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Keith has been in lots of fights in his life. He didn't know how most of them started, ended or who they were against. There however was the exception for the first fight he got in over being called a homophobic slur. He remembered that one all too well.
He was fifteen and had thrown the first punch. It wasn't his first time, not by a long shot. He's gotten in fights being called weird, loner, stuff like that, also more recently more hurtful racial insults. But no punch had ever felt so satisfying as he slammed his fist into Hector Phillips nose after he murmured disgusting words directed at Keith as he walked by.
Keith at fifteen had a lot of problems. Like, a lot. He was a bitter orphan with anger issues, refused to obey authority, struggled with communicating with people in general and had just started a nicotine addiction. There was also the fact he was a gay Asian who preferred to draw by himself at Lunch than make friends.
It was a whole lot of ammo for bullies.
Which was why that day he snapped, punched that guy right in the face. Keith wasn't going to pretend to be above it all and deny how fucking good it felt to feel the bones crack under his knuckles. It felt awesome to punch the douchiest guy in their grade.
What wasn't so great was getting his ass kicked when his three other friends joined in, making it 4 vs 1.
"I don't regret it," Keith still insisted as Shiro, his Foster brother, patched him up before Shiro's mother came home. She was too nice of a woman, always crying over Keith and his fights. It made him feel guilty, but not enough to stop his shit and pull his act together.
Shiro sighed, but didn't say anything. He was gay himself, he got it, got the anger, at least that's what Keith assumed.
"Well," Shiro started after slapping the last bandaid on, making Keith wince. "If you're going to continue getting into fights, you might as well give yourself a fighting chance."
Keith frowned, surprised by Shiro's lack of lecture and also in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Shiro grinned, the mischievous grin that made Keith sweat. "You're going to start coming to the gym with me."
Keith felt his blood run cold.
The gym was a scary place where Shiro practically lived. Keith went once and wanted to leave the whole time, intimidated because he was a skinny boy in a room full of gym rats, his brother included. It was just another place he obviously didn't belong.
"No way in hell," Keith snapped defensively. Shiro was too used to the tone and didn't even flinch like everyone else would have.
"Oh trust me, you're coming. If you're going to be stupid and get yourself in fights, you might as well be strong enough to defend yourself and not get killed. It'll also be good to let off steam. Plus..." Shiro walked over to Keith's jacket on the floor, pulling out the packet of cigarettes, making Keith flush in shame. "If you don't want me to tell mum and dad you're smoking, you better come."
Who would've thought Golden Boy Shiro would be the type to blackmail...
"Fine!" Keith snapped, getting to his feet. "But I'm going to hate every second of it." He stormed out of the room, not quick enough to miss the pleased smile Shiro wore.
* * *
As much as he hated to admit it at the beginning, Shiro was right. Once he got over himself and his insecurities about being there, the gym quickly became somewhat of a second home.
He never liked sports, because most of them were team based and he was never a fan of interaction, so he was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed exercise and working out. It gave him something to do for starters. But most importantly it gave him something to release his steam. The anger, bitterness that had somehow grown uglier in his teenage years.
When you're a kid you look forward to the future, hoping and wishing for something spectacular. But when shit happens in your childhood, you look back on it as you get older. Your teenage brain can finally process it all and you can only find yourself looking back on all you've been through.
So it was nice to let some of that anger out. And they're right when they say exercise really makes you feel better overall, not just from the egotistical boost of looking a little nicer. It's cool that it also helps him get more guys, that's just a nice bonus.
Life was different for Keith these days though. He was in college and had made friends and was pretty certain on where he wanted his life to go career wise. For the first time in his life he felt like he actually had a chance of a decent future.
He'd also met his biological mother, which was kind of weird at the beginning, but it allowed him to move on from a lot of his issues. They were still mending their relationship, still getting to know each other, but Keith was happy.
He didn't participate in as many fights as he did as a teenager now that he was 21. But there was the occasional setback because Keith couldn't change the fact he was very impulsive with his decisions. Sometimes he threw punches and thought later instead of taking a breath like the school counsellor taught him.
This happened once when Keith, Allura and Romelle were leaving a bar after drinking celebratory shots. They were drunk, excited and cheerful over their exams being over. Also the fact that Keith was now recently single, with his first proper boyfriend dumping his ass a couple days before his big tests.
Keith was calling an Uber, ignoring his two friends making out right beside him.
If he was sober he might have felt a little awkward with the proximity, but his drunk mind was just happy they had gotten over their pining and were happy together.
He put his phone in his back pocket after booking the Uber when he heard a wolf whistle. Following the sound, he spotted a group of men a few metres away at one of the outside tables.
"Hey ladies! Mind if I join in?" A man drunk slurred, making his friends cackle.
Romelle and Allura broke apart. Romelle looked uncomfortable while Allura glared at them, but didn't say anything.
"What I would do to join you two in bed. I promise that my dick is so good that I could turn you straight. It's like a fucking magic wand." He started to walk over with a stumble, his friends snickering as he came closer.
"I think we're quite alright without your... magic wand," Allura grumbled, voice heavy with sarcasm.
"Come on. No need to play coy. We all know girls just make out with each other when they're drunk because they know that guys think it's hot as fuck. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were waiting for a guy to notice and offer a fuck –"
Keith literally could never tell you the moment he decided he was going to punch this dude. But the next thing Keith knew his knuckles were hurting and the guy was clutching his face, blood pouring out of his mouth.
Someone shouted, and Keith quickly noticed that a few of the guy's friends were rushing over to his aid, and most likely to kick Keith's ass.
Even though Keith had a good punch, he knew now when he was outnumbered. Allura apparently knew it too. She grabbed his and Romelle's hand and ran to the side of the road where the Uber he had ordered arrived. The timing was truly impeccable.
As they got into the car, Allura smacked Keith up the side of the head.
"Ow?" Keith murmured, rubbing the sore spot.
"Are you stupid?" Allura exasperated. "Why did you do that?"
Keith grumbled as an answer, leaning his head against the glass of the car.
"Do you know how dumb that was? I don't care if you're all muscly and scary with your total of three tattoos, you need to be more careful."
"So you were just going to let that asshole speak to you both like that?" Keith asked, shaking his head. "No, fuck that. You guys don't deserve that, but he certainly deserved it though."
"Maybe," Romelle started, inspecting his swollen knuckles (geez, he must have hit him pretty hard) with her trained nursing skills. "But you also need to look after yourself. We don't want you getting hurt either." Romelle paused and puffed out her chest. "Plus, 'Lura and I are big girls, we don't need a bodyguard."
"Yeah, especially from a guy who calls his dick a magic wand," Allura sneered, making them all laugh.
"Guys like that make me reconsider being gay," Keith admitted.
"Guys like that remind me how good it is to be a lesbian," Allura added. "But seriously Keith, start anymore fights and I'm telling Shiro."
"Evil," Keith muttered.
"Then don't be a dumb dumb. How are you going to find a nice boy if you keep getting into fights?"
Keith scoffed, but didn't add to it. His broken heart was still repatching itself, he didn't want to think about another relationship.
He glanced to Allura and Romelle, with Romelle already passed out, her head resting on her girlfriend's shoulder. Allura kissed her sleeping girlfriend on the top of her head and smiled to herself.
He told himself he wasn't aching for that type of love.
* * *
That was probably one of the last fights he was ever in. It all stopped when he met Lance and Vivian.
It was like a button had been switched and he had been calmed down for the better. He wasn't so quick to get angry or irritated.
He remembered being ashamed to talk about his past with Lance. Because looking back on it, it was quite embarrassing to think that he would let himself get to the point where he would let other people's words aggravate him that much.
He didn't believe violence was much of an answer any more, it never did anything other than lead to a few bruises. His friends that knew him before always made jokes about how Lance and Vivian had softened him up. But he couldn't even deny it because it was so truthful.
However, Keith found that even though he didn't fight as much, he was very much willing to do almost anything for his family.
* * *
Keith had never really expected in his life to have a biological child. Not just because he was gay, but as he grew up the thought of a partner who loved him was a wild enough fantasy, let alone kids.
He never really thought much about how his kids might not be like him, because he frankly didn't give a fuck. Biological or not, they were going to be his kids and he would've loved them regardless if they looked or acted like him.
At first, he never really thought there were any similarities between him and Vivian. She was so much like Lance, and he assumed a lot like Rachel from what his husband would say. But to Keith, every time she smiled, stared at him with those unfairly pretty blue eyes and cared with her whole heart, he could see Lance and Lance only.
He had mentioned it to Lance once, only for him to laugh and go on a list of things that Vivian did that reminded him of his husband. The way she would cross her arms, and how they both scrunched up their noses when they didn't like something.
And as the list went on, he was quite surprised to see that there were certain things that she had picked up from him that he could see in her.
Right now, especially Keith could see some of himself and his daughter. She wore a big pout with her arms crossed and eyes stared directly at the ground.
"Are you still pouting over being grounded?" Keith asked.
Vivian was eight and a few days earlier got into a fight at school. She was standing up for another kid, which made Keith so prideful, but she was also to learn that she couldn't get away with using violence, it didn't matter she was only an eight year old girl. Just because she was a girl, it didn't mean it was any less serious.
"No," she muttered, lying straight through gritted teeth.
Keith sighed and sat next to the girl on her tiny bed. "I know it doesn't seem fair that we grounded you," Keith started. "But you have to learn that you can't hit people."
"I already knew I can't hit people."
"Then why did you hit him?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"I think you do."
His daughter looked up at him, frown still on her face. "Because he deserved it?"
Keith couldn't help the light out a small chuckle. He used his hand to try to hide it before speaking again. "No, because you got angry. That's why you did it."
Vivian looked forward, considering the words. "I got angry because he was being a bully."
"There are lots of bullies in the world, Vee," he reminded her. "They might deserve to be told that the way they're behaving is unacceptable, but hitting people isn't the right way to go about it."
She looked back up to him with big, Lance blue eyes. "Have you ever been in a fight?"
He hesitated at the question. He couldn't help but want to be The Perfect Dad. The picturesque role model. The dad who didn't spend his younger years getting into fights, angry at anyone who spoke to him or tried to care and smoked. He knew that was an impossible mindset. There was no 'Perfect Dad'. But he didn't want his daughter to know all about his past, at least not quite yet when she was so young.
"I have," he admitted. Vivian seemed to be a little bit shocked by this. Face a mixture of confused and intrigued.
To anyone else, just by looking at Keith they probably wouldn't have been surprised by his answer. To Vivian though, she saw Keith as her dad. A gentle and caring parent who played with her and would never harm a hair on her head. That's all she knew him by, she had no idea what he was like outside of being her dad.
"Really?" She asked leaning forward.
He nodded.
"Just one? How many? Did you always win?"
Grimacing, Keith answered, "A few, and I didn't always win."
Her eyes widened, but not in horror of imagining her dad beating up some random, just curiosity.
"Why?"
"Same reason as you, I was either sticking up for myself or someone else." The way that her eyes shined instantly made Keith want to backtrack. "But it is something that I regret. Violence is never the best way to deal with problems... unless for self defence, which is why I taught you to punch in the first place. Not so you can go punch your classmates."
She shrunk in a little like her shoulders at the subtle gesture of a lecture. "Sorry dad."
Keith leaned in and kissed the side of her head. "It's okay Vee, you did what you thought was right. But let's just try and use our words from now on. As your papa said, words can be just, if not more powerful than actions."
She nodded and jumped to her knees on her bed so she could reach and wrap her arms around his neck for a hug.
"I promise I won't hit anyone anymore... Unless it's for self defence."
Keith chuckled as he squeezed his daughter tight. Wanting nothing more than to protect her from the mistakes he made.
* * *
"Niana, my little bug, you are forever going to be strapped here, because papa has no idea how to get you out," Lance cooed to his three month old who was strapped to his chest, staring at him with wide eyes.
It was crazy how much babies grew and changed within the first couple of months of their life. The amount of dark hair on the head had practically doubled and the chub that had grown in her cheeks was beyond adorable.
"Does she really hate the pram that much?" Allura asked, holding Toby on her lap who was biting into a teething toy.
Lance groaned just at the very thought of Niana in the pram. "She screams and cries the whole time. I was not in the mood to deal with that today."
Niana hated prams with a passion. Since today was supposed to be relaxing, he decided to get one of those chest straps that suited young babies. It was great, portable and made sure he always had an eye on her. The only problem they were having so far was that he had no fucking clue how to take her out of it by himself. He needed a whole other set of hands to get his little one out.
He didn't mind though, there were worse things he could be stuck to than his adorable baby. Although, he'd probably feel differently when her diaper was dirty.
He decided to ignore the impending inevitability since it was a lovely day. Warm and sunny in the park, but surprisingly not overcrowded, making it easy for him to keep an eye on the kids.
Vivian was playing with her cousin Amelia who Keith and Lance were babysitting for the day since both Shiro and Adam were busy. It kept Vivian entertained while Lance and Keith talked to their friends. It was nice to hang out with Romelle and Allura. Since both of the couples had such young children it made getting together with everyone on a suitable time table a huge struggle.
A warm hand on his shoulder made him turn his head to see Keith standing beside him where he sat. He smiled down on both of them and handed Lance a cloth.
"Bug's drooling all over you," he explained, prompting Lance to look down at his shirt to see the dark patch of slobber.
"Urgh, thanks," Lance said as he wiped his daughter's face, then tried to soak up what was on his shirt. He looked back up to Keith with a smile. "This is why you're my husband."
"Drool control?"
"Exactly."
Keith rolled his eyes fondly and placed a kiss to the side of his head before smoothing down some of Niana's hair. Lance would never get over how adorable his husband's face looked when he stared at Niana or Vivian. The fondness and love exuded from him.
"Whatever you say. Romelle and I are gonna try to figure out this barbecue so we can cook the food."
"Oh jeez, Romelle trying to cook and work a grill? That's never gonna go down well," Allura teased. Looking over to Romelle, they snickered quietly as they saw the blonde's confused pout as she tried to figure out how to turn it on.
"We'll work it out," Keith insisted. He scanned the park with squinted eyes. "Where is Vee and Amelia?"
"Over there," Lance said, pointing to a bit of lawn where the two girls were attempting to do cartwheels.
Keith snorted in amusement as he watched Amelia face plant the grass while Vivian tried to do a cartwheel that ended in a messy roll.
They continued to stare at the nine and seven year old, entertained by their play until Romelle called out. "Uhh... Keith? A little help?" The panic in her voice made Keith move quick, hand leaving Lance's shoulder reluctantly as he moved away.
"Your mummy is so silly," Allura cooed to Toby who grinned around his toy. Lance could still easily remember when Vivian was teething and how awful it was. Yet some of his happiest memories with Keith at the start of their relationship were when Vivian was teething.
It was crazy to think of how new their relationship was and how uncertain it felt, when now they were both so happy together with two children. If he knew that meeting Keith was going to lead to all this joy, he wouldn't have doubted their connection for a second.
He glanced down to Niana, a scorching ache in his stomach forming as he thought that he might not have ended having her in his life if he had decided to hold off on relationships like he planned.
"Oh dear," Allura murmured, gaining Lance's attention. "We have a crier."
Lance lifted his head to follow where she was looking and saw Amelia running over with big tears rolling down her brown cheeks.
Amelia was a beautiful little kid, with brown skin and dark ringlets that were styled as two buns on the top of her head – courtesy to Lance's hairstyling skills, of course. She was generally a quieter girl, but maybe that was just in comparison to Vivian. He didn't want to say that she was mature for her age, because it always sounded like bullshit when parents said that about their kids (even though she was his niece), but she really was. She rarely cried over little stuff, so that's why Lance was instantly worried.
Both the adults stood and knelt down to the seven-year-old who had a few scratches up her arms, palms and knees, indicating she had fallen over.
"Hey Ammy, what's wrong?" Allura asked as she adjusted Toby in her arms.
"I– I –" she sobbed and rubbed her hands over her eyes and face, obviously trying to compose herself so she could speak.
Allura quickly grabbed a tissue from her pocket for Amelia who used it to dry her eyes and dribbling nose.
Lance moved over to rub her back and attempt to soothe her as she coughed and splattered around her tears. "It's okay Amelia. Did you trip over?"
He glanced around and couldn't help but notice that he couldn't see Vivian anymore. He thought she might be over where there was a patch of gravel and pine bark, because from the indication of Amelia's dirty arms it looked like that's where she fell.
The little girl in front of them shook her head. "P-pushed," she managed to squeak out, a continuous line of tears wetting her cheeks that Allura dabbed away with her sleeve.
"Who pushed you?" Lance asked, already thinking of the ways he would scold Vivian if she was the one.
A-A boy. Vivian is telling him off now."
That got Lance to his feet pretty quick. "Oh geez, okay, where is she?" He asked Amelia who pointed to the swings to see his daughter having a stern looking conversation with a younger boy, probably closer to Amelia's age.
"Better go stop that before Vivian gets into another fistfight," Lance muttered, thinking back to a year ago when Vivian got into a fight at school over a boy getting bullied. She wasn't the one to cause a stir, unless she thought some justice needed to be served. Honestly, the kid needed to consider being a lawyer when she was old enough.
"You do that, I'll go clean up this one," Allura suggested as she took Amelia's hand and guided her over to the first aid kit that she always had prepared. Whenever there were little kids around, there was always going to be Band-Aids and tissues needed.
Lance didn't wait before jogging over (as fast as he could without jostling Niana too much) to where his daughter stood.
For someone with such an adorable and angelic looking face, Vivian really knew how to look as scary as a nine-year-old could when she wanted to.
"Hey Vivi," Lance said, cutting his daughter from whatever sentence she was saying to the little boy. "Amelia came over. She was pretty upset," he said, mainly looking at his daughter, but glancing at the unfamiliar boy. His expression matched Vivian's exactly, stubborn and irritated.
"He," Vivian seethed, pointing a finger, "-pushed Amelia over for no reason!"
"So?" The boy snapped back, taking Lance aback a little by the fact he wasn't denying it. Little kids tended to try and lie to wriggle their way out of situations.
Lance squatted down to both of their levels, instinctively holding the back of Niana's head so she wouldn't get uncomfortable with all this movement.
"The thing is buddy, you really hurt Amelia and her feelings. Do you think that was a very nice thing to do?"
The little boy turned to look in his direction, and quite frankly, Lance wasn't sure he's never seen someone so young look so disgusted before.
"I don't care. You're all weird."
"Well damn," Lance whispered under his breath, probably not loud enough for either of the kids to hear.
He cleared his throat and tried again. "Why would you say that? You don't know us!" Lance said with a bit more pep and a smile, hoping it would make the boy loosen up a bit. "I don't know about you, but I don't go around pushing people I don't know. It's not very friendly, especially if you can be friends instead! Why don't you say sorry to Amelia and maybe all three of you can play together!"
Lance didn't let his smile fade even though the boy was still glaring at him. Suddenly those intense eyes weren't looking at him, but behind him.
"Is there a problem here?" A male, adult voice had Lance straightening his legs and turning around. He was quite a stocky man, with almost shaggy brown hair and a short beard. The vague resemblance to the young boy allowed Lance to make the connection.
"Oh, I'm guessing you're his father –"
"I am," the man said stiffly, crossing his arms. "I'll say it again. Is there a problem here?"
Lance blinked, again, taken aback by the attitude. At least he now knew where this kid got it from...
"I hate to be that guy," Lance said putting up his fingers as quotation marks, "-telling other people's kids what to do. But it's just your son pushed over my niece. She was pretty upset by it all, so I just suggested maybe he should apologise and–"
"Did you touch him?"
Lance blinked again, but this time just plain confused. "Huh?"
"Did you touch my kid?" He snapped, and as he did the little boy ran to his father's side.
"What? No, absolutely not. I was only speaking to him and –"
"I don't want you or your dirty kid talking to my boy."
It seemed with each sentence this man said it took him by more and more surprise. Like, did Lance really hear him correctly? Did he just call his kid dirty? Fuck no. Absolutely fucking not was Lance going to let that slide.
"Excuse you?" Lance laughed out snappishly.
"I don't want your filthy family, or your filthy friends, or your filthy kids anywhere near mine," the man said, prompting Lance to let out a low whistle.
"Gee, by the way you're speaking I can't even tell if you're being homophobic or racist," Lance mused.
"Do you think I want to come out here to the park – a public place – with my family and have to see you people? It isn't bad enough that you come into this country, but you act so disgraceful, in front of children too? Who do you think you are?"
"Ahh, so I take it it's both racism and homophobia. Nice to know." The sarcasm in his voice definitely peeved off the guy. Not that Lance cared, dude was a whole pile of crazy. Still, he had to diffuse the situation as soon as possible so he could get him and his girls away from this weirdo.
"Look man, I'm not here to start a fight with you, or anyone for that matter. I'm just here with my family and friends wanting to enjoy the day just like you," Lance said with a quick nod over to the other barbecue station. "Let's just ignore each other, and leave it at that. My family leaves yours alone, your family leaves mine alone?"
The man didn't even take a moment to consider what he was saying. "I don't see why we should have to do that. Your group should just leave, so we can joy the park in peace."
"Dude, are you for real?" Lance laughed out in disbelief.
"Papa?" Vivian said from somewhere behind him, sounding a little unsure and intimidated by the situation.
"No, it's okay baby," Lance said, waving his hand down by his side to gesture her to stay where she was, safe behind him, eyes never leaving the hateful stare of the other father. "We're just talking."
"So are you going to leave?" The man asked, arms crossed and impatient.
"Yeah, that's gonna be a 'no' from me."
The man obviously didn't take his sass lightly, face going red. "You gays think you're better than everyone else," he snapped, pointing the finger and taking a step forward.
"I didn't insinuate anything like that. Again, I don't want to start drama. Especially in a kids park." Their two groups weren't the only people here. There were little kids running around giggling and playing everywhere.
"Then don't talk to my boy! You're probably trying to brainwash him!"
"You're deluded," Lance said with a shake of his head, ready to turn around and walk off with Vivian because he was obviously not getting anywhere with this guy.
"You are sick and disgusting! Who knows what perverted things you wanted to do to my boy? You're sick!" Lance was so shocked that this man was insinuating he would ever do something remotely like that to a child that he didn't even notice the hands reach out to his shoulders, shoving him backwards.
It was quite a hard shove, but the surprise was what made Lance stagger backward.
His jaw dropped as he stared at the adult in front of him, who looked rather pleased with himself.
Okay. Gloves off. Now this was where Lance stopped trying to play the amical, good guy.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Lance practically shouted, so shocked that he let the swear words fly. He couldn't help it, he was just so flabbergasted, that's right, fucking flabbergasted.
A protective hand went to the back of Niana's head. "Did you just shove me while I'm holding a baby? A three-month-old baby! What the hell is wrong with you?"
He's just astonished with how badly this interaction was going. He hadn't met someone this racist or this homophobic before that he just stood there, absolutely furious. He doesn't ever think he's been this angry before. Fuelled with pure disbelieving rage that somebody would be so cooked in the head, so ignorant and spiteful that he would dare to push somebody who was holding a baby. A really young baby at that. If he knew how to get Niana out of this goddamn chest strap he would've given Vivian her sister to hold so that Lance could personally beat the shit out of this dude. Lance had never been in a fight, but goddamn would this be a good time to start.
"What does it matter anyway?" The man snapped. "Your type shouldn't even be able to have children. You're ruining them."
"Papa." Vivian's voice is now definitely fearful.
"Quit it, just go. You're scaring my daughter and making a really bad example in front of your son," Lance snapped, taking a step backwards so he was out of this psychos reach.
The man followed his steps and gave Lance another shove by his right shoulder. Lance slapped his hand away, while keeping his other hand protectively over Niana. "What? If she's so scared, leave."
Lance had no idea how to read this guy, he got the vibe that he certainly did not want to turn around and walk away and have his back facing him.
There was a long moment of silence as he contemplated what he was going to do until Vivian grabbed his jacket and tugged for his attention. "Daddy is coming over."
Of course Lance's first instinct was to think; thank God.
His second was; oh shit.
Keith may look intimidating, but under the scowls and tattoos he was a doting parent who loved his family endlessly.
He however could be quite a hothead. Somebody daring to mess with his loved ones, especially his kids, was something that would rile him up.
Lance was quick to get irritated, sure, but he was more likely to snap some witty comeback. Keith however, if mad enough was more likely to hit first, ask questions later.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Oh no... That was not a tone to be taken lightly from Keith. Lance didn't even need to see his husband's face to know he was furious. As he approached them, Lance could see just how pissed off he was by his body language.
He walked straight past Lance, his back to him as he moved himself between Lance and the man.
"I'll ask again, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Keith snapped, hands pushing against the man, forcing him to take a step back away from Lance, Niana and Vivian. "Is it not obvious enough for you that he's holding a baby?" He added with another shove that was definitely rougher than the first one.
The man's eyes widened, obviously not expecting the strength behind the shove. Once he regained his balance the wide eyes narrowed angrily.
"Just because you've got a few tattoos doesn't mean I'm scared of you," he growled.
"Put your hands on my husband again and I'll give you something to be fucking scared of," Keith bit back.
Lance's eyes skirted around as he noticed a sudden stillness in the park, felt the eyes on them. He could even hear a few parents calling their kids over, probably assuming that a fight was about to break out any second and didn't want them near the firing line.
His husband and the man were arguing, voices rising. But Lance wasn't focusing on that, instead, checking over his shoulder and making sure Vivian was alright. She stood behind him, clutching at his jacket and peering around him, watching her dad yell at the stranger.
Then Niana started to whine, indicating she was going to start crying over all the noise.
All of that and then the sight of his husband grabbing the man by his collar made Lance snap.
"Keith," Lance hissed. "Put him down. He's not worth it. We're in a park. Children are watching. Your children are watching." He couldn't stop the words coming out harshly. He was stressed and when Keith got into the stubborn angry headspace it was difficult to get him out.
For a few long moments of silence, Lance stared at Keith's tense back, waiting for his next move. He was still too stressed to exhale in relief as his husband let go of the man and shoved him backwards so he was out of reach.
Keith turned around and confirmed to Lance just how furious he was by the look on his eye and his clenched jaw. He stormed over to pick Vivian up. It had been a long time since he just carried her for the sake of it, but it seemed to be what she needed because as soon as he did, she started to sob into his neck. Probably only now just being able to emotionally process her fear and confusion.
Keith put a hand on Lance's back as a gesture for him to move. They walked back to where the group had to set up their bags and food. Romelle was holding Toby who seemed none the wiser over the whole situation while Allura had obviously attempted to distract Amelia's eyes from the scene.
"What the hell just happened?" Allura asked, staring from between the two adults.
"Crazy, racist, homophobic, white guy, the usual," Lance joked, despite the tremble in his voice from the shock. He was only trying to lighten the mood, but Keith gave him a look that indicated he definitely wasn't amused.
"Are you okay? I saw him push you," Romelle said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, staring down at Niana who was sniffling and stirring.
"Yeah, we're okay. The guy was mental though," he muttered the last part, grumbling as he looked over to where the man returned to his family.
Lance glanced back to Keith and Vivian. His older daughter was still crying, wrapped up in her dad's arms, while Keith continued to speak to her quietly and comfortingly rubbed her back.
Romelle cleared her throat. "Is it a bad time to mention that I burned all the food?"
* * *
Obviously after that there was a little bit of a downer on the rest of the day, but they tried to make the most of their time together. Keith had been quiet since they'd gotten home, a little lost in his head and distant which was a clear indicator that he was most likely overthinking. Lance would know.
Keith was warming up a formula bottle for Niana when Lance put his chin on his shoulder and arms around his waist.
"You're quiet," he noted.
"I'm always quiet compared to you," Keith said, snorting a quiet laugh when Lance squawked in offence.
"Rude!"
Keith continued to chuckle and they both stayed quiet for a moment, watching the numbers go down until the microwave beeped, indicating the formula was done. Keith grabbed it out and then tested the temperature on his wrist.
"I... I better go feed Bug," Keith said and attempted to move from Lance's grip.
Lance had other plans though and he didn't lessen his hold. "I know today was kind of the worst, but are you okay?"
Keith's back against his chest tensed before he sighed. "I honestly thought you were mad at me."
"Mad?" Lance asked, confused. "Why would I be mad at you? Hey–" he guided Keith to turn around and face him. Cupping his cheeks in his hand he forced his husband to look at him because his eyes were drifting, avoiding eye contact. "What's up Keith? Why do you think I would be mad at you?"
"I..." Keith groaned, hands going to Lance's waist to tug him in, the only reason to hold him closer. "You sounded angry when you told me to back off that guy."
Lance frowned as he thought back on it. He'd known he sounded harsh, but it wasn't directed at Keith. "No babe, I wasn't angry at you. I was angry at the whole situation and kinda freaking out. I just wanted to get the girls out of there."
Keith nodded like he understood but he still seemed tense.
"Keith," Lance prompted, hands smoothing over his husband's jawline. "Why are you being so hard on yourself with this?"
His dark eyes dropped down to the floor for a moment, glancing around as he spoke. "I'm just... embarrassed. I thought I had grown up a little bit and had stopped getting so... angry, aggressive, getting into fights. When I was in the Foster System I heard about so many shitty, angry dads. I don't..." Keith paused and cleared his throat. "I don't want to be like that in front of my kids. I want to be a good role model for them, without getting into fights every time something happens."
Lances heart and stomach dropped instantly, head shaking as he stepped closer so they were toe to toe and chest to chest.
"No. No, no, no. Listen to me right now. There is a very big difference between being aggressive and getting into fights and making sure your family is safe. I would've done the exact same thing if it was you holding Niana and I'm pretty damn sure I would've done much worse than you did."
Keith's eyes still didn't quite meet his, but he smiled with a huff of laughter.
"Hey, I'm serious! Dude would be in hospital after facing the wrath of papa bear."
Keith snorted out a laugh, which made Lance smile because he was a step closer to making his husband happy again. "Dork," Keith murmured, hands squeezing at his sides.
"I passed out ten minutes after the first time I met you, I think you knew what you were getting yourself into the moment we met," Lance said, grinning as Keith smiled, shaking his head dismissively.
"Should've, yet you still surprise me."
"Okay, but seriously, you're a great dad, so don't you dare even second guess that. As for today... you know you didn't do anything wrong, right? You did what any parent would do. I know it, Vivi knows it, and I'm sure somehow Bug knows it too."
Keith's smile softened, and the kiss he placed on Lance's lips was gentle and grateful. "Yeah, I think I do now. Thanks Lance. I love you."
"I love you too," he grinned, arms going around his neck so he could drag him in for another kiss. When they pulled back, Lance spoke. "Also, we have to burn that chest strap, it's terrible. Like a Chinese Finger trap for babies. Awful, absolutely awful."
"Awful," Keith agreed, then moved in to kiss him again, both knowing they had the love they had always ached for within themselves and their children.