Shelter
For years, long before Lance meets Steven, the Johto Champion had been alone, looking down upon the world from his lonely, solitary Champion throne. He puts on a mask to hide the pain, he hides behind his Dragonite to show to the world that he's capable of handling things, and he works with the G-Men to fill in the emptiness he felt inside. The disguise he has set up perfectly to hide the emotionally unstable man was impenetrable, until one day, Steven came into his life.
Steven saw right through the misleading smiles, and directly at the vulnerable man who can barely look at himself in the mirror. And instead of mocking him, Steven let out a sympathizing hand, and actually helped him.
"... Hey Steven..." Lance whispered as he laid his head on Steven's lap.
"Yes?" Steven asked as he took his attention off his book for a moment.
Lance closed his eyes, "... No matter what you do... Don't ever leave me..."
Steven stared, "Why would I leave you? What's the matter with you anyway? Why are you talking like this all of a sudden?"
"... Promise me that you're never going to leave me..."
Steven chuckled, clearly amused by Lance's unusual words, "I promise... But seriously, what's wrong with you?"
"I need you... More than you know. So, don't leave me, okay?"
"I won't..." Steven whispered gently in reply, and placed a light kiss on Lance's forehead.
As long as Steven promised, Lance believed that there's nothing he should be worried about...
