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Hunk was a much more capable swimmer than surfer. While, yes, his surfing was improving, he was absolutely still a novice. Regardless, it was much easier to swim out to a semi-hidden cave to meet up with his mermaid potential boyfriend and not surf over. He knew he'd arrived at the designated spot early, but it was a beautiful day. It was likely he would have spent the day at the beach anyway, so it made no difference to him if he was by the shore or at the cave.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" a voice called out. Hunk turned toward the voice and saw Lance coming toward him. The merman hoisted himself onto the rock to sit beside Hunk, half hiso tail still submerged. "I had more to take care of than I thought so it took me a while to get out of the castle."
"Castle? You live in a castle?" The revelation caught Hunk off guard.
"Yep! Oh, I'm not royalty; I just work for the royal family. I'm the princess' sort of... attendant," Lance explained, "The princess, Allura, is actually a childhood friend of mine. My familyrics had always been working for them so I grew up with her and when she was old enough she decided to have me work directly for her."
"That's cool. So you guys have, like, a monarchy system thing?
"Um, yeah, I guess that's what you could compare it to. King Alfor is really kind and his kingdom, Altea, is pretty small in comparison to some others. Everyone's happy, though, and it's peaceful. He really listens to his people."
"I'm glad you're living a happy life then," Hunk smiled.
"Heh, don't sound so much like you're not. Tell me a bit about you."
"Well, I work at a restaurant bar most nights. Nothing fancy, but my regulars are nice and tip well. I take some classes at the local college, too."
"Do you live with family?"
"No, but they're not too far away. I've got a small apartment with my friends Pidge and Keith."
"But you're not happy?" Lance frowned.
"Well, I'm not unhappy. It's not the most exciting life, but I can't complain."
"I guess that makes sense. Can you not just do something... different? Is there something you want to do?" Lance asked, tilting his head. Hunk had to think for a moment.
"I want to open up a bakery. I'm still young, so I've just gotta save up and finish school and stuff."
"Sound fun." Lance placed his hands on the ground slightly behind him and leaned back, "But, uh, what's a bakery?"
Hunk couldn't hold back his laughter. Of course Lance wouldn't know what a bakery was.
They spent the next hour or so talking about human life versus mermaid life, Lance intently listening when Hunk was talking. It was clear he was fascinated by most things that humans wouldn't even give a second thought. On the other hand, Lance was very animated when he spoke. Both his expressions and hand gestures were enthused and full of energy. Hunk listened, sure, but he was more captivated by Lance's mannerisms.
"Hey, do you have any stories about mermaids? Like, I mean, do you know any like legends or myths?"
Hunk almost missed the question. "Uh, actually yeah. There are also some accounts of people claiming to have seen mermaids, but those usually aren't taken seriously."
"Hm."
"Oh, just last week I watched a movie with my roommates called Killer Mermaid. God, it was awful, which is why we watched it in the first place, but."
Lance pouted. "Mermaids arent killers!"
"If I thought you were dangerous I wouldn't be here, believe me," Hunk chuckled, "Actually, the most well known mermaid story is about a mermaid that fell in love with a human."
"We have one that sounds like that!"
After they compared their stories and learned that they were, in fact, the same, the sun had begun setting. The sky was a pretty gradient of oranges and reds, and Hunk and Lance held hands in silence for a few moments.
"I should get going soon. Swimming after dark is discouraged and my roommates might start wondering where I am."
"Yeah, Allura will probably be looking for me. Can we meet up again next week? Same time, same place?"
"Definitely. I really liked spending time with you."
Lance nodded and grinned, "Me, too!"
Neither one moved or said anything for a brief moment. "Can I kiss you?" Hunk broke the silence, "I mean, I guess I already did last time, but maybe I should have asked so I'm asking now and-"
"You can kiss me whenever you want as long as you agree to officially being my boyfriend," Lance teased. Hunk placed a hand on Lance's cheek and kissed him. Much like their first kiss, it was short and sweet.
"That was a yes. To clarify. With words."
Lance laughed and kissed the human again. "I'll see you in a week," he hopped off the ledge and swam off, underwater. He jumped so he was fully visible in the air and did a flip, half because he liked doing jumps and half to impress Hunk.
Needless to say, Hunk was impressed. He hopped off the ledge and swam toward the shore once Lance was out of sight. Next week couldn't come soon enough for either of them.