell him to stop, or at least slow down, Plan C moved on to phase two. With a strategic twist of his foot, Reggie came crashing down onto the carpet, face first. He immediately let out a high pitched wail that only a toddler could pull off. His eyes filled with tears as he made his face alarmingly red. His tiny fist slammed on the floor in a repeated banging motion selling his charades.

And the Academy Award goes to...

Amy rushed to the seemingly injured child to see if he had truly hurt himself, leaving the pathway to the door open. With the coast clear, Allura ran to the entrance with Shiro right on her heels. She looked back to see if Amy was still distracted. She met Reggie's crocodile tear-filled eyes once more before she aggressively pushed Shiro down to his hands and knees, much to his silent protest, so she could climb on top of him to reach the door handle. "Be the lookout," she told him strictly. No surprise to her, the door was locked. It was a different lock from last time she had done this earlier last week, but she was sure she could get through it. She reached to the far right of her to the check-in desk to grab a long flower shaped pen and used that to reach and slide the piece of metal out of place.

The sound of the lock sliding out of place was music to her ears. She quickly got off Shiro who was taking his role as guarding footstool way too seriously. She helped him up and hurriedly pulled him out of the daycare before she carefully closed the door as quietly as possible. She could hear Reggie scream louder to drown out any noise they may have caused. He was doing a great job. She might just throw in two artbooks, he deserved it.

They were now on the outside of the daycare looking up towards the artificial clouds. Allura turned to Shiro with a smirk on her face and nudged him playfully. "See? That wasn't so bad." She started to walk down the hall knowing that he would follow her.

"I guess not." He stretched his sore back before he followed Allura. "Where do we go now, Princess?"

She cocked her head at the use of his nickname towards her. "Princess?"

"Yeah, because that's what you are," he answered honestly behind her. He was sure that whatever journey he was about to embark on, it was bound to get them in trouble. He honestly didn't care because as long as he was with the princess, he could deal with anything. Mainly because he knew that she could probably scheme her way out of any trouble might get into.

"I need your back again to reach the elevator buttons," she told him when they reached the sliding metal doors.

"What do you use when you don't have my back to reach things?" he asked. He didn't want this to be a recurring thing. Allura wasn't gentle in the slightest.

"I use a broom."

"Then why didn't you bring a broom this time?"

"Because I have you," she said as if it were common sense. "Now get down so I can reach."

Shiro got back into position as her personal step stool so Allura could call the elevator. It came quickly much to her delight and they made their way into the car. She climbed on his back one more time to press the floor they needed.

"What happens when we get there?" Shiro asked as they felt themselves being lifted up several floors. He was not a huge fan of surprises. He liked to know things in advance and wanted to know exactly what was going to happen, when it is was going to happen, and how it was going to happen. He liked to have a solid itinerary before any major event. It was a characteristic he picked up from both of his parents.

He had to admit that he was nervous about what was going to happen when, no if...actually he was right the first time, so when they got caught. He was absolutely sure that he wouldn't leave this place without a firm lecture from his mama. She was gonna tell his Dad later on when they got home and his dad was going to do the "Dad Pose" and Shiro didn't think he could handle that right now. So much had happened today in such little time. It had only been...15 hours since this morning, right?

"We gotta be sneaky," she told him. "My Uncle Zarkie has a lot of people who work for him. We have to avoid them because if they catch us, they'll send us back to the daycare and then we can't find your mama."

The car came to a stop and they both peaked their heads out in opposite directions to check their surroundings before Allura quietly led them through the lobby. This floor was completely different from the lobby Shiro walked through earlier. Whereas the lobby downstairs had vibrant golds and reds, this area had darker tones. Deep shades of purples and greys were the main color scheme here.

The area wasn't as busy as Shiro thought it would be. He thought it would be littered with adults who were eager to catch them sneaking around, but he was only met with a couple of couches, plants, and a single desk with a receptionist sitting behind it taking a phone call. The entrance to the Galra Branch was just behind her. Allura knew that the door was locked and the only person that could open it was the woman behind the desk. There was a button that unlocked the door that was incorporated into the woman's desk. Allura was too short, even with Shiro, to reach it. There was no possible way to sneak around the woman to reach the button or to even fashion up something long enough to reach the button that released the lock. She would have to face the woman head-on.

Not that it bothered her.

"Allura, what are you doing?" Shiro hissed when Allura came from behind her hiding spot behind a potted plant. She held her hand out and Shiro reluctantly took it and allowed Allura to lead him to the front desk.

The women didn't seem to be phased by her presence but took on a look a surprise when noticed that this time, Allura wasn't alone. She put whoever she was talking to on hold before she addressed the children. "Good afternoon, Allura," she said her a warm smile. "Who's your friend?" She folded her hands together as she looked over the desk at the children.

Allura put on the same forced smile she gave to Reggie just minutes ago. "Hi, Mia," she responded. "This is Shiro, he's new here and we need to find his mama. She's with Uncle Zarkie so can you please let us in?"

Mia raised a brow. "Why does he need his mother?" she asked leaning forward more to study the boy over her desk. "Are you alright?"

Shiro let his eyes fall from the receptionist, hoping his white bangs could cover his face enough to hide him. He was not a good liar. If he spoke, he knew he was going to immediately ruin things for the both of them. Luckily for him, Allura chose that exact moment to physically step in, shielding him from Mia's dissecting eyes. "No, he's not okay! He's feeling a little sick and only his mama, who is in there, can help him!"

She continued to look at Shiro with a raised brow. "He doesn't look sick." Her tone flat. A quick nudge from Allura sent Shiro into a fake coughing fit. It wasn't perfect, but it was sellable. However, if this friendship was going to work, Shiro needed to seriously work on his acting skills. Did he even see Reggie? Now that was acting.

"See?" Allura pointed towards Shiro, who was hacking away, completely over exaggerating the situation. "He needs medical attention...from his mama."

Mia rolled her eyes at their rendition of the black plague. "Okay, Allura. I think it'll just call Amy and have someone escort you two back to the daycare," she said while flipping through a phone book searching for the right number. She had no idea why she didn't have the number on speed dial considering she had sent Allura back to the daycare on numerous occasions this month alone.

Shiro stopped mid-cough, eyes wide with fear. This was it. This is the moment they would get into trouble and he'd get the longest lecture of his short life.

Allura stepped forward. "But Mia, if you call Amy, then that means that you'd have to hang up on your boyfriend," Allura said in a voice that was way too innocent to be considered as such. Mia's hands froze over the pages and stared at Allura with wide eyes. Allura blinked back owlishly with a grin on her face, tilting her head to the side in a silent challenge. Allura didn't know it yet, but what she was doing was definitely considered blackmail.

They stared at each other for what felt like forever. Shiro's nervously looking at both of them wondering who was going to cave in first. From the time he'd spent with Allura, he knew it wasn't going to be her. She knew that if Allura was going to go down, she would sure put up a fight. Mia's eyes narrowed at the girl before her fingers went to the button that unlocked the doors. "Go. If they ask, you came in through the vents again."

Allura broke into a huge smile. "Yeah, sure Mia! Thanks!" She pulled Shiro along with her before she entered the door.

Mia waited until the two disappeared behind the double doors before she turned her attention back to the phone. She almost ran her hands through her hair messing up her perfect bun. "...She did it again, Gavin...yes again...oh, you have not met Allura Altea, you have no idea…"

Allura and Shiro entered the Galra Branch. In this area, the purple color scheme continued, except it was little darker than it was on the outside. It reminded Shiro of a fortress. It was way busier in here than it was in any other location Shiro had seen so far. There were individual cubicles that separated each employee to help them focus on their work. It was eerily quiet despite the fact that the room was completely crowded. A couple of employees were walking around, however, none of them had noticed Allura or Shiro. The two hid inside of an empty cubicle to go over their game plan before moving forward.

"Okay, so my Uncle Zarkie's office is that big one." Allura pointed the office that was separated with walls from the rest of the area. It had a large door that Shiro was positive that Allura needed to ruin his body for. It also had large windows that were covered with dark shutter blinds so he couldn't see inside.

Shiro expected to see guards patrolling the area, but there were just employees looking for a water break. He memorized their pattern before he moved forward, signaling Allura to follow him. He took the lead on this mission. He was sure Allura's trained eyes picked up whatever he had missed. They stayed low to ground to keep out of sight. They didn't exactly blend in - not with Allura's snow white hair and his bright orange shirt, but they did their best to time their movements perfectly to not draw in attention from the employees.

Shiro was about to take a step forward before he was harshly pulled back inside a cubicle. Allura placed a hand on his mouth before he said anything to give away their position. Not even a second later, an employee walked by with a mug in his hand. Allura removed her hand and Shiro let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. She peeked her head out before she cleared them and let him take the lead again.

As they got closer to Zarkon's office, Shiro took his steps more cautiously. There were more employees here. Each step he made was meticulously planned, careful not to alert anybody. However, as soon as they turned a corner into a cubicle for a hiding break to plan their next few steps, a man was in their path. All three froze in their spots and no one made a sound. Shiro stared at the man with wide eyes afraid that they had finally been caught. Well, they had a good run. Back to the daycare they went.

The man looked at Shiro then to Allura with a questioning brow. He opened his mouth to address them before Allura narrowed her eyes, placed her index finger over her lips and shook her head slowly. The man sighed and let the single paper in his hands drop to the floor. "Oh no," the man said dryly, almost like a robot. "My paper fell. Let me turn around to retrieve it." He turned his back to them to pick up the single sheet from the floor. "Gee, I hope no one sneaks past me because if they did, now would be the perfect opportunity to do so." Allura took the diversion as the perfect chance to push Shiro into the next cubicle to secure their location.

The man quietly laughed to himself as he picked up his report before he returned to his workstation. He unlocked his computer and quickly sent out a mass email.

~.~w~.~

From: Thace Waterson
To: Fellow Minions
Subject: Code White
Allura is in the building. Watch your mouth and pretend you don't see her.

PS: Whoever stole my lunch, I am coming for you.
~.~w~.~

"That was close," Allura whispered once they were under the desk in the cubicle opposite of Zarkon's office. Shiro was busy trying to catch his breath while Allura scoped the area. He had so much adrenaline running through his veins right now. He had no idea how Allura seemingly controlled that man. Was she magic? That would also explain her white hair. She was a magical princess. "We're almost there. We just gotta open that door." Her words snapped him out of his thoughts and he refocused himself. He looked up at the large door. If he thought it was big before, it looked huge now. From his angle, it looked like it went on forever.

"C'mon, Shiro! Let's go!" Allura yelled at him once the coast was clear. He was immediately on his hands and knees before the entrance to give Allura the height she needed to open the door.

"Hurry!" Shiro hissed when he noticed movement around them. He didn't want to get caught when he was so close to his goal.

"I'm trying!" she growled back. Allura was stretching out as much as she could, but her fingers couldn't quite grasp the handle with enough pressure to pull it. She stood on the very tips of her toes, the action had Shiro clenching his teeth as it added unwanted pressure on his back.

~.~w~.~
From: Michael Ulaz
To: ALL
Subject: Holy Shit
This is the cutest fucking thing I have ever seen.

PS: Thace, I took your lunch. Fight me.

~.~w~.~

Shiro tried to hunch his back to give her more height to work with. He thought it helped when he heard the hiss of the door opening. Joy was replaced with worry when he felt Allura lose her balance at the loss of the one thing holding her up. She fell forward onto the ground with her hands breaking her fall. Before he could ask if she was alright, a huge man stood before them. Shiro looked up to see the scariest man he had ever seen. He was so big and intimidating and his face looked like it had a permanent frown etched into it. He looked on in fear as the man picked up Allura and brought her to his face. "No!" he yelled with reached out hands trying to get her back.

The man looked down at Shiro with amber eyes. He raised his brow before turning attention back towards the captured princess he held at arm's length. "Allura," he said slowly. "Please don't tell me this is Aiko Shirogane's son, Takashi."

"That is exactly who he is and he likes being called, "Shiro," she replied without hesitation or fear.

Zarkon rolled his eyes before readjusting Allura in his arms, dangling her from under his arm. Before he opened his mouth to speak, Shiro spoke up with a brave voice. "Let her go! Where's my mama!?" he demanded before grabbing a hold of his leg and holding on tight. Extra tight.

He had to make sure Zarkon felt his raw strength.

Zarkon looked on with a blank face as he ignored his employees' conjoined sounds of, "Aaaww" and muffled laughter at their display. He heard the familiar sound of a camera clicking followed by a flash and rolled his eyes with annoyance.

Zarkon lightly shook Shiro off his leg then stooped down to Shiro's height when the boy finally let go. "She's probably looking for you," Zarkon answered before up-righting and placing Allura down beside Shiro. His face briefly took on a look of surprise at the way Shiro placed his body between them, staring him down. Was he that intimating?

God, he hoped he was.

Zarkon was unphased by Shiro's silent threat and looked at Allura with a frown. "Allura, I thought I told you not to be a bad influence on him? I specifically said him. Out of all the kids, you choose the one I told you not to corrupt."

"I'm not a bad influence, Uncle Zarkie!" she defended folding her arms in a pout. Shiro's eyes widened. This was her Uncle Zarkie? He didn't think he would be so...scary. "I was showing him around the castle," Allura explained. Oh, she was such a good liar. Everything left her mouth so easily with confidence. Shiro didn't know if he should praise her for her skills, or be terrified of them.

Zarkon sighed before he stood upright. "Let's go back to the daycare, then."

"But I need to find my mama, first!" Shiro said desperately. They didn't come all this way just to go back to the daycare.

"She's probably at the daycare right now looking for you." Oh. Well, maybe they did come all this way just to go back to the daycare.

Zarkon picked up his goddaughter and placed her on his hip and the other reached out towards Shiro who reluctantly grabbed his large hand. He made his way back towards the exit before turning back to face his employees. "Why did no one tell me Allura was here?" His eyes scanned the area wanting an answer.

"I sent out an email." Came the small reply from the back of the building.

"Hmm." He continued his journey back to the lobby. They passed the receptionist before they stood in front of the elevators.

"Hello, Mia, who I am seeing for the first time today." Allura was only a good liar when she felt like being a good liar, apparently. The elevator car came to them they all stepped in.

"Shiro, can you press the 4th floor for me?" Zarkon requested.

"I can do it!" Allura suggested before almost throwing herself out of Zarkon's grip, reaching to press the button. She didn't get far as Zarkon tightened his grip on her and he took a step back putting distance between Allura and her current obsession with ruining his life. He wanted to keep Allura as far as away from the buttons as possible. He didn't want a repeat of what happened this morning. Shiro stepped forward to do as he was asked. He struggled a bit, but he could reach it. Before, they needed to use teamwork because Allura had to press the 11th floor which was towards the top of the panel. Now it the 4th floor was more in reach so the toddler could press it by himself.

"Are you still mad at me?" Allura asked Zarkon. She was referring to the elevator incident that happened earlier that day. Zarkon turned his hard gaze to her but didn't answer her. "Oh, C'mon! It could not have been that bad."

"It took five minutes to go up seven floors, "he informed her.

"Is that a long time?" she asked half interested while toying with his tie. She looked down at Shiro who was staring at the door, anxiously tapping his index finger on his thigh. She started to wiggle her body, pushing against his chest singling that she wanted to be put down. He set her down carefully and watched as she stood beside Shiro cupping their hands together. "We're gonna get your mama back!" When he didn't answer back, she stepped in front of him, lowering her head to make him meet her eyes. "Are you okay, Shiro?"

"What if she's mad at me?" he confessed quietly. He didn't want to disappoint his mama, but leaving to find her was something he had to do. He had to make sure she was safe and he knew that only he could protect her. Well, him and his dad. But his dad wasn't here, so he felt the responsibility fell on him like it always did. For most of his life, he had always just been him and his mom and he always did her best to make her proud. But now? He knew she wasn't happy with him. The thought of his mom scolding him broke his heart. The adventure was fun and thrilling, but now all he felt was guilt.

Allura felt somewhat responsible for Shiro's feelings. "Don't worry, Shiro," she reassured him before giving him a hug, which he timidly returned. Zarkon felt a small smile creep to his face at watching the exchange between the two children.

The elevator came to a stop and the trio stepped out. Zarkon led them towards the daycare quickly hoping to calm things down just in case his new hire was tearing into Amy. Just as he predicted, Aiko was questioning Amy with such intensity. Amy was doing her best to explain the situation. "I'm sure he's with Allura. I know this sounds weird, but trust me, they'll show up eventually."

Aiko raised her voice, "Eventually?! What do you mean? My son is missing!" She slammed her hand on the check-in desk.

Zarkon cleared his voice behind them to signal his entrance. "Hello again, Mrs. Shirogane. I have your son."

Aiko whipped her head back towards her boss, eyes seething before they were replaced with relief when she saw her son. "Takashi!" she dropped her purse right before her arms were filled with the warmth of her child.

"Mama!" Shiro cried into his mother's shoulder, burying his face into her neck. Allura looked at Mrs. Shirogane embrace her son and something dark filled her eyes. She looked away, choosing to focus her attention on something, anything but them. Zarkon kept a watchful eye on her.

Aiko straightened Shiro to look at her. "Don't ever do that to me again! Do you understand me?" Shiro winced at her tone. "What were you thinking, Taka-chan?" The use of her nickname eased Shiro's guilt.

"I wanted to find you!" Shiro explained. "You were gone for like 19 hours! I got scared!"

"Takashi, honey. I was only gone for an hour and twenty minutes…" she told him.

"Mama, I can't tell time!" he shouted. "I don't know that!"

"So you did lie!" Allura accused. She knew he couldn't tell time!

For the first time, Aiko saw Allura. She was hiding behind one of Zarkon's legs now, peeking out between them. Shiro left his mother's embrace to go to Allura. He grabbed her hand and brought her to stand before his mother. "Mama, this is Allura. She helped me find you," he introduced his new friend. He hoped his mama liked her.

Allura stepped forward. "Hello, it's nice to meet you," she spoke in Japanese before she gave Aiko a respectful bow. Aiko raised a brow in surprise at the polite introduction. She switched to English before continuing. "I'm sorry I took Shiro out of the daycare. Please don't be mad at him anymore. It was my fault!" she told Aiko, defending her friend.

Aiko looked at the two children who were looking back at her with puppy eyes. Shiro never did puppy eyes before, he must have learned it from this child. She let out a breath. "I'm not mad at you, Takashi. You just scared me. I thought something bad had happened to you."

"I know, Mama. I'm sorry." he apologized again. Aiko smiled before hugging him again. She then realized something.

"Taka-chan, where is your cap?" After she calmed down, she noticed that she could fully see his birthmark. She read his body language and he didn't seem ashamed of it anymore like he was this morning.

Shiro's gave her a big smile. The biggest smile she has seen from him since they moved from Japan. The sight warmed her heart and all of the anger she felt before completely melted away. "Allura said she liked my hair and told all the other kids that I looked cool!" he told her excitedly. "Mama, I have so many new friends now, but I like Allura the most!"

Aiko looked up at the snow-haired child with a smile. "Thank you, Allura for taking care of my son." Allura smiled back at her and gave a small bow. Aiko then turned her attention towards Zarkon who watched the scenario patiently. "Is Allura yours, Mr. Galra?"

He let out a laugh. "Heavens no. She is my goddaughter. It is with my deepest apologies that she caused all of this." He cleared his throat. "However, I must warn you. This probably will happen again, Mrs. Shirogane. Allura is known for leaving the daycare quite often. She usually ends up in my office or her father's. We do have security all around and throughout the building and Allura knows better than to do things...too dangerous. She knows exactly what is strictly off limits and she will never leave the building. She knows this place like the back her hand, so she will never truly get them lost if that helps ease your worries."

Aiko blinked, taking in what her boss just told her. She didn't exactly like the idea of her toddler roaming this giant building unsupervised with a girl they just met. Out of all kids, he had to make friends with a spy kid. A spy kid who was her new boss' goddaughter, at that.

Aiko grabbed her purse before she stood upright. "That's fine, I suppose. It's strange, but I know Allura could be the one to break him out of his shell." She looked behind her at the children who retreated into the daycare to gather Shiro's things.

"Allura has a tendency to do that," Zarkon spoke. "That girl can bring anybody out of their shell." Zarkon was too proud to admit it, but he knew that his life changed the day he met his goddaughter. He smiled more than he ever did after she was born. He would do absolutely anything in his power to make her happy. Luckily for Allura, Zarkon was a very powerful man.

"You mentioned that she often goes into her father's office," Aiko started. "Is her father an employee of yours?"

Zarkon smiled. "No, her father is Alfor Altea - My business partner and the Co-CEO of Voltron Tech." Aiko's mouth hung open. Not only did her son befriend a jailbreaker, but he befriended the child who was directly related to two of the most powerful men in the western hemisphere.

Zarkon laughed at her expression. "Don't worry. It won't be so bad," he told her. "Coran plans the best playdates."

"Coran?" she asked.

"Coran Smyth, our advisor." Great. Another powerful person Allura had a direct correlation to.

"Don't look so frighted. We're actually decent people outside of work," he told her. "Now, I must head back to work. It was a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Shirogane. I'm pleased to know that the Galra branch met your expectations." Zarkon turned to leave before Allura ran up to him, holding her arms up demanding to be lifted.

"Can I come with you?" she asked when she was lifted to his eye level. "We can get ice cream."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't eat your vegetables last night and your father told you no more sweets for the rest of the week." he paused taking in her fallen expression before smirking. "But I won't tell him if you don't, kiddo." He was rewarded with a squeal of delight and a smothering hug from his sunshine.

Allura turned in his arms to wave back to Shiro. "Bye, Shiro! I'll see you tomorrow, right?" she asked him.

Shiro looked up at his mom in question. "Yes, Shiro will be back tomorrow, Allura."

"Yay! I can't wait to have adventures with you, Shiro! We'll be friends forever!" Shiro couldn't help but smile because he wanted nothing more to spend forever with Allura.

"Bye Princess!" Shiro waved goodbye to Allura before looking up at his mom. "I like it here, Mama," he told her as he grabbed her hand as they left to leave.

"I know you do, Taka-chan. I like it here, too." She squeezed his hand affectionately before they left the daycare.

In the elevator, Zarkon trusted Allura enough to let her press the elevator button this time. "So, kiddo, tell me. How did you get past Amy this time?"

"Plan C."

"Oh, that's a good one. That Reggie kid has a natural talent." Zarkon's tie kept Allura busy. Her natural tendency to touch things that didn't belong to her taking over. He pulled out his cell to text Alfor that he had his daughter and that they were going to be in his office for probably the rest of the day. A second later his phone chimed with Alfor's specific text tone.

"Who is that child on your leg?"

Zarkon looked at the picture his best friend sent him. It was when he first foiled the toddler's plans of breaking into his office. He had Allura in his arms, while Shiro gripped tightly at his leg, face in a frown full of determination trying to protect his friend. The picture was taken by one of his Minions and was probably circulating the office by now. Zarkon smirked before saving the picture and replying.

Allura's new partner in crime and probably your future son-in-law.

EXCUSE ME?

Zarkon only laughed as stepped out of the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note

Canon Allura is bossy as shit so I wrote kid Allura like that but amplified by 10 because she doesn't know how to hold back. She's a little rebellious hellraiser and Shiro is so in love with her but he doesn't know it yet. Also, can you guys tell that I'm weirdly obsessed with the French Revolution?

As usual, if you guys have any ideas, send prompts. My tumbler is Tybalt-tisk, I'm always open to a conversation. Leave reviews, please! They really encourage me to keep writing.