For the first time in his life, Lance's mind ran blank. 

Keith's eye's were blueish-gray, but he could have sworn that they looked purple like the violets sitting in his window. They were nothing like Lance had ever seen before, it was as if he was looking right into the night sky or into the depths of the sea. He was captured in them. 

Keith wasn't looking away. What is he doing? 

"Lance." Keith whispered.

Lance watched as the shape of his name formed on Keith's lips. His voice was incredibly quiet  careful. He had said Lance's name like it was the most important thing in the world. 

Lance's throat felt desperately dry. Being like this; close like this, felt like something he had once felt before but he couldn't name it. All at once, he felt something indescribable take over him. 

Lance's fingertips ran nervously over the carpet that they rested upon. His hand rose. He looks so...soft. Some sort of magnetic pulse drew Lance's hand up, he could not explain it, but he was desperately curious about what it would feel like if he could just touch--

Distantly, a door slammed somewhere else in the house. Both of their heads whipped back to face the TV screen. Immediately Lance picked up his controller one again. It felt like his mind was switching back on again. Lance became eerily aware now alone they had just previously been. He took in a sharp inhale. 

 "You're not letting me win on purpose are you?"

Keith was silent for a moment before he took up his controller as well. He gave a shaky breath. 

"No. Who do you think I am?" 

Lance couldn't see the boy next to him, but he was certain that Keith had spoken with a smirk upon his face. The two boy's arms brushed against each other, and Lance didn't feel any urge to move away. 

                                                                                                 ~*~

It was past midnight when Keith had walked Lance to his bike in the backyard. The two had lost time after a while and could have kept playing for hours if Lance had not remembered that Veronica had asked him to go to go surfing with her the next day. They had even forgotten about the door opening on the first floor. 

The house was still dark save for the solitary light shining over the kitchen table. Sitting there with a book and a glass of water was a broad shouldered man, with strong arms and a pensive composure. Among his dark black hair like Keith's was a patch of white right in the front. Keith had never talked about who he lived with. 

"Shiro--" 

"You didn't say that you were bringing anyone over." 

Shiro's voice was authoritative, not like a father, but more like an older brother. This is who Lance assumed him to be. 

"No," Keith paused. "I thought you wouldn't care." He shifted and crossed his arms nervously. 

"I don't." Shiro looked up, his eyes much softer this his physical appearance. "I'm Shiro. Keith is my little cousin. And you are?" 

He reached out his hand for Lance to shake it. It was then when Lance noticed that it was made of some type of prosthetic. His had was ice cold and Lance knew it was best not to say anything about it. At the same time, he did want to say something about Keith being a little cousin. Now that was hilarious. 

"Lance. Ah- Lance McClain." 

"Nice to meet you Lance. It's nice to see that Keith bring someone--"

"Lance has to go!" Keith practically shoved Lance out of their back door. "I'll be back in a second!" 

Once they were outside, Lance immediately noticed how much colder it had become. His jacket was still shoved inside of the milk crate and the chill of the night had gotten to it too. He shivered a bit before mounting his bike then looked up. The stars were shining at full force in the clear sky making Lance smile to himself. He had a beautiful ride home ahead of him. When he brought his head down, Keith's hands presented him with his black hoodie. 

"Here. Its warmer than your jacket. I haven't taken it off since we got here." 

Lance's words jumbled in his mouth. "What? No,--it---it's fine I have my own, I'll be biking back anyways...I'll get warmer." 

"Suit yourself." Keith responded plainly.

"Welp, I'll see you on Sunday." 

A breeze blew through which passed through Lance's jacket as if it was paper thin. The canvas material was never too good at doing it's job. He winced slightly and Keith chuckled, offering the hoodie once more. 

"Fine. You win. I'll give it to you on Sunday." 

"If you somehow destroy it, let's call it two  Poppy Dances." 

"You think too little of me Flower Crown." 

Lance exited with the sound of his bicycle bell, feeling warmer, but it wasn't Keith's hoodie alone that was giving him the sensation. 

                                                                                              ~*~ 

Lance opened the door to his house as stealthily as he could. The last thing that he wanted to to wake up his mother and get another scolding about being some kind of wild-child. To his surprise, a single light illuminated the first floor: the light from their family TV. Veronica stood slumped over in one of their cushioned chairs flipping through the channels with the light hum of a fan blowing on her, mixing with the intermittent noise from the TV on low volume. 

Lance took off his shoes at the door. 

"What are you doing back so late?" Veronica said, monotone. "You realize we are trying to hit the beach in about five hours." 

"What are you doing up so late?" 

"You should be saying thank you." Lance's sister glared up at him. "Mom was starting to freak out about you staying out so late so I told her I would wait up for you so she would drop it." 

Lance found himself toying with the hoodie string, a motion he had seen Keith do many times before. 

"Thanks." He said softly. 

"Where were you? Pidge's again? You guys better not have been playing VLD without me." 

For a moment, Lance pondered saying yes. For some reason he didn't want to share where he had been, like it was some kind of secret. But why would he want to that? We were just playing some stupid games. 

"Lance." His voice rang in the back of Lance's mind. 

He shook it away. 

"I was hanging with that guy Keith. The one from the flower shop." 

"The one from the other day?" 

"Yeah." 

"Huh." Veronica went back to flipping the channels. "That's his hoodie you're wearing right?" She had said, deadpan. 

"What?!" 

Lance had totally forgotten. Standing in front of his sister wearing it he felt himself become embarrassed, even though he assumed that he had no reason to be. He hurriedly unzipped it and took it off. 

"Yeah, I was just...ahem, borrowing it." 

"Alright." Veronica shrugged and smugly smiled. 

"How did you know that?" 

"There's a reason I'm a tactical officer at the Garrison." She paused. "I observe. Come on, let's get some rest. We don't wanna miss the swell." Veronica winked at her brother then turned off the TV. 

Laying in bed, staring at the glow stars on his ceiling Lance couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had almost had done that very night. Even more, he had no clue what had possessed him to want to do such a thing. Touch Keith? Like, touch his frickin' face?  It all made zero sense. Lance rubbed his eyes with his palms and turned over to look at his digital clock. It read 1:45. His eyes wandered to Keith's hoodie as it rested on his desk chair. He then carefully slipped out of bed to run his fingers over the soft cloth. Hesitantly he brought it up to his nose. It was floral and clean smelling twisted with something else he couldn't identify; probably just Keith. 

Lance paused for a moment before a sound of disgust left his mouth. What the hell am I doing?  

Lance got back in bed and held his eyes closed. It was too late to think about any of this, especially when he didn't know why was even bothering to think about it in the first place. 

                                                                                          ~*~ 

The salty smell of the ocean ran up Lance's nose and shook him out of his sleepy haze. He sat next to his sister as they waxed their boards. In front of them the morning sky was just beginning to turn different hues of the sunrise: pinks and reds and oranges. Foamy white waves in front of them crashed in to kiss the shore. The morning air bit coldly on Lance's exposed legs. That morning he had made the quick decision to take Keith's hoodie with him to the beach because it might be cold there. He didn't stop to consider how angry Keith would be later once he returned it embedded with millions of tiny grains of sand. 

His sister threw him a messily made PB&J in a plastic bag. "Eat up." 

Lance did as he was told as Veronica set up their towels. He gulped hard looking out into the sea. These were some of his most favorite moments in Altea Bay. Lance felt a sting in the inside of his chest. Once he left for the Garrison when the summer ended, he wouldn't be seeing the sea for a long time. 

"Let's go to Seidou's later." Veronica called to Lance over the sound of the waves. Her short chocolate brown hair whipped in the wind. 

Lance nodded. 

"Only a couple more months of this."Veronica motioned to the view in front of them then sat next to her brother. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss it." 

Veronica shoved her shoulder into Lance's playfully. "You'll be back." She grinned. 

Lance's sister also had attended and worked for the Garrison, but she had requested leave for the summer before Lance had to leave. It was an honor that he had gotten in, but he mostly had Veronica to thank for that. She was an exemplary student which gave the McClain's a good reputation. The last thing that Lance wanted to do was let her down. He had never been the best at things like astronomy or physics, but he knew that this was the best thing to do to bring pride to his family. 

I wonder where Keith is going after summer ends.   

Lance buried his toes in the sand while hugging his arms to himself. The softness of the black hoodie was comforting. 

"Let's get out there." Veronica gave her brother her hand and helped him up. "Try not to fall too much out there," She winked. 

Lance rolled his eyes. "You kidding me? I'm a surfing god out there. You've been at the Garrison too long."

She chuckled then grabbed her board. In an instant she started sprinting for the water. "Last one in has to pay for Seidou's!!!" 

                                                                                              ~*~ 

At first the water was freezing cold, then it was perfect. Lance dove in to get used to the water then rose to shake his hair out of his face. 

"WHOO!" He bellowed. 

"Get on your board surf god, they're coming in!" 

Lance threw his weight onto the center of his board and paddled on his stomach. He was exhilarated. From the corner of his eye he saw Veronica planning her first wave. 

"Oh no you don't!" 

With the waves lapping in Lance narrowed his eyes to focus. First wave of the summer and he wasn't about to let Veronica steal it. 

"I think I know what kind of pie I want later!" Lance's sister yelled over the sound of the waves unfurling. 

Lance didn't respond. He couldn't distract himself. Body and board facing the shore he waited with his head craned behind him. The sunny boy closed his eyes and waded his hands in the water beside him. When he was in the ocean like this it was like he had a sixth sense. He always knew the exact right moment to start paddling like crazy. Then, he felt it. Belly flat on the board he threw his arms into the water with cupped hands and became a frenzy of motion. He sensed the water getting higher behind him. In a swift motion the wave had swept him up. Calmly he grabbed the sides of the board with his hands as he had done hundreds of times before, getting ready to pop up.  First he swung his legs up from under him then...

Caught up under the wave Lance hadn't even noticed that he had fallen off his board. He was swept up and thrown around under the tumultuous waves. They swirled above him blurry as he forced his eyes to open but it stung so he closed them tightly. Behind the blackness of his lids he began to panic. Every instinct that he had before about surfing he had forgotten in an instant. The weight of the waves bore down on him every time he tried to reach the surface of the water. Lance's heart was pounding and he felt the smallest wisp of air remaining in his lungs leave. A fearful instinct within him told him to shout for help, but instead the salty taste of seawater poured into his mouth. 

Do they even know that I'm missing?

Lance choked on the water entering his mouth and his lungs. Thoughts flooded his head in a sequence that he thought must have been his last moments. Where is Veronica, I want to go the Garrison, I have to give Keith his hoodie back, I have to tell Ma that--

A hand gripped Lance's arm with sheer force and yanked at him. He had been too delirious to understand what was happening save for the brightness of the sun white in his eyes as he opened them to see the sky above him. The sunrise was at full force; it had never looked so amazing in all of Lance's life. This isn't too bad. He thought, finally feeling himself give up. 

"Hold on!" A voice urged near him before his vision went dark. 

                                                                                      ~*~

"Come on, come on!" 

"Here, let me take a turn." 

"Lance, Lance, you idiot." 

"Did you see what happened to him?" 

"Did you see his board? It's totally wrecked." 

"Lance." 

I know that voice. 

Lance came to surrounded by a group of strangers. One of them wore red. A lifeguard? He loomed over Lance with a nervous expression and a whistle dangling from his neck. Another person too loomed over him, a girl, her long, wet white hair was lathered to the sides of her face. She was compressing on his chest. It hurt. Lance felt like he was about to throw up. 

"His eyes are open!" 

Lance quickly sat up and coughed up water roughly. It burned in his throat and his nose. 

"Lance? Lance!!" 

Veronica pushed through the crowd to hold her younger brother in her arms. She choked on her words as if she had been crying. 

"Ver-Veron--" 

His sister laughed in glee while tears slid down her cheeks. 

Lance looked around him at all the worried faces he didn't know, but the he saw her. It was her. The angel. His angel. Even though he still felt godawful he couldn't help but feel embarrassed that she had seen him like this. 

"Guess I owe you some Seidou's Veronica." He weakly quipped. 

"Shut up you ass." Veronica laughed, holding him tighter. "I didn't catch that wave either." 

Awkwardly, the angel girl sat next to him smiling slightly. 

"Thank God that Allura found you in time." 

Lance moved away to look at the heavenly girl beside him. "Allura..." 

"Yes, thank goodness." She echoed with that accent that Lance had not forgotten. 

"Thank--thank you." 

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Of course." 

Lance's heart skipped a beat. Even soaked with sea water and her hair haphazardly strewn around her she was gorgeous. 

"Allura, I can't thank you enough." Veronica slowly helped Lance up. 

She curtly nodded. 

"Please, let me thank you." Lance looked upon her earnestly. 

"No need to do that." 

"You just saved my life. I owe you." 

Remembering his charm, Lance flashed his flirtiest smile. Allura looked around anxiously, while the onlookers expectantly waited for her answer. 

"Alright." She nervously responded. 

"Let me take you to Seidou's; it's on me." 

"Lance, I should take you home, you need to rest after all that." Veronica's worried gaze commanded him to listen to her. 

"Tonight then. 6 o'clock?" 

She nodded. 

"I'll see you then." 

Lance's sister led him away from the scene as Lance felt more and more giddy. His broken surfboard rested not too far away from them on the shore and he didn't even care. 

                                                                                      ~*~

Lance had been waiting outside of Seidou's for about 10 minutes when he began to wonder if Allura really was going to show up. He paced back and forth a little, his flip flops making a soft pat pat sound behind him. He couldn't believe that he was having this chance. Across the street he gazed into the windows of the flower shop. No doubt Keith was in there sulking or something. Does he even work on Saturdays? It was then when Lance had a stroke of genius. Confidently he strode across the street and into the doors. Of course he had to give his angel some flowers to say that he was thankful. 

He burst in, shoulders and head held high. "Kelli, I need you to set me up." 

Shocked, he was met with Keith's confused expression. 

"Oh! Keith..." 

"Lance." He curtly replied. 

"I uh, didn't know that you were working today." 

"I close up on Saturdays." 

"Huh." Lance's eyes wandered around the shop. He had to be quick or Allura might think he stood her up. 

Maybe she doesn't like flowers. This was a stupid idea away way.   

"What are you doing here?" Keith shifted in his seat. 

"I'm uh--ya know, just popping in to say hi." 

Keith's eyebrows furrowed. 

I don't have anything to be embarrassed of. Do I? 

"Actually, I'm here for some...flowers." 

"Okay. What kind?" Suddenly Keith was all business. 

"Uhhh I don't know aren't you better with that sort of thing?" 

"If you tell me what you need them for." 

Lance cringed. Keith was definitely going to judge him or something.

"For a...girl." 

"A girl?" Keith's tone of voice sounded confusedly twisted. 

"Yeah, the girl." 

Suddenly Keith understood and his expression turned back to business, but somehow Lance thought that he looked disappointed. Yeah, he's totally judging me. 

"Okay." 

Keith set to work creating a bouquet of purple four-petaled flowers. The way that he did the action was very meticulous and focused. In the end, it turned out looking perfect. 

"She should like these." Keith said handing them over. "If she knows that they mean." 

"Thanks bud." Lance slapped down a 20. "This should be good right?" 

"...Yeah." 

"Keep the change. Thanks for the help." 

Lance marched back out of the store to see Allura on the other side of the street, looking stunning just as he had imagined. Her wavy pearl-white hair was artfully pinned half up and down. She wore a light blue sundress that billowed in the wind. She politely smiled at Lance. 

"For you!" He presented her with the bouquet. 

"Oh, thank you." She took it and smelled them. "Their color is beautiful." 

On the inside Lance gave himself a pat on the back. 

"I chose them just for you." He grinned then opened the door. 

                                                                                        ~~~

Lance definitely didn't expect to get a date with Allura this soon, who knew he had to almost die for it haha. I wonder what Keith was thinking when he was making that bouquet? 

Sorry this took soooo long to get out, to be honest I had a bit of writers block but I did a bunch of planning for this fic and I think I know where I want it to go. 

Another thing, while each of the chapters are named after a flower (usually) that is featured, their meanings also have a ~significance~ with the overall feeling of each chapter. ;) 

Next time: Lance gets to know more about this angel girl Allura and takes Keith on an adventure to find an Altea Bay secret.