Name choosing, shouldn't be this intense, and yet here we are.

The car ride to Keith's place was… definitely something to say the least. If Keith were to describe it, he would say it was definitively uncomfortable.

Keith hadn't necessarily asked to ride back with the Shirogane twins, but he had refused to let his baby girl go with them alone. After Ryou had finished admiring Red the three men had stood in awkward silence for about seven minutes before Shiro cleared his throat a little too loudly and asked Keith if he would like to catch a ride with them. Keith suspected that Shiro had felt obligated to ask him to carpool with them, and though that thought would have normally upset him, Keith didn't see much of a choice.

While it was true that Keith would rather not get into a strangers car and be forced to participate in the mandatory small talk such situations called for. He also saw no other choice but to accept the invitation if he didn't want to lose sight of the child in his arms. So in the end it came down to either riding with the Shiroganes or taking public transportation. Needless to say that the lesser of two evils easily won his favor.

"So your bike—I mean Red, are you really okay with leaving her here?" Ryou asked glancing at Keith in the rear view mirror as Keith tried to figure out what all the buckles on the baby seat were for.

Keith didn't answer immediately, not until he finally got the last buckle into its lock and made absolutely sure that it was secure. "I don't like leaving her here, no. But she'll make it home."

Keith could tell that Ryou had another question in his mind just as he was sure Shiro shared in his curiosity. But neither of them asked and Keith didn't elaborate. Instead, he gave them directions to his house. And one of the most torturous car rides of his life began.

Keith had almost wished he had Lance there too, if anyone could break through the tension filled mess that was their drive, it would be him.

Somehow though, Keith managed to make it through the fifteen minutes in one piece. The baby remained asleep, and the twins had relaxed some. Shiro and Ryou had whispered back and forth to one another at times, though Keith had no way of knowing what was being said since he didn't speak Japanese.

One they reached the apartment complex, Keith directed them to where Lance usually parked his car. Normally there would be a blue '65 Mustang proudly claiming the space, but Lance had left Blue—Yes, Keith and Lance were aware of how stupidly simple their names were, but it was what felt right—at Allura's while he was away.

Once parking was done, Keith led the way to yet another uncomfortably awkward elevator ride to the 2nd floor and the 3rd door on the right. Keith fiddled with the keys for a second and finally made it back home. And though Keith could feel the warmth of familiarity inside the apartment, it hadn't weighed on him until that moment that he really did miss Lance and his 'welcome homes'.

"Make yourselves at home." Keith glanced over his shoulder as he hung his keys on the designated hook and motioned to the empty living room. "You guys want something to drink? Water, tea, I'mma start a pot of coffee…"

"Tea please." Shiro spoke first as he toed out of his shoes and Ryou hummed weighing his options. "I'll wait for a cup of coffee… it isn't decaf is it?"

Keith snorted, though not rudely, "God no, the last thing I need right now is cafineless coffee. But yeah, pick your tea. Lance is a tea junkie, he keeps a regular stock of almost everything."

Shiro moved over to where Keith pointed to Lance's stash as Ryou took the handle of the baby carrier they had mutually agreed to take with them since she was still sleeping soundly, and moved over to the living room.

The only thing preventing another round of silence between the three of them was the coffee maker as it dutifully worked through making the first batch of coffee. Keith said first because he suspected they would need more than one round despite the fact that it wasn't even noon yet.

After Shiro had gotten his tea, he joined Ryou and Keith in the living room, taking the second seat on the couch and across from Keith, who had taken the spare seat that sat adjacent to the couch.

Normally Keith could deal with the silence and would have preferred it to stretch out as opposed to the other alternative, but this time around it was just picking away at his nerves and causing him to fidget in his seat.

The other two in front of him were not faring any better it seemed, but one of them was at least willing to try to breach the bridge. Unfortunately Ryou was cut off by Keith's phone buzzing in his pocket.

Keith sighed and fished it out, his frown becoming much more noticeable when the name 'Lance' was displayed on his screen, the animated phone underneath his name shaking as if begging Keith to answer.

He was half tempted to decline, but… Keith really needed some normalcy back in his life. Excusing himself, Keith retreated to the Kitchen and answered the phone.

"Aye Bello! How'd it go?" came the immediate question, not even bothering with a greeting, but that was Lance.

Keith glanced at the kitchen entrance and bit back his sigh. He could tell Lance about his news, or he could put it off for later. Keith didn't really like the repercussions the second option would bring, but he also didn't like the thought of telling Lance something so personal over the phone. Not to mention that Lance was totally the type of person to drop his entire vacation and run back home at the slightest bit of alarming news. Keith wanted Lance to enjoy the vacation that he and Allura deserved.

"It went okay." Keith said carefully, leaning against the counter and breathing in the scent of coffee, relaxing himself slightly.

"Well that's good." Keith appreciated that Lance didn't throw an 'I told you so' his way. But he could feel that there was something Lance was holding back on. Keith had known Lance long enough to know when his best friend wanted to ask a question.

"It wasn't about her, okay." Keith sighed. "And I'm not in any medical danger, I got home in one piece and everything's okay… also." Keith hesitated. He had been mulling over the idea in the car ride home and had decided that he had to make a choice, if not for himself then for his unnamed child.

"I'm gonna take up Kolivan's offer and take the job."

Lance was silent for a single moment, which honestly was an eternity when it came to Lance, but soon the cheer was back in his voice. "Woah, that's cool, and yeah it's a surprise, what made you change your mind?"

Keith shrugged before realizing belatedly that Lance couldn't see him. "I can't be a deadbeat forever, we need the cash and… I'll just do this until I can find another job."

Lance hummed on his end, "Well whatever you decide Bello, I got your back. And—actually hold that thought." There was a laugh, Lance's, and then Allura's. "Sorry Keith gotta let you go, I'll talk to you later okay, make sure to double check the locks, no talking to strangers and por el amor de dios, warm up your food tonight."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Bye Lance, go have fun."

"Always do, bye!"

Keith locked his phone again and held in the urge to call his best friend back and throw away any reservations he held about involving Lance while he was away. Maybe Lance wouldn't know what to do, but he could at least be there for Keith to draw support from.

Keith unlocked his phone once more and hit the dial button. He wasn't going to call Lance, not yet; but he was also not ready to face the situation in the other room just yet. Keith was equal parts stalling and trying to get his bearings before facing the other two in his living room.

Two rings was all it took before someone picked up. "Marmora Repair Shop, this is Axca how can I help you?"

Keith would have preferred that his uncle answered the call but out of the rest of the people employed at the shop, Axca was the one Keith got along with the most. Even if their relationship was mostly built from an shared an unspoken rule of not prying into each other's lives and staying away from small talk.

And it was because of this that Keith didn't bother with a greeting. "Hey Axca, is Kolivan around?"

"He stepped out with Thace not too long ago. I'll tell him to give you a call back." Axca assured Keith and he knew that she now deemed that the end of the conversation.

"Ah wait!" Keith probably said that louder than he had meant to and cleared his throat. "I mean, its okay if he doesn't call me back, I just wanted to ask him if he could pick up Red from Quintessence Labs for me , I can stop by the shop for her later or if he wants to being her home?"

Axca hummed. "Did she break down? I can ask Antok to bring her in."

Keith appreciated her wanting to help, but he also didn't know how to explain why he had left Red behind. And asking Kolivan to take care of his bike also opened up an opportunity for Keith to tell him about his doctor's visit. But that of course required him to sort a few things before hand, which included he deal with the guests that were waiting for his return. "No it's okay. Red's fine, I just had to leave her there, and I'm home now too so it's not like I'm stranded. Just tell Kolivan for me… and also tell him I'll call him later?"

Axca didn't sound convinced but she relented. "I'll let him know."

Shiro tried to look anywhere but at the car seat off to his left where the sleeping child was—his child.

Instead Shiro busied himself with taking in the space that was home to the man that had brought them there. It was a fair enough sized apartment, and much more spacious than he had first thought. The walls were painted a soft sky blue, only broken here and there with framed pictures and other wall decorations. There were two clashing motifs to the decorations, on one side Shiro could see the clear fondness of the ocean, and the other was the sky; more specifically the stars.

Shiro wondered if Keith and his roommate had agreed to arrange the conflicting items until a compromise was met, or if they had coordinated it somehow. Next Shiro's eyes went over the subjects of the picture frames and realized that very few of them featured Keith. There were possibly a handful of them as opposed to other snapshots that depicted a slender man with short brown hair and one of the brightest smiles Shiro had ever seen.

After looking at every picture as best as he could, Shiro focused on the furniture within the room, taking note of how none of it seemed to directly match. He could guess that it was all handed down from either family or friends or from thrift stores the way his had been when he had first moved out. There was a bookshelf made out of maple oak, while the coffee table was less wood and more steel painted in an inky black. The lamp off to his right seemed like something he wouldn't have seen anywhere outside of antique shops, with its wrought iron base and thick lamp shade, complete with a curtain of fringe to serve as a skirt.

Shiro could faintly hear Keith on the other side of the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. He caught snippets of the conversation towards the end, and a quick look to his twin told him that while Shiro had been surveying his surroundings he had been listening attentively.

Silence followed not long after and Shiro took a sip of his peppermint tea, savoring it for as long as he could. Just the scent of the tea was enough to have Shiro relaxing some in the foreign home, but he was still way out of his depths and nowhere near calm.

Keith reappeared before Shiro had to search for something else to focus on, and the anxiety that had slowly been ebbing away returned with full force. There was a pensive line to Keith's brow and a very prominent frown as he set down two cups of coffee on the table, and some sugar and the creamer before Keith reclaimed his seat before them once again.

"Look if you're just saying you'll commit to this because you feel some sense of obligation then just leave." Keith muttered as he worked on his coffee, only bothering to look up at Shiro when his deep set glare was in place.

Shiro was stunned, and it definitely wasn't because he was so unused to people being mean in his direction. Most people tended to like him, or at the very least respect him on some level to where they were civil to him, but Keith… he was outright glaring at Shiro as if Shiro had personally seen to it that Keith had the worst existence possible.

"Excuse me, what?" Shiro could tell that Ryou was just as unprepared for the sudden sharp turn their conversation had taken by the indignation that slipped into his brother's tone.

Keith sighed in what Shiro could only call frustration. "I didn't invite either of you over to fight, okay. But I also meant what I told you back in the office. You don't have to stay with her, so if you're trying to convince yourself into thinking that you want to be part of her life because you feel some sort of obligation, then just don't."

"You say you didn't bring us here to fight, but isn't that just what's going on?" Ryou countered before Shiro could even get a word in edgewise. "And what makes you think Shiro doesn't want to be involved in her life anyway?"

Keith's glare didn't let up, switching between both twins before finally settling on Shiro. "Because he didn't even try."

Shiro shrunk away from the heated glare, and the words that he knew all too well were as true as they could be. He hadn't tried, not really. And he still felt no need to even interact with the girl that was his daughter.

As brilliant as Ryou was though. He was still failing to grasp the words being said around him. "Didn't try what? You do realize you're making no sense right?"

Keith didn't let up on his stare. "She's gonna know, you know. That you wont try to hold her, to look at her. Kids aren't as empty headed as people think, and I bet babies aren't either. She's gonna need people there to take care of her because they want to not because they have to. If you're only doing this to ease your conscious or whatever it is you have going on, then you're gonna regret it. And soon she will pick up on that, and—" Keith finally looked away, yet Shiro could hear the unspoken words.

She'll know you aren't doing it out of love.

"That's not fair, how do you presume to know what my brother is going through!" Ryou was angry for Shiro. He had always been the easier one to anger out of the two, and the first one to be upset for Shiro.

"Because he isn't denying it." Keith's reply was simple. But it was no less true.

"Has it occurred to you that he's still in shock?" Ryou rebuffed.

"And you think I'm not still reeling from this?" Keith scoffed in return. "And even if he was, he could at least show her some sort of compassion. She's your daughter and you need to decide if you're in or out."

Keith's hard glare was back on Shiro, demanding an answer from him. "I want to be involved."

"Are you sure." though the phrase was a question, Shiro couldn't help but feel the underlying hint of something else within the words.

This time Shiro didn't hesitate. He was sure he wanted to be a father to the little girl, even though his stomach dropped at just the idea of it. "Yes. I want to be her father."

Keith's scowl didn't let up for ages it seemed until he finally relented and sat back in his seat.

"Fine. But remember what we said, there is no walking out." he said, finally breaking his silence. But before either Shirogane could say anything to that, Keith spoke again, "She needs a name."

Somehow, Shiro wasn't expecting that to be Keith's follow up statement. He had been preparing himself to be thoroughly grilled by Keith about what he would do for the baby. But instead he was blindsided by something he too should have been considering but was too screwed up to think too much on.

But at least Keith's eyes weren't burning holes into Shiro's soul anymore.

Ryou seemed to approve of the change in the subject as well, as he rejoined the conversation and spoke for Shiro once again. "Agreed, got any in mind?"

Keith shrugged, momentarily glancing to where she was sleeping. "Not really, but it also doesn't feel right just calling her 'the baby' so I though we should start there."

Ryou nodded, and then rounded to Shiro. "Any ideas, Aniki?"

Shiro shifted his gaze over to the sleeping child and shrugged as well. "No. Any of the names I considered before don't really fit her."

Ryou hummed, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a gruff. "How long?"

Both twins looked to Keith, Ryou's look of confusion matching that of Shiro's. "Excuse me?"

"It's not the first time you've mentioned being in the know about her existence, so how long have you known?" And just like that the tension was back in the room, doubling in intensity if that was even possible.

"I-" Shiro should have known that question would be asked eventually, but again he was finding himself out of his depths. Shiro wasn't usually this lost with words, and people rarely looked at him with such open scrutiny, but this entire situation had his head reeling and taking his composure along with it until he finally managed. "Three days."

The answer was, of course, not met with approval. "Three days?! You mean to tell me that you knew about her for three days and didn't even-"

"Woah hey slow down!" Ryou once again came to Shiro's defense, keeping his voice low too as to not wake up the sleeping girl. "Yes, Shiro knew about her. But it wasn't like he was told anything else. For the past three days that he has known he has done nothing but think about her. He hasn't slept well at all and has spent the majority of those three days wondering if he would even get to see her. If you think this was something he had just brushed off the minute he found out, think again. Knowing for him was probably worse than having to find out the day of. So would you kindly lay off?"

Keith was honestly taken aback by Ryou's words and was promptly ashamed at having jumped down Shiro's throat. It wasn't like Keith was angry at Shiro–entirely–he just happened to be the target Keith was dumping his frustration towards.

"Sorry." Keith sighed and eased up on his glare to look down to the pale coffee in his hands, honestly it was more sugar and creamer than coffee, but it was coffee all the same. "You're right I shouldn't have snapped at you, I'm just…" Keith trailed off and shrugged uselessly.

Keith hadn't expected either twin to accept his apology, much less for it to be Shiro "Don't worry about it. I probably would have been upset too if you had more information on this than I did."

And though he said that, Keith couldn't help but think that he wouldn't be that mad at Keith. But then again, what did Keith know about this stranger? Until just a few hours ago Takashi Shirogane was no one to Keith, and now he was the other half of his daughter's life.

"What names did you have in mind?" Keith asked, heading back to what seemed like the more stable topic for them to discuss.

Shiro rose and dropped his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "None that I like now, Emma, Marie, Ayame, Hanami was our mother's name, but… I don't want to make the decision of naming her after our mom."

Keith thought he caught on to what Shiro was implying. And if Keith was right in his presumption, then that meant that Shiro wasn't comfortable with naming the baby after his mom if Keith didn't agree to it. Which, Keith supposed was a nice gesture.

Still, he scrunched up his nose at the list. "I knew an Emma once, she used to lick the glue off of stamps and chew pencils down to the lead, so that's a hard pass. But on the others, I don't know they don't seem to fit her, and naming her after a mom is kind of cliché don't you think?"

Keith had spoken without really thinking too much on the weight of his words and didn't seem to realize that until Shiro gave a light wince and Ryou frowned.

Keith knew when he stepped into the territory of a sore subject and promptly backed out, taking another sip of his sugary coffee to stall for another few seconds of time. Keith was granted five more seconds before he decided to set off another land mine.

"I want you to let me be the one to name her." As soon as his guests registered the meaning to his words, unsurprisingly, Ryou was the first to rise to challenge Keith's claim.

"You can't just ask that! She's just as much Shiro's daughter as she is yours. This should be a mutual decision between you two."

"Yeah, and the surname should have been too." Keith shot back setting the coffee down and crossing his arms in order to make his glare more effective.

"She's getting your family name and Shiro is going to be named as her legal father so I think it's only fair if I get to name her." after a second, Keith added, "Hanami can be her middle name, if that's okay with you."

Ryou, Keith could tell was biting his tongue. But Keith's focus went back to Shiro, who was ultimately the one Keith had to sway in his favor. "I want to be able to give her that at least, a name that we both agree on, but that I pick out."

Shiro looked even more tired than he had before, which Keith honestly thought was an incredible feat in of itself. "He's right Ryou." he finally said as he too sat his cup down on the coffee table that sat between the two parties. "Keith wasn't given a choice on her getting our last name. Middle or first name, mom would have been happy with either one."

There was another pang of guilt on Keith's end, though he was quick to shove it down. Keith chided himself, reminding himself that he had been the one to ask about getting that right in the first place.

"Thank you." Keith murmured and glanced at the sleeping girl, remembering her eyes that were his and yet not.

"I never thought I would have a family of my own." Keith surprised himself with saying that out loud. But it was a thought that he thought was worth pursuing in that moment. "So I never had a plan for any favorite names and junk. But, her eyes reminded me of the night sky, which remind me of stars… so I figure that's a good place to start."

Ryou looked intrigued, and for the first time that Keith had seen, Shiro looked interested in the conversation. "So what? Are you thinking like Sky, Star, Venus, or something?"

"What? No!" Keith scrunched up his nose in distaste, "Nothing that obvious and obnoxious, but when I was ten I got really into stars and galaxies, and one of the names that has stuck with me is Andromeda, we can even call her Andy for short."

"Andromeda Shirogane." Shiro echoed it out as Keith tested the same name mentally. And then, Shiro whispered much more quietly "Andy."

Keith rather liked his choice and though he would be upset if Shiro turned it down, he had already agreed that they would both need to be okay with his choice.

"Aniki?" Ryou was the one to press.

"Mom would have liked it." Shiro said with an indiscernible smile.

And Keith had to frown, because that wasn't a yes. "But do you like it?"

"I do, I just thought that… nevermind, yes. Yes I do Keith, the name is perfect." Ryou seemed to know what Shiro was thinking and laid a hand on his twin's shoulder and murmuring something that made Shiro nod.

Keith looked away from them long enough to see Andy smiling in her sleep and in that moment he knew that he had made the right decision.

"So have you bought anything else for her?" Keith asked bringing both pairs of eyes back to him again.

"I have a spare room we started to turn into a nursery. The crib is assembled, we have a good amount of diapers, bottles, formula, bath supplies, and other things." Shiro listed off, much to Keith's growing displeasure. He didn't like the idea of letting Andy leave his and Lance's apartment with the Shirogane twins, especially with Shiro acting so… strange. Keith knew that he didn't know Shiro, but no dad that acted this distant with their kid was getting any points in Keith's book.

"So you're planning on taking her home?"

Shiro looked honestly surprised with the question and Ryou looked mildly annoyed, and Keith dared to think that the more vocal of the twins was beginning to tire of Keith.

"I… that was the plan originally, yes. But…" Shiro shrugged and Ryou looked ready to protest, but Shiro quieted him with a whispered word.

"I have a feeling you'll fight me tooth and nail for her to stay with you." Shiro chuckled, a sound that sounded hollow even to Keith, though he wasn't about to argue with that assumption.

"I have to clear my head anyway." Shiro reasoned without too much conviction in his voice and set his now empty cup on the table before him. "Would you mind if I dropped off a few things for her? I can be back with them in about an hour or so."

Keith wasn't sure if he had to ask Shiro–and by extension, Ryou–to stay in his house longer out of courtesy, but he didn't know what else needed to be asked that couldn't be put off later. Maybe a conversation between Keith and Shiro, not Shiro, Keith, and Ryou.

"Sure, just buzz apartment B-4 and I'll open the door."

The twins left not long after that and Keith couldn't help but feel a rushing sense of relief as he went back to where his daughter was still sleeping soundy. "You and me, Andy. If anything you can always count on me."