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He had been with them for quite some time now.

And Shiro liked to think that he knew just about everyone on this ‘Castle.’ There was Keith, who smelled a little like him and who he helps with training from time to time. That one was the Black Paladin of whatever this ‘Voltron’ was. And, though he was a bit stand-offish, Shiro felt that he was good person.

He liked Keith.

Then there was Lance. Who had seemed a bit scared of him at first and smelled like salt and soap. But Shiro found that, with time, Lance eventually warmed up to him. Telling bad jokes all the while. Some would get a chuckle out of him and other would make him growl in annoyance. Nevertheless, Lance had an undying loyalty to him that Shiro admired.

He liked Lance.

Hunk was very interesting. Shiro never really saw all that much of him until he finally worked up the nerve to see him. Apparently interested in his prosthetic as well. Shiro found him very kind and likable. Always smelling of something fairly sweet and soothing.

He liked Hunk.

The ‘Princess’ and Coran were just as interesting, if not a bit intimidating. The Princess Allura, Shiro noticed, would keep a good distance between them. She smelled like the mice she kept around her and an exotic sort of perfume. Even after the rest of the ‘crew’ warmed up to him, but Shiro didn’t take it so personally. Coran was fairly funny, without meaning to be. Smelling like old liquor and dust. But Shiro knew the two of them meant well. He liked the two of them.

But then there was the small one.

The small, spirited female that had caught his eye during that fight. She had seemed so out of place then. Small and young and in the midst of a war. How could he not try to shield her? But, to his surprise and secret joy, she had taken pity on him and saved him. Later, Shiro had finally learned what her name was. Pidge.

He really, really liked Pidge.

She seemed the most comfortable with him. She was the first one to look him in the face and smile. She had a nice smile. Shiro liked that smile. Just the sound of her footsteps would make his tail thump against the floor, much to Shiro’s inner torment. But she seemed to like having him around, and though it was hard for him to speak after spending so much time as a prisoner, they managed to have a few interesting conversations.

She wasn’t offput by him in the slightest.

Which shouldn’t have given so much hope, but it did. Whenever Pidge would come back from a particularly grueling mission, she had no palms about him carrying her. Or holding her close. And every time Shiro told himself that it would be the last time he’d ever allow the small female near him.

But he couldn’t resist.

She was so tiny. Shiro could fit a single hand around her waist! How dead she had become to him! But, despite her kindness toward him, Shiro knew one thing.

She’d never care for him.

At least, not in the same way. Shiro’s feeling for the Green Paladin were of a redder, more passionate nature. And, being that the Galra had livelong mates and ‘humans’ didn’t have an exact equivalent, Shiro was often left at an impasse. The very female he longs to make his mate right at his fingertips.

But never close enough.

Galra!Shiro - shidge prompt

Thank you @demoniclions for the idea ;)

Coran cocked his head at the somber alien behind the glass containment and fiddled with his mustache. He had to admit, even despite their prisoner’s stocky build, he did seem relatively harmless. Still, he was Galra and a stranger. There was too much at stake to risk trusting him right away, even if he did help the Paladins of Voltron.

The elder Altean caught Allura’s reflection and turned to face her.

“I know you said you’d explain later, but I think this counts as later. Why exactly did you bring a Galra onto the ship?”

“He was one of the prisoners we freed. And he used himself as a shield to protect Pidge during our escape,” Allura said.

Coran’s gaze shifted to the bandage wrapped around the Galra’s left forearm. That would explain the wound, he supposed.

“And?” There had to be more to it than that. “Why bring him on board?”

Keith piped up then.

“He had nowhere else to go, so we’re letting him stay with us… for now”

“From one prison to another. Poor fella.”

The Galra kept his bright yellow eyes trained on the ground.

“Doesn’t talk much, does he?”

Allura shook her head. “I think he may have lost his memory. It would make sense considering the experiments that were being performed on them.”

Their eyes fell on his right arm, mechanical, nearly all the way up to his shoulder.  

“He can use that arm as an energy weapon, though it seems he doesn’t have much control over it.”

“Does he have a name?” asked Coran and the other two shrugged.

“Not that we know of,” Allura said.

Coran took a step closer to the thick glass and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, sir, Galra, sorry to bother you, but what should we call you?”

The Galra ventured a glance up at his rescuers, but after a few moments of waiting said nothing.

“Maybe he’s just shy.”

“Or he can’t speak,” Keith suggested. “But we can’t keep him in there forever. We need to figure out what we’re going to do with him, and soon.”

“Well whatever we do, we’ll decide as a team,” said Allura pointedly, her eyes practically searing holes in the side of the Black Paladin’s head. He pretended not to notice and quietly agreed.

–

Pidge dismissed herself from the dinner table early, claiming to want to work on her latest project. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. It just wasn’t the kind of project they thought.

“Can I bring it to him?” Pidge asked Hunk in the middle of pouring an extra bowl of space goo.

He paused briefly, the question catching him a bit off guard. “Uh, sure,” he agreed easily.

“Yes! Thank you!” she said like it was a song and took over goop pouring duty.

“Why?”

“I wanna thank him for covering me during the rescue mission. I feel kinda bad he hurt his arm for me like that.”

Hunk smirked.

“In other words, you want to ask him about his prosthetic, right?”

Pidge looked away.

“Maybe.”

“And I’m guessing you don’t want the boss man to know, huh?”

“I’d rather he didn’t,” she admitted, “Think you can cover for me?” Pidge flashed him her prettiest smile and fluttered her long lashes.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Hunk laughed and waved her away. “Just make it quick.”

“I owe you one!” she whispered and snuck away from the kitchen with two bowls of goo tucked under an arm.

–

Truthfully, she did want to pick their new guest’s brain regarding the unusual technology attached to his shoulder, but she knew she probably wouldn’t get far just from asking. He hadn’t said so much as a word to them, only responded to their questions with nods and facial expressions.

She’d have to get Keith to let her inspect the arm once they decided to let him go. And only if she had the Galra’s permission of course.

Pidge pressed a button beside the alien’s cell and slipped one of the bowls into the slot that opened up.

His pointed ears perked. He’d dozed off. His shoulders stiffened as he looked up and Pidge waved.

She pressed the button again to close it and sat on the floor with her legs crossed.

She watched him eagerly as he stared at the bowl.

“Don’t worry, it’s not poison,” she assured him, “See?”

She took a bite of her own food and made a point of swallowing it.

“I’m eating the same thing.”

Cautiously, one of his big clawed hand picked it up and he sniffed it. She watched his nose twitch and noted the deep scar that ran across it. She wanted to ask him about that, too, but knew now wasn’t the time.

“So, I just wanted to thank you for protecting me earlier. You didn’t have to do that.”

She took another bite and watched him poke the goo with very tip of his tongue.

She held back a chuckle and just smiled. He really wasn’t that scary. He was kind of cute, in a way.

“How’s your arm doing? Does it still hurt?” she asked and his yellow eyes met her brown ones. He finally took a bite and shook his head.

“No? It doesn’t hurt?”

He nodded. She wasn’t really sure she believed him, but didn’t press it.

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m not really supposed to be down here talking to you, but I wanted to at least thank you properly.”

He stopped eating to look at her again. He gave her a soft nod, his eyes seeming to want to reveal something, even without pupils.

“I’m sorry you have to be in this cell. It should only be temporary. Just until we know for sure you’re not a spy or anything.”

The fact that the Empire’s soldiers were shooting at him too and he’d risked himself to protect her should’ve been proof enough he wasn’t on Zarkon’s side, but the team, and Keith especially wanted to be certain this wasn’t some kind of trick.

“Anyway,” she downed the rest of her goo and started to get up, “I should get going before someone finds me talking to you.”

The Galra watched the smallest Paladin press the button by his cell again and stack his empty bowl on top of hers.

“Do you need anything?”

He shook his head.

“Okay, well, thank you… again!” she said then turned on her heel.

“Sh…Shiro.”

The rough voice stopped her in her tracks and she whirled back around. She stared at him like she’d seen a ghost.

He pointed at himself and repeated the word.

“Shiro.”

Pidge blinked.

“Shiro?”

They hadn’t come across that word in their study of Galran vocabulary before.

He said it again, a little more urgently.

“Wait a minute…”

“Is that… is that your name?” she guessed.

The faintest smile touched his lips as he nodded, and Pidge tried to hide any reaction. It made him look oddly… handsome…

“Shiro…” she said, testing the word out for herself. It had a nice ring to it. “Nice to meet you, Shiro. I’ll try to come talk to you again soon, if you want, I mean, if that’s okay?”

His smile widened just enough to reveal the very tips of his fangs.

“Okay! Bye Shiro,” Pidge whispered and left the room wearing the beginnings of a blush on her face.