Lately, Piers found himself in Hammerlocke more often than in his own hometown. Sometimes it was for business, but the majority of the times was because he and Raihan would meet up, eat together, go see a match together or be on any kind of other date. The time he spent with his taller lover was something he truly enjoyed, something that constantly drove him to appreciate Raihan having approached him back in Motostoke.

Today was actually a bit different though. Piers was in Hammerlocke again, yes, but this time he had come here to do some shopping. Marnie had been doing incredibly well on her Gym Challenge, and being the attached older brother he was, the spiky-head wanted to buy a gift for her. Spikemuth was too rundown to have any shops that offered fancier articles and Circhester was too troublesome to get to, so the Tamer of Dragons' city seemed the perfect location to do it in.

He had already checked out various boutiques, food stores and other shops, but nothing really piqued his interest. Piers had always considered shopping to be something girls were better at, but he didn't expect to be at such a loss when he actually had to do it himself. With a heavy sigh escaping his throat, the pale man exited yet another small store, having given up entirely.

He decided that he would give it another try later, and before he knew it, his feet had unconsciously dragged him to the front of the stadium. He could hear deafening cheers emanating from it, and he could only guess that someone was taking on Raihan in a Pokémon battle. He hadn't heard of there being any exhibition matches, so he figured it had to be a Gym Challenger.

He was already here to begin with, so checking up on his lover wouldn't hurt, right? The spiky-head didn't ponder the matter too long and instead entered the large building, immediately proceeding to the spectator areas. As expected, the stadium was filled — after all, everyone loved to see Raihan in action — but Piers still found a little spot to take a seat in.

It seemed like the two Trainers were already down to their last Pokémon: Raihan's Sandaconda and Gigantamax Duraludon and the challenger's Gigantamax Hatterene. Sand was twirling just about anywhere and reached all the way up to the bleachers. It had been quite a while since Piers had seen the other battling it out on the field, but watching him filled the pale young man with contentment. He could see how Raihan was able to rile up the crowd so well, because observing his match certainly brought back memories of when they were young Gym Challengers.

The battle ended quite soon, Raihan emerging as the victor. He walked up to his opponent and shook his hand despite the loss, congratulating them and encouraging them to come challenge him again. Of course, all of that happened once a selfie had been taken. Just as the two disappeared into the respective tunnels, Piers also stood up and left the bleachers, heading for the reception desk.

He didn't even need to wait because Raihan came just a moment after he had arrived. The ravenet's reaction was so satisfying to watch. His facial features lit up the instant he laid eyes on Piers, and he immediately changed his course and approached him. The three Gym Trainers that followed him couldn't do much but do the same. "You came to watch my match?"

"I did, weather boy." The spiky-head retorted somewhat smugly, even flashing the other a playful smirk which Raihan gladly returned. He closed the distance between their bodies by wrapping his strong arms around the other's slim figure, pulling him even closer. His hands rested firmly on the shorter male's hips, and before Piers could pull away or react altogether, Raihan pecked his lips.

"R-Raihan..." The young man finally managed to stammer, his pale cheeks allowing a bright red color to take over. Not only were his three Gym Challengers fully exposed to the scene, other people that had gathered in the hall were also around and yet Raihan didn't seem to have a care in the world.

"What? Was it not enough?" Quite on the contrary, the ravenet invited his lips back onto Piers', uniting them in yet another kiss. This one wasn't as fugitive as the first though, and due to the taller male rubbing his pair against the other's so insistingly, it was even harder for Piers to put a stop to them.

Raihan could practically feel his lover's heart beating against his own chest as well due to their close proximity, and as much as he liked teasing people, he knew that Piers was sensitive to this kind of thing and decided to give him a break. Pulling back a tad, the caramel-skinned Gym Leader offered the other an innocent smile before turning taking a few steps away. "Oh yeah, I haven't inttroduced you guys yet."

"Sebastian, Camilla, Aria, this is Piers — my boyfriend." The spiky-head didn't think his partner could get any bolder, but he was soon proven wrong. To his comfort, not one of the Gym Trainers reacted badly to the reveal of their relationship. In fact, it seemed like they had been looking forward to meeting the person Raihan always seemed to boast about.

They weren't quite like his Team Yell grunts, but they certainly were fun to get to know better.

* * *

"So you came to pick a present for Marnie?" Raihan asked a second time just to make sure as he and his lover strolled through the buzzing streets of Hammerlocke. Everyone had been treated to drinks at Sebastian's house, and after an hour or so, the two Gym Leaders excused themselves to their date. "That was the plan, but I dunno what to get her."

"Let's look for something together then!" The caramel-skinned male suggested, despite being sure that Marnie would have been happy with anything her elder brother were to give her. That was how they launched themselves back in many stores, their offers varying from edibles to accessories again.

Perhaps it was because Piers was no longer doing it on his own, but for some reason selecting gifts had become so much easier when receiving Raihan's opinion. So simple in fact that the two settled on buying a new pair of magenta earrings and a matching piece of jewelry that would most probably fit her Morpeko best.

"Since we're already here, we might as well do some shopping ourselves." The ravenet spoke up again the instant they had stepped out of the last shop, the boutique standing next to it quite invitingly. It was nowhere near evening and Piers had no specific plans to follow anyway, so why not just do that?

They entered the mentioned clothes store, the spiky-head following close behind the taller young man, and were greeted by an energetic young lady. Raihan was accustomed to this kind of shopping, so he waved the girl off right away, saying they were here to look around. Piers on the other hand was one of those people who only bought clothes when he grew out of his old ones or when they would rip, but it was fun to see the other's enthusiasm.

Perhaps it was because Piers was a tad biased, but he truly thought that Raihan looked good in anything. He was certain that even if he were to wear the most ugly, unfitting of clothes he would still look gorgeous. The spiky-head was used to seeing him in his signature hoodie and shorts, so when he put on long, dark trousers and a short-sleeved, very exposing white v-neck shirt, Piers found himself entranced by the latter's appearance.

Usually people would think that the more skin a person revealed, the more attractive they would be, but it seemed like the reverse worked out just fine as well. The light color of the taller male's shirt brought out the beauty of his somewhat darker skin even more, and Piers had only become aware that he had been staring the moment he was called out on it. "Like what you see?"

"I s'ppose." The pale young man felt the heat rise to the tips of his ears when he was discovered and even when he gave the other his answer. Despite getting fueled by all the compliments he was being showered with by his lover, Raihan didn't want to be the only one to show off and picked a few clothes he thought would fit Piers well. "Want to try this on?"

The shorter male gave a small nod in exchange and was given what Raihan had gathered before heading to the changing chamber, his lover following his steps. While slipping into the clothes, Piers couldn't help but wonder why stores even sold clothes that were already ripped. He wasn't complaining of course, though once he inspected his image in the mirror he couldn't help but think that perhaps what he wore was a bit too revealing, even if he was a man.

He didn't ponder it for too long and instead settled on showing Raihan first, whose instant reaction was to cover his mouth that had merged into a smirk. In contrast to what the taller man was wearing, the color of Piers' jeans was black — a shade that complemented his beautifully pale skin perfectly. They were, as hinted at, visibly torn and quite a tight fit. There were holes where his knees were, some went lower and others even revealed his thighs. Everything was being held in place by two belts that formed a cross in the front and in the back.

What partially covered Piers' torso was a bright pink cropped top, and even that one had a few rips in it. The spiky-head's personal favorite piece was probably the two-colored leather jacket though, not only because of personal preferences concerning colors, but also because it reminded him of his ace Pokémon Obstagoon. One half of the jacket was white while the left one was, expectedly, raven-colored.

"It's too much, isn't it?" The shorter male's wasn't even a question anymore judging by the tone of his voice, but Raihan had to strongly disagree. As if shielding him from looks of other people, the ravenet took a step forward and lowered his voice a little. "Not at all. I think these fit you really nicely."

"It looks kinda... sexy." If his words weren't straightforward enough, Raihan even extended his hand, tracing his index-finger from one of the holes of Piers' jeans to his exposed abdomen. The latter felt shivers racing down his spine as his body tensed under his boyfriend's touch. "R-Raihan!"

Ignoring all voices of reason, the taller Gym Leader pushed the both of them into the changing room, closing the curtain right after they were at the interior to gain some privacy. Before either of the two knew what was truly happening, Raihan had his partner pinned against the wall where the mirror was, whispering sweet nothings into his ear as his hands never stopped.

"S-Stop doin' that." Even though those words were rolling off of Piers' slightly trembling lips, deep down he knew that he was secretly enjoying some of this. The fact that they could be discovered at any given moment put pressure on him but excited him at the same time — something he was too ashamed to ever admit out loud.

Raihan proceeded to sneak the fingers of his one hand into the rips of the black pants, allowing them to glide over Piers' soft skin. With his other hand he rubbed the other's abdomen, threatening to travel more north each time he moved. Piers was doing his best at keeping his panting to a minimum, but when their faces were this close to each other, it was simply impossible to resist.

Raihan tilted his head slightly to the side, making it appear as if he were leaning in for a kiss. With expectation gathering in his groin, Piers closed his eyes and mirrored the other's gesture, waiting for impact on his lips. That impact never came though.

A tad displeased at the sudden stop of action, the spiky-head furrowed his brows and allowed his cyan orbs to flutter open, glaring at the taller male. "Why'd you stop there?" Raihan had to hold himself together quite notably at the sight of his pouty lover, especially since what he was saying contradicted the way he had told him to stop just a few minutes earlier.

"Well, I figured I shouldn't force these kinds of things onto you. Unless it's you who initiates them." His reasoning was poor and Piers caught on rather quickly that he was only trying to mess around with him. It was as if he felt a sudden surge of confidence, or the simple urge to show Raihan that he wasn't the only one who could do things like flirting.

"You say that after you've felt me up so shamelessly?" With those words smugly escaping his throat and a playful smirk dancing on his lips, Piers took a firm hold of the taller's shoulders and pulled him to himself, finally closing the gap between their mouths. Their lips melted into a sweet yet passionate kiss while their hands explored every inch of one another's body.

With their fingers either entangled in each other's hair or clothes, the two showered one another with the affection they felt — entirely forgetting the time or the place.

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My note to you:
Ugh I don't know what I keep doing for it to turn out this way, but this feels so rushed?? ;-;

Thank You for Reading!