#obligatory 'my swat uses they/them' tag for those who see it

[cozylittleartblog]

swatchvember prompt: Dress

...

it was the only dress i could get them to look cute in, AND i got to bring tasque manager into it 🥴 she wore that for the rest of the day

i will do serious fanart for one of these prompts i swear

[syilcawrites]

archived memories | 7

Series: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Type: Multi-Chapter Main pairing: Zelink (Zelda and Link) Rated: T Tags/Genre: pre-calamity, fluff (middle chapters mostly), hurt (toward the last chapters lmao), pining Summary: bits and pieces of zelink scenes strewn in between the canon memories in botw! Snippet from Ch 7: “And it only grew larger when he tilted his head up at her and smiled—not those small smiles he usually gave her—but a smile that reached his eyes. She had never seen one of those before, and a selfish desire to keep that smile only to herself flourished alongside that fear.” A/N: Between Memory 9-10 Obligatory beach chapter! :^D

You can also read it on ao3! Click here to see all chapters on tumblr

chapter 7: sweet summer sea

She stared in awe at the view in front of her—the sun was at its highest point, and the swaying sea water reflected its illumination, casting a glowing shimmer over it. They were situated in a small gulf of water, with high cliffs on either side of them.

It had been a long time since Zelda stepped foot in sand, and the feeling of it under her toes reminded her that she was here, in the present.

“Breathtaking,” she exhaled as her eyes shifted from the sea to the sky. A gust of wind rushed toward them, lifting her ceremonial dress to reveal the waterproof one piece suit she had worn underneath. Zelda dropped her sandals from her hand and pressed her dress down, face red, and darted her eyes over to Link. He was conveniently crouched down, observing a seashell.

“Well, this is absolutely stunning,” Zelda declared, poking his thigh with her big toe. He jumped at her touch, startled.

“Uh, yeah! I thought you’d like it here. My family used to visit the beaches near Lurelin sometimes, since the water is really warm.” He snuck a glance at her. “This is between Aris Beach and Clarnet Coast. It’s a secret spot though, so don’t tell anyone.” He brought a finger to his lips, smiling cheekily at her.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Zelda said, laughing. She always found his smiles contagious. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been near Lurelin…” She had went once, with her parents. When her mother was still alive.

“You ready?” The sound of his voice prompted her to look over at him. He stood up and proceeded to take off his Champion’s tunic in one swift pull over his head. Her fingers twitched as she watched the muscles on his back move—she wanted to trace her fingers along them, but decided to be courteous instead and looked away.

“Ready for what exactly?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow up.

“We’re going in the water,” he declared. When she looked back at him, his trousers were replaced with shorts, and he faced the waves with his hands on his hips.

“We are?” Zelda asked, pointing at herself. He nodded enthusiastically, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness. Zelda frowned, glaring at the rippling water. She felt conflicted—the reason why she avoided the beach for so long was due to her growing dislike for water. But when she glanced back over to Link, his encouraging smile was hard to say no to.

“Well, maybe a little dip will be refreshing,” Zelda murmured in agreement, beginning to slip out of her ceremonial dress. She paused, halfway through pulling it off as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to watch me undress?”

He looked away, cheeks red. Zelda chuckled to herself at his amusing response. She neatly folded it and placed it next to a palm tree, then placed her sandals snuggly beside it.

Another gust of wind made her hair fly all over her face—one of the many downsides of having long hair was having to constantly tame it. Zelda had contemplated on cutting it every now and then, but could never muster up the courage to do so. She swatted at the stray strands that made its way into her mouth.

“I’ll join you in just a second… I’m going to braid my hair.” She shuffled around in her bag for a hair band, and when she pulled it out, Link tapped on her shoulder, holding his hand out.

“I can do it.”

“You can braid?” Zelda asked, surprised. She situated herself down on the sand, smiling in content when her skin hit the warm surface. Warm and comfortable, the two things she enjoyed. Link let out a hum of affirmation, sitting behind her, as he carefully combed her hair with his fingers.

“I have a younger sister, so I used to do her hair a lot.”

“You have a younger sister?” Zelda almost turned her head around, but stopped herself. “You’ve never mentioned her before! There’s always something new with you isn’t there?” Zelda smiled as he let out a small laugh. She focused on his fingers brushing through her hair, and on the sound of the waves that washed up onto the sandy shores. She had forgotten how pleasant the sea sounded.

Ever since she was unable to visit Hateno with him, he had promised to take her to secret spots around Hyrule that his father had taken him to, given that they were around the same area as their initial destination. She had looked forward to these various locations—although, that was before the overbearing pressure of obtaining the power.

No, the pressure was always there, but it had been suffocating her to hurry as of late. She had no time for such pleasantries, and decided to immerse herself in unlocking that damned sealing power to the point of exhaustion.

In the latest incident, she collapsed on horseback when they had gone on a trip to Rito Village to speak with Revali. Luckily he was riding beside her, and caught her before she could tumult head first into the rocky ground beneath them, but not without sustaining a couple of nasty scabs that still marked her legs. Link had fallen off of his own horse to dampen her fall and cushioned most of her damage. As he wrapped bandages around her legs, she tended to his head wounds, all while expressing her discomfort with him recklessly putting himself in harms way. It had been hard to keep the sternness in her voice when the pain from her legs kept causing her to grit her teeth though.

Zelda frowned upon that memory—if there was one thing she had to pick about him that she disliked, it would have to be how self-sacrficing he was.

After that incident, he seemed insistent that they take a small break to one of the many locations that he wanted to take her to, but reluctantly, she had always refused. Zelda did feel a little bad that she kept rejecting his proposal to take a short one-day trip, so she agreed to wear her bathing suit under her ceremonial dress for this trip, since he continuously mentioned that it would make her feel less uncomfortable while she was in the water when she prayed.

Of course she didn’t believe him—but she did it to humor him anyway.

And then this happened.

As she readied herself for another day of praying at the Spring of Courage, he lifted her onto the back of his horse, hopped on himself, and then sped off toward the coasts near Lurelin with her in tow.

Not that she hated being here. Rather, it was quite the opposite, but the stress was still there and the guilt for abandoning her responsibilities for the day were ever blooming in her chest.

“There, done,” Link exhaled with satisfaction.

Zelda turned around to face him, beaming. “Oh, we must take a picture!” She quickly grabbed the Sheikah Slate and pulled his arm toward her. Their heads lightly bumped against one another as she took a quick snap.

Link blinked rapidly afterwards, unprepared.

Zelda smiled down at the picture she had taken—her grinning and Link looking alarmed and confused. His expression reminded her of the first photo they had taken with the other Champions. She set the Sheikah Slate on top of her dress and felt around her hair.

“Why, you did quite a good job! I don’t feel much looseness in it.” Zelda pulled her braid over her shoulder, admiring it.

“There’s still enough time to go to the Spring instead, if you really want to.”

She caught that teasing tone of his—always lightly settled underneath the seriousness of his voice whenever he decided to poke some fun at her.

She scoffed and stood up, brushing bits of sand that had stuck to the back of her thighs.

“Come on, you need this too.”

------------------------------------------------------------------

She didn’t go into the water immediately. Instead, she watched Link attempt to catch fish with his bare hands for the first hour near the rocks. Halfway through, with no progress, he decided to try to stab them with his Master Sword, as if it would increase his chance of success.

Which it didn’t, to her amusement.

After he had gotten out, she decided to try her own fair share of the beach experience.

She tentatively stuck her toes in first to check the temperature of the sea, but it was surprisingly warm—nothing like the times where she stood in the shallow waters of the Springs and prayed. It was refreshing and inviting.

It was… peaceful.

Zelda wiggled her toes, watching the wet sand slip in and out between them with the water for a moment.

She looked behind to wave at Link, who decided to settle on the sand, sprawled. He waved back lazily, his eyes fluttering close. She waded in a bit deeper, submerging her body, trying to at least enjoy the warm waters without thinking of her responsibilities. At least for a little bit, if anything.

When she sat down, the water was up to her neck, and it felt like she was getting hugged by a warm blanket. As she relaxed, her eyes wandered across the sea. It was clear enough that she could see the rocks beneath and the different variety of colorful sea life. Zelda hummed, moving her hands under the water to watch the ripples it created. She chuckled as some of the little fishes around her darted away, swimming deeper, toward the rocks.

As her gaze trailed their path, her eyes caught a glimpse of a shine off to the side—something sparkled under the waves, just in the distance. She simply had to wade a bit deeper. She glanced back to Link, who now had his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield the sun out.

She debated whether or not to bring the Sheikah Slate, but found herself already treading toward the sparkle underneath the crystal blue sea.

Her heart flipped as she drew closer to it. More colorful groups of fishes dispersed when she neared, scattering all around her. She knew why she had been so drawn to it—the gem sparkled like the color of Link’s eyes, bright blue against the rough grayness of the other rocks.

An Aquamarine gem.

She figured a quick duck under would suffice—but of course things appeared closer than they seemed underwater, and she was under the surface for longer than she anticipated. A little overestimation didn’t hurt her though, as she retrieved the Aquamarine easily enough. She didn’t rise up to the surface immediately after picking it up. Instead, she admired how it looked under the rays of the sun in the water.

The sound of Link’s muffled voice calling her from above drew her out of her admiration. She took one last glance at the gem in her hand before grasping it tightly, wiggling her way back up to the surface.

“Hey! I’m right here!” Zelda shouted once she broke through, waving her arms in the air. She swam back, hardly that far from shore in the first place, and rung out her braid of water as she smiled brightly at him. “I just found this stunning—“

“Why’d you go out so far?” he asked, panic wrapping around his voice. Her smile faltered.

“Link, I went approximately fifteen feet away,” Zelda stated, bewildered. “It looked like you were sleeping so I didn’t wake you up.”

“Regardless of what I’m doing you should’ve told me.” He ran his hand fervently through his hair, sending sand flying everywhere. He looked confused and troubled, as if he had startled himself awake from his own nap. Zelda tightened her grip on the Aquamarine in her hand, frowning now.

“If you’re resting, I’m not going to wake you up to tell you I’m walking fifteen feet away from you. That’s absurd.”

He stayed silent, and she knew what it was—closing up, deciding to keep his mouth shut. He did that now and then, and it was something she had accepted, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to keep him from falling back into his old habits. She wanted him to speak for himself, for him to voice his own opinions without worrying. At least… with her.

“Link, you deserve as much rest as I do. You need to put yourself first—“

“Your safety is my priority,” he stated firmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The fact that he had said it so easily angered her.

“Well, you’re my priority!” Zelda declared back stubbornly, shoving the gem into his chest. He grabbed it, but didn’t tear his eyes away from her. “I found this because I thought of you and I thought you’d like it. A-And as Princess, I declare you to put yourself as your own priority!” Zelda sharply twisted around to trudge back into the water.

“Don’t follow me!” she demanded. His soft footsteps that had trekked behind after her paused. She let out a huff of irritation as she submerged herself once more into the sea, going far enough so that she could sit down with the water just below her mouth. She blew bubbles into the water in hopes to blow off some steam, but the tempered anger didn’t linger very long anway. She kept glancing over her shoulder at him. He sat in the sand, looking sullen and glum. She couldn’t find it in herself to stay annoyed for too long.

After a short while she waved her hand at him, letting him know that he could come if he wanted to.

He had to sit a little ways behind her if he didn’t want the water to cover his nose. They sat there quietly for a couple minutes, simply listening to the sounds of the coastline.

“It’s pretty, thanks,” he said, breaking the silence. She nodded in response.

“I know it’s pretty, you’re welcome.” Zelda continued to blow bubbles into the water, her arms still crossed.

Eventually she scooted back and stopped once her back hit him. She drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.

“Link. Did you ever hate me?”

Her question startled him—she could feel him shift as the water around them rippled.

“Why would I hate you?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“Because I was nothing but rude to you at first,” Zelda stated matter of factly. “I don’t know what compels you to be so kind. Ever since the beginning you’ve been nothing but that.”

She patiently waited for a response, but his extended silence began to unnerve her. Soon, the little voices of doubt began creeping up into her thoughts: he must’ve been nice to her because he had to—how could he be rude to her, if she was the princess?

“The world is already cruel to you, so I thought you’ve had enough of that,” he said quietly. Her chiding thoughts halted shortly after, fading. Not even the voice of doubt could compete against his words, because if there was one thing Zelda was sure of, it was his honesty.

They sat there until their fingers grew wrinkled and pruny before she decided to finally look at him.

“I know you’re just concerned about me, but getting agitated over such a thing was quite unnecessary you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” Link rubbed the back of his neck.

“But I do appreciate your concern,” she stated, standing up. She turned around and held out a hand to him. He didn’t grab on immediately and glanced up at her first, hesitating. Zelda had a ghost of a smile on her lips, assuring him that she was okay. But there was still an unresolved tension under her skin that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

He gripped her wrist as he pulled himself up. It took all of Zelda’s strength not to topple over, but she felt slightly proud for not falling on top of him this time. Their weekly training sessions were definitely paying off.

“I was ready for you to fall into my open arms,” he said with a playful lilt of his voice.

“I’m sure you would’ve loved that just so you could have something else to make fun of me for,” Zelda replied back with a scoff. The chill of the wind made her shiver, and they walked back to the shores, with Zelda rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Link was quick to grab some towels that he left on some nearby rocks and wrapped it around her shoulders before he did the same to himself.

The tension under her skin snapped.

“See—that’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Zelda exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

He blinked, confused.

“You always do that. You make sure I eat first, make sure my tent is up first. You always make sure that I’m comfortable first before you are comfortable yourself!” She said quickly, halting. The waves crawled up to their ankles before drawing back into the sea. It continued that constant rhythm as they stared at one another.

He raised an eyebrow, as if he was saying so what? Zelda frowned and stood a bit straighter as she spoke. “From now on, I insist that you take care of yourself first, before you start concerning yourself over me.” He opened his mouth, as if to counter her point, but she immediately continued before he could say anything. “I see you as a companion, Link. As a dear friend, not just some associate of mine. I know that it’s your duty to ensure my safety, but I don’t want it to be at the expense of your own. It happens time after time, and it pains me to—“ she halted, sighing. She realized it seemed ridiculous that she had begun spewing this out simply because he had given her a towel first. But with him, she found herself more impulsive than usual.

And she wasn’t sure if it was necessarily a good thing.

At that point, Zelda had clasped her hands in front of her, casting her eyes elsewhere. Before she continued, she returned her attention back to his now softened gaze once she had found the words she had meant to say. “Take care of yourself more, Link. Won’t you?”

She admired his recklessness, but also feared it. Feared that it would make him meet a brutal end. The mere thought of it chilled her, and as if he knew she was plummeting into the depths of her thoughts, he brought her out of it with the brush of his skin against hers.

His fingers moved a stray piece of damp hair that had stuck to her cheek, making her realize how tense her expression probably looked.

“I’ll be okay,” Link reassured her. But it wasn’t the answer she was hoping to hear.

“Link,” Zelda grabbed his wrist before he could pull away from her cheek. “You’re not invincible,” she whispered, her voice grim.

A heartbeat passed between them.

“I know.”

But did he really? Her eyes traced the various scars covering his legs, arms, to the ones that trailed up his torso. The scars were long, thin, short, wide. Some deep, others superficial. There were even some on his neck. His skin was riddled with marks and burns, and that wasn’t even taking into account the backside of him.  Zelda tore her attention away from his body and met his eyes once more.

“Truly?” she asked.

He nodded, and she relaxed when she noticed that any semblance of humor had left his features. Zelda let go of his wrist, drawing her hands back to latch onto the ends of the towel hanging around her shoulders.

“I’ll hold you to that then,” she warned, letting lightness back into her tone. “Don’t you dare forget.”

“You’re so demanding today,” he exhaled, feigning annoyance. He shifted away from her to walk further up the shore, and Zelda followed suit.

“I’m exercising my right as future Queen,” Zelda insisted curtly, tugging at his ponytail gently. A smile of her own quirked up on her lips after she got a laugh out of him.

“Okay, fine. But I’m not going to put myself first every time. If you’re shivering from head to toe I’m giving the blanket to you first.” Link covered his feet with dry sand, wiggling his toes underneath it. She copied him and did the same to her own feet.

“As long as you don’t risk your life, I suppose I’ll agree to your terms,” Zelda replied back solemnly. He chuckled at her intentional usage of her princess-esque tone.

A click clacking sound prompted her to look up from her feet. She glanced back toward the waves, ears perking up. Her eyes latched onto a nearby ironshell crab, sauntering its way alongside the waves.

“Oh!” she said, her eyes brightening. “And lest I forget…” Zelda carefully made her way toward it, “I do wonder if I could study these local crabs alongside the hot-footed frogs. Will these crabs also produce some interesting effects, or will they simply be good for dining?” She raised her hands up, her fingers wiggling in anticipation. The moment the ironshell crab turned its head, Zelda latched onto it, being mindful of its claws.

She turned around to face Link, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “I have seen these crabs in some of our flora and fauna books in the royal library. I’m sure the name ‘ironshell’ wouldn’t have appeared out of the blue if they weren’t known for just that. If we take its name into consideration, perhaps it can offer some sort of increased sturdiness, which would greatly benefit you!” she rambled, peeking up to a nervous looking Link.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to eat this one just as it is,” she promised. “Unless, in the name of research, you would be willing to try it this time?” Zelda held the crab up to him, and she burst into fit of laughter when he instinctively paced ten steps back. “I’m merely joking, Link!”

He let out a shaky, albeit relieved, laugh of his own. Although it would’ve been fortunate for her studies, the last time she urged Link to try a critter, he was less than willing to. She was hoping that maybe a crab would be up his alley, but she figured that eating live critters raw was probably not something anyone, even Link, would be too keen on trying if he didn’t have to.

“Get a bottle for me, will you? I want to take it back to the castle.”

As he shuffled in her bag for a glass bottle, Zelda carefully made her way back to him while avoiding its sharp clippers. They sat down across from one another, with Link holding out the bottle, and Zelda meticulously placing the ironshell crab into it. She sealed it with a pre-stabbed cork top. She wanted to enable some breathing air for her captured critters, since a live specimen was far more valuable to her than a dead one. She lowered her head to get a clearer view as the numerous experiments she was planning on conducting were already whirring around in her head.

“Let’s come back here with everyone else once we seal Ganon,” Link said, his voice quiet against the wind. Zelda raised her eyes from the glass bottle to his face, a bit taken aback from his declaration. He was looking down at her hunched form, staring at her. Even now, it was hard to tell what he was thinking sometimes, despite her best efforts to decipher his expressions.

“Once we seal Calamity Ganon,” she echoed back, agreeing with a nod. She leaned back, clearing her throat, but the uncomfortable lodge stuck in it did not disappear. And she knew exactly what it was.

Her fear, growing and evolving into something more twisted and deafening than it already was.

And it only grew larger when he tilted his head up at her and smiled—not those small smiles he usually gave her—but a smile that reached his eyes. She had never seen one of those before, and a selfish desire to keep that smile only to herself flourished alongside that fear.

“I think we should visit the Spring of Courage again before we head back to the castle. We still have two days left,” Zelda murmured, casting her attention back to the clear blue water.

“Are you sure?” Link asked, drawing his eyes in the same direction.

Zelda nodded, letting out a long, hard exhale.

They both stared out toward the sea, relishing in its peacefulness for one last time.

[bleucheesy]

Jealousy

Shklance Gym AU (Modern AU) Drabble 21 Obligatory tags: @puppybek, @starchildkeith, and @francowitch Parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 Link to Master Post - Also available on AO3.

Another request on AO3~

Shiro was used to Lance’s business-flirting. Even Keith, who tended to suffer from the green-eyed monster on occasion, had grown accustomed to their boyfriend’s – admittedly successful – tactic for recruiting new gym members.

So, they were completely unfazed when they’d see him batting his eyelashes at the young girls in his yoga class or playfully winking at the middle-aged women who ranted and raved about his flawless Zumba skills.

It was second nature. And both Shiro and Keith found it adorable. Just one more thing they loved about Lance.

However, tonight was an exception.

Lance was late and, although it wasn’t the first time he’d stayed after class, he’d somehow been held back long enough to miss the entirety of their cooldown and stretch.

“What’s taking him so long?” Keith muttered, brows drawn down and a pout on his lips. As much as Keith pretended he didn’t, Shiro knew he enjoyed finishing their trip to the gym with Lance. Especially when they were exercising in different areas the whole time.

“Maybe he’s working on a new routine?” he offered, figuring that was the case. “Or talking to one of his regulars?” Which wasn’t uncommon.

“Well, his ass is late.” Keith crossed his arms over his chest. “If he doesn’t hurry up, we’re leaving without him.”

Shiro knew Keith didn’t mean it, considering the way the younger man kept glancing to the side, as if hoping Lance would appear at any moment.

“Why don’t we go and get him?” Shiro suggested, standing up and holding his hand out for Keith.

“Fine,” Keith replied with a roll of his eyes, but took the offered hand and stood up, slinging his towel around his neck.

(for mobile, continue reading here)

It was a short walk from the weight area to Lance’s Zumba classroom. When they arrived, the door was open, but there was no music drifting out into the hallway. Guess that answered that question.

“Regular it is,” Shiro chuckled, but Keith wasn’t nearly as amused.

“Well, let’s get him to say goodnight to the lady so we can go home.” He grabbed a hold of Shiro’s arm and half-dragged him into the room. Clearly, someone was cranky. Maybe Shiro would offer Keith a nice massage when they got home. Or Lance could give him one of those stress-relieving bath bombs he’d been practically begging Keith to try for months.

But all thoughts of plans for the evening fled from his mind when Shiro saw just who Lance was talking to.

It wasn’t one of his regulars. In fact, it wasn’t anyone Shiro had seen at the gym before. He was tall, with long, platinum hair and an angular face. He looked more like a model stepping off set than someone who’d just finished a Zumba class. Especially with how hard Lance pushed them with his choreography.

But what bugged Shiro was how close the man was standing to his boyfriend. He was leaning down, as if making up for their difference in height, and laughing at something Lance had just said, throwing his head back and causing his flawless hair to sweep from side to side.

However, Shiro snapped out of his jealous fog when he spotted Keith stomping forward, his hands clenched into fists. He reached out and grabbed his shoulder, but released him immediately when Keith whipped around and shot him a fiery glare.

Okay. Lance was on his own.

“You’re late,” Keith spat as he approached them, finally getting their attention.

“Oh. Hey, babe,” Lance greeted with a smile before wiping some of the remaining sweat from his brow. “You guys done stretching already?”

“Yeah, for like fifteen minutes,” Keith exaggerated. “I see you were distracted.” He folded his arms over his chest and looked to the taller man with the smooth skin and perfectly straight teeth, visible because he was flashing Keith a brilliant grin.

“Another fitness instructor?” he asked, his voice smooth and accented.

“Who, Keith?” Lance snorted. “Nah, he’s run a few events, but he’s just your basic gym rat.”

Keith seethed and Shiro took the opportunity to step up and introduce himself. “Takashi Shirogane,” he said, holding his hand out. “I’m one of the personal trainers.”

“A pleasure,” the man said, shaking Shiro’s hand. “Lotor Sincline.”

“You in town on business?” Keith asked, eyes still narrowed, but focused on just how close Lotor was standing to Lance.

“Just moved here, actually,” he replied. “My office isn’t too far from here and one of my assistants told me about this place.” He smiled and turned toward Lance. “And the best Zumba instructor in the city.” He gently elbowed Lance in the ribs and the other retaliated by swatting playfully at his chest.

“Flatterer.” Lance giggled and Shiro cleared his throat, the beginnings of a headache building between his eyes. Completely oblivious, Lance continued. “He’s just saying that because he’s never taken a class before.”

“Oh, I’ve participated in my fair share of physical activity,” Lotor began, leaning even closer to Lance. “But none has ever been so…satisfying.”

“Are you two done?” Keith interrupted. “I want to go home.”

Lotor turned toward him, raising a delicate brow. “Do you three commute together?”

“Live together,” Keith corrected with a frown.

A slow smile spread on Lotor’s lips before he drew closer to Lance, speaking in a stage whisper. “You were right.”

“I told you so,” Lance replied with a snort.

“Right about what?” Keith growled and Shiro, despite his best efforts, was starting to get annoyed as well. Lotor was being far too familiar with their boyfriend. He trusted Lance more than anything. They both did. But this was getting…bothersome.

“Well, I should head to the showers,” Lotor said, interrupting Shiro’s thoughts. “Thanks again for the class, Lance.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, his thumb just brushing Lance’s neck. “I’m going to be feeling that in my ass for days.” And then he was gone, breezing by Shiro and Keith and heading out the door.

They watched him go before turning wide, incredulous eyes on Lance.

“What?” he asked innocently. “Tonight was squat-heavy.”

“Lance…” Keith threatened.

“Oh, stop it, you big baby.” Lance rolled his eyes. “I just sold him the Premium Gold Package with automatic monthly payments and renewals.” He beamed. “Now, to celebrate what will surely be a nice little bonus on my next paycheck – thank you, commissions,” he paused, walking forward and looping his arms in theirs. “Let’s go out tonight.” He began leading them back toward the hallway. “I’m feeling sushi.”

“Lance, he was-” Keith started, but Lance cut him off.

“All over me, I know.” He gently butted Keith’s temple with his forehead. “But that last bit was just to tease you,” he promised. “I told him how jealous my boyfriends can get.”

Shiro stopped in his tracks, inadvertently yanking Lance and Keith back with him. Now he knew what Lotor meant when he’d said Lance had been right. They’d fallen for it. Completely.

“You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” Shiro asked, trying to keep from cracking a smile. Lance had gotten them good.

“Yup,” Lance chirped. “But you can punish me later.” He danced out of their hold and skipped down the hall. “First a shower and sushi.” He stopped, twirling around and bringing a finger to his lips. “Think Lotor is still in there?”

“You’re pushing it…” Keith ground out and then sprinted toward him. Lance squeaked, but let out a victorious cheer as he dodged Keith’s grasp and took off toward the showers, the other following in hot pursuit.

Shiro sighed and shook his head, but jogged after them.

The sushi sounded pretty good, at least.

Poor Shiro XD (and Keith...though, he's probably in the showers getting his revenge as I type this)

Keith has gotten a lot better about jealousy since they first started dating. This relapse was probably due to a combination of impatience and hunger (and one hot, long-haired guy)