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nobodys-pearls · 6 years

Text

i hate space but oh how i love the starlight in your eyes

Ship: Adam/Shiro

Summary: The story of how Adam and Shiro first met, how they fell in love, and how they pretty much adopted Keith - all told from Adam’s point of view.

I began writing this fic this shortly after watching season 7 because if they couldn’t give us their story, then I was going to write one, and it was going to be full of fluff.

Read on [AO3]

Chapter: 3/10

Age Seventeen

This time around Adam was less excited to return to the Garrison after spending some time home with his family for the summer. He found himself not wanting to leave. He and his sister would catch fireflies together, he would help his mom cook in the kitchen, and his father loved hearing about all of his classes and talking about his days in the army.

It was safe and warm and simple. And it came to an end too quickly.

It was just June who dropped him off this time. He knew that if his parents came too he would start to have second thoughts, so he hugged them goodbye before he left home.

June pulled into the driveway that led to the entrance of the Garrison facility, shutting off the engine and looking at her brother. They hadn’t talked much during the ride there. Adam was too preoccupied with thoughts of the Garrison, of this coming year. “It’s okay to be vulnerable, you know,” she said.

Adam turned to look at her in confusion. She had a soft smile on her face. Then he understood and quickly looked away. He hadn’t talked about his roommate as much this time around, and when she’d ask him about it he just said that they got into a fight and left it at that.

“You’re only seventeen, you’ve still got a lot about yourself that you’re going to figure out,” June began to explain. “And so does everyone else around you. The thing is, you don’t have to do it alone. People are meant to grow together.”

Adam adjusted his glasses and looked out the passenger window, finding himself unable to meet his sister’s gaze. “I’m going to miss you.”

June leaned over and ruffled his hair. Then she pulled him into a hug. “I’m going to miss you too. Say hello to the stars for me.”

Adam nodded his head and got out of the car, grabbing his bag from the trunk. He watched June drive away before he turned around to face the Garrison. Then he took a deep breath and headed for the entrance. He started to make his way towards his room, but he stopped halfway there. He wasn’t ready to see Shiro again, to see the distance between them growing even wider before his eyes. So instead he found his feet carrying him to the large window that they had discovered during their first year. Adam smiled to himself at the memory - it was the first time that they had really gotten along.

He entered the hall and walked up to the window, pressing his hand against the glass as he looked at the desert. The sun was high in the sky. He could see the waves of heat radiating off of the ground. The desert seemed to go on forever, complete emptiness. Then he remembered the cabin. Maybe it wasn’t completely empty.

He was determined to succeed this year. He was going to master the advanced flight courses, he was going to learn everything there was to know about this solar system, and he was going to do well in the partner training classes even if it killed him, and remembering all of the times he and Shiro had failed their simulation missions at the end of last year, that was a possibility.

Becasue if they kept failing, Iverson would do way worse than make them clean the cafeteria. Adam shuddered at the thought.

The past two years at the Garrison taught him to push himself, to be more than he was, and there was no going back from that. He needed to be more, he needed people to see him.

There was a legacy that he needed to protect.

He picked up his duffle bag and headed towards his room. Better to rip off the bandaid sooner rather than later. He stood in front of the door and clenched his fists. He could do this. He opened the door and saw him sitting at the counter.

“Hey Shir - oh,” Adam said, realizing that it wasn’t Shiro, but one of his fellow cadets - Raj Hingorani. Raj turned to face him and smiled awkwardly. “Am I in the wrong room -?” Adam asked, beginning to make his way back to the door.

“No, actually,” Raj said, standing up. He tugged on his uniform sleeves nervously. “I’m your new roommate.”

“Oh,” Adam said, putting down his bag. Then he began to worry. “Is Shiro okay? What -”

“Iverson made some reassignments,” Raj explained. “He thought that some of the flight partners would do better in their classes if they had some space. Distance makes the heart grow fonder - he - he didn’t say that, that would be out of character, but I -”

“Was everyone assigned different rooms?” Adam asked. Raj laughed uncomfortably and Adam knew the answer. Iverson had just separated him and Shiro. Honestly, he couldn’t blame him, but that didn’t stop the disappointment that hung heavy in his chest. Not only was he and Shiro no longer friends, but they weren’t even roommates anymore. All the threads that had connected them were snapping one by one. He stowed the thought away and walked up to Raj. “Well, I’m looking forward to rooming with you. Do you want some tea?”

“I would love some, actually,” Raj said appreciatively. Adam smiled and pulled out the tea kettle, happy to see that it was still there. He began to fill it with water. This wouldn’t be too bad. He’d always gotten along with Raj, even though they didn’t talk all that much. Maybe they would become fast friends.

But he couldn’t imagine racing him through the desert, or throwing carrots at him, or sitting on the couch and making jokes about something Iverson had said during class. The kettle began to whine and Adam moved it off of the stove. It felt heavier than usual. This would be fine.

He didn’t see Shiro until class the next morning. He came into the room with Henry Anderson, Raj’s partner and Shiro’s new roommate. They were laughing about something, Henry’s hand on his shoulder, but Shiro stopped smiling when he saw Adam.

“Hey,” Shiro said uncomfortably, nodding his way. Adam nodded back and Shiro walked past him, joining the line.

Iverson came into the room shortly after and stood in front of them all, his hands clasped behind his back. “I hope that you all had a nice vacation, because this year will be harder than the last two. Mistakes are not allowed. Questions are not allowed. Meaningless fights are not allowed.” Adam knew who that last line was directed at. “This is your last year of training before you will begin to be sent out on missions, and only the cadets that we deem competent enough will be sent on those missions. This is not the year to disappoint me.” Adam clenched his fists. He was going to do everything righ this year. He had to.

“Today you will be tested on how you can handle zero gravity,” Iverson continued. “This is also a partner assestment. It’s time to see how your teammwork has changed after two months apart. Anderson, Hingorani, you two are up first. The rest of you watch carefully.”

Raj and Henry stepped forward and followed Iverson to a large, clear chamber in the center of the room. Adam watched as they put on special helmets and goggles, and then they stepped inside of the chamber, looking around with interest.

“When I press this button,” Iverson said, holding a remote in his hand for them all the see. “Anderson and Hingorani will experience a enclosed, zero gravity environment. Their objective is to work together to find a way to reach that flag.” Adam looked at the opposite end of the chamber and saw an orange flag sticking up from the ground. That looked easy enough.

“They have sixty seconds,” Iverson said. He pressed a button and suddenly panels shot out at random throughout the chamber, some of them quickly moving in and out, others covered in spikes. Adam was beginning to reconsider his initial thought. Iverson looked back at Henry and Raj, who were waiting for his order. “Your time starts now.” Iverson pressed the button on his remote and a clock began to count down from sixty at the top of the chamber. Adam watched as the two cadets began to float in the air, Raj flailing his arms to try and get his bearings. Henry was hit by one of the panels and was propelled across the room in the opposite direction of the flag. He struggled to stop himself from spinning.

“This is impossible,” Adam said under his breath, watching as Raj and Henry tried to reach for one of the studier panels but couldn’t seem to get close enough. They both managed to get halfway to the flag before the time ran out.

Iverson shook his head and pressed that same button, and Raj and Henry fell to the ground. “It’s like this is your first year in the program,” he said disapprovingly. “Get back in line.”

Raj and Henry took off their helmets and left the chamber, hanging their heads in shame as they went to join the rest of the cadets.

“Park and Wilson, you two are next.” The two female cadets, April and Hannah, entered the chamber. They managed to get farther than Raj and Henry did, but they still ran out of time before they could grab the flag.

Iverson clenched his jaw. “I warned you all that mistakes would not be allowed this year. It seems like you have all failed to grasp the point of this exercise.” He turned to look at Shiro and Adam. “Wadley, Shirogane, if you two fail this as well, the whole class will be doing rudimentary formation exercises for the rest of the day.” Hannah groaned and then quickly shut her mouth when Iverson shot her a glare.

“We won’t fail, sir,” Shiro said. Adam could tell by the expressions on their fellow cadets' faces that they didn't have the same confidence in them, and he didn't blame them. Everybody knew that they were the worst at partner exercises.

Iverson nodded his head. “Now get in there.” Adam and Shiro walked over to the chamber.

“So what’s the plan?” Adam asked quietly, grabbing one of the helmets.

“I don’t have one.”

Adam stopped where he was, the helmet halfway to his head, but Shiro kept walking.

“What do you mean you don’t have one?” Adam whispered furiously, moving to catch up with him.

“I don’t have one, but I know that you will,” Shiro said simply.

“Oh, yeah, so put all of the blame on me when we fail,” Adam said, rolling his eyes as he stepped into the chamber.

“Adam, concentrate. This is your thing. You must have been thinking about it while we were watching,” Shiro said, putting on his helmet and stepping into the chamber as well.

“I thought that you wanted to be the best? Doesn’t seem very impressive if you can’t figure this out on your own, if you have to depend on someone like me,” Adam said. He was going to stop there, but he could feel something building in his chest. “You’ve always been more of the lone wolf type, haven’t you? Facing the world on your own, not trusting people with your problems.” He hated fighting with Shiro, but he couldn’t help himself. Everything about Shiro just made him so angry now.

He was a reminder of all his mistakes.

“That’s ironic coming from you,” Shiro shot back as they entered the chamber. Then he let out a frustrated sigh. “We don’t have time for this. We can't afford to keep failing these classes.” A moment later Adam felt himself beginning to float in the air. He heard the timer counting down. Iverson had started the test. Adam tried to move himself forward but just began to spin upside down instead. Shiro wasn’t doing much better.

Adam huffed in frustration and looked at the orange flag on the opposite side of the chamber, mocking him. He hated to admit it, but Shiro was right. They needed to do well this year. And he had thought of a solution when he was watching. He just didn’t realize it until now.

“Grab my hands,” Adam said. It sounded more like a challenge than a request. Shiro looked at him skeptically before reaching out his arms. Adam barely managed to hold on to him. They floated together like that for a moment, spinning slowly in the air. Shiro met Adam’s gaze and Adam couldn’t help but wonder what happened to them, wonder how he managed to mess up so badly. Then he looked back at the flag. He had to stay focused.

“This is a team exercise, so we’re meant to work together,” Adam said, grabbing hold of the nearest panel while still holding on to Shiro. That was the problem that the other teams had, each of them tried to get to the flag on their own. They lost sight of the point of the exercise, just like Iverson said. “I’m going to push you in the direction of that panel there,” Adam directed, nodding his head in the direction of the closest panel. That’s the first step.”

“Okay.” Still holding on to the first panel, Adam brought his knees to his chest and pushed Shiro away from him. He had to admit there was something satisfying about kicking Shiro in the chest. He watched as he was propelled to the next panel and held on.

“Now you have to grab me,” Adam said, pushing off of his panel and avoiding the panel nearby with spikes on it. He felt Shiro’s arm around his chest as he caught him. They were already more than halfway there, but they were running out of time. “Okay, here’s the tricky part. We’re going to push off as hard as possible, and then once we get as far as we can I’m going to push you the rest of the way there. That was the main problem that the other pairs rain into. The closer you got to the flag, the more dangerous and erratic the panels. They weren’t supposed to depend on them, but on their teammate.

“We won’t have enough time,” Shiro said, glancing at the clock. They had fifteen seconds.

“Don’t look at the clock. Look at me, okay? Patience yields focus.” Adam reminded him. Shiro looked at him once more, something hard to read in his eyes, and then he placed his feet on the panel, bending his legs.

“Ready to push?” he asked. Adam placed his feet on the panel as well and together they pushed themselves off of it, flying towards the flag. They were just out of reach. Adam could hear the clock counting down.

“Here goes nothing,” Adam said under his breath, letting go of Shiro and pushing him towards the flag. Adam floated in the opposite direction and watched as Shiro reached out for the flag, only a few inches away from it. Then his hand closed around the flag, and he pulled it off of the stick.

Adam heard a definitive beep. The timer ran out. He let out of whoop of victory and began to float upside down. Then he felt himself falling and landed on the ground, hard. Now he understood why they had helmets on.

“Ow,” Adam said, and when he opened his eyes he saw Shiro standing over him, holding out his hand. The flag was tucked into his belt. Adam smiled and took it, getting to his feet. They stood like that for a moment, and then Shiro let go of his hand looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

“That was a good idea,” Shiro said. Adam watched him, and then he realized something.

“You were thinking the same thing, weren’t you?” Adam asked, narrowing his eyes.

Shiro shrugged. “We were on the same page. That’s what Iverson wanted.” He headed out of the chamber, Adam taking off his helmet and following not too far behind.

“I can’t help but say that I’m surprised,” Iverson said, looking almost impressed. “It seems like the room reassignments were a good idea.” Adam looked at the ground. Part of him hated that Iverson was right. He and Shiro were just better off as teammates, nothing more. Today had proved that. “Looks like Shirogane and Wadley got you all out of flight formations, you’re all dismissed.”

Adam watched as Henry clapped a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, his smile wide as he thanked him. Shiro gave him a small smile in return.

“That was very impressive, Adam,” Raj said, moving to stand next to him. “You two worked together really well, which is more than Henry and I could say.”

Adam smiled politely. “If you didn’t have to go first I bet you could’ve figured it out. You’ve always been the best at puzzles.”

Raj furrowed his brow. “Maybe, but it looks like I might have some competition now. This might make us rivals.” Adam laughed and shook his head.

“You’ll have to get in line,” Adam said, looking at Shiro’s back. His smile dimmed.

As much as he enjoyed spending time with Raj, he needed to be alone. He walked up to his usual treadmill at the gym and typed in his settings, placing his towel on the handlebar. He went to choose his usual speed, but then he decided to go up a few levels. Maybe if he ran fast enough he could get rid of this weight on his chest. He began to run, looking at the wall in front of him that had the Garrison’s mission statement written on it in black, blocky lettering.

‘Pushing the limits of science...pushing the limits of humanity...exploring the unknown universe…’

Adam wanted to succeed in his classes, but what for? Did he really want to explore space? Or did he just want to prove that he was good enough? That he was worthy? Growing up his brother had declared the moon to be his, and his sister wanted the stars, but Adam? He was just happy to watch them both. He didn’t need anything. He had everything he wanted already.

Until he didn’t anymore, and then all space was was darkness and loss. He started to run faster. He wish he knew what he wanted. He couldn’t seem to get this thoughts sorted anymore. He heard footsteps somewhere behind him and then saw someone get on the treadmill next to him out of the corner of his eye. He decided to ignore it and keep running. He closed his eyes and tried to go through the new flight techniques Iverson had gave them in his head. Then he moved on to the chemical makeup of Mercury’s atmosphere. He could hear the treadmill next to him begin to move faster, faster than his own. He opened his eyes and saw Shiro running next to him, his head determinitely faced forward. Adam watched him for a moment, and before he realized what he was doing he increased the level on his own treadmill, beginning to run faster. Shiro didn’t look at him, but he increased the level on his as well. Adam huffed and increased his again.

“Not you two again!” a woman said from behind them. Adam turned to look at her in surprise and tripped, falling backwards. He landed hard on the floor. He laid on his back and looked at the ceiling, knowing that he was going to have a few bruises in the morning.

“Adam! Are you okay?” Shiro asked. Adam turned his head and saw that Shiro was kneeling over him, a concerned expression on his face. Adam gave him a thumbs up.

“Never been better. I think I’m going to go to the infirmary now,” he said, moving to sit up. He winced in pain as he did so. Correction, he was going to have a lot of bruises tomorrow. How could he be so stupid? He would’ve felt more embarrassed if he wasn’t aching all over.

“Here, let me help you up,” Shiro said, wrapping Adam’s arm around his shoulders and lifting him to his feet. Adam wanted to argue, to tell him that he didn’t need any help, but he just groaned instead.

“Cadets,” the woman said the word under her breath like it was an insult, rolling her eyes as she looked at the two of them. “You’re not invincible, you know.”

“Sorry, ma’am, we’ll keep that in mind next time,” Shiro said, smiling sheepishly at her. She shook her head disapprovingly and walked away. “Do you think you can make it to the infirmary? Should I call someone -?”

“I’ll be okay,” Adam said. Then his knees buckled and Shiro held on a little tighter. Adam hung his head and laughed.

“Are you sure that you’re okay -?” Shiro asked, sounding unconvinced.

“Here I am, in the arms of my sworn rival,” Adam said, laughing again. “What a day.”

“I didn’t know that we were rivals,” Shiro said, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Oh yes you did,” Adam said. “I swore it. You may not have been there when I did, but I swore it.” Shiro laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just funny that someone who only got to level ten thinks that they can be my rival,” Shiro said. Adam glared at him.

“I’ll have you know that I -” Adam tried to pull away from Shiro so that he could yell at him properly, but then he winced in pain again.

“Come on, let’s go,” Shiro said, leading him out of the gym.

“I was running faster than you, for the record,” Adam said.

“Maybe, but at least I managed not to fly off the treadmill.”

“I’m just that good of a pilot, I don’t even need a jet to fly,” Adam grumbled. Then he felt Shiro’s shoulders shake with laughter.

“You’re ridiculous,” Shiro said. Adam opened his mouth to argue, but as he watched Shiro laugh he couldn’t help but smile. Maybe he was, but if this is what being ridiculous got him, there were worse things to be.

Then he shook his head and pulled away from Shiro, standing up on his own. No. He couldn’t do this again. He had gotten to the point where he accepted what he and Shiro were. He knew when to look away when Henry and Shiro were laughing together, becoming the friends that they used to be. He knew when to look away so he didn’t have to see himself get replaced. He had learned how to use the tea kettle without thinking of his and Shiro’s tea breaks together, when they would talk about random things that happened that day and try out their best Iverson impressions. He found himself doing well in the training courses. He still wasn’t able to beat Shiro’s flight records, but when Iverson said his name he almost sounded proud.

He had finally gotten to a place where he could be fine on his own. And that’s what he had wanted when he pushed Shiro away that night, wasn’t it? He wanted to be alone, to hoard his past suffering all for himself, because he was afraid of what would happen if he let someone help him. If he was being honest a big part of him didn’t want to be helped. He felt like he deserved to be punished.

He did deserve to be punished, because he had managed to turn his friend into his rival. Shiro deserved more than him. His family deserved more than him. Casey wouldn’t have done all of these things, made so many mistakes.

So he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t allow himself to joke around with Shiro like they used to, to pretend for a moment that the tension and awkwardness between them didn’t exist. Because he knew that that small amount of hope, that small amount of support, would end up breaking him.

“I can get to the infirmary fine on my own,” Adam said, looking at the floor. Then he forced himself to look at Shiro, ignoring the questions in his eyes. “Thanks for helping me.” He turned around and continued down the hall, feeling Shiro’s eyes on him as he left. He wondered if he was making the right decision.

He adjusted his glasses and sighed, summoning all of his will power not to look back.

Thankfully Adam didn’t break anything. He was right - he just had a lot of bruises in the morning. At least they had a day off from flight training today. Once he was done with his lesson on the formation of Saturn’s rings and the many moons that surrounded the planet, he was free to do whatever he wanted.

He decided that he wanted to fly. He signed out a cruiser and went into the desert, passing the cliff that he had flown off of, and then the rock that he and Shiro used to race to. He knew where he wanted to go. He stopped the cruiser and got out, taking off his helmet. He looked at the cabin. It looked abandoned. When he first saw it he pictured a family living there. He wondered why they chose to live in such an isolated area, but maybe they had each other, and that was enough. But as Adam got closer to it he realized that this wasn’t a home anymore. This was the shell of the home it used to be.

He wasn’t sure what drew him to this place. Maybe it was the peculiarity of it all, maybe he missed his own home, maybe it was for no reason at all. All that he knew was that he wanted to see the place for himself, he wanted to see the memories that were contained there. He decided to knock just in case there were still people living there, but when he got no response he pushed on the door. Luckily it was unlocked.

He stepped inside and watched as the dust kicked up around him, light shining on each particle as it floated lazily in the air. The place was so quiet that it was unsettling. He walked further into the house and came across a room full of abandoned things. There was an old couch pushed up against the wall near the windows, a table held up by cinderblocks, and a tall shelf full of electronic equiptment. It looked like this place was put together with a bunch of random parts. He loved it.

Then his eyes fell on a picture frame on a little table in the corner of the room. He walked over to it and lifted it up to eye level. In the picture was a man with kind eyes holding a young boy who was holding onto his father’s hair and grinning at the camera. He was missing his two front teeth. Adam smiled as he looked at it. So these were the people who lived here. He wondered what happened to them. He set the frame down and looked around the room once more. Something about this place seemed special, worth protecting. He knew that he would be back.

He left the house, closing the door gently behind him, and hopped back onto the cruiser. He thought about the dad and his son, smiling together. He hoped that nothing bad had happened to them. He wasn’t sure if there was anything worse than broken families. He put on his helmet and sped back to the Garrison - his hour was almost up. He left a trail of red dust behind him.

Adam had been dreading today. He knew that it was coming up, but he’d decided to ignore it until the day finally came, hitting him like a ton of bricks. Seven years. He hated space, and he hated time as well. All space and time ever did was take without replacing what had been lost.

He failed his flight simulation, he almost crashed into April’s jet during formation drills, and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from talking back to Iverson as he yelled at him for the twentieth time that day. He wanted to be alone. He wanted his family. He wanted to run away. He wanted the world to stop and yet turn faster at the same time, just so that this day could be over.

Iverson made him clean the cafeteria by himself. He wasn’t lying when he said that mistakes wouldn’t be tolerated. At least it was something to do. Adam sighed and grabbed the mop, beginning to scrub at the floors. This was going to take hours. He could still feel his body ache in the places that had hit the ground after he fell off of his treadmill. Shiro had been so nice to him, making sure that he was okay. It reminded him of their first two years together, before things got - complicated. But once Adam had left him in the hallway things went back to the way they were - tense, distant, uncomfortable. He felt like he could scream. He put the mop back and began to clean the windows, seeing his own face reflected in the darkness. He looked tired. His eyes looked dull. His hair was getting too long. He began to scrub the window, wishing that he could scrub the image of himself away as well.

“Hey,” a soft voice said, and Adam turned to see Shiro standing in the doorway. Adam looked back at the window.

“Come to watch me do our usual punishment?” Adam asked bitterly, cleaning the last window. He set the towel down and headed for the kitchen. Shiro followed him.

“Iverson wasn’t in a good mood today,” Shiro said. “I think that he was still mad that we couldn’t get our formations right a few days ago.”

“Probably,” Adam sighed, turning on the faucet and picking up the first dirty plate. Today was mac and cheese day. He’d almost forgotten. He hadn’t been in the mood to eat.

“Adam,” Shiro said, taking a step forward before stopping himself. “Are you feeling okay? Today - you weren’t on the top of your game.”

Adam scoffed. “Thanks for pointing that out.” He sighed and put the plate down, turning to face him. “I -,” Adam began, but then he looked away, unable to meet Shiro’s eyes.

“Adam,” Shiro said softly, and he could hear the plea in his voice. Adam didn’t want to admit it, but he had been painfully lonely this year. Raj was nice enough, but he liked to keep to himself. Adam didn’t have anyone to talk to, to depend on. He had been missing his family more than ever this week.

And here Shiro was, checking in on him, worrying about him. Adam felt a burn in his throat as he gripped the counter. He didn’t want to be broken, he didn’t want to burden Shiro with his problems, but he couldn’t keep it all inside anymore. Shiro was reaching out his hand, and Adam found himself reaching back.

“Seven years ago today, I lost my brother,” Adam said before he could have second thoughts. Just saying the words made him feel sick. “He was in the SEP, the first class that the Garrison established, actually, and -” Adam bit his lip. He remembered his brother’s gentle hand on his head as he said goodbye. He remembered wrapping his arms around his brother’s neck and telling him not to go, pleading with him. They were a family. They had all that they needed here. Why couldn’t he just stay? His brother simply smiled and told him that he would be back before Adam even had the chance to miss him. And then he left. Adam wished he knew that that would be the last time he saw him. If he did he would’ve held on tighter. “He was the best in his class, he was a natural, apparently, and so they gave him the first available mission. It was a simple one - a few scientists were going to Earth’s moon to collect water samples and run some tests. But something went wrong.” Anger flared up in Adam’s chest. They never even told his family exactly what went wrong. They just sent flowers, a sum of money, and their condolences. “Apparently it was some kind of pilot error. My brother died up there, in that ship, with people he barely even knew.”

Adam hated space, because it took his brother away from him. And yet here he was, following in his footsteps. Space was unforgiving, time was unforgiving, and yet it seemed like Adam was destined to march towards the two.

Adam remembered that night a year ago, when Shiro woke him up from his nightmare. He lifted his head to look at him now. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before. I just - part of me is ashamed that I’m at the Garrison at all, that I’m daring to do what my brother did, to accomplish what he didn’t have the chance to.” Adam turned around to face the sink, bending over it. “Sometimes I wish that I’d never even gotten to level ten, because once that representative showed up at my house I knew what was about to happen. And for some reason I couldn’t say no.” Adam thought of his sister, of what she told him. Her words made him want to try, but it was really his brother who made the decision for him. A part of him wanted to walk where he walked, to see what his life was like those last few years before he died. It was a selfish wish. Why did he ever think that that would give him back what he’d lost? It was all so unfair.

“My dad was training to be an astronaut,” Shiro said, breaking the silence. “He was the top of his class, a natural flier and a great leader. People looked up to him.”

Adam was quiet for a moment, still facing the sink. “What happened?” he finally asked, because he knew by Shiro’s tone that something went wrong.

“He had this rare disease that didn’t start affecting his body until his late twenties. He didn’t even know that he had it,” Shiro explained. “Once they found out they didn’t let him go on any missions. He was stuck teaching the next generation. He never got to accomplish his dream.” Shiro paused. “He died when I was a baby. And five years ago my mom died in a car accident. I’d been living in a foster home when a representative of the Garrison came to my school. They saw me get to level twelve and they offered me a spot in the program. When they found out that I was in the foster care system they decided that it would be easier if I just stayed here year-round.” Silence settled between the two of them. Adam turned around to look at Shiro, and saw the pain in his eyes.

“So you’re following someone else’s dream, too.” Adam said quietly. Shiro nodded his head.

“I want to do what my dad didn’t get the chance to. Not just for him, but for me too,” Shiro said firmly. Adam leaned back on the sink, trying to process everything that Shiro had told him. He’d managed to put all of Adam’s feelings into two simple sentences. That’s why he was here, too. That’s why he wanted to do his best. He was doing this for Casey, and for himself.

“I guess that we have more in common than I thought,” Adam mused. Then he scoffed, exhaustion creeping into his bones. “Why couldn’t we have just talked about this last year? It would’ve made life a lot easier for the both of us.”

Shiro smiled softly. “Have you met us? When have we ever made anything easier for ourselves?”

“You have a point there,” Adam agreed. Then he puffed out his cheeks and hung his head, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry that I kept making us fail all of those simulations after - you know. I know that you want to be the best, and I’ve been getting in the way of that.”

Shiro sighed. “It’s my fault too. I was angry and -" he hesitated. "But you had a point - I tend to want to help others without letting people help me in return. But that’s not how friendships are meant to work. I’m starting to understand that.”

Adam lifted his head to sneak a glance at Shiro, trying to summon up the courage for what he was about to to ask. “Does this mean that we’re friends now?”

Shiro looked at him, not saying anything for a moment, and then he nodded his head. “Yeah, I think that it does.”

Something in Adam’s chest warmed, and then he grabbed his hand towel and threw it over to Shiro, who caught it on instinct. “Great, that means that you can help me finish cleaning." He grinned. "That’s what friends are for, right?”

Shiro threw the towel back at him and Adam laughed, lifting his arms up to protect his face.

“You wash, I dry,” Shiro said, moving to stand next to him at the sink. Adam picked up the towel and smiled down at it.

Maybe some things could never be replaced, but Adam was beginning to think that some things could be given to make the loss a little less painful.

Some people could be given.

Adam washed, Shiro dried. It was an apology on both sides.

It was acceptance.

#adashi #shadam #vld s7 #voltron #voltron season 7 #adam voltron #shiro #takashi shirogane #pidge #matt holt #sam holt

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balmerancrystalance · 7 years

Text

Of summer loves and other drugs.

klance food truck au inspired on the steven universe comic (x)

Summertime rolled around once again in the blink of an eye.

Golden sunshine sneaking throught to your window bathing the entire room with warmth and light, the raw earthy smell of freshly mowed grass silently inviting you to lay over it, being lulled into numbness by the foamy waves of the ocean till you got rinkled like a raisin, strangers’ smiles passing by with the weight of responsabilities lifted off their shoulders and turned into just desire of having a good time before going back to their routines.

Who wouldn’t love that, right?

Keith, that’s who.

Sun? The poor boy couldn’t spend one second in the open without at least three generous coats of factor one hundred sunscreen and not getting roasted like chicken, he learned that the hard way since he was a child, and let’s not even start with how easily he sweats. Grass? All it did for him was attract mosquitoes and other bugs, leaving him with bites in places very hard, not to mention embarrasing, to scratch. Another lesson learned the hard way and a experience he was definitely taking with him to his grave. Water? He didn’t knew how to swim and never bothered to learn how to do it, he somehow managed to function decently on land until this day and that was more than enough for him thank you very much. People? That was a straight down ugh for him.

Groaning loudly as he felt his pijama top stick to his body like a second skin, as if attempting to smother him in his sleep and almost succeeding if he was being honest, Keith rolled around under his sheets in desperately need for cool air, the blood running through his veins burning when his mullet held onto his neck, dripping with sweat.

Daring to finally open his eyes, blinded by the amount of sunlight for a few seconds, the boy stretched his arm to get a grip of his phone, unlocking it to read the time.

08:17. This was going to be a long day.

After a inner struggle between actually putting effort into getting out of bed and staying in what will become a pool of sweat if he stayed any longer, the first option winning by far when the familiar smell of eggs and bacons slowly filled the place, he threw his covers to the side, deciding to not wear his slippers since the floor was still chilly enough to enjoy barefoot, and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen.

“Morning.” Keith mumbled covering a yawn with his inner elbow, taking a seat in front of the counter, letting his feet dangle lazily.

“Keith, darling.” Allura’s wide smile fell as soon as she spotted the younger boy, suddenly concern written all over her features as she hurriedly pressed her palm against his forehead without any warning. “Are you coming down with something?”

A snort from behind them caught both of their attention, Shiro placing a plate of food between the two of them and wrapping an arm around his girlfriend’s waist.

“It’s just the heat.” His brother giggled and Keith would really like to stick his fork in his throat if he wasn’t busy devouring his breakfast like he hasn’t eaten in days. But you know like, don’t bite the hand that feeds you or something. Don’t impale them with cutlery either.

“Awe, the poor thing.” Allura cooed sweetly, combing his bangs away from his face as he ate, if she felt grossed out by his sticky skin she didn’t show. “That’s a shame, I was hopping you could join Shiro and I today.” She grinned sympathetically, as if on the inside persuasively hoping he would change his mind.

Oh hell no, those pretty blue eyes only worked their magic on his brother.

“Where are we going?” Shiro quirked a brow taking a seat next to Keith, wipping the foamy mustache above his mouth with the back of his hand, sliding a glass of juice to the boy next to him with his free one. The latter busy snickering to himself at the though of how his brother looked like his boss, Coran, for a second.

“To the beach!” Allura chirped excitedly waving her arms in the air, the sudden motion making her messy bun fall apart, letting her silver hair cascade down her back. Keith could swear he heard his brother’s heart grow three sizes. Gross.

“I wanted to spend the day with my two favorite boys,” She sighed wholeheartedly, resting her weight on the counter, head nestled between her hands as she looked at them. “but I guess we can do something else here inside instead.” Allura pouted straightening herself up and turning around to glance at the aparment. “It will be fun.” She smiled gently, like she always did, but both boys knew her long enough to distinct her tone betrayed her actions, blue eyes not longer shinning with mirth when she turned back to them once again.

“Keith doesn’t mind.” Shiro was the first one to talk between the brothers, words blurting out from his mouth before he had the time to stop them. Keith nearly choking on his breakfast at the suggestion and all that it implied, giving a sharp gaze in his direction, as if telling him to take it back immediatelly. Also, you just wait until I end swallowing the juice that almost went to my lungs and then you’ll be in serious trouble.

“Um,” Keith coughed roughly on his fist. “Keith does mind.” Realization hiting him only seconds later. Hey, in his defense it was too early for all this, okay? “I do mind.” He corrected himself, earning a kick in the shin as response from his brother under the counter.

Was it too much to ask for everyone in this house to let him eat in peace for a second?

“Awe, come on baby bro.” Shiro joked brightly, already getting under Keith’s damp with sweat skin. Nothing good usually came after he used that nickname and judging by the way his brother quickly got up to take his girlfriend by the waist, this time was going to be not any different. “Little sunblock here, little sun block there,” He went on cheerfully, pulling Allura close with one arm while streching the other across the counter and booping Keith’s nose. He was really having second thoughts about not biting the hand that fed you. “and you’ll be ready to go.” Then he turned to the expecting girl practically bouncing on her feet by now, smile fighting to strech her lips as she looked up at her boyfriend in anticipation. “It’ll be fun, yeah? I’m so glad you suggested it, love.” Shiro leaned down to kiss Allura’s forehead, letting out a muffled surprised sound when she broke away from their embrace to bend him over and kiss the living daylights out of him. Keith not flinching in the sighlest as Allura’s inhuman strength was no surprise for any of them the day she stepped a foot into the household, but actually letting out a groan at how whipped his brother could be sometimes.

As much as Keith would love to stay in the house and do absolutelly nothing, there was no way he could do that. You see, one of the many reasons why Keith hated summer break was because it meant he didn’t had to go to class, yeah he was a nerd but hear me out, the fact of having a schedule to follow everyday took the huge weight of finding something to entertain himself with off his shoulders. Sometimes even weekends were on the edge of driving him insane, being the star student he was having finished his homework back at school and not at home like everyone else. So, no, staying wasn’t an option.

Besides, he liked to think if he agreeded to third wheel with them he could use it against his brother when needed in the future.

“Let’s get ready then!” Allura hollered throwing her fist in the air, smacking Shiro’s ass on her way to their bedroom, leaving both brothers wide eyed. “I love you!” She called from the corridor, followed by a loud crash but they were sure she was okay. “You too, Keith!”

Shiro smiled sympathetically at him, ruffling his hair in a silent thank you, the younger’s hands too busy holding his knive and fork to swat his hand away, or attempt to cover his flushed cheeks.

“We love you too!” Keith called back, groaning internally when he saw his older brother smirk on his peripheral vision.

Despite all the lovey dovey issues, he really liked Allura. The golden hearted yet awfully quirky girl being the closest he ever had to a mother figure. Not that he would ever admit it out loud of course.

“Don’t.” Was all the younger could growl around his mouthful of food, sending a death glare in Shiro’s direction, his brother immediatelly rising his hands up in defense as if the other have threaten to stab him. Which, has already happened so can you actually blame him.

“I’ll get you all the ice cream you want.” Shiro was quick to follow Allura’s steps to their bedroom. “Today’s on me!”

Keith shook his head slowly while trying to fight back the smile that quirked his lips up, making him drop his utensils to scrub his hands down his face as he let out a frustrated sigh, frowning when he could feel the beads of sweat dripping from underneath his bangs.

This was going to be a long day, indeed.

Keith cringed at the thought of how much the entire dock reminded him of a cheap replica of a white girl’s pinterest board, plaged with small booths in formation selling the most scandalous swimsuits he has ever seen, tie dyed crop tops, ridiculous shaped lifesavers and last but not least the homemade popsicle with chunks of fruit in it already melting in his hand after only one bite.

He wondered how the entire place could look so different from the one he has been traveling across with his bike going to his first year of uni just weeks ago.

The frozen treat not waisting time to slide in between his fingers, falling to the wodden floor and pooling underneath his feet, leaving his hand now slick with both ice cream and sunscreen. The boy snorting wholeheartedly at the thought of how Shiro and Allura insisted to cover him from head to toe, not wanting to run any risk. After all, if they dragged him to the beach with them, they better take care of him. Any trace of smile quickly fading away at the memory of how the couple have left him as soon as they made it to the dock, completely lost in each other and the sunny summertime lansdcape.

Keith couldn’t blame them, after all they’ve been through this year, between Shiro’s new job as teacher at the prestigious Garrison University and Allura’s father passing away back in England few months ago, not to mention the two of them taking the younger boy under their roof, after convencing him for the millionth time he wasn’t a bother to their home of course, they deserved a break.

And if their happiness coasted sticky flipflops and sunburnt chicken skin, he decided it was worth it.

But first, he really needed to get real food.

Clicking his tongue as he turned on his heels, hands itching to comb his bangs out of his eyes but still dirty with ice cream, he started to vigorously bang his head to the side and waiting for the wind to colaborate with him, thanking the gods above he still had his headphones on so he could pretend to awkwardly dance where he was standing without looking like a crazy person. Much.

Once his hair was enough out of the way to actually let him see, he made his way to the parked food trucks they saw earlier, mouth watering at all the options he saw on the menus before Allura pulled him and Shiro for a entire photoshoot he was sure it would end up all over every social media possible.

He just prayed he looked midly decent on at least one picture, unlike his brother and his girlfriend who apparenlty looked flawless in every single one taken ever. Yeah, even highschool yearbooks. Keith liked to think there were only two explanations for it, either aliens or magic.

Making his way between the almost aggressively bright colored vans, neon signs twinkling to life above them as dusk fell over the dock, sun lining up perfectly between the sky and the water, the boy looked around until his eyes setled on a orange subway truck.

With hand fast on his pocket to grab the couple bucks Shiro gave him before disappearing and his stomach growling in anticipation, Keith walked towards the vehicle, a boy probably not older, but definitely bigger, than him with a playful smile and kind eyes behind the counter talking to a customer.

“I promised Pidge try this new game on friday,” He said grimaced sadly, scratching his neck as he looked into he girl’s direction, quickly being interrupted by a voice coming from somewhere inside the truck.

“Sorry, darling! He’s mine until dawn!”

The boy turning immediately to the side with a glare even tho he looked like he wouldn’t hurt a fly to save his life, his frown easing down when the girl giggled covering her mouth.

“It’s okay, Hunk.” The brunette said soflty taking a step closer, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek lovingly. “Weekend, you’re mine.”

They reminded Keith of Shiro and Allura.

“Gross!” The same high pitched voice from before hollered once again, even tho you could actually hear them smile. “There are kids in here!”

Keith’s stiffled laugh hidden behind his sticky hand died down in his throat the moment other boy stepped into the window, making shooing motions.

The boy was tall, tan and handsome, way out Keith’s usual fantasies but more important, way out Keith’s league. Sun kissed cinnamon skin practically glowing underneath the last glimpse of sunshine, electric blue eyes that crinkled with every move of his cheeks and mile long limbs somehow managing to move inside the tiny space.

“Less smooching, more working.” A new and smooth voice said, a mischievous smirk on his lips as he separated the couple, the two of them blushing furiously.

“Lance!” Hunk muttered under his breath, giving him a I can’t believe you just said that face, not that it looked like the other cared much of course.

“Would you look what the tide brought.” The girl outside the truck joked, quircking an daring eyebrow in Lance’s direction, making him gasp with a hand over his chest, mocking hurt as he spoke again.

“You’re spending way too much time with Nyma, Shay.” He acussed outrageously while wagging with his pointer finger in the air, slouching himself over the slightly shorter boy’s shoulder. “She’s mean to me, do something.” Lance said with the smallest voice possible, pouting at his friend.

“Not the puppy eyes again!” Hunk groaned loudly, immediatelly looking away from Lance, swatting his face away when he tried to get closer as he tried to talk back to Shay, who thankfully was laughing hysterically by now. “I’ll call you later, yeah?” He smiled as sweetly as you can look while trying to smother your friend in the back of a truck, only letting go when she waved her hand, turning on her heels and walking away.

“Serioulsy, man,” Hunk sighed finally letting go of his friend with a loud thud agaisnt the floor, a maniacal laugh echoing in sync. Whoever was this Pidge person had a really weird relatioship with their friends. “you gotta stop embarrasing me in front of my girlfriend.”

“Aweee, you still blush when you call her your girlfriend!” The taller boy cooed completelly ignoring his friend’s complaint, playfully poking one of his now flustered cheeks only to get his hand violently swated away. “I’m just bored out of my mind,” Lance took off his cap, combing his short hair back with his fingers and putting it on again, resting his head between his hands, arms against the counter as he looked at the beach in the distance. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible and ride some waves.”

“The water is calling me.” Lance sighed dreamily, eyes sparkling in the dim light of the almost gone sunset, speckles of fuchsia and aquamarine from the neon sign above his head dancing all over his cheeks, sharpening his dainty features.

Keith suddenly felt the sudden urge to take pictures of him.

“I can hear it too.” What Keith supposed was Pidge, said from somewhere the inside truck, amusement lacing their voice so much till the point he took of his headphones off, paying his whole attention to the apparently speaking mother nature. “it says ‘You’re an idiot’.”

“Shut up, Pidge!” The boy growled, cheeks tinted with either anger, embarrasement or a mix of both, chucking the first things his slim fingers found to use as a weapon in their direction, which happened to be apparently Hunk’s cap. “And get to work, those fries are not going to fry themselves!”

“Relax, merman.” A blonde appeared next to him, their height letting Keith see only them adjusting their glasses. “It’s not like anyone else is gonna come anymore,” They gazed at the beach from side to side, watching the larger trucks making their way to the dock, bringing the big guns for dinnertime. “it’s almost closing time.”

“Then maybe today it’s our lucky day,” Hunk smiled brightly. “Can I help you?”

Keith was so immersed into their conversation it actually took him a few solid seconds to realize the other boy was refereing to him, suddenly three pair of eyes fixated on him, waiting for him to function like a normal human being and just answer the question. Shifting his weight from foot to foot anxiously, too dry mouth trying to form any coherent word and sticky hands now sweating furiorsly, he waited paciently for death to strike him right away.

But since faith never seemed to be on his side, you can guess nothing happened.

“Umm...” Keith smacked his lips together, knees going week as the taller boy’s gaze follwed closely the movement, placing gently a hand on Hunk’s chest and stepping fowards, closer to the counter and by extention, closer to Keith.

“I’ll take this, big guy.” Lance said somehow sounding a litttle breathless, fixing his uniform and clearing his throat.

“Hello, there.” He said smoothly, flasing the other boy a cheeky smile as he rested his weight on his elbows. “See something you like?”

Keith had to chew the inside of his cheek to not blurt out ‘you’.

The boy’s blue eyes widening and thin eyebrows flying up his hairline at his silence, a blush covering his cheeks as he started to gesture his hands wildely in the air. He seemed to do that a lot. “I meant on the menu!” Lance corrected himself, Hunk giggling behind his hand as he pretended to busy himself with something else and Pidge snorting loudly beside him not even making a weak attempt to hide it. “You know, food?” He tried once again a little louder as the boy outside the truck didn’t muttered a single word back. “As in what would you like to eat?”

Keith could only blink owlishly at him.

“Ugh, let me start again.” Lance scrubbed his hands down his face, groaning loudly in what sounded like both emarrasement and frustration, peeking in between his fingers to see expectantly if Keith was still standing there.

And since it seemed like his stupid flip flops were stuck with super glue to the ground, he was indeed still standind there.

Why was Lance so nervous? Hell, why was Keith so nervous?

Yeah, maybe he wasn’t much of a people person but he had never this much dificulty when it came to socialize with other strangers such as Allura’s family or Shiro’s co-workers before. Not even at the flower shop where he worked after uni with Coran.

So why was so hard for him to just talk to a pretty boy inside of food truck he was probably not going to see ever again but would probably dream about for the rest of the summer what could have been if he wasn’t so shy and just stepped foward and asked for his number so they could talk about nothing and everything until one of them falls asleep telling the other how much they love the them, adopt dogs together that would probably end up with silly names becase the other boy has a terrible sense of humor and he is only a human, grow old together and live happily ever after?

Okay so he might have an idea of what the problem was.

Looking down at his feet and then looking back up at Lance once again, Keith suddenly felt very aware of what the other boy was probably looking at right now. His tousled black hair sticking up in every direction, sunburnt pinkish skin that now he gave it a thought was starting to itch, body drenched in sweat thanks to the heat which possibly left his nipples, now erect product of the night cool breeze thank you very much, on display through his white tank top, red booty shorts Allura gave him as present last Christmas that left little to nothing to the imagination and of course last but not least, his flip flops.

Boy if he wasn’t the defenition of a hot mess, and not in the good way.

Very unlikely like the boy who was staring back at him.

Glancing back at Lance for what he told himself would be the last time, drinking in his vibrant blue eyes and thin cherry lips, Keith sighed loudly, turning around on his heels and starting to walk away not knowing where he was even going, but at the moment any point of the dock seemed a better place to be than there.

“I gotta go.” He mumbled weakly over his shoulder, not wanting to see the expressions on the trio’s faces. He knew it will be something remotely close to that bitter pity cashiers at the movie teather gave you after saying ‘enjoy your movie’ and answering ‘yo too’ out of pure reflex. And being Keith, you could tell he has been into that situation way too many times before, and only to make it worse, it just so happened it was always the same cashier.

Letting the hunger eat away the butterflies inside his stomach, he dragged his sticky flip flops right back from where he came, in hopes of finding a food truck without a boy who made him want to write songs about behind the counter.

Just a few steps away, still inside Lance and friends’ food truck radio, not that he ever paid enough attention to the actual name of the establishment in case you couldn’t tell, Keith swore he could hear someone calling out ‘wait!’ and if he was being completely honest he would bet it was Lance’s voice. Oh my God, he could already recognize Lance’s voice, this was bad. He needed to get out of there. Now.

Keith decided meatball sandwich were his new passion. Sorry, Lance who?

The boy smiled to himself, laying starfish like on the cold sand letting the soapy water wash him away from his ankles down and looking up at the stars. And if he was slowly pushing his stupid flip flops into the open sea, no one needed to know. Yeah, maybe the start of his day, and the six hours following that, weren’t that much pleasant, but he could definitely get used to this. A snort leaving his mouth at the thought of the faces Allura and Shiro would give him if he said he wanted to come back tomorrow.

A cold shiver ran up his spine in panic.

He hasn’t made contact with the couple since they made it to the beach.

Keith sat up straight immediatelly, digging his hand into the diminute pocket of his booty shorts fishing for his phone only to find out it was dead.

“You got to be kidding me.” He whined rolling his eyes to the back of his head, turning his upper body in direction of the dock, only whinning louder at the thought of having to leave the little sanctuary he built for himself and search for them like lost kid at the supermarket.

Its not that he didn’t knew his way back home, he was a big boy, is just that Shiro got a little paranoid sometimes. Don’t get him wrong tho, he appreciated at least someone looked out for him. He only didn’t wanted the older one to worry all the time. Knowing you were the reason why a good person like Shiro had white hairs and drank five mugs of coffee by day was a huge wight on anyone’s shoulders.

Washing out idly the sand off his hands into the water to push his hair back and out of the way, he let out a breathy chuckle at the sight of his own feet, toes wrinkled like little raisins.

Leaning fowrads to grab a hold of his shoes before they actualy floated far and away, lips quircking up at the freckled sky reflected like a mirror, something at the corner of his perpheral vision caught his attention.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, pert ass and legs for days.

That was one hell of a attractive raisin.

Even surrounded by the ocean itself, Keith suddenly felt incredibly thirsty.

A slim silhouette was slowly making its way to the water a few feets from where he was sitting, quick to unbutton their jeans and pulling them down their skinny legs revealing blue swimming trunks, letting them pool around his ankles and gracefully spetting out of them, dainty fingers trailing their sides to ruck up the material of their shirt, pulling it over their head and letting it join their pants, and apparently a moss green jacket, bunddled up on the sand.

Spreading their arms open af if they were to take fly, they delved into the ocean in slow motion, immediatelly bursting into a fit of giggles as the waves washed them over soothingly.

Keith couldn’t helping but laugh along in no time even tho he didn’t quite understood what was all the fuzz about.

Dipping both hands into the water to splash it over his face, the man ran his hands through his now completely damp short hair, letting the droplets that didn’t caress his cheeks conect to the ones dripping down his neck and into his back, making the body half that wasn’t submerged glisten with tiny constelations underneath the moonligth.

Keith wanted to reach out and touch the stars with his bare hands.

Suddenly the man turned around and blue eyes were connected to his own.

Of course his bathed in stardust vision was no one else but Lance.

Has he not ridiculazed himself enough to be even with life?

That’s when Keith remembered he was still on his hands and knees, warmth tinting his cheeks and stirring up his belly, sitting back on his heels in one swift movement, the water under his thighs splashing loudly and widly.

Before he had the chance to say something, or grab his shoes and get out of there as soon as possible, which was the original plan in the first place, Lance smiled at him timidly, as if to let him know he recognized him as well but actually afraid he would ran away again at the same time. Maybe Keith was as trasnparent as his wet white tank top to the other boy. The mere thought making him clutch his flip flop close to his chest as he pouted looking down at it.

Keith only snapping back to reality when a gracious laugh broke through the silence, the sound very different from the floating numb conversations back at the dock and the lulling sea at this feet.

“Not trying to sound cheesy or anything,” Lance smirked knowingly in his direction. “but I didn’t catch your name.”

Maybe this won’t be such a bad summer after all.

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