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It all started with a small box. It was a normal afternoon with the gang at the table eating their goo, laughing and bickering at each other like always when Keith set down his spoon and reached leaned to the side of his chair. For a moment, Shiro was worried he was going to throw up again since he had caught some kind of bug for the last week, and was about to jump to his aid when he simply sat back up with a white box in hand. The alpha didn’t pick up how the room quieted down after that, their stares and attention falling on the two of them. He was curious as to what Keith had and why since there was no special occasion or anything.
Shiro smiles and tilts his head. “What’s that you got?”
Keith pushes it over and lazily props his hand up on the table, his eyes never leaving Shiro’s. “Take a look.”
Blinking, the older pilot pulls the box towards him and looks at it for a moment before glancing at his lover once more. “Did I do something right to get a gift from you?”
Off to the side, Lance snickers knowingly, but is promptly smacked by Pidge to quiet him down. Keith merely shrugs at his question, but his eyes are boring into Shiro, telling him “open it.” For a split second, Shiro considers how he could be walking right into a prank planned by Lance, but it is rapidly discarded being that it was Keith who had delivered the gift- and he would never knowingly hand a prank from Lance over to Shiro. With that in mind, the alpha opens the lid and is even more confused upon being met with its containments. Again, he looks back towards his mate, who only raises his brows and nods towards the box.
The alpha pulls out what may be a tiny shirt, but it has many holes for what may be for a small alien child with many arms. Confused, but not yet done with the package, he sets it off to the side and continues on; not yet noticing how Keith is starting to fidget nervously in his seat next to him. Next, Shiro pulls out a book. It’s small, the cover decorated with a cute, messily drawn chibi-like alien that looks like a child with the title in bubbly letters that Shiro can’t translate because alien language. Again, he sets it off to the side without knowing what he was supposed to gain from this. After, he pulls out what is similar to a stuffed doll, but has no idea what it is supposed to represent, a small purple sheet of fabric that might be a blanket, and two long oval shaped items that are dyed blue at the tips. All of these items make Shiro scratch his head and wonder if this is some sort of riddle or weird joke he has to figure out, but then there is one last item in the box he pulls out that steals his breath away.
A semblance of a rattle with a tag hanging off it that read “Surprise, Dad!” on it. He stares at it with wide eyes, mouth dropped open, looks to Keith, who is gripping at his pants and nibbling his lip, and repeats the process a couple more times before managing to find words. Finally, he grips the rattle with trembling hands and holds it close and looks to his mate with wide, hopeful eyes that are starting to well up and shine.
“K-Keith…?” he utters out hoarsely.
Said man is tense and shaking, from amusement or nerves Shiro didn’t know. “Surprise.”
“I’m going to be a dad?” Shiro wheezes. He feels like his lungs are being squeezed and aren’t providing him with the air he needs.
“We’re going to be dads.”
At that moment, nothing mattered. His focus zeroed in on Keith exclusively as his heart bursts from sheer joy that had been steadily filling it upon seeing the rattle for this moment. Shiro scooped the red paladin up easily and buried his nose in the crook of his neck as he spun him around with a heartfelt laugh and tears streaming down his cheeks. Once he set him down, the two were triggered to start nuzzling and touching wherever they could reach, a pleased purr coming from them as they scented each other.
“Ahem.”
They didn’t respond to Pidge’s disruption immediately, obviously too engrossed in one another until Pidge did it a second and louder time. When Shiro turns to face his team, he is wearing a big goofy smile that will not settle down even if he tried.
“Hey man, we’re proud of you and all, but would you, like, not get funky in front of us?” Lance coughed, his cheeks a little pink in embarrassment.
“Congratulations, Shiro and Keith!” Allura beams, “I’ve never had the chance to witness life being born.”
“Ah, we’ll have new recruits as we know it,” Coran sighed happily, wiping a stray tear from his eye, “Our young paladins are growing up so fast.”
“Might we be expecting more from Lance and H-” the princess starts, but is cut off when Lance nearly lunges across the table to cover her mouth with a shhhh!
“I’d shake your hand, but you were touching Keith’s alien pregnancy test things, so,” Hunk smiles awkwardly, giving them a thumbs up.
While the others commented and broke into easy conversation about the current topic, babies as it was, Shiro and Keith were off in their own little world. The alpha stared down at Keith with utter adoration, bringing his hand to cup his cheek.
“I’m going to be a dad.”
Keith smiles this time. “We’re going to be dads.”
From that day on, they rarely separated. Most days, they resided in Shiro’s room since Keith found it extremely comforting during this quite stressful time. The paladin was obviously very nervous, but the more he saw how much Shiro approved and supported him, Keith let himself get excited, too. Still, while that may be, he started to fret on how to accurately take care of a child since he had no experience in doing so. “Lance doesn’t count as a child. Not really,” he had told Shiro begrudgingly as he glanced to his still flat stomach and give it a small rub.
Whenever they weren’t in Shiro’s room, they could be found glued side by side wherever they sat. Shiro would be doing whatever- reading a book, watching something, or just relaxing- while his hand carded through Keith’s hair. And Keith, who normally didn’t practice much “PDA” outside of the bedroom, enjoyed it. He actually purred and sought out his mate’s touches, often times so content that he would even slip into his Galra form.
The first time they noticed a bump forming, they were beyond elated. Shiro had practically paraded Keith around in his proud alpha glory to gush to his friends with bright eyes and a stunning smile, his mate flushing hotly and complaining about showing him off, but otherwise pleased. That was when rare separation became never. At this time, Shiro was often seen lying with Keith, his head resting near his abdomen as he rubbed circles around the swelling area and whispered against his skin.
When Keith was noticeably big, the team was left wondering why the younger paladin looked two times as what should be normal.
“I should know, I watched my aunt grow,” Lance stated, looking at Keith, “And she wasn’t as big as you.”
“It’s fine,” Keith muttered, brows furrowing.
Later, Keith had come to Shiro asking if he was far along enough to check the baby- to do anything to see if things were going on as they should be. His mate had apparently stewed Lance’s words around in his mind and let them provoke unneeded worry and stress, and as much as Shiro wanted to tell him everything was alright, he couldn’t because he let Lance’s words impact him, too. So, the couple went to see Allura to see if she could help with anything, who directed them to one of the planet’s healers. It was odd seeing blue tiny fur balls pat and rub Keith’s stomach, and as cute as they might seem, Shiro was apparently showing signs of discontent since his lover had to rub his arm soothingly and scooch closer to him.
Twins, they had been told by Coran who assisted them for translation. Keith was carrying two of his pups. Eating for eating for three. It wasn’t baby but babies. The couple looked at each other with wide eyes, unable to speak. When they managed to return to the Castle and Shiro’s room, they were all over each other, purring loudly and bubbling with laughter.
“You’re amazing, Keith,” Shiro breathed, kissing his lips for a brief moment before setting his forehead against his, “You’re so amazing. I love you.”
Blushing at the genuine confession that was soaked in love, Keith smiles warmly and wrapped his arms around the alpha’s neck. “I love you, Takashi.”
The further along Keith went, the heavier he got. Shiro got into the habit of talking to the pups in the mornings, lightly brushing his fingers along the skin until Keith was roused awake. Nowadays, he waddled around with his purple skin and ears pointed at the top of his head, his body sticking close to Shiro if the alpha wasn’t carrying him. Food cravings were the norm now, which was expected, but the black paladin was almost never the one to go fetch it since Keith had always occupied his lap. Lance would complain, but those would soon stop once the pregnant paladin’s temper rose a few notches.
His mood swings were bad. If Shiro told Keith he had to go do whatever business he had to do with Allura, since he was still leader of Voltron even after the defeat of Zarkon, the red paladin would at most cry and complain about how Shiro was just looking for a way to get away from him. After assuring him that was certainly not the case and bribing him with affection and promises, he was allowed to leave. God help Shiro if he didn’t tell Keith where he was going.
It happened once. Once.
His mate was heavy with pups and had some discomfort going on because of it, understandably. Because of this, also paired with the fact the twins started to get active, Keith had started to sleep less so Shiro thought it would be a good idea to slip away from bed and make his way down to the kitchen. That day, he was stopped by Coran and asked if he could run a quick errand to a nearby planet. Lance was, well, Lance, the planet was known for its technological advances so Pidge would never return, and he didn’t want Hunk getting lost or nervous. There was no need to send two paladins out since it was simple and Shiro seemed like the best candidate to do the job. The alpha, after reviewing the details with Coran, decided to go since it was a job being directly asked from him and wouldn’t take long anyway. An hour at most.
The ride there was simple and quiet and gave Shiro time to smile to himself as he daydreamed what life would be like with Keith after the twins were born. Shortly after he landed on the cyber planet and prepared to exit his Lion, an influx of calls came in all at the same time. At first, he thought it was because of the planet, but once he saw it was from the team, he knew better than to ignore them. Once communications were open, the black paladin was assaulted by collective yelling and cries of fear.
“Shiro, you must return to the Castle!” Coran cries, looking nervous as casts a wary look over his shoulder.
“He’s tearing this place apart!” comes Lance next. He can’t see him or Pidge, so Shiro assumes they are using their helmets to communicate.
“Who?” Shiro questions.
“Who do you think?!” Pidge groans, “Keith!”
“Keith? Is he okay?!”
“No!” Hunk whimpers, “He’s angry. Allura can’t even settle him down and just makes it worse, I think!”
“He has forced us all into hiding,” Pidge comments, “Keith is literally breaking down doors trying to find you!”
Hunk hugs himself. “I feel like I’m in a horror movie. He chased me screaming down the hall!”
“He shook me to death and ripped my shirt!” Lance complains.
Shiro feels himself go into a cold sweat. “Did… Did anyone explain where I was?”
“I tried. We all tried,” Coran speaks up, “It just made things worse!”
Just then, there was a purple figure approaching Coran from behind.
“Oh God, Coran, run! Run!” Hunk shrieks, covering his eyes.
“Wh-ahhh!”
“What? What’s going on?” Pidge asks.
“Did Keith get Coran?!” Lance gasps.
Shiro lets Hunk answer them as he stares at Keith, ignoring how Coran is shuffling in the background to get away from his lover. Yellow eyes glare daggers at him, white teeth standing out in contrast to his purple skin, which looks flushed from both the amount of effort he has been exerting and possible crying. Keith doesn’t need to speak for Shiro to feel guilty… and scared.
“K-Kei-”
“You...” he breathes out heavily, on the verge of growling, “You are going to get home right now.”
“But, Keith-”
“But nothing, Shirogane!”
“S-Shirog-?”
“Get your ass home before I fly down there myself!” Keith suddenly snarls, ears flattened as he stomps his foot. He has Hunk screaming because the man looks like he is about to pounce through the screen. “I’ll do it, don’t think I won’t!”
And Shiro knows not to doubt Keith. “R-right. I’m coming. Right now. As we speak.”
“Don’t you dare turn off the communication line. I’m not done with you.”
Shiro’s ride back consisted of heated “how dare you”s and hissing profanities; all of which Shiro couldn’t do much about at this point. Anytime he tried to talk, it only added fuel to the raging fire so the alpha just let Keith rant his jumbled feelings out. When he docked, Keith was there waiting for him with folded arms while tapping his foot, wearing on of Shiro’s shirts due to his stomach. He’d find it endearing and cute had he not been intimidated by Keith’s posture and downturned lips. Red was even standing behind him, towering over as if to back him up.
After being dragged off to his room, yelled at a few more times before being pinned and slept on, and help clean up the mess Keith managed to make later, it was decided right then Shiro wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without his mate’s knowledge. But, even with Shiro’s constant presence, Keith’s mood swings always made him find a way to be angry. Clothes weren’t washed right, Lance breathed wrong, the bed wasn’t made right, something he was wearing didn’t smell enough like his alpha, he was too cold/hot, his feet hurt, and so on. One time, he didn’t like how something was made and asked Shiro to remake it and then proceeded to scold Shiro for leaving him. As his delivery date drew near, complaints and hissing fits only grew more frequent to the point everyone was bending to Keith’s will and walking on eggshells.
Then, when the day came, Hell was only a few ticks away from breaking loose.
It started during dinner. Casual talk was being whispered so that their voices didn’t grain on Keith’s nerves (even if he did sometimes yell at them to speak louder) and was going pretty smoothly until the red paladin stopped mid chew and calmly set down his spoon. There was a sudden perfume of something that had everyone whip their heads towards Keith, who still sat eerily calm.
“I think my water broke.”
A moment of silence before everyone collectively stood up and began yelling orders.
“To the healing pod!”
“Lance, the pods don’t deal with babies!”
“Get a medic!”
“That would take too long!”
“Why didn’t we think about this?!”
“Guys, guys, I don’t want to add to the panic, but I think I might throw up.”
“Oh my G- please don’t!”
“Keith will throw up if you do.”
“Princess, shall I ready the escape pod?”
“Coran, now is not the time to be thinking about escaping Keith’s temper!”
While everyone bickered, Shiro got to his knees and took Keith’s hand to rub at soothingly. His mate was starting to pant, his eyes closed in concentration, but if the grit of teeth and low growls were anything to go by, Shiro would say they only had a few seconds to figure out what they were doing before Keith exploded.
“To your Lions!” Allura finally announced, “We’ll locate the nearest healer! Go, go, go!”
Not needing to be told twice, everyone scrambled to get to their positions- Shiro having to sweep Keith out of his seat, but also having to be extra careful in his swift steps to his Lion. Once he was seated on his lap, which was more of a safety hazard than anything, he could feel Keith twitch against him, hands digging into his shirt with a low groan.
”Hurry!”
Getting to where they needed to be wasn’t hard. Not for the others. No, Shiro had to make sure the ride was smooth for Keith while also having to deal with whines and screeches of pain that made his heart throb. Not only that, but he had gradually worked his way into using his claws on him as they flew, using them to dig into Shiro to ground himself.
“This sucks, this sucks, this sucks!” Keith moaned, breaths becoming more rapid.
“I know, I know. Just breath,” Shiro replied as he landed Black and moved to escort Keith out.
The red paladin scowls and digs his nails more. “I wasn’t aware I wasn’t doing that! Thanks for the spot on advice!”
“Keith, you know what I meant!”
“Just- fuck!- get us to the healer or whatever, damn it!”
Getting him to them was easier said than done. If he ran, Keith would complain about the bumpy ride. He he slowed down, Keith would complain even more. There was no winning, so Shiro decided to just go for it and run to where the others were. It earned him a slap on the chest, but it was worth it now that he could actually set him down on a relatively normal bed for the birthing process to continue. He’s not even surprised when his team leaves him and Keith to their privacy; knowing full well that they wish for them to experience their first time together but also avoid any anger flashes Keith might have.
And, boy, did he have them.
It started out light. The doctor, healer, whatever, aliens prodded and clicked at each other in communication while Keith lightly thrashed and gripped at the cotton bedding. Then, after mistakenly giving Keith his non-Galra hand, Shiro was almost doubled over in pain as Keith squeezed his hand into oblivion. While he made to moves to pull it away, knowing his uncomfortable lover would only berate him for it, Shiro was nearing tears of pain but was also kind of impressed by the show of strength.
The first scream of pain and labor marked the start of Keith’s more violent tendency. While doctors crowded around to assist the babies, Keith seized Shiro’s shirt and just about dragged him onto the bed with him.
“We’re never doing this again, you hear me?! Never!”
His pride might have been hurt by the statement if Shiro wasn’t more concerned with hit mate’s well being. Then, as another screech was ripped from him, Keith shook his alpha to the point he became dizzy, his shirt even ripping and stretching in the process. By now, the older paladin was sure his fingers had molded together due to the pressure on them and couldn’t even feel the pain there anymore. Keith is snarling and thrashing more harshly, tossing his head every which way as sweat beads down his face. His furry ears trembled with the rest of his tensed body, legs splayed out wide. When a doctor went to prod at Keith’s stomach, said man swiped at him and hissed before returning his hand to Shiro’s shirt, who was still hovering over the bed.
Another scream sent Shiro airborne. One moment, he was over Keith, the next he was on the opposite side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling in bewilderment.
“Shiro! Shiro, get up now!” came Keith’s pained and displeased cries from above; as if he hadn’t just tossed him onto his back.
The alpha scrambled to get up from his position, noting how there were bits and pieces of wood under him. Probably furniture of some kind that had shattered during the fall, but Shiro could ponder about it later. Once he was up, Keith wasted no time in taking his hand back and pulling him closer.
Keith passed out right after the twins were born, and after what Shiro had to go through, he followed right after. When he awoke from his position next to Keith, they were surrounded by the alien healers and were clicked at. Disoriented, the alpha blinked a couple times before his eyes came upon one of two bundles. Heart suddenly in his throat, Shiro shot up and held out his arms to receive his pups.
“Shiro…?”
He looked over his shoulder and shot Keith a shaky smile before leaning back and passing one of the twins to him. Keith hesitated at first, his hands shaking before slowly and steadily taking a baby from Shiro and staring down in wonder. The babies were so small. Fragile. It made both of them scared to move at all. Experimentally, Keith’s twitching fingers came up to poke at a chubby purple cheek.
“T-they look like marshmallows,” Keith wheezed, lip trembling as the baby in his arms shifted a bit.
Shiro swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting his voice at the very moment. He felt his eyes well up with tears the longer he stared at the little newborn, amazed at the smallest of details. The twins would definitely grow to look more like Keith if their facial features were anything to go by. The small pout Shiro received when he couldn’t resist prodding at a cheek confirmed it. When the alpha gazed at Keith cradling the other twin, he couldn’t help but let go and cry. He was beautiful. They were all so beautiful and he was the universe’s luckiest man to be given a chance at a family as beautiful as his.
“I love you, Keith. I Iove you so m-much,” he sobbed, bowing his head to nuzzle into Keith’s damp hair.
“D-don’t,” the younger paladin’s breath hitched, “I’m going to cry too if you…!”
It was too late. He was already sniffling and curling himself into the taller man with tears streaming down his cheeks, being mindful of the baby in hand. The two stayed like that for a while, wrapped around each other while crying and gushing about their twins and spewing affection soaked compliments at each other.
“You’re going to be the best dad.”
“No, you’re going to be the best dad.”
“Best uncle has arrived!” shouts Lance as he bursts in and breaks the moment the new parents were having, “Holy shit, Shiro you look like shit!”
He wasn’t wrong. The tired black paladin’s hair was undoubtedly rustled and out of place, his shirt ripped while also threatening to drop from his body from how stretched it was.
He offers a small smile. “Hey, guys. Sorry for the wait.”
Lance’s eyes continue to eye him. “What the hell did Keith do to you? You look like you just battled a lion or something!”
“Ooh, let me see the little babies!” sings Allura, excitedly shuffling over.
Coran followed after, giddy. “I want to see Princess Allura hold the babies!”
“I find it funny Coran is more interested in seeing Allura hold the babies than actually doing it himself,” Pidge grins, adjusting their glasses as they take a spot next to Shiro and meet the baby face to face.
“Oh my god,” Hunk breathes when his eyes are met with the faces of the twins, “They… They look like marshmallows.”
Keith snorts out a laugh. “Right?”