Title: Relatively Speaking
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #88, Enjoy
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Warnings: Shonen-ai, rape, one-sided Potentialshipping (Bruno x Lance), fanon, character death,

Lance wears gold hairpins in his hair; bobby pins that are hard to see since his hair is red and streaked with gold, though the gold streaks are probably fake Bruno thinks. Bruno doesn’t know why he watches him. He does not, positively does not like Lance, that arrogant pretty boy with strange-colored eyes. Just because Lance is the Leader of the Elite Four – pah! There was no way his fighting-types could have defeated Agatha’s ghosts, and he’s proud of himself for getting as far as he did.

Bruno is not going to kiss ass like Lorelei and Agatha are doing, sucking up to Lance and the bastard seems to enjoy it too. Still, there is something Lance is good for, and as the Dragon Master’s eyes glaze over, the flunitrazepam kicking in, Bruno reaches for his pants with a leer.

Bruno isn’t gay, he isn’t, Lance is a prissy girly-boy anyways so it doesn’t matter, and he grunts contentedly as he thrusts inside. Lance’s eyes stare up at him, glazed, glassy gold, but he’s not caring. He comes hard, grins, and does it again.

He’s helping the bitch, making him a man! Lance will thank him when it’s over, and if he gets a lot of pleasure out of it, well, that’s only biological, isn’t it?

It’s a bit different when it’s all over.

Lance doesn’t look at him once it’s over, and Bruno thinks maybe he shouldn’t have slapped him to keep him from screaming when the drug wore off. But what else was he supposed to do? There are bruises marring his pale skin but they’ll fade soon. Besides, it wasn’t as if Lance was a virgin or anything.

Lance walks down the hall to his room, closes the door behind him quietly, and sighs. The person waiting on the bed sits up, with a frown on his face.

“It finally happened, didn’t it?” He asks.

“You are quite perceptive.”

“Having memories helps.” Red shrugs. “I…”

“I know.” Lance says. “But it’s not worth it.”

“What do you mean? I ought to kill him for what he did!” Red fumes. “… Did you enjoy it?” He asks a second later, oddly timid.

“Of course not. I was out for most of it – at least that was merciful.” Lance sighs.

Red looks at him for a minute, before he flings his arms around Lance’s neck and kisses him. Lance smiles, because he can tell from this action that Red doesn’t blame him.

“I still love you.” Red murmurs.

“I know.” Lance replies.

“But you can’t live like this, can you? You’ll shatter, and it’ll happen quickly if I let it.” Red frowns. “I don’t want you to have to go through that.”

“Red…”

“I am being nice because I love you!”

Lance chuckles, reaches up and ruffles Red’s hair in a tired sort of way. “You’ve grown up.”

“Yes, isn’t it much more convenient this way?” Red smirks. “It’s so much easier to love someone who you know loves you back.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Absolutely.” Red agrees. “Which cabinet?”

“Right one, blue bottle, red-gold liquid inside.” Lance frowns.

Red nods, and comes back. He watches as Lance drinks, his eyes burning like ruby flame. It’s mercifully quiet, and Red strokes Lance’s hair, as he listens to his breathing slow, before finally stopping. There’s something vindictively satisfying, because now, humanity will never have the Sacred Sword. They don’t deserve it anyway, they’re all greedy, grasping, mauling bastards like Bruno.

Now that he can remember, see the dirt and sickening side of humanity, see the countless sacrifices made that they never appreciated, well; he’s not feeling kindly towards them at all.

Gold flashes in his eyes for a moment, as the Scales tip in his mind, and he stands, placing one last kiss on Lance’s lips.

It will be all right.

Now he’ll just leave Bruno as the scapegoat, and that night, the news is all over, how humanity’s last hope is gone because Bruno is a dirty, thieving rapist. It rather makes him laugh to watch as the garrote swings.

He’ll not have much to rule over, to guard, as the last of the three guardians, and it will be lonely till he dies, but it’s all right because eventually, he’ll join Lance and Charlotte, and it’s not hard to balance – they’ve done it much longer than he.

Maybe he’s finally starting to repay the debt he owes.

Now, Red thinks, he knows that to love truly sometimes, means to let go.

End Fic

Completed 6/30/07

I just really, really hate Bruno, and someday I will write a series where Red can remember all his memories of lives as Ash with the triple guardianship and stuff… and the Sacred Sword and Shield of course!

Flunitrazepam is a date rape drug that can cause retrograde amnesia… wow, Wikipedia is useful, and so is ChemFinder! ^^ I guess that those Organic chemistry classes came in handy, ne? ^^

And I’ve decided that if Lance chooses to die without the Sword, it won’t manifest, even if they dismember his corpse and try to get it that way… eew…