Shiro

The bar was empty and silent, reflecting my hollow heart. Even the bartender had left, going outside for a smoke. In my mind, I could still hear the sound of applause, almost mocking me from the past. The crowds... the people who had come to see my shows... had I disappointed them? What was I supposed to do now to make up for it? Was that even possible?

And then, of course, there were the performers. I'd dragged them out of their comfortable lifestyles where they'd been sheltered but safe and secure. I'd promised them everything that they could ever want and now I'd taken it away. I didn't even have the money to give them their final checks.

Then, there was Adam. Oh god, how was I ever supposed to fix this? How was I ever supposed to win him back? And little Amelia... My heart hurt just thinking about them. I looked down and watched my reflection swim distortedly in my glass of whiskey.

The door to my right opened and, assuming it was the bartender having finished his smoke, I didn't look away from my cup. Instead, I downed it in a few gulps, my insides recoiling at the taste but finding a shred of comfort at the fuzzy feeling that came with it.

The barstool beside me moved and, when I looked up, someone who was definitely not the bartender was now sitting beside me.

"Pidge...?"

The young girl's eyes pierced mine with such intensity that I had to look away. She was still wearing her circus uniform, albeit it was covered in ash and dust and was ripped in places. However, I noticed that her tool pouch was spotless, the handles of the wrench and ratchet and screwdriver and so on shiny and clean. It almost made me smile- no matter what, you could count on Pidge to put her tools before her own appearance.

"Figured you'd end up here, Shirogane. Feeling sorry for yourself and whatnot..."

I couldn't meet her eyes, but when she motioned towards the door, I looked up, only to see all of the performers filing in one by one, standing along the bar and at the tables behind me. An overwhelming sense of regret flooded over me, but I had to tell them the truth.

"Guys, if you're here to get paid, I don't have the money."

Pidge scoffed. "We don't care about the money, Shiro," Hunk said gently. "But you don't get it. It was never about the money in the first place. When you pulled us out of the shadows... you gave us a home. Maybe, for you, it was about the money, but for us, this was all we had."

"We want our home back," Allura said quietly. I looked up at her but didn't feel worthy.

Pidge nudged me with her elbow, nodding towards all the other performers. "Can you do that for us?"

Slowly, I began talking. "When everything you've built and worked for crumbles around you and you see who's really there for you, not for the money, not for anything more than you, it makes you think back on the journey that brought you to the place you are now. You're able to see... what's really important in your life."

Looking around, I could see the memories hanging in the air. This was the bar where my father met my mother. Where Adam and I drank too much and then staggered home in each other's arms. Where I'd asked Keith to become my 'overcompensated apprentice'.

This building, this town... it had given and taken from me without warning, but I'd grown from every fortune and misfortune it had presented me with, learning from my mistakes and trying not to make them again.

It was places like these that you knew as well as the palm of your hand, as well as the feeling of your love's fingers intertwined with yours, as well as the sound of your infant's breathing as she slept peacefully beside you. It was places like these that you knew you would remember for the rest of your life.

Pidge was staring at me, and looking around, all of the other performers were too. They were waiting, expecting, nearly vibrating with potential energy. I had a choice and I had two answers, both leading to uncertainty but one carrying the possibility of happiness with it, redemption and pride restored.

I didn't need to second guess myself this time. I knew what my choice was. "Yes."

Standing up from the barstool, I continued, addressing the whole crowd of performers that had gathered in the bar. "From now on, I won't be blinded by the monetary needs I thought validated me. From now on, I'll try harder, do more, be better, because it's what you all deserve.

"I drank champagne with the President of the Garrison. I traveled this country and made small talk with the rich and the famous and none of it mattered. I've spent so long thinking that it would, that once I reached that point, I would finally be whole, I would finally matter and have a point and a purpose, but when I stop and see you here I remember who all this was for."

Slow smiles spread across the faces of the performers, their cheeks caked with ashes but still shining like full moons. I owed each and every one of them for putting their faith in me. All this time, I had thought that I was the one taking care of them, giving them the life they'd always wanted, but the truth was, it was the other way around.

These gorgeous people had given me what I didn't know I needed. They were right. We'd made a home, and now it was time to get it back.

Pidge hopped off the counter and gave me an encouraging smile, whispering, "I think you have a husband to make up to first."

My eyes went wide. Adam. With the cheers and laughter of the performers echoing behind me, I bolted out of the bar and began running down the street like a madman, pumping my legs to go faster and faster, needing to see him, to make sure he knew that I knew that I'd fucked up but I was going to make it right.

I could be a good dad. I could be a good husband. I could make our little family happy the right way, even if we were living in an apartment where the heat didn't work and the ceiling leaked when it rained.

As long as I had him, I was home.

(Once the adrenaline wore off, I figured that I probably couldn't run to Adam's mother's house before the sun set, so I ended up hailing a taxi).

...

The giant house hadn't changed a bit, and, consequently, it was still just as intimidating as it had been when I was younger. Adam's mother met me at the door, dressed in a lavish purple cocktail dress and a stern, disapproving expression. I forced myself to keep smiling, though, as I said, "I would like to see my husband."

"He's not here," she replied coldly.

"He's at the beach, you quiznaking whippersnapper!" Coran, Adam's crazy yet lovable great uncle crowed from the other room. He'd always been kind to me and Adam and I had talked about getting him to stay at our house instead of Adam's mothers, but she'd never allowed it. I peeked around the doorframe and caught a glimpse of his fiery orange hair, grinning. It made me even happier to see that he was cradling Amelia in his arms.

"Thank you, Coran!" I called, perfectly gleeful despite Adam's mother's cold glare.

Adam's family had owned the beach house for generations, and Adam and I had taken advantage of it when we were younger, coming down to the surf to play in the waves and lay on the hot sand.

Today, the sea was restless beneath the cloudy sky, it's frothy waves churning as the scent of saltwater filled the air. I kicked off my shoes by the pier, rolling up the cuffs of my pants, and walked down the hilly dunes to the surf, where Adam stood like a pristine angel, untouched and unmoving. He was wearing a long trenchcoat and his scarf fluttered beside him in the sea breeze. He looked... ethereal.

I don't know if he heard me walk up beside me, but he didn't look at me.

"I don't know how to do this the right way," I started slowly, "so I'm just going to try my best. If there is one thing I have learned in my life, it's that I'll never deserve you. You, who's done so much for me, supported my dreams even when they drew me away from you, who's gone along with my crazy plans and laughed at my antics.

"I've brought hardships upon you and this family. You warned me and I wouldn't listen. I just wanted..." Adam's eyes strayed from the tumultuous waves to my eyes for a brief moment. "I wanted to be more than I was."

Adam shook his head, nudging his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I never wanted anything more than the man I fell in love with, Takashi."

"From now on..." I tried but I couldn't finish. What could I promise? What could convey this...? Tears were falling down my cheeks in torrents like rain. "From now on." My voice was breaking.

Adam understood, though. He always could. He could read and analyze me like a book. He knew me better than I knew myself. "From now on," he confirmed, then stepped forward into my chest, his arms wrapping around me tightly. When he pulled back to kiss me, his eyelids fluttering shut as the ocean breeze swirled around us, I promised him 100 times over that I'd never make the same mistakes again.

From now on...

...

Lance

I'd been in the hospital with Keith all night, sitting beside him, worrying over him, sleeping but just lightly. It hadn't really hit me when I'd first heard that he'd gone into the burning circus that he was going in there for me. It was only when Shiro carried him out, his body covered in ash and marred with small burns, did I realize the true gravity of the situation.

He'd risked his life for me after I'd rejected him, not thinking twice about the consequences. God, he was fucking stupid- if he had just waited for five seconds- but I... I owed him my life now. And the least I could do was be here when he woke up. And then maybe I could kiss him and tell him 'thank you' while trying not to cry.

He looked so peaceful and innocent laying on the stark white cot, like a little kid dreaming about houses made of candy or roller coasters. Slowly, gently, I brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, smoothing it away from his forehead and rubbing the ash off his cheeks with the pad of my thumb.

My heart had been stuck before- of course, I wanted to be with him, but after the incident with his parents... I didn't know if I could take that again. And he had a bright future ahead of him: I didn't want to be the one to mess that up. But, it seemed that he had decided to make that decision for me when he ran into a fire for me...

I knew that I owed it to him and my own heart to try, to at least attempt to have a relationship, to reject the fear that gripped my heart and dive head-first into something foreign and beautiful and mysterious.

My hand fell from his face to his palm, which I slowly took in both hands, my lips pressed against his palm.

My voice shaking, I whispered to him the same word's he'd told me so proudly before, "What if we... rewrite the stars? Say you were meant to be mine..."

When I closed my eyes, tears tracked down my cheeks, hot and salty on my lips. I kept them closed, praying to anything that he'd be okay, that the fire wasn't too bad, that he'd wake up soon.

"You're here?"

My eyes flashed open, immediately meeting Keith's. He was staring at me with an awed expression, purely amazed as if I was some sort of angel. Wiping my tears, I leaned down and cupped his cheeks in my palms, nodded and trying not to cry harder. Instead of answering, I kissed him softly, trying to relay my emotions through my silent lips as I didn't trust my voice to be strong enough to say what I wanted.

The hospital was silent but my heart was beating so loud I was worried Keith could hear it. As if he read my mind, he placed one bandaged hand right over my heart, his fingertips soft on my skip, smiling gently through the kiss as my tears fell on both our faces.

I knew it would be hard, but I was willing to try. Willing to rewrite the stars for Keith Kogane, the mulleted rich boy who'd stolen my heart.