It was Day 3 of Bass Lake, and each day had been better than the last. The group had pretty much stayed together, spending the first day in Oakhurst exploring, then the second day at the actual lake. There were many small tourist shops and even an ice cream shop on the docks, which Lance had never had before but thoroughly enjoyed.

Keith had secretly enjoyed the time he was spending with the mer and felt a sense of excitement when Lance's eyes lit up like a little kid when he saw something he liked. But still, every time he felt his heart slipping, he was reminded of his upbringing and snapped out of it, placing Lance back into the Strictly Friends category in his head.

It wasn't like Keith wanted to push Lance away, it was just the way he was- the way he'd always been. Even with Shiro, it was hard to open up sometimes. As an only child, he'd been sheltered by his parents and had never really gotten over the independence he'd needed to develop to prove that he'd be alright on his own.

Since then, Keith had tried to lean on other people, to be able to have a mutually supportive relationship, but every time he came close he got all passive and distant. Only Shiro really understood, and Matt and Pidge had learned not to push Keith when he got all closed up.

He was trying though. Letting his vulnerability show through that night of the painting was a huge step for him. Although he'd tortured himself about it the entire night, trying his best to just think about girls, girls, girls, his mind kept drifting back to Lance.

Even if he couldn't open up to Lance the way he could with Shiro at the moment, even if it would never happen, he'd decided that he could at least try to get along and support Lance as best he could. He didn't want to hurt Lance if the mer developed feelings for him though, so it was sort of a lose-lose situation.

Either he opened up to Lance as a friend and hurt him by denying him anything further or he distanced himself from Lance and rejected him. At the moment, he really couldn't see any other solution.

Still, the idea of Lance actually having feelings for Keith was a bit mind-boggling. Since he'd never opened up to boys, girls had always been the ones to approach him. The sad thing was, they usually had a pre-conceived idea of Keith as a dark, moody, beautiful teenager, and not who he really was.

Who he was... was hard to say. Keith didn't even really know who he was deep down. He guessed he was serious, introverted, smart if he went by the suggestion of his GPA. But other than that, he didn't really know. Maybe that's why he was so closed up. Maybe he had to find himself either way.

Keith sighed, rolling over on the bed. Matt and Pidge were playing some game on the TV, which they'd hardwired with an Xbox, waiting for Allura to drop off her stuff in her room so they could all go out for breakfast. Keith was interested in meeting her- especially if it meant that Shiro could finally find someone. Keith rolled off the bed and walked over to Matt and Pidge. "Got an extra controller?"

"SHE'S HERE!" Lance suddenly screeched from the other room, dropping his phone on the hotel bed and rushing to the door. "SHIRO, MAKE SURE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION IS EXCELLENT!"

He didn't hear Shiro's response as he bolted down the stairs of the hotel, not bothering to wait for the elevator, and burst out into the lobby.

He could see Allura's tall, curvy form through the automatic sliding doors, and he grinned, powering through the entrance into his best friend's waiting arms.

"I see you're just as fast on land as you are swimming," Allura laughed happily as Lance hugged her tightly.

"Well duh," he mumbled into her hair, which was loose and natural, electric white and a perfect contrast against her skin.

"Well hello to you too," a sarcastic voice said from behind Allura. Lance froze.

"HUNK!" Lance plunged into Hunk's embrace too, grinning so wide he thought his cheeks would break.

"Now that's the welcome I wanted," Hunk chuckled warmly, patting Lance on the back.

Lance pulled back, surveying his two friends, "I'm so happy you guys came! This was so unexpected- Romelle called me last night to tell me you'd be here this morning, so I was pretty much caught by surprise."

Allura nodded, running her hands through her hair. "Yes, it was pretty much a split decision. I convinced the council that I should check in on you- I mean, you are the newest celebrity- and they said they'd only let me come with a guard. So I chose this guard," Allura pinched Hunk's cheeks, laughing.

Someone cleared their throat behind the group and Lance nudged Allura, grinning. "You must be Allura. May I take your bag?" Shiro looked manly and strong and handsome as fuck, and his gaze was locked on Allura, lips lifted into a hopeful smile.

The mer turned fully, pushing up her sunglasses to reveal her bright teal eyes, flecks of pink around the edges. Anyone else would think they were contacts, but Shiro knew for a fact they were her real eyes. She was wearing a long, flowy romper made with floral fabric, a deep v-neck cutting down her chest. Lance watched her look over Shiro, then crack a smile.

"I've got it," Allura said, hefting her two bags into her arms. Lance practically saw the cogs turning in Shiro's head. She was testing him. Insist to carry the bags, she'd be offended, let her carry them, she'd be insulted.

"At least let me carry one," Shiro said, holding out a hand. Bingo. Lance and Hunk exchanged a glance and watched as Allura handed Shiro one of her bags and they walked into the hotel together, chatting casually.

"Why does she need two big bags? You're only staying for two days," Lance asked, pointing to Hunk's tiny drawstring pack.

Hunk shrugged, smiling, "Romelle gave her, like, forty outfits and a couple hundred pounds of makeup. It's intense, man." Laughing between themselves, Lance and Hunk made their way to the hotel room as well.

...

"So you've all got the same stuff as Lance? He's not just a mer-freak?" Pidge asked, crunching down on their BLT.

Hunk nodded, counting on his fingers, "Gills, fins, sail... everything. Lance just has more luminescence, the glowy stuff."

Allura smiled sincerely, "That's why he's so fast." Lance blushed, flattered.

They were out to eat at a casual restaurant by the lake, sitting around a large table under an even larger umbrella, sharing two big baskets of fries and picking at their sandwiches. The noontime sun was hot and welcomed, and several tourists outside simply wore their bathing suits on the dock, as it was pretty much too hot for anything else.

The group's waiter approached the table to check in with them, but paused before leaving, "You know..." she said slowly, "If you guys are looking for something to do after lunch, the water's high enough at Angel Falls to jump off the waterfall, and the hike up isn't that bad. It won't be too crowded today, just a suggestion."

Matt's eyes went wide. "Jumping off a waterfall?" He looked at Shiro, eyes as wide as his plate, "Please, Dad?"

...

"There is no way in HELL I'm wearing the finger condoms, Allura. Nice try, though." Lance turned away in denial.

Allura sighed, "Lance, I've told you a million times. They're finger cots. And they make it so you can go swimming. Like a normal person. And jump off the waterfall. If putting a tiny little latex wrap over a single finger isn't worth it to you, then you've gotta problem with your priorities."

"They're awkward!" Lance protested, "Finger condoms!"

"Cots!" Hunk corrected from the bathroom, then stepping out with his swim trunks on. He'd tied a strip of fabric around his forehead to keep his hair out of his face, and was now pulling on a tank top. Lance crossed his arms over his chest.

"So... you don't wanna go swimming with us?" Allura's puppy-dog eyes were adorable, and finally, Lance gave in.

"Fine," he grumbled, snatching a little roll of latex from the box and slipping it into the pocket of his swim trunks, "Only for you guys, though. Just 'cause you're here."

The three exited the hotel room and walked downstairs, meeting the Holt's, Shiro, and Keith in the lobby. They were all wearing swim trunks and t-shirts of some kind, as well as sneakers for the 1-mile hike they had to climb to get to the small waterfall.

Shiro was reading a pamphlet on the Falls and looked up when the three mers arrived. "It says here that there are a lot of small swimming holes around the falls too, so when we get tired of jumping, we can go relax in one of them. The waitress was right- I asked the front desk and they said that it shouldn't be crowded. However," Shiro lowered his voice and gestured to the mers, "I still don't think you guys would be safe swimming, not in such an open place."

Allura held out the small box of finger cots. "No need to worry," she said matter-of-factly, "We have these. We'll be fine to swim."

Matt narrowed his eyes, confused. "We have to be completely submerged in water to turn. So if even one finger is dry, we won't change." He pointed to the box, "They're latex and skin-tight- no water will get through."

"It's a condom!" Pidge shrieked, face exploding in laughter. Several people who sat in lounge chairs across the lobby looked up, with expressions either of amusement or disgust.

Lance and Pidge struggled to keep from laughing, and Shiro just face-palmed.

...

Hey guys! I'm highkey feelin really sad- I'm going back and watching edits I've saved on instagram and just watching what klance was like back in the first seasons,,, remember when Keith saved Lance from the airlock? Remember when they had to climb up the elevator shaft together? Remember the bonding moment????? I miss THAT klance so much.

Not that I'm hating on the show at all- I love voltron irrevocably, and i'd support it even without klance, but I really miss the genuine interactions between Keith and Lance. They're such amazing characters and they've grown so much independently,, I really hope that we see them grow TOGETHER this next season bc honestly, I miss those moments so much. Maybe it's just pms but I'm getting really emotional about it lol 💓💓💓 do you guys know what I mean?

Also quick survey, do you like when i put in music for the chapters? I usually put in music that i listen to while i write or I get a vibe from, but I wanna know if you genuinely like and listen to it haha

Anyways, I love you all so much (so many updates so close together hahaha, you guys must be havin a field day) and just so you know, yes, updates are gonna stay pretty consistent, every few days if we're lucky. Is that alright? Summer break for me is a lot of riding in the car with nothing to do, so I spend a lot of my time writing.

Oh and a quick question- what would you guys think about a writing guide by me? I dunno, just some cliches to avoid, how to practice writing, some grammar stuff? Lemme know if you'd read it,,,

AND i have my idea for my next klance fic- you wanna know?

Have a great day guys!! ☀️