You and I, We Mer-Maid for Each Other

≋ chapter five: an alliance for the ages

The morning after his little tumble on the beach, Keith stormed back there. He did this first thing in the morning, and he knew Lance would be there because he had sent a text message confirming this much. He told Keith to wear swim trunks if he didn't want to get his pants wet. He also made him promise he wouldn't faint again, which Keith resented.

Lance wanted to meet in the same little cave he'd been in the night before. Keith took a deep breath before he rounded the corner, as he had a feeling that Lance wouldn't have legs. He was right. Lance was sitting there rather smugly, tail swishing back and forth.

Keith didn't move right away. He clung to a boulder for support and eyed the merman apprehensively. Lance laughed.

"Come on, now," he said, gesturing at the spot beside him. "Don't be shy. I won't bite you."

"You're finally learning to use contractions."

"I was told that I sounded odd without them. ...Your brother, actually. I can't exactly hold that against him, because I DID ask, but I had not expected such a direct answer."

Keith chuckled at that.

"Yeah, don't ask him a question if you don't actually want an answer."

"Are you going to sit down or not?" Keith flinched, and had half a mind to retreat. "I know that you are curious."

Keith sighed and resigned himself to sitting down. He was curious, admittedly, but also a bit freaked out. The ground was wet beneath him and he was thankful that he'd taken Lance's advice about the swim trunks. He wanted to try touching some of the scales, but didn't know how to ask without making Lance uncomfortable. Lance seemed to read his mind. His tail wiggled.

"You can touch it. Go ahead! My kind are not as squeamish as yours when it comes to physical contact."

Keith hoped Lance was telling the truth as he took his permission to touch his tail. He had expected it to feel kind of gross, like the raw fish he and Shiro often picked up for dinner, but it was nice, actually. Kind of like a lightweight metal, but softer. It felt clean, cool, and smooth. The fins were somewhat sensitive. The ear-fins were similar, though the tips were surprisingly hard, almost sharp. Lance said they had something to do with sensing and evading predators and navigating difficult underwater terrain. They could also sense changes in temperature and helped him adjust. Up this close, Keith was able to determine one more difference— merman Lance had sharp teeth. Not scary sharp, and he only noticed it when Lance grinned, but his teeth were definitely pointier than they were when he was pretending to be a human.

Once Keith had satisfied his physical curiosity, he asked a lot of questions. Lance didn't seem to mind. He would have been a hypocrite if he did, as he'd subjected Keith to that same thing for a long time. Yes, Lance was his real name, and no, he did not have a last name. He hid his things in a plastic garbage bag and buried them in the sand when he planned to go back home and talk to his family. He could use some magic. His gemstones were a source of currency where he came from. And, yes, he had to return to the water after a certain amount of time.

With the truth established, Lance's actual needs became clear. The extent of them, anyway. He needed someone to help him learn everything there was to know about humans and their world, because he was far behind despite his valiant efforts to learn and to blend in.

"Will you be my teacher?" Lance asked. Keith groaned and brushed the hair out of his face, mentally searching for excuses to say no, before he agreed.

Keith visited a store where teachers often got their supplies and got textbooks meant for grade schoolers and middle schoolers and brought them to Lance along with more towels and plastic bags.