Keith and Lance prepare to celebrate their son's first Christmas with the Space Family and experience their first snowfall together.
Written for the Klancemas event by MonthlyKlance on tumblr
Klancemas 2018
"Baby's First Snowfall"
Dec 1: First Snow
(A future Klance-Family Fic)
"Where's the camera?! The GOOD one? I like JUST had it in my hands! Dammit- we're going to miss it… or worse, I won't have pictures to send to my Mom!" Lance was rushing around like a chicken with his head cut off and Keith couldn't help but chuckle at him.
"Do you mean the one you just put on the table next to allllll of the other crap you've decided we absolutely need for this outing?" he asked mildly, not even pausing in his slow circuit of the room. Lance stopped, turning to the growing pile of supplies on the little kitchen table.
"Yes," he sighed, "that's the one I mean."
Christmas was in one week and this year Pidge was hosting, and since Pidge lived in a tiny deathtrap that was more 'secret lab' than 'home', she'd come up with the idea of a destination holiday for the entire "Pala-Fam", and rented them a block of cozy little cabins at a ski resort. Krolia and Shiro were all settled in with the Holts at the 'big' cabin that served as the main 'hosting' location. The others were scattered in smaller two bedroom cabins in pairs or small family units.
Lance's family had only agreed to letting them out of the big Cuban celebration on the condition that they spent Easter with them AND arrived in Cuba in time for something called 'Old Christmas Day'- which was a thing that Keith hadn't even known existed, but had something to do with an Epiphany or something. He loved Lance's family, but he was sure he would never be able to wrap his head around some of the Catholic stuff. Not that it really mattered right now. Because right now he was getting treated to the sight of Lance, happy and excited and being adorably scatterbrained.
"Want a checklist?" he asked, resorting to old wedding-planning coping techniques. They hadn't even fully unpacked, so it really shouldn't be THIS difficult to find everything they needed.
"Yes," Lance shot him a sheepish smile, "I just want everything to be perfect, you know?"
"I know babe," he answered, "okay- camera? Check. Phones? Check. Boots, coats, hats, scarves, mittens? All check. Fully stocked diaper bag? Check. Baby toboggan? Check. Extra blankets? Check. Looks good to me."
"Carrier!" Lance cried, rushing over to the massive suitcase of baby stuff he'd insisted they bring and rummaging until he found the weird not-a-backpack-thing they had for carrying the baby. "In case he hates the toboggan. He might."
"So we're good?" Keith asked.
"Yes, I think so. You've got Thace?"
"I do. He's happily drooling all over my… what did Matt call it? My 'parka'. See?" He turned so that Lance could get a glimpse of the dark-haired, blue-eyed baby in his arms. Thace was three months old and the light of their lives. He would forever be grateful to Lance's sister, Rachel, who had offered… no… INSISTED that she be their surrogate. "Let's go before you think of something else we absolutely have to have." They'd gotten pretty good at figuring out the bare minimum of baby STUFF that various outings required, but this was a whole new climate, and it seemed to be messing with Lance's head a bit.
Lance stuffed the carrier into the diaper bag, which he slung over his shoulder, then loaded the baby toboggan down with the extra blankets, hauled on his hat and mitts and headed for the door.
"Key?" Keith asked as he jostled the baby into a better position and grabbed his own mittens. Lance just held the cabin key up and rattled it as an answer as he opened the door.
A blast of cold wind hit him in the face and stopped him in his tracks, "maybe we should grab another-"
"Lance! We are walking from our cabin to the NEXT cabin," Keith laughed as he passed Lance and stepped outside, "not going on an arctic expedition. We are literally going next door. We are good. C'mon."
"I just don't want him to get cold," Lance muttered, setting out the sled and locking the cabin up.
"He won't have time to get cold, babe," he reassured his husband.
"Fine… fine… I know you are right… I just…"
"You worry, I know. It's sweet." Keith leaned in to kiss Lance gently. He loved how seriously Lance took parenting, even if it sort of manifested itself in frazzled chaos sometimes. Lance returned the kiss and Keith could feel some of the frenetic energy fade out, feel Lance become more centered and grounded with every passing second.
Unfortunately, the baby didn't find the kiss to be nearly as rewarding and after a minute or so, let out an angry squawk.
"Hey, hey chiquito," whispered Lance, turning his head to nuzzle the baby, "what are you so mad about, hmmm? You want your Papi to pay more attention to you?"
"We stopped moving." Keith pointed out. Thace was a baby that seemed to be personally affronted by staying still. So, essentially… a McClain.
"Right. Alright my little thrill-seeker, let's get you settled in your new ride, hmmm?" He scooped the baby out of Keith's arms and held him above his head as he talked, and Keith pretty much melted into a puddle at the sight. Lance was born to be a father. He was a total natural with kids, who ALL adored him, and every little interaction between him and their son made Keith fall in love with the guy all over again. It was ridiculous, really.
It didn't take long to get the squirmy baby secured in straps and blankets, and then- after a few dozen pictures of Thace; Thace and Papi; Thace and Daddy; Thace and Papi AND Daddy- they were on their way, walking hand in hand down the path to the big cabin. It wasn't far, maybe a 5 minute walk, but it was far enough to provide privacy and to let them really take in the incredible scenery.
The path was snow-covered, hard-packed to keep it from being slippery, but not shovelled. On either side of the path, pristine white snow blanketed a surprisingly gentle slope- considering they were on the side of a mountain. The sun had just started to set and the snow sparkled prettily in the changing light. They'd been so harried when they'd arrived earlier that day that Keith hadn't really paid much attention to the view.
"Wow," he whispered after a moment, "of all the planets, and everything we've seen in space… I don't think anything has managed to be MORE beautiful than Earth can be."
"I know, right?" Lance said, swinging their joined arms. "I didn't think anything could top Varadero beach… but this place just might."
"That is HIGH praise," Keith laughed.
"Just don't tell my family I said that- they are already mad at me for denying them Thace's first Christmas."
"We are going to be there for the Epipha-whatever… and we stayed with them for almost a MONTH when he was born. They can't be that mad!"
"Oh, they can… but they aren't the only ones who know how to lay out a guilt trip. I kept talking about all the Christmases your mother missed, and how we all bonded in space and made our own family…" Lance grinned at him.
"Evil," he chuckled, "my husband is evil. Your mother must be so pi- oh my god.. Look!"
The sky was glittering. It took a minute for him to connect what he was seeing with reality.
"It's snowing," Lance breathed, his voice awed.
They'd both seen snow before… on the ground. But neither had ever been anywhere cold when the snow was actually falling out of the sky. The sight was so magical they both stopped walking, just to watch it. Even Thace seemed mesmerized by the little floating snowflakes, gurgling happily to himself.
He turned to smile at Lance and his breath caught in his throat. His husband had his head tipped back as he gazed up at the sky. A couple of snowflakes had caught on his lashes, sparkling and twinkling as he blinked. His blue eyes were practically glowing with delight, his cheeks flushed and rosy from the cold air. But it was his smile- it was ALWAYS his smile- that did Keith in. How did one person manage to pack so much sheer JOY into a smile?
"Gorgeous," he whispered, squeezing Lance's hand.
"This tops Varadero beach," Lance breathed. Keith agreed, but he hadn't really been talking about the mountainside.
Lance turned to him, and his smile changed. He let go of Keith's hand and reached up, brushing the mitten against Keith's bangs, "you've got snow in your hair." The flakes dusted his face- little specks of cold that melted almost instantly and felt surprisingly like the spray from crashing waves. "You know what I've always wanted to do?"
"What, babe?" He made a mental note to thank Pidge for coming up with this plan. This was already the best Christmas he'd ever had- with his husband, and their son, in the snow.
"This!" Lance stuck his tongue out, head tipped back so far that his hat fell off, landing near Thace's feet in the toboggan. He giggled blissfully as snowflakes landed on his tongue, his eyes drifting shut from the happiness of it.
Keith lifted the camera and snapped a couple of pictures, not wanting to risk EVER forgetting how Lance looked right at this moment. Lance cracked one eye open to peek at him, letting him know that he hadn't missed the sound of the shutter. He felt his cheeks color, and was thankful that he could blame the cold air, and turned to take a bunch of pictures of the baby, who seemed to be loving the tickle of snowflakes melting on his pudgey little cheeks just as much as his Papi was and who looked every bit as beautiful against the white backdrop.
It was getting darker, and Thace's little nose was starting to run… and the others were waiting on them.
"We should get moving," Keith said on a sigh.
"One thing first," Lance whispered, turning to face Keith. He wrapped his free arm around Keith's neck and kissed him. It was strange- their faces were cool from the brisk air and the falling snow, but Lance's lips were warm, inviting. He smiled into the kiss in that way that Keith loved and held him close, the camera pinned between their chests and the happy noises of their son the only thing they could hear in the magical stillness of the moment.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."