The next day, Shiro stood at attention as Major Iverson looked over the information he’d presented to him (making sure Pidge’s name was nowhere on it). “We’re sure these aren’t just nutjobs?” It was barely a question. Iverson looked up at Shiro for an answer regardless.
	“As sure as we can be, sir. It’s still being looked into; we’ve got some leads we’re following. Not all the chatter’s credible, but we have good reason to believe some of it is.”
	Iverson sighed and tossed the tablet back onto his desk. “At ease. And sit down.”
	Shiro did so, helping himself to one of the chairs in the major’s on-site office. 
	“I’m guessing you’ve got a Holt working on this.”
	“The information is…” Shiro began, but Iverson cut him off.
	“Don’t try to protect them from me! I know what they’re capable of.”
	He just nodded. “Aye, sir.”
	“Younger or older?”
	“Does it matter?”
	“Just answer the question.”
	“It’s Pidge, sir.”
	He groaned. “Then I’ve gotta take it seriously. Much as I can’t stand the little gremlin, she’s the best hacker we’ve got. She says this intel is solid, it’s solid. So, okay. The princess needs round-the-clock protection.” Iverson eyeballed him for a long few seconds.
	“Sir?”
	“She gave you her key card.”
	He nodded. “As I reported, sir, yes.”
	“I have to talk with DS about this, but I’m going to recommend you for the job. Take that team of misfits with you. They work well with you and each other, for some reason. Better than any of them do on their own. We’ll take care of perimeter patrol and security sweeps everywhere she goes, but I want you right there next to her at all times.”
	“Yes, sir, but… why me?”
	“She trusts you. Did you forget I was on Altea, too?”
	“No, sir.”
	“That young woman does what she wants when she wants, and everything else be damned. We try to saddle her with someone she doesn’t like or trust, she’ll throw her detail and then where will we be? She won’t kick up a fuss about you. And you’re a good man, Shiro. A good soldier. I know you’ll make sure she’s safe.” 
	There was something in Iverson’s tone. Something… strange. Was he… hiding a smile? I’ve got to be imagining that. “Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best.”
	“I know you will. Let me get on the horn to the commander. For now, you pack your gear, head straight to the hotel. That penthouse suite has, what, three bedrooms in it?”
	“Yes, sir.”
	“Good. And don’t raid the mini-bar while you’re in there.”
	Shiro snorted and couldn’t help smiling. “Aye, sir.” He rose to leave.
	“Shiro? Don’t give her the details, hm? Just tell her we’re being extra careful about her safety.”
	“If you say so, sir, but why not tell her?”
	“She doesn’t know what humans are like. We don’t know how she’ll react to the news that there’s a bunch of loonies out there think she’s going to kill us all, even if only some of them are actual threats.”
	“I think you’re selling her short, sir.”
	And Iverson was studying him again. Shiro tried not to shift under the stare. “Fine. Use your best judgement on whether to tell her or not. Remind her we don’t want to do anything that makes those wackos look like they’re right.”
	“She’s not going to go on some B-movie rampage, sir.”
	“I know she’s not because you’re going to make sure of that. Dismissed.”
	Shiro turned and left. First things first, contact the guys, let them know what’s going on. Pack my gear, and then I’ll have to let Allu-… the princess know.

	“You’re going to be staying here?” This was the best news she’d had on the whole trip.
	Takashi nodded. “Yes, in one of the spare bedrooms. The rest of my team is taking some empty rooms on the 19th floor to look after the rest of the diplomatic team, and we’ve got plainclothes security in the lobby.”
	She cocked her head. “You do know that we can take care of ourselves.”
	He sighed. “I know. Believe me, I know. But we don’t want to scare the public into believing these crazy theories are correct.”
	“We have purely defensive capabilities.”
	“And we’re just being cautious. We have to do our best to protect you while you’re here. What would your father think otherwise?”
	She snorted. “As if I’d tell him.”
	“Princess.”
	She smiled. “I prefer you use my name.”
	“I’m not here for… personal reasons.”
	“I know, but while we are here together, alone, is there any reason to use my rank? I’ll just call you ‘Shiro,’ you call me ‘Allura.’ What’s wrong with that?”
	“Nothing, I suppose.” He started taking his things towards the bedroom next to hers. “How’d you sleep last night?”
	“Very well, thank you.” She followed him to continue the conversation. “Dinner was nice, too. I asked the chef what he’d recommend, and he sent up a fillet mignone with a…”
	He stopped and turned back to her. “Filay meenyon.”
	“I’m sorry?”
	“It’s French. It’s pronounced ‘filay meenyon,’ not ‘fillet mignone.’”
	“Oh! Say it again?” He did, and she repeated it. When he nodded, she smiled. “Thank you. Well, this filet mignon was very good! The lobster tail was a bit crunchy though.”
	“Um… You don’t eat the shell. Just the soft part.”
	“Why would the shell be on the plate if you don’t eat it?”
	“Decoration.”
	“That seems a bit much.” She frowned thoughtfully. “Will you help me learn how to eat properly then? And pronounce everything correctly?”
	He chuckled. “I’d be glad to. Now you’ve got a meeting with the EGC liaison in fifteen minutes, so I’m going to…”
	“Stay right here until I receive word that she’s arrived. Then you can go down and bring her up.”
	He sighed. “As you wish. Is there anything you want to go over beforehand?”
	“No, it should be fine. Will you be staying through the meeting?”
	“I am detailed to be at your side at all times.”
	She grinned and swooped in close to him. “All times?”
	“Allura…” he protested.
	She giggled and walked away. “I couldn’t help it.”
	“Uh-huh.” He didn’t sound like he believed her. “No flirting around the liaison, please.”
	“Can I flirt when she’s gone?”
	She heard him snort in amusement. “After she’s gone, you have a luncheon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States.”
	“Did you memorize my schedule?”
	“All part of the job.”
	She huffed. “You’re supposed to be my bodyguard, not my secretary.”
	“I am a man of many talents.”
	“I’ll say you are,” she purred from the living room.
	“I HEARD THAT!” he called, still unpacking.
	“Are you blushing yet?”
	He didn’t answer.
	“I’m taking that as a yes.”
	The phone rang. Allura sighed. “She’s early.”
	“Keep her waiting,” Shiro advised.
	“What?”
	“Acknowledge her presence and keep her waiting. Your time is your own; don’t let them push you onto their schedule.”
	She grinned. “You know these are your own people.”
	“We’re all humans, but they’re not my people.”
	“Doesn’t the Garrison report to the EGC?”
	“It’s just my advice; you don’t have to take it.”
	She picked up the phone. “Hello?”
	“Hello, Princess, this is the front desk. You have a visitor: a Ms. Warburton from the EGC.”
	“Very good. Let her know I will send someone down to her momentarily.” She hung up the phone. “You’re sure I’m not offending her?”
	“If you keep her waiting past the scheduled time, you’ll offend her.” He walked out of the room and leaned against the doorframe. “Seeing her on schedule really gives her nothing to be upset about.” He looked to the wall, and she turned to see what he was looking at: the clock. “The elevator ride takes…”
	She looked back at him. “You timed the elevator?”
	“Of course I did. Part of security protocols.” 
	“Or you’re just trying to impress me.”
	He grinned at her. “I’ll head down in five minutes. By the time I get down there, greet her, escort her to the elevator, and we ride back up, she’ll be here in your quarters at exactly the right time.”
	“Going above and beyond the call of duty, aren’t you?”
	“A little,” he acknowledged. He pushed off the doorframe to stand up straight and walked two steps closer to her. “I know you, Allura. I know you can be a lot of help to us here on Earth. So I want to help you convince everyone else. I’m no diplomat, but if there’s one thing the military has, it’s our spectacular sense of timing.”
	She laughed. “I’m glad I have you in my corner, Shiro. You’d be a formidable opponent otherwise.”
	He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and cleared his throat. “I’m happy you think so.”
	“What were you going to say?”
	“Something I shouldn’t have.”
	She couldn’t help frowning. “I’d rather you spoke your mind. And your heart.”
	“I’m afraid what will happen if I do.”
	“Afraid of what? Not me, surely?”
	He shook his head. “I’m not afraid of you. At least, so long as I don’t try to pick up the same iffrhin roll at dinner.”
	She couldn’t help giggling. “That was my roll. It was meant to be mine. You had no right to take it from me!”
	“I didn’t see your name on it, Princess.” But he was clearly amused, using her title teasingly.
	“Could you have read my name if it had been on it?”
	“Well, not then, but now I could.”
	“So maybe it was on there and you just didn’t recognize it.”
	“There was nothing on it! It was a roll!”
	“It was my destiny to eat that roll.”
	“I’m sorry to have denied you your destiny; if it’s any consolation, it was delicious.” He glanced at the clock again. “Sit down there, on the sofa. Read something interesting. When we come up, set what you’re reading down and rise to greet the liaison. Remember, she’s here on your turf, on your time.”
	“I know how to make a first impression.”
	“Yes, you do.” He walked over to the elevator. “Oh, and you have broccoli in your teeth.”
	“What? I do not!” She hurried to a mirror. “I don’t even know what that is!” The mirror showed absolutely nothing stuck in her teeth, and she whipped her head towards the elevator.
	“Made you look,” he said with a grin, just before the doors closed.
	She snorted and shook her head. It wasn’t quite what she’d been hoping for, but it was still fun just to be with him, to have him around. She silently blessed those unfortunates who believed the worst of her, because they had brought Takashi back into her life.

	When they got back to the room that night, Shiro was surprised by how much his feet hurt. He hadn’t even noticed how long he’d been standing and walking, because he was always paying attention to something else: security measures, potential weak points, figuring out the best places to take cover if needed, or, of course, chatting with Allura in between her appointments. She would flirt, he would banter, they would laugh together. It was fun, but he refused to let it distract him from keeping her safe.
	What really wowed him though was watching her in discussions with some of the most important people on Earth. Today was supposed to be a meet-and-greet, both sides sort of feeling each other out. So there was no diplomatic team, no entourage, just the princess – and her judgement – alone. 
	He’d never seen her do more in discussions than be civil and polite. But then, all of the important talks back on Altea had been between Ambassador Roberts and King Alfor. So watching her “work,” as it were, just floored him. She was quite definitely on a charm offensive, here to soothe and reassure these important people that she understood their concerns and was, in fact, here for peace. When she encountered resistance – like, say, from the Chief of the Marine Corps – she handled it so deftly that it nearly left Shiro’s head spinning. He couldn’t even remember what she’d said or how, only that when the meeting was over, it was all amiable smiles. He was sure some of it was acting, but the tension that had walked into the room with the Joint Chiefs had lessened considerably by the time they walked out again.
	Princess Allura of Altea radiated a confident and easy-going nature, secure in herself, with nothing to worry about. But Shiro could see the cracks in her mask. At the luncheon, she ordered the same thing the Vice Chairman ordered and subtly took in cues on flatware and how they ate. An expression the others in the room probably took to be contemplative Shiro read as confusion – especially as it almost always occurred after some idiom or slang term. She rolled with the context rather than asking, as she had done when such phrases had come up on her own homeworld.
	Still, her ability to do all of this subtly, to keep their eyes away from her uncertainties, to just manage a room like that… No one can doubt she’s been raised to lead.
	Meeting after meeting, appointment after appointment. It ate the entire day and the early evening away, but Shiro didn’t dare show any weakness of his own until they got back to the suite. “FINALLY,” he sighed in relief as the elevator door closed behind them. 
	Allura giggled. “Tired?”
	“Footsore.” He crossed to the sofa and began untying his shoes. “Are you hungry?”
	“Famished,” she agreed. “My lunch was not very filling.”
	“Yeah, I guess the Vice Chairman’s on a diet or something.”
	Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
	He grinned and explained everything he’d noticed her doing. She seemed miffed at first, then defensive, and then just sighed and threw up her hands. “I thought I was doing so well!”
	“You were!” He rose and walked over to her. “You did a great job! I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who noticed, and even that’s only because I already know you so well.” He rubbed her arms. “Don’t worry about it.”
	She hugged him, and he returned it, patting her back. “Let’s get some food, hm?” he suggested.
	“You choose,” she said from against his chest.
	“Oh man, I have my choice of what to eat at one of the best hotels in the world? I’m not sure I can make that decision.”
	“Well, you have to, or I’ll starve. Wither away and die.” She started slumping towards the floor.
	“Whoa, hey now!” He bent and scooped her up. “We can’t have that.”
	She giggled and looped her arms around his neck. “Well, you’ll have to choose then.”
	“You planned this.” He carried her to the sofa.
	“Absolutely.”
	He laid her down gently. “Rest up. I’ll go order something.”
	But she wasn’t letting go of him. “You could stay here a little longer. If you wanted.”
	His eyes searched her face. She was grinning like she was teasing him, but there was a plea in her gaze. He sighed and leaned down to kiss her forehead, then moved to get her hands off him. “I’m hungry. You’re hungry. Let me get our food order in.” He stood up. “Before you waste away, remember?”
	“Okay.” She sat up and he thought he caught her pouting before he went to the phone to call down to the kitchen. Once that was done, he went to his room to hang up his uniform jacket, get rid of the tie and earpiece, unbutton the top buttons of his shirt, take off his socks, that sort of thing. He made sure to keep his belt and sidearm on though.
	“How long until the food arrives?” Allura called from the main room.
	“About forty minutes they said.”
	“Good, I’m going to take a shower.” She popped her head into his doorway. “Would you care to join me?”
	He could already feel his face catching fire. “Someone has to be here to get the food when it shows up.”
	“It’ll be a quick shower.”
	“Not if I join you, it won’t be.”
	She blushed and giggled and left him alone. He returned to the main room and turned on the TV, trying to find something not entirely idiotic to distract him from the thought of showering with Allura. When nothing did the trick, he just left it on a nature program – something about lions – and let his mind wander.
	I’m here to protect her, not sleep with her. Again. I shouldn’t have slept with her last time, but goddammit yes I should have, it was the most wonderful night of my life and it’s torture to be this close to her and not… but I need to be close to her to protect her, and it’s hard to get much closer than in the same bed, her in my arms, and me in hers, and… I Cannot. Not here, on Earth, where I have so many more people to answer to, so many more people who could find out. But the hotel doesn’t have cameras in the penthouse suite. So who’s going to find out? But I’LL know. Keith’ll know as soon as he looks at me. Hell, Iverson might already know. I can’t take the chance. But then Iverson arranged for me to be here. And…
	He shut off the TV, stood and paced, still lost in his racing thoughts, balancing duty and desire and trying to figure out if they could or even should co-exist. They shouldn’t. But today had just given him even more reasons to fall in love with her. This was going to be the hardest assignment of his life.
	Allura came out in one of the soft, plush hotel robes, hair still dripping a little. He couldn’t help staring at her, and she smiled at him. But then the phone rang.
	He went to answer it; as expected, it was the kitchen confirming they were on their way up. He hung it up and relayed that to her. “Go wait in your bedroom. I’ll let you know when the coast is clear.”
	“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “They brought my food up yesterday without killing me!”
	“That was yesterday. I’m here now, my job is to protect you, now go wait in your room.”
	“You’re not my father.”
	“Thank goodness.”
	She stuck her tongue out at him but went to her bedroom and shut the door just before the elevator dinged.
	He greeted the chef (who had brought it up personally) and let him arrange things on the dining room table, setting it all up nicely as he chatted. “Will you be dining with the princess from now on?”
	“Yes, unless she has a state dinner or something like that. I’m part of her security detail.”
	“Ah, good, good. Any dietary restrictions I need to know about?”
	“I don’t like asparagus? Other than that, I’m good.”
	The chef laughed. “And where is the princess?”
	“She just got out of the shower; she’ll be out in a moment.”
	“Good! I don’t want the food to get cold! Enjoy!” And the chef headed back to the elevator. 
	Shiro waited until the elevator closed and turned to go knock on Allura’s bedroom door, but it opened before he got there. She walked out in a long, flowing nightgown, modest and becoming, in a light shade of pink. “I assume it’s safe now?”
	He nodded. “Yes, you can come eat.”
	“What did you order?” She practically ran over to the table and pulled the lid off her plate.
	“Grilled salmon and broccoli for you.”
	“Isn’t that the stuff you said I had in my teeth earlier?”
	He grinned. “Well, you said you didn’t know what it was. I figured I’d fix that.”
	“Did you get the same thing for yourself?”
	“No,” he said, sitting. “I got shrimp scampi with linguine. I figured you could try a bite of mine and see if you like it.”
	She beamed as she sat down. “Clever man.”
	He taught her about putting the napkin in one’s lap, about how to eat long noodles like this (both the polite and the impolite-but-fun slurping way, which she enjoyed), and how to set her silverware when she was done. She also offered him a bite of her salmon, holding the fork out to him. She seemed happy when he took it straight off her fork. He fed her a shrimp in return (and told her that they were not, in fact, baby lobsters).
	They talked about the next day’s schedule – mostly meetings – and discussed the day just past. The night fell, and they were still at the table, talking. It wasn’t until he noticed the clock said eleven PM that he came back to himself. 
	“We should be getting to bed.” He stood. “It’s getting late, and your first appointment…”
	“…is eleven hours away. Stop fussing. I already have one nanny on this trip, I don’t need another.”
	“Oh, is Coran here? I should say hi.”
	She laughed and rose elegantly from her seat. “At least come and show me how to make this ‘television’ display something interesting?”
	He shrugged. “Sure. Let me clear the table first.” He started gathering the dishes together.
	“So polite, so thoughtful,” and her voice was warm.
	He cleared his throat and tried not to focus on how she’d said it. “It’s how I was raised,” he said as he ferried the dishes to the kitchen.
	“I should congratulate your parents. They did an excellent job.”
	He shook his head. “Dad died in a training accident when I was young. Mom passed a couple years ago.”
	“Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…”
	“It’s okay, you didn’t upset me.”
	“I give you my condolences on the loss of your parents.”
	“Thank you, Allura. There. All in one place for housekeeping. Okay, so, TV. What sort of program are you interested in watching?”
	“Anything, so long as it’s not about politics,” she groaned.
	He couldn’t help laughing. He sat down on the sofa – ignoring how close she sat next to him – and turned on the TV. He channel-surfed slowly until she asked him to stop. In the end, they wound up watching one of those home renovation shows. Allura was very opinionated on the homeowners’ choices. “But the lighter granite would look so much nicer with the cabinets they have picked out!”
	“I dunno, I think the darker granite makes a statement,” he murmured.
	“Is that statement ‘the homeowners have no taste’?” she shot back, causing him to snicker.
	They watched a few of those shows back to back and then Allura stretched. Shiro couldn’t help watching the action: her arms reached up towards the ceiling, her back arching just a little, her eyes closed and a look of contentment on her face. Stop that, he chided himself. Protection, dammit. You’re here to protect her, nothing more.
	When she finished, she smiled at him. “I think that’s enough. I should go to bed now.”
	He shut the TV off and nodded. “Of course. I’ll see you in the morning.”
	She leaned in towards him. 
	I really shouldn’t… He didn’t move.
	But she just pressed her lips against his cheek and left them there for a long moment. It was cold where her lips had been when she left, and the brush of her breath against his skin when she said, “Good night,” made him shiver. 
	He opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and watched her stand and turn towards her bedroom. She was pulling her nightgown off and he realized almost immediately that she didn’t have anything on underneath. But she shut the door behind her.
	He swallowed hard and tried to find a distraction from what he’d just seen. Turning off various lights and setting his alarm took only a few minutes, even after he double-checked everything. He shut his own door and tried not to think of Allura naked on the other side of That Wall. He stripped down to his underwear, setting his sidearm on the nightstand next to him. He stared at the wall for a long moment, then turned his own light off and laid down, pulling the covers up over him.
	Almost immediately he heard a soft moan. It was coming from the other side of the wall, from Allura’s bedroom. She’s… just getting comfy as she falls asleep, he told himself. But then it happened again. He couldn’t help listening – there was no other sound – and her moaning steadily increased in frequency and volume. He was reacting to her voice, muffled as it was, and it was getting harder to deny what she must be doing over there.
	And then…
	“Takashiii,” followed by a gasp and a trembling, “Yesss.”
	That was it. He was never going to get to sleep so long as she was doing this, and the way she moaned his name in such rapturous desire had gotten him too hard to sleep anyway. He tossed the covers off and slid his hand into his boxer briefs.
	She was still going. “Ahhh, just like that! Mmmm.”
	Fuck. He started stroking fast. He felt like he had to catch up with her for some reason. He wanted to get himself off just as she came, and he hoped she’d continue to be this loud. It was torture, but it was at least something, some way of being with her.
	She moaned his name again, louder. It sounded like she’d turned towards the wall between their rooms, as if she was seeking the same connection he was. He closed his eyes and imagined her in her bed, finger-fucking herself to thoughts of him. 
	“Takashi, I need you so badly,” she whimpered. 	
	He wanted to go to her. He stayed where he was, physically at least. In his mind, he went to her room, took her into his arms, and kissed her, long and hard.
	He heard her say, “Please…” 
	He pushed his underwear down out of his way and imagined himself laying her back down onto her bed. How eagerly she’d spread her legs for him, so he could push himself into her.
	She moaned again, loud and guttural, and he almost lost control right there. “Allura,” he whispered into the darkness of his room.
	But she was still loud, groaning and sighing and urging him on in Altean. He could understand her words now, most of them. Some were quite definitely not on the approved vocabulary lists, but he could figure them out from context. 
	“That’s it. Right there,” she was saying in her native tongue. “Please don’t ever stop, Takashi, please.”
	“I won’t,” he promised out loud, keeping his voice quiet. If she heard him… He couldn’t think about that right now. He focused on staying in the fantasy.
	“More, please give me more. I need you, only you.”
	“FUCK,” and he was almost sure she might’ve heard that, but he didn’t care. She’d asked for more and so he was stroking himself harder, trying to imagine he was inside her. She’d be wetter than this, hotter, much tighter, and she’d be clinging to him. Her body beneath him, her legs wrapped around him to keep him deep within her.
	“I don’t want anyone else ever again. Only you. Oh, gods, no one can fuck me like you can.”
	He couldn’t reply to that. He was getting close, but he wanted to hear her come.
	She was back to his name now, gasping it in between panting breaths. “I’m going to… oh, Takashi, I…”
	“Come for me, princess,” he said. “Come with me.”
	And she did, as if she really could hear him, as if they really were together. He assumed she did anyway; it was just how she’d sounded back on Altea so long ago. He could almost feel her clenching around his cock, and he came, turning his head into his pillow to muffle his groaning. 
	He laid there, catching his breath, staring over at the wall. He didn’t know if he wanted her to start up again or not. But, regardless, no further sound came from her room. 
	His hands fumbled to pull his underwear up, and he waited another few long minutes. When silence continued, he rose and went to take a shower. He paused outside her door for a moment, then two, and then pushed himself on towards the bathroom. A quick – and cold – shower so that he could get to sleep.
	This assignment is going to kill me.
~End of Chapter 2~