Building a Foundation

Meeting the Family!

Sorry for the wait guys and gals! Things have been a little hectic for me recently and getting time to sit down and write has been hard. But, no fear as Chapter one is here! Hope you enjoy! 

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The sky was dark by the time they arrived at Side's house. The flight back had been uneventful, bar Side falling asleep on Shadow's shoulder on the plane, causing his arm to feel dead for hours. Shadow couldn't make out much of the neighborhood, the sun almost set, casting a dark shadow along the row of houses. But from what Shadow could make out, it seemed pretty nice.

They had already seen Olivia off to her house, the girl turning down Side's offer of joining them for dinner as his mom always cooks too much. Olivia had opted instead to get home fast so she could Skype Deluxe. 

Shadow had to admit, he was nervous. While he had been in relationships before, none of which meant as much as his current one and the fact he was about to meet his boyfriends parents, it made it all a little surreal. As if sensing Shadow's inner dilemmer, Side turned to the older man, offering up a reassuring smile.

"Hey, everything is gonna be ok. Trust me. They are gonna love you. You know how I know that?" Side asked, leaning in closer to Shadow, smiling softly. 

"Why?" Shadow responded, his voice quiet as he lost himself in the gaze of his love. 

"I know that because I love you." With that, Side closed the gap, the lips coming together is a tender but loving kiss. It lasted mere seconds but to Shadow it was like a lifetime. A lifetime he wanted to relive over, and over. He almost groaned in disappointment when Side broke the kiss to tap on his front door.

Moments later, the light from inside the house brightened the darkened garden as the front door opened and Side was enveloped into a woman's embrace.

"Albi sweetie, welcome home!" The woman greeted, kissing Side on his forehead. Shadow watched wide eyed as the woman then turn her attention to him. He let out a yelp, one of which Side would never let him live down, as he was brought into a strong hug. "And you must be Shadow. It is so nice to meet you! Albi has told me so much about you but not once did he mention how handsome you were." The woman offered a little wink, Shadow to blush and Side to let out string of giggles.

"Mom, mom, please, you're embarrassing him." Side was still laughing hard but moved to Shadow's side, twinning his fingers with the older mans, rescuing him from his mothers escapades. Shadow should have know this woman was Side's mom. After all, he had heard the phone call between his boyfriend and his mother and he could tell how excited she was that Side was having a friend over, let alone a boyfriend. As it turned out, Side's family already knew about Side's sexual preferences and while not everyone was 100% supportive, his parents and sister loved him all the same.

"Ok, I will stop for now. You two must be famished. Come inside and lets grab some food." Side's mom, smiled warmly at the couple before turning to go back inside, leaving Shadow to stare, almost gobsmacked.

"See, told you they'd love you." Side beamed, gripping Shadow's hand tighter and pulling him into the warmth of the house.

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Shadow had to admit, Side's mom, Roza as she asked to be called, was the best cook he had ever met. She had put of a spread a 'welcome home Albi and welcome to the family Shadow' meal, she had stated. Shadow could not have felt more welcome. Side's father, Andri, had greeted Shadow with a firm handshake and a smile and his sister Rea, had smiled shyly, a slight blush on her face which had left Shadow baffled. He had to ask Side about that later.