Leo (Single Father Lance)

Chapter Two

"I'm going to tuck him into bed for the time being," Lance announced looking down at the drooping eyes of his son. "I'll come find you guys when he's up for good and I can introduce you to him," he said quietly bouncing Leo gently in his arms. The paladins nodded and he turned and walked out of the hangers towards the quarters. As he walked out the doors, the others all turned to each other. Coran, Hunk, and surprisingly Shiro's faces were lit up with excitement; while Allura, Keith, and Pidge had reluctant grimaces on their faces.

"So now we're going to have to live with Lance and his spawn, great," Pidge muttered looking off to the side.

"Oh come on Pidge! This is going to be great, we'll be able to teach him so many things!" Hunk gushed, she only gave Hunk a deadpanned look which he ignored. Keith crossed his arms and looked worriedly at the doors where Lance and Leo left.

"Are you sure that he is going to be safe up here? We are fighting a war after all," he commented. Coran popped up beside him with a smile.

"Not to worry Number 4, the Castle Ship is equipped to handle the raising of all sorts of species even during times of great violence," he stated twirling his mustache. "There are certain parts of the ship that can be locked down for safety,"

"Still raising this kid is going to be a pain in the ass," he grumbled looking away.

"Keith," Shiro huffed. "Not all kids are difficult,"

"You're the one who told me that kids were hell to raise," he defended himself.

"Actually I said that you were hell to raise," Shiro stated with a quirked eyebrow. Keith let out an indignant noise and a blush rose to his cheeks. He gave Shiro a hard punch to the bicep which he received with a grin.

"Anyways," Hunk drawled gaining the attention of the rest of the paladins. "I'm going to go cook Leo a welcome dinner,"

"Or, I could cook him a traditional Altean dish," Coran suggested with a flourish. The paladin's visibly cringed.

"Um, I think he might need something sort of familiar for his first meal," Pidge said inching away from the man.

"Yah, going from home-cooked meals to space food is difficult," Hunk added heading towards the exit.

"Well, someday then," Coran said with a huff. The paladin reluctantly nodded before escaping behind Hunk.

"Someday," Coran promised himself in the silence of the hanger, ignoring the bored expression Allura was giving him.

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When Lance returned with Leo in his arms they were scattered around the kitchen watching Hunk show off his cooking skills. He had just taken a pan of cookies out of the oven to cool and was now expertly chopping strange looking vegetables. They looked over and smiled when they saw Leo gazing around in awe and Lance looking down at him with udder adoration shining in his eyes. Leo noticed them and immediately tucked his face into his father's shoulder to hide his face. They stood up, Hunk abandoning the chopping board and wiping his hands on his apron.

"Guys this is Leo," he said with a flourish gesturing to the shy child. There were various soft greeting coming from the paladins, not wanting to startle the already shy child. Lance grinned and poked him in the side making him twitch and cautiously peek his face around again. Lance put him down on the ground and took his hand to walk him closer to the team.

"Leo, these are all your aunts and uncles," he said with a beaming smile. The paladin's eyes widened and when Lance looked at them their faces grew matching smiles. Leo's eyes sparkled as he looked into his father's. He walked him to the two Alteans who were looking curiously at the waddling figure.