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The tree was decorated with a million colors. The house had lights and Christmas wreaths on every window and possible surface. The air smelled of cinnamon, biscuits and hot chocolate. And just now, the presents were put under the Christmas tree.
Lance looked over his shoulder while getting up from the floor. Keith was in the kitchen, putting biscuits of every shape and color on a plate to savor with the hot chocolate in the two mugs beside him. His violet eyes turned to Lance, he smiled at him then took the mugs and plate to the couch. It was late and they should be in their bed right now, but neither wanted to sleep. Not right now.
Lance eyed the sweater Keith was wearing. An ugly sweater to be precise. It was a lovely dark green, and that was the only nice thing about it. On the back, it was nothing special, just blank dark green, but once Keith turned, the front revealed itself. And boy was Lance happy of finding this horror. The front was a knitted picture of the Grinch smiling this very creepy smile, from the cartoon How the Grinch stole Christmas. Above it was written in red : 'You're a mean one' and under was written 'Mr Grinch', like the start of the song. Keith had looked at him with the most outraged and betrayed look once he had unwrapped the package three years ago. And he almost burned the poor sweater, until Lance told him to find one for him, that would out weight the ugliness.
He wasn't sure if Keith understood the concept of ugly sweater though. Because the one he had found, and that Lance was currently wearing, was a nice royal blue, with the 'forever alone' face horribly knitted in the middle of the front. If one thing was for sure, it was that Lance had almost had a panic attack because of it. Because Keith had dumped the paper package on Lance's knees while saying it reminded him of his boyfriend. Then Lance saw the sweater and a horrible feeling of this being a break-up scene crept in his mind. He almost cried because of it. But Keith had promised it was just to get him back on the horrible sweater and that he loved him with all his heart.
And he wasn't sure if Keith wanted to prove it to him, but for New Year just after the incident, he proposed to Lance. Of course, the young cuban man was not an idiot and accepted. They married in spring, after a lot of stress to prepare their wedding in such a short time. But they were so happy since then, it was sooo worth it.
They were on the couch, listening to a soft Christmas song in the background, enjoying the biscuits and hot chocolate while talking about this and that. It was close to midnight, and the world outside was quiet. There was no snow falling, although the snow from last night was still there, even if a little melted from the warmer afternoon.
« Do you think it's gonna snow later in the night ? » asked Keith.
« Maybe. Forecast said it could if the temperature is low enough. »
« I hope so. »
« Why ? I thought you didn't like the cold. »
Keith took a sip of chocolate from his mug and smiled at his husband.
« I wanna make a snowman. Even if it's a small one. »
Lance snaked an arm on the shoulders of his black haired lover, pulling him gently to him. Keith let him, snuggling closer, putting his head on Lance's shoulder. This cosy feeling was almost constant ever since they started dating. Keith dated barely anyone before Lance, and he could feel it ever since their first date. Lance was the one for him. Sure, they could argue a lot, but they realized a long while ago that it was better to voice what was wrong instead of keeping quiet and letting the matter slowly rot. They almost broke up because of that, for something so little and insignificant that neither of them remembered.
No, they were good like that. Talking things out, because it was what kept them so in love.
Lance kissed the pale neck close to his mouth, tickling Keith, making him laugh softly. Lance put his mug on the little round table beside them, and took Keith's after a moment. He looked at his husband with this spark, the one Keith really liked to see.
« Right now ? » he teased, his index stroking Lance's neck delicately.
« Just cause it's Christmas doesn't mean we can't have some private time. »
Keith let him kiss his lips, feeling Lance's arms snake around his waist. The kiss was tender, just their lips caressing softly. Of course, it was not to last. Lance tilted his head a little to the side and let his thumb go under the ugly sweater, stroking softly the pale skin of his lover.
But the sound of little footsteps on the floor stopped them immediately. They both looked behind Lance in one movement. Standing there, in her little purple cat one-piece pajamas and holding a lion plush in her little arms, stood the second love of their life after each other.
« Papa ! I'm scared ! »
Without thinking, Keith was up in a second and already taking their little girl in his arms. Their precious 3 years old, Ellie, was shaking a little. Lance came right after them, kissing his baby girl on the head while Keith stroked her back. She had the same chocolate brown hair as Lance, her golden skin showing her hispanic origins, and her amethyst eyes were full of tears ready to be shed.
« What's wrong, sweetie ? » asked Keith in this soft voice that was only for her.
« Thez a monster in ma room ! » she said in her little voice.
While Keith rocked her in his arms, Lance kissed her forehead. For the past few weeks, Ellie was seeing monsters in the shadows of her room. It had been almost 5 days since the last time she bursts out of her room at full speed to 'escape the monsters' during the night.
« Alright then ! Time to chase the monsters ! » said Lance while putting his hands on his hips.
« Let me do it. »
Keith gave the precious child to his husband, then he went to the room under the cautious look of the little girl. He retrieved the little spray bottle they had filled with water and some edible dye to make it look more effective. He washed it while Lance came in the kitchen with her, then Keith looked at her with a wide smile.
« You know what ? I think the potion wasn't strong enough. Let's add something else this time. »
Ellie's eyes sparkled while Keith opened a drawer over his head and took a little jar with some ginger colored spice in it.
« We'll add cinnamon this time. Monsters don't like it because it's so tasty. »
Ellie looked so impressed with her papa, Lance felt a little jealous, just for a few seconds. Then Keith prepared the next 'potion' to spray in the bedroom. 'Bravely', he entered the room under the watchful eyes of Ellie and Lance. He looked under the bed and sprayed some while noting they needed to clean in there in a few days, with all those little sheep of dust collecting. He then went for the closet, making a show of putting his hand on the handle before looking at them. Ellie closed her eyes with her hands while Lance rolled his eyes before smiling at his husband. Keith opened the closet, and no monster was in sight. He sprayed for good measure then looked with a smirk at his two loved ones.
« Done ! No more monsters in your room, my darling. »
« Papa's the best ! »
Lance whined loudly at this and looked down at his daughter.
« So papí is no good ? »
At this, she looked shocked and almost dropped her plush to put her little arms around his neck.
« No ! Papí is best too ! »
« Thank you, mi cariña. »
Keith rolled his eyes with a smile. Lance had these little moments of jealousy, because Ellie was currently closer to her papa. Keith didn't know why. Maybe because he was so protective of her. Lance sometimes joked it was like he had carried her instead of her biological mom. Without parents around him while he was a kid, Keith was still learning a lot about being a parent, but thankfully, Lance was there to help him. He had taken care of his niece and nephew while he was barely a teenager after all.
« Papa ? Papí ? »
Keith came closer, putting his front to Ellie's back in a protective stance while hugging her. Lance didn't mind at all.
« Yes, mi princesa ? »
« Wanna shleep wif papa and papí. »
Lance and Keith exchanged a look, the kind that meant their private time was for another night, then they nodded together.
« Yes, of course, sweetie. »
At that, she smiled widely, yawned and put her head under Lance's chin, getting comfy, like she always did since she was a baby. They exchanged another look, both knowing how lucky they were to have Ellie in their life.
They had been talking about having kids even before getting married. Lance couldn't see their future without at least a child with them. Keith was a little more reserved, with being an orphan for most of his life and not knowing what a parent was supposed to do. But of course, like most of the time, Lance managed to convince him that they could do it. And Keith was impatient by nature, even more when it came to Lance. So the day after their wedding, he asked Lance if he wanted them to adopt. Then, it had been Lance who was a little reserved, but knowing they'll need years before getting their child, he accepted. Surprisingly, they welcomed Ellie into their life in February of the next year, thanks to Lance's favorite cousin, Allura, who pulled some strings to speed up the process. She was barely 9 months old when they officially became her parents, and the ultimate surprise was that she was born the same week they got married. They loved her with all their heart.
Keith hated to cry with a passion, due to all his childhood spent in foster care, but the moment she smiled at him for the first time, he couldn't stop his tears. He also cried the day she called him 'papa' for the first time. His whole being trembled at his baby calling him 'papa', remembering how he thought for years his own dad would come back for him. His tears of happiness turned into tears of sadness when he thought it could happen to her as well. But Lance had promised, she wouldn't be alone to go into the broken system. She had her godparents, Allura and Shiro, Keith's adoptive brother. They had promised, their Ellie wouldn't be alone. It was comforting, so much.
While Lance went slowly into their bedroom, rocking slowly the little girl in his arms, Keith made sure to turn off any light and electronics that wasn't supposed to be on for the night. Once done, he joined his two loves, watching adoringly how Lance put their precious girl in the middle of the bed, like they always did when she wasn't feeling alright. She was fast asleep, her so little chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly, her lion plush secured into her left arm. Lance looked up at Keith, the black haired crawling quietly into the bed to press a quick kiss on his husband's lips.
« Merry Christmas, love. » said Keith.
« Merry Christmas, babe. » answered Lance with a sweet kiss in return.
They each took their side of the bed, joining in the middle to watch over their baby girl for a little longer, their hands joined over the cover on top of Ellie. It was a soft feeling, being this happy and at peace. And just before Keith fell asleep, his eyes caught something by the window. He smiled.
« It's snowing. » he said in a hushed voice.
Lance looked over his shoulder. Indeed, soft little snowflakes were falling silently in the night. Lance smiled as well.
« Guess you'll have your snowman tomorrow. » he said while squeezing his husband's hand a little.
Keith closed his eyes in a happy sigh, then Lance knew he was asleep. The brown haired closed his eyes as well, quickly joining his two loved ones into the arms of Morpheus.