Chapter Text
Raihan tended to feel underdressed out of his toothed hoodie and orange headband. It wasn’t usually worth the effort: changing his clothes didn’t do much to help him blend in. With his height, Raihan often towered over any crowd. Good thing his quarry was distracted. Tucked behind a stack of crates, Raihan watched as Kabu boarded the steamship, his eyes hidden under a black felt hat, hands stuffed into his pockets.
“Raihan,” Leon hissed beside him, peering out from behind the crates. “If you want to do something, it’s now or never!”
“Shut up and stay down.” Raihan grabbed Leon by the shoulder and shoved him out of sight. “You’re not helping. Bloody hell, why are you even here?”
“Because you said you had a bad feeling? And you’re right? And Kabu is leaving in disguise and what has even happened? Did someone die? Worse? Get hurt?”
“What even is with that logic?” Raihan pressed a palm over his face. “Just. Go away, Leon. Please don’t help; you’d make things worse… Wait. Maybe you can help.”
“Sure. Whatever you need,” Leon said, patting Raihan on the back. That was one reason why they were still best friends, annoying as Leon could be sometimes. He could be dependable when it counted.
“I’m going to try and sneak onto that ship. Cover for me, OK?”
Leon looked panicky. “You mean. Lie? To Milo and Nessa and Piers… to your mum?”
“I’m sure you’d think of something.”
“But I… but… all right. I’ll think of something.” Leon flashed Raihan two thumbs up. “Do what you need to do.”
Raihan snuck over to the next set of crates. The sailor at the bottom of the gangplank was checking passes before letting passengers up onto the ship. Raihan had quietly tried to buy a pass earlier, but the ship was fully booked, and no one had been willing to sell their ticket. He could summon Gyarados to carry him over to the ship, but that was hardly going to be unnoticeable.
While he was thinking the problem over, a shriek made him duck down out of sight. “It’s the Champion!” someone squealed. The crowd of people at the docks oohed and surged away from the ship toward the harbourmaster’s office, where a familiar Charizard blew out a showy plume of fire. Raihan peeked out. The sailor at the gangway hurried over to the excited crowd.
“Thanks, Leon,” Raihan whispered. He darted up the ship, pulling his cap down over his eyes. Passengers were pushing against each other for a better look off the side of the ship. Raihan slipped through the crowd, looking for the closest bathroom and shutting himself in a stall. His Rotom buzzed.
Leon: u gd?
Raihan: im in
Raihan: i owe u one
Leon: dont worry abt it
Leon: gl
Leon: i’ll cover for u here
Raihan sat on the lid of the toilet and waited, flicking through news and social feeds until the muffled blasts of the ship’s horns filtered through. To be safe, he waited a bit longer until the ship was on its way. Raihan let himself out of the stall—and froze. Kabu was leaning against the sinks, his arms folded over his chest.
“Oh uh, hey, Kabu. Fancy seeing you here,” Raihan said brightly.
Kabu exhaled. “Wash your hands. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Raihan asked, turning on the tap.
“You and Leon are the least subtle people I know. I presume that noisy Charizard display on the docks was a feint to help you stow away aboard the ship?”
“Charizard what?” Raihan said, as innocently as he could.
“I should report you to the Captain, except that I don’t think anyone here is equipped to remove you if you don’t want to be removed, including me,” Kabu said, with a pointed glance at the pokéballs on Raihan’s belt. “Come. We can’t talk here.”
Kabu had booked a modest cabin on a lower deck. There was a view of the sea and the receding Galar coastline through the window. Raihan pressed himself to the glass, fascinated. Wyndon City still loomed large beyond its port, its battle tower rising high into the sky beside the slow-turning Ferris wheel and the clock tower. Other ships littered the sea in a hundred colours and shapes, pennants of white surf drifting behind them as they kept a respectful distance from the wild Gyarados near the mouth of the port. A flock of Wingulls spun gracefully between ships, hoping for fish.
“First time out of Galar?” Kabu asked behind him.
“Yeah.” After Raihan had lost to Leon in the finals, the then-Dragon Gym leader had taken him on to groom him to become her successor. Raihan had been too busy since even to imagine leaving the country. He looked away from the glass reluctantly as Kabu was stowing his bag under the bed. “Where are we going?” Raihan asked.
Kabu shook his head wearily. “Why are you following me?”
“You’ve been acting kinda weird since our last match. I went to Motostoke Gym, and you weren’t there, but your trainers were, and they said you’d taken indefinite leave…” Raihan trailed off awkwardly. He hadn’t meant to snitch on Kabu’s trainers. Oops.
“I wasn’t exactly—never mind.” Kabu rubbed slowly at his temple. “You… I can’t believe you. The ship will make port at an island in a couple of days. Charter a ride back to Galar from there.”
Raihan plopped down on the bed and folded his arms under his head. “But you’d be staying on the ship.”
“Yes.” Kabu frowned at him. “I’m not leaving Galar forever, or whatever you think I’m doing. I’m… on vacation.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever gone on a vacation. Like, ever.”
“Then it’s about time, isn’t it?”
“Riiight,” Raihan drawled, rolling onto his flank. “If you’re in trouble or something—”
“I’m not,” Kabu said.
“So what’s with the sneaking around? You’re allowed to take a vacation. Opal takes a sabbatical every three months, and Nessa closes her gym for a month over her birthday. You could’ve made it official.” When Kabu was silent, Raihan raised a finger. “I don’t think you’re running away from something, because that’s not like you. You don’t do vacations—you rarely attend the gym leader catch-ups as it is because you think it’s a waste of time. My guess is, some urgent personal business came up that’s maybe dangerous, given how your trainers got nervous and ratted you out.”
“You can be surprisingly perceptive at the worst of times,” Kabu said, looking over at the window. “Annoyingly so.”
“If you’re taking a steamship, my second guess is: whatever this business of yours is, it’s in Hoenn. Where you were from. Right?” Raihan whooped as Kabu reluctantly inclined his head. “Awesome. I’ll help. I’ve always wanted to visit Hoenn.”
“You? You’re going home when the ship next makes port.”
“Make me,” Raihan said, grinning and baring his teeth. “You only beat me the last time because your Talonflame got in a lucky critical when it counted. I’ve made a few changes since. We both know I’m going to win next time.”
Kabu’s face was unreadable. “Yes. It’s only a matter of time. You’re talented and motivated. With practice and experience, you’ll only get stronger. Stronger than me.”
There was a weird flatness to Kabu’s tone. Raihan sat up, unsettled. “Kabu… are you mad at me?”
Kabu let out a short laugh. He walked over to the view, folding his hands behind his back as he looked out. Raihan waited, but when Kabu didn’t answer, he got to his feet and tucked his arms around Kabu’s waist, resting his chin on Kabu’s head. Kabu braced for his weight and loosed his arms to his sides but otherwise didn’t budge, and this— “This is nice,” Raihan said. Kabu was a sturdy, warm presence in his arms.
Some of the tension bled out of Kabu’s shoulders. He petted Raihan’s knuckles but didn’t lean into the embrace. “You’re unmanageable,” Kabu said. He sounded wry.
“Yeah, I hear that all the time. From my mum.” Raihan kissed the tips of Kabu’s ears playfully. “This not-vacation is going to be fun. We’re both usually so busy; we don’t get much time to relax. How long does it take to get to Hoenn?”
“Long enough that I know you’re going to go stir crazy on the ship.”
“Oh, I think I know of a way to keep myself occupied,” Raihan said, kissing the back of Kabu’s head as he rubbed himself invitingly against Kabu’s arse. Kabu chuckled and shook his head again, though he tipped up his chin and pulled Raihan over for a kiss.
Raihan leaned into it eagerly, purring as he pressed Kabu down over the bed. They kicked off shoes and hauled at each other’s coats, scattering hats impatiently over the floor. Raihan groaned as Kabu pressed a knee between his thighs, tugging off Kabu’s shirt to run greedy fingers over scarred muscle. He’d long memorised all the marks: the map of old wounds that told the story of Kabu’s life and who he was. Burn scars, claw wounds. Raihan bit down over Kabu’s shoulder, working in his teeth as he dug his nails into Kabu’s back. The marks Raihan left always faded too quickly: he could only see Kabu maybe once a week due to conflicting work schedules. This trip was going to be great.
“You look happy,” Kabu said, stroking his cheek as Raihan braced his weight on his elbows.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy? I finally get to have you all to myself.” Raihan kissed Kabu playfully on the nose.
“Don’t say things like that,” Kabu whispered. He kissed Raihan as Raihan frowned, tickling callused fingers down Raihan’s throat to his chest, tweaking the nipples through his shirt. Raihan moaned, tangling his legs with Kabu’s and settling down to bracket Kabu against the bed without crushing him, kissing him until warm fingers skated up to stroke his back until the strange tension went out of Kabu’s shoulders. They took their time with the rest of their clothes, taking care to leave their belts of pokéballs on a shelf.
Kabu ran his hand curiously through the thick spikes of Raihan’s unbound hair. “You look strange without a headband,” he said.
“Is that good or bad?” Raihan licked a wet stripe up Kabu’s palm, grinning.
“There’s no good or bad about it. You are the way you are.” Kabu’s gaze raked down Raihan’s bared body. “One of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met.”
“Aww, you’re not so bad yourself, old man,” Raihan said, pretending to simper and beam as he propped his chin up on his palms. Kabu started to say something and pressed his lips into a thin line instead. Oops. Raihan hastily leaned in, begging for kisses. Kabu grudgingly relaxed, with a low huff. Yeah. No pissing off Kabu until at least Hoenn, when it’d be too late to kick him off the trip.
Kabu rolled on top, his heavy cock compressed between them over Raihan’s belly, his intense face flushed with arousal. “Do you have supplies?” he asked.
“Shit, sec.” Raihan groped over for his belt pouch. When he and Leon were kids, they’d once dared each other to drink a stash of Pokémon potions out of sheer asshat stupidity and had both ended up hospitalised. That being said, while none of the meds worked the same way on people, some of them were non-toxic. He held up a burn heal with a mischievous wink and Kabu snorted.
“Very funny,” Kabu said.
“It’s fine. I’ve used it before.”
“For something like this?” Kabu looked scandalised.
“Sort of? Not exactly?” Before duelling Kabu, Raihan didn’t use burn heals that often. Sometimes he ran out of lotion in a pinch.
“Put that away,” Kabu said, reaching for his belt. He had a small vial of cooking oil, and a quick search of bedside stowage turned up a first aid kit and a microfilm supply. “Are you clean?”
“Yeah,” Raihan said, wriggling eagerly under Kabu. He’d started getting into the habit since he’d never know when their schedules might align.
“Good.” Praise from Kabu said like this—hushed and hungry and low—always made Raihan shiver and pant. He moaned as Kabu slid a slicked finger inside him, working it in to the knuckle with his usual unhurried grace. Begging, taunts, and trying to force the pace never worked, in Raihan’s experience so far. He sank back on the bed with a groan of frustration that made Kabu chuckle and press soft kisses over his throat. Two fingers. Kabu moaned something Raihan couldn’t catch as Raihan grabbed his hand and screwed himself down to the knuckles with a satisfied sigh. He didn’t use to have many preferences in bed. With Kabu, though—
“I’m going to take you apart,” Kabu whispered into Raihan’s ear as he worked him open. “Is that what you want?”
Raihan grinned and tipped up his chin to bare his throat by way of an answer, bracing his hands against the headboard to show off the lean muscle built into his arms as he spread his legs wider. He knew how good he looked. Most people would fall over themselves to please him at this point, but Kabu—Kabu would look him over appreciatively but laugh and keep doing whatever he was planning on doing.
Today, he didn’t laugh. Kabu kissed his way down, tracing the few scars Raihan wore with the tip of his tongue. Unsettled again, Raihan tried to lean up for a better look at Kabu’s face, only to drop his head back down onto the pillow with a moan as Kabu sucked the tip of Raihan’s cock into his mouth. Kabu slung an arm over Raihan’s belly to hold him down, wearing a tiny frown as he started to move, as slowly and as deliberately as he was working Raihan open. This was weird. Kabu usually had to be persuaded to suck cock—he hated the taste of anything bitter.
“Hey,” Raihan said, between gasps. Kabu looked so good like this, concentrating between his legs, and that mouth— “Lemme do that for you instead.”
Kabu sniffed and ignored him, taking him deeper. He choked and tipped back as Raihan whimpered and jerked hard enough in Kabu’s grip to push another inch of himself into Kabu’s throat, settling down at a warning glance from Kabu. He was vaguely aware that he was groaning a string of nonsense curses, heels digging into the sheets. Raihan let out a yell of pleasure as the fingers probing inside him nudged against the right spot and got another glare for his trouble. He grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it, muffling another cry as Kabu started thrusting his fingers against that perfect spot. He was getting close, chasing the brink, his hips pushing against Kabu’s grip, cock starting to pulse in that tight heat—
Kabu pulled off him. Raihan let out a shocked yelp as he started to come anyway, pumping over his belly. There was none of the usual sense of satiation he got after release, only a confused, nervous frustration that had him trembling as Kabu shifted up to kiss him. “Arsehole,” Raihan muttered in a shaky voice as Kabu chuckled, swiping his already slicked fingers through the mess and stroking them back inside him.
“You needed to be taught a lesson.”
“So you are mad at me.”
Kabu hummed instead of answering, his tender, lingering kiss confusing Raihan all over again. “Turn over,” Kabu said, rolling a microfilm over his cock.
Raihan obeyed, twisting onto his belly. A pillow was pushed under his hips. He buried another moan into the one he clutched as Kabu pressed inside him, slow and steady, breathing hotly against his shoulders. Raihan’s limp cock twitched against the pillow, trying to get hard again as Kabu carefully settled in to the hilt. Warm fingers closed over his hips and held him still as Kabu waited for Raihan’s body to ease up around him, ignoring his whining and squirming. Once Kabu felt Raihan was ready, he moved in slow, powerful thrusts, aiming to please. Kabu was always so quiet like this, with his tiny gasps being the only audible signs of his pleasure. It didn’t take long for Raihan's cock to get back up to speed as he angled his hips up to take Kabu deeper, clawing against the bed as he keened for more. Kabu didn’t remind him to be quiet, but he didn’t speed up either.
Raihan knew perfectly well that Kabu could outlast him like this, that this would go for as long as Kabu wanted it to go. Didn’t mean he couldn’t cheat. He clenched down and laughed as Kabu hissed. “C’mon,” Raihan gasped. “Harder.”
“When I’m ready, and not before,” Kabu said. He kissed Raihan over the arch of his spine as Raihan groaned.
#
Raihan woke up pleasantly achy, yawning as he stretched over the pillows. In the corner of the cabin, Kabu looked up from the book he was reading, his Talonflame Kōjin roosting over his lap. “Get cleaned up,” Kabu said, turning back to his book. “It’s almost time for dinner. I spoke to the ship captain, and he’s going to make an exception for you. Stowaways aren’t normally upgraded to full passengers, but as it turns out, he’s a fan of yours.”
“Oh, right,” Raihan said, then, “Wow.” He stared at Kabu.
“What?” Kabu looked up again.
“You’re wearing glasses.” The rectangular, black-framed glasses sat low on Kabu’s nose. Raihan’s cock twitched against his thigh under the sheets.
“I need them to read,” Kabu said, looking confused as Raihan uncurled from the bed and slunk over. He straightened up as he belatedly recognised the look on Raihan’s face for what it was. “No. Oh no. You’re going to shower.”
“Damn, you’re sexy,” Raihan said, leaning in for a kiss—and freezing as Kōjin let out a warning hiss.
“Shower and get dressed,” Kabu said, amused. “Your clothes are over there.” He pointed at a neatly folded heap on the other armchair. Pouting, Raihan obeyed.
“I thought the ship was full,” Raihan said as he washed in the cramped shower facility.
“It is. I told him you were going to take the couch.” Kabu’s voice sounded muted through the spray.
“How’d you explain away us sharing a room?”
“I let him think we were off to Hoenn on secret gym business,” Kabu said. That didn’t exactly explain why Raihan had snuck on the ship instead of buying a ticket ahead of time, but that was Kabu’s business.
The captain had organised the use of a private dining room for them both—far too big for two, but it did mean that Raihan could let Flygon out to stretch her wings. The room was probably too small for the rest of his team. Kabu had done the same—Kōjin was perched on a chair, but the rest of his team stayed sealed as the food was served by pointedly incurious staff. Raihan had opted for a burger, its tasty patty layered under crisp vegetables, pickles, silky-smooth tangy sauce and toasted brioche buns. Kabu was having strange greenish noodles on ice that he dipped in soy sauce with shards of dried seaweed.
As Raihan stared, Kabu said, “Soba noodles. Want to try some?”
“There were pages of stuff available on that menu, and you order that?” Raihan said, muffled from the burger he was stuffing his face with.
“I appreciate simplicity,” Kabu said, twirling the noodles into a neat bundle before dipping.
“Restraint. Control,” Raihan said, mimicking Kabu’s grave voice.
“Just so,” Kabu said, cracking a faint, wry smile. Flygon cheeped as she waddled over to sniff at the soba noodles, and Kabu tossed her a piece of ice that she snapped up and crunched down.
“Why is it that you get along with everyone on my team and I can’t get along with any of yours?” Raihan complained. None of Kabu’s Pokémon would take treats from him, even the Arcanine. Some were polite, like the Ninetales and the Infernape, but most of them stayed either neutral or borderline hostile.
Kabu looked a little embarrassed. “They’re not as socialised as I’d like. Since I got into the unfortunate habit of hiding them, they trust my trainers and me but no one else.”
“You don’t hide the Centiskorch, the Ninetales, or the Arcanine,” Raihan pointed out.
“I suppose not. But they do think of themselves as part of my team, along with all the others. They all take their cues from Kōjin.”
“Even your Heatran and Volcanion?”
“Kōjin has been with me since the beginning, in Hoenn. They know that,” Kabu said. Kōjin chirped, hopping closer to groom Kabu’s hair affectionately.
“You wouldn’t have to hide her in Hoenn,” Raihan said, trying to guess again at the root of Kabu’s weird mood. “She’ll like that.”
“Yes.” Kabu tensed up and turned his attention to his food, avoiding Raihan’s stare.
Raihan had made it worse somehow. Frustrated, he said, “Look, people in Galar… we’ll understand. If you’d explain and be like, ‘oh, hey yeah, I do have a team from Hoenn, here it is, I’m just not going to use it because I don’t think it’s fair’.”
“That would make things complicated,” Kabu said.
“Complicated, how? You don’t like fielding them?” That didn’t appear to be the case—Kabu always looked so much less buttoned-up during one of their private matches. Like he was relieved that he could finally let loose.
“That isn’t the problem. I like my life as it is. In Motostoke Gym, third on the League. I don’t like being harassed for duels. I’d rather train with my staff.”
Was that what it is? “Kabu, if you don’t like me pestering you for matches, just say so.”
Kabu glanced up at him. “I don’t mind when it’s you.”
The knot in Raihan’s belly eased. He grinned mischievously. “Oh? I’m the exception?”
“I thought that’d been obvious for a while,” Kabu said. He picked at his food, distracted again. “There are other trainers on this ship and a duelling ground on the upper deck. You could pass the time challenging them.”
“I don’t think anyone on this ship would be remotely as good as you. I’d rather have another match against your team if you brought them. We could ask the captain to clear the upper deck if you want privacy,” Raihan said. He was good at talking people into doing things that he wanted, especially if they were fans.
“You’d win,” Kabu said, dipping noodles into sauce. “Your Dracovish with the Choice Scarf… and that Hydreigon of yours with Nasty Plot. Not to mention your newfound love of Stealth Rock.”
“I treat losing as a learning experience,” Raihan said, wondering where this was going.
“You enjoy duelling, though.”
“I guess? My team and I, we’re competitive,” Raihan said. Flygon ambled back to his side and sat down with a fluting whistle.
“It’s a strange world if you think about it,” Kabu said as Raihan polished off his burger. “It’s common for children to leave home with their favoured pet, out into a world where wild Pokémon often aggressively attack wandering humans. They fight each other for sport, shakedown each other for their pocket money. Then the most deadly of them come to stadiums to put their new friends through more pain for money and glory. Yet most people never complete the League.”
“If you put it that way,” Raihan conceded, “I guess it sounds pretty weird.”
“I’ve been to Ryme City, where battling Pokémon is considered barbaric and has been outlawed. It’s a very different place.” Kabu reached up to tickle his Talonflame under her chin.
Raihan paused in the middle of drinking his milkshake. “Huh.” He couldn’t imagine that. A world without duels. “What do the Pokémon do? Are they just banned?”
“No. They live alongside their humans. Some roam free without partners. Most people have maybe one or two companion Pokémon. It’s not that difficult to imagine. Even in Galar, most people with companion Pokémon don’t engage in duels.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Raihan said. Between bad trainers who misused their Pokémon and people who didn’t duel at all but cherished their Pokémon as a part of their family, Raihan knew what he preferred.
“Kōjin didn’t enjoy it there,” Kabu said as the Talonflame made a dark grumbling noise. “She knows pity when she sees it.”
“Sounds like the two of you did a lot of travelling.”
“We’ve been around,” Kabu said. He finished the last of his soba and dabbed his mouth clean.
“Why did you settle in Galar? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Kabu looked at him with some surprise. “You haven’t seen my interviews?”
“You always say the same thing. About how you like Galar and the friends you’ve made here and all that, but. You never mention why you just decided to stay here. Or do the League and become a Gym Leader.” Raihan had watched every Kabu interview he could tune into when he’d been a kid, but he hadn’t wondered about that bit until now.
“As with much of my life, it was accidental,” Kabu said, after a pause. He got up from the table, and Kōjin hopped onto his shoulder. “I’m going to catch up on my reading. Explore the ship.”
Raihan looked at Flygon once they were alone. “Did I make him mad again?” Raihan asked. Flygon’s eyes flickered as she chirped, tilting her head. “I know, right? People are way too complicated.”