Say The Word (Klance AU)

Chapter 10

Jesus I am happy I am not writing this...Mostly cause THERE IS 7513 WORDS IN THIS...SHIT!!

Keith laid back, his head stinging from the freshly sewn stitches that decorated his right temple. The cut was deep, deep enough that it was going to leave a scar. Luckily his bangs would cover it most of the time. To count, he also had a massive black eye, bruises around his neck and a broken wrist that he really didn't remember getting. All that adrenaline really kept him distracted from the pain. It wasn't until he was sitting in the back of the ambulance that he realized his right wrist throbbed every time he moved his fingers.

Hans had called the police; they sat in the back of the ambulance and were interview by the officers; security footage from the camera at the back door backed up their story. Sendek attacked them. They fought back. And sufficiently kicked his ass.

As he tried to get comfortable on the emergency room bed, Keith couldn't help but worry about Lance. He said he was fine, he even let Keith sit up on the gurney when they piled into the ambulance to get to the hospital. But when they got out, he was clutching his side and moving slow. He was pushed down into a wheelchair and taken back to a different room once they got inside. There was no news of him since.

Keith fidgeted; the skin under his cast all itchy and hot. Setting the damn thing was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen as a giant lump on his wrist disappeared with a pop. Keith picked blue for his cast; the only thing on his mind at that moment were a pair of bright blue eyes that he was sorely missing.

He hated waiting, now more than ever. Pacing near the edge of his bed was Greg, his manager. He was one of Keith's emergency contacts behind Allura. Speaking of his friend, Allura was ready to hop on a plane the second the hospital called her. Keith had to talk her down for a good hour, assuring her that they were fine. A bit banged up, but fine. Allura didn't sound at ease, but she calmed down enough for Keith to finally hang up. Her concern was actually really touching.

He didn't even know Greg was in LA until showed up at the hospital looking like he just rolled out of a business meeting. His tailored pinstriped suit was a shocking contrast to lab coats and scrubs that everyone here was sporting. Surprisingly he didn't leave the whole time. They had already been there for about five hours, and Lance still wasn't back yet. At that moment, Keith realized that Greg was far more protective of him than your average manager should have been.

Greg hung up his phone, sighing. "Insurance will cover most everything. The agency will pick up the rest. If Lance has any other expenses, I'll see if we can help with that too."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes we do. Sendek may not be our responsibility any more, but you are. I can't help but feel like this was partially my fault anyhow."

"What do you mean?"

The older man leaned on the end of Keith's bed, the bags under his eyes multiplying in seconds. "Earlier today, we let him go. There were just too many complaints about his behavior; his attitude. No one wanted to work with him. The job you two did last month was his final chance and he blew it. Sendek must have wanted to take his anger out on something. I'm just sorry it ended up being you two."

Keith shook his head. "It's not your fault. Sendek's always been a dick and we've always been kind of hostile to each other since the start. It's amazing something like this hadn't happened before."

He just really wished Lance hadn't been there to suffer through it too.

"I'm going to talk to your doctor. See if you have to stay overnight. I'll check up on Lance too while I'm at it." And with that, Greg disappeared.