"And make sure you tell your boss that you're taking off until Monday!" Shiro called after Lance as the brunette walked into McDonald's for work. Lance waved over his shoulder as Shiro drove off. The "restaurant" was as stuffy as always, it felt as if his pores were being clogged just standing there, but as much as Lance would rather dive back down to the bottom of the frigid ocean than work, he needed this job.

Lance slipped into the "Employees Only" lounge and nodded to his fellow coworkers on break, eating fries and on their phones. Lance consciously felt his pocket for his own phone as he tied on his apron. He was working the window today, so he could already feel his voice slipping into the "happy worker" tone, high and happy. Lance rolled his eyes- it was so fake.

What Shiro had meant about taking time off had been relatively on-the-spot, the product of boredom in the house the previous day. Upon confiding in each other at dinner about the want to go away for a bit- it was summer after all- Keith brought up a vacation spot to the north, Bass Lake. About 5 hours away, Matt's van was suited to carry all of them to the resort. And so it was settled. Lance had never been camping before, of course, he didn't even know what it was, but he agreed to go anyways.

However, there was something else on Lance's mind. No, not something. Someone. A person- a him. Keith. Since the night of the painting, the two hadn't had another interaction alone. It wasn't like they were avoiding each other (at least, for Lance it wasn't), they'd just been busy. The painting had dried, and when Keith had left it in Lance's room with a note that said "free of charge", Lance left $150 on Keith's pillow with one that said "it was my pleasure".

Little did Lance know, Keith had traced over the loops in Lance's handwriting with the tip of his finger, thinking to himself about their situation. Keith had grown up in a church town, with a bible that said "Man shall not lie with Man", and conservative grandparents. Of course his parents were supportive of him unconditionally, and he was sure they'd support him even if he was gay,  but something about that shun of his community was ingrained in his head, and he had flinched away from Lance's note when he remembered.

I'm not gay, I'm not gay, I'm not gay, he thought as he watched Lance across the table at breakfast surreptitiously, but his eyes traced over Lance's collarbone anyways. Fingernails biting into his palms, Keith excused himself, heart racing in confusion.

Lance, on the other hand, was just trying to adjust as best he could to the human world. He felt vulnerable when he was alone, like when Shiro had sent him to go get milk at the convenience store around the corner and he was nearly hit by a car when he didn't read the crossing sign right. He'd returned home shaken, but intact with the gallon of milk Shiro had requested.

Speaking of Shiro, their driving lessons were going well. Lance really felt like he was getting the hang of things. Sure, all the signs and signals and buttons were confusing, but Shiro was patient and calm and didn't freak out when Lance messed up. Shiro even said that Lance was a "fast learner", which Lance gushed over for an hour. Shiro was kind of like the older brother Lance wanted to make proud, and he pretty much found himself looking up to Shiro's leadership.

Snapping out of his trance, Lance dutifully took orders, served burgers and drinks, and sweat like crazy at his spot at the window, all the while with his smile plastered on.

...

"You guys are splitting money for gas," Matt groaned as he closed the trunk to his van, which was piled with 6 suitcases (Shiro took 2- one for his regular clothes, one for his makeup and and filming gear) and several smaller bags.

Lance bounced around giddily, excited to get moving. He was wearing his most camp-like apparel: cargo shorts, a top that was only slightly cropped, and a baseball cap. He'd let Shiro do some makeup too, and sported faux lashes and glossy lips.

Shiro walked out of the house as everyone piled into the car- Matt in the drivers seat, Keith and Lance in the two middle seats that had an aisle between them, and Pidge stretched out across the backseat, typing at her laptop furiously before they lost the WiFi signal. Shiro slid into the front seat, tossed Matt the minivan's keys, and flicked out his sunglasses.

As they rolled out of the driveway, Lance felt his excitement only grow, and he glanced over at Keith. Unsurprisingly, Keith looked neutral. At his feet, several sketchpads and drawing utensils, along with a gym bag that Lance knew contained his wetsuit. Strapped on top of the van was Keith's surfboard, even though he knew plenty well that there wouldn't be any waves at the lake. That was besides the point though- he liked to have his board with him, especially when he went out to draw early in the morning out on the water.

Though he didn't exactly show it, Keith was excited for the vacation. He'd been to Bass Lake with some of his coworkers before, which eventually led to drunken skinny dipping. He shivered at the memory, but hoped that this time around, he wouldn't have to strip into a freezing cold lake again.

Still, everyone was concerned about one thing: Lance. How was he supposed to enjoy this if he couldn't even go swimming with the rest of them? No one had asked Lance yet in fear of coming off as rude, but the four humans were worried about their friend.

...

"SWEEEEET CAROLINE, BAH BAH BAH, GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD~" The five belted out, laughing happily as the old song played out over the radio. Even Lance was learning the lyrics, and he hummed along loudly when he didn't know the words. It was 10 at night, about an hour away from Bass Lake, and they were all a bit stir crazy.

"LOOK!" Matt suddenly shrieked, slamming on the breaks. Everyone pitched forward at the sudden stop and Shiro hit Matt's arm with a crisp slap. Matt hissed, clutching his bicep in pain, but pointed to a sign on the side of the road.

DINER

"I bet they have milkshakes there," Matt said dumbly, then, "We're going in. To get milkshakes." Nobody questioned the decision.

Lance yawned loudly as he slouched out of the car, then stepped aside to let Pidge out too. The neon sign of the diner was almost too bright, but it was welcoming and seemed homey and friendly. As the five filed into the seat-yourself restaurant, soft jazz met their ears, and they immediately felt comfortable. Sitting at the counter on swivel-y, red stools, Shiro flagged down the seemingly only waitress. Lance smiled sweetly at her, ready to flirt.

Her black hair was pulled back in a white scrunchie, a cowlick curled on her forehead, and her eyes were large and dark brown. She wore a short apron over her checkered dress, and had a pen tucked behind her ear. "Good evening, my name's K, and I'll be serving you tonight. What can I get y'all?" Her voice was high and had a comforting southern drawl, something Keith leaned into. It'd been a while since he'd heard such a naturally thick accent, and he felt a pang of homesickness.

"We'll have five milkshakes, please," Matt said, then winked flirtatiously.

"Sure thing," K replied kindly, ignoring Matt's attempts, scribbling the order down on her notepad, "All vanilla?" Shiro and Lance requested chocolate, and Pidge asked for strawberry.

Chatting quietly as K worked on the shakes, Matt and Lance quietly debated what K's actual name was, glancing discreetly at her as they discussed. Lance finally gathered the courage to ask, and K turned sharply, then sighed inwardly. "Kaltenecker." Matt's face turned red in embarrassment.

Ashamed, Lance and Matt drank their shakes in silence, shrinking under Shiro's sharp eyes every time he looked back from complimenting K's lipstick or makeup. It was only when Keith groaned quietly that Shiro froze, mouth open. He turned slowly to Keith, then said in a calm, deadly voice, "Keith? Did you happen to forget something?" Keith's face went ashen, and he grinned guiltily. His milkshake was drained.

"Oh fuck," Matt's eyes widened.

"What?" Lance asked, genuinely worried.

"Keith's lactose intolerant," Shiro groaned, slapping his palm to his forehead. K smiled behind her hand, then whisked away to wash some dishes, leaving Shiro to scold a bloated Keith, who clutched his empty glass gleefully.

...

Hey guys :)) long time no see, I know. It's been crazy hectic- end of school, I got dumped, finals and shit,,, but now it's summer! And I'll be posting regularly again haha

Sorry for making you all wait! Next chapter will be good, I promise (we're gonna meet a character hehehe.,,) also btw, I just HAD to sneak a Kaltenecker appearance in here, whatta babe. Shoutout to Hales002 for telling me about Bass Lake! They're super cool, y'all should go give them a follow~