*I don't really like this chapter very much. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I saw it going in a different direction but I was too lazy to fix it so I just rolled with it. Do you guys remember the two very brief mentions of Lance being an immigrant in Level Up and then it never being brought up again? Well, we're getting into it a tiny bit here. Remember when I told you Lance is catholic? No? Good, because it didn't happen even though I knew that from day one. That's finally addressed in this chapter. Also, I'm setting up the Big Event I've been dying to finally write. I would jump to it now but I still have to write for Pidge/Parker/Jude, Hunk/Shay, Allura/Romelle, and Shiro/Adam. I'm not gonna have a lot more of Cara and Jayden. They're sort of just thrown in here to show Lance's progression. However, I am in love with my good bois Parker and Jude. So they're gonna get included a lot more in the remainder of Pidge's arc. Anyway. Enjoy.

Also, attached pic is what I made for my instagram. I post little sneak peaks to my stories and other random stuff on there. Follow me if you want to see more. It's @florelunae.

One more thing lmao. There's a LOT of Spanish this chapter. Translations in comments, as always.*

(2882 words)

September 4

"Keith, for someone who went to a Catholic school you really are shit with Catholic holidays," Lance rolled his eyes, scrolling through a webpage on his laptop.

Keith groaned and flopped down on the couch next to Lance, "For a non-Catholic Catholic you sure are shit at Catholic holidays too. You seriously have to look this shit up?"

Lance looked at him with a glare, "Yeah, because your stupid ass didn't. I know enough about it to get through the celebration. You don't know anything!"

Keith grabbed the laptop from Lance, "What's it called again? Feast Day?"

Lance rolled his eyes, grabbing the laptop back, "Virgen de Cobre Feast Day. You have to remember the whole thing. The whole holiday revolves around la Virgen de Cobra. You have to know who she is."

'Who is she?"

"The Virgin Mary, Keith. But more specifically, an image of her that was believed to protect El Cobre, Cuba. Or something like that. I don't know. It's something about three sailors looking for salt, but they find a statue of her instead, and they think she saved them from the storm. We learned about it in church back when mama still took us in Cuba," Lance started reading the Wikipedia page in front of him.

Keith leaned over his shoulder to read too, "Sailors, salt, and a statue. Got it. Remind me why I have to know all of this? Last year you left me out of it completely."

Lance looked at him again, "Mi Tia Lydia is super religious. Mama and Papa don't bother going to church because they think the American church is corrupted and has strayed away from what God would really want or some bullshit like that. But Tia Lydia still goes obsessively. So this holiday is a huge deal for her; it's a huge deal for all Cuban Catholics, especially Cuban Catholics that still live in Cuba. This is the first Virgen de Cobre Feast Day since Tia Lydia and my cousins moved here from Cuba. This holiday is as big for Cubans as Christmas. It's huge."

Keith nodded, "So, we're doing all this research to impress your tia?"

"Yes. She and Papa are already at a rift since he stopped going to church when we moved to America. Then there's the fact that I don't believe in God and Papa is okay with that. She thinks he should be 'poniéndome recto' by making me go to church again. But Papa thinks that I should be allowed to believe whatever I want to believe..." Lance looked down, "And date who I want to date..."

Keith sighed, "She's homophobic?"

Lance nodded, "Papa is ruining his relationship with his sister for my sake. Maybe if I show her that I know about my heritage and that Papa did raise me right... Tal vez ella no estará tan enojada con él."

Keith put his hand on Lance's shoulder, "It isn't your responsibility to mend their relationship-"

"But it's my fault it's broken in the first place!"

Keith grabbed the laptop from Lance and set it aside, "Lance, if she can't accept you then that's her problem. Your dad knows that. He wouldn't be standing up for you if he didn't. It isn't your fault that your tia is close-minded. You are doing nothing wrong by just being yourself."

Lance looked at Keith again, tears in his eyes, "Papa left everything to bring us to America eleven years ago. He left most of his family behind, Mama too. All for us. Because they wanted their children to have a better life than they did, now Papa is finally reunited with his siblings, but he can't be happy with them because of me. Mi tio isn't as angry as Tia Lydia, but he's still angry. He's just not as verbal about it. He judges from a distance. Mi other tia too."

"That's not your fault-"

"Mama's family wouldn't come to America because of me. They disowned her because she wouldn't disown me. We're dead to them unless Mama cuts me off."

Keith was silent for a moment, "Lance... I don't know what to say... That's so horrible..." Keith's family had mistreated him, so he knew how that felt, but he didn't know of causing pain for his own mother, and he wasn't going to pretend he did.

Lance reached over him and grabbed the laptop again, "Let's just study and get through this stupid fucking holiday."

Keith sighed, now understanding why this was so important to him, "Okay... Who wouldn't want to know more about salt-seeking sailors."

September 8

Keith stood in the back of the church alone, waiting outside the restroom for Lance to come out.

"Keith, there you are," Val said as she walked over, "Is Lance with you? I know he can get overwhelmed in crowds, I don't want him to be alone."

Keith smiled at her, "He's in the bathroom. He's doing fine, considering."

Val sighed, "He's still worried my husband's perra culo hermana?"

Keith's eyes widened a bit, surprised to hear Val use such swear words, "Y-Yeah. Still worried."

"Esa perra, Lydia. Trata a mi hijo como si no fuera digno de esta familia solo porque ama. Ese chico tiene más amor en su corazón que la mitad de la familia combinada. Si se atreve a decir una sola cosa negativa contra mi hijo, le arrancaré la garganta. Lo juro, Keith. Ella es tan buena como muerta."

Keith just nodded, only picking up bits and pieces because she was talking so fast. But he got the general message, Lydia was good as dead if she said one more thing to hurt Lance's feelings, "He'll be okay. We just need to make it through the day. He'll be perfectly fine tomorrow, all forgotten. But only if we don't make a scene."

Val muttered a few more swears under her breath, "You're right, mijo. It will do nothing but stress him out."

Keith smiled, but then frowned, "Lydia is coming this way."

Val turned to face her, "Lydia, ¿hay algo que necesites?"

Lydia nodded, "Sí. No puedo encontrar a Angelo por ningún lado. ¿Donde esta el?"

"¿Has mirado afuera?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Claro que tengo. No soy un imbécil como tu hijo."

"Aprovecharás cada oportunidad para hablar contra él, ¿verdad? ¿No tienes vergüenza?" Val spoke with anger in her voice.

Keith stepped forward, grabbing Val's arm, "Val, let's not do this here. Be the bigger person. Remember what you said before."

Lydia looked at Keith, "Stay out of this. You're the one who corrupted my nephew and made him a fag like you."

Val was only more enraged, "¡Nunca le hables a mis hijos de esa manera!"

"What's going on?" Lance asked, walking out of the bathroom. His eyes were red.

Val turned around. She immediately noticed Lance had been crying, "Nada, mijo. ¿Estás bien?"

Lance just shrugged, "Bien..."

Lydia scoffed, "Blasfemos."

Lance was quiet for a moment, looking conflicted, but then he decided to let his feelings out, "No. Ya no quiero que nos trates como a una mierda todo el tiempo. Si no te gusto, bien. Pero no lo saque con mi familia. Eso es entre tú y yo. ¿Y quieres hablar de blasfemia e indecencia? Estás a punto de divorciarte por hacer trampa como una ramera. Entonces, ¿quién eres tú para juzgarme? Si no quieres considerarme familiar, bien. Yo tampoco quiero considerar a tu familia. Ahora, sal de mi maldito camino." He grabbed Keith's hand and pulled him to walk away with him, pushing against Lydia's shoulder as he did.

Keith followed along, "Okay, I only got half of that."

"I told her she's a cheating whore who has no right to judge and that if she has a problem with me, then she better leave my family out of it."

Keith nodded, "Are you sure you made the right decision? This could have made everything worse."

"Frankly, Keith, I don't fucking care," Lance pulled Keith out the front doors of the church.

Keith stopped, holding Lance's hand firmly so he'd stop too, "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself, but you need to calm down."

Lance pulled his hand away, "I'm fine!"

"Then why are you screaming at me?" Keith grabbed Lance's hand again, "Just breathe, Lance. You were obviously crying in the bathroom. Did you have an attack?" He knew Lance's anxiety could cause him to be highly agitated, and it harder for him to control his emotions.

Lance didn't pull his hand away this time, "Only a little one..."

Keith sighed and pulled Lance into a hug, "I'll take you home in a bit, okay? But I think I should go explain things to your mom."

Lance hugged him back, putting his face in Keith's shoulder, "I was stupid to think I could fix this... I just want to go home."

Keith nodded, "I'll go tell everyone we're leaving," he pulled away and looked Lance in the eyes, "Are you going to be okay out here on your own?"

Lance nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Keith kissed Lance briefly, "I'll be right back. Wait here," he turned to go back inside. He looked around for a bit before he found Lydia and Val fighting, half the church staring and judging them as Angelo tried to calm the situation.

"¡El es un chico!"

"¡Más como un mocoso irrespetuoso!"

Keith walked up and looked at Angelo, "I knew Lance yelling at her would just make it worse..."

Angelo looked at Keith, giving up on the arguing women, "Where is he?"

Keith sighed, "He's outside. I'm taking him home. He can't handle this."

Angelo put his hand on his face, "Nunca debí dejar que ustedes dos vinieran hoy."

Keith frowned, "Lance would've come either way. He was dead set on trying to win her over. But after today, I think he's realized that's not possible."

"Just... Just take him home. He shouldn't be here."

"I was already planning on it. I just wanted to let you guys know first."

Angelo nodded, "You're always so in tune to what he needs," he smiled a bit, "I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather my son be with."

Keith couldn't help but smile. He had learned from Veronica that Angelo's approval for who his kids could date was hard to earn, "Thank you..."

"And if you two were to want to want to take things to the next level, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea."

Keith's eyes widened a bit, "A-Are you thinking about us getting engaged?"

"Are you?"

Keith's expression softened back to a smile, "Yeah, I think I am."

Angelo pat his shoulder, "You should go to him now. You know how impatient that boy can be."

Keith chuckled, "I've learned to live with it. I'll text you tomorrow to let you know if Lance still wants to come to dinner."

Angelo nodded, "There's no pressure to come. I would prefer if you didn't, to be honest."

"I'll let you know what Lance decides, but I'm pretty sure he'll want to stay home," Keith then turned to leave, quickly making his way outside.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

It was an hour later when Keith walked into the bedroom to see Lance in bed, curled up under the covers. He walked over with a sighed, "Hey, baby. How are you feeling?"

Lance pulled the blankets closer to himself, staying hidden beneath them, "Everyone hates me but you. Even my family hates me."

Keith sat down, "Don't say that. Your parents love you; your siblings love you; our friends love you. I'm pretty sure Miguel and Pidge would gladly jump someone together for you. It's more than just me."

Lance peeked out from under his blankets, "I'm so hard to deal with. It pushes everyone away."

Keith ran his hand through Lance's hair, "I'm not going to lie to you, I promised I'd never do that again. Sometimes you can be difficult. But that's not your fault. No one is perfect. I'm sure you have a hard time dealing with me sometimes too. It's just how life works. Everyone has one thing about them that annoys the hell out of everyone else, but we deal with it because we love that person so much."

Lance pouted, "How are you able to handle me? I have a lot of things that annoy the hell out of everyone."

"Well," Keith thought for a moment, "You're like a fitted sheet. Fitted sheets are obviously superior to flat sheets. I hate flat sheets. They're annoying and always end up unaligned from the comforter."

Lance chuckled a bit, "I am well aware of you hatred of flat sheets, considering we don't have one on our bed."

Keith smiled, happy he was starting to make Lance smile, "Exactly. But flat sheets are way easier to fold than fitted sheets. Fitted sheets are so difficult. It always turns out looking like shit, like you just balled it up when you were honestly trying your best. But some people are amazing at folding fitted sheets; they make it look easy. Sometimes they're naturally able to do it, and sometimes they've just done it enough times that they've gotten the hang of it. Think of yourself like a fitted sheet. You're difficult for some people. A few people may have given up on you. You just need to find the people you can fold a fitted sheet. Find the people who won't give up until they learn how."

Lance nodded, "That makes sense..."

Keith leaned down and kissed Lance's forehead, "I didn't know how at first. It was hard; I made a lot of mistakes. But I was too in love with you to give up."

Lance sat up so he could hug Keith, "You would never give up on me. I know that. I'll never give up on you either."

Keith hugged him back happily, "Mi amor por ti es mayor que las estrellas."

Lance pulled away just enough to kiss Keith, Keith kissing back happily.

1:39 am

kmskeith: are any of you still up???

katiehatesyou: obviously

shirogone: barely awake but i can stay up if you need me to

hunkinthetrunk: i'm here

kmskeith: i guess allura is asleep

katiehatesyou: wait. why isn't lance in this group chat

kmskeith: because he's what i need to talk to you guys about

shirogone: did something happen???

hunkinthetrunk: is he hurt?????

kmskeith: his dad gave me his blessing today

katiehatesyou: like marriage blessing?????????????

kmskeith: yes, i'm flipping my fucking shit

hunkinthetrunk: omg!!! why didn't you tell us you were planning on proposing???

kmskeith: because i wasnt! i didnt ask for his blessing. he just gave it out of nowhere

shirogone: but you thinking about it now. you wouldn't be texting us if you werent

kmskeith: yeah kinda. i was thinking about it a tiny bit ever since matt sent me a pic of the engagement ring style lance likes. but i wasnt thinking about doing it soon

katiehatesyou: but you are now?

hunkinthetrunk: don't do it too soon. you know lance. you'll have to do something perfect

katiehatesyou: are you kidding me? he would be happy if keith wrote "marry me? check yes or no" on a napkin and gave him a ringpop

hunkinthetrunk: yeah but he'll want something super romantic and memorable

shirogone: wouldn't everybody?

kmskeith: i know i'll have to do something that'll top the bracelet i gave him when i asked him out. a ringpop and napkin arent gonna cut it

shirogone: dont rush it. give youself time to come up with a plan

hunkinthetrunk: it has to be something he could never forget

kmskeith: so you all agree that once i have a good plan that nw is a good time to do it?

katiehatesyou: you two are practically married already, let's be real

hunkinthetrunk: yeah you two are so domestic it makes me gag. and i watch romcoms!

kmskeith: well sorry for wanting my boyfriend to feel as special as he is

hunkinthetrunk: *gags*

shirogone: im too fucking tired for this shit

katiehatesyou: go to sleep then dickhead. we've got this covered

hunkinthetrunk: yeah we'll help keith form the perfect plan

shirogone: i dont trust you lil shits enough. who knows what bullshit youll plant in my brothers head. hes a dumbass

kmskeith: well fuck you too dude

katiehatesyou: well he's not wrong keith

hunkinthetrunk: dumbass, party of one

kmskeith: keep talking and you won't be invited to the wedding

katiehatesyou: nice try but lance already promised me i would be his maid of honor when he got married one day so HA

shirogone: youre all dumbasses

hunkinthetrunk: bitter, party of one

kmskeith: UGH what am i gonna do tho???

hunkinthetrunk: this gotta be royal wedding level shit

katiehatesyou: i am NOT going let you fuck up lance's proposal

shirogone: you guys forget lance gets overwhelmed. if its too big he could have an attack

hunkinthetrunk: damn you right

kmskeith: i can make it something he'll never forget and make it simple at the same time

katiehatesyou: don't focus on extravagance. just make it super romantic. he's a sucker for that shit

hunkinthetrunk: you can do that scavenger hunt proposal thing i saw on pinterest

shirogone: and leave him wandering around alone? yeah no

katiehatesyou: you're on pinterest? lame

hunkinthetrunk: theres good recipes on there pidge dont judge me

katiehatesyou: oh im totally judging

kmskeith: guys we gotta be serious. i've only got one shot at this

katiehatesyou: chill dude. it's not like you're in a rush. you don't have to do it tomorrow

hunkinthetrunk: lets just talk about it more tomorrow when allura is awake. she might have some good idea

shirogone: yes. great idea. now lets all SLEEP

kmskeith: okay. tomorrow

6:39 am

ayellura: you assholes are lucky i have my ringer off when i sleep

ayellura: you're also lucky because i have the perfect idea

*I like the ending of this chapter but the beginning is shit. But whatever. The fitted sheet conversation and the group chat make up for it. I was gonna have it as just Shiro and Keith, but then I found that pic I attached in the spoilers with no context of the two idiots and their shared braincell. The colors match Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge! I couldn't resist! I have no idea what I'm gonna do for chapter 10. I'm thinking I should check in on Shay and Hunk. So I'll probably do that. I have to check the calendar I made for this book. It helps me keep everything together. It's the only reason I knew about this holiday.*