Whee! Series winding down to a conclusion then…
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
Pairing: Championshipping (Ash x Lance)
Chapter 6
Ash was not a normal child. But then again, how did you define normal in a world full of pretty creatures that should not exist and strange evil teams that stole things and tried to expand the landmass or the oceans?
How normal could you get when you got turned into strange magical creatures on a fairly regular basis?
No, life in Indigo – Kanto – Johto – was not normal.
He didn’t particularly care.
“Lance?”
“What is it?” The Dragon Master fought his way to wakefulness. It wasn’t dangerous – he had five (if not more) dragons in his quarters and blades hidden underneath his skin. So he was far from helpless…
Ash blinked. “It’s past eight o’clock. Don’t you have a meeting at eight-fifteen?”
Oh no. He’d overslept.
The Dragon Master bolted out of bed and into the bathroom in one smooth motion that left Ash gaping. * I have to figure out how he does that… *
“Are you all right?”
The sound of water was heard, a few sharp yells that may or may not have been curses in draconic language, and then Lance appeared out of the bathroom again and was down the hall – and fully dressed – the last time Ash checked, in less than ten minutes. Wow.
How did he do that?
Ash shrugged and went back to bed. He woke up sometime around eleven, found blueberry muffins and milk waiting on the table with an irked Jynx, thanked her, went outside to train, and didn’t see Lance again until dinner time.
Oh well.
“So, how was your day?”
Ash grinned. “I caught a Ponyta!”
“Well, that’s nice.” Lance smiled. “You’re almost… how far are you on the pokédex now?”
“I’m at two hundred and twelve!”
“Impressive.’
“A-arigato.” Ash blushed. “I mean… no one really cares if you catch a lot of pokemon, they just want strong pokemon…”
“Well, I’m sure Professor Oak appreciates your work.” He couldn’t keep the slight twist in his voice out of Ash’s range of hearing.
His control was slipping again…
“Professor Oak? What about him?” Ash blinked.
“Nothing, it was just a comment.”
Ash blanched. “Were you and-.”
“No! Absolutely not! I wouldn’t sleep with him if he were the last person on Earth!”
“Oh, good.” Ash said, relieved and banishing a very bad mental image. “I’m… yes, that’s good.”
“Jealous much?” The Champion asked dryly.
“Not really….”
“Liar.”
“I can’t help it if I think you’re… mine!”
“Suppose it’s my own fault for initiating it.”
That took a few seconds to sink in. “Wait…”
Lance smirked.
“You were just pretending to be a Noctowl for a month? Lance, that’s so mean of you!” And he was a good actor, because Ash hadn’t been able to tell it was an act at all…
He felt miffed.
But again, it was about Oak. Lance hadn’t wanted to see Oak after he’d been turned into a pokemon…
Maybe there was a family feud like Romeo and Juliet?
He tried to imagine Gary as Juliet and cracked up laughing. Lance gave him an odd look, but didn’t pry.
Better not to know sometimes…
“Ash?”
“Sorry.” Ash said. “Just imagined you as Romeo and Gary as Juliet.” Lance shot him an eloquent look of despair.
“Please. I didn’t need that mental image either.”
“Or maybe…”
“Ash, I love you, but if you don’t shut up now, I will do something very unpleasant.”
Ash blinked. “Did you just say what I thought you said?”
Lance belatedly realized that lack of sleep was wreaking havoc with his mental process. “Hmm?”
“I could have sworn you said that you…”
“Loved you? Yes…”
“Oh. It wasn’t a dream.” Pause. “Wait! You said it again! Does that mean you really feel that way?”
“That is generally the correct assumption, Ash.”
Ash glomped onto Lance’s waist immediately after the words had left his lips, an expression of almost… euphoria on his face. “Really?”
“Do I have any reason to lie to you?”
“Um… no?”
Lance sighed. “If only you knew… if only you knew… but dragons are cursed with the burden of memory so what can I say?”
“Lance? You’re acting strange again.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay…”
“Yes, I do love you. Does that bother you?”
“No! Not at all!” Ash blushed. * I was just wondering if I feel the same way about him… it’s not like I’ve ever been in love before, so how would I feel? *
How is love supposed to feel anyways?
Ash sighed, closed his eyes, and tried with alacrity to sort through his jumble of feelings…
It was difficult. His mind was a disaster area, after all…
End Chapter
Completed 8/8/05
Lance: *yawns*
Phantomness: I’m tired too! Although sitting at a desk for six hours is boring, at least I got paid… and I managed to sneak my laptop in so I’d have something to do. *Smirk*
Ash: Ugh