#snuggin

Raihan flopped into the monorail seat and bit back a yawn. The city of Wyndon flickered outside the window, though the colors were fuzzy from how fast they were moving, and even more so from how Raihan's eyes kept closing. He tried playing on his phone, but his eyes kept blurring and the light burned the back of his eyes.

He reached his stop, paid the fair with gritted teeth, and began his trek through downtown. How were they supposed to critique their match if they were in a park? Did they reserve the amphitheater for a showing, or something? Or was this meeting some cover up and Leon wasn't even going to be there? He decided if Leon wasn't at the park, he was just going to move onto the next thing in his schedule. He'd rather get an earful from Rose than continue this demeaning goose chase.

He offered a few waves, a few smiles, and a few pictures to fans as he walked through downtown. Hopefully the bags under his eyes weren't too prominent, or at least disguised from a photo filter or something. After walking long enough for late midday to shift to evening, Raihan finally reached the park. He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Leon.

Thanks for letting me know about the location change. I'm at the park, where are you?

A response came immediately.

Sorry! I told the secretary to tell you, guess she forgot. I'm at the top of the hill between the 2 trees

Raihan didn't bother responding and tucked his phone back into his pocket. Top of the hill? Did they set up a screen or something?

The fresh air of the park was nice, but it took so long to get there that Raihan sent a guilty text to Nessa telling her they may need to reschedule their training session. He said that the darling Champion couldn't be rescheduled with, and she said she understood. A few kids were throwing a frisbee with their Yampers, and Raihan let a smile slip. This place was much nicer than the stagnant air of Rose Tower, at least.

"Raihan, over here!"

Raihan turned to see a hammock hanging between two tall trees at the top of the hill. It had the League insignia plastered on it, and a plume of purple hair hanging from it. 

A… hammock…? How the hell were they supposed to watch a match in a hammock? Was Leon expecting them to canoodle and watch the sunset together instead?

Leon's face poked up from beneath the side, and immediately Raihan had to swallow that twang of excitement to see him. What a doofus, hiding in a hammock at the top of a hill in the most populated park in Wyndon. How did he manage to not get bombarded by fans?

"Sorry again," Leon said as Raihan reached the top of the hill. "I thought you knew to meet here."

"Well, I didn't," Raihan sighed. He glanced around. "So, what, you want me to stand the whole time? Sit on the ground? Are we still going to watch our match?"

"Yeah," Leon said as he patted the spot beside him. "Hop in."

Hop… in…? To… the hammock…?

"What…?" Raihan asked.

"I thought out here could be nicer than the Tower,” Leon said guiltily. “Not so many other people watching us, either. I've got the match pulled up on my phone."

"I've… I've never sat in a hammock before," Raihan said as he scanned the equipment. "How do I…?"

"Just slide in," Leon said with that doofy smile. “Easy.”

“Easy...” Raihan repeated. “Right.” 

He turned, backed up a few inches, then haphazardly flopped into the hammock. Its dip was more than he was expecting, and Raihan tumbled straight into Leon’s lap. He lifted himself up, only to slide back where he started.

“Shit, is this supposed to happen?” Raihan grumbled as he tried to scooch off of the Champion’s firm thighs. His cheeks were flaring red as red a Charizard’s tail - probably just as hot, too. He pulled his hoodie collar up higher to hide it.

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Leon said. “Okay so I already skipped the introduction and whatever and got to the part where you bring out Flygon.”

Leon continued explaining his perception of their battle, but Raihan’s focus was latched to the fact that he was still mushed up against Leon’s side. He wasn’t sure what would be worse: sitting with one leg over Leon’s, or risking moving again and ending up on top of him. Was he moving too much? Would Leon notice? He was still babbling about Flygon and Dragapult, apparently not fixated on how Raihan had no idea how to sit in this rubbish piece of fabric.

“Arceus how are you supposed to sit in this,” Raihan muttered as he tried to scooch away again. “I keep sliding on top of you.”

“That’s okay,” Leon said again. “That happens sometimes. Just sit like this.”

Leon pushed Raihan down by his shoulder, slid his leg beneath and between Raihan’s, and pulled Raihan’s head so he was resting on his chest. Leon hooked his arm behind Raihan’s head, rested his head on his fist, and held his phone out with the other.

“Can you still see the screen?” Leon asked.

Raihan blinked a few times.

“Um,” he muttered as he processed their arrangement. “Yeah I can see it.”

“Great,” Leon continued. “Okay anyway, so when you beat Dragapult I was kind of surprised you didn’t switch up the weather again, you haven’t been doing that as much lately and I think that would be a good theatrical element like Rose was talking about, the fans really like it when you do that, makes the battlefield more dynamic, too.”

After Leon babbled for a bit longer, and after Raihan slowly eased into leaning against Leon’s chest, Raihan offered some insight to their battle as well. Before long they were offering suggestions, offering scathing rebuttals, and plenty of teases, too. The first time Leon laughed and Raihan felt it rumbling in his chest, he may have tried a few more times to get that feeling again.

They watched their battle a few times, then other Gym Leader’s battles a few times, then some suggested videos on the sidebar, until they were eventually watching conspiracy theories on what’s really inside a Shuckle.

“It’s berry juice!” Leon snorted. “People drink it!”

“Wrong,” Raihan said. “You’re wrong. It’s gotta be like, a black hole or a lot of spit or something. Maybe even reproductive juices-“

“Ugh, ew, stop,” Leon grunted, though that shiny smile was easily plastered on his face. Raihan couldn’t see it because of how they were sitting, but he certainly felt it bump against his head whenever Leon shifted their position.

Leon started telling a story about how him and Hop found a Shuckle once, and Raihan bit back his own smile at the enthusiasm that was rumbling through Leon. He was gesturing with his hands, even his foot, and little pangs of something warm started pulling in Raihan’s stomach. Leon was such a doofus.

Although their conversation skills were evenly matched, Raihan found himself pausing longer and longer between sentences in favor of listening to Leon’s voice. The sun was beginning to set, and the bold oranges and pinks shone over Wyndon, speckling color over the bustling city. He had to admit, he also enjoyed this spot a bit more than Rose Tower.

Raihan’s eyes closed longer each time he blinked, too, until they fluttered open when Leon gently nudged his shoulder.

“You okay?” Leon asked, and Raihan jolted into focus.

“Hm? What?” Raihan mumbled. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

"You're overworking yourself, Rai," Leon whispered gently. "You should take a little nap."

"What?" Raihan mumbled in return, though it was getting challenging to keep his eyes open. He couldn't stop the yawn from escaping, either. "Maybe, I guess. We should watch our match one more time though, then I have to train with Nessa, then I've got to work with the new Trainers at the Gym, then I’ve… I’ve…"

His sentence slipped into a mumble, then into another yawn. The soothing rocking of the hammock was slowly luring him into sleep. He tried to sit up, but didn't try very hard to resist when Leon pulled him back down.

"How about you just close your eyes for a couple seconds," Leon whispered. His voice was a soothing rumble against Raihan's ear. "Then you can get up and do your stuff."

"Well, maybe a few seconds wouldn't hurt," Raihan mumbled in return. He folded his arms and slumped backwards again, though the side of the hammock was doing a good job of adding to that crick in his neck. “Just for a bit.”

“That position looks like it hurts,” Leon said softly. “You should lay down.”

Raihan grumbled again, though didn’t stop Leon when he gently hooked his arm around his waist and pulled. Raihan easily collapsed into Leon’s chest, and again didn’t resist when he adjusted them lower and lower.

“Stretch out a bit,” Leon suggested, and Raihan sleepily obeyed. “See, not so bad, huh?”

“Hmm,” Raihan hummed as he easily faded in and out. Was this Leon’s chest or two perky pillows? “Just for a few seconds.”

“That’s a good idea,” Leon chuckled as he wriggled his leg out from under Raihan. He set it on the grass to gently rock them back and forth. “Just a little bit. It feels really nice out here, doesn’t it?”

“Mmhmm,” Raihan hummed again as the soft breeze combed through his hair, lightly scratched the top of his head. “Yeah that feels really nice.”