Until I See You Again: War Of The White Lion

Run In With The (In)Law

Adam's POV

I don't bother taking off my uniform, but I do haphazardly kick off my combat boots into the corner of the room. They land with a loud thud and the noise makes me cringe. I set my glasses down on the nightstand somewhere, I collapse on the bed and throw the covers over me. I pray to God that no one bothers me and I squeeze myself into a ball, shut my eyes, and I hope for something to replace reality.

I'm exhausted, emotionally drained, and overall done with today. It's like this last month never existed. Maybe tomorrow I'm going to wake up and realize that everything has just been a dream. That my conscience is playing tricks on me again. Takashi never returned, the lions are a myth, aliens don't exist and I'm still a hopeless case. What if everything everyone has been saying is true? I'm insane, I'm loony, crazy, deranged. Maybe I am. These hallucinations are just too real. The scary thing is they make me feel sane again, they make me feel alive. Maybe the so-called insane asylum patients are the ones we should listen to.

My mind returns to the ever-raging hurricane of thoughts and emotions. I admit defeat, I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight. There goes my streak. Now everything is just going to get muddled together again. Day in day out of bad habit after bad habit, comment after comment. Hallucination after hallucination. Wait...
Is my emo phase returning?
I can't think about that for long. In the darkness, someone knocks on the door, gently tapping out a hollow echo in the otherwise dead silent room.

"Adam, are you awake?" 

It's Takashi! But he's home early, why? Did something bad happen? Are the Galra back?

Did he come out?

Like a sudden shock of electricity, I throw the covers off me and I stumble out of bed again. This can't be happening to me! I pull open the door. 

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you-"

"Get your ass in here before someone catches us!"

I grab him by the collar of his jacket and pull him in. He stumbles over his boots which are covered in a thin layer of dried mud. I close the door behind us quickly.

"You're home early!" I whisper shout.

"Yeah...surprise," he says with half-hearted jazz hands and a forced smile. He looks like he's in pain. 

"Um... can you let go?"

I realize I've been pulling on his collar too hard and I release him. 

"Sorry! Don't want anyone to catch us," I say, smoothing out his collar and fixing his jacket, "I thought you'd be staying there for a day or two.

"My plans changed," he mumbles.

Oh no, this isn't good. He won't even meet my eyes he's so ashamed and upset. I take his hand in mine, which has been chilled by the December air and I sit him next to me on the bed. He sinks down heavily next to me and he pulls me close to him. Even if it's only been less than a day since the last time we did this, it feels like rejuvenation after hell's eternity. 

"Is your father okay?" I ask.

"He's hanging on, as I knew he would be," he says with bittersweet relief, "but he'll be gone soon."

I reach out and pull his broad shoulder into me and he slumps over into my arms.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. He's not in pain. He'll be at peace soon."

"Does he know?"

"I told him. He couldn't speak but I think he understands."

"That's a relief." I sigh, but Takashi doesn't lift his head. Instead, his shoulders only sink more.