the biggest 'ok hear me out' yet (what if Shiro ran a daycare?)

Consent is Smexy

I woke up to screaming and crying. I jumped up. How long had I been asleep?? I looked around frantically. Lance was crying near the kitchen and yelling at someone. Everyone else but Keith was standing around him in a circle.

I ran over to them, basically having to part the Red Sea in the process. I scooped him up effortlessly and asked him what was wrong.

"Ask Lotor!" He screamed. He was still crying. It looked like his knee was scraped pretty badly. I turned to Lotor, who looked ticked off as hell. "It's not my fault! If Lance just knew how to mind his own business, this wouldn't have happened!" He shouted.

Allura stepped in front of me and Lotor. "Guys, stop! It's not that big of a deal." She said. Pidge nodded, "Yeah, you two leave her alone. She said no. Drop it."

Lance persisted, however. "No! It's not my fault! Lotor pushed me, and it hurt my knee because he felt threatened!" Lotor gently pushed Allura to the side, even angrier than before. "I did not! And at least I'm the same age as her! You're too young!"

Lance screeched at the top of his lungs, causing me to almost drop him. Then, he said, "I AM NOT TOO YOUNG!" To which Lotor replied casually, "Are too. Now, c'mon, m'lady, let's leave him behind." He turned to Allura and held his hand out. She recoiled away. "No, I told you both to leave me alone."

Lance screeched even louder, which I didn't think was possible. "No! Lotor, you can't do that!" He shrieked. Lotor, ready to piss off Lance even more, reached for Allura. Pidge intervened and shoved Lotor to the floor. "She said no! What don't you two understand?? LEAVE. HER. ALONE." Allura grabbed Pidge's shoulder before she could do anything else.

I finally understood at least the gist of what was happening. Somehow, either Lance or Lotor had made some sort of move on Allura (or whatever you want to call 'making a move' at their age), and the other did not approve. This caused an argument in which Lotor had pushed Lance.

"You guys quit. I'm going to take Lance to the bathroom to check out his knee. If anything else happens, I'm taking the Xbox." I said. Pidge exclaimed, "But the Xbox is mine!" I shrugged. "Yeah, but you brought it into my house, which means it's mine until you leave here." Pidge's shoulders slumped, and I knew she got the memo. I carried Lance to the bathroom.

"Listen, Shiro?" Lance said. Oh, great. So Keith had been spreading that name to the other kids. "What's up?" I asked. "Well... I can do this myself if you give me the first aid kit. I don't need your help, and I don't want Lotor near Pidge... or Allura." He explained.

I chose to ignore the Allura comment for the moment. I was still trying to wrap my head around it. "How do you know how to do all of this, anyway?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I have three older siblings and a twin sister who are all busy all the time. You get used to it eventually and learn how to do things on your own. Like... making pizza rolls or using a first aid kit." He swung his legs back and forth, "I make really good pizza rolls... but like I said, you get used to it.

"Rachel-- she's my twin-- has gymnastics every day. Luis and Marco just started a band and have spent every waking minute working and practicing. And Veronica, well, she's the all-star student. She has the best grades out of everyone, including me, and is in probably every club in the school. Mom and Dad are so busy juggling everyone's rehearsals and practices along with their own lives that I sometimes get overlooked.

"But I don't mind. It gives me more time to myself. I've learned stuff that some of my other siblings still don't know how to do, which is cool to brag about. And plus, this is the only thing I have going on, so I'm not the one stressing out my parents." He laughed, "Veronica."