Not only did the two young Trainers make many more memories that were captured in photos since the little incident in Turffield, but they had reached Motostoke again and collected all three attainable badges on the way. Piers' Zigzagoon had evolved by that time, and so had Raihan's Trapinch during their last battle.

Both boys had just defeated the ever-burning man of fire, Kabu and despite him being quite inexperienced as a Gym Leader here in Galar, he was the toughest opponent they had faced up until now. It was refreshing to know that with such a strong person also came a playful side to his personality, one Piers and Raihan got to witness firsthand when Kabu saw them off at the entrance of the city with a chant.

It was off to the Wild Area for them again and neither of them could wait to make many additions to their Pokémon teams — after all, they had been travelling with only two critters each. The Trainers' next stop was Hammerlocke, the biggest city of the Galar region after Wyndon and also the place that Raihan knew like the back of his hand.

"I hear the next Gym we need to take on is the fighting-type Gym in Stow-on-Side. What are you gonna do about your Linoone's disadvantage?" Raihan was aware that Piers preferred a straightforward way of approach rather than a too strategic one during Pokémon battles, but this time it wasn't a simple type disadvantage — The boy's Pokémon would probably faint as soon as it'd get punched once.

"Well, I'd like to catch an Inkay before we get to Hammerlocke, so I think I'll be fine. You?" The spiky-haired male responded, getting the slight feeling as if Raihan had predicted him wanting to welcome a new Pokémon that would broaden his possibilities. The two had just crossed Motostoke Riverbank and gotten to Bridge Field by that time.

"Me? I'll try out messing a bit with weather conditions. Goomy learned how to use Rain Dance, Vibrava knows Sandstorm and I was thinking about catching a Pokémon that can bring out Sunny Day." Raihan explained, moving his hands around as if they were doing the talking. As Piers listened to him strategizing, he couldn't help but think that it was so like him.

"But say Piers, once we get to Hammerlocke, is there something you'd like to do?" The light brown-skinned male leaned his head forward a tad as they walked as if to seek eye-contact to make his question appear more personal. If the pale boy remembered correctly, Hammerlocke was Raihan's hometown, so perhaps he was asking him that so that he could offer touring him around. That wasn't all though, and Piers knew it. He could tell by the look in the other's sparkly turquoise eyes. "I'm fine with anythin'. You look like you you really wanna do somethin' there though."

"How could you tell?" Raihan himself didn't know if he was only acting surprised or if he actually was, but it certainly made a blush dust its pink, merry little way across Piers' cheeks, even if it was subtle. Lately, the short boy found himself reddening around Raihan more often than not and he couldn't judge if that was a good thing or not. "But yeah, you're totally right! As soon as we reach Hammerlocke, I wanna drop by at the hair salon."

"I've always wanted an undercut, but my mom always nagged me and didn't let me get one. But now that I'm on my own journey, I get to choose for myself!" The tall boy recounted, pulling a confident smirk at the end. His words caused Piers to steal a more detailed peek of his friend's hairdo, and he couldn't help but laugh when realization finally struck him. "Is that why you tie your hair upwards like that?"

"Don't make fun of me!" Raihan joined his friend with a snort, playfully hitting his arm as if to strengthen his point. The two continued chatting about hair, then switched the subject to their preferred fashion choices until they were interrupted by wild Pokémon in the tall grass.

Piers and Raihan had caught the few Pokémon they had planned to add to their teams in the Wild Area and had finally reached Hammerlocke. Both of them were familiar with the city, but after thinking that Motostoke was quite big, Hammerlocke turned out to be enormous in comparison  — truthfully speaking, it was Hammerlocke Stadium that made the entire city seem so grand, not the location itself.

There were many things to attend to before resuming their adventure to Stow-on-Side, and one of them was definitely swinging by the hair salon. Raihan hummed in delight all the way there, Piers having been contaminated with his cheerfulness, so when the two boys arrived in front of a closed beauty store, utter disappointment crawled onto the face of the taller Trainer.

"They're renovating? Now of all times?" Raihan groaned, still not believing his eyes. He was hoping that they were just about done, so that they could simply spend the night at the Pokémon Center, in their tents or in a hotel if there was a need to, so his morale sunk even further when the notice on the glass door implied that the salon would stay closed for another two weeks.

Piers felt like he was watching a child whose candy had been stolen, and he could only feel empathy for his friend. He could relate to his situation quite well because of a past occurrence that had taken place once: There was a time when he really wished for a guitar, and when he finally found the chance to buy one, the music shop had switched locations to an entirely different city.

"I'd have done it in Motostoke if I'd known about this... Oh well, can't be helped! Want to drop by at the Battle Café? We can get ourselves some snacks there." Despite having had a hard time with it, Raihan eventually came to terms with reality and was quick to move on with their plans whilst wearing a grin on his face anew.

Piers actually had a solution to their problem, but for some reason was too shy to bring it up. Simply the thought of it made him nervous, not because he wasn't comfortable around Raihan but precisely because that was supposed to be the case — so why was he hesitating? He bit down on his bottom lip, cursing at his pale skin and the way it so easily ratted out his blush and finally made his suggestion.

"Um, if you'd like... I could cut your hair for you."

Not expecting that kind of answer, Raihan's eyelids flew wide open as his turquoise orbs stared at Piers who despite his generous offer couldn't bring himself to look at his friend directly. The way he was so red that the color spread all the way to the tips of his ears warmed Raihan's heart, but it didn't cloud his reaction. "For real? You can cut hair?!"

"Well, I do my own hair, so... I'm not the best though." Piers was about to correct himself but was cut off the instant two arms wrapped themselves around his frail stature. Raihan didn't give the short boy time to react because he had already pulled away a second later, and proceeded to shake his friend by his shoulders. "You are the best, Piers!"

"Wait, but where should we do it? I'd invite you to my house, but if my parents are home, they'll just stop me again." The tall boy frowned when it came to the planning part, but his worries were soon proven to be meaningless. Piers really seemed to be making Raihan like him even more with every word that left his lips — even though Raihan thought Piers' 'like-bar' couldn't be filled up any more.

"We could go to my place. I live in Spikemuth, so it's not that far from here."

* * *

And so, the two young Trainers had safely traversed Route 7 and the tunnel which got them all the way to Piers' hometown. The walk there indeed hadn't been a long one, especially since Raihan couldn't wait to get his hair cut — not by the hairdresser he knew in Hammerlocke but by the person he considered to be his closest friend.

"Make yourself at home." Piers commented as he slipped out of his shoes in the entryway, feeling the nervousness take over his muscles now more than ever. Since he was leading the way most of the time, Raihan hadn't caught too much sight of his bright face. "Marnie, I'm home!"

"Big brother!" A voice belonging to a small girl could be heard echoing in their humble apartment, the person in question soon running across rooms and hallways just so they could leap onto Piers' legs. When Raihan poked his head out from behind his friend to see who the girl was or what she looked like, he was greeted by a child who gripped her big brother's leg as if her life depended on it while looking at Raihan with an almost tearful look in her eyes.

"This is my little sister. Marnie, say hi." The pale boy spoke, nudging the little girl's head when she buried her face in his leg. It took her a bit, but the wait was worthwhile when she mumbled an extremely timid 'h-hello' to Raihan, the latter feeling an arrow pierce his heart. Cuteness must have been running in the family. "Hey there! My name's Raihan, and I'm taking on the Gym Challenge with your big brother!"

Marnie was even shyer than Piers had been at the beginning of their friendship, but that only motivated Raihan more to get her to come out of her shell. He and the raven-haired girl were sprawled over the floor in the living room, Raihan having let his Goomy out of the Ultra Ball in order to let her play with Marnie. Since the soft tissue Pokémon had a rather cute appearance and was also a female to boost, Raihan figured that the two would get along swimmingly — and much to his satisfaction, they did.

Meanwhile Piers had gathered all necessary utensils in the bathroom and was also given a chance to calm his heart. The person he had invited to his house was his friend, wasn't he? Why was he being so nervous about it? He didn't want to ponder it too much, and so called for the taller boy the moment he thought he was both physically and mentally ready. "Raihan?"

"Coming." The other replied, making his way to where Piers had installed everything. Without needing to be told, Raihan took off his personalized headband, freeing his raven hair in the act. Piers didn't want to say that he was mesmerized by the sight of his friend with his hair down, but that was exactly what he was saying.

"I was thinkin' to spray some water onto your hair, but it's unexpectedly long..." Piers finally managed to speak after getting himself out of his trance as he moved the chair he had placed in the middle of the bathroom somewhat closer to the sink. Raihan could sense that the shorter male was about to ask him to take a seat, so he did so before the latter could request it. "You're the expert, I'll do whatever needs to be done."

"Alright then." Was the last thing Piers said before getting to work. He gently took a hold of the back of Raihan's head and slowly placed it on the edge of the sink. Raihan had already thought that the other boy's touch was so soft then, so when Piers ran his fingers through his silky hair, Raihan didn't stop his eyes from closing in pleasure.

Piers soaked his friend's hair in warm water, secretly taking advantage of this one-time experience to entangle his fingers in his wet strands. He unconsciously rubbed the tips of his fingers against Raihan's scalp, forgetting that he hadn't applied shampoo or wasn't washing hair throughly in the first place.

Once the shorter male was satisfied, he slicked Raihan's hair back with his comb delicately, sometimes getting distracted by the peaceful expression he was making. "Um, so an undercut, was it?" Piers asked just to make sure and before he'd get to parting and cutting hair. The light brown-skinned boy peeked at him with one eye before flashing him a grin. "Yeah! You know, the kind of hairstyle that gives off a mohawk-ish vibe."

Proceeding to reach for a few hair clips, Piers divided the raven strands that grew on the sides entirely from the ones on the top. With the hair clips he fixated everything as it was most practical, so that it wouldn't budge during the most important phase. Once he held his personal electric razor in his dominant hand, he asked Raihan if it was truly alright once more, only to receive the same answer.

And so, Piers did his best to fix up his friend's hair so that he would like it and definitely not regret having left him in charge. More and more stray strands of raven hair fell — either in the sink or directly to the floor. The shorter boy also made sure to apply only the necessary amount of strength when using the shaver, trailing his slender fingers all over Raihan's scalp anew, causing the latter to perceive feelings he couldn't label.

After a good amount of time, Piers had finally finished all adjustments and was a tad nervous to announce it. "It's done..." He spoke in a voice so silent, it felt like the words had just been whispered straight into Raihan's ear due to their proximity. The turquoise-eyed Trainer got up from the chair and instantly turned around so that he would be facing the mirror.

He gaped at his reflection, eyes widening in awe as he traced his fingers along the areas where his hair had been cut. He shifted his position a bit as well in due time, so that he'd see his new hairdo from different angles, never failing to admire Piers' incredible work. "Whoa, this is seriously amazing!"

"Piers, I don't know how to thank you, man! This made my day!" Again, Piers' cheeks began to burn and gain a reddish color at the exposure of Raihan's beams and compliments. His bones had almost been crushed by the taller boy's tight hug anew, and without warning, a photo of the two grinning together had been taken.

Raihan couldn't remember how long he had wished to have this sort of hairstyle, but if it meant that Piers would cut it short for him, he wouldn't mind growing it out again.

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My note to you:
I imagine younger Raihan being a ball of sunshine, so hang in there with me. x3

On another note, thank you so much for 300 reads! <3

Thank You for Reading!