I’m trying to wrap up this fic…

*squeezes plotbunny*

Disclaimer: Shadow does not own pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics! This is non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanwork written by me so I own it. Don’t take it.

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks!

Timeline: 3 months later. Ash is about 16 years of age.

Chapter 9: Attestation

It was so sweet.

Ash smiled, his subtlety had finally improved. He wasn’t sure if Lance didn’t notice his advances or chose not to see them, but…

It was so warm…

He watched from the branches of a tree as Lance completed the Dragon’s Dance. It was a deadly dance, but he loved watching just the same.

He waited until a familiar ache began to build, and he appeared next to Lance, grabbing the older boy’s arms to keep from falling as Teleport ended.

“Can we have dinner now?”
Lance looked amused as he steadied Ash on his feet. “Hai.”

“Yatta!”

His heart throbbed, the feelings rising and pooling heat deep inside of him. Not yet, Ash reprimanded himself silently, don’t get carried away.

Lance only spent a few minutes preparing their meal, and soon the two were enjoying the sashimi.

Ash finished, and then spent the time studying the grass underneath his feet. “Lance-chan?”

Lance still looked bemused, Ash had only added the –chan about a week ago, but that was enough. Soon, very soon, the boy would finally understand.

Yes….

“I made dessert.”

“Without any explosions?” Lance raised his eyebrows, intrigued. Maybe the boy’s cooking talent had finally resurfaced. Or, he had figured out what accidents not to repeat.

“It’s ice cream.”

Well, that explained it! You didn’t need to cook that. Thus, no accidents could occur on the gas fires. Lance chuckled. “What flavor?”

“Chocolate~!”

“Well then,” The dragon master said, popping the last piece of Unagi in his mouth, “We should taste-test it and see.”
“What? You don’t think I can cook?”

“You said it, not me.”

Ash pouted slightly, but cheered up when Pikachu brought the brimming tub of frozen sweetness. He dished out some for the two of them, then the pokemon helped their own selves.

Lance smiled, after having taken a bite. “Congratulations, Ash, it tastes great.”

Ash himself was starry-eyed. * Yes! I finally did it! I’m not a total menace in the kitchen anymore! *

He disregarded the fact that if guests ever frequented his habitation, he could not just feed them on ice cream. Still, it was a start.

They both finished theirs, Ash helping himself to a second bowl, and then they spent the evening together, not training; just relaxing underneath the stars.

Ash snuggled closer to Lance as the chilly night wind began to blow.

“You’re not going back to the ‘rest area’ tonight?” Lance asked, referring to a small meadow where Ash liked to sleep.

Ash shook his head and yawned. “Too tired.”

Lance did not say another word, but put his arms around the younger boy, draping his cloak over both of them.

Ash did not take long in falling asleep, and Lance succumbed soon after.

What he didn’t realize was that the ice cream had been laced with more than Sleep Powder.

The next morning, Ash was the first to wake. Surprised, he climbed off of Lance, they had shifted positions too many times over the night to count either way, and paused to kiss the unsuspecting trainer, before trying his hand at breakfast.

Needless to say, the eggs exploded before even hitting the frying pan. How that feat is achieved I have yet to discover, but anyway, it did occur.

Lance stirred, frowning slightly as the unpleasant aroma of burnt protein saturated the area. What was Ash?

He found the child – no, not a child, but… either way, Ash was staring at a black-encrusted pan with absolute shock etched on his face.

Lance blinked the last of the sleep from his eyes, and fixed him with a stare. “Ash?”

“Gomen nasai, Lance-chan!” Ash said, artfully shedding a few tears. “I-I was only trying to make breakfast…”

He thinks I’m going to scold him?

Lance pulled out a scouring wire mesh sponge-thing and a pail of water. “Well, I’m not mad at you.”

“Honto ni?”

“You were just trying. And how can you get better at cooking if you don’t attempt? From failure comes success eventually.”

“H-hai!” Ash said, as Lance tossed a clean pan to him and then made chocolate-chip muffins.

Truth. That was the truth.

Of course, there was no point in making people go to sleep randomly. No, it had taken him a whole month to brew that potion, plus it had sapped a lot of his magic, but now, he could confirm his suspicions.

I need to know the truth… the real truth.

You see, I can’t wear this happy face forever. You haven’t discovered it yet, but if it cracks…

You’ll be sad, and I don’t want to make you sad.

Why? I don’t’ know.

But, since you don’t hurt me, I guess I should try not to hurt you. It’s the principle of equivalent trade after all. Ne, Lance-chan?

Yes… I’ll be very careful, don’t worry!

He bit into a chocolate chip muffin happily. The potion would last two days, and then he would have everything figured out.

Go me!

Ash ate three more muffins, and then walked around waiting for his stomach to settle.

“Lance-chan? What should we work on?”

Lance’s eyes went slightly towards the green end of the blue spectrum for a second, and then, in a slightly monotone voice, he began listing the topics.

Ash was unsurprised, the trainer had been truthful to him about his strengths and weaknesses.

Another lesson began, magic energy rippling through time. In a few hours it was over, and Ash carefully triggered his second trap.

Lance’s eyes widened as Ash froze, completely forgetting to shield as hyper beam streaked towards him.

“TIME!”

Time froze, long enough for him to get the trainer out of the way, he restarted it a few minutes later, but it was already leeching off his magic. That was the problem with the Time card. It had too much drainage.

Ash quickly calculated magic levels, and then without warning, Lance looked down in shock as the boy kissed him, before his eyes glazed over.

“Let’s begin.” Ash said plainly.

End Chapter

Completed 4/30/04

Sashimi is usually raw fish on rice, but there are some cooked items too. It’s Japanese food, a type of sushi, in case anyone didn’t know that... Unagi happened to be cooked freshwater eel, it’s also one of my favorite types of sashimi…