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The Rojas-Hernández family isn't typical for any neighborhood of the city of Arus. First of all, they aren't American. Not that latine people born in the United States aren’t American, but no one in the family had been born in States. They moved to the country from Cuba when their youngest kids turned 5 years old, and even there they weren’t common. The father Benjamín Rojas isn’t even Cuban--he came from Chile one summer and fell in love with Elizabeth Hernández and decided to stay with her, and he will constantly boast about how it was the best decision of his life.
Now they have been in the country for 8 years but some things never change, and that’s what Keith hears the moment he is about to knock the door.
“¿A qué le estás llamando panqueques? ¡Esas son crêpes Dios Mío!” he hears Mrs. Hernández yell.
Keith stops suddenly, and changes his direction to the backyard, where he picks up a pebble and throws it to the window of his friend’s room.
“Lance,” he says as the pebble collides,“your parents are doing their gross flirting through their cultural differences again!” Lance’s head popped out the window.
“I know, you should knock on the door so they shut up,” Lance says in a whisper.
“That has never worked before!” Keith shout-whispers back. “Just get downstairs and open the door for me, Kosmo is cold.” As if the dog was trained for it, he starts trembling and whining slightly to which Lance just huffs and closes the window.
Keith smiles in victory as he moves back to the front entrance where he can hear how the discussion still going, not that he understands a lot of it because of how fast they are talking, but he is trying.
“Mujer te he dicho tantas veces que en Chile los panqueques se hacen así y les pones manjar dentro para que sean más ricos, no somos gringos ¿para que los vamos hacer tan gordos?” That’s Lance dad for sure.
“Ay Benjamín se razonable por favor no vez que te van a escuchar los vecinos, que van a-” she stops “-¿Qué estás haciendo Leandro?”
“Le abro la puerta a Keith y a Kosmo, volvió a-” he pauses “-huir de casa, algo sobre como Shiro le traicionó”
“Esos niños no.” The doors open “Keith, come in we are about to have once.”
“Hello Mrs. Hernández,” he says politely, as Mrs. Hernández hugs him.
“I have told you many times call me Tía Elizabeth, you know the Missus makes me feel old.” She guides him to the kitchen where Mr. Rojas and Lance were sitting, whispering to each other while Lance blushes. “What did your brother did this time?”
Keith takes Kosmo’s leash off so he can tackle Lance. “He asked his fiancé to move in with us and didn’t tell me until he was about to arrive.” He smashes his face on the kitchen table. “He asked him two weeks ago, and didn’t say anything to me, so I told him he could keep his stinky house and live with his stinky boyfriend, and I left.”
“Oh Keith, I’m sure he didn’t mean to forget to tell you and he just got caught up in the moment.” Mr. Rojas pats his back “Here take a panqueque, they are filled with manjar.”
As for previous events with the family he doesn’t question the name and just eats quietly. “I just don’t want to see them be gross and cuddle all the time. I mean, the good news is that Adam can cook, and I kind of like him--not that he can know that, I told him Kosmo would eat his toes if he did anything weird.” He starts rambling while the rest listens.
“Is okay Keith, now drink your tea with Leandro, and later you can go up to his room study. I’m guessing you’ll be staying for dinner?” Keith nods with his mouth full, and looks at how Lance was chugging down his milk quickly so they could go to his room. He sips the tea Mrs. Hernández prepared him slowly while keeping direct eye contact with Lance who looked on, annoyed. “¡Leandro te vas ahogar con tan rapido que bebes!” Keith smirked in the rim of his mug.
“Tía Elizabeth, do you have Kosmo’s T-R-E-A-T-S I left here the other day?”
“They are in the pantry. Leandro can pick them for you now that he finished eating, you drink your tea in peace.” The boy sticks his tongue out to Keith, at which Keith giggles. “They should be beside the cat food”
“Where is Blue?” Lance asks from the pantry “I haven’t seen her today, and I know Kosmo likes to cuddle with her”
“She is probably in Vero’s room, her friends are over,” Mrs. Hernández answers while setting three mugs on the table. “You should go get them so they can eat, they are so thin those girls.” Just as she finishes speaking Keith sips the last of his tea.
“Thank you so much for the food.” He takes Kosmo’s treats from Lance and gives one to the dog sitting beside him. “I’m going to get the girls with Lance, if that is alright?”
“You go have fun boys!” says Mr. Rojas from living room where he had went to watch TV.
Both boys and the dog leave the kitchen and go up the stairs, Lance stopping to knock on the first door “Veronica, mamá dice que bajes a comer con tus amigas.”
“¡Ya bajamos!” shouts Veronica, and Lance takes it as answer. They keep walking until the last door, which he opens, moving into Lance’s room and flinging himself onto the bed.
“You are going back after dinner right?” asks Lance quietly while sitting beside him in the small bed.
“Yeah, I’ll just give them enough time to be gross and sappy so when I get back they have gotten out of their system.” He looks at Lance “They can’t know I’m happy for them, it’s my duty as a younger sibling to be as annoying possible.”
“Hmm, I wish I can have something like that when I’m older, someone to be so sappy my siblings run away from home so they don’t have to see.” Lance snickers and Keith punches him in the shoulder for it.
“I hope you have it too, but you have to promise me that you won’t stop being my friend when it happens.”
“You can have my word on it buddy, hug to seal the deal?” Lance wiggles his eyebrows.
“We can only hug if you don’t make fun of me while we watch the new Bon Voyage episodes, I just can’t help myself when Jimin acts cute.”
“When I have ever made fun of you from getting flustered when you see a cute Korean boy in your phone?”
“Lance” he says in a small voice “You always make fun of me when I do that, but he is just too cute, it’s a curse he carries. But I’ll give you a hug because you never make me go back to my house and you’re a good friend”
“Awww Keith, I’m touched.” He takes Keith’s hand and puts it on his chest “Look my heart is really feeling the love.”
“Idiot,” Keith grumbles while hugging Lance.
He might be a idiot but he was the best friend anyone could have, and he had made a good decision by befriending him in first grade. It’s something he would never regret.