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fandomweekly2016-02-03 09:38 am
avioletqueen) wrote in fandomweekly2016-02-03 09:38 am
Entry tags:
[#001] History In These Streets (Pokémon Gameverse)
Theme Prompt: New Beginnings
Title: History In These Streets
Fandom: Pokémon Gameverse
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: No
Word Count: 988
Summary: Being Champion means witnessing a lot of first times.
The first time he met Leaf, she was twelve. He’d been doing this for years, standing between hopeful Champions and the prize they craved so desperately, and he’d always been ready to face them. Yet, for a moment, when he had seen the girl in front of him who looked around the room with such wide eyes, he had felt the urge to underestimate her, wondered if maybe she had gotten there by dumb luck.
Then her unflinching gaze had met his, and her jaw had set, and he had realized that he was very, very wrong.
They battled. He lost. There had been steel in her eyes when she thanked him for his time and moved on.
She became Champion, and then she gave up being Champion two weeks later, coming to him with her chin lifted and her shoulders squared to tell him that being the master of one region was holding her back from her potential, what she could achieve. She left, and he took her place, and life moved on.
That’s where the story was supposed to have ended, where it had ended so many times before.
Except here he is, nine years later, sitting across from Leaf at a cafe in Viridian City. She steals the fries from his plate as she regales him with tales of her latest adventures, her eyes full of that same sparkling wonder that they’d held all those years ago.
“So basically, Kalos is so amazing. You should definitely go there, if you get the chance. The cities are beautiful.” And then, with a devious glint in her eyes, she adds on, “the people are pretty beautiful too,” and Lance groans, because he knows that’s what she’s expecting.
“Leaf, there are things I don’t need to hear considering I met you before you were even a teenager,” he tells her archly, and she just gives him a delighted laugh before stealing another fry.
“You know, I still don’t get it,” she says after a while, shaking her head. “How do you settle down? It’s almost been ten years, and I’m still so grateful every day that I gave up being Champion.”
Lance can’t help smiling at that, ducking his head and taking a sip of his drink. The question makes it clear that Leaf hasn’t changed a bit in all this time, and for a moment, he’s overwhelmed by his fondness for her.
Instead of answering her, he asks, “after you became Champion, when was the first time you felt uncomfortable about it? When did you feel like you wouldn’t survive if you didn’t leave?”
She hesitates, biting her bottom lip as she thinks, then admits with a rueful grin, “the second day, probably. I spent the rest of the time building up enough courage to tell you and Professor Oak and everyone that I wanted to give it up.”
“It wasn’t the dream for you,” he offers easily. “It’s the dream for a lot of people, and it’s especially glamorous to kids, but it’s not what you were looking for.”
“It’s still not what I’m looking for,” she corrects him, leaning her crossed arms on the table. “I get this itch under my skin whenever I’m in the same place for more than a few weeks.”
“And I get that same itch when I leave for more than a couple weeks,” he responds just as easily. “I’m living my dream, and you’re living yours. And that’s how I can settle down.”
“But how can you dream of staying in the same place? I don’t get it. You never get the chance to start fresh in a new region, have your own new beginnings - you’re stuck at the top. That’s claustrophobic.”
“I met you,” he points out. That makes her stop in her protests, blinking at him, and he smiles even wider. “Wasn’t that the beginning of something new?”
She works her jaw for a couple moments, trying to think of a snappy response, then rolls her eyes, a gesture containing all the teenage sass she hasn’t quite grown out of yet. “All I can say is that you’re way more patient than I am. I can’t wait decades for some halfway decent trainer to come along and be interesting.”
Lance shrugs. He accepts that they’re different people at their cores - and he’d never want to change Leaf. But he has to point out, “you were much more than halfway decent.”
Leaf wrinkles her nose, glancing down at the table between them as her cheeks go a little pink. Praise still makes her embarrassed, Lance notes. “Yeah, whatever. Look - you don’t like leaving for too long, right? But what about a vacation?”
“A vacation?” Lance echoes, vaguely confused at the sudden change in subject, and Leaf looks back up to roll her eyes at him expressively.
“Yes, Lance, a vacation. You know, that thing where people leave their jobs and go relax for a short while. You should take one of those with me.” Lance doesn’t respond right away, and Leaf squirms in her seat, almost as if she’s getting… nervous? “I know a lot about different regions, so I could probably be a good tour guide, wherever you want to go. And… I don’t know. I thought it’d be fun. We’re friends, right?”
“Yes.” That, he can respond to immediately. “We’re friends.” Even if they meet sporadically from anywhere between once a month to once every couple of years. There’s something that’s always been easy about falling back into conversation together, never having to deal with that awkward strain that usually comes from not seeing an acquaintance for a long time.
It was all thanks to Leaf, of course. She's never been the sort of person to let go of anyone she cared about, even a little. So it’s not hard for Lance to smile properly at her, nodding. “You know what? A vacation sounds really good.”
Title: History In These Streets
Fandom: Pokémon Gameverse
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: No
Word Count: 988
Summary: Being Champion means witnessing a lot of first times.
The first time he met Leaf, she was twelve. He’d been doing this for years, standing between hopeful Champions and the prize they craved so desperately, and he’d always been ready to face them. Yet, for a moment, when he had seen the girl in front of him who looked around the room with such wide eyes, he had felt the urge to underestimate her, wondered if maybe she had gotten there by dumb luck.
Then her unflinching gaze had met his, and her jaw had set, and he had realized that he was very, very wrong.
They battled. He lost. There had been steel in her eyes when she thanked him for his time and moved on.
She became Champion, and then she gave up being Champion two weeks later, coming to him with her chin lifted and her shoulders squared to tell him that being the master of one region was holding her back from her potential, what she could achieve. She left, and he took her place, and life moved on.
That’s where the story was supposed to have ended, where it had ended so many times before.
Except here he is, nine years later, sitting across from Leaf at a cafe in Viridian City. She steals the fries from his plate as she regales him with tales of her latest adventures, her eyes full of that same sparkling wonder that they’d held all those years ago.
“So basically, Kalos is so amazing. You should definitely go there, if you get the chance. The cities are beautiful.” And then, with a devious glint in her eyes, she adds on, “the people are pretty beautiful too,” and Lance groans, because he knows that’s what she’s expecting.
“Leaf, there are things I don’t need to hear considering I met you before you were even a teenager,” he tells her archly, and she just gives him a delighted laugh before stealing another fry.
“You know, I still don’t get it,” she says after a while, shaking her head. “How do you settle down? It’s almost been ten years, and I’m still so grateful every day that I gave up being Champion.”
Lance can’t help smiling at that, ducking his head and taking a sip of his drink. The question makes it clear that Leaf hasn’t changed a bit in all this time, and for a moment, he’s overwhelmed by his fondness for her.
Instead of answering her, he asks, “after you became Champion, when was the first time you felt uncomfortable about it? When did you feel like you wouldn’t survive if you didn’t leave?”
She hesitates, biting her bottom lip as she thinks, then admits with a rueful grin, “the second day, probably. I spent the rest of the time building up enough courage to tell you and Professor Oak and everyone that I wanted to give it up.”
“It wasn’t the dream for you,” he offers easily. “It’s the dream for a lot of people, and it’s especially glamorous to kids, but it’s not what you were looking for.”
“It’s still not what I’m looking for,” she corrects him, leaning her crossed arms on the table. “I get this itch under my skin whenever I’m in the same place for more than a few weeks.”
“And I get that same itch when I leave for more than a couple weeks,” he responds just as easily. “I’m living my dream, and you’re living yours. And that’s how I can settle down.”
“But how can you dream of staying in the same place? I don’t get it. You never get the chance to start fresh in a new region, have your own new beginnings - you’re stuck at the top. That’s claustrophobic.”
“I met you,” he points out. That makes her stop in her protests, blinking at him, and he smiles even wider. “Wasn’t that the beginning of something new?”
She works her jaw for a couple moments, trying to think of a snappy response, then rolls her eyes, a gesture containing all the teenage sass she hasn’t quite grown out of yet. “All I can say is that you’re way more patient than I am. I can’t wait decades for some halfway decent trainer to come along and be interesting.”
Lance shrugs. He accepts that they’re different people at their cores - and he’d never want to change Leaf. But he has to point out, “you were much more than halfway decent.”
Leaf wrinkles her nose, glancing down at the table between them as her cheeks go a little pink. Praise still makes her embarrassed, Lance notes. “Yeah, whatever. Look - you don’t like leaving for too long, right? But what about a vacation?”
“A vacation?” Lance echoes, vaguely confused at the sudden change in subject, and Leaf looks back up to roll her eyes at him expressively.
“Yes, Lance, a vacation. You know, that thing where people leave their jobs and go relax for a short while. You should take one of those with me.” Lance doesn’t respond right away, and Leaf squirms in her seat, almost as if she’s getting… nervous? “I know a lot about different regions, so I could probably be a good tour guide, wherever you want to go. And… I don’t know. I thought it’d be fun. We’re friends, right?”
“Yes.” That, he can respond to immediately. “We’re friends.” Even if they meet sporadically from anywhere between once a month to once every couple of years. There’s something that’s always been easy about falling back into conversation together, never having to deal with that awkward strain that usually comes from not seeing an acquaintance for a long time.
It was all thanks to Leaf, of course. She's never been the sort of person to let go of anyone she cared about, even a little. So it’s not hard for Lance to smile properly at her, nodding. “You know what? A vacation sounds really good.”
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