Summery: Shiro figured out his mark… it just turned out to be too late.

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The door swished open and Allura steps through into a room left untouched for far too long. The lights flick on, banishing the darkness which once shrouded it. But it did nothing to doing nothing to expel the lifeless stillness haunting the room or utter loneliness eating her up inside.

Allura hugs her arms around her, fingers gripping into the smooth fabric of her long sleeves.

The feel of the familiar fabric does not sooth her. Neither can her own body heat banish the coldness in her bones.

Taking a deep breath, Allura takes a step further into the room, before hesitating. It feels wrong invading upon personal space without asking permission. But there is nothing she can do about that. The entire reason she feels the need to cross into this room is because the one who once resided in here is gone.

Oh ancients Shiro is really gone. Standing in his room, seeing how lifeless it is just hammers the reminder that he is really missing. Words repeat in her mind like the reverberations of the traditional departed tolling, sounding outs its cries of mourning. Gone, gone, gone, gone.

Before it had not seemed so hopeless. Before Allura had felt in her heart that Shiro would return to them (to her). But now that the Black Lion had chosen Keith as his next Paladin, Allura wasn't so sure. The doubt filled her soul and plagued her mind. What if Shiro was gone just like all of her people, her friends, her father.

Allura sat upon Shiro's bed, covers perfectly smooth and tucked neatly in, as pristine and militarily kept as the rest of the room. Somehow the order only made her feel worse. In all honesty it looked like an empty spare room. Perfectly neet and bereft of anything personal.

Allura hates it. She had come here in the hopes it would make her feel closer to Shiro, to keep her dwindling spark of hope alive that he wasn't gone for good.

But this empty room seemed only to snuff that flame out faster.

She… she liked him, didn't she. Yes, she did. Shiro who had been so supportive and kind, who she found herself relying desperately on in their first meeting. There were times where Shiro reminded her of her father. His strength, his honour, his warm smile and kind eyes which he graced his paladins and even her and Coran with. How sometimes he looked so proud, so fond of all of them. There were even times where she thought he gave her a look, one special all to her own. But she could never be certain if they were real or of her own make believe.

She liked Shiro. She liked how he respected her, how he listened and deferred to her opinion. She liked how he made her feel safe and protected with his strong presence and that determined and dangerous glint he would get in his eyes whenever any of them were in harm's way. She liked the gentle and soft way he sometimes spoke to her, only to her and only in her moments of greatest weakness.

That first night after waking up to discover her entire people, all her friends, and her beloved family were gone had been truly one of the worst nights of her life. She had held herself together as best she could, forcing herself to focus on retrieving the Lions to start her quest of defeating the murderer who ordered genocide upon her species.

No matter what, she told herself she could not cry. Allura had been too afraid to weep, thinking that if she allowed herself to grieve she would be unable to stop. The hole in her soul was too large, too deep. If she allowed herself to feel sadness it would consume her whole.

She could not afford to break down, not now. Not when the murderer of her species and destroyer of all she held dear was still alive and poisoning the rest of the universe with pain and suffering.

So Allura had stayed up when all others had gone to sleep that first night. She kept herself busy checking the many different systems on her father's ship. If she kept working, kept herself busy, then she would not have time to even consider the aching pain inside of her chest.

But Shiro had found her and spoke to her. They both barely knew each other, only a day upon meeting. And yet somehow with his soft voice and kind eyes he broke down the fortress she had been building around her heart, pushed it aside as if it were mere mist. She cried that night, wept for her father and mother. Her childhood friends and loyal companions. For her people and for things that could never be again. Her body shook and her cords gave voice to the anguish inside of her. The whole while Shiro held her, held her and soothed her but never once tried to quiet or halt her tears. He held her when her own strength left her and she could no longer hold herself. He held her until her tears were spent and her voice hoarse. He held her until her eyes closed and she fell into slumber from exhaustion.

Crying had hurt. The grieving had been painful. But upon waking in the morning Allura felt stronger. She still hurt, the emptiness inside of her still ached and gnawed away at her. But the pain was lesser than it had been before.

That was not the last time Shiro had been there for her, had held her as she cried, had spoken in his gentle soft voice words that always, always broke away her walls and touched the core of her soul. He always seemed to know when her heart would ache the most and would find her silently wandering the halls with tears streaming down her cheeks after another terrible nightmare (terrible because of how closely it shadowed her most vicious memories).

First she began expecting him to find her during those bad nights. Then she began seeking him out. It was on one such occasion that she ended up awakening him from his own nightmares. It was then that Allura realised why his words always rung true. Why his embrace always comforted her.

Because he understood. Because he suffered too.

They talked that night, both revealing to each other their greatest pains. After that night there was an unspoken promise between each other that whenever one of them suffered they were to seek the other out.

Like now. She had awoken earlier from a nightmare. It was much like her others. The sky was burning, the castle shaking, Zarkons voice declaring their coming doom and demanding they give themselves over. Many of her people were already lost. Many of her friends gone. But this time when she looked to her side it was not her father who stood, giving commands to their fleet. It was Shiro, directing the other Paladins to fight. But he wasn't on the Castleship. He was in his Lion. And Zarkon was coming for him. Zarkon was going to kill him. He was going to die. She tried to call out his name. To warn Shiro what was going to happen. To not go near Zarkon. To run please run. But her voice did not work and she could not move. Zarkon was coming. Zarkon was here. He stood dark and horrible in front of Shiro. The Lion was gone. The other paladins were gone. It was just Shiro standing alone with her worst nightmare standing over him ready to strike.

The blow never came, Allura had woken up before it could fall. But it did not need to because before her eyes had snapped open Shiro had just- vanished. Nothing was left behind but Zarkon, hand still raised to attack. But now instead of coming down upon Shiro it had been going to come down upon her.

Allura had fought desperately to calm her rapidly beating heart after waking from that nightmare. Her body shook and she gulped desperately for air which chilled her burning skin and iced the inside of her lungs with each breath.

The princesses first response had been to go Shiro for comfort, hoping that like always he could soothe away her fears.

But then horrible reality came crashing down upon her mind, reminding her that her dream was much more real than she first thought.

He was gone.

Gone just like every other person she had ever loved.

And now standing in this empty room, seeing the lack of evidence of his existence, the horrible grief which had plagued her that first night returned. One moment her people were alive and fighting against their enemies. The next she opened her eyes and they were all gone as if they had never been there. One moment her friends had been supporting her, battling along with everyone else to protect each other. The next they were gone, without even a memory of their existence outside of her own. One moment her father had been standing beside her, giving her strength to continue protecting all she held dear. The next he was dead, his warmth she would never feel again.

And now Shiro was gone just like them. One moment he was alive and fighting their enemy. The next he was gone like a ghost, leaving behind no evidence of his being there. One moment he had been there to support her, battling alongside her to protect this new family they both had found. The next he was gone, only six people in the entire universe aware of his passing. One moment Shiro had been there for her, giving her strength and comfort so that she could continue to fight this battle knowing she was not alone. The next he was dea-

Biting her lip Allura shook her head vigorously, teardrops flung into the air and catching in her wild, uncombed hair.

No. He was not dead. He couldn't be. There was no body which meant he had to be somewhere out there.

But there were no bodies of her people. No semblance of their entire culture left. Where once there had been Alteans there was nothing.

Just like this room.

Suddenly crying wasn't enough for Allura. There had to be something left of Shiro in here. Something that proved he had been here, that he had lived here. Something of his person. Something of his culture. He would not be like her people, gone without a trace. Dead.

With a desperate sort of energy Allura threw herself upon the room by tearing away at his covers, ripping the mattress off the bed, yanking out the hidden drawers and in wall, tossing out generic spare clothes. But there was nothing. Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! There!

A small box was hidden in the back of the last drawer. Desperately Allura snatched it up and desperately opened it with her shaking fingers.

Papers. That was it. Scraps of papers. Allura was about to despair until she flipt one of the papers around and saw what was hidden on the underside.

Her eyes widened in shock. She lifted up another scrap of paper and looked at it. Then another, and another. They all were the same.

They all were drawn in blue ink, marked with pink in the center. They all said the same words. The same string of words were written on each paper. One some they took up the whole page. On others they were scrawled shyly on a corner, nearly hidden. And then some were filled with the words written over and over and over again until the whole page was taken up.

Allura didn't understand. She… she didn't understand. Why would he write these words? What did it mean? Was it a human thing.

She had to know. Shiro was gone. The only thing left behind were these words which he seemed to have obsessed over. This was important. She had to know.

Carefully gathering up each paper, Allura carefully placed them back in the box and then rushed out the door, clutching the box to her chest. But then she froze. It was late. Everyone had gone to their sleeping quarters ages ago. She would have to wait until the castles sleeping cycle was over.

But she couldn't. She already knew there would be no resting for her after this latest nightmare, especially since her source of comfort and support was gone. If she were to return to her room now she would only find herself being haunted by those blue words for the rest of the sleeping cycle.

No. She had to find answers now.

So instead Allura found herself wandering hopelessly through the halls just as she used to in those early days. Only this time, there was no Shiro to find her.

Step after measured step she took until the tapping of her soles on the floor and swishing of her skirt became a steady rhythm she could lose herself to. Unseeing she walked, never breaking from the beat of the silence or blinking out of the stillness of this eternal moment. The box's edges pressed uncomfortably into her chest yet she did not relent her grip. The writing on the papers hidden inside the box hovered before her mind's eye, haunting her thoughts despite how hard she tried to shut herself down into feeling, seeing, and thinking nothing.

"Allura? What are you doing up?"

Allura blinked, startled out of her trance to find that her feat had taken her to the bay where the Lions rested. Her gaze quickly caught sight of a sleep deprived and ragged looking Pidge sitting atop the Black Lions paw, body curled up and resting against a similarly ragged and especially moody Keith. Allura glanced about the room but saw no evidence of anyone else present. The two smallest humans of their group both had their heads tilted and were looking at her with the smallest glint of curiosity in their tired eyes, though Pidge was the only one to vocalise her inquisitiveness.

The princess's first thought upon seeing them was to pull herself together and go comfort them. They were obviously in pain just like her. While she had grown to like Shiro, she could not deny that these two had known him the longest. Especially Keith who Allura had been convinced was Shiro's younger brother until she discovered through a passing comment that both were actually only siblings.

Allura was a princess whose duty was always to her people- a responsibility she felt carried over to the Paladins. She needed her to show them she was strong and unbroken. As an Altean princess, Allura had been taught this all of her life. She was an example others followed and if she let herself cry in front of her people then how could they have confidence in her.

But she had cried in front of Shiro. To him she had laid her most raw and honest emotions. And he had still respected her. He still trusted her. He still believed her to be strong.

The same was for him. She had seen him utterly broken, weeping into her shoulder as he described to her memories that seemed more like nightmares. But she had still thought of him as strong. She still trusted him.

Looking at the two Paladins before her who she considered more like a second family than teammates, Allura felt that showing weakness in front of them would do nothing to dampen their respect and trust in her. Not just that, but judging by their own weary expressions and the glistening sheen on their cheeks they had probably been confiding in one another a moment who had no doubt been confiding in each other a moment ago. Yet Allura knew without a doubt that those two would continue to have confidence in each other despite having cried in front of each other.

Perhaps it was a human thing. To Allura it seemed that baring their weaknesses to each other only made their bond stronger. That is how it had happened for Allura and Shiro. She had let him see her pain, let him see her vulnerable. And yet he seemed to only respect her more for it.

Decision made, Allura stepped closer to the Pidge and Keith and let words from her broken spirit come forth, not even attempting to hide the pain in her voice.

"I… suppose much the same like you. Its… Shiro…. I miss him."

"Yeah…" Pidge, voice barely above a whisper, nodded. She rubbed at her red eyes, skewing the perch her large glasses had on her nose. Keith looked away from them both, though his shoulders hunched forward a little more and he leaned in closer to Pidge.

A moment passed in silence as they all reminisced in their shared sorrow, Allura hugging herself tightly. Then Keith patted the large paw he sat on and asked in a hoarse voice, "You wanna join us?"

Allura nodded. Pidge and Keith scooted to the side to allow her more room and after a moment she was sitting next to the two shortest Paladins, arms hugging her knees as she pressed her back against the cold metal of the Black Lion. Distantly she felt a comforting thrum from the Blue Lion. Every now and again Allura was reminded that she two was a Paladin now when Blue would reach out to comfort her or share an emotion with her. It didn't happen a lot, and only when she was close by to the Lion, like now.

For a while the three Paladins sat side by side, pressed against each other and finding solace in each others presences and silent fellowship. Allura found herself relaxing, eyes drifting shut as the warmth from her fellow Paladins provided comfort, when Pidge spoke up, voice echoing in the large hanger.

"What's the box?"

Allura blinked the haze from her mind and turned to see Pidge leaning forward, gaze locked on the box still clutched in Allura's arms. The princess lifted the box up staring at it in shock. How had she completely forgotten about it?

"Its… I found it in Shiro's room." She said as her fingers worked to try and lift the lid despite their nervous shaking. She pulled out one of the slips of paper and handed it to Keith and Pidge.

"They are all like that, the papers. I was actually wanting to ask you if its a human thing."

Pidge, sniffling a bit before speaking, asked "But… isn't that altean?"

"Well, yes." Allura nodded. "I know what it says. I just wondered what it means that Shiro wrote those over and over. Does doing so symbolise something? Or perhaps it is a human tradition?"

"Well… maybe Shiro was trying to learn Altean." Pidge guessed.

"I know what it is." Keith spoke, voice holding a sort of finality that caught both girls attention.

"What?" They both asked. There was something in Keith's expression that told Allura she had found something very important.

"I didn't know it was Altean… I wonder if he knew."

"Keith, just tell us." Pidge demanded, her sadness forgotten in this one moment because of her ever present curiosity.

"It's his soulmark."

The room fell into silence. Allura could feel Pidge and Keith looking into her eyes, but her gaze was trapped upon the words coloured in blue with a pink center. Her hand reached up toward her eyes. She felt them become damp even as her vision blurred.

"What does it say?" Pidge whispers, but Allura can tell by the tone of her voice that the girl already knows.

"That is why Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion."

Allura's voice breaks after that into bitter sobs. Because Shiro is her soulmate. Because he and her are meant for one another.

And because he is gone.

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Sorry this came so late. Hope you crie- I mean, enjoyed it!