Chapter Text
“Seriously, Emilio, stop pestering me,” Lance huffed, shouldering his older brother away as Emilio draped himself across Lance’s shoulders. Having such a heavy sloth of a person weighing him down was not making cooking any easier. Lance had never known anyone more persistent.
“Don’t be mean, Lance,” Keith said as he wandered into the kitchen. He was carrying folded chairs that they’d take over to his Tía’s house, though he was meant to have taken them to the car by now. Lance assumed one of his siblings distracted Keith. Quite possibly Polly, considering she absolutely adored Keith. Lance was pretty sure she would develop a crush any day now and he’d have some fierce competition for Keith’s attention.
“I’m not being mean, Emilio is being mean,” Lance complained. He shuffled out of Emilio’s constricting grip and finished packing away the food he’d helped his mother make into plastic containers. “Emilio, aren’t you meant to be helping with the chairs? What kind of adult are you?”
Emilio snorted, and ruffled his hair once before disappearing, muttering about Lance being too busy for his age.
Lance just rolled his eyes. “You’re meant to be on my side, Keith.”
Keith set the chairs down by the doorway and wandered closer, leaning over Lance’s shoulder to peer at the food he was packing away. “I am on your side,” he mumbled. “You’ve got the food.”
Lance sniffled. “You only want me for my body and my food, I get it.”
Keith hid his smile in the crook of his neck as his hands found Lance’s waist. “That’s exactly what I want you for,” he confirmed, squeezing his fingers.
Lance laughed quietly. He loved it when Keith was like this – relaxed and playful, completely comfortable in his surroundings and in himself. He was like that a lot more now that he didn’t have his parents staring at his back. Lance thought that living with Shiro was doing Keith the world of good.
It wasn’t like he had completely lost touch with his parents, either. After Shiro and Lance had confronted them, they’d contacted Keith. Sure, it was just over two weeks later, but it was a start. It seemed that they didn’t really want to lose Keith after all, even if they didn’t agree with his lifestyle. They were trying to make things better, albeit slowly and tediously, but Lance knew it was better than nothing. He thought Keith might have appreciated their efforts too, even if he didn’t go out of his way to please them anymore.
At least living with Shiro meant that Lance could see Keith more often. He didn’t have to worry about being home at a certain time – though he was still respectful towards Shiro’s schedule and never made himself into a bother – and he was free to come to all the Saturday night bonfires he wanted to (which was all of them).
Like that night, for example. Keith had become a fixture in the evening activities now, and Lance’s family easily made room for him. He had a chair to himself and if Lance claimed a fire for them, then no one stole it away like they probably would have if it was just Lance. Keith was slowly learning everyone’s names and even a few phrases in Spanish.
“That’s so not true, you’re definitely with me for my sparkling personality and charming demeanour, too,” Lance said, practically cooing at Keith’s flushed face. “I’m irresistible.”
Keith laughed. It was a light, carefree sound that seemed to filter through the room like sunlight through a window. “Okay, okay, enough of that,” he said, insistent. “Kiss me instead.”
And who was Lance to resist such a sweet request?
In either case, he knew Keith would be alright. Lance would make sure he would be. They’d work on his relationship with his parents, on Keith’s cooking, on getting themselves stationed at the same base – and then see where the future took them.
It was looking pretty damn fine from where Lance was standing.