Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Prompt: I would like to see Keith's reaction to his checkups and Lance helping him out.

.o.O.o.

Lance's least favorite part about learning to care for mermaids was medical exams. It wasn't his job to do them as a handler- thank god, he just kept his mermaid calm- but he still didn't like them. It was mainly because mermaids did not like being touched by strangers and would lash out at the doctor, some more than others. To offset the violence without putting mermaids under during every check up, the doctor usually gave them tranquilizers to calm them down.

But because Keith was new, the staff wanted to see how he reacted without a sedative during his first checkup, like they always did with new mermaids. If he happened to be calm, they wouldn't need to sedate him in the future. It wasn't a common response, but it was possible.

So a week after Keith first got to the aquarium, the doctor came to his enclosure to see how his shark bites were doing. The doctor on call happened to be Pidge that day. She came over to the tank and sat down on the edge next to Lance, who was watching Keith sleep while he waited for her. It was still early morning, so Keith hadn't woken up yet and was happily curled up in his hammock. He didn't know he was going to get prodded.

Pidge looked over to the sleeping mermaid and smiled. "Is he doing good? Has he tried ripping the stitches out?" She asked, although she was pretty sure of the answer already. If Keith attempted to pull out his stitches she would be told right away, so he probably hadn't. But she still had to ask.

Lance shook his head. "He leaves them alone. If they start hurting he gets whiny, but he doesn't pull." He replied. "Want me to get him for you?" He asked as he looked over at his friend, who nodded.

The handler slipped all the way into the water and swam over to his mermaid's hammock. He gently grabbed one end of it and swayed it back and forth, trying to wake him up that way. "Keith, time to wake up." He called, waiting to see the mermaid open his eyes before he would stop swinging the hammock.

Keith opened his eyes after a moment and looked up at where he thought Lance was, which was a few feet off to his right. He let out a tired chirp and curled up further, not wanting to wake up yet. He always wanted to sleep even though he was extremely young by mermaid standards.

"Come on buddy." Lance encouraged as he gripped the side of the fabric Keith was laying on and pulled on it. The hammock tilted to one side, threatening to dump the mermaid from it if he didn't get up, but it wasn't forceful. Lance learned fast that being rough with Keith when he was sleepy stressed him out and made him more clingy than usual. Luckily Keith wasn't too stubborn, so he didn't need to be rough to get him up.

The mermaid reluctantly got out of the hammock when it tilted and uncoiled his tail. He gripped the wall with one hand and hovered there, not knowing where to go without some guide. He reached his other hand out for Lance to take like he usually did to lead him wherever he wanted him to go and waited.

Lance smiled and took Keith's hand. He swam back to the platform with the mermaid slowly following behind him and pulled himself onto the metal again once they were there. He leaned down and snapped his fingers above the water in front of him where he wanted Keith to swim and held his palm out for him to target. Keith's ear flicked in response to the sound and he moved forward until his forehead touched Lance's palm. Lance clicked his tongue and pulled the mermaid to lay over his lap on his back so Pidge could look at him.

Keith was fine with being in Lance's lap- Lance had been training him to be comfortable in his lap for things like this- and laid down and relaxed without complaint. That was until he realized Pidge was there as well, then he instinctively curled himself into Lance's stomach to protect his own. Mermaids didn't like having their bellies exposed to people they didn't trust, since in the wild they could easily be killed by a wound to the soft flesh.

Lance pet his hair calmingly and gently pushed him onto his back again. Keith chirped a little in protest but didn't struggle. After a week of being cared for by his handler he trusted him. The trust came easier when the mermaid was blind and helpless on his own, making him completely dependent on his handler.

Pidge gently pet Keith as well for a moment, letting him get used to her before she started prodding him. Even though she was there on his first day, she never touch him, so he probably didn't remember her. After a minute she let her hands trail down to the shark bite on his arm so she could look at it.

Keith's reaction was immediate and expected: he growled warningly at her, but the sound was weak with fear. He tried to pull away and curl into Lance more, but Lance gently held him down. Keith whimpered and looked up at his handler's face, looking slightly betrayed.

A soft laugh left Lance's lips before he could stop it. "Keith you're okay." He promised as he continued to pet the mermaid's hair. Hopefully he wouldn't lash out, Lance didn't want to hold him down or sedate him. He would prefer to not do that to him. It would be scarier to be held down or sedated because he was blind, he would feel completely defenseless.

The mermaid frowned deeply and groaned uneasily but laid still. Pidge took that as a cue to continue looking at his arm. She was gentle and didn't press down on the wound, and let go of his arm within a few seconds. "That one isn't infected; it's almost shut." She said.

Lance nodded. "That's good."

Now it was time for the harder wound: the one on his side. He would be a lit more protective of that bite. A lot more actually; when Pidge touched that wound Keith snarled at her and bared his teeth. He didn't lunge for her though, he was more scared than angry and was afraid to provoke her.

All it took was a sharp shush from Lance to quiet him down. Keith's eyebrows were still knitted firmly together, but he was quiet. If he started growling again Lance shushed him, and he would stop. The handler had to do it quite a few times before Pidge was done looking at the second bite, but it kept Keith calm and he didn't lash out. Which was good, he wouldn't have to be sedated next time.

Pidge pulled away and got up to get out of the enclosure. "He looks good, I'll go get him some breakfast as an apology." She said with a smile as she left to get some fish.

Keith was still on guard when she left and incredibly tense. He thought she was still somewhere close by even though he heard her walk away. When Lance stopped holding him on his back he rolled onto his side and curled into Lance like he'd been trying to for the past few minutes.

Lance smiled at him and gently pet his hair, not straying beyond his head in case he set the mermaid off. Even though he knew it was just his handler his was still high strung and stressed from having a stranger's hands on him. Keith accepted the affection and slowly relaxed.

Lance's progress disappeared when Pidge came back and Keith tensed again at the sound of her footsteps. His handler held him close and pet him to keep him calm as Pidge sat down next to them with a pale of cod. She placed the food in between her legs and picked up one of the fish to offer to Keith.

Keith smelled the fish right away and looked up at it, but he hesitated to take it. After a second he carefully reached his neck out and bit the fish, then quickly pulled away and hid in Lance's stomach again. Once he felt safe again he started eating the fish hungrily.

Pidge smiled at him and watched him fondly while he ate the first fish, then offered him a second when he finished it. Keith was less hesitant to take it and ate that one while curled up as well. Pidge slowly fed him all the fish, eventually earning Keith's trust enough for him to stop hiding from her. He would trust anyone who fed him.

Lance watched with a fond smile, admiring the mermaid splayed over his lap. He loved cuddling Keith in his lap now that he let him, and seeing him relax even with Pidge there made him happy. He gently rubbed one of the mermaid's ears, earning a happy chirp from him. Lance smiled wider. "Was that so bad?"