Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lance loved to explore.

He loved the thrill of finding new places, and the mysteries that came with finding worn conch shells, rainbow pebbles or magnificent coral banks filled with fish of all shapes and sizes.

He loved to find new things, and show them to his family and friends. Hunk and Pidge were the closest friends Lance had had, and he loved them to the bottom of his heart. They were his adventure buddies, and wherever he went, they went with him.

"Come on, Hunk! It won't be that bad!"

Lance laughed, turning spirals through the water. Pidge was swimming idly behind him, rolling her eyes at Hunks complaining. "But guys, you know we aren't allowed to go down there!" The golden-scaled merman's tail fin twitched anxiously while he swam behind his friends. "There's heaps of dangerous things down there. I've heard tales of giant sharks and really creepy fish!"

Pidge scoffed, rolling down the currents to get closer to Lance . "You know there just stories, Hunk." The water cooled around them as they descended into the depths. The water seemed to darken, the sunlight that shone through the water above beginning to die, the last rays of sunlight just brushing their tails.

They were heading into the deeper waters, down to the dark sea. Technically, according to the rest of Lance's shoal, they were not allowed to be down here. Not because there were any rules or regulations against it, but because of the extreme dangers it possessed.

But, like always, Lance wasn't afraid. He was brave, and nothing scared him. He would fight off any big sharks and scare away all the creepy fish. He wanted adventure, and no matter what it took, he would get it.

"Besides," Lance called back to his friends, propelling himself deeper into the eerie darkness. "We might find some treasure or a lost ship!" Pidge laughed, hurrying to catch up with him. Hunk only groaned, shoulders slumping and following along obediently.

"If we get caught, I'm blaming it on you."

The water around them changed quickly, almost in the blink of an eye. The temperature dropped, the water darkened and the landscape shifted. A wide, black abyss pooled out in front of them. It stretched for miles, and they couldn't see anything beyond it, just a deep darkness filled with foreboding. Nervous, they all swam back a bit. The black hole that stretched before them was terrifying.

But what could be beyond that darkness? What amazing creatures or precious jewels would they find just beyond that cloud of black? Lance felt curiosity tug at his insides, luring him down. He swam forwards a bit, shivering in the cold. Everything was bleak and grey, nothing like the palette of colours in his home reef. There were no plants, no succulent corals or wavering seaweed. It lacked other creatures, the elegant angel fish and flowing stingrays absent from the scene. It was lifeless, just a barren plain of black.

Lance turned back to Pidge and Hunk. He could sense their discomfort, the way their fins twitched and their eyes flicked around. He himself was unsettled, tail flicking in apprehension of any attack from predators.

"C-come on guys, it won't be that bad." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck to stop his fingers from twitching. Pidge raised an eyebrow at him, and Hunk didn't seem all that impressed either.

"Lance, it's a giant black hole." Crossing her arms, Pidge swan forwards, slowly edging closer to where Lance floated on the precipice of the darkness. "Doesn't it just scream death and a whole lot of other bad things?"

"Yeah, I agree with Pidge." Hunk stated from behind, nervously swimming small circles from the safety of the light. "I mean, this sounded fun at first and all, but now..."

No matter how much Lance hated to admit it, he though that possibly they could be right. What if there was something bad down there? What if they went in and never came back out? What would happen to their families? Would they miss them? More importantly, what would happen to them? As he stared into the dark water, he felt equal amounts of fear and excitement building inside his chest.

Finally, he turned to his friends, a huge smile alighting his face. "You don't have to come down if you don't want to, but I'm going no matter what!" Then he bolted straight down into the darkness. He chuckled at the small gasps and garbled calls that came from his friends as he descended deeper.

"Wait for us, you guppy!" Pidge and Hunk called from behind him, and they quickly joined him at his sides.

He laughed gleefully, turning circles with joy. "Decided to join me now?"

"Oh, shut up." Pidge grumbled.

Surprisingly, as they went lower and lower, it only got darker and darker. Their eyes were not adapted to this much lack of light, squinting to make out anything, even each other.

They continued to swim, heading deeper and deeper into the darkness. There was nothing to see, and they slowed down after a little while, bored of the constant nothingness around them. The excitement and promise of adventure had started to die in Lance, and he was fully prepared to turn back and head home. Until something emerged from his periphery vision.

Lance stopped abruptly, glancing around, eyes looking past the gloom to spot tall figure rising through the mists. Instantly, all his fear dissipated, replaced with unending curiosity. "Guys, hey, look over there!" He pointed, flicking his blue tail rapidly to propel himself towards the figures.

"Lance, wait it might be dangerous!" Pidge and Hunk called in unison, but followed after their friend, to worried about being left in the dark. They caught up, and got closer to the figures. Lance practically squealed when he saw what they were.

Pillars of rocks, tall and grey, rose from the gloom of the dark waters, looming in front of them. The pillars were massive, huge slabs of rock stacked one upon another. Algae formed over the pillars, coating them with a slimy but comforting texture. As they swam further, they found more pillars, placed randomly, poking through the darkness below. They all varied in size, some a few stones short, some a few stones to tall. Lance looked down, trying to spot where they started, but they seemed to be never ending.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, circling one of the stony columns. "These are awesome!"

Pidge and Hunk separated, awe written across their faces as they stared in wonder. Hunk had moved over to one of the smaller pillars, running his fingers along the moss. "Even though we're probably going to die, this was worth it!"

Pidge laughed, lying down on top of one of the pillars. "It's actually really nice down here, I don't see why we haven't been down here before." Lance laughed, swimming back up to his friends, excitement showing on his face.

"We definitely need to come here more often!" Pidge laughed, sitting down and moving down to float with her friends. Hunk gasped suddenly, sticking his hand in the air.

"I know! We could turn this place into a secret hideout! Just for us!"

Lance and Pidge turned to him, faces alight with even bigger smiles than before/ "Yes, definitely! It's perfect, no one will find us down here!"

They all laughed gleefully, continuing to explore their "new hideout".

They stayed their for what felt like forever, but was truthfully only an hour. Lance started a game of hide and seek, and soon they were darting back and forth between the columns, cheeky grins and happy squeals accompanying the fast flicking of tails.

It must have been about thirty minutes into the game, when Hunks scream snapped everyone into panic. "Hunk!" Lance and Pidge called together, abandoning their hiding places to rush out and help their friend. After swimming a bit further out, they say the familiar glint of a golden tail, hidden behind one of the mossy pillars.

"Guys, I told you we should have gone back!" Hunk practically cried from where he was hiding behind the pillar, all fins raised in a defensive position. Lance and Pidge whirled around to stare into the darkness trying to see what their friend had spotted.

Out of the darkness, there was a small, distinctive, purple glow. It ran in funny patterns, and it reminded lance of the corals that decorated his home reef. It was hypnotising, and as Lance watched, he found himself mesmerised by the glow, following the way it moved through the water, closer towards them. Pidge stared at the glow with fascination sparkling in her eyes, and even Hunk, who had been hidden behind the columns, was wide eyed with curiosity.

The glowing intensified, the purple gradually becoming recognisable as a deep shade of red. Pidge seemed to snap to her senses, wrapping her hand around Lance's bicep and dragging him to the column Hunk was hidden behind. They stilled as the creature emerged from the gloomy waters and into full view.

Lance tried not to gape. The creature was beautiful. It looked like him and the others, basic form built of a human torso and fish tail. A merman. The other mer had a more red tone to his scales, a deep, dark crimson that stood out from the dull grey of the oceans depth and the glow from his scales made the red eerie. The mer had seven large fins, spiked instead of frilled. All the fins were gloriously long, flowing through the water as the mer glided casually among the rocks. His tail was long and luxurious, and Lance so desperately wanted to touch those scales, to feel the velvet smoothness brush his fingertips. The glowing purple-red colour was coming from strikes down the mers side. Bioluminescence had been something Pidge had taught Lance about once. He guessed that the glowing stripes where the bioluminescent thingys.

The most stunning part of the mer was his face. Feathery black hair floated like a cloud on the mers head, tugged and pulled in different directions by the current. Soft, angular features formed his face, an elegantly pointed nose leading to beautiful slanted eyes the colour of pure amethyst, framed by thick dark lashes. They glowed, piercing through Lance as they turned to stare at him.

The purple eyes went wide, and Lance realised his mistake. The merman backed away, fins raised in a warning, spikes vibrating violently. He hissed, baring all of his sharp, white fangs. Lance rushed out from the rock, ignoring Pidge and Hunks protests, and floated into full view of the other merman. He let his own fins drop, trying to look as harmless as he could. "Hello." He called, lowering all of fins and showing the mer his hands. "My name's Lance! What's yours?"

The merman seemed to calm a bit, fins lowering into a more relaxed state. He looked Lance up and down with slitted eyes, a small pout set upon his face. He seemed to relax a bit more, and opened his mouth slowly. "Keith."

Lance was to shocked to say anything. The merman, Keith, had a beautiful voice. Soft, but deep, if not a tiny bit raspy. The blue-scaled merman laughed and his face lit up with a ginormous grin, swimming towards Keith, free of any trace of hostility. "Keith," he giggled, circling the red merman. "That's a funny name!"

The red mermans face dropped into a offended and confused look, watching Lance swim circles around him. "No it's not!" Keith almost hissed, crossing his arms angrily. "What sort of a name is Lance? I've never heard of that name before!"

Lance stopped with an angry gasp, saying "That's because only cool mers have that name!" He stuck his tongue out for emphasis, fins twitching irritably.

Keith's face visibly morphed into a mask of pure hatred, and his mouth stuttered to come up with an equally offensive answer. After a few seconds, he still looked lost for words, mouth opening and closing like a dying guppy.

Lance blinked at him a few times. Then he burst into laughter, rolling around in the water as he tried to breath, gills fluttering. Keith just looked more confused, and Lance couldn't help but laugh even harder. This lasted in a cycle, Keith being more confused and Lance laughing, until Pidge and Hunk floated out from behind the rocks. Keith stilled a bit, and Pidge moved forwards to investigate. Hunk stayed sheepishly behind Lance, offering a smile, still looking a little shaky.

"Hi," Pidge said, waving awkwardly from her position beside Lance. "I'm Pidge, the nervous guys Hunk." Said merman smiled slightly, swimming forwards slowly. Keith's eyes flicked between the two, and he nodded quickly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

They were all silent for a second, before Lance giggled, dipping down furthur into the water and shoting back up again, tapping Keith's tail as he did. The red-merman squealed, reeling backwards in the water, a slight blush alighting his scaled cheeks. They all turned to look at Lance, who was swimming off into the distance as fast as he could. "Keith's it! Everyone, swim away!"

Pidge and Hunk shared a quick look and sped off, leaving Keith, who looked very confused and overwhelmed.

They later found out that Keith had never played chasey before, and so Pidge had to explain it to him, almost shouting to be heard over Lance's mocking laughter. They chased each other for hours, giggling and smiling until their cheeks hurt and their gills were sore. Eventually, they all collapsed against each other on one of the larger pillars, breathy laughs escaping them. Lance felt his fins brush against Keith's, and their eyes flicked towards each other. Deep blue orbs met purple pools. Keiths face lit up into the biggest smile Lance had ever seen, and he thought that his heart was turning over in his chest. Warmth spread from his chest, and up to his face, pulling his mouth into its own huge smile.

"Hey! You four!" They all startled, looking around quickly, seeing a shadow swimming towards them. Another tropical mer, come down to check on the Balmeran caves that ran through the island. "You know it's dangerous down here!"

Lance turned to look at Keith when he felt fins prickle against his scales, and the merman looked back at him, fear widened eyes. Lance reached out, calling "No, wait, it's okay!" But the red-scaled merman had already sped off into the darker depths, glow slowly fading.

Disappointment weighed low in Lances stomach, and he started to go after Keith. Hunk placed his hand on Lances shoulder, shaking his head. "No, Lance, let him go." The blue-scaled merman tried to sturggle, he wanted to follow Keith, he wanted to be with him. But as he watched the red-scaled mermans glow slowly fade, he felt the beating in his chest start again, faster then before. The older mer scolded them, swimming them to the surface, and Lance looked back into the dark abyss below. He felt new resolve settle in his stomach.

Lance would find Keith. He would find him no matter what.

Chapter Text

// A few years later //

“…and then, you won’t believe this, but Pidge swam straight into the fire coral! It looked like it hurt so much! I actually don’t think she cared, as long as she got that bit of Galran tech.”

Lance and Hunk were currently swimming down, past the warmer waters and into the dark. They had been tasked with checking on the Balmeran caves, to see if the crystals were faring well, and they were still healthy. It was a task that eventually every mer had to do at some point in their lives, and for a select few, it became a regular job. Lance was excited, because it was his second time checking on the crystals. He loved the caves, how the crystals lit the way through the water, and the plants that drifted from the walls in the soft currents. In the caves, the water was clear and calm, and Lance was always surprised at how homely it felt.

He chuckled, nudging his the golden-scaled mers arm, beating his tail to burst further into the water.

“Did you make sure she was okay, or did you just sit there laughing at her?” Hunk swam forwards, rolling his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips.

“Of course I helped her, what type of mer do you think I am?”

Lance laughed again, smiling fondly up at his friend. He turned through the water, fins fluttering at his sides. The water around them cooled, and Lance shivered, rolling his shoulder to try and release some of the tension the cold had suddenly buried in them. Hunk swam closer to him, and they keep their fins brushing to supply each other with warmth.

“Ugh, I never get used to this part, I get shivers every time.”

Lance nodded, letting out his own groan. No wonder there weren’t any signs of life down here. It was so cold nothing could possibly survive. But then again, it might have just been because he had been born and raised under the sun, and the absence of the bright ball above made everything seem darker.

A sparkle caught his eye, and excitement immediately bubbled up in his chest. “Hunk, there look!” The golden-scaled merman jerked towards Lance, looking down at his friend, and at the hand he was now pointing towards the darkness. Hunk narrowed his eyes, searching the rock face for anything. Then he saw it.

Running down the long rock face was a jagged line in the stone, cracked from years of underwater pressure and flowing currents. Sticking from the cave, like stars in the night, were a few tiny Balmeran crystals. Each were about the size of Hunks hand, and they glowed brighter than anything Lance had ever seen.

They both swam forwards, smiles plastered across their faces. Reaching the entrance to the caves, Lance peeked his head in, squinting to try and dim the brightness of the crystals. On the inside, it looked as it normally would. Crystalline blue water, luminescent gems lighting the dark stone walls of the tunnels.

Lance felt Hunks tail brush against his own, and he moved back to allow the other merman a look. Hunk stuck his head in the entrance, glancing around before he pulled out, nodding to Lance. “It seems safe enough, nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t think the Galra have been here lately.”

Lance nodded, humming in agreement but he felt anger run in his blood. The Galra, led by the dreaded Zarkon, were what the merpeople understood as a group that were looking to mine and harness the powers of the Balmeran crystal. The Galra had set up bases along the coastline, and they were constantly drilling into the reefs, searching for the crystals. The corals were dying, and other fish were being forced from their home or even killed. Lance knew that there were even stories of mers being taken. He’d seen boats marked with the Galran crest, and watched as the galra themselves had dropped into the sea, dangerously close to his home.

Lance had a hatred for the Galra that he knew would never leave his being for as long as he lived.

“Come on Lance, lets get started. Do you want to go in again?”

Lance startled, turning towards Hunks voice, eyes widening slightly in question as he left his previous thoughts behind. He stared at his friend for a moment, before he shook his head, swimming closer to the entrance. He hadn’t realised he’d been drifting away.

“No, you can go. I went last time, and it’s only fair if we take turns. I, the great Lance, will stand guard, you can go check on the crystals.”

Hunk’s face lit up, and he beamed Lance a smile, squeezing his way into the cave and swimming down into the tunnels. Lance shivered again in the cold, beating his tail so he could come closer to the entrance. Warm currents ran through the cave, and the tiny amounts of heat that drifted into the colder waters floated over Lance’s scales. He was thankful for the warmth, and hoped Hunk wouldn’t be long.

The tunnels in the caves were long, and you could easily get lost. Knowing the path to get to the centre deposit was always easier, but it took more than two trips to learn. The crystals had to be checked regularly, and for very good reason. The crystals were the main source of energy and life for all the things that co-existed in the reef where Lance lived. The plant life, the animals and the merpeople all depended on them. The plants that decorated the reef feed from the crystals, gained their life force from the quintessence that flowed from the jewels. The fish and the merpeople lived off of these plants, and in turn, they needed the Balmeran crystals to survive. If something happened to the crystals, their eco-system would crumble. The merpeople would be left homeless, forced from their warmer waters and into the deep. This would most likely mean their death.

As Lance stared off into the depths below him, he wondered how it would feel to live down there. The darkness of the water sent shivers crawling down his spine, and he had to look up quickly, reminding himself that there was light in the waters above.

He looked down again, and had to second guess himself. Something that glowed red, the same colour as the sunsets he watched every night above, peered from the darkness, the hypnotising pattern flowing like seaweed in the currents.

What if there was light in the darkness? Lance couldn’t fathom it. But the faint glow was there, and it was o-so real. He felt entranced, his tail moving by itself as he propelled himself into the depths. The glowing grew brighter, the motions more fluid, and Lance could have sworn he knew this pattern from somewhere, almost like a very distant memory.

The glowing only got brighter and brighter and brighter, until it was like a beacon in the darkness that now surrounded him. He was being pulled in, sucked straight into that hypnotising pattern as it swirled before his eyes.

The pattern suddenly shifted, and he snapped from his daze, eyes turning up. Dark purple eyes met deep blue ones, and everything stilled. Lance studied what was before him.

A merman, if not a little different. Long, crimson tail, with seven spiked fins branching from it. Bioluminescent strikes and squiggles ran the length of the tail, leading up to a pale and slender torso, arms and head. A weird, but slightly attractive mess of black hair drifted through the water. A sharp jaw, large eyes and soft nose; all delicate features, but they held a strong look.

Lance couldn’t help but feel a tug in his chest, and a name rose through his fuzzy mind; Keith.

They stared at each other for what felt like forever, before Lance made the best decision.

“Who knew there would be such a beautiful treasure in this darkness.” He waggled his eyebrows for a better, more seductive effect.

The red merman, for some reason Keith just seemed like the right name to call him, blinked a couple of times, face expressionless. He then said, “Excuse me?”

Lance tried not to feel disappointed at the lack of response. He’d had tougher before though, and it didn’t faze him. He swam a bit closer, shimming his fins and wrapping an arm around the other mermans shoulder. He leaned his head closer when the red-scaled mer went to pull away. “Have we met before?”

The red merman stopped for a few seconds, sussing the other out, and slowly shook his head. “Uhm, no. At least I don’t think so.”

Lance frowned, hard, brows knitting deeply into his brow. He pushed his face closer, until their noses were only an inch away. The red merman seemed very uncomfortable. “Is your name Keith by any chance?”

The merman startled, an inquisitive look in his eyes. He hunched his scaled shoulders, and said “How did you know my name?”

“Yes! I knew I remembered you from somewhere!” Lance trilled happily, circling Keith in excitement. The red merman tried to follow his movements, but his shoulders were quickly grasped firmly, and fingers dug into his soft scales. “Do you remember? When we were little, my friends and I came down here and we found you!”

Keith still looked confused, face peering at Lance to try and see if he had maybe eaten a few too many oysters. “Um…when?”

Lance sighed, throwing his head back desperately, and clutching more tightly to the other merman’s shoulders. “When we were younger! Pidge, Hunk and I came down here for a little ‘exploration’, and we found you. We may have scared the scales off your tail but then we played for ages. I remember you because you’re still as prett-“

He cut himself off, leaving his mouth hanging open. Keith raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to keep going but the blue-scaled merman only coughed, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to hide the furious blush that had spread across his cheeks.

“You were saying?” How could Keith be so clueless? His stupidity actually hurt Lance’s heart, just like his pretty smile and pretty eyes and his pretty- What was he thinking! He slapped himself mentally, swishing his tail to turn back to the other merman.

He cleared his throat, putting on a smile again and shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing at all.” They floated in awkward silence for a few moments, and they both looked each other over. Suddenly, Lance remembered something.

“Oh, wait, I didn’t introduce myself did I.” Keith shook his head, looking around a little impatiently.

With one hand splayed across his chest, the most dazzling smile any mer could pull and he raised his eyebrows the slightest bit. “The names Lance.”

Keith, despite Lance’s efforts, didn’t seem pleased. He drifted, eyes staring blankly at the merman in front of him. Lance groaned in defeat, his arms dropping and shoulders slouching. He wasn’t going to get anywhere like this. Didn’t Keith know how to pick up a hint? Said red merman licked his lips and looked around, trying to avoid Lance’s searching eyes. “So…where did you come from?”

Lance looked over at him quizzically, raising one eyebrow. “From the reef, of course.” He gestured upwards, pointing one hand up into the waters above them, to where small amounts of light could be seen shining through the depths. Lance turned back to Keith, blue eyes shifting to the expanse of liquid around them. “Where did you come from?”

Keith pointed down, into the cold dark waters below them. Lance followed his hand, shivering at the thought of even entering the frigid deep. How did Keith live down there? It was cold enough where they were currently swimming, any further and he was fairly certain his fins would fall off. “How do you live down there! It’s got to be freezing!”

Keith shook his head, disbelief written on his face. “I don’t know how you live up there! The furthest I’ve ever been is to where the light starts, and it feels like I dived straight into one of the thermal vents Shiro always says to avoid.” Lance was about to retaliate, and continue the argument, until he felt a question coming to mind.

“Who’s Shiro?”

Chapter Text

Following Keith into the dark depths was either the best or the worst idea Lance had ever had. On one hand; the water froze him to the bone, he couldn’t see in the darkness and the nothingness that surrounded him was terrifying. He had never in his life been this deep into the ocean. It scared him greatly, and all of his instincts were telling him to turn and swim as far and as fast as he could. He had heard stories from other mers of the creatures that lurked below; fish with many rows of teeth, shells covered in spikes and jellyfish that glowed with poisonous barbs.

But on the other hand, he got to stick very close to Keith. Very close.

Lance could feel their fins brushing against each other as he searched for comfort and warmth. When they had first started to descend, Keith had floated away every time Lance tried to get close. Lance guessed Keith wasn’t the touchy type, seemingly having very little social skills, and he backed off a bit, not wanting to make the other boy feel uncomfortable. But as they descended further down, he couldn’t deny the fear that gripped him. Keith seemed to sense it too, and drifted closer out of sympathy. After that gesture from Keith, Lance didn’t worry about personal space anymore; he had their tails touching constantly and made sure that their arms brushed every few minutes.
They had already had a few encounters with strange creatures that Lance didn’t even know existed. A rather large group of flat faced fish had swam past them earlier, and Lance had been so freaked out that he had jumped behind Keith, which in turn surprised the red merman. They had gone tumbling straight into the group of fish. The fish weren’t too happy about it, and the two mers had been left with several bites.

Now, they were getting awfully far down, and Lance’s brave demeanor had started to drop.

“So, how far down do we have to go?” He couldn’t stop the shake in his voice, although he tried to sound brave and hid it behind a smile.

Keith shrugged, weighing the question around in his mind. “Um, I don’t know, maybe a few hundred tails* or so.” He glanced over at Lance, scanning the blue mermaid with calculating eyes. “Are you sure you want to keep going?”

Lance’s eyes widened at the question, and he laughed nervously. “Of course I do!” He swam forwards by himself, turning to smile at Keith. “See? I’m fine, let’s keep going! A little bit of dark never hurt anyone!”

Keith sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Keith swam forwards with one quick burst, floating beside Lance before leading the way again.

They swam in silence for a few moments before Lance decided to strike up conversation again. He turned in a circle, swimming on his back with his arms behind his head. “So…how long have you lived down here?”

The question struck Keith, Lance could tell by the way his brows furrowed and mouth turned into what Lance thought was an adorable little pout. “Well, ever since I can remember really. I didn’t know my parents but-”

He was cut off by a sharp gasp, and turned to see Lance’s face wide in shock. “You don’t know your parents?” He could not believe what he was hearing. How could Keith not know who his parents were? Lance could not imagine how he would live if he did not know his parents. How had Keith survived? How did he learn to hunt, protect himself from predators, and claim and keep his own territory?

Keith didn’t seem overly bothered, shrugging. “They died after I was born. Shiro said they got attacked by a shark or something, and so he took me in. That’s all I really know.”

Lance sighed, feeling something shift deep inside his heart. Pity, maybe. No, something more like sympathy. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, attempting to change the mood. “Jeez, I’m sorry Keith. That must be really hard.”

The red merman shook his head, opening his mouth to speak, “Not really, I’ve grown used to it-“

Suddenly Keith stopped swimming, floating very still in the cold waters. Lance stopped to, slowing down to look behind him. The red mer was focused on the water around him, scanning through the darkness. Lance didn’t know if Keith could see anything; he himself was blind down here, the only visible object being Keith with his glowing stripes.

“Keith? Everything okay?” Lance asked warily, drifting a little bit closer, slightly alarmed by the boys stillness.

Keith didn’t reply, only looked around, eyes glaring into the darkness. Lance was starting to feel slightly scared. He did not appreciate the silent treatment. “Keith, buddy, come on-“

“Shh, Lance! Be qui-“ Water rushed around the red merman in a flurry of bubbles and he disappeared from Lances view as something large and glowing purple tackled Keith through the depths. Lance was frozen with fear, watching the space where Keith had just floated a moment ago. He heard what sounded like a scuffle to his right, saw the red glow of Keith and the purple glow of something as they skirmished.

“Keith!” He yelled, beginning to swim over to help. Adrenaline pumped through him, blood gushing in his ears, ready for a fight. That was until he heard laughing. He stopped, peering closer and saw that Keith was not in danger. In fact, he was smiling (dang, he had a nice smile) and laughing while he tussled around with a larger merman.

This merman looked like he was built of muscle. His tail was massive, covered in shining black scales, dotted by patches of white. The scales had been ripped out in patches, replaced with massive scars and purple bioluminescent lines. The merman didn’t have spinney fins like Keith; more short and spiky, but they still looked like they could cut right through flesh. A muscular chest and broad shoulders, both marred with scarred tissue. His face was strong too, a sharp jaw and kind face. Another scar trailed across his nose, and black hair covered his head, paired with a weird white forelock that bobbed in the current.

What shocked Lance the most was the merman’s right arm. Or lack of, he should say. The merman had no arm, just a stump from where the arm should have been. The skin at the bottom of the stump was red, and one massive scar covered it. Maybe a shark had bitten it off? Maybe rocks had crushed it?

Lance was pulled from his mussing by a new voice that he could only attribute to the large merman. “Where have you been, Keith? You said you were only going for a quick swim.” The merman’s tone was not scolding, but full of affection. Keith struggled in the merman’s friendly headlock, chuckling. “I just got distracted, Shiro.”

So this was the ‘Shiro’ that Keith had mentioned they would be going to visit.

“Distracted by what?” Shiro laughed, releasing Keith from his hold after ruffling his hair. “Did a squid ink on you again?”

Keith blushed, embarrassed, shaking his head to try and hide the redness of his cheeks. He collected himself, poking his tongue out at the purple merman before turning to Lance. “No, not a squid this time.” He swam over to Lance, pointing at the confused merman. “Shiro, this is Lance. He’s from the reef in the warm water.”

Shiro turned his eyes from Keith to look at Lance, and his face instantly lit up with a smile. “You’re a long way from home!” The man laughed, putting his hand on his hip. “My names Shiro, it’s nice to meet you.”

Lance smiled, nodding his head. “Nice to meet you too.” Shiro nodded back, smiling again before he turned to Keith.

“It’s been a while since you’ve actually made a friend.” He joked, turning gracefully through the water to sail over Keith with ease.

The boy scoffed grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest and hunching his shoulders. “I don’t remember the last time you ever had a friend, hypocrite.” His red tail flicked irritably, but they all knew he didn’t mean a word of it. Lance couldn’t help but smile; Keith looked so cute when he was grumpy.

Shiro chuckled, floating to a stop next to teen. “You know I’m just teasing. Plus, I have lots of friends; you just don’t know any of them.” Keith rolled his eyes and moved to swim over to Lance. Shiro shook his head with a fond smile on his face before he turned his attention to Lance once again. “So how did you two meet?”

Lance glanced at Keith quickly, noticing that the boy had turned moody and wasn’t going to answer the man. He chuckled, bumping Keith’s shoulder before speaking. “I was checking the Balmeran caves for any Galran activity and then spotted Keith. He looked fami-“

“Wait, did you just say… Galra?” Lance turned to Keith, saw the shock, fear and hatred in his amethyst eyes. The blue mer raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Shiro, only to be even more confused. Shiro looked like he had seen a ghost; face turned pale, eyes wide and distant, chest rising and falling in short breaths.

“I-I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Lance didn’t know what to do. He looked back at Keith, worry on his face. The red merman sensed this and shook his head. Keith swam over to Shiro, putting a hand on his arm gently.

“No, Lance, don’t worry about it. We, uh – we have a bad history with those guys.” Lance swallowed, guilt rising in his chest. What could have happened to make Shiro look so…traumatized? “Shiro? Hey, come back to me.” Keith spoke softly, shaking the man’s shoulder gently.

Lance watched Shiro’s eyes come back to reality, beginning to focus on the two in front of him. He looked at Keith, shaking his hand off his shoulder and beating his tail gently to diminish the chills that had started to move through his body. “I’m sorry…” He laughed, nodding his head vigorously. “I’m alright, thank you.” He cleared his throat, regaining his composure. “Why were you checking the Balmeran caves?”

Lance flicked from Keith to Shiro, noticing the little nod Keith gave to tell him it was okay to keep talking. “Well, lately the Galra have been trying to mine the crystals in the caves,” He noticed how Shiro flinched slightly at the mention of the Galra again. “And we need the crystals because they give life to the reef, where my shoal live. So if the crystals all get destroyed and taken away, we will have nowhere to live. That’s why we have to check every day if the caves are okay.”

There was a small silence that followed, and Lance waited for one of them to speak. He was surprised they didn’t know about the Galra’s activities , but he guessed they had nothing to do with the reef, so why would they worry about it?

“I knew about the Galra, but I didn’t know they were trying to mine the crystals.” Keith spoke quietly, but Lance could see something hard and fierce in his eyes, set on his face. Lance shivered at the sight of the sheer anger on the boy’s face.

“If you don’t mind me asking…” Lances tone was wary, and he swallowed thickly before continuing. “Why do you hate the Galra so much? I mean, I wouldn’t expect you see them much but it seems like you really hate them.”

Keith’s head whipped to him in alarm and Lance knew he had screwed up. They both turned to Shiro, who again had gone quiet, eyes distant, but still clear enough that they focused on Lance.

“Why do we hate the Galra?” The man laughed without humor and Lance and Keith caught each other’s eye as a shiver passed through them both. Shiro motioned to the stump of where his arm should have been, looking down at the scarred lump of flesh.

“The Galra took my arm, that’s why.”