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Shiro had no one to blame but himself, honestly. He knew it would be a bad idea to go on an annual check-in with one of the more devastated planets that was once a part of the Galra empire, but he thought he would be quick enough to make it home prior to his mate’s labor.
Nature had a different plan in mind, obviously.
The alpha loves Keith- there is no refuting that. He loves everything from his scowls to his stubborn and feisty attitude. It all comes in the package that Keith has to offer with his love. Part of that package was seeing his stomach swell with a growing bundle of life. It made him purr and swell with pride each time he saw the bare skin of his abdomen, pleased as an alpha and mate to have bred his lover and start a family. The first time around, he had been especially heavy being that he was carrying two of his pups, so seeing him waddle around had been especially cute to witness.
On the flip side, it was Hell waiting to break loose. As much as he loves the sights that he gets to spectate when Keith is pregnant, he has to keep himself in constant check. It’s not just him, either- everyone else has to be careful around a ticking time bomb. Keith at this time was vulnerable to mood shifts that seemed to happen way too quickly. While he’d switch from happy to sad often, anger and hissing fits were more prominent over the smallest of things. That’s why everyone had to princess Keith until labor.
And that was actual Hell that Shiro alone had to sit through.
The alpha could handle biting remarks, the red hot anger flashes, hisses, yells, and crying, but he was at a loss when he became nearly violent during birth. Shiro has speculated that it may have something to do with the fact he is part Galra, but he’s never seen an individual of Galran heritage give birth to confirm.
Knowingly walking to an undoubtedly furious, in labor Keith has Shiro sweating. When Coran delivered the good-bad news, Shiro didn’t know if he should cry or shit himself so he settled for screaming internally.
When Shiro manages to arrive on the planet where Keith is being held, at one point contemplating on if he should just park his Lion near the window of his room and climb in from there to save time before calming himself and entering through the front “doors”. They were more like screens of transparent fluid that were wet and bouncy to the touch that just kind of spreads open. The floors were almost the same way and had Shiro constantly checking to see if he stepped on something or if the floor itself was sticking to the bottom of his shoes.
When he arrives at the lobby where everyone is sitting, there are mixed reactions. Allura and Coran are ecstatic for him and bring him into hugs and pats on the back while his team offers wary smiles. “The twins simply cannot wait for their new sibling!” Allura grins as she claps her hands together, “Best get in there and help quicken things, yes?”
“Thank you-”
”TAKASHI SHIROGANE!”
All is silent now. Shiro is glad, hell, he’s the world’s happiest man right now, but that doesn’t mean he also isn’t terrified what lies behind the doors ahead of him. Sucking in a breath, he straightens out his posture and puffs his chest out as if to physically brace himself and starts heading in. Pidge, Lance, and Hunk are all aligned and saluting as if he were a hero going into battle.
“It’s been an honor flying with you,” Hunk says as he walks by.
“I’ll never forget you.”
“You might want to wear your helmet in.”
He really considers Pidge’s suggestion.
His confident stride falters upon meeting the door, able to blurrily see what may be the doctor and assistance with Keith. Before he can waste another second that is adding to his mate’s anger fuel, Shiro touches the door and stick his head in.
“Kei-”
There’s something that whips by his head and hits the wall next to him, the sound of what may be glass shattering following immediately after. A vase? Probably the planet’s equivalent to it anyway, but Shiro really doesn’t have time to ponder on the similarities.
“What did I say?! What did I say, Shirogane?!”
Ooh, yeah. Yeah, he was in hot water. His first name was reserved for affection, his full last name used for big time trouble. God help him.
Despite having a vase thrown at him, the alpha hastily tries to make his way to Keith, having to dodge questionable object along the way in order to do so. Trails of sweat from labor are dripping down his purple face, his fangs bared and ears flattened against his skull. His Galra side also showed the first time he was giving birth for reasons unknown; maybe it was because all the work and energy was dedicated to pushing out life instead of disguising himself. A trembling, frail arm shot out and locked onto Shiro’s prosthetic hand in a sweaty death grip and Shiro couldn’t help a small yelp from the suddenness.
Glaring yellow eyes met Shiro’s, and despite his sweating face twisted in a scowl, the alpha still thought he was beautiful like this. When Keith roughly pulls him down so that they are face to face, a low growl building in his throat, it leaves Shiro relatively void of any thoughts.
“I told you not to go! You said you would be here from beginning to end! Well, look who decided to show up near the end!”
Shiro can only take the screaming head on and nod his head dejectedly. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry.”
“I’m on some fucking obscure planet where everything is all gooey and wet and weird and my fucking mate can’t even see me in when I’m giving birth to his kid!” He picks up another object and throws it. It ends up sticking to the wall.
“I know, I’m terrible.”
“Whose idea was it to come to this planet?! Was it Lance? I bet it was Lance. I bet-”
“I don’t think Lance-”
Keith shot him a look and snarls. “Oh, I’m sorry, were you here when they were deciding on which planet to go to for our baby?”
The older paladin whines because he really does feel guilty. “Keith...”
Keith’s eyes squeeze shut as he arches his back a bit and screams, his legs tensing from their suspended position. The doctor, or the gooey lump that Shiro presumes to be the doctor, makes noises that he can only be best described as water being slapped that has his assistants slugging around. Keith claws at the alpha’s arm and hits the bed hard with the other, which makes a slap noise and causes the bed to jiggle.
“You see what I have to fucking deal with?! I- hng!”
“Keith, baby, remember to b-”
“Tell me to breathe, Shirogane. I dare you to tell me to fucking breathe!”
Keith pants heavily and stares at Shiro challengingly, waiting for him to speak. He doesn’t considering there are more things to be thrown. In that time of silence, Keith lets out a high pitched wail followed by a hiss and a breaking of what might be the edge of a table near the bed. Cautiously, Shiro brings his hand forward to caress Keith’s face, who at first pulls away and stares at his hand like it offended him before relaxing into it.
“You’re almost there, baby,” he coos, rubbing his thumb against his purple cheek.
Keith screams and thrashes a bit, throwing his head back against the pillow roughly and scratching at the bed hard enough to scrape into it like Jello. Another whine rips from him as Shiro reaches to push his soaked bangs from his face and scratch behind a fluffy ear. It was an act meant to sooth him, something that is done on a regular basis, but the touching of his ears has him trying to bite at his hand, so Shiro is forced to leave them alone.
Finally, after having to go through his arm being twisted, hand swatted and scratched at, uniform tugged, bed further dug up, breaking objects, threats, and tears, the final push has Keith collapse in a sweaty, panting boneless mess as a shrill cry cuts through the room. He is looking at the ceiling in his current drained daze, lids threatening to shut for some much needed rest. Shiro gently threads his fingers through his wet hair, whispering praises and I love you’s to him to further relax him. It seems to work this time around, a soft and tired purr rumbling in his chest from his words and touches. Just when he thinks he is about to pass out for the next few hours, their baby is presented to them by two lumps of goo holding the bundle with antenna like appendages.
Keith seems a little more awake, but no doubt still tired as Shiro passes the pup off to him. He grins as he watches his mate smile warmingly down at the new addition to the family and shuffles closer so that he is sitting next to Keith on the bed. From here, he can see that their new son is purple- just like his other two were when they were born. They obviously inherited the Galra gene from Keith and have yet to master disguises at this infant stage. He remembers Kai and Jun shifting in between without realizing it as babies and they now have relatively good control over it.
The baby’s eyes are closed, but they’d no doubt be yellow at this point until he shifts to reveal his human eye color. His cheeks are round and pudgy and will be the first things to be touched once the twins arrive undoubtedly.
“He definitely has your lips,” Shiro comments quietly, sliding an arm around Keith’s shoulders.
“Hmm… Maybe. He definitely has your nose. Probably has your eyes, too,” Keith mumbles back, resting his head on his shoulder.
The alpha nuzzles him before kissing the top of his head. “I’m willing to bet he has your eyes.”
“Be prepared to-”
“Daddy! Papa!”
Two purple children stumble and trip over each other before they manage to crawl up onto the jiggling bed and bounce in their spots with fluffy ears pointed high and eyes lit up in excitement. It was a habit for the two to slip into their Galra form whenever they became excited or felt guilty. Catching them lying was both equally amusing and irksome. Right now, they needed to settle down so that their baby brother didn’t wake up and fuss.
“Hey, hey, calm down you two. You’re shaking the bed too much,” Shiro chuckles, reaching to ruffle Kai’s mop of black hair. Jun huffs and nudges his brother aside to also receive the same attention, purring when he does. Kai glares and nudges him a little harder until the two are engaged in a shove-off.
“Hey,” Keith breaks in, tone tired, yet still firm enough for the twins to suspend their activity. He keeps staring at them, raising a brow as if to say, Well? I’m waiting.
As if on cue, the two go human and smile innocently. Kai and Jun are practically spitting images of Keith from their eyes right down to their toes and fingers. Had their hair been styled to match Keith’s mullet, they would be exact mini clones of him and Shiro couldn’t be more happy with the outcome.
Kai had shaggy, black hair that often looked like he just got out of bed and was the more stubborn of the two. While they both shared immense curiosity in the universe that they were constantly traveling in, Kai was the question prone one. Just about anything he had to say came out in the form of a question that would likely have to be directed to Pidge or Allura. It’s probably why he finds them to be his favorites out of the group. Kai is also adamant that he is technically the oldest twin since he came out a whole tick faster than his brother, so it “automatically” meant Jun was supposed to listen to his “older” brother. His stubbornness also showed in how he interacts with strangers; not shying away from them, but definitely not letting them get close either. He mirrors Keith’s crossing of arms over his chest and furrowed brows as he juts out his lower lip in a small pout whenever they are invited to celebrations. As hard as they might, party-goers can hardly get information out of the boy whenever they talk to him.
Jun’s inky locks were pinned back so that his longer bangs didn’t obscure his face and usually liked to have his hair up in a small ponytail. While he was more feisty, never really thinking before acting on most occasions unlike his other half, he was also the most affectionate. Jun liked to take risks and loved being involved with people just as much, often basking in any attention he receives. Which is why Lance and Hunk are his favorites. While the others dotted on him, it was Lance and Hunk who totted him around everywhere and got him involved with their shenanigans. They all but showered him with attention and affectionate terms that boosted Jun’s confidence level to the point Shiro was sure even a Galra soldier couldn’t resist his charm.
If there was any one thing they shared, it’s competitiveness. They always look to out maneuver the other and it gets quite daunting when his kids roll up to him and demand who did what better; which Shiro has gotten good at avoiding answering. The twins often like to wrestle and tumble around playfully, but there are times where Keith or himself have to break it up when it becomes too rough and competitive driven. Even if the two are each other rivals, they are glued to one another; the only exceptions being when the favorites were around to divert their attention and curiosity somewhere else. Wherever Kai went, Jun went; their hands linked together as to not accidentally lose each other. It was sweet and made Shiro all but glow with love and fondness.
And now they had a third to add to the sweetness.
The twins scramble to occupy either of Keith’s sides to get a look at their new brother.
“He’s purple,” Kai observes, slowly reaching over Keith’s arm to prod at a chubby cheek. Jun moves to do the same.
“So were you two,” Keith hums lazily, allowing himself to relax into Shiro and rest his eyes, “And even chubbier. Looked like marshmallows.”
Jun blinks at the statement and tilts his head. “What’s a marshmallow, Papa?”
Keith clicks his tongue. “Don’t feel like explaining. Ask Hunk and see how he reacts.”
Shiro laughs softly and runs his hand through his mate’s hair and furry ears to make him purr. Jun doesn’t seem too satisfied with Keith’s reply, but elects to keep himself occupied with the baby.
“Why is he not opening his eyes? Helloooo?!”
“Kai, please don’t do that. You might make him cry that way,” Shiro chides, to which he receives a pout.
“Yeah, a good brother doesn’t wake up their baby brother,” Jun speaks up, “I’m gonna be the best brother, so I won’t wake him up!”
Kai looks to be genuinely offended at Jun’s claim and frowns. “Nuh-uh! I’m going to be the better one because I’m gonna play with him allll the time!”
“I’m going to play with him first!”
Shiro sighs. “Boys, please.”
The two stick their tongues out at each other before ”humpf”ing. There is a split second of silence, one that Keith might be grateful for, before the twins speak up once more.
“What’s his name?”
“Can I name him?”
“Why do you get to name him?!”
“I’m older and smarter, duh.”
“Daddy, Kai is hurting my feelings again!”
“I didn’t do anything!”
Keith’s ears flick in annoyance and eyes crack open ever so slightly. “Enough.”
Shiro pats Keith to hopefully get him out of his irritated and cranky mood. “Hey, we need to quiet down, okay? Papa is very tired and needs rest. We’ll talk about names when he wakes up. And, if you’re good, I’ll ask Hunk if he can make you two something sweet.”
The offer seems to do its job. Kai and Jun effectively keep their voices down in whispers, crawling down and curling up near Keith’s legs as to not disturb him too much. Such thoughtful boys- genuinely caring boys, those two are. They just needed some reminding from time to time is all. Shiro thinks they’ll make wonderful brothers.