It was almost a little embarrassing how long it had taken them to notice. They weren't worried about Adam self harming anymore, and they trusted him to tell them when things were going south mentally so it never crossed their mind to check. Whatever he needed when he was down or craving it, they'd give freely without complaint.

And then he started wearing long sleeves in the summertime.

No one thought twice about it for a week or so, but then it caught their attention and that's where their attention stayed. During the summer their friend much preferred a muscle tank and his cargo pants with the star chains. It was simple and black. His beanie was being utilized less and less with his hair being so thick and growing out enough that he could just push it back or to the side. It was actually incredibly sexy, and as much as the beanie had been a staple, the change was welcomed easily and without a word.

Steven cracked first at dinner after he and the rest had a silent discussion somewhere along the lines of,

Steven caught Hazels eye and glanced at his own arm and then Adam's. "He's wearing long sleeves. Why?"

Hazel shrugged and made a nervous face. "I don't know, but I'm too scared to ask. I'm afraid of the answer."

Anna reciprocated and winced at the girls. "I don't want him to think we don't trust him! You know how he gets."

Alex rolled his eyes and gave them all a sarcastic look. "Here's a thought: why don't we just ask him?"

Connie glanced at Adam and watched him eat silently, seemingly in his own thoughts. She shrugged but looked just as nervous. "He seems fine. But looks aren't everything."

Jacob couldn't contain his energy, it was clear in the way he couldn't seem to quit fidgeting. He shook his head when they all turned to him with imploring looks. "I'm not gonna ask."

Jasmin nudged him and gave him a small smile. "Come on, he's soft on you."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head curtly. His fist clenched hard, then sat on the table flat. "No. If he says yes..." No further translation was needed.

Anna set down her fork as silently as possible and hugged herself anxiously. "This could be about nothing or everything."

Steven breathed a quiet breath of frustration and looked back to Adam to find him staring directly at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you guys talking about me?" He tried to catch their gazes but he was avoided every time. "Guys. I'm not doing this. Spill."

"You're wearing sleeves!" Steven blurted guilty.

Adam's face dropped into pure irritation, though a hint of a smile played at his lips as he leaned back to slouch. "Am I not allowed?"

If it wasn't so loud, they would've called the period in between someone else responding silence, but that wasn't what it was. Heavy. Terrifying. Tense. But not silence.

"Don't be silly, babe," Alex sighed. "It's just strange and it's like 100 degrees almost daily. Aren't you hot?"

He pushed away from the table and for a second they thought he was going to storm off. Instead he crisscrossed his arms and tugged his shirt off right then and there.

"Oh my stars," Hazel whispered breathlessly.
He shot up to poke and stroke at his arms, getting an annoyed smack. "When did you have this done?! It's so sexy! Why do you keep secrets?!"

Adam snorted. "I'm still a little tender, so gentle hands, H. I was wearing long sleeves because the sun can bleach the ink and rubbing it against the sheets hurts unpleasantly." He paused and a smirk grew. "Not because I was slitting my wrists."

Connie frowned, unamused to no end. "Did you really have to say it like that?"

He tipped his head thoughtfully. "Yes. Yes, I did. You guys can't say that's not where your mind was, which is why you were afraid to ask in the first place. It's annoying, but I get it."

Jacob just blushed and stared down at his food. "Why didn't you say anything, asshole?"

Adam cupped a hand over his ear and grinned. "I'm sorry?"

Oh no. Jacob knew what he was doing and he wasn't buying into it. "This is a load of rubbish. You had us worried sick."

"You didn't have to be though. You could've asked."

"That is literally what I just said," Alex complained, dropping his fork to stare. "That is literally what I just said."

Steven raked his gaze over the luminous and beautiful pattern of cosmos and planets and stars. It wasn't too much detail or too dark, but just the right amount of galaxy and pale skin. Art. That's exactly what it was. "I'm sorry. But this is incredible."

Anna and Hazel were already drifting their fingers over the design, so when he plopped back into his seat they fell with him. His eyes closed for a moment, reveling in the gentle touches of his lovers before he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Seven stars, for my seven loves."

That moment after he spoke was definitely silence: a warm, fluffy, drenching kind of nothingness and shock. He opened his eyes again to see them all starry eyed and a bit red, and he couldn't help his grin. It was the most cheerful and unburdened smile he'd ever given them. "It's also been seven years since I've died, so in a way, being with you guys, like this, is a golden rebirthday of sorts."

Steven mumbled something under his breath and when asked to repeat it he giggled and jumped up. "Balloons! We need balloons!"

Connie nodded and pushed her plate away to stand with him. "If Anna could be so kind as to come with me to the party supply store–,"

"Hold on," Adam tried.

"Oh, I get to come too since I was secretary! I'll be treasurer too," Hazel declared over him. "Jacob, Alex, crème brûlée?"

"For a kiss." Jacob ran a hand through his hair and reached for Hazel eagerly.

"Guys, wait," Adam cut in, freezing all interactions. "You guys don't need to do all this for me! It was just a thing I'd been wanting to do for a long time. I'm... happy. Completely." That statement did nothing but spur them on, he could see it in their glassy eyes. "I-it's going to come back. The depression. It always does... so I don't want this to be in vain. You've seen it personally, and I don't want this to be a celebration of never having to deal with my darkness again..."

Jasmin frowned at him deeply. "It has never been about dealing with it, Adam. You'd be kind not to ever say it again."

His eyes locked with hers, the irritation growing but his eyes getting wet. "I don't want to think about a party every time I make you guys cry for–,"

"Stop it." Eyes swiveled to Jacob, who leaned forward and clasped his hands. "You're going to let us love you, you have no choice. My invitation to Jasmin now extends to you: you deal with me, or shoot me where I stand to stop me." He dug out his gun for extra emphasis and sat it on the table. "Be my guest. I can load it if you want."

"That's not funny," Adam protested.

"Do I seem like I'm trying to be funny?" He countered dryly.

They raised their eyebrows, always a little if not very surprised when Jacob got serious. He always got intensely serious about love affairs, especially when his were in question.

Adam sighed and smiled a bit at the bare table in front of him. "Put the gun away, Jack."

Jacob obeyed immediately. "Good choice, I'm certain I can't die anyways."

"There's nothing you can say to convince me or anyone else to not throw you a party," Anna mumbled in his ear, pressing a kiss to the lobe. "Daddy, you're not going to push us away and you're not broken. You're art."

Adam winced and crossed his arms. "Fuck, you guys are so nice to me. Why does it feel like being slapped?"

"That's how you know it needs to heal, otherwise you wouldn't pay any attention to it," Jacob explained, reaching for Jasmin's hand to stroke his thumb over.

Steven giggled to Connie, a sudden memory making itself known. He could tell she'd remembered instantly, but his brain had always been a couple of seconds (or minutes. Or years) behind hers. "You know, Connie said the exact same thing to me years ago at Nova."

Hazel lifted Adam's arm delicately, placing a kiss on his hand clasping with his on instinct. "You're a sky full of stars." Adam's eyes widened and his cheeks started to burn. His heart raced as he looked into Hazels achingly in love eyes, the slightest of color seeping back into them to make them chocolatey like Stevens. "My stars, our stars, they're all on you now." He smiled against him and kissed him one more time. "God, will loving you guys ever stop being so rewarding?"

Steven glowed a happy pink and beamed. "My cup runneth over."

Jasmin cracked a smile. "Does this make us a universe?"

Adam sighed heavily and tapped his foot anxiously. "Never quote me on this: but yes. My universe."

"Oh my stars, my heart!" Connie jumped up and hugged him, quickly followed by the rest doing the same. She kissed Adam's cheek and smiled down at him. "I think we're on the right track."

Time froze for Adam, only for just a second, as he felt himself become extremely lucid. Flashes of memories of him sobbing in the bathroom became a third person view of them all loving him so strongly with their touches. He could tell exactly what belonged to who: whose fingers were tracing up his arm, which lips were pressed into his neck, whose thumb was brushing across his cheek, who was murmuring in agreement and calling their universe the most beautiful one they'd ever seen.

He bowed his head and began to cry silently, exactly like he'd done in the bathroom over and over again, but this time with joy.