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Raihan stood alone on Hammerlocke Stadium’s freshly trimmed pitch, his shoe toeing into the still-wet, white paint that lined the center. He let his mind wader back to when the sight of the stadium, lights bright and packed with people, used to fuel him to the brim with excitement. He remembered the first time he’d stepped foot on this very turf as the leader of it's gym. It was to face Leon in an exhibition match. The two had taunted each other back and forth, all in good fun of course, and shook hands in the middle once the battle was done, smiles stretched across both their faces.
Raihan tried to recall now, the last time he’d seen his husband smile.
In the beginning, everything was new to the both of them. Leon was Champion and Raihan had a new outlook on life. They felt..unstoppable.
“I’m proud of you, you know.”
Raihan shifted on the grass so he could see Leon more clearly. The soft moonlight on Hammerlocke Hills shone down brightly against their stretched out forms, outlining the Champion like an angelic creature.
Leon was looking back at him too, adoration and contemptment flickering in his golden irises. “You are?”
Raihan nudged his friend with his shoulder. “Of course! Look at you. You’re the Champion now. This is everything you’ve been working for.”
Leon smiled, clearly elated by Raihan’s praise. He was always doing that: getting flustered around the older boy. “I thought you might have been upset. I wasn’t the only one vying for the crown.”
“Nah. You deserve this.”
“Thanks.” Leon rolled onto his side, his long hair falling over his neck and shoulder as he did so, catching some of the vegetation in the thick, violet strands. Raihan thought he looked beautiful like that, eyes gentle, flowers tucked around his face.
"But don't think for one second, just because you're Champ and all, that I'll go easy on you." Raihan poked the younger teen in the side, which set them both off into blissful laughter, the brightness of the sound rivaling the stars.
So where did it all go wrong?
Back in the present, Raihan clenched his fingers into fists, the moonlit memories fading too fast for comfort. He should have noticed from the very first time Leon came home, hardly conscious with drooping bags under his eyes, that something was off.
The door to Raihan's small Hammerlocke apartment slowly creaked open, catching the Gym Leader's attention. He discarded the wooden spoon he'd been using to stir his curry with, turning down the heat and taking hold of one of his Pokeballs. He didn't remember inviting anyone over tonight, and the front door had most definitely been locked when he came in. The halls were always crawling with drunken crackheads on Friday nights.
Slowly turning the kitchen corner, Raihan raised his throwing arm, prepared to call out his partner for battle, when his eyes landed on the very familiar face of the culprit.
"Leon?"
The Champion raised his gaze and held up a feeble hand in a half wave, something shiny and rigid gripped between his fingers. Raihan forgot he'd given Leon a key. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?" Raihan asked, questions burning in his mind when he took notice of his boyfriend’s half-crumpled state. The man seemed to have to lean against the wall for balance support. He hadn't been drinking, had he?
Leon shrugged, grimacing like the movement caused him pain. "Was on my way back from work. Weather got bad, so I figured I'd stop by here and wait it out."
Normally, Raihan would believe him—if anything, Leon had a problem with being too honest—but there were two things wrong with this picture. One, there wasn't a drop of rain outside, and two, Raihan knew very well that Leon had a place in Wyndon he could have stayed. So in conclusion, there was something the Champion wasn't telling him. However, Raihan decided not to push. If Leon was keeping something, he'd crack eventually. He always did. For now, Raihan would just play along. "Well, you're just in time for dinner." He gestured for Leon to move past him into the kitchen."That should warm you up."
"Thank you." Leon gave him a half smile, but it didn't even try to reach his eyes. "I'm, uh, sorry to bother you."
"Hey," Raihan pulled Leon in to place a kiss on his forehead, "you're never a bother. You know you're welcome here anytime."
Leon leaned into his boyfriend, practically collapsing in his arms. "Sorry." He apologized again. " 'M just so tired."
"I can see that." Raihan couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. Leon looked like a sleepy yamper, all curled up. "Long day?"
The Champion nodded, shutting his eyes. "You have no idea."
But Raihan should have had an idea. Looking back, it was so obvious now. Only three years into his title, and Leon had already been suffering from exhaustion. He would soon learn through the grapevine (Cough, cough, Sonia) that Leon's frequent Hammerlocke layovers weren't caused by bad weather.
"I'm worried about Leon." Sonia twisted a strand of her red hair so tightly around her finger that the pink flesh began to turn blue.
"Why?" Raihan asked, slightly confused as to how his fiancé, the most precious human around, could have worked their friend up into such a state.
"He hasn't said anything to you?" It was Sonia's turn to cast the quizzical stares.
"No. About what?"
"I thought you of all people would know, but I guess that man's stubbornness knows no end." Sonia sighed, exasperation evident in her expression. "He's working himself into the ground. He tells me that sometimes he's so tired, he can't make it home for the night. I don't know what Rose has him doing up there, but it sounds like he's got Leon on a pretty tight leash. I asked him about it once, if he could maybe take time off, and he got this scared look in his eye like someone was going to murder his family if he let himself rest for one moment. He keeps saying this..this thing about "serving the people of Galar first", but something tells me those words aren't really his."
Now the pieces began to slide into place: Why Leon spent so many nights at his place, why he looked like absolute death when he showed up at the door.
"I didn't know.."
Sonia made a knowing face. "Figures. I think Leon knows how protective you are over him. He probably didn't want to make you worry."
That night, Raihan had confronted Leon, waiting up until the younger man stumbled through the door. They'd had their first real fight then. It concluded in Leon locking himself in the bedroom and Raihan, head in hands, calling Sonia on the couch. Leon had cracked an hour later, crawling back into Raihan's side and apologizing for yelling. While the two ended up making amends, for some reason, Raihan felt as though the root of the issue hadn't really been resolved.
Now here he stood, five years later, shaking off this morning's latest escapade.
Never in their eight years together and three years of marriage, had Raihan ever witnessed anything quite like the sight of his husband, broken on the sitting-room floor of their shared home, begging for mercy from unseen voices. His body shook with rage at the memory. He'd never realized until now, just how far Rose had gotten into Leon's head. The thought sickened him, the Chairman sickened him.
Raihan should have stepped in sooner. He should have seen it sooner.
How could he have let this continue for so long? How had he remained so blind to the problem?
What kind of a man did that make him?
So he vowed, here and now, to end the pain, to end the suffering. Because Leon didn't deserve any of it. No one did.
Something had to be done
Yes, something had to be done.
And Arceus be damned if Raihan wasn't the one who was going do it.