"What... is this place?"

"McDonalds," Shiro said, eyes holding a dead kind of humor.

"And you... want me to work here?" Lance asked, gazing up at the golden arches. He could smell the grease from his spot in the parking lot where the three boys stood.

"C'mon, your meal's on me," Matt commented, leading Lance into the restaurant. Upon entering, a toddler promptly ran into Lance's leg, his mother chasing after him apologetically. Lance startled slightly, but followed Matt and Shiro to the counter, a menu displayed over the cashiers. In the back, Lance spotted people shoving baskets into bubbling, greasy oil and others flipping patties on a messy grill.

"Basically, if you work here, you'll be on your feet the whole time, you'll get oil burns, customers will treat you like shit, but your pay is stable and you get to learn about," Matt paused, then raised his voice up an octave and did jazz hands, "Our beautiful California economy." Shiro snickered.

Lance wrinkled his nose, "I don't know if those are the perks I'd prefer," he mumbled.

"Well, merboy, you don't have another choice since literally every other decent job was taken by college students. God, we're such dicks to them, no wonder those cute prep boys visiting from the East Coast hate us so much, they can never find good jobs because the college kids always take them. They get all sour when they work at places like this," Matt sighed blandly, flicking his eyes over to a haughty server with sandy-yellow hair and dark eyes.

"Lucky you, being able to work close to him," Matt commented, winking at Lance. Shiro rolled his eyes.

"Alright, let's actually get something to eat," he suggested, dragging Matt and Lance over to the counter. Lance gazed up at the menu, confused. "And Lance, don't worry, I'll order for you if you want. Just go find us a table."

Lance nodded appreciatively and turned, scanning the eating area for an empty booth. Upon finding one, Lance tentatively sat, glancing over his shoulder at Matt and Shiro, who were still ordering while motioning to the menu. Matt's face was red- the hot employee was the one taking their order.

Surveying the restaurant, Lance let his eyes float over families who sat together, some in silence, some in complete chaos as the younger children crawled over their parent's laps, shrieking at each other with ketchup-coated lips. Lance's stomach churned. He felt as if he didn't belong anywhere near here, that he just belonged under the ocean surface, away from the rambunctious lives of humans.

Lance suddenly straightened, frowning. No, he wanted this. He was here, on the surface, making friends and getting a life. If he had chosen banishment, he would be positively miserable. He'd never be able to get this opportunity if he was banished, he'd never have these experiences. Lance had no clue what would happen once Alfor had all the information he wanted, would Lance have to go back to the ocean? Fake his death?!

And then there was the whole problem with Zarkon and his Dark Kingdom. While Lance was up here, he could miss everything. He wanted to be there to defend his village if anything bad was to happen, but Lance was content in the fact that he was helping them another way, observing the human world.

Still, how much could he really fit in? How many times would he screw up, be clueless, before he understood things like normal? And what would happen over time, only changing once a week to go down to the village? Lance wasn't ready to give up being a mermaid, not completely, and it worried him being out of water for long.

Nevertheless, excitement overrode his anxiety. This was a good thing. This was an opportunity to learn about the humans, decide if giving up his life as a mermaid was worth it to become a human if the time ever came, and most of all, saving Keith's life. They might not exactly get along, as Keith seemed distant and distasteful of Lance, but it didn't matter. A life was a life, no matter whose it was, and it was Lance's firm obligation to protect Keith's with his own.

"One Big Mac and a large order of fries for Mr. Lance McClain, 100% certified NOT beef, there might be some unknown substances in there, you never know," Shiro said matter-of-factly as he placed a tray of food in front of Lance.

"Oh man," Matt said nervously, "Remember that documentary, Food Inc.? That was mad scary, dude. I went vegan for two weeks before I needed bacon again." Lance looked between the two, confused.

"Nevermind. Dig in, Lance."

As Lance sunk his teeth into the burger, he winced. What was this? He chewed slowly, eyes closed. "I mean, it's good," he said slowly, still swallowing. Shiro and Matt giggled like schoolgirls. They both had chicken tenders.

"It's barely FDA approved," Shiro pointed out, and then had to explain what the FDA was, then what chain restaurants were, then what the deal with the clown was.

Lance picked up a fry and examined it, skeptical. "Oh, don't worry. The fries are fine. They're not meat," Matt snorted, shoving a handful in his mouth. Ketchup dripped off his fingers.

Lance copied, then groaned in delight. "This is fucking delicious," he said loudly, and Shiro chuckled. Good grief, what was Alfor doing, keeping these heaven sticks away from the mers?

"Jeez, what did you eat down there?" Matt asked incredulously, referring to Lance's village.

"Boiled clams, lobster, crabs, fish, seaweed. I tried an apple once," Lance mused, going in for more fries.

"How are you alive?"

Finally, a question Lance could answer. He'd learned about this in Anatomy. "Well, you guys have to have fruits and vegetables and dairy and all that other stuff, right?" Shiro and Matt nodded, "Well mers mostly eat meat because we need the protein for our muscles. We live off of protein and minerals from our "sea vegetables", like kelp and sea grass. Our taste buds aren't developed like yours, so everything down there pretty much tastes the same.

"But this," Lance gestures to the food on the table, "I can taste. It's processed and fatty, something we never have." Shiro nodded, leaning back.

"Well, I guess we'll have to do a taste-testing video on my channel after we do a Get-To-Know-My-Hot-New-Friend video," he mused, and Lance smiled.

...

"Hellooo, beauties! It's Shiro, here to give you a mermaid-inspired look with my new friend Lance." Shiro waved at the large black camera, then pointed to Lance, "This babe is visiting from Cuba, isn't he gorgeous?" Lance blushed, winking at the camera.

"Since Lance is new, we wanna get to know him! Sooo, I asked you guys on Twitter to send in questions for me to ask him." Shiro looked at Lance excitedly, "Are you ready?"

Shiro started on Lance's face (for the second time that day). They sat in the living room of the Holt's house, relaxing in squishy chairs with makeup surrounding them. Shiro has done his own makeup earlier, decked out in full lashes, wings, and highlight. Lance thought he looked absolutely flawless.

"First question, can you twerk?" Lance looked mildly confused.

"Pardon?" He asked, staring at Shiro.

"That's a no," Shiro winked.

"Are you single?"

Lance blushed, then looked right into the camera. "Only if you're interested." Shiro slapped his palms to his cheeks, staring wide-eyed between Lance and the camera.

He continued reading through his phone. "Fuck, Marry, Kill: Dylan O'Brien, Cole Sprouse, Timothee Chalamet." Shiro had to look up pictures of each actor for Lance before he was able to answer.

"Fuck Sprouse, Marry Dylan, and Kill Timothee."

This went on for an hour, Shiro slowly working his way over Lance's face as he asked him questions. By the end of the video, Lance had answered about every aspect imaginable. He was kind of exhausted, thinking about all the different questions.

At one point, Keith stopped in, saying 'hi' to the camera and asking Shiro if he wanted anything for lunch, nodding to Lance with wide eyes.

"That's a look," he'd mumbled before walking out.

The rest of the filming went perfectly, funny and sweet and deep, just as Shiro had planned.

"And THAT, babes, is the completed mermaid look, featuring Lance McClain. Lance, thank you, I hope you enjoyed."

"I did," Lance interjected.

"And I'll see you guys in three days! Muah~". Shiro stopped the filming and sighed loudly, leaning back in his chair. "That's exhausting, good grief. And now I have to go back and edit. I'll show you the finished project when I'm done, before I put it up." Lance nodded in appreciation.

...

Keith sat cross-legged on his stool in his new studio, practicing his brush-work on a new canvas. He was painting thin, pale blades of grass growing on a sand dune, overlooking a calm ocean. A few of the blades looked a little wonky, but he suspected he'd still be able to sell it for a good amount.

He sent his art to a small sea-side shop that sold antiques and cute bits and bobs, and it was nice having an extra bit of income alongside working at Starbucks. It also boosted his self-esteem as an artist, as all of his paintings had sold.

Lance's voice startled him. "Wow. I didn't know you painted." Keith turned, unamused. Lance was leaning against the doorframe, staring past Keith at the canvas. He still wore his makeup, lid-lined and honestly very pretty.

"I do. It's my major in college," Keith replied dully. He got a strange vibe from Lance. Besides the whole mermaid thing, which Keith was still very skeptical about despite the proof Lance had shown the previous night, something about the way he talked, moved, acted, created a strange feeling in Keith's stomach. He thought it best to just avoid the boy completely.

"You should paint me sometime," Lance suggested lightly, admiring the blue tones of paint on a small desk beside Keith's stool.

"Titanic much?" Keith snorted, but waved off Lance's confusion. He definitely didn't want to explain that. "Besides, I don't do free work." He didn't really want to paint Lance either- he wasn't good with portraits.

"I'll pay you," Lance assured him, then paused, "And I can be in 'mer form'." That sparked Keith's interest a bit. He did want to paint the tail. Maybe he'd have Lance face away so that he didn't have to stare at his face for hours.

"It would take a while," Keith said hesitantly, fidgeting with his paint brush.

Lance shrugged. Worth it.

...

:)) hey guys. sorry this took so long- but I'm sure you'll like the next chapter ;)