Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sickness was not a thing Allura was quite used to, especially sickness as bad as this. So when she woke up feeling like someone had taken a hammer to her head and tied her insides into knots, she knew she would not be having a good day.

She mentally went over all the things she had to do that day and sighed softly, sinking back into the bed.

She had nothing to do for the first half of the cycle.

Perfect.

She rolled over and felt around for her husband, slapping his arm gently enough to make him wake up a bit and turn over so she could curl into his chest.

“You feelin alright..?” Shiro slurred, just enough awake to pull her close and rest his head atop hers.

Allura just shook her head and sighed.

“It's probably just a slight cold" she mumbled, relaxing against him.

“Take some medicine when we wake up again" he murmured, voice trailing off at the end. It seemed he was already falling back asleep. The princess giggled slightly at it and sighed softly, letting her eyes fall closed and sleep wash over her once more.

It seemed that the medicine she had taken wasn't working, she had progressively felt more and more tired and sore. Even she had noted that she was not feeling able enough to partake in the diplomatic meeting planned for the afternoon. Shiro had noted how lousy she was feeling and made her follow him to the medical bay, clearly displeased with the fact that she was not feeling well.

“Shiro, it's probably nothing" she objected, planting her feet when they were in front of the med bay. She turned in his grip, putting her hands on his chest.

“Like hell it is” He argued, cupping her face gently. “I’m worried about you, please just get checked out by the scanner while I go back to meeting? You don’t know if it could actually be worse than it is.”

Allura finally sighs and conceded, dropping her head against Shiro’s chest.

“Fine then” She sighed, pulling away and leaning up to press a quick kiss to her husband’s jaw. “But if its nothing, I get to tell you I told you so” she giggled, pulling back and walking slowly into the medical bay.

Shiro watched her for a few seconds before heading back to the bridge with a soft sigh, trying to keep worry at bay.

Allura hummed softly as she turned on the scanner, moving it to face her. All it took was a simple button press and the scan began. It was most likely nothing, just a cold she had gotten for exhausting herself too often this week. She was most certainly ready and willing to tell Shiro that she was right, but she wouldn't hold it against him. It was cute with how much he worried-.

“Scan complete” the computer chimed “Anomaly detected, blood test suggested”

Allura cocked her head. Okay so maybe it wasn't just nothing, she pressed her finger into the slot provided, not even giving a wince as the scanner pricked her finger and began analyzing further. The princess took her finger out and rubbed over the nonexistent wound there. Something was going on, if it was a serious issue the computer would have alerted her, but it seemed that it was not. That didn't stop her from becoming anxious though.

“Scan complete, would you like the results?”

“Yes. of course. Why wouldn't I want the results” she huffed, watching the screen intently as it loaded its diagnosis. Allura’s eyes widened as she read the text, slapping a hand over her mouth.

“Oh quiznack”

Shiro groaned as he leaned back, the meeting finally having ended. He forgot how much of a pain some of them could be. At least Kolivian had yelled at a few of them for not trusting the judgement of the black paladin. He was ready to go take a nap after meeting back with Allura, he already told Keith he wouldn't be sparring today. Keith understood, Shiro’s worry interfering with his concentration. Anyway, he might as well go see if Allura had found out if anything was wrong-.

“Shiro?” Allura’s voice came from the entrance of the bridge, the rest of the paladins and Coran turning to look at her. “May I speak to you in private for a moment” Shiro frowned and nodded quickly. Oh god something was wrong. He stood and walked over to her quickly, his wrist being taken and lead into the hallway.

“Shiro” Allura hesitated, biting her lip. It looked like she was trying to pick out her words very carefully. “Do you… remember when we talked about wanting children eventually?”

“Yeah…? Oh no, Allura I’m so sorr-” was she not able to have children anymore? Is that what that was? Was it his fault? Was it from the experiments-?

“Shiro stop it” She said, reaching up and cupping his face. “You’re thinking in the wrong direction” she smiled, a knowing look in her eyes.

“You… You dont mean?”

“Yeah” She giggled, letting her hands slide down her paladins arms until they encased his wrists, pulling them to her belly. “It’s happening”

Shiro let out a breath, pure joy and excitement crawling onto his face. His arms quickly snaked around Allura’s waist as he pulled her up, kissing her deeply. They swung around a few times, quiet giggles interrupting their kisses every few ticks.

Eventually Shiro had to let her down but not without one final drawn out kiss.

“Are we going to tell the others?” He asked softly, keeping his arms around her waist.

“I wanted to tell you first, but: yes” She hummed “Lets go tell the others.

They walked back onto the Bridge, noting the worried faces slowly dissolve as it was noted how happy they looked. She smiled at Coran who met her with one of his own.

“I have something very important to tell you all, it will change who we are, and of how people see voltron” She said, moving to stand on her pedestal, looking down at the others. Her markings began to glow a bit as she let out another happy giggle.

“I’m pregnant”

The cheers of excitement that followed couldn't make her happier.

It had only been five pheobs, Allura’s belly had already gotten quite large. At first it had scared her, going much too quickly than she had expected. Altean gestation normally would last nineteen pheobs, and when she found out that human gestation was less than half of that she was highly concerned. How could such a species with such a short gestation even survive? Though she was soon assured that humans were -usually- fine when they were born, she didn't exactly believe them though, considering the child would be mixed, half human.

She groaned softly and stretched out across their shared bed, staring up at the ceiling in an attempt to find at least some energy to get up and move around. She didn't even look up as the door to the room opened, only sighing and closing her eyes.

“Allura?” Shiro said, walking over to the bed. “Everyone’s wondering where you are” He sat down next to her, the mattress dipping under his weight. He pet her hair softly and carded his fingers through her unbound hair.

“How do your human mothers even go through with this. How does any carrying species deal with this” She groaned, rolling over to the best of her ability and looking up at him. “My feet are swollen, my breasts are tender, I have little energy, and everything is sore”

Shiro cooed softly and shifted around so that Allura’s head was laying in his lap, still brushing through her hair.

“Many think it’s worth it to bring a child into the world, even if it can be painful”

“Yes, well I want to actually be able to stand and help you all on the bridge”

“You have helped us”

“Only in times of battle”

Shiro shrugged, leaning back slightly. “What do you want me to do then?” He asked softly, meeting her eyes. Allura hummed softly, thinking about the multitude of things she wanted at the moment, eventually sitting up with some help with Shiro.

“Rub my back” she finally answered, pressing a soft kiss to Shiro’s cheek. He smiled at her and nodded, moving around so that she sat in front of him, back facing him.

“Why a back rub of all things” He asked as his fingers began pressing into the meat of her back, kneading it softly.

“I’m carrying most of the weight in the front of my body and slouching over” she deadpanned, glancing over her shoulder as if it wasn't completely obvious. Shiro bit back a chuckle and kissed her shoulder.

“I’m sorry honey”

“You should be, its your fault”

“And how is that”

“You’re the one who made me pregnant”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll take the blame for that one”

Allura rolled her eyes and let out a low groan as her husband began to work a tight knot in the center of her back.

“I forgot how good you were with your fingers” she moaned, arching her back slightly. She only caught a glance of Shiro waggling his eyebrows behind her. She reached back and slapped his leg the best she could with the position.

“Anyway” Shiro hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. “Have you thought of any names yet?”

“I’ve thought of a few”

“Oh?”

“Myhrin, Aeronwyn, or Romelle”

“What do they mean?”

“Myhrin was one of the ancient kings of Oriande, meaning patience in altean. Aeronwyn means blessed river, and Romelle was my mother”

Shiro nodded slowly, letting his hands roam over Allura’s tummy, purring lowly. He pressed his face into her neck with a sigh. Sometimes he forgot how much he loved her, but these few moments showed it greatly.

“I like all of those” he said, moving his face away from her neck. “Especially Myrhin”

A small thump vibrated into Shiro’s hand, pulling a small gasp from Allura. They both froze, staring down at her stomach.

“Did they just…”

“They did!” Allura giggled, starting to bounce a bit. “They must like the name then”

Another thump.

“Myrhin it is then” Shiro smiled, turning Allura’s face, kissing her deeply. They broke after a few seconds, Shiro looking lovingly at his wife.

“You’re glowing” he whispered.

“I know”

Chapter Text

Allura sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her nine pheob big tummy, the team guessed that full term for the child would be twelve pheobs, but that was only a hypothesis at this point. She was humming to herself softly, she hadn't been able to sleep, so she came to the one place she knew that would calm her down, the deck. She sat there for a good few dobashes, only to jerk up at the sudden alarm blaring. She shot up and checked the computer, seeing what it was.

Distress call originating from the planet Tray-vohn. Their planet was collapsing in on itself and they had no ships to evacuate on.

“Quiznack” Allura hissed, moving as fast as she could up to her dias. A sudden roll of nausea rolled over her, making her grit her teeth and clutch at her chest before she was able to grip the pedestals. She gulped down quickly and put her hands on them.

“Paladins!” she yelled, voice echoing through the castle. “To your lions, we have to evacuate the inhabitants of a planet collapsing in on itself!”

Allura breathed heavily as she focused her energy on opening a wormhole to the planet, traveling through it. She heard Coran come in quickly behind her, rubbing at his eyes as he took his place at the first officers station. He got a reading on the planet as soon as they had passed the wormhole, letting out a string of expletives.

“We only have a varga before the planet is completely destroyed!” Coran stated, looking back to the princess.

“Paladins, get as many of the inhabitants as you can off the planet” Allura ordered, gripping the pedestals so tight her knuckles. She watched the lions fly past the castle, down planetside.

“Please don't get hurt” she whispered to herself, watching the lions become small specks.

The planet was absolute hell, earthquakes shaking the ground so hard it was difficult to stay upright. Shiro watched as a building crumbled from the force. He hissed loudly, landing the lion in an open space, opening the lion’s mouth. It was a blur of movement, rushing down from the cockpit to the entrance of his lion.

The people must have known that the lions were there to save them as they crowded close to each of the lions, trying to push themselves inside. Shiro fought back a growl and looked to the crowd, even with all five lions it would be a tight squeeze.

“ALRIGHT!” Shiro bellowed over the crowd. “I need as many people as possible to get into the cargo hold!” he barely had enough time to get out of the way as the crowd of people pushed into the lion, trying to get off the planet’s surface as quickly as possible. Shiro watched them as they got on.

A sudden hand gripping at his arm made him flinch and grip tightly to the lion as another tremor wracked the planet. He looked over at the frantic inhabitant, gently pulling his arm out of their grip.

“Are you okay?” He asked quickly, keeping an eye on the rest of the people heading in.

“My child!" they hissed, urgency and panic in their voice, pointing to a building on the verge of collapsing. “We were separated and they are still trapped in there!”

Shiro’s brow furrowed, nodding quickly. “Head into the lion, I'll go get them for you" he assured, pushing them into the lion before taking off through the crowd into the building. He activated the visor and tried to get a reading on where the child was inside the building. They were only a few stories up so it shouldn't be that hard to just go in and get out, but he’d have to hurry. If the planet wracked another tremor, the building would surely come falling the rest of the way down.

“Coran!” Shiro yelled through the com, still making his way to the building. “I’m heading into a building to get someone. Do you have an idea of when the next tremor is coming?”

“They're starting to happen more frequently.” Corans voice crackled through the com “Next one should be in ten minutes. Be careful number one!”

“Got it!”

Shiro broke down the door into the building, looking at the broken and destroyed stairs.

“Shit," he cursed, making his way up as many stairs as he could, using his jet pack to get up the rest of the way.

Fourth story, he just had to get up that high. That's where the child was, he could probably jump through the window once he had them, use his thrusters to soften the fall-

Another tremor wracked the building, softer than most of them had been but it was enough for a few loose bricks to fall and the steps below Shiro’s feet to crumble.

A slew of curses came out of his mouth as he scrambled up past the falling stairs, quickly turning on his com.

“Coran what was that!?”

“It wasn't a planetary tremor, it was the planet's power plant exploding.”

Shiro groaned in exasperation and continued up, seriously hoping the child was still alright.

Just one more flight of stairs he thought and continued further. He almost froze as he heard the signature wail of a child.

Bingo.

He moved faster, silently hoping he still had enough time left. Following the sound of the child's wail he pushed into an apartment, shoving rubble aside that blocked the door.

The only things he heard were his own heart pounding in his ears and the child's wail.

“Hey!” He called, hearing the child but not seeing them in the slightest. “Kid, where are you!?”

The wails stopped for a second, replaced with soft hiccups as the very small child emerged from behind furniture. Sniffling loudly and their face wet with tears.

Shiro dropped quickly, holding his hand out to them.

“Hey…” he said soothingly, watching the child keenly. “Hey now, it's okay, I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?”

The child eyed him with a sniffle, but stayed stubbornly still.

“Hey come on, I'm gonna get you to your parent, they're really worried about you."

The child shook their head, clearly too frightened to move.

Shiro hissed softly, feeling the ground start to tremble. No, no no no no no, this can't be happening.

Before he realized it, Shiro had launched himself forward, taking a blanket from the couch and diving for the child with it as the building began to tremble further, cracking and falling in on itself.

He realized they were falling, instinctively curling around the child as the floor collapsed beneath them.

The air was punched from his lungs as they hit the ground hard. Shiro cracked open his eyes as the ceiling came down. His armor took the brunt of the crushing weight but he could still feel a sickening crack inside his chest.

All he knew was pain. Stars danced beneath his eyelids, calling out to him and pulling him towards them.

Then darkness.

Pidges brow furrowed in concentration as they finished letting the people out into the castle. The other lions would soon follow. They knew something was wrong, Shiro hadn't spoken for almost twenty minutes, and the varga was close to being up.

And with the black lion having yet to fly up from the planet, they knew it was the worst.

“Paladins!” Corans voice suddenly came through the coms. “Shiro isn't responding and the area he went into is about to collapse!”

Pidge let out a slew of curses, watching the other lions starting to land in the hangar.

“You guys keep on getting the inhabitants into the castle!” Pidge yelled through their com. “I'll go help Shiro!”

“Are you even strong enough to do that Pidge?” Keith called back, reluctantly keeping his lion in the hangar. “Besides, Red is the fastest, I could go in and get out quickly.”

“Yeah, but you still have people unloading.” Pidge retorted, already flying their lion out of the hangar. “Just focus on the refugees."

They brought their lion into a nosedive, pulling up their map of the location and quickly finding the blip that marked where Shiro was.

As the green lion landed, Black let out a roar and finally took off, heading back to the castle.

Pidge almost watched it leave but knew they had to get Shiro first. They raced out of their lion, pulling up their BLIP tech scanner as they went and searching for any life signs nearby. Only one spot glowed on the screen. It had to be Shiro. Following the diagram, they raced towards the point, coming from a collapsed building up ahead.

“Shiro?” They called, looking back to the screen to see that Shiro’s dot was in the very center of it. They let out another curse as they climbed the ruins, scanning their surroundings anxiously. The screen said that they were practically on top of where Shiro was, but they couldn't see him at all.

“Shiro!” They called again, still looking around. They froze as they heard small bits of rubble shifting and clacking against each other. No, he couldn't be-

Pidge looked down and gasped, seeing Shiro’s legs sticking out from beneath the rubble, unmoving. They dropped to their knees, starting to clear what rubble they could.

“Fuck, Shiro. I’m going to get you out of here.” they whimpered, moving what rubble they could to free the trapped paladin.

Pidge looked across the rubble, swearing softly at the large chunk of stone that covered the top half of Shiro’s body.

Hell, no wonder they hadn't seen him. He was almost completely covered.

“Shiro, if you’re dead I’m not the one breaking it to Allura” they mumbled, standing up to eye the large wall. There would be no way to get Shiro out without moving it. They took a deep breath and pressed their back against the edge of it, pushing with all their might, but the stone barely moved.

Pidge’s feet slid out from under them as the rubble underneath them gave way.

“Dammit!” They yelled, sliding down and pressing their fists against the visor of their helmet. Reluctantly they turned on their com, taking a deep breath beforehand.

“Guys…” They started, trying to keep their voice from cracking. “Shiro is-... Shiro is stuck underneath some rubble and I can't get him out.. I-its too heavy for me to move.”

“Pidge, hang on! I’m coming down to help!” they didn't register who it was.

“There’s not a lot of time left!”

“I don’t know how long Shiro is going to last under there guys-” Pidge was suddenly cut off by the surface literally splitting apart just a few feet away. They scrambled back with a yelp, watching the ground split and bits of rubble start sliding down into the gaping void.  

An idea suddenly popped into their head. They looked around quickly for a long pole or stick, grabbing the nearest one they could find and shoved a large rock just in front of the wall.

“This better fucking work” They said, placing the end of the stick underneath the stone and over the smaller. They pressed down with enough force that the wall lifted slightly, but it was enough that it began to slide off of the mound of rubble and subsequently Shiro.

Though the sudden loud sound of a screeching child made Pidge flinch and forget what they were doing for a split second. They quickly refocused and spotted the squirming mass in Shiro’s limp arms.

They dashed over and quickly pushed off the remaining rubble, pulling open the blanket to meet the bruised face of a young child.

“Oh shit, that’s why you went in there.” They said softly, pulling the child out quickly.

The child only wailed in pain again, trying to squirm out of Pidge’s grip.

“Hey, hey kid. Everything's going to be fine. You can stand right?”

The child nodded, staring at them and sniffling.

“Good.” They pulled the blanket out of Shiro’s arms, knowing full well that they wouldn’t be able to carry him. They spread the blanket out next to where the unconscious paladin lay and with a good deal of effort they rolled him onto it.

Pidge gave him a once over and hissed when they saw the extent of his injuries. His armor was cracked all on one side, leading into his chest, blood seeped out from a few of the larger cracks and they could only imagine the damage that lay underneath. His human arm lay at an awkward angle- they couldn’t keep looking at it. His visor was cracked as well, Pidge gagged as they saw shards sticking in his face.

“Guys,” they said shakily into the com. “We’re gonna need a pod.”

They shook their head quickly, not waiting to listen to the response, and tied the end of the blanket around Shiro’s feet. They would have to drag him uphill, and Shiro sliding off the blanket was in no way a good idea.

Pidge took a shuddering breath and jumped as the ground trembled once again, almost knocking them off their feet. More rubble fell down into the gap and they let out another slew of curses, not at all caring about the child hearing them.

They looked to the child and tightened their lips; the child was favoring one leg and seemed to be in no condition to walk long distances.

“Okay, kid.” They breathed out, gesturing them to come closer. “I need you to get onto my back and hang on with all your might, got it? I have to drag him back to my lion and I have to use both hands for that.”

The child nodded with a sniffle and limped over, slowly wrapping their arms around Pidge’s neck as they knelt down. Once the child was secure on Pidge’s back, they picked up the edges of the blanket and began dragging Shiro up the slope, grunting at the exertion.

The lion was only fifty meters away, they could do this.

It was a struggle, Shiro being so much bigger than they were, and the child around their neck only slowing them down.

The countdown that displayed at the side of their visor said only five dobashes remained until complete planetary collapse, and the surroundings clearly showed that; buildings completely gone, giant cracks in the ground that rubble only fell into.

It was like hell.

No, it was hell.

Pidge let out another grunt as they got closer to the lion, not much further now.

The rest of the drag was a blur in the paladin’s mind, they only remembered dragging Shiro into their lion’s jaws and strapping both Shiro and the child into the extra seats in the back of the lions.

It was only when they were in the space, flying back the lion when they let tears slip down their cheeks.

Chapter Text

Allura couldn’t afford to freeze and weep hearing the fact that Shiro was in need of extreme medical assistance. She barely had the sense to reopen the wormhole and fly through it as the green lion landed in the hangar.

Tears slipped down her face as she heard the remaining paladins racing down to the hangar. She just shook her head and funneled more of her energy into the castle, getting them the rest of the way through the wormhole. She finally dropped down from where she stood at the dias, pressing a hand to her face as she let out a sob.

Coran walked over, pressing a hand to her shoulder to comfort her. She only snapped at him to go help the others with Shiro.

She had to get the castle to safety before she would be able to go down to see her husband. Allura slowly stood once more, pouring even more of her energy into the castle. All she had to do was close the wormhole, get the castle far enough away, and hide the castle behind a nearby moon.

She didn't recognize the system they were in, she didn't care. She pushed back from the pedestals once the castle had stopped, rushing her way down to the infirmary.

Allura arrived just in time to see Shiro be lifted onto the table. A hand flew over her mouth to hold back the panicked noises as she saw the horrific state Shiro was in. It wasn't supposed to be this way, he wasn't supposed to get hurt. Yet here they were, Shiro hurt and Allura didn't know what she should do.

They began to pull off the remnants of Shiro’s armor, having to be ever so careful as pieces were still embedded in him. Everyone looked grim, working as fast as they could while still being careful enough not to injure Shiro further.

Allura moved towards the table, her feet pulling her along. She found herself at the head of it, holding Shiro’s head as she pet it.

“It’s going to be okay,” She whispered, mostly saying it to herself. The bruises across Shiro’s face looked so prominent against his pale skin. She hated it.

Her fingers came up and deftly picked out the small bits of his visor that were still embedded in his face.

A shot of pain raced through her abdomen, she felt like she was going to be sick.  It hurt. It hurt so much.

She pressed her head against Shiro’s, mentally willing him to be okay, he had to be after this.

“Allura,” Corans voice came, making her look up. “Hold his head while I fix his arm, alright?”

She nodded, moving her hands to secure him while the others held down the rest of his limbs. They didn't know what to expect when Coran pulled his arm back into the correct shape.

Everyone held their breath as Coran gripped Shiro’s arm. He looked to the team with a quick nod, before pulling with all his might.

Shiro’s sightless eyes flew open as he screamed, his limbs jerking only a bit from where they were held. There was a sickening crack as his arm righted, bones visibly shifting underneath his skin.

Another shot of pain came as Allura heard that scream, her breath catching in her throat.

Coran dropped the arm a few seconds later, slightly binding it so further movement wouldn't send it back to its previous state.

“Stopstop.. Please it hurts” Shiro begged deliriously, his head shifting from side to side. He was shaking like a leaf, skin reaching a further pallor. Allura whimpered in response, stroking her hands over his cheeks softly. She ignored the next shot of pain that came, she couldn't afford to address it.

“Nomore please it hurts somuch” Shiro continued, his breathing coming in ragged pants. Tears streamed from his eyes and Allura quickly wiped them away with her thumb.

“Shiro, shh it's okay.. You're going to be okay.” She said, her own voice cracking as it seemed Shiro didn't hear her words.

His eyes fluttered closed in the middle of another delirious sentence, finally quiet and limp once again.

A distressed noise left her as he fell back, worried something worse was happening with him. Only hearing someone calling her name had her looking up, finally seeing Coran had administered a sedative.

Allura watched sadly as Coran and Hunk hefted Shiro up and quickly replaced his armor with the medical suit. She whimpered at seeing just the extent of his bruising and injuries, traveling all along his side.

It hurt her to see him like this, and the occasional twang in her gut made it only worse. Her fingers gripped the bed on the sides of Shiro’s head as another wave of pain crashed through her. Her face was wet, why was it wet.

“Allura…” Lance said softly. She looked over, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “Why don't we head down to the refugees, get them sorted out while Coran finishes with Shiro.”

“But Shiro-” She didn't want to leave him, she couldn't leave him, not while he was like this.

“Shiro is going to be fine, and standing there crying over him isnt going to help.” Lance took her hand, basically prying it off the table.

“Come on…” Allura finally conceded, letting Lance walk her out of the medical wing. Her hands shook and another wave of pain rolled through her core, quicker and sharper than the last few had been, like taking a knife through her.

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she what they were. They were contractions. She bit her lip and kept silent, watching as Lance dragged Keith along as well. He seemed just as shaken up about the whole situation.

Lance pulled them down the hallway, sighing softly. They walked in silence down the halls, their footsteps echoing. Allura squeezed Lance’s hand without thinking each time another wave of pain rolled through her.

She wasn't going to tell them about what was going on. They were already worrying about Shiro, they didn't need to worry about her.

The waves of pain got heavier and worse as the minutes dragged on. Allura didn't realize how hard she was squeezing Lance’s hand until he stopped and looked at her.

“Allura, you’re trying to break my hand.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood at least a bit, but it was too strained to have an effect.

“Sorry,” She mumbled, quickly letting go of his hand. A wave of pain rolled through her at that moment, pulling a pained gasp from her.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine!” She snapped, recoiling a few seconds after “I’m sorry, I’m just… stressed.” a whimper ripped itself out of her throat.

“Everything is going to be okay.” He assured, but his tone said that even he didn't believe himself.

“This whole situation worries me,” Allura said softly, rubbing her hands together.

“Shiro is very selfless,” Keith mumbled, crossing his arms. “He’d do anything to help people.”

The princess nodded, placing a hand over her stomach, thinking about the few other times Shiro had been placed in the pod. She shook her head and sighed.

“You’re right, Shiro is always putting himse--” Her voice faltered mid sentence as the worst contraction she’d felt rolls through her, pulling a pained cry out of her, hands flying to her belly as she started to crumple forward.

“Allura!?” Lance yelled, quickly catching her and helping her to the floor. “What happened, whats wrong?”

“B-baby...” She whimpered, wincing through another contraction. Lance frowned and nodded, rubbing her back softly.

“Keith. Take Allura back to the med bay, I’m going to see if there is a midwife among the refugees.” Lance ordered, surprisingly calm about the whole situation. Keith nodded shakily and quickly picked Allura up. She whimpered and clutched her stomach, suppressing another pained gasp. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt Keith lift her, letting her head drop against his chest. He was running, her head practically bouncing against him.

“Shiro...” She whimpered quietly, tears starting to spill from her eyes. “I want Shiro.”

Keith didn't answer that, just rushing back through the castle with Allura clinging to his chest, sobs wracking her body.

They were met with shouts of confusion as Keith burst into the room, quickly bringing the princess over to the -not bloody- bed before speaking with Coran in a panicked tone.

Allura didn't hear any of it. She didn't hear anything. All she heard was the roar of blood in her ears and the muffled sound of the others speaking above her.

It hurt. She wanted her baby, but not like this, not like this at all.

A hand touched her side, making her flinch. She looked between waves of pain to see one of the refugees. So Lance had found a midwife. They asked several questions and sent the rest of the team out of the room, only allowing Coran and Lance to stay in the room.

Something pressed against her arm and fog filled Allura’s mind as the pain began to die down, going limp against the bed.

Time became a blur. She didn't know if hours or minutes had passed, only the feelings of someone positioning her her body and the relentless pulse of the contractions, blessedly numbed now. She noted Lance was by her side, whispering assurances into her ear that she couldn’t hear over the rushing of her pulse and her own strained cries. Someone, Coran? Pressed a cloth to her head, wiping her head gently. It felt nice for a moment, before another contraction ripped her focus away from it. Her whole world narrowed down to the rippling of her muscles and the instinct to push.

“Hey-... Allura, hey.” Lance whispered, squeezing her hand. “You did it.”

What?

Allura opened her eyes slightly and looked at Lance, who smiled back at her.

The sound of a baby’s cry filled the air, pulling Allura’s attention in that direction. She saw the small wailing child in the midwife's arms, being cleaned off with a wet rag.

“Myrhin” She whimpered, holding her arms out shakily. The midwife wrapped the child in a soft blanket and handed him over to the princess. The wails quieted as Allura cradled him closely, letting her eyes close slowly.

She felt the pillow touch the back of her head, hearing the muffled shouts of her name.

Sweet unconsciousness pulled her close, giving her the rest she so sorely needed.

Chapter Text

Babies were soft and cute, Hunk had decided. The baby, Myrhin, was sleeping against Hunk’s chest. His hand smoothed against Myhrin’s back, sighing at how soft it was.

Lance, Pidge, and Coran were setting up the incubator. Coran had called it something else but there was no denying that it was basically a high-tech incubator.

As much as the tiny half-Altean looked healthy and full developed, he was also clearly not. Only barely three and a half pounds and less than a foot long, the babe had a small tube going up his nose and into his stomach as he had no ability to feed, and a scanner had been set up to monitor him constantly.

It made Hunk pretty sad actually, seeing such a small person requiring this much medical attention. He frowned and shifted Myrhin up on his chest a little, holding him closer. The babe shifted in his arms with a quiet coo, showing his face to the world. Hunk’s heart melted and swiped his thumb over the babes cheeks, right over the deep blue marks on his cheeks.

He sighed again, looking over to where Allura lay asleep on the medbay bed. Still exhausted on so many levels. Hunk tore his gaze away and looked down at where Pidge and Coran were arguing over the incubator.

“Guys, come on. It shouldn’t be that difficult to put this thing together.” Hunk sighed, sitting down on the floor next to them.

“It’s worse than putting something together from Ikea” Lance joked, reaching over and brushing his hand over Myrhin’s head. “You’d probably be better at putting this together to be honest”

“I mean I could, but it’s my turn with the baby” He huffed, curling around him softly. “Besides, you’re the one who said that we should all spend time bonding with him while….” He didn't finish his sentence, just glancing over the pod where Shiro still lay. The others went quiet, looking up at Myrhin then over at Shiro, sitting in a tense silence before Lance cleared his throat.

“They’re both going to be fine, Shiro is going to be fine and Myrhin will be fine” Lance assured. “He’s only a couple hours old give him a break” He sighed, looking over the incubator parts, making a face.

“Either way” He continued “We need to finish the incubator pretty soon-”

He was cut off by a soft cry coming from the baby. Coran was on his feet immediately, checking the tiny diaper before turning to the table to grab the feeding device. It was a device that attached to the feeding tube to push a dose of food down it whenever Myrhin got hungry. The baby continued to fuss weakly until the food disappeared from sight. Hunk sighed and stroked the tiny head to settle him as Coran got back to work on the incubator.

Lance watched with a worried frown, then turned his attention back to the incubator with obvious determination. Myrhin needed it, and they all knew it. His fragile body needed all the help they could give it.

“He’ll be okay.” Lance said firmly, sounding more confident than Hunk felt. “Long as he gets the right care, he’ll do just fine, trust me. One of my cousins was a preemie and she made it through no problem, and Myrhin’s stronger than she was. She didn’t even cry for the first few weeks.” He made a pleased noise as he managed to make several parts fit together.

Hunk nodded with a sigh, shifting Myrhin up on his chest again, rubbing gently at the babes back. “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense to worry so much about this. Worrying would only make it worse, and we don’t want to think about what would happen at that point. Myrhin’s gonna be just fine, he’s gonna grow up with two strong loving parents and the rest of us there too. Do you think he would call us his uncles? Coran would definitely be his grandpa”

Amidst Hunk’s rambling, the others had finished setting up the incubator. Lance grabbed a couple of soft blankets and something black. Hunk couldn’t see what it was at first, but quickly stood up as Lance gently plucked Myrhin from the yellow paladins chest, shifting him in his arms before gently placing him in the nest of blankets. Lance took the black piece of fabric and tucked it in next to Myrhin with a smile.

“What is that Lance?” Pidge asked, standing on the opposite side of the incubator.

“One of Shiro’s shirts”

“Lance…”

“It’s fine, it’ll help in the long run. He’ll be just fine.”

It was Keith’s turn to watch over Myhrin. To be honest he wasn't looking forward to it that much, the thought of the kid suddenly waking up and wailing. Keith knew the basics of how to take care of a baby, well he had at least been told verbally how to. He hadn’t exactly gotten a chance to try it out, nor did he really want too. Babies were really squishy looking, Keith had decided, then again they were also kind of cute.

He sighed and leaned back in the chair. Being stuck here most of the day was boring, he wasn't even allowed to leave to train. He rocked forward, looking down into the incubator.

“Why can’t babies be more exciting?” he groaned, reaching in and poking at Myrhins cheeks gently.

“Did you just ask why a baby couldn’t be more exciting ?” Lance laughed from the doorway. Keith paused and turned around quickly, looking over at his husband.

“...Maybe” he admitted, sitting back in the chair. “I’m bored and itching to do something.” Keith dropped his head back and purred slightly as Lance brushed his fingers through his hair.

“Well you can’t exactly do that” Lance chuckled, leaning into the back of the chair and wrapping his arms around Keith’s shoulders.

“I knooooww” Keith groaned, shifting so his head was against Lance’s shoulder. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I just came to see how you were doing”

“Well, I’m internally freaking out about this baby and i’m bored, so there you go”

Lance just rolled his eyes, kissing Keith’s cheek as he pulled away slightly. He walked forward and leaned over the incubator, reaching in and brushing a hand over Myrhin’s tummy.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous about taking care of Myrhin” Lance said, looking over his shoulder. “He’s just a baby, its not like he can do anything to you”

“It’s not so much what he can do to me as what I can do to him.”

“Mhm, yeah okay- awwwh look who’s awake!” Lance cooed, reaching into incubator and picking up Myrhin with a series of high pitched cooes.

Keith looked at him horrified. Babies were clearly a force to be reckoned with if they could bring down an adult with just waking up. Lance turned around and looked at Keith, cracking up at the look on his face.

“Oh my god- Keith” He laughed, pressing one hand over his mouth and keeping the other securely wrapped around the babe. “If you’re that frightened of him, why don't you just try having him lay on your chest for a bit.”

“No- Lance- I don’t think that’s a good idea” Keith said quickly, backing up and falling back into the chair.

“And why is that?” Lance hummed, propping his arm on his hip.

“Like what if I drop him or like he starts crying or-”

“Keith, just shut up” Lance huffed, pressing a palm to Keith’s chest to make him sit back fully. He ignored Keith’s further protests and gently deposited Myrhin against Keith’s chest, draping one of the spare blankets over them soon after.

Keith was quiet now, body tense as he waited for… just something bad to happen. But after the first two minutes of nothing happening, he began to relax, cocking his head at the babe.

“I really expected him to start crying” Keith said, looking up at Lance, who was giving him his best I-told-you-so face. “Oh shut up” he huffed and gingerly rubbed the babys back, smiling softly.

Myhrin nuzzled into Keith’s chest with a soft coo and started to fall asleep again. Keith froze, staring at him with sparkles in his eyes. Fuck, that was cute. His eyes began to water as he pulled the babe closer.

“Woah, Keith are you crying!?” Lance gaped, looking at his husband in astonishment.

“I can’t help it!” he huffed, rubbing at his eyes with his palm. “That was just really cute.”

Lance smiled and leaned over, kissing him softly. He hummed and pressed their foreheads together. “You’re adorable sometimes”

The blue paladin pulled away and moved to the floor, leaning against Keith’s legs as they sat in silence for a few minutes. For once it was Keith who broke their silence, looking down at Lance with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Hey Lance?”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever thought about having kids?”

Lance was silent, eventually looking up and resting his chin on Keith’s knee.

“I have” He answered softly.

“...Do you still want them?”

“Maybe?” Lance sighed. “I don’t know if were mature enough to think about that yet. Eventually I might, but right now I don’t think so.”

Keith nodded slowly, dropping his head back and staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't like Keith hadn't expected him to say that, he didn't even know himself, if he was good enough to have or raise a kid. He didn't want to be like his own mother.

A wail startled Keith out of his thoughts as he looked down at Myhrin in panic, then quickly to Lance who was already standing up at his own leisure.

“Lance! Do something!”

Allura laid on her side on the medbay bed, looking down at her child that laid next to her. Her heart hurt, it ached. This wasn't how she wanted things to happen at all, not at all. She wanted her husband to be here, but no, Shiro was hurt and injured, stuck in a pod for who knows how much longer. He missed the birth of their child and Allura didn’t even know if Myrhin would survive long for Shiro to meet him.

Her baby was so small, so tiny, having to be in almost constant supervision, he couldn’t even suckle strong enough to feed, having to instead have a tube down his throat.

Allura hated this whole situation. She didn’t notice the tears starting to drip down her face until she saw small wet dots on the bed. She didn’t do anything to stop them, just letting the tears slowly drip down her face.

A distressed noise made her look up at her son. Myrhin’s face was scrunched up as he continued to make displeased sounds, as if he sensed her own hurt. Allura cooed to him and gently wrapped her arm around him, pulling him closer. She cupped the side of his head and hummed softly, wiping her eyes with her other hand.

Allura could never forget how soft his skin was, and how it amazed her each time she touched him.

Her eyes widened as the marks on his cheeks began to pulse with a blue glow. Weak, but still there. More tears spilled from her eyes as she was filled with a larger sense of hope that he would survive. She pulled her baby close and hugged him closer, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

“Stay strong for me Myhrin. Just know that your daddy will always love you,” Allura said softly, holding him as his whimpers quieted. “And that I will always love you too.”

Chapter Text

Cold was one of the things that Shiro hated, seeping into his bones and making all his scars ache. His eyes opened to the frosted glass, thinking he was somewhere he was not for a second too long before he blinked his eyes again, watching the glass open. He took a step out but faltered, starting to collapse into the ground.

Someone caught him in their arms, gently lowering him to the ground as someone else wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. He looked up at who had caught him, eyes slowly making out Allura, then Keith, and then everyone else.

Allura’s hands felt like irons against his skin as she touched his neck, but he didn't flinch away, leaning into it, and her instead. His hand fumbled to his side, feeling for where he had been crushed before sighing softly.

“How long was I out?” Shiro rasped, slightly appalled at how unused his voice felt and sound.

“About a week.” Allura said softly, combing her fingers through his hair softly.

“The kid- the refugees-” He gasped softly, looking up Allura, seeking answers.

“They’re fine.” She smiled, pressing a kiss to Shiro’s head, still brushing his hair gently. “The child was reunited with their family unit and we dropped all the refugees on the coalition planet.”

Shiro nodded slowly, sliding down in Allura’s arms. He felt tired, and cold, exhaustion seeping into his bones. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, pressing close and breathing deeply.

Though something didn’t feel right, the bump that Shiro would at times rest his head against wasn’t there. His brow furrowed and looking up at Allura questioningly. Her smile faded as she sighed.

“Allura, what happened--” He asked quickly, pushing back the panic that rose in his throat.

“You missed it.” She said softly, glancing away from him.

Shiro’s heart sank, he missed it? The baby- the baby was gone? He didn’t realize that tears were bubbling down his cheeks until Allura had wiped them away with her thumb.

“Shh… Shiro, its okay…” She whispered quietly, kissing his cheeks slightly. “Myhrin is okay.”

“...Myrhin?” He hiccuped, giving her a confused look.

Allura nodded with a smile and turned towards the others. “Lance, would you mind-?”

“Got it!”

Shiro looked over, still confused, but he slowly sat up shakily as Lance walked over with a bundle in his arms. He watched it intently as it squirmed a bit in Lance’s arms. Shiro’s breath caught as he saw a little fist wave over the edge of the blanket.

Lance knelt down next to them and handed the bundle over with a hum, booping the little nose before popping up and taking his place next to Keith.

Allura rested him on her lap and smiled at Shiro, taking his hands and slowly wrapping them around the babes frame.

“This is our son, Myrhin.”

Shiro cradled his son gently, pulling him into his own lap gently. His eyes watered slightly, holding the infant like he would break with any wrong move. He wiped his eyes quickly and picked him up shakily, sitting back and holding him against his chest.

Myrhin cooed quietly and nestled into Shiro's chest, giving a tiny yawn and gripping his shirt.

“Is he…” Shiro couldn't finish his sentence, looking at Allura worriedly.

“He’s fine… underdeveloped… but fine..” Allura smiled sadly, leaning forward and brushing her knuckles against the back of his head. The past week had been full of worry and fear, but with the strength that Myhrin showed, Allura knew that he was going to be fine. She leaned forward and kissed Shiro’s forehead softly.

“I’m just glad that you’re back.”

Allura stretched with a slight groan as she walked back to her room. After a few hours of talking with the refugee leaders and finalizing their arrangements to settle them on an uninhabited planet with enough supplies for a new colony. A few others decided they would settle on the coalition planet, and their people would be joining the coalition. She was quite ready to go relax against her husband and ignore the rest of her political duties for the day.

She walked down the quiet hallways only to perk up at the faint sound of Shiro giggling. She cocked her head and walked a little bit faster to her room. She peeked in and smiled softly at the sight of Shiro playing with their son on the bed, cooing softly to him. Shiro had Myrhin laying on the bed, with Shiro leaning over him.

“Hey buddy~ Is that a smile~?” He cooed, poking at the infants chubby little cheeks. “It is~! It is a smile~”

Myrhin let out a series of breathy noises, flapping his arms a bit. He slapped against Shiro’s face slightly when he leaned down and blew a raspberry into his tummy.  

“Oh no! You’re beating me up!” Shiro laughed, pulling away a little bit and offering Myrhin his finger to hold on to. Shiro smiled lovingly down at his son, sighing as he moved his arm around slightly.

“I love you, Myrhin.” he sighed softly, leaning down and pressing his nose against the infants gently. That was the moment Allura decided to make her presence known.

“Look at my two boys,” She smiled, pushing off from the wall and walking towards the bed. “So cute and handsome together.”

Shiro looked over at her and sat up, pulling Myrhin into his arms. He took the infant's wrist lightly and waved it a bit at Allura.

“Hi momma!” Shiro said in a high pitch voice, bouncing the babe in his arms. “We missed you momma, you should come over here and give my daddy a big ol kiss.”

Allura just laughed and sat next to Shiro, brushing out her skirts with a hum.

“Oh~? And why should I do that?” she said, leaning close to her husband.

“Because he’s been a good daddy all day, taking care of me, playing with me, and helping me when I cried.”

“Well then!” Allura gasped, trying not to laugh more. “I do believe that is a well deserved kiss!” She leaned forward and kissed him, she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest with how Shiro acted around their child. Shiro hummed against her lips, and pulled away as he started to laugh.

Allura looked at him, letting out a small laugh of her own. It was just the three of them now, happy, peaceful. Things were going to be just fine between them, nothing would rip them apart, Allura wouldn't allow it, and neither would Shiro. As their laughs subsided, Shiro wrapped his hand around the back of Allura’s neck, pulling her down and pressing their foreheads together.

“I love you, both of you, so much…” he whispered, making it a solid promise in his heart.