#alluro

When all was said and done, when Shiro found himself once again brought back from the edge, he couldn't help but let himself be selfish one more time. The last time Shiro was selfish it cost him his co-pilot's life. This time...

But he had wondered if it was worth it to bring his arms around Allura so slowly, her tears soaking into his neck as she begged him to come back.

As always, it was less of a request and more of an order. Shiro couldn't help the soft huff of amusement at that, then. He had always respected her word after all, linked so intimately through their Jaeger, sharing so much.

As tired as he had been and wanting to close his eyes - finally, finally - he couldn't deny her request.

The first thing he saw then when his lungs had finally expanded and his heart had jolted in his chest, was the drenched white of Allura's hair, the taste of salt on his lip. She had dug her face into his neck, grip strong.

Shiro had been content to have only had that lingering touch he'd given Allura's cheek then, the last he would ever feel before he'd drop with Obsidian Leonis one last time.

"Allura, I can't breathe," Shiro had wheezed.

Allura pulled back, tears clinging to her lashes. She searched his face, a hesitant smile rising before she choked out a wet laugh. There was a fine cut along her cheek and on her lip, a bruise was on her temple from how hard the category 5 had struck Obsidian Leonis. Allura had a fresher batch of tears flooding out as her hands came up to cup the sides of Shiro's face.

"You scared me," She accused, voice wavering. She pulled at his cheeks harshly. "Don't ever do that again."

Shiro inhaled sharply, wincing. She pulled again, forcing Shiro to bring his hands up and rest them over her's. He interlaced their fingers together, fitted like the wires that had connected their drivesuits nerves and all to Black – as he'd fondly called their Jaeger – and to each other. They breathed in sync and their hands came to rest in between each other.

Shiro bent forward, head tilted just so. Allura met him halfway, their foreheads coming to rest against each other gently. He shifted up ever so briefly to brush his nose against hers and see the crinkle of relief and affection in her eyes. Her hair was wet and cold against his, so bright against the pretty dark brown of her skin.

"I'm not leaving without you," She told him.

He had to laugh; she had said the same thing before she'd lost oxygen down in the Breach when she'd realized his intentions. He'd said the same to her when Coran had been stubborn about their continued status as co-pilots after their first disastrous drift weeks ago, the both of them backed into a corner and frustrated.

"You won't have to," Shiro replied.

"Go back to sleep," Allura groaned. "I can hear you thinking from here."

Shiro scoffed. "Of course you can. You've been in my head."

"Exactly, so I know you shouldn't be thinking so hard with so much space to rattle around with," Allura teased, accent sharp with exhaustion.  Her accent was always thicker when she was tired.

Shiro pinched her, laughing when she yelped. She brought her legs up to trap him, slapping at his hands blindly as he dug into the places he knew made her squirm, and shimmying up to be face to face. Allura's hand cupped the side of his neck.

"Rest now. We have a lot to rebuild in days to come," Allura said. "And there's also the matter of this Voltron Project my father left for me to settle."

She pressed their foreheads together. He leaned in on instinct, comforted. She scratched at the soft hairs of his undercut. Her fingers moved slowly, finger tips pressing in just to feel.

Allura looked momentarily far away, like he had been earlier. Her eyes went glassy like behind them she was watching him through a screen. Shiro pressed against her a little harder. Allura patted the back of his head gratefully, inhaling sharply and exhaling slowly. Her blue eyes focused on him, soft.

She had never been afraid to look at him straight. Not when they'd sparred in the Kowloon, not from across Black's conn-pod, and not when she'd appeared on that chilly day at the Wall of Life with fire in her eyes to bring him back to the Shatterdome, back to Black, back to Keith and Pidge and Lance and Hunk and Coran, and all the other Rangers and mechanics.

"Rest now," She repeated.

"Yeah, you too," He said.

Shiro laid his head back down, Allura fitted back under his chin. His mind was still buzzing, echoes of Black, of Allura's and his memories pooled together and knocking incessantly. He knew it was the same for her. But her presence was enough.

They had been tethered together, after all, linked and connected. They would draw each other in like a binary star with an unending orbit.

It was enough.

-

AN: I wanted to make a pacific rim au, but it seems I won't be able to kick myself into gear enough to actually do it. But I wrote these little pieces and I'm too fond of them to let them go. So here are some ficlets all in oneMore to come, probably, sporadically.

Basic rundown:Marshall --> Coran

Pilots of Obsidian Leonis (Black Lion) ---> Shiro & Allura, prev Shiro & Matt Pilots of Ronin Blue (not pictured or mentioned) (Red & Blue Lions) ---> Lance & Keith Head of the Science Dept ---> Pidge & Samuel Holt Head of the Engineering/J-Tech & Loccent (Coran's unfortunate right-hand) ---> Hunk

Yellow & Green Lions are still being brainstormed over lolol

Obsidian Leonis will not be a part of the “Jaeger Graveyard” like the others.

Already, the remaining Jaegers and those retrieved after Sendak’s attack are being collected, refashioned to stand tall and proud and bear the names of all those who fought to keep that horizon before them. (Shiro now has a picture on his phone of Keith and Lance kissing under Ronin Blue’s towering form, the mach 4 overflowing with flowers).

Obsidian Leonis, Shiro, and Allura had made the ultimate sacrifice down there in the ocean. All that remains of the Jaeger is little more than a broken shard of her sword, which lies in Shiro’s pocket, warm and obvious and melted down into the form of a ring. He even knows the exact size of the finger it's meant to be on, how it will look wrapped around the dark ring finger it's meant for.

When Shiro makes it back to the shared bunk he and Allura now shared back at the Shatterdome, he slips his hand into his pocket already mulling over his plan.

Maybe Shiro could lead Allura back to bed, curl around her until they were tangled together, unable to tell where one began and the other ended. Almost as if they were in Black again, linked body and mind. He would rest their foreheads together, take her by the hand and press the ring into her palm, ask her, “The future is finally full of hope again. Will you allow me to be a part of it?”

Then maybe Allura will give him that wry grin he loves so much, punch him harder than she means to in the arm. Then she'll tell him that he's always been a part of her future and (hopefully) say yes.

What he finds instead is Allura curled up in on herself at the foot of the bed. Her arms are folded over her head, fingers digging into the thick of her white hair, and twisting.

The only sound in their room is the sharp staccato of Allura’s breathing, loud and heavy like unrelenting waves. When Shiro bends down before her, Allura raises her head.

Her eyes are glassed over, wet and at least a whole galaxy away. Shiro’s hands hover over her, unsure and scared. He can hear his own heartbeat warring against Allura’s breathing inside his skull. Shiro slips a hand into his pocket, fingers the ring and wrestles his mind back into his body.

“Allura,” Shiro starts, soft. “Look at me, no don't look down! Look at me. Yeah, good.”

Shiro touches the tips of her fingers, featherlight. He doesn’t know what set her off and doesn't want to make it worse. He decides to be tentative, let her ease back down. But she's fighting him, Shiro can tell. Allura shakes her head, words jumbling in her mouth and unable to form as she tries to speak. Vaguely she seems to realize, eyes widening as a loud sob forces itself out of her.

“Don't be scared,” Shiro says. “It's ok. It's ok, Allura. It will pass. But I need you to breathe.”

Allura shakes her head again, white hair sticking to her face, her lips. Her pajamas are soaked through with sweat. Shiro rubs a thumb over her wrist.

“It's fine, I'll help you remember. Just follow my lead, ok? It's just like drifting. We just have to get calibrated,” Shiro continues softly.

Allura bleary nods. She swallows before following Shiro’s example and taking a huge gulp of breath. Shiro brushes the hair from her face. He puts her fingers over the seam of his mouth. When he exhales, Shiro makes sure he does so loudly, allowing her to feel his breath brush over her fingers, before inhaling again. Shiro cradles one of her cheeks and prompting her to inhaling again.

It takes a good ten minutes before Shiro gets Allura to synch their breathing together. She inhales too quickly, exhales after too long, trying to grasp at air like she's fighting a current, battered and struggling. As she begins to calm, her hand makes its way over Shiro’s. First his fingers, then across the back of his hand. She's at his wrist by the time her eyes seem to come back into focus.

“I'm here,” Shiro tells her. “I'm not going anywhere. We made it, Allura. You and me. We made it out, Black protected us. We're alive.”

Tears pool over Allura’s eyes then. She digs her fingers into the front of his shirt. Shiro feels her nails scratch over his heart.

“That's just it!” Allura cries. “We're alive. We're here .”

“Allura -”

“What do I do now, Takashi? I don't know how to do anything else! I made it this far because I wanted to avenge my father,” Allura continues.

She gulps down air before speaking again.

“There's a future now. I have to make a life now, be - be something else other than Marshall Singh’s daughter. Be m-more than the other half of Obsidian Leonis. What is even out there for me ?” Allura cried.

Shiro pressed their foreheads together, telling her to focus on him, don't chase the Rabit, focus only on him.

“There's everything out there for you,” Shiro finally said. “A coffee shop, an animal shelter, a book store, a champion middleweight boxer, an astronaut, anything.”

He gathers both of her hands up in his and pressed them between both of their bodies. Shiro’s own heart hammers where her fists press against his chest. He can feel hers hammering against his knuckles.

“Without you, Keith, Hunk, Lance, Pidge, Coran, The Shatterdome , countless lives wouldn't have a future. You and I did that,” Shiro tells her, voice rough with conviction.

“Takashi,” Allura starts again, voice wavering. “I'm - I'm really scared.”

It floors Shiro for a moment. Allura has always been a proud person, unafraid of her goals and the hardships it would take to get there. If Shiro hadn't already had experience dealing with impulsive, hot-headed individuals, he might have been out sorts when he and Allura had become a team. They had clashed quite a bit in the early months; Allura had been often times blinded by vengeance, her heart pinned to her sleeve like a beacon. Shiro had been tired, guilt-ridden and losing hope.

They had made it work.

Apologizing had always been hard for Allura. Admitting defeat even harder.

“I know,” Shiro replies. “I am, too.”

“But you won't be going at it alone. I won't let you. I'm your copilot, remember?”

“You won't ever be the same, and neither will I. We both know that. We’ll figure the future out together,” Shiro tells her.

Allura looks up at him, then, blue eyes wide and limitless, framed around her wet, black lashes, one laying haphazard across the dark brown of her skin. Shiro smoothes her hair down, kissing under each of her eyes. Allura burrows against him.

“Thank you,” Allura says. “If - If it's you, I know I can meet another day. I hope I can be the same for you, too, in time.”

“You already are,” Shiro murmurs.

She won't stop being scared for some time, Shiro knows this. But he's glad they're taking the fall together.

After all, falling is so easy. He's done it already deep in the ocean, and so many times just looking at Allura.

Shiro can still feel the ring against his thigh in his pocket. It can wait, he decides. There's time now. There's now a tomorrow where there may never have been before.

Shiro laces their fingers together, pressing against Allura until their foreheads touch and their noses push together. She laughs a little breathlessly.

All that's left to do now is look towards the horizon.

-

AN: