Chapter Text
𝘌𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯
Raihan had always been a bit of a flirt, maybe not as much as the tabloids and magazines claimed, but the dragon trainer was naturally charming and this special skill had served him well from childhood until now. It was how he sealed promotions and sponsors for his gym as well as slide his way out of troublesome interview questions.
However today no matter how much he made the woman sitting across from him blush, it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to get out of her instant questioning about a certain lilac haired man.
“So we all know that you and the champion started your league journey together, and now you're both in high tiers in that same league, so would you mind telling us about your relationship with the Champion?”
“Ah well I wasn’t the only one who traveled with Leon when we were younger, Piers and Sonia did as well.” He was trying to deflect the question as much as possible from that ‘relationship’ term these gossip interviews loved to use but he could see the determination in this woman’s eyes.
“Yes, but currently you are his rival correct? Second best to the Champion and constantly working hard to dethrone him. But outside of your battles there have been many fan accounts with pictures of the two of you being quite...friendly.” She leaned forward in her chair and Raihan plastered on a smile to hide his grimace.
Raihan loved social media, he really did, but in times like this he wished his fans weren't so dutiful in their mission of capturing pictures of him. He knew there were several different fan accounts out there, some for a while even suspecting him and Piers had something going on, but the ones of he and Leon were the most popular. They were filled with blurry or zoomed in pictures of them out to lunch or even shopping with captions commenting on how close the two were all tagged with their ship name of ‘Raieon’.
While some fans were simply in awe at their nine or so years of friendship, others were insistent that they were more than friends. While Raihan wished this to be true, and may have admittedly spent some time reading through the arguments of their status in the comments of these fan taken pictures on the topic trying to see what his fans supposedly saw, he refused to entertain the idea with any of these magazines. He was only eighteen and still a bit new to being a gym leader but he knew that any wrong word or too long of a pause could be the next big blow up and even hurt one of their careers. Even with Rose backing him and handling everything Leon did, Raihan didn’t want to take the chance of putting a scandal on Leon’s clean record.
“Well ya know the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer!” Raihan laughed and he swore he saw the woman’s eye twitch in annoyance.
The woman paused for a moment as she tried to come up with another indirect question before finally she leaned the topic into their rivalry which Raihan easily twisted into boasts about his Pokemon and their training. He had to admire her determination to try and segway one of the questions back toward Leon but before she could get any footing to do so the time slot for their interview finally came to a close. Feeling a bit guilty for how frustrated she seemed Raihan draped an arm over her and called his Rotom out for a photo- sending her the picture after posting it on his Pokegram and offering her a wink and a wave as he disappeared.
Once alone again in his trailer he collapsed on the couch with a groan. He had a three day schedule and while he knew today's interview was going to be the worst of it, he still felt drained already. Interviews like this always left him stuck in his thoughts- all of which revolved around the Champion of Galar. Honestly Raihan wished he could see what these magazines and his fans saw, because to him in all of those pictures be it by fan or paparazzi, Leon looked at him the same way he always had. That beaming smile and hardened gaze hadn’t changed in the last nine years. Sure they were closer now after so long but despite Raihan’s efforts of flirting with his friend he never saw any hint of progress or reciprocation from Leon.
Raihan had been trying to get his point across to the other for a few months now at least, ever since having one of their sleepovers, that were getting fewer and far between thanks to Chairman Rose. Both boys were on the couch with Raihan sitting down and Leon laying down with his legs thrown over the taller’s watching some stupid horror movie. Raihan hadn’t been paying too much attention to the cheesy jump scares until his phone was thrown out of his hand and he had a lap full of started Champion. The dragon trainer couldn’t help but laugh but he was quick to wrap his arms around Leon in attempt to comfort the other.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t hugged before, hell they had shared a bed several times but this felt different. As Leon made himself comfortable in his lap since he hadn't been shooed away, ready to hid his face in Raihan’s chest should another scare happen, Raihan turned his attention to the boy he held and it all just kinda clicked. He liked holding Leon like this- liked having him pressed so close and being able to practically feel his heartbeat. When Leon snuck an embarrassed smile up at Raihan like an apology Raihan blamed his repressed teenage hormones when his gaze fell on the soft lips of his friend and the idea of leaning down and kissing him crossed his mind.
Since then Raihan couldn’t get that particular idea to leave his head, it even invaded his dreams, and just when Raihan felt like he was over his sudden silly crush Leon would do something like put his hair up in a ponytail and Raihan would become breathless and enamored all over again.
A knock on his trailer door had Raihan sitting up and forcing himself out of his thoughts. Without really thinking he called for the person to enter expecting his manager, not the man that had just been invading his thoughts yet again.
“You look tired, did I come at a bad time?” Leon smiled sheepishly as he closed the door behind him and stood on the steps.
“I’m never too tired for you champ, although I am surprised to see you.” Raihan was sure he would have remembered if he was going to see Leon on any of these sets as that was an extremely rare chance. Dressed in full champion gear, Raihan wondered if maybe he had missed something though until Leon spoke again.
“Oh! I was in the area and got lost headed back to the stadium and uh I saw your name on the door so I thought I’d see if you wanted to go to lunch.” His laugh was carefree as always despite just admitting he was two entire towns over from where he was supposed to be and now in Stow-on-Side.
Raihan sighed heavily but didn’t try to hide the smile on his face as he stood. “In the area.” He scoffed but grabbed his jacket none the less and the two headed out the door on to the lot, a few staff members fumbling their tasks when they saw Leon emerge. “You’re a riot mate.” He teased slinging an arm over his shoulder as they headed out.
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𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯
It was hard to really flirt with Leon when his every move was documented and mapped out for him due to his Champion title. For a while if they weren’t scheduled for a match Raihan would go weeks without seeing the other and they would have to rely on texting each other- and Leon was even more oblivious to Raihan’s advances in this format.
When Rose had begun to enact his plan for Eternatus, although none of them knew at the time that was what he was doing, Raihan jumped at the chance to see Leon more since he was usually left unattended. Of course this led to Leon finding himself towns away from where he needed to be, but it also gave him the free time to hang out with Raihan either to spar or just watch a movie.
The dragon trainer felt like he was locked in another loosing battle however as Leon seemed to be immune to all his charms, or rather he was too dense to see that Raihan was flirting with him. Raihan had even been as bold as to take hold of Leon’s hand on a walk in the wild area one time and the champion simply laughed and said it was a great idea and he was less likely to get lost this way. What made it worse was almost everyone in their friend group, except for the one who mattered, caught on to Raihan’s feelings. Sonia had even pulled him aside one night at a league dinner and asked him out right which of course, feeling caught, Raihan confessed and begged her to help him. Sonia helping led to Nessa helping, and the two had even gotten Piers involved when they set Leon and Raihan up for a concert night in Spikemuth. The result of that had been the discovery that Leon got extremely clingy when tipsy but also very sleepy so all flirting was abandoned in favor of making sure Leon got tucked safely into his bed in Wyndon.
Raihan wasn’t ready to give up yet however. The more Rose stepped back to handle whatever it was he was doing the more Raihan went out of his way to make a move on Leon. He took the champion out to dinner on a roof top restaurant in Ballonlea, planned a small get away to the wild area for just the two of them, and even made a standing date for them to have lunch in Hammerlocke every week on Tuesdays after they sparred. Raihan went out of his way to touch Leon in some capacity too. He’d started to reach out to brush the champions hair out of his face, or tug on his hand to correct Leon’s sense of direction or even stand close enough that their shoulders touched whenever the opportunity was presented. Through it all Leon acted like nothing was out of place and the dragon trainer grew more frustrated yet more determined every day.
Finally Raihan was sure he had a break through when the whole group went to the summer carnival in Wyndon. In tradition with a carnival there was a Ferris Wheel which Sonia and Nessa made sure Raihan and Leon went on making sure they stood in line in such a way that the two would get in a basket together.
“I know I fly all the time but, it’s pretty up here.” Leon chuckled as they headed toward the top of the attraction, his attention on the lights below them.
The dragon trainer hummed in agreement but his gaze was on the man in front of him, captivated with how Leon’s golden eyes glittered with the reflection of the lights he was admiring. He looked ethereal in the different colored lights that flashed through the windows of their cart and for once Raihan felt nervous, wringing his hands in his lap.
Soon the cart came to a stop at the top and Leon turned from the window to face Raihan properly, a soft smile on his lips while he tilted his head in question at the gym leader. “Something up?”
“Nothing mate, just noticing how much more handsome you’ve gotten over the years. If I’m not careful you’re gonna give me a run for my money.” He flashed a fanged smirk in the other’s direction while he delivered the line as nonchalantly as he could. He had commented on Leon’s looks before so he didn’t expect much to come of it this time, so when Leon’s eyes widened and his cheeks dusted pink the gym leaders heart soared.
“A-Ah well I doubt that.” He mumbled before quickly turning to look outside once more as they began to circle back down.
Raihan’s smile refused to leave his lips even after they stopped at the bottom and exited, their friends calling for them from a nearby food stall. Although the flush in his cheeks was gone, every time Raihan brushed against Leon he could feel the smaller tense then relax for the remainder of the night and the gym leader wrote that down as a win in his book. Sonia must have too from the wink she shot Raihan over her shoulder as they went to the next attraction.
When they parted ways that night he caught Leon’s gaze for just a moment and while a pink hue rose oh his cheeks, a small smile also found his lips and Raihan had never felt so in love.
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𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺
The crowd was roaring around him, the screams deafening as confetti shot up into the sky only to fall back down in a flurry into the stadium in celebration of the finished match. Raihan heard nothing except his own heart pounding however as he stared at the two figures on the pitch below through the brightly colored haze and while he knew he was too far for it to be logical, he swore he could hear Leon’s heartbeat too.
He watched with wide eyes as Leon strode toward the middle of the pitch with his head held high only to stop in front of the young female trainer already waiting for him there. If Raihan hadn’t just witnessed the match he would have guess from the other’s confident approach that once more Leon was the victor. But Raihan had watched the match and when Leon unfastened and removed his cape, kneeling down after gathering it in front of him to hold it out to the girl before him, the new champion, the reality of it crashed into him.
Leon had lost.
Leon had lost his title to a young trainer named Gloria. A trainer that had defeated all the gym leaders in the Champion cup including himself. A trainer that had captured Eternatus the day before and helped settle the rampaging dynamaxed Pokemon throughout Galar. A trainer that now stood tall and proud as Leon fastened his cape-the Champion’s cape- around her shoulders while the crowd cheered at the top of their lungs.
A trainer that wasn’t Raihan.
Tearing himself away Raihan excused himself from the VIP box reserved for gym leaders, apologizing to Milo and Gourdie as he squeezed past them and out into the deserted hallway. With his hands tucked into the pocket of his hoodie he let himself wander aimlessly until he stopped in front of the locker room. He stared for a moment at the bright red door before he leaned against the wall beside it and waited, the screams of the crowd were faint but still going.
He didn’t have to wait long before he heard footsteps echo down the hall and he lifted his head to watch as Leon stopped beside him facing the door Raihan was next to. Lavender locks obscured his face from how he had his head tilted downward and Raihan took note of the hands clenched at his sides. For a moment they were both quiet, waiting.
“Ya did good mate. Strong match as usual.” Raihan kept his words low but they still seemed too loud for the hall they were in.
Leon stood a moment longer in silence before slowly he lifted his head to stare at the door beside him, jaw clenched and eyes wet. Raihan wanted so desperately to reach out for him- to pull him close and tell him it would be okay or to even encourage a rematch. Anything to wipe that look off his best friends face.
“Yeah...thanks.” Leon’s smile was forced and his voice hollow. He refused to look up at Raihan as he stepped forward quickly to disappear into the locker room.
Raihan stayed leaned against the wall for a moment longer before he pushed off of it and began his way back down the hallway and toward the exit.
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𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 – 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
Raihan had never seen so much activity in Postwick before today. The whole town was out milling about as they finished preparing for both their champion and their former champion to return home. The town square was spotted with vendors and kids running around with Charizard figures while the crowd in front of the train station grew with each passing minuet as the hour neared. Raihan himself was leaned against one of the stone walls behind the crowd, his hood up in attempt to blend in. He had flown in on Flygon this morning to help set up for the welcome home party at Leon’s house and now his mission was to make sure both Leon and Gloria made it to the party on time without Gloria getting caught in the crowd or Leon wandering out of the town.
A loud roar cried out from above them and Raihan watched as a familiar orange mass came to land among the crowd, Leon dismounting first before helping Gloria off. The gathered audience cheered as they landed and got only louder as they chorused an off-timed “Welcome home!” to both native trainers. Leon was still dressed in his Champion attire with the exception of the cape which Gloria now donned over her own matching attire. The two greeted the crowd back and Raihan watched as Leon’s big brother instincts kicked in as he shielded Gloria a bit from the sudden attention.
The two thanked the citizens of Postwick for their support in their journeys as they began to break away from the group. It was a struggle but once on the other side, the crowd waiting with baited breath, Leon tapped Gloria's shoulder to get her attention before leaning down to whisper in her ear. Raihan watched as a smile took over her lips and she gave a firm nod as both of them turned toward the crowd and with a flourish, Leon struck his Charizard pose and Gloria struck her own victory pose. They stilled for a moment for pictures before they gave one last farewell wave and turned to head to the house.
They only took a few steps before Raihan caught Leon’s gaze and he straightened to approach them, ruffling Gloria’s hair in greeting while he slung an arm over Leon’s shoulder.
“Gotta make sure you two make it to the party.” He explained while the trio began to walk that way. Raihan didn’t miss the soft considering smile Leon shot his way.
If they thought the crowd at the station was loud they were mistaken as the gathered gym leaders and Champion cup contenders cheered in greeting as they neared the gate. Hop and Marnie ran out to hug Gloria, Bede trailing semi-reluctantly behind while the gym leaders, save for Opal and Kabu, all ran to embrace Leon in an obnoxious group embrace, squishing Leon in the middle. Everyone took turns congratulating the two and shedding a few tears before letting go when Leon’s mom called them to the side yard for food. Leon stopped to greet Kabu with a firm handshake and then Opal with a kiss to the hand and a comment on her retirement before letting Sonia pull him toward the buffet on the table.
Once everyone was seated with their plates the conversation flowed around the table naturally. In a way it was overwhelming with the side conversations happening on different ends and how loud a few of them got when sharing stories and memories but the whole scene was the epitome of one large happy family. For the first time since the loss Leon’s smile was genuine as he joked around with Milo and Piers, his laugh loud and boisterous when he watched Hop smear cake on Gloria’s cheek before having to scramble away from the table to avoid the same attack.
Raihan must have had a weird look on his face since Sonia reached over to poke him in the ribs and startle him. Once having his attention she leaned over to whisper to him.
“You should tell him.” Even though her voice was soft Raihan glanced about nervously before replying in his own hushed tone.
“Tonight? No way look at him.” He jerked his head to where Leon was using his own mom as a shield to hide from both Hop and Gloria who were each armed with a plate of cake.
“Exactly. Tell him. You need to, soon.” She pressed.
Raihan pursed his lips as he regarded her before shaking his head. Leon still hadn’t really responded to most of his advances and while he never pushed him away, Raihan just felt like he needed a bit more time. And now with Leon dethroned and Rose out of the picture he had plenty of time to continue in his game of wooing Leon.
When Raihan looked up again his eyes locked with Leon’s, gold eyes filled with mirth and cheek smeared with white and red frosting. There was something else there as they stared at each other from across the table, chaos around them, neither one willing to break first as a new challenge was set forth by Raihan.
To win Leon’s heart once and for all.
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𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦- 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰
Raihan knew the tower was important to Leon and when he saw the outcome at the gala celebrating the grand opening he knew it was going to strive under Leon’s care. The former champion radiated tiredness at the event though he tried his best to hide it, but he also stood proud when people stepped up to congratulate him so Raihan decided not to comment. Besides it had been a few months since he had last seen Leon and he wasn’t going to ruin it with questioning Leon’s sleep schedule. Especially not when Leon looked absolutely stunning in the red tailored overcoat he donned that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else.
His mane flowed free down his back and as usual Raihan had to suppress the urge to run his fingers through those purple locks. He had only given in to the urge when he brushed his hair back later that evening on the balcony after admitting to the Chairman that he missed him, marveling at how soft it felt in his touch and how warm Leon’s cheek was.
When a moment of no response passed Raihan spoke again, teasing Leon about the ruffled fabric at his neck. As much as he wanted to just reach forward and pull him close Raihan would play the long game and wait for the perfect moment.
Raihan soon learned that even he had a limit to patience. When Leon all but stopped responding to his messages and went MIA for another couple of months the gym leader decided enough was enough.
Rose was out of the picture and while Leon was still well loved he was no longer the poster child of Galar. In hindsight Raihan had assumed these two things would have made it easier for him to play his game and to get Leon to realize his feelings, instead he saw him even less as he holed himself up in the tower. So the dragon trainer gave into his instincts and decided he would go and get his prince to come down whether he wanted to or not and sweep him away.
As soon as Raihan escaped the tower, Leon’s hat in hand, he pulled out his phone to call Melony for a favor. When Raihan told her he was going to confess on the trip the ice-type leader was more than happy to visit Hammerlocke the next day and give him the key to her cabin on route nine along with a hug for good luck.
The week went by slow for Raihan but he used the time to plan their trip the best to his ability. He couldn’t wait any longer. Even if his feelings weren’t returned he didn't care, the gym leader had waited too long, three years too long, for the former champion- he needed to at least try and get these feelings off his chest.
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𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦- 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵
Raihan never wanted to part from the temptation of his rival’s lips but he also didn’t wish to overwhelm Leon with his sudden forwardness. The events of the day had caught up to the gym leader quickly and when he had taken in Leon’s confused features, highlighted by the firelight behind him, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.
When Raihan did finally pull away he couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped when he noticed Leon try to follow after. Once disconnected he watched as Leon slowly opened his eyes, honey colored irises searching while his tongue peaked out to touch where they had just been connected and Raihan wanted to lean in and kiss him again.
“Lee...I’ve been flirting with you for a while, I’m so glad you noticed.” He teased softly as his thumbs stroked over the other man’s warm cheeks.
“I thought I was imagining it.” Leon’s voice was soft but there was a lit of hope to it that made Raihan’s heart pound with the possibility.
“And I thought I was being pretty forward but I guess not.”
Leon smiled softly as Raihan laughed. He felt almost like he was drunk or in a dream, but Raihan felt too real in his arms and his lips tingled from their kiss.
“I think I preferred this approach to be honest.”
The dragon trainers eyebrows shot up in surprise at the comment as he took in the small smirk on the ex-champion’s lips. “Oh? Well, then lets try it again- to make sure all my feelings get across.”
He didn’t give Leon a chance to respond before he was leaning forward again. This time however Leon met him halfway and kissed back just as eagerly as the gym leader kissed him. Raihan moved one hand to the nape of Leon’s neck while the other slid down to rest on his lower back in order to get a better grip and pull him flush against him, Leon gasping into his mouth in surprise. A small growl bubbled up in Raihan’s throat and he tilted his head for a better angle, determined to pull more sounds out of the other man.
When they parted again both men were left trying to catch their breath, chests flush and hearts pounding in tandem. Raihan rested their foreheads together and both trainers shared a soft smile as they gazed into the other’s eyes.
“I love you Leon.” Raihan hummed as he bumped his nose into the former champion’s eliciting a chuckle from him.
“I love you too Rai.”
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“So? How’d it go?” Sonia’s voice floated through the speaker, her face on the screen exclaiming her excitement and curiosity. The cell service had returned to the cabin later the next morning.
With a smirk and a wink Raihan held a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture before he tilted his phone down to reveal the still sleeping man perched on his chest. The resounding squeal of excitement that followed had Leon groaning in complaint and Raihan chuckling before he disconnected the video call. Not even a minuet later both of their phones began to chime with notifications of congratulations and ‘I knew it!’s from their peers.
Leon glared at him softly as the messages kept coming but Raihan simply leaned down swiftly to capture his pout with a kiss. They could deal with their friends later. Right now it was just them and Raihan was never going to let his champion go.