Another chapter! *Chasing plotbunnies with a bunny net*

DISCLAIMER: Phantomness does not own pokemon or CCS as CCS belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha and Pokemon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, and Shogakukan Comics.

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

Might have to boot the rating up to R…

Red = Ash, Red’s the nickname

Episode 4

The next card to appear was a bit more expected.

However, he didn’t expect it to appear elsewhere.

“Ash!”

“Hi, dad.” Ash said, answering the phone.

“Ash! There’s a Whiscash in our Water fountain! It’s attacking everyone in sight!”

“What?”

“Come here quickly!”

“Your office?”

“Yes!”

Ash hung up and turned to Lance.

< Well, it seems that the cards will find you, no matter where you are. Shall we go? >

“How?”

Lance smiled, willing his wings back into existence. < I’ll carry you. >

Ash nodded, as Lance picked him up and flew off. He couldn’t help blushing though, considering their position, but that didn’t matter.

This was just… duty! Yes!

Ralts went along in his poke ball.

He couldn’t teleport long distances yet…

They arrived in Rustboro perhaps 15 minutes later by flight.

Lance covered them both in invisibility as they went in, as Ash clung to him, just in case anything bad happened... Sure enough, there was a Whiscash.

Tropius was once again summoned and employed, and they escaped before they were noticed.

Ash’s dad noticed though, but he was an exception.

Lance flew them home the same way.

“Lance?”

< What is it, Chosen? >

“Um…” Ash fidgeted slightly. “You’re not human, are you?”

< Correct. >

“But…”

< I do not require food or sleep unlike normal humans. I live by will of magic alone. >

He blinked.

< I’m a magic creature and that is what I feed on. >

“Oh.”

But, that didn’t help the fact that he was… hot. Figuratively, of course… literally, he could be termed cold.

He had cool skin at any rate.

Ash blushed, looking down.

Lance did not say another word, closing his eyes as his wings folded in on himself. This position usually meant ‘Rest’.

Ash went and showered while he pondered the situation.

Well… card catching couldn’t be _too_ bad, right? And at the most it would only last a year…

And his dad wouldn’t purposely hurt him, so it had to be for the best.

It had to be.

So he could deal with it, or at least try.

He wouldn’t fail!
Still… _why_ in Latios’s name was he attracted to Lance?

He had just told him he wasn’t human, but that hadn’t served to dampen his emotions at all. It had seemed to do just the opposite.

He had been forced to hide the slight quickening of breath and the… feelings as he exited.

It wasn’t _fair_!

He really didn’t know why this was going on?

But Lance wasn’t mean. * Is he… is he only here to protect me? *

That thought made him feel better, somewhat.

He… liked it.

“I want to be protected…”

Ralts perched on the sink as he watched Ash soak in the tub, filled with mostly cold water. The showerhead had apparently broken just that morning and his dad hadn’t gotten around to fixing it yet.

< Master Red? >

“Ralts, what do I do?”

< About what, Master Red? >

“I think I’m attracted to him!”

< Why is that a bad thing? >

“Er…”

He couldn’t answer that question explicitly, because he didn’t quite know himself. It just felt off, like it was wrong.

But why was it wrong?

He pondered until his dad came home and brought country-fried chicken and potatoes home.

“What’s wrong, Red? You seem preoccupied. Is it the card?”

“No.”

“Oh?”

Lance was upstairs in the boy’s room, keeping watch over the book and the cards inside.

“Dad…” Red sighed. “I think I’m in love.”

Cypress raised his eyebrows. “That isn’t a bad thing.”

“I think I’m in love with Lance.”

This caused a slight look of surprise to flit across the adult’s physiognomy, but then he smiled.

“Well, if that is the case, then tell him.”

“What? Wait, you aren’t mad?”

“No, why should I be angry? He seems to be good to you and for you, right?”

“H-hai…”

He felt relieved after that though, like an iron weight had been lifted off his chest. So his dad wasn’t mad!

“Besides, Ash, I can’t say you’re different from me.”

“Nani?!”

“Well, I was going to wait, but I have a boyfriend named Jerome…”

Ash’s eyes widened. * Woah… *

It _had_ been seven years since his mom ran off with another man, so it made sense… right?

Right.

In any case, he felt better.

End Chapter

Completed 7/17/04