Chapter Text
Piers shifted impatiently in his seat, the yellowed plastic seat squeaking noisily as he moved. Next to him, with one empty seat between them, Raihan seemed relaxed, scrolling through his Rotom phone in wait. It’s only the occasional surreptitious looks that he would shoot Piers that betrayed his otherwise cool posture.
It was not often that Piers found himself at Motorstoke stadium, much less in the audience stands with the rows of empty plastic seats stretching out beside them. Even his company was unorthodox - he hadn't seen Raihan since the Dynamax incident, and after that he had carefully navigated around all of Raihan's invitations for another battle. The longer they waited for Kabu, the higher the risk of Raihan asking him about it again. It wasn’t that he disliked Raihan, whom he thought was fairly amicable, but he’s always kept the rest of the gym leaders at a few arms’ lengths away, and felt little inclination to change that.
Piers tapped his foot against the floor once, twice, and then turned to his lone companion to break the silence between them.
“Any idea what’s going on?”
Raihan bit his lower lip briefly before shrugging, his head shaking slightly. Piers sighed. Kabu was the type to show up fifteen minutes before a meeting, and it was highly uncharacteristic for him to turn up late for a discussion that he had called for.
“Not a clue, but,” Raihan said, his Rotom-phone sliding neatly into his pocket as he sat up, “Kabu wouldn’t call us out here without good reason.”
Piers exhaled, mostly to himself. He supposed that was true, but still. Why him? Why the both of them? Piers hadn’t been a gym leader for months, having handed it over to Marnie, so it couldn’t have been some sort of issue with the league. Outside of that, he had no idea what he could possibly have in common with Raihan.
Raihan shifting, turning bodily to face him. Ah. Well, he’s gone ten minutes in Piers’ presence without bringing up another battle invite. He supposed that was a decent record. Raihan’s mouth opened, but then he paused, glancing behind Piers’ shoulder as he lit up.
“Oh, there’s the man!” Raihan exclaimed, and Piers turned around.
Kabu was trotting towards them, struggling with… a bundle of towels? Whatever it was, it seemed to fight Kabu along the way, bulging in odd places as Kabu held it gingerly in his arms.
“My apologies for being late,” Kabu said, breathless as he continued to wrestle with his armful of linens, “but I was having some trouble with this guy.”
‘This guy’ spilled out of Kabu’s arms, and turned out to be a smallish pokemon with deep black fur covering most of its blue body and half its face. It mewled up at them blindly, ramming into the plastic backrest of the seat in front of them, until it decided that chewing the seat made for a better option.
“It’s a Deino!” Raihan crowed excitedly, Rotom-phone already buzzing around taking a million photos of the little Pokemon, “Where did you find him, Kabu? They’re meant to be super rare.”
“We found him breaking into the stadium a couple of days back,” Kabu said, as he folded up the towels that had been used to wrap dragon pokemon, “we’ve not been able to locate a trainer or a parent, and he’s been quite the handful. I believed it was in his best interests that I turned to our resident experts on him - my research tells me that Deinos are Dark and Dragon type pokemon?”
“Oh yes,” Raihan crooned, and the Deino clambered up the backseat, tumbling into Piers’ lap and sniffing up at him appraisingly. If Piers was honest with himself, it actually was adorable.
“Careful,” Kabu said in warning, “he tends to bite. A lot. One of my trainers had the misfortune of putting his hands too close to its mouth while feeding it.”
Piers winced as Raihan nodded sagely, “Yes, it’s true. Deinos are entirely blind and have an insatiable appetite, so its first instinct is to bite anything it encounters.”
“Should I be worried?” Piers muttered as the Deino continued sniffing around at him, lightly bumping against his torso with its furry head. Whatever instinct he had in wanting to reach out to run his hand through its glossy fur was now well and fully squashed, “well, seeing as Raihan is clearly the expert on this, I should just… go.”
“Not so fast!” Raihan exclaimed, hand curling around Piers’ arm to hold him in place, “Look! He’s getting used to you!” he reached out carefully to let Deino sniff at his hand, but the baby dragon only snapped at him before returning to rub its furry head against Piers, settling itself in his lap in blissful ignorance. Piers sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
“Great. Good thing then that I know absolutely nothing about him.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Raihan said, coming closer to peer at it, close enough that Piers could trace the fine lines of Raihan’s hair. “Listen, baby dragon pokemon? Super needy. It’s tough for them to feel comfortable, so it’s probably why he was giving Kabu such a hard time. He likes you though! He’s warming up to you so quickly!”
“Why don’t the both of you look after him together then?” Kabu suggested, and Raihan brightened excitably, the grip he had on Piers’ arm tightening ever so slightly. It sent hot sparks along his skin in an indecipherable manner, and he squashed that random, unwanted piece of information and stuffed it somewhere it wouldn’t see the light of day.
“Yes! Yes!” Raihan cheered, “You hear that little buddy!? We’re gonna be your daddies!” Deino turned towards them, its little stubble of a tail shaking excitedly in anticipation.
Piers groaned, glaring skywards in worry of what was to come.
Kabu left them after that to make arrangements between themselves, and Piers let Raihan talk his ear off about Deino’s behaviours and needs through the teething period. Raihan seemed unwilling to part, and Piers felt bad for him. He was happy to look after the pokemon, but it was clear that Raihan had quickly fallen in love with the small guy, even though Deino seemed to favour Piers more.
Just the way things worked, he supposed.
Armed with a very long list of reading material that Raihan had promptly sent to his phone, Piers schlepped back to Spikemuth in a Corvicab, Deino napped peacefully in his arms.
Arceus damn it, he was warming up to the little bugger too.
To say that Raihan was excited was an understatement. Deinos were incredibly rare, and there had been many occasions in which he had spent days camping out in the Wild Area in search of one but to no avail. Piers had expressed having to return to Spikemuth urgently for one thing or another, so Raihan had sent him off with a very detailed list on the habits of baby dragon pokemon and a promise to meet him again in a couple of days time. For now, all Raihan had were the photos that he had taken earlier in the day.
“Look at this one!” he exclaimed, leaning the sprawling couch in his living room with his Rotom phone floating before him, going through the pictures with Flygon pulled up close, “Look at how tiny he is! Oh, you used to be so tiny too, it’s adorable,” he cooed, arms around Flygon’s neck as he squeezed lightly.
The image on the screen flicked to one of Piers looking down on the Deino with a warm expression. Despite his sharp tongue, Piers had always had a boundless capacity for kindness towards anything and anyone smaller than him. His relationship with Marnie was obvious enough, but Raihan had also seen the way Piers interacted with Gloria and heard the stories from Milo about how he had cheered up Hop when Leon’s brother had been depressed from his losing streak.
And then, of course, there was their first (and last) battle against each other where Raihan was not just a bystander in the blast radius of Piers’ battling prowess and passion, but the direct target of it, finding a remarkable ferocity that stirred up a million things in him.
To say that he was interested in Piers would be a severe understatement.
Piers was an enigma that Raihan would love to understand, even if a little belated now. All those years as colleagues squandered away, the only thing tying them together now was Piers' reluctant agreement for another battle some day. For Kabu to bring Deino to them on a platter like this? Truly, Arceus was favouring him. Every right thing that he had ever done in his life had led him to this moment. He ought to bring Kabu a massive Christmas gift this year.
"Isn't he just the cutest?" Raihan sighed, probing Flygon pathetically. It's hard to say who he really meant, and Flygon whined softly, headbutting him.
He's pulled from his maudlin wistfulness, however, when the doorbell rang. Raihan's eyes flicked to the time - it was nearly eleven at night.
"Must be Leon," he mused as he pushed himself up to make his way to the door, Flygon padding behind him in tow. No one else visited him this late, though, wouldn't it be nice if it was Piers at his doorstep instead, Raihan mused absentmindedly.
As he pulled the door open, he blinked twice, wondering if he had somehow willed his imagination into existence. On the other side, Piers stood there, a somewhat sheepish blush across his face, a huge contrast from the Deino crowing cheerfully in his arms. Damn it, Raihan wanted to pull the both of them into his arms.
"Sorry to do this," Piers said, not quite looking at him, "but he wouldn't settle down at all and got into a fight with Marnie's Morpeko. She's got an exhibition fight with Gloria tomorrow and I reckon she really needs to get a good night's rest, so…"
Raihan nodded, stepping aside to let him in, and Piers gave him a rare expression of sincere gratitude.
"They can get pretty territorial," Raihan said slowly, as if a steady voice could slow down his rapidly beating heart, "took me ages to get this guy to play nice with Turtonator," he jerked a thumb at Flygon, who responded by nudging at him with reproach.
Piers hummed, "Really? He seems so well behaved now."
“Keep talking like that and you’ll be in his good books in no time,” Raihan assured as Flygon had already abandoned his side to butt his head against Piers. He led Piers into his living room, carefully pulling off the large throw to make space for the both of them.
“I know it’s important for the bonding process that I stay with him at all times,” Piers said, sitting down as Deino attempted to wriggle out of Piers’ hold with significant success, “but there’s no way I can keep him at my place tonight.”
This was an Arceus-sent gift with bright neon signs that rivalled those of Spikemuth flashing all over it, and there was no way Raihan was missing it.
“Why don’t you stay over then?” Raihan said smoothly, playing it cool as he sat down across from Piers, Deino sniffing at the carpet between them, “I’ve got a pretty decently sized guest room, and the both of you would fit in just fine.”
Piers surveyed him through his cool eyes, and Raihan steeled himself. Sure, he might have more than one motivation, but it’s not as if he was lying . There’s a pause, and then Deino rolled over, mewling in displeasure at the lack of attention afforded towards him.
“I don’t have any clothes,” Piers said eventually, returning his gaze to Deino, and Raihan grinned, knowing that the battle was already pretty much won.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got tons you can borrow. I’ve got a laundry load to do anyway, so I’ll be happy to pop your stuff into the wash if you’d like.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“Pish-posh,” Raihan insisted, getting up quickly and turning away to hide the growing smile on his face, because he’s only been imagining scenarios like these all day to Duraludon’s dismay, “let’s get you set up in the guest room, and if you fancy a cuppa just let me know.”
Piers woke up to a room flooded with morning sun and something heavy on his chest, only somewhat unorthodox an experience. He cracked his eyes open lazily to a well furnished bedroom and Deino nibbling at his face lightly, and he remembered where he was. His surroundings were also decidedly less furry than he was used to, without the half dozen or so Zigzagoons and Linoones that typically found their way into his bed.
Like the rest of Raihan’s apartment, his guest bedroom was equally polished to the point of being sterile. Sharp clean chapes, faintly dusty where fingerprints should be on its shiny, gleaming surfaces. It reminded him of high end hotels that he occasionally spent the night in, always on someone else’s dime, made to feel luxurious and exclusive, but a hotel nonetheless. Piers wondered how much time Raihan really spent in the apartment.
Deino growled cheerfully, tearing him from his train of thought before rolling its entire body into Piers' chest.
"Ooft… okay okay, up you get." Piers groaned, scooping Deino into his arms and shifting himself off the bed, rolling his shoulders and hearing his joints crack as he moved. Raihan's t-shirt and sweatpants hung loosely off his frame, and he shuffled slowly towards the door and out of the bedroom, careful to not let either the struggling Deino fall out of his arms or for his clothes to slide off.
He found Raihan in the kitchen, already dressed and frying eggs, whistling a tune as he worked. Raihan's Pokémon were gathered in a corner where the dining area was, chattering cheerfully as they ate.
"Good morning!" Raihan greeted cheerfully, waving vaguely with the spatula in his hands though his eyes were kept on the frying pan, "How did you sleep?"
Piers slid into a seat at the kitchen island, Deino still held close to his chest. "Well," he admitted, "it's a very comfortable room."
Raihan laughed, "Haha, if you think that was comfortable, you should sleep in my bed," he paused, freezing in his movements. "I mean, because the bed is big. Er, that is to say…"
In his arms, Deino chortled. Piers couldn't see Raihan's face, but the tip of his ears were definitely growing red. That was new - who would have thought the ever popular Raihan could be fazed like this? Piers held back a laugh, because laughing at his host would be rude.
"The eggs smell delicious," Piers offered, giving Raihan an out, "any chance I could get some?"
Raihan cleared his throat loudly, and Piers let him have a few more moments to compose himself, not a stranger to being clumsy with words in the morning as well.
"Yes, yes, of course! They are for you after all," Raihan laughed weakly, spooning scrambled eggs into waiting plates, "Oh! And your clothes should be dry soon, so don't worry about that."
Raihan turned around, pushing a bright orange plate towards Piers. There was still a faint blush across his face, but his expression was otherwise schooled into his typical cheerfulness. Deino perked up excitedly, attempting to wriggle out of Piers' hold to have a go at the food. Raihan laughed, his hands held out for the baby dragon, and Piers handed Deino over to him.
"Not a chance, buddy, I've got something prepared for you if you wanna grow up big and strong," Deino attempted to nip at Raihan in dissatisfaction, but Raihan set him down on the counter top and unravelled a sackful of berries, "Got them delivered fresh early this morning, just for you! Aren't you just the luckiest guy?"
Deino crowed, and starting munching his way through the sack. Piers watched as Raihan smiled at Deino, feeling himself quite endeared to the sight. It did a number on his insides, burning away much of the guilt he harboured at his less than superb handling of the baby pokemon.
Compared to the low maintenance Zigzagoon, looking after Deino reminded him of how needy Marnie was when she was much younger.
“You’re really good with him,” Piers noted.
Raihan preened at the praise, “Thank you. Honestly, I’ve spent so much time thinking about wanting a Deino, it’s embarrassing.”
“Does it bother you that he likes sticking to me more than you?” Piers poked at the eggs gently with a fork, guilt bubbling up inside him again, “I’m not even halfway as good with him as you are.”
“It’s too early to say,” Raihan laughed, turning away from Deino for a moment to meet him in the eye, “You know, Piers, you’ve always been great - with people, with pokemon. This guy might be a bit more of a challenge than your run-of-the-mill Zigzagoon, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time.”
Piers’ lips pulled slightly, and he returned to poking his eggs, “thanks,” he said, feeling just a bit more assured.
“And then, of course, we’re going to battle, right? Dragon vs dragon?”
Piers shot Raihan a pointed look.
“Don’t ruin it,” he said sharply, but even he couldn’t summon enough annoyance to give his snap any bite. Raihan grinned.
Raihan was somewhat sorry to see Piers change out of his clothes and back into his own outfit, but even he knew that kind of luck couldn’t last forever. Besides, the sight of Piers with his slightly damp hair wearing the soft scent of Raihan’s toiletries and his skin-tight clothes asking for a hair dryer was so remarkably domestic that he had to sit down for a minute to commit that sight into his memory permanently.
By the time they got themselves properly gathered up for the day, noon was already a few hours behind them. At some point, Deino began fussing after breakfast and started gnawing on Duraludon’s tail in frustration, much to the latter’s alarm. It had taken several hours to calm him down with Raihan pulling out a trunk full of old pokemon toys, and eventually Deino was only placated by an oversized Tamato berry shaped chew toy.
“We’re going to need to go to the store,” Raihan said, wrinkling his nose, “That used to belong to Flygon, and he doesn’t seem particularly pleased.” Flygon, normally much more patient in demeanour, was sullenly buzzing his wings in a corner of the apartment.
“Makes sense,” Piers sighed, stretching his neck, “I know I’ve said this for the last couple of hours, but I really should get going. Marnie’s match is going to start soon.”
“Yep yep yep,” Raihan said, putting things away, because how on earth did Deino manage to get everything Raihan owned on the floor in a matter of half a day, “you know, if you can get the little guy into his pokeball, I think I can convince Flygon to give us a ride over and we’ll be there in no time.”
Piers raised an eyebrow, “you’re coming with?”
Raihan paused, in the middle of fluffing up a bright orange cushion, “Uh, yeah?” he frowned, wracking his brains in thought, “why? Is that… weird?”
Piers was doing that thing again, where he would turn away to not meet his eyes, hand coming up to scratch at the side of his head. Raihan slowly set the cushion down on the couch, feeling worry build up as he tried to figure out if he had done anything particularly revealing earlier today. It was that stupid bedroom joke wasn’t it? Oh Arceus, Raihan cringed, feeling his insides crumple. He really needed to get his morning coffee in before he started shooting his mouth off next time.
“No, that’s,” Piers shook his head, “am just surprised, that’s all. Not many people seem to find battles in Spikemuth worth the trip.”
Raihan sagged instantly with relief.
“Oh, that’s it?” Raihan rested a hand on his hip, cheek returning to his expression, “Come on, Piers. A battle between the current champion and one of the top gym leaders in Galar? Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Dynamax or not, that’s going to be one hell of a match.”
He’s not sure what it was, but Piers offered him another shy smile.
“Alright then,” Piers said, turning away to collect Deino. Raihan’s heart ached with warmth. Two smiles from Piers in one day? Clearly he was on a winning streak. Emboldened by this newfound good mood, he headed towards where Flygon was brooding, feeling rather good about the whole affair.
It took him another half an hour and promises of a new toy along with extra spicy curry to cajole Flygon from his corner, and Piers a total of forty-five minutes to coax Deino into his pokeball.
In a bit of showing off, Flygon zipped over in record time, and while the entire trip had been dizzying from the sheer speed at which Flygon flew, the way Piers clung on to him for dear life sort of made up for it. Almost.
“I think this is why Corviknight taxis have pretty much replaced most other forms of Pokemon-driven flight travel,” Raihan admitted when they finally hit the ground, his legs feeling somewhat like jelly as he tried to offer Flygon a treat without shaking too much, “you doing okay?”
Piers nodded numbly, looking even paler than usual, slouched over with his hands resting on his knees. They took a few moments to collect themselves as Flygon chewed merrily on his berries, uncaring of their pained expressions, and then Piers led them through the neon-lit streets of Spikemuth.
Raihan could barely remember the last time he came to Spikemuth despite its proximity to Hammerlocke, but walking down the main street with Piers leading the way gave it a sort of electric energy that thrummed under his skin. Most of the shopfronts facing the road were shuttered, with faded cardboard signs plastered on the glass, but there were a handful that seemed to be in the midst of renovation works and the promise of new, incoming entrepreneurs.
“The town’s recovering slowly,” Piers said softly, a hint of pride underlining his words, “I’ve been working with Leon and town management to sort out property ownership contracts - most of them were held under a subsidiary of Macro Cosmos - and there had been loads of renegotiations to do. But we're getting somewhere.”
“It’s amazing,” Raihan marvelled. For years, he's heard about how Spikemuth was a town on its last legs, a place doomed to slow and gradual decay. And yet, the pervasive sense of optimism lingered in the air, like a promise for things to come. This was far beyond the scope of anything he could even begin to imagine himself doing, “you’re seriously amazing.”
"Thanks," Piers mumbled as he turned away, and in the glow of electric pink light, Raihan felt an incomprehensible need to reach out and and grab his hand, the strain in his heart positively aching in need of something more.
“Good job,” Piers said much later, in the Spikemuth Gym locker room, meaning his words. Marnie had lost to Gloria, but only briefly. If he was honest, he had expected Marnie to look at least somewhat frustrated, but she seemed oddly pleased for some reason, “to the both of you, really.”
“It was a good match,” Marnie said, turning to Gloria, “Because of you, I’m growing stronger everyday. I’m grateful to have a rival like you.”
Piers softened at the sight of his sister exchanging smiles with the champion, glad that she was advancing in her own way. Even though he had always known Marnie would become a capable trainer that would one day surpass him, it’s a bittersweet feeling to be living in that moment as it happened. If he was honest, he was almost envious. It might have been many years ago now, but he still remembered what it was been like to do the tournament circuit alone, so he was glad that Marnie seemed to have made life-long friends with her fellow competitors.
Eventually, Gloria left to take a call, and Marnie turned towards him, eyes sharp despite her lukewarm expression.
“So,” she said sweetly, “where did you go last night?”
"Out to keep Deino away from Morpeko?"
"You disappeared all night and showed up in Spikemuth five minutes before the match and with Raihan in tow."
Piers blinked, scratching the back of his head, “why are you asking me a question like that if you already know the answer?”
Marnie shrugged vaguely, “I didn’t know you and Raihan were close.”
“We’re not,” Piers said, shifting his weight from one foot to another, “it’s because of Deino.”
“Mmhmm.” Marnie said, looking over at where Raihan was talking to Hop while keeping Deino busy with Flygon’s chew toy. Whatever it was that Raihan was saying, Hop was taking notes in earnest. “You know, he’s actually not too bad as a person.”
Piers narrowed his eyes, “what does that mean?”
“I think it’s good that you’re finally going out and meeting people,” Marnie said, nodding slowly.
“I’m not meeting Raihan, I’ve met Raihan . We were colleagues for five years, and now we’re ex-colleagues.” Piers snorted.
“But you could be friends ,” Marnie pointed out, because his sister was not above using his nonexistent social circle as ammunition in a casual conversation.
Piers watched the way Raihan played with Deino and ignored the way his chest warmed at the sight.
“Maybe,” he shrugged, “kinda busy for it now.”
Marnie made a vague noise of disbelief, and then made her way to where the others were.
“Hey Marnie,” Raihan and Hop said in unison. Deino rolled onto his back and crowed cheerfully in greeting.
“That was amazing,” Hop said, “Your Grimmsnarl definitely had Gloria’s Dragapult on edge, for a moment I thought it was going to swing your way.”
“It was definitely close,” Raihan remarked, nodding in agreement, “But for future reference, I can send you some material on managing Dragapults, if you'd like.”
"I would appreciate the advice very much," Marnie said, bowing to the both of them, "Thank you both for coming."
"Of course," Raihan said, "I'm looking forward to our next match. And you too, Piers-"
"I think it's time to get going," Piers said quickly, scooping Deino up into his arms, "everyone must be exhausted."
"Right, yes, of course," Raihan said - and for a moment Piers thought he saw a flash of disappointment on his face. That couldn't be right, could it? "You… you'll be going back to your own place tonight, then?"
"Yes…?" Piers said tentatively, wondering why it had become a question at all.
Marnie looked from Piers to Raihan slowly, and then back again, the slightest, tell tale twitch on her face that indicated she was up to no good.
"But should you?" Marnie said slowly, and there was definitely that growing migraine Piers hadn't experienced since his sister grew out of her rebellious preteen years, "I mean, weren't you just saying that Raihan had been a great help with Deino?"
"Marnie…" Piers said warningly because of course he hadn't said that, even if Marnie could read his mind. Still, he was distracted by how Raihan lit up immediately.
"Yeah! I can be helpful," Raihan said brightly, "Plus, it's good for Deino, you know? As co-parents."
Behind him, Hop's eyes widened.
"Good for Deino." Piers repeated.
"Yup." Raihan and Marnie chorused, as Hop's mouth hung open with an unspoken question.
Piers sighed, contemplating his options. He could insist on heading home and spend the next three months listening to Marnie lecture him about missed opportunities and his inevitable descent into a lonely, bitter old man. Alternatively, he could spend the next few however-many days with Raihan dodging battle invites while getting some genuinely useful help with raising Deino, and then they could eventually part ways with Piers being able to tell Marnie that he had tried his best to make friends and oh, nothing more could be done about it.
On the balance of it, one of those options seemed decidedly less painful. He's just annoyed that Marnie and Raihan seemed to be have built up some kind of rapport against him when he wasn't looking.
"Only if it's not too much trouble," Piers said, and Raihan swung an arm around his shoulder enthusiastically, pulling him so close his cheek was pressed up against Raihan's chest, their height difference disgustingly apparent.
"Of course not!" Raihan exclaimed enthusiastically, and only Piers saw the way Marnie's expression turned smug.
And, apparently, that was that.