Tears of Neptune Exchange
I have had the amazing opportunity to create a cute little story for @starryrosez!
@vldlanceprotectionsquad
“Finally! I was getting so tired of listening to Lance butcher every song that came on the radio,” sighs Pidge. Her shoulders slump as she staggers out of the van, disuse making her legs shake like jelly. Hunk follows after, a large tote bag at his side and a cooler in his hands.
“Hey now, don’t forget your sunscreen! You burn easily, Pidge!” Pidge blows a raspberry, setting up the large umbrella she carried on the shore.
“I’ll have you know that my singing is top notch. How do you think I woo the ladies?” Clad in proper beach attire, Lance flicks his shades on- the essential accessory for the look- and steps out after his frantic friend. He overlooks the beach with butterflies beating at his insides. They twitter for him to move his legs, to drop his things and go straight to his beloved ocean, but alas, he must set up with the others. And there’s the matter of proper sun protection, so he lets the papery wings tickle his tummy just a bit longer as he joins his friends.
“Please, I think I’d rather have Allura’s uncle scream his weird wallaby call in my ear for ten hours straight than listen to you squeak.” Lance clutches his chest dramatically, turning away with mock despair. Pidge rolls her eyes and continues to set up her towel next to the cooler of food. Her laptop lays perched on the lid, with a few solar charging batteries next to it. She immediately fires it up, her floppy sun hat covering the glare of the sun.
“Hey, when do you think Shiro and Allura will get here?” Hunk says with a grunt, dropping his bag in the sand with a solid thunk.
“Dunno, soon hopefully. It’s almost 2,” Lance says as he peeks into Hunk’s bag. Just like he suspected, there’s extra towels, many tubes and sticks of sunscreen, and a first aid kit. No wonder that thing weighs a ton. Lance digs all the way to the bottom and finds snorkeling gear.
“Oh sweet! You remembered your gear!” Lance excitedly starts laying out the mask and the fins on top of the bag. “You ready to see the wonders the ocean has to offer?” Hunk rubs the back of his neck.
“I do want to see the wonders, but are you sure it’s safe here? There aren’t like, any sharks or stonefish or jellyfish? And you’re sure pufferfish aren’t native to this bay? What about the lionfish, or the anemones, what if there are cone snails?!” Lance claps a hand on Hunk’s back, causing the honey sweet boy to jump.
“You know what Lance, I think I’m just going to stay here with Pidge, maybe get a head start on our summer assignment-“
“Hunk,” Lance interrupts.”You promised you would come with me this time, I found this really neat cove towards the end of the bay that we could check out!” Lance drops his things into the sand with a billowing cloud of dust. He quickly sets about laying his towel down and adjusting his own sunscreen. He found this great spray on sunscreen that not only keeps his skin from burning but also moisturizes and smells like cucumbers and melon. He takes the coveted bottle out of his bag and turns to Hunk.
“By the time I get back, you better be ready with your mask and fins on,” Lance says with emphatic finality. He turns on his heel, slipping out of his sandals effortlessly as he strides a few yards away from his friends. Brandishing his sunscreen, he sprays his chest and his back, taking careful note to cover his neck and shoulders. One arm after the other, up and down each leg, he rubs it all in until he can feel the sand stick to his legs. They grasp him like an old friend, begging him to stay this time. He walks back to his friends.
Crunching sand between his toes, Lance revels in the heat of their touch, the way they slip around his body, the gritty crunch of something so familiar. Lance can feel the butterflies flutter anew. The ocean is so close. The seagulls cry overhead in a blue sky, the tang of sea salt palpable on his tongue. He licks his lips as he tucks his sunscreen back into his bag.
“Ready Hunk?” Lance turns to find his friend up the sand bank and in the parking lot, talking amibicaly to Shiro and Allura. Lance sighs, shrugging his shoulders and turning back to the beach. He turns to Pidge as he starts walking off to the ocean.
“Last call to join the fun, Pidge!” She shoos him away with a flick of her wrist, too caught up in whatever is happening on her computer.
“Try not to get eaten!” Pidge is nice, he swears.
Lance steps into the surf. Fuzzy white foam assaults his legs, feeding the wings flapping against his ribcage. He can’t hold back the excitement of being back in the ocean. He quickly makes his way into the water, the sea eating him up with an elegance only the ocean can hold. Soon the floor falls away from his feet, crystal waters glittering a deeper sapphire without the citrine sand. Lance swims and swims until Pidge is all but a speck on the sand. He takes a deep breath, turning to face the ocean stretch into the horizon. Lance dives under as the feeling of butterflies finally bursts free from within him. A sensation overtakes his body, beautiful magic enveloping him in a cool embrace as gills and scales take root. He allows himself to be molded into a creature fit for the sea, tail fins falling out of his feet in a cascade of bright blue, claws he meticulously files grow out, eyes sharpen to take in the sight of sand with precision. The butterflies finally quiet down, and he swims a small circle to stretch his muscles out.
Lance takes a deep breath with his gills, closing his eyes for a moment to hold the sensation close. This is something that he always misses when he’s on land. The fullness of finally breathing easy, surrounded in water that tickles his ear fins and flows against his body like sea glass. He opens his eyes and his elation only grows. The healthy blue glow that covers every grain of sand and the fauna and flora, that covers him as well makes him feel so at home in the water.
He doesn’t even look back as he swims off, a powerful tail taking him deeper into the ocean he’s learned to call home. Of course he’ll come back, but, right now, the call of the ocean fills his head with whale songs and roaring waves.
