Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Raihan doesn’t know why he’s in the tiny countryside town of Postwick.

Actually, that’s a lie. He’s here because only a few hours ago, Leon was defeated by a fourteen year old on national broadcast, and part of him still doesn’t believe it actually happened.

Raihan eyes the door of the – frankly massive – house in front of him. For a moment, he contemplates knocking on the door, but in the end he pulls out his phone again, tapping out a quick message to Leon. And once it’s sent off, he shoves his phone back into his hoodie pocket, rocking back and forth on his heels and wondering how long is appropriate to wait before having Flygon take him back to Hammerlocke.

He’s barely completed the thought before the door is yanked open, so sudden it almost makes him jump.

“Raihan?” Leon says, his voice a little breathy, and Raihan wonders if he’d actually run to get to the door.

“Hey,” Raihan replies, a little awkwardly. He wishes he’d spent the flight over planning out what to say instead of in denial about what he was doing. “You, uh. Alright there?”

Leon blinks up at him for a moment, and Raihan’s on the verge of releasing Flygon from her pokeball so he can escape, but then –

Then Leon all but falls forwards into him, fisting his hands in Raihan’s hoodie and burying his face in Raihan’s neck. Raihan finds himself frozen, arms hovering awkwardly in the air as he struggles to decide where to put them when half of his brainpower is already consumed by the way Leon’s clinging to him.

Absently, he observes that Leon fits perfectly under his chin.

“You wanna,” Raihan finally manages, “go inside?”

“My mum’s inside,” Leon mumbles, his voice a little muffled against Raihan’s neck. “And my nani.”

Well. Raihan can understand Leon not wanting to see his mum or gran right now, but standing in front of the door like this is getting a little uncomfortable, so he pats Leon gently on the back and says, “Let’s sit down, yeah?”

Thankfully Leon doesn’t protest as Raihan guides him over to the picnic table, sitting the two of them down on the bench. It has the added benefit of making it so that Leon can’t cling like he was before, but he still ends up slumped against Raihan, head resting against Raihan’s chest.

Raihan sincerely hopes that Leon can’t hear the havoc it’s wreaking on his heart.

Stupidly handsome git.

“Now you know how the rest of us feel.”

Leon cranes his head back to blink up at Raihan.

“You don’t see me crying to you every time I lose,” Raihan huffs, but despite his complaints, he finds himself stroking his fingers idly through Leon’s hair, for once not buried under one of his ridiculous hats.

“I buy you dinner,” Leon points out. Raihan’s relieved that he no longer quite looks like he’s on the verge of crying.

“I wasn’t the one who beat you, so you better not be expecting anything from me,” Raihan snorts, but as soon as the words are out of his mouth, everything seems to pause for a moment.

Because although he’s imagined Leon losing hundreds of times, it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

He was supposed to be the one who beat Leon. He was supposed to post a gloating selfie on Instagram and then generously treat Leon to dinner, tease Leon about his loss while cheering Leon up by recounting moments he thought he’d lose, and end with promises of a rematch.

Everything that Leon’s done for him after losing in the championship finals.

“You’ve got a stone heart, Rai,” Leon huffs, but it doesn’t sound like a real complaint, and when Raihan scratches gently against Leon’s scalp, he can feel Leon lean into it.

“You’re the bastard who hasn’t lost a battle since we were twelve,” Raihan retorts –

And isn’t that a thought.

Leon’s been the strongest person in Raihan’s word since they were kids, and the knowledge that there’s someone stronger out there is going to take a bit of reconfiguring. Really, he should be rerouting himself right now, planning how to take down the new Champion, a new rival to challenge.

But if he’s being completely honest, the thought of chasing after anyone but Leon feels wrong.

“You’ve just gotta win next time,” Raihan says, and he feels Leon shift against his chest, peering up at him with something akin to curiosity. “It’s what the rest of us do.” He pauses, and then adds, “And you losing has made me lose face, man, so if you lose to that kid a second time, I’m gonna have to disown you.”

The last bit finally makes a smile tug at the corners of Leon’s lips, fond in a way that makes Raihan’s insides squirm uncomfortably. It’s a good thing that Leon never smiles at him like this during battles, because he’s pretty sure it’d distract him enough that he’d lose in half the usual amount of time.

“You’d dump me for that?” Leon asks with a little laugh. Raihan tries to ignore the way the word ‘dump’ slides off Leon’s tongue so easily, as if they were really dating, and not sort-of-friendly rivals.

Then again, rivals probably don’t just show up on each other’s doorsteps like this.

For a moment, the two of them fall into silence.

“My mum’s probably going to come looking for me soon,” Leon finally sighs, breaking the silence. “Or she’ll send Hop.”

“You moving back in?” Raihan asks, eyeing the large house extending out in front of them. When he’d first seen it, he’d thought it was a ridiculous size, but considering he seems to meet a new family member whenever he comes over, maybe the size is merited.

“I’m not sure what else I’d do,” Leon answers, picking at the fabric of Raihan’s shorts idly. “Chairman Rose’s company owned my flat, and my mum’s been complaining about how I haven’t been spending enough time with family.”

“You can crash at my place if your family starts driving you too mad,” Raihan says, the offer spilling out before he can consider it too deeply.

Who offers up their living space to their sort-of-friendly rival?

Although then again, he doubts many rivals cuddle like this.

“I might take you up on that,” Leon laughs, and Raihan can feel the vibrations of it against his chest, with how close they’re pressed together. “But I might actually enjoy a little family time first.” He looks up at Raihan, and then asks, “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

Raihan blinks at him for a moment, caught off guard by the offer.

“Think I’m good,” he finally manages.

After all, the last time he’d been dragged into having dinner with Leon’s family, Hop had spent half of it recounting his losses to Leon – in a strangely starry-eyed way – and then Leon’s gram had asked him when the wedding was.

As in, his wedding to Leon. Because apparently weddings in the family are serious business and require lots of advance preparation.

Honestly, Raihan would prefer to avoid Leon’s gram if she can see through his crush that easily.

Of course, Leon, the bastard, had just laughed and said they “weren’t quite there yet.”

“My nani’s been asking about you,” Leon says, and Raihan wonders when he learned mind reader.

“You better get in there before she starts thinking I’ve kidnapped you, then,” Raihan replies, nudging at Leon until he finally pulls away. It leaves a cold spot on Raihan’s chest, now that he’s been deprived of Leon’s body heat.

“She likes you,” Leon laughs, a grin spreading over his face as he stands up from the bench. He stretches his arms up over his head, and Raihan grimaces as he hears Leon’s joints crack.

“Right,” Raihan snorts, getting up from the picnic table too, and following after Leon.

“She wants an autumn wedding,” Leon says as he pulls open the door, as simply and casually as if he’s talking about the weather.

It’s not until the door’s closed behind him that Raihan’s brain starts to function again.

---

Raihan wonders how this has become his life.

“Do you think a regular Wailord is bigger than a dynamax Sinistea?” Leon asks around a mouthful of crisps. He’s been sprawled out on Raihan’s couch, watching MOST EPIC LEAGUE BATTLES!! compilations on YouTube for the past hour, and Raihan’s not entirely sure how to feel about it.

“Wailord,” Raihan finally answers.

“That makes me feel bad for Sinistea,” Leon says, the corners of his mouth turning down in a frown. “That it’ll always be smaller, even when dynamaxed.”

“Bigger doesn’t always mean better,” Raihan points out with a shrug. “Smaller pokemon tend to have increased speed and agility.”

“But then what’s the point of dynamaxing?” Leon presses, reaching for another handful of crisps. “You know, evolutionarily? If smallness is an advantage for small pokemon.”

“There are other benefits to dynamaxing,” Raihan snorts.

Leon blinks at him blankly.

As someone who’s spent years carefully building a signature strategy, planning combinations and researching weather effects purely in an attempt to defeat Leon, Raihan kind of hates geniuses. Especially thick ones.

In fact, he’s about to launch into an explanation about status changes and stamina growth when he finally notices what Leon’s wearing.

“I’ve been looking for that all morning!” he exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at Leon.

“Oh, the sweatshirt?” Leon asks, following Raihan’s finger to where the shiny gold of Raihan’s favorite article of clothing is stretched over his stomach. There are a few crumbs clinging to it and he reaches up to brush them off, making Raihan clench his teeth and resist the urge to yank it off of him. “Sorry man, I was cold.”

“You’re going to stretch it out,” Raihan complains, trying to focus more on the danger his sweatshirt is in than the width of Leon’s chest underneath it.

“Yeah, it’s smaller than I expected,” Leon replies with another one of those stupidly gorgeous smiles of his. “I didn’t realize you were so skinny.”

Raihan scowls. Unlike Leon, he’s never been able to build muscle, and when combined with his height, it means he has roughly the build of a twig. Which is why he prefers baggy sweatshirts to give himself a little more substance, especially when he’s around Leon, who could probably crush a watermelon between his thighs.

But that’s not something Raihan should be thinking about, especially when Leon’s still sprawled over his couch.

“Give it back or I’ll kick you out, back to your mum’s,” Raihan threatens, and Leon sighs before stripping off the sweatshirt and handing it back.

It’s warm as Raihan puts it on, and smells faintly of Leon’s shampoo, which Raihan tries to convince himself is unpleasant.

“It’s not like I’ve moved in,” Leon protests, breaking Raihan from his thoughts. “I still have to be home in time for dinner.” He pauses, then asks, “You sure you’re not coming with? I think we’re having stew tonight.”

“I’ll pass,” Raihan replies, plopping himself down in an armchair. Sandaconda takes note as soon as his arse hits the cushion, slithering over and looking up at him expectantly until he hefts her up high enough that she can pull herself the rest of the way up into his lap.

Honestly, he misses when she was a Silicobra and weighed just seven kilos, instead of sixty five. It’s a miracle she hasn’t crushed him yet.

Idly, he wonders if Leon works out solely so he can lift all his pokemon, and the thought of Leon trying to carry Charizard has him biting back a laugh.

“I’ll bring you some tomorrow, then,” Leon says, bringing Raihan back to the current conversation. Raihan tries not to think too hard about the assumption that Leon will be coming over again tomorrow, and just makes a noncommittal noise in reply as he digs his phone out of his pocket.

He fiddles with it a bit, flipping through camera apps until he settles on one. Sandaconda takes that as her cue and raises her head up, flicking her tongue out at the phone as he snaps a selfie, and he strokes the top of her head in thanks. Most of his pokemon have gotten pretty good a posing by now.

My beautiful girl, is the caption he types out on Instagram.

Once the photo has been posted, though, he switches to his front camera to snap a picture of Leon, lounging on the couch in a pose that looks simultaneously like the most uncomfortable position in the world, and also the most comfortable.

He sends the photo to Sonia, along with a message that says, Please find him a job.

A reply pops up almost immediately.

Oh my god, did you two finally move in together????

Raihan chokes on air.

He’s moved back in with his family, Raihan types out with deft movements. He’s just been hanging out at mine.

A moment later, another message pops up on his screen.

“Hanging out.”

Raihan narrows his eyes and replies with, What’s that supposed to mean?

Nothing, Sonia replies. Despite the fact that it’s a text, it somehow has all the innocence of a Purrloin next to a scratched-up couch. Just that I’ve seen the way you check him out when you think no one’s paying attention.

Raihan stares at his phone for a long moment. Somehow, he’d thought he’d been more subtle about his crush than this, that Leon’s gram had only picked up on it because of some weird sixth sense, but apparently he’s been obvious enough for multiple people to notice. Maybe even enough for Leon to –

Someone yelps, and Raihan looks over to find that Leon’s dropped his phone on his face.

… alright, maybe he doesn’t have to worry that much about Leon noticing.

If you can name one person who hasn’t checked him out before, I’ll give you twenty quid, Raihan finally replies, tearing his eyes away from Leon to look back down at his phone.

Two new messages pop up on his screen almost immediately.

Nessa.

Because she’s a lesbian.

Raihan supposes he should have seen that answer coming.

You can come give me the twenty quid once you’re done “hanging out” with your boyfriend, Sonia adds, smugly enough that Raihan locks his phone without dignifying her with a reply. The last thing he needs is for Sonia to make him think even more about all the other things he and Leon could be doing right now, instead of watching poorly edited YouTube videos.

He watches Leon lick crumbs off his fingers and tries to convince himself it’s not fucking hot.

He fails pretty badly.

---

Leon bursts into the flat with all the excitement of a Yamper puppy.

“Raihan!” Leon exclaims, the grin on his face as wide and perfectly white as always. “Do you want to go to Alola with me?”

Raihan looks up from where he’s polishing Duraludon and asks, “What, now?”

“No, next month,” Leon says with a laugh, plopping himself down next to Raihan on the couch. He reaches out to stroke a finger over Duraludon’s cheek, and Duraludon makes a happy noise, leaning into his touch. The traitor.

Not that Raihan can’t understand the urge.

“Why would we be going to Alola?” Raihan asks, trying to focus back on the conversation at hand. He sprays a little more steel cleaner on the back of Duraludon’s neck and rubs at it with his cleaning cloth.

“I was thinking about what to do next, now that I’m out of a job,” Leon admits, letting himself sink back into the couch cushions. “And I heard that some other regions have special battle facilities for advanced trainers. Tournament sort of things, with no special items, reduced team numbers, a level fifty cap on pokemon, that sort of thing.”

“So you’re going to Alola to challenge one?” Raihan asks, trying to sound disinterested.

“Not quite,” Leon answers. “I was thinking of starting my own here.” He pauses, and then adds, “I mean, it’s not like there are any gym positions open at the moment.”

“You’d be a terrible gym leader,” Raihan snorts, rubbing a little harder at a particularly stubborn bit of tarnish on Duraludon’s steel.

There have been plenty of fans calling for Leon to start up his own gym after his loss, but honestly, Raihan can’t think of a worse idea. Leon’s not the sort of person who can force himself to lose, or even give his opponent the advantage, and considering that the whole point of the gym system is to help amateur trainers strengthen their pokemon and collect gym badges, losing at least every once in a while is pretty much in the job description.

And Raihan might not particularly mind it, because learning how to lose is a strategy in and of itself, but Leon would go mad within a month.

“There’s a place called the Battle Tree in Alola, and the organizers said they’d be happy to take me through the process of running it,” Leon continues, ignoring Raihan’s comment. “And they’re even willing to pay for the airfare and accommodation if I have an exhibition match with Red.”

“Red?” Raihan asks, finally tearing his eyes away from his reflection in Duraludon’s steel to look over at Leon. “The Kanto campion, Red?”

“Yeah, mate,” Leon replies, a giddy grin stretched across his face. “So, are you coming?”

“I don’t need to watch you lose to someone other than me again,” Raihan snorts, turning away again. “It’ll cheapen my later victory.”

“Hey!” Leon sputters, offense clear in his tone. “You think I’d lose?”

He doesn’t, if he’s being honest. But then again, he hadn’t imagined Leon losing to a fourteen year old either, yet here they are now.

If he sees Leon lose a second time, then what? What’s that supposed to mean for his own strength, for how he’s spent years training purely to beat Leon, because Leon’s the strongest trainer he’s ever met?

What sort of pathetic does that make him?

Something pokes Raihan’s arm and he’s broken out of his thoughts.

“You alright there?” Leon asks, and Raihan realizes that it’s Leon’s index finger, pressing into his bicep.

“I’m fine,” Raihan replies, swatting Leon’s hand away. “Go have fun in Alola.”

For a moment, Leon goes unnaturally silent.

“You know, when I lost, the first thing I thought about was you.”

The statement catches Raihan off guard, and he frowns as Leon tugs the brim of his hat down, obscuring his face from view.

“If you’d be disappointed,” Leon explains, his tone a little muttered. “If you’d decide I wasn’t a worthy – rival, anymore.”

Raihan can’t quite suppress the snort of laughter that escapes him. At least it has the benefit of making Leon look up at him again, his nose scrunched up and a frown marring his face as he peers at Raihan from under the brim of his hat. It makes Raihan want to do something stupid, like kiss him.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Raihan asks. Leon’s confused frown deepens and Raihan continues, “You’ve got a better rival now, haven’t you? Someone who can really push you to new heights.”

“You already do that,” Leon says, as easy and straightforward as if he’s listing off Charizard’s dex number.

“Flattery really doesn’t suit you,” Raihan snorts, and he goes to scrub at a nonexistent blemish on the back of Duraludon’s head, but before he can make contact, Duraludon turns to look at him and makes a protesting noise. “What?”

“He agrees with me,” Leon replies, reaching out to stroke a finger against Duraludon’s cheek, and Duraludon makes a happy trill. “We know how strong you are.”

“I never said I wasn’t strong,” Raihan protests, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching deeper into the couch. “And I’m definitely gonna beat you next time, but it’s hard to call someone your rival if you’ve got a ten and oh winning streak against them.”

For a moment, Leon goes quiet, still petting Duraludon.

“I have a notebook,” Leon finally says. “About how to beat you.”

Honestly, Raihan’s kind of surprised Leon even knows what a notebook is.

“I’ve gotta actually use my head to beat you,” Leon groans, slumping next to Raihan, their sides pressed together in a way that makes it hard for Raihan to focus on the conversation. “I spent the entire off season trying to think about what you were going to throw at me this year in the finals and it didn’t even occur to me that you might not be my opponent.”

“Are you trying to blame your loss on me?” Raihan asks, trying to ignore the heat he can feel on his face. Not for the first time, he’s glad that his skin is dark enough that it doesn’t reveal his embarrassment.

“Mm,” Leon makes a noise of agreement, relaxing into Raihan and resting his head against Raihan’s neck. “I have to think about you all the time, or I’ll lose.”

Right. Because thinking about your rival twenty-four seven is completely normal.

“So,” Leon continues, “are you coming to Alola?”

“I’ve got exhibition matches for the off season – ” Raihan starts. He attempts to subtly shift his shoulder out from under Leon, but Leon’s got too bloody much muscle, the weight of him pinning Raihan in place.

“There’s an offer for you to do an exhibition match at the Battle Tree too,” Leon interrupts, his face brightening up. “Because I’ll be up against Red, they want to pair you up with Blue. Kanto’s best versus Galar’s best, sort of thing.”

Raihan blinks at him for a moment, caught off guard. It’s not as if he’s not a popular gym leader – he has a decently large fan club and an even larger Instagram following, and his matches with Leon are popular enough that it shouldn’t be surprising that people are aware of him on an international scale, but somehow it still catches him off guard.

There’s a whole world of trainers out there that he’s barely given a thought to, because of how much Leon’s consumed his worldview.

“I’ll see if I can make it work with my schedule,” Raihan finally says, hoping that his tone comes across as ‘not particularly interested.’ “For the sake of my international fans.”

Leon grins and vaguely, Raihan wonders what he’s gotten himself into.

---

“Never. Again.”

“You know, for once I’m glad I’m shorter than you,” Leon says as they wait next to a luggage carousel in the Alola International Airport.

“You’re a prick,” Raihan shoots back. He leans down in a lunge, ignoring the stares he receives in favor of trying to stretch the stiffness out of his legs. He holds the position for a few minutes and then switches positions to stretch his other leg, grimacing as the tightness of his muscles reminds him of the fifteen hour long flight.

“It is a shame Charizard couldn’t just fly us here, though,” Leon continues, ignoring Raihan’s insult. “Maybe next time we go on holiday we should chose somewhere closer.”

“I thought this was work,” Raihan replies as he slowly straightens himself up again.

“I don’t mind mixing work and pleasure,” Leon says with a grin that does uncomfortable things to Raihan’s insides. It’s his Champion grin, the self-confident look he always sports right before KO’ing the last of Raihan’s pokemon, and Raihan’s heartrate speeds up in what might be a fight-or-flight response, or might be… something else.

It’s also the expression Leon’s making in his fifth season league card, which Raihan definitely does not have a copy of hidden away anywhere.

Honest.

“I’m sorry, but are you Leon? The Galar Champion?”

The unfamiliar voice breaks Raihan from his thoughts, and he looks over to find a young woman hovering near the two of them, looking up at Leon with a familiar starstruck expression. Part of Raihan had hoped that they’d be able to avoid a little of this outside of Galar, but he’d known it was unrealistic.

“Well, I am Leon, but I can’t say I’m the Champion anymore,” Leon answers, his grin turning into something a little more polite as he turns to face the fan.

“Oh, right,” the fan replies, looking a little flustered.

“It’s alright, love,” Raihan cuts in, leaning against Leon’s side and resting his forearm on Leon’s shoulder. “He’ll be back eventually.”

“Eventually?” Leon sputters, looking at Raihan with something dangerously close to a pout.

“I’ll be the one taking the championship next year,” Raihan replies, shooting a sharp smile at Leon. “I’ll probably take a peaceful retirement after a few years, though, so you can have a chance at the title again.”

“Say that when you can actually beat me,” Leon shoots back, and there’s that grin again.

Raihan tears his gaze away from Leon and tries to ignore the heat on his cheeks.

The fan is still standing in front of them, and she somehow looks even more starstruck than before.

“Right, do you want me to take a picture for you?” Raihan says, nodding at the Rotom phone clutched in the woman’s hands.

“Yes, please!” the woman answers, and almost before he can blink, Raihan finds her phone in his hand. Instead of going to stand next to Leon, though, she squeezes in between the two of them, throwing up a pair of peace signs and looking expectantly towards the phone clutched in Raihan’s hand.

“You want me in it too?” Raihan asks, blinking down at her.

“You are Raihan, aren’t you?” the woman replies, frowning slightly.

“Yeah,” Raihan says, feeling a little like an idiot.

The woman nods, probably to indicate that, in that case, she does want him in the picture, so Raihan holds up the phone, angling it to try to get all three of them in the frame. It’s a little difficult, because the fan’s rather petite, and Raihan finds himself hunching over so it’s not quite so obvious how much he and Leon tower over her.

He’s well versed in taking selfies, though, so it’s not long before he’s handing back the phone. The woman practically snatches it back, grinning widely as she thanks the two of them.

Thankfully no one else stops them for photos as they pick up their luggage and exit the airport, but Raihan can feel people’s eyes on them.

And they only attract more attention when Leon takes out a pokeball and releases Charizard right in front of the airport.

“Hey, mate,” Leon says, petting Charizard’s nose. Out of the corner of his eye, Raihan catches sight of at least two people holding up their phones, and he really hopes he doesn’t look as jetlagged as he feels.

Fans: always taking pictures.

“Leon – ” Raihan starts, trying to suggest that this might not be the time and place, but Leon interrupts him before he can finish.

“Front or back?” Leon asks.

“What?” Raihan replies, blinking at Leon.

“Our resort’s on Akala island,” Leon answers. “We’ll have to fly to get there.”

“Right,” Raihan says. Briefly, he regrets not having done more research beforehand, but then again, research would have just made him all that more aware of the fact that he’s going on holiday alone with Leon to a prime honeymoon destination. “I’ll take front.”

Leon gets lost in his own hometown. Who knows where they’d end up in a foreign country, if left to Leon’s devices?

Which, consequently, is how Raihan finds himself holding onto Charizard with one hand and trying to navigate on his phone with the other, while doing his best to ignore the way Leon’s pressed up behind him, arms wrapped firmly around his stomach.

“What pokemon is that?” Leon exclaims, right next to Raihan’s ear.

“The one with the orange beak?” Raihan asks, looking up from his mapping program to squint at the flock of pokemon up ahead of them. “Looks like it’s Alolan.”

“Maybe we should catch one,” Leon says. The suggestion makes Charizard perk up a little, looking over at the bird pokemon with new interest. “To find out what it is.”

“Our ’dexes aren’t going to do anything,” Raihan points out. “Just buy a guidebook.”

“Don’t you want to try catching an Alolan pokemon, though?” Leon asks. Raihan can feel the movement of Leon’s chest against his back with every word, and he does his best to ignore how firm it is.

“We can’t bring any back to Galar,” Raihan replies.

He should know. He’d spent the better part of the last week trying to figure out if there was any way for him to smuggle an Alolan Exeggutor back into the country, but unfortunately, border security coming into Galar is especially strict. The only reason Leon even has a Charizard is that it was originally a “diplomatic gift” from Kanto.

“I suppose you’re right,” Leon sighs, leaning forward to press his cheek against Raihan’s shoulder blade.

Before he can spend too long lamenting not being able to catch the orange-beak-whatever, though, a bright yellow pokemon flits over and lands on top of Charizard’s head.

Charizard is too shocked to shake it off, and Raihan would have laughed, if he wasn’t in a similar state. Most pokemon have a healthy fear of Charizard, whether or not they’re aware he’s the Champion’s Charizard, and keep a good distance before they realize he’s really quite easygoing.

The electric yellow pokemon, meanwhile, seems oblivious to the chaos it’s caused, and instead turns to peer at Raihan and Leon before doing a little dance, swinging around its pom-pom wings and kicking up its feet.

“Leon,” Raihan says. “Let’s catch some Alolan pokemon.”

“Which one is Flygon?” Leon asks, slipping a hand into Raihan’s hoodie pocket and fumbling for a pokeball.

They wouldn’t arrest Galar’s favorite Champion for pokemon smuggling, right?

---

Raihan wakes up with an unfamiliar warmth pressed up against his chest.

It’s pleasant for a moment, before his brain finally kicks into gear and he realizes who, exactly, is snuggled up next to him. A quick review of his memories from the previous night reminds him that Leon had accidentally booked a room with one bed instead of two, and at peak tourist season, the hotel hadn’t been able to spare a different room.

Which is why Leon is tucked comfortably under his chin, hair even more of a mess than usual and his mouth hanging open as he snores.

He looks like an idiot, and Raihan kind of loves him.

“Next time, I’m making the reservation,” Raihan mutters, more to himself than to Leon. For a moment, he hesitates, but then he brings a hand up to thread his fingers through Leon’s hair. He tries to smooth it down a bit, but it sticks back up stubbornly as soon as it’s passed through his fingers, and he wonders if this is why Leon always wears a hat, or if his hair is like this because he always wears a hat.

After a couple of minutes, though, he decides that he’d better not let Leon catch him doing this, and instead tries to twist his way out of Leon’s grip.

It doesn’t work very well. Leon’s grip is… very tight.

“Oi,” Raihan finally says, pushing at Leon’s shoulder. “Leon, wake up.” Another snore. “Leon.”

“Mm?” Leon replies, his voice thick with sleep. Instead of blinking his eyes open, though, he just presses himself even closer to Raihan, burying his face in the crook of Raihan’s neck.

“Let me up,” Raihan huffs, shoving at Leon a little harder.

“Why?” Leon asks, as if the answer shouldn’t be obvious. Does Leon think it’s normal to cuddle your rival on a work trip? Sort of work trip.

“I need to take a piss,” Raihan says instead, because the last thing he needs is for Leon to really start thinking about the position they’re in. As dense as he is, with his head so close to Raihan’s chest, he might actually notice how loud and fast the thump of Raihan’s heart has become.

Leon makes an unhappy noise, but thankfully complies, and Raihan has to force himself not to bolt from the bed.

He takes longer than he probably needs in the bathroom, trying to recompose himself. He’s not entirely sure if he can survive another week of this, but insisting on getting his own room would probably look strange now, wouldn’t it?

When he finally comes back out of the bathroom, he finds that Leon’s managed to pull himself out of bed and get dressed. His familiar hat is firmly in place, hiding the worst of his bed head, and Raihan’s fingers itch to smooth down the stray tufts sticking out from under it, popped up like a Taillow’s hind feathers.

“What do you want to do today?” Leon asks as he slips on a truly hideous pair of flip-flops. Not for the first time, Raihan despairs for Leon’s fashion sense. “We’re not expected at the Battle Tree until tomorrow.”

“Go to the beach?” Raihan suggests, glancing over to the hotel room’s expansive windows, which give a great view of the sparkling ocean.

He’s only posted two selfies since arriving in Alola. He needs somewhere with a fan-pleasing backdrop, and the only thing in Alola more popular than Mimikyus are the beaches.

“Great!” Leon says with a grin. “I hear Alola’s got some great water pokemon. I’ll have to try my hand at catching some, after what happened yesterday.”

Raihan grimaces. Flygon’s never been terribly good at going easy on opponents, and she’d knocked out the poor pom-pom pokemon with a quick dragon claw before either of them could even ready a pokeball. They’d had to rush it to the nearest pokemon center and in the end, had decided it was better to release it than to add to its trauma.

“Or surfing,” Leon continues, rubbing at his beard thoughtfully. “That’s something you’re supposed to try in Alola, isn’t it?”

Which, consequently, is how Raihan finds himself lounging on a beach chair and watching over the top of his sunglasses as Leon attempts to balance himself on a Mantine.

He’s not the only one staring, of course. Thankfully Leon’s fashion sense isn’t so bad that he’s wearing a speedo, but his swimming trunks aren’t any bigger than the shorts he wears with his league kit, and this time he doesn’t have leggings to protect his modesty. It also doesn’t help that without that stupid cape, it’s much easier to see the effects of his weightlifting efforts, and Raihan wonders if he should try to sneak a photo.

In the end, he flips the camera around for a selfie instead.

He spends a few moments fussing with his headband, a lighter, more summery fabric today, and then fluffs up his locs, trying to get them to sit well against the beach chair. There’s a fruity cocktail that’s been slowly melting on the side table and he grabs it, holding it up next to his face as he grins up at the camera in what he hopes is a good balance of cocky and sexy.

It takes about ten photos before he finally gets one that he’s satisfied with, and he types out, Getting some of that Alolan sun, before posting it to Instagram.

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that Leon’s managed to stand up properly on the Maintine, and is striking his Champion pose. He snaps a photo of it before he can think better of it, and briefly wonders if he should upload it too, but it would probably overshadow his own selfie.

Also he doesn’t particularly want even more people to see Leon in his tiny swim trunks.

Raihan’s broken out of his thoughts as a notification pops up on his phone.

How’s the honeymoon?

Raihan blinks at the comment for a moment, before his cheeks heat. Part of him hopes that Nessa hasn’t been gossiping with Sonia, but judging by the comment, she probably has. The last thing he needs is for even more people to find out about his awkward crush on Leon.

How can I have a honeymoon without you here, love? he finally manages to reply, hoping it comes off as smooth.

It doesn’t take long for another notification to pop up.

I don’t date idiots or men. You’re both.

Raihan decides that it’s probably better not to try to protest. At least not in the comments of his public Instagram.

Thankfully he’s distracted from the insult, though, as he gets a new notification on his post, from Hop this time.

No fair!!! I wanted to come too!!

The comment makes Raihan frown and he replies with, Too busy studying to become a professor now?

Lee said I couldn’t come, Hop answers, tacking on a sad face emoji. Because it’s a special trip for the two of you.

So a honeymoon.

Raihan glares at Nessa’s comment and tries to convince himself that the heat on his face is from the sun, and not at the thought of Leon telling his brother that this is “a special trip of the two of them.” If it is a special trip, it’s only because of the exhibition battles with Red and Blue, and Raihan doubts that the Battle Tree organizers would pay for Hop to tag along.

Still, Leon’s probably going to have to deal with Hop’s moping when they get back, because he can’t imagine Hop being happy about not getting to see such a historic match live.

Another comment appears, from an account Raihan doesn’t recognize this time.

So now that Leon’s lost, you’ve given up and run away to Alola? Strongest gym leader my arse.

Leon locks his phone and decides that maybe he should give surfing a try.

---

“It should be right here.”

“Let me see,” Raihan sighs, leaning in to look at the map pulled up on Leon’s phone. The scent of salt and sand is still clinging to Leon’s skin, and Raihan tries not to notice it. “What’s this place called again?”

“Royal Bakery,” Leon answers. Raihan makes an absentminded noise of acknowledgement and pokes around at the map for a few moments, before looking up to take in their surroundings.

He blinks as his eyes land on the building right across the plaza.

“Is that it?” he asks, pointing over at the cheery looking shop.

“Where?” Leon replies, somehow managing to look everywhere but at the right building.

Raihan bites back another sigh and instead starts towards the bakery, shooting a, “Come on,” over his shoulder. Leon frowns at him instead of following, though, and before he can think better of it, Raihan reaches out to grab Leon’s wrist and starts pulling him along.

Thankfully, Leon goes with him easily, and Raihan twitches a little as Leon adjusts his grip, twining their fingers together so that they’re holding hands, instead of Raihan just pulling him along.

Raihan really hopes no one’s taking photos of them right now.

He doesn’t break Leon’s grip, though.

The café is rather small, and there are a decent number of tourists, but there’s a booth open in the back. Leon orders what seems like half the malasadas in the pastry case, and Raihan watches on dubiously as Leon tries to balance the overloaded try as they make their way back to the open booth.

“Sweet, spicy, dry, sour, or bitter?” Leon asks as he plops himself down at the table.

“Sweet’s traditional, right?” Raihan replies, still eyeing the malasadas uncertainly. They certainly smell good, but he’s not sure he wants to eat something advertised as ‘dry’ or ‘bitter.’

“I think this one’s a sweet one,” Leon says, digging a malasada out from the pile. He hands it over to Raihan and then selects a spicy one for himself, biting into it without hesitation.

He doesn’t immediately start coughing it back up, so Raihan takes a bite of his own malasada. It’s certainly sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and Raihan bites into it again, custard filling smearing over his bottom lip. He darts out his tongue to clean it up, sliding it over his lip before polishing the remainder off his canines, and when he looks back over at Leon, he finds Leon staring.

“What?” Raihan asks, frowning.

“Nothing!” Leon says quickly, looking back down at his own malasada. Raihan could almost swear that Leon’s turned a little red, but it’s difficult to tell with his skin tone. “It’s good, yeah?”

“Mm,” Raihan agrees around another mouthful of malasada.

Leon smiles, something small and self-satisfied, and their knees knock under the table, and suddenly all Raihan can think about is Nessa’s honeymoon comment.

“So you’re feeling better?” Leon asks, breaking Raihan from his thoughts.

“Better?” Raihan repeats, frowning slightly.

“You didn’t seem like you were in the best mood earlier,” Leon explains, fiddling with his malasada. “When you came to join me for surfing. Did something happen?”

The reminder of the Instagram heckler makes Raihan suppress a grimace. He’s refrained from checking his notifications since then, although he knows he’ll end up checking them later, and the number of those sorts of comments will only have increased. He should be used to them by now, but something about them always sticks in the back of his mind.

Maybe it’s because they’re at least a little true.

“Just idiots on the internet reminding me to train more,” Raihan finally answers, waving off Leon’s concerns.

“Reminding you to train more?” Leon asks, his forehead creasing and the corners of his lips tugging down into a frown.

“If I have time to go on holiday, I should be training for next season instead,” Raihan says, forcing an uninterested tone. “The like.”

When he looks back over at Leon, he’s surprised to find that Leon’s expression is positively stormy. It’s not often that he sees this sort of look on Leon’s face instead of his Champion smile, and normally it’s reserved for people who mistreat their pokemon.

“They’re full of shite.”

The statement catches Raihan even more off guard. If Leon’s stormy look is rare, profanity leaving his lips is even rarer, after so many years of press training and living as Galar’s most beloved celebrity.

“You work harder than anyone,” Leon continues, and he starts to clench his hand, before seeming to realize that he’s still clutching his malasada. “If anyone deserves a break, it’s you.”

“Says the undefeated Champion of ten years,” Raihan says dryly, trying to ignore the warm feeling in his chest.

“You’re a gym leader,” Leon replies, shaking his head. “You have it much harder than me.”

Well. Raihan can’t really argue with that.

“Maybe I should make an Instagram account so I can tell them off,” Leon muses, and Raihan chokes on a bite of malasada.

“Leon,” Raihan says, once he’s finally managed to dislodge the pastry from his throat. “You’re really not built for internet fights, mate. And I do not want to be the one held responsible for getting you into them.”

Leon blinks at him, looking confused, and then says, “I’m good at fights, though.”

Raihan sighs and decides to switch the topic.

“Your brother was also complaining to me about how you wouldn’t let him come with us,” Raihan says. Across the table, Leon goes a little stiff. “Why’d you say that? You know I don’t mind him tagging on. He’s really peeved, and you know he’s going to complain about not seeing your match live.”

“It’s not – ” Leon starts, flustered. It’s fascinating to watch. “We’ve been so busy lately that we haven’t had time for just the two of us. I thought a trip together would be nice.”

This is not a honeymoon, Raihan reminds himself firmly.

Leon just means this as… rivals… or something.

“No time for the two of us?” Raihan finally manages, arching an eyebrow at Leon. “What was you barging into my flat every day, then?”

“Before I lost the Champion title,” Leon huffs. He hesitates, but then says, “And I wanted to do something more special than just crashing at yours. We were moving pretty slowly before because we were busy, but now that I have a lot more free time on my hands, I want to start taking things further.”

Leon looks Raihan directly in the eye as he says it, intense and emotional in a way that sends a shiver down Raihan’s back.

Raihan has no bloody clue what it means.

Chapter Text

Raihan is nervous.

It’s not something he likes to admit to, although he feels it more often than he lets it show. Generally his excitement at the prospect of an interesting battle outweighs whatever anxiety is lurking in the back of his mind, though, and it’s easy to ignore the clamminess of his palms in favor of planning out his doubles combinations.

But today he’s not nervous for himself: he’s nervous for Leon.

It’s a contradiction, because he honestly doesn’t think that Leon will lose. Whenever he tries to imagine it, his brain does the equivalent of a 404 error and resets back to an image of the self-confident grin Leon does whenever he wins.

At the same time, the logical part of him is all too aware of Leon’s recent loss, and the fact that although Leon’s been putting up his best front, he’s been fundamentally shaken in a way that Raihan can’t even begin to know how to fix.

But now’s not the time to worry about that.

“We’re so honored to be able to host a set of truly historic matches here at the Battle Tree in Alola,” the announcer says, shooting a winning smile at one of the cameras. There are another six set up around the edges of the platform, and Raihan waves to the one closest to him, flashing canines as he smiles picture-perfect.

It’s not a setup Raihan’s used to, although he supposes it makes sense. The Battle Tree is a facility for private, individual matches, not a stadium built to seat hundreds of fans, and other than the Battle Tree staff and the camera crew, Raihan, Leon, Red, and Blue are the only other people present.

Raihan’s gotten so used to playing to a physical crowd, that he’s not quite sure how he feels about it.

If Blue feels the same, though, it certainly doesn’t show on his face.

“I’m looking forward to a good match,” Blue says with an easy smile, extending a hand to Raihan.

“Same here,” Raihan replies, accepting the handshake. He’s pleased to find that it’s brief and firm, and not something awkward or overly aggressive. “But are you sure you’re alright with doubles? I won’t go easy on you.”

“That’ll just make it better when I win,” Blue laughs, his smile turning into something sharper.

Before Raihan can think of a proper retort, though, the referee signals for them to move back to their respective sides of the pitch.

Then, the match begins.

“Alakazam! Aerodactyl!” Blue yells, lobbing two pokeballs into the air. The two pokemon materialize on the pitch, Aerodactyl’s wings kicking up a powerful gust of wind as he suspends himself in the air, while Alakazam studies Raihan with a narrowed, calculating gaze. “Let’s show them what Kanto is made of.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Raihan says, before releasing Gigalith and Flygon from their pokeballs.

Sand spills off of Gigalith’s skin, swirling around the pitch, and Raihan tugs up his hood to shield his face from the onslaught. Blue looks less prepared for the sudden environmental change and grimaces, digging a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and sliding them onto his face.

Flygon darts forward before Raihan can even give her her cue.

Aerodactyl screeches as he’s hit with the full force of her thunder punch, and Raihan feels a grin tug at the corners of his lips. It sends Aerodactyl crashing to the ground, twitching with the electric shock, and Flygon swoops down for a second go.

Unfortunately, she’s thrown off course by Alakazam’s shadow ball.

“I can’t let you have it that easy,” Blue says, pitching his voice loud enough to be heard over the whistle of the sandstorm.

“Hey,” Raihan replies with a shrug. “I said I wasn’t holding back.”

He’s barely gotten the words out of his mouth, though, before Aerodactyl launches himself back up into the air and directly at Flygon. She’s still off balance from Alakazam’s shadow ball and Aerodactyl’s claws clamp firmly around her throat, before dragging her up into the air, into the upper branches of the Battle Tree.

Raihan clenches his jaw, but unfortunately there’s not much he can do for her from here, so instead he yells, “Gigalith!”

Gigalith doesn’t need further instructions, and Alakazam attempts to throw up a shield as the sandstorm morphs, sealing him inside a vortex of sand. Alakazam’s reflect doesn’t extend around him fully, though, and sand tomb blocks him in, growing tighter around him until Raihan can barely make out his outline through the sand.

A moment later, Aerodactyl swoops back down, talons still clamped down on Flygon’s throat as he attempts to bash her against the ground. However, with Alakazam trapped in the sand tomb, Gigalith’s free to attack and slams into Aerodactyl, forcing him to release his hold on Flygon.

As soon as Flygon’s free, she hits Aerodactyl with another thunder punch.

Aerodactyl falls to the ground, unconscious.

The referee holds up a hand for them to pause, making her way out onto the pitch. She takes a moment to inspect Aerodactyl, but then looks up and nods at Blue, who returns the gesture, a pinched expression on his face as he takes out a pokeball and returns Aerodactyl to it.

“One down, three to go,” Raihan says, flashing his canines as he grins at Blue.

“Hey, I’m just getting started,” Blue replies, the pinched look on his face smoothing over into something cockier. He takes out another pokeball and lobs it into the air, yelling, “Exeggutor!”

Raihan doesn’t know if he’s disappointed or relieved that it’s a Kanto Exeggutor and not an Alolan one, because on one hand, he hasn’t gotten to see one yet, but on the other hand, the last thing he needs is an opponent with a type combination that’s super effective against both Gigalith and Flygon. The grass moves are going to be a pain as it is.

Sure enough, Blue smirks as Exeggutor releases a lighting fast leaf storm.

“Flygon!” Raihan yells, and Flygon moves to intercept the hailstorm of leaves aimed at Gigalith, but before she can, a ring of purplish-pink energy burst forth from Alakazam and slams into her, throwing her off balance. It leaves Gigalith wide open to Exeggutor’s attack, and she flinches as she’s battered by the leaves, chipping at her carefully maintained stone.

She’s not about to go down easily, though, and hits Exeggutor with a well-timed rock blast.

The sandstorm continues to howl across the battlefield, and both Exeggutor and Alakazam flinch as it buffets them. Flygon pays it no heed, though, and the split-second is all she needs to retaliate against Alakazam for his earlier psychic.

“Fly – ” Raihan starts to yell, but she’s too quick for him, mouth closing down on Alakazam’s throat as she uses crunch. Alakazam’s been worn down enough by the sandstorm and Gigalith’s sand tomb that it’s enough to make him go limp, collapsing in the pile of sand that’s accumulated around his feet.

On the other side of the pitch, Exeggutor hits Gigalith with another leaf storm, and Gigalith faints just a split-second behind Alakazam.

Raihan curses under his breath. He’s going to need to have another talk with Flygon about the meaning of doubles.

“You’re not bad,” Blue says, breaking Raihan out of his thoughts.

“Not bad?” Raihan snorts, looking away from where the referee is inspecting their pokemon and over at Blue. “You’re the one with only two pokemon left.”

Blue doesn’t reply, just gives Raihan another smirk, and then the referee’s confirming that both Alakazam and Gigalith are unable to continue battling.

“Duraludon!” Raihan yells, releasing Duraludon from his pokeball. Across from him, Blue releases his final pokemon, and now it’s Raihan’s turn to grin as a Gyarados materializes on the pitch. All he needs are a couple more thunder punches from Flygon, and then –

“Gyarados, ice fang!”

Ice spreads out across Flygon’s scales as Gyarados’ jaw clamps around her.

Raihan doesn’t hate that Blue’s Gyarados knows ice fang quite as much as he hates that Leon’s Charizard can use max overgrowth, but it’s a close second.

The referee’s back out on the pitch before Gyarados has even released Flygon’s limp body, and Raihan itches to rush over and check Flygon himself, but he really doesn’t need a penalty for interference right now. His heart still sinks as the referee announces that Flygon’s out of the match, though.

“What was that about only having two pokemon left?” Blue asks, peering over the rims of his sunglasses.

Raihan smiles back with too many teeth.

He doesn’t say anything as he sends out Sandaconda and tries to recalculate his strategy. The sandstorm is still going strong, and both Gyarados and Exeggutor are affected by it, but type-wise, they’re both going to be trouble for Sandaconda. At least Duraludon should be immune to just about anything they throw at him.

Raihan really wishes he could dynamax right now. Piers is mental, if this is what he does every single match.

Sure enough, Exeggutor goes right for Sandaconda.

Thankfully, she’s prepared, though, and clamps her mouth down on Exeggutor with a well-timed fire fang. Still, she’s not entirely able to avoid Exeggutor’s leaf storm, and Raihan grits his teeth as the leaves bite into her scales.

At least she leaves Exeggutor with a burn, and between that and the steady damage of the sandstorm, one more fire fang would be more than enough to finish things off.

But unfortunately, they’re not quite able to get to that before Gyarados attacks. Duraludon tries to interfere, and his stone edge throws Gyarados a little off course, but Gyarados’ size gives his aqua tail a formidable range, and it’s powerful enough that even without its full force, it sends Sandaconda flying in a spray of seafoam.

“How the tables turn,” Blue says, his tone light.

“We’re not done yet,” Raihan replies, and as if to emphasize his point, the sandstorm gusts even stronger, buffeting Exeggutor and Gyarados. Exeggutor stumbles, clearly fatigued, and in that moment, Raihan makes a quick decision.

A nod is all it takes to push Duraludon into action, hitting Gyarados with another stone edge. Gyarados seems a little caught off guard by Duraludon’s speed, fast enough that he can’t even partially dodge, and Raihan grins. Most people who aren’t familiar with Duraludon don’t realize that although he looks like a heavy hunk of metal, he’s surprisingly light, and Flygon’s the only one of Raihan’s pokemon who’s faster.

Exeggutor attacks with a well-timed psychic, but it’s just not an effective type matchup, and between her burn and the sandstorm, she collapses without Duraludon even touching her.

Blue’s expression has turned more serious now, his confident smirk reduced, and something about it makes Raihan’s skin prickle.

He’d almost forgotten that he’s fighting a former Champion.

It’s not that Raihan thought that Blue was weak before, but now that he’s down to his last pokemon, there’s a certain intensity to him that puts Raihan on edge. He’s never been more grateful that Duraludon has both decent speed and defense, because even with those advantages, he can’t entirely avoid Gyarados’ attacks, and the damage is starting to add up.

But in the end, it comes down to the fact that Duraludon’s stone edge is type effective and Gyarados’ ice fang is not.

“Gyarados cannot continue to battle,” the referee announces, once she’s finally finished examining Gyarados, his collapsed body taking up half the pitch. Duraludon still looks fairly worse for wear, though, his recently polished steel scratched in places, and Raihan’s going to have to dry the water off him quickly before he starts to rust. “Raihan is the winner of today's exhibition match.” 

“You got me,” Blue says, as he comes over to shake Raihan’s hand. His grip is just as firm and steady as it was at the beginning of the battle. “You’re pretty good. We’ll have to have a rematch sometime.”

“You’re already trying to contest my win?” Raihan asks, arching an eyebrow at Blue.

“Nah,” Blue replies, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You just gave me some things to think about. I’ll be ready for you next time.”

“Come to Galar and I’ll show you want I can really do,” Raihan says with a grin, flashing his canines.

“You better be ready to take me up on that,” Blue laughs. “I’m dying to try that dynamax stuff.”

Before Raihan can retort, though, the referee comes over to shoo them off the pitch, and Raihan realizes that he’d gotten so caught up in the battle that he’d almost forgotten about Leon’s match. Then again, if he was able to win his, then there’s really no reason for him to worry about Leon.

Except for the fact that he’s up against one of the strongest Champions in history.

Raihan’s nervousness is back.

---

“It’s too bad I forgot to bring my gym badges.”

Raihan looks up from his phone and over at Blue, sidling up next to him. There’s not really any room for spectators at the Battle Tree arena, but Raihan’s managed to find a spot up against the trunk of the main tree and is waiting for Leon’s battle to start.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I need a Kanto gym badge,” Raihan replies, his tone dry.

“Why not?” Blue asks, leaning back against the tree trunk. “You’ve never thought about challenging another league?”

“I’ve got a gym to run in Galar,” Raihan answers. He puts his phone away, sliding his hands in his pockets, and it makes his shoulders slouch a little.

“You’d pick fighting twelve-year-olds with their first pokemon over being a Champion?” Blue snorts, and Raihan can’t help but look over at him, caught off guard.

The action makes Blue pause, and he studies Raihan for a long moment.

“I’m not – ” Raihan starts, finally breaking eye contact with Blue.

“You could be,” Blue interrupts, his voice steady and casual, like he’s stating a well-known fact. “You could easily become a Champion if you went to another region. And if you don’t trust my judgement, I’d like to remind you that I am a former Champion. I know Champion material when I see it.”

For a moment, Raihan’s quiet.

Leon and Red have finally made their way out onto the pitch and Leon’s flashing his Champion smile at the cameras like they’re a live crowd. Red, on the other hand, looks less comfortable, the brim of his hat pulled down over his eyes, and when Leon extends a hand to him, he stares at it blankly for a moment, before accepting the handshake.

Leon says something that Raihan can’t catch from this distance and shakes Red’s hand hard enough to make him stumble slightly, and idly, Raihan wonders if he should tell Leon to take it easy on the guy.

Not that Leon means to spook him, of course, which is half the problem.

“I’m not that interested in being a Champion,” Raihan finally says. His eyes never leave Leon. “I just wanna beat him.”

“Well,” Blue replies. “I will say that being a former Champion bags you a lot better gigs than being a Gym Leader does. In my humble opinion, at least.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Leon snorts, the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile.

Then, the battle starts.

Red and Leon are pretty evenly matched. They’re playing by Battle Tree rules to promote the facility, and without items or boosted levels, it really does come down to the trainer’s skill and command of their pokemon.

Despite his recent loss, Leon’s pokemon seem to be in top form. Looking at Leon here today, a grin on his face as Aegislash takes out Red’s Pikachu with a beautifully executed flash cannon, Raihan doubts that anyone would believe him if he told them how Leon was practically crying on his shoulder after the championship.

Red certainly lives up to his reputation, though. When Raihan had first seen him, he’d thought he’d not seen anyone who looked less suited to being a Champion, with the wary, uncertain way he’d treated everyone and everything (except for maybe Blue).

The way he’s looking at Leon now, though, alert and interested – Raihan knows that feeling better than anyone.

Red’s Lapras does in Aegislash despite a disadvantageous move set, and makes unfortunately quick work of Dragapult with some nasty ice shards, but thankfully not before Dragapult gets in a direct hit with thunderbolt. Raihan has to catch himself as he realizes how far forward he’s leaning, almost enough to interfere with the TV crew, and he crosses his arms firmly over his chest, forcing himself to lean back against the tree and trying to look like something other than a massive fanboy.

The smirk Blue shoots him tells him he’s not that successful.

In the end, Leon’s Charizard takes out Lapras with that annoying-as-hell solar beam of his, and then they’re both down to their last pokemon.

Both Charizards, of course. The world likes irony too bloody much.

Red’s Charizard should have the advantage, considering Lapras managed to graze Leon’s Charizard with a surf before solar beam did her in. However, solar beam’s not the only move Leon’s Charizard knows, despite having no business knowing, because apparently diplomatic gift pokemon from Kanto are bred to know otherwise unlearnable moves, like ancient power.

Purple-glowing rocks batter Red’s Charizard, and Raihan grimaces in sympathy. Just as he’s started to wonder if the battle’s been decided, though, Red’s Charizard releases a nasty looking focus blast, and it hits Leon’s Charizard square in the chest.

Both pokemon fall to the ground.

The referee rushes onto the pitch, holding up a hand to stop the battle, and Raihan’s heart is in his throat as they wait for the call. Leon’s posture is as confident as ever, but his mouth is set in a tight line, and Raihan almost doesn’t want to hear –

“Both pokemon are unable to continue,” the referee announces. “We will consider this a draw.”

A draw.

The words echo in Raihan’s head. Part of him wants to demand that they review the video footage, check to see if maybe, possibly, Leon’s ancient power hit a second before Red’s focus blast, but then Leon’s smiling, that bright, Champion smile of his and reaching out to shake hands with Red.

There’s no room for him to argue with the result if Leon’s accepted it.

“Hey!”

The voice breaks Raihan out of his thoughts, and he blinks as he realizes that Leon’s started to jog over to him.

“Congratulations!” Leon exclaims, a wide grin spreading over his face. It’s not his confident Champion smile or his fanservice look, but something warmer, and it does strange things to Raihan’s insides. “Your battle was incredible, Rai.”

The nickname makes Raihan’s face heat, and he struggles not to stumble over his words as he says, “You too, mate.”

Something flickers across Leon’s face for a split-second, but it’s gone before Raihan can identify it, replaced by another grin as Leon says, “We should get dinner to celebrate. I’ll treat you to something good, yeah?”

Isn’t the winner supposed to treat the loser? Raihan almost says, but he manages to catch himself before the words actually pass his lips.

A draw isn’t a loss.

If Leon disagrees, he doesn’t say it aloud.

---

“You looked really good out there today.”

Raihan nearly chokes on a mouthful of steak.

“I mean, you’re always in top form, but watching you battle doubles is always a treat,” Leon continues, oblivious to the way Raihan’s trying to subtly clear his airway. “It’s too bad the league won’t let us do doubles for the Championship finals.”

Right. ‘Good’ as in ‘battling well.’ Not as in ‘attractive.’

“You sure about that?” Raihan asks. He’s relieved that his voice comes out smooth. “You might not want to give me that sort of advantage.”

“You think it’d give you an advantage?” Leon asks, a glint in his eye that sends a shiver down Raihan’s spine. “I’ve beat you at doubles before.”

“Never in an official match,” Raihan snorts, the corners of his mouth quirking up into a smirk.

“Which is why we should petition the league to have one,” Leon replies, taking another piece of his own food and popping it in his mouth. He pauses, chewing, and then says, “But then I suppose I’d have to let all of Galar know how good you look battling doubles.”

‘Good’ as in ‘battling well.’

Not as in ‘attractive.’

“I always look good when I’m battling,” Raihan finally manages, trying to ignore the flush of heat creeping up his neck. “Doubles or not.”

“True,” Leon laughs, catching Raihan off guard. The smile tugging at his lips doesn’t help either, and for a moment, Raihan almost interprets it as flirty before he knocks the thought out of his head and brings himself down to reality.

Leon probably doesn’t even know what ‘flirty’ is. As far as Raihan’s aware, he’s been single since his one, disastrous attempt at dating Sonia, when they were sixteen. Not that the position of Champion allowed him much time to date, despite the number of fans that were happy to offer themselves up.

It occurs to Raihan that Leon now has a lot more free time. And even with his defeat, it’s not like his popularity has decreased much.

Something occurs to Raihan, and he digs his phone out of his pocket.

“Text?” Leon asks, trying to peer over the table at Raihan’s phone screen.

Raihan shakes his head, tapping at his phone with rapid, practiced movements as he says, “I haven’t posted any new photos since this morning. My fans are gonna think I’ve died or something.”

Leon goes silent as Raihan finishes uploading a post-battle selfie to Instagram. It only takes Raihan a few moments to make the post, as experienced as he is with captioning selfies, and soon enough he’s putting his phone away and turning back to the conversation at hand.

When he registers Leon’s expression, though, he pauses.

“What?” Raihan asks, his forehead creasing.

“Nothing,” Leon answers. He picks at his food, looking something remarkably close to petulant.

“I was just uploading a photo,” Raihan says, the corners of his lips tugging down in annoyance. “Do you know how little I’ve been checking my phone today? It’s not like I’m not paying attention to – ”

Raihan cuts himself off abruptly.

Alright, so it might, actually, be a little, tiny bit insensitive to post his victory photos while at dinner with Leon, who’s just not-won a battle for the second time in a matter of months.

“Sorry,” Raihan finally manages. It comes out just about as awkwardly as he feels. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad or anything.”

Leon’s unhappy expression melts just as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by something that might be guilt, and Raihan doesn’t know whether it makes him feel better or worse. Before he can try to apologize further, though, Leon sighs, poking at a piece of broccoli with his fork, and says, “No, I shouldn’t – if it makes you happy, then it’s fine. I’m fine.”

For a moment, Raihan hesitates, but then he asks, “Is it fine, though?”

The question makes Leon blink, the corners of his mouth turning down in a confused frown. It’s an unfairly cute expression on him, and Raihan curses the fact that Leon can somehow be both hot and cute.

“That I’m posting victory selfies,” Raihan continues, slowly, “and today you didn’t win.”

Now Leon looks less confused and more caught off guard. It’s not exactly what Raihan had been expecting.

“That’s,” Leon replies, his voice going a little garbled as he buries his face in his hands. It would be cute too, if Raihan wasn’t busy trying to figure out what prompted it. “Not. What I meant. About the posting.”

“What?” Raihan asks, frowning.

“It’s just,” Leon starts, a little haltingly. “Sometimes I think your fans get to see more of you than I do, with the photos and the fanservice and all.”

Raihan wonders is Leon can physically see a question mark floating over his head, because it damn well feels like it’s there. Sure they’re rivals, and friends, and Leon’s closer to him than – anyone, if he really thinks about it, but he hadn’t thought it was enough to make Leon? Jealous? Of him prioritizing his fans.

Sure, it’s nice to think that he gets to see sides of Leon that no one else gets to see, but he’s logical enough to tell that at least half of that is his stupid crush talking.

“Never mind,” Leon mutters, breaking Raihan out of his thoughts. “Let’s forget about it.”

Part of Raihan wants to press it, because he’s starting to feel like he’s missing something important here, but then Leon starts talking about some special stone developed in Kalos which allows Charizard to become a dragon type and it’s all too easy to get swept up in the new topic.

For a while, at least.

They end up on the beach near the hotel after dinner. It’s already dark, so there isn’t anyone else out, not enough visibility for swimming and no sunset to make things romantic. The crisp, cool air makes for a good atmosphere, though, and while there aren’t any people around, Raihan can hear the rustle of pokemon in the palm trees and the occasional splash of one in the water.

It helps distract him from the fact that there’s really nothing but common sense from stopping him from moving over ever so slightly and taking Leon’s hand in his.

Something barks loudly, breaking Raihan from his thoughts.

A moment later a Rockruff tumbles out from the bushes, spilling out onto the sand. It does a summersault before landing on its arse, blinking as if surprised to find the ocean spread out in front of it, but it’s only still for a moment before it jumps back up to its feet.

However, as soon as it spots Raihan and Leon, it skids to a stop again. It studies them for a moment, cocking its head and looking up at them with big, blue eyes, and Raihan finds himself letting out a soft huff of laughter before crouching down and extending a palm.

The Rockruff takes that for the cue it is, and trots forward to shove its nose in Raihan’s hand.

“You’re pretty friendly,” Raihan says, reaching up to ruffle Rockruff’s ears once Rockruff seems satisfied with its investigation of his palm. “You don’t have a trainer, do you?”

The Rockruff yips, which doesn’t mean anything to Raihan, and he lets out another little snort as he shifts his hand to pet at the top of Rockruff’s head. It makes Rockruff’s fur stand up in messy disarray, but Rockruff doesn’t seem to mind, judging by the way its tongue lolls and tail continues to wag.

“Hey, Leon – ” Raihan starts, but when he looks up, it’s to find Leon’s phone pointed at him. “Are you taking photos?”

“I want some pictures of you that aren’t from Instagram,” Leon says, and Raihan’s mind goes blank for a moment as he tries to process the implication that Leon saves photos from his Instagram, or at least looks at them.

“You could just ask me for some,” Raihan huffs. Leon just gives him a noncommittal noise in return, flipping through the photos he’d just taken. Apparently they’re satisfactory, because a moment later he shoves his phone back in his pocket and crouches down next to Raihan, reaching out to pet Rockruff too.

The Rockruff seems delighted by this development, and proceeds to slobber on Leon’s hand with its lolling tongue.

“Think a Rockruff would be a good addition to my team?” Raihan asks, watching as Rockruff seems torn between continuing to slobber on Leon or switching to him instead.

“Rock types work well with sandstorm,” Leon answers. He wipes his hand on his shorts, and Raihan wrinkles his nose at the wet spot Rockruff’s saliva creates. “Although they have a lot of weaknesses.”

“They’re resistant to fire,” Raihan points out, shooting a smirk over at Leon.

“You’re not gonna tell me your whole strategy now, are you?” Leon asks, returning Raihan’s smirk with a grin of his own. It’s one of those ones that makes Raihan’s heart beat too fast, makes him want to challenge Leon to a pokemon battle right here and now.

Instead, though, he looks back at Rockruff, and the two of them fall into silence for a long moment.

“Earlier, you asked if it was fine that I didn’t win.”

Raihan’s gaze snaps back up to Leon.

“I don’t know if it is,” Leon continues. He keeps his eyes fixed on Rockruff, stroking his fingers through its fur. “But I don’t think it isn’t fine either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Raihan asks, his forehead creasing.

For a moment, Leon’s quiet, but then he says, “It’s kind of comforting to know that I don’t have to protect everyone just because I’m the strongest. I still don’t like the fact that Hopp and Gloria had to save me from Eternatus, but it’s nice to know that they can handle things if I can’t.” He smiles at Raihan, not quite natural but not quite forced. “And at least I’m still stronger than you.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?” Raihan huffs, narrowing his eyes.

Leon hums noncommittally, looking down at Rockruff as he scratches underneath its chin. Then, he says, “I’m glad that I can still protect you.”

“Have you considered that maybe I want to be strong enough to protect you too?” Raihan replies, the words spilling out of his mouth before he can stop them. It’s enough to make Leon meet his eyes again, clearly caught off guard, and Raihan hates that this is apparently a surprise to Leon.

He hesitates, but then says, “Blue said I should challenge another league.”

“Another league?” Leon echoes.

“Said I could probably become Champion,” Raihan explains, shrugging slightly. Rockruff yips and butts its head up against his leg, displeased that it’s being ignored in favor of conversation. “Apparently he knows ‘Champion material’ when he sees it.”

The two of them fall into silence for a long moment.

“Kalos is close.”

Leon says the words carefully, like he’s not entirely sure he wants to say them.

“Some of my former sponsors have connections there too,” Leon continues. He doesn’t look Raihan in the eye, though. “And I don’t think Kalos has a set league season, so you could leave whenever you wanted.”

He stumbles over the word ‘leave’ and it makes Raihan’s heart pound hard in his chest.

He hesitates, but then says, “Blue said I could challenge another league. I never said I was going to.”

“Why not?” Leon asks, looking over to frown at Raihan, his forehead creased. Raihan resists the urge to reach out and smooth the lines with his thumb.

“Because I have more important things to do here,” Raihan answers. “Like beat you.”

Leon blinks at him for a moment, surprise clear on his face, and then –

And then he leans in close, far too close, and presses his mouth to Raihan’s. It catches Raihan off guard and he freezes, his brain struggling to compute Leon’s soft lips against his own. Leon doesn’t pull away, though, just shifts his position a little to slot their mouths more firmly together, slightly wet as Raihan’s mouth falls open.

It’s definitely a kiss.

In the end, it doesn’t last terribly long. It’s not frantic, or passionate, or emotional in any of the ways Raihan’s imagined kissing Leon, but something about it still takes his breath away, and he finds himself staring at Leon, dumbfounded.

“If you ever want to go to Kalos, I’ll come with you,” Leon says, his eyes intent in a way they only are during pokemon battles.

“Alright,” is all Raihan can manage in reply.

Leon smiles, and Raihan wonders if he’s dreaming.

---

They don’t say a single word about the kiss.

Rockruff makes noises about being neglected, so they play with it for a little while longer, and Leon apparently doesn’t feel the need to add any dramatic confessions. Raihan’s not really sure how to bring up the topic, and the longer they go without talking about it, the more he starts to doubt it ever happened, idle fantasies drifting into real life.

He’s pretty sure he hasn’t progressed to the point of hallucination, though. Probably.

Maybe this has something to do with him talking about going to Kalos? Isn’t platonic kissing a common greeting there? Although he’s fairly sure that’s supposed to be on the cheek.

When they finally get back to the hotel later that evening, Raihan excuses himself to the balcony and immediately calls Nessa.

The phone rings for a long few minutes. Raihan finds himself tapping at the balcony railing impatiently, his heartrate still quick from the memory of the kiss, and he almost thinks that Nessa isn’t going to pick up, when an irritated, sleep rough voice says, “Do you know what time it is?”

Raihan blinks for a moment. He’d forgotten about time differences.

“Eight?” he hazards.

“Seven,” Nessa corrects, her tone clipped. “On a goddamn Saturday.”

“Leon kissed me,” Raihan blurts out, the words spilling past his lips before he can stop them.

For a moment, Nessa goes quiet, and Raihan wonders if she’s hung up on him because she’d deemed his crisis not important enough, but finally she says, “It’s too early for this. I’m passing you to Sonia.”

It takes a moment for Raihan to process her statement, but as soon as he does, he feels his face heat. Briefly, he wonders if he should offer to call back later, but then he hears the sound of the phone being shifted around, followed by a somewhat groggy, “Raihan?”

“Morning,” Raihan replies, a little awkwardly.

“Nessa said you’re having a crisis?” Sonia says around what is probably a yawn.

“Not sure it qualifies as a crisis,” Raihan mumbles. He’s starting to regret making an international call over Leon kissing him, of all things, like he’s reverted to fifteen when he first realized that Leon’s smile did strange things to his insides.

“Which is why you called instead of texting,” Sonia snorts. Her voice sounds clearer than before, though, like she’s forcing herself to wake up so she can listen to him more carefully.

For a moment, Raihan hesitates, but then he blurts out, “Leon kissed me.”

The other end of the line goes quiet.

“Congrats on kissing your boyfriend?” Sonia finally says, and Raihan starts to bristle at her teasing, before he realizes that she sounds genuinely confused. “Although I would have thought you two would have gotten past that by now, considering how long you’ve been dating.”

Now it’s Raihan’s turn to be speechless.

“We’re not dating!” he eventually manages. He winces at the volume of his own voice and sneaks a glance back into the hotel room. Thankfully Leon doesn’t seem to have noticed, though, too busy giving Dragapult belly scratches. “Why would we be dating?”

“Because Leon told me you were?” Sonia answers slowly, like she thinks he’s particularly thick.

“He said we were dating?” Raihan sputters.

“Yeah,” Sonia replies, and Raihan searches her voice for any sign that she’s playing a joke on him, but he doesn’t come up with anything. “He called me right after he first asked you out, babbling about how he couldn’t believe you said yes.”

Another pause, as Raihan processes this information.

“You did say yes, didn’t you?” Sonia asks. She sounds half suspicious and half concerned.

“I,” Raihan says, a little haltingly, “don’t remember him asking me out.” A number of their interactions from the past week, and a few from even before that, flash through his mind, and he adds, “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t.”

“Because you’re an idiot, he’s an idiot, or you’re both idiots?” Sonia snorts, and there’s something close to amusement budding in her tone.

“Not sure,” Raihan answers. Right now, he’s pretty sure it’s the first option, but he doesn’t admit that aloud. “I’ll get back to you on it.”

“Preferably at a better hour of the morning,” Sonia suggests, but it’s not really a suggestion. “By which I mean the afternoon. You can reach me on Nessa’s mobile, or you can just tell her. I’m sure she’ll pass it on.”

“Congrats on that, by the way,” Raihan replies, mentally going back through the past few times he saw Sonia and Nessa, trying to figure out how far he should backdate his congratulations.

“Don’t worry, it’s new,” Sonia says cheerily, like she can tell exactly what he’s thinking. “Although we seem to have gotten much farther than you and Leon so far. You two have a lot of catching up to do.”

Raihan’s brain supplies a very unhelpful image of the sort of ‘catching up’ he and Leon could do. Which he’s pretty sure is Sonia’s point, but it also makes him very, very aware of the fact that while he’d assumed that Leon booking them a room with one bed was an accident, Leon never actually specified as much. He’d just gotten a sheepish look and said he could try to change the reservation if it would be too uncomfortable.

Oh god, Leon probably thinks he’s some sort of blushing virgin. Or not into sex.

“I’m hanging up now,” Sonia announces, breaking Raihan from his thoughts.

With that, he hears the click of the line cutting off. Abruptly, he realizes that there’s nothing stopping him from going back into the room and crawling into bed with Leon, that that’s probably what Leon’s been expecting for the past few days. Maybe it’s even what Leon’s been hoping for.

Raihan swallows thickly and reaches for the balcony door.

“Everything okay?” Leon asks, looking up at the sound of the door. Dragapult’s still out of her pokeball, lounging on her back as Leon strokes her tummy indulgently. Honestly, sometimes Raihan wonders if she’s actually a Dragapult and not just an overlarge Yamper, because although she looks perfectly regal during battles, her dignity completely vanishes at the offer of belly rubs.

“Just had to take a call,” Raihan answers, trying to keep his tone casual. He’s actually glad for the fact that Dragapult’s on the bed, because it keeps his mind from straying to dangerous places.

However, he doesn’t get to be thankful for it for too long, because Leon gives Dragapult one last pat and then returns her to her pokeball, leaving the two of them alone in the hotel room. With one bed.

Briefly, Raihan considers escaping with the excuse of a shower, but he doesn’t particularly want to stay up waiting for his locs to dry before bed. Then again, his two options at the moment are: 1. Think about going to bed with Leon, or 2. Go to bed with Leon, which both wreck about the same amount of havoc on his heart.

He resolutely does not think about the third possible option.

“Should we see if there’s a match on?” Leon asks, breaking Raihan from his thoughts.

“Right, yeah,” Raihan answers automatically, not really thinking about what he’s agreeing to. It doesn’t actually sound like a bad idea, though, and he hovers by the side of the bed while Leon rummages for the remote, flipping through channels until he finds something acceptable.

“Come on,” Leon says. He spreads his legs slightly and pats the open space between them in invitation.

Raihan’s brain short-circuits for a moment. His hesitation makes Leon frown, though, and before he can think better of it, he gets up on the bed, settling himself between Leon’s legs. The position makes it so that his back is resting against Leon’s chest, his stupidly firm chest, and Raihan doesn’t know what to do with the new knowledge that there’s really nothing stopping him from touching as much as he likes.

“Can I?” Leon asks, and for the second time in the span of a minute, Raihan finds himself agreeing without really knowing what he’s agreeing to.

A moment later, Leon’s fingers dig into his shoulders.

Raihan can’t help but stiffen up at the first contact, but it doesn’t take him long to melt into the sensation. A bit more pressure and he has to bite back a moan as Leon massages the tension out of his shoulders, working his muscles loose until he’s entirely forgotten about the fact that he and Leon are in bed together, and apparently dating.

It takes him a grant total of ten minutes to fall asleep against Leon’s chest.

---

Raihan wakes up how he’s woken up for the past two days: with Leon clinging to him.

However, this morning, instead of calculating how to escape, he lets himself enjoy the moment. It shouldn’t be that comfortable, he thinks, because Leon’s muscle mass is heavy and not particularly soft, but at least Leon is warm, easily making up for what Raihan lacks in body heat.

In fact, it’s almost enough to make him drift back to sleep, but then he finally notices that Leon’s snoring has stopped, and he finds himself frozen as Leon blinks his eyes open, sleep clouded and beautiful.

“Morning,” Leon says around a yawn. He shifts slightly, and for a moment Raihan thinks he’s going to get up, but instead he moves to press their mouths together in a brief, closed mouth kiss.

It doesn’t make Raihan’s brain short-circuit quite as much as the first kiss did, but it still takes a bit to process.

“Are we dating?” Raihan asks, the words spilling out of his mouth before he can stop them.

Leon blinks at him for a long moment. The sun spilling through the curtains makes his brown skin glow, radiant in a way that makes Raihan wonder if he’s actually just dreaming all of this. He swallows unconsciously, half-regretting the question now, when he could have just kissed Leon again instead.

“Yes?” Leon replies, sleep rumpled and confused.

“Huh,” Raihan says, for lack of anything else to say. “Okay.”

“Are we not?” Leon asks, slowly, and Raihan regrets springing this on him first thing in the morning. He probably should have at least waited until breakfast.

“Yeah, yeah,” Raihan says quickly, before Leon’s frown can deepen. “Just, ah. When did we start dating?”

Leon blinks at him.

“Four months ago?” Leon hazards, and Raihan can see him mentally calculating it out. “Because it was after that exhibition match in Hammerlocke, when you agreed that you’d go out with me if I won the match.”

“I thought you meant like we usually do!” Raihan blurts out, before he can stop himself. “We always go out for dinner after matches.”

“What?” Leon asks, still looking very lost, and Raihan hates his bloody stupid gorgeous face.

“God,” Raihan groans, rubbing a hand over his face. “Why are you so bad at asking people out? I didn’t even realize we were dating.”

For a moment, Leon goes quiet, and when Raihan moves his hand away again, he finds that Leon’s confusion has turned into something more like dread. Leon starts to pull away, quickly, nervous, and before he can think about what he’s doing, Raihan reaches out to pull him back in, pressing them tight together. It makes Leon freeze, looking up at Raihan with wide eyes, and Raihan finds himself frozen too, unsure what to do now that he has Leon trapped here.

Not that he really has Leon trapped. Considering the weightlifting Leon does, he could probably break away with a single flex.

“I – ” Raihan and Leon start at the same time.

They both cut themselves off just as quickly as they started, waiting for the other to continue.

“You,” Leon finally says, “didn’t realize we were dating?”

“Not really, no,” Raihan answers. Leon’s face starts to crumple, and he quickly adds, “But I want to! I really – ” His voice hitches a little. “ – really want to. I think I’m kind of in love with you.”

Their faces are close enough together that Raihan swears he can feel the heat rush to Leon’s face.

“Sorry,” Leon mutters, ducking his face slightly. “I thought you knew.”

“Yeah, the kiss last night kind of clued me in,” Raihan snorts, but there’s a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Leon tries to hide his face even further, but it only makes his face brush against Raihan’s chest, and even through the fabric of his shirt, Raihan can feel how hot Leon’s skin has flushed. He hesitates and says, “If you’d kissed me sooner it wouldn’t have taken so long.”

“I’ve never done this before!” Leon protests, indignant. “And you weren’t exactly helping.”

“Oh so it’s my fault that you didn’t kiss me for four entire months of dating?” Raihan huffs, and Leon finally looks up again to glare at him, but it’s undermined somewhat by the sheer amount of embarrassment written across his face.

“I was being respectful,” Leon says.

But what it really sounds like is ‘scared,’ and Raihan can’t call him out on it because, well. He’s been a bit of a coward about this too. At least Leon tried to move things forward, as bad as it as he was, while Raihan –

He hasn’t even initiated a kiss yet.

With that thought, Raihan leans in and presses his mouth to Leon’s.

It clearly catches Leon off guard, and he stiffens up for a second, but it doesn’t take long for him to melt into the contact. Raihan’s not shy in how he kisses, but he’s careful, because even though he and Leon have apparently been dating for months now, this is still new. It was hard to tell from their other two kisses, brief and not very deep, but the closer he presses into Leon’s personal space, the easier it is to tell that Leon isn’t very experienced.

Raihan breaks away for a moment, before slotting their mouths together again, repeating the action to pepper Leon’s mouth with little kisses. Leon makes a soft, breathy sound, reaching forward to drag Raihan in closer, and it sends a little thrill through Raihan, the knowledge that Leon wants him like this, that Leon’s been making an effort all this time.

Clearly he’s got to make up for the time they missed.

They kiss for a long time, long enough for Raihan’s mouth to start going numb. Leon feels so good against him, though, relaxed and happy in a way that makes Raihan want to keep kissing him forever, just to keep him in this sort of contented state. Not that it’s an entirely selfless action, of course, because pressing himself up against Leon is having the same effect on him, and it’s getting harder to remember that there’s a world outside the hotel bed.

Eventually, though, they break apart.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

Raihan blinks at Leon for a moment, caught off guard by the question.

“I need to take you out on a proper date,” Leon says, and Raihan finds himself entranced by the intent look in Leon’s golden eyes. “So what do you want for breakfast?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one taking you out?” Raihan huffs. “You’ve taken me out enough in the past few months.”

“But you didn’t realize they were dates,” Leon replies, stubborn as only a former Champion can be. “It doesn’t count.” A pause, and then, “If I beat you in a pokemon battle, will you let me take you out?”

A smirk tugs at the corners of Raihan’s mouth and he says, “You’re on.”

---

“So, when are you moving in?”

Leon looks at him blankly, and Raihan wonders if he should have tried to have this conversation some other time. Like when they’re not jetlagged from a fifteen-hour flight from Alola.

“Or I can help you look for a flat,” Raihan says, trying to keep his tone casual. Thankfully, their flight was early enough in the morning that the Wyndon airport’s all but deserted, and he doesn’t think anyone’s eavesdropping as they wait by the luggage carousel. “You’re starting up the Battle Tower here in Wyndon, yeah? I don’t know too much about – ”

“Is today too soon?” Leon blurts out, cutting Raihan off.

“To look for an apartment?” Raihan asks, frowning down at Leon.

“To move in,” Leon says. “With you.”

Raihan blinks at Leon for a moment, and then says, “I think I’m too jetlagged to move all your stuff today. Also your mum might hate me for convincing you to move out right after you’ve moved back in with her.”

“She’s already asked when we’re moving in together,” Leon replies, and Raihan’s suddenly reminded of how many times Leon’s gram has asked when the wedding is. It occurs to him that maybe that had less to do with her magical ability to discern his crush, and more to do with Leon telling her they were dating.

Then again, she said he’d make a good husband someday the first time they met when he was seventeen, so maybe he is just that transparent.

Something occurs to Raihan, and he blurts out, “You haven’t met my parents yet.”

“I’ve met your sister,” Leon replies, but Raihan shakes his head.

“They’ll kill me if you move in before they even get to meet you in person,” he says, already mentally composing a text to them. He pauses, and then adds, “And my dad’s gonna want your autograph first.”

The two of them fall silent for a moment.

“So I can move in in about a week?” Leon hedges.

“Yeah,” Raihan replies.

Another pause, and then, “You should come over for dinner. My mum’s probably making something good.”

This time, Raihan doesn’t protest.