A/N: Helloooo finally out with the actual introduction and their first interaction. I had to rewrite Lance's pov because he sounded sooo out of character and I hated it. I like this version more, it was more fun to write and it flowed out much better. Hope you guys like it!

Chapter 7 Glow

Keith had to take a moment to calm his stomach when they finally stopped right over the edge of the Texas Shelf. Shiro was looking at him with concern and doubt, having already tried to talk him out of deep sea diving. Of course, knowing how stubborn Keith was, didn't work.

It also didn't help that Pidge and Matt were encouraging him. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe you should take a break from swimming and get some down time."

"As much as I love surfing the internet because I have absolutely nothing to do, I prefer this." Keith looked up at him, his eyes set in determination he had been lacking for the past couple months. "I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. I have a job, sort of." He looked back at Matt and Pidge, who gave him a grin and thumbs up. "I'm helping out in a way no one else can. For as long as humans have been studying the Gulf, I can discover more than they have in the last decade."

Shiro knew arguing was pointless, because honestly, Keith had a point. Ever since dropping out of the Garrison he had felt lost and worthless; this made him feel important, and that was a big deal to both him and Shiro. "I understand, I was just suggesting taking a break."

"I feel fine." He looked a little less queasy, but not by much.

"What if something goes wrong? We won't be out here to help you." Shiro might not be able to talk him out of exploring the deep, but he wanted to talk him out of doing it today.

"What if you run into another mermaid?" Keith looked at Pidge, giving her a "you're not helping" glare. She just smirked, unaffected. "Sorry."

"If anything goes wrong he has our communicator in his ear." Said Matt, actually trying to help. He was too excited to get more information than worrying about Keith's safety at the moment, much to Shiro's frustration.

"That doesn't mean we'll be able to get to him in time."

"If you're so worried, I'll set a timer." Said Keith, pushing a couple buttons on his watch. "Five hours. If I don't return by then, then you can come looking for me."

Shiro sighed, why did he keep trying? Even if he didn't come back, how would they be able to do anything about him deep in the ocean? He really didn't like this. "Okay, but make sure the locator is on, that way we know where to look."

"Yes Dad." Keith mumbled, setting his watch up.

"And check in every 30 minutes."

"What? I would have to come up to the surface every time just to talk. Every hour."

"45 minutes."

"Shiro."

"Fine." He needed to learn how to stop giving in. "We'll see you in five hours." His look let him know not to be late by one minute or he would be angry.

"Okay, I'll be back." He slipped into the water, pulling his shorts off and throwing them on deck.

"What do you think would happen if he left his shorts on when he changed?" Asked Pidge.

Keith ignored her and dove under, not really thinking about the answer. He was too enthusiastic to go exploring deeper into the dark depths. The East Breaks loomed over like a cliff leading to a pit of darkness, filling him with excitement. He didn't wait to see the boat sail away and dove down into the Sigsbee Deep.

Keith tried to recall everything he had studied the night before when he went on a research binge about the Gulf. He was just above the Alaminos Canyon leading to the Sigsbee Encampment. There were a lot of staggered cliffs, almost like a rough terrain slide, that led farther down. There had to be a couple of miles worth of gradual incline. He was able to swim pretty fast, probably enough to keep up with a speed boat, but he wanted to save as much energy as possible, just in case something happened.

Like a shark for example.

They were tasty though; he wondered if he could actually hunt them.

Were mermaids the apex predator? He shivered at the memory of those sharp teeth and how easily they tore into flesh and rope. It had almost pulled the boat over, even though it was a fishing vessel. What would he do if he encountered one? Would they know he was human?

The darker it got the more his eyes adjusted and glowed, making it easier to see. It was like swimming in perpetual twilight, which was both annoying and helpful. He wondered if this was what animals saw that had night vision.

The cliffs turned into beautiful reefs of coral and algae, coloring the canyon with bright reds and pinks. It almost made everything brighter. There were coves and ditches that could be perfect hiding spots and plants that looked like trees. The ocean really was a wonder. He wish he had a camera, he would have to get one next time from Pidge. But would it work in this dark lighting without having to use a flashlight or night vision goggles? He wished he could recreate what he was seeing. Maybe he could mess around on photoshop to get a better quality.

He stopped when he heard faint whistles and trills in the distance. It almost sounded melodic. Much sweeter and pleasant than a dolphin, and quieter than a whale. He listened harder to see if it was language and not just sounds.

It was language. He couldn't make out everything, just a couple of words like "distinguish" and "avoid". Could they be dolphins? He hadn't actually encountered any since he went through "the change".

Or were they mermaids?

Keith's heart started pounding as he quickly ducked behind a tree-like plant. He didn't want to know what would happen if he encountered one. Would he be able to fend them off? Were they as scary as the one on the boat? There was no way they wouldn't be able to tell he was part human. He had a human-half without scales after all. The one they found was covered in scales, and had fins for hair, and their eyes were solid black, like an alien caricature.

One thing he remembered was her scales had a pink hue to them, but when she died, they turned dull and lost their shine. It was sad, if she hadn't nearly ripped his arm off. The blank, lifeless eyes were the worst part.

Keith shook himself out of his chilling memories when he smelled something distinctive. It was like the air when the saltwater of the ocean wafted over the beach(which should have made sense, but the "air" part was weird). There were a couple of sweeter smells, something he recognized the more he explored the coral reefs. They smelled like the purple and blue ones, he didn't know the names. They were rare, though. It was hard to explain, like a combination of several flowers and the grass after the rain. The mixture sounded overwhelming, but it was subtle enough to be pleasant.

He saw the glowing eyes first. They weren't close enough to spot him, since he was looking through "tree" limbs(they looked like redish-purple veins sprouting from a bush of coral) for cover. He knew his eyes glowed as bright as the other's and made an effort to continually block them just in case the glow caught their attention.

The glowing blue disappeared behind the rocks, but he wasn't going to swim out any time soon. He took a deep breath of water through his gills and counted the minutes.

When he got to ten and nothing happened, he decided it was probably safe to come out. It would be best to get out of there.

He headed up, taking a chance and swimming away from the shelf of coral forest so he could spot anything if it came up. He still wasn't used to swimming against the water. Then again, he wasn't much of a swimmer before all...this..

Keith kept an eye out around him, just in case he saw the glowing blue of the mermaid's eyes. He swam at a normal than leisure pace, occasionally glancing to the sides and behind.

He paused, seeing the blue eyes behind him, and took off.

The mermaid must have noticed, because he heard them yell at him. He wasn't about to deal with one now, he was barely able to get down swimming right. And after that whale? If they were hostile, then a mermaid would definitely be.

He looked back, seeing the mermaid gaining on him, and he took a dive for the rocks. He was good at maneuvering a bike and wave runner, he might be good at his.

But as soon as he thought he was hidden, his head smacked into something solid and loud. Anger replaced any nervousness he previously had. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!"

"Well if you knew how to swim, I wouldn't have to!"

That pretentious little… "I know how to swim!" He yelled, his vision finally returning so he could glare at the assailant.

He didn't hear what they-he said. His eyes were captivating enough, but the glow that enveloped them was a wonder he couldn't ignore.

His scales were shining a bright red, and the other's a perfect contrast of blue. He felt some kind of peace wash over him, as he couldn't stop staring into those eyes. Those glowing, slitted, blue eyes.

No. No, no, no. No nonononononono-

Absolutely NOT.

Lance was in a new state of panic as he recoiled and pulled away from the other Mer. Glow? His Glow? No, this was not happening, this was the worst time.

Lance wasn't ready. He had just explicitly told himself he didn't want to settle down and have eggs(though he wouldn't need to worry about that with a male Mer…) or start a family or whatever was supposed to come next. He didn't care that his face was pretty, and the red glow of his tail and scales were the most magnificent color he had ever seen, or that his eyes were so captivating that-

No! Stop! He was not going to start with this...this...whatever this was! "This is not a good time for me, so go back to wherever you came from and see me in...I don't know, 10 migrations or something."

He looked utterly confused. "What?"

"You heard me! I said I'm not ready!" Lance's anger boiled, not at his...Mate(he shuddered, the thought of settling down making him nauseous) but because of the situation. Like he said, he wasn't ready. He still had more exploring to do, he wanted to travel and get away from the Shoal and have some freedom and go places and see new things. He didn't want to return to the Shoal and make a family, or get a job and have responsibilities, because he couldn't do everything he wanted to with a mate and guppies. If only he had been born a Migrating Mer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Trilled the Red Mer, his voice sounding low and rough, but also melodic and pleasant to the ears…

Stop that Lance. "Good! Because I don't want to be with you either!"

"What the hell?! I never said I wanted anything to do with you!"

Lance was rummaging through his mind for any kind of retort that sounded more smart than 'Good, so there!' when their glow dissipated and all that was left to light up the rocks and coral around them were their bioluminescent eyes. This was...unexpected. What did this mean? Was it a mistake? Did he miss some vital information he was told about when a Mer meets their Glow? Probably. Either way, at least he didn't have to deal with it anymore. Maybe they weren't actually Mates and it was just some kind of hormonal anomaly that made their bodies think somehow they were compatible. Stupid biology.

"What happened? What did you do?" The Mer looked around and twirled in the water like he was looking for the cause of the glowing disappearance. "Did you turn it off or something?"

"Uh, no, I'm sure it was all just some big misunderstanding. Because trust me, there's nothing attractive about you." Lying had never tasted so sour on his lips before.

This strange Mer looked like a combination of anger, offense, and hurt washed through him and the only indication was the expressions on his face. Lance felt a stab when he saw the twitch of insecurity glass over his eyes before turning defensive. "I don't know what your problem is, but trust me, I want nothing to do with you either."

Why did those words hurt more coming from him than his own mouth? "Whatever, strange Mer, why are you even here? Did you migrate or something?" He gave him a once over. He looked a little strange, even for a Half Scale like him. He looked, incomplete somehow. His scales densely covered his shoulders and hands, like they were trying to complete what should have been a full cover with fins extending from his forearms, but were instead an unfinished painting. In fact, the only fins he had were at the end of his tail. No wonder he couldn't swim properly. He had nothing to help maneuver properly in the water.

And his eyes were different too. Besides the fact that their color didn't match their scales like normal Mers, his pupils were round. Hm, did that mean he couldn't see as well either?

"Migrate? No, I live here."

"Really? I've never seen you. What Shoal are you from?"

"...Shoal?"

This was getting weirder by the moment. "What, did you live under seaweed or something? You don't know what a Shoal is?"

His defenses were back up, trying to mask the sudden nervousness Lance saw just before it disappeared. "Whatever, I'm out of here."

Lance wasn't particular to follow him when he swam off, but a slight bit of frustration bubbled up inside him. Who was he to reject him? Did he think he was better than him or something? What a jerk. Lance was totally awesome and that Mer should be jealous they weren't mates. "Hey, get back here!"

The Red Mer sped up. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me." He grunted back.

"Yeah, well, you're not allowed to blow me off, that's my job!"

He almost smacked into him again when he stopped. "Do you hear yourself? You're making no sense. First you want me to leave, now you want me to stay so you can leave. Drama queen much?"

Lance didn't know what a drama queen was but he knew he was insulted. "Hey! I'm not a drama queen or whatever! I'm the one who said I didn't want to be with you first, so it's my duty to flip my tail and float away."

He deadpanned. "...You don't know what drama queen means, do you?"

He felt his ego sting, even though he didn't know what he meant. He was being condescending, that's all he knew. "Whatever Mullet."

"Wha...How do you even know what that is?"

He puffed his chest. "I know a stupid haircut when I see one."

"That didn't answer my…"

"Anyway! So here's my tail, don't get too disappointed when you realize what a catch you missed."

"Why you-"

"Lance?" The better-than-red-Mer looked up to see Plaxum floating down with her comrades. "What's going on?"

"What the hell is wrong with your faces?" Yelled his Not-Mate. He looked like he had been violated somehow.

"Nothing's wrong!" Said Blumfump, even though the octopus on his head didn't help because he looked like an octopus. "We're covering our faces so no one recognizes us."

Lance snickered. "I'm pretty sure this Mer wouldn't recognize you without them, he's been living under a dome of seaweed."

"No I haven't!"

"Lance, we're on a mission! We have to find the princess! Is this the Mer you were supposed to distract?" She looked angry, but not worried. She must have guessed he wasn't an enemy too.

Red looked at him. "Oh, so that's why you were being weird."

"I'm not weird! You're weird!"

He folded his arms. "Great comback, Lance."

He was appalled. "How do you know my name?"

"She just said it!"

He felt stupid, blushing in embarrassment slightly. "Oh."

"Well, I'm not here to mess with whatever 'mission' you people are on, so if you'll excuse me…" Lance and the weird jellyfish Mers watched him leave, heading straight up. Lance suddenly became confused and curious. Wasn't 'up' where the surface was? Mer's didn't travel that far, not for fear of encountering Land Walkers. Either this guy was brave or stupid.

Maybe he did live somewhere around here, but in the wall or something? If he was that close to the surface, maybe he knew more about it. If he knew more about it, then maybe he could help them find this princess Plaxum kept talking about.

But that would mean asking for his help. And Lance didn't want to do that. Not after how much of a jerk he was being.

"Why's he going up? Maybe he knows more about the Land Walkers?" Asked Swirn.

"He could help us then!" Said Plaxum, becoming excited. She was about to turn and swim after him when they heard a call vibrating through the waters.

"There they are!"

"Ah, swim!"

Lance watched in confusion as the three of them split off into different directions and swam off before he could say anything. He didn't know who to follow, but didn't have to think about it long when two Mers swam up and surrounded him. It was the Guard.

Great. Not only did he fuck up his chance with the trial, but he was caught swimming out of Altean Territory.

He was never going to see the open ocean again...

Ah, the end, I liked this better than how I had it, I needed to get him back to the Shoal anyway, and this ended up flowing better. Hope you guys liked it! Thank you for the comments! I love you guys!