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Allura let out a frighteningly loud battle cry as she jumped up and spiked the volleyball towards the sand, only to have Keith dive to the rescue and pop it over to Shiro, who hit the ball back over the net to Lance.

The whole group, including Allura and Hunk, was at the beach as the summer temperature spiked into the 90s. Shiro and Keith faced off against Lance and Allura in beach volleyball while Hunk and the Holt's waded in the cold ocean, pointing out shells and pretty stones. The three mers all wore their cots again, to Lance's disappointment, but it ultimately made everything a lot more fun, considering the fact that Lance could swim freely with legs.

Lance was pretty sure that Shiro had died for a second when he saw Allura in her bikini, very unlike the one-piece she'd donned at the Falls a few weeks back. His face had gone as red as a tomato and he stuttered for a second, which Allura found hilarious.

Pidge and Matt both wore swim tees because Matt burned easily and Pidge wore their binder. But the rest of the boys wore swim trunks, even if Hunk was a little self conscious. Pidge made Hunk talk about Shay, who Hunk had apparently been talking with a lot, and Shiro and Allura were absolute couple goals, toned as fuck and stunningly gorgeous. Whenever a boy on the beach so much as looked at Allura, Shiro got overprotective, even when Allura scolded him for scowling so much.

The two were officially dating now, and Keith was really happy for his best friend, getting out of his shell and shit. Lance had been a little more open to Keith lately, saying good morning and accepting the coffee Keith presented to him. Lance had even started smiling at Keith again, the sunshine smile he'd missed so much.

But right now, the two sets were enemies, bumping and spiking the poor volleyball at each other. All four of them were very competitive, and Lance was excited that he got to show off his speed. He'd been correct to assume that he was just as speedy underwater as he was on land, and even Shiro seemed surprised as Lance darted across the sand, saving the ball from hitting the hot ground.

Keith couldn't help but get a little bit distracted when Lance sprang to hit the ball over the net- his chest opened up and his abs tightened, a look of smug victory covering his face every time he got the best of Keith and Shiro.

But the two teams were very well-matched, and the mers caught on quick to the objective. By the time they finished one round (to 25 points) they were all laughing breathlessly, faces red from exertion.

Lance and Allura ducked under the net and high-fived, 'good games' passing between each other. Shiro and Keith had won by six points. Sweat dotted their foreheads, and in seconds, they were all running into the water, Hunk and the Holt's protesting as they scared all the fish away.

Splash fights obviously ensued, and at one point, Shiro suggested a chicken-fight in the waist-deep water. Keith climbed onto his shoulders, and Lance got on Hunk's and they clashed together, fingers interlocked as they tried to push each other over.

Lance was competitive, and while Keith had more upper-arm strength than he did, he wasn't going down without a fight. When Keith finally got the best of him, his wet hands slippery, Lance gripped Keith's pale arms and they fell of their friends' shoulders together, tumbling into the water. As Lance attempted to surface, he felt his hand land on something broad and warm, and when he opened his eyes, he was practically laying on top of Keith in the water, palm on Keith's lower stomach- his hot abs.

He surfaced laughing, flicking his hair out of his eyes and helping Keith to his feet as well, who was damn near starstruck by Lance's laughter.

...

Lance couldn't surf. As much as Keith tried to teach him, he wasn't very balanced and he ended up falling right away, even just standing on the board on calm water. Keith opted for a boogie board for him instead, and it was still mediocre at best, but he was proud.

The waves were big, and Keith was itching to surf, so after teaching Lance how to boogie board and checking in with the rest of the group who was lounging on the beach, Keith grabbed his board and paddled out to scope some waves. There were a few other surfers there, so Keith took his opportunity when they went back onto the beach to rest.

As soon as he caught a wave, he stood, arms out for balance. Surfing was kind of like an art to Keith. He knew how to make micro adjustments to his stance, his balance, to keep going forward. He knew how to twist over the curve and bank out of the wave, how to get out of 'tombstoning' and how to escape the crash of the wave. When the water was curled around him, and all he could hear is the sound of the ocean, Keith felt more relaxed than ever.

Lance, on the sand, let himself admire Keith's sculpted abs, rolling his eyes. Keith was cool. And sweet, for the coffee thing. And weird. And cute.

...

Keith was ready to give up on this whole Lance thing. It was the night after their beach day, and he was starting to doubt everything. Was Lance ever gonna respond to him in a way that he could take as interest? Would Lance ever want that with Keith?

He lay in his bed in the basement, tossing and turning. The string of fairy-lights around him dimly illuminated his room- the TV and the gaming stuff (for Matt and Pidge and Shiro) and the skateboard on the floor... Keith closed his eyes.

He felt like he'd been asleep for barely a few seconds when he felt something cover his arm, shaking him gently. Keith's eyes flashed open to meet bright, aquamarine ones.

"Swim with me?"

...

The ocean was colder at night, but Lance's hand was warm and comforting around Keith's as he led him down the dunes to the ocean.

Lance had asked Keith to drive the two of them to the beach, saying that he wanted to 'hang out'. Whatever that meant, Keith didn't care. He was just happy to be with Lance. Said boy's hair was messy from sleep, and he was still wearing his pajamas. He hadn't let Keith change out of his either, and neither of them had thought to grab towels on their way out.

"Lance, what are we doing?" Keith asked hesitantly as Lance stopped on the beach, looking out over the ocean. He looked at Keith over his shoulder, eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"We're swimming, I told you," he said, then started taking off his shirt. The tanned skin of his back rippled with muscles as he lifted off his shirt, nodding to Keith to do the same.

"Won't you change, though?" Keith asked, concerned.

Lance just nodded, shucking off his sweatpants, leaving him in briefs. Keith gulped and tried not to stare. Lance was already walking down to the beach anyways.

Keith jogged after him and they stood together at the foot of the surf, preparing themselves for the frigid water. Keith didn't even know what time it was. He felt Lance's hand slip into his own, though, and his heart soared.

"Let's get it fucking over with," he muttered, and Lance laughed breathlessly. On the count of three, they ran into the ocean, clutching each other's hand, yelping at how cold it was.

"Dunk!" Lance shrieked, and Keith obliged, diving under the waves, letting the cold settle under his skin. When he surfaced, the water around him was glowing. Behind him, Lance had transformed and was all lit up, stunningly bright. The mermaid floated on his back, eyes closed, smiling. Keith took his hand again, and stood next to Lance, watching him.

"I want to be with you too," Lance murmured, and his lights glowed brighter.

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. "Good," his voice came out deep.

Lance opened his eyes and flipped forward, throwing his long arms around Keith's neck and pulling himself closer. Keith was so overwhelmed with how close Lance was, it took him a second to realize they were hugging. Immediately, he hugged back, burying his face in the crook of Lance's neck, which made the mer giggle. Lance's skin was warm and smooth and Keith wanted to stay in his arms forever.

"Does this mean we're dating?" Lance asked quietly, torso flush to Keith's. His tail drifted back in the currents. Keith paused.

"If you want to," he mumbled, blushing. Lance's musical laughter was light in his ear.

"Yeah, I do."

Keith pulled back a few inches, enough to look Lance in the eye. They probably looked so weird, a human and a mermaid hugging in the middle of the night in the ocean. Lance's eyes were bright, and they had stars in them. Keith looked down at Lance's lips, pink and full, then back to his eyes. Lance got the gist, but leaned back, smiling devilishly, and put a finger over Keith's lips.

"Not yet," he whispered. His breath hitched as Keith instead kissed Lance's index finger over his lips, then managed a cool smirk. Lance's cheeks went vermillion, and Keith couldn't help it, he leaned forward and slowly pressed his mouth to Lance's cheek, feeling the heat under his lips.

Lance's hands started shaking, and he closed his eyes. Keith was so close. He wanted him to stay that way maybe forever.

...

Hey guys :)
This will be my last update for a while- I'm going to sleep-away camp (with no phones or computers) for two weeks
:( Of course I'll still write while I'm away and I'll have a lot of chapters for you guys when I get back, but I won't be able to answer questions, reply to comments, or interact with you guys until Saturday the 21st, when I come home. I'll be here until around three o'clock this afternoon (around 6 hours), but I'm gonna miss you guys so much.

On a brighter note, season seven comes out on the 20th ahhh!!! I won't be able to watch it until I get home, so don't spoil anything for me lolol hopefully we get that good klance content!

I have a bit of a surprise for you since I won't be here for two weeks, but first, some more Q&As!

weird_without_reason  : whats your favorite comment you've ever gotten on a story?

Dndjfjfjfj this is so hard. But I'd have to say, on the epilogue of Beat Drop, there are a few very long comments of appreciation that made me tear up. I love all my readers so much ahhhhh

That's not to say that I don't absolutely adore all the comments on this fic- I do, I just want to see your reactions for the end of the fic :)) it's going to end similarly to Beat Drop, I think, as in an Epilogue to wrap everything up. Im not sure yet.

Speaking of self-promotion, while I'm gone, you guys could totally go read Beat Drop, if you want. I noticed that there's a LOT of you guys here who I saw were in the comment section of Beat Drop's epilogue, so I wanna say thank you for continuing to read my works :) I hope I'm making you proud.

Also feel free to read my grammar book, the Mystic Messenger hanahaki series, or one of the oneshots I have up. I love you guys unconditionally for your support.

Okay, next question:

JordyIsHere  : How did you find and start watching Voltron?

I actually heard about it from an internet friend (who's now estranged) who really liked it. I watched the first episode and fell in love with the characters... this was back when there was only one season haha. I'm so proud that it's gone so far!! And season seven soon ahhhh (you all know my opinion on klance, so I'm not too worried).

How did you guys hear about Voltron? How'd you start reading SWM?

And now for your surprise, I have a hint for the Shallura/Shatt endgame (if you don't wanna know, skip over the bold)

The Shiro-ship that turned out to be endgame in Beat Drop will not be the ship that finishes in Swim With Me.

Don't spoil it for anyone :))

Anyways, I love you all, I'll be replying to you guys for a few more hours, and then I'm off for two weeks. Have wonderful weeks, do something you love, and I'll miss you,,

I love you guys so much, and don't forget it while I'm gone:)