Enough - Klance Fic

Part 2 - Realisation

Allura pushed the box away and stood up, "I don't think we should look in there, it's obviously personal." Pidge pulled it back, "Are you kidding? We're supposed to bond as a team, without any secrets! I told you all I was a girl, Keith told you when he found out he was Galra. We should at least look at some of it." Lance nodded, "I agree with Pidge. Shiro seems to be having a pretty tough time, and we need to be able to understand why before we can help him." Hunk shook his head, "I don't know... You're all right... Maybe we should look." Allura sat back down. "Oh, alright then. I must admit I am curious..." Pidge pulled out the first item. A little box with 'For Adam' engraved on the front in cursive. "Adam? Who's that?" Allura asked. Shrugging, Pidge opened the box. It was lined with velvet, and a golden ring was resting in an indent. Lance and Hunk both gasped, Allura leaned closer, curious, and Pidge examined it carefully. "This looks like an engagement ring..." She concluded. Hunk looked at the ring thoughtfully, "Was Shiro engaged? To this Adam guy?" Pidge noticed Lance's expression change ever so slightly, and smirked to herself, "Maybe... Or he was going to?" They thought for a while, but then put it aside and carried on looking through the box. There were a few photos of Shiro with some people they didn't recognise, and the rest was just normal household items.

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After hours of staring at it, the plain grey ceiling of Lance's room at the Garrison got pretty boring. Lance rolled over to see the clock - 1:13 am. Accepting the fact that he just couldn't sleep, Lance slid out of bed and out into the corridor. He turned around and closed the door, and from behind him he heard a quiet "Hey,". Keith had emerged from Shiro's room. "Hey," Lance replied sleepily. Glancing at the door Keith had come out of, Lance asked, "Is... Is he okay?"
"Sorta... He's fine without me, but I don't think he'll be getting much sleep tonight..."

"Can I ask you something, Keith?"
"Uh.. Yeah?"
"W-who is Adam?"
Keith looked annoyed and a little angry, but not surprised. "You looked in the box, didn't you?" Lance nodded guiltily. "Well," Keith decided after rolling his eyes, "I don't feel like it's my place to tell you. Shiro wouldn't mind if you popped into his room for a visit. You can comfort him and ask if you want..." He turned around and started walking to his own room, adding over his shoulder, "You're better at all the sappy love stuff anyway."

"Hey, Shiro..." Lance said, standing uncomfortably in the doorway. "Lance?" Shiro looked up, and it was all Lance could muster not to gasp. His eyes were red and puffy, presumably from crying, and they had lost their usual determined glow. He looked dejected and defeated, and through all their hardships Lance had never seen Shiro like this. On instinct, he rushed over and enveloped him in a hug. "I'm alright, Lance-" Shiro protested, but he didn't try and escape the hug. When they broke apart, Lance sat on a chair opposite Shiro at the table. "A-are you upset because of... him? That Adam guy?"

"So you know? Did Keith tell you?" He didn't look angry at all.

"N-no. Keith wouldn't tell me... We, uh, we looked through your box... Sorry." Lance replied awkwardly. Shiro smiled, but his face didn't light up as usual. "Let me tell you about Adam..."

"After completing training, like you were doing before you were... Uh, interrupted, I became a teacher. As time went on I spent less time in the classroom and more time in the skies, being a pilot. But I don't regret not becoming a pilot straight away, because that's how I met him - Adam. I was in the office late, marking some tests. As fate would have it, there was another teacher in there tasked with the tedious job of marking tests. When I got up to get some more coffee - the lifeblood of all teachers - I noticed his cup was empty too. I offered to refill his cup too, and he gratefully accepted, turning around to state how gentlemanly I was. That was Adam, and let me tell you he is-was a pretty man. Being a sleep-deprived and overly-confident man, I made a godawful pick up line. It was so bad.. Something that'd come out of your mouth, Lance. I said, 'I'm guessing a man with a face sweet as sweet as your's has sugar in his coffee?'. Luckily he didn't think I was a total idiot, although he didn't have sugar in his coffee after all, and we... Well, we sort of started dating... And then we got engaged... And then I left for the Kerberos mission, so..."

His voice trailed off at the end, and he looked down at the table.

Lance looked sympathetic, but confused. "You can do that?". Shiro looked up, "Do what?"
"Date a guy- if you are a guy?" Laughing a little at how shocked Lance was, Shiro nodded, "Yes. I did do it after all. I am gay, that's what it's called when you like guys." Nodding thoughtfully, Lance thought for a little while. "Can you... Do both? Be gay and like girls at the same time?" A knowing look swept across Shiro's face. "As a matter of fact, you can. A person who likes females and males is bi - short for bisexual... Have you got something to tell me, Lance?" At this question Lance turned a slight shade of red and suddenly felt very hot. "W-well... Um... There's this guy... And I've been getting weird feelings around him. Sorta similar to how I felt around Allura, but deeper...? " Shiro intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them, "Have you told this guy about these feelings?" Shaking his head, Lance replied, "No... I felt like it was wrong? That I shouldn't - I couldn't - have those feelings around guys. So, I kinda pushed them to the side. Besides, I don't wanna ruin our friendship. It- it's pretty cool without all this complicated stuff getting in the way." He sighed, "I dunno... He might not even be, what was it again? Gay... Or bi, like me..." Lance slumped down and rested his head between his arms on the table. "Well, Allura knows you like... or liked her, but that hasn't ruined your friendship with her, has it?" Looking up, Lance nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But will it be the same with Keith?... Wait... SHI-" Laughing a little, Shiro placed a reassuring hand on Lance's shoulder. "It's alright, your secret's safe with me." Noticing how tired Lance looked, Shiro added, "You should probably be getting to sleep now. C'mon-" Lance looked up at Shiro as he was helped up. He noticed a little bit of that glow had returned to his eyes. As Lance was leaving, Shiro added "And maybe you should just ask Keith if he likes guys, who knows?" Lance turned around in time to see Shiro wink. He turned back around to face the door, blushing. "Y-yeah... Who knows..."