It was another busy day for the Coalition forces. They had people out on supply runs, a task force due to return from a recon & rescue mission, and the constant logistical headaches that an ever-growing rebellion was bound to run into. Shiro was up to his eyebrows in complaints from the newly-arrived Xarathians. They were all on board for defeating Zarkon, but they had, so far, only sent their diplomatic corps, all of whom found life on Olkarion not at all to their tastes. And for every little thing they found wrong – and they could find many of them – they either filed a formal complaint about (for Shiro to deal with) or they took it up with Allura directly. It was maddening.
	But Shiro was humming happily to himself as he swiped through screen after screen, trying to find accommodations more in keeping with Xarathian cultural customs as well as seeing if they could locate a foodstuff enough like their beloved canthari cakes to suit them.
	“What’d you do?” Keith’s voice asked from behind him.
	“Hm?” He turned away from his screens to look at him. “What do you mean?”
	“Allura.” Keith jutted his chin, and Shiro looked where he was indicating.
	The princess was in a discussion with the Exalted Ambassador of the Xarathians as well as several other races’ diplomatic leaders. None of them seemed very happy at the moment, but Allura was the very picture of calm, a tranquil river undisturbed by a single stone. She was smiling as she wrangled the various diplomats, and her smile made Shiro smile as well.
	“Yesterday, she was about to tear the Xarathians’ heads off, and now she’s as cool as a cucumber.” Shiro turned back to look at Keith, who had that “I want to know, Tell Me NOW,” look on his face. “What did you DO?”

~*~*~*~*~

	“Remember what I said,” he told Allura. He wanted to make sure things were clear before they got going. They were alone in her bedroom on the Castle, still in their civilian clothes – or, well, the closest she came to civvies: her dress and cape getup. 	
	“Yes, yes, I remember.” She was still a little grumpy from a long day of dealing with the Xarathians, but she was curious as well. “I will say this ‘safe word’ if I don’t want things to proceed.”
	“And I’ll stop immediately,” he repeated.
	“Can we just get on with it?”
	He arched an eyebrow. “Impatient?”
	She stretched. “I could use some fun before bed.” She was still upset apparently, wanting to blow off steam. 
	He tsked at her. “Now, now, that’s not how this works. Close your eyes.”
	She did it almost petulantly, a child humoring an adult because they wanted their toy already.
	“Take a deep breath,” he said, adding quickly, “Hold it!” because she was just about to puff it out again, “and now SLOWLY exhale,” he finished. She did it. “Again.”
	“Honestly, Shiro…”
	“Takashi,” he corrected her. They were alone now, and while he normally didn’t care what name she called him, he was making a point.
	The deal was that she was going to have the night off of making decisions or issuing commands. That meant, of course, that he was the one making the calls; she didn’t have to do anything but obey. (Within reason, naturally; he’d established a safe word despite the fact that, as he’d told her, “I’m not going to do anything we haven’t done before.” If she didn’t want to, she didn’t want to, after all.) Seeing how angry she’d been all day had gotten him thinking about what to do to help. He hoped this would do the trick, and the fact that it was a fantasy he’d had more than once was just a bonus.
	They often had sex before bed, but it was usually rushed, just this side of desperate. It was the equivalent of scarfing down a meal without even tasting it, and he wanted more than that. They were pushing themselves, for the Coalition, for the war effort. It was too much. It was time to take a step back, even if only for one night.
	“Takashi,” she repeated duly. “But I don’t see…”
	“Take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out slowly,” he told her. His voice was gentle as he waited for her to do as she was told. 
	She acquiesced. 
	“Again.”
	And a third time. 
	“Good girl.”
	“Ta-…” 
	He cut her off before she could finish saying his name, wrapping his arms around her to pull her in for a soft, lingering kiss. She returned it, of course, but then grabbed hold of the edges of his vest, and tried to pull him back towards the bed.
	He kept kissing her but raised his hands to hers and made her let go. He then pulled her back in against him, away from the bed. She’s being stubborn. Not that he was surprised. This was why he’d established a safe word: she was a natural born leader, used to being in command, and he was putting her in a position she wasn’t used to.
	Following and obeying were not her normal roles; she fell into them when she was uncertain, when she lost confidence in herself. He wanted her to understand that she didn’t have to lead all the time, that she could relinquish control – and responsibility – in a safe and loving environment. But he knew that would be hard for her. Some part of her would resist surrendering control initially, and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t breaking down the wrong wall. 
	She had liked the idea of his taking charge when he’d posed it to her. She had okayed it, albeit somewhat uncertainly. So, he watched for any sign that she wasn’t happy, that she didn’t want this. He pushed down his anxiety and focused on her.
	“Get undressed,” he said against her lips. “Slowly.” He pulled away enough to carefully tug off her tiara. 
	She backed away to start unfastening her cape clasp. He turned to set the symbol of her royal rank reverently on the vanity, then took a seat on the bench there to watch her. She arched an eyebrow at him as she let the cape fall to the floor.
	He just smiled. She rolled her eyes and tossed a bangle at him. He caught it and its mate when it, too, came flying in his direction, and set them on the vanity behind him, next to the tiara. “Careful now; you might hurt someone.”
	She finally asked him, “What about you?”
	“What about me?” he replied, leaning back against the vanity to continue enjoying the show.
	“Aren’t you going to get undressed?”
	“Eventually. Turn around,” he said abruptly. “I want to see your back.”
	“You mean my backside.” But she did as he said.
	“That, too,” he admitted. 
	She looked over her now-bare shoulder at him and it would’ve been a very beguiling scene if she hadn’t ruined it by sticking her tongue out at him.
	He couldn’t help laughing and made “go on” motions with his hand. He caught her smiling just before she turned her face away.
	“I hope you’re not going to watch all night.”
	“No, no, I intend to participate,” he assured her as he took the opportunity to get his boots off.
	“Well, whenever you’re ready.”
	“Not yet. You are so impatient.”
	“Is it a crime to want to spend time with you, especially after the day I’ve had?”
	“We’re spending time together now.”
	“Not what I meant, and you know it.”
	“Do I?” He shrugged (not that she could see it). “I could be mistaken. You should be clearer.”
	She cleared her throat. “I’d like to sleep with you. Takashi,” she added.
	“We’ll sleep later.”
	She stopped undressing to half-turn towards him with a mock-glare. “You’re enjoying this,” she charged.
	He wasn’t looking at her face. “Yes, I am,” he agreed, enjoying the sight of her breasts in profile. He rarely got to see her from this angle, after all.
	She threw her shirt at his head. “Takashi.”
	He pulled it off with a grin, looking her in the eye now. “Allura.”
	“Stop that.”
	“That sounds like an order.” He rose from the vanity, dropping the shirt to the floor as he walked over to her. “You’re not supposed to be giving orders right now. Turn back around.”
	She huffed but did it anyway. He wrapped one arm around her, using the other to brush some of her hair away from her bare throat so he could press a kiss against her skin. He let his hand – his right hand – trail away down her spine, to her side, before sliding around to her front. “What do you want, Allura?”
	“I thought I wasn’t to be giving orders?” she asked archly.
	“I’m asking you a question. I want you to answer. And just because you say you want something, doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get it.” Who am I kidding? he thought. If she said she wanted every star in every sky in the universe, I’d get them for her, and she knows it. But that was beside the point.
	She sucked in a breath. He noticed she held it before exhaling slowly and couldn’t help grinning. “I… want you.”
	“I’m right here.”
	“Not that. I want you to…” The skin of her cheek was heating.
	“To?” he prompted, nuzzling her ear.
	“…to make love to me.”
	“See? Was that so hard?” He kissed her cheek now.
	“Yes,” she practically growled. 
	He let go of her. “You have trouble asking for what you want. You always have. Tonight, I want you to be clear about what you want; it’s the only way you might get it.” 
	She turned to watch him go back to his seat on the vanity bench. “Finish up,” he told her. “But you can face me if you want to.”
	Apparently, she didn’t want to. She was getting out of her clothes a bit faster than he’d originally wanted, but, honestly, he didn’t mind. He loved seeing every part of her, especially in the soft glow she’d set the bedroom lights to. “You’re radiant,” he breathed.
	“Takashi,” she protested prettily.
	“Turn around.”
	She didn’t.
	“That wasn’t an option this time.” He stood. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you before.”
	“I know, but this is…”
	“What?” 
	“Different.”
	“Bad different?” I hope not. Please don’t be bad. I don’t want to…
	“No.”
	He let out a soft sigh of relief.
	“No, it’s not bad, it’s just… it’s different, and I feel… embarrassed for some reason? I don’t know why; it’s like you’ve said, you’ve seen me naked before.”
	“We can stop,” he offered.
	She was quiet, then turned around to face him and shook her head a little. “I’m okay.”
	He smiled. “You’re a lot more than that.” She was so gorgeous, standing there naked, waiting for him. 
	She blushed. “I think it’s… I’m used to you saying sweet, romantic things, but you aren’t usually this… vocal. And you’re giving orders.”
	He nodded. “That was the idea.”
	She shook her head again, and her blush deepened. “I know. It’s just… your voice, when you give orders, it’s… different. Good different!” she added quickly. “I like it.”
	He walked over to kiss her again. She looped her arms around his neck to pull him down more, and he let her, this time. He let his hands explore her back – and her backside – before bringing his left up to rest against her cheek, fingers behind her ear as he gently (and somewhat regretfully) pushed her out of the kiss.
	“Unzip my vest,” he told her, letting his hand trail down her neck to her shoulder.
	“Slowly?” she guessed.
	He grinned. “Well, don’t tear it off me, but you don’t have to go slow about it, no.”
	She unzipped his vest and stopped.
	“Good girl.” He went ahead and pulled it off, tossing it on the pile of her clothing. “Belt next.”
	She unbuckled his belt, but, of course, as soon as she let go, it dropped to the floor.
	“Oops.” She didn’t seem that upset.
	Which was fine; neither was he. “You can open my pants, but don’t push them down yet.”
	She arched an eyebrow at his use of “can,” but he just looked at her expectantly. She locked her stare with his. Oh, here we go. Power play.
	“Don’t give me that Princess Eyebrow of Displeasure,” he told her. He leaned towards her, voice dropping to a whisper as he reminded her, “You’re not a princess right now. You’re just Allura.” She opened her mouth to retort, but he pressed a finger against her parted lips. “You’re the woman I love. Not a princess, not a leader, and most definitely Not In Charge.” He kissed the end of her nose and grinned cheekily. “You are the most beautiful and radiant being in this or any other galaxy and I am going to make you very, very happy tonight, but only if you do what I say.”
	He dropped his finger, and she raised her hands to his pants to open them as ordered. But instead of stopping as she should have done, she darted a hand in between his skin and the waistband of his boxer briefs, down to fumble her fingers against his erection.
	He hissed in a breath and caught her wrist, trapping her hand there. “I didn’t tell you to do that.”
	“I took the initiative.”
	“Tonight’s not about you taking anything. Tonight is going to be about you receiving. Yes, and giving, too, don’t worry,” when he saw the protest rise in her face. “In fact, I was going to tell you to do this anyway, but you should wait for the order. Understand?”
	She nodded and asked in an overdone Voice of Innocence, “Does that mean I have to stop?” She batted her eyelashes coquettishly.
	He rolled his eyes and kissed her nose again. “You can play a little if you want. With this hand only, and when I tell you to stop, you stop.”
	“Yes, Space Daddy.”
	He squeezed his eyes shut. “New command: Do not ever, ever, ever call me that again under ANY circumstances.”
	She laughed. “The paladins call you that sometimes when they’re annoyed with you.”
	“Yes, I know. Which is exactly why I don’t want you to call me that. On top of which, I don’t really want to think about anyone else right now.” He brushed metal fingers softly across the skin of her cheek. “I only want to think about you.”
	“Okay, I’ll behave.”
	“I doubt that,” he said, but then she had gotten a good grip on him, and he stopped talking. He let his eyes close to focus on her fingers around his cock, on the texture of her skin on his, on how good it felt and how amazed he was, as always, that she wanted him.
	“That’s enough,” and he wasn’t sure he’d kept all the regret out of his voice. She stopped anyway and, thankfully, pulled her hand out of his underwear. He studied their surroundings, then told her, “Get up on the bed, hands and knees, facing me.”
	“Facing…?” She sounded surprised, but moved to obey.
	He smiled. “I did say you’d be giving a little tonight. And I don’t want you kneeling on the floor.”
	She was smirking as she turned back towards him. He tipped her chin up with one hand as he bent down to kiss her, then pushed his pants and underwear down so she would have clear access. He combed the fingers of his left hand through those silken moonlight tresses of hers, then guided her to him.
	“Just lick for now. Slowly.”
	She obeyed, giving the head of his cock a teasing lick with the tip of her tongue. She moved her head to one side to lap along his shaft, moving down towards his balls. She laid her tongue against his cock and licked all the way back up, and he couldn’t help groaning. 
	Allura was very, very good at this; it was something she took pride in. She’d explained it to him eventually: she liked making him lose “that famous Black Paladin control.” She loved being responsible for unraveling him. Frankly, he thought she could unravel him with the right look, the right word in the right tone of voice, but it was hard to think of what those could be when she was tonguing the slit at the head of his cock.
	He raised her chin again to stop her – at least for the moment. “You can use your whole mouth now, but I want you to look at me as much as you can. I want to know you’re enjoying this, or I won’t enjoy it either.”
	She smirked at him. “I always enjoy you, Takashi,” she told him brightly, and as soon as his hand fell away, her lips went straight for what she wanted. She sucked him into her mouth hungrily, and he didn’t even need to look in those crystalline eyes to tell she was enjoying it. Her tongue stroked the underside of his shaft as she lavished attention on the head. 
	He groaned again, bucking his hips a little instinctively. She pulled off him briefly before taking even more of him in. She kept doing this, working her way down his length. He noticed her hair was sticking in the saliva around her mouth; he gathered it up for her and held it back with his left hand (he always worried he’d get some of her hair caught in the joints of his right). 
	She made sure she looked him dead in the eyes as she started at the tip and sank all the way down to the base with a loud, “Mmmmm,” of pleasure.
	“Fuck,” he gasped, “that is so perfect. You are so, so perfect, Allura.” 
	Since he had a handhold of her hair, he pushed his hips slowly towards her as he urged her head closer to him. She got the hint and started picking up the speed of her trips up and down his cock, licking her way up and then sucking her way down. He watched her: watched those gorgeous long eyelashes flutter closed, watched her fill her mouth with him over and over again and somehow still seem eager for more. 
	He told her, “I’m going to come,” and stopped everything he was doing to see if she would protest or pull off to use their safe word. He normally asked if it was okay, but tonight he was in charge. 
	Her response was to hum in anticipation again, and he smiled as he resumed moving. She licked harder, sucked more ravenously, and refused to look anywhere but up at him. He met her gaze with his own for as long as he could until his orgasm dropped his eyes closed and pulled his head back as he moaned.
	When he opened his eyes and looked at her again, she was smiling. He scraped enough breath together to ask, “Do you want me to get a towel?”
	She shook her head. “I already swallowed.”
	He returned her smile. “Someone was hungry. But then again, you were ranting through most of dinner instead of eating.”
	“I needed dessert,” she said primly, sitting back and folding her hands on her lap.
	He shook his head and stepped closer to the edge of the bed. She rose to meet his embrace and his kiss. He could still taste himself on her lips, in her mouth. “You’re sweeter than any treat,” he told her afterwards.
	She blushed and gave him a playful shove. “Takashi.”
	He grinned (even as he stumbled backwards a little; she forgot her own strength sometimes). “I’m allowed to be as mushy and romantic as I want to be,” he informed her loftily, pulling his shirt off.
	“You take advantage.”
	“You love it.”
	“I do,” she admitted. “So now what?”
	He paused in getting undressed. “Lay down on your back.”
	She practically threw herself backwards on the bed, and he laughed again.
	“There you go being impatient again.”
	“I’m hoping I’ll finally get what I want.”
	“Oh? Are you ready for that?” he asked conversationally.
	“Very. But I…”
	He interrupted her, something he usually didn’t do. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
	She blinked. “Judge of what?”
	Now that he was fully naked, he climbed up onto the bed on his hands and knees. “Of how ready you are.”
	She grinned. “I was going to say that I didn’t think you’d be ready for that quite so soon.”
	“Ready for what?” he asked innocently.
	“For… what I want.”
	“And what’s that?” He crawled up between her legs.
	She blushed. “I already told you.”
	“I need a reminder. Someone just absolutely blew my mind.”
	She blushed harder but it didn’t stop her from saying, “I wasn’t blowing your mind, I was…”
	“Remind me,” he said before she could finish that.
	“I… I want you. Inside me.”
	He tsked and bent to kiss her thigh. “That’s not what you said earlier.”
	“It’s the same thing.”
	“It’s not,” he insisted. He used his hands to spread her legs a little farther apart. “For example.” And he dipped his tongue into her. 
	Alteans were interesting: in lieu of a clitoris, Allura had extra nerve bundles within her. The deeper he went into her, the more pleasure she got, but even just inside her entrance she was more sensitive than anywhere else. He ran his tongue around and gave a good, firm lick. 
	In response, she moaned. She was right: she’s very ready, he thought. She was practically dripping. He continued swirling his tongue teasingly before licking the areas he knew produced the best reactions out of her.
	“Ta-Takashi. I…” She had to pause to moan again. “I want you.”
	He stopped to point out, “You have me,” before kissing her thigh and resuming his work. 
	Her breath was a strained staccato. “N-no, I… ahh, I want… stop, stop or I’ll never be able to say this!”
	Technically she hadn’t used the safe word. He stopped anyway, because he wanted her to say it.
	She panted until she could get enough air. She was looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom as she said, “I want your cock.”
	“You just had it. And thank you for that, by the way.”
	She growled. “I want you to fuck me.”
	There it is. But… “I’m sorry, you want me to fuck you or you want me to make love to you?”
	She finally raised her head to look at him. “They’re the same thing, and you know that.”
	He shrugged. “Not tonight they’re not.” He pushed himself up so he could see her face better. “Tonight, there’s a difference. Do you want it fast or slow? Hard or soft? Sweet or…”
	“Spicy?” she suggested. He grinned and tried not to laugh, but it didn’t work very well, and she snorted in amusement. “So that’s how you’re going to play this, is it?”
	“I’m not playing. More to the point, you had your dessert, and I’d like to continue enjoying mine. In point of fact, I’m going to continue enjoying it, unless you truly want me to stop.”
	She opened her mouth, then closed it to consider. He waited a moment, and when no safe word was forthcoming, he lowered himself back down, took firm hold of her gorgeous ass and pulled her back to his mouth. He could practically feel her melt into his hands, and the bed shook a little as she dropped down to it once more. He stroked his tongue along a favorite part of her in reward. She gasped as her back arched off the bed.
	And after that, there was no sound from her but happy whimpers and increasingly loud moans, occasionally interspersed with his name. Her hands gripped the bedclothes and he laid his left hand over her right as he tried (futile though the effort was) to lick his way right into the center of her. He pulled her left thigh over his shoulder, the better to stroke the skin with his metal hand and to feel her toes curl against his back.
	He kept going until she arched higher than she had before and her breath caught in her throat. She came hard and he didn’t stop, he refused to stop until she had sagged back against her mattress and went limp against his hands. He eased his attentions before stopping them entirely, and then pushed himself up, sliding over her satiated body until he reached her mouth.
	Despite still being out of breath, she latched onto him for a fierce kiss as soon as he was within range. She welcomed his tongue into her mouth, and he was glad to kiss her deeply. 
	When she broke away to breathe, he asked quietly, “Do you like the taste of yourself that much?”
	She nodded but said nothing. He got the feeling she was only agreeing with him because she didn’t have the air to argue.
	“Understandable. I love the way you taste, after all.” He kissed her cheek, dotting soft little kisses down along to her ear. He had to drop his voice to a whisper. “Sometimes I just can’t get enough of you, Allura.”
	He ran his hand – his prosthetic – along her skin, let his fingers softly brush against more innocent places for a while. He watched her slowly reassemble herself against him, her lying on her back, he on his side next to her, petting her arms and stomach and tracing her collarbones. He did the occasional tour of her breasts, circling her nipples before moving on, but didn’t try to arouse her further. Not yet.
	“Takashi,” she said. “This has all been wonderful, but I still want you to…”
	“Fuck you or make love?” he asked.
	She studied his face. “Will it matter what I say?”
	He smiled at her. “I am in charge,” he told her, “but what you say will always matter to me. So let me ruin the surprise for you: you will get what you want. Eventually.” She huffed at that last word, but he continued, “But you have said you want two different things. I need to know for sure which you want.”
	“I thought I wasn’t supposed to make any decisions tonight?” 
	“You’re not making decisions for anyone but yourself tonight,” he corrected her. “Because I will never, ever do anything you don’t want, Allura. But I need you to tell me. You’re not good at asking for help – with the Xarathians or anything else – and you need to know that you can always ask me for help. But you have to tell me what to do; I can create a plan of attack, but I’m no diplomat, and I can’t read your mind. Tell me what you need, give me clear instructions,” he let a grin overtake his face, “and I will give you everything you want.
	“I am here for you, Allura, and I always will be. Trust me. Let me take some of the burden.” He nuzzled her ear and whispered, “Let me help make you happy.” His hand trailed down along her stomach.
	“Oh, Takashi. I do trust you; please don’t ever think I don’t! But I don’t want to impose upon you. This is my burden, and…” She stopped as his fingers brushed through the silvery curls between her legs. 
	“You’re not imposing. And if you trust me, then surrender, Allura. Only here, only now. We have to fight on so many other fronts. You don’t have to fight here. You can set down your burden and let me take care of you.” His fingers teased her entrance. “Just for a little while.”
	“But…” She bit her lip.
	He kissed her cheek. “The Coalition will be okay without us for a night. We don’t have to rush through our time together. It’s not wrong to enjoy ourselves, even in the middle of a war.”
	She grinned a little. “You said the safe word.”
	He blinked and laughed. If there was one word he knew would never and should never come up in love-makingd (or fucking), it was “Coalition.” “I guess I did. But I don’t want to stop. Do you?”
	She paused, and he stopped his hand from further questing. But then she shook her head and smiled. “I don’t want to stop. I don’t want you to stop. And I’ll… I’ll try to let go.”
	“That’s all I can ask, my love.” He kissed her. “Do you trust me?”
	“Absolutely,” she replied, love and certainty shining in her eyes.
	“Then spread your legs a little more.” She did so. “And think about what you want. You have to tell me before I make you come again, and you have to be specific. I promise you, you will get exactly what you want if you do that.”
	“I know I will,” she said.
	He smiled warmly, kissed her again, and slid two fingers into her.
	She cried out and spread her legs further. “Ahhh, by the Ancients, I love it when you use your right hand.”
	“Oh?” He was kissing her cheek, back down to her ear once more.
	“Hard metal, cooler than your hand but still warm, so oddly textured… aaah! They meant it to be a weapon but… with you it’s so much more. YOU are so much more. Oh, Takashi…”
	She always knows just what to say. He was getting hard quickly. “I love seeing you like this, so enraptured. Because of me.” He kissed her neck.
	“Because of you,” she agreed. “Only you.”
	“Hearing that lovely voice tremble with need for me.” He pulled his hand out, readied three fingers this time, and plunged them into her, wrenching an ecstatic cry from her. “Oh, Allura, you are everything I have ever dreamed of and more.” There was one spot that always excited her, reliably got her hot and made her nerves tingle; he gave it a long, unhurried stroke.
	“Takashi… Shiro… I…”
	“Tell me,” he demanded, lapping at her neck and chasing her pulse with his tongue.
	She shivered and said, “I’m so close and I need you to fuck me so badly. I can’t wait any longer, and I need you hard and fast and NOW…”
	That was what he’d been waiting for. He pulled his hand away and rolled on top of her. He knew her body better than his own by now, it seemed, and he didn’t have to look anywhere but into her eyes as he thrust into her. He knew she’d move to meet him as surely as he knew she’d come the second he buried himself to the hilt in her. She was so tight when she hit her climax that he had to do vector calculations for a good thirty seconds, to keep himself from tipping over. 
	Just as she started to ease down, he began fulfilling her request. He didn’t start out hard, given that she was still in the aftershocks, but he ramped up quickly. She clung to him, digging her nails into his back as he pounded into her; it wasn’t difficult given how wet she was. She nearly deafened him with her pleas for more, and he gave it to her, every drop of energy he had to give, he’d give it all to her and more. All she had ever had to do was ask him.
	“Takashi… I…”
	“Come for me, Allura. I’m right there.”
	“I lo- …” The rest of it got cut off by her third orgasm of the night.
	He didn’t notice, honestly, because hers had triggered his and because, in a way, he heard it anyway. He heard it his mind, felt it in his heart. And when he finally collapsed and rolled off of her, she smiled weakly at him and didn’t bother trying to say it again. It was unnecessary. It was there in her smile, in her eyes, and in the soft press of her lips against his.

~*~*~*~*~

	“What did you DO?” Keith was waiting for an answer. 
	Shiro just smiled innocently. “I made sure she got a good night’s rest, that’s all.”

Later that day:
Allura: *pushes Shiro towards the Black Lion* I need to have a talk with you.
Shiro: Of course, Princess. What is it?
Allura: *doesn’t speak until they’re in the cockpit* You’re a terrible distraction, I want you to know that.
Shiro: Am I? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be. *trying not to grin*
Allura: *presses herself against him* I can’t stop thinking about last night.
Shiro: *his hands fall to her hips; he’s in full-on smirk mode now* I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Allura: I don’t think I can wait until tonight.
Shiro: Well, I suppose the Coalition can go on without us for half an hour or so.
Allura: *returns his smirk* Better make it an hour.