A/N: The prequel to the entire "Break My Fall" story. Please note that Keith's backstory in this chapter likely won't make sense if you havent read "Break My Fall" yet. Otherwise, enjoy!

The beach was his happy place. Sun. Waves. Salt in the air. A variety of revealing bathing suits.

Lance was sure that if there was a soul mate out there for him, he'd meet them right here in the sand of his favorite beach.

He didn't know it yet, but he was exactly right.

Keith scowled out the back window of Shiro's car, forced out of the front seat by Matt (like usual) after they'd picked up the Holt siblings on this forced trip out to the beach with Shiro and his college friends.

When Shiro had mentioned the beach trip a few days ago, Keith had nodded along absentmindedly, although he'd made eye contact and did his best to show Shiro he was listening to him, while he was actually just hoping to be left alone again so he could focus on the movie he'd found. Ever since Shiro had come home for the summer, he'd been pretty invested in getting Keith out of the house. Plus, Keith just knew Shiro was waiting for the full story of what had happened during Keith's spring semester that had led to him to dropping out.

Apparently, Keith should've actually listened to Shiro's latest attempt to drag him from his comfortable homebound mope-fest, because he'd been actually carried out to Shiro's car that morning after Shiro had literally dragged him out of bed and tossed swimwear, a beach towel, and a bottle of sunblock at him. Apparently he was going to the beach today. Apparently he was going to be paraded in front of his brother's friends like a loser who didn't have his own friends.

Keith sagged down further in the backseat as he remembered that he was a loser who didn't have his own friends.

The sand that collected in his flip flops with each step burned his feet, and the strong wind was also blowing the sand at his calves, stinging the skin. They were barely five minutes out of the air conditioned car and he was already sweating and desperate to pull his hair up off his neck, although it would have to wait since his arms were currently weighed down by three beach chairs and what he was sure was everyone's towels. He scowled at Matt's back as he watched Matt saunter through the sand carrying absolutely nothing.

Although, it wasn't exactly Matt's fault that he had nothing to carry. Shiro was the one who had loaded Keith's arms up while shooing Matt off towards the sand. Apparently he didn't want his good friend to be uncomfortable, while having zero qualms with Keith being uncomfortable.

Shiro had taken on the task of carrying their overloaded cooler, but Keith began walking backwards just so he could turn the full effect of his glare in Shiro's direction. Shiro just grinned back at him, before his mouth dropped open to call a warning out to Keith.

Too late, though, Keith's heel hit something in the sand and he toppled backwards, dropping the towels but having the mind to at least toss the chairs to the side as he landed on whatever he'd tripped over.

"Ow! Dude!"

Apparently he didn't trip over something, but someone. Keith fell further into this guy's lap as the other pushed himself to sit upright from where he'd been napping on his towel. Keith's mouth fell open as he found his face mere inches away from beautiful blue eyes, a cute upturned nose, and soft brown hair.

"How did you not see me?" the other boy asked, although Keith was more focused on the way his mouth was twisting into a small pout while his eyebrows raised in question.

Keith was at a loss for a moment, too distracted by soft brown skin that covered broad shoulders and a bare chest to understand what was being asked of him.

Right. Keith had just tripped over this guy and was now sitting in his lap.

Suddenly Shiro was there, yanking Keith back to his feet. "Sorry about that, Lance," Shiro said.

And wasn't that just perfect? The beautiful boy he'd just embarrassed himself in front of was one of Shiro's friends. Someone he was supposed to hang out with all day.

The hits were just going to keep on coming this year. Awesome.

Lance stood once Keith had been pulled off of him, and stared at Keith with a small glare. And now Shiro was definitely giving Keith a look that was meant to remind Keith about manners.

"I'm sorry I fell on you," Keith murmured in Lance's direction.

"This is your brother?" Lance asked, eyes trailing over Keith in a way that had Keith wishing he'd paid a bit more attention to which swimsuit Shiro had tossed at him to wear earlier.

Whether or not Lance was currently checking him out was secondary, however, to Lance's irritated tone of voice and the way his eyebrows furrowed in continued offense.

Keith's arms crossed across his own bare chest and he scowled in response.

"Yes, Lance, this is my brother, Keith, and Keith, this is one of my friends from school, Lance."

While Lance continued to glare at him, Keith forced his eyes away as Shiro continued to introduce the other people sprawled across the sand in this area, including Hunk, Shay, and Lance's sister, Allura. Keith offered the others a small wave and then bent to begin gathering up the towels he'd dropped.

There was a loud scoffing noise behind him and when he stood upright again, he found Lance in the same spot as before, still glaring in his direction. Keith frowned in return and turned away from him to toss Pidge and Matt their towels before bending to pick up the last beach chair that hadn't been claimed yet — so that the last of his embarrassing entrance into this relaxing day on the beach was finally cleaned up.

"I'm glad you decided to come out with us today."

"Decide is a pretty strong word."

At the sound of Keith's voice, Lance shifted his head slightly to try to peer at where Keith and Pidge sat. He'd declined Hunk's invite to go swimming to instead sunbathe on his towel, which he'd happened to relocate near where Keith had planted himself in a chair.

"Shiro fireman carried me to the car."

"Yeah, I figured you were going to be a toddler about it, dude. Who do you think gave him the idea?"

"Pidge! I thought we had agreed to never team up with Shiro or Matt against each other?"

"I haven't seen you all summer!"

"We have an oath!"

"You've been moping for months. I evoked the 'Drastic Measures' clause."

"We don't have a drastic measures clause," Keith growled.

Lance tried to bite back a smile as he listened to the two of them go back and forth. He'd heard of Pidge from Matt's stories, but he'd only just met her that morning as well. And while he didn't know much about Keith or Pidge (yet), it was clear from listening to the two of them that they were close friends.

Although, his interest was piqued by their conversation as well, as he wondered what could've upset Keith to the extent that it would've kept him from spending time with his friends the past few months. Shiro had spoken highly of his brother (although none of those stories had included what Keith looked like and Lance felt like he needed to have words with Shiro about giving him literally no notice about how attractive his brother was, like what the hell, Shiro). And then, Lance remembered, Shiro mentioned that Keith had dropped out of college, which seemed to have left Shiro… worried.

"You should also know we have a 'Pidge gets to institute any clause she wants at any time to the no banding together with big brothers oath' clause."

"You're ridiculous. Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm about to institute the 'Get Keith laid' clause. Keep your eyes open for those Italian ice guys."

"You're twelve, don't talk that way."

"Shut it. I'm not twelve."

"Who are the Italian ice guys?"

"They walk the beach pushing small coolers on wheels and sell Italian ice, keep up Keith."

"Why am I looking for them?"

"They're usually college guys. Without shirts. Today's mission will be to get you a phone number."

"Understood. Also, that's not today's mission. And also, I still can't handle you talking like this."

"Excuse. I'm starting college in a few short weeks and I'm sure I'll hear way worse…"

Lance had felt a frown growing since the first moment Pidge had suggested this new plan of hers. But, this new, odd silence between the good friends left him feeling tense. He resisted the urge to fully turn his head to look at their faces, and instead focused on the way Keith's fingers were currently tightening around the arm of his chair.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Keith."

"Its fine, Pidge," Keith said after a moment.

And maybe the wind was distorting Keith's voice, but he suddenly sounded off to Lance's ears.

"There's one of those Italian ice guys now. Guess I'll get started on your plan."

"Keith —"

Lance watched Keith jump to his feet and begin to walk away.

Lance briefly thought about sitting up to see if Pidge was okay. Even though he didn't know her at all, he knew she'd be at their campus in the fall and he had a feeling she was about to become a good friend.

However, there was something pulling his attention away from her right now in the form of a broody, dark-haired, dark-eyed pretty boy who was currently headed towards a random shirtless dude in the sand.

Lance was on his feet before he knew it, stalking after the boy with the unruly hair (that Lance was fairly certain had nothing to do with the wind blowing across the beach).

Keith knew sooner or later his friends were going to call him out for hiding away, and that this forced day on the beach had been a first step in that. He'd just expected Shiro to corner him first, not Pidge.

He bypassed the Italian ice vendor guy and continued down the beach, moving himself into the surf so that the waves wrapped around his calves as he walked, the first relief from the heat he'd felt all day. Then he remembered his hair tie and began to pull up the hair that was sticking uncomfortably to the back of his neck.

"Wow, so that ponytail is a thing, huh."

"Huh?" Keith asked, turning to find Lance falling in step next to him. Lance looked as surprised by Keith's question as Keith had been by hearing Lance's voice out of nowhere. Pidge's comments were immediately forgotten as Keith fought a smirk when he realized that Lance likely hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Come on, hit the water with me." Lance pushed past the embarrassment and strode into the water, all while hoping that Keith would follow him.

Lance grinned when he finally turned to check, and promptly leaned down to splash some of the surf towards Keith's shins. Keith's eyes narrowed in threat, but Lance could see the playful glint Keith was trying to hide. He'd made it far enough out that the waves were crashing against his back now, making it even easier to splash Keith again. Keith retaliated quickly, sending a wave of water towards Lance. Lance dove under the next wave to avoid it, and managed not to laugh until he resurfaced on the other side.

"Be careful, these waves are choppy enough as it is right now!" Shiro called over to them right as Lance got a faceful of salt water thanks to Keith.

"Keith started it!" Lance yelled in response, grin wide as he tried to splash Keith again.

"Hey!" Keith yelled.

Lance heard Matt tell Shiro to 'let the kids play' before spinning to dodge another spray of water from Keith. He laughed as he tried to splash Keith again, and reveled in the sound of Keith's laugh, quiet as it was. Maybe they had had a rough start earlier, but Keith wore a small grin now, and actually looked like he was having fun. And Lance couldn't help but stare at the way the sun shone off his dark hair and made his eyes appear almost purple in color.

A larger wave, rougher than the others had been today, curved up towards them unexpectedly, but Lance instinctually dove beneath it. He resurfaced on the other side, and prepared himself for another attack from Keith. But Keith wasn't waiting for him this time, instead Keith was still underwater, popping up only a moment later, coughing and sputtering as his hands rubbed at his throat.

The wave had not only knocked Keith off his feet, but pulled him under and tossed him around. His mouth had dropped open at the surprise, and he regretted it instantly as he began to choke on salt water.

When the wave finally passed and his feet found the ground, allowing him to push himself back to the surface, he resurfaced coughing so severely that he was sure his throat was going to hurt as much from this abuse as from the salt water.

"Dude, hang on."

It was Lance's voice in his ear and Lance's arm around his waist, helping back to shore where so he could bend at the waist and cough without the waves shoving him around.

"I didn't see that one," Keith sputtered around the burn in his throat.

"They can be pretty tricky."

Lance's hand pat Keith's shoulder a few times, more in camaraderie than an attempt to help him expel the water he'd swallowed, but considering how Lance had been picking at him since they met, he was grateful that Lance wasn't teasing him now for being taken down by that wave. Instead, Lance looked genuinely concerned, and when Keith stood upright again, Lance's hand remained on his shoulder, allowing Keith to lean into it for a moment.

"Hey, do you want one of those Italian ices?" Keith asked. His throat burned from the salt water and another cart was coming their way.

"Those guys are everywhere," Lance mumbled.

The corner of Keith's mouth lifted in amusement. He wasn't sure what about Italian ice frustrated Lance, he just knew the way Lance's mouth twisted in a pout was pretty cute.

"So that's a no?"

"You know, I had a job with one of those pushcarts on this beach the summer after I graduated high school," Lance responded instead.

And then Keith couldn't help the small smile on his face as he watched Lance straighten to his full height (good Lord this boy's legs were long) and drop both hands to his hips, putting his broad shoulders on full display. Without realizing it, Keith's eyes trailed over smooth brown skin, toned muscles, and really long legs, before he caught himself and pulled his eyes back up to Lance's face.

The only thing that kept him from being embarrassed about blatantly checking Lance out? The fact that he caught Lance blatantly checking him out at that same moment. Although, when Lance's bright blue eyes made it back up to his face, there wasn't a hint of embarrassment from Lance, just a wide, confident smile.

Keith let his own smile grow.

"You two doing okay?" Shiro asked, his apprehension on their ability to hang out civilly after their rough start earlier clear in his tone.

"Yes, Shiro," Keith sighed.

"Great, well I'm here to steal Keith for a minute."

"Why?" Keith asked, arms immediately crossed and frown in place.

"Tell your eyebrows to calm down," Shiro joked as he slung an arm around Keith's shoulders and began to pull him down the beach. "I just want to talk." He turned to yell over his shoulder to where Lance still stood. "Tell the others we'll be back in a while."

Keith managed to shove Shiro's arm off and twist enough to glance behind them. When he saw that Lance was already walking back towards where everyone else sat, he held back a sigh.

"Talk about what?"

"I just want to know how you're doing?" Shiro began to walk again, and Keith reluctantly began to walk with him.

"I'm fine, Shiro."

"Okay. You're not, though," Shiro said, exasperation clear in his brother's tone, which was pretty telling to Keith, since Shiro was the most patient person Keith knew. "You dropped out of college, Keith. That's a huge deal. And I haven't pushed you to tell me why before because I thought once I was home for the summer… you'd just tell me in person. But you haven't."

Keith felt his own breathing slow as he stopped walking and stared out at the ocean. His skin suddenly felt too tight and his stomach too heavy.

"Keith," Shiro's voice was quiet but firm, "if I need to go onto that campus and kick some asses, I will. But I need to know who and why first."

Keith huffed out an involuntary laugh. "You're not kicking any asses, you old timer."

He watched Shiro smile in response, but his brother remained silent after that, willing to wait Keith out. Always willing to wait Keith out.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Keith finally said. He began walking again, needing more distance between this conversation and the rest of their friend group.

Lance grinned when he finally spotted the two men he'd been watching for come back into view. Although, his eyes narrowed as he watched Shiro alternate between sending worried glances in Keith's direction and glaring angrily out towards the ocean.

Lance had never seen Shiro angry before. That was… well he wouldn't want to meet angry Shiro in a dark alley, that was for sure.

Lance turned towards where Matt sat nearby, and caught Matt's confused expression as he caught sight of Shiro as well. Matt hopped to his feet and walked to meet the brothers, allowing Keith to escape Shiro's side as Matt began pushing Shiro into the water under the guise of wanting to swim.

Lance turned his attention back to Keith, who had just collapsed into his low beach chair (Lance had made sure his towel was still situated next to it) and dropped his head to the back so he could stare up at the sky.

"Keith?"

"Later, Pidge?" Keith pleaded without looking at her.

Keith sounded absolutely drained and Lance's eyes flickered between Keith and where Shiro was standing solidly in the waves with Matthew. Although, while the waves bumped Matt around a bit, it seemed like Shiro's pure fury was keeping him solidly planted in the sand. What the hell had happened on their walk?

"Okay," Pidge said slowly as she also glanced out to where Shiro was speaking to Matt in the water.

Whatever Shiro was saying, with that hard expression that continued to radiate anger, had Matt's eyes widening in dismay. Then Matt began pushing at Shiro's shoulder, something that took a few attempts before Shiro allowed himself to be moved. Matt glanced up at the group on the beach, taking in Keith's sad form before he led the two of them away, likely for a more private location for the discussion.

Matt was a self-proclaimed dork, but he was a dork who was going to do his best to soothe his best friend and protect Keith's privacy.

And maybe Lance didn't really know Keith well, but no one should look that upset on his beach. He leaned over and flicked Keith in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Keith gasped, shooting into an upright position as he turned an angry glare in Lance's direction.

"You're burning," Lance said simply. "You didn't put any sunblock on, did you?"

Keith's hand rubbed over the spot where Lance's fingers had landed and his mouth twisted into an adorable pout as he tried to eye his red shoulders himself.

"Come here," Lance said, crossing his legs beneath him to make room on the towel in front of him. He pat the empty spot a few times while waggling his eyebrows at Keith. "I can get your back."

Keith stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then glanced at his red shoulders again, and then turned to look towards Pidge.

"Well, I'm not doing it," Pidge scoffed before turning her attention back to her book.

Keith slowly pushed himself out of his chair and to his knees before twisting so that he could sit in front of Lance. Lance wore a wide smile, pleased that Keith was actually going along with this.

"We'll chase off those melanoma cells right now, dude," Lance said cheerfully before visibly cringing. What was he saying? He'd always wanted to apply sunblock to some hot babe on the beach and here was his chance and he'd decided to open up with a joke about cancer? He was so very thankful Keith couldn't see his face right now.

He squeezed some sunblock into his palm, and then… paused. Applying sunblock had been a good idea a few seconds ago, since it was a decent beach distraction and Keith was actually burning under the sun. But, actually applying sunblock…

Lance jerked into action when he saw Keith's head begin to turn back towards him. Thankfully, he managed to avoid slapping his palm onto Keith's burnt skin, and instead slid his palm across the top of Keith's back, leaving the lotion behind so that he could then begin using both palms to spread it evenly. Keith's head quickly swung back towards the ocean at the first touch, and Lance smiled as his palms slid over the soft skin of Keith's shoulders. He did his best to keep the touch gentle, sure that the red skin was already sensitive, but he lingered over those shoulders, and felt them relax as he kept up the light massage. He moved to Keith's exposed neck before regretfully pulling his hands away in order to add more sunblock to his palm.

After Keith's reaction to the shoulder treatment, Lance felt free to massage the sunblock into Keith's back as well. And as his hands moved down Keith's back, impressive muscles shifting under his fingertips, he swore he heard a soft sigh from the pretty boy in front of him.

With Keith finally relaxed in the sand with him, Lance knew his smile was wider than ever. And he was once again thankful Keith couldn't see his face.

Keith's mouth dropped open as the frisbee he was supposed to be catching landed a good ten feet away from where he stood in the ocean.

"How are you so terrible at this?"

"Keith, be nice," Shiro sighed as he waded close enough to grab the frisbee and throw it towards Matt, who caught it and threw it towards Pidge. Pidge's throw landed in Hunk's hands, who once again threw it to Lance. Lance glared down at the plastic circle like it offended him, before he did his best to throw it to Keith again.

Keith stared woefully at how far away the frisbee landed. "That's… that's really sad, Lance."

Shiro began scolding Keith again, but Lance couldn't find it in himself to be offended when he could see fondness in Keith's eyes as he teased him. Keith swam towards him then, grabbing the frisbee on the way, and then announced that he couldn't let Lance go on being hopeless like this forever.

Which apparently meant wrapping himself around Lance with instructions on how to play frisbee. Lance is pretty sure that's what Keith was trying to explain. It was hard to tell with so much heat pressed up against his back. Plus, Keith's hand was wrapped around his own as he tried to show him how flick his wrist properly as he released the frisbee and that just shouldn't have been as hot as it was. Together they threw the frisbee, and Lance did his best to jump in excitement in the rolling waters when it actually reached Shiro, even if it did hit him in the chest since he wasn't paying attention.

Lance twisted, which sadly led to Keith releasing him and taking a step back, but he still thanked him with a bright smile and then admired the way Keith's skin was flushed from his chest all the way up to his ears.

"Um, excuse me."

Lance turned at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and found a girl about their age behind him. Her blonde hair was pulled into a long braid that curved around one shoulder, although there were curly wisps trying to escape that framed her small heart-shaped face.

"Do you know how to use one of these?" Her large brown eyes were full of hope as she bit her bottom lip and lifted the boogie board she held as she spoke. "Do you think you could teach me?"

Lance sort of wished fifteen-year old Lance was here to witness this moment, just to give the kid some hope that there would come a day when a pretty girl in a tiny bathing suit would actually approach him instead of the other way around all the time.

Although, the girl would have had a better chance with a pre-Keith Lance.

"Oh, sorry," Lance said as he wrapped an arm around Keith's waist and tugged him into his side. "I'd love to, but I really can't leave this one unsupervised."

"Hey!" Keith complained, although he was doing nothing to escape Lance's hold. As another wave rolled past them, Keith even wrapped an arm around Lance to help keep them steady.

"Yeah, he really wiped out earlier," Lance continued to tease.

"I was caught off guard!"

The girl giggled as she watched the two of them. "I understand."

"My sister could probably help you, though," Lance said with a smile, pointing behind the girl where Allura stood in the water, eyes trained on the frisbee currently sailing towards her from Shay's latest toss.

"Sweet, thanks," the girl said before she began swimming over to Allura.

"You — you could've helped, if you wanted." Keith's voice was quiet and he was staring out to sea instead of looking at Lance.

"And risk leaving you to be swallowed by the ocean?" Lance asked with a grin.

"Lance, I can swim," Keith said flatly.

"Besides," Lance continued before Keith could say more, "I'd rather stay here and float with you. Come on, these are perfect floating waves."

Not only was the water calmer than it had been earlier, they were also far enough out that they could float over the waves instead of worrying about any crashing on them. Lance enjoyed feeling weightless and listening to the sounds of the ocean and their friends nearby.

But he really enjoyed glancing to his side and seeing Keith floating beside him. Keith had his eyes closed, which allowed Lance the opportunity to just admire how sweet his dark lashes looked against his skin. Plus, he still wore the same small smile that had appeared when Lance had insisted that he just wanted to float here with him.

"Is this your favorite place?" Keith asked without opening his eyes.

"Yeah," Lance sighed as he turned his gaze back towards the sky. "I grew up just a couple blocks away. We were here all the time. It was pretty hard to leave it when I went to college this past year."

When Keith didn't respond, Lance glanced over the waves at him, and found Keith's mouth in a thin line and his eyebrows furrowed. It was the same tense expression Lance had been trying to avoid seeing on Keith's face all day.

"Of course there's an aquarium near our college campus, so I would drag Hunk or Allura over there just about once a month. It's not the same, obviously, but it's the next best thing. Plus, you can get up close to some of the animals in a way I don't think I'd enjoy out here." He'd floated close enough to Keith now that he could duck his hand beneath the other boy's floating body and quickly pinch near his shoulder blade.

Keith yelped in surprise, eyes widened as he jumped to his feet and eyed the water suspiciously. Lance pushed himself to his own feet, laughter so intense that it was initially silent before it finally fell out of his mouth in loud bursts.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Although, he had to admit the apology didn't sound as sincere as he would like since he couldn't get the laughter under control. "See, that's why aquariums are better," he said, hands raised in defense as Keith stalked towards him through the water. "Nothing would attack you in an aq—"

They both went under as Keith pounced on him.

Having enacted proper revenge for the pinching stunt (Keith had seriously thought a fish or a crab or a freakin shark had nipped him), he and Lance were back to floating, which was one of the most relaxing things Keith had done probably ever in his entire life.

The beautiful boy who kept making him smile and had just grabbed his hand so the waves couldn't push them away from each other as they floated didn't hurt, either.

"You're starting to look a little red again," Lance said. "We should reapply sunblock before you turn into a lobster."

Keith made a small noise of agreement, but still took a few more moments to float before he began to drag himself out of the water after Lance. They both did their best to dry off before Keith accepted the sunblock bottle from Lance and began to cover his face and chest as he watched Lance do the same.

"You want me to get your back?" Keith's voice was more hoarse than he would've liked, but Lance had helped him out earlier, so it made sense to offer.

Still, Lance glanced at him in pleased surprise before nodding and sitting himself down on his towel. Keith took the spot behind him and was grateful for the privacy they currently had, since all their friends remained in the water. He wasn't sure if this felt as good to Lance as Lance's fingers had felt on his own back earlier, but he did his best to take his time so the lotion spread evenly over Lance's skin. There were adorable freckles everywhere, although they were grouped in bunches up on Lance's shoulders. Keith sort of wanted to kiss them, but settled for brushing his thumbs over them, which had Lance ducking his head forward as Keith heard a heavy exhale. Quite a different reaction from the yelp and giggle he heard when he ran his fingers over Lance's sides.

"Your turn," Lance said, swiping the bottle back from Keith as he tried to glare for the tickling.

Keith tried to hide his grin as he began to turn on the towel, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Why don't you lie down on your towel?"

"Lie down?" Keith could feel his face heating up again.

"Yeah," Lance said with an easy smile. "I think I can get more of your back that way."

Keith nodded, he supposed that made sense, and then shifted onto his towel and got comfortable. Lance's fingers were an immediate welcome pressure against his back. He pressed deep into Keith's muscles as he worked, starting with his shoulders and moving down one side of his back before he focused on the other. Keith couldn't hold back several tiny groans that escaped him under Lance's talented hands.

He had a moment of disappointment when Lance's hands left him, and he realized his entire back had received attention. But then Lance's hands were back, just fingertips this time that drew small patterns over his skin and made him shiver.

Forget floating in the water. This type of floating was the most relaxing thing Keith had ever experienced in his entire life.

It took him a few moments to remember where he was and what had happened the next time his eyes opened. The sun wasn't as high or bright as it had been earlier, although all the people having fun nearby were still just as loud as before.

He swallowed a few times as he realized he had been napping through the noise and activity since Lance's sunblock application technique had put him right to sleep. He rubbed his cheek against his towel before turning his head in the other direction, which brought him face to face with a sleeping Lance. Lance was also sprawled out on his stomach, and was using his crossed arms as a pillow. He looked so peaceful and beautiful in the late afternoon sun. It was the best view Keith could imagine waking up to.

Lance groaned and stretched then, long legs going taut and muscles shifting across his back, before his eyelids revealed those blue eyes again. He focused on Keith and then smiled. "That's a nice view to wake up to," he murmured as he stretched his arms out in front himself. Then he froze, likely realizing that he'd once again just spoke his thoughts out loud. He glanced back at Keith, "Um —"

"You're finally awake," Shiro said, nudging his foot into one of Keith's ankles. "Matt and I are gonna run the chairs and cooler and stuff to the car, then we'll pick a restaurant for dinner with everyone. That okay with you?"

"Yeah," Keith murmured, only half listening as he replayed Lance's words in his head.

"Good, get up. I need your towel. Here's your shirt."

"Hey, Keith, I bet I can make it to the Quiet Storm before you."

Keith's eyes narrowed as he stared down the row of brightly lit boardwalk stores. He couldn't even see the one Lance was referring to from here.

"Lance," Allura began, "you are not racing down this boardwalk like a —"

"Go!" Lance yelled before taking off, long legs moving gracefully as he darted around the people ahead of them.

Keith didn't even give a second thought to giving chase and using his own impressive coordination to dive around the other tourists so that he not only caught up to Lance, but was about to leave him behind. At least, he would've if Lance hadn't grabbed his wrist and dragged him into an arcade. It was like entering a dark cave after the brightness of the boardwalk, and Keith let Lance lead him deep into the game center, trusting Lance not to walk him into anything while his eyes adjusted.

"What are we doing in here?" Keith asked when they reached a corner quiet enough so that he would be heard. "Is there a game you want to —"

He stopped speaking when his back hit the side of a large game and Lance stepped into his space, no longer touching, but close enough for Keith to admire the freckles on Lance's nose. He hadn't noticed them earlier, and maybe they'd just needed a day in the sun to really stand out against Lance's beautiful skin.

"I want to kiss you, Keith."

Keith nodded without hesitation and felt his eyes close just as Lance's mouth landed on his own. Keith had experienced a few awkward kisses in the past, but with Lance, there was no bumping noses or rough presses that resulted in clanking teeth. Lance's soft lips moved perfectly against his own lips and Keith could only wrap his arms around Lance's neck to pull him in closer.

Lance's hands had landed on his hips, and he squeezed Keith's sides as he leaned his weight into Keith. A pleased sound rolled up Keith's throat, because although his knees felt slightly weak, he was safely squeezed tight between this arcade game and Lance's warm body. He shivered as one of Lance's hands found its way under the hem of his shirt to press long fingers against his skin, and Keith let the fingers of one of his own hands wander up into Lance's hair in order to card through the soft strands.

Lance's continued eagerness was evident in the way he deepened the kiss, soft lips pulling at Keith's bottom lip for a moment before he released it, and when Keith's mouth fell open with the action, Lance didn't hesitate to slide his tongue into Keith's mouth.

"What?" Keith managed to say when he heard Lance chuckle into the kiss.

"You sort of taste like salt water."

"Shut up," Keith said with his own chuckle before pressing forward to claim Lance's smile for himself.

"I was pissed when we met because you were so hot," Lance murmured between kisses.

"So you weren't mad at me for tripping over you?" Keith's voice was slightly breathless, but he persisted in the teasing, enjoying the ability to tease and kiss someone at the same time. The smile on his face had felt strange all day, like a muscle he hadn't used in a while, but he was getting used to it with Lance around.

"One hundred percent certain it's against the law to be mad when a pretty boy literally falls into your lap."

Keith chuckled and shook his head, barely aware of the Mission Impossible theme song coming from the game at his back.

"You're the beautiful one, Lance," Keith said softly.

There was a spark of disbelief in Lance's eyes, quickly chased away by one of Keith's eyebrows raised in a challenge. Then Lance squeezed his sides once more, a beaming smile on his face before he pressed in close and kissed Keith again. That smile made the kissing difficult, but Lance persisted, dropping a kiss to the tip of Keith's nose before trailing kisses over to one of his ears. It was when Lance's teeth tugged on Keith's earlobe, and Keith found himself arching against him, that Keith seemed to remember where they were.

His new groan was of frustration as he dropped his head to Lance's shoulder. Lance chuckled, even as his hands fell from Keith's waist, feeling the shift in the mood between them.

Keith missed those hands already. And the free access he'd had to Lance's mouth just a few seconds ago.

"The others are probably looking for us," Keith murmured as he lifted his head and let his eyes sweep over Lance's just been kissed face. The pretty blue of his eyes was almost difficult to see with how dilated his pupils were. His lips were a darker pink, as were his cheeks. Keith allowed his fingers to slide through Lance's hair again, although now his purpose was to try to tame some of the strands sticking out in ridiculous directions thanks to Keith's previous roaming fingers.

Lance's eyes flickered between Keith's eyes and his mouth a few times. He was still breathing quickly, but then he swallowed quickly and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Uh, yeah. Either that or left us behind completely…" Lance checked his phone screen and made a few quick clicking noises with his tongue as he read a text from Hunk. "Yeah, they're already grabbing a table, but the restaurant is nearby." He glanced up at Keith again. "I guess we hurry and get over there?"

His eyes dropped to Keith's mouth again and Keith accepted the silent invitation to kiss him again, hands gentle against Lance's face because Lance was the best thing to happen to him in a really long time.

But at that thought, the pain of the past few months returned, and he ducked his face, separating their mouths. Lance wrapped him in a tight hug and kissed the tip of his ear before he whispered a resigned, "Alright". He led the two of them out of the arcade and down the wooden planks of the too-bright boardwalk to the seafood place the others had chosen.

Allura made a comment about how nice it was for the two of them to stop competing with each other and join them for dinner, and since they were the last to arrive, they were stuck with whatever seats were left — which were not next to each other. Keith tried not to be bummed about it as he did his best to talk to Pidge beside him, while also watching Lance as Lance told stories with his hands and let his laugh fill the space at their table.

It was when they were paying the bill that Keith realized Shiro was already saying his goodbyes to the half of the group that hadn't ridden to the beach in his brother's car. And when he searched out Lance across the table again, he found Lance's eyes already intently locked onto him. Keith's eyes darted around the restaurant, but there wasn't a single visible reason for him to leave the table and hope that Lance would follow so they could have at least one more moment alone.

"Let's go." Shiro nudged Keith's shoulder as he stood from the table.

Keith pushed his chair back and stood slowly before he glanced at Lance again. Lance was still seated, one around wrapped around the back of his chair. Those blue eyes were still pinned on Keith, and Keith could read the disappointment in them easily. It disappeared in the next moment, though, as half of Lance's mouth curved into a small smile and he lifted one shoulder in a small shrug.

Shiro was hugging Allura goodbye and Keith thought of the way he'd been wrapped up safe in Lance's arms at the arcade and desperately wanted another hug from Lance. Except, everyone here thought they'd spent the day annoying each other, so a public goodbye hug would likely be a bit strange.

Still…

When he didn't immediately begin to follow their group, Shiro tugged on his arm (which, ouch — he was definitely going to be hurting from his earlier sunburn over the next few days), forcing him to move. He worked to catch up so he could walk next to Pidge.

He only looked back once, before they were too far away and before there were too many boardwalk people in between them to hide Lance from view. Thankfully, Lance had stood by then as well, making him easier to see. He sent that same small smile in Keith's direction before raising his eyebrows in a silent question.

Keith turned away and kept walking. Lance deserved better than his mess right now.