So... my country is officially on lockdown as of today because of the coronavirus. I hope everyone is safe out there. Is your country on lockdown? How do you feel about the situation? Remember, if you need to talk to anyone, I'm always here for you. You can message me here on Wattpad or on Instagram and I will respond as soon as I can (which should be pretty fast now I'm stuck at home). My username for Instagram is also AllTimePhan73 :)

"Hey," Lance greeted, leaning against the doorway of Keith's room. It wasn't often that he caught Keith alone those days as he spent most of his time with James. Keith failed to notice his presence immediately, too busy practicing combat with his Blade of Mamora. Keith mumbled a weak greeting before placing his knife on his desk. He stared down at his feet and refused to look up at Lance. "Shiro thought it would be a good idea for all of us to go out somewhere. He wasn't sure what we'd do though so I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to an aquarium? James can come too if you want."

Keith swallowed but soon found himself nodding. "That sounds nice actually." It definitely made a difference to being cooped up in the dorms, struggling to find different ways of spending his time and constantly watching over James.

"Cool."

"When are we going?"

"Well... now? If that's okay?"

"Just let me get dressed."

"Okay," Lance remained standing in the doorway and smirked once he realised Keith was glaring at him. "Oh, you wanted me to leave." Keith didn't seem at all impressed as he raised his eyebrows and folded his arms. He looked like a parent who was angry at their child for misbehaving.

"Yes, Lance. Let me get changed in peace."

Once the door was closed, Keith let out a sigh and scrunched his eyes shut: Lance was going to be the death of him. As he leant against the wall and buried his head into his hands, Lance thought the same thing about Keith from out in the hallway.

-

Lance forced a grin at the woman behind the ticket counter. He leant his arm on the table and winked to amplify his image. "Hey, Carly, I don't suppose you can get us some discounted tickets." He put on the same voice that he always put on when he was flirting with girls, even going as far as to throw out a pair of finger guns. Carly seemed to cringe at the gesture, her eyes thinning and a single eyebrow raising up her forehead as if to say 'are you being serious?'

"Leo, you know-"

"Lance. My name is Lance. How can you not remember? We dated for like-"

Carly rubbed her hands over her face to make her discomfort obvious. "Lance, you know I can't give you a discount." Chewing on her bottom lip, Carly swallowed. Lance had jut his bottom out into a pout that looked like it belonged to a five-year-old and not a paladin of the universe.

"Am I not still technically an employee?"

"No? You got fired after-"

"Don't bring that up!"

Keith leaned his head forward so it was hovering over Lance's shoulder, raising an eyebrow and asking, "What did he do?"

Lance started to make random noises as an attempt to drown Carly out but she raised her voice to compete until all of Lance's friends had heard the story. He had once tried to kidnap (sharknap) a baby shark in a plastic bag because it was "giving him puppy-dog eyes". He had made it as far as the reception before people realised the lump beneath his shirt couldn't have been a baby bump since he was clearly a guy and not a pregnant woman. After hearing about the story, all of his friends were in hysterics whilst Lance folded his arms and glared down at the floor. "I'm sorry but his mum had just died. He needed comfort and a family."

"So you tried to smuggle him out of the aquarium? That's hilarious." Keith punched Lance's arm so he knew he was only joking around but the scowl still didn't disappear from Lance's face. Despite having heard the story once before from Lance's point of view, Hunk was cackling with laughter that appeared to spread more positive vibes than any cliche tumblr post ever could.

"I learned from my mistakes and that is what's important. Now, just let us in."

"I can give you our family and friends' discount of 20% but that's it."

"If that's all I can get for caring about the animals' mental wellbeing then I guess I will take it."

"You don't have much of a choice but sure. So that'll be..." Carly leant forward in her seat and pointed at each person until she had a rough idea of how many people there were with Lance. She pressed a button on her screen enough to constitute for the entire group. "$52."

"52? Did you charge us all as adults or something? Clearly we're under-"

"Don't even try. I assume he," Carly pointed at James, who she recognised as someone she had seen around the Garrison. "Is the only student," Carly's mind tempted her to make a comment as to how James was still taller than Keith, despite being the youngest of them all but she decided against it. "I remember, when we dated, you were a few months older than me and Hunk was your best friend so he must be the same age as us... I know Mr Shirogane was a teacher and Keith was that kid he mentored so he's our age too. You're all adults but Griffin."

Lance started to grumble a series of complaints before reaching into his wallet and only seeing about half the amount. He flicked through the pockets but still he wasn't even close to having the correct amount. He had presumed Carly would give him more of a discount or at least charge them all as students as opposed to adults. Upon seeing Lance's lost expression as he sifted through his money (or lack of money), Shiro leaned forward and slapped a series of notes onto the counter. Lance attempted to argue but Shiro hushed him as he accepted the receipt with the tickets on.

"Have a fantastic time at All Star Aquarium." Carly's voice was a monotone which heavily contradicted her words. Regardless, Lance and each of his friends thanked her and entered the aquarium.

Nostalgia washed over Lance as they passed a massive sign with a dolphin painted on that read 'welcome!' in multiple languages. He let his hand hover over bienvenue as everyone was too engrossed in their own conversations to notice what he was doing. Lance could still remember the layout of the aquarium for the few months he had worked there during his final year of high school. He had also dated Carly for a while which meant he received many free entries before they had broken up and Lance was fired.

The first tank they came across was full of tropical fish and of course Hunk was the one to point out the clownfish and yell, "Nemo!" It was loud enough to get another family in the aquarium to turn to look at them and usher their child into the next room.

"Dory..." James murmured in response, using his index finger to point at the Dory fish. He was a lot less enthusiastic than Hunk from where he was clinging to Keith's arm.

"Did you know male clownfish have the ability to turn into females?" Lance read off the fact card in front of the tank, regressing back to his days as a tour guide. He almost missed the dumb shark fin hat that he had been forced to wear.

"Nice." Keith whispered, though it was clear he wasn't paying much attention to the fish. He turned his head to look at Lance who was subconsciously scowling at him and James. "What? Why are you glaring at me?"

"Because you're ugly," Lance stuck his tongue out to back up his joke and, luckily, Keith didn't push it. Lance blinked a couple of times and diverted his gaze back to the fish. Keith let his arm snake back around James and pulled him closer so he could lie his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "It's time for the next room and I must tell you that this is the best room."

Everyone hummed in unison as they followed Lance down the corridor where there was a massive tank taking up an entire wall. Inside were large sharks with sharp teeth that they showed off by opening their mouths whilst they swam. Lance pressed his hand against the tank and let a grin cover his face as a shark moved towards him. Keith and James were the only ones close enough to hear Lance murmur, "Missed me, did ya?" Keith had to hold back a snort but he refused to admit that Lance was rather adorable when surrounded by animals he loved. Lance walked to the fact card and read it aloud again, "Did you know some sharks such as the great white shark need to be constantly moving? It keeps the water flowing through their gills and prevents them from suffocating."

"It's like you, Lance!" Hunk teased, eliciting another pout from Lance.

"Just because I have ADHD," Keith snorted, making it clear that he found Hunk's joke amusing. "I'm glad you find it funny, Keith." Even James was smiling from where his head was hiding in Keith's shoulder, though no one could see. "Alright, if you guys keep making fun of me then we won't see the dolphin show."

"Bit dramatic, aren't you?" Keith was the one teasing now, eyebrows raised as he tempted Lance into reacting.

"That's it. I'm the only person going to see the dolphins." Lance folded his arms and refused to make eye contact with any of his friends. "You know what? Shiro and James are coming too. No dolphins for Keith and Hunk because you're both mean."

"Come on, buddy, it was a joke." Hunk attempted to reach out and pat Lance's shoulder but he pouted and turned away.

"Fine... you're lucky you're my friends but consider this your last straw."

-

Once they were all gathered in the small stadium in the marine park, James seemed to be growing irritable. Lance was standing up and clapping along with the music, a wide grin on his face as he waited for the dolphins to come out. They had always been his favourite attraction when he had worked there, though he didn't have the qualifications and experience to become a dolphin trainer himself. Hunk and Shiro were waiting more patiently and Keith was clutching onto James. "When are we going home?" James whispered from where his head was buried in Keith's shoulder.

"Lance said we were just going to see the dolphins and the penguin and then get dinner and go." Keith responded, tracing circles into James's back. His movements were soft and gentle as if he was worried James was going to break.

"Okay..." James still didn't seem quite right as he stared directly ahead of him. Keith opened his mouth to question it but that was the exact moment that the dolphin trainers ran onto the stage and the crowd began to cheer. James's face only scrunched up as a response to the excitement, his hands moving to cover his ears. Keith spared him one last pitiful look before turning back to the dolphins.

The show was going well (for the most part) until the moment the trainer called out into the crowd for volunteers. Lance was instantaneously on his feet, faster than a dog when they hear the word walk . He jumped up and down on the balls of his feet, waving his hands in the air and earning the attention of most people around them. Keith and James both buried their heads into their hands, embarrassed to be seen beside someone so dramatic and attention-seeking. To make it even better, the volunteer actually yelled out, "The excited guy in the blue shark shirt!" Lance did a mini dance that elicited a round of laughter from everyone within a mile radius before racing down to the stage.

The activity he was being asked to do was clearly designed for a child as the trainer was holding back laughter the entire time she explained the task. She handed Lance a hoop and commanded he held it up, over the pool of water. Lance did, arm trembling a shameful amount right up until the point that the dolphin launched itself through. He cheered along with the audience and not even Keith could deny how adorable Lance looked. He resembled an excitable child on Christmas. As soon as the thought appeared in Keith's mind, he shook his head as if that would make it go away.

The trainer handed Lance something too small for anyone who wasn't in the first row to see before sending him back to his seat. Everyone applauded as he ran up the stairs, waving at the people he passed as if he was some sort of minor celebrity. When he sank back down in his seat beside Keith, he was glowing with joy.

-

"I'll meet you at the penguins, okay?" James murmured as they walked out of the dolphin stadium. Lance still seemed to be riding his high as the smile never left his face and his movements seemed light.

"Why can't you just come with us?" Keith questioned with thin eyes. James raised his hand and gestured at a sign for the men's toilets. Too drained to argue, Keith nodded and speed-walked forward enough to catch up with the rest of the group whilst James ducked into the bathrooms.

When James found the group again, he seemed like a different person. He had seemed deflated up to that point but, suddenly, he was buzzing and overjoyed to see the penguins. He rushed right up to the glass and pressed his hands against it, watching as a pair of penguins dived into the pool. He turned his head around harshly enough to make his hair bounce before murmuring, "That's us." The penguins seemed to dance together in the way that they swam around, not once separating.

"If that's us," Keith started. "Then that's Lance," Keith used his index finger to point at one penguin that was eating a stash of fish it had clearly built up over time. It was sat right up against the back wall with its little flippers out in front of it that revealed its chubby stomach to the world. "Hey, Lance, look! We found you!" Lance turned to see what Keith was pointing at before scowling and storming over.

"That's you then," Lance pointed at one of the uglier penguins that had two white spots above its eyes that looked like angry eyebrows. "He's ugly... like you."

"No penguins can ever be ugly. Plus, James already decided that the two swimming are us." Keith grinned as Lance hunched his shoulders over in defeat. Each of their gazes diverted to the two in the water, just as one of them pulled itself out onto the cover and began waddling towards 'Lance'. Keith let out a loud laugh as it began to poke penguin Lance before stealing some of the fish.

"Even penguin Keith is mean." Lance murmured, encouraging Keith to jokingly punch his arm. Both of them failed to notice that James had wandered off to read the information sign. He folded his arms as his eyes grazed the words, not actually taking any of it in. He hadn't even realised how much he was rocking on his feet and tapping his hands against his thigh rapidly enough to draw attention to himself.

"Are we going to get food yet? I'm starving." Shiro asked, forcing himself into the conversation from where he was standing at the opposite enclosure. Lance met eyes with Keith to silently see what he thought before they both nodded. "Cool, I'll go get Hunk. I think he walked off to look at the turtles or something."

"We'll go and get a table in the restaurant and meet you there." Shiro nodded in agreement. He rushed out of the penguin exhibit to the one on its right where the turtles were swimming in different pools. Lance and Keith turned around with the expectancy to see James standing there but they only saw empty space. It took them a moment to scan the surroundings and spot him a few metres away. Once they found him, they walked towards him and Keith balanced his head on James's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked with raised eyebrows. James let his gaze flicker up to meet Keith's before he looked away again.

"I'm fine, Keith. I just wanted to see the other penguins. Is that a crime? Last time I checked, it wasn't. Did you know the smallest species of penguin is the blue penguin? It's only 30cm tall. How cute is that?"

"Adorable..." Keith murmured but he couldn't bring himself to share James's excitement. Though he was unable to pinpoint quite what, he knew something was going on with James: that was the most he said all day and he was rambling. "Are you sure you're fine?"

James nodded before leaping into a further ramble about penguins.