I'm a bit late but Merry Christmas.

"It's lovely to meet you," Lance's mum reached out her hand for Keith to shake, a large, welcoming smile spread across her face. "Lucia talks about you all the time." Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw Lance flinch at the name.

Keith opened his mouth with an angry pair of furrowed eyebrows but Lance elbowed him before he could argue. "Nice to meet you too."

"So are you two… you know… together now?"

"Mama!" Lance exclaimed, becoming bright red in the blink of an eye. "Keith is just my friend!"

"Lucia has always been very popular with the boys. I give it a week."

"You're embarrassing me!"

"And how come you're still in your sweatpants? Go get into that nice dress I bought you."

Lance scowled at the mention of a dress but grabbed Keith's arm and dragged him upstairs anyway.

The first thing Keith noticed was the lump of a baby blue dress on the corner of the floor but he tried not to focus on it. Lance threw open his wardrobe to show off the button up he had worn to prom. "I only have one nice shirt."

"That's fine. It looks good on you."

"Oh... thank you." A soft blush spread across Lance's tanned cheeks as he pulled the button-up out of the wardrobe.

"I'll just step outside whilst you change." Keith smiled and stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind him. Whilst he waited, his eyes jumped up to the pictures on the wall. One displayed a small girl next to a sandcastle, both standing tall. She was wearing a pink dress and a wide, toothy smile. It was undeniably Lance and he was the cutest child ever. His smile radiated sunshine.

A moment later, Lance opened the door and grinned at Keith. "Let's go downstairs. I'm sure mama will need some help setting up."

"Sure."

Keith could tell something bad was going to happen when he saw Lance's mum's face. Her reaction to her son dressing the way he wanted to was a pair of teary eyes and a wobbly frown. She appeared on the verge of crying in response to something so menial. 

"Lucia," It was as if she was using Lance's deadname on purpose, to cause as much pain as possible. "What are you wearing?" Lance pursed his lips, glancing down at his sock-clad feet. "I bought you that lovely dress."

"I didn't want to wear a dress and you know it." Lance mumbled. It took one glance for Keith to realise he was trembling and his face looked like it belonged to a ghost. 

"It was expensive."

"Return it then…"

"Stop doing this!" Lance's mum yelled, face scrunched up in fury. Lance stepped back, practically shrinking against the wall with the hope that he would disappear forever. "I know you want attention but this is not the way to get it! You are a girl and you always will be."

Lance's silence screamed a million sorrows but, still, his mum continued.

"I'm tired of your drama. First, you tell me to call you Lance, even though we named you after your grandmother. Then you chop all your hair off. Now you refuse to wear the pretty, expensive clothes I buy for you. It's pathetic."

"I'm sorry," Keith spoke up, rage swirling around like a bunch of flames in the pit of his stomach. "But you're the pathetic one. Lance isn’t doing this for attention. Can't you tell how much of a toll this has taken on him? Why is it so hard to see him in these clothes anyway? Surely it shouldn't matter what he wears as long as he is comfortable."

"Stop saying he! She's a she!"

Keith clenched his hand into a fist at his side to stop himself from blindly swinging. He was seeing red, furious that someone could be so inconsiderate and rude to a family member. She was lucky enough to experience her son's childhood and to see him grow up, yet she still had the audacity not to accept him for who he truly was. 

"Lance is a boy. Any good mother would understand that."

Just as Lance's mum was about to snap back a retort, a tall man poked his head around the door. Presumably, it was Marco because he was wearing a gigantic badge that said '21 today!' It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to realise that. "How long will dinner be, mama? We're starving out here."

"It's done. I'll just dish up."

And, yeah, dinner was awkward and tense but at least Lance was wearing what he was comfortable in. Marco seemed happy enough too, so, all in all, both Keith and Lance considered it somewhat of a success.