While We Wait (One Shot Anthology)

Ghouls & Dragons (Raihan)

Raihan fights back tears as he hears the insults hurled at him by fans. He quickly disappears into the locker room, not even pausing to talk to Leon and pulls his hood up. He plops down on a bench and buries his face into his hands. He feels a presence and strong hands on his knees. He looks up to see his boyfriend squatting before him.

"J-Jasper," he whispers, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Come here Dragon," he murmurs, pulling him into a hug, the two sitting on the floor as Raihan clings to Jasper, sobbing into his chest. Jasper rubs his back, murmuring softly to him as he cries.

"Is he okay?"

Raihan hears Hop's voice but he doesn't lookup.

"No, but it's fine. I got him."

Hop nods as Raihan pulls back, rubbing his face to wipe the tears away. Jasper fishes a tissue from his pocket and gently wipes his face.

"Come on babe," he murmurs, "Let's go home."

Raihan nods as he is helped up, Jasper looking at him with soft black eyes. He hugs him again, Jasper smiling as he rubs his back.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replies as Jasper grabs his bag, Raihan taking his hand as they leave the stadium, headed home.
☕️
Raihan wakes up in his bed, the sun streaming through the partially open curtains. He rolls over, seeing Jasper missing from bed. He slides out of bed, walking to the bathroom to do his morning routine. He finishes his shower, oiling his skin before walking out to the closet, dressing in joggers before grabbing one of his favourite hoodies.

It belongs to Jasper although the man barely wears it anymore except to imprint his scent onto it after it's washed. It's about two sizes too big on Raihan--Jasper is a bit bulkier and taller than Raihan's 6'2". It's azure blue with a white hoodie string. The material is soft and swallows Raihan up who snuggles deeper into it. He pulls the hood up before walking out of the bedroom.

He's greeted by the smell of coffee and he shuffles to down the hallway. He pauses to look at a picture on the wall. It's of him and Jasper, the two sharing a sweet kiss before he went out to the pitch to lose to Leon for the sixth time.

Lose.

The word hits him harder than it ever has and he sniffles, using the sleeve to wipe his face. He feels a soft hand on his cheek.

"Rai. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he murmurs.

"It's not nothing baby and you know it. Talk to me."

Raihan bites his bottom lip as he looks at the picture of him and his pokemon.

"Should I quit?"

"Huh?"

"Should I Quit?" he repeats looking at Jasper with teary eyes, "I can't beat him...I shouldn't...If I can't beat him why am I even doing this?"

"Because you love doing this," Jasper replies, gently taking his face in his hand, making him look back up at him. "Because you love training your pokemon. You love working with the pokemon trainers who come to you every day to learn and grow. You didn't do this for the title of champion. Well, at least when I met you that wasn't why you kept doing it."

"But my fans--"

"Fuck them. Especially the ones who yelled at you yesterday."

Raihan looks at Jasper who pulls him into a hug, kissing his forehead.

"I know it doesn't mean much but you're my champion."

Raihan smiles, kissing his cheek before hugging him.