Keith laid on the sandy beach, staring up the clouds that flowed across the sky and listening to the push and pull of the water. He was scared. Lance only gave a brief description of that Zarkon dude, but it was enough to keep Keith up at night.
"Mind if I join you?" Shiro spoke from above. He leaned forward just a bit to comically look down at Keith's face.
As much as the younger would've preferred to be alone, trapped in his worrying thoughts about whether or not Lance was coming back or if he was even alive... yeah, maybe he needed some company. So Keith gave a shrug and replied, "It's a free country."
The man quietly sat next to his brother, carefully deciding what he'd say next. "...you really care about him, don't you?"
At first, Keith was shocked that Shiro would bring up anything that had to do with mermaids. But then again, he was getting better about his heated anger towards them. "Adam told me one time that he always cries when you come home. Not just cause he missed you, but from relief that he's able to see you again. That you didn't... it's just torture not knowing if you're okay."
"That's what you're going through right now? Wondering if Lance is okay?"
"I just want to be able to protect him, and I can't do that up here."
Shiro glanced to the waters. "...so what would you do if you saw him here in the ocean right now?"
"Well... I'd just love to hug him, it'll be amazing to see him again... cause I mean, I-I don't know if he's even alive right now! I just really need to see him and hold him so I know he's really here."
"Didn't you reject my hug one time cause I was all wet? You meanie."
Keith shot up and realized that he wasn't hallucinating. "Lance..." The merman waved to him and spread his arms open.
Shiro wondered why Keith hadn't run to Lance already, so he poked his shoulder. "Um, Keith? You okay?"
Lance awkwardly looked to Shiro. "Was I wrong to assume he'd be excited to see me?"
"No... just, give him a minute. I think his brain is buffering."
Like Shiro said, Keith's brain came back online and he snapped out of his shock. "Lance!" He jumped to his feet and ran into the water.
Adam soon joined Shiro on the sand, linking their elbows together. "I see Lance has returned."
"Yeah. I still can't wrap my head around this. I mean, before this he didn't want anything to do with the water and now, well look at him." He laughed. "Long as he's happy, I guess."
Adam chuckled and leaned on Shiro's shoulder. "Like mother, like son."
Next to Lance was Allura, as well as a new face, Keith realized. "Oh, who's this?"
"That's Lotor. His dad was Zarkon, but he's gone and Lotor's a good guy. Also he and Allura are dating."
"Oh." He then shrugged. "Awesome!" He and Lance kissed once more, each memorizing how the other tasted, but then Keith asked the three, "So now what?"
"...now, the prince gets mad at us." A new voice spoke, and they all spun around.
It was Nyma and Rolo, accompanied by the king and his guards.
Lance didn't acknowledge his father. "Nyma, I'm glad you're looking better! How do you feel?"
She arched a brow, looking between him and the king, but she offered Lance, "I'm uh... yeah, I feel okay. Not like I'm gonna die anymore so, that's cool."
