The kitchen was filled with the spicy aroma of homemade chili and pots clinked together noisily. Delphine was at the stove, stirring something in a small pot with a laundry basket balanced against her hip. It was filled with a mix of her clothes, and Keith's. 

The clothes smelled like a mix of body odor and faint cologne. Her brown hair was tied into a messy bun, sitting on top of her head like a parrot. A few strips escaping and framing her face. Her glasses were sliding down her nose slowly as Keith walked through the archway connecting the kitchen and the dining area.

Keith was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, casual sneakers, and a flannel shirt. His hair was loosely hanging to about his shoulders. His bangs were held back by a few glittery-red hair clips Nova had gotten for her third birthday. He held a slip of paper in his hands. He was frowning as he placed it on the counter in Delphine's field of vision.

"What?" She asked as she placed the wooden spoon down on the counter. A napkin was placed under the spoon heel to avoid staining the off-white counters any further.

"It's a Daddy and me event," Keith stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Delphine sighed, placed down her basket, and rolled her eyes. She placed a lid on the pot she was stirring.

"What about it?" She asked and picked up the laundry basket. Keith looked at her with a deadpanned stare. On the sheet, Nova's name was scribbled on it with sloppy block letters written with a yellow crayon. Delphine grew increasingly annoyed.

"I'm not her dad!" He argued. Delphine blocked out his voice as she began to walk to the washer and dryer. It was a few rooms away, the machines settled in the bathroom the house had come with. Even if it was a small bathroom, the bathroom held a washer and dryer stacked on one another, a shower, a sink, and a toilet. The tile floors were often littered with towels or clothes. Not that Delphine or Keith cared to keep the bathroom very clean.

Delphine walked out of the kitchen and was once again stopped by Keith. She frowned and lowered her glare at the 14-year-old.

"Keith, just go to the damn school event. It'll be fun!" Delphine commented as she balanced a filled laundry basket against her hip. Keith winced at her.

"Does she even see me as her dad?" He asks.

Delphine softens and her shoulders slump.

"Yeah. Hell, Keith, she invited you to this Daddy and me school event! If you're going to go to the event start drivin' Nova's thing is in 20 minutes."

Keith thought about it for a few minutes. The more he thought of being Nova's dad, the more he wanted to have her call him her dad. He had raised her up until this point, so why wouldn't he be her dad? Maybe... this was a way of telling Keith she wanted him to be her dad.

He left out the door as fast as he could.

She almost squealed in delight when she saw Keith leave. Her lips turned upward into a small smile. She placed the dirty laundry in the washer.

"That's my boy," She murmured to herself before heading back to the kitchen. Chili with garlic bread sounded amazing.

The room was filled with middle-aged men, Keith realized as he walked in the brightly colored building. He wasn't even to Nova's class and he already felt out of place. Her preschool was nice, but being the only teenager made him a bit self-conscious.

The floors were covered in a dull grey carpet with red numbers at every door. Nova had been assigned to room 5 when she had been enrolled. Keith turned sharply and saw her room number.

The room was loud. Cheers from kids were erupting from the room. There was a class of ten kids, 6 boys, and 4 girls. Keith looked around the room. Hideous yellow walls greeted him as Nova's teacher approached him. Her face was lined with worry and brown eyes covered by a pair of thick glasses. Her hair was greying in streaks and blended in with the braid she had tied her hair into.

"Are you lost?" Keith was hit with the reminder that he hadn't met her teacher yet. She had spoken to him over the phone, but Delphine was always at the parent-teacher meetings. She must have assumed he was some weird kid who wandered into a building labeled Bright as Highlighters Preschool.

Keith shook his head. He held up the paper to her.

"I'm here for the Daddy and me event, I hope I'm not too late." He informed. A blush rose to his cheeks. Before she could answer Keith, a voice called his name.

"Keef!" Nova screamed, running up to him and tackling his leg. She giggled as he picked her up by the armpits.

"Hey kiddo," He greeted and let her attach to his side.

"Ms. Bluet, this is my Daddy, Keef!"

At that moment, Keith could not have been more proud of what she said.

Daddy.

She called him her Daddy.

"H-hello, uh, Keith!" Ms. Bluet stammered. Keith smiled at her and put Nova down.

"Hi, I'm Nova's dad."

Damn, that felt nice to say.

"Come on, Daddy, I made you a picture!"

There that word was again.

Daddy.

"Daddy, wake up!" Zelda called, Nova shaking her father's shoulders. Keith groaned and opened his eyes, he was in bed. Dinner had been a blur and bedtime couldn't have come sooner for him.

"What? I was asleep." He grumbled in his pillow. Zelda huffed with a frown.

"Move over," She demanded.

"Can't you sleep in your own beds?" He asks the girls, his arm lazily pointing to the cots Allura had pulled from storage. Hunk, bless his soul, had gone around the castle to find soft blankets and pillows to help the cots comfort meters.

"No, they smell like cheese." Nova piped up, moving her head under Keith's arm. Keith sighed but moved slowly to the left.

"There, I moved. Now come on in, the blanket is getting cold." He exclaimed as he opened the blanket up. His legs were exposed to the cold air. Zelda and Nova nuzzled into his sides.

"Night," Zelda said.

"Night," Nova repeated.

"Go to sleep," Keith told them.