Lux stands next to Shiro's side, their fingers brushing only slightly just to remind each other that the other person was real. She glanced out the window to look at the twinkling stars she had dreamed about and now, they were just inches away from the glass. Her fingers lurched to reach out and grab them, 

She felt Shiro's cold prosthetic hand wrap around her fingers, their fingers intertwining, pulling her closer to his body. Her nose brushed his bicep as he glanced down at her.

Her lips curved in a smile and his smile was returned and he leaned down since they were in the corner of the pod, and his lips touched hers,  hers meeting his as he pulled her close, her hand pressed to his chest before his other hand slid down to her waist. She felt him hold his prosthetic hand behind his back after it left her grip.

She pulled away, exhaling. "I missed you," she murmured.

"I missed you too." He smiled. She ran her fingers through his hair and he leaned his head down, closing his eyes. "... Lillian."

Lux gave a sharp inhale before she broke out into laughter, Shiro's lips curving into a grin before he laughed, pinching his nose a little.

"Takashi." She said in the same tone, before he erupted into laughter.

. . .

When Lux and Shiro got back to the castle, they found themselves in the midst of the red, green, blue, and yellow lions, and holding each others' hands in between their bodies, hiding them as the doors opened to reveal the black lion. Lux could feel her breath hitch in her throat before she  saw Shiro take a step closer to the lion.

Their fingers slipped away as Allura gave a panicked cry for them to form Voltron or else they would die. With reserved hesitation, Shiro looked back at her for a second. "I promise I'll be back."

"You better make good on that promise." Lux told him, her jacket flapping in the wind before they ran off. She fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, closing her eyes and feeling the strange sun on her skin as she leaned against the ledge. She watched as the five lions took to the sky, only turning around when Coran cleared his throat.

"Come with me. You can communicate with them and listen." 

She followed him, seeing Jaz. "Jaz!" Lux gave a relived sigh, and threw her arms around the shorter girl, who made a startled noise before her arms went around the older girl's body. 

"Thank god, Lux. I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine," Lux playfully rolls her eyes. "But thanks." She then pivots on her heels to look at the white haired girl.

"Can you hear the boys?" Lux questioned as the girl stood up straighter, her eyes looking over Lux, mindful of her curls tumbling down her shoulders, the smooth brownness of her skin, and the way her thick lashes curled and almost obscured the color of her eyes. She also noted the slight highlight in her skin, as if her cheeks and the bow of her lip were glowing, looking at her hands that seemed to twinkle in the light when she moved so her skin embraced the light, her white leather jacket, her black shirt that shimmered with silver pieces weaved into the fabric, her indigo colored jeans and black boots on her feet, and the strange way her lips pressed together, her tongue pressed to her cheek.

"Uh, yes." Allura said once she was done assessing Lux. 

With that confirmed, Lux walks closer to the girl, wanting to hear Shiro's voice.

"Listen up, Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?" Shiro questions, and the corner of Lux's lips quirk into a cute smile. "I'm nodding, is everyone else nodding?"

After a mutual reply of yes, Shiro continues to speak.

"Let's do this!" Lance, unsure and confused, questions, "Uh, how?"

"Good question. Does anyone have any ideas of how to form Voltron?" 

Hunk hesitantly speaks, "I don't see a "combine into giant robot" button anywhere on my dashboard." At that, Jasmine snickers a little quietly.

From the window, Lux can see a weirdly shaped gun fire off a laser, rattling the castle.

"This is insane! Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?" Pidge demanded to know.

"We've got to do something," Keith commented.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful trying, Lux can even feel their desperation and anxiety rise along with her own. Jasmine tucks her hand into Lux's, giving it a squeeze to ease her nerves before they both attentively go back to watching.

Lux looks away from the glass to look at her boots, thinking about the one of her happier times she had with Shiro. A flash of his smile in his Garrison uniform as he twirls her around in her medic wear, music playing in their apartment, shoes being kicked in various directions, laughter filling the room as Shiro assures her that he wouldn't let her run into tables or other furniture. Or their moving boxes tucked against the walls.

"Easy, I got you!" Shiro laughs as he spun her around the island in the kitchen, moving to the empty living room, sleeping bags set on the floor with quilted blankets because their mattress had gotten lost by the moving company. The idea of sleeping in what would be their future living room was Shiro's idea; the quant two bedroom apartment would be a blend of both their time living in Japan and of course, America. The spare room was intended for Keith if he ever wanted to stay over or even move in if he didn't want to be alone.

"I know you do, but I seriously doubt that this our best idea!" Lux said in between a mixture of giggles, her black hair bouncing with their movements before Shiro stopped in the middle of the room, close to the door, holding her close to his warm body, their socks on the hardwood floor.

"Hey, trust me." Shiro told her, his thumb stroking her cheek. "You're having fun, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Then that's what matters!" Shiro grinned, kissing the top of her nose, causing her to tilt her head more to look at him as he rested his forehead on hers as the song changed, causing him to begin swaying slowly with her. "Is this better?"

"It's perfect." Lux smiled, leaning up on her tiptoes to press her lips gently to Shiro's, and he melted into her, his other hand moving from the middle of her back down to her waist, his other hand cupping her cheek to hold her face close to his.

"-I'm a leg!" Hunk exclaims, causing Lux to break out of her thoughts, jumping sightly in place from the sudden noise. "How are we doing this?"

"I don't know, but let's get that cannon!" Shiro yelled determinedly, and she watches as the newly formed mecha goes after the cannon, tearing into it and destroying it with ease. Her eyes brighten as the boys work, cheering as the ship proceeds to explode.

"Good work, paladins!" Allura cheers. Allura runs from her spot towards the now opened bay doors, and Lux follows, pulling Jaz along.

"We did it." Shiro smiles in relief, his eyes looking over the team before they settle over Lux, his gaze softening."Heck yeah, we did." Keith smiles.

"How did we do it? I was just, like, screaming the whole time." Hunk admitted sheepishly, flushing. "Maybe that did it."

Lux walks closer and sees the look in Pidge's eyes as the sky becomes clear again, and Shiro rubs his shoulder. "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

Allura breaks the mood by stating, "We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."

Coran replies joyfully, "Good thing you paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

"Wait, what? We barely survived forming Voltron this one time." Hunk commented.

"And you only had to fight one ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe." Coran finishes, a smirk on his face, hidden slightly by his mustache.

"Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it." Shiro remarks, a smile on his lips as he looks at Lux.

"You aren't kidding," Lux commented quietly, her dimples on display as she looked at the Black Paladin, feeling eyes on her. She turned to see Coran, who was staring intensely at her.

"Speaking of rarities, I thought all Celistans were dead."

"What's a Celistan?" Pidge questions curiously, taking off his glasses, rubbing them clean before pushing them on the bridge of his nose.

"A unique species. Made of star plasma and ice particles, rumor has it! They're brilliant when it comes to making weapons and they were an ally to Voltron and the Alteans. Nice to see one in the flesh! It's amazing to see how well you hold your form. They have several colonies, but their main planet, Astraea, is absolutely beautiful." He told Lux, who curled her nose up in confusion.

"What are you talking about? Lux is from Earth, like us." Lance comments, lazily laying his arm around Jasmine.

"Are you sure?" Coran questions. "Look at her! It's quite obvious. The slightly pointed ears, the way her skin twinkles in the light... that's not human!"

"It's called makeup, dude."

Amusedly, Allura looks at Coran. "Well, let's see if this is just... your makeup as you say."

"Can... We do that tomorrow?" Jaz questions. "I'm exhausted."

"Yes, sure." Allura nods. "I can show you the rooms then."