CHAPTER SIX: The Light
For a few blissful moments after he woke up, Shiro forgot what had transpired the previous night...and then he remembered. His body froze as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, his fingers feeling exceptionally warm, and he realized they were still laced through Allura's. He panicked, thinking about how to move without waking her when he caught the soft curve of her lips: the princess had fallen asleep with a smile on her face.
His own face heated up when he thought of the softness of her voice when they had said goodnight. My Paladin.
He dragged his free hand down his face, nearly nicking himself with the edge of the wedding band he wore—fake wedding band. Maybe they were faking this marriage a bit too well, or at least he was. God, what if she suspected him? It would be completely unprofessional, and awkward, and... maybe sort of freeing, to have it all out in the open. Even if she didn't feel the same—and why would she?—at least he wouldn't have to hide it anymore.
Shiro shook his head, carefully slipping his hand out of hers, even as her fingers remained curled against the snowy sheets of their bed. He couldn't stop himself from reaching over as her hair fell in her face, carefully tucking it behind her pointed ears. He almost let his fingers linger, when her eyes fluttered open.
"Shiro?" she said, voice thick with sleep.
He flushed, feeling almost guilty—or at least caught in the act. He cleared his throat. "Good morning, princess."
She pushed herself up into a sitting position, blinking the sleep from her eyes. "How long do we have until we need to go down to breakfast?" She stifled an adorable little yawn.
"I'm not sure," he admitted. Their room did have a clock, hanging on the wall opposite the bed, or at least he assumed it was a clock: he couldn't read it himself. It was made of glass and smooth, pale sand-coloured stone with four hands and three markings that didn't resemble Earthling numbers, but they must have been numbers, right?
"Hmm. We have more than a few ticks," she said decidedly, glancing at the clock-not-clock, and running a hand through her hair.
"Would you..." His tongue turned heavy. "Would you like me to brush it for you, again, princess? Your hair?"
She looked at him, and then smiled so radiantly it knocked all the air out of his lungs. "That is a very kind offer, Shiro. Thank you. I...I would like that very much."
He gave her a quick smile, the flush on his cheeks deepening, and then got out of the warm bed and grabbing the silver brush on their dresser. They settled into their position from the previous day, with him sitting cross-legged behind her and carefully brushing her hair, at first in sections, making sure to find any tangles and gently undo them. There weren't many, and if anything he found he enjoyed it more this time, feeling more confident and not as concerned about causing her any pain, watching her relax as she worked.
"I think that's all of it," he said softly a good five minutes later at least, her hair a long curtain of silver and stardust.
She turned around to smile at him, soft and almost shy. "Thank you, Shiro. I'll go put the brush back...you can use the bathroom first if you wish?"
His fingers grazed hers as he handed over the brush. "Yeah, I'll go—go change." He took his uniform from the dresser drawer before heading to the bathroom.
If this was what domesticity with Allura was like, he didn't mind at all.
And better yet, she hadn't mentioned the kiss. Maybe she didn't remember? Or thought it was a dream? Or more likely, a nightmare. After all, why would she want to kiss him? Allura, wanting to kiss him... He dragged a hand down his face, looking at himself in the thin piece of glass working as a mirror in the bathroom. It's just for the mission.
He couldn't let anything make him lose sight of that—especially not her.
"Black Paladin!"
Shiro almost jumped at the sound of King Ilvaar's booming voice. Breakfast had just finished, the team planning on going to the oasis nearby to continue fortifying it before the Galra arrived. He turned, swinging Allura around with him as they were holding hands the way they were supposed to.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Shiro asked.
Ilvaar waved a stubby-fingered hand, his rings glittering. He was wearing new robes today, made of a deep, rich purple, still baggy and looking like loose wings when he threw his arms open. His yellow, brown hued eyes showed more of the latter outside of the sun, his thick beard twitching every time he talked.
Ilvaar twiddled his fingers. "I was thinking you and the princess would join me for the morning—since we're working together, it would be wise to get to know one another, don't you think? Especially since I've never met an Earthling or an Altean before!"
"I'm a little hesitant to leave the rest of the paladins on their own," Shiro hesitated, glancing back at his team.
Ilvaar's face fell, his large nose almost deflating. "You must have a second in command?"
Now that he thought of it, Shiro figured he really should have one. There had just never been a need for it: he was always able to lead the team and one of the paladins stepped up at various times if he was missing-in-action, or would take orders from Allura just as readily and vice versa. Having a co-leader meant he didn't need a second in command, although he was sure Allura would have no problem leading the team on her own.
"It's me, obviously—" Lance said, slinging an arm around Shiro's shoulders and almost knocking Allura out of the way.
"Don't be stupid Lance," Keith muttered. "It's—"
"Hunk," said Shiro decidedly, worming his way out of Lance's grip. "Hunk is in charge, for today. We'll have to wait and see about tomorrow."
Hunk beamed at him, clasping his hands together. The Red and Blue Paladins looked equally as disappointed, but Lance got over it more quickly, giving Hunk a high five before his friend replied, "I won't let you down!"
Shiro took Allura's hand, holding it more firmly this time as the princess said warmly, "I'm sure you won't, Hunk," before turning to the king. "We'd be happy to join you, King Ilvaar."
The king clasped his hands together. "Splendid! Well, come this way, right this way," he said jovially.
Allura and Shiro exchanged a look, the latter raising his eyebrows and giving a little shrug, before they followed the king, hand-in-hand.
The Paladins were halfway to the water reserve when a cheerful Coran popped up on their commlink screens. "Good morning, Paladins," he chirped.
"Hey Coran," greeted Lance. He had officially finished sulking about twenty minutes ago, instead gleefully reminding Keith of Hunk's new status, and his by extension. After all, if Hunk was in charge, than that obviously meant he was Hunk's right hand man—leg? Whatever he was, he was important, and way more important than Keith, and he wasn't going to pass up a chance to brag about it. "Guess who's the leader—"
"The princess and Shiro aren't with you?" Coran twirled a finger through his mustache.
"They're back with King Ilvaar," said Keith. "We're heading to the reserve now."
"Those poor newlyweds," said Pidge, snickering to herself. They'd all get to tease their two leaders for months over this mission before they stopped turning red.
Coran's mustache twitched. "I must admit, they're playing the part very well."
"Part sh-mart," said Lance. "Those two lovebirds are crazy about each other, even if they won't admit it."
"You have birds of love on your planet?" Coran asked curiously.
Hunk opened his mouth to let him down gently when Keith announced, "We're here, guys."
The water reserve looked the same as it had the day before: big and rocky casing over the opening of the well, the tunnels buried very deep underground.
"Oh, I'll leave you to it, then," said Coran. "Would you pass along a message to the princess? I should have the information she wanted by tomorrow at the latest."
"Will do," Hunk told him, and the Altean cut off the commlink as the Yellow Paladin turned his attention to the water resevoire. Shiro was trusting him with this, and there was no way he was going to let him down, so he was pleased to see the trenches he had made the other day were still there, and Pidge ran through the data collected of the tunnels one more time, fuzzy as it was while Keith and Lance ran scenarios past each other for possible defences. It dissolved into bickering after a few good ideas were tossed out, and Hunk filed them away for future use: whereas Lance was more of a planner, Keith also knew more offensive strategy when he bothered to have a strategy at all.
They were a good combination when they could actually work together.
Hunk wondered if Shiro and Allura were having as easy a time as they were.
"And here," King Ilvaar swept his arm over a balcony in the northwest wing of the castle, "if you look closely enough, you can see the Sinking Sands up to the North. That's where we hold our executions."
Shiro had spent the past hour tuning in and out of the king's one0sided conversation as he gave them an even lengthier and more elaborate tour of the palace (for someone who claimed to be interested in Earthlings and Alteans he sure did like to talk about his own planet quite a lot) than they had already been subjected to—but at this, Shiro snapped to attention, following the king's line of sight. Over the sloping sand dunes, he could vaguely see a place where the sand lied completely still even in the wind. That must have been the Sinking Sands.
He tightened his grip on Allura's hand, stepping ever so slightly in front of her. "Executions?" he said, keeping his voice schooled into one of calm, neutral interest.
"A rare, nasty thing, but a necessary one," said Ilvaar, turning back towards them. "There are certain laws that must be upheld. Executions are only used for serious crimes, don't you worry. Things like murder and treason. Our penalty for divorce is far steeper."
Allura stiffened. "Which is?" she asked innocently.
"Oh, well, usually it's because a Sjarkan married someone they didn't want to be with, or were faking it. Disgusting, I say—so we take whoever they're getting divorced for, and make them walk out into the desert to search for water. They're given a little radio in case they find any."
"And have any of them found water? Or come back?" said Shiro carefully.
"Not one." Ilvaar sounded cheerful. "But that's the point, of course—you break something as sacred as marriage, how are you ever supposed to be trusted?"
Allura forced a smile, tainted with unease. "Of course, Your Majesty." She exchanged a quick, worried glance with Shiro when Ilvaar's back was turned, and squeezed his hand. They would never be found out, with how easily everyone had accepted their charade, with how well they were playing their parts, but it still filled her stomach with dread to think of all the people who had been subjected to that terrible punishment—the thought of Shiro going through more suffering, any suffering, because of a failed mission. Because of her.
"Uh, Allura?"
She perked up at the sound of Lance's voice, emitted from her earrings, ignoring the way Shiro leaned in much closer to her to listen in. "Lance?"
"We, uh, found something you're going to want to see. Pidge is sending over a scan now."
"We'll access it as soon as we can," she promised, grateful for the easy way out and turning her attention back to the king. "Your Majesty, it seems we need to have a briefing with the rest of the Paladins. I hope we'll be seeing you this evening?"
She hoped nothing of the sort, yet Shiro couldn't help but admire her cool facade and ever diplomatic nature. She was much better at this than he was, and he felt the warmth of her skin, her cheek nearly pressed to his.
"I'm afraid I won't be seeing you at dinner," said Ilvaar, and both members of Voltron internally celebrated the fact. "Tonight is my monthly Midnight Rest. We live in the sunlight but need more darkness to sleep, you see. The light... it is blinding."
"I understand, Your Majesty." The princess bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you for taking us on this wonderful tour, my husband and I appreciate it very much." She turned and pecked Shiro on the cheek for affect, missing the way his cheeks turned pink as she went to guide him away from the balcony.
She couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Shiro broke their fast pace when he suddenly stopped, slowing her along with him. He jerked his head towards an empty room of the palace, in the guest wing opposite to hers, and Allura let him lead her inside, shutting the door firmly behind them.
"Anyone outside?" he asked her, as Alteans had better hearing than humans by far.
She kept her eyes pricked for any sound, but found none other than their own laboured breathing. "No." She activated the small comm in her earrings. "Lance? Are you still there?"
"Yes, princess. Pidge sent the files to Shiro—Hunk's the one who got them, Yellow still seems to be pretty spooked, actually."
Shiro held up his arm, and a hologram popped up as Pidge's voice crackled to life. The hologram showed a huge picture of elaborate underground tunnels, a rough schematic that failed to show how deep they went into the planet, with things becoming blurry at the edges.
"We finally got better scans on the tunnels surrounding the well," explained Pidge, "and what we found was unusual for a number of reasons. Hunk's Lion has a good connection to the earth in general, so his was the most cooperative when it came to collecting data. The Sjarkans said these were tunnels for construction, of going deeper into the well—but looking at the tunnels... they clearly weren't made by any tools they've shown us. Either the Sjarkans have more advanced technology than we thought, and are keeping it a secret, or these tunnels weren't made by them at all."
"So then what made it?" asked Shiro patiently.
Pidge's freckled, worried face replaced the tunnel blueprints. "Do you remember the Norins?"
"Yes?" said Allura. "That Sjarkan, Sara, said they were burrowing creatures who lived here with them in harmony until the Galra wiped them out with diseases and such."
"Well they're not gone. Some of these tunnels are recent, going deeper and deeper into the earth, so far we keep losing the signal. That's why some of the water has been leaving the wells. I think the Galra's taken some, yes, but... I think the surviving Norins are also harvesting it, taking it away from the surface and down to wherever they're living."
Allura frowned. "But why wouldn't they share the water with the Sjarkans? Or help them fight against the Galra? They're neighbours."
"I guess they figure it's a dog-eat-dog world now."
"What?"
"Earthling phrase," Shiro supplied quietly, and then he was all business. "Pidge, can you build something that would help us get a better look at these tunnels? I don't think we can go to King Ilvaar without any proof of this, if this is bigger than we thought it was. The Sjarkans have..." he winced. "Pretty harsh punishments."
Pidge raised their eyebrows, but didn't question what he meant, which he was thankful for. He didn't want to scare the rest of the team of the predicament they had all gotten themselves into. "I'll do my best. We still have some stolen Galra tech from that mission on Gigi."
"Make sure you share whatever you find with us first," said Allura. "I don't think I can trust the king any longer, and who knows what he will do if he thinks the Norins have betrayed his people."
"Or if we discover that the Sjarkans have betrayed them," said Shiro grimly. "Keep us posted, paladins. Let us know once you're back at the palace."
"Will do," the boys and Pidge said as one, before they broke off the commlink.
Shiro's face was grave as he slipped his hand out of Allura's, and she quickly curved her fingers over his knuckles again anyway. "Shiro?"
He looked up to find her staring at him. "Sorry, princess, I'm just..."
"Thinking?"
His lips twitched upwards. "More like floundering. Do you ever think the kids know we're just making it up as we go along?"
"I sincerely hope not. They look to someone for the answers, after all." She laced her fingers through his, resting her head on his shoulder. "They look to us. Let me know what is on your mind, Shiro. We are a team, a good one."
He squeezed her hand, pressing a kiss to her temple before he could think better of it. "I just wish I had more information, so we could make a better decision on what to do next."
"I think perhaps you are overcomplicating things, then," she said softly. "The new plan is still the old one. We meet the Galra when they come for the remaining water next week. We deal with them. We help the Sjarkans and collect more information. The only difference is that now, the Sjarkans may not only be allies, and we may need to help the Norins too. Do not stress over what you cannot control, my paladin."
This time he really did smile, resting his gaze on her as he relaxed. "How did you become so calm under pressure?"
She met his eyes readily. "You make me feel calm." Heat crept over her face, her cheek markings turning a darker pink, her voice growing soft now that they had somewhat dealt with the situation at hand. "Shiro, last night when you..."
He laughed nervously. "Oh, um, right. That. I—wasn't really thinking, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable—"
"No," she said quickly, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, and drawing closer to him as well. Her hand was still in his. "No, I—it was alright, and we wanted it to happen privately, naturally, so that in public it would be... In fact, I—I rather liked—"
"We're here!"
She almost stumbled into Shiro, and then stumbled away again, both of them startled by the sound of Lance's enthusiastic shout through their commlinks.
"Lance," Shiro scolded.
"Oops, sorry. We're at the front steps of the palace. Meet us there?"
He sighed. "Yes. We'll be over there in a moment."
This time Allura made sure her commlink couldn't be turned on by anyone by her, grateful at least that the rest of the team hadn't hear her and Shiro's conversation. There were some things better kept private, something she knew all too well, even if less than a week ago and she failed in upholding that belief.
Shiro placed a hand on her waist, like he had when they were dancing, and she could practically feel the rise and fall of his chest. She allowed herself a moment to wonder—before they could have to plunge back into the line of duty—if it was as strong and warm as it had seemed the day she had walked in on him without a shirt on.
"We should go meet the others," he said, sounding almost reluctant.
She nodded. "Yes." Neither of the moved, and Allura let her hand slide over his on her waist. "Shiro, we—I do not know what will happen tomorrow."
"Neither do I."
"Just know... I am very glad I met you."
He gave her a small, soft smile. "So am I."
She leaned forwards and kissed him on the cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. "Let's go find the others," she said, quickly pulling away and taking his hand.
He didn't let go even once they met the other paladins and Coran at the stairs—the teasing they would have to endure be damned.
In the end, the plan was to wait things out. It seemed to the safest decision, and the only one that would actually let any of them get a good night's rest, which is what Allura fully intended to do. She drifted off to sleep easily, curling into the warmth that radiated off of Shiro—why did humans have to be so much better at creating body heat? During the day in the desert it was annoying, but in the cold nights she just about craved it.
So she almost immediately noticed it when that warmth went away. Allura felt the bed dip and then lighten, dragging herself out of unconsciousness, and cracking a sleepy eye open as she watched Shiro move to the balcony off of their room. It was still dark outside, although the sky was a deep navy blue that would soon be lightening.
"Shiro?" she said groggily.
He glanced back at her, and even in the starlight she could see the bags under his eyes had worsened. Had he gotten any sleep? "Did I wake you, princess?"
"No." She slipped out of bed, bringing a blanket along with her as she went to stand beside him, draping it over her shoulders. "The sun will rise soon. You still have time to sleep, my paladin." She rested a hand between his shoulder blades, feeling the taut, tension filled muscle underneath the thin fabric of his white sleep shirt.
"I can't sleep," he said softly, as if anything louder than a whisper would break any semblance of calm he had managed to find. "Some nights are like this... after the prison. There's no real rhyme or reason to it."
"Another Earthling saying?"
He almost smiled. "Something like that." He placed his hand over the one she had on his back, gently removing it and lifting it to his mouth, brushing his lips along her knuckles. "You should go back to sleep, Allura. I think I'm just going to watch the sun rise."
A broad blush lined her cheeks as he lowered her hand, her fingers still grasping at his. "I cannot leave you like this, Shiro. We are friends. Friends do not leave one another."
His jaw tightened.
I am not leaving you.
"Allura," he tried.
"The Paladins would not leave you in this state, and they are your friends," she pressed.
He wasn't sure if it was the exhausted haze making him feel so bold, or so inhibited, but he raised his free hand—his Galra hand, and gently touched her face, tracing the bags under one eye, seeing the flecks of gold and silver amid the ocean blue. "I wouldn't let them stay up with me either."
"But you will let me," she insisted.
"Allura," he tried again.
She placed a hand over his, pressing his metal palm against her cheek. "Because I am your—what was the term?—your best friend."
Shiro softened, stroking his thumb over her cheek. "I guess you are," he admitted, leaning forward and resting his forehead against hers.
Depending on how today went, who knew when they would have another moment of peace like this.
Allura let out a soft sigh, before Shiro settled on the floor in a sitting position. She hesitated for a moment before joining him, curling into his side and relieved when he opened his arms wide to let her in as close as she wanted. She carefully tucked the blanket around both their shoulders, watching him as he watched the sky.
It occurred to her, as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, that if he were to look over at her and see the adoration on her face, he would know of her feelings for him—yet she couldn't find it in her to hide, or look away.
That was the thing part about the light, Allura had found: you couldn't hide anything from it.
And if Shiro was her light, she didn't think she wanted to, anymore.