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"Maybe I shouldn't have asked him to come to Hammerlocke."
Piers glanced over at Raihan, who was staring at the horizon towards Wyndon, only looking away to check the time on his Rotom phone. No checking Tweeter or Flashgram, only frowns and scanning for a familiar Charizard and its trainer. At least it was a sunny day, so they could see far.
"Mate, I know you don't really trust my judgement right now, and I'm calling the kettle black," he said, taking a long drag on his cigarette before continuing. "But chill out and don't worry so much. It's an open, neutral space that's kind of public and he can leave whenever he wants to. It's not like you're meeting inside the Vault or at your place."
Raihan made a non-committal noise at that, the corners of his mouth twitching downwards, obviously not convinced. And since he didn't feel like banging his head against an iron wall, Piers just shrugged, and leaned his forearms against the stone. They were on the balcony just outside of the Vault, which was closed to the public on Sundays, so there was no risk of anyone coming up or overhearing anything. Raihan had also told his staff that he needed a private chat with the Champion, and of course they had taken extra precautions for that. Even if it seemed to eat him up on the inside, to ask for help with fixing his own mistake.
Not that Piers couldn't understand that, he hadn't come along as any sort of moral support. No, Raihan hadn't even had a chance to argue before he'd made himself at home with a smoke. And now they were out of time anyway, because a dot far off was quickly growing bigger, making the dragon trainer tense up.
Piers wasn't sure Raihan even breathed until Leon had jumped down in front of them and recalled his Charizard. The champion looked between them with a puzzled look, the crease between his eyebrows betraying worry, and he didn't even let Raihan finish a sentence before he spoke. Oh boy, here we go. Time to watch the show.
"Leon-"
"Let me start, Raihan." Leon held up a hand, his face schooled back to neutral, back straight as his cape billowed in the wind. He was the Champion, unyielding and honest and good. "I need to apologize, first. I shouldn't have watched an obviously private video you didn't intend to send to me."
The way Leon's golden eyes darted to Piers made him wince on the inside and Raihan's shoulders sank even more, hands balling into fists.
"It was obviously something for you two to enj-"
"I sent that video intentionally, Leon. It wasn't a mistake. Well, the fact that I sent it was, but-" Piers ground out his cigarette as Raihan rambled, then shoved the butt back into the package and stepped forward, shutting the other up. Leon's face was open in shock, staring with wide eyes at the two of them.
"Look here, I need to get something cleared up so you two can sort this out between you. It was my idea to send the video, Leon." The man in question flinched at that, turning his gaze fully at Piers. It would be easy to hide from the hurt confusion in it, curl in on himself or play it off with a diva move. Instead, he sighed. "I can't take responsibility for Raihan's actions, but I got to apologize for at least partly putting the idea in his skull. It went against everything I believe in for healthy sex, and yeah. I fucked up."
"Oh." Leon blinked then, silence falling between them for a moment until he cleared his throat. "Well, I- I appreciate your apology, I just-"
"No need to forgive me, mate." Piers held his hands up, stopping any more rambling. "I know this is a lot for you right now, I just had to get that out of the way. And let you know that me and Raihan? We're just friends with benefits. Sure, he's a great guy, but I'm not really looking for romance."
"I see." Something seemed to relax in Leon at that, his knuckles turning less white and his frown unknitting slightly. Not by a lot, but Piers had done what he came for.
"I'm gonna let you two deal with your stuff alone now, unless you want me to stay?" Both shook their heads, Raihan mumbling a 'no, but thanks, mate', and Piers nodded. He didn't touched either when he walked past them to the door, but he did stop to look back over his shoulder. "For all it's worth, I want both of you morons to be happy."
And with that, the door closed behind Piers, leaving Raihan to face his mistakes by himself.
He felt like he couldn't breathe or see clearly, as if caught in a sandstorm, but he forced himself to take a deep breath. To stand up straight for once and meet Leon's gaze head-on, before he just had to crack a smile and rub his own face from the shame that washed over him.
"Man, I feel like I should go down on my bare knees and beg you for forgiveness." He sucked in a shaky breath, doing his best to calm his voice, and look up again, trying to read Leon's face. "You have every right to be pissed at and not forgive me, Leon. Piers is right, this was my stupid action and fucking illegal to boot."
"...oh, I didn't know that." Somehow, Leon's shock turned to surprise, making Raihan smile despite of himself. Trust their Champion to be clueless about anything not related to Pokemon or his role. It did little to ease his anxiety, but as Leon continued he held the man's gaze. "But anyway, I- I won't call the fuzz on you, if you're worried about that. And I'm getting pretty angry with you now that I know, but I also..."
A pause. Leon looked away, chewed on his bottom lip and rubbed his thumbs over his pointer finger. A thoughtful, worried act Raihan hadn't seen in years.
"I need to know why you sent that video to me, if it wasn't a mistake. I can't- I won't know how to feel until I know that." And there it was, the million Pokedollar question Raihan had both dreaded and looked forward to finally get off his chest. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about all the things he regretted never doing, things he should have said. There'd been so many chances during their ten years of being rivals and friends, much more private, romantic or natural when he could have made this clear, but he'd made this mess.
"Because I love you, Leon, and you were the one I was fantasizing about when we filmed it." So he just said it straight out, looking right into those big, golden eyes as they widened. "Been in love with you for a couple of years now, and you never reacted when I flirted. I wasn't sure if you were clueless, not interested or didn't respond because of your Champion image, but when... It's no excuse, it's just that when you said you 'missed your friends'? I just got to fed up with never being anything more to you. So I made the most stupid decision of my whole life."
"I..." Leon's voice wavered, nothing like his usual confidence and secure self. A sick part of Raihan was happy he at least got to see that, but he squished it down, relaxing a bit and putting his hands in his pockets as he listened. "I don't think I let myself get a clue. I hoped you were flirting, but I also know I can't be openly in a relationship? So I just... Convinced myself you were just being my friend. My rival."
Leon groaned then, frustrated as he buried his burning face in his hands, all the while Raihan's heart was leaping out of his chest and he had to hold himself back.
"It was easier, you know." The words were muffled, Leon rubbing over his cheeks and staring at Raihan's shoes. "I don't- You know I've never dated anyone. Hell I've barely ever had sex. It was easier to ignore and push down my feelings than to try and figure this shit out."
"Leon..." He paused, pressed his lips into a thin line, before rethinking his words. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't force Leon to date him. "Nothing has to change between us, unless you want it to."
"Thank you." Slowly, those golden eyes turned back to his, making Raihan hold his breath as his chest tightened. "I'm... still angry with you. But I want you to know that I- I have feelings for you, too. I've been in love with you since we were teens, Raihan."
He couldn't help it. Raihan smiled, the corners of his eyes creasing up and teeth showing as that tightness gave way to warmth. He even blushed, looking down and shaking his head.
"Damn... Hearing that felt even better than I had dared dream," he murmured, but there was no response. So he looked up, seeing Leon once again looking confused, hands clenching and relaxing over and over as he shifted his weight. "...what's wrong?"
"Aren't you... gonna kiss me? Or something?" The questions were so honest Raihan laughed, taking two steps closer, so he could look down at the other blushing with a warm smile and hands still secure in his pockets. "I- well I didn't just watch the video once, okay? I remember what you said, what you wanted to do to me. So I thought when you heard that I love you too, you'd-"
"Leon, I didn't say the most important part in that, it was just dirty talk." Raihan leaned down a little, bumping his beanie against the brim of Leon's cap. He couldn't keep some heat from entering his tone, but he still kept it as innocent as he could. "I want you to want it too. I want you to ask me to kiss you, touch you, break you apart until all you can feel is pleasure. Consent is sexy, you know? That's why me sending that video was wrong. But I won't make the same mistake twice, so I won't do anything to or with you unless you tell me it's okay."
"Oh. Makes sense," Leon said, blinking, before clearing his throat, swallowing, stalling for time until he finally looked into Raihan's eyes again. "Thank you. But it's okay. For you to kiss me."
Raihan didn't say anything, instead he slowly pulled his hands free and reached up to cup Leon's face in them. He rubbed his thumbs gently over the blush growing on there, watching Leon's eyes dart all over his face, trying to figure his plan of attack. So Raihan didn't attack. Instead, he let go with his left and plucked the snapback off of Leon's head, tucking it into his own back pocket.
"Gotta be honest, that was not how I expected to take your crown," he teased, snapping Leon out of his analyzing.
"Wha- Give that back, Raihan!" When Leon stepped even closer to try and snatch the hat back, Raihan gripped his chin and tilted his head up, grinning.
"I can't really kiss you with that brim in the way, you know. Even if you wear it so damn weirdly." His voice was low as he leaned down, giving Leon ample time to move away. Instead, they closed their eyes at the same time, taking the plunge together. Raihan was gentle, pressing his lips to Leon's with care and his head titled a little sideways so their noses didn't smush together. He could feel Leon tremble in his grip and the hand that had been reaching for the cap was instead gripping his arm for support, so Raihan wrapped the other around Leon's waist, pulling his rival closer.
He was warm and solid, trying to move his lips too when they changed the angle a little and standing up on his toes when Raihan slowly pulled away. It was cute and made his heart beat even harder, but Raihan didn't let him keep the kiss going.
"Okay... That's a better start."
"Wha-" Leon seemed to come out of the daze then, frowning and wrapping his arms around Raihan like they belonged there. "What start?"
"I'm starting again, champ. With living without regrets, and treating you right," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Leon's forehead. "Thank you for giving me a second chance, Leon. And I'm not expecting you to forgive me, I'll just do my best to make it up to you and be better."
"I know..." The words were soft as Leon relaxed, leaning his head on Raihan's chest. "I guess that's why you're my rival. Neither of us ever stop pushing for being the best."
"Yeah, I just gotta re-think my strategy. Again." Raihan rolled his eyes at himself, exaggerating his tone to the point of making Leon laugh. "But until I've finalized a plan... Can I kiss you, please?"
The last word was breathed just centimeters from Leon's lips, making him blush and nod. So Raihan kissed him. They still had so much to figure out, like if they were boyfriends, or who they should tell, or how far they could take things. But right then? Raihan was content and Leon felt safe.