Underwater

~2~

"End training sequence."

"Good job Paladins!" Allura clapped her hands. She smiled joyfully at our improvement. I stared back at the demolished gladiators discarded on the floor in front of us.

I took a deep comical breath of air, earning a small chuckle from Hunk. Who was grabbing a sip out of his water bottle. "Nice work today guys." Shiro smiled.

"That will be all for today, I'll see you all for dinner." Allura dismissed us with a polished wave as we grabbed our things and prepared to leave the training room.

"Nice shooting out there today Lance." Hunk complimented. Earning a sarcastic comment from Pidge.

"Really? I would've thought he couldn't see further than his nose." Pidge jumped into the conversation wearing a mischievous smirk.

"Hey, Pidge." I smiled. Consciously ignoring the comment. Her expression said she was just joking.

"By the way what was wrong with you last night?" She looked me dead in the eyes before letting out a snicker. "It was like you turned into a baby!"

"Did I really get you with that?" I lied. I started to create my story from the ground up. Giving Keith a look to signal my new lie.

"...What do you mean?" Pidge asked. She carefully chose her words.

"It was another one of his stupid jokes." Keith intervened before Pidge could pry further. "I was in on it."

Shiro gave us a curious look. He clearly didn't really believe our lie but went with it regardless. "Just don't let it endanger the team. Anyway, nice fighting today."

"Don't worry Shiro!" I smile.

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Keith and I left for the observation deck together in silence. I enjoyed being able to let loose and relax without having to be on guard for every drop of liquid.

The relief led me to stare blankly at his face. He seemed to mirror my relaxation before tensing.

"Is there something on my face?" Keith asked as he abruptly stopped our walk to the deck.

"Just your cute nose." I chirped, bringing up my joke flirting.

"W-what?" Keith sputtered as he tried to find a proper response. I laughed at his reaction.

"I'm just messin' with you." I watched joyfully at his beet red face settled to its usual colour.

I restarted the walk down the long hallway as Keith reluctantly trailed behind me grumbling under his breath the whole way.

When we reached the observation deck I couldn't help but gape in awe of the view. Bright purples blended with vibrant blues highlighted with glowing stars and stunning planets.

"Whoah," Keith said behind me. His usual expression morphing to shock.

"Yeah, whoah! It's almost as stunning as you." I joked again.

"Lance!"

I laughed.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Keith asked, puzzled.

"You know... Not spilling or making a big deal of my tail." I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. This was still very weird for me to talk about.

"Yeah sure," Keith said. "But I do think you should tell the team."

I let out a sigh. "I know, just- I just want things to stay how they are ya know."