Chapter Text
Keith Kogane expected a lot from his life.
End of story.
From the first day of kindergarten, he always knew what he wanted to do. He knew he wanted to be up in the sky, flying like his mom. She would tell him stories about her adventures in the air—her days full of traveling and drop-offs and meeting people from other countries.
Even now, when he looked into the depths of the night sky, he knew he was destined to be in the Stars. The sky was a place that was always calling him, tugging on his heart and playing a lovely tune in his ears. It was always a place that seemed vast and dark yet familiar and warm. The unknown excited him.
He would study the different stars, planets, and solar systems to feed his curiosity. He would research the various anomalies throughout space, always excited when the Galaxy Garrison would announce a new star that appeared close to Earth.
He would stay awake into the depths of the night, astonished at how much the human race didn’t know about the space outside their atmosphere. Keith dreamed of someday entering that unknown and exploring it for himself. He dreamed that one day he could see a new star form with his own eyes, wishing he could experience the greatest unknown.
He now wished he could run away from the unknown. He yearned to happily wade in the pools of the known—not having any uncertainties about how his current situation would turn out. He no longer wished to watch the unknown explode in front of him, for the world already gave him his own little supernova that threw every certainty out of the spaceship.
Keith now sat on his couch and prayed that his eyes would be able to rest soon. It had been about an hour since his house was finally quiet, which meant he had an hour to catch up on mundane tasks he hadn’t had the time to do. He also had time to complete one of his assignments due at the end of the week.
Once again, he had an hour before he heard the familiar whine come from the bedroom. Keith rubbed his eyes and set his computer down. He frantically ran to it, feeling that awful sense of apprehension creep into his chest again when the wailing became louder.
When he entered the room, the wailing slowly lowered to a muffled cry. Silence followed once the man picked up the baby and cradled him in his arms. Keith rocked the child, quietly humming a nursery rhyme while rubbing circles onto his tiny back.
"Good morning, my little star," said Keith, placing the baby, Nova, onto the changing station after placing a few soft kisses on his forehead. He cooed in response, his light brown eyes scanning the room in curiosity.
"Did you sleep alright?" asked Keith, grabbing a new diaper and wipes. The tiny human only stared in response and reached for his little toes—which he discovered a couple of days ago.
"I'm going to assume that's a yes." With that, Keith got to work and changed his diaper, frowning when he realized the kid didn't poop. He also changed him out of his elephant pajamas and into a Voltron University onesie with the tiniest shorts Keith has ever seen.
Everything was so small. Keith laughed every time he had to buy new clothes for the kid, especially his little shoes. What did he even need shoes for? He literally couldn't walk.
Keith was thrown out of his thoughts when he heard his alarm go off.
8 AM.
Fuck.
Keith plucked the baby off the changing table and hop-skipped to the kitchen. He turned off the alarm and set up the computer for his morning lecture. While waiting for the class to begin, he prepped a bottle one-handed while simultaneously bouncing the squirmy 6-month-old. He kept motioning for the bottle and soon became restless from being deprived of it.
"Almost ready, little guy. I just need to warm it up," Keith said as the microwave went off. His lecture also began. Keith quickly grabbed the bottle and sat down. Keith was so happy about the existence of technology.
After 2 hours of simultaneously taking notes and fitting in some tummy time, there was a knock and some scuffling at his door. Keith opened the door and was met with the smiling face of his cousin. Her large, circular glasses were thrown into her wild hair and clutched onto a plastic bag.
"Auntie P is here and ready to party. I even brought the goods for Little Podge over there!" Katie threw a plastic bag at her cousin. She then stole "Little Podge" from the floor and spun him in the air. Giggles filled the air from both the adult and child. Keith watched with a fond look in his eyes.
He looked down at the bag and began taking out its contents. 4 small squish bags of vegetables, baby spoons, and numbing ointment for teething babies.
"You are a lifesaver," said Keith, almost on the verge of tears.
Almost.
—
Keith stared at the baby in the jumper, looking at him brightly in return.
"I need you to poop, kid."
The baby just stared at the man and jumped on his stumpy legs.
"I know there's stuff inside of you that needs to come out."
He grabbed onto Keith's finger and tugged it toward the direction of his mouth.
"You ate squash and drank some formula. Stuff's gotta come out." He poked at his squishy little cheek.
He suddenly stopped jumping, a peculiar look taking over his face. Keith looked at him in question. The baby continued to stare into space, his little face turning a light shade of red and letting out a small grunt. Keith jumped up from the couch and looked at the baby in awe.
"Are you pooping?!"
As fast as the grunting began, it ended. Nova's face shifted to normal, continued to jump with glee, and babbled his usual nonsense. Keith wiped at the drool that trailed down his chin and threw his hands on his face in defeat.
'what to do if my baby won't poop.'
Keith's heart sank when it said to immediately call the pediatrician. He freaked out and immediately called his brother.
He didn't answer.
He left a voicemail.
And then another.
And texted him.
And then called him again.
Keith's phone eventually began ringing, answering it immediately.
"Keith. What's wrong?"
"Shiro. I think Nova is dying."
"Keith. Explain what's happening."
Keith grabbed Nova from his seat and rocked him close in his arms. He rested his cheek against his head when he spoke.
"He hasn't pooped. I've fed him so much food, and he still hasn't. Where is the food going? And does his little tummy hurt? Is he going to explode? And he hasn't been sleeping because the poor guy is teething on top of it all! He is just a baby! He shouldn't be hurting—"
"Keith. It'll be okay. How long has it been since he last…expelled his food?"
"Yesterday around lunch."
"Okay. I think he's okay for now. I can always call up one of Pidge's friends and have them check him out."
"Okay."
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good. Just nervous."
"He'll be fine. I promise."
"Thanks, Shiro."
"Anytime. I'll come over after work and bring food because I have a feeling you haven't eaten."
"…"
“Bye."
Shiro opened the door a few hours later, still dressed in his work clothes. He discarded his oversized jacket onto the kitchen table and gently placed the food down to not startle anyone. After he failed to find his brother in the living room, he checked the rooms.
He found Keith on the recliner with Nova resting on his chest. They were both sound asleep and taking slow breaths against one another. Keith looked pale…and tired, even when sleeping.
As if sensing someone new in the room, they both stirred. Nova stretched his chubby arms and legs, the older one soon sitting upright and stretching his neck.
"Sorry to wake you, boys."
"No worries. He would have woken up anyway."
A beat of silence.
"Has the little man pooped yet?"
Keith rubbed away the tiredness from his eyes and checked the baby's diaper for any solids.
"No."
"Oh."
"Shiro, I'm going to cry."
"Yeah, okay," said Shiro gently. He grabbed Nova from his arms and gave his brother some space. Keith emerged a few minutes later and joined Shiro at the dinner table, his shoulders slightly more relaxed.
"I asked Katie for her pediatrician friend's number. He said he'll be over at 2 if nothing changes."