Hidden Messages [Klance AU]

8: New Discoveries

Keith woke to the sound of running water. He had let the strange boy into his house and he thought he'd gone to sleep in the guest room, but obviously he was wrong. He stood up groggily and stumbled down the hall to the bathroom door, knocking on it twice.

"Lance?"

The mer froze at the sound of Keith's voice. He hadn't been able to sleep, and thought that maybe turning back into a mer would help. He wasn't sure how, but hoped going into water would do the trick.

"Sorry," he yelled, "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, kind of," Keith responded, though that wasn't entirely true. He wasn't really asleep before anyway. "You ok?"

"I- I'm fine. Just wanted to get cleaned up. I hope that's okay?"

Keith nodded, although Lance couldn't see him. "It's fine. Just turn off the faucet before the tub overflows." Immediately after he heard the sound of water stop, and then a loud splash.

"You sure you're okay?" Keith asked once again.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lance responded. "I'll try to be quieter. Sorry." Keith sighed, too tired to deal with this at the moment. After not hearing a response, Lance figured he'd gone back to bed. He turned his attention to the tub and got in. Immediately when his body was submerged he felt the piercing pain from the last time he'd shifted. Lance winced, trying not to scream from the burning feeling. Finally, it faded off, the same as the first time on the beach.

Except this time, instead of getting legs, his legs turned back into the long, scaled tail he knew well. It fell over the edge of the tub, the end of his tail resting against the floor. Water dripped from both the tail and over the sides of the tub from the added mass. Lance sighed happily, sinking under the water and enjoying the cool feeling of it under his scales.

He unwrapped his bandage, found the ointment he'd packed, and cared for the wound. The fresh water felt nice against it, as it didn't sting as much as it did in salt water. Lance closed his eyes happily, listening to the sound of the ocean in the distance.

He must have fallen asleep, because before he knew it he woke to sunlight pouring in through the window. After draining the water and drying himself off(which led to transforming to a human), he stumbled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and green jacket that were all Keith's. Lance squinted his eyes as he entered, the bright morning light much brighter than he was used to underwater.

"Oh, you're up," he heard a voice say. The mer looked up to see the human he'd met last night(Keith, was it?) standing in from of the stove. He was shirtless, wearing only black pants and socks. The human was cooking something, a sweet smell filling the air. Lance moved to the opposite side of the counter from Keith, questionably looking at the food.

"What's that?" He asked. Keith gave him a confused look.

"You've never had pancakes before?" He questioned. Lance shook his head. The black-haired teen raised an eyebrow in confusion, silent for a moment. Finally he gave Lance a small smile.

"Well then I'll just have to do a good job with these," he said, laughing a little. He flipped a pancake onto a plate, it's surface a light golden-brown color. Keith found whipped cream and maple syrup and topped the pancake with them, then set the plate in front of Lance. He went back to the stove, waiting for the rest of the cakey discs to cook.

Lance eyed the food in front of him, not quite sure what to do. He watched as Keith made the same dish for himself, and how he cut a piece off with a fork and knife. Lance tried to mimic the action, successful though a little messy. He sniffed the piece of "pancake," the sweet smell new to him.