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“Papa! Dad!” A duet of childish voices accompanied a stampede of small feet. A moment later three small bodies burst through the kitchen door to confront two bemused fathers and one somewhat alarmed Space Uncle.
“My goodness!” Coran exclaimed, eyebrows climbing his forehead. “Is everything alright?”
The eldest, Serafina, drew herself up to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest, adopting a very serious look. “We have something very important to tell you,” she said with all the seriousness that being ten years old and the oldest could produce.
Before she could elaborate, the vibrating ball of energy standing next to her burst out, “Kit needs to come live with us!”
“ Cael ,” Serafina hissed at her brother, clearly annoyed at the interruption. She looked back at their fathers. “Cael’s right, though,” she allowed grudgingly. “Uncle Coran should let Kit stay with us.”
The youngest, Sakura, didn’t speak. She simply nodded.
“Oh?” The uncle in question regarded the three children with all the seriousness the situation clearly warranted. He hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not saying I oppose the idea,” he explained to the trio, “but I would like to know your reasoning.”
Cael tilted his head, looking confused. “Well, ‘cause he’s just like us,” he replied in a tone that made it clear he thought that was an obvious fact.
The three adults exchanged significant looks. Shiro spoke up then. “Why do you say he’s like you?”
At that, three little faces fell. It was quiet for several moments before Serafina spoke for them. “Daddy, he-” She paused and took a deep breath.”No one wants him because they think he looks wrong,” she finally said. Both her tone and expression suggested she was close to tears.
“But they’re the ones that are wrong!” Cael declared fiercely, hands fisted at his sides. “He just looks different! There’s nothing wrong with that! You love us, even though we look different! We can love Kit too, right?” He looked at his fathers, eyes big with worry but full of hope.
“ Dios ,” Lance breathed behind Shiro, the single word full of awe and pride. Shiro shared that sentiment.
Their little family had actually started with Cael, rejected by his people because he was “grotesque” and “monstrous”, the result of experimental hybridization and genetic manipulation.
Serafina had been next. She had been abandoned to the streets when she was very young because of a genetic anomaly that had rendered her black and white among a species known for being a variety of brilliant colors.
And little Sakura...the diagnosis was “mutism as a result of severe emotional trauma”. Her caregivers had scoffed at that. Said that not be able to talk because you saw something “scary” was stupid, couldn’t possibly be a real thing. Clearly, she was just being troublesome, looking for attention.
Hunk had had to sit on Shiro.
Keith had covered Saki’s ears while Pidge spat an oath so vile she sounded like she needed to go wash her mouth out with nunvil.
Even Allura had been pissed. Clearly they were incapable of meeting the child’s needs, she’d said, voice colder than Blue’s ice cannon. Therefore they would be taking the child with them, to ensure she would receive proper care.
Lance had scooped Saki up and went to introduce his new daughter to Blue.
Lance and Shiro had showered their adopted children in unconditional love. They had woven for them a family that included not just two loving fathers but also doting aunts and uncles. Even their aborted attempt to build a home back on Earth had allowed them the chance introduce their children to grandparents and more aunts and uncles and cousins who loved them just because they were them, no questions asked. They had built a stable, loving world for three children who had been told they didn’t deserve love.
Three children so confident and secure in their world they wanted to open it to include someone they just met, because he was just like them.
Lance had stepped up behind Shiro’s chair and put his hands on his shoulders. There was a fine tremble to them Shiro was sure was from overwhelming emotion. He reached his Galra hand up to cover Lance’s before clearing his throat. “All of you agree? You want Kit to come live with us and be your brother?”
Three heads nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, what does Kit want? Does he want to live with us?” Shiro questioned.
There was a sudden shuffling noise out in the hallway. Sakura pushed past the older two and disappeared out the doorway. A moment later the was a squeak from the hall, and then Saki suddenly reappeared, tugging a Galra kit along with her. He took a look around the room and squeaked again and tried to duck back out into the hallway. Cael grabbed his free hand and Sera stood behind him, pushing him back into the kitchen gently. “It’s ok, Kit,” she said to the clearly frightened boy. “It’s just our dads and Uncle Coran.”
“Yeah, our dads are really cool!” Cael piped up, Sakura nodding in agreement.
Kit didn’t look convinced. Understandable. The rejection of the people who were supposed to care for him was carved into the scars on his body and molded into his malnourished frame.
All because he had a tail, and no fur.
Well, he had a little fur. There were tufts at the tips of his ears, and a pouf on his tail. And he had the characteristic Galra crest. But a genetic anomaly had left the rest of his skin as hairless as a human’s and given him a tail.
Shiro could feel Lance moving behind him. A moment later he’d come from behind Shiro to move in front of Kit, and squatted down in front of him, bringing his face closer to Kit’s level. “Hey, buddy,” he said gently. “I know you’ve had a rough life, and things have been strange and scary since you were rescued.” The little Galra wouldn’t meet Lance’s eyes, looking down at the floor while he bit his lip and nodded. Lance continued. “You heard those three over there, they want you to live here and be their brother and part of our family. And Shiro and I would like to be your dads.”
Kit peeked up at Lance then looked over at Shiro before flicking his eyes back down to the floor. “R-really?” he whispered.
Lance nodded. “If you really don’t want to, we won’t make you,” he said reassuringly. “But Sera, Cael and Saki really like you, and Shiro and I do too. So what do you say- would you like to stay and be part of our family?”
They watched as Kit’s eyes darted around uncertainly. “You...you really want me to stay here? It’s really ok?”
Lance nodded again. “It’s really ok.”
Kit was silent again, chewing his lip as he seemed to be thinking something over. “Will...will you give me a real name if I stay?” he finally asked.
“Kit isn’t your name?” Shiro asked in surprise.
The boy shook his head. “They said I wasn’t a real Galra, so I didn’t deserve a real name,” he admitted softly.
Lance grinned. “Well then that will be the first thing we’ll do as your dads. We’ll pick out a handsome new name for our handsome new son.”
Shiro nodded. “Definitely,” he said with a smile.
Suddenly, Sakura moved away from Cael’s side to stand next to Kit. She gently tugged on his shirt hem to get his attention. When he turned to look at her, confused and a little nervous, she brought her arm up to tap on the device on her wrist. A display was projected, and she tapped it a few times.
“ Please stay?” a computerized voice asked. Sakura looked at him hopefully.
Kit looked around him again. Whatever he saw, seemed to reassure him. He took a deep breath and let it out with a nod. “Yeah,” he said, a small smile forming, “I want to stay.”
“YAY!” Sera cheered as Cael whooped and jumped up and down. Saki grinned and threw her arms around her new brother’s waist, hugging him tightly.
“C’mon!” Cael grabbed Kit’s hand and started dragging him back to the hall. “We gotta show you where your room is! And all the other stuff!” Sera and Saki ran after them, Sera adding her own commentary.
Sniffles drew Lance and Shiro’s attention back to Coran. He was dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief and smiling. “It’s a truly wonderful family you’ve made,” he said, waving the handkerchief around, “a truly wonderful family.” He blew his nose with a loud honking sound.
Shiro slid his arms around Lance from behind, hugging him close and kissing his cheek with a smile. Lance leaned into the embrace and smiled as well. “Yeah,” he said in simple agreement.
A truly wonderful family made.