The Favorite Gift
"Are you planning on making anything for Christmas Eve?" Lance asked, stacking the last of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. Keith had returned from space the evening before, his bi-monthly mission with the humanitarian leg of the Blade of Marmora complete. Lance never liked being without Keith for those few weeks, but he was proud of the work Keith did on planets ravaged by the Galra.
Lance did like it when Keith returned home, however. If the hickeys and his sore muscles were any indication.
"Mamá asked me to make flan. Like five flans," Keith answered, closing the fridge door. "I've never made flan."
Lance laughed, pressing the buttons to start the cycle. "It's not easy. She hates making it. I'm sure you'll do fine, Samurai."
"Great," Keith drawled. "I'll have to practice a bit before then. I don't want to face her with a terrible flan."
"I don't know. I think it would be kind of cool to see my little Mamá harangue the big, bad leader of the Blade in front of Krolia and Kolivan."
"You would think that was cool."
Lance chuckled as he tucked a hand towel in one of the drawer handles, then sent a quick glance around the kitchen to make sure everything was nice and neat. He surveyed the room proudly, hands on his hips, because it was theirs. Not some rented property or garrison-provided housing on the base. No, they had finally bought a nice property out in the country. It was rural enough for Keith and appealed to the nostalgic memory of his little cabin, but close enough to the Garrison for Lance to work, though Lance did have to take a small skimmer to the base. It was much faster than a land vehicle, but not a full jet or spaceship. One of the many small improvements to their space fleet thanks to the efforts of the Alteans.
They'd been on the property for a couple of years now. Kalternecker had ample space in the barn and had free range of the fields. An old gal now, she oversaw a small herd of cows – her descendants – and Lance spoiled them all. He drew milk from the cows occasionally, but for the most part, their cows lived an easy life, placidly chewing grass and wandering around at their leisure.
Most importantly, their property was a perfect place to raise their kids.
After the disastrously wonderful day at the cave in which they had found the blue lion and the carvings on the wall had confronted Lance with his feelings for Keith, they'd come to an understanding. It didn't happen right away. The baggage Lance had carried for years was heavy and he found out Keith's was just as weighty. They didn't jump into a relationship right away, as much as they both wanted to.
That day in the caves began a period of healing for both of them. Years of grief, misunderstanding, and straight-out pining for each other wasn't something that could be unraveled and stitched together after one tear-filled confession. It was enough to know they loved each other. Everything else could come in time.
Keith paused from his duties with the Blade, something that surprised Lance and indicated how dedicated Keith was to the idea of a 'them'. Keith had worked for years to build up the successful humanitarian aid that the Blade provided. It wasn't easy for him, something Lance had known from all their reunions between losing the lions and that cathartic day in the cave. Keith struggled in his place as the leader of Voltron, because he didn't have the faith in himself.
It was the same with the Blade. Except that Keith approached reforming the Blade with the confidence gained from Voltron and the Paladin's support as a leader. Leading the Galra was an adjustment but Keith kept steadily at it. The surprisingly easy part was transforming the Blade members into aid-givers as opposed to trained assassins and spies.
The ultimate goal of the Blade was to help other beings, and during the days of Zarkon's rule, that meant the Blade was a secret rebellion, using their highly trained members to do whatever it took to help. Humanitarian relief was a different side of the same coin. Keith was surprised that members were eager to put aside the violence and change to a more pacific way of helping, but the goal was the same as before – helping beings on all planets oppressed by Galra rule.
A portion of the Blade still relied on violence. Not all of Galra rule had ended with Voltron's win. With Zarkon, Haggar, and Lotor out of the picture, the Empire exploded into factions, many places ruled by Galra warlords that the Alliance and the Blade were systematically taking down. That's when Keith's group stepped in. Once liberated, many of the planets were economically depressed and the citizens were incapable of rebuilding a planet-wide infrastructure. Say what you will about the Galra, they were highly organized as a government, and over the years, Keith's Blade group were able to use already established procedures and help adapt them to the society and traditions of the native beings living there.
By the time of the 'Cave Confession' (as Keith would fondly call it), the Blade was running smoothly under Keith's leadership. In other words, they could afford it if Keith went MIA for a while. That 'while' ended up being a year. He still kept in touch. Still kept up to date and made decisions, but the majority of his focus for that time was building a relationship with Lance.
They took things slowly, something of which Lance insisted. Keith himself was willing to wait for as long as it took, and willing to do whatever it took to win Lance's trust. They both knew each of them couldn't move to a full-fledged love affair right away. There was a lot – a lot – to talk about between them. Many things they had believed had to be gone over and corrected.
At first, Keith suggested they retreat to Lance's farm, but Lance balked at the idea. He'd come to resent the juniberries growing there, and it made him feel guilty since Allura had loved them so much. As much as Lance loved his family, he knew how they could be. If he and Keith were rebuilding their relationship, it would be easier without the interference of his well-meaning family. Lance knew they would pester him and Keith about things. Lance wasn't naïve enough to think that the process would be easy. He knew he and Keith would likely argue because that was part of their dynamic. He didn't want his family to either pick sides or offer advice. He knew he and Keith had to work it out on their own.
So, off they went, into space again. They took only Kosmo, supplies, and communication devices. They didn't completely cut themselves off from the rest of their family and friends. Quite the contrary. They found a nice, benign planet far from the more settled areas of the universe, but not remote enough to discourage visitors. They encouraged their friends and family to visit often.
Most of the year, however, they were alone. While it granted them the opportunity to develop a physical relationship, they both agreed it wasn't a good idea, despite how much they wanted it. It was enough to get to know each other again, settling into a domesticity that reminded Lance of the history stories he'd read of pioneers on Earth in the early parts of the United States. Sure, Lance and Keith had power generators and modern gadgets, but they had to hunt and forage for food, and make everything they needed. It was borderline idyllic, and the planet was beautiful. They lived on their ship but had parked it near one of the planet's oceans, which reminded Lance of Cuba.
When friends and family weren't visiting, they still kept in touch, talking often with the couple over comms. Each of them had a weekly therapy session as well – private – to help work out each of their traumas. After a few months, they added a weekly 'couple' session as well. Talking with their different therapists helped their communication, and by the end of the year they'd arrived at a point where they finally allowed themselves the physical intimacy they had been craving (it was amazing) and returned to Earth engaged and with the conviction that they had done everything right.
Lance had healed enough to have a talk with Shiro about working for the Garrison. After his long isolation on the farm and the yearlong semi-isolation with Keith, he felt ready to be among people again. He started small, just a teaching job with the recruits. He ended up loving it and became one of the most popular flight instructors at the academy. His students adored him, and his after-school short-and-long-range shooting classes were always packed.
Keith returned to the Blade but limited his missions to bi-monthly. He handled the administration of humanitarian aid from Earth and taught at the Garrison when home. Though not as popular as Lance, he was a great flight instructor. It amazed Shiro to see how relaxed and happy Keith had become since his sabbatical with Lance.
Lance worked also to repair his relationships with Hunk and Pidge. Both had been devastated to learn how their behavior had affected Lance while in Voltron. The guilt associated with it weighed down on them for the first few visits, but things gradually got better. By the time the wedding rolled around, things were great between all of them.
Shiro's initial thought was to have Lance do diplomatic work for the Alliance or be an officer on the Atlas. Lance wanted neither of those things. He did do occasional diplomatic work for visiting aliens, but he didn't want to leave Earth as much as he used to. Sometimes he went with Keith, especially before their wedding, but once he started teaching, he was happy to continue with that.
The pay for being an Alliance General was nice, not that they had to worry about money. Saving the entire existence of the universe can set one up nicely for the rest of their lives. Technically neither he nor Keith (or Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro) needed to work ever again. They all did it for the love of helping others.
They got married a year after their sojourn on the isolated planet. Lance was twenty-four and Keith was twenty-seven. It was a large, but private wedding – large only because they invited Lance's family. Shiro's had been a flashy affair, as had Hunk and Shay's - weddings befitting saviors of the universe and important members of the Alliance. Lance and Keith's wedding should have been as well, but Lance didn't want the spotlight he used to crave. It was enough to stand at the altar with Keith on the planet they had found for their yearlong bonding time.
Shiro spoke the words, they made their promises and kissed, and then proceeded to party with those closest to them. Lance will never forget his mother's watery smile, his father's eyes gleaming with pride, and the threats Krolia whispered to him as he danced with her on the beach.
They settled near the Garrison for the convenience of being close. A rented home that never quite felt like a home – not in the way Lance's family home in Cuba felt. There were no memories seeped into the walls, or happy whispers, or sad tremors beneath the surface. It was a plain, boxy, cookie-cutter home that looked like all the rest on the block, but it was spacious and convenient. And they needed the space because it didn't take them long to start a family.
It was something they talked about often, starting when they were alone together on that unnamed planet (though Pidge teasingly said she was lobbying to have the planet named "Klance") because even though they were working through their issues, they knew their endgame. Adoption was, of course, an option, but to their surprise, family members approached them about surrogacy. Krolia was the first, insisting she carry her grandchild.
Keith was hesitant when she offered, worried about his mother's age, but she assured him that Galra women could carry kits much later in life with little to no risk. Lance agreed because he was scared to say no to her. Those threats from the wedding still lingered in his ears.
With Keith's sperm and an egg from Veronica, Julio came into their lives two years after they were married. Life completely changed for them, of course. Lance loved Keith, but he hadn't known unconditional love for anyone the way Julio yanked it out of his soul. Named after Lance's late grandfather, the boy was a miniature Keith. Same dark hair and eyes, same attitude, same scowl. There were some McClain features present. He inherited the lean and lanky form of the men in Lance's family and the McClain brow.
Three years after Julio, with an egg from Krolia and Lance's sperm this time, they welcomed Kadia to their family. They named her after Krolia's dam, whom Keith had never met. She had died before Krolia had joined the Blade. Kadia resembled Lance, down to the pointy chin and pointy nose, but had Keith's more compact build, Krolia's pointy ears, and a slight cast of purple to her skin. Kadia also had Keith wrapped firmly around her finger and Lance suspected it was because she looked so much like him.
After Kadia was born, carried by Rachel, they began looking for another place to live. It took a long time to find the perfect place. Years. Nothing felt quite right, but when Kadia was five and Julio was eight, they found their forever home. A little farm far enough away from the Garrison to satisfy Keith, and close enough for them to still work for the Alliance. It was perfect in every way. Enough acreage for Kaltenecker and brood, enough room for some chickens, but not so big that it was hard to take care of; they were busy Generals, after all.
They saw Lance's family, Krolia and Kolivan, and the other Paladins often. Holidays were always spent together, and Lance looked forward to each one, but none so much as the Christmas season. More so because the kids loved it. They both still believed in Santa, though Julio was beginning to suspect things now that he was ten. Kadia still held that belief in magic that kids have, and Lance and Keith did their best to encourage it.
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Every Christmas Eve was spent with Lance's family. It was their tradition to celebrate that day, with a big party to which the McClains invited everyone. Although not ones for celebrating this particular holiday, Krolia and Kolivan always came for the event. As did the Paladins and their families, that grew each year. It was a joyous time with plenty of laughter, food, dancing, and music.
This year Lance had been instructed to make appetizers, while Keith had been instructed to make flan. Lance was a good cook – he was the primary cook for his little family – but he had no idea what to do for appetizers. Keith could cook as well, but he'd never made a delicate flan, let alone five of them. Still, they did their best, hauling the bags of food to the McClain farm, where the appetizers and flan immediately got lost on the groaning tables among the enormous amount of food that the various guests had brought.
"I don't know why she had me make five of these," Keith complained as he positioned his carefully made treats on the dessert table. "Your aunt made three, and there are thirty other desserts here."
"Tia Rosa's flans always taste bad," Lance said in a low tone, glancing around to make sure Tia Rosa wasn't around. "So Mamá is counting on you."
"Still, there's a ton of other desserts."
Lance shrugged. "Like there's a ton of appetizers. You and I both could have skipped out on making anything, and Mamá would be none the wiser."
Keith gave him that long-suffering look he had mastered years ago. "Mamá would have known," he said. "She has a sixth sense when it comes to this."
Lance chuckled. "True. Ah well," he said, gesturing to the multiple tables, "at least we won't have to eat for a week. Mamá is going to load us with a big portion of this."
"Julio eats more than this for a snack," Keith pointed out. Their son had reached that age where boys eat everything in sight. He played sports – every sport available for a kid his age – and his energy had to be fueled by a lot of food.
"True," Lance agreed. He looked around for their children, noticing that the cousins had already pulled the two into their various games and shenanigans. Reaching up to tuck Keith's hair behind his ear, Lance smiled. "Roni was planning on mixing drinks with Cousin Mateo, and you know she is a heavy-handed bartender. And cousin Elena promised to bring some wildly inappropriate games for the adults to play. Let's jump into the party. Just let me know when you've had too much, and we can go."
Keith, even after all these years with Lance's family, was still anxious in large crowds, which was every McClain family gathering. He smiled at his husband, though, and hooked his arm around Lance's waist. "I'll be fine, my love," he assured Lance. "A few of Roni's drinks will relax me."
"A few of Roni's drinks will have you passed out in Mamá's flower bed, and it's a little chilly for that. I'm not dragging your heavy ass home, along with the two kids."
"And the leftovers," Keith reminded him.
"If you pass out, I will borrow the wheelbarrow and tote all your asses home."
"That would almost be worth it."
Lance laughed, waved at Rachel, who was shouting at them to come get something to drink, and kissed Keith on the cheek. "Party time, baby. Last one standing wins!"
"You're on!"
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Both Keith and Lance were exhausted when they stumbled into their house in the early morning hours, each carrying a sleeping child and two bags of leftovers. How they found the energy at three in the morning to not only put the kids to bed but to also play Santa for them, they'll never know. Thankfully they'd only had one of Roni's drinks each at the start of the party and were perfectly sober for the journey home.
Lance concentrated on filling stockings and arranging the gifts under the tree, while Keith struggled to construct child's skimmer for Kadia. The skimmer didn't come with instructions in any language other than Olkari, which neither Keith nor Lance knew. It was too late/early to call on any of their friends, so using only the pictures and videos online Keith finally snapped the last pieces into place at five in the morning.
Lance put a plate on the hearth next to the fireplace, munching a cookie quickly to leave crumbs, and a large glass with a teeny bit of milk on the bottom. Adding a couple of carrot tops to make it seem like the reindeer got a treat as well completed the illusion. Keith put on his boots, stepped outside, and dumped some water in the flower bed to get those boots dirty. This supplied footsteps from the fireplace to the tree and back. Lance lamented the dirty floor but knew it would be worth it to see the wonder in their children's eyes when they saw it.
Unfortunately, the children woke them up with their excited screeching only an hour after Keith and Lance had collapsed into bed. Snapped harshly out of deep sleep with the panic reaction ingrained in them from the war, they shot out of bed with a jolt of adrenaline that quickly went away when they got their bearings.
"From now on, we're instigating a 'not before ten am' rule for Christmas morning," Lance mumbled, pulling on the matching pajamas he had gotten for their family.
Keith, who was stuffing his legs into his matching pair of PJ pants – backward and inside out – grunted in agreement. "Especially if we party with your family on Christmas Eve."
"Put your pants on right," Lance huffed, snatching a Santa hat off the dresser and putting it on his head.
"I can't see anything. My eyes are blurry."
"And red. Looks like you have Santa's toy bags under your eyes."
"And you look fucking perfect. How?"
"Years of taking care of myself, you savage. You don't."
"I don't take care of myself? Or I don't take care of you?"
"You take care of me plenty," Lance assured him, coming around the foot of the bed to wrap his arms around Keith. "Happy Christmas, my love."
Keith smiled, pressing a kiss to Lance's forehead. "Feliz Navidad."
Their kids were jumping up and down in front of the tree, exclaiming over all the presents left by Santa (completely forgetting their shower of spoils from the rest of the family the night before). Kadia noticed their fathers first and ran over to Keith. "Daddy! Come here!" she yelled. "Santa left his footprints!"
Grabbing his hand, Kadia dragged Keith over to the fireplace. Lance detoured into the kitchen to start the coffee and to put a breakfast casserole he had made the day before into the oven. He could hear Kadia pointing out the cookie crumbs and carrot tops to her dad, her high-pitched kids' voice sounding so excited that Lance smiled. Missing out on sleep was worth it to see and hear the excitement in their children.
The kids were already in their matching pajamas, and Lance insisted on a picture in front of the tree before they tore into everything. The kids fretted, of course, but it was something both their fathers insisted on every year. A couple of nice and serious poses with a couple of goofy poses and making faces for the camera and they were done. Then a tornado appeared to descend on their family room with wrapping paper, ribbons, and gifts flying every which way.
"I can't believe all that prep, planning, wrapping, and secrets are destroyed in ten minutes," Lance lamented, looking at the carnage left in the wake of gift unwrapping. Colored paper was strewn over every inch of floor and furniture. Kosmo lay stunned in front of the tree, surveying the battlefield with a bewilderment that had Keith laughing.
"You'd think he'd be used to this by now," Keith said, crawling through the detritus on hands and knees to give Kosmo loving pats and hugs.
"I'm not used to this and I orchestrated it," Lance said. Kadia was sitting on her skimmer, making 'vroom vroom' noises (Keith hadn't hooked up the power source yet). Little beeps from the latest game for his handheld device came from the couch where Julio was absorbed with defeating the evil knights with his enchanted character. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, everyone," he announced, clapping his hands together to get their attention. "I want the table set and Kosmo fed," he directed to the children. "And someone needs to tame the rat's nest on their head, so I don't have to look at it while eating."
Keith stuck his tongue out at Lance even as he reached up to finger-comb his hair.
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"Daddy? What was your favoritest gift ever?"
Keith was snoozing on the couch, half-reclined with Kadia nestled comfortably on his lap and Kosmo draped over his feet. She held the stuffed Yelmore Coran had given her, bouncing it on Keith's chest, which barely registered with her tired father. Lance was sitting cross-legged on the floor, helping Julio make up a character for Monsters and Mana – they'd decided he was old enough to play, though not old enough to play any of Coran's demented plots. They'd start him out with less freaky campaigns.
"Mmm? What was that sweetie?" Keith asked, roused from his nap. He rubbed at an eye and yawned.
"This is my favoritest gift ever!" Kadia exclaimed, waving the Yelmore in her hands in front of Keith's face, accidentally bonking him on the nose. "I want to know what yours was!"
"Oh," Keith said, now rubbing his nose. "Um…" he seemed to pull his thoughts together because that's how Keith was. It wasn't as if he never spoke, just sometimes he needed to form his thoughts first before speaking. "It's kind of a secret."
This, of course, made Lance's ears perk up. Despite being together for some time now, he couldn't help but think jealous thoughts at what Keith said. Was there a shadowy ex from the past that had wowed Keith so much that he had to keep this amazing gift secret? What kind of gift was it? Keith had said there was never any ex to speak of – he'd had no time, even if he hadn't been so hung up on Lance to date anyone. Keith wouldn't have lied to him, would he?
"Daddy," Kadia said, in her most serious voice, turning her upper body enough to look Keith in the eye with her bottom lip out in a pout. "We don't keep secrets in our family."
Keith laughed, booping her on her nose. "That's true, little bean. It's not an important secret, though." His gaze slid over to meet Lance's and Lance could swear Keith blushed before he looked back at their daughter. "Daddy just got a gift from someone important to him. That's all. It's a silly gift, and I'm sure this person doesn't know how much it meant to me when they gave it to me."
"Was it Uncle Shiro?"
"No."
She scrunched her face in concentration, naming everyone important in their life, some of whom Keith said weren't even part of his life when he got this gift. It was a long time ago, and he repeated he was sure they didn't remember they gave Keith the gift. Kadia thought at first Poppa Hank but reasoned that since he had died, he wasn't able to remember now. Then she asked if it was Nana Krolia (which still tickled the shit out of Lance that the big, bad Krolia was called Nana) but it wasn't her.
Kadia was as stubborn as Keith, so she brought it up over and over throughout the morning, also grilling Lance on whether he knew, which he didn't. Lance tried to tame the jealousy but couldn't. Keith kept insisting it wasn't an interesting story, and again, the mystery gift giver probably didn't know. Keith was very shifty about it, though, and Lance himself was getting frustrated at his lack of knowledge of this important gift.
Both kids passed out by the afternoon after full bellies from breakfast and their early morning rising. Lance and Keith wearily forced themselves to clean up the destruction in their family room and set things to order. Lance cleaned the kitchen while Keith moved the kids to the bed in his and Lance's room, cleaned the floor of footprints, and organized the gifts.
The question was on the tip of Lance's tongue all afternoon, especially when they curled up together on the couch to exchange sleepy kisses and catch a few minutes of a nap themselves. He couldn't, though. Keith seemed embarrassed by it, and Lance was a little hesitant to find out. What if he found out Keith did have an ex-lover?
Julio woke up first and, since he was normally a quiet boy happy with video games, he settled on his bean bag chair with his new handheld game and worked on that with his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth.
"I should start dinner," Lance said, but with no enthusiasm in his voice.
"I want Christmas tacos!" Julio voiced loudly for him, getting a shh from Keith.
"And you shall have Christmas tacos," Lance assured him. He patted Keith's knee as a signal to let him go. Lance was currently wrapped up in Keith's arms.
"Mmm, okay baby. I'll go wake up Sleeping Beauty."
"Papa is already awake," Julio said, glancing up at his dads.
"Ha ha, very funny," Lance said, making a face at Julio, who laughed, pleased at successfully teasing his Papa.
Keith chuckled. "The other Sleeping Beauty," he said, shoving Lance off him. "I think I might put real clothes on, too," Keith added, smoothing out the Christmas Pajama shirt he still wore.
"Ugly Christmas sweater," Lance instructed.
"Aye Aye, Cap'n," Keith responded with a half-assed salute. He stretched, arms reaching high up over his head, only to bend sharply forward with an "Oof!" when Lance poked his stomach. "Jerk," he snarled but was soothed over by kisses from Lance, which got gagging sounds from Julio.
Lance went into the kitchen to start dinner, but when he couldn't find his apron (which, of course, said "Besa al Chef"), he remembered it was in the laundry basket he had put in their room to get out of the way. Grumbling, he went down the hall toward the room at the end but paused a moment before entering. He heard Kadia bugging Keith again about his favorite gift. The girl had an eerie sixth sense.
"Did you not want to tell me 'cause Papa was there, Daddy?"
"Mm, yeah, little bean," Keith said. "I didn't want Papa to make fun of me."
Keith hadn't shut the door entirely, so as quietly as he could, Lance peeked through the little opening left there. Keith was sitting on the edge of the bed with Kadia pressed against his side, her hair a wild mess on her head (she inherited that from Keith!), and Keith carded his fingers through it in an attempt to tame it.
"Papa wouldn't make fun of you," she declared, hugging her now-favorite Yelmore. "Tease, but not mean it!"
Keith laughed. "True, little bean, true. Still…"
"Papa's not here," she said, her voice a loud whisper. "Can you tell me now?"
"I can show you."
Keith stood up and disappeared into the walk-in closet. Kadia shifted to her knees on the bed, watching the closet door avidly, bouncing a little in excitement. Lance took the moment to get into a better position to see what it was.
Whatever 'it' was, and wherever Keith hid 'it', it didn't take long for Keith to retrieve. When he returned to his seat on the bed, Kadia scooted closer, holding Keith's arm to lean closer to look at the object balanced on his palm. It was a round object, barely the size of Keith's hand. So tiny, that it was hard to see what it was from Lance's vantage point, but he recognized it immediately.
"What is it, Daddy?"
"A hippo. Papa made it for me."
"Papa made it?"
"Mhm. You know he can knit, right?" When she nodded, he poked at it with his other hand. "It's supposed to be a hippo, but Papa had just learned to knit when he made it, so it kind of looks like a round ball, doesn't it?"
Kadia giggled and nodded. "Papa's much better now!" she declared.
"He is," Keith agreed.
"When did Papa make this?"
"Back when we were at the Garrison as kids. I think we were about twelve or so. Around that. Papa was eleven, I think."
Kadia was already well-versed on the anomaly of Keith and Lance's age differences after the Space Whale, so she didn't question why they were a year apart back then, but three years apart now. "Can I hold it?"
"Of course," Keith said, smiling as she dropped her Yelmore and snatched the hippo.
"Why is this your favorite?"
The expression that stole over Keith's face as he watched their daughter handle the hippo like a precious object pulled at Lance's heart in the best/worst way. It was a soft expression usually saved for Lance alone. He listened to Keith explain the gift, but Lance remembered it clearly and it played in his head as Keith told the story to Kadia.
It had been Shiro's idea. The gift exchange, anyway. Lance was still fairly new to the Garrison, and so was Keith. Lance had an obsession with the dark-haired, mysterious cadet, who sat at his desk staring out the window or doing simulations with an unaffected ease that drove Lance crazy. Years later, Lance would recognize it as a crush, but his eleven-year-old heart wasn't mature enough to understand what was happening.
It was a simple exchange. Everyone in Shiro's class chose names out of a hat, and Lance drew Keith's name. They were supposed to get an inexpensive gift for their giftee, but Lance had no money. It was hard enough for his parents to afford the Garrison for him and his sister, let alone give him extra spending money. Scholarships helped, but two children at an elite academy didn't leave much left over. Lance fretted over the gift because he didn't want to give Keith anything lame, but he knew almost nothing about Keith.
Keith didn't talk to anyone. He didn't seem to have any friends. Lance had no idea what Keith liked. Combined with having no money, he didn't see what he could do about the whole gift exchange, except maybe run away from the Garrison and hide in the mountains.
Until he noticed Keith doodling in a notebook one day. The boy was drawing a page of hippos. Was that Keith's favorite animal? It seemed to be. Or they were easy to draw? Either way, Lance had one nugget of knowledge. He had learned to knit over the summer – his Abuela had taught him when he showed interest – so he looked up a pattern for a hippo. It didn't look too hard, and he had some yarn Abuela had packed for him to keep practicing. The yarn wasn't exactly hippo colored, it was mostly shades of his favorite color, blue, but beggars can't be choosers, he reasoned.
Keith was right. Lance had done his best to make a hippo. It didn't look completely like a blue tomato with legs and two dark blue French knots for eyes, but it was close. Lance had tried, working at it late at night when his roommate was asleep. He didn't want anyone to know how much work went into the gift.
The strange thing, though, was that Lance thought Keith hated the gift. When the exchange happened, Shiro made each student open their gift in turn, so that everyone could see what everyone got. Lance remembered watching eagerly as Keith turned the sloppily wrapped gift in his hands, pausing to read the To/From tag. Keith's expression didn't change when he saw Lance's name, nor did it change when he pulled the wrapping from the hand-made toy.
Keith didn't look excited, or disappointed. He looked like nothing. He studied the hippo in his hands, letting the wrapping drop to the floor. When he looked up, his eyes searching out Lance, Lance felt suddenly stupid. Why would he think Keith would like a terribly-made hippo as a gift? Lance's face flushed and his heart clenched in a bad way the longer Keith looked at him.
"What do we say, Keith?" Shiro quietly prompted.
"Thank you," Keith said, but automatically as if he didn't mean it. He set the hippo on the corner of his desk and Shiro moved to the next student. Lance, who had already opened his gift, curled in on himself as Keith looked out the window.
The memory faded from his mind as Keith finished telling it to Kadia. She looked at the hippo, balanced on her hand. "I know it's special because Papa made it, but why, Daddy? Why is it your favorite? Papa's given you other stuff."
"Do you remember me telling you about my life before the Garrison? About how Poppa died and I went to live with strangers?"
"Yeah," she said, her lower lip poking out. Keith and Lance hid nothing of their previous lives from their children, though Keith rarely talked about his foster care life. Since Kadia was so attached to Keith, it usually made her sad.
"Well, after Poppa died, I never really had a Christmas. Either I was with a family that didn't celebrate it, or the family I was with didn't include me. It had been years since anyone had given me a gift. Any gift. Shiro and Adam loaded me with gifts when I celebrated Christmas with them a week later after the other cadets went home for break, but this hippo was the first gift I had gotten in a long time. And it was from a boy I thought more about than anyone. A cute loudmouth." Kadia laughed and Keith grinned at her. "And he somehow knew my favorite animal. I still don't know how. It was all I could do not to cry in front of the class. Someone showed they cared, and I truly understood why they say it's the thought that counts when you give a gift."
"You already loved Papa?"
"I did. So, so much. I had to bite my cheek so I didn't cry like a baby when I saw his name on the tag." Keith took the hippo back, cradling it in his hands and smiling fondly at it. "It's my favorite not just because Papa gave it to me. That would be enough, of course, but also because it gave me hope that I might be normal again. That people could care about me someday. That maybe I wasn't a burden to anyone. I didn't care that it was a blue hippo that didn't look like a hippo. I could tell Papa made it himself, and even if he never liked me back, he had a good heart. I hoped someday that we could become friends at least."
"Papa does love you!"
"I know he does, and I love him. And," he added, tossing his precious hippo to the side so he could scoop Kadia into his arms, "I love you and Julio."
"I love you, too, Daddy!"
Keith kissed her on her head as she giggled. Then he set her on the floor and told her to go find Julio. Lance retreated into the hall bathroom so she couldn't see him as she flew by without Keith. He knew Keith would hide the hippo and change out of his pajamas, so he went into their room to wait. Sure enough, a few moments after Lance entered their room, Keith stepped out of the closet, tugging at the sleeves of a too-small sweater graced with a pattern of reindeer heads with big pom poms for noses. One of the pom poms hung by a thread and Lance made a mental note to mend it later. Keith stopped short when he saw Lance standing by their bed with arms crossed and a neutral expression.
"Hey, baby," he said, tone cautious.
"How come you never told me about the hippo?"
Keith reached up to rub at the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "You heard that?"
Lance, unrepentant about the eavesdropping, nodded.
Keith sighed, dropping his hand. "I don't know. I just, I guess I was embarrassed that something so meaningless meant so much to me."
"It wasn't meaningless, Keith, specifically because it meant so much to you."
"I know, I know. I just didn't want you to laugh. Or be, like, 'I don't even remember that!' because I didn't want to confirm that."
"Confirm what?"
"That it didn't mean anything to you."
"First of all, we were kids, so even if it meant nothing to me, you shouldn't think I would laugh at you!" Lance said, stepping up to Keith and putting his hands on Keith's forearms. "Second, didn't you ever think maybe it meant something to me?" When Keith shook his head, Lance chuckled. "It did. I remember it clearly. I can't even tell you how much I stressed over your gift."
"You did?"
"Love, you know how I felt about you back then. Didn't it occur to you that getting you a gift when I was crushing on you in turn crushed my little soul?"
Keith smiled, looking to the side. "No, I didn't."
"It did! You didn't help either, being all quiet, standoffish, and mysterious." Keith snorted at that. "You were," Lance insisted. "I had no idea what to get you that you would like."
"How did you know about the hippo?"
"Luck, I guess. I saw you doodling them one day in your notebook." Lance pulled Keith into a hug, tucking his face comfortably into the crook of Keith's neck. "I wish I had known how much you liked it. I thought you hated it."
He felt Keith's quiet laugh. "I probably should have reacted differently. I was trying so hard not to cry, though."
"I'm glad you've worked on your emoting," Lance said, feeling Keith's arms wrap around his torso. "I love you so much."
"I love you so much more."
"Do we have to go to Shiro's tonight? I'm so ready for a nap."
Keith laughed at his whining. "We can sleep tomorrow. You know the kids want to see their cousins."
"I know, I know. And get spoiled by Shiro and Curtis." They pulled back to look at each other. "I'll fix your little pom pom, and I think you should wear the antlers with this sweater."
"Yes, sir."
"Ooo, you're lucky I'm tired and have to make dinner. You know I like it when you call me 'sir'."
"Why do you think I do it?"
"I am surprised you still have the hippo. How did you find it after we got back? Was it still in your little shack?"
Keith smiled, dropping a kiss on Lance's pointy nose. "It's always been with me. What did you think I carried in those carriers you always called my fanny packs?"
Lance squawked as Keith ducked out of his arms and ran out of the room laughing. He stood for a moment, hands on his hips and shaking his head. He'd had no idea the hippo went on all Keith's space adventures. He'd have to ask later if it had been with him on the Space Whale, too. "What a dork," he muttered, digging out his own Christmas sweater (Santa dressed for the beach) and the apron. "But I guess he's mine," he added, feeling a swell of love as the sound of their children's and Keith's laughter drifted from the family room.
Yep, they were all his.
A/N: devoosha on Twitter and IG
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