“That storm blew in fast,” Shiro said as he helped Allura into the cave and out of the blisteringly cold wind. 
	They’d come here tracing back Kuron’s path to them. The other paladins were scouring different parts of the planet, in pairs, just to be safe. This part of the planet was snowy and cold. And then a blizzard swept in suddenly, nearly blinding them and making communication with the team difficult. It was sheer luck that he’d found the cave. He sat down, back to the stone wall. It was dark in here, barely enough light to see more than shapes, but at least they were out of the wind. 
	Allura leaned against the wall and slumped down. “I hate cold planets,” she grumped.
	“I’m not sure we have anything to burn for a fire,” he replied, looking around in the wan light and finding only rock, snow, and more rock.
	She hugged herself and shivered. “Alteans don’t do well in the cold.”
	“Really?”
	“Well, this Altean doesn’t do well in the cold.”
	He chuckled. “I’m not fond of it either. Here, scooch over this way.”
	“Scooch?”
	“Oh. Uh, here.” He went over to her; it put him that much farther from the cold, after all. “We’ll stay warmer the closer we are.”
	She nodded and leaned against him, looking out past him into the storm. “How long do you think it will last?”
	“Hopefully not too long.”
~*~*~*~
	It had been at least two vargas. Shiro had shed his helmet and had his left arm around Allura’s shoulders. She was huddled against him, shivering violently. She’d let her hair down to cover her neck more, but it was apparently very little help. 
	He didn’t want to get too far into the cave. They had little enough light as it was, and he wanted to make sure nothing would interfere with the team finding them. Too far in and the rock might muck with the comms.
	“I w-wish it would stop,” she said through chattering teeth.
	“So do I. Or that we could find something for a fire.” He was cold, very cold, but she was, as she’d warned, not doing well. He tried rubbing her far arm, and she turned into him more, nuzzling in against his neck and continuing to hug herself.
	If it weren’t for the situation they were in, he would’ve loved having Allura snuggled up to him. It had seemed to him that, sometimes, before that Last Battle, there’d been a spark there between them. But neither of them had had the time to try to kindle that into something more, not when they were fighting this never-ending war. And now, after all that had happened since then? Romance just wasn’t in the cards, and he’d accepted that.
	This was not romantic, this was about helping her survive. “Hold on, maybe this will help.” He withdrew his arm.
	“That doesn’t help at all!” Allura yelped.
	“I’ll be quick. I have to stand up.”
	She frowned but let go of him so he could stand. He shed his armor, leaving just the black undersuit, then sat back down. She latched onto him again immediately, and he wrapped her up in his arms. “Better?” he asked.
	“Maybe. The armor was cold. You’re warm.”
	He rubbed her back. “Just hold on a little longer.”
~*~*~*~
	They were still stuck out here, and Allura was getting worse by the tick. Her skin was getting ashy, and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. “Allura?” He pressed his left hand against her cheek. “Allura, stay with me.”
	“’m tryin’,” she murmured. “Jus’ wanna sleep.” 
	“No, no, you can’t do that. Here, get up.” He hesitated to let go of her, but he wanted her up and on her feet.
	“Do I hafta?”
	“Yes. Here, I’ll help you.” He stood and basically hauled her to her feet along with him. “Move around a little.”
	She started walking around listlessly. Shiro went to the cave mouth and peered out into the storm. It was still a total whiteout. “We’ll get a little further in,” he said. He turned around to walk back into the cave. “Hopefully it won’t mess with…” He stopped dead.
	She was opening hidden stays on her flight suit.
	At first, he just stared because he’d always wondered how that thing opened up. Then he stared because she was peeling it off of her and he’d never seen her shoulders or… And then he blushed and looked away because she was apparently getting naked. And then his brain fully woke up and reminded him, It’s freezing cold in here and she’s stripping.
	He’d known she was getting too cold, but paradoxical undressing was a sign of increasingly severe hypothermia. He cursed under his breath.
	“Allura!” He took the last few steps towards her and tried to pull the flight suit back up. It didn’t help that he wasn’t really sure how it fastened in the first place. “Stop! You’re going to lose more heat if you keep doing this!”
	“Too warm,” she murmured, voice still slurred. “Gotta…”
	“You have to keep your clothes on!”
	But she was insistent and she was also much stronger than he was. She pushed him away hard enough that he stumbled back a few steps, and she just continued peeling the suit off, bending over to shove it down her long legs.
	He tried again to intervene. “Allura, you’re not thinking clearly because of the cold!”
	She nearly fell over trying to step out of her suit and he had no choice but to catch her. He tried to hold onto her and reach for the ends of the suit at the same time to pull it back onto her, but she just informed him, “’m fine like this.”
	“You won’t be! Allura, please let me help you.”
	She broke out of his grasp to finish getting rid of the flight suit and sighed deeply. “’s better. It got hot in ‘ere. Dunno how.”
	He took advantage of the fact that she was finally standing still to pull her back in against him, wrapping his arms around her. “Please, Allura, you have to put the suit back on,” he pleaded.
	“Inna minnit. Besides, this is nice.” She wrapped her arms around him in return, laid her head on his shoulder, and exhaled against his neck.
	Don’t react, he told himself.
	“’m jus’ gonna…”
	“Stay awake,” he said loudly. “Stay awake and talk to me.”
	“‘bout what?”
	“Um… what are your plans for after we win the war?” He started rubbing her back to try to keep her as warm as he could.
	“Don’ have any.” She hadn’t raised her head from his shoulder yet.
	“None?”
	“’s not like YOU have any.”
	“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked in mock outrage.
	“You don’! I know you don’.”
	“I…” He paused to consider. “…don’t, you’re right. I’m not even sure I’ll survive the war.”
	“You ‘ll. We make sure ‘f it. Palad’ns ‘n’ me ‘n’ Coran.”
	“Thanks. And I’ll make sure you survive, too. And maybe then we can figure out…”
	Suddenly she gasped. Her head shot up from his shoulder and she arched her back, pressing herself against him.
 	He yanked his hands away instantly. “What? What happened? Did I do something bad?”
	“N-no… not… not bad.” She sounded out of breath, but she was also very much more awake, and not slurring. She eased down out of her arch.
	“What did I do?” he asked warily.
	She swallowed hard, and wasn’t looking at him, but the blush on her cheeks was unmistakable, even in what little light there was. “Um. Alteans have markings on our bodies other places than just under our eyes.” 
	“I can see some of those, yes.”
	“There’s one across the small of our back, shaped… well, a lot like the symbol on your chest plate, really. And it, um, it’s especially…”
	“Painful?”
	“…sensitive.” Her blush deepened. “At least when stroked directly. Touching it through clothing does little to nothing.”
	“OH. Allura, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, and I didn’t mean to…”
	“It, uh… might help, actually? I mean, it warms us a little, too?”
	He swallowed hard. “I. Um. If you think it will help.”
	She nodded. “I think it might.”
	“If nothing else, it’s keeping you alert,” he allowed. 
	She nodded again but didn’t say anything. 
	“Here, let’s… let’s sit down. It’ll help.” 
	“Don’t let go.”
	He didn’t want to either but, “I have to, just for a second.” He hesitated then moved quickly to sit down on the cave floor.
	She rushed to join him, hands on his shoulders to help her descend as she straddled her legs and sat on his lap. She laid close to him and he could feel the tension in her body as she waited for him to… do that again.
	He rubbed her back between her shoulder blades first, and slowly worked his way down as she calmed and snuggled in against him. When his fingers first brushed the small of her back, she sucked in a breath through her nose, and he pulled away.
	“It’s okay, Shiro. But… maybe take the glove off? It’ll help more.”
	“Oh, right.” He pulled his left hand away and up to his mouth, tugging the glove off with his teeth. “I’m going to leave the other one on. I don’t want the metal to get cold.”
	She nodded and closed her eyes. “Good plan.”
	He slid his left hand down her spine, then closed his own eyes and tried to envision the Voltron V in the small of her back. He ran one finger along one arm of the V, and her grip on him tightened. He finished the V and she sighed softly. He repeated the motions.
	“Oh, hey, it is getting warmer,” he realized. “The mark is, anyway.”
	“Y-yes.” She moaned and bit her lip, and Shiro tried to focus on the sound of the bitingly-cold wind outside the cave. “Keep going,” she urged him.
	He did as ordered. She gasped and moaned and sighed, clinging tightly to him. He tried not to remember that she had nothing but her underwear on and he had only his skin-tight underarmor. Nothing could stop the reminder that what he was doing was erotic to her. He gave up trying to keep himself in check; it was pointless.
	She didn’t comment on it though. She moaned out, “Shiro…” and then, breathlessly, “Stop. Stop.”
	He did, instantly, moving his hand farther up her back to a safe zone.
	She leaned her head forward until their foreheads touched. Her eyes were still closed and she was struggling to regain breath. 
	“Are you okay?” he asked warily.
	She made an affirmative noise. “Just… need air…”
	He continued holding her, no stroking or petting.
	“Don’t get too warm; you don’t want to start sweating,” he warned her.
	“I’m fine.” 
	“You’re shivering at least. That’s good.”
	“Let me catch my breath. When I cool down again, I’ll let you know.”
	“Okay. Whatever you need, Princess.”
~*~*~*~
	He lost track of time in the cave, constantly bringing her near to climax then stopping, over and over again. It was maddening on one level, but it seemed to be working, keeping her focused, awake, and warm. He had long since given up telling himself that it was the only reason he was doing it.

	She would arch and squirm and press her nearly-naked body against his straining erection. She practically ground her hips against him at one point, but he could handle the movements. Enough time in wrestling and various martial arts, and you learned to tune out things like that. It was difficult in this situation – it wasn’t like she was accidentally grabbing his butt during throw practice – but he could do it.
	But the sounds she made were absolutely driving him insane. She would moan his name or sigh it softly; she would pant for air. At one point, she’d said stop and, when he had, she’d almost immediately whimpered in disappointment. And the next time, she had groaned something in Altean against his ear. He had no idea what it was, but her voice was husky, her breath hot, and she’d ended it with his name – his actual first name. He’d had to grit his teeth and fight back the urge then to do a lot more than just keep her warm.
	He strained his ears to hear her say “stop” that time, and when he did, he realized the wind had stopped, too. And then, from his helmet, he could hear Keith’s voice.
	He and Allura looked at each other. She grabbed the helmet for him and jammed it onto his head. 
	“Keith?”
	“Shiro! Where are you and Allura?”
	“We’re in a cave. Uh, the pod we took down is… I’m not even sure how many clicks from our location. Not nearby. We were on foot when the blizzard blew in.”
	“We’ll find you two. Are you both okay?”
	“In need of some blankets and a hot beverage or six, but yeah, we’re okay.”
	“Hang tight, we’re coming.”
	Did you HAVE to use that word? But he thanked Keith instead of saying that.
	Allura was already getting up; he watched her rise from his lap. “Thank you so much for saving me, Shiro.”
	He brought his eyes up to her face. “You’re welcome. I was glad to.”
	“I, uh… could tell.” She went to pick up her flight suit.
	He cleared his throat, stood up, and started putting his armor back on. Having her off his lap helped, and he made sure to turn and face the icy wind, trying to will his erection away with help from the cold.
	“I won’t tell anyone,” she promised, “so long as you don’t either. This…”
	“We did what we had to in order to stay warm,” he said immediately. “It’s our secret.”
	She swooped over and kissed his cheek. “And, for the record, you’re quite good at that.”
	His eyebrows went up. “Am I? Good to know. Thank you.” He was already blushing by now.
	She grinned. “You’re very welcome. Anytime.” She blushed.
	Surely she hadn’t meant that to sound like an invitation. He ignored it as he got his last piece of armor back on. “Stay in here,” he told her, “I’m heading out to wave them down.” 
	Almost as soon as he came out of the cave, he saw the Red Lion headed for them. He waved at Keith and tried to put the last few vargas behind him. That was over now.
~*~*~*~
	It wasn’t working very well. 
	It had been the better part of a movement since the blizzard. They were still poring through rebel-gained data of various Galra ships that had been in the area at the time Kuron came through. There was little to do if you weren’t Pidge, Hunk, or Coran.
	Shiro kept himself busy through the day with training – either himself or Keith and Lance. Keith was a significantly harder challenge than he had been back at the Garrison, thanks to the Blade training, and Lance was getting a lot better at hand-to-hand. The teamwork they had been building was a little off, but it was starting to come back. It was good to be a part of this again.
	But at night, every night, he could see Allura barely-illuminated by the thin light the storm and cave had allowed. He could almost feel her in his lap again, her breasts against his chest, her legs over his, her hands gripping at his shoulders or stroking the nape of his neck. He could hear her moaning for him, and he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t do something about it.
	Thanks to the replenishers, neither he nor Allura had taken ill. But somehow she’d infected him. His hand was a poor replacement for what he wanted, but it would have been horrifically improper to even bring it up, let alone ask her… what? Can we finish what we started in the cave? She’d smack him for that, and he’d deserve it.
	But in his mind, she came to him, she asked him for it, and he was happy to give her what they both wanted. And he couldn’t shake the fantasies. It wasn’t a one-off. Every night, every time he was alone in the shower, sometimes right after waking up… 
	He kept himself busy through the day and tried to act normal around her. He’d never paid attention to what was “normal” back when it was, so he didn’t know how to fake it now. He used her title more often, taking whatever distance he could get. The rare times they were alone together, one of them would quickly make up an excuse and leave.
	He trusted that awkwardness would fade. It was just because they were stuck here, because there was nothing else to do but remember how close they’d been to… each other. He checked in on the data-gathering often and found other things to occupy his time: brushing up on Altean, bonding with Black. Anything that kept him away from her voice in his mind and the feel of her in his arms.
~*~*~*~
	They’d found a couple dozen ships. Shiro tried to help narrow it down, seeing if any of the commanders’ names looked or sounded familiar, but none did. It also didn’t help that each of these ships were scattered all over the place now.
	More time spent on busywork. Cleaning the Castle. Sparring. Meditation. 
	It was halfway through the next movement. Almost time for the night cycle to begin. Keith was on night watch; Shiro had had it the night before. Little sleep, but also little time to devote to his pointless fantasies. He was tired, and hoped he’d be able to go straight to sleep, but he was already feeling like that wasn’t going to happen.
	He both dreaded and looked forward to the end of each day cycle. When he was in the full throes of the fantasy, it was wonderful. Pretending that this was possible, that this could happen… 
	…but reality always crashed in again. The war for control of the Galra Empire had only gotten worse now that Lotor was gone, providing an excellent chance to try to find out more information on Operation Kuron. There were also billions of lives caught in the crossfire. The Coalition forces were keeping very busy.
	Allura was dedicated to learning and practicing her alchemy in this semi-downtime they had. She usually had to be pushed to go to bed or get some rest. “Relaxation” of any sort was not on her mind. And after Lotor’s betrayal, he doubted she’d be interested in a dalliance with anyone. Not even after the cave.
	Sometimes, he wished for another planet, another blizzard.
	So, as tired as he was, he knew there was no avoiding the inevitable. Maybe I’ll only jerk off one time tonight before falling asleep. It was the best he could hope for.
	“Shiro?”
	He turned to her voice out of habit, almost reflex. “Yes, Princess?”
	She was already in her nightgown and robe, and her smile was uneasy. “I was hoping to talk to you about something.”
	“Of course. Anything.”
	“You might regret saying that,” she warned.
	Ah. We’re going to talk about that. Well, that figured. It was sort of the elephant in the room between them (did Alteans have elephants?) He looked around the hallway. They were alone for now, but anyone could walk through there. “Not here.” It wasn’t a question.
	“Of course not. Please follow me.” 
	She led him to a room he’d never seen before, with four large tables and multiple chairs around each of them. “This is a study room,” she explained as the door closed behind them. “The Castle was originally meant to house a large population, after all. It hasn’t been used in a long time; I had the maintenance bots clean it up so we could talk.”
	He nodded. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you thought of everything.” It would have been improper for him to be in her room alone, after all. “Should we sit?”
	“You can if you want. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep still. I’m sorry in advance for that.”
	“Then I’ll remain standing.”
	“Thank you.” She waved up a screen and tapped in a command. 
	“Privacy lock engaged,” the ship’s soft voice acknowledged.
	“Just in case. I know they don’t come in here, but...”
	“I completely understand,” he told her, just as he understood who ‘they’ were. Coran might have been bothersome if he’d found out, but the rest of the team wouldn’t leave them alone if they’d discovered what had gone on in that cave.
	She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let me start by thanking you again. It is common for Alteans to be sensitive to cold.”
	He arched an eyebrow. “And here I thought nothing about you was common.”
	She smiled and blushed faintly. “Well, apparently I am part of the majority who suffers from this. I’ve been out in space, but never for as long as we were stuck in that blizzard. You saved me from suffering any untoward effects.”
	“And I’ll say again that you’re welcome. I won’t ever let anything happen to you.” He realized how that sounded and rushed to add, “Princess.”
	“I know you won’t. You’ve risked Voltron itself for me in the past. Foolish of you, but…”
	The words were out of his mouth before he was even aware of them. “I’d do it again.”
	“Foolish,” she repeated sternly, but her blush deepened. She cleared her throat. “What I’m about to discuss with you though has nothing to do with my protection or my well-being. I ask that you listen to me carefully before you respond.”
	“Yes, Princess.”
	She looked at him for a long moment then turned her gaze away. “I deeply appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Shiro. Not just …recently, but ever since I met you. You have proven yourself loyal and trustworthy repeatedly. You have never been anything else. I hate asking you to keep secrets.”
	He blinked. “You’re not seriously suggesting we…”
	“Please let me finish.”
	“I’m sorry for interrupting.”
	“Thank you.” She took another deep breath. She was still looking anywhere but at him. “I know that what I’m about to ask of you will be difficult, but please know that you are not obligated to agree. I would never make you do anything you were uncomfortable with or didn’t want. You can say no, and that will be fine. But I hope…” She shook her head and didn’t finish that sentence. “This is as difficult for me to ask as it will be for you to hear, but I must. This isn’t going away, and it needs to be dealt with.”
	“I agree with that much, at least,” he risked saying.
	“Thank you. I…” She cleared her throat and turned to face away from him entirely. “I cannot help thinking a-about the cave and what we…” She paused and then words came spilling out almost too fast for him to understand. “I’dreallylikeyoutotouchmeagainI’msorryifthat’sweirdbutIcan’tstopthinkingabouthowgooditfeltandhowfrustratingitwasnottofinish…”
	“Whoa, whoa, slow down!”
	She shut up instantly. The tips of her ears were practically glowing, they were so red.
	He tried to mentally play back what she’d said, but slower. The phrases “touch me again” and “how good it felt” stood out. “You… want m- that?” he asked, catching himself.
	“J-just touching me. Where that one marking is. Y-you don’t have to do anything else! I know humans don’t have markings, so it probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but it would help me so much.”
	“You want me to touch you there until you…”
	“Finish,” she pre-empted him, as if she couldn’t bear to hear any other word for it. “Yes. Please. I’m hoping that, if… if we complete the act, that I’ll stop thinking about it.”
	He swallowed hard. She’s been thinking about it, too. He didn’t have a marking to warm up, but his face was certainly feeling hot enough. “Is it troubling you?”
	“No. Yes. Not like that. It’s just… I don’t know.” She did pull out a chair now, falling into it and burying her face in her hands. “It’s so embarrassing to say, but it’s almost like you know exactly how I need you to touch me. I can’t stop reliving it and wishing that…”
	“That we hadn’t stopped all those times?” he asked quietly.
	She nodded. “That we could have…” She stood up suddenly, bright red face still not looking at him. “I shouldn’t have asked this of you. This is horrible of me, I’m so sorry, I…”
	“I don’t mind.”
	She very hesitantly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “You… don’t mind that I asked, or…?”
	“Either. Both. I don’t mind that you asked, and I’m willing to… help you. That way. If you want. Well, obviously you do, because you asked, but…”
	“Thank you,” she said before heaving a sigh of relief and finally looking at him again. “I don’t think I’ll ever have the words to truly express my gratitude.”
	“Did you mean tonight, or…?”
	She nodded, blush starting to fade gradually. “Tonight. Here. Now. I mean, if that’s not a bother. If it is, we can reschedule for…”
	“It’s fine. Not very romantic though,” he commented, looking around the sparse room and boring tables.
	“Better than freezing to death in a cave,” she pointed out, and they both laughed.
	“Um… so how would you…? I mean, how should we do this?”
	“Oh.” And the red flared in her cheeks again. “There are a few different options, but… um, if you don’t mind…”
	“You have one in particular in mind?” he guessed, trying to keep himself calm. Princess Allura of Altea is asking me to get her off and now we’re basically talking about positions and I can’t even believe this is happening. True, it wasn’t about getting him off, but that was okay. He was desperately curious to know what she’d look and sound like when she came.
	Because of me.
	She nodded. “Um, could you… maybe stand against the wall? And that way you can wrap your arms around me when you…? It’s just… it was nice being held.”
	“That’s fine.” But he knew she’d feel him react again if they were that close. This is about her, not me. He cleared his throat and went to stand against the nearest wall.
	“You’re sure this is alright? You’re not just doing it because I’m a princess or you feel obligated for some reason?”
	“I’m very okay with this,” he told her. He opened his arms. “Come here.”
	She practically threw herself at him to hug him, pulling him away from the wall just enough that she could get her arms around him. He wrapped her up in his embrace and just held her. He risked laying his head against hers, and she made a happily-contented sound. Well, he assumed it was, and she didn’t pull away or tell him to knock it off, so he stayed put.
	And, for a long time, that was enough for the both of them. He rubbed her back – up high and through the fabric of robe and nightgown – idly and closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. Not for survival. For no reason other than that she wanted to be here and he wanted her here as well. 
	Then he ran his hand down her back to where he knew the marking to be. He could remember it precisely, almost like muscle memory.
	She shifted against his fingers. “The cloth dulls the sensation,” she reminded him.
	“Right. Um… here.” He pulled his hands away from her back – and remembered to tug his glove off – and slid them around her again, this time under her robe. She hitched up her nightgown some and he helped lift it the rest of the way up. He touched her bare skin just above the marking. “How’s this?”
	“This will work,” she agreed.
	“Should I…?”
	“Whenever you like.”
	He held the nightgown up with his right hand and slid just one finger of his left down her spine. She shivered a little and he couldn’t help teasing her. “Cold? Because I can take care of that, apparently.”
	“I’ll say you can.” She grinned and closed her eyes. “But I am not at all cold at the moment.”
	“Good.” He very lightly brushed his finger across the tip of the V in her back.
	Allura sighed happily. 
	He recreated that last time, because it was the clearest in his memory. Just before the storm let up. One finger tracing the marking gently, almost like petting a soft animal. Allura seemed like she wanted to purr. She was very cuddly, pressing herself against him insistently as if it were possible to snuggle closer. This wasn’t enough, at this point, to get him hard, but it certainly drew his attention.
	Then two fingers, pressing slightly harder. She was practically melting against him, running her hands along his sides, up over his chest. Her breathing was faster, and she would occasionally press back against his hand. Sometimes little moans escaped, and she began to rub herself against his growing erection. He watched her starting to lose herself to his touch; his breathing was getting faster, too.
	He pressed in harder, like he was trying to massage a knot out, and Allura threw her head back to let out a loud, long moan. “That is… oh, that is perfect.” She dropped her head to his shoulder. “Please do more of that.” 
	So he did, and she panted and groaned in response. She started grinding against him as his dick strained against his pants, and he grunted at the feel of her. Her breaths were short and shallow and interspersed with “Shiro” and “yes.”
	She raised her head to look at him, pupils blown wide with desire. She licked her lips.
	He pushed her body against his and his lips against hers, venting all his feelings into the kiss. Her hands flew to either side of his face as she deepened the kiss hungrily. He stopped stroking her for a bit, his attentions elsewhere. But when he resumed, he started his fingers soft at the tips of the V and gradually pushed in harder until he got to the center.
	She moaned against his mouth. He let his right hand slide down to cup her perfect ass, giving it a slow squeeze in time with his stroking of this unusual erogenous zone of hers. She moaned louder. 
	He didn’t notice her hands leaving his face. He didn’t know or care what had become of them until she was hurriedly working his belt open. He sure as hell wasn’t about to stop her. He eased up on her marking, returning to soft, gentle petting as his belt dropped to the floor and her hands flew to opening his pants.
	When she slid her hand into his underwear to start stroking his cock, he groaned her name and massaged the very center of the marking. The more he pressed, the harder and faster she moved her hand, thumbing the welling pre-come at the top to slick up her fingers and the pad of her palm.
	“Oh fuck, Allura. If you keep doing that…”
	“That’s the idea.”
	“Your marking is… it’s burning up.” He swapped hands, right hand going to her marking and left sliding under her panties to caress her other cheek. 
	“‘Cause of you.” She sounded almost drunk. She leaned in to whisper against his ear, “This is how hot you get me, Shiro.”
	He kissed her cheek until he could get to her mouth again and held her there as he continued his work (and she continued hers). They had to break to suck in air. Her hand was tight on his cock and he thought he might bruise her back at this rate, but she didn’t seem to care.
	“More,” she panted, “just like that, I’m so close…”
	“Me, too. Oh, Allura…”
	“Shiro, this is… I’m…”
	She arched her back and practically screamed, and that was what sent him over. Everything else but ecstasy faded from the world for a bit, and when his brain started devoting neurons to reality again, he discovered that Allura was slumped against him, panting to catch her breath with her head on his shoulder.
	“You …okay?” he managed to ask.
	“Mmm, better than that. Soooo much better than ‘okay.’” 
	He started to pull his hand out of the back of her panties, but she said, “Stop. That’s nice. Leave it where it is.” So he did. He let his right hand fall to rest on her hip. “It’s been too long since I was able to…” 
	“Yeah, me, too,” he murmured in agreement. 
	She raised her head to press a lingering kiss against his cheek. “Thank you so, so much, Shiro.”
	“Glad to be of service.”
	She grinned. “I could tell.”
	He chuckled.
	“I’m surprised you liked pleasing me so much though. You don’t really get much direct benefit out of stroking my back, do you?”
	“It’s the sound of you. When you fall into rapture, you pull me down with you.”
	“Surprisingly poetic.”
	“Just the truth. I’m too blissed out to be poetic.”
	“Liar,” she charged, smiling. She let her head fall back to his shoulder. “Oh, this was so nice.”
	“Yeah, it was. Maybe we’ll both get some sleep now, hm?”
	She raised her head again. “Have you had trouble sleeping, too?”
	He nodded. “I keep thinking about the cave.”
	Her smile widened a little. “Well, I’m glad we could help each other then.” She started to pull away.
	He let her go and then noticed, “Oh, um… I think I got some… um… on your nightgown…”
	She looked down at herself and shrugged. “I’ll close my robe when I’m in the hallway and change when I get to my room.” She eyed his crotch. “You’re a bit of a mess, too.”
	“I’ll walk back to my room very, very fast.”
	She giggled. “I wish you good luck.” She waved up the screen and disengaged the privacy lock. “And a good night, of course.”
	“Same to you, Princess.”
	Her smile was warm as she headed for the door. It opened for her and she glanced up and down the hallway. “As you humans say, the coast is clear.”
	“Thanks.”
	The door closed behind her, leaving him there to think about what had just happened. He straightened himself up as best he could before heading back to his room. And, as predicted, he slept very well that night.
~*~*~*~
	Three quintants later, he was still dreaming about her, still fantasizing about her. There was something even more real to anchor the visions to now. He would replay what had happened and then alter it from there: spinning them around to put her back against the wall, and her legs would wrap around his waist as he pressed into her; pushing her down against a table as she begged him to take her; her coming before he did and then dropping to her knees and sucking his cock into her mouth “to keep from making a mess”; etc. His imagination could – and did! – conjure dozens of scenarios to torment him.
	They had a vague idea of a good place to start looking for the ship they needed. After wormholing to the right sector, they had found a ship. Keith had suggested letting the Blades check it out. They came back from their infiltration saying they hadn’t found anything. Either this was the wrong ship, or they’d ditched all evidence of the clones. 
	He needed to clear his head, so he went out for a flight. Black steadied him, supported him. And he had never ceased being amazed at the Lions and what they were capable of. Sometimes he and Black would drift out there and he would bask in the knowledge that he was here, that he was the Black Paladin of Voltron, that all this that should have been so unreal as to be preposterous was, in fact, his reality.
	He flew back to the Castle and was just walking out of Black when the lift doors opened. 
	“Princess,” he greeted her with a smile. “Long way from the bridge.”
	She was in her flight suit, hair pulled up. “Can I speak to you? Somewhere private?”
	“We’re the only ones here.”
	She shook her head. “There’s still the Castle security cams.”
	“Oh. Um. Sure.” He gestured for her to enter Black first, and she murmured thanks as she passed him. He followed her back into his Lion.
	She turned back to face him just inside. “Coran is being nosy,” she explained.
	“Oh, I see. What about?”
	She started blushing. “My personal life.”
	“As in…?”
	She nodded. Apparently he didn’t need to say it. “But that is only why I wanted to talk to you out of range of the security cameras. It isn’t the topic of conversation.”
	“Of course. What do you need to talk to me about?”
	“Do you remember the study room?”
	“The st-…oh, yes.” He’d forgotten its declared purpose, given what had actually happened there.
	“I asked you to… do that because I hoped it would help.”
	“But it didn’t,” he guessed from her tone. She sounded odd: defeated, almost helpless. “It made it worse.”
	“For you as well, then?”
	“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “What, uh… What do you propose we do about it?”
	She huffed and shot him a Look. He couldn’t help laughing, which didn’t improve matters; she put her hands on her hips and demanded, “What are you laughing about?”
	“I’m… I’m sorry,” he replied between bouts of mirth, “but I have never seen a more perfect ‘Stop Acting Dumb’ look in my life.”
	Her snort was a little more amused this time and she dropped her hands again. “Well, at least it was a perfect look then, because that was exactly what I meant.”
	He sighed as the laughter trailed off and said, “No real surprise. Everything about you is perfect.”
	The air in the room – er, Lion – shifted as soon as he said it. Her mouth fell open just a little as she stared at him. 
	He realized his mistake immediately and felt his face heat. “I-I mean… I, uh…”
	“Shiro.” 
	He shut up.
	“Is that truly how you feel about me?”
	He licked his lips, feeling very much like he was walking to his death. “Yeah. That’s… You’re… I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”
	She took a step towards him. “You don’t have to be sorry.” Another step.	
	He watched her approach. “If you say so.”
	“I say so.” Step. “But I’m not perfect.” Step. “Sometimes I’m so weak…”
	“Never.”
	“It’s true, I am. Especially around you.” She reached out to him as she drew near, sliding her hands around his waist. “Especially since the cave.”
	“And especially since the incident in the study room,” he finished for her. “Because now it’s…”
	“…real. Now I know what it feels like and…”
	“…you want more.”
	She stopped finishing his thoughts (in words, anyway) and kissed him. He held onto her tightly as he returned it.
	Allura tore her lips away from his and moved to his ear. He didn’t care; he was already kissing what little of her neck was available to him. “I need more,” she whispered before tracing the shell of his ear with her tongue. 
	“Define ‘more’,” he said against the collar of her flight suit.
	She undulated against him, drawing a shuddery breath out of him. “Do you want to… What’s the Earth word? Fuck?”
	He nodded.
	“Do you want to fuck me, Shiro?”
	“Very much,” he agreed. He sounded desperate, but he didn’t care; it was the truth.
	She slid one hand around to his front, down to rub against his cock and knead his balls through his underarmor. He groaned in response. “Do you want to be inside me?”
	“God, yes.”
	“Good. Because that’s what I mean by more.”
	He made himself look her in the eyes. “Okay, but I have a condition.”
	“A condition?” she repeated in surprise. “Is the prospect of,” and she leaned forward, dropping her voice to a husky whisper and running her hand up along his erection, “burying yourself to the hilt in me not enough for you?”
	“It’s wonderful. I’ve dreamed of that. But I’m curious about something.”
	“Oh? What’s that?”
	“You said something in the cave. You whispered something to me in Altean and then said my first name. I want to know what it was.”
	She stood up straight and blinked. “I said it in Altean?” And now she was the one laughing. “Well, that explains it!”
	“Explains what?” he asked, feeling a bit wary now. It was an odd sensation to mix with his building arousal.
	She smiled at him and reached up to caress his cheek. “I said, ‘You can have me if you want me, Takashi.’”
	He stared at her.
	“When you didn’t do anything but continue to stroke my marking, I thought you had rejected my offer, that you truly were doing this just to keep me warm and that your body was reacting on a purely physiological level. I didn’t realize I hadn’t said it in English. Given how …enthusiastically you reacted in the study room, I was confused as to why you hadn’t taken me up on it.”
	“But, in the study room, you asked me to…”
	“Because I was desperate. It’s not the same when you’re alone, pleasuring yourself in the emptiness of your bed. At least, it wasn’t the same for me. I thought you were just being exceedingly gracious, but I wanted to feel your hands on me again too badly to care. You said you ‘didn’t mind,’ after all.”
	“Oh, Allura, I was just being -” He shook his head. “Stupid. I was being stupid. I’ve been falling for you for a long, long time now.”
	“Truly?”
	He nodded. “Yeah. It’s very true. But, with the fighting we still have to do, I didn’t think…”
	She shut him up with another kiss. And when she was done, she whispered, “Don’t think,” against his lips. He grinned at her and picked her up, carrying her deeper into the Black Lion, into the cockpit.
	“We did what I suggested last time,” she pointed out as he set her back on her feet. “What do you want?”
	“I want to re-create our time in the cave,” he said immediately, already pulling his armor off. “Without anything in the way, this time.”
	“You always have such good ideas,” she said, starting to strip off her flight suit.
	“I don’t know about ‘always,’” he demurred, pulling the undersuit’s top off.
	“Always,” she insisted. “By the ancient gods, you are incredible.”
	He stopped to look at her, and she was just staring at him – mostly his chest – and he couldn’t help blushing. “Thank you, but the feeling’s mutual. It’s hard to believe that everything I’ve ever wanted is real and flesh and blood.”
	She resumed getting out of her suit. “Everything? Now you’re overdoing it.”
	“It’s the truth,” he said as he unfastened his pants. 
	“You have trouble believing I’m real?”
	“Sometimes.” He bent over to push his pants down… and then bolted upright with a yelp.
	Allura was grinning at him. “Am I real enough yet?”
	He rubbed his butt where she’d pinched him. “Getting realer all the time.”
	She laughed and started pulling her underwear off. “Hurry up already.”
	“I’d be done if someone hadn’t assaulted me.”
	“You required convincing. I was just helping you out.”
	He took a breath and then slid his boxer briefs down, kicking them off before he sat down in his seat again. Fortunately, Black didn’t move it forward into pilot position.
	Allura looked at him and licked her lips. She bent to push her panties off and then walked towards him. “I have spent a lot of nights dreaming of other ways our time in the cave could have ended.”
	“So have I,” he told her, reaching out to steady her as she climbed onto his lap. “But I couldn’t have done any differently then. You were freezing to death. It wouldn’t have been right.”
	“I know.” She lowered herself down to him, trapping his erect cock between their bodies. “It’s part of what makes me want you so badly.” She caressed his cheek. “You aren’t just brave, handsome, and strong; you’re good and decent, thoughtful and kind. I know that, no matter what, I can trust you.” She reached back and undid her bun, shaking her head a little to let her hair cascade down her back. 
	He could hardly breathe. “You’re a goddess.”
	“I am not. And I will prove it to you,” she told him as she leaned in to kiss him.
	He held her as they kissed, happy to feel every part of her. He steadied her with his right hand before sliding his left down to the small of her back. Soft, gentle strokes for now. 
	She sighed against his mouth and kissed him deeper. He traced letters over her marking, sometimes feather light and sometimes pressing hard. She seemed to like letters with curves, so he drew lazy circles along the marking as she gasped and writhed.
	“So, here’s a question,” he commented, kissing away from her mouth and down to her throat.
	“Mm?” She let her head fall back. 
	He gently pushed some of her hair out of his way. “How many times should I bring you to the edge before we finally get on with it?”
	She raised her head to glare at him and he pulled back enough to grin at her. “ZERO.”
	“But we’re re-creating the cave,” he said innocently.
	“Are you going to re-create the madness you put me through?!”
	“Maybe.” He kissed her quickly. “Having you in my lap mostly naked, panting my name, moaning desperately, over and over and over… that did have a certain appeal, even if it drove me mad, too.”
	“I don’t want to wait that long. We were there for …how many vargas?”
	“Too many.”
	She pouted at him. “I feel like I’ve already waited so long to have you, Takashi. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
	“Dammit, no fair using my first name.”
	“You like it.”
	“Yeah, that’s why it’s not fair.”
	She giggled and gyrated her hips a little. His shaft slid between her folds and his breathing stuttered for a bit. She just licked her lips and did it again, watching him like he was her prey. “Who said I would play fair?” she purred.
	“Fuck.”
	“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to get at.” She was still rubbing against his erection.
	He snorted. “You’re going to kill me.”
	“Only if you don’t give me what I want,” she teased.
	“Say it. Say what you wanted to say in the cave. In English this time.”
	She stopped grinding to whisper against his ear, “You can have me if you want me, Takashi.”
	“I want you,” he exhaled. “And you already have me, Allura. It’s like you lit a fire in me in that cave, and I don’t think it’ll ever die out.”
	When she pulled back, she was blushing, but he didn’t get to see it long. She looked down between them, taking him in hand to steady him as she rose. “I haven’t had anything but my own fingers and toys inside me in so long.”
	“I’ll be gentle at first.”
	At first, she could only get the head of his cock in. She was so wet, so hot, and… “So tight,” he grunted.
	“I told you,” she panted.
	“Does this help?” He resumed tracing her marking.
	She cried out and slid down a little farther. “Y-yes, that… oh, stars, that helps.”
	He leaned in to suck on the skin of her throat, one hand cupping her ass, the other stroking that mark in the small of her back. She almost deafened him with her pleasure, and followed it up a whimpery, “More, Takashi, please, more.”
	He drew hard circles over and around the marking, which was quickly heating up under his touch. She arched and writhed around his cock, and he had to stop kissing her neck to moan.
	“I love making you sound like that,” she said. “Making my calm, cool Paladin lose his control.”
	“Just as I love making my always-collected princess lose hers.”
	She hadn’t quite got him all the way in, but she began riding him, still holding on to the base of his shaft. He watched her body rise and sink on him. 
	“Any of these other markings that sensitive?” he asked, pulling his hand away from her ass to trace one on her arm.
	She shook her head. “No. Just the one. But you can touch me anywhere.”
	“Good to know.” He grunted, feeling her slide a little farther down that time. “Oh, fuck, you feel amazing.”
	“So thick,” she sighed. “Oh, by the Ancients, the way you fill me, Takashi…”
	He kissed her for that, then very softly brushed his fingers over her marking, going from one tip to the other. She trembled in his arms.
	“Ta-takashi…” she panted when she had use of her mouth again.
	He was still teasing her, just short, barely-there strokes. 
	“Please. Oh please, I need more.”
	“I love hearing you say that.”
	“I need more of you,” she begged. “All of you. Every part. Please.”
	He kissed her shoulder reverently.
	“Your caresses are so good. And…ahhh, oh please.”
	He gave up teasing her and massaged the small of her back, pressing hard with his right hand.
	Her ecstasy echoed off the walls; her body quivered, and suddenly he was all the way inside her. “Holy…” He couldn’t manage the rest of the phrase as her body tightened around his cock. He wasn’t even sure what he’d wanted to say.
	“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she panted after a moment, just before she started riding him again. 
	He kept giving her what she wanted, pulsing his hips to meet hers, rubbing the small of her back hard.
	“Talk to me, Takashi. I want to hear your voice.”
	“Oh, fuck, Allura,” was the first thing he could think of to say, but once he started speaking words, he couldn’t stop. “You are so incredible. So… very… aaah… You feel even better than I dreamed you would.” 
	It was like her body hungered for him, swallowing him up so eagerly. He thrust into her harder, faster, and she was back to Altean, to words he’d never heard before. 
	She must’ve realized it, because she switched back to English to tell him, “No one else… has ever… ever… felt this GOOD…” She swallowed and panted and gathered breath enough to look him in the eyes. Whether she could speak or not, she didn’t need to. He could feel the truth of her feelings, of the trust and affection she had for him. He could feel the connection they had to one another now, especially here, in the Black Lion.
	He was shocked when he came. He wasn’t even sure if it was her orgasm or his own; he couldn’t tell where he stopped and she began. “Did you…?”
	“Twice,” she reassured him. She settled in against him, laying her head on his shoulder to nuzzle his neck.
	“Good, good. I was… a little distracted at the end there.” She laughed. “I didn’t realize I was that close.”
	“Nor did I but feeling how much I pleased you made me lose control.” She kissed his skin softly.
	“Oh, I was definitely more than just pleased.” 
	Neither of them spoke after that. It was enough to hold each other, to bask in each other’s warmth.
	Regretfully, he had to break the silence. “What do we tell the others?”
	“That it’s none of their business.”
	“They’re going to tease us,” he warned her. “Maybe not Coran, but the rest of the team.”
	She sat up to look at him. “I’ll deal with Coran. As for the team…” She shrugged. “So long as we have each other, let them have their fun.”
	“Do we? Have each other, that is?”
	She grinned. “I’m yours, Takashi. And you’re mine. Isn’t that what everything we’ve said and done here comes down to?”
	He kissed her, softer this time. “I just like hearing you say it.”
	“Then let me hear you say it,” she replied.
	He meant to repeat what she’d said, substituting her name for his. But what came out was, “I love you.”
	“I know.” She smiled and snuggled in against him. If he concentrated, he could still catch the echo of her feelings. She was guarded, afraid to open herself up again, but also blissfully, undeniably happy. Her trust in him was strong.
	He didn’t push her to say anything else, just held her and stroked her hair. She yawned as she made herself comfy. 
	“We can’t stay here,” he said regretfully.
	“I know. But you’re warm.”
	“Come on. Let’s get cleaned up.”
	Suddenly, Pidge’s voice emanated from the princess’s comm link earrings. “Allura? Is Shiro with you?”
	“Absolutely,” she replied in lazy contentment.
	Pidge seemed to hesitate a moment. “Ooookay. Well, anyway, we think we’ve found the ship we’re looking for. Could use a wormhole.”
	“On my way,” she sighed. The earrings went dark. She sat up and stretched.
	“Back to work,” Shiro said. 
	“Yes. But promise me you’ll come to my room tonight?” She smirked just a little.
	He mirrored it back to her. “I promise.” He kissed her. “Come on. Universe to defend and all that.”
	She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Together.”