Day 11: Past, Present, Future. A look at the different Shiros that led him to *ahem* the love of his life.

Enjoy!

Past.

Little Shiro loved going to the library. His mother would pick up a few novels while he looked at the picture books. His favorite one was the book with big bright planets and the story of a little alien looking for his home. His second favorite book was the pop-up book of a beautiful princess with curly ginger hair who rode a giant horse and could use arrows and a bow. She didn't wear a big frilly dress like the other princesses and loved going on adventures in the forest. Little Shiro told himself that the only girl he could ever be friends with had to be like that: strong, brave, smart and fun. And have lots of fluffy hair to brush. He loved brushing his mother's hair so his friend had to have lots of hair to brush too.

Little Shiro became teen Shiro. He switched combing his mother's hair for helping her do chores around the house. He would often have red eyes because of the lack of sleep because he spent many night learning and memorizing the stars of the sky. Teen Shiro was already dreaming of going to space and rewriting history among the stars. He quickly learned that girls couldn't be reduced to the women from his childhood picture books and that the ones in his small high school were good friends but not quite what he wanted for a girlfriend. Shiro told himself that the girl that would be his girlfriend had to love the stars as much as he did, that she still had to be strong, brave, smart and fun. But also kind, compassionate, had her own quirks, show leadership. Because if life is an adventure, he wanted to have someone who would stick by his side.

Present.

Teen Shiro became Grown Shiro. He entered the Galaxy Garrisson and started climbing the ranks. He also started gaining more attention than he wanted: soon, his files were a mixture of paperwork and love letter. He read them all and declined all advances with polite 'no's and 'I'm sorry's. he was called strong, brave, smart and fun he was qualifies as kind, compassionate, a leader and at times quirky. But the name that came back often was heartless. Because despite all the other things that Shiro was, he wasn't in a relationship. That was his anomaly. He had all the qualifications but couldn't stay with a single lady. But he knew that he had yet the one he had yet to meet the one he would call his better half.

Grown Shiro became broken Shiro. He was captured, tortured, used and manipulated. He returned to earth only to be reshipped to space. To become something he never asked to be, to fight a war he didn't even know was happening. Shiro looked at Allura. Her eyes filled with an unspoken sorrow as her gaze was upon the starry sky before them. For now, all he could do was hold her hand. She reminded him of the princess in her childhood picture book and the girl he dreamed of in high school.

But he didn't have this much imagination. She was beyond human explanation. She was strong, brave, smart and fun, kind, compassionate, had her own quirks, show leadership...

She was complete and yet completely broken. She was a beautiful nightmare, someone he couldn't fully grasp but couldn't let go of no matter how much he tried.

Broken Shiro became broken and in love Shiro. Fear of his fragmented heart never being enough, he wasn't able to step up. To tell her the truth. He suppressed his feelings until it was almost too late. Until he almost lost her. And all that he was didn't matter anymore because he could only think of all he wanted to be.

Future

Grown Shiro became King Shiro and King Shiro became father Shiro.

Princess Situla and Prince Alfor were running towards the castle of lions, ready for their very first intergalactic royal tour. They had traveled to nearby planets before but this was different: they were going to be away from their home planet for a long time. "Father, is this how you felt when you became a Paladin?" Alfor asked. Shiro laughed at his son's innocent question. "I'm afraid I didn't have much of a choice. But if you don't want to come along, I'm sure Uncle Lance or Uncle Hunk could keep you in their homes." Alfor though about it. Aunt Shay's cricket cookies were surprisingly good. "I think I would miss you too much," he responded before entering the castle.

The small family made their way to the control room. Allura activated the Paladins' seats and the children decided that they'd rather sit with their father. "Ready to go, Shiro?" She asked while turning around. Her breath got caught in her throat at the scene. Four empty seats. Her husband siting in the black Paladin's chair, his arms tightly wrapped around their children, smiling at here. "Ready to go, Princess."

"Mom is not a princess, she is a queen!" Situla responded.

"You know, when I first met her, she was Princess Allura..."

"And she is still as beautiful as she was all those years ago, we know, we know, you tell this story a thousand times!" Alfor wined. "Don't be rude," Situla whispered while lightly poking her little brother. Allura stepped off from her pilot's position. "You know what else I've done a thousand times already?" She asked with a teasing look in her eyes.

The children looked at each other before shielding their eyes. Shiro and Allura both bursted into laughter before exchanging a tender kiss. "Now," she said while gently pulling at her children's ears, "if any of you complain about your father telling the story of how we met again, you will be eating Uncle Coran's green goop for the rest of the trip."

"But the trip didn't even start!" Princess Situla wined.

"Exactly," Allura replied with a firm tone. the kids giggled. Of course their mother wasn't truly mad, but they didn't want to eat green goop either, so they nodded. Satisfied, she returned to her position and brought the castle engines to life, slowly guiding it out the Earth's atmosphere and into the stars.

Somewhere along the journey that led him to this moment, he realized that he was more than the adjectives in front of his names. That they were the different hats he wore and would continue to wear. That over time, they would accumulate and change. He would always have little, teen, grown and broken. But right here, right now, being father, husband, friend and guardian Shiro, he wouldn't change that for anything.

Let me know what you all think! :)