Until I See You Again: War Of The White Lion

Safe Room

Adam's POV

"Good work today. We should be up and piloting that lion in no time!" 

Allura high fives me after a lengthy discussion on what a high five is and all that stuff.

"I'll see you later," she calls back and disappears down a hallway to her room.

I head through the building and explore to kill some time. The bonding has put me in a good mood. As I walk around, I see someone wearing a Jacket similar to mine, except the colors are inverted and the right sleeve hangs limply at their side. I realize that it's Takashi. He has an intense expression on my face and I instantly am worried I did something. I walk up to him anyway.

"Hey, Takashi guess what? H-hey, what are you doing?" I shout.

Takashi grabs my arm and roughly pulls me out of the courtyard without even regarding I was about to tell him something.

"Ow!" I complain. 

"Shhhh!" he shushes me.

"Are you shushing me?" I scoff.

"Stop complaining." He whispers harshly as people's gazes follow us as we walk.

"Christ! What's gotten into you?"

Takashi swiftly pulls me into an abandoned hallway. The lights are low and he pulls me into a dark doorway. He looks around, silently, listening for people or activity.

"You're squeezing my shoulder!" I complain.

"Shhhh! Just say quiet for a moment," he whispers.

He waits until a distant noise goes away and fades completely. All that's left is the sounds of our breathing. 

"I'm sorry I had to do that." he apologizes, loosening his grip on my shoulder.

"Good." I sass.

"I found something." He says, but there was nothing excited in his voice or happy. It was solemn. 

"Something tells me this isn't good."

"It isn't." He responds.

"What is it?"

Takashi reaches into a pocket on the inside of this jacket and pulls out a small paperback book with a black cover with orange and white text over the front. The book is no bigger than my hand, but it is an inch thick.

"The Sendai Galaxy Garrison Universal Extension Base Handbook Of Rules and Regulations." I translate aloud.

"You found a copy?"

"Yeah, they have them all over the library, and it has a rule that's going to stop each and every one of us," he says solemnly.

He opens the book to a page with a folded corner. His finger underlines a sentence.

"No public displays of affection are permitted. No same-sex relationships are allowed. Each is punishable by expulsion or termination."

"No."

I take the book from his hands and flip through it to the back.

"'The Universal Extension Base of Sendai City, Japan reserves the right to terminate and or refuse services or job opportunities to anyone, regardless of status, situation and or responsibility.''

Each word feels like it adds weight on my heart. I can feel my posture sink down from the weight. I rub at my eyes, hoping that I'm seeing things, but when I read the words again the text has not changed.

"I can't believe this. I actually can't believe this!" 

"I'm so sorry." 

"No, do not be sorry. I thought they changed this. Or might have."