Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You know, I don’t think you’ve ever spent so much time on a ship.” Keith said, watching Shiro type away at a computer on the Atlas.

“I do have work I need to do before we leave.”

“And that work doesn’t include maybe, oh I don’t know, maybe visiting Adam? You know, your fiancé who managed to actually survive that ship explosion that Commander Sanda sent him to.”

“Ex-fiancé. He broke it off because I choose to do the Kerberos mission rather than stay here.” Shiro reminded, his voice sounding hard.

“To be fair, your disease was getting worse. The Galra did you a favour of cutting that arm off for you.” Keith pointed out, ignoring the glare Shiro gave him. “You thought you wouldn’t get the chance to talk to him after all of this, then we found out that he was taken by a Galra group, patched together and then forced to work on whatever camp he was in. You should be talking to him.”

“Don’t you have a Blue Paladin second in command to go and comfort?” Shiro asked, hoping to get Keith to leave him alone and go and see Lance, who was still trying to get over Allura telling him she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, let alone ready for a relationship after the whole Lotor issue.

“Fine, I’m going. Just didn’t think the one guy I always respected would be running away from a guy, especially one he’s still heads over heels for. Black told me you always thought about him.” With that, Keith left, leaving Shiro to his thoughts.

He wasn’t surprised Black told Keith about Adam. She was such a mother. Even though he wasn’t technically a Paladin anymore, he’d still feel her rooting around in his mind at times. When they finally arrived on earth and got to the Garrison, he thought Adam was gone, killed when his ship was shot down. To find out that he was actually alive – hurt, blinded in one eye and missing a leg, but alive – he knew he should have gone and seen him. But, the wounds from when Adam left him were still there. He was never mad at him for leaving. He was being selfish, wanting to prove to everyone he could still be a pilot. Adam was scared he was going to lose him and didn’t want to have to face that. Course, Adam was right in the end, he did get hurt, just not in a way any of them expected. He had sworn to himself that when they finally returned to earth, he’d sit down and talk to him but now that he had the opportunity, he was hiding himself in the Atlas. It was one of the few times he was happy he wasn’t a Paladin anymore. Black would just take him to Adam without his consent and drop him on his doorstep. Though, he had somehow managed to turn the Atlas into a mecha, so he shouldn’t be too surprised if it gained a mind of its own.

He had been so focused on working on whatever paperwork and mapping out the places they had to travel to, he almost didn’t see the message Sam had sent him.

Matt has finally finished your new prosthetic, you can come and see it. We can discuss your operation to change it.

Some people, i.e., him and his whole team, pointed out that his new arm wasn’t the best thing. It was a lot to have to remember to keep his floating arm near. If he let his thoughts drift, his arm went with it. Plus, Shiro was getting a bit tired of being used to hack into computers. Enough people had rattled around his head, thank you very much. Matt and Pidge had worked on making him an arm similar to his old one, but with the looks of his new one. He just hoped his body didn’t reject this one. He wanted to actually return Allura’s crystal from her crown. No need to give up the piece that showed her as a queen when there where was still Alteans who needed a leader.

He stretched, already ready to get rid of the floating arm as it started pulling his flesh arm a bit to hard.

Leaving the Atlas now. I’ll be there soon.

“Was the floating arm, that bad?” Matt asked, as he pulled his hair into a high bun. His mother kept insisting he cut it, but he was having fun putting it into different hairstyles.

Pidge looked up from where she was doing last minute checks. She been at her house but got bored looking at the TV show for Voltron and decided to help on Shiro’s arm.

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t ask that.”

“I liked it.”

Pidge rolled her eyes at her brother. He was such a nerd.

“Excuse me,” a voice called from the door. Pidge looked over her shoulder to see a guy in a Garrison uniform. He wore glasses despite the large scar on his face that obviously left him blind in his left eye. She saw that one of his pant legs was pulled up, showing off a familiar silver leg prosthetic. The metal looked like what had been used on Shiro’s old prosthetic. “I was told to come here if I had any issues with my prosthetic.”

“Adam?”

“Matt?”

Pidge looked at both her brother and the guy. “Do you two know each other?”

“Uh, yeah.” Matt said, seeming to be unsure of what to say when Adam interrupted.

“Through a mutual friend.”

Somehow, Pidge could tell this mutual friend was important but also not to be talked about.

“So your prosthetic?”

“Yeah, got it when I got captured by the Galra after my ship crashed.”

“Wait a second. Weren’t you one of the pilots who was sent out by Commander Sanda?”

“Yeah. Managed to survive somehow but was captured by the Galra. After I was considered recovered enough, I was sent to work in their camp. My leg’s been giving me trouble since I got rescued. It actually collapsed under me today.”

“Alright come here.” Matt said.

Pidge got up to help when she heard a very familiar voice.

“Matt, your dad said you finished my arm. When can we get this annoying thing-” she turned to see Shiro in the doorway staring at Adam. “Adam.” The disbelief in his voice made it obvious to Pidge, this was how Adam and Matt knew each other.

“Takashi.” Well there was another. As far as Shiro told them, everyone called him Shiro because no one correctly pronounced Takashi.

“I…” Shiro trailed off. “I’ll come back later.” And with that, Shiro turned tail and left, though it looked more like running away.

“Damn, I didn’t think he’d get here so quickly.” Matt said, Adam pulling his arm away to get on to the table himself, staring at the door where Shiro disappeared from.

“Um, probably none of my business but I’m gonna ask anyway. How do you two know each other?”

“Pidge.” Matt scolded.

“It’s fine. I guess he never said anything. We were engaged.”

“What?”

Shiro, that guy who came in, you were engaged to him?

Wait, Shiro was engaged to a guy? How did I not know this?

It’s Adam isn’t it? Hunk, come on, you know Shiro never hid his orientation. How do you think I was able to figure out my own? I always thought they looked good together.

Wait, Adam, the guy who taught Aerodynamics? The one who offered to tutor you before they kicked Keith out?

How the heck did you catch Adam’s attention?

What can I say Keith? He obviously saw greatness.

Shiro’s eye twitched as he watched his team talk about his relationship with Adam. Like it wasn’t enough that he bumped into him earlier without being ready. He ran off without even talking him.

He still called him Takashi. Other than his late parents, he was the only one to call him by his name. most didn’t bother to try, taking the nickname he offered instead. He always felt bad that he couldn’t stop the Galra earlier, before they could have attacked Earth. Seeing Adam, who despite his not perfect eyesight was a promising pilot, blind in one eye because Commander Sanda thought he was a better fit to go up against the Galra, it hurt. He also had a prosthetic leg. Adam was an avid volleyball player. He didn’t doubt that it would stop him, but it would be harder for him.

“Shiro? Can I come in?” Matt called from outside Shiro’s room.

“Yes.” Matt came in, sitting at the desk. “Your sister is outing me to the team.”

“I thought you never hid it? Just never denied it.” Matt pointed out, which Shiro rolled his eyes at. That might have been true but still. “In case you were wondering, Adam is ok. His leg wasn’t as good as your arm so it’s starting to breakdown. We’ve got him scheduled to get a replacement tomorrow to make sure he doesn’t risk gaining an infection. He asked how you were. I told him we were giving you a new arm because you didn’t like your current one.”

“It makes no sense. I didn’t complain before because we were in the middle of a war. Plus, I could do without it being used to help you and your dad hack into Galra ships with my brain being used as the computer.”

“Fair enough. So…I take you never went to see Adam when he was rescued.”

Shiro shook his head. “what was I supposed to say? Last time I saw him, he pretty much told me our engagement was over because I was being selfish, which I was. Then I disappear for what, 3 years and then because we couldn’t end this fight, he got hurt.”

“Ok come on. Shiro, that wasn’t your fault. The Galra would have come eventually and you can’t dismantle a 10,000 year old empire in 3 years. Besides, Adam knew what being a fighter pilot meant. He can be mad at you for wanting to prove something over your own health, but he’s not mad at you for what happened. I mean, hello, you made the Atlas into a mecha to save your team. Can’t be mad at someone like that.”

“To be fair, including the time my clone was a Paladin, I was fighting in a mecha for 2 years.” Shiro sighed. “I wasn’t ready to see him though. We both left wounds on each other and I wasn’t ready to try and heal the ones I left on him, especially the physical ones.”

Matt looked sad, like he was upset he couldn’t help Shiro. “Do you think you can do me a favour? Adam’s parent’s died last year, before the Galra attacks so no one will be there when he’s recovering. You still have time to get your transplant done and you can recover on the Atlas and honestly, you need to talk to him, even if it’s just a ‘I’m glad you’re alive’.”

He knew he was right. He couldn’t just continue running off whenever he got scared. He fought the Galra for god’s sake. Being in the same room as he ex-fiancé shouldn’t scare him, though it did. God, he rather go fight Galra again.

Tempting as it was to just hide and leave someone else to deal with it, he stayed. Plus, Allura heard what was going on (Thanks Keith) and insisted he at least stay and talk to him.

“There are things I regret never saying to my father before I was sealed away. I don’t have that chance anymore but you do. At least tell him the things you wanted to tell him if you weren’t taken.”

Seeing Adam unconscious without his glasses sent Shiro back to when he’d find Adam asleep on the couch in the teacher’s lounge after grading all evening. Even with the scar on his face, he still looked the same. He had to stop himself from pressing a kiss to his cheek like he used to, though, he missed seeing the sleepy smile that would come to Adam’s face as he woke up.

When the anaesthesia wore off, Adam groaned a little, looking like he had crashed hard the day before. He had a habit of doing that. God, Shiro could lecture him about that for days, but the minute he became a Paladin, he started exhibiting the bad habit. He opened his eyes, his fully green eye slowly focusing on the ceiling. He blinked a bit before turning his head, stilling when he saw Shiro sitting next to his bed. Shiro didn’t say anything, still too nervous to speak.

“Your hair is white.”

Ok, not what he was expecting, but Shiro could work with that.

“My hair used to look like yours.” He said, nodding to the white streak in Adam’s hair. It wasn’t as big as Shiro’s had been.

“You look like Allen Walker but with shorter hair.”

Shiro let out a little laugh. Adam’s favourite anime was D.Gray Man. Relaxation for him meant sitting in front of the tv watching episodes or reading the manga over and over again.

“When I heard about the Kerberos mission, I was pissed off, but not at you. They said you were responsible but I knew that couldn’t be true. I know I said you shouldn’t have gone, but I also knew that you would have done everything to bring everyone back. You’ve always been that stubborn. One of things I can’t stand about you sometimes but also one of the things I admire.”

“I…didn’t know that. I thought you would have hated me.”

“I never hated you Takashi. I was just mad that you seemed to care more about proving a point than your life.”

“I get that.” Shiro said, “but you have to understand. Since I was a kid, I let this disease control my life. When I told my family I wanted to go to space, they didn’t think I could do it and I decided to stop letting it control me. Every step I took had someone thinking I couldn’t achieve this. Yes, I know it was getting worse, and yes, I know I was being so selfish, but I had to prove that I could do it. When you broke it off, I thought I didn’t have anything to lose.”

Adam stared at him before he moved his hand, like he was reaching for Shiro. Hesitantly, Shiro gave him his hand, which was squeezed with as much strength as Adam could give.

“If I begged you, you would have stayed?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“But you would have wished you went in the back of your mind.”

Shiro couldn’t deny it. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Could have done without the getting captured by aliens though. It broke my heart thinking that you thought I hated you when you left, except you did.”

“I hurt you. I wouldn’t have been mad if you did.” Shiro said, wanting to put his other hand on top of their clasped hands, but he didn’t trust the floating arm to actually work when his emotions were running high. “I am sorry I hurt you. I should have talked to you and explained everything, but I bottled it up. Kinda like I’ve been doing since I heard you were alive. I was scared about what would be said, so I just stay clamed up.”

Adam moved his free hand to Shiro’s face, the Atlas captain moving closer to allow Adam to touch his face. “You always did have a habit of keeping things to yourself. God, no wonder Keith is a ticking time bomb.” He teased.

“Yeah, guess he didn’t get your calm demeanour.”

“By the way, that floating arm looks really stupid.”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh. There was the no filter bluntness that drew Shiro to Adam in the first place. “I know. I’m getting it changed. Do you know Sam used it like a bug of sorts to hack into a Galra ship? My brain was the computer.”

“I respect that man, especially after what he accomplished after he returned to Earth, but he is weird as hell.”

“I’ll let him know. Before I forget, I’m heading back out to space soon, after my arm is changed. I don’t want to make the same mistake again and lose you.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. I think we’ve been through enough already.”

It didn’t mean things were automatically fixed, but wounds were starting to heal and that meant something.

Chapter Text

Shiro pulled his car in front of Allura’s store and looked at his two passengers. “She has her store warded against monsters so don’t try sneaking in.”

Lance moaned in the back seat, turning towards the seat in attempt to pull away from the sun. “Like I’d even bother.”

“Don’t worry,” Keith said in the passenger seat, “We’ll look after the car.”

Shiro nodded and left the car in the hands of the vampire and werewolf.

Lance moaned even more, using his arms to hide his face from the sun, not moving when Keith threw his jacket on top of him.

“How old are you again?” Keith asked, looking at the jacket covered lump in the backseat.

“700 years. What’s your point?”

“I thought vampires got more resistant against the sun the older you are.”

“When you’re stuck with Zarkon in a dark cave for pretty much the entire time you’ve been turned, you don’t get out much.” Lance snapped.

Keith scoffed, turning around. “And Zarkon sent you to try and kill Shiro.”

“Bite me. Oh wait,” Lance said, sounding teasing, “that’s what I did to you and boy did you love it.”

Face flushed red, Keith threw the book he’d pulled out of his bag at Lance. “Shut up!”

Shiro walked into the store, taking glance at the shelves thinking about what he needed to get as he approached the front desk. Standing waiting for him was a woman about his age, if not a bit younger. Her skin was darker than Lance’s but her hair was bright white, tied up into Sailor Moon buns. Her blue-purple eyes glinted mischievously.

“Last time I checked, Takashi Shirogane didn’t spare monsters, yet there are two left in your car.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I was trying to kill one of them and then the other came along trying to kill me. We all got stuck together I guess.”

“Well, if they managed not to get killed by you, I guess all is good. I am curious about the story.”

“Well, Lance is a vampire who was turned by Zarkon.” Allura looked surprised at that. Understandable, Zarkon had been responsible of the death of Shiro’s family and many of Allura’s coven. Since becoming a monster hunter, Shiro would kill any monster associated with Zarkon. “he was coming to kill me, but he tried to stop me from killing Keith, the werewolf. Though, actually, it was more of he interrupted and then Keith took offence to that and they started arguing and I found it really cute? Point is, we kinda stuck together, me with Keith mostly and Lance following us until Zarkon sent someone else and Lance tried keeping him away. I killed the guy in the end but he told us that Lance had also been fair game in killing so he kinda came with us.”

“He must have been something amazing if the fact that he was a member Zarkon’s group.” Allura said, truly looking impressed.

“I didn’t trust him for a while, even after what we’d been through. It pissed him off but he never did anything about it. Of course he wasn’t getting the chance to hunt either so he was getting weak and he still never said anything. He almost got himself killed trying to save Keith from a poltergeist when I finally realised he wasn’t going to turn on us or hurt us.”

“So you let him go take blood from a human? If he was turned and taken in by Zarkon, he obviously doesn’t drink animal blood.” Allura stated.

“Yeah. Keith beat me to the punch actually. He let Lance take blood from him.” now Shiro felt embarrassed remembering when he had found the two monsters. Lance already had his teeth in Keith’s neck and was making these kinda cute pleased noises. It was the start of the feelings he had towards the two monsters, or at least it had been a push from when he’d found them cute the first time he met them. “Keith thought I would have been mad, but I just told him to try and keep in control in case Lance lost control at any point. He hasn’t really gone and asked either of us since though.”

“Wow. Vampires only bite and leave alive lovers and very close friends. Shiro, you called them cute. Do you like them?”

Shiro shrugged though the answer was yes. “I can’t help it. The more I got to know them, the more I started to fall I guess.”

“And hope Lance would bite you too. I hear vampire bites are very pleasurable.”

“Thanks.” He said sarcastically. God, it was amazing he kept coming back. Allura loved nothing but embarrassing him. “Can I get my regular order please?”

Keith watched Shiro paced back and forth as he was told about a new monster over the phone. After the last time they walked into the monster hunter usual hang out and almost got filled with silver bullets, Shiro made it his new thing to get info over the phone. He had felt guilty that since joining Shiro, he had to change they way he did things but it still felt good that Shiro was doing things to make them feel comfortable. It made the feelings he had towards him grow, but it was hard to tell his heart no. he hadn’t really given any type of love a chance since his mother died. He never expected it would be with a monster hunter and a vampire – because yes, even Lance wormed his way into his heart – but he couldn’t be mad at himself. He and Lance hadn’t gotten along at all when they first met and he and Shiro had depended on each other more. But after Lance fought against that vampire to save them, he started to trust him a bit. Then he saved him again from the poltergeist and he saw that Lance wasn’t an agent of Zarkon, he was just a turned vampire who wanted to get as far away from his maker as possible.

Getting Lance to take blood was hard. He pretty much refused, despite the fact he was weak and could barely stand. In the end, Lance did it. He was soft about it though, telling him thousands of times what to do if Keith wanted to pull out. The bite had hurt but after that it was, pleasant, as much as a bite could be. Lance was gentle and the noises he made where cute and the tiniest bit arousing. However after that, Lance never asked, no matter how much Keith offered. He was sure he’d heard Shiro offer to but Lance refused.

He looked over at Lance who was face down with Shiro’s hooded jacket on, blocking out the lights in the diner. The borrowing of each other’s clothing was normal to them now. They hadn’t put a name on what they were but things had obviously moved past friends. They depended on each other.

Shiro walked back into the diner, sliding next to Lance and pulled his half-drunken milkshake closer.

“There’s been druids attacking humans. Apparently, some fairies have been messing with their forest so they’re retaliating buy getting humans to do their dirty work. We’re heading after we’re done.”

Lance finally lifted his head. “I haven’t really fed in a while.”

“Well, we’re not really in a place where you can go feed. No forests for animals and this diner is at a pitstop. Do you think you can wait till we get closer to where we have to go?” Shiro asked, looking worried. Since the last time Lance had been weak with hunger because of him, Shiro would make sure Lance had blood, even if it meant having to steal it from a blood bank. Thankfully that option didn’t happen very often.

“I should be fine. besides, it’s a bunch of druids, can’t be that bad.”

“Right, couldn’t possibly be in trouble when they’re surrounded by their power source.” Keith mocked.

“Guys,” Shiro said, stopping whatever fight was about to break out, “that’s enough. Keith, eat quick. Sooner we get there, the better.”

Lance was quiet the whole time they drove, different from when he’d be talking everyone’s ear off once the sun had set. He had abandoned the seat and completely and was hiding behind the front seats, Shiro’s jacket still on him with the hood up. He claimed the lights from approaching cars were irritating his eyes, which worried both Keith and Shiro. Lance’s lack of food was starting to affect him.

When they arrived at their destination, Shiro got out first to pull his supplies from the trunk, while Keith turned in his seat to look at Lance.

“Lance, if you need blood, you can take it from me.” He offered.

“No,” Lance said, “I’m fine. we’re gonna need help stopping these guys and we need all the strength possible.”

“Lance, Keith, I need help with this.” Shiro called from the trunk.

Eager to escape the conversation, Lance climbed out the backseat and joined Shiro, taking the filled bag he was handed.

“Salt and sugar, plus those weird microwave bombs for fairies and blessed guns for any druids who don’t listen to reason.”

“Thank god the stupid rumour about vampires and rice aren’t true.” Lance said, sliding the bag on his back.

“Lance,” Shiro said, tucking extra bullets in his pockets and another gun in his boot, “I know you’re low on blood and the lack of noise tells me there are no animals around either.” Lance scrunched his nose. He didn’t understand how some vampires could drink animal blood. “You can take some from me if you need it. I don’t mind.”

Lance shook his head. He’d only done it once, taking blood from Keith. It was good, but god, he couldn’t do it again. To take blood and leave them alive, that was only meant for lovers and close friends and god was Keith and Shiro starting to lean into the lovers side. With all the time they spent together things had started to change for him. He didn’t know to deal with it and to take blood again when things were getting intense now was not a good idea.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, that means I can just take it from the druids who don’t listen. Magic filled blood is always good anyway.” Lance said, making his way to the forest, leaving Shiro shaking his head.

“Only if I tell you Lance!”

Since Lance and Keith joined him, Shiro took anything that happened to them personally. Yes, he knew that as supernatural creatures, they were perfectly capable of defending themselves, better than he could, but still. When they decided to trust him enough to go traveling with him and help him stop other monsters, he tried to keep them out of trouble and safe. Seeing Lance on the ground, barely moving, mad him see red.

They had been lucky to find the fairies trying to attack the druids but the druids didn’t take kindly to being offered help. Instead of trying to kill the fairies only, the three of them had to be on the defence against fairies and druids throwing spells at them. Keith had turned into a wolf to literally rip the throats of any of their enemies. Lance’s speed helped spread the salt and sugar that distracted the fairies and allowed him to sneak around the druids’ defences and attack. Shiro was stuck dodging any spells and shooting at them but he made the most of what he had.

He should have noticed Lance slowing down. He should have been paying attention to the leader of the druids, gathering their magic. It wasn’t until Lance body slammed him out of the way he realised what had happened. Keith took care of the culprit, taking no time of biting his head off while Shiro ran over to Lance. his breathing was weak and he looked pale, his tan skin almost another colour. Then he looked down and saw why. Lance’s shirt was mostly torn to shreds, his stomach almost the same as it sluggishly stitched itself back together, blood easily escaping the wound.

“Lance? Lance, can you hear me?” Shiro asked, gently shaking his shoulder. The jacket was becoming stained with blood. Even if it did come out, he didn’t think he could wear it again without remembering what happened.

Lance’s eyes slowly blinked open, not even focused on Shiro. “What?” he slurred. God, Shiro didn’t even know vampires could slur.

“Lance, you’re losing blood. You need to eat now.”

“Druid?”

“Most are gone or dead if the screams and Keith’s growling is anything to go by. You need to take it from me.”

Even as weak as he was, Lance shook his head. “No. I can’t.”

“This isn’t up for debate Lance. if you don’t take blood, you’re going to die.”

“No, I can’t. I can’t take your blood.”

“Lance, I’m sorry, but I’m not giving you a choice here.” Pulling a dagger from his belt, Shiro made a small cut near his collarbone.

With energy he didn’t think Lance had, the vampire moved until he was pressed against Shiro, his tongue licking the blood from the cut before Shiro felt Lance’s fangs bite into him. it hurt and he could almost feel the blood leaving his body. After large gulps though, it slowed and those little pleased noises Shiro heard the last time started to emerge from Lance. he was starting to feel a bit off balance when Lance finally pulled away, resting his hand on the wound, resting his head on his hand.

“You asshole.” Lance rasped.

“Call me what you like but you were going to die. I wasn’t about to let that happen.”

“Lance! Lance are you ok?” Keith asked, the forest finally quite of any druids he’d killed. “I smell blood. Are the two of you ok?”

Lance shoved Shiro away, looking like a mixture of upset, embarrassed and confused. “Why did you do that?”

“Wha- Lance, in case it escaped your knowledge, you had a gaping wound on your stomach, that’s still healing by the way. You hadn’t had anything to eat for days. I wasn’t about to let you die because you were being stubborn.”

“What is the issue anyway?” Keith asked, not understanding why Lance was acting that way.

Lance hid his face in his hands, confusing the two dark haired men even more.

“Vampires don’t leave their food alive, ever. The only time a vampire willingly does that is for close friends and lovers.”

“I’d hope after what we’ve been through, you consider us close friends.” Keith said.

“Ugg, god, are you an idiot? Do you think after we’ve been through, I think of you as only close friends?” Lance said, his face looking as red as it could with his would still trying to heal.

“Excuse me?” Keith said, sounding insulted. Thankfully, Shiro was understanding what Lance was trying to say. He didn’t think he’d hear it, but when he was forced into a corner, Lance had no choice but to tell them the truth.

“Keith, it wasn’t the close friends part he was referring too.”

“What? Then what-oh.” Keith turned redder than Lance was.

The vampire hid behind his hands, letting out an embarrassed sound. “God, 700 years and this never happens. First month out of Zarkon’s grip and I manage to gain feelings for a monster hunter and a werewolf. He’s half the reason I tried to stop the feelings. If he comes after me for betraying him, he’ll go after you two.”

“That should be our choice.” Keith said, his face still sporting a blush. “We decided how we feel and we decide that that overgrown monster has another thing coming if he thinks we’re easy to get rid of.”

“I think what Keith is trying to say, I hope, is that we do feel the same way. I’ve dealt with Zarkon’s minions before, he doesn’t scare me. He won’t get the chance to use us against you because we won’t go down without a fight.” Shiro said, pulling Lance’s hands away from his face. “Under the strangest of circumstances, we ended up joining together. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to pull us apart ok?” Lance nodded slowly. “How about we save the feelings talk for tomorrow? I don’t know about you but I could do with a 14 hour nap.”

A rustle alerted them of a druid attempting to escape. Lance put his hand on Shiro’s arm that had reached for one of his guns.

“I’m still hungry.” Lance said licking his fangs, which sent shivers through the other two. “I usually want to escape when I get embarrassed, but I guess ripping his throat out will have to suffice for now.”

With regained speed, Lance was on the druid and drinking his fill.

“Why do I find that hot?” Keith asked out loud, seeming embarrassed himself.

Shiro shrugged. He couldn’t answer that but then again, since Zarkon ripped his family away, his life had been a series of strange things and events. Falling for two monsters, well that just fit right in with his new normal, and he was fine with that.

Chapter Text

Shiro watched Allura push his coffee table out of the way, not bothering to help her. She would just snap at him and remind him that she saved the city from monsters on an almost daily bases. He guessed the wedding planning was really getting to her.

“Ok, come here.” She ordered.

Shiro stepped up in front of her and let her take his hand and place one on her waist, her nails slightly digging into his other hand.

“Ok, now we are going to go through this dance over and over if we have to until it’s perfect.” As Allura said this, her grip on his hand started getting tighter and tighter until he had to put a stop to this.

Gently as he could, he pulled his hand away and took a step back. “Allura, sweetie, light of my life, moon to my earth, my sailor suited super hero. Don’t you think your taking this dance a bit too seriously? You’ve been stressed like crazy trying to plan this wedding.”

“Well it’s not my fault the new enemy decided to appear now!”

“Sweetie, I don’t care how perfect the wedding is. As long as I’m marrying you, that’s all that matters. Shouldn’t that be the only thing that matters? I mean to be honest, our first wedding wasn’t perfect.”

Allura rolled her eyes. “Shiro, the first time we got married, technically we eloped.”

True, but Shiro remembered it perfectly. Back when his name was Ryou and Allura’s name was Fara and they were star crossed lovers, in the most literal sense.

With the help of her personal guard, Princess Fara escaped for a day to Earth, the home of their enemy. But to Fara, it was a place of mystery. Then she met him. Prince Ryou, though she hadn’t known that then. To her, he was just a kind guy who helped her find her guards when separated, who treated her well. She tried to forget him when she found out, but when he came to the Moon and bumped into her again, it was hard. They met up more and more and before they knew it, they were in love. Ryou wanted to give up his place as prince to be with Fara, to help protect her when the Dark Kingdom set its sights on the Moon Kingdom. He had wanted to ask for her hand properly but with the battle growing closer and the Dark Kingdom growing stronger, it never seemed like the right time but he didn’t want to lose her. So he asked her to marry him, right then and there during one of the secret meetings. Fara said yes, knowing she could lose her love in a split second. It was only a week later the Dark Kingdom attacked the Moon and the two lovers lost their lives wanting nothing more than to protect each other.

It had been a sudden wedding, but seeing Fara, the girl who’d become his Allura standing there in the garden where they’d meet, surrounded by his favourite roses, he’d known then he wanted to marry her. Lotor had been surprised when he was called over and told that they were going to marry there, but the white haired leader of the Shitennou had seemed to give up on making sense when it came to his master and his lover.

“Surrounded by roses and moonlight, might not have been perfect in general but right then it was perfect for us wasn’t it?” Shiro asked.

Allura pouted slightly. “It was, but Shiro. Come on, I mean it seemed like not that long ago, Junko arrived here looking for help and then your future self sent you visions of me being killed on our wedding day to test you. That’s in our memories now which changes the future a bit. I don’t want that to be your main memory of our wedding to be that.”

That was a fair point. When things had been quite and it seemed like the Sailor Senshi would finally be able to take a breather and just live like the young adults they were, Junko arrived. They didn’t know that she was Allura and Shiro daughter, but they knew when she kept asking for Sailor Moon to help her find the Silver Crystal she thought she had lost, Shiro took her in.

Then the dreams came. They’d start out nice, him and Allura on their wedding day and then things would go south so quickly. It was like being back at the Moon Kingdom all over again as it was being attacked and he’d lost Fara. Allura had disappeared just as quickly and harsh words warned him away from Allura. So concerned for her safety, he had listened. But it was torture, especially knowing he was the main reason she’d cry. Even small Junko, who hadn’t known her parents were right in front of her, would childishly scold him for making Allura cry. He wanted to hate himself for ever hurting her, but he hated himself more for not realising it had been a twisted test sent by his future self to make sure he could protect Allura no matter what.

“Ok, fine. I get you wanting to erase that memory, but everything perfect? Allura, we’ve been through hell and high water. I got kidnapped by the Dark Kingdom, we lost our memories for a little while, the whole Junko thing happened. Nothing in our life is perfect. Would it be so terrible if this one little dance isn’t? I know you’ve planned everything else to be amazing.”

Allura started looking pacified. “I’m go a bit insane, aren’t I?”

“Well I’ll marry you either way, but I’m pretty sure it’s taking everything in Lance to keep Keith from snapping. Allura, we love you and we know you want this to be perfect but honey, no matter what happens, it’ll be perfect, because it’ll be ours. Not Fara and Ryou, not Neo Queen Allura and High King Takashi, just us, Shiro and Allura. We won’t be plagued by any bad memories because we’ll be making our own. Ok?”

Allura nodded. “Ok. But I am serious though, we have to practise this dance. We both know how clumsy I can be.”

“Ah yes, some things never change.” Shiro teased, laughing when Allura glared at him.

Allura messed with her phone for a moment before setting it on the arm of the couch and taking her place again. Shiro smiled as the music of their music box poured through the speakers. Their new allies, two of the Outer Planet Senshi, were skilled violinist and pianist and had promised to play the music from the music box Ryou had given Fara and that Shiro had given to Allura. The music might have been riddled with memories of their past life but they’d be able to make new ones, starting right there.

“Don’t look at your feet.” Shiro told Allura. “Just look at me. I haven’t let you fall yet, I’m not gonna start now.”

Chapter Text

Lance knew he should be listening to Krolia give her lesson on astronomy, but his attention was on something else, or someone else.

Lance had developed a mutation that had turned his whole world on its head. With a simple touch, he could steal another mutant’s powers, a person’s memories, skills and even their personality for a while. Touch them too long and he could send them into a coma or kill them. For someone who came from a large family and was used to close contact and the idea of personal space not really being a thing, suddenly having to be sure he never touched anyone was not something he enjoyed. But when he crashed into his school’s quarterback, grabbing his arm to catch his balance and he collapsed on the floor in a coma, Lance knew he couldn’t try and hide this.

Telling his parents felt like the hardest thing to do, becoming the thing that had been played as a scary thing on the news. He was lucky his parents never thought the same. Still, flinching from the familiar hand when his mother tried to touch his cheek, that stung. He arrived at the Institute, not really trusting Professor Xavier’s words on how he could live a normal life in his new home. Even in a whole almost castle-like mansion home filled with different people and their powers, Lance didn’t think there was anything that could be normal about him.

Then he met Shiro. Another student who had what sounded like a carbon copy of the same powers he did. He was with a small group of other mutants on a mission Professor Xavier entrust on them to shut down a group that had been capturing and experimenting on mutants. Lance had woken up to the whispers of the famous students who had helped other like them attending their classes as regular students. Then Pidge told him about Shiro.

“I think you might get along with him or at the very least can get him to help you.” She said, using her powers over metal to mess with what looked like Lotor’s cell phone. “Apparently he’s like you. One touch, and he can take pretty much anything. Powers, strength, all that. He’s had some pretty trippy experiences. Apparently touched some pretty strong supers.”

Lance hadn’t expected to meet Shiro soon after though. Though the Professor had a zero tolerance for bullying, that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. James, their resident annoyance, had stolen Lance’s gloves and taken off. Dodging any students passing had been hard, especially if they didn’t notice he wasn’t wearing his gloves. When he crashed into someone coming around the corner, Lance felt his fingers brush against what felt like an arm – a very muscled arm, but not an important fact. He stilled waiting to feel the person drop down, but all he felt was the person grab his arm to keep him steady. Lance looked up to see grey eyes looking at him concernedly.

“Are you ok?”

Lance looked down at his hand, still holding tight onto the guy’s arm. When he looked down to see what Lance was staring at, his pulled his arm away, looking scared.

“Oh god, are you ok? How do you feel?” he rushed out, pulling the jacket he was holding on, his gloved hands hovering over Lance.

Lance grabbed his hand and yanking his glove off, took hold of it. He was touching someone and nothing was happening. It seemed he realised what was going on as well because he went quiet. Lance let out a shuttering breath. He hadn’t been able to touch anyway in what felt like years.

“How…?” the guy said, the guy after Professor Xavier found them and guided them into a separate room to speak with them, he introduced as Shiro.

“Your powers are both very much the same. Essentially, its power drain that you both have. A simple touch can take the other person’s life force away, along with powers and other things as such. The fact that you two can touch each other says quiet a lot. Your mutations are both trying to pull from each other at once which is cancelling them out. The two of you can touch without any problem.”

Lance hadn’t really been able to take his eyes of Shiro. His long black hair with the white streak in it, the scar on his nose, his grey eyes. Yes, Lance would admit Shiro was good looking, but he was more than a pretty face. He was someone he could actually touch, hug, connect with.

Of course, since then, they hadn’t really talked. What do you say to a person you realise you can touch without hurting? Shiro, despite being older, was in some of Lance’s classes, such as the one he wasn’t paying attention in. He wanted to talk to him, to ask for a simple hug. The idea of knowing he could touch someone was pulling at Lance’s need for affection.

He jolted out of his thoughts when something slammed on his desk. He looked up to see Krolia glaring down at him.

“Welcome back Mr. McClain.” She said, making Lance sink in his seat. Krolia was terrifying to be honest – though her son was way scarier at times – but it was her sarcasm that scared him more than her ability to protrude metal claws from her knuckles. “Have a good trip to la la land?”

“Sorry Krolia.”

She glared at him some more. “See me after class.”

Lance sunk even more into his seat, thankful when the door to their classroom swung open and Coran poked his head in, the sounds of yelling and screaming leaking into the classroom.

“Krolia!”

“What?” she snapped.

“Keith is threatening to shove a bomb down James Griffin’s throat. It’s taking at least 4 of me to keep him down.”

“Then clearly he doesn’t mean it, if it only takes 4 of your clones to keep him at bay.”

“Krolia!”

“Oh alright. Class dismissed, except you McClain. You stay right there.” Krolia ordered as she made her way to the door to go stop her son. “Keith! What did I say about fighting during school hours? You wait until after everyone’s in their room to start throwing threats around!”

Lance stayed in his seat as people raced to see what Keith was going to do to the annoying speedster Griffin. Lance glanced at Shiro as he passed his desk, looking down when he saw him looking back.

“Lance?” Lance looked up to see Hunk standing by his desk. He was surprised he hadn’t used his power of invisibility to disappear with the crowd and go back to his room. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No. Might as well take advantage of Keith’s explosion and head back to your room.”

“Ok, let me know when she lets you go.” And with that, Hunk disappeared, the opening and closing door the only clue to him even being in the room.

Finally the hallway seemed quite and Krolia walked back in, muttering under her breath about childish clones who needed to be grounded more often and pretentious speedsters. She pulled the chair out of the desk in front of Lance and sat on the desk, putting her feet on the chair.

“Alright. Care to tell me what’s got you in such a daze? Usually I only have to deal with your emo-ness of what your mutation is doing to you. You’ve been dazing out more than usual.” Lance didn’t say anything. “This have anything to do with Shirogane?”

“When you realise a simple touch can hurt someone instead of giving them comfort and love, especially when you come from a family like mine, that hurts. Then you meet someone you can touch without hurting them. You don’t even know them that well but you want nothing more than to ask them for a hug because god, that’s all I want.”

“Then ask for it. Lance, you need to remember something. Shiro is going through the same thing you’re going through and he’s gone through it longer. He’s been here for almost 4 years. He spent a good amount of time with the Brotherhood before he finally came here and you know they’re not going to give you hugs and kisses. He’s accepted that he can’t touch anyone so meeting you? Probably one of the best moments for him. Shiro’s just too polite to ask essentially a random student for a hug.”

“Is this you telling me I should just do it?”

“With consent yes. Look, me yelling at Keith might seem like I feel like he’s driving me over the edge at times, but knowing Keith exists is something that brings me joy, not just because he’s my son, but he understands what I go through with my mutation. It’s one thing to have this whole school who understands your mutations make you different. It’s another to find someone who truly understands. No offence to the Professor of course. Talk to him. I’m sure he’s been trying to figure out a way to approach you as well.”

Lance stood in front of Shiro’s door, fidgeting. He still couldn’t believe he let Krolia talk him into this. Oh, who was he kidding? He wanted to do this, Krolia just pushed him to make the first step. Keith had been the one to tell him where Shiro room was, a knowing look on his face. God, the clone was too much like his mother at times. The only thing that kept him from running off was the point that Shiro probably felt the same as he did.

He took a deep breath and finally knocked on the door.

“One sec!” Shiro called, shuffling sounding before the door opened and there he was, his hair tied up, letting Lance clearly see the surprise in his eyes. “Lance?”

“Hi, um…can I come in?”

“Can you? Uh yeah, come in.” he opened the door, letting Lance slip inside. The room was smaller than Lance’s, no doubt because it was meant for one person. It was pretty clean except for the arm chair that seemed to hold everything on it. It was nice to see that even the famous mutant was capable of creating ‘the chair’. “Um, were you in much trouble with Krolia?”

“Hmm? Oh no, she just wanted to check up on me. Haven’t really been paying attention in class.” Lance explained.

“Is everything ok?”

“Well, other than finding out there’s actually someone I can touch without hurting, I’ve been great.”

“Right.” Shiro said with understanding. “I get why you’ve been distracted. I never thought I would be able to touch anyone without having them live in my head.”

“You too? They leave an imprint?” Lance asked.

“Yeah. They keep pretty quiet except the time I touched Captain Marvel. Had to fight her imprint for control of my own personality and mind.”

“Oh, you’re way better than I am. Have you seen the training area for elemental training?”

“Wait, that was you?” Shiro asked.

“I haven’t been here that long but for training to control how much I take from a person, I touched a lot of people. Professor X wasn’t expecting me to lose control so quickly. I had only been doing it every other day for 3 weeks.”

Shiro looked really surprised. “It took almost a year and a half before that happened to me.”

Lance shrugged, “Professor X thinks you have better control and a calmer mind. I’m not really known for being pretty calm. Probably why I tried hiding my mutation when it first appeared. I thought something was wrong with me and I didn’t want to get taken away.”

“Well finding out my mutation made me pretty scared too. I ran away from home and then got rounded up in the wrong group. I had to learn to keep calm or my own powers would get out of control. The Professor is a good at helping you learn to keep a calm mind.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“So,” Shiro started, “I’m sure just talking about the differences in our powers isn’t the only reason you came here.”

Lance had been slowly able to look at Shiro more and more throughout the conversation but now, he kept his eyes to the floor. Would Shiro even say yes to what he wanted?

“Um, feel free to say no but…I come from a pretty touchy feely family. Personal space isn’t really a concept with us and we give physical touch whenever we want but since my mutation manifested, I’ve made sure not to touch anyone. I can touch you without any problems and all I’ve wanted for the past couple days is a hug, if that’s ok?”

“It would be ok with you?” Shiro asked. Lance glanced up to nod. “I haven’t really hugged anyone in years. Are you sure?”

“I know you’re no professional cuddler or anything, but I just want a hug. You don’t have to say yes.”

“No, no,” Shiro interrupted, “I want to. Would it be ok with you if I take my jacket off?”

“I was going to take my gloves off.”

Shiro then pulled his own off, his brown jacket coming off as well, leaving him in a tank top. Lance recognised it as the same tank top he was wearing when they crashed into each other. Lance pulled his own gloves off and his cardigan. They stood there for a second, almost scared to approach each other. Finally, Lance step forward and wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck, keeping his hands touching Shiro’s skin as much as possible. He felt Shiro’s arms wrap around his waist and upper back, pressing their cheeks together. Part of Lance was waiting for Shiro to drop down and for him to feel the surge of something extra being inside of him but there was nothing but the warmth of Shiro’s skin. Lance felt his eyes start to water and he hid his eyes into Shiro’s neck. He didn’t care if he felt the tears as Shiro tightened his grip on him, his fingers just brushing under Lance’s shirt.

“Is this ok?” Shiro asked quietly, his voice sounding rough and watery. Lance nodded.

God, to feel someone touch him. To touch someone. He had wanted this, needed this so much. The tears finally slipped past his eyes and he heard Shiro’s breaths get shaky as he followed.

“Does this have to end?” Lance asked into Shiro’s shoulder.

“Not until you want it to.”

“Then don’t let it, please.” Lance begged, tightening his grip on Shiro.

“Don’t worry. This won’t be the only time you can touch me. I won’t let go just yet.”

Chapter Text

Shiro pulled into the driveway of his childhood home. He was more than happy to have dinner with his parents, his schedule had been really hectic recently, but the sudden insistence to be there was strange. Back when they lived in Japan, his dad was usually out late working. It got better when his job transferred him to America before it turned into Shiro being out late with his after school activities he took up. But dinner was something they always did, minus the 4 years Shiro went to an out of state college. He had missed the family dinners though. Even after he moved back to start his job, family dinners didn’t happen as often. Then there was his dating life also taking time. He hadn’t introduced his parents to his two boyfriends yet since they were still trying to settle into their relationship first. He hoped that the next time his parents told him to come, they’d be able to come with him.

Again though, the insistence that he be at this particular dinner was not really normal of his parents but he wasn’t going to complain.

He used his key to open the door and called out, “Tadaima,” as he took his shoes off and put them on the rack, pulling his preferred black cat slippers down to slip on. He had hung up his jacket when he realised he hadn’t heard either of his parents call “Okaeri.”

“Kaa-san, Too-san, I’m here.” Silence. Where were they?

Shiro walked into the kitchen, where he saw his parents sitting at the breakfast nook. They had a dinning table just opposite of the short wall that separated the kitchen and small dinning area. They had only really used the breakfast nook for 2 reasons. One, only one person was eating there i.e. him when he was eating before going to elementary and his mother couldn’t join him because she was saying goodbye to his father. The other reason was family meetings. Shiro had sat his parents there to tell them he was pansexual. He was instantly worried that something was wrong.

“Takashi sit down.” His mother said.

His mother only called him by his first name when he was in trouble. Growing up in Japan, there was at least 4 Takashis on their street and 2 more in his class. Shirogane wasn’t a common last name in their neighbourhood so since he was a kid, everyone would call him Shiro, including his parents. When he was in trouble however, that’s when they used his first name. Not even in serious conversations did they use it unless it had to do with him being in trouble. He had no clue what he did but he listened to his mother anyway and sat down.

“Takashi, when you told us about your preference for dating partners, all we wanted was for you to be happy. You are our son and your happiness are all we want.”

Now he was really getting worried. Did they decide that they couldn’t accept their son being pan? He knew it didn’t exactly fit into what they wanted, but he never thought they’d change their mind about it.

“We’re not going to pretend to understand all the sides of being pan, but from what you explained to us, that didn’t give you a free pass to cheat on people.” His father continued.

Huh? What?

“I happened to be passing where you worked when you guys were having an event and saw you kissing a man, I thought we’d soon be introduced to your boyfriend. But your mother saw you at IKEA with another man, being very cosy with him only days later. I know what being in a happy relationship looks like Takashi and I saw it with that person you’d been kissing. I never thought you’d go so low to cheat on a person.”

Shiro blinked at his parents’ stern expressions, slowly understanding what was going on.

“Um, too-san, did the guy you saw me with, look like this?” he asked, taking out his phone and hitting the lock button to show him his lock screen picture; a picture of Matt with his long hair in space buns that their co-worker Allura had done on him.

“Yes, I believe so.”

“And kaa-san, is this the guy you saw me with?” Shiro asked, pressing his finger against the sensor to unlock his phone so his mom could see his home screen, with all apps moved not to block the face of Adam, with flour streaking his face when he suddenly decided he wanted cookies and Matt got too happy with the flour.

“Yes. Takashi, why do you have their pictures on your phone? Are you that smug about what your doing? Have you no shame?”

“Ok, I think I should explain before you cut me out from the family. There’s another part of myself that I discovered not long after I told you I was pan. I hadn’t said anything because I wanted to give you guys time to recover from what I told you. I know you said you were happy for me but what I said was a bit world shaking so I didn’t want to throw this other thing at you.” Shiro took a breath. It was still scary to tell them, even though he was ready. “I’m polyamorous, which means I’m comfortable being in a relationship with more than one person. The people you saw me with are my boyfriends Matt and Adam.”

“Wait, don’t you work with a Matt?” his mom asked.

“Yeah and I went to school with Adam. Around the time I came out to you, I was dating Adam. Have been since my Junior year of college. We moved in together but neither of us were out to our parents so we just played it off as roommates until we were ready. When I was getting ready to tell you, I meet Matt. He had been transferred to our team and we got close. I started to feel bad about having feelings for him when I was dating Adam and when I told him about it, I was expecting Adam to not want me to interact with him. Instead, he went to Matt and told him how I felt and asked if he felt the same, which he did. So then we all talked and agreed that Adam and Matt were ok with me being both of their boyfriends. So long story short, the guys you saw me with are my boyfriends. They’re not dating each other, just me but they are really good friends.”

He stayed silent as he let what he told his parents sink in.

“So you’re not cheating?” his father asked slowly.

“No, I swear, the minute I realised I had feelings for Matt, I told Adam. He’s the one who went to Matt to suggest I date both of them.”

“Why did you feel like you couldn’t tell us this? No doubt it couldn’t be easy to figure out.”

“A lot of people have a skewed perception of what being poly is. I already had to fully explain what being pan was and how it didn’t mean I would cheat. I didn’t want to have to explain that being poly meant I was going to be with more than one person and get you completely confused. I was going to tell you, trust me, just not yet.”

“Oh Shiro,” his mother said, “we didn’t mean to push you before you were ready. Darling, you’re our son and all we want is your happiness. Obviously, you talked to your partners about this and it was something you all agreed on. We can’t be mad at you for that.”

“We’re sorry you keep thinking you can’t tell us things like this.”

Shiro smiled at himself. It felt good to know he could always trust his parents. “it’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. It’s just hard to say these things without worrying it’ll change how you feel.”

“Sweetheart, nothing could change how much we love you. Nothing.” His mother said before clapping her hands. “Now come on, we’re going out for dinner.”

“Going out? You didn’t make dinner?”

“We thought we were going to spend the night yelling at you for cheating. What do you want? Indian?” his father asked, getting up and walking to the front door.

“There is this really good Indian place Adam swears by.”

“Darling, when do you plan on introducing us to your significant others? Should we invite them out with us?”

“Kaa-san, you just pushed me to come out a bit early. Let’s not push that on them. You’ll meet them soon. I have more than enough pictures and stories to show you. Too-san, don’t bother with your wallet. Let this be my treat. Payment for causing you heartache.”

Because if his parents were more worried about him cheating than who he was dating, he knew that had to be the best parents around.

Chapter Text

Matt slowly woke up at the feeling of someone shaking him awake. It must be Prince Shiro. He would open his eyes to see his kind prince, his lord, standing over him. Then his prince would press a kiss against his forehead, reminding him that if the King found him sleeping on the job, it would be bad. He blinked open his eyes and stared up at the Princess of Altea.

Wait.

“Your majesty!” Matt shot up, standing in front of the princess and bowed to her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep in your library. You must think I’m so lazy.”

Delicate fingers touched his chin making him raise his head to look at the princess. She looked stunning in her lavender dress, looking like an elven princess, her white hair making her look other worldly.

“You’re perfectly alright. Your Prince told me he allowed you to come in here so I know I can trust you to keep this place in prefect order.” Matt felt so stiff as he felt the princess brush her finger under his eye. “I can see why you fell asleep though. Other than this being the perfect hide away spot, you have such dark circles under your eyes. You’ve been working hard.”

“Oh well, with the wedding coming up.” Matt said.

“Still no reason why you shouldn’t take care of yourself. I’m meeting Shiro here until it’s time for dinner. You can go rest and I’ll send Lance to come get you before we head to dinner.”

“Oh, no I couldn’t.”

Allura gave him a look telling him not to argue, “I insist. Go on.”

Deciding not to tempt fate again, he left the library and went back to the Prince’s quarters. Soon, his prince would be living with the Princess. They were getting married and while it should be a happy time, things were going to be different.

Matt would deny it to everyone that he had feelings for his prince. His father worked in the castle with the records keeper and his sister surprisingly got a job with the blacksmith which left him helping around the house with his mother. Then his father got sick and it kept him bedridden making Matt go out and look for work. The records keeper had offered Matt his father’s job but on his way to his first day, he found Prince Takashi Shirogane trying to sneak out of the castle. It led him to getting caught and in a fit of not knowing what to even do with his son, Matt was given the job of being a glorified babysitter by the king. Matt couldn’t complain when he saw the pay he brought home. It didn’t take very long to understand why Shiro would try sneaking out of the castle. The pressure his father put on him was intense. He had to be the perfect prince and while many of the kingdom citizens agreed that the prince was perfect, his father never saw that.

“It’s because of my younger brother.” Shiro said.

Matt knew the story. The younger twin brother of the Prince had died saving his older brother when they had been kidnapped during a hunting session.

“He says if I were truly perfect, Ryou wouldn’t have had to save me.” Shiro said with a sad smile on his face.

It was then Matt decided he’d do whatever possible to keep a smile, a true happy smile, on the prince’s face. He hadn’t expected with all the time they spent together that feelings would develop. It was like a strange twist a fate the time he realised this, the same group that had kidnapped the kid princes tried doing the same with him and Shiro. This time, Shiro fought against them, more worried about Matt’s life than his own.

“I didn’t want to lose you.” Shiro said when Matt asked when they had returned to the castle, bruised and a bit beaten but still very much alive. That’s when Shiro first pressed his lips against Matt’s forehead. It was downhill from there. Matt had fallen and he made no move to get himself out.

Then it was announced that Shiro would marry Princess Allura. The prince would live in Altea as the two kingdoms joined since the princess’ own was larger. When he heard this, Shiro asked him if he’d consider leaving his family and coming with him to continue on as his servant. Logic told him he should have said no to get away from the feelings, but the urge to always keep him happy made him say yes.

Then he met the princess. Princess Allura was enthralling to look at. White hair from birth, there had been rumours that she was a demon in disguise but if she was a demon, then he’d gladly fall under her spell. Just know at the library wasn’t the only time the interacted. Her father wanted her and Shiro to get along before they married so many excursions and dates happened. Allura never treated him like a servant, not even her own personal one Lance, who spent quiet a lot of time not paying attention to Allura in favour of the captain of the guard’s son.

“Lance has liked Keith since he came into my service. My father won’t allow him to date anyone while I was unwed in order for him not to lose focus of helping me, but I think he’s counting down the days more than I am.” Allura had explained once to both him and Shiro when Lance took off to go chat up the Captain’s son. Most royals wouldn’t allow their servants to go running off to go and flirt, not how often Lance did it. Allura never complained, instead asking Lance about Keith whenever she could. She cared.

Next thing he knew, he realised he had fallen for the princess as well.

Matt wasn’t sure how this even happened or how he was going to deal with this. All he knew was that come next week, things were going to be much harder. But the idea of staying near them and seeing them happy, that made it worth it. He didn’t even go to his attached room to rest, he just collapsed on Shiro’s bed and was asleep before he knew it. He had a dream that Shiro came into the room and pressed a kiss to his cheek, pulling the covers over him. He didn’t remember pulling the covers over him when he went to sleep though.

“I’m supposed to bring these sheets to the Princess’ room for the first night together but Keith approached me. Please, can you do this for me?” Lance begged.

Matt looked at the white sheets Lance had in his hand. The sounds of the wedding party leaked into the hidden hallway they stood in.

“I thought that the Princess didn’t have her…you know. Apparently, it broke during a horse riding accident?”

“Well, actually she does. She and your Prince discovered that not that long ago.”

Wait, his lord, Prince Shiro actually took Princess Allura’s maidenhood? He felt slightly jealous, but he beat that down. Of course Shiro would have her maidenhood. They were married, it wasn’t like there was a chance he could be there. With them. Between them. Under them.

Matt quickly shook his head. No, not thinking about that now!

“So what do they plan to do with these?” Matt asked.

“Replace them with ones they actually stained. Since our kingdom isn’t really into the whole, watch as your newly wed couple has their first night, the bride has to be seen given the white sheets, they have to see Allura with them.”

“Can’t you give them to her before you leave?”

“No, the person has to go with the couple to lay the sheets down before leaving the couple. Matt, please! I’ve been waiting to get a chance to court Keith since he first arrived here but I couldn’t because I’m Allura’s personal servant and the king didn’t want me distracted. Please do this.”

Matt sighed and took the sheets. “You two had better be engaged in a few weeks, a month at least.”

Lance squealed in delight, pulling Matt into a big hug. “Thank you! I owe you.”

“You really do. Go.” He ordered, ready to get this over. He was sure that the less time he spent around the prince and princess during the celebration, the easier it would be to ignore the feelings he felt for the royals but now hearing the extra stuff he had to do with them, he could see this wasn’t going to be easy.

He entered the hall again, moving around the celebrating guests to reach where he could see his prince and the princess dancing. They both looked amazing. The pale blue of the princess dress complimented the dark robes of his prince. The smiles they shared with each other made his heart clench. He wouldn’t be part of that and he had to accept it. When the two stopped moving, he watched Shiro press a kiss to Allura’s hand, seeing Allura blush.

In order to distract himself from his heart clenching anymore, he approached the princess with the sheets in hand. When Allura accepted them, the room exploded in cheers, a few explicit comments from the more drunk guests. Allura took him by the arm and pulled him closer so she could whisper into his ear.

“I don’t know if Lance remembered to light candles in my room before he disappeared with Keith. Can you go and check? I’ll explain to others you’re checking to make sure everything is ready.”

Matt nodded and quickly left the hall, taking a few deep breaths. To have the princess so close to him, the sweet smells from her long bath for her wedding, it was doing things to him.

“Gods how is a man meant to move on when I’m surrounded like this?” he asked himself, trying to calm his heart.

Why was this so hard to forget his feelings? Anyone who looked at Allura and Shiro could tell the genuinely liked each other. He couldn’t try and force himself into that. When was he going to learn?

He quickly went to the princess’ quarters and opened the door. Candles sat on ledges and on stands but unlit. Given the size of the princess’ room there was a fair number of candles, so Matt grabbed the lighting stick and got started. He was happy when the wicks decided to actually cooperate with him and take the flame, so by the time the princess came in, he was almost done. Strangely, his prince hadn’t followed her.

“Where’s the Prince?”

“He had to send a letter to his father to let him know the wedding went well. He forgot to have it written before so he rushed off to get it done. As I’m sure Lance told you, it’s not exactly necessary for us have a proper first night together.”

Matt felt his face get hot. “Yes, he told me. There we go, all done.” He said, quickly changing the subject as he blew out the flame.

“Thank you, Matt. I know you must have been on your feet all day.”

“It’s no problem your majesty. You and the Prince looked happy. It makes it worth it.”

The blue-purple eyes looked softly at Matt. “Shiro has told me so much about you and how you’ve been a guiding light when dealing with his father.”

“Oh, I really wouldn’t say that.”

“I disagree. I feel like it’s only been recently he’s been able to feel as relaxed around me as he is around you. I know I feel very comfortable with you.”

“Oh well. I’m glad you feel that way.”

Matt let his eyes slid away from the princess but they moved back to her when she took his face in her hands. From just over her shoulder, he saw Shiro entering.

“Being around you is easy and one of the best things to happen, other than meeting Shiro. I hope you can never doubt how much it means to me to have you here.”

Unable to say anything to the emotion filled words, he was left stunned when Allura pulled him down to press her lips against his.

Oh. This was nice. Really nice. He didn’t have much experience with kisses but he knew this was an amazing one. He almost wished he had the guts to plant one on Shiro

Shiro. Who had just married Princess Allura. Who he was kissing!

Matt pulled away, his hand covering his mouth, his eyes on Shiro. Who was smiling at him. Why was he smiling at him? He should be furious.

“Matt I can see you panicking over there. It’s alright.” Shiro said, walking around his wife to gently take Matt by the shoulders.

“How can it be alright?”

“Matt, as smart as you are, I’m surprised you never figured it out. We’re both very fond of you. I loved for a long time. When we were attacked by the same men that had killed my brother, I knew I couldn’t let you fall to the same fate. It made me realise how much you meant to me.”

They were both fond of him? Him? why? How?

“Matt, when I was told I would marry Shiro, I didn’t know what to think but it was thanks to you and your kind words I knew I could be happy with him. Of course as I spent time with you as well, I started having feelings for you as well. Many of our conversations involved you. Wanting you to stay with us. Unfortunately, before we could explain all of this to you, I got a bit over eager. I’m sorry I scared you.” The princess apologized.

Matt couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to not believe it, but he saw the truth in Shiro’s eyes. He saw the affection in Allura’s. Gods, how had he been so blind? So sure he could never have a chance, he was going to ignore his feelings for the two people who loved him.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Allura suggested, taking Matt’s hand and squeezing it. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Chapter Text

“Hey Shiro!” Shiro looked up from his book to see Lance and Keith standing under the tree he was in. “It looks like there aren’t many trainers. Did you want to come get lunch with us?”

“That’s ok. I’ve actually got someone coming.”

“Seriously? Who?” Lance asked.

“It’s not that guy again is it? What’s his name, Matt?” Keith said.

“Haven’t you kicked his ass, like for a whole week?” Lance questioned.

“Technically, I didn’t do anything. It was Lurantis.” Shiro reminded when talking about the totem Pokémon for his trial.

He, Lance and Keith were trial captains for the grass, water and fire trials respectively on Akala Island. Trail goers passed through the Lush Jungle daily to complete his task to be able to create the potion that would summon Lurantis. A lot of the time, Lurantis’ power would beat trial goers and keep them away for months or longer before they came back for another shot. Matt it seemed, was different.

Son of the famous professor who was researching Ultra beasts with Professor Burnet, Matt was a trial goer in place of his sister who moved to Kalos to attend university there when she got an early acceptance letter. That didn’t mean he wasn’t serious about it. He’d seen the bond Matt had with his Pokémon, the despair he would cry at the slightest hit, but when they pushed through and defeated any ally Pokémon Lurantis called, he’d be so proud of them. Unfortunately, it seemed despite how much he believed in his team, they weren’t strong enough to beat Lurantis. Matt had been coming back every day though to try and beat her. Shiro had seen determined, but this was different. He would come with different combos in terms of teams to try but he never got close.

“I’ve never seen anyone so eager to get their ass handed to them by a bug.” Lance said.

“Lance, your trial Pokémon is a fish.” Keith pointed out.

“Not like a lizard is any better.”

“Leave Salazzle out of this!”

“Then don’t go insulting Wishiwahi!”

“Guys keep your voice down. You don’t want to go agitating the Pokémon.” Shiro said, silencing the two trial captains. “You two go ahead. I’ve got the mixture already made for when he gets here.”

“Ok. We’ll grab you a malasada.” Lance said, turning to leave, shooting Keith rude remarks in a softer tone, Keith replying in the same low tone.

Shiro shook his head, going back to his book and letting the sounds of the jungle and its inhabitants wash over him. before he knew it, he was interrupted by the very familiar sounds of a certain professor’s son coming to retake his trail, again.

He closed his book and dropped to the floor, picking up the container that held the mixture that would bring Lurantis.

“Matt.” Shiro greeted.

“I hope you have the grass Z-crystal Shiro. This time I’m beating that oversized and way to powerful Pokémon.” Matt said, looking sure of himself that made Shiro a little less guilty about having to knock him down.

“Careful Matt, you’re in her domain now. Insulting her is not going to help you.” Shiro warned as he opened the container, the potent scent escaping. “I really hope you’re better prepared this time.” He said as Lurantis appeared behind Matt, scaring him.

He watched Matt send out his Torracat. With a fire starter, Matt should be able to have no issue in getting the upper hand over Lurantis, even when he pulled Torracat out after giving Lurantis a lot of damage. But it seemed to be the ally Pokémon that gave him the most trouble, not to mention Lurantis’ famed Solar Blade.

Matt was close this time though. Lurantis was dealing with burns from the team of fire types she’s battled but a sudden Solar Blade knocked Torracat out for the count. With no more Pokémon, Shiro stepped between Matt and Lurnatis.

“Easy girl, it’s over.” The aura faded away from her as she stood still so Shiro could treat her burns. Once the cures were on, she took off into the trees, leaving Shiro and Matt alone. Shiro saw Matt looking upset down at the pokeball Torracat sat in.

“We were so close. I was so sure he could hang on a bit longer. I thought I had more than enough revives and potions this time.”

“Trail Pokémon are still wild Pokémon. Their fighting style changes with every battle.” Matt still pouted, making Shiro sigh. “Come on, let’s go get your Pokémon healed. I haven’t eaten, I’ll treat you.”

“Can we go to the hotel?” Matt asked, already brightening.

“Being a Trail Captain doesn’t pay that much. Don’t go ordering the most expensive thing.”

This had become their normal the past week. Shiro would walk Matt to the closest PokeCentre and then because Matt was incredibly lazy, they’d either use his Tauros, Stoutland or Charizard to take them to wherever they’d eat that day unless it was a short distance away. It had only meant to be a one time thing but hanging out with Matt was fun.

“So how’s your sister?” Shiro asked as they waited for Nurse Joy to get to his Pokémon.

“She’s got an internship with the local professor there. She’s even working with Green, you know the second youngest Champion in the Kanto?”

“That’s pretty impressive.”

“Yeah. She said that she heard that his grandfather though is a complete ass. Wouldn’t really give his grandson the time of the day and focused on the other Champion, Red. You ask me, he’s the reason Red ran up the mountain.” Matt sighed. “My sister’s having the best time at university and I’m still stuck here until I can beat that oversized bug.”

“Hey, be nice.”

Matt pouted more. He looked cute. Shiro blinked at himself. Those thoughts had been popping into his head with the more they’d been hanging out. The idea of being in a relationship with a trainer was risky. It wasn’t just traveling around the region, it was traveling to different islands and for all he knew, after they finished the trials completely they might want to try other Pokémon leagues.

“Matthew Holt?” Nurse Joy called, Matt’s stickered pokeballs resting in the carrying try. “Your Pokémon are ready.”

“Thank you. Hey, is it ok if I stop at the PokeMart?”

“I can head over to the hotel restaurant and get us a table. Maybe if you don’t take too long I’ll offer you advice on how to defeat Lurantis.”

Matt perked up. “I’ll be really quick! Don’t move!” he said, rushing over to the other side of the PokeCenter where the Mart was located, making Shiro laugh at him.

“You and your boyfriend are very cute.” Nurse Joy told him, a pleasant smile on her face.

Shiro felt his face get hot. “Oh, no, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s a trial goer who hasn’t defeated my trail yet.”

“Oh,” Nurse said, looking slightly embarrassed, “I assumed since you always walk him over to the Centre and take him for something to eat after that you were dating him.”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that.”

He’d only really know Matt for about a week, but he was already having such feelings towards him. This wasn’t normal. Then again, he knew Keith and Lance had feelings for each other, they just couldn’t stop arguing long enough to go for it. Worrying about feelings could wait for another day.

Shiro took a bit out of the malasada Keith got for him. Lance had a small group of trial goers unable to get past his trail, though it was mostly them not being able to find the Wishiwahi they needed to find before going against the Totem Wishiwahi. Because of such, Keith and Shiro were free of any trial goers until they got through. But Shiro had been rather lonely. Matt hadn’t come back for another attempt at the trial. He was disappointed but it was less about Matt coming for the trial and more about him not coming to see him.

“Keith, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“How did you know you like Lance?”

Keith chocked on his malasada. “What? I don’t like Lance.”

“Sure and my preferred type of Pokémon are dark types. Maybe if you two could stop arguing every time you meet up, you could actually tell each other how you feel. Now answer my question.”

Keith stuttered a lot before letting out a groan. “ok fine, I have a crush on him.”

“Do you want me to pretend to be surprised?” Shiro asked.

“Shut up. For your information, I figured out I like Lance when even when I was pissed at him, I wanted to be around him, even if it was something simple as getting something to eat.”

“How long do you think it took for you to like him?”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. A few weeks. Being the only Trial Captains on the island, we spend a lot of time together. Why are you asking this?”

Shiro looked down at his malasada as he tried to organize his thoughts. “I only really Matt a week ago, but being around him, it’s fun. I’ve never felt an obligation to go to the PokeCenter with other trial goers but I just offered when he first lost. Then when he kept coming back, I offered to get dinner with him. Last time I saw him, we got dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.”

“Food there is expensive. We only go if the Professor will pay for us. Damn, you must really like him.”

“But isn’t it weird? I’ve only known him for a week. Shouldn’t I know him for longer?”

Keith shrugged. “My mom only really knew my dad for like 2 weeks before she decided she was in love with him. Love at first sight is a thing you know. You feel like you’ve really bonded with him, right? I guess once the connection is there, the feelings will grow. As much as we can classify everything about Pokémon and how our feelings with them can react to them, we can’t exactly do the same for humans. Trust me, people have tried and it tends to blow up in their faces.”

Shiro thought about Keith’s words. He had bonded with Matt. For some reason, watching him try his trial was different than any other trial goers he’d met in his Trail Captain career. He had felt the need, the desire to get to know him more and as he did, he wanted to keep knowing more, to keep spending time with him. with Matt not coming by anymore, it was hard to even decide if what he was feeling was real or not.

“Relationships aren’t easy, are they?”

“Why do you think I haven’t said anything to Lance yet?” Keith asked.

Shiro walked into the PokeCenter, his aim the PokeMart. One of the Paras had gotten scared by one of its friends and let out a huge burst of static electricity, leaving 3 of his Pokémon he had let out paralyzed. Of course, it was just his luck that he had completely forgotten to replenish his potions and cures. He was almost at the front desk when he heard his name called from a voice he hadn’t heard in over 3 weeks.

“Shiro!”

Matt. It was Matt. In different clothes, but still Matt.

“Matt? Where’ve you been?”

“I was training my Pokémon. I needed to come up with better strategies and help them learn different moves so I could beat Lurantis. I wanted to call but I was sure you’d have a lot of trial goers.” Matt said, looking apologetic and shy.

“A fair few. Lance kept them for a while searching for Wishiwahi.”

“Oh yeah, I remember realising I had to essentially follow Lance to get to the next pool. I felt like such an idiot no knowing where to go at first.”

“Yeah, I think Lance enjoys making them go insane. Are you heading over?”

“Soon. I need to get the ingredients again. My dad said he’d save me the trouble and send me things. I’m just waiting to pick it up.”

“Alright, I’ll see you there.”

As Shiro walked to the front desk of the PokeMart and placed his order, his mind still reeled from seeing Matt. His stomach had fluttered like Butterfrees were having a party in there. If Matt won today, he’d be moving on to battle their kahuna and then on to the next island. The idea of not ever seeing Matt again, that really hurt. But he had his job to do.

Matt still hadn’t received his package by the time Shiro left, so he sent a message to Lance and Keith to come and perform the usual deal to get Lurantis over. They arrived, still arguing with each other over, actually, Shiro had given up keeping track. He hoped when they eventually confessed that they would at least calm the arguments down.

“So Matt’s back?” Lance asked, tossing his bottle of water around.

“Yeah, and it felt like Butterfrees were flying around my stomach. It might be safe to say I do have feelings for him.”

“But if he wins this time,” Keith started.

“He’ll essentially be heading for the next island. I know that shouldn’t mean anything but a lot of trial goers end up trying out official Pokémon leagues. It would be a boat ride away anymore, it would be an entire plan ride away.”

“I think you should go for it anyway. I mean, I’ve never really seen you feel this way about anyone. Would it really be that bad to give him a try?” Lance said.

Lance wasn’t wrong. Shiro was focusing on all the bad parts of why dating a trainer wouldn’t work, not the looking at the fact that they had the technology to talk with each other if that’s what Matt wanted. And who was to say Professor Kukui wouldn’t be able to create Alola’s own league.

“I’m here! Sorry, the Delibird heard my dad give him the wrong name and went a completely different way.” Matt said, running into the Jungle and stopping in front of the laid out blanket and bowl.

“No problem. You know the routine.”

They watched Matt create the mixture and draw Lurantis out but he didn’t seem to be scared this time. He seemed ready. He sent out Incineroar and started the battle. This time, Matt seemed to be ready for the Solar Blades Lurantis attacked him with. Before the Captains knew it, Lurantis had been knocked out, leaving only the ally Pokémon. With a Fire Fang, the ally was defeated, leaving Matt the victor.

“Yes! Finally! I did it!” Matt turned to face the group, a bright smile on his face. “Did you see?”

“Congrats.” Shiro said, smiling back at Matt. He’d seen Matt smile but this one, he didn’t want to risk losing it. He’d invite Matt to come back after he finishes his trial, ask him then. “Now come here. I have a Grassium Z-crystal with your name on it.”

“Oh wait, before that. I need to ask you something. I promised myself I would when I finally beat Lurantis. Shiro, did you want to go out sometime.”

“Huh?” Shiro asked, ignoring Lance bursting into laughter. “What?”

“I know why only really knew each other properly for a week but I haven’t really felt like this to anyone ever, so I thought I should at least give it a try. I mean, after I battle the kahuna, I don’t have to leave for the island just yet. I’m still waiting for the Professor to come get me, but he got dragged into some research with his wife so it won’t be for a while. We could use that time to give this a trial run, if you want?”

“Um, yeah, sure. I’d love to.”

“OMG, I can’t believe this. And here you were worrying about whether or not to tell him.” Lance giggled.

“Oh, really?” Matt asked, a smirk on his face, “I’d love to hear about this.”

“Ok, just for that, I’m not going out with you until you defeat the kahuna and I hear she is swarmed at her shop.”

“What? Seriously? Shiro come on.” Matt whined and pouted. There it was, that thing that got him. Shiro was going to enjoy this now, even if it didn’t work. He was going to have fun with this moment.