A/N: I own a copy of at least one game from every generation. Other than that, nothing else.
No one was out and about in Violet City that night. The snow was falling gently, and most people were keen to stay warm and not freeze to the spot they stood. Liza shivered as she dismounted from Dragonite. There were so many Charizard in the Charicific Valley that she sometimes forgot that winter was technically supposed to have snow and cold weather. If global warming was real, then she was certain that her hordes of Charizard played a key role in it.
Behind her, Lance had gotten off of Charizard, and the expression on his face indicated to her that it had not been a smooth flight at all. She winked at him, and he shuddered.
"You flew first class. I had to fly coach." He muttered. Charizard grumbled, and then proceeded to smack Lance upside the back of the head. Liza found this too much, and promptly started giggling. Lance looked embarrassed, but it was hard to tell with those sunglasses.
"Okay, what's the deal with the aviators? You look like an absolute moron." Liza said.
"An inconspicuous moron." Lance corrected her. Liza rolled her eyes and was about to speak, but then Lance spoke again. "Do you see anyone staring at me? Has my identity been discovered? No? Then I think I'm right." He said. Liza just sighed, her breath a cool mist in the night air.
"Fine. Have it your way. But we are going indoors. I'm not about to sit outside and develop hypothermia for you, Dragon boy." She walked off in the direction of the place she'd been staring at since they got there, and Lance could only follow. Dragonite and Charizard walked slowly behind them, a nice distance away from the two humans, and then started whispering to each other about…something. What were they discussing?
That is another story for another time.
It was a small little mom and pop establishment. The perfect place for them to hide incognito. Not nearly enough customers to glance in their direction at this time of night, and the owners of the place respected Liza enough to give her some space if she wanted it. Dragonite and Charizard requested to sit on the roof, which the old owner agreed to provided they didn't fall in through the shingles.
Lance hadn't really had much experience with Johto cuisine before, so Liza had to chuckle at the way he gingerly poked at his food.
"What are these called, exactly?" He asked. Liza rolled her eyes.
"They're called pierogis, smarty-pants. You're lucky that those are meat-filled. Some picky eaters have tried the cheese-filled ones and then swear them off. Which is a shame, really. They waste such a delicious food." She proceeded to emphasize this point by scarfing down a few of hers. Lance marveled at the way the food just disappeared, and then decided to give his another go.
A very good decision, he discovered.
"Soo…what's your plan after this?" Liza asked.
"Eh?" Lance asked, in between bites of food. Liza smirked.
"Well, you can't just stay here with me for the indefinite future." She said. "So what are you going to do after we're done toughening up your team?"
Lance thought about it for a moment. Then he spoke up.
"I want to beat Steven at that festival coming up in a few months." He said. Now it was Liza's turn to be surprised.
"You want to beat Steven Stone at Summerfest?" She asked. Lance nodded, completely innocently.
"Yep." He said.
"That's in Hoenn."
"Yeah."
"That's Steven's home court."
"Yeah."
"…He never loses there."
"Only because he doesn't always get involved in the main event." Lance said. "Now, if I can draw him out to face me, then what I can do is…"
"Lance…" Liza cut him off, a slightly exasperated tone in her voice.
"What?" He asked. Liza raised an eyebrow.
"Has this what all of this has really been about? You holding on to a grudge because you lost to Steven a few months ago?"
He was silent, so she continued.
"I thought you were over that?" She asked. "You even told me you were. So what gives?" She asked.
For the longest time, Lance just stared at his pierogis. There was a pained expression on his face as he played with his food.
"It…sticks with you." He said. "A loss that you weren't supposed to lose."
Liza didn't say anything, deciding to let him keep talking.
"I thought I was over it myself." He said quietly. "I mean, Arach took me to a sacred place and told me that I'm gonna be the new Grandmaster when he retires-" He cut himself off, eyes widening as he realized what he had just said. Liza's eyes also widened, cupping her hands to her mouth.
"Ohmigod, did you just…?" She trailed off.
It was common knowledge that the Dragon Clan would announce their newest leader by means of a celebration. It was a grand ceremony in Blackthorn City, where the old one would button the new one's ceremonial cape as means of passing the torch.
It was also something that absolutely no one on the outside knew about until the moment of crowning.
"I…did, didn't I?" Lance said lamely. Liza's expression was giddy.
"Lance, that's so amazing! You should be proud of yourself!" She said. Lance shrugged.
"It's a lot of responsibility." He admitted. Liza snorted.
"So? You will do great!' She said. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you still fixated on Steven?"
"Because I want to prove to the world that the future Dragon Grandmaster isn't anyone's pushover." He said. "I'm…worthy of being Arach's successor." But the way he said this last bit was completely unsure, as if he were trying to convince himself. Liza sighed.
"Look. I'm gonna break this down for you, so you'd better shut up and listen." She said. Lance looked at her, confused. She took a deep breath and began.
"At the end of the day, no one is gonna care that you got upset by Steven. Considering the way he's cutting through tournaments with the new Mrs. Cynthia Stone by his side, it's clear that he's reminding everyone why he's one of the best trainers out there. So if anything, they'd chalk it up as a worthy battle that you just couldn't hang on to. And if you're so hung up over the fact that your streak was broken?...Sorry bub, but your streak has got nothing on your buddy Red's. Has he ever lost? I don't think so. Ever. It's time to face the facts, Lance: Red is the greatest trainer there was, there is, and there evil will be. He has never lost, and I doubt he ever will. Don't try to live up to him, do you have any idea what his life must really be like? Take it from a girl that's a shut-in herself. He's alone. With no one but his Pokemon for company. Is he happy? By all means, it looks that way. But not everyone is wired that way, Lance. In fact, I think that he might be the only one on the planet that is wired that way. And I can tell that you're not. Red was put on this planet to be the greatest archetype of a trainer that ever lived. He's gonna live on waaayyy past his death because of that. But that's all they'll remember him as: a great fighter. Is that all you want to be remembered as? A great fighter? Or do you want to be something more?" She stared at him, and then kept going.
"You're gonna have to accept the fact that you're headed for a position that demands you be more than just a great battler. You're gonna be someone that people can actively aspire to be like, in the way you carry yourself and behave. Red sells tickets in stadiums and money for Pay-per-views. You're gonna be a world leader, practically, and you're gonna have to be a lot more than just a guy that puts butts in seats."
Lance seemed deep in thought, and thus Liza decided to finish.
"Let me put it to you this way, Lance. I know that Red is your closest friend, but let me ask you this: whose life would you rather have, Red or Arach's?"
There was a pause as Lance mulled these words over. He sighed, taking a deep breath. And then came a small smile. And Liza smiled too; because she had a feeling he knew which one he'd take in a heartbeat.
"Thanks, Liza. I think I needed that." He said. Then he frowned. "But you're not like Red, either."
"Oh?" Liza asked. "And what makes you think that?" She asked.
"Well, you're not alone either." He said. "You've got Charla, you've got your Charizard…and you've got the Dragon Clan." He said. "And you've got me."
Liza paused, a small blush creeping up her face. Then she smiled slightly.
"Thanks…I appreciate that." She said.
She tried not to make eye contact with him in that moment, but she had a feeling that he had quite the Cheshire Cat grin going right there.
They finished their meal in a relatively subdued state, choosing instead to talk about superficial and silly things instead of the deep conversation that they had had just prior. Liza had no idea that Lance was as big of a geek as he admitted to.
And Lance didn't realize up until then how pretty Liza looked in that coat of hers up until that moment.
They flew back a few minutes later, with Lance graciously letting Liza ride on Dragonite while he braved another flight with Charizard. Judging by the silence in the air, it would appear that Charizard was too tired to mess with Lance. Come to think of it, Dragonite was seeming a little lethargic too. She also noticed that Dragonite had smudges of dirt on his face, as if he'd been getting thrown into the dirt multiple times.
What had those two been up to?
To their eternal relief, the Valley was not in shambles when they returned. According to Charla, the clans had all called it an early night, and Haxorus had broken into the sugar cabinet and was currently sitting on the couch munching on Poffins and watching WWA reruns. Liza giggled at this, and said that the golden Dragon was more than welcome to crash on the couch. Charla dutifully saluted, and went inside to let Haxorus know this. Judging by the overjoyed cry from inside, it was clear that he was appreciative of Liza's generosity.
Dragonite fell asleep on a chair in the corner, and Charizard went off to the stable next to the house for the night. That left Liza and Lance. They walked up the stairs to their two rooms. Hers was right on the left and his was that little broom cupboard at the end of the hallway.
Not that he particularly minded.
"So, uh…" Liza said as they were at the top of the stairwell. "I had fun. Thanks for breaking a girl out her shell."
"Thanks for breaking a guy out of his." Lance countered, a small grin on his face. Liza laughed despite herself.
"Sooo…I would say that was a successful date, was it not?" Liza said. Lance nodded.
"The best." He added with a small grin. There was a silence, and then Liza broke it.
"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night, Lance." She started walking up the steps.
Lance, when he was five, had climbed on the back of a sleeping Hydreigon owned by one of the Dragon High Masters because he wanted to know if the scales were rough when it slept. He'd dove into a pool when he was thirteen to save his cousin Clair from a rampaging Gyarados before Arach was able to tame the beast. He'd graduated from the top of his class, and had embarked on countless undercover missions for the G-Men that would've meant death if he was discovered.
Yet years later he insisted that what he did next was the bravest moment of his life.
"Liza, wait." He said. Halfway up the steps, she stopped. She turned around, a confused expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Lan-" She was cut off when the Dragon master gently kissed on her the cheek. She had a speechless expression on her face, as if she was wondering what had just happened.
"I, uh, think that the custom to finishing a good date is to, uh, kiss the girl on the cheek." Lance admitted lamely. He was not opposed to being eaten alive by a Steelix right now. Liza seemed to come back to her senses, and frowned.
"It's not." She said. Lance felt his insides drop down into his shoes.
"…Not quite, anyway." She said after another moment's pause.
And before either of them knew what had happened, she'd kissed him right on the lips.
A/N: What happens next? We'll see! And if you're interested in some of the exploits of my first story The Fight Club, the main character of that is currently starring in my collaboration with BlackLadyCharon entitled "Cost of the Crown." Check it out if you can! She deserves some views and reviews. Till next time!