(( Okay, PSA. I get that I haven't updated for five days, Loves. It stresses me out enough. I have been in a crazy rush ever since school started, and am trying my very best to update for you all. The PM's that demand I update, and the swearing, and the getting shitty with me are not necessary or appreciated. I'm trying. I really am. So finally, here you go, the chapter! Rant over.))

Who could've guessed that being the boss was difficult? Literally anyone. But Shiro hadn't anticipated the abundance of briefings and all that. He'd expected paperwork and driving orders, not hunkering down in a room and listening to boring people spout even more boring words for hours. That's why he rolled his eyes when he saw the agenda Adam had laid on his desk.

Budget Meeting. Of course, how could he have forgotten?

He only sighed, deciding he was going to go copy some papers while he had a second.

" I'm so sorry I'm late, I-" Adam rushed into the room in a huff, and that was how Shiro and him ended up colliding. And how coffee was spilled all over the front of Shiro's suit. But even worse... Adam had knocked him over, and landed on top of his boss.

This morning just couldn't get any better.

" Mr. Sh-Shirogane! I'm so sorry!" Adam exclaimed frantically.

Shiro's face must've just been red from the hot coffee. Yeah. That was it.

Adam was blushing severely while scrambling off of him and searching the room for anything to help clean it up.

" How many times do I have to say it? You can call me Shiro, or Takashi if you want." Shiro sat up, now sopping wet with black coffee. Thankfully it hadn't been hot enough to burn him.

Adam finally found some tissues.

" Sorry..." He said yet again, kneeling down to start wiping it off. But nothing was helping. It was pointless.

" I'm okay. These things happen." Shiro looked at him, and there was a tiny smile lifting his lips upward.

Adam's face was practically steaming as he facepalmed.

Shiro stood up, unbuttoning his suit jacket and shrugging it off. The grooves of his muscles were defined from behind his dress shirt, but he didn't seem concerned at all. He only loosened his tie while picking up his jacket and hanging it on an empty coat rack, hoping to air it out.

" Can you-" Shiro began asking Adam something, sitting down at his desk. But then he saw that Keith was calling. His phone had been on silent, so he only noticed when he saw the screen light up. " Uh-one second." He said.

" Right." Adam took a deep breath, slipping from the room. He nearly coughed up a lung once he was out of Shiro's sight.

" Keith?" Shiro picked up.

" Shiro!" Keith loudly said from the other end. " I've been calling you for hours!"

" Sorry. My phone was on silent, what's happening? Are you okay?" The older brother's voice soggied with worry.

" It's Lance." Keith took a couple breaths.

" Keith, have you slept? God, you sound awful." Shiro stared blankly while talking. Clearly something was seriously wrong.

" I told him to sleep." Lance cut in from the other end. " He said he won't sleep until I do."

" Can one of you please tell me what's going on?" Shiro questioned.

" Lance got run off the road and almost died!" Keith's voice cracked.

" What?!" Shiro raised his voice. " Who did this?!"

There was silence on the other end for a second.

" We think that... Lotor... might've hired someone." Lance finally answered. He stared down at his wrist, which according to the doctors, was broken. He had a blue cast on it. And lucky for him, it would be healed before football season.

" Hired someone?" Shiro panicked. " Are you talking about a-" He tried to quiet himself down. " Are you talking about a hitman?" He whispered.

" Yeah." Keith rubbed his eyes, which were droopy from how tired he was. There was a very light shade of purple underneath them, and that was what made his lack of sleep painfully obvious. No matter how much Lance urged him to sleep, Keith wouldn't. Not until his alpha agreed to as well.

" Guys, what the hell! Did you talk to the police?!" Shiro was trying to shout under his breath, but it wasn't working out very well.

" The police are fuckheads." Lance growled. His body was begging him for a rest, to sleep. But he didn't give in. What if someone showed up to finish the job?! He couldn't let anyone hurt Keith. Sleep made them vulnerable, he didn't care what anyone said.

Since Keith and Lance were yet again alone, he didn't have to worry about being blunt in front of the kids. Camila and André had been tasked with getting them home to sleep.

" Lance?" A nurse came into the room.

" Yeah?" Lance yawned.

" You're being discharged."

Going home? Where there was minimal security? Hospital jello and being constantly poked by an IV sounded pretty good.

" Alright." Lance responded as the nurse left to fill out paperwork. This was great. They'd cut off his clothes, so he didn't have anything besides his shoes, socks, and boxers. And even worse, his car was totalled.

" Hey, Shiro... can you give us a ride home?" Keith asked. He wasn't about to call and wake Camila up.

Shiro was at first puzzled, but then remembered that Lance didn't have a car anymore.

" I can probably sneak out for a minute." The older brother said.

...

" We should talk to Pidge and everyone..." Keith said, trying to open the front door to Lance's house. But the alpha stopped him, not bothering to tell Keith that he didn't even have his phone.

" Get behind me." Lance kept Keith in back of himself, placing his right hand on him while opening the door. It may have been dark, but for all he knew, someone could've been lurking in his house, just waiting to finish him off.

" Lance?" Keith asked in a shaky voice, not sure if the taller boy was losing it.

" Shh..." He quietly shut the door. Lance's alpha instincts couldn't have been more amped up. They were jacked, and he was ready to rip someone limb from limb if they got close. He felt like a wounded animal, like he'd been cornered. But Keith and the twins were his number one priority. If anyone happened to be there, they'd have to go through him first.

When Ronny came down the stairs, it was nearly enough to give Lance a heart attack.

" Fuck!" He exclaimed, heaving and coughing.

" That's it... you're sitting down." Keith said.

" Stop. I can't. I have to stand watch..." Lance groaned. Walking and standing were painful for him. He'd never realized how much he used his core muscles until they were stitched and bandaged. The painkillers were starting to wear off, and he wasn't allowed to take anymore until that night.

" Lance. No." Keith assertively spoke. " You're going to sleep."

" I-"

" I don't care that you're my alpha. Let me be the strong one. Lean on me." The omega held him from the side. " You need to rest."

Lance scowled at the floor, feeling ashamed of himself. So this was what he'd been reduced to? An alpha that couldn't even protect his family? He wouldn't settle for that.

" You're pregnant. If anyone should be resting, it's you." Lance muttered. " Now go to bed."

Keith scoffed.

" No. Not until you do." He retorted.

" Don't do this." Lance growled. " Don't put me in this position."

Ronny decided she should just wait to get her snacks until those two were done bickering, so she went back upstairs without a word.

" Lance. Please." Keith looked up at him, using his puppy dog eyes. " I love you... and I can't watch you do this to yourself."

Lance rubbed his extremely tired eyes; they seemed to get heavier by the minute.

" Who's supposed to keep you safe?" The taller male tried to ask.

" I can keep me safe, okay?" Keith assured. He knew that Lance's instincts were hitting him pretty hard, making him near impossible to negotiate with. " Just promise me you'll sleep."

" Maybe just for an hour..." Lance finally caved. " But if anything happens, and I mean anything, you better wake me up right away."

Keith knew that once he hit the pillow, he would be lights out. But just to appease Lance, he nodded in agreement. The last thing he needed was for the alpha to give himself a panic attack over every little thing.

He wasn't going to be scared to live his life because of some freak coming after them. Keith refused to live in fear, to always think about what could happen. They may have had the twins to worry about, but Keith knew that they needed to be strong parents for them. Anything could happen, and it didn't matter how much they tried to avoid it. Bad things always seemed to block their paths. And that's why Keith was going to sleep. Nobody could make him too petrified to shut his eyes, and if that day ever decided to come, Keith would've been better off dead anyways, or so he told himself.

...

Over and over again, that god awful screech kept replaying. The black marks across the road kept being left in his wake, and the skidding never seemed to cease.

The car crunched about as easy as a soda can as it rolled like some sort of dizzying carnival ride. It wrapped around the tree with a piercing shattering noise. The metal body of the car could be heard as it contorted into an entirely new, wonky blob. It was barely even a shape anymore.

Lance felt his eyes open after what felt like an eternal slumber. He moved to sit up, but was stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed the glass shard in his abdomen.

Red had spilled everywhere, even spattered on the inside of the roof. Lance coughed, feeling an excruciatingly sharp pain from his mid-section. He collapsed back into the upholstered driver's seat, only wondering to himself what the hell had happened.

His head was spinning, and he could only breathe heavily in panic. Even trying to take a breath caused his torso to move ever so slightly, and the tiniest shift felt like a swift punch to the gut.

Lance glanced around, and he shot up when he saw Keith in the passenger seat, Keith who had fragments of the windshield stuck in his collarbone and cheeks. Keith who was covered in blood. Keith who was... very... pregnant. His skin looked pasty, whiter than any ghost Lance had ever seen on TV.

" Keith?!" Lance croaked, but it seemed to trail into a hiss.

No response. Nothing to indicate Keith was coherent.

Lance felt his eyes pooling with tears of rage. He lifted his hand, and it was ten times heavier than it normally was. Slowly, he reached over to shake the omega back and forth. It didn't start off erratic, but it quickly got there as Keith's eyes didn't open.

" NO!" Lance shouted, coughing and seeing some blood spew out while he heaved.

It was the most nerve wracking moment of his life as he felt over Keith's neck, searching for any pulse. Any heartbeat, anything at all. When it wasn't there, Lance lost it. He didn't even feel the wound in his abdomen anymore as shock set in.

" Keith! Keith, no! WAKE UP!" Lance sobbed.

...

When Lance's eyes finally shot open, he was drenched in sweat. And for a moment, it seemed like his eyes were sweating as well. But then he pieced it together that he was crying. In his concussed, post wreck mind, he was a little slower than normally. Even though it would be fine in a week or so, Lance was still unsure what was going on.

He felt it on his stitches especially while taking deep breaths.

Keith was fine. Keith was in his arms just like he always was. And Lance couldn't help but pull the smaller boy closer to himself.

That nightmare could've very well been reality, and Lance knew that much. What if Keith had been in the passenger seat? What if the first responders couldn't have helped save him because he was too far gone? Lotor or whoever was behind this could've taken Keith from him just like that, taken his purpose for existing away. In one action, Lotor could've drained the color from Lance's vision, the light from his eyes, the one thing that he went on for; Keith.

Lance felt his lip quivering as he trembled and held him closer, crying quietly into the messy black mullet that he'd grown to love so much. He sniffled a little, unsure how he was supposed to protect him. As much as Keith insisted that he would be fine, Lance knew that he'd get eaten alive without him by his side.

And Lotor had almost made that a reality. Either one of them could've been next, anyone could've been.

Keith began stirring in Lance's arms; even in slumber his mark was active, and it was telling him that his alpha was hurting. He could sense it.

When his violet eyes finally popped open in the mostly dark bedroom, the first thing Keith felt was how badly Lance was shaking beside him. It was almost the worst he'd ever seen from him.

" Babe...?" The omega asked tiredly. It was a very sleep stricken hum, but it was right next to Lance's ear.

Lance kept holding him, cherishing the fact that he was still alive. Normally, he could've admired the glossy haze in Keith's eyes, or his messy bedhead, or even his raspy voice. But no. The only thing Lance could focus on was that Keith was still a functional human being, one with a heartbeat.

And Lotor could've apparently changed that at any second if he chose to.

How was Lance supposed to protect him if he didn't even know what he was fighting? When it was coming? It was all enough to tip his scale, push him to his breaking point.

Keith's drowsy eyebrows were furrowed at first from confusion, but it finally registered that Lance was crying.

" Lance." He quietly whispered, finding it difficult to shift his position with Lance's arms locked around him in such a way. Keith found a way to manage it as he moved a little, and damn, was his back starting to get sore. Yay pregnancy. " Come here." Keith softly spoke, letting Lance cry into his shoulder.

" I'm sorry!" Lance choked on the lump in his throat. " I'm n-not good enough!" He sniffled. " I-I can't pro-protect you..."

" Don't say that." Keith seriously said.

" Why?" Lance whimpered. " It's true."

" No it's not." Keith wrapped his arms around Lance as well, and he moved his hands on the alpha's back in a comforting way. He massaged in circles, wanting to help him calm down in any way he could.

Keith figured that this was most likely some sort of nightmare; he got them enough to know.

" I love you so much... you're amazing." The smaller male told him, feeling Lance beginning to still in their mutual embrace. " I promise that you're way more than good enough. You're perfect."

Lance wasn't really sobbing anymore, but tears were still silently leaking from his eyes as he stayed nuzzled in Keith's shirt.

There was a brief silence between them.

Keith didn't know what else to do once Lance peeled his face back, so he leaned in, pressing a very light kiss to Lance's cheek. It wasn't a quick peck. It was slower, more heartfelt.

" I love you..." Lance murmured, moving in to actually kiss Keith's lips and pull him closer.

In that moment, Keith was the strong one. He got to be more than Lance's omega, someone who was constantly in need of protection from him. And that feeling was bittersweet, mainly because Lance had to be pretty beat down to become this vulnerable. But Keith knew that he could help him, knew that they would make it through all of the bullshit together despite the ever greater odds against them.

When the doorbell rang, Lance immediately shot back from how startled he was, almost falling off the bed. Luckily he didn't, and his stitches were thanking him for that.

That could've been literally anyone. A hitman, ready to shoot them both and finish what they started. Or worse, only kill Lance, take Keith away, and force him into doing Lord only knew what.

" Stay here." Lance almost growled, wanting Keith to know that he meant business. He wiped a couple tears away while standing up. The omega grabbed his good wrist, refusing to let him go.

" You can't."

" Lance, Keith!" Veronica called from downstairs. Both boys' eyes went wide. Keith scrambled from the bed, holding onto Lance as he made his way from the room. It must've been painful to move in such a way with his injuries, but neither of them could focus on that.

" Why the hell would you answ-" Lance was about to yell at her while thumping down the stairs.

" I-"

" Lance! Keith! What the fuck?!" Pidge yelled from outside, and the couple could finally breathe again. Okay. So it was just their friend who also happened to be obsessed with them. No biggie. But by the way she sounded, they weren't in the clear yet.

" Don't move." Lance put his hands on Keith's shoulders once they reached the bottom of the steps. He looked him dead in the eye, and the shorter boy couldn't stand the petrified look in his ocean blue irises. Keith only sighed, nodding and pulling Veronica away from the door. He kept her back, not wanting her to get mixed up in whatever Pidge was freaking out over.

" Pidge?" Lance asked, coming into the doorway. " What are you doing here?"

Pidge only stared at the door in horror. Was it a crime to worry when Lance didn't answer his phone? She couldn't ask him that right then.

Lance turned his head to see what she was staring at, and his heart felt like it dropped out of his chest and into the pit of his stomach.

Across the wooden outside of the front door, someone had carved a message. On the doormat, Lance's phone-which was cracked thanks to the car accident- sat still.

" Forget something?" Lance read the message in a jittery voice.

" What the actual fuck." Pidge exhaled heavily. " I found it like this. Who the hell would-" She cut herself off, too shocked to finish the thought.

Lance knew that he hadn't grabbed his phone from the car. After all, he was unconscious when the first responders got him out. This was a warning, a threat, anything but good.

" Get inside!" Lance ushered the tiny girl in, not wanting to touch his phone. For all he knew, it was rigged to explode or something. Sounded crazy, right? Not to him.

Whoever was doing this was far from finished.