An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Lance meets a strangely familiar woman at the park.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lance/Lotor (Voltron)
Characters: Lance (Voltron), Lotor (Voltron), Haggar (Voltron), Baby Honey (OC)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Nanny, Single Parents, Single Father!Lotor, Nanny!Lance, Suspense, Pining, The Plot Thickens, Aged-Up Character(s)
Series: Part 5 of The Nanny Named Lance
Summary:
Honey was still too young to really play with the other kids at the park, but Lance liked taking her there anyway. It was good for her to interact with children her age. It wasn’t good for her to spend all of her waking hours with only Lance.
Commission for @tami-flu who’s a sweetheart and wanted me to bring one of our very self-indulgent AUs to life
“Are you sure this is the right address?”
Lance tried really hard not to roll his eyes when he unstrapped the wiggling child from her booster seat and lifted her out of the car. This was only about the fifth time Shiro asked that question, after all.
“Yes”, he hummed patiently and tucked a lock of white-blonde hair behind Emily’s ear. “It’s the address Laura’s mum gave me and that I checked on the internet. Besides … it says dojo in big red letters above that door?” He pointed over his shoulder at the sign. “I think we’re good.”
Shiro gave a short hum as he threw the door shut and locked the car with the press of a button.
“It’s just so … empty”, he wondered and looked around the parking lot, only a few other cars scattered across it. Some, like theirs, were parked in the shade of big oak trees to shield them from the already burning sun. It was hot for May.
“Relax, man. We’re twenty minutes early. What did you expect?”
Just at that moment Emily wiggled free and started running across the parking lot, heading for the dojo.
“Hey!”, Lance called after her with a laugh. “Wait for us!”
“Catch me! Catch me!”, she shouted back over her shoulder, giggling, her bright green backpack bouncing up and down with every step.
“Oh, just you wait, young lady!”, Lance grinned as he took up the chase, barely hearing Shiro behind him, calling for his daughter:
“Don’t go inside without us!”
But Emily was far more occupied with outmaneuvering Lance, jumping around the low hedges confining the parking spots and shrieking whenever Lance got too close.
“Too slow! You’re way too slow!”, she taunted and laughed but after a few minutes of trying to catch her Lance finally got a hold of the little gremlin. He hauled her up into his arms, blowing an obnoxiously loud raspberry against her shoulder which made her shriek with laughter, short legs kicking but arms flying around his neck to hold onto him.
“Shoulders”, she demanded after a few seconds, already trying to climb higher and Lance boosted her up until she could swing comfortably onto his shoulders with him holding onto her legs tightly as to not let her slip off.
“And now?”, he asked, spinning in circles a few times and spotting Shiro heading for them and the entrance to the building that Emily soon pointed at.
“Onwards, trusty steed!”, she ordered and he couldn’t help but snort, wondering where she’d picked that up. He started galloping toward the wide double doors anyway.
“Your word is my command, lovely princess”, he grinned but earned a weak kick against the chest for his troubles.
“I’m a knight”, Emily declared instead and ducked down when they reached the entrance. Lance bent his knees as well, just in case, and waddled through the open doors.
“My apologies, your braveness...”
Emily just hummed, apparently pleased with his reaction, and straightened back up, head held high as they made their way to some sort of reception.
There was a man standing behind a short counter, writing something down in a notebook. When he looked up to greet them Lance almost tripped.
Because damn, the guy was hot. His dark shirt was clinging tightly to his body, leaving hardly anything to the imagination as it revealed strong arms and well-sculpted pecs, a tight stomach. His features were Asian, Japanese maybe, and finely cut, a nice fit with his lean form. But the most impressive thing were his eyes, an intense, stormy blue-grey that stared straight at Lance for a few moments before shifting up to Emily.
When he smiled it was like his whole being was blossoming.
“Hey, now that’s a brave knight if I’ve ever seen one”, he said and Lance could barely keep from whimpering at the smooth tenor of his voice. The man reached out to shake Emily’s hand. “I’m Keith, I’m one of the teachers here.”
“Hello. My name is Emily Shirogane. It’s nice to meet you”, she replied and shook his hand, always polite and well-mannered when meeting strangers. No matter what a tiny beast she could be when it was bedtime.
“Oh yes!”, Keith nodded. “I talked to your father on the phone. Is this him?”
Stormy eyes flicked down to meet Lance’s again but before he could answer with anything but a breathless wheeze Emily giggled, her little body shaking on his shoulders.
“No! This is my nanny!”
Lance nodded and managed to mumble his name. Keith didn’t offer him a hand to shake.
“I’m her father”, came Shiro’s voice from behind them and Lance didn’t know whether to be relieved or mortified because … there was no way Shiro didn’t hear that, right? “We spoke on the phone.”
“Right, now I recognize your voice. Mr Shirogane”, Keith nodded and stepped around the counter. Damn his legs were long.
“Just Shiro please”, Shiro smiled and extended a hand for Keith to shake. In a split second stormy eyes flicked up and down Shiro’s body and Lance felt himself bristle.
Oh no, he didn’t.
No matter how hot the guy was, it was on. Lance hadn’t spent the better part of a year trying to get closer to the utter heartthrob that was Takashi Shirogane only to have some random karate teacher butt in at the last second.
“We’re here for the trial lesson”, he said, interrupting their little moment before it could grow into something entirely unnecessary. “Emily’s a friend of Laura, she told her she really liked coming here.”
It took another second too long for Keith to end the handshake and look over at him.
“Yes...”, he nodded. “Oh yes, I remember. Shiro told me on the phone. Laura’s a good kid, very … fierce.”
“Oh, Emily is, too”, Shiro chuckled and Keith smiled at him. Lance wanted to slap his stupid, pretty face. Even if it would most likely get him the ass-kicking of his life. The dude was probably a black belt if he was teaching.
“I believe that...” Keith turned to look back up at Emily. “You can join us for a lesson or two, see if you like it as much as Laura does.”
“Yes”, Emily said and nodded strongly, judging by the movement of her body. Keith smiled at her before looking back at Shiro.
“And I’ll see if she can follow the instructions, integrates well with the other kids, things like that...”
“Wait, so you’re teaching her group?”, Lance blurted, earning a slight frown.
“Yes”, the instructor nodded. “I give classes for children and teenagers. Is there a problem?”
Lance held that intense gaze for a beat or two before forcing out an awkward laugh.
“No!”, he shook his head. “No problem. No problem at all, I was just … I don’t know, forget it.”
Keith frowned at him for a horrible moment before his expression softened and he looked back up at Emily.
“If you want you can get changed over there.” He pointed into the hallway behind himself. “Then I can show you around until the others get here. That sound good?”
“Yeah!”, Emily quickly agreed, then kicked Lance’s chest again. “Onwards, trusty steed!”
Lance hesitated.
“Come on, Em. You’re a big girl, you can get changed by yourself.” Besides, he’d rather not leave Shiro alone with painfully hot Keith. But Emily wiggled on his shoulders and leaned down to whisper into his ear, hands cupped around her mouth:
“I don’t wanna go alone...”
Shiro gave a carefree laugh that made Lance swoon inwardly. Of course he’d heard the little plea, Emily wasn’t too good at whispering yet. He cocked an expectant eyebrow at Lance which usually meant it was time to do his damn job.
Lance reluctantly galloped down the hallway.
~
It turned out there was another boy in Keith’s class that Emily knew from preschool and as soon as Laura and him arrived the little girl made it very clear she didn’t need Lance’s assistance anymore. Instead she ran off with her friends as everyone got ready for the lesson.
Him and Shiro weren’t allowed into the room but could watch Emily from a row of windows where a bunch of other adults were already gathered.
Lance chatted with Laura’s mum for a bit, telling her how excited Emily was to try karate as well and scheduled a playdate for Saturday, when Laura’s dad would finish preparing the pool for the summer. The girls should have fun cooling down like that.
Lance excused himself soon after and sidled up to Shiro on the wobbly bench offered for the parents. The kids had just finished warming up and moved on to fall exercises.
While the others were going through the motions expertly already, Emily waited for Keith to show her the basics, how to initiate a controlled fall and how to roll and twist so she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Her first tries still looked clumsy at best but Keith still smiled widely at her, nodding and correcting her posture and movement a bit as he kept watching her.
“I like him”, Shiro said after a while, eyes following Keith around the room as he went from child to child, praising them and offering feedback. Lance felt his heart sink.
“Who? Keith?”
“Yes, he seems to be really good with the kids, don’t you think? I like how he talked to Emily first when we got here. Not a lot of adults do that.”
As reluctant as Lance was to admit it, Shiro was right. Keith was good with kids, had an instinctive, warm ease when talking to them that mysteriously vanished when he addressed Lance. What a shame.
The kids all seemed to adore him, though, striving for his attention and smiling bright when they earned his praise.
“Yeah”, Lance nodded. “Yeah, he’s really good. I think Em likes him, too...”
The kids had a break about halfway through the lesson and while most of them went to their bags to get a drink Emily skipped up to them, face flushed and sweaty but smile wide and eyes sparkling.
“I really, really like it! Keith is amazing! He says I’m a natural and that I’ll be as good as Laura if I come back each week!”, she babbled, climbing into Shiro’s lap.
Lance automatically reached for the little bottle of water in his bag and handed it to her with a stern look. She huffed but took a few gulps.
“Please daddy, please can I come back? I really want to!”
Shiro smiled and nodded quickly.
“I can talk to Keith after the lesson and sign you up. But you’ll have to promise to keep coming here, we talked about this...”
“Yeah yeah, I promise”, Emily shrugged quickly, then perked up again. “Oh, can you make me spaghetti for dinner? I’m hungry!”
“You’re hungry?”, Shiro asked, bouncing his daughter on his knees. “Well, if you want I can make you spaghetti right now!”
She frowned, her little face scrunching up as Shiro touched a finger against her nose: “Boop, you’re spaghetti!”
Both Lance and Emily groaned, rolling their eyes in unison while Shiro grinned, undeservingly proud of himself.
“You’re so lame!”, she cried out and hopped from his lap in protest, crossing her arms. But she was also smart and quick to think, knowing she wouldn’t get her favourite food if she kept pouting, so she corrected herself: “Can you please cook spaghetti for dinner tonight?”
Shiro agreed the same moment Keith called for his students to continue.
~
After the lesson they waited for Keith to say goodbye to the other parents before approaching him.
“Yes, of course!”, he smiled after Shiro asked him to sign up his daughter. “Emily did great for her first time, her motor skills are already very well developed, I think she’ll benefit from a challenge. I’ll give you...”
Keith held up a finger, signalling for them to hold on as he ducked back behind the counter. After a moment he re-emerged with a few papers in his hands.
“These forms. You can fill them out at home and just bring them to the next lesson.”
“Thank you, Keith”, Shiro smiled and Lance felt that ugly jealousy squirm in his stomach again. “Emily really liked it. Didn’t you, sunshine?”
“Yes!”, she nodded quickly. “Thank you, Keith!”
“Thank you for doing so well, it was my pleasure, Emily.”
She giggled and Lance wanted to groan. Did the whole family have to fall in love with his pretty smile and gorgeous eyes and that lean, perfect, powerful body and…
Focus.
“Great, see you next week, then”, Shiro smiled softly and Keith nodded.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it...”
There was definite purr to the words and Lance would have tackled the guy to the ground if the sound didn’t also do things to him…
Instead he sighed inwardly, a long-suffering expression of helplessness as they left the building, Emily chattering on and on about the lesson and how great Keith was, Shiro still smiling.
This would be a bitch.
[This fanfic was a commission! Check out how to commission me or consider buying me a Coffee if you liked this story!]
Ohohoho, LanceLot number 57 from the prompt thing~ (nanny au if possible?) (love you pho bean~~~♡♡♡♡)
Anything for you, beanie~♥ You know I love Nanny AU!
#57 “Is that my shirt?”Also available on AO3.
Send me a quote and a ship~
To say it had been a horrible daywould be a lie. Hectic? Sure. Messy? Definitely. But horrible? No.
And even as Lance looked down atthe slumbering infant, her nose still red from crying and her blonde, almostplatinum hair sticking up in every direction, he couldn’t be mad. She was sick,after all. And didn’t everyone get a little cranky when they didn’t feel well?
Still, it had been a heck of a day.Baby Honey had started to show signs of a cold the night before and, when Lancementioned it, his boss had given him a number to call if she still wasn’tfeeling well in the morning.
At a quarter to three, Honey wokeup fussy, and it took four stories and every song Lance knew to soothe her backto sleep.
When it was a more decent hour, hecalled the number on the business card Lotor had given him. It was the Sinclinefamily’s personal physician and, to Lance’s great surprise, not even twentyminutes later, there came a knock at the door. Who even made house callsanymore? Ah, to be wealthy.
He was thankful for that service,however, because Honey’s condition had not improved. He’d given her medicinefor her fever, but she was cranky and miserable, the poor thing.
It turned out that she had an earinfection and a mild cold. The doctor gave Lance a prescription – which hepromptly retrieved from the pharmacy in town – and told him to make sure shedrank plenty of fluids and got as much rest as possible.
Easier said than done.
(for mobile, continue reading here)
She wouldn’t take her bottle andwhen naptime came along… Well, it was easier to say that naptime neverhappened. Honey was overtired and fussy and there was no pleasing her. So,Lance spent the majority of the day rocking her in his arms and trying to gether to eat or drink anything.
Which was how he’d ended up borrowingone of his boss’s shirts. Honey had spilled her puréed carrots all over his and he hadn’t gotten achance to do his laundry yet. And he didn’t dare leave her long enough to runupstairs and see if he had anything else hidden away in his closet. Plus, he’dpicked up Lotor’s dry-cleaning on the way back from the pharmacy. He just hadto make sure to change before his boss got home.
And he’d make sure to pay for thebill.
The violet-colored, silk button-uplooked like it cost more than Lance’s whole wardrobe, so he was very carefulnot to give Honey anything stainy forthe rest of the day. Thankfully, that was only a few more hours.
Without a nap and with the propermedication, Honey was ready for bed a little earlier than usual. Lance gave hera bath with her favorite lavender shampoo, changed her into a fresh pair ofjammies, and had barely gotten through the first three lines of Goodnight Moon before she was out like alight.
She looked so innocent when she wassleeping. Like she hadn’t wreaked havoc the entire day. But Lance couldn’t blameher. And she was normally such an angel.
He ruffled her soft, platinum curlsone last time before he tiptoed out of the room and carefully closed the door behindhim, wincing as its soft click seemed to echo in the silent hallway. Happily,Honey continued to sleep and Lance let out a sigh of relief. He turned to walktoward his room, but very nearly bumped his nose into his boss’s chest.
“Mr. Sincline!” he gasped and thenlowered his voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”
“My apologies,” Lotor said, lookingas though he was hiding a grin. “I really must stop sneaking up on you likethat.”
Lance flushed, but cleared histhroat. “How was work?”
“It went well,” he answered, hisgaze flicking over to Honey’s door. “And how is Honerva? Feeling better, Ihope?”
“Yes. I think so,” Lance replied. “Wehad a rough day, but the medicine’s kicked in and she’s sleeping like…well, ababy.” He chuckled. “She missed her nap, too. Poor thing.”
“I see,” Lotor mused and thenglanced down. “Is that my shirt?” he asked, quirking a brow.
“Oh.” Lance’s cheeks burned and hetugged on the hem of the oversized dress shirt. “Yeah…um…about that. Honeyspilled some of her food on mine and I, uh, I meant to put it back before-”
“Lance,” Lotor interrupted. “It’squite all right.” He reached down and toyed with one of the buttons, a smirkcurling his lips. “It’s a good color on you.”
Lance’s blush deepened, but heaccepted the compliment. “Err, thanks. I’ll have it cleaned.”
“There’s no need.” Lotor waved himoff. “Just hang it up. I’ll wear it tomorrow.”
Unsure how to respond to that,Lance just nodded.
“I appreciate you taking care ofHonerva today,” he went on. “I was…quite concerned.”
Now, Lance had been working in theSincline home for a few months at this point, so he knew exactly what thatmeant. Lotor had been worried. He wasn’t one to show his emotions very openly,but Lance had learned to read him.
“Of course,” Lance said with a smile.“It’s my job, after all.”
“Indeed.” Lotor gave a curt nod. “Well,it’s been a long day. I suggest we both retire for the night.” He placed a handon Lance’s shoulder, the heat from his palm seeping through the thin fabric ofthe dress shirt. “I wouldn’t want you falling ill, as well.”
Lance had an immune system strongerthan a fleet, but he bobbed his head in agreement anyway. “You, too.”
Lotor smiled then and Lance’s heartskipped a beat. “Thank you, Lance.” He let his hand linger on Lance’s shoulder fora moment longer before removing it. Then he began walking toward the masterbedroom. However, before Lotor reached his destination, he stopped mid-step andsneezed into his elbow.
“Bless you,” Lance said, his browsshooting up. Uh oh.
Lotor raised his head and pinchedthe bridge of his nose. “Ah, perhaps I’ll be working from home tomorrow.” He glancedover his shoulder and gave what could have been called a sheepish grin.
Lance returned it and bid himgoodnight. And as he followed his boss’s retreating form, he couldn’t help butwonder if he’d be just as fussy as his daughter. Well, he’d just have to seewhen tomorrow came. For now, he was going to get some well-deserved rest.
Sure thing! You’ve got it~(I’ve actually never written this pairing either. Long time shipper, first time writer)
#46 Nanny/single parent AULancelot - Lance and LotorNanny!Lance and Single Father!Lotor SinclineModern AU, Feat. Baby Honey
Lance was no longer looking at the book, the words long since memorized. He gently rocked the baby, a hand on her back and another supporting her freshly diapered rump, while he softly whispered, “Goodnight stars…goodnight air…” He craned his neck to catch a quick glimpse of her tiny face, relaxed in sleep. He smiled. “Goodnight noises everywhere.”
Gingerly, he moved one hand up to support her head and then carefully placed her atop her crib mattress, brushing one of her pale curls out of her face before smiling down at her slumbering form.
“Goodnight, little Honey,” he breathed and then, silent as a mouse, crept out of her room and shut the door, placing his hand against the wood and turning the knob to dampen the sound of the click.
He took a step back and held his breath, waiting to hear if she would wake again now that he was no longer rocking her. But, after several seconds passed, he deemed it safe and made to walk down the hall.
He didn’t make it far, however, because the moment he turned on his heel, he ran smack dab into another man, his nose pressing against the other’s hard chest, covered by a starchy dress shirt. The button probably left an indent in his skin.
“Oh, Mr. Sincline!” he gasped when he pulled back, but then quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. His gaze darted to the door, afraid he’d woken the baby with his outburst. He hadn’t. Thank goodness.
When he turned back to face her father, the older man didn’t look upset. In fact, he was studying Lance was a curious expression.
“She likes you,” he said after a moment.
Lance blinked and then smiled. He’d forgotten how blunt his employer, Lotor, could be. “I like to think so,” he replied. “I like her, too.”
“I see.” Lotor glanced toward the door. “I suppose I’ve missed my chance to say goodnight.”
At that, Lance frowned. He’d been working as his live-in nanny for two months now and he could count the times on one hand that Lotor had gotten to see his daughter while she was awake and alert. It made his heart ache.
“If you’re quiet-” Lance began, but Lotor shook his head.
“I don’t want to run the risk of waking her,” he said. “Especially after you read her that lovely bedtime story.”
Lance flushed. “Oh. You heard that?” It wasn’t like he’d done something out of the ordinary. Most nannies read to their kids. But he always seemed to get flustered around the master of the house.
“I’m sorry I eavesdropped,” Lotor went on. “I heard you finishing up and thought I might…” He trailed off, biting his lower lip as if stifling a chuckle. “I thought I might catch one of your songs.”
Now Lance’s face was beet red. It was one thing to be caught reading. But Lotor had heard him sing before? How embarrassing! Though, it did always seem to calm the baby down.
“Sorry,” Lance managed, offering a sheepish little grin. “You’ll have to catch my show tomorrow night.”
“Perhaps I shall,” Lotor breathed, reaching a hand up smoothing down some of Lance’s hair.
Oh, it was probably a mess. Bath time had turned into a disaster of sorts. Speaking of which, he needed to clean up the bathroom. “I should-”
“You called her ‘Honey’,” Lotor noted, his hand still hovering close to Lance’s cheek. So close that Lance was sure the other could feel the heat radiating off of it.
“Oh, yeah.” He ducked his head. “It’s just my little nickname for her,” he explained. “Since ‘Honerva’ seems a bit mature for an eight-month-old.” He swallowed before wetting his lips nervously under the other’s heavy stare. “Does it bother you?”
“On the contrary,” Lotor said, finally resting his hand on the side of Lance’s neck, the pad of his thumb brushing just under his jaw and sending sparks of something shooting through his veins. “I find it quite charming,” he whispered before leaning in close.
Lance’s breath caught. Was he going to kiss him? It was probably a breach of Lance’s contract. But, as Lotor drew closer, he figured it would definitely be worth getting fired.
However, just before their lips brushed, a tiny cry erupted from the bedroom, startling them both.
Honey was awake.
There was a warm puff of air against Lance’s lips and then Lotor pulled back. “I suppose I should leave you to your work then?” he asked, though his eyes shined with a promise of a continuation sometime later.
Lance nodded dumbly and then cleared his throat, mustering up the courage to flirt back. “After I tuck her back in, would you like the same treatment?” he offered, batting his eyelashes.
Lotor raised his brows, blinking in surprise. Then a slow smirk spread across his face. “Now that is a hard offer to decline.”
I’d like to imagine that the two have been dancing around each other since Lance arrived. He’s actually Baby Honey’s twelfth nanny. The others didn’t last long because of Lotor’s cold temperament (which Lance has obviously melted)
Also, I didn’t kill off his wife or anything. Honey is the result of a one-night stand and was dropped off at Lotor’s doorstep, nameless, with a note and the clothes on her back. Lotor is probably in line to become the next CEO of his father’s company or something. Cliche Cliche Cliche~ The end!
More Nanny AU Lancelot! Please? I will trade you my tiny heart for such quality(content that you write)!!!!!!!!!
Aww, I accept your heart! XD But you should probably keep it on your person for medical reasons.
Sorry for the delay, but I hope this was worth the wait, dear Anon! ♥
Old Habits and New Traditions
Summary:
Lotor would not be brought down by harsh words spoken behind his back. He was an adult, the next in line to the lead the company. And he was going to act as such.
