Taking A Chance

Wedding Shopping

When they arrived at the Garrison, the Admiral looked less than pleased about the kids being there, but Keith and Lance ignored her and put the kids on the floor to play.
The table they would sit at was upon a stage at the front of the hall, that would be crammed with 160 people, all staring up at them, plus the media area where cameras and journalists would be set up.
The thought of that made Keith feel sick. He couldn't eat if people were staring at him.
The Admiral went over what would happen in the ceremony, and Keith began to think they were only there to be on show.
Interviews and photos would be held outside in front of the lions prior to the meal, afterwhich, Allura would sign a treaty between Earth and New Altea.
They heard footsteps approch and turned.
‘I'm sure you remember Senior Cadet James Griffith,' said the Admiral. ‘He will give you the passes for your families to attend tomorrow.'
Keith noticed the way James smirked at Lance.
James handed three passed to Shiro, and he and Adam slowly moved off with the Admiral talking.
‘So, Kogane, how many for you? Oh, right, none because nobody could be bothered sticking around,’ James said.
‘Whatever, Griffin,’ Keith said. Griffin loved to tell everyone how useless he was, and that's why he didn't have a family. It inevitably lead them to fighting, and Keith being bawled out by Iverson.
‘How about you McLame, I suppose the whole tribe is coming?" James said.
Keith's eyes narrowed, and his right hand balled into a fist.
‘Wow, after two years you're still using the same insult,’ said Lance. ‘Seven passes.'
‘Yeah, well, it fits so well cargo pilot,’ said James. ‘You only got further because the loser was thrown out, and you best remember that.'
‘Don't talk to him like that,’ Pidge said.
James laughed. ‘Don't tell me your finally nailed a girl McLame. I didn't think you had it in you. Did you manage to get it in the right hole?'
‘God, I didn't think it was possible for you to become a bigger dick than you already were,’ said Pidge. ‘Three passes.'
James shoved them at her, then shoved what was left in the box at Hunk, before walking to where the Admiral was.
‘I never liked him,’ Hunk said.
‘I wonder how he's managed not to get kicked out of the Garrison,’ Pidge said.
‘He's shagging the Admiral,’ Keith said.
‘No way,’ Lance gasped.
‘Yep, I can smell her on him,’ said Keith. ‘Which is odd, because I can smell Iverson on her.’
‘That means, she's gone and shagged Iverson after she shagged Griffin,’ Lance said.
‘That would be my guess,' Keith said.
The four of them burst out laughing, earning a confused look from the others.
Half an hour later they were finally leaving the Garrison behind and heading to Shiro's and Adam's apartment. As Shiro piloted Black, Jaya sat on his lap with wide-eyed wonder, while Adam held Molly as he stood behind Shiro.
Shiro landed in a large pack over the road from their apartment, part of the park had been fenced off for his use. People stopped and stared as they exited Black lion.
The apartment was neat and tidy, and was mainly white, with some splashes of colour, and had a homey feel to it.
It had two bedrooms, one of them obviously Keith's old room, with lots of black and red in it.
The thing that caught Lance's attention was the large trophy cabinet in the loungeroom.
He went over to have a look.
‘Their all Keith's,’ said Adam. ‘That side’s for ice skating.’
Inside the cabinet was an electronic picture frame. Pictures of Keith skating scrolled across the screen. In some of the pictures he was skating or spinning. A video come up next of Keith on the ice. By his outfit, it was obviously a competition. Lance watched his graceful movement as he skated around the ice, his jumps were high, and his spins fast.
‘Wow,' Lance murmured.
‘Wow, indeed,' said Adam. ‘He was unbeaten for three years straight. I think he gave it up because there was no challenge any more. That's when he moved on to martial arts.‘ Adam pointed to the other side of the cabinet, and other trophies. ‘He was a black belt by the time he was 15. He mastered all the weapons, but excelled with the blade.'
Adam spoke like a proud dad.
'Do you think you'll foster or adopt again?' asked Lance.
‘We're thinking about it,’ said Adam, ‘and moving to a large house with a yard. We were also wondering if are could have the kids over one night.’
‘Of course, just let us know when,’ Lance said.
'When what?' asked Keith, coming into the loungeroom.
‘To have the kids overnight,’ Lance said.
Keith nodded. ‘I'm sure they'd love it.’
Shiro came out after changing out of his armour.
‘We better get going,' he said. ‘Our appointment is in twenty minutes.'
‘Appointment?' asked Keith.
‘You need an appointment for a wedding stop,’ said Shiro. ‘That way you get personalised attention without interruption.'
‘Isn't that just for brides?' asked Lance.
‘True,’ said Shiro. ‘But we are going to a shop that specialises in men’s weddings.'
‘Oh, I didn't know there was such a thing,’ Lance said.
‘There aren't many around,' said Adam. ‘We went to this one when we were getting married.'
They headed out and got some strange looks because of Jaya. The kit smiled at people and most smiled back.
They stopped outside a shop that had suits in the window, and Shiro rang the bell. Minutes later, the door was opened by a middle aged man with greying hair.
‘Shiro, Adam, come on,' he said. ‘I was thrilled to get your call.’
They went in and the door was closed and locked again.
‘Thanks for fitting us in, Gabe,' Shiro said.
‘Not a problem at all,’ said Gabe. ‘So who do we have here?'
‘Our son, Keith, and his fiance, Lance,’ Shiro said.
‘Your son, he’s gorgeous, and look at those eyes,' said Gabe. ‘As for this handsome young man, his eyes are like looking at the ocean.’
‘Hi.'
Gabe looked down at Jaya.
‘Oh my,' he said, crouching down. ‘And what's your name?'
‘Jaya.'
‘Not meaning to be rude, but what are you?'
‘I a Galran kit,' said Jaya. ‘Keef my bruver.'
‘Really?' Gabe looked up at Keith.
‘We have the same mother,’ Keith said.
Gabe studdied him as if trying to determine if he was joking or not.
‘And dat Molly,’ Jaya said, pointing to Molly in Lance's arms.
‘And Molly is…’
‘She's human,’ said Lance, ‘and our daughter.'
Gabe stood, and smiled. ‘So young to have a family. Okay, well this way.'
He lead them into the main part of the store where an assistant waited for them.
‘This is Dave, he will be assisting us today,’ Gabe said. ‘Have a look around and see if there's a style you like.’
Lance looked as excited as a kid in a candy store.
‘Baby, is there anything in particular you want?' asked Lance.
Keith shook his head. ‘I'll leave this up to you.’
Lance smiled, and his eyes seemed to grow brighter. Keith took Molly from him and Lance and Adam happily checked out the shop, while Shiro and Keith wandered around with the kids.
‘You sure you want Lance to choose?' asked Shiro. ‘You only get married once, you don't want to regret not having more of a role to play.'
‘He's already let me have a lot of things my way,' said Keith, ‘so I think it's fair he choose our suits.'
A smile pulled at Shiro's lips.
‘What?' asked Keith.
‘You've changed,' said Shiro. ‘Not long ago, you wouldn't let anyone make decisions for you.’
‘Do you think it's bad that I do?'
‘No, I think it's good,’ said Shiro. ‘I'm glad you trust someone enough to let them. I never expected that someone to be Lance, but you know what, I'm glad it was.'
‘I'm... glad...I took a chance that night,’ murmured Keith. ‘There was something different about it, something…right…I can't really explain it.’ Keith looked over at Lance. ‘I can't imagine what it would be like not to have him in my life now.’
Shiro suddenly pulled him into a hug.
‘Is this one of those time I let you pull me into a random hug?'
‘Yes,' Shiro said.