Work Text:
Allura hates getting sick with a passion.
She especially hates the effects it has on her body. Sickness makes everything feel so much heavier, causing her movements to grow sluggish. It dulls the edge of her normally-sharp wit, which frustrates her to no end. Her mind always has to be working at a hundred percent, as even one slip-up in the war against Zarkon’s empire can prove to be fatal.
Not to mention the fact that she’s supposed to be a paragon of leadership to her paladins. They trust her to be their unwavering leader- they’ve invested their trust in her capable hands, and she’ll be damned before she lets them down.
So when she comes down with the Altean version of a nasty cold, Allura hides it like her life depends on it.
...Although it is getting quite difficult to cover up her budding case of the sniffles and her terribly sore throat. She’s never been this desperate to end a mission briefing before.
All five of her paladins are standing before her in the ship’s control center, watching expectantly as she wraps up explaining their latest task.
“Paladins,” she begins, hiding a wince as the back of her throat burns and aches miserably. “Do you understand your mission? If you have any questions before you fly down to the planet’s surface, please feel free to ask them now.”
There’s a moment of silence, and a sense of relief washes over Allura. Good, now she could take a break from talking-
“Uh… hold up. There’s something I’m a little fuzzy on.”
Quiznak.
Lance often had questions after mission briefings. Normally, she was happy to answer them. Making sure that every paladin was on the same page was absolutely crucial to a successful mission, after all.
But right now…
Well.
She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t considering strangling her blue paladin.
“Yes, Lance?” She responds, forcing a smile and clasping her hands together.
“Okay, so,” Lance drawls, his brows slightly furrowed. “I understand we’re supposed to find this ancient relic and all, keep it out of Zarkon’s hands, et cetera, et cetera, but I’m not exactly clear on how we’re tracking this thing, exactly? We don’t know what it looks like, so how do we know when we’ve found it?”
Allura mentally kicks herself, silently groaning. She hadn’t thought of that- and that frustrates her even more. Something so essential to the mission had completely slipped her mind. Once again, her illness was making her slip up.
Slip-ups were inexcusable.
As she frantically tries to think of what to say, struggling in irritation against her muddled thoughts, Coran’s voice pipes up from where he’s currently piloting the castle.
“Ah, I’ve already got that all figured out! Although we don’t exactly know what the artifact is, rumor has it that it resides in a cavern filled with scaultrite crystal growths. It should be easy enough to track, as the raw minerals that comprise scaultrite crystals are rare on any planet- this one included- and they give off a very unique wavelength.”
Hunk’s face immediately lights up as he catches onto what Coran is getting at, and he enthusiastically adds on.
“And if the artifact is in a cavern filled with the stuff, we just gotta find the spot giving off the highest amounts of scaultrite frequencies. It’s like back on Earth, when we found the blue lion by tracking its elemental signature!”
Allura almost sighs with relief, briefly shooting a grateful glance in the older Altean’s direction.
“Precisely.” She clears her throat, trying not to cough or grimace. “Any other questions, now that that’s all cleared up?”
There’s another brief moment of silence, but this time- thank the stars- no further questions are raised.
“Alright, team. Let’s move out!” Shiro commands, already turning to head towards his lion’s hangar. The other paladins make various noises of agreement as they follow behind him.
Allura almost impatiently watches them go. The second the last paladin has left the room, her shoulders slump and her eyes close.
Ah, finally…
"They’re gone, you know. You can stop pretending now."
Her head sharply turns so that she can look back at Coran. He’s watching her owlishly, a rather amused look on his face.
Allura stiffens a bit, adjusting her posture. She frowns stubbornly at him.
“I can’t say I know what you mean, Coran.”
The older Altean hums, stepping away from the control panel and making his way over to her. “Oh, I know a valerius virus when I see one, princess. Your facemarks have been dull all day… and don’t think I didn’t notice that nasty cough from earlier. You need to rest.”
Allura grimaces. “Coran, you know that I am far too busy to rest. The paladins-”
Coran quickly raises a hand, cutting her off. “-will be perfectly fine. I will help them if they encounter any issues.”
Her brows furrow in indignation. “What if they ask where I am?”
Coran folds his arms behind his back, a patient look on his face. “I’ll tell them that you’re busy.”
“But what if there’s an emergency and we need a wormhole immediately?”
“Then I’ll simply wake you up, of course.”
“But what if-”
Coran raises his hand again, silencing her protests. “I will call you immediately if there is an emergency, princess, but for now, it is best for everyone that you rest up. It’ll make the virus go away much faster- and if you run yourself ragged trying to stay awake and fight it, pretending you’re not sick, then the virus will last much longer and could even pose an even greater threat to your immune system if it gets worse.”
Allura bites her lip.
Unfortunately, his points were all very valid.
And she really was quite tired…
And I must put some faith in the paladins. After all, they are rather capable of handling themselves. They can handle going without my assistance, just for a little while...
She lets out a heavy sigh.
“Alright, Coran, you win.”
He shoots her a victorious smile, reaching over to gently rest a hand on her shoulder. “Excellent. I can escort you to your chambers, if you’d like.”
Allura pauses. Although she wants to insist that she’s fine, that she can make it to her room by herself, she’s starting to feel a bit lightheaded and worn-out. And she’s almost certain that Coran would follow her anyways, regardless of how she responds. May as well make it easier on both him and herself.
“An escort would be much appreciated, Coran. Thank you.”
Coran nods before positioning himself at her side. And with that, the two make their way towards Allura’s room. He occasionally has to keep her from tripping and stumbling to the ground, her normal poise and sense of balance thrown off by the uncomfortable, feverish haze her head is stuck in.
As the two Alteans finally step into Allura’s room, Coran gently guides the princess into bed, using one hand to support her and the other to draw the covers back. Soon enough, she’s tucked in under the sheets, and a quiet sigh escapes her lips. Lying down feels much better than being up on her feet.
Coran quickly claps his hands twice, and the lights in the room dim. He takes a seat by her side, a soft look in his eyes as he gently brushes a stray lock of hair away from Allura’s face. Sweat beads her forehead, both from the strain of walking around all morning pretending she was completely fine, and from the fever. Her eyes are half-lidded, and it’s clear that she’s rather uncomfortable.
Coran softly hums, continuing to brush her slightly-damp hair back.
“Do you remember when you were small, when you had that nasty case of the whuffles? You were wheezing and bedridden for several quintants.”
Allura pauses before wincing in remembrance. “It was absolutely dreadful. Father was worried sick.”
Coran quietly chuckles at that. “Yes, we had to pry him away from you on multiple occasions because he was getting in the doctor’s way. Do you remember anything else?”
Allura pauses, frowning slightly. “Ah- I do remember that the pain in my lungs made it terribly hard to fall asleep, despite how exhausted I was. I kept waking myself up whenever I coughed.” And then she pauses, a fond look on her face. “You would tell me many stories to distract me while the medicine kicked in, so I would have an easier time falling asleep.”
Coran practically beams at her. “Ah, so you do remember! Good!” And then he pauses before continuing, his tone and expression softening. “I know you are older now, but… Would you still care for a story to help you get to sleep?”
Allura blinks before snuggling into the blankets, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I would… I would greatly appreciate that, Coran.” All of a sudden, she tugs the covers up to her chin, a rather shy look on her face. “Could… Could you tell me the one where you and Father were lost in the Belukian Jungle?”
Coran straightens up at that, a proud look in his eyes as he absently twirls his mustache. “A wise choice, princess! That one’s always been a particular favorite of mine.”
And then he closes his eyes and clears his throat. It’s practically a ritual at this point, the brief moment of silence before he jumps into telling a story. He’s always insisted that it was to make sure he remembered every detail correctly before he presented the tale- but Allura is almost positive that he mostly does it for the dramatic effect.
When he finally opens his eyes, they're filled with a bright, adventurous gleam. He leans in closer, his hands up and at the ready; he’s always been one to wave his hands around to further accentuate his grand tales.
And when he finally speaks, his voice is lowered to a dramatic stage-whisper. Allura almost smiles and rolls her eyes, but instead, she favors snuggling into the covers and watching Coran intently.
“There we were, your father and I- caught between a cliff’s edge and an entire enraged hoard of Klanmürl…”