Route 8 was a nice place to train against stronger Pokémon as preparation for the two boys' matches in Circhester, and it was also the place where Raihan had caught a lost Silicobra just because he thought it looked cute. Creatures like it, Hippowdon and Bronzong were also great opponents to let Raihan get a taste of the weather-based strategies he was planning to integrate in his own battling style.

After all the fighting, both Trainers' teams had grown tired — especially Piers' since most of his Pokémon were at a type disadvantage when their adversaries were beings such as Gurdurr and Falinks. Soon it wasn't just them that could feel the consequences of so many battles, but the tall male as well, and the loud grumbling of his stomach made sure to make it known.

"Steamdrift Way is just up ahead, so how about we set up camp over there and have something to eat? I'm starving!" The light brown-skinned boy suggested, suppressing a whine as he pointed to the little vacant spot to the right of the tunnel. They hadn't even decided on an answer and yet both of them were already making their way there, unloading everything they needed to knock up a meal. "I'm fine with takin' a break, but I'm not really hungry."

"Yeah right! You need to eat properly, you're so skinny that I can put my hands on your waist and my fingers would touch!" Raihan insisted, dropping the logs he had gathered to the ground in order to walk up to Piers and do exactly what he had just said. Of course, his fingers didn't truly intertwine behind the slim boy's back though the gesture was enough to make the latter feel a tad embarrassed. "You're exaggeratin'..."

"Besides, I don't even know how to cook." Piers admitted, watching his boyfriend fish out all Ultra Balls from his pockets and throwing them in the air, freeing his entire team. The male with two-colored hair imitated his action, letting his Pokémon go play with Raihan's. His Turtonator and Torkoal were in charge of heating the pot while Toxtricity and Scrafty provided them with mental support.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty confident in my cooking skills!" The taller boy cheered, sticking out his thumb and pointing it at himself while displaying a cocky grin. Piers knew that he had no way of talking himself out of this one — the same way he had troubles saying no to practically anything Raihan threw at him — and decided to simply go along with his wishes, telling him not to complain if the food were to get horribly burnt in case he was asked to help out.

Though not exactly by holding a huge wooden spoon, Piers was also made to give a hand. He and his Obstagoon scanned their dry surroundings for any berries. Their findings weren't something to be too proud of, though. In the end they had to depend on the supplies the two Trainers carried in their bags.

The pale boy spent most of his time observing Raihan and the way he skillfully stirred the reddish sauce, his Sliggoo aiding him occasionally. Piers' thoughts couldn't help but trail to the fact that his boyfriend was practically cooking for him, driving him to wonder how the meal would taste, knowing that Raihan was putting so much effort into it.

The shorter male had always felt special whenever Raihan cooked something for him, or even when they shared a snack at the Captain's Table even before the two had begun dating, but now that they actually were, it gave off somewhat of a different vibe. He continued surveying the scene peacefully with Malamar sitting beside him until Raihan pulled a pack of potatoes out of his kit.

"You didn't say you were going to make potatoes..." He blurted out reflexively, gaining the taller boy's attention the moment he turned around to face him. Oblivious to why Piers had decided to speak up in that precise moment, Raihan poured the potatoes into the pot, Sliggoo happily mixing everything together. "I bought them from an ingredient seller in the Wild Area some time ago, I didn't want them to go bad so I figured I'd use them. Why, is there something wrong?"

"No, no reason." Piers answered and watched the taller male turn his back towards him again, proceeding to finish what he had planned as he hummed a nameless tune. The pale Trainer couldn't help but furrow his brows at the smell of the cooked potatoes, but did his best to not let his discomfort show on his face. He couldn't bring it up now that Raihan had practically finished with cooking, especially not since he didn't want his boyfriend to treat him like a child who still couldn't eat their veggies.

"Tada! Here you go." Raihan exclaimed happily as he made his way next to Piers, taking a seat cross-legged while handing his shorter boyfriend his own plate. The dish itself looked amazingly delicious and well-prepared — which given the tall boy's nature was actually a bit surprising — but Piers couldn't bring himself to dig in as excitedly as he would have when eating a Pasta Curry.

"Thanks for the meal." He mumbled nonetheless and dove his spoon into the rice. He soaked it into some of the tasty-looking red sauce, skillfully avoiding all chunks of potatoes before shoving the food into his mouth. Raihan who had been stuffing his at an incredible speed stopped his hand movements and silently chewed as he waited for his lover's feedback.

Piers felt a pair of enthusiastic eyes drilling holes into him and so lifted his gaze, meeting Raihan's turquoise orbs. The pale boy then scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and smiled faintly. "It's actually pretty good." Raihan let out a loud cheer in satisfaction, Sliggoo joining him because it felt like it had contributed lots to the creation of this meal and that it deserved some of the praise for itself.

The two Trainers continued to much on their food along with their Pokémon, chatting away here and there while Piers discreetly continued sectioning the potatoes away from the rest of the curry, gathering a bunch of them on the edge of his plate. Raihan noticed after a while and brought it to the other's attention by pointing at them with his spoon. "You're not eating those?"

"You can have them." Thinking that was his chance to get rid of those devilish vegetables, Piers brought his plate closer to Raihan's and started sliding the potatoes onto his plate. The taller Trainer laughed at his boyfriend's childish behavior at first, but stopped him when he noticed that he had no intentions to. "Hey, you can't do that! Come on, you've got to eat those and get tall and strong."

Piers could only frown at him, especially when Raihan snorted, chortling to no end soon afterwards. He pretended to be considering the idea by poking the soft potatoes with his spoon, but as soon as Raihan wasn't watching, the short boy tapped his Obstagoon's arm. "Here." He whispered, bringing a spoonful of potatoes to his Pokémon's muzzle before it happily swallowed what it was given to eat.

"Piers, you're hurting my feelings like that." Raihan groaned, causing the other to flinch as if he was expecting not to get found out. The tall boy's words were said and meant in a playful manner, but perhaps he was only putting up a front? Maybe Piers really was making him feel bad, getting him to think that the food he cooked was inedible — or at least, that's the conclusion the slim male had jumped to.

"I'm sorry. The curry is delicious, I swear, it's just the potatoes. I've never liked them in general, it's really not your doin'." Piers spoke, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat nervously as he shyly met the eyes of his boyfriend who — surprisingly or not — was grinning at him. Raihan didn't take his own words seriously, but he had to admit that the information he pulled out of the shorter boy was rather useful. "For real? I've never met someone who doesn't like potatoes!"

"Then... will you eat them if I feed them to you?" The caramel-skinned male suddenly suggested, causing Piers to raise his brows in surprise, soon laughing softly. "Are you serious?" The boy asked, soon being answered with Raihan's earnestness and vigorous nodding of his head. "Even so, they'll taste exactly the same..."

"You don't know that! Alright, how about this? After every potato you eat, I'll reward you with a kiss!" Raihan exclaimed and was as quick to smirk when his lover's cheeks visibly reddened. As if the gesture were hiding his bright blush, Piers ran a hand through his two-colored hair, avoiding eye-contact for a brief moment.

Though the proposal was probably meant as a joke, the short Trainer couldn't help but get entranced by the idea. Having his boyfriend feed him sounded just like something one would see in family restaurants, and given the fact that they were both boys, they wouldn't be able to do such a thing as openly on a date in local areas. He couldn't help but feel jealous of the many girls who would receive such treatment for free and without prejudice.

"That's embarrassin'... You're totally treatin' me like a kid." Was the first thing that rolled off Piers' lips the moment he looked back at Raihan who by then was pretending to pout. "So it's still a no?" Again, the shorter boy was almost certain that the other was testing him because the answer to that question must have been displayed on his face as clear as day.

Even when looking at the situation rationally there were no negative arguments against Raihan feeding him. It's not like they could be seen by other people, they were on Route 8 after all and not a city or town. The only ones who could be possible witnesses to the whole thing going down would be their own Pokémon and the ones who lived in the wild.

"I didn't say that." Piers finally gave in in a mumble, averting his gaze to the ground because he felt self-conscious for wanting to get a bit spoiled. Raihan who couldn't be happier about his answer let his emotions show boldly on his bright grin as he dove his own spoon into some of the leftover rice and sauce on his lover's plate, picking up a potato in the process.

He was sure that Piers would get too embarrassed if he were to have said 'Say ahh' in that moment, so much that he would have renounced on the entire 'getting fed'-thing altogether, so he sealed his lips with a smile. He neared the spoon to the shorter male's mouth and waited for him to open it, a blush dusting its pink, merry little way across his cheeks when he finally did so.

Piers' heart and mind were too preoccupied with Raihan to let the boy even properly notice the taste of the potatoes he despised so much. There was no longer anything bitter about them the moment he had swallowed his spoonful and his lips were soon greeted by his boyfriend's soft ones, engaging in a peck rather than a kiss.

That was nothing to worry about though, because Piers had many more potatoes left on his plate to eat.

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My note to you:
Raihan actually strikes me as someone who wouldn't even be able to cook up a plate of pasta, but I'll let him have a bit of glory in this story. xD

Thank You for Reading!