Shiro's Dream (shiro x allura)

Chapter 1

And as his eyes began to close for the final time, the black lion was there. It was always there, for him, alone.

*******

Voices on the edge of hearing.

"The cycle is complete. He's due to wake up anytime in the within the next varga now."

"He looks.. Different. Older."

He felt older.

"I think it's just the hair. He'll be back to his normal Galra destroying, team inspiring, voltron forming self in no time."

"Well, his spirits should pick up after tonight's welcome back feast! Im cooking his favourite - altean sumpies!"

"I'm pretty sure that's Hunks favourite."

"Yeah, thats mine."

"Oh. Maybe I'm thinking of slimp custard.."

"No. Also mine."

"Oh. Does Shiro even have a favourite food?"

"I don't think he does. Pretty sure he's sustained on sincerity and altruism."

Laughter. A pause.

"Where is Allura? I haven't seen much of her since- in the last couple of days."

"Well, she's busy with the ship. But she'll be around later. There won't be long to wait now."

Shiro lay in the peaceful border of sleep and wakefulness. The voices of his friends a comforting backdrop to his own measured breathing, becoming stronger and more full. In this moment, this one point in time, everything was perfect. Everything was going to be alright.

******************

Shiro was looking up at an endless expanse of stars, from the surface of an strange planet. The image imparted a sense of limitless possibilities and new horizons. Equally calming and exciting. But this feeling was brief, as the sky was blotted out with a thick flurry of falling snow.

****************

Allura worked feverishly at the ship's defence stations. The light from the monitors flashed colours across her skin in quick succession. When Coran walked over to her, she didn't look up.

"Are you still here princess? I thought you went through all these systems just a couple of quintets ago."

He came to stand beside her, paying attention to the progress she was making, and the tension in her face.

"The ship's defenses are one our top priorities right now. I just want to set up one more calibration before I review our current data on Lotor's movements."

She felt gritty. Her eyes stung. She knew she was in desperate need of a long bath and a long sleep. But that would be irresponsible. There just never seemed to be enough time, or enough preparation.

"The castle is running at near peak performance. Let me do this. You need to rest. And by giving me this task you'll be free to spend some more time training with the blue lion. Keith and Lance have been putting in a lot of vargas and you need to be just as focused on that task right now. The other paladins need you."

Allura continued her work uninterrupted.

"I don't think I'll need to use the blue lion much longer. Voltron was performing so well as a team before I joined. Once everyone is back in their original lions I can attend solely to the ship and thing will return to the way things were. I don't mind giving it up. Just as soon as Shiro is reconnected with the black lion again things will return to normal."

Coran laid a hand on Allura's arm to momentarily pause her activity.

"But that hasn't happened yet, has it? It may never. We may need to plan for that possibility."

She looked distressed.

"No, of course it will. It's only a matter of time. The black lion may need to a slow separation from Keith, and Shiro is still healing, and still finding his role after Keith took leadership. It's a new and different dynamic now, and yes things have been strained, a bit tense between us all I think but - "

"Is that why you have been avoiding him?"

Allura's head jerked around to look Coran in directly in the face for the first time. But her eyes lowered before she answered.

"I- it's not like that, I'm just not sure what to say... something isn't... It's not quite the same. It's just not the same anymore"

"I know." Coran squeezed Allura's arm and gently moved her away from the console

"Please rest now. You can leave this to me."

***************************

Shiro walked the length of the sterile corridor towards the black lion. He could feel the apprehension rising in his chest. Every morning this week, the same routine.

He halted, and arched his neck to take in the looming bulk of the black lion. Its sheer size was something he was never quite able to become accustomed. The lion's face seemed to communicate a quiet determination and purpose. The black lion was power. It was ancient knowledge. But to Shiro now, it was also frustration.

Shiro tried to look into the lion's eyes. Another grasping attempt to re-establish a connection. The lion's black surfaces reflected shiro's face as a mirror. But that was all. He saw and sensed nothing but himself. It didn't make sense! Shiro was convinced that the black lion had been attempting to communicate with him. What else could explain that dream? The same dream night after night. At first, only remembered as a disjointed collection of visions and feelings in the groggy seconds upon waking. But as time went on, it was becoming more coherent. Although no more comprehensible. What was the lion trying to tell him? What did it want him to do? Their bond was at one time the strongest, the lion had saved him from near death and now it was sending him messages while he slept. Not being allowed to pilot the lion seemed to represent such a dramatic shift in attitude. A wrenching deviation from the comfort of normal life.

And the lion's behaviour was not the only change that Shiro had felt upon his return. Shiro had never regretted his decision to encourage Keith to become the leader of the paladins. Keith was undoubtedly an accomplished pilot, and had a drive to excel and to live by his own morals. He would fiercely protect his friends. Keith was an inexperienced, but capable leader. The black lion appeared to agree with Shiro's choice. And Keith's experience was growing by the day. Since Shiro's return, he found he couldn't ignore the tension that had arisen. Shiro felt uneasy about Keith relinquishing the leadership position in favour of himself. Although it was never quite spoken, Shiro could sense the uncertainty within the paladins now. The roles within the group were once clearly defined. Now however, the lines were blurred. Positions had altered and the bonds between paladin and lion were shifting. To Shiro, it did not feel right. The voltron team had evolved and a new dynamic was emerging. One that no longer included Shiro.

He could not continue like this. The hopelessness of the situation weighed Shiro down. Only during the worst periods of his confinement by the Gulra had Shiro felt so powerless and ineffectual. But no longer.

Shiro was a man of action. With a last look at the black lion, he made a decision.

************

This is not how it was supposed to be.

Yes, i agree this was unexpected. It does not aid us. Perhaps we should redirect our focus.

No, there is now too much invested to abandon. Stage three will continue. It will be a success. I will insure that.

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A/N: This follows on from the cannon Voltron story as of season 3.