**********************************************************************
Chapter 2: Shelter and Shield

It had been almost two weeks since the incident and Ash was still not
yet fully recovered. Of course, it had been a great shock.
Poor child.
He followed Lance around like a lost puppy.
The newspapers hailed the strange disappearance of Misty Waterflower
as proof for alien kidnappings, but Ash knew the truth.
And oh, how he wished he didn't know.
Lance had given him the necklace with the dragon's wings on it, and
he wore it twenty-four seven.
It was almost his only rope to sanity. Almost, but not quite…

Ash repressed a bubble of hysterical laughter when he saw the news
was still broadcasting Misty's death.
They called it a tragedy.
Oh, it was, but not in the way they thought. He had almost lost his
life back then! Good thing he knew how to run.
Very good… and Articuno had hidden him in Seafoam that night. He had
shivered through the cold, but the physical discomfort was nothing
compared to his rampaging thoughts.
How could Misty be that thing?
And yet, when she had tried to eat him… there was no joke.
That was no joke, it was the simple truth.
The end.

Lance was brushing his hair now. It felt nice, long, smooth strokes.
Ash idly wondered what it would feel like to touch the Leader of the
Elite Four.
He rubbed the dragon necklace, feeling the warm pulse of the gem
underneath his fingers. Shiny white light, so pretty!
Pretty.
So, so pretty, little pretty things in an ugly world made life better.
Lance was still combing his hair, and that was nice, nice…
Warm.
Soft.
So sweet…
Impulsively, he turned around and kissed Lance on the lips. That was
sweet too.
Honey and sugar and ice…
Yummy, so sweet…sweet like ice cream on a hot day, the purest breath
of fresh mountain air.
Sweet…

Lance looked surprised. Why? Was it wrong to kiss him?
It was so sweet though.
So he did it again.
This time, Lance didn't pull away. He just held him more tightly. It
was so warm…
He snuggled. His eyes hurt, so he closed them.
He fell asleep in Lance's arms.


< This is a complication I did not foresee… >
< You figure this out now, Lugia? >
< On the plus side, Misty is dead and you can protect him. >
< Oh, I'll definitely need to protect him the way he is now. He's
practically a child! >
< Don't worry, my Chosen, I trust in you. >
< I'm so touched by your confidence. > Lance sent back sarcastically.
Lugia shut off the talks before anything else happened.

"I could try inducing his memories…" Lance considered, as he tucked
Ash into bed. "But that might cause him to go into shock dealing with
the Misty situation."
"Why are things so complicated?"
I have no idea.
"I knew that Dragonite."
Me too.

Sighing, Lance closed the curtains, turned down the lights, and
decided to take a nap himself.
Ash woke up a few hours later into the night. Feeling lonely, he
climbed off the top bunk and squirmed into Lance's covers along with him.
He promptly fell asleep, cuddled up against his savior.

Lance woke up the next morning to a feeling of weight on his legs.
"What?"
"Ohayo." Ash purred.
Lance blinked. "Ohayo to you too."
"Can you make me pancakes today?"
"Of course."

The other Elite didn't know the whole truth about Ash's state. Lance
told them that he had seen Misty commit suicide and that was the problem.
It was a viewpoint of truth.
After washing up, Lance quickly whipped up a batch of delicious
chocolate chip pancakes for his little koibito.
"Arigato!" Ash said, digging in with a will.
Lance smiled in response, cutting up a pancake neatly and eating the
pieces with a fork.
He liked being able to cook well.

Pikachu watched with no small amount of concern.
I hope Ash is all right…
Me too. Blastoise said.
I think the Dragon Master is taking good care of him though.
Charizard said, with a pleased growl.
How?
Venusaur sweatdropped. * I think it's obvious… *

Lance watched as Ash busied himself with the small tasks of everyday
life, his mind still refusing to face the truth.
Don't you worry about a thing, pretty little child of light.
Haven't I promised I'll protect you forever?
I'll do anything for you, you know. Anything.
Pretty little light running away from darkness, we can't let the dark
touch you, oh no, we can't.
Pretty, pretty little light.
Pretty little one.

Lance stroked Ash's hair and held him as the boy climbed into his lap
with a contented smile, simplicity.

End Chapter

*******************************************************************