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"Blue!" Allura called over the crowd, calling Lance over from a table of women that were having a hens night. The bride to be was bi, but tonight in particular she wanted a male dancer. Since she was marrying a woman and her friends insisted it would be her 'last opportunity' to get all up close and personal with the male anatomy. They had been fun ladies, respectful, excited and tipped nicely.
He jumped over, thankful that tonight was one of the nights he decided to wear joggers over the top of his shorts and a low cut tank top with a SnapBack. Keith called this look 'The Fuck-boy'. The Fuck-Boy was far more comfortable than his heels and thongs. He didn't wear The Fuck-Boy as often anymore. His regular customers tended to appreciate him more in the more feminine outfits.
"Queen Bee, what's up?" He asked, leaning over the bar top, ignoring the eyes of a man next to him at the bar who was staring at him closely. He was used to getting it in this place by now.
"You've been requested for a private."
The two things that got you the most money in this business were solo dances on stage and private dances. Private dances in particular were easy to rack up quite an amount.
"Sweet. Requests?"
The reasons why privates could easily afford his rent was because there were a few factors that could make the price higher.
Time was one. Time was money. Usually paid by the song, the more songs you dance for, the more money it costs.
The other was individual requests.
There were certain requests that didn't cost any more money. Whether you wanted a lap dance or just to have a private moment watching the dancer swing on the pole. Maybe both.
What tended to be more expensive was more specific requests. Maybe the type of clothing or the fulfillment of some sort of dirty fantasy. Requests were pricey, so they typically weren't that many going around from younger customers (unless they were blowing their parents money, or were celebrating a special occasion). The ones that tended to ask for requests were older guests.
"Just one," Allura said. "The guy wants you to wear the same outfit you wore last weekend. The red one."
Lance groaned. Changing clothes was always such a hassle.
"You won't be complaining when you hear how much he's paying. He's willing to pay $200 just for the request."
"Well shit, say no more."
Far as requests go, $200 was fucking amazing. With that extra cash maybe he could take Keith somewhere nice for dinner. They were both college students, so luxuries like that didn't always come easy.
Maybe if he could impress this rich dude enough, he would earn a few more songs than just one or two.
"You have 10 minutes to get changed. Oh, and Blue," she stopped, giving him soft eyes. "As always, be careful."
Lance smiled with a scoff. "As always, I will be. Besides, if anything were to happen, Kolivan or one of the guards is right outside the door if I need them. You are the one that hired them, didn't you? Have some faith in your security," he said with the twinkle of a smile before turning around and walking off to the change rooms.
* * *
Not even 10 minutes after entering the private dance room Lance was exiting. Exiting probably sounded too comfortable. Lance stormed out of the room, forehead sore and sides stinging.
The way he swung the door open had Kolivan's attention, body stiffening.
"Are you al–"
"Get him," Lance seethed, pointing towards the room he'd left, "-the fuck out of here."
The huge man looked at his frazzled state and didn't hesitate before storming into the room, probably to find the man clutching his face from where Lance head-butted him.
Not feeling obliged to stick around, Lance stalked through the crowds of the club, ignoring anyone trying to catch his eye for his attention.
Head fuzzy with shock, he made his way backstage so he could go to the dressing rooms. He just needed to get away from all the people so he could breathe for a moment. His fingers tingled from the shock his body was going through as he tried to process what the hell just happened.
It really seemed just like any other ordinary dance. Sure, the guy was a little pushy and impatient, but Lance knew how to deal with that. It all went south when he started touching Lance's leg. The man wasn't impressed when Lance reminded him he wasn't allowed to touch on his own accord and had to be his choice.
He gave him that friendly reminder of the rules. A lot of people got caught up in the moment or were just drunk and forgot. He liked to give his customers the benefit of the doubt, but this guy had really taken it too far.
It wasn't even a minute later when the man had his hands back on him. The second time Lance told him to keep his hands off the customer decided to rebel against the rules and grip him tighter.
Shaking his head to get out of the fresh memory, Lance entered the change room. Now with enough light he noticed the bright red finger marks. From the discolouration of where nails had dug in he knew they would turn into nasty bruises later.
"Lance?" Romelle's voice got his attention and pulled his eyes away from his sides. He'd been in such a little bubble he hadn't even realised she was there, fixing her makeup before going back on stage.
She wore a frown that was hesitant as she approached him.
"Are you okay? What happened to your forehead?"
At hearing that, Lance turned to the mirror. Unsurprisingly, there was a bright red mark caused by Lance's attempt to get free himself from his client's grip.
"Umm..." Lance started, not quite sure where to start or what to say. At feeling the sensation of dripping, he looked back down to his sides, which were bleeding now.
Romelle gasped, obviously just noticing the markings and the dribble of blood. "W-what happened? Are those fingermarks? Who did that to you?"
He still felt a little fuzzy. Not quite sure on where to start with his answers or how to answer them. "I was – uh – I was doing a private and..." He stopped there, but it seemed to be enough for Romelle to understand.
She pulled out a chair for him that she had been sitting on and quickly grabbed a blanket from the corner of the room to wrap around his shoulders. "I'm going to go get Allura. You stay right here and I will be back in a second, okay?"
Lance nodded quietly and pulled the blanket closer in on himself for comfort.
Romelle gave him a quick, firm nod before rushing out and leaving him alone with his thoughts and fresh memories.
* * *
Keith woke up startled by the sounds of his phone ringing. He groaned, movements groggy from just waking up. Blindly he reached for his phone in the dark.
Rubbing his eyes he tried to adjust the brightness of the screen, allowing him to focus on who was calling.
Allura.
If he was more alert, he probably would've been instantly concerned by her calling him at this time, but instead he just picked up the call and held his phone to his ear.
"Hello?" His voice was raspy, making it obvious that he had been asleep.
"Sorry to wake you Keith. I was just calling to see if you were available to pick up Lance?"
With a confused frown, Keith looked to his phone, noting the time wasn't even past midnight.
"Doesn't his shift go to 2 am?" He was certain that Lance had told him that his shift was going to be a late one, which was why he wasn't going to be able to stay the night. Lately Lance had been staying over at Keith's apartment more and more.
"Well, yes... It's just there has been an incident at work and I think it would be best for Lance to go home."
That certainly woke Keith right up from his half dazed sleepiness.
"What do you mean something happened? Is he okay?" His brain was already flooded with possibilities. Thoughts instantly filled with the worst, knowing very well how some people treated the strippers. He desperately hoped it was something as simple as tripping over his heels.
"He's... fine." That pause wasn't very comforting. She must've sensed that and continued. "He's a little shaken, but safe. Can you come?"
Keith was already ripping the sheets off his body and throwing a shirt and pants on. "Yeah, I'll be there."
"Thank you," she said, sounding relieved. "I'll see you soon Keith. I'll let the bouncers know to let you in."
"Alright. I'm coming now so I won't be too long," he said, his phone squished in between his ear and his shoulder as he kicked his shoes on without doing his laces.
His laces could fucking wait, Lance needed him.
* * *
Keith ignored the people shouting out at him as he pushed his way through the line outside of Lion's Pride.
Luckily for him, Thace was the bouncer at the door checking IDs. By now he knew Keith by face and name, so when he reached the front of the line he gave him a firm nod to allow him inside without paying the entrance fee.
Inside it was crazy. People and dancers everywhere, with laughter and alcohol spilling. Keith ignored it and walked to the bar to where Romelle was standing. She saw Keith, looked at the woman who she was chatting to and said something that was most likely apologetic for leaving their conversation so suddenly.
She was quick to walk over. If he wasn't so worried he would've once again marvelled at her ability to walk in those ginormous heels.
"Hey Keith."
"Is he okay? What the fuck happened?" He asked, feeling a little guilty for ignoring the pleasantries of hellos. He would apologise to her later when he wasn't so stressed.
"He's okay, just a little in shock I think. As for what happened," she nibbled at her bottom lip. "I don't really know, he just said he was doing a private and this guy wouldn't let him go. He's a little scratched up and bruised. You're going to need to talk to him about it if you want the whole story."
"Right," he said, teeth clenching together to force himself not to snap more questions out in frustration. Romelle didn't deserve it, she hadn't done anything wrong.
He unclenched fists, trying not to look as pissed off as he felt. In reality, he was absolutely furious that someone would do anything that would hurt Lance in any way.
"So is this shit brain still in the club so I can kick his ass?"
Romelle sighed. "No, but we have all his details from his card that he used to pay for the dance. Allura will make sure he gets punished for it."
Well that was a good start. Kinda wished the guy was still here though for him to unleash all his anger on. Fucker would've deserved it too.
Romelle gave him a sympathetic look. "Come on, Lura is with him in the change rooms."
He followed her backstage, ignoring the curious glances from the other dancers.
He'd been out here once before. The same night that Lance stayed over at his apartment for the very first time. The very next morning Keith had asked him to be his boyfriend. He remembered the banter and smiles and a little bit of excitement he had over him staying the night.
He felt none of that now as he entered the room.
Lance was sitting on a chair, heels off. He was still in his outfit, legs bare but wearing a hoodie. His torso was a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. What got Keith's attention though was the pack of ice Allura held to his forehead.
Both of their eyes moved up as Keith and Romelle entered the room. Lance got to his feet as Keith quickly made his way over.
His teeth clenched as he looked at the big bright red mark on Lance's forehead, wet from the ice.
"Are you okay?" Keith asked quickly, cupping his face into his hands, glancing from his eyes to his forehead and back, wondering what the fuck that guy did to him.
"I'm okay," Lance insisted quietly.
"What happened?" He asked softly because he couldn't help it. He needed to know what the hell happened.
"Just a handys client, no biggie I'm okay. Gave him a good headbutt." Lance chuckled the last but Keith wasn't buying the nonchalance act he was playing up.
He had known Lance for less than a year. Which, really, wasn't long at all, and he's not really the greatest when it comes to people and picking up their cues, but he thinks he knows Lance pretty well by now. Knows when he's trying to deflect and use humour to defend from anyone knowing what he's really thinking.
"Lance," he murmured, ignoring the joke and brushing his fingers over Lance's cheek bones that were still glittery. "Are you okay?" He repeated.
Lance looked a little confused, stunned that he was being asked the question again. "Yeah, I just said I was. What are you –"
"I can feel you trembling," he said quietly. Watching the surprise go over Lance's face. His widened eyes slowly went back down to normal but they turned glassy with tears.
Before Keith could even see a tear fall, Lance launched himself at him. Lance collided into his arms, shoving his face into his shoulder.
Keith instantly grabbed him and squeezed them into a tight hug. Lance tried to muffle his sniffles into his jacket. It didn't last long before sniffles turned into crying.
"He– he would let me go when I tried to get up. He wasn't following the rules." He struggled to get the words out between the sobs, but once he started it was like a dam had broken. Everything was flooding out.
"He kept grabbing me and – and pulling me against him so he could--" he spluttered around more tears as he tried to get the words out, but he didn't need to hear more to guess what he was implying.
Keith held on tighter, hand going to his hair to smooth it down, pressing a kiss to his head. Let him feel the emotions and process them.
"He just wouldn't let go. It really fucking scared me." Keith could tell by the way he trembled and the waver in his voice and teeth chattered.
Keith forced his eyes closed, willing himself not to cry along with Lance. It took a lot to get Keith to cry. He was usually one of those people who bottled up everything and then it would explode all at once. Even then, he was more likely just to get angry than cry. But now he's filled with the overwhelming urge because he feels so heartbroken that Lance is hurting. That he had to go through something like that. To know that he was scared.
He let Lance cry it out on his shoulder, murmuring quietly to him, accompanied by soft words. It didn't matter how long they stood there, because at that moment Keith knew that Lance felt safe with him. He wanted nothing more than to provide that for him.
* * *
"Are you awake?" Keith's soft voice came from behind him on the bed.
"Yeah," Lance whispered back, he wasn't quite sure why he was whispering. Maybe it was because Kosmo was sleeping beside him, letting out soft snores as Lance stroked his hand down the dark pelt. He was pretty certain that the dog could sense he was distressed and needed an extra cuddle buddy for the night.
Keith moved behind him. There was a pause, silence feeling like hesitation. "Can I...?"
Lance removed his hand from Kosmo, reaching behind him to grab Keith's hand, pulling it so his arm was around his waist.
"It's going to take a lot more than a handsy creep to stop me from wanting cuddles," he said, smiling a little to himself as he heard and felt Keith chuckle against his back.
"Just checking," he murmured and placed a kiss to the back of his neck. "How's your head?"
"Sore," he admitted. "Kind of got a headache." It wasn't a shock his head hurt, he whacked that guy pretty damn hard. Even then, he was pretty sure that his sides, where the man dug his nails in, hurt more. It was a constant ache and sting, especially when his boyfriend insisted on putting on new bandages and disinfectant.
The sting however was definitely not worse than the horrified expression on Keith's face he tried to school.
"Did you want some painkillers?"
Lance tightened his grip. "Nah, just cuddles. "
"I think I can do that." he moved close enough that Lance could feel his heartbeat against his back. Slow. Steady. Stable.
"Hey Keith," Lance said quietly after a few minutes of allowing his boyfriend's heartbeat to lull him into comfort. Keith hummed, obviously a little too tired to respond with words. "Thank you, for tonight. I really needed you."
It wasn't even just tonight, overall these past months that they've been dating Lance has never felt so secure, so stable and content. He's never felt so... well... loved.
In thinking that, he doesn't actually know if Keith is in love with him or not. Honestly though, for the first time in his dating history Lance doesn't really care if Keith loves him just yet.
Usually Lance is the type to rush in. He falls hard and fast and doesn't hesitate to say those words. But it had left him feeling heartbroken and betrayed when the person couldn't reciprocate it on more than one occasion.
But right now he really doesn't mind, because he knows if they keep going the way they are, Keith will fall in love with him, because he already cared so much.
He cared and that is all that's really needed at the moment.
"I'm glad that I was actually helpful, comforting people isn't really my... strong suit."
Lance wriggled backwards, further into Keith's warmth. "I think you're doing a great job."
Maybe, maybe one day those words would fly freely. But for now he was happy where he was. Where they were. And where they were was together, cuddled in bed with Kosmo and comfortable.
One day. Some day.