Title: Future Tense
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #63, Fortune-telling
Rating: PG-13
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: AU, fanon, Murder, character death, shonen-ai

Lance glances at the cards as they lay in a spread before him, and sighs. He shuffles them up, all ten black-backed and edged with silver, into his deck.

Red doesn’t notice, since he’s fast asleep, but Lance’s eyes are glittering suspiciously, and even though dragons can’t cry, it doesn’t mean they can’t feel.

Lance knows that what he’s read in his cards is true, because they’ve never lied to him before, so he leaves the room and casts them again, just to make sure.

They fall, one by one, as he flips them over.

Serebii is the top card. He nods, understanding. Their time has run out…

He flips over the three in the middle, and shudders. Duskull, Banette, and Gengar. If that wasn’t unfortunate enough, when he flips over the last card, MissingNo’s beady gaze stares at him.

Lance sighs, and when Red makes up, feeds him hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.

Red is surprised, but he accepts it without question, and it’s not until he finishes drinking it all that he realizes what’s happened.

“I’m sorry.” Lance tells him, but it’s better then a slow death, and Red understands.

“You cast the cards for me, didn’t you? I can’t see my own future, but…”

“Yes.”

“It’s all right. I forgive you.” He says, and then he closes his eyes. Lance kisses him one more time, and waits.

It does not take long, before Red is fast asleep, and then Lance feels his own body responding, before the colors glitter around them, golden-yellow and ice blue, and he sighs, knowing he has done the right thing.

End Fic

Completed 8/24/06

Yes, Lance tells the future… the cards used in this fic are the pokemon cards used in Card Captor Ashura and all the fics that follow it…

Red: *Cries*

Lance: So we both died? At least we’re together in death, ne?
Phantomness: Ee.