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It’s not so much that Shiro doesn’t want Adam to come with them- quite the opposite really, seeing as he hasn’t seen Adam in years, or however long he was gone after the Kerberos mission (keeping track of time while in a prison cell is trickier than one might think) and he has missed Adam every single day since he left.
The thing is, aliens are after him. Crazy as it seems, there are bloodthirsty aliens after him who aren’t too thrilled their champion (wait where did that word come from?) got away. And the last thing he wants is for Adam to get wrapped up in this.
Though really, he already was the minute he tagged along on Keith’s ridiculous yet somehow effective rescue mission. And there is the issue of Keith sensing some sort of energy, and Shiro already knows there is no way Adam will let well enough alone when Keith is involved. Because he would and is doing the exact same.
“Look, I’m going with you ok?” Adam tells him when Shiro pulls him aside. “We have no idea what these energy signatures are. If these aliens want it, it’s going to be dangerous.” His face softens for a moment, and Shiro can feel himself melt. “You’re alive, against all hope you’re here. I’m not letting you die now. Not when I can do something. You’re not leaving me behind again.”
And well, Adam always did know exactly what to say to get to him. “Adam.” He whispers, and they both know he’s won even if he tries to argue. “I- you know that’s not fair. Kerberos was-”
“-is ancient history.” Adam cuts off. “Look we can talk about this later, right now those kids- Keith needs us. You can complain all you want but I am coming with you.”
And just like that the argument is over and Adam breaks off from their whisper-shout-match to talk to Keith.
They’ve gotten closer since he’s been gone, Shiro notices. Keith and Adam had gotten along fine before, but they seemed actually close now. Which actually raises more questions like, why is their foster kid in a shack in the middle of nowhere rather than back home with Adam? What happened while he was gone?
They’re out the door before he can ask, and he doesn’t get the chance to ask before they’re in some sort of alien lion shooting off to who knows where. Because that’s Shiro’s life now apparently. Just one roller coaster after another.
When Lance asks if they should enter the portal, Shiro looks to Adam first. As if understanding his unsaid question, Adam brushes his hand against Shiro’s and nods. And next thing they all know they’re going through a portal and Shiro wonders what deity he pissed off to fling him into this situation.
It isn’t until much later, after a run in with a space princess, some space mice and a royal adviser, some revelation about a great destiny about lions and voltron and a space battle, that they actually get to talk.
Adam comes to Shiro’s room after everything has died down, because they need to talk damn it and Shiro isn’t getting out of this one.
“So I guess this is the part where we actually act like mature adults and speak to each other.” Adam speaks first because of course he does. He always was better at this... feelings thing than he was.
“I guess so. Where do we start?”
“I don’t know, pick a subject.” Adam rolls his eyes fondly.
Shiro sighs. “I guess I should start with saying I’m sorry. You were right. Kerberos was...definitely a bad idea.”
“It being a bad idea is not why I didn’t want you to go, you know that. At least I hope you do.”
“It isn’t?”
He laughed incredulously. “No you idiot! I didn’t want you to go because I wanted to spend what little time you had left with you, not the body bag they were inevitably going to be carrying back!” Adam’s voice rose slightly and Shiro cringed. He had really messed up hadn’t he?
“I didn’t- I didn’t want you to see me die.” Shiro admitted weakly.
“What?” Adam said his voice nearly a whisper. He had clearly not expected that answer.
This time it was Shiro’s turn to raise his voice. “I was already deteriorating enough. I didn’t want you to have to see me when it got worse. I didn’t want your last memory of me to be me withering away in front of you!”
“And I didn’t want my last memory of you to be your back out the door but I guess we don’t exactly get what we want do we?”
“I guess not.” Shiro replied childishly, crossing his arms and flopping gracelessly onto his bed.
Adam took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, Shiro remembers that look. The first time he ever saw it was when they were still teenagers and he somehow managed to get Shiro out of two weeks of detention.
For a prank that Adam had helped him with thank you very much so he had no right to be looking at him that way when he was equally as wrong but also that was legendary work thank you Adam.
It was the look he got when he was exasperated with you, but not angry enough to walk away. He missed that look.
“I missed you.” Shiro says before he can think.
Adam looks up and slowly puts his glasses back on with a sigh. “I missed you too, Ta- Shiro but-”
And good god that sounds absolutely wrong.
“Takashi.”
“What?”
“It’s always been Takashi for you.” And he can’t quite get out the ‘please never change that’ or the ‘it feels so wrong to hear Shiro from you now, so please don’t’ or the ‘please still love me’ but he hopes Adam can hear what he doesn’t say.
He thinks he just might, because Adam replies with the first genuine smile Shiro has seen from him since he was rescued. It’s not particularly wide or bright, but its there.
“Alright. Takashi.” He says as though trying the name on again, and the smile widens ever so slightly. And this time Adam can’t think of what to say so he just says. “I think I still love you.” There is no ‘i think’ about it, but he can at least retain a small bit of pride this way.
“I thought you weren’t going to wait for me.” It comes out a little choked and it is absolutely because it is dusty in here and not at all because he’s trying not to cry.
“I wasn’t, but I guess I was wrong. Didn’t help too much that you know, died. And I had a kid to watch over.”
There was a lot to unpack in that sentence, but Shiro started with more neutral territory. Keith. “What happened after I- you know. Was pronounced dead? Why wasn’t Keith back at our- your place?”
Adam’s face scrunched up in frustration for a moment. “He’s as bull-headed as you that’s why. He ran off when the news broke. I found him at the shack, he said it was where his dad raised him. Rather than force him to come home and potentially ruin any chance of keeping in contact with him, I let him. I checked on him whenever I could, I brought him the basics, ya know food, water, clothes.”
Shiro really did not feel like arguing, so he ignored the obvious flaws in that plan. “You guys seemed closer.”
“We are. We had a lot of time to talk over the past couple years. Mostly talked about you though admittedly.”
Shiro chuckled. “Should I be worried?”
“Oh definitely.” This time they both chuckled.
They sobered quickly, and there was silence. But not the uncomfortable overbearing type of silence. It was the kind of silence between two people who didn’t know where to move next.
Literally and figuratively.
Shiro hesitantly reached out to take Adam’s hand. “Is this ok?”
“Yes.” Adam replied, inching closer to Shiro. “Can I hug you?”
“Yes.” Shiro breathed and immediately was wrapped in Adam’s arms. They held each other close, melting against one another.
“This doesn’t mean things are fixed yet, Takashi.” Adam whispered.
“Yet?” Shiro echoed, hope slipping into his voice against his will.
“We still have a lot to talk about but... I think I’d like to try again. If you want to that is.”
Shiro felt as though his heart had stopped, he had hoped and dreamed Adam would be there when he returned, and yet here he was. And everything felt right.
“I mean if you don’t want to it’s ok. It’s been a long time, we’ve both changed-” Adam began pulling away, taking Shiro’s silence the wrong way.
Shiro panicked as Adam pulled away and tugged him back into his embrace. “I’d like that too. I never stopped loving you, Adam.”
Adam breathed out a sigh of relief and chuckled. “That’s good to hear.”
Shiro chuckled as well. “Yeah, it is.” He sobered for a moment. “Whatever comes next, we’ll handle it. Together this time.”
Adam nodded. “Together this time.”