Piers was more than used to waking up to an empty bed, the only difference now being that the ceiling his eyes fluttered open to didn't belong to his bedroom nor any other chamber in his house. It took him a moment to recollect his thoughts, but when he did, he remembered that he had come to watch another exhibition match between Raihan and the new champion, Victor.

Since the dragon-type Gym Leader had regrettably yet somewhat expectedly lost, Piers took it upon himself to cheer the latter up by taking him out on a date. They had taken a walk around Hammerlocke and done the typical things such as shopping, snack-eating and Pokémon training, but eventually they had ended up at the taller man's apartment to eat dinner.

A movie had been watched after a homemade, tasty meal, and before realizing it, it had gotten far too late into the night for Piers to return home. Of course, he could have travelled to Spikemuth by foot — his hometown wasn't situated that far away from Hammerlocke, after all — but neither of the two felt like that was the right thing to do after a day so well-spent together.

It wasn't the first time the spiky-head had shared a bed with his lover — far from it — but he still enjoyed it as much as when first experiencing it. Even though they had only lied beside one another, warming each others' bodies with their embraces, Piers found so much love and safety in Raihan's arms.

It was the smell of something fried that managed to shake Piers out of his trance, forcing him to sit up and run a hand through his even unrulier two-colored hair. Before he had started dating the dragon tamer, Piers wouldn't find so much enjoyment in breakfast because it would usually be Moomoo Milk with cereals and at other times nothing at all. So knowing that beyond the room's door and the corridor Raihan was cooking a meal was more than refreshing.

The alluring smell had invaded the pale young man's nostrils to the point that it drove him impatient and even a tad hungry, so much that he gave up searching for his clothes halfway and simply picked up the first article that was lying around. That happened to be a thin, black sweater his boyfriend owned. Piers didn't hesitate for even a second when he threw on the soft fabric, soon strolling into the kitchen groggily.

"Good mornin'." He said in his usual, hoarse morning voice, Raihan sending a small glance his way over his shoulder. The caramel-skinned male replied with much more enthusiasm, already glowing with a bright grin this early in the day. Sometimes Piers found himself wondering how he could handle such cheerfulness, especially in the mornings, but his lover's smile was just too contagious to complain about.

"What're you makin'?" The question came out as a hum when the shorter Gym Leader concluded his trip to the kitchen isle, allowing his face to drop into Raihan's back. At the same time, Piers wrapped his slim arms around the other's masculine form, hugging him as tightly as his strength in the morning allowed him to.

"Smoke-Poke Tails with boiled eggs. I can make pancakes if you want something sweet though." The ravenet replied, leaning his head backwards a bit, just enough for him to rest it against Piers'. Their considerable height difference couldn't be displayed in a more obvious way, but it certainly wasn't enough to stop the pale young man from planting a few sloppy kisses on the side of Raihan's neck.

"No, this is fine." The cyan-eyed male's answer was a bit muffled because his lips were more preoccupied with sucking and nibbling the caramel skin of his boyfriend. Raihan let the other do as he pleased, humming in satisfaction every now and then until he could no longer endure being on the receiving end of affection.

He placed the pan that he had been holding firmly away from the heat where it wouldn't endanger itself from burning before turning around entirely. Piers wasn't exactly expecting the taller man to leave everything be in order to shower him with love, so he was pleasantly surprised when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around his frail waist.

"Where's my good morning kiss?" Raihan hummed, feigning innocence as he faked a pout to accompany his act. His turquoise eyes glimmered with both genuineness as well as expectation, and Piers found himself drowning in their beauty. A shy, pink color painted his pale cheeks, the male still getting self-conscious when he was so bluntly asked to do something more affectionate by his lover.

He averted his gaze momentarily before bringing his hands to rest on Raihan's clothed chest. It was an odd thing to describe, but it felt so naturally nice, touching the other when he wore thin clothing, especially since Raihan's habitual wear consisted of that thick hoodie of his. Receiving a small boost by getting on his toes, Piers brought his lips to his boyfriend's.

Little pecks were always appreciated, but neither of the two remembered the last time a kiss had stopped at only nibbling at each other. The light brown-skinned young man was swift to take it to the next stage, enveloping Piers' bottom lip in both of his own and sucking gently at it for permission.

Slowly melting into the other's addictive touch, the spiky-head let himself be dominated and allowed Raihan's tongue to slip past his lips, greeting his own wet muscle passionately. As they made their tongues rub against each other in synchronization, the taller male stole the opportunity to lower his hands to Piers' rear.

They didn't rest there for long though, because just as quick as he had gripped the other's lower back, he had already placed Piers down on the kitchen counter. There weren't many occasions in which the pale young man was given a chance to appear taller than his lover, so he savored the moment even more by wrapping his legs around Raihan's waist, pulling him even closer to himself with that gesture.

Sounds of wet kisses and silent groans filled the kitchen as the two continued their little workout, all the way until the shorter male was left without oxygen. "How are you so lively this early in the mornin'?" He questioned, his breath still taking time to adjust to a more comfortable pace.

"Who wouldn't be lively after seeing you?" Raihan chuckled, stealing a kiss so soft, that the rough ones from seconds ago seemed like a distant memory, a dream, something that hadn't ever happened. "Especially since you're wearing my shirt. Are you dong this on purpose?"

"Maybe."

* * *

Because they had been too distracted by each other, the two Gym Leaders hadn't noticed that it was pouring quite badly outside, so their plans of going out today were all crossed from their list. That was no problem at all though. Raihan had always wanted to spend a lazy, rainy day just cuddling with his boyfriend on the couch.

That was precisely what they did after filling their bellies with the househusband's deliciously prepared meal. With Piers resting his light body against his chest, Raihan had been flipping over channels on the telly in hopes of finding something interesting. He had been looking forward to watching a cheesy romance movie, but they didn't seem to be airing any at this time of the day — which was understandable enough. He gave up in the end and had to make do with a documentary about the Zigzagoon family.

The shorter male's two-colored hair was usually arranged in three ponytails, so Raihan couldn't stop his urge of running his fingers through the messy strands now that Piers had his hair down. He was still partially paying attention to the program, but his lover's soft breaths and the way his chest gently rose and fell when he breathed seemed to be more interesting than any Pokémon report.

While his one hand rested firmly on the other's thigh, the fingers of Raihan's other one danced with the black and white strands of Piers' hair. As he entangled them, his thoughts unconsciously trailed off, to the point where the caramel-skinned young man began regretting that he had never asked Nessa how to braid hair. Perhaps he could get her to teach him sometime, so that he could try out many variations on Piers and post couple-y pictures on his media.

His train of thought was interrupted the instant the screen in front of them displayed two young Zigzagoon, showing many close-ups. "They remind me an awful lot of you. No wonder that I've started to think that they're cute lately." Raihan commented, referring to the raccoon-like creatures that were now shown chasing each other. A heartfelt giggle escaped Piers' throat when hearing that. "Really?"

"Really. They're so cute that I almost want to catch one for myself and raise it." The ravenet leaned his chin into the crook of the other's neck and watched him turn his head around slightly. Given that he had been sitting between Raihan's legs with his back pressing against the latter's chest, there was barely any distance between their faces.

"Well, you've got me now, right?" Piers asked, his cheeks somewhat hot as he referred to the fact that Zigzagoon reminded his boyfriend of himself. He associated that instead of capturing the Pokémon itself, Raihan could simply take care of him. Raihan was both amused and attracted by the other's playful yet honest comment.

"You bet I do." The taller young man retorted, planting a loud smooch on Piers' neck. Only one felt like a waste of such beautiful pale skin, so the ravenet ended up pecking the other many more times until the sounds of his beautiful chuckle filled the living room.

Piers did nothing to escape his lover's attacks and instead went to grab the hand that was resting on his thigh. He flipped it over and began tracing the tips of his thin fingers along the lines of Raihan's palm. The spiky-head continued doing that until ultimately making the decision to push his fingers into the spaces between the other's, squeezing their hands ever so slightly.

"Hey, Raihan?" Hearing his name get called out by his lover had always been something the ravenet liked, but when Piers accompanied it with such a gentle voice, the latter could only melt. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you called out to me that day." The spiky-head hadn't wasted much time on pondering the reason behind him getting nostalgic now of all times, and neither did his partner mind. Raihan acted just like he always would, answering to the unusual statement with something more playful that would cut through any kind of tension. "You mean at the station in Motostoke or back when I made fun of those dudes' dicks six years ago?"

"Idiot. I'm grateful for both, but I meant at the station. If you hadn't stopped me back then, I would've never had the guts to be with you like this." Piers' remark was followed by a sheepish chuckle, and not before long, he could feel the grip around his delicate hand tighten. "And I'm glad you didn't give up on me all this time."

The spiky-head's hand was no longer the only thing being pressed — his entire body was soon enveloped in Raihan's arms anew. Piers enjoyed the hug while it lasted, unexpectedly being the one to break the contact first by wiggling out of the other's touch. The caramel-skinned male raised an eyebrow curiously, but put his growing uneasiness to rest when he saw his boyfriend turn around, straddling his lap.

A moment of silence passed between the two until the shorter Gym Leader gathered the courage to interrupt it. "Hey, Raihan?" It was as if the same exact scenario was playing before him again, so Raihan fulfilled his role by answering with the identical word from minutes ago. "Yeah?"

"I love you." Of all the things Piers could have said to him, the ravenet was honestly caught off guard when a blunt confession was thrown at him out of the blue. The usually pale cheeks of his partner had a pink dust covering them, his beautiful cyan orbs sucking him in. The smile that grew on Raihan's face did so entirely by instinct as the young man carefully placed his hand against the curve of Piers' jaw, his thumb running circles against his cheek.

"I love you too, Piers. So much, you can't begin to imagine."

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My note to you:
This was so simple, but I think it still managed to turn out cute enough? I hope so, at least!^^ Anyway, the next chapter is the last one before the Epilogue — we've come a long way :3

Thank You for Reading!