It had been a while since the incident in the locker room of Ballonlea Stadium, and ever since then, Raihan and Piers hadn't left the small, secluded town. Things between them had gotten a tad awkward after the two boys had shared their first kiss, so in order to get rid of that tension, they had decided to spend more time surrounded by the village's charming setting.

They did end up talking things out as soon as one of them felt confident enough to bring up the subject — without having to fear that it would lead to something they both would wish never happened. It was Raihan who spoke about it first, repeating many times that he didn't consider kissing Piers a mistake and that he didn't regret it in the slightest.

Piers was so indescribably happy and at the same time relieved that he no longer had to hide his feelings for the taller boy — and even better, that Raihan seemed to return them. Both of them had been close friends throughout their journey together and they had no intention of going their separate ways any time soon. Now that the opportunity for them to deepen their relationship even more had presented itself, the two boys came to the conclusion that they would try out dating.

What they did after that conversation didn't change much from their usual routine: They held Pokémon battles, either against each other as to train or in the wild, talked about all sorts of topics — during which Piers no longer found himself stuttering, by the way — ate together, strategized together. Currently they were traversing Glimwood Tangle to get back to Stow-on-Side where they later would proceed their journey to Hammerlocke and Circhester.

Due to the towering trees all around them, the sunlight hardly made it through the thick layer of leaves, leaving the two wondering about the time. Raihan had checked it on his Rotom Phone once both boys were getting the feeling that it was getting quite late, and they weren't wrong.

"We're pretty close to Stow-on-Side, but I think it's better if we set up camp here for tonight." Raihan commented, checking the distance between their current position to the mentioned town on his navigation device. Piers agreed and listened to the other male talk about how it would be better if they were to prepare their tents on a higher location given the wild Pokémon.

The caramel-skinned boy scanned his surroundings roughly until his turquoise eyes landed on a clearing, a place where the moonlight hit the ground. "How about up there?" He asked, pointing his index-finger in the direction he meant, Piers' orbs soon falling on it as well. His expression grew a bit concerned despite Raihan's broad grin. "That's pretty high up... I'm not that flexible."

"You can just entrust yourself to me." Raihan beamed genuinely, his bright smile eradicating the little intention Piers had of trying to talk himself out of it. The slim boy ended up agreeing to his lover's suggestion and followed close behind when he led the way to a series of big mushrooms that almost perfectly formed stairs.

Raihan was a pretty sporty person — there was no need for people to analyze his physique to figure that out — so he had no difficulties at all when it came to climbing plants and rocks. After every step he took, he turned around and held his arm out towards the shorter boy. Piers appreciated the gesture and always grabbed a tight hold of his firm hand, getting pulled up seconds later.

The process repeated itself all over again until the two had reached the end spurt. Raihan had hopped off of the last mushroom and landed on firm ground anew when he turned around for the last time, redoing what he had up until now. The movement had almost turned into muscle memory, so when Piers was pulled towards Raihan a bit harder than he was used to, he lost his balance and stumbled into his chest entirely.

The taller male had done that on purpose — and he had for whatever reason decided to keep it a secret, or at least act as if it had happened accidentally — and gladly wrapped his arms tighter around the other's thin form. Though he no longer stammered, Piers found himself blushing deeply whenever he'd get this close to Raihan, or even when they simply held hands. The boy wasn't used to physical closeness in the first place, so he still had to get used to Raihan's displays of affection — which as one would imagine, were quite frequent.

Piers had lost himself in the warmth of his boyfriend and his own little world for a tad too long, because when he came to again, Raihan had already separated their bodies from each other. Not entirely though, because their hands were still connected as the taller male led the way closer to the spot he had been meaning to take them to from the beginning.

The two boys unpacked their bags, using the necessary tools to set up their tents — which thanks to the light the moon provided ended up being easier than anticipated. They hadn't paid much attention to the source of light, at least not until they had taken a seat in the lush grass next to one another. "Whoa, you can actually see the sky from up here."

Raihan chuckled at his lover's rather enthusiastic outburst and couldn't stop his eyes from resting on his figure, the face that was adorned with a smile to be more precise. Silence fell between the two as the both of them busied their eyes with looking at beautiful sights — Piers staring up at the stars and Raihan at his boyfriend respectively. The sounds of Spritzee chirping and Swirlix humming made the taller male's thoughts wander back to the past, making him reminisce about various events.

"We've come a long way, haven't we." Blurting that out more as a statement than a question, Piers finally detached his gaze from the dark blue, almost black sky and slid it to Raihan's side profile. "Pokémon battles used to be the only thing I had fun with, but spending time with you opened my eyes to so many things."

"Take the sky for example. Before, I wouldn't have cared much about it, but now that I'm with you, I can't help but appreciate how beautiful the stars are." Even though he wasn't used to saying such things himself, he wanted Piers to know just how much he treasured the time they spent together, just how much he treasured him. The shorter boy could feel his face burning up and despite it, he wanted Raihan to receive the same feeling.

"I bet you taught them." Piers hadn't even thought much about the comment he had so causally blurted out, but he certainly meant what he said. Raihan was charming and brightened his days, just like the stars. A blush crept onto his caramel cheeks while he made eye-contact with Piers, seeing just how genuine his words were and noticing in the slightest how the slim boy had shifted somewhat closer to him.

"You're pretty amazing, you know?" Raihan said, chuckling as the last words rolled off his lips. In that moment he turned around to meet Piers' eyes once more, only to be greeted by an embarrassed expression and pale cheeks that had been invaded by a bright red color. The slim boy had gotten accustomed to Raihan's cheesy lines and out-of-the-blue compliments, but praises like these still caught him off guard, especially when he couldn't draw out the context.

"I thought you were someone really shy, but surprisingly you say things so straightforwardly... like you don't want to keep things hidden." The light brown-skinned boy continued, causing Piers to run a hand through his two-colored hair timidly. "R-Really?" He blurted out, not understanding why such things were being said to him when he thought that Raihan was more fitting of that description. "Really."

"That time too... When I kissed you in the changing room... if you hadn't grabbed my arm, I think I would have freaked out and ran away." Raihan confessed, referring to their first kiss and how after realization had sunken in, he had panically pulled away from Piers. He apologized uncountable times with a beet red face and, as he just said, tried escaping after it had happened. Piers had stopped him, and reassured him that he felt the same way, that he didn't find his gesture gross... rather, that he would have liked to do it again.

"That... Well, I freak out too though? I was surprised back then, but at the same time I was really happy you kissed me." Piers' voice got more and more silent the closer his sentence came to an end, to the point where it had turned out almost like a whisper. He looked up from the ground and at Raihan, only to find himself blushing at the taller boy's contagious red cheeks. "See, you're doing it again."

"It's because of things like these that I think you're amazing. Just like that, being able to be honest and say that you're happy..." Raihan continued, his voice a bit more hoarse than it had been earlier as he slowly closed his eyes more and more. With a bright blush still searing across his cheeks, he tilted his face closer to Piers' who by then had started mirroring his boyfriend's every movement.

"But... it's just the truth." The pale boy whispered, Raihan feeling his breath hit his lips. The taller male sneaked his hand on top of Piers', rubbing the top of it with his fingers longingly. As their faces were mere inches apart, Piers had made the decision to to flip his hand, twisting it in Raihan's and pushing his fingers into the spaces between the other's.

Raihan squeezed it gently when he did so, and in the same moment their lips connected. The taller male rubbed his against Piers', nibbling his bottom lip as if to tell him that it was alright to return his movements a bit rougher. As the shorter male melted into the kiss, blindly trusting his partner's actions, Raihan's other hand lifted and came to rest so impossibly gently against the curve of Piers' jaw.

Somethin' like doubt... I never even thought 'bout it.

I thought that because we both liked each other, then Raihan must have been thinkin' the same thing.

If I think about it now, I was just naïve.

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My note to you:
I'm not saying that this is foreshadowing but that's exactly what I'm saying. xD

Thanks a ton for 400 views btw! <3

Thank You for Reading!