Hearthome City’s Pokemon Center is always bustling with coordinators and trainers keeping the door swinging until Hongbin locks them up at night. Being home to both the Super Contest Hall and the Hearthome Gym, the city is filled with crowded streets of young kids with bright eyes and arms filled with Pokemon. Their drive and competitiveness keep them going through sunset, training and practicing moves and battling until the streetlights switch on and the streets are illuminated by warm, glittering lights beneath the stars.

It often keeps Hongbin working late into the night. Coordinator contests end quite early in the day and disheartened kids, still dressed up in their performance costumes, shuffle in through the doors with frowns on their faces and tears in their eyes; however, the trainers keep Hongbin open until he’s seconds from sleeping on his feet. The younger kids sadly hand Hongbin six Poke Balls with shaking hands and quivering lips, asking him to heal up their Pokemon just as he’s putting away supplies and cleaning up for the night. The older, hard headed trainers turn up with their fists clenched and mouths pressed into a hard line, just as Hongbin has his key in the lock and is seconds away from going home and throwing himself into bed.

It’s not uncommon for him to see the same kids in one day. Hearthome Gym has developed a notorious reputation for being difficult to beat. It’s a high level gym that poses a real challenge for trainers. And as a Ghost and Dark gym, it requires a lot of strength and stubborn determination from trainers to even stand a chance against the gym leader.

That's the thing about Taekwoon though, Hearthome's Gym Leader. He’s as smart as he is stubborn, and his Pokemon are a direct reflection of that. He leaves no openings and no weak points, and a trainer has to be exceptionally smart and strategic to earn their gym badge from him. Trainers have travelled all the way to Sinnoh just to test their power against Taekwoon, and there are so few that return to Hongbin with smiles on their faces and a new badge pinned to their collars turning away from Hearthome City to never look back.

But every so often, the doors to the Pokemon Center swing open and three Poke Balls are pressed into Hongbin’s hands. Taekwoon’s smile is gentle, even if the hard line of his cat like eyes, only half covered by his bangs, and the somber press of his lips give him a far more intimidating look.

“Beaten again, huh?” Hongbin asks each time, always taking a swing at teasing the stoic gym leader. He figures it works because each time Taekwoon turns up at the Poke Center, he gives Hongbin a shy little smile and a silent nod and passes over his Pokemon with a small sigh. It’s rare Taekwoon even turns up at the Poke Center, but he still takes his seat on a bench pushed into the corner until Hongbin announces that his Pokemon have been healed.

Hongbin has only relatively recently been assigned to Hearthome City just after graduating and was unaware of Taekwoon and the reputation that had preceded him. However, there's something that's oddly endearing and adorable about Taekwoon despite that his far reaching reputation has probably scared off trainers. Hongbin often catches him playing with the Poke Balls stashed in his backpack. He’s never seen what Pokemon come out, but Taekwoon has a fond little smile that makes his eyes curve cutely when he takes his other Poke Balls in his hands.

Taekwoon usually fights with the same three Pokemon: Gengar, Sableye, and Banette. To Hongbin, who sees them often, they're surprisingly adorable and spoiled. For being Ghost and Dark type Pokemon to a fairly scary looking trainer, they love teasing him and playing with him for fresh Pokepuffs. Sableye is especially cute, doing its best to perch itself atop Hongbin’s head while he works.

Like now. Sableye won't stop tugging on the pink strands of his hair. No matter how many times Hongbin has to pick Sableye off his head to treat Gengar, Sableye manages to clamber back on and tug at his hair. Only Pokepuffs are enough to sate Sableye long enough for Hongbin to finish his work.

When Gengar and Banette are healthy again, they refuse to return to their Poke Balls. All three of Taekwoon’s Pokemon refuse to stay into their Poke Balls, even though Hongbin really tries. He eventually gives up when Gengar breaks out for the third time. Maybe Taekwoon would have better control of them.

Chansey opens the door for him into the main lobby. His arms are full trying to manage Banette and Sableye, but at the sight of their trainer, they immediately leap out of Hongbin’s arms and into Taekwoon's. Taekwoon catches them with a smile on his face, laughing a high, breathy laughter as they nuzzle into his neck. Gengar even floats over from Hongbin’s side and latches on to Taekwoon’s back and his cheek.

His cheeks are flushed by the time he manages to calm his Pokemon down. He at least manages to get Gengar into its Poke Ball. Banette and Sableye are stubborn and playfully at Taekwoon until he agrees to let them stay on his shoulders.

Hongbin had been watching on fondly and hadn't realized Taekwoon had been staring at him until their gazes meet.

“Thanks,” Taekwoon murmurs, smiling softly. Sableye and Banette cheer after him, beaming with big smiles of sharp teeth.

It's the first time Taekwoon has ever really spoken to him at all since Hongbin had started here, and it leaves Hongbin stunned for a moment. “You're welcome,” he stutters back.

Taekwoon leaves as silently as he arrived, even though Banette and Sableye are yelling excitedly even long after the doors have shut. Hongbin slumps against the front counter with a groan, head buried in his arms, face hot, and heart fluttering. There's little pokes to his head and he looks up to his Togepi giggling at him.

“You're gonna have a lot to laugh about at this rate,” he sighs, poking Togepi and letting the little Pokemon poke him back. He can't imagine the little fluttering of feelings he's been having around Taekwoon will disappear so soon.

It's a slow day at the Pokemon Center. It's storming outside, lightning cracking and rain pattering against the roof. Hongbin hasn't had a single trainer come through the doors all day- not even some of the elders in the city had come by to greet him nor the kids who beg him for Pokepuffs had come by. Without Togepi bouncing around the lobby, happily chirping and clutching a ball nearly as big as its body, Gardevoir carefully gliding behind making sure that Togepi doesn't hurt itself, and his Chanseys pretending to take care of Pokemon, Hongbin would have been bored out of his mind.

He's teasing Togepi by holding the ball over its head, watching Togepi try to jump for it, when the front doors get thrown open. A gust of wind and rain get blown into the Poke Center, and Hongbin manages to tuck Togepi in his arms before it gets gets blown away. Lightning cracks as he peeks up from behind the counter, illuminating Taekwoon in an eerie bright light. Taekwoon is frantically trying to shut the doors behind him, clothes drenched and dripping on the tile floors. With the help of Hongbin’s Chanseys, the doors are finally shut and Taekwoon’s heavy breathing fills in the silence.

Taekwoon leans back against the doors with his eyes clenched shut, exhausted, and shivering. There’s a pained whimper from his arms, and he loosens his grip to reveal a baby Fennekin swaddled in a massive coat and pressed closed to Taekwoon’s chest. Another crack of lightning snaps Hongbin out of his daze and pulls his gaze up to meet Taekwoon’s panicked eyes.

“Follow me,” he says, just as another powerful rumble of thunder makes the lights flicker. Taekwoon stays right on his heels as they move swiftly through the Pokemon Center and back into the little room reserved for helping baby Pokemon. Taekwoon’s hands are shaking as he sets Fennekin down on the small cot and tucks the blanket around the little pup. Togepi hops up onto the cot, nuzzling at Taekwoon’s hand to keep him calm, and Gardevoir peeks over the edge of the cot to analyze Fennekin.

Hongbin pulls up a rolling stool to the cot and slides a stethoscope around his neck. He looks up at Taekwoon with a warm smile before telling Togepi to use Sunny Day on Fennekin to keep it warm. Chansey flits about, gathering little supplies and ointments and starting work on crushing Aspear Berries. “So, tell me what happened,” Hongbin says, attempting to warm the stethoscope with his hands before he presses it to Fennekin’s back.

Taekwoon takes a seat on another rolling stool, keeping himself close to Fennekin and tenderly combing through its fur. He’s silent for a while, watching intently as Hongbin works and also giving some of his attention to Togepi for working so hard. When he finally does speak, his soft voice nearly startles Hongbin. “The thunderstorm was already pretty bad when I heard Fennekin yelling outside of the gym. It was standing awkwardly, as if it was trying to avoid putting pressure on its front right paw, but it fainted as soon as I picked it up.”

Hongbin hums, sliding the stethoscope back around his neck once he finishes checking over Fennekin. Taekwoon has this soft look of worry glazing over his eyes and his bottom lip is caught between his teeth as he scratches behind the baby Pokemon’s ear. “This kid has wandered quite a ways from home,” Taekwoon says quietly, almost to himself. Fennekin gives a little bark at Taekwoon, making him smile.

After finishing the general checkup and letting Gardevoir use Heal Pulse on Fennekin, Hongbin puts gentle pressure on Fennekin’s right front paw and isn’t surprised to find it sprained. He moves away from the cot to let Chansey finish bandaging it, assuring Taekwoon that it won’t take long to heal. And after letting Fennekin drink the Aspear Berries, Fennekin is already looking a lot better.

And a sudden, happy bark from Fennekin brings out streams of red lights from Taekwoon’s backpack. There’s the familiar click of Poke Balls opening, quite a few of them, and Hongbin is expecting Gengar, Banette, and Sableye to pop out and latch onto him.

But it’s nothing Hongbin expects. His jaw drops as the cot suddenly fills with adorable baby Pokemon of all types. Pachirisu, Shaymin, Cherrim, and Marill all cluster around Fennekin, chirping sadly and attempting to give Fennekin little hugs. Fennekin barks at them happily and gives them all a big, sharp-toothed grin. It at Shaymin, who looks the saddest out of all of them. Hongbin, still stunned, looks up at Taekwoon who is wearing a look of fondness mixed with mortification.

Taekwoon, the notoriously powerful, ingenious, stubborn Dark and Ghost Type gym leader of Hearthome City, has four baby Pokemon that he keeps in secret.

There’s a little movement behind Taekwoon’s shoulder, and a little yellow cloth, haphazardly put together and colored with marker to look like Pikachu, draping a Pokemon peeks above Taekwoon’s shoulder. Hongbin has to remind himself to shut his mouth because that’s--

“A Mimikyu,” he murmurs aloud, quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. Taekwoon, the most intimidating gym leader in all of Sinnoh, has five baby Pokemon.

Taekwoon lets out a weak little laugh, a heavy flush having blossomed on his cheeks as he picks up Mimikyu from his shoulder and tucks it in his lap. He briefly pets Pachirisu, combing through its tail, before he can get any words out. “I guess my little secret is out.”

Hongbin just kind of stares on in awe. Suddenly the thunderstorm outside seems a lot less scarier with tons of baby Pokemon trying to cutely vy for his attention and crawl into his lap. He swallows thickly, managing to smile through his shock as Cherrim hops into his lap. “Little is right.”

At that, Taekwoon lets out this high little laugh, biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself. The rumbling of thunder is drowned out by the Pokemon as they laugh while trying to play on Hongbin. Eventually Gengar, Banette, and Sableye come out as well and latch on to Taekwoon. “Somewhere along the way of training with my gym Pokemon, these kids tagged along,” he says, just as Sableye teasingly bites Taekwoon’s shoulder.

“But Mimikyu isn’t native to Sinnoh,” Hongbin says, watching as his Togepi plays gently with Fennekin.

Taekwoon hums, tenderly petting Mimikyu who chirps happily and snuggles into his stomach. “I traveled to Alola a few years back to help train the new Ghost gym leader there. This kid,” he says fondly, poking at Mimikyu, “was being picked on by some Pinsirs. Gengar helped chase them away and I comforted Mimikyu until it stopped crying. I didn't even have a Poke Ball to capture it and take it back to Sinnoh, but it followed me onto the boat and didn't leave my arms until I made it back to Hearthome.”

Hongbin smiles, swallowing back his stuttering heart. “That's pretty adorable,” he says, trying to hold back his tongue from admitting that Taekwoon is pretty adorable too. Chansey comes back with a bunch of Poffins and Hongbin manages to distract himself from the feelings of adoration, warm and thick like honey coating his ribs, by watching the baby Pokemon take the pieces of sweet treats off his fingers.

When the storm lets up, Taekwoon recalls all his Pokemon back save for Mimikyu who stubbornly refuses and almost cries when Taekwoon pleads for it to go back- especially reminding Mimikyu that the marker it used to color its disguise might wash away in the rain. Just as Taekwoon tenderly adjusts Fennekin in his arms, Hongbin passes him his umbrella that's big enough to fit four people easily. Taekwoon gives him a brilliant smile in return, and Hongbin feels his stomach flop.

“Thanks,” Taekwoon murmurs. Fennekin gives a happy bark and Mimikyu does its best to Charm Hongbin. He leaves briskly as he always does and takes off in a run for the safety of his gym.

From the counter, Togepi giggles and Hongbin’s Chanseys cheer at him. Gardevoir gives him a knowing look when he flushes bright pink. He decides that his Pokemon know too much and feels a little bit less embarrassed to poke Togepi in retaliation.

From then on, Taekwoon comes back to the Poke Center far more often. Sometimes it's as he normally would- to heal up his battling Pokemon or to check on the condition of Fennekin. But most of the time, Taekwoon comes back for almost benign things. He comes for little scratches Cherrim gets when it tries to use Razor Leaf, lingering electric sparks around Pachirisu when it uses too strong of an attack for its little body, bruises Marill gets for trying to play roughly with Sableye and Banette, and when Shaymin’s little flower wilts even just a little. He comes back with excuses for Hongbin to still check on Fennekin long after its sprain has been healed and he comes when Mimikyu has tears in its eyes and asks for Poffins to cheer it up.

At some point, Hongbin realizes Taekwoon comes back every day to take care of his Pokemon and the realization leaves his knees weak. He flops onto his chair, feeling flushed and suddenly out of breath.

(Chansey attempts to give him CPR upon seeing Hongbin clutching his shirt over his heart and Hongbin topples right of his chair with a terrified shriek. Togepi immediately bounces on his face, thinking it's being cute, and Hongbin gives a sigh and gives up.)

Hongbin has started paying attention less to the trainers that keep him busy late into the night and more on the time, attempting to guess when Taekwoon will come by. He's almost shocked at how excited he gets when he sees a Pachirisu bound into the Poke Center, heart jumping into his throat and stomach fluttering with warmth, until he realizes it's just a wild Pachirisu or some little kid’s first Pokemon. Taekwoon comes in earlier in the weekdays when the gym isn't so busy, making up excuses to come see him and con him out of Poffins. On weekends, he comes by much later when Hongbin is just about to close.

Much like today. Hongbin has the key in the lock and Togepi drifting off to sleep in his backpack when Taekwoon comes running towards him. He's out of breath and his little Pokemon can hardly keep up with him- they're running into his legs when he finally stops in front of Hongbin, holding an egg shining in his arms.

“It's about to hatch!” he says, eyes brighter than the shining light of the egg and Hongbin feels like he's moving on autopilot to open the door, too distracted by Taekwoon’s smile.

Hongbin quickly switches on the lights all the way back into an operating room. Chansey sets out the incubator and Hongbin quickly sets his backpack off to the side. He makes quick work of setting up the incubator and getting the vitals set up alongside Chansey. Taekwoon sets the egg in the incubator, all his little Pokemon climbing on him, Gengar, and Banette to get a look.

Hongbin straps the egg up to vital readers and takes the electric blanket from Chansey to wrap around the egg. His heart feels like it's beating a hundred miles a minute when Taekwoon smiles right at him, his bangs messy over his sharp, kind eyes and his teeth digging into the soft pink plush of his bottom lip to contain his excitement.

The silence that befalls the room is slightly awkward. Hongbin doesn't quite know what to do with himself because Taekwoon is so excited, as are his Pokemon, and this feels almost like he's intruding. Togepi crawls into his lap and gives him a happy little chirp, nuzzling under his hand when it can feel Hongbin’s shy jitters. Taekwoon hasn't even said a word but keeps looking up at Hongbin with this star-struck kind of look before flushing and turning away to look at the beeping machines.

When Hongbin feels like he’s close to suffocating in the silence, in the feelings bubbling in chest and bursting in his throat, the egg starts to shake. It sways, shining brighter until one, two, three shakes later, a blinding light engulfs the room. Hongbin shuts his eyes, looking away from the blinding light until a little giggle makes him open his eyes again to a baby Happiny.

Taekwoon’s eyes light up impossibly bright, pink lips parting in awe as he takes Happiny in his arms. Hongbin feels his heart do a horrible little flop, feels it melt in his chest, and ducks his gaze behind his pink bangs.

“Happiny,” Taekwoon says softly, looking at the little Pokemon with his arms out and Happiny hops into his embrace. He holds Happiny close to him, pressing its cheek to its head, and laughs when Happiny chirps at him.

Hongbin nearly trips on his feet trying to stand up and give Taekwoon some food to feed Happiny. His face burns hot, feeling Taekwoon’s gaze on his back as he pilfers through random cupboards until the red embarrassment on his cheeks and his ears dissipates.

Taekwoon takes care of feeding Happiny and washing it down with a washcloth. He pokes fingers into its belly just to listen to it giggle. He smiles when all his Pokemon clamber around Happiny, each introducing themselves to the new addition. Even Mimikyu gathers enough courage to hop off of Taekwoon’s head and chirp shyly at Happiny, who returns with a beaming smile and hugs Mimikyu gently so as to not disturb its disguise.

When Happiny turns to Hongbin, he gives it an Oval Stone that he’d given to one of his own Chanseys when they were just a Happiny. With wide, eyes, Happiny waddles over to Hongbin and gratefully accepts the Oval Stone. Hongbin laughs when it tries to hand the stone back to Hongbin in a show of adoration. Instead, he tucks the stone into Happiny’s pouch and tells it to take care of the stone and give it to someone else it really loves.

Happiny then, predictably, waddles over to Taekwoon and offers the stone to him. The beaming look Taekwoon returns Happiny’s sentiment with fully knocks Hongbin’s breath from his lungs.

It's nearing midnight when Hongbin finally locks up for the second time. Togepi is fast asleep in his arms and Taekwoon has recalled most of his Pokemon for the trek home. Happiny is fast asleep in the crook of his right elbow while Mimikyu is still wide awake but tucked into the crook of his left elbow.

“Thank you,” Taekwoon whispers softly, the street lamps casting shadows on his face as they walk towards the gym. Hongbin lives on the upper floor of a little house just next to the gym, and Taekwoon walks him up to his door.

“It's no problem,” he says, stifling a yawn behind his hand. “Technically, it's my job.”

Taekwoon lets out a little laughter, watching intently as Hongbin unlocks his front door and slips into his house. He stands in place for a second, shifting awkwardly on his feet, before deciding to step back away from the front door.

“Goodnight,” he says, tipping his head slightly since he can't wave goodbye. He's bounding off of Hongbin’s porch and taking off for the gym before Hongbin can even get a word out.

He whispers goodbye anyway, shivering with a cold gust of wind that sinks beneath his clothes. Togepi sneezes in its sleep, and that's a sign enough for him to shut the door and turn in for the night, even if his chest feels oddly empty after that awkward parting.

He shrugs it off and shuffles into his house to get ready for bed, far too exhausted to think about much else.

For a while, Taekwoon continues coming to see Hongbin nearly every day with his common excuses for injuries to his Pokemon. When he’s run out of excuses, he comes for items for his baby Pokemon- berries, contest costume pieces, and food most often. Sometimes Taekwoon comes by just at the right time when the Poke Center is busy and Hongbin desperately needs help. Taekwoon is good with his hands and has a lot of compassion, and upon an accident involving Team Galactic running their truck off the road and so many stolen Pokemon falling injured in the crash, Taekwoon had been immensely helpful in bringing all of the Pokemon back to full health.

Hongbin hasn’t let himself wonder what they are or what they are becoming. He doesn’t want to keep his hopes up because it’s inevitable that he’ll be seeing Taekwoon for a long time. His crush on Taekwoon feels almost painful, like roses in his chest having grown thorns every time Taekwoon smiles at someone else.

But Hongbin pushes all his thoughts aside under the excuse of work, even if it means Togepi tends to fall asleep in his arms on the short trek home with the moon high in the sky.

Taekwoon comes in during the late afternoon, this time with three Poke Balls in his hands. Hongbin has been so busy that he’d worked straight through lunch and almost swayed on his feet when Taekwoon gave him a shy little smile.

“Beaten again, huh?” Hongbin says as he normally does, but the teasing bite to his words feels entirely empty.

Taekwoon’s smiles widens as he passes over his Pokemon silently. Instead of taking his normal seat in the corner, he stalls at the front counter, biting on his bottom lip and trying to avoid looking directly at Hongbin. His eyes flutter briefly as Hongbin stalls in front of him, looking at him questioningly.

“Are you free tonight?” he asks softly, looking up expectantly.

Hongbin swallows thickly, quickly passing the Poke Balls to Chansey before he drops them. “What time? I work quite late.”

Taekwoon bites down on his lip, nervously twiddling his thumbs in front of him. “Would you like to go out on a date in Amity Square with me?”

Hongbin stalls, feeling his heart jump into his throat. “Yes,” he says, almost too loudly and he immediately flushes. He gets a few grating stares from young trainers and immediately shrinks behind the counter.

Hiding his bright gaze behind his bangs, Taekwoon flushes just slightly at the tips of his ears. “I’ll come back later then?” he says, just as Chansey steps back around the counter, holding out a tray with three Poke Balls.

Hongbin nods silently, trying to catch his breath around his heart. Taekwoon leaves, heading back to another waiting challenger at the gym, and Hongbin sinks down to the floor, back to the counter with a hand clutched over his heart.

Chansey chirps at him questioningly and Gardevoir softly splashes him with water. It snaps him out of it, filling him with a sudden burning excitement that has him working with endless energy long past sunset.

Taekwoon comes back to the Pokemon Center at around nine, just as Hongbin has finished healing the last trainer’s Pokemon. The kid nearly runs into Taekwoon, immediately shying away from him and sprinting right into the street as fast as he can. Taekwoon doesn’t even look bothered as he approaches the front counter with a soft smile. “Ready to go?”

Hongbin looks around quickly, swallowing thickly around the lump in his throat. His Chanseys and Gardevoir give him encouraging smiles before returning to their Poke Balls. Togepi hops into Hongbin’s arms and gives him an encouraging little poke.

“I’m ready,” he sighs, putting his Poke Balls away in his backpack and locking up the Poke Center as they leave. Taekwoon only has Mimikyu out tonight, the little Pokemon perched happily in his arms and chirping every so often at Togepi.

Amity Square isn’t a far walk from the Poke Center. Hongbin has only ever been there once since he’d moved to Hearthome City, but he’d come during daylight the day before he’d started work. They walk beneath the big banner of Torchic, Drifloon, and Psyduck into a small reception area where they sign themselves into the guestbook.

The doors to the reception area open into an open field, illuminated by streetlights lining the dirt roads through flower fields. There are relatively few trainers out at this time of night, leaving the rolling green hills barren of anything except flowers and starlight shining from the night sky. Hongbin had found it beautiful in the day, but it was even more impressive at night.

Togepi excitedly chirps and hops out of his arms, running straight for the nearest flower patch. Apparently Togepi finds it more beautiful at night too.

Hongbin lets Togepi run off into the flower fields, keeping a close eye on it to ensure it doesn’t get lost. Mimikyu is quite the opposite and refuses to leave Taekwoon’s arms. When it cries to hold the flowers, Hongbin bends down and tenderly picks a white flower- which Mimikyu shyly accepts. Taekwoon ends up laughing at the way Mimikyu tries to hide itself against his chest, pressing warmly against his body.

They chat amiably about Pokemon as they pass through a stone gate into another little section of the park. Togepi throws itself into a flower patch just as Hongbin is recounting his experiences with his oldest Chansey in nursing school, and that’s where they decide to stop. Hongbin’s heart hasn’t stopped fluttering in his chest since they’d left the Poke Center, and it intensifies when Taekwoon pulls out little cookies he’d baked for him in thanks of all the Pokepuffs and Poffins he’s given to his Pokemon. Togepi happily steals half of Hongbin’s cookies in exchange for picking flowers and placing them in Hongbin’s lap. Taekwoon picks the flowers and ties the stems together into a little flower crown to place atop Mimikyu’s head.

He’s really cute, Hongbin thinks, feeling his heart beating in his ears. Especially when he smiles or when he laughs or when his eyes curve up into cute little half moons or--

“Don’t you think so, Hongbin?”

Hongbin flinches, realizing he had been staring at Taekwoon and hadn’t been listening. “Yes,” he answers absentmindedly, flushing immediately as Taekwoon laughs at his response and turns his attention back to Mimikyu.

Hongbin proceeds to tease Taekwoon to hide his embarrassment. He pokes fun at the rumors he hears about Taekwoon that float into the Poke Center from defeated trainers and the reputation that Taekwoon has throughout Sinnoh. When Taekwoon realizes that he comes off so stubborn and stoic, he flushes red and almost tries to hide himself behind Mimikyu. Hongbin laughs at him, and even though he no longer felt embarrassed about himself, his heart is beating even harder seeing Taekwoon so flustered.

They stay up talking even later into the night, long after the cold wind has sunken into their bones. Hongbin is just starting to shiver when Taekwoon offers to walk him back home. He takes him up on that offer, hiding a yawn behind his hand as he picks up his drowsy Togepi and starts following Taekwoon to the park entrance.

There are only a few people on the streets, all making their way home as well. Hongbin and Taekwoon walk in comfortable silence, pressed closed together as the cold wind brushes against them. Togepi and Mimikyu are asleep by the time they’ve reached Hongbin’s front steps. Once again, Hongbin is standing in his doorway, staring at Taekwoon and not knowing how to find his words to say goodbye.

“I had a fun time,” he stutters, partly because his teeth are starting to chatter in the cold. He glances up at Taekwoon to find his lips pressed into a thin line, eyes searching. It’s a look Hongbin’s never noticed before and he’s seconds from asking what’s wrong when Taekwoon bends down slightly to peck his cheek.

Both of them flush pink, visible even in the dim light flooding their feet from Hongbin’s house.

“Goodbye,” Taekwoon says, biting on his lip shyly and stepping back towards the main road. He shuffles back to the gym quickly, leaving before Hongbin can even get a word out. There’s a sleepy little chirp from Mimikyu as Taekwoon disappears around the corner.

Hongbin laughs to himself, slipping into his house and shutting the door behind him. He can still feel the burning press of Taekwoon’s soft lips on his cheeks and almost can’t wait for tomorrow to about it, eager to see pink spread over Taekwoon’s round cheeks.

Togepi snores lightly in its sleep and Hongbin fondly pokes its cheek as he tucks it into bed. “You’ll have a lot to laugh about in the future,” he whispers, smiling slightly as Togepi cuddles beneath its blanket. “Seems like both of us are quite stupidly in love with each other.”

* Hearthome City is located in the Sinnoh Region, found in the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum series. In Hearthome City, you fight Fantina, a ghost type gym leader. 
* There is no current gym leader who fights as both ghost and dark because together, they pose a combination essentially without weakness. There isn't really a type advantage over ghost and dark.
* Sableye is one of only 2 Pokemon currently that have both ghost/dark abilities. (The other is Spiritomb)
* Fennekin is actually from the Kalos Region in pokemon xy and it's the fire type starter pokemon.
* Team Galactic is the villainous group in the sinnoh region, just like how Team Rocket is the villainous group in Gen I. 
* Amity Square is like a little park to the north of Hearthome City where you can take certain pokemon on a walk to gain items.
* Pokepuffs are used to boost bonds w Pokemon. Poffins are used to raise a pokemon's cuteness, beauty, coolness, etc. for Contests.

i hope you enjoyed this part and if youve still got any questions about the au then let me know ^~^ <3