#hi rabid

[mnstcrbnll]

oh so now the fashion police is going to give morality lessons

[perceptiioncheck]

"it straight up smells like bitch in here"

[hisuianicarus]

...why did I hear the boss music.

[drgnbld-arch]

"I may not have thanked you much at the time, but without you I wouldn't be where I am. I mean that literally. Had you not asked for my help at the Lake, I may have never broken free of the mindset I was in. If you hadn't proven I could stand up for people, I wouldn't have rushed to Goldenrod."

He smiles.

"I may have wonderful parents who I love very much, but you are within my extended family, Lance. Thank you."

" gold... "

for everyone involved, the pre-rocket takedown missions in mahogany town ( and even post in goldenrod ) plays a looped video in all those who were involved minds. it was a rough time - extremely rough. one of the biggest takedowns done by the gmen all while being helped by kids. lance has never really forgiven himself for all of it. no child should've gone through that and was something he was so adamant on after the rocket incidents in kanto years prior.

a part of him tells himself in the darkest depths of night those he's accidentally put in danger through the actions he's taken. it comes at him as a broken record, repeating every little detail, exaggerating those he can't say he ever saw for certain. gold, lyra, hell even silver should never have been put into the positions they had been.

there's a running joke amongst the league and the clan about his treatment of the younger protagonists - how he cares for them as a father would, how it wouldn't be surprising to find adoption forms for them all stashed away somewhere in his office. the reality is a lot more brutal than that. lance feels responsible for them. he feels as if he should be the one there to help protect them, guide them, because everything they went through wasn't something a child should.

after a while of course he stopped looking at them like kids. they were seasoned trainers. gold was champion. but that never stopped lance from caring the way he has in the past; the way he does now. and while those actions certainly spoke louder than the words kept in his heart he never quite saw the otherside of that coin - that gold would think the same way about him. that they were just as much a family.

he wishes they never went through what they did, but he'll be damned if he wasn't proud of the person gold, and the others, had become. taking a deep breath in, mostly to compose himself, lance finally allows himself to smile even when slight tears prick, blink and they're gone.

" that strength has always been inside of your heart and soul, gold, and it shines so brightly even now. we never quite discussed what happened beforehand and what made you feel the way you did, but shaking that off, taking the rest of your life in stride; that was all you. "

his hand reaches for gold's shoulder to grasp with all the affection he can muster without directly hugging him. " I am so proud of you, and that goes for all of you. not just your strength and determination, but even parts of you which you may dislike or more. you are a part of my family as much as I am yours. you'll always have a home with us. "