(( I needed a happier chapter right now. Lance and his family always warm my heart, and I hope this makes you all feel as good as it makes me.))
Three and a half weeks. In hindsight, it seemed like nothing after four years of high school. But through all the finals, and the cramming, and the excitement, it was long.
By the day of graduation, Keith and Lance felt like they were crawling through the last leg of the race. But they'd done it. They had survived high school.
Keith had been in the shower, and by the time he got out, he had a frantic expression on his face. He'd known this was coming. But he was barely ten weeks along. Maybe he was crazy, paranoid even.
" Lanceeee!" The omega called, wrapping a towel around his waist as he came out of the bathroom.
" Hm?" Lance hummed, looking up from his phone.
" I-I think I'm showing!" He exclaimed, looking down at his abdomen. Keith could've sworn that there was a tiny little bump there. It was slight, barely noticeable.
" Babe... you're not even 12 weeks along yet." Lance chuckled. Keith didn't seem convinced.
" Lance, I'm serious. What if people see when I walk across the stage? What if they can tell?!" Keith took a few deep breaths, staring down at his belly and trying not to panic.
Lance realized that his boyfriend wasn't joking. And knowing that Keith was genuinely scared about something pushed his alpha instincts into overdrive. He got up from his bed, abandoning the warm covers that had been so ungodly comfortable.
" Keith... it's okay..." He assured, wrapping his arms around him. It didn't matter that Keith was damp; Lance needed to make sure he was okay. " I can't tell, I swear. I see you naked all the time and I don't see a bump."
Keith's eyes beaded nervously as he looked up at Lance. The blue of his irises always had a numbing effect on him. He was certain he could feel his bonding mark tingle when he stared into them.
" You're sure?" The omega asked, feeling heavily self conscious.
" Positive." Lance hugged Keith into his chest.
There was the possibility that Keith was just gaining weight from the pregnancy. But Lance wasn't about to bring that up. For all he knew, Keith would've taken offense and been pissy with him about it. And besides that, Lance didn't care what size Keith was. He'd love him no matter what.
The alpha reached down, running his hand over Keith's tummy and fondly smiling.
Keith felt his face drain into a bright red color when Lance felt over his stomach. Whenever he did that, it made him melt from the inside out.
" Even if you were showing... our robes would cover it." Lance said, softly kissing Keith's cheek. " And you'll only be up there for like five seconds."
...
After both Keith and Lance had gotten dressed in their robes, as well as their graduation caps, they were being subjected to pictures. Camila and Shiro were similar when it came to the scrapbooking.
" How many pictures do you need?" Veronica asked from behind her mother, sipping a soda while watching. It was hilarious, but she also felt bad for Keith and her brother. They were being kept hostage as she saw it.
" Oh, you can never have too many pictures." Camila said, snapping some more. And the couple's cheeks were sore from all the smiling they'd been roped into.
" I beg to differ." Lance sighed. " Please, you have to have enough by now. Can we get going?"
Camila pursed her lips sassily.
" Fine." She begrudgingly agreed.
" We have to stop by Shiro's before we go to the ceremony." Keith reminded Lance.
" Right." Lance felt at his eyes. " Let's do that then." He blinked a few times, feeling weird spots in his vision from the overwhelming flash of his mother's camera. If they thought they had it bad, Lance didn't even want to know how celebrities felt with the paparazzi tailing them everywhere.
" Wait." Camila put her camera to the side, then wrapped both boys up in a hug. " Don't think you're going anywhere without my hugs."
Lance and Keith glanced at each other, then shrugged.
" I can't believe you're all grown up!" She exclaimed, sniffling a little.
" Oh no. Please don't cry." Lance insisted.
His mother pulled back.
" Shush, you." Camila looked up at him and dabbed her tears. And André came in from the kitchen.
Lance was finally able to breathe, but he found his very tall father hugging him and nearly squishing him to death. He was lifted from the ground somewhat.
" I'm so proud of you, son." He whispered. And Lance smiled, hugging his father back.
Keith watched, letting his lips curve into a smile.
" Now c'mon, we should let the kids go." André said after releasing Lance from his very strong hug.
While Camila and André quietly talked amongst themselves, Ronny decided she should say something. She stepped forward, shoving her hands in her sweatshirt pocket.
" So uh-... you won't be at the high school with me anymore..." She awkwardly said. " I'll miss you or... whatever."
" Did you hear that, Keith?! She does love me!" Lance placed his hands on his heart, being dramatic as always. " Come here you repressed little emo." He hugged her, and her eyes bulged at first from surprise.
Keith joined in on the hug as well, and Lance laughed while seeing the tiny scowl on his sister's face.
" Sure." Ronny sarcastically said, though she was genuinely saddened to know that her big brother wouldn't be at school with her anymore. It wasn't like they saw each other much when he was, but still... it would feel odd without him around.
Lance and Keith backed off and Ronny tucked some hair behind her ear and looked down. Did this make her the oldest now?
" Hey..." Lance put a hand on her shoulder. " I'll still be around... I promise." He sent a smile her way.
" You better be." She muttered.
" We won't even leave until school starts again... you have a whole summer with us yet." Lance tried to reassure her. But there was only so much he could say. It must've been pretty surreal for her, after all, her big brother, the person she'd been looking up to for her entire life, was going to leave the nest.
Ronny's eyes stayed glued to the floor.
" Do you need another hug?" Keith asked sympathetically. And she lowly nodded.
Keith wrapped his arms around her, and Lance soon followed to make it a group hug. It was clear that Ronny didn't like showing her emotions too much. But she was upset.
" We'll visit whenever we can. And you can call us whenever you want." Lance rubbed her back, feeling his more protective alpha instincts kicking in. " College is still a few months away."
" Okay..." She murmured.
...
" I can't take any more pictures." Keith complained, and Shiro snapped another one.
" Just a couple more." Shiro smiled, dragging it out for as long as he possibly could.
" That's it." Lance lowered Shiro's camera for him.
" Shiro, you're giving us a ride there, right?" Keith asked, yawning.
" Yeah."
" Well, we'll be in the van." The omega grabbed Lance's hand, leading him toward the door. But Lance halted.
" Uh- I'll meet you out there. I think I left my phone in your room." He said. " I'll be right out."
Keith shot him a strange look, questioning how Lance could let him sit in the van by himself. But he didn't ask, because frankly, a couple minutes without Lance sounded fine right then.
Once the car door closed, and Lance was one hundred percent sure that Keith couldn't hear him, he took a deep breath.
" Shiro... can I talk to you about something? It's important." Lance scuffed his shoe at the floor, avoiding Shiro's eye contact at first from nervousness.
" What is it?" Shiro asked.
Keith was in the back of the minivan, fiddling with all the things he'd found in there. Why the hell was there a Cosmopolitan magazine back there? 'Sixty new sex tricks to blow your man's socks off!'
That must've been Allura's. But he slowly started to flip through the pages, looking at the makeup and other stuff. He'd lost track of time, and hadn't even noticed that Lance and Shiro didn't come out of the house until fifteen minutes later.
Lance had a bright, shining smile on his face as he crawled in the back seat, suddenly in a good mood. He kissed Keith's cheek out of nowhere, sitting very close to him.
" Whatcha reading?" The alpha asked, peeking to look at the pages.
" Oh-um! Don't read that!" Shiro snatched it.
" Why?" Keith raised an eyebrow.
" Because. Allura keeps leaving them in here. I have to give it back to her." Shiro rambled.
Keith and Lance glanced at each other, and they had a shared sense of confusion and doubt.
...
The students were forced to sit in alphabetical order on the football field. The rows of chairs seemed to be endless, and it only heightened Lance's anxiety about it. Keith wouldn't be sitting next to him. And there was a practical sea of alphas out there.
It was pretty much like swimming with sharks, and Lance didn't like it one bit.
Of course K and M weren't that far away in the alphabet, but when the kids were all tallied and stuck in between them, it was quite a distance.
The valedictorian had already given their cheesy speech, and everyone had clapped. And people had begun walking across the stage that was set up in front of the chairs. As names were read off, and more people were set free, Keith continued getting hyper aware.
What if someone could tell?
He was still certain that there was a tiny bump there. Lance may have told him otherwise, but Keith was beginning to question it once again.
Rows in front of Keith were slowly beginning to file out and line up by the stage.
" Katie Holt." The announcer said, and Pidge began walking out onto the stage. She couldn't have looked more accomplished while accepting her diploma and flaunting her extra adornments for getting a 4.0.
" Matthew Holt."
Matt followed soon after, and he was beyond prideful while taking the diploma. It looked like he was going to cry for a second there, but he thankfully kept it together.
Keith's row was standing up soon enough, and they walked out of the chairs single file. Lance could be seen gazing at him from afar, and Keith only smiled at him anxiously.
Every person that took the stroll across the stage was one step closer for Keith needing to go. He hated that feeling, the anticipation. He knew this was supposed to make him feel proud of himself or some shit, but it was only chilling him to the bone.
This right of passage among the adult world was scaring him. Sure, they were free now. But it had gotten real. They were adults now. And that was scary as hell.
" Keith Kogane."
Keith took a deep breath, stepping onto the stage and beginning to walk.
" YEAH! YOU GO, BABE!" Lance shouted from the horde of students. And Keith immediately blushed, taking the diploma.
The principal dirty looked Lance, and he only smiled with a look that read 'please don't kill me.' He was beyond proud of Keith for getting through high school, okay? Especially with all the bumps in the road.
Shiro, who was in the section for parents and relatives, facepalmed once he heard Lance. But he honestly wasn't surprised.
Once Lance's row was called, and Keith was seated again, he could finally ease. At least Lance's little outburst had distracted people.
" Lance McClain."
People were cheering and hollering from the students once Lance took the stage. After all, he was popular. All the jocks that weren't homophobic loved him.
" Thanks." Lance smugly said, eyeing Haggar while she gave him his paper.
" Please never come back." She muttered.
Lance rolled his eyes.
" Whatever, lady." He snickered, going off of the stage.
Once the last person was called, people began circulating and finding their friends. Lance found Keith immediately, but he wasn't expecting his boyfriend to nearly tackle him in a hug.
" We did it..." Lance smiled, holding him close.
" You see this?!" Pidge waved her diploma around. " HAHAHAHA!!! SUCK MY-" She manically laughed, but Matt covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence. She silently flipped off the high school building, happy that she'd never need to come back.
Lance laughed, pulling back from Keith somewhat.
" HASTA LA LATER, HIGH SCHOOL!" He exclaimed, and Keith facepalmed.
" Yeah!" Pidge yelled.
" Really, guys?" Hunk chuckled.
" We're all thinking it." Allura shrugged. And Hunk seemed to agree.
Everyone was soon throwing their graduation caps into the air, and Keith and Lance were no exception.
" We're free!" Pidge laughed.
Once people got to their families, Camila was kissing Lance's forehead and crying about her baby boy being all grown up. And Shiro was hugging Keith and sobbing.
" I-I need to breathe!" Keith coughed, and Shiro finally set him down.
" Mamá, it's okay." Lance patted his mother's back, laughing.
" Mijo, we have a surprise for you." Camila said, sniffing.
And Lance furrowed a brow.
" What?"
" Come home with us and you'll see." She smiled.
It was a while of socializing later once Lance had taken Keith and packed in the car with the rest of his family. Him and Keith took the way back seats, and his little siblings had the middle.
Lance was still confused, not knowing what his parents were talking about.
" Do you have any idea what's going on?" He asked Keith, whispering.
" If I told you, it wouldn't really be a surprise..." The omega chuckled, almost certain about what Camila had done.
" Tell meeee!" Lance pleaded, but Keith kept his mouth shut. " Pleaseeee, Princess?" He asked nicely. Still nothing.
Lance folded his arms, sulking a little.
They pulled into the driveway, and when the alpha got out, he continued to be completely lost.
" Happy graduation, son." André said, tossing a key at him. And Lance fumbled before catching it and pinning it to his chest.
" Wait-WAIT!" He exclaimed, looking at the car key.
Camila and André chuckled.
" You're giving me your car?!" Lance squealed. And Keith climbed out, turning Lance to face the road. Apparently he hadn't seen the unfamiliar car parked by the curb.
" I think they mean that one." Keith stifled a laugh.
" What the cheese?!" The taller boy freaked out, making sure not to swear around Marco and Luis.
" Go on." André nodded his head toward the curb. And Lance whipped around, pouncing on his parents and giving them a hug.
" I love you both so so so so so much! I love you guyssss!" He exclaimed.
" Lance, if you don't drive it, I will." Ronny remarked.
" I'm going!" Lance said, running up to it and grabbing Keith's hand along the way.
The paint was a royal blue color, and the car wasn't huge, but it was still nice. If it was used-and it probably was- it didn't look it.
" Come on, Babe!" Lance got in, exploring the inside of the car excitedly.
" Be safe!" Camila called. And Keith got in the passenger side. It smelled really good in there, like it was fresh.
" You have your license, right?" The omega asked.
" Duh. Put on your seatbelt." Lance looked over at him with a wide grin on his face.
They were free.
At long last.
Keith did as he was told, and waited for Lance to acquaint himself with the car. He adjusted the mirrors and the seats and took forever, but Keith didn't mind. He was rightfully excited, acting like a rambunctious puppy.
" Ready?" Lance asked.
" Punch it." Keith smirked.
Lance wasn't about to speed with Keith in the car. No way.
He put it in drive, then pulled out and began driving.
" Ew. You're going under the speed limit." Keith said. For someone who was used to speeding everywhere, it was definitely a change of pace.
" Yeah...?" Lance glanced at him for a second before looking back at the road. It had been a while since he'd driven, and that was in his parent's car. This one was different for sure.
Keith folded his arms, sighing dramatically.
" Lame." He joked.
" I'm a good driver."
" You drive like a grandma would." Keith burst out laughing.
" Excuse me for not recklessly endangering my passenger(s)..." Lance responded, halting for a stop sign.
He was still ecstatic, overjoyed with everything that had happened that day. Him and Keith were finally grown ups, and he was excited for what the future held. Especially with what he was planning.
(( Not to scare anyone, but there will be some angst in a couple chapters. I'm warning you all now.))