I've wanted to write a one-shot in an alternate universe where Shiro didn't come back, and things stayed their course. So, here you go.
Allura didn't often wander the Castle anymore. She wandered it enough as a child.
Tonight, she wandered the Castle.
She didn't know why she wandered. She just knew she couldn't sleep, and her feet seemed to have their own minds. They took her all over the castle, to places she'd seen thousands of times in the years before. So she wasn't lost. In her mind, the words "Empress Allura" kept bouncing around. Seeing that alternate universe must've been more harrowing than she initially believed. She thought it was because Lotor had gotten what he wanted. Okay, maybe it was that, too.
The faces of General Hira and that… scientist (whatever his name was) kept intruding in her mind's eye. She tried wiping those images away. She had to focus on finding Lotor.
Speaking of which, they still hadn't found him. It had been a long time since he stole the comet, and they were not getting close any time soon. Finding Shiro would be easier, and he might as well be dead. Managing the Voltron Coalition was easier than this. Although she could do without whatever the hell Coran had been doing with the Voltron Show. So many distractions, so little time.
She turned a corner and stopped. Looking down the hallway, she couldn't tell what it was. The lights were off. Her eyes eventually adjusted, but the hallway darkened the further it went. But she kept walking. Allura could only see directly ahead of her and couldn't see what was behind. It caused her to stop in her tracks, but her nightgown was still moving forward and gently swished forward. She looked around. Quiznak. She was lost.
Then she heard something. It sounded like pounding, specifically, someone punching or kicking something. That was the hypothesis, but it needed proof. She cautiously approached what she hoped would be the room. She was going by sound, so she'd only know she was going in the right direction if it was getting louder. After two or three wrong turns, the noise started getting louder. She turned one more corner and found what she was looking for: a dim light cutting through the darkness where the sounds of hitting came from.
The light cut through the black. And the sounds of hitting were loudest here. She walked towards the light and peeked inside.
She saw Keith in a little corner of the gym, going to town on a punching bag. He'd go one-two-three with his fists, then kick the bag. He repeated that a couple of times. And she could tell he'd been going at it for a while because she could see the sweat stains in his black shirt. She stared at his broad shoulders. She hadn't noticed them before. Okay, she'd seen them but had never noticed them. That was the difference. She'd never had the time to really look at him because of how busy the whole team was. She also saw he was hitting that bag really hard, like he was going through some things. She felt her face heat up as she crept around the door frame to get a better look. She didn't want to disturb him, but he noticed her out of his peripheral vision.
"Princess?" he asked before throwing three punches in quick succession.
At least she didn't need to sneak up on him. Her posture straightened, and she walked up to him. "Need to let some things out?" she asked.
"This quiznaking—" Punch! "Voltron show—" punch! He grunted again, throwing a hard right hook that made the bag swing. Allura caught the bag, then steadied it.
"Oh, I think it's more than that," she quipped.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked.
"… I know we haven't found Shiro yet," she said, trying to be diplomatic. "But…" nothing came to her mind that she knew wouldn't piss him off. "Never mind."
However, Keith picked up on her train of thought. "I'm not a leader like Shiro," he replied. "He was more natural at it."
"You're not Shiro; you're you," she replied. "You're…"
"What? Hot-headed? Volatile?"
"Well, yes, that, but… not volatile," she said. "You're… prickly, like," she closed her mouth and made a thinking gesture with her hand. She had the animal on the tip of her tongue, but it just didn't come to her. "Like some prickly animal, with… spikes and things." She made a gesture meant to simulate that.
Keith knew he shouldn't laugh. He did anyway.
"What's so funny?" she asked, putting her fists on her hips in pretend offense.
"Spikes and things?" he asked.
"For your information, it's late at night, and I can't sleep," she said, putting on the haughty princess act. "And, well, that's time we were out, you yelled at Lance.
"… Can't say I don't blame you, though."
"He deserved it that time," said Keith. One more punch and he stopped. He held the bag, sweating profusely, taking deep breaths to catch his. She glanced down quickly, then approached him and patted his back.
"You're doing fine," she said. "You've really grown into it."
Keith looked up at her. His eyes, normally ablaze with passion, didn't have that fire. Instead, he looked like a scared little dog facing down a much bigger enemy but still ready to fight. She hadn't seen such eyes.
"Princess?"
She shook herself out of it.
"Sorry," she said. "By the way, thank you for being there for me when I needed it. That's why I say you're doing fine."
"Thanks, and you're welcome," he said. He turned to her, sizing her up. He looked away again. Her beauty had struck him hard when he and everyone else had freed her from that cryo-pod. Like her, he was taking a second look at her. She was still very beautiful. But he could see the bags under her eyes. She'd been working her ass off to build this coalition.
"It's because of that other universe, isn't it?" She nodded. "That's not you, though. That's a different universe, you don't... Ah, what am I trying to say?"
"That it doesn't define what I do in this universe?"
Keith laughed. "Yeah, that," he said. "You're doing fine, too."
If she was trying to prevent herself from smiling, she failed. "Thank you," she said. "We're both doing our best."
Keith sniggered and laughed. "Yeah, we are," he said. He walked up to her and patted her shoulder. She smiled, but he could tell the smile was weak. "What's wrong?"
"It's… it's Lotor," she said. "I don't know how we can stop him."
"I don't know, either," he said. "But don't worry. I'll beat him. Remember, I've got your back, no matter what."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I may be the leader, but… I guess…" He leaned towards her ear. Her heart clenched, and she nearly fainted when he whispered,
"I'm your knight."