Okay so this is horribly self-indulgent Shelslince fluff, but c’mon, it’s the first time-skip where things have been really positive and peaceful!
Though there was not nearly enough female gaze in this chapter, I may have to remedy that. Bring unto me S8 so I can swoon more over my giant hot buff trapezoidal Japanese space-husband! And for the love of pete don’t kill him again (I think he’s probably okay from here on out, it wouldn’t make sense tropewise, but this is Dreamworks we’re talking about. …Okay as long as he goes out in a massive blaze of heroic glory.). : P
Shiro meeting his parents is based on that super adorable tumblr post, obviously.
Part 12: Happily For Now
The battle with the strange mecha nearly destroyed everyone again, but even when it was done, his work was not over. The Lions had been scattered across the western side of North America, their paladins unresponsive. The Atlas had turned back into a ship, at least. He needed to send out retrieval teams, get in contact with the rest of the world, get civilians liberated from their work camps, get civilians shelter and food and water…
Even delegating the things that needed to be delegated, it was past midnight local time before Sam directed him to the captain’s cabin to sleep. The Lions had been found, and the paladins, though barely conscious, had piloted them to a safe location and been extracted to what was left of the Garrison hospital, which was surprisingly intact after Sendak’s assault. He was so proud of them, of all they’d done, the incredible things they’d accomplished together. Shiro stepped blearily through the sliding door into his new cabin, stripping off his space suit, his undergarment beneath, all disgustingly soaked through with sweat. He left them puddled on the floor; normally he was neat as a pin, but tonight he was just too tired. He stepped into the shower, moaning a little under the soothing hot water and the influence of the massive headache that had snuck up on him in the last few hours. He’d probably been more badly injured than he knew. His back was covered in bruises, he’d been electrocuted violently by the Galra crystal, and he wondered if he might have microfractures in his ribs and good arm, maybe even his skull, even if nothing had snapped outright. He probably ought to rest in the days ahead.
As the new captain of the Atlas, he didn’t have that luxury. He’d give orders out of medbay if he had to, but he’d prefer to be on his feet and in the thick of things. He needed to see things personally to be comfortable with his decisions.
He almost fell asleep in the shower, but dragged himself out and flopped on the bed. He was asleep almost instantly.
When he woke some time later, there was a lump on the other side of the bed that hadn’t been there before. It was as still as the dead, its hair not even moving as it lay sprawled on its face. When had she come in? He forebore to poke her, though he was tempted. What time was it? He checked his Altean pocket tablet, automatically converting and calculating… It was Too Early o’Clock. But his alarm was going to go off in ten minutes…
He may as well get up, and did, setting his alarm to mute. Oh god, his body ached all over, and he stretched as far as he could, fighting the pain. Thank goodness his prosthetic didn’t hurt, at least. And his headache was better; he’d grab some painkillers with breakfast and power through it. El had picked up his dirty clothes and put them neatly to one side, though she hadn’t found the laundry chute. And her clothes too. Her clothes? He glanced back at the figure in the bed. She was still in her underthings, but the temptation to touch her was stronger than ever. He knew how smooth her skin was… Not the time, Takashi.
There weren’t a whole lot of uniforms tailored to his size and prosthetic shoulder, so he was grateful to find a clean second set laid out on the desk. She’d found another cadet uniform for herself, too. She looked awful in Garrison orange, and actually so did Allura, come to think of it, but no one had accused an Earth military of being stylish in centuries. He’d just have to deal with it.
An alarm went off, and he jumped before he realized it was hers. She must have synced it to his. She stirred and grunted, hair coiling spasmodically. “Sen’… R’melle… to ‘llura…” She was still in work mode.
He bent over her as she struggled to roll over onto her back. “How are you?”
“Nngh,” was the eloquent response. “How are you? How are you up so early?”
“I’m fine,” he said. Even if it wasn’t completely true, it was necessary for it to be true. Actually, what he really needed was breakfast. He’d barely eaten the day before, mostly coffee and protein bars, and now he was aware that he was starving in addition to everything else. Real food for breakfast would make the day much more bearable. He wondered if he’d find Sam and Iverson in the mess. “I just woke up. When did you get in?”
“Dunno. A couple vargas ago. Commander Holt gave me fresh clothes for you- oh, you found them.”
“Mmhmm. I’m grateful.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and some green hair and one hand reached out to him fondly. “Take care today.”
“You too.” As he pulled away, she sat up. “If at any point you don’t feel well, at all, you better report to medbay immediately, Captain Shirogane. We need you in one piece.”
Despite her tiredness, there was some fire there. He saluted her with a smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
That day was hard work again, and the day after too – it wasn’t until that second day that he actually managed to sign off at a reasonable hour. Still too late to eat dinner sitting in the mess with the crew, but early enough that he wasn’t tempted to just fall into bed and pass out, tired but not exhausted. They’d already made contact with the Resistance, specifically with Matt, there was a memorial to set up for everyone who’d fought and died for Earth, clean-up work was underway, communications were finally re-established across the globe, and Sam was putting together a team to retrieve the pieces of the strange mecha that had attacked them in order to see what they could find out.
And for at least an hour, he could put that all out of his head with a long shower, dinner, maybe some light reading, and sleep.
He was in the shower, resting his forehead against the wall, letting the water stream down his still-bruised back, when he heard the door open and close. “Hello,” said Elslince’s voice.
“Hi,” he answered, not turning around to look through the frosted plastic shower door.
“Need anything?” She’d been working so hard, with the Garrison, with the civilians, and she still had the energy for him?
He snorted gently. “You?”
There was a pause, then he heard the shower door open. He whirled, startled, not having expected her to interpret in… that… way…
She flinched, starry blue eyes wide, looking ready to close the door again and run away, hair pulling away into tight ripples, but god she was beautiful. For a moment, they both stared, breathless, and then he smiled and held out a hand to her, inviting her in. She took his hand and let herself be drawn into a tight embrace as the water poured down over them both. “Hey, El.”
“Yes, Shiro?”
“Marry me.” No, he wasn’t done sorting through his baggage with Adam. Yes, he wanted her by his side if at all possible. Adam would have understood. Probably. Eventually. He didn’t see the point of delaying, not when they had this window of recovery.
He felt her flinch again in surprise, and her arms tightened on his back, pressing against the bruises a little painfully. “Yes. I will.”
“Not when the war’s done, soon.”
“Yes. Goodness knows how long the war will be.” She looked up at him. “I want to be with you, Takashi, for as long as we have. Trees willing, we’ll have a long time…”
She was so alive in his arms, so warm and soft and loving, her mouth sweet on his as he bent his head to kiss her, as he felt her arms move up to wrap around his neck and her hair swirled over his head, threading around his short hair in an intimate way that he dimly remembered – from this body with another mind, when his hair had been long. And now he understood, he finally understood what she’d meant then, why she wanted to know what it felt like.
He gave himself to her, all he had not yet given her, and she gave herself to him the same, until she screamed his name in a way that made his heart ache. Adam would have to forgive him. He was hers now, and only hers.
They lay together in bed, and he watched her, her breathing, her gently shifting hair, the way her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. She was different from a human woman, but he’d never made love to a human woman so it didn’t matter. He was… at peace, in a way he hadn’t been for years. Since before everything had happened. Maybe since ever. And it was thanks to her. His green angel. She destroyed him and completed him, protected him and supported him…
Speaking of protection… “Hey, so when you came to save me from Sendak…”
She squinted up at him, snuggling with his prosthetic. She certainly liked it a lot more than his previous one. Actually, so did he. “What about it?” She giggled a little as his artificial fingers flicked at her chin.
“How’d you know…? And where’d you get the gun?”
“It’s you.” Her smile was fondly exasperated. “I figured you’d be doing the absolute most reckless thing possible, and when I heard Keith say you were fighting Sendak on the exterior hull I knew I was right. So I ran to the Atlas’s hangar and grabbed a shuttle before anyone could stop me. And the one person who tried… gave me his gun when I told him what I was doing.” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m still conflicted. I would have shot Sendak without remorse, but I swore an oath… but maybe principles aren’t supposed to be black and white… but if they aren’t, what good are they?”
He stroked her back. “It’s not like you were going to torture him first. You were just doing what needed to be done to save my life. And… knowing what it means to you… I appreciate it.” He appreciated strong principles, but he wasn’t sure what the philosophy was in hard line pacifism. He drew his lines elsewhere. In any case, he forgave her this.
“Well, it’s a good thing Keith was there.”
“You say that like he wouldn’t be there. Just like you. Always catching me when I fall.”
She snuggled closer and his arm tightened around her. “Always, silver boy.”
He wasn’t sure how he made it through the memorial without choking up, but he gave his speech with all the dignity he could muster, the message that Earth and her newly arrived allies needed to hear – they’d weathered a hard battle, they’d lost people, sacrifices had been made, but though the war wasn’t over, Voltron had returned and was the vanguard of their hope.
Even if that last battle against the strange mecha had called that into question, at least for him.
But seeing everyone gathered there, and knowing who else had arrived in the last week, gave him strength. Krolia and Kolivan had returned, and were spending time with Keith; Matt had returned – now older than Shiro, and with a girlfriend – and was with his family. Shay’s Balmerra had relocated to a Near-Earth orbit, which would certainly make Sam and his science team happy, and while her family attended the memorial, Shay had gone to visit Hunk. And the Teleran Elder Hamza had arrived seeking his great-granddaughter, looking even more frail than the last time Shiro had seen him, though he hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him in person yet.
None of this was to compare with when he got off the stage, and heard Veronica calling him urgently. “Captain, someone to see you, sir!”
“On my way,” he said, and strode briskly over to where she was – and stopped short. “…Mom? Dad? Grandpa?”
“Takashi,” said his mom, reaching up to him with tears in her eyes and the biggest smile on her face.
“M-Mom! Dad!” He dropped to his knees before her – she was a tiny little woman – and hugged her tightly, and felt them all embrace him back. “I-I’m sorry I was gone so long, I’m sorry I didn’t call when I got back, I’m sorry…” Everything he’d been stoically holding back for so long came flooding out, and he was crying, crying harder than he’d cried in years, folded in the warmth of family for the first time since before Kerberos. He hadn’t lost them.
“It’s all right, Takashi, it’s all right,” his dad said. “We’re so proud of you. We’re just glad that you’re back.”
“What happened to your hair, boy?” asked his grandfather. “You look older than me now!”
“And the arm,” his dad said. “Is that Commander Holt’s engineering?”
He looked up, smiling through his tears. “It’s a long story. I’m so glad you’re all right. I-I heard about Adam right after I got back, but no one knew about civilians in Japan…”
“We’re sorry about Adam, Takashi,” said his mom. “He was so brave.”
“Yes, he was.” He pulled back, wiping his eyes on the sleeve. “I miss him. I… wasn’t expecting him not to be here when I came back.” He took a deep breath, recomposing himself. “Anyway, I hope you’ll stay to meet the team. Especially Elslince.”
“Would you like me to find her?” Veronica volunteered respectfully.
“If she’s not with her great-grandfather already, that would be great, thank you.”
His family had brightened up. “Elslince?” his grandfather said, having a little difficulty with the very un-Japanese name. “A girl?”
“You found someone while you were away?” his mother asked, eyes shining. “I was so worried, after you broke up with Adam…”
He wondered if he should prepare them at all to meet an alien. It was fine. They’d understand when they met her. “Yes, and she’s amazing. I’m going to marry her as soon as we can find a time.”
“Shiro!” said a reproachful voice from behind him. “I haven’t told my great-grandfather yet!”
He heard a wizened laugh as he turned, seeing Elslince supporting her great-grandfather as he hobbled on his stick. The Elder’s entourage followed a distance behind. “I’m hardly surprised, dear Elslince. I’m happy for both of you. Take care of her, will you?”
Shiro knelt before the Elder. “I will. Thank you, Elder.” He stood and took Elslince’s hand, leading her closer to his family. “El, this is my family. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, this is Elslince of Teler.”
They were looking a little bit startled, with the green, and the waving hair, but the Garrison orange uniform had to be reassuring, and the way he looked at her… and the way she looked at him… They’d seen it before, with Adam. But they’d supported him then. He trusted they’d support him now.
His mother smiled and bowed formally to Elslince. “It’s lovely to meet you, Elslince of Teler. Thank you for being there for my son.”
“He’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” Elslince said, mimicking the bow. “I’m proud and honoured to be with him.”
After that, he knew they’d accept her whole-heartedly, just as Elder Hamza had accepted him.
“So when is the wedding?” his father asked, beaming at them both.
“Um. We don’t know yet. Soon.”
“Then there’s no time to waste,” his mother said. “Takashi, I know you’re busy with Garrison things, defending us against the hostile sort of aliens, but you will make time this week so we can plan something appropriate.”
“We don’t need anything big, Mom…”
His mother shushed him with pursed lips. “First, there’s the cultural differences – what’s she expecting, even if it’s ‘nothing big’? Second, there’s the food.”
“Thirdly, if you don’t invite at least Team Voltron, they’ll crash it anyway, probably in the Lions,” Elslince put in.
“And the wedding of the Coalition Commander would be a joyful occasion for everyone,” Elder Hamza put in with twinkling eyes. He was the-? Oh, yes, of course, the Coalition would look up to him again as they had… what had been three years ago for them. “Though that’s none of my business, of course.”
He took a deep breath. “We’ll discuss it. I’ll make time, Mom. Thank… thank you so much for being here.” He was going to start crying again in a minute.
Earth was transformed in mere months. Sure, the major cities were still in ruins, and there were a great many people salty about the destruction of several major landmarks that had survived WWIII, and the devastation and exploitation of a number of protected nature zones that had carefully been re-established since said war, but on the ground, life was putting itself back together. Dismantling and reclaiming resources from the Galra ships and structures certainly helped, trading with their Resistance allies helped, and many aliens came and stayed to help rebuild, because they, too, knew what it was like to have your planet ravaged by the Galra. It was amazing to walk into a city street and see so much colour, see humans getting along with species that five years ago they never dreamed existed. Communications were back, the economy was putting itself back together, and people were donating whatever they could to the Garrison and the Resistance.
Shiro and the rest of what passed for High Command these days remained a little on edge; just because they’d defeated Sendak didn’t mean that the rest of the Galra wouldn’t come take some shots, and certainly no one knew what Haggar had been up to since… since she took over his clone’s mind. He doubted she was dead, but the silence was ominous.
But it was also welcome, nonetheless. He felt like he’d finally found his place in the universe, and though he still had bad moments with his PTSD, he had a much more extensive and subtle support system now. He felt… rested. At least, more so than usual. And at least he had access to real coffee now. And despite how busy he was, Elslince managed to drag him out for ‘normal’ things – walks in the woods, field trips to try Earth cuisine, Earth music, visits to their friends and families, or just quiet time together. And her plants had survived, and she was already making a new, if smaller garden in the corner of the captain’s cabin. Earth plants fascinated her, unsurprisingly. He didn’t know how she did it; as a medic and doctor able to treat any species in the Coalition, she was maybe even busier than he was.
But the next time Haggar dropped a magical nuke on them… he’d be ready for it.
Like it or not, he was a celebrity now, even more of a hero than he’d been when he was an astronaut. He supposed he’d done crazier, more dangerous things that affected more people than he’d ever done as an astronaut, and he’d already been a bit of a celebrity while Coran was doing his media tour, but this attention, from his homeworld, was uncomfortable. He could just imagine Adam rolling his eyes. And telling him it was only his own fault.
Speaking of the media tour, someone in the Resistance had recorded nearly all of their performances, and they were broadcasting on repeat around the globe now. It was very embarrassing. For all of them. Especially when Keith found out that Allura was ‘playing’ as him. Coran was very apologetic to Keith after that. Hunk was nearly as embarrassed as Shiro, but the younger members of his family had already downloaded it, to his chagrin. Pidge pretended to ignore it, until Matt began teasing her mercilessly about the pseudo-jargon Coran had written for her. Lance was perhaps the only one who thoroughly enjoyed it, but he’d always thoroughly enjoyed performing. And Romelle, of course, found it all fascinating.
Marrying Elslince… snowballed, as he’d hoped it wouldn’t. They called a compromise; a private ceremony in the morning, with just parents and close friends, and a celebration in the evening for everyone else on the planet to join in. The morning ceremony was everything he’d wished for. His family, her family, the Paladins and Coran, Iverson, Sam and Colleen and Matt and Matt’s girlfriend, Romelle, and Elslince’s former mentor, all gathered on the bridge of the Atlas. Right up to the captain’s cap, he was in dress blues – which were actually sparkling white, a colour that he’d been wearing more frequently lately, between the combat space-suit and his new off-duty casual clothes. With even the Garrison officer BDU being grey and not sombre black, it felt as if coming back to Earth had washed all the darkness from him.
There was no procession in Teleran tradition, and the only reason he arrived on the bridge before she did was probably entirely due to his preparations being simpler. But when she did appear, he caught his breath, staring. She looked like a golden rose, arrayed in yellow that clung to her like flower petals, her hair loose and flowing everywhere, scented with some delicate floral perfume, yellow make-up painted across her cheeks and nose. Blood-yellow, she’d told him during planning sessions, for vibrancy, youth, life. The collar of his dress uniform suddenly seemed too tight, and the way her blue eyes were fixed on him, as if there was no one else in the world for her, was overwhelming.
In the Teleran tradition, they traded flower crowns, and in the Earth tradition, they traded rings. Vows before Princess Allura, who had changed into her royal gown for the occasion, a tearful kiss, and then a glass of champagne for everyone old enough to drink alcohol. He didn’t let go of her through it all, keeping his arm around her, wondering if this were a dream. It felt like a dream. Or maybe that was just the lack of oxygen to his brain.
They adjourned to the captain’s cabin and lingered, most of them, talking over drinks and lunch for an hour or two. Embarrassing stories were shared, baby photos, and bad jokes from Lance, Hunk, and Matt. Gifts were presented, small ones, heartfelt ones.
Coran had done the production for the evening, the one with interplanetary broadcasting and lights and fireworks and miking and ridiculous things that Shiro didn’t feel were worth the cost. But Coran had respected the wishes of those who didn’t want to appear on intergalactic television, such as Elder Hamza – too old for such excitement – and his parents – too modest for such a spectacle. Though he’d cajoled Keith into sticking around with “You’re the whatsit, the best man and the Black Paladin, you can’t not be there!” Keith had glowered, but participated stoically.
He was a little less nervous about meeting her in her resplendence, up on the dias beneath the massive sweeping canopy. They’d sort of practiced in the morning, if he chose to look at it that way. Their smiles were a little wry now, acknowledging the silliness of the situation, their movements still a little stiff under the watching crowd and cameras, but when they kissed he heard a huge roar of approval from the assembly. God, he couldn’t wait for it to be over.
But first they were expected to start the party. Lance had spent the last week trying to teach the both of them to dance, enough that they wouldn’t embarrass themselves. Shiro was pretty sure it was a lost cause in the long term, but… at least he could do more than shuffle now. And he had to say the music was pretty good. There was a lot of good food set out, and they had to accept congratulations and compliments from at least a few people. Somehow, he was even happy to see Slav again, despite getting an earful of probability on the number of children they’d have in this reality.
It was past midnight before Pidge snuck up behind them with a devious grin. She was dressed in a dress that made her positively adorable, but she had her comm in her hand. “You guys look like you wanna get out of here.”
“God, yes,” Shiro said, and Elslince nodded. “You going to rescue us?”
Pidge smirked and snapped her fingers, and while Lance jumped on a table and began belting karaoke – followed by a rather drunk Keith – she and Matt threw sheets over Shiro and Elslince, hustling them away from the festivities and into a vehicle that Hunk was driving. “Have funnnn,” Matt leered teasingly, before Pidge whisked him away and Hunk started the car.
Back at base, Elslince went straight on to the Atlas to their cabin, but he lingered at the memorial wall for a minute, captain’s cap in hand. “…Everything’s going to be all right, Adam.” He’d loved him, still loved him despite his absence. But he was his past, and she was his future, and he loved her dearly. “You’d approve of her – you’d like her. I promise.”
They had an 8-day honeymoon with his parents in Japan and it was really nice for everyone, even though his dad had to steal his cellphone to keep him from checking in with the Garrison every two hours. Keith flew them there and picked them up afterwards, though he really shouldn’t have, but he insisted.
It was about a month later, on the bridge of the Atlas, transporting another recovered piece of that strange mecha back to base, when he heard a slightly alarming message from the comm by his elbow. “Captain, do you have a minute?”
“Guess I do,” he answered. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”
“I’d like to speak privately,” she said, and he blinked.
“Coran, you have the bridge,” he said, and went to go see what she wanted. Veronica’s smirk followed him.
Elslince had earned herself a private office in medbay through her own skill and hard work, and she beckoned him in now and closed the door behind him. Her face was serious, uncertain, and it was pretty clear she hadn’t called him down for nookie, not that she ever would. “Are you all right?”
She giggled nervously. “For varying definitions of all right… I’m pregnant.”
He felt his face and mind go blank. “Wh- really?”
“Pretty sure,” she said, and showed him something small and hard. “The seed shell fell out this morning, and look, it’s open.”
“Seed… shell?”
She peered at him. “Telerans start in the womb as seeds, didn’t you know that?”
He sat down heavily on her desk. “Seed shell.”
“If it’s not fertilized, it falls out closed every other phoeb.” She put it down and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Which means this is from two phoebs ago, and it’s going to be another fourteen- Are you okay?”
“Just… dazed.” Suddenly it sank in. Oh god. Neither of them had really been expecting this, though he should have remembered, Keith was half-human after all, species could cross-breed all over the universe, this was all his fault… He jumped off the desk and gave her the very most formal of Japanese bows on hands and knees, the dogeza that only his grandfather really used anymore. “I’m sorry!”
“Huh?” She squeaked as he stayed in place, and reached down to tug him up. “What are you doing?”
“Wait, you’re not… upset?” He’d been told getting pregnant was somewhat uncomfortable, and in the middle of a war where she wanted to be a relatively active participant, he’d guessed she’d want to be as physically ready for action as possible. Even if there was a lull for now.
“Why would I be upset?” Though there was a touch of irritation in her blue eyes now. “Shiro, this is… the best news I’ve had besides ‘you’re alive – again’!”
He gasped for air and wrapped his arms around her, snuggling her into his broad chest. “Oh my god. We’re going to be parents.”
She held him just as tightly. “Trees help me, if you do something stupid and leave me to bring up this kid on my own…”
“No promises,” he said with a teasing grin. “Knowing I have my own child to protect is going to make me even more reckless.”
She made a mock growl-whine of irritation, but he laughed and bent down to kiss her.