Decided to split the meet-the-parents into two parts. Part one is a very late Thanksgiving special featuring Rayla's family and part two is a very late Christmas special featuring Callum's. Hope you all don't mind the split!

Here we go!

"They know I'm coming, right?"

"Callum, of course they know. Just calm down."

"You said that Runaan can't stand humans. What if he decides I'm not good enough for you and wants you to move back home?"

"Callum…" She let out an exasperated sigh as he drove the rented car towards her childhood home in the Silvergrove.

"I can't take that!"

"Callum, calm down or we'll crash and never get there."

"Right. Right." He took a deep breath.

"You will always be good enough for me. And I'm not gonna move back home. I moved ta Katolis because it felt right, and I'm with you because it feels like it's where I'm meant ta be. We're gonna be fine. Turn left."

Rayla watched her boyfriend as he turned onto the street she'd grown up on. She could see people she'd known her entire life going about their days as she counted the houses like she always did when she came home. Eventually, she signaled for Callum to turn into a driveway that already had two cars in it. They got out of the car, Rayla gripping his hand as they approached the door and she knocked. It opened to reveal her mother.

"Rayla!" Tiadrin hugged her only child. "Welcome home!"

"Hi, Mum."

"Katolis has been good to you, I see."

"Yeah, well, walkin' everywhere will do that." Tiadrin's eyes turned to Callum, who smiled nervously. "Mum, this is Callum, my boyfriend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McCloud." Callum stuck out his hand to shake hers.

"And the same ta you. Come on inside."

Callum let out a sigh of relief and Rayla elbowed him slightly.

Inside, she could see Ethari and Lain already doing their annual prep for the next day's dinner and dessert while Runaan was doing some sort of last-minute papers for work. In other words, a normal McCloud family Thanksgiving. Lain immediately enveloped his daughter in a hug as soon as he saw her. Callum got a firm handshake from both Lain and Ethari. From Runaan he got nothing but a 'how dare you sully this house, human' type of look, which, honestly, was better than he expected.

So far so good…

"I've set up yer old room fer ya," Tiadrin told her daughter. "But I'm afraid we don't have anywhere fer Callum."

"It's fine," Callum replied. "I can just sleep on the couch or something. I'm the one who butted in, after all."

Tiadrin's eyebrows flew up in surprise; clearly she'd been expecting him to demand to sleep in Rayla's room, not be so agreeable to what she'd been about to propose. It was Rayla who protested, however.

"Callum can sleep in my room. It's not that big a deal."

Runaan muttered something to himself and Tiadrin shot him a glare. He shrugged in response while Rayla led Callum down the hall.

Opening the door did not show the kind of room Callum expected. Actually, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. But it certainly wasn't what he saw.

The walls of Rayla's childhood bedroom were painted a soft lavender and covered in posters for various bands he knew she listened to from time to time. Stuffed animals lined the shelves along with books and movies that he knew she loved. Without missing a beat, she sat down on her bed and pulled him down with her.

"I don't think Runaan likes me."

"He doesn't."

"Oh, good to know, since I'll be here for a couple of days."

"Relax. I'm sure things will go fine. If he tries to kill ya, I can defend ya." She kissed him on the cheek. "Now, how about I take ya ta explore my hometown? You've always wanted ta come ta Xadia, right?"

"Yeah. You sure it'll be all right?"

"Positive. I'll just let them know we're leavin' and we'll be back."

Tiadrin whirled around to glare at Runaan as soon as Rayla and Callum had left.

"Ya can't be civil with him?" she asked.

"He's a human, Tiadrin. Nothin' good comes from humans."

"He seems respectful enough," Ethari pointed out, trying to intervene. "Not ta mention Rayla is an adult now and she can make her own decisions."

"This is one I can't agree with."

"Maybe we just need ta get ta know him better," Lain suggested. "If Rayla trusts him, it's worth a try."

"Hmph." Runaan crossed his arms. "She barely mentions anythin' about her life in Katolis."

"And this is probably why. Ya never wanted her ta move there in the first place."

"Neither did any of you."

"But we let her go," Tiadrin argued. "And she still speaks with us."

Runaan sighed, finally capitulating for now.

"If he does anythin' ta hurt her—"

"Then we'll all track him down and make him pay," promised Lain. "But I don't think he's gonna. We just need ta give him a chance."

Dinner that night was a fairly decent affair. Runaan glared at Callum throughout the meal but Rayla shot glares right back at her uncle. After all she'd learned from the best and she wasn't going to back down. Her parents and Ethari tried to get to know Callum better both during and after dinner, asking him all sorts of questions about his life and subtly probing him about his and Rayla's relationship.

"I have ta ask, how do ya feel about Rayla bein' able ta beat ya in a fight?" Ethari spoke up. "It's nothin' too personal, is it?"

"No, it's not. I've never really been good at fighting or anything like that. Actually, the first time we met was during freshman year. She was walking ahead of me in the hall and I noticed she seemed a little lost, so I tapped her on the shoulder and she grabbed my wrist and slammed me into the floor."

Tiadrin covered her mouth and Rayla could tell she was laughing.

"I know it sounds cheesy and stupid, but I think I started falling for her right there."

"You did not!" Rayla snapped, smacking him lightly on the arm. He laughed a little and Runaan scoffed.

"Oh, wait, you should see her when she's sparring with my roommate, Soren. She's the only person I've ever seen who can lay him out flat, other than my aunt and my mother, of course."

"Speakin' of them, the two of ya are spending Christmas with yer family, right?" Lain inquired.

"We are," Rayla replied. "We figured he'd meet you all first then I'd meet his family at Christmastime."

"If you're still together then…" Runaan muttered, not realizing he was speaking aloud.

He received a glare from nearly every other person at the table.

"I apologize. That was rude."

"What's sad is that we're used to it," Callum sighed. "Most people don't seem to approve of us being together."

"It's dumb," snapped Rayla, rolling her eyes. "Everyone's entitled to a stupid opinion, I guess…"

Runaan swallowed. Him acting like he had towards Callum likely hadn't helped Rayla's feelings on the matter. He needed to be mindful that they'd already faced more than enough backlash when it came to their relationship. They didn't need any more from people they cared about and it sounded like Callum's family had more than welcomed the idea of having Rayla join them. If he didn't help do the same for Rayla, she'd likely cut ties with him and that sat more ill with him than the idea of having a human in the family.

"Besides, if things go well, she'll be the second elf to join the family," Callum added.

"Second?" Tiadrin questioned.

"My aunt Janai was the first when she married my aunt Amaya. My mother is very enthusiastic to meet Rayla at Christmastime in person."

"Your mother sounds like a good woman," Ethari commented.

"She is. She's the one who always told me to avoid dark magic and it's because of her that I think I was able to connect with the Sky arcanum."

Runaan suddenly felt much better about this boy. Maybe he was better than he thought…

Once dinner was over, Rayla shooed her boyfriend off to the living room while she helped both sets of her parents clean up from the meal. He sat down on the couch with his sketchbook and pencils, only looking up to catch a glance of those who were in the kitchen. Runaan was dying to know what the boy was drawing but he refrained from peering into what was likely an incredibly private item. Eventually, Callum looked satisfied and Rayla went over to see what he'd done, nodding in agreement.

"Since we're not going to be here for Christmas," Callum stated with a smile, "I decided to make you all a present early. It's not much, but I thought you'd like it."

He held up his sketchbook and Tiadrin gasped.

The drawing was a beautifully-done family portrait. Every face was in loving detail, and Rayla's especially to the point where Runaan knew that this was far from the first time Callum had drawn her.

"It's not finished yet. I'm probably going to add a lot of color."

"It's beautiful," Ethari assured him. "Rayla, you didn't tell us he was an artist."

"I figured you all would find out. He spends enough time drawin' me." Callum's cheeks burned pink and he chuckled nervously.

"Rayla was the first elf I was ever friends with. It's different drawing elves instead of humans but I think I do a decent job."

"Yer the best artist I know."

Runaan wanted to laugh at the flabbergasted and speechless expression the boy was making, like he was flustered that Rayla was complimenting him. He could remember Lain being the same way with Tiadrin when they were dating. Now he knew that Callum was completely head-over-heels for Rayla and that he would sooner harm himself than harm her in any way. That was all Runaan had ever wanted for his adopted daughter's future partner—someone who cared about her the way her family did and refused to let her get hurt.

And when the time came for Callum and Rayla to leave, the finished portrait (put in a frame) was hung above the couch with a promise from both young adults that they would be back to visit fairly soon.

None of them could wait.

So…

Lackluster compared to chapter one, I know. But I waited so freaking long to upload this. To give you context, I started writing this between Christmas and New Year's and… yeah, it took a while. But Callum's family is up next and that should be longer.

So long and thanks for all the fish!