"oh fuck."

noah pats his pockets down: a show of percussion and pretend as he produces his passport from his jacket. clicking his tongue, noah hits kyle's head with it as if it were a clipboard.

"i'm not stupid, man. i've flown a lot. like, so much you could call me king of the skies." noah takes their needed papers with one hand. "and you're king of dragnor. or, you were, i guess."

with his free arm, he sneaks his hand around kyle's waist, the nook of his arm hooking him close. he brings him to the counter this way, connected by the shoulders.

noah sets their passports and tickets on the counter and tells the attendant their necessary information. he takes the lead with ease- but he's distracted, momentarily. he captures a glimpse of kyle's passport photo, prompting a laugh.

"when did you take this?" noah says, retrieving the passports quickly. he sets his own back into his jacket's inner pocket while the attendant ushers them away to take their baggage. "very cute. you're pretty photogenic, y'know?" he makes kissy-faces at the official portrait, one eye watching kyle for rebuttals.

kyle lopez

noah laughs, his dark hair swaying back and forth like a mop as he's tugged. he feels small within the airport. his voice echoes and is swallowed by the space. streams of people with shells of luggage and towering banners like waterfalls may intimidate the traveler, but another squeeze of kyle's hand is enough to reassure him.

the few times he had traveled were under less than happy circumstances, after all.

"sure! wanna get burgers?" noah grins. "i'll treat you with my braaaaand new salary." he scouts the food court ahead, the smell of grease and ketchup already carried by the air. "we can talk about how you're gonna meet my 'rents too."

kyle lopez

"if i spend it on you, then it's aaaall worth it man." noah waves a hand lazily to dismiss the diss. he continues to tug kyle along, pulling him through food court tables and standing suitcases. "yeah, i gotta drop by ecruteak once at least."

noah brings them to a table with booth seating. he pulls off his bag from back and sets it beside him before hoisting it back up to toss to the other side. he pats the cushion beside him, beckoning for kyle to come.

the table features ordering by tablet. no need to move to the restaurant itself; noah knows kyle would enjoy that simplicity. that laziness.

"my parents are totally chill, man." noah says. "you might have to win over my little bro though. anyway," he sighs, his legs feeling sore from the constant walking of airport travel, "i'm just happy we can have a lot of one-on-one time now. like, away from everything else."

kyle lopez

as kyle takes the seat across from him in the booth, noah's shoes tap against the floor. noah does not take long to pick his orders of choice, and so he lets kyle take first go at the touchpad.

"uh, maybe just a little." noah's laugh spreads thin like gossamer. "i think i kind of forgot to since i've been busy. but intros are easy. just be yourself, dude."

he takes the menu, eyes swiftly glancing at kyle's order before punching in a teriyaki burger. the order is sent, and the tablet's screen animates with the smiling logo of an octillery.

"yeah, we can hit them up there and then we can head to an inn near the burned tower." noah sets the menu to the side. his hands reach over to kyle's slumped form, and his fingers find his hair. they play with its curls as noah kicks at him idly. "it's a pretty place. when was the last time you went on vacation?"

kyle lopez

"that's not a vacation."

noah shakes his head— and although he's tempted to make light of the situation, the gym leader refrains. instead, he continues to toy with kyle's hair before rustling it as he withdraws.

"it's just for a night or two. pit stop before we decide on where to go next." noah rests his head on his palms, his cheeks pushed up like mounds of dough. "we can stay at my house for a day then. i can show you my room— unless my little brother took over it."

he stops. a hit of nostalgia comes in autumn colours.

"but i still wanna go to like, a traditional inn. just the two of us." noah steps on the other's shoe. "it'll be fuuuun, c'mon. is there anything you'd wanna do though?"

kyle lopez

the answer is enough for a man who is content with silence. as kyle's face reveals itself, noah is becharmed by his boyfriend's expression: coolly relaxed and perhaps, even endlessly tired (then again, they did have to get up early). noah is reminded of mornings together. ones where he awakens earlier to witness kyle's waking.

"this probs sounds stupid cheesy, but we'll make better memories." noah says. "'cause you can do couple shit now." his smug expression is slathered on thick as noah thumbs the other's forehead.

the waiter arrives with their food. on red plastic trays, the rice bowl and paper-wrapped burger are set. noah thanks the waiter on behalf of kyle, and he goes to unwrap his burger.

"you want a bite, babe?" the golden bun peeks out of the packaging, barely containing the juicy patty and pineapple slice inside. his arm stretches across the table, "too much for me."

kyle lopez

the bite leaves noah satisfied too. if he had a camera, he'd capture the candid chomp. less glamorous than the elite four posters or hero posters, but still infatuating. noah finds he needs less posters and more jpegs: ones he can swipe to on his phone.

"i'd just kiss you for real if i wanted to," noah takes a bite- and the chunked pineapple slice slides off the side. his chewing interrupts his speaking intermittently, as he plucks the fallen fruit to eat. "but if you're thinking about kisses, then we've got our itinerary, dude. we'll just kiss a lot in johto. since you've explored the place anyway."

he sets his burger down. contemplation is found in the respite provided by its descent.

"we've been together for awhile now. like, five months."

kyle lopez