Another chapter!

Disclaimer: As it is, pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. CCS belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me.

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

Ash = Red

Somehow I have to work mutual love into this and I’m not sure how…

Chapter 7

 

            Maybe protection equaled love…

            Ash woke up sometime in the middle of the night to find Lance snuggled next to him without the wings.

            Shrugging, and smiling, he hugged the guardian closer to himself, as one might a teddy bear, and fell asleep again.

            Stuffed animals are so comfy.

 

            Lance woke up the next morning, startled. * When did I fall asleep? * Well, it didn’t matter… his Chosen seemed fine.

            Still sleeping…

            Lance gently untangled himself, trying not to make a mess of his robes, and left Red sleeping.

            After all, he probably needed the rest.

 

            “Lance-chan, what should we do today?”

            < Anything you want, Chosen. >

            “Honto Ni?”

            And since when did the Chosen ask the guardian for permission? Ah well. His father was going to die in a few weeks either way, so he had to stay.

            < Hai, Chosen. >

            He made Ash pancakes with blueberry syrup and whipped cream for breakfast.

            Guardians don’t eat, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cook.      

            It made Master Red smile, certainly.

            That was enough, right? Enough ‘love’?

            He hoped it was.

 

            Cypress smiled tiredly.

            Ash would be all right…

            That was the most important thing, the one thing he probably had done correctly. His son would be safe…

            Thank Lugia.

            He went back to bed, he deserved a rest.

            Death was already waiting on the sidelines. Hopefully it wouldn’t hurt…

 

            “Lance-chan?”

            < What is it? >

            “Um… before you became my guardian, what did you do?”

            < Nothing. >

            It was close enough to the truth.

 

            Guardians aren’t exactly ‘alive’ before they are summoned. But he was conscious enough to feel the cold and the glittering silver chains that kept him – and the others – locked up tight in the magical shells. There were many of them, different elemental specialties and types.

            Guardians are only supposed to guard their Chosen and protect them with their lives. That is what they are programmed for.

            Love is not exactly part of that equation.

            It was cold and dark and ice but he grew to not care, and then the darkness _was_ so pretty the first time he broke out.

            It hurt though.

            That was probably the first time he bled.

            Still…

            It felt… different. It made him feel alive.

            Clow-sama laughed and said since he had worked so hard, he could fly. So he did. And he let the dark moonlight guide him.

            He took flights after that whenever he could break out, even though it hurt every time, but he got used to it.

            He danced the Dragon’s Dance as the silver blades shimmered in the night and he did like the darkness so much, and it fed him its power eagerly and he felt _alive_ and real, and he felt sorry for the others still locked.

 

            “Honto Ni?”

            < Hai. > This feeling, when he was around Master Red… it was different… it wasn’t precisely hurt, because… well, he was sorry, and he could feel that, which was odd, because people aren’t supposed to feel sorry for Guardians.

            Master Red was different from Clow-sama.

            It wasn’t as if Clow-sama wasn’t ‘nice’, he was just too busy… and besides, Yue was his favorite anyways.

            “Lance-chan, are you all right?”

            What to say? He couldn’t lie, but everything felt so tangled and it was opposite what he had been used to.

            It was like the world’s foundations had just changed to cotton wool and fallen, but falling didn’t hurt.

            Odd…

 

            < I feel… strange, Master Red. >

            “Oh! Are you sick?” Ash asked, trying not to panic. Could guardians get sick? Would normal medicine work on them? Was…

            He stopped when Lance put a cool hand over his, he didn’t _feel_ feverish. < I… I think I feel for you. >

            “I love you too, Lance.”

            < I do not think that is what I mean though, Master Red. This is a secret I should probably not divulge, but you are my Chosen and you deserve to know. Guardians… we do not know what love is, and…. >

            There. He had said it.

            Now, how would Master Red respond?

            He wouldn’t get angry, would he? No, that wasn’t his Chosen’s way.

           

            “But you love me, don’t you?”

            < I care for you. When I am around you, I feel alive… and that is a rare feeling. >

            “Hmm…” Ash looked down. “I’m not sure I can explain love, Lance-chan…”

            < Should we just try it? >

            Ash smiled. “I think that would be a good idea.”

            He made himself vow not to try _that_ again until after though, after they had both sorted through his mess.

            He owed Lance that much at least.

 

End Chapter

Completed 7/20/04