Chapter Text
Keith looked down at the flower in his hand. The petals were a deep green, glittering gold flecks dotting the ends. While this flower was indeed alien to the local flora of Earth, that wasn’t why Keith was staring at it in shock. This flower was different, it was special. For the past two months Keith has had it, the alien blossom was a stark white, no colour whatsoever. That was its default state when Coran had given it to him.
The flower was what Coran called a Fa-maux. An alien flower that had the potential to make someone conceive. All they needed to do was steep a petal in boiling water like tea and drink it. One petal a month till the remaining petals changed colours or there were no more left to use.
Coran had said that if someone who was pregnant touched the flower then that would make the petals change colour. Keith had been skeptical at first but Shiro tried to encourage him to give it a try. After all, what did they have to lose?
Keith set down the flower and found himself slumping against the bathroom counter. He… Couldn’t believe it. It really worked. One would think at this point he would learn not to be so surprised by everything space had to offer, but Keith honestly never thought it’d work for a hybrid like him.
He stared down at the flat planes of his stomach before shakily resting a hand over it. To think he was pregnant. It seemed surreal -- almost like he was hallucinating this whole thing. But no matter how many times Keith had tried touching the flower to see if it was a false reading, he received the same results as the first time. At this point Keith could only stand there in stunned silence as he tried to wrap his brain around this.
Anxiety gripped at Keith’s chest and his breath came out halted and stuttering. He’s never been pregnant before. Hell of course he hasn’t! He’s a man! Which arguably made the entire thing even more panic inducing. He didn’t know the first thing about a pregnancy nor what it entails. Suddenly he was regretting not reading those pregnancy books Lance had given him.
While Keith was beginning to shake with apprehension he could distinctly feel another emotion welling up alongside it. Excitement. Keith was going to be a father. Shiro was going to be a father.
He had to tell him. He had to share the exciting news with his husband!
Keith turned on his heel and wrenched open the door. Kosmo, having been sitting in the hall waiting for Keith, instantly perked up. The space wolf barked and trotted after Keith as the half-human stormed past. Keith was a man on a mission and nothing was going to get in his way of revealing the thrilling news. But then he paused as a thought suddenly crossed his mind. What if… He made it a surprise? Shiro liked surprises. Whenever Keith did things for Shiro that were spontaneous and unexpected, Shiro always got this dopey look on his face that had Keith’s heart melting into a pile of goo. All it took was imagining Shiro’s smile for Keith to decide that he’d surprise his husband with their successful pregnancy.
However, first Keith went to the Atlas for a checkup. Or more accurately he went to talk to Coran for the checkup. If anyone knew how the flower worked then it was bound to be the person who gave it to him. With an appointment for the following day logged into his datapad, Keith left the Atlas and began plotting how he’d spring the news on Shiro without outright telling him. Which, when it came down to it, was a lot harder than he initially thought it’d be.
His first few attempts failed spectacularly. Ok, no problem. Keith still had an entire day to try and get through to Shiro. When he really put his mind to it he could be quite tenacious. So Keith doubled his efforts and did everything short of just telling him outright. It’d now become somewhat of a challenge for Keith to see what it would take for Shiro to understand his husband was pregnant.
-----
Keith tried everything.
From buying a little baby doll and setting it on Shiro’s desk to outright saying “the flower’s green”. Every time Shiro just gave him a confused yet loving smile and responded like he did when an alien spoke to him in their native tongue. Polite nodding and an ‘uh-huh’ that clearly meant he had no clue what Keith was saying.
At this point he was willing to be the bigger person and admit defeat. So with that in mind, Keith wondered his way into their living room. Today was Shiro’s day off and he was currently lounging on the couch overlooking papers for the Atlas. He seemed unaware of Keith’s presence, so the half-Galra stood in the doorway watching him for a moment. Shiro’s white hair was messy and he was wearing a baggy hoodie and sweats. He even had some stubble from not shaving this morning. Shiro looked content and relaxed even as he read over the small print on the papers in front of him.
Shiro glanced up when Keith sat by his feet before he smiled and looked back to his papers. “You know at this point I think I might need glasses. I swear the words just keep getting smaller and smaller.”
Keith snorted, leaning against the arm of the couch. “Is that so? I think you’d look pretty cute with glasses.”
The two fell into a companionable silence after that. Keith was chewing on his lip trying to think of how best to word this. Should he be subtle or treat it like a bandaid and just rip it off? But how blunt did he need to be for Shiro to get it?
“So... Kosmo’s going to be a big brother.”
Shiro hummed, only partially paying attention. “Oh? We’re getting another pet?”
Keith rolled his eyes hard enough to give himself a headache. Ok, he needed to be even blunter. He sat up, shoving Shiro’s papers away and climbing onto his lap like a demanding cat.
“Wha -- Keith!” Shiro frowned though he did nothing to resist.
Keith rested his hands against Shiro’s chest and gave him an exasperated smile, “Shiro, I’m pregnant .”
It was obvious when the words finally registered. Shiro’s eyes widened and the papers fell from his slackening grip. He flapped his hands uselessly, unsure where to put them for a moment before deciding to settle them on Keith’s hips.
“Y-you’re pregnant?” Shiro paused then, Keith’s actions from this morning flashing through his mind in a new light. “Wait is that why you were being so weird today?”
A snort of laughter burst out of Keith and he pressed his forehead against Shiro’s. “Seriously? I was being as obvious as I could be.”
Shiro pouted at Keith like a pitiful puppy, “Come on, it’s my day off. You can’t expect me to be as sharp as I usually am.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“Keith!” Shiro whined before nuzzling his face into Keith’s neck. His husband merely hummed in response and gave the back of his head a few gentle pats.
The two sat there for a moment, basking in each other’s presence before Shiro pulled back far enough so he could move a hand to Keith’s stomach. He exhaled breathlessly as a look of genuine awe overtook his face. “Are they really in there?”
“Mmm. The flower doesn’t lie. And tomorrow I’ll be getting a more thorough checkup from Coran.”
Shiro only nodded as he continued to rub his hand against Keith’s flat stomach. It was almost hard to believe that their child was there, growing with every day that passed. He gave a sharp inhale, eyes burning from the threat of tears. Shiro buried his face back into Keith’s neck and held him tenderly. “I love you.” He whispered, voice choked from the sudden swell of emotions. He never thought he’d get to have this. After everything they’ve been through, everything they’ve lost, finally they got to have this.
Keith pulled Shiro’s face up to give him a firm kiss, attempting to pour every ounce of affection he could into it. Keith too felt his eyes stinging from tears thanks to Shiro’s own. He cracked a wobbly smile and placed a few more kisses across Shiro’s face.
Keith sniffed and once more rested his forehead against Shiro’s. “We’ll have to think of names.”
“Oh? We aren’t going to wait for the baby to tell us their name?”
Despite Keith’s laugh he did reach up and pinch Shiro’s cheek. “Don’t be a butt, you’re ruining the moment.”
“Mmm I like to think I’m enhancing the moment.” Shiro gave him a charming smile and batted his eyelashes. “After all, humor is one of my strong suits.”
“Uh-huh. We can only hope the baby inherits it, then.”
Shiro grinned sweetly and pressed a kiss to Keith’s nose. “And your good looks. If they come out looking like you with my brains? The world won’t know what hit ‘em.”
Keith couldn’t suppress his giggle at that and he ducked his head to avoid more fluttering kisses. “Dork.”
“Only for you,” The larger man paused before he grinned and looked down to Keith’s stomach. He pitched his voice higher as he cooed, “And to you too my widdle baby!”
That got another round of laughter to spill from Keith’s flushed face. He leaned back in Shiro’s hold and crossed his arms over his stomach. “Shiro, they're barely the size of a bean. They can’t hear you yet.”
“So? Why should that stop me?” Shiro felt as if his smile was now going to be a permanent fixture for the months to come. He felt suffocated with love and excitement and had to physically fight the urge to vibrate in his seat. He wanted to tell everyone the news! They were going to be parents!
As intuned with his husband’s thoughts as ever, Keith’s smile eased and he raised a hand to run through Shiro’s hair. “I’ve only told Coran so far. Want to help me spread the news?”
Shiro was highly tempted to say yes but instead he asked, “In a moment? I just… I really want to enjoy this a bit longer.”
“Of course, love.” Keith said with a sweet peck to his husband’s forehead.
And so the two sat there cuddling on the couch, hands occasionally passing over Keith’s stomach. It didn’t matter how long they spent there whispering softly to their growing child, they couldn’t care less. The expecting parents were simply content to reside in each other’s presence and enjoy the peace the glorious news brought them. Telling their friends and family could wait. For now they were satisfied spending this moment with their baby and each other.