"Alright girls, Lancey-Lance has gotta go back in. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The girls giggled, waved to him, and Lance eased back into the cold ocean water, keeping his head above the water until he was safely behind the rock platform that the surfer hottie had been laying on before. Thankfully, he'd left and Lance was able to change back to mer in peace.

It was getting late- he could tell by how the sun was nearly kissing the ocean, so he strapped his satchel on quickly, flicking into a current to get back home quicker. He'd meet up with Allura and Hunk for their chore for the day, then go back home for dinner. Same old, same old.

Of course, Lance loved his friends. Allura, the daughter of the head committee member, Alfor, was treated with high respect in the community. Because of her father, who held the highest status in the committee, she didn't have normal classes like Hunk and Lance. She instead had leadership and government classes taught by her tutor, Coran. One day, she would lead the committee. She was gorgeous, and caught the eye of nearly every merman she passed with her brown skin and white hair, but to Lance, she was only a friend.

Hunk was the sweetest boy imaginable and he came from a tribe off the coast of the islands of Samoa. He had black tribal tattoos inked into the brown skin of his shoulders and back. His hair was normally tied back with an orange ribbon he found on the coast- he'd liked it because it matched the color of his tail near perfectly. He was an excellent cook, and he hoped to open up his own in the human world.

That was a small chance though. It was possible to get permanently turned into a human, but the selection for such a gift was so slight that Hunk's hopes were low. Each year, those who wanted to apply to become a full-time human had to fill out a long test, judging both an understanding of the human world, one's morals, and their academic skills.

The committee then selected three mers who had taken the tests that they saw fit to become humans and they sent them to the Dark Kingdom, where all things disturbing and cruel lived. There, they met an evil sea wizard that changed them into humans permanently. That's what Lance had heard anyways. His grandmother had tried to become a human for 17 years before she met her husband, Lance's grandfather, and stopped trying.

Lance had no desire, only curiosity, of such a thing. He liked being a merman! He wouldn't want to throw away his tail, but he thought that Hunk deserved it since he worked so hard on his meals. He'd thought about the whole process before and decided that it wasn't worth it.

In minutes, Lance was down to the neighborhood again. Instead of heading deeper into the residential coves, he veered left, past the school campus, and darted to the community center. The entrance was easy to miss, but Lance was here every day, no matter how much he hated chores. The opening to the cave was small, just a hole in the wall, and Lance wiggles through it without much trouble. Sometimes Hunk, embarrassed, requested to leave last because it took him a while to squeeze through the small hole. The center wasn't even really a center, just a natural cave that held the chores supplies and schedules for the community. About 20 mers could fit in it comfortably, but there were only a few present, shelling clams or making nets.

Lance smiled when he saw said merman talking to Shay, the coordinator. She was young, maybe a few years older than Lance, but after her mother had died, the previous coordinator, she had taken on the job and was doing an excellent job of it. She was pointing to the wall behind her, which had a giant schedule etched with a pick onto its surface. It showed the day with a list of the chores needed to be done under it. Some had been crossed out with a spray of ink, but the group's normal chore, weaving baskets, was still available.

Lance swam down to Hunk and nudged him with his shoulder, smiling hello. "Oh, hey Lance! I was just gonna ask Shay if we could take baskets for the day."

"You bet," Shay said happily, handing Hunk the roll of twine and several bundles of long, thin sticks. There had always been some kind of spark between Shay and Hunk, but Lance was never able to convince his best friend to make a move towards the girl, despite how much Hunk adored her.

"Thanks, Shay, see you soon!" Shay waved, her greyish green tail fluttering lightly. Hunk rocketed through the opening in the cave to spare himself the embarrassment of getting stuck in front of Shay. Lance followed quickly.

"Hunk! You lovebird. You lovesick fish. Ugh, just ask her out already, I swear to Alfor, if you don't I will for you." Hunk blushed profusely, dark pink showing through his cheeks as he swam. They were headed towards their secret cove which the three of them had discovered a year after they'd first moved here. It was cliche but nice at the same time, to have a place just for the three of them. Like the community center, it was a hole in the giant rock formation, a small opening that led into a larger cove. Over the years, the three had furnished it, spreading moss and kelp rugs over the rocky floor, growing coral around the walls, sticking sea stars and urchins to the walls. Even some fish darted here and there.

Allura was already inside when Hunk and Lance arrived, sprawled over a rock slab that served as a chair. Lance had always loved her tail. Because of her royal lineage, her tail didn't have hackles like Lance or Hunk's. It had disappeared because her mother came from an island community where the currents weren't strong at all, so they had no use for intense steering. Although Allura had some trouble swimming when the riptide was strong, her tail was still amazingly powerful and impressive- deep blue with flowy, translucent fins. Beaded pearl necklaces and bracelets adorned her arms and neck, and a swath of scales covered her chest too. Her top scales would eventually merge with her tail, forming one long sheen, but until mermaids were in their thirties, their tops and tails stayed separate, so for now, Allura's smooth, muscled stomach stayed exposed.

"Lance! Hunk!" Her accent, from her mother, made Lance's name come out as Lonce, but said mer didn't mind, it was actually pretty cool. She flipped off the rock and took the bundle of sticks from Hunk, settling on the floor, tail tucked under her. Hunk and Lance sat down in an odd triangle with her, and they began working.

For the next hour and a half, they wove wooden strands into strong baskets, used to collect rocks, oysters and clams, and other supplies. Their fingers worked quickly, but the often paused to burst out laughing at something one of them had said. They teased each other and gossiped, and Lance felt breathless from giggling and his cheeks sore from smiling after only minutes.

"Wait, Lance, have you seen a human up there with black hair and a white stripe? Like a skunk sort of?" Allura gazed at Lance intensely, blue eyes wide. She visited the surface every week, even though her father discouraged it. He was overly protective, which annoyed Allura, but she was the heir of the community so Lance understood. He immediately recognized who Allura was talking about.

"Broad shoulders? Always walking with a dude with a mullet?" Allura nodded enthusiastically. "Funny story..." Lance said sheepishly, and Hunk leaned forward.

"Lance, what'd you do this time?" Hunk said, intrigued.

Lance put down his finished basket and started slowly on a new one. "Well... I've been watching that mullet guy for a while now... and today he was just sunbathing out on a rock. And I went up to him and was like 'hey' and he basically ignored me. Who does that? I was just being nice... and he turned out to be a total dickwad. But Allura, I'm sure his friend is nicer. Try out a fling!" It wasn't unnatural for mers to be gay, bi, pan, ace, whatever floated their boat. Lance himself was bi, but he was pretty sure Hunk and Allura were both straight.

"Lance..." Allura said sympathetically. Lance shrugged.

"It's his loss! Lancey-Lance will always be able to find adoring humans! I don't need validation from hot mullet men!" Hunk laughed, and they continued their conversation, soft currents rippling through their fins as they worked.

...

The coffee shop was cool and dry as Keith stepped in from the summer air. His hair was still a little damp from the shower he took at his dorm before coming to work so it was pretty messy, but he was able to cover it up with the mandatory black visor. He slipped behind the counter and into the back room, waving hello to his coworkers. Surfing today had been fun, but he was on the night shift now which sucked.

Normally, Keith loved working at Starbucks. He knew that it wasn't the best job, it was actually pretty stressful, but he got perks and good coffee and was able to take home the pastries and sandwiches that weren't bought. He tied the apron loosely around his waist, then went back outside to serve on cashier duty.

Grande caramel macchiato with caramel sauce on the top AND bottom.

Tall vanilla latte and a croissant, please.

Uhh... um... what's a flat white? Yeah. Okay, uh, I'll have that then. And a uhh... whatchamacallit. Sandwich. Panini, that's it. The tomato one.

Hot coffee.

Keith flew through the orders easily, quick on his feet, smiling politely, writing names on cups and pastry bags. Drawing a wave on his wrist during his break at 5pm. It wasn't until 6 that he snapped out of his work mindset when Shiro walked in.

Keith wasn't really paying attention, too busy fiddling with the chip reader to look up. "Hello and welcome to Starbucks, what can I get you?"

"A will to live and a new eyeliner pen, thanks." Keith looked up, surprised, but his face quickly fell into a smile when he recognized his best friend. The eyeliner thing was a joke because Shiro's lashes were so damn thick it looked like he wore makeup.

"Hey bro, what're you doing here?" Keith nodded to his coworker and she took over his post, waving to Shiro while blushing profusely. Keith knew she had a massive crush on Shiro, and he kind of used it as an advantage to have her cover for him when Shiro visited. He slipped out from behind the counter and lead his best friend over to an empty table. A few students were working on laptops nearby, but they were off in their own worlds.

"Just thought I'd stop by. Now that graduation's over, are you heading back home? Or waiting until the end of the summer? We only have a few days before we're kicked out of the dorm." Shiro was an orphan and had been in a foster home after foster home for his whole life. His current "parents" turned out to be Keith's neighbors back in Texas, accepting Shiro into their large family when he was 8. The two had become fast friends and decided to go to the same college when they were both accepted. It was cliche, but Keith thought of Shiro as an older brother- always there for him.

As Keith was going to be a junior in the fall, and Shiro a senior, their graduation wasn't a big deal. Shiro's parents had come up, all proud and happy, but Keith's hadn't, which was expected. As much as they loved their son, they wanted to see him be independent. Keith figured it was because he was coddled as a kid since he was an only child. He didn't mind.

"Nah, we can move in with Matt and Pidge this weekend, since I'll probably go back home in August." The Holt family was a tech-genius group of four, but the parents were often away on radical missions at NASA, doing calculations and smart things like that. Their kids, Matt and Pidge (previously known as Katie) were just as smart, building robots that made breakfast, programming computers, and playing technologically-advanced pranks on each other (and sometimes Keith and Shiro). The four friends had known each other since freshmen year, and Shiro and Keith would be spending the summer with the siblings in their giant house on the ocean.

"That's good. I'll probably go back with you then." Shiro sighed, long and hard.

"Something on your mind?" Keith asked, concerned. He knew what it meant when Shiro's eyes got sad like that, but he needed Shiro to say it, not for Keith, but for himself. Just so he could understand how stupid it was.

"I'm single as fuck, Keith." It took a lot not to laugh. Instead, Keith rolled his eyes.

"Shiro, like I've told you a hundred billion times, literally anyone would go out with you. You're not single as fuck, you're just not committed to anyone so you push anyone who has any semblance of feelings for you away. I swear to god, just get a summer fling before I gauge my eyes out with a straw." To demonstrate, Keith took a paper-wrapped straw that lay on the table and threw it at Shiro. "Getta... seasonal relationship."

Now it was Shiro's turn to roll his eyes. "I don't have commitment issues. I'm waiting for the special someone. And you can't judge me, you've never even been a relationship." For some reason, Keith's mind jumped to the guy who'd interrupted his sunbathing session. He didn't really see his face too well since it was so bright, but he'd seemed okay. Pretty cheesy, pretty stupidly romantic with his bad pickup line, but probably cute.

"Shiro, I don't even know what sexuality I am. How am I supposed to get a relationship if there's a possibility that I could wake up one day and think, 'Oh, I'm fucking gay.'"

Shiro quirked an eyebrow. "Are you gay?"

Keith threw his hands up, letting them fall loudly to his thighs. "I don't even know!"

Shiro laughed, deep and calm. Keith's female coworker, the one obsessed with Shiro, sighed dreamily, then flushed in embarrassment. Keith facepalmed.

...

I'm so sorry this took so long guys!! I've been hella busy. I hope you like this chapter, more soon!<3