Chapter Text
Keith Kogane-Shirogane is ten years old, fifth grade, and he’s never had a single friend in his entire life.
Never.
Ever.
The kids in his class have labeled him as “that one weird, quiet kid that sits in the back” just because he isn’t the best at social interactions. He’s told himself that it doesn't matter, and he doesn't care.
He doesn’t care that no one wants to play with him at recess.
He doesn’t care that no one sits with him at lunch.
He doesn’t care that his table has been empty since kindergarten, a time when the teacher assigned the seats and kids were forced to sit with him.
And he most certainly doesn’t care that the only person that talks to him without any sort of force or extreme reluctance–even disgust in some instances–is his dad.
At that thought–unwillingly, might he add–memories that depicted him wailing to his dad, crying about how no one likes him and “Why don’t they like me, is there something wrong with me?” floated to the forefront of his mind.
So, maybe, in some way, he does care.
Maybe, in some far off way, he cares a lot.
Perhaps he does care that the tangible weight of loneliness is suffocating if he allows himself to think about it for too long. And if–hypothetically of course–he cries himself to sleep most nights, well…
That’s nobody’s business but his own.
But he can’t think about that right now because it’s almost time for school and he isn’t done eating his Frosted Flakes.
“Keith, bud. You ready?”
Keith nods in response to his dad, Takashi Kogane-Shirogane. “Yep. I’m almost done with my Flakes.” Shiro smiled. “Good. Once you’re done, get your backpack and get in the truck. I’ll be there in a minute.” Keith did as he was told. He finished his cereal, grabbed his backpack, made sure his house key was in the side pocket, and headed to the truck. He only had to sit there for a few minutes before his dad came out and they were on their way. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Shiro spoke.
“Three new families moved in yesterday. I heard they had kids your age.”
At that, Keith perked up.
“Really?”
There weren’t any kids–his age or otherwise–that lived in his neighborhood.
Just smelly old people that like to pinch his cheeks whenever they see him, force their nasty cookies on the general neighborhood populace, and give outdated candy on Halloween.
“Yeah. And I think they’re in your class too.” Though he didn’t show it, Keith was excited. These kids didn’t know him as the weird quiet kid. They had no prior knowledge about him, which means he could potentially have friends!
Maybe.
If they don’t decide they don't like him first.
Which is always a possibility.
“Are they nice?”
“I dunno bud, you’ll have to meet them.”
Darn.
Keith sighed.
“Okay then.”
Though he missed it, Shiro smiled somewhat sadly at his son from the rearview mirror. Keith was always trying so hard to make friends, and he’s been let down countless times. To see him still trying is pretty inspiring.
And frightening.
Because Shiro would burn down the world for his kid, but this is something he can’t control. He can’t control how the other kids respond to his child.
Shiro will be the first to admit his son isn’t the best when it comes to interacting with other humans.
Keith is awkward, a little standoffish, and a glare is his default face and most frequent facial expression.
He’s slightly ashamed to admit the fact that Keith 100% inherited that from him.
But despite that, his boy is precious and wonderful and Shiro is just waiting for someone to see it like he does. They pulled up in front of the school.
“Are you ready Keith?”
Hm.
That’s one loaded question.
“We’ll see.”
And that’s an equally loaded answer.
“Well lets hope, yeah?” Keith nodded with a soft smile. “Yeah.” He opened the door and hopped out, making sure he had his lunch box before his dad drove off. Once he was certain he had everything he needed, Keith closed the truck door and walked into the school.
Luckily, his classroom was just around the first corner when you walked in.
Taking care to avoid any one person’s gaze, Keith made a beeline for his table.
His empty table.
In the back right corner.
Under a light that flickers more often than not.
Back when Keith didn’t realize that no one was going to join him at his table, the sight of the desolate area greeting him everyday made him want to tear up. Now, he just sighed in resignation.
No one was ever going to sit at his table and that was fi-
Wait.
There are new kids coming today.
Suddenly Keith’s practiced resignation shifted into hope. If he got to the new kids before everyone else, he could invite them to his table!
And he knew he would get to them first.
It would take zombies overrunning the school for his class to talk to someone they don’t know.
Or talk to him.
Shaking his head of that depressing thought, Keith desperately clung to that flicker of hope as he watched three kids he’s never seen before walk in through the classroom door.
The first kid was a skinny boy that had perfectly tanned skin. An oversized blue shirt and khaki cargo shorts donned his lithe frame. Curly brown hair encased his cheeks and big blue eyes. Freckles were dotted all over his face, especially the bridge of his nose where glasses with thin, black frames sat. And he was wearing blue Converse that had crisp, white laces.
The second kid was slightly taller and larger than the first, and he was a boy as well. He had shoulder-length, wavy hair–that reminded Keith heavily of Maui from Moana–and warm, chocolate colored eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved yellow shirt, and brown shorts. He had a nice pair of Timberlands on his feet and white socks that ended mid-shin.
Then there was a girl. She was a few inches shorter than the skinny boy, and she was wearing short-overalls and a green t-shirt. Her amber hair was pulled in small pigtails with green ribbons. She had big, round glasses that hid large hazel eyes. Green Keds were on her feet, and her socks had chibi computers on it.
But what stood out to Keith the most was their backpacks.
They had Voltron backpacks.
Voltron. Backpacks.
Keith could have screamed in happiness. The boy with curly brown hair had a Blue Lion backpack, the boy with Maui hair had a Yellow Lion backpack, and the girl had a Green Lion backpack. Voltron was Keith’s favorite show, and he even had a Red Lion backpack. This could be something they could talk about and bond over!
Taking a deep breath, and trying to force his face out of the nervous glare he could already feel settling in place, Keith got up from his table and walked over to the trio.
“Um. Hi. I- I’m Keith.”
Keith silently cursed the nervous stuttering–and the ensuing chuckles from the few students watching the interaction–that appeared whenever he talked to someone new, no matter how much he desired to get to know them.
“Hi Keith! I’m Lance!”
“What’s up? I’m Katie, but call me Pidge.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hunk.”
Keith gaped slightly before smiling shyly as he looked at them from under his bangs. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t successful in putting something more friendly than his usual glare on his face, but these kids didn’t seem bothered by his obvious awkwardness.
Warmth began to spread through him.
“I- It’s nice to m-meet you guys. D- Do you m-maybe want to s-sit at my table w-with me? I s-saw your b-backpacks a-and I l-like Voltron t-too.” All three pairs of eyes sparkled with interest.
“Really?! You guys like Voltron too?!”
Pidge nodded seriously. “Of course Lance. Voltron is the best show.”
Hunk nodded as well. “Yeah! It’s super cool.”
The three of them looked at Keith, and he jolted realizing he was supposed to say something. “Voltron is m-my favorite s-show.”
Lance squealed. “This is so cool! Nobody at my old school liked Voltron.”
Suddenly his face fell.
“Or liked me. Everyone said I was ‘too much’.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Whatever that means.”
He was smiling once more just as fast.
“But since you guys do, we can be friends!”
Hunk nodded in agreement. “That would be nice. Most kids at my school called me the fat nerd. It would be great to have friends for once.” Pidge voiced her assent next. “It would be downright awesome! I’m smaller than all the kids in my grade, and smarter, and they would bully me a lot. Friends would be cool.”
They all looked at Keith, but the boy couldn’t even find it in himself to respond.
These kids were just like him.
Outcasts.
Though he couldn’t imagine why no one wouldn’t like them.
Lance seemed passionate, and his big, blue eyes sparkled prettily. Pidge had a really cute smile, and her hair looked really soft. And Hunk had this really warm aura that surrounded his presence. It was so easy to become friends with them, he could hardly believe it. They had things in common and they wanted to be friends with him.
It was nice.
They were nice.
Keith blushed.
What am I thinking?!
But, he couldn’t deny he felt drawn to them.
It’s probably just because they're his new (first) friends.
Yeah.
Definitely.
“Keith? You okay buddy?”
Keith was brought out of his head by Hunk’s soft voice.
“H- Huh? O- Oh yeah. I- I’m fine. A- And I w- would love t- to be f- friends.”
The smiles that graced his new friends’ faces– Friends. Plural. Keith felt like he was in a dream. –was enough to make up for any embarrassment that came from getting caught up in those kinds of thoughts.
Keith turned around and led them to his table. Hunk sat in the seat beside him, Pidge sat directly across from Hunk, and Lance was beside her.
Once they got settled, conversation flowed smoothly. Even when the teacher got onto them for talking, they only lowered their voices and continued with whatever topic was being discussed. And when lunch came around, they sat at the same table with no discussion about it. Like it was common knowledge that they were all gonna sit together, in their own little bubble, seperate from the other kids.
Keith can’t remember feeling this safe and relaxed and comfortable with anyone other than his dad.
And then at recess, when the other kids teased Lance, Hunk, and Pidge for talking to Keith Kogane-Shirogane–the loser and outcast of the school–Keith was ready to accept he had just lost his first friends in less than a day.
Then, to his immense surprise, Lance growled and tore into them, spewing angry-sounding Spanglish so rapidly that it was hard to keep up.
But you could garner just enough to know that he wasn’t pleased.
Pidge jumped in with Lance–though she spoke a mix of English and Italian–and together they made a fierce, terrifying duo armed with scathing words.
Hunk didn’t speak at all, but he glared so harshly and so coldly that he was a generally threatening presence. The kids ran away, the combined effects of Hunk’s glaring and Pidge and Lance’s verbal assault being too much. Once they were gone, Lance brushed away Keith’s tears that he hadn’t even known were there, and Pidge and Hunk grabbed his hands and the four went to play Voltron in the sandbox.
The warmth continued to spread its gentle tendrils throughout his body.
And somehow, someway–Keith couldn’t even tell you–they made plans to ride bikes tomorrow morning in between sandbox adventures and swing set escapades. It was realized that they all had Ipads, so they shared their numbers and Hunk said he'd start a groupchat as soon as he got home. Luckily there wouldn’t be much time before then because, well, they live on the same street and ride the same bus home.
The entire time as they walked to the bus stop, Keith felt like he was high or he’d ascended to the astral plane or something because as far as he knew–which isn’t very far at all–friends didn’t make plans for outside of school. Susy and Janett are best friends, they tell everyone all the time, and Keith knows for a fact they don’t hang outside of school. Both girls ride his bus, but they sit in different seats with different people. And while they get off before he does in a different neighborhood, they do get off at the same time.
He doesn’t even know if they know they live in the same neighborhood.
The realization replaced the confusion with a floating feeling of joy and appreciation.
It meant that his new friends were special .
And as he looked at Lance’s soft curls blowing in the slight breeze, Pidge’s owl-like glasses reflecting the afternoon sun onto her eyes and making them glow, and Hunk’s brown skin simply sparkling, he nodded to himself.
Yeah. My friends are the most special.
The warmth had engulfed his whole body, making him happy and tingly.
Chapter Text
They ended up sitting together on the bus, Keith and Pidge in one seat and Lance and Hunk sitting across from them, and continued talking.
And not even about school stuff!
They talked about Voltron, their favorite hobbies, how they all only have one parent, and how they were really happy they met. When they got off the bus and said their goodbyes, Keith practically vibrated to his front door. He unlocked it, put up his backpack and shoes, and called for his dad.
“Dad! I’m home!”
Shiro came down the stairs and smiled at the sight of his son. “Hey Keith. Did you have a good day?” Keith didn’t respond and simply launched himself at his dad.
“OmygoshdadthiswasthebestdayeverihaveFRIENDSnowcanyoubeliveitilovethemsomuchlanceandhunkandpidgearesoniceandwearegonnarideourbikestomorrowand-”
Keith cut off his rambling when Shiro held up a hand.
“Whoa there bud! Mind calming down a little, I can’t understand anything you’re saying.”
Keith smiled sheepishly before he took a deep breath.
“Dad, my new friends, the kids that move on to our street, are so nice! I’ve only known them for a day, but I love them so much. Lance is really sweet, and he talks a lot but I like it since I’m not so great at talking. And Pidge is so smart and we think she’s even smarter than the teacher, but she’s really nice and helps us with our work if we get stuck. Hunk is an angel. He’s so kind and he has the softest smile-”
And as Keith rambled on and on, Shiro couldn’t help but think, looking at the flush that was slowly taking over Keith’s cheeks;
Huh. It seems my little boy has a puppy crush. Or rather, crushes.
Shiro hummed as he dodged Keith's wild hand movements.
Cute.
“-and we made plans to ride bikes tomorrow since tomorrow is Saturday!”
That gave Shiro pause.
“What? Really?”
Keith nodded frantically.
“Yeah! It’s gonna be so fun!”
Suddenly his face went slack as a loud series of dings rang throughout the house.
“Shoot! I forgot Hunk made a groupchat!”
He hopped down from his dad’s arms, and ran upstairs to his room. When he was gone, Shiro ran a hand down his face.
Guess I’m gonna have to talk to these kids’ parents.
Luckily, the school's database made parent’s phone numbers and emails easily accessible, and it didn’t take long for Shiro to make a groupchat with him and the other parents.
xx
Takashi Kogane-Shirogane > Hello I Guess
Takashi Kogane-Shirogane: Hello? This is Keith’s dad, Shiro
Matthew Holt: Huh. So you’re the father of the Keith boy my kid’s been talking about since she got home from school
Matthew Holt: I’m Pidge’s dad, Matt.
Adam Whyte-McClain: Nice to meet you both. I’m Adam, Lance’s dad.
Shayla Garret: And I’m Shay, Hunk’s mom.
Matthew Holt: so now that we got all those boring adult intros out the way i can be me and this user is N O T me
Matthew Holt changed his name to Flaming Bisexual
Flaming Bisexual: thats better
Shayla Garret: oooooo have we stopped pretending we function like functional adults? noice
Shayla Garret changed her name to Rock n’ Roll Lesbean
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: lol its funny because im a geology and bio professor, a hardcore lesbean, and rock and roll is my fav music genre
Adam Whyte-McClain: lmao love that for you
Adam Whyte-McClain changed his name to Kinda Functional Pan
Kinda Functional Pan: im only a little functional
Takashi Kogane-Shirogane: tbh same but also opposite
Takashi Kogane-Shirogane changed his name to Chaotic Disaster Gay
Chaotic Disaster Gay: literally this is my personality
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: lmao imagine being a disaster im fully functional
Flaming Bisexual: what self-respecting lesbian is functional
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: u right u right
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean changed chat name to G A Y S U N I T E
Chaotic Disaster Gay: this is already everything
Chaotic Disaster Gay: but before i actually talk about the reason i created this gc take a look at this picture
Chaotic Disaster Gay: *picture of keith sitting at a desk, hair pulled in a small ponytail, drawing three somethings while on Facetime with Pidge, Lance, and Hunk*
Chaotic Disaster Gay: im actually sobbing i love my son
Flaming Bisexual: amazing i would lay down my life for that child
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: im dead this is actually killing me
Kinda Functional Pan: i am. Too Weak For The Babs
Kinda Functional Pan: but also look at this
Kinda Functional Pan: *picture of Lance sitting at his desk, glasses pushed to the top of his head, weaving three somethings with red, green, and yellow straw, on Facetime with Keith, Hunk, and Pidge*
Kinda Functional Pan: hes the reason i have diabetes
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: okay but hes literally so photogenic
Chaotic Disaster Gay: right?! what even is this
Flaming Bisexual: he looks better that i ever will
Flaming Bisexual: now feast your eyes on this
Flaming Bisexual: *picture of Pidge sitting on the living room floor in front of the couch, building three somethings, toolbox and robot parts scattered around her whilst on Facetime with Lance, Hunk, and Keith*
Flaming Bisexual: this kid is sending me to an early grave i stg
Chaotic Disaster Gay: lay me to rest
Kinda Functional Pan: im loving my life right now
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: blessed
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: now check it
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: *picture of Hunk standing on a stool at the kitchen counter mixing something in a large bowl, headband holding back his hair, and on Facetime with Lance, Keith, and Pidge*
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: im love for my sunshine boi
Kinda Functional Pan: so cute
Chaotic Disaster Gay: i am blessed
Flaming Bisexual: im gonna eat my foot this is so adorable
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: okay selfies now!!
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: *picture of shay*
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: im beautiful i know
Flaming Bisexual: a goddess amongst mere mortals
Chaotic Disaster Gay: im not even attracted to women and im in love
Kinda Functional Pan: as a pansexual i am quaking
Flaming Bisexual: *picture of matt*
Flaming Bisexual: im a nerd so this is a pic from my most recent cosplay
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: ur cute and thats coming from a lesbian
Chaotic Disaster Gay: you are so pretty i cant
Kinda Functional Pan: i should be dead because of all these gorgeous humans
Kinda Functional Pan: *picture of adam*
Kinda Functional Pan: this one of my faves
Flaming Bisexual: this is why we cant have good things
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: why are all of you adorable??????
Chaotic Disaster Gay: im melting help
Chaotic Disaster Gay: *picture of shiro*
Chaotic Disaster Gay: i took this one after my job interveiw for the professor position i have now
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: why???? are you boys????? so cute????
Flaming Bisexual: i literally hate being bi
Kinda Functional Pan: im gonna commit die
Chaotic Disaster Gay: this entire conversation has made me forgot we r whole ass adults
Chaotic Disaster Gay: but in all seriousness, our kids apparently made plans to ride bikes tomorrow, and forgot that theyre 10yr olds with parents
Kinda Functional Pan: so thats was lance was talking about
Kinda Functional Pan: honestly, when he gets excited i cant understand anything he says he talks so fast
Chaotic Disaster Gay: literally same. i had to stop keith from talking and make him slow down
Flaming Bisexual: pidge came into the house and went straight (lol) to the living room
Flaming Bisexual: i had to remind her that she has a dad that was waiting on his greeting
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: hunk looked at me and said in the most gentlest, yet sternest voice ever and said “mama. i need command of the kitchen so i can make cookies for my new best friends. there can be NO INTERRUPTIONS!” and then he skipped into the kitchen
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: im just standing there shocked like “why does my son have such big dick energy? im raising an absolute unit. and it was so respectful too”
Kinda Functional Pan: its because youre wlw
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: u might be onto something there
Chaotic Disaster Gay: okay but about our kids
Chaotic Disaster Gay: since u guys are new i can show you around the neighborhood while the kids bike
Chaotic Disaster Gay: its not too big but we do have a nice little park and a grocery store
Kinda Functional Pan: sounds good!
Flaming Bisexual: im literally so stoked
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: i hate you for acutality putting that in the chat but im excited too
Chaotic Disaster Gay: sounds rad
xx
Shiro could hardly believe it.
Just like Keith, he doesn’t have many (read: any) friends, and now it appears he has three. It was exhilarating, and more than a little terrifying. Because already, within- holy shit.
It’s been three hours?
He could have sworn it was only a few minutes ago. But despite that, Shiro hasn’t long met them and they’ve already joined the ranks of people that are close to him. Which, admittedly, isn’t very many.
It’s really just Keith.
And his new friends.
Because any kid that appreciates Keith for who he is will stay in his good will until the end of time.
But before he could get too sappy, there was one thing he absolutely had to do before he could officially get these people started on the pathway to his heart.
xx
G A Y S U N I T E
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: and thats what would happen if you walked in on a ghost have gay sex with a human
Flaming Bisexual: im so sorry shay but i did N O T need you to in depth describe what it would look like to a human if that situation ever occured
Kinda Functional Pan: but shes onto something tho
Kinda Functional Pan: just seeing a person on their back on a bed, asshole widening and contracting for seemingly no reason could either spark a really hot threesome or youd be scarred for life
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: naturally its a tossup
Flaming Bisexual: let it be known that the both of you are horrible humans and i hate you
Chaotic Disaster Gay: glad i missed THAT convo but also are we all friends? like legit?
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: duh you dumb nut
Flaming Bisexual: you fool ofc
Kinda Functional Pan: We’ve all bonded on an extremely deep level, and we’re bonded for life. We’ve confessed extremely personal and/or embarrassing information about ourselves, and if any of it were to get out, we would all have to die.
Chaotic Disaster Gay: amazing
Chaotic Disaster Gay: love that for me
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: so its death or bffs for life
Flaming Bisexual: cant it be both
Chaotic Disaster Gay: same tbqh
xx
Shiro leaned on his couch feeling more than a little breathless. He has friends. Actual, legitimate friends. And wow, that leaves a guy feeling lightheaded. Because Shiro loves his son, god he does.
But look, a grown up needs grown up company.
And if Shay, Matt, and Adam are like this, then their kids must be just as great, and Shiro is so, so happy for Keith.
And himself.
Notes:
im kinda obssess with bby keith being so passionate about his new friends and aljalkjdlkjalkjdklajlad
Chapter 3
Summary:
just. best friends and chaos
Notes:
okay so BIIIIIIIIG disclaimer: i did minimal research across like 4 cooking websites on the food and drinks in this chapter, so if anything is misspelled or culturally incorrect PLEASE lemme know
also: i put descriptions of the food and drinks in the end notes, and they're copy-pasted from said websites (with slight changes to fit the story) so yh.
also also: i talk a little bit about other culture's opinions on alcohol and mixing drinks and shit like that (im african american). all that is from personal experience with people from and said cultures and different stories that my friends have told me about their own experiences
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chaotic Disaster Gay > G A Y S U N I T E
Chaotic Disaster Gay: i need to go make dinner for my kid
Chaotic Disaster Gay: aka order chinese and mourn my cooking skills
Kinda Functional Pan: boi you cant cook??????
Chaotic Disaster Gay: im??????? gay???????????
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: no exscuse bc i can cook and im HELLA gay
Flaming Bisexual: honestly same
Flaming Bisexual: i think its only u dude
Kinda Functional Pan: lmao yh
Kinda Functional Pan: im cuban/mexican through and through i can COOK COOK
Flaming Bisexual: italian here
Flaming Bisexual: all i can make is anything with carbs or protein but you best bi-lieve its good as F U C K
Flaming Bisexual: but if any you mention A N Y T H I N G about pasta or pizza i will shank you. i love both but thats not the ONLY things italians eat
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: remind me not to start any discourse over that then
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: and im filipino
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: i am basically gordon ramsey but genderbent and a woc
Chaotic Disaster Gay: thats honestly so fucking valid
Chaotic Disaster Gay: but i can only cook traditional japenese dishes and the US S U CK S at having good ingredients so takeout chinese it is ig ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Flaming Bisexual: boi fuck that im coming over
Flaming Bisexual: which house are you
Chaotic Disaster Gay: the red one????
Flaming Bisexual: omw im bringing katie too
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: im coming too
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: it’ll be a meet n’ greet party!!!! and i'll bring hunk!!!!
Kinda Functional Pan: bitch dont leave me and lance out
Kinda Functional Pan: i'll be there in like. 30 mins
Kinda Functional Pan: gotta bring the good shit
Chaotic Disaster Gay: you really dont have to its fine
Flaming Bisexual: no! youre raising a growing kid and you need a good diet too! we’re coming with food and thats final you gay ass hoe!
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: so mats the mom friend okay then
Flaming Bisexual: mats
Chaotic Disaster Gay: mats
Kinda Functional Pan: mats
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: its literally your name! why were you first?!
Flaming Bisexual: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Rock n’ Roll Lesbean: let it be known that i hate you all
Kinda Functional Pan: smh we’ll be there soon shiro
Chaotic Disaster Gay: okay?????????
xx
And true to their word, and Shiro’s confusion and delight, they did indeed come.
With food.
And alcohol.
A whole lot of food and a whole lot of alcohol.
Shay arrived first, apparently already done with cooking when they made these spontaneous plans.
She brought Bangus and surprisingly–or maybe not considering the picture Shay shared of her son–Hunk made Kutsinta and Cheese Puto. For drinks, she has Bugnay for the adults and Samalamig for the kids.
She and Shiro were setting up the dining room table–that hasn’t been used in forever since he and Keith usually eat in front of the TV–and looking for space in the fridge for all the extras when Matt and Pidge knocked, though Shiro wasn't sure why when they ended up just walking in anyway.
Matt brought Chicken Cacciatora and Arancini . As for the drinks, he brought Bellini for the adults, and Limonatta for the kids.
About ten minutes after that, Adam and Lance arrived.
The Cuban-Mexican duo brought Picadillo a la Habanera and Camarones a la Diabla. He brought Hemingway Specials for the adults, and Aqua Fresca for the kids.
There was so much food that some needed to be bagged, put in containers, and stored before they could eat. Not to mention that Shiro needed to find somewhere to stash the sheer amount of alcohol that was brought. They sent the kids to Keith’s room to play, and through casual conversation as they worked, Shiro learned that Lance mixed up the drinks he and Adam brought, alcohol and otherwise.
“Really? You taught him that?”
Adam snorted. “Shiro, please. Anyone in any hispanic family learns how to do what is essentially bartending at an early age. Any type of party is extremely alcohol based. Not to mention the debatable age requirement for drinking. It’s just a part of our culture.” Matt nodded.
“Same. Pidge did the drinks we brought too. I mean, I don’t let her drink any, obviously, but she’s really good at it.” Shay shrugged. “I don’t let Hunk do the drinks, but he can cook like a beast. I wanted to feel slightly helpful so I did the Bangus , and he did the kakanin . But honestly? He could’ve done it by himself.” Shiro smiled slightly. “Yeah. Keith’s actually pretty good with the traditional ingredients we get from back home, but here…not so much.”
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
“Neither of us are, really.”
Matt shrugged. “We’ll obviously be doing this all the time, so me, Adam, and Shay will teach you how to use strange American ingredients.” Shay nodded in agreement, and Adam smiled widely.
Shiro quickly turned to the stairs to call the kids, if only to hide the tears welled in his eyes.
The four came running down, sounding like a stampede. Shiro showed them where to sit, and he and the adults passed out the food and drinks.
After that, it was time to chow down.
Notes:
Bangus: a type of Filipino seafood dish
Kutsinta and Cheese Puto: a type of Filipino kakanin/dessert
Bugnay: Bugnay wine is made from small, red, tropical berries called bugnay or bignay. At around 12 per cent ABV, it has a similar alcohol content to regular grape wine.
Samalamig: Samalamig are sold in the streets and served with large chunks of ice. There is a wide variety of flavors. Milon (cantaloupe) is very popular in the summer months of April and May.
Chicken Cacciatora: hunter-style chicken thighs in tomato sauce
Arancini: balls of rice, cheese, and risotto sauce that are baked or fried. Matt’s are baked
Bellini: A sweet and fruity cocktail, it is made from just two ingredients: peach purée and Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. Due to its simplicity, the quality of the Bellini relies heavily on the quality of the ingredients. During the summer months, fresh ripe peaches should be used for the purée. Out of season, high-quality frozen peach purée will do the trick. Finally, a good dry Prosecco is best used. For a little extra flavour and a dash of rich pink, you can also add a little dash of raspberry purée.
Limonatta: Limonatta is a lemon-flavored soda made from mineral water and lemon juice.
Picadillo a la Habanera: cuban-spanish dish with ground meat cooked over low heat with seasonings, tomato sauce, potatoes, and olives. This dish is an everyday meal for Cubans. It is regularly served with rice, fried ripe plantains, and, occasionally, beans. Adam is serving his with rice
Camarones a la Diabla: mexican shrimp dish
Hemingway Specials: Hemingway Special is a Cuban cocktail made with a combination of white rum, maraschino, grapefruit juice, and fresh lime juice. To prepare it, all ingredients are shaken with ice, then strained into a double cocktail glass. This Daiquiri variety was one of the favorite cocktails of Ernest Hemingway, who used to regularly order it at El Floridita bar in Havana, hence the name of the drink.
Aqua Fresca: “Aqua fresca” is a Spanish phrase that literally translates to mean fresh water. If that doesn’t scream “simple”, then what does? This non-alcoholic Mexican drink has all the qualities that you would desire in a drink: refreshing, simple, and delicious. Plus, this recipe is great because you can use any fruit that you desire. It can even be a seasonal drink, where in the summer you use only fresh summer fruits. This recipe from About.com Mexican Food is a must-try, using fresh fruit, sugar, and lime or lemon juice to flavor your water should be a go-to when you are craving a sweet drink on a hot summer day.
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