Keith sat in the car as Lance was locking up their apartment and grabbing a few last minute things for their trip. The heat was on so Keith took off his winter coat to reveal the red sweater he wore underneath. He was startled by the driver's side door opening, but relaxed when he saw it was just Lance getting in.
"Ready to go?" Lance asked as he slid his seat belt on and tossed the plastic bag in the back seat.
"I guess, are you sure your family will like me?" Keith asked as Lance started to pull out of the driveway
"Don't worry, they'll love you," Lance said as he gave Keith a reassuring smile. "Now plug in one of our phones and lets gets some Christmas spirit going in here."
Three hours later, Lance pulled up to his families large house. Lance pulled into the large driveway and parked the car. The heat and music shutting off as the car was turned off. Keith unbuckled his seat belt and pulled on his winter coat.
Lance grabbed his and Keith's suitcases out of the trunk while Keith grabbed the backpack out of the back seat. Keith then followed Lance to the front door where Lance rang the doorbell. A few moments later the door opened and the bells on the wreath rang as it did.
On the other side was a woman. She had tanned skin like Lance, chestnut hair that was left loose and wavy down past her shoulders, and brown eyes. She wore dark blue bootcut jeans, a red silk blouse, and a black blazer. Around her neck she wore a silver pendant necklace, in her ears she wore simple pearl stud earrings, and around her wrists she wore gold and silver bracelets.
"Mi hijo!" the woman exclaimed as a smile grew on her face. Lance put the suitcases down and drew the woman into a hug.
"Hola Mama," Lance said with a smile. The woman turned to Keith and glanced him up and down as if she recognized him.
"Is this Keith?" the woman asked to which Lance nodded.
"Yes, Keith this my mother Rosa McClain," Lance said as he turned to his boyfriend.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. McClain," Keith said with a shy smile. Rosa smiled and placed a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Please, Rosa is just fine Keith," Rosa said as she stepped aside to let the couple in, closing the door behind them. "Stefan! Ven aquí por favor!" Rosa yelled as Keith and Lance took off their coats and boots.
A moment later, a man walked down from upstairs. He was taller than Rosa and had tanned skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. He wore black jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, and a black sweater. He and Lance looked so similar that Keith made the connection right away that Stefan was Lance's father.
"Si Rosa?" Stefan asked as he pushed his hair back.
"Este es el novio de Lance, Keith," Rosa said to which Stefan nodded and turned to Keith and held a hand out.
"Pleasure to meet you Keith, I'm Stefan, Lance's father," Stefan said with a smile.
"Pleasure to meet you as well," Keith said as he shyly returned the handshake and smile.
"Can you help the boys to the downstairs bedroom while I finish getting dinner ready?" Rosa asked with a kind smile.
"Of course," Stefan said with a smile. Stefan picked up one of the suitcases and gestured for the couple to follow him. "Follow me boys."
Stefan led them downstairs and towards the bedroom that Rosa had set up for them a few days earlier. Stefan sat the suitcase by the door and watched as Lance and Keith headed to the bed and sat down.
"Dinner will be ready shortly, hope you like chili Keith," Stefan said with a smile.
"One of my favourite dishes," Keith said with a smile as he pulled off his sweater to reveal the plain black t-shirt underneath.
"Where are Marco and Luis?" Lance asked as he had noticed his little brothers weren't around.
"Sleepover at their friends' house for tonight, Veronica will be home in a few minutes though," Stefan said with a smile.
Ten minutes later, Rosa called Keith and Lance up for dinner. Veronica was introduced to Keith and the family sat down at the table to eat. Before Keith could dig into his bowl, Rosa's voice stopped him.
"Keith, I know this must be weird to you," Rosa said as she remembered one of the conversations she had with Lance about Keith's troubled past of being in foster families and the orphanage. "I want to you know that as long as you're here with us, out home is your home," Rosa said with a smile to which Stefan and Veronica nodded in agreement.
Keith was frozen in shock. Out of all the families he had been in, Lance's family was the first to be so open with him as fast as they had. Most took a few days or a week to open up, and by then he was already being sent back to the orphanage before he could really bond with the family. Keith smiled and tipped his head to the smiling woman.
"Gracias Rosa," Keith said to which both Lance and family were shocked "I know a little Spanish," Keith said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Really though, thank you."
"De nada Keith," Rosa said. Afterwards, the family dug into their meal and talked about the upcoming holidays.
With each day spent at his family's place, Keith began to think of Lance's home as his own.