Chapter Text
Kieran could do this. How hard could it be?
Step One: Walk up to him. Step Two: Ask him to trade Pokémon with you. And possibly Step Three: Don’t make yourself look like an idiot by stuttering and or saying something stupid and embarrassing. Again. He grips the Poké Ball in his hand and grimaces. He lets out a sigh from his sad corner of the BB League clubroom.
…Aw, man. Who was he kidding? Why would Florian want to trade with him ? After everything he did to him? Sure, he said he wanted to start over after the business with Terapagos, and sure he was pretty good at pretending not to be revolted by his very presence. He had to be pretending. Why be so damn sweet to the person who almost got him killed by a rampaging legendary Pokémon?
Kieran feels the hand holding the Poké Ball lower. He doesn’t deserve Florian’s forgiveness, let alone friendship. How could he have the conceit to think someone like Florian would want to trade Pokémon with him ? Florian was so… cool. The way he commanded his Pokémon was mesmerizing - like they were an extension of himself. He never wavered or cracked under pressure, even when battling against impossible odds, he took on Terapagos with the same calm and finesse as always, while Kieran could only watch helplessly. Watch he did, though. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.
He was so strong too. Kieran doesn’t think he’s seen someone as good at Pokémon battles as Florian is. He knows for a fact that Florian has six Pokémon, but he’s never managed to defeat his water-duck-looking Pokémon, or the way cool purple-fire-sword one. He still feels like an idiot for wasting so much time obsessively training, thinking he’d be able to defeat him. He never had a chance to begin with. He’s certain they’re the same age, so how does Florian seem to have a lifetime of experience?
Everyone liked Florian. He got along well with every last member of the League Club, and hell, even a bunch of people out of it. Kieran could stomach Drayton on a good day, liked Lacey, and considered himself to be friends with Crispin and Amarys, but that was about it for his friends. It made sense, though. He thinks Florian could light up any room he walks into with just his smile. Even Carmine greatly warmed up to him, and she notoriously hated outsiders.
It was clear to anyone that his friends from Paldea loved him dearly, too. From the casual contact and endearing words and nicknames, Kieran couldn’t have felt like more of an outsider in his own home when they all came to visit. That is a little unfair to his friends, though - they’d known him longer, so it was only natural they’d be more comfortable with each other. That didn’t stop him from hating himself every time his stomach would churn at the sight of Penny resting her legs on top of Florian’s during a picnic, or Arven crushing him with a Bewear hug as Florian laughs so hard his cheeks would glow a pretty pink, or him eagerly agreeing to battle with Nemona no matter the circumstance, even if they just finished a battle ten minutes ago.
Kieran knows they’re his friends, and he knows that's just what friends do with each other (he thinks), but even more than that, he knows that he wants Florian's legs on his as they rest together on a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree. He knows that he wishes he could muster up the courage to train his Pokémon with him without being utterly outpaced, and he knows, more than anything, that he wishes he could hug Florian. Squeeze him jealously, so that his messy jumble of emotions can let themselves be known to him and everyone else without having to stutter them out gracelessly.
But Kieran’s a coward, so trading Pokémon was his next best bet.
Kieran has always liked the idea of trading Pokémon. Sharing a piece of you with someone, while they give you a piece of them back? Sure, trading could be purely transactional, or necessary for evolving Pokémon, hell he needed Carmine’s help just to get his Porygon-Z up to speed, but… Kieran wasn’t good at showing how he felt with his words. Doing it with Pokémon had an allure to it, he thinks.
Honestly, he’s wanted to trade with Florian since they first met. It wasn’t until they all returned from Area Zero that he finally decided on which Pokémon he wanted to trade. It couldn’t just be any old Pokémon lying around in his box, and he didn’t have the heart to part with one of his core team members, even if he thought he could make an exception for Florian. It had to have meaning. Something that would make Florian understand how he felt.
From the very first moment he watched him effortlessly defeat his sister’s Pokémon, he was enamoured by Florian. He hadn’t realised how much he thought about him until Carmine damn near outed him the next day. Who wouldn’t be amazed by the strongest trainer they’d ever seen in their life just showing up in their hometown, jeez! Travelling around Kitakami with him made him finally understand that he liked Florian. Like, like liked him. As he later watched the other boy smile so sweetly and lean in ever so slightly closer as they shared candied apples under the warm festival light glow, he thought maybe Florian could possibly like him back, too. Of course, after his… episode, there was no way Florian could ever like him the way Kieran likes him ever again. But still. He knows what it’s like to be lied to; he wasn’t going to hide anything from Florian anymore.
That’s what led Kieran to his idea. He’d trade a Pokémon that he knew Florian would understand the meaning of. Rose-tinted memories of the Festival of Masks come to mind. Florian stepping out into his front yard wearing his old spare jinbei, blushing slightly as his hair sits on top of his forehead, neatly tied and out of the way, giving Kieran a full, unabashed view of his face. He remembers barely being able to talk properly with how flustered Florian wearing it made him. Next was the festival. Kieran thinks the time he and Florian spent at the festival was maybe the happiest he had ever been in his life. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled this much before.
That’s where he landed on Applin. Maybe it’s a bit too on the nose, he thinks, the schmaltz of it all is enough to make him squirm on the spot. Originally, he wanted to go with Dipplin, being even more reminiscent of the time spent eating candied apples and wearing festival masks that stuck to the walls of his brain like gooey syrup. As much as the thought of Florian raising a Hydrapple to match his made his heart flutter, he should have the right to choose what to evolve it into, if he even wanted to. Kieran couldn’t deny that Appletun was a great choice too.
That finally led Kieran to the hard part. Actually asking him. Kieran, being a master of psyching himself out, sighs drearily. He didn’t even know where Florian was right now. He was probably running around the Terrarium, doing BBQs so he could help out some random club. He was so altruistic like that, Kieran thinks fondly.
After a few minutes of daydreaming about the things he liked about Florian, Kieran was broken out of his reverie at the sound of the clubroom door bursting open, revealing Florian with slightly windswept hair. He silently thanks whatever mythical Pokémon granted his wish.
Florian’s head darts around the room rapidly before landing on Kieran. He smiles widely until his eyes crinkle and waves softly. Before Kieran can think to scrape his jaw off the ground and wave back, Florian has already speed-walked to the PC and begun rapidly clicking and typing. Kieran sighs shakily and tries not to grimace when he hears Drayton snort at this exchange from where he’s lying on the table.
Okay. He was right there. If he just started talking, then maybe it would all work out somehow. Maybe? He’d already started walking towards Florian before he could really start to chicken out. His march was robotic, and it drew the attention of a lot of the club members. Oh well. If he asked Florian to trade out of the blue like he was planning, he was sure it would spread like wildfire regardless. He didn’t care. To be honest, he kind of wanted people to know how he felt. But he didn’t at the same time. He didn’t make any sense, even to himself.
Now he stood behind the shorter boy, knuckle knocking against his leg. He tried and failed to come up with something, anything to say. What were people supposed to say when they wanted to greet each other again!?
“Uh, Hey-”
Florian, at the sound of Kieran’s voice, spins around near instantly, a smile on his face before he even fully turns around. “Oh, hi, Kieran! I didn’t notice you there! What’s up? Ohmigosh, I feel like it’s been forever since we hung out. Visiting Kitakami with everyone was so much fun, I really wanna visit again soon, it’s such a beautiful region. Oh! Maybe you could come visit Paldea sometime, and we could hang out! Maybe just the two of us this time? Hey, I feel like I never see you in the Terrarium. You’re not avoiding me, are you? Just kidding! You know I-”
Kieran blinks, long since having stopped knocking against his leg.
Florian pauses, then colours slightly, as he gives a sheepish smile. “Oh! Shoot, sorry. I didn’t mean to start rambling at you like that, haha. Um, did you need something from me?”
Kieran manages to smile, despite his heart hammering in his chest. “You know you don’t gotta go apologisin’ to me Flor’. I like listenin’ to you speak…”
Florian huffs out a quiet laugh as he tucks some hair behind his ear. He starts to bound on his heels slightly. “...You’re so sweet.”
His face is red; he knows it. And he has no bangs to hide behind with his hair tied back. Florian holds his hands behind his back tightly as if he can’t trust them not to latch onto Kieran if left alone.
Kieran plays with the long strand by his face and averts his eyes, smiling shyly. “Ah… well… you know…Not really…Heh heh.”
Looking away from his friend makes him realise that he’s amassed an audience. The entire BB Elite Four are watching the interaction, with varying degrees of subtlety, but all the same amount of interest. Seems like no one in this club knows how to mind their own business, he thinks wryly. Kieran sighs, knowing that he’s stalling. He swallows, then turns to Florian with conviction. He used to be the BB League Champion! This was nothing to him! Just ask him!
“Ah, right, I-I do have a favour to ask you… If that’s alright…”
“Oh? A… favour?” Florian’s heart starts to pick up; Kieran never asks him for favours.
“Do you wanna, um…” he begins to knock against his leg again, accompanied by him biting his nail.
Florian was now leaning in close, eyes wide. It was making things infinitely harder for Kieran. “Yes?”
“Uh! Trade Pokémon with me!?” Kieran manages to squeak out.
Florian blinks. “Oh.” Before smiling and stepping back. “Um. I’d love to!”
Kieran exhales shakily when Florian is out of his personal space. He feels like his heart is about to use Mind Blown. Wowzers! He said yes! Just like that!
“R-really? Oh, wow, that’s- O-ok! Thanks!” Kieran smiles widely, and it takes little effort to get Florian to join in too.
“Now what to pick…? I’ll definitely have to go with something cute.” Florian muses, turning to check his boxes on his Rotom phone.
Oh yeah. Kieran kinda forgot he’d be getting something in return. He’d thought about just handing the Applin over, but… That was just too forward, wasn’t it? He’d heard of friends trading before, but a Gift Pokémon was only suited for special occasions. Not that he didn’t think Florian was the most special person he’d ever met.
Wait, Florian said he’d pick a ‘cute’ Pokémon. That didn’t… mean anything, did it? Was he specifically picking a cute Pokémon because he was trading with him? Nah. No way. Florian would call anything cute. He liked the boy, but… Kieran didn’t exactly understand his tastes. When they travelled around Kitakami together, he’d go on about how he loved the small region because of all the cute Pokémon that he’d never seen in Galar or Paldea. When asked which in particular, he’d responded with Hakomo-o and Crawdaunt.
There was also the time when Kieran first noticed that his hands were always covered in bandages. Kieran worked up the nerve to ask about them one day, and Florian told him with an embarrassed laugh that it was from petting his Pokémon. He’d explain that despite it having Rough Skin , it was just too cute not to want to pet it all the time. Kieran, understandably, pointed out that he couldn’t think of a single cute Pokémon with the Rough Skin ability. He realised his mistake too late when the boy’s usually ever-present smile dropped, and then proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the day.
Aw, man. That memory still bums him out.
“You’re not going to use the PC? Do you already have something picked out?”
Kieran stops spacing out long enough to process the question.
“Yeah. I’ve actually been meanin’ to ask you to trade for a while, but… didn’t really know if you would want to after… y’know.” Kieran mutters as he shrugs and fiddles with his hair.
Florian sighs fondly with a hint of sadness. “ Kieran… I told you already. I never stopped thinking of you as my friend.”
Oh, yeah. Right. Wow. That’s. Yeah.
A high-pitched ‘ Awwww...!’ was the thing that reminded them that they weren’t the only people on the planet, no matter how much it felt like that to Kieran right now.
Both boys' now red faces snap to Lacey, who looks mortified at the prospect that she ruined the moment. Drayton is lying on the table with his head between his arms, frame shaking with how he laughed silently. Crispin is looking between Lacey and the champions with mild confusion, and Amarys is acting like she hasn’t been eavesdropping the entire time.
“Ah! Nothing, sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t mind me! Please continue! It’s not funny, Drayton!”
Kieran sighs and hunches over slightly. Aw, man. Everyone was watching. He did want people to know, but still. Embarrassing.
Florian clears his throat to direct Kieran’s attention, but his cheeks are still slightly flushed.
“I- ahem. I, uh, picked one that reminded me of you. It’s so cute, oh and strong too, so you won't have to worry about it holding your team back- that is, if you decide to use it in battle. I mean, you don’t have to, it’d make me happy, but- I know how hard you worked on perfecting your competitive team and- never mind. It’s a… special Pokémon I caught in Area Zero while I was working on completing my dex. The Pokémon down there are super strong. Um, yeah, I’ll stop talking now, sorry here.” Florian extends a Moon Ball to Kieran, looking away from him.
Kieran, who barely caught half of what Florian said, takes the ball with his mouth hanging open. Wait, did he say it was cute and reminded him of him? What? Did it remind him of him because it was cute? Despite the fact? Huh?
“Um. Uh. T-Thanks, Flor’.”
Florian grins brightly, but it drops as Kieran gets ready to release the Pokémon.
“Oh, Kieran, you might wanna wait until you’re outsi-”
He probably should've listened, Kieran thinks as the Pokémon bursts from the ball, giving him little time to jump out of the way of its sheer size. He supposed he should’ve expected something crazy when Florian told him it was ‘cute’, but a downright beast of a kaiju being let out in the clubroom was not what he expected. This thing reminded Florian of him!?
“Wowzers! Florian, this thing is way cool! I’ve never seen a Pokémon like this! You really sure I can have it?”
Florian pokes his head from around the mass of dragon between them and grins at his use of the word ‘wowzers’. “Of course! I’ve got all the dex data I need from it anyway. Apparently, this one is connected to a phenomenon that occurs in some other-”
“Whoa! What’s with the Salamence?! Why’s it look so crazy?” Drayton exclaims, finally lifting his head from the desk to see what all the hubbub is about. Lacey glares at him for butting in, but doesn’t comment. It’s clear she’s curious about the Pokémon, too.
“Salamence?” Kieran isn’t sure if he’s heard of that Pokémon before.
“Actually, its name is Roaring Moon. Apparently, it and Salamence share uh… common ancestry to say the least.”
Drayton leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. “I know just about everything there is to know about Dragon Pokémon, but this thing is totally new to me. Gotta say, ex-Champ - I’m jealous.
Roaring Moon. It was really amazing, wasn’t it? And all Kieran has in return is… Kieran grips the ball in his hand while the beast sniffs at his shoes. He recalls the Pokémon as he shakes his head. No backing out now.
“Thanks for tradin’ me a real uh, cute Pokémon, Flor’. I like it a whole bunch. Trainin’ it up is gonna be fun, I just know it. The one I picked for you isn’t as amazing or anythin’, but… I picked it for a reason. It has m-meanin’. So, uh, here.” He holds the ball towards Florian awkwardly, mentally kicking himself for rambling.
Kieran begins to knock against his leg as Florian carefully takes the Pokéball. Florian regards it with all the care and love in the world. He looks up to Kieran with wide eyes, and Kieran fights not to squint at their brightness.
“Can I release it right now?” He asks quietly.
Kieran gulps, but doesn’t break eye contact. “Yeah.”
Neither of them moves, and Kieran feels increasingly like he wants to run away by the second. But he wants to see Florian's reaction even more. Finally, the boy releases the Pokémon into his hand.
Florian freezes.
The boy blinks. Then blinks again. Then keeps blinking, as if he can’t believe the Pokémon in his hand is real. Kieran doesn’t think he’s seen Florian be so quiet or still for this long, for as long as he’s known him. As the silent seconds tick by, Kieran increasingly feels like he’s just made a huge mistake. He hates it, doesn’t he? Maybe… maybe the thought of the festival reminds him of the time they stopped being friends? Was that it?
“Applin…?”
“F-Flor’?”
Florian jumps at the sound of his friend’s voice. His eyes snap to Kieran with an expression that’s completely new to him. They look… vulnerable? The expression is completely backwards on someone like Florian, Kieran thinks.
“...Kieran. I’m not- Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Kieran’s heart starts to work in overdrive.
“Um, yeah? Y-yeah! I just… You really mean a lot to me, Florian, and we've been through a lot together, y'know? I just... wanted to show that to you ever since the festival, but I couldn’t think of any other way to do that until now.”
Florian smiles wide. His eyes crinkle, and Kieran can see his teeth. His cheeks are rosy as he begins to bound on his heels. Low mirthful laughter floats from the boy as he hugs the Pokémon close.
Kieran personally thinks it’s the most adorable thing he’s seen another person do, and he communicates this by staring dumbly.
“S-so… D’you like it?”
Before Kieran can even finish his question, Florian is invading his personal space at rapid speeds. Wait, he was getting real close. Was he going to whisper something to him? Kieran’s barely coherent thoughts are turned to static as Florian, now on his tiptoes, gingerly cups his face with his free hand and presses his lips against his.
Wait, he what?
…
WAIT, HE WHAT!?
It’s light. Quick, like it was second-guessed. Unsure in a way that Kieran doesn’t recognise as Florian. He’s normally always certain of his actions. Despite this, it's so soft. Soft and sweet like feathery down, as if he were being shipped off to a dream by a flock of Altaria. It ends as quickly as it begins, and Kieran greedily laments the loss of Florian when it’s over.
Florian’s eyelashes flutter open slowly as he rocks back on his heel, a shy, but no less radiant smile adorning his flushed features.
“I love it.”
Kieran knows his face is red. He feels his entire body burning, and his jaw is on the ground. Florian kissed him in front of everyone. He kissed him! Wowzers! He can’t believe it! Did he like it that much? Did- Did Florian hold the day they spent at the festival close to his heart the same way Kieran did? After everything Kieran did too… Gosh, he feels like his heart is about to bounce out of his chest!
“I’ve got something that I have to take care of, but come meet me in my room in a little bit. I’d like to… talk.”
Kieran gives a dopey, slightly dazed smile in lieu of an answer, and before he can even think to use his mouth, Florian has already skipped through the door.
He hears his own giggles before he realises he’s doing it. That went way better than he could've hoped for! How the heck did he get so lucky!? He knew his Applin plan would work! Florian really did remember the festival as fondly as he did. He kissed him! He doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy before. Kieran doesn’t think anything could ruin this moment!
“Way to score, ex-Champ!”
Oh, right.
When Kieran turns, he finds he’s surrounded by the entire BB Elite Four.
“Kieran, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I’m so happy for you! You two are so cute!”
“For him to do something like that in front of everyone... Florian certainly is bold.”
“Man, Kieran. I think Florian likes you!”
He throws his hands up in front of him. Accepting the onslaught that was being unleashed before him. Kieran has to stop himself from stumbling when Drayton pats him on the back roughly.
“Seriously, I couldn’t have done it better myself. When’d you become such a Casanova?” Drayton throws Kieran a smarmy grin that makes him scowl around his blush. Lacey scoffs.
“Oh, must you always find a way to turn a sweet thing vulgar? It’s just not right!” She accentuates her frustration by crossing her arms into an X shape.
Drayton’s smile is unaffected as he slings an arm around Kieran’s shoulder.
“Come on, Lace’, I'm being serious here! Trading him an Applin was an amazing play.”
Drayton’s offhand comment snaps Kieran out of the high he was on. How would…
“What did you just say?”
The Elite Four promptly shut up and turn to Kieran.
“What? Trading Applin was a slick move. Y’know, since Florian’s from Galar and everything?”
“Of course I knew that!” Kieran snaps, roughly separating himself from Drayton. “What does that have to do with Applin?”
“...What? Did- Please tell me you didn't just trade him an Applin without even knowing the lore?” Drayton says with an almost pitying smile. Almost.
“Stop screwing with me, Drayton. What lore?”
“Ha! Man, guess I gave you too much credit after all.” Drayton chuckles.
Lacey directs all the crossness she can muster towards Drayton. “Oh, stop teasing him, Drayton. Just tell us what you know already.”
He shoots a grin at Lacey's cross expression. “Alright, alright. Listen up, everyone: Class is in session.” All eyes are trained on him now, some less excited than others. “Legend speaks of an old folktale in the Galar region… It says that if you give an Applin to the one you love, you'll be together forever. ‘Course that’s just superstition, but nowadays it’s still a pretty popular way to ask out the person you’re into over there. If you were to give a Galarian an Applin, they’d totally think you’d wanna date ‘em. But that’s neither here nor there, eh, ex-Champ?”
“That’s… so cute.” Lacey has a dire look on her face. Clearly conflicted between Drayton's ribbing and the sweet story.
“How’d you know about all that stuff anyway, Drayton? You planning to give an Applin to someone?” Crispin seems genuinely impressed by his knowledge.
Drayton just chuckles. “I told you before, bud. When it comes to Dragon Pokémon, I'm your guy.”
“I… didn’t know about that,” Kieran says very quietly.
“Well, Florian seemed to like it, to say the least. If you didn’t even know about the legend, why didja trade him an Applin in the first place? Wanted matching Hydrapples or something?”
Kieran was starting to feel off. A creeping feeling of dread, like he’s on the cusp of realising he made a mistake. “That’s none of your business. The Galar folktale stuff ain’t important. It’s got a different meanin’ to us, alright?!”
Drayton raises his hands in mock surrender. “Whatever you say, man.”
Amarys suddenly speaks up, hand on her chin. “Is Florian aware of that?”
Kieran’s head snaps to her, and she stares back.
No one speaks for a while.
“Kier-” Lacey begins when the silence gets too stifling.
“I gotta go,” is all Kieran says before he promptly turns and speedwalks towards the door.
“Kieran, wait!”
A resounding slam is all she gets in response.
"Where's he off to in a hurry?" Crispin looks only mildly concerned
Amarys adjusts her glasses and lets out an almost inaudible sigh. “This does not bode well.”
Lacey glares at Drayton. “I blame you for this.”
Already on his way back to the table to lie down, Drayton yawns. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”