Lance was fairly certain that today was going to be the most productive day this month—no, this year.
Today was an important day in the Indigo Plateau. After all, only once a month did all of the Elite Four and the Champion gather to discuss important issues plaguing the regions of Kanto and Johto. Indeed, the ex-Champion had even managed to get his successor to visit the grand building with little to no hassle—a marvel seeing as his successor was known for her stubborn streak.
His heavy black boots resonated off of the marble floors of the longest hallway in the whole region, his mind abuzz with his report for that afternoon. Perhaps he should present something on tourism, or maybe even the return of some of the exotic Pokémon into the ecosystem. Sure, having a plethora of foreign Pokémon might benefit the Trainers in the area, but it severely crippled the actual native species after a while.
He was only seconds from reaching his past office's door when a sudden noise made him stop dead in his tracks. His stormy grey eyes grew wide before he found himself busting the door down with his right shoulder, ignoring the throbbing for the sake of the girl inside of the room.
Glass rained down on the floor, crashing into the dark marble floors and forcing the man to shield himself from the steady onslaught that shattered glass could bring. When he opened his eyes a horrifying sight greeted him.
There was his protégé, lying on the floor with the most notorious criminal in the whole Kanto/Johto landmass pushing her down face-first to the marble. The diabolical monster lifted his gaze to Lance's face and the man was instantly struck silent by the cold, heartless orbs that stared back at him.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The monster continued to glare at the rescuer, daring him to come any closer to his prey. Cold grey orbs watched on as the redheaded man's own eyes raced across the room, searching for any way he could save the new Champion from that beast's foul clutches.
Then, a low moan escaped from the once-motionless Champion.
Immediately, all eyes jumped to the poor girl under the desk. There she was, slowly rising up on unsteady arms. Lance's breath caught in his throat as the monster with flaming hair brushed some of the fragile girl's chocolate locks out of her mouth with his gloved hands.
"Thanks," A quiet voice manged to escape the girl's lips before she suddenly was pulled into the beast's embrace.
Lance let out a gasp of horror before storming over to that foul creature and pulling him away from his protégé. The monster let out a growl of rabid disgust before rising to his feet and pulling the brunette up with him. The girl simply watched on as the monster glared the famous Dragon Master in the eye.
"Just what are you doing here?!" Lance shoved his cape aside and glared down at the shorter being. "How dare you burst in here and attack Ms. Soul!" The beast's eyes narrowed as the man continued, "I swear, I will call the police faster than you can even think of escap—"
"Lance!" The girl suddenly burst in, grabbing the monster and holding him tightly. "Soul just saved me and you're going to yell at him again? Will you ever just leave him alone?"
"Save you?!" The man's mouth dropped open with shock as the boy—no, beast—nodded.
"Of course, old man." Sharp greys narrowed as the redheaded creature squirmed in the Champion's grasp, either trying to escape or to gain a more comfortable position. "We were just..." He suddenly stopped and growled under his breath.
"You were just what?" Lance's arms folded over his chest as he glared at the beast his Champion-in-training held within her gentle embrace.
"We were hugging, if you must know." Lyra just stated the words matter-of-factly, ignoring how the evil being in her arms squirmed again and gained a splash of color on his dead white skin.
"And then..." The red locks were blown out of beady greys before the creature continued. "Then someone tossed a brick at the window, straight for her desk." Lance's eyes grew wide for a moment before he shook his head in disbelief.
"Oh, is that so?" He spat the words out behind a grin of sarcasm. "Well then, doesn't that make our little monster a hero?" The beast growled with utter fury as the Champion's eyes grew wide. "Perhaps I should give you a metal in honor of your valor?"
"Why don't I take that metal and—"
"Lance!" The man flinched before looking over at the girl's face. Hazel eyes, once so filled with warmth were now hollowed and refilled with utter annoyance and frustration. "He's telling the truth!" She stared at him before removing one hand from her hold of the monster and pointing to the mess of papers stained with split ink, glass sharps refracting miniature rainbows that were nowhere near as promising as Ho-Oh's and a broken keyboard that still gave off a few sparks from the spilt liquid mixing with the frayed wires.
The man's stormy greys narrowed in a silent search before growing wide at a smooth surface of maroon. The man walked forward with all-too-loud steps and gently picked up a large brick, the aged surface stained with ink and some type of paint. He let out a sharp exhale before shaking his head and turning to the duo.
"If Soul wasn't here..." Lyra broke off and shook her head before trying again. "If Soul wasn't here when this happened, you could be seeing me on that desk right now instead of thanking my sharp-eyed rival."
Lance looked back at the creature in the girl's arms and found himself at a loss of words. As much as he hated to admit, the monster—no, boy—in Lyra's arms had done something beyond remarkable. In fact, the deed in and of itself was something to marvel at. If his protégé claimed that her rival had rescued her from this attack, then who was he to accuse the boy?
"My," Lance had to swallow a bit of a vile taste before it rose to his mouth. He then took a deep breath and tried once again. "My apologies..."
"Soul." Lyra gave the man a sharp look that made him just offer a bashful grin in return.
"Right, Soul." He then returned his attention to the boy in her grasp and gave a short, formal bow of thanks. "Thank you for...saving Ms. Soul. It is quite a terrible thought as to what might of happened without your assistance."
The redheaded youth just let out a grunt and nodded his head.
"Well then," The man shoved his cape back and felt a slight breeze from the broken window—well, more like wall since it was just one large window—that ruffled his hair and urged his cape to dance. "I had better go warn the rest of the Elite Four as to the situation and search the area for any suspicious characters." He gave them both a bow of farewell and left the room with the brick in hand.
The two teens watched for a moment before the boy suddenly yanked himself out of the girl's grasp. Lyra just chuckled as the redhead ran his hands through his hair as if he was trying to get a Spinarak out of his burning locks. Silver eyes snapped back to amused hazels as the boy glared at his rival.
"When are you just going to call me by my actual name instead of that dumb alias you came up with?"
The brunette just laughed and shook her head. She then flashed a cocky grin and ruffled her rival's crimson locks, earning an exclamation of dislike and a frightening glare.
"When you're no longer wanted by the police for the theft of both Elm's Totodile and a man's Sneasel, dummy." The redhead glared at her even more as she went on, "Besides, the name is not dumb. In case you've forgotten, Silver, that's my surname."
"Well it's a girly name!" Silver threw his hand in the air and groaned at the brunette's logic. "I can't believe out of all the names in the world, you chose that one."
Lyra just looked away to the broken glass wall and suddenly gained a distant look in her eyes. Her rival watched on as the wind teased her chocolate locks as she then shook her head.
"What I'm worried about right now is who would try to throw a brick at me in the first place..."
And in that second, the matter of what name Lyra Soul had given her rival as a cover-up seemed nonexistent compared to the danger that had flashed the girl a sickening grin only minutes before.
Author's Note: Hey guys! So, my little brother and I both agreed to do a little writing challenge for our OTPs based on the prompt of cuddles that were interrupted by Lance. Mine went from being Lance walking in on a hug to...well, this. I don't understand how I can set out to write absolute fluff and end up with something that sounds so grim... "orz
Well, I'm still very proud of how this turned out, as well as how my little brother's story turned out (it was super cute and hilarious). Anyways, I'm hoping you enjoyed this as well!
If you were wondering, my little brother's OTP is Ethan and Lyra (HeartSoulShipping) and yes, it is a tad awkward supporting rival ships.
/whispering/I'm also hoping you caught a very important thing about this viewpoint. It's a bit subtle, but it has quite the significance.
By the way, should I expand on this? Somehow I ended up with a story idea that would force Lance and Silver to put their differences aside and work together for the good of not only Kanto and Johto, but for the good of a kidnapped Champion. It would be a while before I get the chance to write it (seeing as I have tons of other projects right now) but it might be a fun project to work on. I'll leave it up to all of you, though.