Title: Insomniacs Anonymous
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #37, Arousals
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, Drug usage (But the legal kind, and by that I mean prescription medicine), potential insanity, shonen-ai, dubious consent

When Red starts taking medication, he can’t sleep at night. They don’t tell anyone, because the League doesn’t want to lose face and admit that life as Champion or an Elite Four member is too difficult to handle without being drugged to the eyeballs. And since the public hasn’t figured it out yet… no one has to know.

He wanders the hallways, and comes across Lance one night. The Dragon Maser is sitting on the edge of his balcony, and it’s almost luck that Red picks him out since with his dark clothing, he really blends into the night sky.

Lance notices him though, and frowns.

“Are you all right?”

“I can’t sleep.” Red confesses. “It’s like the ‘sleep’ switch in my brain is permanently stuck in the ‘off’ position.”

“It should wear off after a few weeks.” Lance said practically. “I wouldn’t advise taking sleeping pills though.”

Red sighs. “How do you deal with it?”

“Me?” Lance grins. “I don’t sleep at all. I’d rather not wind up medicated to the point of death.”

That sounds funny for some reason, maybe it’s the strange high the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors have caused in his brain, but he giggles.

Lance gives him a strange look.

“So that’s your stress relief?” Red prods.

Yes, apparently whatever he’s chugging down with breakfast every day is supposed to help him deal with stress. The psychiatrist reasoned that it would ‘shield’ his brain from the more damaging effects, but really…

If it’s making him crazy, maybe he should stop!

But he can’t stop himself, and he’s crazy enough to throw his arms around Lance’s waist, which is precarious since Lance is sitting on a balcony.

Lance grips his shoulders tightly to avoid falling off, what with the extra weight in his lap, and Red hisses slightly, but the pain doesn’t snap his mind back to normal any more than banging his head against the wall would.

Then Lance leans forwards then, and kisses him.

The kiss is really nice, and Red melts, which can’t be good since they’re still on a balcony and it’s a pretty long drop if they fall, plus he’s the one on the ground and what if Lance falls and pulls him over? But Lance must have taken acrobatics sometime in his life because he looks fine perched on the edge of a precipice.

The rational part of Red’s mind thinks that this situation is hilariously funny and they’re all going to die. Unfortunately, that part is only an observer and not an actor right now, and as Lance kisses him again and starts undoing the buttons on his pajama top, he doesn’t care about stopping him, and giggles again.

End Fic

Completed 9/10/06

Written in a fit of sleepless insomnia caused by anti-depressant medication. Oh, the irony. Gah, I can’t spell! But seriously, I was planning on smut. Still, the first definition of arousal in the dictionary is for ‘To awaken as if from sleep’ and I’m like… yeah, that fits.