Title: Dreams don’t come true
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #8, Dreams
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, angst, shonen-ai, insanity

They saw Drowzees create nightmares in people’s minds. Then, they eat them to gain energy.

If that’s the case, they must be sucking a lot of nutrition from my brain right now, because my life is nothing but a bad dream.

When did things go so wrong?

I don’t know what I did wrong. I worked hard. I trained my pokémon. I brought them to the Center when they were injured. I even bought them Pokéblocks and vitamins once in a while. I did it all, because I wanted to win the Championship and prove that I was worthy of marrying Lance.

But I failed.

Some upstart kid from Pallet Town defeated me. Now he’s the Champion.

But he won’t stay that way for long…

Red snapped into alert status as Pikachu fried the shadowy figure with a Thunderbolt. The Elite Four came running, Lance in the lead, as his room was the closest.

“What happened?” The Dragon Master asked.

Red had no ready answer, so he only pointed at the fallen figure, as Agatha disabled him neatly with her Gengar. After they stripped off his trench coat, and sunglasses and bandanna, they recognized him.

It was Paxton, the boy who he had defeated in the finals match!

“What do you think he was doing here?”

“… Considering the weapon, I should think it was obvious.” Lance shrugged. “He wanted to kill you.”

“Why?”

“I wish I knew. Jealousy, most likely… why don’t you stay in my room tonight, just in case he had a backup plan?”

Red was not averse to the suggestion, and followed Lance meekly while the security police came and took Paxton away, tutting.

As they entered his room, Lance swore. He had been in his office, not his bedroom, so the fact that the entire suite was blooming with bouquets of pink roses while the scent of burnt toast wafted through the air.

Red gagged.

“… That does not seem to be an option either.” Lance sighed. “Maybe we can crash in one of the guest rooms tonight.”

“Sounds good to me…” Red prompted, more than slightly unnerved.

They beat a hasty retreat.

By now, puzzle pieces were clicking together rapidly in Red’s mind, and as he and Lance sat at the table and sipped warm milk with honey, he explained his theory. Lance nodded. It made perfect sense, though Paxton must have been truly deranged if he thought killing Red would win him the heart he so desired.

Pathetic fool.

He’d be down for a while. Attempted murder of the League Champion was important after all.

But Lance didn’t care for anyone but Red, at least not in that way, and as he leaned across the table and kissed him, Red understood this very well.

He almost felt sorry for his would-be-murder, but not enough to lighten his punishment when it was concluded with much hoopla the next day. The insane lunatic was dragged off raving to the mental asylum, and the public washed their hands of the whole affair.

Meanwhile, Red and Lance continued their relationship in secret.

End Fic

Completed 9/14/06

… Wow, this looks like a familiar prompt… though my Champions did get a happy ending!

Red: ^^

Lance: ^_~