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Lance sighs for the fifth time in as many minutes and Keith has had enough.
“Alright, what's your problem??” He throws the pink dish sponge into the sink, left hand brandishing a soapy mug, “You're sighing too much. I don't have enough plants to recycle all your carbon dioxide; just stop.” Lance pouts as he moves into a sitting position on the black leather sofa.
“Sorry. I just…” he sighs again, “You're gonna think it's weird, but I just feel really envious of you guys lately.” Keith blinks at him and Lotor looks up from his paperwork at the dining table.
“Why?” Keith asks. Lance shrugs, attention focused on a loose thread on his hoodie.
“I mean, you guys are so domestic, even with all your differences. Married life just seems so… awesome? Peaceful?” The youngest finishes. Lotor beams and Keith scoffs as he begins washing dishes again.
“Well, for one, you need to slow down there. Lotor and I have been together for six years, you've only known Shiro six weeks-”
“Six amazing weeks!” Lance cuts in. Keith rolls his eyes and continues.
“Plus, you know we aren't actually married, right?”
Lotor puts his coffee cup down with a heavy thunk and turns to stare at Keith incredulously.
“How dare you! After all that we've been through in these six years, and you still have the AUDACITY to say we're anything but married!”
“Here we go,” Keith sighs. “Lotor, you know I didn't mean-”
“We live together! In an apartment with both of our names on the lease! We have matching rings, monogrammed his and his towels and fancy Mr. and Mr. wall decor- We adopted a cat together for God’s sake!” Lotor rants. Keith rubs his temples and Lance reclines on the couch with his hot cocoa; sometimes this shit was better than his telenovelas.
“Lotor-”
“Your family knows about me, my group knows about you; Agris calls you before anyone else, even for minor injuries, and your mother bought us couple's sweaters for Christmas last year!” The man continues.
“Oh that's adorable .” Lance coos from the couch. Keith shoots him a withering glare before moving out of the small kitchen.
“i just don't know how much more “married” we can be without me slapping a target on your forehead and screaming “Here's the man I love! Come get him!”” Lotor flops back in the chair, arms folded grumpily. Keith huffs a laugh as he slips his arms around Lotor's shoulders and buries his face in the older man's neck.
“You know I didn't mean it like that. I'm grateful for all that we have together, really. I just sometimes wish we could go public. I wish I didn't have to hide my ring at work, and I wish you could introduce me as your husband at charity benefits.” Keith murmurs. Lotor runs his fingers through Keith's messy black hair with a small smile.
“We could. If it was what you wanted, you know I'd do it in a heartbeat. I just don't want-”
“My life to be in danger, I know.” Keith finishes, pulling back to press their foreheads together. “I knew the risks when we started dating. I'm happy with just this.”
They stare into one another's eyes lovingly as Lotor cups Keith's cheek and rubs his thumb over the soft flesh. Keith plays with the long strands of Lotor's hair at the base of his neck.
“Well that was a rollercoaster from start to finish.” Lance comments. Keith sighs before straightening up.
“Don't you have a date you should be getting ready for? Why are you still on my couch??”
“It's a comfy couch?” Lance shrugs. Keith rolls his eyes on his way back to the kitchen.
“So when are we going to meet this “Takashi Shirogane”, hm?” Lotor questions. Lance narrows his eyes suspiciously.
“Considering I've never told you his full name, not for a long time.”
“Mmm. Six weeks of dating, yet none of your closest friends have met him. Are you by chance ashamed of him?” Lotor's eyes widen in mock shock as he holds a hand over his chest.
“Of course not!!” Lance shouts.
“Then you're ashamed of your friends? You don't want him to meet us?”
“No! Well, maybe not meet you, but-” Lance shrugs. Lotor scoffs and resumes his paperwork.
“As rude as ever, I see.”
“And you're as big of a tight-ass as ever.” Lance snarks as he stands and gathers up his stuff.
“My ass is wonderfully tight; just ask Keith.”
“Disgusting!” Lance shouts before slamming the front door. Lotor cackles and Keith shakes his head, smile on his face.
“Why must you always wind him up?” Keith sighs. Lotor signs the bottom of his papers with flourish, lips curled in a devious smile.
“Because he makes it so much fun.”
--
“I was thinking, maybe I should meet your friends?” Shiro casually mentions at dinner. Lance chokes on his strawberry milkshake and begins coughing. Shiro quickly hands Lance a napkin.
“Or not, I guess? Didn't mean to choke you up there.” He huffs a small laugh. Lance sips his water and clears his throat.
“ Why ?” He asks incredulously. Shiro blinks at the younger man as he spears a potato chunk.
“Why what?”
“Why would you want to meet them?” Lance questions, playing with the edge of the wax paper liner in his hamburger basket, teeth worrying the inside of his cheek.
“I mean, it's been two months now.” Shrio shrugs, “I just thought you might want us to meet. You talk about them so often, I feel like I already know them.” Shiro laughs softly, and Lance gives a shy smile.
“Do you… not want them to meet me?” Shiro hedges. Lance shakes his head quickly.
“No, no- I want you to meet them, and they ask about you all the time, I just-” Lance sighs and runs a hand through his messy brown hair. He laughs a little before dropping both hands into his lap.
“In all honesty, I'm worried they'll scare you away.” He confessed. “There's uh. Some stuff that I maybe left out of telling you about everyone, and hearing funny stories about them is a lot different than actually meeting them.” Lance smiles sheepishly. Shiro puts his fork down and smiles softly.
“Lance, I have an ex husband and a daughter who just turned eighteen. Nothing you can say to me is going to scare me away.”
“Lotor is the leader of the Mafia. Keith is the son of a police detective. Pidge and Matt regularly hack into government secure locations, just because they can. Hunk and Shay are honestly the only two normal friends I have. I mean, Adam is pretty normal as well, but he believes in aliens and thinks AI are going to take over one day, so maybe he's not.” Lance rushes out before taking a long drink of soda. Shiro blinks for a moment before nodding slowly.
“That's a lot.” He laughs softly. “For starters, Adam is probably right about all of that, and if I could hack into anything I wanted, I definitely would.” Shiro smiles and takes Lance's hand.
“If you're still worried or you think it's too soon, that's okay. I don't want to pressure you. But I would like to meet them one day.” Shiro assures. Lance's shoulders sagged in relief as he smiles at Shiro.
“How about next month? We do a biweekly dinner thing, kind of a potluck style.” Lance suggests. Shiro's smile grows.
“I'd like that.”
--
“This was a terrible idea. I'm calling Shiro to cancel.” Lance groans as he drops his forehead onto Hunk and Shay's counter. Hunk sighs and rubs a hand up and down Lance's back.
“Don't be so hard on yourself, Lance. This is the first time you've ever tried your dad's recipe, it's okay if it's not perfect.” he smiles. Lance frowns at the messy pan of chicken and cheese enchiladas.
“Dad makes it look so easy .” He pouts. “Maybe I should try something else?”
“Lance, for the love of God , stop.” Pidge cries. “You've been cooking for hours. We're all going to be eating leftovers for days . Matt and Adam already had to bring in a folding table just to hold the rest of everything.”
Lance cringes and turns to look around the small kitchen/dining area. Pidge's spinach dip sits covered on the counter next to the bags of chips and bottles of soda Adam and Matt had brought. Lotor's cheese stuffed meatballs and Keith's broccoli and rice casserole are sitting at the small dining table along with Hunk's grilled chicken and potato salad.
Shay had placed a basket of warmed bread rolls on the table next to the cinnamon rolls before sitting on the couch to stay out of the hustle and bustle. Lance's dishes take up most of the rest of the remaining counter space; hot cheese dip, a fresh fruit salad and a vegetable tray take up the rest of the countertop while Lance's enchiladas occupy the last of the table space.
“Whoops.” Lance mumbles.
“Pidge, leave the poor guy alone. If he wants to bake out his anxieties, let him.” Matt chastises as he places stacks of plates, napkins and utensils on the small folding table. “He's obviously worried Shiro's going to starve to death, so he's making sure there's plenty of food.”
Lance covers his face with his hands and groans.
“Noooo.”
“Look who I found at the front entrance!” Lotor singsongs as he tosses open the apartment door.
“I swear to God, if you bring another squirrel into my apartment Lotor, I will let Keith murder you and not even feel bad.” Hunk frowns. Lotor pauses in the doorway and turns to face someone in the hallway.
“You’ve wanted to kill me?”
“I mean, not all the time. Just when you get really annoying or throw your “work clothes” in with mine.” Keith responds. Lotor hums in thought.
“Understandable. You will give me at least two hours notice though, right? I'd like to leave a last letter.” Lotor asks.
“Of course, of course!” Keith assures. Lotor scoffs.
“Sounds fake, but okay.” Lotor steps through the door and pushes it wide open. “Also, it's not a squirrel. He's much too big to be a squirrel.”
Lance drops his hands and smiles brightly.
“Shiro!”
The older man smiles in the doorway, left arm toting a big bag of ice.
“Hey!” He gives a small wave with his right hand. “I wasn't sure what to bring, so I just brought ice?” He shrugs and Lance laughs as he pulls Shiro in for a kiss.
“Ice is great. We can never have too much ice.” Shiro smiles and passes the bag to Keith, who stands with his arms outstretched.
“Sweet, now that Shiro's here, we can eat right?” Pidge clasps her hands under chin, eyes lighting up. Hunk laughs and makes a sweeping motion towards the kitchen.
“Go for it.”
Pidge whoops and jumps up from her seat but is swiftly shoved back down by Matt who speeds past her.
“Brains before beauty!” Matt reaches for a paper plate but Adam smacks the back of his hand before taking one for himself.
“Age before brains.” He declares. Matt rolls his eyes but dutifully follows Adam through the line.
“You know, you're only older by like, three months.” He sighs. Adam shrugs.
“Age is age.” He replies as he scoops a generous helping of potatoes.
Lance ushers Shiro to the couch beside Shay.
“You'd better sit. I'll get you a plate of food; it turns into a war zone when everyone gets hungry-”
“Drop that drumstick! You know I called dibs!” Keith shouts. Pidge grins and gives the chicken leg a lick before dropping it on her plate.
“I licked it first; dibs are overridden.” Keith scowls and flings a baby carrot across the kitchen at her.
“Hey, hey! I know you're not wasting food in my kitchen!” Hunk chastises. Lance sighs as Shiro laughs.
“Can't you at least pretend you guys were raised in civilisation, you animals?!” He cries as he makes his way into the fray. Shay giggles and turns towards Shiro.
“Don't mind them. They're all so close; it's like a bunch of siblings fighting.” Shiro grins.
“That's what I thought too. You must be Shay, right? You have a lovely home.” Shay smiles and extends both of her hands.
“Thank you, Shiro. Lance has told us so much about you. I'm so glad you could make it for dinner!” Shiro placed both of his hands in hers. She tilts her head in confusion as she clasps his hands.
“Oh! That's unexpected! Do you mind-?” She hedges. Shiro shakes his head before remembering that she can't see him.
“No, I don't mind.” He retracts his left hand and Shay brings both of hers to the chilled material of Shiro's prosthetic. A low whistle comes from Shiro's right and he turns his head to find Matt watching over the back of the couch, unchecked fascination shining in his eyes.
“ That is a beautiful piece of machinery. Mind if I ask how you came by it?” Matt grins. Shiro huffs a laugh and holds it out towards Matt when Shay releases her grasp. Matt eagerly runs his fingers over the prosthetic. Through the artificial skin, Matt can feel the lightweight but solid materials. It's definitely a high quality limb.
“I was enlisted when I was younger. There was an accident during deployment. The VA was really good to me.” Shiro explains. Matt frowns for a moment, eyebrows creasing in confusion, before he smiles again and nods.
“Well, I'm glad this was the worst of it. It's good to meet you, Shiro. I'm Matt Holt.” Matt finishes with a firm handshake. Shiro smiles and nods.
“It's good to meet you, Matt. Lance talks about all of you so often, it's good to finally put a faces to the names.”
“Lance talks too much. I bet it's all lies.” Pidge jokes as she sits in the wingback chair with a mounded plate of food.
“You must be Pidge.” Shrio laughs as Lance shoves a bread roll into her mouth before dropping onto the couch beside Shiro and passing him a plate full of food. “Lance says the Holt siblings who live on the second floor are the smartest people he's ever met.”
Pidge chews her mouthful of bread, nodding slowly.
“Well. Sometimes he knows what he's talking about.” she grins. Lance rolls his eyes and takes a bite of the enchiladas.
Conversation flows smoothly between mouthfuls of food. Lance is so proud of his friends for actually behaving, he can't stop smiling. Once most of the food has been devoured, Keith stands and stretches.
“That was delicious, but I'm ready for a cupcake.” Pidge fist pumps, mouth full of cheese dip, and Matt stands as well.
“Yesss, Allura makes the best cupcakes.”
“Allura… that sounds familiar.” Shiro muses.
“Lance's sister.” Hunk fills in. “She runs a bakery downtown. Stardust and Moonbeams, right?” Pidge nods. Hunk stands and takes Shay's empty plate before heading to the kitchen.
“How neat! I'll have to stop in one day. That's actually only two blocks from the gym I work at.” Shiro comments. Lotor hums around a bite of cinnamon roll.
“You'll have to stop by the Galactic Pizzaria as well, then.”
“Oh?” Shiro tilts his head, confused.
“Mhm. His father owns it.” Lotor continues. Shiro's eyebrows shoot up and he turns to Lance, who is trying to melt into the couch.
“Your sister owns a bakery and your dad owns a Pizzaria?” He asks incredulously. Lance swallows a mouthful of chicken and sits forward.
“I mean, it's not like they own it on their own. They're all family businesses; we all pitch in.” Lance explains.
“”They” meaning more than just two?” Shiro asks. Lance opens his mouth to explain but Adam beats him to it.
“Stardust and Moonbeams, Galactic Pizzaria, Cafe Luna, Twists and Tinkering; they're all family owned and operated. Some days, Romelle is working the pizza joint while Coran is in the workshop, some days Allura's in the cafe and Lance is helping Alfor run the bakery.” Adam shrugs. “You never know who you're gonna get.” Shiro nods in understanding.
“That's pretty cool.” Lance's shoulders sag in relief and he shares a smile with Shiro.
“Speaking of cupcakes,” Keith calls from the kitchen, “where are they?”
“Shit.” Lance sighs.
“You spent over two hours making extra food, but you didn't bring the one thing you were supposed to?” Pidge frowns. Lance shoots her a look before wiping his hands on a napkin.
“I bought them, but I guess I left them in my apartment during my rush to get here. I'll run up and get them.” Lance makes to get up but Shiro puts a hand on his arm.
“You eat, I'll go get them.” He smiles. Lance purses his lips.
“Are you sure? It's just two floors up, it'll only take me a minute.”
“It'll take me the same amount of time.” Shiro laughs. “I'm already finished eating; you worked hard today. Let me go get dessert.”
Lance smiles softly, cheeks pinking, and pulls his keys out of his pocket.
“It's the silver key. The box should be on my counter top; it's pink and purple.” Shiro nods as he takes the keys before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Lance's forehead.
The room erupts into a chorus of “awww”s and Lance's cheeks burn.
“Shut up! Are you guys twelve?!” he cries as Shiro laughs.
--
It's a short walk upstairs, and the box is in plain sight. Shiro smiles as he tucks the the bright pink and purple box under his right arm and turns to leave the apartment.
As he's locking the door, he hears footsteps coming up the hall.
“You plan on telling Lance how you really got that prosthetic, Champion?” A voice drawls. Shiro tenses. He locks the door and turns to face Lotor, friendly smile on his face.
“Lotor. You're looking well.” He shifts the box under his arm. Lotor raises an eyebrow, arms folded over his chest.
“As are you. Loyalty pays in Father's army, hm? Are you reaping retirement benefits yet?” Shiro's smile drops.
“That was a long time ago, Lotor. I haven't heard from him in ages.”
Lotor scoffs and pushes off the wall.
“Sure, if four months counts as ”ages”.” Lotor waves a hand nonchalantly. Shiro frowns.
“Try four years .”
“So personal trainers can simply fly to London on a whim nowadays?” Lotor presses. Shiro snorts.
“Sure, when their ex-husbands are paying for a round-trip ticket. Are we done here? Lance is going to get suspicious.” Shiro starts for the stairs, Lotor following quietly behind.
“Abigail stayed behind?” Lotor asks softly.
“She did.” Shiro nods.
“Why?” Lotor presses. Shiro sighs and pauses on the stairs.
“Because Derick is her father?”
Lotor scoffs and goes down the stairs ahead of Shiro.
“Please. Unless something changed in the ten years I've been away from there, you were more of a parent than he ever was.” Lotor's lip curled at the mere thought of Shiro's ex-husband.
“Thank you, for that.” Shiro replies softly, “But she was biologically his. I had no say. And, a lot has changed in ten years. That's why I've been divorced for three of them.”
“Fair point.” Lotor replies. They go a little further in silence, but as they begin the stairs that lead to the first floor, Lotor begins again.
“Are you going to tell him? About Abigail and Derick?”
“I've already told him.” Shiro smiles. Lotor pauses on the steps and turns to face Shiro, eyebrows raised.
“So you'll tell him that you have a teenage daughter and an ex husband, but you don't want to tell him that you were an underground fighter and bodyguard for the Galra?”
“You what ?”
The men freeze. Lotor looks over the railing to see Lance, Adam and Matt.
“He knows now.” Adam mumbles.
“I can get that projector for Hunk any time… I'm gonna just, uh. Head back.” Matt pats Lance on the shoulder before backing away, Adam in tow. Lotor and Shiro descend the rest of the stairs, Lance's eyes locked on them both.
“Well! It's been lovely meeting you, uh, again, Shiro, but I'm just going to-” Lotor begins.
“ Stay .” Lance's voice leaves no room for argument. Lotor's shoulders slump as he stops and sighs.
“You lied to me.” Lance's voice is quiet, but deadly. “Why would you lie to me?”
“Lance, I can explain.” Shiro shoves the box of cupcakes into Lotor's arms and moves forward.
“You know, I thought to myself “Huh. That's a really nice prosthetic. I've never seen any like that at the V.A. hospitals I've volunteered at.” But, I didn't say anything. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, because,” Lance throws his arms to the side, “what reason would he have to lie about something like that?”
Shiro stares at Lance's collarbone, unable to look him in the eyes.
“Now, the first night you slept over makes so much more sense. No man in his right mind would have been so casual about my friends trying to help me hide a dead body!” Lance runs a hand through his hair, eyes narrowing at Lotor.
“And you! You knew him! From day one, you knew who he was and said nothing to me!” Lance shouts at Lotor. Lotor takes a step forward, index finger raised.
“To be fair, I tried to tell you! You told me you didn't want to hear anything I had to say about him!”
“I've said that for years! You decided to listen to me now?! ” Lance cries. Lotor shrugs before shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“First time for everything, I guess.” Lance glares at him a moment longer before sighing and turning back to Shiro, eyes turning sad.
“Why would you lie to me? If you knew I knew about Lotor, then why..?” Shiro rubs his left hand over his right arm sheepishly.
“I didn't want to lie. I didn't plan to, originally. When I saw that Lotor was your neighbor, I-” Shiro sighs, “I don't really know what I thought. But, then I heard the way you talk about him, the faces you make when he's mentioned-”
“Wait, what??” Lotor interrupts.
“-and I panicked. I didn't want you to find out I worked in that kind of environment as well. I didn't want you to think of me like that.” Shiro finishes.
“No, seriously, what?? What do you say about me, Lance??” Lotor frowns. Lance ignores him and sighs heavily, lips curling into a small smile.
“Shiro…” Lance cups the older man's cheeks, “I don't react that way because of what Lotor does. I make those faces because I know Lotor as a person.”
“What faces?!” Lotor cries.
“I don't tell people this, but” Lance sighs, “Lotor and I are cousins, on my mom's side. We spent a lot of summers and holidays together and let me tell you, he's a real asshole sometimes.” Shiro laughs.
“Excuse me! Am I even needed here at this point or are you just being intentionally cruel?!” Lotor shouts. Lance sighs exasperatedly and rolls his eyes.
“No, Lotor, you can leave now.”
“And you have the absolute nerve to act offended! You're not the one being wrongly discriminated against!” Lotor complains as he storms past the couple and into Hunk and Shay's apartment.
“I'm not saving you any dessert!” He shouts before slamming the door.
Lance drops his head against Shiro's chest with a groan. Shiro brings his arms up to wrap around Lance's waist and tucks his nose into the crown of Lance's head, inhaling the comforting scent of coconut and lemon.
“I'm really sorry, Lance. I shouldn't have lied about my past.” Shiro exhales slowly and pulls back to look at Lance's face. “I became an underling for Zarkon when I was sixteen. I wasn't lying when I told you I was in Foster Care, though. My parents were in an accident when I was twelve. At sixteen, I was mad at everything and I wanted to fight everyone. I met Derick at an underground fighting ring, and he introduced me to Zarkon and the Galra Group.” Shiro runs his hand through his hair.
“They treated me better than anyone else had in a long time. So, I stuck around. Eventually, Derick and I became an item, and I helped him raise Abby. When I was 22, there was an internal struggle. I tried to protect Zarkon and Lotor and I… lost my arm.” He curls his right arm to his chest.
“As a sign of gratitude, Zarkon paid for this arm and all of my rehab. I couldn't fight anymore, but I hung around as security, because I felt indebted. Because Derick was still thriving in the lifestyle, I ended up raising Abby, and it became too much. Derick wanted to pick fights and stay out; he wanted to stay young with no responsibilities. I wanted stability, and a family. I couldn't live like that anymore. So, I talked with Zarkon, and he let me go. On the condition that I stay within his radar. I had heard that Lotor was running a clean business, and I wanted to be in that area. Not working, per say, just-”
“Just out of the toxicity.” Lance finishes. Shiro nods, shoulders deflating. “Shiro, I'm so sorry you went through all that. And, honestly, I understand why you'd lie about it. I mean, that kind of back story isn't for the faint of heart.” He jokes. Shiro laughs softly.
Lance inhales deeply before nodding to himself.
“Okay. Okay, let's go have dessert.” Shiro tilts his head, slightly confused.
“You… still want me to stay?”
“Of course I do! You apologised and told me the truth, so now we can move on from it and learn from this.” Lance finishes with a smile. Shiro still doesn't seem convinced so Lance took both the older man's hands in his.
“Shiro, really, it's alright. We've only been going out for three months. I'm sure there's a whole lifetime of things we haven't told each other yet. So, we take this as a learning experience and next time something comes up, we'll be honest with each other.” Lance smiles. Shiro can't help but smile back as he cups Lance's cheeks and pulls the shorter man in for a kiss.
When they pull away, Shiro taps their foreheads together.
“Thank you, Lance.” He whispers. The shorter man hums before taking Shiro's flesh and blood hand into his and tugging him towards the door.
“C'mon. Let's get in there before they eat all the cupcakes.” Lance jokes. He twists the door knob and flings the door wide open.
“I better still have a cupcake!” He shouts. Lotor, across the room, grins, pink frosting stuck to his upper lip.
“I told you I wouldn't save you a damned thing!”
Lance glares, fists on his hips.
“There were fifteen cupcakes there! You were only in here for a minute!”
“He was like a champion eater, just shoveling them in.” Pidge shudders before popping the last bite into her mouth.
“It was kinda hot.” Keith comments off-handedly, eyes locked on Lotor's frosting covered lips. The taller man winks and seductively licks his lips.
“Ugh. You're both disgusting.” Lance complains as he drags Shiro to the couch before sitting on his thigh.
Hunk holds out his own pink frosted cupcake with a smile.
“You can have mine, Buddy.” Lance cradles the vanilla cupcake in his hand like a precious object.
“I love you so much, Hunk!” He cheers. Hunk laughs and leans his head on Shay's shoulder. Lotor glares across the room.
“ Traitor .” He hisses before flopping across Keith's lap.
Shiro smiles, simply basking in the warmth and laughter radiating from everyone in the room, the comforting feeling of Lance against his chest.
It had been a long time since he felt so at peace.