Hot/Cold prompt from sleapyGazelle

Set in my Princess/bodyguard AU right after the fight where Shiro got his scar.

He woke up from the deep to lights. The ceiling was high, harsh, and far away; it was too white, too clean, too everything to be real. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep. It came too quickly and he awoke just as quickly, with a gasp that echoed in the large chamber. He felt eyes on him but he was alone in the openness.

It'd been years since he'd been alone, stripped of his armor and his bayard. He knew he should feel lighter because of this. Instead, Shiro only felt heavy, weary, as he scanned the room again, just to be sure he hadn't missed some sign of danger the first time around, and then sat up. His face didn't feel right and he reached over, dragging his left hand, the human hand, across to feel the bandage, following it like it would lead to answers as to why he wasn't where he was supposed to be; his fingers trailed it across his face, over the bridge of his nose, and suddenly, he remembered with a jolt why he was here in this bed.

Zarkon. Sendak. The fight for the glory of Altea. The fight to save Alfor's honor. The fight to protect Allura.

He leaned forward, head in his hands, heart suddenly beating hard against his chest as he realized what the bandages meant. He had won. But as the doors to the chamber opened and Shiro looked up to see familiar purple eyes, he wondered at what cost if he had to endure the look the Princess was giving him right now.

She paused at the door and Shiro was glad that she did before she made her way over to him; it gave him time to school his face, to pretend not to feel the tightening of healing skin around his nose, to put on a look befitting of the Champion he was. The Princess stopped beside him, regal, noble, still as beautiful and breathtaking as when he first met her all those years ago. But something had changed since that time and Shiro knew that it wasn't just him who sensed the difference.

After all, he's the one who came back from the outer rim with something that wasn't his to have in the first place.

There was a beat, two, where the Princess stood vigil beside him before taking a seat in the chair next to the bed. In the silence, Shiro looked over at his companion and for a brief second, saw the young girl who had once handed him flower crowns with glee. The memories tugged a smile on his face and Allura must have thought the same, felt the same pitiful petals in her hands for she reached across and took his hand. The Galra one. That one that separated him from the rest.

Shiro tilted his head back, closing his eyes, trying to stop the onslaught of tremors riding up his arm at her touch, when Allura's hands moved from skin to scarring and back again, feeling him shudder at the process as her delicate fingers traced the same route he had just moments ago.

"It's not pretty, underneath," he said, somewhat choked, and she paused, pulling back far enough to properly see his face. The Princess's face was carefully blank but her eyes… her eyes spoke wonders and all of a sudden, the room was way too hot, way too cold, way too real for him to handle as his palms broke out in a sweat. Shiro couldn't quite focus on her familiar purple eyes and his own eyes darted from hers to somewhere distant, across the room. "I'm not whole. It's not… my skin isn't…" His brows knitted together and he breathed deeply, trying to steady himself. "I have damage."

An ache welled up in his chest and settled somewhere near his heart; he wondered if this was how he would die. Instead, he forced himself to look at the Princess who had said nothing since she called hoarsely to him to come back and he had taken her hand. The same hand he was holding now. It had been taut when she had touched his bandages but now, it was relaxed as it laid on the bed, fingers intertwined with his.

"It just makes you more unique," Allura murmurs and Shiro let out a breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding until now. He'd built for himself a life within the confines of the palace, a life forever bound to the royal family, a life of his choosing, of duty, of honor, but everything seemed to evaporate as Allura blinked those wide familiar purple eyes at him and her voice was something he had yearned for as long as he had lived.

Shiro closed his eyes, tightened his hold on the Princess, and was content.

- Hope you enjoy and read the other two princess/bodyguard AU stories!

- Reviews are much appreciated.

- Thanks for reading~