Keith watched as his toes sunk deeper into the wet sand disappearing slowly, then all at once. He wondered what it would be like if the earth swallowed him up and took him in farther and farther away from where he stood. It didn't seem all that unrealistic. Softly the waves lapped against the shore, their white and foamy fingers lacing around his ankles.

~*~

11 hours earlier

"There's two deliveries today, bouquet of Sunflowers and a flower crown of Baby's Breath; get this: it's literally for a baby. Someone is doing a photo shoot with their newborn today and they want it for the photos. Isn't that adorable?!"

Keith's boss Kelli bounced up on her tip-toes and cradled her face in an adoration. Her auburn hair tied in a high ponytail bopped up and down in her excitement.

"This is just what I love about this job." She sighed deeply, almost looking like she was about to cry. "You should put some of the ribbon on there too, check out the binder for some ideas."

Keith nodded and took out the floral wire and scissors from the drawer.

"When are the deliveries?"

"The sunflowers are at noon and the crown is at three. Lance should be here soon, I texted him this morning. But you know...knowing him--"

"--I doubt he's up yet."

"Exactly." Kelli winked. "I'll be back at 5 for the last shift. Got any plans tonight?"

"Plans?"

The two of them shared a laugh.

"I'm just saying that it's the summer and its nice outside, why not go to the beach or something? You've been hanging with Lance right? He surfs, ever think about learning?"

"Surfing? Ahh I don't know..."

"You know what? Because I'm a ~cool boss~ I'll let you go at 4 today. I don't mind coming in early. Go to Seidou's or something you could take Lance."

"What do you mean take Lan--"

"--You know what I mean." Kelli winked once more and took off her apron.

Keith rested his head against the desk, his face feeling hot against his arms shielded by the fabric of his black hoodie.

"Get on those Sunflowers!"

~*~

"Shit! I'm late!!"

Lance threw open the door to the shop causing the bells to jingle angrily. He was indeed late. The antique grandfather clock sitting in the corner began it's tune as the big hand clicked to the 9.

Disheveled as always, Lance wore wrinkled clothes that looked like they had been taken out of the hamper. Normally his chocolate brown hair was somewhat put together in a way that made sense but today Lance had abandoned any efforts. He wore a sky blue shirt under his delivery jacket that was tucked into crinkled light wash jeans.

Keith noted how huggable Lance had unknowingly managed to look that day.

"Please don't tell me that they live on the opposite side of town." He panted.

"Shouldn't you know? Kelli should have texted you the address."

"Oh, right."

Lance hastily took out his phone and wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Thank God, 30 minutes but I can do it 15. Where's the flowers?"

Keith nodded his head in the direction where they waited in a painters bucket.

"Great! Listen, I've got lunch with Allura but I'll be back after that for the other order. You want anything from the torta guy?"

Keith silently cursed Lance for being so considerate.

"No, I'm fine...thanks."

"Suit yourself."

Lance took to his bike, his bell ringing distantly telling others on the sidewalk to get out of his way.

The flower shop worker slid from his chair to the back of the room where the baby's breath was kept. Carefully he picked out the best looking stalks, each of them so small and delicate making up a tiny bouquet in his hand. His fingers lightly searched through the flowers to make sure that none of them were bruised or brown. Briefly Keith imagined what they would look like atop a tiny baby head. He ran his fingers over the small petals as they released a bit of sweet scent.

From the front of the shop he could hear the chatter of passerby's and the familiar chime of the door opening to Seidou's. Keith hadn't noticed but Lance must have opened the shop door so far it automatically locked. Not that it was an issue, it was a casually warm day and the breeze blowing into the shop stirred up the flowers in a way that made them bow and sway; it was a calming and welcome presence.

Keith sat back in his stool and took to work, snipping and weaving the flowers around the floral wire. The repetitive motion always seemed to put him into some kind of trance that made everything around fade away, like he was floating upon the stillness of the evening sea. Keith's eyes rose at last from his work to the beach in the distance where brightly colored umbrellas peppered the shore. The memory of hot sand between his toes emerged from a place that he had long since ignored.

From the corner of his eye a fluttering object swooped back and fourth then landed on the edge of the front desk. A small white butterfly, no bigger than quarter flexed it's wings and rested.

"You like the flowers too huh?"

Keith admired the tiny flower crown in his hands. It was small enough to be a bracelet on him. He breathed a laugh thinking about what the tiny thing would look like on Lance's head.

"Blue looks better on you." He softly said, his eyes wandering to a group of Forget-Me-Nots in pots.

~*~

"Allura! Hey!" Lance waved vehemently to his girlfriend who was looking lost in the middle of The Alley.

"Lance! It's a bit past 12:30..."

The two of them met in the middle, nearest the copper fountain in the middle of the square.

"I know, I'm sorry, I had a delivery today, the customer was a bit chatty; and I think that I talk alot--"

"--It's alright."

An awkward silence sauntered in between them, leading Lance to remember the pact that he had made with Keith. No more pretending.

"I asked you to meet me here because I want you to try something really special to me. It's not too fancy but...here, you wait here for just a sec I'll be right back."

Lance happily skipped away to the older man running to torta cart. He was greeted with the same kind smile that the man always served as he asked for his order, skipping the small talk this time knowing that his girlfriend was waiting.

"Gracias." he nodded, then skipped back.

Lance proudly presented the small package to her."I asked him not to put any meat, so you don't have to worry about that."

Allura tentatively took the wrapped sandwich in her hands and unwrapped it, inspecting it thoroughly before taking her first bite. Next to her the sunny boy sat at the edge of the bench waiting for her reaction.

"It is...different," Her eyes rose to meet with Lance's pleading and hopeful eyes. "But it is good!" she returned with an uncomfortable looking smile.

"Really? I'm so happy to hear that, we can come here again sometime!"

Allura silently nodded and took another bite.

"I have a couple more hours before my next delivery, would you like to do something after this?Maybe we could walk up to the poppy fields? I know the best spot to just sit and chill out there."

The angel-like girl nodded once more, then slouched before hesitantly saying, "Perhaps we could go to the beach? It is a very beautiful day today and I would like to go with you..."

Panic swelled inside Lance's chest overflowing like water filling up his lungs.

"Uh--maybe we can do that another day? It just--it looks really crowded there today so...we should go when we can get a good spot right?"

"Lance, are you sure?" Allura's eyebrows furrowed with her crystalline blue eyes interrogating the boy sitting next to her. "Is it not because of--"

"Yeah! Totally sure, I just...want to be prepared, you know, get us some food... our boards...it's more of a day-long activity you know?"

Beads of sweat ran down his back under his shirt. Lance felt his breath quicken thinking about standing at the edge of the shore.

"Let's go for that walk. You wanna get some ice cream or something?"

Lance shot up from his seat. Above him a group of seagulls passed by squawking across a cloudless sky. He reached out his hand for his girlfriend to take, instead it was met with the crinkly feeling of the wrappings of her sandwich.

"Alright, shall we get going?"

Lance stared at it in his hands.

~*~

"I'm back." Lance announced, trudging into the flower shop, his brown flip-flops sadly slapping against the linoleum flooring.

Keith almost hadn't noticed that he had entered since he hadn't come barreling in like always. He had been zoned out at the desk for the last couple of hours, fighting sleep since the day had been mostly customer-less.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I suck at being myself." The not-so-sunny boy lamented, sitting on top of the desk. He took a stray piece of Baby's Breath and twirled it between his fingers before letting his hand go limp and slamming it on the wooden desktop.

"You're not one to mope."

The dark-haired boy stretched his arms wide and yawned, then rested his chin in his hand. His eyes became focused on the small folds in the back of Lance's soft looking shirt.

"I'm moping because I was trying to be myself. You know like we said? But it didn't feel any different..."

Selfishly, Keith felt a twinge of hope. He felt terrible for feeling it, and pushed it down far as soon as it emerged but still, it made itself known and ached in his chest.

"What happened?"

Lance waved his hand in the air like he was brushing away the issue and rang his head down in defeat. "It doesn't matter anymore now."

He signed deeply, his shoulders rising and falling with the motion. Keith watched as the folds in his shirt responded. He longed to touch it, his fingers crept of their own accord a little closer to the hem resting on the desk. Would he notice?

"--I might as well head out for that delivery, better to be early than late." He slid off while taking the small white box in his hands and examined it though the little clear plastic window. "Way to go Flower Crown!" Lance smirked, curling one side into it's classic formation. "You've done it again." He gave the boy across from him a playful punch on the arm.

"Th-thanks."

"This one is a bit far...but that's no issue, I'm Lance McClain! Fastest delivery boy in all of Altea Bay!" He proudly posed with his hands on his hips.

"I bet you are," Keith said, rolling his eyes. He watched from the shop window as Lance placed the box in his milk crate and secured it in place with some bungee cords. He sat on his stool, his knee bouncing up and down, his eyes once more wandering to the beach and the outlines of the white waves meeting the shore. He licked his lips and tucked his hair behind his ear, heart suddenly racing. Everything inside of him itched to just get up.

No more pretending.

"Wait! Lance!" Keith fumbled to the shop door where the other boy had just mounted his bike.

"What is it?"

Strands of Lance's chocolaty brown hair flared like flames influenced by the summer wind. The seldom-seen freckles on his forehead made a surprise appearance. Keith briefly lost his breath.

"Let's uh--hang out...when you're done. I'm getting off at 4. It's...half pie day."

"I like what you're thinking," the sunny boy winked.

"And...do you wanna go to...the beach?"

"The beach?" Lance's expression turned from thrilled to startled in a manner of milliseconds.

"Yeah...I was thinking that I haven't been there in a long time and that's like your thing right? Swimming and crap?"

Keith swallowed, his tongue feeling dry.

"Listen, Keith--"

"--We could even like, bring the food and eat it there that would be...fun."

Keith wanted to die. Collapse. Right then and there. He balled up his hands into anxious fists. Lance's fearful expression made him want to vomit.

I said too much, God, he knows, oh my God.

"I don't really wanna swim--"

"--Then we don't have to!" Keith squeaked, his voice reaching a tone that he didn't think was humanly possible.

"Okay..." Lance said at last, now looking more confused than scared.

"Okay! Uh... great!"

"Alright...wanna meet back up here at 4:30?"

"Sounds good." Keith plainly returned, steadying himself.

He watched as the sunny boy biked into a right hand corner where he could no longer be seen. After checking his watch he sighed, feeling the longevity of the hours to come bearing down upon him. He took to the side of the building to grab the hose and water the ferns at the shop entrance. The water spewed out with a metallic scent.

"Just a couple more hours."

~*~

A couple minutes before he would have been too early, Lance rolled to a stop at the front of Altea Bay Flowers with his companion nowhere to be found. He peered inside of the shop, craning his neck just so that he could see inside. Kelli sat at the desk, twirling a strand of her hair while she flipped through the pages of a magazine. Lance pondered asking her if she knew where Keith had gone until he heard the familiar clanky sound of Keith's bike bumping over a pothole. The dark haired boy flashed a nervous, but excited smile as he shakily came to a shop with his tires squeaking against the sidewalk.

"Are you ready?" Lance chirped as he rolled up his sleeves. He briefly checked over the contents in his milk crate which was full of a couple things that he had gathered from his trip home.

"Just a sec." Keith said, then dismounted from his bike.

He entered the flower shop as Lance waited outside, leaning in close to ask Kelli something to which she gave him a nod in return. He swiftly took one of the small white boxes from underneath the desk and a pair of scissors. In mere moments he was back at his bike shoving the box into his backpack before Lance could catch a glance of what it was.

"What's in the box?" Lance said as he threw him a suspecting gaze.

"You'll find out later bud." He jested, using Lance's colloquialism against him.

"Hey! "Bud's" my thing!"

"Guess I must have picked it up. Come on, let's get going before the dinner rush comes." Keith smirked. Lance's head spun trying to calculate where the previously shyer boy's confidence was coming from.

As Keith crossed the street in front of him, Lance noticed the absence of his normal black hoodie--the one that had witnessed his near-death. It was a bit strange seeing him without it, however, it's absence wasn't unwelcome. Even though Lance thought that Keith's arms were a bit stark to look at, they were lean and muscled, a bit like his own. The flower-shop worker was quiet and reflective but the sharp curves and bends of his arms conveyed a power that he didn't often express. A salty smelling breeze blew between the two of them brushing up Keith's black t-shirt, revealing two dimples on the small of his back.

Does everyone have those? Lance's mind wandered.

The wind blew in once more as he searched for evidence of them again but found himself disappointed when the shirt stayed put.

The bells hanging over the door chimed, causing Lance to snap his head up, breaking his previous investigation.

"Lance! So good to see you!"

Mrs. Seidou greeted the two of them at the door with arms open wide. She engulfed Lance in a hug and didn't hesitate to give Keith one too, causing him to hide his blushing face in his hand.

"You didn't think I would pass up half-pie day would you?"

The kind older woman beamed accentuating the wrinkles on her face circling her smiling eyes and mouth.

"Of course not! I've got a blueberry just for you! But dear, I hope you'll try something other than a salad today..."

"A salad?" Keith questioned, his head inquisitively tilted.

Lance's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Since dating Allura all of his meals at Seidou's had transitioned to different types of salads.

"Nope!" He hurriedly returned, giving her a reassuring nod. "Not today, I'm uh...not in a salad mood today."

"Wonderful, I'll make you anything you like! Even if it's not on the menu." Mrs. Seidou slyly nudged him.

"Mrs. S: you're the best! Keith and I are actually taking it to-go; we're headed to the beach."

"Ah the beach! I heard that its supposed to be a beautiful evening tonight, not a cloud in the sky, and its a full moon!"

"Tell that to my friend here," Lance hooked his arm around Keith's shoulders and pulled him in tight to playfully wrestle him. "I think he's a vampire so sounds like the perfect night for him."

"Lance, shut up." Keith growled as he wiggled away and pushed messy strands of black hair from his pink face.

Mrs. Seidou sweetly laughed. "So, what'll it be?"

~*~

The two boys walked side by side to the beachfront where they locked up their bikes to the burning hot metal of the bike racks. Below them the concrete sidewalk was riddled with smears of sand. They took their backpacks and swung over their shoulders before they stepped into the sand with their shoes in hand. Keith immediately noticed how warm it was when it met the skin of his feet. It was a sensation that he had not felt in a long time. He felt a childlike sense of glee when his feet squished into the sand with every footstep and the soft grains found their way around his toes. Ahead of him, Lance took careful steps too, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Lance! Be careful!"

A toddler in a sopping wet bathing suit ran towards him, had he not noticed, she would have been on a direct collision course with Lance's shins.

He swiftly got out of her way, then turned back to look at Keith with a troubled and stormy look clouding his eyes.

"Don't you think it's a little crowded?" His raised voice ran above the happy chatter of the beach-goers.

"It'll be dinnertime soon and they'll start leaving!"

"I'll find us a spot." He said then turned back and quickening his pace.

As they wove through the crowns of people and the maze of towels and umbrellas Keith wished that he could take Lance's hand and lead him though it. The sunny boy's worried look made him feel unsettled. He came to the conclusion that he didn't like it when it appeared like Lance's light had been dampened.

Maybe he knows. Is he uncomfortable? Am I making him uncomfortable?

Lance found an empty spot in the sand farther down the beach nearly at the point where the public beached turned into private. A few meters away from them the sand turned into rock; here the water met the slick black rocks with angry collisions causing the fat drops of sea splash to scatter when they met them.

"What are we doing so far down? There were more spots farther up..."

"There's less people over here, and it's more...secluded."

"Secluded?"

"Yeah, less people will see us." Lance nodded the statement away and threw his bag down.

"You don't want people seeing us?"

"No--uh--yes, its not that--"

"Lance, what's going on, you've been acting weird ever since we got here--"

"--Nothing's going on! I just don't want them to see us--I mean, see me..."

Lance cringed and took to taking items from his backpack instead. As if in order, he took out a beach towel, a small speaker, a few cans of soda, a couple containers of fresh fruit (courtesy of Mrs Seidou) and his Polaroid camera.

"What's that for?"

"What does it look like?" He waved it in the air for effect. "Pictures?"

"Ah."

Keith's heart wouldn't quit. He knelt by his backpack and took several deep breaths to steady himself but his body wouldn't listen. Everything about the moment seemed too good to be true. It was as if one of his daydreams were coming true but it was reeling by a million miles a minute. Once again, the pang of pain echoed in his chest, the one that he decided to call longing.

He took his own towel out and spread it next to Lance's not too far away, but not too close. His eye caught the small box in his backpack which he had momentarily forgotten about. He licked his drying lips trying to devise a plan for when it would be best for him to reveal it. Next to him the other boy was setting up their food. He had taken off his delivery jacket uncovering his sky blue shirt once more. The fabric bellowed in breeze as it had done before. His freckled and tanned arms set to work on opening containers and sorting bamboo silverware from his bag.

How does he manage to look so beautiful when he's barely doing anything?

"Here."

He passed Keith his turkey sandwich and fries then dug into his juicy looking burger. With his first bite the expression on his face looked almost euphoric.

"Mmm! Oh how I've missed you." Lance said with a mouth full of food. He hungrily took a couple more bites.

Keith chuckled and took a few more bites of his own. It was terribly entertaining to watch Lance exaggeratedly eat his dinner as if it was his last. He buried his toes deeper into the sand until he couldn't see them anymore. The crash of waves made up the background music to their meal as they met the shore in a noticeable rhythmic pattern that never ceased. The smell of the seaweed wafted up their noses with the coming and receding waves that turned the sand from light to dark.

The two boys sat side by side in silence while they ate, Keith's eyes fixed on the expanse of the ocean in front of them. The cerulean color of the sea glistened and sparked under the sun's rays. Keith though to himself that sometimes Lance's eyes could look like that under the sun too. He looked to the sunny boy and found him still immersed in the last bits of his food.

"Wanna eat the pie now?" Keith suggested.

"Sure."

The two of them demolished the half of the pie, thinking nothing of slices while they attacked it with their forks. Keith was already done with his quarter when he realized that his mouth and lips and been undoubtedly stained from the berries. He quickly gulped down some water and swished it in his mouth to dilute it.

"I wanna get some shells, you coming with?"

Keith looked up to the other boy who had suddenly stood up.

"Alright."

Keith walked next to Lance as they padded down the damp sand of the shore, both of their eyes fixed on the little white specks that were scattered around. Saying nothing, they simply walked on, only stopping every once and a while to pick up a shell that looked interesting. Something about it all seemed eerily familiar, leading Keith to recall their walk in Arus woods. Sea breeze whipped against them, making Keith's long hair revolt. He tied half of it up, not bothering to tame it all. Ahead of him Lance called his name.

"Yo! Keith! Check this one out!" He excitedly turned, then stopped with his eyes wide.

"What is it?"

"Uh--nothing, I just haven't seen you do your hair like that before."

"Yeah...it was just getting in my face a bit...it looks kinda weird I know--" He reached for the rubber band holding it all together.

"--Wait stop!"

"What?" Keith's hand receded.

"It...doesn't look weird."

Keith's lips formed a tiny "oh" then slowly turned upwards in a smile.

"Just uh...come over here I found a cool one."

In his hand he presented Keith with a small spiraling white shell that ended in a point. The curves and ridges were perfectly well defined.

"Check this out." Lance turned the shell right and left, and the white color turned into a pale pearlescent pink. "Cool right?"

Keith took it in his own hand and examined it.

"Oh! Hold it right there."

"What?"

Lance took his Polaroid camera from the strap it hung on and he snapped a picture of the shell resting in Keith's hand. It made a little whirring sound when the picture slipped out.

"We'll see it in a minute."

"You really like this one?"

"Yeah." Lance reached out.

Keith hurriedly shoved it in his pocket.

"Then I'll hold onto it for you. Something tells me that you're prone to losing things."

"Wait just a sec--"

"I've already decided. I'll give it back to you before we leave."

"Fine!" Lance harrumphed and set back on his mission of finding shells.

Once he turned around, Keith ran his finger over the rough ridges in his pocket, grinning to himself.

                                                                                       ~~~

This chapter is in tandem with the next chapter! Thank you for reading! :)