It had been a few days since Piers had dropped by at Raihan's with the intention of shortening his hair for him, and ever since they cleared up the misunderstanding, both of them couldn't agree more that they had wasted so many years mourning over things that weren't even real. Not only did their status of almost-strangers change to friends, but to something even closer. They wanted to recuperate the time they had lost when being apart, which led to the current situation.

The two had decided to try going out again.

The caramel-skinned young man ascertained to tell Nessa as soon as he got the chance, and the female was very surprised that things had actually turned out that way. She was more pleasantly surprised than negatively, though she still had her doubts. Of course, she kept those to herself, because in the end who was she to dictate her best friend's happiness?

This time, Raihan made it especially clear that if something was bothering the shorter male, then he should come forward with it and say it without beating around the bush. That was valid for both parties of course. He had also explicitly pointed out that if Piers ever felt like seeing him — no matter the time, place or circumstances — then he should also avoid hiding it and contact him.

Right now was one of those situations. It was unknown to most other Gym Leaders, but Piers was planning to step down from his position as soon as his little sister would finish her Gym Challenge. He wanted to hand his Gym down to Marnie, though he was far too uninformed about all the procedures and the like, so he figured it would be a good idea to pay someone a visit — someone who knew a thing or two about this topic.

That was the reason the spiky-head had spent all morning in Ballonlea, conversing with Opal who as well intended to retire as a Gym Leader. Although nothing was set in stone yet, she had told him that she was in search of a successor, and informed him of all the paperwork that would need to be done in order to make it official.

That was all well and good — after a few thorough discussions, Piers could leave the town with more knowledge than before — but he somehow felt the urge to meet a certain someone, to meet Raihan. There was no particular reason as to why he wanted that, but was the simple wish not enough?

The two-color-haired male wasn't too sure. After all, his only experience in dating was with Raihan six years ago, so he didn't know if he would appear too clingy if he were to send him a message. He remembered the taller man's words and how he had said that there was no need to hold back, and so he ultimately gave in to his desire.

They had agreed to meet around midday in front of Hammerlocke Stadium since it was on Piers' route, so the latter was a tad surprised to find Raihan standing there half an hour sooner than the appointed time. Perhaps it was his skill as a Pokémon Trainer or plainly his good looks, but the man really stood out. Both girls and boys that walked past him dove themselves into murmuring about him.

The light brown-skinned male seemed to be busying himself on his Rotom Phone while he waited until he decided to lift his eyes a tad and spot his lover. A grin instantly invaded his features as he offered the spiky-head a wave. "Piers! You're already here?"

"You're one to talk. Did you wait long?" The other responded, now finally having reached where Raihan stood. The taller male shook his head dismissively, pointing out how his home was just a few steps away. They began walking towards the eastern part of the city while chatting about irrelevant things until Raihan brought up what he had in mind for today. "I was thinking we could grab some lunch together since you didn't eat yet."

"Where would you prefer to eat, at Bob's Your Uncle or the Captain's Table?" He continued, browsing his Rotom Phone as he spoke, checking both locals' opening hours and daily menus. "I'd like to take you out somewhere fancy, but I can't really decide."

"Honestly, I don't care how fancy the restaurant is. I'd much rather eat somethin' made by you, actually." Piers blurted out bluntly yet truthfully, causing the taller male to widen his eyes a tad. He was taken aback by his answer just the slightest bit, because he was so used to the girls that surrounded him always acting greedy and picking the most expensive stuff if he offered to treat them. Of course, he was silly to compare someone as genuine as Piers with those gold-digging women. "Really?"

"Yeah. Wanna come over to my place?" The pale young man nodded, looking up a tad in order to meet the other's gaze. He was relieved to see the bright expression Raihan wore, and was glad he sticked with picking simple over extravagant. The ravenet on the other hand had to constantly remind himself that it was the middle of the day and that Piers was inviting him over to eat food, not do what his not-so-innocent mind accidentally trailed off to.

"Gladly." He replied, returning the eye-contact. Piers couldn't tell if the face that he was pulling implied a smile or a playful smirk, but it didn't matter much. As they walked and talked, the spiky-head found himself feeling restless more often than not, wanting to get physically closer to Raihan. They were dating, sure, but they were still in the open, and relationships between two men weren't exactly on the list of most supported things.

Despite that, Piers sometimes sneakily extended his hand somewhat further than it was necessary, making it seem like all the times his fingers brushed against Raihan's was an 'accident'. That was what the taller male thought at first, but once the action repeated itself more than thrice, he knew it wasn't coincidence.

He also knew that Piers was probably still too timid to take the initiative, so he took matters in his own hands — quite literally. The spiky-head had little time to react before a big, warm hand slipped around his with a firm but gentle hold.

At the unexpected contact, with his heart having finally calmed down since some normalcy had been laced back between them, Piers felt a thrill snake all the way up his entire body, and once again his heart kicked into overdrive. "Raihan, we're outside..." His words contradicted his actions because he let himself wrap his cool fingers around the other's hand — something Raihan secretly smiled at.

Somewhere along the way, Piers made the decision to twist his hand in Raihan's and push his slender fingers into the spaces between the other's. The caramel-skinned male, the grin on his face never having so much as faded, squeezed gently when he did so, and Piers couldn't help thinking about how weird it was that their hands fit so comfortably together. That was certainly one of the reasons why it seemed like the two had arrived in Spikemuth faster than usual.

"Well, make yourself at home." The slim male announced once he had led his partner through a few dark alleys, ultimately arriving in front of the door that led to his humble apartment. Raihan didn't let himself get told that twice and slipped out of his sneakers at the entrance, following the shorter man into the hallway.

"I haven't been here in forever! It's... unexpectedly tidy." He commented, gaining a deadpan look from the other before he eventually snorted. "Just what kind of mental image do you have of me?" The two were greeted by Malamar who had been guarding their home before Raihan was given the OK to snoop around in the kitchen.

"Whoa, all you have is instant noodles and salad! Are you sure that metabolism of yours is doing alright?" The tall male was half-joking and half speaking seriously because what he found in cupboards and in the fridge was indeed unhealthy food that could be prepared in less than five minutes. "Well, I still don't know how to cook."

"You can be glad that you have me now, then." Raihan hummed somewhat satisfied, as if he were already looking forward to ameliorating his lover's eating habits. Since curry was one of the meals that was easiest to make and quite compatible with pretty much anything, the ravenet settled on preparing just that, opening a cupboard to grab the package of rice he had seen there a moment earlier. What he didn't expect to find there as well was a bag of certain starchy plant tubers.

"I thought you didn't like potatoes?" He raised a brow when asking that, turning around a tad just to meet Piers' cyan orbs. "I don't." The shorter male was setting the table meanwhile, and the fact that he embarrassedly scratched the side of his head certainly didn't slip past Raihan. "That time when you made me eat those... I was wrong when I said that they'd taste the same as any other potatoes."

"Ever since then, I tried gettin' used to them, but they'd just never taste the same as when you made them for me." He only realized just how ridiculous he sounded when the words had already rolled off his lips. The fact that he was still picky about his meals was bad enough, but that he was stuck on a memory of his former lover feeding him things he didn't like and then praising him with a kiss for eating it was the Cheri Berry on top.

Raihan didn't see it that way though — not in the slightest — because he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling suddenly invade him, it was like his heart was melting. He was more fired up now than ever, eager to cook the best Potato Curry Piers had ever had the chance to try, and immediately put himself to work.

"Then I guess I'll have to feed them to you again. Kisses included."

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My note to you:
The next five chapters are pretty much all dates, I hope you can look forward to that! — because I'm certainly looking forward to writing them. :3

Thank You for Reading!