tkipaniwrites

[tkipaniwrites]

Honest Mistake

Summary: To the question of who kissed who first, it was Mamori. Of course. HiruMamo oneshot

Also available on ffn and ao3

She had kissed him first.

Against all theories and rumors that he had made the first move (some of the more contemptuous ones say that it was probably forced), she had actually been the first. An accident.

A slip of the tongue, if you will.

Anezaki Mamori had kissed Hiruma Yoichi first.

She really didn’t mean to. Well, a part of her did, but not like that.

It was three in the morning and Saikyoudai had a match against Oujou University in two days. Hiruma had made it clear to the team that losing was not an option. Mamori, though not as vocal as Hiruma, shared his sentiment and was willing to go through great lengths to make sure their team won. Even stay at school at an ungodly hour.

Mamori’s eyes were stinging. Every character that she read made her eyelids droop ever so slightly. After a few more minutes of reading, Mamori caught herself nodding off. Her head lolled and she straightened, embarrassed that she was falling asleep. She glanced across the room where Hiruma sat at his desk.

As usual, the blonde quarterback was furiously typing. Mamori was relieved that he didn’t seem to notice her falling asleep. He would have made some sort of snide remark if he had caught her.

Instead of tuning back to her reports, she continued to watch Hiruma. She hadn’t realized just how quiet the room was. The only sounds were his typing and a low hum of the air conditioning. Still, it was comfortable.

Mamori focused on Hiruma’s eyes. How did he always look so awake, even at three in the morning?

“What?”

She jumped. He didn’t even stop typing when he spoke. For a moment, Mamori thought that she had imagined it.

“What?” Hiruma asked again, still not looking away from his screen.

“Oh!” Mamori’s ears began to heat up. “Sorry, I was, um, spacing out,” she finished lamely.

“I can tell,” Hiruma replied with a pop of his gum. Mamori didn’t even know when he began to chew that piece. “I didn’t know that you were a fan of slacking, damn manager.”

Mamori puffed out her cheeks. “I am not slacking.”

“Just falling asleep then?”

Her cheeks flared up. She didn’t have any quip to throw back, so she just turned back to the neglected report on her desk. A low cackle only made her blush worse.

“Go home.”

Mamori’s head whipped back to Hiruma. He hadn’t even flinched, still typing away. “What?” she asked quietly.

Hiruma clicked his tongue, clearly unhappy with repeating himself. “I said ‘go home’. It’s late, and I have no use for you while you’re tired.”

In a strange way, Mamori found his words… endearing? Huh. That’s not a word that came to mind often when she was with the demonic quarterback. Still, it was true. She should go home and sleep in her bed, not pretend like she can get work done when she was about pass out on the nearest stack of papers.

“All right,” Mamori said as she stood from her seat, trying not to sound too eager to go. “You have my number if you need anything.”

Hiruma responded with a faint hum, and Mamori knew that it was the best that she was going to get.

The manager stretched up her arms and let out a small groan when her back cracked. She began to gather her things and put on her jacket. Her companion continued to type, undeterred and uninterested in her.

When she had everything, she slung her bag full of school supplies and football strategies over her shoulder. Gathering the papers on her desk as neatly as possible, she walked to Hiruma’s desk.

“Here are all the complied stats of the Oujou team,” she stated, leaning down to place the stack next to Hiruma’s laptop.

Humming again, Hiruma glanced at the stack, then back to his laptop screen.

“Are those the new plays we’ll be using?” Mamori stayed hunched over, shoulder pressing Hiruma’s, and watched him type new strategies.

“It’s not much, but we have to manage,” Hiruma responded.

Mamori was surprised at just how rough his voice sounded. He may not show it outwardly, but he was probably just as tired as her. She sighed, not moving from her spot. “We haven’t had a lot of time to prepare, but I’m confident in our team.”

A smirk spread across Hiruma’s cheeks. “Of fucking course. We’re the best.”

Mamori cracked a smile. “Okay, I’m going home. Don’t stay up too late.”

Hiruma turned, prepared with some snide remark about how she doesn’t need to act like his mother, but the words caught in his mouth. After her last comment, Mamori stooped down and planted a kiss on Hiruma’s forehead, like it was the most natural thing in the world. For a harsh second, neither of them moved.

In one swift motion, Mamori threw her head back and took several steps backwards. Her hands flew up to her mouth. For a moment, she marveled at the obvious surprise on Huruma’s face. It wasn’t often that he allowed himself to show his exact emotions on his face; he usually opted for a wild grin that never exposed what he was thinking. Now, he sat in front of her, eyes wide, slack jaw, and utterly speechless. Huh. That’s another thing that doesn’t happen with Hiruma.

“I’m tired,” Mamori blurted out. She took a step toward the door but the clamor of Hiruma standing up made her stop. They watched each other from across the room. Hiruma’s surprise was already masked away as usual, much to Mamori’s frustration.

“What. The. Fuck?”

“Language,” Mamori scolded, fully accepting that her body and mind were just going to do and say things automatically without thought now.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Hiruma glared.

Oh god, he was pissed wasn’t he?

“L-Look, I’m sorry,” Mamori hated that she stuttered, “I’m tired and you’re tired and I just want to sleep and it’s all just an honest mistake so good night.”

Mamori couldn’t be more articulate if she tried. She turned on her heel and was making a beeline for the exit when Hiruma came barreling at her in the least graceful display of athleticism Mamori had ever seen from him. He caught her by the waist, twisted, and tugged her toward him, hips bumping painfully yet not unpleasantly.

“Hiruma,” Mamori scolded, using the same tone as when she was telling him not to shoot at new recruits for the team. She put her hands against his chest, but she sure as hell didn’t push.

“Don’t give me that shit,” he repeated, looking down at her with a scowl that put his sharp teeth on display much closer than Mamori had ever been before.

“Then what do you want me to say?” Mamori snapped. Yeah, she could cover her overwhelming embarrassment with anger. That’ll work out just fine.

“Do you like me?”

Mamori blinked. He caught her off guard. She… wasn’t expecting him to ask her something so… emotional? Personal?

In all the years they had been together—and, God, it had been years hadn’t it?—Hiruma and Mamori had a line drawn between them.

Sure they could stay by each other’s side until late at night: no problem. Yes, Hiruma had helped her scare a suitor away when he had become a little too attached to Mamori. Sure, they had dinner together a few times (always incredibly informal and almost certainly the product of stress and just needing to escape for a short while). And yeah, Mamori had been to Hiruma’s actual, personal, he-lives-here-regularly apartment on multiple occasions.

But they never asked each other personal questions. They never asked about like or dislikes (beyond simple “what do you like in your omelet?” questions). And they never tried to define their relationship beyond “Captain and Manager”.

Never.

So, Mamori stood there, eyes wide and fingertips warm from his body heat.

Hiruma’s eyes moved quickly, taking her in like he had when he first met her and assessed how useful she could be to him in the future (“Unbelievably so” was the answer that he didn’t know then). “Do you like me?” he asked again, slowly. Carefully. Like he was explaining the final play to an exhausted team—the play that would end the game in their favor. The play that would lead them to victory.

Mamori opened her mouth, and then shut it. She looked into his searching eyes. “Yes,” she breathed. She breathed out the word like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it was. God, it really was. “I like you,” the words tumbled out without a thought. Just sincere truth. Overwhelming truth that Mamori wasn’t even surprised to hear.

The final syllable was barely out of her mouth when Hiruma descended onto her. He kissed her gently, yet urgently. As if he didn’t want to hurt her yet he desperately needed her. No… not “as if”. He needed her.

He pulled back just before he lost all sense because, fuck, he wanted to keep kissing her so bad and the way she kissed him back was completely unfair and mind-numbing and he still needed some clarity and restraint if he was going to be able to stay standing for much longer. He pulled away just enough to stop kissing her but still close enough to feel her lips drag against his as he spoke because he still had enough reason left in his brain to stop but not enough to move away entirely. “Fuck,” he whispered, “I’ve been waiting for this for so fucking long.”

He had just never truly felt it until now. What was he doing? Why the fuck did he wait so long?

Mamori’s hands snaked up into his hair, tenderly pressing the tips into his scalp. Hiruma thought she was going to say something, like about this sudden change of relationship or something sappy that always came at the end of the romance novels Mamori refused to admit that she read. But she didn’t. She just pressed her lips against his again.

So, Mamori kissed Hiruma first, for the record. She had initiated their first kiss, and their relationship.

She had also initiated their third kiss… and fourth… and maybe their sixth, though that one was up for debate according to them.

She initiated a lot of kisses that night.

After guiltily scanning through my Unfinished folder, I decided to try to finish at least one today.

For some reason, writing these two is so easy and fun. It's cathartic.

Hopefully this is the beginning of chipping away at my writer's block.

Hope you enjoyed! Cheers~

[tkipaniwrites]

This is amazing!!! Thank you so much! <3!!!

Merry Christmas @tkipaniwrites!

Here is your Secret Santa for the @shalluraexchange -  Allura and Shiro’s wedding day! 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Your writing is awesome and I’m so glad this Secret Santa led me to your works, I’m now a fan! <3

Keep reading

[tkipaniwrites]

Hi! Just letting you know your Secret Santa for the Shallura exchange is on the way!

I can't wait! No pressure though! I'd still be happy even if I got it in July lol

[tkipaniwrites]

De-Stress

I wrote this for the Shallura Secret Santa Exchange (@shalluraexchange) on tumblr run by the wonderful tumblr user @shallura. This is specifically for the equally wonderful tumblr user @ashesandhoney who also has an Ao3 account, ashesandhoney. There are some really good fics over there so seriously check them out!

I tried my best to touch on a little bit of everything on your wishlist! I hope you enjoy this! Happy (belated) holidays and Happy New Year!

Wishlist included: Canon over AU Cuddling Power couple World building Altean magic Happy endings Pining

Summary: Politics and battles are difficult, but Allura finds ways to de-stress. And Shiro is happy to help.

Ao3 Tags: One Shot, Battle Sequences, Fight Sequences, The couple that kicks ass together stays together, Takes place sometime within season 4, ignores clone theory

Word Count: 3680

Also available on ao3 and ffn

“Enough. You will leave now.”

The sound of a steel staff slamming onto the metallic floor echoed through the grand throne room. The ornamental bells that hung to the top jingled lightly to the stunned silence of the Voltron paladins.

“Y… Your Majesty, I insist…” Allura began politely. Her voice trembled slightly.

King Illya of the planet Samalli stood his ground. Despite being only half of Allura’s size, he proudly held his head high, unflinchingly meeting her gaze. The beetle-like pincers protruding from his mandible quivered with warning and his small wings were beginning to peek out from beneath his mantle. “No,” he stated as his staff hit the floor once more.

Allura faltered for a moment before pulling her shoulders back stubbornly. “Your Majesty, the Galra will be here tomorrow, and they will not stop until every ore on this planet has been mined and taken. No matter the cost for the local population.”

There was a nervous buzz of pincers clicking that filled the audience section of the hall where the elder Samalli council sat.

“No,” King Illya repeated.

“But-”

“We have protected our world for hundreds of years and will continue to do so for hundreds more to come.”

“Do you think the Galra care about your traditions and pride?” Allura’s voice rose to dangerous levels.

King Illya’s beady red eyes hardened. “Leave.”

Allura all but threw her helmet to the floor when the paladins returned to the Castle of Lions.

“I, uh, take it that it didn’t go well?” Coran timidly eyed the fuming Allura.

She muttered something in response and stomped out of the bridge before anyone could stop her. Coran turned to Shiro for answers.

Shiro took off his helmet and ran a hand through his tangled locks. “Negotiations… went sour,” he responded with a tired sigh, “The Samalli are determined to fight their own fight.”

“I know we’re Voltron paladins and defend the universe and all,” Lance chimed in as he landed heavily in his chair, “but they’re making it really hard to, you know, defend.”

“Yeah, and what’s so special about this ore anyway? Its chemical composition isn’t anything special.” Hunk pulled a silvery rock from his pocket and tossed it into the air only to catch it then repeat.

Pidge turned suddenly to the stone in Hunk’s hand. “Where did you get some ore? I asked and they told me I couldn’t have any.”

“Found it,” Hunk snorted.

“Stole it,” Pidge corrected with a grin.

Coran swiped the stone out of the air as Hunk threw it up once more. “The Samar Ore doesn’t become valuable until it is processed,” he stated matter-of-factly, “In fact, it’s one of the hardest yet pliable metals in the universe. Large battleships, especially the Galra’s, are often made from this material for its durability.”

“And at the rate we’ve been destroying battle cruisers,” Shiro added with furrowed eyebrows, “They’re no doubt racing for more.”

Coran nodded grimly.

Shiro straightened his back. “Then we can’t leave. Whether the Samalli want us here or not, we can’t give the Galra any chance to replenish their resources.” He began to move toward the exit.

“Where are you going?” Lance asked.

“Find Allura.”

The metallic doors slid close behind him.

Shiro wasn’t surprised to find Allura in the training room practically tearing the sparring droids apart with her bare hands. In that sense, she reminded Shiro a little bit of Keith. But, as he watched Allura fight, he noted that the similarities ended there. When Keith was stressed, he sparred recklessly: swinging widely and not worrying about getting hit. Allura, however, was deadly precise.

Instead of her paladin bayard, she fought with a practice blade. Fighting five droids at once, she ducked, slid, and spun. She only hit each droid once: killing blows. Her hair wasn’t in its usual neat bun either. Whether out of haste or disregard, Allura had only tied her hair back into a simple low ponytail, so with every turn and whip of her body, the pale curls spun around her in a decisive, perfect flurry.

She was a storm.

Shiro swallowed the beating heart in his throat, assuming his position as black paladin of Voltron rather than the lovesick schoolgirl that lay (not as deep as he would have liked) underneath.

Allura disabled the final droid with the decapitation of its head. She straightened her body and rolled her shoulders, clear ferocity still etched on her face through her flared nostrils and creased brow. Shiro took pride in being able to discern such clues.

“Can I join?” He asked with a resolute step into the sparring ring.

Allura turned, the wrinkles on her forehead diminished as she realized she had an audience. “Oh, Shiro, um, I… I don’t think…”

Ignoring her reluctance, Shiro shrugged off his armor chest plate and began working on the armor around his legs.

Allura sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth. Nothing quite like the tightness of Shiro in his black bodysuit to dissipate her anger.

By the time Shiro took off all his armor and had turned back to Allura, she was desperately trying not to look at his pectorals. He made a beckoning gesture with his fingers. “Come on. Just a quick hand-to-hand spar.”

Allura bit back a groan. “I’m not quite in the proper mindset for a personal spar,” She squeezed her eyes shut, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me,” Shiro replied with a smile.

Allura’s eyes snapped open and she looked back at Shiro. A smirk spread across her lips and she raised a questioning eyebrow.

Shiro’s smile faltered a bit and a nervous chuckle fell from his lips. “Okay, well, maybe at least not beyond repair.”

Allura let out a genuine laugh, feeling herself relax for the first time since she came back from Samalli. She tossed her practice sword outside the ring. She squared her body and fell into a fighting stance. “As you wish,” Allura enticed with a smile.

Shiro could feel his stomach turn at the mere sight of her smiling at him like that, but he pushed it down to lunge forward at her. Allura backed up just out of reach and grabbed his outstretched arm. She went to kick his knee to cause him to stumble, but Shiro turned and used to momentum to pull Allura with him. She staggered slightly, so Shiro used the opportunity to grab at the back of her neck. He positioned himself behind her to push her downward onto her knees, but she widened her stance to strengthen herself against him.

Allura threw her bodyweight backwards, slamming her back against Shiro’s chest. As she heard the breath escape his lungs, she also felt his grip on her neck loosen. Allura changed her grip on Shiro’s arm, pulling it roughly over her shoulder. Shiro faltered, and Allura couldn’t fight her grin; he was hers. She pulled him forward, trapped his arm, and set her position. In a flash, Allura pulled Shiro entirely over her shoulder and threw him to the ground.

Shiro’s back made a satisfying thud against the floor for Allura, but the following bang of his head also hitting the floor immediately made her stomach sink to her feet.

“Oh quiznak! Shiro! Are you alright?” She dropped to her knees next to him, her hands fluttering around him.

Because of his forced escaped breath, Shiro’s reassuring laugh was more of a wheeze. “I’m okay,” he gasped. He scratched where the back of his head where it connected with the floor. “You got me pretty quickly.”

“Don’t rub it like that!” Allura swatted his hand away then gingerly placed one of her hands behind his head, gingerly lifting it up.

“I-It’s fine, really. Prin-”

Allura stopped listening. Her eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated on her fingers feeling the back of Shiro’s head. Her fingers stopped, and her eyes become even more concentrated. She shifted, and Shiro half expected her to drag him to the infirmary, but instead, she moved on top to straddle him and properly get both her hands behind his head.

“A-Allura!” Shiro gasped, his face and ears heating up to dangerous levels. “What are you-”

“Shh.” Allura hushed him harshly. “I’m checking for serious injury. What’s the Earth word you used once? Concession?”

A sputtering laugh escaped Shiro’s mouth. “Concussion,” he corrected, still reeling from Allura’s position over him.

Allura’s lips pressed together thinly. “You are injured.”

“I-”

“Stay still.”

Shiro anxiously tried to avoid Allura’s gaze because of their sudden close proximity, but his eyes snapped to her as he realized that the markings underneath her eyes glowed with a gentle light. Allura’s eyes went slightly out of focus as her eyelids began to droop slightly.

Shiro was about to ask what was happening when an incredible feeling of relaxation engulfed him. Not only did the pain of his injury subside, but Shiro also felt his shoulders loosen. His eyes fluttered close and a light sigh left his mouth.

Allura gently placed his head back down and removed her hands, sliding one down to rest on his shoulder and the other to cup his check. “How do you feel?”

“Wha… What just happened?” Shiro’s mouth felt dry but the rest of him felt… peaceful, wonderfully safe.

A small smile appeared on Allura’s face. “I used some of my quintessence to heal you.”

“I didn’t know you could do that.” Shiro began to move to sit up, but Allura’s hand on his shoulder kept him firmly down.

“Don’t move around so much,” she ordered before continuing her explanation, “Alteans don’t heal like this very often since even small injuries take a lot of energy, and we’ve properly been able to ‘mechanize’ the process with the healing pods.” She smiled wistfully. “But, of course, my father wanted me to make sure I knew how to heal a little on my own.”

“For all the trouble you get in?” Shiro asked with a smirk.

Allura gave him a toothy grin. “I don’t want to hear that from you of all people.”

The duo laughed together. Then, the laughs died down and they were left just the silence of their gazes. Shiro’s hand hands travelled up to rest on Allura’s hips.

“You should probably get up Princess.” The gentle movement of his thumbs drawing circles on her sides heavily contradicted his words.

Allura fully cupped his face with both her hands. “Should I?” She wondered if the beating she could feel in her fingertips was hers or Shiro’s. Either way, nothing mattered anymore but his eyes, his lips, him.

The blaring yell of the castle’s alarms sent Allura rolling off of Shiro. She was on her feet attentively listening while Shiro continued to lie on his back, blinking and red-faced.

Coran’s frantic voice echoed through the intercom. “Paladins to the bridge! The Galra are already here!”

Allura swore under her breath then turned to Shiro who was still in a state of shock. She offered him a hand up, and after a beat, he took it gratefully.

There was a short moment where their hands were still clasped and their eyes met. Shiro licked his lips and Allura bit hers. The sound of the others running through the halls stirred them out of their respite.

They nodded once to each other and began sprinting to the bridge.

Each paladin launched out of the castle in their respective lion.

“One destroyer. Heavily armed.” Coran was frantically setting up the particle barrier as he spoke to the paladins.

Not a moment after he spoke, dozens of fighter ships launched out the destroyer. A few began flying toward the lions, clearly alerted to the presence of the paladins, but the rest set a direct route to Samalli.

“Intercept them! Don’t let the fighters land!” Shiro barked.

The other lions took rounded routes to avoid the fighters flying their way and dashed forward to intercept. Shiro tore forward to attack the fighters focusing the lions.

“Coran, we need backup fire! Attack the destroyer, we’ll take care of the fighters,” Allura ordered.

“Yes Princess!”

A few moments later, the deafening sound of the castle’s lasers hitting the Galra destroyer’s shields rang out.

Shiro turned to the communication screens in his lion. “Hunk, Pidge, don’t let up on the destroyer. The more we attack it, the less time it has to attack Samalli.”

“Got it.”

“Roger.”

The green and yellow lions flew out to the destroyer. Pidge armed her lion with its cannon and large sprouts of plants began to emerge across the fighters closest to the destroyer. Hunk’s lion slammed against fighters sending them hurling into the destroyer’s shields, causing sparks of explosions to flash across Shiro’s vision.

Lance, being the fastest in the red lion, was the first to intercept the fighters aiming for Samalli. With a whoop of excitement he cut through multiple fighters before three collected behind him. Allura came in quickly. Armed with the ice canon, she took out the fighters trailing Lance.

“Thanks Allura!”

Allura shot him a reprehensive look through the communication monitors, but her smile softened the reprimand. She opened her mouth to say something when a Galra fighter slammed into her lion. She exclaimed as her lion spun out.

“Allura! Are you okay?” Pidge shouted.

Allura grunted as she stabilized the blue lion. “I’m fine!”

As her vision cleared from the dizziness, Allura found herself facing Samalli. Five red blips on her screen caught her attention. Pressing a few buttons, the monitor zoomed in on the blips, revealing multiple Galra fighters entering Samalli’s atmosphere.

“Shiro!” Allura called out, “The Galra are sneaking in through the southern end of Samalli. We have to go help.”

“What about the destroyer?” Hunk asked over the sound of his lion still slamming into fighters.

Shiro weighed his options. “We’ll take out the destroyer with Voltron then head to Samalli,” he declared. He met Allura’s eyes through the communication monitors. She frowned, not entirely happy, but she nodded and began flying her lion to Shiro’s.

“Form Voltron!”

The lions shone with color as they connected together. In a flash, Voltron emerged from the light and flew toward the destroyer. Defensive lasers shot out to ward off the robotic fighter, but Voltron spun and dodged easily. Pulling out the sword, the team easily cut through the destroyer’s shield. Multiple fighters began pelting Voltron with attacks, but Voltron cut through the destroyer before they could do any real damage.

As explosions rang out across the destroyer, Shiro addressed the team through his monitors. “Lance and Pidge, stay behind to clean up the remaining fighters with Coran. Allura and Hunk, come with me to Samalli.”

Voltron separated with another flash of light and the lions sped their separate ways, Allura’s blue lion traveling far ahead Shiro and Hunk to Samalli.

By the time the trio entered Samalli’s atmosphere and made it to the mountainside capital of Samalli, several Galra fighters hovered above the mountain, firing down onto the city. Explosions and fires in the city indicated battles being waged below.

“Alright Hunk, take out the fliers. Allura-” Before Shiro could finish dictating orders, the blue lion was speeding to the city.

“Allura!” Shiro groaned, realizing that Allura had closed her communications. He sped after her, and Hunk took to the skies to destroy the Galra fighters.

Allura landed the lion just outside the city and exited quickly, bayard drawn. Numerous Samalli were running out of the city, clutching whatever they could. A few Samalli soldiers in bright red armor wielding weapons led the crowd of citizens to safety. Allura swung her arm to beckon the frightened crowd her way. “Come to the blue lion! She can hold the young and injured!”

The Samalli soldiers hesitated briefly, no doubt because of the king’s decision to send the paladins away, but the sound of a nearby explosion pushed them into action. A large crowd was making its way to the blue lion when the black lion landed right next to it.

Shiro came running out of the lion. “Princess! You wer-”

“I need to get to the city’s center.” Allura cut him off, still focused on leading the crowd to the lions. “The king and elder council might be trapped inside, and if I was the Galra, they would be my first targets.”

“Allura!” Shiro grabbed her shoulders and spun her to look at him. “We need to move as a team,” he shouted over the sounds of battle.

“We need to help the Samalli.” Allura snapped back.

Shiro sharply inhaled through his teeth. He took a moment to look at the Samalli who were loading their young and injured into both lions for protection. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Fine,” he relented. “I’ll help finish leading the citizens to safety. Go to the center, and I will meet you there.”

Allura relaxed, a tired smile spreading across her face. She reached up and touched his cheek gingerly. Then, she turned and was sprinting into the city.

Shiro clenched his hands that now felt entirely too cold. He turned on the communications inside his helmet. “Hunk, how’s that air battle going?”

Allura made it to the city’s center relatively quickly. She found a few Samalli soldiers fighting Galra droids along the way and stopped momentarily to help them. The inner halls of the Samalli castle were damaged, growing increasing more so as she got closer to the throne room. Throwing the doors open, Allura came face to face with three Galra soldiers and five droids backing an injured King Illya and the elder council into the far end of the hall.

“Paladin!” King Illya cried out just before one of the Galra soldiers pointed at Allura.

“Fire!”

Allura dove to the floor, somersaulting toward the droids. She swung her bayard forward, using its extended whip to grab a droid’s leg and send it flying across the room. King Illya roared, using Allura’s distraction as opportunity to attack. He jumped remarkably high into the air and used his hidden translucent wings to soar over the Galra. Brandishing his steel staff, he slammed down onto the Galra soldier that ordered the attack.

“Go!” he howled to the elder council, and the small group began rushing to the main door.

“Do not let them escape!” one of the other Galra soldiers shouted. The droids turned their guns onto the council and fired.

A few of the council members screamed, but before the blast could hit, a blue shield appeared before them. Shiro stood over them, just enough to block the fire, helmet-less, ragged, and breathing heavily.

Allura took out another drone with her whip, drawing the fire away from Shiro and the council. Shiro pushed the council out of the room. A few Samalli soldiers had followed Shiro inside and began escorting the council away while Shiro rushed forward into battle.

One of the Galra soldiers had Allura pinned, pressing his sword down onto her raised bayard. Shiro sprinted forward, metal arm glowing with power, and swiped at the soldier. The Galra jumped backwards to dodge the attack, and Shiro stopped himself next to Allura.

“Glad you could come.” Allura joked.

“Said I would,” Shiro panted.

Allura’s gaze shifted and she quickly turned around as another Galra soldier charged them. She shifted and pressed her back against Shiro’s before swinging her bayard’s whip to catch the soldier before he could make it to them.

Meanwhile, the Galra in front of Shiro swung his sword down onto Shiro. Shiro used his metallic arm to block the attack and kicked the soldier in the chest, making him drop the sword and stumble backwards. Shiro rushed forward, grabbing the soldier’s arm.

Allura pulled back on her bayard, and the soldier fumbled forward with a yelp. Allura grabbed at his arm.

For a brief moment, Shiro and Allura caught each other’s eyes. They shared a knowing smile before they both pulled the soldiers forward, trapped their arms, set their stances, and simultaneously threw the soldiers over their shoulders and onto the floor with resounding bangs.

Within minutes, Allura and Shiro had the soldiers restrained and the droids destroyed. The rest of the paladins checked in through Allura’s communications. Lance and Pidge had destroyed the rest of the fighters, safely landed on Samalli, and were helping the citizens. Hunk, who was left in charge of rescue efforts, reported no major injuries or causalities.

As Shiro began congratulating the team, King Illya stepped forward toward Allura.

“Your Majesty,” she gasped, “you’re injured.”

He waved his staff at her. “Nothing more than what I have recovered from before.”

There was an awkward silence as Allura stared down at the king. She clutched at her hands in front of her. Shiro stepping in beside Allura and gave her shoulder a gentle bump with his. She gave him a grateful side-glance.

She opened her mouth to speak but King Illya spoke first. “I told you not to come.”

“I-”

“But,” He tapped his staff against the floor, “What my people needed was their king, not his traditions and pride.” King Illya lowered his staff, letting the silver bells touch the floor with small clinks, and lowered his head. “Thank you.”

Allura felt her chest swell with satisfaction, and Shiro placed a hand on her lower back. When she turned to him, his smile was filled with pride.

By the time the paladins returned to the Castle of Lions, there was talk of congratulatory celebrations and parades. But, Allura didn’t take part in the conversations as she grabbed Shiro by the back of his armor and tugged him into a side hallway.

“Prin-”

“Spar with me?” Allura was grinning up at Shiro, hands snaking up behind his neck.

Shiro laughed quietly, being careful not to alert the others. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into him. He met her lips with his and felt his knees buckle slightly as Allura hummed into his mouth. He pulled away slowly.

“Of course,” he replied, letting his lips drag over hers.

[tkipaniwrites]

Time

A drabble I wrote for Shallura Week 2017, but i ended up not having enough time to write for everyday. I figured I’d finally upload it here! Please enjoy!

Summary: They couldn’t make time, so they’d just have to take it.

The first thing Allura thought of when she realized just how long she had slept was ‘there’s no time to waste’.

She needed to find the rest of Voltron.

She needed to begin countering the Galra.

She needed to mourn and move on.

There was no time.

Only in a few moments in-between could Allura appreciate the small things: the Voltron team was already assembled, Coran was safe and alive with her, and she wasn’t alone.

Those moments seemed far and few between however when she was leaned over the console of the Castle of Lions looking over the star systems she remembered visiting with her father and watched the red lights of a Galra infestation glare at her.

She huffed and ran a hand through her tangled hair. She hadn’t had time to brush it or tie it up so it fell over her shoulders onto her nightgown in a ragged mess. Coran would have scolded her if she hadn’t sent him to bed long ago.

A metallic door opened behind her and she didn’t bother to look up.

“You shouldn’t be awake,” she called out a bit more irritated than she meant.

“Neither should you.” The voice was certainly not Coran.

Allura turned in her chair to find Shiro standing by the door with his arms crossed and a frown painting his face. The other paladins often joked about Shiro being a father figure to them, and at times like this, Allura could really see it. She almost laughed. Instead, she turned back to her work, flicked a finger across the projected star system, and displayed the next one.

“I’m doing necessary work.”

“It can wait for morning.” He was stepping closer.

“No. It can’t. I don’t have the luxury of wasting time.”

“Sleep isn’t a waste of time,” Shiro voice dripped concern.

Allura hated it.

“Says the one who cannot sleep,” she snapped.

As soon as the words came out, Allura bit her tongue. But this wasn’t the first time. This wasn’t the first time that he had caught her working late and scolded her. And this certainly wasn’t the first time she bit back a little too harshly.

It didn’t stop her from feeling bad.

Allura stilled. When Shiro’s hand came down onto her left shoulder, she jumped slightly.

“I’m sor-”

“It’s fine.” He tried to sound unaffected but the minor tightness of his voice said otherwise. “You need rest, princess.”

Allura turned and he was every bit warm and reassuring that his voice made him out to be. Admittedly without thought, Allura’s right hand slipped up to lace her fingers with Shiro’s. It was a reflexive action that she had done numerous times with her father and Coran in similar situations, yet the slow widening of Shiro’s eyes shook her back into reality.

Not enough to remove her hand though.

Allura locked eyes with Shiro and held the gaze. It was a challenge that Shiro was more than willing to take on. A smile spread upon his lips and his whole demeanor softened, as though he were melting into their intertwined fingers.

Allura hated it.

She hated that she wanted to cry.

She hated that she wanted to bury her face into his neck and scream for every injustice that she could not correct.

She hated that she hopelessly wanted to kiss him.

She hated that she just didn’t have time for that.

They didn’t have time.

Allura stood without a word and let Shiro walk her back to her room, their hands desperately clinging to their moment.

[tkipaniwrites]

Number One Fan

Summary: Adrien is going to lose some fans and it's all Marinette's fault. Oneshot. MarinettexAdrien

Also available on ffn and ao3

“Marinette!”

The fashion designer stayed intensely focused on her notebook. She ran her fingers through her hair as she lazily answered back with a soft grunt. She bit on the end of her pencil as she heard the soft trod of feet moving across her apartment and into her small studio room.

“Hey!”

“Hi Alya.” Marinette scratched her forehead, still not bothering to look up to her best friend.

“Still working, I see.”

Marinette groaned and threw her head back. “Ugh, Alya I need ten designs by the end of the week, and I only have seven so far.” She put her head down onto her desk, dramatically sighing, and lazily watched Alya step closer. “I wanna die.”

“Well here’s a coffee offering to prompt you to keep living.”

Marinette greedily grabbed the disposable cup that Alya held out to her. She took a long sip and sighed with content.

Alya watched her best friend with a smile. “Well, now for the real reason why I’m here.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow.

Pointing accusingly at Marinette, Alya grinned. “You told me that you haven’t seen Adrien in a while.”

“I haven’t,” Marinette answered as she took another sip.

Alya hummed. “Oh I see. Then what is this?” She slammed a magazine down in front of Marinette with a flourish.

The fashion designer glanced at the cover and held in a groan. It was one of those trashy tabloid magazines that Alya insisted she only read because it’s her job as a magazine editor to read competing magazines. Marinette was sure that her friend just liked juicy gossip as much as a common housewife.

Her eyes lethargically scanned across the headlines. Another celebrity divorce. An actress gained 10 pounds. A small picture at the bottom right corner made Marinette do a double take. The headline below it then made her choke on her spit. She tried to cleverly disguise it with a cough and looked up at Alya with an unimpressed expression.

“I’m not interested in celebrity gossip,” Marinette commented with a shrug, leaning back into her chair.

Alya raised an eyebrow, her smirk only growing. “Then humor me.” She watched Marinette try not to squirm in her chair. “The story is on page 17.”

Marinette shrugged and hoped that her ‘I’m not really interested, I swear’ façade was holding up, even a little. Carefully, as though the edges of the magazine were poison, Marinette flipped through until she made it to page 17.

There, in all his glory, was a full-page spread of Adrien. He was modeling for some perfume company and was looking deeply over his shoulder at Marinette like he was about to say something profound. But, a blaring red circle sat on the page as well, and below were the excited words that made Marinette’s ears burn.

“Is that a hickey!?”

A small paragraph to the left explained the reasoning behind the headline.

“This ad featuring heartthrob model Adrien Agreste, released yesterday, is exploding on the internet due to the supposed love mark on Agreste’s shoulder. There has been no direct comment from the model yet, but steel your hearts, ladies! He might already be committed to another!”

Marinette took a sip and scooted her chair back, gaining distance from the magazine. “I-I don’t – what are you-“

Alya slammed her hand down onto the magazine, a wild grin on her face. “You’re so bold, Marinette!”

“No! It’s not what you think!” Marinette shouted, her face flaring up like a fire.

Alya crossed her arms with a smirk, satisfied with her victory. She scooped the magazine off of Marinette’s desk and tucked it under her arm. “Well, I just came on my lunch, so I’ll see you soon.”

“Alya!” Marinette sprung up onto her feet, but her friend was already sprinting out of the apartment, laughing excitedly.

Marinette watched the television with a blank stare from her laying position on her couch. After her horrific artist block and then the incident with Alya, she had no energy to work. The darkness outside the windows made it glaringly obvious that she had practically wasted away her entire day.

“Hello?”

Marinette lifted her head slightly, blank stare not leaving the television. “In here!” she replied.

Near silent feet walked across the apartment until there was the sound of a weight leaning onto the back of her couch. Marinette didn’t have to look up to know that her visitor was grinning down at her.

“Have you been doing this all day?”

Marinette grunted and her visitor laughed.

“What am I going to do with you?”

Finally looking up, Marinette locked eyes with Adrien and his playful eyes. Marinette scrunched her nose and turned back to the television.

Adrien’s smile fell. “What did I do?”

Marinette said nothing, choosing instead to watch a commercial telling her all about a new product that will give her smoother, healthier skin.

Adrien reached down and brushed a bit of hair out of Marinette’s eyes. “Marinette?” he prompted.

Marinete’s lips melted into a pout. “You could have covered it with makeup,” she mumbled.

“Hmm?” Adrien hummed, tangling his fingers further into her fringe.

With a violent turn, Marinette glared up at Adrien. The blonde quickly threw his hands up in surrender.

“You could have covered it with makeup,” Marinette repeated with a hiss.

Adrien blinked, his emerald eyes darting back and forth trying to connect the invisible lines that Marinette was drawing. With a sudden click, Adrien smirked. “Alya talked to you about the magazine thing, didn’t she?”

Marinette’s mouth fell open. “She asked you about it?”

“No,” Adrien shook his head, his floppy blonde hair bouncing in waves, “She told Nino, who warned me.”

Marinette’s eyebrows bunched together, her pout returning.

Adrien threw his head back with a laugh and began to slide down onto the couch, slithering over the back like a snake. Marinette weakly wiggled, determined to keep him off the couch, but eventually, his whole body hovered over her, her body trapped between his legs.

“Marinette,” he whined with a fake pout, “my makeup artist and I tried to cover it, but it was too, ahem, passionate.” He wasn’t even trying to conceal the growing grin on his face. “Besides, I like to wear all my marks from you as proud badges of honor.”

Marinette grunted, mumbling something incomprehensible.

“You’re lucky that they didn’t take pictures of my back,” he added innocently. “Then they would have seen your scratch marks.”

Marinette gaped at him, her mouth hanging wide open. She shut it and opened it again like a carp. She felt her cheeks heating up to near feverish levels as Adrien cackled. She slapped his chest. “Stupid,” she muttered.

Adrien felt like it was a crime to feel as giddy as he did watching his girlfriend wriggle underneath him. After years of being in relationship with him, she still got so embarrassed over the smallest things. He adored her.

He leaned down and planted a small kiss onto her forehead. She settled underneath him, but he could hear a small huff escape her mouth. He smiled.

“I love you Marinette,” he purred, his lips brushing against the skin of her forehead. “I want the whole world to know.”

Marinette buried her face into the crook of his neck, and Adrien could actually feel the heat coming off her face. He kissed the top of her head.

“You’re going to lose some fans,” Marinette whispered, her own lips brushing against the skin of his collarbone. She savored the sensation of the small quiver she felt pass through Adrien’s body. Poor boy had a sensitive collarbone. She smirked and whispered his name, again feeling him tremble above her lips.

“As long as you’re my fan,” he replied with a breathy laugh.

Marinette shrugged. “I guess I like you.”

With a gasp, Adrien sat up, not enough to get off of Marinette, but just enough to lock eyes with her. He clutched at his chest, an expression of mock pain spreading across his face. “Words hurt, Marinette,” he puffed.

Letting out a loud laugh, Marinette threw her arms around his neck. The motion caught Adrien off guard, and he couldn’t stop the both of them from tumbling off the couch and onto the fluffy white carpet. Soon enough, the couple was a giggling mess of tangled limbs and small kisses.

The next morning, as Adrien brushed his teeth, his eyes widened with shock.

Marinette had left a deep red companion kiss mark right next to his first one.

[tkipaniwrites]

Again and Again

Summary: Nighttime is for tears, memories, and comfort.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Shiro took walks when the lights went out in the Castle of Lions. He liked to call them patrols, but at the core, they were just walks to let his mind wander to places far from Zarkon’s reach.

The walks began because of restless aches in his legs and one too many flashbacks, but they soon became routine: something that felt right.

He would walk down the corridors that held the small rooms of each paladin first, then the training room (which he, on more than one occasion, would stop and spar a round or two), the dining hall, the kitchen, and the central control room.

The more and more he walked, the further his legs would carry him until he was exhausted enough to find his way back into his room and collapse into his bed for a welcome dreamless sleep. He enjoyed discovering the new rooms around the castle. He had learnt of at least two other infirmaries, another training room, some sort of abandoned workshop that he’d be sure to tell Hunk and Pidge about, countless empty bedrooms, and an empty hall with a large paneled glass wall that allowed a dazzling view of the passing stars.

Childishly, Shiro began giving the rooms stories. For example, one extravagant bedroom was given to a war hero general after his triumphant return and one hallway of small rooms was assigned to a platoon of squires with big dreams of one day serving King Alfor.

The made-up stories would give him momentary reprise from the reality of his circumstances. They would take him far, far away, which was pretty ironic considering that he already was far, far away from everything that he knew.

A faint pitter-patter from down an empty hallway brought Shiro back. He was no longer a curious young man wandering an alien civilization’s castle. He was Leader of Team Voltron: The Black Paladin, ready to defend his sleeping teammates. Instinctively, he lowered his body and moved swiftly to a wall, pressing himself against it to erase his presence. His fingers clenched and unclenched in an effort to control his rising adrenaline.

The footsteps moved away from him, and Shiro quietly followed behind them. The dim lighting of the all too dark castle only helped keep him from bumping into walls; he couldn’t identify anything about the mysterious figure walking about thirty feet in front of him.

Hallway after hallway, turn after turn, the lights and rooms began to look familiar to Shiro. His steps were cut short as he watched the figure walk into the room that was no doubt their destination. Shiro scratched the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed that he had followed them like they were some sort of criminal. Gently, he walked forward until he was face to face with the large metallic door of the room that he never once entered before a few days ago to clean up some glass.

He contemplated walking away and going back to his room. The next day he could pretend as though he never saw anything. But, he knew he couldn’t. Would she be surprised? Would she resent him for interfering?

He opened the door with a press of a button.

The room that once held King Alfor’s memories was about as dark as he remembered. Coran told Shiro that it wasn’t always like that. Shiro had caught the older Altean sneaking into the room after the incident with the corrupted memories. When Shiro asked him what he was doing, Coran forlornly answered, ‘to clean’. Shiro offered to help him and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The room was just as dark as that day, with only the lights on the walkway leading to the center console to illuminate.

At the meticulously cleaned center stood Allura with her back facing the door that Shiro had just walked through. But this was not the Allura that Shiro had come to know.

At the center of the room stood a mourning young woman with slumped shoulders. Her head was hung low and her hands clenched at her chest. She must have not heard the door slide open, but she most certainly heard it close. She jumped at the sound and let out the smallest squeak, which actually could have been a sob.

Shiro’s eyebrows knit together as he began having second thoughts about intruding. The princess stayed silently frozen. Shiro opened his mouth to say something (anything) when he shut it. He witnessed Allura transform. She pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. Her hands lowered from her chest to her waist, and she stood with soundless dignity.

She was not a mourning daughter but was once more Princess Allura: Princess of Altea and one of two only surviving Alteans in the known universe.

Allura turned to greet Shiro with a diplomatic smile.

Shiro wanted to ask her what she was doing up or what she was doing here, but he didn’t really have any right to ask anyone why they were awake so late and he knew very well what she was doing in here. He kept his mouth shut and only watched the princess with kind eyes.

Allura’s smile stretched as she stepped down the walkway toward Shiro. In moments, she was standing no less than three feet in front of him. Shiro continued to watch her, but even as she stood in front of him, she made no indication of wanting to speak.

In a strange rush of assurance, Shiro took a half step forward and offered Allura his right elbow. Stunned, Allura’s smile began to slip.

“May I escort you back to your room?”

It was a line from a movie that Shiro had once watched years ago as a young child. The plot was something along the lines of a successful gentleman thief planning on seducing a princess to steal an expensive, royal gem from her family, but he in turn falls in love with the princess and begins to rethink his objective. Shiro’s mind was already unnecessarily drawing connections.

“What has gotten into you?”

Shiro was actually expecting a scoff or a snort or maybe a small laugh if it were not for the princess’s tired eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Instead, he received her light tone of voice (maybe even slightly joking?) and her soft hand slipping into the crook of his elbow.

Swallowing, Shiro didn’t think about what he would do if he got this far. He supposed he would begin with walking Allura back to her room.

Carefully, he began to turn his body toward the door. For a moment, Allura didn’t move. Shiro spared the princess a glance, presuming that she may be taking an instant to look back at the center platform. Instead, she seemed to be composing herself. Not long after, she was turning with Shiro. The duo made their way out of the room with no more stops.

Shiro didn’t realize how silent the walk had been until they had reached Allura’s door. Sure it wasn’t a long walk to begin with, but now the guilt in Shiro’s stomach was starting to pile. Should he have said something to her during their walk? Something funny? Something comforting?

Allura’s hand slid off his arm. She turned to him with a gentle smile, a real one this time. Bowing her head slightly, she thanked him.

Shiro’s thoughts went back to that movie that he had quoted earlier. At this point in the movie, the princess opened up to the thief, explaining that she was having trouble sleeping. Without missing a beat, the thief smoothly offered her another alternative to sleeping: something that would surely ‘tire her out’. With a giggle, the princess led the thief into her bedroom where they proceeded to get very cozy. At least that’s what Shiro assumed had happened. He had been watching the movie with his parents, and his mother had gasped indignantly and covered his eyes from anything that would have tainted his childish mind.

Allura was already turning away when Shiro took a brash step forward. “Princess,” he called out barely above a whisper. Something about the darkness of the castle made talking at a normal volume seem inappropriate.

With an inquisitive eyebrow raised, Allura spun to face him. The darkness, the whispers, and the proximity made Shiro understand the intimacy of the whole situation.

“Allura,” he gasped.

Very intimate.

Allura’s expression melted from confusion to shock. Her eyes widened and her mouth went slightly slack causing her lips to part.

“Sh…” Allura’s gaze dropped her clenched hands in front of her. She sucked in a breath. “Shir-”

“Takashi.”

Once again, Allura was looking up at Shiro with complete astonishment. Shiro tightened his hands into fists to keep himself from cupping her face between his fingers.

“Shiro is just a shortened version of my last name. Takashi is my birth name.” He wondered if he sounded like he was babbling.

Allura’s bottom lip quivered. Her multicolored eyes began to shine with tears. “Ta-Taka…” The last syllable of his name formed on her lips but no sound came out. She bowed her head, allowing her long hair to cover her face before Shiro could witness tears flow down her cheeks. With a choked sob, Allura took a small step forward and rested her forehead against Shiro’s right shoulder.

Shiro watched with a rush a helplessness as Allura sobbed onto his shoulder. Even as she physically leaned on him for support, it felt lonely: distant. The only part of her touching him was her forehead. The rest of her body was a calculated distance away from him: diplomatic.

Biting his lip, he figured he would apologize later for his rudeness. In one quick motion, Shiro slid his left arm around her waist while his other entangled itself into her hair. As Allura’s body hit his, her sobs became more violent and strained. Shiro could clearly feel a moist wetness reaching his shoulder through his shirt.

Allura stifled her cries by bunching up Shiro’s shirt to cover her face completely. A fleeting thought entered her mind telling her that she would have to offer to clean it for him, but it was swiftly washed away by the feeling of Shiro’s fingers rubbing soothing circles into her waist and scalp.

Shiro pressed his cheek against the top of Allura’s head, pulling her as tightly against him as possible without hurting her. His body shook with every sob and his chest vibrated with the thumping of his own heart. He wasn’t sure how long they had stayed like that, but when Allura’s cries began to soften, Shiro loosened his hold. Pulling away just enough to glance down at her, Shiro felt an impulsive boldness swell in him. He planted a kiss on her forehead as she hiccupped through her sobs.

As he pulled away, Shiro pondered if she, an Altean, would even understand the meaning behind such a gesture. If she would understand any of this. But, the small tear-stained smile she gave him before burrowing her face into the crook of his neck gave him hope.

Shiro realized that he had fallen in love with the Altean Princess not long ago, but now he knew that he was also in love with the Mourning Daughter and the Heartbroken Woman who he never wanted to see cry like this again.

“I’m right here,” he whispered into her hair. And he repeated it again and again and again.

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 7)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: Shiro and Allura need to talk. On the floor. 

Also available on ffn and ao3

(Direct continuation of last chapter)

Day 7 – Change/Beginning

Well.

Huh.

Hmm…

Shiro was pacing desperately. It was something that he did when he was deep in thought.

Except his mind was blank.

Well, maybe not entirely.

Shiro was thinking about a faint brush of lips, soft hands on his chest, and hushed excuses from both parties explaining that they needed to go to bed. They had a busy day tomorrow of training and… stuff.

The black paladin was anxiously clenching the front of his shirt to keep himself from furiously running his fingers through his hair. His chest was vibrating with every quickened heartbeat. His fingertips and lips were on fire. He felt like there was a possibility of actually combusting right then and there in his bedroom. Shiro wondered who would be the first to find his remains.

His eyes landed on the door of his bedroom briefly. He could go to see, maybe talk…

No.

Nope.

Nooo.

This was a slippery slope. A long fall.

Who was he kidding? He already kissed the Altean princess. At this point, he had practically thrown himself over the ledge willingly.

How did this happen? How could he have let it get so far?

Shiro admitted to being… attracted to Allura from the beginning. But, honestly, how could he not? But then she saved his life, on numerous occasions now since that first time when she threw him into an escape pod at the expense of her own capture.

She was powerful. She was weak. She was kind. She was frigid. She was beautiful. She was clumsy. She was Allura, only princess of Altea.

And Shiro, the black paladin of Voltron, was irrevocably and forlornly in love with her.

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out with one shaky blow.

Admittedly without thinking, Shiro sprinted to his door. With a tap of a button, the metallic door slid open. A choked squeak from the hallway didn’t disrupt Shiro’s hasty dash in time. His body slammed into a smaller one, taking both of them down. He wrapped his arms around the smaller body, and he managed to twist during the fall so he could land on his back. He hit the ground hard, with the added weight only further pushing the air out of his lungs harshly.

He gasped and coughed. It was only then did he notice the shining silver hair sprawled out across his chest.

“Allura?” Shiro gasped between coughs.

The Altean princess didn’t move. Her hands had gripped the front of his shirt during their fall and were now covering her lowered face.

“Allura,” Shiro asked again, worry bubbling in his chest, “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

Allura shook her head but didn’t lower her hands. Shiro lifted his torso off the ground, propping himself up on his elbows and forearms. He tilted his head to try to peek at her face. He whispered her name once more.

Slowly, Allura lifted herself. She was facing him but her dark hands were still obstructing the view of her face. After a beat, her fingers parted, revealing her multicolored eyes and a glimpse of a blush on her cheeks.

Shiro was now very aware of their position. On the floor. With her on top of him. Her thighs straddling his waist. Her hips locked perfectly against his.

He choked back a moan and instead blubbered for words, sputtering out sounds.

“I am so sorry,” he managed.

Allura shook her head once more. “N-no. It was me. I mean, I am at fault. I was, um, at your door a-and um… I was just… I wasn’t there for long! I just wanted…” The princess uncharacteristically prattled, her hands finally leaving her face to gesture wildly.

Neither made any indication of moving.

Shiro swallowed harshly. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. He was abruptly cut off when the princess shifted.

She put her hands against his chest, using him to push herself up and put her weight on her knees. She bit her lip and shifted her eyes away, the markings below her eyes quickly gaining luminance.

Shiro grit his teeth and tried to hold back the noises boiling in the back of his throat. He told himself to take steady breaths. Keep… thoughts out of his mind. But the fact that Allura still wasn’t getting up wasn’t helping. The fact that her hips found an even more… comfortable position against his wasn’t helping. The fact that she never took her hands off of him, only slid them downward to rest on his lower stomach, wasn’t helping. That fact that she was softly, slowly, sighing his name. Was. Not. Helping.

“Allura,” Shiro growled, shocking himself at the hoarse sound of his own voice, “please…”

Allura’s eyes widened, her blush riding up her neck to the tips of her ears. “Shiro,” she murmured, “why did you kiss me?”

A smothered groan escaped his lips. “Allura, you know why.” Shiro squeezed his eyes shut, still trying to keep some semblance of control.

“No,” Allura leaned forward, “I don’t. Please tell me.”

“Are you just forcing me to say it?” Shiro kept his eyes shut, afraid of the tantalizing sight that was literally lying in front of him.

“Shiro.”

Fuck.

Shiro bit his lip. “I’m in love with you. God, I’m so in love with you, Allura.”

Allura slammed onto him, lips messily crashing onto his. Sick of holding back, Shiro gripped her waist, pulling her as tightly as he could against his body. His body fell back slightly, back now fully pressed down on the metallic floor of the castle.

It was absurd, objectively. He, a man who through unfortunate circumstances was captured and tortured by an unforgiving alien race, was now kissing a princess on a very public floor of her castle in the middle of the night.

But the ludicrous circumstances didn’t matter when Allura was gasping against his lips, running her hands through his hair, down his neck, and across his chest.

Allura pulled back breaking the kiss. Shiro let out a vague whining sound that only made Allura’s smile widen.

She cupped his face between her hands. “My paladin… Shiro, I love you.”

“Takashi,” Shiro rasped, “Call me Takashi.”

Allura smirked bringing her lips teasingly close to his. “Takashi.”

Shiro lunged, pressing his lips hungrily against hers once more.

“OHMYGOD!”

Allura and Shiro jumped, pulling apart.

By the time they turned to see who had so rudely interrupted them, they only managed to see a blue robe and some lion slippers swiftly disappear around a corner.

Shiro groaned and threw his head back, hitting it softly on the floor.

Allura giggled behind a hand before sitting up, moving to stand. Shiro bit back a complaint and watched her rise to her feet. She held out a hand to help him up, and he gratefully took it. After he stood though, he was sure not to let go.

“I suppose we were asking for an interruption,” Allura laughed, glancing down at the floor where they had been.

“Next time we’ll be more careful.” The words flew out of Shiro’s mouth before he could even stop them. A blush blossomed on his cheeks. “I-I mean-”

Allura squeezed his hand. “Yes we will.” She smiled at him, face about as red as his.

Shiro thought that he probably looked like an idiot, grinning down at her.

The harsh sound of hurried hands knocking on doors interrupted them.

“SHIRO AND ALLURA ARE GOING TO REPOPULATE ALTEA!”

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 6)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: Shiro suffers from overactive imagination.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Day 6 - Fantasy

Shiro liked to daydream. He was just never obvious about it like Lance or, on occasion, Keith.

After his escape from the Galra, the daydreams devolved onto something just as terrifying as the dreams that would keep him up for hours on end. As time wore on, the daydreams shifted to something gentler, however.

Shiro couldn’t tell if it was better or worse.

He couldn’t tell which left him in a weaker sate of mind: the visions of Haggar and her dark magic fusing itself into his body or the sight of his family, laughing together over dinner during the holidays. Both images pained him.

Sometimes, Shiro like to try and think about different scenarios. Like, perhaps when he made it back to Earth, he would go to his parents’ home and just stay there for a few days.

He had once walked into a conversation between Lance and Hunk sharing similar thoughts. Lance sighed dreamily telling the yellow paladin that he would immediately eat some of his mother’s cooking as soon as he got home. Hunk laughed and said that he’d be happy just to lie in his own bed for once.

Shiro, the next day over dinner, joked about a ‘team road trip’ after returning to Earth. The table then erupted into excited conversations about where they would want to go and what was worth seeing. Allura and Coran shared confused glances, and the rest of dinner consisted of paladins trying to explain what exactly a ‘road trip’ was to the Alteans.

“A tour of Earth seems very interesting,” Allura commented while tapping her chin. She and Shiro were walking side by side after dinner to the training deck for some evening exercise.

Shiro gave Allura a sidelong glance. “It’d take a long time to tour the entire Earth. But a few days going around to see some sights does sound pretty good.”

Allura hummed. She grinned at Shiro. “I actually think I would rather see your hometown.”

A sudden image of Allura walking into his family home, wide-eyed and smiling, entered Shiro’s mind. He imagined his mother’s excited squeal as she ran down the stairs to throw her arms around Shiro. She would then, of course, turn to Allura and pull the Altean into a backbreaking hug, not even thinking about etiquette or cultural differences. Shiro’s mom would insist on Allura staying for dinner, and Allura would happily accept. Shiro would help his mother in the kitchen while Allura sat in the living room with his grandmother, as the older woman would brag about the garden that she worked tirelessly on. They might take a walk through it. Over dinner, Allura would sit by his side and joyfully share anything and everything about Altea. Shiro’s mom would wiggle her eyebrows at Shiro and gesture inconspicuously at Allura. Shiro would laugh and scratch the back of his neck. Under the table though, he would reach out and grab Allura’s hand.

By the time Allura and Shiro made it to the training deck, Shiro was desperately trying to control the blush on his face.

After his rather detailed daydream, Shiro’s mind seemed to not want to pay attention to anything else. It was too occupied with other images.

Like the image of Allura gasping at the initial sight of earth.

Or Allura at an Earth beach for the first time, sharply inhaling at the chill of the ocean’s waters hitting her bare feet.

Or Allura sitting by him watching the sunset, the hues of orange and red bouncing off her silver hair.

Shiro’s hair was in a constant state of disarray due to him continuously running his hands though it.

Pidge had, at one point, asked him about his disheveled and absentminded condition. Shiro avoided the question to the best of his ability, but the green paladin narrowed their eyes, not truly letting it go.

And so, Shiro was pacing in his room, trying to pull himself together because it had gotten so bad that he had nearly got a concussion while spacing out during a spar with the combat simulator. Just because the princess walked by.

The black paladin took some deep breaths. This was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just a result of an overactive imagination. He needed to focus on what was important, like fighting Zarkon and training his team.

Shiro didn’t have the time to be thinking about his future with Allura.

He stopped pacing.

His future with Allura?

He groaned and flopped facedown onto his bed.

“Shiro?”

The black paladin jumped, turning mechanically to face Allura.

She was frowning slightly as she approached him in the quiet hallway leading him to his room.

“Um, may I speak to you?”

“Of course,” Shiro replied automatically.

Allura’s brows furrowed. Nonetheless, she gestured Shiro to follow her and led him to the lounge room.

It was surprisingly peaceful and somewhat dark due to the castle’s lighting system beginning to dim, preparing for its simulated ‘night time’.

Allura stepped silently to a couch and sat, motioning for Shiro to sit beside her. Shiro plodded behind her and plopped down nearly two feet away. Allura’s frown deepened.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not at all.”

Silence hung heavily in the air. Slowly, Allura scooted closer to Shiro. The black paladin visibly flinched backwards.

Allura’s frown melted into a hurt expression, and Shiro winced as the princess pulled back. She shifted her gaze to her hands resting on her lap.

He thought she might stand up and walk away. He was dreading it.

Shiro opened his mouth to say something. God, anything.

“Shiro, was I wrong to believe that we were… close?”

The black paladin stared at Allura, mouth still wide open. Again, a thought of her laughing happily as he led her through a park that he once played in when he was a child appeared. Shiro squeezed his eyes shut painfully.

“Of course we’re close,” Shiro managed. “We’re teammates and co-leaders.” He sent a weak smile.

Allura’s eyes shifted back up to him, her expression still upset. Once again, the princess moved closer to Shiro. This time, Shiro only stiffened as he watched her shift nearer until their thighs were almost touching.

Allura hung her head as if she was going to rest it on his shoulder, but she kept a few inches of space between them. Her hair was brushing Shiro’s left shoulder. If he lifted his hand, he would have been able to tangle his fingers in the fallen strands. He took a deep breath, but it hardly did him any good since he could only smell her: something flowery yet distinctly earthy.

Shiro clenched his hands.

They sat in thick stillness.

“Allura.” Shiro’s voice came out more horse than he thought it would.

“Yes?” She didn’t shift.

“I’ve been thinking about Earth.” Shiro felt his shoulders relax for the first time in days.

“Do you miss it?”

Shiro fidgeted in his seat.

“I miss Altea.” Allura’s voice was heavy. If she hadn’t already cried harshly for her fallen planet night after night following awakening from her sleep, she might have let some tears fall then and there.

“Do you think that you’ll ever make another planet your home?”

Allura’s eyes shot up to meet Shiro’s. Her multicolored irises darted to and fro, searching his face for something. Shiro wondered if he was as decipherable as he felt.

Finally, Allura’s gaze dropped. “The war against the Galra will continue for a very long time.”

“But-“ Shiro bit down on his lip unforgivingly. He hadn’t meant to speak.

“But, it would be… nice.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. Allura was deliberately keeping her head lowered, hiding behind a wall of hair. The black paladin lifted his fingers, feeling the soft tresses against his left hand. He found her cheek and cupped it, guiding her face to look at him once more. Her cheeks were adorably colored and the pink markings below her eyes seemed to be paler in color and glowing more brightly than usual.

Another image emerged in Shiro’s mind. This time it was Allura standing in front of him. Light from windows poured in behind her. They may have been in a house, or maybe an apartment, or maybe even a castle. It didn’t matter. She was beaming as she stepped toward him and adjusted the collar of his shirt. When she finished she didn’t step back, only smiled up at him. A silver band on her ring finger shimmered in the daylight.

“Shiro?”

He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to imagine anymore.

“Shiro?” Allura asked again.

He pressed his lips to hers.

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 5)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: Allura and Shiro had something in common when it came to their parents.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Day Five – Parent

Shiro had a distinct memory of one particular day before he had left on his fateful Kerberos mission. He had called his mother, mostly to reassure her that everything would be fine and that he would, at some point during the mission, be able to send messages back down to Earth to be relayed to her and his father.

His gentle mother warned him that he’d better send her something at every moment he could. The conversation shifted, and they talked about his grandmother’s health (“She’s as fit as a fiddle! But she had another fight with the neighbor yesterday over the persimmon tree.”), his mother’s work as a nurse, and finally settled into talking about Shiro’s personal life.

“When are you going to find yourself a nice girl and settle down, son?”

Shiro rolled his eyes and chuckled humorlessly through the speaker. “Mom, please. I’m a little too busy to be getting into a relationship, let alone getting married.”

His mother had clicked her tongue, which made Shiro laugh. “I know, I know,” she relented, “But I just hope that you one day understand the blissof having someone to come back to.”

“I suppose you’ll have to do for now, Mom,” Shiro joked with a smile.

His mother laughed loudly and the conversation carried on.

Shiro fiddled with the small hologram projector in his hand, having let his thoughts wander. The hologram, which showed flight plans that the former paladins used as provided by Coran, flickered with inactivity.

“Shiro?”

The black paladin started, shocked to see Allura standing at the other side of the dining table where he was currently sitting.

“What are you doing in here?” She asked, her eyebrows knit together.

Shiro lifted the hologram projector lamely and sent her a crooked, strained smile. “Just going over some stuff Coran gave me.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Because it looked to me as though you were very lost in thought.”

Letting out a breathy laugh, Shiro shifted in his seat. Allura was as observant as ever. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I was thinking about my mom.”

Allura’s expression softened, and she shifted down into chair directly across from Shiro. “Your mother?” she asked, “The healer?” Her eyes flickered with familiarity as she recalled some conversations she and Shiro had in the past.

“Nurse,” Shiro corrected with a chuckle. “Yeah.”

Allura folded her hands together. “What about her were you thinking about?”

Shiro hummed, turning off the hologram and toying with the small machine. “I was thinking of the last phone call I had with her.”

“Phone call?” Allura tilted her head in confusion.

The black paladin had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid grinning at the adorable expression. “It’s like the communication link that we use through our helmets” Shiro lifted the devise in his hand. “It’s called a cellular phone and it’s a device about this size.”

Allura frowned. “That must have been inconvenient to carry with you.”

“Not really,” Shiro grinned, “It could also be used to send text messages, access information, and even play games.”

Allura tapped her chin, probably imagining what a cell phone may have looked like. “So,” she started, “You communicated with your mother. What did you talk about?”

“A lot of things. My mom liked to talk.”

Chortling, Allura rested her elbows on the table and set her chin down in her hands. “I wish to know what Earthlings talk to their parents about.”

Shiro let out a hearty laugh. “It can’t be very different than what you talked to your father about.”

A flicker of shadow passed over Allura’s eyes, and for a moment, Shiro regretted bringing up the deceased king of Altea. But, the princess quickly recovered, a fond smile spreading across her face. “Well let’s see,” she began, “I talked to my father about flowers and upcoming festivals.” She let out an exasperated puff of air. “And when things became a bit more serious, we spoke of politics, duties, and marriage.”

“Marriage?” Shiro gawked. He didn’t even want to think about the butterflies in his stomach that began to flit about as the word slipped out of Allura’s mouth.

She nodded, her eyes gazing off to the right, recalling specific, frustrating conversations with her father. “My father never liked to pressure me, but I could tell that the topic was being stressed by some royal advisors. I had to sit through several marriage interviews with suitors when I hit marriageable age.” Allura let out a deep sigh and moved her gaze back to Shiro. “Is there such burden for marriage on Earth?”

Shiro let out a borderline-wheezy laugh. “Sometimes. It depends on the culture.” He scratched the back of his neck. “But you I have something in common I guess. The last conversation I had with my mother, she kept asking me when I was going to get married.”

“Did you,” Allura’s voice lowered slightly as she leaned back into her chair and lowered her gaze, “have someone you were contemplating marriage with?”

“No!” Shiro nearly launched up onto his feet but held back, instead just slamming his left hand down onto the table more forcefully than he had hoped.

The Altean princess blinked, eyes wide and heart racing.

Shiro cleared his throat and leaned back. “I mean–I wasn’t… I didn’t… have anyone,” he finished weakly. He peeked at Allura. “Did you?”

Allura shook her head vigorously, her long hair falling onto her face. “I, um,” she stammered, tucking some strands behind her ear. “I always come off as a little too outspoken and forceful.”

“I-” Shiro stopped.

I like that about you.

That’s what he was about to say. And that was only one step away from I like you.

A heat began to travel up Shiro’s neck. “I find those traits admirable,” he mustered out.

Allura beamed at him then began to fiddle with the ends of her hair. “Thank you. And,” she locked eyes with him, “I’m glad you didn’t have anyone.”

Shiro opened his mouth at the same time that the dining room door slid open. A laughing Hunk and Lance strolled in. Both paladins jumped when they realized that Shiro and Allura were already occupying the room.

“Hey guys! What are you do-”

Hunk’s joyous greeting was cut off by Lance’s hand over his mouth. The blue paladin smirked at the duo at the table, “Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Not at all,” Allura answered with trained political grace as she stood from her seat. “I forgot that I was originally looking for Coran anyway.” She looked at Shiro and sent him a small smile. He returned it with a lopsided grin.

Allura gave Hunk a small pat on the shoulder as she brushed by him out of the room. The dining room was left in silence as the boys watched her leave.

Lance returned to peering at Shiro. “Sooo-”

“Don’t.” Shiro chided as he turned the small hologram machine in his hand back on

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 4)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: Lance is the kind of person who can't stand it when his friends don't get along. Especially when he's positive that they're more than friends.

Also available on ffn and ao3

(Direct continuation of last chapter)

Day 4 – Distance

There was nothing between Allura and Shiro, and that bewildered the blue paladin beyond belief.

“There’s something going on with them,” Lance had commented offhandedly as he wondered through the workshop where Pidge and Hunk were currently occupied.

“I don’t know,” Hunk responded, as he fiddled with a small machine that Pidge asked him to disassemble for parts. “I think they just get along really well.”

But Lance swore up and down that there was no way that they were just friends.

“Give it, like, a week.”

Well, one week later, Lance had gotten himself caught on that Galra supply ship, thus he and Hunk had to spend about two days recovering. And no one was frowning more than Lance when he noticed the sudden distance between the princess and black paladin ever since.

“Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Oh my god. Can’t you drop it?” Keith had answered, annoyed and tired of hearing the topic brought up over and over during the last couple of days.

All the paladins, sans Shiro who had elected to discuss new training modules with Coran, were gathered in the lounge area after completing a few flight exercises.

Lance was pacing, finger tapping his chin, as though he were formulating a plan, which was what Hunk feared. “Oh come on, please tell me that you guys noticed something.”

Pidge didn’t mention that they had caught Shiro and Allura nearly pressing up against one another on the couch about two weeks ago, discussing the differences between the oceans of Earth and Altea.

Hunk didn’t mention that he had walked in on Shiro and Allura one week before as they were nearly toppling over in laughter over a joke that he didn’t hear, holding each other a little more familiarly than mere friends.

Keith didn’t mention the intimate smiles of admiration between Shiro and Allura when he witnessed them spar early in the mornings. Spars that had seemed to stop after the incident on the Galra ship a few days ago.

The silence of his friends made Lance groan.

“I don’t see how it’s your concern,” Keith finally added with a sigh. “Whatever’s going on is between the two of them.”

“I’m worried.” Lance’s sudden shift to a more serious tone caught the attention of everyone in the room. “I don’t like it when they act all awkward with each other. And I don’t think they like it either.”

A contemplative silence filled the room.

The entrance to the lounge sliding open made all the paladins jump. Shiro stood at the door, a tablet listing new training drills in his hand and a curious eyebrow raised. “What’s going on?” he asked, slightly suspicious.

Glances were shared among the other paladins. The responses Shiro received were collective shrugs and strained smiles.

Narrowing his eyes, he shifted his gaze from one paladin to the next. When he couldn’t garner any information, he sighed. “Alright, well, get cleaned up for dinner. You guys did great today.” Shiro turned to exit when Allura appeared at the door as well.

The black paladin nearly shouted when he saw her. Springing away, he backed up until his back accidentally hit the doorframe. “Pr-princess?”

Allura looked just as shocked at him, either from his presence or his reaction, no one could tell. “Oh, um,” she stuttered. “I was, uh, going to tell the paladins to gather for dinner soon.”

Shiro cleared his throat, collecting his wits. “Yeah. No, I… got that covered. No problem.”

“Oh, I see.”

The two stood at the door fidgeting, Allura with her hands in front of her and Shiro with his boot kicking invisible dirt on the floor, pointedly not looking at one another.

“Well! Dinner then!” Allura yelped.

“Yes!” Shiro answered with as much volume as her.

The princess spun on her heel and rigidly marched away. After a beat, Shiro turned back to his teammates who were staring with wide eyes at the interaction. Clearing his throat for the second time, he spoke as confidently as he could, “Get ready for dinner.” Then, he turned and walked out of the room, letting the metallic door slide close behind him.

Lance gestured wildly at where Allura and Shiro were standing while looking toward the others, his facial expression clearly asking ‘Did you seethat!?’.

Keith groaned, Pidge rolled their eyes, and Hunk only gave his friend a lopsided smile and small shrug. They began to rise from their seats and head out of the room.

“Guys,” Lance whined as he followed them out of the lounge.

Lance eyed Shiro and Allura carefully as he shoveled some of the florescent goop that Coran and Hunk had cooked up.

The entire team was sitting at the regular long table for dinner with Allura at the head and Shiro directly to her right, as always. Hunk, Coran, and Pidge were engaged in a lively conversation about a new addition they were working on for the castle’s communication network for easier interaction with each other and native populations of nearby planets.

A sharp nudge to Lance’s right made with wince.

“You’re staring,” Keith hissed quietly.

“That’s the point,” Lance rebutted. “They’re not even talking.”

Keith opened his mouth to add something but decided against it. He threw his hands up in a ‘I give up’ gesture and returned to his dinner. Ignoring the red paladin’s response, Lance returned to his observing, noting that Allura and Shiro seemed to be leaning away from each other.

He narrowed his eyes. He was getting to the bottom of this if it killed him.

Lance was the kind of person whose mind would become too occupied with thoughts to sleep.

He paced in his room, his slippers making quiet squeaking sounds as he turned. With a frustrated sigh, he decided to walk about the castle to tire himself out. As he opened his door, peeking out into the darkness, he had second thoughts; images of all the horror movies he’d ever watched flashed through his mind. Puffing out his chest for confidence, Lance stepped out into the dark hallway.

The castle was actually really interesting at night. More than scary, it felt serene. A gentle glow from the wall lights comforted Lance as he found himself wandering from room to room. Eventually, he found an open door coming up in the hallway to the right. As he approached, a gentle murmur of a voice carried through the door.

The fear of a sudden paranormal attack made Lance’s heart begin to pump rapidly. Carefully, he crept forward. The voice cleared slightly allowing Lance to realize that it was a female voice, but it still wasn’t well defined enough to hear what was being said.

By the time Lance was at the door, a second voice carried through to the hallway.

Crouching low, Lance peeked into the room. He was surprised that he had never seen this room before. It was wide and had small tables scattered about. It reminded Lance of a café he had went to in the middle of the night once when sneaking out of the Garrison. What was truly breathtaking though were the ceiling-high windows that created a wall of stars.

Of course, Lance was more concerned about the pair that he saw at the absolute end of the room, the vision of space through the windows acting as their backdrop.

Allura and Shiro stood in front of each other, a little too close to merely be having a normal conversation. Their voices were too hushed to understand anything, even at Lance’s distance.

Allura was speaking, her hands clutched tightly at her chest. After a few moments, her voice trailed away and her head dipped low. Shiro’s arms rose up as though to pull her into him, but he hesitated. His fingers clenched and unclenched until his hands finally settled gently on her shoulders. He smiled, and he leaned down to be eye level with Allura, faces mere inches apart.

Whatever he said made Allura giggle. She covered her mouth with her hand, and Shiro soon joined her in her laughter.

Without another thought, Lance pulled away from his peeking spot at the door. He turned sharply and immediately made his way back to his room.

The next morning, Coran called everyone to the central control room to proudly announce the castle’s updated communications system.

Lance stood near the back of the room, arms crossed and with a neutral expression. While the team waited for Pidge and Hunk to arrive, Coran was busy typing away on a monitor, and Allura and Shiro were standing by his side, listening to him proudly babble.

The black paladin and the princess were standing shoulder to shoulder. At some point, Shiro commented on something and lightly bumped his shoulder into Allura’s, making her smile and chuckle.

Lance kept his eyes trained on them.

“Happy now?” Keith asked with a smirk as he walked up to Lance.

The blue paladin only grunted, expression not changing and fully engrossed.

Keith raised a questioning eyebrow, but Lance only kept a sharp eye on Shiro and Allura as they started a conversation about strategies for exploring planets that they had no information about.

As Lance watched, he wasn’t sure if he was more interested in the distance between Shiro and Allura or the sudden lack thereof.

He grinned.

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 3)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: Shiro claimed he had multiple duties. Allura only cared about one.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Day Three – Duty

Shiro bit back a string of curses as he ducked down corridor after corridor of the Galra supply ship.

The paladins had come across the ship by accident, and in an almost cocky move, they decided to infiltrate the ship, steal any reliable information, and then destroy it.

They had split into teams: Hunk and Lance in the blue lion; Keith and Pidge in the green lion; and Shiro in his own lion on a lone mission to find and access a control panel for Pidge’s hacking. Coran provided battle defenses should anything go wrong and Allura gave tactical advice through their communications from aboard the castle.

But, the sounds of Hunk and Lance’s cries shook the team as they maneuvered the enemy ship.

“Lance! Hunk!” Shiro shouted into his communications. “What’s going on?”

Over the chaos of what sounded like guns being fired, Hunk’s shaky voice filtered through to Shiro’s ear. “We’re… attacking… Lance… They’re taking him!”

Without a moment to lose, Allura’s voice carried through the communications channel. “I am sending you all the approximate location of Hunk. I can’t reach Lance or find his location. This Galra tech is messing with my systems, so I can only give you this much.” Her voice was strained, as though she were reprimanding herself.

“That’s plenty Allura. Thank you,” Shiro responded gently, forgetting for a second that it was a public channel. “Alright paladins,” his tone hardening, “Converge on Hunk’s location right now. We’ll set up a plan from there.”

By the time Shrio made it to where Hunk was, Pidge and Keith were already at his side, chests heaving from their sprint. Pidge was leaned over Hunk, assessing a wound on his right leg. Hunk looked battered, sitting on the floor drenched in sweat and his helmet lying on the floor next to him. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were shut tightly.

“Are you alright, Hunk?” Shiro asked, kneeling by the yellow paladin’s side.

“Ugh. I’ll… manage. But Lance…” His voice drifted away.

Shrio put a comforting hand on Hunk’s shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him back. You just worry about getting patched up.”

Hunk responded with a groan.

Turning to Pidge, Shiro gave the youngest a firm clap on the back. “Pidge, do you think you can get Hunk back to your lion?”

“I will.” They nodded, pressing their lips into a determined line. Shiro gave them an encouraging smile then turned to Keith. He moved to give Keith an order as well until the clatters of metallic Galra drones coming down the corridor made the paladins jump.

Instinctively, they moved to cover the injured yellow paladin. As the noises approached, Keith turned to Shiro. “I could lead them away,” he murmured.

“You’re not leading them anywhere.” Shrio rebuked.

“Then at least let me go see if they’re coming this way or not.” Keith’s eyes narrowed, practically challenging Shiro.

With a deep sigh, Shiro nodded. “Go see, then come back,” he hissed.

Nodding, Keith silently moved away and slipped around a corner toward the sounds of the Galra. Shiro and Pidge then began to work on getting Hunk on his feet. Pidge whispered encouragement to the yellow paladin until he was standing, leaning on Pidge’s shoulder for support.

“Allura,” Shiro called into his communications.

“I’m here.”

“Can you guide Pidge and Hunk back to the green lion?”

“I’m sending a map to Pidge as we speak.”

A moment later, a hologram map popped up from Pidge’s gauntlet. The green paladin looked over the map, memorizing every turn and formulating plans already. They looked at Shiro and sent him and positive smile. “I’ll get Hunk back safely, you get Lance.”

“We’ll see you at the castle.”

“Shiro.”

Keith’s voice shirred Shiro, making him straighten up. “What’s the situation look like, Keith?”

“They’re not coming toward you guys. It actually looks like a few are heading away to the same location.”

Shiro felt a sense of dread wash over him. “Kei-”

“I’m going to follow them! They might lead me to Lance’s location.”

“Keith!” Shiro roared.

“Oh my god,” Pidge grumbled under their breath.

“Keith. Do not go off on your own.” Shiro was fuming as he began to move with Pidge and Hunk toward the green lion.

“If there’s any chance that they could lead me to Lance, I have to take it.”

“Keith! Keith!” Shiro swore loudly when no response came. He opened his mouth to call for Allura, but she was already at work.

“I’m sending you Keith’s location, Shiro. He’s moving deeper into the ship. I might not be able to pinpoint his place for long.”

“Thank you,” Shiro breathed, trying to calm his anger. He checked that Pidge and Hunk knew their way back before breaking into a sprint toward the blinking red dot on his hologram map. Sharply cutting from hallway to hallway, Shiro kept a fierce eye on Keith’s location until the small dot began to flicker.

“Princess?”

The dot faded.

“Allura!”

“I just lost the location! But his last known position is just ahead of you. Take a right.”

Shiro followed her order and nearly shouted when he spotted two Galra drones coming his way. While crouching into a hidden nook, Allura’s choppy voice echoed through his helmet.

“Keith disappeared down… hallway slightly ahead of you and to the left. Tell me… you see.”

After the drones passed, Shiro peeked out of his spot and saw a ramp leading further down into Galra ship.

“It’s a ramp going down into the ship. And you’re already starting to break up on me, princess.”

“Yes, I can barely… your voice on my end. When… go down that way, you’ll… completely cut off.”

“The cloaking…last long…” Coran’s voice sounded slightly panicked in the background of Allura’s communication link.

“You need… hurry Shiro.”

“Understood.”

“…have to… back…”

Shiro couldn’t catch Allura’s message entirely as he traversed down the ramp.

Keith and Lance had indeed been down the ramp of the Galra ship. The drones had carried Lance into a cell and other drones were gathering to guard him. Shiro had found Keith ducking down behind some supply boxes. After swiftly smacking the back of his head and promising a lecture later, the duo formulated a plan to escape with Lance.

Well, the plan wasn’t so much of a plan and more of ‘you take the guys on the right, I’ll take the ones on the left, grab Lance, and book it out of here’.

The blue paladin was relatively uninjured, only unconscious. Halfway back to their lions, Lance had woken up and hazily argued that he was well enough to fly his lion. Keith frowned, but they didn’t have a choice.

By the time Shiro made it back to the castle in his own lion, all the other paladins were gathered in the infirmary while Coran worriedly flitted between Hunk and Lance.

Shiro decided to visit Allura in the control room where, he could feel, she was flying the ship very far, very quickly.

Allura gasped as Shiro staggered into the main control room, exhausted and tattered.

She moved away from her control panel, near-sprinting toward him. Shiro expected worried questions or maybe a ‘good job’.

Instead, the Altean princess flung her arms around his neck and slammed her body into his, nearly toppling the both of them.

The hug was lasting a lot longer than a simple ‘thank goodness you’re safe, paladin’ hug, which Allura had given in the past on occasion. No, this was fundamentally different hug that involved tight arms and bodies pressed oh-so close to each other. Allura figured she’d provide an acceptable explanation later, but she just needed to hold Shiro now.

She almost pulled away until Shiro’s strong arms wrapped around her waist bringing her closer still. He let out breathy laugh, allowing the gust of air to brush the crook of Allura’s neck. He felt her shiver, which only made Shiro want to pull her closer.

“I did my job,” he joked with another laugh, “I brought them back.”

“Your ‘job’ is to come back safely,” Allura rebutted with a snort. She burrowed her face into his collarbone, gifting herself this guilty pleasure. “You have to come back. Always.” She could feel the rapid pulse of Shiro’s heart from the veins in his neck. She grinned, glad that he could not see her giddy expression.

“I will.” His voice rumbled through from his chest to hers. “I’ll always come back to you.”

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 2)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Chapter Summary: He was her bridge to Earth.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Day Two – Bridge

Allura went to only Shiro for answers to questions about Earth.

She used to go to the other paladins, but Hunk always ended up prattling on and on and on, which was fun sometimes, but other times, Allura just wanted a clear answer. Keith, however, used too few words and was prone to explaining things badly, like with answers that consisted of “and it’s like… you know?”. Then, with Lance and Pidge, Allura had fallen for one too many of their pranks.

So, she used Shiro as a link to Earth.

The Black Paladin had made it very clear that he would happily answer any and all her questions to the best of his ability. He used to stammer or scratch the back of his neck when she came to him, but soon it felt natural: just a normal part of the day.

There were questions asked in the control room, in the kitchen, over lunch, in the training room, and even in passing when brushing by one another in the halls of the castle.

Sometime they were simple like, “What color was the sky on Earth?”. Other times, Shiro had to sit the princess down and go into fuller detail, like when she asked for the definition of a country.

Eventually, there was a shift. The subject of each question went from ‘Earth’ to ‘Shiro’.

The questions transformed from “If there is no king, who rules Earth?” to “What kind of house did you live in?”

Honestly, Allura would not have noticed unless Coran hadn’t walked into the lounge area where they were sitting next to one another one day.

“Asking Shiro about Earth again, princess?”

Allura opened her mouth to respond with a ‘yes’ but was interrupted by Shiro’s low rumble of a laugh.

“No,” he replied, “I’m just telling her about my family.”

Allura’s mouth clamped shut with a snap. Shiro turned back to her with a smile, probably to continue where he had left off. Allura scrambled to her feet, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her. “I-um…”

“Princess?” Shiro asked, eyebrows knit together in concern.

“We, um, shall we continue this another time?” She prattled, letting the words dribble out of her mouth, as she looked anywhere else but at him.

Shiro frowned. “Yeah, uh, that’s fine. But are you-” Before he could finish his worried question, Allura was out the door, practically sprinting. Shiro glanced at Coran for some sort of answer, but the older Altean just shrugged and carried on his way.

The questions stopped and the days passed.

Now, Allura would only greet Shiro politely and sometimes ask about training or how his day has been.

Shiro was baffled.

“Princess,” he called out to her one day. The lights in the castle were beginning to dim, signaling the paladins that it was time for them to go sleep. Shiro had caught Allura as she stood just outside her bedroom, heading inside for some well-deserved rest.

Allura had spun at the sound of her name, her light hair fanning around her as she moved. “Shiro?”

Shiro cleared his throat, silently encouraging himself to speak his mind. “May I ask you something?”

Blinking, Allura responded gently, “Why, of course you can.” She watched as Shiro shifted his weight from foot to foot. After a beat, he took a few steps closer to her, causing her breath to hitch.

“Are you… Did I… do something?” Shiro’s voice was barely above a whisper, adding a layer of familiarity that neither had ever felt with one another before.

“What do you mean?” Allura tilted her head, making sure to respond in the same low tone as Shiro.

The black paladin let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “This is-I mean-I’m probably just overthinking things, but I feel like, um, you’re…. avoiding me? Maybe?” His eyes traveled down to his boots.

Allura abruptly lunged forward, grasping both of Shiro’s hands within her own. “No!” she nearly shouted. With a gasp, she realized her loud tone and reeled back slightly but was sure not to let go of his hands.

Shiro, on the other hand, was frozen in shock. His eyes were wide and staring at the flustered princess who seemed to just be coming to terms with her actions. He watched her take a shaky breath and then let it out with one steady blow.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I, um, recognized the fact that I… might have been becoming a nuisance.”

Shiro squeezed her hands and Allura’s eyes shot up to meet his. His expression of shock was replaced with gentle eyes and a confused frown. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean, I have been asking you some very personal questions as of late, and I haven’t once thought of your opinion on the matter, and I just… I don’t want you to feel obligated to answer such things and…” Allua’s babbling slowly trailed off into silence. She bit her lip and glimpsed away.

“Allura,” Shiro puffed breathlessly, “I wouldn’t have answered anything that I didn’t feel comfortable talking to you about.” And Shiro was beginning to feel very comfortable with Allura. He pushed the feeling down.

“Is it fine?” Allura glanced up at Shiro shyly. He laughed in response, pulling her hands closer to his body. Her chest swelled, and Allura felt her knees quiver.

“Always.”

Only then did Allura take notice of the lack of distance between them. If she only took one more step… She really wanted to take that step…

And she might have if the sounds of the other paladins coming down the hallway didn’t shake her from her stupor.

Flinching, Allura jerked her hands out of Shiro’s and held them close to her chest.

“Ah, um, then, I-I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah, ye-yeah! Of course,” Shiro responded a bit too loudly, also recovering from his own trance.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Allura swallowed and bowed her head awkwardly. “Go-goodnight then, Shiro.”

“Goodnight… Allura.” Shiro smiled and turned on his heel, walking toward the direction of the other paladins’ voices.

Allura shifted to enter her bedroom that lay just behind her. Before entering though, she took a moment to look down at her hands. They still were radiating with the warmth that Shiro had left, connecting her to him in way that she really, really wanted more of.

[tkipaniwrites]

Day to Day (Chapter 1)

Re-uploaded onto new writing blog!

Summary: Seven days when Shiro and Allura were a little more than paladin and princess. Series of drabbles/oneshots for Shallura Week 2016.

Also available on ffn and ao3

Day One - Discovery

Shiro was afraid of small creatures with multiple legs and wings, it seemed.

“Not afraid,” he muttered once he had regained his composure.

Allura laughed behind her right hand. “Then how would you describe your reaction just now?”

To fully explore a planet that the team had come across, the paladins had decided to split up for a wider range of vision. Coran had explained that the planet was full of thick jungles that were impossible to navigate without the help of the native population. The only problem was that the population lived in hidden villages among the trees, and Coran could not establish any contact.

Allura insisted on joining the paladins for diplomatic reasons. Without a word or warning, Allura followed Shiro into his Black Lion. Shiro pointedly ignored Lance’s grin and tried to fight his own smile as Allura naturally settled herself into his lion with him.

Not long after arriving, the pair concluded that they would have to exit the lion and continue on foot. Leaving a trail to be able to return, the two started on their way, wandering through the jungle.

Which, in turn, had led them to this situation.

Shiro adjusted his armor and struggled to not look at Allura.

“I was startled,” he stated.

“So,” Allura teased, “Afriad?”

“Wouldn’t you be if that landed on your shoulder?” Shiro frowned and aggressively pointed at the bug flying in the air. It reminded Shiro of a moth, only much larger, almost as big as his face, and with eight legs. Its four dark grey wings shimmered slightly as it flew, and small patterns of lines and circles decorated them.

Allura hummed in thought. Then, she raised her right hand into the air, palm up, as though she were asking for something. Within moments, the bug flew down and landed on her fingertips. Shiro’s jaw dropped without his permission.

Using her left hand, Allura pat the top of the bug’s head gently. The bug snuggled into her hand with pleasure. With a large grin, Allura looked up at Shiro with sparkling eyes.

A shiver traveled down his spine, and the paladin tried to tell himself that it was because of the creature in her hand.

Suddenly, Allura began to move toward Shiro, holding the bug out to him. With a gasp, Shiro flinched backwards. Before he could gather his dignity, Allura was laughing at him once more.

“Don’t,” he hissed, heat flooding to his cheeks.

Allura barely bit back her giggles. She moved her hand, and the bug flew off, traveling deep into the jungle. “Don’t worry,” Allura joked with a smirk, “I won’t tell anyone.” She winked and brushed by Shiro to continue on their way.

The Black Paladin was left with a thumping heart that may or may not have been because of the bug.