swim with me? [klance au]

Overwhelm

Lance was tangled in so many arms, he didn't know whose was whose. Flashes of Carmen and Sebastian's identical pale luminescence, the warmth of Hunk's voice, his mother's worried hands on his face. The water of his family's cove was warm and comforting, though dark.

Everyone shone their luminescence as they disentangled from Lance, faces still holding smiles. "Mi hijo," Elena said affectionately, "Please sit down, tell us everything. We've missed you so much."

So Lance told the story again, coasting over some bits so not to worry his mother, talking about butter and fat and burgers, telling everyone about the wonders of the bathtub.

He was interrupted about halfway through when his father entered the room, followed closely by Ulaz and Thace, the couple's dark shapes quickly turning excited, purple luminescence illuminating the room further. The expression on Lance's father's face was unreadable as he slunk into the room, tail churning water.

A dark shiver skated over Lance's spine as he watched his father with wary eyes. He still hadn't forgiven him, even if his homesickness had led him to believe that his father might just miss him too. "Lance," Carlos grumbled with his low voice, "How was it, son?"

Lance's sail fanned out, stretching up behind his back as he stood. His fintips sharpened involuntarily, mirroring Thace's shark-like fin instead of the flowing fish-like shape they usually held.

It was Carlos' fault Lance was in this fiasco in the first place. If he hadn't been so angry at Lance after the close call with the humans, Lance never would've run away, gotten caught in the storm, or been seen by Keith and Shiro. But now here they were.

"Fine," Lance snapped, broadening his chest. His father moved silently to his room, leaving Ulaz, Thace, and the uncomfortable tension in the room with the Hunk, the twins, and Elena.

"Lance!" Thace broke the silence, sweeping forward to crush his nephew to his chest, "I'm glad you're well. Ulaz and I have news for you, if you'd like to go talk somewhere when you finish telling your story." An urgency in Ulaz's naturally calm eyes was concerning.

"Absolutely. I'm almost finished anyways." Elena pouted, pointing to the tuna she's prepared for Lance, and who could say no to Mom's cooking? Dinner was long and loud, and Allura came over too, talking diplomacy and politics with Ulaz and Thace, who basically pledged allegiance to her at the dinner table, vowing to support her when she took over the community. She was honestly flattered, and acted brave even though the two mers were at least two heads taller than her.

After all the talk of Lance's weeks to come ended, Allura and Hunk left, and Elena put the twins to bed, Ulaz and Thace led Lance outside, then up towards the school. When they passed the boundary of the village, Lance grew confused.

"Ulaz? Where are we going?" He asked, flicking his tail hard to keep up with them.

"Surface," Ulaz muttered to him, pushing up through the water so the group could ride the currents of the waves into shore.

...

As the three sat together on the beach, lounging on the sand as the sun dipped under the horizon. Many people still remained on the beach, but the mers had changed to their human forms far out, so there was nothing to worry about. They wore swim trunks, surprisingly enough, that they carried in their satchels. Lance was relieved that he had an extra pair as well.

On a side note, Ulaz and Thace could be supermodels. Lance couldn't remember if he'd ever seen them in their human forms, but holy shit, they looked like gods.

They'd been chatting casually for a few minutes before Thace turned his attention on Lance. "As you remember, we're going to the Dark Kingdom next week to talk to Lotor. There's been more reports of mers getting kidnapped for their Quintessence this week, so we need you to keep an eye out on land too."

Ulaz stepped in, "You're just as much an ambassador as we are, Lance. You must be vigilant."

Lance leaned forward and brought his legs to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. "Do you think there's going to be a war?" It had been on his mind.

Thace sighed heavily. "It's been a war for decades, Lance. It's just now about to pick up speed. So many things are happening behind the scenes, things that neither you nor I know about. We may be the Blade, but we're not informed on everything.

"However, if fighting breaks out, we will have to move your village immediately. We cannot risk an invasion that would blow our cover to the humans. You won't be here to see it, but the Blade is moving down the coast. They'll be passing through this village, collecting volunteers for the fight.

There have been sightings of a disconnected Dark Kingdom, a smaller sector that is parallel in location to Peru, except very off-coast. We have reason to believe that Zarkon is at that settlement and is now planning an attack that will occur near Costa Rica, so we need to be ready. Most of the Blade will be traveling by plane, but a good amount will be swimming.

"Basically, be on guard. Dark Kingdom soldiers have been known to come up on land to seek out mers in hiding or get information on their whereabouts. Since you're a prominent name right now, you may be in danger. Added to the fact that Alfor may be leaving to join the front, leaving Allura with the village, we are vulnerable."

Lance dug his toes into the sand, absorbing all the information. Thace didn't seem to concerned for Lance's maturity, which he was thankful for, but it was still a lot to swallow. So the war was coming to the coast, not too far from the southern city of California that Lance's village was located, and Zarkon was looking for mers like him.

Ulaz placed a large hand on Lance's shoulder, comforting him. The tattoo on his bicep rippled over his muscles, and his eyes were as sharp and focused always. They belonged to a fighter, a soldier, something Lance feared he'd never be.

Sighing, Thace sat up and stretched, then jumped to his feet. Someone was playing guitar nearby and Thace turned to Ulaz, holding out his hand. "Dance with me?" He asked.

It was so out of the blue, Lance nearly started laughing. But Ulaz took Thace's hand in an instant, smiling childishly. Lance watched his uncles tiptoe around the sand in bare feet, pale skin dyed pink with the sunset.

He wondered what that would be like. Sharing a house, a bed, a heart with someone. Someone to kiss or to hug or to vent to. Someone to drink coffee with and splash water with and just talk with.

Lance looked out to sea and scoffed as Keith came to mind.