“You know, one of these days,” she said, effortlessly snapping the ropes holding him with her bare hands, “you’re going to get yourself killed.”
	He rubbed his arms now that they were free. “I just go where the story is.”
	“But can’t you be more careful about it?” she asked, planting her hands on her hips and frowning at him.
	He adjusted his glasses. “Fortune favors the bold.”
	She snorted. “‘The Bold’ shouldn’t rely on me to save his cute ass every time.”
	He paused. “You think my ass is cute?”
	She cleared her throat and tried to pretend she wasn’t blushing. “It will be a lot less cute if it gets shot off or blown up.”
	He smiled, and she noticed his cheeks were a little pink, too. “Well, once again, you’ve saved the day. Can I get a quote for the article?”
	“Just as nosy reporters need to watch their backsides, so criminals need to think twice before trying to get away with things in this city.”
	“I’ll just edit that first part out.”
	“I had a feeling you would.”
	“You know, I’d love an exclusive interview with you sometime. Say, over dinner?” 
	His hopeful smile made her heart race. “I don’t think I’m up to dress code for most of the nicer restaurants,” she said, indicating her superhero costume.
	“McDonald’s doesn’t care what you wear.”
	She laughed again. “And then I will be thronged by fans. Not exactly ‘exclusive’, is it?”
	He stepped closer to her. “Chinese food at my place then?”
	She smiled. “Maybe some day. When you learn not to get yourself in over your head. Go on, you have a deadline to meet, don’t you?”
	He pulled out his phone to check the time and grimaced. “Yeaaah, Ms. Fala’s gonna be on my ass about that.”
	She smirked as he mentioned her cover identity. “Don’t anger your editor, Shiro. And good luck.” She darted away, knowing she’d have to get out of his earshot before he called to report in. 
	Maybe some day, Shiro. 

	Following her wasn’t easy. Starlight couldn’t fly, but she was fast. Thank goodness for the city’s bikeshare program; even with the bicycle, he could barely keep up. He was also convinced he’d be found out any second: that she’d turn around and see him following her, and he’d get chewed out. But I’d still be that much closer to the truth.
	His editor had warned him away from this. She’d straight up ordered him not to pursue the truth behind who Starlight was. But he’d never wanted to publish the information. He wasn’t dumb; he knew that’d be dangerous for her. He just wanted to know. He wanted a real name and a real face for his dreams. 
	He wanted to know, and he’d never been one to wait around and hope the information would fall into his lap. 
	She stopped in an alley and started climbing the outside of one of the buildings. He took note of the street name and address. Third, fourth… fifth story, and she swung into an open window. Not the top floor, but close. This was an old neighborhood, almost…overlooked, in a way? Too shabby to be fashionable, too stodgy to be interesting to criminals. Perfect place to maintain a secret hideout! He stashed the bike in a different alley and jogged over towards the building’s front door.
	Buzzer system. Shouldn’t surprise him. He checked the buzzers listed. Fifth floor listed four tenants. He wasn’t sure of the apartment layout inside, so he wasn’t sure which one it could be. He took a picture with his cellphone. K. Brooks, J. Keaton, R. Darby, C. Smythe. It could be any of them. How would he know? 
	Motion from inside the building caught his eye. He retreated instinctively, crossing back to his bike where he could watch the building. When he got home, he could do some digging on the residents. 
	Two people walked out. One was an older gentleman, hair flamingly copper. Does he dye it that color? You can’t convince me that’s natural. He had a huge mustache and odd clothes. Well, what really counts as odd in this city? But it was the other person who really grabbed Shiro’s attention.
	That’s… His eyes widened in shock.
	“Thank you, as always, Coran,” she was saying.
	“You’re welcome as always, Princess.”
	“Stop that.”
	“Oh, it’ll just sound like an old man’s fond endearment. Which, in a way, I suppose it is now. But when I was sent with you, I promised the king I’d look after his little starlight.”
	“Starlight”… Are you kidding me?! Shiro thought.
	“Don’t start, you’ll get me all teary-eyed. I have work to do still.”
	“You might have chosen a job with better hours,” he said.
	“Oh, here we go again,” she groaned.
	“Fewer hours. Less pressure. Especially given your extracurricular activities.”
	“Oh, shut up,” she said fondly. “I love my job.”
	“You could stand to love something other than your job,” he groused. “Maybe someone?”
	“Oh not this again! You’re not my actual father, Coran!”
	“Nonetheless, I think I’m entitled to some not-actual grandchildren some day!”
	She snorted and hugged him. “Thanks again, for helping me keep my secret. I’ll see you for Sunday dinner.”
	“You’d better! I’m making meatloaf!”
	She kissed his cheek and headed for the corner, the better to flag down a cab. Shiro pulled back into the alley he was in. He pulled his phone back out to look at the photo. Coran. C. Smythe. Starlight. Princess. 
	What were the odds that his own editor was actually Starlight, the hero of everyone’s hearts… including his own? 

	It was her fault he’d been there. She couldn’t shake that feeling. Logically, the demonstration of a new type of energy source - supposedly as clean as solar and at least ten times as powerful - was a newsworthy event. Someone had to cover it, and Shiro was available, as well as being a damn good reporter. She’d had to send someone. But she couldn’t stop blaming herself.
	No one could have known what would happen. No one could have known the energy source would blow. Shiro had saved lives when his instincts had gotten him to evacuate the warehouse the demo was being held in. He just hadn’t quite gotten out in time. 
	The scientist and “creator” of this power source? Vaporized, along with her assistants. That Shiro hadn’t been turned into dust was marvel enough. He was out of the hospital now, but not back at work yet, and Allura still felt guilty. She felt helpless and sending flowers to his bedside was not enough.
	She’d be out here looking for crimes to stop regardless. But now there was a keener edge to it, a need to do some good so maybe she’d stop feeling so bad. Maybe she’d feel like a hero again. 
	It was illogical. She was a hero. But she couldn’t shake the guilt.
	She was specifically prowling the warehouse district. It wasn’t a bad choice: lots of criminals trying to sneak things - drugs, guns, trafficked humans - into the city through here. But she knew she’d chosen it because it was close to the site of the accident. She knew she was here because of Shiro. Because she hadn’t been here to save him that one time. Because she’d almost lost him. Because, to her, he was…
	A noise drew her attention, thanks to her Altean tech-enhanced hearing. She headed towards it quietly. She could move faster on foot than most humans, but she wasn’t what one would call “super” fast. Nor was she necessarily quieter than humans; she had to be careful. 
	She approached a seemingly-abandoned warehouse. There was the sound again: a familiar thud-scrape! sound she’d heard dozens of times before. Someone was tied (or handcuffed or chained or duct-taped) to a chair and trying to get free. Shiro’s been bound to so many chairs… She made herself stop thinking of him. She had to focus on whoever this was. Please don’t let it be him. But, at the same time, if it somehow was, she’d feel better, she knew. If she could rescue him again, it would be as if she’d made up for the time she hadn’t.
	He should be home resting. But “should” wasn’t something Shiro listened to. She wouldn’t put it past him to have said he needed more time off to recover only to use that time to work on some personal project of his, which almost always ended up with him in over his head and in need of rescue. Which she always provided. Almost always.
	She listened in, sending a neural command to her hearing enhancers to focus in on this area of the warehouse. “These ones’ll fetch a pretty penny or five…million.” Human trafficking. “Especially this one. They like ‘em feisty. Breakin’ ‘em is always fun.” The thud-scrapes got faster, more insistent. “Knock it off!” An unmistakable slap, and the thud-scrapes stopped. Allura could hear muffled sobbing. Enough waiting. 
	But before she could move in, she heard someone inside say, “What the…?!” And another unmistakable sound: fist meeting gut. 
	She bolted for the door, more out of curiosity than anything else. She pulled it off its hinges, tossed the door aside, and barged in to find the two thugs out cold on the floor as a group of young women and girls were standing and rubbing newly-freed wrists. 
	“Starlight.” 
	She jerked towards the voice. A masked man in dark clothes was standing there. He hadn’t been there a second ago. 
	“Should have known you’d show up to help,” he said, sounding amused.
	“Who are you?”
	“Good question. For now, let’s go with Paladin. I can trust you to get them to safety, can’t I?”
	She was about to reply when she heard the sound of a car pulling up. More than one car. She and Paladin both turned to it. “I’ll take care of them,” he said. “Just get them safe.” And he was gone again.
	She blinked and ran outside. 
	Men with guns were getting out of cars and vans, and every one that did suddenly cried out and fell down. Not a one got a single shot off. She thought she saw a dark shape appear in front of them, the ones that stepped out into the warehouse floodlights. Dark shape, and then they were down, and the shape was gone. Then another would go down several feet from the first, and so on. 
	“Get them out of here!” she heard Paladin’s voice say. She thought it… might be familiar? But not quite. Maybe she was just trying too hard to figure out who he was and what was going on. 
	In any case, he had a point. She turned back to the freed women and girls. “This way,” she said, heading for the back door. “I’ll make sure you’re okay.” She tossed a look back over her shoulder. 
	A new hero on the beat, huh? She probably ought to be annoyed. She normally hated being shown up. But her curiosity was piqued, revving fast. She wanted to find out everything she could about this “Paladin” character. …after she finished saving these people. 
	Her top reporter was out for the time being. So, starting tomorrow, she was going to be on this case herself. 

	The applause embarrassed him. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, “get back to work before Ms. Fala fires all of us.” Yeah, showing up to work really warrants a standing ovation, he thought bitterly. He shrugged his coat off and a wave of silence fell over the newsroom. 
	He could figure out why that was, too. “Guys, the news doesn’t report itself,” he said pointedly, and everyone hastily went back to work, anxious to look like they hadn’t been staring and happy to have something else to look at.
	He went to his desk, covered in flowers and cards and stuffed animals. He sighed as he stared at it, thinking of how long it was going to take to clear all that off when he was still getting used to the prosthetic where his right arm had once been.
	But then the editor’s office door opened. “Shiro,” she said, sounding only slightly less demanding than normal. And Ms. Fala saves the day. He set his briefcase down and hurried to respond.
	“Shut the door,” she said. She had, as usual, gone back to her desk to look over stuff. All of this was normal so far, and he found it a great relief. But as soon as the door shut, she practically fell into her chair. “First of all, I’m sorry.”
	“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” he said.
	“I sent you on that assignment.”
	“Someone had to cover it.” 
	“I know.” She sighed. “I know it’s stupid to feel guilty, but I still do.”
	“I grant you absolution,” he said grandly, trying not to sound annoyed. “And if you’re about to ask if I’m up to working…”
	“I’m not,” she said. She nodded at a chair in front of her desk. She had two chairs, but one was full of binders and folders and miscellaneous objects. He helped himself to the other. “You wouldn’t be back here if you didn’t feel up to the job. However, I’m required to have a discussion with you about necessary accommodations for your job.”
	“Oh. Well, I’m pretty sure my computer has a talk-to-text function I’ve just never set up, so I’ll probably be using that as much as I can. Other than that… I could use some help clearing my desk off?”
	She snorted. “I can probably help with that. Anything else?”
	He shrugged. “Not that I can think of right now. I’m as new to this as you are.”
	“Right. Well, I’ve lined up something easy for you on your first day back…”
	He groaned. “Ms. Fala…”
	She cut off his protest as she handed over a file folder. “There’s a new hero in town. Calls himself ‘Paladin’. I’ve been running down info on him while my best investigative reporter was out, but now that you’re back, you can get your ass back on your job and let me get back to mine.”
	He reached out with both hands to take hold of the folder, flipping it open immediately. “Not much to go on,” he mused, trying not to grin. She’s investigating Paladin? That’s not a surprise. 
	“That’s why I’m giving it to you,” she said. “Make sure this guy’s on the level. Just because he says he’s a hero, doesn’t mean he is. And if he is the hero he claims to be? Well, I’d love it if we were the first to introduce the new hero to the entire city.”
	“I’m on it,” he said, standing. He paused and then said, “And… thanks for not being weird about…” He waved his prosthetic in demonstration. 
	She smiled. “I don’t have time to be weird about it. Neither do you, while we’re at it. Oh!” She stood. “I did say I’d help clear off your desk.” She walked around her desk to clap a hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, Shiro. I’ve missed having you around.” Her smile seemed to soften a bit.
	He couldn’t help returning the smile. Oh, if you weren’t my boss… and also entirely out of my league, “Starlight.”
	She dropped her hand to his back and gave him a half-shove. “Now let’s get you working again. Come on.” She headed for the door. 
	He glanced down at the folder. If only you knew you just asked me to investigate myself. 
	“TODAY, Shiro,” she barked from just outside her door. “I’m not paying you to stand around.”
	“Coming!”
	Starlight eyed the bank full of robbers. “I can’t go in without endangering the hostages,” she muttered to herself.
	“Oh, well, if that’s the only problem…” 
	She whipped around at the voice to see Paladin standing there in his black clothes, black bandana-covered hair, and domino mask. 
	“…I’ve cleared all the hostages out. They were holding them in the back room.”
	She blinked. “They’re safe?”
	“Yes. And it’s a big crew, about a dozen men.”
	She whistled. “They must be expecting a good payday to spread the cut that thin.”
	He grinned. “Wanna help me ruin their day, then?”
	She grinned back. “Love to.”

	Next time, she was the one overhearing him. “Which ship…?”
	“That one,” she said as she walked up to him. She pointed it out. “The Balboa. According to my research, that’s the one most likely bringing in the trafficked women and girls.”
	“Well, I’d be a fool not to trust the professional,” he said. “Do you think they’re still holding the women in the hold?”
	“Normally they would have transferred them off by now, but after the last little party you threw for them, who knows? They might be playing it more carefully.”
	“If I knew the layout of the boat, I could teleport around inside, but without it, the best I can do is get right to the deck.”
	“Can you take me with you?” she asked.
	“I’m… actually not sure. Worth a shot. Worst that happens is I teleport out again.”
	She nodded. “I’m willing to give it a go. Aim there… in the shadows, behind those crates.”
	He reached his left hand out and she took it. In the next eyeblink, she was on the deck of the ship, right behind the crates she’d pointed out. She dropped down and whispered, “Amazing!”
	He chuckled, sounding pleased with himself as he thanked her. “We can pop from place to place; if I can see it, I can definitely teleport there.”
	“Find the captives, get them out,” she said. “And report the ship to the police.”
	“Got it. Let’s go!”

	She grabbed onto the helicopter skid and tried to pull it back down, but it already had too much lift and she had nothing to which to anchor herself. The helicopter went up. She tried to pull herself up into it, but she was losing her grip. The helicopter was going up, up, and the ground was getting farther and farther away. 
	One more attempt to get up inside it and her hands slipped. She started to fall.
	And then strong arms were under and around her and then she was on the ground. Well, she was on a rooftop. She watched the helicopter fly off into the night sky and swore under her breath in Altean. “They got away!”
	“But at least you’re okay,” Paladin said. He set her down to her feet again. “You are, aren’t you?”
	“Well…” She paused to get her breath. “I’m not a splat on the pavement, thanks to you.”
	“Glad to be of service,” he replied with a smile. “I wasn’t sure I could do that, honestly. I just… saw you were falling and it just happened: I teleported to just beneath you, caught you, and teleported us both back here.”
	“I’m very glad that worked.” She looked down into his eyes. “Thank you for saving me.”
	“You would have done the same for me,” he said.
	“I can’t teleport.”
	“You’d’ve figured something out.” His voice rang with unshakable trust. He still had one arm around her loosely, as if to steady her… or as if he just didn’t want to let go.
	Her heart was still pounding in her chest, her breathing still fast, and she couldn’t help but be aware of how very close to each other they were. Paladin seemed lost - either in his thoughts or in her eyes - and the idea struck her to kiss him. 
	It’d been so long since she’d last kissed anyone and he had proven himself steadfast, loyal, brave, and true. He’d saved her life and countless others’. She wondered what it would be like, to be with another hero. With someone just like her… 
	He started to lean towards her, eyes falling closed.
	She was halfway towards his lips when Shiro’s face flashed through her mind, bringing with it a stinging rebuke. She stopped and pulled away. “I’m sorry. I-I can’t. There’s… someone else.”
	He blinked his eyes open. “Oh, I’m… I’m sorry, too! I should have known the world’s most incredible woman is already spoken for.” Even in the dark, she could tell he was blushing. Or maybe that was just her; she felt like she was radiating enough heat in her cheeks to light up the whole night.
	“I didn’t say I was spoken for,” she said. “But… well, it’s complicated.”
	“Life so often is,” he agreed. “They’re a lucky person, whoever they are, to have your heart.”
	“I don’t know if he’s even aware he has it. Though he might be; he’s fairly clever.” Not clever enough to have figured out your identity yet, but I know he will, in time.
	“He’s still lucky. I should… probably go.”
	“Right, yes, sorry! I… I’m sorry. And thank you again for saving me.”
	“Any time, Starlight.” He teleported away into the darkness and she chewed her lower lip in thought. She couldn’t be with Shiro because he was her subordinate at the paper; she could be with Paladin because they were equals as heroes. And there was a pull to him she couldn’t deny. She could have sex with Paladin, but… well, if she’d had any reason to doubt her feelings for Shiro, they were gone now. She cared for him, wanted a relationship with him… and couldn’t have it, unless she fired him or he quit or she quit or… 
	She sighed and started back towards Coran’s apartment. Maybe he has some hot cider ready. Some snickerdoodles, perhaps? And some advice. I could really, really use some advice.
	This wasn’t anything he was supposed to be working on. There was the human trafficking ring still operating - he and Starlight had been busting up the actual traffickers, but someone was creating the demand - and he was, of course, supposed to be finding out who Paladin was. He was mostly buying time on that, and quickly burning through excuses Allura would buy as to why her star reporter wasn’t getting his scoop.
	But he’d gotten wind of something at Galra, the tech/R&D company that was quickly amassing a lot of power in the city. Everything on the record for the company was legit, almost spotlessly so, and it made him even more suspicious as to how a company that had been in existence for decades could suddenly be worth so much money, suddenly have so much political influence at its beck and call. Dr. Honerva King had been employed by Galra - she had been, in fact, married to the CEO, Zarkon King.
	Workers at the loading dock at the back of the building taking a smoke break. He had to be careful. Fortunately, Paladin didn’t need to walk places if he didn’t want to. He waited for them to go back inside; they punched in their code for the back door and opened it. He teleported inside right after them, then teleported down the hallway when they turned at feeling a presence at their backs. 
	Jump, jump, jump until he found an alcove to hide in and he paused to catch his breath. He wasn’t truly winded per se, but it was the anxiety of getting caught. He wasn’t used to this yet. He felt a bit more …trapped in here than he did busting up dock crime in old warehouses. But it was still night, and the building should be mostly empty.
	He tried to find the lobby, looking for a directory. He wanted to poke around directly in the CEO’s office if he could. But he had no idea what floor he was on, let alone what floor the lobby was on. Zarkon’s office should be on the top floor. I’ll take an elevator up. If nothing else, there should be some top exec’s office I can snoop through.
	It would have been nice to be able to teleport straight up, but he didn’t even try. He didn’t know what would happen if he teleported into a desk or a filing cabinet or something. He didn’t think having a bunch of wood or metal where his internal organs were supposed to be would be a good thing. He had to be careful. So, for now, he jumped back to where he remembered seeing a bank of elevators.
	He nearly ‘ported right into someone’s chest. He stumbled back. This was a man even taller than he was, big and beefy, and very, very unhappy to see him. He cracked his knuckles with his huge, meaty hands. “Well. And here I thought tonight would be dull.”
	“Yeah, I hate nights like that,” he said in reply. “The time just drags.” He was going to teleport away but the man grabbed hold of his left arm. Shit!
	And then he was punched in the face. He’d been in the process of turning his head to look at the hand on his arm, or it would have caught him right in the nose. He flopped back, the man’s grip on him tightening. 
	Getting away was useless. Theoretically he could teleport without whoever was holding onto him, but he’d never tried it before. He dealt with the situation as it was, as if he had no superpowers to speak of. He ducked as best he could as another left hook came in, and put everything he could behind the punch he leveled at the man’s gut. It helped that it was his right hand, made of metal.
	That did it. The man grunted loudly and backed away, his grip loosening enough for Paladin to teleport. He jumped to just behind the guy. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go. You’ll have to go back to jerking off to porn mags.”
	The man whirled on him, but he ‘ported away, back to just outside the building. Hmm. I’m going to contact Matt and Pidge, see if their way of getting in might be better. 
	He jumped back to the apartment, got some ice for his face, and went online. He sent a message to Matt, then poked around the internet for listed Galra employees.
	There he is. He found a picture, part of an article from when Galra first opened. He finally had a name - and a rank - to put to the face: Sendak - Head of Security.
	Now why would the HEAD of Security be there in the middle of the night? Why wouldn’t you get some random schmuck to pull third shift?
	In the picture, he was standing right next to Zarkon, looking every bit as no-nonsense as he had when he’d come across him on some random floor at some random hour. 
	His instincts screamed that something was going on. He frowned and shut the laptop. He had to get some sleep, but he was going to pitch this to Allura in the morning. Perhaps a new story like this would get her off of Paladin’s identity a bit longer, if nothing else. And she had to know he’d keep working it anyway. She’d give in and let him pursue it, open up some discretionary funds so he could pay Matt and Pidge for their cyber-snooping services without it coming out of his own pocket. (Hey, friends still had to eat and pay rent, after all.)
	In the meantime, he just wanted to sleep. He was going to have fun coming up with an explanation for his face in the morning.
	“Fine,” she said.
	He paused. “What?”
	“Did you forget the English language? I can get Google Translate to say it in Japanese for you.”
	Shiro frowned. “Why are you being snippy about this? It’s a legitimate story! Galra is hiding something, probably something big, and…”
	“And you’re doing everything except the story I told you to cover, which is finding out who Paladin is,” she shot back. “If it’s too hard for you, just say so. There’s no shame in admitting you can’t handle it.”
	He bristled. “I can handle it,” he said. “There’s just not a lot out there on the guy. Would you rather I spin my wheels instead of get you something you can publish?”
	“You used to dedicate yourself to a single story! Why is this one different?” she wanted to know. 
	“Because…!” He shut up so fast, it was like a switch had been flipped.
	She narrowed her eyes. “You know something.” She leaned forward across her desk, boring her gaze into Shiro. “Are you protecting him?” 
	“It’s not that! I just…”
	“Just what?”
	His frown deepened. “I want to know what the difference is between him and Starlight.”
	“That would be a good angle to explore in the article if you’d ever get around to writing it!” 
	“NOT THAT!” He slammed his hand down on her desk, returning her glare for glare. “Why is he different in your book?”
	“He’s n-…”
	“He is. You specifically told me not to pursue Starlight’s secret identity. You told me to leave it alone, to leave her alone, to let her do her good work for the city. But Paladin is suspect? What, because he’s Starlight’s competition?”
	“They’re not competing!” she said. “They’re working together!”
	“I know! And if Starlight trusts him, then why can’t you?!”
	“How do you know she trusts him? Maybe she’s just keeping a close eye on him.”
	She watched Shiro’s jaw clench. “And what about me.” It was supposed to be a question, but his tone made it an odd sort of demand. “Do you trust me?”
	“What? Of course I do! Shiro, you are the best investigative reporter this paper has!”
	“NOT MY WORK. I’m not talking to you as my boss right now, Allura.” She blinked in shock. He’d never used her first name before. “Do. You. Trust. Me?”
	Her lips parted but she couldn’t think of what to say at first. She just stared at him, and it hit her that he looked… wounded somehow. She deflated. 
	She walked around the desk so she could stand in front of him without the desk and her nameplate on it between them. She looked him in the eye without anger this time, though she had to take a breath and let it out again before she could admit, “Yes, Shiro. I trust you.”
	He seemed to soften, too, the hard edge of anger falling away and just leaving the ache in his eyes. “Then trust me now. I’m doing what I can. And let me do this story.”
	She nodded. “Okay. It is a good story, you’re right. I just… worry.”
	“About Starlight? You think Paladin would ever harm her?”
	“I don’t know. I think… maybe she wants to trust him, but how can she when she doesn’t know him?” She cleared her throat, afraid of giving too much away. “And how can the city trust him?”
	Shiro swallowed hard. She could hear it. She wasn’t looking anywhere but in his eyes. She thought about the last time she’d been this close to someone - to Paladin, in point of fact - with this same tension in the air. He’d tried to kiss her, she’d almost let him. Because he was “safe.” Because she was “allowed” to kiss him.
	Nothing about this situation right now was safe or allowed, but if Shiro tried, if he made even a single move, she couldn’t have refused him. And if she let him, then everything would change, and probably for the worse, for both of them. She cleared her throat and tore her gaze away. “Go work on the story,” she murmured, retreating behind her desk.
	“Allura…”
	“Ms. Fala,” she reminded him sternly.
	It seemed to snap something in him. “Right. Ms. Fala. I’ll just…” He turned, started towards the door, but stopped with his hand on the knob. He turned back to ask her, “Out of curiosity, are you seeing anyone?”
	“That’s none of your business,” she shot back, “and you shouldn’t be asking.”
	He flinched as if struck. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like… um… anyway…” He pulled the door to her office open and left. The door shut hard behind him.
	She fell into her chair. Shiro was interested in Starlight, she was interested in Shiro, she was attracted to Paladin, but probably only because she could be, and she still had no idea who he even was. Paladin was clearly at least attracted to Starlight, or he wouldn’t have tried to kiss her, but… where did that leave Allura?
	Coran had told her to tell Shiro. But what good would that do? Her being Starlight didn’t negate her being his boss.
	Watch: Shiro will get in over his head on this Galra case, just like on every other case he chooses to work on. And I’ll swoop in and save him again. If he asked me to his place for Chinese again, would I turn him down? I mean, if I am Starlight at the time, does it still count as my being his boss, too?
	But of course it counted. She was Starlight and Starlight was her. They weren’t two different people! Except that she’d worked so hard on making them seem exactly that.
	She couldn’t have the man she wanted unless she was willing to wear a mask and lie to him the entire time. 
	NO. She pounded her fist on the desk - and grimaced as she left a small crater on it. She pulled some papers over the top of it, even though no one was around to see it. No, I have never been one to sit around and cry about things. I am not going to start that nonsense now. 
	She knew the paper’s owners disliked the business and were thinking of selling. But, for the time being, they still were the owners. She pulled up their address and started typing out her request. 
	They were tailing some of the traffickers, trying to see if they could lead them to their boss. He held onto Starlight and teleported from rooftop to rooftop until they got to a shabby building in a seedy part of town. But it turned out to be a bar. 
	“We’ll have to dig around, see who owns the place,” he murmured. “But it’s possible they just wanted a drink.” He realized he was still holding onto her and let go. They were overlooking the bar from the building across the street.
	“We’ll wait and see if they go anywhere else,” she agreed. She locked her eyes on the building.
	He kneeled down, folded his arms on the ledge of the rooftop, and laid his head on them, keeping his eyes on the car. “Can I ask you something?”
	“Of course.”
	“Who is he?”
	“Who’s who?”
	“Mr. Lucky,” he said. “The one you’re in love with.”
	That caught her attention; he could see her turn towards him in his peripheral vision. “I didn’t say I was in love with him.”
	“You said he has your heart. Or, rather, I said it, and you didn’t disagree.”
	She sighed and looked back towards the bar. “Why do you want to know?”
	“Gives us something to talk about. You afraid I’m going to track him down and beat him up, try to get rid of my competition?”
	“You don’t seem the type.”
	“But then you don’t really know me, do you?”
	“That’s… true.”
	He fell quiet again. Tell Her. And then what? Paladin and Starlight could be together, but Starlight didn’t want him. Shiro had already come close enough to triggering an HR crisis by asking Allu-… Ms. Fala if she were seeing someone. But he wanted to know who this guy was. He’d never been good at letting his curiosity go unsated.
	Once you know who I am, there’s really no way. At least this way I have a shot. You almost kissed me. It was only Mr. Lucky’s memory who kept you away from me.
	He was jealous. He didn’t like that he was. He’d never had a claim on Starlight, but, for a while there, it had felt like… maybe… maybe there could have been something. Of course, then he’d found out who she was.
	“I’ll reveal my identity to you if you reveal yours to me,” he said abruptly.
	“I… I can’t do that.”
	He nodded. I figured that’s what you’d say. And then something occurred to him: that feeling he’d had, back in the old days, when he’d get in hot water and she’d come save him… she’d still been Ms. Fala back then. She’d always been his boss. Every vaguely-flirtatious comment - like that one about how he had a cute ass - every regretful rejection.
	She was at least attracted to me. But she put me off as Starlight because she knew she was also my boss. She knew it was impossible. 
	His mind drifted back to the office, to their fight and that tension that had sprung up between them. For just a moment there, it had felt like she’d wanted to be kissed. He’d decided he was reading it wrong and it would have been a nightmare to attempt anyway. With his boss? In her office?! That was the stuff of pornos, not reality. Reality was a lot messier.
	“Is it that reporter?” he asked, trying to sound disinterested.
	“What reporter?” 
	“The one that’s done all the Starlight stories for The Daily World. Hiro-what’s-his-face.”
	“Shiro. Shirogane,” she added quickly. “What makes you think it’s him?”
	“Well, he does literally every Starlight story. I’ve followed your career for a while before I got the ability to help out, after all. Same byline, every time.”
	“‘Byline’?” she asked curiously. She sounded amused.
	“That’s the term, isn’t it?”
	“It is,” she said. “Most people would just have said ‘name.’“
	“Well, most people can’t teleport,” he replied quickly. It’s not that uncommon a term. “And you’re not answering the question.”
	“I’m not going to tell you who it is.”
	“I’m not going to go beat him up. If anything, I’d find the guy and tell him to make his move on you already.”
	She laughed. “Don’t do that! I don’t want you to threaten him into returning my feelings!”
	“You deserve to be happy. Even if it’s not with me.”
	She was quiet. “Paladin, do you l-…?”
	He sat up. “They’re coming out.”
	She looked back to the bar and dropped down a little to stay out of sight; her hair would have been easy to spot. “What do you think the odds are they’ll go to their boss after drinking?”
	“Not good, but who knows? Maybe their boss is that terrifying. Maybe they need a shot of courage before facing her. Him. Them. Whoever it is.”
	She smirked. “Don’t like working under a female?”
	“I like it just fine when she’s you,” he replied. He stood as the car pulled away and held out his left hand. “Shall we?”
	She took his hand and he pulled her in against him. For a moment their eyes caught. But he tore his gaze away and teleported to the next rooftop, following after the car. Good timing, guys. I did not want to have to answer that question.
	Because he did. He had for a long time. She didn’t trust him as Paladin and couldn’t be with him as Shiro. He’d give his other arm to be with her, not just in bed, but in life. He wanted to know what it was like to wake up next to her, to watch her pad around his apartment in one of his old t-shirts. He wanted to snuggle in behind her as she started the coffee-maker and whisper in her ear how beautiful she looked before he started in on making pancakes for them both. He wanted to flirt over lunch story meetings and stay late at the office to fulfill fantasies. He wanted to kiss her on their way out the door and pull her away from her work computer at night to come to bed. He wanted to hear her laugh, wanted to warm her up on a chilly day, wanted to learn her favorite pizza toppings.
	He loved her, whether she was Starlight or Allura. Beautiful, brave, ferociously witty, smart, good-hearted, strong enough to bench press him… 
	He almost said it out loud, for no other reason than that it was on his mind and his heart and so it came to his lips to be said. But he bit it back. They had traffickers to tail.
	“What… what is this?” he asked as she handed him a wrapped box. “It’s not my birthday and it’s not Christmas yet, so…”
	“Open it,” she said with a wide smile.
	He started tearing into the paper and, as he did so, she was still talking. She sounded a little nervous to him. Starlight? NERVOUS? 
	“I hope you don’t mind,” she was saying. “I know it’s a little presumptuous of me, but I took a scan of you with my bioscanner so we could have the proper measurements.”
	It was a standard white clothing box, the kind your mom gave you homemade sweaters in. “Measurements?” he asked as he pulled the lid off.
	“And I don’t know if you’ll like the design at all, but if you don’t, we can change it to something else! I just…” 
	He held up the box’s contents and his breath caught in his throat.
	“…thought you might want something a bit more ‘professional’ than workout clothes,” she finished.
	“Is this what I think it is?” he asked in awe.
	“If you think it’s an official ‘superhero’ costume, then yes. I had my… assistant integrate the mask and bandana into a single piece. The cloth is reinforced, like mine is; should be bulletproof to lower calibers and at least help lessen the damage from something larger. And you… seem to like black. I picked purple for the accent color; I hope you don’t mind.”
	“I… don’t mind…” he said. “I’m… this is…” He made himself lower the suit. “Thank you.” 
	“Oh, there are boots, too!” she said quickly. “But they wouldn’t fit in the box. I have them with me if you wanted to try it all on…”
	“YES,” he said instantly, then cleared his throat and tried not to sound like an overeager child. “I mean, yeah, that’d be great.”
	“And… one more thing.” She held out her hand to reveal a small black device. “This part here attaches inside your mask, and this goes into your ear. It can only send and receive to my device,” she touched her ear with one finger on her other hand, “and vice versa. So we can talk to each other, even when we’re not together.”
	He accepted the earpiece and looked it over, then looked up at her. “You’re giving me a costume and one of your gadgets?”
	“One made specially for you,” she agreed. “Because we’re a team, aren’t we?” 
	He swallowed hard and nodded, trying not to tear up. “Yeah. We are.”
	She smiled at him and he smiled at her and time slowed to a near stop until she gave him a playful shove. “Go get dressed. I wanted to stake out that place the traffickers holed up at. I think they’ve moved on, but maybe they left some clues behind.”
	“Yeah, yeah, good idea.” He looked down at the costume in one hand and the earpiece in another and tried not to make it look like he was hugging them to him when, in fact, he was. We’re a team. You had your assistant - that Coran guy, probably - make these for me. Because I’m a real hero and we’re a team and…
	He paused on his way to find somewhere to change, turning back to ask her, “Wait, so… in this team, who’s the sidekick?”
	She laughed. “Well, I was going to say we’re partners, but if you’re going to take this long to get changed, you’re going to get demoted.”
	“I’m going, I’m going!” 
	Partners. He couldn’t help grinning. Superhero team partners. 
	This is absolutely the best day of my life.
	Shiro’s Paladin. It makes too much sense. 
	Allura was walking home from work rather than take the subway like she normally did. It was something she did when she wanted to think.
	Byline. And Shiro’s dragging his feet on the Paladin story. Paladin didn’t appear until after Shiro’s accident. Paladin’s “followed my career” and he’s attracted to me and… it all fits. 
	She wasn’t 100% sure, but it was a solid theory. Alarmingly solid. If Shiro was Paladin then it was no wonder she was attracted to him. But it also meant that Paladin was off-limits, too. At least for now.
	She was lost in thought as she walked. She’d done this dozens of times; her body was on auto-pilot. I mean, technically, Paladin is a superhero and Starlight’s a superhero, so as long as the masks stay on… NO NO STOP THAT. Do you really want to have to hide who you are from him just to be with him?! And it’s only ‘plausible deniability’. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m his boss and it’s wrong. Stop trying to find loopholes just because you’re…
	Lonely. 
	Coran was wonderful company, but he was like a father to her. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t just company or just sex she wanted, but companionship. It was fun fighting crime with Paladin because, at last, she wasn’t alone. But it was only crime-fighting, and that was all it could be. 
	The memory of his voice came back to her. “You deserve to be happy. Even if it’s not with me.”
	Paladin - Shiro - is in love with Starlight. But Starlight both was and wasn’t her and…
	There was a loud car honking, the screech of tires. She whipped her head towards the sound and realized, too late, that she had walked out into traffic instead of waiting for the walk signal. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. I’ll probably survive but this is going to hurt…
	“You need to be more careful.”
	She blinked her eyes open. She wasn’t in front of a car. She was up on a rooftop… in Paladin’s arms. 
	“Are you okay?” he asked, eyes searching her over for injury.
	“F-fine.” 
	“Whatever has you so consumed in thought, it can wait until you’re safely home, can’t it?” He was wearing the uniform she’d given him. He looks good in it. It wasn’t yet night, and there was plenty of light to see by. Plenty of light to drink in the sculpted body that had to be Shiro’s because it just made too much sense. Why do you hide this under dress shirts and khakis? But the answer to that was “office dress code.”
	Why do we work together? Why do we work in that stuffy office together? Why can’t we just be people? And be together?
	He cleared his throat. “Earth to Ms. Fala. Come in.”
	She blinked out of her muscle-induced lust reverie. “You know my name?”
	He smiled. “You’re the editor of The Daily World. You’ve all but put a hit out on me.”
	“You’re remarkably well-informed.” 
	“I make it a point to be. Now, can I drop you off somewhere? I assume you don’t want to stay on this rooftop.”
	She smiled. “Street level will be fine.”
	“Promise me you won’t walk out into traffic again?” His voice was stern.
	“I promise.”
	In another blink, they were in an alley just off the street. “Be careful out there.”
	She smiled. “Thank you, Paladin. Love the suit, by the way.”
	He grinned. “Thank you. It was a gift.”
	“From Starlight?”
	“The one and only,” he confirmed. “Take care of yourself.” And he was gone.
	Her phone beeped at her. She pulled it out. Huh? They want to meet me to discuss it? What’s to… “With a potential buyer.” That’s… even weirder. Why would they want me to talk with the buyer?
	She frowned. She’d assumed her request would be approved, honestly. It was weird to bring up HR matters with someone who was still a potential buyer. Why would they even have mentioned it to them?
	She sighed and leaned against the wall. Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe nothing I’ve done matters. If he only loves Starlight… maybe it’s all pointless.
	She looked at her phone. 
	Well, I have to at least try.
	She tapped in her response. “I’ll be there.”
	“Sorry,” Shiro said. “I’m still not used to signing things with this…”
	“Don’t worry about it,” the researcher said smoothly. “We understand. Now that the forms are all signed, would you mind showing me?”
	“Oh, sure.” Shiro set the pen down and stood, reaching back with his left hand to pull his t-shirt off over his head. He was going to sit back down but the researcher was right next to him the second he was shirtless. 
	“Ah yes, this is the model the city hospital recommends to most people. They get a kickback on it, you know.”
	“Really?”
	“Mm-hm. Can I remove it?” 
	“Uh, let me, please.” He didn’t like how …eager the researcher was. He’d gotten used to strapping this thing on and taking it off with just his left hand. Flick here, snap there, and his prosthetic was loose enough to pull off.
	The researcher just yanked it off and set it on the table, then grabbed what little was left of Shiro’s arm and stared at the stump. “Fascinating. I’ve never seen such a clean cut. How did you say you lost this?”
	Shiro frowned. “Industrial accident.” He didn’t want to get into the specifics. Not here.
	Because this was Galra, home of the scientist whose new energy source had killed her, her assistants, and taken most of his right arm with them. He saw the ad for new prosthetic research and viewed it as a chance to get inside Galra HQ “legitimately.” If I’m really lucky, I’ll get a newer, better prosthetic AND the dirt on what this company’s been up to.
	But this researcher was unnerving in their interest and he was already wishing he could just teleport out of here, back to his apartment. It was a longer jump than he normally made, but, for some reason, he could always teleport home, no matter where he was in the city. It was possible that he was capable of longer jumps than he thought, or maybe there was just something special about “home.” He was still testing his capabilities.
	The researcher poked at the stump. “Fascinating,” they murmured again, before looking up at him. “Yes, you’ll be a fine candidate. You’ll have to go through a thorough health screening first, which we’ll do here, free of charge. There’ll be an outpatient surgery to attach the base to the remnant of your arm, and then your new arm will attach to that. Once it’s attached, it’ll be permanent; you’d have to come back here to get it removed.”
	His brow furrowed. “You don’t take it off to shower or sleep?”
	The researcher shook their head. “Completely waterproof, submersible up to 200 ft. The idea is to make it as much like your lost arm as possible, and you don’t take off your other arm to shower or sleep, do you?” They laughed.
	“Good point.”
	“I’m going to mark you down for an MX model. You look…” the researcher paused to look him up and down, “athletic. The MX models are meant for more physically active individuals.”
	“Oh, that’d be nice, thank you.” Don’t suppose you have any that are good for crime-fighting?
	“Okay, well, go ahead and get ‘reassembled.’ I’ll send… Carol, Karen, whatever her name is in with the information on when to show up for your screening and surgery and whatnot.” 
	“Thank…” The door shut behind the excited researcher. “…you.” Huh. Don’t even know people’s names? I hope I’m not dealing with you the whole time, buddy.
	He reattached his existing prosthetic and was just getting his t-shirt back on when the door opened. He yanked it down over his abdomen quickly. 
	“Oh, sorry,” the woman at the door said. “I have your information, Mr. Shirogane.” She held out a folder with the Galra logo on it. “And I’ll escort you out.”
	“Thank you, uh… sorry, the person I was talking with didn’t know your name.”
	She snorted in amusement. “Yeah, not everyone’s good with names.” She smiled. “I’m Krolia.”
	Allura wasn’t sure what to expect when she went to the top floor conference room, but as soon as she stepped in, her eyes widened. “Oh my… Lotor, is that you?!” 
	He rose - elegant as ever - from his chair and held his arms out. “In the flesh.”
	She ran around the table to hug him hello. “I haven’t seen you since graduation! How have you been?”
	“Well, for the most part. We… did lose Mother recently.” He cleared his throat.
	She pulled away as realization hit. “Oh. OH! Dr. King. I didn’t even think… I’m so sorry about your loss.”
	“It’s okay. I understand. A lot of people named ‘King,’” he said. “Please, sit. Let’s get business out of the way, hm?”
	That was when Allura realized the current owners were in the room. She cleared her throat. “Yes, let’s.” She blinked at him. “Wait, you’re the potential buyer?”
	He nodded. “Father’s after me to do something with myself. I thought investing in media would be a good start.” He gestured to a chair.
	She made herself take it, shocked by this turn of events. She looked to the current owners.
	“Mr. King was especially interested in buying The Daily World because of your being editor. So your request for a change of position was …worrisome.”
	“It’s a lateral shift,” Allura countered smoothly, as she’d practiced on the way up. “And into an area that, frankly, we haven’t done much with.”
	“But who would take up your current position?” 
	“Well, if I thought he’d take it, I’d suggest Takashi Shirogane, but his heart’s still in the field. It’ll be years before he stays behind a desk. As it stands? I honestly don’t know.”
	“Here’s my suggestion,” Lotor put in, “and I want your honest opinion on this, Allura.”
	She snorted. “Have I ever given you anything else?”
	“Good point. My suggestion is that you make your ‘lateral shift’ and I’ll step into the editor position just until we hire someone. I’ll probably be pestering you with questions, but it’s better than having you run both positions simultaneously. And I agree with your desire to shift focus; I think it’s the right move.”
	Allura considered that. “That sounds fine to me, but it’s not my call.”
	“Whatever you like,” one of the owners said. “It’d be your paper, if you went ahead with the purchase.”
	“Well,” Lotor said, “knowing that we’re not losing Miss Fala’s skill and experience, I think the investment is sound enough. My lawyer and I will be by to sign tomorrow.”
	The owners looked immensely relieved. Lotor looked back to Allura and smiled.
	“Allura, perhaps we could catch up? It’s been so long since college.”
	“I’d like that,” she said, meaning it fully. It would be nice to reminisce. “But if we’re done here, I should get back to the newsroom.”
	“Dinner then? Sakihara? My treat, I insist.” 
	“Well, if you’re paying, I’m showing up.” She laughed, heedless of the worried look on the owners’ faces. 
	And Lotor laughed, too. It was good to see a friendly face.

	It wasn’t until just after their main course showed up that she remembered. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She headed off to the ladies’ room and, after checking to make sure she was the only one in there, she pulled her earpiece out of her purse and popped it in. 
	“Are you there?”
	“Starlight!” Paladin’s voice exclaimed over the earpiece. “Where are you? Are you alright?”
	“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m also sorry. Something came up. Go on without me.”
	“What something?” he asked.
	“It’s… personal.” She didn’t want to get into the whole story of “an old friend from college - who always wanted to be more than friends, but he’s just a friend, really - showed up and he’s about to be my new boss, and we’re catching up and talking about old times and it’s just really nice to feel normal for one night.” She definitely didn’t want to get into how, even though Paladin was a great partner, he brought up all this confusion in her that she could finally ignore for just a little bit, and how badly she needed that.
	“Oh. Well, thank you for letting me know you’re okay. I’m going to follow up the lead we got from that hideout.”
	“Be careful,” she hissed. “Remember you don’t have me there to watch your back.”
	“I know. I’ll be very careful. Also, I can just teleport out of trouble, remember?”
	“Still, don’t push it when you’re alone.”
	“Enjoy your evening,” he said.
	“Thank you. Uh, you, too?” It was an odd thing to say, but she wasn’t sure how to end this sort of conversation. She shoved the earpiece back in her purse, freshened up, then went back to the table.

	Shiro sighed and sat down. It sounded like Mr. Lucky had finally made his move. She’s on a date, and I’m on a rooftop. 
	But she did deserve to be happy, and even though it hurt like a knife in his chest, he hoped she had a great night. None of this is getting that trafficking ring busted up any sooner. 
	He stared down at the card they’d found. About the size of a business card, but no name, address, business, or email on it. Just a handwritten “Balboa” - the name of the ship that had brought in some of the trafficked women - the date and time that it had shown up, and the initials “LK.” 
	It wasn’t much to go on, and, honestly, he could do more good trying to track down leads at home. So he ‘ported back to his apartment, pulled off his mask, and sat down at his laptop. 
	He gave up after half an hour. Is she laughing with him, finding excuses to touch his hand? Is he worshipping her like the goddess she deserves to be seen as? Does he understand how incredibly lucky he is to be with her right now?
	Shiro hoped so. He changed into an old t-shirt and sweatpants, grabbed a beer out of his fridge, and fell onto the couch, staring at the TV. He made no move to turn it on. His mind was too busy imagining himself in Mr. Lucky’s place. 
	“Here we are. Thanks again, Keith.”
	“No problem. Mom said you didn’t have a ride.”
	“I would have called an Uber.” Shiro opened the car door.
	“Nuh uh. Hold on, I’m going in with you.” He turned off the car.
	“I can get into my apartment okay! There’s an elevator!” He never took the elevator. Even before he gained the ability to teleport, it was slower than just taking the stairs and after? He usually just found a quiet, unnoticed spot and blinked straight into his living room.
	Outpatient surgery was all well and good, but it meant someone was required to take him home. And they’d wanted to know who that was going to be before even letting him have the surgery. When he’d said he’d call for a ride, the nurse had called Krolia - who was overlooking his case - and she had, apparently, called her son. 
	“Mom said to make sure you’re settled and comfortable. Besides, you’re back to missing an arm,” he pointed out. 
	What was left of his right arm was wrapped in bandages as it healed from the surgery to attach the base that the GalraTech MX20 model prosthetic arm - “For Active Living” the pamphlet had declared - would later attach to. It couldn’t take the arm yet, and though he still had his old prosthetic, he’d been advised not to put it on for at least a couple of days.
	He sighed. “Fine. Okay. But if you’re coming in, let’s take stairs. The elevators are ancient. I think waiting for a pterodactyl to show up and fly us up to my place would be faster.”
	Keith chuckled and locked the car, pressing the button twice to make sure the alarm activated. 
	“Careful, aren’t you?” he asked as he held the door for him.
	“With my mom’s car? YES.”
	“Oh, it’s not yours?” he asked with a grin. It was a pink Mary Kay-mobile with a bumper sticker on the back that read “My son can beat up your honor student.”
	Keith shot him a glare. “I wasn’t allowed to take you home on my bike. Even if I gave you the helmet.”
	“Yeah, I don’t think that would have been a good idea,” he agreed. “Sometimes I’m still a bit woozy from the anesthesia.” He stumbled a bit on the stairs.
	Keith reached out to grab him. “Yeah, I see that. Don’t worry about it; I’ve done this before for other people.”
	“This your job then?” he asked.
	“Not technically. Not anymore, at any rate. I’m a cop.”
	Shiro stopped and eyed the kid. “A cop? What are you, 18?”
	Keith bristled. “20, actually. I’ve been on the force for 6 months now.”
	“Ah, a rookie. That makes more sense.”
	“I get enough shit from the guys at the station; don’t you start.”
	“I wouldn’t. Not when you’re my only help up these stairs anyway.” He chuckled. “Here we go: third floor, everyone off.” He fished his keys out of his jacket and unlocked the door, then held it open. “Come on in.”
	Keith was staring at him, wide-eyed, still standing over by the stairs. Shiro was confused until he put it together. “SHIT.” He glanced around and then nodded towards the apartment. “Inside, please?”
	“I… uh…”
	“What do you think I’m going to do?” Shiro asked him. “I’m one-armed and healing from surgery. Come on, man. I don’t want to do this out here.”
	“Fine.” He walked over, glancing around, too. Why do you care? It’s not your secret.
	Shiro held the door for him until they were both in and closed the door behind him. He watched through the peephole to see if any neighbors came out to investigate, but it was the middle of the day and they should all be at work. 
	“Well?” he heard Keith say from behind him.
	He turned and sighed. “Stupid anesthesia. I’m not thinking straight.” He shoved his keys back in his jacket pocket and hung the jacket up. “Something to drink?”
	“Explanation.”
	“Fine, but I’m drinking.”
	“No alcohol right after surgery.”
	Shiro groaned. “Fine.” He pulled out a bottle of orange soda instead. “There was an accident, I don’t know what happened. Same accident that cost me my arm gave me the ability to teleport, somehow. Like I said, I Don’t Know.” He pulled the top off and chugged.
	“So… you’re like that guy, Paladin?”
	“Oh, cops heard of me already?”
	“We tend to keep tabs on that sort of thing, yeah. So, you’re saying you actually are Paladin?”
	Shiro nodded. “No one else knows, not even… Look, NO ONE ELSE KNOWS. No one else can know. Not your mom, not anyone she works with, not anyone you work with, not your girlfriend or boyfriend or WHOEVER. NO ONE, okay?”
	“Yeah, I promise. Not even Mom. But you gotta tell me what it’s like. Being a superhero and all. You’re working with Starlight, right?”
	He nodded. “Yeah.” He took another slug of Fanta. “I’m surprised you’re just accepting this.”
	“Dude, I just saw you teleport. It’s kind of hard to deny that. And Mom said that your arm is like… weird. No offense.”
	“None taken. It’s like it just… disappeared.” He shrugged. “Anyway, aren’t the cops supposed to be angry about vigilantes in their town and all that?”
	“Probably, but most of the guys on the job are actually just kinda jealous. Especially of you. There are posters of Starlight up in guys’ lockers, you know? She’s pretty much the entire force’s main jerk-off fantasy.”
	“Understandable,” he said, though he bristled irrationally at it. She’s not mine and even if she were, I can’t control what other people think. 
	“But, y’know, you guys actually get to do what a lot of us wish we could: go kick bad guy butt.”
	“I’m not looking for a sidekick,” he teased.
	“I’m not looking to be one. And no way am I wearing tights.”
	“I don’t wear tights!” Shiro laughed. “And if we’re going to sit around and talk about this, then two things have to happen first.”
	“Let me guess, you gotta swear me to secrecy?”
	“I already did that,” Shiro reminded him. “No, first of all, you gotta move your mom’s car ‘cause that’s a loading zone and they will tow.” 
	“Shit.”
	“And second, can we order some Chinese food first? I couldn’t eat before surgery and I am starving.”
	Keith laughed. “Yeah, okay. Order me some sweet & sour chicken while I go move the car.”
	They always met up on the roof of the City Arts Theater. It was after dark now, and she was worried. He was usually here by now. 
	But before she could activate her earpiece, she heard his voice over it. “Starlight. I can’t make it tonight.”
	“Is everything okay?” she asked. 
	“More or less.” He sounded like he was hedging.
	“What’s going on?”
	“I got a bit… injured. I need some time to heal up.”
	“Oh! Are you badly hurt? I could…”
	“I’m fine. I just need recovery time, that’s all. Tonight and tomorrow night, and then I’m back on duty, I promise. But you’ll be okay, right?”
	“I did this without you for years,” she reminded him.
	“I just want to be sure.” He paused. “How’d your date go?”
	“Date?” She blinked. “Who said anything about a date?”
	She heard him sigh; he sounded annoyed. “You don’t have to do that. It’s okay. You said your heart belonged to someone else. And I meant what I said; I want you to be happy.”
	“Wait, you…”
	“I’ve gotta go; pain meds kicking in.” 
	“Paladin? PALADIN.” She waited. No answer. She sighed. 
	He thinks I was on a date with ‘Mr. Lucky’ as he keeps calling him. He doesn’t understand that he’s ‘Mr. Lucky.’ 
	Coran had told her to tell him. And she would, when she could. Shiro hadn’t been in the office today, but that wasn’t all that unusual; when he was working on a story, he often didn’t stop by his desk. He’d checked in at the usual times so she knew he was okay.
	He got hurt? How? Investigating Galra? 
	Had she missed a chance to rescue him yet again? Had she somehow failed to save him from yet another injury? Or was the injury he spoke of to his heart? He was in love with Starlight, and he thought she’d been on a date with the man she was in love with last night. 
	She felt guilty again, but it was all a misunderstanding. She needed to clear it up, and she wanted to do it face-to-face. I have another announcement to be made anyway. She had it all planned out in her mind: she’d announce the change in owners and her move to a new position. One where she wasn’t Shiro’s boss, where she had no power over him or his job.
	And then, that night, when they met up here, she’d ask to go somewhere private, ask if that offer to swap identities was still open. And she’d tell him the truth, all of it: about who she was, about how she felt about him, about how she’d changed jobs so that they could be together if he wanted.
	It terrified her to think of. She wasn’t sure what he’d think of the woman he loved also being his boss - well, ex-boss at that point. But if he genuinely meant it when he said he wanted her to be happy, then surely his love wasn’t as fickle as all that? Surely he would still love her as Allura as much as he loved her as Starlight, right?
	This isn’t getting that trafficking ring busted up. Paladin had taken the card they’d found, but she remembered what was written on it. It would take longer to get there without his teleportation powers, but she’d head over to port authority, dig through ship manifests, see if she could find anyone with the initials “LK”.
	This will all be settled soon, she thought. One way or another.

	She had no idea where she was. She was blindfolded, tied to a chair. Her arms and legs ached. She was in a colder climate than she was used to, but this room was warm. Still, her joints ached. She was confused and terrified. She understood why they would steal young women and girls; men’s use for them was painfully, horrifyingly obvious. But why would they want an old widow like her? That it made so little sense only served to heighten her fear.
	“This old woman?” a man’s deep voice asked. “She’s… what, 70? 80? Are you kidding me?”
	The voice that responded was also male, but younger sounding? Smoother. “She tests off the charts,” he assured the first man. “I know she’s not much to look at, but…”
	“We’ll worry about that later. If her quintessence is as strong as you say it is, she’ll be our best chance.” There was a pause, and a faint sound, as of flesh meeting glass. “We’ll get you back, my love. However we have to do it.”
	And when next the deep voice spoke, it sent a chill down her spine. “Hook her up.”
	Her bonds were freed, her arms and legs clamped to a cold metal table. She begged them not to do… whatever it was they were doing. They ignored her as if she weren’t even speaking. Electrodes were attached to her temples and one put on her chest, just over her heart. She still couldn’t see through the darkness of her blindfold.
	And then the world lit up - golden and shimmering. It was beautiful, but there was a darkness in it, a shadow that took shape as it drew closer to her. It looked like a woman, with eyes that glowed a pinkish-purple. The shadow woman touched her and it burned like acid. She screamed. 
	The shadow woman’s touch ate her away until the world glowed no longer: everything went white and then black.

	They removed the electrodes and the blindfold. He hurried to the table, bending over the old hag. “Honerva?”
	She opened her eyes and they glowed a brilliant yellow. She smiled at him. 
	They unclamped her arms and she reached one up to his face. “My love.”
	He was late on his first night back. “Forget how to get here?” she teased lightly, glad to see him again. He’d been out of the office all this time, too, though still checking in. She honestly wouldn’t put it past him to keep working while injured.
	“I had a citizen to save on my way here.” He cleared his throat. “And it was, uh… my ex, actually.”
	She’d been ready to push for more action against the traffickers, but now she was interested. “Your ex? What happened?”
	Paladin shrugged. “He was getting mugged. Simple enough to stop. And then he hit on me.” He laughed.
	She couldn’t help joining in. “You sure he didn’t figure out your secret identity? Maybe he wants you back.” I hope not…
	“Doubtful. He broke up with me because of all the time I spent working. Now I have my day job and my night job,” he gestured to himself in his costume, “so… yeah, if he knew who I was, I’d probably still be there, listening to him lecture me on ‘work/life balance’. AGAIN.”
	“I know that lecture almost by heart,” she said. Well, she knew Coran’s version, anyway. “At least you escaped it. And it’s good you were able to save him from a mugging. I don’t suppose you got any good leads on the traffickers?”
	He shook his head. “Nothing. You?”
	She sighed. “I went to port authority and looked through the filed manifests. The Balboa was supposedly bringing in coffee. But neither its manifest nor any others I could see were filed by anyone with the initials ‘LK.’”
	“Great. We’re not exactly at square one, but…”
	“Square two, basically.” She thought for a moment. “Let’s go to the docks, see if there’s anything we can dig up around there.”
	“Okay.” He held his left hand out to her, as he always did. 
	The first time they’d teleported - to the deck of the Balboa, actually - they’d only been holding hands. But most of the time, he held out his left hand, she took it, and he pulled her in close to hold her. He’d said it was for safety, because he didn’t know what would happen if he teleported her into something, so it was better not to be spread out. But if he was in love with her, he no doubt wanted the excuse to hold her. And, frankly, she liked being held. It was never for very long, unless they were making multiple jumps in a row, but it was nice.
	She smiled and reached for his hand to take it when there was a shriek. He pulled his hand away and blinked over to one edge of the theater, looking down into the alley. “Gotcha,” he said, and then he was gone.
	She ran over to that part of the roof and looked down.
	Paladin was fighting off a young man. He was standing between the assailant - she assumed - and a young woman who’d apparently come out of the theater’s back door. 
	“Back off!” the stranger snarled.
	“Leave me alone!” the woman yelled at him. “I told you we’re over!”
	“You heard her.” Paladin grabbed hold of the man’s fist as it came in to punch him and they both vanished. Paladin was, of course, back in the alley almost immediately, and turning towards the young lady. “Are you okay, miss? Did he hurt you?”
	“Just a bruise or two; I’ll be okay. What did you do with him?”
	“I deposited him on the roof of the nearest police precinct. They leave the roof door locked; he’ll have to call them to come let him in and explain how he got up there.” Paladin grinned. “That should be fun.”
	She laughed and stepped closer to him. “Thank you so much, uh…?”
	“Paladin,” he said.
	“Oh, like a knight?” She stepped closer still. “That seems fitting.”
	“Just doing what I can to help.”
	“A modest knight, too. Even more appealing.”
	Up on the roof, Allura frowned. 
	“Well… thank you. I can drop you somewhere if you’d like.”
	“I’m sure you have a long night of crime-fighting ahead of you, but if I give you my address, will you come by when you’re done? You know, just to check up on me?” 
	Allura jumped off the roof and landed right next to the two of them, spiderwebbing the concrete beneath their feet. “We have a very long night of crime-fighting ahead of us,” she said. “And we should get to it. You’re safe enough now, miss. Be careful getting home.”
	“I will be. Excuse me.” She edged past them, and Allura watched her the whole way as she scurried out of the alley. 
	“Something wrong, Starlight?” Paladin asked. “I couldn’t just let that go on…”
	“No, nothing’s wrong. You were right to step in. And putting him on the roof of the police station was genius.” She had to give him that much. “But we have bigger fish to fry.”
	“And it’s not because you’re jealous.”
	“I’m not jealous. Though she might as well have just said,” she put on a simpering voice, “‘Oh, Paladin, my hero! Is there ANY way I can POSSIBLY thank you? I’ll simply do ANYTHING for you!’”
	He laughed. “You are jealous. Amazing.”
	“I’m not jealous. Let’s just get to the docks.”
	“Now the question is, are you jealous on a professional level or…?”
	“What do you mean ‘on a professional level’?”
	“Well, you’re used to being the one everyone gushes over. Starlight: Hero of the City. But now it’s not just you. So it’d be understandable if you don’t like being shown up.”
	“You didn’t show me up.”
	“I didn’t see you helping out.”
	“Did you need me to?” she asked pointedly.
	“Not really.”
	“Well then.”
	“But if it’s not professional jealousy, then it doesn’t really make much sense. I mean, you’ve got your man, I thought? Surely he’s not dumb enough to have rejected you.”
	“It wasn’t a date!”
	“But it was ‘personal’.”
	“I mean, he probably would have liked it if it were a date, but it wasn’t and that wasn’t ‘Mr. Lucky’ anyway.”
	“Oh, it wasn’t? I’m sorry. I guess Mr. Lucky is still being oblivious?”
	“YES, HE IS,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
	“Just tell him. He’s a fool if he turns you down.”
	“It’s …!” She bit it back. She wanted to say, “It’s YOU, you imbecile!”but she was still his boss for now. And she had a plan, dammit. “Look, can we just go to the docks already?”
	“Love to.” He held out his left hand and, when she took it, pulled her in against him, as always. She couldn’t help smiling a little. She had little time to enjoy being in his arms; she shoved aside her annoyance. For now.
	Shiro stopped to ask someone what was going on. There was a buffet table of very fancy baked goods - not something someone just stopped by the bakery section of a grocery store to pick up - and some delicious-looking deli trays, along with a Welcome banner. 
	“Didn’t you hear? New owner.”
	“OH.” He felt his gut twist. New owner meant people were probably going to be losing their jobs. It meant someone tightening the discretionary fund to almost nothing. It meant someone who’d probably want an accounting of where he was every second of every day as proof that it was all work-related. 
	Sure, Allu-… Ms. Fala was still the editor, but the owner would be her boss. She’d end up with her hands tied and he’d end up stuck at the desk unless he was going to suck up to some politicos at a new building dedication or something.
	At least I can still investigate as Paladin. But I’ll either have to convince Starlight to come with me or else come up with an excuse to go off on my own. 
	The trafficking investigation was slowing. Maybe he could convince her to help him snoop around Galra HQ, at least until they got a solid lead on who was running the traffickers.
	For now, he set his things down at his desk and tried to ignore the air of tension in the newsroom.
	That didn’t last. Only a few minutes after he’d sat down, the door to Ms. Fala’s office opened. She walked out in a nice suit, followed by a well-dressed man in a very expensive suit. He had long, pale blonde hair, impeccable posture, and a charming smile. He was beautiful in a way men normally weren’t, and Shiro couldn’t help appreciating that for a moment. Mostly, though, he was curious. Did the new owners send a lawyer as their representative or something?
	“Attention, everyone!” Ms. Fala said. Normally she’d have to yell over the hubbub, but everything was unnaturally muted today, so she barely had to raise her voice. She smiled tightly.
	“I won’t keep you long; we all know the news never stops. But you’ve all heard we’ve got a new owner and here he is: Lotor King!” She applauded, so the rest of the newsroom did, too.
	Wait, he’s the new owner? He spoke up over the polite applause. “King as in the CEO of Galra?”
	“My father,” the new owner agreed in a smooth voice. “But this is my investment, not his. My own money, not Galra’s.”
	Shiro caught Allura’s eye. I don’t like this.
	She held his gaze and then cleared her throat. “And I do have one more quick announcement.” She took in a deep breath, held it, and exhaled. “This is my last week as your editor.”
	The whole newsroom fell silent. Shiro felt like his stomach had just dropped to his feet. 
	“I’m heading to the online division, which badly needs the help. The old owners were… well,” she chuckled, “they were old. They were behind the times. Lotor’s putting some heavy investment into the online version, and I’m going over there to whip them into shape. My first day there will be next Monday, the 16th.”
	“Then who’s going to be editor here?” someone else asked. Shiro was too stunned to even think of it. He was just staring, still trying to take in this strange new world he’d been dropped into.
	“Well, we’re going to be hiring for the position,” she said apologetically. “Mr. King will oversee things in the meantime…”
	“With help and advice from Ms. Fala, of course,” he said. “I’m a businessman, not an editor. And I know what you all must be thinking. Let me assure you: I have no intention of firing anyone. I bought this paper because it’s doing good work. I don’t want to interfere in that. I am only filling the chair until someone with suitable qualifications is brought in. Then I’ll be out of the way, I promise.”
	“It’s temporary,” Allura explained. “And it’s… it’s for the best.” She looked straight at Shiro, eyes begging him to understand. “Really.”
	He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Like the rug had been pulled out from under him. 
	“Please, enjoy the food I’ve had delivered,” Lotor said to them all.
	“And get back to work!” Allura scolded. Everyone did just that, save for a few people trailing over to the free food.
	Shiro fell into his chair. Allura was leaving and the son of the man whose business he was rooting around in was going to be overseeing his work. Could this get any worse?
	Someone moved to stand in front of his desk. He looked up at Allura. 
	“I know, Shiro,” she said quietly. He glanced around but couldn’t see Lotor… oh, he was gladhanding at the buffet table. “But I promise you, this is for the best.”
	“I don’t know that I agree with you.”
	She glanced towards Lotor and then back to him. “I went to college with him. He’s a good guy. But I haven’t told him about the story you’re working on. If you have any trouble… bring it to me. I’ll still be here, just down a floor. I have complete oversight of online - or, well, I will starting next Monday. I’ll make sure it gets published.”
	“Thank you, but… won’t that risk your new job?”
	She grinned. “Would I be in this business if I were afraid of the risks of telling the truth?” She patted his prosthetic hand. “Get to work.” Then she headed into what was, at least for now, her office.
	Shiro turned his head back to Lotor, smiling and charming and reassuring everyone who came within earshot of him. His instincts screamed at him. He turned his monitor a little and quietly directed, through his voice-activated system, “Search Google, LexisNexis, PeopleSmart for subject, author, keywords quote Lotor King unquote.”
	He had to be strapped down, they said. He didn’t know why and he didn’t like it. But Krolia was there, and there was a gentle and apologetic nature about the doctor they’d sent in, a man named Ulaz. His English was accented and his bedside manner beyond reproach. Shiro let them strap him down.
	And then he found out why it was necessary. The prosthetic attached to the base without problem, but… “I can’t move it.”
	“No, not yet,” Ulaz agreed. “It needs to be powered on.”
	“Powe-…?” And then it hit.
	Shiro had learned judo as a kid (and kept up with it). He’d enrolled in the Air Force. He’d been on the receiving end of a number of beatings from people he’d run afoul of while chasing down stories (before Starlight showed up to save him). He’d even been tased once. Nothing could have prepared him for this.
	PAIN in a way he’d never known before, of a purity beyond reckoning. Pain in its undiluted state, like his whole body was one large nerve ending that had just been whacked with a hammer. It jagged through him like lightning, making him arc his back and open his mouth in a silent scream. He couldn’t have described it if he’d tried beyond trying to explain to someone that he had never in his life known what pain truly was, inside and out, until this moment.
	And then it was gone. Mostly. There was… almost an afterimage of it, a shadow of that memory as if it were a bad taste in his mouth. He panted hard while Krolia put a cool cloth on his forehead and Ulaz unstrapped him and tried to help him calm his breathing.
	He wasn’t sure how long it took him to steady himself, to get back under control. The clock on the wall said it’d been 15 minutes. It felt longer. He looked at the arm. 
	It bent at the elbow. 
	It rotated the hand.
	It wiggled his fingers. He closed and opened his fist and extended it out in front of him. 
	“How does it feel now?” Ulaz asked.
	“Amazing,” he replied. “It… it reacts like it’s really mine.” He was still watching it as he bid it move. 
	“How do you feel now?” Krolia pursued.
	“Okay? Most of the pain’s gone.”
	“Most?”
	He shrugged. “It’s gone. Basically. I don’t know how to… It was so intense… what was that?”
	Ulaz explained, “The arm feels like yours in part because it hooks into your body through the base. Unfortunately, it still has a tendency to activate the local nerve endings as it connects. As your body accepts it as a new arm, that connection… reverberates throughout.”
	“So it basically lit up every nerve I have?” Shiro clarified.
	Ulaz nodded. “It is a strange sensation, and the body doesn’t know how to classify it, so it reads it as pain. We are working on that; in fact, I personally adjusted this for you in hopes it wouldn’t do that. My apologies.”
	“It’s okay now,” he said. “Thanks for trying at least.”
	“We’re going to want you to check in every week for the first six weeks,” Krolia told him, “but we can set up a time that works for your schedule.”
	“Do I need to wait before I do certain things?” he asked. “Like showering, working out, that sort of thing?”
	“No,” Ulaz told him. “It is your arm now. You can shower, bathe, swim; work out, lift weights, etc. Any and all normal activities.”
	What about abnormal ones? Like, say, infiltrating your boss’s office? “Wow,” he said instead. 
	“One thing you can’t do,” Krolia said.
	“What’s that?” he asked.
	“Take my son out drinking.”
	Shiro laughed. “I said I’d meet him for drinks after this; I never said I’d buy him alcohol!”
	“He’s only 20.”
	“He’s a cop! He knows the law!”
	“He’s a stubborn, single-minded cuss who’ll try to do what he wants regardless,” she retorted. “He gets that from me.”
	“I’ll make sure he orders non-alcoholic drinks. Better yet, I’ll tell him his mommy said he can only get Shirley Temples.”
	She snorted and pushed a button on her tablet. “Seriously though, I’m glad you two are getting along. He needs more friends.” She looked up. “Or just, you know, friends in general.”
	Ulaz cleared his throat. “You are cleared to leave now, Mr. Shirogane.”
	“Shiro, please.”
	“Shiro, then. Here is my card. If you experience anything strange, do not hesitate to call me, no matter the hour.”
	“Define ‘strange’.”
	Ulaz looked at him for a long moment. “Strange,” was all he said, and he rose and left the room.
	Krolia sighed. “He’s not always a people person, but he’s really good. Like… good. He’s a good doctor AND a good person, y’know? So I made sure you’d get him.”
	“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Shiro reached for his dress shirt. He’d worn it specifically for this moment. “And I promise to look out for your precious baby boy.”
	“Don’t mock,” she warned him. “He’s my only child and if you don’t look out for him, I will kick your ass.”
	“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he pulled on the shirt. “I don’t mess with someone who sells enough makeup to get a free car out of it. That’s a truly terrifying level of commitment.”
	“You better believe it is.”
	Moment of truth. He set to buttoning his shirt up. This was a task that took ages with his old prosthetic, which just didn’t have the dexterity of a real hand. But the new one was as agile and skilled as if it truly were his own. “Wow. This is incredible.”
	Krolia smiled and marked something else down on her tablet. “Good. That’s what we were aiming for. Say hi to my precious baby boy for me.”
	Shiro laughed. “Will do.” He grabbed his coat and bag and headed out.
	It’s weird that it had to be powered on, he thought as he walked, still flexing and moving his arm and hand. Powered by what? What is this thing? But, for now at least, the answer was that it was the best prosthetic he’d ever seen.
	He felt closer to normal now than at any time since the accident. He’d been focusing on his new power, on his ability to fight crime, on being closer to Starlight, on getting back to work. It was better to think about what he could do now than face down what he couldn’t. But there had been limitations with the old prosthetic. There’d been the phantom limb syndrome that he’d heard about but was now experiencing for himself. There’d been waking up sweating as his brain relived the accident in his dreams.
	This arm was metal, sleek silver and black, with textured fingertips and palm, but it felt more like his old arm. It responded like it. It was easy to forget that it wasn’t his own arm at all… if it weren’t for that lingering memory of pain, like a ghost of agony haunting him.
	She almost forgot which floor she was going to. She almost pushed the button for 4. She remembered in time and hit 3 instead. And when the doors opened, she felt like this was a mistake. Everything was different. Well, what did I expect? A carbon copy of upstairs?
	The third floor was practically barren in comparison to the fourth. She might have expected it to be quieter, given the fewer people the online version employed, but there was music playing - sounded like classic rock - and people chatting animatedly into their phones while they typed. That, at least, was the same.
	“Hey!” A young man jogged up to her with a grin on his face and his hand outstretched. “You’re Allura, right?”
	“Ms. Fala,” she corrected automatically. 
	“Oh, sorry. I’m Lance.”
	“Oh!” She shook his hand. “You’re a man of many hats.” She’d looked him up last night: he was the head graphic designer as well as the pop culture columnist, sometime photographer, and, until she’d come over, the de facto editor.
	“Tell me about it. One less now, thanks to you. Come on, I’ll show you to your desk.”
	Her brow furrowed. Editors typically had offices. But, looking around, she noticed there just weren’t any. The whole floor was open, desks scattered about seemingly willy-nilly. “You’re not upset about my swooping in and taking over?”
	“Hey, not all swooping is bad.” He paused, frowned when she didn’t say anything, and then continued, “I hired on as a columnist. Movies, video games, TV shows, that sort of thing. That’s what I wanted to do. And then, of course, I saw what the site looked like.” He shuddered. “And there was no one kind of coordinating things, so I wound up doing that, too. And I didn’t want to do any of that. So you taking at least one thing off my plate is fantastic! And we have arranged a thank you for you.”
	He gestured grandly to a desk. It was no different than anyone else’s: computer, lamp, inbox tray. Except this one had a Welcome! banner hung on the front and a pile of store-bought cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and croissants. 
	“We all brought in a little something,” he said. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “And we’re willing to help you eat them.”
	She laughed. “Thank you, I’d appreciate the help. Would it be a problem if I addressed the, uh… team?”
	“Not at all. Uh, we’re pretty casual here, so you’ll have to yell. I can get their attention if you want?”
	“No, I got this.” She cleared her throat and barked, “Good morning, people! Eyes over here!”
	Everyone looked to her instantly and the music muted. 
	“Oh, yeah, you are good at this,” Lance said.
	She grinned. “I’m the new editor, Allura Fala. I prefer being Ms. Fala on the clock, thank you. I’m here to make sure the online version of The Daily World is up to par with its award-winning print edition. That’s almost certainly going to mean some changes. But not today. Probably not for a little bit; I have to see how we’re all doing things down here first.
	“If there’s something you feel needs changing, something you want to see us doing that we’re not or that we need to stop doing, let me know. I’ll be right here, behind this pile of goodies you’ve all given me - and thank you for those. I’m willing to share, by the way, so don’t be shy. I only bite if you give me a reason.” She bared her teeth in a smile.
	Lance laughed and everyone else chuckled. 
	“Okay, back to work.” And, at that, everyone dropped their eyes back to their computers and the music resumed. She looked to Lance. “And I’m going to tell you the first step in my plan to get more hits on our site.”
	“More coverage of wet t-shirt contests?”
	She snorted as she walked around her desk, pulled her blazer off, and draped it over the back of her chair. “The print edition has a monopoly on Starlight stories, but there’s a new hero in town.” She sat down.
	“Oh, yeah. I think I’ve heard something about that.”
	She nodded. “I’m going to try to get an exclusive interview with Paladin. Online only.”
	Lance’s eyebrows went up. “You think you can swing that?”
	“I… might have a way.” She grinned.

	Tonight was the night. She was nervous and trying not to pace as she waited on the roof of the theater. She was rehearsing exactly what she was going to say, exactly how she wanted to say it. She tried, unsuccessfully, to quell the butterflies in her stomach. 
	Tonight was the night she’d find out if the man she loved truly loved her back or if he was only in love with part of her. Tonight she’d find out if she’d be celebrating with Coran or accepting consolation. So, y’know, no biggie.
	“Starlight.”
	She turned to his voice. “Paladin! I…”
	“I need to talk to you about something.”
	“Oh.” She blinked. “Of course, go ahead.”
	“The trafficking ring investigation has slowed. I’m not sure we can do much good on it at the moment. I have something else I wanted to look into - something that I don’t really know is shady or criminal, but… but my gut says it is. I’d rather investigate it with you, but if you’d rather split up…”
	“No! No, I don’t want to split up. What is it you’re looking into?”
	He smiled. “The tech company, Galra. One night when we did split up, I went there and got into a fight with the head of security.”
	“You got into a fight? Are you…? Wait. The head of security? At night?”
	He nodded. “Well into third shift. And on a lower floor. I was trying to find my way up to snoop around the executive offices, but I never made it that far.”
	Her brow furrowed. “That’s… unusual. You think they’re up to something downstairs, then?”
	He nodded. “Almost every big building like that has sub-levels. Usually for mechanical storage and maintenance.”
	“And why would they need to keep you out of that?” She knew he was using this as a way to get more information for his article. But then, judging by what he’d said, he’d almost certainly wanted to start digging around on the clock after poking around after dark. “Okay, I’m interested. But I don’t want to just give up on the trafficking ring.”
	“Yeah, about that. I’ve been… developing some contacts. I have a friend and he has a friend, and they’re keeping their ears to the ground for us.”
	She smiled. “You think of everything. Shall we?”
	He offered her his left hand and, as always, gathered her into his arms. We’ll poke around Galra for a bit and then I can tell you. She’d been curious enough when he’d pitched it as a news story (even if she’d also been annoyed that he wasn’t investigating… well, himself, as it turned out). She didn’t want him working on it alone now that she heard about the head of security interfering. 
	She was delaying out of curiosity, not cowardice. And wasn’t this what a hero was supposed to do? Crime-fighting and investigation first; personal matters a distant second. That was always how she’d operated before. Why change it now?
	He’d taken off work early. He wanted to stop in and talk to Keith before he and Starlight went to Galra HQ again. 
	Their trip there the night before hadn’t yielded anything. He couldn’t figure out how to access the top floors where the execs’ offices were, and neither of them had liked the idea of just barging into the sub-floors without some more knowledge of what they might be facing. 
	I think I have an idea that might work for getting into the top floors, but it’s risky. I don’t know how long I can sustain that sort of thing. He’d leave Starlight on the ground while he experimented, then come back and get her when it was safe. But, for now, it was worth checking in with Keith to see if there’d been any developments in the trafficking case.
	Keith would have called or shot him a text if there had been. He knew that. If he was being honest with himself, he’d just wanted an excuse to get out of the office, away from Lotor. Something about him made Shiro’s skin crawl, and the fact that he had replaced Allu-… Ms. Fala just made it worse, like lemon juice on a cut. 
	But hey, he’d promised Keith he’d show him the costume some day, so he could kill two birds with one… Wait.
	Ms. Fala was walking the surface streets again. She didn’t seem to be as lost in thought as she had been before though. He stopped on a rooftop and watched her.
	She stopped at a corner. The walk light was still on but it was counting down the seconds left to Don’t Walk. Glad to see you’re being more careful. But no sooner had he thought that than the stop light changed. Traffic started up… 
	…and Allura stepped right out into it.
	He didn’t even think: it was a reflex, a reaction. He could no more have controlled it than he could have killed himself by holding his breath. He teleported in, grabbed her, and teleported out. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” he yelled at her from the safety of the nearest rooftop. “Look, when someone tells you that you can stop traffic, it’s just an expression! Don’t take it literally!”
	She smiled at him. “Do you think I can ‘stop traffic’ then?” 
	He cleared his throat. “I think you walked right out into traffic for a reason.”
	“I did, actually. Because I wanted to talk to you.”
	He blinked and let go of her. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized he’d still been holding onto her in the first place. He backed up a couple of steps. “You did that so we could talk? Haven’t you heard of phones?”
	“Well, I’d need your number first. But since we’re here, we can talk now, yes?”
	“…for a bit. What’s so important that has you willing to risk your life?”
	She pulled out a notepad and her favorite pen. “I want to interview you for the paper’s website.”
	“… … …I’m sorry, you what?”
	She smiled. “The print edition covers Starlight; I work for the online edition now, so we’re going to cover Paladin. So tell me, what made you decide to take up superhero-ing? Do you like working with Starlight or would you rather go solo? Any plans for a sidekick in the near future?”
	He held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, wait. I never agreed to give an interview!”
	“We could do this somewhere else, if you like?” She sidled up to him. “My place, perhaps?”
	He laughed, feeling his face heat. “Ms. Fala, are you trying to seduce me into giving up all my secrets? Tsk, tsk.”
	“Should I resort to bribery or was seduction working? I could give you a kiss for each question you answered.” She leaned in towards him.
	He teleported to be behind her - and several steps away. “Stop playing.” He’d meant it to be teasing, but it came out harsher than he wanted. Why are you doing this? Just to torment me? 
	She turned to face him. “Perhaps… you can ask me a question for each question I ask you? If trust is the issue, I could…” She swallowed hard. “I could start with a secret.”
	He stilled. It was possible she was offering up Starlight to get this interview. She had no way of knowing that he knew already. So if that’s really what she was dangling, she was pretty desperate to get this interview. Perhaps Lotor is pressuring her to find out Paladin’s identity because of my little visit that first night? She looked nervous, like someone nearing a precipice.
	He couldn’t let her fall. 
	“You don’t have to do that. Of course I trust you, Ms. Fala. You can ask me anything, though I can’t guarantee I’ll answer. But I’ll tell you as much as I feel comfortable with.”
	She blinked, and cleared her throat. “Oh, thank you, that… that’s very good of you.”
	“So, what’s your first question?”

	He dropped her off at street level and teleported away when he was done, and she sighed. Well, really, what was I expecting? 
	She hadn’t planned on flirting and seduction. It’d just happened, a rash impulse because her heart was beating so fast: from stepping out into traffic, from being rescued, from being in his arms again. Because he’d complimented her… well, implied a compliment. And then, of course, he’d turned her down. He didn’t know that she was Starlight, willing to reveal her identity to him. 
	And he doesn’t want me.
	That… seemed to confirm it for her. It was a stupid, foolish thing to have done, but she had her answer now. She had a lot of answers, though mostly to vacuous, softball questions: he wanted to do some good for the city, like Starlight. Starlight was his idol, and he was beyond happy to be working with her. He had no need for a sidekick because he was in an equal team with Starlight. 
	Nearly every answer had included Starlight, save for things like his favorite color (”Well, obviously I’m fond of black, but a nice summer sky blue is good, too”) and his favorite food (”I’m a sucker for beef & broccoli”), whether he was a cat or dog person (”I can’t have pets where I live, but if I ever had a house, I’d get one of each”), etc. 
	He does it all for her, all he cares about is her, SHE’S the only one he wants.
	She leaned against the wall of the alley he’d dropped her off in and tried to suck in the tears. How could I ever think he loved me? Changed my job - all for nothing. He wasn’t ever thinking of me… and we were never meant to be.
	She had to go. She had to get to Coran’s, to change and meet up with Paladin. 
	She sniffled and pulled out her earpiece. “Paladin.”
	“Starlight! I’m on my way to…”
	“I’m not coming tonight.”
	“What? Why?”
	“I’m just NOT,” she said, and shut the device off, shoving it back into her bag. Then she called Coran to let him know she was on her way and to find out what flavors of ice cream he had at his place.
	“You’re sure you’re okay?”
	“I’m fine, but you’re not going to be if you keep asking,” she warned him.
	He backed off. “Okay, okay. I wanted to check in with one of my sources about the trafficking ring real quick; he might have something.” He held out his left hand to her.
	Starlight hesitated. The moment stretched into awkwardness and just when he was about to ask what was wrong, she took his hand. He held it for just a moment before he tried to pull her in as usual. 
	She didn’t budge. And given that she was loads stronger than he was, he wasn’t going to be able to move her.
	He stepped forward instead, wrapped his right arm around her waist, and teleported. And when they arrived, she broke away from him, looking around. “Where are we?”
	“Hi!” a jubilant voice said. “Wow, great costumes! This is so great, getting to meet you guys!”
	They both turned to the voice’s owner, who was waving from inside a food truck. 
	“This is your source?” she asked him.
	He nodded. “Friend of a friend, like I said.”
	“Awww, did Keith actually say I’m his friend? That’s so great!”
	Shiro cleared his throat. “He said he knew you.”
	The young man laughed. “That sounds more like Keith. Here, on the house!” He presented two plastic baskets lined with foil. “Can’t fight crime on an empty stomach!”
	“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Starlight asked him.
	“Oh, right, my bad. I’m Hunk! And with Nellie here,” he patted the truck, “I can go pretty much anywhere in the city.”
	“No one’s going to care if a food truck sits there for a couple of hours,” Shiro pointed out.
	“And people chat while they’re waiting in line,” Hunk added. “So I hear quite a bit.”
	Starlight accepted the basket. “What are these?”
	“My own creation! I wanted to keep things light, but still filling, so it’s sort of like a beignet but filled with a creamy vegetable paste…” 
	She was already biting into it and Shiro watched her eyes light up. “This is amazing!”
	Hunk grinned. Shiro reached for his own basket. There were three of the… buns or whatever in there. He made half of one disappear in one bite: it was warm, with a little zip to whatever was in this filling, and it was, in fact, delicious. “Wow.”
	Hunk was full-on beaming. “So while you’re enjoying your meal, I’ll fill you in. I did a stint near the docks and heard some dockworkers talking about how the ship trade has really gone down lately. More stuff coming in by truck. So I headed over by the big trucking companies today.
	“Heard two drivers talking. One of ‘em was saying he thought something was wrong with the other guy’s truck - said he heard a ‘knocking’ sound. The guy told him to shut up. The first guy said that it sounded weird, not like an engine knock - which, for a truck, would probably mean spark plug trouble, but anyway - but like it was coming from the trailer? And the second guy got super mad, told him to shut the hell up and keep his nose out of it if he knew what was best for him.”
	Shiro looked to Starlight and swallowed his mouthful. “They’re trucking them in now.”
	“To avoid us, because they know we were watching the ships,” she agreed. She looked back to their chef/informant. “Thank you, Hunk! For the food and the info.”
	“I’m glad to do it!” 
	“Are you usually ‘open’ this late?” Shiro asked him.
	“Not on a weeknight, but Keith said he’d pass on that info to you, so I wanted to make sure you had a little something to eat. I work days through the week and nights on Fridays & Saturdays, with Sunday off entirely.”
	“Set up near the clubs on the weekend, I take it?” Starlight asked.
	“Exactly!” he answered with a grin.
	“We should get going,” she said, handing the basket back to him. “Thank you again!”
	Shiro grabbed the last bun in his basket and handed it empty back to Hunk. “I’ll be sure to tell Keith what a big help you were.”
	Hunk laughed. “Tell him I’ll have a special on chili dogs next Wednesday. He’ll like that.”
	Shiro chuckled. “He a regular then?”
	“Yeah. He’s a good guy. Like you two. You’re doing great things for the city. I’m honored to help.”
	“You’ve been a tremendous help,” Starlight assured him.
	“Oh! I almost forgot.” He pulled out two bottles of water. “Here. I don’t know if you have pockets in those outfits or what, but you gotta stay hydrated.”
	They each dutifully took a bottle. “Thanks again. We gotta get going,” Shiro said.
	“Have fun catching the bad guys!” Hunk said.
	Shiro stuffed the remaining bun in his mouth, held his bottle in his right hand, and held out his left to Starlight. She took it immediately this time, and let him pull her in before they teleported out.

	“You’ve seemed a bit down lately. It’ll be good for you to get out.”
	“I don’t know…”
	“And you’d be doing me - all of us, really - a world of good.”
	“Well… alright.”

	She’d canceled again. Without an explanation beyond, “Something came up.” He was starting to really get worried. He didn’t get to see Allura every day now, and he was starting to wonder if he shouldn’t pay a visit to the third floor. He could make up some sort of excuse - a question he had that Lotor couldn’t answer - and head down there. Maybe see if he could corner some of the online staff and ask them about what’d been going on. 
	He still couldn’t help wondering if Mr. Lucky had perhaps made his move, but she hadn’t sounded very happy when she’d spoken to him. Did he actually reject her? It sounded incomprehensible to him. How could anyone with an ounce of sense reject the most incredible woman on the planet?! You don’t have all of this between you and her. You don’t have all this nonsense with the job and the other job and… You could be with her and you chose not to be? You idiot.
	And it hurt him to think that she might be hurting. He wanted to comfort her, to convince her that there were other people in the world who wouldn’t be as blind and foolish, that she’d find someone else.
	Of course, maybe it wasn’t any of that. Maybe he was just too wrapped up in his jealousy and not thinking straight. In any case, he was on his own for the night. Just as well; means I don’t have to come up with an excuse.
	Because he’d heard about a charity ball being held at the civic center… and Lotor would be there. Shiro trusted that snake about as far as he could throw him. He had to tiptoe around it at work, be careful about what he was working on, because he didn’t want to let Sonny Boy know he was investigating Daddy’s company. But Lotor buying the paper, Allura’s transfer, right when he was digging around in Galra’s business? Too suspicious.
	He headed for the civic center. It had a nice big domed skylight, perfect for spying on the proceedings. He teleported up there - there was a ledge just big enough to stand on, for people needing to clean and maintain the dome, he supposed - and peered down.
	The interior was lit up with chandeliers that blocked his view of much of the ball and its participants. He could see patches here and there. He jumped around until he found the least-obstructed view and then sought out Lotor. The man stood out, after all - no doubt because he wanted to.
	There. He was talking with some people Shiro didn’t recognize and had his arm around a woman’s waist. Shiro couldn’t see her, but she was in a subtly-sparkling dress the color of a cloudless summer sky. Elegant, but not stuffy. At least you have good taste in arm candy, he thought. He pulled out his phone to take pictures of the people Lotor was talking with. He could look them up later, dig up all the shady networking his new boss was no doubt doing.
	Lotor looked towards his date, as did the people with him. They nodded and seemed interested in what she was saying. Oh, maybe you have intelligent and charming arm candy, he thought. Nothing but the very best for you, of course. 
	It was rude of him to dismiss the woman, but he found himself unable to help it. Whoever she was, she was willingly spending time with Lotor, which meant she was a dupe or a fool. Or an accomplice. He’d definitely take a photo of her when he got a chance. Perhaps, if nothing else, he could convince whoever it was that Lotor wasn’t worth her time.
	Lotor was talking again, but he seemed to be wrapping up. Everyone in the little group nodded and smiled and it broke up as everyone departed to mingle elsewhere. Lotor leaned in towards his date and they began moving. Shiro watched with interest. 
	Argh! Stupid chandeliers! He held off on changing position yet; let them come to a stop first. While he was at it, he did a quick scan for Zarkon. He hadn’t heard that the CEO himself was coming, but he could have changed his mind. When you were rich, things like “invitations” didn’t mean much.
	No sight of the man though, so Shiro went back to Lotor. They’d stopped at another group of people. Shiro jumped around to try to get a good angle. He wound up with good shots of those Lotor was talking to, but all he could see of the woman at this point was that she had dark hair and skin. And a killer figure, but that wasn’t really a surprise. The light from another accursed chandelier was blocking her face.
	Photos, photos. He did recognize the CEO of a local medical device company - her company distributed Shiro’s original prosthetic. She didn’t seem very happy with Lotor, but she was being polite. Shiro definitely made a mental note about that, though he wondered if that was just related to Galra’s inroads in prosthetics.
	His new arm was, in fact, loads better than his original. Aside from the fact that it was metal - and oddly light? - it did feel a lot like his own arm. There was still an odd sense of off about it, still that lingering ghost of Not Right-ness, but he could generally ignore it. He could type again, could easily do everything he’d always done before. He’d also accidentally broken a glass by holding onto it too tightly. The new arm was stronger than his old one - or even his left arm. He wasn’t about to complain; that could be very, very useful given his new nighttime hobbies.
	They were on the move again. The music was getting louder inside, for dancing. Lotor was leading his date towards the dance floor. She hesitated, and he stepped in towards her. Shiro saw him raise her hand to his lips and kiss the back of it. And she must have relented.
	Shiro let them find their spot and start dancing. A waltz maybe? He wasn’t up on fancy ballroom dancing; he didn’t know the different types. But Lotor had one arm around her waist and was holding one of her hands in his. She had her other hand on his shoulder, and they were close. 
	He jumped from panel to panel and finally, finally got a good angle. At last, I can…
	He froze. It felt literal, like all his blood had run cold and turned to ice.
	She was smiling, then laughing at something he’d said. He said something else and she nodded. They fell silent and danced, looking into each other’s eyes. Lotor leaned towards her. She turned her head at the last moment, but didn’t protest his kiss on her cheek. She even smiled.
	He wasn’t even aware of making a conscious decision to teleport. He was suddenly back in his apartment. And despite being in his own home, all he could see was Starli-… Ms. F-… ALLURA in Lotor’s arms.
	“I need to talk to you.”
	She was surprised enough to see Shiro on the third floor, but he was practically growling, he was so angry. She rose from her desk. She caught Lance glancing between her and Shiro, and then he stood, too. “Hey, boss, I…”
	Bless him for trying to come up with an excuse for her to stay, but she shook her head. “I’ll be right back. Won’t take long.” She turned to Shiro. “How private does this talk need to be?”
	“The roof,” he said.
	Her eyebrows went up. “Okay.” They skipped the elevator and took the stairs all the way up. People who smoked came up here to indulge their habit, so there were some folding chairs and a brick up there (to prop the door open so they didn’t get locked out).
	Shiro was tense and quiet the whole way up, but as soon as they were out on the roof, door propped open, and, conveniently, alone, he whirled on her. “How could you?”
	“How could I what?” she asked.
	“With Lotor?! He’s the owner! He’s our boss!”
	“What are you talking about?”
	“I have it from a reliable source that you were on a date with him last night.”
	She blinked and the realization hit her. Paladin. You were snooping on Lotor as Paladin and you went to the charity ball. “Okay, first of all, why are you investigating Lotor? Second of all, it was not a date…”
	“Wasn’t it?”
	She sighed. “It was a charity ball. He wanted me to go with him so that I could chat up the paper to people with deep pockets! You know, as an investment!”
	“He could do that without you.”
	“Not really.” She folded her arms. “He knows business, not publishing, and certainly not running a newspaper. He needed my expertise. I agreed to go because it would help the paper and everyone who works here - including you!”
	“Oh, was dancing with him and letting him kiss you part of what’s supposed to help us?”
	She rolled her eyes. “On the cheek. And how do you even…?” She knew how he knew, but she wanted to make him back off. Back off or fess up. 
	“I have my sources,” he said. “And he’s your boss. What happened to fraternization?”
	She bristled. “I’m not ‘fraternizing’! He’s a friend from college!”
	“Looks like he wants to be a whole lot more than that.”
	“So what if he does? What business is it of yours? Why do you even care?”
	“Why do I ca-…?” He stopped dead and stared at her then barked a short, mirthless laugh. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I shouldn’t give a damn. But I do. So now what?” He was challenging her, everything from the glare in his eyes to the set of his jaw to the clenched fists at his side screamed it.
	“I have no idea! Look, it wasn’t a date. I’m not dating Lotor. I don’t intend to date Lotor. He is my boss, and it would be wrong. I went for a nice night out and to have a chance to try to get more subscribers or maybe donations for the paper. THAT’S IT!” She leaned in towards him, stabbing him in the chest with one finger. “And tell your ‘source’ that he needs to stop being so nosy about other people’s business. While you’re at it, maybe you need to learn to stop jumping to conclusions and judging other people.” She spun on her heel and headed for the door.
	“He’s just using you, you know!” Shiro’s voice called after her. 
	She turned back. “He’s NOT, because I’m not letting him use me! We’re not… IT ISN’T LIKE THAT.”
	“I’m serious. I don’t trust him. I start investigating Galra and then he buys the paper and you get transferred?”
	“I…” She huffed. “Shiro, the transfer had nothing to do with that. And I don’t think Lotor has anything to do with what you’re investigating.”
	“You don’t think he does or you don’t want to think he does?”
	“Ugh, we’re not having this conversation. Get over it.”
	“What if I say I won’t?” He stepped closer. “What if I say I can’t?”
	She stared up into his eyes. His being angry with her pissed her off but it also hurt. You rejected me, even when I was no longer your boss. You don’t even want me; you want Starlight. Why do you get to act angry that I was out with someone else when I’M the one trying to put her life back together because the person I love doesn’t love me back? “I’d tell you we don’t always get what we want in life, and sometimes all you can do is accept it and move on. Now get back to work.” And she stormed off back down the stairs.
	“Of course you brought Chinese,” Matt chuckled as he held the door open.
	“Someone has to look after you two,” Shiro told him as he walked in.
	“We eat! Hell, Katie still lives at home most of the time; she gets Mom’s home cooking.”
	“DO NOT CALL ME KATIE, MATTHEW!” 
	Shiro laughed at that. “Hi, Pidge!” he called. And before he knew it, she was wrapped around him, hugging him hello.
	“Thank you for bringing us food! My brother has been starving me!” she wailed.
	“We had pizza last night!” Matt cried out in self-defense. “And cereal this morning, and we walked over to Gino’s for lunch…”
	“Starving,” Pidge maintained. Shiro let her grab the bag of Chinese food and make off with it.
	“She’s a growing girl,” he reminded Matt. “So, I know we should probably eat first, but…”
	“Impatient?” Matt chortled to himself. “Don’t worry about it; you don’t have to be polite with us. Come on in.”
	Matt’s living room had the standard equipment: sofa, TV, game consoles, stereo. But it also had two desks pushed together, with back-to-back multi-monitor computer setups. One of the desks also had a laptop on it, which seemed unnecessary to Shiro, but he wasn’t going to press Matt on his methods.
	The Holts were two of the best white hat hackers he’d ever known (not that he’d known many), and that they were fun and friendly was a bonus. 
	“Haven’t seen you on much lately,” Matt said.
	“Been busy,” he replied. 
	“Busier than usual. Can I convince you to show up tonight? We could really use you.”
	“Sorry, can’t.”
	“Damn. Well, I’ll tell the guys I tried.”
	“Say hi for me and give them my apologies, will you?” He pulled a chair up to Matt’s station.
	“Sure.” Matt sat down as Pidge handed him the carton of General Tso’s. “Thanks, sis.”
	“So, I’ve been working on the Galra stuff and Matt was looking up those people in the photos you sent last night,” she said. 
	“Yeah, let’s start with my end,” he said. “Entrepreneurs, businesspeople, CEOs. Some old money in there. But no one that’s involved in anything shady, unless you count Maria Villanova’s kickbacks to the hospital to promote their prosthetic. And that’s a pretty new thing, done specifically to counter Galra’s new up-and-coming prosthetic lines.”
	“Yeah, I… may have heard about those.” Shiro pulled his sleeve up to show them.
	“Oh wow, is that a GalraTech model?” Pidge asked. When he nodded, her eyes lit up. “Take it off, I want to see how it…”
	“I can’t,” he told her, pulling his sleeve back down. “It doesn’t detach.”
	“Weird,” Matt said. “How does it feel?”
	“Weird,” Shiro confirmed. “But… good. Much better than the one I got from the hospital.”
	“Huh. So maybe those kickbacks are pretty necessary,” he replied.
	“My turn! I have all the cool stuff,” Pidge declared. She was only 15 but she’d already graduated high school. She was technically enrolled in online classes at State, but she’d been taking online courses from colleges all over the country for the last year or so. She split her time between her parents’ home and her brother’s apartment, supposedly so that she could have easier access to the downtown campus when she needed it. In reality, the only reason she wasn’t living with Matt full time was that he had a romantic life he wanted to indulge every now and then. 
	Thinking about that just made Shiro realize how long it had been. Adam had broken up with him… a year ago? Year and a half? Had it really been that long since he’d been held, been kissed, been loved? And it made him ache all over again at the feeling of Allura’s betrayal that really wasn’t a betrayal because they weren’t anything but co-workers and crime-fighting partners, but dammit, it had hurt like a betrayal. The main reason I never asked you out was because you were my boss, but you go out with your boss like it’s not a big deal? And that that boss was LOTOR of all people, and…
	He shoved all that aside. “What’ve you got for me, Pidge?”
	She grinned her crooked grin - a Holt trademark - at him. “Galra got all big and important because of some new energy source they claim to have.”
	That got his attention. “Just as clean as solar but 10x as powerful?” 
	She nodded. “The very same. They’ve been peddling it to every manufacturer in every industry, doling out sample machines that just seem to run smoothly and cleanly forever. And ever since the, uh… accident,” her eyes jumped to his arm briefly, “they’ve even been talking with the DoD.”
	“Department of Defense?”
	She nodded. “Not just as an energy source for weapons systems but as a potential weapon itself.”
	His stomach churned. “You’re telling me that this energy source - quintessence, I believe Dr. King called it - vaporized Zarkon’s wife and his response is to whip around and try to sell it off to the Pentagon?”
	“Oh, it’s weirder than that,” Matt put in. “There hasn’t been a published obituary for Dr. King. Granted there’s no body to bury, but there hasn’t been a wake, a memorial, nothing.”
	“He doesn’t even care that she’s dead?”
	“Or he doesn’t think she is,” Pidge put in. “He hasn’t spoken much since the accident, but when he does, he refers to his wife in the present tense.”
	Shiro shook his head. “She’s gone. She’s gone, gone like my arm is gone. There’s no way… She was standing right by the machine when it blew.”
	“Pidge, tell him the good part,” Matt put in before popping some chicken into his mouth.
	“A few months before the accident, Galra was doing some construction. They wanted a lab on the city outskirts, for testing slightly more dangerous stuff, I’d bet. I found some chatter - just rumor, mind you - that they found something when they were digging up the land they’d bought for the facility.”
	“Like what?” Shiro asked her.
	“Well, this is just my theory, but… you know the word ‘quintessential,’ right?”
	He nodded. “Yes, I know a lot of big words,” he teased.
	Her mouth twisted at him. “For millennia, philosophers and scientists believed that the world we inhabit was entirely made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Aristotle added a fifth element, the aether: the material that fills the rest of space, mostly invisibly but sometimes taking the form of stars and planets. Many writers described aether as a kind of invisible light or fire - you know, like an energy source? In the Middle Ages, it was referred to as the quinta essentia - the fifth element. Quinta essentia came to stand for anything so perfect that it seemed to surpass the limitations of Earth.
	“So, what if - now just hear me out - this thing they found wasn’t terrestrial in origin?”
	“Pidge,” he groaned.
	“What if they found a piece of alien technology and…”
	“Pidge, will you stop with your alien conspiracy theories?”
	“It’s not a conspiracy theory! Not this time, anyway. It makes perfect sense! Tech from a super-advanced alien civilization that Dr. King was able to reverse-engineer and…”
	“Look, Pidge, I’m sure there are aliens out there, but there’s nothing saying they’ve been coming to Earth. We’re such a tiny planet in an otherwise unremarkable part of a huge galaxy…”
	“I’m not even talking about that!” she insisted. “It could be debris or something! I’m not saying aliens landed on Earth - at least, not this time I’m not - just that something extraterrestrial was dug up and that’s why Galra’s tech division suddenly has unlimited clean power out of nowhere!”
	Shiro looked to Matt for help.
	He just shrugged. “Dr. King was a genius; it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she created it herself. But then again, all geniuses have stood on the shoulders of those who came before them. It’s also worth considering that she found something to use as the basis for her further discoveries.”
	“You’re a good brother,” he told Matt, because what else could he say in response to that dissembling bit of nonsense? He was clearly just trying to back his sister up on her crazy theories.
	“I’m not crazy,” Pidge told him as if she’d heard his thoughts. “If they’d found something normal, we would have heard about it. But it took me a lot of digging to find out about this. They kept it hush-hush.”
	Shiro held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, I’m willing to concede they found something that they wanted to keep secret. And that it’s possible that they used it as the basis for what became their ‘quintessence’ they’re peddling. But do you really think it’s… I dunno, alien star energy or something?”
	She made a thoughtful noise. “I don’t know. I mean, the ancient philosophers also believed in alchemy and astrology and nonsense like that. But I think it’s something… fundamental. Something truly quintessential.”
	“Yeah,” Matt put in, “scientists don’t always come up with the best names for things. Like ‘Jupiter’s Red Spot’ - how boring and on the nose can you get?”
	“They also come up with names like ‘deoxyribonucleic acid,’” Shiro replied.
	“Okay, point. But my point is that maybe she called it quintessence not because it’s some long-lost, non-Bruce Willis-related ‘fifth element’ but because she viewed it as something quintessential to the universe.” He shrugged.
	“Whatever it is, that quintessence is powerful enough to be getting them a lot of industry and government attention,” Pidge concluded. “But the weird part is…”
	“…why aren’t they announcing it?” Shiro finished for her. “Well, to be fair, they tried, and looked what happened.” He held out his right arm as proof.
	“Yeah, but that was a local demonstration for local reporters. They’ve been really cagey with this stuff.”
	“Hmm, good point.” He smiled. “Thanks. As usual, you two do amazing work.”
	“Naturally,” Pidge said.
	“We’ll email it all to you,” Matt said. “As soon as we get our fee?”
	“Of course. I’m covering it this time; new owner’s locked down the discretionary funds.” Just as I knew he would.
	“Oh yeah - the son of Galra’s CEO?” Pidge asked. “That’s gotta be fun.”
	He wasn’t surprised she’d found that out. “Yeah, it’s fantastic. Fortunately he doesn’t know what I’m working on.”
	“Yeah, he’d shut that down quick, fast, and in a hurry,” Matt agreed. “Good luck.”
	“Thanks, I’ll need it.” He stood. “Enjoy the Chinese. I’ll send the money over when I get home.” He headed for the door.
	“If your plans for tonight fall through, log on!” Matt called after him.
	“Will do, but don’t expect me!” I’m going to have to talk to Starlight about this. Assuming she shows up tonight. His heartache could wait. Galra - and its CEO - were definitely up to something, and he intended to find out what. His mind raced on the information he’d just received, distracting him from that lingering off-putting thrum from his right arm.
	“Okay, I’ve tested this a little on my own, so it should work,” he said.
	“What should work?” she asked. 
	They were standing outside Galra’s main HQ. It was just past full dark, and most of the building’s lights were off, save for an occasional office here and there and the low lobby lights while janitorial staff did their work.
	“I think I can get us into Zarkon’s office. Or at least an executive’s office, up on the top floor.” 
	“Have you been there?”
	“No, but if I can see it, I can teleport to it. Remember when I caught you in mid-air?” 
	She nodded. 
	“I think I can teleport straight up and just keep porting over and over so we don’t fall. It will basically be like hovering. And I can see into the office window, and then teleport straight in from there.”
	She looked up. The building was at least 20 stories. She looked back to Paladin. “Okay.” She reached her hand out. 
	He took it with his left and stepped into her to wrap his arm around her. “You nervous?”
	“A little. But I’m not scared.” She wrapped her arms around him.
	“You’re not?”
	“I trust you and your powers.”
	“Oh, good; that makes one of us.”
	“Please don’t joke about that right now,” she pleaded.
	“Who’s joking?” He looked up and then looked back to her. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
	She smiled, even though his sweet comment left her aching. “I know.” 
	He exhaled. “Here we go.”
	And then they were up in the air. And just as she started to feel gravity grab hold of her, there was that familiar faint lurching feeling again. Again and again and again. She looked over to the building. It almost seemed as if the entire building were blinking, a motion so quick you couldn’t really catch it if you weren’t looking for it. Blinking repeatedly, until Paladin said, “Got it!” and suddenly there was firm floor beneath her feet.
	She let out the breath she’d been holding and let go of him. “Is this Zarkon’s?”
	“Not sure. But one way to find out,” he said, releasing her and teleporting to the desk. He started rifling through papers. 
	It was a very nice office, whoever it belonged to. The desk looked like mahogany, with a leather armchair behind it. There was a comfortable seating area near a bookcase that spanned the entire wall opposite the desk. It had a screen in the center of it - no doubt for product promos and such - as well as books, binders, and what looked like awards. She crossed over to those.
	But all the awards were for the company, not for an individual. She frowned. 
	“Anything?” she asked quietly. 
	“It’s all just numbers, no names on any of this stuff.” He was taking a few photos on his phone.
	“Family photos on the desk?”
	“That was the first thing I looked for. No.”
	She tsked and picked up a binder. “Galra Q4 Earnings,” it said, for the previous year. She opened it and flipped through, but it was all numbers and charts. They showed a mostly steady but slightly downward trend. “They were starting to have trouble,” she murmured.
	“Before they found quintessence,” he said. He’d told her what some of his sources had found out. He’d laughed off the “alien tech” theory, but she had resolved to bring it up with Coran when they were done here tonight. “Dammit, this drawer’s locked.”
	“I could get it open.”
	“If it’s broken, it’ll give us away,” he protested.
	“I’m not going to just yank it open,” she told him, going to join him behind the desk.
	“Oh, right. Your gadgets. Let me guess: some sort of super-tech skeleton key?”
	She pulled out a bobby pin and set to work. Paladin snorted and then chuckled quietly. But then she heard something. She looked to the door. “Someone’s coming.”
	“I’ll deal with them; you get the drawer open.”
	“You sure that’s a good idea?” she hissed.
	“They’ll report a break-in but it’ll look like nothing was stolen. They’ll get commendations for their good work and a couple days off to rest up.”
	She nodded and went back to work on the lock. Paladin teleported to be between the desk and the door and crouched down, waiting. When the door opened, she didn’t bother even looking; she trusted him to take care of a security guard, and the lock was proving difficult.
	But hearing him cry out in pain ripped her gaze up from the drawer.
	It was the head of security, and he had Paladin in a choke hold. An unconscious Paladin, and the arm he had wrapped around his throat was glowing a strange sort of pinkish-purple.
	“Just hold on there, hero,” he growled. “I can crush the life out of him.”
	“Not before I get over to you,” she promised.
	He chuckled and raised a gun, putting the barrel to Paladin’s temple. “You faster than a bullet, Starlight?”
	She stood down, and more members of security rushed in behind him. But Sendak was still looking at her. “Now, you can play nice as we head downstairs, or I can kill him. Your choice. If you choose option A, put your hands behind your back; option B is doing anything else and it means I pull the trigger.”
	She put her hands behind her back.
	Sendak grinned as the guards took rough hold of her. “Smart girl. Come on. You want to see the CEO so badly? Well, he’d like to see you, too. We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
	Starlight could bend a steel bar as if it were a plastic straw. But she couldn’t get out of these cuffs. They enclosed her fists, wrists, and went nearly all the way up her arms - with her arms behind her back. She couldn’t move her arms at all, and thus she couldn’t break free of the restraints. They’d left her legs free, but Sendak was still armed - and, unfortunately, was smart enough to aim it at Paladin, not at her. 
	“Wouldn’t it work better if you aimed it at her, sir?” one of the security guards asked.
	Sendak sneered. “No, it wouldn’t. Running straight at danger is what heroes do. And they do it to protect others. She’d probably risk taking a bullet herself, but there’s no way she’ll let her partner take one, especially when he’s helpless like this.”
	He was right, of course, and that was why she’d stayed silent the whole trip down from the top floor of Galra HQ to the sub-basement levels. That and she was focusing her aural enhancers on Shiro. He was still breathing, his heart still beating. That was all she cared about right now.
	She wished she could scan Sendak, try to figure out what was up with his left arm. Shi-… Paladin, she had to keep thinking of him as her crime-fighting partner - hadn’t mentioned his having a prosthetic when he’d fought him. Did he have it cut off just so he could get that attached, or was it always there and just covered by his uniform? And how did it do… whatever it did to Paladin? It had stopped glowing now, just a normal - if very sleek and advanced-looking - prosthetic arm. Perhaps it’s a metal casing that goes over his existing arm? 
	Whatever it was, it was dangerous, to have knocked Paladin out so quickly that he couldn’t even teleport out of danger. He was so good at getting out of sticky situations that she didn’t have to rescue him any longer. Except now. 
	I wasn’t there for you at the warehouse when the machine blew and you lost an arm and gained your powers. I’m going to be here for you now. Even if it means we die together. But I’m going to try to figure some way out of this. I swear.
	The elevator doors opened and they were led down a corridor half-filled with pipes and machinery. It looked like any other maintenance tunnel, until she was pulled to a halt outside a door that read “Danger: High Voltage.” Sendak unlocked the door with his passkey and marched himself in, carrying the still-unconscious Paladin over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The goons shoved her in after him.
	“I’ve handled your mouse problem,” Sendak announced. 
	The room was huge. The first thing that drew her eye was the far wall, covered by five glass tubes each slightly bigger than a human body. Each was filled with glowing yellow … something. Energy? Liquid? She couldn’t tell from here. Two of them - the ones on each end - had a dark mass in them, humanoid in shape, edged in the same pinkish-purple she’d seen Sendak’s arm glow. The center three were empty. The tubes sat in strange mechanical housing hooked up to pipes that ran up along the ceiling and walls. She couldn’t make out where the pipes were going to. 
	There was a metal table, like you’d see in a surgery. It had leather straps to keep its occupant held down, but it was currently empty. Medical machinery scattered around the table, all currently switched off. 
	To the left of the door was a bank of computer monitors and some keyboards, positioned in front of the various pipes that fed from the tubes. And standing in front of those monitors, turning to face them as they came in, was…
	Zarkon King, the CEO of Galra himself. Next to him was an old woman, 80 if she was a day, wearing a labcoat over a baggy t-shirt and an old pair of jeans. The legs were rolled up considerably, and she was wearing slippers. It was incongruous and Allura had no idea who this harridan was supposed to be.
	“Excellent,” Zarkon intoned. He was still dressed as impeccably as one would expect: a dark purple dress shirt shot through with thin black pinstripes, black dress slacks, well-polished black shoes. His dark hair was slicked back, not a hair out of place. He was big, taller than Sendak and at least as well-muscled. Though she didn’t see anything that looked like a prosthetic.
	“Drop them off and get out,” the old woman growled. She pulled out a small handheld device that looked like an old geiger counter.
	She was shoved to her knees. Sendak took Paladin to the table and dropped him on it. “I don’t think you should be left alone with them. Even restrained and unconscious.” The old woman was already hurrying over to his body.
	“I appreciate your concern,” Zarkon told him. “It speaks well of your loyalty. But we can handle them now. Patrol the building. Mice like to run in packs, and heroes have a way of inspiring fools to follow them into danger.”
	Sendak nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said before he left. The door shut behind him, and the sound of the latch clicking into place sent a shiver down her spine. 
	The old woman was scanning Paladin with the device. “Excellent readings,” she said, sounding like a starving person looking at a buffet. “Yes, this is very promising.” She turned to Allura. “Your turn.”
	“What are you doing?” she demanded of Zarkon as the old woman approached. 
	“The same thing I’ve always done,” he said, “uncovering new ways and means to advance science and technology in this world.”
	“For your own profit.”
	“Of course. That’s what companies do.”
	She scowled. “And where did you find this ‘quintessence’ stuff?”
	The old woman paused. “Oh, you must have heard of my research. Were you at the demonstration? When it blew up?”
	She looked to the crone. “Your research? But Dr. King was…”
	“Yes. I am Dr. King. I know I hardly look it now, in this withered old body, but my mind, my soul, the very essence of my being are here.”
	She shook her head. “No, that’s impossible. She was killed.”
	“My body was destroyed; the rest of me was sent to an incredible place… well, you can see it for yourself.” She gestured to the tubes on the far wall. “So much raw, untapped energy! It’s incredible! Think of what we could accomplish if we could harness it!”
	“Think of the unlimited power!” Zarkon agreed with a wide grin. 
	The old woman - Dr. King, presumably - looked down at her device and her eyes widened. “Look!” She hurried to Zarkon, who peered at the screen with interest.
	“Fascinating. Even this old bat didn’t have readings of this magnitude, and she was the most powerful we could find!”
	Dr. King grinned. “This is excellent. I could use a new body.” She looked to Allura. “Not only younger, but with such a reservoir of quintessence at my fingertips!”
	“And super strength to boot!” Zarkon laughed. “You will be a true wonder, my love.”
	“We can use him to power the transfer.” She jerked her chin towards Paladin. “His own power levels are quite impressive. With him fully drained, we’ll have more than enough to conduct my transfer from this body into that one, and perhaps with enough left over to bring back one of my assistants.”
	That’s what the two dark shapes are in the other tubes. Two of her assistants. She must have had four with her at the demonstration. 
	“I’ll get him strapped down,” Zarkon said, heading for the table. “He should drain quickly since he’s not awake to fight it.” 
	Allura cleared her throat and spoke up. “I have a terrible feeling I know the answer to this already, but what happens to me when you take over my body?” 
	Dr. King shrugged, setting the device aside as her husband went to work. “I hardly know or care. I am the sole consciousness in this body, at any rate, and this old woman had quintessence readings off the charts when she was scanned. As far as I know, she’s gone. This body is entirely mine now, as yours will be soon.”

	Allura swallowed hard and tried to get out of the restraints on her arms. What good is super strength if I can’t break out of simple steel?! But it was hopeless: she had no purchase, no place to apply the necessary force. 
	Zarkon had finished strapping Shiro down. He walked around to turn on one of the machines near the table. 
	“Look, can’t I just give you my body willingly?” Allura asked Dr. King. “I will if you just let him go.”
	The woman shook her head. “No, no, it doesn’t work like that. I need the extra quintessence to sort of… bridge the gap, as it were. Quintessence seems to conform to the being it powers after a certain point; that is, there is a noticeable difference between your quintessence and mine. But that difference can be… erased, as it were. Reset. Turned back into “blank” quintessence.
	“Right now, your quintessence will resist mine. You can say you’re ‘willing’ but that doesn’t change your quintessence at all. But I can take the quintessence out of him, reset it, and use it as a bridge. Your body will accept blank quintessence happily, and my quintessence will simply come along for the ride. Then I overwrite your consciousness.”
	“You don’t kill me first?” she asked.
	“No, no, we tried with numerous corpses, including freshly killed just beforehand.” She said it so matter-of-factly, as if killing someone was just one more experimental variable. “Once the quintessence in a body is gone – as happens when it’s killed – it simply won’t accept anything except blank quintessence. And even then, it only seems to animate the corpse, not truly imbue it with ‘life’. I suppose the zombies might have a use – perhaps as cannon fodder, or to find landmines? – but for my purposes, they’re useless. They can’t house attuned quintessence at all.
	“No, I have to have you alive so I can overwrite your quintessence and consciousness with my own. It’s a bit more of a hassle, but for now it’s the best we can do. There’s still so much more to learn though!”
	Zarkon was readying electrodes to attach to Shiro and Allura was starting to panic. She couldn’t break free. The second she tried to rise from her kneeling position on the floor, they’d throw her back down. It was only the four of them in here, but Zarkon could manhandle her pretty well with her arms pinned back like this. She could delay things. She could buy time struggling. But there was no one who knew to come for them, no one who could save them in any case. Sendak and his goons were still out patrolling the building.
	Shiro was going to die.
	She was going to cease to exist.
	There was nothing she could do.
	“Please!” The word burst out of her throat. She could feel the tears in her eyes, and she hated this, but she couldn’t help herself. “Please, if we’re going to die… can I kiss Paladin good-bye?”
	Zarkon’s eyebrows went up. “He’s unconscious. He’ll hardly know.”
	“I know. I know he won’t, but…” Her breath shuddered. “I never got to tell him. I never even… You’ve won. I can’t do anything, and we’ll both be gone, but please, I just want one kiss to hold onto as I fade away. Please.” She kept her eyes steady on him.
	He glanced to his wife. “There’s nothing she can do about it. I don’t see why not. And I’m standing right here.”
	Allura looked frantically to Dr. King.
	“We’re not unstrapping him or freeing you.”
	“I understand.”
	“And in return, you will lay down and behave yourself when it’s time. You will give your body to me as willingly as you can.”
	She nodded. “I swear it.”
	“One kiss.” 
	Allura rose unsteadily; it was hard without her arms. She walked over to the table. Zarkon was just on the other side of it. “This isn’t how I would have wanted this,” she said to Shiro’s unconscious form. “I’m so sorry. I should have been there to save you; then you wouldn’t even be here right now.”
	Bending down slowly without her arms to steady her was difficult. But she wanted to, so that she could whisper, “I love you,” as quietly as she could, words just for the two of them, just before she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.
	She focused all her feelings, all her thoughts, what felt like the entirety of her being into that kiss, as if some part of her would still exist on his lips even when they were both gone. This was the only moment they’d ever have, and she wished he could have been awake for it. He would have said, “I love you, too,” and even if he only meant it for Starlight, she could have heard that in his voice with him looking in her eyes. 
	This was all they had, all they would ever have: a stolen kiss before being erased from existence.
	And when she opened her eyes, his eyes were open. He groaned, “Allura,” and crumpled to the sidewalk, eyes closing once more.
	Wait, WHAT?!
	She looked around – they were outside. They were outside Galra HQ, on the sidewalk near the street, and even though her hands were still restrained behind her, she and Shiro were free.
	HOW?!
	He’d teleported them. It was the only answer. But he’d been out, solidly out, his breathing and heart beat the same slow and steady rhythm they’d been since shortly after Sendak had knocked him out.
	Figure that out later! We have to get out of here!!
	She cast her eyes to the street. Galra HQ was in the business district which mostly shut down after 6 PM and was completely dark and empty in the middle of the night. She tried again to free herself from the restraints and failed. How am I going to do this? We have to get out of here… 
	Light came into view and she turned towards it. Headlights! A car! She ran out into the street to stop them.
	The pink sedan screeched to a halt and a young man got out of the front passenger seat. “Starlight?”
	“Please, my partner and I need your help!” 
	A spasm of alarm went over his face. “Paladin? Where is…?” He looked around and saw him on the sidewalk. “Shit!” He bolted for the unconscious hero.
	The driver got out; she was an older woman and, judging by her resemblance to the young man, likely his mother. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
	“I can explain while we drive,” Allura said. “Please.”
	The woman went and got the door for the back seat. “Here, get in. I’ll go help with your partner.”
	Allura hit her head on the car as she got in, but she managed it. The civilians bundled Shiro into the back seat next to her, his head leaning on her shoulder, shut the doors, got back in, and drove off. 
	“Drive normal, Mom,” the guy said.
	“I am driving normal.” Allura noticed her checking the rearview a lot.
	“Thank you so much for helping us.”
	The guy turned around in his seat. “I’m a friend of Paladin’s. He might have mentioned me to you: Keith?”
	Her face brightened. “I have heard him mention you, yes. And we met Hunk.”
	Keith nodded, but his mom piped up, “Where are we taking you? The hospital?”
	“No. We can’t.” But knowing this was Paladin’s friend, she risked giving them Coran’s address. “That’s a friend of mine; he’ll look after us.”
	“Can he get you out of those restraints?” she asked in return.
	“Yeah, why can’t you break out of them?” her son asked. “I thought you were super strong.”
	“I am, but it’s still an application of force. I don’t have a way to apply that force with my arms like this, so I can’t break free.”
	“Who did this to you?” Keith wanted to know.
	She almost answered. But they were civilians, already on the verge of knowing too much. “I can’t tell you that,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m much more interested in how you knew to be in the business district at this hour?”
	“I left something at the office,” his mom spoke up. “I need it for tomorrow, and I’m off tomorrow, so I swung by to get it.”
	“And I didn’t want my mom in the business district alone at this hour.”
	She rolled her eyes. “I pulled into a secured parking lot, went into a secured building…”
	“It’s a good thing I was here!” he pointed out to her. 
	“Well, yes, as it turns out.”
	“I am so grateful,” Allura said. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t come by.”
	“Is he going to be okay?” Keith asked quietly.
	“I think so?” She looked at Shiro’s unconscious body. “I hope so.”
	“Look, uh… he’ll probably kick my ass for telling you this, but he really cares for you.”
	“I know.”
	“Keith,” his mom said, “don’t butt in.”
	“Mom, I’m just trying to…”
	“Don’t. Butt In,” she insisted.
	Allura smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you said anything. After all, as a hero, it’s my job to protect the citizens of our fair city.”
	Keith snorted and his mother chuckled.
	There was no pursuit, thankfully. Keith’s mother – Krolia, she said her name was – drove them to Coran’s building without incident, pulling up smoothly in front of the building. “Help me out. I can’t buzz for him, but he won’t let strangers in at this hour, so he needs to hear my voice.”
	“I got it.” Keith bolted up out of his seat and went around to get the door for her. “Watch your head,” he said, and getting out went much smoother.
	“Thank you. Are you used to helping bound women out of cars?”
	“Well, I’m a cop,” he said.
	She laughed. “Oh. That would explain it!” 
	He accompanied her to the buzzers outside the door. “5D,” she said. He pushed the buzzer. 
	“Hooligans! Ruffians!” Coran’s voice hooted tinnily through the speaker.
	“Coran, it’s Starlight,” she said, hoping he’d take the hint that she wasn’t using her real name. “We need your help, please.”
	“‘We’?” he asked.
	“Please just come down.”
	“On my way.”
	She looked to Keith. “I hate to ask, but he might need help getting Paladin inside, and I…”
	“Yeah, I got it. If he’s okay with me coming in, I can do it. Is, uh… is he going to be able to take care of your other problem?” 
	“I believe so, yes. It’s better you not ask how.”
	“Just so long as he’s not going to cut your arms off,” Keith said.
	“Unlikely,” she assured him.
	Coran came running out in his robe and pajamas. “Heavens, Starlight, what happened?”
	“Bad guys. Paladin’s unconscious and I can’t bring him in. This is a friend of Paladin’s, Keith. He can help you get him inside, but we need…”
	“To get off the street before someone sees you,” Coran finished for her. “Yes, yes. Head inside; I didn’t latch the door.” He bent over and waved at Krolia, who waved back. “Young man, let’s get our super-buddy bundled up the stairs. ‘Fraid there’s not an elevator.”
	“Great,” Keith groaned. “He’s not light.”
	“Well, you see, I was an athlete in my youth; considered quite the physical specimen…”
	“Coran,” Allura warned him.
	“You get upstairs,” he chided her. “We’ll bring him in safe and sound.”
	She trudged up the stairs, glad to be safe, scared that they might not be as safe as they thought (even though no one had followed them), confused as to how they got out, worried about Shiro. Also, her arms were killing her. 
	She fell onto Coran’s sofa and stared up at the ceiling with a sigh. She just let her mind wander idly as she zoned out, until she heard Keith and Coran struggling to get Shiro up the stairs. She stood and moved aside so they could lay him out on the couch.
	“Thank you for all your help,” she said to Keith. “And your mother’s as well. I’ll find a way to repay you both.”
	“You don’t have to,” he said. “We’re happy to help those who are helping the city.”
	“Well… gas money at least,” she said.
	“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’d better go; it’s getting late.”
	“Thank you again.”
	“Hold on!” Coran said. He darted into the kitchen and came back out with two snickerdoodles. “Here. One for you and one for your mother. It’s at least something.”
	Allura chuckled. “They’re really good.”
	“Oh, uh… thanks.” Keith accepted them and headed back downstairs.
	Coran shut the door quietly, locked it, and then turned to her, his genteel good humor suddenly gone.
	“I’m going to get those off of you and you’re going to EXPLAIN.”
	Coran cut the restraints off with a maser chisel and she flexed her arms and whimpered. She rubbed life back into them as she explained to him what had happened, leaving out as few details as possible. She wanted to skip over the fact that she’d kissed Shiro, but there was no other way to explain what had happened, so, blushingly, she’d included it, though she left out detailing her thought processes. She’d sobbed on Coran’s shoulder about Shiro enough times by now. It was unnecessary (and embarrassing).
	But, for some reason, Coran pressed her on it. “What were you thinking when you kissed him?”
	“Coran!”
	He sighed. “I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
	“I…” She looked down at her hands and fidgeted, squirming in her seat. They were in chairs in the living room, and she glanced over at Shiro, still passed out on the couch. She looked back to her hands. “I thought it was the only moment we’d ever have, and even if he was unconscious, I just… wanted him to know I was there. It was the only chance I’d ever have to express my feelings, so I…”
	“Put as much of yourself into the kiss as you could?” he asked.
	She nodded.
	“Well, that explains it.” As she looked over to him, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I wasn’t sure, you see. It was likely you were, but not guaranteed, and I honestly never thought it’d come up here on Earth.”
	“What? What are you talking about?” 
	He looked at her. “You’re not just the last princess of Altea. You’re very likely the last Sacred Altean.”
	She huffed in annoyance. “MUST I be the last of everything? Can I not just be me?!”
	“I know, I know, but let me explain this.”
	“You’re telling me I have some sort of ‘superpower’ I didn’t even know about?”
	“Essentially, though I wouldn’t characterize it as a ‘superpower.’ This is a blessing from the Goddess of the Universe Herself.”
	She sighed. Coran had raised her to worship the Altean pantheon. She observed the rituals because it made her feel close to a culture - and a family - she could never otherwise know, but if the Altean pantheon existed, it seemed to her they might have done more for their worshippers. 
	“Your father was Sacred, too. Like I said, there was always a chance you would be as well, but not a guarantee.” He cleared his throat.
	“All living beings have quintessence - this Dr. King chose a good English word for it. Plants, animals, insects, people. Quintessence is life force, it’s life energy. Most people only have enough to live on. Some people - like Shiro, it sounds like - have an abundance of it. I don’t know if that’s because of his superpowers - or the accident that caused them - or if he always had that extra spark. Possibly both.
	“But you, as a Sacred Altean, can have so much more. You are a nearly-limitless reservoir of quintessence. You can take it and channel it, use it, bend it to your will.”
	She stared at him. “You’re saying I can do magic.”
	He nodded. “Essentially, yes. With training. You can absorb quintessence from others… and you can also impart it to them.” 
	Coran looked over to Shiro. “I think that’s what you did. You essentially ‘jump-started’ him. You intended to give him a part of yourself - and you did. You gave him some of your quintessence, and it not only roused him, briefly, but it gave him enough juice to teleport you both out. Though, from what you’ve said about his powers before, it sounds like a good thing your lips were touching his; if you hadn’t been in contact with him, you might not have ‘gone with him,’ as it were.”
	“I did that.” She didn’t really question it. She couldn’t. It was the only thing that made sense. She gave him her energy and he used it to get them out and that was why he…
	Her eyes widened. “Oh, quiznak.”
	“Language!”
	She looked to Shiro briefly and then back to Coran. “I just realized: he didn’t say ‘Starlight.’ He said ‘Allura.’ He said my name even though I was Starlight at the time, and…”
	“He might just have been reacting to your quintessence.”
	“Maybe, but… ohhh, if he didn’t know before, he knows now and…”
	“That’s assuming he remembers it,” Coran told her. “Calm down. It’s enough that you’re both safe and relatively unharmed.”
	She made herself take some deep breaths and refocused her attention away from her anxiety. “Is he going to be okay?” 
	“I don’t see why not. I don’t know what Sendak’s arm did to him, but if I had to guess? Some sort of taser-type of thing. Likely quintessence-disrupting, seeing as how it’s Dr. King’s new toy.” He harrumphed at the disrespect of it all. “If I had to guess, they found some debris or something from our… landing.”
	She frowned. “You always told me we came in smooth as a glidmer’s backside.”
	“I… may have exaggerated things a bit,” he hemmed. 
	“Coran!” she groaned. “That piece of Altean tech in her hands…!”
	“I know, I know. I thought I’d gathered up all the detritus; I suppose I missed a chunk. In my defense, I was on an entirely new planet trying to take care of an infant and avoid detection.”
	She reached over and patted his arm. “You did the best you could.”
	He changed subjects. “Anyway, if you’re truly worried about him, you could give him another dose of quintessence. Now that you know you’re doing it, you could give him enough to keep him awake. You don’t have to kiss him to do it, either, though if you want to, I can give you two some privacy…”
	She rolled her eyes. “Will he recover on his own?”
	“In time. Quintessence in a living being is replenishable; just needs food, water, and rest.”
	Shiro groaned and began to stir. 
	“Case in point,” Coran said. “And now I think it’s time that you two had a talk of your own? I’ll be in the kitchen.”
	“Thank you. But… we’ll talk more about this ‘Sacred Altean’ thing, yes?”
	“Of course we will. When your paramour isn’t waking up.” He rose from his chair.
	“He’s not my paramour!” she protested.
	“Who’s not what?” Shiro groaned as he opened his eyes.
	Allura blushed and cleared her throat and called after Coran, “You’re using the word wrong anyway!” But then she focused on Shiro, who was trying to sit up. “Maybe you shouldn’t…”
	“I’m fine, just hoping someone got the license plate of the truck that ran me over.” He looked around. “Where are we?”
	“Safe. And we need to talk if you’re…”
	He cut her off. “Yes, we do.”
	“The last thing I remember was seeing Sendak coming through the door of that office.”
	“You don’t remember anything else?” she asked him. She moved from her chair to come sit on the couch next to him.
	His brow furrowed as he concentrated. “Not… really? There was a …a feeling at one point. A… warmth that I… recognized?” He raised his gaze to her. “And it was you. I don’t understand that part, but pretty much everything else is just Sendak, then pain, then darkness, that warmth for a moment, more darkness, and now I’m on this couch.”
	She took a breath and started explaining what had happened. “…and I realized there wasn’t going to be a way out. They were going to drain you of your life energy and she was going to just… overwrite me and erase me from existence and…” She could feel the heat in her face and she knew she was blushing and she couldn’t continue until she built up her courage. I’d rather go face the two of them alone than admit this. But… he loves Starlight, and I am Starlight right now, so… so this shouldn’t be this difficult.
	His hand appeared on hers. “Are you okay?” The genuine concern ringing through his voice broke something in her.
	She latched onto him, hugging him as hard as she dared, feeling the tears leak out from beneath her mask. And he wrapped his arms around her as best he could when they were sitting next to each other like this. He rubbed her back and didn’t press her to speak.
	After a few minutes, she said, “I’m sorry,” and sniffled. “I’m just so happy you’re alive and I’m alive and we’re safe and… I’m just happy.”
	“Oh, I like happy tears more than sad ones. You don’t have to tell me if it’s upsetting. I’m curious how we got out though.”
	She sniffled again. “That’s… it’s not that it’s upsetting, it’s… and it’s related to how we got out, and I should tell you anyway. I mean…” She pulled away out of his arms. “Technically I assaulted you and you have the right to press charges.”
	He smiled. “You could kill me and I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
	She snorted briefly and rolled her eyes. “Shut up; you’re not making this any easier.”
	“You’re smiling a little,” he pointed out. “That’s a start.”
	She took a deep breath, held it, exhaled and admitted, “I convinced them to let me kiss you.”
	His mouth dropped open a little, and he seemed to freeze in place.
	“I didn’t even know I was doing it, but after talking with… my assistant,” what she always called Coran in this context, “he thinks I ‘jump-started’ you. Apparently I have an ability I didn’t even know about, and I’ve a lot to learn about it still, but I basically pushed some of my own quintessence into you. And you woke up long enough to teleport us both out of there before you fell back into unconsciousness again.”
	She studied his face. It took him a moment to speak again. “That… that was the warmth I felt, I bet. Your life energy.” 
	She took over the narrative again, pushing past all of that onto his friends showing up. He grinned widely when he heard who it was and shook his head. “I owe him.”
	“We both do,” she said. She went on to explain where they were and concluded with, “So, near as I know, we’re safe for now.”
	He leaned back against the couch. “Hell of an evening.”
	“That’s an understatement.” She fidgeted and then said, “I apologize for kissing you without your consent.”
	He barked a laugh. “If you hadn’t, we’d be dead. Besides,” he sat up again, “I’m only sorry I don’t remember it.” He reached a hand out to tuck some hair behind one of her ears. “Let’s just be clear here that you have a standing invitation to my lips whenever you want them.”
	She stood and turned away from him, hugging herself. “Please don’t say that. Not… not yet. Not when you don’t know who I am, and…”
	“You’re Allura Fala.”
	She closed her eyes but nodded. She couldn’t bear to face him yet. “How did you figure it out? Was it something about my quintessence, or…?”
	“I, uh… didn’t figure it out. I followed you. Back… well, back here, most likely. Your ‘assistant’ is Coran Smythe?”
	She whipped around to face him and caught him stumbling back. He’d stood as well, apparently, and she’d just smacked him with her hair. “Oops, sorry! But…”
	“I told you, I followed you. I watched you climb into a window on the fifth floor, read the buzzers, then hid again when you and Coran walked out. And you were you again, or you were Allura again at any rate.”
	“You little sneak!” She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him, the effect surely ruined by the smirk starting to spread across her lips. “Of course, what did I expect from my best investigative reporter?”
	“Wait, you…?” He caught himself. “I mean…”
	“Oh, come off it, Shiro, I know it’s you. Well, I do now, anyway. And I figured it out, thank you very much! None of this sneaking around nonsense!”
	He pulled his mask and cowl off, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, so what’d I do that gave me away?”
	“Byline.”
	“It’s not that uncommon a term!”
	“Maybe not in a newsroom, it’s not!”
	“Normal people use ‘byline’!”
	“Normal people don’t teleport,” she shot back at him. 
	He blinked at her and then started laughing, and she couldn’t help laughing, too. It felt good to banter with him again, as if this - anything about this - was anything approaching “normal.”
	“Remember when you ‘saved’ me that first time?” she asked him.
	“I can hear the air quotes in there, and I object to them.”
	“I was going over the evidence about you being Paladin. That’s why I was so lost in thought.”
	“And walked out into traffic, nearly getting hit by a car.”
	“I would have been fine. The car might not have been.”
	He snorted. “So I showed up to save you right when you were figuring out my identity. Appropriate.”
	“When did you follow me?” she wanted to know.
	“Oh, uh… it was just before the accident. I was trying to figure out how to tell you I knew but then…” He shrugged.
	But her eyes widened. “You’ve known all this time?”
	“Well… yeah. I mean, it was only going to get more and more awkward to bring it up. And we were busy crime-fighting, and…”
	She groaned. “I still would have appreciated you saying something. After everything I…” She paused. “Um. Before I take that any farther, I feel like there’s something else about me you should know.”
	His eyebrows both rose. “I can’t even begin to fathom what further secrets you might have.”
	She removed her mask, and then took off the ear caps. “I’m not human,” she said, looking him in the eye. “Coran and I are both from the planet Altea. My father sent us away when I was just a baby to protect me from Altea’s impending destruction.”
	He blinked. 
	He studied her.
	Then he reached out - with his left hand - and slowly traced the shape of her ear. She shivered pleasantly, and bit her lip. He was making sure the ears were real, not… but she couldn’t help reacting a little.
	“You are literally out of this world.”
	She burst out laughing. “That is your reaction? A bad pun?!”
	“I’m sorry, but… it’s all I can think of!” He looked embarrassed as he pulled his hand away. “So is this what you really look like, then?”
	“Mostly. Except for my height. I can alter my shape some, and that’s how I look like a normal human most of the time. But I do make myself taller to be Starlight.”
	“Incredible.” He shook his head. “And so all of your tech and gadgets are… Altean?” he guessed at the word.
	She nodded. “Yes. And we think Dr. King might have gotten her hands on some. Apparently our landing wasn’t as smooth as I thought it was, and there might have been some scattered debris from the crash. Coran cleaned up as best he could, but…”
	“He missed some. And Galra found it.” He nodded. “That would make sense.”
	“Unfortunately so.” She sighed.
	“So, is that it, then? Because I think I have a secret I haven’t shared yet.”
	She snorted. “‘Is that it’? That’s all you can say? I’m your editor and also an alien and…”
	“…and I love you.”
	It was her turn to freeze. She swallowed hard. “Even though I’m Allura?”
	His brow furrowed. “Especially because you’re Allura. Why would you ever think otherwise?”
	“Well… y-you rejected me.”
	“What? When?!”
	“When I walked out into traffic the second time. When I was flirting with you while interviewing you.”
	“Tha-…? Oh my god, Allura, I thought… I thought you were desperate to get the interview, that you didn’t mean it. I mean, you’re in love with someone else! Why would I…”
	“I’m in love with YOU!” she declared. “I always have been!”
	“Wait, but you rejected me…”
	“I didn’t know you were Paladin then. I turned Paladin down for a kiss because I wanted Shiro. And it was only afterwards that I realized you were the same person!”
	“Oh my god, I’m such an idiot.” He fell onto the couch, dropping his mask next to him. “We’re both idiots.”
	“I’m afraid so.” She sat next to him again. “But for some reason, I still love you, Mr. Lucky.”
	He snorted and then laughed again.
	“So… you love me as Allura, too?”
	He turned to her and smiled. “Yeah. I always thought Allura was a knockout, but she - you were my boss, so there was that wall there. Allura was untouchable; Starlight was safe to pursue. Finding out you and Starlight were the same person?” He shook his head ruefully. “I was a goner. Starlight was always incredible, but I didn’t know that much about her. But Allura? Allura is gorgeous and clever and smart and funny and driven and… and…”
	“And no longer your boss,” she pointed out. “I told you Lotor had nothing to do with the transfer. I asked the old owners for it before I even knew he was going to buy the paper. The timing was a coincidence. But then you rejected my flirting and I thought you only loved Starlight, and…”
	“I’m sorry.” He gathered her into his arms again. “I’m so, so sorry.”
	“I am, too,” she whispered. 
		There was a very loud throat-clearing from the kitchen. “No hanky-panky on my sofa, please!” Coran’s voice demanded.
She pulled away and was glad to see Shiro was as red-faced as she was. “Uh, perhaps we can talk more about this somewhere else?” 
	“My place?” he asked. “I can always get back home, no matter where I am.”
	“Sure.” 
	“It’ll help if we’re standing.” 
	“Oh, right.” She got back to her feet. 
	He picked up his mask in his right hand then stood and offered her his left. 
	She accepted it and let him pull her in to him. “Are you sure you have the energy to teleport?”
	“I… should? But, you know, just in case…”
	She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, and this time he responded, wrapping his right arm around her waist, eyes falling closed as he kissed her. She tried to focus on putting all of herself into the kiss again, as she had before, sliding a hand around to the back of his neck and holding onto his waist with the other.
	And when she opened her eyes, they were… “Um… is this your bedroom?”
	He was blushing. “I’m sorry. I normally end up in my living room. This has never happened before.”
	She grinned up at him. “Is someone getting his hopes up?”
	“Maaaaaybe a little?” He bent to kiss her again and again and again, then moved to her cheek and over to her ear.
	She gasped, tightening her grip on his waist. “Don’t…” She had to pause to catch her breath as he nibbled on her earlobe. “Don’t you think we should take things a little slower?”
	“I’ll make you pancakes in the morning,” he said, breath hot against her ear.
	“Deal!” she replied before hauling his face back so she could kiss him again.
NSFW STARTS HERE – skip this section
	He dropped his mask to the ground so he could hold her tighter, humming happily against her lips. He ran his hands over her body, already feeling the excitement rushing through his veins. Starlight - Allura - she was here in his apartment, in his bedroom, and she was kissing him and she loved him and he was going to make love to her for the rest of the night and make pancakes for her in the morning and they’d nearly died but now here they were and he was so keyed up he had no idea where to even begin.
	Her hands were deftly getting him out of his suit, but he had to pull away to confess, “I have no idea how your suit works.”
	She laughed. “Let me show you then.”
	He took a seat on the edge of the bed, the top of his suit already open thanks to her. She smiled at him, unhooking her belt and very carefully lowering it to the floor. “Don’t want anything to go off accidentally.” He chuckled. She had so many gadgets and pouches and gadgets in pouches and it was all alien tech - I owe Pidge an apology - so he understood her caution.
	He watched as her fingers unerringly found the hidden buttons and closures and he sucked in a breath as she slowly began to peel the suit off. His eyebrows rose at one point. “You don’t wear a bra underneath it?”
	“The suit provides the required support and stability,” she told him. “And if I have a chance to go without a bra, I absolutely take it.”
	He grinned. “I’m certainly not complaining.” He took the opportunity to get his boots off as more and more of her lovely skin appeared. “Oh, but you do wear panties.”
	“Disappointed?” she asked.
	“Only a little. I don’t predict they’ll stay on much longer.” 
	She tsked at him. “Impatient?”
	“You have no idea.”
	She laughed. “Your turn.” She was down to only those panties, after all. She seemed to… shrink a little, and he realized she was reverting to her normal height. 
	They switched places and he tried to give her a good show, including turning around and shaking his ass at her. She laughed again at that and tried to give him a swat, but he teleported away and pouted at her exaggeratedly. She just giggled again, and he couldn’t even pretend to stay mad. “I love hearing you laugh. I always have. It’s a rare treat.”
	“I suppose it is,” she agreed. “Rare, anyway.”
	“I’ll do my best to make it a more frequent occurrence.” He finished pulling the suit off.
	She frowned. “You wear a cup? You have so little faith in our technology? That is the finest Altean cyfal-weave!”
	“A, I don’t know what that is, and B, I absolutely wear a cup,” he said. “I’m not taking chances.”
	“Mmm, speaking of protection…?”
	“That nightstand drawer,” he said, jerking his chin towards the one on the far side of the bed.
	She beamed and practically launched herself at it. “I should have known you’d be prepared. They… might not be necessary, but it’s better to be sure.”
	He paused. “What do you mean ‘might not be necessary’?”
	She was on her stomach, reaching towards the drawer. “Altean biology and technology.”
	He teleported over to that side of the bed and squatted down to be eye level with her. “Explain, please.”
	She leaned in to kiss his nose. “Even if you gave me a disease, Coran brought a cryo-replenisher pod with him. We can’t run it all the time - it has too much of a power draw - but it could get rid of any illness and injuries I might acquire. Also an early-stage unwanted pregnancy.”
	He was confused. “So then why ‘might not’?”
	Allura blushed. “That’s the biology part. Coran told me that Altean fertility is influenced by our feelings.” She pushed herself up so she was kneeling on the bed; he rose to be able to stay closer to eye-level with her (though he was actually taller again like this). The color in her cheeks increased but her voice remained steady as she said, “I want you so much, care for you so deeply, that my body may read that as my wanting your child as well. It will respond according to those perceived wishes.”
	“So even if you wouldn’t normally become pregnant, you might anyway because of how much you love me?” he asked.
	She nodded. “Yes.” She rose up, sliding her hands over his body to loop around his neck. “I have laid in my bed at night and dreamed of you, brought myself to climax again and again with your name on my lips, wishing I could have you within me as I lay in your arms.” 
	His cock twitched at her words, and he couldn’t tear himself away from her eyes - blue and pink, so strange, so lovely, but her gaze was straightforward, hungry, and hot. He ran his hands over her, feeling her skin against his (well, against his left hand anyway), licked his lips and said, “I’ve done the same. W-well, not the exact same, but… dreamed of you. Fantasized. Longed for you. I’ve spent so much time wanting you I hardly know where to start now.”
	She smiled. “I know. It’s like I want all the dreams to come true at once, but at the same time…”
	“…I want to take it slow and just revel in the fact that this is really happening,” he finished. She nodded in agreement and he leaned in to kiss her.
	“I think it’s best we use protection, just so I don’t have to keep using the cryo-replenisher. We’ll cause a power blackout if we use it too much.”
	He nodded. “Of course. I intended to anyway.”
	“Such a good man,” she murmured before kissing him again.
	“So,” he said when he had use of his lips again, “what else do I need to know about Altean biology?” He grinned.
	She got it, of course, and released him so she could lay down on her back. “Well, I do have a clitoris but it’s not quite the same as it is for humans.”
	He joined her on the bed. “Go on.”
	“Take my panties off.”
	“Yes, ma’am.” One of her eyebrows ticked up at that. He tossed her his infamous mocking salute and she rolled her eyes and grinned. He caressed her thigh softly then hooked his hands into the side of her panties to start sliding them down her legs. He took his time, watching them descend, then tossed them to the floor. 
	She spread her legs for him and he gladly positioned himself between them. “For me, the clitoris is more… relaxing than arousing. It does do both, just more one than the other. Unlike most humans, I usually require penetration to… get the job done.”
	“Uh huh,” he said. “So what you’re telling me is that, in order to come, you need to have something inside you.”
	She smirked. “Something hard and thick,” she said before biting her lower lip.
	“Filling you up.”
	“Yes.”
	“So, if I were to suggest, say… licking your clit while fingering you, you would say…”
	“Two fingers to start and I’ll tell you exactly where they need to go.”
	He grinned and slid up between her legs. He pushed her thighs a bit wider so he could get in between them properly. She did look exactly like he expected, aside from the fact that her curls were the same starlight color as her hair. He spread her lips and lapped at her clit. She sighed happily like she was relaxing into a warm bath. And then he slid two fingers inside her.
		She moaned. “Ohhh, that’s nice. There’s… there are nerve bundles inside… that act more like a normal human clitoris - more pleasure than relaxation. Push just a little more - nngh… yes, just… THERE!” His fingers were in her to the second knuckle and he made a beckoning motion with them experimentally.
	She gasped and arched a little. 
	“Is that good?”
	“Oh god yes please do that again,” she whimpered.
	So he did, and she arched again, and he grinned and settled in to experiment. He tried different combinations of licking her clit and stroking that spot in her. It took some testing, but he finally found a combo that had her writhing and moaning, “Shiro.”
	“Takashi,” he said. “Please. When we’re alone…”
	“Takashi,” she agreed breathlessly. “Please don’t stop.”
	“As you wish.” She smelled intense, but different than anyone else he’d ever been with. Well, everyone smelled (and tasted) a little different, but this was like expensive champagne compared to cheap gin. He kept up his pattern though: short beckoning strokes combined with soft sucking on her clit, then a long caress with his fingers when he stopped for air. 
	“Takashi, I… I’m going to…”
	He pulled away from her clit and kept his voice low as he said, “Come for me, Allura,” and he pressed hard within her. 
	She practically screamed as she came, and he knew he’d be hearing from the neighbors in the morning, but he’d just face them with the biggest grin because he’d just made the most amazing woman in the universe come for him. He slid his fingers out and only now realized he’d been using his right hand the whole time. His fingers were soaked and he gave into his curiosity, sliding them into his mouth and licking them clean. “Mmmm. You’re exquisite.” 
	She was still breathing hard, eyes closed, but she smiled as she panted. He took his time cleaning his fingers off and then got up to get a towel from the bathroom. He dropped it at the end of the bed and climbed back up to lay on his side next to her.
	“Oh, fuck, Takashi…”
	“I’m never going to get tired of hearing you say my name,” he whispered against her ear.
	“Nor will I tire of you saying mine.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “And it’s so nice to be with you as the real me. I’ve never been able to with anyone else. I always had to look human.”
	“Does it tire you out, being shifted all the time?”
	“Not physically. Not for just being Starlight or being human. I’ve gotten used to them, you know? But it wears my soul out. I’ve always got some sort of mask on. I’m never quite myself.”
	“You never have to hide who you are from me,” he told her, and she pounced on him, pinning him back to the mattress as she kissed him hard. He yielded to her passion, melting against her body and her lips.
	“I’m so torn now,” she confessed. “On one hand, I’d love to know what you taste like, but on the other, I want you inside me…”
	“We have all night. And the morning. And the afternoon, and evening…”
	“When you’re not making me pancakes.”
	“When I’m not making you pancakes,” he agreed.
	She bit her lip again, then apparently decided, because she pulled away to roll over and finally get at the nightstand drawer with the condoms in it. “I’m rarely too sensitive to go again right away, but I think I might be this time. That was so good.”
	“I can be patient,” he said.
	She rolled back over and eyed his very hard dick. “Really?”
	“It goes away, you know.”
	“I don’t want it to,” she pouted. “Not yet, anyway.”
	He chuckled. “It can come back, too.” He rolled towards her and murmured, “Just moan my name some more and talk about how much you love me and need me.”
	She smiled, opening the wrapper. “I love you so much, Takashi.”
	“Well, you don’t have to say that now.”
	“Yes, I do.”
	He kissed her again and moaned against her mouth as he felt her start to unroll the condom onto his erect cock. And after she had him entirely sheathed, she pulled away and grinned and whispered, “I love you and I can hardly wait to have you deep inside me.”
	“I thought you were too sensitive?”
	“I said I might be. I’m willing to try.”
	“Ride me?” he asked. 
	“One of your favorite fantasies?” she purred back at him.
	“Absolutely,” he confirmed immediately. “For both Starlight and Allura.” He rolled onto his back.
	She laughed. “Oh, we had different fantasies?”
	“Well, Starlight has saved my ‘cute ass’ so many times,” she blushed at that, “that I figure it belongs to her now.”
	“Oh, really? Sooo is the Starlight variant her pinning you down and riding you hard until she comes?”
	“Exactly.”
	“What’s the Allura variant?”
	“Uh, pretty much the same only without the pinning.”
	She chuckled and straddled his thighs, lightly teasing his cock with her fingertips. “Which do you want now?”
	“Whichever you want. Whatever you want. I just want to watch you enjoy yourself.”
	“On your cock. Pleasuring myself with your body, moaning yourname, coming because of you and no one else…”
	“YES,” he groaned. “Please, you’re killing me here.”
	“Still impatient, I see.”
	He licked his lips. “I’ll beg for it if you want me to.”
	“Maybe another night.” She rose up and moved forward. “Though I’d be lying if I said the thought of having you at my mercy isn’t enticing.”
	“I’m always at your mercy,” he said, watching her align herself. “I’ve been yours for the asking for a long, long time, Allura.”
	“And now, at last…” He watched her body take in just the head. “I can have you.”
	“Yes.” 
	She lowered herself a little more, breath hitching and then sighing as she adjusted. “Mmm, so much better than I dreamed you’d be…”
	He laid his hands on her legs, just above her knees. “Nnnfuck, you’re so hot… so tight…”
	“You’re bigger than my toys,” she told him. She moaned as she eased him into the wet heat of her body. “Ahhh, Takashi.” She eased back up a little, then slid back down. She trembled, a full-body pulse of what he hoped was pleasure. 
	“You okay?”
	“Y-yes. You’re… hitting multiple nerve bundles at once, and.. ahhh… this is why penetration is better for me.”
	He reached forward to rub her clit, and her head fell back. She rose up and slid down again, then again but with a buck of her hips that pulled a gasp out of him.
	It took a while to find a rhythm, to find the best ways, but once they did, they fell into it effortlessly. And then she finally took him in completely, as deep as he could get, the head of his cock hit something within her and she cried out loud and fell forward, her hands on his shoulders as she panted for air.
	“Something really good is right there, isn’t it?” he asked.
	She nodded and scraped air together. “Yes. The tightest packed nerve bundle, around the cervix and the entrance to the womb. Meant to encourage deepest penetration for…”
	“Biology lesson is over,” he said, and he rocked his hips up.
	She moaned.
	He took hold of her, lifting her up and then pulling her back down to meet him again. Each thrust was better than the last - for him and, clearly, for her. She pushed herself up, took over her own movements, got them back into their rhythm and truly began to ride him.
	She was babbling in what must have been Altean - it was unlike any language he’d ever heard before. When she could manage to, she’d catch his gaze with her own, and there was something feral there, something primal and hungry. He felt claimed, possessed, like she was a fierce lioness and he was her prey - no, her mate. He didn’t think it worked like that, at least, not on Earth, but he would’ve sworn in that moment that lions existed on Altea and the female claimed the male as hers and hers forever there. 
	He was hers and he never wanted to be with another. 
	He tightened his grip on her hips, tried to meet her gravity-aided descents with his own upward thrusts. If he was her mate, he was going to make sure she knew it. Maybe, on Altea, the lions claimed each other. 
	She cried out with each thrust, kept trying to say his name but never got farther than the first syllable, and then she screamed again and the sound of the neighbors pounding on the walls yelling at them to shut up fell away into the distance as he came with her.
	And when he opened his eyes, she was still sitting astride him, chest heaving, looking fiercely proud and pleased for just a moment before she fell forward.
	He caught her, lowered her down to lay her head on his shoulder and she hummed in delight and snuggled in against him. He felt himself slip out of her, knew he was still half hard and that he needed to change the condom, but those were problems for the Takashi of Five Minutes From Now to deal with, because this one had his arms full of an Allura so content she was practically purring.
	“I’m going to suck you until you’re hard again and then it’s your turn to take me.”
	He barked a laugh. “So much for romantic pillow talk.”
	“I know you’re not done yet,” she murmured with an almost drunken grin.
	“As if I could ever have enough of you. But we’re going to piss off my neighbors if you keep being that loud.”
	“They’d better buy some earplugs and white noise machines,” she said. “I want to hold onto your headboard while you fuck me hard.”
	“What if I want to make slow, sweet, sensual love to you?” he asked. “What if I want to…”
	“Later,” she said. “Please. I’ve had my own fantasies, after all.”
	“Of me pounding you from behind?”
	“Of you needing me so desperately you lose control and you have to have me right away, hard and fast.”
	He kissed her. “I’ve never needed anyone the way I need you.” Another kiss. “I love you, Allura.”
	“And I love you, Takashi. Now let’s get this condom off. I’m glad to see you have a whole box in there, but…”
	He laughed. “I can always throw on sweatpants and teleport to the corner for more.”
	“Good.”
END NSFW – last section is SFW (well… more so than the previous section was)
	It was well past ten o’clock, with no sign of Shirogane. Lotor frowned and headed down to the third floor.
	“Where’s Ms. Fala?” he asked as he strode out of the elevator.
	The music cut out instantly. One of the people - a young man - jumped up from his desk. “Uh, haven’t seen her today, sir.”
	“You’re… Lonce, right? Call her up, find out where she is.”
	“Lance, and, uh… sure, I can… I can do that. I guess. I mean, she’s my boss, so it’s really…”
	“And I’m her boss. Call. Her.”
	Lance pulled his cellphone out, fumbled it a bit but managed to catch it before it fell, smiled uneasily, and hit her contact info. After a moment he said, “Uh, boss, you coming in today?”
	Lotor wished Lance had thought to put it on speakerphone. He wanted to hear what was being said. 
	“Oh, yeah, I see. Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, hold on, lemme get something to write with…” He ran back to his desk and started taking notes. “…well, I have Bex on that, I thought… You’re sure? Okay, great, I’ll keep her there and put Tyler on that new kebab place. Yeah. No, I know.” 
	And then Lance paused and Lotor saw his ears start to go red. And the young man said, all of a sudden, “Yeaaaaaaaahokaybosshaveagoodday!” and hung up the phone. 
	He turned back to Lotor, still red-faced and cleared his throat. “She’s not coming in today. She’s… uh… she’s busy.”
	“Busy.” He arched an eyebrow, expecting more of an explanation.
	“Busy,” Lance repeated with a firm nod. 
	Lotor rolled his eyes, shook his head, and pulled out his own cell. He hit Allura’s number as he headed for the stairs (the elevators would have interfered with the call). 
	She picked up partway through the fourth ring. “Lotor?”
	“Surely you are aware of the time, are you not?”
	“Don’t know and don’t care,” she said.
	He blinked. “Are you not coming in at all today?”
	She sighed in annoyance. “If you’ll check with HR, you’ll find that I have never missed a single day at the paper, and if you’ll recall our time in college together, you’ll remember I never missed a single class either. Just one day off shouldn’t be a problem.”
	“It wouldn’t be, if you had requested it in advance.”
	“I’ve already arranged for everything that needs to be done in my absence.”
	“Fine, fine. But while I have you on the phone, do you know where Shirogane is?”
	“Shiro? Well, he often doesn’t come in when he’s working on a story.”
	“What story is he working on?”
	“I have no idea. I’m not his boss any longer,” she reminded him. And then she gasped and her voice got fainter, as if she’d turned away from the phone. “You’re terrible!”
	A man’s voice - quiet, barely audible - replied, “That’s not what you said last night. Or this morning. Or half an hour ago.”
	“Stop that! I’m on the phone!” 
	“Are you… with someone?” he asked her.
	When she replied, she was fully-audible again. “And so what if I am?”
	“I’d be happy for you,” he lied smoothly as he walked back out of the stairwell, “but I’d remind you that that’s not a good enough reason to skip work.”
	“He said he’d make me pancakes.”
	“Oh, well, if there are pancakes involved, I won’t keep you. But you can’t give me any help with Shirogane?”
	“Well, as a matter of fact, I think I do know what Shiro’s up to today,” she said.
	“Really?” he asked as he got back to his office. “What’s that?”
	“He’s making me pancakes.” And the line went dead.
	Lotor blinked at his phone and set it down on the desk. He absorbed that bit of information, then used the desk phone to call Shirogane’s personal cell. He set it on speakerphone and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was an annoying way to start the morning.
	“Yes, boss?” Shirogane’s voice asked. He sounded about half as annoyed as Lotor felt. 
	“I take it you’re not coming into the office today?”
	“Not today, no.”
	“I just got off the phone with Ms. Fala and she made a rather shocking innuendo about you.”
	“Oh, well, she can be like that sometimes.” There was a hissed, “Shiro!” in the background. “What’d she say? Or imply?”
	“That you two were sleeping together.”
	“OH. Well, let me clear that up right away: Allura and I absolutely slept together last night.”
	The “Takashi!” that was hissed in the background was very recognizable as Allura’s voice. Meanwhile, Shirogane was continuing - and sounding quite pleased with himself as he did so:
	“In my bed. All night. Moaning each other’s names. And now I’m going to make her moan my name some more and then I’m going to make her some pancakes, if she ever lets me out of bed.”
	“Oh my god,” Allura was laughing in the background. Then she eep!-ed and was quiet.
	“Furthermore, sir, my time - OUR TIME - off the clock is Our. Time.Bye.” And the line went dead. 
	Lotor picked the receiver up and slammed it back into the cradle by way of ending the call. When he looked up, the entire newsroom seemed to be crowded around his doorway. “Don’t you have work to do?” he asked them, and they scattered.
	He glared at the phone. His parents had informed him of last night’s disappointment, and now it seemed he was in for some of his own this morning. He hadn’t bought the paper to get close to Allura again, though that had certainly been an unexpected benefit. She would have been a marvelous - and marvelously useful - partner. But it seemed that much, at least, was off the table. 
	Shirogane was working on something that he wouldn’t tell him about, and Lotor wanted to know what it was. But, if nothing else, he wasn’t going to be doing that today. There was that silver lining. Allura’s charms had bought him a day of not worrying about what the nosy reporter was digging into.
	Still, Lotor could see that it was likely to be two against one, and not in the way he’d hoped. But, I am meant to be hiring for this position. And I think I know just the person for the job… Yes, today could still turn out quite good. He picked up his cellphone to make one more call. 

The End… for now