"Allura! Do you have a read on what's going on?"

The city of New Arus was experiencing a crisis. Again.

Normally, when a criminal was trying to get their hands on a large, precious jewel, the authorities would deal with it. But this was no ordinary criminal. Red Shadow was a frequent threat, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. With highetened telekinetic powers that could make a building collapse at a whim if he so wished, he could only be taken down by someone who was equally, if not more, powerful.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one in the city with unexplained superpowers. Whenever Red Shadow decided to get frisky, the city would turn to one man: Silverwing.

He had the ability to fly and the strength to carry several tons with ease. Pretty generic as far as superpowers go, but even so, he was the only one who could go toe to toe with Red Shadow. And right now, that's what he was being called to do.

It wasn't hard to spot the beams of red aura in the distance as he sped past the skyscrapers. From his earpiece, Silverwing could hear his friend Allura talking to him, relaying whatever information she and Pidge could find.

"The Jewel of Jitan was taken from the Museum of New Arus," Allura told him. "It looks like he just waltzed right in and took it. Nobody could stop him."

"It had five layers of security around it too," Pidge added. "Nobody was able to do anything."

"Yeah, that sounds like his style," Silverwing grunted. He watched the red glow in the distance as it moved away from its initial location, and turned to follow it. "I'll cut him off before he can get too far, you guys make sure everyone is safe."

Silverwing sped forward, frustration eating at him. He'd been in the middle of something when he'd been called out to fight. Figures that Red Shadow would have the worst timing in the world. He'd foiled Red Shadow's plans dozens of times, but never managed to actually catch him. That would end today. Whoever was behind that mask would finally come to justice, and Silverwing could live the rest of his life in peace.

The red aura got bigger as Silverwing got closer. Red Shadow was using his power to create a shield around himself, making him immune to anyone trying to stop him by normal means. At the same time, he made it almost impossible to chase him by moving cars and other obstacles in the way behind him. As much as Silverwing hated the guy, he had to admit those mental powers were impressive. Being able to move multiple heavy objects at the same time and create a force field around himself was a testament to how powerful he was. Silverwing had to outsmart him-brute force wouldn't win.

As he flew toward his target, he finally spotted him below. He wore the typical red mask on his face and a matching red bandana covered his hair, with the rest of his outfit being completely black, and he was running off with the jewel tucked underneath his arm. Silverwing frowned, trying to figure out his plan from here.

He waited until Red Shadow was far enough away from the more populated areas, cars piled up behind him. Silverwing dove, coming at him from the other direction. He sped up, flying toward him at full force. Red Shadow didn't see him coming until it was too late. Silverwing crashed into him, sending Red Shadow flying backwards into his own barrier of cars and dropping the jewel. The impact could have left anyone else with multiple broken bones, but as it stood, even Silverwing's super strength was just enough to break through that telekinetic force field.

For a moment, Red Shadow lost his focus. The aura disappeared, and the barrier of cars started to topple. Silverwing acted fast. He dashed forward, grabbed the jewel off the ground and using his other hand to stop a car from falling right on top of them both.

"Give up," Silverwing finally painted. "You've lost what you came for. Your plan failed."

Red Shadow was still on his hands and knees, and Silverwing figured that he was still reorienting himself-when he was suddenly pushed back by a force just as strong has his own. Before he could figure out what was going on, Red Shadow was running again.

Silverwing cursed under his breath-he couldn't let him disappear again! He tossed the jewel to the hands of a nearby cop and gave chase.

Another barrier was already being built. With the force of his strength and his sheer frustration, Silverwing burst through it...and there was nothing.

Red Shadow had already managed to slip away, and the aura was gone.

Silverwing just grumbled again, catching a couple of the falling cars. Failed again. At least he'd managed to get the jewel back.


Silverwing was back in his secret hideout with Pidge, Matt and Allura. Though, without the superhero outfit on, he was just Shiro.

"So what's the status?" Shiro asked tiredly, stepping out in his normal clothes.

Allura and Matt were standing next to Pidge on the computer. Shiro joined them.

"A decent amount of property damage," Allura reported. "But injuries are minimal, and most of the Jewel of Jitan is back intact."

Shiro frowned. "What do you mean most of it?"

"Red Shadow managed to get away with just a chip of it," Pidge replied. "That will be enough to get a fortune on the black market for sure-but that's not to worry about, okay? Everyone is happy and safe. You saved the day again, Shiro."

Shiro sighed. "Yeah, but I still couldn't catch him," he grumbled. "I may have won, but he'll be back again any day now."

"Dude, give yourself a break," Matt told him. "You're fighting against a guy who can move buildings with his mind. Considering you got the jewel and nobody is seriously hurt, that's basically a miracle in itself."

"You'll outsmart him one day, Shiro," Allura reassured him with a pat on the shoulder. "Go get some rest, we'll take a look at the rest of the statistics."

Shiro was too tired to argue.

When he stepped outside, nobody knew he was the hero who had saved them. That was fine by him. He didn't want to be defined by his powers, and when he wasn't forced to fight, he'd like to lead a normal life.

So, Shiro got into his normal car and drove to his normal home, got into his normal bed and tried to think about his normal day job that he'd be going to tomorrow.

Usually, someone like him would find office work to be boring and a waste of potential. But Shiro didn't mind it. The mundane, routine work did wonders to soothe his mind from all the pressures of being a superhero. There was another bright side to his job too, and the thought managed to bring a smile to Shiro's face. He would see that bright side again tomorrow, gingerly stirring coffee like he always did and replying to conversations with that soft voice.

Managing to finally soothe himself, Shiro drifted off to sleep.


The office that Shiro worked at as a civilian was a nice place full of friendly people. He wasn't super close to any of them at the moment, but he could still call them friends at least. They were good company, and it was nice to have some people in his life who thought he was just a normal guy.

Three of those people were hanging around in the break room when Shiro went to grab a snack. Lance, Hunk, and Shay were all standing around chatting, and Hunk immediately greeted Shiro when he walked in.

"Hey, morning, Shiro!"

"Hey guys," Shiro replied. "Taking your lunch break already?"

"More like our 'listen to Lance talk a lot' break," giggled Shay.

"Hey, leave me alone!" Lance retorted. "I'm in a bad mood, ok? My car was completely wrecked yesterday by Red Shithead!"

Shiro snorted into his coffee. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're all fine," Lance sighed. "We were shoved out of the car before it flew away."

Hunk hummed. "Cars flying away. That guy terrifies me, to be honest. Why do the cool, powerful psychic abilities have to go to the guy who'd use them to destroy half the city?"

"He's selfish," Shiro replied, disdain obvious in his voice. "If he'd use his power to help people instead of steal from them, we wouldn't have any problems. He's the worst kind of person I can imagine."

The door opened and someone else walked in. They all turned to see who it was.

Shiro brightened, and Shay turned to greet him. "Hi, Keith!"

Keith waved at her, then at Shiro with a smile, and headed to the coffee station. Shiro smiled back. He really tried not to stare, but it was tough. Even in his groggy morning mood, Keith just looked so cute.

Keith finished making his coffee and walked over to their group, smiling at Shiro again. "Hi," he said softly. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Lance's dead car insurance," Hunk snorted.

"Urgh."

"Red Shadow?" Keith smirked. "Good, now I don't have to listen to you talk about that stupid car all the time."

"Do you have no sensitivity?" Lance snapped. "I lost something near and dear to my heart!"

Lance continued rambling and Keith was already ignoring him. Shiro turned to him, and noticed the large bandage on his hand.

"What happened to your hand?" He asked.

Keith faltered a little. "Oh, that? Uh, just a little accident when I was working on my bike yesterday."

"Oh yeah, the one you've been talking about. How's that going, by the way?"

"It's almost done." Keith took a sip and glanced at him coyly. "I can...bring it around here sometime if you want to see it."

"Yeah that...would be pretty cool."

They paused, just looking at each other for a moment.

Hunk coughed. "So uh, I guess we just don't exist anymore?"

"Hunk, don't interrupt them when when they're in their little bubble," Shay replied.

Both Shiro and Keith tensed up and Keith's face turned red.

"I-I gotta get back to work," Keith stammered. "I'll see you guys later." He hurried out of the room, leaving everyone else behind to laugh at Shiro.

Lance leaned on Shiro's shoulder. "I'll be honest, I'm not sure what you see in that guy, but as long as you're happy, I'll support you."

"It's not like that..." Shiro replied futilely.

They all snorted. "You're good at a lot of things, Shiro," said Hunk. "But you're a bad liar. And Keith is even worse. Just ask him out already, save us from the suffering of watching you pine."

"You think the suffering of watching them be a couple would be any better?"

"I mean, true, but at least they'll be happy, right?"

Shiro just tapped on his cup. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it before. As if he hadn't imagined Keith smiling at him over a shared smoothie, Keith taking him for rides on that motorcycle he was working on, Keith finding out about his secret identity and getting indecisive, Keith being put into all kinds of danger because of it-

Shiro sipped his coffee. "Maybe," he said shortly. "I have to get back to work too."

He left the break room and went back to the office. He caught sight of Keith once more and his traitorous heart soared. Maybe Lance and Hunk were right. Maybe he deserved this little bit of happiness in his life.


"Hey, can I get you guys' advice on something?"

Pidge, Matt and Allura looked up from whatever they were doing.

"Sure, buddy, what's up?" replied Matt.

Shiro bit his lip. "Do you think it would be...fair for someone like me to be in a relationship?"

Allura raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean fair?"

"For the other person, I mean. I don't exactly lead a normal life and I don't want to put anyone in danger, but..."

Pidge grinned. "Is this about the guy at work you're always talking about?"

Shiro flushed and nodded.

"Shiro, don't worry about that," Allura said. "You're able to protect an entire city full of people on the regular. I don't think you have to worry about putting one guy in danger."

"I agree," Matt added, "Who wouldn't want Silverwing caring specifically for them? Sounds like a dream come true."

Allura shook her head at him but smiled at Shiro again. "Look, we want you to be happy. Don't hold yourself back from anything, especially not from love."

Shiro nodded slowly.

"And we'll be his bodyguards if you really want," said Pidge.

Shiro smiled. "Ok. Ok, I think I'll do it."

Matt whooped, and Pidge clapped. "Yeah, go get him! Can't wait to finally meet this guy."


Shiro waited until they were almost done with their work day, trying to psych himself up in the meantime. He was going to do this. He was going to ask Keith out and go on a nice date with him, without worrying about any superhero stuff at all.

He was getting a bit jittery to be honest. It had been a while since he'd felt anything like this, this excitement and nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He felt like a little kid again.

Keith got up from his desk and headed over to the break room. Shiro spotted him, took a deep breath, and got up to follow. Here goes nothing.

"Hey, Keith!" Shiro called cheerfully as he walked in.

Keith jumped a little, but turned to Shiro with a smile. "Uh, hey Shiro. How's your day going?"

Shiro shrugged nonchalantly, moving closer to grab a couple of biscuits. "Ah, you know, the usual. Just finishing up so I can get home, you know?"

Keith chuckled. "Yeah, I feel you. Nothing going on for me either. You doing anything this weekend?"

Shiro clicked his tongue. "Uh...no. Don't really have anything planned yet."

"Me neither."

"Cool." He paused, steeled himself, and went for it. "Hey listen, Keith, uh...since neither of us are doing anything, I've been meaning to ask...um, if you'd like, maybe...I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch with me on Saturday."

Keith looked like he was going to drop his cup.

It took him a moment to stop gaping and start talking again, and he was already red in face.

"I-uh, you mean, uh-like, a date? A lunch date?"

Shiro shrugged shyly. "Yeah. If you want to."

Keith opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish, looking like he couldn't believe this was happening. Finally he managed to reply, "Y-yeah."

Shiro beamed, relieved. "Great! I can't wait."

"Me neither," Keith replied, breathless.

Shiro wanted to scoop him up into a hug, but restrained himself. Keith was a closed off person and he probably wasn't ready for that yet. This was enough for now.

"I have to go back in, but, I'll call you after work, okay?"

Keith nodded.

Shiro turned on his heel and practically skipped his way back to his desk. He felt like he was walking on air-and he was someone who could fly!

His coworkers glanced at him curiously, and it didn't take them long to figure out what had happened. All they could do was shake their heads in amusement.