"Why won't you just tell me?! I can't understand these mixed signals you're sending, so just tell me how you feel already!" Keith pleaded. "I can't, I'm sorry!" Lance said, looking up at the troubled prince from his seat in the sand. "I can't tell you how I feel, I can only tell you the opposite." Keith frowned. "What do you mean?" Lance was quiet for a moment. He hugged his tailfin to his chest. "Like... I hate your voice. And I hate how you look when you first wake up. And I hate when you laugh at your own stupid jokes. And..." Tears starting streaming down his face. "I hate how you always hold me and tell me that everything will be okay. I hate how your hair flows underwater. I hate how you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I hate you so much that it hurts!" He sobbed. Keith sat for a moment in stunned silence. "Lance..." he said softly. He wrapped his arms around Lance's bare shoulders. "It's okay... I'm sorry for pushing you." Lance buried his face in Keith's chest. "I don't want to die, Keith. I don't want to die, but the pain of not being able to tell you.... it's worse than death." He sobbed. "Lance what are you talking about?" Keith asked in scared confusion. Lance gripped his shirt and looked up into his eyes. "Keith, please let go. Please let go of me, I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to. Please... Please just let me go. If I say it even once, I'll die but... it won't hurt anymore, right? You'll forget about me, right?" Keith's heart broke at the pain and desperation in Lance's eyes. "No, no I'll never forget about you no matter what. I don't know what's going on, Lance, but I'll never leave your side." He swore. Lance gave him a broken smile. "I'm sorry, Keith. This is goodbye." He leaned up and gave Keith a gentle kiss. "I love you." As soon as the words left his mouth, the bluetailed merman began to merge with the sea, becoming nothing more than seafoam. Tears streamed down Keith's cheeks like a river. "Lance...?" He asked shakily. "This... this can't be happening. This is just a dream, and I'll wake up any minute now. I'll just go visit Lance like I always do, and then I'll wake up and come see him in the real world." He said, his voice trembling. He stood up and started wading into the water. He didn't realize that he wasn't dreaming until the water filled his lungs and the world turned a permanent black.
