Chapter Text
Hunk greeted his husband at the bottom of the stairs, holding Lance close and kissing his temple. He looked over at Keith, smiling his thanks. As the half Galran smiled back, he felt a weight collide with his legs, almost knocking him over. Rafno realized his dad was back and took no time at all to attach himself to Keith once again.
There was FAR too many people in this place and the Carnanian didn't like it. Sure, the Mamora base had a lot more people, but there was plenty of space for those that lived there. This house was cramped with five families, two dogs, a cat, and four mice, with another person coming in a couple hours. He also needed a break from Henry. Rafno genuinely liked his cousin that was a few years older than him, but it was just too much to handle.
However, as he took a good look at the man that had come downstairs with his father, his ears pricked up at seeing his rounded stomach shift. This movement got the attention of the man himself, his hand pressing gently, his eyes wide as he looked down.
"Lance, you okay?” Hunk questioned.
“I-I felt, I s-s-saw, oh my god,” he stammered. Getting the message, Hunk placed a hand next to Lance's. After a few moments, the pair was disheartened when nothing else happened. The couple walked hand in hand out to the living room to join their guests.
“What WAS that, daddy? And who?”
“That's your Uncle Lance and his husband, Hunk. They used to be Paladins like me.” Keith chuckled as Rafno let go, but didn't stray far, to watch Lance. “That's your cousin in there.” Rafno's head whipped around, his eyes big.
“A baby?”
“That's why we're here, buddy. It's a party for the baby.” Keith walked over to the table and grabbed some of the presents. “Wanna help me with these?” Agreeing, the two made a couple trips back and forth to bring the gifts out to the living room. When they were done, Rafno decided to hide behind furniture instead of his dad, who had sat on the floor next to Lance's feet to help hand him the gifts. The boy was watching Lance and his tummy. Every so often, Lance would look over with a smile and catch Rafno's gaze. Making a small yip each time, he'd dart behind whatever item was closest. Lance was seeing how Rafno was reacting to everyone and hoped that, by giving him space, he'd come over to him on his own.
Everyone was chatting and having a great time, Lance wanting to wait for Romelle to arrive before opening anything. Pidge said it would be okay, since it would be another hour until she got there, assuming she made no stops. Lance was still concerned and on edge, knowing the former green Paladin had something up their sleeve, but had yet to pull anything.
“Pidge, those bows belongs on the presents!” Shiro accosted as Henry and Matt tried to see how many would fit on their head, taking them off the boxes and bags before they could be unwrapped.
“Psh, please. I AM a gift!” they replied with a flick of their hair, some of the bows flinging off, landing on Keith and Curtis. The latter grabbed one and stuck it on his husband's chest from his spot in the recliner. Athena began to play with the one that landed on the arm of the chair, kicking it with her back legs.
“Oh look, a stud! Just what I've always wanted!” Several, different kinds of laughter was heard as Shiro went beet red in response to his husband's shit eating grin. “Lighten up, love. I mean, how many more baby showers is this group going to have?” Shiro sighed, knowing Curtis had a point. Matt and Lekki didn't intend on having more kids, happy enough with Henry and their shower for him being even smaller than this one. As for the current, star couple, they wanted a big family, but Lance just had a hard time conceiving. Shiro didn't think there would be many more showers with both Hunk and Lance being in their 30s already if that pace continued. Everyone else in the group was perfectly fine to either never have kids or adopting older children, the latter group including the Shiroganes.
After everything was unwrapped, Keith offered to help pick up the mess. However, as he went to the kitchen to sort through the trash and recycling, he noticed the house was missing a guest. Just to make sure, he checked upstairs to find it empty. Panicking, Keith ran downstairs, back to the living room.
“RAF'S GONE!” Krolia quickly turned in his direction, watching her son fidget with his tail.
“Where is he?”
“If I knew that, I'd be there!” Keith snapped at Coran. Almost immediately, his ears lowered. “I'm sorry...but I looked and he's not in the house...”
“Where should we start?” Lekki asked. But, before she could offer ideas, Lance got up from the couch, Hunk looking at him with a confused look on his face.
“Just Keith and myself will look.”
“Lance?”
“He's been freaking out all day. Poor kid probably just needed some fresh air and alone time. Plus, I know this farm better than any of you. Better a small group so he doesn't get spooked more than he already is.” Walking over to Keith, he put a hand on his shoulder. “We'll find him, I promise.” Keith's uncertain, violet eyes caught Lance's ocean blue and he nodded. Lance peered behind Keith, seeing Oso and Charcoal sniffing by the patio door in the dining area. “You take the back, I'll take the front.” Without another word, the pair left the house in opposite directions, the rest of the group waiting in the awkward atmosphere.
After about twenty minutes, Lance was getting worn out. As he stopped by a thick tree, he laid a hand on its surface and bent over to catch his breath. His other hand rubbed his belly and, as he straightened back up, he removed his hand from the tree to push against his aching back. Feeling it pop, he walked a little further to find Rafno sitting amongst the Juniberry flowers, letting a goat sniff his outstretched paw. Lance didn't want to scare him, but didn't want to give him a chance to run, as the half Altean was currently not built for heavy cardio.
“May I sit here?” he asked softly once he was close enough to be heard. The boy jolted a little, but relaxed when he turned and saw Lance wasn't terribly close. He nodded and Lance sat where he had been standing. The goat ignored Rafno, trotting over to Lance with a loud bleat. Lance chuckled as he tickled under the animal's chin and stared out across the field, the pasture just beyond Allura's flowers.
Rafno watched Lance, turning to face him a little more. Just like the others, he'd sized up his uncle based on how much of a threat he appeared. He was downright terrified of Shiro and Hunk, the former having been very upfront with introductions very suddenly. Pidge and Henry were cleared. Everyone else currently back at the house, while there was a hierarchy, he was leery about. He reminded himself he also would have to meet this Romelle person that was coming as well. Watching Lance and realizing the man wasn't trying to get into his personal space, doing the same at the house, Rafno made his decision...he's safe…
“You like the flowers?” Rafno was startled at the sudden question, Lance still only glancing over at him instead of having his full attention on him.
“...yeah...” he replied as he let his paw graze the tops of the ones next to his prosthetic leg. “I saw them when we got here. They're really pretty.”
“I'll send some home with you. Sound good?” Rafno's head tilted, his folded over ear shifting with the movement.
“This place is yours?” he breathed in wonderment. The Carnanian wasn't sure whose place he thought it was, but somehow wasn't pegging it on someone that didn't look built for the manual labor required for farm work. Lance nodded with a smile, turning his head to finally focus on the boy, now that he was getting him to talk.
“Not doing as much work now,” he said with a laugh and a gentle pat to his stomach, “but it's mine and I'm happy here. I'm glad to know this is where I'm going to raise a family.” Lance shifted to get on his knees, then pushed himself up with his hands, unable to get the momentum to get up with just his feet. “Your dad says you've been with the Blades since he adopted you? You never left?”
“No,” Rafno replied with a shake of his head. “I haven't been on another planet since then until now. Been on that ship forever.” Bringing his knees up to his face, he rested his arms on his legs and his chin on his arms. Sighing deeply, he smiled at the feeling of the breeze against his fur, closing his eyes as he did so.
“Want to see the other animals?” Lance asked as he held a hand out to him. Rafno looked at the offered appendage, hesitating a few moments, before finally taking it and letting his uncle pull him up. Not wanting to overdo it, Lance let him go once Rafno was steady on his feet. “Follow me. I've got chickens too, but they're in another place than where we're heading.”
Leading the child to the fence that bordered the pasture, Rafno was amazed to see all the cows, sheep and horses, the goat from before being the only one Lance owned. He gripped the top of the fence, his feet pulled up and holding steady on the bottom rung, tail wagging excitedly. Pulling some grass out of the ground, Lance coaxed one of the ewes over for Rafno to touch the wool.
Calling out to one specific cow, Kaltenecker flicked her tail and came over to the fence to greet Lance. She was an old girl now, but still giving milk from the genetic modifications the aliens did on her before the team had gotten her years ago. Lance had been the only one to really care for her during that time, so it made sense that he'd take her home once the war was over. Swinging her head over, she mooed at Rafno, the little boy delighted as he pet the bridge of her nose.
Hearing a whinny, the smaller of the two horses cantered to Lance. The mare was a dappled grey, with a black mane and tail. Sniffing Lance's face, he laughed loudly as she lovingly nibbled at his chestnut hair. Rafno hopped off the fence to watch. Filled with mirth, Lance rubbed the side of her face.
“Hey, Heather, how's my girl?” he asked her with a smile. Laughing again as she moved her lips against his face, as if to give him kisses, he managed to get her to stop so he could catch his breath. Rafno's ears perked up as Heather dropped her head over the fence and, ever so carefully, nudged her nose against Lance's belly. Once she brought her head back up, Lance pressed a kiss between her eyes and pet her neck.
“Do the animals know about the baby?”
“I really think so. Well, some of them anyway. Our dogs are the worst with it,” Lance retorted with a chuckle. Turning to Rafno, he pulled back his cardigan slightly. “Want to see?” The boy's eyes went wide and he gave a questioning head tilt. When Lance gave an affirming nod, Rafno came up to him and put his paws on either side of his belly. After a few moments, he felt a gentle pressure against his palm. Curved tail wagging slightly, Rafno looked up at Lance and the pair grinned at each other.
“How do you keep adopting the introverts?”
“Daddy!” Rafno shouted as he ran over to Keith and latched onto him by the waist.
“It's a talent, Kogane. Get used to it,” Lance replied with a smirk as he walked over to his best friend and nephew.
“You had me scared, buddy,” Keith said as he crouched down. “Was it just too much to handle in there?” Rafno nodded and apologized for not saying anything. “That's all right. Just make sure to tell me next time, okay? You're not in trouble.” Ruffling his son's hair, he stood up and smiled at Lance. “Thank you.”
“It's no problem at all; we're family.”
“We should get back to the house. I saw Romelle pulling in as I started heading over this way.” The trio began to head back the way they came, Rafno running ahead of the ex-Paladins. “He seems to like it out here...”
“Kiddo just needed some time out of the house. You know,” Lance started, as he peered over at Keith while they walked, “if he just needs to get away from the base or anything, he can come here. If that's okay with you. I'm not going anywhere, so it's not like he'll be by himself,” he said with a chuckle at his own expense.
“I like that idea,” Keith replied after a moment. “We can talk about it more later, but it sounds like a solid plan.” With that, Keith followed his son into the house.
Lance was greeted with a big hug from Romelle the minute he came inside and shut the front door. After making sure she'd had a good trip and that she'd eaten something, Lance went to sit on the couch with his husband, exhausted from all the exercise and excitement. Romelle tried to introduce herself to Rafno after saying hi to Keith, but her exuberance was off-putting and he was back to hiding behind his father.
After getting comfortable, Lance peered at the coffee table where all the food had been placed. The dishes that had been emptied were removed and cleaned while he'd been out. In their place was a large container with a handle on the top. Pointing at the case, he looked up at Romelle.
“Oh, I made something special today! I just hope everyone likes them.” What the couple would miss was the looks she was giving Pidge as she explained, trying to be subtle. “It's an Earthling confection, but I gave it some Altean flavor.” Hunk oooooed at the description and started to get antsy. Romelle knelt by the table and undid the latches on the sides, lifting off the top by the handle.
It was cupcakes. The frosting was white and had star shaped and spherical sprinkles with the same seafoam color as the nursery. This didn't throw either of them off, as Romelle had been in the house since the walls had been painted; it was no secret. As she offered them to be the first ones to try them, as it was their baby, Pidge walked over to the stereo in the corner of the living room, CD in their hand.
“Man, I'm getting bored! Let's throw on some tunes!” Pidge put the disk inside the player, but didn't actually start the track until Lance and Hunk had each taken a bite of the cupcakes. Hitting play, they waited as the guys looked at the treats in their hands.
The bläumfruit flavored insides were bubblegum pink for both of the cupcakes. They were delicious, Lance demolishing his and about to reach for a second, thanking Romelle for the tasty present. While bent over, arm outstretched, the room filled with a foreign sound. It definitely wasn't "tunes", but he stopped nonetheless as realization set in. He slowly looked over at Hunk, who was still looking at the cupcake, but now with wide eyes as the "music" played. Lance's head snapped over to Pidge, who hadn't moved from the stereo. The former green Paladin was smiling widely, eyes welling up with tears.
Lance suddenly knew what had been missing from his sonograms with Pidge. He knew that audio would eventually accompany the appointments, once it was loud enough to register. It never occurred to him to ask about it. However, the expecting parents had only been asking if the baby was healthy, because that was the only important thing to them, the only thing that mattered. Especially since the fluttering feeling from the baby moving didn't happen as often as the pair expected it to.
Pidge made them an audio file of their baby's heartbeat. In the same vein, Pidge would have been the only one to know any deeper information, which was why they and Romelle had spent time together. Pidge was not a baker or cook by any means, so gave Romelle the news to surprise the couple. This was their gift to them.
Lance leaned back slowly as the information sank in. Placing his hands on his belly, he looked back over at Hunk, who finally looked up. Lance glanced down at his husband's cupcake to, once more, look at the pink filling. Tears streamed down his face as he got up and tightly embraced Pidge, his smaller friend giving into their emotions as well.
“I told you I'd make you cry.”
“You're such an ass, Holt!” Lance replied as he laughed through his cries, Altean markings glowing.