Chapter Text
When Lance had returned home, he'd expected to find a lot of changes. And he had somehow naively thought he'd already noticed all the changes. Rachel's room was full of boxes because she was moving out soon. Veronica had a new car and had finally entered the nurse practitioner program. Luis and Lisa's kids were pre-teens who rolled their eyes a lot.
But he hadn't expected this.
At all.
He can't express how he very much did not expect to run into his ex-boyfriend in the grocery store while said ex-boyfriend was bouncing a toddler on his hip.
"You have a kid?" he blurted, mouth gaping and eyebrows raised as far as they could go.
Keith spun around to face him at the sound of Lance's outburst and then froze when he spotted Lance - as in every muscle appeared to visibly clench.
Keith had only had a social media account when they'd been dating because Lance had insisted on it. Lance realized soon after he left town that Keith had either blocked him or completely deleted his account (Lance was betting it was the second option, Keith had never been petty and Lance could see him just deleting the account).
It wasn't like Lance had searched every photo Hunk or Shiro had posted over the past five years for a peek at Keith (he had). But Keith's online absence meant Lance had never seen any updates on what Keith had been doing.
Which means when he'd pictured Keith in his mind, he'd pictured senior year Keith. Baseball player Keith. Hay stuck in his hair after Lance had convinced him to climb into the loft with him Keith. Lance wasn't prepared for… this. For his wild black hair to be tamed into a braid that the small child had grasped into a tiny fist so that she could try to chew on the end. The arm that was holding the little girl had a bicep that was literally bulging at the hem of his t-shirt. Those beautiful eyes had somehow become even more prominent in Keith's face.
Keith's brows furrowed a moment later, but even with the frown, he went back to lightly bouncing the small child he held. The small child with a headful of unruly black hair and wide familiar purple eyes…
Keith didn't speak, however, despite Lance's question.
"Hey," Lance tried again, tone calmer as he straightened his own shoulders. "It's good to see you," he said sincerely. Maybe this was a surprise run-in, but he had wondered when he'd get a chance to see Keith again. "I returned home about a month ago," he offered when Keith still remained silent.
If anything, Keith's frown deepened a bit, but he didn't look at all surprised. His face smoothed, however, when the child in his arms blew a loud raspberry noise as she tugged on Keith's braid. Keith ducked his head and gently nudged his forehead against the small noisemaker's forehead.
"I've been pretty busy helping Hunk and –"
"That's great," Keith finally interrupted.
Lance sucked in a breath at the sound of that gravelly voice. His mind flew back to late night phone calls and the way Keith would always duck his face into Lance's neck every morning before classes began with a quietly murmured 'Good morning'.
"I'm sure your family is happy to have you back," Keith added.
"Uh, yeah," Lance nodded, completely aware that Keith was no longer making eye contact, eyes pinned on the little girl instead. "I think so, I mean, I moved back into the farmhouse for now, so –"
"I've gotta run." Keith turned away and began lowering the little girl into the front seat of his grocery cart.
"Oh," Lance murmured as he watched Keith's fingers work the cart's buckle (how much he'd missed Keith's hands was hitting him pretty hard now as well). "Well, do you think –"
"I'm pretty busy," Keith cut him off, "but, welcome back, I guess," he offered before he finally met Lance's eyes again with a curt goodbye nod.
Lance watched Keith until he disappeared out of the aisle.
The familiar scent of home filled his nostrils as soon as he stepped foot into the farmhouse, a scent that he was happy to learn had not changed at all in his absence.
He walked down the main hallway to the kitchen and dropped his armload of groceries onto the counter. "Everything you asked for," he said to Hunk, who was busy simultaneously baking fresh loaves of bread and squeezing oranges for juice.
"Great," Hunk replied, keeping his focus on his tasks. "As soon as I'm finished with these, I'm going to try a new waffle recipe."
"It smells so good, Hunk," Lance's mama said as she entered the kitchen. "Is that the cinnamon bread?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hunk replied with a grin.
"I'm sure it's going to be a favorite with your customers."
"If there's any left after we get our fill," Luis said with a laugh as he grabbed a slice of bread on his way past Hunk towards the back door.
"Terrible business practice to consume all our goods!" Lance called after him.
"Well, you'd know, college boy," Luis yelled back from outside.
Hunk presented a plate with a freshly buttered piece of cinnamon toast to Lance's mama where she sat at the table. She smiled a thanks to him. Hunk set the next plate at the empty seat next to her.
"I'm right here," Lance muttered as he put some of the groceries away in the fridge, "she's probably not even awake yet and I'm the one who went to the grocery store."
"Here you go, Lance," Hunk placated, handing the next plate of freshly made bread to him.
"Thank you," he said, taking his first bite as Rachel entered the kitchen and slid into the seat next to their mother. She shot a grateful smile to Hunk before she began to eat the toast that was waiting for her.
"So," Lance said after half his toast had been eaten, "when were you going to tell me that Keith had a kid?"
The fact that his mama, Rachel, and Hunk all stilled, as well as the glance the three shared, told Lance that this was not new information to any of them.
"We weren't going to," Hunk finally said as he got back to work.
Lance scoffed, mouth dropped open as he stared at the three of them. "So, not only did you actually know but you were purposely not telling me?"
"You get all weird when Keith is mentioned," Hunk said.
"Leandro," his mother soothed, "you and Keith were very close in high school, but you both moved on since then. We didn't think it was healthy to tell you."
Lance bit back another scoff at the understatement. He and Keith had not just been very close in high school, they'd been in love. But… he had been gone for five years without a word. Had Keith moved on? A child certainly represented a major change, but Lance racked his brain to try to remember if Keith had been wearing a ring or if there was any other sign that someone else had managed to capture Keith's affection.
"I don't get weird," he muttered as he left the kitchen to head to his office upstairs. "I get the right amount of interested in whatever news you have to share."
"Sure, Lance," Rachel called after him.
"I've had my home inspected. I make a decent income. I have health insurance. I recycle!"
"Yes, Mr. Kogane."
"So why isn't my file on the top of the list?"
The case worker sitting across from Keith shifted in her seat, which only made Keith want to rise out of his own seat and pace.
"It's because I don't have a Mrs. Kogane at home, isn't it?"
"No, Mr. Kogane, you know that we've worked with all variations of couples on adoptions. But the system does prefer couples to a single individual."
Keith stilled in his seat as he realized what was really standing between him and this adoption.
"So, if I were to tell you that I am in a committed and serious relationship?" Keith inquired slowly.
Ms. Adler eyed him before replying equally as slowly. "You've never mentioned this before."
"I'm mentioning it now."
"Do I have to remind you that this person was not involved with the foster paperwork or part of the home inspection?"
"No," Keith said curtly. "It has been a long-distance relationship for years. Very long distance," Keith emphasized, thinking of how very far away Spain was from their small town in the middle of nowhere. "He only moved back to the country about a month ago."
"Is he staying in your home?"
Keith vehemently shook his head. "No, obviously she wouldn't be accustomed to that." Not a lie. "He moved back into his childhood home. For now." Also not a lie.
"Well, then I think we'll have to arrange to meet with him, but if this is the case, then your application would certainly go back to the top of the pile."
The surge of relief Keith had felt at her words had completely disappeared by the time he unlocked his car to climb inside. Anger and fear were fighting each other in his chest, both trying to outdo the other. How could the fact that he had loved and cared for Belle over the past year mean nothing to the system? How could they just hand her over to strangers just because those strangers came in a pair? Her world would be turned upside down and she'd be left to wonder where Keith went. Keith knew that feeling. He couldn't stand the thought of Belle suffering in that way. He wrapped his hands tightly around his steering wheel. It wasn't fair that they'd both be punished, just because he was single.
"So, in your panic, instead of describing the guy who has been flirting with you for the past several forever, you decide to describe your ex-boyfriend from high school?" Pidge asked when Keith returned home and explained his predicament to her.
Keith huffed in irritation but tried to keep his focus on getting a spoonful of the baby food version of peas into Belle's mouth. Most of the green mush ended up around her mouth but he expertly used the spoon to scoop up the food on her face and try again.
"Wait, what guy has been flirting with me?"
Belle squawked at him when his question had him pausing the spoon midair as he turned towards Pidge. He quickly corrected and gave Belle another bite of peas. Her feet kicked happily as she ate.
Meanwhile, Pidge stared flatly at him. "You're kidding, right?"
Keith's gaze turned thoughtful as he used the tiny baby spoon to scrape more peas off Belle's chin. "I don't even see that many people," he finally muttered.
"True -"
"Thanks."
"- buuut, who makes sure to pop in and say hi every time you come to the Garrison to see Shiro?"
"That doesn't mean James is flirting with me."
"That's exactly what it means, Keith."
"He's being friendly. We were on the baseball team together back when we went to the Garrison."
"He flat out keeps asking you to go out and do things with him."
"As a friend," Keith muttered, although he did sit back for a moment, his interactions with James running through his mind in a different light. They hadn't exactly been friends in high school, not with all of Keith's free time devoted to Lance. James had gone to a neighboring state for college, and then returned to their hometown for a teaching position at the Garrison. Keith did seem to run into him every time he stopped by the school to see Shiro. But, if James had been flirting with him, Keith had to admit he hadn't noticed.
"Anyway, James aside, you know that you've gotten yourself into a serious mess, right? I think we both know what you're going to have to do now."
Food jar empty, Keith wiped Belle's face clean and then lifted her out of her highchair to set her free on the floor. She immediately used his pant leg to pull herself to stand and then grin up at him.
"Place an ad for a fake boyfriend?" Keith asked.
Pidge stared flatly at him again. "Really? A complete stranger would be a better option to bring around hell's belles" – she pointed at Belle who cooed at her in response – "than a guy you actually cared about enough to date at one point?"
"Well…"
"Keith."
"Hear me out," Keith said, shifting himself to the ground to be closer to Belle as she began taking independent steps away from his chair. She landed on her diapered butt with an "Oof" a moment later and he patiently offered a hand to help her back to her feet. "I place an ad, vet a stranger, and then pay him, which means I get to call the shots on when he is present and when he leaves."
"There's a lot to unpack there, Keith."
"Meaning it sounds like a doable plan?"
"It sounds like someone has issues with abandonment," Pidge stated bluntly.
"Straight for the jugular," Keith muttered. He tried to glare, even though he knew it wouldn't phase Pidge, but his attention was soon diverted to buzzing in his pocket.
"Is it Shiro?" Pidge asked a moment later when Keith had only just stared at his new text message. "Can you ask him if Matt is with him?"
"Um, no, it's not Shiro. It's Lance."
Pidge's head tilted to the side. "Wow, ask you and you shall receive, eh?"
"I'm not asking -"
"What does it say?"
Keith glanced at his screen again. A few more texts had already popped up from Lance.
5:57: Hey Keith its Lance
5:57: This is my new number btw
5:57: You probably figured that out tho
5:57: Hunk says your number is still the same but Im still hoping this is you
5:58: Maybe a text back so I know its you?
5:58: Unless you're too busy
5:58: Which you did say you were busy
5:58: But, uh
5:58: Still be nice to know I'm not bugging a rando
"Oh my quiznack" – Keith jumped when he realized Pidge had moved to read over his shoulder – "text the boy back, I can't handle this."
Keith nudged his shoulder towards Pidge and she thankfully moved away from his shoulder. She pulled one of Belle's walker toys towards her and helped her stand with a good grasp of the handles before letting go. Belle squealed in delight as she took off across the room in a toddler sprint. She'd become an expert walker with the aid of the toy, to the point where she wasn't putting in as much effort to walk independently without it. Keith had meant to remove it from sight tonight.
Still, he smiled as he watched her round a turn at lightning speed and come back towards them with a loud squeal. He returned his attention to his phone and his smile fell off his face. How was he supposed to respond to Lance texting him?
God, Lance had looked good earlier. He'd somehow gotten taller? His shoulders were broader, pulling at the shirt he'd worn. His hair was cut shorter and styled now, no longer the unruly mop Keith had loved in high school but Keith thought it worked for this older version of Lance. And those eyes… maybe not as bright as they used to be, but still such a pretty blue.
6:01: Yeah, its me
6:01: Cool cool cool cool
6:01: I wanted to reach out before now. Just let you know I was back.
6:02: Sorry I didn't get to do that before running into you today
6:02: Its fine
6:02: I know you said you're busy but I'd like it if we could meet for coffee or smth. Catch up?
Keith heaved a sigh and met Pidge's questioning gaze. "He wants to meet and catch up."
"Perfect, because you have a favor to ask him."
"You don't seriously expect me to ask my ex-boyfriend to pretend to be in a relationship with me?"
"Nope, I don't," Pidge said as she rose to her knees and scooped Belle up so she could kiss her on the cheek. "But Belle does." She held Belle up in front of her face and then mocked a high-pitched voice from where she hid behind her. "Go get me a pretend papa."
Belle giggled and wiggled in Pidge's arms until Pidge placed her back on her feet.
"You're ridiculous," Keith said to Pidge.
"Trust me, I'm not the ridiculous one in this room. Now, I'm going to give Belle her bath before I leave and you're going to quickly arrange a meeting because you still have to get to work tonight." She scooped Belle up again and Keith listened to Pidge begin to explain transponders to Belle as they disappeared down the hall.
Keith spun his phone against his leg for a minute before he finally responded to Lance.
6:06: Free tomorrow?
One of Lance's legs was bouncing, fortunately hidden by the table, unlike his fingers which were openly drumming against the tabletop as he sat waiting for Keith.
He stilled and grinned when he saw Keith finally enter the coffee shop. Keith didn't smile when he spotted him, but Lance kept his grin going. Keith had agreed to this, after all. Had shown up. Was making his way over to Lance's table.
"I got your favorite," Lance said, nudging a mug towards Keith's side of the table. It was a flash, but he still caught the look of surprise on Keith's face before Keith turned away to pull off his jacket to wrap around the back of his chair.
"Thanks," Keith murmured as he sat and gratefully wrapped his hands around the mug. "It got cold pretty quickly this year."
"Yeah," Lance said with a quick nod, "yeah I noticed it was pretty cold when I went out to feed Kaltenecker this morning."
Were they making small talk about the weather right now?
Lance shook his head as if to reset himself. He'd brought Keith here for a reason and he needed to get started before he lost his nerve.
"Hey, man, I – thanks for coming out. I, um, I feel like I owe you an apology. Actually, I owed you an apology about five years ago and -"
"Lance, I – I don't care about any of that right now."
Lance's mouth snapped shut. He'd been planning this apology in his head for a while now and he hadn't counted on an interruption. He eyed Keith, who had finally lifted his eyes from his mug to meet Lance's gaze, and saw dark circles under sad, tired eyes. Something was upsetting Keith and Lance had a feeling it wasn't his actions from five years ago.
"You okay?" Lance asked slowly.
Keith shifted in his seat and shook his head. "I have a… problem."
"A problem?" Lance repeated when Keith didn't elaborate further after a few silent moments.
Keith nodded and Lance watched him struggle across from him. Maybe his tells weren't as visible as Lance's, but Lance could see the way he chewed on his bottom lip and rubbed his thumb against his fist.
"Where's the little one?" Lance asked. If Keith needed a bit of time before opening up about his issue, Lance could give it to him. He watched Keith's shoulders relax a bit, presumably at the thought of the little girl.
"She's at home," Keith murmured before lifting his mug for a sip. One eyebrow twitched in surprise, Lance would've missed it if he hadn't been looking for it.
"You thought I forgot what your regular was?" he teased lightly.
Keith shook his head. "Not my regular anymore, too much sugar."
"Are you serious? Mr. Sweet Tooth himself thinks it has too much sugar now?"
"Can't eat like that anymore." Keith's voice was still low, but he was noticeably relaxing in his seat.
"Fine, not your regular," Lance murmured before pausing, waiting for that deep violet gaze from across the table to meet his before he continued, "but still your favorite."
Keith's eyes searched over Lance's face and Lance felt himself warm. It had always felt like winning a prize whenever he'd earned Keith's attention for himself. Keith took another long sip of his drink, gaze steady on Lance throughout.
Keith rested some of his weight on his forearms on the tabletop as he settled in his seat and leaned in towards Lance. "I have a problem," he repeated his earlier statement.
"Can I help?"
"Do you want to?"
Lance nodded.
"You don't know what I'm about to ask you."
"I know you don't ask for help lightly."
Keith's brow furrowed slightly at that. "You still think you know me well, huh?"
Lance shrugged one shoulder. "I'd like to imagine I still know the basics."
Keith eyed him for another minute, seeming to consider something. Then he sighed and finally began. "The little girl you saw, her name is Belle. I'm technically her foster father right now. She was handed to me when she was barely two months old and I've taken care of her ever since."
"Whoa," Lance breathed. Lance knew his eyes had widened. Fostering a child answered a few of Lance's questions about what Keith was doing with a kid, but raised new ones.
"There's more," Keith continued. "I agreed to take her because when the social worker first called me, out of the blue, she said that Belle is the daughter of a relative of mine who passed away. Unfortunately, that's all she's been able to tell me. But she asked if I would take Belle in because I'm the only family she has. She's family," Keith emphasized to Lance. "I… I consider her my daughter. I've put in an application to adopt her."
"Wow," Lance acknowledged when Keith stalled out again. "That's… That's amazing, Keith. You must've been so happy to learn about her. And I commend you for taking on an infant, man. That's hard work. She's a lucky little girl to have you."
"Thank you." A light blush arose on Keith's face as he turned his mug in a circle on the table. "But, it turns out, keeping her is not going to be that easy."
"Adoptions can be a ton of paperwork, eh?"
"No, well, yeah, but it's not that." Keith sighed. "Even though she's been with me for about a year and knows me as her dad, they're still considering a different adoption application."
Now Lance straightened in his seat, Keith's sad eyes and dark circles making more sense. "What? How can they do that, especially if you're actually blood related?"
"They think a two parent unit would be better -"
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. How can that be what's best when she's clearly going to be bonded to you already?"
"It's the worst," Keith vehemently agreed before sagging in his seat again. "But I have to play the game or they'll take Belle away."
Lance frowned. "What do you mean play the game? Plan on snagging a wife or something?"
Keith huffed a breath and rolled his eyes. "It doesn't have to be a wife, they actually don't care about that part. They just don't like that I'm single."
"Hm," Lance hummed, tilted his head, and attempted for nonchalance, "and how long would you say you've been single?"
Keith narrowed his eyes at him. "A while."
Lance nodded and pursed his lips as he glanced around the small coffee shop. "Cool. Cool cool cool. Me too. Single for a while."
"Being single isn't really my current problem with the adoption process," Keith continued, refusing to comment on Lance's declaration, "because I may have told the case worker yesterday that I've actually been in a committed but long-distance relationship with someone who… just recently moved back to the country."
Lance knew he should be shocked that Keith would say something like that to a case worker, but… He couldn't help the small grin that tugged at his lips.
"You were talking about me?"
Keith frowned and glanced away. "I was talking about a fake person who has a similar situation to -"
"Me," Lance stated plainly. Lance rested his own forearms on the table and leaned in towards Keith. "You need me to be your boyfriend."
"I need to appear to be not single long enough for Belle's adoption to go through."
"Not single by dating me."
"By appearing to date you," Keith grumbled.
Lance sat up and took a sip of his own drink. "You gotta admit, dating me isn't completely terrible."
"Lance," Keith growled, "will you help me or not?"
Lance tilted his head again. He could still see the boy he knew in the man before him. He owed Keith a lot and he selfishly appreciated the chance to help him.
"It's not even a question. Of course I've got you, Keith."
Keith didn't smile but he did appear to be relieved. He nodded a thanks to Lance and took another sip of his drink.