Work Text:
It happened as gradually as falling in love did. The excitement, the flutters, the relationship high all faded and settled into comfort. It wasn’t that it wasn’t good or fun or exciting anymore; every single day with Keith was something Lance cherished with all his heart. There was just something magical about not needing anything particularly special to make up their time.
They didn’t need extravagant dates or lengthy confessions anymore. A look in the evening held every I love you, and a date that consisted of sleeping in on a Saturday with breakfast in bed was already special. Moving around each other in the kitchen, watching TV and taking turns to lay their head in the other’s lap, having a full conversation while one took a shower and the other used the restroom, all of the mundane moments became something wonderful.
They weren’t special, but at the same time they were, because they were the kind of things he could only do with Keith. It was like a language they’d created, a language they’d become fluent in, and no one else needed to know it, even if the words were simple.
In the two years they lived together, away from their families, making new acquaintances and creating a life that revolved around them together, Lance found that things had changed for him.
He’d always loved the idea of marrying the person he loved, but then there was a time he didn’t think he could truly consider the idea with anyone who wasn’t Allura. Marriage was correlated to Allura, a family, a future, it was all tied to her so strongly that it felt like betrayal for Lance to want to consider it with someone else. He became content with the idea of forever without marriage.
Until now.
Until the moment where Keith came home from work, greeting Lance with a tired kiss and a smile, then kissed him two more times as if to say everything was okay now that he was home. He laid on the couch for Kosmo to climb on top of him, and Lance already knew it was the kind of day where Keith needed a warm bath and a shoulder rub. Wordless, but enough. A small moment of extra kisses and routine, but enough to flip his world around.
“Mi amor,” Lance said, lifting his legs and sitting down to lay them over his lap. He ran his hands down his legs idly, smiling at Keith as his affections bubbled over in his chest. “I got paid today. Wanna order takeout?”
“That sounds good,” Keith said with a yawn before meeting his eyes and smiling. “How’s the manuscript going? Any work done today?”
“Revised two a whole bunch, reordered, and I realized I need another poem in between. Alexa sent some sketches of the art pieces I asked her for and it just adds that extra bit, you know?”
“Can I read it yet?”
“When it’s not as messy,” Lance promised. “I want you to experience it as a whole. Even if it doesn’t get picked up anytime soon, I want it to be close to perfect for you to read it.”
Keith hummed, pouting playfully. “Hm. Okay. I’ll try to be patient. Work?”
“Charlie-”
“Oh that fucker.”
Lance laughed and pinched his side. “Mi vida, he’s a fifteen-year-old!”
“Yeah but he’s a little shit.”
“Well, actually today he handed in a pretty good essay on the Gloria Anzaldua piece I assigned. He seemed to really enjoy it. I think the class was just relieved they didn’t have to read another straight-white-male ‘classic,’ you know?”
“Well, they have a fantastic teacher who knows good writing. It probably helps that you’re gorgeous. Keeps their attention on you.”
“ Keith!”
“I’m just saying I had a very attractive AP US History teacher and I did way better in that class than in any other history class I’ve taken in my life, pretty boy.” He smirked and sat up to kiss his cheek. “What would my junior year self do if he knew I’d end up with a super hot English teacher?”
“Uh-huh,” Lance said with a roll of his eyes. “Come on, go take a bath so I can order the food, I’m hungry.”
Keith scrunched his nose. “Okay, okay. Kosmo, off.” Kosmo hopped off the couch and curled up under the coffee table.
As he got up and went into the hallway, Lance called after him. Keith turned around to look at him. “I love you,” Lance said with a smile.
Keith grinned. “Te amo. Y más a esos ojitos azules!” He called the last part back as he walked away, leaving Lance to laugh.
Later, when Keith returned in just his boxers, his hair a soaking mess while they sat together scarfing down their takeout, Lance couldn’t get it out of his head how lucky he was. He found himself yearning for the chance to stand in a church, placing a ring on Keith’s finger for the world to know they were bound. That they’d promised each other forever.
Keith once asked him if they were allowed to kiss in a church. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to kiss in front of their friends and family at the steps of an altar? To be Keith’s forever in every possible sense, to promise to be at his side in every way he could?
--
“I don’t know, I tried the chicken katsu last time, I want something different-”
“Buttercup, just get it. You know you’re gonna steal from my plate anyway.”
“Yeah but-”
“Hey guys?”
Hunk and Pidge looked up from the menu to look at Lance. “Don’t tell me you can’t decide either. Seriously, we can each get something different then just share,” Hunk said.
“No, that’s not- I know what I’m getting. I just wanted to ask for some help with something. Maybe.”
Pidge shared a look with Hunk then put the menu down. “What is it?”
“I think…. I think I want….”
The two of them waited, eyeing him with concern. “Lance?”
“I think I want to propose to Keith.”
“ What?” Lance looked back at them with a sheepish smile. “When did you decide this?” Pidge asked.
“Uh…. Like last week? The idea hit me, and I… haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. But I know he’s not keen on marriage, but I don’t know maybe that’s changed after all this time. We’re practically a married couple, it’s just… the rings aren’t there, you know?”
“Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God.” Pidge muffled her words by hiding her face in her hands.
Hunk looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Well, how can we help? What do you want us to see his stance on marriage? I think that would make him suspicious.”
“Okay. Okay, we gotta plan. Take our time,” Pidge said. “We just need to be subtle.” She nodded at Lance and took his hands. “We got this, man.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. “Oh my God, Lance. You’re gonna get engaged.”
“Maybe! Maybe. I don’t know! I mean, he might want to wait more, which is okay, I just… the concept is back in my head, and…. I don’t wanna jump ahead. I want to be sure it’s something he’s up for, you know?”
“Yeah,” Hunk said with a smile. “We get that. Don’t worry, Lance. We got you.”
“I just. I need a minute. I’ll get the stupid chicken katsu,” Pidge said, standing up from their table. She walked away, disappearing into the bathroom.
Lance laughed and looked over at Hunk. “That wild?”
“No. Not wild,” Hunk said. “It’s just kind of perfect. What, like you wouldn’t cry the day I say I wanna propose to her?”
Lance gasped and punched Hunk’s shoulder over the table. “Dude, don’t joke about that! I’ve had your wedding plans prepared since eighth grade.”
“I’m heavily second guessing asking you to be my best man.”
“It’s cool, I’ll be Pidge’s.”
---
Being an adult was busy work. Most of the day, Lance was absorbed by teaching, and when he had time, he worked on his manuscript. Free time was precious, and if he wasn’t lounging around with Keith for it, they were visiting their friends or their siblings.
Weekends though- weekends were the best. They called for sleeping in. They called for being able eat junk food all day like irresponsible adults, cashing in dog-cuddles and kisses, lazy afternoon sex, and letting themselves take a break.
“Darling, we gotta get groceries tomorrow.”
“Whoa, little accent came out there,” Lance said with a smirk.
“Shut up, I’m groggy,” Keith said with a sheepish grin. A gentle blush dusted his cheeks. “We need to figure out holidays this year. I’d kind of really like it if you came to my parents, but it’s hard because I promised Karina I’d split it between her and my parents. So we’re technically splitting three ways between your family and mine.”
“Well, why don’t we do Thanksgiving split with your parents, then do Christmas at my parents’? Thanksgiving isn’t as big a deal as Christmas to my parents, and we do Christmas outside. Thanksgiving, you wouldn’t even be able to go inside the house.” Keith fixed him with a tired look. “It wasn’t a jab, just a fact!” Lance added. “You can’t be offended about not being allowed inside the house, you knew my mom’s rule.”
“I just figured Thanksgiving could be at Luis and Maya’s or at Marco’s. It’s not like Alexa can go in the house either.” Keith frowned and skimmed the pantry for a snack. “Well Christmas is kind of a big deal on my side too. It’s the biggest holiday of the year. I don’t want to choose one place or the other.”
Lance walked over to him, noting the way his shoulders were beginning to tense. Visiting his parents’ house was always a touchy subject ever since he told his parents they didn’t have plans to get married anytime soon. Even more so around holiday times. Keith said he felt like a dog being left outside after a while.
Though Maya and Luis offered their place for celebrations, it was a smaller house.
“Hey,” Lance said. Keith sighed and looked at him. “My family celebrates on Christmas Eve. Doesn’t yours celebrate Christmas Day?” Keith nodded. “So… we can go to my parents’ on the 24th, spend the night at my brother’s, then come back on Christmas to split between your parents.” He rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “I really don’t think Mami would mind if I spent Thanksgiving with your family. And I have the whole week off, so we can visit for leftovers or something.”
Keith nodded and turned around to wrap his arms around Lance. “That sounds good,” he said softly. “I love you.”
Lance kissed his cheek and held him tighter. “Te amo. Come on, you’re not hungry, you’re bored. We’ll get groceries tomorrow.” Lance pulled him away from the pantry.
---
The desire to get married magnified during Christmas. Every time they went to see Lance’s family, the kids flocked to him. Nadia and Sylvio always had something new to show him- a dance, a drawing, a video. They especially loved getting both Keith and Alexa to show them new dances. Alondra, Luis and Maya’s toddler, liked playing with him because Keith tossed her in the air and spun her around until she couldn’t stop giggling and hiding her face in her neck.
But seeing Keith cradle Julian, Luis and Maya’s baby who was only a couple months old- that just pierced right through Lance’s heart. Keith was nervous about holding him at first, whispering about him looking so fragile. But once he’d received the baby, bundled up in enough blankets to keep him warm in the middle of winter, he couldn’t take his attention away from him.
Lance watched him feed him a tiny bottle, watched the way his eyes widened when tiny fingers clung to his pinky.
“I thought that only happened in movies,” Keith whispered.
Lance laughed and looked at Julian’s pudgy little face. “You gotta burp him.”
“I don’t wanna move him.”
“Amor.”
“Look at him!” he whisper-shouted. “He’s fast asleep, I can’t just wake him, I’ll hurt him-”
“Don’t you remember burping Alondra when she was a baby?”
“She was older than this one.” Lance laughed and helped Keith turn Julian, resting him against his shoulders. He fixed the blankets and Keith hesitantly began to burp him. “Won’t the music wake him?”
“Latine babies learn to sleep through it. It’s practically a lullaby,” Lance said. The sound of a trumpet blasted from the speaker, but Julian stayed asleep, proving his point.
“Tio, look what Alexa taught me to do!” Nadia sat beside Lance and showed off a beaded ring, holding a big box under her arm. “Tia Vero and her got me a jewelry set. Sylvio won’t let me practice on him and everyone else is dancing or having grown up talks,” she said with a pout.
“Are these elastic? Make sure it’s not too tight on your finger, Nadia,” Keith said.
“It’s not, it’s string. Look.” She pulled out the instructions and stared intently at them. “Alexa said…. Yeah, and it’s a string…. Yeah! See I have this little tape to measure the string for the jewelry.”
“Oh, well we’re not doing anything. You can make something for us,” Lance offered.
“You want a ring or a bracelet? The bracelets are a little bit hard to take off.” She struggled to pull her hand out of the bracelet to show what she meant.
“Yeah, that’d work better with elastic…. Okay, a ring.”
“I’ll make them matching but with your favorite colors,” she said, excitedly grabbing their hands. Lance laughed and made sure to pay attention to the measurement when Nadia took Keith’s measurement. It would come in handy to know just in case.
---
All of February felt like a slap in the face. They never celebrated Valentine’s day on Valentine’s day. That was just their tradition. They celebrated in September, commemorating the day they first met. But it was all the jewelry commercials, and the heart boxes, all the videos circulating of people proposing at dinner, with flash mobs, on beautiful mountainsides.
Hunk and Pidge had done their scouting. They took their time, and while it drove Lance crazy, it worked. They figured out that marriage was still off the table to Keith. They made a comment about wedding ceremonies, and Keith brushed it off with a snide remark that hurt Lance more than it should’ve. But Keith was also quick to explain they were his personal views, and that marriage would be great for Hunk and Pidge if they ever wanted that, and Pidge could only facepalm in exasperation.
Lance really thought that it might be different after nearly four years of being together.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Lance tore his gaze from where Kosmo was curled into a fluffy ball, sleeping soundly. “Hey, principe,” he said, lifting his arm for Keith to take his place beside him. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
Lance hesitated, but he knew it would be better to be transparent than to hide it away and burst later. “What you said today. About marriage being kind of useless. I don’t know, it’s just….”
“You knew my thoughts on marriage.”
“I thought you said you understood it more when Shiro and Adam got married.”
Keith shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, it makes sense for some people. I just never felt that it could make sense for me.”
“What if we want a family? Seeing you with kids is wonderful, you know…? We could adopt like Shiro and Adam. Or have a surrogate. Maybe foster like you wanted. Wouldn’t that be easier as a married couple?”
Keith frowned. “I don’t want to get married for the sake of other things being easier, Lance. And I know that’s not all it is for you.” Before Lance could respond, Keith gently placed his finger on Lance’s lips. “Wait. Look, I…. I hear you. I agree with you. You’re it for me, and I know that. And maybe a family is something we’ll want and be able to have at some point, but right now? Right now we’re both settling into things. We got lucky being able to come back to this house after I graduated, but we’re both on small salaries.” Lance hummed and lowered his gaze. “My love. I’m not saying no. Maybe I will change my mind. But let’s give it some time, okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
Maybe Keith could tell that Lance needed some space, because he smiled sadly and kissed his cheek. “I’m gonna go for a run with Kosmo, okay? I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Be careful. I love you.”
“Te amo.” Keith pressed another kiss to his forehead then got up and whistled for Kosmo to follow.
It wasn’t as devastating as the first time he’d heard the same words. Still, Lance would be lying if he said he hadn’t daydreamed of a perfect outdoor wedding ever since the day marriage came back into his head. Still, he understood the correlations Keith had.
The time when he imagined exchanging rings with someone had been ideas placed in his head by someone manipulative and cruel. Lance couldn’t blame Keith for that. He didn’t.
By the time Keith came back home, he smelled like grass, and his clothes clung to him with how much he’d been sweating. Still, Lance engulfed him in a hug, allowing the stink to encase him.
“Hey, darling. You okay?” Lance nodded. “You know I love you, right?”
“Of course I do,” Lance said, pulling back to look at him. “I just needed a minute to come to terms with it, but…. We’re good.” He took Keith’s hands and kissed his knuckles. “I have everything I could ever want. All that other stuff would be nice, but… we have our family right here. You, me, and Kosmo. Te amo, mi amor.” He kissed him before nudging him to the bathroom. “Go shower, because you reek.”
Keith laughed, hooking his fingers with Lance’s. “Join me?” Lance rolled his eyes, but let Keith tug him along. After all, he draped himself all over Keith, so he might as well.
When they were both showered, eating leftovers on the couch as they watched a new series, Keith took Lance’s hand. “Our anniversary is in a few days. Do you want to celebrate the day of or on the weekend?”
“It’d make more sense to do it on a weekend, no? We won’t be tired from work, we can go out and eat and not worry about having to do anything for the next day.” Lance smiled and scooted closer to him. “Are we planning together or is it a surprise?”
“We can plan together. I don’t know, it’s hard to top all our past dates, but so long as I’m with you.”
“Can you believe it’ll be four years?”
“It feels like I’ve known you for longer,” Keith said softly. “What’s four years when we have the rest of our lives together?”
“God I love that you’re as much of a romantic as me, I can’t believe I ever thought you weren’t.”
Keith smiled widely, his nose scrunching up as his cheeks colored.
---
He was in the middle of a presentation in his fourth class when an office aide came into his room with a flower bouquet. It looked hectic, full of purple flowers, sunflowers, and hyacinths.
“These arrived at the front office for you, Mr. McClain,” the aide said. She was in his morning class. The class ooh’d teasingly in unison, making Lance’s cheeks turn red.
“Thanks, Montserrat.” She grinned as she handed over the bouquet.
“Who’s it from?” one of his students asked.
“My partner,” Lance answered. “It’s our anniversary today.”
“How many years?”
“Four,” he said, smiling as he read the note with a dandelion doodled on it.
Sweetheart- thank you for showing me the magic of giving a boy flowers. Happy Anniversary. -Tu principe
“What’s it say?”
Lance shot a glare at his student. “That’s none of your business. Come on, refocus, what’s the metaphor of the story? How can you take the influence into your own work?”
Despite himself, he couldn’t take his mind off the bouquet. It fit perfectly on his desk, and it brought back memories of so many things. The sunflowers Keith gave him for the weeks they’d known each other, the hyacinths for Keith’s dance performance, the blue roses from their first Valentine’s day in September. Flowers that didn’t make sense together, but still managed to pull together the past four and a half years.
The rest of the day was hopeless for him. He couldn’t concentrate, and he didn’t really mind it. His students clearly enjoyed filling the time with their own discussion that was only half on-topic. As he was driving home, he got a call from Keith.
“Are you off work already?” Lance asked, turning the volume up in his car.
“Yeah I got out early. Did you get the flowers?”
“I did,” he said with a smile. “I was going to wait until this weekend for your gift, but…. Well, I’m almost home. Why don’t we go out and get dinner?”
“That sounds perfect. I’ll be waiting.”
Keith hung up and Lance arrived at the house in ten minutes. He opened the door, set his flowers on the counter, and walked down the hall.
“Lance? Oof! Whoa! Hey, love,” Keith said with a laugh as Lance barrelled into him, wrapping him in a tight hug before peppering his face with kisses. “Oh, man, you’re worse than Kosmo.”
“Hey, don’t compare me to our dog,” Lance said with a fake glare. “But also, what did you expect? You took me by surprise. And I love it. I love the flowers, the note, I love you.”
“Yo tambien te amo, mi cielo,” Keith said, cheeks turning red like they always did when he spoke Spanish. “Did you want to change or should we head out now? I’m starving.”
“I just need to look a little less teacher-y. Give me ten minutes.” Keith nodded, and Lance walked past him into their room. He removed his tie, switched out the slacks in favor of a nicer pair of jeans, and changed his shoes. He slipped into the room they’d turned into a study and pulled out his finished draft of his manuscript. He tucked it into his shoulder bag and left the room. Keith was on the couch, playing with Kosmo.
“Ready?” Lance nodded.
They went to their favorite burger joint, a little locally owned place with picnic tables outside. The weather was perfect, inviting spring. Lance waited until they were done eating to pull the manuscript out.
“So. I finished this a couple weeks ago. Alexa got the last art pieces to me last week. And I wanted you to be the first person to see the finished product.” He slid the stack over. “Because it’s for you.”
“For me?” Keith wiped his hands clean before picking up the pages. “ Purple Dandelions.” His eyes flickered to Lance for a moment before he flipped to the dedication page. His expression softened, and he reached out to grab Lance’s hand. He moved to the table of contents, skimming the titles of the poems. He’d read a few of them, back before Lance was even aware he was weaving a story together. They were divided into sections, with art scattered around the poems or between them in full pages.
“Lance…. Is this… us? Our story?”
Lance nodded. “I wrote so many poems about you. And I realized I wanted to revisit all the times in the beginning when I wanted to write for you but couldn’t bring myself to. I wanted to imagine the poems I would write for us in the future. And they came together. Into this. These are… all my love letters to you. The ones I never gave you, the ones I wrote to you while you slept, the ones I’m going to write to you in the years to come. They’re all here. You obviously don’t have to read them right here, but…. I wanted you to have it. The original versions. Because if I look for a publisher, I just… I’d change some stuff. Just because I want it to stay ours, and I don’t want to give it to the world. But these, these are untouched past my own revisions and…. Yeah.”
Keith’s eyes filled with tears, turning the tip of his nose and the rim of his eyes red. “All this time, and I still can’t believe you’re real. I still can’t believe you’re mine,” Keith whispered.
“Trust me, I thank God every day that I found you. Changing the smallest detail of that day, we might not have met.”
Keith smiled and shook his head. “No, we would’ve. We were meant to. If it wasn’t then, it would’ve been later. But it was always supposed to be you.” Keith held the manuscript close to his heart and leaned closer to him. “Let’s go home. I really don’t want to have an emotional breakdown in front of strangers, and it’s frowned upon to touch you the way I want to in public.”
“ Keith.” Lance laughed, but ushered him up from the table so they could pay their bill.
While they were in the car, Keith asked Lance to read the first few poems out loud to him. He read until they got home, recounting an ethereal version of their first meeting, the clash in their attitudes back then.
“You really had a grudge against my texting back then?” Keith asked. Lance ignored him and kept reading. Then- “Darling, the way you crushed on me is almost embarrassing.” That time, Lance hit his shoulder with the weight of 108 pages.
“We’re living together.”
“Still,” Keith said with a playful smirk. They got out of the car, but Keith took his hand and led him to the side gate. “I have a surprise before we go in,” he said. He led Lance to the backyard and connected an extension cord to a plug, suddenly bringing the yard to life with gentle white lights.
“Whoa.”
Keith had set up some speakers, and he started playing a song from his phone, letting the melody sweep over them. “I know we technically first met in the front yard, but… we have privacy back here.”
“You utter sap,” Lance said with a delighted smile. Keith took his hand and grinned. “What, and is this the song that was playing when we first met?”
“Mm, no. The song that was playing when we first met was about oral sex.”
“How fitting.” They laughed in a way that was only for each other.
They danced slowly, barely moving but entirely wrapped up in each other. Lance could feel his heart beating out of his chest. When he put his hand against Keith's, he found that it echoed every thump.
"Can I ask you something?" Keith whispered. Lance nodded, closing his eyes. "What made you change your mind about marriage? You'd said that after Allura-"
“I don’t know. There was just… this day when you kissed me three times in a row when you came home. And how they all felt like they meant something different. The fact that I knew that, that I could feel that. The way our routine works and it doesn’t feel boring, it just… feels like home.” He smiled and shrugged. “But I know we have that with or without a paper that says we’re married. What’s it matter?”
“I want to know what you’re thinking,” Keith said, pulling him back in with a slow spin so Lance’s back was pressed against his chest, their arms crossed together. “Because it isn’t just a paper is it?”
Lance sighed. “No. It’s never been a piece of paper.” Keith rested his chin on Lance’s shoulder. “It’s a vow. It’s devotion. And I know the world doesn’t need to know, but there’s something beautiful about being able to profess all of it in front of friends and family. Especially us. Not only can a boy give another boy flowers- he can give him a ring.” Lance smiled and tilted his head toward Keith’s, squeezing his hands. “And I personally like the idea of telling God, ‘Look. I’m giving myself over to the person you placed in my life.’” The song ended, and melded into another. Lance shook his head and laughed softly. “We should go inside. We have work tomorrow.” Lance kissed his cheek and let go of his hands.
Before he could take more than five steps, he heard Keith say, “Does that mean you’ll say yes?”
“Wha- Oh my God. What are you doing?” The sight of Keith down on one knee, holding out a ring between his fingers, made Lance feel like ice water had been dunked on him. His stomach flipped and twisted, and his entire body suddenly felt unsteady as he stepped back towards him. “Keith, what are you- No, mi vida, you don’t need to do this! You said-”
“I know what I said. But it was all bullshit,” Keith said in a single breath, looking up at him with a desperate look in his eyes. “I’ve been wanting to give you a ring for a long time…. Because of everything you said and so much more.”
Lance shook his head as tears blurred his vision. “Keith….”
“Lance-” Keith let out a shaky breath. “I thought I was one of those people who just had to live life without falling in love. I’d told myself I made peace with that. Wi-with never having someone stay. Never having the same person next to me in the morning. But you came into my life and you proved me wrong a-and you showed me… you showed me so many more parts of love I didn’t even know I’d be missing out on.” Tears began to fall down Keith’s cheeks, and Lance fell to his knees in front of him, unable to believe this was real. “All my life, nothing was stable. I jumped around homes, and it took me so long to trust the family I have now and by then I had to make my own life. I got my heart broken enough that I never thought it would feel whole again. But it does. With you. You’re my stability. You have been my constant. From the best days to the worst days, you stay and we figure it out and….” Keith’s free hand touched Lance’s cheek, wiping away the tears. “I want to give you forever. And I want to promise you forever in front of everyone we know. And I want Thanksgivings inside your mami’s house, and I want to think about a future where we can have kids, and I want to see those rings on our fingers telling the rest of the world that we found our forever.”
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” Lance leaned into him, holding him tightly, letting his words wash over him. “Are you serious?”
“I am. I want to marry you. I want it all with you.” Keith pulled back and held out the ring in the palm of his hand. It was a thick silver band with a line of small diamonds around the middle. An infinity sign was engraved around two of the diamonds. “Will you marry me, pretty boy?”
Lance had long given up trying to control his tears. He nodded frantically and held up his shaking left hand. “Yes. Yes, absolutely, I will, I do, I want to, of course, yes!”
Keith laughed between sniffles, his own hand shaking as he slid the ring onto him. A perfect fit.
“Oh my God, we’re engaged!” Lance surged forward, toppling Keith over onto the grass as he kissed him in spite of the tears, in spite of the laughter. Lance pulled back and pouted. “Your game was mean, you know?”
“Well, I think I have a way to make it up to you.” Keith nudged him up and took his hand, leading him to the sliding doors. He cupped his mouth and shouted into the empty house, “He said yes!”
A light flipped on and Lance nearly collapsed again at the sound of the cheers and the faces of every person he cared about popping out of different places.
His parents, his siblings, his friends- everyone was there, cheering and clapping. He could hear his family chanting, “Boda! Boda! Boda!”
“What are you guys doing here?” Lance said in shock as his parents engulfed him into a hug.
“You didn’t think we were going to miss celebrating, did you?” Mami asked.
"How long have you guys been here?" Lance asked in confusion. He hadn't seen anyone's cars, and he had no idea how long they'd been there in the dark.
"I still have a key," Alexa said with a wink. "We took turns taking watch. Congratulations, by the way." She hugged them both then punched Keith's shoulder. "I'm gonna be your best man, right? I might rock a suit better than you, but you know."
"Ha-ha," Keith said. "Thanks for gathering everyone."
“Welcome to the family, hermanito!” Veronica said, yanking Keith into a hug. “There’s no going back now, you’re stuck with a loud ass Latine family, it’s all over.”
Keith smiled back, discreetly wiping his tears.
Adam wrapped his arms around Lance and winked at him. “I told you it would all work out, didn’t I?”
Shiro followed up with a strong hug as he welcomed him to their family too. Karina hugged both Keith and Lance together, and before he could get a word in with Keith’s parents, Lance felt someone leap onto his back.
“Excuse me? Best friends here! When do we get a turn?” Pidge hopped off as Lance turned to look at her and Hunk.
“Did you two know?” he asked.
“It’s been killing us not to say anything. We’ve been waiting for so long,” Hunk said. “Congrats, man. You have no idea how happy I am for you guys.”
“Keith, you sneaky shit, get over here,” Pidge said, tugging his arm. “You made a good choice.”
Keith grinned triumphantly. “I know.”
“Hey, I don’t mean to monopolize the grooms-to-be, but I was hired for photos, so-”
“Kinkade! What the hell are you doing here?”
“What, you thought we wouldn’t show up to your engagement party?” Roland asked. “Plus, Ryan’s taking pictures. Keith, Benny also sends congrats. He wanted to come, but he’s got school tomorrow.”
“Uh, guys?” Kinkade waved his camera.
“Right! Right, okay!” Kinkade ushered them out to the backyard, directing them for poses. It was easy considering Lance got to kiss Keith for most of the photos. Everyone who was inside the house flooded out to the yard. Someone- most likely from his side of the family- had brought a couple bottles of rum and given everyone a shot to toast to them.
At one point, Mami and Papa pulled them aside. “We have something for you,” Mami said. She nudged at Papa’s arm and he pulled out a box. He gave it to Keith. Keith opened it to find a ring that was similar to Lance’s only gold. “We put the stones from my engagement ring into your papi’s wedding band. That way you both have promise rings,” she said with a shaky voice.
“Pa, Ma, you didn’t have to-”
“I said I wanted you to have my ring when the time came,” Papi said. “Well, the time is here. You should both get engagement rings before you can add wedding bands. Ademas, ya lo hicimos, asi que tomalo.”
“Oh… Oh wow,” Keith said softly. “This is really sweet, thank you.” He held his hand out to Lance and held out the box. With a grin, Lance took the ring and slid it onto Keith’s left ring finger. “It fits perfectly,” Keith said in surprise.
“Nadia gave us your measurement,” Papa said with a sly grin. “M’ijo, we’re so happy for you. Y tu, Chinito. Bienvenido a la familia.”
“Thank you for accepting me into it,” Keith said with a smile.
Mami took both their hands and squeezed them, letting her smile and tears speak for her. “Go on, dance, drink, celebrate. Your family just grew, and everyone wants to share your joy.”
Lance nodded and hugged her, kissing her cheek before turning to his dad and pulling him into a hug too. Despite the gruff little grunt he let out, he hugged Lance back with all his strength. “Los amo tanto,” Lance said. “Thank you.” He took Keith’s hand and went to continue their rounds.
Their engagement party didn’t last as long as it normally would, especially with his family. But everyone had a long drive ahead or work to get to the next day. Kinkade took several candids throughout the night, and promised to have them ready as soon as he could. After the last round of hugs and congratulations, Keith and Lance had the house to themselves and Kosmo.
“Did you know about this, Kosmo?” Lance asked him as Kosmo sat in front of him. He showed the dog his hand, and Kosmo sniffed it and licked his palm. “Silly boy. You’d be an adorable ring bearer, you know?” Keith sat beside him, laughing at the comment. Lance admired his ring and the gleam of Keith’s on his hand. “How long have you been planning this?” he asked Keith.
“Mm. Well…. Long enough that today couldn’t come sooner.” He tilted Lance’s face toward him and pressed kisses to his cheek, trailing down to his neck. “Let’s take tomorrow off,” he whispered. “Let’s get a head start on the honeymoon.”
Despite the pain in his cheeks, Lance felt his smile grow. Keith stood and pulled him along.