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Gary and Drew sat at a counter along the window of a café. A booth would have been more comfortable, but Gary only wanted to drop in for a quick bite. People-watching was a nice perk, too, not that it mattered. Drew was deep into a magazine he’d picked up earlier that morning outside his hotel.
“I thought you didn’t read that junk,” Gary quipped as he stopped scrolling through his phone.
“I don’t,” Drew said flatly, turning another page, “but they have a profile on Hoenn’s new Top Coordinator...somewhere.” He didn’t sound confident. The interviewer’s questions were so basic. How does it feel to win? What’s next for you?
Who cares? Drew thought. He wanted to learn more about their training regimen, how they managed to win the final battle in two minutes flat. There had never been such a blowout in Grand Festival history, and the runner-up had been favored to win.
The interviewer’s final topic...fashion. What a waste. Drew frowned. If I got these questions I’d just walk out.
Gary put his arm on the counter, leaning into his hand and smirking at Drew. “You can read later. Why don’t we enjoy this quality time?”
Drew sighed inwardly but flipped the magazine over. Looking out the window he realized the day was almost over. The horizon was a blazing pink and yellow from the setting sun, with purple sky and gray clouds hovering above. There was only one other couple in the back of the café, and Drew and Gary would be heading out soon, too. Gary was leaving tonight, travelling east to Sunyshore City. Drew had one more night at the hotel, but planned to take the west route to Hearthome before the sun was up. There’d be fierce competition at the contest there in just a couple weeks.
They didn’t get much time together like this. Gary was in and out of regions on a monthly basis, always having some new fieldwork to start or conference to attend. And Drew wasn’t about to follow him around like a lovesick Lillipup. They’d call each other from time to time, or Gary would text him some extremely niche Pokémon researcher meme he found hilarious, and usually made himself.
“Well...what do you want to talk about?” Drew asked.
Gary wasn’t giving up his simpering attitude, “Maybe I don’t want to talk,” he said while raising his eyebrows.
How long did he plan on dragging this out? Drew found the flirting annoying, not cute. “Then why are you bothering m-”
“Parfait for two,” the lone waitress chirped as she set a dessert and silverware between the boys. “Enjoy!” She said as she turned and headed back to wipe down more tables before closing up shop.
The parfait was one of the café’s signature items. Served in a tall glass with at least six different layers of creams and locally-grown berries. A thin piece of chocolate in the shape of a heart was delicately placed on top.
Drew turned back towards the waitress. “Excuse me, but we didn’t order-”
“ I ordered it,” Gary said as he grabbed the base of the glass. “See, you were so caught up in your tabloids you didn’t even catch me!”
“Well thanks,” Drew remarked dryly as he reached for a spoon. Gary knew he wasn’t into desserts, but at least it wasn’t totally covered in chocolate. He nudged the heart decoration towards Gary with his spoon. Drew realized he was in a bit of a mood but couldn’t tell why. He should be making the most of the evening. But maybe that was it, just the fact they’d be apart for who knows how long again. Drew was fine with how casual they were, but was Gary? The researcher never let on any different, but he was just so...charismatic. Drew could be too, sure, but that was for the stage. Gary often teased Drew about how intense he was with training, but what if it wasn’t just a joke, and he found his boyfriend boring? He was just adding more evidence to that conclusion at this point.
Gary didn’t move and just kept staring - challenging almost - with that same smug look on his face.
Drew gave in. “What do you want?”
“Oh, nothing,” Gary teased, “just enjoying the view.”
Drew looked back to the sky, moving the spoon to his mouth, but the sun was gone. Wasn’t much to see now. So what was -
Oh, was all Drew could think before he felt fire creeping up his face. Another cheesy flirting attempt! Normally Drew was immune, but this was different. Not like the ‘I’m going to Spheal your heart ♥’ selfie Gary recently sent from Shoal Cave, which admittedly was pretty good. No, this was them in person, practically alone, no fans or bystanders, just a quiet moment to enjoy each other’s company. And realizing he was actually embarrassed only made it worse. He was embarrassed about being embarrassed. Had Gary really been staring at him since they sat down to say that line? Cheeks blazing red, he put the spoon back on the napkin and opened the magazine to cover his face.
Gary’s smirk dropped and he blinked in confusion. “Wait...wait that worked? Really?!”
He excitedly grabbed Drew’s arm and tried to fold the magazine’s cover back, needing to see the proof, only to hear a soft and panicked stream of “ shut up shut up shut up .” He’d witnessed that brilliant shade of red when he straightforwardly asked Drew to go out with him at the beginning of the year. Drew wasn’t as flustered then because he could still brush it off as more teasing. But by now, Gary mused, maybe he was understanding just how serious his feelings were.
Gary sat back and swung forward to face the window again, satisfied. No use in pushing or making a scene; the message had gotten across. He felt a small burst of joy bubble up. Jokes or not, it was nice to let Drew know how he felt. Even better to get a hint of it back. He picked up his own spoon and took a large chunk off the top of the parfait. How sweet, he thought, and chuckled to himself.