CHAPTER FOUR: The Desert

When she woke up, the other side of the bed was empty. Her hand stretched out, searching for any traces of warmth on the soft sheets, and finding none. She knew that Shiro was a restless sleeper―she had found him wandering the castle during its nightcycle more often than not―and the Sjarkans had been nothing but hospitable, but still; the idea of Shiro walking around a strange castle all by himself made her uneasy.

The rush of relief she felt when she saw him standing, straight-backed and tense, on the doorway of the small balcony attached to their room was almost overwhelming.

"Shiro?"

He turned at her voice, his alert eyes snapping to her face. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Sorry, princess. I just felt a bit restless, that's all."

"No, of course." She dropped her gaze to the rumpled bedsheets. Sometimes it was so spectacularly hard to look at him, as though he was a brilliant light, brighter than even the most beautiful star. She wondered how a human could hold so much stardust in his eyes. "Should we be preparing for the day soon?"

"The two of us probably should." She heard him move back towards the bed, and the fondness in his voice, although he tried to suppress it. "The boys and Pidge will want to sleep in."

Allura gave him a small smile as he sat down on the edge of the bed, near her feet. "Leaders are not allowed many luxuries, are we?"

"No." His mouth quirked upwards. "I'm afraid not. But it has it's advantages, like a peace of mind, in some ways. Do you really think we'd be able to trust anyone else with the mission we have to complete?"

"I suppose not," she conceded. "Still, it makes me wonder...do you ever think we'll have time for other things? Besides the mission?"

Shiro blinked, his starry eyes faltering. "What makes you say that?" Allura always seemed so dedicated to freeing the galaxy from Zarkon; it wasn't like her to have second thoughts at all, much less about something as vital to all of their lives as this.

She frowned. "It's just—growing up, I never thought this would be my life. I'd thought I'd serve my people, as a queen, as a diplomat. Not avenge them as a warrior. It may have been 10,000 years to the galaxy, but it has only been a year for me. Since I woke up and realized everything I knew was—was gone." She swallowed hard, looking away from him again, and her loose hair fell over her face like a silvery curtain.

He was silent for a long moment, before he said, very quietly, "When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. I never wanted to be a soldier..." He looked at his metal arm. "And I know that we're supposed to have the answers - the kids expect me to have the answers, but honestly—most of the time I'm just making it up as I go along."

Allura raised her head slightly, her hair only covering one eye, even then a piercing azure blue. She slid her fingers over his and tangled them together, solid and real and warm, and he gripped them back perhaps a tad too tightly out of relief, although if she felt any discomfort she didn't let it show.

"I often have the same doubts," she said softly. "But I know we will overcome. We will accomplish our mission, no matter what the cost. We will win, trust me. You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course—" He went to call her princess, but refrained. It felt odd to use her formal title, when they were alone like this. He gulped noisily at the thought: them, being alone. "Of course Allura," he finished, half mumbling.

"Then trust me on this." She squeezed his hand again. "You cannot succumb to your demons, to your doubt, no matter how tempting it is. The team needs you." She hesitated, the markings under her eyes growing a deeper pink as their gazes locked. "I need you."

She let go of his hand once he had blinked, and stood up, sweeping her long hair over her shoulder. "It's best we get started for the day, don't you think?" she said briskly, not willing to take a chance and look at him.

"Of course, princess," Shiro said in the voice he reserved for the other Paladins, when they were tiring him out.

Her heart stiffened, but she didn't push it, retreating to the bathroom.

She was a professional. Her feelings—and his, whatever they may be—couldn't matter.

Noruku took them to one of the council rooms in the palace right after breakfast, with Shiro leading a tired, groaning Lance and similarly sleep-deprived Paladins. The council room was full of maps inked with sand coloured lines over dried out leaves, tinged a faint purple. Most of the lines outlined sand dunes, with sinking sands to the north. The Xs on the map marked where the Galra had landed their ships in previous visits, and the few dots of blue showed where the remaining water reserves were. Most of the blue dots had been overlain with Xs, having been drained by the evil empire.

"The one here is closest to us," said Noruku, running the tip of his finger from the small, circle that represented the Oasis of Osock, to a nearby blue dot. On the map it didn't look that far, but Shiro knew it was hardly to scale in such a large desert. "It's about a three day's walk away from us, and is the source of most of our city's water. We know that this is the last water reserve the Galra will attack. We are hoping to refute the water of the other reserves through underground tunnels into this one, before the Galra can come back and drain them. We need your help fortifying it."

Shiro studied the map for a moment, one hand tucked into his pant pocket. "I assume you've tried to fortify the oasis before. What hasn't worked?"

"We've tried building trenches, fences, or shooting at the Galra aircraft." Noruku's face fell, his nose looking squashed against his face. "Nothing's worked."

"You haven't had the Paladins of Voltron yet," Allura reminded him, voice strong and sturdy. "We can set up fortifications twice as fast with our Lions, and create a rotating guard shift so at least one Lion is always there, to give the others time to arrive."

"The princess is right," said Shiro, raising his gaze from the map. "Lance, Keith, you'll go to the oasis yourselves. Lance, use your Lion to check the water, but don't over exert yourself—we have limited resources—and Keith, see what your Lion can do."

The boys nodded. "We won't let you down Shiro," said Keith.

"It'll be smooth sailing," Lance said, and then snickered at his pun. Keith elbowed him in the stomach.

Shiro shot them both a pointed look, and they composed themselves, looking almost like the professional Paladins of Voltron they were supposed to be.

"We'll get the job done," Lance muttered, looking at the floor.

"You most certainly will," said Allura brightly, and the praise surprised all three of them before she added, "because I'm coming with you."

Shiro's brow furrowed slightly. "Are you sure you want—" Allura frowned at him, and he quieted. He didn't like the idea of being separated from her—she understood alien cultures far better than any of them did—but he supposed it made sense, and she had a keen eye for military advantages just as much as he did.

"Bring Hunk, then," he said firmly. "You'll need someone with a Lion that can do some heavy lifting, if the need arises. Pidge and I will stay here and look at how we can fortify the town. If the Galra get mad, they might attack here and get rid of the locals altogether."

Allura nodded. "Alright. Boys, let's go." She paused on her way out, Hunk, Lance and Keith already having passed through the doorway, and she went back to Shiro and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Stay safe."

Heat rose to his cheeks, and Shiro cleared his throat before he smiled at her, trying to appear natural. The marriage thing. Right. "You too."

As soon as Noruku was gone, he shot a glare at Pidge's wide, toothy grin.

"So," Lance's voice drew the word out, "you and Shiro huh?"

Allura groaned, and was grateful she had chosen to ride with Hunk during the journey over to the water reserve. Still, the comm-links didn't help and she could hear Keith and Lance snickering; even Hunk was hiding a smile.

"It's for the mission," she said simply, even as she fought the flush colouring her cheeks. "And the greater good of the galaxy."

"You like him—ooh you do, I knew it!" Lance crowed. "Poor Allura, once you realized I had moved on from you, you had to take time to mend your broken heart—"

"I'll break your face if you don't stop talking," said Allura sternly.

"Shutting up now."

"Well I think you and Shiro are a cute couple," said Keith, as he steered his Lion towards the ground, and the trio started losing altitude.

"Thank you, Keith," Allura deadpanned.

She spotted the water reserve easily. It was just like Noruku had described it: a big bulky rock encasing that looked almost like a giant well. It had a heavy metal lid on top with multiple latches and was sealed tightly shut so no animals could get in to steal any water. There were large dents in the ground around the well, likely from trenches that had been refilled during sandstorms.

Allura had them set to work immediately. Keith and Hunk's lions worked together for a time to reform the trench around the well, while Lance connected his Lion (with Hunk's instructions over the comm-link) to the well for a scan program, to see how much water was there, how deeply it was buried, and if there were any possible paths it could already be refuted to.

It took some time for the scan to be complete, and Lance transmitted the imaging feed over all of their screens so Hunk could go over the results. She leaned over the pilot chair, resting one arm on it so she could get a better look at the blue text scrolling against the screen.

It seemed that there were tunnels under construction that would allow the water to be refuted, but just hadn't been finished yet. The scans reported wildlife, too, but couldn't get any more details as the creatures were elusive and moved far too fast to be recorded properly. Allura made a mental note to ask Norutu or one of the locals about it later, just to make sure the creatures, whatever they were, wouldn't be a problem.

She was grateful the Lions had their temperatures regulated, and even then a stingy heat was permeating the machines, and she knew it must have been a thousand times worse outside with no protection from the fierce glare of the sun. How the Sjarkans survived in such a harsh climate was beyond her, and she wondered if once upon a time, the planet had looked more like Altea, with mountains and lush fields of flowers and winding rivers. Before the Galra had destroyed it. Before the Galra had sucked the life and water out of this planet too.

She couldn't let them finish the job.

The faint glow of her earrings flickered against Allura's jaw for a moment, and she heard Shiro's voice through the crackle of the comm-link. "How are things going on your end? The boys are behaving?" he asked, trying not to sound worried.

She smiled faintly. "Quite well, actually. Except for Lance."

"Hey!"

She ignored his indignant yelp. "You?"

Shiro sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "Pidge is setting up an extension for the particle barrier so it can protect more than just the castle. It'll come in handy in a lot of future missions. Kid is a genius, I swear. When are you getting back?"

"I think we've done as much as we can without the local's help. We've gotten the trench back into working order and collected as much data about the well without further inquiry. We should be leaving in a few minutes at the most."

"Good."

The corners of her mouth lifted. "Worried, Shiro?" she said in a teasing lilt.

"Me?" Shiro even sounded a little panicked by her question, adorably flustered, and her smile grew into a cheeky grin as he cleared his throat, slipping back into his I'm the Leader voice. "Of course not. You're more than capable, Princess. Pidge and I will be waiting in the foyer of King Ilvaar's palace."

"See you soon, then." She felt Hunk's eyes on her as the comm-link disconnected, and raised her eyebrows. "What?"

The yellow paladin coughed in his arm. "N-nothing, princess." He grabbed his lion's controls and put it into gear. "Alright, let's head back."

Pidge was fiddling with a piece of tech when Shiro joined them in the foyer, his helmet tucked under one arm as he took a seat next to the younger paladin. They were sitting on the steps that led up to one of the many grand staircases the palace employed, servants scurrying between rooms and not paying them much attention.

"Particle barrier?" Shiro guessed, and Pidge nodded.

"Trying to see if I can create an infinite extension, but I'm not sure the tech can handle the coding, as advanced as it is." They let it drop into their lap. "Maybe Coran will know—where is he anyhow?"

"Checking up on the castle's defences." Shiro glanced at the wrist watch in his suit, and frowned. Where were they? Allura and the boys should have been back by now, they were supposed to have left a good twenty minutes ago?

Pidge had a knowing look in their eyes. "Worried?"

A dull flush coloured his cheeks as he snapped his attention away from his watch. Thank God Allura hadn't been able to see him when she'd asked the same question, but Pidge had, and was delighted by his reaction. "You know Lance and Keith can do some really stupid things sometimes. Or...what if they even got lost?"

"They're with Allura, of course they'll be okay." Pidge arched an eyebrow. "Or is it because they're with Allura that you're worried?"

"Don't be ridiculous Pidge," he said shortly, ignoring the heat creeping up his neck. "I worry about all of you equally."

Pidge hummed, grinning wickedly. "Hmm. Sure."

They didn't believe him in the slightest, and Shiro sighed, propping his elbow on his knee so he could cup one side of his face with his hand. He could feel his wedding ring pressing into his skin, cool and warm to the touch all at once.

He had never thought about marrying Allura before—he never thought there'd be a time for even a smidgen of a relationship beyond the one they had now, let alone something as big as marriage—but maybe... just maybe, if they all survived, if they got through this mission and the next hundred thousand, if something changed between them, then—

"We're back!" Hunk announced joyfully, and he jumped into a standing position.

"I really have to go pee—where's the bathroom again?" Lance squeaked, his legs pinched together. Pidge pointed to the left and Lance made a beeline for the bathroom.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't get lost," said Hunk, now sounding resigned, and tugged Keith along with him as they headed after their friend.

Shiro watched them go, before swivelling around and finding Allura only an arms-length away from him. He swallowed hard. "What took you so long?"

"We took a wrong turn at a sand dune. They all look rather alike, you know." Allura lifted a few strands of hair off the sweaty nape of her neck, but paused when he kept staring at her, frowning. "I thought you said you weren't worried."

"I'm not." He fidgeted with the rim of his helmet, glancing down at the floor.

She smiled softly, and took his restless fingers, giving them a squeeze. "Shiro?" He looked up at her. "It's good to see you."

He grew acutely aware that a few of the servants were staring now—God they must've looked so awkward, not like a married couple at all—and tugged her towards him, pressing his lips to her cheek in a quick kiss. "Of course you are," he said, as confidently as he could manage, "I'm your husband."

Allura blinked after he pulled away, her mouth forming an O shape, before she came back to herself. Their eyes met, his turning urgent, and she beamed at him, slipping on a calm facade as she tangled their fingers together. "Let's go, then. I'm sure there's plenty we need to do."

"Allura?"

Her azure eyes flitted to his face as she climbed into bed beside him. It had been a long day, she was more than ready to get to sleep after being in meetings with King Ilvaar's military advisor all afternoon about what fortifications could further be made and how to use them. But still, something in Shiro's voice tugged at her heart, as it often did, and her eyes were gentle and patient, if questioning, when they rested on his face.

"Yes?"

Shiro glanced down at his pillow, the light wind tousling his white tuft of had left the windows of their suite open for the night, letting the cool air in, but sharing a bed with Shiro—even as they both made sure to keep their distance—made the sheets nice and warm. She curled just a tad further into the warmth between them, despite herself.

"Shiro—" she began, because he was still struggling to get the words out, and as patient as she was, she didn't want to be up all night without at least knowing the reason why.

"I'm sorry," he blurted, "about earlier today."

"Oh." She hadn't been expecting that, nor did she know exactly what he was apologizing for. Being worried? The cheek kiss? She certainly hadn't minded either of those things. "It's alright," she said gently. "Our arrangement is going to need some getting used to, on both of our parts."

Shiro smiled at her gratefully, finally looking both relieved and tired as he stifled a yawn. "Thank you, Allura."

"Of course," she said, resting her head on her pillow and letting her eyelids droop, as Shiro did the same. "Good night, my paladin."

Allura froze, keeping her eyes wielded shut even as dread flooded her. Stars above, that wasn't supposed to slip out, she—She stiffened when she felt Shiro's fingers, warm and human, against her cheek, gently brushing her hair out of her face, and she relaxed.

So he hadn't cared. Attributed it to a slip of the tongue, which was what it was? Or had he, if she dared think it, liked it?

"Good night," he said drowsily, his voice thick with sleep and fondness in equal measures. She cracked an eye open to find him with his eyes shut, but a happy little smile on his face. "My princess."

Warmth flooded her cheeks, and a small smile wormed its way onto her own face, before she finally shut her eyes, and fell asleep.