Voltron Legendary Defender (Spy AU) - martinis, girls & guns [7] [Sheith + Allurance]

[scriveyner]

Title: martinis, girls & guns [7]
Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender
AU: Spyfic
Characters/Pairing: Shiro, Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Allura
Rating: M
Length: 2008
Summary: Keith was not aware that he was tapping his foot until Shiro leaned in, resting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Breathe," Shiro murmured directly into his ear, and Keith shivered and glanced over at him.

Keith was not aware that he was tapping his foot until Shiro leaned in, resting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Breathe," Shiro murmured directly into his ear, and Keith shivered and glanced over at Shiro. He wasn't unaware of the effect that had on Keith, and Shiro gave him a small, tight smile. The train station was busy around them, and they could easily be observed and overheard by those who wished them ill, so Keith had to choose his words carefully.

"I don't like the way that we split up," he said finally. "I don't trust them not to bolt. We should have each gone with one."

"Trust Allura's instincts," Shiro said softly. "She knows what she's doing."

She's the only one, Keith thought but didn't say aloud.

They'd split into three groups of two – while in tourist country groups of six were not uncommon, groups of two flew almost completely under the radar. They would all be on the same overnight train, at least. Keith wouldn't speak his worry aloud, but he didn't like leaving Allura alone with any one of those Garrison brats. His foot started tapping again, arms folded, and he heard Shiro chuckle lightly. "What are you in such a good mood about?" Keith snapped, and Shiro snaked his left arm over Keith's shoulders and pulled him close.

"We're supposed to be on vacation together," he said in that same soft tone, his face turned in toward Keith's to avoid lip-readers reading surveillance cameras. "Why don't you act like it, hm?"

Keith narrowed his eyes at Shiro and Shiro laughed again, touched Keith's jaw with two fingers from his right hand. "Honeymooners?" Shiro suggested, and Keith couldn't keep the scowl going. He sighed and acquiesced, allowing Shiro to tilt his face so they could exchange a brief kiss.

"You're lucky I like you," he said lightly when Shiro's lips left his.

"Mm, lucky me," Shiro said, and didn't lift his arm from across Keith's shoulders.

They were dressed as vacationing tourists to help deflect additional attention, although Shiro was wearing a long-sleeved button-up and trousers and in this heat that would draw attention in and of itself. He hadn't dyed his hair back to black, either, and the white streak was clearly identifiable. Keith had given up on bothering him about it, and Allura didn't seem to notice or care how memorable it made Shiro. At least, for the most part, he had taken to wearing hats. "You're a lousy spy," Keith said, and Shiro's grin didn't flicker a bit. "Public displays are a nuisance."

"Public displays make people uncomfortable," Shiro said dutifully. "They're going to avoid looking more than actually look. It's almost a better disguise." He rocked back and forth a little on his heels, his arm heavy and comfortable. "They won't bolt."

Keith sighed. "I don't trust them." He touched his fingers to his lips, to the casual observer it would be in reference to the kiss they had just shared. "The big one knocked me the fuck out. They were gonna torture me, Takashi."

"Would you have done any differently?" Shiro asked quietly.

"Yes."

"In your Garrison days?"

Keith opened his mouth, then shut it quickly and looked away from Shiro, aiming his glare down the platform. The train wasn't available for boarding yet, and the crowds were accumulating rapidly. "We shouldn't talk about this here," he said finally. "Not in the open."

Shiro inclined his head, acknowledging Keith's concern. He didn't remove his hand from Keith's shoulders, though, and they stood in silence and watched the crowd.

#

If Hunk had not been witness to Pidge's transformations prior to this mission, he would not have recognized the woman that stepped delicately out of the taxi. She was slim and tanned, with beach-blonde hair pulled back into a tight, high ponytail and fashionable sunglasses sitting atop her head. A thin, spaghetti-strapped tank that barely covered her stomach and very, very short shorts paired with high-heeled strappy sandals and a small bag on her shoulder made her stand out, but only to him. Hunk had a heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder containing every bit of tech that Pidge would require, as well as a regular change of clothes for when she would undoubtedly need it.

She stood on the sidewalk of the train station for a moment, scanning around before her gaze settled on Hunk. It had been Lance's idea to arrive separately, to stagger their arrivals to the station just in case everyone's cover had been blown and not just Allura's team; and Hunk had to agree it was a good idea. However, he had clear forgotten that Pidge would actually show up wearing something appropriate for the area and not just wearing her favorite oversized shirt and shorts.

"Don't say it," Pidge said, dropping the sunglasses onto her nose and at least presenting a slightly familiar profile. "I don't want to hear it."

"I'm not Lance," Hunk said mildly, but didn't say anything else, shifting the duffel bag to his other shoulder and holding the door to the station open. Pidge did not trip on her spiked heels once.

They passed Keith and Shiro inside; they were standing together in line at a coffee kiosk. Hunk noted with some amusement Shiro's double-take. "I hate this," Pidge said, her tone light and the complete opposite of her words. "I wish I'd packed a suit instead."

"A suit would attract the opposite amount of attention," Hunk said. It was true, most of the people in the train's terminal were dressed casually. There was a small subset that were clad in business attire; most were attending clearly wealthy patrons. "You could have gone as Allura's bodyguard instead of Lance," Hunk said thoughtfully.

"Don't remind me," Pidge said with a distracted sigh. She shifted the small purse she wore on her shoulder and drew her eyebrows together, looking down at it like she couldn't quite remember its purpose. "I was sincerely hoping for some alone time with at least one of our new friends to see what I could find out." She tilted her head and the long ponytail brushed between her shoulder blades, wagging a bit like a tail, before she glanced over her shoulder and above the frames of her sunglasses. "Not that your company is unwelcome, Hunk."

"At least you didn't get stuck with Lance," Hunk said.

"I would have fed him his own ballsack before the train left the station," Pidge said in that same pleasant, upbeat, cheery tone. Hunk snorted in amusement and nodded his head, moving forward to hold open the next set of doors that led to the train's platform.

#

"We're being watched," Lance said. He was looking down the length of the train, from where they were positioned near the front. When he asked about earpieces to relay information between the three teams Keith had looked to Shiro with an eyebrow raised and made Shiro explain with a large sigh that they didn't use earpieces. "Well, that's stupid," Lance had said, and that was that. With nearly all of their Garrison gear left behind, that meant they would have to make do with whatever crap that Allura's group had scrounged together in the abandoned warehouse. Which, as it turned out, was not much.

"I am well aware of that fact, thank you," Allura said. She was standing beside Lance, dressed in high quality clothes clearly made for travel. She had maintained with trousers and a blouse, but had covered her hair a bit with a gauzy, thin scarf and complimented the ensemble with sunglasses. It made her look a bit like a starlet on the move, and that was bringing with it the sort of attention that Lance wasn't comfortable with. Granted, people weren't looking at him, but Allura being noticeable and noticed still set his teeth on edge. She fiddled with a bracelet she wore, silver with some teal inlay, and frowned. "The train should be boarding any moment now, the delay unsettling."

"Yeah," Lance said. "Unsettling." He kept his hands out of his pockets and at his side. Allura had taken him shopping before they left, put him in a tailored suit and loafers and dark sunglasses. Bodyguard. He'd been waved around the metal detectors without having to unholster, and that was a first. He'd looked to Allura, but she was carrying on with a bored and disinterested expression he'd seen many times before on the faces of the elite. When you're rich the same rules don't apply to you. "I still don't see why if you can whip out that card and buy fancy threads you can't shell out a few dollars to properly equip the people you've hired – which, by the way, we've not discussed salary yet."

"We will." Allura turned slightly away, and Lance's eyes drifted down the curve of her figure before he spotted the cluster of men in suits farther down the platform. She moved a little, and Lance followed the motion, smoothly switching places with her, effortlessly shielding her from their gaze. "GALRA?" he murmured, and she inclined her head but did not nod.

"If not, trouble either way," she said.

"I expect to be fairly compensated," Lance said, picking up the thread of his conversation up as naturally as if there had been no interruption. "If I'm whoring myself out as a mercenary you better be breaking out the big bucks, lady." He didn't take his eyes from the men despite not quite facing them, thankful for the open-air platform making sunglasses not suspect but the norm. Four of them, big men, thick with muscle barely constrained by ill-tailored suits. They were too far away to check for weapons, but anyone looking like that much trouble was definitely carrying.

"All the riches you desire," Allura murmured, a tight smile on her face. "We'll discuss compensation at a later time."

She fiddled with the bracelet again, the only outward appearance of anxiety she was displaying. Lance leaned back just a little, hands still held loose at his sides. They had started boarding the train now, tickets being held out or phones being scanned. He touched Allura's elbow, getting her attention that way and letting her lead them both forward, to the line forming for entrance to the first train carriage. The unusual boarding procedure kept Lance on edge enough that he didn't notice the direction that the four large men in their ill-fighting suits had slipped off, and by the time he'd realized they'd gone he and Allura were almost aboard the train. He didn't say anything to Allura, and held out both their tickets to the man scanning them, following her aboard the carriage.

They were still being watched.

Into the train proper, and settled – Lance held the door to the small compartment open, allowed Allura in first and then as he secured the door behind them she cleared the space. Her ticket had bought them a private compartment; split in half it had a bench seat across one side and a plush bed across from it. Lance's eyebrow lifted automatically at the accommodations as Allura held the door open to the shared space between the private compartments, where a small lavatory and sink split the room.

"All clear," Allura said, and locked the door to the lavatory.

"Is the entire train private compartments?" Lance asked, and Allura nodded her head.

"Semi-private, the smaller ones don't have proper beds or shared bathrooms," she said. "We've got a long journey ahead of us."

"Should have just flown," Lance seated himself on the bench beside the window. "Much faster. How long does it take for this thing to go through the mountains?"

"Fourteen hours until the last stop," Allura pulled the scarf from her hair and ran her fingers through it; working some of the knots loose, before tossing the scarf at Lance and grinning lazily. "We'll be getting off well before that."

Lance's eyebrow went up again.