Enough - Klance Fic

Part 4 - Making a Splash

Together they stepped out of the changing room in the grey and orange Garrison swimming shorts, taking in the huge pool that was on the ground! "This place is huge," Lance murmured, taking in all the different pools - lane pools, diving pools, casual pools, kiddie pools, and a- "WATER SLIDE!" He yelled, startling Keith. Before Keith could protest, he grabbed him by the hand and sprinted towards the slide. "Lance!" He yelled, flustered, "No running by the pool!" They both giggled as their bare feet slammed against the wet concrete. "What? I'm the ninja-sharpshooter! I won't sliiiii- QUIZNAK!" A particularly slippery puddle made Lance lose his footing and his legs flung into the air. Keith followed a split second after, and they both plummeted into the deep end of the pool.

Water enclosed Keith from all sides. Shock made him want to scream out, but all that escaped his mouth were bubbles. He could sense Lance just beneath him, but couldn't reach him. Thrashing his limbs, he tried to get back to the surface, but he wasn't going anywhere. Panicking, he looked down, and his shorts were stuck in the pool's filtration vents. Yelling and thrashing some more, his lungs were screaming at him for breath. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around him. There was a loud riiiiip as he was pulled away from the vents. Breaking the surface of the water, he gasped for air. Though his vision was blurry, he could see Lance's concerned face right by him. Keith felt safe in Lance's arms, and they stayed like that long after Keith had recovered his breath, floating together.

"I'm getting tired treading water now," Lance puffed, "Do you want to get out now?" Once Keith had confirmed with a nod, he pulled himself out of the pool and sat on the edge. Keith did the same. After a few moments of staring at their feet dangling in the water, he let his eyes follow Keith's leg up to his ripped shorts. "Nice legs," Lance smirked and Keith shoved him a little, blushing. "Shut up Lance!" Shaking his head and laughing, he replied, "No, really Keith. I'm devastated they didn't rip more!" Sighing, Keith rested his chin on his hand, "You're a disaster, Lance."
"Last time I checked I'm not the one who almost drowned!"
"Yeah, but you're the one who tripped in the first place-"
"Yeah yeah, whatever... You wanna try the water slide?"
"Totally! Let me just, uh... Change."

"YAAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOO!" Lance yelled, complimented by a "AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" from Keith. The long tube of the slide was dimly illuminated by long strips of LED's. Rushing water along the bottom of the tube pushed them down the slide, heading towards the little pool at the bottom. Keith was glad it was socially acceptable to scream in this situation, because having Lance's arms and legs wrapped around him would make him scream anywhere. Soon they emerged, laughing as they slowed to a stop. Leaning on Keith's shoulder from behind, Lance suggested in Keith's ear, "Do you wanna try that one?" He pointed to a purple tube, winding all around the room. "Quiznak yes!" They speed-walked off, wanting to run but wary of what happened before.

This slide wasn't lit up like the smaller one. Lance didn't know why the bigger slides always didn't have lights. Probably to make them more scary. Keith sat down at the edge of the tube, and Lance lowered himself down right behind him. He hooked his arms around Keith's waist, and spread out his legs either side of Keith's. The little light at the top of the slide turned green and they pushed, off, racing down the slide. Although they were screaming and having fun, the lack of light made Lance space out and pay more attention to his other senses. Warmth emanated from Keith's bare back, spreading onto Lance's chest. Faintly, he could feel goosebumps rising on Keith's arms and legs. Under the strong smell of pool chlorine, Lance could still smell Keith's usual scent. Leather, knife polish, coffee, and - something that always confused Lance - pencils. Suddenly, they emerged into the light and he snapped out of it.

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Moonlight shone through the leaves and fell, dappling the grass. Keith pulled a small lamp out of his black leather satchel and switched it on, placing it on the ground. He sat down and leant against the tree trunk. Taking deep, calm breaths, he looked around his special quiet place. They modified this patch of the Garrison to grow grass, which was a nice change from the seemingly endless dusty desert. After a few moments, he slid off his satchel and pulled out a sketchbook and a couple of pencils. He placed his thumb on the edge of the book and moved it slowly, flicking through the pages. Sketches of plants, Garrison vehicles, people, and more flicked past until he came to a blank page. Pencil poised in his hand, he just let his mind take over and his hand glided across the page. Slowly a face started to appear. Usually Keith would use a reference for faces, but this one he knew off by heart.

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Spluuurt! "Oops!" Lance laughed, wiping the icing off his face. "My bad!" Hunk raised his hand apologetically, "I screwed the top on the icing pipe too tight, I shoulda' known it would burst." Pidge stuck a finger in an icing blob on Lance's face, then popped it in her mouth. "Well, you sure made it taste pretty darn good, regardless of whether it's on Lance's face or cupcakes!" An infinitely adorable cinnamon-roll smile spread onto Hunk's face, "Aw, thanks Pidge," but it melted into a mischievous smirk, "But are you sure you want to be licking icing off Lance's face?" Not skipping a beat, Pidge caught on and dramatically gasped, "Oh my quiznak, you're right! Whose lips have been there?" Lance rolled his eyes, slightly hurt, "Hey, you know I don't go around kissing heaps of girls anymore-" Placing an arm around Lance's shoulder, Hunk shook his head, "No no no, Lance, we know. We're talking about the exact opposite - one guy" Pidge sidled up beside Lance, smirking, "Called Mr. Keith Kogayne" While Pidge and Hunk erupted in laughter, Lance turned bright red. "W-w-what are you on about?" He tried to play dumb. Hunk and Pidge glanced at each-other, then back at Lance. "Oh suuure, but then why did we see you and Keith all lovey-dovey at each-other?" Raising an eyebrow, Lance asked, "What do you mean?"

Placing a hand to his forehead, Hunk dramatically fell to the floor. Pidge pretended to flick an emo fringe out of her face, before walking over to Hunk and holding his hand, "Lance! Are you alright? Not that I care or anything because I'm, like, emo..." Holding onto her hand, Hunk pulled Pidge to the ground and she cradled him in her arms, "Oh, Keith! We really make a good team~ I am all but confessing my love for you right now~" Grunting, her voice as low as it can go, Pidge smiled softly, "How can I be emo when the love of my life is here in my arms?" Then, she shrunk against the wall as Hunk got to his knees so she couldn't be seen. Turning around so his back was to Lance, he wrapped his arms around himself so it looked like he was hugging someone. Pidge made disgusting sound effects from behind him. Hunk grasped his shirt with one of his hands, "Oh Keith!" Barely containing her laughter, Pidge replied in her deep Keith voice, "You said it yourself - I'm your future, baby!"

Lance was blushing so wildly, his face was reminiscent of the red lion. "Guys!" Pidge peeked her head out from behind Hunk, "Uh, it's pronounced gays, Lance," she smirked. Frustrated and flustered, Lance screwed up his face then turned around and walked off down the winding corridors of the Garrison. "Oh..." Frowning, Pidge pushed Hunk away softly. "Gosh dude, we didn't, like, hurt his feelings or anything, did we?" he asked. She shrugged and kneaded her eyebrows together in concern. "Hunk, has Lance seemed a little less... Lance-y to you lately? Like he hasn't been as goofy? And light-spirited?" Hunk thought for a moment, then nodded. For a while, the pair just sat there and stared at the door where their friend had left, wondering what was on his mind.