Allura, in her robe and nightgown, paced up and down her room, unable to sit still longer than a dobosh or two. There was still so much she didn’t understand about her abilities as a so-called “sacred” Altean. It hadn’t been hard to understand the “absorbing” and “transferring” quintessence parts, but no one had prepared her for This.
	You’d think there wouldn’t be such a thing as “too much” life force, she groused mentally. But it was the only thing that made sense. She’d had to dig through the Castle’s library to find it described, and even then it was all poetic, written in the verse and cant of ancient Altean. Fortunately, there were also descriptions of what to do about it, albeit flowery and with numerous references to forgotten gods.
	She had options. She had to remember that. She had a number of options. But there was one that stuck out, referred to lyrically and repeatedly as the best option for myriad reasons: health, general well-being and demeanor, to say nothing of efficiency. 
	I’m trying to save an entire universe here! 
	She’d have to go with the best, most efficient route. And, for that, she’d need help. But she wasn’t good at asking for assistance under normal circumstances, let alone for something like this… and that was before getting into who she was going to ask for help.
	It’s a necessity. I’m sure he’ll understand. 
	It was his understanding and helpful nature that she was going to be relying on. And he was a leader, as she was. He would understand that sometimes a situation required unorthodox solutions. These were certainly the only reasons she’d ask Shiro for his help in this matter. It had nothing to do with… with anything else about him. 
	She reminded herself that she could handle this, took a steadying breath, and sent a private request for Shiro to join her in her room. 

	“I’m… sorry, I think I misheard.”
“You did not,” she informed him. She was using her royal demeanor to keep herself steady (and from rolling her eyes). 
	“No, I’m almost certain I did,” he insisted. His cheeks were reddening.
	So, she sighed and repeated herself. “I have an overabundance of quintessence, a condition that sometimes happens with sacred Alteans. The best and most efficient method of re-balancing the quintessence is sexual intercourse. With a partner,” she tacked on, just to make that clear. While her solitary sessions had been pleasant, they hadn’t made much of a difference (or she wouldn’t be doing this now).
	“A-and you’re asking me to…?”
	She cocked her head. “You are not required to, of course.”
	“N-no, no, I understand that, but… you’re asking ME.”
	Her brow furrowed. “Yes. Why is that so difficult for you to grasp?”
	He blinked at her, entire face red by now. “I… well, that is… I’m not…”
	“Shiro.” She took a couple of steps closer to him. He’d come far enough into her room for her doors to shut behind him and she’d maintained the distance between them while explaining the nature of her request. “This is not meant as anything romantic, nor even especially intimate. It’s a biological necessity.”
	“So… it’s like you’re in heat?”
	“Not exactly. It has nothing to do with fertility and I don’t have to express the energy through sexual contact. It’s just that alternative methods are less ideal, according to my sources. Granted, my sources were ancient even before I was put in stasis, and I don’t have anything more modern to rely upon.” If I still had Father’s A.I., I’d’ve asked him what to do. But I don’t have him anymore.
	I’m all alone.
	I’m doing the best I can here.
	Please, Shiro.
	She shoved her slightly-unsteady thoughts aside and squared her shoulders again, lifting her chin and trying to summon up her reserves of royal demeanor once more. 
	He nodded and licked his lips uneasily. “So, uh… do we need to do this now, or…?”
	“Sooner would be preferable to later,” she confirmed. It was getting to hard to keep hiding behind a regal countenance. She hated appearing weak, but she couldn’t help but admit, “I can’t sit still, Shiro. I can hardly sleep. What sleep I do get is restless and brief.”
	“You have seemed tired lately.”
	She nodded. “Very. My thoughts are flighty and scattered. I cannot be an effective leader like this, with no rest or focus. The quintessence surge will eventually disperse, but it could take a couple of movements before it does. I don’t want to wait that long. I don’t think I can.”
	“Can the cryo-replenishers help?”
	She frowned at him. “No. There’s nothing to heal. Plus, as the name would suggest, they replenish depleted life energy. That is the opposite of my problem at the moment.” She watched him exhale. “Shiro, you don’t have to do this just because I’ve asked you to. This isn’t an order. I would never require something like this of you.”
	“But it’s the best way, right?” When she nodded, he sighed. “So, I take it I don’t need to take you out for dinner and drinks first?”
	She snorted and did roll her eyes this time. “No, that’s hardly necessary, especially since we had dinner only a couple of vargas ago.”
	“Um… it’s a little… I mean, do we just…?”
	She cocked her head again. “What’s confusing you?” She honestly had no clue and she wanted to help. Gods know it’s awkward enough without misunderstandings.
	“I’m used to there… being a bit more lead-in to…”
	“Oh, foreplay!” she realized. “Naturally, whatever’s… um…required for you to be able to perform is understandable.” She cleared her throat. I was doing so well up to now, too. 
	That didn’t seem to reassure him. “Okay. Um. What about contraception?”
So thoughtful. “Taken care of.”
	“You’re sure?”
	“I’m sure.” Altean contraception was some of the best there was, in her admittedly-biased opinion, and until she had the medbots remove it from her, there was no way she’d be ‘surprised’. This entire situation was uncomfortable for her, but at least her confidence in this one area was still unshakeable.
“So, should I just start stripping then, or…?”
	She considered the Earth clothes he was in. “Well, the boots need to go, at a minimum. The belt and pouches are entirely unnecessary.” She began walking forward and he got redder – she was surprised that was possible – but she walked past him to the door control panel so she could set the privacy lock. “The pants will have to be open, but you don’t need to entirely remove them.” She turned back towards her bed, pulling her robe off. “I don’t see much of a need to completely undress for this.” I think I’d faint if you did, or if I had to.
	She thought she heard him mutter something about “killing the mood.” She faced him.
	“Shiro, this isn’t about ‘a mood.’”
	“No, I know. It’s not… not romantic,” he had to clear his throat for some reason, “but I can’t really, uh, ‘perform’ if I can’t…”
	“Well, what would help you?” she asked him. “And at least get your boots off, please? I don’t want them on my bed.” Because he was just standing there. 
	The reminder spurred him into action. “Right, right, sorry.” He looked around, spied the seat in front of her vanity, and crossed to it so he could sit to take them off. “Uh, I dunno, just…” He seemed to think about it as he tugged off first one, then the other. “Some indication of desire would be nice?” He pulled his single glove off and set it on the vanity.
	Allura swallowed hard and tried to steady herself. “Well, if I didn’t want to do this with you, I wouldn’t have asked you,” she pointed out.
	“And I wouldn’t have accepted,” he replied, standing to unfasten his belt.
	She tried to pull her royal demeanor back on to shore herself up. “I do have a request. A couple of them.”
	“Of course, Princess.”
	She was about to correct him but given what she was about to ask of him, it would’ve been hypocritical. “I know it’s an awkward thing of me to ask of you, so I thought it would help if we weren’t facing each other. I’ll get on my hands and knees; you won’t have to see my face. And we shouldn’t use names. Just imagine that we’re two completely different, anonymous people. And then once we’re done, you can return to your room.” Good. I sounded… well, at least my voice didn’t break. She knew her cheeks were darkening again.
	He stared at her for a long moment. “That’s not… but yeah, I can see how that would be… that’s fine. However you want it. This. I mean…” His face had been regaining its normal color but a sudden surge of crimson washed over him. “Pretend I can speak coherently and without sounding like a creep.”
	She chuckled. “You don’t sound like a creep. Just nervous.”
	“Oh, good ‘cause that’s what I am.”
	“I’m not going to ‘rate’ your performance or any nonsense like that. What I need from you is to help me expend a great deal of energy in a short amount of time so that I can hopefully get some much-needed sleep.” 
	“Right.” He sucked in a deep breath, held it a moment, and then exhaled.
	She smiled encouragingly as an idea struck her. “Here, close your eyes.” He did as she suggested. “Now, imagine your ideal sexual partner. It would help if the partner were female, in this instance…” Something occurred to her. “I didn’t even ask if you have any interest in women, I’m sorry!”
	He cleared his throat. “I have interest in people, some of whom are female.”
	“Good enough. So just picture an ideal for yourself.” She gave him a moment before prompting, “Do you have the mental image nice and clear?”
	“Crystal,” he confirmed instantly. Oh, well that didn’t take long at all, then.
	“Good! Now, just pretend that I’m them.” She took his hands and gently tugged him towards her bed. He followed, eyes still closed. “Pretend that this is a fantasy. It’s all a dream. Your fantasy lover wants you.”
	She watched him lick his lips and had to remind herself of the same thing she’d been telling him: this isn’t romantic. This isn’t about the two of us. This is about venting some energy so I can finally get some rest.
	“Right,” he replied, sounding a bit unsteady. “A dream.” 
	He sounds oddly… disappointed? Maybe I’m just reading him wrong. Earthlings aren’t exactly like Alteans, after all.
	A further idea occurred to her. “If you can describe them, I can do my best to shift to look like them, if that would help?”
	“That’s not necessary,” he told her immediately.
	She stopped tugging and let go of him when she hit the edge of her bed. “Well, how can I help?”
	“Just… keep talking?” he suggested, eyes still closed. “About y- …my fantasy wanting me.”
	She was glad he couldn’t see her blush. Even knowing he wasn’t thinking about her, even knowing this wasn’t about the two of them, this was all going to be easier said (and done!) without having to look him in the eye while she did it. 
	She slid her hands up his well-muscled chest to those almost-impossibly broad shoulders, then down over his strong arms. “How could I not want you?” she asked rhetorically. I wish I knew who you were imagining. I could try to sound more like them, at least. “So brave, so kind, so …inspiring.” She leaned in a little closer and whispered, “I have dreamt of you more nights than I can count,” and hoped he couldn’t tell how true that was.
	This is just getting off, she told herself harshly. This isn’t…
	But, if he could imagine his fantasy, why couldn’t she imagine one of her own? Not that she needed to with him standing right here.
	She tugged the zipper of his vest down slowly. As her eyes traveled down his frame, she noticed that he was starting to react. She pushed the vest back and pulled it down his arms. He helped her be rid of it. She slid her hands down his shirt-clad chest again and let one trail down to the bulge in his pants. He sucked in a breath but didn’t attempt to stop her.
	“Do you like this?” she asked him.
	He nodded.
	“Tell me,” she prompted.
	He finally let the breath out with an exhaled, “Yeah,” before adding, “I l-like that. But I’d like it more if my pants were off. Or at least open.”
	“I think that can be arranged.” 
	“Can I touch you?” he asked.
	She wanted to say yes. She wanted to press herself against him and let him hold her, to kiss him and… No, none of that. Nothing romantic. He’s just helping me out. So instead, she said, “Later. For now…” She trailed off as she worked his pants open. Earth clothes were more primitive and less elegant than Altean fashion, but if nothing else, it was easier to get at what she wanted.
	With his eyes still closed, Allura had no hesitation about staring at Shi-… his cock as she freed it from its confines. And he’s not even fully erect yet… she couldn’t help thinking. She stroked him idly, enjoying the feel of him in her hand and the quiet moans she was earning from him as she did so.
	“Do you li-…?”
	But before she could finish asking, he declared, “I really like that.”
	She beamed at the vehemence in his voice and purred daringly at him, “Good.” She rubbed her thumb over the top of his cock, using his pre-come to slick up her hand more. He groaned gutturally and rocked his hips towards her. His eyelids fluttered and he licked his lips again. 
	She glanced over her shoulder at the bed, trying to think of a way to do this that wouldn’t require him to open his eyes, but… “We’ll have to break your fantasy, just for a moment,” she told him regretfully, stepping out of her slippers. “It’ll be easier for you to see what you’re doing for the next part.”
	He opened his eyes cautiously, and his gaze locked on hers almost instantly. “It’s okay,” he said, chest heaving, “I’m okay.”
	She smiled reassuringly at him. Alas, she had to let go of him to turn and climb onto her bed. She made sure she wasn’t kneeling on her nightgown and then looked back at him over her shoulder. “Ready whenever you are.”
	He took another deep breath and joined her. “Are you? Ready, that is?”
	“Don’t trust me?” she teased.
	He smirked, just a little. “I always like to be sure.” He was smoothing his hands up the back of her thighs, gently pushing the nightgown fabric up.
	“Feel free to double-check,” she allowed, and turned her head before he could see how much worse her blushing had gotten.
	“Well, I feel like you’ve already done so much for me. It’s only fair that I return the favor.” He pushed her nightgown up onto her back. His hands slipped over her panties and skin; the right hand was only a little cooler than the left, and had a different, slightly smoother texture to it. She wondered which hand he would use to “double-check,” and wasn’t sure which she’d prefer, honestly. But it was his choice.
	It wasn’t easy to tell at first, because all she knew was that something – two fingers, maybe? – was rubbing against her mound through her panties. But then she felt the thumb brush the skin of her inner thigh. Left hand then. It was nice to have that curiosity sated, but not nearly as nice as what he was doing. His touch was firm but not too hard, and increasingly confident in its strokes.
	“Wow,” he murmured. “You’re… readier than I thought you’d be.”
	There’s an understatement. “That’s helping,” she admitted, shifting against his fingers. It took her a moment before she trusted her voice enough to ask, “Satisfied?”
	“Not yet,” and he sounded amused. She giggled a little and bit her lip to keep more from escaping. This wasn’t the time for levity. 
	He pulled her panties down her legs slowly. She didn’t want to have to do all the work to get them entirely off her legs, but he released the fabric just above her knees so that he could slide both hands up over her thighs and ass again. “I think this might actually be a dream,” and his voice was so quiet, she almost didn’t catch it. Almost.
	Hurry. She wanted this over with. She wanted it to go on all night. She wanted him inside her and she wanted to be able to sleep and she wanted so much and right now it seemed like he was the one with the power to grant her everything she wanted and then some.
	She couldn’t say any of that. Bad enough to have had to ask for help, for this particular type of help especially. She couldn’t make herself admit any more than she already had. This isn’t Sh-… him. This isn’t us. This is necessary. It didn’t stop her wanting. 
	“Close your eyes if you need to,” she suggested, pleased at how steady her voice sounded. “No names.”
	“Right.” He pushed her nightgown forward some more. One hand on her hip, the other gently opening her up as he guided himself into her.
	She couldn’t keep a soft moan from escaping.
	“You okay?” he asked.
	She shifted her hips a little, he hissed and sighed, and then she nodded. “I’m okay. Keep going.”
	He pushed in more, and her moan was louder. She bit her lip to try to keep quiet, though she wasn’t sure why she bothered. Somehow, the ecstatic sounds just made it more real, less the fantasy she was trying to pretend it was.
	“Oh, god,” he breathed behind her.
	“I hope that’s good?” 
	“You’re so hot,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to combust.”
	“That… I’m not sure if that’s good or not.”
	More of the hot, hard length of him slid into her and she gave up trying to stifle herself. His own voice sounded shaky as he said, “I think I can handle it.”
	“I hope so,” she whispered. The restless energy within her was like a storm with its eye focused on his cock inside her, on the way he filled her, and how good it felt. If he gave up now, if he pulled out and left her, it felt like she might go mad.
	“I’m going to move,” he told her.
	“Please.” It was almost a whimper, and she might’ve cursed herself for how desperate she sounded if she weren’t so distracted. 
	He had both hands on her hips now, and she let him guide her as he needed to. Her thoughts were almost dizzy with sensation. I just need you to fuck me; however you need that to happen is fine by me. Please. Oh, Shiro, please. 
	She was mostly sure she hadn’t said his name aloud. She moaned louder when he pressed into her once more, hands pulling her back towards him. “Good?” he asked.
	“Gods, yes,” she breathed. “More.”
	“As you wish.” And he set about obeying.
	She caught onto his rhythm quickly and began moving on her own, matching and meeting his body with her own. This is definitely the best way to solve this problem.
	She could still feel the abundant energy within her, but it was hyperfocused now, not distracting, not flittering and mercurial, but channeled, driven, with a clear purpose. And that purpose was the ecstasy pounding through her veins and the constantly-louder sounds she couldn’t keep to herself.
	And Shiro. Dear Gods. Every grunt and groan he made hit her ears as more erotic than the last. She should’ve been embarrassed by the desperate slapping sound of their bodies coming together at speed, but everything felt too GOOD, more “good” than “good” had ever felt before, as if she finally knew the true meaning of the word and it was here and now with him. She couldn’t be embarrassed about being with him. Oh, Shiro. Shiro, Shiro, yes…
	At some point, she wasn’t sure when, her thoughts became words in her throat. She had to work on biting them back, but eventually even that became useless. She groaned his name almost as if it were a reflex. She couldn’t have stopped herself even if she had tried that time, and she no longer cared if it was awkward because this was Shiro and it was everything she’d wanted and there was no point in hiding that anymore.
	“Allura,” he moaned, voice raw-edged with breathless emotion, and he leaned forward to kiss her neck. 
	Gods, yes. She said his name again and he pressed another kiss into her hair. “Oh, gods, Shiro, I needed this so much.”
	He whispered her name against her skin, hands tightening on her hips as he pushed himself back up again to better drive himself inside her. 
	“So much better than I dreamed,” she admitted, all her secrets spilling out of her along with his name, over and over again. The energy within her picked up; it felt like it was rushing at light speed through every part of her. “So close,” she whimpered. “So…”
	“Don’t hold back,” he told her. “Don’t resist. Just let it happen. Release it.”
	“But I… I want you to…”
	“I will,” he panted, and the ragged edge was back in his voice. “Fuck, Allura, I’ve been doing trajectory calculations in my head since you said my name.”
	She grinned, would have laughed if she had the air for it. “Say my name again.”
	“Allura.” He leaned back down and whispered to her, breath hot and voice low against her ear. “You’re my fantasy, Allura. You always have been. I don’t need to imagine anyone but you.”
	The truth burst out of her in response. “I meant it. Shiro, I meant everything I said. I’ve wanted you… needed this…” And then she lost the ability to speak as her orgasm flooded her. She was distantly aware of Shiro coming, more because of the staccato groan of pleasure he gave than anything else. She could feel the heat of his come inside her, but it was diluted by a brief surge of quintessential energy before it ebbed back into something manageable.
	The energy was still there in her, still more than she knew what to do with, but it was at low tide at the moment. She felt drained, but not unpleasantly so; it was as if she were a cup that had been filled to overflowing and was finally at equilibrium again. No more mania bouncing around inside of her, just a warm, comfortable peace and security. It was like… like being home again.
	Even with that, she felt a little empty when Shiro left her. He pulled her panties back up and her nightgown back down, then urged her towards her sheets. She put up no resistance, aware she was falling asleep already. She knew that he was going to leave now. She wanted to ask him to stay. But sleep pulled her away from him, and the last thing she was aware of was the soft brush of his lips against her temple and a quiet, “Sleep well, Allura,” in that wonderful, soothing voice of his.