Little Merman - Klance Mermaid AU

Chapter Thirteen

A/N: I am so sorry for being so inactive! I've been stuck on this chapter for a while, and something happened at my school, so I had to go through that and I just hope you guys ike this chapter. 

"So, you're the merman Lance was going on about for a week?" Pidge asked, leaning back on her hands. She stared up at the sky as if begging it for a logical explanation for all of what Keith had just explained to her.

Hunk wasn't any better. His legs were crossed tight and he was staring at his hands with an intensity that would've sent Keith back to the sea, had it been directed at him. He shook from head to toe, like he was trying not to cry from stress, which nearly made Keith want to hug him.

"Yeah," Keith answered Pidge's question, crossing his arms, then the question actually processed. "Wait, he talked about me for a week?" he exclaimed, uncrossing his arms and jumping up, which resulted in him immediately falling down again with a thump.

The two sitting in the sand snickered a little, but neither fully smiled, still trying to process what Keith had told them. "Yeah," Hunk sniffed, drawing in the sand, "He would go on and on for hours just talking about the merman who saved his life,"

Keith blushed at that, thinking back to the night that had felt like an eternity ago, even if it was only two weeks. "I just listened to him about what was bothering him," he mumbled, eyeing the cliff Lance had jumped off of that night.

A loud sniff caught his attention and he turned back to see Pidge rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, harder than she should've. "We need to find him," she stated, standing abruptly and walking up the dune. Keith and Hunk stayed still, looking rather amused that Pidge completely forgot about Keith's problem.

"What are you two waiting for?" Pidge yelled over her shoulder when she realized they weren't following.

"I can't walk properly, remember?" Keith said, standing to prove his point and falling flat on his butt.

Hunk snorted at that, quickly making his way over to help. "You should also get some pants," he remarked, glancing down at the rest of Keith.

Keith looked down at himself, too, his eyes slowly wandering around his new body. "Why?" he asked,staring back up at Hunk, "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" Hunk exclaimed, hoping he hadn't offened Keith, "It's just that humans usually wear clothes, like we do," He gestured to himself and Pidge, who has stayed turned around when she heard Keith get up.

"Please," Pidge sighed, "I really don't want to ever see a guy's-,"

"Aaaaand we don't have anything," Hunk yelled, cutting her off. Pidge snickered, but said nothing when Hunk scowled at her.

"There's a tarp over there," Keith supplied, pointing towards the sheet at the end of the small beach. Hunk turned to see it and began to walk, but was held back when Keith clung to his arm to keep from falling. While Hunk tried to right him, Pidge rolled her eyes and walked over to the tarp, bringing it towards the two boys.

With the help of some rope lying next to the tarp, they were able to fasten it around Keith waist in a sort of mock skirt. The rope was looped through the rings of the top of the tarp and as tied right under Keith's belly button, the whole thing wrapping around him three times. It wasn't the best, but it would do if anyone saw the three of them on the way to the McClain's house.

No one did. Since it was only a five minute walk to the house, since one had to go up the hill to get to it, and most people were at home, since it was after sundown still. Pidge was the one to knock on the door, since Hunk was carrying Keith and she was too small to even think about it. Also, she didn't want to.

"Hello?" Mrs. McClain said, cracking the door open slightly. Keith couldn't see much more than her copper skin and brown hair, because the door was blocking her from view, but he could tell she had been crying. Her voice was rough and unforgiving in her throat, making Keith clear his own in an attempt to get the phantom feeling out.

"Who's that you have with you, dear?" Mrs. McClain asked, opening the door more to get a good look at Keith, "I thought only Hunk wa-," She stopped at the sight of Keith, staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth falling open.

While she stared like that, Keith was able to get a good look at her. Her brown hair was long and tied up into a bun on the top of her head, and her copper skin looked like it was actually beginning to pale. Her eyes were green-ish blue, and rimmed with red, like she had been crying. Wrinkles dotted her frail form, but they were at the edges of her eyes and mouth, making Keith almost smile. Laugh lines were always his favorite part about older people.

"Who- who?" Mrs. McClain stuttered, staring at Keith with wide eyes.

"Short version," Pidge said quickly, pulling at her long hair, "This is Keith, the one Lance went on about and now Lance is trapped at the witch's place and we need to keep Keith here, so we can teach him the basics of humans before we go rescue Lance," She said it all in one breath, turning red in the face and swaying slightly. It didn't phase Mrs. McClain or Hunk, though they did look a bit worried. Keith guessed it happened often.

They all stood there for a minute longer, Pidge huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath, Hunk holding Keith up, and Mrs. McClain staring at them all, like she had just seen a ghost. It was, honestly, a little surreal, and it made Keith think about how real the situation was.

After a minute, Mrs. McClain seemed to snap out of her daze and she silently beckoned the three inside. They all quickly went in and mae their way into the living room, passing a large amount of family members, some of which Keith recognized, but most he didn't.

"You two can sit on the couch," Mrs. McClain said to Hunk and Pidge, "I'll find some clothes for Keith to wear,"

Hunk seemed to forget about Keith's situation and let go of him. Keith swayed for a minute, able to stay on his feet for a while, before he tried to take a step and fell forward.

"You can't walk?" a small voice said beside him. Keith brought his face up from the cream colored carpet, and looked up to see a pair of small children in front of him.

One of them was a girl and the other was a boy, but for the most part, they were exactly the same. They both had the same chocolate colored hair and copper skin, bright pajamas on their bodies. The girl was holding a book, like they were about to get read to bed.

Keith shook his head, looking at the two with pity for himself. "No, I can't," he sighed, using his arms to push himself into a sitting position.

"Like Ariel?" the girl yelled, jumping up and down. The boy, once he had heard her say that, smiled wide and repeated the question, also jumping up and down.

Pidge started laughing, but Keith just sat there, a puzzled expression on his face. "Who's Ariel?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

The two kids instantly stopped jumping to gape at him, giving him a surprised stare. "You've never seen the Little Mermaid?" the boy screeched, bringing his hands to the sides of his face, "How?"

"Ariel is a mermaid," the girl said, turning the book so that the cover was facing Keith.

He leaned forwards and took a look at the cover, smiling a little. "Yeah," he said after a minute, "Exactly like Ariel,"

The girl dropped her book and began screaming, prompting Mrs. McClain to grab her and quiet her down. The boy just stood there with a surprised look on his face, a large grin slowly spreading across it. Oh, Keith was gonna like these two.

A/N: Yes, I included Stella and Charlie in this because they're so cute.