It's been a week since Allura's father came and made his grandiose scene. Sometimes, if Shiro came in early enough, he'd see her dancing on the ice. Her face never showed the energy that her movements did. She may have had a smile on her face, but there was a pain behind it. Shiro wanted to talk to her, but her father was always there, giving him a look that could kill. However, one day, while Shiro took over Pidge's stocking shift so she could go see her brother in the hospital, Allura came in, wiping away what looked like tears.
Shiro watched her from afar as she sat and stared at the near-blinding ice. She had ear buds placed in her slightly elfish ears so she couldn't hear Shiro coming down the steps to sit behind her. "Hey." Shiro says, placing his right hand on her shoulder. Allura jumps and grips his wrist in a death lock. "Whoa now. I'm not gonna hurt you." Shiro says with a laugh. Allura blushes and let's go of Shiro's robotic limb. "I'm sorry. Are you practicing today?" She asks, trying in vain to wipe away the tear stains on her face. "No, are you?" Shiro asks back. "No." Her voice is breathy and sad. "I didn't make it." She says under her breath. "What?" Shiro asks. "The Olympics." She briefly looks up at him. "I didn't qualify. I kept falling on my jumps and I was really stiff and.... My father yelled at me afterwards. Out of ten people I got sixth place. He basically called me a disgrace to his legacy. It was awful, Shiro." She looks at the ice with sad eyes. "I just want to skate. No medal needed. I just want to love the sport, like my mother did. And as you do. I'd love to have a team to spend time with, who like me for me, and not for the medal around my neck."
Shiro sighs. "Alright, I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere." He stands and jogs the the overhead booth, where the announce game scores during hockey games. He grabs a large boom box and places it on the wall surrounding the ice. Allura looks at him questioningly, he just smiles and walks over to her. "What's all this for?" Allura asks, watching as Shiro puts on his skates. "You said you wanted to just skate, right? Not thinking of winning a medal?" She nods. "Then, get your skates on." She giggles at him. "You're going to figure skate with me?" Shiro shrugs. "I play hockey, how different could the two be?" Allura giggles, slipping on the white skates, and takes Shiro's hand.
Shiro helps her onto the ice and pushes play on the boom box. A piano cover of 'Treat a You Better' by Shawn Mendes fills the room. They start off simple. Skating in circles, around the outer edge of the rink, then cross foot, then the beat picks up and Allura starts to do spins. "Can you jump on the ice?" Allura asks. Shiro smiles. "Maybe. One can always try." She gestures for him to try and he rubs his hands together before breaking into a sprinting skate. He leaps, spins, and lands, his left leg in a 90 degree angle with his right, a confident smile on his face. Allura huffs. "Lucky chance." She mummers. Shiro laughs and reaches his hand for her to have. "Dance with me?" He asks. She takes his hand tentatively. "Follow my lead?" He asks down at her, she only nods. "Good." He pulls her closer and they glide across the ice like they're waltzing. He spins her around a few times. Shiro slowly starts to appreciate all those ballet and skating lessons his mother put him through, just to see Allura smile a giggle they way she was. "Can you lift me?" Allura asks.
"One can always try." Shiro says. He and Allura start to gain momentum, they do small jumps and then Allura gives him a nod. He nods back, positions his legs properly, grabs Allura by the waist and hoists her up above his head. She pulls her hair out of its bun and lets it flow around in the fake wind Shiro's momentum was creating. As the song came to a close Shiro set Allura back down on the ice and they were both grinning like idiots. "Feel better?" Shiro asks. Allura doesn't answer with words. She, instead, flings her arms around him as tight as she can. When she lets him go she looks as if she's going to cry again. "Thank you Shiro, that was the most fun I've had on the ice in a long time." Shiro wiped a stray tear off her cheek. "Any time. Remember that, alright?" She nods. They stay there, just looking at eachother for a while until Shiro starts to bend closer to her. They're inches apart when the doors open abruptly.
"Allura!" Coran's voice was panicked and frantic. "Oh, hello Coran." The two step away from each other and Allura gives a small wave. "You're father and I have been looking everywhere for you!" Coran says, running down to them. "We need to prep you for the British Singles competition." Shiro arches an eyebrow. "British competition?" He looks at Allura in confusion. "We're from a town called Altea. It's about about outside of London." Allura explains. "We came to america for the qualifications, but since I didn't make it, we're going to go back and I'll compete in just the British deviation." Allura casts her eyes down. Shiro furrows his eyebrows. "Is there anyway you could stay?" He asks, an idea blooming in his head. "Only if I had a partner, but who knows how long that would take. Male skaters are harder to find than you'd think." Shiro takes her hand and looks her in the eyes. "You've got me. And if you want to stay, I'll help you stay."
"What are you talking about?" Allura asks. "Coran, when is the couples competition?" Shiro asks, ignoring Allura's question. "Um, in about four weeks, give-or-take. Counting is more of an art than a science in my book." Coran says, counting on his fingers. "Perfect." Shiro looks at Allura with a bright smile on his face. "If you'll have me, I'd like to be your partner and if you would, I'd like you on my hockey team." A blush creeps onto Allura's face as she nodded. Shiro smiled brightly at her. "Don't worry about a thing." He gives her hand a squeeze before letting it go. "The team meets tomorrow at one. Don't be late." Shiro smiles and exits the rink.