That Summer | Raihan x Piers [Pokémon]

Chapter 14 ❀ What He's Always Thought

The preliminary rounds of the Champion Cup were proceeding rather smoothly for both boys: Piers had won his two major battles against a fellow Gym Challenger named Gordie as well as the fairy-type expert Opal while Raihan had mopped the floor with Sonia and just finished doing so with Milo as well.

Out of the two, Piers' match was next and this time he was worried for real. His opponent wasn't any common Trainer nor Gym Leader, it was Leon — the boy who even Raihan had only managed to beat in a battle once. He wasn't about to give up now that he had come so far though, both in the tournament or his journey altogether.

It was an unspoken promise, but after every battle, Piers and Raihan would meet in the reception hall and exchange feedback and words of encouragement. After the caramel-skinned male's victory against Milo, that deal wasn't broken either which led to why the two boys were two of the very few people who weren't either on the bleachers, the pitch or the changing rooms.

"I know this will sound kinda stupid coming from me, but I'm sure you can beat Leon!" Raihan insisted, referring to how he had lost many battles against his rival until this point. The shorter boy felt so treasured when he was enveloped in his boyfriend's arms and given his trademark good-luck-kiss, and that gave him a feeling of invincibility. "Get out there and show them what you're made of! That way we can have our epic battle in the finals!"

Though as strong as he and his Pokémon were, his Obstagoon simply couldn't last until the end when he was faced with Leon's Gigantamax Charizard. His loss left him with a bitter aftertaste without a doubt, but he knew better than to be disappointed in himself. He had learned how to value himself properly thanks to Raihan, and Piers felt even less bad knowing that his boyfriend still had a chance in beating Leon for the both of them.

"Piers!" The light brown-skinned male called out from the reception hall as soon as the mentioned boy had returned from the field. He looked a bit down at first, but Raihan was quick to raise his spirits by hugging his frail form tightly, bringing  a small smile to his face. "You were awesome out there!"

"I'm sure you would have won if Leon hadn't Gigantamaxed his Charizard." The ravenet added, pulling away from the shorter male just enough to see his warm expression. The two had to separate from each other entirely next though, because someone else decided to walk in on them — and that someone else was the same individual who didn't feel awkward talking to a person who was in the midst of peeing. "Raihan, I was just looking for you!"

"We're up against each other in the finals!" Leon stated excitedly as he made his way over to the two Trainers, joining them so casually that Piers was envious of his ability to mix in with others. "I know." Raihan replied bluntly, doing an acceptable job at hiding his disappointment of his rival having interrupted the moment he was having with his boyfriend.

The sight of Piers triggered something inside Leon's memory, and it wasn't the good Pokémon battle they had just left behind themselves. "Ooh which reminds me! Just earlier, were you really confessed to by that girl?" Both Raihan and Piers tensed up at the other's question, the taller male scrunching his eyebrows in unease. "...So what if I was?"

"Eh, for real?! Are you two going out now? Have you already kissed and stuff?!" Clearly, Leon had never been exposed to a boy and girl doing the things he was blurting out, so he appeared to be more excited than necessary. His enthusiasm was causing the pale boy to grow more nervous with every question that rolled off his lips. "We haven't. And we're not going out."

"What a waste! The girl seemed so cute! If you had gone out with her, she might have let you do a bunch of things! With your good looks—" Not only was Leon blabbering about things Raihan didn't deem appropriate, especially since Piers was with them, but he was also slowly but surely attracting the gazes of the few people that actually were in the reception hall. In order to silence the purple-haired male, Raihan brought his hand to the other's face and squeezed his cheeks a tad too violently. "You're being loud."