What the Hurrblycane Set in Motion
by:N1t3sh4d3
The paladins all practically stumble from their lions as soon as their metal paws touch the hangar floors. They all look awful; pulling an all-nighter fighting a particularly large fleet of Galra does that to a person. The encouraging greeting from Coran and Allura is half-tuned out. Everyone just wants sleep, and they want it now. Saving the universe could wait for at least eight hours or so.
Shiro is the first to collapse in the “living room”. Ever since the incident that left him stuck at approximately fifteen feet tall (which, yes, had led to a full-blown discussion over the Altean metric system vs. Earth’s multiple systems), he’d been sleeping up against the side of the couch. It was difficult enough to squeeze through the hallways, and he doubted he would even be remotely able to get into his own room- much less be able to fit into his bed. So, until the issue was resolved, the living room was his decided-upon living space.
Unfortunately, the Galra weren’t exactly keen on giving the team a siesta in order to figure out the situation.
Fortunately, he could still fit inside Black’s cockpit- barely, but he managed. Also fortunately, his clothing and armor had grown along with him, which he certainly counted his lucky stars for.
He slumps tiredly, resting on his back in the middle of the room, and wearily closes his eyes. The other paladins shuffle into the living room with him, and are about to head to their own rooms… And then, deciding that the walk was far too long, Pidge heaves an exhausted sigh before flopping over onto Shiro’s left arm. It takes her a moment of clumsy squirming, but she manages to curl up on his chest, her head resting against his collarbone. The older paladin starts in confusion at the abrupt gesture, but then he settles in with a sigh and closes his eyes once more.
A pause.
Shiro cracks an eye open when he feels Lance’s gangly form clambering up from his side up to his torso. Hunk is quick to follow after his friend, but he stumbles uncertainly over Shiro’s prosthetic arm. Within a matter of a few seconds, Shiro has the three paladins draped over his chest like a warm blanket. Keith is watching the events unfold from the distance, an unreadable expression on his face.
After a long period of silence, the red paladin finally huffs and walks up to Shiro. He sits down on the floor and scoots backwards until his back is resting up against Shiro’s side, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
Shiro has to stifle a snort, a faint smile on his face as he looks over his fellow paladins. Not that he would ever care to admit it, but the incident had left him feeling… out of place. Too big to fit comfortably into smaller rooms with the others. Too big to comfortably fly Black. His sense of belonging had taken a hit, and he felt self-conscious whenever he had to be around his teammates.
But now?
He feels content, listening to their tired breathing and feeling his doubts begin to melt away.
Stuck at this height or not, he belongs with them and is a critical part of the team.
Shiro finally closes his eyes and silently relishes in the warmth of the others’ body heat as he slips into a much-needed slumber.
