#veracxa

Lance notices a bird with an injured wing and he takes it home. The two take care of him for a week before he heals enough that one day he just flies off.

(Lance gets literal empty nest syndrome; Keith is coping,,, poorly)

They go about town and encounter street dogs. Lance has been sneaking them scraps for years despite his mamá’s chidings, and whenever he goes out, they just flock towards him, demanding food and nuzzles. Keith is startled the first time this happens and even more so when they seem to take an instant liking to him, but eventually he starts giving them scritches and throwing them sticks to play fetch with. Kosmo keeps trying to play and is confused at why they seem to be so skittish around a space wolf the size of a small horse.

One of the dogs slowly grows ill, but they don’t think much of it until one day Keith is going to the marketplace and spots the dog just lying down, almost seeming to just accept her fate.

When I tell you he panics.

He’s frantically dialling the nearest animal welfare shelter like “Hi, I’ve got a dog here and she’s really sick... Yeah, um, hasn’t eaten in days, barely seems to be moving... Uh, yeah, well, she’s not quite my dog, but-” The desk attendant on the other end can vaguely hear Kosmo in the background barking out little assurances to her.

Anyway, Lance is just about done stirring a pot of ropa vieja that he tilts his head and thinks Damn, Keith was supposed to be back a while ago... And it’s precisely at that moment he gets the call from Keith.

So anyway, Lance rushes over to the welfare shelter and is relieved to find that they can help. They come in every day until the canine’s well enough to be discharged. Keith brings an animal home from work one day.

Lance: Hey, Keith? Keith: Yeah, Lance? Lance: Is that a giant panther running around my front yard? Keith: Pidge said that taxonomically, he’s more similar to a bear. Whatever that means. Lance: ... Hey, Keith? Keith: Yes, Lance? Lance: Why is there a giant panther running around in my front yard?! Keith: *Shrugs* He needed the leg room. (Lance nearly strangles him) So it turns out Keith is pet-sitting for another colleague, and since he was supposed to be heading down to Earth, he had the bright idea to take the creature with him. Lance is understandably less than thrilled, but there’s nothing he can really do. Plus, he starts to like the animal when he’s not tearing up his garden or scaring the shit out of his family.

There’s also this one time a creature stowed away on the ship while Keith and his crew were heading back to base, and it seems to instantly take a liking to Keith (most animals do for some reason). She follows him everywhere, so naturally he follows him back to Earth. She’s lynx-like, and much smaller and less feral, so Lance takes to this one much better. Keith is crazy enough to want to keep it but eventually sends it back with Krolia when she visits them.

Once, while Keith was out on a mission, Lance was walking in the rain and spotted a stray cat taking shelter under the edge of a rooftop. And like any man with too much love in his heart and too few self-preservation instincts, he extends his umbrella toward it. He takes it home and gently pats it down with a towel. The cat is cooperative but a little testy, so Lance affectionately takes to calling her “Gruñona.” They end up just chilling in the living room as Lance sits on the couch and puts on a soap opera, and Gruñona just stares at the TV, unimpressed. Lance: So Alejandra is about to marry Jose, but it turns out his mom replaced her with her twin sister, Clara, but Clara poisons her before she can explain why. Gruñona: *Lets out the most judgmental sounding mroww known to mankind* Lance, shovelling popcorn into his mouth: I know, right? A few days later, Keith returns from a mission. It’s late at night, so he just opens the door and immediately flops into bed. He doesn’t know about Gruñona till she sees him sleeping, and she’s like INTRUDER!!! And nearly scratches his face off. Lance overhears them and manages to pry her off. And the thing is, she really is grumpy. Her personality is almost similar to younger Keith, so every once in a while, she just hisses at him like I don’t know you, gtfo of my house!! And he glares back, offended, like I don’t know you either, and it was my house first!

She and Kosmo get along better. She likes cuddling up to him for warmth, and the first time Keith saw them like that, he glared at Kosmo like Traitor.

Anyway, Lance leaves to run errands one day, and it’s supposed to be quick, but due to a series of Looney Tunes-style shenanigans, it takes nearly the whole day. And when he comes back, he realizes that the house is too quiet and is like Oh my God, have they finally killed each other?? But finds Keith crashed out on the couch with Gruñona curled up on his head.