#msa lance

The first few years had been rough, don't get him wrong. He had to first work his way into the good graces of the old man who was already there to bolster his savings so that maybe one day he could actually own the shop himself (and picked up a few well paying hobbies on the side as a bonus). He had also had to take family emergency calls for his siblings, drawing him the hour and a bit back to his hometown to get his brother and sisters to the hospital or to his tiny apartment he had managed to talk his boss into letting him rent above the shop. Then, before he had even had time to blink, two decades had passed, he had gained the respect of the old man who owned the shop, his brother was a father of an adorable bouncing boy, and Lance was set to inherit said shop by the end of the year when the old man retired.

His brother wasn't perfect of course. While Lance knew that he and his siblings had all been scarred by the faults of their parents and each of them had picked up different coping mechanisms to deal with that, unfortunately some were healthier than others. While his brother had never, ever laid a hand on their sisters or his wife or, Lance couldn't stand to think contrary, his son, Lance could see how those poisonous words that had spewed from their parents had wound their way around his brother's heart and rooted deeply. So it was to no surprise that after his brother and their family had settled in Tempo a year after he had inherited the shop, he began noticing the signs he had never wanted to see in his young nephew. Never physical of course, never that, but the hair trigger responses, the skittishness around Lance's brother in particular, the denigrating comments that slipped from his nephew's parents’ mouths, the silence… So Lance did what he had always done best, and got his sweet nephew Arthur out of the house and into a safe environment at the shop as often as he could make excuses for under the guise of “babysitting”. And it worked, about as well as could be hoped. Arthur at least no longer seemed to be getting worse, and once he began school seemed to flourish under the watchful eyes of a new friend in the Pepper’s new boy and impersonal teachers alike. 

Then Lance got the call.

An accident, they said. It was instant, they said.

And suddenly Lance was now the guardian of his nephew, as he was the closest living relative Arthur had. Arthur was devastated, but Lance found he could barely find the sorrow he had been expecting to find in the aftermath. Instead he found a sorrow for the little boy he remembered saving from their parents all those years ago, and mourning the man he could have been had circumstances been different. About the only positive that could be found really, was that all those years having Arthur live part time at the shop with him made the transition to being Arthur's full time guardian that much easier. Arthur himself seemed to eventually move on as he got older, realizing his treatment by his parents wasn't as normal as he had always believed, though Lance always worried that Arthur would never be able to also see that he had never deserved the words he had been told by them either.

Once again time passed, and Lance grew ever more proud of his little boy. Arthur flourished in the shop beyond even Lance's wildest expectations, and he even found a second friend who stuck to him like glue. The trio spent equal time around the shop as they did at Pepper Paradiso and the Yukino's, sticking together even after the girlie graduated high school and started working at that one bookstore in town. They seemed inseparable, and it didn't surprise Lance in the slightest when Arthur began making comments about fixing up the old junker out back to use for mystery solving with Lewis and that Yukino girl. Lance understood, probably more than Arthur realized, about young men with dreams and ambitions, so he offered Arthur an official role at Kingsmen Mechanics at the tender age of 16, to start saving up for those dreams of his. Arthur accepted after more hemming and hawing than Lance thought was warranted, and nothing really changed other than Arthur was now able to be legally employed part time at the shop. He saved his money, and again to Lance's lack of surprise, Arthur used said money at 19 to buy the junker from the yard and spent the next year slowly fixing her up. He worked diligently both in the shop and outside it, becoming one of the best mechanics that Lance had ever seen, and he only wished he could have saved enough money to send Arthur to a trade school or even an engineering school so his talent wasn't wasted on such a small town mechanics shop. But Lance wasn't one to dwell on could haves, and knew that even had he had the money Arthur never would have left his friends nor uncle to chase a “dream” that had never been his. Instead, he molded his dream around his friends and strove to help Vivi achieve her dreams (which meant it was Lewis’s dream too, as even Lance could see the writing on the wall between the two of them).

Then at the ripe old age of 20, his darling boy set off into the desert with his friends to chase ghosts and ghouls and goblins. Lance didn't really understand, but like any parent (even if he wasn't actually Arthur's) Lance was just happy Arthur had found something he enjoyed and was beginning to fly on his own. He heard on the road that the Pepper boy and the Yukino girl got together, and read between the lines what Arthur couldn't, would never admit. He wished he could fix it, but he knew that Arthur would have to learn on his own how to fix a broken heart until he returned. Till then, Lance did his best to keep regular contact with Arthur, calling once a week, then once a month as the three continued their journey and Arthur assured him things were back to looking up.

And then he got the call.

It was an accident, she said. He’s alive but hurt, she said.

And Lance felt his heart restart for just long enough to get to the hospital.

His brother and sister-in-law had been in the morgue of the hospital, waiting for the family to identify the bodies. For all that it felt like eternity getting brought in at the time, thinking back to the whole process, it had been a blur that passed in the blink of an eye, no time at all spent between walking through the hospital doors and finding himself standing in front of his brother’s body. Even at the funeral, it hadn’t quite felt real, but in the nights that followed where his brother never came back for Arthur, it finally hit home that his little brother was gone and never coming back.

But this time, the hospital doors were an eternity, the walk to where Vivi was sitting was an infinity, and Arthur would be coming home if Lance had anything to say about it. 

-

His boy is still in the ICU when he arrived, a distressed and shell-shocked Vivi sitting in the waiting room with her dog nuzzling her on her lap and staring through the closed doors to where doctors and nurses are surely running around. He can tell he’s not going to get much out of her, so he flagged the nurse behind the counter for updates only to be told Arthur would probably live, but he was still in surgery and wouldn’t be available for updates for several more hours. So Lance dropped himself in the chair next to Arthur’s friend and her dog, and he can’t help but wonder what happened to Lewis since he wasn’t in the waiting room. Especially since last he had heard from Arthur, the lad was still attached at the hip with Vivi and would never dream of leaving her alone for more than a moment unless something happened to him. Which… shit, did something happen to Lewis? The Peppers weren’t here, so surely not…

“Vivi, girlie.” Vivi kept staring despondently at the doors, though her dog seemed aware of Lance. “Vivi, you with me?” He held off snapping his fingers by her head, and instead tried to wave a hand between her and the door she was staring at with such intent. When not even that seemed to work, her dog gently tugged at an arm which seemed to startle her out of her daze.

“Mys-try?” Vivi muttered, blinking as if trying to climb out of a pit her mind had fallen into.

“Vivi, you back?” Lance called out, and Vivi’s head whipped over to look at him in shock.

“Wait, Lance? When did you get here? I thought-” She stopped herself, and went looking for something in her bag. After a moment she pulled out her phone and opened it before the look from before crept over her face. After another moment of staring blankly at the phone, which Lance noted had a picture of Lewis and Arthur smiling at the camera, Mystery barked and she shuddered before closing the phone again. “I- I’m sorry Lance, I don’t. I don’t quite remember what I was checking.” She gave him a wan smile, and he felt the beginnings of dread settle in the pit of his gut. Then she blinked and asked again, “Wait, wait, wait, Lance? When did you get here? I didn’t think anyone had been called yet.”

Lance knew he physically couldn’t look as confused as he felt in that moment. “Wha‘d’ya mean girlie? Ye called me all in a tizzy ‘bout an hour ago ta lemme know ‘bout Arthur. Though…” he paused, unsure if it was a wise decision to bring up anything she hadn’t brought up herself at this moment in time. But if something had happened to Lewis, Vivi was in no shape to let them know, and they needed to know sooner than later if possible. “Vivi.” He looked directly into her eyes, which were still a little distant. “I need ta know. Where is Lewis righ’ now?”

Vivi looked confused for a moment before groaning in pain as she reached towards her head.

“Vivi?!” Lance exclaimed, while Mystery whined and nuzzled under her chin.

Vivi waved them both off. “Sorry Lance, I’ve had this migraine randomly hitting me with waves at random since I found Arthur. You were saying?”

“Hmm.” Lance debated internally if it would be worth risking whatever that reaction was again on the off chance she did recall anything or not.

“Lance?”

Lance sighed. She obviously wasn’t in any shape to be answering questions right now, so he would wait to ask about Lewis when she was less likely to fall apart. Plus, maybe Lewis had left for the bathroom or pick up something to eat for the two of them since he had probably guessed that Lance would be around to look after Vivi fairly soon. “It’s nothin’. So wha’ happened that brought y’all here then?”

This time Vivi seemed to hear him, and her face clouded with confusion and distress. “I. I-I really don’t know Lance. All I remember was standing near the mouth of a cave with Mystery pulling me inside while I could hear someone screaming further in. It- I don’t- Th-there w-a-as s-s-s-s-so much blood a-a-and-!”

Lance pulled her into a hug, which she proceeded to wail into. It was heartbreaking to listen to, and he did the only thing he knew how to do from the few times Arthur had needed the overt re-assurance, which was hold on tight and pat her back gently. Still no mention of where Lewis was in all of this, and Lance hoped for Lewis’s sake that all the blood mentioned was from Arthur. (For his boy’s sake he selfishly hoped that it was Lewis’s, and she had blocked out something too horrible for words. But his boy was in the ICU so there was still a chance for Lewis.) So he murmured sweet nothings into her ears, and gently rocked her as he felt reality around him crumble. Arthur wasn’t here. Arthur wasn’t here and he wouldn’t be for a long time, and that hurt. He didn’t even know yet how Arthur was hurt, just that whatever it was was so terrible that even the doctors weren’t completely sure if he would make it till morning. He choked down a wet breath of his own, and focused just on one of his kiddos for now. He could let the Peppers know about Lewis once he actually had something more concrete than a forgetful girlfriend and a dying hurting best friend.

-

“Family of Arthur Kingsmen?”

It’d been 4 hours of waiting for news before the phrase Lance had been hoping/fearing to hear is finally called into the quiet waiting room. He levered himself out of the passably comfortable chair that had been his for the last subjective forever, and didn’t even need to turn to see Vivi frantically scrambling out of her chair and rushing up to the startled nurse.

“How is he, is he okay? Is he in a room now? Can we see him?” Vivi begged, the harried nurse looking somewhat put out at the sudden closeness.

Lance had pity on the nurse and set a solid hand against Vivi’s shoulder. She immediately backed down and the nurse looked relieved.

“In order, he is out of the woods and we have moved him to a room. He also is allowed visitors, but only one at a time, and we request that specifically only family members or spouses are to see him till at least tomorrow.” Vivi wilted, but Lance decided a white lie and some patience never hurt anyone.

“I can vouch for her,” he replied. “She’s as good as family and was the one who found ‘im. If she wants in first, she can go.” The nurse looked somewhat vexed, but nodded in acquiescence.

“Alright, miss if you would to follow me? I ask that both of you keep your visits short today, as Mr. Kingsmen isn’t lucid yet.” They both nodded, and Vivi followed after the nurse while Mystery followed Lance back to the waiting room chairs. He gave Mystery a side eye once they were sat down. He had always thought that Mystery was an intelligent dog, and he figured that the dog would be willing to put up with a bit more conversation after 4 hours of near silence.

“I dunno what happened today, but I have a feelin’ that ya did your best regardless.” The dog cringed into the chair, and while Lance found that rather telling, he decided even dogs could be stupid like his nephew sometimes. “Ya’re a good boy, and I’d like ta think ya kept mah boy safe as ye could.” He placed his hand on Mystery’s nape and gently scratched around the base of the dog’s ears, despite being laid flat. “So none’ve that feelin’ inadequate now, y’hear? Regardless ‘f wha’ I find up there, Arthur’s alive t’ tell tha tale.” He left it at that, though it still took the entire half hour till Vivi returned for the dog’s ears to finally raise from his skull.

Once Mystery had been settled with a teary Vivi, the nurse guided him up to Arthur’s room.

-

Lance was not ashamed to admit that he punched a mortician’s assistant a day after he had identified his brother’s body. To be clear, the assistant had flippantly asked if he preferred his brother Hector with his arms crossed or arms hidden by the casket, as that would change the cost of preparing the body for the wake. When Lance asked why, he was further informed that at some point in the crash and subsequent rescue efforts, Hector’s left hand had been severed and then summarily recovered. This had given Lance the thoroughly unpleasant thought of what his baby brother’s hand must have looked like, ring and all, and instinctively punched the prick in his smarmy face because why should it be his job to decide how his brother looked in a casket? That should have been Elaine’s or Arthur’s or no one’s job, because his brother shouldn’t be about to go 6 ft under to rot.

Needless to say that a different mortician’s assistant was called who was far better at his job, and calmly walked Lance through the same options in a way that managed to not make him want to suplex something. He decided to go with a cheaper option and never asked what happened to his brother’s hand or the wedding ring that went with it.

-

Arthur’s body was pale as the sheets he was laid upon, chest rising and falling arrhythmically after Vivi’s visit and eyes at half mast, and for a moment Lance wasn’t even sure why he had been in the ICU. Then he finally noticed the bundle of white wrappings that ended right at his boy’s shoulder and Lance felt his world teeter on the brink once again, a flash of a hand with a ring lingering at the back of his mind.

“Oh Arthur,” he moaned, the agony of seeing his son nephew with such a debilitating injury an almost physical reaction.

“U-uncle La-nce?” Arthur croaked, lidded eyes searching the room slowly, trying to identify Lance through all the drugs in his system. 

Lance rushed over and carefully gathered Arthur up into his arms as best as he could amongst all of the wires and lines attached to his boy. “I’m here Artie, I’m here. It’ll be okay.” Thank the heavens, he was alive.

Arthur’s face did something complicated, while his remaining arm wrapped around Lance’s torso. He seemed to realize something went wrong and looked down at his wrapped shoulder, and his eyes slowly filled with tears of horror and confusion. “W-w-w-w-what, h-ap-ap… happened-ed t-t-t-to m-m-my arm?!” Arthur turned his eyes back towards Lance, and Lance desperately wished he had the answers.

“I dunno Artie, I really, really don’ know.” He kept holding onto him, desperate to impart some kind of solace to his nephew, knowing that would be impossible for now. They had a long road ahead of them, and while he knew it was possible to adjust, in this moment he just focused on the fact his son nephew was alive. Everything else could come later. “We’ll be okay though. You’ll get there.”

-

And in the days, and weeks, and months that followed, Lance found that just like after that first fateful call, Arthur did eventually get back up on his feet.