It was 5 oclock. It was time for them to meet. He paced nervously along the edge of the dock, wishing he knew what to say. By the time Keith arrived, his nails were bitten down to the quick. Keith was bundled up in a scarf and a very thick jacket. Lance chuckled to himself, before the anxiety took over again.

"Welcome to my boat," he said quietly. "Ready to go?" Keith nodded, drawjng his scarf closer around his mouth. 'What am I doing here? Do I really want to make this work with him?' Nevertheless, he followed Lance onto the boat. Lance changed when he stepped onboard. His shoulders grew broader, his back straightened. He gained a confidence Keith had never seen him posess. 

It was quiet for a long time between the two of them. Keith in his scarf, and Lance in his head, both of them seperately miserable. Finally, Keith unraveled his scarf. "Lance," he said with a sigh. "I want to make this work but I-" his sentence was cut off by Lance shushing him. 

"Keith, look." He pointed down to the water, where sihouetted by moonlight swum mantas. He spoke softly to Keith, not daring to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry if i made you uncomfortable. You deserve much better than that. You deserve much better than me." Keith's heart twisted in his chest.

"No," he said, shaking his head and placing his hand on Lance's. Lance looked curiously at this gesture of affection, but let it happen. "I ran away because i was scared. I'm constantly terrified of loving people. They always leave me, because I always fuck up. You're amazing," Keith said quietly, tilting Lance's head to look at him. "I'm the broken, bad one. I hurt all those brave enough to touch me. I'm thorns, you're roses. And while I stay on the outside, always protecting, you're slowly wilting on the inside." Keith stepped away, crossing his arms and curling into himself. "I'm bad for you. I'm bad for me." 

Keith was suprised when he felt Lance's arms wrap around him. "If you're thorns, then so am I. You don't hurt people and neither do I," he said, turning Keith around so they were nose to nose. "We protect ourselves, and other people don't like that. They try to break our thorns. But two thorns together? We're always protected." 

Keith finally let the tears fall from his brimming eyes. "You mean that?" He asked, his voice almost a whisper. "I mean it," Lance said, and then he kissed Keith.

It was midnight out on that boat, but the two boys stayed out much longer. The mantas were swimming gracefully through the water, and the boys were finally together, two thorns ready to have each other backs. 

Two thorns had finally made a rose.