Chapter Text
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Lance is fuming. Literally what is happening right now. The security guard at the stage door is speaking in a frustratingly calm tone, his hands by his sides. Detached from the huge ‘but why’ bubbling up inside Lance. He knows it’s not their fault and he knows it’s not really something he can change but ugh. Marmora are literally his favourite band ever and he put all his holiday hours into today for a second day off this week so he could camp out beforehand and now he’s being told the show’s cancelled. And he’s the only one here to hear the news. He would have been in the front fucking row!
“Sir, I understand how annoying this is but it can’t be helped.”
“I know,” Lance replies, almost to himself, hand flying through his hair. He tries to calm the rush of frustration that hits him. “Do you know why? Can you give me a reason?”
The man shrugs. “All I got told was that there was a family emergency with the lead singer. Sorry, man.”
“It’s… it’s fine,” Lance says finally, sighing deeply. “Thanks.”
It takes him several minutes to pack up his folding chair and blanket and he watches mournfully as one of the venue’s workers removes the Marmora sign from the front, replacing it with a banner reading: ‘tonight’s show cancelled. refunds available online and in the box office’. The box office isn’t even open at eight in the morning, Lance realises. He’s going to have to come back and come to terms with the fact he’s not going to see Marmora for at least another year or two. All the other shows on this tour are sold out and he can’t exactly afford to fly out to Europe and go to a show there. Plus, it’s not the same as seeing the band you love in your hometown.
A buzzing in his pocket catches his attention and he slides it open without even looking at the name.
“Hello?”
“Lance,” Allura says, her voice filtering across the line smoothly. “I just heard about your show from one of the other doctors. Her daughter's a massive fan.”
“Yeah,” Lance says, sighing again as he starts to move towards the train station. “I know. Apparently Keith had a family emergency so they had to call it off.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Same. I’m not gonna be able to take a day off for months.”
“Actually…” There’s the sound of movement on Allura’s end and Lance hears the muffled sound of conversation. “We were wondering if you would be able to come back in. We kind of need you here.”
Lance picks up on the urgency in Allura’s tone and immediately begins to walk faster. “What’s the problem?”
“Car accident,” Allura explains, her doctor voice slipping through, “It’s really bad. He’s going to need an amputation for sure. There’s a lot of blood loss, too. I could really use a hand with him.”
“Who’s with the patient now?”
“Coran’s doing the best he can to put him under so we can start the operation but to be honest with you, I really need my best nurse in with me. I know you had the day off but I promise I will do everything in my power to get you those holiday hours back if you can get here.”
Lance knew as soon as she mentioned surgery that he was going to take the offer. He races down the stairs to the subway platform.
“I can be there in ten minutes, how’s that?”
“That’s perfect.” Allura’s voice is full of relief. “Thank you, Lance.”
“No problem.”
The train pulls up and Lance, clinging for dear life to his chair, practically dives in and prepares himself for what he knows is going to be a very hard day. What a morning!
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Lance's stomach turns as he enters the operating room, blue gloves clinging to his hands and his scrubs loose on his body. The smell of blood is everywhere. Though he knows what he signed up for when he trained to be a nurse, he sometimes wonders how he gets through it. Allura is already set up and he watches her shoulders fall with relief when she spots him.
“You are my favourite nurse, Lance, I hope you know that.” She points at the patient on the table. “They’ve just given him anaesthetic so he’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
Lance risks a glance at the right arm of the patient and grimaces. The skin tissue is all over the place and Lance can see bone. It’s a crushed limb which definitely qualifies for amputation.
“Poor guy,” he says to Allura. “Does he know what’s happening? Or can we expect a lot of panic when he comes to.”
“He knows,” Allura confirms, “And I’m honestly not sure it’s his own panic we need to worry about in comparison to his brother.”
“Brother?”
“Emergency contact,” Allura explains, shrugging as she readies her needle. Lance knows she’ll be starting soon. He tugs up his mask. “He rushed in here, makeup half done in one of the worst frenzies I’ve seen. I don’t think either of them are from here, they must be on a trip together.”
Yeesh, this guy must really be going mad if he’s made it to Allura’s top ten list of panicked relations to patients seeing as how she’s operated on so many people. Lance isn’t looking forward to the aftermath of this.
Allura glances at the clock on the wall.
“Time to begin.”
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Lance has a seat in the staff room. He only has so long before he needs to fetch the patient’s brother from the waiting room─Allura said to give her ten minutes to have the patient moved to a private ward─and he relishes in the break.
He loves his line of work, he really does but it can really take a toll on him. He pours himself a cup of water and takes small sips. Some of the water drips onto his soiled scrubs which Lance completely forgot to change. He groans and heads to the changing room.
Once he’s cleaned, donning new scrubs, Lance follows Allura’s previous instructions and winds through the corridors to the hospital’s second waiting room. The doctor had dismissed his questions as to why this particular family member couldn’t wait in the normal waiting room with everyone else but Allura had only mumbled something about ‘too much attention’ and ‘panic’. Lance decided he would figure it out soon enough.
He opens the door and comes to a complete stand still in the doorway. No way. No fucking way.
Keith Kogane’s head whips up at the sound of the door unlatching and his eyes widen. Keith Kogane, lead singer of Marmora, global heartthrob and the longest lasting celebrity crush Lance has ever had.
That would explain the different waiting room. And the fact he’s not from around here. His brother must be accompanying him on tour.
“Is Shiro okay?” Keith asks, eyebrows pinched.
Lance blinks, still starstruck. “Who’s Shiro?”
Keith gapes at him. As Allura said, only one of his eyes has any eyeliner circled around it. His signature, dark mullet is tied up in a messy ponytail, the too-long bangs falling to his thick eyebrows.
“Shiro! My brother who’s arm you just cut off!”
Lance winces at the blunt delivery and at his own out-of-it behaviour. He’s working, it’s time to be professional. He can freak out about it later.
“Yes, of course, sorry. His full name is the one on his medical sheet. And he’s fine.” He points to himself. “I’m Nurse McClain, by the way. I’m the one who’ll look after him post surgery.”
“Right.” Keith’s shoulders slump and Lance’s heart aches, realising how stressful the past few hours would have been for him.
“Come on, follow me.” Lance gestures to the door and Keith stands immediately. He’s slightly shorter than Lance which stumps him only for a moment. He must just seem taller in Marmora’s promotional posters.
Lance leads him back through the corridors to the ward number Allura gave him. He spots her as he opens the door and has to jump backwards as Keith barrels in through the door.
“Is everything okay? Is he going to be okay?”
“Mr Shirogane─”
“Kogane,” Keith interrupts.
Allura narrows her eyes. “I’m sorry?”
“We’re not biological brothers. So I’m Kogane. Keith. Keith Kogane.”
Allura nods and continues to explain to him about Shiro. Meanwhile, Lance suppresses the fireworks sparking in his chest. Keith Kogane is at his work. He spoke to Lance. His shoulder brushed Lance’s own when he raced to see his brother. For someone so renowned for being a rebellious and indifferent rockstar, he sure seems to care a lot about the people who matter. Lance’s heart thumps behind his rib cage.
What. The. Fuck.
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