Chapter 15 – Adam's What?

I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. I'm taking the characters out for a spin. I'm glad I finally finished this in time for Valentine's Day. Also, you'll find several words in this that I had some help with. I'm not sure myself about them but the first is Idiota in Spanish for Dork, Koishiteru in Japanese for love or my love, and Amor in Spanish for love.


Adam sat in his chair on the bridge as he studied the scans of the planet where Princess Allura had landed the Castle of Lions. This one was thankfully, uninhabited. It was probably because of the desert terrain outside.

He rubbed at his temple. The pain blocker was wearing off. He pulled a second one out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth and chewed. He grimaced at the taste. It was like black licorice mixed with rotten eggs. "So gross," he said to himself, but he couldn't deny it helped to soothe his head.

Adam chuckled to himself at the image of the Paladins as they stepped out of the Teludav. Each one smelled of singed hair though Takashi looked a little worse for wear.

It had taken him several minutes to convince them to get some rest. But now, he questioned himself. Should he leave his post and get some rest himself?

Before he could decide, the doors to the bridge opened. Adam craned his head, expecting to see Takashi there but was surprised to see who it was. "You should be resting."

"Don't start fretting over me, Adam." Allura waved a hand in front of her. "Coran does enough of that."

"I've already run more than enough scans. The only life out there is some animal life and some plant life."

She brought up her screen and studied his scans. "Your very thorough, thank you."

Adam stood as he studied the young Altean woman. She was more than tired. She seemed paler than usual.

Allura turned to walk away as the doors opened, revealing Lance. He stepped onto the bridge when the young woman stumbled, landing in Lance's arms. "Allura, are you okay?"

The princess drew herself up to her full height and pushed herself out of the Blue Paladins arms. "I'm fine."

Lance gazed at her. "You don't look fine to me. Are you sure your not sick or something?" Genuine concern radiated in his voice.

Allura blinked at Lance. "I do feel a bit out of sorts. But I think it's just a case of exhaustion."

Lance crooked his arm, giving her his arm to hold onto. He craned his head to gaze at his cousin. "I'm coming back to take your place. You should get some sleep too."

Adam smiled back at the Blue Paladin. "Thanks."


Adam trudged down the hall leading to his quarters. He stopped in front of Shiro's door. He let out a sigh as he continued down the hall toward his room.

Adam stopped and reached out, grabbing the wall. The floor seemed to shift under his feet as if it was undulating. His head seemed to spin, but he held onto the wall until the floor stopped moving and his head stopped spinning. He looked up, seeing Coran walking his way, but his attention was fully absorbed into the datapad he held.

Adam straightened up as the older Altean walked closer to him. "Coran, I thought you should know. I believe Allura's sick."

Coran's head shot up. "Sick? Oh no, I must go check on her!" He raced past Adam as fast as his legs could carry him.

Adam made it to his room as the door whooshed open, allowing him entry. He removed his uniform jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his boots, followed by his slacks. He reached out and picked up his thin sleep pants provided by the Alteans.

He stuck a foot in each leg and stood to pull them up to his hips and let go of the waistband, which hugged his waist like the flight suit hugged his body. He sat back down and then stretched out as he lay his head carefully on the pillow. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


Shiro stepped onto the bridge, surprised to find Lance there. "Hey, Lance. I thought Adam was here?"

Lance grinned back at Shiro as he puffed his chest out. "He was, but I sent him off to his room. He looked like he was in the running for a part in a movie about Zombie's as a Zombie."

Shiro chuckled. He opened his mouth to speak when Coran's voice came through the speakers on the bridge. "I need Pidge in Princess Allura's room quickly."

Shiro frowned. "What's wrong, Coran?"

"Allura's sick, and I need help with a diagnosis. I tried Adam, but he's not responding."

Shiro's frown deepened. "Okay, I'll round her up for you."

Lance began to rise from the seat, but Shiro shook his head. "Stay here. If Adam does show up, send him down to Allura's room."

The Blue Paladin nodded as the Black Paladin turned to leave. "Adam would never abandon his duty."

Shiro nodded at the teen's comment. "Your right. I'll check up on him after Pidge and Coran find out what's wrong with Allura."


Adam tossed and turned in his bed. He groaned as another image of Takashi appeared in his mind. Again he found himself at the Garrison walking into Commander Iverson's office. He saluted his commanding officer.

Iverson cleared his throat. "I wanted you to hear it from me first. The Kerberos mission failed."

Even though he'd broke off his relationship with Takashi, he still loved the man. Adam's knees turned to rubber as he sank into a chair. He stared at Iverson. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words that came out cracked with the pain he felt in his heart. "Failed, sir?" He swallowed hard.

Iverson nodded. "All hands were lost."

Adam rolled over in his bed as he mumbled, "Takashi," in his sleep, and a tear slid down his cheek.


Shiro stood behind Pidge as Coran ran the medical scanner over Allura. The smallest paladin glanced at the readings and inputted them into her laptop. She studied the results and spoke quietly to Coran.

The older Altean nodded curtly as he silently agreed with Pidge's prognosis. "It appears you're sick with the Altean Flu."

Allura gazed up at them with glazed eyes, but even though she was sick, she still had her wits about herself. "Shiro and Pidge should leave." She groaned as pain shot through her body, and her eyes lowered to half-mast.

Coran pulled a pain blocker from his pocket and used his other hand to help the princess sit up slightly. "This will help with the discomfort," he said as he placed the pill in her mouth.

Allura chewed but grimaced as she swallowed the medication.

Coran eased her back down and pulled the covers up around her chin. He straightened up and turned to face Pidge and Shiro. "Allura is right. The two of you should leave. We have no idea how this will affect humans. It has been known to be very uncomfortable for some races. Even life-threatening."

The older Altean held up his index finger. "But once she's well, we can create a vaccine from Allura's blood that should make you all immune to the disease."

Shiro stared at Coran. "How did she contract it?"

The former royal advisor frowned. "She's been overworking herself, and in that state, her body couldn't fight it off. See, on Altea, our people are born with the disease in a dormant state. But when someone overworks themselves and doesn't take care of themselves, then it can become active. But now she's forced to get that rest I told her she needed."

Shiro nodded though a shudder ran through him. "We'll leave. But I need to check on Adam."

Pidge smirked up at Shiro as the pair began to leave the Princess's room. "Don't forget to give him a kiss when you see him."

Shiro rolled his eyes at her, "Pidge."

Pidge let out a laugh as she took off running down the hall.


Shiro stood outside of Adam's door, which whooshed open. He stepped through seeing the man's uniform jacket hanging on the hook, boots in front of the bed, and slacks on the floor. This wasn't like Adam at all to leave any part of his uniform lying about.

He moved up closer to the bed. "Adam?"

Adam groaned and opened his eyes. He stared up, and Shiro as his face drained of color. "No," he shook his head, trying to clear it. "You're not here. You died on Kerberos."

Shiro frowned. This wasn't Adam's usual demeanor. "Adam, I swear it's me. You helped rescue me from the Garrison after I crashed back to earth from escaping the Galra." He stepped forward, trying to reach out and touch the other man.

Adam shook his head. "No, your dead, and now you've come back to haunt me." Adam's eyes darted around the room. This wasn't the Garrison, where was he? He couldn't tell. He jumped up and placed his hands on Shiro's chest and shoved with all his might, running out of his room.

The touch on his chest was enough for Shiro to tell that Adam was sick and possibly delusional, given the heat that radiated from his hands. He tilted his head up toward the ceiling of the room and raised his voice. "Coran, we have a problem. Adam's sick, he's in the Castle somewhere. We need to find him."


Keith stepped out of his room and saw Adam charging toward him. Adam's eyes grew as he stared at the dark-haired teenager. What he saw a purple-skinned alien glaring back at him with hand outstretched as though to grab him.

Adam ducked and rolled under the arm and ran. His mind racing. What happened to Earth? Was it conquered? Where were his parents? Where was he? Adam shook his head again. He needed his weapon. He'd fight these invaders by himself if need be.

He found his way to the armory and gripped his energy pistol. His joints and body ached. And his head was so painful and throbbing he was finding it hard to concentrate on anything. He shook his head again and found his way onto the bridge.

He glanced out of the main viewscreen seeing the desert as a dust storm kicked up around the Castle. He heard movement from him behind him. One minute he saw his cousin Lance standing there the next he saw another purple alien thing. He pulled up the pistol and aimed it at Lance.

"Who are you?"

The voice that came out of the thing's mouth sounded like Lance. "It's me, Lance, Adam. What's wrong?"

Adam shook his head again and saw Lance again. "Lance? Is it you?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Put that gun down."

Adam frowned. "I can't. Where are we?"

"We're on the Castle of Lions. I'm a Paladin of Voltron, and you're the team medic."

Adam shook his head again. Voltron did sound familiar, but he couldn't grasp onto the concept as the pain in his head grew. He looked up again at Lance, and the purple alien was standing there again. Adam's eyes darted around again, looking for a way out, but the only way out was the way he'd come. He fired a warning shot at Lance. "I'm leaving, don't try and stop me!" he growled at his cousin.

Lance nodded as his eyes grew wide. He held his hands up. "Uh, don't worry about it. While you're holding that pistol, I'm not coming near you."

Adam turned and darted off the bridge.

Lance sagged and then stood up. "Shiro, Adam was just here, and he shot at me. I don't know what's up with him, but he's not himself."

Shiro's voice came over the speaker. "I know Lance. I believe he's caught Allura's illness. We have to stop him before he does hurt someone."


Adam slipped through the door and onto the training deck. He looked for a place to hide so he could plan his next move, but he didn't see one. He found it harder to breathe. The rational part of his brain told him he was probably developing pneumonia. The irrational side wondered if this was some bioweapon that he'd been exposed to.

He dropped to his knees and toppled over onto the floor. Pain flared through him again as he fought for a good breath of air, and the sound coming from his chest wheezed and tried to take a deep breath but failed. He closed his eyes.

Keith found Adam first. "Shiro, I've found Adam. He's in the training room."

"Keep an eye on him, but don't approach. He's already taken a shot at Lance."

Keith gulped as he stared at Adam. "Yes, sir." He knelt by the door, ready to roll one way or another. He didn't like the sound of Adam's breathing. It sounded congested like the man's lungs were filling with fluid.


True to his word Shiro and the other paladins arrived on the training deck with Coran in tow. He turned to the Altean. "I need you in the observation deck. I want to try to talk to Adam, but if he tries to shoot any of us turn on the invisible maze."

Coran nodded and rushed away.

Adam managed to push himself up to sitting as the sound of shoes or booted feet on the deck plates reached his ears. He shook his head, but his vision was blurry as he tried to focus on the direction of the sounds.

Shiro held out his hands in front of his body. "Adam, it's going to be okay." He took a step forward as his pulse raced, and stomach twisted. Cautiously he took another step forward.

Hunk whispered to the others as Adam rose to his feet. "Guys, I think we should scatter."

Adam raised the energy pistol, but it shook in his hand as he tried to focus on a target. His finger twitched as he started to press on the trigger.

Shiro didn't hesitate. "Coran, now!"

The older man flipped a switch, and the walls of the invisible maze came up. Adam tried to run forward but staggered into a wall. Electricity shot through his body, and he crumpled to the floor.

Coran shut off the maze. "That was intense," he muttered.

Shiro rushed forward and knelt beside Adam. He placed his human hand on Adam's forehead. The man under Shiro's touch was so hot. It was unbelievable that he'd still managed to get to his feet. He was reminded of Keith when the dart poisoned him. Shiro removed his hand and craned his head toward the others. "We have to get his temperature down."

Coran appeared with a hover stretcher in tow. He scooped Adam up in his arms and lay him down on the stretcher. "This will be quicker getting him to the medical bay instead of trying to carry him."

Shiro nodded. "Good idea."

Coran and the Paladins hurried into the medical unit. The Altean moved a wall and pressed a panel lowering a bed. Again he scooped Adam up from the stretcher and placed him on the bed. "Lance, I know you helped with Keith. Do you remember where the cold packs are kept?"

Lance's head bobbed up and down. Yeah, I do."

"Go get some," Coran ordered. He knew he needed to keep the Blue Paladin busy.

Lance ran over to the other side of the room. He rummaged through the drawer and pulled out several cold packs and ran back to Coran and Shiro, who had removed what little clothing his cousin wore, leaving him in his briefs.

Shiro turned to Pidge and Hunk. "Adam's going to need some water. We have to keep him hydrated."

Hunk and Pidge ran out of the room to get the pouches of water.

As Coran activated the cold packs and placed them at the hotter points of Adam's body, Lance turned to Shiro. "Uh, Adam also used an IV on Keith."

"Do you remember where it's kept?" Shiro asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Yeah, I'll go get it."

Coran pulled the blanket up to cover Adam's body. He turned to Shiro as he pulled out a small bottle of pills and placed them in the Black Paladin's hand. "He'll need these for the discomfort when he wakes. Only give him one every six to eight hours. No more than that, they could be hazardous to the human system." He frowned as he gazed into Shiro's dark gray eyes. "It might have been my fault that his symptoms got so bad."

Keith's eyebrows drew together as he stared at the older man. "Why do you say that?"

Coran rubbed at the back of his neck. "When he came to see me, Adam asked for something to deal with the discomfort of a headache, and when I went to use my medical scanner on him, he assured me that wasn't nothing more than a painful headache. I gave him four pills but failed to mention a limit on hours." Coran's eyes fell to the floor.

Shiro shook his head and placed a hand on Coran's shoulder. "This isn't your fault. We all should have seen something was going on, but we were busy trying to get away from Zarkon and keep the Black Lion out of his hands. We all missed it."

Lance nodded as he returned, carrying several IV bags of the same solution he'd seen his cousin use on Keith along with the other essentials of setting it up. "Shiro's right. We all should have figured out what was going on, me, especially since I was the last to see him before he went bonkers. And I just thought he was tired, nothing more."

Coran nodded as he pressed a corner of the bed, and the IV stand emerged. He set up the first bag of fluid, showing Shiro and Keith how to do it. Then he set the connection to the side of Adam's wrist, and it located the vein and inserted the needle from itself into the vein. He then strapped it around Adam's wrist. "When the first bag runs out, replace it with another. The fluids in these are similar to something Adam called glucose and saline."

Shiro nodded. "That's good." He frowned as Adam's breathing became more labored. "Is there any way to help him with his breathing."

"Most certainly." Coran pressed another button on the bed, and head of it raised. He pressed another button on the wall, which seemed to spit out an oxygen mask and tube. "This will also help his breathing." Coran pressed another button and then slipped the mask over Adam's mouth and nose. "There's also a medication that's being mixed with the oxygen that should help to clear his lungs."

A slight smile pulled at Shiro's mouth. "Thanks, Coran."

Coran gazed at the three paladins still in the room. "I'm sorry, but I should go back and take care of Allura. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

Shiro nodded. "Don't worry. We will."

"You should try to keep your chances of getting the flu to a minimum."

Shiro shook his head. "I'm not leaving Adam here alone."

Both Lance and Keith nodded in unison. "I can't speak for Keith, but I'm not leaving either. Adam is a part of my family back on Earth."

"I know Adam isn't my real family, but he's almost as close to me as Shiro is," Keith added.

Coran gazed at all three of them. "Very well, but if any of you start feeling bad, alert me." The Altean turned and exited the medical bay.

Shiro gazed at Keith and Lance. "So, who is going to take the first shift?"

Keith gazed at the pair. "It should be me. I've had more sleep than either of you."

Shiro gazed at the right arm of Voltron. "I suppose your right." He turned his gaze over at Adam. "But I feel like I'm abandoning him."

Keith shook his head. "No, you're not abandoning him. Your taking care of yourself."

Lance opened his mouth, but Shiro cut him off as he smirked at Keith. "Okay, Lance, we've got our orders. Why don't you open two of the beds for both of us."

Lance nodded and reluctantly moved over to the next wall and pushed a couple of buttons to open two beds. He sat down on the edge of one but did have to admit to himself that he was tired. He gazed once more over at Adam's bed before he lay down himself.


Keith looked around for something to put some water into and found a small bowl. It sat next to something that resembled a water faucet. He pressed the button above it, and water ran out into the bowl. He pushed the button a second time to stop the flow. He saw a cloth sitting on top of a cabinet where the bowl had sat next to it. He picked it up and dropped it into the water.

He walked back over to the bed where Adam lay and sat down on the edge of the bed. He wrung out of the cloth and used it to wipe down the exposed skin of Adam's face and neck.

Adam groaned and opened his eyelids, gazing at Keith. "Hot," he managed to whisper.

Keith had to lean forward to hear Adam through the mask. "I know, but we're working on getting your fever down." Keith dropped the cloth back into the water and picked up the medicine bottle, opened the cap, and shook out one of the purple pills into his empty hand. He recapped the container and set it back down and turned back to Adam. He lifted the oxygen mask and held the medicine out for Adam to see.

Adam screwed his face up. "They're gross."

Keith smirked at the sick man. "You're probably right. But Coran assured us that it will relieve the discomfort."

Adam frowned but gave in because anything would be better than the pure agony he was experiencing. All his joints seemed to ache worse than being through hand to hand combat. He opened his mouth and allowed Keith to put it on his tongue. Adam pushed it over to his back molars and chewed as he grimaced in disgust and swallowed the medicine.

Keith replaced the mask as Adam's eyelids slid closed. "You need to rest."

Adam gave a slight nod, but his eyelids opened again. He began to remember some of the things he'd done, like taking a shot at Lance. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Keith nodded. "Everyone's fine. Lance and Shiro wouldn't leave, so they're asleep over there. But now what you need most is to sleep. Don't worry about anything. It's our turn to take care of you."

Adam's eyelids closed again as he finally let go and slept.

Hunk and Pidge walked into the infirmary carrying a huge box loaded with as many water pouches as they could stuff inside. They sat it down near the bed as Keith held his index finger to his lips and motioned them to follow him to the other side of the room. "Adam's finally sleeping," he kept his voice low. "And Shiro and Lance are asleep. We're going to take shifts."

Pidge nodded. "How can we help?"

Keith crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, when Adam gets better, he's going to need to eat something."

Hunk grinned, "I know, I'll see about using some of that meat to make something like chicken soup."

Pidge scowled at the Yellow Paladin. "How do you get chicken from pork that tastes something like a cross between pork and beef?"

"I can do this, don't worry, Pidge. I have this covered."

Pidge frowned and rubbed her chin. "What about me?"

Keith crossed his arms over his body. "Well, we don't have anyone keeping an eye out for the Galra, and we don't need Zarkon finding us."

Pidge nodded. "Yeah, that we don't need. I'm your girl," she grinned at him and ran out of the infirmary.

Keith frowned as he scratched at the back of his head. "I think she's been hanging out with Lance too much."

Hunk chuckled as he slapped Keith's shoulder. "I prefer her this way to moping about."

"I guess you're right about that."


Keith jerked up as he blinked and rubbed at his eyes. He glanced down at Adam, who was still asleep. Keith hadn't realized he'd dozed off. He heard again the sound that had woken him. It was a groan, but it sounded like someone in pain.

His eyes followed the sound. It was coming from Shiro. Movement caught Keith's attention as Lance sat up.

Keith carefully hopped off the bed, making sure not to wake Adam and walked across the room to Shiro's bunk.

Lance joined Keith. "Do you think he's got it now?"

"I don't know, Lance." He raised his head and gazed into the blue eyes that stared back at him. "Adam's asleep, but I think his IV needs to be changed."

Lance hurried away to check on his cousin.

Keith caught a twitch from Shiro as he groaned again. He put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Shiro, wake up." He gently shook the older man.

Shiro's eyelids opened, and he blinked as recognition flashed in his eyes, and he sat up. "Is everything okay? Adam's—"

"Adam's fine. However, you were making noises."

Shiro rubbed his human over his face. "Sorry, I was dreaming."

"I'm guessing it wasn't a good dream?"

Shiro nodded as he leaned his back against the infirmary wall. "I was reliving my time as Zarkon's prisoner." He glanced away, drew his gaze back on Keith. "You look tired. You should get some rest."

Keith shook his head. "I'm fine."

Shiro pat the bed. "Then why don't you sit down here. We haven't had a chance to talk for a while."

Keith took the offer to sit down next to his friend, his brother. Keith sighed. "You know you're the closest person I have to family." He swallowed hard as he stole a glance at Lance who'd finished changing the IV bag and now sat on the bed, wiping off Adam's face and neck. He shifted his gaze back to Shiro. "You didn't have to help me like you did at the Garrison or with Iverson."

A smile curved up at the corner of Shiro's mouth. "I remember the first time I saw you in that classroom looking out the window. You didn't look at me while I gave my recruiting speech. But when I saw how well you did with the flight simulator. I knew you needed to be at the Garrison. You showed the potential of being a great pilot."

Shiro chuckled at something, and he turned to head to gaze at Keith's face. "Care to tell me why you stole my car that day? You've never told me why."

Keith sighed. "Of all the questions you could ask, you choose that one?"

Shiro chuckled.

Keith sighed a second time and swallowed. "I-I was so frustrated with the kids and the principal. For one thing, they kept on calling me the Emo kid. They all came from homes with parents while I didn't have any. And James Griffin, he made it a daily game to take a jab at me about my parents.

"So yeah, when the principal called me a discipline problem right there to your face, well, I figured if they labeled me that, then I should live up to it." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Shiro placed his human hand on Keith's shoulder and squeezed slightly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's a shame we hadn't met earlier. Maybe I could have spared you from that pain."

Keith lowered his hands into his lap. "I'm over that now, but I was also booted out of the Garrison as a discipline case. But that's after Iverson came and told me that you and Pidge's family were declared dead. I got furious, and I told him to take it back, but he told me that people higher than he had passed the word down. So I punched him in the face as hard as I could. Adam tried to get Iverson to change his decision, but Iverson didn't."

Shiro gazed at the teenager. "So, you were on your own since they declared us dead?"

Keith nodded, "For the most part. Adam came by a few times to check up on me. It was nice of him to do, but I didn't like the way he broke up with you before you left for Kerberos. I made that clear to him and did what I could to push him away. Eventually, he stopped coming around."

Shiro wrapped his arm around Keith's shoulders and pulled him closer.

Keith ducked his head under Shiro's chin. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for." Shiro closed his eyelids. "I'm the one who's sorry. I should have been there for you, but I was fighting for my life in Zarkon's arena." He opened his eyelids as his voice turned softer. "I will always be here for you, Keith."

Keith pushed himself out of Shiro's embrace. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I realize now that there's no guarantee that any of us will make it out of this alive. But if I can keep everyone safe, including you, I will."

Shiro stood and stretched. "I should go and check on Adam."

Keith yawned as he nodded. "Tell Lance that Adam had a pill about six hours ago. He'll probably need another one soon."

Shiro nodded. "You can lay down here."

Keith nodded but reached out and grabbed Shiro's hand. "One more thing." His eyes slid away before sliding back to Shiro's. "I-I'm sorry for pushing Adam away back on Earth. I-I owe him for taking care of me when I was poisoned."

Shiro pat the teen's hand. "I'm sure he knows."

Keith yawned, then lay down on the bed.

Shiro brushed Keith's bangs out of his eyes. "Get some sleep."

Keith's mind flashed back a memory of Shiro doing the same thing while he was poisoned. A smirk pulled at his mouth as he gazed up at the older man. "Okay, Dad."

Shiro chuckled. "I guess you remember that."

Keith nodded but let his eyelids close. "Yeah, thanks for being there."

Shiro pat Keith on the shoulder but left the younger man's side and strode over to the other side where Lance was taking care of Adam. "Keith said Adam had one of those pills that Coran left with us about six hours ago. He wanted you to know." Shiro turned his gaze down to Adam. He reached out a hesitant hand. But continued the movement and ran his human hand through Adam's hair.

"He's still hot, Shiro. What should we do?"

Shiro reached down and touched the cold pack under the backside of Adam's neck. "This cold pack is getting warm. We need some more."

Lance stood up. "Okay, I'll get them." He ran over to where they were kept.

Shiro glanced down at Adam's face to find his eyelids open and gazing up at him. "Are you real?"

Shiro smiled softly down at Adam. "Yeah, I'm real. You're sick with Allura's Altean flu bug. Only this one is kind of like the poisoning Keith went through. Only you've also developed pneumonia too. But how are you feeling?"

"A little better."

"Do you want some water?"

Lance appeared at Shiro's side with the cold packs in hand. He gazed down at Adam. "Hey, you're awake. Can I get you something?" He glanced down at his hands and saw what he was carrying. "Oh, yeah, right." He chuckled slightly as his cheeks flushed pinker than usual. "I went to get you these cold packs." He went through the motions of activating them and replacing the warm ones.

Adam gazed at Lance as his cousin finished replacing the cold packs. "Thank you, but your still an idiota."

Lance grinned back at his cousin. "I know your feeling better since you can tease me."

Shiro opened his mouth again to try to find out if Adam was thirsty or not, but the door to the infirmary opened, and Hunk stepped through with a couple of hovering trays, each carrying steaming bowls of soup. "I finally perfected my soup." A big toothy grin spread across his face as he practically preened like a peacock.

Shiro tried again when Lance butted in. "Great, I'm sure Adam would like some since he's awake."

Shiro groaned and smacked his face with his human hand. He let it slide down.

Adam groaned, but he smirked at Shiro. Then whispered through the oxygen mask, "I'm thirsty."

Shiro nodded and saw the box loaded with water pouches and picked one out of the box. He inserted the straw and removed Adam's mask, holding it so Adam could drink it. "Not too fast."

"I know," but he smiled to take the sting out of the words.

"It seems as if the medicine that's in the oxygen is helping with pneumonia."

"Yeah, it's not as difficult for me to breath anymore."

Lance returned with a bowl of soup. He sat down the edge of the bed. "Hunk says this tastes like chicken soup. He made it with that meat that you two brought back."

Adam pushed Shiro's hand away and focused on Lance. "What are you going to do? Feed me like an infant?"

"If I have to."

Adam shook his head. "Put the straw in the bowl, and I can drink it that way. I'm not helpless, you know."

Lance sighed. "Yeah, I know. But you were sick, and now you're weak."

"I won't deny that. I should eat some of the soup."

Lance grinned. "Now, you're talking."

Hunk stepped over to them. "I want to know if I should change the recipe to make it taste more like chicken soup, or if I need to add anything else to it."

Shiro took a step back from Adam's bed. "While these two," he indicated Lance and Hunk, "take care of you I'm going to check in with Coran and see how Allura's doing. But I will return, koishiteru."

Both Lance and Hunk's mouth's dropped open as they both gaped at Shiro. Lance gazed down at Adam who's face was both a pink and eyes were gazing at Shiro. "What's that supposed to mean?"

As Shiro walked away, he heard Adam's reply, and he grinned. "That's something I haven't heard in a long time. And I'm happy to hear it again."


Shiro entered Allura's room to find the young woman up and wearing her dress. She sighed as she brushed her hair.

Coran held out his hands to her back. "Princess, you need to get back into bed. You're still sick."

Allura turned from where she sat and smiled. "I assure you, Coran, I'm fine. It was a mild case of the flu." She noticed Shiro behind the royal advisor. "Oh, Shiro, is everything okay?"

"Adam's recovering. He's not delirious anymore, but his fever is still high, but not as dangerously high as it was."

Allura gasped as she stood and dropped her brush to the floor. "Adam's sick?"

Shiro nodded. "Yes, he caught it, too."

Allura reached out to him but stopped herself. "Oh, Shiro, I'm sorry he caught this from me." She turned her gaze back to Coran. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

The older man scratched at the back of his head. "You were ill. But now we can make a vaccine from your blood to give the Paladins the protection they need, and it should also shorten Adam's recovery."

Allura nodded. "Then let's get it done. We can't allow the Paladins to get sick from this, and they need Adam well."

Coran led the way to the Green Lion's hangar. They found Pidge finishing some work on a program. The older man pulled at his mustache and then released it. "Is everything ready?"

Pidge grinned as she stood and practically bounced. "It's ready."

Coran turned to Allura. "Sit down right over here," he indicated a chair for her to sit down in. He picked up a tube-like device and pushed up the sleeve of her dress, pressing it to her arm. Pidge and Shiro both stared fascinated as the blood flowed into the tube.

Pidge studied the process intently. "I'm sure there's a way we could speed up the process."

Shiro sighed. "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

The youngest Paladin crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph."

Coran turned to what looked like a centrifuge and poured the blood into six smaller cylinders. He raised his head, gazing at Pidge. "Care to do the honors?"

"Definitely," she replied as she turned it on. It ran until Coran motioned for her to turn it off.

Coran removed the smaller cylinders and drained off the clear liquid of each into smaller vials. He held up one of the vials. "This is what I'll use to make the vaccine doses. I need to scan the blood serum for impurities."

It was Allura's turn to Hmph as she crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin. "My blood is pure."

"Yes, yes, it is." Coran cleared his throat. "What I meant was anything that might be harmful to the Paladins and Adam. Their physiology is very similar to ours." He scanned each vial and seemed satisfied.

He ran the vials through a processor, which each one was now in an even tinier vial. He placed the first vial into one of the air injectors and pressed it against Pidge's arm. It hissed, and the vial was empty. He followed the same procedure with Shiro. "I'll go and give the others their injections."

A devilish grin crossed Pidge's face. "It's called a flu shot on Earth."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "I'm going back to the infirmary."

Pidge's grin grew wider. "Say Hi to your boyfriend for me."

Shiro rolled his eyes but nodded. He turned to leave but couldn't wipe off the grin that spread over his face as Pidge chuckled, and Allura giggled.


Shiro entered the infirmary and found the room practically deserted. Keith was still sleeping, and Adam was asleep, but Lance, Hunk, and Coran were absent. He walked over to Adam's bed and lightly pressed his hand to Adam's forehead.

The man's eyelids opened as he focused on Shiro's face. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself. How do you feel?"

"Better than earlier. Coran says I'll have to stay until my lungs are cleared." He smiled at Shiro. "I hope I wasn't dreaming. I thought you called me koishiteru earlier."

Shiro nodded and smiled in return. "Yeah, I did."

"What happened to bring this about? I'm not complaining, I'm curious."

Shiro motioned with his head in Keith's direction. "We were talking earlier, and he came to the realization that we might not survive this war, and it made me think about what and who is important to me right now." He took a breath and decided to jump in feet first and eyes open. "I've decided that I want us to be together again, koishiteru."

Adam smiled, and Shiro leaned forward to touch his forehead to Adam's. "Takashi, Amor." He reached up and ran his fingers through Shiro's white bangs. "I wish there was a way we could have prevented the pain you went through."

Keith opened an eye from the other side of the room. "I'm glad you two are a couple again, but I'm trying to sleep here."

Adam reached under the blanket and pulled out the dog tags he wore around his neck. He pulled the chain up over his head and pulled the mask off his face before replacing the mask. "I kept something. When Iverson told me you'd died, I started wearing your ring on my dog tags, keeping it next to my heart." He placed the dog tags in Shiro's hand.

Shiro flipped them over to find both his and Adam's rings there. The ones they'd given each other when they'd become engaged. He closed his fingers over the dog tags. "Are you—" he couldn't finish as his voice cracked.

Adam nodded. "Will you marry me?"

Shiro put the tags back in Adam's hand. "I will, but not right now. Once this war is over with, and peace returns to the Universe."

Adam nodded. "Until that day comes. I'll hang onto these."

Keith sat up on the other side of the room and stood. "Congratulations to both of you. I'm happy for you two, but I'm going to my room where I can get some sleep."

Adam smirked, and Shiro chuckled as the Red Paladin left.


Two days later and Adam was officially cleared by Coran to return to his duties. But that didn't stop the congratulatory comments from the others to the pair of Garrison officers who formally had moved in together. Nor the teasing they received from both Pidge and Lance.