"You… want me to get on that?" Lance looked skeptically at the odd machine known as a motorcycle.
"For the last time… yes." Keith reassured him for the sixth time. Their small amount of luggage was under the seat compartment. Keith only had the one helmet and had graciously decided to give it to Lance for their journey.
"Lance, it's fine." Shiro attempted to placate him as well. "Keith uses this to get around everywhere. Trust me, I didn't like it either at first, but Keith has proven to be an excellent driver."
Keith's face warmed at the praise. "See? Shiro says it's fine too. Now," he shoved the helmet on Lance's head as gently as he could but still heard a yelp of pain, "Get. On. The. Bike."
Lance readjusted his helmet with a pout. "Fine."
Keith's exasperated, "Finally." Was met with an angry glare from the merman.
Lance swung a leg over the vehicle and settled in behind Keith. He admired the smell coming from the man in front of him. He had no way to describe it, having lived under the ocean for almost his entire life. There was the smell of the hotel soaps mingled with something underneath.
"Are you going to wrap your arms around me, or what?" he heard Keith snap from in front of him.
He gladly embraced the other from behind, "Like this?"
Keith startled before he grabbed Lance's arms and wrapped them more securely around his waist. "Like this." He corrected. "Now hold on tight." He said right before he turned on the ignition.
"O-" the motorcycle lurched forward as gently as Keith could manage, "Kay!" Lance finished with a scream.
Keith laughed as he enjoyed the wind ruffling his hair and Lance's warm arms wrapped around his waist. He felt the slightest prick of claws and reached down to pat Lance's arm.
Realizing what he was doing, Lance loosened his grip just enough that his claws weren't digging into Keith so that the other would put both hands back on the steering bar.
Keith had to squint through the wind and blink often so that his eyes wouldn't dry out too bad. It barely worked, but it would have to do for the next few hours he would be driving.
He felt the warmth of Lance's helmet lift from his back and send a shiver down his spine at the sudden chill.
Lance watched the scenery whip past them. There were several cars on the road crowding around them, each with humans inside. Keith's presence made him feel safe from the humans surrounding them.
Having nothing better to do, Lance wondered if this is what it felt like to fly. If so, he questioned why anyone would choose to get a car over this.
Keith pulled over and parked in front of a diner. They'd been driving for hours and Lance was beginning to squirm so much that the motorcycle was getting difficult to manage. Keith locked the kickstand into place and gracefully swung his leg over to stand beside his bike. Lance was too busy trying to pull the helmet off without falling from his seat to notice Keith trying to recover the moisture missing from his eyes.
Lance managed to pull the protective plastic off of his head in order to give it to Keith, who took it with a laugh before he hung it on one of the motorcycle's handles. Lance's brow furrowed with confusion as Keith stepped closer to him. Lance could feel the warmth of the bike under him and the heat radiating from Keith's thighs as the Galra smoothed his helmet hair with a fond smile on his face.
"Let's walk around and give our asses a break." Keith offered as he stepped away to allow Lance to finally stand.
After a bit of struggling, the merman managed to stand with shaky legs. He stomped his feet for a bit before he took a few steps. Deeming himself ready, Lance turned to Keith. "Well, are we going to walk around or not?"
Keith shook his head with a huff before shoving his keys into his pocket and following Lance. The diner they had stopped at was a few hours' drive from Keith's house. There was a small commercial area they would pass on the way there, where Keith would do his shopping for essentials.
He had no qualms about being around humans, but he didn't particularly like them either. This made it easy for him to do odd jobs around the area in order to buy things like gasoline, food stuffs, and other items.
Thinking of food, "Lance, d'you want to get something to eat before we head out? I don't really have much back at the house."
"No, I ate this morning. I should be good until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Keith cried with alarm. Questioning exactly how Lance fended for himself.
"Well yeah. If I don't do much, I only need to eat once a day." A thought occurred to Lance, "How often do you eat?"
"Well I try to eat two big meals a day, but sometimes I end up only eating a snack in the morning."
"A snack?"
"Like some crackers, a granola bar… snacks." Keith struggled to find a way to explain to Lance that he probably needed more than a single meal per day.
"Oh." Lance paused, "What do you eat for your big meals?" He was growing concerned for Keith's lack of nutrition.
"Uh, usually what I can find in the desert. A rabbit, a bird, some lizards, I ate a snake a few times."
"Yeah, but where's the fish?"
"Fish?"
"Yeah…fish. I know humans eat them." Lance gasped and stepped closer to Keith with worry etched on his face. "Don't tell me you haven't been eating any fish. How have you survived? You poor thing, you must be so malnourished."
"Why the hell would I be malnourished? I eat a relatively balanced diet, Mr. One-Meal-A-Day."
"You say balanced… but where's the fish?"
"I feel like we're talking in circles, Lance." Keith complained.
Lance looked confused, "No we're not. We're both standing still. Keith, I think your poor diet is getting to you."
The Galra sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm hungry after all this talk of food. Are you going to join me, or not?"
"I'm not going to let you walk into a human establishment alone, don't worry about that Keith. But I will not be eating any of this garbage."
"Suit yourself?"
"What does that even mean? You know what… never mind. You say strange human colloquialisms and I accept that about you. Because I love you."
"You know, Lance. I find it strange that you know the word 'colloquialism' and yet you can't grasp what these 'strange sayings' mean." Keith said with a slight blush at Lance's easy confession.
Lance shrugged as he eyed the humans inside of the diner. With another sigh, Keith opened the door to go in. A little bell went off and one of the waitresses called from the back, "I'll be with you in a jiffy."
Lance leaned in closer before whispering, "How long is a jiffy?"
Keith didn't even get to open his mouth to reply before a young woman approached them. "Is it just you two today?"
Keith nodded in response. The young woman's smile grew slightly, "Will that be a table or a booth?"
"Booth please." Keith answered without hesitation. He'd always preferred the higher level of anonymity that came with sitting in a booth. Tables were just too… out in the open.
"Right this way." She led them to a small booth towards the back of the diner.
Keith sat down in the booth and Lance began to slide in next to him. "Lance, sit over there." Keith gestured to the seat across from him with bemusement.
"Oh… sorry." As Lance settled on the other side of the booth the woman smiled brightly at the scene.
"Today your server will be Kerri. He'll be over here to take your order in a bit. 'Til then, what can I get you two to drink?"
Keith ordered first, "Water would be nice."
Nodding, the woman turned to Lance, "And for you, sugar?"
"Oh, my name's Lance. And I guess I could get some water too."
The woman giggled and Keith felt a surge of jealousy course through him. He cleared his throat and the woman, whose nametag read Jane, shot him an unimpressed look before she left to go get their drinks.
"She seemed nice." Lance commented as his eyes followed her departure closely.
Keith shrugged stiffly as he looked down. Not wanting to see Lance drooling all over the young woman.
"Keith?" The Galra looked up as Lance called his name, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Keith answered as he looked away.
The woman came back and set down two glasses of iced water, a lemon wedge in each, and two menus. With a smile, she left the two of them alone once more.
The silence grew heavier. Lance was sure that something had upset Keith, he just couldn't figure out what.
A young man approached their table next, he had a pen and notebook in hand. "Hey, folks. My name's Kerri and I'll be taking care of you today. Were you interested in getting any appetizers?"
Still a little sulky about the young woman fawning over Lance, Keith forced himself to be polite to the new server. "No, we're fine. Could I just get a sandwich?"
The man smiled brightly as he focused on Keith, "Of course you can! What kind of sandwich are you in the mood for? The 'Breakfast Combo Bash' or something more like the "Sub of the Spicy Italians'?"
"Can't I just get two pieces of bread with some lunch meat and a piece of cheese?" Keith griped.
Kerri laughed good-naturedly, "I'm afraid I don't make the rules. It sounds like you want something like the 'Firehouse Club'."
"Okay, then I'll have that." Keith relented and gathered the menus to hand back to the server.
"And what will you have for sides?"
Keith sighed and muttered, "Why do things have to be so complicated?"
The server gave a sigh of his own, "I'm right there with you, buddy. But we gotta do what we gotta do, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah. Can I just order fries?"
"You most certainly can." He finished jotting down Keith's order before he turned to Lance. "And what can I for you today?"
"I don't want anything." Lance replied, his eyes narrowed with disdain at Kerri.
"Are you sure? Not even a salad?" Kerri offered.
"No, Kerri. Not even a salad. Now go get Keith his food." Lance snapped. Keith looked at him oddly.
"Wow, okay. There's no need to be so mean." Kerri snapped his notebook shut. "If you don't want anything, fine." He turned back to Keith with a pleasant smile, "I'll be back with your order shortly."
Keith nodded in understanding and Kerri left.
"What the hell was that?" Keith snapped.
"I didn't like the way he was looking at you. It's obvious that we're together and yet he had the gall to try and express his interest in you… I didn't like it." Lance confessed, looking more upset as he went on. "You're mine. And he can't have you." He reached out and covered Keith's hands with his own.
"Lance, he was just being nice. Besides… you were the one eyeing that girl earlier so you don't really have any room to talk." Keith accused.
"Eyeing that… Keith, I was making sure she wasn't trying to express interest in you."
"Didn't seem that way to me." Keith argued as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Keith… I'll forgive your ignorance because you don't know anything about the merfolk. We haven't exactly mated yet. I was only trying to scare away competition and show them that I already claimed you."
"What does mating have to do with anything?"
"Keith, right now we are technically only potential life-partners. Until we mate that bond is open for someone else to come in. I know you aren't bound by it, like I am, so I'm feeling especially anxious around people who try and talk to you." Lance took a breath to calm down. "If that bothers you, I will try to keep my feelings to myself."
"Lance… I-" Keith was interrupted by Kerri's return.
"Here you are, sir." The server set down Keith's order.
Lance swallowed the urge to flash his serrated teeth at the other in warning, and took a steadying breath. "Kerri, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier."
The server turned, a little startled by the customer's sudden apology. Willing to put the earlier argument behind him, Kerri gave a peace offering, "It's fine, sir. Thank you for apologizing. Not many folks would do that." Kerri gave him a measured look before he smiled brightly at him, "Are you sure there's nothing I can get for you to eat?"
Feeling a little bad that he'd allowed himself to misjudge the young man in front of him, Lance shared a look with Keith. The Galra shrugged and bit into his sandwich.
"Um, is there any fish here?"
Kerri looked up in thought, "Well, we do have one or two things. There's the 'Twenty Thousand Leagues of Deliciousness' though it's more of a fish sandwich with a million different sauces slathered on top. We also have 'Fish and Chips', a seasonal favorite when the northeasterners come here, for reasons unknown to me. Arizona is the worst for those folks. They come here and cook like lobsters every year." Kerri chuckled. "So, what'll it be?" he asked as he whipped out his notepad and pen again.
"Could I get the Fish and Chips, I guess. Just don't let the chips get all over the fish, okay?"
Kerri laughed, "You got it!" He walked away a lot more chipper than the first time.
Keith continued to scarf down his sandwich and fries during the conversation and was halfway finished. When Lance looked at him, he raised a single brow and the message was clear.
'See, was that so bad?'
No, Lance decided, it wasn't.
"What are chips?" the merman asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's just another name for fries."
Lance looked down at these so-called 'fries' on Keith's plate. "Could I… could I try one?"
Smiling, Keith picked a fry up and offered it to Lance. The merman took it carefully and inspected it closely.
He sniffed it before he took a hesitant bite. His eyes immediately widened. "Holy shit."
"What?" Keith's concern was ignored by Lance in favor of gulping down some water.
"I live in the ocean, but that fry was the saltiest thing I've ever tasted." He took another sip from his glass before he looked at Keith with horror. "And you're just…eating them like it's nothing. You haven't even had any of your water!"
Keith shrugged before he shoved an entire fry in his mouth and ate it pointedly. Lance was spared for a moment with Kerri's return.
"Here you go! I made sure they kept the fish away from the other stuff."
"Thank you!" Lance gave the man such a look of gratitude that Kerri felt a slight flush over his cheeks.
"I-it's fine. Glad you're feeling better." He looked between Keith and Lance. "You two enjoy your meals, I'll be back to check on you in a bit." And Kerri was gone again.
Lance turned his attention to his food. He looked between the large 'fries' that dwarfed Keith's own and the triangular shapes next to them.
"Where's the fish?"
Keith reached over and pointed at the triangles. His mouth busy chewing on the last of his fries.
"This is what you call fish?" Lance asked with mounting horror. Feeling bad for the humans who never knew the joy of fish.
"Lance, it's fine. Just try it."
Lance gave the Galra a dirty look before he picked up one of the 'fish' triangles. Steeling himself he took a bite. Other than the gross outer covering, inside it was clearly fish. It didn't have much flavor, but it was certainly better than those salty fries.
Picking off the crust, Lance began to slowly make his way through his meal. Kerri came back a few times to make sure their drinks were filled and everything was to their satisfaction.
Keith watched the other as he ate. Admiring the view and shuddering any time Lance's teeth would flash as he ate. He was all too aware of the damage those serrated edges could do to someone's flesh… and yet he was inexplicably drawn to them. Much the same way he was about all sharp and deadly things, he supposed.
Lance eventually finished his fish as Keith ate the fries that came with it as he continued to watch the merman.
Almost like he could sense it, Kerri appeared at their table. "So, how was everything?"
"It was filling." Lance answered honestly.
"I'm… glad? So, I guess you two don't want any dessert?"
"No, thank you. Can we just get the bill?"
"Of course. Are y'all together?"
Before Keith could reply, Lance answered suspiciously. "Of course we're together! See, Keith. I told you he was trying to-"
"Lance! He was talking about our orders." Keith admonished.
"What?" Lance felt the fight leave him in a rush.
"He was talking about how we were going to pay for our meals. If we would each be paying for our own or if only one of us would be paying." Keith explained. A smile tugging at his lips.
"O-oh." Lance looked down. Suddenly embarrassed by his outburst. "Sorry, Kerri." The merman looked at Keith, "I can't pay, though."
"I know, Lance. It's fine." Keith smiled softly at him before turning to the server, who was just watching quietly. "Together." He answered even though it was obvious.
"All right, I'll give you the bill after I take care of your plates." He stacked their plates, Lance shyly pushed his closer to the server, before he left to ring up their order.
Keith stared at Lance as the other looked down stubbornly.
"Lance…"
"I said I was sorry." Lance defended as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. "I know that was stupid of me. I thought…" Lance sighed, "But I was wrong… again. I know I'm just a dumb fish to you." He finally looked up and Keith was struck by the vibrant shade of blue they were, "But I'm really trying. I promise."
Keith placed a gentle hand over Lance's clenched fist. "It's okay, Lance. If anything, that was the funniest shit I've ever seen."
Lance looked hopeful, "You're really not mad?"
"No! Why would I be mad?"
"You looked so upset when I was mean to Kerri before. I thought you were mad again…" he looked down at their hands and whispered, "I don't want you to be mad at me."
"Lance, I'm not mad. If I was I'd tell you about it."
"Really? Because earlier when you were angry that I'd apparently been looking at that woman you were mad, but you didn't say anything."
"That was because I knew it was only me being jealous. I know that you aren't going to leave me for some random woman." Keith looked a little unsure. "Right?"
Lance slipped the hand Keith was holding from the Galra's grip and grabbed it before staring fiercely into Keith's grey eyes. "I am pretty sure that I would never leave you… unless you didn't want me anymore for some odd reason."
"Odd reason. You certainly have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Keith snorted.
"I'm pretty sure if either of us suddenly lost interest it would be very odd indeed." Lance leaned in closer to the other man.
"I can't argue with that." Keith answered as he also began to close the distance between them.
"Um, excuse me, sirs. I brought the bill?"
Lance and Keith groaned as they pulled away from each other. Keith grabbed the bill and saw that it was a little under $16, he pulled out a twenty and handed it to Kerri along with the receipt. "Keep the change."
Kerri nodded with a polite smile and left them again.
Keith stood and stretched as Lance climbed out of his booth awkwardly. "Alright, let's get going again."
Lance nodded with a happy smile that shone brighter than all of the servers' combined. The two made their way back to the bike. As Keith grabbed the handles for balance to swing his leg over the seat, he felt a tug on his jacket.
He turned and found his face caught between Lance's hands. Lance tilted his face down slightly to look into Keith's eyes. He searched for something that he apparently found because in the next moment Keith felt Lance's lips press against his.
It was tender and warm. Keith smiled as he playfully nibbled Lance's lower lip and caught a taste of the food he'd eaten. Lance whined before he pulled away. The regret on his face could have been from the fact that he'd had to stop or that he'd instigated the kiss.
"You're too salty." He complained.
Laughing Keith pulled Lance's shirt collar to make him bend down a little more before he kissed him soundly on the lips. With that he was satisfied, so he released the other.
Lance straightened and wiped his mouth with a blush. "Sorry."
"It's fine. When we get back to my house I can brush my teeth and we can do this 'mate thing' once and for all."
Lance's body exploded with heat. "Unless you want to go right here and now, keep offers like that to yourself."
"Hmmm, I'll keep that in mind." Keith replied coyly as he finally settled onto his bike. He passed the helmet to Lance, who quickly put it on his head before settling behind the Galra.
If Lance's hands would sometimes suggestively rub at the man in front of him during the rest of their journey home, Keith certainly had no complaints.
They traveled the last leg of their trip to Keith's house without stopping. It was a few hours before Keith spotted the lonely house he'd been living in for a few years now. He increased the speed a bit to reach his destination faster. The earlier promise had left a simmering heat under his skin that was kept alive by Lance's wandering hands.
He was really doing this. Having sex with someone. He was nervous because he'd never done it before.
He pulled the bike into the small shed he'd turned into a garage before he turned off the engine. He dismounted with practiced ease and helped Lance get off of the bike as well. Lance pulled off his helmet and revealed the ruffled mess underneath.
Keith reached up and tangled his hands in the other's hair before he pulled him down for a kiss. Lance let him take charge, still trying to recover from sitting for so long.
Their lips were slicked with spit after a few moments before Lance tried to pull away again. The overpowering saltiness still there, stinging his lips. Keith refused to let go before Lance whimpered in pain.
"Fuck, sorry. Let's go inside so I can get all that shit from earlier out of my mouth." Keith released the other and pulled away to go inside.
They were two steps outside before Lance gave a pained hiss from behind him.
"Lance?" Keith asked, concerned as he turned to face Lance.
The merman was clutching at his eyes, in obvious pain.
Keith felt his heart drop, "Lance!"
"It's fine. Ow! Fuck!" Lance continued to rub at his eyes.
"Apparently not! What's wrong with your eyes?"
Lance squinted at him and Keith could see that his eyes were rapidly growing more bloodshot before Lance hissed in pain and covered his eyes.
At a loss for what to do, Keith dragged Lance inside. "Come on. Let's splash some water in them. Maybe that will help?"
Lance whimpered with a nod as he followed the other blindly inside.
Keith pulled the merman over to the kitchen sink and helped to flush out whatever was irritating Lance's eyes. After a few times, Lance sniffled and tried to open his eyes. He rubbed the irritating droplets away before he seemed fully recovered.
He sighed in relief. "That was weird." He turned to the other. "Now, where were we?"
Keith put a hand over the merman's mouth. "About to discuss what the fuck just happened. Spill, Lance."
"Fine." The merman pouted. "I got a shitload of sand in my eyes… happy?"
"Are you serious?"
"It hurt! I couldn't even try to blink it away or anything. It just kept collecting." Lance defended.
Keith sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, he seemed to do that a lot around Lance. "I'm glad you're okay." He looked at Lance seriously, "But please don't scare me like that again."
Lance returned Keith's look, "I won't… sorry."
Keith felt his muscles relax. "It's okay."
There was a long pause.
"So… are we gonna have sex now?"
Keith laughed at the merman's persistence. "Careful, Lance. People might start thinking you're desperate."
Lance closed the distance between them and gripped Keith's waist before he pushed his groin against the other's meaningfully. "I am."
Keith let out a shaky breath before he pushed Lance away. "Alright, fine. Let me brush my teeth. You should too. Oh, shit. You probably don't have a toothbrush." Keith lamented. Seeing Lance's blank stare, he knew he was right. "Okay, you can use mine when I'm done since you don't really care, but we're getting two new ones tomorrow."
"Okay." Lance sounded eager to be done with the tooth brushing and moving on to more pleasurable activities.
Keith hurriedly brushed his teeth and watched as Lance tried to copy his actions when it was his turn.
As soon as Lance spit out the toothpaste, he remarked on its interesting flavor. He reported his gums felt tingly before he turned towards Keith hopefully.
With a nod, Keith turned and made his way back to his bedroom with Lance close at his heels. Shiro would probably pop in a little later. He wasn't sure how ghost travel worked, but apparently it took a lot of energy for him to reappear after long distances.
As soon as his bedroom door shut, Lance was on him. He found himself lying on his bed. Keith let himself spread out and relax as Lance kissed along his jaw.
"Can we take off our clothes now?" Lance asked against his neck and caused him to shiver.
His only answer was to pull off his clothes. Lance smiled as he removed his own as quickly as possible.
When they were both bare, Lance took a moment to appreciate the man under him. He'd noticed last time they'd been intimate, but now he really had the chance to see Keith's skin as it rippled with lithe muscle underneath the smooth, pale surface. Lance knew his own body was muscled as well, but there was an insulating layer of fat that didn't allow for it to show. It made him look soft compared to the hard lines of Keith's muscle.
He silently lamented that Keith wasn't getting the right nutrition and decided that he'd have to fish for the both of them from now on. He didn't want his life partner to wither away right in front of him… his life was so short already.
"See something you like?"
Lance's eyes flicked up to find Keith giving him a playful smirk. Thoughts that Lotor had planted in his mind were forgotten as Lance smiled and quickly pecked Keith on the lips. "Just you."
Keith's cheeks tinted pink as he pulled Lance down on top of him. When their groins slotted together perfectly they both groaned from the friction.
Lance pulled away and Keith felt his patience wearing thin. "What now?"
"How do I…? How are we supposed to have sex?" the merman asked as he looked down at both of their erections. Unable to figure out the next step.
Keith felt a flush reach his ears and all the way down his neck. It hadn't occurred to him that Lance didn't have any experience with having sex. He knew the basics at least. "Um. I could just be on top this time? I don't really want to have to…" He couldn't believe the conversation he was having right now, "talk you through everything."
Lance hummed in agreement before he nodded and flipped their positions. His body stretched pliantly, completely submitting to Keith. Blue eyes locked with Keith's grey ones.
With a full body shiver, Keith felt a sense of intoxication at the sense of power he had over the merman. He leaned down and captured the other's lips in a hungry kiss. It was full of teeth and tongues that ended with the both of them gasping for breath.
Keith admired Lance's swollen lips and knew his were the same. Knowing that he needed some kind of lube, he stood and padded over to his dresser. He rooted around until he found some lotion he'd had back when Shiro was alive.
Pushing away the negative thoughts that threatened to intrude on his moment, Keith flipped open the cap. He'd never done this before, but he understood the process from his earlier days full of curious internet searches.
He poured some lotion generously on his fingers before he looked at Lance, "This might sting." He warned before gently nudging his middle finger inside of the merman.
There was a hissed, "Cold." Before Lance settled back. Keith was so focused on his task and watching Lance's face for pain that he forgot about everything else. He noted that it was incredibly tight before he saw Lance shut his eyes in discomfort.
Lance was still trying to get used to the strange sensation. It didn't hurt, it wasn't cold anymore, but he could still feel the foreign object inside him.
Keith immediately stilled his hand, before he leaned down and kissed the other's closed eyelids. He began to give light kisses all around the merman's face in the hopes to comfort him. When their mouths connected again, Keith felt his finger slip further in.
With this newfound discovery, Keith began to split his attention between preparing Lance and comforting him.
There was only the lewd sound of squelching and their desperate gasping in the room. Eventually Keith was able to fit three fingers inside. Lance seemed to just accept the touches at this point. He didn't react like there was incredible pleasure like Keith had read. He tried to remember if he'd read anything to make it better.
Meanwhile, Lance was still deciding how he felt about Keith's actions. It just felt like friction, it could be described as pleasurable if he thought about what Keith was preparing to do to him. He felt a little overwhelmed with the fullness of three fingers inside, not used to having anything shoved up there, but it wasn't bad.
He watched as Keith's brow wrinkled with concern before he seemed to realize something.
Keith crooked his fingers inside and pushed in deeper, it was like he was looking for some-.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Lance. "What are you-"
Keith's fingers brushed against something that made Lance's question be choked off with a groan as he saw stars, Keith stilled his hand once more. "Was that good?"
The merman glared at him panting. "Keith, if you don't hurry up and fuck me I'm going to take over." he threatened after he'd recovered his breath.
Not wasting any time, Keith pulled his fingers out. Lance hissed at the stinging sensation and the sudden loss. Keith mumbled an apology as he applied some more lotion to his erection. His hands were a little shaky as he felt his nervousness increase.
He lined himself up and looked at Lance's face as he pressed inside slowly. He wanted to make sure he wasn't hurting the other or overwhelming him. He wasn't quite sure how fast he was supposed to push in, so he sank in a little at a time. It was slow torture for him, but it would be worth it not to hurt Lance more than necessary.
He felt Lance's calves press against him from behind before they tightened and pushed him fully inside the other. After he'd regained his senses and his thoughts were able to be something other than heat, good, pressure, friction, he had the sense to check on Lance.
Lance was only slightly regretting his choice to speed the other along. He slowly grew accustomed to the feel of the other splitting him open. His legs were shaking where they held Keith captive against him. Not allowing him to move away just yet. He bit his bottom lip to stifle the whimpers that threatened to escape him.
Keith mindlessly rubbed Lance's thighs in soothing circles until the merman nodded for him to continue. He pulled out slowly before pushing back in. He did this a few times before he grew bolder and began to increase the force as he pushed into Lance.
The merman gave a choked cry of, "There!" and Keith realized what he'd managed to find. He readjusted so that he could keep hitting that spot deep inside of Lance.
"Oh, fuck." Lance whimpered before he trailed off into meaningless grunts and pants of pleasure.
Keith was no better. He was pretty sure if he allowed himself to make any noise other than the echoes of Lance's grunts and his own labored breathing, it would be nonsensical swearing.
He leaned forward and gave Lance's abused lower lip a few soothing licks. Lance tried to kiss back but his panting hindered him too much to do anything more than react to Keith's kisses with a few half-hearted flicks of his tongue.
Lance had been gripping the bedsheets in order to keep himself from hurting Keith with his deadly claws. But the sensations grew to the point that he felt the desperate need to latch onto something. He scratched at Keith's back as he tried to satisfy his urges. The other hissed and sat up to escape them before he grabbed Lance's hips, his own claws peeking out slightly.
Using the added leverage, Keith was able to increase the power of his thrusts by pulling Lance to him as he pushed in even further.
"Faster." Was the new complaint from below him as Lance struggled to find his release. Keith could feel himself getting close too
He sped up as fast as he dared without immediately shooting his load. It finally occurred to him to grab Lance's erection to help him along. Squeezing gently at the tip, he began to stroke Lance in time with his thrusts.
He was quickly rewarded with Lance's choked cry before the merman came. Keith, who was unprepared for the sudden clenching around him, found his release with a cry of his own. His thrusts became irregular and shallow as he chased the euphoric feeling. When he was finished, he fell on top of Lance in a satisfied heap.
They lay there gasping for breath for a long moment.
"That felt… very nice." Lance commented when he'd recovered. Keith hummed in agreement, feeling more sated than he could ever remember, basking in the afterglow. "I guess it's official. We're life partners now."
Keith gave a sloppy kiss to Lance's chest where his head was resting. "Yeah." He felt a sense of ease fill him at the thought of domestic life with the man under him.
"My school is going to be so shocked when I tell them I bonded with a surface-dweller."
Feeling the euphoria dissipate Keith sat up startled, "School?"
"Oh, I meant family." Lance corrected, remembering the cultural differences between them.
And then Keith's eyes grew wide in realization. His family. The one that lives in the ocean. You know? Because they were merpeople.
The thought that Lance still had a family had completely slipped his mind. He'd gone so long without having one that he hadn't even considered how Lance's family might feel about him shacking up with someone like him.
"Oh, Lance." Keith felt the guilt swell within him.
Sensing where Keith's thoughts had turned, Lance placed a gentle hand on the other's head before pulling him back down on top of him. "It's okay, Keith. I've already come to terms with it. With this." The merman pet Keith's hair. "And I'm happy with you. I feel… like you were something I didn't know I needed until now. Complete… you know?"
Keith felt his heart throb from the intensity of the emotions he was feeling. He couldn't put it to words like Lance so easily could, but he felt the same.
He heard and felt Lance's next words rumble in the chest his ear was pressed against, "I know it hasn't been that long… but I really do love you."
"I believe you, Lance." Keith confessed as he sat up to lock eyes with the merman. He leaned forward and gave the merman a tender kiss. His eyes locked with Lance's blue ones before he whispered against the other's lips, "I love you, too."
Lance smiled toothily before Keith found himself crushed in a hug. Lance made a soft crooning noise of delight and Keith laughed. The Galra patted the other's chest before he tried to sit up. Lance released him with a fond smile.
"Let's get cleaned up."
The shower was nothing that Lance had ever experienced before. Keith turned on the water and stepped in to rinse off before turning off the water. He looked up from where he'd begun scrubbing himself and explained.
"There's a well underground that gives me water but… it doesn't really rain out here enough to give me the luxury of a long shower." Keith then quickly scrubbed at his hair with shampoo.
"Do I have to take a shower like this from now on?" Lance asked.
"No." Keith's reply made Lance let out a sigh of relief. "But if you take long showers all the time then neither of us will be able to shower at all. The water will run out and we won't even be able to flush the toilet."
Lance's eyes widened. "Oh, no. I don't want that."
Keith smirked to himself as he turned on the water, "I'm glad." He stepped under and quickly rinsed off. "I refuse to have sex if I can't shower afterwards."
Lance swore to himself that he would take the quickest, most water efficient showers ever to have existed.
Lance and Keith were sitting on the couch in the living room watching Keith's tiny battery-operated television when Shiro appeared again. He looked incredibly worn out as he landed on the ground, energy too low to even float.
"Hey, Shiro!" Lance greeted as Keith gave a wave of acknowledgement.
Shiro gave a tired smile, "Hey, Lance. Keith." He nodded at the two of them in greeting. "What're you watching?"
"Shiro, you know as well as I do that I only ever get crappy news broadcasts and a documentary channel." Keith griped.
Shiro shrugged, "So, what are watching?"
Keith turned to face Shiro seriously. "We're watching the news."
Shiro looked at the television and witnessed sharks swimming around with a stupidly brave diver in the middle. Obviously, the cameraman was a champion for being underwater as well.
"I see that. I was worried you'd let Lance watch 'Swimming with the Fishes'."
Lance looked at Shiro worriedly. Not understanding the sarcastic exchange, "Would you be mad if I was?"
"I'd be furious." Shiro answered grimly.
"Oh…" Lance looked down while Keith and Shiro waited for what he would say next. Lance looked up and answered nervously, "Well, it's a good thing Keith turned on the news. Right, Keith?"
Keith and Shiro broke down in laughter while Lance looked confused. "Guys?"
Settling down, Keith smiled brightly, "It's nothing, Lance."
Shiro watched them, "You're good for him, Lance." He announced decidedly.
Lance turned to Shiro with a proud smile. Before he leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. He looked at Shiro seriously, "I promise I will make him happy the rest of his life."
Keith blushed, "Lance!"
"What?" Lance found the blanket that had been draped over the couch blinding him. He scrambled to pull it away and discovered Shiro and Keith locked in a silent conversation.
Their eyebrows moved and their mouths twitched into aborted expressions before Keith confessed, "Lance and I are life partners."
Shiro looked stunned for a moment before he smiled so brightly, light seemed to radiate from him. "I'm happy for you, Keith."
Keith gave a small smile, "Thank you, Shiro."
There was a long moment of silence with the television running quietly in the background. Though, because it was quiet between them the television could clearly be heard, "Don't go away just yet! We'll be back with more 'Swimming with the Fishes' after our break."
"Uhhh, I can explain." Lance fidgeted and Shiro and Keith burst into renewed laughter at the merman's expense.