Beach Rules
A/N: Paladins at the beach? Sure! Platonic everyone. This is Keith and Shiro centric. And there’s loads of tickling and simping, yay :D
„Is that…“
„No, it can’t be!!“
„Oh, but, but… guys, it’s…“
„A beach!“ Shiro stepped out of the castle, joining Pidge, Lance and Hunk on the surface of this vacation worthy planet with a disbelieving expression.
Allura followed, taking her helmet off and actually giving one of her rare honest smiles. „Yes, a beach. This is the planet of Basoria. 10 000 years ago, this planet has already been one of my favorite places to be. It seems incredible that the Galra haven’t taken over it. But since there are no intelligent beings on here, they probably didn’t see the point. It’s a save place. Coran and I wanted to offer you this. A day off at the beach. With everything you’ve already done, paladins, I am happy if I can give you something back.“
The three younger paladins shrieked happily, shouting their thanks as they took off running for the shore, shoes flying and jackets landing in the sand. Shiro turned his head to look at Allura with a smile. „This is amazing, Allura. I think you couldn’t have made them happier.“
Allura tilted her head and put a hand on Shiro’s left arm. „I was hoping you would enjoy this as well, Shiro. You have been working harder than anyone of us. You deserve a day’s rest.“
Shiro opened his mouth in surprise, a little overwhelmed by so much attention and a little lost for words. Fortunately Keith chose excatly this moment to step out between them, a grumpy expression on his face. „A beach?“ He asked with a raised eyebrow, obviously sceptical about something that involved such a big amount of fun.
Allura narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance, having hoped for a rather different reaction. „Yes, Keith. A beach. A place for relaxation and happiness. I’m glad to see that it disgusts you so much.“
Allura went to take off her armor inside the castle, mumbling intelligibly under her breath. Keith merely sniffed and shrugged as the princess moved away, crossing his arms over his chest and looking outside with a wary expression. Three cheerful paladins were splashing around in turquoise water. They were still dressed in t-shirts and pants, but didn’t seem to care a bit about the additional soaked weight. Keith had never seen them this outgoingly happy.
He felt a weight on his shoulder and saw that Shiro had put his hand on it, an encouraging smile on his face. „Go on, Keith. Don’t worry so much. I bet it’s fun out there. Give it a try.“
Keith tilted his head slightly and looked away, a little crease appearing between his eyebrows. „Hmmm. I don’t know, Shiro.“
The warm dark eyes of the older paladin changed, giving room for worry. This guy managed to catch up to everything. „What is it?“
Keith huffed and shook his head slightly, fond of Shiro being so perceptive, yet at the same time wishing he weren’t. „It’s just… I don’t know. I- I’ve never… well, I’ve never been to a beach before. My father and I never went on vacations, you know.“
Keith shuffled around slightly, trying to act as indifferent as he could, while he was actually dying from insecurity inside. He sent a tentative side glance in Shiro’s direction and saw the realization in his expression. Keith smiled and shielded his eyes against the sun.
„I think it’ll come naturally to you, Keith.“ Shiro said softly, making Keith look at him again in surprise. „All we have to do is go out there and… do the next best thing.“
Keith blinked at him, pretty unsure about this much spontaneousness. „And what would that be?“
Shiro put his finger on his lips thoughtfully, making Keith start to consider that maybe Shiro had just as little clue what to do at a beach as he had. His features softened a little at that impression. Where Shiro knew pretty much everything about him, there was little Keith knew about Shiro in connection to his past. Shiro kept most things locked away behind so many doors that walking through all of them could take years. Keith had barely managed to walk through the half of them.
He sighed deeply and slid out of his jacket, leaving it in the castle. „Let’s start by making ourselves more… beach ready.“ Keith made an awkward motion towards his t-shirt and then bent over to take off his shoes and roll up the legs of his pants.
Shiro smiled at that and copied Keith’s actions, stripping to his sleeveless muscle shirt and rolling his pants up as well. For a second he was insecure about the bulgy skin where his right shoulder merged into the metal arm. But then a sudden feeling took over him and made him forget about any insecurities. Was that… giddiness he felt in his stomach?
There suddenly was so much energy inside of him that he had to get rid off. He looked at Keith staggering around on one leg as he tried to keep the material of his pants rolled up on the other leg. And a grin spread out on his face.
He suddenly knew exactly what he had to do.
„Keith..“
Keith looked up in time to manage a very surprised yell, before a very strong arm wrapped around his middle and lifted him off the floor. „SHIRO WHAT ARE YOU-“
„I know what we have to do!“
Keith clawed his fingers into Shiro’s foreram, holding on to him tensely as the pilot started running with Keith dangling from his side, shaking him quite thoroughly. Despite that Keith almost sighed in relief as fresh air ruffled his hair and blew under his shirt, giving him goosebumps and drying his sweat. It felt like flying through the desert with Shiro all over again. The memory of their races untied a knot in Keith’s chest and he suddenly had to let out a laugh as Shiro readjusted his grip on him, lifting him even higher than he’d been before.
„Don’t drop me!!!“
Shiro’s smirk was audible in his words as he raised his voice as well. „Oh, I will drop you in a bit!“
Keith tensed up again and looked to where Shiro was headed. Pidge, Hunk and Lance in the water had noticed their approach by now, curious happy smiles on their faces as they got closer at a dizzying speed. The realization hit Keith and he started struggling, almost causing Shiro to drop him himself.
„NO YOU WILL NOT! DON’T YOU DARE! SHIRO!“
But Shiro wasn’t bothered by Keith’s defiance in the slightest. His soft laughter mixed with Keith’s gasps and yelps and put a warm feeling in his shaking stomach.
Keith’s struggles grew stronger the closer they got to the water, forcing Shiro to swing Keith’s in front of his chest to be able to hold him there with both his arms.
Keith’s fists drummed against Shiro’s forearms, as the pilot reached the shore and took a few steps into the water. How Shiro managed to stay strong enough to hold him like that with all his laughter was a freaking mystery to the paladin of the red lion. „Enough with the violence,“ Shiro chuckled, „Time to cool your head!“
Keith’s knees were pulled up to his chest and he was eagerly trying to keep himself in that pulled up position by wrapping his hands around Shiro’s head behind him and holding on. „I DON’T THINK SO!!“
„Oh, but you will let go,“ Shiro growled, a playful tone to his voice that made Keith’s stomach drop.
„YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!!“
„Ah, Keith, you really bring this upon yourself,“ Shiro chuckled and kept his metal arm wrapped around Keith’s middle, the other suddenly dangerously unoccupied and close to his side and ribs and this was when it clicked, but too late.
„SHIRO WAIT-“ Keith shouted out in panic, trying to pull himself up higher to get away, but it was to no use. Shiro’s fingers were already squeezing his side and making their way up and hell on earth, it tickled so much, Keith had never thought anything could tickle this much.
Any plans for holding back his giggles were diminished immediately, as he broke out into hysterical squeals and deep uncontrollable laughter, twitching around like a fish as Shiro’s fingers were crawling up his side, over his ribs and right in the center of his exposed armpit. He really meant to keep his hands behind Shiro’s head, pulling at his hair to keep from being dropped. But forget that, he couldn’t take this without fighting back. It felt like Shiro was tickling him with twenty fingers at least where he was only using five and it wasn’t fair and it led to Keith’s unavoidable fate.
„SHHIHIIHRO NOHOOO PLEEEHEHEHEASE!!“
„I won’t stop until you let go!!“
„BUT THEN YOU’LL DROOHOHOP MEE!!“
„Beach rules, Keith. You are obligated to have fun!“
One last arch in Shiro’s arm, then Keith couldn’t stand it anymore and he tore his arms down, trying to push Shiro’s assaulting hand as far away from his ticklish torso as possible, when it was already time for a dive in the waves of Basoria.
Keith shrieked, when Shiro’s arms suddenly stopped holding him, honest to God shrieked - as if he’d needed any more embarrassment in front of the others. The cold water caught him quite gently though. There were no burns at the impact of the water, there was no water shooting up his nose. There was just a nice feeling of floating around and having his hair fly around his head.
He welcomed the feeling happily. But only for a few seconds. Then his wish for revenge grew too strong and he speedily made his way back up to the surface. He managed to find a stand on the sandy underground, the water up to his chest where it had been up to Shiro’s waist.
Shiro. With narrowed eyes and wet hair clinging to his forehead he saw Shiro quickly making his way deeper into the water, looking over his shoulder, laughing breathlessly.
„OH YEAH YOU BETTER RUN!! JUST YOU WAIT TIL I GET YOU BACK!“
Shiro almost slipped from laughter at Keith’s bubbly attempts oto swim after him, completely out of breath, but fueled with the desire to give him a taste of his own medicine.
In the meantime Pidge was busy climbing on top of Hunk’s shoulders in her soaked shirt, where she held on to Hunk’s hair with one hand, pointing at Shiro with the other and letting out a war cry that would have scared away Galrans. „FUGITIVE ON THE RUN! GO GET HIM! AID OUR TORTURED FRIEND!!!“
Keith almost sunk under the surface from his surprised laughter. He hadn’t expected the others to come to help him. They liked to watch Shiro tickle him into madness during sparring matches rather comfortably. But this. Maybe this was also part of the beach rules. Everyone against the strongest one. It seemed like a good rule to Keith.
Shiro on the other hand was barely able to bring much more distance between himself and the others as panicked laughter started to slow him down. Lance was gaining on him, as Hunk grabbed Pidge from his shoulders and used all his strength to throw her in Shiro’s direction, getting her closer to him as well.
Shiro thought it clever apparently to change tactics and stopped swimming in the one direction to make his way in the other one now.
Keith had to chuckle as he heard Shiro’s breathless gasps for air get closer. Alright, if this was a fun time at the beach he was sold. Now they only had to catch him.
„YOU GUYS, THIS ISN’T FAIR!!“ Shiro shouted, smiling widely as Pidge and Lance were getting awfully close.
„BEACH RULES!!“ Keith yelled as he too was getting closer to Shiro who was trying to make his way to the shore to be able to run away. He’d be way too fast for the other paladins if he managed to reach it. They couldn’t let him get away.
„Oh no, you will NOT!!“ Lance exclaimed passionately as Shiro was stumbling to his feet in the ankle high water. The plue paladin took a large dive and actually managed to pull Shiro down with a splash. The two of them rolled over in the warm part of the water, Shiro breathless from laughter already while Lance was yelling almost as loud as Pidge had before.
„You did it, Lance!“ Keith cheered as he too got to his feet in the low water, throwing himself on top of the other two. Shiro groaned with laughter at the additional weight and tried to push the two of them off of him.
„Now, just wait a second, just wait…“ Another weight took away Shiro’s breath as Hunk dropped down on top of Keith, slowly but successfully building a sandwich.
„We have him! Do we have him?“ Hunk spluttered and looked at his two friends underneath himself. Keith held up a thumb, despite the lack of air.
„We’ve got him! You guys are the best!!“
Pidge arrived with a wide smile on her face and was a bit reluctant to putting herself on top of the three boys as well. She didn’t have to anyway. Instead she dropped down next to Shiro’s face and grinned at him evilly.
„Ha, you didn’t see that coming, did you?“
Shiro glared at her, still out of breath, but he just couldn’t keep it up and a soft, playful expression was back on his face again in no time. „I guess Voltron’s bond must be really strong already. Just don’t lose your head in the process…“
All four of them groaned inexplicably loud at this bad pun and Pidge felt no sympathy for him in the slightest as she told the other three to give him hell just for that. Even though he was pretty doomed in his current position. He couldn’t move out from underneath the three boys and all of them put their hands to good use some place on his tall upper body. Hunk was pinching his sides, as Keith worked his hands under his arms and Lance immediately used his position for good access to Shiro’s ribs.
Pidge was blessed with the picture of Shiro throwing his head back in ticklish agony, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth opened in the brightest smile, as beautiful laughter was shooting out of him.
He couldn’t fight off six hands with just two and Keith enjoyed strongly making him laugh this hard, especially with the aid of his friends. He could tell that Shiro was very fine with them having their fun like this and it warmed Keith’s heart that Shiro was so selfless and soft in every situation. He looked at Shiro throwing his head from side to side, shaking with incessant giggles and trying to arch his back against the overwhelming sensations and he just knew that Shiro would never stop doing whatever it took to make him happy and have fun despite the times they were living in.
He knew that there was no „Voltron losing their head“. Shiro’s love was the starting point of all bonding among the paladins. He was the heart of the group.
Keith certainly knew that. And the others would at the very latest agree now that Shiro’s determination had managed to connect all paladins in having fun together.
