INSTAGRAM - klance

part fifty four- meeting lance's parents

keith was nervous. he was more than nervous. he was abso-fucking-lutely freaking out.

"chill out, keith!" shiro urged in vain as he brushed his brother's hair.

"i can't chill out, shiro. i'm meeting my boyfriend's religious cuban family and i'm a korean guy covered head to toe in tattoos."

shiro groaned and put down the hairbrush, using his hands to floof the hair. "brother, you will charm them. i know you can. and we don't have the time or pale foundation necessary to cover up all three thousand of your tattoos."

"lance told me like, ten thousand things that i'm not allowed to do. how am i supposed to remember them all?"

"keith," shiro sighed. "act like a decent human being and you'll be fine. now tell me everything."

keith took a deep breath. "okay. so i'm going to lance's mother's house, or as he calls it, the family house, where we're going to have dinner. according to lance, i've passed the test if she invites me to stay for dessert."

"that sounds simple enough."

"it's not. he told me like a thousand other things i already can't remember."

shiro grabbed his brother by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. "keith. you got this. you charmed the guy so you can charm his family. i'm sure."

looking in the mirror and rationalising his thoughts, keith ran a hand through his freshly brushed hair. "you're right. i got this."

-

by the time keith had parked outside the suburban house, he was already second-guessing himself.

he forced himself to walk up the driveway and knock on the door.

relief flowed through his veins as he saw lance. he'd been slightly nervous that one of lance's thousands of family members would answer and he'd have to make small talk.

"hey baby," lance mumbled and wrapped keith in a hug. he understood how hard the evening was going to be for keith.

keith couldn't say it didn't hurt, seeing lance's huge, happy family. he did notice the sibling fights and the squabbles between lance's grandparents but he would kill to be able to worry about that stuff.

lance's hand was in his the whole time, squeezing and providing support. by the end of the evening keith was sure he had a few broken fingers.

the food was great, and keith didn't really know any of the dishes but he enjoyed not listening while lance explained them to him. he'd rather just get lost in lance's eyes.

god, this is beginning to sound super gay.

he was snapped out of his thoughts as lance's mom cleared her throat. "so... keith. do you like the food?"

"of course, mrs mcclain," keith responded. "it's beautiful. i've never tasted anything like it."

he was met with an approving smile.

"so, keith," lance's older sister piped up. "what do you do?"

keith smiled nervously. "i'm doing aerospace engineering. i have my pilot's license too- my father left me a plane. it's no jet, of course, but it's fun to fly and really great to work on. i want to end up working at nasa one day."

that answer elicited some positive murmurs from the family around the table, and keith's cheeks flushed red.

i've never felt shy like this.

lance's hand squeezed his again and he felt better.

keith was sure that he was passing all the tests- he helped clear away the dishes, he listened intently to all the stories he was told and he definitely didn't mention that he smoked, despite desperately wanting one at some points.

sure enough, lance's mom cast a knowing glance at lance and turned to keith. "would you like to stay for dessert, mijo?"

lance beamed in pride, like his mom had just given keith a medal of valour. keith figured he wasn't supposed to ask what mijo meant, so he just accepted her request and smiled.

at the end of the night when lance's parents and grandparents had gone into the living room to watch tv and the others had gone upstairs, keith finally got a minute alone with his boyfriend.

"i was scared this wouldn't turn out well but it was actually a great night," keith confessed.

"my family is your family, keith. i still can't believe she called you mijo! she doesn't even call luis that!"

keith laughed and kissed lance, running his fingers through his soft brown hair.

they broke the kiss and lance wrapped keith in a warm embrace.

"thank you for being so impressive tonight. i love you. you even managed to answer all the questions about your tattoos with grace."

"i love you too, blue," keith chuckled. "we better get back to your parents so i can say goodbye."

"good idea."

they linked hands and walked back to the room where the tv was softly glowing. there was noises of running and pillow fights from upstairs.
keith's heart was warm.

-

a/n:

next chapter is the final chapter.

god i hope this one wasn't too shit.

thank u and i love ur comments

-frankie