The residence

by ulendocuments

Summary:

Keith wants to get his degree, be a student and experiment college life. But having almost no savings and the raising prices of higher education –and don’t get him started on loans- almost killed his hope; until he stumbles into ‘The Residence’: an exchange program that will allow him to study in a foreign country– Venezuela, for less than a thousand dollars per month, residence and accommodation included.

Now, passport in hand, he enters the new country to the city of Caracas, with a not-so-pleased-to-be-here local, Lance, who was assigned to be his interpreter.

Notes:

Summer break is giving me a lot of free time, and I miss going to classes so much. I’m back in the klance building, so, before we start: This is my first even fic for ao3

English is not my first language. There would be a LOT of Spanish and Venezuelan slang, references and stuff. This is based of my everyday life so, enjoy a piece (self insert without OCs for sure) of how living in Caracas feels. I would provide translation of the Spanish for certain parts, and the references will be at the end notes

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Visa

Experiencing college sometimes is taken for granted. We are mostly taught that it is something that will happen to you, sooner than later, and you will go all your student life waiting for the moment of the admissions letters to come. Unless it doesn’t, or you get a most painful outcome, as in Keith’s case.

The letters come, a bill having been paid for every fee, and there is acceptance, but with just a million ways to say softly to his ear: we are too expensive for you. Shiro slides a cup of coffee over to Keith, who is opening the sixth letter of the day.

“Nothing yet?” He sits down at his desk, facing him with just enough worry on his face. Keith sighs.

“I got into four of them”, he throws the letter into the pile on his right, “but not a single scholarship, not one that is enough”

“What about the student loans? We did an upgrade for that program” Shiro starts typing on his laptop, already searching in the Garrison Care system.

“I got out of the system two years ago, and I don’t have enough credit for that anyway” he doesn’t want to go through this again. He tried for almost two years –with the help of the garrison at first, then Shiro’s– to get into every single college in at least six different states. He’s got accepted, most of the time, but it was all damn expensive.

The thing is, for an immigrant kid raised in Texan foster care, there are not many options. He doesn’t have any family members in the states who could be able to help him, nor contact with those in Japan, or Korea. He doesn’t have a proper house either, as he is currently sharing an apartment with four roommates he found online somehow, with the occasional help from Shiro and Adam to pay the bills when he can’t afford it; and he really doesn’t want to go in debt, as he finally escaped his parents not so long ago.

After the first failed attempt, he stumbled into a job he actually likes, away from customer services. But it sucks, as he can’t get a raise without the proper diploma for it. He is working as an assistant in acoustic consulting, that involves engineering and complex mathematics, which he can’t just pickup after reading five books and having learned the basics –he tried, and he is pretty good at it, but you don’t get a diploma for reading and understanding on your own, and he can’t just understand it all–; no, you don’t get the job just because you have the talent of identifying a particular noise that is messing with the whole experience of existing on a particular place, and you can’t simply explain why or how to fix it mathematically.

His boss promised he will be open to taking him on as a consultant in the future, only if he goes and begins his formal studies. The company is growing rapidly outside the states, taking more space on the Latin American musical market, and Keith is ready to start his studies and be part of its expansion only if he goes to college.

College is the only thing keeping him from not living paycheck to paycheck, he is barely escaping the debt without touching his savings, and getting a proper job in a good company he is already working on for almost two years.

It is not fair, he thinks, being this close to actually living a life that doesn’t feel like drowning in his economic problems every minute.

“I’m tired of this”, he admits, rubbing his fingers against the side of his head. Shiro sighs, leaning closer over the desk.

“There has to be more options, you just need to focus more on the things that you actually have–“

“Like what? All I have is this” he points towards his helmet, and his motorcycle keys sitting on the chair next to him, then to the piles of letters between them, “and the job I can barely meet ends with, and an old mattress in that room I share with other two guys and just this in general”

He points towards Shiro and realizes that yes, he is being kind of ungrateful here. He groans, hiding his face on his palms. Shiro takes no offense and stands from his chair, his prosthetic cracking as he uses his arms to stand up, and lays the good hand over Keith’s shoulder.

“I know you hate me whenever I say this, but have you thought about the army? We would be lucky to have you back”

“I’m not- mom wanted me to do better” he stands up, gathering his stuff and holding his helmet with one arm, “just… can’t let her down, and I would be a terrible soldier anyway”

“I highly doubt that” Shiro makes his way towards the door of his office, opening it for Keith “you know, since you spent most of your training picking fights and winning”

“I broke every rule and order possible, not soldier material” he shrugs, stepping out of the room towards the entrance of the facility, “see you tomorrow, and check that prosthetic, it’s making that weird sound again”

“Dinner at our place?”, Shiro shouts, and Keith gives him a thumbs up before disappearing.
The ride home takes him at least thirty minutes, speeding more than he should, drowning his thoughts in the familiar roar of his bike. When he gets to his building, the parking lot it’s already taken by a familiar car, and he groans.

“Pidge, I told you Matt has to park in the visitors section!” He shouts as he enters the apartment, Kosmo already greeting him with a bark.

“My bad!” answers Matt from the kitchen, Pidge and Hunk sitting at the bar in front of him.

“I told you he was coming back soon”, says Hunk, “sorry bud, it’s not going to happen again, I promise”

“It’s okay, text me about it next time” he walks towards his room, followed by Kosmo, and sits at the edge of the bed, glad to have the room for himself for a minute. He can listen to the chatter outside, knowing that soon they will get back to the room for the zoom call with that friend of theirs, Keith decides to take a shower and then review some of the documents from today’s work.
Acoustics are an interesting job, as he gets to use one of his main traits. All of his life he has been hyper aware of the sounds around him, and he didn’t think he could make a living out of hearing so much. It all started when Acxa, his half-sister, started dating that girl drummer back at the Garrison.

He was in one of the rehearsals for a gig and noticed that the reverb was too much and he didn’t understand what was being said, so he fixed the issue at the sound booth, without having been in one of those in his entire life. He also found that the mics for the drums had too much delay and mixed up with the bass a little in a specific area at the back of the hall, and fixed it too. He got a card from the sound technician at the end of the night, and it has already been two years since that. He assisted him, when the team at Marmora consisted of only ten people, and now the company has almost one hundred employees across different states and regions. Everyone had a significant part in the company expansion, but he was stuck doing the training for the entry level positions in the city and helping with some clients from now and then.

He needed that raise and he is growing impatient, and now he is surfing through college websites once again. He didn’t notice when Pidge and Hunk entered the room, and wondered for how long they had been on the zoom call when he realized. They have this thing once a week, they talk with a guy that apparently left the States a long time ago. Keith ends up staring for too long at the dark skinned, blue eyes and big cocky smile on the computer screen, so he decides to leave the room.

“The resi– oh, didn’t notice he was there” says the guy, and Pidge looks at Keith who is moving towards the door with his iPad in one hand.

“He wasn’t listening, didn’t even realize when we got in here, hey Keith! Come say he–!”

“Are you fucking crazy–“ that’s the last thing he hears, as he walks into the living room. Sitting at the couch, James and Ryan are watching a show, and Veronica is coming from the kitchen with a bowl full of popcorn.

“Keith! Didn’t thought you were home”

“Could say the same about you, Griffin” he sits at the bar, and Veronica does the same at the last spot on the couch.

“I saw you today at the facility, you had a lot of mail” Veronica says as she rests her face on one of her hands.

“A busy kind of guy, with the company growing like crazy and all” James grins, taking more popcorn into his mouth, and Ryan nods.

“Maybe, I just need to get some more work done, but the others are invading the room as we speak”

“Then you could use ours, I don’t think Pidge will have a problem, we are going to be a distraction if you stay here anyway” Veronica offers, and Keith thanks her before entering the girls room. He sits at the desk and puts on his headphones.

It’s not the first time he uses that desk for work, now that he thinks. Sometimes Veronica joins the zoom call with the others –as the guy seems to be her sibling or something– and offers him to stay in the other room. It’s not that often, though, as he prefers going outside in those cases, not wanting to invade others privacy, but he doesn’t have the energy to change his clothes again.

He is reading some documents until his headphones die, and starts looking for the charger Veronica always has in hand. She has them organized at the edge of the desk, and he tries to not look into her stuff. But something caught his attention.

It’s a brochure, filled with blue, red and yellow colors, the main text being “study at Venezuela’s Best Universities!” And “high education for lower prices”. He starts reading about the program, forgetting the documents he was reviewing as he scans the QR code to the website. He spends the next thirty minutes reading all about the McClain-Rojas Exchange Program, which allows students from Venezuela to study abroad in the States, exchanging with an American student.

The program covers from high school senior year and college students, including masters and doctorate programs. There were different universities available, and also the option of going with a host family or to The Residence. Veronica knocks the door and takes Keith back into reality.

“Am I interrupting?” He lays the brochure down on the desk, facing her ashamed for going through her stuff.

“No, I- this brought my attention, are you applying to…?”

“Oh, no, that’s the family business back at home, or well, my mom’s” she takes the brochure and shows him the picture of her mother on the back. “why? Are you interested?”

“I’m not currently a student…” he lowers his head, arms crossed. Veronica mirrors his stance.
“I don’t think that would be a big deal, maybe I can talk to mom about your case, I’ve known you for years now, you know, once an ares always an ares”

“I was kicked out before even becoming one”

“And no one was able to replace you” she gives him a soft smile, before shouting “but James tried so hard”

“he should have stayed as a cargo pilot” he says in response, louder, trying to hold a laugh.

“I heard that!” James shouted from the living room.

“Keith, what degree do you want to get anyway?” She stands up, walking towards the entrance of the room.

“mathematics or engineering”

“I don’t think the language barrier matters that much in those” she whispers, more to herself, as she walks into the boys room “we can figure it out”

——

When he mentions this at dinner with Shiro and Adam, the table runs quiet. They exchange looks, and Keith knows why, but Shiro says it anyway.

“Well Keith, that’s exciting news, but I’m not sure if your Spanish is that good-”, Adam cuts him, looking at Keith like he is crazy. Maybe he is.

“Because it isn’t, like, at all, you don’t speak Spanish”

“I learnt how to speak Korean by myself, and even Japanese just by spending so much time with you at the Garrison” he puts down his fork, frowning. Shiro does the same, with a calmer expression.

“Yes, but here we speak English primarily, you can practice your Japanese and then go and buy something in English as usual, moving to a foreign country means you don’t get that chance”

“In a country you probably didn’t know about until yesterday”

“Veronica’s family is from there, and my other roommates talk to her family all the time, I knew it existed”

“Yes but you don’t know about the country, it’s not like when Takashi came to the States” Adam points at him, but Shiro flushes.

“Actually–“

“Oh god” Adam takes off his glasses, pinching between his eyebrows, “you seriously are letting the child move away from us”

“I’m not your child! I’m 23”, he points at them, the situation was ridiculous, “and you are only 28!”

“What about your job? Your friends? About Acxa and us? What is she going to do if she comes back from deployment?” Adam demands an answer, pointing his fork towards him.

“Listen, she is old enough to look for herself, and when she comes back she will not be alone! The boys will be ready to take her in if she needs to, I could call you every week, and I already have talked to my boss and we have prospects in that country-”, Shiro interrupts.

“Marmora has an office there?”

“Not right now, but” he crosses his arms, looking away “I’m opening one, if I get into the program, I instantly get the promotion”

“Well,” Adam let his threatening fork down, too, “you clearly have taken care of everything”

“I know it’s insane and so out of the blue but, this is the opportunity I was looking to actually do something, we always thought I would be moving states, so it’s not that different”

The room is quiet. Very, very quiet. And then Shiro laughs, softly.

“So this is how my parents felt when I decided to move here, I get it now”, he looks at Keith on the eyes, realizing maybe for the first time the kid he spotted at that school was gone, “we are proud of the man you have become, Keith, and your parents also would”

“Thanks…”, he looks at both of them, smiles on their faces, as they continue eating. He doesn’t.

“What do you need to do, then?”

——

Paperwork. An insane amount of paperwork. He holds the list with the checked documents, marking the number of the ones he is missing for the visa.

“Mrs. McClain, I think I have all the documents”

“Seems like it, child, you sent everything we need to also get you into any university in the country” Mrs.McClain, was reviewing them on her computer, talking to him on a zoom call. Veronica was there, too, helping with the translation of some requirements. “Now it’s time to choose which one, have you thought about that?”

“Yes, and I think I’m going for the U…U…” he tried to remember the Spanish spelling, but Veronica interrupted him before he said something very wrong.

“UCV” she spells correctly with enthusiasm, and Mrs.McClain laughs. What? Asks Keith with his stare, not getting the joke.

“That’s the College.. how do you say it, Warriors call?”, says the woman on the screen. Veronica shrugs.
“I’m not sure, to be honest”

“I think I get the concept”

“Good, then that’s everything for tonight, you children get some dinner and sleep, I’ll send you the email once we have a response from Secretaría and we can proceed with the Consulate and Visa’s appointment”

“Yes, thanks for everything, Mrs.McClain” he smiles softly while putting away the list on one of his folders. Then a shout goes through the computer, away from Mrs.McClain position in front of the laptop.

“¡Mamá! Tell Veronica to answer my damn texts!” The voice comes from a guy, but he doesn’t show up on the screen.

“Activa la racha, you bitch” she shouts in response, like her screaming would make the other person hear her better through the computer.

“¿Hasta cuándo les tengo que decir que se dejen de groserías en esta casa-?” and Veronica ended the call before being scolded by his mother in front of Keith. He looks at her, perplexed.

“What is a racha?”

“A TikTok streak, or what I like to call it, social slavery” and she comes out of the room.

 

——

Keith is coming out of the Facility, the sun setting on the horizon as he speeds on the empty way leading to the city. It has been almost four months since his approval from the University, and now he is waiting for the Consulates approval of his visa. His alarm rings off as he enters the city once again, and he stops at a gas station to connect him. Acxa shows on his phone, her faces a neutral as usual, before growing an attempt of a grin.

“Hey”

“‘Sup little girl” he saluted.

“Stop calling me that” she crosses her arms “it’s corny”

“I think I can call my little sister names”, Keith leans on his bike, trying to not think too much about the bandages he sees on Acxa’s arm, “how is it going?”

“We had an encounter, nothing too crazy” she hides her arm. She is a terrible liar, Keith thinks, “this would probably take more years than we thought”

“Seems like a lot of things are taking more time than it should”

“Nothing yet?” He shook his head.

“The consulate is silent, maybe my record really screwed this up”

“Your record is impeccable"

“Not what I meant” he could already feel the tension, he didn’t like this being brought up.

“You were one of the best at Garrison, any institution should be grateful you are choosing them”

“Not Garrison”, Acxa gives him a deadly stare, “sorry”

“You will get better”

“And you will be here sooner”

“I’m not one for making promises, Keith”

“You better” he glances at her, too, seeing a glimpse of their mother in her eyes.

“I promise I will get back” she finally says, sighing before speaking softer, “happy birthday, Keith”

“Thanks, little one”

The time ended, and he dived into the streets. Before going home, he stopped at a very familiar shop. He bought two sour candy bars and ate one, sitting at his bike, taking in the flavor and the view, as the memories of his childhood came back to him, to the moment he got to know Acxa at her mothers funeral, a part of her he never understood.

Keith was nine years old, and Acxa was almost four years younger than him; she came in wearing a purple and blue dress, held by an old Korean man, who spoke very little English, but traveled all the way to the funeral. His father didn’t act surprised, but hurt, as he directed them to the casket. He found out later that she was his half-sister, as his mother had an affair with a Korean soldier who died because of an illness at a young age, and that was the reason she left for two years more before coming “back” from deployment.

His dad took care of her like she was his daughter, until his last breath; and Keith learnt to love her, accepting her as a sister, regardless of their mothers choices. The day of his dad’s funeral, four years after their mom’s, a friend of his parents took them to that shop, buyed two sour candies –their favorites– and waited for social services to come and pick them up. They got separated, and a year later Keith was accepted into the Garrison thanks to Shiro, and three years later, Acxa was sent there too, by Adam. The rest is history.

He entered the apartment, phone in one hand and helmet on the other, as he received a notification on his email. He read it fast, once, twice until it was all his mind was processing.

“Surprise!” A group of people he knew shouted, genuinely scaring him and making him drop his phone.

“Shit!” He ducks to the floor, picking up his phone without looking at them. All his roommates (Veronica, James, Pidge and Hunk), accompanied by Ryan, Shiro and Adam looked at him, confused.

“Sorry! We just wanted to say happy birthday” Shiro apologized, Pidge was holding a cake next to him.

“I got it”, the group exchanged strange looks, not knowing what to say, “I got the email” Veronica gasped.

“And what does it say?”

“My visa is approved” after a second, the group burst into a mess of shouting, laughter and congratulations to him, as he received a great birthday gift: a visa, the chance to study, a promotion, and the opportunity to celebrate with the friends he has made for himself, after many years of being- feeling alone. Yes, he was getting better, and he made sure to text Acxa about it before going to sleep – a little too drunk–.

“You were right. I have my visa :)”
Sent, October 23 at 11:57 p.m.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: rooms

Summary:

Keith and Lance meet- but the last isn’t pleased with his company, Keith thinks so.

Notes:

Lance is kind of an asshole, but maybe is the SHOCK of having Keith nearby. This chapter is shorter than I thought it would be. Please enjoy.

Keith knew the scales were something stressful. But he didn’t expect it to actually be so damn horrible. Getting to Venezuela was terrible, as he took three scales to get to Maiquetía: one was delayed, the other almost lost his luggage, and the last he felt they were going to arrest him just for being an American –and surprisingly, they let him go just because he was Asian, only god knows why–. But he finally made it, the airport being smaller than he expected –not that he knew a lot of airports anyway– after twenty and a half hours with little to none sleep.

He got the wifi of a restaurant at the airport –recommended by Mrs.McClain, as the airport’s didn’t work that well– and texted the lady to know where he was supposed to go next.

“My son is already waiting for you at the gate, he will recognize you” she answered, so he followed the train of people leading towards this glass gate, and after a few moments, he was met with the sight of families crying, hugging their family member upon arrival, also ones that walked alone through the crowd, some kids being held towards the sky, multiple people laughing and speaking at a very fast Spanish he didn’t understand, and between all of those histories, was a familiar set of blue eyes and brown skin.

It was strange seeing him in person, recognizing him. He was taller than he imagined, but what was more strange, was the fact that he felt like knowing him. He didn’t know his name! But he had seen him through that screen on the computer, and the family vacation pictures of Veronica, that he felt he knew. So he was standing still, waiting for the McClain guy to recognize him, as he didn’t know what name to shout.

A minute later Keith was growing impatient, as the guy didn't recognize him at all. Yeah no shit, they didn’t know each other, of course he didn’t recognize him.

“McClain!”, Keith shouts, part of the initial crowd was gone long ago, and the guy looks at him. Keith was filled with embarrassment from shouting, as the other was just standing still, frowning as he looked him up and down. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” the guy says, getting close enough to grab the huge bag Keith has in one hand, and walking away immediately after. Oh, now Keith is frowning.

“Could you just wait for me at least?” He asks after speeding up to match the guy’s pace.

“We will be so late, this hour’s the traffic is insane”

“And how was I supposed to know that?” They were walking through the parking lot, and the sky was filled with dark clouds. He swears the sky was clear like, twenty minutes ago.

“I told you that in the text I sent you!” Keith laughed out loud, irony running in his voice.

“I didn’t have any text from any-“ he checked his phone and damn, he was right. There was a telegram message from an unknown person. “I didn’t know it was you- you-“ he goes silent, and the guy turns around, a weird expression growing in his face. They make eye contact for the first, real time.

“Uh, the name’s Lance”. Lance. Lance McClain, he finally has a name for him. Lance clicks the button on his hand and opens the door of his small, blue car. A Chevrolet Aveo Keith notices.

“Sorry” Keith sighs, and pats the copilot’s door as Lance opens the door for the back seat and carries his suitcase in, “nice car”

“Blue? Yeah”

“You named your blue car, Blue?” Keith leans on the car, arms crossed.

“Yes, and she is the sweetest girl” Lance answers as he slides into his seat, starting the engine and rolling down the window on Keith’s side. “Are you coming or not?”

Keith opens the door and sits quietly, looking through the window all the time, trying to take in the view of the new country, the salt from the ocean near them hitting his face with a mix of humidity. Lance turns up the radio and starts humming along with his clearly memorized playlist.

The differences are evident immediately. The houses are painted, colorful and very close to each other, the street is filled with trucks and cars and too many motorcycles –that part isn’t a problem, really, but he starts to miss his bike– there are people walking on the sidewalks and everything is so vibrant even with the upcoming rain. It was beautiful, in Keith’s eyes.

They start going up a road with many curves, and then the traffic strikes at the same time as the rain. Lance closed the car’s windows and started the AC. That was a good difference, as he was used to having the AC on all the time back in the States. The slow ride turns the normal silence into an uncomfortable one, and Keith is growing anxious.

“Dammit” Lance whispers, frustrated by the situation. Keith thinks how he can make this situation less horrible, and notices fast that he is not the best at starting conversations. Then, he remembers.

He takes the bag at his feet, and searches for a tinier bag inside it. It is filled with snacks and candy, and he opens a bag of mini snickers.

“Do you want some?” He offers Lance, who’s face relaxed after a few seconds as he took one of the snickers and opened it.

“Thanks, I forgot how American snickers tasted like”

“Aren’t all snickers the same?” Lance shakes his head, swallowing and licking the chocolate in his thumb.

“Hell, no, they aren’t”

“There’s no way it’s different, it’s a snicker” Keith points at the one he has in his fingers, examining it.

“Just because it is called the same doesn’t mean it’s the same, it has differences from country to country, like Coca Cola”

“What’s wrong with the coke here?”

“Oh you really don’t want to use that word here”, Lance laughs, the traffic in front of them just gets worse every minute, “you have a lot to learn if you want to survive this city”

“how so?”

“First, your Spanish, from the look you are giving me I know you don’t speak Spanish at all” Keith nods softly, as he is right, maintaining a 120 day streak on Duolingo meant nothing, “your accent probably is so weird”

“I don’t think so”

“Oh, really? Then say this: soy una rata”

“Soy una- wait are you calling me a rat?”

“That one was pretty obvious”, they start driving, slowly in the rain, “then say: hola, mi nombre de s Keith”

“Hola, me… mi nombre es Keith” Lance frowns, looking at him with surprise.

“That was actually kinda good, how did you learn to pronounce like that?”

“Spanish class? Or maybe it’s the Japanese, it has similarities on the pronunciation”

“You speak Japanese?”

“And Korean”, Keith crossed his arms over his chest.

“And chinese?”

“Eh, no”, Lance sighs “what?”

“So you know how to speak the most useless Asian languages for Caracas, nice”

“Why would it be useless? It’s Japanese!”

“Unless you are going to Japan’s Embassy Cultural Week, I think it’s pretty useless”, Lance points, eyes looking to the front as they start approaching the end of the traffic, “same with the Korean, but you could use it to charm the pretty ladies out there”

“No, thanks”, Keith looks away, resting his face on the hand he has placed on the copilot's door.

“Oh, come on, Venezuela has a lot of the prettiest latinas, and there are also a lot of international girls to choose”, Keith’s heart pains a little at those words, but why would it be?

“Not interested”, he says after a few seconds, “I came here to work and study, I don’t have time for that”

“You do you bud, but you didn’t deny having a taste for pretty and brown skinned latina women” Keith remained quiet, and Lance gave him a cocky grin, teasing. Yeah, he definitely knew that grin.

The car goes silent again, and Lance decides to turn up the music, and listen to Taylor Swift. They enter the second tunnel of the way, and Lance points out with his finger, hand still on the steering wheel.

“Welcome to Caracas, Keith” he says as they pass the tunnel into a big bridge, surrounded by colored houses and a green valley in front of them. It’s breathtaking. Everything was so green, and full of trees he had never seen before.

“We are passing San Martín, it’s under this bridge, and we are headed to the Centro de Caracas, the center of the city, that’s where the campus is, I will point it out for you when we pass by”

“The campus is in the city?”

“Yes, Ciudad Universitaria is in the middle of the city, so it’s very accessible from any direction, doesn’t matter where you live, you will have access to public transportation and civilization, no need to own a car”

“Public transport, America needs that right away”

“I prefer to call it the States and yes, you guys need it”

They continue the conversation as Lance drove in the freeway, pointing out the zones he needed to know like Los Caobos, Ciudad Universitaria, Plaza Venezuela and the surrounding areas, which are the ones with a major concentration of Institutes, Faculties and different Universities, not only La Central.

“And where is the residence?”

“We have multiple, one in Plaza, two in Los Símbolos, and the international students one is in Santa Fe, which is a little far from the campus, but that’s because you guys mostly come for the private universities”

“And where are we now?”

“We are entering the Prados del Este freeway, mom wanted to receive you with dinner at our house, we live in Prados del Este, which is close to Santa Fe’s Residence”

So they will live close, Keith thinks, and continue to enjoy the ride to McClain's home. They enter an area with multiple, big houses, and drive all the way to the last one on the street. They are met with a beige wall with a black garage door, plants decorating the outside. The garage door opens and shows the three story house, the entrance surrounded by a garden and at least five parking lots in front of them, two cars already inside, protected by a dark wooden ceiling connected to the house.

The house was huge, built in a traditional style, but all the black and dark wood details seemed brand new, big steps into the porch, and an equally big wooden entrance door. The McClain’s were well accommodated, Keith knew, but entering the house with those big panoramic windows and modern marble floors made him think they were actually rich.

“Mamá, we’re here!” Lance shouts, removing his shoes at the entrance before putting them away in the closet nearby. He turns ready to speak, but goes quiet as Keith already did the same.

“Good, I don’t have to explain that to you”

“I could say the same” Keith laughed softly, remembering all the times he had to explain himself after taking off his shoes automatically in someone else’s houses. Lance guides him into the house, passing the living room and the tv room –they had a small cinema?– all the way into the kitchen, next to the dining room. Mrs. McClain was already serving the dinner, and Keith waved at her.

“Oh, mijo! You are here!” She smiled, putting the plates aside and headed towards Keith, hugging him tightly, “welcome to Venezuela and our house, I hope Lance didn’t do anything stupid”

“¡Má!” Keith chuckled, and Mrs.McClain ignored the hurt expression of Lance, signaling for him to take a plate

“Come on, you must be hungry, let’s sit” they sit at the dining table, Lance taking the seat in front of him, Mrs.McClain at the head on his left.

“Lance, say grace” and Lance did, in Spanish, so Keith just remained silent, without understanding what was being said. Then the older woman started eating, and Keith did the same. Oh boy, the food was amazing.

“It’s arroz con pollo, I made it especially for you”

“Thank you, Mrs. McClain, it’s really delicious”

“So tell me, how are you feeling?”

“Uh, tired, I didn’t get much sleep” “I’m still processing everything”

“I understand, luckily I already finished cleaning your room so you could rest for today, tomorrow we will be discussing the next step in this process”

“Excuse me, did you say his room? What happened to the cleaning lady? You went to Santa Fe?”

“I didn’t go to Santa Fe, I was here”

“But you were…cleaning his room”

“Yes, because he is staying here with us”

“WHAT?” Lance choked and started coughing, Keith got up immediately to assist him, “no no no, I’m okay, it’s okay, I just, why isn’t he staying at Santa Fe?”

“Because the rooms are full, you know that” Keith sipped his juice, looking down as the discussion started unfolding in front of him.

“Yes! But- mamá, ¿por qué se tiene que quedar aquí? ¿No lo puedes enviar a otra residencia?” Good, now Keith didn’t know what was being said. He tried to keep eating, but his throat hurt, closing itself when he tried to swallow.

(Dialogue: but mom, why does he have to stay here? Can’t you send him to another residence?)

“¿A que se quede solo con un montón de extraños que no hablan su idioma? Nunca, ¡aparte es amigo de tu hermana! Es familia”

(Dialogue: and stay alone with a bunch of strangers who don’t speak his language? Never, and he is your sister's friend! He is family)

“¡No!”

“Sí, Lance, se va a quedar con nosotros y punto, ya tenemos suficientes habitaciones vacías en esta casa”

(Dialogue: Yes, Lance, he is staying with us, period, we already have enough empty rooms in this house)

Lance fell quiet. Keith cleared his throat before speaking, carefully standing up in his chair.

“Mrs.McClain, I feel really tired right now, if you may excuse me and show me my room for today, please” his voice went out like a whisper, he didn’t look up, eyes connected only to the table in front of him. Mrs. McClain sighed before standing up, leading him through the living room and up the stairs, opening the door of the third room on the right side.

“Rest well, Keith, I will tell him to get your suitcase and-“

“Don’t worry, Mrs.McClain, you both already did a lot for me” Keith wished he could say something to comfort her. She smiled weakly and wished him good night, the sun already gone outside his window.

He closed the door and took off his jacket. The room was almost the same size as the one he shared with Hunk and James back in Texas, but having it all for himself felt weird. He had a queen sized bed, a built-in closet that led into a full bathroom, a desk near the window, a TV and AC, and enough space for a couch next to the door. That was a lot more than he was used to, it felt like having a studio apartment without a kitchen.

He laid down in bed, taking his phone to text Shiro, but quickly realized he didn’t have his sim-card yet, and he didn’t ask for the wifi password. He sighed, leaving the phone on the desk and felt the tiredness make his muscles ache, so he took off his shirt and decided to get a well deserved night of sleep.

Under the covers, he tried to ignore the questions about the dinner. But really, what was his problem? Keith was also shocked at the idea of living with them, as he expected to be in an actual student’s residence this entire time, but he didn’t feel shock was enough to make Lance react the way he reacted.

Maybe he felt it was intruding? Having this stranger in his house without further notice? Keith tried to relate, have empathy towards him, but it was hard- all his life consisted on having to deal with people getting into his home -or he getting into others- and living with him, first with Acxa, then with his roommates at the Garrison, and even after being kicked out having to welcome more and more roommates and their friends over, it was natural to him. Maybe Lance was more reserved? Shy? Or maybe he didn’t like the idea of a guy who apparently knew all his friends living with him. Who know, really? Keith just felt tired, and bad about that fight the McClain’s started because of him.

Would it become something recurring? Will they have more fights about him? Mrs. McClain clearly made his decision on the matter, and so did Lance apparently. What if it becomes routine and the mother-son relationship weakens because of Keith’s presence? He didn’t want to be a burden, so he made his choice.

In the morning, he would tell Mrs.McClain to let him move into a Residence. Hopefully, she would not resent him, too.