{BLUE} -Shiro x Male!OC-

~Chapter 11~

A/N-IM SCREAMING BECAUSE I HAVE 1K READS FOR THIS STORY!!  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!
-Very happy Mia
~🔹~

"Anything wrong, Princess?"  Allura looked up from the large computer screen she had been examining, and turned to the red-haired male.  Coran watched her, his face full of concern.

"Oh, it's nothing," Allura sighed, "I'm just a little concerned for the Paladins."  Coran nodded with understanding, which made Allura brighten up a little.  Coran was like another father to her.  He always understood everything, and if he didn't, he would at least offer a kind smile or a hug. 

"You're concerned because you're unsure that they can form Voltron, right?"  Allura nodded as Coran spoke.  "Princess, it will be fine.  Those five humans are very talented.  I think that they'll be able to save the universe from Zarkon, so don't doubt you're decision to make them the Paladins." 

"Thank you, Coran," Allura had a small smile on her face as she spoke to the other Altean.  "Now, let's head to the lounge, I think we both deserve a break."

~🔹~

Shiro glared at the ground in front of him as he stood before his lion.  He was upset and humiliated.  Zanya had fired the castle's weapons to see if the Paladins could from Voltron if they were threatened.  Spoiler, they couldn't.   As soon as the firing started, all of the Paladins had gone in different directions trying to avoid the blasts.  Shiro tired to keep them together so they could possibly form Voltron, but that didn't work.

After only about three minutes, Zanya had stopped firing.  Shiro's face had been red with embarrassment as the Altean had told them to take a break and try again some other time.  Maybe if Shiro was a better leader he could've kept the lions all together, and maybe even formed Voltron.

"Hey." Shiro looked up from the floor and met the blue eyes of Zanya. The Altean stood between the Paladin and his lion.

"I'm sorry I let you down." Shiro broke Zanya's gaze, his eyes once again returning to the floor. "Maybe if I was a better leader, I could've helped them stay together an I could-"

"Stop." Shiro's eyes widened at the harsh tone of Zanya's voice. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he watched as his view of the floor was blocked by the beautiful face of the Altean Prince. They were so close, Shiro could count some freckles that dusted the cheeks and nose of the other.

"Shiro," Zanya's tone softened, "don't beat yourself up about how you and the Paladins preformed today. It's alright to mess up at first, do you really think that forming Voltron is easy?"

"No, but-"

"Then don't be disappointed in yourself. You've got to be patient. Just wait, and the time will come when you will lead Voltron into battle against the forces of Zarkon."

"Maybe, but-"

"And don't even think that you won't lose. You're strong Shiro, and with the power of the black lion, you will be stronger." Zanya smiled at Shiro, and suddenly pulled the human into a tight hug.  The altean's smile only grew when he saw Shiro's reddening face.  "Let's go to the lounge, the Paladins need their leader!"

~🔹~

"What do you mean you haven't formed Voltron?!"

"But they were trying really hard, so I thought-"

"So you thought that they could just give up?"

"I wouldn't call it 'give up'. More of like a break."

"No breaks until Voltron is formed!" Allura was seething. Her brother thought that he could just let the Paladins relax when they couldn't even manage to form Voltron?! What kind of logic is that?

The Princess sighed, realizing that she should calm down. She patted her brother on the shoulder, showing that there weren't any hard feelings between them. Allura then turned to the five humans who were staring up at her with wide eyes.

"Princess, we're sorry if we upset you," Shiro spoke with an apologetic look on his face.

"It's alright," Allura met his gaze, "but it's a problem if you five are unable to form Voltron." Her eyes shifted from one Paladin to the next, noting the guilty expression each of them wore.

"Princess, I think I have an idea," Coran spoke up, "Prehaps in order for the Paladins to form Voltron, they need to first learn to work as a team. I believe I can help them bond with each other."

"That's a wonderful idea! Paladins, please go with Coran to the training room," Allura said. "Zanya," she smiled as her brother gave her a puzzled look, "I need to talk to you."

~🔹~

Shiro groaned as he and the four other Paladins sat at the large table. Coran had put them through many team bonding exercises, but none of them had really seemed to work.

"Ugh," Lance rested his head on the table, "that was such a pain."

"Maybe it wouldn't have been if you actually tried," Keith snapped.

"Maybe you need to shut up, Mullet Head!"

"Hey, guys! Let's stop arguing and start eating," Hunk intervened, "The food should be here any second!"

"Hey, guys!" Zanya yelled as he entered the room, followed by Allura and Coran. They were all carrying some sort of food, or what Shiro assumed was food. He couldn't really tell.

"What they heck!?"  Pidge yelped as his hand was handcuffed to Keith.  More shouts of protest were heard as the five humans were handcuffed together.

"What's the meaning of this?  I just wanted to eat!"  Hunk cried.

"Don't worry," Zanya said while trying to hold back his laughs, "the point of this exercise is to eat.  You've all got to eat while handcuffed together, meaning you'll have to work as a team."

"Ugh, teamwork," Lance groaned as he tried to reach for some food, just to have Keith pull them both back. "Stop it, Mullet!"

"Ah!" Hunk lunged for a plate of food, causing everyone to fall over.

"Wait, guys!  I've got an idea!" Pidge grinned, then whispered something into Keith's ear.  They both grinned, then both grabbed a plate and threw it.

Zanya almost fell on the floor laughing as Allura was hit in the face.  The Princess growled, and threw some food back at Keith and Pidge.  Soon enough, everyone was throwing food at each other.  Shiro glanced over at Zanya, who was watching the scene from a safe distance.  The Altean grinned at him and mouths the words, "great teamwork!"

Shiro smiled back at him.

~🔹~