Chapter Text
Adam didn’t like space. He would look up at the sky with his older sister, listening to her as she pointed out the constellations, and he just wasn’t interested.
Space was dark. Cold. Empty. Suffocating.
Lonely.
Being on Earth was better. Being on Earth was safe. It was home.
When a representative of the Garrison came to Adam’s school with a simulation game, Adam didn’t think much of it. He waited in line like all the other kids, and when it was finally his turn he sat down in the seat and grabbed the joy sticks, looking at the screen full of stars and space rocks.
He got to level ten without really thinking about it, the game followed a pretty simple pattern, and then he noticed that the people around him were looking at him weirdly. He quickly let go of the joy sticks, ending the next level, and moved to stand, offering the seat to someone else before shrinking into the back of the group.
He didn’t want people to look at him like that. Like he was different. The representitive was looking at him like that, too.
He hated space. He hated the distance between everything. He hated how obsessed his sister was with it, how everyone around him seemed to be obessed with it. Space wasn’t special.
He had other reasons, but those reasons he decided to ignore.
The next day the representative from the Garrison came to his house. A few moments later Adam was sitting on the couch between his parents, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he wondered if he was in trouble. He looked up and saw his sister looking down at him from the stairs, peeking her head out from behind her doorframe.
“Your son has incredible talent,” the woman, who introduced herself as Lieutenant Johnson, said, looking at his parents. “Talent that would be put to excellent use at the Garrison.”
“The Garrison?” Adam’s mother asked softly, holding tightly to her son’s hand.
Lieutenant Johnson nodded. “More specifically the space exploration flight program.”
Adam watched as his father clenched his jaw.
“It’s a relatively new program,” Lieutenant Johnson explained. “And very selective. We only take on six recruits a year -”
“We’re familiar with the program,” Adam’s father said, his tone even. Lieutenant Johnson winced and coughed awkwardly.
“Right, of course. I found the file when I was -” She took a breath and straightened her back. “Regardless, your son should be honored that we’ve decided to accept him. He’ll be a great service to our country. He’ll go on to do things people our age only dreamed of when we were kids.” Her gaze became sympathetic. “I know about the - tragedy - in your past, but this could be -”
“I don’t want to go to space,” Adam interrupted, still holding his mother’s hand. “I want to stay here.”
Lieutenant Johnson looked at him in surprise. “I don’t think that you understand the opportunity that you -”
“I don’t want to go,” Adam said more firmly, getting up from the couch. “And you can’t make me.” He left the room and headed up the stairs, passing by his sister as he went to his room, laying facedown on his bed. He could still hear his parents hushed voices as they talked to Lieutenant Johnson.
He wished that he didn’t do so well on that flight simulator. He wished that this woman had never shown up to his house.
Why would he ever want to go to space, when all that he could ever want was here? Why would he risk all of this for the unknown?
He heard the sound of footsteps coming into his room. Then he felt his bed shift as someone moved to sit down.
“Adam -”
“Go away, June.”
“No, you’re going to listen to me,” she said. He felt her run a comforting hand through his hair, and he made a frustrated huff but let her continue. “I really think that you should participate in this program.”
Adam lifted his face off of his bed to look at her. “Space has always been you and - it’s always been your thing, not mine.”
“And yet you would still come along anyway. You used to like looking at the stars.”
Adam groaned and moved to sit up. “No I didn’t. How could I? After what happened? How can you still love it so much?” He wanted his words to hurt her enough that she would go away, and yet she smiled softly instead.
“Because it makes everything bigger. More important.”
Adam looked at her in confusion. June struggled to come up with something else to say, and then her eyes lit up. “Come with me.” She grabbed Adam’s hand and led him to her room. He looked down the stairs and saw that the woman had left, his parents talking on the couch, their expressions serious. Then he walked into his sister’s room and she sat him on the bed.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed. Adam gave her an unconvinced look. “Do it,” she insisted, poking his cheek. He rolled his eyes but then he did as he was told. He heard her walk a few steps away and then he heard a soft click. He felt her sit down next to him on the bed. “Now open them and look up.”
Adam opened his eyes and saw that her ceiling was covered in tiny stars. He looked at her and saw the flashlight that she was holding in her hands, a plastic orb attached to the end of it. She had a wide smile on her face.
“There’s so much in this life to experience,” June said wistfully, looking at her ceiling as she held the flashlight steady in her hands. “So many wonderful things waiting for us outside of this house, outside of this town, outside of this universe .”
“And there are bad things too,” Adam pointed out grimly. Home was safe. His town was predictable. The universe? That was out of Adam’s control.
“There are bad things no matter where you are,” she said. “But Adam, you can’t let the fear of those bad things stop you from finding the really good things. Because I can promise you that those really good things are going to change your life forever, and you’re going to wonder how this little house was ever enough.”
Adam looked at her with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. He lifted his head up to look at the stars once more, shining down on him, cutting through the darkness. Maybe all this time he had focused too much on the emptiness, and not enough on the light that filled the dark spaces.
Something filled inside his chest, a sensation that he wasn’t familiar with. He pictured himself holding those stars in his hands, collecting them in his pockets, floating through space surrounded by - everything. It was scary and unknown, but maybe there were things that would make it worth it.
“I miss him, too, you know,” June eventually said, breaking the silence. “Whenever I look at the stars I think of him, and it hurts,” she sighed and looked at Adam. “But he wouldn’t want us to stop doing what we love because of him. He wouldn’t want you to reject a spot at the Garrison because of him.”
“I - I have to think about it,” Adam finally said, moving to stand up, finding it hard to look away from the stars. June smiled and moved to stand as well, walking over to turn on the light.
“At the end of the day it’s your decision. Just know that I’ll always be in your corner.” She ruffled his hair and he smiled and swatted it away.
“Thanks, June.” Adam said, and then he headed out of her room and back to his own, the light from the stars still on the back of his eyelids.
Earth was safe. Space certainly wasn’t. But maybe he could at least give this space exploration program a shot. Maybe June was right, and something really good would happen.
Maybe he could follow in his footsteps.
Adam tugged nervously on the collar of his new Garrison uniform, a duffle bag in his other hand.
“You'll be visiting home before you know it,” his father said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re proud of you, son.”
“Make sure to call if you need anything,” his mother told him. He could tell that she was holding back her tears as she smiled. Adam knew that his parents didn’t want to let him go, and yet they had respected his decision. It wasn't good to think about the past too much
“I will,” Adam said, his throat tight all of a sudden. He was beginning to have second thoughts. How could he possibly think that space could replace what he had in front of him? But he thought about the stars on June’s ceiling once more. Stars that had made her simple room look magical. He wanted to find that magic, even though he had to sacrifice his home to do so. There were things that he was desperate to understand, things to experience, and after days of thinking it over he knew that his sister was right - he’d never find those things if he stayed.
And he had other reasons, but he kept those to himself.
“You’re going to be amazing,” his sister said, pulling him into a hug and ruffling his hair one last time. Adam adjusted his glasses and smiled at all of them.
“Cadet Wadley?” a voice said behind him, and Adam turned to see an imposing figure walk up to them, a stern look on his face.
“I am Commander Iverson, the director of the SEP. I thought that I should introduce myself.”
Adam saluted, wondering if that was the correct thing to do. By Iverson’s approving look he assumed that it was.
“Your son is in good hands. We’ll make a fine pilot out of him,” Iverson said, looking at Adam’s parents.
“Make sure to call,” his mom reminded him, kneeling down to give him a hug. His father gave him one last proud look, and then the three of them headed out of the facility.
Adam turned back around to face Iverson. It was only the two of them standing in the front hall of the Garrison.
“Follow me,” Iverson said, and he made a sharp turn and headed down the hall. Adam quickly followed behind, adjusting the strap of his bag. He couldn’t help but notice how bare the walls were, how clean the place was.
It couldn’t feel less like home.
“You’ll be rooming with another cadet in the SEP,” Iverson said, “his name is Takashi Shirogane.” He knocked on the door. The door quickly opened and Adam saw a boy who looked around his age give him a wide smile. He had black hair that was short in the back, but the front part of it flopped in his face a little.
“Hello sir,” he said, saluting and straightening his back as he looked at Iverson.
“At ease, cadet,” Iverson said, and the boy dropped his arm. Then he looked back at Adam.
“I’m Shiro,” he said holding out his hand. Adam took it and was surprised by how enthusiastically Shiro shook it.
“I’m Adam,” Adam said shyly, letting go of Shiro’s hand to adjust the strap on his shoulder. Shiro looked at his duffle bag and his eyes widened.
“Oh! Let me get out of your way,” he said, moving out of the doorway to let Adam inside.
“I’ll see you both tomorrow at 0800 hours,” Iverson said. “Don’t be late.”
“We won’t, sir,” Shiro assured him. Iverson gave him a nod and left.
Adam slumped his shoulders and sighed, walking into his new room. It had a lot more space than he expected. It even had a kitchen and a lounge area. He set his bag down on the couch and sat down, trying to get his bearings.
He was really doing this. Why was he doing this? All of the uncertainty began to press down on him as he closed his eyes, trying not to think about his bedroom, his sister, his mother’s cooking -
“So what level did you get to on that simulation?” Shiro asked. Adam opened his eyes and saw that he was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking at him with interest.
“Uh, level ten,” Adam said. Shiro smiled.
“I got to level twelve.”
Adam felt a twinge of annoyance at that statement. “I could’ve gotten farther but I decided to stop.”
Shiro looked at him with curious eyes. “Why’d you stop?”
Adam huffed and slumped further on the couch, looking at the wall across from him. “Because I wanted to.” He remembered the way that his classmates looked at him, like they expected something from him that he didn’t have. Like his sister looked at him when she told him to come here. What did they want? He would never be like -
“You gave up,” Shiro clarified, and Adam glared at him.
“Why do you even care?”
Shiro smiled and lifted himself off of the counter. “Because I need to be the best cadet in this program.”
Adam’s annoyance turned into confusion. “Why?”
Shiro massaged his wrist and then quickly pulled his hand away, realizing what he was doing. “So that I can meet some aliens,” he joked. Then he gave Adam a teasing salute and headed for his room. “Yours is the one on the left,” he pointed out, gesturing to the closed door next to the one that Shiro was opening. He turned around and gave Adam one last smile. “It was nice to meet you, level ten.” With that he stepped into his room and closed the door.
Adam stared at the door angrily for a few moments, and then he crossed his arms and looked back at the wall. Level ten. He could do way better than that. He’d show him.
Adam hated space. He increased the speed on his treadmill and tried to focus on the burn in his chest as he began to run faster. He’d rather think about anything else instead of Iverson grilling him for his poor flight technique. It wasn’t his fault that Shiro decided to pull that fancy move, where did he even learn that anyway? One moment he was flying through the stars in the simulation ship and the next his wing was clipped and he was hurtling towards a space rock.
“You always have to stay alert, cadet,” Iverson had told him afterward, making an example of him in front of his fellow cadets. “You never know what you might encounter in space.”
‘Encounter? Space is empty,’ Adam wanted to argue. What was the Garrison hoping to find? He wondered what his sister would tell him. She probably believed in aliens, just like someone else he knew.
Then Adam heard the treadmill next to him whirr to life. He looked over and saw Shiro giving him that wide grin that he always seem to have on.
“Hey level ten,” Shiro said, giving him a small wave of his hand. Adam huffed in annoyance and looked ahead, ignoring him. He increased the speed for good measure. Then he noticed that Shiro was running faster than him. Shiro caught him watching and smiled once more. It didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat. Adam increased his speed until he was running faster. Shiro laughed and increased his speed as well. Soon they were both full on sprinting, Adam managing to keep going through sheer anger alone.
“Hey! These are not toys!” a woman in a high-ranking uniform said, and Shiro and Adam quickly decreased their speed, looking at her sheepishly.
“Sorry, ma’am,” Shiro said. She gave them one last disapproving look and left. Adam took a moment to catch his breath. “Not bad, level ten, but I was running faster.”
“No you weren’t,” Adam argued.
Shiro laughed again, pulling his shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face. “See you back at the room.” With that he turned off the machine and left the gym. Adam watched him go, running an exasperated hand through his hair, which he noticed was damp at the ends. It was like Shiro came to the gym just to mess with him.
He didn’t know how to feel about that.
Adam squinted as he looked down at the list of flight formations that Iverson had told them all to memorize by tomorrow. There were about fifty of them, but Adam was confident that he had a pretty solid grasp on them all. He just had to look them over one more time.
This was what he was comfortable with. Patterns, directions, structure, there was a reason for everything and once you knew that reason all the rest of it began to make sense. He flipped the page and looked at the next set of formations, his eyes quickly scanning through them. He found himself smiling as he realized that he could do all of these easily. Maybe Iverson would actually compliment him this time.
He heard the door behind him open and kept reviewing his notes as Shiro came to sit down on the opposite end of the couch. Adam snuck a glance and watched as Shiro was reading through the same flight formation packet, his brow furrowed in concentration. It almost looked like he was - frustrated? Adam looked back at his own packet and flipped to the next page.
A minute later Shiro threw his packet angrily on the table in front of him, rubbing his wrist. Shiro caught Adam looking at him and Adam quickly looked away.
“Sorry,” Shiro said, letting out a frustrated noise. “I think I need to go for a walk.”
Adam was tempted to tease him, maybe let him know that ‘level ten’ over here already had the formations memorized, but he saw the look on Shiro’s face and stopped himself. He almost looked ashamed.
Adam pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and moved to stand as well. “I think I’ll join you.”
Shiro looked at him in surprise. Adam began to wonder if he wasn’t welcome. He deflated, about to sit back down, but then Shiro smiled and walked to the door.
“Okay.”
Adam followed Shiro as he weaved his way through the halls. He watched as Shiro stretched his arms, peeking into the open doors of offices and looking out whatever window they came across. There weren’t many. He seemed to look a lot more at ease than when he was back in the room, more like himself.
“Where are we going?” Adam asked. He assumed that Shiro had a destination in mind.
Shiro shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll know it when I see it.” Adam furrowed his brow. That didn’t make any sense.
“You know, I can help you with the flight formations,” Adam said. “I made up some tricks to help me remember.”
“Who said that I needed any help?” Shiro asked. There wasn’t any harshness behind it, just curiosity. But Adam bristled anyway.
“Fine, just learn it on your own, then,” Adam said, looking anywhere but at Shiro. They turned the corner.
“I have to learn it on my own,” Shiro said quietly. “I need to do these things by myself.”
“That’s stupid. You’ll just make everything harder -”
“Exactly. I need to learn how to get through the hard things. I need to know that I can,” Shiro explained.
“Why?” Adam asked.
“Don’t you want to find out what you’re capable of? Push your limits?”
Adam scoffed. “Not really.” He glanced at Shiro and noticed that he was already looking at him. “I know who I am,” he added, looking away.
“This is it,” Shiro said, and Adam was about to ask him what he was talking about when he looked ahead and saw a large window that looked out on the desert. He didn’t realize that it’d gotten so late - stars filled the night sky, way more stars than he ever saw at home.
Shiro walked forwards until he was a few inches away from the glass, his fingertips touching its surface. Adam joined him.
“My sister would love this,” Adam said quietly, trying to ignore that familiar ache for home.
“I didn’t know that you had a sister,” Shiro said.
“You don’t know a lot of things about me,” Adam replied. Shiro was quiet. Adam realized that he didn’t know a lot about him either. They looked out of the window in silence.
“Patience yields focus,” Adam finally said. Shiro looked at him.
“What?”
Adam sighed and pressed his hand against the glass as well. “Patience yields focus. My sister would always tell me that when she dragged me out to find shooting stars. I would always complain about how I couldn’t see anything, but she told me that if I just sat and waited, they would come. And they did.” Adam watched as the stars seemed to wink at him. “Once I stopped thinking about where I wanted to be, I was finally able to appreciate where I was, and focus on that.” When Shiro didn’t say anything he turned and saw him already looking at him, a peculiar look on his face. Adam quickly looked away, fixing his glasses. “I know that you want to learn the flight formations on your own, but that’s my advice. Just be patient, and you’ll get there.
Adam realized that maybe he needed to be a little more patient as well. He hated to admit it, but he was actually enjoying being in the SEP. He loved the challenge, he loved flying, he loved how it made his world just that much bigger, made him feel like he could be more than he was. Of course he missed home, but he was starting to warm up to the Garrison.
And some of the people there.
“Patience yields focus,” Shiro said to himself, pulling his hand away from the glass. He smiled. “I like that. I may just have to use it sometime.”
“Just never forget who you got it from,” Adam said, straightening his stance. Shiro laughed.
“I won’t.”
“Formation twenty-six,” Iverson said over the comms system. Adam quickly adjusted his altitude so that he was at one end of the v-formation. He could see Shiro at the head of it. Adam smiled. It looked like Shiro was able to memorize them after all. He thought back to last night. When they had gotten back to their room Adam had decided to make some tea. He watched as Shiro sat back on the couch, picking the packet back up once more. He could tell that he was getting frustrated again, but then he took a deep breath and turned the page, getting into a stride. By the time the tea was ready he was already on page five.
“Here, have some,” Adam had said, handing over one of the two mugs he had in his hand. Shiro smiled and took it, looking grateful.
“Thanks.”
For the next hour Adam sat at the counter and drank his tea, reading through their textbook on space flight protocol. Every once in a while he snuck a glance Shiro’s way, watching him flip through the packet, looking more and more confident. He didn’t realize that he was staring until Shiro looked back at him. They stared at each other for a moment before they both quickly looked away, going back to what they were doing. Eventually Adam closed his textbook and went to bed, wishing Shiro goodnight.
“Formation fifteen,” Iverson said, and Adam shifted his position so that he was in the middle, the rest of the trainer jets circled around him. “Nice work, Wadley. It’s obvious that you did your homework.”
Adam struggled to keep his expression neutral. “Thank you, sir.” Finally - he was doing something right. He moved his jet a little faster and watched as the desert flew by him. He was flying, and it felt amazing. It felt right.
“We’re going to get caught, Shiro,” Adam hissed, following his roommate as he weaved through the dimly lit cargo bay.
“Only if you keep talking, level ten,” Shiro said, and Adam huffed and stayed quiet. They weaved through a couple of large planes until Shiro stopped, placing a hand on one of the cruisers.
“And what do you plan to do with that?” Adam asked, looking at him skeptically.
“We,” Shiro emphasized, “are going to explore the desert some more.”
“We?” Adam asked, crossing his arms. “I thought that we were going for another walk, not sneaking out of the Garrison.”
“They won’t even notice that we left,” Shiro assured him. “Besides, I want to see how well you can really fly.”
“You see me fly every day during class,” Adam argued.
Shiro lifted himself onto the cruiser and sat down, grabbing his helmet and putting it on. “That’s not real flying. Haven’t you wondered what you could do if you didn’t have to stick to simple flight formations?”
Adam thought about that for a moment. “This is dangerous,” he said.
“That didn’t sound like a no,” Shiro pointed out. Adam stood there for a moment. Shiro was right - he did want to know what it would be like to fly without any restrictions. But this was all so unpredictable - Shiro was just so unpredictable.
“Wait for me,” Adam said without thinking, and he walked over to the other cruiser and climbed onto the seat, putting on his helmet. They quietly manuvered their jets out of the bay and soon they were outside of Garrison grounds.
“Race you to that big rock over there!” Shiro called. Adam smiled and increased his speed, blowing by Shiro.
“You’re on!”
He weaved through large rocks and watched as red dust began to kick up around him. The moon was big and bright tonight. He let out of whoop of joy as he pushed the cruiser to go faster. Shiro laughed and then Adam watched as his cruiser moved in front of him, cutting him off.
“Hey!” Adam protested as Shiro took the lead. Soon they were racing up a large rock outcropping, getting closer and closer to the stars. For a moment it felt like they were up there in space, like the sky was theirs and theirs alone. Then Adam looked ahead and saw that the outcropping quickly ended. It had to be a long way down. He hastily decreased his speed so that he wouldn’t fall off, but then he watched with wide eyes as Shiro only flew faster.
“What are you doing?” Adam yelled into the comms in his helmet, but he didn’t get an answer. He decided to fly after Shiro, although he didn’t know what he was going to do once he caught up to him, but then he saw Shiro’s cruiser fly off of the cliff. He stopped his own cruiser right at the edge and watched as it headed for the ground, quickly pulling up at the last moment and shooting off towards the large rock that Shiro had pointed out earlier.
“Why would you do that?” Adam yelled, exasperated.
“I wanted to see if I could,” Shiro said through the comms.
“So you’d never done that before?” Adam yelled. “Are you crazy?”
“Maybe, but I’m also going to win,” Shiro said, and Adam could hear it in his tone that he had a smug smile on his face. Adam huffed and backed his cruiser up a reasonable distance from the edge. Then he gripped his thruster more tightly in his hand and threw it forward, feeling his cruiser fly faster than he had allowed it to go before. It sped towards the edge, and before Adam could rethink his decision the rock went away and where was only sky. He knew the cruisers weren’t meant to be up this high. Soon he was heading for the ground, and Adam looked at the sharp rocks beneath him with panicked eyes.
‘Patience yields focus,’ he suddenly thought. He took a deep breath and adjusted his grip on the thruster, waiting for the right moment. He watched as the ground came closer, and then when he was certain that he was about to crash he pulled up and felt his cruiser level out, speeding across the desert. He quickly caught up with Shiro’s cruiser, which seemed to have slowed down. He wondered if Shiro saw all that. He smiled to himself and picked up the speed, cutting in front of Shiro and making it to the rock a second before he did.
Adam quickly pulled his helmet off and jumped to the ground. He whooped in victory, sounding a little breathless. He looked back at the cliff he’d just flown off of - it was way higher than he thought it was. He ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. What had possessed him to do that?
He watched as Shiro jumped off of his cruiser as well, taking off his helmet.
“That was -” Shiro began, struggling to come up with something to say.
“I guess you can’t call me ‘level ten’ anymore, huh? Since I just beat you,” Adam teased. Shiro had that same peculiar look on his face and then he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I guess not,” he said, looking away, a soft smile on his face.
Adam felt heat rise in his cheeks as he looked at him. He still couldn’t believe that he did that. He never would’ve assumed that he could. He never thought that he would ever even try something like that.
He hated space. He hated how infinite it was, because it terrified him.
So he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with this newfound infinity within himself. All he knew for sure was that in this moment -
It was exciting.
They ended up getting caught.
When they brought the cruisers back to the cargo bay Iverson was waiting for them, his jaw clenched in irritation.
“I expect more from you cadets,” he said, and Adam hung his head in shame.
“It was my fault, sir. I convinced Adam to come with me,” Shiro explained, his expression earnest.
Iverson looked at him with interest. “That may be so, but Adam has his own independent will, and he decided to go with you.” He straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. “You are two of our most talented cadets,” he declared. Then he softened a little. “You both can go far, if you learn how to follow orders.”
“It won’t happen again, sir,” Adam said, looking up at him. Iverson nodded.
“I know that it won’t. As for your punishment, you are going to clean the cafeteria.”
“You mean, the kitchen?” Shiro asked.
“No, cadet,” Iverson said, his expression stern. “The entire cafeteria.”
Adam didn’t have an appreciation for how large the cafeteria was until this moment.
“This is going to take forever,” Adam said, slumping his shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” Shiro said, and Adam looked at him. His fists were clenched at his sides, and he couldn’t seem to meet Adam’s gaze.
“Hey, Iverson was right. I was the one who decided to go with you,” Adam said, but Shiro didn’t look convinced. Adam lifted up the mop from the pile of supplies that they had been given and dunked it in the bucket of bright blue cleaning fluid. “Besides, beating you in that race was worth it.”
Shiro looked up at him and crossed his arms. “I let you win.”
Adam rolled his eyes and starting dragging the mop across the floor. “Sure you did. Whatever makes the big hot-shot feel better.”
Shiro grabbed the other mop and dunked it in the cleaning fluid as well. “It’ll never happen again.”
Adam smiled as he looked down at the floor, moving towards the center of the cafeteria. “We’ll see about that.”
Shiro began to mop the floor with quick, precise strokes.
“Hey, I was about to clean that part,” Adam protested as Shiro cut in front of him. He saw Shiro shrug as he looked at his back.
“I guess I was faster.”
Adam huffed and began to mop faster, moving forward and nudging Shiro to the side. Shiro nudged back. Soon they were racing to see who could clean more of the floor, bumping into each other as they mopped across the room. Shiro tried moving his mop in the way so that Adam would trip on it, but he easily hopped over it and stuck his tongue out at him, continuing to mop. They were done in a few minutes. Adam looked at the floor shining back at them. That had to be a record.
Then he watched as Shiro hurried over to one of the garbage bins and pulled out the trash, tying it up before moving on to the next bin. He glanced up at Adam to make sure that he was watching, and Adam saw a challenge in his eyes. Adam grinned and rushed over to he closest bin, pulling out the trash and tying it. Then he went over to the next bin as Shiro was tying up his third. They carried as many bags as they could and raced out the back door to throw them into the dumpster.
“I had four bags,” Adam said as they headed back inside, a smug grin on his face.
“That’s cute,” Shiro said. “I had five.”
Adam angrily adjusted his glasses and grabbed a towel, spraying it with some cleaning fluid before rubbing the towel across the large windows that looked out into the courtyard. Shiro went outside and started cleaning the windows as well. When Adam pulled the towel away he saw Shiro making a scary face and he jumped back in surprise. He watched as Shiro began to laugh and threw his towel at the window, causing Shiro to instinctively hold his hands up in defense. Adam moved on to the next window, and Shiro did the same. Soon they were furiously scrubbing off the dirt, moving down the length of the cafeteria together as they did so. They finished at the same time and Adam went to put the towel back where he got it, waiting for Shiro to come back inside. Then he heard a knock at the window and turned around.
“I’m locked out,” Shiro said, his voice muffled. Adam grinned and walked up to the window where Shiro was.
“What’s the password?” Adam asked.
“Adam - ”
“Nope, I don’t think that’s it,” Adam said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Then he put his hand in his fist. “Wait, I remember what it is! It’s kind of a long one.” Shiro gave him an unamused look. Adam smiled at him. “It’s: I lost to Adam in our race yesterday.”
“I’m not saying that.”
“Then Iverson is going to be mad when he finds you slacking off,” Adam said, beginning to walk away from the window.
“Then I’ll just tell him that you wouldn’t let me in!” Shiro argued.
Adam smiled. “And then you’ll have to explain to Iverson how you got yourself locked out.”
Shiro glared at him, knowing that he had him there. “I lost to Adam in our race yesterday,” he mumbled. Adam walked back up to the window.
“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear -”
“You won! Okay?” Shiro said, and Adam could tell that he was biting back his grin. Adam nodded his head and opened the door, stepping aside for Shiro to enter.
“I’m going to beat you to the kitchen though!” Shiro yelled, running over to the other side of the cafeteria. Adam let go of the door and chased after him. Shiro managed to get there first, and when Adam stepped inside he was met with a stream of water. He felt the cold soak his shirt and looked up to see Shiro holding the faucet, cackling maniacally. Adam wiped the water from his glasses and rolled up his sleeves.
“Oh, I’m gonna get you for that,” he said, walking towards Shiro. Shiro’s eyes widened and he aimed the faucet back at Adam, spraying water on him once more. Adam ignored it however and kept going. Shiro yelped in surprise and let go of the faucet, running to the other side of the counter.
“Come on, roomie,” Adam said, holding out his arms. “Can’t I get a hug?”
“You better not come any closer,” Shiro said, looking frantically around for something to defend himself with. He grabbed a small whisk and held it out in front of him. “I’m not afraid to use this!”
Adam stopped for a moment and looked at him. Then he burst into laughter, clutching his sides. Shiro looked down at his whisk and began to laugh as well, putting a hand on his forehead.
“A whisk?” Adam said between laughs, feeling tears in his eyes. Shiro was laughing just as much as he was now.
“I was being resourceful,” Shiro said defensively, and they quickly lifted their heads to look at each other.
“You must be resourceful in combat, cadets,” they both said in unison, attempting their best Iverson impression. He used that line practically every day during training sessions. They began to laugh once more. A few moments later their laughter died down and Adam went over to the sink, pulling out a plate and beginning to wash the dishes.
“Come over here and help me,” Adam said over his shoulder, and soon Shiro joined him. “I’ll wash, you dry,” Adam said, handing Shiro the plate in his hands. Shiro grabbed a small towel and went to work. Adam could feel Shiro’s shoulder touching his own as he continued to wash the rest of the dishes. He was warm and strong, and a little taller than him.
They continued cleaning up the kitchen without saying much, but it was a comfortable silence. It felt safe.
Adam smiled to himself as he set down his rag, looking down at the floor he’d just dried from where he was kneeling. He looked over and saw that Shiro had just finished as well.
“Looks like were done,” Shiro said, kneeling on the other side of the floor. Adam looked back at the rest of the kitchen, which was now spotless.
“I guess we are. That wasn’t too bad.”
Shiro stood up and walked over to Adam, offering his hand. “Let’s go home.”
Adam took it and smiled.
Home.
For the first couple of weeks at the Garrison it had been just that for Adam - the Garrison. Home was somewhere else, home was where his family was.
But the room that he shared with Shiro, with its orange tea kettle and three-seater couch and that window that looked out into the desert - that had become home too, without Adam even realizing it.
He got to his feet and looked at Shiro, still holding his hand.
“Yeah, let’s go home.”