That Summer | Raihan x Piers [Pokémon]

Chapter 8 ❀ Doubtless Kisses

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.