Lance POV
I groaned and stretched my arms over my head, wincing at the ray of sunlight that landed directly in my eyes. The seahorse I keep in my home sat on the top of my pillow, stretching itself before floating upwards. I chuckled to myself and gently pet the gelatinous creature. While yawning, I slowly rolled out of bed. The seahorse, properly named Jelly, made a soft purring noise before following me. I swam out of my room and into the common area, where Shiro, Hunk, and Matt were all sitting around talking. Pidge was sleeping, her ginger locks rested against her brother's tail. I waved to the group as I went over to the kitchen area to search for food.
"There's some food on the table over here. C'mon over." Hunk said with a soft smile. I nodded and took a seat in a cushioned shell across from Matt and Pidge. Shiro gave a small smile before his face turned stoic. "Why did you go investigate the human yesterday? I told you not to." His voice was hard and disapproving. I shrugged and sat up, sensing this was not a time to joke around. "I thought I recognized him, and it turns out I did!" I explained, smiling at the thought of Keith. I should try to visit him later today, I'm sure he could use the company. I thought to myself while Matt placed a gentle hand on Shiro's arm. "Lance, doing that is dangerous. What if it was the man that shot you?!" The older man asked.
I froze and scoffed, hurt that he would bring that day up. "That was in the past Shiro. I would've gotten out of there if Keith wanted to hurt me!" I blurted. Hunk looked down and Matt shook his head, then gently brushed Pidge's hair when she stirred. Shiro shot up and towered over me, his eyes glowing an unnatural shade of purple. I cowered in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest to protect it. "You. Will not. Go up to the surface again. That boy, that HUMAN, is dangerous. It doesn't matter if he isn't his father, all humans are the same." Shiro's voice was a harsh hiss. I glared at the man and nodded before darting off, far into town near the library.
It's like Shiro was never curious! Silently threatening to use his power on me wasn't exactly the best part either. In an attempt to get away, I darted into the library and ran straight into Coran and my main pet, Blue. The marvelously mustached man dropped his stack of books when my shoulder rammed into him. "Oh gosh Coran! I'm so sorry, here let me help…" I apologized as I quickly helped him get his books. The man chuckled and pushed Blue towards me. "No need to worry lad, it's just a couple of books for Allura. She has been antsy ever since Shiro told us about the human living at the beach." I winced at the mention of Shiro's name but brushed it off when Blue nuzzled my cheek. I smiled and gently pet the shark while offering more help to Coran. We picked up the books and I left the library with him, my mood slowly improving.
I followed Coran to his shared home with Allura but didn't go in. Allura wasn't exactly my biggest fan, I'm not sure why. Blue and I left their home and drifted along past town. I didn't want to go home and face Shiro, I knew I would just get even more pissed. My fingers brushed against brightly colored flowers and fish. I hummed softly to myself and smiled at Blue, the leopard shark nuzzled my cheek in response.
Without realizing it, I had ended up right at the dock. I could hear a faint whining noise from the surface, which was strange. I grabbed the edge of the wood and pulled myself out of the water. The first thing I saw was Keith, shirtless, with some sort of tool that was cutting a large board of wood. My eyes widened as I took in the sight. His back was covered entirely with a spacey theme, done in some sort of colored ink. His arms were nicely toned, probably from lifting wood boards like that. His shoulders were freckled, which was so adorable. His pale skin contrasted with the red markings up and down his arms. I coughed softly and rested my chin on my hands. Watching him work was hypnotic, it made me dream of being able to go up on land and run my hands along that back, the colors, his arms. I wanted to trace every marking, gently touch the scar that I had inadvertently caused, I wanted to kiss every freckle on those damn shoulders.
I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and blushed. I had never wanted to go on land before, let alone do all of… that to someone. Keith turned the tool off and puffed out his cheeks as he lifted the board and set it against the broken house. I watched in amazement as he did this, focusing on how the muscles in his arms worked, and his cute cheeks! Keith turned around and noticed me at the dock and waved happily.
I blushed again and waved back, almost losing my grip on the planks. Blue nuzzled my tail and looked up at me from the water, which gave me an idea. Keith jogged over to the dock and sat down, that smile still dusting his lips. "Hey! Can you go to the beach? I want to introduce someone to you!" I said while grinning. Keith nodded and started walking towards the sand while I dipped back down into the water. I took some deep breaths and squealed like a teenage girl. Keith was still shirtless, and hot damn, he was very toned in the chest and stomach.
I motioned for Blue to follow me and swam to the shallow water. After taking another deep breath, I wiggled up onto the sand, making sure to keep my tail in the path of the tide. Keith was smiling when I looked at him. His hand ruffled my wet hair and his voice made the sweetest sound, a giggle. My heart melted there, I almost forgot about Blue. "This… T-this is Blue! He's one of my pets." I stammered. Keith smiled wider and looked into my eyes. "Is Blue safe to touch?" He asked. I nodded quickly and showed him how to pet the shark. As Keith stroked the animal, he chattered on about his day, explaining how much work he had to do on the house and how long it would take. He estimated about a month or two, if he really focused and worked from sunrise to dusk.
We talked for a while before I suddenly mentioned Shiro getting mad at me about the day before. "He doesn't want me to come up to the surface to see you. He can get scary when he's mad. Shiro is the one that cursed us, and I'm pretty sure he can take it away!" I explained. Keith's brow furrowed before he spoke. "If he doesn't want you coming up here, maybe there's a way I can go down there." Keith's voice was low, as if he was unsure. My mind raced with emotions, panic, excitement, fear of what Shiro would do were a few of them. "I think there is a plant near here, in the water, that can let you breath underwater for a while…" I said softly. Keith's eyes lit up and he gently gripped my shoulders. I could feel how rough, but soft, his hands were. My face turned a shade of coral red and my marks suddenly lit up brighter than before. Keith gasped as the light from both our marks made it impossible to see.
When the light died down, Keith was staring at his waist in horror and confusion. I blinked a few times to adjust to the light change and saw why he was confused. In place of his legs, was a dark red tail, following the same gradient I had, only to black towards his bottom fins. "What… what the fuck just happened?!" Keith screeched. What had just happened, I had no clue.