takashi shirogane (spacedad) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-01-15 22:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | princess allura, takashi shirogane / shiro |
WHO: Shiro and Allura
WHAT: Shiro and Allura share a dance at the Winter Ball
WHEN: Oh, YOU KNOW, all the way back
WHERE: Ball
WARNINGS: None!
If Allura had allowed herself to indulge in the cultures of Earth sooner, she probably would have had to deal with less stress at that time. It was difficult, however, for a woman who had spent the last several months moving from place to place and planning with much diligence the attack against the Galra. She’d allowed herself to be distracted before with small things here or there but the anxiety of the war had still been nagging her the entire time, telling her that something is going to happen. They’ll end up being called back any day now to either fight Zarkon or see what Lotor wanted to speak to them about.
That was barely a glimmer of thought in her mind right now, though, as she took in a wide variety of stimuli at the winter ball. Whatever that drink she had decided to give a try just tasted amazing, and the food, however large or small was all so delicious, it could probably give Hunk’s dishes a run for their money. With a glass in one hand and… something edible in the other, Allura turned away from the table. Her eyes landed on Shiro’s approaching figure, and she didn’t hesitate in approaching him. “Have you tried this? They are quite… oh, there are no words! Where can I find myself something like this to keep in the castle?”
…
Shiro understood why it took some time to settle in. It wasn’t like he had arrived and just accepted that he had been pulled into an alternate reality and had no chance of sending himself home. He had wanted to go back too, because he had wanted to make sure that his team was okay. He had wanted to finish his fight with Zarkon.
But he had been here six months and there just didn’t seem to be any sign of that changing.
Still, he wished that he could make things a little easier for Allura. They were all a little thrown off by being here, but this was at least very similar to the Earth that they had left behind. This wasn’t home for Allura no matter how comfortable they tried to make her.
He smiled when he saw her light up at the food.
“I think most grocery stores,” he said with a laugh. “Though they likely won’t be quite as good.”
...
“No, probably not. Oh, if only Hunk was here to help with that! And give us his company, of course.” She missed him and Coran terribly. Especially Coran, her one tie to anything Altean, besides the castle itself.
That fleeting thought gave her a momentary pang of sadness, but Allura pushed it away and held up the Earth delicacy for Shiro. “Did you want some? I swear, I haven’t eaten the entire batch.” They were good, but Allura had her upbringings and knew her manners, of course.
…
Shiro knew they were all missing Hunk and Coran. He didn’t think there was ever a moment when they were eating when Hunk wasn’t mentioned with longing.
“No,” Shiro said, gently refusing the offered food. “I wouldn’t dream of taking it from you. You can definitely have the whole batch. I won’t tell.” He was glad that Allura was finding some things that she liked, even if, right now, that seemed to consist mostly of Earth food and malls.
…
Allura gave him a smile, before deciding to finish off the rest of it, and then taking a sip of her drink. After placing the glass down on the nearest table, she turned back to Shiro, the smile not having left her face. It was the familiarity of the environment, even if it wasn’t Altea. It never could be and would never come close, but if she couldn’t have those specific memories back, having this one was still precious to her. And even if all her Paladins weren’t here, most of them still were and she had to focus her energy on the ones that were.
She was, at the very least, glad for Shiro’s company in this world.
“Are you enjoying yourself? This is probably something you are more used to, as far as… food and music goes.”
…
“Yes,” Shiro answered. It was good to have most of them together here, in what was largely a festive atmosphere.
“The food, yes,” Shiro said. “I can’t say I’ve been to too many dances.” He’d just always been so set on his studies -- not that there had been the same amount of opportunities as what he had come to learn was normal at an average American high school. But Shiro had always been narrowly focused on getting into the Garrison and then getting behind the proverbial wheel of anything he could fly in the Garrison. Being back on Earth now was a little strange, especially being in America. There were so many things he had never done.
“Is dancing like this on Altea?” Shiro asked -- because that was another thing he had realized. They had spent so long wondering if they were going to meet beings who lived in another part of the universe, and then Shiro had been captured by the Galra, and they had ruined most of the wonder of it. With all the other planets they had visited, Shiro realized that he had little sense of most of their cultures, especially Altea, considering how much they had been traveling with Allura and Coran.
…
Allura took that moment to look around at the people already dancing, and take in the music currently playing. Obviously it wasn’t anything she recognized, but there were tiny differences. “It is similar. The music is a few ticks slower than this usually, or at least for Altean balls.” As she spoke, however, it seemed that the song currently playing had ended, and the next one matched what Allura spoke of. “Ah, that… that’s more like it. The food is obviously different, but I believe, yes, dances and balls are like this in Altea. Were like this.”
…
He hadn’t meant to bring up anything that was potentially painfully to her, so he hoped, despite the emphasis on tense, she was remembering mostly happy memories.
He held out a hand.
“Do you want to show me how you dance then?” he asked.
…
Despite the fact that she had already danced with Lance and Keith and had hoped to dance with all her Paladins, Shiro’s outstretched hand still took her by surprise. It was possible that it was because she hadn’t expected him to want to when he was here with someone else. But, she took one look at his hand and then glanced up at him, her smile brightening up a little more. For the time being, the fact that Shiro had a date had slipped her mind.
“I would be honored to share that part of my culture with you, Shiro.” She placed her hand in his, and only for a moment thought about taking another swig of that really delicious bubbly drink she had set down previously before moving to the dance floor. She could wait to have more later.
…
Shiro knew that he could be in for some culture shock, but he was reassured that Allura had said that the dancing wasn’t too different. (He knew better than to think how different could dancing be from culture to culture? That was just asking for trouble.)
He led her out to the dance floor and kept one her hand in his, his other one going to rest gently on her waist.
In truth, as of a week ago, he had been nervous about doing this. After their first session of research, Shiro had been reluctant to touch anyone with the arm, even though he knew it was unlikely that it was going to attack when it wasn’t being provoked. Still. The whole event had reminded him that, essentially, Haggar had melded a personalized weapon onto his body. That’s all it had ever been intended to be by the Galra.
But the second, much more relaxed session with Pidge had calmed his nerves at least a little.
…
To know the territory, you had to research. Thanks to her other Paladins, Allura was able to peruse through several videos to see what dancing was really like on Earth at a ball, and suffice to say, it was definitely the easiest dance she’d be able to learn because of the similarities. And hence, she gave him a reassuring smile as she positioned herself closer, her free hand resting against his bicep.
As she directed him on where his feet should go, Allura was all too aware of how close she was in proximity to him. On a normal day, this wasn’t new, especially not if they were fighting so hard, that they were either helping each other get to their feet or being thrown into one another. They didn’t have any fights now to distract them. The last time she had time to plan a party and work on getting to know her Paladins better was the first time she met the Arusians of the planet where her castle had settled. They were all still new to each other. By now, a great number of events had brought them closer.
“You are learning very quickly!” she said, ducking her head slightly and trying to focus on anything else that would keep her from blushing. “Did you do much dancing at all before your time with the Garrison?”
…
Shiro laughed a little at the easy praise.
“No, not at all,” he answered, his amusement still evident. “I was much too busy studying to get into the Garrison.”
From his understanding, a dance like this would have been far more common in an American school than the schools he had gone to in Japan.
…
“Well, then, you’re just a natural!” Allura said, glancing back up at him. “What is that program you have here that you refer to for your instructional videos… YouTube, is it? It’s a great database for finding dances of your Earth. It’s always nice to find some similarities to what I’ve been raised with here too. Although…” she wrinkled her nose, remembering some videos of dances that she’d seen that looked much less like dancing from any sort of planet. “Some of it was just… strange. Too strange to be considered even normal for Earth.”
…
Shiro couldn’t help but laugh at her exuberant praise. It was so endearingly Allura in a way they didn’t often have time to see. Even when they had downtime, on the castle it was hard to forget that they were always on mission. He realized, perhaps for the first time, that he didn’t know her as well as he probably thought.
Hearing about her watching YouTube was far beyond what he had ever expected, though. He’d worried that she’d been having trouble settling in on Earth -- he still worried about that, but he wasn’t going to bring it up now when she seemed relaxed and happy.
“Strange?” Shiro echoed warily. “The videos or the dances?” He worried about what she might have found on accident.
...
“Oh, the dances.” After a brief pause, Allura added. “Well… there were other videos, more than dances. There’s a great deal of people who seem to think the best pranks are when you hurt others. Also, that recording Earth animals with their antics is extremely entertaining.” The memory of those movies sent a brief pang through her heart. She missed her Altean mice. Without them, or Coran, or really, any of the Paladins residing at the castle made the place feel incredibly empty.
She could never ask them to move in, though, when most of them seemed to have made a living of their own on this world already.
Allura pushed aside the thoughts before they could further bring the mood down, which was easier than expected, especially when she focused on the fact that she was dancing at the most beautiful party on Earth with Shiro. Who looked more handsome than she ever expected him to look. “Your planet’s culture is fascinating.”
…
That was a relief. He really shouldn’t have to be responsible for explaining that part of the internet to Allura. He didn’t know who should. (It would probably end up being him.)
He relaxed again when the topic of conversation turned back to animals on the internet, because there was probably nothing less controversial than that. He wondered if having a pet might help her feel a little bit more grounded here -- at the least, he suspected that Allura would enjoy a trip to an animal rescue. He probably would have to worry about her trying to rescue too many pets.
“What’s been your favorite part so far?” Shiro asked, hoping that she really was starting to feel better about being here. “Besides malls, milkshakes, and YouTube?”
…
Allura tilted her head slightly in thought. It was a bit of a difficult question, but only because there were moments she enjoyed and moments she definitely didn’t. It was hard to tell right now which list was longer. She did have a good time with her team at the mall…
She briefly glanced down at their hands held together and let her mind drift over to the soft music they were still swaying to together. After another second or two, she looked back up at Shiro and gave him a soft smile. “This part.”
…
Shiro wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by this part -- whether it was all of them being here together for something festive, or the food, or even just the actual dancing, or perhaps learning about some part of human culture. But Shiro didn’t mind, because he was just glad that she was finding elements that she was beginning to like.
“We all just want you to be happy here,” Shiro said quietly.
…
Allura wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. It came to her as no surprise that they’d want that. She and her Paladins had grown to become a family, and happiness was always what one would want for their family. She never expected to see Altea again in any universe, whereas Earth in their universe was still left untouched by the Galra. Her Paladins always had that hope; she hadn’t. She wanted them to be happy and they all seemed that way already here on Earth. Shiro especially, after being here the longest, knowing everyone on this Earth during that time.
“I’m happy when you all are,” she answered, attempting to make her voice sound chipper. “It’s important to me that you are, of course. Because--” Truthfully, she was realizing she cared about them more than she had been expecting to. “Because you Paladins are all I have.”
…
He didn’t doubt that she would be happy for them on principle, but he knew that wasn’t enough. He was happy when his paladins were happy, too, but that didn’t chase away all his nightmares. There were different kinds of happiness; she could be happy for them while still being lost here herself.
“Allura,” he said quietly, hoping that he wasn’t going to upset her, because he didn’t want to do that tonight. “We’re all family now. Even though we’re in a different place, and a lot has changed, that’s not going to.” He’d said similar things before, but he knew it was likely something that was going to bear repeating and, most likely, be proven with time. They had all gone through things together that had bonded them, and they also all cared deeply about each other.
…
“Yeah,” she started, wondering what else to say to that, but came up short. She didn’t want any of them to worry. Her problems were not theirs; in fact, it would only bring them down and ruin their good moods. All she could really do was nod and agree, and hope he was right.
Quietly trying to figure out what else to say, Allura absent-mindedly brought her hand from his shoulder to his collar, brushing away a bit of lint from his suit. Finally, she added on a simple “Thank you, Shiro.”
…
He was quietly aware that they were more accustomed to comforting each other when they were in crisis. He wasn’t as sure what to do in a more subdued moment like this -- something that was a far more long-term ache, and he wished that he did.
“Of course, Allura,” he answered, even though it didn’t nearly feel like enough. He squeezed her hand a little.
…
Allura smiled at him without a word and kept quiet for the last second or two of the slow song. She only hoped that smile successfully reached her eyes because despite it, she still felt sad. Maybe a little because of the loss of her home planet was more impacting these days than before, but perhaps most of it was because the song was coming to an end, and she’d have to step back and come back to reality. That reality being that Shiro had a life here before any of them. Including a date. He was probably the most grounded of them all.
“You know, I taught Keith some of those moves. On his request, of course. I hope neither one of you forget them! I do like to indulge in Altean teaching from time to time.”
…
“You taught Keith some dance moves?” he echoed, wholly amused by that image. He couldn’t really imagine Keith wanting to learn how to dance, but for some reason, Keith being, perhaps, a little flustered while Allura tried to teach him was all the more endearing.
…
“Of course,” Allura replied with a slight laugh in her voice, just knowing how that image must look in anyone else’s head. Especially those who knew Keith to be the broody outsider sort. “I’m sure it was effective. I just happen to be a very excellent teacher!” The last bit was spoken in conjunction with a wink. Allura’s methods of teaching her, well, a little brutal, in particular that one time she set the castle’s defenses against them while they were in their lions. In her opinion, though, it seemed to be super effective, but she wasn’t blind to the fact that they’d thought it was rough.
…
“I am all too well aware,” Shiro answered with a smile, drawn to a different memory: when they had set off the castle alarms simply to see how quickly they would respond. He, of course, hadn’t quite settled back into the routine of sleeping yet and had been accustomed to quickly responding to a fight.
But it had eased him from fighting for survival to fighting for a cause. In a way, it had even been reminiscent of the military-like life of the Garrison, which had been practically a comfort after spending a year locked in a cell. (Something he’d honestly never thought he’d say, because he’d done incredibly well at the Garrison, but he’d found the strict ranks a little restrictive. Even then, he’d been more interested in teamwork rather than the position jockeying and posturing the ranks inspired.
…
Allura was all too aware of her heart that made a little jump when Shiro smiled at her. “Well, um,” she cleared her throat before continuing. “I do hope we have more opportunities to dance like this later tonight. Or any time.” Before she could stop herself, she stepped closer to give him a quick hug. “Thank you for helping me stay distracted.” It wasn’t easy not thinking about their life back home and the war against Zarkon in general. She was sure all her Paladins were aware of this about her.
…
“Of course,” Shiro said easily. It was nice to have all of their team here together.
He leaned into the hug and wrapped his arms around her in return.
“Let me know what you need, Allura,” Shiro said intently, because he was peripherally aware that she wasn’t quite happy here, but he didn’t know exactly what to do about that other than show her things on Earth that he thought she would enjoy and to just be patient.
…
Allura hesitated to move away, but knew at some point, standing there like that for a while could get awkward. She gave it another second before she finally moved away. “If you have the time at any point tonight, you should probably introduce me to anything else I haven't eaten on that table.”
…
Shiro laughed at the food comment. Well, at least she was finding some things that she enjoyed about Earth and that only served to emphasize how bad the food goo had really been.
“I promise I’ll walk you through everything on the table,” Shiro said. He didn’t know how likely it would be for them to find a good Japanese restaurant in the middle of Texas, but he made a note to try.
...
Allura smiled and nodded. “I will hold you to that then. I’ll, um… see you around?” Although if she was completely honest with herself, she would have preferred to continue dancing with Shiro till her feet were tired, no matter how many songs that took.
…
“Of course,” Shiro said. He squeezed one of her hands warmly again and then pulled away, heading back over to Alice.
...
Allura’s heart gave a hard thump once when he squeezed her hand and she could have sworn it was loud enough for the whole room to hear. The smile she gave him stayed till he turned away, and till she saw where he was headed. Oh, no.
This wasn’t right. He had a life here with someone else, and she shouldn’t have been feeling the way she was right now. He couldn’t be hers, not when he had already met someone else.
Allura’s smile slipped off her face as she watched his retreating back. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she stood there, watching him go, but when she realized what she was doing, she quickly averted her eyes, not wanting Shiro to catch her watching. Or worse, Alice catching her watching. Incidentally, when Allura decided to look anywhere else other than that couple, her eyes landed on none other than Keith, making eye contact with him instead. The knowing look on his face made her silently mutter another oh, no, before she decided she had enough of the crowd and needed to get out for some air.