You and I, We Mer-Maid for Each Other

≋ chapter eight: reflections that ripple

As the air got cooler with the approach of fall, Keith found himself thinking a lot. Something about the changing landscape and the breeze had always had that effect on him. He wasn't thinking about the baby all the time like he had been before. No— he was thinking about Lance, about the ocean.

It was Keith's idea, actually. To introduce Lance to Shiro. To introduce him properly and to tell him the truth. And Lance immediately thought it was a good idea. Shiro was about the best candidate Lance could have found for a merfolk-human ambassador. He was already devoted to cleaning up the oceans, so it wasn't like he needed convincing.

"To be honest, I've been eager to freak someone else out ever since I saw your face that day on the beach," Lance admitted, his tone teasing. He was in Keith's bathtub, fiddling with the water temperature. His tail hung over the edge despite how spacious said tub was. Keith sat on a stool beside him and looked through his various bottles of salt and bubbles. He wanted to start with something that was gentle on the skin. Lance had mentioned his sensitivity to chlorine and other chemicals and Keith didn't want to harm him.

"You are a cruel, cruel man," Keith deadpanned back. But, honestly, he understood that feeling. He personally couldn't wait to see the look on Shiro's face when they surprised him.

Lance had a grand time experiencing a "fancy human spa bath". He assured Keith that nothing in the water had stung and he didn't have a rash afterwards. Keith lounged around in his bedroom while he waited for Lance to get dressed and to dry off. And then, as they left, the second-worst possible thing happened.

"Keith, who's that? Hey— hey, stop!"

"Scram," Keith commanded under his breath. They had discussed what to do in the event that Adam or Shiro got home early during one of their meet-ups. Lance ran for the back door and was gone before anyone could have stopped him. He ran surprisingly fast for a merman. Maybe that was just his long legs.

Keith turned, slowly, to face his brother-in-law. Adam had his arms crossed and glared at him through his glasses.

"Since when do you sneak boys in here?"

"I didn't sneak anyone in. You said it yourself. I'm an adult."

"Then why make him run away?"

Keith felt his face get hot. He couldn't meet Adam's gaze, so he glared at his shoes.

"...I thought Shiro might have been with you. I don't need an interrogation."

"I see." Adam peered down the hallway as if Lance would reappear. "That was Lance, I assume."

"Yeah." Keith should have figured that Shiro had mentioned Lance to Adam. He'd told Allura about it.

"And what did you guys do?"

"We just, uh, watched a movie." Keith didn't know how to innocently explain the bath without having to explain the whole tail thing. Lance hadn't technically been naked. Not in a human sense. And it wasn't like Keith had gotten in there with him.

"Whatever you say. But, look. If it's really that important to you, I didn't see anything. Okay?"

Keith breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Thanks, Adam."

Adam was true to his word, and he didn't tell Shiro about seeing Lance's visit. But he did tease Keith about it whenever they were alone. He'd ask "how things were going", or ask if they'd "watched any more movies lately" with a subtle wink or an upward twist in the corner of his mouth. No matter how hard he denied it, no one ever seemed to believe Keith when he insisted that it wasn't like that.