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Two months old.
As decades passed, Shiro realized one thing.
Eternity wasn't really fun.
It was monotone. Even if he was lucky to always wake up with the love of his life in his arms, neither of them could deny that living like this was lonely.
Some years ago, Shiro and his husband had moved to Arizona, desperate for a change in their routine. To try to stay out of humans, Adam had suggested being more in touch with nature, something both of them needed to survive.
As they walked through an immense forest near a village, they found a hidden mansion in ruins.
When Shiro closed his eyes, he could still remember the look Adam sent his way that day. Calm and content.
And for the first time after decades of running away and spending too long worrying about people hurting him and the person he loved the most, Shiro felt at peace.
Adam and him rebuilt it together.
By the time they were done, they finally had a place to call home.
It was comfortable, away from the prying eyes. And the most important thing, Adam was by his side.
Still, the feeling that something was missing never left Shiro.
It was a silent night. Almost a full moon, just a few mosquitoes and nocturnal birds keeping him company.
Shiro yawned. While it was true that vampires didn't need as much sleep as humans, it was almost time for his weekly nap.
Adam and him needed food, though, and unfortunately, the last time Adam had tried to hunt with him he had thrown up the moment he saw the dead animal.
His husband really had the biggest heart to ever exist. Shiro thought it was adorable.
And really inconvenient, knowing their nature.
So Shiro couldn't allow himself to rest under his comfy and warm blankets till he brought home some kind of bloody treat.
He closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing. Years of experience made treading lightly easy, so he hoped it wouldn't take him long to find a prey.
A distant noise made him stop in his tracks.
Inconsolable sobs. Shiro was pretty sure whoever was crying was human.
He took a deep breath.
It wasn't a good idea.
Actually, it was a horrible one, but Shiro turned around and followed the noise.
He came across a clearing.
In the middle of It, there was a bloody blanket, one that was moving, whoever was in distress hidden by it.
Shiro scrunched his nose, disgusted.
He may be hungry but that didn't mean he liked the scent of dry blood.
He approached it slowly, frowning.
As soon as he was close enough, Shiro saw a pair of big innocent eyes looking at him with curiosity.
He knelt down and took the bundle in his arms, gently uncovering a face.
A baby.
Whose tears had cleaned his dirty face.
Shiro's heart hurt looking at his trembling pout. He brushed his thumb against his big cheek to try and offer some comfort.
The little boy widened his eyes, they were the prettiest indigo color Shiro had ever seen.
He looked at Shiro with an innocent small toothless smile and then proceeded to bite his index finger with force.
Six years old.
Where the hell was this kid?
Adam had searched the whole mansion, every damn room, every closet.
Goddammit he had even made sure the boy wasn't hiding in one of the tubs.
Keith was nowhere to be found and Adam was two seconds away from having a heart attack, (even though that specific organ had stopped beating a long time ago).
It wouldn't be the first time Keith had decided it was time to play hide and seek without telling him or Shiro.
The last time that happened it had taken them five hours to find him eating all the chocolate chips Adam had baked just that morning under his bed.
That kid was a little demon, but Adam loved him anyway.
He'd appreciate if he stopped getting in so much trouble, though.
Adam sat on the couch, letting an exhausted sigh. Maybe he just had to wait for Shiro, two pairs of eyes were better than just one.
For the rest of the evening, he stayed there, leg bouncing anxiously.
He jumped off the couch when he heard the sound of the door opening, running to the entrance.
The sight that welcomed him made him let out a big sigh, relief leaving him weak.
He used a wall to support himself as he approached Shiro, not trusting his legs tobe able to work properly.
His husband was smiling but his brows were furrowed. He mouthed a silent apology to him.
Adam huffed and shook his head in response. He leaned down, and watched the boy in Shiro's arms.
Keith yawned and made grabby hands at him.
Adam could never refuse him anything, so even if he was mad that he disappeared without letting him know, he took him from Shiro's embrace.
“Where were you, pup?” Adam booped his nose, causing Keith to laugh.
“With pa!” Answered Keith excitedly.
Since they took Keith in, Adam and Shiro decided to be more in contact with humans. They agreed it'd be a good thing for his future.
But that didn't mean they weren't terrified of being hurt.
They took turns doing some rounds around the forest everyday, just so they could be sure there wasn't any threat.
It seemed that Keith thought it was fun, some sort of game.
“This little demon followed me.” Explained Shiro. “Should have never taught him to be quiet. He hid behind bushes and jumped me when I was distracted.” As a punishment, he tickled Keith's tummy without mercy, ignoring the kid's protests between loud laughs.
How could Adam stay mad at him?
He sighed again and kissed Shiro's cheek.
“Yeah, at least we know he's good at it.” Shiro giggled. “And dirty. Bath time for you.”
Keith muffled a “noooo” in his chest, hands grabbing Adam's shirt.
“I'm tired.” He whined.
“If you clean up you can sleep with me and pa today,” Adam offered. “Hm? How does that sound?”
Keith raised his head, a hesitant expression on his face. “Okay, but can I give you a present? It's in my pocket.
Adam's gaze softened. God, he loved that kid so much. “Sure, pup”.
Keith rested his head on his chest again. Seeing that he didn’t seem to want to move, Adam searched on the boy’s pocket.
He flinched when he finally found the “present”. Whatever it was, it had a weird touch.
Adam took it out and looked at it.
It was a dead squirrel.
It sent a shiver down his spine.
When he turned his head to look at Keith, the kid was snoring, fast asleep.
So Adam glanced at Shiro instead, who could only grimace.
Fourteen years old.
Raising a teenager was hard, a werewolf teenager was worse.
Especially when there would be a full moon in just a couple of days, and Keith wasn't talking to them for some reason.
Shiro took a deep breath. He was just outside Keith's room, having spent ten minutes in front of his door, not sure of what he was going to do.
Adam was better with words than him, but he was out, doing his rounds.
Shiro could only hope the plate of chocolate chip cookies he was holding, Keith's favorites, would be the perfect peace offering.
Okay, he could do this.
He raised his free hand to knock on his door.
“Keith? Can I come in?” He asked.
There was no response for a few painful seconds. Shiro had been ready to give up but eventually the door opened just a bit.
Keith was avoiding his gaze. “What?”
The hostile tone felt like someone had stabbed his heart.
Still, Shiro knew he had to be patient.
“I just want to talk.” When Keith remained silent, he offered him the plate of cookies. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”
Keith turned, leaving the door open. Shiro took it as consent to enter the room.
It was a mess.
Clothes were everywhere and the blinds were closed, leaving the room in a permanent darkness.
Keith's school bag looked untouched, he must have not done his homework, but that was the least of Shiro’s worries.
He was concerned about the boy lying in bed right now, covering his head with his blanket.
He left the plate of food on his nightstand and slowly sat on the bed.
“We missed you on movie night yesterday. Adam ended up putting an ocean documentary.” Shiro started a casual conversation.
Once again, Keith didn't answer.
It made Shiro feel miserable.
“Keith,” He spoke again, this time, he didn't hide the sadness in his voice. “Please tell me what's wrong, I want to help.”
That didn't seem to be the right thing to say.
Keith suddenly sat up, and Shiro was horrified to see tears falling from his eyes.
“You can't! Nobody can't!” He shouted. “It's my fault.”
Shiro put a hand on his knee, trying to calm him down. “What do you mean? I'm sure it's not.”
Keith started sobbing. “I'm a fucking weirdo. No matter what I do, people never like me. They don't leave me alone either.” He hid his face in his hands. “I just want to be normal.”
He sounded devastated, his kid was suffering.
Speechless, Shiro decided to hug him tightly.
Keith used his chest as a pillow and cried his heart out there.
As a parent, Shiro felt useless.
He couldn't take the pain away from Keith, he could just stay with him.
Rubbing his back, kissing his head.
“I'm sorry.” Shiro murmured. “They don't deserve you.”
Keith stopped crying after an hour, his sniffles the only sound in the room.
Shiro didn't let him go.
He wasn't sure if it was for Keith's comfort or his own.
Nineteen years old.
"You know," Lance drawled, not really sure if what he wanted to say would be considered disrespectful," when you said you lived somewhere quiet, I didn't expect a... Charming?" Creepy. " Mansion in the forest."
"Hm?" Keith turned to look at him, confused. "Oh yeah, I guess.”
He said it like it wasn't something extremely rare or impressive.
Just how rich Keith's parents were?
Cause if Lance hadn't been shitting his pants before, he definitely was now.
Keith and Lance had met last year. They didn't have a really good relationship at first.
Keith was smart, talented, and very capable. And he acted like he didn't know all his qualities.
Keith was everything Lance wasn't, and that destroyed him.
He tried to ignore his presence, but his eyes seemed to find him in every class they shared.
He started to notice how Keith was always on his own, how he anxiously played with his fingers when someone talked to him.
How he fed the stray cats that always gathered at the school entrance.
How he smiled softly every time he opened his lunch box and saw that his father had written him a motivating note.
He had easily seen all the good things Keith believed he didn't have.
Cause if the boy was anything, it was beautiful on the inside and on the outside.
Slowly and inevitably, Lance fell in love with him.
And now it was time to meet his parents.
Lance actually wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
He didn't have too much time to keep panicking, though.
Keith's lips curled up, smiling at him encouragingly. He looked so excited that the sight was almost enough to ease all his fears.
He offered Lance a hand, one he gladly took, grateful for the comfort Keith's touch always provided.
"Let's go." Keith said, starting to walk and dragging, (not really, cause Lance would gladly follow him anywhere) Lance along with him.
"My parents are dying to meet you. Dad prepared a feast just for you."
“Can’t wait.” Even his voice betrayed how nervous he felt.
They stopped in front of the door.
Just as Keith was trying to find his keys in his bag, the door opened, the old wood making a spooky sound that sent a shiver down to Lance's spine.
A tall man dressed in the most old fashioned black robes had opened it. And now, he was inspecting and definitely judging Lance with his gaze.
Lance gulped.
Why did he want to run away?
Two seconds later, though, the man's expression changed drastically, lips curling up into the kindest smile Lance had ever seen.
He looked like the sun itself.
The man leaned down to kiss both Keith's cheeks with force, ignoring Keith's attempts to escape the affective demonstration.
"Pa, stop!" Keith giggled while trying to push him off, rolling his eyes.
Lance almost had a heart attack right then and there.
He turned his head to look at Keith, who just raised a brow, for a couple of seconds. Then he looked at the man, flinching when his gazes locked.
Keith had called him “Pa”, but there was no way the man in front of him was older than twenty four.
"Takashi Shirogane." Keith's dad interrupted his train of thought. Lance shrieked, blushing immediately after.
He extended an arm for Lance to shake, and even if Lance was extremely confused and so embarrassed he kept making a fool of himself, he did.
Shiro smiled, satisfied.
"Come in, your dad's almost finished cooking"
Keith lightened up like a Christmas tree at the mention of food. He practically ran to the kitchen and Lance followed him more reluctantly, antsy.
He could feel Shiro's gaze on his neck the whole time.
To say dinner was awkward would be an understatement.
Lance was too anxious to act normal. Every time he had tried to speak, it ended up with him embarrassing himself. So he ended up just eating in silence.
Keith had grabbed his hand under the table, intertwining their fingers and not letting go.
Lance almost melted in the spot.
He loved him so much.
Keith's family wasn't like any Lance had had the pleasure to meet.
The couple looked too young but held themselves with a confidence that only decades of life experience could give you.
They also seemed to have so much fun making fun of Lance.
"So, tell me son." Adam spoke.
Being addressed caused Lance to jump in his seat.
He cleared his throat. "Yes?"
Adam didn't open his mouth again for a (really long) moment, choosing to calmly drink some sort of red liquid from his crystal cup instead.
"Has Keith bitten you yet?" Adam smirked.
Shiro giggled, raising his eyebrows up and down.
Keith gasped, face flushed.
"Dad! Oh my god, shut up!"
Lance opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure of what to say.
This family was peculiar for sure, but Lance wouldn't change it for anything.
He was glad they had welcomed him in their lives.
Twenty four years old.
Someone tumbling inside the apartment woke Lance up, but he didn't panic. He knew who they were.
He yawned and stretched his limbs before getting out of bed. Lance slowly walked to the door, dragging his feet.
He found Keith sitting on the entrance floor, eyes closed and looking like he had fought a bear with his bare hands.
Lance furrowed his brows in concern.
No matter how many times he had welcomed Keith after a full moon, it was always hard watching the person he loved being so exhausted and drained.
He knelt down, putting his hands under Keith's armpits so he could lift him off the floor.
“C'mon sweetheart, let's get you comfortable.”
Keith mumbled something, but his face hiding on Lance's chest made it impossible to understand.
He kissed his head and started to walk to their bathroom with Keith in his arms.
Lance bathed him as gentle as he could, cleaned his wounds, untangled his hair and talked about his day.
“Your dad came earlier to drop off some food for you.” He said in a soft voice. Keith hummed, content. “Pasta, delicious.”
Keith raised his head, blinking his eyes open. “Did you eat it?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Don’t be selfish, I just tried it. It smelt too good.”
Keith pouted and crossed his arms, he was the perfect image of a child throwing a tantrum.
Lance showed him a dry towel. “Ready to be a burrito?”
Half an hour later, Keith was sleeping soundly, his long bangs hiding most of his face. Lance, who was lying next to him and letting Keith use him as a pillow, tucked his hair behind his ear.
His heart skipped a beat just seeing Keith's beautiful features in the dark.
Lance traced a few new scars on his cheek with his finger. Keith must have gotten last night.
He kissed his naked shoulder.
Knowing Keith was safe and sound, Lance could finally close his eyes again.
Lance was so ready to pamper Keith next morning, till he got sick of him.