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Lance took slow deep breaths through his nose and kept his hand clutched in Blue’s soft fur. The morning after he’d remembered Sendek’s name, the service had come to drop her off. It hadn’t come at a better time when as Lance found himself needing both the comfort of his boyfriends’ and the dog.
Sitting in the police station surrounded by so many people was beginning to make him agitated. Blue, the good that she was, sensed that and made sure to stay as close as she possibly could to him. Her furry body creating a barrier between him and everyone else.
Keith and Shiro were working to try and get him home, they’d been at the station for hours now, sooner but Kolivan was being difficult and wouldn’t even talk to he nephew about what was happening.
“Lance,” Keith’s soft voice broke through Lance’s haze.
The Cuban looked up at his boyfriend. “C-can we go home now?”
The other man gave a shake of his head. “I’m sorry, Kolivan is still working on some stuff and doesn’t want us to leave yet.” He held his hand out. “Come with me, the captain is letting us use his office so you don’t have to be around everyone.”
Lance bit his lip for a second before reaching to take Keith’s outstretched hand. Keith pulled the slighter man into his side and started through the bullpen, Blue staying close to his side as they walked. “D...do you think they’ll find him?” he asked.
“They will, I know they will.” Keith pressed his lips to Lance’s temple. “He won’t hurt you again, I won’t let him.”
Shut inside the captain’s office, Lance’s shoulders immediately relaxed and he slumped into his boyfriend’s side. “I’m so tired.”
“I know.” Keith guided him over to the ratty old couch and settled him down on it. “We’ll leave as soon as we can, I promise.” Blue climbed up on the sofa with him and laid her head in his lap. Lance immediately began petting her, his heart rate slowing the more he drew comfort from her.
The door opened again and Shiro entered, a frown marring his face. “Shiro?” Keith asked.
Shiro looked between his two boyfriends. Before they’d arrived at the station, Lance had made them both swear that they wouldn’t lie to him about what was happening in the investigation. He wanted to know everything that they did. “They’re bringing in the FBI.”
Keith’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
Shiro shrugged. “I don’t know, something about this Sendek guy is making them all nervous.”
“Is...is he someone important?”
Lance stroked Blue’s head faster. Even hearing his mas—
Sendek
’s name out loud had him shaking in fear. “I want to go home,” he whimpered. Part of him wished he hadn’t of said anything to them about the name. He didn’t like being away from his home anymore then he had to be and it already felt like it had been too long.
Shiro came around and sat next to Lance, his metal arm wrapping around his thin shoulders. “We will, as soon as we can. Just hang in there a little longer, ok?”
He’d been “hanging in there” for years now. He could wait a little longer. He hoped.
Lance didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. There was nothing he wanted then for this entire thing to be over. Couldn’t he just have a normal life again? One where he could just live with his boyfriends and be happy. He could go back to his art and have the life he wanted before he’d been taken.
“Lance,” Shiro gently nudged his shoulder. “Talk to us, don’t disappear.”
Keith pulled a chair away from the captain’s desk and sat across from them. “You know what Shay said, talking helps you more than keeping silent.”
A tear slid down his cheek and he quickly brushed it away. “I want this all to end. I want to go home and lay in bed with you guys. I want to go to the beach and swim. I want to draw and paint again. I want...I want to feel
safe
. I just—” he took a sharp breath. “I just want to feel normal again.”
Shiro pressed his lips to Lance’s temple. “I know, baby, I know. And it’ll be ok. It will.”
“Yeah, you’re going to be safe.” Keith took Lance’s free hand into his own. “You’ll be safe and you’ll be ok.”
“Maybe we’ll take a trip to visit your brother’s and sister in Miami next month,” Shiro added. “We can see how they’re doing and you can get some much-needed rest out there.”
Lance nodded, his lip wobbling. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I’m like this. I-I want to be strong for you guys, I don’t want to let him win. I…I want to be who I was before but...I’m so afraid.”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” Shiro turned his face so they were looking at one another. “You are allowed to be afraid, you are allowed to hurt, you are allowed to feel these things because
he hurt you
. We will be with you, propping you up until you can stand on your own again.”
“We’ll be here until you tell us to go,” Keith added. “You are so strong and so brave for dealing with all of this. Let us help you. Let yourself hurt without feeling guilty.”
He couldn’t stop the tears then. They came in fast rivers down his cheeks and it was like his breath was snatched from his lungs. He hated crying, hated it so much but he let it happen. His body sagging into Shiro’s arms hand clutching at Keith’s hand.
Blue nudging her face into his belly and letting out soft comforting whines. “I love you guys,” he whispered. It felt selfish of him to say that, they could do so much better without him, but he needed them to know his feelings.
“And we love you,” Shiro said.
“With everything in us,” Keith added. “We’d do anything for you.”
They stayed like that for at least an hour. Lance drawing as much strength from the three of them as he could. Maybe things would end up being ok.
A knock at the door had the three pulling about just enough so they could focus on their visitor. The door opened and Kolivan stepped in, his face an impassive mask.
“Lance,” he said, “how are you feeling?”
“Drained.”
Kolivan smiled at the honest answer. “I understand, we’re going to get you out of here as soon as possible.” He pulled a second chair around so he was facing Lance. “Ok, I’m going to show you a picture, I need you to tell me if this is the man that hurt you.” When Lance nodded, Kolivan handed over the image.
Lance’s breath caught in his throat, heart pounding and eyes blurring. “It’s hi-him.” His voice cracked as his hands started shaking. “T-that’s M-Ma-Master.”
Blue whined and reared up so she could lick his face in an effort to calm him but it wasn’t working.
Seeing Sendek in his dreams and drawing him on paper was one thing, but the high res full-color photo in his hand scared him so much more then he thought it would. He felt his breath coming in quick pants, his head becoming light, his vision graying.
Obay, run, hide,
obey.
“Lance, Lance,
Lance!
”
He blinked and found himself held securely in Shiro’s arms. Keith was there in front of him, face full of worry as he ran a hand through Lance’s hair. “You’re ok, you’re safe.”
“I-I-I…”
“Shh, deep breaths.” Shiro pressed his lips to Lance’s forehead. “Keith, get him some water.”
Keith reluctantly went to the water cooler the captain kept in his office and helped Lance take slow sips. “Easy, we don’t want you to choke.”
It took him ten minutes to calm down enough so he could breathe normally. He peered over at Kolivin who stood and watched him with worried eyes. “S-sorry.”
“No,” the detective said, “I am sorry. I should have anticipated this could have happened. Are you alright?”
“I...I think so.” He rested his head against Shiro’s chest. Blue settled in front of them, her nose pressing into Lance’s hand until he started petting her again. He used the repetitive motion to ground himself to reality.
“Who is that man, Uncle Kolivan?” Keith asked.
Kolivan picked the image up off the ground and looked at it for a moment. “His name was Special Agent Jonathan Sendak of the FBI.”
The news brought with it a chilling silence that had Lance’s heart racing once more. “F-FBI?”
“
Former
FBI agent.” Kolivan took his seat again. “Reports were that he died in the line of duty ten years ago, a body was never found as it was during that bombing at a church, a lot of terrorist activity at the time. It was assumed that it had been burnt up in the explosion.”
“So this guy faked his death and became a crime lord?” Keith asked.
Kolivan nodded. “It would appear so. He was under investigation before his death, so it’s believed he knew he was going to be taken down so he disappeared instead.”
Lance took several deep calming breaths through his nose. “So...he’s powerful.”
“Yes, Lance, you cannot stay in your home any longer. I believe it is best for you to enter the Witness Protection Program.”
“No,” Lance said.
“Lance—”
“No! I-I won’t hide!” He surprised himself with how sure he sounded. “He’s taken so much, I can’t let him take who I am away too.”
“Is there anything else we can do? Maybe go on a vacation for a short time,” Shiro asked.
Kolivan’s frown deepened. “We can put a protection detail on you, however, that does not guarantee your safety. It is unclear just how much power Sendek holds and his contacts. Based one what Lance has given us, we know he is very well connected.”
Lance took deep breaths to stop his racing heart. “I...I can’t hide. I won’t hide.”
“We can go stay with my mother,” Keith said. “She wouldn’t mind, and she adores Lance. Or, she can come to stay with us, we’ve got the spare room.”
Lance frowned. Did she? Would she still like him after everything? It had been a very long time since he saw her.
“Your mother is a busy woman,” Kolivan said.
Keith raised his eyebrow at his uncle.
The detective sighed. “But, knowing her, she’d put any project of hers on hold for you three.”
Krolia being an FBI agent herself would be there in an instant. Her ranking was high enough that she could choose her own missions if she so desired. Hell, she’d probably just put herself on the case. A knock at the door drew all of their attention.
Speak of the devil and she shall appear.
“
Mom
?” Keith asked, eyes wide. He really was not expecting her to just show up here.
Krolia smiled and went over to hug her son. “Hello, honey.”
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“My boss informed me of what had happened and I was put on the case.” She saw Lance cowering in Shiro’s arms and a soft smile came to her lips. “Lance, I am so happy to see you.”
Lance looked at her with wide eyes. “Y...you are?” He’d always like Krolia but he wasn’t sure how she felt about him. They didn’t get to spend much time together because of her job always taking her undercover for months, sometimes years, at a time.
“Of course.” She carefully pulled Lance up from the couch and out of Shiro’s arms and into her own for a hug. “I am so sorry that I could not help you. I used every resource I had at my disposal to save you but I failed.”
After a moment of stunned silence, Lance hugged her back. His arms carefully winding around her and his face pressing into her shoulder. One of the greatest things Lance had missed most, aside from his boyfriends, was his mother’s hugs. Krolia may not have been his mother, her hug reminded Lance of his own.
He let himself sag into her arms, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. “It’s not your fault.”
Krolia stepped back and help him at arm's length. “But it is. Sendek...he’s more to be then just a rogue FBI agent. He was my old partner.”