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“Lance, you’re going to get us caught.”“Not if you’re quiet, babe.”“You know I can’t be- ah !”Lance mouthed at Keith’s neck as he stroked him in his pants. They were curled up close inside Keith’s bunk. The latest tour for the band had just begun, so they were back to fucking in hotels and sneaking around in the tour bus. Lance didn’t mind honestly. As long as he got to play with Keith’s body he was happy.“I want to fuck you so bad right now,” Lance growled. Keith shivered and moaned, turning his face so their mouths mashing together would cover up his sounds. Lance hummed into his mouth and started stroking him faster. Keith’s jaw dropped and he let out a shaky groan. Lance stared at his boyfriend, a smirk playing on his lips. “You gonna come over my hand, baby?” he breathed in Keith’s ear. Keith whined.He could tell Keith was getting closer and closer. Keith was gasping and his back was arching and Lance loved it, loved doing this to him. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t even hear the sound of the bus door opening.“Are you two seriously fucking in our tour bus?!”It was amazing how quickly Keith’s boner went away. He blushed and covered his face. “Oh god.”The partition to the bunk was yanked aside and there stood Pidge, Hunk, Shiro and Allura. Keith whined pitifully. Lance still hadn’t removed his hand from Keith’s pants.“Can I help you?” he asked.“Please take your hand out of my brother’s pants,” Shiro responded. Lance wrinkled his nose, but did as he was asked.“I’m never going to get hard ever again,” Keith said into his arms, which were still covering his face. Lance turned back to him.“Oh, I can promise that you will.”“Lance, this is a communal space that we have to share. Don’t ruin it by fucking Keith in it,” Pidge snapped.“Oh Pidgey, we are WAY past that. If you honestly think we haven’t fucked already in the bus then you are actually out of your mind.”“I’m going to fucking kill you, Lance,” Pidge growled before storming away. Lance just laughed and patted Keith’s thigh.“Let’s get ready for our show, shall we?”As they ran off the stage after a standing ovation, Lance was definitely feeling that post-show high. It had been incredible, everything had gone off without a hitch, and that was rare- usually something went at least a little wrong each night. But this one had been perfect. The perfect show.He ran his hands through his sweaty hair and double high fived Hunk, laughing loudly at Hunk’s face after realizing just how sweaty Lance’s hands had been. Keith essentially tackled him from behind, hugging him so tight (Keith didn’t mind one bit about how sweaty Lance was). Lance turned around in his arms, grinning at his boyfriend as Keith cupped his cheeks and leaned up to kiss him.“You were amazing tonight,” Keith breathed. “You’re always amazing, but fuck Lance, you were on fire!”“So were you,” Lance responded, pressing their lips back together. “You’re so talented, I can’t stand it. I love you so much.”“I love you more,” Keith moaned softly, gripping Lance’s shirt to keep him close. Lance’s hands slid down his back, gripping his ass, which just made Keith moan more.“Okay okay, can it wait until we get to the hotel, please? We’re here for the night, so we don’t have to worry about you two climbing into one bunk,” Shiro said, shaking his head. Lance pulled back, pouting.“Let me love my boyfriend.”“I’m not stopping you from loving him, Lance, I just don’t particularly enjoy watching my brother suck face.”Keith hummed and kissed Lance’s jaw. “We’ll behave.”“Until we get to our room,” Lance growled playfully, unable to stop himself from gripping Keith’s ass yet again. Shiro sighed.“Why do I even bother?”Keith hummed. “You know, you’re going to make Shiro actually hate you and then he’ll want us to break up.”“Not gonna happen, babe. Besides, Shiro couldn’t break us up. I already got his and the parental approval, as well as threat of bodily harm if I hurt you, remember?” Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes and grinned, pulling him along.“Oh, I definitely remember.”“Lance McClain?”They both looked up to see a man standing before them, the hood of his jacket up and covering his face. Lance felt his blood run cold as the man pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at him.“Keith, ru-“ Before Lance could even finish his sentence, Keith was shoving him down as the gun went off, crying out when the bullet hit him instead. He fell to the floor and Lance stared in shock as the gunman ran away. It was only moments later that the sound of shouting and thundering footsteps was coming towards them.Keith was screaming in pain. Lance moved to him, seeing the blood coming from his shoulder. The others rushed in, all of them saying different things, yelling things, but it’s like everything was slowed down. Lance couldn’t understand anything, he was so keyed in to Keith. Keith who was staring up at him with desperate, scared eyes.Shiro appeared in his line of vision, his eyes wet with tears. Vaguely Lance could hear someone calling 911. Keith was gripping onto Lance’s arm with one hand while the other was pressed into his shoulder. His breathing was getting heavier from the panic, as well as the blood loss.When the paramedics arrived, they moved quickly, getting Keith into an ambulance and hooking him up to all the machines. Lance could barely see through the tears in his eyes and he knew he was shaking uncontrollably. One of the medics was asking him questions, but he couldn’t answer. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. He felt sick.He vaguely remembered throwing up in a bucket and someone rubbing his back as he sobbed.Lance woke up in a hospital bed. It took him a moment before the memories hit and when they did, it was like he was back in that moment. He sat up in the bed and looked over to see Keith in the other, asleep and alive, the monitor hooked up to him beeping steadily. Lance moved to get up, but was pushed down by a careful hand. It was Shiro.“You gotta stay calm, Lance. They had to treat you for shock,” he said, holding out a glass of water for him. Lance took it and drank a little, his eyes never leaving his boyfriend’s form. Shiro noticed. “He’s okay, buddy. They said the bullet went in clean and it didn’t hit anything vital. It just hurt him a lot. He’s very lucky. You’re gonna have to be gentle with him for a while so he can recover.”“It was meant for me,” Lance said. Shiro’s brows knitted together.“What?”“Keith pushed me out of the way, but that gun was aimed at me. Fuck, Keith got hurt because of me.”“Hey hey, no, don’t think like that. You’re both okay? And we’re gonna get whoever did this. Did you see their face?” Lance shook his head. Shiro let out a sigh. “That’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Until then, Allura and Coran are working to increase our security.”“Good,” Lance breathed. “I don’t think I feel safe doing another show until then.”“We’ve already rescheduled the next few shows. The fans understand. Both of you recovering and all of our safety is what is important right now.”“Laaaaance, it hurts,” Keith whined. He was a little hopped up on pain medicine and leaning heavily against his boyfriend. He’d woken up about an hour after Lance and had immediately entered clingy mode. Lance didn’t mind. He was awake and wanted him still. That’s all that mattered.“Well maybe next time someone’s pointing a gun at me, you don’t take the shot,” Lance said, kissing his head. Keith pouted and looked up at him.“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he responded. Lance smiled sadly.“Yeah well I would like to keep your heart beating so let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Keith tucked his face into Lance’s neck. Lance let out a shaky breath and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. He felt teardrops against his skin and tightened his hold on his boyfriend just slightly. “Hey, it’s alright. Don’t cry, babe.”“You could’ve died,” Keith mumbled.“ You could’ve died! Keith!” Lance cupped Keith’s face and pulled him back gently to look into his eyes. “God, I could’ve fucking lost you, I can’t handle it.” He pressed their lips together gently, Keith kissing him back just as soft. When they pulled apart, Keith pressed his face back into Lance’s neck, gripping his shirt. He didn’t even look back up when the door opened.Shiro walked in with the others. They all had various looks of concern on their faces, aside from Pidge who was furiously scrolling through her tablet.“How’s he feeling?” Shiro asked, assuming Keith was asleep.“‘M fine,” Keith mumbled from Lance’s neck. Shiro looked up to Lance for confirmation. Lance shook his head slightly, causing the older man to sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.“We’ve been looking into different security companies. We want to make sure we get the best of the best,” Coran said. Lance noticed Keith’s grip on his shirt tighten.“I’ve got the footage from the security cameras all throughout the venue,” Pidge added. “I’ve been pouring over it for hours-”“Did it get captured? What happened?” Lance asked. Pidge looked up and nodded.“I can’t see the face though, unfortunately.”“How did he get in?” Hunk asked.“I’m not entirely sure. I think he might’ve snuck in with the meet and greets before the show and then he just… never left somehow. It’s like he hid somewhere, though I’m really not sure how he did it,” Pidge explained.“That means that we might’ve met him?” Allura asked, her eyes widening. She sounded genuinely scared. They were all scared. Keith made a little noise and pulled back to look at the others.“Can we not do this right now? Please?”“Baby, we have to get to the bottom of this,” Lance said softly. Keith looked back up at him and let out a shaky sigh.“I have to tell you something,” he whispered. “But I’m scared you’re going to be mad at me.” Lance looked at the others at that, all of them sharing a worried look.“Keith, why would we be mad at you?”“I… I think I know who it was. I’ve um….” Keith looked up at the ceiling, his eyes clearly glazing over. “There’s this guy who has been sending me lots of letters. They started pretty innocent, but over time they got very… perverse and possessive.”Lance’s eyes widened. “Why wouldn’t you tell me about this?”“Keith, I need every bit of information you have on this guy,” Pidge said before Keith could respond. “ Everything .” Keith nodded.“Okay. I don’t really have much. The letters never had a return address on them. But I’ll get you whatever I can.”“Coran, we need that upped security as soon as possible,” Shiro said."Already on it, Shiro,” Coran responded, pulling out his phone and leaving the room. Allura squeezed Shiro’s shoulder and left the room with Coran. Slowly the others filtered out as well, with Shiro being the last.“Keith, you can’t keep these kinds of things from us. We’re a family. We’re here for you,” Shiro said. Keith wouldn’t look at him or Lance.“I just didn’t want to bother you. I thought I could take care of it myself.”“Babe-“ Lance started, but stopped when Keith sat up carefully and turned away from him. It clearly hurt him to do so, if the little gasp of pain was any indication. Lance just watched as his boyfriend curled in on himself, visibly shaking.“I’m sorry,” Keith whispered.No one felt safe returning to the tour until they had upped their security. Keith didn’t even really feel safe leaving the hospital, but there was really no need for him to continue to stay there if there wasn’t anything more they could do for him. So they released him. He hated it. He hated that he felt unsafe, like he couldn’t protect himself.He hated the pitying looks, especially from Lance. He’d spent his life getting those looks and he was sick of it. He was sick of always standing out in some way.And he knew it wasn’t right to be mad at Lance. He wasn’t even really mad. He was more mad at himself, for thinking that he could’ve prevented anything bad from happening. He was mad that he hadn’t said anything sooner.As soon as they walked into their hotel room, Keith moved to the bed. He kicked off his boots and undressed down to his shirt and boxers, and climbed in, curling up under the blankets. He listened to Lance move around the room for a bit before his boyfriend climbed into the bed behind him.“Keith?”“Hmm?”“Wanna have sex?”Keith turned to look at him. “Are you serious?”Lance shrugged. “I mean, you don’t feel good right now, and usually my giant schlong helps you feel better.”Keith couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend. He turned over carefully. “Is this really a good time?”“We’ll be careful.”“Fine, but I’m riding you.”Keith let out a shaky breath as he was stuffed to the hilt with Lance’s cock. Lance was rubbing his hands over his thighs gently, staring up at him. He circled his hips, grinding up into Keith, causing his boyfriend to let out a small grunt, his head tipping back.“Mmmm, babe, you look so good,” Lance murmured, continuing to roll his hips up. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. Can’t believe you’re all mine.” He knew Lance was trying to make this feel like a normal romp for them, but Keith kinda wished he would stop praising him. He didn’t feel like he deserved it.His breaths started coming out heavier as he impaled himself over and over on his boyfriend’s cock. He tried to go faster, shifted just slightly, and gasped when it pulled at his shoulder wrong.Lance sat up against the headboard and held Keith’s waist. “Don’t hurt yourself. Just let me.”“I can do it,” Keith growled.“No. You’re going to hurt yourself.”“You were the one who wanted to have sex!”“Yeah, because that usually gets you out of a bad mood!”“Oh my god!” Keith pulled himself off of Lance and moved off the bed, gasping as his shoulder and ass twinged painfully in tandem. Lance sat up.“Babe-”“No, I’m fine! And yes, I’m in a bad mood, someone tried to shoot you and you’re not even blaming me when it’s my fault!”“Keith… what?” Lance stood up and hesitantly moved towards his boyfriend. “Keith, why would I blame you?”“Because he came to hurt you because he’s fucking obsessed with me or something.”“Babe, that’s not your fault. It’s not your fault that some creeper thinks he has some right to you. You don’t deserve it. And I’m not mad at you for not telling me. I’m upset about the situation, but not at you. I just want you safe.”“I thought I could handle it. I didn’t think this would ever happen. You hear about this shit happening all the time and it’s so scary, but I never thought it would happen to us. What the fuck is so impressive about me?”“Okay, first of all, stop that. Keith, you are so smart and talented and fucking beautiful. You’re literally the entire package. Second of all, let me say this again for you, it is not your fault that some psycho has an obsession with you. I’m going to drill that into your head until you believe it. And I’m also going to drill into your head that we’re okay and no one is going to touch us as long as we have each other. I love you so much and we just had the scariest experience ever, but we’re moving forward because we have to. I know you’re still scared, and I am too, but we’re going to get through this together, okay?” Keith was staring down at his feet, shaking. “Can I touch you, Keith?” Lance whispered, only placing his hands on Keith’s arms when his boyfriend nodded. “We’re okay.”“We’re okay,” Keith breathed, looking up at Lance. Carefully they wrapped their arms around one another, Lance squeezing Keith as tight as he could without hurting his shoulder. Keith clung to him, burying his face in Lance’s neck. “I love you, Lance.”“I love you too, Keith.”“Hey Keith, how are you feeling?”“I’m… okay. What’s up, Shiro?”“Well, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve finally finished negotiations with this security company. They call themselves the Blades.”“Sounds cool.”“Apparently they’re the best in the business, as close to the CIA as you can get. And they’re going to be sending members out tomorrow to meet us. Everyone is getting their own bodyguard.”“Lance and I don’t get to share?”“Well, I figured you two always being together would make it easier on your guards, they could take turns watching over you. But anyways, they’re going to be coming to the studio tomorrow, so we’ll all be meeting up at about ten. Is that okay with you?”“Yeah, that’s fine, we’ll be there.”A car was sent for them in the morning. They hadn’t been back to the studio in so long, but it was the best place for them all to meet, considering they were adding to the team.Keith was silently thankful for the fully tinted windows.They walked into the studio hand in hand, all the others were already there. Everyone greeted him too happily, but their eyes held their true emotions, that they were worried about him. Keith avoided their gazes. He hated feeling so helpless.“Ah, Keith! Lance! Just in time. The Blades will be arriving any moment now,” Coran said as he saw them. Lance nodded and lead Keith over to an open couch. Shiro came over to them as they sat.“You okay?” he asked. Keith looked up.“I’m fine, Shiro. I just want to get this over with so we can all go back to normal.”Shiro nodded, sitting down beside him. Lance squeezed his hand. He looked over at his boyfriend. Lance smiled and Keith leaned into him.“Everything is going to go back to normal soon, babe,” Lance breathed.“I hope so.”It was only about fifteen minutes later that the agents came in, ready to be assigned to each of them. Keith watched as everyone was paired off, but was confused when he counted the number of agents. There weren’t enough people for everyone, and he wondered if maybe they had decided that Keith and Lance really only needed one guard.The man who seemed to be like their commander, an incredibly tall formidable man named Kolivan, addressed this issue when he noticed Keith’s confusion.“The agent we have assigned to you got caught up with something, but she will be here momentarily,” he explained. Keith nodded, feeling his stomach twist uncomfortably. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling so anxious.Lance looked over at him when Kolivan addressed him, considering he’d been talking to the man himself (considering Kolivan was actually Lance’s guard). He raised a brow and Keith just shrugged. He excused himself to go to the bathroom, needing a moment to just breathe. He wasn’t nervous to walk just down the hall, considering it was damn near impossible to enter the building without authorization. He couldn’t be found here.In the restroom, he splashed cold water on his face and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he felt sick and he wished he knew why.When he went back to the studio, he noticed a new person in the room, their back to him. The moment he walked in though, the entire energy of the room changed. Everyone, except this new person, turned to him, shock evident on all of their faces. It didn’t make his stomach feel any better.“What’s going on?” he asked. The new person in the room turned then and when they made eye contact, Keith really found himself feeling ill. “What… is this a joke?” The person was a woman, clearly the one intended to guard him as she was the only one he didn’t recognize from before. Except, he did recognize her, because how couldn’t he? Her face was essentially his own, the same one he saw staring back at him everyday in the mirror.“Keith, this is Krolia. She will be your personal guard,” Kolivan said. And the confirmation of her name, the name he’d heard whispered angrily countless times during his childhood, it had his heart racing. His eyes blinked rapidly, anger welling up inside of him. He shook his head and stormed back out of the room.“Keith!” he heard Lance and Shiro call out at the same time. He heard their approaching footsteps, but he didn’t slow. He went right for the stairwell, ripping open the door and starting the descent down to the first floor where the car would be waiting.Lance and Shiro caught up to him, Lance grabbing his hand to stop him. “Babe!” Keith yanked his hand away. “Keith, come on, let’s talk about this.” Keith stopped and rounded on them, looking pointedly at his brother.“Did you know?” he asked. Shiro shook his head.“Keith, no, I wouldn’t… I’d never even seen her before.”“But you knew her name.”“Keith-”“So what, did she just walk in and everyone was like oh hey look, it’s Keith’s birth mother? You know, the one who didn’t fucking want him.”“Baby-” Lance started, but Keith held up his hand.“I don’t want her guarding me. I don’t want anything to do with her. I just want to go back to the hotel. Lance, can we go?” Keith didn’t even look at him. He just waited for any confirmation that they could get out of there. Lance stared at him for a moment before he nodded.“Okay, we’ll go.”“Keith, please believe me. I didn’t know. And she won’t be your guard if you don’t want her to be, I’ll make sure of it,” Shiro said. Keith nodded and turned back away from him, continuing his descent down the stairs. Lance and Shiro shared a brief look before Lance was following him.“Why didn’t she look surprised?” Keith asked once they’d returned to their hotel room. He hadn’t said a word the whole ride, was just stuck in his own mind, replaying what had happened. “She had to have known… oh my god, she fucking knew. She was expecting this.”“Keith….”“I had a bad feeling all day, I knew something was going to happen. I wanted everything to be normal again but it’s even fucking worse! That woman didn’t want me then so why is she here now? What does she want? Money? Found out her son has a successful music career and decided to try and take advantage?”“Keith-”“She didn’t want me when I was a baby so why should she care now?”“Babe, please!” Lance cupped Keith’s face to stop his rambling. “I don’t know what's going on either, okay? She walked in and everyone legitimately froze when they saw her face. Shiro looked like his soul left his fucking body. But right now she is literally working for us, and I understand if you don’t want her to be your guard. That’s fine. But this is to keep us safe.”“She gave me away. How am I supposed to believe she can protect me at all?”To say that tensions were high would be an understatement. Upon Keith’s request, Krolia had agreed to switch who she’d be guarding, but was adamant it be Lance. Lance wasn’t stupid, he knew it was how she was going to stay close to Keith. He was sure she had to know about them. It was public knowledge that they were an item, so why wouldn’t she know?So in the end, her and Kolivan switched. Lance could tell his boyfriend wasn’t happy though, because regardless, she would still always be around him, and that was the last thing he wanted.With security in place, they were quick to set up new dates for the tour to make up for the ones they’d had to cancel. Their fans were so excited for them to come back, but Lance could tell Keith was still freaked out. Kolivan and Krolia were stood outside their new hotel room once they’d checked in. Keith was beyond irritated.“We should fuck. Super loud,” he said.
“Keith, your shoulder is still healing.”“But I want to fuck.”Lance looked pointedly at his boyfriend. “My love, I know what you’re doing. But remember what happened the last time we tried to have sex?”“.... no?”Lance walked over and kissed Keith. “We’re not going to have sex tonight. Not until you’re all the way healed. And especially not with our bodyguards standing right outside that door.” Keith pouted.“You’re no fun.”It was actually a lot easier to get back to touring than Lance had thought it would be. Things were obviously different. Security for meet and greets was heavier than ever before, what with the Blade members being around. That didn’t mean that Lance stopped watching Keith like a hawk, so mindful of every stranger that interacted with him. Like yeah, Kolivan standing behind him would probably scare anyone, but Lance still couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Especially with the way Keith was acting.He could see it in every movement, every glance. Keith was constantly on edge. A shout from behind him would have him reaching for the knife Lance knew he kept in his pocket. But then he remembered where he was and he put that strained smile back on his face.When the meet and greets were over, Shiro pulled Keith aside and Lance was left to just chill until they had to do soundcheck.Lance completely forgot that his love’s birth mother was shadowing him.“How long have you two been together?”He turned to his bodyguard at the question, a brow raised. She was standing stoic, not even looking over at him. “A year. If you count when we started fucking, two.” Lance didn’t see the need to sugarcoat things for Krolia. She gave that privilege up when she abandoned her child.She remained stoic. She was good at that.“Is he happy?”“With me or in general?” Krolia looked at him then, out of the corner of her eye. “When I met Keith, he was closed off. Had a million walls up. And it took me years to get passed them. He is happy and I’m going to make sure it stays that way, because after everything he’s been through, he deserves it.”Krolia looked away again and Lance knew that the conversation was over.While returning to the stage was easy, everything else had become so complicated and different so quickly. The presence of his birth mother had caused Keith to withdraw into himself so hard that Lance honestly felt like he was suddenly sleeping beside a stranger. Krolia didn’t try to talk to him often, but when she did, it always ended with Keith becoming more angry and isolated.He even went as far to request a separate room one night, so that he wouldn’t have to see Krolia at all. Lance knew it wasn’t anything against him, but that didn’t stop it from hurting.And even with Krolia being as stoic as she was, Lance could see that it was hurting her too. He’d never really asked Keith about his birth mother, had never wanted to broach such a subject. He had a feeling asking how Keith was feeling now would just make things worse.Sometimes it would seem like Keith was getting back to his old self, but then Krolia would approach and he would immediately shut down. He wasn’t mean to her, he just didn’t want to interact with her at all.Lance felt like he needed to get closer to the situation, but in a way that would give him actual answers. And while on a quick stop in their hometown, he got the perfect opportunity.“Mama Shirogane, as beautiful as ever!” Lance announced once the door had opened. The older woman smiled fondly at him.“Lance, how many times have I told you to call me Hina?” she asked, accepting the hug he eagerly gave her.“Listen, my mama would smack me if she ever found out I was calling my future-mother-in-law by her first name,” he said. Hina smiled.“Have you asked Keith to marry you?” she asked, a brow raised. Lance just smirked.“Not yet, but we all know it’s going to happen.” Hina just hummed.“So what brings you here, my dear, especially without my son? And without your guard?”“Actually, one of the guards gave me a ride. They’re waiting, but I have plenty of time. And well, um, Keith’s kind of the reason I’m here. Can we sit?” They walked into the kitchen and Lance pulled out a chair for her, ever the gentlemen. She thanked him and sat, watching as he sat himself down. “As you know, Keith is having some parental issues, what with his birth mother coming back into the picture, and I just wanted to talk to you because he won’t. You know how he is.”Hina sighed and nodded. “Yes, I do.”“Keith doesn’t like to talk about the past and honestly, I get it, but I need to know what happened. I need to be able to understand. So, that’s why I came to you.” Lance looked at her earnestly. “You don’t have to tell me anything that Keith wouldn’t want you to, but I just feel like there’s something I’m missing.”“There’s… there’s a lot that I’m not proud of in the past,” Hina started, looking down at the her hands on the table. “I mean, my husband had a drunken affair and a little over a year later we ended up with another child, one that wasn’t mine. And I did forgive him, because I know he hadn’t been in his right mind. He was upset.“You see, after Takashi was born, we wanted another baby so badly. We tried for years before I finally found out that I was unable to have anymore children. My pregnancy had been rough to be honest, and they discovered that my body wasn’t really built well for childbirth. We reacted very differently, my husband and I. I threw myself into being the best mother to Takashi that I could be. Ryou had a bad night. And I guess you could say I got my wish, just not in the way that I wanted.“So there I was, a mother suddenly having to mother a child I didn’t give birth to. Looking back, I regret a lot of the things I did, the way I acted. I fed him, changed his diapers, gave him baths, but I admit that I didn’t teach him to walk. I didn’t teach him to talk. My husband did that, Takashi did that. I took care of Keith, but I know I wasn’t the most… loving to him. I definitely held some resentment, I just tried to not let it show, especially since Takashi loved his little brother so much. I think the only one who really noticed was Keith, specifically when he started to get older.“He was always a perceptive little boy, as well as a little danger magnet. He was constantly getting hurt because he just wanted to climb as high as he could in that tree or he wanted to jump off that big rock. But the thing was that he never wanted to come to me when he got hurt. He would always go to Takashi or their father. And one day, well, he’d actually broken his arm, but it was just him and me home, so he didn’t come to me. He just acted like he was fine, like nothing happened. But later, I went to his room to ask him if he wanted a snack, and I found him crying into his pillows because he was in so much pain. I got him to show me his arm and it was so bruised and looked terrible.“I asked him why he didn’t come to me about it and what he said was so heartbreaking. I’ll never forget it. He told me that he didn’t come to me because he didn’t want to bother me. He told me that he knew I didn’t want to be his mama.”“Oh my god, I want to hug my boyfriend so bad right now,” Lance muttered. Hina smiled weakly.“I almost lost it honestly. I felt like the worst mother in the world. I asked him why he would think that and he told me that he always felt like I didn’t love him and that a boy at his school had told him that Keith couldn’t call me his mom since I hadn’t given birth to him. I knew immediately that I needed to change the way I was around him. I had thought I acted like a mom but I was wrong, so very wrong. I pulled him into a big careful hug, I kissed his little head, and I told him that it didn’t matter that I hadn’t actually carried him in my stomach. What mattered was that he was mine. Then I took him to the hospital and after we went to his favorite restaurant. By the end of the day he was so happy and calling me mama and my heart felt so full.”Lance had tears in his eyes. He reached up to wipe them away. “No wonder he’s taking this so hard. You’re his mother in his eyes.” Hina nodded.“I won’t be mad at Keith if he decides to have a relationship with Krolia, it’s only fitting really. She did give birth to him. But he will always be my son, regardless of what happens.”When Lance got back to their apartment (best part about pitstops at home, getting to sleep in their actual bed), he could hear Keith in the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and snuck up behind him, wrapping his arms around Keith’s middle, pressing kisses into his shoulder. Keith hummed.“Hi,” he whispered, setting down the dish towel he’d been holding. Lance squeezed him closer, kissing along his neck. “Where’ve you been?”“I went to see your mom,” Lance responded. He didn’t have to see his boyfriend’s face to know there was some confusion there. He smiled into his shirt. “Mama Shirogane.” Keith turned to look at him, his brows pinched together.“Why?”“I just needed to talk to her. Because you’ve been so distant lately, what with everything that’s been happening, and I just asked her to help me understand a little more.” Lance cupped his face. Keith bit his lip.“I’m sorry,” he breathed. Lance leaned in and kissed him.“Don’t apologize, Keith. God after everything you’ve been through, you don’t need to apologize.”“Lance, I love you.”“I love you more.”“That’s not possible.”“Wanna bet?”Lance pressed their lips back together, reaching around to grip Keith’s ass. Keith moaned into his mouth, gripping the hairs at the back of his head. Lance pulled back so he could nip at Keith’s bottom lip, tugging it a little. Keith grinned up at him, his eyes darkening.Before he knew it, Keith was turned around, bent slightly over the counter with one of his knees propped up against it. Lance grabbed the bottle of lube they left in one of the kitchen drawers- dubbed their kitchen lube- and already had one finger deep inside his boyfriend.“The last time we did this was when you were still hurt… haven’t been able to fuck you the way that I’ve wanted to,” Lance breathed, kissing Keith’s shoulder as he pressed a second finger inside of him. Keith whined.“ Lance ….” He crooked his fingers inside of Keith just right, finding his prostate easily and massaging it roughly. Keith let out a choked gasp, moving back against the digits inside him. “Yes yes yes, fuck .”“You are so fucking gorgeous, babe. All mine,” Lance murmured, watching as Keith fucked himself on his fingers. “Want another?”“Yes!”Part of Lance wanted to tease, but god, they hadn’t had each other in so long, and he was just as desperate for him at this point. He pressed another finger in, really stretching them out, trying to get Keith ready for him as quickly as possible.“Lance, Lance, please, I’m ready,” Keith pleaded after a few moments, looking back.“Babe, it’s gonna hurt a little.”“You know I don’t mind that.”Lance huffed out a laugh and pulled his fingers out. Keith turned to watch him as he lubed up his cock. Lance grinned at him as he rubbed the tip against Keith’s hole. Keith shut his eyes and whimpered. Lance loved the effect he had on him. He leaned forward and sucked at Keith’s shoulder, squeezing his thigh as he pushed up into him. “Fuck, you are so tight.” Lance gave Keith a moment to adjust before he started moving. He pressed his hand between Keith’s shoulder blades and drilled up into him, being spurred on by his boyfriend’s desperate sounds. “God, you’re so good, you take my cock so well, baby,” Lance breathed. Keith moaned louder.“Harder Lance, please,” Keith whined and Lance could only oblige. They were so pent up, so sexually frustrated, that he couldn’t have stopped himself from just pounding Keith into the counter if he wanted to. It didn’t take long for Keith to start shaking and fisting his own cock. He warned Lance before coming over himself as well as on the counter. Lance followed him soon after, shooting his load deep inside.He held Keith close as he pulled out, both of them quivering in the aftermath. He helped Keith lower his leg, and immediately after, Keith was turning so he could kiss Lance deeply.“I wanna do it again,” he whispered. Lance grinned and kissed him again, before sweeping him into his arms and carrying Keith to their bedroom.They were laying in bed, both exhausted and sated. Keith was drawing little invisible patterns into Lance’s chest with his finger., connecting his freckles into constellations. Lance was humming, running his fingers through Keith’s hair.“I’m going to marry you, you know,” Lance said. Keith looked up at him, grinning.“Oh yeah?”“Yup.”“Are you sure about that?”“Oh yeah.”“How do you know?”“You’re the one, Keith. The one for me.” Keith smiled into Lance’s skin. Lance cupped his jaw so he could pull him into a kiss. “You and I are just so perfectly fit for one another. You’re my fucking soulmate.”“That’s one way to put it.”Lance smacked Keith’s ass. “Listen here you little bratty bottom….” Keith laughed loudly. “You are though. My soulmate.”“Stop being so sappy.”“You love it.”“So are you proposing or something?”Lance smiled. “Not yet. Not here in bed. But it’s coming.”“I could just propose,” Keith responded with a shrug. Lance raised a brow.“Oh yeah?”“Yeah.”“Do it then, Kogane.”Keith bit his lower lip for a moment before he grinned at Lance. “Marry me.” It wasn’t even a question. Lance hummed, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend again.“Okay.”He loved the way Keith’s face lit up. “Yeah?”“Yeah, baby. Let’s get married.” Keith kissed him so passionately, crawling to straddle him. Lance indulged him for a moment, before pulling back, putting on a serious face. “But there’s something you should do before we get married.” Keith raised a brow.“What?”“You should talk to Krolia.” The aura of the room changed immediately. Lance could see the moment that Keith began to shut down. Lance grabbed his hands, pressing kisses to them, trying to calm him. “I know you don’t want to, babe, I know that you’re frustrated, but things are never going to change if you don’t talk to her.”Keith was looking anywhere in the room except at him. “I don’t… I don’t want-”“You don’t want to know why she gave you away?” Lance didn’t miss the way Keith’s lower lip quivered and his eyes glazed over. He squeezed Keith’s hands. “I think not knowing is going to eat you up inside. Have you ever thought that maybe getting the whole story might make you feel better?”It was silent for a few moments and then Keith let out a shaky sigh. “You said you talked to mom. What… do you think she’d be upset?”“Keith, she wants you to be happy. She wants you to do whatever feels right for you. She told me that she would understand if you wanted a relationship with Krolia, because regardless you would always be her son.”That got a smile out of him. It was small, but it was there. Keith moved his eyes back up Lance’s. “I’m scared.”“I can be there with you.”“No. If I do this, I need to do it alone.”Lance set it up for him. On an off day, they commandeered a conference room at the hotel they were currently staying at. Lance sat with Keith as they waited for Krolia to arrive. Keith felt a little sick with nerves honestly, similar to the day he had met her for the first time, but Lance was going to stay with him until she came and said he would come in immediately if Keith really wanted him to. Keith couldn’t believe how much he loved him honestly. He told him as much before the door opened and the woman of the hour stepped inside. They both looked up, but Keith was still looking when he felt Lance’s lips press to his cheek.“Let me know if you need me,” he said in Keith’s ear. Keith smiled at his boyfriend… well, fiance now. Wow. They were fiances. Lance smiled back and nodded to Krolia as he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. They just stared at each other for a while, before Keith nodded to the seat across from him. Krolia returned the nod and moved to sit down. It was a few more tense moments before either one of them spoke.“You kept my name,” Krolia began. Keith made a small affirmative noise.“When I was younger I didn’t want to. I hated that my name was different from my family’s. It made me feel like an outsider,” he responded.“But you didn’t change it.”Keith shrugged. “Didn’t have the power to change it. But when Lance and I get married, I might.” Krolia raised a brow. “We haven’t talked about it yet, but I wouldn’t be opposed to taking his name.”“Are you engaged?” she asked.“We are. You’re the first to know. Congratulations.”Silence set in again, before Krolia sighed. “Keith, I want to apologize. I’m sorry that I gave you up, but I don’t regret it.” Keith’s brows knitted together, but Krolia held up a hand. “When I got pregnant, it was at a very low moment in my life. I was fresh out of college and in massive debt. I didn’t have a job. I was depressed. And I slept with a man who turned out to be married. It was a mistake and a mess. And I had inadvertently become a homewrecker. But that’s all it took. One night. One drunken mistake.”“Gee thanks,” Keith grumbled.“Keith, I could barely afford to feed myself, much less a baby. So when I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wasn’t going to keep you. I couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been fair to you. I was prepared from the start to give you up.” Krolia looked down for a moment, biting her lip. When she looked back up, her eyes shined with tears. “But then they put you in my arms. From the very first moment I saw you, I loved you more than anything. I wanted nothing more than to give you the world. The hormones overrunning my body made me think that maybe I could be a good mother, that I could take care of you the way you deserved. I made a last minute rash decision and decided not to give you away. I wanted to prove that I could be a good mother. Then reality sank in. I barely lasted a few months before I realized I was in way over my head. And that was when I contacted your father.” “Did he know about me before I was born?” Keith asked.“No. We’d talked after our night together and that was how I knew he was married. I didn’t want to worsen the situation, but at the same time, I didn’t want to just put you into the system when you had a father who might be willing to take you in. And he was willing, after he met you and there was no doubt that you were his. You have his eyes after all.”“I know.”“The process was easy after that. A quick DNA test to prove he was your father, a small hearing in family court, where all I asked was that you keep my surname… and then you were no longer mine.” She couldn’t wipe the tears falling from her eyes away fast enough. “He let me hold you before he took you away. He didn’t want to prolong the goodbye, I think to spare me. I was a wreck. You were squeezing my shirt and I was crying into your hair. You had so much hair, even when you were tiny. I knew I was making the right decision for you, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I just wanted you to have the best life you could.”Keith let out a shaky breath, reaching up to wipe his own eyes. He hadn’t even realized he was crying. “I did. Have a good life, I mean. It was rocky when I was little, but it got better.”“Can I ask about your father? How is he?”“He um… he died a few years back. Lung cancer. They didn’t catch it in time.”“I’m so sorry.”“It’s okay. He was a really great Dad. I miss him. We all do.”“And his wife… was she a good mom to you?”“The best,” Keith answered without hesitation.Krolia nodded solemnly. “That’s good to hear. If I hadn’t done what I did, none of this would’ve happened for you. Your life would be so different. You wouldn’t have your career-““I wouldn’t have Lance.” Keith looked to the door, knowing said man was standing just outside, ready to come in at a moment’s notice if Keith called out to him. “He and I met in first grade. At first we were rivals, according to him at least, but by third grade we were inseparable. Best friends. He’s always been a constant in my life… even when times got tough. I can’t imagine life without him.” He looked back to his birth mother. “Did you know it was me when you were asked to come work for us?”“At first I didn’t. I just knew we were contracted to protect a band. I haven’t really kept up with pop culture,” Krolia answered.“But they briefed you on the details. Did you ask to be placed with me?”“Yes. I know now that wasn’t the best way to go about things.”“No, definitely not.”Krolia reached across the table and put her hand over Keith’s. “I understand why you’re angry. I understand it all. But thank you for letting me explain. I’ll always regret the situation that brought you to the world, but I’ll never regret you and making sure you were taken care of. I’m comfortable with my decision, especially seeing the way you’ve turned out, so talented and strong. I hope you can understand that.”Keith did understand. And for the first time since he’d been reunited with her, Keith smiled at his birth mother. There was a long road ahead, but this was a start.“Keith! Lance! Please stop making out in there and open the door!”Keith opened the door and Shiro pushed right past him into the hotel room. “Hello to you too. Also, we weren’t making out, we were writing,” he said, closing the door behind them and following his brother. “What’s going on?”“Hey Shiro....” Lance said, his tone a little confused as Shiro grabbed the remote for the television and turned it on, changing it to the news. Keith and Lance both turned their attention to the screen as the reporter began to speak.“Police believe they have found the man who just a few months ago violently attacked musicians Keith Kogane and Lance McClain. They identified him as such, as they found an extensive collection of merchandise featuring Kogane, as well as dozens of letters addressed to Kogane on his computer. He also had a large arsenal of weapons. The man appeared to have ended his own life by-”Keith turned off the TV before they could bring up an image or say anything else. He didn’t want to see that man again, nor did he care about the details of him ending his life. Lance touched his hand.“He’s gone? We’re safe?” Lance asked in disbelief. Keith was speechless. All he could do was squeeze Lance’s hand.“It would appear so. I’m trying to get in contact with the police department that discovered his body. See if I can get some more details,” Shiro said.“I don’t want to know anything. I just want to move on from this,” Keith stated. He looked over at his fiancé and his brother. “Can we do that?”“Of course we can, babe,” Lance breathed.Their first show back after the news was probably the best show they’d done in a while. It helped that they were in their hometown, not just as a pitstop, but for a sold out arena. Their families were there, and it was so easy to feel alive when the fear was gone. The cautiousness wasn’t, it probably never would be, but Keith felt like he could finally truly breathe again.The applause was thunderous as they finished their final song of the night. Allura thanked the crowd and they all made their way backstage. Keith instinctively reached out for Lance, but he wasn’t beside him. He turned back and saw his fiance was still on the stage. Keith moved back to the wings, watching him as he took the mic.“You really have been an amazing audience tonight. This show has been so special for so many reasons. The pain that Keith and I have been going through has finally ended and things are looking so bright again. We also didn’t have any technical difficulties, which is such a plus, I feel like we’ve been plagued with them recently. And as you all know, this is where we grew up. And honestly… I’m on a high right now and I kind of want to do something crazy.” Lance turned to the wings, his eyes meeting Keith’s. “Babe, will you join me out here?”Keith was so confused, but did as Lance asked, walking back onto the stage and waving to the crowd as they cheered. Lance held out his hand and Keith took it, intertwining their fingers.“None of you know this, but Keith and I have recently gotten engaged.” That resulted in a scream from the crowd. Lance grinned. “And like, I know people generally wanna plan a wedding and set a date, but like, we’re so busy that I just feel that will take too long. Why should we wait, when our families are here right now and our bus driver was ordained just this morning?”“Wait, what?” Keith asked, his eyes wide. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the others coming back out onto the stage, along with Coran and their various family members.“What do you say, baby? Wanna get married? Right here, right now?” Lance asked. He sounded nervous. Keith looked around at his band mates, his family, out at the crowd waiting with bated breath. And then he looked back up at Lance. The man he loved more than anything or anyone. And he nodded.“Yeah. Let’s get married.”It was amazing how everything about their wedding seemed to fly by. Them repeating the generic vows that still made them both tear up. Shiro and Hunk popping up with wedding rings that Keith had never even seen. He had no words for how well Lance planned this. But god, he couldn’t be upset with Lance springing this on him. He felt elated.Before he knew it, he and Lance were kissing. They were husbands.Later on, after having celebrated their nuptials, they laid in bed together, breathing heavily and pressing tender kisses to every bit of skin they could reach. Because the wedding had been slightly planned, but definitely spur of the moment, they hadn’t been able to share personal vows with each other during the actual ceremony.So after consummating their marriage, they whispered the things they would’ve said to each other, had they had the forethought and the option to do so. They were both still trembling far after they’d finished making love, both feeling so overwhelmed with the love they shared for one another.There was still so much to do. So much still needed to be said between Keith and his birth mother, but considering his two mothers had met and seemed to get along, he knew that would be okay. He and Lance wouldn’t be able to take a honeymoon until the tour ended, but Lance already had plans to take Keith to Cuba. Keith would go wherever Lance wanted.There was no telling what other hardships they might face, but Keith couldn’t help but think that they’d be able to get through anything at this point. They’d already been through some of the worst experiences someone could face, and they’d gotten through them together.As their words faded away with more urgent pressing of their lips together, Keith had one more thing to say before they fell back into passion. “I love you so much, Lance,” he whispered, cupping his face. Lance smiled so brightly in response.“I love you too, Keith. More than anything.”