"They call me The Tailor because of how I thread the needle."
He is loud. He is short. And he is immensely talented.
But his shortcomings is his tendency to be reckless at flying, causing more crashes than success.
Keith watches him, but does not approach. He does not know how to.
It is only in the group simulations that he can garner a reaction. He tests the controls.
"Hey, watch it!"
Keith smirks as the Cuban boy snaps at him. He does not know how to approach him, but at least now he's looking at him.
And it's as exhilarating as flying.
But with flying too high, the greater the crash.
...
Keith watches from outside the simulation. He is there for an after school practice, but someone has beaten him to it again.
Taylor.
He has always been one spot behind, sometimes the same, rarely ahead of him in the simulation ranking. He watches the screen with interest as the ship maneuvers through a narrow space between two asteroids, spinning and flipping as it passes.
Keith snorts when he hears a whoop of victory turn into a whine as the ship crashes into another asteroid from its blind side.
His chuckles suddenly turn into a rough fit of coughing and he doubles over, trying to catch his breath, fingers clawing over his lungs.
"Hello? Is someone outside?"
Keith runs away.
...
He swallows a pill, hoping it is just a common cold. He climbs in his bed, pulling up the covers. When his head hits the pillow, he is fast asleep.
He dreams of blue eyes, deep like an ocean he has never seen. He dreams of laughter like sunbeams dancing across the sand dunes. He dreams of a fiery passion that soars through the stars.
He wakes up. He stops dreaming. He feels something growing in his lungs. He dreads that he knows what it is.
He does not tell Shiro.
...
PILOT ERROR
The words flash on the screen in red. His heart stops for a split second. His world grounds into a halt. His eyes sting, but the tears won't fall.
He should have told Shiro. He should have told Shiro a lot of things.
Now he cannot.
He coughs and his insides burn.
...
It gets worse as he leaves the Garrison. The blue petals flutter innocently at his feet. It is such a small thing which causes much misery in his heart.
He doesn't want to die.
Maybe if he leaves, the flowers will wilt and he can search for clues on Shiro. He will not give up on the man who never gave up on him.
Even if it means giving up the one who he wished he had a chance with.
...
Adam talks him into it.
"I won't have another dead loved one in my conscience when I could have done something to stop it."
"Shiro's not dead." He says.
Adam gives him a hard look. "And I won't let you die."
Keith coughs out another bloom. It is a fully formed forget-me-not. He laughs at the cruel irony.
...
The bright lights and too clean sheets are what he sees first.
Deep breathing and a deeper sense of loss are what he feels next.
He cannot remember his name. He cannot remember his laughter. Only an echo of loving is left in the chambers of his heart.
He does not know if he regrets it.
...
He sees him come in, rushing to his aid.
"Nope. Nope, nononono, I'm saving Shiro."
He does not know him.
"Who are you?"
But there is a flutter in his stomach.
"uhh, the name's Lance?"
Taylor's existence is gone.
"Oh I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."
But Lance is someone else.