Title: Finding Lance
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #43, Wait for You
Rating: PG
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, Shonen-ai

I’ll wait for you to find me. Always…

When the Champion of the Johto League disappears, there is usually some strange wind that blows up, and people everywhere will gossip about it, and search parties will be sent out, but as long and hard as they search, they still have no idea where he has gone.

Red knows this, since he gets the news station on his pokédex, and he watches the investigation with interest, for he is a trainer who is always in search of adventure, and this piques his interest quite nicely. So he watches, and waits, and several months go by and no one knows where Lance has gone, so when Red defeats the Elite Four and becomes the new Champion, he asks for permission to search.

President Goodman gives him it, a bit too readily, and so Red first heads off to ask the other Elite for help.

Lorelei gives him an odd look, and then asks how he knew she was his cousin. Red has no ready answer, but Lorelei cracks a smile and tells him that if he wants to find Lance, he ought to search Whirl Islands, and not mention anything to Clair.

Red feels that that advice is a bit odd, but he obeys.

He does find Lance in the Whirl Islands, or what’s left of him. The Dragon Master’s eyes are mad pinpoints of yellow light, and he hisses when Red first sees him. There are… wings on his back, Red realizes with a sinking feeling, strange projections of silver metal, and they’re sharp too – he sees Lance gut a fish on the edge of one.

He sits down next to him, and holds out a hand, and Lance nuzzles his face into his chest like some pokemon, and Red wonders what exactly happened here.

In any case, he makes plans, and decides to stay here with Lance for a while and try to bring him back.

He’s not sure why he’s sticking his neck out for a complete stranger, but… something tells him it’s the right thing to do.

Good karma is good for the soul after all!

It seems like the more he stays with Lance, the more he notices things about him, like how cute he looks when he cocks an eyebrow and how pretty his golden eyes are. And things are working out, really, because Lance isn’t acting feral. He still isn’t talking, but at least he’s gotten less touchy-feely.

Red hopes this is a good thing.

It’s two weeks later when Lance asks him when he’s going to leave.

Red just blinks for a moment, before he blinks again. Lance actually spoke to him. He has a nice voice, and Red wonders why he didn’t talk before.

The wings are better too. It seems they’re retractable, though he doesn’t want to know how in Lugia’s name that’s possible.

Oh well.

Some things are better left secret.

“Why did you come looking for me?” Lance asks.

Red frowns. “I don’t know.”

Lance nods, as if he expected that. “I should be going back. But it was so peaceful here; I did not want to leave. It’s my sanctuary, even though Father’s dead…”

Red stops listening, as Lance talks to himself, and the pieces don’t click. Yet.

Then one day, Red sees Lance use Hyper Beam, and as the man flies out through the window and Lorelei smirks, he understands.

He’s not sure how or why memory chooses to be the way it is, but he throws his arms around Lance’s shoulders and kisses him, not wanting to let go, because time is too short and the clock starts ticking as soon as he remembers.

But now they’re together, and that’s what counts.

Right?

I waited for you…

End Fic

Completed 9/16/06

*Curses* Now that I’ve been drabbling for a few weeks, I don’t seem to be able to write normal chapter fic after all. Got to try and re-align the brain…